Genoa watched the shadows from the pool in the next room, dance across her ceiling. She wanted to go swimming but knew it was too late or rather too early. She sighed tossing and turning in her bed. She adjusted her pillows and then her covers several times before eventually laying on her side. She didn't know why but she felt restless tonight.

She looked at the shadowy figure looming against the wall, sometimes it would loom all night. It used to freak her out when she was younger but she was used to it by now. Sometimes she even found it comforting. He was constant proof, she wasn't crazy. Even though she knew she wasn't, sometimes it was hard believing when no one else did.

Of course sometimes she thought, perhaps it would be better if she were crazy. If it was all just in her head, then maybe things could go on like this forever. If the shadow man didn't exist then he'd never come for her and all of her nightmares...all those horrific things she'd seen wouldn't be real… She yawned and then rolled on her back before moving to her other side. She laid awake for a few minutes longer before closing her eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep.

...

He held his bloody knife to her throat. She wanted him to do it, to take her life, to kill her as he had killed her entire village. Her family, her friends, everyone she had ever known, this stranger had taken them all away...Yet when it came to her he paused...his eyes lingered upon her and he said, "Now, you are mine."

She trembled at his words, at the crazed look in his eyes. He slowly moved his knife across her skin lightly before cutting away her clothes… He came at her then and she cried out, wanting to escape but there was no escape not from him. She felt his greedy hands against her skin, his lips feverishly smash against her own. She tried to pull away to looked up at the top of the tent as he struggled to open her legs and get between them. She...She..

...

Genoa shifted tossing and turning in her bed. She lightly awoke opened her eyes before falling back asleep once more.

...

She was suddenly in a dark nightclub, some mixture of classical and electronic music was playing, no words just sounds...vibrations. She moved to beat on the dance floor as, various lights and lasers began rotating around the room. She was wearing a silver silky dress the poured off every curve of her body, barely covering her. She moved slow, seductively allowing her body to be completely taken by the rhythm and for a moment she lost herself.

Then through a sea of people...she felt him approach. He came up behind wrapping his arms around her. He moved a hand over her stomach as he pulled her back into him. Grasping hold of her thin fabric he began to lift it, she could feel the fabric come dangerously close to exposing her. She wasn't wearing any underwear. She leaned back into him, feeling his hardness grind up behind her through his leather pants.

She rubbed her privates against his bulge pressing back against it. He groaned into her ear, grinding against her harder. He ran his hand up her stomach and to her breast. He squeezed it nearly exposing her nipples to the open air. She moaned in ecstasy and knew he wanted her and in that moment...she wanted him too.

She turned her neck to the side and up and soon their lips met, in a passionately, possessive kiss. His tongue traced the inside of her lips and he tasted sweet... Though their were others in the room, only they existed to one another. She turned trying to see him but he turned with her.

She felt taken in, not by the music anymore but him. She felt his need mix with her desire as he pressed against her once more. Soon he couldn't take it anymore, he grasp hold of her hand and yanked her to follow him. She nearly fell, he pulled her so hard through the sea of people. They rubbed against her as she tried to squeeze passed them...tried to keep up with him. She knew they were going somewhere to fuck. The crowd got tighter around her but he wouldn't slow down he began yanking her arm painfully so, in that moment Genoa suddenly realized she was dreaming…

She knew who this man was...all the things he had done to her and those she had loved. Even though a part of her wanted him...desired him... she resisted. She pulled back and he pulled her harder, making it clear stopping wasn't an option. She yanked her hand back as hard as she could, breaking free of his grasp. She stumbled back and nearly fell to the floor but quickly recovered and turned. She weaved through the crowed then, trying to run, trying to get away from him. He roared out desperately pursuing her...

...

She opened her eyes realizing she'd fallen asleep under a large tree. She ran a hand over her face and got to her feet. The sky was dark, filled with smoke, embers floated through the air. She looked out at a bloody battle field, the smell of chard remains was strong. She knew it had been a massacre, she felt sick inside knowing it was him. Everywhere they went, their would be carnage and death.

A woman approached from her side, she had her hair in a high pony tail and adorned armor that was most revealing. She found she knew this woman...her name was...her name was...Gigi. She was one of the shadow man's...the masters... most devoted. Gigi spoke to her in another language but Genoa knew what she wanted. Gigi wanted her to come, the master was looking for her and expected her at once. She wanted to run but knew she couldn't, there was no where she could go that he wouldn't find her.

She followed Gigi, her vision focused and unfocused. She was oddly reminded of being under the ice...the ice from that night of her accident. For a moment, she felt split between two worlds who she was...and who she had been but in this moment she couldn't tell which was which. She recalled the ice once more being able to see day light on the other side but she couldn't break through.

Until she found those air bubbles she'd been trapped just beneath the surface. She felt like that now...felt she was trapped beneath the surface between unawake and awake. She needed to wake up...wake up and she didn't mean from this dream..dream right...she was dreaming.

Suddenly she focused on the dream once more. She was in a castle now, walking down a long red carpet. She couldn't tell if red was the color of the carpet or if it was from all the bloodshed. Light poured in though large windows as she entered a great hall.

In the distance she saw a throne and upon that throne he sat. She knew it was him...the shadow man she could feel it with every fiber of her being. His face was was covered in shadow, she could only see from his lips down. He wore golden armor and leaned on bloody double-sided axe that sat next to the throne.

She knew the throne was not his...that he had taken it...that she had helped him. Vague images of the battle, filled her head. She saw herself lifting people up with her mind only to throne them to the ground. She summed storms and made peoples lungs explode...all for him...all for him...She didn't want to serve him but knew of the things he could do….long nights...days of torture...

She stopped walking and stood a few feet from the throne. She watch Gigi approach him, she got down on her hands and knees bowing down to him before he motioned for her to rise. She took her place at his side. She saw another man was near the throne but could only see his silhouette. She moved dropping down to her knees and then pressed her forehead to the carpet. When she sat up again, the shadow man beckoned for her to come to him.

He had a wicked grin on his face...He wanted her to sit upon him...unpon it. She could see his member now as it protruded from his armor. It was long and thick, swollen with desire. Seeing it...knowing what he wanted made her tremble. Her insides ached as she rose to her feet. She knew what she was suppose to do...that she was to go to him...to obey...to submit….to give herself freely as he saw fit...but Genoa stumbled back.

She turned her back on the shadow man and ran from the great hall. She could hear him bellow, he called out a name...her name…her true name. Yet she couldn't remember it... She just kept running, knowing she couldn't let him catch her. If he caught her, he would punish her greatly for her betrayal.

...

She closed her eyes and just kept running as fast as she could hoping to escape him, escape this nightmare. When she opened her eyes, she was suddenly in a field of golden wheat. It a perfect sunny day, in the distance there was a sandy beach. She loved the beach, the water sparkled and she ran to it wanting to run along the shore. Just before she reached the water something in the distance caught her eyes.

She turned and could see a man walking. She couldn't see his face, it was blurry but she knew who he was. She could feel him, his love for her. Her heart ached as her entire body quaked, for a sliver of a moment she was overcome with a feeling of such joy. She knew what it was to love someone eternally beyond the darkness there was one of light...they would reunite. She rushed through the field, trying to reach him now. She spread out her arms and he held his own open for her, more then anything she wanted to embrace him and never let him go but alas this dream slipped from her grasp….

Suddenly she was high up in the air flying. Genoa was fully aware she was dreaming now. Yes these were all dreams...nightmares...memories of long...long ago. She took control flying up higher and higher, she found she was above a city. She looked out among the buildings and cried out, "Luka….Luka..."her words echoed out. Whenever she became lucid enough she seek him out, with all her heart she would call out to him but he didn't call back.

The sky suddenly darkened and she stopped calling out her loves name as the wind picked up. She knew he was coming….the shadow man. HE WAS HERE WITH HER NOW, IN HER DREAM! She tried to fly away but in her fears she found it hard to stabilize. She landed on the nearest skyscraper and sought out a door. She felt him close, the shadow mans consciousness pursuing her. She ripped opened a door to a stair well and rushed down it. Just a she turned a corner she dared look back and saw the silhouette of shadowy figure in the doorway.

He moved fast but she was faster, she knew she couldn't outrun him forever so she grasped hold of a fire hose mount on the wall. She made it the handle to a door opening the wall right up. She went in and tried to shut the door behind her but his hand grasped hold of it. He wouldn't let her close the door...he wouldn't let her go...not now that he was so close. His thoughts...his needs...poured into her conciousness.

She let go of the door and ran, finding she was now in a busy outside market. There were tents and stalls everywhere, her clothes had changed as well. She felt she was in another time...another place...she rushing thought the market trying to avoid hitting people as the shadow man pursued her. Sudden a large man stepped up to her, blocking her path, she stumbled back sensing Eyo...her master most trust and loyal servant.

She cried out but didn't give up, she turned and ran into a hovel of a building. She could sense Gigi again and she nearly snatch Genoa up, lunging at her. Eyo and Gigi were both trying to catch her for the master, to garner his favor. She found a ladder under a spotlight, randomly within the room. She began climbing it, Gigi continued to pursue her and grabbed at Genoa. She tried to to grasp hold of her leg but only managed to grab a scarf, that had been wrapped around it.

Genoa kept climbing the ladder until she came out a sewing chest. She shut it behind her smashing Gigi's hand. Gigi cried out but Genoa closed the lid to the sewing chest tight. It became just a sewing chest then. Genoa took a moment to rest and then looked around her to see where she was now.

She found herself in a dark Victorian mansion. It was quiet beautiful, there was a somberness to it that made her feel nestalgic, there were shadows everywhere. She wandered into a green room with various exotic plants cast in twilight. She moved about continuing to take in all the little details. She stepped into a large decorative hall and saw there was an old elevator. It hummed to life and she knew it was him, the shadwo man was coming to her floor.

She turned rushing into another room, she found a small bathroom. There was a clubbed foot bathtub, a sink and a medicine cabinet. The tile on the wall was old but the room was full of light. She grasped hold of towel wrack. The old tile cracked all the way up from the ground to the ceiling as it made a door. She saw the sink and the medicine cabinet pull away from the wall as they became part of her door. Geno slipped inside the next room and shut the door behind her. She suddenly found herself in darkness, with no place else to go. She realized it had been a trap, she was trapped.

She heard him enter the bathroom, he began pounding at the tiles. She watched crack of light pour into the darkness. She heard glass and porcelain shatter, he was like an animal, a monster, incensed with lust. She trembled knowing he was beating through the wall to get her….

At last he broke through, she couldn't see him only his silhouette, he came at her violently grasping hold of her. He crushed her in his embrace, tearing at her as he sought to ravage her. She felt his lips smash and crash, against her. She fought but knew there was nothing she could do...she could not would not escape him this time. He spread her legs and she felt him place himself. Ever so faint she could hear a sound...it grew louder and louder until she awoke.

...

It took Genoa a moment to realize a phone was ringing...it sounded like her brother's cell phone. She cackled madly to herself flopping about on the bed, her heart beat with adrenaline, she realized she'd woken before the shadow man could hurt her. She knew he'd be furious but she was free, for the moment she was safe...safe..

Genoa let out a sigh and sat up in bed as the phone rang and rang and rang. She wondered just who it was calling so early. She shuffled out of bed and into the hall, she knew how deep Harold could sleep and went to answer his phone but just as she got into the hall, he picked it up. She realized he was close, he must have fallen asleep on the couch yet again.

She heard him groggily say "Hello…who is this...What...Mick...what time is….huh...What! Really all of them!" She saw him lean forward on the couch, rubbing his eyes, "Like all of them...no...no that's great! I just...last time it took a few weeks... Yeah...that's so great..WHAT...NO...NO...We talked about this Mick, she isn't stable enough to...no….NO….I…Generous? How generous are we talking?"

Genoa moved closer as he grew quiet. He got up stretching and began pacing… She knew he did that when he was upset. She wondered just who was on the phone and what they were saying to him. She held still listened as hard as she could, "Alright…if you can find somebody to…. Maybe we can work something out! No just me, I'll go...I'll meet with them. Alright it's gotta be somewhere close...but not too close...I don't want to be gone long maybe or something like that…just give me some time to think...alright...alright"

He hung up his phone and let out a heavy sigh. He looked sad for a moment but then fist pumped his hand in the air….he was happy? Genoa was confused, was he upset or happy? Harold turned and started coming towards her. She quickly rushed back to her room. She dived into bed and curled up under the covers. Harold looked in on her a moment later.

She kept her eyes closed but open enough to just see through her lashes. He moved to where she couldn't see him, the room got darker and she realized he'd turned off the pool lights. He came back and picked her headphone and game system off the floor, he put it on her desk. He leaned back stretching and then scratched his head before he left the room

When he was gone she rolled onto her back. She wondered about the phone call for a few minutes and then recalled she'd been dreaming before she'd been woken. She tried to remember it now but it was all a haze now. She sighed and closed her eyes, thinking of the phone call some more, just who was it and what did they want?

...

Jesep woke up and found himself in a sour mood. He realized he'd only been asleep for an hour maybe two. He'd been having a dream...several dreams...they were slipping from his mind by the second, he could only recalled the last one, chasing someone, he'd gotten them and was about to fuck their brains out but they'd slipped through his hands, like smoke. He found he had a rather painful erection.

He was surprised, considering he'd just had one of the best blow job of his life. He took care of it really quick releasing the tension into some tissue next to his bed. Once he'd cleaned himself up, he sat up and stretching. He saw his tablet on the bed next to him and recalled having looked into the report Grady had sent him.

He'd vetted all of Esma's findings and Jesep now knew much more about Genoa, her birthday, the town she'd been born in, schools she'd gone to. He had news paper reports of her family's accident as well as hospital records. He thought knowing more about her would ease his obsession some and perhaps bring him some relief but alas he only found himself more invested and curious then ever.

There were inconsistencies in her accident. The car with her parents and little brother had been found nearly two weeks before she showed up a few miles from the accident, on the side of the road. He pulled out a cigarette wondering where she had been all that time, how had she survived on her own, in the dead of winter.

He cracked his neck recalling her various statements to the doctors and police, they were incoherent ramblings of a traumatized child. Her doctors suggested the accident had been to much for her to comportment. Her injuries had been another inconsistencies they were rather minor and healed up rather quickly. They ran several tests on her but nothing was conclusive.

He saw a few more doctor reports over the years, it was amazing what he could get. He saw various mentions of PTSD...paranoid, delusional, social dysfunction, medication and therapy. She was in an out of several schools until her brother pulled her out all together and home school her. From there there was some counseling, art therapy...the beginning of Apature. As Apature took off there was less doctors visits, soon all information on her disappeared under shell cooperation's and fake alias, there were years missing from the report.

He spent some time then browsing through various paintings online. He'd bought a few more of her earlier pieces in some online auctions and then must have passed out. He ran a hand through his hair now walking through his condo, he realized he was going to have to find a place to put all her paintings. He debated hanging them up right away or waiting. When he brought her to his condo...he didn't want to scare her...having her paintings everywhere might not send the best message just yet. Maybe one or two could hang up and then after he'd secured her he could put them all up.

He nodded and rubbed his head trying to think of when she might come over. After another minute, he put his cigarette out and got a drink from the fridge. His phone went off and he saw a meeting with her had been set for later that morning, a nearby coffee shop. Yes...yes...his chest swelled and he smiled. He paced for a moment thinking of all the things he needed to do to prepare. He went up stairs to shower and thought he could also use a shave and possibly a hair cut. He wanted to look his best for her, when they met again...when they met again...when they met again, he grinned repeating it to himself. She wouldn't escape him not this time...