Stuart watched the proceedings with marked horror. The man had been set upon by some monstrous thing. It appeared to be..... Stuart couldn't tell what it was. It was almost as if the attacker was a patch of midnight. It changed and shapeshifted among the dark, a framework of black on black. The man had apparently not suspected a thing, for he had uttered not a single word of fright or pain before or during the blitzkrieg. Now he lay deathly still as the Shifter covered him. What was the thing doing? Fear should have given him flight, but instead he was rooted to the spot.
        He continued to look, to discern something about this Shifter, but his sight seemed to not work properly. It was as if the thing gave off no light. Impossible. The feeble glare from a nearby street lamp should have bounced off it, given the midnight some shape and definition, but rather than being rebounded, the light was trapped or sucked into it.
        Stuart changed his stance, once, ever so slightly, still watching the moving thing.
        ...It stopped instantly.
        His heart died, his breath caught. His fear was so astoundingly great that it can only be compared to nightmare fear, emotion so powerful and terrifying that nothing can adequately describe it; he was suddenly very aware of how small he was. Had it heard him move? Perhaps the same fate that had befallen the man would come to him as well...
        ..... And with the next small gust, the darkness vanished, escaping once again into the night from which it came. Stuart still stood as though paralyzed, not knowing what he had just witnessed.