( ARC 2 PH 2 : Questioner )
Anie didn't notice at first
that the water had turned red.The stream falling from the tap looked normal.Cold Carrying a faint metallic smell.But when she saw the color slowly spreading across the bottom of
the sink,her chest tightened.
Blood,,,!!!
It wasn't the Hunter's.She knew that She pulled her hand back.The skin on her right palm trembled again.No wound,No cut,And yet it felt as if something inside her had split open and forced its way out.
"This…wasn't you,"she told herself.
The voice that answered held no conviction.
Mira was sitting on the sofa.At night, she didn't talk much.It wasn't a habit,
It was defense. television was on Volume muted.Breaking news banners
shifted in red across the screen.
"Unknown electrical disturbance reported near college zone."
"Authorities deny any civilian threat."
"Online rumors claim presence of organized attackers."
"They're not using the word 'Hunter,'"
Mira said
without taking her eyes off the screen.
Anie dried her hands with a towel,She didn't sit beside Mira.Distance felt necessary.Even touch now felt uncertain.
"If they say it,"replied,"they inherit responsibility If they don't,they buy time."
Mira let out a small laugh Barely audible.
"When did you start talking like that?"
didn't answer,Because she didn't know
when it had begun either.
Later,
sirens approached One,Then another.
Then silence,she walked to the window.
Police vehicles lined the street.Their lights weren't on.They weren't here to draw attention they were here to avoid it.
"They won't come here, right?"
"Not today,"Anie said,"Today,they don't want to see me."
"Then what?"she hesitated.
"Today they saw that I'm not alone."
After midnight,
she couldn't sleep every time she closed her eyes,she saw him again.Not the Hunter,Not that one.The other presence that had stood in the dark.She couldn't remember his face
Or his voice.But she knew,he had been there She was certain
Morning arrived
as if nothing had happened.That was what made it frightening Buses.College students,cafés arguments on the street.No visible trace of the previous night.But conversations had shifted.
"Didn't a light explode near the college?"
"It's government cover-up."
"My cousin heard something strange."
Anie stood at the bus stop.She felt it
the city watching her through the crowd,only one person looked directly at her.Him For the first time,she saw his face clearly.His age was impossible to place Young,Or not.It didn't matter His eyes didn't examine her.that she existed Anie didn't step back.He didn't step forward between them,a conversation without words then he spoke.
"You could have killed him yesterday."
His voice was low no one else could hear.
she inhaled slowly.
"How do you know he's alive?"
smiled,,
"Because he ran."
"Who are you?"she asked.
"Not now,",,,,"Not here."
bus arrived,
People pushed past.He turned and walked away.Anie didn't follow.She knew he wouldn't hide anymore.
By afternoon,
an unusual announcement spread across campus.
"All students are advised to leave campus early."
No explanation given,Mira grabbed Anie's hand.
"Is this about you?"
"Not just me,",,,,,"Not anymore."
When they passed through the gate,
he was there again.Closer now.
"You have a problem,"he said.
"I have several."
"This one is different."....He tilted his head slightly.
"You woke up at the wrong time."
"I didn't choose that." ,,,"I know,"
Mira looked at him,,
"Who are you?"
For the first time,he looked at Mira.For a brief second,something human flickered in his eyes.
"You belong to her world,",,"But not to mine."
"Where does she belong?"Anie asked.
He looked at her,,
"That is something you will have to decide."
Then the first words he left inside her settled like weight.
"They will come again.Next time,not alone."
"And you?"Anie asked.
He turned away,,
"I'll come only if I have to."
He disappeared,Not dramatically.
Not violently.Nothing was left behind.
And yet even after he was gone,his presence remained.
That night,
Anie sat on her bed,She wasn't afraid.
That was what frightened her most.
Hunters,The new Called,The city.Everything was moving in one direction.She understood now this was no longer a story about running.It was a story about choosing.
She closed her eyes the city's silence
was no longer calm.
It was waiting,,,,,..