The walls were stained red, the smell of something metallic filled the cold evening air. I could see the shadow of a man; he had a taller muscular build and a knife in hand. There on the floor is what looked to be a body, female, her blond hair dyed red. I had to get out of there, it was suffocating. I ran. The weight on my legs was heavy and it was hard to breathe. I could feel my heart pounding and hear the blood rushing through my ears. I thought back as the woman had stab marks on her. One right above the collar bone, another in the stomach, and once in her right eye. The shadow was behind me, and I needed someplace to go.

-

A buddy of mine texted me and asked if I wanted to go to a group hangout at a local bar. How could I refuse? I was looking forward to a nice cold beer after work. By the end of the hangout, I was walking with a woman down the street. I’d have never met her before today, she was a friend of a friend. There was something following us, but all I could see was a shadow. It was dark out, so we decided we would go to her place. I could see the shadow still behind us, by this point I knew someone was following us. They had followed every turn or path we would take. Which what I thought was not a coincidence.

I voiced my concerns to her, saying I thought someone was following us. We picked up the pace after that. Luckily, we made it to her house. But before I knew it, I had blacked out. I continued to see this girl and met with her about every other day. I was on a high, a mix of love, and alcohol. It was intoxicating, but something was always there. The shadow, something was always watching me.  

Our city wasn’t safe, but at night was the worst time to be out. Our city had the worst crime rate in the state. Just earlier today I heard sirens in the distance on my way to work. Turns out a guy got shot on avenue, witnesses say it was completely out of nowhere. My workplace had been targeted a couple times too, whether it was a break in or assault on one of my coworkers.

Today started weirdly as I couldn’t remember some of my morning. I had this strange feeling during work, my mouth was dry, and it felt like I needed to get away. I left work early, rushing out only to see the same shadow from the other day outside. I felt a lump in my throat as it was hard to swallow. I sped past it as quickly as I could, without trying to make a scene. The shadow was behind me again, keeping pace with me. No, He was chasing me.

I was in a panic; I would run but no matter where I went or what I did, I couldn't shake it. It was like the shadow was locked solely onto me. Nothing affected it either, as I thew anything I could grab. As I ran past people, they looked bewildered, but no one did or said anything. I ran home, the only place I could think of. When I got to my door, I realized that I lost my keys in the chaos. I ran around my house and picked up a rock from my backyard. I threw it at one of my windows.

I climbed through the window ignoring the pain in my hands from the broken glass piercing my skin. I ran to the kitchen to grab the only thing that I could use as a weapon, A knife. My house was dark. My hands were bleeding all over the floor. I couldn’t see the shadow, I would look out my window, but he wasn’t there. I waited, knife in hand. I felt sick with apprehension; hearing every second go by didn’t help. I jumped as I had heard my house phone ring, it was her. My shoulders dropped as I heard her voice.

It took some time to clean up everything and call to get my window replaced. When I was about to leave, I saw the knife on the counter, and I was hesitant, but I took it in the end. Then I left for her house. It was getting dark, so I walked a little quicker than usual. I was still uneasy about the shadow; I would jump at every movement out of the corner of my eye. My eyes would dart everywhere. But I still couldn't help but look forward to seeing her after the day I’ve had. I walked up the steps to her house and knocked.

-

I ran to the police, they had to help me, right? It was their job. I’d like to think whoever that shadow is wouldn’t dare go near there anyways. Who would be dumb enough to lead themselves right to the police? I burst through the doors of the police station, only to have guns drawn at me. My eyes widened and my throat closed, I couldn’t speak. Drop it. They said, I didn’t know what they meant, but when I unclutched my hand, I heard it fall. When I looked back at the shadow it attached to me.