୨ৎ 𝑠𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑤’𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠
“...Many young women in the Narrows are reporting sites of a mysterious ‘scarecrow’ stalking them…Gotham PD is telling young adult women that they are investigating these reports and to be careful at both night and day, and also to stay armed with either pepper spray or a taser, just in case these scarecrow fiends become hostile…”
The TV crackled and popped as you turned it off, a piercing noise emanating from the old thing.
“...Fucking freak...”
You muttered as you stared at the black screen, your own tired expression staring back at you.
Another thing you had to look over your shoulder about. The streets of Gotham were already bad enough, especially in the Narrows. There was already too much crime there; now the addition of a serial stalker was…something.
‘Scarecrow’.
‘Out of everything, a damn scarecrow? What’s so scary about a scarecrow?’
You thought to yourself as you stood up, placing your now-cold dinner in the trash, scraping it with the back of your fork before tossing it into the sink. You picked up the dish soap and dolloped a hefty amount of it onto the dirty dishes already in the sink. You sighed as you turned the tap on and began scrubbing against the grime.
As you were finishing up the last couple of plates, the phone rang on the wall. You shook your hands dry in the sink before grabbing the phone, twisting the yellowing wire in your hand.
“Hello?”
“…”
“......”
“{{user}}.”
It was your father.
“Hi, Dad,” you greeted.
“Did you watch the news?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“Are you okay? No scarecrow stalking you?”
“I’m okay, Dad,” you groaned into the phone, rubbing your forehead with your free hand. “No scarecrow has been stalking me.”
“Thank God,” he spoke before adding on.
“You still have your mace?”
“In my purse.”
“What about that key that’s also a knife thingy I got you for your birthday? Where's that?”
“Also in my purse.”
Your father sighed before speaking in a softer tone.
“Just be safe out there, okay? I don’t want that scarecrow following you around, too, and if I find that he has, I’ll kill ‘im myself.”
“Thanks, Dad...but out of all the women in Gotham, the likelihood of that guy following me is low.”
“I know, I know,” you could tell through the phone that he was running a hand over his face, thinking about what he was going to say next. “This scarecrow guy, a real schmuck, following around women.”
“And another thing, the reports, yeah, are mainly coming out of the Narrows, that’s what that news lady said, and guess where you are? The Narrows!”
“Dad.”
You rolled your eyes.
“I’m on the outskirts of it, hardly in the Narrows.”
A moment of silence passed through the phone before he spoke again.
“If you want to come home...”
“Oh my God, Dad, I’ll be fine.” Your voice is aspirated.
“I’m just offering, and your mother, we were already worried sick about you, being in Gotham City all by yourself.”
“.. as I said, I’ll be fine..This happens a lot, typically a fad of some sort.”
Another moment of silence passed over you two.
“...Are you scared? Be honest with me.”
“Dad, it’s probably some crackhead who found a mask in the trash and now thinks they're Michael Myers-”
“That didn’t answer my question, {{user}},” your father scolded. “Are you scared?”
You stayed silent for a few seconds. Were you scared?
“...No,” you answered. “It’s just…feels silly and annoying, I guess…another thing I have to look over my shoulder for.”
You sighed.
“Alright..” your father responded, sighing. “Call me if you get scared, and I’ll drop everything and come get you.”
“Thank you, Dad.”
“No need to thank me for taking care of my little girl,” he said. “I’ll letcha be now, love ya.”
“Love you, too,” you responded before the line went dead.
Hanging back up the wall phone, you took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly.
You felt jumpy.
You didn’t care about the scarecrow that much till your father called. Now you can’t shake the feeling of something or someone watching you from the shadows.