The coming of darkness is one thing, when it is already here ... well, that is something else entirely, especially when you are not prepared for it or even expecting it. If a stranger is a friend, you haven't met yet, then what is an enemy you have yet to cross paths with? ...
Craig Hawkins sat alone in his cell awaiting the inevitable. This inevitable, if it were to happen to anyone else, would more than likely be anticipated with dread and quite possibly a whole load of fear in the lead up to the arrival of such a particular moment, but for Craig it would be a moment to look forward to, for as far as he was concerned, this moment would be a moment which would set him free.
So much more than that, this upcoming moment would do a hell of a lot more than just set him free, for it also would allow for all hell itself to be released. That moment he was waiting for would also empower him, free him from his physical imprisonment and give him the freedom to cause and create as much chaos as possible, freedom to add to his existing tally, a tally of bloodied victims. So patiently, he would await his moment.
It is even quite possible that Craig Hawkins had allowed himself to be caught and imprisoned for the number of murderous crimes he committed just so he could have this moment. Even to allow such a thing a man must have some sort of faith and belief that there is a beyond to which he will go to, a beyond with which he will have total control of. And perhaps too, he may believe that certain conditions might need to be met.
Sure, Darkness itself made him a promise; more than that, it taught him, instructed him, had him prepare for years before a murder was ever even attempted. In his sanctuary, a darkened basement, he branded himself, slowly over time burning a sigil, piece by piece, onto his chest ... and when his time comes, this inverted pentagram will be on display for all to see.
***
Five days after being shot during the melee in a store within the town he made a return to, a town he had spent a year or so of his early childhood in, Colin lay in the bed where he had spent all those five days of recovery.
In many ways, he looked forward to such a time it can be deemed that he could go home and in other ways he wanted to continue to enjoy being looked after while getting some much-needed rest. Despite the pain from his wound and the almost constant other worldly pleas coming his way, Colin was indeed managing to get that rest he so badly needed. Ignoring those who came was never an easy thing though Colin most definitely had ignoring down to an art form.
The bad points of his current predicament were of course the pain he felt while being bound to his bed as well as having to deal with the sheer number of lost souls attached to the hospital. Those constant requests for help, the lack of understanding that Colin can do very little with due to his current situation and the sheer horror of being hit by the realization of how some of these souls had met their demise, all would make even the toughest of people feel a lot more than just a little uneasy. Still, he managed to relax to a point.
Yeah, along with the bad, this period of time did also come with its good points. Some of these did indeed match. As well as that rest he was managing to get, Colin was also getting to enjoy the company of Natalia, the sister of a lost love, lost in more ways than one.
At first, she, Natalia, had felt an odd compulsion to visit Colin, but after her first visit she had asked if Colin would mind if she were to return, Colin didn't mind in the slightest, in fact it would be something to look forward to. If Cecilia had been the one that got away, then perhaps Natalia might be the next best thing.
They are, of course, sisters and one may actually be influencing the other, ... still, allowing himself to think in such a manner brought him some dismay. He is and always has been, a gentleman, and he will remain as such. Natalia is a special lady, he is not going to abuse her kindness, nor does he want to sabotage a possible lasting friendship before it can even properly begin.
