Frightful Flash Fiction

It's Always There

I could see it ever since I was a kid. I was ten years old when I first saw it. At the time I couldn't really tell what it was. It was so far away, it just kinda looked like this big black blob. I didn't see it for a bit after that, but I knew it was there, it's always there.

The next time I saw it, I was twelve. It was closer than it was last time, though not by much. I could make out a bit more this time. It's face wasn't clear, but I could tell that it was covered in hair, pitch black ragged hair.

Everything went weird when I looked at it. My vision went hazy, everything but that thing became blurry. My hearing slowly went away, and all I could hear was a loud ringing sound that easily overpowered the fading voices in the background. I swear if I didn't look away and keep walking I'd faint, with how dizzy I'd get at times. I never mentioned it to anyone on the account of how crazy I'd sound.

I started to see it slightly more often, about once a month. That was, until I was sixteen, when I saw it vividly for the very first time. It was a half a day at school, so I got out early. My house was kinda far. Not far enough where I'd need to take the bus, but far enough where walking would take too long.

Because of this, I would ride my bike to and from school. So, I got on my bike, and headed home. On my way home, I saw it. That weird thing again, except this time it was much clearer.

It didn't have arms or legs, at least none that were visible to me. It was more of an elongated blob, covered in dark black hair, but at the end was the scariest part. It's face. It didn't have eyes, well, not regular eyes. Within it's eye sockets where two shining bright lights, each boasting a ruby red color. It's nose was long, and pointed. And it's mouth, where do I begin? It had a large freakish grin, but it had no teeth. Only gums that looked like they were rotting away.

I was taking in so much detail, and just like before, everything started to get blurry. So blurry that I didn't stop for the red light. I rode my bike into the street, and a car crashed into me. It hit me so hard and fast I went flying off my bike. More collisions could be heard from behind the car, as I landed by the sidewalk, my head making impact with the fire hydrant that was there.

I could feel the blood rushing out as I slowly lost consciousness. As I looked up, I saw it once more. The creature was right above me, staring me down, grinning as it watched my final moments. It was the first time I was this close to the creature, it was also the last. I gazed into it's eyes for the last few seconds I had left.

That's when I realized, that all this time, I had been staring down Death, as it got closer and closer.