The Hollow Man

"I'm a little confused..." Sophia started, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Well, maybe more than a little. What happened here?"

The cool breeze of nighttime air kept her chilled.

Amelia chuckled, twirling a butterfly knife between her fingers, dancing a soft glow from what little light there was off of the blade and against a cobblestone floor. "Well... That would ruin the surprise, wouldn't it?"

"I'm not so su—"

"Either way, we need to go. Now."

Amelia pocketed the knife and grabbed Sophia by the collar of her shirt, practically dragging her.

"Where are we going?!" Sophia exclaimed, trying her best to ground herself and keep up with Amelia.

"Well you see, that was a corpse."

"Yeah, you don't say!"

"And this little knife has some blood that will most likely match..."

Sophia stopped on a dime. "You didn't."

Amelia slowed, pulling the knife out to examine it against the faint orange of the torch. "Calm down."

Amelia was stoic. Cool. Collected.

"Either you're a suddenly a serial killer," Sophia started, "or—"

"Relax." Amelia cut her off. "It's not mine. Nor is the body. I stumbled upon it."

Sophia didn't believe her. She couldn't hide the mixed emotions she felt. She was now fully awake.

"Explain."

Amelia stood in place, considering her words carefully. "Not much to explain."

Sophia stood as still as she could, but she could not stop herself from shaking.

She's walked these streets before—but they have never felt this claustrophobic. This was her home. This is where she grew up. With Amelia, no less. Sure, they committed little crimes when they were kids. Some stolen fruit from a stall, some pranks on the boys from school, but never murder. Sophia was studying Amelia carefully.

"Where were you last night? Why did you wake me up this late to show me a corpse?" Sophia was quiet, but her voice still shook.

Amelia looked at her friend. Emotionless. It scared Sophia more than anything.

"I went for a walk. I needed some air. Someone approached me. He asked if I could keep a secret."

"Did he kill him?"

"Not sure. I told him I could, he led me to an alley—"

"What did he look like?"

"Ah. About that." Amelia bit her lip, her stone-like posture cracking ever so slightly. She studied Sophia, considering the best way to word things.

"I'm not sure."

Sophia's eyes widened—her mouth slightly agape. "What... What do you mean you don't know?"

What was Amelia hiding?

"For starters, he was wearing a cloak. It was blue. No wait, it was black. Maybe purple? Listen, it's pitch black out here except for the torches that line these streets. They don't help with specifics. He was wearing some kind of dark cloak. I don't know! Either way... That's all I can say."

Boots could be heard close by, clanking metal against stone. The signature sound of the town guards.

"I saw movement over here!"

The shadow of a guard grew in size against the wall, becoming more and more distorted in the flicker of the torch. Sophia turned to address the shadow for a moment before looking back. Amelia was gone.

"Amelia?!" Sophia spoke the loudest whisper she could before clambering into the nearest alleyway. "Where the hell did that girl go?"

"Boo!"

"Ahh!" Sophia shrieked, her heart jumping out of her chest before she could breathe again and realized what was going on. Then she heard the sound of metal clacking.

"You're under arrest."

Sophia couldn't believe what was happening. Where did the guard even come from? She thought she easily had a few seconds on the guard. Although this one seemed... Different. She couldn't place what was off about the guard. But something was certainly off.

"Amelia?!" Sophia tried raising her voice without waking the town, "anybody?!"

Sophia closed her eyes and considered the situation. More sound and more people would be more of a problem. Seeing no real escape, she gave in. Her hands were clasped behind her back awkwardly as the guard put his cold hands on her back and moved her along.

Where were the other guards at? Why was he alone?

Moments later, Sophia heard a grunt and heard a drop. Then several. The guard moaned and dropped to a knee as his blood began pooling crimson around his feet.

"What the—"

There was another clasp of metal, and then the sound of metal banging against cobble echoed in the alley.

"Hands-free?" Sophia asked herself.

"Come on. We need to go now." Amelia hastened Sophia to her feet as they both ran through the labyrinth of the alleyways until they had some distance on the guard.

"Did you smell it?"

Amelia's voice was no longer cool. No longer composed. It was shaking like Sophia's. Was she back to normal?

"Smell what?" Sophia spoke as they ran, thinking back to the situation. "Wait. The fish?"

Amelia chuckled as she slowed down to hold onto Sophia's arm. Trying to catch her breath, she spoke in bursts.

"Haha... Yes." She took another breath, "the fish. But also that—"

"Rot?" Sophia chimed in.

That's she couldn't put her finger on! The smell of fish and rot. How didn't she smell that until just then? Where was the guard at that could mask the smell?

"Yeah. The fishy rot. That's the smell of the person who approached me last night."

"Is that the one who killed the guy you showed me earlier?" Sophia asked.

"Not sure. I'm just glad he left me the souvenir knife or you would have been the next victim."

"But wait," Sophia had too many questions, "I thought you said he was wearing a cloak. Is he a guard? What's going on?"

Amelia looked her friend in the eyes. Compassion growing. "I lied."

"A week ago... Maybe two? He caught my eye in the market. His eyes looked... Dead, somehow. They were hollowed into his face. Eyeballs as white as a sheet with a dot in the middle melting into the flesh of his face. His skin was grey. Pale. He had deep wrinkles resembling crevices all over his face. He was just... Staring at me. he was bald and he had scars. He was wearing some kind of cloak with the hood down." Amelia took a breath, 

"He followed me around. For the last week or so. Every time I would round a corner, he would be somewhere. Hidden in plain sight. Always close by. All I could smell was that fish and rot. Nobody else around me seemed to notice the smell. Nobody else even seemed to notice him. He kept his distance this whole time just staring. I noticed him outside of my window at night and everywhere I went in the day, but he never came close. I didn't know what to do or who to tell. He always seemed like he was content just watching. Until tonight."

Sophia didn't know what to do. She had considered everything that went through her mind ten minutes ago and hated herself for jumping to conclusions. But she still had so many questions.

"This guy..." Amelia started again, "he got close enough to talk to me for the first time tonight. To hear his voice. It didn't sound real. It sounded like it was inside of my head. His mouth didn't move. He just kept staring at me. He told me something else. If I was to tell a soul about his existence, he would have to make himself known."

Sophia froze. It was like a window defrosting. The realization that this... Person. This thing. Was all around. Ever-present but hidden in plain sight like a ghost haunting its burial ground. Or a wolf defending its territory.

"Which explains why he came for me tonight." Sophia was at a loss for words.

"I promise you," Amelia took Sophia's hand. Looking into her eyes, Amelia spoke softly. "If I had any idea that any of this would happen, I would never have woke you tonight. I would have never put you at risk. But I hurt him tonight, right? Are we safe?" 

Amelia took the blade out of her pocket and examined it closely. Sophia examined it over her shoulder.

"Yeah..." Sophia could see the blood on the blade.

"But that's not normal, right?" Sophia pointed at the tip, "blood should be red, right? What's this ashy stuff on the tip?" 

Amelia moved the blade closer to inspect the ash but was cut off by the sound of boots clattering against the cobblestone. The now-familiar sound was accompanied by the sight of a shadow against the stone walls, distorting with each flicker from the torch.

Amelia and Sophia met eyes before getting up and running.

"Okay. So he's not dead." Amelia was panicked, her voice now rising in octaves, "so what do we do now?"

"Here!" Sophia ducked into a corner, pulling Amelie with her. They continued through the mazelike streets until they thought they made up enough distance.

"I think we need someone to help us." Sophia spoke, holding Amelia's hand, trying to calm her.

The two ran. They ran and ran until they eventually found a guard standing guard by their post. By the time they arrived, they were both out of breath and terrified.

"What's going on here?" The guard had a young voice. He was fresh to the job, stuck on the graveyard shift probably as a test. He was wearing dark armor polished to glisten even in the torchlight. He was slightly taller than the two girls and had an air of young confidence around him.

"We're being followed." Sophia started, "and—"

"He looks like a guard." Amelia interrupted Sophia. "And he might have killed someone."

The guard raised an eyebrow. This had to be a prank.

"Go on..." He said,

Boots again clattered on cobblestone as the smell of rot began creeping close.

"He's right over there! You need to help us!" Sophia was panicked, pointing frantically in the direction of the figure. Each step dripped crimson as the wound was present, but the blood loss went unnoticed by the figure.

Drip. Drip.

The guard tightened his grip on the blade that rested by his person.

"I can see you're scared," the guard said. "I, however, do not see a thing."

"What do you mean?!"

Sophia couldn't believe the guard as the figure took one slow step after the other, making his way towards where the girls were.

"He's right there! He's... He's grey. He smells like rot. And fish. He looks like a walking corpse!"

Just as she spoke, the figure began to materialize in front of the guard. First, a foot. Then a leg. Then both. Followed by the torso, arms, and head. Like a demon coming through a portal, he made his way towards the guard who was now standing on his feet. The guard clutched his sword tighter, the fear turning him into an amateur.

"S...Stop!" The guard spoke. His confidence was waning. "Stop right there! What are you? Who are you?"

Sophia, Amelia, and the guard could hear the creature tsk as he walked step by step.

The guard forgot his training. He jumped and charged, waving his blade around to make any kind of contact to stop the monster.

The monster stopped in their tracks. He observed the charging guard and tilted his head before unlatching a dagger from his belt in blazing speed and thrust it into the belly of the guard. The knife meeting guts echoed a wet sound in the tight corridors as the guard's blade fell and bounced on cobble, followed by the guard dropping like a soggy sack as blood formed around his body. His eyes and mouth were open, although his eyes were empty. Like a vessel. He died instantly.

The monster turned back to the girls and began his slow trek towards Amelia and Sophia.

The girls' grip on one another's hands tightened. One squeeze to let each other know they're there for each other as they turned heel and ran the other way.

Several streets over they found a couple. A boy and a girl. Holding hands on a moonlit stroll. Innocent to whatever evil was haunting the city.

Amelia stopped Sophia. She looked in her eyes before kissing her forehead.

"I want you to know, I feel horrible about this. But you being okay is what's important to me right now."

Sophia was confused. What was she doing? She didn't have long to ponder before Amelia ran up to the couple.

"Say... What are you two doing this late at night?"

The couple seemed taken aback, with the boy responding. "I'm taken." He spoke stern as if he was defending something. He tightened his grip on his girlfriend's hand and turned to walk away before Amelia put her arm on his shoulder.

"Listen..."

You could feel Amelia's heartbreaking as she muttered the words. The one thing she thought could save Sophia and herself.

"Can you keep a secret?"