AS THE DAYS GO BY...

When I walk into Sparky’s, I’m met with business as usual. A few customers sat at a table, some bluegrass music playing, and Tia wiping down the bar.

She squints as I approach her.

"What are you doing here?"

I shrug, "Stevie had another date."

"Another on-?!" Tia sighs, looking down. "Thing's must be going well huh?"

I throw my hands up, "Psh, you're telling me. He almost near kicked me out."

Tia smiles, looking away. Her tone quickly changes however, “Hey Blake, I got a quick question for ya.”

“What’s up?” I ask, removing my hoodie, throwing it on the coat rack.

Tia finishes wiping the counter, throwing the towel into the sink.

“Have these Cloak friends of yours ever stalked you?”

I feel my gut drop. The first thing I think of is the Cloak that was outside of Stevie’s trailer. I remember the triangular silhouette, and the pointy hat looking on from the woods. It sends a chill down my spine.

Sometimes I still feel it watching me.

“I-… Maybe?”

“Ah, so it’s happening to you too huh?” Tia rubs her chin, catching onto my stuttered response.

“Well to be frank, there’s one stalking the bar.” Tia pauses and points over at a window on the right side of the bar, “Sometimes I’ll look over, and there'll be a shadow standing right there at the window.”

I rub my chin as Tia continues, "I know we have Cloaks in the bar, but this one's different. It's just standing there... watching me. Why stalk me, if you've got people in here ordering drinks?"

Shrugging, I place my hands on the bar. “Well, why don’t we keep each other in the loop if we see anything funny?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Tia smiles, “Sounds good.”

Seeing Tia’s happy expression, I feel myself jitter.

As the night begins, things are relatively slow. The few customers we had soon left, leaving Tia and I to sit around bored. Tia flips through channels on the small CRTV hung up above the bar, while I work on a mai tai. Over the past few slow days, I’ve been working on teaching myself how to make drinks so I can be of some extra help to Tia.

It’s not going the greatest, according to Tia.

“Does that thing have a DVD player? We should watch some anime here if it’s gonna be another slow tonight.” I ponder as I pour some syrup into a mixer.

Tia laughs, shaking her head. “No, no, no my friend. This thing’s old school.” She then points out the rectangular slot under the screen, “VHS.”

“Woah!" I glare up, catching sight of the small VHS slot. “Geez, how long has the TV been here anyways?!”

“Since before my time as owner. Actually, the satellite outside is wired to this thing,” Tia chuckles, pointing at the pole outside where it’s connected, “Sometimes I have to turn the pole when service gets spotty.”

“Sounds fun!” I say sarcastically, “Maybe I should go turn it. Try and find Toonami no?”

At that moment, me and Tia hear a familiar sound. We both look outside and see a group of shadows. I look over at Tia, as she looks back at me smiling. Suddenly the doors to the bar swing open, and there they come pouring in.

Our group of college kids have returned.

As me and Tia get to work, our routine quickly kicks in. I take orders, she makes drinks, so on so forth. My legs begin burning. I’m exhausted, but I still feel motivated to keep going. Maybe I’m just in a good mood, or maybe it’s just the thought of Tia watching me.

As I return to the bar after delivering a few second drinks, Tia gives me an off-putting look.

“Hey, can we get a Wizard at the Window?”

“Huh?” I’m puzzled, “What kind of drink is that?”

Tia’s eyes dart to her left. I look over, and understand what Tia is referring to.

There’s a Cloak watching us from the window. In fact, I’m willing to bet it’s the Cloak that was stalking me at Stevie’s trailer. There’s the orange glow atop its hat, and the face is covered. There’s a streetlamp above that gives a bit of light to the Cloak, revealing the mask that covers his face.

It’s a black gas mask with tinted shades.

I look back to Tia nodding, “I’m on it.”

I barrel through the bar doors, and bolt down the alley. It’s foggy in the street in front of me. The smell of that god awful Cloak stench grows, paired with a weird burning smell. Smells like Snoop Dogg’s living room. My fists clenches as my heart pounds with every footstep.

Once I reach the end of the alleyway, I rear to the left where the window is. I freeze in place, out of breath. I’m again both relieved and petrified.

Nothing again.