Strange Call

Nina

“I am watching your every move, watch your back,” the letter read, and her eyes twitched as I began shaking. I looked back to see if anyone was watching me, but I couldn't find anyone behind me. I held on to the letter tightly as my mind roamed freely in what could go wrong.

What if they were actually after my life? What exactly happened after I left the country? Why was everything so dangerous? Just in that deep moment of thought, I felt a hand on me, and I shrilled.

“What's wrong? Why are you so shocked?” she asked, and looking at the face, I recognized it was Helen. I breathed out a sigh of relief as I hid the paper behind me.

“I guess the crowd is just too much; we should leave before we lose each other again,” I said, and she nodded, walking forward a little, but she stopped as she turned back to me boldly.

“What are you hiding behind you?” she asked, and I shook my head negatively. Immediately getting defensive, I began stepping backward. “Nothing, I just feel like standing that way because of the crowd; you don't have to worry about it.”

But despite my explanations, she still remained adamant as she moved even closer to me, trying to reach out for what I had behind me. “Are you sure about that? How am I supposed to be assured you didn't just distract me so that you could come here to meet some informant?”

I chuckled lightly at her words; how I wished I did have an informant at this moment. “I actually don't have one; you don't have to worry about it.” I shifted even further backward, but she was determined to catch me.

She pounced on me, and I immediately let it go, the stepping feet making it hard to ever find it. She grabbed my hand and searched for a while before she looked towards me with a raised brow. I withdrew my hands as I waved them in the air. “I already told you there is nothing.”

She glared at me for a while before she withdrew herself backward and stood up straight. “Why were you then acting so weird? It made me feel like something big was at stake,” she said, and I chuckled, even though something big was actually at stake.

“Let's just leave; I don't want to miss you again.” I said, coupling my hands into hers, and she stared at me for a while before we advanced further away from the crowd while I pondered on the strange figure.

“We took so long in the crowd. Why is Rein still not back?” I asked immediately I spotted our car, which looked like no one was beside it. She shrugged, and we finally got to the place.

“Let me go look for him; I will be back soon,” she said, and I smiled as I nodded, letting go of her hands easily, but then I remembered the message as I held tightly to her hand and screamed “no” unconsciously.

She turned back to me with a raised brow as she asked, “No, what? What's wrong?” I shook my head negatively at her question as I rested on the car, my heart racing.

“It's nothing. Let me leave with you, or perhaps we should wait for him,” I said, but she shook her head negatively as she looked at the mall that stood before us. Truly, it was far, but I just couldn't shake off the fear.

“You have to wait here; what if I miss him? Who would call you to tell you about it?” she asked, and I held on to her hand even tighter. She had valid reasons, but now I couldn't help but feel like everyone's eyes were on me.

She patted my hand as she gently placed it away. “Don't worry; I will be back soon.” She gave me a reassuring smile as she walked inside the mall. I stared at her retreating figure for a while before I unlocked the car, ready to step in when a call came in from my phone.

It was my father! “Hello, Dad. Finally, you are willing to talk to me. You know you have a lot of questions to answer for me, right?” I asked, but rather than getting an answer, I heard a panicked response.

“Yes, and I will explain that later, but right now you will have to go to Texas. Stay with Caspian for the meanwhile; that city isn't safe.” He said, affirming my thoughts. I just knew something was wrong, but what was it, and why was everyone so panicked?

“Why Caspian? Can't your guards deal with it?” I asked defiantly. Although I could affirm his concerns, but Caspian? We only managed to get along before; why would I go to Caspian now?

“Listen to me now, Nina. I don't have much time left. All I can tell you is that you should go to him now; you'll get all the answers you need when you get there.”

“Okay, but where are you now? Your voice sounds a little panicked?” I asked, but rather than hearing an answer from him, I heard a groan, and then the network started fading as my hands trembled, and I screamed.

“Dad! Dad, what's wrong?” My screams fell on deaf ears as the call disconnected. I tried the number over and over again, but it was now unreachable. With shaking hands, I unlocked the car and got in. I was unwilling to use the ticket I had bought before because of this impending danger, but now, I was more than ready.

What I needed was answers!

***

Arriving in the state, I boarded a cab that drove straight to Hide Street. His house was off-limits to others, and although I always wondered why, I didn't bother to question him. With the cab dropping me a few miles away from the house, I had to walk by foot to the house.

Staring at the huge mansion that stood before me, my heart leapt in joy but quivered in fear at the same time. I was finally going to get the answers I sought, but at the cost of what?

I walked into the house after quivering for a while, and as soon as I walked in, I found no one guarding the door. It was honestly weird considering the numerous amount of guards it usually had, even if he dismissed them.

I wanted to scream out his name, but considering the eerie silence, I decided to silence my voice. There was probably a lot more to this. Just as I pondered on what to do, I suddenly heard a cold, emotionless voice behind me that carried a glint of fear in it.

“What are you doing here?”