Nyctophilia

chapter one: what lurks at night

She hadn't realized the moment the sun kissed goodbye that part of the earth and the moon made its appearance. It took several minutes for that change to happen and she hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings when it did. Her nose was buried deep inside a book she found interesting in the huge public library.

A hand taped on her shoulder, making her flinch and look up, away from the novel. A teenage boy, probably a few years younger than her, gave her a small and awkward smile and pointed at the sky. "Um, we're about to close..." he made a small gesture with his arms, biting his lip but the only thing she did was smile at him and hand him the book.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I kinda lost track of time." she packed her bag before putting on her coat. It was raining outside, but what else could she expect from the New York weather. It rained almost every day and since it's December snow was something she anticipated.

She gave the boy another smile before she got out of the library and opened her umbrella. The temperature had dropped dramatically and now it was freezing. She hugged her coat tighter to herself with her left hand while the right one held the umbrella over her head and protected her from the vicious rain.

The apartment she shared with her sister was a few blocks away so she decided to walk, but it was faster than usual as it was getting darker and more dangerous around the streets. The few people that were still on the streets made her feel a little safer and so did the cars that drove by. She hummed a soft tune as she practically ran home. The rain had started to stop and the clouds were being pushed by the wind away from Queens, New York. Her eyes stared up at the night sky as she came to a halt, a smile instantly making its way on her face.

The nearly midnight sky filled with stars -at least of what she could make out since they were a lot of clouds obscuring her perfect view of the sky from her- made her stop and admire the view. It was magical. The city lights were nothing compared to what the universe offered. She let out a huff when someone bumped into her. The person kept walking, not even apologizing, something that made her roll her eyes.

She could see the street she and her sister lived as she was nearing it. The sound of something breaking as it hit the pavement made her stop and look around. Across the street, two men were slurring some words as they tried to walk straight. Anastasia could easily tell that they were drunk. She picked up her pace when she heard the men cat-calling her but her breath hitched when she heard their voices coming closer.

She took a right turn and walked inside an alley that would get her to the back of her apartment building in no time. She could still hear them, but she didn't know exactly how close to her they were, so she turned around to check. The minute she did she came across the two men and their smirking faces. Unintentionally she let a scream escape her lips. One of them was still casually holding a beer bottle while the other was making a move on her.

He walked closer to her, slurring a few words. "Why is a girl this pre-pretty out al-alone in a time like th-this?". Suddenly her phone starting ringing inside her bag, making the man laugh as she gasped at the sound of her phone's ringtone. The man then grabbed one of its handles while she struggled to take it back. She grabbed the other handle of the bag and pulled it away from his hands before he could open it and grab her mobile phone.

The man seemed to get mad but before he could do anything, his friends spoke. "Come on, Phil. It's getting painful".

Her eyes widened when she heard those words. She made a move to run but Phil was apparently a lot faster than he looked, even in his drunken state. He got ahold of her, pushing her body against a building's wall and she started screaming her lungs out right then and there. The man shook his head and placed his hand over her mouth. "No yelling, babyy! My head is hurting".

His hands shamelessly explored her body, making her involuntarily shudder. Her coat was stripped off her body and the cold air hit her like a brick. She was getting colder by the second, but right now she was only afraid of what was about to happen. The safety the night gave her seemed to vanish and fear replaced it. The night she so greatly loved had failed her. Now, she was both afraid of the sun and the moon.

Suddenly, her muffled screams were stopped as the guy stopped unbuttoning her shirt. He looked behind him to find his friend's head off his body and his eyes widened in fear. A man in a suit was holding his friend's head by its hair, smirking as his green eyes glared at Phil. "I'm disgusted by your kind".

"My ki-kind?" Phil stuttered as he walked away from her and towards the safety of the street. Her legs gave up on her and she fell down on her butt, sobbing as she did so. She quickly fixed her clothes and put on her coat at once. The man laughed a dry laugh and let the decapitated head fall down on the ground.

"You know, my kind would never hurt a lady. She would have to beg for it and that's when men would give up their restraint." he walked closer to Phil and when the latter made a run for it, the unknown man appeared right in front of him in inhuman speed. His eyes turned red and a metal click could be heard as his front teeth grew longer. He shoved his teeth on Phil's neck and started sucking on his blood.

Anastasia screamed as the now dead body of the man fell down. Phil's eyes were wide and oxygen no longer entered his lungs. The man turned to her as he wiped his mouth with a cloth. She got up on her feet and took a few steps backwards, fear evident in her eyes.

"What are you?" she asked, taking deep breaths to control her ragged breathing. Her phone started ringing again, stopping the man from saying anything but she didn't pick it up. She asked him again as she walked towards her apartment.

"I think you already know, princesa" He replied, his last word being an Spanish one but she could translate it as it was very similar to the English one. Princesa meant princess and she almost said that he had no right to call her pet names especially since he had just killed two men in front of her. The minute she saw her apartment from the corner of her eye, she turned around and ran for the back door.

He didn't seem to follow her.

She took out her keys from her bag as she ran up the stairs. She internally cursed herself for not taking the elevator. She reached her floor in no time but she had a small problem opening the door. When she finally did, she walked inside and let her bag hit the ground with a loud thud, an action she knew she would regret.

Once the door was locked again, she fell on her knees and started crying.