As Justin cautiously led them toward the doorway, Serenity could feel her pulse quicken. She had never seen one of the Dark Ones interact with humans before. They ambled aimlessly through the world each night, seemingly unaware of the humans around them. Why would one direct them toward a crumbling building?
The pair hesitated at the doorway. The lace curtain covering the opening stirred slightly in the night air, the once-beautiful fabric now stained and stiff with grime. They couldn't see anything past the tattered curtain, but Serenity soon became aware of a delicious aroma coming from within the building.
"Is that...?" She inhaled deeply and her mouth began to water. "Fried chicken?"
Justin turned and faced the Dark One, expressing his gratitude with a polite nod. Then, without further hesitation, they two pushed past the curtain and entered the darkness of the building.
It felt strange to be indoors at night. It had been nearly a decade since the Fair Ones had decended upon the world, feeding off of human flesh and fear, and forcing the survivors to adopt a nocturnal lifestyle. And for the past month, Justin had led them from town to town in search of safety. Serenity missed the feeling of the cool night air on her skin, but the smell of warm food was too tempting to ignore.
"I think the smell is coming from this direction," said Justin, tugging slightly on Serenity's hand. "Watch your step."
With just their small, mechanically powered flashlight to light their way, the couple followed a narrow hallway to a set of crudely-carved stairs and descended beneath the building's foundation.
This freewrite is part 3 of an ongoing story. If you would like to read more, use the links below to navigate.
As always, thanks go out to @mariannewest for providing today's prompt. If you would like to see her original post, you can find it here.
Image sourced from Pixabay.