Bloody Trigger

Today is Monday. The sky is very lethargic, the sun is hiding behind the thick and dark clouds. It's half past one in the afternoon yet the mood is so gloomy. The cold breeze surely didn't help the situation. I am on my way to the nearby cafe to meet up with my good friend Tommy. Tommy and I have been friends for so long, so we are very much close to one another and usually meet twice a week for coffee. As I walk down the street, I noticed a little girl running around the sidewalk. She is wearing a very thick coat and beret, but it's not even winter. Then I saw her leaping on the puddles with her little black boots, kinds of remind me of my childhood. I am Claire Ayer, I don't have parents so I grew up with my Uncle Mitch and Aunt Mary. They were a different persons, of course. I mean both of them have really different personalities, so I always wonder how come their marriage lasted that long. My Uncle Mitch is a very strict and hot headed man, he wants everything to be spotless clean and properly organized. He tend to yell at us whenever he's angry from work and my Aunt always calms him down. Just like parents, he just wanted me to learn everything about life, that is the reason why he's very strict. But he is not always angry, he is a very nice man if you get to know him well. He always gives me money, allow me to play with my friends, and he even takes me on different places, he is very much an ideal of a father, except for his hot head. While my Uncle is being a ticking bomb, My Aunt Mary of course is very opposite. She is a very laid back person and tend to just go with the flow, she treats me as her own child and even as her close friend. She always keep my uncle on his place whenever he gets angry. My aunt is a very great cook, she knows a lot of different recipe, that's why we don't even eat the same dish on the same week. My aunt tend to have more money than my Uncle that's why she always treat me with the things I want. It is strange though, she doesn't have any job nor a rich sponsor to have so much money. But I was too young to deal with that. When I turned 16, I moved to an apartment away from my aunt and uncle. Don't get me wrong, I love them but I need my own space to grow and learn and they send me regular allowance that I pretty much need to live. I was lost in reminiscing that I didn't notice the cafe in front of me. I entered the cafe and searched for Tommy, I can see him waving his hand from the far table of thw cafe. I smiled and walk towards him. "Claire! How are you?" he said pulling the chair in front of me. "Good. And you?" I asked back at him as I sit down, I watched him as he sat back on his chair. "I'm good" he said and gave me a small smile. Tommy and I met back in 8th grade, we were on the same class and he was a transfer student. We were not that close for the first few weeks but found our path on a group project, I am the leader of our group and he is my assistant. I was too busy at that time because of my extra lessons from my math teacher so I asked him to take charge of the group, we text each other everyday for school updates until we became very close and pretty much good friends. We stuck together until I had to move away, we went to different schools and lived in different towns so we didn't see each other much, but when we graduated we agreed to meet twice a week to hang out together. Tommy Villa is a very strange man, he tends to keep his emotions to himself and keeps a lot of secret as well, but I never forced him to open up to me because I know he's uncomfortable with that. "Did order already?" I asked starting a conversation between us. "Not yet. I was waiting for you. Are you going for your usual?" he asked taking the menu infront of us. "No. I think something is different on this day so I will go on an adventure." I said taking the spare menu. My usual order is Iced Americano but today I ordered Frappuccino to differ while Tommy ordered his usual Caramel Macchiato. I don't really love coffee but this is our way to bond since Tommy is a coffee enthusiast. "So how's life?" he asked taking a sip from his coffee. "Still the same and I am living it" I said as I raise my cup in front of him. "That's good. Excuse me for a second" he stood up and took out his phone. I think he went to call someone. I was drinking from my coffee when something caught the corner of my eye. No it's not something, it's someone. A man outside is standing beside the small tree across the road, he is wearing a black cap, a black mask, and a black leather jacket paired with his black ripped pants and black combat boots. The man raised his hand and gave me a very small wave, I can't see his face but I'm certain that he is staring at me. My body had gone stiff and my heart is pounding. The man placed his hand in his pocket and leaned against the tree, I still can't take my eyes off of him. "Claire!" I snapped when I heard Tommy call my name, I turned to him and noticed that his brows are furrowed, he must have been calling me for a long time now. "What?" I asked taking my coffee from the table. "You okay? What are you looking at?" he said and turned to the view outside to see for himself. I also turned but the man is gone, I looked around to see any sign of him but he disappeared like a bubble. "Nothing I was just lost in thought" I said and stood from my seat. "Where are you going?" he asked clearly puzzled at my sudden action. "Let's take a walk, I think I need it" I said as I take my purse on my seat. "Okay let's go" he said and guided me out of the cafe. Since we are in the city, pretty much of the views around us are buildings and stores so we just continued to walk until we're far from the cafe. I still can't get that man away from my thought, who was he? But this is no time to think because this is the only time where I can bond with my best friend and nothing is going to ruin that. "You seemed lost. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked stopping from his track. "I'm fine, I think my mood blended with the dark sky" I replied and let out a little giggle. He smiled and lifted his head up to see the sky. "Yeah. The sky is very gloomy." he said and faced me again. We were about to walk away when we heard- *AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! * a woman's scream. I turned my head and noticed a small alley from a few steps of the place we're standing at. I turned to Tommy and clearly read my mind. "I think we should go" he said about to walk away when I grabbed his hand. "Someone might be needing help Tommy" I said and pulled him towards the end of the alley. "No Claire. This might be dangerous" he said clearly not happy with my plan. "You can stay here if you're scared" I said and g**k out my phone to lit up the path. The alley was very dark because of the building surrounding it, good thing we have a light. I felt Tommy follow me from behind, that eased me a little knowing that he is with me. "I think there's nothing here. We should go" he said about to pull me out when I heard some noise. I think it's right beside me. I turned and lit up the place and I jumped from my spot when I saw- "I-it's. It's-" I stuttered, I can't finished my words. "It's a body" Tommy whispered from his breath. He pulled me behind him too take a closer look on the body, I am too shocked, I think I'm gonna throw up. Tommy squatted down to see the body. "She have a cut on her neck and on her right arm. I think she is the one we heard earlier" he said in a serious sound. I rolled my eyes at his statement. "You think?" I asked sarcastically. It is very obvious that she's is the one who screamed yet he is not sure about it. What is wrong with this man. "We need to call the police" I said as I dial on my phone. Tommy stood up and watched me. A few minutes later the police came and closed the entire place to conduct an investigation, and as for us, we were escorted to the police station to give a statement being the witnesses in the crime scene. "Are you related to the deceased?" the officer asked writing from his notes. "No" I replied while keeping my eyes on the table. "Did you see the killer?" the officer asked again this time looking at Tommy. "No" he replied shortly. The officer sighed and turned to me. "What were you two doing in the crime scene?" the officer asked for the third time. "W-we were having a walk after we finish our coffees when we heard a loud scream" I said gaining all my confidence. "We went to the alley to see if someone needed help when we found the body and called the police" Tommy continued looking straight at the police officer. Earlier he looks like he's about to run away but now he seems very un bothered of the scene we just witnessed earlier. "That's all for now. We'll call you again" the officer said shaking our hands, he seemed convinced of our statements but as an officer everyone is a suspect. "Thank you officer, we are pretty much happy to help" I said shaking his hands. Tommy guided me out of the station and took out his phone when it rang. "Excuse me for a minute" he said and walked away. I stood at my spot holding rubbing my hands together, I am not scared to see a dead body but that caught me off guard, it was very much unexpected. I looked around to see the surroundings, the sun settled hours ago so everything is dark, the light posts are all lit up and the road is awfully quiet. I was about to walk away when I saw something. It's that man again, earlier from the cafe. I was frozen in my spot when he turned to me, he was still wearing the same clothes but it's clear that he's looking straight at me. I can feel my knees going weak, there's something about him that makes my whole body shiver. Could he be the killer? Did he kill that woman earlier? What does he want from me? I swallowed the lump stuck on my throat and screamed when I felt someone held my shoulder. "Hey hey! Calm down, It's just me" he said backing off a little to calm me down. "Tommy" I said as I ran towards him and hugged him tight. I buried my face on his chest to calm myself. "Are you okay?" he asked but I didn't answer so he just kept quiet and let me hug him. After some moments I released him and gave him a small smile. "You seem okay now. Come on let's get you home" he said guiding me to a jet black car. I saw the driver's window go down and saw their home driver. He must have called him to pick us up, after all what happened it's not safe for us to take public transport. I went in and kept quiet for the whole trip. Tommy noticed my silence and didn't say a thing, he knows I am tired and clearly needed rest so he just let me be. After some few minutes we arrived at my place, I opened the door and stepped outside. He didn't bother going out because he knew that I would only send him away. "You sure you're okay?" he said popping his head from the window. I gave him a small smile of assurance. "Don't worry. I just need rest" I said and he nodded back. I walked away and heard them drive away. I went straight to my door and searched for the key in my purse. My body suddenly felt cold, I can feel someone watching me from behind so I turned to see if there's someone but in my surprise, there was nothing so I continued my business. I can't find my key from this little purse so I went through every pocket then I heard some cracking, I turned fast to catch the one making the noise, but again there was nothing. I am getting very scared so I hurried my searching. I found my key and opened the knob when suddenly- *CLANG* Sound of falling metals rang through my ear, I ran inside as fast as I can and locked my door. I sighed in relief and opened my lights. "This is crazy. I think I'm getting paranoid" I said and went straight to the bathroom to do my shower before going to bed. I finished my routine a few moments later and threw myself on the bed. I buried my body under the sheets and pillows and finally I fell asleep. I woke up because of the noise coming from downstairs so I fixed myself and went down, I opened all my lights to see what's causing the noise but there was nothing, the appliances are all off, the furniture are on proper place, and everything is very quiet. It must be my hallucinations going active, so I turned off all the lights and went back to bed. I went to my comfortable position and closed my eyes, I am almost at dreamland when I heard a noise again. This time it was coming from the window. "These kids" I muffled, kids these days like doing pranks on other people and I am getting very annoyed, I need my sleep or I'll lose my mind. I stood up and parted my curtains, I peeked out of the window but there was nothing, no signs of kids outside. I sighed and about to walk away when something caught me eye. It's him, the man in black. He was leaning against the light post across the road. I body froze and my hands started to Sweat, someone help me. I can't scream nor move, he is staring right at me and I can see his eyes clearly but he is still wearing his mask. He took out something from his pocket and placed it against his ear. My heart was starting to race when I heard my phone rang from my pocket. No. I didn't want to answer but my body betrayed me, I took the phone and answered the call. "H-hello?" I said stuttering because of fear. "Hmmmm. I love that. The sound of fear" he said on the other line with a very cold tone, my whole body had gone weak when I heard him let out a dark laugh. "W-who are y-you?" I asked gaining all my courage, we are still staring at each other from the distance. "Me? You don't need to know darling" he said pulling out something from his back. It was too late when I noticed that it was a gun. "Bye bye Miss Ayer" *BANG* I jumped out of my bed and took big breaths. I was sweating and shaking. I was so terrified. I almost died. "It was a dream. All a dream" I whispered to myself. I let out small chuckles then it turned to a loud laugh. I can't stop laughing in relief, my tears are talking along with every laugh I release. I am so relieved I'm alive, thank god. Then I stopped laughing and started sobbing, I am crying very hard and almost popped my eyes off. Why? What is going on? that's the questions going through my head. I am still clueless of what is the deal about that man in black. Would he try to kill me? I wiped my tears and went to the bathroom to fix myself. I brushed my teeth, washed my face, and brushed my hair. After some moment I gained my momentum and started my usual routine. I need to forget that dream or it will just haunt me all day. I need to focus on my life today, no guns, no blood, no fear, and most especially no man in black. I smiled to myself and sat infront of the television, I turned to watch my favorite movie while eating my cereal. I felt my phone vibrate from my pocket so I took it out to see. It was a text from Tommy. Tommy: How you doing? Me: Yep I got the sleep I needed. Don't worry I'm fine. I took some time to check my phone when I noticed an unread message. It was from an unknown number. I opened it to check the message. Unknown: I finally found you. Last Heir -G