The Shadow That Stalks

Walking home alone from her friend's annual Halloween seance party, eighteen year old Lisa Davis tried to banter the scary images from her mind. "What happened to her eyes?" She thought, but quickly said, "No, I will not think about that anymore! It wasn't real. Just a mean, cruel prank!" This Halloween night was a bit more festive in comparison to last year. The suburban neighborhood of Dulai Cove felt cool and crisp; and it pulsed with the sound of crickets. Flourishing in colors of yellow and orange, remnants of autumn leaves were scattered across the grass. Some of the houses resembled an outdoor fashion show for the strange and unusual. There were rubber spiders and cobwebs made of polyester dangling from porch lights and front doors. Jack-o-lantern luminaries were placed into windows and along the pathways, like night watchmen, to frighten away the pranksters. Animatronics in the form of witches, goblins, and zombies also made their debut on several yards; each one depicting a mystical motif that established the mood of the season.

As Lisa walked along the brick covered sidewalk, she became laden with fear. She heard heavy footsteps thudding behind her.

"Who's there?" she asked, turning around to acknowledge the nonexistent stranger.

Without notice, a tall menacing black shadow manifested itself before her blue eyes. It had an aura so cold that it seemed as if tiny fingernails were stabbing her in the back of her neck. She studied its features and panicked when the shadow opened its eyes. Those were the same eyes she had seen at the seance party; the ones that appeared inside of her friend. Its skull looked up through its hollow orbs, which were rolled skyward, and cast a milky hue that leveled a glowering look. In a haste, Lisa sprinted off in the opposite direction. Running like a madman along the deserted sidewalk, her heartbeat pounded against her chest forming an off-balanced rhythm that reverberated in her ears. Looking over her shoulder, for only a moment, she saw the shadow floating towards her. Lisa screamed out for help, hoping to attract the attention of her neighbors, or even some late night trick or treaters, but it was utterly quiet with no human activity.

"Just two more blocks," she said as she crossed over to the other side of the street.

Lisa had a desperate urge to stop and catch her breath. The thought of resting for a while tempted her, the quickness in her feet began to falter and within seconds she began to slow down.

"LISA!" The shadow called out to her in a menacing voice.

When she heard the chattering pronunciation of her own name, Lisa regained her strength and her feet gradually increased their speed. Soon she had reached the intersection of Manson Circle and Dahmer Road. Relief flooded her as her eyes peered out into a short distance and spotted the entrance of her driveway. Just as Lisa was crossing the street over Dahmer Road, she noticed a mysterious man standing at the stop sign. His dark nature and long trench coat, which was pulled up to his chin, gave him all the appearance of a threat, and yet she was compelled to ask him for help.

"Excuse me sir," she said. "Something is after me! I know I sound crazy, but it's true. Look! It's right behind me.'

With a finger, she pointed to identify the entity that had caused her havoc for the last twenty minutes, but when she turned around, it was gone. Suddenly, a rapid clicking noise triggered an alarm that penetrated her senses. At once, her breath quickened. Her hands were clammy and sweaty. Her head moved slowly, as if someone was pressing the pause button on her every movement. Shifting her frightful eyes onto the mystery man, he met her gaze and quickly revealed his silhouette. It was the shadow. Mocking her with devilish eyes, it lunged at Lisa in an attempt to capture her. She evaded its advances with one instant swoop, making a dash to her house.

Her home, a sturdy two story residence built of limestone siding, was positioned thirty feet from the closed loop ending at Manson Circle. Lisa rushed to her front door in a panic, grabbing at her purse strap, she realized that she had accidently left it at the party. Tears of regret streamed down her face; her house keys were inside of her forgotten purse, and at this time, she couldn't unlock the door. She briefly turned her attention onto the shadow to make sure it wasn't standing right behind her.

"Leave me the fuck alone! she screamed, shaken to the core as her hopeless eyes watched the shadow levitating just above her mailbox.

"YOU CAN RUN. AND I WILL FIND YOU!" The shadow uttered with a demonic squeal.

Lisa began to slam herself into the door, over and over again. She twisted the doorknob in the same manner of twisting the top of a soda bottle, but to no avail, she couldn't open the door. The foreboding aroma of danger impaled her senses, she started kicking the front door, avidly pounding it with her fists.

"Please God! Help me!" she cried, hoping for a divine miracle. Then all at once, she heard the latch unlock from the other side of the door.

Placing a trembling hand on the doorknob, she had a passing serene moment as she turned the knob and entered the house.

Lisa stood on her tiptoes and peeked out the window through the door. There was no sign of the shadow. Everything seemed calm inside of the house, still standing by the front door, she looked to the far end of the hallway and noticed that television was on in the living room. 

"Mom, Dad, Toby. I'm home!" She called out to her parents and younger brother and received a dead reply. 

Then abruptly, the television volume grew increasingly loud, and the cackling sound of a demon spoke. "Do you know what she did? Your cunning daughter!"

Turning red with annoyance, Lisa shouted out, "You know that I hate that movie! Cut it down!" 

She took a turn to the right of the front door and walked into the kitchen. As she opened the fridge, she glanced over at the countertop. Clutching her chest with both hands, she stared in stupefied terror when she saw her purse laying there. "What the hell?" Picking up her purse, she rummaged through it. Her keys weren't there, but she did manage to locate her phone. Once she had it in her hand, it rang.

"Hello!" she answered.

""Hi honey," the voice said in a soft-spoken tone.

"Mom? Why are you calling me when you're in the other room?"

"What? Lisa are you alright?"

"No, I'm not!"

"What's the matter?"

"Well for starters. I had this black shadow chasing after me. Then I left my purse at the party. But when I got home. It's laying on the kitchen counter!"

"Have you been drinking? You're not making any sense!"

"I have not been drinking! If you come into kitchen. You can smell my breath!"

"Come into the kitchen? Well I would if we were home."

"What do you mean 'if we were home.' If you're not here. Then who's in the living room blasting the tv and watching that movie?"

"Lisa, we took Toby to the Halloween Camp Party. We probably won't make it home until tomorrow morning."

"No. You gotta be here! Mom, MOM?"

Suddenly the phone died. The kitchen lights started to flicker, and the television no longer made a sound. Lisa crept over to the kitchen door and slowly tilted her head out. Her gaze shifted to the end of the hallway until she was able to see the entrance of the living room. 

The room was in pitch-black darkness, only the light of the moon was allowed to shine through the blinds. She made a last-minute objective to get to her room, but as she trotted down the hallway, she encountered the shadow slowly emerging from the living room. Gliding on invisible feet, its highlighted visage mirrored the image of a creepy clown. Reaching out to her, its arms grew out like Pinocchio's nose, almost touching her face. Without another second to waste, Lisa escaped the shadow's touch and hurled into her bedroom. Locking the door, she went to her dresser, pulling on it with much exhaustion, she placed it behind the door. 

"Leave me alone! Why are you are messing with me?" She asked the shadow and to her dismay, it answered her in the lowest, gurgling undertone. "I'm after you because of what you did at the party!"

"I didn't do anything! Please just go away!" She screamed, backing away from her bedroom door. As she stood pondering about what she could have done, she was startled by a crumbling sound. She quickly whirl around and saw a black fur ball spinning on the top of her bed. The faster it spun, the bigger it became. Lisa was in a trance-like state as the ball transformed into the shadow.

"Please don't hurt me!" she cried, "I didn't do anything wrong!" With an evil, diabolical grin, the shadow delivered its final message to Lisa. "You keep saying that you didn't do anything! But on the contrary, you did something very bad! You broke the rules. You looked into my eyes. And now I must devour you!" The shadow floated above Lisa. Its mouth fell down to its chin and exposed its razor sharp teeth. Dropping its gaping mouth down upon her body, it chopped and swallowed her whole.