The air was frigid, biting into my skin, and my fingers struggled to grip my phone as I waited in the dimly lit street. We had agreed to meet at 6, but the clock now read midnight, and the city around me felt more desolate with every passing moment.
The rain began to fall steadily, its icy droplets mingling with the cool breeze, teasing the onset of winter as it threatened to turn into snow. I decided to take a narrow back street, hoping to reach the warmth of my apartment sooner. After living in New York for twelve years, mostly under the watchful roof of my parents, I finally had a taste of independence from my recent promotion at work—a small victory I thought would lead me to my own sanctuary.
It had felt like I had finally carved out my place in this harsh, unyielding world, but perhaps that was merely an illusion.
Suddenly, I caught sight of a figure limping toward me, a shuffling silhouette against the gray backdrop—likely just another homeless man seeking shelter from the chill.
As he approached, an unsettling prickling sensation crept over me, sending goosebumps racing down my arms. Something about him felt disturbingly out of place; he resembled one of those news reports I had heard, about new terrorists allegedly possessing strange abilities that left chaos in their wake.
Just as I considered fleeing, the man appeared right beside me, his hand hovering ominously just above my heart. "You'll have to work," he rasped, his voice hoarse and jagged, as if he had been screaming into the void.
As his palm descended, a peculiar warmth enveloped me, but like all things in this world, it quickly became an unbearable, searing sensation. My legs buckled beneath me, and I crumpled to the icy pavement. "Hold still; this will be over very soon," he murmured, dropping beside me and flipping me over with a strength that felt unnatural. I flailed to escape, but his arm pinned me down, an unyielding force that left me powerless.
The world around me darkened, the edges of my vision fading into nothingness. Despite my desperate struggle to remain conscious, the fight was futile. I felt utterly defeated, knowing this man held my fate in his hands.
Then, an abyss of pure darkness consumed me. I felt as if I were drifting down a river of shadows. Although I had never embraced religion, in that moment of uncertainty, I pondered the possibility of an afterlife. But just as quickly as that fleeting comfort arrived, it was violently snatched away.
When I finally opened my eyes, the world was shrouded in pitch blackness. Something heavy pressed over my eyes, and as I attempted to move, I realized I was trapped, unable to stir or scream