Shaman - the Awakening (6 page)

I didn't elaborate to her about the fact that I had never been seen through another person's eyes before. In the past, when I talked in my sleep, it had always been from an omniscient view point. Dr. Banks even let me hear the recordings. Then Dianna snapped me out of deep thought.

“What did you see,” she inquired?

I briefed her on the events as they transpired to me, through the eyes and mind of Jessica.

“I'm going to take a shower now. Can you call Steve and inform him that I've made a connection, and see what he wants to do?” I asked Dianna.

“Sure. Are you hungry.” she inquired.

“I could eat a horse,” I responded as I made my way to the bathroom.

“Me too, I'll order some room service.”

Dianna telephoned Steve while I was in the bathroom. I felt revived after showering. I couldn't wait to finally contribute to the case. It wasn't much under the circumstances, but I had seen the team dissect the smallest of information and run with it. Dianna kissed me as I exited the bathroom in a towel. She was a very sensual woman, fully in touch with her femininity. It didn't take much for her to turn me on.

“I'm sorry, tiger. You just looked so good in that towel. We don't have the time for that. Steve wants us at the office ASAP,” she said and kissed me again.

Alright, we'll finish this later,” I replied, grinning.

The food arrived while I was dressing. Dianna ordered some deli sandwiches with cold veggie pasta, coleslaw, potato salad, juice, coffee and mixed fruit. It was a quick pick-me-up energy meal, filled with carbs and protein.

Most of the team was still out investigating the case. Ortega, Amber and a few other RO agents were at the office with Steve when we arrived. We waited for about 30 minutes for Max and Paul to arrive with Trace and Gracie.

“Alright folks, Chris has made a connection with Jessica,” Steve said, then indicated I should brief the team on what I had discovered.

“Well, it's correct. She was taken from the parking lot at her apartment complex. When she got out of the vehicle, she heard a large dog growling, but couldn't see where it was coming from. She remembers it being particularly dark out that tonight. She had some bags in the trunk that she went to get out, which is when he came from behind, out of nowhere. He was silent when he placed something over her mouth and nose, perhaps chloroform, and she passed out,” I said.

“She woke up terrified in a completely dark place, with no windows or doors that she could see. It was pitch black. She was bound at the wrists and legs. She struggled to move, but couldn't free herself or even scream, as he had her gagged as well. She was lying on a dirt floor. She couldn't hear anything in the background, perhaps due to the terror. Her senses were numb and weren't registering her surroundings. I will continue to monitor her; perhaps she will settle down and give us something more to go on. It is a strong bond thus far,” I stated to the team before Steve took over the lead again.

“Alright. Talk to me, people. What can we deduce from this?” The team began our usual profiling session with Steve up at the board, the rest of us collectively spurting out profiling deductions.

“The first thing is that she is alive, so he doesn't immediately kill them, which is a positive. We don't know how long they remain alive, but the next abduction date is February 1. This gives us time for rescue. She hasn't been harmed yet, so he is working up to something. He has her for gratification of a need and is building towards some type of finale. He is a loner, as profiled earlier. He lives by himself in a secluded place. We need to look for houses with unfinished basements or cellars with a dirt floor. Her neighbors had sighted a rather large dog in the neighborhood around the beginning of curfew, and Jessica heard a large dog growling. Maybe the subject hunts with his dog. He stalks his victims before he actually takes them. He knows where they live and work. He watches them well in advance.”

Then Steve completed the information sharing session with, “He is very patient, intelligent and well organized. Let's narrow it down and investigate our latest findings. I'll brief Ortega and the rest of the RO.”

For the next couple of days, my assignment was to continue dreamscaping, which meant I didn't let any other outside stimuli take away from my connection with Jessica. This wasn't a hard task to do, since I had already conditioned myself to alleviate outside interferences. I didn't watch any television or listen to the radio. I only played music or listened to it. I asked Dianna to take me back to Jessica's apartment. We didn't need Gracie as an escort any longer, which freed her up to do other investigative assignments. From now on, it was just me and Dianna.

While at Jessica's apartment I did my usual, this time retracing her actions as I had seen them during dreamscape, to create an even stronger tie. Then I went inside and spent some time wandering through the apartment, before heading back to the Hilton. I wanted to get a jump start on my dreamscape. I notified Steve of my intentions and departed.

Dianna had an excellent idea while back at the hotel. She knew how the sleeping pills made me depressed and irritable with mood swings, so she prepared a bubble bath with candles for us, and some wine. I couldn't find any flaw in her strategy, and even if it didn't work, I still had the pills to rely on. She cautioned against the addictiveness and side effects of the medication. It was also a good way to ease my mind and for us to spend some couple time together. We relaxed for a while in the large Jacuzzi sized-tub, making love in the water. She literally wore me out. If she wanted to ensure that I fell asleep, she did a good job of it.

We went to the bedroom after making love in the tub, and continued there until I went to sleep. At this point I only hoped she wouldn't fall asleep also, and our findings would not be recorded.

The first thing I recall when I went to sleep was dreaming about Dianna, but then I diverted to Jessica. She was still tied up on the floor, crying. She was wondering about her family and how she would never see them again. She also wondered why this was happening to her, and what she had done to deserve this.

It was still quiet in the area Jessica was being held, but it was warmer inside the enclosed area now than it had previously been. It was daytime. She still couldn't see any light, but t after a while, she saw light surrounding the silhouette of the door, and then heard footsteps. She became more terrified, trembling in fear, curled up on the floor as tears rolled down her face. Her silent crying turned into a low, resonating moan as she heard the doorknob turn.

When the door opened, the light blinded her. She had been in the dark for so long she couldn't see anything for several seconds, and then she took in the silhouette of a person standing in the middle of the door with the light to his back. She couldn't make out his face or anything else. As he approached her, she began yelling through the gag in her mouth, but it was muffled. Then she began squirming and kicking erratically in spite of her bonds, in an attempt to fight back as he touched her. He briefly removed the gag from over her mouth and naturally her screams gained volume. Then he placed the chemically doused rag over her nose once again, rendering her unconscious.

When she woke up she was bathed and naked, with only an adult diaper on. She was on a bed in the dark room now. She hadn't known there was a bed in the room while she'd been lying on the floor. She began to cry again. She was elated to still be alive, but knew her situation hadn't changed much. She felt violated, like someone had raped her. She didn't feel the physical signs of rape, but mentally it felt as if she had been. The thought of a stranger touching her all over and doing whatever he wanted was terrifying.

There was a lantern on a table and a chair rested under the table in the room, but no windows. She was still bound at the wrists and legs, tied to the bed. She was alone now and even more afraid. She was tired and hungry but valiantly struggled to free herself from her bonds, until she fell asleep, exhausted by exertion and terror.

I woke up at that point, struggling as if I was tied to the bed. Dianna was up and had recorded the whole session. She had been up the whole time while I slept –if you could call that sleep. It had been a nightmare filled with anxiety and terror. Dianna was watching over me protectively, and it was nice to see her smiling face as I opened my weary eyes. She gently felt the side of my face. She had the look of a carrying mother. Then she got up to get me a bottle of water from the fridge. I didn't have to ask for it this time, she already knew.

I watched her as she moved through the room like a goddess. I thought how lucky I was to have her in my life. I had never known how lonely I was until she came in and filled the void. I had become used to be being alone and adapted to it. I had been doing all this on my own, and now I felt like I had been missing out on a huge part of life as I watched her. She only had on her work blouse and a pair of black Victoria's Secret lace bikini panties. Yes, I knew they were made by VS, I enjoyed their catalogues like most men. It was better than watching the Sports Illustrated Swimwear Edition. Dianna was looking incredibly sexy in the ensemble.

“Thank you,” I said as she handed me the bottle of water.

“You're welcome. Did you get anything else from her,” she inquired?

“No; nothing much, but she is still alive. He knocked her out again with the chloroform and bathed her. Afterwards he put an adult diaper on her. I guess so she could use the restroom while he was out? He also placed a lantern in the room where he was keeping her. She's tied to a bed and there's a table and chair in there as well. I didn't hear any distinguishing sounds from the room, and it has no windows,” I informed Dianna.

“Well at least we know she is still alive and he is taking care of her for a purpose. I'll inform Steve.”

“Alright; did you record anything?”

“Yes, but nothing of significance. It was just the thoughts and reactions of a terrified girl. Here, listen while I talk to Steve.”

She handed me the recorder while she got on the telephone. I got up from the bed after listening to myself on the recorder, and slipped into my boxer shorts and pants, which were lying on the chair beside the bed. Then I opened up the curtains. I needed to see some light. I had been in the dark too long. I didn't know if it was a carryover from the dreamscape or what, but I needed to see the sun. I caught a little bit of it before it set. As much as I enjoyed the dark, it was time for some sunlight.

“Steve said good work; just continue monitoring her and keep him updated,” Dianna said, and then inquired with a smile, “What made you decide to put your clothes back on?”

“I don't know. I just did,” I replied. I really didn't have an answer for her because I really didn't know why. I wasn't going anywhere. I guess I was carrying over some things from the dream; her being naked on the bed and all. Perhaps I was consciously attempting to get myself away from it while I was awake. Dianna came over to the window that I was looking out of and put her arms around me from behind, as we watched the sunset together.

We went down to the hotel's restaurant and ate a good sit-down meal for a change, before I went back under. Gracie telephoned Dianna and inquired about us. She was concerned about her new partners and wanted to make sure everything was alright and ask if we needed anything. Dianna reassured her that all was well and this was just protocol for us. Then we began discussing the case over dinner.

“This perp is doing everything meticulously. He isn't slipping up much,” I stated to Dianna.

“I know; it is as if he knows something about investigative techniques,” she replied.

“You don't think he is with law enforcement,” I inquired.

“Anything is possible and within the realm of reason, I've discovered on this job. You of all people should now that,” she reminded me.

“You're right,” I stated, but didn't really know how to accept what she just said. Up until now, she had always thought of my abilities as a gift, but that comment didn't sound too encouraging. Maybe I was just being paranoid again.

After dinner we went back up to my suite. I told Dianna that she didn't have to stay while I went under again, and that I could turn on the recorder before I went to sleep, but she wouldn't hear of it and kissed me, telling me to stop acting silly.

“When are you going to rest?” I inquired.

“I'll go to sleep after you wake up the next time. Now go to sleep, my sweet prince,” she said and kissed me. I turned on my iPhone and listened to some jazz. I only took one pill this time, and lay down next to her on the bed.

Over the next few days I didn't receive much about Jessica's whereabouts. I briefed the team every day on what I saw, which wasn't much. He basically left her alone. It remained dark most of the time in the area where she was being held. She heard a coyote or a dog in the background at night. The change in temperature and the coyote let her know when it was nighttime.

She remained gagged at all times, except when he allowed her to eat. He fed her and bathed her. She had oatmeal and juice for breakfast, noodles for lunch, sandwiches for dinner with applesauce or some other fruit, and water. He was taking care of her, but to what end? There were no signs of the other women. All local law enforcement had joined in on the task force. This subject was very cunning and careful.

“The subject is believed to work during the day, according to the timeline that we received from Chris. Jessica is fed in the morning, and then again in the evening. He feeds her before he goes out and when he returns. Sometimes he returns for lunch and feeds her, but this is random. We need to find a secluded area or home. The subject is believed to have a large wolf-like dog. Jessica hears the sound of a coyote howling at night. It could be the dog that was seen by the neighbors when she was abducted,” Steve stated.

Then Agent Gracie Mullins raised her hand, as if she was still in the classroom at Quantico. I found it amusing, based on the information Dianna gave me about their relationship, and smiled. I looked around the conference room at the rest of the team to observe their expressions, and they were all the same. They knew about them, and probably about Dianna and me as well.