Spooky Stories: Halloween Vault 2020 -2021

So A Pretty Thing (action)

Profile: Action

Prompt name: OutRun

Prompt: Something is watching you. People say it's in your head, but you can sense a chilling presence everywhere you go. Then one day, you heard it...behind you. Can you outrun it?

My word count: 491

So A Pretty Thing

"Finally, I've got ye all ta m'self," said a husky male voice close to my ear, the smell of horse manure and whiskey swirling up around me like an invisible fog.  

I froze. I was alone, surrounded by the sheen of drizzle in a narrow cobblestone lane.

That smell. It had been following me for weeks, just a faint whiff as I rounded a corner, or came out of a shop. Edinburgh's full o' ghosties, they'd told me. Act like yer no a tourist an they'll leave ya be."  

But this one hadn't. 

"Yer so a pretty thing. Perfect fer my collection." A blur streaked to my right and for a second, I felt a cold hand grip my arm. 

Before I knew it, I was sliding on the wet stones as I tried to escape into the next lane. Lamps ensconced in the walls of the houses cast yellow pools of light into the darkness. I bolted through them, my legs and heart pumping hard. 

Glancing back, I saw the blur racing through the illuminated patches right after me. 

My shoulder bashed into stone as I hooked around the next corner. Sparks of pain radiated through my arm and I reeled forward, almost stumbling over a pair of flowerpots next to a doorway. 

Where was The Royal Mile from here? My head scrambled to concoct a route, but nothing made sense. It was as if the streets all ran differently. Where was I? 

A horn blared, and I skid on the stones, barely avoiding colliding with an oncoming car. I was at the mouth of an unmarked lane. Go left? Right? I swivelled my head back and forth, undecided.

The smell! I whirled around to see the blur barreling down on me. I took off in the direction the car was going, racing blindly down streets, the hammering of my boots on the pavement echoing off the walls. 

There! Up ahead, I could see the sculpture of a cow leaping from the side of a house. Cowgate! Pubs, crowds! I'd be—

I flew sideways into a darkened alley way. 

"Dunna make a sound!" a voice hissed, pulling me against a solid, warm body. Too startled to scream, I let out a breathless squeak. The figure in tricorn and cloak wrapped his arms around me. 

The smell seeped into the alley. A few steps beyond, the blur paused. 

"Sod off, Georgie. She's mine," growled the man holding me. 

The blur hesitated a few moments, then gradually vanished. The smell, too. 

The man's grip on me loosened. 

"I canna see ya properly, but ya must be gorgeous. Georgie only murdered the best. Dead 300 years bu' auld habits clearly die hard."

"What wa-"

"I know Georgie. We all do. Dunna worry, he won' be back. M'name's Thomas. Edinburgh Ghost Tours. Care ta join me on ma next round?"