He released the toxins into my I.V. “Sleep.” He sounded like the wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz.
“N…no… please.” I tried to slur my words as much as possible so he’d leave. I didn’t know how long the worm restraint would last. The liquid drug was shoving up against it, just waiting to enter my blood stream.
I dropped my head as if I was out cold.
I could feel him standing over me, watching. Please don’t notice, please don’t notice. I breathed slowly trying to convince him that I was properly drugged. What was he looking at? As the minutes passed by and he remained immobile I found it hard to keep up the charade from sheer terror. His presence felt like a pillar of mortifying psychosis that wouldn’t leave. Slow deep breaths. Let the sicko watch me. He obviously wasn’t looking at my worm ring or he would have done something by now which meant he was staring at me and only me. I can’t tell you how scary it is being tied to a chair; helpless, knowing some psychopath is standing within inches of you, just staring. He could slit my throat, shoot me, anything, and I wouldn’t be able to stop him.
LEAVE!!
It took every bit of strength I could assemble to keep my breathing even and normal.
Finally, he walked away. The sensation of relief I felt was so overpowering I wanted to cry. I was still tied to a chair, but having him leave felt like a physical weight being lifted off my body.
He walked up the stairs in the same slow, even pace he had walked down them. When I heard the click of the door shutting closed I wanted to scream with joy, but I knew I had to keep silent.
My mind was almost completely clear of drugs and I wanted to keep it that way. The sensation of feeling almost normal again was a high I couldn’t explain. I just wanted to get out of there.
I knew I had to be as quiet as possible. I had to assume that he would hear any sound I made. Or maybe see… There could be cameras…
On the chance that I was being watched, I lolled my head back as if I were still sleeping soundly. I peeked through slitted eyes to get a good view of my surroundings.
The ball of light that illuminated the room was, in fact, the light of a holo-camera. It wasn’t hanging like I first thought; it was resting on a six-foot tri-pod. Okay, he could see me and hear me. Good to know. The rest of the room was empty. The walls and floor were dirt, a plywood staircase was against the wall to my right, and a few roots dangled from the ceiling. My only concern would be what was beyond the door at the top of the stairs. If I managed to get that far. I couldn’t think like that. My shoes!
The realization that Ryan had put a tracer in my shoes hit me hard. The man who kidnapped me must have had some kind of detector device and that’s why he removed them. I guess I couldn’t expect help from Ryan. Maybe Jason had some way of tracking me? Oh man, I hope they didn’t think that I ran away again! Taking off the shoes would be a sure indication that I didn’t want them following me! I wanted to throw-up again and not because of the drugs in my system.
I’d have to rely completely on myself. What else was new?
I rolled my head forward feigning sleep for the holo-cam.
First things first, I needed to get this I.V. out of my arm. I made what was left of the worm slowly tug up. The I.V. popped out of my vein and the fluid poured out onto the floor. I tried to keep it situated so it appeared to still be in my arm, but there was no way to tell if I was successful.
No opening of the door, so I was probably okay.
Next, these bonds.
Cockroaches, get ready to eat.
I connected to about a few hundred dead roaches. He must have had an exterminator down here recently because I could sense from the roaches strength that these troopers were freshly killed. Better for me.
I could hear the skittering and clacking of the hard shells making their way toward me over the dirt floor. Thank goodness they were darkly colored, he would be hard pressed to see them on the holo-cam. I tried not to think about the fact that I was making hundreds of the most foul disgusting bugs crawl up the back of my chair and behind my ankles. They were chewing within seconds of my connecting to their spinning centers. I could feel their chitinous mandibles gnawing their way through the leather bonds that held me to the chair. Tiny legs tickled my wrists and ankles as I made the roaches bite and chew. Gross.
SNAP!
The leather ties securing my hands dropped to the floor. Since the camera was only pointed at my front there was no way he could see the bonds fall.
SNAP!
My ankles were free now as well.
I stayed put, still pretending to be asleep, still acting as if I were out cold.
I made the cockroaches crawl far away from me. Never wanted to do that again! I thank the little fellows for freeing me, but yuck!
Next step was to stand up out of this chair. I knew as soon as I did my captor would be down here in seconds, so I had to think of an advantage I might have over him. I knew more than I’d known anything in my life that the man that kept me hostage was a killer. And not the military type of killer who attacked Jason and I at the Virtual Reality bar, no, this was a man who enjoyed killing. It was like breathing to him. I could still feel him standing next to me, staring for ages. This was nightmare stuff.
There was nothing for it.
I stood up and smashed the holo-cam to the ground, grinding it into the dirt with my bare foot.
The room went black.
The latch sounded and the door swung open in a rush. The faint glow from the doorway was the only source of light anymore, but it was just enough to see my captor’s body hit the stairs at a run. At least I managed to make him move at a speed above turtle status.
It was terrifying not being able to see anything and knowing that this person was with me in the dark charging toward me. I moved slowly and cautiously to a corner of the room, the dirt floor hiding the sound of my footsteps.
The man was groaning in what I can only describe as ecstasy. He was enjoying this cat and mouse game. Then he pulled out his one advantage.
A flashlight.
Great.
He found me quickly with the glaring light. The brightness nearly blinded me. Like a bull he rushed at me.
I called on my little roach friends once more and made hundreds of them race across the floor and crawl up his legs, chest, arms and face. He screamed. It was the first time I sensed any fear from him, but cockroaches were harmless, he’d realize that soon enough.
I ran past him before he could grab me and practically flew up the wooden staircase. My heart was racing, my head was pounding, I didn’t know what I’d find when I ran through the door.
I could feel him brushing off the bothersome roaches. The flashlight flared in my direction as I reached the top of the stairs and ran through the doorway.
He was already on the steps, taking two at a time.
I slammed the door shut and searched for a lock on the knob, the door frame, anywhere!
Nothing.
BOOM!
The door hit me hard against my chest as he slammed it open, flashlight blinding me. I fell on my backside and tried to get back up to run.
“You’re a bad little girl,” I heard him say and his voice sounded almost pleased by that notion.
I managed to get to my feet and whirled around to run when I realized…
…I was in a small metal hallway with a steel door at the opposite end that was locked shut.
I turned around to face my attacker…
SMACK!
Ouch.
My head.
Everything went black.
Saturday September 25, 2320
“My little bug girl.” I awoke to the excited whisper of my kidnapper. “All the roaches fell to the floor when I hit you over the head.” He was beside himself with glee.
Fantastic. Now he knew my gift. At least a part of it anyway.
I tried to move, but I was strapped to what felt like a metal slab. I couldn’t see my captor. He was behind me and I could hear
his heavy breathing as if he were about to burst out in laughter. I wanted to cry in terror, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. I was stuck here with this man and he had me tied up. Again.
The room I was in was metal, no windows, one ventilation grate and no furniture except the table I was on. Florescent lights on the ceiling made the whole room a greenish hue. I barely recognized the faint outline of a door as it blended with the wall so perfectly.
I wasn’t drugged. That was an improvement at least, but the bonds that kept me strapped to the table weren’t budging. I searched the area quickly for anything dead. Only one cockroach and from its location I knew that my kidnapper was holding it.
“I didn’t want you at first. He made me take you, but now you’ll be my biggest prize of all.” He was practically heaving with joy.
My eyes welled up before I could stop it. I had never been so scared in my life. I see dead things every day. I thought it would make me tougher than this. I didn’t want to let him observe me in this state. Somehow I knew that it would only make him more excited. I tried to focus. If I was going to get out of this I needed as much information as I could from this man.
“Who made you take me?” I asked.
The man finally stepped into the light and I saw my captor for the first time. I was shocked to see how normal he looked. He was average height and weight, blond wavy hair, cut short, aquiline features, wearing a dress shirt and slacks. I would have thought he was a teacher or a businessman if it weren’t for his eyes.
They were burning with an intensity that made my heart stop. There was no doubt in my mind.
This man was insane.
Which wasn’t much of a leap considering my experience with him so far, but still, knowing I was dealing with Cuckoo might help me formulate a plan of escape.
“You know who.” He smiled manically. “He lets me do my work without interference and I help him take out the filth of this world.”
I tried not to show my fear.
Serial killer. The words played in my head like a broken record. Impossible. There hadn’t been a serial killer in over a hundred years, or at least none that the public knew about. No one wanted to risk the death sentence or life imprisonment without Age-pro. There were medical facilities for people with these tendencies to go and get help. He lets me do my work without interference…
Another form of population control sanctioned by good ‘ol Gramps.
Serial killers? How many were out there? How many innocent lives were taken by the man I’m related to? Hundreds? Thousands? More like millions. I now knew of two methods he was using, extermination with gasses and turning a blind eye to murderers. In how many other ways was he taking out the human race while the world went on thinking everyone was going to live forever? How did he keep these deaths so secret? If people knew how easy it was to die on this planet, religion would still be practiced!
A horrible thought hit me.
No one ever sees Christian Coalition towns. They keep themselves segregated from the rest of the world. Turner could have wiped them all out and no one would have ever known. Were there any left? Had he killed all the people that no one would ask about and now had to move on to the general population? Was over-population really that bad? Or was he like the man who held me prisoner, a murderer who enjoyed killing. Probably a bit of both.
The man placed the dead cockroach in my face. “Your little pet, my pet.” His creepy grin wouldn’t budge. “Bring it back to life.”
“Did Turner tell you why he wanted you to take me?” I ignored his request to get more information.
This made the man’s smile fade a little as if he were contemplating the matter. “Bring it back to life.” He changed the subject back to the roach.
“I’ll bring it back if you answer my question.” If I remembered my studies about serial killers, most of the battle would be about who was in charge. I already knew he was forced to take me as opposed to a victim he would normally choose on his own.
“BRING IT BACK!” his voice was booming and angry.
I shuddered involuntarily.
Okay. He definitely needed to be in charge, and I was too frightened to fight it.
I made the roach crawl gently up his arm and back down again into his hand. His eyes never left mine.
He smiled, “Your eyes dilate when you do that. Did you know that?”
“No,” I said truthfully.
“I didn’t want to take you,” he said flatly, and I couldn’t sense any emotion from him, good or bad.
“Then let me go.” I tried the honest approach.
“No. I don’t think I’ll do that. He’d take it all away from me if I did that.” The killer didn’t sound as if he was opposed to the idea of letting me go, only of the fact that he wouldn’t be allowed to continue his murdering spree if he did. “Besides. You’re too precious a gift to let go. It’s in your eyes. They dilate when you bring the bugs to life.”
“Yes, you told me that.” I stayed as calm as I could, hoping to talk him down.
“Is it just insects you can bring back?” he wondered curiously.
“Yes.” I lied. The less he knew the better.
“I wasn’t sure what to do with you at first, that’s why I kept you in the basement. I only take filthy girls. You didn’t seem filthy to me, but you are. You’re the filthiest of them all, I think.” His eyes widened with a thrilled kind of look. “He must have known that. That’s why he wanted me to take you.” He was talking to himself at this point, as if rationalizing in his head why Turner would want me dead.
“Turner is my grandfather,” I said just loud enough to interrupt his thoughts.
It worked. He turned to me a slight raise of his eyebrow. “Sometimes it’s hard to rid the world of filth, especially when it’s family. I understand now. He wanted it done special. It’s your eyes, you know. I take the filthy parts away from the girls so they can be pure again. Don’t you worry, I’ll make you clean.”
And the way he said it made my stomach drop.
He was going to gouge my eyes out.
And who knows what other body parts he took from girls like me.
“In time,” he said and walked over to the door. He waved his hand over a seemingly blank surface, it lit up green and the door swung outward. Walking through the doorway, he didn’t look back at me. He was planning to cleanse me forever.
The door clanked shut and I was alone once more. Well, me and the cockroach. I guess he wanted me to have company. I connected briefly to the roach and realized my captor had snapped off its’ mandible. He didn’t want a repeat of my escape from the basement. I released the roach and ran scenarios through my head. He had stripped me of any help I could rely on. Sad that whenever I was in a dangerous situation (which happened a lot these days) my only way out of them was the use of dead things. How pleasant. Well, you work with what you have, right? And right now all I had was Larry. (I decided to name my mutant roach Larry after my first pet goldfish.) Anything to keep my mind straight. If I gave into the terror I was feeling I’d be frozen and useless. I needed to do something and Larry was the only one who could help.
I tapped into Larry’s swirling core, made him skitter off the table and up the wall into the ventilation grate. That was where it became tricky. I needed to see through Larry’s eyes like I did with Bruce and the corpses at the Virtual Bar. I just hoped bugs weren’t any different than humans. I focused all my energy on Larry and his tiny little eyes and…
…I could see. And surprisingly, I could see very well. And whoa! It felt like I had a billion points of view. When I stared straight ahead I could also see behind me, beside me, above me, below me, all at once. Cockroaches have ridiculous eye-sight, who knew? Viewing my surroundings in Larry’s body I realized there was a light ahead of him at the end of the ventilation shaft. I made him run to the end of the shaft and peer through the second grating.
My captor was there, sitting at a round dining table eating a bowl of cereal. The room was
small, sparse and very orderly. No one would ever know that this was a house of a serial killer. From Larry’s angle I had to make him climb out of the grate to get a better view of the door that led to where I was. It looked like an ordinary wooden door from the killer’s side. Nothing special about it, one would think it was to a closet or to a bedroom, not to a sealed off sterilized metal prison. There wasn’t a phone in sight. I made Larry hurry back to the shaft for fear of the killer noticing him. He seemed very concentrated on his cereal, he chewed each bite over thirty times. Meticulous and methodical, there had to be some kind of advantage I could gather from that.
The Riser Saga Page 20
