Devil's Halo

Chapter 2 (Evangeline): Illusions?

The night pressed in with an eerie silence as I trudged down Greenbelt Avenue, the moon casting long, sinister shadows that danced and twisted ominously around me. Ren had wandered off earlier to spend time with that waiter she'd been eyeing all afternoon, her sudden infatuation not entirely surprising. Despite the distraction, we had a standing plan: she was to meet me up the block once his shift ended. As I waited, an uneasy feeling gnawed at me, a sense that something was terribly wrong but just beyond my grasp. The thought of having my own car one day flickered through my mind, a fleeting escape from the night's growing unease. It was supposed to be a simple meetup after my milling about town, but as the minutes ticked by, the stillness of the night felt suffocating.

Unease prickled at the back of my neck, an initial discomfort I tried to ignore. The chilly air, I reasoned, that's all. I walked further, a persistent sense of foreboding clung to me, refusing to be shaken off. Then, without any warning, some .. thing—a creature too strange to name—charged towards me. I screamed. Instinct urged me to fend it off. Could it be a wolf? A bear? It was too difficult to tell, shrouded in shadows as it was. In a moment of sheer panic, I ripped off my high heel and charged, emitting the loudest scream I could muster, my actions as bewildering to the creature as they were to me. Perhaps my erratic behavior was my saving grace, making me seem like a figure out of its worst nightmares. My scream intensified, channeling the war cries of heroines from the films of my childhood. The creature hesitated, then tucked-tail, but not before I rounded a corner and hurled my shoe into the darkness after it.

Panting, I turned to run, managing only a few strides before an overwhelming dread seized me. The night around me came alive, animated by grotesque figures emerging from every shadow. Their twisted forms and the eerie glow of their eyes closed in on me, their malevolence palpable in the cold air. My heart raced, panic clouding my thoughts. Rooted to the ground by an ancient fear, the world seemed to narrow, the air growing denser. I closed my eyes tight, summoning every bit of strength for one last scream. Someone had to hear. Someone had to come, right? I opened one eye to see the figures frozen in hesitation. I opened both eyes now, wondering if I'd made up the shadows in my head. The low growl coming from one was a good enough sign my panic was justified.

Salvation pierced the night in the form of glaring headlights. Ren's car screeched to a halt in front of me. "Get in!" she shouted. I yanked the door open, threw myself inside, and slammed it shut just as Ren floored the accelerator in a manic escape. The terror receded with each passing second, replaced by the pounding of my heart.

"What were those things?" I managed, my voice trembling.

Ren glanced at me, puzzled. "Things? You were screaming at shadows, Evie. I heard you from the street over; thought for sure you were in some serious trouble." She paused to take me in. I could only imagine what I looked like. "Where's your shoe?"

I shook my head. "I... I thought I was being attacked. It felt so real."

"You thought you were being attacked so you threw your shoe?" She shook her head in disbelief and I sunk squeamishly into the seat. I buckled up, rubbed my eyes, and tried to erase the images that had felt all too real.

"Evie...Evangeline!" Ren's voice snapped me back to the present.

I blinked, returning to her concerned gaze. "Sorry. I guess I was lost in thought."

"Why'd you change locations? We agreed on meeting at Handy's." The haze of the red street light magnified her already fiery hair as she continued staring.

"I saw some homeless guy and thought I'd get him a bag of burgers or something. I don't know. Sorry."

Ren sighed, running a hand through her disheveled hair. "Jesus, stop apologizing. I'm the dick who left you for some...uh, well...I won't be redundant."