A Dark Night

Chapter 1- A Dark Stranger

Chapter 1- A Dark Stranger

It was the end of another exhausting day at university. Ariana was tired, not only from studying for her mid semester exam, which was tomorrow at 8am, but also from the extra shift she had taken at work to cover her rent for the week. Ari lived in a small studio apartment in Paddington. The rent was expensive because her building was so close to the university she attended and real estate in that area was sky rocketing. Since the age of 18, when she was no longer a ward of the state, money had always been tight. With no family to speak of, a full time study load, and her government allowance barely covering the rent, she had had to take on a part time job. Still, she didn’t complain. Her social lifestyle was almost non-existent, which meant that she saved a lot by not going out drinking every other night with the rest of the people from her year. For just shy of two years she had been enrolled in the Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Brisbane. As the name suggested, the university was close to Brisbane City, which meant that most of the attendees were highly fashionable while she wasn’t; this aided in her ability to cut costs. Gifted with high cheek bones and a well-shaped body, Ari got away with wearing things off the ten dollar rack, or else skimmings from the St Vinnie’s bin. Also her fair skin and lack of freckles meant that she almost never wore makeup and so she saved a lot of money by not having to buy the latest foundation, blush, or mascara.

Though her social calendar was almost always empty, Ari never found herself without anything to preoccupy her time. Her full-time study load at university was hectic and the fact that her apartment was without air conditioning meant that Ari spent most of her spare time at the University library. Tonight Ari tried desperately to remain focused on the 2nd edition of Veterinary Pathology Textbook that she was reading. Her head slowly lowered, getting closer and closer to the tiny print, as her eyes were pulling in and out of focus. When she had almost fallen asleep at the booth where she was sitting at, she decided that it was time to go home. Glancing down at her wrist watch, she rolled her eyes; it was just after 11pm.

“Another all-nighter,” she whispered to herself as she stacked her books into a pile, before sliding them into her bag.

Fortunately for Ari, the university offered after-hours access to the library for students; this made her obsession with studying and lack of social events all the more achievable. Walking down the wide wooden staircase which connected the first floor of the library to the ground floor, Ari clung tightly to the railings, afraid her tired feet might give out on her. When she finally reached the bottom, she waved kindly at the tall Asian security guard who manned the library information desk on the ground floor. Neither knew the other’s name, but Ari had seen him often enough to afford him this common courtesy without seeming too presumptuous. As she swiped her university ID card at the automatic door, it buzzed loudly and opened to let her out.

Just before replacing her student ID back into her wallet, Ari glanced down at her card. The picture was from a few years ago, when she had first started studying. She had almost finished the second year of a five year degree, but in that time she had not changed much. She was 24 years old, with long warm chocolate brown hair, which was straight or wavy depending on the weather. Often she wore it half up and half down, with wisps of hair framing her face. Her face was oval, but her high cheek bones, slender pointed nose, and definitive chin gave her a ‘classic beauty’ appearance. Her long eyelashes were complimented by large dark blue eyes, although one would turn green if she was sad or angry.

Walking from the library at night was always a little unnerving. Ari parked her car on a side street close to the University and it took her about ten minutes to get from there to class. She didn’t mind the exercise and it saved her money not having to pay for parking. Still, tonight the sky was particularly dark. Off in the distance a noise rang through the deserted campus. For a moment Ari listened hard, but she couldn’t quite place what the source of it might be; it was too late for a football match. Glancing around the heavily shadowed path that she now took, Ari tried desperately to make out the footpath.