Dawn checked her watch. She pressed the "light" button and suddenly the numbers "9:47" appeared on a green back-lit screen. She sighed and began walking. She was slightly late for the movie and was ditched. Fine. She could handle that. She assumed that everyone had gone ahead without her.
The air was hot and humid as she walked along the streets. She walked along Queen St., the hot entertainment district that was crowded with pubs and entertainment complexes, including the movie theatre. Dawn shook her head, her ponytail brushing her shoulders before hanging down her back.
She reached Yonge St., which was crowded with people walking around, talking and laughing. All the shops were closed for the night but cars continued to crowd the busy, brightly lit streets. She continued walking up the street, admiring the people who were dressed to impress each other. She felt very underdressed in her tank top and jeans, the only thing remotely dressy about her being her heeled boots.
After awhile, no matter how fast or slowly she walked, the soles of her feet began to hurt. Dawn realised that the shoes were once again causing her feet to blister. She sighed in resignation and continued her walk home, hoping that when she got there, the damage wouldn't be too serious.
As Dawn walked, she began to feel a prickly feeling along her back, as if someone was watching. Thinking of it as nothing, she walked on. There were way too many people around anyway, of course she was being looked at. She was beginning to reach a residential area and she could still feel the eyes on her back, on her body. Spotting a convenience store up ahead, she quickened her pace. As the busy street sounds faded, she could hear her own footsteps. Listening carefully, Dawn thought she could also hear a second set of footsteps, and it seemed to be coming closer.
Not wanting to be caught near that person, she hurried up the few steps and nearly yanked the door to the 7-11 off its hinges in her haste to get inside. Inside the brightly lit store, everything she was feeling seemed to have been imaginary. She walked between the aisles, keeping an eye on the door to see if anyone else would follow her inside. No one did. With a great feeling of relief, she turned around to check out the shelves behind her.
She heard a noise behind her and spun around. There was nothing there. In her fear, she had spun around too quickly and she gasped as she lost her balance, crashing backwards into a shelf and knocking it over. Dawn cringed as cans hit the floor and bottles shattered while cellophane packages crackled and crumpled.
Dawn glanced at the mess then looked up to see what had made the noise. All she saw was the door swinging shut and an extremely angry cashier shouting obscenities at her. She nodded her head at him and tossed an apology over her shoulder as she strode out of the store.
Dawn peered around, and hesitated on the steps, unsure of what awaited her in the night. Shaking her head and berating herself about her stupidity, she tried to convince herself that nothing was there and forced her feet to descend the steps.
She continued to walk along the street towards her house. She continued to think about what had happened inside the store, feeling guilty that she left a mess when her mind finally realised that there was a second set of footsteps and they were coming from behind her again.
She quickened her pace, hoping it was nothing, hoping it was just her imagination. She didn't dare look over her shoulder. Bright pools of lights from the street lamps made the shadows even darker, more ominous. Her breath came in nervous pants, as she tried to keep herself calm, even though her heart was beating at what felt like a hundred miles per minute. Her sweaty skin glistened whenever she passed through the light.
Nervously, Dawn crossed the street, peering left and right, acting as if she were only checking for cars when she was actually trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was following her. From the corner of her eye she saw a black shadow slip into the blacker shadows.
