The Dwellers of the Night

     Like any other night, she grabbed her book she happen to be reading at the moment and laid down in bed to read some until she would get tired enough to fall asleep. Or in some cases, to the point where she'd pass out with the book on her face and the story on her mind. The words on the pages began to run together in a blur and she had no hope with remembering what she was reading. Then, in the blink of an eye, or in her case, the lack of blinking bringing her to such a deep sleep, she was off in the dream state. 

    She looked around, she was in a forest, and as she looked around she saw the sun setting to her right. That night the sky had seemed so lit up with every shade of purple and pink known to man kind. It was absolutely breathtaking. It captured her attention for a while, just watching the amazing sunset that lay in front of her and all around now. She slowly walked along these lines of trees, still looking towards the illuminated purple and pink sky, till it was almost no more. She came along the river, the pebbles at the bottom of the river seemed to gleam and glow from the sunset, shining and sparkling while she reached in to grab a few. She dried them off in her hands, they still seemed to glow out of the water and even in almost complete darkness. She looked up to see fireflies flying around. Though they were not normal ones she remembered from being a kid. These glowed every color possible, deep blues, vibrant magenta, and neon green. She placed the pebbles in her pocket and proceeded to go after a firefly. She caught one in her hand, it had an orange glow. Memorized by the beauty that mother nature created, she had not even heard the foot steps coming from her left.

"Magnificent aren't they?" the man asked. As he did so, the firefly lost it's color and flew away, as did every other one that was in the sky a minute ago.

"Yes, yes they are" she said, giving the man a questionable look.

"Don't look so alarmed, I mean no harm sugar. Just a little chat that's all"

"A chat huh?" she did not seem convinced by this at all, she knew this guy was up to no good. Though she thought it's just a dream, what kind of harm could really come to her right?

"Yes, I am slightly curious why you would come to these woods" he said, he had put an emphasis to the word 'these'. 

"Why? What is so wrong about these woods? It is so beautiful here I can not see anything wrong with them"

"Then you do not know of the story that goes along with these dreadful woods. What lies in them at night."

"How can I trust you? I do no even know your name"

"Names are not important young miss, but if you must have something to call me, you can refer to me as Crow. It's," He got a smirk on his face, "A nickname I have around this neck of the woods."

"Well Crow, that does not change a thing, I still do not believe that these woods have evil in them."

"I never said anything about evil, but that word describes a part of these woods. Maybe not the woods themselves, but what lurks in them at night. An hour after the sun when it has it's most radiant sunset of the year."

She was now very curious about this story, what he was making up about these woods, to humor herself, she asks "Well then, will you tell me the story of these 'evil' woods?"

"Yes I will, but only if you reveal your name to me!"

"Fine, I am Aurora." 

He chuckled, "Well well well, why don't you take a seat and I'll begin the story", he smirked and gestured into the darkness.

"What seat? I can not see a..." he threw his hands in the air and torches appeared on the trees, lighting a circle around them, exposing a few logs scattered under the trees. Crow took a seat on one closest to a tree, leaning back on the tree. He pulled a pipe out of his pocket and light it up. Puffing little smoke clouds, she noticed the shapes the smoke made. At first they just looked like circles, then the next looked like an R, then a U, and lastly a N. 

She thought 'Run....No no my mind is just messing with me, it did not just say that. Shake it off Aurora." She shook her head and sat down on the second farthest log from Crow, though she knew it was a dream, she did not trust this mystery man at all. 

"Let's see here, where to begin. Well it was one year ago exactly, there was this girl Zahara who had wondered into these woods like you did today. She very much enjoyed the landscape and the stream here. She was dancing throughout the flowing water when the sun set completely and she still took no notice to it. Then she stood still for a second taking in the moment, and then she heard it. Off in the distance she heard a bang, it was from a door on a little house out in the distance. That one." He pointed off into the distance behind her and she turned around to look as well. She saw a dim light in this house come on, and then she could hear the faint noise of the door opening. Then she also heard it. The slamming noise of a door being closed harshly. 

She turned dramatically to Crow in a panic. "Oh don't worry dear," he said and then whispered "Not yet at least"

"What was that?" she asked with wide eyes.

"What was what? Oh well back to the story." He said trying to ignore the topic. "She didn't really think to much of the noise, you know, you always seem to over think noises in the darkness of the wild. Though she really should have listened to her head, by this time, it would be too late. She had now heard the rustling of the brush behind her and now she actually listened to her head. She slowly walked up the river away from the noises. They were getting closer the faster she walked away."

Aurora heard rustling in the brush behind her now, she stood up in a panic and walked over, next to Crow. 

"Then and there she had seen them, The Noctus, the little creepy blood feeders that are myth of these woods." 

At this point she heard a full out cry from one of the Noctus, and she slowly backed up away from those sounds. "Wha..wha..what happe..happened to the girl?" She stuttered to ask.

"Let's just say...no one has ever out ran the Noctus, there are too many and they are just too fast." The cries were too close for comfort now. "Now, if I were you, I'd run. Now." One of the Noctus popped out of the brush and as soon as she looked back to Crow, he had turned into a puff of black and disappeared. 

She did not wait another single second, she turned around and ran with all of her might. Her heart pounded, feeling like it was about to burst out of her chest. She knew better then to look behind her when running away from something, but she knew they were all right there. One especially was right there on her tail. She picked up her feet more and ran with all that might, plus some. She felt the ground under her change from the dirt of the forest to muddy and covered in leaves.

The cries and grunts of the blood feeders had slightly faded, but that did not keep her from still running at full speed. There had been hope, she saw a break in the trees, where there had happened to be a little town. Just about 100 more yards and she could.....

She fell. Into a hole that had been twice as high as her. She lost her breath on the fall. Freaking out, she attempted to climb out of the hole, but it was no use at all. The walls of the hole were all hard and too wide to wiggle up. 

The grunts, they began to close in on the circle.

"It's a dream. Just a dream. Wake up now. Come on wake up!" She said to herself. 

The noises grew very loud and then went completely silent. Like a calm before a big storm. 

In the blink of an eye, one of the creatures peaked in the hole. It took her a second to focus in on what it looked like. I was little, no bigger then the size of a smaller cat. Which is what had made them even more creepy. They were grey, and had a slimy texture to their hairless skin. The Noctus had razor sharp teeth, but only a few of them. Then one after another, they all seemed to circle around the opening of the hole. She looked up into the moon lit sky, and she saw it. A crow soaring around over top of the trees above the hole. It was him, she knew it. Crow. The crow had started to swoop down under the tree tops, heading right for the opening of the hole. As soon as it got close, it soared back up and away. It let out a shrieking cry. 

The next thing she knew, one of the little blood feeders leaped into the air, falling down in the hole. It all was happening in slow motion. The Noctus floated and as it fell, others jumped and joined in. She knew it was the end. She had to wake up right?

The first one that jumped was inches away from her face and then....it hit her. Right in the face it had landed, it opened it's mouth and screamed with all of the force it could. The creature drooled on her, as it closed in to take a bite out of her nose.

Just like that she sat up and looked around in a panic. She was back in her bed room, safe and sound in her comfy bed. No creatures around her, it was all a dream. 
Clasping her hands to her chest, "I am safe, I knew it couldn't have been real. It was just....just to unrealistic." Aurora took deep breaths, calming down her heart rate. She pulled back the covers from her body, she had been over heating from the dream, or nightmare. 

"Ah, okay, I am fine. I just need some water, that sounds very nice at the moment."

She sat towards the edge of her bed, letting her heart beat go back to normal, or as normal as it can get right after a night terror.

Then placing her feet firmly on the ground, standing up, she felt something in her pajama pockets. She reached her hand into it, to feel something smooth. Aurora pulled the smooth object out of her pocket, and there laid the pebble. Her heart raced as she looked up and looked around her room. 

How did that get in her pocket it was all a dream. Her heart raced more.

She started to take a step forward, looking at the slight crack of her door that let in a sliver of light. As she took a step forward she heard a grunt, and something slimy touch her ankle. Quickly looking down, she shrieked in fear.