4 Catch Me If You Can

The sun started to set, and the warm red glow filled the sky. Serena was at home watching television, waiting for her father to come home from the search. Nick stayed over for a while before returning to his own home that was a few blocks away from hers. And even though she felt safe with him around, she wanted to be alone this time to think things through. The sudden disappearance of a student that she barely knew of, and the eerie messages she got from a random number, made her question her safety. Yes, her father is a bodyguard with firearms at her disposal, but he wasn't always there to protect her from the dangers of this world. And even though her father owned pistols, she didn't even know how to use them, let alone holding them. It scared her to death especially when a lot of gun violence was happening currently. So, the only thing she could do was hope that everything will be alright.

She channel-surfed, looking for something interesting to watch, but had found nothing except news and cartoons. She shut down the tv after continuously changing the channels and grabbed herself a glass of hot milk at the kitchen. Serena had difficulty falling asleep, and after trying every remedy, she couldn't seem to be able to rest. Now, it seems that even a hot glass of milk couldn't comfort her.

She sighed, placing the empty glass in the sink before making her way to her bedroom. Her cat, Lucy, was sleeping on her bed comfortably with covers draped over her body. Lucy was a beautiful cat Serena found at the animal shelter. She was a Ragdoll, a cat breed with blue eyes and a colour point coat. Serena fell in love with her the moment she entered that shelter.

She laid next to Lucy, slowly, trying not to wake her up from her sleep. Serena laid there in silence while her thoughts were running wild inside of her head. The thoughts of Josie suddenly appeared in her mind and she imagined what had happened to her. And what's about to happen to herself. Serena changed her position and laid sideways looking at her cat sleeping peacefully. She gazed outside her window into the gloomy night where she saw the big tree casting a silhouette in her room, creating a big scary monster with long nails. Serena wouldn't have been scared of this but under the circumstances, she was nervous. Her mind played tricks on her as she stared at the figure a few feet away from her bed. It swayed and it's seemingly long nails moved closer to Serena's bed, making her heart beat faster.

She heard a branch snap outside and a set of subtle footsteps going up to her window. Serena laid there in fear before getting up and slowly making her way to the window where she saw a man with black gloves, black high boots and a black hoodie that covered his skin, making it seem that he had no face as he stared at her with no movement.

Boom. Boom. Boom. She could hear the sound of her heart beating against her chest as she kept staring at the man with no face. She felt mixed emotions about this situation she was in. Fear, anger and frustration were growing inside of her. Fear of dying, Angry about what was happening in this small town and frustrated about the disappearance of Josie. And that's what made Serena grab her coat and make her way outside, ignoring her consciousness and the growing feeling of fear. She wanted to catch this guy so badly and end the constant terror she felt in the last few days.

Her bare foot touched the cold pavement as she made her way to her front lawn, where she expected to see the man standing in front of her window. Yet, she found no one there. Only a letter was left, held by a rock. Serena removed the rock and took it, looking around before unfolding the letter, revealing a weirdly written letter like it was jotted down by a child.

"I know you're thinking and I know you're searching, but don't search too deep or you'll find something you'll regret. If you keep going like this Serena, I wouldn't mind hurting your loved ones, especially that cat you adore so much. I love a good dare, it gets me going, but I also love framing someone for something they didn't do. Just looking at them fall apart as their world comes crashing down gives me joy. Anyhow, if you love living your life on the line, go ahead then. Catch me if you can."

Serena held her breath as she finished reading the last sentence. As much as her gut is telling her to give up on this, she is not one to abandon what she decided to fulfill. She sighed as she folds the letter, putting it in her coat pocket before making her way back into her house and into her warm bed.

She hoped to fall asleep right away after a tiring day at school, but unfortunately, she stayed up all night, hearing the outside world still awake and doing its stuff. She hummed a song quietly as she listens to her cat purring, but was ultimately useless for doing so. She gazed at the clock and read the time. It was currently 11:00 pm and she still couldn't seem to even get a second of sleep. She tossed and turned, making her bedsheets fall to the ground. And finally, after wrestling with her mind, she finally gave in and fell asleep.

Sweet Serena finally slept, but he hasn't yet. He stared at her sleeping in her bed across her lawn as his fists clenched in anger. But Serena didn't know that everything was about to get ugly.