The Way Shadows Move

Chapter One: Burning Eyes

It was hard to breathe all of a sudden. It was like the air was stolen from my lungs as I witnessed what was in front of me. The dark coldness of the night spread throughout my whole body. I wanted to run but it felt like I was frozen in time, unable to move a muscle.

Something fell from the sky abruptly, in front of me was a shadow man. He blended in with the night. The streetlights did nothing to illuminate around us. He was now blocking my view of the massacre happening just seconds before he landed. I couldn't wrap my head around how none of his bones were broken, he landed with no sound. Almost like he weighed the weight of a feather.

I was still frozen in fear as he started to walk towards me. I could see more of his face the closer he approached me. His hair was shoulder length, a dirty blonde color. His eyes were dark blue, like the ocean but in the winter. His skin was like porcelain except around his eyes were... dark, almost like he hadn't slept in ages.

"You must be lost beautiful."

My god, his voice, it was like listening to an angel. He had a strong English accent. It was a smooth tone, a little above a whisper. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

"I- I just was getting the mail, I didn't see anything."

Now why would I say I didn't see anything, now I was definitely going to end up like those slaughtered people.

How I could even muster up a sentence was beyond me. We were toe to toe now. I could finally make out what he was wearing. A long black trench coat hung from his shoulders, black slacks, chains with jewels adorned his neck. They looked centuries old, yet he had no shoes. A moment of silence passed, a shadow crossed his face and his eyes glistened. Like a predator in the night, he had burning eyes.

The closeness felt suffocating, I took a step back and as I did, he was gone in a blink. Escaped through the shadows. I could finally see where the massacre had taken place but there was nothing in sight. No bodies in front of me. No body parts around the trees or trails of blood. It was like it never happened.

My breathing stopped, I felt cold air on the back of my neck. I swallowed in fear, almost choking on my tongue.

"We will be back."

It was a warning, the way he said those words sent shivers down my spine. Without a second thought I ran up the rest of the block and into the night to the building with the mailboxes. It was a little shed-like building that had everyone's mailboxes in it since it was a tight nit neighborhood. There were bright lights that hung above the mailboxes, this made me feel somewhat safe.

I mustered up enough courage to look behind me to see if the shadows were still there. It looked like they had diminished but one stood in the same spot I had ran from just moments ago. It was the man in the trench coat.

Just like that, he was gone to.

___

Once I made it back to the house, I gave my grandmother the mail and went straight to my room. Had what I had seen really happened? Or was I just daydreaming? Maybe it was a premonition since there wasn't any bodies? I just couldn't make sense of it all. I decided to write about it in my journal.

Taking a shower eased my mind a bit but I couldn't stop thinking about what I had witnessed. Once I was done, I changed into some pajamas and got into bed. I made sure to tuck my feet tightly under the covers, just to feel more protected.

I looked up, the trench coat man painted on the ceiling by memory. Even if I closed my eyes, I could still see him. I knew the number of chains he wore, but maybe I was just going crazy...

That's how my mother passed, she lost her mind in her visions and never came out. I didn't want that to happen to me.

Daydreams never felt that real though.