Chapter 1:

The road was wet, it was hard to tell in the darkness but she knew because she could almost smell the rain hung in the air, which had stopped a while ago. The tall looming buildings on her either side were a hazy gray against the dark. She stood in the middle of the road not knowing how or why she got there.

She was trying to make sense of her surroundings when she heard a thick resonant snap to her right.

She hadn't noticed the pitch black alley to her right before. It was like it had just appeared out of thin air. Her heart started hammering in her chest and she knew something was not right.

She noticed the neon blue lights blinking in the distance reading "Papa Joe's Café". It was the very café that she visited every morning on her way to work for a steaming cup of coffee. Her home couldn't be that far. She decided to make a run but the concrete below seemed to grow and hold her feet in a vice like grip.

She tried to scream for help but no voice came out.

This couldn't be happening. She always knew in her heart that she would die young but never thought like this; mugged or killed by a serial killer.

There was another snapping sound followed by a deep twisted growl that froze her blood.

She looked into the alley and found a pair of red glowing dots. She narrowed her eyes to look closely, only to realize that two eyes were staring back at her.

She gasped, her hand flying to her chest as if to contain her heart from bursting. A warm wetness clung to her chilled fingers and she felt it dripping down her arm.

It wasn't rain water. No. It was blood; crimson, warm and thick flowing.

She saw was her own form from above, staggering in the middle of the slick road surrounded by tall buildings, with her throat cut open.

But that wasn't what made her scream; the sleek glinting knife in her other hand coated with her own blood, did.

The beeping of alarm that I loathed so much turned out to be a blessing for me today. I startled awake, immediately my hand going to my throat half expecting to find it open.

A relieved sigh escaped me and I turned to turn off the annoyingly loud alarm.

I was still shaking from the too real fear when I peeled off my clothes to have a shower. The searing hot water managed to calm me down a bit but I was still disturbed by the nightmare. It was too gruesome, too real and too out of the blue.

Had I been the one to use that knife? I was a happy, content person, why would I dream such a hellish dream?

I quickly finished getting dressed for the day, in plain blue ankle length skirt with white tank top and made my way downstairs, apple green cardigan in one hand.

My dad was sitting around the breakfast table clad in dark jeans and a crisp white dress shirt, gray hair perfectly made. I never understood his obsession with being dressed up all the time.

"Hey pumpkin! You look terrible." And neither his desire to be painfully honest. But it made me love him even more every time, if that was possible.

"Thanks dad! And here I thought you'd make your only daughter feel precious about her." I leaned down to kiss his cheek.

He chuckled waving me off.

"So? Pulled an all nighter, did ya? Your work is slowly sucking the life out of you."

I pulled out a pan and started making breakfast.

"Actually it was a bad dream. Couldn't sleep. It's probably just stress." I told him offhandedly.

I heard scrapping of the chair.

"What kind of bad dream?" He leaned against the counter, folding his arms looking far more curious than he should.

"Oh you know, the bloody kind." I joked while his narrowed eyes crinkled further at the corners. "Dad! It's nothing. You know how I watch so many crime movies; they are bound to have some effect on my poor brain, don't they?"

The fear from the dream was definitely wearing off now that I was fully awake and with my father.

I fixed two plates and placed them on the table.

"Here, Eat up."

"You know I'm here for you pumpkin, whenever or whatever you want to talk about. You can always count on me." He was looking into my eyes like he knew what the dream was about.

"I know dad." I whispered lightly touching his arm.

After finishing up with the dishes, I quickly shrugged into my cardigan and buttoned it up.

"Bye dad. I will bring Chinese for dinner so don't try to burn yourself." He had terrible cooking skills so much so that he once managed to set fire to the chocolate glaze, he was making for my birthday cake. How? That I would never know.

"Ha ha funny."

"Oh and Sera! Be careful."

"Of course." I threw one last smile and closed the door behind me.

Work was busy, as always. I worked at a pathology lab as an assistant. I was the only assistant so all the minor work was dumped on me.

I was focusing a tissue slide under the microscope when I heard the door swing open.

"Yo Shorthead! There's a new dead body we want you to prepare for autopsy."

I sighed. Yes I was short, 5 feet 1 to be precise and they didn't let me forget that. Tony was the head of autopsy team at our medicolegal department. I usually kept my distance from this particular department partly because of Tony and partly because I didn't think I could handle all their gory cases and ghastly bodies.

Today, Tony was probably on the same old quest of making work miserable for me. It didn't help that he was a huge black guy, almost double my size.

"As you cannot see over your extra large dick head, I'll kindly inform you that I'm already busy."

I reached out to get some stain for the slide but he grabbed my wrist painfully tight.

"Do it bitch or I swear you'll be left with more than just a box of ruined slides."

I tried to free myself. "That's not part of my job."

"What…afraid the body might be your dear beloved mom's?" he sneered at my face.

He didn't let go of any chance to bring up my mother. Everybody knew my mother went missing under suspicious circumstances when I was only a baby. They searched the whole town for days but no body was found. Not even a clue. It was like she vanished into thin air. My dad was questioned on several occasions as he'd been the last person she was seen with, fighting. The case was closed soon after claiming that she must had left willingly.

I hissed and a wave of satisfaction pass over Tony's face. I didn't know why he hated me so much. Or why I let him bully me like this.

The door to the back of the lab creaked open. Tony let go of me instantly and left after throwing me one last blazing look.

"Sera, you're still here? It's getting dark. You should wind up, honey."

Dr. Joanne, the senior I worked with was a kind old soul. She was like my mentor, teaching me all the medical skills and encouraging me to enroll for further studies.

I was immensely glad she chose that moment to step out of her office. I had been very busy and didn't have the strength to deal with Tony today.

"Yes I was just finishing up." I gave her a tight smile.

It was close to 6 pm when I left the lab. I had never been so late before.

The streets were comfortably quiet, only the rustling of leaves in cool breeze was audible. Thick dark clouds were slowly enveloping the sky. It would rain soon.

I stopped at a Chinese place that my father loved and placed an order for two take outs.

Adjusting the cardigan, I came out and sat on a nearby rusting bench to enjoy the weather while the food was being prepared.

My phone started ringing, sounding a little too loud in the quiet inky night. I fished it out of my shoulder bag wincing slightly and swiped to answer.

"Yes dad I'm fine. Not hurt, not kidnapped, not dead."

"It's 6 Sera. You were supposed to be home before 4."

"I'm 23 dad. Besides I'm just stopping to get YOUR favourite dinner." I felt bad for not texting him but work had been crazy today. There was silence on the other side for a few moments.

"Just get home and even if you were 53, you'd still be my baby."

"Yes father." I rolled my eyes, disconnecting the call.

I stood to go get my food when I thought I saw something in my peripheral vision. My mind immediately went to the last night's dream, freezing me on the spot.

But the next moment I forced myself to whirl around. There was nothing. Just the empty road, now getting wetter under the mist.

"Your order ma'am." I startled out a scream coming face to face with the Chinese guy holding my order.

"Oh God." I tried to calm my racing heart.

"Sorry wrong guess." He flashed me a wide lopsided grin.

And the next moment, the guy's eyes grew charcoal black where it should have been white. The last thing I remembered was his inhumane face, skin peeled off, bones visible, a long forked tongue snaking out and eyes as dark as two bottomless pits, before he chugged me across the street like a ragdoll.

I hit the front of a closed shop with a loud crunching thud and slid down in a heap. Vision darkening around the edges and a coldness seeping in me that had nothing to do with the now heavily pouring rain, my mind wandered back to the dream once again and I finally blacked out.

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