"Gotcha!" said the voice behind me as he caught hold of my elbow. I cursed under my breath at my ill luck for that very day.
'Of all days, why today?' I grumbled as I was turned around to face him.
I made sure a sour and annoyed expression marked my face as this one was the one time I wanted to be transparent about how he was making me feel. But the lunatic smile on his countenance only grew wider like he was enjoying the show that provided him with the perfect entertainment he needed.
"What now?" I snapped at him.
"You still have a short memory," he breathed out with a sigh. "Have you forgotten our deal already?"
"You're the one who calls it a deal. It's a one-sided one since I didn't agree to anything. How can you put that on me when you were the one to do it? And who asks a college for money in an office and plays bets here? Also, please excuse me, I need to use the restroom urgently."
I turned to leave but his grip on my elbow just tightened, preventing me from escaping from his crushing strength. I could feel the pulse on my arm on the exact region where he held it. I would have sworn at him if he had tried something more than just this to stop me from going.
"You have forgotten me, indeed," he breathed out in my hair as he closed in the distance between my back and his front. "I can't believe you."
I scoffed and said, "If I had forgotten you, I wouldn't have spoken to you so informally just now. I would have kept my mouth shut, knowing that you can get my job cut off, but I could do the same to you if the news of you playing such a gamble spread."
"You might as well try that."
"You choose the wrong person yet again, Gean."
I caught hold of his arm with my captured arm and turned around. Just when I was about to take him by surprise and turn him around to pin him to the floor or the nearest wall, he twisted me around so that my back was sticking to his front completely. I fought against his strength, but it was of no use as I had now been pinned against him.
"You have forgotten that I learn from my mistakes, love," he said in the shell of my ear, irking the hell out of me as he sent a chill down my spine.
"Now answer me," he continued as he spun me around without letting go of me. "When did you know that it was me?"
"Since I heard your last name, I suppose," I responded in a defeated tone. "My mind lacked too much sleep to have recognised it easily. But who would have guessed that the bully would have "
"You were friends with the bully. Don't forget that."
"I was friends with you when you 'turned' around, not when you were 'still' one."
We gave each other a hard stare that would have held enough hatred if we didn't know what the other was truly like. It was strange that I had to meet up with a high schoolmate at a higher position than me, and at a more successful position, although I couldn't recognise him.
"Sure," he said, swinging my hand in such a way so that he let go of it harshly."As though people will believe you when you shall tell them that he had a good heart."
"I wouldn't believe that now for sure. You have earned quite an attitude again."
"Or you have changed back to your original self once you left high school. It is very evident on your very face."
"You still haven't gotten rid of that tone of yours. You never learn, do you?"
"A courtesy to the person who once taught me to use it well instead of using violence. Should I make use of it gladly now that I have found her gift?"
I could only smirk at his remark. It was amusing that he had ended up changing when he seemed like a stubborn soul who had no wish to change for the better, no matter what. He preferred to be bad as usual, but I was glad that he wasn't as horrible as I had thought him to be when I had first met him.
But I might have not changed at all, except my temper and the weapon that I hid in my tongue for the people who deserved it. Although I rarely used it and especially against people who used to annoy the hell out of me, I kept it safely enough, forgetting the use of it a little every day as I made no use of it.
"You are going to become a rusted weapon soon," he uttered with a click of his tongue. "I thought you had somewhere to be."
"Indeed I do," I responded, turning around on my heels and walking quickly to hear them click against the marble floor. "For a very special reason."
"I can already see that. You still owe me for it. You had better pay up this instant before I make you do it in some other way."
"Good luck with that. There are a lot of CCTVs here to watch those moves of yours and surprise your staff. Also, I don't even have it with me now, so no use begging me for it when I have no intention of paying for your kindness."
"Oh wow, you have really hidden it well, haven't you? I shall steal it from you then."
"Try that too. I shall just get the security to catch it from you."
"You, just wait..."
He gave me a chase when I started to run at the threat that I saw in his eyes through the reflection of the glass panes. That was my biggest error, but I knew that I had to make it to the washroom immediately before I lost it at him.
I was smiling stupidly and yet running away from the scene with injured feet and a racing heart. I told myself that I had completely lost my mind to be playing around with a bully whose heart would never turn towards the good side.
I swerved into the nearest washroom and shut the door of the stall with a bang. I was sure that the sound was enough for it to sound like a gunshot that had penetrated out of the washroom and into the very corridor where he had been prowling.
The ladies in the washroom gave out a short shriek at my sudden entrance and the way I had shut the door, as though they had suddenly seen mice come out of nowhere. The next scream that echoed around the room made me giggle as I knew he had the exact sin I knew he was capable of doing.
"A pervert!" screamed the shrill voices of the women. "Kick him out! Beat him to death!"
I sat in my stall, with my feet off the ground so that he wouldn't find me in it. But with my stomach aching from the continued chuckle that sucked the air out of me, they nearly fell out and revealed the stall I was in.
I was glad that he had been kicked out and that I could return to my space quickly and peacefully. The only problem was that I had to worry about facing him later when I exited the office building or meeting him with him suddenly in a corridor. For that moment, I preferred facing the demonic man more than his crazy secretary.
~
The day ended on a good note with no worries to think about. My job had come with a tighter schedule yet a comparatively easier task. It must have felt like that since it was the first day and the CEO had been gladly merciful for giving me a few tasks after the terror of the morning.
That presentation had given me such a fright that I had lost all of my energy. My blood sugar levels were so low that my hands and feet were quivering like they had been placed in a vibrator. The run with my childhood friend had me nearly falling in front of my office before I reached my desk. I was so weak that I had to ask someone to get me a cup of coffee so that I could live through the day without having to get up again for my breakfast.
The only thing that had made me forget about the world of work was when the phone rang suddenly, giving me a sudden shock. I cursed at it, realising that I was cursing more than I had in my entire lifetime.
"Where the hell are you?" Yusra had yelled from the other side of the call, making me wince and move the phone an arms length away from my ear. "Are you that angry with us that you won't even lunch?"
"I forgot about the hour," I had said plainly in a curt tone. "Now let me get back to completing this task."
"Have you become a workaholic again?! When will you learn to let go of it?"
"Why does it matter? I almost got into trouble because of the two of you, but that didn't affect you at all."
"If it's about the morning, we are really sorry," came Efrain's voice which pulled my lips into a thin line. "You looked too serious and it looked like you would get sick any moment if you kept at it."
"I'm working at too serious a pace to leave the work and come down for lunch, be it anywhere. Don't trouble me anymore than you already have. I can't afford to waste much time behind such little things that won't matter later on."
My rumbling stomach had spoken otherwise. I knew that I needed to eat soon since I hadn't eaten a morsel since the morning. Yet I didn't want to go until I finished the little that remained of the work and especially not in their company. It had turned my day into a near disaster if I hadn't been able to handle my anger due to my hunger and lack of sleep. I was bound to become a fuse or a timed bomb.
The second time I got disturbed, irking me, was when I received a message from the secretary. I read through the message as I leaned my chin on hand, whose elbow rested against the edge of the table.
'Woman, how long are you going to sit behind that desk and work?' his message read. I twisted my face, wondering how he had access to my contact number when he wasn't in charge of anything that had to do with me.
The next reply was enough to answer my question and amuse me at the way he used things to his advantage.
'I have your number,' read the next text message, 'because I was the one who pulled it out for the CEO. So don't question me about that now. You need to get out of the room before I pull you myself.'
'You can try the latter. I am in no mood to leave my incomplete work and run elsewhere,' I replied back and put the phone down to prevent any further calls or notifs from troubling me.
I was in no mood to deal with people until I had finished what looked like a little bit of work but kept extending. That reminded me of the passage I had seen in my nightmare, but I quickly shook that though off and got back to finishing the task at hand.
A while later, there was a knock on my door. I sighed in disbelief at the number of times I had to be troubled. I was to weak to get up so I only called out, "Come in!"
The person in a brown apron came in with a large tray in his hands. I stood up immediately in surprise and then clutched my head as it started to turn dizzy. I supported myself against the edge of the table, signalling the man to leave the tray containing a variety of food on the space next to my desk.
I walked around the large table, wondering who in the world would have sent such a thing that would cost me a fortune for sure. I didn't eat much and the food here was enough to feed at least five.
'Brought you everything I could find since I didn't know what you would like,' said the little note I had picked up amongst the bunches of packets. 'Eat it first and then work. You aren't able to finish it because you haven't fed that small brain of yours.
'Also, pay back for this by treating me to one. I'll be waiting for it.'
It had been signed as 'Your bully'. I couldn't stop smiling when I read what he had called himself. He had gotten good at insulting me for sure, but he had still kept that golden heart of his, though it was hidden from all eyes.
'Thank you ^.^,' I messaged him. 'And about the treat, it'll be very cheap, so don't expect much from this poor woman.'
'Right, right,' he had answered back a second later. 'As though I would have asked you to take me to an expensive restaurant only to feed me one main dish from the huge menu. I would rather have a full course like I gave you one.'
'A greedy and jobless soul. How come you're checking my messages when you have work to attend to?'
'Because I'm Flash and a multitasker. Don't underestimate me, alright?'
I had ended up spitting out the morsel that I had bit into a few seconds ago from the snort that had made its way out from my throat and nose. The person who used to say things like he couldn't do them had either learnt how to do them or had hidden very well, even from my eyes.
I had sent an 'OK' emoji to him and turned the phone down to not have to look at any more messages. It was getting tiring that I had to attend to some of the stupid, personal notifs on my office phone since those two idiots were in the same building and, most frutratingly, the same department as me.
When evening approached, I was free to go home and the first thing that entered my mind was going to sleep without going another chore in the house. I had no time for it as I was dead tired and ready to collapse on the bed without thinking about anything that I had to attend to, even if it was going to the CEO's late night, which I highly doubted would be the case.
My feet moved on their own accord as I thought deeply of how the day went and how the nightmare had become a reality. I couldn't believe that I had become tangled in a history that had been long hidden from the eyes of humans.
And the fact there was a sudden increase in their count, because of the numerous number of missing people and murders one kept hearing on the news, made it a heightening worry. It seemed even more serious that something like this was being hidden from people's ears and eyes, which would have been good if there was some control to this.
The light on my phone woke me up from my daze and I noticed the message that had been put up in the group by the CEO himself, who would rarely speak and get the secretary to message. It was astonishing that even at this hour he was working and probably pushing people around to work again.
'Such a horse,' I muttered under my breath as I read the message he had posted in the group chat.
'The company will be holding a medical test in the main auditorium,' he had messaged. 'Everyone is requested to line up near the hall at the given time for each department as listed in the attached sheet. Anyone messing the test shall be held back in the office and be made to go through it. Anyone not attending the test tomorrow will have the medical staff arrive at their very doorstep to have themselves checked.'
My eyes turned quizzical at those words since I had never heard any company do any sort of medical test for anyone unless there was some epidemic or pandemic spreading around the face of the land and the world. I stared at the screen hard for a few seconds before shrugging my shoulders and looking away from the screen to look where I had landed up.
I narrowed my eyes, looking for an exit in the dark alley I had accidentally landed in. I couldn't even figure out the direction I had come from nor find any exit that would lead me out to the very road I needed to go to and catch the metro.
The ring that sat on between my collar bones gave out a small pulse that shone in the dark place. I looked around to see the purple glow from the amethyst ring being reflected on the stinky, black walls os the lonely aisle.
My heart spiked up as it made out a figure in the darkness that prowled towards me. I stepped back cautiously as the hooded figure threw back his hood behind him. I switched on the torch on my phone to see what danger I had gotten myself into this time.
The bright light showed me shining green eyes that slowly turned gold. I immediately retracted my hand and moved away the light to point towards a wall, hoping that he would be able to see a trace of me. I wanted to blind him with the light, but I knew that if I kept looking at those eyes, I would faint from the fear that was growing inside me.
The cloudy sky, as fate would have it, had decided to give way to the brightly shining moon so that I could discard my phone. But the trouble was it had only exposed me to more danger than before.
The gleaming golden yellow eyes of the beast held so much hunger that I knew that there was no escape for me. I was soon going to be his meal unless God's grace descended upon me.
I walked backwards, taking each step slowly and noiselessly as the predator took one towards me. The moonlight showed enough of its features to instil the fear in me that I so tried to hide. If I showed any hint of fear, I knew that I would become his meal sooner than later.
The fur on the man grew, starting from his face to his arms and legs. I had already switched off the phone's light but there was no way the creature couldn't smell the fear inside of me.
When I tried to run to the alley on my right, I was blocked by the appearance of some mysterious wall. I stared hard at it, knowing that it was surely not there before I had decided to run.
I started for the other side, with the beast keeping at my toes. But that was when I crashed into another person who held the same gleaming eyes.