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Gray looked out of the window and let out a hollow sigh; the sky was dark with twisty clouds and bulky sheets of rain lashed across the landscape. The air seemed thick with menace but things had been fairly quiet on the supernatural front lately- the ghosts hadn't been appearing and the vampires just hadn't been biting. She grabbed an umbrella from the side, pushed open the front door and braced herself for the oncoming downpour. Dark leaves rustled in the background as a growing wind swept through the town and the dim light of passing cars cast spindly shadows over the streets and pavements. Gray held up the umbrella and beeped her car to attention, laughing at the click of her ridiculously high wedge heels on the stone pathway.
The station-wagon purred to life as Gray pulled away from the shop; the rain was falling down harder than ever - with heavy drops smashing against the windscreen, making it hard to see the road. The dull hum of KNYM, the local radio show, filled the car with mindless chatter, allowing her to get lost in her own thoughts. She couldn't stop thinking about that night ' the first time she had ever lost an innocent to the powers of evil. Thinking back still filled her with terror - but she couldn't help replaying the events over and over again in her head. She had become so unsure of her powers, how could she be the last thing between good and bad when she couldn't even save her oldest and dearest friend? Gray was pulled from her thoughts as the headlights flickered out of life and she was cast into complete darkness. The shriek of brakes filled the twilight air as she desperately kicked at the peddles but the dead halt thrust her forward into the tough steering wheel.
The headlights burst back to existence; lighting the abandoned turning. Gray looked into the mirror; her forehead was cut and bleeding and her lip was puffy and bruised from the collision. She could feel her heart pounding against her aching chest. The radio drifted in and out of consciousness; waves of fuzzy, unfamiliar voices buzzed through the speakers, shouting blurry demands 'Help Me! Please, G....R.....A.....Y......Help Me' and slicing through the patter of falling rain. The road was empty. The car wouldn't start. The car door creaked open as Gray slid out onto the cold, hard tarmac and unclipped her umbrella to shield against the storm. She squinted at the indistinguishable area in-front, the headlights were steadily dulling and the path ahead was growing shadowy but the moon was bright enough to illuminate the outline of a slim, fragile figure standing in the centre of the road. 'Hey, excuse me ' I don't know where I am and my car won't start, excuse me, please I need some direction.' The figure stayed deadly still, standing stiffly despite the ravaging wind.
Gray moved towards the dainty form but slipped and let go of her umbrella, watching as the fierce bluster took it in the air, swirled it furiously and threw it to the floor, smashing it to pieces. She motioned upwards, wrapped her arms around her stomach and began to walk again. As she got closer, the stranger became more distinguished; it was a thin woman wearing an even thinner, green silk night dress, her pin-like arms were covered in cuts and scars and her face was swollen and black, she was beginning to shiver. Gray motioned towards her, holding onto her shoulder the offer some stability 'Oh my God, what happened to you? Are you okay? We need to get you to medical attention right away, you need help, here take my coat' she said whilst draping a black parker around the trembling woman. A group of birds winged from the forest at the side of the road and soared into the night sky, partly blocking the full, silver moon. 'Do you want something to eat? I have some cereal bars in the car, I.... I can't get it moving, but I have a mobile and you can sit in there for shelter. What's your name?' Gray asked, but received no reply from the trembling woman who seemed distant and, despite her obvious injuries, painless.
'Wait here, I have to get my phone, see if I can get some reception here' she turned away and walked towards her car, her hair was wet and sticking to her flesh and her clothes were soaking and cold. She jumped as an ear piercing scream flew through the air, a high pitched shriek that didn't stop. Gray turned; saw that the fragile woman had gone and span around on her heal towards the forest. She ducked down and burst into a sprint, ploughing her sharp heels into the floor and pumping her legs forwards and backwards so hard that her muscles were starting to buckle. The scream was growing louder; the leaves of the dark forest were shaking with the intensity of the holler but it forced Gray to run faster and more intensely. She bolted past rows and rows of overbearing, dark, trees with raindrops slapping across her face and smashing against her body like bricks. Her feet were swelling against the soft leather of her shoes but she was getting closer to the scream ' in fact as she squinted against the silver ropes of rain that were slanting down she could see two figures fighting, their silhouettes huge and horrific in the shadowy area. A huge, heavy set outline stood over the thin woman, holding her down from sight, stopping over her like a dark spirit.
Gray leapt into the air and kicked the stooping mans shadow in the head, landing on both feet and rocking back to a fighting stance with her fists held up. The man fell back on the floor, shook his head fiercely and jumped to his feet, the moonlight illuminated his face. He looked like a beast, his face malformed with thick grey skin and pointed white teeth, eyes blood red with, sharp whiskers sprouting from its cheeks. Gray stood still, her mind racing, her heart thudding against her rib-cage, this couldn't be happening - she had frozen and couldn't move her legs. She knew in that second that she couldn't fight this creature. She knew that someone, somewhere had made a huge mistake, the powers-that-be had chosen her to defend all that was good but she wasn't strong or brave enough to step up to the plate. She couldn't save her closest friend, she had been too slow, too weak and now she couldn't save this innocent girl.