Noah stuck to the corner of the skyscraper, pretending to be as calm as possible as he waited for the thing stalking him to pass.
The shocking sensation in his belly grew more and more the longer he waited, making it harder to feign nonchalance.
His face twitched slightly at each person that walked just a bit too close to him.
They wouldn't try to fight me here if they were a government agency in charge of supernatural events. They'll have to wait till I'm alone.
But what if it's not some ghost cops and is actually the mob?
He just murdered one of their top captains. They too might have magical ways to locate the thing that killed Isaac if they found his body first.
There were just too many possibilities for what could be around the corner. He shut off his mind and leaned against the stone wall waiting.
Once it felt too close, he turned to study everyone that crossed the corner.
But then the feeling disappeared.
He couldn't help but frown. Did whatever was following him go away? Or was it a ghost like the girl he met in the park close to his house?
There are too many ghosts in these parks. Is someone out there killing people and only burying bodies in public parks?
It was too ridiculous. He was about to turn the corner and go look for it when someone else crossed and made his eyes narrow.
It was Max, one of Leeroy's idiot friends. He was tall, had mousy brown hair, and a freckled face that were easily recognisable.
Noah watched him stumble about, looking for something through the crowd, before turning to face Noah. His eyes widened before he walked away.
Noah followed him with a dark look on his face. Those three idiots must have thought he was an stupid too.
He shadowed Max through the crowd, meeting his eyes every time the boy frantically turned back. Once they were passing through an alleyway, Noah grabbed Max's shirt and pulled him into the alley roughly.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Max bristled, trying to push off his hand.
They were between a restaurant and a hotel. Noah pulled him behind one of the large dumpsters and slammed him against the wall. No one on the street should be able to see them clearly, so it was time to have a little conversation with Max.
"Bro, let go of me," Max grunted, pushing against his arm. "Are you fucking insane, dumbo, I'll—"
Noah slapped him across the face, not too hard but just enough to shut him up. His green eyes pierced through Max's tough façade like paper.
"Why are you angry? You're the one following me."
This idiot was definitely not the supernatural creature following me. But I still have to deal with him.
Max was lost for words. He just stared at Noah wide-eyed, face pale with anger. He swallowed his rage and spoke in a tight voice.
"Leeroy knows you did something to Dalton and the others. We wanted to get anything we could before Isaac paid us a less friendly visit than last time."
Isaac's dead, he yearned to say. But he simply nodded; now he had to decide how to beat a warning into Max's body.
Something that wouldn't show when he was fully clothed. Noah raised his fist, clenching it with an intensity that made Max shiver.
But before he could start, the restaurant door flew open. A man holding two trash bags walked out. He stopped and glanced at the two boys, then at Noah's raised fist.
"Don't make me call the cops," he said tiredly. "Take this shit somewhere else."
Noah let go of Max and gave the man a warm smile. He walked out of the alleyway while Max jogged, pulling out his phone.
"You're gonna regret this," he sneered before disappearing into the crowded streets.
Instead of entertaining the dumb threat, Noah just rolled his eyes and kept walking. He watched Max wade through the crowd while thinking.
He's just going to be annoying all day if I don't teach him a lesson. If whatever supernatural creature was following me before tries to fight me and they see…
He needed to do something about them.
After a moment, he paused and looked up at the hotel outside the alleyway. Then an idea popped into his head.
●——●
After safely storing his body in the hotel, Noah took his Wraith form and waited until it was a bit dark outside.
He got the movie he wanted and bought some black clothes, which he changed into before becoming a Wraith.
This way it would be harder to link his normal clothes to this form.
He covered his flaming head with the hoodie and followed Max through the busy streets. The boy came back to the hotel area a couple of times to look for him.
They hadn't given up on following him yet. So here he was, following Max down the street
They went underground to take a train. Max was going into Midtown, very far from home. It was two long train rides for almost an hour.
By the time they left the subway, Noah was already tired of this little chase. It was almost eight o'clock, the sky was getting dark, and Noah was bored.
Thankfully Max walked into a convenience store, and Noah could see Leeroy and Tyler through the glass door.
Time to get to work.
Inside the store, Max was picking out some snacks while he spoke to Leeroy, who was dressed in a black puffy jacket and cargo pants.
"I searched the block. He must have gone home 'cause he was scared."
"Did you tell him anything else after you confronted him in the alley?" Leeroy asked.
"Well, the bastard looked like he wanted to fight," Max said with a lopsided smirk. "And I was ready to kick his ass, but some waiter saved him, so I told him we're coming for him."
Leeroy chuckled. "Shouldn't have told the bastard—"
BANG!
The store's door opened with a bang. Leeroy and Max looked over the shelves, but no one walked through the wide-open door.
They glanced at the clerk, but he was gone. Leeroy frowned, walking over to the checkout. The store was small and simple, white walls and shelves of different things.
"Tyler!" he shouted.
"Yeah," Tyler called back casually. "I'm in the frozen section, what was that?"
Leeroy and Max shared a look, but both shrugged their shoulders. Then they went back to looking for the clerk.
"Where'd he go?" Leeroy murmured, rummaging through the checkout before opening the register.
His eyes widened at the sight of the neatly folded dollar bills, but then he looked up to the ceiling. There was a single security camera blinking there.
He clicked his tongue and closed it. Tyler returned from the frozen section, his head rising over the tall shelves.
"Let's pay and get out of—"
All the lights in the store suddenly went off.