The girl screamed. Must they always scream? It attracts so much attention and then I have to either silence them or carry them off to my lair where no one will hear.

This one tried to hit me with a crow bar. Such a pity. I’ll have to silence her. Her neck snaps like a twig. She is quiet, but now I must flee before there are witnesses.

Inside my lair I devour her, but it is unsatisfying. I prefer a chase, a hunt. I prefer a challenge. It’s so boring eating fresh kill that can’t at least squirm on the way down!

I’ll have to go find something else, someone else, someone who will squirm for me, provide a good chase.

I slunk out into the night. I smelled the air. Disgustingly fresh. I went to the farmlands, where the smell of dung masked my own. I stayed downwind so as not to alert the guard dogs.

Bingo! One innocent farmer has gone for an early morning deer hunt. Perfect!

I silently follow him deep into the woods. Perfect!

I sneak up behind him. He jumps, but the safety is off. A bullet hits my head.