INTERLUDE: The Afterdark and the Triple Homicide
A bad part of the city.
The Afterdark is a young man. He walks the streets at night, wrapped up in a coat he has fashioned from shadows. Sometimes he starts fires and waits for the homeless to come to the light to investigate. He likes to read their minds and control them. He makes them fight each other if he's in a particularly bad mood.
That doesn't cut it for him anymore. He wants to be part of the fight. He doesn't know why he feels so violent, or why he likes it when other people are hurt. The Afterdark only knows that he craves others' pain.
He's young, but already he's seven feet tall with a wiry frame. He only weighs about 225 pounds. He's raring for a fight.
The Afterdark reaches out with his mind. It's like swimming with your eyes open--you can see what's around you, but it's indistinct and your senses are overloaded by the little things. He finds three people nearby and he brings them close. Under his control, humans shuffle like awkward zombies.
He kills all three of them, then waits for the police to arrive. Hidden in the shade created by a dumpster, he watches the cops do everything in their power to find clues, but there are none. The Afterdark listens to their thoughts, and how disturbed and disgusted they are by his crime. When finally they leave, he wanders off into the night.
The Afterdark becomes more selective about his victims as time goes on. He has learned that sometimes it's better to let them live so he can torment them another day.
A bad part of the city.
The Afterdark is a young man. He walks the streets at night, wrapped up in a coat he has fashioned from shadows. Sometimes he starts fires and waits for the homeless to come to the light to investigate. He likes to read their minds and control them. He makes them fight each other if he's in a particularly bad mood.
That doesn't cut it for him anymore. He wants to be part of the fight. He doesn't know why he feels so violent, or why he likes it when other people are hurt. The Afterdark only knows that he craves others' pain.
He's young, but already he's seven feet tall with a wiry frame. He only weighs about 225 pounds. He's raring for a fight.
The Afterdark reaches out with his mind. It's like swimming with your eyes open--you can see what's around you, but it's indistinct and your senses are overloaded by the little things. He finds three people nearby and he brings them close. Under his control, humans shuffle like awkward zombies.
He kills all three of them, then waits for the police to arrive. Hidden in the shade created by a dumpster, he watches the cops do everything in their power to find clues, but there are none. The Afterdark listens to their thoughts, and how disturbed and disgusted they are by his crime. When finally they leave, he wanders off into the night.
The Afterdark becomes more selective about his victims as time goes on. He has learned that sometimes it's better to let them live so he can torment them another day.
