Two weeks ago

Ella shaded her eyes as she stepped out of the plane, the sunlight glaringly bright on the island she would be calling home from now on. As her vision adjusted, she couldn't help but smile a bit. What wasn't to like? The warm breeze through the trees, the beautifully maintained grounds, the birds twittering in the air? No, this was just what she needed, a perfect place to begin again.

The present

Humming to herself, Ella dried her hair as she came back into her room from taking a shower. It had been an easy, even relaxing time so far. She was enjoying her classes, even if the uniform they provided her was a little bit, well, sparse. Maybe they thought the comfort from the heat was more important than propriety, what with the all girl population. She shrugged away the thought and moved to her bed, untying her bathrobe and tossing it across the back of her chair. Shaking her head in time with the song playing in her head, she pulled on a pair of plain white panties and a similar bra, before hopping on one leg, then the other to slip on a pair of pale blue jogging shorts. A white tank top joined her outfit, and a pair of elbow length white gloves finished off the ensemble, then a quick sliding of pale feet into sandals before she was off again, locking her door behind her on the way out.

"No one to talk with, all by myse~lf" she sang quietly as she wandered her way back onto the twilit campus, the lights atop the lamps humming softly as they turned on. She still found it strange that more girls didn't enjoy the grounds around this time, though she occasionally saw a few here and there, usually in small groups. She hadn't gotten up the courage to actually talk to any of the other girls, outside of class at least, but she wondered, in passing at least. Like, for example, why that one girl the other night had looked so panicked on her way back into the dorms? Was she desperate to study or something? Ella didn't think so, but what else could it be?

She smiled happily as she saw the lights were still on in the Liberal Arts building, breaking into a light jog toward the front doors. She shivered slightly as she stepped into the air conditioned hallway, shaking her long blue-black hair out to make sure it had dried as she was walking. Satisfied, she pulled it back into a loose ponytail and made her way past darkened classrooms, heading for the small rehearsal hall used by the choir. She blinked as she flicked the lights on, the halogen bulbs flickering as they warmed, casting strange shadows across the room for a moment before steadying. Laughing quietly at herself, she made her way to the baby grand piano on the slightly raised stage, her legs squeeking where they slid against the stool as she sat down.

Stretching her fingers, Ella stared down at the black and white keys. She couldn't ever sit down at a piano without thinking of Thomas, but lately, it had begun to be, she didn't know, easier? Not as painful? She absently rubbed her wrist for a moment, then shook her head firmly. No. She getting better, and this was part of the process. Slowly she began to move her gloved hands over the keys, fingers picking out notes haltingly at first, but gaining confidence as she continued. She was no virtuoso to be sure, no where near as skilled as her Thomas, but it would do. Her real talent, her real gift, joined the piano as she hit her stride, her eyes closing as she leaned over the instrument. Her voice filled the room, echoing quietly across the vacant chairs, her tone soft and sultry, the way it was meant to be.

"No one to walk with, all by myse~lf..
No one to talk wi~th, I'm happy on the shelf
Ain't misbehavin', savin' all my lo~ve for you~..."

Once again the Campus grounds were bathed in darkness and shadow as the sun finished its retreat into the horizon. Flickering lamps illuminated the inter connected side walks that lead to virtually everywhere on the grounds themselves. Unlike some of the more unrefined or primal monsters on the island the creature of living shadow did not seek to satisfy his dark urges or desire every waking moment. Of course, what he did when he wasn't stalking or searching for his latest entertainment was very much unknown. How does one track a shadow? Isn't it always a shadow that is following them?

While it wasn't like him to just sit around and wait for the newest class to arrive, he had certainly found himself doing such. Many of the students he had encountered had already met with the various monsters on the island. He wanted a fresh and new mind to partake in his dark games and to satisfy his own cravings. Night after night for the last two weeks he had stalked the new arrivials, trying to find someone that inspired him or at least someone that was interesting.

Tonight, as he had believed all his time spent will have finally paid off as he was merely drifting along in the shadows behind the young woman. She had been on the top of his list from the moment he had laid his eyes upon her as her dark beauty seemed to draw him in. He had spent a great deal of effort in making sure those whom he had interest in didn't find themselves at the mercy of another of the islands inhabitiants, not wishing to have to start his search all over once more. So he followed, quietly musing each and every thing and game he was going to put her through this night...and perhaps many others.

It wasn't that the dark entity wasn't paying attention as the woman slipped into the one of the many buildings around the Campus and made her way into one of the musical rooms. It was perhaps that he was paying to much attention to her and not enough to those surroundings as the warm glow of the lights filled the room and blasted against his black body as he took shelter within another of the smaller shadows created by that same light.

He'd heard the girl humming and singing to herself very nearly ever since he could remember having started to stalk her, but as she began to play the piano and sing, it seemed some how different. The creature delighted and thrilled at the terror and horror he would cause but that didn't mean he didn't pause ot listen to the woman's voice as it filled the room.

His thoughts of the other students he had been hunting were pushed aside as he listened. She was the one. There would be no other that would suffice for his entertainment.

Ella had no idea she was being stalked, no inkling that she would soon learn exactly why the girl from her earlier musings had been so afraid. For the moment, all she knew was jazz, and it felt good to finally sing again.

"I know for certai~n, the one I lo~ve
I'm through with flirtin', it's just you that I'm thinking o~f
Ain't misbehavin', saving all my love for yo~u~.."

She still had trouble with the piano accompaniment while singing, but it didn't sound so bad to her ear, not now at least. No, right now she was drifting back, remembering the times she'd sung this same old song, and meant it. Despite her grief over her loss, she didn't regret having loved Thomas. She'd loved him more than life, but that didn't mean she had to be miserable now that he was gone. He wouldn't want it that way, so she would do her best, if not to love again, then at least to live.

Ella shook her head slightly, not noticing a single tear trace down her cheek as she continued singing, her body moving to the song, swaying and arching as she played, the way it always did. For her, music was a full body experience.

"Like Jackie Horner, u~p in a co~rner
He don't go no~where, wha~t do I ca~re
You're kisses are wo~rth waiting fo~r
Be~lieve~ me~..."

Like any good piece of music or story that one had to start out small and work towards the rumbling crescendo, so was the same with horror and fear. It was simple enough to just jump out and reveal one self as the horrifying monster they were but that shock would only lead directly to the human's flight or fight instinct. How much sweeter the game was it when one kept them on the very edge terror and horror, that fine line of thinking rationally yet not able to believe or turst in anything around them. That was a much harder game to play.

Like whispers in the wind, the dark echo's of the terrible shadows voice began to sing the song with the girl. Faint as it would be perhaps dismissed as nothing more than the empty room bouncing the sound back to her. She would have perhaps dismissed them as such, but even at the dark entities slightest whisper the softly glowing lights within the room almost seemed to shudder and tremble.

Yes, this night the young woman would learn why mankind has for so long feared the darkness.

She played more fluidly now, her fingers falling into the rhythm, her voice rising in volume and taking on an almost teasing tone. Even thinking of Thomas didn't bring down the good mood she was building now.

"I don't stay out la~te, don't ca~re to go~
I'm home-a-body, ju~st me and my ra~dio~
Ain't misbehavin', saving my lo---"

She trailed off slowly, her fingers faltering on the keys as she opened her eyes and looked around curiously. She could have sworn there had been an extra tone to her singing, an echo of some sort. She looked toward the door, still closed as she had left it, and frowned for a moment. Shrugging, she looked back to the piano keys, ignoring the flickering of the lights as a power surge or something.

" Ain't misbehavin', saving my lo~ve for yo~u~..."

Her smile returned. Maybe she was misbehaving, now that she thought of it. She wasn't sure she was even allowed to be here, let alone if anyone else was around. Maybe that was what she'd heard, a janitor or something singing along out in the hall. She hoped so. If Ella loved anything more than singing, it was singing to an audience.

The dark entity merely watched as she had stopped playing and singing trying to make sense of the sounds that had ever so quietly lapped at the edge of her senses. Patience was the order of the day and at a point it was a rather tall order. The creature could think of a great many other things he'd rather hear her sweet voice being used for and it took a far greater restraint than he would have ever admitted to not simply cast his nights amusements to the shadows and get right down to business. Instead, he merely began to echo the song once more...falling just a second behind her words and with just the slightest hair louder. The beings voice was dark and sinister, almost seeming to twist the very nature and the words of the song itself in its faint echo.

Even if the girl stopped playing this time, the echoing song would last for just a second longer than before and leaving the room in a mute hanging silence as all the sounds of the world outside of the room seemed to disappear. Unlike the time previous, the lights did not flicker this time and the only warning they gave was a faint wobble as they shadows in the room grew ever deeper.

The monster wasn't worried about time as he had long since began to spread his shadows across and through out the building working on creating a maze of shadows. Safe for now, the woman had little way of knowing that the room she was in now was the last source of light within the building left on. Little did she know that when it suited the creature he would take that from her as well.

Ella's brow knit in confusion as the strange echo returned. This time she determined to ignore it, only singing more loudly as the echo continued. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as the additional voice in her performance rose to match. She blinked a few times as the lights in the room seemed to dim further. Was there a curfew or something? Did they turn off the power after hours to save money? She didn't know, but something just didn't seem right.

"No one to walk wi~th, all by myse~lf
No one to ta~lk with, I'm ha~ppy on the shel--"

As her nervousness intensified, her fingers fumbled the notes more and more often, until she gave up, her voice going silent as she rubbed at her eyes. She was starting to get a little scared now. Even if this was a private school, and on an island, that didn't necessarily mean it was completely safe, right? Right. She'd better get back to her room.

Sliding the key cover back down, she slowly stood up, eyes going to the doorway as she moved in that direction. She stopped, arms hugging herself against a sudden chill as she realized the last notes of her song were still faintly echoing in the room, her voice somehow twisted and distorted in the sounds. It had to be a trick of the room, the way it was shaped. And her spooked mindset was probably making it worse. Shaking her head again, she headed for the door, only to come to a sudden halt once more, as she looked through the small window and saw nothing but inky blackness. She could have sworn the hallway lights had been on a moment ago.

The ever watchful shades perceptive eyes missed little as the first few signs of her rising fear had begun to show itself in her playing and upon her features. He had perhaps hoped she would play for awhile longer, but her instincts had served her well as she had gotten up preparing to leave but yet her body paused with hesitation and fear as the echo's played upon her ears and as she gazed into the darkness of the hallway's window as the only light in the hallway was now that of the outside.

An empty silence broken only by her own breathing and heartbeat greeted her. A moment passed in that silence, as the door frame seemed to darken a bit more as if some form had stepped before the window. Unmoving like statue the darkness hangs in place.

The Nightbringer had remained hidden within the shadows of the room, his unblinking eyes never missing a moment and had he been sitting in a chair he would have been creeping to the edge of his seat with giddy anticipation at all which was to come.

Ella hovered uncertainly at the door, taking an involuntary step back as she saw, or at least thought she saw something beyond the door, a new depth to the darkness. Had she cast a shadow across it when she moved? Or was it simply a light further down the hall being turned off, making the darkness more complete? Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and looked at the window again. That was it, the janitor had thought no one was here, and had left for the night, turning out the lights as he went.

Chuckling quietly to herself at her own childish fear, she put a gloved hand to the doorknob, trying to ignore the fact that the hairs on her neck were still standing at attention. Nothing to be afraid of, baby doll, the dark can't hurt you. She pulled the door open, then hesitated, looking at the light switch in the rehearsal room. If she turned it off, there'd be no light at all in the hallway. Glancing through the darkened window again, she stalled, unwilling to admit to herself she was too spooked to walk the few hundred feet to the exit, at least in complete darkness.

From outside the building a piercing howl cuts through the darkness and the deafening silence, its echo making it impossible to tell where it had come from. The creature could easily see that he fear was starting to get the better of her as she remained standing in the lit room, unwilling perhaps or unable to step into the darkened hall and begin moving for the exit. Down at the exit, something moved past the doors from the outside. To quick to see what it was and to dark to have made any details out. It could have been a great many things, like a trick of a small animals shadow that had passed in front of the light, or maybe a fellow student running by in a hurry to get somewhere.

A moment passes again, nothing changes, nothing happens until the lights who for their part valiently struggled against the dark entities will, simply just go out bathing the room in darkness. With a quick movement the shadowy form of the creature shifts his location, stealing himself away inside of the womans very own shadow. From here it would be much easier to not only watch her building fear but to help guide the action along making sure that even if she escaped the building...she would not escape his plans.

Ella's breath caught at the eerie howling from outside the building. Was that a dog, or a wolf? Did they have wolves on the island? Was that why the lights were put out, to avoid attracting them? She chewed her lower lip nervously, glancing back at the piano for comfort, then shivered, trying to shake off the willies. There was a lush forest on the island, so, it made sense in a way for there to be wolves.

She barely caught the flash of movement past the exit door as she turned back around, sucking in a startled breath, her hand clenching on the doorknob. A wolf? The janitor? It could have been anything, anyone. Calm down, baby doll, you're just jittery is all. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door, and reached for the light switch again. Her covered fingertips had barely brushed it before the lights went out, robbing her of her sight.

Ella very nearly screamed at that point, quickly covering her mouth and choking the sound down to a muffled gasp. Had to be a timer, that was it, a timer. All the lights were cut after a certain hour, to save power, keep away wolves, whatever. Nothing to scream about, nothing to be afraid of. Despite her rapid rationalizing, somewhere inside, Ella knew it was wrong. The coincidences were piling up too high to be reasonable. Calm down, calm down. Keep your head straight, and get back to the dorms.

Panting from the escalating terror, sounding more like she'd just run a hundred yards than walked a few feet, she pulled the door the rest of the way open, slowly stepping out into the hall. Completely unaware of the stowaway in her shadow, she put her hand to the hall and carefully made her way toward the exit, eyes wide, head twitching at every sound, jerking toward every echo her footsteps made in the empty hallway. She knew she was panicking, but at this point calm could wait until she was back in her room.

The dark being would have preferred keeping her inside of the building, but as things stood he knew turning her about would require a bit more of direct action. For now, everything that had happened could be explained in one way or another and the creature knew how the human mind would be prone to do such things. For him to reveal himself now would destroy the groundwork he has been so carefully laying with a single blunt stroke. He couldn't allow that.

As she continued further down the hallway, about half way to the temperature began drop, slowly at first but with each step closer to the door she took it only seemed to grow colder. Every sound seemed intensified as her breathing and footsteps filled the dark corridor, until the silence gave way to another echo. From behind her, the sound of anothers footsteps begin to move down the hall, matching her step for step.

Like the figure behind the door there was no one there and should she have looked the sound itself would have just simply faded to the echoing of her own foot steps.

The Nightbringer grinned hidden inside the young woman's shadow, she would doubtlessly head somewere she believed to be safe and secure. He would drive her there and just at the moment when she thought everything was over...he'd unleash the real nightmare upon her.

One step at a time, one foot in front of the other. Keep your eyes on the exit. Ella tried to regain control of her breathing, free hand clenched to her chest tightly, then hugging tighter still as the temperature dropped. What the hell? Had they killed the lights but left the AC on? It was getting down right frigid in here. Wonderful. Dark and cold. Shivering she increased her pace, glancing behind her as the echoes became louder, then again as another set of footsteps joined her own, eyes darting for the source.

She stopped in an open doorway, pulling herself partway into the pitch black room, hugging the frame as she stared into the gloom shrouding the way she'd come from. Nothing. The footsteps stopped along with her own, and despite how she strained her eyes, she was alone in the hallway. Something about all of this was bothering her, beyond the simple terror. The pieces were slowly turning in her mind, the combination of fear and cold sharpening her thought process.

Flickering lights, phantom echoes, footsteps without a body, and a growing chill. You couldn't grow up in New Orleans without learning a few ghost stories, and this was starting to sound like one to her. But why would a ghost haunt her, here, where she'd only been a scant few weeks? Why wou-

Her thought process, her movements, even her breathing stopped for a moment. There was one person who would follow her here, try to join her in a song, and even go so far as to scare her to be near her. Thomas. Had he come back, and was he trying to communicate with her? Licking her lips, she summoned up what little courage she had and whispered into the silent hallway, her words escaping as small puffs of steam in the chilled air.

"Thomas? Is...is that you, sugar?"

Thomas? The dark being pondered as the girl stopped, amused at how she tried to use the door frame to shield herself from fear and all the things unseen. He wondered what was stronger as he gathered his dark will about him once more. Her fear, or her curiousity. He may not have known this Thomas and given as things were he couldn't read the girls mind, but he would try to use it...maybe he could even lure her back into the building.

Far down the hall as it breaks off into a T-intersection, a shadowy shape could almost be made out passing in front of one of the lights. It looked like a man's shadow but little else could be seen before it walked once more out of sight. No answer came to her frightened questioning words, as all that surrounded her was darkness and quiet.

The Nightbringer could only wait and watch for the girls reaction as much of this game he was playing was a bit of give and take. Horror, true mind bending horror took time to craft, mold and shape.

The human mind is a funny thing. Given a chance to see what it wants to see, hear what is wants to hear, it will. And that is exactly what Ella's mind did, now that the possibility of all of this strangeness being her deceased lover trying to contact her had occurred to her. The fleeting, shadowy figure didn't just look male to her, it looked like Thomas' silhouette. Was he trying to tell her something, lead her somewhere?

"Thomas? Thomas? Sugar, where are you?" she whispered quietly, the cold slipping her mind as she gripped onto the self created delusion. She stumbled down the darkened hallway, cloth shrouded fingers trailing along the wall as she followed the silent apparition. She wanted, needed to know if it was really him. The fear still pulsed inside her, though now it took a different meaning, a dread that her Thomas had come back to blame her, haunt her for living without him.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she drifted further into the dark and quiet building. It didn't matter if he hated her, if he'd come back to take her with him. She'd gladly die if he wanted her to, if only she could see him again, even as a spirit, hear him again, even as a ghostly echo. "Thomas...Thomas...wait sugar, I'm coming."