We both jumped at the sound of the door snapping shut behind us.
“What the—” Melanie yelped as we both spun to find a tall, strange man leaning against the door.
He was wearing a rigid black mask that covered his entire face. The mask was made of black tinted glass, opaque from the outside and impossible to see into. It had a glowing blue ring in the center of the face,and I wondered if he’d modified it with some sort of technology or AI to assist him.
He was wearing a white techware hoodie, something that I imagined an anime villain would wear, and the hood was pulled up over his head, covering his hair as effectively as the mask covered his face.
He towered over us… which I was used to. I wasn’t exactlytall.Last I checked, I was five eight, but it wasn’t just his height or his broad, muscled shoulders that made him terrifying.
It wasn’t the tactical pants or the techwear hoodie that hung heavy in places where he was clearly hiding weapons.
It wasn’t even the gun in his hand.
It was hisenergy.
There was somethingsounsettling about how, just standing there, he managed to fill the room with an almost visceral aura of pure fury.
Ohmygod.
Was this him? Was this my freaking stalker?
I took an involuntary step away from the stranger, even though there was nowhere to go. Not unless I was willing to launch myself out of a second-story window.
If this was the man that was messing with me…gosh dang,had Ieverscrewed up.
I should have just worn that stupid outfit!
The man cocked his head to the side like some great, carnivorous animal. My entire body shivered with the desire to bolt as he tilted his head toward me, pointedly taking in the fact that I’d refused to wear the clothes he’d laid out for me.
Because there was no doubt in my mind that this was him.
This was the person who had been breaking into my home and delivering bouquets of forget-me-nots.
This was the man leaving me handwritten threats disguised as promises.
Thiswas the person I had defied that morning.
A long, drawn-out second stretched between us, and the earth seemed to stop spinning as we all hung frozen, suspended in time.
Finally, he spoke, and his voice rumbled through the air. It was distorted by some sort of voice cloaking software that he’d clearly installed in the mask.
The slightly robotic sound made his greeting even more ominous, a warning for the crash of the storm that was surely to follow.
“Hello, Milo,” he hummed, and my heart stopped beating.
NOVA play: Get Out Alive by Three Days Grace
Istood there, stunned, unable to respond.
This was definitelynotDylan.
Whoever this person was… he wasfarmore dangerous, and I’d been a freakingidiotto not take his threats seriously.
“Milo, get behind me,” Melanie hissed. I frowned at her, still feeling like I was going into shock. Dazed, I shook my head.
What?No way. I wasn’t going to hide behindMelanie.If anything, it was my fault she was in danger right now.
I should be protectingher!
