It was the night before her 25th birthday when Alice, a beautiful young girl, was walking down a long dark alley at 11:55 pm. It wasn't late for Alice though since she usually got free around that time every day from her job which involved crypto trading at a new startup. The alley was part of her usual route to get home from the office and never before had it made her feel so unsafe. She was a responsible adult who had lived alone her entire life let alone be scared of the dark but she was in a dubious mood since morning. Ever since she had woken up to an 11:11 am on her alarm clock which she had last seen right before the biggest accident of her life. Alice had been a skeptic all her life, but some events are impressionable enough to change the core foundations of your being.
On a cold December night she was wearing a black hoodie with black jeans, she was never really a dresser either. Her entire life had been spent in front of a computer screen and all the friends she had were mostly online, people she had never met. Making a living off of a freelance career she had found herself at the crossroads of an existential crises. She didn't know who she was anymore or what she was meant to do as a mere spec in the vast wasteland we call the universe. She didn't know her purpose let alone what she wanted to do for the latter half of her forsaken life. Maybe just dying would be better she thought on some nights after a few drinks but always convinced herself that there was a better alternative out there. Hence she woke up every morning looking forward towards the possibility of a better day.
Today, however, was no better day. The 11:11 on her alarm clock had given Alice one of the worst flashbacks of her life. That one flashback that lasted a millennia was engraved and imprinted so badly in her mind that it had taken forever to get rid of it, only to be reminded of it again was devastating to say the very least. She scuffed her hoodie and let out a sigh only to have heart stop for just a second when she heard a footsteps behind her. She immediately turned to see who it was but to her consternation she was only met with pitch darkness and not a human in sight.
She turned around and now picked up her pace. Her house was only two blocks away and the dark alley was about to end. She was now almost running before finally she was stopped in her tracks by a sensation that she had never felt before. Her palms got sweaty and her head started to feel heavy, she had been immobilised, but with what? Even she didn't know yet. She looked up to see a small light at the far end of the alley revealing the street that she so desperately wanted to get to. She wanted to look back but all she could do was fall to her knees with her hands on the road trying to contemplate what had just happened. She coughed, trying to gasp for air but it seemed as though all oxygen had been imbibed out of the earth.
A sensation that you have never felt before is a sensation that is bound to bring both curiosity but more importantly a very dark tint of fear. Something that you've never experienced has a unprecedented end. The outcomes could be boundless and even the human brain isn't quick-witted enough to process all this information. And poor Alice was no different. This was a feeling she had never experienced or felt before and the worst part about this was not that it had an unpredictable consequence rather it had a unclear beginning.
She mustered all her energy and courage, devoid of all most oxygen and breath. She blinked thrice in order to regain her vision that had been now covered with a blurry hue. One body part at a time she tried to move and see what was behind her. Who was it that must have stabbed or shot her, without her knowing. Not knowing was the only thing keeping her from just giving up and falling face down. After what seemed to be a century for Alice now half lying down on the road, she had managed to turn just about enough to look back once again.
When she had turned around, however, she was discombobulated by her revelation. A figure the likes of which she had never seen, neither in real life nor in any anime or show stood before her in a state of utter obscure and enigmatic facade. Alice was beyond terrified at this point, her body had shut down and what had seemed to be a century now seemed to be a second. The time had shifted, so had everything around her. Had everything gotten slower? Had everything gotten faster? Was she even thinking? Was she already dead? She was dumbfounded with the amount of questions without answers the electrons in her brain were throwing around but one thing was for certain. She wasn't coming back from this one.
Part One End.
To be continued...
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image source: http://world-of-marin.wikia.com/wiki/Invisible_Stalker