They walked to a nearby park, chatting like long-time friends. With ease and no barriers, they both felt comfortable next to each other, despite having known each other for only two hours. They walked through the park toward the bridge. The park was lit by lamps in the autumn darkness. As they were about to pass the bridge, Chuck stopped, his fur bristled, and he started growling softly."What's going on?" Matthew looked at Chuck. "Matt. I see something in the dark," Samantha said uncertainly.
In the part of the park beyond the bridge, there was no light, only faint reflections from the surrounding lamps. Matt raised his eyes and scanned the path backward. After a few meters, he noticed two figures standing on the sidewalk. He froze and swallowed dryly. He needed to get Samantha safely to the hotel. Chuck's growling grew louder as the figures slowly approached.Samantha and Matt observed the silhouettes for a while, not moving a single inch.
"If I tell you, will you run to the hotel?" Matt directed to Samantha. She had no intention of running, but rather of fighting. Slowly, her hand slid down her body toward her belt, where a telescopic baton was hidden beneath her jacket.From behind, she felt a hand fall onto her shoulder. The person barely managed to place their palm on her shoulder before Samantha spun around sharply, grabbing the hand with one hand and pulling the baton from under her sweater with the other.
Matt also quickly turned around, not understanding the situation or Samantha's reaction. He only understood when he saw a figure behind them, much closer than was safe. Samantha was about to activate the baton and strike the opponent, but stopped in a split second when she realized it was an older woman."Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," stammered the surprised and frightened grandmother.Samantha released her hand and kept the baton hidden in its place. "Oh my God, I'm sorry. You really scared me. I thought you were a thief," Samantha explained regretfully. "I-I just wanted to ask which way I should go out," the old woman stammered, still frightened. "If you go back this way and turn left, go around the bridge, there should be an exit," Matt quickly explained. "Thank you, and sorry," the old woman said, backing away and hurrying off from the strange pair. "Oh God, I didn't mean that," Samantha slapped her hand to her face. "Don't worry about it now," Matt turned back, "wait, where are they?"
Samantha turned toward the darkness. Chuck was still growling fiercely. "I don't see them. We should go back, Matt," Samantha suggested. The lights flickered back on. "Someone's messing with us?" Matt remarked. Chuck was still tense, staring in that direction. "So, what do you think, buddy? Let's go," Matt said to Chuck. But Chuck didn't move. The lights began to go out one by one, at two-second intervals. The darkness was creeping closer to them.
"I think we should run," Samantha gulped. "Come on, come on! Run!" Matt grabbed Samantha by the hand, and they started running. The darkness chased them. They reached an intersection. They decided to keep running straight, but after four long steps, the lights began to go out there too, moving toward them. They turned back to the intersection—darkness was chasing them from two directions. Matt held Samantha tightly, deciding they would run to the left, but after a few steps, the same scenario unfolded. As they reached the intersection, the lamps started to turn off on the last path as well. "This is not good at all," Samantha said. She grabbed the telescopic baton and held it out in front of her.
Samantha and Matt were back to back, waiting to see from which side someone would attack. Matt drew his gun from his belt and aimed it into the darkness. The darkness enveloped them, and their only refuge was the light at the intersection. They didn't know how long they had been there, barely breathing.
"Matt?" came a voice from the darkness."Goddamn it, Nathaniel! I could've shot you," Matthew cursed. Chuck relaxed, and his tail began to wag happily. The lights returned to normal."I saw your heartbeat, and since you weren't in your bedroom, but outside, I figured something was going on," Nathaniel said, shrugging and trying to joke. "Nice baton." Nate looked at Samantha with mild amusement, who was still holding her breath, gripping the baton tightly to her body, her knuckles turning white. "And when and how did you pull that out?" Matt asked, bewildered. "I carry it for self-defense," she scratched her head and slid the baton back into place. "Good, at least I'll know next time that I can't scare you," Matt remarked. "A little while ago, you almost broke an old lady's arm." Matt smirked and told Nate the whole story. "Better let's go, before you hurt someone more seriously," Nate laughed. Samantha shrugged her arms. "I took self-defense classes," she defended herself, trying to salvage the situation.