The night was a frosted hell.
I could feel the cold seeping in through my coat as I ran through the deserted streets, with dying street lamps illuminating an eerie path to what would be best described as the end. As I ran for my life I couldn't help but laugh at what was happening. The laughing that escaped my throat was more of a crazed wheeze, forcing itself out of my lungs that were already crying out for oxygen. It's amazing how missing out on P.E didn't seem like such a great idea now as I sprinted around another dim lit corner and into an alleyway, littered with God knows what, slipping here and there as the slick cobblestones gave way to a park.
I skidded to a halt, trying to catch my breath, taking a peek behind me to see if I was still being chased. "How the hell did I get myself stuck in the middle of all of this?" was all I could mumble between shallow gasps of air.
Suddenly I heard some noises up ahead of me, behind the centre fountain. The water immediately caught my attention, sparkling in the full moon like glistening glass. Flowing up and down, over and over again in a mesmerising kind of way. I was so captivated by its beauty that I almost forgot that I'd just heard voices, talking in forced and hushed tones. Each word was tinged with malice. I crept slowly towards the voices, the fear of the chase pumping through my veins once more, causing my breath to come in small gasps again.
The voices were arguing about something. As I was too far away to hear clearly, it sounded like two men were having quite a serious disagreement. I couldn’t help myself from crawling closer, curiosity getting the better of me despite my predicament. Painstakingly, I inched forward with slow movements, trying to find the best hiding spot behind the knee-high ledges of the fountain. Once again I found myself getting caught up in the sparkles, and even catching a glimpse of my blurred reflection in the pool. The sight of my inky image sent shivers down my spine, the shadows of the trees blending into the picture to create demonic swirls.
A wave of terror washed over me when I became aware of other presences nearby, their voices bringing me back to a sense of sanity. I almost didn't catch what the two men, from the what I could see, were arguing about. I could only hear the sound of blood pumping in my ears.
"She's going to be the cause of us losing our own heads, esé! Why didn’t you just shoot her when you had the chance?" said the short burly man that stood in silhouette, speaking in a heavy Mexican accent.
"Oh so this is now all my fault? And who was it that was supposed to have grabbed the brat before she ran away?” the Mexican's compadré retorted. A tall slender man that had an accent of harsh English origin, his face hidden behind long hair. “Some athlete you are" came a final snort.
As they continued to argue I felt the hairs on my arm raise, the feeling of being watched becoming more prominent. I looked behind me, only to face a void of darkness, but still the feeling wouldn't go away.
"I'm going to die," was the only thing I could think of. "This is it. It's all over."
I quietly started to back away from the fountain on legs that suddenly felt stiff and unresponsive. Stumbling blindly backwards into more darkness, I made sure to keep my eyes on the two muscle heads that were still shouting insults to each other, only with more shoving now than before. I was almost out of earshot when something large and solid blocked my escape. I instantly froze. Slowly turning around, I could feel a scream building up in my throat that quickly washed away. The origin of my attacker turned out to be a tree, and a sigh of relief escaped my cold lips at this realisation.
I started to giggle like a maniac but quickly caught myself short, struggling to get my nerves more or less under control. My shaky legs moved as swiftly as they could manage back down the alleyway, the same one I had come from earlier where the freak in the distorted mask had chased me through. Hopefully he would be long gone by now.
My mind suddenly assumed that I had been overreacting, making me feel quite stupid in the moment. I was almost positive that my imagination was just messing with me again, really making me consider cutting down on all the horror movies I loved to watch. Just as I was about to walk to the main street to call a cab, I felt that all too familiar feeling of being watched return. My legs wouldn’t move, fear and confusion overtook my body and clouded my judgement. The only thing I could manage was to turn my head to look behind me, just in time to see a shadowy figure stalking towards me.
Oh. My. God.
My mind was urging to me to run, but all I could do was stand there as the blood drained from my face, a pathetic squeak escaping my throat as I tried to scream. The figure just stood there, a couple of feet away from me, staring at me from behind a distorted mask.
"What do you want from me?" I managed to whisper, somewhat loud enough for him to hear me.
"You know too much." He replied with a voice that sounded strained, something between a sense of sympathy and pain.
"About what!" I yelled, "Who are you?"
"That is of no importance." His voice had changed suddenly to something alluring, almost seductive. "I'd love to stay and chat with you, but I'm afraid your time is up."
He pulled a shiny gun from a holster under his arm and pointed it towards me, the black chamber aiming straight at my chest. The metal glinted in the moonlight as if it was winking at me, reassuring me that it would be over soon. I couldn't move, all I could do was gawk at my Death.
"I'm so sorry Lucy,” he said in barely a whisper, “I wish things could've been different."
There was a sudden flash, and I stumbled back, falling over my own feet. I found myself staring at the full moon, the searing white hot pain of agony burning through my flesh where the bullet had hit me.
I just lay there, listening to his footsteps coming closer towards me, feeling the life drain from me. I closed my eyes against the unbearable pain, feeling warm tears that had welled up behind my eyelids sliding down the sides of my face, freezing as it disappeared into my hair. I forced my eyes open when the footsteps stopped, watching him watching me as he looked down at the blood seeping into the cobblestones.
I couldn't help but smile at him.
I was dying.
"I'm not Lucy,” I said in barely a whisper,” I’m her twin Mattie" and I let the darkness take over me.
ns 15.158.61.46da2
