Abhi is shaken to the core, his walk gains a bit of tremble, and he starts to breathe and sweat heavily, his eyes constantly trying to look back.
"Am I being followed…" Abhi Gasped audibly.
Abhi ignores the man on his trail for the time being, as it's entirely possible for the man to have the same travel route as Abhi, even though it is unlikely that someone had the same bus route as Abhi the man could still be going somewhere nearby and there just happens to be a small overlap.
A few minutes passed, and even after a few more turns and minutes of walking, the man was still on Abhi's trail. Abhi's expression grew more and more anxious, he was looking back at the mysterious man more and more frequently as time passed.
Abhi suddenly stopped, he noticed a city map plastered on the building. It covered all of Nixtom High City but the regions below or beyond the high city were left blurred or anonymous.
While keeping a subtle look out for the follower Abhi used his finger to point at something on the map, he was pointing at the nearest police station which was a kilometre to the west. The mysterious man soon passed by Abhi but didn't do anything.
Abhi kept staring at the police station symbol on the map perhaps contemplating his decision to go there. He then looked around and saw a pendulum clock inside an antique shop.
"7 minutes till 7 pm," Abhi said to himself while observing the clock.
Abhi started walking but didn't follow the western path to the police station instead he went opposite, towards the east where his bus stop was. Abhi had just recently requested a change in his job timings because of his school, he changed his shift at his job from a full-time day job to a half-time evening job. This shift change was quite major as it essentially changed everyone Abhi worked with including his superiors.
Getting a negative first impression on his first shift wasn't just not ideal, but it would also lead to Abhi's supervisors, managers, and other superiors making an example out of him via harsh punishment; therefore, it was essential for Abhi to reach his workplace on time. Taking detours such as visiting the police station in the opposite direction would involve the risk of not catching his second bus which only comes around every 30 minutes.
Knowing all this, Abhi kept walking. There wasn't much to worry about as Abhi was already at the edge of High City so the bus station was nearby. As the mysterious man following Abhi had already passed by him and he wasn't too late for the bus, there was nothing to worry about.
Abhi strolled freely humming an old rhyme. He was finally close enough to see the bus stand's landmark a few towns apart. Abhi sighed in relief "I can finally reach the bus stand safely."
Suddenly he felt the same ominous present he had felt a few minutes ago, Abhi's walk became more restricted his posture less confident and he slowly turned his head back without stopping his walk and immediately saw the same mysterious man right on his trail.
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Abhi started shivering in fear and anxiety, breaking cold sweat on a breezy evening. The sun was already almost submerged in the horizon, the atmosphere was dim and the street lights still weren't on. In the faint remnants of the absent sun's light, Abhi kept walking while constantly looking back to observe his mysterious follower.
Fortunately, he was finally close enough to see his bus stop directly, but before walking towards it, he suddenly stopped, Abhi kept staring at the ground as if he was drawing in deep thought. He subtly looked back and saw the same mysterious follower standing just a few meters behind, pretending to check the menu of a cafe.
"No… I can't go home; mom is home alone." Abhi spoke to himself. Abhi seemed to have realized that if the mysterious follower kept following him even on his bus, then he might end up finding out where Abhi and his mom lived. No man will jeopardize his mother's safety for his own sake or for work.
Abhi was out of breath, shaking and sweating from the fear and anxiety of being followed, yet he stopped walking. He looked up, towards the dark crimson sky filled with blurry emerging stars, his gaze didn't shake nor blink and soon enough the twinkling stars reflected in his eyes as a glimmer of hope.
His breathing became calmer and his eyes colder. Suddenly he diverted from the straight path to the bus stop and instead took a left turn. Abhi started walking again only this time his steps didn't echo fear but it resounded determination.
A few steps later, Abhi looked down and murmured something to himself, and then he started to recite something far more clearly… almost in a robotic tone:
"En Passant: Caution, Chapter 6: Stalkers, point 4:
In case, you think you are being followed but cannot tell for sure, there is a method to verify your situation. Note your starting position then take four right or four left turns while walking. The idea behind this action is that whenever you turn the same way four times, you end up in the same place you started at.
So, in case you have a suspicion about someone following you, you can verify whether they just happen to have a similar route to yours or if they are in fact on your trail as no innocent person will circle back to the same spot with you".
Abhi had recited a passage from an informative book he had memorized. Following the book's advice, he started by taking his first left turn. While walking, he looked back to observe the mysterious man who was still checking out the café's menu.
"Garlock Gobbler Gamers". "What a weird name for a café" Abhi had noted the café as his starting point.
While looking at the café he suddenly made eye contact with the mysterious follower. He quickly looked forward and started walking, he took another left turn and kept walking, this time he didn't turn or look back at all as that might end up alerting the follower.
He instead starts walking slightly faster and only looks ahead, he still tries to observe the follower by looking at mirrors and other sources of reflections to subtly check the areas out of his field of view. He takes his third left turn while still keeping an eye out for the follower through reflections and such.
Abhi slightly slows down his pace as he doesn't notice anyone on his trail.
"Did I lose him? Or was he just coincidentally going to the same bus as me." Abhi says to himself, then he walks with a bit less intensity. He takes his fourth and last left turn and uses this opportunity to check the entire street behind him, not seeing a single person in the entire street gives Abhi the last bit of assurance.
Abhi walked towards the bus stop and saw the "Garlock Gobbler Gamers" sign in the distance. He walked a bit closer and realized that no one was outside the café. "I guess that man just happened to have the same bus route as me. I didn't think anyone other than me had the same bus route, but guess I was wrong."
Abhi was finally free of worry and relaxed he calmly walked towards his bus stop, and soon he passed the café and kept walking. Suddenly a hand touched Abhi on his shoulder.
Abhi slowly turned back in horror to see the same mysterious man appear out of nowhere while he held Abhi's shoulder in his rough hand.
....