“Sure, babe.”
She hooked her arm through mine as we walked toward the bar. At the last minute, my gaze lifted to the second-floor window of Davidson Hall where Professor Black’s classroom was located. I caught a quick movement, almost as if someone had been watching, but when I blinked no one was there. Did I imagine the professor’s dark shadow looming from above?
Shivering, I brushed off the uncomfortable feeling as I noticed the goosebumps all over my skin. After dinner with Hep, I walked back across the parking lot to the school campus and headed toward my dorm. There weren't a lot of cars this late at night, only a few stragglers that were in late classes or studying in the library. Most students were in their dorms this time of night during the week. It wasn’t more than a fifteen-minute walk back to my room and I usually didn’t mind the exercise.
Until now.
It was at that moment when I felt like I wasn’t alone. The same strange sensation of being watched as I experienced earlier returned again as I quickened my pace. I should have let Hep drop me off at my building as she suggested. My parents insisted on paying for my own space instead of sharing one of the dorm bedrooms after my last roommate mysteriously left the university. Having money meant I enjoyed luxuries other students couldn’t afford. I would rather have stayed with Hep and shared a cramped room together. The nights were always filled with dark nightmares . . .
A prickly sensation dusted the back of my neck and I nearly ran with the sudden feeling of panic, my heart racing as every Halloween and scary movie I’d ever seen conjured all sorts of frightening images. Wasn’t the stupid pretty college girl usually one of the first to die? Ugh!
Something slammed into me from behind and I hit the pavement, crashing to the ground on my hands and knees as my books scattered. The breath was knocked from my lungs and I couldn’t even scream. I pushed upward from the ground and spun around, coming face-to-face with a monster straight out of my nightmares. My mouth dropped open in a silent scream of terror. His eyes were a bright, fiery red . . .
***
Blinking, I sat upright in bed, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I gazed around the room in confusion. My head felt foggy and mildly throbbed with a slight headache. The only thing that occupied my thoughts was the need for coffee. I shuffled across the room to the bathroom, then returned with a cup of water and began to brew a cup of caffeine goodness in the Keurig. As I stood in the middle of my dorm room, the last few minutes of the previous night came crashing back into my reality. The only thing I remembered were those haunting and frightening eyes. Dark crimson. The color of blood.
Something felt off.
I was woozy and clumsy as I bumped into the cabinet where I kept my food storage and extra supplies. Rubbing the back of my neck, I wondered why everything suddenly felt so real and vibrant, intensely colorful, but that wasn’t all. I could hear so clearly, and my stomach was growling hard. I’d never experienced such ravenous hunger. Did I eat something tainted or laced with drugs last night? How many drinks did I have with Hep? Why was my stomach churning?
The bright morning light was too much. I crossed the room and closed the dark blinds that covered my sliding glass doors from top to bottom. When I looked outside, I spotted a few claw marks in my patio furniture. The stuffing was poking through. What the hell? Did a cat go crazy on my balcony?
This was beyond weird.
My phone was face up on the empty bed across from mine. Blinking, I shook my head. I never left it there. There was nothing but a plastic covered mattress. Reaching for my cell phone, I found a ton of missed calls and messages that were identical to the ones from yesterday. Not bothering to erase them, I decided to give Hep a call. She answered right away on the second ring.
“What’s up?”
“Nothing much,” I yawned, fighting back the urge to return to my bed for another hour of rest.
“You seem off,” she observed as if reading my mind. “You alright? You never sound this tired in the morning.”
“Yeah, I had a really strange night and disturbing dreams. It sucked,” I confided. “I’m so exhausted I feel like crawling back into bed.”
“Sorry to hear that, babe.”
“You know what?” I asked, slightly changing the subject. “I woke up this morning to more of those messages and calls. I’ll send them to you.”
“Okay.” She sighed a minute later. “This is ridiculous. Someone has a really bad sense of humor.”
“You think?” I scanned the messages and missed calls again, thoroughly frustrated.
Unknown Caller: You can’t ignore me forever, gorgeous.
“There’s twenty missed calls and messages this time.”
“That’s really weird, Piper. Like, what the fuck weird,” she emphasized.
“I know,” I agreed, pacing with frustration. “I wish they’d stop calling and texting.”
“Didn’t you block the number?”
“Of course, but the sending number was the only thing that changed. Whoever it is still believes I’m the person they’re trying to reach.”
“Maybe you should just reply back and tell them to stop,” she suggested.
“I don’t know. If it keeps up, I will.”
At the sound of her mumbled curses, I gave in. “Alright. I’ll tell them it’s the wrong number.”
Me: You have the wrong number. Please stop calling and texting.
There was no reply. Not even an acknowledgment of my text.
“Well, at least you made an effort,” Hep pointed out once I told her no one had answered. “Maybe the texts and phone calls will stop now that you’ve answered. I bet they’re too embarrassed to reply, whoever it is.”
“Right. That makes sense.”
I had a feeling she was wrong but couldn’t explain why or how I knew. Combined with the weird shit last night, I wasn’t in the mood to dwell on it.
“Don’t worry,” she instructed. “I’m sure it’s nothing now. We have more interesting things to discuss.”
“Like?”
“How your sexy Biology teacher likes you.”
Snorting, I would have smacked her if she’d been in the room. “You know, if you weren’t my best friend in the whole world, I would disown you for saying that.”
“Lucky for me, I’m indispensable.”
That was the truth. I couldn’t function without my Hep.
“Totally,” I agreed as we continued our discussion – minus any additional comments about Professor Black. Five minutes later, I ended the call still feeling like something was off.
Maybe I was overthinking all the weird stuff that kept happening. Taking a deep breath, I let the stress fade away as I thought over Hep’s words. She couldn’t be more wrong if she tried.
Professor Black and I were nothing more than teacher and student. Period.
Twenty days.
That was all I had until my six months were up. I was given an extension on my contract but that didn’t mean that Piper Vanek wasn’t supposed to die. Her time was up. Expiration date reached.
And yet, I couldn’t find the will to kill the feisty little human.
Piper was nothing like I imagined when I was first asked to be assigned to this location. She was opinionated and stubborn, completely disregarded my rules, and was constantly irritating. Not that she had a clue of my origin or job with the Alliance. My silence was part of the agreement. All Sentinels performed their duty in the human world as assigned and without interference.