Izalia roamed the park, following the set trail sometimes and going off-trail other times. The fact that Detective Micahel was following her freaked her out and sent a chill down her spine.   

Above, the clouds were soft and fluffy and a few birds past by, chirping loudly as they swooped through the air. The snow around her was fresh and white, sparkling under the bright rays of the setting sun. An array of oranges and reds decorated the sky, sending light shadows across the snow. It was going to be dark soon, and she was going to be alone in a large park with a potential stalker. At the same time, though, she didn't want to go back to the house for fear of another awkward conversation with Iz and her parents. On the other hand, she didn't want to be outside in the dark alone. 

Sighing, Izalia stopped for a second and just looked up at the sky. It was getting darker and darker with each passing minute, the sun lowering beneath the lines of the treetops. Above, she could just barely make out the small, glowing dot of distant stars scattered on the earth's ceiling. Closing her eyes, she just wished that she'd go back to having a normal life with normal friends and a normal family. She wished she had back everything she had hoped would go away when she was still living. 

Frowning, Izalia supposed if she should go anywhere for the night besides home, she'd go to Joey's house. He'd probably let her sleep on the couch or something. Deciding it was a semi-decent plan, she headed out towards his house, her eyes constantly darting around, the growing panic of someone watching her from a distance bubbling in her stomach as it got darker. Her steps became faster, and she soon found herself running to his house as the sun finally set under the horizon and the moon took its place in the sky, casting dark shadows everywhere. 

Finally, she saw his house up ahead and a wave of relief washed over her, but as she was approaching, she noticed two sets of eyes watching her from across the street, their face hidden by a mask, their body buried under a long trench coat. 

Izalia froze in place, her eyes locking with theirs, her legs becoming stiff as if she just buried her feet in concrete. The person raised two fingers, slow and calculated as she saw the beginning of a smile from the cutout of the mask. She blinked back a tear as the sinking feeling of something deep and dark entered her, pulling her downwards, her vision darkening the more she stared at the man. Panicking, Izalia tried looking away but her eyes were fixated on the man's glowing ones as a horrifying smile lifted his face, revealing missing teeth and a crooked bottom row. 

Suddenly, someone touched her shoulder making her scream and stumble forward, the connection with the stranger lost. 

"Iz!" 

Izalia caught herself just before her foot hit the street. She looked across the way for the man but saw no one there. Her breathing was ragged and her heart was pounding rapidly in her chest.

"Iz?"

From the corner of her eye, she Joey standing just behind her, a concerned look on his face and his arms outstretched towards her. 

"I..." she couldn't bring herself to say anything, the words caught in her throat. 

"Are you okay? You were staring at something across the street, but I couldn't tell what."

"What?" she squeaked, her voice no louder than that of a tiny mouse.

"Yeah, it looked like you were falling in slow motion or something. Are you okay?" Joey looked at her, setting a soft hand on her shoulder.

Izalia nodded absent-mindedly, her eyes still focused on the spot where that man had been standing. What had been happening? What had he been doing to her?  The thought that someone had been controlling her to some extent brought a chill down her spine. Blinking, she searched for an emotion fit for the situation but found her mind blank and empty, her emotions pressed inside a heavily locked chest, panic being the only thing occasionally slipping out. 

Joey slowly led her to his house, opening the door for her and walking her to the couch that sat against the farthest wall. After she slowly sat down, he sat down next to her, setting his arm on her shoulder and giving her an odd look. If this were any other time, she'd be enthralled to have his arm over her shoulder, but right now, she felt nothing more than a deep emptiness, and she didn't know why. Why was she feeling like this? What had really happened? And who was that? 

"Hey, where'd you go?"

Izalia stared off at the wall in front of her, her eyes still staring blindly ahead, her attention focused on something she knew not. Where did she go? 

"Iz?" 

"A man..." the words fell like a soft feather from her mouth, barely audible.

"A man? What man? What were you staring at?" Joey scrunched his eyebrows, glancing at her then out the window. 

"I..." her mind stumbled to find the words she needed to explain what had happened but everything came up blank as if she forgot everything she knew. 

Beside her, Joey watched her for a second, waiting for her to say something, but she kept her mouth shut, not wanting to embarrass herself any more than she already had. She simply shook her head and sighed, her shoulders sagging and her head resting on the soft fabric of the couch.

"It's okay, Iz." He rubbed circles on her back, comforting her. She knew he was worried about her and cared for her to a certain extent. 

Blowing out a breath, she saw the man's face in her head, intensely staring at her from across the street, commanding her mind to bend to his will. What would've happened if Joey never came? Then another thought came to mind: What if this was the man who killed her? That is, if she was murdered. What if he knew she came back to fix what he had done and was now out on a rampage, searching for her? And now he found her. 

"Come on. It's late. I'm going to put you in the guest room, okay?" 

Izalia furrowed her brow but slowly stood up, his words running through her mind without letting her process them. He looped his arm through hers and carefully led her to the guest room on the second floor, right down the hall from his own room. She felt something like thankfulness towards his kind gestures, but she still couldn't find the words she needed to express herself. 

Once they reached the room, Izalia focused soley on the bed that was centred on the back wall, a pile of pillows and blankets waiting to engulf her in their warm grasp.

"Okay, yep, here we go." He helped her lie down on the bed and made sure she was comfortable. "You good?" 

She only blinked up at the ceiling, her eyes still staring, her mind still blank despite the fact that she was screaming on the inside. It was as if her spirit had taken a backseat to allow something else to take control of her body. But that didn't make sense at all. If she wasn't in control of herself then who was?  

Giving her one last look of concern and helplessness, Joey gave a small smile then left the room, gently closing the door as he left. 

Izalia closed her eyes, darkness now surrounding her, capturing her, but she couldn't find the will to push it all back, to suppress and bury it deep within herself. With a sigh, she deflated, pressing herself into the soft sheets of the cool bed beneath her, his eyes still burning bright amongst the darkness. 

—

Welp chapter 8 is hereeeee! 

Lemme know your thoughts and opinions and everything! :)

Also also also! I've figured out my schedule for updates for this story. Sooo updates will be Tuesdays and Thursdays whenever I'm not too lazy to hit the Publish button! 

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