Chapter 5

My breath caught in my throat. I had the worst feeling it wasn’t a random stranger. I sprinted to my car, afraid to look, to see that horrible smile again. I hit the key fob to unlock it and managed to get the door open. But before I could slip inside, a hand slammed the door shut.

“Lovely night, isn’t it?” The creepy dude from the park said, only inches away from me.

I backed away, trying to get some distance from that stalker.

“What are you d-doing here?” I stammered out, and then realized that was a stupid question. “Why are you following me?”

He laughed. “It would take too long to explain. And quite frankly, I’m running out of patience.” He grabbed my arm again, but this time, I was on my own. No big, lovable, Labrador to bail me out.

That wide smile surfaced, sending a chill down my spine. Somehow I knew I was in mortal danger with him. That I had to get away. I didn’t even think about it, I simply reacted. My body shifted and my knee made contact with his groin.

He doubled over, groaning. And I bolted. I was never more grateful that I settled on sensible shoes to wear in the workplace. The dress shoes on my feet were a slightly formal version of a sneaker, and I had no trouble running in them.

There weren’t a bunch of cars out at that hour, and the streets were laid out in a grid format. It was easy enough to zig zag down a couple of side roads and not simply run away in a straight line. I didn’t dare look back to see if the creepy dude followed. Somehow, I got the feeling he wouldn’t stop. I had to find someplace that was safe. I wasn’t that familiar with the streets, but I thought they all connected.

I discovered I was wrong.

I doubled back when I ran into a dead end, a street that ended in what appeared to be an old, brick apartment complex. I was nearly to the main street I’d come from, when I saw his grin first, like an evil version of the Cheshire Cat. Then the rest of him appeared into view as he walked in the center of the street, illuminated by an antiquated light post that flickered eerily.

There was no way I could fight him off now, he would be prepared. What am I going to do?

“You fight dirty,” he said, his brown eyes meeting mine. “I’ve always been a sucker for the feisty ones.”

I gulped. Maybe I could run past him. In my totally freaked out state, it was the only thing I could think of.

I faked to the left, then took a sharp turn to the right, sprinting next to the wall. I was almost past him—he made no movement to stop me, only stared, still grinning like a total creeper. But then I got the wind knocked out of me as he was suddenly on top of me, pinning me against the wall. How was he able to move so quickly?

One of his large hands held both of my wrists above my head. I tried to knee or kick him, but he pressed his body against mine, rendering me completely immobile.

“Now, I finally get to taste you…” he said, and then took a deep inhale through his nose. He opened his mouth, and his canines appeared larger and sharper than the rest of his teeth. Almost like…fangs. A forceful tilt of my head with his free hand rendered my line of sight negligible. I closed my eyes, helpless. A single tear rolled down my cheek, as I begged him to let me go.

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt you,” he assured, and then added, “…much.”

“Galen, you know this isn’t right,” another voice nearby said, a masculine voice. “Back off.”

The pressure of my attacker’s body against mine disappeared. I opened my eyes abruptly. Another man was there, grabbing my assailant.

Could it be? Was this new guy saving me?

I backed away from them slowly, hoping this new dude would continue to distract him.

“I found her, she’s mine!” Galen, aka creepy park dude shot back. “We’re not all satisfied with squirrels and dogs.”

“Is her blood worth dying over?” the other man said. This new guy had a presence. With his strong jawline and toned physique, it’s no wonder creepy dude was edging away.

And then his words sunk in. My blood? Squirrels and dogs? Was that really cosmetic dentistry again, like I saw with that Ethan character at the sanctuary? Or something else entirely? I shivered, fearful of the truth.

Galen narrowed his eyes. “This isn’t over.” His gaze met mine and I stopped breathing. A smile tugged at his lips, a veiled threat. And then he ran off.

“Who are you?” I asked the handsome stranger. He was closer now, and I could see his tussled brown hair and kind blue eyes. Unlike Galen, I didn’t feel like he was threat.

He took a measured breath, and his eyebrows scrunched together, as if he were struggling with something.

Before he had a chance to respond, a bright light shone down the alley, coming from the main street. I shielded my eyes from it, and when my vision finally adjusted, gorgeous rescuer dude was gone.

“Ma’am, are you okay?” The red and blue lights now swirled, and I realized it was a police officer addressing me.

“Yes, I am now.” I stepped out of the alley, and he walked around his car to meet me.

“I thought at first it was a couple of teenagers. You’d be surprised how often that happens. I’m Officer Jones. Uh, Edgar.” He extended a hand to shake.

“Liz,” I said, shaking his hand. I smiled, relieved he was there. He reached into his vehicle to turn off the floodlight, and without the burst of light I could see his features more clearly. I guessed he was in his late twenties/early thirties. His pale brown skin and hazel eyes made his ethnicity unclear, but his smile really struck me—it was the warmest smile I’d ever seen on a cop.

“It’s not safe to walk alone around here at night,” he said.

“Oh, no I wasn’t,” I replied, taking a deep breath in and exhaling. “Actually, I…” I wasn’t sure what to say. If I explained I had a stalker, it would just lead to more questions. Questions I didn’t have the answers to. “I guess I just got a little spooked out is all.” I scanned the streets and the alley behind me, to make sure creepy dude wasn’t waiting to grab me again.

“I thought I saw another person in that alley with you. Did you know him?”

“No. I mean, it was nothing.” I looked down, avoiding his eyes. If he was anything like the cops on TV, he’d know I was lying.

“Are you going to be okay?” he asked.

No. No I’m not. Afraid to even think about what nearly happened in the alley with a confirmed stalker that may or may not have had fangs… Nope, that’s as far from okay as it gets. “Well I could use a lift to my car, if that’s all right with you. I work at the office building on the corner of Pine and Starlight.”

“Oh, that’s only a few blocks from here. It would be my pleasure, hop in.”

“Thanks.” He opened the passenger door for me, and I got in. I looked around in awe at all the tech and knobs and everything else that comprised the dashboard and front control panels.

“First time in a cruiser, huh?”

I nodded as I buckled myself in.

“Hopefully this will be my last day in this beast.” He turned off his emergency lights and pulled out on the main road.

“I know it’s none of my business, but you seem a little young to retire…” I said.

He laughed. “No, I took the exam to become a detective. I find out the results tomorrow.”

“Oh, good luck.”

“Thank you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, ever since I was a child.”

I couldn’t imagine the horrors a beat cop would see, let alone a detective, in a big city like DC. My already questionable view of humanity would be obliterated.

“What is it you do?” he asked. “Please tell me you’re not one of the cat butthole app developers…”

I chuckled. “No, nothing with that kind of prestige. I’m a scientist.”

“How interesting.” I could tell from his tone he was being polite. The only thing that frightened people more than a science occupation was a math-related one.

We pulled into the parking lot and since my car was the only one there, he drove up next to it.

“Thank you again,” I said. “I really appreciate it.”

“No problem. It was nice to meet you, Liz.”

“You too, Edgar.” As soon as I exited his car, I walked around mine, making sure it was creeper-free. Then I peered inside, checking out the backseat and even the floorboards.

The passenger side window of the cruiser rolled down. “Are you sure you’re okay there?” Edgar said.

“Yeah, just gotta check the trunk,” I muttered, though it was probably too small for anyone to squeeze in it. Logic and paranoia aren’t exactly compatible. But after seeing those… teeth? I wasn’t taking any chances.

I slammed the trunk shut, after confirming it was indeed empty. Then I returned to the driver’s side of the car all casual-like. I ducked down near the passenger side of the cruiser to wave goodbye, when I noticed Edgar’s arched eyebrow.

“You want to tell me what really happened in that alley?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” I said in my best normal voice.

“Tell you what, I’ll just follow behind you for a while, okay?”

I opened my mouth, about to object, when I remembered something my father told me—the number one rule if I ever got pulled over: Never argue with a cop. “If you’re sure it’s no trouble…”

“No trouble at all.” The simple smile that appeared on his face was genuine. And to be perfectly honest, a police escort put my mind at ease, even though I knew it was probably overkill.

The drive home was happily uneventful, and I was impressed to see the cop had waited for me to walk to my apartment complex door before he drove off. Being a good girl, I’d never really had cause to have a run-in with the police. I wondered if they were always so helpful, or if there was something more to Officer Jones.

After taking Thundarr for a quick potty break, I was too wired to go to sleep. And maybe a little afraid of what I would dream. I kept recalling those fangs, er, teeth. How much longer the canines appeared than the others. Could Amy possibly be right about…

I chuckled to myself. Vampires aren’t real, that’s just silly. But for sanity’s sake, I broke out the laptop to search up cosmetic dentistry. If I could see a single picture that even loosely resembled creepy park dude’s teeth, I would be able to put it to rest in my mind.

When I opened a browser to search, the newsfeed appeared on my homepage and I gasped. The headline: SARS-like Virus DESVID-2 Hits the US in LA, NY.

There was no way this was another error. My mind raced, wondering what the ramifications would be, how quickly it would spread, how our fearless leader would respond. In a country with little experience of quarantining and full of anti-government citizens who don’t like to be told how to live their lives, the outlook seemed bleak. The president’s public reaction and response to the threat in the next few days would either diminish the outbreak or allow it to flourish. And that prospect scared me the most.

In my head, I started to list out the steps that would need to be taken, including a revised threat report, bullet points for containment, and an advisory for public safety. I spent the rest of the night scouring both the CDC and WHO websites for their guidelines and additional information. Sunlight streamed in through my living room window before I realized I never went to sleep.

But there would be time for sleep later. I grabbed a cup of coffee as I listened to the news on my television.

“We have several confirmed cases of the virus now in several major cities across the US. Already claiming thousands of lives in other countries, I repeat, the DESVID-2 virus is now here, on US soil.”

I brought my coffee back to the living room and made some final touches on my documentation before I sent it off to John. Though I wasn’t allowed to directly email or talk with the president, I knew John would forward it on. With a yawny exhale, I grabbed my stuff and headed into the office.

On a Saturday. Because a pandemic was on the verge of breaking out and decimating our population.