Fangs

Chapter 5

"You're sure you can't come out tonight?" Mina whined. I popped a fry into my mouth and nodded at her. We were seated outside on the patio of a restaurant for our lunch breaks trying to soak up the sun for the short time it seemed we had. The clouds were hanging low meaning rain was in the near future.

"Alright, if you're sure." She said.

Mina was trying her hardest at convincing me to come out to a club for a local show but I had no desire. I usually wouldn't object to her dragging me out on a Saturday night but I was still trying to recover from the sluggish week I had been having. The last thing I wanted was to bring her mood down, although I know she would argue otherwise.

"But you better call me when you get home safe." I playfully glared at her.

"Duh."

We both quickly scarfed down our meals and finished up our shift at the shop. Mina dropped me off at home waving goodbye as she pulled out the driveway. I smiled at her and walked inside. The rain that I predicted earlier started just as I was prepping dinner. It lightly drummed against the kitchen windows. I turned up the TV a bit so I could hear the movie I had playing. After finishing dinner I lounged around the living room. Every so often I would get a text from Mina and a short video of the band she was seeing play live. There was a small part of me that wished I had gone but the couch was so comfortable it was easy to push that feeling away. She sent me a sad face emoji with a text that read "wish you were here! Love you!" I sent her a heart emoji and set my phone down, ready to call it an early night. I laid awake restlessly though. The rain has stopped, leaving the house dead silent. I sighed and sat up. Any other time I might appreciate the silence but not now. I wanted to sleep but for some reason, I couldn't. I glanced at the clock on my phone; 10 o'clock. Not super late. After some contemplation, I decided I would take a short walk around the block, get some fresh air and maybe the walk would make me tired. I locked up behind me and made my way down the street. A few houses on the corner were lit up, but other than that it was fairly quiet for a weekend. There was no one outside except me and one of the neighborhood cats I've seen wandering around. I crouched down and scratched his head.

"Nice to see you." I said giggling. He purred in agreement.

I gave him one last pat on the head and continued my walk, turning the corner. The lone street lamp ahead illuminated a man standing under it. He had on a long dark coat and slacks. As I got closer, I realized he wasn't moving. He just stood there, staring in my direction. I peered over my shoulder to see if maybe he was looking at something else but when I looked back where he was, he was gone.

What the hell? I thought. He was JUST there. How did he move away so quickly. I shook my head. My mind was playing tricks on me, it had to be. The tapping of footsteps behind me told me otherwise. I practically jumped out of my skin when I saw the man from before now standing 10 feet away from me. I turned my attention back in front of me so I wouldn't run into the light post and glanced over my shoulder; he was gone again. Great. Now I was officially scared. I hastend my steps and decided I would double back instead of going the long way like I intended.

Where the hell did he go?

I was beginning to sweat. I wiped my forehead, scared to turn around. When I noticed my footsteps were being echoed by another set of footsteps, I panicked and started to jog, but that was a big mistake because the footsteps behind me turned into a jog as well. I turned around briefly and saw the man following me. I let out a shriek and desperately started to run for my house. I rounded the corner and caught my balance before I could tumble over. I glanced behind me and he was gone. I didn't waste any time to catch my breath though, I was so freaked out so continued to run. I could see my street not too far ahead, but as I took another step, something darted from the brush next to me and I went crashing to the ground. I screamed in a mixture of shock and pain.