Hollow Night

Moonlit

The lantern dimmed just as Mara heard what she thought to be a mewling cat. Startled she sat up from her bed, causing her book to slide off her lap and fall to the floor. The mewls sounded strenuous and pained and Mara had always had a special love for animals, especially cats.
Quickly, she crossed the room in long strides and opened her door. Behind the door was an empty void. A room so dark she could barely make out her hands even after placing them directly in front of her.
The sound of shuffling near the window on the opposite side of the room caught her attention. Gulping down her fear of the night, she stepped into the cavernous room lit only by the moonlight filtering in through the cracks in her window blinds. Brushing the window blinds away with one hand, she tilted her head, leaning it against the cool glass window, feeling herself shiver as the mist clouding the glass dampened her skin. Small slivers of light leaked into the room, dancing about in her wide hazel eyes.
A sudden wave of panic washed over her as she looked out at the empty streets, causing her to wrap her arms around herself in surprise. It was a feeling of pure incorruptible panic in which she had never felt before. Turning, she looked to the chair by the window and her heart began pounding at her chest. Her lip quivered and her legs quaked as the sudden unexplainable panic ripped through her body with more force than before. Her legs crumpled beneath her, toppling her to the ground.
As Mara lay shaking on the ground, a large black cat crawled out from beneath the chair. It's head was twisted at an odd angle so that it was looking away from Mara even as it made it's way towards her. Instinctively, she sat up as quickly as her trembling body would allow, and began crawling in the opposite direction as she felt her heart jolt and sputter in her chest.
It's once sweet mewl became something more gruesome, something dark and sinister as it's hushed whispers turned into gruff snarls and it's melodic calls to senile shrieks. It's twisted neck turned with a snap! as it's large mangled head reeled towards her. The bones of it's neck cracked and popped as her and the cat finally came face to face.
Immediately, it's eyes captured hers. Where it's shining luminescent eyes should have been, were hollow holes gaping back at her.
Mara stiffened as she felt a strange pull beneath her eyelids. That strange pull turned to white hot pain in an instant. Mara opened her mouth to cry out. To scream. But not a noise came out. Not from her, and not from the once mewling cat, and what was left was darkness, an everlasting night. This moment, replayed in Mara's mind over and over until it was the only thing she could still see with her large gaping black eyes.