"Red Light"

“Green light,” his sultry voice breathed across my ear, sending chills across my skin and awakening something deep within me.

Glee rippled from my lips as I took off running, the moss-covered trees whipping past me as I tried to get as far as I possibly could. I hadn’t played this game since childhood. And when he’d suggested it, I hadn’t been able to say no. He’d always been there to help me build confidence and face the world around me, even when I’d been terrified to. He’d been the one who helped my latest art piece get into an exhibit, and he knew I needed cheering up.

Any second now, he was going to call ‘red’ so I had to get as far as I possibly could. As a child, we’d come up with our own set of rules, more of a twist between tag and traffic light. Instead of running towards whoever was “it”, you ran away and when they called “red light” you had to freeze where you were until they called “green” again, or they found you. I kept going, anticipating that split-second when I had to freeze.

A gasp tore my concentration from the footworn forest path in front of me to the tree line to my right. A flutter of crimson and obsidian ducked behind a tree. My heart fluttered with it.

“Mark!”

My heavy whisper barely echoed off the trees around me. I figured he hadn’t heard me. I was so happy he’d come out to play with me. We’d just recently met at a coffee shop where we’d hit it off, both drawn to the local gallery opening later that week. He’d asked me to go with him since he was new to the city, but had wanted to see the paintings in the brochure I’d had laying on the table. He’d been drool-worthy. His raven hair falling past his perfectly chiseled jaw, his ebony eyes filled with wonder and awe as I’d told him about the local artist hosting the event and how I had a piece showcased this time.

I had to catch him. We were here to play the game together! Still no command of ‘red’, so I followed, partially hoping he had stopped behind the tree and partially hoping he’d kept going.

Giving chase, I rounded the tree. Not there. Sighing, I turned to search for any clue of which direction he’d gone, my hand scraping across the sticky, warm bark. What? My breath hitched as that bright maroon etched across my palm. Mine? It didn’t sting. Strange. I wiped it on my white dress and focused back on the bushes before me. Where had he gone?

Every muscle in my body froze as a twig snapped behind me. He hadn’t gone that way, had he?

“Come out, come out, wherever you are.”

Did I know that voice? Carefully, quietly, I slid down the tree, the bark scraping my skin and catching on my clothes. The steps grew closer, dead leaves crushing underfoot. As every footfall shattered the withering life beneath it, every breath grew quicker, sharper, frozen. The movement stopped. Hidden in the shadow of the canopy stood a figure, quietly inspecting the bushes not far from me. I couldn’t make out many details. He had a slight frame, short disheveled hair, dingy overalls, and a nasty-looking switchblade. Deep red dripped from the tip, splashing against the broken greenery beneath. Plip..plip...plip.

A raspy chuckle hit my ears as he moved into the shrubbery, on the trail of whatever clue he’d discovered. Thank god he hadn’t spotted me. Was he chasing Mark? Why? Why did he have a knife? Was that where the blood I’d found came from? Was Mark already injured?

What am I going to do? What can I do...? I... I have to be brave. I have to save Mark! If I do... If I do, he’ll have to acknowledge me like he did in the coffee shop!

I moved softly: the man in the shadows was gone. What had caught his attention? More blood on a broken branch. The velvet leaves felt slick underneath my fingertips, calming my aching hands. There wasn’t much. Between this and the tree, he should still be ok. If I could get to him first, we could escape, and I would be his hero, just like in the coffee shop.

My body danced as I moved unheard and unseen through the underbrush, following Shadow Man’s trail. The further in I traveled, the less blood I found, which was reassuring. Mark wasn’t still spilling needlessly so there was still time. Then I saw him, crouched behind a tree, fixated on something in the distance. I slowed, making sure to make no sound. My breath calmed, and my hands reached out like serene offerings of peace. He would be safe now, enveloped in the comfort of my embrace.

“Found you.”

His giant frame froze as he shifted in my arms. His eyes widened in terror as I smiled up at him.

“Get away!” his voice cracked.

Fire danced across my side. Warmth streamed down my hip cascading like a beautiful shower of life, staining my once alabaster dress. This was the dress I wore for our date. Didn’t he like it? Why was he so frightened of me? Did he think I was with The Shadow Man?

“Mark, please, it’s ok.”

But he was gone, and then I heard the distant screams, like that of a dying animal, pitiful and tormented, and too far for me to reach. The final plea for mercy.

Crunch. Plip. Crunch. Plip. I knew that sound. Crunch. Plip...plip.

Cold steel slithered up my spine, firm and unyielding.

“This is my mark. You cannot interfere!”

Then he was gone. Just like a shadow, he could only exist when there was light to give him life. Vanished into the trees, no doubt to finish off his prey.

I collapsed not caring if the dirt soiled my clothes. My hands trembled violently, and every breath seemed to provide less relief than the last. Why was it so cold? Where had the sun gone? Who was this man that so ruthlessly commanded my fear and threatened my happiness? Weren’t we just playing a game? When had it turned into this? Who was going to save me? Who was going to save Mark? Mark! I was the only one who knew where he was and the danger he was in...

I know he didn’t mean to hurt me... He thought I was with Shadow. He’s being chased. Of course, he lashed out when I snuck up on him like that. I would’ve done the same thing! I have to do this! Shadow holds no power over me. He doesn’t want me. If he did, he would have killed me instead of threatening me!

New-found courage surged through me. I was the only one who could do this. For whatever reason, Shadow wanted me alive. Which meant I had the advantage. Time to put it to good use.

Another scream pulled me into action, this one closer than the last. I could still find him. There was still time before nightfall completely overtook us. I knew if that happened there really would be no hope. These woods saw the darkest witching hour for miles. Flashlights did little to combat the cloak of gloom and obscurity the tree canopy cast every evening.

A gurgling cry and a loud crash drew my attention to the sloping trail above me. I had come here to hike before. There was a unique path that wrapped up and around where you could park your vehicles. It always made me feel like I was in a maze, and it was very easy to get lost if you didn’t know your way well, especially at night. I loved it, but all the more reason for me to hurry. Mark’s chances of escaping would plummet to nil once the sun disappeared.

Silently, as to not draw Shadow’s attention my way, I moved up the trail. What were once only small traces of blood scattered on the occasional leaf or tree trunk, were now larger droplets splattered along the footworn path and surrounding plant life. No doubt those screams had come from Mark.

Plip.

I froze, straining to find the whisper of a trail that explosion had made.

Plip..plip.

It was close. Breaking the bush line, I came to a clearing. Probably a popular campsite. A large tree overshadowed the small batch of barren earth. It was perfect. Close to the mountain edge for an amazing view and shielded from the elements by the tree’s cradle.

Plip. PLIP. PLIP!

The last detonated on my face, drawing my attention towards the stars. And there was Shadow. Nimbly hanging from one of the branches his small figure stared down at me, intrigued. Soiled brown overalls. Short tangled hair. His head tilted to one side, pondering what I would do next. The twisted smile that spread across his shrouded face sounded like stepping into a thick sludge.

Something solid and lukewarm like bathwater that has sat too long struck the underside of my boot. Losing my footing, I tumbled.

Down.

Crash.

Further.

CRASH.

Again.

CRASH!

Nothingness.

Plip.

My eyes fluttered, heavy. My face twisted as my head rolled. God, that hurt. Where was I? My car. What time was it? The stars twinkled through the windshield. Where was Mark? We needed to get home. I needed to work on my new painting.

Then something moved in the rear-view, seizing my chest and throwing my stomach to my toes. Blood smeared my dirt and sweat lathered face. Dingy brown overalls hung from my slight shoulders, short hair a disheveled mess. Bile rose, my breath coming in tiny ragged gasps. My hands began to shake as I pulled them up, examining first the backs then the palms, bathed in blood and grime, a nasty switchblade coated in crimson clutched serenely in one of them. Something torrid and all too familiar slithered up my spine, gripping my throat. He was here. In the car. Behind me. Inside me.

“Green light,” his sultry voice breathed across my tongue, sending chills across my skin and awakening me to my nightmare.