Enter the Shadows (1st Edition) [SAMPLE]

Those Red Eyes - 2 | i

It started off as a regular day.

Regular in the sense that Penny went to work pretending as if all was well. Jumping at every random sound, looking over her shoulders, being paranoid that everyone who glanced in her direction was watching her. That was her regular day now. One cloaked by a sense of dread with a healthy dose of paranoia on her part, however, justified. The seriousness of her situation didn't really hit home until one night she came out of the business complex where her office was located, and there was no Lochlan. She had stood just inside the glass doors, waiting for him, thinking that he had been late, but he never showed. Penny was left to decide between braving the streets alone, or staying at her office. She chose the latter. She had a change of clothes there. None would be the wiser. With him gone, she brought a change of clothes with her every day in case she had to stay late.

Until he was gone, Penny hadn't realized how safe she felt with him. How cared for he made her feel. She had taken all that for granted. The worst thing for her was coming to the realization that she didn't want to be alone anymore. Or more accurately, she didn't want to be without him. She had grown to like him being around. Lochlan was easy to talk to; he didn't make her feel weird about being different. He just left her to be exactly as she was, and he seemed to like her—maybe. Not that it mattered now. He was gone. She was alone. Penny chided the voice that said, and she was frightened. Frightened didn't seem like the right word to use when her system was constantly in a state of silent panic.

Distracted by her supernatural dilemma, she had started to fall back on her work to the delight of Caitlin Crashaw. This small victory for the other woman, however, was short-lived. Spending more time at work than she did at home since sleep now evaded her, all Penny did was work. Her office was safer than home in any case. Security guards patrolled the hallways, and they had grown accustomed to her being there late most nights. One even brought her dinner one night. A blessing, as she had forgotten to eat—again. She had been on a slow track back to some semblance of 'normal' when it all took a turn for the worst.

Now she was sitting in the woods, her body numb to the cold drops of rain that drizzled down on her head. Tears streamed down her face, but she didn't make a sound. She couldn't. Her throat was raw from the screaming, her body heavy from her grief. There was nothing left inside of her. She saw nothing but the ghastly images playing over, and over inside her head. Her regular day had turned into a complete and utter nightmare. One where she had gotten people killed.

April 19 - 9:16am

Pencil in her mouth Penny sat working. She had been there all night, and she had gotten most of her work already out of the way before the first body came through the door. She was feeling good. Tired, and drawn thin, but still good. She felt - in control. Sometime in the night, she had drifted off to sleep face down in the papers on her desk. With her mind in a state of constant panic, she was happy with the four hours of uninterrupted sleep she had gotten. It was a small victory, but one nonetheless. Nothing haunted her in her dreams. Not last night. Penny woke up feeling as if she was really going to be ok. As if she could make it through.

Maybe distance from Lochlan, and her supernatural dilemma was all she needed. Time to absorb everything, and put the pieces in their rightful places. Since the night in the parking lot, it had been quiet. As it had been for weeks before the parking lot incident. Penny tried not to think about that. Though she tried to focus on the positives, though few, of her situation there was always that nagging voice that reminded her, life was never sure. Bad things happened, and they always seemed to follow her. Death followed her. That thought always caused a shiver to run down her spine.

Only the present—now—mattered. All the rest would overwhelm, and shut her down if she let them in. For now, she would focus on her job and find her center again. One foot before the other.