-[99 NiiGHTMAR3S]-
-[Part I: The Encounter]-
-[Part I: The Encounter]-
___It most certainly had been a long day in the office for the young man whose name happened to be Eric Livingston. Someone who had lived on their own for several years now and went through life with every basic struggle each man gathered on their shoulders. Job sucked, money was lacking, relationships dwindling, and every day was the same boring routine. Eric craved something new, something exciting. But even now as he made the lonely walk from his job to his apartment, Eric knew the chance of that were very slim. Nothing out of the ordinary ever happened in the clustered s**t town. Nothing new. Hell, the chances of this place getting someone new would send every single person into a critical shock. The people that lived here? Always lived here. Their parents and grandparents lived here. It was a small community, and outsiders didn't like that. In all fairness, the people within Rosedale didn't like the outsides very much either. "Trouble makers," would be how the old timers would put it.
___Eric gave a soft sigh as his body faded in and out under the sickly yellow street lamps. It was quiet out tonight; Not even the neighborhood dogs were barking at the alley cats. But something in the air felt strange. It was as if Eric were being watched, which naturally made the young brunette walk faster. But it seemed the faster he walked, the stronger the feeling got.
___"You're being irrational, Eric," he scolded himself, shifting the strap of his brown leather briefcase against the tan shoulder of his dress shirt. "Quit thinking so much and you wouldn't have this problem." Thus, the male slowed down to enjoy the cool, moist October air. The feeling went away for a little while, and Eric was filled with a sense of relief and victory. But then he reached just one block away from his apartment, the ominous feeling returned and Eric stopped dead in his tracks.
___Turn around.
___Eric didn't know what possessed him to think that, but he had no choice. His body moved before his mind could control him. Eric was expecting some cliche horror-movie scene, where a huge guy stood right behind him with a knife extending in the air, ready to bring it into his skull upon their eyes mee- See Eric? It's this kinda thinking that makes you look morbid and get bad dreams. Eric laughed softly to himself, but stopped abruptly when a cold chill ran through his back and lifted just about every hair on his body.
___For just a few feet away from him, stood a rather small figure. It lingered under the circular light that flooded the ground, body swaying to and fro softly. Eric thought if the wind blew any harder, the figure would get swept away with it. But what was that thing? Then Eric realized - it was a person with an over sized cloak on, the hood drawn over their head. A child. But what was a child doing out here so late? "Hey, are you alright?" Eric stepped forward slowly. This child must have been the one causing those eerie sensations. But again, Eric stopped walking when he got a closer look. The cloak was a dark, stained gray color with rips all over and the bottom half all tattered and mangled. There was dark, almost brownish spots all over the hideous thing and the hood hung low and limp so all that Eric could see was a pale white chin and thin lips, scarred in the corners as if someone took a metal object and pushed it back into his cheeks from his mouth. "Kid? You shouldn't be out here this late at night. Your mother must be worried." Eric didn't know how to deal with children and he didn't want to start now.
___But that figure wasn't moving, except the occasional lifting of it's chest while it breathed. "Mommy...says I'm a bad boy," the child finally said, peering through the cloak of his cloak clearly to take a look at the stranger who stood before him. Eric was edging closer, but not close enough for the boy to reach. "I can't go home...until I'm good..."
___Was this some sort of sick joke? Maybe some drunk guys put the kid up to it. It was very rare to hear of child abuse or neglect cases in Rosedale. "Where did you come from?"
___The boys body gave a violent jerk and his head began twitching forward, backwards, and side to side as though a demon were in the process of possessing him. The way his body moved was unnatural and too fast - it would have broken any other mans neck. Eric had seen things like this in horror movies, but never thought it was possible without CG effects. Needless to say, Eric cried out and shot backwards away from the boy while his body spazzed helplessly. Eric blinked once, and the boy the gone. Out of sight. Chest rising and lowering in panic, Eric broke out into a cold sweat as he looked around, the dark gray October skies with glimpse of silver moon beams peeking through thick clouds didn't give him much to work with. And by this point, the wind and his mind were beginning to come up with devious tricks. The sound of the leaves scattering against the ground, the hush of the wind blowing through the trees and around houses and fences were beginning to sound a lot like whispers. On top of all that, Eric was getting light headed.
___Eric grabbed his head and walked over to the nearest light, leaning up against the dark green pole before sliding down it slowly. The light circled around him almost protectively, but protected was the last thing Eric felt at this moment. His rich blue eyes closed tightly as he dropped his head into both hands. "Damnit, Eric. Tell them you need better hours. You need more sleep," he whispered. "Your mind is ******** up, you know that? Come on Eric, get ahold of yourself." Eric breathed in, and out slowly. Yet that feeling was creeping up on him again, and Eric suddenly felt the urge to give in and cry.
___For when he looked over his shoulder, he saw the boy laying on the ground in an awkward, twisted position, staring up at him through the hood of the cloak while his scarred lips were pulled into a threatening smile.
