Others warned him not to go out after dark. None of them went after dark anymore.

For ‘they’ are expecting them.

But he still went, as he was starving and haven’t eaten anything in days. With an insatiable belly and a horror-stricken heart, he ventured out, poking his little head out into the coolness of night. Moonlight scattered before his dwellings, soaking the ground in white. He longed to bath in it, to rest in its embrace; but he dared not the risk. No one stops to admire the lights anymore. ‘They’ are watching them.

The journey was extremely long and dangerous. Features of objects blurred in the darkness, crippling his vision. But these are not obstacles for ‘them’. With their ghostly glowing eyes ‘they’ can see in the dark. And with their sly paws their footsteps cannot be heard. Like a thousand-pound feather they crept behind one as if psionically levitating, and silently extend their claws. He quickened his steps at the thoughts.

Scurrying along, all the objects that seemed familiar in day – although he had also rushed past them then, not daring to wait and observe - turned into shadowy monsters. Food, where the food! He tried to distinguish the tallest of surrounding object, where there lay on top his precious food. There it is - rising into the cool air was a murky mountain, its shades dark and gloomy. ‘they’ could very well be hiding there, he thought, paws trembling. But no one overthinks the shadows. Better not let imagination go awry.

Finally, he hauled himself up on the peaks…It was strange, he was sure that the ground beneath his feet was the zenith – for he had climb up every inch – yet another obstacle seemed to be hindering his way. The margins of the blockage hued with the surrounding blackness, it spreads across the peak like mountain ranges. But this is the least of his worries. Bitter acids boiled within his churning stomach, letting out a gluttonous growl, corroding his senses.

He was ascending the obstacle when he seemed to sense a dim luminescence. Turning around, he saw two amber orbs. Then another pair appeared. And then another.

He froze.

A useless bout of adrenaline shot through his body.

“they” had found him.

…

Mr. Smith woke up to the sounds of scratching by his door. He opened it and groaned at the sight. “How many times do I have to tell you guys not to put dead rats by my bedroom door?” He scolded his cats, “not even if they were climbing up refrigerators steal food,” throwing the cadaver into the garbage. ‘They’ just watched him with amber eyes glimmering in the daylight, their midnight endeavors would still continue, nevertheless. There will always be stupid ones that goes out after dark.