Nightfall I: Red Eyes

Selene Alana, with her braided black hair, white long-sleeves blouse, dark blue pants, her old brown leather bag, and wearing her favorite beige heels, is waiting for a jeepney to go to work. She can smell and feel the thick smoke that fills the morning air; There's heavy traffic and the stop is filled with people trying to find their luck in finding a jeepney ride to school or work.

As she anxiously waits for a jeepney ride, she fidgets with the red necklace she's wearing and constantly checks for the time, hoping not to be late for her first day to work at Vega Inc., the biggest tech company in the country, she cannot mess this up.

Her phone suddenly rings and she picks it up from her pocket. Caleb, her best friend since college, is calling her.

"Hey Cal!" she says through the phone.

"Hey, where are you?" Caleb says.

"At the stop, traffic's horrible and I'm stuck here waiting for a jeepney, but I'm thinking of walking if there's no luck."

"I was just gonna ask if you need a ride today." Caleb says to her. "Stay there, wait for me."  

"Cal, thank you! You're a lifesaver! See you." she says and they hang up.

Caleb was her classmate in college and they were very close since then. He used to annoy her by calling her names such as the kids' vitamins; Selena, after the famous pop singer, Selena Gomez; Dion, because of the singer Celine Dion, and many other things he could think of that rhymes with Selene. He started sticking with calling her Luna when he learned where Selene's parents got the name from. 

Her parents were admirers of Greek mythology, and when she was born on a full moon, they decided to name her after the Greek Titan goddess of the moon, Selene. The goddess was known for being depicted as the one riding a chariot pulled by two-winged horses, being the personification of the moon itself, and having the Roman name Luna, where Caleb got the name from. 

As Selene waits for Caleb, she suddenly sees a familiar figure of a man riding a motorcycle just a few meters away. She smiles at just seeing the sight and when he stops in front of her, she sees a man in a light blue long-sleeves polo with a black jacket over it, dark blue pants, and brown shoes, looking at her with those dark brown eyes, his dark hair, and tan skin complimenting the morning sunlight.

"Hey, you" Caleb says, smiling at her. 

"Cal!" she says as she hugs him. "You're a lifesaver!" 

"Nice seeing you, too" Caleb chuckles and hands her the other helmet. Selene puts on the helmet and sits at the back, putting her arms on Caleb's back.

"You okay there? Hang on" he says as he looks back at Selene and starts the motorcycle.

They arrive at a large building with a big sign that says Vega Inc. Selene smooths her clothes and fixes her hair. Caleb, still on his motorcycle, smiles as he looks at her in awe. She hands the helmet back to Caleb.

"Thanks Cal"

"Good luck!" he says. Selene turns around and starts to walk towards the entrance. "Oh wait." he says, making Selene pause and turn back around. "There's this Italian restaurant that serves the best pizza. I know how much you like Italian food." he says and grins. "Just let me know when-."

"Your treat?" she asks with a grin, Caleb chuckles and nodded. "I'll text you after work. See you!" she says with a grin and gives him a small wave goodbye as he drives off, Selene watches him go. She turns and walks towards the entrance of the building. Despite being anxious and overwhelmed, she tries to smile and look confident for the day.

Night came, and Selene just got out of work. Texting as she rushes to exit the building, she suddenly bumps into a man.

"I'm so sorry" she said nervously, looking at the man who's also looking surprised. "I-I was on my phone. I didn't-"

"No, it's okay." he says, Selene looking at the ground. She looks up and sees the man slightly frowning at her, as if he's studying her from head to toe. He then puts on a smile and winks. "Nice meeting you, see you around." and walks away.

Now, that was awkward and weird she thought and rushes towards the exit. She exits the building and sees Caleb waiting at the parking lot with his motorcycle. "Hey there." he says, handing her the helmet. Selene takes it, rides at the back of the motorcycle and off they went.

They stop at a beautiful Italian restaurant. Caleb holds the door and bows at her. Selene giggles and looks at Caleb with a scowl.

"You know you don't really have to do this." she says to him, Caleb still holding the door, and bowing. 

"No, but I insist" he says and they find a seat.

When they both got their order, Caleb looks at Selene with a big smile. "Wait for the pizza, they make the best ones." he says as he picks up a fork and takes a bite of the meatball from his spaghetti.

"So, how did it go?" Caleb asks Selene with a bit of spaghetti sauce on his face. She giggles at him and puts a finger on her lips, gesturing that there's something on his lips. Caleb laughs and wipes it off.

"It was good actually, I had a good time." she says to him.

"Made any friends? I'm guessing you did."

"You're asking me like I'm a kid on my first day of school." she says, slightly laughing. Caleb just grins at her.

"Maybe 'cause you are." he says grinning at her, Selene just rolled her eyes "So... Vega, huh? That's like a huge opportunity for you! The biggest tech company in the country and you're working there. I'm so proud of you, Luna."

"It's still a lot to take in. My dream job, dream workplace." Selene says, smiling with excitement. "It's a bit overwhelming. My first job! Can you believe it? And I think I really deserve to eat Italian tonight. Thanks, Cal, this means a lot."

"Anything for you, Luna." he says and the waitress arrives to serve the pizza.

"The pizza smells delicious." Selene says and gets a slice.

"Wait 'til you taste it." Caleb says and gets his slice. Selene takes a bite and closes her eyes.

"You're right, this is really good." she says. "You really know where to find the best places to eat. How did you even know this place? Brought any girls here before?" she says to him with one eyebrow up and a mischievous smile. Caleb looks up at her, his face red.

"What? No, my brother told me about this place three days ago. He said they make the best pizzas." he says.

"Uh-huh" she says with one eyebrow up and a mischievous smile.

"And dating is not really for me." Caleb says, not meeting Selene's eyes.

"Really?" she says in a very playful tone.

"I-I'm just not interested in dating or anything like that" he says.

"Why not?" she asks. Caleb's face turns more red.

"Luna, tonight's not about me, it's about you. It's my turn to ask the questions now." he says. Selene laughs.

"What a way to dodge a question, Cal." she says, laughing. "And your face turned red, wow." 

It's getting late when they finished dinner. Caleb offers to drive Selene to her apartment building, in which she refuses.

"Cal, I can just ride a jeepney home, or a cab. I-"

"Luna, many people are going missing, some are getting killed on the streets." he says as they get out of the restaurant. "I'm just worried." he says. They stood there in silence for ten seconds. Selene then takes a deep breath, grabs the helmet and puts it on.

When they got to the apartment building, Caleb parks and Selene gets off. She thanks him for driving her home. 

"You want me to walk you to your apartment?" Caleb asks. Selene felt uneasy getting Caleb to do these things. 

"Cal, you've done enough, I can do this." she says and waves goodbye.

"Goodnight, Luna" he says and drives away.

Selene turns to walk to her apartment when she suddenly sees a figure at the corner of her eye. She turns and sees a man with red glowing eyes, standing beside a lamppost, staring at her. Assuming that it's just her imagination, she decides to just brush it off and walk to her apartment building. But as she does, she can still feel the man's cold stare. She suddenly feels a weight on her chest, making it hard for her to breathe.

"I need to go to my apartment, fast" she thinks to herself and carefully walks to the entrance of the building. Suddenly, she hears a heavy breathing behind her. Her legs freeze, unable to move, and her heart racing. She slowly turns and looks up only to see red glowing eyes, now staring just a few centimeters away from her. Eyes filled with anger, and smirking as if he's going to enjoy murdering someone tonight. He grabs her arm, and she feels the coldness of his hand. She tries to get away, but his arms are too strong to escape in. Feeling helpless, she then tries to scream but the man yanks her and covers her mouth with his hand.

With tears rolling down her cheeks, Selene fears that this is going to be her last night alive. She struggles to break free but she is too weak. This monster is still pulling her and she tries to scream, hoping for someone to hear and save her. She starts to panic as she sees fangs appeared and he leans down to her neck. Selene can feel the monster about to open his mouth, and that's when she knew this was it; she closes her eyes, accepting death.

All of the sudden, she hears a loud thud, and a low growl. With her knees still trembling, heart still racing, and still being held by the monster, she opens her eyes and sees another man in front of them, eyes also red and glowing, staring at the man holding her, with anger. He is wearing a suit, his skin is pale, and has dark brown messy hair. 

"Hey, asshole, looking for blood again?". He says at the monster. "Let her go."

"If it isn't Atticus' puny little soldier." the monster says and laughs.

"Let her go, and I'll show you puny." he says and Selene was pushed to the side by the man holding her. She looks up at the other man who's looking at her. "Run." he says to her and she runs and runs until she gets to her apartment, still hearing the loud thuds and growls.

She falls to the ground as she locks the door, still shaking with what she saw back there. Two men with red glowing eyes, fangs, super strength, she's trying to convince herself none of it was real, and that it was all a dream. How could there be people with glowing eyes? It wasn't real, it can't be. When the thuds and growls faded, she took a deep breath, taking it all in.

Just then, there was a loud knock on her door. She jumps and runs to the kitchen to get a knife. Unsure if it's another one of those monsters out to get her, she slowly opens the door and there stands the man who saved her from the monster. Selene points the knife at the man, ready to stab him anytime soon.

"Nice weapon you got there." he says, amused with the knife she's holding.

"Get out." she says to him, pointing the knife. He enters the room without saying a word.

"Nice place too." he says as he sits on the couch.

"I said get out." Selene says, still pointing the knife at him.

"No need for that, I'll be gone soon enough." he says and stands up, studying the place.

"What are you and why are you here?" she says.

"I just saved you there, you're welcome; and I apologize for my friend back there." he says, with a cold expression on his face, emphasis on the word friend. "And I came to figure out if my senses aren't messing with me. There's something in you that's different, like a scent or something. I just can't point out what; and as for what I am, that's going to have to be answered on another day, that is, if we meet again." he says then walks to her. He points his index finger on her forehead and pokes it a little.

"What are you doing?" she asks. The man looks at her with a very confused expression.

"That's weird." he says and tries again. Selene frowns and points him the knife.

"Don't touch me, whatever you are." she says, pointing the knife at him. The man just turns around and walks to the door.

"Wait." Selene says putting down the knife. "I just have to ask, what do you mean different?" she asks. The man smirks at her.

"No idea." and puts his hand on the door knob.

"Wait, I have another question. Who are you?" she asks, and the man just opens the door.

"I can't answer that and you ask too much. Goodnight" he says and he goes out the door.

Author's Note: Hi! If you're reading this, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter of the story I'm working on. Please let me know in the comments what you guys think. I'll try my best to write weekly and give you a good story to read. With love, Shai. 

And also, all the characters in this story are fictional and not based on real people.