The frigid night air hung heavy in the darkened alleyway like a putrid garden slug. It was the kind of night that urban legends are set in, the ones that people laugh at to mask their own fear. People like Susan Murphy.

Clutching her coat tight about her to ward off the cold, the young mother quickly made her way through the darkness. Her destination was a corner store to pick up some medicine and food for her daughter who was sick in bed. It made her uneasy to leave the child alone, but she would be gone for just a moment.

The young woman crossed the mouth of the alleyway and she heard something that caught her attention. It sounded like a small child weeping.

The sound instantly reminded of her own daughter tucked away in bed and looking back in her mind she remembered the discussion she had with the toddler. A look of pride mixed with concern crossed her features. The way little Rachel had looked up at her with those big eyes of hers and promised her she would be brave until mommy could come back. Just five minutes baby I promise, Susan had said and rushed out the door.

Her pace slowed to a stop and as she looked ahead she could see the corner store just a few buildings down. Biting her lip with concern she looked down the dark alley and the sound got a little louder.

After a brief pause she reached a decision and cautiously made her way down the alley. While she approached a bend a few feet in the sound of a girl crying grew increasingly louder and Susan had to wonder just who would leave a child out on a night like this.

“Hello?” The woman asked with a fear in her voice as she peeked around the corner.

She was met with the sight of a toddler sitting in the alley holding her knee and crying. The little girl sniffled and paused her weeping at the sound of woman’s voice and that’s when the woman noticed the folding cane laying on the ground near her and the tiny sunglasses the kid wore. The child was blind. The young woman looked around to make sure they were alone and that this wasn’t some kind of trap.

“Is…some…one…there?” the small girl choked out.

“Oh I’m here dear,” Susan said concern returning in her voice as she quickly made her way over to the child. “Are you ok?” she asked kneeling down and touching the child on the shoulder.

“I…fell…down,” the child cried.

“Awww, you poor thing,” she said pulling the girl close into a hug. “What are you doing out by yourself?”

“I was hungry,” the child answered.

“Hungry? It isn’t safe…” Susan began and then suddenly trailed off as she felt a pain in her neck that was instantly replaced by a feeling of euphoria like no other feeling she had felt before. Thoughts of little Rachel and the promise she had made to her daughter filled the young woman’s mind as blackness finally took her.

********

Dirge licked her lips and grinned to herself as she stood up. She could hear the woman faintly breathing and realized it would be a few minutes before she woke up. The blind haunt faded into the shadows leaving the woman lying on the asphalt.