Hallucinating Fish / Writings / Blood and Water

Blood and Water

Cole felt that something was off; there was some strange presence near him. Uneasy, Cole brought his head back down, opening his eyes and looking around. He saw someone. It seemed as if they were staring daggers into him, even though he couldn’t see their eyes. He was probably just overreacting. Being outside this late at night in the pouring rain doesn’t automatically make someone suspicious. Cole was out there, too, and he wasn’t a dangerous person, so why should he just assume that this other person is?

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Slipping on his beat-up sneakers and running out the door, Cole yelled goodbyes to his friends inside. As Cole left the front doorstep, raindrops hit the top of his head, seeping through his hair and stinging as they dripped into his eyes. Zipping his jacket up to his nose, Cole pulled the hood over his bangs. Cole ran down the dim street, sneakers squeaking against the pavement.

Cole’s eyes strained to see the road through the late evening dusk, being aided by the few automatic lights that flipped on and off as he zipped by. A few blocks later, Cole’s lungs burned from the icy air. The warm lights whipped past Cole as his run slowed to a jog, gradually easing to a stop for him to catch his breath. Cole unzipped his coat down to his chin, letting his hot breath puff out in front of him. Tilting his head back, Cole let the rain hit his face and soak into his hair, turning it a dark amber. It cooled his red cheeks and settled his breath.

Suddenly, Cole felt that something was off; there was some strange presence near him. Uneasy, Cole brought his head back down, opening his eyes and looking around. He saw someone. They couldn’t have been more than 30 feet away on the sidewalk, and Cole couldn’t see their face properly through the pouring rain, but he felt that there was something amiss about them. It seemed as if they were staring daggers into him, even though he couldn’t see their eyes. He was probably just overreacting. Being outside this late at night in the pouring rain doesn’t automatically make someone suspicious. Cole was out there, too, and he wasn’t a dangerous person, so why should he just assume that this other person is?

Squeezing his eyes shut, shaking the anxieties from his head, Cole started walking again, looking back to the mysterious person. Their gaze followed. Cole whipped his head back to face forward as his pace quickened. After a few more steps, Cole snuck another peak behind his back. Still watching him. Jogging now, Cole could feel their gaze burning through the back of his head. He felt ridiculous. This person was standing perfectly still, now much farther than before, and all they were doing was looking at him. Cole looked behind him one more time, and they were now right behind him. His mind froze. What? Last time Cole looked, they were over 50 feet away, with their shoes fixed on the sidewalk. Legs moving faster than his mind, Cole attempted to pick up into a sprint, and his sneakers flew out from under him. Cole hit the asphalt with a wet thud, scraping the fabric from the knees of his pants and elbows of his hoodie, the rain diluting the small amount of blood seeping from his wounds.

Still reeling from the impact, Cole felt a heavy weight on top of him. It was the mysterious person. They were straddling him, pushing the remaining wind from his lungs that hadn’t already been knocked out when he hit the ground. Cole tried struggling, using his arms to push them off him. It was no use; they had some inhumane strength over him. They gripped one of Cole’s forearms, rolled his sleeve down to the elbow, and sunk their teeth into the damp flesh of his arm.

Cole had never been bitten before, had no siblings or pets to get him used to the feeling, but he never could have imagined that it would hurt this badly. Cole could feel his nerve-endings screaming. For a moment he thought that he could hear them as well, before realizing he was just hearing the noise from his own throat. Cole tried prying his arm from their mouth, but it only caused them to clamp down even harder, like a dog unwilling to let go of their new chew toy. Tears welled up in his eyes, dripping down his hot cheeks, into his screaming mouth. Cole’s vision began to fill with inky spots; his eyes buzzed. The spots got bigger and bigger until they took up his entire view. Sounds of raindrops pattering slowly faded away into nothingness.