Captivated by shadows [h.s.]

6.

The moon is the only source of light that allowed me to see my surroundings, even if the heavy rain pelting down on me blurred my vision. The wind whipped around my ears and made me shiver as my wet clothes clung to my body.

My heart was racing, and it was so cold that I could see my own breath. With my soaked Converse, I ran towards the two cars that had crashed a few seconds ago. The shattered glass crunched under my feet, and the closer I got to the cars, the more intensely I noticed the smell of gasoline.

How did I get here, and what happened?

As I came to a stop next to the cars, I could hear the song Be My Baby by the Ronettes warbling through the rain.

Nobody was sitting in one of these two cars, in general, there was nobody here at all.

Only now did I realise that I was standing on a bridge with a large river stretching out below me. Due to the roaring wind and the heavy rain, I could see from up here how strong the current of the river was.

A loud bang sounded, which made me look up again.

What's going on here?

I ran in the direction where the noise was coming from, but I couldn't see anyone.

A shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the broken cars again.

Did I cause an accident?

A thousand questions buzzed through my head until I recognised a dark figure on the other side of the road. I stood paralysed and stared in that direction. I wanted to say something, but I couldn't get a word out.

The seconds that passed felt like hours as we stood here in the rain, staring at each other. Just as I was about to run away, the person beat me to it and ran straight towards me.

My heart was pounding against my chest as I took a few steps backwards, but I realised that it wasn't the best decision when I lost my balance and fell over the railing.

It felt like a thousand tiny pinpricks as I plunged into the ice-cold water, and the strong current stopped me from surfacing to catch my breath.

That was my end.

Breathing heavily, I opened my eyes and gasped for air as if I had been holding my breath for minutes. It took me a few seconds to remember where I was. It was dark, and the only light illuminating the room came from the lanterns on the street.

How long did I sleep?

Sighing, I close my eyes and brush a few stray strands of hair out of my face.

"Nightmare?" I could hear a voice through the darkness, which made my heart tremble.

Narrowing my eyes, I let my gaze wander around the room, and just as I thought I had imagined the voice, I recognised Harry sitting on a chair with his legs crossed on the table in front of him.

How long has he been in my room?

I lean over to the bedside table to turn on the small lamp and sit upright. Nervous, I look at him again. "What are you doing here?" As usual, he was wearing a black hoodie, black skinny jeans, and his black old-school Vans.

"I've been told to give you something."

"To give me something?"

"Yes," he nods.

"And what?" I ask, confused. Without saying anything else, he gets up and grabs a black travel bag that was lying on the floor and throws it on the bed.