In the middle of the night, an old man was walking home from a bingo game, he didn't mean to stay so late but at his age, time was not always easy to keep up with. Unfortunately he had made an awful mistake by choosing to go out alone at this hour because it was usually at this time when thugs and lowlifes came around. One especially vile and unrepentant scumbag was loitering on the same street the bingo game was held at and he had decided to follow him. Or rather stalk him as a predator would stalk his prey.
Once they were well into the dark, away from public eye, the crook attacked. He knocked the old man to the ground and began digging around in his pockets for anything valuable. But all he found was a five dollar bill and that made him very mad.
"Five bucks! What the hell am I supposed to do with five bucks?!"
"It all the money I have!" The old man whimpered. "Take it if you want it, just please let me go!"
"You stupid ass geezer! You wasted my time!"
"I'm sorry!"
"You're sorry?! I'll show you sorry!"
He grabbed the old man's cane and started beating him with it.
"Stop! Please stop!" The old man pleaded. "Please!"
"You're wasting your time begging for your life! Why should I let you live anyway? You're a pathetic, worthless old man! No one will miss you when you die!"
No mercy and no remorse. He beat that poor old man to the point of unconsciousness and he would have beaten him to death if he had not been stopped by the most mind boggling thing. His own shadow moved as if it was an actual person, jerking the cane out of the thug's hand and flinging him into a tree. Before he could he even think about standing up, his throat was roughly seized and gripped by a clawed hand, his body being hoisted from the ground with very little effort from the arm that held him.
In the blink of an eye he found himself facing a twisted grin full of ravenous fangs and red eyes full of contempt.
"My, my, what a tasty morsel I've caught tonight." The figure said. "And it couldn't have been at a more perfect moment."
"Who...What are you?" The thug asked.
The figure didn't answer. He just gripped the man's throat tighter.
"Don't kill me!" He begged in a rather pathetic and cowardly way. "Come on man! I'll do anything! Just let me go!
"Begging for your life? How amusing." The figure chuckled sinisterly. "Just like how that fellow over there was begging for his life? Tell me, did you have any intention of letting him live?"
The thug became completely petrified when he realized where this was going.
"You're wasting your time begging for your life. Why should I let you live anyway? You're a cruel, sadistic pig. No one will miss you when you die."
After that he opened up his fanged mouth and proceeded to suck the life out of that man. Devouring every last inch of his essence until not a single trace of life remained his body. In mere seconds his entire form decayed and rotted into a hideous corpse, which the figure then dropped. He snapped his fingers and two shadows appeared to pick up the dead body.
"Take that back to the house and make sure that it's chopped up and burned."
The two shadows nodded and fled to do as they were told. Next the figure slowly bent down and inserted two fingers next to his neck.
"Still alive, but not for long if he doesn't get immediate medical treatment."
He snapped his fingers again and two new shadows came to his aid.
"Take him to the hospital, be careful with him, make sure no one sees you two."
The shadows obeyed his command without any hesitation. This was why they called him the Shadow Man. Because he was a demon who had domain over all shadows. He could turn into a shadow, he could create shadows without a body, he could control shadows, he could even make one's very own shadow turn on them. And this was just a fraction of the incredible and frightening power that he possessed.
Before leaving that spot, the Shadow Man made absolutely sure that there were no witnesses to the recent event that had taken place here. There were none. Good. No loose ends that needed to tied up.
He returned to the graveyard and went down into the underground through another unmarked crypt. He went into one of the many corridors and entered a room where in the center there was a cushion surrounded by lit candles. Upon that cushion was Charlie who was sleeping soundly, protected by the rosary beads in her hand and the flames of the candles. The shadow man slowly and quietly approached her, making sure not to wake her, he produced a thornless Tea Rose from his jacket and placed it in her long blond hair. She stirred a little and yawned, yet she didn't awaken. She just fell deeper into sleep when she felt gentle fingers comb through her locks.
"Dream." He whispered softly into her ear. "Just dream, my dear. Dream of anything and everything you desire, and soon I shall give it all to you. I swear by my heart and soul."
A sigh came from her. A sleepy yet content sigh. One that implied that although she was sound asleep, she could sense he was there and was pleased that he was so close to her.
"She certainly is an exceptional beauty." A second voice spoke in the darkness. "It is no wonder why you have such a powerful obsession with her."
The Shadow Man's smile did not falter, but if you looked into his eyes, you could see that he was greatly annoyed by the presence of this individual.
"Quentin, to what do I owe this unexpected intrusion?" The Shadow Man asked, hiding his irritation well.
"Intrusion? The underground is open to all our kind. Especially me."
"Not when you're underneath my private property. In fact, if I recall the rules correctly, you cannot come one step further from where you stand without my permission."
"Very well then. May I have your permission to enter your property."
"I'm afraid I must deny you access. I know why you have come and in all honesty, I am not in the mood to discuss our deal again. I haven't forgotten the terms and I have no intention of breaking my word, Quentin."
"Good." Quentin said, keeping himself completely covered by a hooded robe similar to what monks would wear. You couldn't even see his face. "I was a little concerned that once she came into the picture, you would get cold feet and try to back out."
"It wouldn't do me much good to try to back out, would it? You'd find me no matter where I would run to or where I would hide. I know my fate in the end and I have accepted it."
"So why pursue this woman? Even if you somehow win her, you won't have her very long."
"Perhaps, but I have been in misery and agony for so many years. I would like to know some happiness before I go. Even if it is for a short amount of time."
"You know I am quite the romantic, so maybe we could change the contract a bit."
"How so? Are you going to grant my request to release the others from our deal?"
"I'm not the releasing type, you know that. No, I was thinking more along the lines of adding your little...Belle, is it? To our arrangement. I could just write her name on the-"
"Never!"
Without warning, he grabbed the hooded figure and slammed him hard against the concrete, pinning him there.
"That will never happen. Do you hear me? Never ever!"
"Now there's no need to get so testy. I meant it as a favor to you. If she was to become a demon, you and her would be together forever. Isn't that what you want?"
"You must think I am the biggest fool God ever made if you actually expect me to believe that bull. You a romantic? Ha! I know the real motivation behind your 'generous' offer. You just want to take her pure and innocent soul."
"Now why would I want that? What could I possibly gain by having her soul?"
"I don't know but I do know that's the only reason why you're making this offer, and you can stuff it down your throat, because I'm not damning her to that nightmare as I did the others."
He heard Charlie moan and stir again at the sound of tense voices.
"Now leave, before you wake her." The Shadow Man ordered before releasing Quentin.
Quentin left without a word and the Shadow Man was once again at Charlie's side, watching vigilantly over her sleeping form.
"It's only a nightmare." He whispered softly into her ear again. "Just a nightmare. Don't be afraid, I'm here."
Charlie turned over and nuzzled closer to him. He held her in his arms, keeping her safe from anything that could harm her. Charlie had nothing to fear from the Shadow Man. He would never hurt her or terrorize her or take her life as he had done to his previous victims. Why you may ask? Because he lived only for her. From the moment their eyes met, she became his only dream, and he would do anything to keep her safe and happy. Even at the expense of his own.