THE HUMPED MAN

                THE HUMPED MAN

As I was walking back from Ro's house, I heard a noise. Like, a dog panting. I looked around to see if there was anybody. But there was no one. I decided to keep moving when I heard the patter of steps. Like a dog running behind me. I am not afraid of dogs, in fact, I love them, but this "dog" was freaking me out. I said to myself that I was being paranoid because it was dark and silent here. I increased my pace and walked without looking back. I was about to turn into a dark alley which was a shortcut to my house, but this tingling feeling in my gut was bugging me. I felt like someone was looking at me. I weighed my two options, reach home fast through this dark alley, or use the well-lit longer path. I decided on the latter and thought that I should pretend to be on the phone with someone. I took out my phone and saw that the front camera was on. When I opened the app to shut it, I saw, on the screen, behind me, a man scurrying across the road. He moved like a dog.  He had a hump on its back. But, why was he on his fours? I  started panicking on the inside. My walk turned into a sprint and I kept my eyes on the road ahead. Somehow I reached my street. All this while, I was conscious of the fact that the man was still following me. I called my father out and told him to wait for me at the door. Upon entering my street, I started running  Later, I recounted what happened, and he said, "Don't worry. Someone's probably playing a prank."
The next morning I wake up and go to the dining room for my breakfast. As I eat my cereal, I scroll through the news websites like I usually do. And there I see, on the headlines,
"Patient escaped from an asylum. Known to have a previous history of walking on all fours. Man was found in an abandoned house, estimated to be there for about a year. Undiagnosed mental condition."
I was stunned beyond words. What were his intentions? Why was he following me? I guess, we shall never know.
Thanks for reading! I am not very good at writing stories, but I am trying. Inspired by the Reddit stranger!