by Wilde, Rhea
The dream stuck with me though. It wasn’t something that I remembered for only a moment then quickly forgot about. It all seemed too real. I kept reminding myself that nothing actually happened but the feeling of an ominous foreboding lingered within my thoughts.
I didn’t want to do anything today. I don’t think I could even if I wanted to. It was like something had zapped my strength entirely. Just sitting on the couch felt like more effort than I could force my body through. I grabbed a bag of potato chips and lazily flipped through the channels on my television. I turned past the news when something caught my eye.
“We warn viewers that the following footage is not for the faint of heart as it contains very disturbing images. Discretion is advised.
“Police are investigating the latest in a string of murders taking place deep within the heart of the city. Last night, police responded to calls about a loud disturbance taking place just outside 5th street. Officers came to the scene and into the abandoned building. What they found were the remains of an unidentified individual splayed across the wood, their body severed into pieces and spread throughout the room. We warn you again that this footage is graphic and not intended for squeamish viewers.”
I was focused on everything that I was seeing. I watched as the camera displayed the room that the police were investigating. Yellow caution tape was spread around the doors of the shoddy room. The wooden floors looked like they had been sprayed red with more blood than one body could possibly hold. I put my hand up against my mouth. I don’t know if I was holding back a gasp or the bile in my stomach from the bloody crime scene.
“Police are still baffled as to the perpetrators but insist that everything is being done in their investigation. In the mean time, officials are urging anybody with any knowledge or information of the situation to contact the police. A ten-thousand dollar reward is being offered for any help leading to the capture of these criminals.”
I narrowed my eyes and looked at every detail of the crime scene through my television. It almost felt like I had been there before. It was in my dream.
“No, it couldn’t be.”
I shook my head in disbelief but the nightmare I had was so vivid in my memory. Everything about the room looked too familiar. The boarded up windows. The graffiti on the walls. The dried-up candle wax on the floors. The cobwebs. The dust. It all felt like I had seen it before. The only thing missing was the apparatus, the bed-like structure, in the center of the room. Instead, yellow tape blocked the spot where I had seen my own body laying.
But so what? What did it matter if I had a dream similar to what I was seeing? It didn’t mean anything. It’s not like I committed these crimes. I was in my apartment with Vaughn the entire night. At least, that's what I convinced myself. I wouldn’t have enough time to do this and make it back here to sleep.
I decided that I was too tired to try to rack my brain for the answers it didn’t have. It was all just a strange mystery that the police had to figure out for themselves. I couldn’t allow myself to think that there might be something more to all of the strange things going on. This was just the city being as notorious as it always was.
I was beginning to wonder where Vaughn had run off. I had a great time with him even if we didn’t go completely all the way. I knew that he enjoyed himself as well. But I had no way of getting in touch with him. Every time I had seen him, he managed to pop up at the most convenient times he could. Something told me that I would see him again when the time was right.
I looked over at the bouquet of flowers he had brought me and it put a smile on my face. With another day off, I just wished that I could spend another day with him. I found myself more drawn to him than I ever had been before. Something came over me.
I was conflicted. I thought I was beginning to go crazy. But another part of me started to give in. The sound of a voice stirred the arousal inside of me. I could feel the lust inside of me beginning to grow stronger and stronger. I wanted Vaughn and the only way I could have him is if I went out there and looked for him.
And that’s what I decided to do. For some reason, it seemed like the most rational thing to do. I threw on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt and left my apartment in search of Vaughn. I didn’t know where to look but something told me that he would find me. He always found me.
Chapter 11
Vaughn wasn’t like most men and the more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. I had no way of contacting him. No phone number. No address. I only knew that he told me he worked on the docks. It seemed like as good a place to start looking for him as any.
The sun was shining bright tonight. It almost felt like the rays were hurting me. Even with a pair of sunglasses over my eyes, I still felt like I needed to squint just to see through the light.
The docks were just a few blocks from where I lived. The tall buildings of the city were no longer blocking the sun out here. You could see all of the ships coming in and out of port as hundreds of men unloaded all of the cargo on them. I never had any reason to go to the shipping yard before but today, I had stopped by to satisfy this inexplicable urge to see again the man I was slowly growing accustomed to.
But I felt foolish and out of place as I stood there, searching and waiting for him to show up. I hoped that I would catch him while he worked but there were too many ships and too many men working. I didn’t have the time to sort through all of them. For some reason, I was assuming that Vaughn would find me.
“Hello, Ms. Everhart.”
I jerked my head around and saw a man in a long, black coat standing next to me, a suit underneath it. I raised my hand above my head to block the sun, trying to see clearly who it was. I stared closer at the grin on the face in front of me and realized it was the last man I was expecting to find here.
“Irvine? What are you doing here?”
“I might ask you the same thing, Ms. Everhart.”
“I, um… I’m just trying to get some fresh air, that’s all. I just needed a moment away from the city.”
He nodded his head and looked out into the sea. I wasn’t sure if he believed my answer but I wasn’t about to let him know that I was looking for a man that I had just spent the night with.
“I can appreciate that,” he said. “The saltwater of the sea is so refreshing, isn’t it? You breathe it in and it opens everything up. It makes you wonder how you’ve been breathing this entire time before you got here.”
As he enjoyed the open air of the docks, I looked down at the ground and anxiously waited for him to leave. Something about being in the presence of a police officer made me uncomfortable. There was still an unsolved murder investigation going on and I was a potential witness even though I hadn’t seen a single thing.
But there was more to it than that. I had this sick feeling in my stomach that I couldn’t explain. It must have been something I put in the dinner I prepared last night. It wasn’t playing nice inside of my stomach. That in combination with the smell of the saltwater in the air made me want to bend over and puke right there on the spot.
“Are you all right, Ms. Everhart? You don’t look well.”
“I-I’m fine…”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes…”
I started sweating profusely as I tried to hold back the building bile inside of my stomach. Irvine stood right next to me as I struggled to keep everything down but I couldn’t take it anymore. It may have been my nerves or the water or everything I ate last night. That didn’t matter.
I rushed toward the edge of one of the docks and bent over. I heaved and started to vomit, not feeling one bit embarrassed about what was happening. While I emptied the contents of my stomach, I felt a hand against my back, rubbing me.
“Let it all out,” Irvine comforted me. “Don’t hold anything back.”
After several more moments of dry heaving, I stood up straight but was too embarrassed to look back at the detective next to me. He reached into the coat of his jacket and pulled his hand
kerchief out then dabbed my mouth with it.
“You’re going to be okay, Ms. Everhart?”
He offered it to me and I took it from his hand, wiping the rest of it from my mouth.
“Thank you,” I said to him.
“I think you might have to call in sick to work tonight.”
“I’m not working tonight.”
“Really?”
He raised one of his eyebrows when he said it and it piqued my curiosity. As I tried to regain my composure, the queasiness still with me, I again asked him what I wondered initially.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him. “Do you normally spend your time on the docks?”
“Can you keep a secret, Ms. Everhart?”
I hesitated at first but then slowly started to nod my head.
“It’s part of the investigation.”
“What is? The docks? All of the murders have happened in the city.”
“Right you are. Very observant of you. But there’s evidence that leads me to believe that there are some answers out here. And if not, there are at least some clues that I can use.”
“How is the investigation going? I mean, if I can ask…”
“You can ask. Every citizen in the city has that right. Frankly, it’s not going well. The police are in over their heads and are no closer to solving the case than they were a month ago.”
“But you just said that there’s evidence that brought you out here. So you must be getting closer.”
“Right… I did say that, didn’t I?”
His lips slowly started to curl into a smile as I looked at him. He was hiding something but I was too exhausted and too sick to try and figure out what it was. The best thing I could do was stay out of his business and let the detective do his work.
“Where are you headed to after the docks, Ms. Everhart?”
“I-I don’t know. Why are you asking me?”
“I was wondering if you might accompany to a place in the city I frequent.”
“What for? Is this a part of the investigation?”
“It can be if you want it to be. But to be blunt, I’m merely interested in your company.”
“You’re… asking me out?”
“Ms. Everhart. When you say it like that, your tone is as if you want to try and embarrass me. But you should realize that I can’t be embarrassed at this point. I work for this city’s police force. We’re already at ground zero.”
I started to laugh at his joke and looked down as the grin formed on his face.
Irvine didn’t look like he was from around here. His jet black hair was always style perfectly over his head. The hazel in his eyes told the story of a man who hadn’t yet been spoiled by the city’s influences. The lines of his jacket, tie and vest were all straight and the pleats in his pants matched. Even though we were in the middle of a dirty shipping yard, the patent leather of his shoes was still shiny and clean. His face was smooth, like he had just shaved only moments ago. He seemed too pristine for a place like this.
“So, what do you say, Ms. Everhart? Can you indulge me for just a moment? I promise it will be worth your while.”
I looked around to see if the man I was originally looking for was here but it was a long shot. Wherever Vaughn was, I couldn’t see him. I sighed in resignation, realizing that Irvine’s polite offer was better than anything else I could think of for the rest of the day.
“I guess that would be… okay.”
“Excellent, Ms. Everhart. If you’ll just follow me this way. It’s only a few blocks from here.”
I walked just behind Irvine, unable to stand so close to him. For some reason, there was a vibe emanating from him that made me feel sick. I thought I had left everything over at the docks but I could feel it beginning to build back into my stomach again. Irvine didn’t seem to mind and every now and then, he would turn around to make sure that I was still following him.
We eventually came upon a small shop in the middle of the city. It was sandwiched between two larger stores and if Irvine hadn’t stopped, I wouldn’t have even noticed it was there.
“After you,” he said as he opened the door for me.
I stepped into the small store and couldn’t figure out what it was. There were pieces of art adorning the walls. Elaborate paintings of men and women that covered every inch. Sculptures that looked centuries old rested on shelves. There was a display case to the side that showed off even more ancient relics. Just standing here, I had a strange feeling.
The place was completely empty. A neon light was flickering against the window indicating the place was open. A ceiling fan was spinning but barely provided any relief. The lighting gave the entire place a yellowish tint. The wooden tables and chairs were scattered throughout the small room. I felt cramped in here and wondered why he would bring me to a place like this.
“What is this?” I asked him.
“This is The Phoenix Tavern, Ms. Everhart?”
“I’ve never heard of it before.”
“I’m not surprised you haven’t,” he said. “What they offer here is a little more… unique than most shops in the area.”
“What do you mean?”
Just then, someone emerged from a curtain behind the front counter. He was an elderly man. His skin was wrinkled. His hair was white. He took small, gingerly steps and his back was hunched over. His eyes were narrow, like thin slits on his face and I wondered if he could see through them.
“Mr. Irvine,” the old man said, his voice slow and methodical. “What brings you here today?”
“I brought a friend here today. Ariel Everhart, this is Phoenix himself.”
I smiled and nodded politely to him, not completely sure of what to think about everything.
“Ms. Everhart isn’t feeling well today.”
“I see,” the old man said as he examined me. “And could you describe exactly how you’re feeling, Ariel?”
“I-I don’t know,” I said as I shrugged my shoulders. “I just have a stomach ache, that’s all.”
“A stomach ache? Hmm, interesting…”
Why would that be interesting? I became even more curious as to what Irvine and the old man were up to.
“Do you mind if you take off your sunglasses, young lady?” Phoenix asked me.
“What?” I said, starting to panic. “Why would you need that?”
“I’d just like to get a better look at you, that’s all.”
I put my hands up to my shades and held them against my face. I couldn’t let them see my eyes. I was too embarrassed to let them know what had happened to me.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I’d prefer to keep them on.”
“Not even for a moment?” he asked me.
I shook my head. I didn’t care how ridiculous I looked at the moment. Seeing how red my eyes had become would only result in more speculation. Phoenix complied with my wishes. He only politely nodded his head and made his way back behind the curtain.
“I’ve got just the thing,” he said as he walked away. “Just have a seat and I’ll bring it right out.”
Irvine pulled a chair out for me and then took a seat right across from me at the small table.
I looked around the room, still fascinated by everything I was seeing. The ornate antiques that decorated the place all looked so unique. It was like they all had their own individual story and I could spend days in here just learning all about them.
“How did you find this place?” I asked him.
“Random chance, I suppose. I guess I got lucky.”
“Do you come here often?”
“When it’s appropriate. Not a lot of people come here. There are few people who even know who Phoenix is. Some people just don’t have the appreciation for a place as… esoteric as this.”
I stood up from my chair to get a closer look at all of the relics in front of me. One of the pieces was a black sculpture in the shape of a circle with what looked like a golden crescent inside of it. It rested on its side and w
hen the light came in from the window, it bounced off of it and nearly blinded me.
“What is this?” I asked him. “Do you know what it is?”
“That’s a contego.”
“Contego?”
“Yes. It’s made out of obsidian. Molten lava. It’s molded to create the circle here, see? The crescent inside is gold that has been melted down into the shape of a quarter moon.”
“What does it mean? I mean, what’s the point of it?”
Irvine laughed softly to me for a bit then continued to explain what it meant.
“People use it to ward off werewolves.”
“Werewolves?” I scoffed.
“Yes. Half-man, half-wolf beasts. You see, the obsidian represents the darkness. It’s a perfect circle enclosing on the moon. The center, which is only a piece of the moon, is enough to ward off that darkness. That’s what this represents.”
“But how can the moon ward off werewolves? Don’t they only come out when the moon is there?”
“You’re right. That’s why gold is used.”
“Why gold?”
“Because gold is valued by humans. They have a desire for it even though it’s just a mineral. They have a greed so great that it’s strong enough to keep even werewolves at bay. Humans are imperfect creatures. Sometimes it’s those imperfections that scare people, among other things, away.”
I looked at Irvine as he told his story. His voice was solemn and it made me uncomfortable. It was like everything he was telling me he was true.
“How do you know so much about this?” I asked him.
“Like I said, Ms. Everhart, I spend a lot of time in here. I wish I could tell you about everything here but there isn’t enough time for that.”
“...D-do you believe this works?”
“Do I think it works? Ms. Everhart, for this to work, it would mean that werewolves also exist.”
“Well, do you think they exist?”
“I only believe in what my eyes can see, Ms. Everhart. How about you? What do you believe in?”
“I agree.”
“Good. There’s no reason for you to worry yourself about silly myths or urban legends that our ancestors believed in.”