The Secrets in Shadows | •Under Construction•

T H E ❦ B E G I N N I N G

September 26, 1998

It was a cold and foggy night in the country village of Acton. 

A strange darkness had spread through the town, seeing as the moon was covered by a blanket of dark clouds. Because of the late hour, most of the town's inhabitants were snug inside their beds. Most, but not all.

In a small cottage on the forest's edge, a young couple were just putting their newborn daughter down to bed. As this was their daughter's first night home from the hospital, the young parents wanted to make sure she was comfortable in her new crib. In no time at all, the young child quickly drifted off to sleep, her tiny hands curling around the green blanket that covered her. Her mother let out a small, happy sigh and gazed lovingly at her daughter.

"Oh, Ben. She looks so peaceful. Do you think she's happy to be home?" The young mother asked her husband.

Her husband chuckled softly, and started to set up the baby monitor. "Of course she is! She's probably thrilled to be out of a place where people were poking and prodding her the minute she decided to make her entrance to the world."

Setting one monitor in the crib, Ben turned to his wife, the other monitor in hand. "Come on Emma, we should get some sleep...while we still can."

Emma smiled softly at this and followed him out of the nursery. The young parents quickly fell into quiet sleep, happy that their family was finally together.

Little did Ben and Emma know that soon after they had left the nursery, a window mysteriously began to slide to open. A dark figure, clad all in black, slinked silently into the baby's nursery. He paused for a moment, and took a cautious sniff of the air. The figure then moved towards the crib, leaning over to see the sleeping baby. Seeing the little girl, a cold smirk appeared on his lips, his razor sharp canines glinting in the muted moonlight.

۞.۞.۞.۞

The little baby's parents had just drifted off, when Emma heard something on the monitor. "Ben. Ben wake up." she whispered, shaking her husband.

Waking up, her husband groggily answered her. "What is it Emma?"

"Ben, I thought I heard something."

"Em, it was probably nothing. Go back to sleep sweetheart."

But before Emma could answer, a shrill cry sounded over the monitor. Both parents bolted upright, and rushed straight to the nursery. Bursting through the door, Emma ran to the crib and picked up her crying child. "Shh, darling. Its alright, mum's here. Its alright."

Ben stayed by the door, trying in vain to switch the light on. "Oh, its no good. The fuse has probably blown. I'll go see if I can find a flash light, you stay here Em."

Emma nodded to her husband, and continued to sway and hush her baby. All of a sudden, she felt the room go cold. Turning, she saw that the room's singular window was wide open, which was odd since she had sworn it had been bolted before her and Ben went to bed. As another chilled breeze fluttered the sheer curtains, Emma felt that she and her young daughter were no longer alone. Placing the baby back in her crib, Emma slowly turned around, coming face to face with a pair of blood red eyes.

She barely had time to scream for Ben when the predatory eyes lunged toward her.

۞.۞.۞.۞.۞.۞.۞.۞

At the edge of the misty forest, two figures emerged from the thick trees. The first was a boy of around twenty years old in appearance, with short curly brown hair and deep blue eyes. The second was another boy, only slightly older than the first, with messy black hair and honey brown eyes. Both laughed and joked with the other as they exited the tree line, when all of a sudden, the first boy froze in his tracks and tentatively sniffed the cool air.