Hell's Gate: Awakening - Book One

by C. A. Greyson

  She winced, as Sally hadn't moved from the doorway. Jesus, did the lady have an ounce of tact? Glaring, Sally opened her mouth to speak, but Celeste quickly interrupted, "I'm sorry I woke you and your family, Mrs. Henderson, I’ll try to keep it down." Nodding, she gave Sally her best 'I'm sorry' look and pulled the door toward her. Sally, like Celeste knew she would, put her foot in the way. She always had to get that last word in. Celeste yearned for the polite neighbors in Japan. No one would have dreamed of behaving this way, let alone keep doing it.

  "Well, alright,” she boomed, “Can't be too careful these days, what with all the murders going on." Sally ran fingers through her frizzy hair, her eyes darting outside, then back to Celeste conspiratorially. The curls took on a life of their own as the copper strands bounced around Sally’s face. She had that kind of hair you wanted to reach out and touch. Her light mood darkened as Celeste thought about the local. Now it made sense, the neighbors weren’t just concerned about a scream. They thought─ oh god. Now she really felt awful. She made a mental note to write an apology to everyone, maybe send them something.

  The deaths were a great shock to the local community. It was all her students talked about on campus anymore. Every time she turned on the news it seemed like there was another murder. So far they had uncovered seven bodies. Were they ever going to catch this guy? All the victims shared the same appearance─ dark hair, younger, and petite. The main connection was how they were murdered. Each was found in some type of water and drained of blood. It sounded like some sort of lame vampire flick.

  When Celeste didn’t respond Sally cleared her throat and added, "I just wanted to make sure, you know?" She paused and peered over Celeste's shoulder, looking inside. Sally dwarfed Celeste with her large German frame. She was solidly built, but lumpy, like a sack of potatoes. Her eyes, though a vivid blue, were much too small and set close together. She appeared to be in her late forties, possibly early fifties, but wore clothes that no self-respecting sixty-year-old would touch. She looked like something straight out of a bad 70's film. Sally was a bear of a woman, but honestly, it didn’t take much. Celeste was the stereotypical Japanese build. But that's where it ended. Her features were a blended with large, expressive brown eyes. She had a more round nose, yet a petite jaw line. Her hair was a soft black, almost brown, and her skin a peachy-white. She was tormented maliciously in Japan, they called her half-breed. It was something Celeste was very self-conscious about.

  At least when she had moved to the States with her adoptive parents, kids had been slightly more forgiving.

  Her adoptive mother, Kotone, had shared a little about her past. Celeste had always assumed that an American soldier had fathered her, or a European man. She long came to the conclusion that she probably brought shame to her real mother─ so her biological mother had given her up for adoption. All she could do was guess, she had never known the truth. Celeste had the kind of frame that people found adorable. If only they knew how annoying it was to have to use a step ladder every time she needed something. Forget trying to see anything at a concert.

  She stared at Sally, sizing her up. The old minx would have put Nancy Drew to shame. She may have looked frumpy, but that’s where it ended. Sally had that keen sensibility about her, the kind that missed nothing. Celeste noticed that the old woman had checked both her shoe rack, and the coat hanger at the front door. And while, she definitely appreciated it this time, she didn't normally. For as long as she could remember, Sally was at her front door snooping around and asking questions about her life. Especially about John. He had a tough exterior, but was gentle as a kitten. It was a shame that people had the habit of only seeing with their eyes. She forced a grin, and bowed, “Thank you again for your concern, Mrs. Henderson. I am fine.” Saying good night and apologizing, she firmly closed the door.

  * * *

  Adagio in D minor blared from her speakers as she turned down Ross Avenue. The warm air felt wonderful against her cheeks. She had been running errands all morning for her father. Celeste snagged a spot between two cars and walked into her favorite coffee shop Downtown. A double espresso with a shot of vanilla was calling her name. She smiled, thinking about the date that she and John would get to go on tomorrow night. They had purchased tickets months ago to go see Beethoven’s Triple Concerto at The Meyerson Symphony Center. She handed the waiter an extra tip and grinned at their surprised face. Sometimes she left a 100% tip, knowing that most of the people at the shop didn’t even make half of what she did in a year. To be fair, she hadn't always thought that way, but after several years of hearing stories from her students (many of which worked in the service industry), she had a swift change of heart. It wasn't much, but, it was something. She braved the cold again and lifted her scarf up to her nose, blowing hot air into the fabric. Just as she dipped into the driver’s side and pulled on her seat belt, her phone went off. She pulled it from her purse and frowned at the screen. Daddy.

  “Hey, I told you I was on lunch, what’s up?” She asked briskly.

  “Girl, don’t you take that tone with me. You’re not too old to bend over my knee.” She chuckled and softened her voice.

  “Sorry, it’s been a rough day.”

  “You take a rest as soon as you drop the contract off at Benson’s place, OK?”

  “I will, Daddy.” She answered, “So, what’s going on? Why did you call?” She took a sip, and sighed at the warm, bittersweet flavor.

  “I wanted to talk with you about John.” She tensed, squeezing the phone between her fingers.

  “Dad─”

  “Just, hear me out.” He interrupted.

  She sighed and put the cup into the cup holder. “Fine,” she snapped. His words came out annoyingly gentle, “Honey, listen. I know you really like this boy. But there are some things you need to understand.” She rolled her eyes at his tone. “Daddy, I’m twenty-three years old. Come on, didn’t we have this conversation when I was, like─ sixteen?”

  “Celeste.” His tone quieted her. “I’m through playing around. You know as well as I do that I married for love. And I could care less if you found your prince charming driving for pizza hut.” She ground her teeth and glanced out the window. A kid waved as his mom pulled up next to her. She smiled, waving back.

  “What I mean to say is,” she cringed, realizing that he was probably pacing. She was fairly certain there was a groove that ran parallel to her father's desk. She knew that pause, all too well. “Baby, this boy is different. I don’t know how else to say it to you. He’s going to─” “Hurt me?” She finished. Her voice took on an aloof tone, and she fought to keep control. His voice shot out, “Girl I am trying to get you to see reason. When you first brought him in, I told you no. I have my reasons.” He finished. “Yes,” she quipped, “reasons you’ve failed to enlighten me on.” She went rigid, gripping the steering wheel. “Daddy, did you─” she trailed off, not wanting to anger her father further. She swallowed and then continued, “Are you spying on him?” His silence said it all. “You are, aren’t you?” Her voice raised several octaves. He answered softly, “Celeste, please─” She hung up the phone and threw it into her purse. Why was she not surprised? It was just like him. She whipped into traffic and sped onto highway 75.

  Celeste climbed the stairs to her living room and gazed longingly down the hall. Bed sounds so good right now, she thought as she shuffled across the room. Thankfully, Benson hadn’t been too demanding. Normally she would have to explain things to him for hours, but today his lawyer was there. She thought about turning in for the night, but changed her mind, and sank into the couch. She flipped on the T.V. And went straight to Netflix. Totally binge watching that new crime series, she thought. Today had really taken a turn for the worse. Why did her father insist on meddling with her love life? John had his faults, but he wasn’t some deranged killer. Celeste picked up her phone. Two missed calls. She sighed, seeing her dad’s number both times. It was only ten, maybe John was still awake. She giggled and pulled her
self up from the couch completely forgetting about watching the show. She rummaged through her closet until she found his gift. It was a black rabbit hat with long ears, and pink lining. She snapped a picture of herself as she gazed big eyed at the screen, forming a pouty face. She drew little pink hearts on her picture. Miss you, she captioned at the bottom. Perfect. Giddy, she sent the pic, waiting for his response.

  She set down the phone and crossed over into the kitchen. Celeste filled a teakettle and set it on the burner. Opening the pantry, she leaned down and scanned all the different tins. Her eye caught chamomile and she grinned as the chime went off on her phone. She hastily dropped the tin on the counter and skipped toward it. Curling up on the couch, she gripped the phone and pushed the home key. Celeste frowned at the unfamiliar sender. Sender5hi has sent you a snapPic. That’s strange, how were they sending her something? She scanned her friend's list and frowned. No one that she knew was listed with that username. She pressed down on the sender’s name, waiting for the picture to appear. It was incredibly blurry. She squinted at the photo as the seconds ticked by. It only allowed you to view it for ten seconds and the photo was really dark. Her face got closer to the screen. It looked like a driveway. The image disappeared and she pursed her lips. What was that? More importantly, whose driveway was it? She rubbed her arms and glanced uneasily at the front door. Had she remembered to lock it? Celeste tiptoed over to the top of the stairs and peeked down at the front door, the breath she had been holding escaped. Thank god.

  Still. She walked over to the panel by the stairs and turned on the alarm. Better safe than sorry. Someone hacking her account wasn’t anything new to her. It had happened a few times. She would have to change the account again and give John the new one. Why couldn’t people just leave her alone? It took thousands of dollars, just to hide where she lived. There had been a huge scandal at Daddy’s company a few years ago. Her Father had been tormented by it ever since. It was nothing that he could have controlled. None of them could─ but it hadn’t made him feel any less responsible. She sighed to herself. She really needed to call him back and apologize. After all, he was just thinking of her best interest. She knew that. But she just couldn’t stand the way he treated John. After all, he wasn’t a bad guy. He was just─ reserved.

  Her mind returned back to a few years ago. One of her father’s employees, a man that had just gotten his job, had thrown himself from the roof after being cut from the company. They were going through a rough patch, and had to let some of the new hires go. She knew Daddy was just following normal procedure, and had genuinely felt bad. He had stayed up the entire night, dreading the talk he would have to have with fifty of the employees the next day. Most of them had understood and accepted their severance package.

  Not Don. She still could remember his warm eyes, and the fiery red hair that matched his spirit. He had been searching for three months to find work before daddy had found him. That man had worked his fingers to the bone. His wife had passed earlier that year, and he had lost his job shortly after that. Daddy had talked proudly about how promising an employee he was. When the time came, her father had fought hard to keep Don on board, but upper management wouldn’t agree to it. Even after Scott had offered to cut his own pay. It was just business, they said, maybe next year we can bring him back on. It still choked her up. The man had left behind a young boy. Celeste’s father had taken full responsibility for it and took care of the funeral. The child that was left behind had family in upstate Louisiana, so Scott had flown with him and saw to it that the boy had a proper fund set up. He still called every now and then to check up on him Clayton, if she remembered correctly. Little Clay. The press, of course, had had a field day. It had stopped for a while, and she had been hopeful that the public had lost interest. Maybe she was wrong. Two more chimes sounded. Her hands shook visibly as she picked up the phone. Don’t. Ignoring her silent warning, she pressed and held down her finger to look at the first picture. This time, it was between two buildings. It was hard to make out, but then she saw it. The white camellia’s in her back yard. She snatched the curtains shut and ran into the kitchen, hiding.

  She gripped the phone and pressed the next image. Celeste knew she shouldn’t be entertaining them. She should just call the police, but she wasn’t about to let some idiot with a camera phone spook her. It’s just a prank, some college kid getting a thrill, she reassured. The picture came into view, and she gasped. It was a video of her walking across to turn on the alarm. The phone fell from her hand and she gripped her mouth. They were right outside. Celeste scooped up her phone and quickly dialed 9-1-1. Before she could press send, the screen lit up and a message appeared. She clicked on it, and let out a huge sigh. It was John standing outside of her front door. He had a pouty face and it was captioned, It’s cold out here. Oh that─ that, asshole. Celeste stormed down the stairs and ripped open the door.

  “You better have a damn good reason for─” she was cut off as he swept her up in a hug. His lips hungrily found hers, as he closed the door with his foot. He only paused between kisses to bend down, lock the door, and pick her up. She sighed, her anger melting away. He was halfway up the stairs when the alarm sounded. They laughed as her phone went off. She answered, giving them the code that let them know it was a false alarm. I’m sorry, he mouthed. She threw the phone to the ground and wrapped herself around him. Their clothes were peeled from one another, as they walked in tandem down the hall. Each too lost in the others’ tangle of arms and warmth.

  2 Anata, Dare?

  She groaned as the little chirps filled her room. She flicked her hand across the screen to turn on snooze and rolled over to snuggle John. Her arm found pillow and she cracked open her eyes to find an empty space. Celeste sat up, rubbing her eyes. Where was he? She looked around and relaxed when she saw his wallet and keys. Then the most delightful smell hit her nose and she sighed, snuggling into the blankets. For once, he was making breakfast. That sounded wonderful, until─ she sat up and tilted her head to the side. Had she ever really eaten his cooking? She made a mental note to force it down, no matter how bad. It smelled tasty, that was always a good sign, right? She stretched and reached for the nightstand. Grabbing the remote, she flicked on the TV─ Nothing like yoga in the morning. She started with sun salutation, went down to a plank and was just bending into downward dog when John walked in.

  “Oh, that’s nothing like what we did last night. Can we try that?” Without skipping a beat, she pulled her right leg under her and went back into sun salutation. “You wish.” She quipped. He set the tray of food down on her bed and stalked toward her. The slow grin crept along his face as he slunk in a crouched position. “John─” “Shh, ” he purred, “Let us just live in the moment─ you, me, and the yoga.” He drew the word yoga out like it was a tasty morsel. She didn’t get a word out, he pinned her to the floor, turned her over and pinched her butt. Giggling uncontrollably, she fought to turn back over. She cursed herself for telling him about her one ticklish spot. He laughed, and then finally relented as she crossed her arms and huffed at him. He plopped down in front of her, crossing his legs. In one quick motion, he reached up, and pinched her cheek. “Awake and ready for breakfast?” He grinned. She lost it and laughed for several seconds. He always knew how to get her in a good mood.

  * * *

  After breakfast, John had left to take care of a client for the day. He was selling a big piece today, a sculpture that he had spent the better part of three months on. It made her sad to see him go, but it gave her time to get ready. She loved wearing pants, but there was just something amazing about slipping into a dress. Especially, a fine dress like this one. It was a rare that she got to dress up, but when she did it was typically a charity event, or part of a business arrangement for her dad’s work. Nights like these were something to just look forward to─ it made her feel so feminine. Celeste had purchased a 1960’s pea coat to go with her Priscilla dress. It was made by a company that designed their clothing after vintage dr
esses. The one she chose was a deep blue with long sleeves and a pencil skirt style fit. The dress plunged pretty low, even for her, but this was a night she wanted to look good for John. It was pretty tight, but she loved the way it hugged her curves. After showering, she walked down the hall to the kitchen. She was halfway across the living room when she paused in mid-stride. She stared out of the window, peering down at the open field and lush gardens surrounding the property line. It was more of her father’s handy work. She often wondered if he doted on her because of the adoption.

  Her mother had been a frail, sickly woman unable to bear children of her own. All Celeste had known from her past was that she was adopted in Tokyo, and that she was abandoned. She was barely four years old at the time. Her investigations and research had all came up empty. Celeste had tried for years to find her biological parents, but finally gave up trying two years ago. If it was one thing Celeste learned, it was that fate had a way of showing her things when It wanted to. If she never knew her parents─ so be it. Her foster parents loved her as their own, and that was all she ever needed.

  Celeste remembered the move to the US with her new family. It was a long and scary trip to New York, but Mama and Papa made her feel like all was right in the world. Anytime she had tried to protest their gifts, they would simply wave and laugh. Celeste smiled as she heard her Father’s booming voice, “As far as I'm concerned, you are my flesh and blood, child. Never forget that.” Her adoptive mother, Kotone, was a native of Japan and kept Celeste fluent in their language. Mama told stories of Kyoto and explained that she later moved to Tokyo for a career change. That's when she had met Scott, her father. He had arrived from overseas on a business trip when he first stumbled across Mama in NHK Hall in Tokyo. Celeste would sigh in contentment as she listened to the story of how they met.