Identifying Sara

Chapter Twenty

The only good thing about walking rather than driving somewhere, is that it's easier to find your way around, getting a greater chance of getting the location correct. The snow has stopped falling from the sky for the first time in a while, but the air is still wicked cold, and I keep reminding myself how dumb I am for not wearing enough layers. I tighten my grip around myself as I read the last bit of the directions from a crinkled paper that I wrote on before leaving the house, and arrive at a incredibly sketchy looking brick building. It looks about 3 stories high, and as if it has been standing for generations. I gulp and hesitate before entering the doors, this could be dangerous, beyond against the rules made by my mother.

Once I enter the building, I'm surprised by the decor that covers the place. The lobby of this misterious building looks like the inside of a five star hotel. A huge chandler hangs from the ceiling with clear jewls twinkling in the light that the small bulbs bring. I run the bottoms of my shoes against the rug that greeted me at the door to remove the mixture of snow and slush from my shoes. All the way at the other end of the room is a white desk; a man sits behind it dressed elegantly, he stares intently at a computer screen not even blinking when I enter. The silence that fills the room is making me uncomfortable and the fact that he hasn't noticed my presence makes me question weather I should just walk past him, but I don't know how to get around this building and there's no way I am leaving now. Not after I've already gotten this far. I walk slowly to the man sitting at the desk; he's so still that I'm surprised he hasn't passed out from not breathing.

I hear my footsteps against the white marble floors, cleaned to perfection, echo in every inch of this room. Even when I arrive at the front desk standing inches away from the strange man, he doesn't even flinch. "Um, can you direct me to apartment 48B?" I ask him sounding unsure of myself. He looks up at me slowly, with a look that I can't quite read. His eyes are dark, like black holes that swallowed all the color that could have ever been in his eyes. His skin is sickly pale looking thin and fragile like paper.

"Excuse me? Who are you?" His deep voice says loudly even though I'm standing less than a foot away from him. I step back in surprise when it echos throughout the room just as my small footsteps did moments ago, only this is much louder then my baby-like steps.

"I-I um I'm Sara," I say with a shaky voice that makes it clear that I could start crying at any second that I continue to be half scared to death. "I just want to get to apartment 48B." He stares at me and for a second I don't think he is going to o anything but this all seems like it's happening in slow motion and anything he does is a blur until time catches up with itself. His face forms from a blank expression to a deadly, evil, monstrous scowl. "I don't care what you want, little girl," he spits standing from his chair. His hand reaches up, into the pocket of his jacket. His hands are thin, you can see the bones in the fingers that are just as white as his face. Worst of all, you can see the veins that pop out of his skin giving it a 3D effect. I feel my eyes widen as a gun is slowly pulled out his pearl white jacket pocket. The beating in my heart has never been faster, I feel my hands go cold and I take a few steps back, but he comes out from behind his desk aiming the gun right at the very middle of my forehead.

My throat is dry, my eyes are on fire as I try to fight every urge to let the tears fall down my cheeks showing my surrender. Every stride he takes in my direction, is every small step I take back, but I know I can't get far, his gun has my eyes, and every part of me knows that trying to run will only get me into more trouble and cause me my life.

"W-what-" I try but am cut off by a voice like venom.

"Shut up!" The man yells in a dangerous voice. My bones are stiff and no matter how many steps he takes towards me, I can't find myself to move anymore, this could be the end, and it feels like this is all just starting. When the man is close enough, he grabs me forcefully by the collar of my jacket. I let out a squeak without meaning to but the man doesn't notice.