Part 2 of chapter 1 preview

Here's part two of my current project, chapter 1 still.

Tonight, however, angels were not what I hunted. There was something less pure than that walked the streets below me. A group of men dressed in sweats, colored completely in red. I had been following them for the last twenty minutes. Six of them walked as one down the side of the street. I knew they were armed as I watched them emerge from a car several miles back, hiding pistols under their shirts as they did so.

Trouble is what they sought, and like me, they were on the hunt. Predators looking for prey. I couldn't help but notice in the back of my mind the similarities the men shared with me. I could almost understand their desires, their drives. It was a part of me that I submersed and refused to acknowledge its existence. It was that part that I hated and despised, the part that drew me to them.

I followed as close as I dared, my path leading me above them along the empty roof tops. I paused and waited for them to catch up to me whenever I pulled too far ahead of them. My dead heart pumped in anticipation when I caught sight of the group's quarry. A lone man, maybe in his forties had his car's hood lifted up as he himself poked and prodded at the thing's innards. He wasn't aware of his danger until it was too late. The first one to confront the man posed as if he were there to help him.

The lone man was startled at first, and the smell of his fear rose up to my perch as I watched, drawing the hunger and the need to hunt just that much more out of control. Yet the time was not right, at least not yet. Soon it would be, but not now.

The man's apprehension did not entirely pass away at the sight of the other's obvious gang colors, but the one who first approached him had a way with words, and quickly got him off his guard as he leaned into the cars maw and began to poke around as well. I wondered how much longer they would keep this charade up. It wouldn't be long, I knew. Even now several of the youth were looking up and down the street, verifying that the coast was clear. Their victim, not realizing his danger or refusing to believe it even existed, began to accept the lie, and leaned into the car's engine compartment to poke around with the first youth.

A part of me felt a bit amused at the victim's shock when the other gang members struck. They were quick and efficient. A few quick blows targeting soft and vulnerable parts of the man’s body sent him reeling to the ground, defenseless and easy pickings. They drug him quickly out of sight into a nearby alley where they could take their time with him. I really had no idea what their plans for him were. Perhaps they intended on just robbing him and maybe having just a little bit of sport with him. The desires and the doings of mortals have slowly slipped away from my psyche. Sure, I remember the mechanics, of course. I just don't quite understand the motivations anymore. As time goes by, these things seem to slip away, little by little.

The stronger ones I can still understand, at least I think I can, and the ones that go along with my nature. Those I have found a new understanding of, an enlightening that I doubt any human could possibly understand. A depth of illumination that scares me and at times sickens me. The others, like love, and loyalty, I struggle almost daily to persevere and protect from the darkness.

What I fear above all else is the loss of everything that I once was.

Now, however, is the time to let that beast out. Not completely, lest I lose myself and never find my way back, yet, as much as I hate what I have become, the need to feed must have its time. The choice of locale for the robbery was perfect for me. The darkness was deep, and with my help it became much deeper. The first guard died under my hands, his neck bones splintering as I twisted his head