Lucky Night

Dervan took a glance at the silver wristwatch on the inside of his sweater sleeve a few moments later and frowned. He had been waiting in the cafe for over an hour now but the informant who called him here was nowhere to be seen.

He deliberately didn't wear a mask so the person who wanted to see him would be able to easily recognise him but no one had come up to him for the past hour. He was usually a very patient man, but there were limits to that patience.

He ran a hand over his thick, dark hair as he stared blankly at the table in front of him. 'Was it a setup after all?'

Dervan let out a sigh. '...or is the man actually here and just waiting to be noticed?' He thought as he dragged his seat backwards a little and scanned the area slowly. His eyes briefly lingered on the cafe's counter and he quickly averted them before the staff there could sense his gaze.

There was nothing suspicious about this place… at least, there was nothing suspicious about the customers... and no one looked like they could be the informant either. Everyone just took their orders and left the shop.

Dervan let out a slow breath, frustrated. He had already made up his mind but just then, the phone in his hand vibrated and he took a look at the message that had come in.

His brow twitched slightly, and his eyes glinted with a hint of amusement. 'Oh? How interesting…'

Alessia attended and watched how people took their orders and left. The clock soon struck twelve midnight and the cafe had basically become empty, except for her, Shawn and one other person who still sat at his table seemingly without an intention to leave anytime soon.

"When is he going to leave?" Shawn whispered. 

'I'm wondering the same thing…' Alessia wanted to groan.

It didn't take long after Shawn asked his question, did Dervan get up from his table and walk out of the cafe without a word. He didn't even bother to spare a glance their way.

Alessia let out a sigh. 'I wonder what he really came here for…'

…

Alessia came out from the backroom moments later already changed and holding her bag. She was in the process of letting hair down when she spotted her coworker waiting for her by the door. 

She hurried towards him and they both left the café and walked a certain distance in silence.

"My house is the opposite way." Shawn told her after a moment, pointing at a bend in the road. "But would you like me to escort you home first?"

Alessia shook her head. "Oh no, that's fine." She smiled. "My apartment is not too far from here. Thank you for offering."

Shawn frowned down at her. "Are you sure? There have been some weird reports in the news these days, you know?"

Alessia looked up at him a bit confused. "...Weird news?"

Shawn nodded. "They said people have been disappearing a lot these last few days. It's mostly at night when they are away from their homes…"

Alessia pressed her lips together to stop herself from laughing. "Isn't that normal a thing? People disappear almost all the time."

Shawn shook his head. "It has become a lot more rampant these days."

Alessia shrugged. "It always becomes extreme at some point, but it usually dies down eventually." She told him. "There's really no need to escort me. I'll be fine."

"...Alright." Shawn answered reluctantly, waving at her before leaving. "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye." Alessia waved back and soon enough Shawn's back had gone out of her range of sight.

She huffed as she stared at the relatively empty, dim street in front of her. She let out a nervous laugh.

'Maybe I should have just taken him up on his offer…?' She thought, then let out a sigh a second later. 'But there's no way I would have bothered him like that…'

She found the fear that citizens had about disappearances of people at night absurd… after all, it had to be some mafia groups doing whatever they liked with the people they found interest in.

But even if she was a part of them, Alessia didn't dare walk around alone at night defenseless.

She put a hand into her bag and took hold of a taser that she had slipped into it before leaving her apartment and started to walk. She had never had any pleasant memories of walking on empty streets like this all on her own.

A few minutes later, something suddenly buzzed inside her bag and she jolted, then she let out a relieved sigh when she realised what it was.

'It's just your phone, Alessia…' She consoled herself. 

She pulled the device out of the bag and took a look at the screen, smiling as she picked the call.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lessie," Kiera's voice sounded from the other end. "Are you still working?"

"Uh… no I'm on my way back already." Alessia answered.

"Alright. Just called to check up on you." Kiera added. "Be safe, okay?"

Alessia smiled. "...Thanks." She said before Kiera hung up. 

She hadn't taken up to ten steps after the call when she suddenly heard a muffled scream a few paces away from her.

Alessia froze.

After a few seconds, she turned her head back slowly to check if there was anyone behind her but nothing was there and she seriously considered going back the way she came.

The only way toward her home was forward, there were no hidden corners or ridiculous short cuts, which meant she would have to walk past the place she heard that sound from.

Cold sweat slid down Alessia's back. 'No way…' She thought to herself as she turned back and started to walk away as quickly as she could. 

Even if there were just people making out, or someone getting bullied, Alessia learnt a long time ago that it was better to mind your business than to go around trying to solve problems you had no solution to.

She wasn't about to take any risks!

'Maybe I'll just sleep at the cafe for tonight…' She thought to herself. 'I'll make sure to tell Kiera–'

Just then, she heard the rattling sound of an iron trash can cover hitting concrete and a gut wrenching scream that tore through the air and then there was utter silence.

Alessia wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't move. They stood rooted to the ground like they were cemented to it. Her heart beat so wildly that the sound pounded against her ears.

She almost stopped breathing when she heard shuffling behind her. She gripped the taser in her bag so tight that her knuckles turned white. She didn't want to look back. Why wasn't the person saying anything?

Suddenly a low chuckle sounded from behind her and she flinched. "Ah… another human female?" A voice sounded in lazy excitement. "This is quite the lucky night for me."

Alessia's brows furrowed in confusion despite her crippling fear. 'Human female…? Lucky night? What is this person talking about…?' She thought as she turned her head to get a glimpse of the person behind her.

Her complexion turned ashen.