From Happiness to Fear
Part 2
Panic had surged through her veins; adrenaline was pumping as she quickened her pace, Raven made her way quickly through the dark alleyway, she was hoping to reach the next street, the intention was to cut out the long walk while behind her, someone was following, they had quickened their pace as she had done, she felt fear rising as she glanced back a moment, then turned her attention directly ahead again; though the alleyway narrowed, and she quickly realised she was trapped when it became clear that there was no way to get to the next street, she had gone down the wrong alleyway as she found herself approaching a wall cutting her off from safety; her mind was racing
“Where are you going?” a voice trailed behind her, it sent a chill down her spine, she turned back to see the young man approaching her, her breathing hitched in her throat; as he stepped closer, a dark silhouette against the dim light of the alleyway; his features were obscured by shadows, but she could see a predatory glint within his eyes
“Leave me alone!” she shouted; her voice trembled, but their was defiance; she stepped backwards, feeling the cold brick wall press up against her back, her mind kept racing, what was he going to do
“Why would I do that?” he replied, his tone taunting
Her amplified fear and heightened senses; she pressed herself back as much as possible as she stared, every instinct was telling her to flee, but she had no direction to run in.
“Please, Please just go away!” she pleaded, desperation and panic filled her voice; the stalker though, he simply laughed, stepping forwards; she could see that he was the same man from the pier, the one she’d pointed out to Yasmin
“Why would I leave when I have you right were I want you” his voice dripped with something sinister, and Raven’s heart raced faster than she though possible, she felt a dizzying sensation as her fight or flight response was in overdrive, she felt the pulse in her ears; and as he moved forwards, she made a decision
She bolted forwards in hopes that it might startle him, she raced to try and get past him, even trying to twist her small frame between him and the wall.
He, however, was faster.
She barely had time to react as she felt his hand grip her arm, her jerked her off balance as he pulled her back with a force that sent her crashing down to the ground; she felt a sharp pain as her right elbow hit the ground in her attempt to cushion herself; the impact had knocked the breath from her lungs, but, as he came down, she threw her head forwards; she felt her forehead connect with his chin which had momentarily made him jerk back in response, but only briefly as she found herself struggling with his grip
“Don’t fight me!” he hissed at her; his breath was hot against her face “It’ll only make this worse”
With his intention now more clear than ever; she went in a full panic; her adrenaline pushed her past the pain in her elbow as she threw her right hand upwards jabbing her fingers into his throat; though being much bigger and heavier than her, she wasn’t going to have much success.
Then, suddenly, there was a loud crash, it echoed through the dimly lit alleyway, the sound jolted the attacker and Raven; the assailant paused, glancing back over his shoulder with a mix of surprise and confusion etched on his face.
To his astonishment, the alleyway appeared completely empty; devoid of any signs of life or movement, yet, as he turned his gaze, he noticed a large bin had been knocked over, its contents spilling haphazardly across the ground; what struck him as odd though wasn’t simply the presence of the fallen bin, but rather the distance; it had been pushed before it had toppled over, it was clear that it hadn’t merely tipped over by an accidental bump, it had been forcefully shoved aside, as if someone had deliberately exerted considerable strength to move it.
The way it lay there, so far from its original position raised an unsettling question in his mind
Had someone else intervened in this situation; was there an unseen force lurking within the shadows, watching; waiting.
The abruptness of the crash combined with the unusual position of the bin suggested a level of intent behind the action; this was no mere accident, it felt calculated.
As the two stared; the atmosphere began to feel much, much different; not just for Raven who was already in a panic, but so too did her attacker; he could feel a building sense of dread rising suddenly, the air had begun to feel colder, then he noticed it, he could see his breath; it shouldn’t have been that cold.
“Who’s there!” He shouted, moving his right hand away from Raven and reaching into his pocket; but his left hand found its way to Raven’s neck, he didn’t want her to make any attempt to escape him as he kept her down on the ground
Raven’s eyes widened a little as she saw him pulling a small knife free.
The subtle and ominous sound of whispering was soon caught by the attacker, it felt off, wrong, there was clearly no one in the alleyway; but there felt as though there was now was crowd of people right there; he couldn’t help but feel as though out of nowhere that he and Raven were surrounded by a large crowd of people; it felt claustrophobic, but it was that sense of danger that he felt that made him feel very vulnerable, even as he held the small knife, as he began staring into the shadows, there seemed to be something that his eyes were locking onto.
Then it happened; he was no longer holding Raven down, he no longer held the knife; that, that had clattered to the floor, and he seemed to be swallowed by the darkness as he felt the rough concrete and various shards of broken glass painfully scratching him as he slid across the ground; he never managed to utter a word before he vanished into the darkness.
Raven stared in terror; she couldn’t move, she stayed in place for what felt like hours, then she felt the phone in her pocket vibrate, it snapped her out of her trance like state; she reached into her pocket, found that it was Yasmin’s name on the screen, she slid her finger over the screen to accept the call “Raven?” her voice questioned, there was some concern
“I need you” was Raven’s first response; her voice shook, she noticed a new scent in the air; it smelt like copper, it wasn’t overpowering, but she recognised the smell “I need you now.., right now”
The feeling of dread had long since passed, the coldness that had come from nowhere had disappeared; she was simply terrified, she had no idea what had happened, one moment she was struggling, the next, her attacker vanished into the darkness; all she knew now, was she was too afraid to move.
Written By: Westley H.
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