CHAPTER 3: SHADOWS IN THE CROWD

AMARA'S POV

I woke up Friday morning, trying to pretend yesterday never happened. No glowing eyes, no strange man watching me from across the street. No cold, heavy ripple in the air like danger was breathing down my neck.

It had all been… stress. That’s what I kept telling myself. Work was a blur, I forced smiles, answered emails, and laughed at things I didn’t really find funny. But my stomach kept twisting, and every shadow in the office made me jump.

By the end of the day, I knew my friends had noticed. Talia, Mira, and Jade always notice everything. “Amara, you look like a zombie,” Talia texted me first, and I rolled my eyes before answering.

By six, we were on FaceTime, each of us grinning and fussing like it was normal. “Okay, what are you wearing tonight?” Mira asked. “We can’t let you show up like a dead fish.” 

“I don’t even feel like myself,” I admitted. “Exactly why we’re saving you,” Jade said. “Tonight is a fun night. Tomorrow, existential dread. Deal?”

“Deal,” I laughed, feeling a little lighter for the first time that day. Talia held up a sparkly top to the camera. “You need something like this. Not drab, okay?”

I frowned. “Sequins? Really?”

“Yes, really,” she said, laughing. “It’s perfect. You’re going to shine. Literally.”

We argued about shoes, hair, makeup, and joked about office gossip. Even if I wasn’t fully myself, the laughter helped. I was almost normal again.

The club was loud, flashing, overwhelming. Lights bounced across faces, bodies pressed together, music vibrating in my chest. For a few minutes, I let myself forget. I danced. I laughed. I felt… almost alive.

Then someone handed me a drink. Sweet. Fruity. Harmless. Or so I thought. I sipped it, and the room tilted. My limbs grew heavy. My heart slowed. My vision wobbled. “Guys… I… I need the bathroom…” I murmured.

“! We’ll be right here!” Talia called. The hallway to the restroom felt like it stretched forever. My fingers trembled on the door handle. Something wasn’t right. Then a man grabbed me.

“Easy, sweetheart. I’ll help you,” he said. His smile wasn’t kind. His grip wasn’t gentle. He dragged me toward the darker corner of the hall. My hands flailed, my voice rose, but my body wouldn’t obey. Panic cut through the fog in my head.

And then… something changed. The shadows shifted. A low growl rolled through the hallway.

The man froze.

A figure emerged from the darkness, strong, silent, impossibly fast. His golden eyes glowed faintly, cutting through the dim light. “He… he saved me,” even though the words made no sense to my foggy brain.

The man moved with terrifying precision. In seconds, "The attacker was thrown back, screaming, and then vanished into the shadows.”

Then he turned to me. “Amara,” he said softly, almost whispering. “You’re safe now.” I blinked, dazed. My hands shook, my heart raced, and voices echoed down the hallway. “Amara? Where are you?” My friends appeared; worry written all over their faces. “There you are! You’ve been in there forever!” Jade exclaimed, pulling me into an arm.

I tried to explain, pointing toward the shadows. “H‑he… he saved me… that man… the one who stalks me…”

But there was nothing there. Just an empty hallway.

“Amara, you’re drunk,” Jade said, almost laughing at how fragile I looked.

“Probably scared yourself,” Mira added gently. “There’s no one here,” Talia insisted. My protest died on my lips.

My friends guided me toward the exit, but just before I fully stumbled away, I caught a glimpse of him again, half in shadow, half in moonlight watching me, and then he vanished. I had no idea I’d just been saved from something far worse

than what was coming.