Walk in the light: Legend novella

June (21)

June

2357 hours, September 7

Ruby Sector, Los Angeles

It was almost midnight by the time I was finally released from the conference and had made my way back to my apartment. The meeting had gone fine, I had been through worse discussions before and this one had drained me by only a little.

The physical walk back to the apartment was a blur in my memories. Yet the things that filled my brain on the way were crystal clear.

And they were not about the meeting.

They were about Day.

**********

You would think that in a city like Los Angeles, there would be roaring on the streets even in the darkest hours of the day. Always something to be afraid of, some spirit lurking in the dark. You would think that there are only the street lights to illuminate your way, the twinkle of stars hidden by neon billboards and blinking advertisements. And that is all true, but for some reason to me tonight was peaceful. It was a rarity when nothing in my surroundings affects me, when the calm occupies my mind. Only one thing stood against it. One dream.

One night.

Replaying in my head was the night that had appeared in Day's dreams, just over a month ago. Our night. It was a swirling vortex of visuals and sounds, as if I was watching my life on film. It played inside my head right up until I had unlocked my door.

In that split second, the memories vanished. Dispersed, as if it were a projection shown on a cloud of vapor and someone had waved their hand through it, scattering the images every which way. Fragmenting it, shattering it.

My senses kicked into high gear the moment I stepped foot into the apartment and let the door shut behind me. After just a few seconds, I felt my heart beat quicken, preparing to pump more blood if necessary. There was a sort of underlying energy flowing through my veins, a familiar sensation that I always experienced when my my mind was preparing for self-preservation. The parts of me that had still been lingering on the memories suddenly focused and the scenes now seemed like just that. Just memories. It had been as if I was living through them, experiencing them. Now, I was only looking at those golden times through a window to the past. Amazing how everything can change when one is in danger. And danger was a possible factor in my current situation.

Something was off.

Everything seemed in place though, every object was exactly where I had left them. Something shiny had caught my attention and I focused on the lock to my balcony, where the titanium was gleaming faintly in the moonlight.

There was something wrong about the picture. Even trained as I was, my mind couldn't properly depict exactly what was bothering me. Except the fact that it was. Trusting my senses is something that hads saved me numerous times. Scanning the room more carefully, I came across patches of ruffled carpet. They were pressed down in a manner to conceal that an object had came across it, but done with a sense of skepticism. As if a trained eye wouldn't be able to detect things done by an amateur.

Running through the situation in a split second, I decided to be direct. I was not in the mood for playing around, acting like I hadn't noticed such sloppy handiwork. Willing my heart beat to slow down, I called into the familiar room, "Who's there? I suggest you show yourself before I have to do it for you."

Barely a moment had passed before something moved in the shadows. By the doorway that connected the livings room to the kitchen, the silhouette of a figure appeared. And when he was sure that I had caught sight of him, he stepped into the light.