Tales Of Rundle

Nearly two years after her last relationship, Irene decided to re-enter the dating scene—not looking for anything serious, just some fun and connection. She downloaded Rundle, a new dating app she had recently heard about, and soon matched with a man who seemed genuinely interesting. They had a lot in common, and their conversations were easy and engaging.

To ensure neither of them was catfishing, they video chatted a few times. The connection felt real, and after several weeks of chatting, they decided to meet in person. Since they lived a few hours apart, Irene suggested a café that was roughly halfway between them—about a 30-minute drive from both ends.

On the day of the meeting, Irene arrived at the café a little early and texted him to let him know she was there. Twenty minutes passed, and there was no reply. She tried calling him, but it went straight to voicemail. She sent another text. Still nothing. Feeling disappointed, she signaled the waiter and asked for the bill for the iced coffee she had ordered. After paying, the waiter, noticing her disappointment, asked if her date wasn’t coming.

“No, I don’t think he is.”

Irene replied with a shrug. Being a bit chatty by nature, she ended up telling the waiter what had happened. He shook his head and said,

“A guy who stands you up like that isn’t worth your time anyway.”

He flirted a little, but Irene wasn’t in the mood and politely declined the attention. She got into her car to leave. As she was pulling out of the parking lot, she saw the waiter waving his arms at her. She ignored him, assuming he was trying to continue their earlier conversation.

Moments later, she noticed the same waiter driving behind her and honking his horn. Thinking he just wanted to pass, she switched lanes to let him through, but that only made things worse. Now, they were side by side on the highway, with the waiter shouting and motioning for her to pull over. Alarmed, Irene accelerated. But the waiter sped up too—and that’s when he pulled out a gun. Terrified, Irene stopped the car immediately. She got out slowly, hands raised, her voice trembling.

“Please, don’t hurt me. What did I do?”

The waiter, still pointing the gun, didn’t respond to her. Instead, he shouted,

“Get out of the car. Now!”

Confused, Irene turned—and froze. The man she had been talking to—the one who had ghosted her earlier—was crawling out from the back seat of her car, holding a knife and a length of rope. The waiter didn’t lower the gun until the police arrived several minutes later. The man was arrested on the spot. An officer later explained to Irene,

“These days, a lot of criminals are using dating apps to target victims. You need to be careful. Most people aren’t this lucky.”

As one of the officers escorted her home, Irene looked out the window, shaken but grateful. Back at the café parking lot, the waiter—now alone—pulled out a phone he had secretly taken from the attacker before the police arrived. On the screen were Irene’s texts, missed calls and profiles of other potential victims. He smirked.

“This’ll make my spree more fun, and a whole lot easier.” 

He said quietly, slipping the phone into his pocket.