An Evil That Lurks Among Us

      Curious, I walked closer towards it. I was now able to see what it was, and smiled. 'It's just a little Darigan Shoyru,' I said to myself. She was fine. She seemed lost too, so I gave her a pat her on the head and stated she could come and stay with me for a while. Just then, the rain seemed to lighten up. "Finally, something good happens," I said and figured it was just karma. "I think I'll call you Araexie, or Rae for short," I said. She grinned as I then held her hand and walked home together.

      We settled down for the evening. I had given her a place to sleep and a new toy to play with. I was quite happy to have a new family member in the house. Rae seemed to fit in just fine. I gave her some water before I sent her to bed. My other Shoyrus were getting along with her just fine as well, even Reinio was getting along with her.

      Everything seemed to be going great with my new pet. The first night was very peaceful, it had even stopped storming. Nothing compared to what would happen the next day, though. I went outside to get the morning paper when I saw my neighbor. She was looking for something.

      "What are you looking for?" I asked.

      "I have lost one of my pets. You haven't seen her around anywhere, have you?" she asked.

      "Really?" I asked. "I haven't seen her," I replied.

      "Yes, she went missing last night in that storm and never came home. I'm a bit worried..." she said.

      "That's very strange. I hope you find your pet. I'm sure she'll turn up soon," I said to them and headed back home.

      I noticed the front door was open which I could have sworn I shut it on my way out. I shrugged and carried on with my day. I came home that evening, and something very weird began to happen. The lights were flickering but there was no storm or wind. I also heard a moaning noise coming from outside. But once I put Rae to bed, the lights stopped flickering and the moaning was no more.

      "How odd," I said. I went to bed myself, but had some trouble falling asleep that night.

      I remembered I had a dream that night too about a group called "The Awakened." They were after something and they were willing to do whatever it took to get that elusive power. I saw Araexie in the group. She was angry with them... I am not sure why. Maybe that's where she came from. Or maybe she wanted revenge on them... who knows. Was this a dream about her past? Was the dream trying to warn me of something? Anyway, she's got a nice home now though. I hope she'll be happy here with my other Shoyrus.

      There were a couple other strange things that had happened that night as well. Like, some of my Shoyrus' favorite possessions were missing. Sesoa's seashell collection, Reinio's playing cards and Chuhry's cooking books had just... disappeared. I told them not to blame their new sister for their missing items but I too, had my suspicions. I'd wondered why none of my things were missing. Of course that was a good thing.

      The next evening, I stepped outside and saw my neighbor from across the street. She had told me her pet has gone missing as well. She also began to tell me about all the pet nappings in the city that were happening about a week ago. My eyes widened, not even thinking about Rae but about how weird this whole thing has been. I apologized and wished them luck on their search, and headed home. That evening, the lights began to flicker again. Moments later, the power went out. All I could see was Rae's dark red eyes in the shadows. "Don't worry, you guys. Everything will be fine," I said to my Shoyrus.

      Morning arrived and the power had come back on. "Must've came back while we were sleeping," I said to my pets. I went outside to find my neighbor getting her mail. "Did your power go out last night?" I called to her.

      "Yes, it did. It went off for a while last night but it came back around midnight. But then this morning it began to flicker," she replied. "I have no idea what's going on..." I shrugged.

      "Nor do I. Hopefully this all blows over soon," I said. Earlier I had let Rae out for some fresh air but I didn't think anything of it. It had seemed the whole street was without power last night as well.

      "This is just like when the power went out in the city last week. It was only for a few moments, but it was still... strange."

      "I know. It's really bizarre. Hey, how is your new pet getting along?" she asked.

      "Fine, I think. I don't know, there's just something about her."

      "She's just new, that's all. It'll take some time getting used to."

      I nodded, and went back inside.

      That afternoon, I noticed Rae was nowhere to be found. I began to worry that she might have gone missing like those other pets. I searched everywhere for her, even outside. Then, I froze. Rae was never around when those pets were missing, or went the power went out. Suddenly I felt a dark presence and turned around. It was Rae, grinning ever so evilly.... I backed away and ran into the house, immediately shutting and locking the doors and windows. I took a few deep breaths and ran to check on my Shoyrus.

      Reinio, Chuhry and Sesoa were fine. I sighed with relief. I asked them if Rae ever said anything to them about what she was doing, but they had no idea. I went back to take a peek out the window to see if Rae- or whatever her name is- was still outside. She had vanished completely, without a trace. I hoped she was gone for good and would never come back, but something inside me knew that one day she would return once again to create more chaos amongst this town... When I went to my room I noticed something on my dresser was gone. It was a necklace my Mother had given to me. Only then, there was one name that was rushing through my mind: Araexie. Did she take them as souvenirs to remember us by or just to mess with us? Whatever her reason was, all those items and pets she stole were gone. Gone without a trace. Never to be seen again.

The End