New In Town

There was something...something about his eyes.

“Stop!” the screech echoed through the room, bouncing from wall to wall, piercing my own ears.  You could hear the bones in my wrists cracking as he snatched me up from the floor.  He turned my back to him once I was on my feet, grasping my hair and forcing my face against the wall.  Another deafening scream escaped my lips, blood trickling down my forehead, nose, and mouth.  He turned me around to face him once more and a dim yellow light lit the room.  He wore a black hoodie that covered his face, all I could see were his dark green eyes glaring into mine.  I closed my eyes, taking hard, deep breaths, swallowing what blood did get in mouth.  I felt my body weakening by the second.

 

I felt him lean forward, licking the blood from my lower lip before pressing his cheek against mine, his lips to my ear “Don’t worry, it’s almost over” he whispered, and I felt his hands slide up my sides and to the top of my shirt, taking hold and ripping it apart with one swift motion of his hands.  I tried to pull away, but the wall behind me kept me in place.  One of his hands trailed gently to the small of my back and he pulled me close to himself.  I felt his other hand disappear for only a few seconds; something else returned.  Something sharp and cold.  I opened my eyes the best that I could, tensing at the feel of the object running from my chest to my stomach.  I felt him turn it slightly so I could only feel a sharp tip against my skin.  “Just do it” my voice was hoarse, hardly audible.  He slowly began to twist the tip of the sharp object into my flesh; tears filled my eyes as the pain shot through my stomach and I let out a loud moan.

 

I heard a thunderous rumble in the background and my eyes flew open, finding myself back in my bedroom.  I sat up in the darkness, sweat dripping profusely off my skin, my bed soaked where I had been laying.  It was stormy outside, like any normal summer night in Florida.  I rubbed my face into the palms of my hands, before running them through my hair, taking deep breaths.  This was the same dream I’d had a hundred times before.  It always played out the same, not one detail had changed.  I didn’t know why I was having it.  I’d even visited dream interpreters and no one could give me an answer.  I was raised in a very religious family and had never even seen or heard of such a traumatic event.  I had been home schooled my whole life and every movie I owned was rated no higher than PG. 

 

I slipped out of my sweat drenched sheets, pulling the bedding off as I did.  Lightning lit my room as I walked over to my closet to get a new set of sheets.  I stopped,  staring out my window, watching the rain drops roll down the glass.  The way they flowed reminded me of life.  It starts out going in a smooth, straight line, and then it became rough and curved into different directions, and you never knew where it was going to end next.  It was almost like the exact definition of life, unpredictable.

 

It didn’t take me long to fix up my bed and I was fast back to sleep.  I hadn’t dreamt the remainder of the night, and there were no complaints there.  I slept better without the dreams, good or bad.  I’d taken my normal morning run and managed to get a shower before my parents awoke.  They hated me going out so early, even though we lived a block away from the town that never seemed to sleep.  It was workers by the days and partiers by the nights, the towns streets were never empty. 

 

“Morning” I kissed my mom on the cheek, hugging her from behind as she mixed the pancake batter together.

“Out causing chaos in the streets again?”  she asked, glancing at me as I walked around the small island in the kitchen to sit. 

“Well of course.  Didn’t you hear it’s my new favorite hobby?” I grinned and she shot me a playful glare.

“You know your father and I don’t like you out so early…”

“Mom…you and dad got to control me for eighteen years, it’s my turn to make decisions. You know I’m a smart girl. I watch my surroundings and I never leave without my can of mace.”

 

She sighed; we’d had this argument what seemed like a million times before since my eighteenth birthday a few months ago.  I couldn’t really blame my parents for being worried about me though.  It was natural for every parent to worry about their child, no matter how old they were.

 

After breakfast, I returned to my room to get ready for Church.  We always had to leave thirty minutes early because my parents refused to go to a church in the city.  There were too many ‘hoodlums’.

 

We greeted everyone as we walked into church.  They were always so friendly here, unlike other churches I’d visited before.  We’d been coming here for a couple years now and we all felt like family.  If one person came down sick, everyone was notified.  It was also a nice, safe environment for me to meet new people since I never attended public school.

 

I couldn’t but help notice a new man walking in and sitting in the back pew alone.  He wore a baby blue dress shirt with a brown tie and black slacks.  No one seemed to notice he was even there.  I made my way to the pew in which he sat.  He looked up at me as I approached him, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.  “Please sit” he offered, sliding over to give me room.  I nodded and took a seat beside him “thank you.”

 

“My name’s Angel” I turned slightly to face him, extending my hand out in front of me.

“Matthew” he took hold of my hand kindly “Matt for short.”

“Pleasure to meet you Matt” I smiled.

 

We both stared at the front of the church, watching the choir get into place.

 

“So, what brings you here?” I wondered, turning my attention back to him.

“I’m new in town and I was looking for a church to go to, and this was the only one close enough for walking.”

 

He looked over at me as someone opened the door to walk into to the church.  The sun light beamed across his face, making his eyes glow.  There was something that changed in me, a once comfortable feeling moments before had changed to almost fear.  There was something about his eyes that terrified me.

 

“Well, I better get back to my family, I hope to see you around more often” I stood, beginning to walk back to the pew my parents sat at, stopping to look back at him once more “Welcome to Brooksville.”

 

He smiled and said thank you before I turned to finish walking.  The remainder of church, all I could think about was his eyes.  I knew in the back of my mind they reminded me of something, I just couldn’t seem to pin point it. Church seemed to end faster than I’d hoped for.  I looked back at where Matt had sat, only to find an empty pew.  I scanned the room and didn’t see him anywhere.  I just shook my head, standing to leave. 

 

He wore a black hoodie that covered his face, all I could see were his dark green eyes glaring into mine.

 

My eyes flew open and I sat up straight in bed.  That was it, it was his eyes that terrified me.  They were the same eyes from my dream; I’m sure just a coincidence, a lot of people have green eyes.  The alarm on my clock startled me.  I placed a hand over my rapid beating heart, laughing now.  I pushed the little black button to silence it and stood up, stretching.  It was once again time for my morning run. 

 

I threw on a pair of shorts and a tank top, strapping on a pouch that carried my mace.  It wasn’t long and I was out the door, working my way toward the towns park.  It wasn’t quite as warm out and a bit foggy this morning, I couldn’t see much more than twenty feet ahead of myself, but I didn’t let it bother me.  I reached the sidewalk that circled the park and begun my run.

 

Only ten minutes into my run and I started feeling nervous.  That feeling you get when you can sense someone is watching you.  I stopped, looking around, scanning the park carefully.  The sun was just beginning to peak over the trees and the fog was evaporating.  All I could hear were the cars of the city, the voices of the people walking the streets, and the sound of the leafs of the trees ruffling together.  I shrugged it off, I was being overly paranoid.  I turned and began running again but was cut short as I ran into someone, falling to the ground, landing on my knees.  “Ow, shoot” I sat back, grasping my knees “I’m so sorry” I looked up at the person “I wasn’t paying attention.”  My stomach dropped when I saw Matt standing in front of me with his hand extended down towards me.  I hesitantly took hold of his hand and he pulled me back to my feet.

 

“Are you okay” he asked, looking down at my newly scraped knees, a small trickle of blood sliding down my leg.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine, thanks.” I took a few steps away from him, feeling uncomfortable with how close we’d gotten “What are you doing out here so early?”

“Ahhh, just taking a walk, trying to get better acquainted with this place, ya’ know?”

“That must have been a long walk” I added, remembering his comment from the day before about having a close church to walk to.

 

He looked at me with a half grin, not saying a word, just staring.

 

“Well I guess I’ll see you at church?  I need to make it back home before my parents get worried.”  I began to walk and he stepped in front of me.

 

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, you have a phone, you can tell them you ran into a friend if they call.” His eyes scanned over my body slowly as he pressed the tips of his fingers to my arm, sliding them up and down.

 

“Don’t touch me.” I turned away from him. I came to a halt and quickly found my back pressed against him, one hand on my forearm and the other on my hip.  “Lets not cause a scene” he stated firmly, beginning to walk to the wooded area.  I kept my breathing at a calm rate, pulling up my free hand to unzip my pouch, hoping he wasn’t paying attention to me, but making sure no one was watching him.  Once we got to the edge of the woods, I grabbed the can of mace, jerking myself away from him, spraying the peppery liquid towards his eyes. 

 

“You stupid…” He cut off his sentence to let out a cry of pain, rubbing his eyes hastily.

 

I ran past him, letting out a loud scream as I did.  The fog was almost gone enough to see the people walking the streets.  I let out a soft growl, the air being knocked out of me as I landed face first in the dirt.  I felt a hand wrap roughly around my ankle, pulling me back.  He grabbed a handful of my hair, jerking half my body up as he leaned down to reach my ear “Run or scream again and I’ll snap your neck right where you stand.”  He pushed my head back down against the ground, looking around before wrapping an arm around my waist, pulling me back up again.

 

Tears made their way down my cheeks as he drug me back into the woods.  We went about half a mile in and he stopped, sitting me down on a tree stump.  He pulled out a cell phone, handing it to me. “Call your parents and tell them you ran into a friend, you’ll be back home tomorrow.” I reached up to grab it, but he jerked it back “Don’t even think about trying to call the police…” he trailed off, bending down to be at my level, resting one of his hands on my cheek with a smile “…because if you do, I’ll not only kill you, but you’re whole family too.” He patted my cheek, handing over the phone.

 

I swallowed hard, my chest and throat had become tight and I felt as if I could barely breathe.  “Why are you doing this?”

 

He rolled his eyes, standing back up “Just make the phone call, we’ll have all the time in the world to chit chat later.”

 

After I made the call, he took the phone, opening the back and removing the sim card and bending it back and forth, being sure to destroy it.  “Won’t be needing that anymore” he tossed it into a pile of leafs, grabbing my wrist and pulling me up.  I pulled my arm from his grip “No, I refuse to go any further with you” I stated aggressively, glaring up at him.  He smirked, “A woman who knows what she wants, now this is going to be fun.”  He walked toward me and I stood my ground, I let no fear show as he neared me.  He pressed his body to mine and stopped “I must say, you’re probably the most interesting person I’ve dealt with yet and I’m sorry if you don’t like what’s happening or what may come in the future.” He brushed a strand of hair behind my ear “but you honestly have no choice.  So you might as well pretend you’re getting use to it now, or I can make your life a living hell.  You choose how this will play out.” He smiled some “But I must warn you, I get a very bad temper when things don’t go my way and people will get hurt.”

 

I continued to stare up at him, searching for what to say next, but I was lost in my own mind.  Either way this played out, he was going to hurt me.  Even if I cooperated, he was still going to hurt me and do only God knows what to me, and if I didn’t, he would kill my family. 

 

“Fine.” a small tear slid off my cheek.

 

He took hold of my wrist once more, and began walking in the same direction. 

 

“Where are we going?” I broke the silence.

“To my place.”

“Will you tell me why you want me now?”

 

He cleared his throat, shrugging slightly “I’ve been watching you for awhile now.”

 

“I’ve never seen you before” I interrupted.

 

“I’m not surprised” he chuckled.  “I’ve been watching you every night for a couple months now.  I watch you sleep…” he paused for a few seconds and glanced down at me for only a short second “I watch you dream about me.  The way you jerk and scream, begging me to stop what I’m doing, praying that I won’t thrust that knife into your stomach.”

 

I froze still and he stopped walking, looking back at me.  I was no longer fearful, I was terrified.  How did he know?  It wasn’t humanly possible.  Why was I even dreaming about him?  I’d never met him in my life until church.  It didn’t make sense, nothing made sense anymore.  I was in such deep thought I hadn’t realized I’d been crying.

 

“How did you kno….how have I been dreaming about you?”

 

He laughed, taking hold of my wrist again, tugging my arm to walk with him “because I was making you.”

Author's Note

I do realize that I am not the best writer in the world and as I stated on my about me, I write just for fun. I also realize you will more than likely find some things wrong throughout the story, but remember, practice makes perfect, and I will always be practicing.