I DIDN'T GET much sleep last night.

My body was awake but my mind was

still in a deep slumber. It was as if

reality was controlling my body but my

mind was somewhere else. I went

along the day, however, trying to cope

through my exhaustion. The whole

situation with the creepy man didn't

settle with me, nor would it allow me

to peacefully sleep. Aunt Jodie went to

church while I stayed back, claiming

that I should stay back and get rest

rather than push myself. But instead, I

decided to take a walk, hoping it might

help clear my mind. The rain outside

stopped, and a little gleam of light

tickled it's way through a thick cloud,

so I took advantage of the current

weather. I put on a fleece sweatshirt

and grabbed my phone and apartment

key, locking the door behind me and

setting off in a random direction. Cars

zoomed by once in a while, but

otherwise there weren't many people

out. I'm not complaining, though. A few

sprinkles trickled down on top of my

head, but I didn't mind, I only hoped

the weather wouldn't turn on me and

shower me with a sudden rain. I

veered onto the bike trail, where the

scenic route welcomed me with open

arms. The trees were lush and green,

and green flowers sprouted up

from the damp soil. Thick and large

green vines decorated the path,

making it look mancrafted, and small

flowers poked from different spots on

the vines. Not a single person was on

the bike trail, except me. Which made

sense, because this wasn't exactly the

best bike trail; it became more narrow

and the trees and bushes eventually

closed in the trail, making it a dead

end. But nonetheless, it was a nice area

to walk through.

Once I came to the dead end, I turned

around to walk back to my apartment.

But when I did, I saw someone else

walking down the trail, their hands in

their pockets. My insides flared in

panic, but I had to remind myself that

this was a public trail, and someone

walking down it wasn't strange at all.

Not a bit.

I calmed myself. Perhaps I was a bit on

the uneasy side after yesterday, and I

was overexaggerating.

I carried on down the path, minding

my own business, but I suddenly felt

the urge to take a glance up at the

person who was about to pass me. But

when I did, I instantly regretted it. The

man's eyes were already bearing into

mine, so deeply it made everything else

around me seem blurry, only the

depths of his eyes were the only thing I

could see clearly.

But strangely, I recognized them.

I recognized them so much, that it

turned into pure dread.

The man almost bumped into me,

making me jump back.

"Sorry." He grumbled, still staring

straight at me with a sickening blank

expression.

"It's fine." I simply said, and tried to

pass him, making the end of the bike

trail my virtual target destination. But

the man stood firmly before me, even

when I tried passing.

"Um, excuse me." I hung my head and

tried to pass again, but this time, the

man grabbed my arm, making me

gasp.

And the next moment, he grabbed the

back of my head and pushed a cloth

against my mouth forcefully.

Everything was happening so quickly, I

couldn't process fast enough, but out of

reflexes, I grabbed the man's hands

and tried yanking them away. But he

was too strong. And I was too weak.

The cloth pressed so harshly against

my mouth, no source of air found it's

way to relieve me. Then everything

became blurry. And then last thing I

saw was the man's piercing eyes that

bore into mine without any hesitation

or mercy. Eyes that felt so inhuman,

that made them even more

intimidating. The cloth was removed

from my mouth, but it was too late. I

couldn't bring myself back to reality. I

was going under, and I wasn't strong

enough to withstand the fumes that

were forced inside me. I wasn't scared.

I was too stunned to be scared. All I

could do was accept it.

Then everything around me became so

slow motioned and darkened, like the

earth was turning into a grayscale, and

for a moment, I thought I was coming

back to my senses, because everything

quickened up in an instant. But I was

wrong, my mind was playing tricks

with me. I knew this because my

senses did come back, but not my ideal

one. Everything around me was black

and white, like as if I had stepped right

into a 1940s film. But the man was

gone, the only sign of him ever being

there was the small cloth laying on the

ground that had just been pressed

against my mouth. I didn't say a word,

because I expected at any moment the

real world would explode back in place

and my mind would stop hallucinating

things. But, nothing happened.

Everything was so still.

Not a single bird chirped, not one leaf

rustled against another from the force

of the wind, not one sound illumated

from the unrealistic setting.
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Hello! So since this is my first published story I would absolutely love some suggestions about how I can improve this story! Feedback would be greatly appreciated, so let me know! I hope you all like the story so far, I know it's a bit different, but thats what I'm aiming for. Let me know of anything I can do to improve this!!

-💙Clementine