Arisen

To say that it was a dark and stormy night would not have done it justice. It had been a dark and stormy week, and this particular night seemed to be the climax of that. There were no people on the streets this night – branches were falling from surrounding trees and stoplights were burnt out and upside down in the wind.
I wished that I could go inside. The thought of a warm house and maybe a cup of cocoa did its best to warm me, but I couldn’t shake the reality of this weather. The rain beat down from all directions, shoving me around in compliance with the wind. I stumbled off the edge off the crumbly sidewalk I was standing on. The gutter I stepped into was flooded with several inches of water, pouring through my dirty shoes and past me into the sewer drain. I was very close to giving up. There didn’t seem a lot of point to be out here, hunting, when the chances were strong that I would be spotted before I spotted anyone else. I knew my duties, and I knew them well, but years of this work allowed me to finally understand my limits. I knew what I was and was not capable of, and I knew that I was not capable of anything in this kind of weather. I decided after little deliberation to find shelter. I couldn’t imagine why anyone else would be out here, even if they were a vampire.