The vehicle careened through the desolate streets, headlights slicing the darkness, but the night itself seemed alive, pushing against the windows with a pressure that increased with each ticking moment. Ava attempted to dispel the fear slithering up her spine, but it was no use. Something was off. Something greater than the terror of being pursued.
Rohit's palms clasped the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were white, jaw set in a determined line, as if he was trying to lock everything inside. Ava couldn't tear her eyes from the rearview mirror, even though she knew it was futile. No one was on their tail yet. But something in her stomach made her feel like they were never truly alone. Not this night. Not again.
The car was deathly quiet. Even the noise of the tires on the pavement was muffled, as though the world had been deprived of its sound, and all that remained was the quiet throb of her beating heart.
Rohit slammed the car to the side, narrowly missing a figure that had suddenly materialized in the middle of the road. Ava cried out, her hand reflexively reaching for the door as the car lurched.
What the heck was that?" she gasped.
Rohit slammed the brakes, his gaze flicking to the dark road ahead, where the apparition had vanished into the gloom.
"Get down," he commanded, his tone rough but insistent.
Ava's body stiffened, her heart pounding in her chest as she huddled in the seat. It was as if the world was waiting, the blackness outside closing in around them, choking them with its heavy presence.
There was a silence that lasted for what felt like an eternity. They were caught in the quiet, but it was not calm. It was a waiting game. And something lurked out there, watching.
The vehicle jolted suddenly forward, as if it had been thrust by some force not seen. Ava's breath was caught in her throat as she clung to the seat, attempting to anchor herself. The headlights wavered. Once. Twice. And then—blackness.
Rohit swore under his breath, his hands scrambling to restart the engine. But the car would not budge. The quiet between them grew, extending longer than it should, charging the air with a sense of certainty, like a thing waiting to happen. Ava's heart pounded in her ears, tension building like a body in the air.
"Rohit," she whispered, her voice shaking despite herself. "What is it?"
Rohit's eyes darted around, his face pale in the dim light from the dashboard. "Stay calm," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "We're not alone."
Ava's gaze darted to the window, but the thick darkness outside did not yield anything. She could feel it encroaching on them, smothering life from her. The night was no longer vacant. It was alive, with a consciousness all its own. And it was stalking them.
She could have sworn she saw a shimmer of movement—something moving in the shadows, too fast to be clearly recorded. But there was no noise. No footsteps. Only the sense that something, someone, was there, regarding them. She moved forward, placing her forehead against the chill of the glass, squinting to try and see anything in the blackness.
It seemed as though the air itself was thickening. As if they were stuck in some sort of dream that did not wish to relinquish them to waking.
The headlights flickered back on for a brief instant, lighting the road ahead.
But it was too late.
The figure stood in the center of the street once more. It wasn't possible to mistake it this time. It was a man—tall, wearing dark clothes, his face hidden under a hood. It was not the figure that caught Ava's breath in her throat, though. It was the sensation—the sensation of being trapped, of being observed. Of being hunted.
Ava's heart raced, her breathing short. The man didn't stir. He merely stood there, his eyes locked on them with a ferocity that made her shiver.
"Drive," she implored, her voice frantic.
Rohit didn't require a second word. He stamped down on the accelerator, the car squealing in protest as it surged forward. The figure did not move. He stood still, rigid as a shadow embedded too deeply within the night to be dislodged.
Ava turned around in her seat, eyes fixed on the rearview mirror. The figure had not pursued them. But the sensation—the feeling—remained. Something was approaching. Something awful.
And then it struck her.
The words the stranger had whispered to them earlier echoed in her mind:
"𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲?"
Ava swallowed hard, her throat dry. She knew then that this wasn't just about survival. It was something deeper, darker. And they had already crossed the point of no return.
Rohit's eyes were keen, fixed on the road before him, but Ava could detect the flash of fear in his eyes, the same fear that had been hidden in his face for years.
"We have to make it to the safe house," he said, his tone icy, his knuckles pale as they clutched the steering wheel.
Ava nodded but remained silent. She had no idea what to say. The air between them was heavy, as if each word would break the thin strand of control they were clinging to.
As they drove deeper into the night, the roads became darker, emptier. The city was far away now, distant and out of reach. They were driving towards the unknown, where everything they believed they knew would disintegrate.
And Ava couldn't help but feel like they were being drawn into a nightmare from which they couldn't awaken.
They reached the city limits, the lights of the buildings behind them receding into the distance. The road in front of them was a long, winding, and lonely one. The sort of road that nobody used unless they absolutely had to.
And Ava got the strong sensation that they were being stared at.
The instant the vehicle took the dirt road in the direction of the safe house, hairs on the back of her neck prickled. There was something out there, somewhere beyond the range of the headlights.
She sensed it, a presence—a heaviness in the air that did not fit.
"Move forward," Rohit instructed in a low voice.
But Ava could hardly make him out over the thudding in her ears. She gazed out the side window, her eyes narrowing as she caught a glimpse of something—movement—just at the edge of the trees.
Something was there. Watching.
The car jerked again, and for an instant, Ava thought she heard a soft tapping noise, as if someone was knocking on the window. But when she turned to look, there was nothing there.
Nothing but the dark.
The trees appeared to close in on them, their branches like grasping hands, reaching out toward the car. The wind moaned, its low whine like a warning.
The road stretched out before them endlessly.
And then, suddenly, the tap again. Louder. The noise of it was unmistakable, like fingers tapping on the glass—no, scratching.
Scratching.
Ava's heart missed a beat as she spun around to glance over their shoulders.
But there was nothing.
Nothing except the darkness.
........
𝑬𝑵𝑱𝑶𝒀𝑰𝑵𝑮 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀? 𝑲𝑰𝑵𝑫𝑳𝒀 𝑫𝑶 𝑺𝑶𝑴𝑬 𝑹𝑨𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑮. 𝑰𝑻 𝑯𝑬𝑳𝑷𝑺 𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑹𝒀 𝑻𝑶 𝑮𝑹𝑶𝑾...!
𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙙𝙤 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨 𝙨𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙨.