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I throw on black joggers, a black hoodie, black fashionable gloves that are not meant to keep me warm and black sneakers. I also throw a black scarf made of lightweight fabric around my neck so I can use it later to disguise my face if I need to. I grab a gun, since this time as a lone female, I have the option to protect myself if I’m out there alone. I move quietly through the house, grabbing the house key and car key, careful not to let them clink together and I close the door quietly behind me, running to my car which thankfully I get to use instead of my fucking bike that I ride to work because it’s so close to where I live and where Mikhail works. But the car will make everything a lot quicker. I just want to go there and prove to myself that it is him. That’s all, then I’m out of there.
I start the car up, hoping that it doesn’t wake the guys up and back out onto the road quickly so that if it does, they won’t be able to stop me since at this point, I’m already on my way and I don’t intend to turn back. A few miles away from the house, I steady my breathing, feeling the thrill of not being caught and victory in getting to do what I want to do. I promise myself to just stay focused on the plan at hand, don’t get spooked, and do anything crazy.
I drive around a few times, observing my target’s house before parking the car some feet away. I check my reflection in the rearview mirror, inhaling and exhaling deeply, making sure that my hair is completely covered, and moving the scarf around my neck up to my nose to make sure that I hide as much of myself as possible. I don’t want to be spotted. The house has a dim garden light on the outside. Shit.
I’m gonna have to go through the woods again. It’s alright. The light is only on the porch and one side of the house, the back is completely dark and so is the other side. I sit in my car for just a few minutes longer just to be extra certain that there’s no one else on the outside of the property and then I open my car door, lock it behind me and step out of the car, pretending that I’m just going for a jog.
I start jogging lightly, careful not to shake the gun on me so hard, it falls out. Well, this is awkward but well, I didn’t account for the streetlights, did I? So I didn’t exactly secure the gun, thinking I’d just be able to bolt across the street to his house without being spotted. Stupid. Whatever, this running thing isn’t working so I slow myself down to a walking pace, looking around me to make sure that I don’t come across as suspicious.
I come upon an old couple walking their dog and they reel back when they see me, sheltering themselves from me. What the fuck? Oh shit. The scarf is around my fucking face. I forgot. Chances are that as soon as they get into their house, they’re first going to lock up tight, look through their windows to make sure they can still see me and that I’m not on their property and then they’re going to call the cops. I was going to try and play it off by saying something silly like, “Oh, it’s just allergies,” to explain the fucking mask but fuck that. I’ve had enough of playing fuckery.
As soon as they get inside, I don’t give them a chance to get to their windows, I just fucking bolt. So much for not looking suspicious. I run directly into the forest. The old creep’s house is a way off from here, I can see it but it’s not where the line of houses where this couple and others live are. Still, the forest provides a shortcut for me to get to where he lives. I speed through the woods, my gun in my hand now, dodging trees and branches. I hope no one comes up to me and I have to shoot them. I can’t risk it echoing and giving that old couple my location.
Now I definitely have to race against time. Running through the forest, although quicker, disguises the house so I have to wait until I spot the light of the house through the trees. I make my way through the backyard of the house as quietly as I can, pressing my back up against the wall, taking the chance to catch my breath. Okay, I’ve got to think this through. I still have the gun in my hand, tucked closely against my leg and once my brain gets enough oxygen, I round the corner of the house again, to the side that’s also dark and it’s my fucking luck that I’ve got a closer view of them sitting in the living room. Half of my face is hidden by the wall in which the window is framed and I only allow one eye to peek through, not wanting to risk casting a shadow.
Not only can I see him now, but I can also hear him and I hear that same fucking laugh. Nobody can tell me that’s just any old laugh that sounds similar. That’s the fucking laugh of the devil and I know it better than I know my fucking self. That’s him, that old fucking bastard and I wasn’t wrong about it. Let Mikhail ever try to convince me otherwise again. But as I said, he doesn’t have to know. No one has to know that I’m right here, staring through this fuck face’s window.
It’s a weird feeling being vindicated while looking at the man who makes me want to vomit. On the one hand, I’m more than relieved that I’m not just some delusional psycho imagining shit. I mean, I would be ecstatic, wanting to celebrate being right if I wasn’t so disgusted in the same breath.
My eye hurts, straining here though. So I move away briefly, realizing that I don’t see the woman in the house, where is she? Maybe if I can get a better view of her I can make out how old she is. So I return to the back of the house where I can get a view of the kitchen and the dining room. She’s not there either. I crouch down next to the house and rub at my eyes for a bit, blinking out the blur that’s present as a result of staring so damn hard and then I continue to move from the back to the side to see if she’ll make an appearance then I see old smelly diaper ass getting up from the couch and making his way to the door.
Oh fuck, is he coming out here? I mean, I didn’t come here to shoot him and I should probably make a run for it but I don’t want to risk being heard, so instead, I raise my gun and hold my breath just in case he comes around to where I’m standing. I try to shake the thoughts out of my head telling me that it would work out perfectly, he’s on his own and I could shoot him without the kids being a witness to it. I promised myself that I wouldn’t put the guys at risk and I mean it. I’d only take him out if I found out he was dangerous. For me to kill him now would be reckless since I was just spotted by that couple. If they were suspicious of someone who appeared to be a robber and then he shows up dead, then there’s gonna be a search, and fuck it, that’s what we’re trying to avoid.
Meanwhile, if they think they saw a robber yet no crime has been committed, chances are it’ll be forgotten or chalked up to Alzheimers or some shit. I take a deep breath and as I’m about to run around to the other side of the house, the lights on the porch and the side of the house turn off, what the fuck? I take a peek through the window again and see the old bastard heading up the stairs. Guess he’s taking his tired ass to bed.
I let out a huge sigh of relief, grateful for my luck when a hand clamps around my mouth, as the other hand pulls me backward. I don’t think about it, I just start screaming but my screams are muffled and no one can hear as I try to fight off the fucker who’s grabbed me.
Chapter 14
Mikhail
Igetuptouse the bathroom and I hear Julissa showering. I smell the remnants of delicious food and go to check if she’s left any for me, turns out there’s only coffee. Coffee? At this hour? Still, I think nothing of it and return to my bedroom, nursing the disappointment that there was no more breakfast left for me, knowing she probably thought against wasting food since she thought we were asleep. I decide I’ll just get up later and make some more if I’m that hungry but sleep isn’t instant.
As my eyes are closed and I’m trying to count sheep, I hear Julissa’s room door open and quiet feet moving across our wooden floors. I am about to pop open the door but instinct tells me just to ease it open. I see Julissa, dressed in all black, tiptoeing through the house and making it to the door. I drag on some pants I had nearby and throw on a shirt. As soon as she steps through it, closing it behind her, I shove my feet into my shoes on the way out and wait until she’s pulled out of the driveway before I jump on my bike and throw on my helmet.
She speeds away and I try not to be seen as I follow quickly behind her. Her indicator lights come on as she’s about to make a turn and I’m afraid that the blinking lights will highlight my presence. I pull off to the side, slowing down. I’ve taken care not to use any of my lights, needing to remain hidden in the dark because I know she’s up to something and I believe I know what it is.
What’s going on with you, Julissa?I think to myself, truly worried now. I assume she’s going back to that old man’s house and for some reason, I get a strange relief for at least knowing that, even though I still don’t like it. But what if I’m wrong and she’s agreed not to go back there and instead she’s just cruising the streets looking for a reason to kill like a true psychopathic serial killer? Fear grips me and emotions fill me up to the point where I might overflow, wondering how in the world I’d be able to help her if that were the case.
We pull up to a house on a dirt road, the only one for a couple of miles. She drives past this house about ten times as I try not to be seen which is much more difficult now that we’d be pretty easy to spot on a tiny road like this with no other cars around. Each time she’s about to pass the house, she slows down, almost cutting her engine so that she’s quiet, forcing me to quickly do the same which is hard as fuck for me since my bike roars like a motherfucker. But even as sweat dampens the inside of my helmet, plastered to my head, I manage. She is definitely stalking this place. This must be the old man’s house. Well, at least it wasn’t the second thought I had about her being a serial killer. Still, this isn’t great.
Yet, my heart leaps for joy when she pulls off the dirt path and back on the main road. Maybe she finally got to her senses and realized this isn’t worth it. Yippee! While I’m busy wondering how I’m going to manage to sneak back into the house without being spotted, Miss. J manages to trick me again as she parks her car on a residential street, some blocks away. I should’ve known better than to get my hopes up like that. I guess I was just desperate for this to be done but well, it’s not. I also park my bike even further away from her and I take off my helmet to watch her as she steps out of her car. Come on, Julissa, what are you up to next?
Since she’s on foot, I’m also on foot and I thank the heavens for the street lights so I can see her moving about while she almost blends into the night. A dog barks and an old lady shrieks. My heart plummets as I try to get a better glance at the old couple, startled by Julissa. Alarm bells bang on in my head as I think about the possibility of Julissa mistaking yet another old person for her parent. What if she thinks that couple is her mom and dad? I’m about to blow my cover when I notice the old couple and their dog scurrying away as Julissa steps aside, not following them.
I breathe a heavy fucking sigh of relief but that’s short-lived as she pulls a fucking road runner and beep beeps her ass through the forest. I nearly trip over myself at the sudden change in pace as I try to keep up with her and keep up with whatever the hell’s fucking happening here. For fuck sake, Julissa, what are you doing? I’m even more confused and concerned for her now as I watch the woman I love dash through this forest like a raging lunatic. I’m still trying not to be seen, not to be heard because I don’t know what she’d do if she was even more spooked than she seems right now. My mind’s on a fucking rollercoaster, dizzy with fear for her mental well-being.
And then I see it. The light through the trees as she rushes forward. Fucking shit. I gasp through the breath of baffling relief, realizing that her actions all made sense after all and she wasn’t even more out of her fucking mind than I thought. I have to admit that the relief is unsettling as it’s quickly replaced with the awareness that her being completely rational meant that she had a plan. And as the light of the house showcases her gun to me, I am almost bent over in a panic.
I’m tempted to rush forward and get that gun from her before she can do anything but I don’t want to spook her and she shoots me, for one. And secondly, I don’t want to alert the people in that house to our presence and have them call the cops on us. I need to be quiet, just as she’s being quiet.
I swallow against the pain that shoots through my chest as I watch her, subconsciously kissing life as we know it goodbye if I’m not able to get to her in time. I stay hidden behind the trees, making sure that I’m close enough but still trying to blend in the dark. She rounds the house and so far, it seems as if she’s just looking. Except for the fact that she’s holding a gun, nothing about her actions seems threatening. If anything, she looks more curious. But that could all change. The fact that she’s holding a loaded weapon means that she’s prepared to use it and I need to be ready for that.
I can hear my heartbeat. I can hear her heartbeat. Hell, I can even hear the heartbeat of the old man in the windows right now and the two kids sitting on the couch opposite him while they all watch television. I’m supersensitive and hyperalert ready to spring into action when necessary.
She spends quite some time just looking at them in the living room and chills run through my body at how creepy she looks staring at the family who has no clue that she’s there. She turns her back to the side of the house and blinks a few times before rounding toward the back of the house, closer to where I am. I catch my breath, wanting not to breathe too loud less she may hear me. But she’s too busy anxiously preparing herself to continue her peeping tom activities to spot me. She keeps moving back and forth from the side to the back as I make myself smaller and smaller each time, concealing myself with a tree and the shadows of the night just for good measure. I can’t get too comfortable.
The old man gets up and something about his movements spooks her because she raises her gun. Her breath increases and she’s laser-focused as she points it in front of her. This is it. No more hiding. I need to figure out a way to not get shot and pull her lying ass out of there. I make the move and like I’m playing a game of red light, green light, I creep up behind her. The light on the front porch goes off and she lowers her gun but by this point, I’m too close behind her to go back quietly in the bushes without spooking her in the process. And besides, she’s done enough for the night. I’ve done enough for the night. It’s time for us to get our asses back home even if I have to throw her over my shoulder and drag her myself.
