The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.

- H.P.LOVECRAFT, Supernatural Horror in Literature

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The smell was powerful, so magnificently intense…so very, very alluring. I was drawn in, like a bee to honey, like a moth to a singular light, towards the two humans that hurried through the dank and somber alleyways of London; completely and undoubtedly unaware of my cold presence. I looked down at them from far above, observing how they were blindly heading towards a dead-end. In their panic and twisted anxiety, they seemed to have lost their senses and were simply running away to escape capture. But I would get them before those wretched species in uniform could ensnare my two victims. They were much too far away…unlike me. I was swiftly gliding a mere ten feet above the two fleeing men and they had no idea. I relished in this thought. Fear of the unknown had a special sort of essence to it.

They were now nearing the wall that blocked all paths, so I decided to swoop down a few feet. I could hear their deep, nervous voices as they approached the barrier and I could feel their horror as they realized their awful predicament. Their terrified faces alone were enough to pull me in. It was like a magnetic force and I fully obliged in letting my instincts take over.

At that very moment, my entire being was vibrant and alive. They seemed to suddenly notice the coldness that I exuded, because they unconsciously drew close to each other, whispering feverishly and realizing in dismay that the air that they exhaled was coming out in swirls of white mists in this grueling hot summer. The mounting fear was practically oozing out of their very life forms and I did not waste any more time to obtain what I dearly longed for.

“A-Adrien! It-it’s c-cold…� The young man cowered against the brick wall and tried to point out the cause of what could only be an alien sensation to him. The sun had yet to rise and so the lane that they had come from was shadowy and impenetrable to human eyes.

“What the h-hell is g-going on?!� shouted the other man, his lips now a nice shade of light blue. “D-Dimitri! W-what’s h-happening?!� He looked around wildly, hoping he had missed an alternative route. This one still had a little, yet bright, fire within him. I made my move then as I wanted to extinguish any hopes that they harbored. It was only too easy…

I let myself go and pushed out the coldness that was within me so that it engulfed the both of them. I decided to prey on the one named Dimitri first, as his fear was far greater than his companion and hence more beneficial to me. He froze, his scream of fright stuck in his throat as the ice-cold consciousness that was me seeped through his skin and delved into his inner depths in order to reach the very core of this creature. From underneath my hood I saw his eyes grow wide in terror as my hands slithered from underneath my cloak and clamped themselves around his neck. Although he most definitely could not see me, he was now acutely aware of my existence and a bubble of chaotic emotions spread through his body.

To add to this mad fear, I skillfully brought forth his most terrible memories and drowned him with them. He did have quite a lot of them and as he let out a cry of agony, I finally found what I was looking for: his soul.

Instantly, my deep cavern of a mouth yawned wide open as an immense pleasure swept through me. I let out a deep rattling breath as I sucked the air in front of him, rendering him completely speechless. It was only a matter of seconds now…his soul was mine to take and I relished in that thought alone.

His breathing slowly started to falter and his pathetic cries were coming out in short, strained croaks. His eyes were losing its luster and I could tell that I was now extremely close in reaching my ultimate goal. At this point, I literally started to suck the life out of him and as his mouth fell open in exhaustion and defeat, I finally saw it.

His soul, a white, hazy, shapeless form slowly emerged from within this human’s disgusting mouth, which was now hanging open like an open gateway. It ascended like thick smoke and was starting to take on various shapes and sizes before I promptly drew it into my mouth, trapping it in me eternally—never to be free and always surrounded by darkness, just like its human body, which would remain an empty shell forever more.

***

Adrien saw his friend’s mouth fall open, letting out choking sobs that sent a terrible chill down his spine. Torn between his fear and wanting to help his partner, he found that he was unable to move from his spot. The fact that he felt drained and despondent didn’t help matters and he just couldn’t understand what was happening. As the coldness around him intensified, he felt as if he would forever have to live with this feeling of gloom and guilt and it made him weak in the knees. Just as he fell to the ground, feeling feeble and sick in the stomach, he heard a stomach-turning sound as Dimitri’s head collided with the hard ground.

He couldn’t help it. The minute he took one look at his dead friend’s face he let out an un-earthly scream that echoed throughout the alleyway. Dimitri’s eyes were wide open and looked glazed and unfocused as they stared up unseeingly into the sky, which now had a slight orange hue to it. His face was pale and the expression he wore was terrorizing and Adrien wanted nothing more than to run away. He pushed away from the corpse and tore his eyes away from that haunting face.

Trembling from head to foot, he pushed his hand inside his tattered, old black jacket and took out his pistol. He didn’t think he’d have to use it twice in one day. If he was being honest with himself, he really wished he didn’t have to use it again, but he was apparently dealing with something…alien here and holding on to his only weapon made him feel slightly better.

Suddenly, the moment he thought he’d have the chance to escape the same fate as Dimitri, he felt the air around him grow impossibly cold. Adrien felt his breath catch in his chest as an invisible force rendered him unable to move. His heart rate shot up and his head started pounding as, once again, fear washed over him. The cold seemed to go deeper, deeper…until he thought it was under his very skin. He felt it slowly seep through his entire body, freezing him on the spot. His muscles felt locked and if it wasn’t for his own sheer will power, he would have dropped his only weapon to the ground.

White fog blurred his senses as the cold clenched at his heart – the uncanny sensation causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand on end. His vision was darkening and he thought he could see shapes moving around him, but the fog was disorienting and distracting and he didn’t know what to do. He felt himself being pressed against the wall and just as he thought he was going crazy, he started to hear voices in his head, confirming that he had certainly lost his mind.

He was drowning in cold; being dragged down by something indiscernible. From afar he could hear a man talking. It was vaguely familiar…there was an edge of panic in his voice –

“A-alright, alright…don’t shoot! L-look I’ll give you the money, let me -�

“I said shut up! Don’t you bloody move a muscle, old man! I’m warning you; otherwise you and your wife are dead, you hear?!� There were sounds of someone scrabbling around the place. A muffled sound of a woman sobbing…

“Open up the bag quickly, Dimitri. I want to get out of here – Oi! Get your hand away from that counter!� There was a deafening sound of an alarm.

“You bastard!� A loud bang and a bone-chilling scream of a woman…

The scream continued to resound in his head and Adrien let out a guttural groan of misery. He was being punished – punished for all his sins...for lying, for stealing, for murdering…

A tear escaped his eye as all the painful memories came flooding back to him. His mouth fell open in wretched agony when suddenly, he thought he felt something inside him – no, something that was within him – being drawn out. He felt as if he were floating, as if he was slowly leaving his body, and he started to get light-headed. Memories upon terrible memories continued to wash over him and sadness engulfed him all together. This was the result of all his misdemeanors – for all his trials and tribulations. He had never imagined leaving the world like this. He didn’t want to die like this…

He had always thought he’d move on when the time was right and when he’d accepted his fate. Whatever this was, it was deciding his fate for him and he disliked the idea. If he was going to die that night, it would be by his own hand; the same hand that had taken the life of another. It would be his way of repenting. It was also the only way of ending his torturous emotions and the ice-cold feeling that was embodying his current state of being.

With all the power he could muster, he tried not to focus on the torrent of recollections that flashed through his mind. He tried to ignore the guilt and sadness that tried to pull him down, that tried to make him forever despondent. He didn’t want to die with such sentiments. There was only one way of leaving with some dignity, with his conscious slightly clearer, and he was now determined to achieve his end.

Cold sweat streamed down his forehead and bitter cries escaped his throat. It was as if an unseen hand was holding onto his neck and he grew weaker and weaker by the second, but somehow, through this dreadful ordeal, he managed to lift his right hand.

Shaking violently with effort, he pressed the mouth of the gun to his head. It was at that instant that the sun peeped from behind the city in the far horizon, shedding a warm orange glow in the dismal alleyway. He didn’t seem to be affected by its beauty however, and didn’t seem to notice the world around him anymore. This was it. The faint light only confirmed that this was the right thing to do.

“For my sins,� he managed to croak out, feeling his life drain out of him. And without another moment’s hesitation he pulled the trigger…

***

I watched with displeasure as my victim fell to the ground, the thunderous bang echoing throughout the narrow-bricked lanes before slowly dying out. I let out a harsh rattling breath of disappointment when I noticed the crimson blood spattered across the wall beside me and the lifeless body of the male human lying down below me. His soul had been so close to being mine and now it was forever protected from the likes of me.

Pity…

I grudgingly saw how the outline of his body seemed to shift, to glow. There was a very thin, mist-like substance swirling around him, which started to accumulate at the very centre of his corpse; creating a bulb of light that grew with intensity as his pupils grew dark and unclear. His body started to lose color and he grew deathly pale as the miasma continued to expand, altering its shape and size until it stopped moving altogether.

The white, whirling mass hovered above the human’s form for a couple more seconds until it suddenly started to spin into a sphere. It began to rotate furiously, shrinking in size at the same time and making whispery sighs, when it slowly started to take the form of a small bird.

I knew what it was and I knew there was nothing I could do to go anywhere near it, but I stretched my arm out anyway as the slightly translucent creature took flight and soared into the morning sky. Immediately, I was met by an invisible barrier that surrounded the bird entirely, which proved that there was no way to break through its powerful shield. I could do nothing but observe as it flew higher and higher up, changing color as the sun’s rays reflected against it.

Humans claim to have seen such a sight, but it is a rare thing. I witness it almost everyday and do not care much of it. I stared at the bird for a while and saw how specks of orange and yellow filtrated through its lucid form as it headed towards the sun, soon disappearing out of sight. It was free and unbound unlike its partner, whose soul was eternally trapped within me.

I may have lost out on one tonight, but there were plenty to prey on in these dark times. It would not be long before I found my next victim. I let out a long rattling breath before slowly drifting up, looking down upon the city of London, where sorrow and unhappiness lurked in every corner.

A/N: Hello! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this one-shot and I really hope you've enjoyed it. A huge thanks to ron lover and gene24, who both BETAed this story. You guys were great and all your help was truly appreciated! Reviews on the way would be awesome! I'd really like to know what you liked or didn't like about this one-shot...I'd be happy with any sort of feedback! =)