As the footsteps closed in on her, she said a silent prayer, remembering all the times her mother had warned her against walking at night. There was something awfully insidious about the way they came. Tap tap, then a long pause, almost like whoever was following her enjoyed the rick of fear on her. And she dared not look back.
It was dark, a starless night, the only light a cluster of fireflies here and there and the only sound of her breathing, her footsteps, and whoever was following her. She wanted to stop, perhaps let the person moving behind pass her by. But a twist in her gut told her best not to see who or what was stalking her. She hurried further, her feet taking her faster.
She was running now. Her house came into view. A sigh of relief escaped her and she sprinted to the door. She fumbled in her jacket for the key. As soon as she put it in cold air swept passed the back of her neck. She turned. Something sharp sliced through her throat. She tasted blood and started choking. Her knees gave way and her body hit the floor.
She looked up, larva-coloured eyes looked back at her. And the ugliest thing she had ever seen came into view. It knelt before her and stared into her eyes. Fear galloped her whole. Then it held its hand to her neck and with one sweep got her off the ground and into the air. She squirmed, hands helplessly flaring on her side. It let go. She dropped to the floor. A piercing ache shot through her spine and stayed. She prayed that death would come and that it would be fast.
“Follow me,” it said.
“Follow me,” it repeated, voice echoing as loud as thunder.
And so she stood and followed the monster.
Am I alive? Am I going to hell? Yet the path they walked was the same one that always led her home. She touched her throat, it was sticky. And when she looked at her hand, it was bloody. So she had in fact been cut. But as she moved her fingers over her neck, she concluded that she had no wound.
They walked for a long time. Then came to a halt at a giant anthill. A door-like entryway opened. The monster entered. She followed behind.
***
It is dark inside; she cannot see anything, even her own body. Something crashes into her. She falls to her knees. Before she can catch her breath she is pulled up by force so strong she is airborne for a second or two before her feet are on the ground again. That’s when she smells its breath. She coughs. It’s sour. Poison. She can’t breathe. She hears its footsteps too, thumping away from her.
The footsteps stop. A grunt booms. The monster charges toward her. She moves away slightly and it only bumps into her right shoulder, but the impact is so strong that her shoulder blade turns on itself. She screams in agony and drops to the ground. Only to be pulled up by her injured right shoulder. She screams. You fight or you die, it bellows.
Pain crawls through every muscle in her body. But she gets up. The monster walks away from her. Almost immediately she realises it’s charging towards her again. She jumps to the other side, it misses her. It walks away, back to the other end. She’s aware of the footsteps as they go in the opposite direction. Charging towards her a second or so after. She jumps out of the way and runs as fast as her feet can carry her, not looking back.
She slams into a wall, a fleshy wall. Larva-coloured eyes close in on her face and she squeezes her eyes shut. The dirty breath is on her nose. The fleshy skin touching the hairs on her face. Something familiar slices through her throat. She’s aware she’s choking on her own blood. She drops to the ground. Death is upon her. And she’s glad.
Suddenly, she gasps for air. She’s surprised to be alive. Again. You fight or you die, the voice thunders. The ground under her quakes. Her body trembles with fear. You fight or die, it thunders once more.
She cries. It pulls her to her feet by her neck. Walks away. Stops. Huffs. And then charges toward her.
***