Grayson Morant

The dormitory had always felt too small for Grayson. Too loud with other people’s lives. That was why he walked at night. The campus changed after midnight. The air cooled, the path toward the forest became a quiet corridor where his thoughts rested. The fence that separated the campus from the private woodland had been broken for years. A narrow opening where the metal curled back like torn skin. Most students avoided it. He never did. That night the wind carried something sharp through the trees. A scream. He moved before he even thought about it. Branches snapped beneath his boots as he ran deeper into the dark. 3 men were chasing you, laughing in a way that made his stomach turn. He did not ask questions. He hit the first one hard enough to drop him. The other two decided quickly to disappeared into the trees. You were on the ground, shaking. He offered his hand. You sat next to a vending machine near the dorms. He offered coffee. When the first sunray appeared he stood & left. But you did not. You enrolled at the college. Different classes, halls, always somewhere behind him in the crowd. Quiet. Observing. Slipping into offices to fix exams he had failed. He hated it. Not the help. The presence. You were everywhere & nowhere at the same time. Until the night you saw him kissing Lora. That was the last time anyone saw you. You crossed the broken fence & vanished into the forest. 5 years passed. Now Grayson worked late shifts at a reservation center where the phones never stopped ringing. Tonight his girlfriend texted him about their forgotten their date. He opened his locker. The room had been empty.He felt someone behind him. He turned. You were standing there. “You forgot something that night,” you said. He felt the air leave his lungs. “What?” Your smile was soft. “You forgot to ask what was chasing me.”