Chapter 3: A Stalker in the Night

The ride was taking an eternity and a half.

I was sure that it would take even longer for me to arrive at my destination and with this weirdo just standing there, this was bound to be the longest ride of my life.

I was still trying to decide if I had heard him say ‘that’s what you are’ or whether I just imagined it. It was hard to tell because when I looked at his face, his lips were sealed. He didn’t look like he had said a word.

So much was going on—so many weird things—that it wasn’t all that hard to believe that I heard those words in my head.

But the way he looked at my shoes and smiled at me was a good indication that he knew something, which was practically impossible because I didn’t know him. He didn’t know me. It could be anything on my shoes. He was just a weirdo, and I was so paranoid that I was reading into things a little too much.

I needed to calm down.

I looked to my left and saw a middle-aged woman sitting with her hands on her lap. Everything about her was ordinary, but what caught my attention was how she was staring at the man. Yes, the one who was standing beside me and holding onto the railing. We were only ten people and nobody was sitting next to me. It was just him.

She made eye contact with me and we stared at each other for a few beats. The expression on her face was haunting. She seemed terrified. I looked back at the guy but he was staring straight ahead. I only saw his side profile. A sharp jawline. No hair on his face whatsoever. His skin was milky and perfect. Flawless. His hair was as black as coal and perfectly styled. Neatly combed. I hadn’t even noticed how well-dressed he was. He was even wearing dress shoes. Polished, at that.

I looked back at the woman. Her face was getting even paler and she was staring at her lap now. When my gaze slid back to him, he was looking at me. His eyes…they weren’t all that normal. They were very dark, almost bird-like. I looked away quickly, feeling genuinely terrified for the first time. I was even afraid of looking back at the woman. I just kept my eyes on my lap and counted the endless seconds for the next stop. I’d get off. I didn’t care about where I was going. I’d catch the midnight train if possible.

All I knew was that I didn’t want to stay here in this train with him. Not for a second longer.

The train began slowing to a halt. I was feeling relieved. It only occurred to me a little later that he might get off on this stop too. If that was the case then what was I supposed to do? What if he only moved after I did too?

Most of the people were getting up. The only ones who didn’t move were me, the woman, and the creep. She and I stared at each other for a bit longer, unsure of what to do. I didn’t dare to look at him. I couldn’t bear to have those eyes on me again.

They were cruel eyes.

A killer’s eyes.

If I didn’t make a decision soon, the doors would be closed and we’d be stuck with him. Was that better than risking it out there? No, I didn’t think it was. I stood up tentatively and she did the same. An understanding passed between the two of us. We used the same exit. We would walk together until we reached a more crowded area and then we’d part ways.

We walked alongside each other. I didn’t dare to peer back at him. I held my breath as we walked out into the cold and she seemed to do the same thing.

And then from the corner of my eye, I saw him move.

A sound formed in my throat and died there. I glanced at the woman and kept walking. We were walking toward the escalator. We couldn’t leave each other’s sides. She was almost trembling. He was a safe distance behind us but any doubts about whether he was following us or not flew out the window. He was. I felt it. Felt his predatory presence. Hell, I even felt it in the train.

And this woman…she was shaking. Visibly.

I wanted to ask her if she knew who he was but I couldn’t, not when he was standing so close behind us. The station was relatively empty. That wasn’t good. But there were two of us and only one of him. Unless he carried a gun on him, we could fight him. Get away. Do something.

Scream for help.

He couldn’t get both of us. That was what I told myself. Before I realized it, I was shaking too. I thought nothing in the world would ever get my mind off what happened with Garrett but it seemed I was wrong. This was much, much worse, depending on how this night ended.

Maybe I’d die. It would serve as a proper punishment.

We reached the next level and started walking toward the exit. Our footsteps echoed and we both silently made the decision to quicken our pace. I could see the glass doors right ahead. A few more steps and we would make it out into the streets. There’d be more people and we’d be safer. Safe. I took safety for granted my whole life. Nothing like this ever happened to me before. Being stalked by a beady-eyed fellow was not something I ever thought would happen to me.

Then again, I never thought I’d see two humans disintegrate right before my damned eyes.

We kept walking. The woman was hyperventilating now. Sweat was tricking down her face. Literally. A few more steps and we’d reach the exit. We’d be free.

Pushing those doors open was the best feeling in the whole world. I breathed in and she did the same, but we weren’t safe yet. The streets were too open and not as crowded as I had hoped. We were exposed. We needed a safe place. So we kept walking and the shameless fucker continued following us. It was cold outside but I was sweating under my coat. We were almost jogging side by side. We crossed the square and then made it to a sidewalk. Some cars were lining the street. Not a lot of people were around.

He still followed us.

“Just a little bit more,” I muttered to her in encouragement.

We kept going. We made a sharp turn. I started fishing in my bag for my phone but then remembered that I couldn’t switch it on. I could be found if I did. I needed to discard it but I loved it too much. I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment yet.

“Call an Uber,” I told her.

“I don’t have a phone.”

Dammit. This was just what we needed. We kept walking. Not a single cab rolled past. If one did, we’d scream it down. The streets were silent accept for the occasional car. Hell, I was so anxious to see a car of any kind that I was even hoping to manifest a cruiser. The police was the last place I wanted to go to after what happened but anything was better than this. We kept walking and he still followed us. That was bound to be a bad sign.

He didn’t have good intentions.

The woman was starting to slow down. That was the last thing she could have done. He would slowly catch up to us even though he was walking like a serial killer at this point. Nice and slow. At his leisure. I looked at her and said through my teeth, “You can’t stop now.”

“I can’t,” she panted. “I’m too tired.”

“He’s still following us!” I said.

This made her quicken her pace but only for a few seconds. I started seriously contemplating leaving her. We were nearing an alleyway. A cat hissed at us before running past. My heart nearly leaped off my chest. I looked at her again. I couldn’t leave her. Not after what we survived together. If I left her, he would attack.

“Please,” I told her.

She shook her head. “Go. Run. Don’t look back.”

“No—”

“Do it,” she said, getting more aggressive. She shoved me hard enough that it shocked me. “Go! Don’t look back!”

I took a few tentative steps back. He was slowly approaching us though he was still a safe distance away. The woman stood breathing hard. Her bag dropped to the floor. I felt tremendously sorry for her. I didn’t want to leave her but I didn’t have a choice.

I turned around and kept walking. My heart was shattering in my chest. This was one of the worst things I had ever done. Leaving someone to be hurt or burglarized or whatever. Unshed tears stung my eyes. I wanted to look back but didn’t. Couldn’t.

And then I heard a yelp and the sound of something toppling over.

I turned around and she was gone. Only her bag stayed behind.

The man was also nowhere to be found.

I looked around. They hadn’t crossed the street. They weren’t anywhere to be seen. The alleyway. That was the only place where they could be. I mustered all the courage I had and started stomping toward the alleyway, preparing my throat for a mighty scream. I wouldn’t let this happen. I shouldn’t have walked away to begin with.

I reached the mouth of the alleyway and screamed, “Leave her alone—”

The words died on my throat when I saw the woman’s head rolling toward me, and the eyes had been gouged out.

I looked up and saw the beady-eyed man drinking the blood that spurted from the place where her head should have been. His eyes were even darker—fully black now. And his lower face was covered in blood.

The scream that left my lips was toe-curling.