A/N: You know, interestingly this is not how I intended for this chapter to go. But I couldn't resist the temptation to make the nod at Twilight. I'm really excited for what's to come next! This is when the real fun starts 😊

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Chapter 5 - Crime Statistics

"Hello, Earth to Bella…" a large hand waves in front of me.

I look up to see Jake, the security guard, peering at me with something like concern. Realizing I had been standing at the gate, not moving, I smile in apology.

"Oh sorry, just been a long day." I pull out my ID badge to swipe it at the front gate to be let in.

"But it's morning," he says, his brows knitting together in confusion. "Today's just started."

"Oh… yeah…" I grimace a little at my lame response. I don't know what to say. Truthfully these past few weeks had all melded together into one long, horrible day. I couldn't make sense of anything anymore and I felt a constant sense of unease. It's really been eating at me.

James had ended up getting a call that day and excusing himself from our meeting before we had actually discussed anything. He'd waved me off and hadn't called me into another meeting since. Heidi seemed to think this was a good thing and urged me not to prompt him - I was inclined to agree. That day after work I'd purchased a second alarm clock to avoid any repeat experiences and everything had been fine on that front.

No, none of that had been why these past weeks had been so … strange.

To be completely honest, I was fairly sure I was clinically insane. The moving book and the voice in my head had only been the beginning. These days … things weren't where they were supposed to be.

All. The. Time.

I would set down a cup of coffee, turn around and come back to it moved 2 inches to the left. My apartment was cleaner, but not because I was doing any cleaning. Clothes I was sure had been strewn about would have somehow magically folded themselves or been thrown in the hamper. One morning I woke up and a second blanket that was supposed to be folded and tucked away at the top of a closet, was draped over me.

That wasn't the only thing. Accidents seemed to happen around me too. I'd get up to go to the copier and the pipe from the water fountain nearby would burst, drenching me. In the past month, it had burst 3 separate times. Printers shot out whirls of paper, lights went out then inexplicably came back on when I left the room, and stacks of boxes collapsed in the hallways.

I stepped out of the elevator on the 17th floor and went to sit at my cubicle. There was a brown paper bag sitting on my desk. Just like I knew there would be.

"Ugh!"

I grabbed the bag without looking inside, crumpled it up and threw it in the trash can. I heard the hint of a low chuckle and whirled around. But there was no one in my immediate vicinity. Just like I knew there wouldn't be.

This was another one of the mysterious maddening things that had been happening around me recently. Every morning without fail, I'd find breakfast on my desk. At first I'd thought Heidi had brought me something - but she'd denied it and I saw no reason why she'd lie to me. I found it hard to question too many of my coworkers about it without seeming insane. But damn if the things I was brought weren't insanely delicious. Flaky croissants, soft souffles, filling quiches. Once the breakfast had been accompanied by a chai latte and that had been so good it had almost been my undoing. Everything was always unmarked. No cafe logos or packaging to hint at where these had even been picked up from. I'd even tried in vain to find that latte but no coffee shop in the vicinity seemed to have it.

I turned back to my desk only to see the offensive brown bag sitting there at the center of my desk again - in mint condition, no signs of the crushing I'd just done. As if I hadn't just disposed of it.

An angry grumble escaped me and I glared at it with a murderous expression. I could almost hear the echo of the chuckle again. I stared at it for a moment, willing myself to be angry enough to refuse eating it. But I knew whatever it was would be scrumptious.

I peeked inside. A chocolate muffin - the aroma coming off it was amazing. It smelled almost as if it had just been taken out of the oven. But that was impossible. I took a bite - pure heaven. I closed my eyes, moaning a little.

Abruptly, there was a loud growl and the muffin, paper bag and all disappeared instantly, snatched from my fingertips. I looked up confused to find James standing before me.

"There you are, I've been looking for you," he said. He smiled and the edges of his eyes crinkled happily. "Would you join me in my office?"

"I …"

"It'll just be a moment."

My throat went dry and a chunk of muffin lodged in my throat. I nodded and stood stiffly to follow.

A long uninterrupted growl crashed through the silence. It ripped and rolled through me - the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. James held the door to his office open for me and I stepped in, my legs moving of their own accord. He followed suit, but I couldn't pay attention to him - the growling had become a roar. It reverberated through the air thick and strong, and I wondered how the entire world could not hear it.

James gave no indication that anything was out of the ordinary. He closed the door behind him and very deliberately turned the lock. I heard it latch with a click. The growling immediately stopped. Almost as if it had been shut out?

I gulped, looking at James with the wide eyes of a prey caught by a predator. He smiled pleasantly back.

"Now, I hope we're past all the evasions." He stepped around me and went to sit behind his desk. "I admit it took me some time to work around your tricks …" he smiled up at me, seeming to not register my shocked expression. "But, I'm nothing if not resourceful."

I had no idea what he was talking about. The air was still - too still. Danger, DANGER! My brain seemed to scream with the warning but I couldn't move. I needed to get out of here. I was so near the door - it was locked only from the inside. Surely that couldn't keep me from escaping? But I was being ridiculous - I couldn't just run out of a meeting with my boss' boss' boss' to the nth degree's boss. James was smiling at me again - but he said nothing. Staring, enjoying the moment it seemed. My skin crawled.

Tap, tap, tap.

I flinched. Someone was knocking at the door. James seemed unperturbed. His gaze did not leave mine as he raised his voice slightly. "I'm busy." It sounded sing-songy.

"That won't work on me," came a gruff voice. Something flickered in James' expression. "Father," he said lowly. So lowly I was sure the man on the other side of the door could not have heard it. But the doorknob turned, clicking the lock open in the process as if it hadn't been locked at all. Abruptly the growling began again - full force. Deafening in its power.

The door swung open slowly and a man began to enter - he didn't seem to have noticed me yet.

"BELLA! BELLA RUN, RUN!" Something instinct inside me broke free and I was moving. I rushed out the door, focused on escape. I didn't stop to apologize for nearly shoving the man who'd been standing in the door. I didn't stop to hear what James' reaction would be. I spared no thought for my purse and wallet still in a drawer at my desk. I couldn't wait for the elevator, I sped down the hall to the stairwell and burst through.

I was running again, the steps proved difficult and I stumbled. A force caught me and pulled me up before I could hit the ground. I kept running, not bothering to wonder what that had been. I was in flight mode. My breaths came in wheezing pants as I pushed my muscles. Terror seized me though I couldn't pinpoint why it was so strong.

My brain whirled - it would surely take me longer to run down 16 flights of stairs than it would take for someone to take an elevator down. If someone wanted to catch me all they'd have to do was wait at the entrance to the stairs on the first floor. Somewhere in another small part of my mind, I contemplated how ridiculous it was to run out of the office in the middle of the day. But the notion was so much an afterthought in comparison to the unadulterated fear I felt. I had to get out of this stairwell. I was approaching the 12th floor now. I exited, still running at top speed. No idea what my plan was.

"Go left," I heard an urgent voice say. I obeyed without thinking, nearly falling again as I made a sharp turn.

"Up ahead, the door to the right." I pushed past a woman carrying a stack of files. Papers went flying and I heard her curse but I was already gone. There was indeed another door up ahead. I slammed it open, not bothering to be quiet. I could barely catch my breath - I wouldn't be able to keep up this pace much longer. God, why had I allowed myself to get so out of shape?

A parking lot greeted me!

Relief. I shuddered at my luck. This was something unexpected at least - it could buy me some time.

The squealing of skidding tires echoed as a black Audi appeared around the corner, speeding toward me. It came to a stop right in front of me and the passenger door flew open.

"Get in," said a voice and I spotted a pair of bright green eyes staring back at me from the driver's seat.