Book cover of “After the Night“ by Priyal Dessai

After the Night

  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Age: 18+
  • Status: Completed
  • Language: English
  • Author: Priyal Dessai
  • Uploaded by user267747
"Why do you always look at me like that?" she whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of her heart. "Because you're unlike anyone I've ever known," Damien replied, his voice a low, husky murmur that sent shivers down her spine. "Your presence is like a thorn in my side." Eira scoffed, trying to mask the tremor in her voice. “You're n... 

1 - The Stormy Night

The only certainty of life is death, everyone proclaims. But what happens when you die and don’t remain dead?

There was something different about Orilon that night.

Something lingered in the cool air, a strange scent that John Williams couldn't quite place his finger on. But he knew there was something.

As he walked towards Malcom's Shack to meet Sheriff Holland, a crow flew past him — close enough to bump into him. Startled, he fell backwards, his heart picking up pace.

Considering it to be a coincidence, he stood up, dusting the dirt from his clothes. Just then he felt an eerie sensation that someone was following him.

He turned around abruptly but nothing seemed out of place. The roads were littered with towns folk, going about their business.

Sighing, he kept walking and walked into Malcom's Shack. Sheriff Holland was already there, waiting for him, her feet tapping impatiently against the floor.

"Thank you for meeting me here, Sheriff," he said, taking a seat in front of her.

Isla Holland waved her hand dismissively. "No need for formalities, Detective Williams. Let's get done with this quickly, shall we?" she urged.

John Williams cleared his throat, taken aback by the sense of urgency in her voice. Placing his elbows on the table, he leaned forward and decided to approach directly. "I've looked into the case, Sheriff," he began, his voice low but ceased talking the moment he saw Eira approach their table.

She greeted him like she always did — with a wide smile but he noticed how it didn't quite reach her eyes that night. "What can I get for you today, John?" she asked him, her eyes darting momentarily to the milkshake Sheriff Holland was sipping.

John shook his head. "No, Eira. I don't need anything tonight. I won't be long," he said, motioning towards Isla Holland.

Subtly nodding, Eira moved away without another word. John wanted to know what was wrong with her but he knew it would have to wait. He had more important matters at hand.

Turning his attention back to the Sheriff, he said, "We can't dismiss it as an animal attack case. Bodies drained of blood? No animal is capable of doing that. Which doctor approved of this?"

"I assure you we had the best team carrying out the medical investigation of those bodies," assured Isla. "You've seen the pictures, John. Their bodies were mutilated."

"Why aren't you seeing what I'm seeing? Bodies drained of blood," he emphasised.

Detective Williams almost felt the sensation again—someone's burning gaze on his neck but chose to ignore it.

Isla sighed heavily, her eyes staring intently at the milkshake in her hand. Finally she commented, "Are you trying to say something supernatural might be at play?" Her lips were twitching as if she was trying to suppress a smile.

John knew how strange the people of Orilon were. They liked talking about witches — some even going to the length of proudly proclaiming that once indeed witches existed in their town. However, John was a logical man. He believed in science, not superstition.

"I want to see the postmortem reports, Sheriff," he said with determination in his voice.

"And you will certainly see them." After a pause, Holland stood up and mumbled, "There's a storm coming. Hope you've got an umbrella."

With a smile and dismissive wave of her hand, she walked out of Malcom's Shack, into the unending darkness of the night.

.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・.・゜゜・

Orilon was now blanketed with darkness, the moon absent from the sky. The scent of petrichor danced in the air, hinting that rain would pour in soon, wetting the streets and anyone under it without an umbrella.

Eira Blake disregarded the news of the brewing storm. She did not care about a little rain pouring down her, she was drenched enough in pain and alcohol.

Somehow she had found her way to the cemetery earlier that night. Her sober self wouldn't have done it. That part of her feared darkness more than anything.

But a drunk person feared nothing. And that night, she had nothing to lose, except for her life.

"There you are, mother dearest!" she exclaimed upon spotting the tomb marked Dakota Blake. "Hope you're resting well. Seems like no one visited you," she observed, frowning at her mother's grave which was covered with dry leaves and wilted flowers.

In love and in death, Dakota Blake had given and received love from few. Eira was not included among those people.

John Williams, Dakota's only friend, was the only other person Eira believed had visited her mother's grave. Other than Melissa, of course. Melissa, Eira's other and more loved sister who had decided to pick the furthest town from Orilon to settle in with her new family.

Eira slumped in front of the tomb, sitting with crossed legs. "I thought it was high time you received a life update from me," she began, her words slurring. "First things first: your prediction came true. Caleb finally broke up with me."

Her phone rang up as if on cue, flashing Bella's name on the screen. She ignored it, knowing that a chat with Bella could wait.

After a pause, Eira chuckled to herself, covering her mouth with her palm. "Shocking, right? Although expected? Well, I'm not telling you the truth. You see, I was the one who broke up with him. Why do you ask?"

She paused, tearing up the blades of overgrown grass around her. Her heart sank, overcome with burden and a flux of emotions she had managed to keep at bay since exiting her apartment that morning.

Finally, she confessed, "He cheated on me, mom. With Hela. Of all people. You said you'd laugh at me when this would happen. Are you laughing now?" The emotions she was holding back escaped and broke something inside of her completely.

She buried her head into her folded knees and cried out. As loud as she could.

Suddenly, a crow fluttered in front of her and settled on her mother's grave. It let out a shriek, startling Eira.

She tried to shush it away as she stood up but her knees felt weak and she stumbled. But before she could fall face first into the ground, someone caught hold of her arms.

She looked up and found herself gazing into the bluest eyes she had ever seen.

"Hello there," the man said, a mischievous glint playing in his bright eyes. He resembled the crow she had been trying to shoo away, the crow that had mysteriously vanished. Eira tried finding it, but realised it could have been a figment of her imagination like this handsome man in front of her was.

He was dressed from head to toes in black and could easily blend with the darkness of the night.

"Hey, weird girl," he remarked. "You couldn't stop talking a while ago and now that I'm here in front of you, you've got nothing to say?"

Eira's mind was too occupied to make sense of his words, no matter how simple they were. She stared at him with a gaping mouth. She asked, "What are you saying?" She had no idea what she had just said, but whatever it was had made him advance towards her.

"You're creepy, huh? Talking to a grave at this time during the night," he said, taking another step forward.

"Stay away," she warned him, pointing her index finger at him as a warning as she took a trembling step behind. Her body swayed a little more.

He shook his head lightly.

Smirking at her, he closed the remaining distance between them. "Now that I'm so close, why would I stay away? Let me taste you." Then his eyes bored directly into hers. "Don't scream. Don't run," she heard the words echo in her mind although his lips never moved. Then he let out a sigh before grabbing her arms and biting into her neck.

Eira let out a painful scream, but that did not stop him. She tried to push him away, but that only caused his grip to tighten around her arms. She began kicking him, but soon felt her strength fading away.

The corners of her vision turned grey before darkness swallowed her whole.

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