In Dreams (part 1)

2:53 PM Short Stories 0 Comments

WARNING - The following story contains both physical and sexual violence. Potential trigger warning. Proceed with caution if you are easily disturbed.

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     He dreams of dark alleys and hidden corners. He is there alone at first, the faint smell of garbage wafting through his nostrils from the nearby dumpsters. He is surrounded by walls on three sides and further alleys on two. He's chosen this corner well. 
     Out of the abyss there is a sound of boots imposing their will on concrete. He's heard this sound before dozens of times, but never through the blood pounding in his ears. His veins were on fire, every sense heightened like an animal. He dreams in cliches.
     Two years prior there was an incident. A girl he knew was attacked. The woman he loved ravaged by three men. She told it to him once in a moment of pure trust and comfort. She came from out of town. Relying on the kindness of strangers, she asked for directions and was led to this this alley. She parked her car as they surrounded her, blocked her inside. From that moment she knew hew time was limited. What they didn't know is that so was theirs. She looked to her left and found a gag in her mouth. To her right was a hood placed over her unwilling head. The fire was alight in the deepest corners of his mind. He could only think of one thing to do.
     She woke up strapped to a table, naked and sweating. There was a dull throbbing inside and out. Her head pounded from the wine she was being force fed. She knew there was no escape. No hope. No way out. They took turns laughing and raping her, violating any pretense she had for innocence. Sometimes they would leave her alone for hours at a time. She screamed until her throat was raw. She heard voices but no one came to help. For three days this lasted. Every night after, she screams in her sleep hoping to be heard. She claws and scratches at her bindings but only finds her skin.
     It took him nearly six months to track down the three men responsible for such an atrocity. One of them was unfortunately dead. Two out of three would have to do. This was one of six different alleys across campus that were used as a drug trafficking point. No one would suspect two silhouetted figures alone in an alley. 
     Tonight was the night. He had planned and set up for this. He rented a cabin on the Olympic peninsula using a credit card taken from his first victim. The first lived alone and did too many drugs to hold a steady job. He would not be missed for a while, nor would he be found.
     Footsteps filled his head. He could smell cigarette smoke mingling with the already malodorous Seattle air. Closer it came and louder was the pounding in his ears.
     A tiny red flare flew through the air as the man flicked his cigarette. It landed on the concrete and splattered into pieces.
     "Hey." The man spoke with a deep voice that betrayed the boyish look on his face, barely visible in the darkness of the alley. "You the guy?"
     "Yes," he said in his most mellifluous tone. "Do you have my money?"
     The man walked up to him and handed him a small stack of hundred dollar bills. The faint smell of alcohol attacked his nose. He handed the man a bag of pills. "Guaranteed to give you the best night of your life," he said to the man.
     "Yeah well...we will see about that. Fucking ripoff man I'm telling you." The man took out a pill an examined it. After verifying that everything checked out he swallowed the pill dry, almost as if the man was trying to impress him.
    He smiled. It took weeks to acquire this much Flunitrazepam. The man turned to walk away, muttering incoherently to himself. He watched the man carefully, waiting for any sign that the roofie had kicked in. Once he saw the man stumble, he knew he had reached the point of no return. Flunitrazepam has a long half life. They had 18 - 26 hours to get better acquainted.
     He feigned concern and made for the man at a gentle run. "Let me help you," he said. "I have a taxi. I'll take you wherever you need to go. No charge."
     The man muttered an address, but he didn't care. The destination had been set long ago. He helped the man into his taxi that was parked just across the street. One person passing by smiled and asked if they needed help.
    "No," he said. "He just had a little too much I think. Lucky his friends had the smarts to call him a cab."
     "That is very kind of you. Have a nice night!" A woman and her boyfriend.  
     How quaint. If only they knew how far love could take you, he thought.
     Hours passed as he drove to the farthest reaches of the Olympic rainforest. No one would disturb them there. Soon vengeance would be in his grasp. The man, Sean, would know what pain truly meant.