Incubus

Chapter 6

My breath fogged out in front of me like a puff of smoke from a lit cigarette. Goosebumps spread across my bare skin, and to my horror, I realized that I wasn't wearing any clothes. Hastily, I tried to cover myself up, from what I had not the slightest idea. I just knew that I didn't want to be naked. Not here, in the dark, in an alleyway, all alone.

Gazing around, I took in my surroundings. A brick cobblestone ground- a classic in my dreams it seemed- a bone-chilling gust of wind, and tall buildings casting their substantial shadows over me on either side. The moon's light shone down the other road to which the street I stood on connected. I could barely make out a street lamp at the end of the road I was on. The light flickered, short-circuiting, and then shut off and turned back on. My body went rigid as I distinguished an unknown shadow creeping up along the side of the building next to the street lamp. The shadow spread out like the wings of a bird, and formed itself into a head, with roughly tousled curls, adorning a big bulky jacket. Whoever it was was taking slow steps, as if taking their time in letting their presence known. 

A whisper rang throughout the silence, and I could just make out its hushed voice; Corin. 

I dashed to the side of the building and threw myself against it, in a desperate attempt to hide from the voice and the oncoming shadow. The voice sounded inhuman, and it unsettled me. My heartbeat rang in my ears, and I had to keep reminding myself that this was just another dream. It's just a dream, only a dream. But it felt so more real than any dream I'd ever had before, the illusion too great to have come from my head. 

I fixed my eyes back on the shadow, finding it less frightening than the voice. Just as it was about to round the corner, it stopped dead in its tracks. It terrified me to think of what was going to happen next, but my eyes remained riveted on the shadow; I couldn't seem to pry them away. 

The boom of clock tower ahead struck me out of my daze. I looked up into the starless sky and saw the mighty building, and noticed it was north of where I stood. The deafening ring of each hour shattered a window in the buildings around me; the glass rained down on me and sliced deep into my skin. I swept my hands over my head in a desperate attempt to shield myself from harm. Shards of glass knotted itself into my wild hair, and as I ran my fingers through it to rid it from the glass, I cut myself even more. 

The last boom rang through the distance, and my head snapped up. Affixing my eyes back to where the shadow had just been, I found that, to my astonishment, it was no longer there. Cautiously taking a step forward, I waited for the shadow to appear out of nowhere again suddenly, but it never did. Instead, as if on cue, a thick mist started to coil its way down the road, heading straight for me. I was stuck, with the possibility of a person waiting for me at the end of the road. The mist crept toward me from either end of the streets. My mind was racing; should I run or should I stay?

Before I could jump into action, however, I got caught up in the thick blanket of mist. The ringing of the clock tower continued to its mark of twelve counts. Waving my hands around in front of me, I tried to see through, but couldn't. It was too thick; I breathed it in and coughed. I turned around in a circle, trying to find a way out, but couldn't. And then, I noticed the sudden silence. The clock tower stopped ringing, and I could hear my bare feet thudding around on the ground. Finding there was nothing else I could do, I patiently waited for the mist to consume me entirely and bring me to the brink of consciousness. 

But that never happened. Instead, I felt something on my shoulder and knew what would happen. I turned in unimaginable fear and saw the hand on my shoulder. It was tanned and enveloped in the dark sleeve of a trenchcoat.