The hallway was silent.

It rang loudly in her ears.

She hated it; the shadows seemed to dive into a point at the other end obscuring the true length of the hallway.

She didn’t know how she got here; it didn’t seem to matter anymore. She was here and for reason that she didn’t know he was tormenting her from the dark. She hadn’t seen him but she knew that he was there, waiting and watching her every move. She didn’t even know it was a he, it just felt that way, it felt like a masculine presence sneering out of the dark at her.

She began to step into the gloom when her foot hesitated mid-air, should she continue?

Should she continue to play into his hand, doing everything that he wanted her to do? The darkness seemed to be closing in on her, pushing her to put her foot down in the unknown of the hall.
Who would do this to her? The last thing she remembered was putting the shopping on the counter and bending down to put the canvas bags back in their draw, then nothing.

Something silently disturbed the quiet behind her, shifting the air.

She spun on the spot, desperately searching the inky black room behind her for the source.
Then she heard it, the almost inaudible breathing.

The quiet huff of breath that was slowing approaching her, closing in on her.
She strained her eyes, trying to pick out a shape, something that was more or less black that the rest but she found nothing.
Still it came closer, her own breathing increasing rapidly with her panic.

Was the corridor worth it? Should she chance it with whatever was coming out of the darkness? She didn’t have the time to choose, to weigh the decisions. Her brain was racing but she couldn’t think, she just needed to act.

Quickly she decided, swinging into action and not bothering to conceal the noise she made.

Then once again, the hallway was silent.