There's another murder

FOUR

"Show yourself this instant!" Emma yelled as she followed the direction the glowing eyes had been. 

"Who or what are you? Show yourself to me if you dare!" She yelled again, purposefully taunting the person maybe that would help. All she was met with was dead silence. 

She looked around frantically but all her flashlight could catch and show to her was emptiness. No one was around. 

"How is this even possible?" Emma wondered aloud in shock as her eyes kept searching. 

"I swear I saw something right here!" She muttered, running her hands through her hair in frustration. 

"Those eyes... they were right here! Red and bright, like nothing I have ever seen before." She said, sounding frustrated. 

She clenched her fists tightly, pacing back and forth in the parking lot. Her footsteps echoed off the walls as she talked to herself, trying to make sense of what she had witnessed.

"Am I losing my mind? First the nightmare, now this?" She became so confused and frustrated that she punched the wall behind her.

"I am certain I am fully awake so I can't be seeing things, right?" 

"Of course not! This is not a dream. So, what the fuck is happening to me?" She yelled at the emptiness before her. 

At that moment, a voice came from behind her. 

"Everything okay over here, Officer Carter?" The unexpected sound startled Emma, making her up. She nearly had whiplash as she turned around to face the owner of the voice. 

It was Sergeant Ross. 

Seeing that she wasn't in danger, Emma quickly straightened up, forcing her features into a neutral expression. Her heart was still racing, but she couldn't let it show. 

"Oh, yeah... everything is fine. Just checking something out." She replied the man. 

"You sure? You seem a bit worked up. And I heard you yelled." Ross pressed on, taking a step closer. The beam of his flashlight joined hers, and that created shadows on the walls. 

"Oh, I yelled? No, I don't think so. I was just checking something out, that's all. You definitely had something else." She maintained, letting out a dry chuckle. 

"Hun..." Ross sighed, not looking convinced.

"So, Is it related to the case you are working on?" He questioned further. Emma shook her head vehemently. 

"Not at all! Just thought I saw something, but I was wrong. No big deal. Sometimes shadows play tricks on anybody, right?" She said, her voice coming out sharper than intended. 

"Yeah, definitely." Ross replied but he still didn't look convinced. 

"You are going home... You should get going. It is late." Emma quickly said. She could see he wanted to say more and she wasn't in the mood to entertain more prying questions. 

"Yeah, I should. See you tomorrow then. And be careful." Ross said and turned on his heels. 

"You too." Emma responded and quickly walked back into the station. 

 ~~~~~~~~~~~

Emma got back to her office and couldn't stop mumbling to herself. 

"I really should get it together!" She began.

"No, I am just tired. That is definitely all this is. Too many late nights, too many unsolved cases ..."

"That definitely explains why I am seeing things." She tried to convince herself. 

"I am seeing this because I am desperate to see something." She concluded, making her way to her desk. 

Sitting at her desk, she began sorting through case files, trying to focus on work instead of the mysterious eyes she had seen. 

"Huh! I must definitely be too tired." She said as she yawned. 

"Maybe if I just rest my eyes for a minute...Just sixty seconds to reset..." She thought weakly, her head slowly dropping. 

As she drifted off to sleep, the nightmare struck immediately, more vivid than ever before. 

"Help me! 

The massive wolf with its blood-red eyes was there again, chasing another terrified man down the street. 

"Somebody please help me!" The man screamed, his voice echoing through the empty streets. His shirt was torn and he looked terrified. 

"Oh God, please! Anyone! Call the police!" He pleaded. 

The wolf's growls grew closer, more menacing with each passing second. 

"No! No... Please... "

At that moment, the man stumbled, hitting the ground hard. His glasses skittered across the pavement as he tried to crawl away. 

"Please! Don't kill me. I am going to repent. I swear ..." The man was saying pleadingly but his shout got cut off abruptly as the wolf pounced on him. 

Emma jerked awake with a gasp, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. 

"The dream again..." She mumbled and she could feel sweat dripping down her back as she blinked.

"I am still in the office?" She stated in disbelief as her eyes roamed around her surrounding. 

"What... what is this?" She whispered, staring in horror when her eyes caught her bloodstained uniform. 

"No, this can't be happening again! Not again!" Her hands trembled as she touched the dark stains. 

She looked at her hands, finding them covered in the same dark red substance. Her breathing became rapid and shallow as panic set in. 

"Okay, think Emma, think!" She snapped at herself, pacing the room. Her footsteps left faint red marks on the floor. 

"What is the last thing you remember?" She asked herself. 

"So, I was working, then I fell asleep, just for a split second and now..." She glanced at the clock and gasped. 

"How is it midnight already? I only closed my eyes for a moment! What happened to me? Where did all this blood come from?" Her voice cracked with desperation. 

"Think, Emma! There has to be an explanation."

Then a sharp knock at her office door made her jump. 

"Officer Carter?" It was a colleague's voice, professional but urgent. 

"We need you at a crime scene right away. There has been another murder."

Emma's heart stopped as she heard the doorknob beginning to turn. She looked down at her blood-soaked uniform in terror, then at the door, then back at her clothes. There was nowhere to hide, no way to explain this.

"No..." She whispered, frozen in place as the handle moved.