I took the bus to school, and my house was half an hour away at the very minimum. I tended to sit in the back, as no one I knew too well was there with me on the bus. Jimmy lived close enough to walk back home, and Charlie was on a different bus route. They were my only close friends, so I was alone for the ride home.
The other seats near mine were occupied by who I’d guess you’d call ‘the cool kids’ though I think I might’ve thought that about them just because they were a year ahead of me. They never bullied me or anything, if anything they were happy to ignore me and I kind of preferred it that way. I sort of blended right into the bus seats.
This was the age before electronics were widely available, so I’d spend the time looking out of the window. Of course, we followed basically the same route every single day so this got boring as you might imagine. I would try to make this a little more interesting. I imagined a figure following the bus as it drove, the figure would climb every tree and dodge any face on the way. When I got a bit older I found out that this wasn’t something only I did, but by then I no longer relied on that tactic as it was. I had moved to a different school where I could easily walk, and I never had a habit of seeing the figure while I was anywhere other than a school bus.
It’s been over two decades since that time, and it would’ve remained as nothing more than a fond memory.
That is until, this past week. I thought I was just seeing things, but while I was driving to work, I caught something in the rear view mirror. It was just a flash of total blackness, so for a moment I thought it was just a cloud blocking the sun or something, but it kept happening. And the thing was that it wasn’t exactly very clear as to what it was- I could just make it out of the corner of my eye. I couldn’t see it directly however unless I stopped driving. I had convinced myself it was a trick of the light so I didn’t bother with it initially.
I went about my job as usual and didn’t notice the strange shadow this time while driving home. However, that was probably just because I was distracted and eager to go home.
The next day, the same thing happened. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with my mirror of all things.
The day after, I noticed it more clearly. There was a shadow- a shape, running just behind my car. There was no way for me to have been imagining it given how much clearer I could see it.
Alarmed, I parked the car at a nearby gas station and got out, with a finger on my phone to call the police. But, I couldn’t see anyone anymore. Shaking my head and wondering if I had gone crazy, I got back inside the car and went on my way.
Only to see it again.
I tried getting a better view of whatever it was- it just seemed like a shadow from this distance, but that nearly caused me to swerve off the road. I tried to put it out of my mind, but my eyes kept drifting to the sight of that…. whatever it was!
Once I got to work, again, I didn’t see that thing anymore. Although I had no proof of this, it felt as if it was… trying to catch up to me in some way.
As the days rolled by it became abundantly clear that I wasn’t having some sort of episode or just imagining it- and another thing, whatever it was, it got closer and closer every single time I went for a ride.
After a few days I’d had enough and I asked my wife to drive me to work in her car. I thought this might fix the issue, but sure enough, I saw it trailing behind us. When I did I nearly jumped out of my seat, getting an alarmed look from my wife. I just pointed at the thing and said, “Do you see that?”
“See what?”
“That weird… dark, black thing,” I said.
She frowned as she glanced where I was pointing. At this distance, if she could see it, there was no way that she wouldn’t be able to spot it. “No… are you feeling okay? You look kind of pale.”
I took the bus back home that evening, and sure enough, it was there. The same weird figure, though it was closer than ever, just barely trailing behind my window. I talked to the other people on the bus and tried to see if I could get them to spot it in a roundabout way. No luck.
It’s been three days since then, and I haven’t gone to work. Or to the store or anywhere that would need a car or bus. I don’t even want to leave the house anymore. I’ve gotten away with it until now by saying that I’m sick but… that isn’t going to buy me anymore time. I’m sure my wife’s already starting to notice that something is up.
What frightens me is that the last time I saw it, while I was on that bus, it was close enough for me to make out something resembling a face. What I saw was a portrait of immense sorrow and misery.
I know this sounds crazy, but I think that in some way, that thing is angry at me. Angry that it’s being forced to chase after me. I’ve done some reading and according to some people, you can project what you’re thinking into reality- or at least some people can. Is that it? Is he angry because I made him run behind me pointlessly all these years? Whether that’s true or not, I’m not going to risk it. And of course, with it getting closer and closer to whatever vehicle I’m in with every single ride, I can’t help but think that the day when it finally catches up to me isn’t very far off.
I have no idea if it means that it really is all in my head or not, but I’m not taking any chances.
If any of you have any information on how to deal with this kind of thing or any knowledge as to what it even is, please let me know. The clock is ticking, and I don’t think I can just not use a vehicle the rest of my life.