Masika sat in her apartment, cowed by the gloom and dirty-gray walls. The clock in the kitchen was ticking so loudly it scraped at her nerves. Her fingers itched to rip it right down. Her toes curled into the fabric of her couch. She pondered the problem, biting the nail of her thumb, all the way down to the nub. She could stomp it into silence, maybe. Smash it to smithereens. Imagining it made her laugh. The sound came out awkwardly, somewhere between a choke and a sob.

Have you ever heard of black-eyed children? I have. Well, these black-eye children are supposed to be tricksters. They supposedly like to trick people into letting them into people’s dwelling. Usually, they approach people in cars at night when the person is all by their lonesome. They claim to need help and want people to open the door to let them inside. Of course, these kids have black eyes and usually spook their intended victims. These black-eye children are believed to be evil demonic nomads.

Don't get me wrong: I get the willies from zombie clowns, Pennywise-s, and certain Violators of a spawn-like comic book hero. They're the stuff of legends and horror, but ultimately we have to remember one thing: it's all fiction. The truth is we often get much more scared at the clown walking down the street in the middle of the night than we do a demon in a sewer drain with a red balloon.

Human beings love being scared. That's why we watch so many horror movies! But have you ever wondered why we watch movies about scary things that don't exist, like Frankenstein's monster and evil inhuman nuns, rather than stuff that does? In terms of body count, heart attacks beat out Freddy Kreuger so badly that there's not even a contest! Why aren't there horror movies about those?

***This is part of my new book Protector. I hope you consider buying it. I am an independent author. My books are all published on Amazon. This book is currently above $7, but trust me; it is worth the price.****

Dani drove along the deserted road. At four in the morning there was never much traffic. Lately it was one of the things that Dani liked about opening the gas station every morning. It gave her time to think. This morning was her first day back at work in almost a week. The last few days had been dark and bleak, leaving her gasping for air as she tried to find a reason to keep going, a reason to live. Dani felt lost. Her world came crashing down like shattered glass around her feet when her mother died suddenly. Tears welled in her eyes, blurring her vision, as she remembered their last conversation.

We've all have heard stories about vampires and creatures going bump in the night, but where do most of these tales originate from? Demonology is the study of multiple creatures of the abyss from all origins of the world. Within the studies of demonology are vampiric creatures ranging from firefly-transforming bloodsuckers all the way to a corpse crawling its way from the grave to feast on your flesh.

I chewed slowly before swallowing the abhorrent soul. It was only partially black, but still tasted a lot on the puke side. I took in a deep breath and exhaled. I always thought this would be the fun part, but sometimes the taste made me almost reconsider. Suddenly, as I raised my hand for my people to send in the next one, I felt a weight on my head. I let my hand drop and looked up to see the stubby little ends of baby fingers at the edge of my eyebrows. A smile spread across my face and I shook my head a little. The fingers retracted, gripping my scalp and I heard a soft giggle.

Walking through the woods looking around. Making sure nothing is following. I can't help but think about the creature. Still wondering where it came from. Why was the map blacked out? Why the fences? Why the secrecy? Questions I should have just left alone.

Blood.

My head.