Shadow

Part Five

The warmth of the sun bathed my skin from the open window and the inviting smell of coffee filled my senses. Wait... My eyes flutter open in confusion. I was in the master bedroom of the house Lee and I had bought together. I sit up in bed and lift my shirt, touching the right side of my stomach, finding nothing but smooth skin. It was all a dream. Lee was peacefully sleeping at my side, his messy hair draped over his face like a silk curtain and his lips parted taking in quiet breaths. The sound of the coffee pot brewing last night's freshly ground beans coming from the kitchen, reminding me of my usual morning. My shoulders relax, relieved that this was my perfectly dull reality. Moving to the forest, Lee and Bailey, my grandfather's cabin and that crazy man...It was a just some crazy nightmare my subconscious cooked up. I lie backdown, hearing a small groan from Lee's lips. "You're awake," he asked in a sleepy tone as he reached for me.

"Yeah, I had a weird dream," I respond staring up at the sunlit ceiling. "You cheated on me and some maniac tried to kill me."

"A maniac? Did you get away?"

"Mno... well, maybe. I mean I woke up."

"I don't think you got away," Lee's voice sounded strange, a bit scratchy but maybe it was because he had just woken up. Yet, his response was confusing. I turn my attention to him and my breath catches in my throat as I see the stitches across his face. "You're never getting away." It wasn't Lee who laid beside me in bed, but Liu; a deranged look in his bright eyes and smile stretched so wide, it was tearing his stitches. Black blood oozed from every hole as his smile grew wider and his eyes grew darker. I scream so loud, so blood curdling that it rings my ears as I frantically scoot away from him and end up falling off the bed.

When I woke, I was being dragged up the three steps that lead to the front door. My mind was cloudy, trapped in some sort of haze. I was bleeding and had no control over my limp body; part of me wondered if it was another dream, but it wasn't, the rain soaking me, and pain on my side made sure to anchor me to reality. He had grabbed a hold of my wrist and tugged up like a rag doll. My shirt around my abdomen was soaked with blood and had left a trail of red from the steps of my deck to my room upstairs. I don't remember him placing me on my bed or falling asleep. But, when my eyes open, the blood on my mouth is gone and my stomach is bandaged. I touch the poor bandaging job with a finger and slump back on the pillow. Ow. With a small sigh I drop my arm heavily on the bed, the back of my hand touches something cold and I jerk it away, glancing over. I stare, eyes widened with fear at the slumbering young man cuddling with a knife beside me. The stitches of his mouth had come undone, giving me a small glimpse of the inside of his mouth. I suck in a breath, wanting to run and quietly sit up. When I lift my legs something clatters, catching my attention. It sounded like tiny bells ringing, but I couldn't be more wrong. There was a chain around my ankle; it was padlocked and I'm guessing he had the key. I glance over my shoulder at him, he was still peacefully sleeping. If it weren't for the knife he was embracing as if it were a fluffy stuffed animal, he'd almost look innocent.

I chew on the piercing through my lip as I contemplate my next move. The side of my stomach throbbed but I try to ignore it. I can be in pain later. Right now, I need to get out. I poke at his shoulder with a finger; when he doesn't react, I start patting his pockets. The front right and back pockets felt empty, there was something in his back left, but it didn't feel much like a key. That only left his left pocket. Fuck, I think as I stare at it. He was laying on his side, the pocket not completely out of reach but still smashed between his body and the bed. I creep my hand towards his front pocket; I was trembling again, but I push through it. I had no other choice, if I wanted to get out of here. I carefully dip two fingers into his pocket, freezing in place when he groans slightly. "No... J-Jeff...," he grumbles in his sleep turning over. My teeth clench and I slip my hand away, then pat his pocket gently feel the hard material of the key through the black denim. I slip my fingers in a second time, pulling out the key with a victorious smile. Slowly I bring my ankle closer, gritting my teeth when I fold my body to reach it. The lock clicks as it pops open, and I swing my legs over the bed. My feet land on something cold, squishy and damp. What the... Lee's cloudy eyes meet mine as I look down to see what I had just stepped on. His mouth was open, and his once fair skin was dull and gray. Lines of dark dried up blood trailed from his mouth to his jaw and throat. My feet had landed on the coagulated blood of the minced meat that was once his defined stomach. His dead eyes were looking at me as if they were still pleading for help.