As the final sliver of sunlight disappeared below the horizon, the air around her grew cold, and a sinister stillness settled in. She could feel it—a creeping chill spreading across her skin, crawling through her veins like ice. The darkness was not just around her; it was inside her, clawing its way through her body, infecting her with its malevolent intent.

Samantha had always been a beacon of light, a bright soul in a world that often felt too dark. But tonight, that light was dimming. She tried to fight it. She tried to remember the warmth of the sun on her face, the sound of laughter, the kindness she had always tried to share with others. But it was fading, slipping away like grains of sand through her fingers.

The darkness whispered to her, soft and seductive, promising power and freedom. It spoke to the parts of her that had been ignored, the parts that had been hurt, the parts that were tired of being good, of always putting others first. It spoke of a world where she could take what she wanted, where she could be strong, where she didn’t have to care about anyone but herself.

And slowly, those whispers became louder than the memories of light.

Her eyes, once bright and full of life, darkened, a shadow passing over them as if a storm was brewing behind her irises. Her breath grew shallow, and her hands, which had always been steady and sure, now trembled with a strange new energy. She could feel it in her bones, a buzzing, burning sensation, a hunger she had never known before.

She looked down at her hands, and a cold smile spread across her lips. They were changing, the skin paling, veins darkening to a deep, sinister blue. She felt powerful. She felt unstoppable. The darkness was in her blood now, pumping through her heart, turning her very soul black.

She felt the evil take hold. It was like slipping into a warm bath after being cold for so long. It was comforting in its own way, familiar and yet new. The fear she had felt just moments ago was gone, replaced by a strange calm, a certainty that this was who she was always meant to be.

She took a step forward, and the ground seemed to bend beneath her feet. The shadows around her reached out like eager hands, wrapping around her, welcoming her into their cold embrace. She closed her eyes and let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. When she opened them again, the world looked different—sharper, more vivid, more alive.

And she could see everything.

She could see the people in their homes, their lives laid out before her like an open book. She could see their fears, their weaknesses, their hidden desires. And she could feel it all—every heartbeat, every breath, every whispered secret. The darkness fed on it, and in turn, fed her, making her stronger, more powerful.

She raised her hand, and the shadows obeyed, swirling around her like a storm. She could command them, bend them to her will. The power was intoxicating, and for a moment, she felt invincible. She felt free.

A small part of her, deep down, tried to fight, tried to remember who she had been. But it was a faint voice, barely a whisper, drowned out by the roar of the darkness that now coursed through her.

The old Samantha was gone, swallowed whole by the shadows. In her place stood something else—something darker, something stronger. The night was hers now, and as she took her first steps into this new world, she knew there was no turning back.

She was the darkness. She was the night. And she would never be afraid again.

As the darkness sank into her veins she felt the evil take her over. “No. Why? Please. Come back. I know you’re in there. Please?” He whispered. “She’s dead now. I’ll take over from here.” Her eyes turned yellow, then back to brown, then red, and back to yellow. “The devil took over, didn’t he. He took everything from me. First my family, then my home, now you.”, he said. “No. I took over the devil. He was too weak for me. **I **rule the underworld now.”,she said. “Cinderella’s dead now. You either come back, or you go back to the underworld, Stella.” ,Emilia said. “Ah, ah, ah. It’s Lilith now.” She said. “She destroyed the red eye. Only to lose herself.” He said. Emilia’s voice started to crack.”Why. I could have gone. Why you?” Emilia ran into his arms. “She was the final red eye. There was no other choice.” They left. Heartbroken.

(If you guys want, I’ll do a part 2)

The darkness settles into my bones uncomfortably. Being a creature of death, I had belonged to the shadows for far too long. Never again will I kowtow myself to the dark, to the nothingness that follows. But despite myself, I am trembling before it. All around, the lack of light pounds into my skull until I feel as if it will crack me open and fill the empty space between my bones, weave itself through my sinew. Reclaim me as a mother would her lost child. What is a return to the dark but a homecoming for a thing such as I? I cannot bare it. I distantly feel myself begin to scream, the dark swallowing my panic whole. I cannot even hear myself, but I feel my throat go raw and a sting in my eyes. The shadows are cotton soaked in ink and it is filling my ears and soon enough my mouth will be stuffed as well. It is so thick, so heavy, I am choking on it. As the blanket of heavy dark claws down my throat, my fingernails drag bloody tracks down my throat, across my chest. Everywhere and everything is dark and empty and entirely too much. I am dying and my only comfort is at least no one is here to see it. Abysmal. Small and insignificant. My entire existence reaching an empty and lonely conclusion in the expanse of shadow. As the dense darkness fills me, I feel my very soul release a gasping shudder. The absolute loneliness, the overwhelming despair snaking itself around my patchworked soul and squeezing. Squeezing until there is nothing left. Until I am empty. A vessel of darkness abundance.

I cannot carry it alone, so I will share it with the world.

At first, there was nothing. She felt stuck in a void that clung to every part if her being, restricting even the slightest twitch.

And then, there was burning.

Everything burned.

She could have sworn she was screaming, but silence was the only thing echoing in her ears.

It felt like an eternity. Invisible claws tore at her chest. Invincible strings wrapped around her wrists and her ankles, pulling relentlessly. It was as if her very being was being unraveled.

It all came to a head as the darkness sank into her veins and she felt the evil take over.

And then, she felt nothing. It was as if her very consciousness was floating.

In her state, she could only think.

She could only think of how her parents abandoned her. How they left her to die in a forest at the young age of 7. She thought of how she was forced to adapt to survive the bloodthirsty creatures who stalked the night. How to feed herself herbs and fruits that wouldn’t pound on her. To hunt the weaker creatures who scampered through the day.

She could only think of how she met her friends. How they found her as a feral teenager fighting off one of the predators that chose them for its breakfast. How they offered to take her with them so she would never have to fend for herself again.

And then she was forced to think of their betrayal. How they left her behind in the battlefield, fighting a force they had no chance against. How she laid bleeding until she was met face to face with the very being that drove away her friends.

Just when she couldn’t bear to think anymore, her vision cleared up. She still couldn’t feel anything, but she could see. She could hear.

Her friends—no, those TRAITORS—were bruised and bloodied at her feet. Her arm was raised, ready to bring death to the sorry sights. She could feel her are swing down, but she felt the gratification.

She felt that, unlike everyone else before, the evil would not abandon her.

As the darkness sank into her veins, she felt the evil take over and her mind grow farther away. She could see the blackness seep through her limbs and transforming her. Tears of pain rolled down her cheeks and her body rippled.

She could feel her emotions get torn away till she could feel nothing but rage. Her eyes became totally black and her teeth sharpened. Suddenly she felt a sharp pain in her back and it ripped open.

She felt something come out of her shoulder blades and extend its way to the wall. She could first see feathers, then daggers coming out at the bottom. Wings… huge. black. wings. Her head grew crimson red horns that pointed to the black sky. Her claws tore aside the door and she went out into the night.

It was going to be a bad night for the world.

“So we have a plan or is this going to take all night?” Jayden asks, going through his camera roll. “Fine, we’ll go tonight, at dark.” Alessia yells, upset. Brooke fiddles with her zipper on her jacket. “Guys I don’t think we should do this.” She says, recalling that her brother disappeared, doing the same thing. “Shut up, don’t be a baby, we need this money.” Oliver tells her. Brooke rolls her eyes as she sees Jenny kick a ball at a tree. They stumble cautiously to the front of the mansion. Oliver and Jenny kick down the door to the house. “Brooke, are you going to come in?” Jenny asks, seeing Brooke staring up at pastel sky. “Ill wait a second.” Brooke whispers before Oliver comes and picks her up. “Let me down up jerk!” Brooke yells, kicking and screaming like toddler. Alessia wonders into the kitchen. A doll, the size of a human, tall, but faceless. No hair. It was almost human, stitched together like Frankenstein. However when she sees it, she sees her mom minutes before dying in the hospital. Shocked, she walks backwards, however falling and cutting open her hand. The night passes, Oliver and Jenny sleeping, peacefully. Jayden stitching up Alessia’s hand. Brooke starely up at the ceiling, worriful. For a moment, they glance at each other, but quickly after, Alessia falls asleep. The next morning, Jayden explores the upstairs. Finding a bedroom, that was too clean to be abandoned. He then sees. Alessia…..not breathing. In a pile of her own blood. Her hand cut open, but didn’t he stitch it together last night. He looks downstairs seeing Alessia playing catch with Jenny. Then seeing her dead upstairs. Confused, head and heart pounding he runs downstairs. But he falls, breaking his neck running down the stairs. Forcing Brooke to call the ambulance. The ambulance never comes. “Are we in a dead zone?” Jenny asks, kicking a ball around. “No idea.” Alessia says. They have been ignoring Jayden for a while now. Oliver and Jenny have been asleep. Brooke staying awake. Oliver dreams of Alessia’s death, the cruel painful way of bleeding to death. His heart stops. Jenny dreams of Jayden’s death, scared to death, breaking his neck. Her heart stops. “Brooke, why aren’t you sleeping?” Alessia asks. “Not tired.” She sighs. “But you must be.” Jayden says, standing up, cracking his neck back into place. Brooke starts crawling backwards. Alessia and Jayden following her. Quickly, Jenny and Oliver stand up, deadly. The silence screams. They force her into a corner she gets up and jumps out the window. Disappearing into the night.

It was started as a normal day, just like any other casual Tuesday. Vanessa performed your usual morning ritual of waking up late and rushing to her first class at the local junior college. Sitting down quickly and thinking she was unseen, she was startled to hear her professor shout from the bottom of the lecture hall.

“Miss Vanessa! Tell me something. How can one do so well in their course yet suffer from constant tardiness?” Professor Shackleford asked with a stern voice.

“I’m sorry Professor Shack…” Vanessa started to reply.

“Vanessa, do you understand why eight o’clock is the start of this class?”

“Because…you have other classes waiting?” mumbled Vanessa.

“Correct, and now this class is waiting for you to get settled and losing valuable time that they all have paid for.”

It had been a constant struggle all semster. Every morning was becoming increasingly more difficult and Vanessa made strong attempts to arrive on time, but her long battle with illness had made mornings a fight against the clock. The professor was relentless in his efforts to pursuade Vanessa to arrive on time.

After class that day, Vanessa made the decision to visit the local clinic and try to find some medication that would boost not only her immune system, but also her willingness to rise in the morning.

“So what are you here for?”, the doctor looked puzzeled.

“I’m having the worst time getting up in the morning. It’s a serious struggle and its affecting my course work.”

“ Are you open to experimental drugs and testing?”

“Anything if it helps me get into class on time.” Vanessa laughed as she continued.

“What do you have in mind?”

The doctor hesitated, “I have a new drug that just hit the market. It’s intended to help you focus and assists with fatigue. Would you be interested?”

”Absolutely!” Vanessa exclaimed as she felt the relief hit her mind like an ocean wave.

”Make sure you follow the directions and take ONLY the amount prescribed. Let me know if you have any side effects and check back in next week.”

That evening as Vanessa lay in bed, she quickly reached for her bottle of pills on the nighstand. Without a second glance, she quickly opened the bottle and downed two pills. Looking at the bottle, she noticed that the prescription called for only one pill a day. Shrugging it off, she closed her eyes and passed out.

Early the next morning, as she woke, Vanessa felt a strange feeling move through her body. It was intense like a shock of lightning pulsing through her body. She could see her vision go from bright colors to a creeping blur. As the darkness sank into her veins she felt the evil take her over.

At first, Vanessa could sense that her hands began to bubble. The skin was slowly turning into a bloody sludge that exposed her muscle, as her bones began to grow at a rapid rate. Her teeth began to stretch out of her mouth and the size of her nose began to elongate. As Vanessa twitched in horror, long and fine hairs sprouted from her body in all areas. As Vanessa’s muscles stretched and formed new routes, she screamed in agony as the formation ended.

As the neighbors in the adjacent apartment phoned the police, the loud sound of gnawing began to come from Vanessa’s apartment. As police bust through the door to Vanessa’s apartment, they were greeted by a sight of terror. Standing before them was a bloody and enormous rat like creature. A shell of of the former Vanessa.

It felt different than her parents described—the darkness. Isis stood in a dark cavern, waiting for the inevitable. She knew what would happen if she entered the Malevolent One's home, but she had to save them. Save them, she thought. What a joke. A burning sensation ripped through Isis' gut. She doubled over in pain. The sensation rippled through her body, reaching all the way up to her throat, choking her. Her skin felt hot to the touch. Isis looked down at her burning flesh and saw crimson flecks on her skin. The flecks grow bigger and bigger until a red light burst from her skin, lighting the cavern walls around her in a crimson hue.

The light dimmed until it disappeared. Isis tried to stand up straight. She felt different and powerful. She was so powerful that her body was shaking, but that was not the most concerning part. She felt cold and empty. She thought about them, her parents, and felt nothing. She cannot even remember why she would come here to save them in the first place.

Amanda Walner, a 21-year-old college student, lived what seemed like a normal life filled with music, movies, and family. However, as spring approached, she noticed a change in her friends' and family's behavior. They began treating her differently, with whispers and sidelong glances becoming more frequent.

Confused by their actions, Amanda soon realized that their attitude was connected to her boyfriend, Andrew Skolt. Andrew, often compared to the devil, had always seemed like a typical boyfriend to Amanda. It wasn't until she began to notice subtle signs of his malevolence that she started to question their relationship.

As she recalled his "jokes" and "pranks," Amanda couldn't ignore the chilling intent behind them. Despite this, she found herself conflicted, still in love with Andrew but increasingly aware of his darker side. She remembered a time when she was oblivious to Andrew's true nature, now exposed in his cruel actions and cold smiles.

She began to question herself: was it wrong to love someone so evil? Was she blind to his darkness, or was she simply ignoring it, hoping it would go away? These thoughts troubled her as she grappled with her feelings for Andrew, unsure of what to do next.

As the darkness of Andrew's true nature became more apparent, Amanda felt a sense of dread creeping into her heart. She knew she had to confront him about his behavior, but she was afraid of what she might uncover. Deep down, she still loved him, but she also feared him.

Despite her fears, Amanda knew she couldn't continue to ignore the truth. She had to face Andrew and the evil that lurked within him, even if it meant facing the possibility of losing him forever. And as she prepared to confront him, she braced herself for the difficult road ahead, unsure of where it would lead her but determined to find out the truth about the man she loved.

“This is Juliet Rankis! We need help now! They’re coming! All of them! They’ve found us! Their plan is to kidnap us and they’re going to study us. They’re going to implant ratashes into our blood. You have to help us! They’ll control all of us! Help!” The woman in the video said.

Lucy stared at the woman who looked and talked like her. Yet, it wasn’t her. It couldn’t be. None of it coukd be. This was Juliet Rankis. She was Lucy Howard.

Lucy Howard, identity 7Z4. She lived under the protection of Ross Gov. Care. She was a valuable person. She was a citizen of the Ross Nation. She was just like everybody else.

“Lucy… Is that you?” Sirius asked her. His eyes were filled with confusion.

“No. It can’t be. I’m me. She just looks like me, and sounds like me, and… She’s not me! I’m me!” Lucy said.

“Who is Juliet Rankis then?” Lunette asked.

“I… don’t know. Where did you find this video?”

“The old files.” Meera said. “I knew I wasn’t supposed to be there. I couldn’t resist, and I found this. It looks like Lucy so I brought it over here.”

“That’s crazy. This is crazy. Right? We’re crazy! It’s not Lucy! Right?” Hael asked. He couldn’t believe it either.

“Yeah! It’s not me.” Lucy said.

What was this? Where was this? There was nothing outside the city walls. Ratashes? That was a poison found before the War of 2076. It was all gone. Right?

“My name is Lucy Howard. My identity is 7Z4. I am protected by Ross Gov. Care. They won’t let anything happen to me. I am cared for.” She whispered to herself. It was the mantra they’d been told to tell themselves when they had doubts or worries. It usually worked, but now it felt all wrong.

“Who is they?” Lunette asked.

They all had that question. Only one of them had an answer.

“Ross Gov. Care.” Meera said.

They all gaped at her. “What?” “No.” “That’s not right.” “Why?” All responses thst she got.

“Think about it. This was in the hidden files. Obviously they didn’t want anyone to find it. This girl could be related to Lucy. She could be a sibling or parent. Maybe this is the truth. They won’t show us what’s outside that wall. How do we know what’s really out there?”

They were all silent. They all knew it was true. They didn’t know how to take it though. What was going on?

“What do we do?” Hael asked.

“We run.” Lucy said. “We know this and no one else does. We’ll be a target. We need to leave. Now.”

“How? What if they catch us?” Hael asked.

“We go under the wall. We fight.”

They agreed. They were about to leave when hands grabbed them and they passed out.

When Lucy woke up, she was in a lab. She was chained to the wall and she saw all of her friends chained there too. They were all bruised and broken. They had been discovered.

“I really thought you all had potential.” A voice said. Dr. Vanheld. She was a scientist and teacher. She had taught all the kids. All of them. “I’m so disappointed.”

They all shrunk against the wall.

“It’s all a lie isn’t it?” Lucy asked.

“It is. Ross Gov. Care doesn’t care about any of you. We don’t want to protect you. Our reall mission is to form the perfect race. And unfortunately, the human is not that. They’re too rebellious, as we can see from your demonstration. Erasing your memories did nothing to help with that.”

“I’m Juliet Rankis, aren’t I?”

“Yes. A feisty one, you were. You tried to expose us so many times before. You failed, of course. Now, you won’t be a problem.”

Needles jabbed into the kids. They all screamed out in pain. It was like fire in their veins. It hurt worse than any pain ever.

“Good bye, Juliet. It was a pleasure playing games with you.”

As the darkness sunk into her veins, she felt it take over her. Poison. Ratash to be exact. An instant killer.

The End.