Growing tired from all the fruitless running, Polly latched herself to a security pole nearby, grateful to have spotted one in such a desolate environment.
She hit the red button attached to the pole without hesitation, and the surveillance camera turned in her direction.
These poles were stationed along every street in Dunecliff. They housed CCTV cameras tasked with nocturnal surveillance to detect any suspicious activity, especially in a road as quiet and deserted as this one.
Thanks to these poles, numerous individuals had narrowly evaded life-threatening situations, simply by standing next to the pole. Today, she has also become one of the pole's saviors, and hopefully, someone from a station nearby reaches her on time.
The sudden vibration of her phone in her coat's pocket made her jump in fright. Her mind was completely messed up, and maybe if she did listen to Malcolm and just stayed home, all of this paranoiac situation would have been avoided.
She had to admit, she can be stupid and unnecessarily stubborn atimes.
Taking a deep breath and calming her senses, Polly fished for her phone in her pocket. When the lights came on, her pulse quickened when her gaze rested on the notification message she got from the unknown number, and since she didn't know his name, she titled it; Stalker.
Stalker: Look ahead of you.
Polly's heart raced at the subtle phrase. Why was the stranger commanding her attention? What is she supposed to see?
Though she anticipated only shadows and silence during a night like this one, something about the way her stalker had pronounced it made her aware that whatever would be in front of her isn't anything sightful, and she did not want to see.
Instead, Polly stood her ground and turned the other way, fortified by the safety measures around her. With the push of a button, she could summon help, and the ever-watchful security cameras would capture any threats foolish enough to approach her.
Another message popped on her phone's screen, and it was from the same unknown number.
Stalker: I'm right in front of you : )
Polly's eyes widened, and she instinctively jerked her face to the exact place where her stalker demanded she looked seconds ago. Standing meters away from where the security cams won't notice him, was a figure dressed in black.
He was sitting on the heels of his foot, crouching as he waved his phone in her direction– as if saying 'hi'
Polly immediately texted;
Polly: Who are you?
Stalker: ... Come closer and find out
When Polly looked at him again, he was up on his feet, and she squeaked in fear. She clung to the pole as though her life depended on it, and it did.
A strange light flashed past his face, and she caught a glimpse of his deep blue-violet eyes.
However, to her sudden notice, there was an unmoved body beside where the stranger stood, and Polly's face drained of colors when he pulled out a dagger blade from the unmoved body.
Her phone vibrated, and it was him again.
Stalker: A present for my Luna.
"Luna?" Polly whispered in fear and confusion, seemingly at loss. She lifted her head and looked in the direction of where the unknown man had been standing, and he was no longer in sight.
Panic took over as she immediately looked behind her, and to her relief, he wasn't anywhere around her. She hated the feeling of sensing something was behind her, and this man was giving her the creeps! Although she could no longer see him, she could sense he was watching her, but from where?
Where did he go?
The unmoved body was still lying in the spot where the stranger had stood seconds ago. Recollecting how he pulled out a blade from the body made her come to the conclusion that whoever was there had to be dead, and that man… murdered him.
What present was he referring to? Whose body did he abandon in the middle of the road?
With shaking sweaty hands, Polly immediately dialed 911.
～♡～
In the morning, the exact spot where the murder had taken place was being looked into, and Polly was too flabbergasted to say a word. The death of Andrew was not a good way to start the morning, and Polly had to go to the station to answer a few questions.
"You killed Andrew!" Clara didn't hesitate to accuse Polly once they got to the station. Her eyes were red and dangerous, burning with pure resentment, and if they weren't people around, she would have strangled Polly to death.
Polly wasn't even aware of why she herself was in tears. Maybe it was from the shock that came with finding out the dead body in the street was actually Andrew's, and she was horrified by the amount of stabs on his skin. She's never seen so many stabs, and her skin turned cold from the recollection.
Ignoring Clara who had shown up at the station with Andrew's father to place charges of murder on her, it was normal for them to be angry and disappointed when their charges were dropped, and it was all thanks to that security pole that captured everything.
"What exactly did you say you saw?" The cop in charge calmly queried Polly, and she wiped her tears away before explaining.
"I don't know, but he was just standing there…" she said, her voice trembling slightly, "he was… wearing a black outfit, with not a single detail out of place. He wore a black cap. I couldn't see his face since it was dark, I was too scared to go anywhere closer."
Then his eyes… she had seen it too, so why wasn't she dropping this hint?
"LIAR!" Clara interrupted the questioning yet again, storming towards Polly. "You orchestrated his death! You snuffed out his life because he didn't love a worthless, cursed witch like you! Admit it, you shameless woman!"
Clara did not hold back and violently grabbed Polly by her shoulders, and she seethed. "This is why no one would dare be with someone like you, Pollyanna Zendelle, the truth about demons trolling you has come to light! Why else would he meet his end the exact night he came to see you! You sit here acting innocent but that facade of yours won't fool me! I promise you, you won't get away with it!"
Her screams were starting to give Polly a headache, and two more cops stepped forward to break Clara's hold on Polly.
Polly didn't have any ounce of strength in her to explain to Clara what exactly happened, nor was Clara in the right state of mind to hear her out, so she didn't waste her energy trying to defend herself to a wall.
The cop questioning her finally intervened sternly, "Miss Clara, you are disrupting our job. Please calm down and find somewhere to sit till you're called. We understand you're going through some emotional situations right now, but try to cooperate with us, and we will get to the root of the matter faster."
While the cop was busy trying to make Clara listen, Polly's thoughts drifted to the man from last night, and his last message was still fresh in her head.
She shuddered as she relived the moment, a sensation of being watched creeping over her once more. That feeling– when one feels as though something bad is about to happen, that was how she felt at the present moment.
"Arrest that woman, she's a criminal." Clara pointed an accusing finger at Polly. "She needs to be behind bars. Everyone in this city needs protection away from her."
"Maybe," a deep voice suddenly interrupted, cutting through Clara's tirade, "maybe if your boyfriend didn't try to stick his dick where it didn't belong, he'd still be breathing."