In Another Life

VII o'Clock - Far into the forest

Unconsciously I followed the yellow men outside, because that's where the whole crowd was going. Once I was outside and I breathed in the cold air of the night, my surroundings got clearer. There was an ambulance on the street. Red and blue lights were flickering in my eyes. The whole neighborhood was present in the front yard. Everyone was crying and asking what had happened.

I suddenly became aware that I was standing alone. 

Haley was gone.

 I spon around. I walked through the whole front yard. I yelled her name. But there was no Haley to be seen.

I crouched when the sirens of the ambulance started chiming and the yellow vehicle came in motion. Two police cars arrived and made everything even more noisy.

I kept turning around and looking for someone I knew. 

Suddenly, my eyes caught someone who was watching the panic from outside the crowd. A shadow. It was standing in the dark, behind all the people. As I was slowly walking towards it, the shadow became clearer and I recognized something. The eyes. They gleamed as if they were a cat's eyes. And they were staring right back at me.

The stalker.

Without thinking I crossed the street and ran straight at him. As I came closer he turned around and walked into the woods. Oh hell no. This creep is not getting away a second time. I wasn't afraid of him. Or maybe I was. But that fear was showing itself through fury. I was almost sure that -whoever he was- he had something to do with Jonathan. And if I'd find out he abducted Haley too, I would kill him with my bare hands. I ran after him. He wasn't running. He was walking. He was walking like a normal person. Only with every step he took, he was four meters ahead. It even seemed as if he was floating over the ground, like a ghost.

I had to run much faster if I wanted to catch him up. "Stop!" I yelled breathless. He kept walking deeper and deeper into the woods. It was pitch-dark. I had no idea where I was stepping. I couldn't even see the guy anymore. I was just relying upon the sound of his steps. But the further ahead he got, the less I could hear him. Until the point where I was just running at random. 

I stopped and tried to catch my breath for a second. To hear where he went. But I didn't hear anything but my own breath and my pumping heart. I didn't even hear sirens anymore, let alone crying teenagers.

Suddenly a flash covered my eyes. It was there for 1 second but long enough to blind me. I looked to the sky and heard a thunderclap in the distance. Shit. You've got to be kidding me. The wind was obviously getting stronger and I could already feel little raindrops on my cheeks. I decided to yell Haley's name in the void. It seemed to be a useful thing to do in my head.

"Haleeey!" I shouted with all my voice. It echoed from tree to tree. Now I realized that if the stalker wanted to kill me, he'd now know where I was. I listened for any reaction. Maybe the police would've heard me. But I doubt that. I was in the core of the forest.

A new lightning bolt lit up the woods whereby I could see all the contours of the trees. 1... 2... Thunder. It was closer this time. Louder. I could already feel the ground shake. 

I decided to go back, if I could ever manage to find a way out. Whilst I was on my way back, the rain began to fall. Big drops of water were drenching my face and hair. And then the lighting struck again. 1... A loud bombshell exploded in the sky, along with something that sounded like a scream.

A name appeared in my mind. My eyes widened. My heart raised. My blood was being filled with adrenaline. I turned around and ran as fast as I could. "Haley!" I screamed, "Haley! Where are you?" I zigzagged through the trees and all I could think of was what that creep would be doing to her right now. I don't know how long I was running, but I wouldn't give up. Even if my legs did. I would drag myself further with my arms. I couldn't let anything happen to Haley. So I ran as if my life was about to end.

And then I fell.

My face met the cold, hard ground. I stumbled over a branch. Well that was to be expected. While I was getting to stand up again, lightning brightened my sight and suddenly I saw what I was looking for.

Haley. She was laying on the ground. Her eyes were open wide and they were staring right at me. "Oh my god!" I screamed. I was so frightened that I fell again. Quickly I crawled towards her body. "Oh my god, Haley!" I squealed. "Haley?" I leaned over her and searched her cheek in the dark with my soiled hand. "Haley?!" I yelled. "Oh no, no! Please don't be dead! Please!" My hands grabbed her both arms and shook her. "Wake up Haley! Please!" I cried. "Haley!" Tears rolled down my face and landed on hers. She didn't move. She didn't breathe. She felt so cold.

There was another lightning bolt that lit up Haley's face. There was blood on it. But when I swept it away I couldn't see any wound. Then I realized it was me who had smeared her face with the blood of wounds on my hand and that my face was probably smeared too from wiping away my tears.

I was still leaning over Haley's body. Crying and sobbing. And suddenly I heard the noise of crackling leaves. I looked up. On that moment the woods got contoured again by the fierce lightning. And what I saw was this:

He was stepping towards me. Slowly. He knew I was here. He was going to kill me. Like he killed Haley. Like he killed Jonathan. Maybe he killed my parents too while I was at the party. But why? Why the people I care about? How does he know who I am? And what did I ever do to him?