"My patience is wearing thin, Naina. You better come out." The man said this time, standing up from his seat. I crouched even lower, breathing as quietly as possible.

"I guess you are not willing yet. So, I have to make you." He said his feet moving away, towards the stage on which Harry was bound.

"Go away, you bastard. Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Harry was screaming at the top of his lungs as he saw the man strolling towards him. Confident that the man had his back to me, I raised my head just a few inches to catch sight of something other than his feet. I could see the back of his head which was covered with a hood. He was wearing a red cloak just like in the video. Seeing that cloak in the familiar surroundings like my college's seminar hall was surreal.

He walked calmly towards the stage and took the steps to reach Harry who was still screaming helpless at the man approaching him. I had to save him. But I couldn't fight the cloaked man. I knew that. I didn't even have a weapon I could use. So, I decided to do what I should have done at the beginning. I should call the police.

I dialed the number 911. Just before I could give the call, the light on my screen slowly faded and the battery died.

"I don't believe this," I muttered in horror. In the middle of all the drama last night, I forgot to charge my phone. My situation had become even dire. I was trapped in a seminar hall with a satanic psycho while my phone battery was dead. With all the ways of escaping closed, I focused on the scene unfolding in front of me on the stage. From this angle, I could see him but he couldn't see me. The cloaked man was kneeling beside Harry. He took out a roll of duct tape from the insides of his cloak and stuck it on Harry's mouth, effectively cutting off his screams.

Placing the tape on the floor, he removed a small knife from the cloak. He stared at it for a little while before speaking.

"For every five seconds you take to present yourself to me, this knife will cut deeper into your friend's throat." He said placing the knife at Harry's throat. Harry's whimpering grew. His Adam's apple was bobbing up and down in fear. He shut his eyes tight.

While the expression on the cloaked man's expression was serene. I could see only the lower half of his face and that was curved with a smile. He nicked Harry causing a drop of blood to trickle from his throat. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do. I should go out there and talk to him. There was no other way. I couldn't let Harry be tortured for my sake.

The cloaked man was not the one to be messed with. The smile on his mouth was saying he loves to inflict pain on others. He could do it just for fun. He was not bluffing. If I didn't step out in another five seconds, the knife would go even deeper and I didn't want to witness it. I stood up from my place and shouted, "I'm here. Leave Harry alone."

The man slowly removed the knife from Harry's throat and stood up. That was the scariest moment of my life. The moment I stood in front of a killer knowing that he was fully capable of killing me at his will. If he was angry or shouting, it would have been less terrifying than his calmness. It was causing my blood to run cold.

"I knew you would reveal yourself. Now, tell me where the pearl is." He asked his mouth pressed in a hard line.

"I told you already. I didn't know anything about that pearl, you are talking about. Who are you? Why do you think I have the pearl you want?" I feigned innocence. He cocked his head to one side like he was assessing me. Then he shook his head.

"You should be the one. She should have given it to you." He said moving faster towards the steps to reach me.

"Who is she?" I asked, taking an involuntary step backward. This was not looking good.

"I know you have seen a video of us, left by your beloved friend, Mitchell. Now, why don't you start telling the truth." He said approaching me. How did he know that? I couldn't fool him but I tried.

"I saw it but I didn't know about this pearl. I gave what I found to the police." I said, regretting my words as soon as they came out. You don't want to talk about the police in front of a killer. He was just a few feet away now and I was sure this would be the end of me when the doors of the hall were opened with a bang and a bullet whizzed past the man narrowly missing him.

I turned my head to the entrance shocked, to see a tall man with a revolver in his hand, the sunlight forming a halo around his head. It was Noah. He looked like an avenging angel and I was never more happy to see him than at the moment. I turned back to see the cloaked man but to my surprise, he was nowhere to be seen.

"Did he just disappear?" Noah cried in astonishment.

He bounded down the steps rushing towards me. I flung my arms around him as soon as he came near, relief flooding through me in waves. There were no more suspicions. He smelt like safety and freedom.

"Are you alright?" He asked softly, his hand brushing my hair.

"Yeah." I managed through the relief, clogging my throat.

He tightened his arms around me and we stayed there for a few seconds before Harry came to my mind. I released myself from Noah and rushed towards Harry on the stage. Noah followed me quietly.

With Noah and I working together we freed Harry out of his bindings quickly. His hands and legs had red welts from where the ropes had bound him. He flexed his hands and legs to get back feeling into them.

I brought him his glasses that are thrown at the end of the stage.

"Thank you, Naina." He said and we hugged each other with the realization that we just escaped death from a mad man.

"No need to thank me, Harry. You had to go through this because of me." I said looking down into my lap.

"No Naina, it's not your fault," Harry said in his usual sweet manner.

"So, how did you get here?" I said facing Noah. I didn't think of it until now. He recounted his story of how he saw a car following mine and followed it in return.

"The man in the car was standing guard by the time I came here. I pointed my gun at him and he disappeared in a blink just like this cloaked man here. Then, I came inside and looked at him approaching you. So, I shot as a warning and he too disappeared. I don't understand what the hell was happening here." Noah said, visibly irritated. I was confused more than him. But there were more pressing matters like getting out of here and knowing how the cloaked man managed to find Harry.

"Let's get out of here, first," I said standing up. Both the boys were only too happy to oblige.

Soon we were sitting in the college cafeteria, sipping cold coffee. The cafeteria was quieter than ever. There were only two or three other students sitting here other than us. Really, seeing the university on holidays without its usual hustle and bustle was unnerving.

"So Harry. Tell me everything." I asked him. He hesitated for a moment before starting.

"You know I live in the dorms, right? Today I was planning to leave for my parent's home. I packed my bags and walked out of the dormitory building. There, this man was standing under a tree wearing a red cloak like he was out of Harry Potter.

I was passing him to get to my car when suddenly he stepped in my way. Next thing I know, I was calling you. I was aware of everything happening around me but I couldn't do anything on my own. He was controlling my actions. Then we drove to the seminar hall and he bound me on the stage. He stopped controlling me once I was bound. You knew what happened after that." Harry finished. His voice was rough after screaming so much and I could see the trauma behind his eyes.

"Do you want to go to rest?" I asked, still feeling sorry that he had to suffer because of me.

"Yeah." He said and we walked out of the cafeteria. Harry got into his car and drove towards the dormitory. I was glad he didn't ask any questions about the pearl. He was too shocked to worry about that.

"Let's get home. I think you need rest too." Noah put his around my shoulder. I nodded. Home was exactly what I needed right then.