The irregular shape of the waning gibbous moon was high in the sky, bathing Shokushu island with pale radiance. Whisperer hung motionless in the clearing near his favorite tree. It had been several days since he had saved the young witch Kanoe from freezing to death, and the bounty he’d taken in return had sustained him for quite some time. Such a period of freedom from the hunger was rare and he’d made good use of it.

The days were spent in contemplation of the strange occurrences that had plagued him of late: the strange ‘blackouts’ and the sudden shifts in time and space. He became more and more convinced these were one and the same. The strange hyper-vivid ‘memories’ occurred when he shifted to a point in his past - overlapping himself and concurrently reliving some previous moment. On the other hand, the ‘memory lapses’ happened when he shifted forward in time; he couldn’t remember the intervening period because he had not (yet) lived through it.

The realization was an epiphany. Suddenly everything he’d been experiencing made sense! Except . . . the time he had transported himself and Kanoe from the cave to her dorm room . . . There hadn’t been an accompanying feeling of lost time. It was almost as though he had jumped from one place to another instantaneously . . . Could it be?

At this point, he finally became aware of a new presence on the island. In truth, he’d felt it for some time, but had been too wrapped up in his own concerns to notice. But now the unusual presence was relatively near. He shifted his attention to this new arrival, observing the presence carefully.

It was not the undeniably inhuman aura of another monster. A student, then; but there was something unusual about her psychic ‘scent.’ That really wasn’t all that strange - all of the girls had their subtle differences that made them unique. But he felt drawn to this one, almost as though something about her was calling to him.

Intrigued, Whisperer oriented on this strange siren’s song, cruising off through the forest toward the girl that unknowingly emitted it. He wondered what is was about this one that called him so - and what she was doing out here so late at night . . .

But curiosity was not all that drove him. For it had been quite some time since he had last fed, and he was starting to feel the tug of hunger once more.

It was early morning; all were asleep except for me or so I believed. My friends thus far were only the spirits on the island. Many seemed attached to the other girls or the land itself many wore the school uniform as well; perhaps accidental deaths or suicides or so I surmised.

I had come for my usual late night walk as that was when many more spirits manifested; something about the night gave them more energy or so I believed it. I found myself walking to the beach to take a calm sit and watch the moon rest in the sky clouds gently passing over head. it was serene. I lost the urge to speak to the passed and just watch the sky for now; let my mind forget what had happened not too long before now. I was glad to have time to myself. Though perhaps I should get to know some of the other students sooner or later. I wasn't sure.

"The calm always comes before a storm. perhaps today will be one of those rare instances where this is not true."

I said laying back on the sand in my black dress which i wore over black pants.

Whisperer was stunned. It had happened again. He had suddenly found himself elsewhere and elsewhen. This time he had jumped forward to a time when he had been above the dormitories. He’d tried to help the seemingly suicidal student he had found there . . .

But now he was back - maybe. Though it felt like he had regressed in time, the alien still found himself in an unfamiliar place. Last he could remember before the jump, he had been in the woods . . . As he pondered, Whisperer slowly became attuned to his new surroundings.

The soft hush of waves and moonlight sparkling off water told him he was near the beach. The just-passed full moon was in the right place in the sky to indicate he had returned to the right time, but he was definitely not where he had been. Bewildered again, Whisperer cast about for some clue as to what had happened.

Immediately, he became aware of an intriguing psychic presence. It seemed to call to him, pull at him. It was almost like his own psychic lure. Suddenly he remembered he had been tracking this aura. Maybe when he had jumped back, it had drawn him here.

The presence was nearby, just up the beach out of sight behind a few rocks. Whisperer stealthily moved forward, cresting the outcropping silently, his transparent body should have been nearly invisible against the night sky. But strangely, the girl he found there, resting at ease on the sand seemed to notice him almost immediately. It was almost as though she could see him!

I mumbled to myself eyes closed for a time pondering things that had happened in the recent days. the spirit that continued to follow me to my left rocks had been to my right. the night breeze flowed over me and i snickered slightly at a joke it seemed no one had told though to me it had been a human female spirit in a swimsuit; I assumed she was a drowning victim.

"So it's nice to have someone laugh at your jokes for once in so many years huh."

I told the female spirit before opening my eyes; Out of the corner of my eyes I saw something rise over the rocks' a ball of something, it looked partially like ball lightning but, it was just floating there. I stood and turned towards it eyes locked on... whatever it was; an rb perhaps was what they called it.

"What on earth is this thing; never have I seen a spirit like this before even inhuman spirits have a shape not just a blob of energy."

I took one step towards the rocks eyes fixed on whatever it was.

Whisperer was frozen in place. It was obvious that the girl could see him clearly - she was looking right at him! It had been decades since he been detected so easily and he was unprepared for the shock of it. His fist instinct was to withdraw and regroup to approach again from another angle. However, the sudden realization that she didn’t see him as he was, but rather as a mass of energy kept his curiosity high. He hung motionless in the air, undecided.

The balance tipped toward instinct, though when the student took a step toward him. He started to glide back down over the rocky outcropping, but not nearly as fast as he could have. Despite his urge to flee, he was still interested in this newcomer. And then there was the matter of the growing hunger . . .

I hummed slightly to myself looking to the rock the thing had passed over. A spirit looked at me and begged me to not follow the thing as if it were dangerous and would attack me. I thought it would have attacked me already if it had planned to.

I moved foward as the being shifted and began to disappear over the rocks. It bothered me a bit that this thing was frightened of me. I wanted to see if I could talk to it. I increased my pace to try and catch up to it I climbed over the rocks skinning my knee on a jagged portion. I winced but continued, the bleeding was insignificant; nearly non-existent actually. As my head shifted over the top I saw it again. eyes locking onto it.

Whisperer was rather befuddled. It seemed so unnatural that a student would be pursuing him. Of course, he could feel the curiosity in her mind, but her fearlessness unnerved him. The normally transparent alien was about to flee further when suddenly he sensed pain. His naive pursuer had hurt herself climbing over the rocks. It was but a scratch, yet still it tugged at him. His newly realized caring nature made him want to sooth the hurt, minor though it was.

Trapped between the disturbing nature of the bizarre situation and the desire to help, Whisperer was motionless again when Charlotte finally crested the outcropping. The monster could feel her gaze lock onto him, but still he couldn’t move. It was strangely thrilling to experience firsthand how his prey must normally feel.

Whisperer remained still as the curious new student closed the distance between them. Thoughts of retreat were banished by the siren song of her unusual psychic presence. Besides, the girl couldn’t really hurt him, not on this island. Even if she had been a powerful mystic back on Earth, here the inhibitors would render her nearly powerless . . .

In that instant, the alien’s predatory nature reasserted itself. No longer did he fear the beautiful girl who approached him; no longer did he feel the need to try to run or hide. A sense of calm fell over him. He was in control. He was hungry. He would feed. But first, he would learn more about this raven-haired beauty whose essence called to him unknowingly.

Are you hurt?

Whisperer was momentarily stunned again. He had never been able to communicate so clearly with a human before. The normally difficult process of modulating his call came naturally to him this time. It was almost as if this young woman’s mind was more open and accepting than any other that he had encountered. The alien took a second to compose himself again while he waited to see how she responded to his query.