Prologue: A Shadow in the Black

A short origin story for an original character I have a few idea's for.

Megan Watt had always been pursued by shadows. The shadows of her life back home, shadows of her abusive ex-boyfriend, and shadows of her innermost thoughts, reflecting out onto her conscious actions in sudden out-lashes of anger and shouting. But as she stared at the black, pulsating mass across from her bed, standing outside her window, she felt a strange calmness, a feeling that these other shadows had no interest in delivering her. 

If the thing wasn't watching her, it was certainly watching something, a quiet stillness of concentration was all that she could make out, even though the street light situated right outside her window should have been illuminating its features.

And as quickly as the creature had come, it had gone again, darting to the left and out of sight, Meg's eyes now focussing on the church across the street. It was strangely peaceful at this time of night, how could such a holy place sit and watch and still remain unflinchingly the same in the face of whatever had just disgraced the space in front of it?

The wind outside was icy, and Meg's t-shirt and jeans did little to keep it from chilling her until her bones ached, an attack made worse by the water of the recent rainfall seeping in through her battered Converse sneakers that made a horrible wet squishing sound with every step, no matter how light. Turning the corner to look down the small alleyway that the raised street and the building's wall created was the hardest thing she'd ever done, she was sure. The street light above her was still on, albeit flickery, but it gave her little comfort, that mercy only came from the granite cross carved high above her on the church, having looked down upon her bedroom night after night, it had never failed her before.

At the end of the urban ravine, something moved in the shadows. It was slight, but there. Megan held her breath, unsure of whether this was to keep quiet or out of anticipation. There it was again, moving slightly, and then all at once, slithering over the fence and onto the road.

By the time the Megan's Converse thudded against the cobbles on the other side of the fence, the creature was across the street and slipping into a small shadowy gap between the church and one of its outlying buildings. While she did not know the full reason for following this being, she knew she must. And as luck would have it, it would be trapped in this space.

A new feeling overtook her as she marched into the alley after the shadow, a horrible mix of confidence and anticipation. It was very dark in here, but as her night vision adjusted slightly, she could see that the thing, whatever it was, was crouched in the opposite corner from her. It almost seemed scared. It seemed funny, but Megan hadn't thought of it as an animal before this point, more of a force of nature. She took a few steps closer. It was shivering slightly, perhaps from cold or fear. She immediately regretted her actions the moment her hand touched the creature. She hadn't even been aware that she'd outstretched her arm.

The second her slender fingers sunk into the creature's "shoulder", it began shivering faster, and after a few seconds this turned into a humming vibration that she could not escape, even in her mind. It overpowered everything, and as the creature enveloped up to her elbow, she realised that it hadn't been cowering, it had been ready to pounce. The shiver wasn't fear. It was anticipation.

Blackness swirled around her, the dark of the night mingling with the creature as it flitted around her like smoke, still enveloping her body, the panic and the fear being overridden by the throbbing hum in her temples, the world shifting like static.

After a while, new thoughts entered her head. They weren't hers, although they sounded like her voice. She couldn't grasp them, much like a phrase heard in the dream, only to be forgotten in the waking world.

And all of a sudden, a great heaving roar, and it was all over. A pressure played on the inside of her skull, before quickly vanishing. But as Megan walked out of that alley, she could not be sure that she was truly Megan anymore.