A bright flash of searing white swept over the mostly sleeping town of Maubury, Massachusetts. Bright enough to momentarily making three o'clock of a December morning seem like seven o'clock of an July morning. And yet, only one person in the small town noticed it. Little Lucy Mae Falstun. A blond girl of but six years, bearing a strikingly sharp wit that was matched only by her sky-blue orbs and doll-like skin of snow. She was advanced in her schoolwork, already, and shooting questions at her parents that even most adults didn't think of. On this particular Tuesday morning, she was reading again. What was the book? `The Entire Encyclopedia of Things That Go 'Bump' In The Night`. A book nine-hundred sixty-three pages long, with strikingly small print. . .just large enough that you still had to squint with your nose in the book, but found a magnifying glass unnecessary.
The little girl had -- after the light dimmed down -- turned her head in the direction of her window, overlooking her family's backyard. Taking off her reading glasses and setting them on her desk, she blew out the cinnamon-scented candle on the desk and rose from her creaky wooden chair. Her floral, silky white nightgown brushed against her ankles as she made her way to the window. Peeling back a small portion of the light blue curtains ever-so gently, she poked just of her head around the fabric to see out the window. No luck there. The blanket of night was far too heavy to see an inch before your face, by now, and it's breath had allowed frost-creatures to creep and crawl across the windowpane. Sighing in defeat, she turned from the window to her closet. Quickly, she snatched her jacket from a hanger before slamming the door shut again. Never could be too careful with all of the closet-monsters running about. Slipping into the coat, she then proceeded to the edge of her bed. Kneeling on the floor, she peered into the darkness beneath it. "Caine? You awake?" She called in a soft voice.
A bit of a grumble could be heard, as could the creaking of a separate bed. Before long, Lucy's bed lifted up a bit and a large creature's head poked out. His skin was dark blue in color, with black stripes and specks strewn about his reptilian body randomly. A small set of antlers rested upon his head, far more intimidating than those that a deer would carry. His eyes were an entrancing shade of emerald with slits for pupils, drawing in anyone that they caught. His massive hands were human-like only in the sense that they had five fingers. On each finger was a talon-like claw, as sharp as the best swords in town. Same with his feet. Behind him swished a long, dragon-like tail. He let out a bit of a yawn before he turned his attention to the little girl. "Well, I am now. What can I do for you, Princess?" He asked in a low, thunderous voice. Despite his size, appearance, and voice he was a gentle-giant. Sweeter than most humans and other Bogeymen, he had acted something like a guardian for Lucy ever since she'd met him.
"Caine, please. We've had this discussion before; I'm no princess." The little girl replied, her stern voice entirely serious yet slightly hushed for fear of waking her parents. The beast sighed a little, shaking his head as he did so. While Lucy was exceptionally young, she was no fool. She didn't believe in pet-names, childish fairy tales, or anything her parents were against. `Princess` was one of the nicknames she resented, given that she was not of royalty and desired not to have such responsibilities. Besides, everyone knows that princesses are nothing like how the stories depict them to be. "In any case, I'm going outside for a minute. There was this flash, and I wish to investigate. Sorry for disturbing you, I simply did not want you to awake and get yourself in a tizzy should you discover I was not in bed." The child went on calmly, her pale pink lips nearly forming a sincere smile. Caine let loose one more sigh before nodding and smiling, patting the girl lightly on the head with one of his massive hands. "Its alright. Thank you for informing me. Be careful, An--" The creature began, only to earn a sharp glare from Lucy. He had nearly called her `Angel` again. How was he to help it? With such features, he was surprised she wasn't one. "I'll be fine, don't you worry. Go ahead back to sleep." Lucy replied after a moment with a playful smile. With that, she turned on her heel and left her room. Only after the white nightgown and the golden locks that curled about the girl's head were out of sight did the monster crawl back into the world beneath the beds for more rest.
Lucy Mae's footsteps were silent and light, perfect for creeping about a sleeping home. She had developed such skills by creeping out to the living room every Christmas Eve in hopes of either spotting Santy Claws or something else. Santa Claus had undergone the name-change years ago, back when a group of children in Texas discovered the horrible truth about him. Sure, he was fat and had a taste for milk and cookies. . .but, he was not the least bit jolly. Despite the fact that he was plump, his features appeared to be something like those of an old homeless man and his white hair was particularly unruly. He didn't bother with gloves or mittens any longer, seeing as his long and sharp talon-like nails wouldn't permit him to. His teeth were at least twice as sharp as his nails, while everything else about him seemed normal. Well, once you got past the fact that he liked to eat sneaky little children should he find his meal of milk and cookies to be less than appeasing. The only mercy here was that he was blind. The six-year-old shook her head a little, trying to keep the shadows from playing tricks on her as she crept through the living room to the glass sliding door.
Peeling back a piece of the plain white cloth that was a pathetic excuse for a curtain -- sure, it was embroidered with delicate designs but, all in all, it wasn't that marvelous -- Lucy peaked around it to her backyard. What she saw was. . .well, it looked like something from a science-fiction movie. There was a large spacecraft that was shaped something like a disc and. . .a man in a suit? The blond girl tilted her head slightly to a side as she watched the back of the well-dressed man, who appeared to be inspecting part of the craft. Curiosity was getting the best of her, and manipulating her motor skills. Moving away the rest of the curtain, she silently unlocked the door before sliding it open. Stepping lightly outside, she closed the door behind her once again before taking several adventurous steps in the direction of the man. "Excuse me, sir?" Lucy called in a slightly-hushed tone, not wanting to disturb the neighbors or her parents. Here, the man raised his head and turned on his heel. His features were sharp, clean, and tan. He had slick, raven-black hair that fell dead-straight to his shoulder. The man's eyes were intense and alluring, a deep shade of green with specks of brown splattered about in each. Thanks to her advanced arithmetic, Lucy was able to accurately assume that he was a little over six feet in height. Six feet and five inches, to be precise.
Presently, a smile rested on his thin lips. It showed no teeth, nor malice, but did seem to hint at something that the child was unable to read. "Hello, dear. Pardon the intrusion, you see, I was making my way home from a routine trip to Leila -- a rather charming planet -- when my craft got into its wires that it should crash." He apologized in a sort of voice you would expect a snake to have. Although, Lucy began to think that he was talking more-so to himself as he concluded than he was to her. Here, an audible sigh escaped the man. It was here, and only here, that Lucy Mae began to suspect something was terribly wrong. Why was it that she couldn't see out her window, yet the second she came downstairs it was fine? Out of curiosity, she glanced up at the window. Was it. . .painted black? "Oh, how terribly rude of me, I've forgotten to introduce myself! My name is Proxen, but you may feel free to address me as Prox." He claimed with the same smile as before. The little girl turned her curious expression to the man, her light-blue eyes studying him for a moment. "I'm Mae." She replied simply, not wishing to give away her entire identity to a stranger right away.
"It is quite nice to meet you, then, Mae." The man smiled, holding out a hand for a shake. Lucy hesitated for perhaps a second, only to reach forward and daringly shake his hand. Prox gave that odd smile again, releasing her hand and letting out a sigh. With that sigh, he looked away and the smile seemed to be slapped from his face. It may have just been Lucy, but she was also quite certain she had heard a grumble come from his stomach. While she didn't trust this Proxen, she still couldn't help but feel obliged to be kind. "Are you hungry?" Her soft voice rang, suddenly. Curious, Prox turned his head to the girl. "Quite, actually." He replied honestly, a blank look on his face. Something about that blank look was silently driving Lucy's conscience mad, telling her to skedaddle. And, yet, she felt as though she couldn't. "If you'll give me just a moment, I could retrieve some food from the fridge for you?" Lucy offered after a moment. Prox gave a small chuckle, that eerie smile returning yet again. "While that is kind of you, Miss Mae, it won't be necessary. You see . . . my kind doesn't eat the food yours does." He replied, his eyes locking onto Lucy's. The girl, not shaken in the least, gave a light shrug. "Oh? What is it, then?" She asked, lightly tilting her head to the left. Here, Proxen gave another chuckle. Quite frankly, the little girl didn't understand what was so humorous about it . . . it was just a simple question. "I'm glad you asked. To be quite honest . . . little creatures covered in soft, pink skin . . . like you." He replied, the grin still in place. Lucy, now confused, could swear she heard her heart in her head. She tried to move her legs, but found it impossible. She wanted to look away from the vicious eyes of Proxen, but discovered it to be unachievable.
It was too late, anyway. The whole thing lasted but a couple of seconds, and the child felt little pain . . . and Prox got his meal. A warm heart, a pair of eyes, and a few other organs here and there were all like candy to him and his kind. There had been a shrill scream at first, but it had been silenced before terribly long . When all was said and done, there was no Lucy, and no human-looking Proxen. Looming over the remains of the child was a different sort of monster. One with deep blue skin, the nose of a snake, teeth as sharp and long as razors, eyes blacker than pitch, and bat-like wings on his head. All of this, and he still managed to look like a gentleman. Perhaps it was the black suit he wore? Or, maybe, it was the smile that exposed all eight-four teeth that resembled daggers? More likely than not, it was how he placed a red kerchief over the face of the child . . . with the letters of his name embroidered on it. The being let out a satisfied sigh and gave the corpse a nod before turning on his heel and heading back to his ship . . . which wasn't so damaged, after all. On the back of his black suit was a golden crescent moon, with a cat-like eye a vibrant shade of green making it appear to be a full circle. Etched along the top of the moon, in white thread, where the words `NightStalkers, inc`.
For the town of Maubury, the state of Massachusetts, the United States of America, the world . . . it was the beginning of the end.
