More Fractured Tales stories!
It’s out there again… I know because I can sense it… I can feel it in my bones… like a cold, deep chill.
At first it was subtle… just a feeling of being watched… but there was no one around and I shrugged it off.
Over time, the feeling became more frequent… and it grew stronger each time.
Any being that watches someone is usually up to no good… isn’t that right?
So, I have to do what I can to protect myself… right?
I don’t know who – or what – it is… don’t even know if it’s human or beast.
All I know for certain is that something – or someone – is out there in the woods… across the street… on the other side of the park.
I can’t see it… have never seen it… and still, my mind tells me it’s out there.
Sometimes I catch a brief glimpse of a shadow moving among the trees… but I cannot see it clearly enough to determine its shape… to determine exactly what it is.
Whatever it is… it’s been out there a long time… for many months now.
In fact, I can’t remember a time when it wasn’t out there.
Whenever I feel it watching me I get goosebumps all over… the hair on my arms stands up straight… and cold shivers run up my spine.
At first it was only at night and I started turning the lights off… hoping it wouldn’t see me… but then…
If this is a beast of some kind, it might have excellent night vision… if it is human, maybe he or she has night vision goggles… I’ve heard about those things.
That was when I started closing the curtains at night to block its view.
After a while, I realized that it was watching me during the day as well.
Sometimes the feeling is so strong that I can feel it breathing down my neck… and I started wearing a big scarf… all day, every day.
But now that I know it’s out there during the day… I can’t go outside anymore.
I stay inside… with the curtains closed… occasionally daring to peek out… but I never see it.
Somehow, it has always managed to remain out of sight.
Lately I feel like it’s getting closer… like it’s closing in on me… and I am terrified
Dark nights when the wind is high are really bad… I sometimes hear it scratching at the windows… as if it is seeking shelter from the cold wind.
But I know the difference… it doesn’t want shelter… it wants me… though I can’t figure out why.
And so it tries to trick me into opening the door… and allowing it to come inside… but I cannot do that.
I must do everything I can to keep it outside… out of my home… to keep it “out there” where it cannot harm me.
And sometimes I wonder… just how much longer I can keep it away.
