Them

I ran. With all my might, I ran. That’s all you can do. Through each ally, and every back yard. They will follow you, until you can’t run any longer. I was unable to cry… to speak. The only thing I know to do is run. My chest hurts from breathing hard and suddenly holding my breath. I had to get away from this threat.

                I don’t know what I did. I don’t know what the town did. But They were after me, now. They don’t have a name. It’s just ‘They’ and ‘Them’. You don’t see Them, until it’s your time. Just expect them to be there, waiting for you, wherever you go. I’d gone so far without seeing them, but when I caught a glimpse of a strange, leering face, I knew. It’s my turn.

                They slowly began to kill off random people. Then they moved to the people I know… used to know. Now my family is dead. I survive in a ghost town, now. I have some peace in knowing that some of the towns-people got away. When the rash of murders became too much, many family’s booked it to another town, to live with relatives. I’m the only one left, though I don’t understand why. Only god knows why… if there is a god.

                But here I am, now, running for my life. I like to think I’m one step ahead. Hell, sometimes I think I’ve lost them, only to see a glimmer of light in the corner of my eye. I’ll take off once again, into another ally. I think they’re enjoying this game of Cat & Mouse. My breath will catch when I hear their laughing. Their sick laughter. And I’ll think it’s over, but it fades, and I can breathe once more.

                It stopped one day though. No more footsteps, no more laughter, and no more shimmers of metallic light. This scared me the most. The silence kept up for days, the silence driving me mad. The fear never fading. They waited until I had relaxed to jump at me. I didn't think they were done with me… but I was hoping maybe they had. I was sitting on the red bench in front of the park, looking up at the overbearing clouds, taking over the blue sky.

                A sudden blow to my chest knocked me back, and into shock. Another blow struck me, and another, and another. Blood trickled from my mouth as I tried to breathe. They picked me up with little effort and threw me against a brick wall. My head hit with a dull thud, and I could only groan as I slid  down the wall. I tried to open my eyes, to see them… an excruciating pain ripped through my head as they tore my eyes from my face. I screamed in agony, my warm blood pouring down my face. I fell over, my face twisted in pain. I just lay there screaming, curled into a fetal position.

                They never did kill me.