The creepy reality

A one-part story

Hi! This is a small, one-chapter story that I wrote for my college magazine. I hope you'll like it :)

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It was a typical winter morning. The cold weather enveloped the entire city, lulling the inhabitants into a deep slumber and punishing those of us who dared to leave the comfort of our sheltered and cozy homes. Biting cold wind howled through the empty streets, forcing me to pull my coat tighter around me. Suppressing a yawn, I rubbed my gloved hands together in a futile attempt to warm myself.

Go back to bed, a voice whispered in my ear; Go back to the warmth. Nothing matters except warmth...heat...comfort.

I shook my head to clear it. There it was again. That stupid voice inside my head that had been trying to get me to go back home from the moment I'd left it.

I was on my way to the city bus stand to catch a bus to my college.

Today was the last date for submitting a project I'd been working on for the last two months. So, I couldn't bunk the college today, even if I wanted to.

And I did want to. So, so badly.

I never did fare well in cold weather. I preferred warmth and sunshine. I was simply not wired for braving the cold.

We should have winter holidays, I thought wistfully as my eyes scanned the surroundings: Empty street, closed shops and houses with windows shut tightly.

Not a single person was visible in any direction.

Talk about desolation!

The melancholy mist hung heavily in the air, restricting my visibility. My body whined in protest with each step I took.

Reminding myself about the importance of the project submission, I quickened my pace, slipping into a narrow alleyway which served as a shortcut to the bus stand.

My footsteps echoed eerily, making me shiver with not just cold but also fear.

I was spooked.

I guess I really wasn't as brave as I liked to think.

There was just something about the deserted streets, the biting cold and the soft taps of my footsteps on the path that heightened my senses and set my body on the edge.

So it was no wonder that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a high pitched scream tore through the alley and echoed out into the sky.

Instinctively, I surged forward in the direction the scream had come from. I didn't think; didn't evaluate the possible consequences of this action. I just moved forward recklessly.

Adrenaline pumped through me, pushing me to run faster than I ever had. I didn't have to go far to find the source of the scream...

My steps faltered then halted completely at the sight before me - A woman was sprawled eagle-backed on the ground, in a pool of blood.

Her blood.

The blood sprouting from the multiple injuries on her body.

Injuries no doubt inflicted by the knife in the man's hand. Yes, the murderer was right there, crouching beside the body of the woman with a knife held in his grasp.

My brain went numb for a second at the sight.

I was frozen like a statue made of cold hard ice. Horror echoed through the frozen recesses of my brain.

The horror was replaced by a huge rush of fear when the murderer looked up and locked eyes with me.

He'd heard me. Of course, he had.

The murderer's eyes which had widened in shock on seeing me turned angry now. He leapt to his feat, brandishing his knife in my direction.

The sight of his knife dripping with blood spurred me into action. In a blink of an eye, I turned and ran like a bat out of hell.

As I ran, I heard his loud footsteps behind me. He was following me...maybe to silence me?

Oh no! A sudden image of me lying in a pool of my blood flashed before my eyes.

I will not be another one of his victims!

It was with this determination that I pushed myself to run faster. I didn't know where I was running to. I just knew that I had to get away from him.

I heard an angry cry from behind me just as the earth started to shake. What the...? Earthquake? No, no!

A particularly nasty jolt sent me flying. I landed hard on the ground which was still shaking. I was pushed and pulled and jostled and shook.

Gravity had defeated me and now I'd become his prey, the murderer's second victim....NO!!

"Wake up!" I heard someone call loudly.

Blinking, I focused on my mother who was standing before me.

Wait a second! Where was the murderer? And how did my mother appear here suddenly? What about the earthquake?

"You'll be late if you don't get up now!" My mother told me sternly.

Blinking, I tried to focus on my surroundings.

I was in my room. I was safe in my house. The earthquake must have been my mother shaking me. Apparently, I'd fallen down from the bed, all tangled up in my blankets.

Looking up at my mother from my position on the floor, I grinned crazily. There was no murderer chasing me after all. I was safe and warm as a baby bird.

It was with a cheerful mood that I set out to college later on. I think I was even whistling. My cheerful mood kept me energized as I walked through the deserted streets and slipped into the familiar alleyway.

However, my good mood went off abruptly.

Bile rose up my throat as goosebumps erupted on my skin. Because...lying in front of me, in a pool of blood was the murdered woman from my dreams...

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