by J. E. Taylor
Jessica had stopped listening after the phrase a million years.
She stared into the eyes of the man on television and his name flashed in her head like a beacon.
Ty
Her dream blazed to the forefront of her mind and Jessica knew it was only a matter of time before he came looking for her.
Epilogue
“Ty?” the little voice in the mirror called. He looked up to see Eric.
“Hey,” Ty managed to say.
“You don’t look so good,” Eric said and leaned down over him.
“Don’t feel too good,” Ty said and everything started to fade to black.
Eric put his hands on Ty’s chest, closing his eyes and concentrating, pushing, projecting, sending every ounce of healing mojo he had into Ty’s body.
Pure white light enveloped the room and Ty gasped, his body arching in response to the burning sensation filling his chest, not quite pain, but nothing like what he felt earlier when Jessica released her magic. Is this heaven?
“No. It’s just me fixing you,” Eric said sleepily and the light died down around him. “You saved my mom. Thank you.” Eric removed his hands from Ty’s chest.
“No, Eric, thank you,” Ty said and reached up, messing Eric’s hair.
He blinked and he was alone in the cell. He sat up, running his hands religiously over his chest, feeling nothing but smooth perfect skin under his hand. He hopped to his feet and turned toward the mirror expecting to see his torn cheek but what he did see sapped the strength out of his legs and he collapsed. With his wide shocked eyes locked on his reflection, he crawled forward until he was within an inch of the mirror.
His image reached up with both hands, running his fingertips over his bearded face. His perfectly unscarred bearded face. The scar he had lived with for so many long years was no longer there, even on close inspection. Only perfect, unblemished skin. He blinked and looked around the room, again wondering if he might be dead and in heaven. The thought produced a quiet laugh. He wasn’t heaven bound, not in a million years.
“I’m alive. Holy shit, I’m alive.” And damn if I don’t look like the spitting image of Chris.
The first thing he did was take a shower, washing the blood and gore from his skin. He wiped the mirror and scraped the scrappy beard off his face. Clean shaven¸ he studied the reflection and a thought tingled through him.
Could he pull off one last switch?
“Jesus.” He sprang into action.
He cleaned every surface in the entire place, including turning on the sprinkler system in the room where his blood soaked the floor and then sat down at the control center, choosing four discs from the archives and dropping them into the duffel bag on the floor.
He pulled down the archive discs that had Chris in them and lined them on the counter, including the bit with Jessica. Then he accessed the original feeds based on the catalog dates and deleted each and every one of them. Erasing any record of Chris’s involvement.
The control panel, console, and keyboards were all wiped down and he rummaged through the control room gathering every item of Chris’s, throwing it into the duffel bag with all the discs, filling it to the brim.
Ty looked at the ceiling and exhaled. He needed to find the back up that Frank had and after a final look around, he headed to the elevator. On the floor next to the elevator was Frank’s eye. Ty picked it up with a Kleenex and pressed the elevator button. He held his breath as the scan light rolled over the eyeball and let it out as the doors opened. He dropped the eye where he had found it, turned the key and left behind the carnage and pain.
He opened the back door, looked around the garage, and smiled. Chris’s car was still right where he left it. He tossed the bag inside and returned to Frank’s office.
He opened the computer and the last item that had been on it, still was. It was the view of the room, the feed that Marian must have pulled up before she came barreling down with the gun.
Marian royally fucked up. He sped through the electronic back up and deleted the same records he had in the control room and erased the keystrokes in the computer memory. The last vestige of Chris’s was the fingerprints and retinal scan in the permissions file. With a few keystrokes, Chris’s name was replaced by Ty’s. Only three people now had access to the sub-basement according the file, Ty Aris, Frank Aris and Marian Aris.
He went deeper into the program, making sure his fingerprints and retinal scan was not even a shadow in the memory. Nothing the cops could trace back and when he was satisfied, he closed down the permission module and left the last gruesome shot on the computer. He unplugged the keyboard and cleaned it, careful to not leave prints when he reattached it.
He chuckled. This would give the secretary a hell of a start when she came in to turn his computer on and the authorities would have access to the back up.
The ambient time of day – between darkness and light – covered the landscape and he took it all in, driving away in his brother’s Ford Taurus after finding the spare keys under the floor mat. Some things never changed and as he drove away into the ever-lightening day, he tasted freedom for the first time in years.
He had roughly twenty-four hours before Frank’s secretary turned on the monitor. Twenty-four hours to complete the identity switch. The lock on his apartment didn’t slow him down, he, like his brother had back up. Under an overgrown bush sat one of those fake rocks, he picked it up and slid the key panel, dropping the single key in his hand. He wiped the rock with the tail of his shirt and dropped it into the dirt and then with the toe of his shoe, he pushed it back in place.
Once inside the apartment, he closed the door and reached in his pocket, slipping on latex gloves. With a deep breath, he went to work. The first place he went was the bedroom closet; he pulled open the doors and removed a couple floorboards, quickly turning the combination on the safe beneath the floor. Passports, licenses and IDs were stored away for both him and his brother. He pulled anything with Chris’s information, dropping them in a bag and then wiping down each and every piece before he put them back in the safe. Then it was time to wipe out any record of fingerprints and he covered any and all surfaces, including all the dishes in the kitchen, praying he didn’t miss anything.
The computer was next and he accessed his special network - the national database of dental records - his playground for almost a decade, forging, changing and switching records to suit his needs.
He found his records, temporarily changing the name to Ty Ryan before searching out his brother’s files. A few keystrokes and he replaced Chris’s name with Ty Alexander Aris. The mouse hovered over the save button and he exhaled.
“Sorry Chris.” With the press of his index finger, his brother’s records transformed, leaving a trail to the death of Ty Aris in the event the authorities ever found his brother’s remains.
Another flurry of activity across the keyboard brought him back to his records and his hand shook as he stared at the last update. The pointer poised on the save button and he bit his lower lip, staring at the name now attached to his files.
Christopher James Aris.
With a deep intake of air, he clicked the command, forever altering his life.
Before he closed the database, he erased any trace of the changes, any audit trail that would lead authorities back to his door and then he did the same on the hard drive, wiping out the memory of the day’s transactions. Even the most brilliant of computer geniuses wouldn’t be able to trace his actions.
Standing at the entry glancing around his cold empty apartment, he blinked back the sudden onslaught of tears. Sorrow gripped him, wrapping a tight fist around his heart. The loss of Anna and Chris and now himself diluted the overwhelming sense of freedom flowing through his skin and he sighed, turning away from the memories.
“Good-bye, Ty.”
* * * *
Chris Ryan stared out the window overlooking the Manhattan skyline of his brand new apartment. Months had gone by since he left Alba
ny.
He had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the scandal and was named the sole heir to the Aris family fortune. That kind of inheritance was heady to say the least and with more money than he knew what to do with, he tried to make good on the damage he caused.
He sold the company to the highest bidder and earmarked a large chunk to a trust fund – a victim’s fund—doling out checks to the surviving families as the feds uncovered the identities of the captives from the tapes they found.
He legally changed his name, reverting back to his original surname and escaped into obscurity, leaving the Aris family legacy and the publicity that came with it far behind.
He could see the reflection of the video playing on the screen behind him, her voice seductively flowing from the speakers.
“Tell me you love me,” she said.
He sipped his scotch and exhaled, watching snowflakes drift from the night sky.
“Someday.”
The End
ABOUT J.E. TAYLOR
J.E. Taylor is a writer, a publisher, an editor, a manuscript formatter, a mother, a wife and a business analyst, not necessarily in that order. She first sat down to seriously write in February of 2007 after her daughter asked:
“Mom, if you could do anything, what would you do?”
From that moment on, she hasn’t looked back and now her writing résumé includes more than half a dozen published novels along with several short stories on the virtual shelves including a few within eXcessica anthologies.
In addition to being co-owner of Novel Concept Publishing (www.novelconceptpublishing.com), Ms. Taylor also moonlights as a Senior Editor of Allegory (www.allegoryezine.com), an online venue for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror. She has been known to edit a book or two and also offers her services judging writing contests for various RWA chapters.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children and during the summer months enjoys her weekends on the shore in southern Maine.
Visit her at www.jetaylor75.com
If you liked SURVIVAL GAMES, you might also enjoy the other titles in the Games Series, also available in a boxed set:
SURVIVAL GAMES (Book 1):
Until he snatches sexy stock jock Jessica Connor, Ty Aris happily followed his stepbrother’s orders, producing some of the most coveted black market porn and snuff films on the street. But the day he grabs her in the parking lot, his life becomes a living nightmare.
Jessica foils his plans, fires his passion, and frustrates the hell out of him. She never gives in to his demands, his pleas, or his desires, and yet a psychic bond claims his soul and melts the iron walls around his heart. His obsession sparks a fierce rift when Frank wants to start filming. Ty stalls with any and every excuse in the book, fueling Frank’s fury, but he knows it’s only a matter of time before he loses this game.
With the clock ticking, he scrambles for escape options.
Options that won’t land him in jail... or worse... a captive in Frank’s sadistic prison.
“I rarely write a review, but this one kept me up nights. Nightmarishly delicious without a hint of shying away from the seductively scrumptious flavor from one page to the next. Horror, torture, hate, fear, and sensuality. This story has a little bit of everything in it with the grim intensity of eliciting these emotions in the reader.” Amazon 5 Star Review by Anna
“I was a little hesitant getting this trilogy. I read all the time - Grisham, Koontz, Clancy, and many more authors. After reading the reviews, I decided I would give the books a try, partly because of the price for all three books. I was blown away! You definitely have to keep an open mind but loving and hating the villain is something that is impossible for an author to do. You want them caught, prosecuted - no matter what catch them - but the author made me hate him, love him, cry for him even laugh out loud. I couldn't put it down until I was finished with all three. If you don't read these books it's a loss - very much a page turner.” Amazon 5 Star Review by Hard To Please for the Games Trilogy(Survival Games, Mind Games and End Game).
This book is for sale to Adult Audiences Only. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes, graphic language, and violence that may be considered offensive by some readers.
MIND GAMES (Book 2):
Chris Ryan doesn’t understand why he’s alive. By all accounts he should have died in the prison he and his step-brother created. Dying screams and the ring of gunshots still haunt his dreams and to make matters worse, five years hasn’t erased his passion for Jessica Connor.
She left him bleeding on the cold concrete floor, escaping the prison that held her for close to a year. Semi-conscious and close to death, his gaze fell on an apparition of her son and white light filled his skin, healing his wounds and giving him a second chance... and to this day that power still rages within him.
Haunting visions of her daughter’s death drive him out of hiding and he shows up at her doorstep with the intent of giving her the power he safeguarded all these years. But his good intentions fall short when they realize he led the vengeful spirit of his step-brother straight to her.
Cancer is no longer their biggest worry, now Chris and Jessica must battle a ghost hell bent on destroying all of them.
This book is for sale to Adult Audiences Only. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes, graphic language, and violence that may be considered offensive by some readers.
END GAME (Book 3):
Chris Ryan has everything he's ever dreamed of: the love of a beautiful woman, two amazing children, an obscene amount of money and mystical powers beyond his wildest dreams.
His perfectly planned Valentine’s Day proposal hits a speed bump when Jessica receives a call from her ex-husband and agrees to attend the premier of his movie in New York City. A movie Chris isn’t so sure he wants to see, especially on the same night as his wedding.
Sharing the spotlight with her ex becomes the least of his concerns when three thousand miles away on the sunny coast of California, a scorned woman activates a contract on Jessica.
He lands in the cross hairs between an endless trail of assassins and his wife, fending them off and vowing revenge on the crazy bitch who set them loose. But his valiant efforts crumble in a near fatal hit, leaving him on the brink.
In the dark plane between life and death, Chris is given a choice: Save his family or save his soul.
This book is for sale to Adult Audiences Only. It contains substantial sexually explicit scenes, graphic language, and violence that may be considered offensive by some readers.
Coming Soon – Fallen – the Prequel to the Games Series
Ty Ryan’s downward spiral started the day his mother met Jacob Aris.
An unexpected romance between the emergency room nurse and the multi-billionaire plunges Ty into the wealthy world of entitlement, secrets and lies.
When tragedy strikes, leaving Ty and his siblings at the mercy of Jacob Aris, Ty is powerless to defend against the old man’s rage. Each random beating chips away at Ty’s sanity, leaving him vulnerable to his stepbrother’s master manipulation.
If you liked THE GAMES TRILOGY, you might like the Steve Williams Series (available in a full boxed set as well as individual titles):
DARK RECKONING (Book 1):
A sadistic killer stalks the secluded college town of Brooksfield, New Hampshire. With bodies piling up and rumors of the murders being part of sacrificial hazing rituals, the FBI plants Special Agent Steve Williams in a fraternity at Brooksfield University. His investigation takes a ninety degree turn into the bizarre when he’s introduced to Jennifer, a clairvoyant co-ed who swears the killer isn’t human.
Steve considers the plausibility of the extraordinary, the unspeakable, even the inconceivable, when his notebook starts bleeding cryptic messages. Messages that indicate Jennifer is at the heart of the darkness in Brooksfield.
When she describes her latest vision, a trail of violent deaths, including his, Steve asks the million-dollar question:
&
nbsp; Is Jennifer trying to help... or is she actually the one responsible?
“J E Taylor writes a thrilling and engaging paranormal horror, “DARK RECKONING”. The absorbing, fluid plot builds slowly towards its divergent terror-driven climax. I do love a great horror story, so I’m adding this beauty to my ebook collection. Marking it for a repeat read too.” Pamela Jenewein – Romance At Heart Reviews
"J.E. Taylor has penned a tale of terror worthy of Lovecraft. The strong characters, edgy atmosphere, and unflinching narrative hooked me from the first and kept me riveted all the way through to its horrifying conclusion - a solid piece of storytelling!" Ty Drago, Editor of Allegory and author of PHOBOS
“I loved DARK RECKONING - always had a soft spot for demon type horror/thrillers and this is fabulous. Just the right mix of terror and calm so I didn't have a heart attack while reading but came close! Excellent read for anyone who loves horror and a good love story.” Cat Connor author of killerbyte and terrorbyte
VENGEANCE (Book 2):
Living large in New York City as a corporate lawyer for the most savvy drug lord on the East Coast, Special Agent Steve Williams carefully plots Charlie Wisnowski's downfall. His plans go to hell when his wife Jennifer survives an attack by a serial killer. With her life in jeopardy and his undercover guise threatening to unravel, he orders Charlie’s arrest. But the sting goes woefully wrong and Steve becomes the target of a mafia assassin hired by the biggest crime boss in America.
