What's in the strange Cloud and Why is it following you?

 
"I am scared" he wailed.

"Whats wrong ? Where are you ?" said the voice on the phone.

"Someone, something. I dont know what it is. Its following me."

"What do you mean someone, something ? Dont you know what it is ? What is it ? Is it behind you ? How long has it been following you ?"

"Feels like its been following me forever, but I noticed it about half an hour ago."

"What does it look like ?" the voice on the phone cracked at him.

"It looks like a person. Cant really distinguish whether male or female. Too grainy to judge. almost surreal. I have been trying to pinch myself awake. It has a very vivid human form but looks like its a cluster or particles almost gaseous in nature. It seems to disappear into the dark shadows of the alleys at times, only to return looking bigger and more menacing than ever. I have never seen or heard of anything like it. It is scary. Can you come pick me up ? I am in the phone booth on 34th and 9th."

"Sure, I will be there in ten. Hang on there."

He hung up and looked at the figure in the dark street. The figure had a shape almost human like but it surely wasn't human. Its felt like a cloud had descended from the sky and taken a human form. His eyes tried to focus on the object like a camera trying to focus on the object. There was no focus. The more he focussed the blurrier the image got. The more he tried to form a shape or try to recognise the face, the more it looked like he was looking at a cluster of particles. A cluster of well organised particles. Light from cars seemed to pass right through the object.

He heard a perfuntory knock. It was a bum asking for spare change. He began fishing for change in his pocket. He found a dollar, gave it to the bum. The bum thanked him and started walking away. He quickly called out to the bum and pointed in the direction of the figure. The bum looked in the direction and then looked at him. He turned to see what the bum had seen. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. There was nothing but the street where the figure had been a couple of seconds back. He turned and ran towards the corner. He looked around frantically. There was nothing. Was all this a figment of his imagination. He walked back to the phone booth and decided to wait there for his friend to come pick him up.

There it was. There was the figure. The particles looked more dense than ever. This time the figure looked like a female form. Almost as if it had evolved into one. He could see her lips, he eyelashes. surely it was a female form. The form looked pretty, yet sent a chill down his spine. Shaken to the core. Where was she a moment back ? Had she disintegrated and evolved again ? How had she melted into the thin air ?

The figure turned and caught his attention and started walking away. The female form looked like she was straight out of a very low resoution video file. It felt like she was moving in water, creating ripples in the atmosphere around her. She was a delusion, a mirage. Why was she following him ?

A car pulled over. He wanted to stay there and follow her. But he decided against it and got into the car.

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Note : I read Micheal Crichton's PREY a few months back and couldnt help resist when Gill posted this challenge. For those who havent read PREY, Its about a cloud of 'smart' artificially intelligent nano-particles which escape from a lab. They act in accordance with multi agent dynamics and They have the ability to take a human form.... I formed it as a basis for the above. 'inspired'

http://www.crichton-official.com/prey/
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