I live in a big city, high rise buildings block out the sun from almost every direction, because of this I like to say I live in the ‘land of dark’; it’s a bit hyperbolic, though, when the night arrives we are practically left in pitch darkness. Although the street lights do a fair job at illuminating our pathways, like one might expect nefarious things happen in the emptiness of the dark, sometimes it’s a robbery and then again sometimes it’s much worse. The last thing I’ve ever wanted to do is get caught up in a situation that was none of my business, so I’ve learned to ignore my surroundings when it comes to people, which is an odd feeling; since I walk around a city of millions to only feel as if I’m the only one alive. To make matters more dire I don’t have a car, no need for one; everything is pretty much walking distance including my job. I work the graveyard shifts at a gas station and I see the craziest things, Knife stabbing; seen it, shootings; heard it, hell I’ve even seen rats attack one another and for the most part I look away. Life was stale, the stench of violence simmered in the air but it was a smell I’ve grown accustom to, desensitized to all the insanity and I didn’t mind it staying that way, that is; until I saw the man dressed in black.
It was another late night shift, the time seem to be ticking away at even slower pace than usual, I flipped through a magazine uninterested in the world outside; only lifting my eyes occasionally to make sure the person buying alcohol looked old enough. It must of been maybe 2a.m. when two guys walked in arguing with one another, one was saying something about the others girlfriend; I don’t know I wasn’t trying to listen but I didn’t have my ear buds on so a little of the conversation seeped in. I squint my eyes more narrow trying to focus my attention on what I was reading; how I can get ab’s in under six minutes, but that’s when the shouting commenced, the arguing had escalated. I surrendered my solace gripping the store phone up in the air indicating to the men I was phoning for the police, as I held up the earpiece I noticed the strangest silhouette in the corner of the store; a figure of a man. He was huge at least 7ft tall, well, I believe it was a man, I really couldn’t tell since the person was wearing an oversized black trench coat with the collar snapped up towards his fedora hat; it blocking his face, though I could make out what appeared to be his eyes; yellow eyes protruding from the darkness. I don’t even remember him walking into the store, and at first glance you might think his outfit was a bit comical if it weren’t for how enormous the man was. The men’s shouting sort of drifted into obscurity as my gaze remained on the strange figure, I was paralyzed from trepidation to the say the least I felt very an uneasy, especially since it appeared he was staring right back at me.
‘bang’
A thunderous gun shot rang throughout the store snapping me out of my mesmerized daze, quickly I saw one of the men that were arguing frantically running out of the store, I quickly peeked over the counter to see other man laying still on the floor; all while blood steadily cascaded out of his apparent wound. With the phone still in my hand I rang for the police, my heart must of been beating practically a million miles an hour; but then I remembered the man in the corner of the store. I looked up towards he’s direction but he was gone, I passionately searched the aisles for it’s presence but nothing; I even checked the stockroom, he was gone; leaving me angst with pure dread.
Ever since that day I’ve noticed the man dressed in black roaming around our neighborhood, he doesn’t seemed to be following me, rather, he always seems to be in the middle of some atrocious altercation; just watching with those menacing yellow eyes.
I don’t know if anyone else see’s him and I still don’t know if ‘he’ even notice’s me, but I do what I have always done and that is I mind my own business. That tall figure only appears in the shadows, as if allergic to the light, I don’t know where this person came from and I don’t know what it want’s but whatever it is; it has nothing to do with me.
So I carried on like normal, ignoring the world that routinely tried to intervene in my life, my eyes always the same fixated ahead of me one step at a time even as the cloud of darkness hovered above, I purposely walked underneath the street lamps; I knew that was the only way the man dressed in black would not see me. Each early morning walking home was a bit of a journey, people would still be out partying from the night before and sure enough he would be close always watching, relentlessly, endlessly.
For the most part, I got use to seeing him around and it almost made me feel comfortable, it’s an bizarre feeling that I can’t explain it, but I guess it’s like watching a spider in the corner of your room, it’s insidious presence can be a bit alarming but not as frightening when it disappears from view; not knowing here it went; most dreadful thoughts manifest themselves and each dark corner now carries a new meaning of fear. That’s how the man made me feel, as long as I saw him watching from a distance I knew he couldn’t hurt me. Call me naïve or even call me crazy, hell I’ll buy it, because no one never seemed to acknowledge the man; funny enough no one ever really seem to ever acknowledge me.
Coming home from one of my shifts I entered my building as a cold breeze swirled around me, I gripped at my long coat tightly as the warmth from my complex slowly inundated my body. I clicked the elevator button and stood there for several seconds ready to get home and sleep for hours; I was off the next day. That’s when my neighbor Jennifer approached the elevator standing next to me, I got a bit flustered since I had the hugest crush on her; but never had the courage to tell her ‘hi’. She turned to me and offered a polite smile as we both stood there in the lonely lobby early in the morning. I was surprised to see her out this early or I guess you can say late, my mouth gaped a bit open as I tried my best to offer some courteous conversational piece; but as I stumbled over my own thoughts the sound of the elevator chime echoed through out the narrow corridor.
I practically felt like slapping my forehead for forfeiting such a perfect opportunity to talk to her, my eyes dropped in pure defeat as the metal tainted doors slid open.
She casually walked in as I shuffled my feet trying to gather myself as I followed behind her and with my head tilted down is when I saw there was someone already in the elevator, that black trench coat that would slither across the floor. My eyes quickly shift upwards and there he was, lingering in the corner of the lift, the man dressed in black. As usual his collar shifted upwards connecting with his hat only leaving a slit open, enough for me to make out those hideous eyes.
I froze in utter terror as I visibly began to tremble; still not completely in the elevator. That’s when Jennifer looked at me with befuddlement clearing her voice; suggesting to me if I was going to enter or not.
“Uhmm, do you, do you,…not see…” I stuttered.
She looked at me confounded, that’s when I realized she couldn’t see him, maybe no one could. I cautiously stepped in and kept my back to the man dressed in black, I even closed my eyes breathing in slowly now understanding I was losing my mind; I was the only one that could see him. As the elevator slowly climbed up the building I counted the floors in my head as my breathing became more heavy, with each floor my breathing morphed into a dreadful wheezing. I grabbed at my stomach trying to stop the horrid sound that I was making not wanting to scare Jennifer and as I held my breath I realized the wheezing continued; that grotesque sound wasn’t coming from me it was coming from him.
‘ding’
Finally we arrived to our floor by this point I was having a panic attack, as soon as the door’s opened I jumped out startling Jennifer. I leaned my body against the wall as she walked out looking at me with disapproval; any shot of me ever having a conversation with her was now gone. That’s when that horrifying man came out of the elevator, it having to duck it’s head when exiting. I for sure thought this was it, this demon that I only could see was going to attack, enter my mind, destroy me from within; honestly I didn’t know what to expect. I cradled my hands over my head as I shut my eyes tightly, but nothing happened. I opened my eyes to see where the monster went, it was following Jennifer, as she carelessly walked to her apartment; that thing quietly followed and then like magic it dissipated into the darkness of the corridor as she went inside.
It must of taken me another hour to garnish enough courage to enter my place, my eyes constantly shifting around not wanting that man to surprise me. As soon as I got home I fell unto my couch and slept like I hadn’t slept for days.
Waking up I felt a bit dizzy as if I had drank the night before, I did my best to shake off the uneasiness as I prepared myself for a day of doing nothing. That’s when I heard the noises, the sounds that plagued the city I lived in, the ‘land of the dark’ as I called it; it were sounds of arguing. It was coming from Jennifer’s place, I placed my ear up to the wall and soon recognized the other voice, the man she was fighting with was her “on and off” boyfriend; someone I despised. I walked away from the wall ready to put my ear buds on to ignore the chaotic scene when,
‘bang’
a gunshot rung out. The arguing stopped, the screams that vibrated the thin walls of my apartment were no more and I could hear the sounds of ponderous foot steps storming down the hall. I opened my door to only see Jennifer’s boyfriend running away, I turned to Jennifer’s apartment and saw the door was left open, I knew what had happened; a scene all too familiar. I did what I always did I was gonna ignore it, call the police and walk back inside, I’m no hero; I don’t want to risk my life for her but before shutting shutting my door I caught a glimpse of him down the corridor in the shadows; those piercing eyes penetrating through the darkness, that disgusting breathing fluttering through out the halls, he was still there; as if he knew what was going to happen.
I don’t know who the ‘man dressed in black’ is, I don’t even know if he’s even a man, perhaps just an ‘it’ some entity that only appears in a kind of world that we find ourselves; a world of chaos. No, I’m not too sure if he causes these incidents, or he just watches them, but whatever it is I know he will always be around in this land of ours; in this ‘land of the dark’.