Both of Zach’s wrists were sliced wide open, deep furrows revealing tendon, revealing bone. “This is what you are. Look at it, and revel in it, because this is you.” The thing dragged one razor-sharp claw through one of the gaping wounds, scraping against the bone. “Don’t you feel it? Don’t you remember how it felt slicing the steel through your skin? It was wondrous, wasn’t it?”
Suddenly, the monstrous thing was gone and Rakel stood before him again, the Rakel he knew.
“It’s going to be okay, Zach. Everything is going to be all right,” she said.
Rakel took his hand and raised it to her throat.
Zach saw there was a razor in his hand.
“I love you, Zach Regan,” Rakel said as she took his hand and pressed the sharpened steel against her neck.
Zach pulled his hand away, but Rakel grabbed the razor and slid the blade across her throat—pressing hard, cutting deep. A torrent of blood splashed down the front of her nude body.
She spoke, her voice gurgling through her ravaged vocal cords. “You can’t have her, Zach. I’ll never let you go.” Her eyes rolled back in their sockets. Sightless, ivory orbs stared at him.
Zach stumbled backward, horrified.
Rakel arched her head toward the ceiling and screamed—a terrifying, bleating sound, bubbling from her mouth and wheezing from the gaping slash in her neck.
And then, for Zach, blackness.
*
Zach bolted out of bed, covered in sweat and breathing hard.
He reached down to his stomach, expecting to find something wrong. But everything was normal. He was okay.
Fighting back a shiver, he hugged himself tightly. His room was freezing cold. Zach felt bewilderment, confusion. Usually, he could remember every single detail of his dreams, but this time it had slipped away, like murky water swirling down a drain.
*
Over five hundred miles away, Peyton Sayre sat up in bed, screaming.
She remembered a young man in her nightmare—a boy named Zach—being torn apart by a horrible beast. A beast from hell named Rakel Anders.
22
“Bye, Daddy.”
“Rake?” Her father looked up from his paper, surprised to see her. He’d worked the graveyard shift the night before and had just gotten out of bed. “I thought you were working the early shift today?”
“I talked to my boss, and she changed my schedule so I wouldn’t have to work with that guy—Zach—so often.” Rakel grabbed her coat off the arm of the couch and pulled her car keys from the left pocket.
“Good. What time are you getting off work?” he asked.
“Eight. I was planning on going to a movie with Brittany and Susan after, if that’s okay,” she said, as she slipped on her coat.
“Yeah, that’s fine. Call me if you’re going to be home late.”
“I will, Daddy.” She leaned over and kissed his forehead. “See you later,” she lied.
*
“Thanks for changing my schedule, Ms. H.”
In a hushed voice, Cora said, “It’s going to be hard to keep both of your schedules from overlapping once in a while—like tonight—but for the most part I should be able to keep him busy.”
“I’m sorry to cause all these problems,” Rakel said. “I feel bad about the whole thing.”
“Well, don’t. It’s no big deal.” Cora didn’t often get the chance to help people; usually her days were filled with counting out cash drawers, making sure the shelves were stocked, or her favorite duty, handling unruly customers. She felt like she’d actually done something worthwhile this time. “Now get to work, will ya?”
*
As Zach turned the corner toward the cosmetics counter, Cora stopped him.
“Zach, come with me for a minute. I’ve got a project for you.”
“Sure, but I was just going to say hello to Rakel—”
“Now, Zach.”
It wasn’t normal for Cora to be so short with him. He’d noticed it in the break room a few days ago when he’d been talking with Rakel, and she just did it again. He followed her to the front of the store. “What’s up, Ms. H?”
“I need you to rearrange a couple of displays on the summer aisle. They’re a mess. When you get done with that, I need you to get all those boxes at the end of the aisle over there put on the shelves.”
There was no way he could get this all done before his shift ended. But she was his boss, and he’d do his best to do what she asked. “Okay, Ms. H.”
Cora walked away. That should keep him busy.
*
Rakel waited until Cora was in the back office.
She snuck up behind Zach and placed her hands over his eyes. “Guess who?”
“Randy?”
Rakel leaned against his back, pressing her breasts against him. “Does this feel like Randy?”
“Ms. H?”
“Zach Regan!” She gently slapped him upside the head.
Zach turned around. “Oh. It’s just you.”
“Yeah, it’s just me.” Rakel put her weight on one leg, hand on hip, and smiled a half smile.
“Hey, how come they changed your schedule?” Zach asked.
“I don’t know. I asked Ms. H if she could change it back, but she said she couldn’t.”
Zach quickly glanced up and down the aisle, making sure Cora wasn’t around. “She’s acting kind of weird lately, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, I’ve noticed.” She quickly added, “So, are we still going out tonight?”
“I figure we can still go out to dinner or something.”
“That sounds good,” Rakel said. “But I’m not getting off until eight.”
“Maybe we can go grab a quick bite? Have some coffee or something?”
“That sounds fine, but do you think we can still go down to the Old Market?”
Zach thought about it for a second. “Maybe, but I don’t think we’ll have enough time to do both.”
“Why?” Her anger flashed for just a second, but she was able to hide it. “I told my dad I wouldn’t be home till late, so if you want to, we can still go.”
“Okay,” Zach decided. “We can grab a quick bite and then head downtown. Does that sound okay?”
“Sure. Why don’t you meet me over at Andy’s by the mall? That’ll save some time, and we can just leave my car there.”
“Sounds like a plan.” The change in Rakel’s work schedule had thrown a wrench in Zach’s carefully scripted first date, but it hadn’t bothered Rakel at all. What she said was true; everything would be fine just as long as they were together.
“I’ll see you at about eight fifteen then,” Rakel said. “Okay?”
“Eight fifteen.”
Rakel looked up and down the aisle to make sure no one was watching, then leaned close and gently kissed his lips. She turned and walked back toward her department.
*
Rakel picked up the phone behind the cosmetics counter and quickly dialed a number. Her friend picked up. “Hey, Brit, it’s Rakel.”
“Hey, Rake. Where are you calling from?”
“Work. My stupid cell is dead again.” And this time, it really was dead, sitting at the bottom of a storm drain where Rakel knew no one would ever find it. The sim card was in pieces in the restroom trash, too, just in case.
“You need to ask your dad for an upgrade or something.”
“Yeah, but you know how he is. Hey, do you want to go see a movie or something tonight?”
“Sure.”
“Do you want to ask Susan?”
“Yeah, I’ll text her,” Brit said. “She’ll want to go ’cause her mom’s been driving her friggin’ nuts.”
“I’m getting off work at eight, so I’ll just meet you guys over there. Save me a seat.”
“Okay. See you later.”
“Bye, Brit.”
Rakel smiled. A small, black fly crawled from her left nostril. She quickly swatted it away.
23
Zach’s mo
m greeted him when he came through the front door. “Dinner’s going to be ready in a few minutes.”
“Rakel and I are going out tonight, remember?”
“Oh,” Linda said, “how could I forget that? Where are you taking her?”
“Andy’s, over by Westview, then we’re going to Old Town.”
“What’s in Old Town?”
“Nothing. We just want to walk around,” Zach answered.
Zach’s dad piped up from the living room. “Well, be careful. The weather’s supposed to turn bad later on.”
Zach moaned. “Tonight? I thought it was supposed to be clear.”
“Channel 7 said to expect about six inches, probably heavier toward the river.”
“You mean Kitty Sabine the weather girl, right?” Linda said.
“Well, actually she’s a meteorologist.”
“Named Kitty. And she’s never wrong,” Linda said.
“Kitty is a nice name, and yes, she’s—”
“She’s gorgeous. Admit it, she could say it was going to snow peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and you’d believe her.”
“Did she say that?”
“No, you dirty old man.”
“Aaanyway,” Tom continued, “she said it was supposed to hit on Sunday night but got here early. Storms this time of year can be pretty heavy.”
“If it gets bad, I’ll turn around,” Zach said. He was glad to see his folks joke back and forth again, like they used to. Things were better now, for all of them.
Tom nodded and turned back to the evening news. A reporter was talking about an invasion and showing footage of tanks rolling across an open field. “Good Lord,” Tom said. “An earthquake in India kills thousands, the Chinese lose more than fifteen thousand to floods last week, South Africa has some sort of super-Ebola outbreak that’s supposed to kill who knows how many people, and to top it off the Israelis just invaded Lebanon again.” Tom shook his head and sighed. “Makes you wonder.”
“About what?” Zach asked.
“Oh, nothing,” Tom said. “Just seems like a lot of terrible things are happening all at once.”
Zach hadn’t paid much attention to the news since he’d fallen in love with Rakel.
“Tom, dinner’s ready,” Linda said.
“What’re we having?” Tom asked.
“One of your favorites. Whatever I make.”
“Ooh! I love that.”
*
Rakel’s shift was almost over.
“Hey, Rakel.” It was Cora. “Pretty slow evening, huh?”
“Awfully slow,” Rakel said. “I didn’t have any customers tonight at all. I took the time to get everything restocked, though.”
“Did Zach leave you alone tonight?”
“Yeah, he did.” She paused. “Thanks for keeping him busy.”
Cora smiled, pleased that her little plan had worked. “Like I said, I won’t always be able to do that.”
“It’ll be fine. I don’t think he’s dangerous or anything, just a little fixated, I guess.”
Cora had personally experienced a “fixation” before, to the point where the guy hardly left her alone. She’d felt sorry for him, just like Rakel was feeling sorry for Zach, and had made the mistake of trying to help him. The result was a rape that still scarred her deeply. She didn’t want the same thing to happen to Rakel, so she decided to give the girl a little unsolicited advice.
“Look, I agree, Zach’s a nice kid,” she said. “He really is. I like him, and he does good work. You can’t really know what’s going on in someone’s head, though. He could be harmless, but then again, he might not be.”
“Thanks for the advice, Ms. H,” Rakel said, smiling at her boss. “I appreciate it.”
“You’re welcome. Just remember what I said, okay?”
“I will.”
“What are your plans tonight?” Cora asked. When Rakel first started at Kayman’s, she was a snot-nosed, stuck-up little bitch of a girl. She was damned good-looking, and knew it. But the last couple of months, she’d changed. Maybe she’s finally starting to grow into those boobs of hers. Cora felt like she’d made a connection with Rakel, and enjoyed talking to her.
“I’m going to see that new Ronnie Mills movie over at the Twelve with a couple of friends. It’s supposed to be pretty good.”
“Ronnie Mills, huh? That guy’s a stud.”
“I know, right? I’m not sure what the movie’s about, but who cares.”
Cora laughed. “Absolutely! Could you do a quick walk-around and straighten some of the aisles for me before we close?”
“Sure thing, Ms. H.”
*
Cora was in the back office and the store was empty. No one was watching.
Rakel walked down the summer aisle and stopped at the cart Zach had been using. She slipped an item into her purse.
Ten minutes later, Rakel was on her way to meet the boy who loved her. Her friends were probably already in the movie theater, saving a seat for her just like she’d asked.
It’s going to be such a special night, she thought. I just love it when a plan comes together.
24
Zach pulled into the restaurant as the first snowflakes began to fall. Rakel was inside waiting.
“Where’s your car?” Zach asked.
“Over by the Twelve,” Rakel said. “The lot was full when I got here.”
“It’s supposed to get bad tonight,” Zach said, giving his coat a shake before draping it over the back of his chair. “It’s starting to snow already.”
“How bad?” she asked.
“My dad said about six inches.”
“Can we still go?” Rakel asked.
She sounded disappointed. “Maybe,” Zach said, looking out the window. It was only spitting. “How ’bout we turn around if it gets bad?”
“Sounds good,” she said, with a twinkle in her eye. “So let’s hurry. What are you buying me for dinner?”
“I thought you were paying.”
“Nice try, Zachy. I want a bacon cheeseburger, no onions, a small order of fries, and a Diet Pepsi.”
“Got it,” Zach said. He started to get up, then sat back down. “I’m sorry this is turning out so badly. I really wanted to take you out someplace nice, and here we are eating fast food.” He shook his head. “And the weather isn’t cooperating, either.”
Rakel reached across the table, took his hand in hers. “I want to be with you, I don’t care where. Anyway,” she added, “I love bacon cheeseburgers.”
After they’d finished eating, they walked hand in hand to Zach’s car. The snow had picked up, but it was barely sticking to the grass, and the roads looked completely clear.
“Are we still going to Old Town?” Rakel asked. She snuggled up against him, looking up into his eyes.
“If you want to,” Zach said. “It doesn’t look too bad.”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
Zach opened her door, being the perfect gentleman. It was only a thirty-minute drive from Westview to Old Town, especially with traffic, but the storm picked up in intensity as soon as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed east on Dodge. The snow was really starting to fall.
“It’s starting to get nasty. We’d better turn around,” Zach said, disappointed that his plan had gone down the tubes.
“Zach, I don’t need to go to Old Town.” She reached over and put her hand on his forearm. “I want to be with you.”
Zach didn’t catch her meaning right away, but then it dawned on him.
“We could get a room or something,” Rakel suggested.
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Zach said, a little surprised how quickly the words spilled out of his mouth.
“Why?”
“Because—” He wanted to be with her—he really did—but he wanted their first time to be more special than some hotel room.
“You love me, don’t you?” she asked.
In the dim light of a passing streetlight, Z
ach saw the hurt look on her face. “Of course I do, I just don’t—”
She leaned close, kissed his ear, and whispered, “You know you want to.”
He felt her hand on his thigh. He did want to.
“There,” she said, pointing at a passing sign. “There’s a place off the next exit.”
He was nervous, scared, and excited all at the same time. He was nineteen years old. He was a virgin. All of the guys he knew, some younger than him, weren’t. And Rakel . . . never in his wildest dreams would he have ever imagined a girl like Rakel would want to be with him.
But she did. And this was actually going to happen.
“I don’t have any . . . you know, protection,” Zach said, embarrassed to sound like such a little kid.
Rakel reached into her purse. “One of these?” she asked, holding the condom up so he could see it. “I did some planning for tonight,” she said, breathing the words into his ear. “And I’ve got other things, too.”
Zach couldn’t speak. Her voice was so different, so smoky, sexy. He couldn’t think about anything else. Her eyes, her hair, her body, even the way she smelled, it was all mesmerizing.
Zach flipped on his blinker, exited the highway, and entered the hotel parking lot. His heart was pounding as he walked through the lobby entrance and to the front desk.
He paid for a single room, and was so nervous he had trouble signing the credit card receipt. His hands were shaking.
“Are you all right?” the man behind the counter asked. He was leaning forward and staring suspiciously at Zach.
“Yes, I’m fine. It’s getting awfully cold out there.” It wasn’t the cold making Zach’s hands tremble.
“There’s a big storm brewing tonight,” the clerk said, craning his neck to look at the car.
“Yeah, that’s what I’ve heard.”
“Gonna be a bad one.”
“Yeah.” Zach handed the desk clerk the signed receipt, and stuffed his copy in his pocket.
“Checkout’s by eleven tomorrow.”
Zach nodded and quickly walked back out into the gathering storm, as the desk clerk’s eyes bored into his back.
The kid seemed awfully nervous. There was a girl in the car, so maybe that was why, not that it was his place to ask. The desk phone rang, and he moved to answer it, momentarily forgetting all about the kid with the trembling hands.
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