Ruby 7

Deep black anger rolled through the shadow’s mind as it raced along the banks of Troublesome Creek. Things had been going so well. It had fed on the adult female…drinking in the greed and laziness of her life force and giving it new purpose. The child would have been next. His was a special gift…and the creature longed to devour that power and take control of it. Even the boy was not aware of his talents.

But then the white elf had interfered. It wasn’t the first time that the power of White had messed with the shadow’s plans. There had been that incident with the creature in the woods…the Dar-koth. But that had been in another time…another life. Someone else’s tale had been told.

The shadow focused its mind on the one thing that it knew…pain. There was always the pain. The pain of the rage and anger it felt out of being cheated from its prize. The pain of hunger. Even pleasure felt like pain. Pain was the one constant in its life. And now, there was the pain of crystal clarity…focusing on finding a way across the flowing water which blocked it from its prey. Ahead, it could see the outline of what it had been searching for…a bridge.

With a howl of victory, the creature sped across the bridge. How had the white elf known that it could not cross running water? The boy’s scent had been so heavy in its nostrils that it could practically taste his life’s blood. And then it had all been taken away. The boy had swum across Troublesome. But he wouldn’t get away….not for long. With a swiftness that is often seen in creatures of the night, the shadow sped along on the other side of the swift waters. It sensed a victory. It was already picking up the scent of the boy once more. Not even the white elf could protect him for much longer.

As the creature ran along, snuffling at the ground, it began to tremble. The pain was increasing. There was only one hope of dulling the pain…making it more of a pleasurable sensation. The boy had to die.

***

A sharp howl and another cry of fear and pain rang out. Alarmed, Ruby gripped the pistol which she had taken from her Grandmother’s nightstand and then stepped outside. With the power being out, the night took on a whole new meaning. The darkness was so thick that it felt as though she could drown in it.

“Gran?” she hissed, “Are you out here?”

At first there was no answer. The only sound that Ruby could hear was the sound of her own fearful, labored breathing. She felt the hot sweat of panic begin to run down her face and into her open, panting mouth. The bitterness of her own body flooded her senses. Where was her grandmother?

She could hear something running in the woods. It sounded like it was coming closer. Someone screamed. It almost sounded like a child.

“GRAN!” she cried out, “Where are you?”

“Hush child,” came the sound of her Gran’s voice….from right beside her, “I’m right here. Do you hear that?”

“Yes Gran,” Ruby said, relieved to find her Gran once again, “I have your pistol. Want me to shoot out into the woods? Maybe it is a wildcat or something….I can scare it away.”

“No Ruby,” Gran said, “Hold off on the shooting. That isn’t a cat….wild or otherwise. I think that it is a child….listen.”

And Ruby listened. The scream came again. Yes…now that Gran had pointed it out, it did seem to be a child’s voice. It was getting closer and closer.

With a faint click, the light from the flashlight that Gran was holding pierced the air with a stabbing light. She quickly fanned the area….searching for the source of the sound. And then, they both saw it. A little boy came bursting out of the woods. His arms were flailing wildly and his face was a living white sheet. He didn’t even try to slow down…he just kept running.

Handing the pistol to her Gran, Ruby ran out to meet the boy. He wasn’t going to stop….Ruby saw that. So instead, she reached out and grabbed him. He was a collection of wild energy in her arms. Struggling with her, he tried to get away. He kept clawing at her….pinching her.

“Hey….hey now,” Ruby was trying to calm the kid down, “What’s wrong? Is someone after you? Are you okay?”

The boy didn’t answer. He seemed to be in shock. All he tried to do was keep running.

“Ruby?” her Gran was talking to her, shining the light back into the woods.

Ruby was struggling to keep the boy still….trying to keep him from running off again. He kept screaming and screaming.

“What is it Gran?” Ruby puffed as she managed to get kicked in the shins by the boy’s size 7’s.

“There’s something else out there,” Gran was saying, “And it’s coming this way!”

Ruby looked up in time to sense rather than directly see a shadow moving among the trees.

“I think that we had better get back inside,” was all that she managed to say….turning to run with the boy and nudge her Gran along.

That was when the bellow of rage rang out behind her.