One night….

There was darkness all around combined with the chill that follows a hot day. She shivered, her lean body trembling with cold and a sense of fear. Yes, she knew the playground, she used to play there as a child, always besting her friends in soccer but was never allowed to stay past sunset and now she knows why.

The noise of crickets breaking the silence and the creaking of old trees as they swayed in the night air made her heart race. She squinted to see through the darkness only to find more darkness. She thought she heard footsteps nearby but saw no-one. Trees that seem dressed in shadows towered over her.

Then suddenly a figure emerged out of nowhere, tall and muscular, wearing a black trench coat that was almost consumed by the darkness. He took a step forward and then stopped, waiting for the girl to react. He likes a chase, she could sense it. She looked to her left and saw an approaching car far on the highway. This was her only hope to escape. And she took it. As she ran towards the bright light, she tripped and fell to the ground. He roared at the sight and strode briskly bridging the distance that separated them. The car drove past the playground. She looked behind and saw a long, dark shadow nearing her feet. She struggled to get up. Her knee had landed on a rock that tore through her skin in search of blood. Thick and heavy red liquid now covered the previously green grass underneath. She didn’t pay heed to it. It was time to go. She gathered all her energy and with one hand balancing on the ground, she got up.

Swiftly she made her way to the other side of the playground, where she remembered spending her summer swinging under the hot sun. Now that memory has been replaced forever. She picked up a log of wood and hid behind a large tree, anxiously waiting for her pursuer. It was quiet again and the absence of noise could be attributed to the absence of hope. Until……

*RING*

She heard a phone ring in the distance. Rapidly peering all around her, trying to find the direction of the sound, she dropped the log *thud* and made her way past the fog and the mist that accompanied it to finally locate the phone. But before her hands could reach it, she felt the weight of the man’s leg on her calf. She fell down in agonizing pain. The man came up from behind and stood over her. She tried dragging her body towards the phone. He took hold of her leg and dragged her behind. She stretched with all her strength and finally made contact. Pulling the phone close to her, quickly she answered, “hello hello…you have to…..”

“Good morning ma’am this is your 7 A.M wake up call.”

Then she woke up with a gasp.

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