One week later, I was still trying to decrypt what the gypsy woman said.

Your past will soon replace your future.

I wonder what she meant. Maybe she's a con artist, just trying to spook the innocents. Well, she did a pretty good job. It wouldn't leave my mind at all.

"Hey, Ethan. Check this out," Mike nudged my arm and flashed his phone in front of my face. It was a picture of him with his arm wrapped around the waist of a Frankenstein's bride. Not sure if it was the makeup or the girl was genuinely appalled.

"Met her last week at the club. Man, she was sexy! I think she's got the hots for me, Ethan," he boasted, wriggling his brows.

I nodded my head absent-mindedly as I focused my attention to the lecture. One month through the subject and I still couldn't wrap my head around the theories. I groaned at the thought of next week's midterm.

Scribbling down the keywords as Professor Simpson zoomed past the slides, I noticed something odd on my right wrist. As I pulled the sleeves up to my forearm, my eyes bulged as three slim gashes ran across starting from my inner arm all the way to the wrist.

Immediately I did the same to my other arm, checking for similar injuries. There were none.

I slowly pulled down the sleeves, careful not to agitate the wound. Glancing down at my wristwatch, I counted 10 more minutes till class ends.

Guess who needs to make a trip to the infirmary.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I winced slightly as the disinfectant made contact with my wounds. It stung pretty bad as sharp pain zinged through me.

"I'm going to give you a tetanus shot for good measure," the doctor announced, giving me a wry smile. "Are you sure you have no idea how you got that? Maybe you met with a feral cat?"

"Negative," I shook my head.

The doctor shrugged.

"Alright. Make sure you don't get your bandage wet. And here's some antibiotics and lotion for the wound and also Advil in case fever breaks out."

She packed a couple of pills and a bottle of liquid into a bag before handing it to me. I said my thanks and left the room, making my way back to my room for a nap.

Looking at my bandaged arm, I racked through my memories trying to find the missing pieces. I was positive my arm was fine when I got dressed today. I would have notice that bloody red which contrasted with my ridiculously pale skin.

I took off my shoes and shuffled into my room before flopping onto my bed. I rolled over until my head rested on the pillow and closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep. Sleep slowly blanketing itself on me, wrapping me up into a comfortable cocoon.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tap tap tap...

TAP TAP TAP...

TAP TAP TAP!

I jerked awake from my sleep, my ears picking up on the familiar tapping sound. I looked around my room, half expecting to find someone tapping their fingers against hard surface.

Except there wasn't anyone.

Tap tap tap...

All of a sudden, I thought I saw words at the back of my mind.

Tap tap...
Hello

Tap tap tap tap...
It's been a long time.

Memories crashed through me. The swing. The park. The little tapping behind my head. I remembered it all.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap...
You've forgotten about me.

"No, no. I never forgot about you."

TAP TAP!
LIAR!

I blanched at the intensity. It was as if I could feel the strength behind every push on the buttons.

TAP TAP TAP TAP TAP!
You forgot about me! You shut me in at the back of your head!

I swallowed guiltily, lost for words to plead otherwise. All these years I thought he left me to be with another child. A younger one. I've never once thought that it was my fault. I was slowly shutting him in.

I groaned helplessly, trying to find words of apologies to console him. I opened my mouth to say I'm sorry when I felt a sharp pain going through my arm beneath the bandages.

Tap tap tap...
How does it feel to be betrayed?

Clutching my arm, I fell off the bed from the sheer intensity of it. Unlike the first three slices which went unnoticed, I could feel this one straight to my bones. It was like acid being injected into my wound as the invisible nail dug deeper into my flesh, lightly grazing my bone.

I ripped open the bloody bandages and gaped on my arm. The fourth wound gashed open, cutting across the previous ones. This was much more gruesome. I could see a hint of white amongst the bloody red flesh.

"What are you doing?" I gasped.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap...
Replacing you. From the inside out.

I understand now. What the message meant. He's here to replace me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my shadow shifted oddly towards me. Black tendrils glided over my wounds, flooding them with darkness and seeping into my bloodstream.

Noticing my confusion, he started tapping.

Tap tap tap tap tap...
Silly boy. Always think I'm invisible. I was here all the time. For I am your shadow.

As the truth dawned upon me, a shudder ran down my spine. I could almost hear him chuckle at my naivety. He was with me all this time...

A flash of pain got me curled up like a foetus. I stared down at my arm to see my skin slowly giving way to the fifth gash.

My moans filled the room as I clutched my arm against my chest, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. The tapping resumed.

Tap tap tap...

This time I heard him loud and clear as if he was whispering next to my ear.

Seven strikes and you're out...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I dashed out of the room without bothering to close it behind me. Sprinting down the stairs, I almost bumped into Lisa.

"Goodness, Ethan!  Watch where you're going," she scolded before taking in my pale face and bloodied arm. "Holy shit. Are you alright? You looked like you've seen a ghost."

"I'm fine, Lisa," I gritted out. I saw her hand gripping an umbrella and snatched it while muttering my apologies.

I pushed past her, desperate to gain some distance from her before she gets hurt. I pried my hand away from my arm to see the sixth strike slowly cutting in.

I'm running out of time.

As I fumbled to open the umbrella, I squinted at the sun. The sun was high up over my head, casting my shadow, him, in a puddle of darkness under my feet. I hoisted up the umbrella to cover me under the shade, effectively swallowing him up.

I made sure to walk in crowded places as I quickened my pace. Using the umbrella borrowed from Lisa, I adjusted it accordingly to keep me under the shade.

A couple of passerby shot me odd looks. I'm pretty sure I looked like a vampire right now with my bloodshot eyes and fear for sunlight. Ignoring them, I sped through the streets, desperate to reach home.

Kicking open my bedroom door, I hastily ran towards the window and draw shut those blackout curtains, making sure not a sliver of light escape into my room. Once I made sure it was dark enough, I chucked the umbrella to the side and crawled over my bed, pulling the covers over me.

My pants came out loud and harsh as I desperately draw in the restricted airflow. As long as I stayed here, it will be fine. Everything will be fine. Since my parents were out on a vacation, I'll have the house to myself for a whole week. I'll figure out something in the meantime.

I'll make sure of it.

As soon as the adrenaline passed, I felt my energy draining from exhaustion, my eyes starting to droop. I scratched at my wounds, trying to let pain keep me awake but I was just so tired. So, so tired. My breathing slowly evened out in steady breaths. Soon, my eyelashes begin to rest on my cheeks.

Just one minute, I thought to myself.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It felt like years when I finally peeled my eyelids open. I felt disoriented, a wave of dizziness hit me hard. I turned to my back, letting the nausea wash away. I started to grind the gears in my head. There HAS to be a solution. There MUST be a way out.

I was so deep in thoughts I didn't realized I've had my nails pressed painfully against my skin. They bit in deeper with every scratch. It wasn't until I felt something warm trickling down my arm, soaking my t-shirt that I stopped.

No.

NO! NO! NO!

I'm starting to be like him, harming myself. He's slowly replacing me!

Suddenly, a series of footsteps sounded outside my room before my door creaked open. Caught unaware, I stared at my mom dumbly at her unexpected appearance. They were supposed to be gone for another week!

"What on earth happened here? I called a thousand times and you weren't picking up. And what's with the curtains drawn?" she stepped towards the curtains, her hand gripping the fabric.

"Mom, MOM wait!"

Before I could scramble out of bed, away from the light, she drew open the curtains, bathing me in the morning rays. I saw my shadow slowly formed on my crumpled bedsheets, my feet inked with black tendrils.

"MOM! NO!!!"

...............................................................

Author's notes:

Ta-dah! I finished my first horror story. I hope you guys enjoyed it. See you in the next story.

Cheers