My head was pounding, and my throat felt scratchy and dry. Even though I’d just woken, I felt like I hadn’t slept in days.What’s wrong with me? Am I getting sick?Maybe Samuel would get me some medicine or a cool drink to soothe my throat. I lifted my head to ask him, but a wave of dizziness crashed into me and I quickly lay back down.
I heard a clicking noise, somewhere off in the distance. Something about it was familiar, but my mind was too muddled to make sense of it. As I lay there, it continued. A click right next to my ear made me flinch, but just as quickly, it was gone. With no discernible rhythm, it seemed to be moving in all directions, its volume increasing, only to decrease a few seconds later.
As my head began to clear, bits and pieces of memories started to filter through. Samuel looking handsome and distinguished in his suit as he introduced me to Brooklyn ashis Oliver, the police, morbid pictures of young men, Korey…dead. Not just dead but murdered. Holding Samuel as he made love to me and then a noise…something soft, covering my nose and mouth and a sickly-sweet smell as I breathed in.
Gasping, my eyes sprang open as I suddenly remembered, but I recoiled immediately as a blinding white light pierced my eyes. I screwed them tightly shut as the pain in my head came back with a vengeance, stealing my breath and causing my stomach to revolt. I took several deep breaths through my nose, releasing them slowly through pursed lips until the pain had dulled and I no longer felt like I was going to throw up.
Vowing not to make the same mistake twice, I slowly began to open my eyes, allowing them to adjust to the light a little at a time. When they were finally opened all the way, I sat up. A cold chill swept over me and I shivered. Looking down, I saw I was wearing my pink, silk robe and a quick peek inside told me I was naked underneath. My stomach roiled again at the thought of someone touching me while I’d lain unconscious and vulnerable.
Holding my breath, I squirmed around a bit, testing for any soreness that would tell me I’d been violated. My relief was so great when I felt none that I swayed and nearly fell back on the bed, but then I remembered that I was alone for the moment and whoever had brought me there could be back at any second. I had to try and figure out where I was and search for anything that could possibly be used as a weapon. I needed to protect myself and I needed to hurry.
I was sitting in the middle of a bed in what appeared to be someone’s home. But instead of separate rooms, it was just one big, open space. Something about it seemed vaguely familiar, but I was certain I’d never been in that particular place before.
A kitchen area took up the entire wall, opposite from me and a moveable divider separated what I guessed to be a bathroom from the rest of the room. A small seating area with a futon and two overstuffed chairs, sat along a wall containing three large windows with the shades drawn. Through them, I was able to determine that it was still dark outside, and the sounds out there made me think I might be in the city, rather than some remote location. That was good. Cities meant people and people meant help. I just had to figure out how to get to them.
My eyes scanned the room again, but there were no framed photos or personal items lying about which might offer a clue as to whose home I was in. In fact, the only thing I recognized at all was the light which had hurt my eyes because I’d seen others like it plenty of times before, just never in someone’s bedroom.
Moving as quickly as I could, I tossed my feet over the side of the bed and stood on wobbly legs. It was already too late though. The sound of footsteps approaching had me looking across the room as the door swung open and a man stepped inside. My jaw dropped open as my mind scrambled to come up with a logical reason for why he’d be there.
“Ah! You’re awake. Good.” He smiled at me and a sense of dread settled in the pit of my stomach while a part of me still hoped I was wrong.
“What’s going on? Where am I and why am I here, Ben?” I whispered. He shrugged and for the first time, I noticed the camera he was holding. Suddenly, the trifold floor lamp and the clicking sound I’d heard earlier started to make sense.Had he been taking my picture while I’d been passed out?
“I’d hoped it would be obvious,” he said.
“It’s been a really long day for me, perhaps you should spell it out,” I said through clenched teeth. I could feel panic starting to set in and I fought to keep it at bay. If I was going to figure a way out of this, I would have to keep my wits about me.
“You’re in my home above the studio. I brought you here because you belong with me.” I stared at him, waiting for the punchline, but his face remained serious.
Apparently, the joke had been on me. How could I have been so close to two people, yet never known what they were truly like? First, I’d found out Korey was stealing from me and now Ben, who I’d also thought was my friend and a decent guy had…kidnapped me? What the hell was really going on? His words to me when we’d talked about Korey made a lot more sense now. He’d told me that people only let you see the parts of themselves they want you to see. Had he been referring to himself as well as Korey?
I shivered as it felt like an icy-cold finger traced a line down my spine. Was Ben the serial killer or was this something else altogether? I was praying for the latter, even though it wouldn’t mean I was in any less danger. Still, if he was the serial killer, then that would mean…
“Did you kill Korey?” I’d spoken the words so quietly that I wasn’t sure he’d heard, but he smiled and took a step toward me. Instinctively, I took a step back but stopped short as my knees hit the edge of the bed.
He continued advancing until he was right in front of me, barely a breath between us. “Yes. And I did it all for you.” The calm, concise manner in which he said it, had me breaking out in a cold sweat and I started to shake as the acrid smell of my own fear singed my nostrils.
Even after his admission, my mind tried to reject the idea. It was impossible to marry the two Bens together in my mind. The Ben I’d always known had been playful, fun and creative. The one standing in front of me was a total stranger, with eyes that held a cold detachment as he told me that he’d murdered someone. How could I have spent so many hours with someone and never been able to see how completely psychotic he was? Was I really that naïve or was Ben just a master at hiding it?
“What do you mean you did it all for me?” I asked in a shaky voice.
“The guy was always a complete asshole. You trusted him, but he never deserved your trust; I did. I could tell for a long time that he was up to no good, but you kept right on believing him. I was so glad when you finally figured out that he was stealing from you, but I felt bad that you were hurting. So, I took care of the situation. Korey Duncan was nothing but trash…so that’s where he ended up.” A manic laugh bubbled up from his throat, making him sound even more deranged than he already obviously was.
“What about all those other guys? Did you kill them too?” I whispered, not wanting to hear the answer, but finding it necessary at the same time. I needed to understand, to try and make sense of what was going on.
Ben set his camera down on the side table then reached a hand up to touch my face, but I recoiled. His eyes narrowed, and something dark and sinister flashed in his eyes, then just as quickly it was gone, replaced with a strange, almost wolfish grin. “That’s okay, my love. You’ll be begging for my touch soon enough.” I tasted bile in the back of my throat at the thought of him touching me. Did he really think I’d ever let him touch me after the things he’d done? If so, he was even crazier than I thought.
He took a step back and I blew out a relieved breath. That was, until he answered my question. “Yes, I killed them too. Every single one of them. I felt bad doing it, some of them were quite beautiful, but they were there to serve a purpose.”
“What purpose?” I wrapped my arms around myself to try and control my shaking.
He looked at me like the answer should’ve been obvious. “To keep me from killing you, of course.”
“Why would you want to kill me? I thought we were friends,” I choked out as tears filled my eyes. I used the back of my hand to brush them away.
“That’s the thing. I didn’twantto kill you. I love you. But sometimes the…voice would tell me to kill you; that you were just like all the others who’d rejected me or snubbed their noses at me because I wasjust the photographer. They liked me well enough while I was snapping their pictures, but then they moved on to people who could help them get further along in their careers. People like Korey.” He was becoming increasingly agitated the more he spoke, and I needed to diffuse the situation before he lost it completely and decided to listen to the voice in his head.
“I thought you were straight,” I said lamely. I knew in the grand scope of things, that information held little significance, but it was the first thing that popped in my head.
