A bank of clouds rolled across the midnight sky, revealing the tiniest
sliver of the pale moon. Slowly,
the sedan rolled to a stop, the headlights going dark right away.
It was late, but the driver planned it that way, his thoughts
drifting towards the prize that awaited him less than half a mile up
the twisting, winding driveway that stood before him.
He could feel the tension mounting inside of his gut as he slipped
a pair of night-vision goggles over his eyes, his vision no longer impeded
by the blackness that cloaked everything just a moment before.
Slipping the transmission of his car into drive, he rolled slowly
forward. He was on his
way.
The road wound upwards like a coiled serpent,
walls of tall trees and summer brush standing on either side like the
walls of some ancient castle, protecting whatever persons inhabited
the lonely houses that sat behind them.
He had been here a few times, checking things out and making
certain that he wouldn't run into any problems.
He was almost positive that this would be his greatest act yet,
the ideas that he'd come up with in the last few weeks topping anything
he'd ever dreamed of before. He
was, after all, an artist.
Bringing the sedan to a halt near the top of
the dark hill, he felt his excitement beginning to rise.
Something came alive deep inside of him, the thing he liked to
refer to as his other half, and his darker side.
Grabbing his tools from the passenger seat, he slipped quietly
out of his car. He thought
for a moment, remembering the layout of the grounds as if he had designed
them himself. He looked
around, spotting the car that he knew would be in the driveway, near
the garage.
Unless he had missed something earlier in the
evening, she would be here alone.
It was time for him to become.
He was ready.
Crossing the lush lawn that surrounded most of
the property, he made for the side of the house.
His visit that afternoon had been short, but he managed to remove
a small pane of glass from the French doors near the sitting room, replacing
it so as to not alarm her of his entry.
He was positive that he'd left no traces or evidence of his presence
there. As he'd done in
the past, he simply prepared the site for his true work.
He was about to create a masterpiece.
She would soon know the pleasures of his imagination.
Sitting his tools quietly onto the tiled patio,
he slipped a small device from his pocket and attached it to the glass
pane that he'd worked on earlier.
Wiggling it just slightly, he slipped it away from the door,
the gummy paste that he'd used to secure it making a small tearing sound
as it let go. Setting the glass onto the ground, he picked up his tools
and reached his hand through the hole.
Soundlessly, he released the lock and pushed the door open.
Letting a small smile cross his lips, he moved through the entrance.
He was ready to begin his work.
Ari
heard the sound of the car as it approached the house, her ears attuned
to the sounds that had become normal to her since she'd come to live there.
Listening carefully, she remained in her bed, her eyes closed so
that she would not be distracted by anything else.
Waiting patiently, she let her feelings stretch out, reaching beyond
the walls that surrounded her. She
felt a presence, a darkness almost as great as her own.
She fought against the smile that tried to creep onto her mouth,
her thoughts turning humorous as she prepared herself for what was to
come. She had known for quite
some time that she'd been being watched, but the surprise would be hers.
She was going to thoroughly enjoy the end of the game.
She knew that she would gain an easy victory.
Rave slipped through the sitting room, his footsteps
masked by the thick carpet that covered the floor.
He could feel the stirring in his crotch, the thoughts of what
he had planned arousing him. Setting
the goggles onto a small table that sat near the doorway, he took a
moment to let his eyes adjust to his surroundings.
It was not as dark in here as it had been outside, the several,
small nightlights that were plugged into wall outlets giving him enough
illumination to make his way through the house.
It almost seemed as if they had been left on to guide him to
her. If he didn't already
know better, he would have thought that it had been planned.
Sniffing the air, he enjoyed the raspberry scent
that hung in the air, it's pleasant aroma making him think of the fields
near the house where he'd grown up as a child.
He thought of the shed that he'd found in the woods beyond it
and how he had first created one of his masterpiece's there.
It had been an injured duck and his tools had been much less
elaborate than those that he'd become a master of now.
He longed to feel the excitement that he had on that hot summer
afternoon, none of his later projects making him nearly as excited as
the first had. In a way,
he was empty, always searching to relive that moment.
It didn't matter how elaborate a new creation was, it was just
never the same.
Moving down the hallway, he slipped a small scalpel
from his bag. He could feel his heart beat beginning to increase in speed,
as he got closer to the bedroom, his thoughts drifting once more from
his surrounding to the images of what was to come.
He could picture her in his mind, the way her long, dark hair
shimmered in the lights at the club where he'd first seen her. She had seemed different from the other women who'd been there,
her mannerisms marking her as more than just one of the many tramps
and whores that circulated amongst the horny men who did little to hide
their intentions. She was
a spectacle to be enjoyed, a diamond in the rough.
With all of her aspects, he still thought of her as a blank canvas
that awaited his touch. He
knew that he was going to enjoy every moment of it.
Ari listened as he came closer to her
bedroom, her eyes still closed.
She could smell him, his skin cleansed just before he left his
home. She smiled slightly,
letting it quickly fade in case he came into the room.
She wanted the surprise to belong to her, letting him think that
he had the advantage while all along, he was walking into a trap.
She could not discern his intentions, but she knew that he meant
to do her some type of harm. She
enjoyed knowing that he could not.
She was far more than he thought she was.
He could not even begin to fathom what he'd gotten himself into.