The birds were safely tucked away in their cozy little beds, as were most animals. The sun had disappeared below the horizon hours ago making it unsafe for most prey animals to be out and about. After all, you never know who or what might be lurking in the darkness or how hungry they might be.. 

A predator lurked in the darkness; a human to be exact. Upon first glance, one would assume that the stranger was female due to its dainty frame. It was, however, just a very pretty male. He was tall and lean with a feminine swing to his gait and  his narrow hips and long legs were understandably the envy of most women. His impeccably well-groomed black hair seemed glossy under the glow of the streetlamp. He wore simple blue jeans and a snug-fitting black hoodie to keep the sting of the cold from biting his skin. The only thing in his possession was a denim bag slung over his shoulder.

 He walked along rather aimlessly as though he wasn't sure where he was going. He paused for a brief moment to look up at the dark sky and found it to be bejeweled with stars. Were he in a bigger town, he never would have been able to see them but since it was such a small town and most of the streetlamps were out, there weren't even lights to block his view. The stars in the sky reminded him of pale, broken seashells gleaming on a moonlit beach with black sand. He knew that others claimed to see things in the strange far, away lights but he never could. He thought that the entire idea was preposterous. He looked back down and continued on his lonely way. He had no idea what his destination was or what he would find when he got there. All he knew was that he needed a fresh start. More important than that at the moment, though, was a place to rest. 

 Luckily for him, the street he was on had a motel next to a restaurant. 'Young's Motel' the rather basic sign declared. He checked in without much hassle and quickly found his assigned room. The room was nothing special but it offered him a clean place to sleep. He didn't even take the time to explore the room. He just dropped his bag on the floor, took off his shoes, and crawled under the covers. Before long, he was fast asleep.

 In his dreams, he was walking around just like he had been before falling asleep. Only, instead of going to sleep, he had gone back outside. The moon was a vivid red and was quickly covered up by angry clouds who were jealous of her beauty. He looked up at the sky in surprise as the storm clouds had come out of nowhere. Suddenly, he heard a piercing scream. It came from close by. Too close for his taste. It was then that he felt the hot breath on the back of his neck. He whirled around only to find himself face to face with a creature unlike any he had ever seen before. It was humanoid in form with long, wavy black hair but it had huge elk-like antlers atop its pale head.  Where its eyes should be, there were only two dark, empty holes. It screamed again, this time louder than before. Its breath smelled like roadkill that had been left out in the sun for days. Its mouth had four rows of sharpened yellow teeth.. "YOUR TURN!", it bellowed loudly in what could only be described as a mixture between a scream and a growl. Then it lunged at his throat with outstretched palms and teeth bared.

 He jerked awake with a start, unable to keep the yelp from leaping forth from his mouth. His brown gaze darted around him as his brain tried to sort dream from reality. The motel room was real. The strange monster was not. The loud  noises were real but they were from the storm that had appeared while he had been sleeping not from a bellowing growl.  

After a few moments of panic and heavy breathing, the strange man finally got hold of his bearings only to suddenly be engulfed in a memory. It was about Her: his  Vi. His mind recalled her perfectly. She was the epitome of beauty. What he remembered most fondly about her was her caramel gaze and her warrior's pride. She was twice the lover that he could ever hope to be. Vi was the only creature that he had ever truly loved.  They were soon to be married and had even planned on having a family together. It was not meant to be though.. Poor Vi had tried to wake him during one his night terrors and he, still in dream state, killed her with the knife he kept under his pillow. It was so vivid that he thought he could almost hear the sound of her gurgling as she choked on her own blood. He thought that he could even remember the way her blood felt on his fingers and then how it had tasted on his tongue when he had brought his hands to his mouth after he came to.

 He shook his head violently in an attempt to free the memory from his head. It was getting harder and harder to tell dream from reality and he was afraid that one day the tiny string that separated the two would snap again, only this time it might leave him lost in a world of nightmares forever.. 

He knew that there was only one thing that would make the nightmares stop. He had discovered it on accident but if it worked then, it would work now. He just had to find the right target..