~Unedited~

Harsh, cold air nipped gently at the back of Vivian's neck causing her to shrug up her coat to protect the exposed skin. She shivered slightly as the cool autumn air attacked her, but despite her protests, she had to carry on. It wasn't like she had any other options.

            "Be careful," her friend Arden called from her front porch. She shivered slightly and with drawled back through the door in which she came. Vivian scowled thinking about the treacherous walk she had ahead of her and immediately she was able to follow Arden back through the door. "It's kinda sketchy this late. Call me when you get home safely."

            Vivian smiled gently at her friend's cautious words. "Always do," she replied before turning and walking down the street.

            Fall had always been her favourite season. Vibrant colours of falling leaves always brightened her mood. However, at night when walking alone, no matter where you are, your surroundings will always become scarier. Your mind tends to play tricks on you by making you see things that aren't really there. Tonight, was no exception. Vivian never considered herself to be one of those cliché horror movie girls who made the worst decisions when it came to being attacked, but as she grew warier she was just waiting for someone to jump out at her and scare her even more. She tightened her trench coat and relished the minimal warmth it provided as cold gusts of air attacked her from all sides.

            With one last attempt at calming her nerves, she took a deep breath and lengthened her strides. She focused on her feet instead of letting her mind wander.

            Right foot, Left foot. Right foot. Left foot.

            "God dammit," she muttered to herself between taut lips. Her purse had slipped off her slender shoulders and before she could react the contents scattered on the ground. The poorly lit lampposts barely provided enough light to see what she was doing. Grabbing blindly, she scurried to gather her belongings and cram them back in her purse. Blowing a stray strand of hair out of her face, she slung her bag once more onto her shoulder and continued down the daunting street.

            Arden lived in one of the more poorer parts of town. She lived alone with her mom in a townhouse that was nestled in a complex isolated away from any of the major roads in the city. The houses here were rather small in size and looked like time had done some damage to them. Porches were sunken in and weather, the grass was overgrown and littered with weeds. The walk alone from Arden's house to Vivian consisted of several back trails through several blocks before any major roads were hit. Vivian muttered a curse before remembering why exactly she was walking home alone at 11pm. She rolled her eyes. Her parents were at another one of their friend's parties getting drunk off high-end champagne while discussing politics or whatever it is they do when they get together.

Vivian let out a defeated sigh. She contemplated going back to Arden's and waiting for her mom's shift to end at 3am so she could give her a ride. Vivian debated for a moment before continuing on. No, Arden's mom was working a double shift and asking for a ride would be too much to ask for. She continued walking down the desolate street with only herself and the shadows to keep company.

Almost halfway there she thought encouragingly to herself. Vivian reached the end of the street. Connecting this block to the next was a trail that was woven through a wooded area. She weighed her options. On the one hand, she could go through the forest. It was quicker. However, it was darker and, considering the neighbourhood she was currently in, possibly filled with drug dealers. Her other option was to backtrack and go back the way she came and travel down the road and follow the streets back, but it would take longer for her to get home.

She shifted her weight from foot to foot while deciding what to do. Finally, she grabbed out her phone from within her purse and clutched it. If need be, she could quickly dial 911 if anything happened. Vivian swiped up and switched on her flashlight as she briskly walked down the path. She shone from side to side to make sure the coast was clear. She faintly heard the rustle of bush only to discover a raccoon hiding from within. She sighed and felt her heart racing in her chest.

Faintly from behind her, she heard a soft hum. Her heart lurched within her chest. While continuing to walk, she looked cautiously over her shoulder. Her hands began to clam up and her heart was hammering against her chest.

An impeccably dressed man was standing near the entrance of the trail where Vivian was standing mere moments ago. The path was too dark to allow any facial features to be illuminated. She quickly turned her head back to face forwards and urged her feet to walk faster. She silently begged for feet to move as fast as they could go while her breath hitched in her throat. She remembers in self defense class that you establish eye contact so they know you know they're there. She quickly glanced back only to see he had gained some distance on her. He was closer than before but didn't appear to be moving. Oddly, he was just standing there.

Despite the closer proximity, she could still not make out any features. She was walking as fast as she could without running. She watched as her feet swallowed the distance from where she stood to the street entrance. She sent one final glance back to see he was only about 20 feet away from her. How was he moving so fast? She asked herself panicking. Her eyes darted back to see the illumination of the street ahead. Temporary relief washed over her.

As a last resort to rid her of her assailant, she began to moo as loud as she could. Her instructor had also mentioned this could throw them off. She flung her purse down in case this was a mugging and all he was really after were the stray coins at the bottom of her purse and the two five dollar bills she had meticulously folded in her wallet. She'd rather lose her purse than her life. While continuing the noises, she snuck one more glance back to notice he was gone. Maybe he was only after my purse she thought. Strangely, though, her purse was still on the ground.

Brushing it off, she scampered down the rest of the trail. Relief enveloped her like a shower as she entered the safety of the surrounding street lights. A hazy glow provided barely enough light to see the street was deserted. Barely, through the faint mist that hung in the air like a cloud, she could make out the faint blare of headlights. She waited patiently on the curb for the car to pass every so often glancing back to ensure her safety.

He hadn't followed her onto the main road.

She turned back to face the street and watch for the car.

The blaring of headlights was the last thing she saw.

Two cold hands made firm contact with her back shoving her full force into the direct path of the oncoming vehicle. A startled breath hitched in her throat as she fell face forward. The vehicle made contact with the left side of her body causing her to catapult forward several metres. Pain erupted in her side and head as she collided with the rubble covered pavement. She rolled on her back and began to cough. Thick blood splattered out of her mouth as Vivian convulsed. Hot tears streamed down her face. The car skidded to a stop metres away from where she was laying and a slender woman emerged from the door.

"Oh my god!" A woman shrieked as the car door slammed. "I'm going to call an ambulance."

The woman's shrill voice slowly faded into background noise as Vivian began to lose consciousness. Her eyelids were heavy and she could feel herself succumbing to darkness. She nearly missed the woman kneel down beside her.

"Hold on, help is on the way," the woman muttered. Vivian opened her mouth to speak but only another splutter of blood came out.

Vivian's head rolled from side to side. She was urging herself not to die. She was still young. She had so much more to live for. Her head movements stopped when she noticed the man from earlier settle himself down next to her. She began to gasp for air and scoot herself as far away as possible. She turned back to the woman. Hysterically, she began to incoherently mumble nearly choking on her own blood as she did so.

"It's okay, you're going to be okay," the woman assured her in an unconvincing tone.

"He's h-here you ha-ave to get... him a-away from me-e," Vivian responded in a muffled voice.

"Who?" The woman asked with her eyebrows arched.

Vivian's head snapped to the side. Even with such a close proximity his face was still shrouded in almost a blur. He had no distinguishable features except for a wide grin. His skin was a pale gray colour and resembled nothing like a human complexion. His face was slowly inching closer to hers. She began to struggle as best she could but felt as if she had been paralyzed. She began to scream and wriggle against the unknown force holding her down. In the back of her head she swore she heard a deep voice shushing her.

His lips pressed against her and a jolt of shock raced through her body. She couldn't move. She couldn't talk. She just stared, horrified, up at the night sky as darkness consumed her.