It was only a ten minute walk between my home and the station. It was cold outside, but I didn’t mind in the slightest. I walked up the stone stairs to the door of the station, my high heals clacking against the cold cement steps.
Of course, I found the door to be left unlocked. I let out a sigh. It was lucky Jaden bothered to think twice about the door while he was out. Still, I would need to go in and have a look around to make sure that everything seemed to be in place.
I took a step inside, making sure to open the door slowly enough as to avoid the creaking of the hinges. I examined the main entrance of the station before stepping inside. So far, everything seemed to be in place. Once I felt confident enough that I was alone, I took a step inside and took a better look around as I walked to the back of the building, my shoes poking out from under my cloak as I went in. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary.
I pulled my hood back. My black hair fell out in heaps, standing out against my pale skin. I made my way to the large office at the end of the hallway. There were twelve desks, six on each side of the room. I assumed that this would be the only room that would have been left unlocked since it would have been the only one that Jaden would have been using. I paced to the back of the room and back to the door a single time, analyzing each desk for anything suspicious. I noticed nothing.
Just as I was locking the door, ready to leave the station, I heard footsteps coming from just down the hall. My head jolted back and I held my breath for a moment, silencing myself and straining my ears for more sounds. I could just barely hear the shuffling of someone quietly but quickly making their way to the door.
I ran down the hall, leaving my keys in the door and trying my best to step lightly but knowing that speed would be more important in this case. I wasn’t careful in my entry. They were bound to already know I was there. The shuffling changed direction, as if the intruder didn’t know which way he, or she, were going. Or perhaps the intruder was just playing with me, trying to scare me.
“Who’s there?” I called out, slowing down to a cautious pace.
There was another change in direction.
“Show yourself!” I demanded, but there was no response other than the confused shuffling of footsteps just around the corner. I stopped.
“Jaden?” I asked. “If that’s you, you can stop now. Noone likes being spooked in the middle of the night. This would be a new low, even for you.”
The shuffling stopped and there was silence. My body tensed as I waited for a response. There was none. It wasn’t Jaden. Jaden always broke into laughter as soon as he realized that he had gotten anywhere near scaring me. A simple startled stare would have been satisfactory enough for him. Whoever this stranger was in the station was not meant to be there, at least not during those hours.
“I’m coming out now,” I warned. “I want your hands in the air!”
I could hear the front door open and immediately broke into a run. Rushing out the door, I dug my heels into the ground and skidded to a stop, just barely avoiding the steps before me. I saw nothing as I turned to look to my right and my left. I could run in any direction, in hopes of finding the intruder, but with every turn I took there would be more turns to come, lessening my chances of finding the intruder. It would be nothing more than a game of luck, and I wasn’t willing to play.
I reluctantly took a step back inside, still straining my ears for any sounds that might have lead me in the intruder’s direction, but all was silent. All I could do now was go back inside and check for anything out of the ordinary, but I already did that. I looked around the entrance hall, this time checking each drawer of the front desk. Nothing was wrong. I placed my palm on the mouse of the computer, wiggling it to see if the computer would wake up. As far as I could tell, it was off. I ducked my head below the desk just to be sure. The little light that would have been green to indicate that the computer was on, or at least orange to say it was asleep, was also off.
