3. Who's There?

“I hope you’re doing okay, Scarlett.”
She couldn’t meet Dalton’s gaze. “Thanks. Are you feeling alright?”
“Yeah. I’m just trying to take a break from thinking.” He smiled and looked up at the stars. “It’s a nice night out, calm.”
“It is,” Scarlett sighed, “did you hear the news?”
“The two found dead? Yeah. I don’t think it was a murder suicide, I think we have a legitimate killer… I guess it sounds awful of me, but I really hope we do.”
Scarlett finally managed to look at Dalton. “That doesn’t sound terrible. I want something like that too. I want to live in a city stalked by a serial killer, I want to experience it.”
Dalton smiled. “I hope he never gets caught.”
“Me too.”
The two of them sat adjacent from each other on the swings for some minutes, letting their minds run blank as the breeze caressed their faces. Everything felt calm, simple, there was no fear in the air, and no tension. And that’s when Scarlett came to terms with her feeling that Dalton had to be ‘the one’ for her.
“Dalton?”
“Yes?”
“Have you ever been to the hospital?”
“For some minor things. Why?”
“I was just thinking about the time I spent there last year is all…”
“Ah.”
“… I had to go to the E.R. for overdosing on pills. I don’t know what I was thinking, or what I was trying to accomplish when I took them all. I guess I just feel like I need drugs in my life…”
“I’m sorry. Are you doing better now?”
“Sometimes I am…” Scarlett looked down, her face somber. She let her messy brown hair cover her eyes, but they had remained dry. She didn’t know why she had just admitted this to Dalton, one of her darkest secrets that she hadn’t even told her best friend. It just felt comfortable, she knew that he could be trusted with it. Dalton just nodded in response.
Moments later, rustling sounds came through the trees, leaving Dalton and Scarlett both with the feeling that they weren’t alone. Scarlett felt her heart race and her stomach sink, Dalton let panic take over his body with a small shot of adrenaline.
“I don’t feel so great about this,” he said, “I think we should go.”
“Alright,” said Scarlett, reluctant to leave. “I’ll see you later,” she smiled at him, “thanks for talking to me tonight.”
“Oh, yeah of course.” Dalton waved goodbye as he walked off, leaving Scarlett to find her own way home.
She could feel chills creeping their way up and around her body, leaving her with feelings of unease and paranoia. She felt chased, afraid that something was after her. The rustling sounds continued through all of the trees she passed. Sometimes she thought she saw a tall black figure in the distance, slender and pointy. The figure was always the same, and it always disappeared the second time she looked. Consciously she told herself it was nothing, but the feeling in her chest wouldn’t leave her alone. Eventually she couldn’t walk without jumping at each sound she encountered.
Her heart raced, it skipped beats, it complained of the utter terror of walking home alone at night. Why hadn’t she asked Dalton for a ride?
No, that would have been imposing on him. They weren’t that close yet. Not yet.
She crossed her arms, hugging herself tightly to keep warm. The lights in front of her house were left on.