The First Touch (24 page)

At first it was frightening, but that feeling soon faded and a sharper feeling replaced it. One that she knew would keep her safe, since Ivan was gone. Then one night not long after, a new voice one that she was not
familiar with, began to come in
to her room to watch her sleep. This voice was not familiar or sweet or gentle. This voice was harsh and empty, and it made her skin crawl and her insides worked extra hard to prepare her for a danger that she could feel was just beyond the horizon.

Eventually
, she
began to feel it grow colder inside her chest and the pain began to seep into her skin. After a time
,
she knew that it was not just the sorrow of her new placement. The bed in this new place was wrong and painful. There had been many deaths here, painful and torturously slow. There was no blood smell though it had been carefully cleaned away. But it did not change the feel of the air, the forgotten fear and suffering that would forever haunt
it. Her inner voice told her,
They
should burn this place to the ground
and free what was trapped here.

Then one night, the slithering foot steps
,
of which she had now become accustom
ed too, came in
to the room again. It was different tonight though, his shuffle was heavier as if he were carrying a new weight on his shoulders. “She still sleeps
see,
” he said.

Then a new voice answered,
this one deeper,
“It has been a long time.”

He answered, “Yes
,
twice as long as the longest ever recorded.”

The new voice asked, “Are they sure she is still changing?”

He replied eagerly, “No. Flanagan and Grayton still argue over that fact.”

The new voice asked carefully, “What do they think?”

He replied, “They think she is finished but she will not wake.”

The new voice seemed annoyed then, “Why do they think she will not wake?”

He replied, attempting to placate his guest, “Grayton says that she is not ready to face the world yet
. W
hile Flanagan seems to think that she is unable to wake. Like a human in a comma.”

The new voice seemed intrigued, “Is that what you believe, Gregory?”

She felt his shifty smile as he replied
, “
I think she waits for her mat
e.” As he said this he scrapped
his fingers down the nape of her neck and down to her breast grabbing it roughly. Autumn heard a sharp smack and an angry voice seething with warning
followed,
“Do not touch her.”

Gregory replied
, “
She is a
sleep, I could set her on fire and she would not feel a thing.
”

The other voice snapped, saying something in a foreign tongue, a profanity by the sound of the force behind it, “She does not burn. If she awakes you are to call me
immediately.”

Gregory shot back,
stuttering in a well rehearsed manner
, “
Of course... I will...” The door closed again without another word.

The following night
,
Autumn
felt the wind on her face, as if the window were open, though there wasn’t one in her room. There was a new scent in the air, and finally she awoke, her heart beat wildly in her chest. There was something wrong, the air felt different, there was danger in it. Autumn felt it coming closer as the slithering step returned, “I know my place.” The voice was cold and familiar now, Gregory. Autumn felt his chilly fingers slide across her face. It hit her then if she did not call out no one would come to save her.

Her mind revealed and her voice came out weak and lifeless, “Stop.”

Gregory halted and asked “What did you say?”

Autumn
’s
weak trembling voice came again, “Stop please.” She opened her eyes then, pleading with him.

Gregory smiled heartlessly and lifted
Autumn’s
hand and then let her wilted limb drop. “You are supposed to be sleeping my dear.” His mocking tone made her shake on the inside involuntarily, he was the danger. He felt her fear then and he smiled monstrously back at her now. Sliding his hand back to her face saying, “You have lovely eyes my
dear,
I think they are wrong though, you have not changed at all.”

Then she watched as his eyes changed to black pitiless pools, and
Autumn
screamed out sending an echo into the empty room, and adjoining hallway, ‘IVAN!’

Gregory slid his hands protectively over his ears, and looked at
Autumn
hesitating
,
assessing the risk. He was trying to determine the level of danger in her screams and then he smiled ruthlessly. “Ivan will not be coming for you, he has been ordered to stay away or else I get to kill you. So you can call for him all night sweetness. No one will come to your rescue here.” He slid his fingers over her skin again and
Autumn
closed her eyes feeling his putrid breath on her face.

Gregory was as ugly on the inside as his gnarled outsides were
.
He had greasy hair, bulging eyes, and a small slit that was to be his mouth though it had gashes in it as if he had chewed at it. This was finished with a crooked button nose and deeply pot marked
skin. She would have felt sorry for him if it weren’t for his jagged teeth that were certainly going to rip her throat out in a moment. He shifted his weight then and crawled on to the bed slowly enjoying
himself
as he stalked his immobile pray. She could feel then what caused him to shuffle slightly as he walke
d; it was a significant difference
in leg lengths.

Her m
ind began screaming instantly,
think...think
Autumn
...What to do...What to do... I need energy... Energy means life. Life means hope of being saved.
She began l
ooking for energy in the room.
No. No energy in the room, none save him.
Then her mind left the room and began searching and searching. Corridors and closed doors, Stair cases and high ceilings, and then a heat sent
her hurrying towards it. A
heat that burned brightly, strong and steady. She looked at the cloaked figure standing over a book on a desk, one that she suspected was not his own. He was tall and formidable looking
,
his pale fingers tracing the words on the page.

Autumn stood her ground and spoke the words as clearly and as loud as she could in her mind, “Help me!” Then she felt herself being pulled back to her body and her eyes began to hurt as she realized that he was now resting on top of her. His gnarled hand
s
were prying her eye lids
open and asked cruelly
, “Who are you calling out to? There is no one here.” Foot steps at the door sent him flying across the room as soon as he spoke the words though.

The door opened slowly and a large cloaked figure stepped inside and asked, “What are you doing in here Gregory?”

Gregory stood in between
Autumn
and the cloaked figure and replied surprised, “Why are you here?” Then he paused and said guiltily, “Nothing.”

The cloaked figure hissed, “Do not lie to me.”

Gregory countered, “I thought I heard someone calling out.”

The cloaked figure seemed to take that explanation and was about to turn and leave, when
Autumn
spoke, “Wait.” The figure stopped jerkily and shoved Gregory out of his way slamming him into the wall.

Then he approached
Autumn
cautiously, and stood staring at her
now open
eyes, “You are awake.”

Autumn replied weakly, “Yes.”

The cloaked figure pulled the hood from his head and a thick head full of black hair appeared. His skin was flawless, as most of them seemed to be, but he had feint blue veins running across his jaw line and temples. The effect was startling, that along with his eyes which were black naturally she guessed. He had high cheekbones and
a
strong jaw line
that
gave him a strangely handsome appearance. This was finished off with a proportionate nose and strong thin lips that were bluish though slightly lighter than the veiny highlights.

He continued to stare at her unblinking, “Did you call me?”

She
replied timidly, “Yes.”

Then he asked curiously, “Why have your eyes not changed?”

Autumn blinked, “I don’t know.”

Then he watched as
Autumn’s
eyes went searching for Gregory again, “Did he leave?”

The tall man saw the look of fear in her eyes and asked, “Why did you call for me?”

She
looked at him and whispered, “I was scared.”

The tall man asked then his eyes narrowing upon something out of
Autumn’s
sight, “Why did you wake up?”

Autumn replied with a little more courage, “I was in danger.”

The tall man nodded understanding now, “You are safe now.”

She replied almost a whisper, “Yes, now that you are here.”

The air in the room got warmer and the candle next to her bed flared for a few seconds. Then the screaming began and
Autumn’s
body shot against the back of the head board behind her instinctively. She watched as Gregory’s body burst into flames as he ran from the room screaming. Then the cloaked
man turned towards
Autumn
pushing
his hands together extinguishing the flame there. Then he said smiling, “Your eyes look better now
,
” and he reached forward to touch her face and she jerked involuntarily.

H
e jerked back in response to her startled
response and his returned to the same distant look that he had begun with. “I will send someone to collect you.” Then he turned and left her without another word.

Autumn sat unmoving and called after him, “Thank you.” She sat staring at the door waiting for s
omeone to come and collect her
. Luckily
,
she did not have to wait long, twenty minutes later
,
two large men walked through the door. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence someone spoke a command into the taller of the twos ear piece and he motioned for her to come with them. Then they stood at attention waiting for her to comply. Autumn looked at them pitifully and said admitting weekly, “I don’t think I can walk yet.”

The two men dropped their guards and looked surprised
, turning
to look
at her for confirmation. Then they argued over who would touch her gesturing for each other to do it. Then they
both manned
up and stepped closer towards her
,
slowly slid their hands out to help her. She slid her hands out to grab their hands and they pulled her off of the bed easily. She smiled at them
,
embarrassed as her legs wobbled and they broke into smiles as well. She tried in vein to take a few steps and her legs gave way.

The first man spoke politely, “
May I carry you?” Autumn nodded, and he swept her into his arms easily.

She smiled sweetly and said, “Thank you.”

He replied politely, as they made their way through the large stone home, “No problem.” The other man looked at the first and they shared a smile. Then they whisked her outside to a black suburban with heavily tinted windows.

They drove for hours while she dozed in the back seat, mumbling to herself regarding the images that flashed before her eyes as her mind tried to make sense of the scenes. They arrived at another pier and loaded her onto a boat in the same manner as before, where even more men sat waiting for them. The soldier carried her to a large suit
e
and told her he would be right outside if she needed anything. She raised her hand then asking, “What is your name?”

He seemed taken aback by the question but replied truthfully
, “
I am Travis Madame.”

She
smiled
politely and replied
, “
I am
Autumn
.
”

Travis replied slowly, “I know who you are Madame.”

A
utumn looked at him and asked, “
What do you know about me?”

Travis looked at the door and then back at her, “You are to be tested.”

S
he nodded at a flash of a memory and replied, “Yes, what is today’s date?”

Travis replied confidently, “The thirteenth Madame.”

Autumn asked sounding scared, “Of what month?”

Travis shot back cautiously a
s he made his way to the door, “
Of March.” She stopped him with her hand and said incredulously
, “
I was asleep for two months?” Travis nodded then he disappeared closing the door softly behind him.