Red-Eyed Demon

The shadowy figure leaned its shoulder against the lamp post, its legs crossed at the ankles, patiently watching and waiting. Across the street, a woman prepared for slumber. One by one, the lights went out as she moved leisurely through the house.

After a while, the last light fell dark. In a puff of black mist, the figure vanished from beneath the street light. She lay peacefully between being awake and being asleep. A chill swept through the room as a black mist glided beneath the door and coalesced into the shadowy figure. It stood silent as the woman’s eyes fluttered open. Her heart pounded within her chest. Her scream caught in her throat as it did every night the red-eyed demon came to stand at the foot of her bed.