It was nighttime and Anna was back in the park. She’d been here several times in the past few weeks, and it’d become one of her favorite places to hunt. She sat on her favorite bench, in the center of the lot. The scenario’d become quite routine, and Anna liked that; it helped put her at ease. She leaned back, listening to the crickets. And waited.
The moon was almost completely full tonight – more full than most times she’d choose to go out. It was beautiful, but at the same time she wished it wasn’t there. A full moon meant more light – more of a chance that she’d be noticed. She didn’t need the light herself. And since it provided an advantage to those she was hunting without giving her one, she tried her best to avoid it. But she’d put off going out for several days now because of the near-constant rain. It’d been five days since she’d last been out and the cravings had gotten so strong that she just had to chance it. Lucky for her, the sky was relatively clear, and the weatherman promised she shouldn’t be caught in any showers tonight.
Her thoughts were brought back to the present by the sound of old tennis shoes squeaking loudly on the pavement. Again, someone was coming down the path towards Anna. She smiled hungrily in anticipation.
Even from across the park, Anna could see the person coming towards her. It was a boy, she guessed, in his early twenties. His dark blue jeans looked new, the despite wide gashes cut into both knees. Anna could see that he was wearing a light jacket over his green shirt. His hands were jammed into his jacket pockets and he was hunched over a little to keep warm.
When he finally approached her, it was all Anna could do to keep from leaping off the bench. She started to get up, but managed to stop herself before she actually left the wooden slats. She wasn’t nearly as subtle and in control as she usually was, and it was showing; the guy’d already seen her and he was still six or seven feet away – much too far for the smooth attack Anna liked to carry out.
He looked at her and smiled in a cocky, self-assured way. This time, it was Anna who smiled sheepishly.
“You know,” he said with a gleam in his eye, “You really shouldn’t be out here so late. They say something’s wrong with this park.”
“What’s wrong with it?” Anna asked sharply. She hadn’t read anything bad about it in the papers.
“It’s supposed to be haunted. At least, that’s what everyone at school says.” he told her, walking casually over and taking a seat.
“Really?” Anna asked, trying to hide her sudden concern. Then almost challenging him, she asked, “Do you believe that?”
“Me? I don’t believe in ghosts. I think they’re overreacting – scared of the dark, maybe.” he added, chuckling nervously.
Anna was glad to hear him say that. Maybe he’d be less cautious than other kids at his school. Even still, it’d be better not to chance it. She decided to make her move now before he got smart and left. Her eyes became flecked with gold, and the boy began to fall easily into a trance.
She didn’t wait as long as she usually would have. She wasn’t sure if he was completely under or not, but decided he was close enough. She leaned in towards him and bit him on the neck. She usually bit her victims fairly hard, but this time there was even more power behind it; it was almost frenzied. As she bit into this guy, she could smell the blood, throwing her into an even deeper craze. She didn’t start to calm down until she could feel his warm blood gushing into her mouth and running down her throat.