Hello, Mr. Ghost

Prologue

"What the fuck is that?" I ask to myself as my feet continue to push against the concrete aimlessly, desperately trying to escape whatever the hell is chasing me.

It doesn't have a body, only a black shadow that is encased in an inky darkness. No legs for it to run, yet each step I take it seems to catch up almost effortlessly.

The upper body and proportions of a female; it's face is mangled and unrecognizable through the long matted black hair and ghostly white skin that seems to peel from the bone, leaving murky dark fluid in its place.

I turn a corner of a block, my head swiftly cocking around to see that it's no longer there. I feel my heart beat in my ears as my feet begin to slow out of exhaustion. Puffs of white fog leave my mouth in the chilly night air. Senses still on high alert, I continue to scan the area for whatever in God's name that was.

"Shit." I huff, placing my hands on my knees in an attempt to catch my breath.

Within a split second too fast for me to barely see, the figure is at my eye level. Red and malicious eyes glare down at my form as I feel something warm and wet begin to drip down the front of my hoodie and patter onto the pavement below. 

I look down and watch the creature jolt its hand from my gut, blood splattering out with a gruesome sound. I clench my stomach, dropping to my knees as blood begins to fill my cold palm. 

I try to not look at the wound, trying to keep my stare focused on the entity in front of me. If I survive this, I need to give as good of a description as I can.

It's a woman, skin pale and leaking a thick dark fluid through the cracks and peels. A black smoke-like fog surrounds her, following her body as I watch her turn and begin to leave. No footsteps, only a transparent film around her lower body that seems to glide away into the dark of night.

I glance down at the severity of the wound, pain beginning to finally take over my senses. My vision becomes blurry as the blood loss takes its tole. Tears prickle the corners of my eyes as I'm struck with the realization that I may well die tonight. Blood pools beneath my knees, streaming down into the pavement cracks.

A small sound catches my fleeting attention. With the last bit of strength I have left, I look far ahead into the opening of the alleyway, seeing a girl  drenched in the warm light of a streetlamp. It's far too dark for her to see myself crouched down in the alley. I attempt to make a sound; anything to draw her attention to me.

To save me.

She suddenly stops in her tracks, her vision set on me in the darkness. She takes her headphones off of her ears and hangs them on her neck, continuing to look at me with a suspicious manner. Its as if she's trying to convince herself what she heard was nothing. But it wasn't. It was me.

Words try to escape my mouth, pleading for help. What comes out is a choked sob, my body too weak to conjure up a coherent sentence. I watch as she mutters something to herself, too low to hear, before she continues walking along the sidewalk and out of my view.

I reach my hand out to her, an attempt at begging her to stop and help me, but it's too late. She's gone.

A sudden chill breaks out across my body as I begin to fall limp. My hands catch myself, sticking to the bloodied concrete. This can't be it. This can't be where I die. Gutted in a street and left to bleed to death. 

One final glance to the open end of the alley, and then my eyesight goes black. It plunges me into an inky darkness, devoid of any sensation.

Then, I'm gone.