A Warning

A Story by Lackey

I will be dead soon, so I'm posting this in the hope that others will be able to avoid her. I suppose I should start at the beginning.

I have no diagnosed mental conditions, but there is no rational explanation for what I have seen.

It all started on September 18th. I was coming home from a night at the club. I sported a mild beer buzz. I wish that all this was a drunken dream, but I know this is real.

I was stumbling past an alleyway when I first saw her. There was a woman in a dirty orange dress with a bronze bat. Her blond hair covered most of her face, but I could see her dull green eyes staring at me.

I paused for a second or two, then went on my way. If I had known what was in store for me, I would have run screaming in the other direction. A few minutes later, one of my friends found me and drove me home.

When I woke up the next day, I had only blurry memories of last night, but the woman was the clearest memory I had.

I thought nothing of the woman for a few days until I saw her again. I was walking home from work when I saw the woman with the bronze bat.

She was standing in an alleyway again, staring at me. I stared back, surprised that I saw her again. I said hello, but she didn't respond. Then I thought that she was high or something, so I went on my way.

At home, I sat on my couch and watched Stranger Things. After about an hour, I heard a noise outside my window. I looked and got a nasty shock. The woman was standing outside, staring at me. I naturally freaked out and called the police. By the time the cops arrived, she was gone.

I was a bit uneasy and decided to call in sick the next day. That was a mistake. I thought that I was just overwhelmed with work and needed a day to rest and relax.

The next day, I dressed in casual and comfortable clothes. I decided to go to my favorite little bakery and get a donut or something. The streets were eerily empty. On the way, I kept seeing flashes of orange in my peripheral vision. I thought that it was just the sun.

At the bakery, I bought a chocolate-frosted donut. As I was eating the donut, I saw the woman staring at me through the window. The thing that I still haven't figured out, though, is that no one else saw her.

I freaked out and then calmed down a bit. I figured that she wouldn't come inside. I was right, but she stayed there for eight minutes. I didn't want to go outside while she was there, so I ordered more food. I looked away for a bit, and when I looked back, she was gone.

I was very unnerved by these events, so I decided to go watch a movie. The movie playing at the theater was Avatar. I tried to enjoy the movie, but I kept seeing the woman peeking out from behind things.

After the movie, I decided to go to Cracker Barrel. I ordered chicken wings with a side of mashed potatoes. While I was eating, I noticed the woman staring at me from across the room. By now, I was used to her popping up wherever I went, so I decided to just ignore her. That was a mistake.

I looked away from her for seven seconds, and she was gone. I panicked a bit and whipped my head around. When I looked back, she was there.

I thought I was just seeing things. I finished my meal, paid, and left. As I left, I noticed that the woman was gone. A sense of unease trickled down my spine.

I decided to go straight home after that. I ignored the fear that was beginning to creep into my heart. I thought I was just seeing things and should go to the doctor tomorrow. I got an Uber and asked to be dropped off at my house. During the drive, I called my doctor and arranged a checkup. After calling, I looked out the car window and nearly had a heart attack! The woman was staring at me through the window! How she was keeping up with the car, I don't know.

I was internally panicking, but I couldn't tell the driver that there was a woman that only I could see. He'd probably think I was high or something. In a strained voice, I asked if the car could go faster. The driver heard the strain in my voice and asked if something was wrong. I shook my head and said I just felt very tired. Soon, we arrived at my house and I got out. I thanked the driver and gave him a big tip.

At home, I sat in front of my computer and frantically scanned the internet for any mention of this woman. I found nothing on this woman. The closest thing I found was someone reporting that they felt like they were constantly being watched by something that wasn't human. I left a message for them summarizing the events that were happening to me. Then I sat on my couch and put on a random movie. Not horror, though. I couldn't handle that right now.

I must have fallen asleep during the movie because I was woken up by a thump-thump-thump outside my house. I startled awake and quickly found the remote and paused the movie. There it was again! Thump-thump-thump! I was panicking as it sounded like the noise was coming from my backyard!

I paced around my living room for a few minutes before deciding to look. After all, it was most likely just a wild critter, right? Wrong. The woman was patrolling my backyard. She took three steps, paused for about half a minute, then took three more steps. The sound was coming from her bat.

I stared at her, not believing what I saw. Suddenly, she locked eyes with me. I froze, trembling. We stared at each other for some time before I shook myself out of my stupor and scrambled away from the door. I bolted to my room and locked my bedroom door. Why was she in my backyard?

Just then, my computer dinged. I scrambled over to it and opened the message. It was from the person who said they felt like something was watching them. The message said, "It doesn't like hand sanitizer." That's it.

My sister visited two weeks ago. She was a neat freak, so there were containers of hand sanitizer everywhere. Just on my desk were five small bottles. It was all I had to go on, so I grabbed a bottle.

Untwisting the top a bit, I cautiously stepped out of my room. She was still staring at me through the glass door. I slowly opened the door. She stood there, staring at me. My nerves were on fire, and my hands were shaking. She shifted toward me, and I freaked out. I threw the bottle at her. The sanitizer splashed across her dress. She recoiled and vanished.

Nothing else happened the rest of the day. I had a good night's sleep, somehow. The next day, I went to see my doctor. I explained what was happening to me. She found nothing wrong with me and suggested a therapist to me. I protested, saying that my brain was fine. My doctor insisted, and I finally gave in.

The next day, I was taking a walk to clear my head. I hadn't seen the woman all day. I thought it was over and was whistling as I walked. I took a lesser-known road, as it would get me to work faster. I worked at a nearby library, in case you were wondering why I was walking.

I tripped over an empty can someone left on the street. As I fell, I heard something hit the wall above me. I scrambled to my feet and stared at the woman. She had swung her bat so hard it had made a dent in the wall.

Something was off about her. She seemed angry. In a panic, I ran to the nearest bathroom and cramed myself into a stall. I frantically booked myself a flight. I had no doubt that she could follow me to another country, but she couldn't get me on the plane.

She was waiting for me outside the bathroom door. I ran away from her, getting clipped on the shoulder, but her anger made her aim worse.

I ran home and hopped in my car. I drove to the nearest corner store and bought as many sanitizer thingies as I could. The salescritter gave me a weird look as I bought them, but made no comment.

As soon as I got home, I dumped sanitizer everywhere. I hoped it would keep her away. I knew it couldn't last. One day, I'd forget to have sanitizer on my person, and that would be that. At least on the plane, I can share this with you.

I spent all night pacing around my house until 5:00. Then I packed up a suitcase and drove to the airport. I must have been a strange sight, a man who had very recently lost some weight in a wrinkled suit, stinking of hand sanitizer. My hair was a mess. I got a lot of stares, but no one asked me anything. I wandered around until it was time to board my flight.

I hope you found this useful. If you see her, it's too late. May God be with you all.