Dark Places

The Feast

Evening fell. No fanfare heralded the waning of the day. Light passed almost unnoticed into darkness, blurring through the no-time of dusk.

A newspaper, whirlpooled by a brief gust of wind, a chance encounter that created a dance of poetic uncertainty, lifted from the street to settle, spent, in a puddle by the gutter.

The air was heavy with the threat of rain. The clouds bore down, an imposing cloak that kept the stars and the moon from illuminating the world. Said world seemed... abandoned. It was lost to the grace of life and love and hope.

The street echoed with the quick footsteps of passers-by who hurried, for no reason they could think of, on their forlorn way. A couple walked apart from the rest. They were arm in arm, huddled together, lost in each other, oblivious of the world's despair.

An alleyway, little more than a gasp between two buildings – a newsagents and a pizza shop – led off a little way ahead of them. The breeze that had waltzed with the newspaper drifted into the alley. It settled over a pair of sleeping cats, tattered remnants of the proud animals they might once have been. The cats opened their eyes and stretched. They padded to the shadows at the end of the alleyway, looking out onto the street, their yellow slits keen and watchful.

The larger one, a tabby with the tip of its left ear missing, lowered its head.

"Sshhh. You see them? Can you taste their scent? Does it make you hunger, desire... want? Can you feel their hearts beating? I can hear them from here - they're slightly out of sync. An almost romantic fraction of a second difference. Oh, how this feline form's senses are honed. It was a good choice, an excellent choice. For all our innate power, this creature's instincts are sensuously barbaric.

Ah, they are moving closer. You know, they are the dominant species here? Does that not strike terror into your heart? Ha! Oh, for a worthy adversary. You notice that they walk upright, that they cover themselves with the skins of other species? Such arrogance. It hints of sense of superiority over those around them. Perhaps they are, perhaps not. Perhaps, though, we should teach them that such arrogance only makes the lesson more sweetly significant. Should we, do you think, explain to them, as we dine, how erroneous their conceptions are - how their self-appointed sovereignty over their fellow creatures, only serves to prove that they are less than worthy to rule, more suited to be ornaments and food themselves. Perhaps not. They are not deserving of such benign justice.

Mmmm. They are almost upon us. Are you prepared, my friend? Excellent. Which would you prefer? The larger one? Ha! Greed was ever a virtue for you. Very well, then, if that is your choice. There is ample time for sampling other delights. The nights here are long, and we have a world of such meats to enjoy.

Come, let us feast."