Asha slowly pulled the library door shut behind her, turning the key until the lock clicked into place. She had stayed nearly three hours past the end of her shift just to finish sorting the last mountains of returned books, and when she finally checked her phone, the glowing screen read 10:42 p.m. Her stomach sank. She had almost certainly missed the last bus.
[Photo]
Walking home normally wasn't a problem. Her apartment was only around twenty minutes away on foot. The problem was the hour, and the part of town she had to cross to get there. Once the shops closed and the streets emptied, the area became considerably less welcoming. Muggings weren't exactly unheard of, and there were worse possibilities Asha preferred not to entertain.
She started home at a brisk pace, keeping her phone tucked away and her attention firmly on her surroundings. Every scrape, distant voice, and unfamiliar set of footsteps made her glance over her shoulder. During the day, she would've had her earphones in with rock music drowning everything else out. Tonight, she wasn't willing to sacrifice even a little awareness.
She had been walking for roughly fifteen minutes when a man's voice came from behind her.
"Hey, miss. Got a light?"
Asha hesitated before looking back. The man was tall and painfully thin, his movements loose and uneven. Even beneath the dim streetlights, she could see his pupils were unusually wide. Something about him immediately made every instinct in her body scream at her to keep moving.
"N-no, sorry. I don't smoke." She turned away and continued walking, hoping that would be the end of it.
"Hold up, sweetheart. Lemme see your face properly. Come here a second."
Asha's chest tightened. She shook her head without looking back and quickened her pace. Behind her came another call, then another, his tone growing sharper when she refused to respond. The words quickly became less friendly, muttered insults turning into shouted ones as his footsteps followed hers.
[Photo]
Her walk became almost a jog. Then she spotted the fluorescent lights of a convenience store on the corner ahead. Asha immediately changed direction and hurried inside, the automatic doors sliding shut behind her.
Bright white lighting flooded her vision. She released a shaky breath and headed straight toward the counter, locking eyes with the cashier.
"Hi..." Her voice came out smaller than she intended, adrenaline beginning to leave her limbs trembling and strangely heavy. "Could I get, um—"
The automatic doors opened behind her.
Asha froze. She glanced sideways and saw the same man entering the store. Under the harsh lights, he somehow looked even more unsettling. Their eyes met for barely a second before she quickly looked away.
She reached into her bag and pulled out the sketchbook she carried for drawing practice. Without caring about ruining a page, she tore one free, grabbed a pen, and scribbled quickly across it. "D-do you have one of these in stock?"
[Photo]
She slid the paper across the counter as though she had written down the name of an item. Beneath her trembling fingers were seven words.
"Help me. The man who entered is stalking me."
