Perfect Unreality

Despite the volume, the music didn't drown out how loud and frantic her thoughts echoed to warn her of something lurking in the shadows - a paranoia that materialized and doped her with the disturbing feeling of fear. Walking alone at night was never the most recommended activity for a young woman, however, with the tight schedule it's not like she had the luxury of leaving early to avoid it. She blamed it on her curious and impractical nature which encouraged her to explore the world of crime investigation podcasts and who, thanks to so many scary reports, saw a potential macabre scene in those deserted streets. She was fully aware that the circumstances sounded absurd and unreal from a rational perspective, however, she did not completely rule out the danger and that, in fact, she would not know how to proceed if an attack happened.

She decided, to lighten the load, to call Becky and talk to distract herself, maybe that way her mind wouldn't create monsters and far-fetched theories at every corner she crossed. She didn't need any more tension on the ride home. Without much effort she dialed her friend's number which she answered almost immediately, calming the wave of unfounded nervousness that came from the return journey.

“Hey baby.” Becky greeted excitedly.

"Putting it like that sounds like you've been waiting for my call." She laughed at the euphoria expressed by her friend.

“No, but can't I be glad my best friend called me?” There was a mock muttering of indignation from Becky on the other end of the line. "But tell me, did something happen?"

Becky could be assertive if she needed to. It didn't take a long speech about complex problems for Becky to understand and she knew that her tone, slightly alarming, would be more than enough for her to have an idea that she sought protection to avoid the fear that was crawling in her gut.

“What happened?” She asked her more worried.

“It's kind of silly, but… I feel like I'm being stalked.”

“Stalker?” Becky's tone rose.

Rhythmic noises woke her from her daze in a mind-blowing rush of adrenaline. Het feverish eyes swept the length of the empty street, and just a few meters away, there was a silhouette partially hidden in the darkness. Rationalizing with fear no longer seemed a sensible option, especially when the figure, from a state of passivity, began to act with more agitation and openly pursue her. The heart that was pounding against her ribs just barely missed jumping out in fright. With no alternative, She twisted awkwardly and run as fast as my wobbly feathers would allow, thinking couldn't hand her the location of her home on a plate on the run. If he didn't back down or shy away from going after her so directly, he would go to extreme lengths to capture her.

She turned on the flashlight on her cell phone, still on call, so she could better see her stalker, giving a general glimpse of a man with unnaturally red hair and a devious smile.

"Since you want to play, I'll give you a five-minute head start." The stranger showed his five fingers with a graceful air. "Better run and fast."

She mentally mapped the area, remembering a building site she could use to throw him off, sprinting as fast as her desperate legs would allow.

“Tick tock, tick tock. Time is running out, you need to be faster, princess.” he crooned.

"Becky! Call the police! A weird guy is after me!” Heather screamed, imagining every possible terrifying scenario and how her family and friends would react to her disappearance and didn't want to be a statistic.

An abrupt gust of air was thrown at her and knocked her down so violently that, for a second, she lost her breath, tearing her forehead a little in the fall.

“What?” she yelped in confusion.

Dampness and the sickly, rusty smell gave away the wound—the impact left her dizzy for a brief moment. She tried to get back up, however her legs went wobbly and she couldn't move.

“Very well!” The man's applause reverberated through the idle silence. "I was true to my word, five minutes ahead. You are very slow, I expected more.”

She stretched her arm to reach the cell phone lying on the curb and heard the cell phone that had been interrupted by the crushing of something.

"I think your braces are gone. What a shame.”

The man grabbed her neck with one hand, not enough to crush her windpipe, but enough to immobilize her precisely to have her at his mercy, helpless and docile. Tears welled up as the penny dropped and reality hit her hard, she didn't want to die in such a brutal way and at the hands of a maniac who will probably hunt other girls to satiate the vile and monstrous urge to take the lives of her bodies

She wept in silence, aware that it would be her last memory: the face of her tormentor and his weapon to end it. Suddenly, a suicidal idea occurred to her with very low chances of success and that, if she failed, she would die in that instant.

"Don't worry, I'm just here to take you. If I wanted you—” The intruder gestured, moving his index finger across his neck. "I would have done a long time ago."

Without remorse, she plunged the key into her attacker's eye, who cried out in genuine surprise at her reaction and resistance. Some of the blood splattered onto her face and she felt his sick stomach want to expel the contents. She took a deep breath remembering that her fight for survival was not over and she would have to flee.

The redhead released her on the impulse caused by the pain.

“You bitch!" he roared. "You'll pay for this!"

With teary eyes, she let go of her tormentor and returned, clumsily, to flee to survive, aware that, if he caught her again, it would be to finish her off for good.

“My goal may not be to kill you, but after your prank, I'm going to make a point of causing you a lot of pain.” he threatened with vicious fury.

The man got to her feet, ignoring the spurt of blood, turning to pursue her relentlessly.

Please, I don't want to die, she thought in panic.

"I've been studying your routine, your habits and even the people you relate to for months. I know everything I need to about you." he revealed in an acid tone, tormenting her. “It's ironic that you only now noticed my presence."

Suddenly, several flashes occurred to her about that stranger: during isolated days, she got to see a red hairdresser wandering through the subway — something that didn't seem strange to her — and seeing him now and then didn't bother her, because she believed she was just one more in the crowd.

Le” not extend this and since you made me very angry, I'll save you the care.” With that said, she felt something cold cross her stomach and made her fall with a scream that bubbles due to the blood that choked her.

She would die. That was the end she would have.

Thick tears ran down the cheekbones of her face in a silent cry, slowly feeling her breath gradually leaking out.

The tormentor walked slowly towards her.

Not! Her fervent thoughts screamed. A bright, blinding flash, which suddenly appeared, engulfed everything and cracked in jagged lines like a newly cracked piece of pottery, escaping fragments of what looked like broken glass.

They say that when it's close to kicking the bucket, some areas of the brain remain active and, in the meantime, we experience life as if it passes before us like a movie. In my case, a very trashy film without a good script.

Did that mean I died?

I reached out as far as I could to reach something—to make sure I had a way to break the fall. Even with my eyes closed, I noticed how the vibration around me changed like the warm breeze that gradually turned into a gale. Sinking into the warm flow of limbo, I felt as if I were suddenly aware of every function in my body and what it was capable of. I could even clearly hear my heart beating and its uninterrupted rhythm.

I wandered light and confused in nothingness, which was normal for a postmortem delirium. However, this crazy, meaningless dream sounded different than what I had initially theorized. My open eyes and semi-consciousness only proved it couldn't be a daydream. Everything looked downright real.