1 PROLOGUE
"He's been following us since we turned the other block".
"You're just exaggerating, he probably lives down town".
The cold harsh night wind blew against their faces ruffling their hairs. Reina, a 17 year old had an unsettling feeling like she was being followed. Her brother, Max who is 7 minutes older than her tried to counter her thoughts.
"Fine, let's cross the street and see if he follows". Max who took the role of elder brother seriously, wasted no time in holding his sister's hands before crossing the street.
The man with the orange umbrella whom Reina had been suspecting to be following them remained on the other lane of the street without even glancing at the duo.
"See I told you he lives downtown". Reina was still not convinced,
"let's use the shortcut and hurry home, it's becoming unbearably cold".
Reina glanced again at the opposite sidewalk, "where is he?" she began to feel uneasy.
She glanced directly behind their sidewalk, she spotted the same man with the orange umbrella, and he held it so low that it was impossible to see his face. She took in a sharp cold breath as her eyes widened, she tugged on her brother's hand intertwined with hers,
"He's behind us Max". Max glanced behind, held his sisters' hand tighter and increased his pace.
"Max, I'm scared", "calm down, there are plenty people we don't know that live on this block". "I'm dialing the police", Reina removed her right hand from her brothers' vice-like grip dialing 9-1-1.
"The shortcut is just a turn away, if he follows us down this next turn, we call the police, okay?", "okay".
Reina fixed her hand back into her brothers' palm which aided in alleviating twenty percent of her fear.
They turned the alley, walked further into it and stopped, turning behind to see if the man would tail them.
The man with the orange umbrella came round the block, stopped as if he was staring at them and walked in the opposite direction. They heaved a sigh of relief as they felt calmness envelope them. "I told you, he wasn't following us".
Reina heaved another sigh and broke into a smile, she side stepped the puddle on the tarred road as they walked home.
They turned the last block leading to their home.
The street lights only reached the entrance of the alley casting the silhouettes of all who entered at night in front of them.
Reina began to feel uneasy again, "Max, I'm getting that feeling again, like we are being watched".
Reina switched on her phone torch brightening a quarter of the alley in front of them. She lifted her ray of man-made sunlight and it landed on an orange umbrella casted on the floor left unopened.
"Is that?" Reina asked, feeling dread and fear envelope her. Max gulped as he moved forward to check the umbrella. Reina felt a breath behind her neck, tears slipped from her eyes.
"M…max" Reina's voiced quivered as she knew she wasn't alone. Max turned and froze, paralyzed by fear, there was figure behind her with an unearthly aura and subtle glowing eyes.
As if filled with sudden adrenaline, Max lurched forward to make a grab for his sister. The sinister smile the man gave before he varnished with his sister was hard to miss.
As Reina's phone clattered to the ground, so did Max but the difference between the two was that one was emitting light whilst the other was in tears.
