The Outsider

8. The Campus Killer (Part Two)

8. The Campus Killer (Part Two)

As I made it outside of the building and onto one of the many paths that wound their way around the university, I spotted a group of joggers a far way down the path. Speeding up a bit and ignoring the straps of my bag digging into my shoulders, I began catching up to them, and in no time, I was running behind them.

The joggers seemingly didn't have a set path they were taking as they would randomly turn and wind around constantly, catching me off guard.

Thankfully, the jogging had taken my mind off The Campus Killer.

In fact, it had taken my mind off everything, and after what seemed like an hour of running, I didn't even know where I was anymore.

Which could have been because I was no longer on the university campus anymore.

"Huh, I'm fitter than I thought," I muttered, breathing heavily as I came to a halt and watched the other joggers get further and further away from me. "I wonder if they knew I was there?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I looked around where I had stopped, still not sure of where I was. It wasn't the best-looking place and looked very bleak. Which gave me an indication I wasn't near the university at all.

Pulling my phone out of my pocket, and readjusting the straps of my bag, I checked the time and saw I actually had been running for an hour.

As I was about to put my phone away and start figuring out where the hell I was, it began to vibrate, and I looked down again to see James was calling me.

"Hello?" I answered the phone, staring to walk along the same path I had been running on.

I tried looking around to see if there was anything in sight that I had seen before to give me any indication of where I was, but with no luck.

"Marianne? Marianne, is that you? I-I seem to have lost your dog. I just went ahead and lost it. Oh, God, what if it's dead!" James' voice drifted through my phone. His voice high-pitched and strained, as he tried to sound like an older lady.

It was one of the worse impressions he had done.

"For the last time, your name comes up on my phone when you call," I explained with a chuckle, and James went quiet for a moment.

"I knew that," he said after a few seconds. "On an unrelated note, can you show me how to make my number show up as private?"

"What do you want?" I asked, rolling my eyes at him through the phone.

I knew he couldn't see me do it, but a part of me knew he could feel it.

"You didn't answer my text. I got worried."

At James' words I remembered that my phone had vibrated in my English lecture, and I let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, that was you? I kind of forgot it vibrated. I got distracted."

"Matthew. Tell me you did not go near the Campus Killer." I could tell that James was joking but couldn't help but hear there was still a serious undertone in his voice.

"Don't call him that!" I said, hypocrisy dripping from my lips.

"What do you want me to call him then?" James asked, and I went quiet.

I had no idea what the hell to call him. I didn't know his actual name—yet—or anything about him. However, I didn't want to call him the Campus Killer.

"Well, I'm still trying to figure his name out, but I will do it!"

"Matt—" James started, but I cut him off.