My Alarm screamed rudely at me from the nightstand where it usually sat.
“Shut it up” I mumbled to myself in my sleep.
Realizing that no one was going to relieve my misery, I slapped the alarm off with force, killing the noise and sending it tumbling down the hard floor.
All my attempts to go back to sleep failed so I picked up my phone to check if I had any new messages.
Unsurprisingly, I did not. Today was supposed to be a good day, and I refused to get sucked into another dark hole.
It was the final stage of my interview with La rouge.
I was confident about getting the job. This was a huge win for me and meant the whole world to me.
My life was finally unraveling as I had dreamt it would all those years ago.
I heard scratchings and soft whining behind my bedroom door, my dog,
Puddle, was trying to get in.
When had she wandered outside? I wondered to myself.
Tying my robe firmly around my waist, I dragged myself out of the bed.
The moment I opened the door, puddle headed straight to the bed and plopped on it.
I have never met an animal who seemed more human.
She spread her little paws and put her head on it. Her tail wagged but she did not stop whining.
“What’s wrong Sweetie?” I rubbed her chin “Are you wishing mummy good luck?” she only looked at me and kept whining.
When it was clear she was in a mood, I silently shut the door and headed to the kitchen to make myself a hot cup of coffee.
I needed something to warm my
body because it was an unusually cold morning.
How could it be this cold in Summer?
Once in the kitchen, I
noticed my Coffee mug and Coffee pot were already on the Kitchen Island.
That was odd.
Had I taken coffee the night before?
I wondered aloud.
I lifted the cup to my nose and immediately regretted it.
The Coffee smelled stale. Just what did I do last night?
I shook my head. I really must have been nervous about today.
The stale coffee was quickly forgotten as I made my way to La rouge.
Their office building stood tall
amongst the other offices around.
I had just parked the car at the
underground lot when I was suddenly stopped by a man.
He was dressed in all black. Black Shirt. Black trousers. Black hoodie. He had pulled his hoodie back so I could see his face.
He looked sad.
Did I know him? His face was not familiar.
Even though his presence did nothing to frighten me, I chose to be on high alert.
“I’m not going to hurt you” an unwelcome voice spoke in my head.
What was that? I looked around and there was no one else except
the guard at the gate and the man standing in front of me
I must have heard wrong.
When I realized he was not going to move from my path, I stepped around him and kept walking. This time, I picked up speed.
Was he going to kidnap me? No. if he were, he would have by now. So why was he following me? I started jogging.
“Slow down, I’m just trying to help you” that voice again?
Was I losing my mind?Was this a mid-life crisis? I’m not even thirty!
This could not be happening to me.
“Samantha Slow down”. That stopped me. It was the same voice but it came from that man’s mouth.
How did he know my name?
I ran as fast as my legs could carry me and mistakenly bumped into the guard
He held his shoulder looking everywhere, righteously pissed.
“I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you coming”
Weird guy had caught up with me but the guard still stood in place.
“Sir, help me this man has been following me”
The guard only shook his head and walked away
“What? No!! Wait! Help me ! Didn’t you hear me?” I started to scream
The guard didn’t turn back, he just kept walking.
“He can’t see or hear you Samantha” Weird guy said.
“Who are you and how do you know my name?” If I was going to die, I should just face it head on.
“Soon, but first I need to take you back”
“You have the wrong Samantha”
The exit was not so far away again
“Samantha Kavanaugh” For the second time today, I stopped.
I was sure worry lines had appeared on my face. “Who are you?”
“I need to take you back”
“You keep saying that but back where ?”
On second thought …
“Never mind I asked that ,I have an interview in an hour. I can’t mess this up”
“There will be no interview for you”
Now that was funny. For someone who appeared normal, he was insane.
“Oh Yeah? Watch me” the nerve of the bloody lunatic. I turned around and started walking.
“You’re dead”
For the third time today, I was stopped by the weird guy.
“What did you say?”
“You’re dead”
Suddenly, the memories flowed to my brain in cascading torrents
I woke up cold in a hot summer, Puddle’s sad whining, the stale coffee on my kitchen Island, the guard not being able to see me.
I remembered it all
I wasn’t here for an interview. I was here to maim my killer.
