Beneath The Moonlight

The atmosphere was fresh and exhilarating,with the scent of old concrete,earth and weeds filling the air.Lightly clad,he ambled through the empty neighborhood,with the cold wind biting at his skin.He had always found comfort in taking moonlight walks,the calls of mother nature were quite soothing to his already troubled mind.He sauntered forward,the sound of his footsteps echoing into the darkness.For a moment he thought of what he had read in the newspaper earlier that morning and a dark shadow crossed his mind threatening to dampen his happiness.He needed these walks after a long day at work and coming home to an always angry wife wasn't something anyone looked up to.He quickly warded it off,forcing his mind to focus on more pleasant thoughts.Things were finally coming up for him at work and he had finally been landed the promotion he had slaved for 5 years and this made him smile.

Suddenly,a pair of footsteps emerged from behind him,walking in the same direction as he.He paid them no mind,assuming they belonged to a fellow mundane who also found moonlight walking to be relaxing as much as he did.Maybe I might befriend them,Sam thought to himself,maybe I wouldn't have to walk alone in the darkness anymore.As Sam continued down the street,the footsteps behind him became unnerving.He wasn't walking too fast neither were they.They could have simply passed him,but they chose not to and this made Sam uncomfortable.He picked up his pace as he rounded the corner onto another empty street,illuminated by a few working lamps and the moon.He quickly glanced behind him for a brief moment and he swore he had seen something weird about the encroaching figure.It was definitely a man,heavily built and over six feet tall.He wore dark clothes and his mouth hung open and Sam couldn't tell whether he was grinning or grimacing,with both his eyes staring straight up ahead.For a moment Sam thought he was being paranoid,but when he decided to cross over to the other side of the street and the man followed,his suspicions were confirmed.He broke into a jog,staring straight up ahead not wanting to give himself away.However,the stranger picked up on that and he followed pursuit,jogging behind Sam only a few yards separating them.Sam's grunts pierced through the air as he picked up speed,cutting through the woods hoping he could lose him among the trees.He was never much of an athlete back in school,but when faced with danger,he tore through the woods like his life depended on it,which it did.He sprinted through the woods,darting behind the tall trees.

"Help!,"he screamed at the top of his lungs,praying someone could hear him.He glanced behind him,quickly losing his footing,he tripped and fell face first,injuring his mouth and the fishy taste of blood that followed was disgusting.The man came to a halt at Sam's feet, watching him devilishly as he lay helplessly on the ground.

As Sam scrambled onto his feet,a sharp pain tore right through his right leg and he fall back onto the ground,landing had on his bottom.With the man towering over him,Sam could make up his facial features.He didn't have time to admire anything more as the man's grinning expression had already creeped him out.

"What do you want?,"Sam sobbed,"if its money,I can get you some,please don't hurt me."

Silence.The man moved closer and crouched before him without uttering another word,his weird smile still plastered on his face.He lowered his hand to Sam's throbbing ankle and touched it gently,titling his head to the side before he squeezed it harder.

"Ah!,"Sam screamed in pain,squirming to get out of the man's tight grip.

In a pinch,he grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it at the man's face,blinding him long enough for him to try and escape.The 'man' fell back with a thud,rubbing his eyes vigorously trying to get the sand out .An escape window had opened and Sam ran for it.He hoisted himself up,applying more pressure on his other leg.He traipsed for a few feet,dragging his injured leg behind him,when suddenly a gun shot rang and whipped past him. He stopped abruptly and slowly turned on his heel,coming face to face with the man standing just a few inches away.Before him,he stood with a pointed pistol in his hand,his grin broader than ever.

"Bang!,"the man uttered before squeezing the trigger.

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