Scattered

7

Silhouette

Olivia was on her way home after an excruciatingly long day.

Thankfully, she was able to arrange some money from here and there to enter her home without Mrs. Reed standing on her doorstep like Azreal. After the surprise the Konstantinos brothers gave her and the long confusing work they had put in Shaw's murder case, she was ready hit her bed after a relaxing shower.

Maybe call mama too.

She hummed in agreement as she leaned back on the subway train's window. She thought back to her mother in Connecticut; standing in the verandah and staring out to her little veggie garden a tad further away her childhood home. Olivia was 26 and just below her was Joshua at 21 who looked after the little town bakery after she left for New York. Then there was Melanie and Todd who were 8 and 11 respectively. Although Mel and Todd were from her mother's sister who unfortunately passed away with her husband in a car crash, they were treated like siblings. Mama Summers never had the heart to let them go through the foster system and brought them home.

As for Olivia's father, she had only seen him a handful of times. He was a US marine who had died on duty when she was just 5 years old. Nevertheless, her mother had worked hard to let her go to college and earn her degree.

The subway came to a halt and like other late-night earners, she navigated trough the platform to the stuffy Brooklyn air outside. It was just a quick walk through 3 blocks to her building and the streets were relatively empty. She slipped into the alleyway that opened next to her home.

That was when she heard it.

There was a flap of wings as something flew down. The first thought Olivia had been that it were a pigeon who liked to stay awake late at night but she stopped short. The flap of the wings was forceful like a bird with a large wingspan and moreover, it sounded more like a bat than a pigeon. She turned around and stared at the empty alleyway behind her.

She turned to move forward and nearly screamed.

Someone was leaning on to the walls watching her, taking long drags of a lit cigarette. Olivia could make out that it was a woman wearing a long black cloak-like jacket; underneath which she wore black leather outfit that glinted in the faraway streetlight. Her hair was equally black and let open to blend in with the shadows, just like most of her face.

'You gave me a scare.'

Olivia sighed and offered an uncertain smile at the estranged woman.

'Me?' The woman asked, her voice gravelly and rough.

'Yeah.' Olivia chuckled, 'I'm sorry. A lot's going on in my mind.'

With the apology, she walked past the smoking woman pretending to be undeterred. She kept her head down and walked as fast as she could because one can never be sure of the poor souls who wait in alleyways in New York in the middle of the night.

'The name is Anaplekte.'

The same gravelly voice said behind her. Olivia stilled and slowly turned around, surprised at the sudden introduction. She briefly wondered if the woman was going to ask her if she wanted some drugs of some sort.

'Um, hi?'

She managed, uncertain what to make of the woman. Olivia could feel the heavy stare of the woman like a suffocating fog over her. She nervously switched her weight to her other leg.

'Nice to meet you?' Olivia tried to be polite without having to tell the stranger her name. 'I need to go now.'

There was a brief silence from the shadows and a puff of smoke melted into the night from where the stranger stood.

'By all means.'

The strange woman said in her distinguishing voice. Olivia turned about and walked away from the alley as fast as she could, throwing worried glances behind her to see if she was being followed.

No one emerged from the darkness.

Anaplekte watched from the shadows as the woman walked away from her. She was scared .

What was it that they call? ---Ah, yes.

Spooked.

She took another long drag from the Cuban cigar and breathed it out to the chill air around her. Her hand reached inside her pocket and touched the cool metal before pulling it out. The cellular phone glinted in the moonlight. She had always hated them; but thriving in this world left her no option. She switched it on and pressed on the familiar name.

'Yes?'

There was no mistaking the husky baritone that came from the phone.

'She saw me. Mind telling me who the hell am I following, boss?'

NEXT UPDATE: 18 June 2019