I was seventeen the first time I saw it, sleeking between the shadows of the night in the dense forest behind my house he, it was like smoke and also like a shimmer of ink I felt the energy in the dark of my back yard shift, the lights on the back porch flickered as I stepped up the stairs, the wind picked up and every sound stopped.

Silence there was no dog bark no insects sounds no normal sounds of a summer night. The pull of the forest behind me stoped me in my tracks turned me around and led me closer to it, that’s when I saw it, the shimmer of ink slink threw the trees the air around me so supercharged it sucked the air from my lungs making me gasp. it was smoke than an outline of a person a flash of silver and back to ink moving like a wraith from tree to tree, until it was like it hit an invisible line at the edge of the forest feet from me, from smoke to lines and planes and than features.

I watched as it pulled darkness from the shadows and made itself a man the definition of tall dark and impossibly handsome, i more or less felt he was supernaturally beautiful than saw he towered over me his brawn powerful and lethal he solidified and Stepped wider his body still in shadow a hood pulled over his head his clothes black his head tiled up slightly never letting light and all I saw was silver eyes that glowed iridescent and captured my soul .

My heart was going haywire tripping over its self telling me to run to scream to choose flight and not fight, to fucking get it together and save a cheerleader, because damn girl you’re going to be the first to die in a horror film you don’t look at evil and like it you fucking run.I stepped back a step. A growl so guttural had me petrified

Stay” a voice spoke in my head not my own this was was so deep and full of gravel almost like the growl and had me stopping and lifting my eyes back to his. Petrified and also aroused the fuck is wrong with me.

“Come closer little one “…. Nope no the very definition of don’t talk to strangers and definitely don’t get closer.

“Lana?” My moms voice sounded from the back door and it’s creek loud as she opened it . I turned to her, a dish towel in hand “you okay baby?” Instantly the cloying stillness fell away and sound flooded the yard again. I looked back into the forest and the inky stillness was gone the shadow man gone.