Shades of Gray

He blended with the changing shadows of the night. His footsteps made no sound on the damp pavement. The ocean's salty tang filled his nostrils; he could taste it on the back of his tongue.

He smelled the woman before he saw her, and then he was there, walking beside her, smiling at her, mesmerizing her with his eyes.

With a low moan, she tilted her head back and offered him her throat. And he took it, his teeth sinking into her soft flesh, the sound of her scream blending with the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

And he drank and drank and drank, until she was cold and empty, and he was warm, filled with the essence of her life force.