Linda's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Linda spins between the dark trees, her torn white robe whipping around her legs. She twists and leaps, arms stretched wide. Each movement flows into the next. Dancing is everything now. She wants to be the best dancer these woods have ever seen. Her sharp teeth gleam as she grins. Soon others will come to watch. Soon they will understand what she's become. Soon their souls will feed the hunger that burns inside her chest. She pirouettes faster, laughing at the moon above. Her feet guide her deeper through the trees until she finds it. A patch of fresh earth marked by a simple wooden cross. The dirt is packed down smooth and flat. She steps onto the grave and tests the ground beneath her. It holds firm. Perfect. This will be her stage. This is where she will perform her greatest dances. She begins to move, slow at first, letting her body remember each turn and gesture. The wooden cross casts a thin shadow across the dirt. She leaps over it, spins around it, lets her fingers trail across its rough surface. Lost souls will wander close when they see her dance here. They will stop and stare. They will step closer to watch. And when they do, she will take what she needs. Her laughter echoes through the dark woods as she twirls faster and faster on her new stage.