Come With Me

I guess I have never admitted what I saw that night. I guess that I'm just trying to deny that I ever saw it. I guess that I guess a lot of stuff, but what I guess is usually totally different to what I actually know.

If I were to tell the police anything I saw, I think they would mark me as a suspect. That's why I'm typing it anonymously. I'm hoping that once I put it into the unknown world of the Internet someone will believe me and find the answers that they were looking for, and I will be able to sleep at night and not have to worry about what I saw, and what happened to those poor, poor people.

It was a cold winter night, early, but due to the time of year, dark. I think it was only about half past eight in the evening, and I was walking along a city centre street on the way back from dinner with one of my friends. Things had been a little awkward at lunch because my friend was uneasy, and I couldn't get out of her why. Apparently she was just feeling 'odd', but after a while of struggling to get conversation out of her, I'd kind of wished she would stop pissing around and just tell me. She never did, and I have never mentioned that night again.

Walking down the bitterly cold street, all I could think about was my nice, warm apartment. There was a strange wind blowing up the usually sheltered high street, and due to the wind chill, my coat wasn't really providing much protection. It hadn't helped that the restaurant had been incredibly warm, either.

The first thing that struck me as strange was the low mist creeping around corners, under cars, through the strange, orange-tinted streets and wrapping around my body. I could see no reason for the fog, but as I walked, the thicker it became. Soon, the whole world looked as though I were viewing it through orange fabric - the streetlamps reflected off of the fog and made everything seem strange, eerie. I just wanted to get home, but for some reason, walking just felt like dragging myself through wet tar. Eventually, I gave up and stopped, glancing up and down the street.

Turning back in front of me, I could just make out two small figures in the fog. With an uncomfortable jolt, I realized that they were children, and I immediately became concerned for their safety.

"Hey," I called, beginning to move towards towards them, terrified that they would be struck down by a car because of the thick mist. "Guys, what're you -"

I broke off at that point, because I became aware of something terrible. There was a presence nearby, and it wasn't a nice one, either. It seemed to glue my tongue to the roof of my mouth and I had the sudden absurd urge to hide underneath a nearby parked car. However, my adult mind rejected the idea and instead, I hunched up against it, subconsciously I guess I was trying to make myself as invisible as possible.

Something was moving through the mist, but I couldn't work out what it was. The mist seemed to move and swirl as though someone was walking through it - its pattern was disturbed in the same way - but whatever it was, was invisible to my eye. It only stopped when it reached the children, and that was when I saw it.

Too tall to be human, the dark, slender figure stretched up to at least ten feet tall. His head was bald and so pale it seemed to emit a silvery glow, and as it turned slightly and I took note of its profile, I realized it was wearing a suit. The sleeves of the jacket reached all the way down to the bony wrists, and its hand - oh God, its hands - protruded cruelly from them. Its fingers were so slender that the knuckles stuck out obviously, and its fingers altogether were twice as long, maybe more, as any full grown male's.

It reached out one of its hands towards the first child, the taller of the two, and without question, she reached and took it. The other child glanced from his friend to the tall man, and then hesitated before taking the other hand. With little more than a blink on my part, all three disappeared.

After I regained my senses, I rushed to the scene, determined to find something - anything - to explain what I had just seen. The mist was lifting rapidly, and by the time I reached the spot where the children had vanished, it had gone completely. I whirled around on the spot, my heart thudding madly, before I reached for my cell phone, aiming to diall 911 with my trembling hand.

Before I had the chance, the mist returned, and again that horrible chill came over me. Somewhere - I'm not sure if it was real or within my own mind - I could hear screaming, hysterical screaming. The screams sounded like those of a terrified child's. It made me feel sick, and if I remember correctly I retched slightly, but I was distracted by the arrival of the tall man.

Now I was viewing him head-on, I realized that his pale, bald head was totally featureless. It was just a blank canvas - no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no ears. Just a pale head. Even though the creature clearly had no eyes, I was overcome with the feeling of being watched by the thing. Not just watched, penetrated by its gaze, for I don't know what else to call it. It was as though it could see into my very mind, and as I stared back and the screams grew louder, I was struck by a memory from my childhood.

Waking up at night ... curtains were open ... didn't like them open ... get Mommy? ... no, it was too late for that ... I don't like empty windows at night ... come on, I'm a big boy now, close them! ... going over to the window ... gripping the curtains ...

A pale faceless head outside the window, a huge hand against it, at least a foot tall ... a strange whispering ..."Come ... with ... me ..."

Screaming for Mommy ... told it was just a dream ...

"It was you," I whispered.

The slender man reached a long, skinny index finger to where his mouth would be, and emitted a strange "Shhh" sound.

It was strangely comforting.