The Strange Case of the Jackson Building

Chapter 10 - Obscure

Chapter Ten

Obscure

As Petra was returning home, in that chilly late afternoon, the conversation she'd had with the old lady was still very much present in her mind.

Although, for some inexplicable reason, a small part of her insisted on believing her, the greatest part of her refused to believe it. The woman was mad and evil and obviously took a great deal of twisted pleasure in scaring others.

She could clearly see her building in the distance and once again couldn't stop noticing just how ugly it was. Its unappealing design would never stop surprising her.

Petra could also see, once again, on the sixth floor, standing in a balcony, the same girl she had seen days before. Standing in the same spot, she was gazing at the city again, her hair and dress flowing with the breeze. She was once more enraptured by the beauty of this vision, until the girl, way up high, seemed to turn her gaze to the ground.

If Petra didn't know the probability was very low, she would've bet the girl was now staring directly at her. She couldn't really tell, since she couldn't see her features, but thought it was better to stop looking and keep on walking anyway.

At the building's entrance, as usual, was the old woman. Petra ignored her, but noticed the woman following her with her eyes, grinning. Petra decided to pretend she couldn't see her.

It was getting dark, the sun seemed to have gone to rest faster than it should (or had she been staring at the girl in the balcony for longer than she thought?) and she turned on the entrance's lights. Ever since Mr. Creepy's appearance, she always turned on the lights, though it wouldn't help her, it did make her feel safer.

Passing through the message board, she noticed a large piece of torn paper that screamed for attention because it was written in with large, bold, red letters.

Neighbors,

BEWARE of this man:

And nothing else. No picture, no description, no name, nothing.

Looking outside, she saw the old lady still watching her, her grin more evil and happier than ever. It was like Petra's concern and confusion, as she tried to make sense of the note, was severely entertaining to her.

Sick of the woman and her antics, Petra ripped the note from the board and went to her.

"Did you write this? Did you?" she asked the woman, putting the note right in front of her face, unable to contain her frustration anymore.

The woman laughed, which only pissed her off even more.

"So you think it's funny, huh?" she almost yelled, ignoring the confused stares she was gathering from the few people passing by. "You think it's funny to mess with people? To make them feel as crazy as you obviously are, right?"

Again, the woman laughed. It wasn't a pleasant sound either, it was more like a myriad of squeals of delight, as if Petra's accusations were hilarious jokes to her.

"Well, if you ask me, this note should have your picture in it." She crumpled up the paper and threw it at the woman, who laughed even more vigorously. "You're barking mad and you should be locked up. You're a lunatic." She went back inside, still hearing the woman's laughter.

On the fifth floor's hallway, Petra could hear the faint sound of music and laughter, probably coming from upstairs. Eli and Kyle seemed to be having fun. The sound of their party was enough to calm her down. It was nice hearing positive sounds and feeling good vibes inside the building, for a change. It was a much needed improvement in atmosphere.