He had to keep running, running. Keep going. He hadn't meant it. he didn't want to be greedy. He needed the money, he had to have it. He didn't do it on purpose, how was he to know? Just keep on running. Don't stop. Keep going. He had to keep pushing on. He couldn't let it catch up. He had to get home, had to. He didn't know what he'd do when he got there but he had to go somewhere to think. Contemplate on what he had just seen. He could think about what he'd done. How he was going to fix things, make them better. Yes, he'd think about things. He could fix it, he knew he could. Keep running. Don't stop. Keep going.
At this time of night Leicester City Centre was empty. He looked at the clock tower and saw that it was almost 4am. The tall structured building looked so daunting at this time of night and you wouldn't have guessed that in a few hours this place would be swarming with people.
Steven Hudson had been running for almost two hours and dared not stop. He couldn't tell anyone what he had found. No one.
His flat was right around the corner, he pulled out his key and arrived at the door. He quickly unlocked the it, went in and slammed it shut behind him. He then bolted up all the locks on the door and windows and began moving all the furniture in front of the door. The settee, table and set of chairs which were in the corner of the small flat. Hudson had left the radio on. He could hear the song which was on but wasn't paying it any particular attention.

"Don't look back in anger
I heard you say"

He went into the bathroom and splashed his face. The cool water seemed pleasant against his warm skin. He could feel his face pulsating up and down, just as his heart was.
He glared into the mirror and saw twigs and leaves all over him. In his hair, on his jacket even some in his mouth but he hadn't felt it. Whilst running home the only thing he had felt was fear. Nothing else.
He hastily brushed off all the twigs from his hair, jacket and face and went back into the main room. He then proceeded to move the bed towards the door and lay upon it. That should hold it. He had no idea what he was dealing with. He could only guess.
He got up and went to the drinking cabinet and pulled out a bottle of whiskey and a glass and sat back on the bed.
The flat was a mess though it seemed irrelevant at this point. The few clothes that Hudson owned were scattered all over the floor. An ashtray had fallen over and cigarette butts littered the carpet.
He had to think. He unscrewed the cap on the bottle and poured himself a large measure of the amber liquid. The radio continued to sound out his thoughts

"Take me to the place where you go
Where nobody knows"

"Believe me mate you wouldn't want to go there" he said in a quiet voice.
He sipped slowly and began juggling the glass between his hands. He had to think of his next move. What was he to do know? He had very little money in the bank. Only around a grand, that wouldn't last him long.
Hudson had worked for a textiles company for four years and had been made redundant six months ago. Since then he had been drinking excessive amounts of alcohol and started smoking again. He had blamed the redundancy on his loved ones and two weeks ago his wife had left him with their little son Jamie. Three years of marriage, flushed down the toilet. His wife had said he was no longer the man she had married and couldn't take it anymore. He had been such a rational man until he lost his job, she was supposed to stand by him but she had left. Just like that. Then again he knew that she was a very impatient woman. He still thought about them. He had then moved out of the two bedroomed flat and got a much smaller one.
He looked a lot older than his twenty four years and a lot of his friends had commented that he acted a lot older. Hudson had always been more mature and had been known not to make a drama out of a crisis. The song was beginning to end.

"But don't look back in anger, don't look back in anger
I heard you saaay"
That's what he needed now. Rational thinking. He still couldn't believe what he had seen. It was just unbelievable. How could he think rationally at a time like this. There wasn't anything rational about what he had just saw. He didn't know what he was dealing with. He poured himself another large measure of whiskey and this time drank it in one gulp. He had to decide.

Hudson awoke with a start. He looked outside and saw it was daylight. For just one second he forgot what had happened and for that one moment he felt happy. He then looked around him, at the empty whiskey bottle, the arrangement of the furniture and it all came flooding back. He closed his eyes and wept. A single tear ran down his cheek. He had a splitting headache and wished it would go away.
He stared up at the clock and saw it was 2:34am.
Hudson couldn't explain but he felt strange inside. His head seemed to have been filled with all sorts of thoughts and he didn't know what they were. He felt he knew things, things he couldn't possibly know. He suddenly knew what he had to do, he couldn't run away from the thing he saw last night, he knew that, so there was only one thing he could do.
He got dressed quickly, grabbed his keys and headed out of the house. He walked at a brisk speed looking around occasionally, looking for something but he didn't know what.

He made his way to the local library, he didn't know why but something was guiding him. He went inside and walked towards the front desk. It had been years since he had been in the local library.
Hudson had heard that the library had been renovated recently an he looked around him in surprise. The library that had once been a cosy, comfortable place to work in had been revamped. Technology was taking over thought Hudson as he went through the automatic doors. Inside the library was a bright white and Hudson wondered how anyone could relax in an environment like this.
The library didn't have many books and Hudson wondered why they hadn't used the extra funding to but more books instead of wasting money on making the library look better.
He approached the front desk and saw an old woman walk towards him, she had chestnut brown hair and big glasses on. He cheeks were puffed up as if she had a balloon in her mouth.
"Could you please tell me if you have any books on the occult?" Hudson asked as casually as he could.

It saw him, leave. At this time it couldn't do anything, all it could do was watch and wait. When nightfall came, it would thrive. It could see him and it would catch up with him eventually. It couldn't move now but it could still see him, in the back of its mind and it would always see him until he died.

The woman led him to a section at the back of the library after initially staring at Hudson in bewilderment. Hudson looked as though he had just arrived from some paranormal dimension.
His hair was waving in all directions and his teeth hadn't been brushed, the were bright yellow. He had a stubble which made him look very mysterious and he was barely dressed. He was wearing a coat over a muddy T-shirt and his trousers were barely held up. His shoes were untied and he wasn't wearing any socks.
They arrived at the section Hudson wanted and she began glancing at some of the books. The library was slightly darker at this section of the building and Hudson wondered whether they had deliberately done this to scare people while they read the books.
"There's some more books in the reference section but you can't borrow them." she said politely
"I know that." Hudson said, maybe a bit too vehemently.
The lady was obviously surprised at the reply and bluntly said "I'll be at the front desk if you need anymore help."
Hudson realised he had snapped without reason but he didn't care, he had other things to worry about. He quickly scanned the section and saw that the books he needed weren't there. He moved towards the reference section. He looked around and saw the type of books he wanted. He opened one, showing all sorts of wards and signs that could help him. He took four books off the shelf and walked towards the exit.
Hudson looked around, there was one librarian at the desk and she was busy with a young girl looking for books on euthanasia. Hudson knew that the reference books would set off the alarm. He quickly ran straight out of the door, the alarm blared as he ran past. The librarians quickly ran out of the exit but Hudson was long gone. He looked back and saw the librarians at the front desk, shouting at him to return. He knew he wouldn't stop until he was home.

The sun was setting and Hudson had got everything in place. He had placed all the wards on the doors and windows. Earlier he had bought some DIY materials from the local hardware shop and has boarded up the windows and doors. Now all he could do was wait.
He had also taken a trip into town and visited the local gun shop, he had a licence and had wanted to buy a gun a few years ago but his wife had stopped saying she didn't want a gun in the house. He had purchased a Smith and Wesson revolver, he didn't know whether or not it would work but he had to try.
Hudson figured that he had enough protection to last him a while. He didn't know how long the food he'd bought earlier would last but he had stocked up well.
He had bought plenty of canned food and bottled water. He had also got a lot of frozen food, foods which didn't go off after a while. More importantly to Hudson he had bought a few bottles of whiskey. At the moment it was the only thing that was bringing him comfort. He had already drank half a bottle. He felt dizzy but something inside him was keeping him awake. Something that wouldn't let him sleep. Fear? He didn't know what it was but it was telling him what to do and Hudson wasn't about to ignore it.
Who would've thought it would come to this? Hudson thought. Here he was, all the windows and doors boarded up, the furniture re-arranged and enough food to keep him going for a while. He didn't even have a phone. He was trapped. He hated himself. Hated himself for being so scared. He should go outside and fight that thing, but he knew in his heart he couldn't.

It could feel the power, it could feel it coming. It would be full soon. As dark approached it grew more powerful by the second. Soon it would strike.

Hudson could feel something happening but he didn't know what. His body began to tremble. He felt pain in the pit of his stomach and he could distinctly here voices in his head. He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth. Suddenly he began chanting, something inside him was telling him what to say. The words which were coming out were unknown to him, in a different language. He began chanting louder and louder. The wind outside was blowing hard, the sound which came from it sounded like a little girl crying out. The chanting continued

That was really scary, wasn't it!

Copyright Rupinder Bedi 1997