In nothing but his
boxers, in a field of dead grass and patches of grainy snow, Creed Alexander
stood in undeniable agony. The sweat covering his pale torso gleamed in the mid-morning sun. He held his arms up, inviting the sunlight to penetrate him as
his eyes closed against the blinding rays. He slowly tipped his face directly
at the sky. For Creed alone, his decision to stand unclothed in the sun could
be lethal.
A
fugitive from the sun, Creed was often imprisoned and physically tortured when
captured, then held in regret-filled custody for months after exposure to
sunlight. But for her, for the girl of his dreams who he had met, courted, and
fallen in love with only by night, Creed would risk the imprisonment. He’d
willingly serve the sentence handed down from his trait—intense and relentless physical pain and emotional hell—for her.
Creed
held his position until the pain became intolerable. Stumbling to his knees, he
screamed out in anguish as he clutched his abdomen. White foam and the contents
of his stomach spewed from his mouth as his side slammed against the ground and
he recoiled from the heat into a fetal position. “Oh, God help me!” he choked. Out of control
and hurting like never before, Creed cried as sunlight continued to beat on his
body.
