My fingers started to hurt as I gripped the steering wheel, eyes unblinking as I watched the building I’d come to know so well.  Charlie was about to have her day ruined and she would ask why I didn’t tell her sooner that her friend had died.  Why didn’t I just come right out and say it, instead of asking for the address and lying to her about Luke forgetting something?  I found my reasons were good, but I knew she wouldn’t feel the same.

With a heavy sigh I opened my door and slam it closed.  I circle the building to get to the front doors, hoping the extra time will give me some time to think, but even as I climbed into the elevator I had no idea what I would say.  The rumble of a car engine barely penetrated my thoughts, and by the time it did the elevator doors closed, too late for me to find the source.

Slow, unsure footsteps took me to Charlie’s door.  My knock was timid, quiet, and received no answer.

I knocked again, louder.

“Hey,” I said, “Charlie, it’s me.” 

Nothing.  It wasn’t like her not to answer the door.  When I grabbed the doorknob it moved easily, loose in its place, and the door swung open. 

“Charlie?”  Fear rose in my stomach; something was wrong.  The dark hallway that was a mirror to Luke’s no longer enticed me to play around in my head as I always had, and instead made me take a step back. 

I quickly steeled my nerves, stepping forward and letting the door shut behind me.  Each breath I let out came in white puffs, the temperature lowering the further I got in the apartment.  Photos of Charlie’s friends and family watched as I passed by, their smiles unnerving now more than ever.

When I turn the corner into the living room I expected to see Charlie sitting on her couch, headphones in and bouncing to the beat. 

Instead I found her lying on the floor, motionless.  My footsteps pound against the hardwood floor as I run to her side, peering over her face to find her eyes wide open.  I managed to say was a weak, “Charlie?”

I knew she was dead, but some part of me just told me she would wake up soon.  The hopeful part of me that said I wasn’t seeing one of the nicest girls I had ever met on the floor, breathless and frozen.  I had only talked to her twenty minutes ago, the familiar fear in my stomach giving me a flashback to my childhood; a different body suddenly in front of me.   I heard a siren in the distance and only then did I see the phone in her hand; the number on the screen read 911.  Just as I reached for the phone, the operators voice finally reaching through the static, I heard movement behind me.

My shoes squeaked against the floor in protest as I stood and spun.  Whatever was behind me wasn’t human, a cloaked figure that made the air in my lungs chill.  They moved like fog towards me, fading into the air like smoke.  They made no noise, so what had I heard?

There was a familiar hammering to my heart, a jolt of adrenaline rushing through my body but I stayed frozen in place.  Whatever this thing was, I couldn’t feel its presence, not really.  It wasn’t like any living creature I’d encountered, human or Eidolon alike.  It made no sound, gave off no scent, and even looking at it, it barely had a body.

It moved towards me, its smoky body wavering when we both startled at the front door being kicked open.

“Down!” a man yelled and I dropped to the floor after seeing him raise a handgun.  One shot went off, the loud ringing vibrating through my body.  My hands covered my ears, but it still rattled me.  When no other shots were fired I opened my eyes to find the smoke was gone, and it was just a man with a silver handgun.  I think I preferred the smoke.

Unable to focus clearly, I fell backwards next to Charlie’s body.  The ringing in my ears began to fade, only to be replaced by sirens right outside the building.  The man came towards me, grabbing my upper arm and hauling me to my feet.

“Come on,” he said.  I gave no resistance as he dragged me to the front door of Luke’s apartment.  I didn’t even question him as I would have, and instead let it happen.  Somewhere in the back of my mind I recognized the leather jacket and heavy boots, but right now all I could see what Charlie’s open eyes.

 “Keys,” he said, setting a pair of aviator sunglasses on his head.

“What?” I asked.  I had never been so lost in my life, never so…disoriented.

“Keys,” he hissed.  Footsteps thudded on the nearby staircase, making us both flinch.  “Unless you want the cops to think you killed her.”

I didn’t take the time to think and quickly shoved him aside to open my door.  The second it unlocked he pushed me inside and slammed it shut.  With his back against the door he pulled me face first against his chest, one hand quickly covering my mouth.  Knowing there were cops out there I didn’t struggle, not yet.  Despite that, he pressed my head into his chest; I only came up to his shoulder.

“Stay quiet,” he warned, tightening his grip on my mouth as he locked my arms down with his other arm, gun in hand.  I rolled my eyes as best I could with my face pressed against him, and gave a non-committal shrug.

Police thundered through to Charlie’s apartment.  My heart raced, just like it had when I had broken into the crime scene.  I wasn’t sure if I should be afraid of the man, though he had technically saved me from whatever killed Charlie, and then he helped me escape the police.  But now he held me like I was a hostage about to be involved in a shoot-out with the cops.

Beneath the smell of leather was a hint of steel and dirt…no…myrrh with motor oil?  It was reminiscent of what my older brothers smelled like after working on the car with dad.

The commotion outside had started to spur barking from the neighbours dogs downstairs, howling erupting below out feet.  Voices shouted incomprehensible words, my mind too focused on the man holding me. 

Finally, there was a knock at the door.  The man released me from his grip but kept a hand on my shoulder.

“Don’t make a sound, okay?” he whispered and I simply nodded, and only then did I realize why he felt so familiar.  He was the man that had watched me talk with Luke in the alleyway next to the police station.  For a brief moment I thought he might be a cop, a detective working undercover, but I knew that couldn’t be it.  Why hide from his own people, then?

He shuffled as he tucked the gun into the back of his pants, opening the door.  I was about to come around to face the officer with him but he shoved his hand in my face, pushing me backwards.  Not knowing what else to do, I let him take the lead with my mind only starting to settle down.

“Do you live here?” the officer asked.  A woman, not one of the officers from earlier.

“No,” the man replied, “just visiting my girlfriend.  Is something going on?” 

The words came out so casually, so honestly.  He finally released my face and leaned against the door.  Everything about him seemed casual, from the way he smiled at the officer to the grumble in his throat as if he had just woken up.  I wished I could lie as well as this guy.

“There’s been an incident next door,” the officer said, “did you hear anything?  See anyone go in or out of the apartment?”

“Incident?  No, nothing.  We’ve been in bed all morning, I was just on my way out.  Was it…was it Charlie?”  My eyes widened; he knew Charlie?

“I’m sorry,” the officer said, “we can’t say anything at this time.”

“Oh…all right,” the man glanced down the hallway towards the bathroom, “I don’t think she’ll take this very well.” 

The officer was quick to leave further prodding, but said that someone would come back to take a statement.  Once clear, the door click shut softly, and he faced me.

Instinctively, I took a step back, only to bump into the wall.  My eyes slid towards the kitchen where a set of knives sat neatly in a block on the countertop and then back to him.

“You’d never make it,” he said, blue eyes piercing into me.  I didn’t say anything and he crossed his arms at me.  Now what?  I stared into his eyes and he stared right back, unblinking.  Challenging me?  As if sensing he would never win this staring contest, he looked away first, into the kitchen.  “We need to stay here for a bit.”  He turned and strode into the living room.

Instead of following him, I walked right out the front door.  Bet he wasn’t expecting that.  I shut and locked the deadbolt behind me out of habit.  It crossed my mind that he would yell something at me, even through the door, but with the cops here he would never been able to explain that away.

I did hear him swear, but he never tried to leave the apartment. 

Trying not to look out of place I glanced into Charlie’s apartment.  I’d gotten lucky that the officers were preoccupied right now, and took the chance to slip away before any of them could spot me.  I took note that Charlie’s door lay on the floor, completely knocked off its hinges by the man that now had access to Luke’s entire apartment. 

As I walked down the hallway to the elevator I kept my head down, it wouldn’t go well if anyone recognized me.  I pretended to check my phone for messages when I spotted the two detectives from the first crime scene.

“Another one?  Already?” the woman asked.

“Yep,” her partner said, “that means the kid didn’t do it.”  He pointed at the uniformed officer behind her.  “Radio the station to let the kid go, but make sure he knows he’s still a suspect.  They could be working together.”  The officer nodded and did as he was told. 

They?  The second I pressed the little down arrow, the elevator doors opened and let me inside.  A relieved sigh escaped me as the elevator doors shut behind me.

Luke was going free, so I wouldn’t have to do anything else to try and help him.  Soon it was going to be behind us and we could return to a nice, semi-normal life where smoke didn’t try to kill me, Luke wasn’t in jail, and crazed gunmen didn’t try to trap me in my apartment.  Yet he was in my apartment and it was only a matter of time before he found his way to the fire escape.  With that thought in mind, I ran to my car the second the doors reopened, bumping into a woman on the way.

My heart sank into my stomach when I saw my car.  I had parked in the far corner of the back lot, next to a line of trees on the passenger side and nothing else on the left.  Unfortunately behind it was a black Charger, just an inch away from my trunk.  I swore under my breath—he was smarter than he looked.

If he’d been following me all morning, then he knew I went to the crime scene.  He knew my connection to Luke, and Charlie, and most likely the other victims as well.  I didn’t have time to ponder his part in everything, and started walking to the police station.  Once I was with Luke, we would be able to figure it all out.

“Hey!”

My neck twisted to find the man in the leather jacket pointing at me.  I didn’t waste any time and ran in the opposite direction, hoping he wouldn’t chase after me with so many cops in the area.  Too unpredictable, he followed after me.  “Stop!”

I ran between two small houses, trying to lose the man using a shortcut only locals knew about; it led to a small park, and from there I could escape through more winding paths into a graveyard.  From there I ducked between another set of houses and with a little help from a box, hopped a three-foot fence and landed just next to the police station.

Out of breath I checked behind me for the first time since I started running.  I was really starting to regret not taking more PE classes in high school, because he was there; he was actually there just behind me.  The man was coming up fast but stopped as a cop car beeped its siren on the street; a dead stop in fact.  I watched as he eyed the flashing red and blue lights, safely out of sight from the cops, but not safe enough, it seemed.  He put his hands on his hips and shook his head towards the ground.

Ah, he didn’t want to confront me now that I’d made it to the station.  The man looked back up at me and I shrugged at him, my lips twitching to hold back a superior smile.  I turned and walked into the station, knowing I would regret this sooner or later.  Most likely sooner, if I knew any better.

Just as I opened the door Luke was standing at the receptionist’s desk asking to get something else to wear.

“So what,” he said, “I just have to walk back in my boxers?”

 I hadn’t thought about that.  He was arrested wearing only stripped red and white boxers and a white tank top; but I thought they would have given him something to wear at least.  The receptionist, with eyeliner now smudged under her eyes, was going to answer him when she saw me and pointed.

“Look, you’re girlfriends here,” she said, “she can drive you home.”

“Girlfri—” he started and turned to see me.  He seemed incredibly relieved and I felt it in his hug.  “I’ve never been so happy to see you in my life.”

“Yeah,” I said, “me too.  I’ve got some…news.” 

He let me go and looked into my eyes.  “Bad news?” 

I nodded and the grateful sparkle in his eye disappeared.