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Description
The slight autumn wind reminded me of the previous winter, which was just as frigid as this one. When the leaves turn colors from green to yellow to a beautiful palette of gold's and burnt sienna's. These same leaves would eventually turn to the ominous red that surrendered itself to the ground after a hopeless battle with the winds. *(this paragraph needs to be edited badly, not coherent to the plotline)

It came in the form of eerie silence while walking to the car or the odd white glow from the glint of the snow banks. This calm was always unsettling. I was on my guard for what seemed like every minute of every day. Every moment I listened for changes in the sounds I heard, the things I saw, and especially in the intuitive feelings I felt.

I had always had a sort of intuition about certain things, knowing when various events would occur. But there was one feeling I always had over the past winters. I'd always felt as if somebody was there with me on my driveway, watching me. Whoever was there wanted something, but I didn't know what.

One winter, my curiosity won out against me and I called into the faint dawning light, but no one answered. I scanned the yard, but still found no one. After reassuring myself that it was all in my head, I opened the car door and climbed in. I still refused to let my guard down. I knew someone was there, I could feel their presence. Not once was I unwary of my surroundings. It turned out to be a good thing too, or else I might have died right there.

Then it happened. As I placed my hands meticulously on the steering wheel, I saw him in my mirror. He was a tall, dark, looming creature-for lack of a better word-creeping through my yard, walking with jerky movements, as if all the bones in his body had been broken. He seemed to blend in with the shadows as if he had no identity. He whispered my name, but it sounded more like a curse than a calling. I was petrified and my body had stopped, frozen like the tiny droplets on my windshield. He grew closer and closer, neither slowing nor quickening his pace. Though I was unsure of exactly what he was, I still feared for my life.

When my mind finally snapped back into motion, I attempted to start my car. I looked hastily back at him, watching him draw closer, less than fifteen feet from my side now. I tried again to start the car, but the cold had caused the engine to stutter a bit. "Leah…Listen to me, Leah." I was shaking harder than the frozen engine. "Leah, I am-,"

"No! Stop!" I screamed at him. The creature was less than ten feet away now…Help, I needed help!

I frantically turned the keys again and again, willing them to awaken my car. I looked into my mirrors and saw that ugly heap of monster stagger closer to me. In that moment-and I'm not sure how-I heard him without either of us speaking. "Adrian," I said aloud. His name. I knew him. He had been the whisper in the winter winds for far too long, and I knew him. "Adrian," I said again, tasting the name on my tongue. And after I had, "Oh God!"

I returned my attention to the engine and screamed at my dashboard. "Please, please!" I gave the keys one final turn, hard enough to strain my wrist.

Finally, my engine purred to life! I threw the gearshift into drive just as Adrian reached for the door handle. Though I had pulled out of the driveway, I could still hear his devilish voice chanting my name in my head. I double-checked my rearview mirror to make sure I was alone.

I was not. Adrian peered over the backseat of my car and stared into my eyes through the demonically reflective glass. Yet again, I was paralyzed at the sight of him. My mind went blank and my eyes became unfocused. He was all I saw even though I knew I was driving. I needed to concentrate! But whatever willpower I had had dissolved when he met my gaze. When I looked into that disgusting being's eyes, my world froze over.

And it was now, staring deep into his white-blue eyes, that I realized what he was. He was nothing more than a man. If he had been any other man, he might have been quite attractive. His shaggy dark hair was only long enough to fall lazily over one of his eyes, and I could tell he was unusually tall, even bent as strangely as he was in the back of my car. I immediately pulled myself away from this uncomfortable thought and reminded myself that he was one to be feared.

I remembered then that my vision was still locked on the rearview mirror, and the passenger I saw within it. I felt ice become so thick in my head that I almost couldn't bring myself out from under it. Sheer willpower seemed to free me of this spiritual prison, but when my eyes focused once again, I realized just how much energy I had actually used.

My hands and legs were shaking, as if from overexertion. I surveyed the road ahead of me and saw that no damage had been done while I was in Adrian's haze. I knew how lucky I'd been not to hit anything.

All this thinking took me much less than a few seconds. I knew time was of the essence in this cramped space. I considered my strength and decided I had enough willpower to battle Adrian's consciousness.

Looking into the rearview mirror, I saw it wouldn't be much of a fight. He had begun crawling over the backseat very slowly, as if to exaggerate his movements. I had a feeling that he wanted me to be afraid of him, though I couldn't imagine why. But whatever the reason, I was almost thankful for it. Exaggeration, in his case, required all of his attention, which kept his focus off of me and how free I was from him right now. I have to admit, in that instant, I felt invincible.

The feeling was short-lived. Adrian regressed to his chanting, though there was a slight change in his tone. It sounded as if he were speaking with a spoiled child, one who had broken some sort of rule. Did he intend to punish me? If he did, why hadn't he done it already?

Again, I heard him without speaking. He needed me.

"For what?" I whispered.

His only response was to continue hissing the curse he had been before.

I silently wondered what the purpose of communicating with him was. He was going to kill me anyway. Wasn't he?
As quickly as the thought had entered my head, I felt his breath, slithering down my neck. It reminded me that, while in this car, I had no escape.

I spotted a neighbor shoveling sparkling snowdrifts out of his driveway. I needed an escape, and I needed one now. This neighbor was the only way out of this death trap.

The car seemed to drive itself as it veered rapidly to the right and into the half-naked driveway.
Just as I felt hands around my neck, I jumped from the car, screaming for help, and locking the door behind me simultaneously.

I ran to Phil, my neighbor, and latched onto him. I held him like he was the only thing I had left to grab onto before I fell off the cliff of insanity. I broke down in his arms and nearly liquidated with all the emotion I was passing on to him.
When I had calmed down a bit, Phil released me and slowly backed away, with a strange expression on his face. I guessed it was fear, but comprehension was beyond me at this point. I couldn't imagine what had gotten into him. How could he be afraid of me when this monster sat impatiently in the backseat of my car? This was a joke!

Phil must have pinpointed the look on my face after that moment, because he stopped dead in his tracks. All traces of fear vanished from his expression and he took on a more contemplative appearance. When he spoke, he spoke to me calmly. "Leah, calm down. I'm going to call 911, okay? Stay right here and don't leave. I promise I'll be right back." He paused for a moment, as if unsure of what to say next. "You'll be okay out here by yourself for a few moments, won't you?"

Leave? Why would I leave? This was the only place I could possibly be safe right now, and he thought I would leave? Phil had lost it.

I resolved to let his misconceptions go for now. I wiped my face and nodded so slightly that I wasn't really sure whether he had noticed or not.

He must have, because he backed up defensively and walked purposefully into the kitchen. I watched through the window as he grabbed the phone, throwing me sideward glances as he spoke.

I wasn't leaving, but I was still unsure about my safety.

I looked back into the car. Adrian shot me a smile. It wasn't so much a smile, as it was a smirk. He's made a promise to take me, and he will stop at nothing to have me. I wasn't quite clear on the specifics, but it still sounded like a threat.

I turned back to look into Phil's house. He was still on the phone. I tried to make out some of the words he was saying, but my lip reading was terrible, and eventually, I gave up.

I was getting anxious, just standing here on his driveway. I folded my arms over my coat and started bouncing on my heels. My eyes moved everywhere, taking in the area. There were dense trees on my right, nothing but more houses on my left, and more forestation in the backyard. There was certainly nothing interesting to look at. So I closed my eyes and concentrated heavily on my breathing. In, out, in, out. As it turns out, it helped a lot. I calmed down quite a bit and tried to listen to the silence that snow always seemed to carry with it.

I was interrupted by the call of my own name.

Phil? My eyes snapped open. No, Phil was still in the kitchen.

I closed my eyes again. I must have been hearing things.

I heard my name again. This time it was as clear as if the person was standing right behind me. I was definitely not hearing things.

All my fears were confirmed when I heard it again, and again, and again. I heard it so vividly now that it was eerie. It seemed to be coming at me from all directions and at least twice as thick. I turned nervously to stare into the car behind me. Adrian had his head cocked questioningly to one side as he called my name, spitting it like an insult. I noticed the difference in his voice again. It was multiplied, many times over.

But it couldn't be just his voice. It was too thick, too rich. My name surrounded me, rising in volume with every second. I glanced slowly in each direction, knowing immediately that defeat was imminent. Shadow men came at me from every way I could see, stalking through the trees or clawing up from under the porch of Phil's house. Each and every one looked different from the other, but each had the same damning smirk on their face. I watched how my name shaped their lips.

They weren't calling me and they weren't speaking a curse. They were speaking of a death sentence.

No, no, no, no, no! I put my hands over my head and crouched to the pavement. This cannot be happening. It's all in my imagination. This is not real!

This just didn't happen to people. In fact, I was almost completely certain this never happened to people. This just wasn't a normal daily occurrence. People didn't run around their neighborhoods, screaming about how they were being chased by attractive men dressed in shadows.

I could hear myself talking. No, no, no, no, no! The saying became screaming and the screaming became hysteria. The shadow men closed in on me as if I was their prey. Why were they after me? What did they want from me? More importantly, what did Adrian want? I couldn't imagine how such a normal human being could be so deathly interesting to these men.

I started shaking, almost convulsing. I screamed for what seemed like an eternity. Panic rippled through my insides and held me tighter than anything I've ever felt before. The shadow men drew closer and closer. I noticed Adrian fiddling with the locks on the driver's side of my car.

I gripped my hair tighter and tighter, hoping I could grasp the concept of the situation as well as I could grasp my roots. I heard the car door open as Adrian stepped onto the black pavement. The sight of him brought heat to my face and tears to my eyes. I was trapped with no way out-and they all knew it.

My vision began to blur and spin. I saw colors flashing here and dots swirling there, but always one thing remained constant: Phil was still inside, watching calmly, continuing in his phone conversation, and the shadows remained slowly crawling towards me and the sheer panic rising inside…

Description
The slight autumn wind reminded me of the previous winter, which was just as frigid as this one. When the leaves turn colors from green to yellow to a beautiful palette of gold's and burnt sienna's. These same leaves would eventually turn to the ominous red that surrendered itself to the ground after a hopeless battle with the winds. *(this paragraph needs to be edited badly, not coherent to the plotline)

It came in the form of eerie silence while walking to the car or the odd white glow from the glint of the snow banks. This calm was always unsettling. I was on my guard for what seemed like every minute of every day. Every moment I listened for changes in the sounds I heard, the things I saw, and especially in the intuitive feelings I felt.

I had always had a sort of intuition about certain things, knowing when various events would occur. But there was one feeling I always had over the past winters. I'd always felt as if somebody was there with me on my driveway, watching me. Whoever was there wanted something, but I didn't know what.

One winter, my curiosity won out against me and I called into the faint dawning light, but no one answered. I scanned the yard, but still found no one. After reassuring myself that it was all in my head, I opened the car door and climbed in. I still refused to let my guard down. I knew someone was there, I could feel their presence. Not once was I unwary of my surroundings. It turned out to be a good thing too, or else I might have died right there.

Then it happened. As I placed my hands meticulously on the steering wheel, I saw him in my mirror. He was a tall, dark, looming creature-for lack of a better word-creeping through my yard, walking with jerky movements, as if all the bones in his body had been broken. He seemed to blend in with the shadows as if he had no identity. He whispered my name, but it sounded more like a curse than a calling. I was petrified and my body had stopped, frozen like the tiny droplets on my windshield. He grew closer and closer, neither slowing nor quickening his pace. Though I was unsure of exactly what he was, I still feared for my life.

When my mind finally snapped back into motion, I attempted to start my car. I looked hastily back at him, watching him draw closer, less than fifteen feet from my side now. I tried again to start the car, but the cold had caused the engine to stutter a bit. "Leah…Listen to me, Leah." I was shaking harder than the frozen engine. "Leah, I am-,"

"No! Stop!" I screamed at him. The creature was less than ten feet away now…Help, I needed help!

I frantically turned the keys again and again, willing them to awaken my car. I looked into my mirrors and saw that ugly heap of monster stagger closer to me. In that moment-and I'm not sure how-I heard him without either of us speaking. "Adrian," I said aloud. His name. I knew him. He had been the whisper in the winter winds for far too long, and I knew him. "Adrian," I said again, tasting the name on my tongue. And after I had, "Oh God!"

I returned my attention to the engine and screamed at my dashboard. "Please, please!" I gave the keys one final turn, hard enough to strain my wrist.

Finally, my engine purred to life! I threw the gearshift into drive just as Adrian reached for the door handle. Though I had pulled out of the driveway, I could still hear his devilish voice chanting my name in my head. I double-checked my rearview mirror to make sure I was alone.

I was not. Adrian peered over the backseat of my car and stared into my eyes through the demonically reflective glass. Yet again, I was paralyzed at the sight of him. My mind went blank and my eyes became unfocused. He was all I saw even though I knew I was driving. I needed to concentrate! But whatever willpower I had had dissolved when he met my gaze. When I looked into that disgusting being's eyes, my world froze over.

And it was now, staring deep into his white-blue eyes, that I realized what he was. He was nothing more than a man. If he had been any other man, he might have been quite attractive. His shaggy dark hair was only long enough to fall lazily over one of his eyes, and I could tell he was unusually tall, even bent as strangely as he was in the back of my car. I immediately pulled myself away from this uncomfortable thought and reminded myself that he was one to be feared.

I remembered then that my vision was still locked on the rearview mirror, and the passenger I saw within it. I felt ice become so thick in my head that I almost couldn't bring myself out from under it. Sheer willpower seemed to free me of this spiritual prison, but when my eyes focused once again, I realized just how much energy I had actually used.

My hands and legs were shaking, as if from overexertion. I surveyed the road ahead of me and saw that no damage had been done while I was in Adrian's haze. I knew how lucky I'd been not to hit anything.

All this thinking took me much less than a few seconds. I knew time was of the essence in this cramped space. I considered my strength and decided I had enough willpower to battle Adrian's consciousness.

Looking into the rearview mirror, I saw it wouldn't be much of a fight. He had begun crawling over the backseat very slowly, as if to exaggerate his movements. I had a feeling that he wanted me to be afraid of him, though I couldn't imagine why. But whatever the reason, I was almost thankful for it. Exaggeration, in his case, required all of his attention, which kept his focus off of me and how free I was from him right now. I have to admit, in that instant, I felt invincible.

The feeling was short-lived. Adrian regressed to his chanting, though there was a slight change in his tone. It sounded as if he were speaking with a spoiled child, one who had broken some sort of rule. Did he intend to punish me? If he did, why hadn't he done it already?

Again, I heard him without speaking. He needed me.

"For what?" I whispered.

His only response was to continue hissing the curse he had been before.

I silently wondered what the purpose of communicating with him was. He was going to kill me anyway. Wasn't he?
As quickly as the thought had entered my head, I felt his breath, slithering down my neck. It reminded me that, while in this car, I had no escape.

I spotted a neighbor shoveling sparkling snowdrifts out of his driveway. I needed an escape, and I needed one now. This neighbor was the only way out of this death trap.

The car seemed to drive itself as it veered rapidly to the right and into the half-naked driveway.
Just as I felt hands around my neck, I jumped from the car, screaming for help, and locking the door behind me simultaneously.

I ran to Phil, my neighbor, and latched onto him. I held him like he was the only thing I had left to grab onto before I fell off the cliff of insanity. I broke down in his arms and nearly liquidated with all the emotion I was passing on to him.
When I had calmed down a bit, Phil released me and slowly backed away, with a strange expression on his face. I guessed it was fear, but comprehension was beyond me at this point. I couldn't imagine what had gotten into him. How could he be afraid of me when this monster sat impatiently in the backseat of my car? This was a joke!

Phil must have pinpointed the look on my face after that moment, because he stopped dead in his tracks. All traces of fear vanished from his expression and he took on a more contemplative appearance. When he spoke, he spoke to me calmly. "Leah, calm down. I'm going to call 911, okay? Stay right here and don't leave. I promise I'll be right back." He paused for a moment, as if unsure of what to say next. "You'll be okay out here by yourself for a few moments, won't you?"

Leave? Why would I leave? This was the only place I could possibly be safe right now, and he thought I would leave? Phil had lost it.

I resolved to let his misconceptions go for now. I wiped my face and nodded so slightly that I wasn't really sure whether he had noticed or not.

He must have, because he backed up defensively and walked purposefully into the kitchen. I watched through the window as he grabbed the phone, throwing me sideward glances as he spoke.

I wasn't leaving, but I was still unsure about my safety.

I looked back into the car. Adrian shot me a smile. It wasn't so much a smile, as it was a smirk. He's made a promise to take me, and he will stop at nothing to have me. I wasn't quite clear on the specifics, but it still sounded like a threat.

I turned back to look into Phil's house. He was still on the phone. I tried to make out some of the words he was saying, but my lip reading was terrible, and eventually, I gave up.

I was getting anxious, just standing here on his driveway. I folded my arms over my coat and started bouncing on my heels. My eyes moved everywhere, taking in the area. There were dense trees on my right, nothing but more houses on my left, and more forestation in the backyard. There was certainly nothing interesting to look at. So I closed my eyes and concentrated heavily on my breathing. In, out, in, out. As it turns out, it helped a lot. I calmed down quite a bit and tried to listen to the silence that snow always seemed to carry with it.

I was interrupted by the call of my own name.

Phil? My eyes snapped open. No, Phil was still in the kitchen.

I closed my eyes again. I must have been hearing things.

I heard my name again. This time it was as clear as if the person was standing right behind me. I was definitely not hearing things.

All my fears were confirmed when I heard it again, and again, and again. I heard it so vividly now that it was eerie. It seemed to be coming at me from all directions and at least twice as thick. I turned nervously to stare into the car behind me. Adrian had his head cocked questioningly to one side as he called my name, spitting it like an insult. I noticed the difference in his voice again. It was multiplied, many times over.

But it couldn't be just his voice. It was too thick, too rich. My name surrounded me, rising in volume with every second. I glanced slowly in each direction, knowing immediately that defeat was imminent. Shadow men came at me from every way I could see, stalking through the trees or clawing up from under the porch of Phil's house. Each and every one looked different from the other, but each had the same damning smirk on their face. I watched how my name shaped their lips.

They weren't calling me and they weren't speaking a curse. They were speaking of a death sentence.

No, no, no, no, no! I put my hands over my head and crouched to the pavement. This cannot be happening. It's all in my imagination. This is not real!

This just didn't happen to people. In fact, I was almost completely certain this never happened to people. This just wasn't a normal daily occurrence. People didn't run around their neighborhoods, screaming about how they were being chased by attractive men dressed in shadows.

I could hear myself talking. No, no, no, no, no! The saying became screaming and the screaming became hysteria. The shadow men closed in on me as if I was their prey. Why were they after me? What did they want from me? More importantly, what did Adrian want? I couldn't imagine how such a normal human being could be so deathly interesting to these men.

I started shaking, almost convulsing. I screamed for what seemed like an eternity. Panic rippled through my insides and held me tighter than anything I've ever felt before. The shadow men drew closer and closer. I noticed Adrian fiddling with the locks on the driver's side of my car.

I gripped my hair tighter and tighter, hoping I could grasp the concept of the situation as well as I could grasp my roots. I heard the car door open as Adrian stepped onto the black pavement. The sight of him brought heat to my face and tears to my eyes. I was trapped with no way out-and they all knew it.

My vision began to blur and spin. I saw colors flashing here and dots swirling there, but always one thing remained constant: Phil was still inside, watching calmly, continuing in his phone conversation, and the shadows remained slowly crawling towards me and the sheer panic rising inside…