by E. S. Hart
“This is, Max, my friend," Jake introduced, "if I were you I would lay back down and stop looking like you want to do me harm. As you can very well see Max is very protective of me.” The man warned her in a gentle tone.
Simone knew there was no way she could fight this man in her present condition, and it especially didn't help that he had a dog with the mentality of a *"Cujo". She slowly lay back on the bed taking his advice. She wasn't sure if it was the threat of the dog or her own throbbing head but she figured, either way, she might as well listen to this man. As things stood right now she didn't have much choice. She wasn't strong enough to fight him or his protective dog. So right now she just had to go along with whatever the set up was here and try to figure out a way to get in contact with the outside world.
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*Cujo is a 1981 psychological horror novel by Stephen King about a rabid dog. The novel won the British Fantasy Award in 1982, and was made into a film in 1983.
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CHAPTER 4
Simone lay in the room wondering just what was going on here. Her mind kept drifting to stories she had heard or read in the past. One of these was the *"Phantom of the Opera" about a masked man who had been in love with a beautiful songstress which had somewhat of a romantic feel to it. But she couldn't help but think that this was more like that Stephen King book called *"Misery". She tried to brush that thought out of her head because so far this man only known as Jake hadn't tried to harm her in any way if anything he had been caring for her. He had saved her life which was something he didn't need to do. Also, when she looked into his eyes she didn't see anything menacing; far from it. There was a gentleness there; a warmth that …………………………………………………………..
*The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux,[1][2]about the hideously disfigured Phantom's amorous obsession with the magnificent, naïve singer, Christine.
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*Misery is a 1987 psychological horror novel by Stephen King. The novel focuses on Paul Sheldon, a writer famous for Victorian-era romance novels involving the character of Misery Chastain. One day he is rescued from a car crash by crazed fan Annie Wilkes, who transports him to her house and, once finding out what he has done to Misery in his latest book, forces him to write a new book modifying the story – no matter what it takes.
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didn't appear to be of a psycho, but then again, did any psycho really ever look that way before they came in for the kill? The thought about his eyes made her think that there was something that rang a chord with her on some level, but she couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was. Simone saw the man enter the room and looked over at the tray he had left earlier seeing that she hadn't touched anything on it.
“You need to drink the tea,” he told her.
“Really, what exactly have you put in it?" She asked in a defensive tone, wondering if he was drugging her.
“Simone, the tea is a blend of herbs that I grow myself. These herbs all have medicinal qualities to help relieve pain and inflammation. If you must know the exact ingredients used they are a blend of ginger root, licorice root, fennel seeds and chamomile. If you don't drink the tea you could be in a great deal of pain due to your injuries,” he advised.
“Here's an idea that's pretty wild instead of giving me some herbal concoction to relieve pain why not take me to a hospital where I can get the proper care and the proper drugs for pain,” she spat with annoyance.
“I am not opposed to modern medicine or standard treatments that are used, but as I told you before taking you to a hospital isn't an option for me,” he told her as he took the spoon in the tea and picked up some of it placing it near her lips. “Now please drink this you will be grateful that you did later. I swear to you that it's harmless,” he encouraged her.
Simone looked at him in a questionable way before opening her mouth for him to place the spoon within. She sipped what was on the spoon and found that the tea seemed to have a pleasant flavor. He raised the spoon up to her a few more times to get her to drink. Simone found herself starting to relax, but it wasn't necessarily a drugged feeling but more of a calm and soothing feeling. She found that she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open the more she drank the tea. Her eyelids became heavier as she drifted off to sleep.
Jake sat there for a moment as he watched her drift off and breathed a sigh of relief. He proceeded to take the tray to walk over to the bedroom door. He walked out into the living room and saw Max sitting in the center of the room obediently as if the dog were waiting for him to return. “She is finally asleep,” Jake informed the dog. “To be honest, I think I liked her better when she was unconscious or when she is singing. That woman can be quite a handful to deal with otherwise.” He noticed the way Max was looking over at him. “All right, I like her, I have never been able to lie to you have I, boy? He admitted and then was alerted to the occasional knock on the front door. Max started to bark in alarm, but Jake knew this signal knock all too well and placed his hand up to his canine companion to get the dog to quiet down. When Jake heard the sound of a car as it drove off he knew the coast was clear and went over to the front door. He opened the door to find the large, brown box that he found waiting every month like clockwork. He lifted the box to take it into the log cabin and put it down on the floor.
“Our supplies for next month have arrived. I guess it's a good thing now that Simone is here. We might have to also do a bit more fishing which I am sure you won't mind doing, right boy” he addressed Max as he proceeded to unpack the supplies from the box.
≈
Simone slept through most of the afternoon and woke up sometime in the evening. She assumed it was the evening; this man whoever he was obviously didn't believe in clocks either. She had to wonder just how cutoff they were from the outside world and was it even possible for someone to really be this cut off. She saw Jake coming back into the room carrying another tray. This time she saw a bowl with some white stuff in it.
“I was hoping you were awake," he greeted. "I thought it was time you had something more substantial to eat,” he explained. “So I made you some potato and rosemary soup,” he informed her, handing the spoon to Simone.
Simone hesitantly took the spoon and looked down at the soup. She proceeded to place the spoon into the substance and slowly put it up to her lips. She found that the soup was quite good. In fact, it was probably the best potato soup she had ever eaten. Eating the soup made something dawn on her that she held onto like a lifeline. “Wait, food, water, electricity,” she elaborated.
“What about them?” he asked.
“Well, these are things that have to be obtained from an outside source; you pay for electricity and water, right? As for the food, it has to be brought or delivered along with other personal necessities," she added in a matter of fact tone.
“I have solar panels and a windmill for electricity," he corrected, "I also have a well and a clear stream nearby both of which are my sources for water. I do have running water and a functioning bathroom. I have a vegetable and herb garden that supplies me with most of my food, along with herbal treatments for medicinal purposes as you very well know. As for the other necessities you refer to, I have an arrangement made where these supplies are delivered to me each month. All I have to do is leave the money outside in a spot where it can be found and the supplies are left,” he informed her.
“How convenient,” Simone commented while thinking that someone was supplying all of the necessities of life and taking his money with no questions asked as to what he was doing up here in the middle of nowhere. For all they knew, this man could be an ax murderer out here hiding out. At that moment, something else dawned on her. “How do you have money, you obviously don't have a
job?” she inquired while really wanting to have an answer to this question.
Jake knew the woman was fishing for information and the last thing he wanted was to share his personal affairs with her. This was one of the reasons he chose to be a recluse. He didn't need this woman gathering information about him to use it against him later. “Simone, how I obtained my money is no concern of yours. Let's just say that I have enough to sustain me for perhaps the rest of my life.” He stated quite bluntly.
She wasn't sure if she should ask him how he came to have this money. She would be afraid to actually know the answer to that question. But there was one other thing she did want to know about. “You said that you didn't kidnap me, so why do you wear that mask if you don't fear me knowing what you look like?” Yes, this was something that seemed to gnaw at her every time he showed up wearing that hideous, "Phantom of the Opera" mask.
“Simone my reasons for wearing this mask are also my own. Believe me; I have a valid reason for not wanting you to see my face. In fact, you should be grateful that I am shielding you from what is behind this mask.” he told her in a solemn voice. He looked down at her bowl to find the soup gone. “Good you finished your soup. I will bring you the tea it should be done being brewed by now,” he stated as he picked up the tray and walked out of the room.
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Simone found that she had drifted off to sleep yet again after she had drunk the tea. She found that she had awoken some time later to the sound of music coming from the living room. She recognized the piece it was one she had heard years ago. It had always been a favorite of hers and had been the work of the famed composer, Jacques Moreau. She had to be imagining she was hearing this music, but why would she now be thinking of music that she hadn't heard in such a long time. Why was the music of a man who had seemed to fall off the face of the Earth many years ago now seem to be haunting her mind?
CHAPTER 5
Mel Richmond stood pacing in his office in Los Angeles as he had the receiver from his cordless phone up to his ear. “Yes, Sergeant I realize that you told me yesterday that there was still no sign of Simone anywhere in that area. I understand that the police are doing all they can to locate her, but it has been over two weeks now, it isn't like her not to have phoned in that time. The press is having a field day with this and her fans are beside themselves with worry; not to mention how worried I am.” He stated as he listened to the person on the other end of the line. “Yes, I realize that you will keep me posted on any updates. I just don't know what else to do at this point,” he stated and listened again. “Yes, I understand and thank you, Sergeant, for taking the time to talk to me again.” He hung up the phone and looked at the newspaper article regarding Simone's disappearance. “I hope wherever you are Simone that you are alive and safe,” he stated out loud with pure worry etched in his voice.
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Simone lay in the bed feeling a bit stir crazy. She had been looking at the same walls for days now; maybe weeks, she had very little else to occupy her time. She had found that she actually looked forward to the times that Jake would come to see her. She also found that she was starting to enjoy the dog's company as well. It had gotten to the point where Max would come in and stand at the foot of the bed from time to time. She found that before long she was able to reach out to pet the dog and that he was indeed loving in nature. Simone saw the door open and Jake walk in carrying what appeared to be a set of wooden, handmade crutches.
“I think these will work well for you. I believe I got the measurements right if not I did manage to make them adjustable.” He explained showing the crutches to her.
“What are those for?” Simone asked while knowing that they were probably for her, but she couldn't imagine that he would want her to have any mobility so that she could try to get away from him and this place.
“Well, hopefully in a few weeks or so you will be able to get around with them; provided your right leg continues to mend as it is. In the meantime, we have to work on getting you out of that bed.” He told her.
'That would be a little hard to do considering that my right leg is broken,” she reminded him.
“I told you that splint is working well and it's on the mend. You have to think about your other limbs, along with the fact that the human body needs movement. Now I need to start helping you to get into a chair to be able to start sitting up in a sitting position. Then we need to work on keeping your left leg agile,” he informed her. “Also, I haven't wanted to bring this up but it's time to change your nightgown again. You need to be cleaned up,” he told her. “As I am sure you are well aware.”
Yes, she was all too aware of how ripe things were in her room. She just wasn't sure she wanted this man assisting her in any form of bathing. It was one thing altogether when she was unconscious but now she was fully aware of what was going on and wasn't sure how to take the idea of this strange, masked man actually seeing her nude form and even touching it for that matter. She watched as he went over to the dresser bureau in the room and took out another one of her nightgowns. “So how do you clean stuff around here, bang it against the rocks by the stream? She asked with sarcasm.
“Believe it or not I do have an actual washing machine and dryer. I consider those to be a genuine necessity,” he informs her.
“Really," she said in surprise, "nice to know you have some modern conveniences around here. I haven't seen too many others such as a television for example,” she observed as she had now started to wonder if the music she seemed to hear every evening was being played in the living room off a CD player or some other type of electronic device. She really had no way of knowing how this music was being funneled into this house since she had yet to be able to venture into anywhere outside the confinement of the bedroom she was in.
“Your right I don't have a television, but I do have a radio that I listen to from time to time to get weather reports, and no before you ask, I also am not online, nor do I have any desire to be. I occasionally get the newspaper with my delivery of supplies," he told her knowing that having a house guest was starting to wear on his privacy more than he wanted to admit, even if the woman before him was quite stunning to look at with her brownish-blond hair, glowing skin, and highly magnetic eyes. "Now let's see if we can't get you and this bed cleaned up and then maybe get you sitting in a chair for a change,” he stated.
Simone took a deep breath knowing full well where this was heading next. "You know if you would just bring me a bowl with some hot water and a bar of soap I can do this myself," she told him.
"Simone I'm sure you can manage as you have with the bed pan I gave you for going to the bathroom, but you know it will probably be hard for you to get your nightgown off since you are lying on the backside of it. Besides, I need to change your bedding as well. I don't like saying this but it stinks in here," he finally told her.
"Gee thanks," she replied with disgusts.
Jake could tell that Simone was highly offended by his remarks. "Listen, I'm sorry I didn't mean it like that. You just have to know that it's been a few weeks and I'm sure you can understand what I am trying to get at here," he tried to justify.
Simone knew the man was right. "Okay, you've made your point. I guess I'm going to need some help. Just remember that if you try anything shady I know self-defense and I'm not unconscious anymore, got it?" she warned.
Jake almost wanted to laugh but contained himself. This woman was just too much. She was just too beautiful for words. "Simone would it help if I told you I have somewhat of a medical background and generally when I look I do it in a professional nature," he told her in a matter of fact manner.
"You're a doctor?" She questioned in surprise. In the few weeks, she had been there the man never told her this.
"No, I'm not a doctor, but I do have some pre-med knowledge," he corrected. "Please don't ask me anything else about it. I don't really want to talk about what I know and what I don't. Let me just go get a bowl of hot water and a bar of soap with a washcloth
and towel and we can just get this bed bath over with once and for all.
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A half hour later, Jake was happy that the bed bath was over. He wasn't sure why but he had to admit to himself that having this woman conscious and helping her with this bath was extremely hard…literally. His lower extremities started to kick in the moment he watched her washing her public area. Yes, he might have thought he was a professional but hell he was also a red-blooded human male who hadn't had sex in ages. He tried to clear his thoughts of the woman lying in front of him. He would have to get her up before thinking about taking a cold shower. He cleared his throat, “Now that you're all cleaned up we can work on getting you—you moved,” he stammered on edge.
“How do you propose we do that?” she asked while still feeling uncomfortable with this man after having to deal with him helping her as she gave herself a sponge bath in bed.