Argent Eye II

10

Two weeks of university passed. The work was piling up. Everyone was getting stressed. The norm, really.

In those two weeks, however, there had been a series of stabbings in the area. Four students, all from the university, had been targeted one way or the other, whether that was walking home from uni, or walking about at the weekend.

All four had died.

Ronan had returned with no news- all the Dreamwalkers he spoke to said the same thing. That they had no idea. However, things were being looked into, because all the stabbings seemed to have the same story behind them. A student was stabbed with an object that couldn't be found at the scene, and injuries do not show that it was a knife wound. So what was it? I could only assume that it was like the thing that was fired at Jake.

Ronan was planning on reporting back to the other Dreamwalkers again, although if nobody knew anything before, it was likely that nobody knew anything now. He'd tried to look into the killings, but with no murder weapon to examine, it was near impossible. So, the thing was to keep our eyes peeled, and act on anything suspicious if it was worth acting upon.

"So, what do you think about all these stabbings?" Kate asked, as we walked to Peter's lecture.

"They're pretty bad." I said. "It looks like they're targeting students."

"Are you worried when you walk home alone?" She asked, knowing I had further to walk than she did.

I mean, I wasn't. If they didn't keep track of my face when I caught it before, and they were to target me, I was pretty confident I could fight them off. "I mean, yeah, I guess." I said, then chuckled. "It's not like it hasn't happened before, right?"

Kate chuckled a little at that. "I suppose. Doesn't mean they won't get you, though."

I shrugged. "Just gotta stay vigilant."

I couldn't quite read the look Kate gave me then. Maybe she wondered why I was so calm about it. Maybe in her eyes, I should be more scared than the rest of them because it had happened to me before, and I knew how it felt.

We got to Peter's lecture, although standing at the front wasn't Peter- it was a guy I didn't recognise. Peter was sat in the lecture seats, waiting for whoever it was to start speaking like the rest of us. As it turned out, he was here to talk to us about the stabbings. He spoke about what to do if we ever found ourselves in that situation, or what to do if we saw anything out of the ordinary. Lots of people sat here looking worried, and I didn't blame them. About half way through, Irina came in and quietly sat at the front with Peter.

When the man left, Peter did a shortened version of his lecture, although it didn't seem that many people were listening- they were all whispering about the stabbings. Kate's leg was tapping the entire time, and I wondered how much it had gotten to her.

"You okay?" I asked, when the lecture had ended.

"Huh?" Kate said. "Me? I'm okay."

I frowned. "You know you can talk to me, right? These stabbings are bound to get anyone on edge-"

"Except you?" Kate snapped, and then looked away. "I need to go. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, and then left, leaving me standing there wondering whether it was a personal thing that Kate had against me, or if she was just scared.

"What was all that about?" Sunny, who I noticed had come in late and sat at the back, had come down the stairs to join me.

I turned to her. "I have no idea. Have you noticed anything off with her recently?"

"Hmm." Sunny said. "Maybe a little, yeah. I think these stabbings are getting to everyone."

"Yeah." I said, agreeing but at the same time suspicious that something else was going on with Kate. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya, Mills." Sunny said, and I left.

__________

When I was walking back home, I couldn't help but notice Kate walking way ahead. But not in the direction of her house- in fact, it was completely the opposite. Curiosity got the better of me, as I picked up my pace and stayed walking a fair but close distance behind her. I mean, she could just be going to the shop, or somewhere completely innocent, but some part of me told me otherwise.

She turned the corner- I sped up so I wouldn't lose sight of her, but just as I was about to turn, I felt a hand on my shoulder.

I jumped, and turned to see an old man standing there. He was holding hands with an older woman, who I assumed was his wife.

"Oh, sorry." He said, with an apologetic smile on his face. "I didn't mean to startle you. I don't suppose you could direct us to the DLR station?"

I smiled politely. "Oh, yeah, it's straight back that way, and to the right. You should see it." I said, pointing as I explained.

"Thank you ever so much." The man said, his wife also smiling next to him.

"Your welcome." I smiled back.

"Have a good evening, dear." He said, and was on his way.

I'd almost forgotten what I'd been doing, but then turned back to the corner where Kate had disappeared behind. I quickly walked over, but of course, she was long gone. I sighed mentally, before making my own way home.

__________