the nightmare

Your nightmares follow you like a shadow, forever.

The night was young as time passed quickly. The small village was filled with silence; the only sound heard were the chirping crickets, creaking doors, and the wind howling softly in the cloudy night. The last light switched off and darkness filled in the houses as the villagers drifted off to sleep. Silence filled the air once again for a few minutes.

That silence was broken by a soft grunt as a black tigress landed on one of the roofs, its white stripes shining in the moonlight. Its body slender, yet built. Its tail was raised in a landing position, giving it balance on the roof. Its sharp, white claws glimmered and shone. It opened up its eyes – they were a beautiful blue-violet. It let out a soft purr as it raised its head and faced the moon; eyes glowing in the moonlight. The breeze blew against its fur, and it took a breath of the cold night air. It turned its gaze upon the village.

“It's time to start the hunt.” The tigress smirked inwardly and across the roof, her paws leaving soft and quiet steps. It swiftly and skillfully jumped off of one roof to another. Her eyes were fixed forward until something shiny caught her eye.

She stopped in her tracks and looked down at the markets below. A jewelry shop gained her attention. A diamond glowed faintly in the moonlight. There it is, the last of the nine crystal pieces. She smirked in triumph, her eyes turning emerald green in addition to her smirk. However that smirk was rubbed off her face not long after.

From afar, she spotted a masked man in dark clothing running in the direction of that very same jewelry shop, his traits like a ninja’s – fast and swift. An anti-mutant during such a dark hour, she growled menacingly. She knew she had to move fast. The man was moving faster each second. He suddenly jumped from the roof, leaping towards the shop entrance.

She let out a brief gasp and snarled as she jumped off the roof, pouncing towards the man. In mid-air, the tigress quickly shifted into a hawk. She fixed her sharp talons at him, her eyes turning an angry red as she dived towards him. However, the man turned around and threw a grenade-shaped capsule at her which projected a net, trapping her inside. “No! NO! N- Ahhhh!!!” the hawk shrieked as lightning was projected from the net, electrocuting her. Her body fell limp to the ground. She was panting heavily as she shifted into her human form – a young lady in black clothing, silver fingerless gloves, and brown low-heel knee boots.

The man walked towards her as she finished her transformation, the diamond in his hands. He smirked viciously at her weak state. He got on one knee as he observed the mutant, chuckling deeply. “Well, well, well. Look at what we have here. Such a poor failure for an agent like you… Lindsay Lu.” She growled at the mention of her full name, fangs growing in place of her teeth. “What would your brother think of this? His little sister… the last of his family… has died… in failure?” Her eyes flashed a fluorescent red as she snarled at him. “Do not mention anything about my brother!” her voice was raised at the end of the sentence, and she was electrocuted once again.

He chuckled again. “Well, I won’t mention anything about him as of n