The Face Of The Enemy

Chapter 4

Sitting on a sofa and watching TV for hours might be appealing for lazy people, but that wasn't the case with Annie's guest. He was fine with it for the first hour, but that was how long he could watch before getting bored. Television had never interested him even when he was living on that man's house. He would rather do something physical than just sit and watch TV. So, bored out of his mind, he decided to explore on the apartment that he was going to live for a while. He hoped Annie wouldn't mind, even though she told him to do as if he would be in his own house.

The apartment was quite big for only one person to live. At least that's what he thought. It had two bedrooms, with one bathroom each, a kitchen, the living room and there was another room, which door was locked. He didn't want to pry, if Annie would want him to see what was inside that room, she would have left the door unlocked.

Lingering in the kitchen, he decided to cook something for her. He had never had someone to cook for, for as much as he remembered. The only person he had seen the last year was someone he wished he had never met. A shiver went through his body, and wasn't the good one. He felt scared, terrified.

Calm down. He told himself. You're safe now. He can't find you here.

He cooked what he did best, soft music coming from Annie's stereo. An hour later, a delicious smell filled the whole apartment. The man sang along to the rhythmic song, swaying his hips.

The apartment's door opened, and Annie along with her best friend entered inside, the purple head smiling. "A serial killer huh?" she raised her head at the mucisian, who only rolled his eyes.

They followed the music, or should I say, the delicious smell. Lucas' eyes caught a sight he could never imagined. When Annie said that his clothes didn't fit the strange man, she wasn't kidding. He looked hilarious. He had his back to Lucas and didn't seem like he had heard them yet.

He was a stranger, yet at the same time, he seemed familiar. Lucas shook his head, he was imagining things. Annie tapped on his shoulder, and the stranger turned his head slowly. The bags on Lucas' hands fell to the floor with a soft thud. He stared at the man shocked. It couldn't be, it was impossible. Before anyone could say or do anything, Lucas fell to the floor, unconscious.

"Lucas!" Annie screamed as she kneeled down to him. Lucas had indeed passed out and Annie was scared of the pale colour his face was. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

The other person stood there shocked. His head hurt like a fucking bitch. Why did that young man look so familiar to him? Why couldn't he remember a fucking thing? Why did he pass out?

"Help me a little here?" he heard Annie call him. He shook his head and helped Annie take the young man to the couch. He must be Annie's friend,  the man thought. He was so tiny, couldn't be more than 5'4 tall an angelic face. He was so captivated by this young man's beaty that he hadn't noticed Annie leave and come back with a bottle of alcohol in her hands. She took some cotton and wetted it with alcohol. Then she put it under the young man's nose.

Lucas scrunched up his nose at the heavy smell of alcohol. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at Annie's face. What had happened? Had he passed out? That he could tell, but why? He felt perfectly fine.

It was when he tilted his head and caught sight of the other person in the room that he understood what happened. His body started shaking as he screwed his eyes shut.

"Come here you fucking piece of shit!" the voice taunted him. "Don't hide from me. You know sooner or later I'll find you. No one will come here to save you, no one loves you. You are just a piece of trash." the voice said.

A teenage Lucas trembled on the small closet, his eyes leaking tears like waterfalls and his hand on his mouth, trying to block his whimpers.

"Lukey!" he called. He was close, Lucas could hear his footsteps as they neared the small closet. The door opened, making Lucas tremble in fear. "There you are!" the voice sneered, grabbing Lucas roughly and dragging him.

"H-help!" was the only word the teenage Lucas could say.

"Lucas, come back to me, please!" Annie cried, shaking her best friend's body. She knew he had one of his flashbacks. It wasn't the first time she had witnessed those. But that didn't mean she could handle it. Her heart pained watching her best friend so broken, so lifeless. She couldn't bear the empty look on his eyes, a look so cold, that it sent shivers down her spine.

It hadn't happened for months. The last time it happened was four months ago and it wasn't this bad. Something must have triggered this. But what? Annie didn't have the answer. Lucas had it.

Lucas stopped shaking, fortunately and Annie hugged him like her life depended on it. "Shh, you're safe now." she whispered. When Lucas had his flashbacks, he never cried, no tear fell from his eyes. He would just shake and stare at nothing, with empty, soulless eyes. Annie preferred he cried, she wanted him to let out all of his pain, but Lucas never cried.

"G-get him out of here!" Lucas said, pointing at the strange man.  Annie parted from Lucas and stared at him surprised. She thought Lucas wanted to be alone, that he felt uncomfortable with a stranger, but that wasn't the case. The tone on Lucas' voice was one of a scared child. Was Lucas scared of the man?

"Why?" Annie asked.

"P-please." Lucas begged. He was curled up into a ball, hiding the best he could from the demon that haunted his dreams.

The man was staring at the young man, shocked by his reaction. This boy knew him, he had no doubts. Annie turned to her guest and smiled sadly at him. "Can you go to the other room, please? I have to calm him down." she said.

The stranger stood up to his feet and nodded at the purple head. "Y-yeah sure."

As the other man left, Lucas tranquillized a little bit, but he still was scared. That voice, that face taunted him. Lucas, look at me." Annie ordered. "Are you okay? Do you need me to call Dr. Gomez?" Lucas shook his head.

"D-did he leave?" Lucas asked, his voice trembling.

"Yes." Annie answered. "Why did you want him to leave?" she then asked.

"H-he... I... " Lucas started crying, his knees pressed to his chest as he rocked back and forth.

"You feel so good Lukey."

"You're mine!"

"Leave me alone!" Lucas screamed, covering his ears with his hands. "Leave me please."

Annie was scared. Lucas had never reacted like this. With trembling hands, she took her phone and called the only person who could help Lucas. The phone rang twice before being picked up.

"Dr. Gomez, I'm sorry to call you on a Sunday, but I really need your help." Annie managed to say without her voice shattering. Lucas continued to cry and scream to be left alone.

"Annie, calm down." Dr. Gomez said. "What happened?"

"It's Lucas. He... He's not okay. I don't know what to do." Annie said desperately.

"Where are you?" Dr. Gomez asked.

"At my apartment."

"I'm on my way, try to keep him from harming himself."

***

The man stared at the mirror in front of him. How can you be a stranger to your own self? He didn't remember a single thing about himself, yet the young man on the next room looked so familiar. A sparkle of hope was a luxury for him, but now he has the right to have it. Maybe Annie's friend knew him. Maybe he had the answers.

But a frown took place on his face. That man might know him, but there was a problem. The said man was terrified, hell he actually fainted at the sight of him. And his reaction after he woke up was anything but a positive one. "Will I never find out who I fucking am?" he asked his reflection. "Will I be a stranger forever?"