An Impossible Shadow

A burning anger was heating my chest as I stomped my feet through the cold puddles that litter the dirt trails behind my apartment complex. The New England chill of late autumn was heavy in the air around me as the faint scent of sweet maple lingered from the trees at my sides. The full moon overhead lit my path further into the woods and farther away from the argument I just had with my girlfriend.

I had gone to pass her phone to her as she had asked and upon feeling the device move, the screen illuminated to show the rather vulgar texts she had been trading with "a friend". My fingerprint was registered in the system and the phone unlocked at my touch allowing me to view the countless lengths of conversations she had been having with several individuals, not all of them men.

The inevitable confrontation had led us to hurtful words and backhanded comments at one another. I needed to leave before I said or did something I would end up regretting so I had grabbed my coat and keys and slammed the door closed behind me. When I turned back to see the window of our apartment I saw she was already on the phone with someone. I couldn't help but feel the anger grow as I assumed she was talking with one of her contacts that she had been being so open with.

"Bitch had better be gone by the time I get back." I thought to myself.

I heard the heavy fall of my steel toed boots at the hard and freezing earth below as I continued on; the occasional "crunch" of a leaf breaking the silence of the vacant woods around me. My head was thrashing with memories of our five year relationship and how it just didn't seem to matter anymore. Amber and I had met as work colleagues and after a year of flirtatious banter we decided to give things a try. It had been great for so long that I guess I was blinded to the kind of person she really was.

I crested over the hill on the path of the woods and as I descended, I looked behind me to see the building shrink and vanish against the climbing horizon of my journey. I didn't know how long I was going to be out here but I knew I wasn't going to head back any time soon. Across the far length of this path was my childhood friend, Greg. I knew he'd let me crash at his place if I needed to so I resolved to finish the journey.

I reached into my coat pocket and felt the small case of my airpods. Pulling them out I placed each in their respective ear cavities and returned the case to the pocket. The bright glow of my phone ached at my eyes that had already adjusted to the black regions that now swallowed my every step. The background of my phone refueled the anger in my body as I saw the pair of us entwined with one another in a romantic kiss. We took that picture at the start of the year and I had genuinely loved it. Now, I couldn't move my fingers fast enough to delete the picture and change the background to a solid black aura.

I brought up the music app and pressed play on the last song it had displayed me to be listening to. A heavy rock medley began to play loudly in my ears as I placed my hands into the jacket pockets at my sides while I walked onwards. My head hung low and had looked to the barely visible ground to see the occasional rock tumble forward of my lumbering walk.

As the song played in my ears I felt the chill of cooler air at my neckline and I bunched up the coat around me to prevent a further chill from invading. Slowly I began seeing my breath in front of me as I breathed deep in anger against the biting air in my throat. A faint crackle became present amidst the music in my earphones and knowing the song intimately, I knew something was wrong with either the phone or the airpods.

I pulled out the right earphone and heard the music stop in response to sensing the left being removed. The crackling stopped and I placed the device back into my ear. Tapping at the phone to play the music, I waited for the crackle to return but heard nothing. A deep sigh filled my chest and I resumed my focused and rhythmic walk towards the twinkling house lights that began to fill the distance ahead of me.

A song and a half later I felt yet another chill at my neck but it felt strange this time. It was cold yet pointed, as if cold fingertips grazed themselves against the back of my neck. I pulled the earphones from my ears and spun around with guarded haste. I expected to find Amber out of breath but instead saw nothing. My eyes scanned from tree to tree in an effort to see if someone or something was out here with me. I waited, my feet growing colder in the puddle I had stopped in unknowingly.

"Hello?" I called out.

I heard nothing, which was just as disturbing. There was no break of twigs underfoot. No wind to bend the vacant limbs overhead. The rustle of nocturnal animals was absent and the sounds of electric power lines and rushing cars in the distance had all vanished. An eerie and ominous feeling pressed up into my heart as I felt the caution of eyes upon me.

I moved back slowly, my eyes still scanning from side to side in an effort to locate whatever it was that was with me in these dark woods. Overhead, the moon was full and bright yet offered little light to the area outside of my own shadow. Connected like a faithful watcher, my shadow stepped and moved in reassurance with me and together we increased our speed to a faster walk and I turned to face forward. I shook the unnerving feeling from my head and returned the airpods to my ears and resumed the music.

"Andrew!"

A loud and shrill cry of my name blew through the air pods and I pulled them out quickly, the ringing of damaged eardrums throbbing against my head.

"Ah, Shit!" I yelled.

My ears were ringing and pressing my hands at them I had dropped the small airpods at the dirt path around me. I stopped in place and rubbed my finger at the exterior of my ear in an effort to comfort the pain away from me. I began to hear the dull ringing lessen to a soft murmur that was passable enough for me to open my eyes and begin looking for the airpods I had dropped. I stepped with care around the area, fearing for the "crunch" of destroyed technology under my boot. At first I could not locate them until I spun around to see them behind me.

"That's weird." I thought.

The distance that they had traveled back seemed unlikely against the minor yet still present decline of the small hill I had been stood on. I stepped towards them and reached my hand out to them. My fingers outstretched to their placement and as I felt the familiar texture at my fingers a cold, dark, shadowy clutch around my wrist had gotten hold and tugged at me.

"Ah!" I screamed.

I pulled back my wrist from the shadow of the ground but had no success in freeing it from what had grabbed me. I tugged harder and harder as I felt a growing coldness press past the cuff of my jacket and burn at my skin. My heart was banging in fear at my chest as I tugged harder.

"What the hell! Let me go!" I yelled.

A quick breath and a hard tug saw my wrist go free and sent me flying back onto the ground behind me. The cold impact had landed poorly against me and I coughed out at the impact as I rolled to my side. Pressing fast against the dirt to see who had grasped me I still could see no one until I had brought my eyes down to my shadow. I watched as it pressed and moved against the dirt, it's eyeless figure clawing into the dirt at its fingertips. I could feel the hard and brittle material press against my own fingers and I panicked at the sensation.

I spun round towards the housing development ahead and ran as fast as I could. Glancing behind me I saw the attached shadow of my fear stamping its feet at my own; the unbreakable tether of our connection meeting my own body as we contacted the ground below. I could feel the cold chill of its presence against the fabric of my boots and wondered what might happen if it got through. The hard "thump" of my boots hammered harder with each strike of my foot at the ground; my breathing becoming harder and harder to capture. I watched as the house ahead of me grew larger and larger and I yelled out towards them.

"Help! Greg! Help me!" I yelled.

I was within feet of the building and glancing behind I looked for the chasing shadow of my torture. I watched as its arms flailed in sync with my own running. I leapt towards the streetlight that hung at the corner of the development and stood frozen in fear as I twirled back to see the dark figure had vanished.

My eyes scanned the surrounding area as I panted heavily against the lamp post I was leaning on. As I felt the safety of illumination around me I closed my eyes and listened to the heavy, receding sound of my heart as I calmed down from the experience.

"Did I just get chased by a shadow?!" I thought to myself.

Opening my eyes to the safe comfort of the light, I chuckled at the thought and shook it from my head.

"My mind's playing tricks on me out here or something." I mumbled.

Pressing away from the lamp post and turning to the stairway next to me I approached the door and knocked. From inside I heard the muffled call of Greg as he yelled out.

"Who's there?" he said.

"It's me man! I need to crash here for the night!" I replied.

"Hang on a minute; let me get some damn pants!"

I leaned at the side of the rusting rails and heard the familiar "creak" of the loose bolt at the base that had held it to the concrete steps. Inside the house I could hear Greg bang around the room as he readied himself to open the door. While waiting I felt my mind wander to the strange event of what I thought had occurred as I stared into the tunnel of trees that I escaped from.

A cool wind passed over me and I heard the shift of bunched up leaves below me move and rus against the railings. I watched their amber colors press and dance at one another as they moved like they were running from something. I felt a cool a scratch at the back of my throat and I went to cough in hopes it would alleviate the discomfort. I opened my mouth and pressed my throat to force a cough and instead saw only the wisp of cold air escape from my throat. My brow crossed at the curiosity of its sudden appearance. Then I felt it; the cold burn of the shadowy fingers I thought I escaped.

I felt the panic of my heart race immediately as I moved to press away from the railing but instead was pulled over the side. A swallowing void of dark, mirrored buildings met my eyes as I fell to the world within the shadows. The ground below met with me and I slammed against it with frightful force. The ground splintered and cracked at my impact as I rolled to see the fall I just endured.

Above me, the breach of light from Greg's home burned into the world around me and as the light spilled into the closing gap of my entry I heard shrill and agonizing screams that were childlike in their tones. A tremor of fear washed over me as I searched for the source of these cries but found nothing.

"Greg!" I shouted.

He didn't respond or move to indicate he had heard me so I called out once more.

"Greg, I'm down here man!" I yelled louder.

He stood on the small stairway as I looked up to him, his face scanning the area in search for me. I panicked and searched for anything to grab hold of to make a sound. Across the street I saw a dark and almost liquid like shape of a car. I approached it with haste as I watched the overhead space close further and further. I pressed my hand at the area that a door handle was showing but felt only the cool mist of air move around my hand. I looked up once more and watched the closing ring seal itself and leave me trapped in a chilly and unfamiliar world.

"Welcome to darkness." I heard a raspy voice speak.

I looked around the dark, outlined region around me and saw figures and shapes of people and animals travel alongside the walls and streets of the world I resided in. The faceless figures halted their movements and turned in a manner that let me know they were looking at me and me alone.

"You will bring us warmth for some time." the voice said again.

At that sentence I felt a tight clutch in my chest that alerted me to the mortal danger I was in. Slowly I watched the shadowy figures approach me and even without faces to show intent I knew they were set with malice towards me. I felt the cold hand of a figure at my back as it grasped onto me, then another at my shoulder, and another at my arms. One by one I felt the heat and life of my being escape me as I felt myself join the world of shadows.