Come In

Chapter Four

The police took us home. A small part of my mind was relieved that I didn't have to splash out on a cab. Libby was silent the whole journey back. The officers were talking amongst themselves but I tuned them out. What were those men? Were they even men? They said that we were 'dinner'- did that really mean that they wanted to eat us? A shiver attacked my body, which Libby, who had been resting her head on my shoulder, felt. She laced her fingers with mine, and gave them a reassuring squeeze. I smiled halfheartedly down at her, which she returned with a weaker smile- well, it was more like a grimace.
That hooded man- who was he? Was he like them? He saved us, but did that mean that he was good? He ripped Ant's head from his body- that was ridiculous! I couldn't get that sharp, creaking sound out of my head. It had sounded like a stone being twisted apart. It was sickening.
Why did I feel so safe when he was there?

I decided that Libby should probably not be left alone that night, and she didn't argue when I guided her into my house. We were followed in by the two officers, who were mumbling into their radios.
I turned the kettle on, and offered tea around. The officers accepted, but Libby didn't even answer. I thought that maybe she was in shock- maybe we should've taken her to a hospital, but she shook her head when I voiced those thoughts.
"We've contacted someone- a specialist in these unusual cases. She'll be able to understand your situation better than we can." One of the officers- a tall, old man with a shaved head and kind blue eyes-said. I didn't like that he called it 'your situation'- I didn't want to be connected to this at all. But I felt oddly comforted that there was someone who dealt specifically with what had happened. It made me feel like this had probably happened before- that we were not crazy, which was good, because crazy was all I felt.

We didn't have to wait long. The doorbell rang not half an hour later. She was a short, slim woman with a no-nonsense look about her. She had her dark chestnut hair yanked tightly into a ponytail. She wore a black suit and wore dark makeup. Her face was set into a permanent scowl.
"Hello," her voice was strong and confident, and surprisingly deep, "I'm Ms Georgio, I was told that I was needed here, that there was a... peculiar case?" she said, standing in the doorway. The older officer who had opened the door for her, nodded. Ms Georgio looked to me, and I smiled. Realising that she was still standing in the doorway, I moved out of her way.
"Come in, Ms Georgio. Thank you for coming" I said, smiling. She nodded again and walked through to the living room, where Libby was now sleeping on a sofa.
"Now," Ms Georgio said. "Why don't you tell me what happened?"
I explained everything, and Ms Georgio nodded every now and then, not speaking but scribbling on a notepad.
When I was finished, she peered over her notes, frowning. Her frown stayed in place, but as she looked up at me, she plastered a very obvious fake smile on her face.
"Ok, we'll deal with this. You don't have to worry. From what you've said, we know exactly what to do." She said, before leaving. The two officers followed her out, and I shut the door behind them.
What did this mean? She'd told me not to worry, but that was out of the question! She hadn't given me any answers- in fact, she hadn't given me anything at all.
Sighing, I turned toward Libby's sleeping form. Walking over to her, my thoughts returned to that strange hooded man.
Gently, I shook Libby awake. Her eyes blinked spastically for a moment before she yawned, and stretched out on the sofa.
"Is it morning?" she mumbled sleepily.
"No, but you're on the sofa, come to the guest room." I said, helping her up.

I dropped Libby off in the morning. We both sat in her room, trying to talk about anything but last night. But our conversation waned after a short while.
"So," Libby said with a sigh, "last night? What the hell was that?" she said with a nervous giggle.
"I have no idea! It was so weird" I replied.
"At least the police will deal with them now" she said, shrugging. How could she be so cavalier?
"Are you serious? Do you really think that they can deal with what happened? That wasn't normal, Lib" I said. She shrugged again. Obviously she just wanted to forget about the whole thing. So did I. At least, I think I did.

I blasted the radio as loud as I could as I drove home. It didn't help- my mind wouldn't leave that hooded man alone. I tried to concentrate on the loud, thudding beat of the rock song that was screaming out of the speakers. I tried to listen to the words; to make sense of the story, but it still didn't work.

I stopped at the local supermarket, deciding that shopping may help my mind leave that night. Besides, we needed food at home. I perused the aisles, disinterested in anything that I saw. I got everything that I had in my list, but continued around the shop. I didn't want to go home, and have nothing to busy myself with, because my mind would go straight back to that night. Could it have only been last night?
I paid for my shopping, and drove home. I began to methodically put the shopping away. When I was done, it was as I feared. I leaned on the counter, pondering over what I could do. Looking at the clock, I noticed that it was 6:30.
"I guess I'll start dinner" I muttered to myself, gathering ingredients for a stir fry from the fridge. I tried to concentrate on the cooking, but yet again, my mind strayed to last night. But it didn't stray to the attack. It strayed to the hooded man. His piercing blue eyes, framed by thick, long lashes. Thick, black eyebrows stood out against his pale, pale white skin. I wondered if his hair was the same colour as his eyebrows. His button nose was boxy and... well, perfect. His lips were full, and his top lip jutted out slightly further than his bottom. I remembered that the skin around his eyes was dark and shadowed, and I don't believe that it could've been the shadow of the hood.
I realised that I was burning the noodles whilst remembering this man in a frightening amount of detail.
I realised that I'd forgotten to pick up soy sauce on my shopping trip earlier, so I turned the stove off, and left to go to the little newsagents that was situated a five minute walk from my home. I purchased the sauce, my mind still on the hooded figure.
On my way home, I almost tripped over the leg of a homeless man, who was sleeping half in an alleyway and half in the street. I turned to utter an apology, but was stunned to silence.

It was the hooded man.