It was midnight. The city was quiet. Most people were asleep, and the streets were empty. A cold wind moved through the dark alleys, carrying pieces of paper across the road.
A young woman was walking alone. She wore a black coat and kept her hands in her pockets. Her footsteps echoed in the silence.
After a few minutes, she felt something strange.
Someone was behind her.
She glanced over her shoulder.
A man was walking about twenty meters away. His face was hidden under a dark hood, and his hands were in his pockets. He walked slowly but never stopped.
The woman looked forward and continued walking.
Maybe it was nothing.
But after a few minutes, she turned right into another street.
The man turned right too.
A chill ran down her spine.
She crossed the road.
The man crossed the road.
She walked faster.
So did he.
Now she knew.
He was following her.
Her heart began to beat faster.
She took another turn, then another. She entered different streets and even walked around a small block. Each time she looked back, the man was still there.
Always watching.
Always following.
The woman tried not to panic.
She pulled out her phone, but there was no signal.
The streets seemed emptier than before.
The man was getting closer.
Ten meters.
Eight meters.
Six.
The woman suddenly started running.
Her footsteps pounded against the pavement.
She ran through the dark streets, turning corners without thinking.
Behind her, she could hear the man’s footsteps.
He was running too.
The chase continued for several minutes.
Finally, she turned into a narrow alley.
Then her heart sank.
It was a dead end.
Tall brick walls surrounded her.
There was nowhere to go.
The woman stopped and looked around desperately.
No doors.
No gates.
No escape.
The footsteps behind her grew louder.
Slowly, the man entered the alley.
He smiled beneath his hood.
The woman backed against the wall.
The man walked closer and closer.
His eyes gleamed in the darkness.
“There is no way now,” he said.
His voice was low and cold.
“You are mine.”
The woman said nothing.
She simply stood there with her head lowered.
The man continued approaching.
Five meters.
Four.
Three.
Two.
Still, she did not move.
Then something happened.
A strange sound echoed through the alley.
A laugh.
At first it was soft.
Then it became louder.
And louder.
And louder.
The woman was laughing.
The man stopped.
The laughter did not sound normal.
It sounded wrong.
Like many voices laughing together.
The sound filled the entire alley.
The man’s smile disappeared.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked.
The woman did not answer.
She only laughed harder.
The man’s confidence vanished.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
Then he noticed something moving.
The shadow beneath the woman’s feet.
It was growing.
Stretching.
Crawling up her legs like living black smoke.
The laughter continued.
The woman slowly raised her head.
The man stepped back.
“What… what are you?” he whispered.
The shadow covered her entire body.
Then she began to grow.
Taller.
Bigger.
Larger than any human should be.
Her head nearly touched the top of the alley walls.
The air became colder.
The man’s legs trembled.
The woman turned toward him.
Or what used to be a woman.
Two enormous red eyes glowed in the darkness.
She had no nose.
No ears.
Only a gigantic mouth stretching across her face.
The mouth slowly opened.
Inside were hundreds of sharp teeth.
Each one looked like a knife.
The creature smiled.
The man stumbled backward.
His body shook with terror.
“Please…” he whispered.
But it was too late.
The creature lifted her hands.
Her fingers stretched into long black claws, curved like the claws of a wolf.
The alley seemed to darken around her.
The red eyes burned brighter.
Then she moved.
Faster than the human eye could follow.
The man screamed.
A horrible scream.
It echoed through the city streets.
People sleeping in nearby buildings woke up and looked from their windows.
But by the time they looked outside, everything was silent again.
The alley was empty.
No woman.
No creature.
No man.
Nothing.
Only a dark stain on the pavement.
The man had simply vanished.
Any similarity to real people, living or dead, is purely accidental. This story is entirely fictional.
Writer : Alireza Hazareh
Before You Leave… Read This: The Nightmare That Never Ends
