Cry For Help

Hit And Run

A low sigh leaves my lips as I walk down a dark street. Thursdays were the worst days of the week for me. I had to stay at the Uni until 7pm, leaving me barely anytime to do anything at home. But perhaps that's for the best. I don't think I'd want to catch that pig, Philip, doing anything nasty. Just the mere thought of it makes my head spin. 

I shake my head and look down at my phone to check the time. It's 7:30pm right now and I'm getting close back home. I turn my phone off and put it away in my pocket, continuing to walk. Usually, I'd receive a message from Jenny about my status and she'd offer to cook something for me. But ever since Philip came along, it's like she doesn't even acknowledge me anymore. 

I continue walking until I reach a crossroads. Before I'm able to turn the corner, a hand stretches out along the ground, making me stop. The figure pulls themselves forward, revealing a man in his late forties. He's bald and he seems injured. 

Man: Help...

Mutasim: Holy shit! What happened?!

I approach the man and crouch down to his level. I examine his body, but I don't see any damage. There's no stabs, no gunshots, nothing. Maybe he was beaten up by someone? I reach for my phone, but the sound of a car engine turning on alerts me. Looking up and straight ahead, I see a blue five seater car's lights turn on. I stand and wave my hand in the air. 

Mutasim: Get help! Someone's injured! 

Instead, the wheels screech as the vehicle accelerates towards me. My eyes widen in horror. I go to move out of the way, but the car is far faster than me. Before I know it, it hits me and I black out. 

When I come to, I find myself lying on a concrete floor outside, but nowhere near where I was before. I look down at my body and feel around, yet somehow there's no pain at all. Frowning, I push myself up to my feet and scan my surroundings. I'm in an alleyway. 

Mutasim: What happened? Didn't I just... 

Confusion fills my mind. Curious, I pull my phone out and see the time is 10pm! I was out for two hours! 

Mutasim: Crap. I need to head home fast. 

I mumble under my breath, not quite eager to go back but still caring for Sofia. I leave the alley and find myself on a completely different street. One that I don't recognise at all. I roam the streets until coming across a bus stop where a map is featured. As I get a closer look at it, I see that I'm on the complete opposite side of town! I curse under my breath and start to plan the fastest route to home. It takes me a few minutes, but I come up with a plan. 

With this plan set, I open my phone to see when the first bus gets to this stop. However, there's no signal. Annoyed, I put my phone away again and turn away from the bus stop. Immediately, I realise something's not right. There's no one in the streets. Not even a single person or even a parked car. I look up at the surrounding buildings and see there's no lights on either. It's 10pm, a lot of residents around here don't sleep until 11. I doubt they went in for an early night. 

Feeling a bit uneasy, I decide to walk down my mentally planned route. With luck, I'd get there before midnight. I walk down the street, still eyeing my surroundings in case that same car comes along. I don't know who was behind the wheel or why they ran me over the way they did, but I wasn't planning on sticking around to find out. 

All of a sudden, I hear glass shatter from above me. Before I'm able to look up, an officer's body falls onto the pavement, leaving a large splatter of blood. I let out a scream of terror as I back away from the horrible sight. The officer's face is mangled, his eyes torn out of their sockets and plenty of giant holes in his chest. There was no gunfire so it had to be some sort of blade or something sharp that could stab someone. 

I look up to see a figure with blood spewing out of their mouth and blood coating their chest. The figure doesn't speak and instead turns around, as if running. Fear fills my body, almost freezing me. But the idea of whatever that person was chasing me made adrenaline flow through my body. Turning to the officer's body, I see a handgun in his hand. Without a second thought, I rush to it and grab it. As soon as I grab the gun, I hear a door burst open. I stand and look at the door, seeing the same figure. In their right hand, they held a bloodied hammer. 

I raise the gun at the person. 

Mutasim: S-Stay back! O-or I'll shoot! 

The figure doesn't listen and rushes at me. I pull the trigger, but it's stuck. I realise the safety is still on and I quickly turn it off. However, I don't get the chance to pull the trigger as the figure swings their hammer at me. I duck under it just in time and I shoulder bash the person away. With them disoriented, I raise the gun and fire at its head, killing it in one shot. They slump over lifeless and lets go of the hammer. 

I back away from the figure's corpse, unsure of what to do. I just killed a man! But... He did kill an officer so I guess I did good... Right? I keep the gun in my hand, weary of anything else trying to attack me. Taking deep breaths, I continue walking down the street. My legs and hands tremble in fear, but I do my best to maintain my composure. 

Eventually, I reach a crossroads. But I stay still as I hear more of those same people running down the street. I look at my right and see bloodied people sprinting towards me with hammers! Shaking my head, I face the left and run down the street. The people give eager chase which only further encourages me to push forward. It takes awhile but I eventually see an open door to my right. It leads into an apartment and I take my chance to rush inside. 

Once I get inside, I slam the door shut behind me and block the door by tipping over a vending machine. They bang and slam on the door, but they can't get through. I sigh and turn around. 

Mutasim: Okay... Now what...?

I mutter to myself, unsure of how I get out. While I could escape through the back, I don't know for certain if the back exit is secure. But I walk down the hallway, hoping to try it anyway. As I tread carefully, I see the apartment walls slowly rotting with old paint falling off the wall. Gulping nervously, I continue walking down the hall until I reach the end. I open the back door and see it's clear. It simply leads to a car park with a singular car. 

I frown and approach it. It didn't look like the car that hit me, yet it somehow seemed familiar. Looking through the window, I'm met with a haunting visual. My dad is sat in the passenger seat with glass shards sticking out of his head. His eyes are a corpse white and his skin is ghostly pale. 

Mutasim: W-What the...?

I take a few steps back from the car, unable to believe the sight. Before I know it, the car turns on and I see my father spring to life! An eerie grin spreads across his cheeks and he grabs onto the wheel, despite being seated in the passenger seat. The car begins to move and I turn to the door, trying to open it. Somehow, it's locked! The car gets closer and I quickly jump onto the front of it as it hits the building behind me. 

I climb over the car and jump behind it, getting as much distance as I can from it. That was a big mistake since the fences were too large to climb. I face the car again and watch as it turns around. Once it fully faces me, the car accelerates once more, gaining speed. Once it reached a certain speed and got close enough, I dove to the side, narrowly avoiding it. The car broke through the fence. I quickly stand back up and see it reversing. Before it frees itself from the fence, I shoot at the two back wheels. As soon as it got out, I ran for the broken fence and escaped. 

Not looking back, I continue running from the nightmarish image of my father driving the car. As I run, he lets out an ear-piercing shriek that sent shivers and chills down my spine. Eventually, I gain enough distance from him and I no longer hear him or the sound of his car engine. 

Yet I'm left with one single question. 

Mutasim: What the fuck is going on...?!