Ashlyn heard a sound coming from behind her and her head snapped towards the source and landed on the water dispenser. From the base of the dispenser a pair of green, slitted eyes matched her gaze.
Before she could react she heard a "miew" and a mixed black and white cat sprung out from behind the dispenser. Ashlyn, whose vitals were probably a mess a second ago instantly normalized and she felt herself releasing the carbon dioxide her lungs had been screaming to get rid of.
"Miu? So it was you all along, huh?" She said as she crouched down to pet the stray cat she had secretly been taking care of as they were not allowed to keep pets in her apartment. It occasionally used to stray away for days only to come back and had been away for four days now.
The cat let out a strained meow as it approached her to accept her caress. She his however noticed its puffed up tail and hair that still stood on end, especially along its spine, a sign that it was severely agitated. She wondered what may have scared the cat so much but it moreover purred lovingly as it butted its head against her hand and legs repeatedly then let out a long cry as it stared at her directly with dilated pupils, indicating that it wanted food.
"Haha! You glutton. Always only remembering me when you're hungry. Anyway, since you're finally here after ghosting me for four days, might as well feed you." Ashlyn said as she turned to shut the window once again and find some food for the cat. She remembered about Vanessa and how there was a blackout and worried for her safety but was relieved to confirm that she had already gone to sleep and was peacefully snoring away without a care in the world. As she was entering her room her phone rang and she was surprised to see two missed calls from Caspian, a very close male friend of hers. She quickly answered the phone.
"Ash? Are you there?" A male voice asked through the phone
"I can hear you. I'm here and I'm fine. How about you? Is everything okay?"
"Oh! Yea, everything is fine. Just wanted to hear your voice and know you're alive," he said with a chuckle that carried meaning.
"Ha! You moron!" Ashlyn retorted with a chuckle of her own and they both laughed over the phone.
"Well, at least now that I know you're still alive I can sleep in peace." Caspian said with a hint of mischief in his voice.
"Ugh! You asshole!"
The man on the other end of the phone let out another chuckle before cutting the call.
Ashlyn kept staring at the cut call with a smile on her lips for a while before finally flipping the phone on the bed and pulling the sheets over her head for a much needed sleep.
"Another person went missing and an utterly totaled body was found very early this morning..." Camille read out the local news headline from her phone as they waited together for the subway train to arrive.
"That... was really quick. It hasn't even been a day since the last one." Ashlyn responded with a worried expression. She turned to Camille to see her wearing a more serious than usual expression mixed with fear.
"Camille?"
"Yeah?"
"Is everything alright? You don't look so good right now. Is it because of how the frequency of the killings have increased? Are you worried?"
Camille let out an exasperated sigh.
"If it was just about the frequencies it wouldn't have been this bad. Yes I'm worried and all but..." Camille turned to face Ashlyn, "This last killing happened at your apartment."
The events of the previous night came crashing back at her. The flickering of lights, the sounds that had tortured her during that moment, Miu's strange behaviour. They tallied perfectly with the news Camille just told her and Ashlyn couldn't help the sudden bile that threatened to spill out of her stomach but she was able to hold it in and not cause a scene. Camille helped steady her balance. At that moment the train had already arrived and she was able to get Ashlyn to seat down on one of the chairs inside. Ashlyn sat in a daze for several minutes as she recovered herself. What if it had been her? Who or what was it that kept killing random people and why? What were the police doing about this? What will she do now? Where will she go?
"Don't worry. The government is currently investigating this case." Camille tried to comfort her, "However, I don't think it will be safe for you to live alone. You will have to find somewhere else and somebody, most preferable a group of people to live with. Unfortunately I shall be travelling for a business trip by tomorrow so I may not be able to host you."
Ashlyn sighed, "Haa... It's Alright. I guess I'll just buy a taser and pepper spray. I will manage just fine on my own."
"What!?" Camille exclaimed, "What do you mean you'll be fine on your own? Don't you see just how grave this matter is? It could be you who's next! Do you really think you will be able to adequately protect yourself? Hell no way! You've got to find at least someone you can stay with. What about Caspian? Aren't you like.. really close friends?"
"I don't know... There is someone else who lives in the same apartment as I do and she's not that strong health-wise due to her age. I can't just leave her be, especially not in this period of crisis."
"O..oh... That kinda explains it. But are you really sure about that? How about you find a place for the both you to stay? Say like a hotel or something."
"I don't really think that will be feasible at the moment. The cost of booking a hotel room even for a day has seriously shot up the past few months and besides, there are a lot of medical stuff I've got in my room of which will seem awkward moving into a hotel. I'm not even sure if she will agree to move or if she is n strong enough to do so."
"Then how about you ask her? Her opinion may be different from what you think of her."
Ashlyn thought for a while, "Fine. I will ask her to today."
"That's my girl!"