Antiquities: A Short Story Collection

Shadow

I'm not a superstitious person. I never have been. I was always that one person who stood out in a crowd but nobody cared or bothered to say anything. I liked it that way. It was a momentary break from getting my face beaten in.
I'd come to accept the fact that I would die alone and nobody would notice or care. My pessimism was a point of pride. That's not where my story starts. I never imagined I'd ever have a story worth telling.

My story begins two years after I'd decided to kill myself. My dad's death threw a wrench in my plans. He'd had cancer for quite some time. I'm not gonna lie, I resented him for dying. For every well wisher that apologized that he'd 'lost the battle'. My dad wasn't a quitter. He never 'lost' anything because he never stopped trying. Until he died.

It destroyed my mom. I knew it would. My parents loved each other. I decided to stick around and take care of her. She was always been there for me. It would have been cruel to make her mourn me too. So I stayed and my life changed forever.

****

Mom insisted that dad's spirit was still in the house. I let her believe it. I don't believe in ghosts or spirits but if it helped her feel closer to him I'd play along.

"Rayne can you go and pick up some things from the store for me?" She folded a wad of money into my hand. Her wild bun told me she'd been working her ass off all day. She refused to take time off work after dad died, even though I begged her too. I pocketed the money.

"Sure." I didn't bother asking for the car. When I had the money I'd buy my own. I pulled on a jacket and left the house. I don't know why it was such a relief to get out. It was like the veil was lifting and I could breathe easy again.

The spring air was cold. It felt nice across my face. It settled my nerves. I'd been unhappy for a long time, but little things could still sometimes spark my interest. A nice breeze, a bright sunset, long walks, random dogs. Today was one of those rare days. I felt okay.

It was getting dark and the street lights flickered to life as I made my way to the store. Dusk reached over me and the clouds hung dark and low. The sun dipped over the buildings in the distance. The first stars were starting to peek through the deep indigo.
The cracks in the sidewalk caught my attention and I watched them scurry across the pavement. I heard it before I saw it. The screeching tires of a car careening in my direction. I watched it skid my way, dumb to my options. I froze up.

The lights blinded me. My hands flew up to protect my face like that would do any good once it flattened me. A sickness churned in my stomach. My head spun. The lights, the street, everything blurred together. I didn't know what was happening. The headlights became blacked out by a heavy darkness.

For a moment, I thought I was dead. Or dying. I could still feel my limbs though and none of them were in pain. It felt like I was phasing through time. I couldn't see anything. I tried to scream but there wasn't any breath in me. I choked.

I had the sense I was moving, like I was being stretched like a smudge over the pavement. It felt like it should have hurt, but it didn't. Fear was a predator. It set into my chest with a ferocity I couldn't place. I could feel my consciousness fading. I couldn't fight it. It had me in a choke hold. I had no choice but to let myself melt into it.

"Rayne?" I cracked my eyes open. I was lying on my back, looking up at the dim street lights. Stars glittered beyond that. Night was in full bloom. I groaned and tried to sit up but a weight on my chest urged me down. I waited for my vision to focus and the dizziness to pass. A dark figure knelt over me. A man. I blinked. He was still there. His eyes caught mine. They were a fluorescent, eerie shade of blue. It looked like those weird halloween contacts.