Shadow Man

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SHADOW MAN (Work In Progress)

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It was something I would see out of the corner of my eye. An anomaly in my peripheral vision, I would see a darkness in the corner, moving as my eyes moved. I always tried to reason it away, thinking I was tired, or my eyes were over-strained. Time would pass and I would forget about it, until the next time it happened.~1~

Then the shadow became more pronounced. I saw it late one evening, a thick opacity to the crevices between my trash cans. As I walked toward the cans, the shadow would thin and become normal. It was all I could do to control my shivering long enough to open the can and toss the trash in. We've all had that creepy feeling. Movies took advantage of it, scaring the daylights out of us, showing an arm reaching from under an open staircase and grabbing the legs of the person traveling down the stairs.~2~

What is it that we're all afraid of? Something in the darkness that we can't see, something intangible that may harm us. But this...this was something I could see. This visible inky darkness that sent fear spelunking up my spine with ice cold claws. What I didn't know was what the darkness meant. ~3~

Fall came early this year, the sunsets arrived at dinnertime and darkness soon followed after. Gone were the long days of summer when the sunlight was strong and virulent, especially in the city where the skyscrapers blocked the last rays of the sun. I was walking home one evening, my heels clicking a staccato that echoed in the street, when I noticed the shadow. It was sliding along the buildings across the street, flowing over the staircases and behind the trash bins, following me. I could see it keeping pace with me, just behind what I could see from the corner of my eye. I had to turn my head quickly to catch the shadow moving on the opposite side of the street. ~4~

Curiosity overcame my fear and I kept walking down 54th instead of turning toward home. I wanted to see how far it would follow me. I could see it until I got to the park. When I reached the lush, verdant block, it disappeared. As soon as my footsteps reached the crushed rock of the pathways, I saw it slide into the darkness at the foot of the trees. I wondered if it belonged to the darkness in the park. I imagined it slipping into a dark damp cave somewhere in the forgotten recesses of the forest. A passing jogger broke my line of thought and I turned to head home.~5~

I dreamed of him that night, the Shadow Man. I could see him, that dark distorted gingerbread image, with liquid edges blended into the shadows of my dreams. I ran from his hands that stretched from the safe, soft cookie shape to reaching tendrils of danger. He followed me, his image flowing along the street like burnt mercury, laughing at me. I woke with my hair matted down and sweaty, shivering from the haunting dream. ~6~

Winter brought more sightings of the Shadow Man. It was the season of weaker daylight and longer nights. He became brazen, running in the shadows close to me as I walked. As I stepped into the doorway of my building, I could feel him laughing, rather than hear him, his maniacal laugh infecting my mind like a virus. It came from the darkened basement doorway below the stairs. My hands were shaking so hard, I had to grasp my key with both hands to guide it into the lock.~7~

I rattled the lock open and hammered up the stairs as fast as I could, reaching the top landing before I heard the downstairs door click shut. Slowly, I looked over my shoulder to be sure he hadn't followed me. The laughter in my mind faded as I stood on the landing, gasping for breath. Why was this thing following me? Am I going crazy? ~8~

I lay awake in bed for several nights, too afraid to fall asleep and meet up with the Shadow Man again. Every morning I'd leave my bed, stumbling to the shower in exhaustion, wondering where this would end.

I found out right before Christmas. I was out shopping and left the department store long after the sun set. I was exuberant about my purchases, beautiful gifts for my friends. I stopped for a moment to drop a handful of change into the bell-ringers bucket, then adjusted my packages in my hand and started toward home.~9~

The streets were slushy from the melting snow that had fallen earlier in the week, and traffic responded by splashing through the intersections. I crossed with the light and suddenly felt the Shadow Man's laughter shimmering in my thoughts. I turned around to look for him, just in time to see a young lady wave to her boyfriend across the street. Without thought she dashed into the street to cross to his side of the road. She didn't see the delivery van sloughing down the street toward her.~10~

It felt to me as if the whole scene moved in slow motion. I could see the horror on her boyfriend's face as he saw the van bearing down on his girlfriend. Then glancing at the van, I could see the driver grimacing as he stomped hard on the brakes. Then the last moment of realization and shock as the girl is struck hard by the grill of the truck. All of this, moving slowly in my mind as the Shadow Man's demented laugh elevates to a scream louder than the girl's. ~11~

Her body looked like a toy, crumpling into the front of the truck and then bouncing off to land in a limp pile in the middle of the street. The driver slammed the truck into park and reached the girl's side about the same time as the boyfriend. They knelt at her side, but it was apparent to me that they couldn't see the Shadow Man as he slid under the truck and toward the girl. Of this whole scene, to me this was the most horrifying. His laughter had turned to a hungry growl and I watched in horror as his faint shadow slid between the feet of the men and over the girl's arm.~12~

I screamed as I watched the Shadow Man lean over the girl and fasten his mouth to hers. In an erotic kiss, the Shadow Man drew on her. Drawing hard from her mouth, the Shadow Man grew darker and deeper while I screamed over and over. He looked then, his obsidian eyes connecting with mine. My screams caught in my throat as he snarled and started toward me. ~13~

I stumbled back, my hand over my mouth, unable to believe what I had seen. Terrified that he wanted me next, I backed further away. Then I watched as the Shadow Man slid into the storm drain and disappeared. His laughter was back in my head, echoing louder than the anguished cries of the boyfriend and the scream of the ambulance's siren. ~14~

I stood in frozen horror as the EMT ran up to the crumpled girl and checked for vital signs. He shook his head. I already knew. The Shadow Man had taken her life.