Work Text:
The light posts dimly flicker on, one by one, as you walk along in the nearly-deserted street.
For signs of life, there's the occasional shifty-looking passerby and huddles of probable gang members. The air reeks of smog and the occasional whiff of smoke from discarded cigarettes on the pavement. Dilapidated and graffiti-marked buildings loom all around, crooked and unsteady on their cracked foundations as if they too, were as weary and broken as it's dwellers. It's an unpleasant place to travel to say the least. The bus would have been a safer mode of transportation by far, but this evening there's no choice but to walk home on foot. The boss had once again, assigned a last-minute assignment, resulting in some "involuntary overtime." By the time the work was the completed, the last bus of the day had already departed.
And so, you walk home tonight, feet sore and weary from standing all day greeting customers.
A street sign rises ahead, now within viewing distance. The sign reads: "2nd Stree-." The street post and part of the sign are covered in various stickers and spray paint, with one gentleman's club sticker covering the "t." The sign is a reminder that it's time to turn right into your usual shortcut. Not into the street itself, but in that narrow passageway between the buildings by the intersection. For most it would be common sense to avoid ANY alley in this part of town (but sadly common sense has an tendency to be in low supply, and you are short in stock today).
To add to the already-suspect location information, this alley is famous to the locals as one of the places where the mythical "Lurker" was spotted. Still, you've never been one to take urban legends or superstition seriously. Having taken the path many times, the worst you've witnessed were a few drunks and the occasional homeless huddled under plastic sheets and rain-stained cardboard shelters. So tonight, in this lazy reasoning, you turn into the dark, narrow, and long backstreet.
At first there's only the sound of your own shoes plodding along on the pavement, but then the light "plick, plick noises start. You feel a few drops of starting rain, and groan inwardly as you pull up your hood. The forecast predicted a heavy shower this evening. The sounds of rain and steps fill the alley as you walk on, with a train of steadily moving, overhead clouds heavy with their watery cargo.
Then, there's a new sound that starts echoing behind you in the alley. It's a muted, soft "thump, thump, thump..." like a second pair of footsteps. It's a noise that would cause any solitary walker's stomach to knot up in dread and unease.
You would have REALLY much preferred to avoid any more human interaction today. Could one of the shadier-looking person seen on the street earlier followed you in? Despite a strange reluctance, you turn back over your shoulder cautiously.
But no one's there.
Just the empty space between darkened building walls and cracked pavement. An echo all along, surely.
You shake your head in an attempt to clear your weary brain and start walking forward again. It's been a long day, too long. It's long past time to grab a hearty dinner and down a stiff drink. Nonetheless, the hair-raising feeling of being watched persists. You glance around again. Still nothing.
Pulling out the phone you stare at the phone screen trying to ignore the sensation. The phone illuminates you as you scroll through it and check messages. Looks like they're asking you again if you've read that online story yet-
"CLAAAANG!"
A yelp escapes your throat as you spin around towards the loud noise, nearly dropping your phone. You spot one of the garbage cans lying on the ground, knocked over with odorous trash spilling from it. The trash bin's lid clatters loudly and wobbles around in a spiraling movement for several seconds before finally stilling on the ground.
The silence weighs heavily in the air for what seems like several long moments as your heart races. There's no sign of who, or what, knocked it over. Was it an alley cat, a rodent of unusually large size, or a person?
"Who's there?!"
You call out to the shadows. Your eyes scour the area but to no avail. The answer continues to hide itself in the silent dark. There's nothing but the displaced garbage reeking of spoiled restaurant food, the old brick walls, dusty road, and the murky shadows.
You exhale nervously and remember to breathe again. With a noticeably higher heart rate, you back away and turn forward walking at a brisker pace. It's time to get out of this street.
The rain has increased in it's intensity, with the pavement already stained black from the water droplets. The shadows seem to loom menacingly all around as if there were invisible eyes within. You keep your ears alert for any more strange sounds, but there's nothing but the sounds of your own harried footsteps and continuous rain. As the exit of this streetway draws near, a new uncomfortable realization comes to mind. You recall, while looking around for the cause of the noise earlier, there was a large, obvious, man-sized flicker of movement from the shadows in one specific area off to the side, close to the trash bins.
Yet, you avoided looking at that area. It should be common sense right? Check every potential area, especially the shadows for someone hidden, but you didn't. It's not as if you completely forgot about that shadow. You just didn't want to look there. You wanted to forget it. You didn't want to acknowledge that it existed.
You REALLY didn't want to look in that specific shadow.
Why didn't you look at it?
Was it just fear?
Your mulling concerns are interrupted as you see that you're finally close to the more populated and well-lit next block, almost out of the long street. Your shoulders start to drop and relax in relief, but then there's another interruption. Another glimpse of movement in the corner of your eye.
You freeze in your steps as your breath quickens. You definitely heard the footsteps again behind you again, off to the side.
But almost as the sound started, it stops. There's nothing but the splattering of rain, and the faint hum from cars driving on the street outside the alley. Yet again, you feel it at that moment. You can feel that something is there in the alley with you. But there is that strange, almost unnatural urge to NOT LOOK.
Something snaps within you. Annoyance starts to rise in place of fear, subduing any common-sense urge to run away. It's an slow-burning rage from a long work day with aggravating customers and coworkers. It's a deep regret from reading that creepy-pasta story.. And now, it's a boiling frustration directed at yourself for even thinking about that damn myth in this moment!
You've decided. You're going to look THERE, here and now, and prove to yourself that it's in your head. It's merely your mind playing tricks. Now, just take one breath in and out. Just turn around and and make yourself look at it and confront it.
You brace yourself, decisively spin around, and you see-!
-
Nothing.
Just.
Nothing.
Nothing save for the empty brick walls and a nearby lamp light buzzing and flickering. The few other lights further back down in the alley also flicker with the faint buzzing hum of the electricity cutting in and out. A wet rain puddle nearby beneath catches the shimmering of the light, causing the shadows to dance and move. This must have been the cause for the flickering movement in the corner of your eye.
"Ha.. hahh, haha..." You breathlessly laugh at yourself, bending over to catch your breath and looking at the ground. It was just nothing. Just an overactive imagination once again. "Next time they try to share a scary story, just say no," you silently promise yourself.
But wait. What's this? You squint and focus on the ground in front of you. What's that wet mark by the puddle? You were certain it wasn't there just a moment ago. Curious, you take a couple, hesitant steps closer. It's distinctly shaped. Shaped like... a footprint, but strange. A person's boot or foot print?
No... it's not. It's not a boot print either.
It's more organic, like a bare footprint. It's too big for a dog's print, and not the right shape for it either. Moreover, it's certainly not a human footprint. And it's the size of a man's yet. Your stomach clenches and knots at the sight of it. You suddenly realize that the light in this moment has ceased it's flickering, staying stable long enough now for you to see the shape on the ground clearly. All of the shadows around you are still, except for one. There's one shadow that that's still moving.
It's moving against the light, shifting and and turning away into the dark of the alley, trying to merge and hide in the other shadows.
You turn around. Your eyes widen as you see-!
_!
-!
An involuntary scream bellows from your lungs!
You turn around to run away but slip on the wet asphalt and fall, skinning your hands and knees. Panic takes over as you scramble back up with clawing hands and thrashing legs rushing to carry you to safety! Your head burns with a sharp pain and you taste something bitter and coppery. It's the taste of blood running down your face.
Did it grab you? Or did you hit your head on the pavement while scrambling away?
You're not sure which is which, but right now there's only one thing on your mind. Escape!
You explode out of the alley into the next street, startling nearby pigeons and pedestrians. The nearby onlookers gaze with shock at your panicked, bloody expression and quickly move out of the way to avoid an impact. Close by, an old merchant sitting at the newspaper stand lets out a short "tsk," seemingly unperturbed by your alarming appearance, and resumes reading the new tabloid editions.
After this, it's all a blur. You're lucky to be alive, you're certain. Your fear-ridden brain struggles to think straight and recall what exactly happened but you promise yourself one thing. You are NEVER going down that street again!!
As you disappear down the street out of view, a couple of curious passerbys look back into the dark street to see what caused your panic.
They look back in curiosity, but all they can see are dim flickering street lights, brick walls, and a few rain puddles. The rain has fully stopped and there's no one in sight.
All the while, without fully realizing it, they both avoid glancing at one specific shadowy corner. One of them jokingly whispers to the other that maybe it was the "Lurker." The other remarks that it was that same rumored alley from the legend as well. They tease one another about going in to look for it, but then, in that moment, they both remember the look of terror written all over your face as you ran out, as well as your bloody appearance. They look at the alley again, beginning to feel uneasy if they looked at the shadows too long. Their smiles slowly slip off their faces, their expressions no longer certain.
With a shudder, the two move away in unison from the place as quickly as possible, leaving the mysterious alley and its monstrous lurker behind.
FIN