Sarai

by Lilya Myers

  Soon, he’d have to find other vacant and remote sites. The beach communities would come alive with the warm weather. Once school was out, families would move from their city dwellings to their beach bungalows for the summer. There was always California again. He might reconsider it for the future. As long as it was near the water. There was something about being near water… A pleasant thought but inconsequential for the moment.

  The man paid for his membership to the gym for two years in advance. It was important to stay in shape. He wasn’t getting any younger. He could also leave his gym bag, with all his necessities, stored under lock and key and available when he needed it.

  Everything he did was done under his phony identification. His record was clean. Even if he left a print by accident, who would they look for? He gave his head a little snap of superiority – a gesture that was so unlike his persona. Oh, he was so much smarter than… a sudden lurch of the ferry wiped that smile right off his face.

  ***

  She felt exposed and in pain but she couldn’t sort it out. I am dead. Heaven or hell? Maybe I’m not real. This is not real. Everything was pitch black. A fog swirled around in her brain distorting every thought. She lay there for hours, her body shaking violently with chills one minute, then hot and smothered the next. She’d fall asleep briefly only to be awakened by panic that caused her heart to feel as though it would break through something. But break through what? Am I inside a body? Then she was floating and time stood still. What seemed like days was only minutes until Dana’s hallucinations began to fade and reality started to set in.

  Maybe I really am dead. She lay face up but everything above her was dark. Instinctively, she tried to feel with her hands but they were restrained. What the…?

  She was laying on something hard and rough. Panic started to seep in. Time quickly ramped up at warp speed when she realized that her legs were elevated, spread, and bound at her ankles. She began pulling every which way to free herself. The more she struggled and writhed, the more labored and uneven her breathing became and the more her tethers bit into the flesh around her wrists and ankles. Blood trickled around the zip ties that had tightened in her struggle. The wood beneath her was dry and splintery, rubbing and scraping her bare skin against it. She couldn’t see because there wasn’t even a sliver of light. Tears unleashed like the torrential rains of a thunderstorm. She couldn’t feel to touch her body but she instinctively knew that she was naked. She tried to think of what this tomb could be and how she got here. She couldn’t think. She couldn’t focus. Her body had sent her mind into a tailspin.

  The memory of how she got there was locked securely behind this tower of pain. Was this some kind of a sick joke? Who would do this to me? Oh, God, oh, God, oh, God. Dana’s mind screamed the words in short breaths, and even though her lungs grabbed for air, no sound escaped. Her mouth was so dry that she lapped up her own tears with her tongue. Her fear slithered down to her stomach, threatening to relieve her of the contents from her last meal. Last meal. Her stomach lurched. She willed it into submission. I’m not going to choke to death on my own vomit. Calm down, Dana. Calm down! What were those breathing exercises we did in yoga? She closed her eyes, trying to concentrate. I’ve got to think.

  Waves.

  Wind.

  Suddenly there was a heavy whoosh followed by a burst of light so bright that the instant she opened her eyes she had to close them. Dana squinted through her lashes and saw the outline of a figure illuminated by the light. Demeaning and horrifying, were her first thoughts as she lay there naked. But, oh thank God! Someone found me! It was almost hard to find happiness in being saved like this. She turned her head to hide her embarrassment as she croaked out the barely audible words, “Please…please…help me.”

  He didn’t answer. She couldn’t make out his face because of the light behind him but she could feel his eyes travel slowly up and down her body. Fear shot through her spine. Terror gripped her. Her body began to shake uncontrollably.

  CHAPTER 35

  HE DIDN’T FIND me, he knew I was here. He put me here…he did this to me! Why? Why?

  Her thoughts tumbled from her lips, turning into a scream. A hand flew out and clamped down over her mouth. Her senses were charged and she realized she was on a beach somewhere. The wind was blowing hard and the waves were crashing like thunder. The woman’s eyes darted above her to the rocks that kept her prison neatly tucked out of view. The sky was turning black as a bad storm approached.

  No one would be at the beach in this. No one can hear me over this wind!

  The dark figure removed his hand quickly and stuffed a filthy rag in her mouth. She thought about biting down on his hand, as hard as she could, but the gag stopped that thought.

  What good would it do but perhaps make him want to kill me? She wasn’t thinking rationally.

  Her captor lifted a gym bag and climbed into her tomb. He sat on a wooden plank that served as a seat, facing her. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the light, Dana was able to lift her head enough to realize that this tomb was the hull of an old rowboat. She was bound to the oar horns – the through-holes for receiving the oars. The cover of her tomb was a thick insulated tarp. Dana’s eyes widened in horror as she watched him methodically remove the contents of his bag. First he took out a soft velvety roll of fabric and she heard the sound of metal tinkling against metal. He unrolled the fabric and placed it on the seat next to him. Surgical instruments? She couldn’t lift her head up high enough to be sure.

  He smiled a sardonic grin. Next, he pulled out what she was sure was a small blow torch and set it next to his feet. She had seen one like it in her grandfather’s shop. He snapped on a clean pair of surgical gloves. Dana tried to fight as he slipped something over her head. The temperature had chilled considerably but the sweat that beaded on her brow began rolling down her temples to meet her flood of tears.

  The fabric he had pulled over her head was something like a hood. It had a rectangular box cut out with plenty of space to expose her eyes above her eyebrows and out to her temples. Doesn’t he know that I can identify him? Her arms were stretched so far that her shoulders felt as though they would be ripped from the sockets. He pulled another piece of the fabric across her mouth and fastened it on the side. Dana tried to lift her head again, pleading and begging with her eyes. A faint, muffled sound rose from the back of her throat. His black eyes fell to her female parts and engaged there.

  Oh, God, he’s going to rape me! No! Don’t…please. His eyes darkened and he leaned closer in. Her screams fell back into her throat.

  Why are you doing this to me? Please, I’ll do anything! No…No…Help me, please someone help me! The waves and the wind grew more intense. The sky deepened as dark clouds chased away the blue. No one would hear.

  He began to fondle her. For the first time he spoke. “I wonder what surprise you might have for me.” His voice was flat-filled hate and mocking. She couldn’t recognize the accent but his English was well trained. Her body began to convulse against the restraints as she tried every which way to move her hips and avoid his touch. His force increased as he became aroused.

  Please, don’t! I’m a virgin… Her mind was screaming the words that her mouth could not. Dana could hear her own heart pounding above the approaching storm. She was engaged to be married. A June wedding. A white wedding gown. A testament to the decision of purity and abstinence to which she and her fiancé would remain faithful until they were wed. Now this monster is about to take that away from me!

  Look at him! Look at his face! He was touching her where no man had gone but she forced herself to study his face. The police will want a description. She was thinking ahead. She was thinking survival. When the police found her, she would help identify this monster from the pit of hell. The fear that pulsed through her had caused her mind to push back the images of the contents he had removed from his bag.

  “Ah yes, that’s right. You like this, don’t you? They all do.”

  He a
bruptly pulled his hand away and stood. He unzipped his pants and carefully removed his clothing. She felt like vomiting again. If she didn’t have this gag in her mouth she would. I’d end up choking. But what was worse? To die by choking on my own vomit or survive being raped by this animal? She could never marry Sean after this. Oh, God…

  The weight of his body came down on her, crushing against her small frame. Her screams were like a deadened siren. She could feel the zip ties cutting deeper into her flesh against the strain of his plunging motions and her futile fight against them. With each thrust, splinters tore into her back. When she thought the pain would never end, everything stopped. Just long enough to believe…

  He stood over her, his face twisting into something even more evil. If she could have drawn a picture of Satan, it would be him. Then suddenly there was a crashing blow to her ribs. Then her head. Again, and again he kicked her until she thought her ribs had pierced her lungs. She was gasping for breath through the gag in her mouth.

  He hissed through his teeth, “You’re a slut, a whore… but I will fix it so your honor will be returned to you.”

  Return my honor? She heard the words but her head was spinning and consciousness was on the verge of slipping over the edge. The words swirled around, breaking into letters spinning randomly in front of her eyes, making it impossible to disentangle the meaning. She wasn’t aware of the tears that threatened to drown her. The attack had been vicious and unrelenting. Pain racked every inch of her.

  Dana prayed that her mind would shut down to fool her into oblivion. Maybe she should pretend to be dead. She felt as though she was almost there and she wanted to reach out to it. Survival instinct wasn’t going to let that happen. If she had only known, she would have rather choked to death.

  His work had just begun but it wouldn’t take long. He had become quite skilled at what he did. Practice makes perfect, they say. Yes, he would finish and be out of there before the storm moved directly overhead. Despite her wounds and the agonizing pain that he had already inflicted on her, there was nothing, she thought, that could match it…until she felt the scalpel penetrate deep into her flesh. Her screams reached into the depths of hell where the demons ignored them and laughed.

  Dana knew they had claimed her when their flames erupted into a powerful explosion that took her to a place where she could no longer see the demons dancing.

  ***

  He had to work quickly now to catch the ferry before the storm forced them to cancel crossing the Sound. The Mutilator rinsed off in the tide that had come up, dressed, and rushed to gather up his things. He wanted to admire what he had done. A work of art, in his mind. He never rushed his pleasures and he didn’t like to be rushed.

  Who knew it was going to storm like this? Obviously, that stupid woman doing the weather on Channel 4 didn’t. Maybe I need to show her where she went wrong the next time I’m here.

  He stepped out from behind the rocks to make sure that no one was stupid enough to take a stroll on the beach in this weather. Satisfied, after a quick reconnaissance, the killer pulled the tarp back over the boat. It disturbed him to have to kill her there where he wanted her to be found. It wasn’t safe yet to use the abandoned house.

  Perhaps, Allah was punishing him now because he had missed Morning Prayer. Having to rush irritated him. Haste was the road to error.

  Allah will show favor on me for my prayers tonight. The tide will come in and the pelting rain will force my footprints to disappear in the sand – just enough to swallow all those important forensics the police dream I would leave behind.

  Indeed, he was living up to his name. The Mutilator. He flung his bag over his shoulder and took one quick look back as he hurried down the remote section of beach and through the brush into the wooded area.

  The ferry was preparing to leave and he was the last one to board. Just in time. An announcement was made that this would be the last launch for the day due to the approaching storm.

  The wind and pelting rain made it impossible to sit out on the deck, so he had to find a seat inside where it was overcrowded.

  When his phone began to jangle softly, he quickly silenced it. The caller would just have to wait. Further undue attention it would draw would be unwelcomed.

  An unconscious tapping of his foot went unnoticed by everyone except the cockroach who was dodging it as he tried to claim a prize on the floor.

  The day had not gone smoothly at all. Time had already been robbed from him to revel in his work. Now he had to rush back to his condo, stash his bag there instead of at the gym, and try to catch the first flight out to London. He didn’t even have time to wash his tools and dispose of the gloves. The gloves. Did I get the gloves? The ferry was crowded and there was no way he could open his bag to check. He shot out of his seat and headed to the men’s room. A number of heads turned to take notice. Another case of seasickness?

  With a single movement, he slammed the door shut and locked it. Water droplets began to bead on his forehead as he flung the bag onto the tiny sink and began rummaging through it. No gloves. Where are the gloves? They would have been easy to spot – standard hospital blue latex gloves. Sweat poured down his back as he went through every corner of the bag, careful not to let anything else drop out of it. He swore in Arabic.

  CHAPTER 36

  SHE WAS CALLED Sarah, which was English for Sarai. The first year of Sarah’s life with her new family was the hardest on all of them. Dan and Marie fell into the role of mommy and daddy as naturals. However the canopy of caution they erected in the beginning was cumbersome and high maintenance. Fear of reprisal from Aswad or his sons was always present.

  Sarah loved Dan and Marie but in those early months, she cried for Hashim. At times, there was no consoling her. Eventually, time and the love the Somers’ showered on her brought harmony to the new family and no one would ever have known that Sarah wasn’t their biological child. Sarah’s cousin and best friend, Rachel, didn’t know the truth either.

  The only thing that Sarah ever questioned were her baby pictures. There were boxes of them from the time she was two but anything before that didn’t exist. They were explained away-oh honey, that time the basement flooded …which seemed to satisfy Sarah. The fact that she took after Hasne, her biological mother’s side of the family, gave her coloring and features believable enough to be Dan and Marie’s own child. Life was good for Sarah Somers. She was bright, beautiful, and excelled in every area.

  From piano and dance lessons, to sports, foreign languages, and everything in between, Sarah’s parents made sure she had a chance to experience and learn. Put one thing in front of her and she was like a sponge waiting to soak it up.

  Over the years, Dan and Marie felt nothing but pride for their daughter, Sarah. She had always been an extremely gifted child, which fast-tracked her education and eventually got her accepted into Columbia School of Law at the tender age of seventeen. As a young child, her fascination for minute details won her the nickname Little Miss Technicality. So, when she announced her acceptance into Columbia, no one was surprised. When her focus became international law, which was so well-suited to her, the Somers knew that it wouldn’t be long before their little girl-turned-young-woman would have the wanderlust. They would never hold her back, but they anguished over where her travels might take her.

  When it came to Able Tolvan, Dan and Marie always knew that Sarah would be safe with him around. He was the son of friends whom Dan and Marie had known since they got married. Throughout their childhood, Sarah and Able were inseparable. Able was five years older than Sarah and he treated her with the protective bond of a big brother. Big brother, little sister. As they got older, the bond deepened more than either realized. Sarah loved Able dearly but she didn’t see it as being in love with him. He would size up her dates and if he didn’t quite approve, he’d show up unexpectedly at the movie theater with a big tub of popcorn and take a seat next to them. Her dates weren’t always happy but Sarah never minded.

 
; Her close relationship with Able Tolvan was what had jettisoned Sarah’s studies into international law. Able himself was one smart guy, graduated top of his class at the highest ranking international business school in the country, all the while making inroads to develop his own company. With Dan’s help in providing him with so many contacts overseas, Able’s business had taken off. While Sarah was still in college, Able began pursuing and positioning American companies to become partners with foreign governments in joint ventures. Able waited patiently for Sarah to graduate so he could be the first to make her a job offer.

  Able anxiously presented his offer to Sarah right before graduation, pending her father’s approval first and praying she would say yes. Sure, Able felt as though he owed Dan a favor for all his help in getting him started but his desire for Sarah to work with him was more than that. She was not only beautiful; she was over-the-top smart, articulate, curious, and so sassy. There was no one he would rather work with…or be around twenty-four hours a day.

  Sarah wanted Able there when she told her parents but she made him promise that he would go along with the little ruse she had planned to surprise them with the news. He didn’t dare tell Sarah that he had already gotten her father’s approval before he offered her the job.

  Sarah tried to reach her mom but ended up leaving a voice mail. She wanted to let them know that she had invited Able over for dinner. Able was like family and it really didn’t matter if he showed up unexpectedly for dinner. Sarah was a stickler for etiquette, nevertheless, and a phone call was the very least she could do to let them know that he was coming. When she finished with the message, she said to him, “You know Able, I would hate for you to show up to find everyone sitting at the table in their underwear.”