A suffocating eerie silence settled over me, not a sound could be heard besides the whistling wind. My heart pounded violently in my chest as I stare into the abandoned city, or at least semi abandoned. The people were gone yes, but what took the people, they were still lurking.

When my friends and I had arrived for vacation, we knew nothing of this place. It was a casual trip away from our everyday lives to this beautiful city. However once we arrived, we heard disturbing rumours. We were told to stay inside when night fell, when we could no longer run from the shadows that surrounded us. The warning was strong.

We didn’t listen. As horror movie lovers we were thrilled by the idea, so what was the harm in having a little adventure? Venturing out into the city once dark was riveting, my body was alit with a flame of danger. We were ready for whatever was going to happen… until we weren’t.

In the blink of an eye, the wind stopped. The air grew heavy with something spine-tingling. The five of us stopped walking and froze slowly scanning our surroundings. A blood curling scream erupted from behind us, turning around I determined there were now only four of us. That’s when the excitement died out as pure horror flooded our veins.

We took off like bullets sprinting through alleyways, the city maze a perfect place to lose whatever we were up against. Yet unfortunately, an easier way to become lost. Rapidly approaching the next turn, we heard noise. Not just any noise but laughing, it wasn’t a dark frightening laugh but a eerie happy giggle. Cold sweat dripped down my body as goosebumps rose. Slowly turning around, one of my friends was giggling. She opened her eyes and they were blood red, she maniacally laughed and laughed as blood dripped from her pores instead of sweat. She grew quiet unexpectedly and dropped dead on the ground.

Dread flooded my body as I looked at my two wide eyed friends. We took off once more, feeling as if we were running in circles up and down the streets. The windows of houses and apartments were blacked out, completely sheltered from outside. We ran to our hotel but as we approached, we noticed the doors were boarded. Unsure of what to do next, time froze. From the corner of my eye, I saw shadows slowly moving. Figures were drawing nearer, misshapen and swift. I felt a cold hand touch my shoulder and spun around to find my friend completely grey, much like a shadow. Sunken eyes, transparent, cold. Wind blew once again and my friend along with it, vaporizing into thin air, gone.

My last friend and I huddled together, our bodies trembling. The shadows got closer and closer as our hearts hammered harder and harder until everything went to hell. The shadows leaped and we jumped up racing away. I had lost all hope in the situation, this was going to be it, I was going to be killed by these monsterous creatures. Or so I thought, I spotted the entrance to the city. We ran towards it with a hint of freedom clutching at our souls. I abruptly stopped when I heard a painful cry, my friend, he was gone. The echoes of his cry bouncing off the walls of the ghosted cityscape.

Tears rolled down my face as the last of my friends had fallen. With a heavy heart I spun on my heel dashing to the entranceway, the arch signifying a beam of hope for escape. Footsteps pounded against the ground behind me, yet no one was there, not from what I could see at least. The anxious thrill of the chase was overwhelming as I was overcome with panic. Heavily panting, limbs aching, heart racing, I made it to the entrance and leaped through it.

The footsteps stopped. An eerie silence settled over me, the chase was over it seemed yet the horrifying actions I witness haunted me. Whatever was in that city still lingered, hidden from sight. The monsters ripped my friends of their lives and from my life. As I gazed into the dark city, I felt a sense of grief, of unease, of uncertainty. One thing was certain however, I was the only survivor.