𝑷𝒓𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒚 𝑰𝒏 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒂𝒓𝒌 ꨄ

o n e

The sky outside was dark. The roads were wreathed in darkness which was only obscured by the harsh lightning coming from the street lamps. She watched as the pavement slipped underneath her boots with each step she took, the music blaring in her ears so loud the outside world faded away. The walk home from practice was pretty short all things considered, but the biting cold outside made her wish her dad had come to pick her up. In retrospect, she herself was to blame for wearing leggings in the dead of winter, but oh well.

Luna watched as small puffs of snow floated in the air and then gradually fluttered to the ground. The drive had a small sheen of snow covering it, so she had to be careful not to slip on it and break her neck. Tired from a whole day of school and then an hour practice of gymnastics, Luna had to force herself not to let her eyes drop. She was just thinking about how good it would feel to finally lay in her bed with some steaming tea and a book, when suddenly the hairs on her back rose.

She didn't know why she did it - but abruptly, her body became alert and her heart speed up. She stopped and scanned her surroundings. Maybe she was going insane, but she was sure she sensed that there was another presence there. Probably just a homeless man, she thought, trying to play it off. But something inside her knew that it wasn't that, and the prospect made her scared enough to pull out one earbud. The diminished voice of the music coming from it contrasted with the still silence outside. It was like nature itself was holding its breath - the wind didn't blow, trees didn't scuttle and the absurd thunder that had been plaguing them over the last week finally seemed to stop.

"Hello?" She asked tentatively. Her voice pieced the quietness.

She was just about to blame it all on her paranoia, when she turned around and came face to face with a woman. Luna yelped and jumped backwards. The woman looked to be in about her thirties, and wore a tight pair of jeans the colour of leaves and a simple white blouse. Her blonde hair tumbled down her shoulders and all the way to her waist in lush curls, and her eyes shone a bright unnatural green. With her lifted nose and red lips, Luna couldn't deny that she was beautiful.

"You have good reflexes," The woman observed. Her voice sounded a bit scratchy- as if she hadn't had a sip of water in days.

"I uh, you just scared me."

The woman quirked an eyebrow. "There is no need to be scared, child."

Luna swallowed. This encounter was becoming more and more creepy. And now that she looked at the woman better, there was definitely something off about her. The skin under her eyes was so purple it was almost red, puffy too, like she'd been crying for at least twenty years. It didn't look...natural.

"I'll be going then," She said casually, and tried to walk past her, but the woman blocked her way. The feel of her hand on Luna's arm made her shiver, and then her eyes widened when she realized the hand blocking her looked transparent. It was solid enough, though, because the woman's grip on her was enough to bruise.

"I am afraid not," The lady hissed, the sound animal. "It has been a long time since I've sniffed out such a scent, half- blood. Your flesh will taste delicious."

Luna felt mortified, but before she could let the feeling overcome her, the woman's body started to change. Where her feet where supposed to be, a green serpents tail sprouted out instead. The scales covered her entire abdomen and chest, making her look like an evil Ariel. She'd grown in height too, and now loomed over Luna at about seven feet. Her eyes were bulging out of her head, red angry veins spreading across the whites, while the skin beneath them was withered and blue. She was slightly bluish and transparent, making her look like a sleep deprived phantom.

Luna blamed it on the shock, but the first thing that passed through her head was; This woman seriously needs and expresso.

She stumbled back, loosing her footing. She had a feeling that with that tail of hers, running from the woman would not be a good idea. Luna tried to gather her thoughts. Maybe this was a nightmare. Maybe she'd over exhausted herself at practice and fainted and now her brain was making up this delightful story to scare the life out of her.