by Terri Reid
She turned away from the living room and continued down the narrow hallway. She nearly missed a doorway on her left just before the opening that led to a small kitchen. A pale blue light escaped from underneath the door and around the sides at the bottom.
“Phillip?” Stacy called again, fear creeping into her voice. “Phillip. Come on, where are you?”
Stacy started walking past the door, but something made her stop. She looked at the intimidatingly strong door. I shouldn’t go in, she thought to herself. That would be rude. But, he might be down there, and I don’t like being here alone at all. Besides, if whatever is outside comes in, I’d rather have a giant door between us.
The hallway seemed to absorb all sound except the beating of Stacy’s heart as she slowly reached for the doorknob. She turned it, letting the weight of the door swing itself open into the entrance.
Stacy looked down to see steep wooden stairs illuminated by a soft pale light. The stairway was narrow and the walls made of cement.
As Stacy placed her foot on the first step, a groan of ancient disapproval sounded from the stair. Carefully, she walked down the rickety staircase and noticed the stairs were not as dusty as the rest of the house.
Finally, her foot found a solid, cemented floor that didn’t moan under her weight. She looked around the room in wonder.
The room was tiny and the brown office chair that was against the desk took up about half of the floor space. There were scraps of paper pinned onto a corkboard. Some of the scraps had words scribbled on them. Others showed pictures of something that seemed to crawl out of a nightmare. She looked closely at one picture that had a circle with a star inside, and different symbols were placed around the five tips of the star. On the wall opposite the stairs, sitting on the desk was a tiny screen that emanated the pale light.
Her heart started pounding faster and she contemplated running away from the room, closing the door, and never thinking of it again. However, her curiosity trumped her better judgment as something close to the screen reflected light into her eye.
Stacy moved closer to the computer screen and started to reach for the tiny ring of metal on the surface of the desk under the monitor. However, she glanced at the picture on the monitor and a chill crawled down her spine as she realize what she was seeing.
The computer screen held the image of a room. A tiny bed with a door facing it. A light switch next to the door. She could see that the room was not very big, but it was very familiar.
Her heart dropped as she confirmed her fear. It was her room. The image on the computer was her room.
Pictures were scattered on the desk. She looked at one photo, and saw that it was of her at graduation. She saw her mom and dad holding a camera, ready to take a picture of Stacy holding her diploma from a distance. She looked at another picture, and saw herself years before that, eating in the cafeteria with some friends from a distance. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she looked at another picture, taken at her old house, through her window. In the picture, she was changing and her mouth was open, as if she was singing a song to herself. This one had a written message underneath, saying, “She has a beautiful voice that she hides in shame.”
Stacy frantically skimmed each picture, all of them of her. Each of them, just close enough that if she would have turned her head she might have seen the photographer. A lump caught in her throat as she looked back at the screen. She leaned closer to it, examining it. Please Stacy begged in her mind. Please let that be a picture.
Her fears were realized when she looked closer through the doorframe and saw the curtain at the end of the hall moving. That image was no picture.
Her mind raced as she thought of her bedroom, trying to figure out where she was looking from. Where could this camera possibly be?
Biting back a scream, she looked at the monitor in horror. Pleading in her mind that it wasn’t true, she shook in disbelief. The camera was on the bed, next to where her head usually was. Where she put it down, just after she had brought it close to her. It was her teddy bear.
“It is very impolite to sneak around someone’s home uninvited,” the soft voice behind her chided, no threat or malice detected within the words.
Chapter Five
Stacy slowly turned around to see Phillip standing behind her, staring at her with calm, cool eyes. He had neither happiness nor regret on his face, just a still resolve. The shadows cast by the screen made the hollows of his cheeks look endless, and shadow wrapped around his eyes, causing only a slight reflection of green to be seen. He stood straight, with his hands behind his back, looking at her with the dignity of a soldier.
Stacy stared at him, and put her back against the desk, as far as she could be from Phillip.
“Please,” Phillip said, worry touching his voice. “Please, don’t be like this. I didn’t mean to scare you; I never meant to scare you.” He reached his hand out and started slowly easing forward, like one might do with a scared animal. “Please, just hear me out,” he continued, each sentence getting closer. “I just want to talk to you.”
Stacy remained silent, fear making her unable to speak. Phillip continued getting closer, and Stacy had nowhere left to back up to.
She could soon feel his breath on her as he got closer. He slowly reached for her shoulders.
Stacy kneed him in the groin. As he went down, she kicked him again in the gut. He let out a startled cry and crumpled to the floor. She jumped around him and ran for the stairs.
“Stacy,” Phillip groaned, disappointment touching his voice, like he was scolding a child. “Dammit, Stacy. Don’t do this.”
Stacy reached the first stair when she felt Phillip’s hand around her ankle. He pulled it sharply, and she fell forward against the stairs. Stars flooded her vision as her forehead clipped the corner of a stair. She continued scrambling upward, lashing her caught leg out against her captor. His hold was strong, but as he shifted towards her, he inadvertently allowed her to get closer to the door.
A warm heavy liquid slid over her eyebrow as she glance up the stairs, looking at her escape. The door was just out of reach.
Suddenly, the grip changed and she was being pulled backwards. The door and her escape were getting further away. She tried to let out a cry for help, but her screams were stuck in her throat.
She felt another strong hand grip her thigh, pulling her downward. Desperate, she clung to the timeworn stairs. As she pulled in one direction and he pulled her the other, her nails gave way in blood and splinters as she lost more ground. NO! She screamed in her head. No, no, no. Please, no. The hand around her ankle let go, but then she felt an arm wrap around her hips.
“I didn’t want to hurt you,” Phillip panted out between breaths. “I just wanted you to love me. You have to love me. You’re mine.”
She kept fighting until her fingers were raw and bleeding. Phillip’s body was on top of her legs, pining them down. In a final act of desperation, Stacy found a small area where the stairs and the cemented walls parted. Please, she pleaded in her mind. Please, God, let this help me. Sticking the fingers of her right hand in it, she tried pulling her upper body closer to the hole.
“Please, stop struggling,” Phillip said, slight annoyance now becoming evident. “You are only making this worse.”
She felt the grip on her thigh disappear, only to have it replaced by a stronger grip around her waist. The blood from her fingertips made the grip in the hole difficult to keep, and she readjusted, still trying to kick her legs. She found, however, that her legs were being held together by two larger legs. A loud pop followed by sharp pain came from Stacy’s finger and she immediately pulled them out of the hole, losing more ground.
She wrapped her hands on the stairs underneath her and continued to move, trying get out of his grip. She tried to scream but, she could only let out soft grunt of pain and fear.
“No.” Phillip begged, “Don’t make me hurt you. I don’t want to hurt you. Just stop struggling.”
&
nbsp; She felt his arm around her neck as she continued to fight against her oppressor. Her heart sped up as she realized she couldn’t breathe. She felt him pressed against her as everything started to fade. She could feel his heart racing against her back and his hot breath against her hair.
Stacy shivered in repulsion as she felt the heat of his face against hers. He whispered directly into her ear, “Stacy, I love you.”
When she lost consciousness, she didn’t see blackness. She saw a purple teddy bear with a stitched on smile that was keeping a secret from her. And, she heard the echo of a voice. The soft voice that she had heard so many times. The voice that seemed so familiar. The voice she had always wanted to assume was Brad’s.
The smile on the purple teddy bear was not a smile at all. It was a snarl.
Chapter Six
Stacy woke up in a cold sweat gasping for air. She whipped her head around wildly, trying to see where she was, but all she discovered was darkness. A bead of sweat dropped into her eye and she went to wipe it off, only to discover that her arms were bound behind her. She tried to blink the sweat out of her eye, but it made the sweat only sting more.
Okay, Stacy thought, breathing deeply to clear her head. Be calm, be calm. Be calm, Stacy. Now, where the hell are we? She leaned back and moved her hips to discover the squeaking of an old wooden chair. She found that her legs were bound to the chair as well. A soft drip echoed every now and again from somewhere close by, and the scent of mildew, iron, and perspiration hung in the air. There was also a smell that Stacy didn’t recognize. It was strong and similar to smoke, but different somehow.
She moved her arms and the wire stubbornly dug into her wrists. She tried again, this time twisting her arms in opposite directions. A sharp pain came from her wrist as blood trickled down to the tip of her pinky, and dribbled off. Before she was able to make another attempt, she was interrupted by a soft voice from the darkness.
“Alright, Stacy, that’s enough. Please don’t hurt yourself anymore. I want you to be as beautiful as you can be.”
“GO TO HELL!” Stacey shouted.
The room suddenly exploded with light. Stacy jerked her head back and squinted her eyes. She looked up and saw several silhouettes stalking toward her in front of a lightbulb hanging on a chain. The lightbulb swayed ever so gently, causing the shadow in front of the silhouettes to dance on the ground.
Her eyes adjusted and she saw the walls around her were limestone. The room was spacious and empty and in the distance were plain wooden steps leading up to a trap door on the ceiling. The floor was clean and made of finished concrete. She saw that there was a chalk drawing around her set up as a circle with a five-pointed star on the inside. She was in the center of the star. A dense mist hung in the air and she could see smoke flowing out of metal bowls that were placed next to odd symbols, maybe an ancient language of some sort. She looked over and noticed an empty wooden chair close to hers. There was now only one silhouette and as it got closer, she recognized the smell and look of him. Phillip Miller.
“That’s not very nice,” Phillip said in a mocking tone. “And here I went through all this trouble decorating just for you.”
“What the hell do you mean?” Stacy spat.
“Careful,” Phillip warned, all joking over. “You forget which one of us is tied up. I don’t want to hurt anymore, but I have a temper. I don’t want to do something irrational, but…” a snarl touched his lips and his eyes met hers, “I’m only human.”
“What do you want?” Stacy asked, keeping no resentment out of her voice.
Phillip strolled over to the empty chair and dragged it in front of Stacy’s, the back of it facing her. “Quite simply, you.” he answered as he straddled the chair. He crossed his arms over the top and casually rested his chin on them. He stared into Stacy’s eyes with admiration and joy. A hint of a smile graced his lips. Then, with a quick inhale, he pulled his head back and said, “I bet you’re absolutely confused, aren’t you? How about this? I will answer a few questions for you. Does that sound good? After all, today is a good day. I’m happy for the first time in a long time.”
“I’ve got no questions for you,” Stacy growled. She was tired of listening to him, and she didn’t want to reward him with the sound of his own voice echoing throughout the room.
“Oh, come on,” Phillip teased, leaning closer and tipping his chair in her direction. “I know you’re curious.”
Stacy looked at the floor, turning away from him as much as she could. She realized that her chair was bolted to the floor.
Phillip, taking the hint, let out a huff of air. “Well,” he said after a long silence, “I guess I will continue to admire you. I can do that.” He stretched his hand close to her face and lightly caressed her cheek, down to her jaw, and to her neck. He then brought his hand back as he saw the gooseflesh crawl from where he touched. “I’ve wanted to admire you in person for such a long time,” he breathed, closing his eyes. He inhaled and let out a soft sigh that made the hairs on the back of Stacy’s neck rise.
Stacy saw him reaching for her again, so she finally asked, “Why?”
Phillip paused and smiled as he brought his hand back. “Why what?”
“Why did you kill him?”
Stacy felt a surge of triumph as she saw Phillip’s smile vanish. Phillip rubbed his fingers around his chin and his eyebrows went up. “Who told you that? I didn’t kill your boyfriend. He was speeding down the road on a foggy night. He was being reckless. All I did was provide a…” A smile touched his lips as he said, “worst case scenario.”
“So, that’s when you put that bear in his car.” Stacy drilled, malice and rage bubbling over. “That’s when you put that bear that you recorded your voice on in his damn car—” She broke off, and tears slid down her cheeks, cutting through the sweat and grime. She didn’t want to cry in front of a scumbag like him but, but the emotions came bursting out through clenched teeth. “Damn you,” she spat.
Phillip looked at her with concerned eyes. He tilted his head and stretched one of his hands to her chin. “Hey,” he said, in a soft and understanding voice. “Shhh, hey, listen. I know. I know.” Forcing her chin up so she would look at him, he wiped her tears with his thumb. “I didn’t want to,” Phillip said. “I never wanted to do any of these things. I never wanted to hurt you, and I never wanted to watch you cry. But, I had to. I know you’ll understand. I had to get rid of him. He was holding you back. I couldn’t let that happen. He was going to ruin everything and take you away. I couldn’t let him do that to you. You don’t belong to him. You belong to me.”
Stacy pulled her head away and looked at the floor. Through eyes full of tears, she glared at Phillip. “Go to hell,” she whispered.
“Well,” Phillip said, sounding disappointed. He stood and began walking away. “That’s unfortunate. I was hoping you would understand where I was coming from. I hoped that you could see that I couldn’t let him give you…” Pausing, he shook his head and dismissed the thought. “Never mind. It’s not important.”
Raising her head, Stacy peered at Phillip. “What was he going to give me?”
“It’s not important.” Phillip repeated, pointing his finger down on each syllable for emphasis.
“No…” Stacy said, with realization. The tears stopped only to be replaced with a sick knot in her stomach. The room began to move as nausea overcame her. A ringing started in her head, and all she could do was concentrate on not throwing up.
She understood what Brad was going to give her. She realized what the metal shine in Phillip’s room was. Why the present had to be different. Why Brad was so excited to see her that night. “It was…an engagement ring.”
“No. No, no, NO!” Phillip whimpered. He raked his fingers through his hair and stomped his foot. “You weren’t supposed to find out! You aren’t supposed to know. You need to love me! Forget Brad! He’s meaningless. No. NO!” He grabbed his chair and flung it across the room, breaking one of the legs and leaving m
arks on the limestone wall.
He took a calming breath. “It’s okay.” Phillip reassured himself, one hand on his hip and the other in his hair. “He won’t mind. He can work around this. He’s powerful. This will work.”
Stacy watched in horror as Phillip trembled with fear. The smooth confidence was replaced with childlike terror, and beads of sweat fell onto his brow. He licked his lips self-consciously and his eyes began to water.
“This all can’t be for nothing,” he said, turning around and walking toward the stairs. “Please let him be okay.”
“Who?” Stacy called.
Phillip turned around and pointed at Stacy. “NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!” Suddenly, it looked like he realized who he had just shouted at, and took a deep breath. He smoothed his shirt out and slid his fingers through his hair as he said with restraint, “Enough questions for today.”
As he put a hand on the trap door, Stacy said, “You might as well kill me.”
Phillip stopped and stood still. Sorrow shone through his dark green eyes as he slowly turned his head toward Stacy.
“Why?” Phillip asked, concern written all over his face.
“You’re sick and pathetic. I will never love you. You killed the only man I ever loved.”
A dead silence crept into the room. Stacy braced herself for the worst. She wanted to die right then, because she didn’t want him to have the satisfaction of taking her life. However, Phillip didn’t react like she thought he would.
As Phillip stared at her, the deep frown was slowly replaced by a genuine smile, and soon that was overtaken by a snarl. “Oh, you will love me. You will have no choice. You’ll forget about him. And, don’t worry. I promise you, Stacy, after tonight, this will all be just a bad dream.”
He turned his head and made his way up the stairs. Opening the trap door, he called, “Stacy, I love you.”