Darkness. A funny concept. In its most generic definition, it's the partial or total absence of light. A definition which does not do it justice. Darkness is not just merely the absence of light; darkness will smother your vision and make your senses redundant as you fight to beat it back. Your pupils will dilate, adrenaline flushing through your veins and every sound will become a threat. You'll fight the fear and the preconceived notion that darkness hides monsters, you'll tell yourself you're being absurd. But, one day you may not be. One day, you may feel as I do now: suffocated, trapped, cornered.
You see, darkness holds the unknown and that unknown is most often evil. It's the perfect camouflage for the predator hunting its prey. I'm not talking about the sandman that your parents told you about as a child, or the boogeyman under your bed which disappears when your parents check. I'm talking about the monsters of the real world. The ones that stalk you like a tiger on the hunt for a gazelle: shoulders dropped, eyes forward, their only goal is the kill.
You'll feel it though, the change in the atmosphere as those murderous eyes lock on you, as I do now. And your heart will pound so hard in your ribcage that you'll think it's going to break through and fall out, as mine is now. For a second, you'll forget that darkness conceals the monster because you'll find solace in the knowledge that it conceals you too. But that moment of victory will be snatched from your grasp as you consider that darkness is not for the prey, it is for the predator. And some predators only hunt in the dark, as I know he does. And some predators are so advanced that you won't realise that they're at your throat until they've almost sunk their teeth in to rip it out, as he is now.
Heavy, warm breath against my shoulder; cold, hard barrel against my head. He cocks the gun. My breath hitches as he speaks, an excited hiss that pricks at my skin and floods poison into my veins.
"I'm doing this for us, so we can be together".
The words are not a threat, they're a promise. A promise that our unrequited love will blossom. A promise that he will have me for eternity, despite my objections, despite my hatred of him and despite my fear. He truly believes we're meant to be together. It's a terrifying notion that floods my stomach with nausea and my blood with ice.
A lone tear tumbles onto my cheek as I inhale a shaky breath. A lump forms in my throat at the realisation that it will be my last.
He pulls the trigger.
YOU ARE READING
The Phoenix Hunt
ParanormalOne minute. Sixty seconds. That was all it took for the world to change forever. When 89 of the worst souls on Earth suddenly wake up from the dead with the abilities to take down a small army, a world wide witch-hunt begins. With unmatched streng...
