Eyes of Darkness

The small, sleepy town of West Port Michigan was a very boring, peaceful place. That is when the stranger comes into town. The balance of power shifts and the man is hiding a terrifying secret.

                                                  1.

          West Port Michigan; population 750; time...7:00pm.

             The small sleep town of West Port was boring beyond belief. There was hardly anybody living there for one, only about seven hundred people. And the destinations were old, long forgotten places that the younger generations (only a handful of teenagers) hated. Even some of the older people hated the long forgotten and destroyed destinations. This town was off of Lake Michigan, near Muskegon. The only thing good about it was the lighthouse, which glowed endlessly many beautiful colors that shined throughout the entire bay area. Tourists flocked to the beaches every summer, wanting to go into Lake Michigan and walk long the winding wooden pier toward the crimson red, but fading, lighthouse. But there has always, in this town, been a sinister and dark feeling that everybody who enters the port knows about. Just a feeling of desolation and loneliness, followed  by grief and dispair. Nobody knew why this feeling lingered in this town like a cold fog, but it was there. And tonight and even stranger feeling would come across this town...and something horrible, terrible, bloodthirsty would be unleashed. 

                                                     2.

Ella Windstone stepped out of her 1985 Shelby GT500 Turbo, and walked toward the front of her house. She walked up the winding steps that led to the very top of a huge beach house overlooking the sparkling lake. Shafts of light pierced through the thick, cold fog, nestling upon the house that lie perched on a steep hill. She placed her key in the lock and turned it to the right, unlocking the door. She pushed it open and appeared in a large, thickly furnished living room with a couch to the right, five chairs scattered across the room, and a blue green carpet. As she entered her dog pounced on her.

"Hello Butnick," she said to the dog. She patted his head and he looked up at her, large eyes awaiting something. "I guess I should give you your food." She stepped into the sparkling kitchen and got out the Purina dog food and put some in his bowl. "That should be good for you." 

   Ella turned around when the phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?" she said into it.

"Hello mother," his son, Tyler, said through the phone. "How have things been ma?"

"Things have been quite good around here. Though very boring. The same type of things that happen in this town everyday...the same eerie feeling, the same people driving through the long, winding roads," explained Ella. "But on the business front, I got a promotion."

"Good job ma. I am very proud of you," said Tyler, through the phone, happiness drifting through the phone and making Ella smile. "I have to go now though. I am going on a college trip to Spain as you know."

"I love you Ty," Ella said, a small tear rolling down her face. "Hope you have fun." 

Tyler said, "I will ma. I will be back within a week It is gonna be a fun place to go. Be safe. Have fun. Enjoy that promotion and your job...I need to leave now, the bus is leaving to the airport."

"OK Ty, bye," Ella muttered. Once she heard the click on the phone she burst out into tears. She walked into the living room and plopped down on the couch, burying her face in the pillow. Ella knew about this trip...knew it was coming...but still she wasn't prepared. He was an adult. Age Twenty. At college. She had to let go. She was on the couch, crying, and she cried herself to a deep, fulfilling, and dreamless sleep.

3. 

Thomas Carter

Thomas Carter was running. The man he was chasing had stolen diamonds from the only diamond store in town. Thomas was a cop...one of the only cops in this area. He was dressed in a blue cop suit, a gun belt strapped to his waist, a gun slamming the outside of his leg as he ran. The man ahead of him turned the corner and slid on the wet pavement, nearly falling, but he regained balanced and continued evading Thomas. Thomas drew his gun and twisted around the corner, seeing the man running and speeding. The man jumped to the right. Thomas ran and ran, hoping he would catch the fleeing man. This man pivoted around and fired a shot, the bullet pouncing off of the pavement. Thomas jumped to the left, using a brick wall as cover. The man fired a couple of more shots that bounced off the brick wall. Thomas twisted around and sporadically fired a whole clip at the man. He heard a scream and the man was hit with a bullet. But that didn't stop him from fighting. In the midst of screaming, he fired his gun at Thomas, who stayed, ducked undercover, sweat pouring down his face...

The man fell to the ground, screaming, clutching his leg. Blood oozed through his finger tips and poured down his leg. Thomas ran at the man who still had the pistol in his hand. He kicked the pistol out of the man's hand. It skidded across the pavement. The man tried to lunge for it, but Thomas slammed his foot into the mans face, breaking his nose, blood exploding from his face. He screamed.

"I need backup now. I am at Westward avenue. A blond male. Blue eyes. About six feet tall. He fired on me and I shot him in the leg. He is bleeding profusely so I need an ambulance here to. Copy," said Thomas through his CB radio.

"Copy, assistance to Westward avenue over," a voice crackled over the CB radio. Minutes later he heard the sound of sirens. He had the man in custody, the man's hand handcuffed to a post. The ambulance showed up in no time. 

Thomas uncuffed the man and the doctor placed him on a stretcher, strapping him to it. The ambulance left. The cops followed.

"Are you OK Tom?" asked a cop named Billy.

"Yes I am. He fired on me and I was take by surprise. But I handled it. A day or two in the hospital and then jail time for him."

"What exactly did he do?" Billy asked.

"He stole diamonds from the shop on 2nd street. The only diamond store in the area," replied Thomas. He hopped in a cop car, his heart racing, and was brought back to the police station. 

4.

Thomas Carter Continued...

Thomas was a cop, but he was also a family man. At the beginning of each day, when he had to go for his job, his wife would tell him to be careful and say she wished he would leave the job. He always told her no, because he loved it. And she respected that. At his job Thomas rarely got called into action. Most of the time he had to do paperwork. But this time he got shot at and he shot a man in the leg. He felt better about himself. It was actually quite fun. 

He arrived at the police station. "Hey Billy, can you tighten up for me get clean up? I ought to be headed home."

"Alright."

"And thank you for this," said Thomas.

"No problem." Thomas stepped into his car and took off, driving toward his house. A half hour later he was at the house. He stepped out of his car and walked up the stairs to the front door. It swung open when he turned the knob and he walked in.

"I'm home," he announced. His teenage daughter, Linda, bounded down the stairs and threw her arms around him, crying. 

"What's wrong hon?"

"I heard what happened Daddy. I am just glad your alright," Linda sniffed. She pulled away and his wife, Sarah walked into the room.

"I'm glad your OK honey," she said, threw his arms around him and kissed him on the mouth. She started to cry too. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

"I'm OK. I'm OK. It just took me by surprise because we don't usually get these types of things in this town. In fact this is probably the worst thing that has ever happened since this town was developing into the boring place it is," said Thomas. "But yes I am alright. I took the man out. Shot him in the leg."

"What exactly happened?" asked Sarah.

"A man stole diamonds from the diamond store in the center of town. He started to run and then he pulled a gun and fired. I fired and we continued to gunfight until I shot him in the leg. As I approached him he tried to kill me, but I kicked he gun out of his hands and sent my foot hurtling to his face. I called for backup. Now the man is in the hospital and upon release from the hospital he will be sent to prison," explained Thomas. "Now can I please get some space. It's been a long day and I need to go and get some rest."

"OK hon." Sarah and Linda went into the living room and sat down on the couch while Thomas went up the stairs and fell down to the bed, exhausted, praising God that he still had his life.

5.

The strange, red, 1958 Plymouth Fury stopped right in front of the gas station at the center of town. The ignition of the car shut off and the door slowly slid open. A man stepped out, feet crunching on the small bits of gravel. He had fair skin. Black ruffled hair that was greased. A dirt streaked flannel shirt and baggy jeans that had stains on them. He walked into the gas station. The person behind the desk looked at the strange man with fear because no one had ever seen someone like this in this town before. The man walked through the isles of food. He picked up a bag of chips, glaring at it. He brought them to the counter.

"Who're you?" asked the person behind the counter.

"Your worst nightmare," said the man with a cold voice. And then something happened. Something scary. The man changed. And seconds later he was a wolf-like creature. It lunged over the counter, roaring, slashing at the worker. Blood splashed onto the floor and splattered across the windows. The worker screamed and the creature slashed his throat, thick, dark red blood pouring from the wound. He gurgled blood as he lie there dying. Blood squirted from the wound. Seconds later the wolf like thing was gone.

6.

When the murder happened, everybody was shocked, surprised, because nothing like that had ever happened in this town. Ever. Thomas was called to the scene at three 'oclock in the morning. He arrived fifteen minutes later, wearing his cop attire. He walked into the gas station and gasped. His grew pale. And he gre sweaty. On the floor was the worker hunched against a wall, throat and chest shredded and slashed, gore streaking the wall behind the dead body. He went to the body and placed two fingers on the blood.

"It is still fresh. The murder must've happened not even an hour ago," said Thomas. "Whoever did this was a stranger to this town...someone who has never know any of its residents."

"Yes. This is really horrid," said another cop. His name was Chris. "We need to find this man."

"But how? We don't know how. We have never dealt with someone like this before."

"I know." Chris smiled. "But we will find him though. At whatever the cost."

"Yes we will," said Thomas. A coroner arrived a few minutes later and grabbed the body, placing it on a gurney, and taking it to a morgue. Thomas stuck around, seeing if anybody would come up and say they saw something. Unbelievably nobody came. He saw the gore streaking the wall. And he thought back to the body. No man could've done something like that. He paced back and forth.

"Go home," Chris said. "I got this."

"Thanks man," Thomas said.