It was a normal Tuesday, the first day of October. Orange, black, and cobwebs had started to creep into display windows. I kicked a piece of broken asphalt in front of me as I walked, watching the traffic go by. It began to clear up as the sidewalk meandered closer to the edge of town and the bay. Pumpkin spice and coffee scents wafted out of every cafe I passed, making my stomach rumble. Havenβt eaten since breakfast. One sandwich and a latte later, I was back on the sidewalk, a cup still in my hand. The streetlights were starting to flicker on when I made it to the alleyway. Right now, spray paint was much better than coffee. I flicked open two cans and went to work. An idea had been floating around in my mind for weeks, but Iβd been too busy to try it. For a long while, the only sounds I could hear were the soothing hiss of the paint, the thumping bass from my headphones, and the distant roar of traffic. Nothing else mattered. The stress of the past week slowly disappeared until the painting was finished. A dark wolf stood guard over the alleyway now, electric blue skeleton shining through its skin. Two slanted neon eyes looked out of the sockets in its skull. I stuck my mask in my pocket, grinning. One of the best yet. The spray paint disappeared into my bag. The city came to life in the growing dark, lights flashing, music blaring out of doorways. From a bench, I could barely make out the hulking shadow of Alcatraz outlined in the sunset. I snapped a quick picture of it and kept walking.
For a while, several of the streetlights had been out on my street. No matter how many times someone called about it, the repairmen kept forgetting to come fix them. I hadnβt even made it halfway down the block when another one flickered and died. Great. Down the street, something ran across the road. Probably a stray dog or cat. I kept walking, but the memory played over and over again in my mind. The silhouette of whatever it was hadnβt been completely solid. Little cracks of light had gotten through. Not normal. But itβs gone now. Just forget about it. Another streetlight flickered out. My heart picked up the pace a little, bringing my feet with it. As I passed someoneβs front porch, two eyes appeared out of the shadows beside it, watching me. They were drilling into the back of my neck even after I turned around. The next time I looked back, nothing was there. Another streetlight went out. My sneakers slapped the pavement, faster now. I had to get home. Another pair of eyes blinked at me from under a car, then vanished, reappearing in the shadow of a garbage can ahead of me. Iβd have to go past it to get to my apartment. The eyes blinked again, acknowledging my dilemma. Another streetlight went out. Only a few were left. Why did everyone have to keep their curtains closed tonight? More eyes were appearing everywhere I looked. In trees, peering out of garbage cans, in storm drains, staying in the shadows wherever they moved. Wait. I rushed over to one of the remaining streetlights just a few doors down from my apartment, pulling out my pocket knife when I had my back to the lamp post. Light is safe. With my other hand, I fumbled in my pocket for my keys. They werenβt in my pocket or my sweatshirt. I even checked my backpack. Where are they? Across the street, two more street lights went out. Only two were left, mine and one diagonal from me. The eyes came out of their hiding places and drifted out into the street. A memory flashed through my mind, one of catching fireflies somewhere in the country one summer. Iβd never had such an unpleasant sense of deja vu in my life.
They formed a loose line, stopping just where the orange glow of the street lights would have touched them. Something stepped into the lonely puddle of light across from me. It tucked its tail around its feet, baring its teeth in a macabre smile. Clenched between them were my keys. It looked me right in the eye and stood up, an electric blue skeleton glowing through its ragged skin. The second to last streetlight went out.
The creature began to pace closer in the dark, my keys jingling in time to the tick of its claws on concrete. Its bones had stopped glowing, but not its eyes. A faint whispering started. I could barely make it out.
Manslaughter, assault, robbery, falsely accused, assassination, terrorism, falsely accused.
The list of crimes continued, growing louder and louder until all I could hear were two words chanted over and over. Falsely accused. Falsely accused. Falsely accused. FALSELY ACCUSED. Eyes were circled all around me now, glaring as if I was to blame. A glowing blue skeleton shone out of the dark as a lone creature stepped forward into the orange spotlight. It still had my keys. I tried to lean as far back into the lamp post as I could, but there was no use. It kept coming until I could almost reach out and touch it. Under its bright yellow eyes, its jagged teeth were made of scrap metal. The creature opened its mouth, speaking in a gravelly voice.
You can imprison us. You can abandon our grave. But we will never forget.
The last streetlight went out.
Author Notes: hey there! i love writing my stories, and i'm always trying to make them better. if you could take a second to leave some constructive feedback, that would be great.
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