Let Darkness Come

[Katrielle Layton]

As a pitch-black puddle of ink, it was difficult to notice him in the dark. Bendy weaved around the feet of the townspeople, deftly dodging their steps as he searched for a target. Now, he needed to be careful-- if he emerged and attacked at the wrong time, they'd probably hound on him in no time... although, would they even know if he didn't actually belong here? Sure, it was a quaint town, but it didn't seem like the kind of place where everyone knew each other. Then again, he was a monster. Regardless of whether or not the people couldn't tell who lived here, they would certainly be suspicious of a living ink blot.

So he needed to pick a moment and roll with it. Alright then.

He continued on for a while, staying clear of the churches until he came across a tavern. Despite being a place for revelry, it was oddly quiet. But the lights were still on, so it had to be open. Either that or someone lived there. It was the perfect place for a demon of Bendy's caliber; he'd go grab a person, and then maybe go get a drink or something to take with him. Hopefully whoever was inside would be a suitable target, or else he wouldn't have any reason to be in there.

Slithering in, he took a moment to analyze the area. Lanterns hung from the ceiling, giving the place a faint, warm glow. Vacant chairs circled empty tables, some of them piled on top of each other as if the tavern was closing for the night. It probably was, given that a woman with a red bandana in her hair (presumably the bartender) was putting away all of the cups. She briefly left the room to clear her workload, which gave the ink monster a chance to rematerialize.

The woman returned sooner than Bendy expected, which left him in an awkward, vulnerable position as she stared at the half-developed creature in front of her. If she had a weapon, she could've capitalized on the moment. Unfortunately for her, she had been caught empty-handed. Instead, she ducked behind the bar to grab a shotgun kept out of sight from the customers. Once she rose back up, the beast had finally formed.

"Heh heh, you startled me there," he said, chuckling.

The bartender brushed her brown locks out of her hair, unamused, leveling the gun towards his direction. "What are you doing here?"

"What, a guy like me can't get a few drinks and pick up some chicks?" he deflected, adjusting his bowtie.

"Enough with the jokes."

"And you're a chick, are you not?" Bendy began to approach her, casually, but with an air of danger in his stride. "And we're alone, aren't we?" His voice became eerily quiet. "No one would notice."

Suddenly the bartender shot at his feet, strong muscles bunched up in preparation for a fight. She missed, but it startled the imp sufficiently enough for him to take a step back. "That was a warning shot," she said, reloading the gun. "Back off, or else I won't miss the next time."

The monster quickly recovered his senses and gave her a threatening challenge. "That sounds like a challenge. I love challenges."

Word count: 3,860/8,000