I was mumbling Spanish curses through gritted teeth as I slid on my sweater. I was still wearing my dirty jumpsuit, not having time to put it in my locker at my uncle's shop.
"It's ridiculous," I murmured to myself, running a hand through my curls. "I am a grown woman. I can take care of myself."
I heard that echoing laughter around me that brought goosebumps to my skin and a chill down my back. I could almost hear it talking, like a whistle through the breeze. It made me walk even faster, practically sprinting back to our apartment. "A grown woman indeed," it chimed. "And what would our prince think, now."
It wasn't real. It couldn't be. No one was following me. No one was there. No, no, no. It was only my imagination, not a reality. It was merely a hushed imagination, restless to break free inside my mind. So I focused my attention back on the shop, back on my homework, back on the finances for the family.
I hardly noticed the crack on the sidewalk before I went tumbling. My knee scratched the sidewalk painfully, and my hands caught me from nearly smashing my head against the pavement.
"A pretty catch, indeed," I heard the voice. No, it was a different voice now. I looked around quickly to see no one around me. But I could feel eyes on me, I could hear their breathing. My neck prickled as I felt a cold breath on my ear. But I was carefully examining the large gash on my right knee. I touched it and winced, closing my watery bright eyes.
When I opened them, three figures stood before me, looming and dreadful. I pulled myself to my feet with a gasp, and they were gone again, only outlines of where they stood remained. They were at least a half a foot taller than I, their features sharp and dark, their clothes from a different world.
I tried to dismiss it as simply a play of lights, but looking back I had to have known better than that. I broke into a run and behind me I could hear light footsteps following after me quickly. I got to the corner of our poorly lit apartment complex and stopped running.
"No," I caught my breath from the quick sprint. "This isn't real!" I shouted at myself. I looked around to see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing out of the ordinary. "There is no one out here!" I snapped, breathing heavily and listening to reassure myself. And luckily I was greeted with silence.
"No one," I repeated, calming down, wiping the frightening image of the three men from my mind. And once I finally caught my breath, I took out my key and entered the door of the complex. As I slid in through the door, though, I could have sworn that I heard the deep laughter of three tall men. I was too terrified to look back as I charged up the stairs into my safe apartment.