I woke up the next morning in a cold sweat. I was on my back on the black leather couch, staring up at the ceiling fan. I sat up and pushed the blanket that was draped over my legs off of me. I felt like I was suffering from amnesia. I knew something had happened, but I didn't know what. I remembered watching the movie, but everything past that - it was all fuzzy. I must have simply fallen asleep.

The day passed uneventfully and around three o'clock my dad finally called and told me he was going to pick me up soon. I was glad to go home and get some real sleep now that the sugar had worn off. I wasn't sure when I woke up if it was the next day or the same day. My dad had work so he was gone for the day, but I quickly found a list of chores written on a list stuck to the fridge.

-clean the kitchen

-get groceries, we need:

Eggs

Bread

Milk

Butter

Cereal

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Carrots

I moaned and threw on a pair of jean shorts and a t-shirt, grabbed my flip flops and the list, and went downstairs to the garage.

Once in my small car I turned on the radio to hear nothing but static. I groaned and and turned off the radio, putting the vehicle in reverse. I knew the store in our area tended to get crowded, and since I wasn't in the best of moods I decided to drive the extra ten minutes to get to the small local grocery joint. I smiled when I saw next to nobody was inside. I grabbed the grocery list and went inside. Finding everything I wanted took a while, but eventually I was on my way out. Then, as I was driving home, a shot rang out and my passenger side window shattered. I yelped as shards of glass rained down on me and slammed my foot onto the brake pedal. The car skidded to a halt and I heard voices shouting.

"Hey! Hey, you're okay in there right?!"

I fumbled about in shock before managing to choke out my reply.

"Yeah! Yeah... I, uh... I think I'm alright..."

Ten minutes later I was sitting on the side of the road while my father conversed with the police. I saw a flash of black in the corner of my eye and glanced over. A skinny man about six feet tall with pale skin stumbled about. He had a pitch black business suit on, a slender arm crossing his right shoulder and his hand clutching his bleeding arm. I scrambled to my feet and ran over to him.

"Hey mister! Are you alright?"

The man grimaced as if in fear and rounded the corner, blood dripping off of his suit.

"Hey! Where are you...?"

I followed him around the corner find him collapsed on the ground, his hand limp over his bloody shoulder. I knelt down beside him and felt his pale neck for a pulse. It was there, and I breathed a heavy sigh of relief. I rolled him over and opened my mouth to scream, but a pale hand cupped over my lips and silenced me. His face was deathly pale like the rest of him, but where his eyes should have been were two empty crevices. He moved his thin white lips and gave me a crooked smile.

"I told you." he murmured. "No eyes, always watches."

I squeaked in fright but the man just chuckled at me. Then he released me and rolled back over, clutching his hand back over his bleeding shoulder. Call it 'my inner mother', I pressed my hand to the would to stem the bleeding and started pulling one of the bandages that had been tied around my arm off.

"And just what do you think you're doing little girl?"

"I'm seventeen, wise guy, not so little. And your hurt real bad, it needs a bandage."

"I've no need for a nurse, girl. You best be on your way now."

With that the thin man rolled away from me and stood up to his full height. From where I knelt on the ground I grew nervous. I made a point to not look at his face and returned to where my father was waiting with his truck to take me home. As we drove off I chanced a look back over my shoulder. The tall man stood off a good distance from the crowd. And if I wasn't mistaken, he had the bandage I had offered him pressed to his shoulder.