Chapter 18: Should I Lie?
Diane worked all night with a pen-sized torch till the sun began to rise. She took a gamble that Mrs. Regina would arrive first and that would be her opportunity to drop off her office keys.
It still seemed too early when the sound of a car driving through the parking lot came.
Diane lazily got up to stretch her back. 'I couldn't take my meds'. The thought hit her as she moved to look out the glass.
It was Mrs. Regina who came out from the old-looking Jeep. Diane could see her walking slowly towards the main entrance.
Since the internal power hadn't been turned on, the receptionist had to unlock the door herself before pulling the lever behind her desk.
"Mrs. Regina".
Diane's voice nearly gave her a heart attack as her nose wrinkled under her glasses to scan the young lady. "It's you". She scanned the stairway Diane had emerged from. "Don't tell me you spent the night here? We don't allow that".
"Ohh... I didn't know, sorry about that". She approached her desk with weary eyes. "I wanted to drop our floor key off with you before going home".
"It's already past six, being late two days in a row won't look so good". She was dusting her seat with a napkin-sized rag.
"I won't be late". She smiled reassuringly before turning to leave.
"Wait. You should just enter your name into the attendance at once". She pointed down at the fingerprint spot on her desk. "Place your thumb here".
Diane did as she was told.
"Be back before eight".
She nodded before leaving.
"And oh... young lady". Her eyes narrowed in suspicion. "You'd best just do your job without getting influenced".
"Getting influenced?".
The receptionist didn't reply again so she left to catch a taxi. Although she had about five hundred dollars left, a taxi would be more economical plus she still needed to save up to buy a phone.
It took about ten minutes to get home due to how free the road was. Although she still couldn't understand what the receptionist had meant by that warning. 'Influenced by who? Or what exactly?'.
After paying the driver off, she quickly moved to use the elevator. A group of three joggers joined in the elevator and the sweat-fest was on.
Diane reached her apartment at around quarter to seven and decided to go straight for the shower. She was tired but she wanted to feel clean again. But glancing at the bathtub reminded her of what Josh had done.
Her left fist clenched beside her thigh in disappointment. Just how far would he have gone if she hadn't woken up?
Would he really have attempted to molest a sick-unconscious woman?
The idea made Diane uncomfortable, it wasn't that she disliked or feared him, but it was always one thing after another. And her whole talk about repaying him, would it even be possible in her lifetime? Would she later come to realize she'd been wrong for leaving him?
She shook her head. 'I don't have any feelings for him. And I'm not even sure if what he feels is 'love' - no, more like an obsession'.
Just how did they meet?
All the times she'd asked Josh, he ended up changing the topic.
She heard the sound of her alarm clock beep once to indicate the top of an hour. "Seven O'clock". She turned off the shower before rushing to make a bowl of cereal.
She ate quickly while simultaneously getting dressed. There was a sudden knock at the door and which made her freeze. 'Could it be Josh? No, he promised not to visit anytime soon. Plus he has work too'.
When there was no further knocking, she took her time to finish everything else.
On opening the door, she found a newspaper sticking out of her letterbox.
Diane sighed in relief before picking up the paper that she began reading in the taxi. The headline was, 'Demon spotted at Chadiver street'.
She almost laughed, but Chadiver street was the street next to her university and where their old campus house was.
Her eyes scanned through its contents. 'The demon was caught leaving the scene after ripping a man to shreds. He was left unrecognizable but his car plate number helped the investigators identify him as Mr. Clement Wabiri, an Uber driver who assumedly come to pick up a client when he was attacked'.
There was a picture of a winged creature leaving the scene in the dark and although it was just Its back, Diane felt it somewhat familiar. 'Why is my heart pounding?'. She questioned herself before taking a closer look. The woman was literally in her underwear, but that body shape-
She almost laughed at the thought of it. The last time she'd gone to Chadiver street was two days ago. But for some reason, she wanted to know more about the case.
It wasn't abnormal for demons to appear around the world. Each nation had special forces for eradicating demons - That of Rudertine was called the D.E.S.
The Demon Extermination Squad consisted of heartless people trained to kill demons with any means necessary. It all began about a decade ago when some spacial rifts started appearing around the world. Although it is said to look as if the air before you is moving like a water surface - the occurrence is quite rare and there have been only four spottings of demons in Rudertine for ten years!
And a vast majority still doesn't believe in demons. Diane was among that majority...
'The Uber headquarters is said to have contacted the individual who requested the ride with Mr. Clement but is having trouble contacting her'.
There were two pictures below, one of the driver and the other of the passenger.
Diane Franchester.
Diane's eyes widened as she tried hard to calm herself. The driver that never came to pick her up was killed? Now she would be a prime suspect regarding the fact that she was still unable to explain how she'd gotten home!
'This could threaten my job'. Her grip on the paper tightened.
Should she tell the truth about what happened? Or find the lie best suited?
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone