Jamie stood in disbelief in Morgan’s art room.

“Morgan I can't find my panties anywhere in here.” Jamie started to put on her leggings and sweater shirt.

“Seriously, I put them right there on the table.” Morgan mentioned back to her from his room.

Morgan stood up and walked to the art room. Looking inside he saw Jamie looking behind the couch.

“I will find them later. We were pretty drunk last night, nothing to worry about.”

“ No Morgan, this situation is now taken to another level of freaky shit!”

“Wait Jamie, don’t go.” Morgan watched as Jamie walked to the Closet storage to reach in her jacket for her keys. Jamie pushed the button on her keys to start her vehicle.

Jamie put on her white winter coat and She took her white ankle socks out from her pocket and slipped them on her feet before stepping into her winter boots.

Jamie was silent and freaked out. She opened the door and walked out of the apartment into the hallway.

Jamie opened the door and walked down the stairs to the main entrance. When Morgan caught up with her.

“Jamie, please don’t leave like this.” Morgan watched her open the main entrance door and walk out into the snow covered streets.She crossed the street and got in her vehicle.

Morgan walked out into the cold street outside.the gray clouds overcast the sky.

He could see his breath as he exhaled and took in a breath of the cold winter air.

Jamie put her Suv in drive and drove off down the empty street till she was out of Morgan's sight. Jamie looked back into the rear view mirror as she turned out of his sight.

Jamie felt much better now that she was driving away from his apartment and down the road.

She could care less about the lost underwear, she was just happy to get out of there.

Coffee and something to eat before she went back home sounded great. Jamie took the next left at the intersection and drove through the weekend morning traffic.

Morgan decided after seeing Jamie turn down the road to continue walking to the strip mall which was a block down from his apartment. He needed a new pack of smokes.

The snowflakes were gathering on his head and shoulders as he walked in the morning cold.

Morgan felt odd like someone was watching him. He turned to look around at his surroundings.

There were the usual apartments and nothing seemed out of place.

Then he saw it. There was a Man standing far in the back of the distant apartments on the hillside staring at him from the pine treeline.

This odd realization was rationalized by, “That could be an old man out for a morning stroll.”

But the rationalization was thrown out the window when he noticed the man staring directly for him and he wasn’t wearing any winter gear. In fact he was in black suit and strange fedora hat Standing still like the wind wasn't even throwing his hat off or moving his suit jacket or black overcoat.

A moving uhaul truck passed in front of the sidewalk he was standing on blocking his vision of the man in the distance. When the truck cleared the man was gone and just the lonely pine trees stood in the background.

Morgan blinked and rubbed his eyes then checked again. Still no mysterious man. Morgan shrugged it off. “You're letting the night shadows get the best of you again.” He took a deep breath in and exhaled, and continued walking down the street to the strip mall.

Jamie turned her Suv into the icy snow covered Coffee restaurant drive through. Inching forward behind some vehicles to the order menu. Jamie checked her cell phone and noticed it had a low battery, so She plugged it into her Suv lighter charger.

“Was I wrong for leaving like that..” She said in her thoughts.

“I’m sure he will be alright, you know what, screw it, I will phone him.” Jamie started to dial his number.

“Hi, what can I get you?” A lady's voice came over the box menu speakerphone.

“Umm a coffee two sugar and cream, also a bacon sandwich.”

“That’s all?”

“Yup.”

“Hi sorry you reached morgan im unavailable to take your call.” Morgans answering machine played from her phone speaker.

“That will be six fifty at the window. Thank you.” The server said over the speaker.

Jamie picked up her phone and took it off speaker staring out the window into the gray cloud covered sky.

“Hi Morgan, this is Jamie, I’m sorry for……… Oh my god! Aahhhhhhh!”

Jamie was freaked out by the large silver metallic disk shaped object slowly gliding in the clouds. Jamie dropped her phone below her on the Suv carpet, She ducked low, covering her head and eyes. She rocked back and forth saying to herself.

“That isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real!”

HONK!!!!!! A Truck behind her started to honk at Jamie because she was holding up the drive through line. This loud honk made Jamie sit back up straight and stare back into the clouds and the disk shaped object was gone. HONK!!!!!!!!

Jamie put her Suv into gear and moved forward. Her hands were shaking when she handed the lady her card to pay, Jamie's heart was beating just like last night. She was terrified.

Jamie drove the Suv out and down the road back to her place which was a longer drive in the snowy winter weather. Keeping her eyes on the road trying her hardest not to look up. Jamie turned on the radio stations but only got static.

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“What was that?” Jamie questioned her sanity. “There's no way this is happening, god why is this happening to me?” She said out loud frantically.

Jamie turned off the road and down her street driving along seeing her neighbors enjoying their weekend, finally pulling up in front and into her driveway.

She took a deep breath in and exhaled, She picked up her phone, and ended the call. putting her coffee and sandwich bag in one hand and using her left opening the door and getting out and shutting her door she ran inside as fast as she could.

Getting to her front door she opened it slamming it shut as she leaned on it to close it faster.

She was breathing erratically and had to calm herself so she slowly lowered herself down to the floor, her winter coat dragged against the door as she slid down.

Sitting on the floor of her house entrance.

Crying. “Am I losing my mind?”

She stood up feeling the wetness start to soak through her leggings from the wet unthawing snow from her boots.

She walked up her house stairs to the main floor, and she stopped in her tracks. Dropping her coffee and sandwich bag to the floor.The coffee smashed the solid floor and spilled everywhere.

Jamie was stuck in place, the hairs on her back were standing up as she stood looking into the kitchen at everything in her living room was stacked on the dining table in a weird fashion, but it wasn't the Tv and furniture stacked that freaked her out, it was her Black thong hanging from the table chair in the middle of the display that did.

Jamie ran back outside the house and got in her SUV, starting it up and putting it in drive then a loud overbearing ringing started to fill her mind to the point of it becoming painful. Her heart was already racing. She twitched in the front seat arching her back and her face pointed to the ceiling of the Suv. The SUV Stopped and powered down in the Driveway. Her vision went black.

Morgan walked into the Strip mall entrance. Shaking off the cold, the warm air from the heaters beat down on his cold face. Morgan walked into the mall. The place was busy on the weekends.

Morgan walked down to the corner kiosk store of the building. Morgan walked in and the friendly store clerk. Greeted him. “ Hello sir, anything I can help you find let me know.”

“Actually, yes I need a pack of king size cigarettes.”

“What kind boss?” The man said as he held open the small door for Morgan to see the collection of cigarettes.

“The cheapest.” Morgan pulled out a twenty bill and a lighter from the rack.

“I will get that too.”

The man picked out a local city paper and took the twenty bill then handed Morgan his smokes, paper, and lighter.

“Have a good day sir!”

“You as well.” Morgan replied and walked out of the store. He was hungry so he decided to stop and eat something at the food court.

“What to eat?” Morgan looked around at the different choices of takeout.

Morgan decided that some rice and beef bowl would be good enough, so he waited in line after the group of teenagers ahead of him got their food. He ordered the beef and rice bowl and paid the server.

Waiting in the side pickup area he looked around at all the people sitting and eating with one another. Laughing and talking.all the different voices drowned out the sound of his thoughts of the situation with him and Jamie this morning and the man.

Then Morgan noticed but tried to keep calm. The man was standing in the far back close to the entrance of the mall pretending not to look at Morgan.

“Order up!” The server called Morgan.

Morgan turned and could feel the man staring at him. Morgan picked up the bag from the counter and started walking towards the other entrance to the otherside of the mall.

Morgan's heart was beating. He sensed this man was after him.

Morgan passed through the crowds of people trying to put as many as he could between him and the man following him.

Morgan turned to see if the man was following and Morgan could see the man stand up and start walking down his direction at a fast pace.

Morgan turned down the strip mall to a separate line of stores and once out of his sight started to pick up his pace to a light jog. Then Morgan started running To the Exit. Stopping when he turned the corner to the back entrance of the strip mall. He ducked behind the mall's jewelry stand that was in the middle of the walkway and slowly looked through the stand to see.

“No Fucking Way!” Morgan was in disbelief when he saw three of the same dressed black suit fedora wearing guys standing guard at the entrance.

They noticed him and one of the men picked and spoke into his collar. And they all looked his way and started to jog towards him through the people.

Morgan turned the opposite direction and began to run.

The people moved out of the way when they started to see he was being pursued by the men in black suits.

The men in the black suits were holding out I.D’s while they ran Saying.

“Police business, stay out of the way!”

Morgan dashed from a bench leaping high over some water bridges railings that split up the middle section of the strip mall.

Some one of the black suit men missed his step and fell into the water, the other three still were running around the railings through the people which were slowing them down just enough for Morgan to get into the department store.

Breathing heavy he turned down the far back aisle and slipped falling to the ground hitting his hip into the hard floor.

“Ahh fuck!” Morgan said in pain. He slowly got up using the store's stand to get back up. His food was on the ground in the bag and his city paper was in an unorganized pile. He had no time to pick it up, he turned to run and stopped.

“Morgan is that you?” said a familiar male voice.

“Yes, oh thank god Franklin, These guys they are after me, Men in these dark black suits.” Morgan held Franklin's shoulders looking into his confused eyes tryna make sense of the situation.

“Cousin slow down, you're saying there's some guys after you, was anyone else with you?”

“No, well earlier Jamie was, but she left long ago I walked here.”

“My man is still hitting up the chicks still.”

“Franklin, that's not the situation here, I need your help?”

“Alright I will help you out, there's an exit in the back of the loading area of the store. The exit should take you back into your part of the city.”

“Thank you Franklin.”

“Hey you ever need some back up me and Travis always got your back, just text us every once in awhile, shit, would be good to hear from you every once in awhile.”

“Yeah it was good seeing you.”

Morgan took off through the back doors.

Franklin stood there and continued to stack items from a box back on the shelf.

Shortly after the Four men showed up. One put a finger to his ear then looked at Franklin.

The tall pale man walked towards him.

“The fuck you want, who are you?.” Franklin dropped the box he was holding and stood up.

“Where did your friend go? We are law enforcement.”

“You don’t look like any law enforcement from around here.” Franklin stood there questioning him.

“Look tell us where he went and you and your friend won't be hurt.”

“Fuck you, Im not telling you shit you sick pale looking mother fucker.”

The tall man walked forward and Franklin went to strike him with a straight right. But he Tall pale man brushed his punch to the side and turned him around and began to choke him while the other pulled out his knife and walked up and stabbed him in the guts. The other two men ran through the back doors of the department store.

Franklin let out a muffled gasp of air while the tall pale man continued to choke him. silencing out his screams.

Franklin died and the Tall man let his body fall to the floor. Before they both continued after Morgan.

Morgan opened the back doors and ran down the city street taking a back alley to stop and catch his breath. This sweating and heavy breathing was no good in this cold weather.

He thought to himself if he had a cell he would text someone for help. But he lost his phone a while back one night getting drunk at the bar.

Morgan continued to walk down the street seeing a cab driving by and he ran out into the street to stop him.

“Hey stop!” Morgan waved his hands in desperation.

The cab came to a screeching halt just inches from hitting Morgan.

“Please, I need a ride!”

“Get in, you scared the hell out of me.” The cab driver said.

Morgan hopped into the back seat and laid down.

“Drive!”

“Where to first?”

“Just drive!” Morgan shouted.

The cab driver drove off looking into the rear view mirror at four guys in black suits walking in the street they were just on.

“Did they see us?” Morgan questioned laying down in the back seat.

“No, I don't know…. who were those guys, were they like Secret service or something, you know like the movies.”

“I don’t know man, They have been following me since I left my apartment.”

“Well if I were you I wouldn’t go back there, they probably have more of them waiting there for you.”

“You're right, I have got to get a hold of jamie.”

“Who's Jamie, your wife?”

“She’s someone that's close to me.”

“And she stays with you?”

“No I live alone, take me to her place, oh gosh why can’t I remember, Think Morgan, Think.”

Morgan pushed his cold hands into his eyebrows trying to recall the address from his spreadsheets back at work.

“One one two on forty second street.”

“Alright I will get you there in no time.”

The cab driver turned on the radio station while he drove Morgan along the snow covered highway.

End of chapter 004 The Shadow Beings of Night written by Travis Willier