Gotham at Night
Dark streets, dark alleys, dark people. Too much darkness for streetlights to banish. The scent of pollution hangs heavy in the cold air. Soon it will snow, coating the city with a pure white powder that quickly grows black with the accumulated filth excreted by the daily grind of traffic. It is home. Rotten, run-down, and violent, but home nonetheless.
With my back against the wall of a jeweler's shop I can watch people pass by on their way to complete whatever little plans they have laid out for the evening. Some pause at the window to gawk at the array of overpriced shiny trinkets. It should not be this way.
These people should not have the courage to leave the safety of their homes after the blood-red sky announces the approach of nightfall. They are too far removed from the lives of their ancestors when night was a time to crouch around the safety of firelight while ancient beasts prowled the darkness beyond. These fears were replaced by new worries- malfunctioning technology and thugs that stalk the streets in search of easy prey. It is not enough.
The city-dwellers adapt, come to accept the danger of everyday life, and let it desensitize them. They place their hopes in statistics, in the likelihood of encountering a threat instead of listening to gut instincts that tell them to fear the things that go bump in the night. That is where I come in.
I am the wolf that goes among the sheep, draws them from their placid lives and teaches them to fear again. I will harry them for the rest of my days, making sure the lesson is well learned. They need to remember what it is like to experience that primal terror. They need me.