by Terence West
"I know just the place. Trust me." With that, Libby piloted the car out into traffic and headed down town.
The two didn't talk on the way. Libby had turned up her car stereo and was dancing and singing along to her favorite song on the radio. Christina stared out the window at the many casinos as they passed by. The signs on the casinos advertised everything from a ninety-nine cent buffet to topless waitresses, obviously geared to pull tourists in.
Christina had only lived in Las Vegas for about a year now. She had moved out here when her dad had taken an important government job. Prior to this her father was a Captain in the Air Force. She had never really asked many questions about his new job, mostly because she really didn't care, and didn't want to be living in what she referred to as 'the sin capitol of the world'. She missed living in Colorado. It had been a culture shock moving here. She was used to living in the mountains with all the trees and snow. Every time she looked at the Nevada landscape, she cringed. She hated the sagebrush and the one hundred and fifteen degree temperatures in the summer. Oh, well, she thought to herself. In a couple of months I'll be eighteen and graduated from school, and I'll finally leave this god-forsaken state.
"We're here." Libby pulled the car up to the curb and shut off the engine. Both girls stepped out of the car into the dry heat of the Nevada summer. "Louigi's Pizza Palace."
"Louigi's Pizza Palace? Why here?"
"I was in the mood for a slice of pie, and there's a really cute waiter that works here."
Christina sighed and followed Libby into the restaurant. It was decorated in what seemed to be a mobster motif of the late twenties. All the tables had red and white-checkered tablecloths, and the room was dimly lit with green light fixtures that hung from the ceiling. Along the left wall were several booths built into the wall, and at the very back she could see through the service window the white tiled kitchen. Several ceiling fans whirred nosily above their heads. In the far corner a group of men sat at a table laughing and drinking beer. They all turned to look at the two teenage girls as the entered.
"Come on, let's get a booth." Libby grabbed Christina's hand and led her over to the first empty booth. Sitting down Libby immediately grabbed a menu and began to look it over. "I'm in the mood for pepperoni, how about you?"
Christina nodded in response. She was feeling a little guilty for skipping class, and a little uncomfortable in this place. "Can I tell you something, Libby?"
Libby looked up from her menu just long enough to answer. "Yeah, sure. What is it, girlfriend?"
Christina began to fidget a little bit. She hadn't wanted to say anything to anyone, but at the same time she wanted to make sure she wasn't loosing her mind. She started off slowly. "I haven't been sleeping well."
"We'll that's not too uncommon," Libby answered from behind her menu.
Grabbing the menu away from Libby she sat it on the table next to her. "I haven't been sleeping well ever since I moved to this state." She hesitated, "I've been having the worst nightmares."
"Probably just the shock from moving here. I've heard of people dying when they move to a different state because it's so different." Libby's voice was heavy with sarcasm.
"Get serious, Libby." Christina was now regretting bringing up the subject. "I keep having the same recurring nightmare."
Libby's interest had now been piqued. "Tell me about it."
Just thinking about the nightmare brought vivid flashes of it in to her mind. Christina cringed. "Okay," She composed herself. "They all start the same way. I'm lying in bed, then suddenly—"
"A gorgeous man walks into your room, right?" Libby began to snicker to herself. "Actually that sounds more like one of my dreams."
Christina just glared at her.
"I'm sorry." Libby declared, unnerved by Christina's stare.
"Anyway," Christina paused momentarily to see if she would be interrupted again, "I'm lying in bed, then suddenly I see a bright flash of blue light outside my bedroom window." The small hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up. "Then I'm somewhere else."
"Where?"
"I don't know. I've never seen this place before. The walls seem to be made of some kind of metal, because they are really shiny."
"Do you remember anything else about the dream?"
Christina nodded. "There's something else." She felt her throat get tight. "It feels like a hospital because I always end up lying on some kind of table." Libby moved her hand on to Christina's. She could see that Christina was visibly shaking now.
"You don't have to go on," Libby comforted her.
"The worst part is always at the very end. I'm lying naked on the table and I can't move. I can hear things moving around me, but I can't turn my head to look. Even if I could, it's very dark in the room and I can hardly see anything." Christina bit her lip to try not to cry. "Then I feel something touch my leg and slowly move it's way up my body." Libby's mouth was now agape as she listened to emotion fill Christina's voice. "I don't know what's touching me, but I don't like it. As it nears my chest, a very bright white light begins to shine in my eyes." Christina stopped. It was the last part she always hated the worst. "I start to feel like I'm drifting off to sleep. My eyelids get heavy and I have a hard time keeping them open. But just before they close I see this ... this thing." The tears began to roll down her face smearing her mascara into long black streaks on her cheeks. "It's not human, Libby. Just for a moment I see it's large head and it's big black eyes!"
Libby was shocked at how traumatic this dream was to Christina. She searched for an explanation to ease her friend's pain. "Maybe it is a person. You're just seeing them through the glare of the bright light making their face shadowed, or—"
Christina cut her off. "No, that's not it. Don't you think I thought of that? I know what I see in my dreams sound crazy, but that's what happens!" She was crying heavily now. Lifting her hands up, she placed them over her face. Both girls sat there silently for what seemed an eternity until the waitress interrupted them.
"Is everything all right here girls?"
Libby looked up. "Yeah. We're just fine, and just leaving." Standing up she reached down and put her hand on Christina's shoulder. "Come on girl. I'm gonna take you home."
Christina looked at Libby and nodded.
The car ride home seemed to take forever. Libby had turned off the radio and the only sound they could hear was the tires riding on the pavement. They arrived at Christina's house about ten minutes later. Christina's house was a tall light blue three-story house. The yard was always freshly cut and the hedges neatly trimmed. It was in a nice neighborhood, but all the houses tended to look alike. All the yards had tall trees along the front and back of the property, but you could still see the browns of the Nevada desert looming behind them. Her house was on the very edge of a new subdivision.
Libby was first to get out of the car. She walked around to the passenger side and reached in to help Christina out of the car. Slowly she guided her up the stairs to her front door. Christina dug her hand into the right pocket of her jeans and fished out a set of keys. Finding the front door key, she tried to push it into the lock, but her hands were still shaking badly. Libby took the keys from her and easily unlocked the door.
Stepping inside Libby closed the door behind them. She had been in Christina's house many times, but every time she saw it she felt like a poor girl walking into a Queen's palace. Christina's house was lavishly decorated. The floors were all a deep brown shade of hard wood. The furniture was cream colored and perfectly complimented the white interior walls of the house. Pictures of all shapes and sizes hung on the walls showing the many members of Christina's family at various stages of their lives. The front wall of the house was a gigantic picture window with light white curtains that filtered the sunlight as it flowed in, giving the living room a kind of ethereal feel.
Taking a right into the hallway, Libby moved Christina past the master bedroom and up the stairs to the second floor where her bedroom was. T
he second floor was very similar to the first except the wood floors had been replaced by a light colored carpet. Libby swiftly guided Christina into her bedroom.
Entering her room, she quickly sat Christina down on the edge of her king-sized bed. "Stay here for a sec, okay Tina. I'll go get you a cold rag."
She walked swiftly through the room, past hordes of stuffed animals that occupied every corner of the room, into Christina's bathroom. Opening one of the cupboards on the left she retrieved a small washcloth and quickly wetted it down with cold water in the sink. Walking back she found Christina now lying down on her bed.
Handing the cold rag to her, she sat down on the edge of the bed next to her, "You okay, Tina?"
Christina shook her head. "I'm tired of the dreams, Libby. I don't think I can handle them anymore." She placed the cold rag over her eyes and lay back on the bed.
"Yes you can. You're stronger than that."
Christina shook her head in a mocking gesture. "Yeah right."
Libby slid back onto the bed next to Christina. Looking up at the ceiling she noticed, for the first time, a poster of Brad Pitt with his shirt off. "What do we have here?"
"What?" Christina asked innocently.
"The poster on your roof. Isn't that Brad Pitt? No wonder you're having bad dreams." Libby began to giggle.
For the first time all day Christina tuned to Libby and smiled. "Some people have no taste I guess." The two girls laughed. It felt good.
"Sorry to run out on you, but I've got to get back to school. If I miss Anthropology one more time, Mrs. Jenkins is going to fail me." Libby sat up and turned around to face Christina. "Are you gonna be all right?"
"Yeah, I'm gonna be okay."
Libby stood up and headed for the door. She stopped just outside of it and turned around. "I'll call you tonight to check on you, okay?"
"Okay." Christina smiled at Libby.
Libby walked out the door, only to peek back in. "And by the way, I'll bring over my poster of Ricky Martin. You'll definitely have better dreams with him watching over you at night." She snickered and left.
Christina lay on the bed for a long time just allowing her mind to drift off into space. She tried not to think of anything as she held the cool damp rag to her face. The images from her dreams kept flashing in her mind no matter how hard she tried to keep them out. I have to do something to keep myself occupied, she thought.
Looking around her room she decided to turn on her stereo and listen to some music. It always had a way of calming her down. Reaching over to her nightstand she grabbed the remote and hit the power button then the play button. The music rolled out of the speakers filling her mind with nothing but images of the band performing. Lying back on the bed she slowly began to drift off to sleep. She knew she didn't face the dreams again, but she was so tired...
* * * *
Christina's mind was screaming. Her lungs and body felt as if they were on fire, but she forced herself to keep running. The crunch of the hard dirt under her feet was being drowned out by the sound of her heart pounding in her ears. The warm summer wind blew across her body giving her some relief from the hot sweat running down her face and chest. Her long blond hair was waving in the wind as she ran and her deep blue eyes were filled with terror. The night sky was empty and silent. The moon stared down unforgivingly, as if it knew what was about to happen.
Running hard across the desert she spotted a highway in the distance. I need to get out of here, she told herself. She couldn't remember how she had gotten here, but she knew she hadn't walked. Christina wore only a nightgown and she knew that she wasn't prone to sleepwalking. She didn't know why she was running, only that she was very scared, more scared than she had ever been in her life.
Just before she reached the highway, her bare foot caught on a rock knocking her sprawling to the ground. Her body hit hard against the pavement. She started to lift herself up when she felt a trickle of blood drip down from her nose. She looked at her bare foot that had caught the rock. It had a jagged cut all the way across the top and was bleeding heavily. Wiping the blood away from her nose with her sleeve she slowly turned to look behind her.
The landscape was barren except a few jagged rocks and a several patches of sagebrush. A few mounds of dirt filled her vision. She couldn't help remembering how much these looked like the sand dunes of the Sahara Desert she had seen in her schoolbooks. Then she saw it. She felt as if all her nightmares had come to life. Slowly rising above one of the mounds, she saw an ominous glowing blue light.
Lifting herself off the ground she forced herself to start running again. The cut on her foot was getting worse and the pavement was chewing up the soles of her feet. She turned to look behind her just in time to see the ball of light streak past her in the sky. Instantly stopping she gasped as the ball of light hovered silently in front of her.
The light had looked tiny when she had first seen it. Now that it was not more than ten feet in front of her she could see how enormous it actually was. It was slowly changing from a light blue to a crisp white, then back again. She could see that it was slowly rotating left to right.
Her heart felt as if it was going to jump out of her chest it was beating so hard. Trying to take in a deep breath she lifted up her arms in front of her to guard her from the ball of light. Although no sound was coming from the object, Christina could feel an intense heat emanating from it.
Her eyes were trying to adjust to the blue light in front of her when it slowly began to brighten. A wave of fear washed over her body. Her mind was telling her to run, but her body was not responding. Quickly her body began to feel tired. Her muscles ached from the run through the desert. Her eyelids became heavy and finally shut. She felt her pulse slowing and it was becoming harder and harder to take a deep breath. It became too much. She gave up fighting. Her body crumpled to the ground, her head smashing into the highway.
Christina's mind was drifting on the edge of consciousness when she began to hear a voice inside her head. "You will not be harmed," it asserted calmly. The voice sounded as if three distinctly different voices had said the same thing in unison, but she could tell that this was one voice. Calmness fell over her body as she finally succumbed to sleep. "You will not be harmed."
* * * *
Jake Silver had moved to Lake Tahoe, Nevada to get away from it all. He didn't go far enough though. He lifted his feet up on to his desk. The worn leather chair creaked in protest as he leaned back in it. Reaching to the left side of his desk, he opened his top drawer and extracted a cigar out of the humidor he kept inside of it. From the pocket of his faded leather jacket he retrieved a gold colored lighter and snapped it open. "Where did you say they found her?" He lit his cigar.
Two clients, a man and woman, both in their fifties, sat in chairs opposite Jake's. They had introduced themselves as the Andersons, Jonathan and Susan Anderson. They were well dressed, but not extravagantly. The man wore a gray suit with a blue tie. He had dark hair with gray streaks that was starting to bald on top and a full beard that was also graying.
The woman was first to speak. "On a highway about ten miles outside of Las Vegas." She was a little overweight for her height, but it was barely noticeable. She was wearing a black skirt with a white blouse. Her blond hair was pulled up with a clip. She felt her voice fill with emotion. She had promised herself that she would be strong. "She ... she was apparently beaten," she placed her hand over her mouth, trying to hold back the tears. "And raped," she hissed.
Jake lifted his cigar to his mouth and took a long puff. "How long ago did this happen?"
"About a week ago."
"And you've already come to a Private Investigator?" The couple looked at each other in silence. Jake dismissed the question. "Why me? Isn't this the sort of case the police usually handle?"
"Yes." The man spoke up for the first time since entering Jake's office. "We tried it their way. We went through all the standard police methods, which turned up nothing. Mr. Silver," he glanced
at his wife then back again, "we're tired of all the red tape and bureaucratic bull-shit. We want someone who isn't afraid to cross some lines to get what we want."
"And what exactly is it that you want?" Jake asked.
Sitting forward in his chair, Jonathan kept his voice low as he answered the question. "We want to find the son-of-a-bitch that raped our daughter and make him pay." Leaning back in his chair he continued. "We must know, Mr. Silver." He paused as he began to loose his composure. Reaching over, his wife placed her hand on his shoulder and gave him a look of courage. "Christina must know."
"Christina being your daughter?"
"Yes." Susan began to answer questions again. "She'll turn eighteen this October. She's a senior in High School. We just want her to have a normal life. We want her to grow up knowing that her parents love her very much and would do anything for her." Jake nodded in understanding. "Can you help us, Mr. Silver?"
Jake leaned over on his desk crossing both arms, cigar still smoldering in his left hand. He rolled it between his fingers and thumb before returning the cigar to his mouth. "I'm going to take this case, Mr. and Mrs. Anderson." He saw a smile light up both of their faces. "Don't get excited yet, we still have to talk about my fee. I want my usual four hundred dollar fee. That's non-negotiable. Plus you put me up in a hotel for the entire time I'm In Vegas, and—"
Jonathan cut him off, "That's fine, Mr. Silver. What ever you want. We just want to help our daughter."
Jake nodded. "Then it's a deal." The three stood up and shook hands.
Jonathan and Susan moved towards his office door. Susan stopped and turned around, "when will you be able to start?"
"One, two days, tops. I have some loose ends to take care of here before I leave. I'll fax over the necessary paper work later this afternoon." Susan smiled at Jake again, and then walked out the door closing it behind her.
Jake leaned back in his chair putting his feet back up on the desk. He was wearing blue denim jeans with a white T-shirt, a faded leather jacket and a pair of hiking boots. He rubbed his hands through his short blondish hair and closed his eyes for a moment.