After a few more minutes of walking backwards he was beginning to feel slightly silly. He was about to turn around and start his jog again when the far off lights from Grandma’s house suddenly let him see the creatures silhouette. What he had thought to be an animal had suddenly become something else entirely.
He could see the outline of the thing only and it was a quick look at that but just from that little bit he wished to God he were back at Grandma’s house with Jill. Seeing the thing he wished he’d never known what it could even possibly be. It had a vaguely mannish shape and looked to have something pointy on its head. That was all Jim needed to see.
He turned and started running. The lights of Main Street beckoned in the distance. Much to his horror the sound slapping sounds seemed to be right behind him. He didn’t know which was scarier; the fact that he was being chased through the dark or that thing chasing him sounded like it had hooves instead of feet.
He somehow knew if he made it to the lights he’d be ok and if he didn’t, well he didn’t want to think of that. Instead he just ran. He quickly found out he was a lot more out of shape than he’d thought. Luckily it wasn’t that far. He had to make it.
He threw a quick glance over his shoulder and vaguely a huge shadow that somehow seemed to be gaining on him. It was still too far back to see clearly but he caught parts of it as light from the street he was racing towards reflected from its body. Everything he saw and a lot that he didn’t, made him run just a little bit faster than he had been.
Taking too much time thinking about what was pursuing him almost cost him his life. One minute he was running along looking over his shoulder the next he was almost doing a face dive onto the pavement. He’d tripped over a stick or something in the dark and had lost some of his momentum. Hear the clopping of the beasts hooves quickly helped him regain the speed he’d lost.
Once more with his gaze clearly focused on his goal he was happy to see that it wasn’t that much farther away. It was a good thing too since he was sure the thing was breathing down his neck. Every couple of seconds a distinctly unpleasant smell seemed to blow up from behind him. The creature had to be close if he could smell what was could be nothing else but the things breathe. He didn’t want to risk another look over his shoulder for fear of what he might see. It felt as if any second the thing would end the charade and just reach out and grab him.
The lights were much closer now. They were almost calling to him. He was almost there. He only needed to stay away from it for a few more seconds. Throwing his last burst of energy into his legs he managed to eek out a little more speed. He leaned into every step hoping it would be the one that would keep him out of deaths grasp. Squeezing his eyes shut he tried to ignore the burning in his legs and how wobbly his knees were getting. Leaning into every stride, he peeked out of his eyes just in time to see the lights wash over him in their welcome embrace.
Not able to go any further he hoped he’d been right in thinking he’d be safe once he reached the town. Chest heaving, legs barely able to hold him up he slowly looked up. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. People were walking down the street in what he remembered was the direction the sirens had come from. Hardly anyone even seemed to notice he’d just won his race against death. Some people stopped to look at him but quickly saw he wasn’t as interesting as whatever the sirens were checking out.
Breathing heavily Jim turned to peer into the darkness that had only minutes before almost been his tomb. Nothing had pursed him into the light. Peering into the gloom, he saw nothing. No humongous slavering beast, no manic dressed in camo ready to skewer him on a huge knife, and most of all no Goatman. There was simply nothing. The darkness had closed behind him almost like a door, refusing to reveal whatever secrets it held. There was no evidence of anything chasing him. He could even still barely make out the porch light on grandma’s house in the distance.
Could he have imagined it all? Did Grandma’s story and his own imagination get the better of him? No, that couldn’t be it. He wouldn’t believe it. There was something there. He was sure of it. But if that was true then why wasn’t he dead? Why didn’t it continue chasing him? Why did it just stop? And how did it stop so fast? Jim had run for a good little distance even after he’d made it to the light. The thing had been right on his tail. He was sure of it and yet nothing came out of the darkness but him. What was going on? Was something actually chasing him or was he just loosing it?
While trying to figure out the answers to his questions he realized the people who’d been here on his arrival were now quite some ways down the street. Nobody had paid any mind to him. There was something else more interesting. The sirens he’d heard were quiet but he could still see the lights flashing.
Putting the troubling problem of his pursuer aside for the moment he shakily started trotting down the street. Catching up to a kid in a restaurant uniform he decided to try his luck at finding out what was going on.
“What’s all the noise about?” he asked in what he hoped was a friendly voice.
“From what everybody is saying something happened out at Freaky Pete’s,” the kid answered after giving Jim the once over.
“Freaky Pete? Who the hell is that?” He was pretty sure he knew the answer but he asked anyways.
“Where the hell you been?” the kids asked. “He’s the freakin’ weirdo who lives out in the woods. Damn idiot lives in one of those old pieces of crap they used to call a house all by himself doing all kinds of weird stuff. He’s always trying to set fire to the woods or doing some other satanic shit. Probably sacrificing animals or something. At least that’s what my mom says.” Jim wouldn’t mind having a few words with this kid’s mom. “Cops are out there all the time,” the kid continued, “but they never do anything to him. He must’ve messed up big this time to deserve all this.” Jim wished he could just slap the spit out of this kids’ mouth just for being a smartass, who knows maybe it would knock some sense into him, but that probably wouldn’t work. All it would do is get him into trouble. Instead he just listened as the kids continued spouting whatever came to his mind.
“Only time anyone ever sees that freak is when he comes to town to get food. You should see it! He so frickin’ funny. Everybody makes fun of him and calls him names. Its frickin’ hilarious. He don’t show his sorry ass around much but when he does its fun times!”
Jim was pretty sure “everybody” meant this dumbass and his friends but unfortunately there was little he could do about it. Pete was his friend but he’d pretty much brought all this on himself by becoming the town hermit. There was no use in arguing with anybody. He wished there was someone else he could ask but when he finally reached the gaggle of people they’d already separated into little groups of their own. They gave him and the kids a wide berth though. Jim didn’t know if it was him or the kid they were trying to avoid. After hearing the crap coming from his mouth though he was pretty sure it was the kid.
“There sure is some weird shit that goes on out there,” the idiot said after a few seconds gesturing down the road. Jim looked where he indicated and saw a faint orange glow illuminating the sky. “See what I mean?” The teenager said making full use of his high school education. “You see all kinds of lights and stuff out there. It’s just plain weird.” Jim could honestly say he now understood why the future of today’s youth wasn’t that good.