The Killer Among Us

Chapter 16

Thirteen days left

Jacob

All my life I felt like I was playing someone else's game, always unaware of what was happening, always out of control. This time was worse though - I didn't even know who I was playing against. More than that, I didn't know the rules we were playing by.

All that put me at a severe disadvantage.

With only the courage pumping inside me and the gun tugged in the waistband of my jeans, I navigated to my next destination, his apartment.

The day was coming to an end, the sun already on it's descent, casting the streets in a bluish undertone. My stomach rumbled in hunger, in anticipation.

It took me around two hours to reach the location and when I arrived, it was almost dark out. The streets were still bustling with people, all of whom had no idea what was lurking here at night. Did they know that in their midst was a killer, stealing their woman under their noses?

I parked my beloved car under a desolate bridge, avoiding the Solemn Serpent to anticipate my coming.

The air outside was chilly, the wind was getting stronger. The mixture of the temperature and the anxiety I was experiencing made goosebumps form on my entire body.

As I was approaching the building, a group of teenagers walked past me. They stared me up and down, seemingly looking for trouble. I walked straight past them, having no time for childish confrontation.

When I reached the entrance of the apartment complex, I suddenly felt incredibly stupid.

I had no idea which apartment the call was made from. What did I expect? That the doorbell read "The Solemn Serpent"?

But when I investigated the numerous names lined up next to the doorbells, I promptly noticed that only one of them didn't have a name - apartment number 13.

Having nothing else to go off, I decided that this must be his apartment. Something inside of me felt drawn to it.

As I was trying to figure out a way to get into the complex without raising any suspicion, a woman startled me from behind.

"Excuse me, can I help you?" She asked me with a sassy undertone. It was clear that I wasn't as lowkey as I thought I was.

She was young, maybe in her mid twenties. Her hair was over dyed, streaks of pink and purple hiding the original color of her shoulder length hair.

"Hey, yeah! Uh -" I stumbled over my own words, "I am just looking for someone?"

She narrowed her eyes at me, obviously annoyed at my presence.

"Who?" She spat at me impatiently.

When I didn't immediately respond, she scoffed and walked around me, leaving me standing there like an idiot. She opened the door with a key and entered the apartment complex without looking back.

Quickly, I held the door open, almost tripping over my own feet and called after her, "Wait!"

She momentarily stopped in her tracks and I quickly asked her, "Do you know who lives in Apartment 13?"

She turned around slowly, confusion evident in her eyes that were overlined with black eyeliner. Never breaking eye contact, she crossed her pale arms in front of her chest and said, "Why do you want to know? Who the hell are you?"

Without missing a heartbeat, I told her, "He messed with my little sister. I wanna talk to him, you know? Sort things out. "

I figured, in order to make it somewhat convincing, I had to at least offer a little honesty.