The Shape Stalks: Halloween [A SHORT STORY]

The Shape Stalks

From the corner of her eye, she noticed the shape.

She had caught sight of him in a mirror to her left, a rectangular one with a large crack in it, stained with fresh human blood. It displayed the cramped doorway directly behind her, the light from the corridor outside of the room being obstructed by the man. She slowly rose from crouching next to the limp corpse, hesitating to make a sound. There was no reason for her silence- the man in the mirror had to have seen her, that's why he was standing there, after all.

In her frozen terror, she couldn't move, couldn't speak- all she could do was stare at the humanoid shape staring back at her through the mirror. The only light in the room was that of a dimly glowing jack-o-lantern in the corner of the room, and in the darkness, she couldn't make out anything about him. Not a single feature on his face was visible. All she could see was the stained kitchen knife he held steady in his right hand- completely unmoving, but it still gave her the feeling that it was somehow being aimed at her.

The next thing she noticed was the sound. A heavy, muffled breathing emanated from the man; it pierced the cold air with a sharpness like the very knife he held at his side. His breathing was irregular and course, and didn't slow down one bit. He tilted his head at her, holding the gaze for the longest of moments. The breathing slowed, until eventually silence befell upon the room. Then, he began advancing towards her. She finally got her bearings together and decided to act.

He flipped the knife around and raised his arm, preparing to strike. She quickly dodged to the right and towards the open window, hastily climbing into the window sill. She heard the sound of the knife gliding through the air, and it struck her arm, causing her to fall out of the window sill prematurely. She landed in a bush and rapidly climbed out, glancing at the window above her. In the moonlight, she made out half of his face- snow white and expressionless. He quickly turned away from the window, and she knew exactly why.

'The stairs...'  she thought, gripping her wounded arm and breaking into a sprint. The cold autumn night battered against her bare arms, causing her to shiver; she shook it off, however, focusing instead on escaping the force pursuing her.

The house she had just escaped from was isolated from the rest in her small town- between that house and the rest was a small wooded area, a natural barrier between her and safety. She knew there wasn't much of a choice to be made; she diverted from her original route and quickly ran into the woods. From behind her she heard a branch break- that was the only cue she needed in order to know what she suspected. But still she turned; walking with purpose towards her was the Shape, kitchen knife by his side and the stomp of his heavy footsteps ringing loud in her ears. She hastened her run, dodging in between thin trees and leaping over logs, but no matter how much she ran, the predator behind her was never far off. Tears of pain, fear and regret filled her eyes as she continued her run; she didn't want to die like this, not to him.

Ahead of her she saw the tree line, and beyond that, houses. As well as the noise of snapping branches and heavy footsteps was the sound of children laughing. This newfound hope made her run even faster somehow, making her almost trip over a fallen branch in the process. From behind her, she could almost feel the Shape reaching out to her, just as she leapt out of the tree line and narrowly avoiding his grasp. The girl ran into the street, burning her lungs with her screams.

"Somebody! Please! I need help, there's a man, he has a..." she yelled. To her distress, all of the adults around her raised their eyebrows, or shook their heads as if they were watching a prank. The children, however, looked at her with curiosity. She then widened her eyes and realised her grave mistake. 'The children' she thought, looking around her. "Everyone, get the hell out of here! You aren't safe, there's a man, he..." people continued to ignore her- in the middle of the road, surrounded by bustling families trick or treating, she felt isolated and alone. "This isn't a prank, I don't... please!" She screamed.