He caught the man’s eye for only the mearest of a second. The falling snow wasn’t enough to hinder eye contact. He noticed the scruffy beard and wild hair all wrapped up in a thick duster-style coat. It was his eyes that stayed with him as he walked past. They were dark, almost dead inside. And in that heartbeat of a glance the world changed. The busy street they had been walking on the span of a breath before was now emtpy. Only the two of them stood on it’s cold, slushy sidewalk.

“Welcome to my reality.” The stranger tells him darkly. Blinking in surprise he notices that he is now grinning at him in that maybe-he’s-not-right-in-the-head way.

“This is where you run for your life.”

He backpedals slightly. The steam of his breath quickens and then stops as he realizes that no such steam is escaping from his tormentor’s mouth.

“Seriously.” There’s a blur of unseen motion and the crazy man is standing nose-to-nose with him. “You need to start running.”

He turns to run before he realizes it consciously.