Grace knew the moment she woke up that something terribly bad was going to happen today.
She threw a quick panicked glance over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of the antique grandfather clock sitting at the back of the apartment before sprinting out the door. 9.30am, and ticking. She was going to be so late.
Outside it was devastatingly hot, the sun beating down mercilessly on the waking city. Grace dug into her purse for her sunglasses as she continued her sprint towards the train station.
By the time she stopped at the last crossing before the station, her face was flushed and her forehead was beaded with perspiration. Her shirt was sticking to her back and she could feel a headache slowing making it’s way across her temples.
Grace was desperate to get out of the sun.
Tapping her heels impatiently on the burning pavement, she thought she saw a silhouette sauntering across the road towards her direction. She lifted her sunglasses and squinted. For a moment, she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.
A man was trying to cross the busiest road in the city – at the busiest hour of the day, when the pedestrian light was red. Tired of living, aren’t you? Grace thought. Or just very drunk? She couldn’t help wincing as the sounds of horns blaring and tires screeching filled the air.
The man didn’t stop.
As he neared, Grace couldn’t help noticing something terribly wrong about the man. He was walking with a broken stagger, almost as if the bones in his legs were broken. His arms swung freely around him as he dragged his heavy body across the road. His skin was deathly pale, gray beyond ash, and those eyes – those empty bloodshot eyes that Grace knew would haunt her if she stared at them any longer.
She tore her attention away and shook her head in disgust. What is this lunatic trying to do?
Just as she picked out her cell phone to dial for the police, a loud “thump” made her jump. A Toyota hadn’t been able to stop in time and had slammed onto the man, throwing him at least 3 feet back from the impact. Grace gasped as her fingers started dialing.
The driver, driven with panicked, rushed out of the car to check on the fallen man. By this time, the entire road was jammed with angry drivers and frustration filled the thick air. Grace saw the driver leaning over the man to check if he was conscious.
In a split second, the fallen man had his arms around the driver and was pulling him by the hair towards his face. What followed was a blood-chilling scream as the fallen man sunk his teeth into the driver’s face.
Grace stared at the horror that was played before her.
Screams rung in her ears and terrified footsteps erupted all around her, but Grace couldn’t move a step. She was frozen in shock, the stench of blood immediately slamming her full force in the face. The panic that enveloped her was so raw that she could feel it eating into her.
Grace watched as the man continued to feed off the driver, whom by now was slumped on the road in a pool of his own blood.
Then, the sirens came. Relief flooded her as help arrived. Turning back to the scene where the horror had taken place, she was shocked to realize that the man was gone. For a moment, she panicked.
Suddenly, she felt someone grab her arm. She whirled and found herself staring into those empty, bloodshot eyes…
Her eyelids flew open and Grace could feel her heart slamming against her ribs. Those eyes. Grace willed herself to breath normally as the faint ticking of the clock outside filled silence. What a nightmare.
She pulled herself out of bed and made her way towards the washroom to clean up. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimspe of the old grandfather clock.
9.30am, and ticking.
Shit. She was going to be so damned late!
