So strange

"Am sorry. You will have to forgive me. I don't think that I know you", At my words he finally looked at me again. "Oh! It has been years so l understand, after all we were children the last time we saw each other", He lifted up his arm and pointed at the faded line green house across the street.

"I live across the street. We played together as children when you came in the summer, I'm anyway Richard", He murmured and at this words, the blonde hair and the name finally rung a bell in the back of my head. Memories quickly flashed behind my eyes of playing in the garden with a little boy in the dark.

He always came out to play right before it was time for me to go to bed. I recalled Aunt Matilda warning me about playing with him in the dark. "Oh! Yeah Richard, l do remember you", l smiled. So, he wasn't a complete stranger. Apparently we were friends while still young. "Great! I'm so happy that you remember, we used to have a lot of fun playing in this garden", He chuckled turning around to survey the front lawn as if seeing us there as we were years ago, playing and laughing even now.

"Sorry that I don't remember much", l offered after a moment of silence. "Oh! no worries l don't think that your aunt liked me all that much but we now grown up", His laugh that followed was hollow and it made me feel uneasy. Things became worse when my stomach all of the sudden growled, loudly and abnoxiously. I was practically starving. I grimaced a bit embarrassed.

"Oh! If you were in the middle of dinner, I'm sorry to have interrupted", His hands flew up, waving nervously. "No there's nothing to eat here", The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could even think about them. "Well if that's the case there's a place around the corner of the main Street that makes a killer panini if you up for a bite, let's go",. It was an innocent enough offer.

Well I wanted to go and have something to eat but I was feeling unsettled. I didn't know why I was feeling like that. He seemed to be genuine but still something was fishy. Something was wrong but per now my focus was on grabbing dinner. "Actually that sounds good, thanks for the offer, let me just grab my things real quick", 

"Awesome", He grinned widely. It had to be a trick of the light but l think his teeth looked sharp. After blinking they we're normal again. Telling myself that it was all surreal, l grabbed my wallet and keys from the bench in the foyer while Richard waited on the porch. He could have stepped inside since I left the door wide open but I think he was being polite.

He briefly stepped away as I locked up the front door. However I quickly noticed how close he stood more nearer to me as the lock clicked into place. A shiver i'mmediately ran down my spine but then the hunger pangs in my stomach were stronger than my sense of self preservation.

"Did he just sniff me?", I inwardly asked myself as I turned my head to him. "Let's go", He smiled. I played it cool and smiled back. We turned to the street and I shook my head again. Richard wasn't standing nearer to me so l must be imagining things. He was standing at a respectable distance on the walk to the downtown.

"So tell me what have you been up to for these fifteen years", He started as he shoved his hands in his hoodie pockets as we walked down the sidewalk. "Wow. Has it been really that long?", I balked to think that it had been so many years since I spent quality time in Willow Wood.

"I think so , l was probably nine or ten the last time l saw you if I'm remembering right", He shrugged his shoulders but he went on with talking. "Your aunt caught us playing in the front yard just after sun down and she got upset then shooed me away", He said chuckling. "Wow! I don't remember that all , it has been a long time and I haven't been really up for so long, I did some sports hated them then went for photography ,what about you ?", 

"College? Wow! I have been just hanging around town and working, nothing much", His conversation was vague and I got the sense that he was disinterested in how my life had gone. A frown twitched on my face but thankfully downtown came into view. He pointed out at a small cafe pushed into the corner of the line of building 

 Main Street was around the corner and it didn't go unnoticed by me that the town was still eerily quiet. No body was moving around. It was alao slowly darkening. Heavy night fall was on the horizon and wind was blowing around us. The sudden rush of frosty night air made the airs rise up on the back of my neck and ny stomach to fell to my feet.

I didn't know what the hell was happening to me but the disturbing sensations rolling through my body distracted me and my boot ended up missing the curb entirely as I walked. Instead of walking on the sidewalk with Richard, my ankle hit the concrete and twisted. Gravel gave way under as my body fall down.

My hands flew out to catch me but it was to late, I slammed into the cobblestone street. A grunt escaped out of my mouth as my face slammed into the stone. A pointed rock in the street scratched up the side of my wrist then I tasted blood in my mouth. The pain of falling knocked the wind out of my lungs.. 

Almost instantly the sting in my lip and wrist burnt to life. An agonized groan escaped free as my shaky arms attempted to push my body up. I felt heavy as my weakened arma shook from the effort. "Ouch!", I grumbled when l finally sat up. Pulling down the sleeve of my Metallica hoodie, l saw the fresh gash on my arm weeping tears of crimson.

It accompanied the taste of cobber in my mouth from my busted lip. "Why.. why does it smell like that?", Richard's voice was far away. He was sniffing around in the air. "What do you mean?", A gasp accompanied my question when my eyes locked up with those of Richard. 

"His eyes were strange.....they were", Before I could notice the color of his eyes, just like a predator he was shockingly in front of me.