Writing Prompt: Something moved in the shadows.

Morning all and welcome to Friday. Feeling tired but otherwise not too bad So let’s jump into the morning prompt and get this Friday started.

I like the idea of starting a story with someone easing out of recovery. it allows for reevaluation of life choices as new danger threatens and leans into the mental angle. I think I might roll it back though to start when the feeling of needing the get back into a ready state occurs and a self assessment is made. Then start with the physical and move into the mental so that by the time something arrives the process of mental change has started but is still fresh. Still I like this. It just isn’t the very beginning.

Friday, October 4^th: Something moved in the shadows.

Something moved in the shadows.  I cut my eyes to the left to see if I could identify it without slowing my pace.  The move had less to do with trying to keep my heart rate at a steady fat burning pace and more to do with not wanting to be caught looking for something. 

I thought I was safe, I thought that no one was looking for me, at least not at the moment. I was hoping I wasn’t wrong. 

I didn’t see anything but I felt as though I was being watched.  I could practically feel eyes watching me.  But nothing moved.  There was nary a rustle or a snap if a twig.  Goven that we were in the middle of a very dry fall, brown leaves crunchy and covering nearly every surface off of the roadbed, not hearing anything either meant that nothing was there or they were very good.

If anyone was sent after me, I expected they would be very good so the lack of noise wasn’t exactly comforting.  However, I also knew those sent after me would not be very patient.  More than likely they would not be sent unless my presence here was absolutely confirmed.  They would not stop to watch and make certain it was me before acting.  They would know.  Those who would be sent were very good at what they did, but complex thinking wasn’t their strong suit. 

The longer nothing came after me the better I felt.  Still I wasn’t comfortable enough to run the full length of my self assigned route.  I reached what I thought might look like an acceptable marker for turning around, a fallen tree off to the side of the road.  I reached it, jogged in a semicircle to turn myself around and headed back. 

Not for the first time I cursed the lack of a gym out towards my little hideaway.  If there had been one close enough, I would have used it.  Then I could run on a machine, in a climate controlled space, with other people around to make certain nothing lurking would pounce out of the shadows. 

I could still feel the eyes of someone watching ass I made my way back to the house.  Whoever it was didn’t feel the need to come closer.  ‘Just curious maybe,’ I thought. 

I entered the house and instead of going straight for my water bottle I went for my security system.  I had magical shields that I engaged but I had coma across things that could disable them, so I put in the more mundane security system as well.  As long a I remembered not opening the a door while it was active I was as safe a I could be.

And if I did open the door, I would simply have to make an embarrassing call to the security so they didn’t send the police to investigate.

Security engaged I went for my water bottle.  I filled it up from the tap before I left and let it sit on the counter.  The water here was cold.  It came down from the mountains and while on many occasions I enjoyed the cold refreshing water, if I drank it right after a run then my stomach would cramp.  Filling the water bottle before I ran let the water warm to room temperature by the time I returned. 

As my run was shorter than usual, the water was still cooler than I liked, but not belly cramp inducing cold.  I drank my water and tried to regain my breath. I inwardly cursed my own current weakness.  When I left, escaped really, I had been wounded both body and soul.  I retreated to a secure and relatively hidden place to heal both.  The physical wounds limited my mobility and the mental ones decided melted cheese went well on almost anything that wasn’t chocolate. I liked both, but had far too much of a good thing.  My injuries healed and I added a bit of extra weight.  Lately I had been feeling the urge to get back into shape, to begin training again.  I wasn’t certain why I felt that way, but I knew to respect the urge.  I still had a few extra pounds to lose, but my fitness regime and training were almost back to my preinjury levels. I knew it wasn’t a coincidence that now someone came looking.