text: **Title - Stranger in the mist** Midnight bells rang. The clocktower stood tall, shining in the moonlight. The night-sky was clear, no clouds in sight, illuminated by a million tiny specks of light. A whispering chilled wind blew though the busy streets of the city. The noise lessened the further she ventured away from the center. Streets once illuminated dimmed as they reduced in numbers. Tall dark buildings popped into sight. Small dark alleyways at every corner bereft of moon and star light. She held strong. Brave as normal. She walked these streets daily following the end of her shift. Her steps silent as always. Her gaze widened, at attention of any danger. Her hand in her pocket, clutching a mace can. Tonight...tonight, felt different though. It thumped at the back of her mind. She reminded herself however that this was but a short trip. She only lived a few minutes from the buzzing city lights. She completed this route daily with little to no harm. The media though. The haunting media. Abduction this, killer that, plagued the networks. Views, she thought always. The more tragic a news piece, the more views. It only widened the fear for her. Her hands cupped the mace tighter at that thought. A street light flickered as she walked by it. A strange pillowey mist hugged the streets. A chill kissed the back of her neck. She stopped right in her tracks. Terror filled her mind. Her legs shaking. Her grasp growing weak. Her teeth clacked. She turned her head to look behind her, expecting her end. She was ready. With a wide swing, weakened grip, a fast momentum, a high pitched scream, she prepared herself to act defensively. Her eyes widened. Nothing. Only a flickering light, shining on a soft river of clouds floating just above the ground level. At speed, however, her mace can flung into the alleyway. Bizarrely, the road looked less illuminated as normal. The tall apartment buildings seemed darker. She momentarily paused. Contemplating its retrieval. Alarm bells rung in her head. She turned around and hastened her retreat to her abode. Unnoticed however, a shadowy figure stood. Watching her for a moment. They stood in the mist, appearing as if they were levitating. With a cold breath, they attempted to say “hold on.” The soundwave whispered onto the mist but fizzle away. She reached her apartment doorstep. The mist stronger than before. The illuminated sky dimmed abnormally. She huffed from the hasty pace. Her alertness was high. Her eyes looked for any sudden movement. She siphoned through her bag. A chime of keys clacker. She became relieved. She hurtled towards the front door. Her foot kicked an object at her door feet. A cling sound echoes in the silence. A mace can sat at her door. She let out another eep sound. Rushed though it and slammed it shut. She was staring through the pane of the door. She was very terrified. She heartbeat raced. Her legs clattered. Her hands shivered and sweated. Her eyes widened as she scanned the road. In the corner of the near alleyway, a dark figure vanished in a poof of smoke. Suddenly the blanket of mist, vanished. An air of calm travelled through her. She collapsed in the corridor inside. The exhaustion and terror dissipated as the rising sun meets the horizon. A yellowish orange hue adorned over the sky. Six AM bells echoed from the distant clocktower.