Kazi sat at the bar, a glass of water in her hand, her fingers trembling slightly as they traced the rim. The club was lively around her as though nothing had happened; people danced, laughed, and toasted to the night. But she couldn't shake what she'd seen, or thought she saw.
The bartender, a guy with a silver nose ring, calm eyes and a smile on his face, leaned in. "You alright?"
She nodded, "Yeah. Just needed a break."
He gave her a concerned look but didn't press. The music shifted to something smoother, deeper, less frantic. But it didn't help ease Kazi's mind in the slightest.
Her mind replayed the figure in the dark. The way it had stood there, motionless, like it wasn't bound by the same rules of time and space. As though it had always been there; watching, waiting.
She rubbed her arms and felt chill run down her spine as she thought intently on the situation.
Then, her phone buzzed in her purse. She pulled it out and saw a message from her roommate, Luma.
"Where are you? You disappeared."
Kazi typed back with shaky thumbs.
"Still at the club. Weird blackout. You good?"
The reply came fast.
"I'm home. You okay?"
Kazi hesitated, staring at the screen. "Am I?" she thought.
Before she could reply, the music stopped again.
This time, there was no static. Just a clean and sudden cut.
People began to groan and look around. "Yo, DJ what's going on! This is the second time man! This is ruining the vibe!" a frustrated man in the crowd exclaimed. Others in the crowd laughed as though what was going on was part of the DJ's set. But Kazi's stomach dropped.
The lights dimmed, not all the way, but just low enough to cast long shadows across the floor.
Kazi's breath hitched.
No one else seemed to notice, but when she turned to the dance floor, she saw it again.
The dark figure. Standing at the far end. Same height. The same darkness clinging to it like a second skin.
But this time, it moved! It took just one step in Kazi's direction, causing her to panic.
Kazi stood quickly, knocking over her stool. It clattered to the floor. Heads turned towards commotion. As focus shifted towards Kazi, she took her eyes off the figure, looked at the crowd then shifted her gaze back to the figure, only to find that it was gone, again.
Her face, now pale with fear and concern. The bartender took notice of her with raised brows and asked. "Seriously, you good?"
"I—I thought I saw someone," she muttered, not convincing even herself.
Without a second thought, she grabbed her things and bolted for the door.
Outside, the dark air was cool and thick with the scent of city life, cigarettes, street food, and car exhaust. Her heels clicked loudly on the sidewalk as she moved away from the club. She didn't stop walking until she reached the corner.
Her phone began to buzz again. It was another message from Luma.
"Come home. Something's weird tonight."
Kazi's fingers hovered over the keyboard, as she was about to respond, she froze. The streetlight above her began to flicker.
She looked up, only to find the same dark figure, staring at her, across the street, under the opposite streetlight.
Kazi couldn't move. Frozen in fear, all she could do was stare back.
The figure raised one arm and pointed directly at her.