I was walking down the street with a half-finished sandwich in one hand and my phone in the other, and I felt a bit annoyed that I was heading home this late. The sidewalk was empty and the shops were all closing so my footsteps were the only sound. I stretched and yawned at the same time.
"Man, today was boring," I said, and I bit into the sandwich again. The bread was too dry so I chewed slower and stared at the vending machine humming near the bus stop. The lights on it flickered and I clicked my tongue. "You better not eat my coins again," I told it, and the machine buzzed louder like it was mocking me.
I kept walking and pulled out my phone. The screen glowed on my face and I scrolled through a few messages from my coworker. He was complaining about the shift manager again and I chuckled. "Bro, you complain more than he works," I said, and I typed something back while kicking a small rock forward.
A faint rumble made me lift my head a little. The sky above me looked normal except for one spot that seemed darker than the rest. I squinted but continued walking because I wasn't in the mood to stand around.
"You don't show rain on the weather app," I said at the phone, "don't mess with me."
I pocketed the device and rubbed my neck. The streetlights were spaced out far so the long walkway felt a bit lonely, but it wasn't scary or anything. I had walked this route plenty of times after work and nothing interesting ever happened. Part of me wanted something fun to break the routine, but I meant something like finding a dropped wallet or a cute cat on the curb, not actual trouble.
Another small rumble came. I slowed down and pointed up. "Hey, stay where you are," I told the cloud. Talking to it felt stupid yet I kept doing it anyway.
The dark patch above me grew a little. That was odd, and I stepped sideways to check if it was just my angle. The thing followed my movement exactly. I stared for a few seconds and then stepped back. The cloud shifted again.
"…What," I muttered.
I took two more steps to the right and the cloud drifted with me like it was attached to a string. I raised my sandwich at it. "You want this?" I asked, and a tiny spark twitched inside the dark mass. I lowered the sandwich fast. "Okay, you don't want this."
I walked faster. The cloud came along. I waved both arms at it. It lowered itself a little.
"Dude, what are you doing?" I said out loud. "You're supposed to float around with the rest of your friends, not stalk one tired guy trying to go home."
A short crackle burst inside it and I flinched. The sound wasn't loud but it was close, too close. I pointed at the ground. "Stay up there, alright," I said, and I tried to keep my tone calm, "don't get weird."
A streetlight ahead of me popped. The glass shattered and sprinkled tiny pieces on the pavement while the bulb inside dimmed and died. I froze and stared back at the cloud.
"I didn't do anything," I said. My voice sounded thin so I cleared my throat and tried again with more confidence. "I'm innocent, okay. I paid taxes and everything. Well, some of them."
I backed away slowly, glancing left and right to see if anyone else was around. The street was empty and the only movement was a plastic bag rolling along the gutter. I waved at the cloud again. "Shoo," I said, "go make rain somewhere useful, maybe above the park, the grass looked dry yesterday."
The cloud rumbled in a low, irritated way, almost like it understood the insult. A ripple went through the center of it and a stray spark dropped down, hitting the sidewalk a meter away. A faint wisp of smoke rose from the spot.
"Okay, that's rude," I said. "I'm tired, I want a shower, I want to lie on my bed, stop doing that."
I resumed walking at a faster pace and rubbed my head with my free hand, the sandwich still in the other one. "What did I even do today," I muttered, "worked the register, stocked the drinks, got yelled at by that guy who wanted four straws, none of this is illegal."
The cloud rumbled again. The vibration ran through the air and I groaned. I tossed the rest of the sandwich in the nearest bin and shook my finger at the sky. "Look, if this is about littering last week, I picked it up. The wind knocked it into the bushes, not me."
I started jogging. The sky jogged with me. A bright pulse lit up inside the dark center like someone switched on a flashlight from inside the thing.
"Hey, don't do that, slow down, wait," I said as I continued jogging. I yelled louder, "You're going to scare people."
There were no people to scare.
I ran across the crossing and grabbed the handrail by the stairs leading down to the underpass. The cloud paused there like it was thinking. I didn't want to go down the stairs because I imagined it would squeeze itself into the tunnel somehow and blow every bulb in the ceiling.
A spark hit the top step. The entire metal railing buzzed in my hand, and I yanked my fingers away. "What is your problem?" I yelled, and my voice echoed across the empty buildings.
The cloud responded with a long crackle. The sound crawled in my ears and I stepped back till my heel hit the curb. I took a deep breath and raised both hands.
"Alright, we can talk. You want a picture or something, you want a snack, I have gum, I don't know if clouds eat gum, but maybe you can try."
Another spark formed, larger this time. The shape of it reminded me of a tiny electric tail whipping around. My stomach tightened a bit. This felt bad, extremely bad.
I pressed my palm against my chest and nodded up at it. "Please don't," I said softly, "come on, man, let me go home, my bed is waiting, I didn't wash my blanket yesterday so it's still warm from last night, I kinda miss it."
The air thinned around me and my hair stood up. A static charge crawled along my neck. I slapped the back of my head. "Don't you dare," I said.
The streetlight beside me flickered. The bulb flashed twice and then shattered like the one before. The metal pole shook, humming with leftover current. I glared at the cloud.
"You're not funny," I said, "stop aiming at me."
A fresh spark formed and buzzed like a swarm of angry insects. It spun, growing brighter and brighter. My throat felt dry and I pushed my hands forward like I could push the danger away. "Wait a sec, don't rush this, we can fix whatever's wrong, maybe you're lost, maybe your weather app is bugged," I said.
The spark expanded into a bright sphere. My vision washed in white for a moment and I ducked, waving my arms.
"Stop, stop, relax, I'm not even interesting," I yelled.
The cloud didn't relax.
I took a step back, then another, then I ran. My footsteps hit the pavement hard and my arms swung wildly. "No thanks," I yelled behind me, "go bother someone else, I'm not special, I'm just a guy who sells drinks at a convenience store, I'm not the main character of anything."
The lightning answered by dropping lower.
I jumped over a puddle and almost tripped. My shoe scraped the ground and I cursed under my breath. The crackling grew louder and I could feel it chasing me at a steady pace.
"Seriously, man, I get it, you're upset," I said while panting. "I would be upset too if I were you, floating alone without friends. But you don't need to fry me, we can sort this out."
My voice cracked a little. I blamed the fear and kept running.
A giant spark flashed above me. I felt the heat on my scalp. I ran faster, swinging my arms and pumping my legs. "Wait, just listen," I yelled, "let me go, I still have leftover curry in my fridge, I can't die before eating it."
The cloud ignored my cry.
The spark collapsed into a lightning bolt.
I froze for one second and tried to shout something, anything that might help. My mouth opened and the only words that came out were, "Hold up."
The lightning struck me straight in the chest and the world blinked out like someone unplugged it.
Everything turned empty.
Then everything vanished.
End of Chapter 1