• It began as a short stroll through the dank forests of Maliguy. The normal, creaks bumps, the occasional twig snap as a heavy foot fall clodded over the fauna. But tonight was going to turn out not be anything like a normal night. Espeacially for Kris. He had always been in these woods. They were his security blanket. He didnt live in the woods in a cabin, no he lived in the middle of town where the sound of cars drums out all sense. He was the son of a middle class family. Pretty much by social standards a normal boy, he got average grades, had an average life, and had average friends. Nothing extra ordinary.

    As Kris marched between the bushes, trees, and other familiar lifeforms in a forest he reflected back on what he had said just before storming out of the house angry at his father. "Dad why the hell do you have to belittle me with words and make me feel inaddequite?" he asked anger now forcing his emotions to boil over as a tears stained his face with a hot acid burn. "Because if I don't no one will even bother to correct your mistakes!" Kris' father shouted only several inches from his face sending bits of saliva colliding with his face. "Could you ever actually give me a real compliment about something i do right dad?!" Kris had shouted as he angrily flung open the door and smashed it against the door jam on his way out.

    Now that Kris had had time to think about how he reacted he felt the sting of shame bite at his cheeks, or maybe it was just the wind? who knew, either way his face stung. But as a precautionary if it was the wind he pulled his jacket closer to his face. He was glad he was thinking rationally enough to grab a jacket on his way out. he knew the forest well, he had his own favorite hiding places for when his father wanted to reconcile but he wasn't ready to forgive him. He didn't think his dad would be coming for him for at least a few hours so he would have time to cool off. Kris was never a person that got angry, until his mother died. It had all been downhill from there. His grades slipped, he fought more with his dad. Then to top it all off he had gotten suspended from school for several days because he had beat the living heck out of a kid who was talking crap about his deceased mother.

    But amongst the familiar Kris seemed deftly aware of a change in the atmosphere. he felt like someone was following him. It definately wasn't his dad cause he woudln't follow quietly. As soon as he looked back he saw something dart out of view just behind a tree that had to be at least seventy-five years old. He kept moving forward, paying wary attention to his acompanee. As soon as he was sure the shady figure was in clear view he spun a one-eighty and faced directly with a hooded figure. Kris walked forward warily, waiting for anything to happen. As he moved forward the figure didn't move it just stood there taunting him. Kris outstretched a hand to try and grab the figure for questioning, but as soon as he did the figure turned to ashes as if it were nothing but a figment of his imagination. This disturbed Kris. He began thinking "Was this all in my head? Was the night playing tricks on me?" He had felt sure that he had seen it. He shrugged it off and just kept going, he would figure it out eventually.

    After a few hours the cold had finally set in on Kris. No matter hoe thick his jacket was he couldn't stop chills from shaking him every few minutes. He had to get to his hiding place and fast. Soon the shack came into view. He stepped inside and took off his jacket. His hiding place was a once well used family cabin, he was attached to it because it held many good memories of his family, when they weren't fighting. Kris started a meager fire in the stove and sat near it in an attempt to get warm. It soon worked as the stove began to heat up. As the fire crackled in it encasement Kris sat on a chair contemplating things that had happened since his mother died. He had taken it as bravely as possible. At the funeral he didn't cry, when people tried to talk to him about it he just said "She died. What else is there to it?", that kept most people satisfied. Until he beat up Randy Martinez, a good friend too. He had pushed the conversation to far. He had said that "your mother wasn't all that great anyway. Why even bother grieving for her?". Kris knew he had meant it as something other than what it sounded but after he had said it Kris just snapped. He unleashed all the anger he had all the sadness he had into pounding Randy into the ground. He had done a fair job of it to. Randy had to go to the hospital. He had a concussion, broken rib, nose, and wrist, also Randy had one hell of a headache when he left. The parents of Randy said they wouldn't press charges if Kris agreed to therapy. Ofcourse his dad made the decision for him without considering Kris into it. He had gone through the therapy. Done everything they had told him to do. Hell if they asked him to rollover and eat a dog biscuit he would've had to so he didn't go to Juvi. But that wasn't even the worse part. After that had happened the tears started to flow, no matter how hard he tried to wipe them back. He remebered everything about his mother and all it did was bring more to the surface. After about two hours of this the tears finally just stopped. Kris' face was red from the shame and the tears he had cried. He had felt tired and emotionally drained. Like there was nothing else now that could make him cry,ever. Months later Randy had come back to school. Kris had tried to explain to him, but everytime he did Randy just cowered and said don't hurt me. That made Kris feel like a monster. Sitting in the cabin remembering this made Kris almost want to cry, but something just stopped him from doing it. Kris was tired, sleep ebbed at his conciousness. There was a small dusty cot in the corner he had used when he stayed her for more then a few hours. He went and crawled into it and mere seconds after he touched his head to the pillow darkness engulfed him in its embrace.

    Opening his eyes all Kris saw was inky blackness wrapping him like a blanket. He knew it was morning, he checked his watch by turning on the light that was inside it, 8:56 a.m. He knew it should be bright outside. He waved his hand in front of his face, nothing he couldn't see anything at all. Kris started to panic. Had he gone blind?! Was he dreaming? What was happening to him? He couldn't figure it out. But as he thought this a voice as chilling as last night spoke. "You are my prisoner. You will obey me child of the night. You were bound to me when you touched me." it made him shiver, but he didn't feel his body convulsel. What was going on?! as if to answer that the voice spoke again, " I am in control, I am your master. You will not defy my will!" It screamed, it felt as if the voice was in his head and outside it at the same time. If this thing was controlling him, what was it doing. He had no sensory input to know. How was he going to get out of this, and what did this thing mean about me touching it last night? Kris couldn't remember anything, it was all just a blurr.

    He could no longer recollect time. Kris had lost track of everything. The voice had been quiet. But neither had Kris thought at all. He had sat there in a numb stasis ever since the voice had said he was no longer in control. But as soon as he had rememberd that the voice came back again. "you have been quitet young one. Why is this?" There was no malice in the voice this time just curiosity. Gathering up his courage Kris tried to converse with the being. " Because i didn't want you in my head, i've already been through enough. I don't want to be crazy too." Kris said although there had been no words clinging to the air. "You are not insane. This is very much real. I can relinquish my control for as long as i please but i have not yet grown weary of being in control, so you may be like this for awhile longer. But since i am to share a body with you i might as well release one tid-bit of information about myself. My name is Haanglou. Pronounce it as you wish but i will only hear my name." Kris sat for a minute and didn't say anything. " So you can let me be myself any time you want to?", "Why are you so interested in me though. I am nothing extraordinary." Kris said sullen. " Ahh. But that is where you are wrong. You have speacial talents that only i could see." "What talents did you see?" "The usual ones of a child of the night. Have you ever noticed that you can see very well in the dark. Almost unusually well?" The way Haanglou said it provoked Kris to think. He did see a little to well in the dark. When he walked in the dark if he went into a very dark area he could see as if he were in the faint light of a porch, but when he looked around he saw no lights. "So you do know that you have unusal talents." "Also you may have noticed increased strength when you let your emotions run free." Kris remembered that all to well because of Randy. "But how does this make me a child of the night?" "All children of night feed off there emotions to make them stronger. All children of night can see at night. All can merge with a dark apparation such as myself. But each one is different. They each have one speacial ability, that no other has. I have not yet deciphered yours yet that is why i am in control right now." Gaanglou said with an almost ageless tone as if he were speaking with many voices but one in the same. "Wouldn't it be easier to tell if i was in control? or at least partly in control?" Kris asked hoping he would get an answer of yes. "Perhaps you are right young one. Many centuries have made me wise, but i am still awed and amazed at the persistence of youth. Maybe you will find your talent through your own actions, but remember i can take control at any time so if you do not try and figure it out, I will." After those final solemn words were spoken all of Kris' senses barraged him, sight, smell, touch, sound, and taste. He appeared to be in the fetal position on the floor, dust had caked his teeth and made them gritty to touch with is tongue. Thirst racked his throat, good thing he kept supplies here just in case. Opening a fresh bottle of water he downed all the contents in a few titanic gulps. But he was sure somewhere in the back of his mind, Graanglou was waiting for a reason to take over. He had to get on this Child of the Night business and fast or else he would be in the fetal position for the rest of his life. Reflecting back Kris could still not think of a single thing that would count as "Speacial talent" material other than what Graanglou had mentioned.

    Returning home. Sounds great doesn't it? Kris gulped as he pushed open the door as silently as possible, trying hard to not make a noise so his father, wherever he was, wouldn't wake up. Tiptoeing across the floor and to his room he found his father passed out on the couch with an empty bottle of Whiskey. His father only drank when he was worried about something. Had he been worried about Kris? He didn't want to know right now. He continued past and into his room. He gently shut the door and began rummaging through his things to find evidence of anything. Nothing. This was going to be hard. So he bagan thinking again. Was his ability to hold it all in and unleash it when he just saw fit his talent? No, Graanglou had said all Children of the Night could do that, well he had said that tehy drew on their emotions for strength. What was his talent? Everyone after he had beat up Randy had treated him like an outcast. No one talked to him. Nobody sat near him. Everyone had said that he had some kind of darkness hovering about him. Just thinking about this the room got darker all of the sudden. He thought "What the heck.. Why is it dark in here? The blinds are ope and it is a sunny day with no clouds in sight, but yet it is dark in my room." It wasnt much of a change for him but it was enough to be noticed. Then it hit him. He could project a darkness over anything nearby. As if to asnwer this Graanglou chimed "Ahh. So that is what you can do. I am surprised that it only took you hours to figure out your speacial talent. For most it would have taken years. I knew something about you was different." Kris thought "Wait. Even though you aren't in control you can still talk to me?" "That is how it appears child." "This is gonna get creepy for me with two voices inside my head. But at least now i have someone to talk to. Wait if you can control me, why was I in a catatonic state?" "Alas my powers only breech your mind, not your body. Without your part in your body it just went into a stage of comatose that i could not get it out of." "Talk about saying no." Kris thought with a side note of humor. "Do not mock me child. I can make you stay in that stupor indefinately." Anger amongst other feeling pertruded from Graanglous' ominous message. "Ok, but still. I saw you last night, but then you kin dof turned to ashes. Could you make you self appear now so i atleast know what you look like?" Kris said. If he was going to share his mind with something he wanted to know what it looked like. "I can try. But i will not make any promises i am old and not a powerful as i used to be." A few minutes later a hooded figure stood in the middle of Kris' room. It removed its' hood. Kris couldn't believe it. Graanglou looked just like a normal person. Except he had an etheral glow about him. Almost creepy. But as he gazed upon this his face changed. Now it was the face of his mother. Rage filled Kris. How dare he even do such a thing!! "DO NOT PRETEND TO BE MY MOTHER!" Kris screamed inside his head. The face changed back. He had mid-length brown hair, styled as if for the late 1800's. He had hazle eyes, the kind like his mothers. He had an small indent in his chin. But the most peculiar part was his ears came to a small point at the top. "if you are appearing out here do i still have to think or can i just speak with you?" Kris thought. As if to answer the man standing in the middle of the room said "No." " Well at least i know i dont have to keep the voices in my head. It will make me appear so much crazier." "You have not yet learned the extent of what will happen to you, but for now youngling this is enough for you go to sleep." Kris didn't feel sleepy, but as soon as he thought that all went dark.

    Waking up several hours later Kris had rigimortis. His limbs were stiff. Getting up he stretched his legs. Kris definately did not have a restful sleep. Shuffling about his house he found his father up and at the stove. Hearing Kris come in his dad stopped mulling about and grabbed him in an embrace. "Oh god Kris, i was so worried last night when you didn't come home." His father let that sit in the air for a few moments before continuing, "Please don't do that, i know i can be difficult but you haven't exactly made it easy for me." His father finished. Kris desperately wanted to believe his fathers conforting words. But he knew as soon as he did something wrong the sentiment would mean nothing. But for the sake fo family unrest he said "Yea dad i know. But it just hasn't been easy for anyone." Kris returned the hug half-heartedly. "Well i best be off, ya know school and everything" Running out the door as fast as he could Kris raced off to school which was only blocks away. He didn't want to be in that house right now. It made him feel uncomfortable. He didn't want false reconciliation. He wanted his dad to be truly sorry for what he had done to him. But that was never going to come until he was on his deathbed.

    The steady clink of silverware against hard plastic plates, was the only thing heard amongst the small snicker at someone who got too much of something too hot in his mouth and disintegrated his taste buds. Kris had sat alone since, well the incident. But he didn't mind it now because he had at least someone to talk to. "So Graanglou....Why did you choose me over somebody else?" Kris asked with curiosity. "Because, I can tell when someone will at least be able to hold a little control over there body even though i'm posessing it. Also i could tell you would not be completely overwhelmed by the evil that i am." Grannglou said pleased. "Huh. Was it cause my mother died that prepared me to be taken over by an evil spirit?" Kris inquisitioned. "That could have been a big part of it youngling. But i still have to search through your mind, to find what would have made you prepared for me." Graanglou said troubled by this.