CHAPTER 5: Gabe is Dead

It was nighttime, and Gabe had spent the rest of the day riding her favorite horse, Chestnut. She lived in a mansion with a stable and a huge field dotted with lush green trees, so Gabe had all the space she needed to ride.

Gabe checked the time on her watch. The watch reminded her of her late mother who passed away in a car accident three years ago. Her mother gave her the watch on her birthday when she was younger, and she had been elated to receive the gift then, as the watch was unlike anything she had ever seen before. It was black, and the hour, minute and second hand were outside the ring of numbers, pointing inwards. Gabe struggled to regain her composure. She missed her mother. Her mother was the only person she was close to, and Gabe had lost her so suddenly. It had broken her heart.

Removing her watch and placing it carefully on her bedside table, Gabe lay on her bed, tossing and turning. Another murder attempt again. It had been months since anything like this happened, and she had just began wondering when the next one would happen, when it suddenly came this afternoon, in the form of a sniper. She wondered if Keith would be alright.

Gabe wanted to experience being a normal person for a while. Why do people have to keep trying to kill her? Why does she have bodyguards following her everywhere? Why couldn't she even enjoy something that everyone else took for granted? She was constantly surrounded and hounded by people, never having any privacy when she was outside. Gabe felt like her life was being controlled, like she was in a cage. Why couldn't she even enjoy a visit a mall by herself? Then she thought, why couldn't she? Who said she couldn't?

Gabe had never been able to enjoy her visits to the shopping malls because of her bodyguards, who followed her everywhere she went and left her with no privacy. Gabe felt uncomfortable browsing through the stores with the bodyguards monitoring her every move. The only time she was ever left alone was when she was in the mansion.

Gabe felt surprisingly safe after the murder attempt today, as she sensed that it would not happen again for a while. Maybe, she thought, maybe she could just leave the mansion for a short while today, and come back before anyone even noticed?

It wasn't even that late yet, and Gabe had nothing else to do, other than trying to sleep. The mall would still be open, but emptying slowly. It was the perfect time to visit.

It was a difficult decision. Gabe lay on the bed without moving for a while, contemplating on whether to do it or not. She couldn't bring herself to stand up, because she knew that once she did, she couldn't turn back. But she also couldn't just go back to her bed and pretend that she never had that thought. She had to do something.

Her heart pounding, she turned on the lights and started packing her bag to bring along to the mall. Handphone, wallet, umbrella in case it rained, Gabe made a list of what she needed in her mind. It was her first time doing something like this, and Gabe was feeling rather nervous. As a result, instead of packing a small bag to bring to the mall, Gabe ended up with a haversack full of odds and ends that she decided to pack just in case. Lastly, Gabe glanced at the door as she grabbed her watch that she had placed on the bedside table. But instead of a watch, her hand felt something different. Gabe looked down. A golden colored bracelet was on the bedside table, and her watch was nowhere to be seen.

Her heart skipped a beat. She remembered clearly placing her watch on the bedside table, and she did not remember seeing the bracelet there then. No one had entered her room, so it was not possible that someone switched her watch with the bracelet.

Gabe picked up the bracelet and examined it. It looked old fashioned and mysterious, and Gabe didn't remember having a bracelet like that. So how on earth did this bracelet appear and her watch disappear? Maybe someone left it there before she came in her room and she did not notice it until now? Maybe she had unknowingly knocked her watch over somewhere under the bed when she was packing her bag?

Gabe got down on all fours and peered under the bed. Nothing there. She checked under every nook and cranny in her room, but her watch was nowhere to be found.

There had to be a reasonable explanation for this. A watch cannot just disappear and a bracelet cannot just appear in its place. What if she was just hallucinating after going through so much earlier in the day? She must be extremely stressed to begin hallucinating. A visit to the mall would do her good.

Deep in her heart, Gabe knew that this wasn't likely to be the explanation, but she couldn't think of anything else, so she forced herself to believe it. Sighing, she slipped the bracelet onto her wrist, just in case it was really her watch, and got out another watch from the drawer to wear on her other wrist. If she was really hallucinating that her watch was a bracelet, she would look really weird wearing a watch on each hand. But who cares, she needed to know the time.

Picking up her huge haversack, she opened her bedroom door quietly and peered into the dark corridor. Usually at this time, the bodyguards and maids would be at their quarters upstairs. Her father was away on a business trip, and was not home. The security in her mansion was tight, but it was much easier to get out than to enter. Tiptoeing quietly along the corridor and down the stairs, she made sure that there was no one, before dashing on the balls of her feet towards the back door. The CCTV cameras detected motion and swiveled round after her. Unlocking the door, Gabe quickly slipped out, before shutting it gently.

The security guard looked up as Gabe walked past the guardhouse. "Hello, Gabe! Where are you headed without your bodyguards?"

"I'm only stepping out for a second. Max gave me permission," Gabe answered confidently, being the smooth liar she was.

The guard seemed doubtful, but did not stop Gabe as she walked briskly out of the gates and down the path towards the main roads. Gabe would feel safer blending in among the crowds rather than being alone on the deserted path.

Soon, when she was on the sidewalk of the main road, she slowed down. Unknown to her, a man sitting in a sleek black car sat up straight in his seat when he spotted her and started the car engine.

Gabe made her way to the mall, walking down the sidewalk nervously. She could not enjoy the cool night breeze blowing through her hair. She did not even hear the sounds of the city, the buzz of the people and traffic, or get to enjoy hearing only her own footstep instead of six other pairs of footsteps behind her. This whole thing was a bad idea. Gabe felt extremely uncomfortable and guilty. The security guard probably noticed something amiss and could be checking with the bodyguards by now. Then, the bodyguards would rush out and bring her back. They would not even reprimand her, and she would have to endure the looks of disappointment on their faces for the rest of the week.

Each second passed excruciatingly slowly, and with each passing second, Gabe expected to hear the sound of her bodyguards footfalls as they rushed over anxiously, calling her name. The mall was soon visible at the opposite side of the road, but surprisingly, the bodyguards have not yet arrived. Gabe prepared to jaywalk across the road as there was no pedestrian crossing in sight. Looking left and right to make sure there was not a single car visible, she stepped onto the road.

Suddenly, a car zoomed out from nowhere, heading in her direction. Gabe gasped and broke into a sprint to get to the other side of the road. However, the car still seemed to be speeding towards her. It all happened so suddenly that Gabe did not even have time to react. Blinded by the headlights, she stood rooted to the spot, her heart thumping. She squeezed her eyes shut just as the car loomed out right in front of her. With a shuddering bang, the car crashed into Gabe and she flew through the air. Pain shot through up spine like fire and exploded in her head with a blinding whiteness. Gabe landed on the ground with a thud and tumbled to a stop. She lay on the asphalt, numb of any pain. She could smell the metallic tang of her own blood, and could not move an inch. Each shallow breath took tremendous effort. She felt like she was paralyzed. Her mind was buzzing. What had just happened? In the distance, on the cursed road, she heard the sound of the speeding car fading away. That was when reality hit her. It was a hit and run. Someone tried to kill her, or maybe it was just an accident. That's it. Just like that, she was going to die. Why didn't she avoid the car? She could have continued running and might have reached the pavement before the car could reach her. She still had so long to live. Why did she allow her life to end like that? Disappointment, disbelief and fear flooded her mind. All she could do now was wait. Wait for someone to help her or wait to die. A red haze clouded her mind. High pitched ringing sounded in her ears.

Then, nothing.