Seeing Around Corners Novels & Stories

I turned around slowly, scanning the hallway, my eyes darting instinctively to the corners, the benches, the doors. Nothing. “Amber?” I called. My voice echoed back at me, unanswered. A cold wave of panic washed over me. “Amber!” I called again, louder this time. People glanced at me curiously as they passed, but none of them slowed. None of them stopped. My pulse started racing, loud and frantic in my ears. He was just here. Just behind me, with his game and his earpiece. I spun around, my gaze sweeping the space more frantically now. I walked back a few steps, then forward again, checking behind pillars, near the entrance, anywhere a small boy might wander off to.

I could feel it even now—his shadow, cold and heavy, pressing against the walls like a stain that wouldn’t fade. I dragged one hand across the floor until I found the wall and used it to pull myself upright. My arm shook violently. My fingers slipped once, twice, before I managed to sit back against the wall, knees drawn to my chest. It was dark—though for me, it always was. Still, I could sense the shape of the room. The broken chair near the corner. The window high above, sealed shut, no breeze, no light. The faint hum of the generator downstairs. I knew it all by sound. By air. By memory.

I guess my search finally concluded. I look around to see if no one followed me, I open the door slightly to see if it is Ethan or someone else. As I hear, I see something unusual, I see a shadow through the mirror in front of me, which appears to be standing far behind me in the corner. I look back and I see no one. I turn around to inspect hoping that I'm not going crazy, as I walk slowly towards the corner, The door swings open where Ethan was staying.

Moving with agility and caution, I navigated the hidden paths, the urgency in my steps driving me forward. Finally, I arrived near the wall just before the entrance of the packhouse. Pausing in my tracks, I pressed myself against the wall. Peering around the corner, my heart raced as I watched several figures stealthily slip into the packhouse. With great care, I concealed myself further, hiding behind the protective cover of the wall. My instincts warned me not to make myself known, for I understood the risks involved in being discovered by them.

I can see most of the room clearly from this vantage point, and although I don't see anyone, I draw my gun from its holster just in case. Carefully, I inch out from behind one of the shelves as I look at my surroundings. The room is empty. Once I know it's clear, I shut the bookcase and hurry to the doorway. I peek around the corner and into the hall before skimming the wall as I make my way to the front sitting room.

And that’s when I see a tall shadow in the corner of the room, tucked away at the darkest nook. The only thing giving away its presence is the strange beaming white light from its eyes, directly looking at me.

I walk past it without stopping and go to the end of the block and turn the corner and stand there. Through the front window of number 34 I can see movement, a figure crossing from one side of the room to the other, unhurried, and then a second figure, smaller, and then the first one sits down somewhere out of my sight line and the second one stops moving and appears to be looking at something on a wall. I stand at the corner for four minutes watching and a third figure appears briefly in the window, even smaller, a child, and crosses the room and disappears.

I muttered, squinting my eyes to see better. He was already pulling his radio out. “Marcus, eyes on the east. Possible scout near perimeter.” A crackle from the radio filled the tense air, then Marcus’s voice cut through, sharp and awake: “Got it. I’m on it.” Another flicker of movement was what i saw from the corner of my eye. It was further down the left this time. Then I heard a tiny whisper in the dark. I turned fast. “There. South side. They’re circling.”

They tripped over each other running. Loree shrank into the corner, praying he hadn't noticed her. Footsteps came closer. Louder.

I couldn't risk being seen by anyone, especially not by Brent or his associates. I spotted a window in the corner of the room, but it was small and narrow, barely big enough for me to squeeze through. It was my only option, so I hurriedly made my way towards it. The cold glass pressed against my skin as I looked out, checking to see if there was anyone in sight.