"Thanks, see you Monday." I got out of my friend's car who had just taken me to the beginning of my street. My mom had told me to be home before midnight so I had asked my friend if she could drive me home.

I was walking down the street, my house was only a few hundred feet further. The lights in most houses were already out, except for some green or blue light from a television. A lonely car drove by. I didn't live in the busiest street of town, but even at midnight, you could possibly encounter one or two people.

It was a clear summer night. The moon was almost full and its light made bigger shadows than the street lanterns did. I looked at my watch, two minutes before twelve. I'd be home almost before midnight. Good enough, I thought.

I stood in front of the door, the church bell rang twelve times. I reached for my keys in my pocket but I couldn't find them. I took out my phone to use its light to look for my keys on the ground but, of course, my phone was dead.

The street had been pretty quiet before but by now, there was absolutely nothing to be heard.

No cars, no small breeze, no owl or cat.

Nothing.

I walked back to see whether my keys had fallen out of my pocket somewhere else. It was at that moment that I realized that all the lights in the houses were out, not even a green or blue television light. I somehow had the strange feeling that there was no one inside the houses at all.

I bent down to look for my keys on the ground. When I got back up, the lanterns were all extinguished. Only the moonlight gleamed on the houses, the front yards, and at the end of the street, on a dark figure.

I couldn't see the figure's face, I didn't know whether it was a man or a woman, but, being clothed in a dark hoodie with the hood on, the figure looked more like a shadow rather than a person.

The shadow started to walk. I slowly walked backwards. The shadow started running and got closer and closer. I walked faster as well, but right when I wanted to start running, I tumbled over the neighbors' flower box.

I smashed on the ground.

Everything was black.

I had no idea how long I had been out, but when I woke up, my eyes were blinded by a lantern's light. A car slowed down at the side of the road and the driver opened the window.

"Are you alright, Miss?" the driver asked.

I got up, looking startled at the end of the street. "Yes, I am, I just tumbled, clumsy me."

The driver nodded and drove on.

I walked back to the front door, looking one more time at both ends of the street.

No shadow.

The church bell rang twelve times and as I reached for my keys, I found them right in my pocket.