The dark man

It was a bright day, the sun shining, birds chirping, the water was a perfect shade of clear green. It was perfect. But at the same time, something was off. What was it, Violet thought that made things less than perfect today? She went through her mental checklist again, sun shining, birds chirping, green. No, everything was perfect. Violet shook away her bad feeling and continued on her walk. The streets were empty, the houses dark, “that’s odd.” Violet said to no one in particular. At that moment, all the birds stopped chirping, and the wind stopped blowing. The waves froze in place. Violet looked ahead at a dark figure heading towards her. “Hey!” Violet yelled. No response. Thirty-one seconds later the man reached her. She turned to run but found herself frozen in terror. “Don’t scream.” the man said calmly as creatures emerged from the empty houses. Then, they attacked.