11 Chapter 11: Someone's Watching

Alma left Sagitar's street and proceeded to the bus stop. As she walked on, she began to think about the implication of all that had happened. She figured that if they had been in her head, they would have figured out that she wasn't evil or interested in hurting Sagitar. However, with the tracker on her, whatever move she made was going to be monitored. Even if she decided to go on her own personal investigation, all her moves could still be seen by the celestial. All of a sudden, the thought of Roland being involved in Sagitar's murder popped in her mind. She discarded the thought immediately.

Even if it is so, I will need to provide facts, she mused to herself.

Arriving at the main high street, ready to take the bus, she noticed that there was no one at the bus terminal; however, people were walking past, preparing for the day to come. She had completely forgotten to check the time. After grabbing her phone from her handbag, she checked it to find that it was 7:36 precisely, in the morning.

While awaiting the next bus—number 48—Alma started to think back at that fateful Sunday night. The night Sagitar claimed he had died and the same night that she met him. That night, after Sagitar left, Alma was paying rapt attention to the conversation between Roland and the two hostile men, while spending time with Cathy. However, nobody made a mention of taking Sagitar out. Right at the table, Roland did not respond to the jealous remarks made about Sagitar by the two hostile men. In fact, he changed the subject entirely a few times to talk about other topics like entertainment.

Alma also considered that her actions may also have intensified the situation and got Sagitar killed. That night, while Alma was at the bar having a good time, one of the men approached her. Thinking highly of himself, he tapped her at the back.

Alma turned around with a fierce look on her face. "Not in your life."

The bald headed man replied, "I was just trying to be friendly."

Alma retorted, "Well, don't be."

The bald headed man said, "You seemed awfully cheery with that other bloke. What's he got that I don't?"

Alma responded coldly. "He doesn't think I am easy and you are just…well sleazy."

"Hey, who do you think you are talking to?!" The thug hammered.

He had grown weary of her sharp responses.

Cathy, noticing that the situation was taking a very awkward turn, intervened and saved Alma from being harassed by the bald man. As she was being dragged away by her friend, she recalled a man who was staring at her the whole time, during her time spent at Lloyd's. No one else had really noticed him as his demeanor was not one to stand out. He was not unattractive, and he was not a small guy either. He was like Clark Kent to compare, the fictional superman that was not in blue tights. He had a pair of glasses on and was dressed like a regular office worker. He seemed to be the kind of man that would bore most adventurous people, especially someone like Alma. This man was seated at a table near the entrance door of Lloyd's for the rest of the night on his own.

Alma paused from her reverie, as her mind kept thinking about the guy. What was his problem and why was he looking at me like that? At this point, to get answers, she had to recall everything.

Alma could clearly remember how he stared sharply and strangely. Vampires cannot manipulate people who wear some sort of protection for their eyes; therefore, the glasses made Alma suspicious of his presence.

There is clearly something about that fella that seems off, Alma mused to herself while in wait for the bus.

All of a sudden, Alma had a problem focusing on the thoughts that came to her mind. Right where she was waiting, she had a weird feeling like she was being watched. It was as if that man was in range once again. She turned around but could not see anybody that looked like him. Alma had to conclude that she was probably being unnecessarily paranoid. Fortunately for her, the bus, number 48 arrived. Alma got on, paid with her card and proceeded to the upper front of the vehicle. The bus began to make its way through Downend, heading in the long run into the city center.

Alma got off the bus in Broadmead at the City Centre, which was not so far from her flat, located in a high-rise building on the same district. She proceeded to the building where her flat was located and headed to the 8th floor using the elevator. Then she went to her room. Upon arrival and to her dismay, the lock on her door had been broken. Carefully, she opened her door, only to meet her flat wrecked. Someone had broken in and destroyed everything. Books were scattered on the floor, clothes had been taken out of her draws and cracks were on the walls. It seemed the person who broke in was trying to find something. Alma could not wrap her head around what she had that could be of interest. She always avoided pulling attention to herself and couldn't afford to be a target because she was a vampire.

For a moment, Alma was overwhelmed. She stepped outside briefly to see if anyone was on the floor with her. Ensuring that there was no one, she returned inside her flat and opened up all the doors to every room. As she got into her bedroom, her attention was snatched by a sheet of paper that was taped to the mirror by the wall. She could not read the message on the paper without flipping it over. And thus, she removed the tape and overturned the sheet. The message on the sheet was simple and disturbing. Alma wondered how the writer had discovered her secret. She read the message on the sheet again.

You are not human. Meet me at the abandoned Redcatch Petrol Station, Tuesday at 6pm.

The construction of the meeting was obvious and Alma knew it was a trap. Someone was calling her out and she had to be careful. Alma wanted to handle this development on her own at first but it dawned on her that the message probably had a lot to do with Sagitar. She decided that informing him would be in his best interest because nobody knew she was supernatural until she met him.

In thought, she lamented — or maybe they knew and could not call me out until Sagitar happened.

Searching through her scattered belongings, she found her Nursing Outfit still intact. She placed it in her room in preparation for her work shift which was supposed to start by 2pm. After that, she went in the living room and began tidying up what she could. Alma was frustrated by this development. She mused to herself, how did this happen? I have kept my trail clean for years and after a few days of Sagitar, I end up in this much trouble. Half way through the clean-up, she stopped everything she was doing, returned to her room and picked up her mobile phone to call the guarded man. After the phone rang for a while, he picked up.

"Hello." Sagitar's voice crackled to life at the other end of the call.

"Sagitar…" she paused.

Alma didn't know how to break the news to him.

The silence lingered for a while, prompting Sagitar to speak. "Alma, you there?"

"Yeah, I am here," she responded.

"What's up? I did not expect a call from you so soon, in fact I wasn't sure if you'd ever call." says Sagitar.

"Listen, someone trashed my flat," replies Alma.

"What?" this caught Sagitar by surprise.

"When I got home, the place was a wreck. Someone had broken in while I was away," she responded, trying to stay calm.

Sagitar was concerned. "Crap! Are you ok? Have you called the police?"

In response, Alma replies, "Not yet but I am going to. The company that owns this building will need to fix the lock on my door and everything else. I will phone them soon."

Sagitar paused for a moment, then he spoke. "Any idea who would do this?" he questioned.

"It is all happening coincidentally, don't you think?" Alma responded.

"Are you implying Celeste?" he questioned again.

"Celeste?" Alma replied, puzzled.

Sagitar explained, "I mean the celestial."

In the short encounter, she had already forgotten the celestial's name.

Alma hissed. "Of course not. It is someone else. That much can be proved."

"Oh well that is a relief." Sagitar sighed.

With everything that had happened, it seemed that he was on edge as well.

"When you said that, I got worried that it could be her. However, I don't really think she is capable of such actions though," Sagitar claimed.

"Well, I wouldn't bet on it," Alma replied quickly. Then she piloted the conversation in another direction. "They left me a note on my bedroom mirror, telling me to meet them sometime next week."

"Wait, someone left you a note...and you plan on meeting them? That doesn't sound like the right move to make" Sagitar responded.

"I don't know. I haven't considered that far ahead yet," she claimed.

"Maybe it is best that you do not go alone. In fact, we might have to tag along with you. Me and Celeste. There is something about these chain of events that has got me thinking," Sagitar advised.

"What else happened to you recently that I don't know about? It might help me get an idea of who I could be dealing with, and this could be connected to you, well considering this just happened after coming back from your home," Alma questioned and illustrated.

Sagitar wanted to tell Alma that his parents were ritually sacrificed; however he held back. "I need to discuss some things with Celeste."

Alma was infuriated. "Wow! Despite your guardian angel going in my head and knowing my deepest thoughts, I guess you still don't trust me."

Sagitar responded softly, trying to calm Alma. "It is not as simple as…"

Beep! Before Sagitar could finish his reply, Alma had ended the call, the line had been dropped.

Whatever was going on had sparked a curiosity in Alma. At first, a celestial being showed up and now her flat got trashed. She realised that if she was going to deal with this issue, tie loose ends and make sense of it all, she had to maintain a clear head. Shouting a Sagitar wasn't going to help, so she closed him off instead. In her bedroom, she gently leaned back and relaxed in her bed. Then as she laid on it, she drifted into deep thoughts while staring at the ceiling.