One Dark Night ...

Ryan Parker cursed. And sneezed. And cursed again.1

“Fucking shit ...” he muttered under his breath – wiping his nose. “Stupid – stupid – stupid ...”2

It wasn't just the nose that was bothering him. It was more like a combination of his nose, the dark night around him that insisted on spooking him mildly, the fact that it was a freaking -4 degrees ... all in all, Parker was not in the best of moods.
3

In fact, he was in such a tiff that if you were to tap him on the shoulder and cry “Boo!” into his ear, he would turn around and most likely beat you to death. It was extremely lucky, therefore, that no young enterprising Halloween trick-and-treaters had attempted to trick-or-treat him.
4

A can clanked along an alleyway adjacent to the path he was walking on, blown along by the gust of wind.
5

Parker tightened up his windbreaker and muttered mutinously to himself. He was late. That stupid ass of a bus driver had forgotten to stop at his halt, and had driven on for quite the mile before realizing his mistake. Now he was late for his own Halloween party. He shook his head.
6

A draught of wind whispered past – caressing his cheek with cold fingers, reaching down into the gap between windbreaker and neck, chilling him. Flipping up his collar, he cast a glance around, and checked his watch.
7

1130PM
8

Shit. He was already half an hour late.
9

Walking on, head down, musing on the injustices of this crazy world, he didn't notice the woman until he'd passed her.
10

Breaking stride for an instant, he whipped his head around, looking back the way he'd come. The path was bare, save for some leaves strewn around. But ... he had been sure he'd ...
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Screw it, he thought. The night's playing cheap tricks on me. It must have been a figment of his imagin -
12

Wait – what?
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There she was. He wasn't dreaming it this time ... she stood a little further down the footpath, a silent presence, face shadowed by the trees lining the road, clad in what looked like a dark coat.
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Parker halted for a while, uncertainty clouding his mind. What was she doing there? Just standing like that ... almost ... almost as if she was waiting for him. Waiting for him ...
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He hastened his pace – walking swiftly to the waiting figure.
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Suddenly, a branch snapped just above his head – he jumped, startled and looked up into the dark boughs of the tree, and he heard something flapping away. Darned owls ...
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But as he began to walk forward again, the woman was gone. Disappeared. Vanished.
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Puzzled, he looked around the deserted road, and behind him. Nothing. It was as if she had never been there – but damnit, that was preposterous, he knew full well she had been right there, standing, waiting for him.
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“... Ryan ...” The whisper touched his ear, rooting him to the spot. “... Come to me ...”
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She was standing right next to him.
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His first thought was not 'How in the hell did she get over here?” but that she was ... in a word ... beautiful.
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A heart shaped face, aquiline nose, and tapered brows over a pair of scintillating gray-green eyes. Her hazel brown hair fell about her shoulders in luxurious curls. The leather outfit she was wearing accentuated her sizable assests, and as Parker inhaled, he could smell a fragrance ... earthy – smoky.
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“Sit down, won't you, darling ...” She steered him, as if in a dream, to a parkbench that he hadn't noticed was there. “I've been waiting for one such as you ...”
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He laughed – a weak laugh. “Here I am, then -”
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“Indeed,” she said, a smile curling her sensual lips. She stroked the side of his face gently. And then, in one fluid motion, she leaned in and kissed him.26

Parker felt as if he'd just attained nirvana. Her lips and tongue probed his, her scent filled his nostrils, and he kissed her back, lost in the pleasures of her saffron taste. He felt as if he was on fire – his neck flushed, his senses heightened, as the woman kissed him.
27

Drawing back, she smiled once more at him, licking her lips provocatively.
She drew closer. Nibbled at his ear ... and a sleek hand reached down to his trousers, unbuttoned him, and held him in her hand.
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He gasped – Holy mother of -
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She stroked him, and leant in closer, jacket halfway undone, her velvet flesh caressing his ...
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And then, as his breathing heightened, as his body suffused with heat, she leaned over to his ear, licked it and whispered, “Goodbye, Ryan Parker ...”
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And she was gone.
32

He jerked out of his pre-orgasmic bliss abruptly, and looked around stupidly, his manhood exposed, trouser around his knees.
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Where had she gone? Parker stood, hitching up his trousers, and then, in the same moment as he turned around, a heavy weight slammed into him.34

He was bowled right over,  hitting the concrete footpath with a thud that knocked all his breath out of him.
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A large shape loomed over him, and he heard a low growl – an animal growl – tinged with rage and hate – and filled with bloodlust.
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“Oh Jesus -”
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He barely had time to invoke the name of the God he occasionally believed in, before the monster chomped down on his leg. Parker screamed, screamed so loud that he thought all of the Eastern seaboard could have heard it – but no one came.
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The animal swung its head, leg still grasped firmly between its jaws, and Parker flew, hitting the brick wall on the opposite side of the road – and his head cracked itself on the brick. Pain thudded through him as he slumped – and then he realized what he was missing.
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His entire left leg was still in the creature's mouth.
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He screamed then, but it was no use – his throat was raw and parched, and he could do nothing but stare helplessly at his hip, as dark red blood gushed out in torrents.
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And, most horrifying of all, he couldn't feel any pain.
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Oh god, let me die now – Please, let me DIE!!!
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The monstrosity advanced, emerging into the light, and Parker saw it – but had no time to yell again before it took his other leg. Crying now, tears falling rapidly, he screamed and yelled and beat his hands against his head, willing himself to die, to feel but there was nothing. Nothing – he only knew his legs were missing because he was staring at the monster gorging itself on them.
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Help me!! Help me!! Let me DIE!!! Oh god --
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Immense, but not bulky – with a lean tough rawhide look about it, the creature advanced, evil red-yellow eyes gleaming in its narrow head. Its powerful front legs tore into Parker's torso, claws ripping through flesh, guts and bone, tearing out a goodly part of his stomach and liver.
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Tossing it almost nonchalantly into its mouth, the creature chewed, an insolent look in its eyes as blood dripped from between its lips – His Blood!!!
The worst part was he wasn't fucking dying!! He couldn't get this over with - He screamed, he swung his head against the wall in helpless fury, trying to crack his skull open, trying to end it – to kill himself so he wouldn't have to watch his own body being taken apart, piece by piece, and not feeling it -
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Why? What had he done? Why him?
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Ryan Parker gasped, as the creature tore into him again, and he stayed alive just in time to see the creature extricate his beating heart, red and pulsing and covered in a thin film of rich dark blood, out of his chest, and chew it slowly, as a gourmet would savour a fine meal -
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And then, finally ... blissful darkness.50

*51

The woman appeared from behind the shadows of the trees, and the animal bounded to her side.
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Licking her fingers, the animal made a low growling sound in the back of its throat – purring in pleasure.
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She knelt and ruffled its ear.
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“Well, Baro? You've had your fun ... now – to work.”55

*56

They disappeared from the light, leaving the remains of the late and as yet unlamented Ryan Parker - one, single, shiny, shin bone.
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