Chapter 9

"Hello?" Lyra's voice sounded on the other side.

I feel a tear slide down my cheek and sigh in relief.

"Hurry, lyra I need you to come and get me. I'm at the school library. I'll explain everything later just get here as soon as humanly possible!" I beg, my voice cracking as another tear slides down my cheek.

"Are you crying?" She asks, concern clear in her voice

"Hurry!" I exclaim urgently, unable to control my voice cracking yet again. "I'll be there in five" She states before hanging up.

The guy is slowly, oh so slowly walking towards me.

Step.

One, two, three,

step.

One, two three

step.

His pace stayed the exact same as he walked towards me. I waited and waited for what seemed like hours, my heart beating so hard and fast I could hear it.

The guy slowly coming closer and closer.

After a while he finally reaches my door.

Knock (pause)

knock (pause)

knock

He moves so slowly it makes it a thousand times scarier. Creepier.

I feel the tears roll down my cheek.

The guy slowly starts banging harder, faster,

Bang bang bang bang

Soon there's not even seconds in between each pound.

I can't move, can't breathe, can't even think. I just sit here, completely frozen in shock and fear as he pounds on my window.

I hear the window crack. Terrified, I crawl to the back of the car and hide most of my face with my hands, as though this was any protection at all.

I look up at it to see a long crack running from where he punched all the way to the end of the window.

Just then I hear the rumble of a car. I look to see Lyra's moms car pull up to the driveway. I glance over at the window where the guy once stood but there was nothing there. No man. He had run away.

I step out of the car and run to Lyra as fast as I can. As soon as I grasp the doorknob I swing it open and jump in slamming it shut so forcefully the window shakes. I've never been so happy and grateful to see Lyrabefore in my life, to ever see anybody as a matter of fact.

"What happened?" Lyra asks, concern obvious in her voice.

And that's how I ended up talking non stop the whole way to her house and as we walked inside her room.

Finally I had told everything. And I mean everything. I told her every single detail.

At the end, her eyes were as wide as golf balls and her mouth was hanging open "wow" was all she said "yeah, wow" I say, staring at the wall behind her, my mind replaying what had happened and immediately chills run up my spin.

"Man, I can't imagine what she's going through. That would be the most terrifying thing ever. I'm surprised she's still able to talk. If it were me, I'd be in a corner crying"

Lyra thinks.

We sit there just staring at each other for a few minutes before Lyra finally gets a grip and shakes her head "oh my lord baby girl, are you okay?" She asked as she grabbed me into a rib cracking hug.

"I mean, I made it out alive, so I guess I'm alright. But is it okay if I sleep over?" I ask my voice noticeably shaky.

She gives a seriously kind of look

"Do you even have to ask? Of course you can, God" She exclaimed.

"Thanks lyly" I say, my eyes staring at the bed, my thoughts racing everywhere.

She grabs me a pair of her pajamas and I put them on. As we lay in bed we talk for about thirty five minutes about that guy. But soon after Abigail falls asleep and I'm left lying in bed still imagining it all.

I don't sleep for hours, and as I lay in bed going over everything that happens, for some reason when I picture that guy in the red mask, I imagine Asher behind it...

The next day Lyra drives me to the school library to get my stuff that I had left behind. When I get back outside I walk to my car to examine the crack in my window, but as soon as I get a good enough look at it I stop dead in my tracks. No. It couldn't be. I quickly race up to it and stare in utter disbelief at the perfectly crack-less window. How? I was certain I had heard and seen him crack it the night before, how could it possibly be fine? I mean don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's not but...I know what I saw and heard..don't I? Each window is in pristine condition, not a single crack to be seen. A shiver runs down my spine, what the hell is going on? I can't ignore the fact that every impossible thing that's happened lately didn't begin happening until Asher moved here. Something is off about him, something that defies scientific law...