Having some time on my hands, I feel like talking about a few people I've known over the course of my existence.  Perhaps you may have known them in a past life, who knows.

I'll start with the children:

Once there was a little girl named Sharon.  She and her stepsister one day decided to run amok, as what most teenagers do.  Thoughts of boy friends and the prom floated between them.  Unfortunately for her and her stepsister, they fell prey to something out of their league.  Only one was rescued by a clever redheaded woman.  Their disappearances were covered up in the normal fashion, some out of town pervert and a kidnapping. Who would deny that?  No one, not even the parents.

I saw the other one sometime ago.  She didn't look too human anymore.  I particularly liked her new eye color.

John.

Oh John.  A sad character.  A wife, a child, he was tasked with being the father and provider.  His job wasn't the best at first, but it got worse and worse to where he was just making ends meat.  In the final months, the pressure from life started to take its toll.  Long hours, little pay....you could see the age set in on his face.

He met some shady people, and became more or less a package boy.  One errand brought him to my area.  It was late, fatigue had set in.  Rumors of the neighborhood didn't frighten him, but he needed the money, so he decided to head to the warehouse.  Thunder struck, he didn't flinch.  However the second time, he turned to face it.

"Run" was the first thought....but it was quickly dashed aside.  His legs could barely move.  No reserves from adrenaline.  He turned to face his death, surrendering as it was useless.

"I'm sorry, Mellisa."

His death? Gang related, and body is assumed to be at the bottom of the aquaduct.

Interesting, the first one does seem familiar though.

Very intriguing....

Interesting...

Illyria

Mark, a big mouth he had.  No one likes a tattle-tale, especially an informant kind.  The Blackwoods found out he was slipping the Bells information.  Gang activities, Oracle safehouses, and other gang secrets.  This didn't sit well with Owl, not at all.

They took him to the Eber Casino's underground storage area, to discuss what to do with him.  Killing him was the idea of the night, but they didn't need police or any other goody two-shoes to get in the way.

"In the head"
"No, he doesn't deserve that"

"I say we cut out his tongue"
"Too cliche"

"...I have an idea..."

It's said it likes to hunt, not to be fed, but with both Mark's legs broken...it didn't care too much.

The sad part, it was his step-brother, Wallace, who came up with the idea.

Police did try to find him after was thought to be missing, but they knew it was internally gang related, and closed the file.

Prankster wrote:

Ok what? "unborn flesh" ? Someone's been taking from the fetus jar again. That's just gross.

(( I think they mean that the last victim was pregnant and... Okay, that's just plain sick. >.< ))

Eric and Susan. Not to be confused with one SusanB.

Interesting case this one. She was at a club in Westview, against her parent's wishes. "I'm eighteen, I can do what I want!" Foolish notions.

Another fool, Eric, was there.  He figured it would be his lucky night, seeing her there. She was cute, sexy, and looked like easy prey. He slipped something in her drink hoping he would get lucky.

She had a reaction to the drug. She started to see the...world behind the world. She freaked and ran. Eric however became uneasy, this had never happened before, and for some reason he felt compassion and followed her, trying to calm her down.

So many pretty green lights, but one in particular cluster called to her for some reason. A light at the end of the tunnel perhaps. Moments later, she stood before something. A massive amount of light gathered before her, but to Eric, darkness.  It took shape before them, and struck both of them down in one swift motion.   Two meals before it.

This one was harder to cover up this time. Faux bodies in the Simulation were created for the families. Susan's "official" cause of death was blamed on a small brain tumor, causing the halucinations she saw (so there would be no questions from those at the club). As for Eric? Hit by a car. The "driver" was never found.

Alan. He was the first survivor. Like all children, he blamed things on "the monster". He played pranks where "the monster" got him.

One afternoon he came across it...rather it found him. It surrounded him, trapping Alan.

"Silly child...did your mother never tell you about 'The Boy That Cried Wolf' "?

The boy begged for his life over and over. It amused it so much that he only ripped his left arm off and threw him where someone working in the area would find him.

Alan is currently residing in the Shady Oaks Rehabilitation Center, where the marvelous staff continues to squish those little white lies about monsters out of him. His medication consists of fifteen gray softgell capsules for the pain, anxiety, and fear, and one little blue one to...calm him down completely.