Chapter 9: IS IT REALLY JUST A COINCIDENCE?

The pressure of everything around her didn’t let Amara recover fully. She had just taken a day to rest then she continued work. Her mother was worried that she might collapse or make her illness worse, so she continued to give her a call, reminding her not to skip any of her prescribed medications. The fever weakened her severely, but she still had a case much more serious. She needed to investigate this man in the shadows. He was the cause of so many deaths so she won’t stop until she finds him, not even when her head throb continuously and her fever still high. She couldn’t wait any longer, any longer for Mr. Know-it-all to get all the credit, not when she is still alive.

Back in the Organization, the president told her to go back home and rest, but she refused stubbornly. She took her file and placed it on his desk ranting about how if she doesn’t do something soon, the unknown man will strike again.

After hearing all her rant, the president sighed. “What height did you estimate this man?”

“6 feet, 8 inches, he is quite tall,” Amara replied.

“And you said that he always conceals his face in a hood and covers his whole body with clothes and gloves?”

Amara nodded. The president sighed.

“Then this is quite difficult,” he placed his hand on his head and sighed in frustration. “All CCTV cameras caught nothing, how else would we chase this man. But Detective Blackwood is right on it. He found several suspects.”

Hearing this, Amara froze, she was in complete disarray. Indeed Mr. Know-it-all was one step ahead of her. She became infuriated.

“Then I will go back to my office to brainstorm,” she said.

“Our you can do that at home,” the president stood up from his desk, walked towards Amara and placed a hand gently on her shoulders, “look, we need you to find this dangerous person indeed, but how could you do it perfectly with such a fever.”

He proceeded to feel her neck’s temperature and it was burning hot. His eyebrows furrowed, “go and treat yourself, in good health you can solve this in minutes.”

Amara nodded slowly, she knew he was right and didn’t press any further. This was indeed the truth because on no way could she solve such a problem in such a state. Sadly she went back home.

Sarah and Frank were at home already. Their short holiday had just increased due to the amount of students that the university lost to the Westside incidence. They were arguing in the dining room when Amara stormed in. She paid no attention to them and sat helplessly on the couch. Her body weak with fever, her muscles is serious pains and her head throbbing unbearably. She had fought the urge to throw up, not even the drug was helping.

She couldn’t help but to think about that man.

Was he the one she had always seen in her dreams? The one she felt like she was connected to?

She shuddered at how close he was to her the other day in the organization.

What was he doing there? To plant another radioactive poison? Does he want to annihilate the whole of Silverwood? What should be done?

Her head spinned with so many questions without any answer to any of them at all. She had never been in a situation like this before. It was indeed gut wrenching. The thought of the man moving in public places scared her. As far as she knew, he could place another attack completely unawares. This worried her deeply, but is there really other forces at play.

Amara wasn’t a religious person, so she rarely believed in the supernatural. Her dreams and connection to this man was indeed overwhelming. Was it something out of the ordinary or just a coincidence. She was used to seeing flash visions or rather flash scenes accompanied by migraine. It was tiring and she never thought anything of them, she concluded that she was a little of a schizophrenic, but since that morning she had one about the Westside Silverwood incidence, she started to question herself. How could she not.

Amara suddenly found herself five years ago, when the flash visions had gotten a bit constant with unbearable headaches. She did a psychology test to see if she was indeed schizophrenic and it turned out to be so.

Amara sighed, “what does this all mean,” melting into the couch, avoiding both the noise from her bickering siblings she drifted off.

In a pitch black place, Amara found her self standing in an empty street, her legs bare, the cold deeply troublesome as she shivered non-stop.

She was in a dream.

She could neither move nor make a sound. She just stood there shivering, her cheeks already red from the cold. Any further and she would freeze to death, but she couldn’t die in a dream, could she?

Suddenly there was warmth over her shoulders. A thick furry coat was gently placed on her pale shoulders. She couldn’t move to see who was behind her. She tried to move but it was all in vain. Suddenly she felt a breath by her neck. A warm breath, but it sent shivers down her spine.

Was this a real dream?

It felt so real to Amara, but all she could do was watch it unfold. Suddenly a voice came by her ears, it was soft and warm, tender and seductive, almost like one someone used in bed, “I will never make such a mistake again my love. Never will I let you go through such pain. Just come back to me.”

This made her frown.

Just who was behind her? The man in the shadows? Oh no! Why is he calling me his love? What is this?

Suddenly she felt an odd warmth by her neck. His lips were gently pressed on it. Amara’s eyes bulged.

Just what was this?

She tried her best to struggle, but she couldn’t move. She could only let the man kiss her neck like he was longing for her. His kiss made her insides tremble. She didn’t know who this was. The feeling was too real and it confused Amara about what was real and what wasn’t. She couldn’t speak to the man to show his face.

Putting on a straight face, she decided to let him bite unto her neck as she close her eyes to painfully take the sensation. Amara had never felt this before. She was too much of a workaholic to have a boyfriend, so this feeling was completely new to her.

The warm lips suddenly withdrew, the voice now hoarse and his breathing heavy, “stay with me tonight.”

Was this the man in the shadows?

If this was any other man, Amara would have melted with such a voice and let her guard down so easily, but with the mentality that this was a mass murderer, she felt disgusted by this.

“Why won’t you say anything?” he asked. Amara remind silent.

She did wanted to talk. In fact she kicked and beat internally just to talk to this crazed lunatic. She wanted to question him about why he did what he did, but in this dream, she could do nothing. Behind her, she heard him let out a sigh.

Just as he placed his hands on her shoulders, about turning her over to face him, Amara opened her eyes.