The Parking Space

            It was dark that night, and only a single street lamp was working on the four present in the parking lot where Maria's car was parked. There were no other cars there expect for Maria's red four-seater. She had been waiting for forty minutes now, ever since her mother had called, asking Maria to come and pick her up from their old flat. At first she tried to bargain with her, she didn't really wanted to go back there, she hated the flat and the town it was situated in, but her mother needed her help and so, as she sighed, she put on her shoes and coat before heading to her destination. When she arrived, there were no free parking spaces, she scanned the whole street but no one seemed to want to go out that evening, she envied them. With a resigned sigh she double-parked and picked out her phone out of her coat's right pocket, she phoned her mother but no one answered. Maria groaned, she leaned forward on her steering wheel to try and glimpse the window of their old flat, there was no light. Unsurprising since it was the window of her old bedroom, her mother wouldn't have been waiting in Maria's bedroom, the rest of the windows faced the communal courtyard on the other side of the block, which Maria couldn't see. She rubbed her face and phoned her mother again a few times. As she was getting no answers, Maria was having an internal debate about wether or not she should leave, after all, she had already been waiting for 10 minutes in the cold and her mother did not even bother answering the phone. But she couldn't bring herself to leave her mother, even if she was currently the one left in the lurch. She turned off her warning lights and drove in the hopes of finding a parking space. She took two left turns and one right turn before finding an empty parking lot, she promptly parked and got out of her car. She walked back to the flat and rang the bell a few times with no answer, she rang other flats but no one seemed to want to answer her that evening. She walked back to her car while trying to call her mother, probably for the fiftieth time. She got in her car again, ready to go home, but her conscience - and the fact that she drove 50 minutes specifically to pick her mom up - would not let her leave and so she stayed. After 20 minutes, she decided that she would be more comfortable in the back seat, she had stretched out her legs while her head was resting between the window and the headrest. It was mid November and the temperature was really low at this time of the evening, Maria's body temperature fighting the cold weather outside caused condensation to appear on the windows of the car. She tried to entertain herself by tracing shapes with her finger but got bored very quickly. She thought about taking a quick nap, as it was almost midnight, but didn't really felt tired, she was just cold and annoyed. She picked out a book out of her bag and opened it, the single street lamp did not shed much light and Maria squinted in the hopes of making out the words, in vain. She violently closed her book before putting it away, she lowered one of her seats and picked out a blanket from her trunk. Maria unfolded her blanket and covered herself with it, she left a voicemail to her mother, telling her where she was and she lay down a little more comfortably on her side, resting her head on the seat before finally feeling herself slowly fall asleep.

            A few light taps on the car woke her up in a jolt, she straightened up and looked out in the hopes of seeing her mom but to her consternation, there was no one. She frowned, certain she heard something tap on her car. She looked at her phone, it had only been 10 minutes since she fell asleep, it was now midnight and she still hadn't heard from her mother. As Maria was scrolling through her phone, someone knocked on her back window, she turned to see who it was but no one was there, again. Her heart started racing, she couldn't have imagined it this time, she was much more awake and it was clearly a knock. She looked around, but there was obviously no one out there, she realised that she hadn't seen a single person out since she arrived in her childhood town, it didn't really phased her, it was late, dark and cold in a small village, no one was usually out this late here. Maria tried to rationalise her experience, she tried to call her mom again but of course, she didn't get an answer. She let herself fall back against the seat and sighed, a slight cloud of visible air escaped from her mouth. The condensation was worst than before and Maria could hardly see anything now, as she wiped the right window with her sleeve a knock occurred behind her back, on the left window. She turned around so quickly that she could've cracked her own neck, she looked around her car, trying to see through all the windows that were all full of condensation but there was nothing, no one, she still could've distinguished shapes even with obstructed windows if there were some but nothing moved outside. She froze, her breath started to feel shaky and irregular, without blinking she stared at the right window. A third knock on the roof, the knockings were happening more and more often. It made her gain her mobility again, she made sure that her doors were locked before sitting back at the front of the car, behind the wheel "Sorry mom." She thought as she inserted the key into the ignition, she turned it in order to start the engine but nothing happened. With a panicked look, she tried again, her breathing being more and more irregular as her car wouldn't start. The knockings turning into something much more violent and inhumane, Maria was hearing scratches, grunts and bangs everywhere on her car but still couldn't see anyone. Out of her control, tears began to flow down on her cheeks, she couldn't even see anything anymore. She curled up on her seat, putting her head on her knees and covered her ears. She stayed in that position until her whole body started hurting, she didn't look up right away but as she uncovered her ears she noticed that all the noises were gone. There were no more grunting, scratches or knockings, only the howling of the wind, "Maria" she heard in the distance, even with her windows and doors closed she heard her name being murmured. She looked up, of course no one was there, she wiped the windscreen with her sleeve and squinted to see further. She saw nothing, at first, but when it moved, she saw it, slightly hiding behind one of the broken street lamp. She couldn't tell what it was but it looked like a person, a man, maybe someone who just moved here, after all she hadn't been in this town for at least five years. She stared at him, waiting to see if he would leave now that she had seen him, but he didn't leave. Maria sighed, lowered her window and stuck her head outside "Hey, are you okay ?" She asked. The man didn't move a single muscle, he kept staring at her in the dark, Maria tucked back inside her car "Hey." Said the man, his voice seemed so far away. "Hey..." Maria responded and almost immediately the man lifted his head up to look at her, his eyes were glowing. Maria quickly pulled her window up as the man got on all fours, he slowly started to walk towards her in a nightmarish way, she tried to start her car again but it still wouldn't, she kept her eyes locked on him, he didn't look like a man anymore, he looked like a mixture of an animal and a creature of the underworld. "Maria !" Her mother's voice screamed far away. She looked around, in the hope of finally seeing her mom, but she saw no one except the inhumane creature walking towards her. Her mother screamed, but this time not her name she just screamed in a guttural way. Maria's heart stopped, she unlocked her car and took a deep breath in before running out. She ran without looking back but she could hear its steps, near her. She screamed for her mom, trying to locate her only by sound but now that she was out, the town had never been more quiet, almost as if no one lived here. She glanced behind her shoulder, only to trip and fall right on the road, her head hitting the pavement. Her vision turned black as she saw the creature getting closer.

            Maria woke up in the parking lot, she was leaning against one of the broken street lamp. She took a deep breath in before standing up. She heard a buzzing sound "Hey you ! Are you okay ?", she lifted her head up to see a woman in her car, she was talking to her. Maria tried to respond but only a grunt came out. It wasn't her voice. The woman in the car got out and started running, and before Maria knew it she was chasing her on all fours, with a visceral need to kill.