THE STRANGER
548 Words
Episode 2 — The Stranger
Elara couldn't breathe.
The man standing in her doorway was impossible.
She had seen his face countless times in her dreams, but dreams weren't supposed to step into reality.
Yet there he was.
Tall.
Still.
Watching her with those unmistakable grey eyes.
"Who are you?" Elara whispered.
The man's expression changed.
For the first time, she saw something c***k through his cold exterior.
Pain.
He looked at her as though her question had wounded him.
"You really don't remember me."
Elara took a step backward.
"I asked you who you are."
He didn't answer.
Instead, his eyes moved toward the clock.
3:17 A.M.
His jaw tightened.
"How long has it been happening?"
"What?"
"The dreams."
Elara froze.
"How do you know about them?"
He walked into the room.
She immediately reached for the lamp beside her bed.
"Don't come any closer."
He stopped.
For a moment, neither of them spoke.
Then he slowly raised his hands.
"I'm not here to hurt you."
"Then why are you here?"
His eyes met hers.
"Because someone else is."
A chill ran down Elara's spine.
"What does that mean?"
Before he could answer, the lights in the entire house went out.
Elara gasped.
The darkness swallowed the room.
Then came a sound from downstairs.
Glass breaking.
The man moved instantly.
He grabbed Elara's wrist and pulled her away from the window.
"Stay behind me."
"Let go of me!"
"Elara."
The way he said her name made her stop.
Not because she trusted him.
Because something inside her did.
And that terrified her more than the darkness.
Another sound came from downstairs.
Footsteps.
Someone was inside her house.
The man reached inside his jacket.
Elara's heart pounded.
"What are you doing?"
"Protecting you."
"From who?"
He looked toward the bedroom door.
"I don't know yet."
Elara stared at him.
"You expect me to believe you?"
"No."
His answer came without hesitation.
"You shouldn't trust me."
She frowned.
"Then why should I stay with you?"
His eyes softened.
"Because you trusted me once."
Elara's stomach dropped.
"What did you say?"
He looked away.
Before she could question him, a shadow moved beneath the bedroom door.
Someone was standing outside.
The man stepped between Elara and the door.
"Whatever happens," he whispered, "don't say my name."
The door handle began to turn.
Elara held her breath.
The door opened.
A figure stood in the hallway.
But before Elara could see their face, the lights suddenly came back on.
The hallway was empty.
The man beside her was gone.
Elara spun around.
"Where did you—?"
Nothing.
Only the open window.
She rushed toward it.
Across the street, the black car was still there.
But now its headlights were on.
And as it drove away, Elara noticed something lying on the floor beside her bed.
A silver watch.
She picked it up with trembling fingers.
The hands were frozen.
3:17.
Then she noticed something engraved on the back.
Three words.
For my Elara.
Her heart stopped.
Because beneath those words was a date.
A date from five years ago.
Elara stared at it in disbelief.
Five years ago...
She had been fifteen.
And she had never met Kael Arden.
At least...
that was what she remembered.
End of Episode 2
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