Ready to Take on the World

Chapter 23: Venturing into the unknown

There was an old building standing in front of me. Its colour had fainted over the years, plus it was dark, so I wasn't sure if it was white or grey. But I could tell it was a small block of flats with a few balconies and old, concrete stairs. There were a few men outside of it and when I passed them they whistled behind me. I knew it wasn't safe coming here alone and not telling anyone about it. But at the same time I felt like I needed to do this alone and not make it anybody else's business. I didn't even tell Jake. They were all connected to it. Jake would probably refuse to go because he wouldn't want to; he would probably even have an excuse prepared. And he probably wouldn't let me go alone either. Besides, I was a little scared asking him to go, either alone or with me. Meeting your old crush is a big deal. Maybe not that big, but in his case it was, since it caused a rivalry between him and his best friend.

My next option was Dalton, but of course I couldn't ask him, because there was no way he'd let me go and if he had gone here himself I doubt he would have sorted anything out. There was only Nicky and Eva left, but I couldn't drag my friends into this mess. I know they would've wanted to help, but I didn't want them to get involved. It was too much to ask.

When I searched for 11b I met weird people. First I came across an old lady with two cats in her hands. She was murmuring something to them. I think she was saying:''Who are my little girls; yes you. Mama will take care of you.''

Then there was a couple who had a kissing session going on. But not a normal one. It looked disgusting and way over the top.

Further down the hall there was a guy lying on the floor, so I had to step over him. He was staring in the wall and was whispering something, but I couldn't hear it. When I stepped over him, he scared me to death by screaming:''They're coming. Run!''
I jumped and turned around. Then he closed his eyes and continued whispering.

'Creepy, this place really creeps me out.'

I finally found 11b apartment and knocked on the door. A middle aged lady opened it. She had short curly hair, a pale, narrow face and was way too skinny to be normal.

''H-h-hi.'' I stuttered ''Um, my name's Kailynn. I'm looking for Sally. Sally Lockhart.''

The woman just stared at me with her tired eyes for a while and then she said:''No Sally here, sorry.'' Her voice was low and deep, almost like a man's. One could clearly tell she was tired and exhausted from life.

She slammed the door. I stood there for a moment and then knocked again. The same woman opened the door and looked at me with her now angry eyes.

''Please, I'm looking for Sally. There has to be a Sally here. Help me.''

The woman sighed and said angrily:''She's out. You can come another time or wait for her.''

''How long will I have to wait?''

The woman sighed again and said, this time more calmly:''I don't know, 15 to 30 minutes? But you're gonna have to do it out there, in the hallway.''

Then she slammed the door again. I had more than 30 minutes, so I decided to wait. If it meant sitting on the cold tiles of the unheated hallway, so be it.

I sat on the floor and started waiting. Nobody was there. Not a living soul. I saw a cat walking down the stairs, but that was it. I heard voices coming from the apartments. Some were angry, some happy, someone was laughing, someone arguing. I never lived in a block of flats, so I didn't know how it was.

Since there was nobody there, I figured there was no danger. So I started drifting away to another world, my dream world. I was almost asleep, when I was woken up by a voice:''It isn't such a good idea to sleep on the floor of a hallway in a block of flats.''

I looked up and saw a small figure. A small woman was standing above me, looking at me with her tender eyes. She was the exact opposite of the woman I had talked to before. She had long, straight, blonde hair and her face looked nice. She didn't look angry, like the woman before, though she seemed tired too. She had dark circles under her beautiful, soft eyes. She was skinny too, but way shorter. She wore a blue sweater and jeans.

I got up and smiled. ''I'm waiting for someone.''

''And who may that be?''

''A girl named Sally. Sally Lockhart. You know her?''

''Well you'd think so, cause I am her.''

''Oh, you're Sally Lockhart?''

''Mhm,'' She nodded. I gave her a kind smile and she returned it.

''So, did my aunt leave you waiting out here? Oh, you poor thing. She usually does that.''

''Well if your aunt is really skinny, has curly hair and an angry look on her face, than yeah. She said I needed to wait for you out here.''

She chuckled and said:''Wow, that's the most precise description of her I've ever heard.''

I smiled back and said:''Listen, my name's Kailynn and I need to talk to you.''

''Kailynn. Beautiful name. If it's really that important than let's go inside, shall we?''

She opened the door and I followed her in. I didn't know if it was a good thing or not or whether I was doing the right thing. Sally seemed nice, after all. I mean, what was the worst that could've happened?