Affinity // (GOT7 Markson)

Chapter Eighteen - Angels...

October 31st. The month was nearly at its cold and frigid end as Halloween marked the coming of November. The sun was retreating into the horizon sooner and sooner as the days crawled on, making it seem later and later than it actually was. Mark was alone in the coffee shop, completing the mundane tasks of closing up and cleaning. The entire street was pitch black, the only light being the faint and flickering one that was coming from the back office of Remedy. Mark scrubbed the coffee pots and arranged them from cleanest to dirtiest, wondering just why they needed so many now that it was his duty to clean them. While he cleaned, he went over the night's plan and began to get excited, thinking of wearing the costume he had slaved over for the last week.

Mark went to the back, flicked off a number of switches which seemed to control every light in the shop, turned the music off, and then walked to the front door to lock it up before leaving. The bell gave a small jingle as Mark fidgeted with the lock, the sound echoing through the empty and dark street. It reminded him of just how alone he was, and made him shiver slightly. Mark cursed to himself under his breath, becoming annoyed as he continued battling with the handle. The ringing on the top of the door got louder as Mark shook it. In the corner of his eye Mark caught the outline of a shadow moving. The shadow was a few blocks down, and he couldn't tell if the figure was coming towards him or away from him. Mark could feel the unmistakable feeling of fear creep into his chest, making him even more determined to get the lock figured out so that he could leave.

After finally winning over the contraption he shoved the ring of keys into his jacket pocket, which made a messy clank of sounds that bounced around the houses and echoed down the street. There was only one light illuminating the street now that the shop was closed, and it came from a street lamp that was a block away from Mark, its dim yellow glow barely showing the sidewalk below it. Mark zipped his jacket up to his chin, let out a cold shiver, and made his way toward the flickering and depressed street pole's direction. He couldn't tell if the shadow behind him was still there because of the darkness, but he had watched enough horror movies to know that it's not a good idea to constantly check. Instead, Mark kept a calm and determined pace, focusing on nothing more than getting home to his warm apartment with his two best friends: Krystal and Jackson. Tonight they were getting ready to go to Krystal's Halloween Extravaganza, and Mark didn't want to be late. It was going to be held at a corn maze near the outskirts of town, something that surprised even Mark. He knew that Kris was daring and liked to push the envelope, but he never expected for her to create a dance somewhere in the middle of no where surrounded by rows of growing vegetables.

Two more blocks, Mark told himself, now almost being able to Make his building out through the dense layer of wet fog. The air was biting at Mark's thighs as he walked, making him lean down to rub them quickly. As he knelt, he was finally able to sneak a small glance behind him. The road was empty, except for the figure of what looked like a tall and slender man walking a few blocks behind him. Mark's heart began to race as he stared at the shadow, who was now standing completely still under the yellow flicker of light Mark was just at. The shadow was of a man, and seemed to stop dead its tracks as it caught Mark's gaze. Mark couldn't make out any features of the man, but noticed he was wearing a very tall top hat by the outline on his head. After standing back upright, Mark was transfixed on the figure, standing just as still as he was, two blocks ahead, staring back. The two had a stand off for a few minutes, and Mark's fear only grew and grew as he now realized something in this silent stare down: this thing was definitely following him. The soft zipping and honking of cars in the far distance was the only noise that filled Mark's ears, aside from the beating of his own heart that he was amazed hadn't exploded through his chest wall. Just then the figure tilted his head to the side slightly, then picked its feet up and began to sprint like an Olympic athlete, right in Mark's direction. For once in his life Mark couldn't move. The image of this dark and slender figure coming at him at full force was enough to paralyze the boy. He suddenly couldn't feel the cold wind biting at his thighs, as his entire body was now filled with a cool chill. Mark knew he needed to do something, but he continued to stand there in the middle of the road, as the shadow got closer and closer. Mark looked down at his denim covered legs, trying to figure out why exactly he couldn't move them. He realized now that his hands were trembling. When he looked back up to see how close the man was, he was met with an empty road. The flickering orange light where the man used to be was now showing nobody. He couldn't hear the tapping of the shoes of the man either. The entire area was vacant. Mark didn't know whether to be thankful or to be even more worried. As he stood there, petrified, his phone buzzed eagerly in his pocket.