AnOther Alice: A Novel (Undergoing Editing)

Chapter 03

Once the call ended, Gabriel swiped his phone off the table and quickly headed straight for the door, redialing the number as he left the bookstore. Nadia speed-walked after him trying to keep up. She heard the dial tone play. Seconds felt like minutes, with no one answering. He pressed the end call button and tried again.

"Gabriel, what's happening?" Nadia asked.

"I don't know," he said, frantic. "Adelaide said she felt someone was following her."

Nadia followed him as he walked down the sidewalk. Good thing she'd prepared to lock the library early as they had to leave in a hurry. He wouldn't put down the phone—he kept redialing the number and disconnecting, only to call again. Every time, the phone rang out.

He wasn't letting up until Adelaide answered.

"Maybe we didn't hear her properly—it could have been an accident," she  said. "Do you think it's the same person? The one that was following her?"

His eyes were almost pleading. "At her place, I watched her go in. I made sure she was alright before I left. There wasn't anyone around." He finally removed the phone from his ears. "She's not picking up."

A chill swept past his neck, and goosebumps broke out on his forearms. Nothing felt right. He took a running start, so sudden that it shocked Nadia how quickly he sprinted away.

"Gabriel!" Nadia hollered. "Wait, where are you going!?"

He turned his head, stopping himself from running. "To her apartment! Call the police!"

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Because he was spurred on by fear, Gabriel had only one goal in mind, and that was to get to Adelaide's residence. His legs nearly buckled during the short run to Adelaide's apartment. All his energy felt like it was draining out of his pores with his sweat as he made his way inside. His breath was short. His heart raced.

Now inside the lobby, he dialed Adelaide's number for the twentieth time. Glancing at the elevator's "Out of Order" sign, he hotfooted it up the steps. When he was about to put down the phone again, he heard something above him: the sound of ringing. A phone with a distinct melody.

It was her ringtone.

He hurried up the remaining stairs, then bolted around a corner before stopping dead in his tracks.

Slowly, he removed the phone from his ears. Before him, a woman sat atop of one of the stairway levels leading to the third floor. Adelaide's floor. Unease crept over him, the more he stared at the person. There was no telling who it was at first. Her face was in her knees, which were drawn up to her chest. Hands caked in blood. Same with her clothes, and even the smartphone lying beside her on the floor. Stepping closer, Gabriel noticed that on the phone's display screen was his face and caller ID.

He canceled the call and, on her phone, he showed up as a missed call.

"Adelaide?" he said, wary.

The woman unburied her face from her knees, looking up at Gabriel. He was stunned. Her makeup was runny. Eyes wet with tears. Even though the blood smeared on her face, he could tell that it was Adelaide.

Pouncing on her, he immediately grabbed her shoulders. "Adelaide, are you okay?" he said, inspecting her for any injuries.

"I'm okay," she said, "I'm just...I don't know...I'm—"

Gabriel looked at his hands, covered with blood . Then he focused on the bright red splatters on the floor behind her: too much to belong to Adelaide alone.