The Second Victim (VIII)

05:35 P.M. 

Cruz Mall Parking Lot. 

July 20th, the year 2018. Friday. 

When she was in the middle of her grief on the street, she heard someone parked a motorcycle behind her. 

She wiped the tears away from her face. Katrina noticed that someone was climbing off a vehicle. The rustle of footsteps identified her instincts correctly. 

She heard a click, and Katrina stood up from the ground. Katrina faced the exit of the parking lot and looked up. She widened her eyes underneath her dandelion hoodie. The person faced towards her. 

Katrina furrowed her eyebrows a little. She saw the person was also wearing an oversized black hoodie. She took one step back from her place as she tilted her head to one side. A white mask with a drawn mustache over the maxilla covered the face of the person. It was standing beside his motorcycle. 

  "I chased the person, and it turns out, it was a red-haired girl wearing an oversized black hoodie."

Mina's words came back to her as she scrutinized the person from head to toe. She swallowed. The person retrieved something from his back pockets. Katrina widened her eyes when she saw something sharp, long, and curved like metal over the back. She took a step back as she saw it was Katana's sword. 

The wind whistled through the surface. She swallowed constantly. The person took a step towards her as Katrina continued to walk backward. She hurried over the insides of the parking lot because she had nowhere to go. If she sped up towards the bridge again, the person can pierce that sword at her. The person wearing an oversized black hoodie made sure that they trapped her.

Katrina gasped as she searched for a place where she could hide up to the second floor of the parking lot. She turned her head; the person was nowhere. 

She panted as she sniffed and took the right side of the lot. She saw that person holding that sword in his hands. Katrina can help but wonder why it felt like the person was always watching them.

First, it was from their house, on the day she went to San Miguel's Hospital with Carmela. The time where Mina chased someone with the same description she had in the hours after Margo's death. 

Katrina continued running until she reached a dead end and turned a corner again. She hid from one car and bit her lip, as she didn't want to make any noise. Katrina panted and took a little peep from the red car that she was hiding. She attentively listened to if there were any footsteps that she could hear, but it was nothing. 

Katrina can't explain why she was so scared when she saw Katana's sword behind that person. She felt the tears flowing out of her eyes as she retrieved her cell phone from the back pockets of her shorts. 

…

Mina hopped in beside Marcus and buckled his seatbelt in. The patrol cars were behind them right after Marcus swiveled his car around and made a U-turn. Mina glanced at him and he asked about what Xian was saying back at Katrina's house. 

"What were those results he was talking about? And he plainly said some foul words to you, Marcus. He said that you were protecting Katrina at all costs no matter what the consequences are," Mina asked. Blare of the sirens resonated all over the surroundings of the highway. Marcus exhaled and gripped the steering wheel. 

"Xian, that asshole," Marcus whispered, that made Mina's eyebrows furrowed at him. 

"You said you would tell me everything now," Mina mumbled while sighing. 

"Mina, we should locate Katrina first." Marcus was hesitant to say it right away. Mina knuckled his fists and raised his voice a bit. 

"Tell me, why won't you tell me what the results were all about? There must be a reason Xian had to go to Katrina's house for something! There must be a reason he wouldn't stop blabbering on why he suspected Katrina killed Margo, right?!" Mina yelled over the passenger seat as he held his forehead. 

Marcus closed his eyes for a bit as he stepped on the gas pedal and his car sped up towards the highway. They were still kilometers away from the bridge, and they can find Katrina in this state.

"There was a bracelet at the crime scene of Margo Monteverde. It has Katrina's fingerprints on it," Marcus finally muttered. Mina shifted his eyes back at him immediately. He creased his forehead as Marcus turned a little towards him and shook his head. 

"I commanded some police officer to spy for me since I am not holding the case anymore. I was so astonished to find out the results of the attained evidence," Marcus mumbled and he sighed. 

"What? What could --" 

"I don't know. One thing is for sure, Katrina may be there. No one could ever confirm it besides Margo and that cashier," Marcus elaborated. 

He exhaled at the thought that crossed his mind in a split second. He might continue investigating illegally. Marcus was the only one who could protect his friends. 

Katrina fell, the sobs coming from inside of her mouth. She dialed Marcus's number while trembling in fear at the side of the red car. She wished Marcus could answer it right away since she heard something distant from the car.

Marcus looked at his cell phone. Mina's tears were silently dripping down on his face. He looked out at the window. 

"It's Katrina," Marcus exhaled. Mina immediately sat up straight as they answered the call. 

"Where are you?!" Mina cried out as they heard Katrina's sobs from the other end of the line. Marcus and Mina both looked at each other. Marcus panted as he stepped on the gas pedal and sped up the car much faster than the speed limit. 

Katrina whimpered, "I'm right here... at the Cruz Mall parking lot... someone was wearing an oversized black hoodie... holding a Katana's sword behind his back..."

Katrina sobbed on the other end of the line. She put her hand over her mouth, trying to silence herself. She heard some footsteps in the parking lot as Mina answered. 

"Stay right there, we will be there immediately," Mina gasped as he darted his eyes everywhere. 

"Marcus, we need to go faster. It is kilometers away before we reach Cruz Mall," Mina gritted his teeth as Katrina held on to the line. 

"Save me," Katrina mumbled as the footsteps became louder. It came nearer and nearer as there was something playing over the radio. Katrina controlled her sobs from coming as she saw a shadow beside the car. 

It stopped right away as she held onto the line. She felt the tears coming right away. The person wearing an oversized black hoodie took one step again. Katrina saw his feet right beside her. 

"Katrina held on there, we're coming!" Mina screamed over the other end of the line that made so much noise. The person turned his head around slowly. He gripped the handle of the sword with his rubber gloves. 

Katrina's breath rapidly quickens as she lowered down her cell phone beside her. The mask covered his entire identity. It made Katrina wonder who this person was. 

The song in the background that was playing over the radios was much more creepy than she thought. It felt like it's used to scare the children that didn't want to sleep early at night. Katrina doesn't understand the language as it progresses.

Mina and Marcus heard some loud rustle in the background. The next thing they heard made them all jump out of surprise. It was a woman with a loud, shrilling, shrieking voice that came over at the other end of the line. Katrina murmured repeatedly towards the person wearing an oversized black hoodie. 

Both Mina and Marcus widened their eyes as Mina picked up the cell phone and shouted over the line, 

"Katrina! Katrina!" Mina shouted over the cell phone. Marcus yelled over the walkie-talkie. He asked about any officers who were surrounding and patrolling the Cruz Mall. The call ended abruptly as Mina gasped an extensive amount of air as he looked out of the window.