They struggled against the chains wrapped around their neck, which slowly tightened as they gasped desperately for air.
Their fingernails had broken off from the poor thought out attempt of trying to claw the chains away so now their fingertips were coated with blood. But still, they struggled against their imminent demise.
With a groan of annoyance at their disobedience of the obvious outcome I pulled the chains back and had them start lifting them into the air.
Tears and drool poured out of their face as they kicked wildly in the air and gurgled noises, which might have been words, escaped from their body.
They reached their arm out towards me, desperately trying to grab me despite how far away from each other we were. The hell were they trying to do?
Were they trying to beg? Trying to get me to stop? Trying to fight back?
I didn't know, and to be honest, I didn't care.
Just die already.
My irritation soon grew and out of frustration I lifted the chains in my hands up above my head and swung them forward.
The chains hanging around the darkness shook at my movement and the one around the targets neck began to twist and tighten, forcefully turning their head for me.
They screamed and cried and struggled desperately to prevent what was about to happen only to be answered by the sound of their neck snapping.
Their legs stopped kicking and their blood soaked hands fell to their sides. There were a few moments of twitching but ultimately the body was motionless.
The chains unraveled themselves from their neck, sending the corpse plummeting to the ground, as the black metal came back to me.
Now, all that was left to do was clean up.
With a quick snap of my fingers the shadows around me came to life and leaped onto the corpse like the starved animals they were.
The sounds of flesh being torned and bones snapping filled my ears as the man was devoured. Soon there would be nothing left of them, not even a puddle of blood for someone to stumble across. The shadows ate it all.
Once they had finished their meal the darkness around me began to dissipate and I was once again standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk surrounded by happy people enjoying the summer night.
The woman who was with the target, a pettit twenty something with light brown hair, looked around in confusion.
"Hun" she said, not knowing what had happened to their partner.
I walked past her as she began yelling their name and headed to the meating place, doing my best to get past this annoying crowd of people.
It probably would have made my walk easier if I just killed them all.
Eventually, I stepped into a part of the neighborhood where the sidewalks were empty and only a few dim lights allowed me to see. The buildings and parking lots were all quiet and only the sound that was made were that of the few passing cars.
Although, I guess it didn't matter if anybody was around. No one can see me, the cloak I was wearing made sure of that.
Even if I was in front of a person, observing their every movement and action, they would never know I was there.
At least, that's how it's supposed to be.
I continued walking as the memory of that annoying looking woman invaded my mind. No matter how hard I tried to forget or pretend she hadn't seen me, it was clear that my cloak had failed me.
Eventually, I found a blue colored bus stop bench. A flickering light made the bench and garbage around it visible in the darkness.
I sat down and waited, doing my best to not think of the incident that had happened earlier today.
The hours ticked by and a few buses passed by where I was.
I'll be honest, it was somewhat of a relief that my cloak was still working. It made my job easier so getting rid of it would have been a hassle.
No one could see me, just the way it should be.
Finally, a bus stopped directly in front of me and the driver opened the doors to me. He gave me a welcoming smile as he waited for me to board.
With a sigh of annoyance I stepped onto the bus before it drove away.
As the bus drove I scanned the seats in front of me looking for where I was supposed to sit.
All but one was empty with the only other passenger than me being a smiling man with messy blonde hair sitting near the back with a bag of groceries in his lap. He was dressed in a white and red striped shirt and wore a white fedora on his head while a large red feather stuck out of it.
Reluctantly, I sat down next to him.
He promptly shoved a candy bar in front of my face.
"Here you go," he said in a sing-song voice, "nothing beats chocolate while on a road trip."
Naturally, I shoved his hand away.
"I'm not hungry."
"Hmm, really? Oh well."
Without a second thought he began unwrapping the chocolate bar only to be met with the sound of the bus intercom coming on.
"Please do not eat on the bus" the automatic voice informed us before clicking off.
"Well shoot" he responded, still smiling as he placed the candy bar back into his bag, "I got a bunch of these on sale, but I guess I'll wait until we're back home."
I groaned with annoyance in response to his nonsense.
"So" he asked, "how were the little errands we had you go on?"
"The target has been eliminated. There were no witnesses."
"Good job! You are always such a dependable child. Now, what about the other job?"
My fist tightened up at the question I had hoped he wouldn't have asked.
Reaching into my pocket, I produced two pictures. One of the brown haired women and one of the blonde who had seen me.
"These are the two woman who were with the target."
"Ooh" he whispered, his light blue eyes examining every curve of the women that were in the picture, "I knew the boy had taste but these two look far more delectable than any candy bar. So, were there any issues with this one?"
His eyes then shifted to me and a chill shot through my body. I should have known better than to try and hide what had happened.
". . .the blonde one" I responded.
"Oh, the curvy one. I suppose she might be distracting for a boy your age I don't see how-"
"She saw me."
The moment the words were out of my mouth, a frown crossed his lips for the first time in awhile.
He examined the pictures for a bit longer as we drove in silence.
"I see" he finally said, before storing the pictures in his breast pocket, "well that is surprising."
Leaning forward, he pulled down on the wire lining the bus roof and caused a loud ding to echo out.
The bus pulled to an abrupt stop, with the doors swinging open, and he stood out of his seat.
"Let's discuss your next job."
He gestured for me to move and we made our way to the doors.
Before us was a wide open field surrounded by a dense forest. Resting in the middle of the field was a black pool of water which looked like it was boiling.
Before I could ask what was happening, he started walking towards the water, humming a show tune as he did so.
Without any other choice, I followed after him and it didn't take long for me to realize that we weren't the only ones in this forest.
Other than the sound of our feet crushing the grass, low growls and unearthly noises could be heard around us, and I saw movement in the darkness. From what I could make out it was rather large and had an odd shape to it.
Eventually, we arrived at the foot of the pool and I was given a clearer picture of what it actually was.
The "lake" was a bubbling pool of blackness, as thick as tar but flowing like water.
The grass at the rim of the pool had all withered leaving nothing but dead soil around it and letting a disgusting smell weigh heavily in the air.
"Aren't late night walks just the best" my boss asked me, "the moon lighting every beautiful aspect there is to nature. And, the birth of new children happening right before your eyes."
Reaching into his bag he pulled out a large chunk of meat and threw it into the air above the pool.
Within seconds a creature with a slick black body, covered in sparkling scales and with a triangular head shot out and grabbed the meat in its razor sharp teeth. Instead of arms the monster had a pair of large, hooked wings at its side which it used to sore around for a few moments before diving into the black forest around us.
The inhuman shrieks and growls grew louder as I saw the shadows of other creatures fight the new arrival over who would dine on the meal.
He then turned to me and placed the bag of groceries in my arms.
"I would like you to use these children to kill the blonde girl."
"W-what?"
I stared at him for a moment, trying my best to understand what he had just said. He simply started walking towards the bus, smiling as he did.
"She's not dangerous, or special even" he informed me as he walked, "however, if she's able to see you then this is the best course of action we can take. The less people who know about you the better."
Staring on, I felt a sudden irrational annoyance erupt in me.
"I can kill some random woman, I don't need-"
I was stopped from making my statement by a red spike piercing me through the back.
Blood trickled down my chin and I did my best to keep my balance as he smiled at me, his blue eyes glowing in the darkness like a wild animal.
"I'm sorry" he asked, "did you have something you wanted to say? I honestly couldn't hear you."
Another chill shot through me as fear began to take hold.
I swallowed down the blood in my mouth and did my best to ignore the pain that was shooting through my whole body as I thought out the best thing to say.
"No, sir."
Instantly the spike removed itself from my body and I fell forward throwing the contents of the grocery bag out infront of me.
"You have until the end of the month my child" he said as he continued walking, "do your best as always."
And with that said, he boarded the bus and the driver drove him away.
The whole in my chest started closing as I stood back up and spit out as much blood as I could.
I was alone now. With nothing but the monsters in the dark to keep me company.