In Darkness We Must Abide: The Complete Second Season: Episodes 6-10 (15 page)

Restless, Vanora grabbed a pair of black leggings, an over-sized sweater decorated with skulls from Betsey Johnson, panties and a camisole from her dresser, and walked into the bathroom. Her makeup was even more smeared and terrible looking now that she’d slept in it.

A hot shower, lots of soap, and shampoo got rid of the remains of her cosmetics and hairdo from the night before. After she was dressed, she again studied her face in the mirror. Her pallor, lavender eyes and white lashes gave her a ghostly appearance. It suited her mood.

After drying her hair and pulling on thick socks, she climbed back onto her bed with her sketching tools. Though a stack of books and her laptop called to her from the corner of her room, she didn’t feel like jumping into studying or writing her paper just yet. Instead, she wanted to sketch the images from the dream. The fact that she could remember so many details was a good indicator that it was significant.

Soon she was consumed in capturing what felt like the most pertinent details in her artwork. Some of the charcoal etchings were less detailed, such as the one with Dan and the empty wedding gown, while others were much more intricate. The young girl she’d seen consumed a lot of her energy. By the time she was done, the girl was rendered so perfectly, it took Vanora’s breath away. Was this the most important aspect of her dream?

At lunch time she ate a grilled cheese sandwich and slices of frozen Fredericksburg, Texas peaches. Though she usually loved the sweetness of the peaches from the Hill Country, she barely registered their taste. Her thoughts were consumed with the final sketch.

Returning to her room, she settled into her stack of pillows and started to outline the final scene from her dream. Though she had been comfortable with her nudity in the dream, she didn’t feel the same when it came to rendering it. She finally opted to draw Armando’s bite so that was framed from her collarbone up. Her final sketch was of the view outside the windows.

By the time she finished, she was surprised to see the long shadows filling in her room. Checking the time, she realized she had spent most of the day drawing. With that revelation, her fingers began to ache with a dull pain. Vanora stared at her stack of books and her laptop. She knew she needed to work on her paper and study, but in the aftermath of her dream, her schooling seemed inconsequential.

Feeling utterly drained emotionally, physically, and maybe psychically, she hid the sketches in the box on her shelf and lay on the unmade bed. Vanora didn’t want to sleep, but it called to her. Her eyelids were heavy and the warmth in the room in comparison to the cold front whistling outside her window made her even sleepier.

Vanora was nearly completely asleep, when she felt the softest of touches on her brow.

“Be strong,” Carys’s voice whispered.

“
I will, Mom,” Vanora murmured, then drifted away.

Exhaustion ate at Rhonda. She’d tried calling Vanora multiple times throughout the day, but had been dumped instantly into voicemail. Either her best friend had forgotten to turn on her phone, or was too deep into her studies to answer. Rhonda had thought maybe she could rope Vanora into dinner and a movie, but by the end of the work day she knew that she’d most likely be falling face-first into bed the second she got home.

Though Rhonda hadn’t wanted to worry Vanora, security had reported seeing Neil, the employee she had fired, lingering outside the store in the early morning hours. He’d been hanging out at the bus stop located on the sidewalk that bordered the parking lot of the shopping center. He did live nearby, so it could have been just a coincidence, but it unnerved Rhonda. The double security that had been canceled and only the regular guard, Terry, would be on night duty. Though Terry was very competent, Rhonda wasn’t sure the short, stocky woman could take down Neil if he tried anything. Terry was unarmed, except for pepper spray.

Throughout the day, Rhonda fought to remain focused on the task at hand. The storeroom was ready for inventory, but the floor had a lot of work yet to be done. Her assistant managers were working long hours, too, but Rhonda had reached a point of exhaustion where she knew she had to head home earlier than she had been, or take a serious hit to her health. The district manager had even called to tell her to go home at closing, but reminded her to be right back at work first thing in the morning.

“
Any more signs of Neil?” her assistant manager, Stuart, asked when they were finally ready to go home that evening.

“
Not since this morning,” Rhonda answered with a shrug.

“
I know he’s a little off, but I don’t think he’ll try anything. You’re probably worrying for nothing,” Stuart said, obviously trying to be reassuring.

Instead, Rhonda thought, he was coming across as a bit condescending. She was so tired of people acting like she was overreacting. Though she had downplayed her interaction with Neil when telling Vanora about the incident, Neil had terrified her. The glower in his eyes and the way he had tried to physically intimidate her were behaviors that had promised violence.

Though she never saw Neil, she felt like he was everywhere. She hated that feeling. It pissed her off that she felt so weak and afraid. Deep, intense feelings of paranoia enfolded her and clouded her mind. She just wanted it all to end, but had no idea how to make that happen. Maybe Neil would find another job and just forget about her firing him. Or maybe he’d get mad at someone else and accuse them of ruining his life.

“
I checked the parking lot. No one is out there,” the female security guard informed Rhonda when she arrived at the front doors.

“
See? Nothing to worry about,” Stuart said, then hurried out to the nearby bus stop.

The low-hanging winter clouds obliterated the moon and stars, making the sky feel heavy and foreboding. Rhonda scanned the parking lot, wishing she could actually park closer to the front of the store. It was the policy of the company that the employees had to leave their cars at the rear of the lot.

Terry gave her a slight smile. “I’d walk you to your car, but I can’t leave the store, since I’m on my own again. But I’ll keep an eye on you and watch out for Neil.”

“
Thanks, Terry.” Rhonda patted the shorter woman’s shoulder. “I appreciate it.”

Terry pushed the door open for her and Rhonda hurried out into the darkness. Scanning all about her, she strolled purposefully toward her car. She slipped one hand into her purse and wrapped it around her can of pepper spray, deftly flicking off the safety tab. Continuously squeezing the button on her car remote, she waited to hear the reassuring beep. If Neil came at her, her plan was to spray him, then run for the car.

All around her was bare asphalt decorated with faded yellow lines, vaguely outlining parking slots. Only a few cars were at the far end of the lot. One was her own, the others belonged to Terry and the store’s custodial staff. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw Terry watching her from the front door. The guard gave her a short wave, urging her on.

Rhonda’s red Mustang was parked directly under a light post, the yellow light streaming through the light winter mist to illuminate the vehicle. Just a few more feet and she would be safely within her car. Her tawny curls hung limply around her pale face in the cold damp stillness of the night. It reminded her of the quiet before a storm.

Just a few more feet...

Again Rhonda scanned the parking lot for any sign of life and saw absolutely no one. It was as if the world was empty of people and she alone existed. This darkened world was filled with the sounds of her heels clicking, her heavy breathing, and the pounding of her heart. Why was it taking so long to reach her car?

“Excuse me,” a voice said from behind her.

Rhonda whirled about in surprise. Standing not two feet from her was a very tiny, slim teenage girl with large blue eyes and blond hair. Standing demurely in a white sweater and matching jeans, her small feet tucked into fashionable boots, the girl smiled brightly. Rhonda could not help but be alarmed by her sudden appearance. How had this girl seemingly appeared out of nowhere?

“Excuse me, please. May I ask a question?” the girl said again. There was a slight hint of an accent, and each word was pronounced with purposeful clarity.

“
Yes, what do you need?” Rhonda asked suspiciously, her finger already on the pepper spray trigger. Maybe the girl had come from the nearby bus stop, but it seemed strange that someone so young was out on her own so late in the evening.

“
I just wanted to know when the store will reopen,” the girl answered, her smile never wavering.

There was something about her eyes that Rhonda didn’t like. There was a certain slyness, a lack of any of the innocence her appearance implied. “We open at nine and close at nine in the evening.”

“I guess that means you’re getting out late then,” the girl said, lifting one eyebrow.

“
If you’ll excuse me, I have to get home,” Rhonda said shortly. “And so should you. It’s not safe out here.” Purposefully, she turned about, dismissing the strange girl.

“
Oh, I know it’s not.”

A gush of wind blew Rhonda’s hair into disarray and sent pieces of litter skittering on ahead of her. She whirled about. The girl was gone. A quick look at the front of the store revealed that Terry was no longer watching.

That did it.

Rhonda ran to her car and unlocked it. As soon as she wrenched the door open, she jumped inside, tossing her purse onto the passenger seat. The headlights snapped on as the doors locked and the engine roared to life. Rhonda sped out of the parking lot at top speed, goose bumps decorating her flesh.

“What the fuck just happened?” she whispered under her breath.

It took all her willpower not to run every red light on the way home. It wasn’t until she turned into the parking lot of her apartment complex that she started to nervously giggle. She was so frazzled over the situation with Neil and the upcoming inventory that she’d been afraid of a teenage girl. Parking, she leaned her forehead against the steering wheel. She needed to get her head together and stop letting her paranoia rule her life.

Sitting up, she scrutinized the row of cars parked beneath the shadows of the pecan trees. Nothing stirred except the branches high overhead. Rhonda tugged her purse onto her shoulder, unlocked the car, and stepped out. Wrapping her hand around the pepper spray tucked inside her purse, she started her walk home.

The lamps dotting the parking lot and courtyard gave off a warm glow. It was after ten o’clock at night, and most of the apartment building's windows were dark. Only a few glowed blue as some of her neighbors watched the evening news or their favorite shows.

Rhonda briskly strode across the courtyard, keeping to the well-lit areas. Her shoulders sagged with relief as the stairs to her apartment came into view. Only a few more steps and she’d be safely inside. Letting go of the pepper spray, she switched her keys from her left hand to the right. Bolting up the stairs, her footsteps echoed through the night.

And continued to do so after she paused on the stoop to unlock the door.

Spinning about, she was shocked to see Neil right behind her. A wickedly sharp hunting knife caught the light from the outside lamp over her shoulder. The weapon was a scant inch from her chest. Neil was so close to her, she wasn’t sure how she could have possibly missed him sneaking up behind her.

“
I just don’t understand,” he said in a breathless voice. His ruddy face was sweating despite the cold temperatures. The bulkiness of the many layers of hoodies he wore added to his already hefty size. He dwarfed her, hiding her from the view below.

Rhonda, who always had something to say about everything, found she couldn’t speak at all. Fear stitched her mouth closed and seized her heart.

“You ruined my life. My life was already shit and you made it worse. I used to be someone before the layoffs. I was the guy in charge. I was the guy giving orders. Then everything went to hell. “

The knife glittered dangerously. Rhonda couldn’t think of anything other than the tip of the blade. Even as Neil spoke in his desperately harsh, yet sobbing voice, her brain couldn’t focus on anything other than the sharp weapon in his hand. Though the keys dangled from her fingers, she knew he would strike if she dared to move. She opened her mouth to cry out, but her throat was strangled by terror.

“I already have my bitch ex-wife demanding that I give her more money. I’m going to have to move in with my parents...” Neil continued to list his grievances, his jaw tensed and eyes blazing.

The light continued to dance along the edge of the blade.

The band of fear around Rhonda’s chest tightened, making it difficult to breathe. A whistling sound emanated from her throat. Maybe it was a scream. Maybe it was a cry for help. Even Rhonda wasn’t sure. All she could do was stare at the knife. She was caught in the paralyzing grip of terror and drowning swiftly.

“
Do you understand what you’ve done?”

Neil’s voice demanded her attention, but she couldn’t look away from the blade. Tears slid down her face. At last, she managed to whisper, “Please.”

The hunting knife receded slightly. “I just want you to understand.”