Shadow Man

Chapter Two- Day One: Monday

"It"

After her mom checked up on her Lilly hung up the phone. She stood up from the floor and headed to the kitchen, leaving her sketch book closed on her bed. On the way, she checked the time on her phone. Lilly pressed the phone side's power button and the screen lit up. Lilly waited just a second as her eyes adjusted to the bright light contrast in the dark hallway. Her phone's lock screen read 1:20 PM. She stopped for a minute and looked at her phone's lock screen background.

It was the last picture she had taken with her father. It was the day of the accident, just hours before it happened. He was wearing his multi-colored Hawaiian button down shirt that she had gotten him for father's day, and his grey knee length swim trunks. All of these things contrasted with his red and black Vibram Bikila 5 Five Fingers Shoes. He had his black ray-bans on hiding his dark blue eyes. His bald head shined in the sunlight creating a glare for the camera. As a joke he wore a blob of white sunscreen on his wide set nose, contrasting with his darker mixed tone skin. He had the biggest smile on his face, crouching on the ground so Lilliana could sit on his knee slightly. They were just in their driveway in front of their cherry blossom tree , but the photo looked like it could've been taken in an exotic part of the world. Lilly didn't think the tree belonged in the mere city of Shorewood, Minnesota. The day her parents left for Christmas Lake, their family was closer than they had ever been... and then it was all over so quickly.

Lilly wiped the tears from her eyes and quickly turned off her phone. She continued down the hallway into her living room. Then she saw it. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a dark figure in the hallway behind her. She quickly turned around, and it vanished. Her heart started beating fast as she turned back around and ran to her kitchen. Lilly quickly pulled the biggest knife from the knife keeper on their island. Holding it with two hands pushed away from her body, she walked slowly to the hallway. When she was there Lilly saw nothing, and that's what scared her the most. She pulled the knife closer to her body and went into her room. She walked over to her bed and was surprised to find her book opened. It was open to the drawing of the man she drew just minutes before. But there was something off about it. In a dark black substance the words, "Now you see me... Now you DIE" were written on the page. Lilliana jumped back after reading this and dropped the knife. The knife barely missed the middle of her foot, and landed at the edge of her pinky toe. She left the knife on the ground and ran out of her bedroom.

Lilliana's mother got home at the usual time, 4:50 PM. She worked as a secretary at their local emergency room. Lilly didn't speak to her mother when she came home. She just layed on the couch while she heard her mother shuffling the groceries around. "Lilliana? Are you home still? Or did you run off with Dusty?" Her mother laughed as she set the last bag down. Lilly didn't respond. "Lilliana! Where are you?" Her mother walked into the living room and stopped at the edge of the carpet. She stood there with her hands on her hips staring at her daughter. "Lilly, speak to me please," she said with a stern look. "Oh so you stay home for one day, and now you're too high and mighty to talk to your working mother?" Lilly looked her mother with tears in her eyes. "Honey... what's wrong?"

"I'm scared mommy," Lilly told her mother trying to not cry.

"Why's that Lilly?" Her mother placed her hands, and walked over to Lilly, she sat on the couch by Lilly's feet.

"I can't tell you, you wouldn't believe me." Lilly said shifting so her mother wasn't too close.

"Sure I will Lilly, I'll believe anything you want me to."

"But you wouldn't really believe me. I want you to believe me because you want to. Not just because I tell you to." Lilly broke her glance with her mother and stared at the still on TV. Lilly never turned the TV off that day, she just kept it at a steady low volume.