Predatory Puddles (11) : Summer rains aren’t uncommon, so finding puddles dotting your path isn’t in itself particularly surprising or abnormal. However, as you walk past them, you feel the sensation of being watched, like eyes are on you. If you look into the puddles, you don’t see your reflection--nor the reflection of anything familiar to you. Instead, you see strange, decayed buildings, and odd, rotting plants. Something is watching you through the puddles, but before you can investigate, between one blink and the next, it’s all gone. When you look back, the puddles are oddly non-reflective, and then in the next blink, they’re all gone. The feeling of being watched doesn’t fade, though.
Shedir had enjoyed the Star Festival so much these past few days. She had forgotten she still needed to embark on her Senshi Patrol. Today was not the ideal day for patrolling since it had just been raining. The ground was covered in puddles and the sky was still dark. But Shedir knew she had to go, she was the only one who could protect the city. Taking a deep breath, she gathered her courage and set out on her patrol. Just as she stepped onto the pavement Shedir felt a chill go up her spine and knew she had to move. She quickly made her way towards the first area of her patrol, determined to find whatever was lurking in the shadows. Before she could do anything about it, she noticed a puddle with a strange type of reflection. Shedir cautiously moved closer to investigate, and soon realized it wasn't her own reflection she was seeing. She was terrified, for in the reflection she saw was a decaying city, and not the city surrounding her. The city looked like it had been dying for sometime now. She even saw rotting vines growing up on the side of the decaying buildings. Everything in the reflection was literally dying even plants. Plants that could survive without nothing were dying. The reflection was a mysterious phenomenon, one that seemed to be showing her a parallel world to her own. The strange reflection gave her an eerie feeling, as if warning her of something she could not yet understand. Before Shedir stepped away from the reflection, she saw a pair of eyes in the puddle. The eyes were staring straight through her, and it sent her heart racing. She knew that she had to find out what the reflection meant and who those eyes belonged to. With one last look of dread, Shedir turned away from the reflection and tried to think of the different things it could mean.
Why was it one puddle that was different from the rest? And why did it show itself to her? Was it a warning or something? Whose eyes were those? All these thoughts flew through her head, and made her question everything. She was confused and scared by the puddle, as it seemed to be out of place and had an otherworldly feel to it. She had a feeling that it had some kind of meaning, but couldn't figure out what it was. As she went to look into the puddle one more time the world had vanished. The puddle had returned to normal. Except that the air around her had changed. It was as if the puddle had shown her something, a warning of sorts. She had a feeling that it was telling her to be careful, but of what, she couldn't tell. She took a deep breath and continued on her way, still unsure of what had just happened.
Just then she felt a chill go down her spine, as if she was being watched. She slowly looked around, but there was no one there. Her heart raced as she stepped away from the puddle and continued on her way. She knew she had to act quickly, but what exactly was watching her? Until she could figure out that question there was really nothing she could do. It was as if an invisible hand had reached out and grabbed her, stopping her in her tracks and sending a chill down her spine. She knew she had to get away from there as soon as possible. She quickened her steps and soon she was running, not looking back until she was far away. She was sure whatever was watching her was still there, but she didn't want to know what it was. This patrol was off to a weird start, and she wasn't sure she really wanted to continue it. As she got further away she noticed the puddles began to disappear one by one. It was as if the show had been cut short, and she had done something they didn't expect. She wasn't sure what had happened, but she was relieved it was over. As she walked home, she tried to make sense of what had happened, but the only thing she could think of was the mysterious presence that had been watching her. She knew she had to be more careful next time she went on patrol. But not only that, but the feeling of being watched was still there.
She felt like those eyes were all around her, and even with the puddles disappearing and the sky brightening. She could see those eyes in her head and feel their presence all around her. She was filled with a deep dread, a fear that she could not escape, and a feeling that she was being watched. In that moment, she felt alone and vulnerable.
As she felt all these questionable feelings she decided maybe today was not a good day to patrol. So she looked around her surroundings one more time and headed home. She knew that at least at home she would be surrounded by others. Not only that but these eyes made her not want to be alone. So she ran as fast as she could until she reached the hotel. She went into an empty alleyway, and transformed back into Sabrina. Sabrina could not run quick enough as she transformed back, she raced through the hotel doors, and when she saw her parents. She hugged her parents as tight as she could and buried her head in their bodies. She felt safe in their arms, surrounded by her family's warmth around her. Sabrina knew she was safe and could finally take a deep breath. Even if she did feel those eyes now she knew they couldn't touch her here. So she smiled, and raced up to her room to investigate. She had a lot of questions to answer, and not only that. If it was a warning of the future she needed to figure it out. Consequently, she stayed in her room to investigate until her eyes closed and she fell asleep.
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