SHADOW

Square One?

The sun shined bright, it was almost blinding.

I couldn't say I didn't like it. I was satisfied with it.

My skin glowed under its rays.

I was making an effort to leave the comfort of the forest and my efforts had not gone to waste.

I had almost skipped town to search for someone new. I thought I had drained this city for all it had to offer, but apparently not. I think I had found someone.

It had only been a couple of weeks but she looked promising. It would take at least a month to be sure‒ three months if I really wanted to be thorough.

I shed the darkness from my being after me and Jayde had parted ways; that included my wardrobe and I hadn't looked back since. I opted to wear things that didn't make me look as unapproachable.

I like the outcome, at least partially.

The male attention I could live without.

Even with this small change, my desire for murder didn't diminish. One man had already went missing.

Before I killed him, I made sure he knew that his advances were the reason he had to die. It did nothing to calm him down like I thought, it had only made things worse.

He went from begging for his life to spewing words of hatred at me.

And to think I would've actually let him go if he continued to beg for his life a little longer.

The man had sealed his own fate.

As I sat on the bench on the side walk, I reveled in the anonymity the city provided me with. No one knew that at this moment a serial killer was among them. They treated me like I was an abiding citizen‒ they treated me as if I was human.

A strip of shops flanked me on each side. I had visited most of them, but I couldn't find anything of real use to me. I felt that I had attained a lot of what I've wanted over the years. I only actively bought new clothes, and that was usually after I "parted" ways with women.

Jayde and I didn't part ways in the traditional manner, but it was still reason enough for a change.

I was in the city, but it wasn't just because of the good weather. I was tracking someone and I found that she spent her free time here a lot.

She looked nothing like my last.

Her name was Athena.

I had stumbled upon her when I hadn't even been looking, she came to me when I least expected it.

I had seen her as just something to quench my thirst, but I got a better look at her, I decided that someone like her couldn't be reduced to a quick fix. I decided that she was destined for something bigger than that.

It didn't take long for me to figure out the most basic facts about her. She was 19 soon to be 20. I didn't know anything about her sexual history, I'd just have to find that out later.

If she wasn't a virgin, that was okay with me. She could be used for a different purpose that would benefit us both.

I had learned that she was social. I had seen her interact with countless people that I thought to be her friends. There was only a few days out of the entire week that I had seen her alone.

She lived in an apartment. I wasn't sure if she lived alone or with someone else. I couldn't reach that part of her without being grossly conspicuous.

I didn't know anything else of her. I'd only been following her for a couple weeks and it hadn't shed much light on her.

It was starting to become apparent that the most effective way to learn more about her was to approach her. I couldn't say I really minded though. She had peaked my interest from afar.