Edited by: Waning_Crescents

“Who are you?” Sigal asked while his expression darkened.

The voice on the other end sounded distorted as if using a voice changer, which made it impossible to detect any familiarity.

“You haven’t forgotten, have you? Oh, no, no, you would never forget that time three years ago, would you?”

Sigal froze. What did he say? He propped one hand on the nearby wall, while his heart rate increased. No…this can’t be...

“Mr. Crawford?” the stranger chuckled. “Did that shock you already into silence?”

“Sigal?” Asher called out over the transmitter. “I don’t know what’s going on but stay calm!”

The investigator’s eyes shot wide open as if being brought back to reality; he closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep inaudible breath. He is right, this proves nothing yet…I can’t let him fool me.

Then he steadied himself and said, “That’s impossible, who are you really?”

Right after, Sigal took his cellphone out of his pocket and messaged Asher. [Someone must be outside! Turn every corner upside down, they must be nearby!]

“Is it impossible though?” the person on the phone asked. “Or did you miss an important piece last time?”

The investigator knitted his brows. What does he mean? What important piece? Is he mocking me?

 “It was really tragic, wasn’t it?” a distorted chuckle resounded over the phone. “Say, Mr. Crawford, are you still grieving? Are you still in pain? I will never forget your eyes back then…so satisfying.”

“Shut up!” Sigal raised his voice, while he also clenched his cellphone tighter in his grip. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to say ‘hi’ and warn you. If you interfere again, I personally will make sure that you won’t be able to get back on your feet.” Even though the stranger talked through a voice changer, the shift into a serious tone clearly resounded. “I highly recommend you choose your steps carefully this time, Mr. Crawford. I am sure you wouldn’t want to repeat the same mistakes, right?”

Before Sigal could even reply, the stranger hung up.

Sigal’s head spun and his heart beat so fast as if it would leap out at any second. He trembled, while the surrounding noises drifted farther and farther away until he found himself engulfed in darkness. No…there is no way…how?

He panted uncontrollably. He clutched his chest while fragments of memories rushed through his head. Everything…everything…

At this moment, the hope he held on to shattered into pieces and all the pain resurfaced at once. His worst nightmare became reality.

“Hey! Young man!” the shouts of a stranger’s voice in the distance penetrated Sigal’s ears until they drew closer by the second. “Hey! Are you alright?”

The Investigator lifted his head to face the bartender that stood in front of him. He already tried for a while to get Sigal’s attention, but to no avail and grew worried. “Did you drink too much? Do you need me to call an ambulance?”

Sigal shook his head and shoved the phone into the bartender’s hands before he staggered outside.

“Hey! Why didn’t you answer me?” Asher rushed towards him, but as he caught a glimpse of the other’s irritated expression, he furrowed his brow. “What happened?”

As the shock lifted, the rage took over and Sigal gnashed his teeth. “Don’t tell me you came back empty-handed!”

“What do you mean empty-handed? There was no one around, I looked everywhere. I couldn’t see anyone outside the bar.”

Sigal’s eyes flared up in anger, and he grabbed Asher by the collar. “Impossible! They must have been here; how else would they know that we were here at this time?”

Asher narrowed his eyes and grabbed the wrist of the hand that fixed him in place. “Calm down and tell me what happened.”

Sigal glared at his colleague for a moment and tightened his grip. “It’s them! They must have tracked us somehow and you tell me you found nothing here? How is that even possible?”

“I don’t know, but I couldn’t see anyone stalking the place.” Asher’s expression darkened. “You either calm down now or I make you!”

Sigal bared his teeth and pushed his colleague away by letting go of him. “Then you weren’t throughout! You must have missed something!”

Asher stumbled back but steadied himself in the next second. “I haven’t…there really was no one in a close radius or I would have noticed!”

Irritated about the situation, the investigator didn’t know how to contain his anger, so he let loose and smashed his fist sideways into the wall of the bar. “Dammit!!”

“Getting worked up won’t change the situation.” Asher flung his arms up as if trying to tame a wild animal. “All we can do for now is report back and plan our next steps carefully.”

He wanted to say more, but at this moment it didn’t seem to be the best time to say anything that could fuel the other’s rage. Asher understood that the situation called for immediate action; they had to discuss how to proceed from this point onward.

“Come on, let’s go back,” Asher suggested.

Sigal still held his clenched fist against the wall, while he glanced over his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes and stared into the distance where only a few streetlamps illuminated the area. I will find and end you!