Midnight Catalyst | ONC 2024

Chapter 8: Absence and Alcohol

A soft crunch resounded as I stepped on the litter of dried leaves all across the pathway. It had been two days since I last met Alex. I hadn't seen her since. It was honestly surprising to go to class and find the seat beside me empty. All this time, Alex was sitting beside me, and unsurprisingly, we both discovered that we weren't really looking forward to listening to the classes. We had also devised a couple of unique games and activities we could do as a team of two during the hours of classes to pass the time. While I wasn't looking forward to that kind of entertainment, especially after what just happened, I wasn't expecting silence either. At least not in the type of silence where I wouldn't even see her.

After the classes, I walked around the campus for a while. I went to the canteen to get a coffee while I was secretly looking to catch a glimpse of Alex anywhere. I kept roaming around aimlessly in the pleasant, soothing breezes that were carrying the scents of dirt and a faint floral essence. My overgrown mess of hair was being constantly ruffled and toyed with by the spirits of the winds, who were playing with it like a dumb kid who just had a shitton of candy. My baggy sweatshirt and baggy trousers were flying in the wind, carried around like freely-left sails on a boat. Hues of orange and pink were taking over the spotless sky as pigeons flew around in spirals, almost as if they had a mission of their own.

I decided to make a visit to the convenience store. Thinking back on it, I did not have much of a reason to go there. There wasn't anything that I was honestly looking for. Except maybe for a glimpse of Alex. I can't explain why. But I have had this bad feeling since our last interaction. And the unexplained disappearance of Alex didn't help my anxiety either. Anyway, I visited the convenience store, and to my disappointment, I didn't find Alex there either. I even went out of my way to ask the cashier if she had come by. The cashier couldn't be of help, though; he didn't know me or Alex, and no amount of description would have brought the memory of her to him. Especially if he hadn't seen her.

Disgruntled, I walked out after purchasing a few items. The sky had turned hues completely to a much darker blueish-black. I was walking past the parking lot in front of the store when I overheard two voices that sounded somehow familiar. I looked in the direction of the voices to see a couple of men standing alongside a woman. The woman or girl looked young, way younger than the men. They were standing at a distance from me, so I couldn't make much of them. So I decided to walk a little closer for a better look at them and the situation.

As I walked closer, I sensed this fleeting feeling of familiarity with these men's faces. I had definitely seen them before. I thought to myself, thinking back to times when I had last seen a couple of sketchy men. And then suddenly, it flashed in my head! These bastards were the same two people who were chasing Alex the day me and Alex first met. Was I sure it was them, though? Not really, but whoever they were, they looked very similar to the men from that night. I needed to get a closer look.

Walking closer and closer to them, I noticed the girl standing with them, or, a better way to put it, being surrounded by them. She looked helpless; her body wasn't steady; her face was looking flushed and pale; all the signs were very clear. She was afraid. At least she looked afraid. I thought to myself about how I could further proceed. On one hand, if I read the situation correctly, this girl was in an unpleasant situation, maybe even in some kind of danger. On the other hand, if I mindlessly engage in a group of friends fooling around, or worse, a family, I might end up making a fool of myself. I had to make a choice.

After the incident with Alex, we spoke about it further on another day. While what she said wasn't much help, she mentioned that those people started following her from the convenience store. I had also further checked online for any information regarding such things. I found a couple snippets and articles online about woman trafficking and how there was a rise in such cases in the area where our campus was situated. While infrequent, there were a couple of cases of missing girls, mainly students from nearby universities. This was a situation I wasn't equipped for, especially if the situation was one of the extremes I was thinking of. While I was pondering about all of this, I noticed one of the men try to lay a hand on the girl as she immediately flinched away from any contact. I had to make a decision quickly.