Flower Of Nightfall [PREVIEW]

Prologue

Onenight, on October 13, 3083, loud thunder shook the house. Lightningintermittently lit up the sky, illuminating the room for a fractionof a second. Strange shadows danced before the eyes of a little girl,who grasped her bedspread in fear. At only seven years old, the stormmade the world seem darker and gloomier to her than ever before.Something was different about that night. Something terrified her somuch that her hands were shaking violently, sweat was dripping fromher forehead, and her body was so tense that it was starting to ache.

Shelistened to the sound of the rain pouring down onto the rooftop andbackyard. It echoed through her room. Something caught her attention;footsteps sounded downstairs. She thought that it was probably herparents. She got up to stand by the door and listened attentively,trying to make out the sounds. A deathly silence had suddenly takenover the house; even the noise from the storm had subsided.

Shethrew herself onto the bed so hard that she bounced off onto thefloor. Tears streamed down her face from her honey-colored eyes. Shestruggled to get back up. She had heard a scream; she was almost sureof it. The problem was that she wasn't sure if it was real or not.Her doubts soon faded as more screaming flooded the house: screamsfrom a man, a woman, a child... She heard banging, the sound ofbreaking glass, and unintelligible words. Chaos had taken over thebuilding and the terror that had started creeping up her spine nowcompletely possessed her.

Sheswiftly gathered up all her courage and stepped cautiously out of thebedroom. She headed towards the wooden staircase without making asound. She could no longer hear anything in the house, just anuncomfortable silence. It was then that she saw a large, strange,imposing shadow slip past her.

Asshe started to descend the staircase, holding onto the woodenbanister with her tiny little hands, she noticed a strange,repugnant, metallic smell. Her little feet gradually got closer towhat would soon be her worst nightmare. When she turned down thewhite-walled hallway she stepped in something hot and sticky. Shestarted to slip, and when she lowered her eyes to the floor shenoticed that it was covered in bright red. Her heart started to beatincredibly fast, so fast that she felt like it was going to beatright out of her chest. She heard another noise, increasing her levelof panic, but her body seemed to have a mind of its own. Without evenknowing why she turned to head towards the noise.

Thesilhouette she saw was the same as the terrifying shadow that hadappeared before her earlier. Now it was faintly illuminated andlooked surreal. It was the demon from her dreams: long, shiny silverhair and two long, twisted horns extending from the top of his head.She stood frozen with her eyes wide as saucers, staring inastonishment at this creature from hell. He turned and looked at herwith bright, violet-colored eyes that seemed to pierce right throughher soul.

"You..."she whispered in a soft, child-like voice. Something about thesituation tugged at her memory, making think of things long sinceforgotten.

Withoutsaying a word, he made a mocking gesture and approached her slowly,mesmerizing her with the hypnotic color of his skin and the strangeclothes that he wore. He placed his hands on his hips, making themuscles in his upper body protrude, and watched her closely. After abrief moment, he spoke.

"Mina,if you want revenge... You must grow, become strong, and then comefor me. I'll be watching you wherever you go, and if you try toescape... I'll take you to hell with me.

Hissullen silhouette started to fade before her teary eyes until itdisappeared completely. His words would torment her for the rest ofher life, making her teenage years a living nightmare.

***

Shewoke before dawn with the image still fresh in her mind. Thosepiercing eyes had been haunting her for years now. She rubbed herforehead trying to alleviate the headache that pounded into herskull. She angrily tied back her chestnut hair. She couldn'tremember getting a good night's sleep once over the past twelveyears. That would change today. Today she was finally being releasedafter tricking and lying to the hospital's macabre psychiatrist.She had convinced everyone that she no longer believed demonsexisted. She claimed that it had all been a figment of herimagination. After being locked up all those years... She couldfinally live her life, and get her revenge and the answers she hadbeen waiting for.