in the name of . . .

     The sun hung low over the eastern face of the Sierra Nevada Mountain. White, motionless cumulus clouds hung over at 14,000 feet, pasted on turquoise sky. It was going to be another hot day. She'd walked all night, did it to avoid the heat. It was easy for her, being accustomed to moonlight's treks. Her physical efficiency increased with night walks. They were optimal for water and energy retention. The mystery heightened. Her eyes acclimated. The peripheral ability of their panoramic scope widened. She saw things move shadowy, indirectly from frontal's angle, strange things, unearthly. These things like physical, nocturnal animals did not want to be seen, but she saw them unconsciously. They became regulars, as common as the shrubs, trees, rocks and night creatures of flesh and blood.

     Last night she had seen it again, what most of the eastern United States population would refer to as Slender Man or Moth man. "What's the difference?" She asked an early blue-bellied lizard catching morning's light. "They're both dangerous, right?" The lizard performed a push up and squatted prone straightaway as if to agree.

     The apparitions would follow her but thus far had made no direct contact. She didn't fear them necessarily, but she always felt her skin goose-pimple accompanied by a cold chill. Immediately, she would begin praying internally and in desperate moments of mind panic would shout out: "Get away in Jesus name!" When she felt ineffective in her faith's ability to scare them off, she would shout out instead: "Get the fuck outta here, you're not welcome!" 

     Sometimes this approach made her feel a bit guilty for using the "f" word, but she could never fully refrain from using it when feeling the combination of fear and anger. Using the f word seemed to scare them off. Then she would apologize to her Lord and resume her nocturnal trek.

     She was on a mission. Nothing would deter her. No living person, place or thing could ever dissuade her of her objective. For sure no spirit entity would. She'd been scared many times before by real humans much more frightening than the Moth or Slender Man. "Try being locked up in a shed for most of your adolescent life, Mr. Lizard!" She'd left the cute reptile hundreds of paces behind her by now, but addressed it as if it was still within earshot.