Before the Shadows

I kept walking. With each step I took, I felt its presence mere moments from catching up to me. I turned at the crossroad at which the railway had intersected the road. Picking up my pace, I walked faster following the rails without truly looking where they led me. Bit by bit, my steps morphed into lunges and that evolved into a full-on sprint. I heaved as I ran forward, my sides began to ache in response to this sudden outburst that surpassed the physical restrictions set by my body.

But, I couldn’t afford to stop.

It was getting closer, following me incessantly, adamant in its pursuit of me. It was getting closer too, the shivers on the back of my neck informed me of that.

My stamina was reaching its limits, I couldn’t run for long. I cursed my frail constitution in my head, as I barely avoided tripping over the rusted-out rails. If I fell now, I would be nothing more than a prey caught in the trap set by its hunter. I pushed on ahead, my lungs threatening to give out in the next few minutes. My mind began to rummage through all the possible outcomes that could happen if I got caught, and they all came to one place, either death or a fate worse than that.

Soon enough my doubt was cleared and only one thing remained; Fear. I was afraid, and not just simply scared, no this fear filled my body, propelling me forward to run faster than before despite my weak physical stature. It was the primal fear that people had long forgotten about, a type of fear that humans were thought to have evolved from. It was the fear of one’s own death. This fear filled me with so much dread as it drowned out my mind from any other thoughts.

My mouth opened spewing saliva as I continuously gasped for breath, I knew I could not go much further. But it had not relented in its hunt for me, keeping up with me no matter how fast I ran, almost as if it were toying with me, asking me to entertain it before it reveled in its inevitable victory.

A flutter of hope entered my mind as the old railways led up to a grim tunnel. It didn’t seem to have been inhabited in for years. The possibility of hiding there entered my mind. It seemed spacious enough to fit a larger than average-sized elephant. And the darkness that seemed to exude out of its opening seemed vast and unending.

The figure chasing me wouldn’t be able to locate me there. Hope embraced my heart as I pulled myself forward entering through the opening of the tunnel, feeling the darkness embrace me. The air, all of a sudden seemed much colder than it had been as I moved, slowing down bit by bit.

I didn’t feel the figure right behind me anymore, though I was sure that it was still there, looking for me in this vast darkness. My eyes could barely pierce the shadows that shrouded the world ahead of me.

I stopped and held my breath, knowing if I made a single squeak, it would catch me. My lungs ached, begging and pleading for me to take a breath. I could barely resist its pleas but I remained resolute, using every ounce of self-control to not move a muscle. To make no move or noise.

I silently slid down to the rocky surface of this subterranean passage floor.

I remained still. Calming my breathing till all that could be heard was the shrill shrieks of my inner voice, telling me to stay absolutely still. Only mere seconds passed but each one felt like hours. But soon I felt it, only a minute later. A movement in the shadows ahead. My throat dried as I felt every nerve in my body screaming at me to move but I refused. As I felt the figure in the shadows roaming ahead of me, mere inches away from my body, I remained absolutely still, knowing it was my best chance at survival.

After a few moments, it seemed like the figure had gone but I didn’t let myself relax, holding myself completely still until I was absolutely sure that the figure chasing me had gone.

A sense of great relief washed over me as I gasped for air, taking deep breaths. Tears began flowing freely down my cheeks, showing no intention of stopping.

I had escaped.

My body groaned as I slowly lifted it up. It was clearly exhausted from pushing it past its limits. I was still in a daze, still unable to fully process my escape. I had made it away. I had won.

Almost as if in reaction to my thoughts, a dim light fixture illuminated the darkness. It couldn’t fully light up the tunnel but was enough to grant some form of visibility to those around.

I froze immediately, slowly arching my neck to the opposite side of the tunnel.

A figure stood there.

The light could not reveal any detail about him. All that could be discerned was that an enormous shadow seemed to stretch along the side of the underpass’s walls.

I tried. I couldn’t move, my legs failed me as I dropped to my knees shivering.

The figure’s shadow stretched farther as he grew closer to me. His inky black hands stretching outward towards me.

“Ple-Please, N-No, Stay a-away” I sobbed.

The figure did not respond, moving closer step by step, clearly enjoying my pathetic showing of desperation. Eventually, it reached me as a sinister smile seemed to shine the darkness that was barely alleviated by the weak bulbs.

An echoing scream could be heard passing through the entirety of the tunnel. Soon enough the screaming ended and the movement that disrupted the darkness slowed. What traces left were eventually swallowed up by the absence of light.

In the end, all that remained were the Shadows, unperturbed by the events that had taken place, continuing in its eerie silence.