Chapter 1 - Part 4

Hell is where you want to be
I feel the hell on you and me
I feel it every day
Hell is where you want to be
I feel the hell on you and me
It never goes away
- Ghouls Night Out - Misfits

Jessica awoke pouring with sweat as the phone rang. She could tell that it was him, Jeff. She didn't now how. She didn't have to check the caller ID. She didn't need to wait to hear his voice. She just knew. She jerked up from a laying position and than thought better of it. Her mind raced as dizziness from the sudden movement mixed with the fear that hit her like a wall. It was Jeff. She had to answer it. He knew she was there. He knew everything damn it.
Finally she got up off the bed and approached the phone. It must have rung 15 times by now. She put her hands near the phone and her hands hovered over it like it was made of hot coals. Hot coals she needed to grab, but knew was going to be the most painful thing she had ever grabbed before.
She took a deep breath and picked up the phone. "Hello?"
"Hey baby."
"Jeff?"
"Yeah baby. I thought might be trying to dodge me. I was starting to get worried I must just have to come and.......Get you."
"No, No", she said trying to shake the sleepiness and fear from her voice. "I was in the bathroom."
"What? You run out of paper?"
"What?" she said confused. "No, No. I was in the shower and didn't hear the phone at first." Wow, in her confused state she was amazed she came up with such a plausible explanation. She went with it further. "I was waiting for your call, but it was so hot. I had to take a cool shower."
"Haha! I taught you that right baby", said. Again he took credit for something in her life.
"Yeah, Jeff." She changed tone and the fear welled up in her throat again. "This is the last one right?."
"What, Jeffy calls and now your all business? What kind of shit is that baby?"
"No, No" She seemed to say that a lot to Jeff. Always having to explain so he wouldn't snap. "I just need to know before I can...." She searched for a word, but before she could think of the word that had escaped into the hot desert heat.
"Yeah, it'll be the last one", he said in a voice that wasn't charachteristic of Jeff at all.
"OK", she pushed it out with an exhail of relief.
........................

The Man in white sat length wise across from the dark figure that sat at the other end. His tie white and his suit black, as though he were a mirror image of himself. The darkness hid most of his face, but he could see his lips. The bottom half of his face was illuminated by the one of the few rays of sunshine that penetrated the cabin.
"You do know why we have been brought together, at last", he said in a voice that seemed to creep across the table like a giant black widow.
"You know I do", he said with no hesitation from doubt.
He had had no doubt, ever.
"Than you know this is were it all begins." There was a slight lisp to his speech. he had always thought that he and the dark man would be perfect opposites, but even the darkness has it's mistakes. It's weaknesses.
This was the one thing that he had not thought, ever. He knew the pendulum may just swing in his favor more often than he might expect, or less. Either way, it was something he had not expected.
"So it all starts here. You have your...." and he stopped there almost as though he were trying to think of the most diabolical word he could come up with.
"Yes, it all starts here", he said trying to cut off his thought process.
"Experiment", he finished.
The man in white stood up and walk to the door. All the while thinking what a horrible choice of words. It was a mission of sorts. There was no experiment. He was going to win this.
The door shut silently, drowned out by the rustling of leaves. The vultures had all but disappeared. He need not look up to know. There shadows no longer darkened his path back to his car.

...................

Kent sat looking at his computer in the back room of the store. He was on a chat room and was talking to some guy the entricasies of 20 sided dice. Boring to most, but this guy really knew his D&D stuff. A little too much was his actual thought.
"Yeah, dude. I had to run to the bathroom", the response to his "Where did you go."
"Robert I got to sign off. Business."
"OK. Yeah me too. ltr."
"Kent, there's a guy up front. He's got a question", came the voice of Ron, today's courtesy guy. "I'll be there in a second." His thought's were more like, "Do I have to do everything."
Since taking over the store when his father had a stroke, he barely had time to tie his shoes. Early afternoon was the only down time he had these days. It was no wonder Jessica was so unhappy with their so called relationship, and relationship was bordering on too strong a word.
He had tried to avoided falling for her, but it was impossible. Those blue eyes, contrasted with her dark black hair just drove him crazy. Her cute up-turned nose and those damn cute little freckles that flowed over her cheeks sealed the deal. He had to have her. He also knew she was trouble. Christ, the first few days of knowing her, she had broken down in tears at least a dozen times. Once over the code of an eggplant. She was not stable, and he needed stability. His wife meant stability, but she was such a bore, and a consolation. If only he could take the best of both.
He stood up with that sobering thought and made for the front of the store. As he approached the front of the store he could see a rather sickly looking young man. He only thought sickly, because this guy couldn't be more than 20 and he looked white as a ghost.
"Can I help you, sir?"
"Sir, No man. It's Jeff", and put out his hand in the motioning for a shake.
"Hi Jeff", he said ignoring the hand.
Jeff pulled his hand back, but not in an uncomfortable way. He seemed to envelope the rejection into fluid motion, returning his hand to his pocket.
"This guy here says, that you can't cash this check." He pulled the crumpled check.
"Well he didn't have ID", came the warbely voice of Ron.
"Sorry, no ID. I can't cash it."
"Alright man. So how late you open tonight?"
It was than that the name Jeff tingled just the right place in his memory. Jessica had talked about a guy named Jeff. That was Texas though. It couldn't possibly be the same person he thought to himself.
"We are open until 10 tonight."
"Alright man, than see you little later. I forgot what I need at the hotel. Thanks" he said with a bit of laugh mixed into his voice as he turned toward the doors to exit.

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