The Shadow Walkers

Prologue

{{This is only the prologue, by the way. There will be more.}}

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"My name is Anna Marie Dailey. I am twenty four years old and I lived in an apartment building on Manhattan Island for most of my life." Anna had been telling this to herself for the last sixty days of being imprisoned. She was desperately trying to keep her slippery hold on reality, though it was quickly being lost. Every slight movement made her jump, and she woke up with nightmares every night to early morning. Sleep was a foreign concept lately, and the restlessness was apparent in the dark bags under her eyes as they stood out against the the pale white of her skin. The young girl looked almost unhuman.

She had been locked in the same small room for three months, but now matter how hard she pulled at the door knob, or stared through the barred window, there was no escape that she could see. Her tall figure did its best to move across the room. Outside was grey and dreary, which, on a normal day would be her favorite type of weather. But seeing as how she was trapped in a room smaller than a prison cell, she wasn't entirely excited for it.

Anna didn't know where she was, or how she got there, and the various accents of the people who passed by didn't help at all. She clearly heard American and British, but the rest were foreign and unknown.

The door opened behind her with a loud creaking noise and she spun around. In the doorway, there was a semi-familiar man looking at her, boredom was apparent on his features. He yawned, gesturing for her to follow him, and she shook her head with fierce refusal. "Miss Dailey, do you really want to do this again? It's been a few weeks since your last visit, and we'd like to make this one a lot less uncomfortable." She knew that he was lying, but he had lied to her from the start. He was the one that had abducted her from her quaint little home in New York and brought her here -wherever 'here' was. She had heard his name being called out in the hallway, but it was lost to her now.

With shaky hands, she watched helplessly as he advanced towards her, skillfully moving around the small bed. Anna let out a squeak and jumped over the bed, running straight into the bulky man that had taken residence in the doorway. He grabbed her arms in his large hands and spun her around to face the man as he walked back, seeming mildly annoyed.

He let out a deeply exaggerated sigh and slapped her roughly, careful not to leave an evident mark. He had worn rings before, but it soon became apparent that somebody didn't like the scars they were leaving, so he took them off before getting physical. "Where did you think you would go? It's not like you can up and leave, just like that." An evil grin played across his features as he thought of some plan to drag the day out. He seemed to fancy watching her squirm on days like this. "Come on Malik, let's get this started." With a grunt, the burly man lifted the young girl up over his shoulder.

She fought for a little while, until the man -someone had called him James in the hall as they passed- gave her something that made her entire being go limp. After some time of walking, Anna expected Malik to turn at one of the doors. Instead, he continued to move until they were in a part of the hallway that she had never been to before. Her heart, the only thing that could move, began to beat faster until it was racing.

James opened a door down the way and stepped in, while Malik kept his distance. A few moments later, when James returned, Anna was taken through the doorway and into the darkest room she had ever seen.

There were no windows to bring in light, and the only entrance or exit was the one they had used. Still limp, she could do nothing to stop Malik from putting her down in a plastic covered armchair. The girl could do nothing but try to peer into the darkness and await what was coming next.

Not five minutes later, she heard a burst of insane laughter coming from the darkness. Fighting the urge to cringe, or cry, Anna gulped loudly. "Anna, Anna, Anna." Someone stood up and moved towards her with extreme grace. His voice was deep and soothing, which fit along with the heavy British accent. She almost relaxed at the sound of her name rolling off his toungue, and then she remembered where she was.

He was nothing but a shadow, stepping amongst others, but she knew exactly where he was. "It's been a long time since I saw you last." He whispered into her ear before moving down to her neck, biting it gently. She could feel the pain as his teeth broke the skin. The warmth of her blood as it slowly slid down past her collarbone made the hair on the back of her neck and arms stand up. He chuckled darkly and moved away. "You've been here three months, haven't you?" The figure sat down silently in his own plastic covered armchair across from her. He deliberated for a second before standing back up and moving to a spot in the darkness against the back wall. Moving quickly, he pulled the curtains back, revealing a very elegant outdoor area. The glass reflected the moonlight, which in turn cast a light on the man's face. Anna gasped as his gleaming white fangs shone through the darkness. "Unfortunately, your time is up." He smiled and made a single movement over to her.

Anna's last noise was a choked off blood-curdling scream.