Dark Shadows

Chapter One

 

Chapter One

Lauren's POV.

I ran as fast as I'd ever run before. With my heart pounding in my ears and sweat tickling down my spine, I deeply regretted my decision to explore the town of London on my own. At midnight. Alone.

As a tourist I was supposed to be at a hotel or at a acquaintance's home at this time of the day, safe and sound. But instead, being the wannabe Sherlock Holmes I was, I'd decided to start on the latest case earlier than I was supposed to. Curiosity was both a gift and a curse. A little too late had I discovered that the streets of London, full with it's dark alleyways completely covered in shadows after nightfall, wasn't the best place for a 21 year old female detective to be messing about on. The consequence of that was having a pedophile/psycho hybrid running after you in 50 km/h. It was clear that he had no pure intensions. And the fact that I was wearing heels wasn't helping...

Most rapists and pedophiles are fat and ugly with a bad cardiovascular capacity. At least that's the picture of those filthy scums I've been having in my head my whole life. 

But not this one. He was fast. Too fast. I could sense him getting closer and closer to me every second. Wasn't London supposed to be a busy town? Full of people and life! Where were all those people now? Even I, a die-hard athlete, was getting tired now. I could feel my muscles giving in to the lactic acid. I wouldn't be able to continue running much longer.

I've never experienced anything like this ever before in my life. Sure, I've heard and paid attention to all the gazillions of times parents or adults in general had warned about the horrible things that can happen to young girls just like me. We should take precautions and be beyond careful. And heaven forbid we go out in the middle of the night without trusted company. I know all of that, of course I do. But I just never thought it could ever happen to me. I mean come on, I wear hello kitty pyjamas to bed and still have cookies with milk every evening. I'm the last person you'd think would get chased by a maniac. Who, by the way still was reaching for me, only a couple of meters or so behind. 

The fist that gripped at my fluttering hair managed to pull a few strands out, causing me to scream. Although it wasn't so much the pain as the fear. I was seriously starting to panic, totally freaking out if you will. All of the sudden, the real danger of the situation I was in cleared inside my head. This could be the day of my death. I could die tonight, after enduring who knows how much torture when the pursuer finally caught me. And there was still not a single damn human in sight. I was all alone, and no one knew where I was. What did I do to deserve this? I was absolutely positive I was going to collapse.

Surprisingly, the adrenaline, already flowing in my blood, gave off an extra dose of strength, and I pushed from the asphalt with my feet more forcefully. I was slowly gaining speed and burning off the adrenaline, which by the way probably made up the higher ratio in my blood at the moment.

In addition to all the misery that was going on, it started to rain. It fell into my eyes, turning the world into a blur. Or maybe it was the tears that were welling up inside my eyelids. My breath became more ragged than it was just a minute ago, and I realised I was sobbing. I hardly ever cried. Blind and sniveling, I rounded a corner at full speed.

And collided with someone walking the opposite direction on the same road. That person let hear a grunt as I quite literally knocked the breath out of him.  The concrete was hard against my back and head - it caused unbearable pain to shot through my body. I was still blinded by my tears, but with the faint light from a nearby light post I saw the figure kneeling beside me. I was able to distinguish a mop of curls, but that was also all.

"Hey, what's going on?" He had a deep voice, and the fact that he was a he made me panic even more. I struggled to create a gap between us, backing away until I could feel the wall of a building pressed against my back. I was sobbing again, heavier than before. He stood back up and held his hands up assuringly.

"I'm not going to hurt you. Why were you running? Is something wrong?" I didn't really know how I was going to tell him. Would he even care? 

But something with how worried he sounded made me trust him.

"There was a man," I whispered. "There was a man that was chasing me." 

Right on que the man of interest stepped into the aura of light, making himself noticed. I saw how the  person before me spun around to face the criminal. He didn't seem afraid at all. I, on the other hand, was at a high risk of experiencing a fear-induced heart attack. My whole body felt whacked and limp, except for the pain in the head that was increasing ever so slightly. I was tired enough to fall asleep right there on the street. My eyelids felt droopy and I wasn't able to think coherently. I did, however, hear and see the transaction from which the two men yelling at each other turned into two men fighting. I didn't know who won. I wasn't conscious to see the end. 

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The next thing I became aware of was an annoying beeping sound right next to my head. I was also attentive to the fact that I was positioned horizontally, on a bed with stiff bedsheets.

I was in a hospital.  

I finally managed to open my eyes, and found someone sitting at the foot of my bed, staring at me. As my eyes met his he suddenly tensed up, as if he was bracing himself for my reaction. 

It was the same man as before, no doubt. For one, he had bruises on his face and neck, undoubtedly from the fight with my chaser.

But the main reason for my recognition was those curls. Now I could actually see them and not just hint them with the help of limited backlight. Those rare, unique curls I've never seen with my own eyes on any person for real. Yet I'd seen them millions of times on pictures and posters. I very well knew the colour, possible texture, the occasional hair flicks they've been through. For there was only one person known with this hair. And that person was in this room. A person whose abs I was floored by.

Harry Styles.

Harry Styles was my saviour.