Short Changed || #ONC2022

Chapter VI

Something had felt wrong the second she had left the bowling alley.

It had been a regular afternoon -- only a few customers, and a lot of sweeping up after kids who couldn't quite understand that rubbish bins existed. Nothing had felt different or wrong, though. It was only when she stepped outside, locking up behind her and feeling the crisp wind batter her skin, that she felt it.

Something was off.

She hovered by the glass doors, waiting. All she could really hear was the howling wind, and with only the faint silver light piercing through the night, she couldn't see anything suspicious either.

But, as she began walking towards her street, she could have sworn she could hear things.

The thrumming of footsteps -- and yet, whenever she turned her head over her shoulder, she saw nothing. Then, as she moved faster, she heard some sort of rustling and even a strange sound of someone clearing their throat.

And yet, no one was behind her. No one was around her.

It was just her, the stars, and the pathway.

Only when she could feel eyes burning into the back of her neck did she pull out her phone.

Bryan. She should message him. He was basically her boyfriend, after all, right? He would care.

Hey. I am walking home from work and I think I'm being followed. I'm scared.

His reply came instantly. And yet, it made her sink.

you're probs just making it up in your head. dw just let me know when you're home

But she knew she wasn't making it up. The footsteps were growing louder. She could hear them as loudly as the rattling in her heart. And, through the corner of her eye, she could have sworn there was a glimpse of a shadow trailing after her own.

So, without even thinking, she swiped to Luca's profile.

Hi Luca. I just left the bowling alley and I think someone's following me.

A few seconds of nothing. Then, she saw three dots.

He was typing.

And yet, Annabelle felt stupid. Why would she tell him? What would he do?

I'm on my way. Where are you at now?

She remembered typing up the street name. She remembered sending it through.

From there, everything became hazy.

There was a sound -- a loud grunt, and then someone was lunging from her side. A man's shoulder dug into her back, and her feet could barely hang on, and she was on the ground and gravel was shredding at her hands, and, and, and--

A hand wrapped around her neck. Pushed.

Her vision bled into blackness, and for a second, the air just slipped away from her.

But she had seen the man.

Al. The catfisher. From her first date.

Somehow, with whatever desperately flailing part of her heart that still could feel, she forced herself onto her elbows and sank her teeth into the skin of his arm. He screamed, loosened, and there it was -- a moment to breathe.