" Please someone help... That man is chasing me with a knife. Please... ", Tessa was running and yelling . Everyone was just looking at her silently like waiting for her to die . "Where is that masked man? " Tessa looked here and there with the slithest hope of survival. The darkness around was growing frequently. "Please, I don't want to die .. I ... I want to live. "
"..ssa.... Tessa.... "
She heard someone calling her name .
" Tessa ! " She opened her eyes with a jerk . Tessa was breathing heavily while looking around. Beside of her she saw Rishe sitting with a worried face .
" Rishe.. rishe ... Be careful.. that man is dangerous.... Are you hurt somewhere? Call the police immediately. "
" Tessa , I'm fine . Please calm down. You are safe now . Here drink some water first , you're sweating. Did you have a nightmare?"
Tessa quickly drank the whole glass .
" Where am I ? " She asked the question and saw her well dressed up hand .
" You are in hospital, Tessa. You fainted yesterday. I don't know what happened but thank God you are fine . Big thanks to that man who admitted you here otherwise anything would have happened! "
" Man? " Tessa tried to recall the last night incident and a pair of dark brown eyes appeared to her mind. She remembered how that man saved her from that lunatic attacker .
" Rishe.... What happened to the dead body of that bastard? "
" Dead body? Eeh? What are you talking? There is no dead body ... Tessa , regain your consciousness.... I guess you are still tired . I told you numerous time to take care of yourself. "
" But Rishe .. believe me ! Otherwise why I will be in hospital right now .. see this bandage .. do you think a cut will happen suddenly from the thin air ! I was attacked."
" Tessa , nothing happened. You fell on the road suddenly and hot your head hard . That's why you fainted. You will be discharged tomorrow... And don't worry I will come to take you home . Visiting hour has ended and it's getting dark so I'm going. Have some rest . See ya"
" But"... Before Tessa could say anything Rishe left the cabin. Tessa was sitting blankly in the bed as so many things happened within 24 hours. " Why no one is believing me .." she murmured. " I was attacked ... I ran to save my life almost for how much time I don't recall. That.....that ... Lunatic man was there ... He died in front of me ...wait! " Tessa's eyes become wider.
" The man .. the masked man who saved me.. he saw that criminal.. he can be the witness... He killed him ... And maybe he ..ughh!" Tessa got quiet because of an sharp headache. "Am I .. really imagining everything? " She looked at the wall clock and it was 9 : 53 pm. The nurse served her food and reminded her about the medicine.
" Maybe I .. let's get out of here first . After that I will gather up information. There must be cctv or anything that has recorded." She finished her food and went to sleep again.
*Creak*
Tessa's eyes opened with that sound . The room was dimmed with a low light. She quickly grabbed the empty glass as she felt someone's presence.
" Is that man still alive? Or is it someone else... If I shout now will anyone come?" She saw a shadow lurking around the room . She closed her eyes tightly while clenching the empty glass. " No, No , Tessa .. You are hallucinating .. everything is fine .. it's just an nightmare.."
" How are you right now? Feeling better?"
Tessa heard the clear voice of a man from very near. But she lost all her courage to answer. After that there was a silence for some minutes.
" Is he gone? " Tessa thought.
"No need to pretend. I'm not going to harm you . Open your eyes and speak . I need to know if you are ok or not . "
The bold and quite deep voice of the man was familiar to Tessa . She heard that same voice yesterday before collapsing. She opened her eyes immediately and sat on the bed like a spring. She saw a tall man with same hood , mask and eyes who saved her from the claw of death.
" YOU ! I was .."
"Shhh.... Lower your voice. Otherwise everyone will burge here and get wrong idea. First answer me are you ok? Is that wound hurt or do you feel any strange sensation inside of your body?"
Tessa lowed her voice as said and answered ," I'm fine . Thanks to you . No the wound don't hurt. Thank you for saving my life yesterday. Can you tell me what happened to that fricking lunatic bastard? Had he completely lost his mind ? I'm an innocent commoner student. Did he come to steal money ? Have you informed police? "
The man sat on the side chair with his legs crossed. He put his sword aside and said ,
" You asked many questions at once . But don't worry I'm going to answer them . First of police can't do anything in this case so calling them would be stupid. The man was after you with the motive of killing you . Thankfully I was near so that's why you are alive."
Tessa was listening him like a topper listens the lecture. "But why? "
" Well miss ....umm.."
" Tessa . I'm Tessa Malven. Nice to meet you. "
" Nice to meet you Miss. Malvin . I'm Jasper Blackthorn. Well what I'm going to tell you now , can shock you a little bit you have no choice except listening. You believe me or not that's up to you . The man who attacked you was a hunter. Beside this modern world, there is another world which exists parallelly . He was from that world . You must be amazed that you were attacked but no pedestrians came to help you , right? That's because no one could see that man except you as he was going to offer you as an sacrifice for his survival. "
"WHAT? Opps ... Sorry .. I mean sacrifice? Human sacrifice? But it is illegal... Is he a member of some cult or something? " Tessa asked with shock.
" I told you he was from another world which co exist parallelly with this morden world. To be very specific it's kind of Harry Potter universe. Human sacrifice is also a crime there but he was upto his survival. "
" You are telling, he was from a different world.... Are you also a sacrifice or .."
" Yes , you guessed it right . I'm also from that world. There... many species live who are considered mythical or fantasy in this modern world . Well I'm quite surprised as I don't think you are startled a bit after hearing this. Can I think that you're believing me? "
" Yes I do . I believe in the words you say otherwise so many people saw me but no one helped .... As they can't see the man , they must only saw me running and screaming endlessly....this actually resolves my query."
" You're quite intelligent and more composed than any one I saw here. I thought you'll say that I'm mocking your situation or something. "
" But why are you telling me all of this? Shouldn't it be a secret . After saving me you could have just left so I would consider everything as a hallucination.."
" As I said you are quick catching ms. Malvin. Yes , I would have vanished if it's not for that cut in your hand . You are probably the sole survivor of this world who is still breathing after encountering a raged hunter. As you have that cut .. you are somehow marked and can be easily target of other hunter who are searching for human sacrifice."
Tessa was silent with fear . She looked at him and asked ," So what now? Am I going to die in their hands? "
Tessa saw the man smiling underneath of his mask . "Don't worry Ms. Malvin. That's why I didn't leave you . That hunter is dead . But the risk is still there. And I will not allow any innocent one to suffer. You may have no connection to the whole thing but unfortunately you are a part of it now . It's almost dawn . I recommend you to take rest rest. "
The man stood up from his chair and leaned to grand his sword.Tessa jumped from the bed and grabbed the man hand . "Please, don't leave me like that .. tell me what to do .. I don't want to die ... I .... I .." Her breathing became heavy. The man looked back and said calmly , " Don't worry. I will come again tomorrow at the same time. There are so much left for you to know. Gather yourself up and rest for a bit . You will be discharged tomorrow afternoon. For now I have to leave Ms. Mal.."
" Call me Tessa. " She released his hands.
"Go safely then. I believe you. "
" Goodnight Tessa. " The man vanished from the window. Tessa quietly went to bed like nothing happened and fell asleep with ease knowing she is not alone.