The Shadow Creature

Chapter 4 - Imitator

A orange leaf fell from one of the many trees in the neighborhood. It slowly floated to the ground and landed on a small pile of orange and yellow leaves, signifying that it was Autumn. As the orange leaf fell on the pile, a small yellow leaf fell away from the rest of the leafs. A shoe stepped on the lonely leaf as the person walked by. The person was then revealed to be Ivan. Ivan looked up at all the trees, each containing Autumn colors. "And that is how you know that Halloween is near", he thought to himself as he walked away from the area of Autumn trees. He then got near the abandoned house. Ivan stopped walking and looked up at the house.

"What is it about you that scares people?", Ivan asked himself. He then remembered that William looked at one of the windows of the house. He looked at all the windows of the house and saw nothing, but dust consuming them. Ivan shook his head and started to walk past the house. As Ivan passed by the house, William appeared in front of the house. He then focused his attention on Ivan as he walked by. Ivan looked both ways on the street and saw no cars approaching. He then started to cross the street. A grey car turned the corner and started to go toward Ivan's direction slowly. The driver noticed Ivan and pressed the brakes slightly. The driver then realized that the brakes weren't working.

The driver looked down at the brakes and tried pressing the brakes more harder. They lost control of the wheel as the car mysteriously sped toward Ivan. Ivan noticed the approaching car and his eyes widened. Ivan let out a soft scream as he lost his balance, causing him to fall back. He closed his eyes tightly as he saw the car approaching him. The car then started to become slower. Another leaf from a nearby tree started to fall down and the leaf froze in mid-air. On the street, the car was seen frozen in place, only a few inches away from Ivan. Ivan was frozen as well, still having his eyes closed. William stepped into view as he stepped onto the street with a confused face. William looked around and realized that he was the only one being able to move.

"It's just like in class", William thought to himself. He looked at the car. "Ivan", William mumbled to himself as panic started to set in. He ran next to Ivan and tried to get him up. "God damn it, move Ivan", William said as he struggled to move Ivan. William quickly realized that Ivan couldn't be moved and got up. He looked at the car in front of him and got a temptation to touch it. William then stretched his finger toward the car. His finger touched it and the noise of a small bell was heard as the car's engine came on. The car then started to go in reverse slowly.

The leaf that was in mid-air started to slowly float up to the tree it came from. Ivan opened his eyes and got up with his face of terror disappearing. Ivan then walked backward to the sidewalk. The car turned the corner and everything went back to normal. Ivan looked both ways of the street and saw no car approaching. He then got off the sidewalk and started to cross the street. "NO-", William said as he ran to Ivan and held him back. "What the-", Ivan's sentence was cut short as the same grey car passed by without hitting anything.

Ivan turned around and looked in the direction the grey car went. Ivan then thought to himself what could've happened if he took another step. "Coincidence?", Ivan asked himself. "I think not", William said as he let go of Ivan's arm. The leaf from the tree fell to the floor, slowly and softly. Ivan then looked both ways of the street and crossed the street safely. William watched Ivan as he crossed the road and walked away from him. A sigh of relief escaped William's mouth as he put his back on the sidewalk and closed his eyes. William then questioned where Ivan was walking to. William looked up and saw Ivan heading in the direction where William lived. "Oh fuck", William said to himself as he realized that he was still truly unconscious.

Ivan walked on the doorstep of William's house and knocked on the door. He put his hands in his pocket and pulled out his phone. He then texted William that he was at his door. Ivan looked around the neighborhood and saw that it was lonely. In a matter of seconds, clouds started to roll in, consuming the sky and making it windy. The clouds gave the atmosphere a shade of grey.