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 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 lay 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 and kill her as he had killed her entire village. Her family, her friends and 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, lightly dragging it across her skin. He cut away her clothes and came at her. She cried out and tried to fight him. She wanted go escape but there was no escape 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 woke 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 that 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 dress, he began to lift it. She could feel the thin 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 there 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 by him. She felt his need mix with her own 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. She tried to keep up with him, knowing 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 and 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 get away from him. She could hear him roar as he desperately pursuing her.
Genoa groaned waking up. She had to pee. She got up and went to the bathroom. When she was done she got something to drink and wandered around the condo a little. Harold had fallen asleep on the couch again. She put a blanket over him then went back to bed. It didn't take her long to fall back asleep.
In her dream 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 and embers floated through the air. She looked out at a bloody battlefield. The smell of charred remains was strong. She knew it had been a massacre, she felt sick inside knowing it was him. Everywhere they went there 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 as her vision focused and unfocused. She was oddly reminded of being under the ice...the ice from her accident. For a moment, she felt split between two worlds, who she was now and who she had been. Right now she couldn't tell which was which. She recalled the ice again, being able to see daylight and blurry shapes on the other side. She hadn't been able to break free until she'd found those air bubbles. She felt like that now. She felt like this whole time she'd been trapped just under the surface, between two words...two states of being. She needed to find a way to break through. She needed to fully awaken and she didn't mean from this dream.
Dream? Wait! Right she was dreaming! She suddenly focused on the dream once more. She was in a castle now, walking down a long carpet. She couldn't tell if the carpet was red or just soaked with bloodshed. Light poured in through several large windows as she entered a great hall. In the distance she saw a throne and upon that throne he sat. Her master! She knew it was him! She could feel it with every fiber of her being. His face was covered in shadow, she could only see from his lips down. He wore golden armor and leaned on a bloody double-sided ax that sat next to the throne.
She knew the throne was not his...that he had taken it and that she... she had helped him. Vague images of the battle filled her head. She saw herself lifting people up with her mind only to throw 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...endless days of torture.
She stopped walking and stood a few feet from the throne. Genoa watched Gigi approach their master. She got down on her hands and knees then bowed before him, pressing her head to the floor. He motioned for her to rise. Gigi got up and took her place beside the master. Genoa saw another man was near the throne, standing just behind it. She couldn't make him out only his silhouette. She knew it was her turn to bow before the master. She reluctantly dropped to her knees and then pressed her forehead to the carpet.
When she sat up, her master beckoned for her to come to him. He had a wicked grin on his face. He did not want her to stand beside him but fall before him. He wanted her to sit upon him...upon his cock. She could see it was out protruding from his armor. It was long and thick, swollen with desire. Seeing it and knowing what he wanted made her tremble. Her insides ached as she rose to her feet. She knew what she was suppose to do. She was to go to him and give herself freely as he saw fit, but Genoa stumbled back.
She turned her back on her master and ran from the great hall. She could hear him bellow, he called out 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 ran 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 in the field.
She couldn't see his face, it was blurry but she knew who he was. She could feel him and his love for her. Her heart ached as her entire body quaked with excitement. 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 light! She sought to reunite with her love and rushed to him. As she got closer, she spread out her arms and he held his own open for her, more than 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 fear she found it hard to stabilize. She landed on the nearest skyscraper and sought out a door. She felt he was close. He would be upon her at any moment. She ripped opened a door to a stairwell 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...still she knew she couldn't outrun him forever so she grasped hold of a firehose 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 consciousness.
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 and place. She rushed 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. YES! That was his name! He was her master most trust and loyal servant. He'd been the one she couldn't see standing behind the throne earlier. He was clearly visible now and he...was...not...happy. She feared him almost as much as the shadow man.
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 snatched 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 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 quite beautiful. There was a somberness to it that made her feel nostalgic. 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 shadow 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 the towel rack. 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. Genoa 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 a 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 breaking down the wall to get her. After a few more hits, he manged to get 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 crash, against her. She fought but knew there was nothing she could do. She 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 thankfully awoke.
It took Genoa a moment to realize a phone was ringing. It sounded like her brother's cellphone. 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. SAFE!
Genoa let out a sigh of relief as she sat up in bed. The phone kept ringing and she wondered who could be calling this early in the morning. The fact that they kept calling didn't bode well. Perhaps something important had happened! She shuffled out of bed and into the hall. She knew how deep Harold could sleep sometimes and went to answer his phone. He was still fast asleep on the couch. She looked for his phone on the coffee table but didn't see it. She realized he must have still had it on him. She started searching his pockets and he woke up, grabbing her arm.
Before he could even ask what she was doing she answered, "Phone! Your phone has been going off like mad."
He let go of her arm and patted himself down looking for his phone. He found it and groggily answered. "Hello…who is this? What? Mick, what time is….huh...What! Really, all of them?!" He sat up on the couch suddenly excited by something. He rubbed his eyes. "Like all of them? To one person? Really! Wow! No, no that's great That's great!" He said getting up from the couch. "Yeah I'm amazed. No I just last time it took a few weeks. Yeah, that is so great. I'll have to tell her."
"Tell me what?" asked Genoa excited.
He put his hand up and she knew he didn't like to be bothered while he was talking on the phone. She groaned knowing she would just have to wait. He went on "Yeah okay, Wait! What's that? What? No. NO!" Genoa titled her head. Her brother went from ecstatic to grumpy real fast, "We've talk about this Mick! She isn't…" he paused. He looked at her then turned his back to her and whispered, "Stable enough," Like turning his back had shut off her eyes. She crossed her arms getting grumpy herself. Clearly something was going on. "No Mick, No. I- generous? How generous?"
Genoa moved closer as he grew real quiet. He seemed conflicted as he stepped away and began to pace. She knew he did that when he was upset. She wondered what Mick was saying to them. He was their agent well her agent. He sold their paintings. So something must have happened. She thought it was good news at first but now from the way Harold was acting she didn't know. She held very still and listened as hard as she could, "Alright. I can do it. If you can find somebody to- Maybe we can work something out! No just me, I'll go. I'll meet with them. Alright but it's gotta be somewhere close, but not too close. And I don't want to be gone long maybe or something like that could work. Just give me some time to think about it okay. Alright. Alright. Yeah, thanks, bye."
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 suddenly happy again? Genoa was so confused. Harold turned and started coming towards her. She didn't like the expression on his face...something felt off about all this. She suddenly felt overwhelmed. She quickly rushed back to her room, dived into bed and curled up under the covers. He followed after her but sighed when he saw she was hiding,
"Okay," he said "We'll talk about it later. Get some more sleep and I'll make us a big breakfast, when you get up."
She didn't like that. He didn't make a big breakfast unless something serious was up. She stayed quiet and still until he left then she came out from under the covers, She rolled on her back and let out a heavy sigh. She shouldn't have run off. She wasn't a child anymore and wanted to know what had happened but part of her also didn't want to know. She bit her lip wondering what it might be. Perhaps something to do with her paintings but why would Harold need to go out for that? They usually made all the arrangements online or Mick would come over and discuss things with them.
She sighed again, thinking she'd get up in a few minutes but she was still pretty tired. She ran her hand over her face then recalled her dream. It was a bit hazy now but she recalled being chased by the shadow man. He'd nearly gotten her to! If not for the call it would have been really bad. It had been close a little too close! She couldn't help but think the winds had shifted and something big was on its way.
***
Jesep woke up in a fowl mood. He realized he'd only been asleep for a few hours. He'd had several strange dreams. They were slipping from his mind by the second. He could only really recall the last one. He'd been chasing someone and had finally gotten them. He was about to fuck their brains out, when suddenly they'd slipped from his grasp like smoke. He knew it was just a dream but he found himself agitated as he had a rather painful erection.
He was a bit surprised, considering he'd just had one of the best blowjobs of his life. He quickly took care of it, 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 and schools she'd gone to. He had newspaper 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 than ever.
There were inconsistencies in her accident. The car with her parents and little brother had been found nearly two weeks before she'd showed up almost a county over, 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, especially after the accident?
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 too much for her to comportment. Her injuries had been another inconsistency. 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, delusions, 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 she had some counseling, art therapy...the beginning of Apature, no doubt. 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 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 as he walked 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 then 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 with excitment 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 haircut. He wanted to look his best for her, when they met again. When they met again! When they met again! He sang it like a fool repeating it to himself. She wouldn't escape him, not this time...
|
