Or turn and run? (yes).
Now, when I was younger I was fit and agile and a very fast sprinter. I could outrun my PE teacher (much to his embarrassment). However, now I was in my forties, I had barely moved faster than a sloth for many years, and I was running over slippery cobbles. But I can tell you, when I fled with him tearing down the street after me with a knife in his hand, screaming and laughing like he was an escaped lunatic, I shifted faster than Usain Bolt with the tourist trots. I could feel the rain dashing against my face, the wind breezing over my bald head, my legs were pumping away and adrenaline was coursing through my system.
The guy chased me for about a mile, through the twisting streets, over busy lanes of traffic, across bridges. He only gave up the pursuit when I finally crashed through the door of my digs, panting and badly wanting to take a pee.
It was a terrifying experience, probably the most frightening thing that has ever happened to me. I was glad to be flying home to the UK the following day.
But it did inspire me to include a couple of scenes in my books, having experienced the real thing up-close-and-personal so to speak. So my trips to Amsterdam weren’t a complete disaster or a waste of time. Perhaps I should return to the city soon. It’s a good way to beat writer’s block.
My own moment of real-life terror in Amsterdam.
Mark.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Hobson is a writer and historian. His works span numerous genres from military history to thrillers and horror, both fiction and non-fiction.
He lives at home in Yorkshire with his 3 cats.
Books by Mark Hobson
Now May Men Weep – Isandlwana: A Story From The Zulu War
Ntombe 1879 (non-fiction)
Isandlwana – A Military Enigma (non-fiction)
The Curse of Modern Britain
Grey Stones (coming in 2021)
Hanslope Green (coming in 2022)
The Amsterdam Occult Series
Book One – Wolf Angel
Book Two – A State of Sin
WOLF ANGEL
AMSTERDAM OCCULT SERIES
BOOK ONE
The City of Amsterdam is gripped with fear.
A series of brutal murders have left homicide detectives baffled. With no motive or clues to work with, they find themselves probing blindly through the city’s dark and violent underworld.
But Inspector Pieter Van Dijk is not convinced this is the work of one lone psychopath.
Drawn deeper and deeper into the shadowy heart of the case, he unearths a terrifying history of family madness and occult conspiracy echoing across the decades.
Brilliant… gripping…a well thought out and well-written book
A dark story with lots of action
This isn’t Jackanory
Available from Amazon
ISBN: 9798696036946
