                        Secrets of Night   
                              By
                         The Stranger

     The dark hood of night covering the sky as a soft wind blew
down the road way tossing the fallen leaves from side to side. 
Gray clouds filled the October night, a bright moon leered down
like a stalker watching over the world.  The cry of an animal off
in the distance.  The sounds of bugs talking in the woods.  All
around the road nature was alive, feeding on the night.
     Eric steered his fathers Oldsmobile down the empty road
fixing his eyes on the yellow lines that separated lanes making
sure he didn't go off the road.  His eyes were growing tired and
the night was too dark for headlights to cut through.  Emily
sitting next to him was no help.  She had barley said a word all
night and now just the sound of his voice would be a help but the
only thing she ever said was which direction to go.  Eric knew
her trailer was back here somewhere, he'd picked her up earlier
but still the forest at night had ways of hiding things.
     "Is everything all right?  I didn't say anything wrong or
anything did I?" he asked her. 
     "No" she said.  Her face looking down into the floor board,
her eyes off in the distance.  "No, nothings wrong."
     "Well it sure seems like somethings wrong.  You haven't said
much all night."
     "I'm just tired I guess.  It's been a long week."
     He sighed and looked back to the road.  Well if she didn't
want to talk there was nothing he could do about it.  Things had
been going pretty well with the two of them since they met last
week.  She was new to the area and she was certainly much
prettier than the girls around here.  There seemed to be a
mysterious side to her yet at the same time a sweet innocent side
that made him attracted to her.  
     Finally he actually saw life on the road as up ahead was a
car parked on the side of the road and a man leaning into the
front.  As the lights flashed onto the man he started waving his
hands trying to stop Eric's car.  
     "Looks like I'm going to have to pull over and help this guy
out.  You wait in the car."  He started motioning the car off to
the side of the road.
     "Eric don't stop" she said coming to life.  She looked up at
him and something scared him in those desperate eyes.
     "What's wrong now?  It'll just take a second."
     "Don't stop Eric, keep going.  Please.  Please listen to
me."
     He pulled the car into park.  "Hey look at him.  He looks
like a decent guy.  Just take a second, promise."
     He opened the car door and as he shut it he heard her yell
his name.  He looked down at her and began to open the door but
then the man spoke to him.
     "Hi there, thanks for stopping.  Think you can help me out
here?"
     "Sure" Eric said.  He walked forward towards the man keeping
his eye out for anything suspicious.  The man was tall, maybe
six-foot four with dark black hair and a small mustache.  He kept
leaning into the front of his car pointing a flashlight inside
looking over the engine.
     "Damn thing won't start" the man said.  "Do you know
anything about cars?"
     "Yeah I know a few things.  Let me have a look with that
flashlight and see if I can find something.  Might be a wire
loose or a dead battery."  Eric leaned down into the car and
searched over everything looking for something out of place.
     A whisper, just at the base of his neck, "I'm sorry".  His
mind was confused.  That was Emily's voice, but how could she be
so close.  And as he tried to get out from under the hood the man
was on his back, his teeth ripping down into Erics neck sucking
the life out of him.
     Eric whimpered, tried to scream, reached back with his hands
and tried to smack the man away.  But his legs gave out and the
man fell on top of him knocking the air out of his lungs.  Eric
saw the black concrete rush towards him and then there was a
flash of light and then there was nothing.
     After the two of them were done sucking the blood from the
boys body they got into there car and drove away.  She swore to
him that she couldn't live this way, taking in young boys as prey
to quench his and her desire.  He told her that when she needed
it bad enough she would do it all over again.  She knew he was
right.

       
