The Nightmare Game (18 page)

“Isn’t she afraid that we would use her technology
against her if we learned its secrets?” I asked.

“No, she would be sure to keep the scientists
working on separate parts her projects, unaware of the end results until we
were all thoroughly, irreversibly enslaved. Currently she is still obsessed
only with gaining control of your amulet, because it, and it alone, can kill
her. Once she gets that, there is nothing that can stop her.”

“So it’s the talisman that’s been stopping her all
along?”

“Yes, fear of the amulet’s power terrifies her,
reigns her in. But I suspect that very recently she may have found a way to
defeat it or to capture it. She taunts me with veiled threats but she hides the
method. She may just be tormenting me with bluff, but I can’t take that chance.
I must assume those threats are real.”

He turned to me and took both my hands in his, so
tightly it almost hurt. “Please don’t give up. You have to fight. You’re our
best chance. I’ve never had anyone that I could revive as easily and completely
as you, anyone that could receive what I could give them as efficiently as
you’ve been able to. I want you to stay and win. Besides, I’ve become so
attached to you in the time since we first became truly connected through your
dreams. You have to continue, my dear. Don’t ever let her frighten you away or
control you. You have to be strong now, for yourself, for me, for everyone.

“I can tell and show you no more because we have
to part now. I can feel her looking for me. She doesn’t see us quite yet, but
she will soon, very soon. Before I go, I need to give you more to sustain you
until we can be together again.”

He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly
in his grip. At that moment, I wanted to tell him that I adored him completely
and loved him deeply, but the words seemed out of place. For half a moment, I
thought he would kiss me, but again, instead of the kiss I so eagerly desired,
he opened my willing mouth with the thumb of his right hand, opened his own,
and, as before, breathed his life into me. Once again, I felt his energy enter
me, the force of his life giving me strength.

He released me, again taking my hands and I felt a
strong, vital energy flow from his body into mine. We stood quietly for a
while, simply looking at each other, motionless, immersed in each other’s eyes,
enjoying a still moment before the battle would have to begin again. Suddenly
he pulled away from me, uneasy. He looked startled, as if he were a small
woodland creature that had just smelled a predator. I looked around, trying to
see what was making him so nervous, but saw nothing.

“What is it?” I knew the answer before I asked the
question, but did not want to acknowledge it.

“We have to leave. We’ve been here too long and
she has found us.”

“When will I see you again?” I asked quickly, but
even as I spoke, my hands were torn from his and we were pulled apart, skidding
away from each other at breakneck speed. I watched helplessly as he slipped
farther and farther away, becoming smaller and smaller as he was sucked
backwards into a tunnel that had suddenly appeared, the same tunnel from which
I had so recently escaped.

I screamed loudly, but my voice became dimmer and
dimmer as I felt myself disappear altogether.

Everything was dark and silent for a few moments.
Eventually, I became aware of the sound of running water and I felt wet
coldness beneath me. I took a deep breath, cognizant of my own breathing for
the first time in a long time. I opened my eyes to a new environment,
recognized it as reality, and realized I was sitting on the wet, cold floor of
the bathroom. The shower was still running.

Now almost fully awake, I sat up a little
straighter, a great deal more alert but still a tiny bit groggy. The bloody
death threat on the shower tile wall was gone completely and I felt immediate
relief. I ran the fingers of my right hand through my wet hair without effort,
a simple act that caught my full attention. I was amazed that I could now move
my right hand without any pain or stiffness. I studied my hand and arm with
awe. What had been flesh burned and mangled to the point of destruction such a
short time ago was now sound and intact, without the slightest sign of any
damage whatsoever. Gone even were the very bad sunburn and the welts I
remembered from my last bout of consciousness. I checked my chest. There wasn’t
a mark on it. I felt my throat. It wasn’t even sore. Only yesterday, I would
have rationalized everything I’d just endured as a nightmare or an
hallucination, but today I knew better. The nightmare had been real, as were
the dreams. Edmond had come to me today twice more in my dreams and he had
rescued me again. There was no doubt in my mind whatsoever that I would have
died from my injuries had it not been for the healing power contained in those
dreams. All of the damage that had been done to me during my struggle against
Rochere in her vortex had been repaired. What kind of magic, I wondered, both
for good and for evil, was at work here? It was stronger than anything I could
have ever imagined. I knew not to dwell on it because it would certainly
cripple me with fear, something I simply could not afford right now. I was just
grateful that I had someone as powerful as Edmond on my side.

I was awake now, I was alright. That had to be
enough. This endeavor was so overwhelming I could only take it one step at a
time. I needed to get up off the floor now, get dressed and get ready for the
next move in this hideous game. Virginia was right: it did help a lot to think
of it as a game. I could understand completely why Marcus insisted upon calling
it that. Now that I knew more about it and the terrifying implications of what
would happen should I lose, I made the decision that the only way I could
continue without freezing with fear would be to follow Marcus’ lead and do the
same. My calmness about continuing the game was uncharacteristically composed.
Never a terribly brave person, I should have been in a wild panic after finding
out what I just did. I supposed that Edmond must have passed some of his
bravery on to me along with the healing and that the necklace was now operating
in a higher gear.

I pulled myself up off the hard, wet and cold
bathroom floor, my joints groaning a little after being on such an
uncomfortable surface for so long; but it was just the aches and creaks that
were normal for me these days. It was certainly more than a fair trade for the
excruciating pain I’d expected to find should I wake up at all. That I was
still functioning normally and was not completely shattered, either
emotionally, mentally or physically by the fantastical turns my day had so far
taken still left me in complete, yet optimistic disbelief. When I finally
wedged myself off the floor, I was suddenly jolted out of my thoughts by an
unexpected noise. It was the doorbell.

“Now who the hell could that be?” I wondered.
“Nobody knows I’m here except Carolyne and she couldn’t get here that fast, not
even if she were still speaking to me.”

I walked over to the tub faucets, turning the
water off with trepidation, suspicious of the vortex reappearing. This time the
physical world stayed put as it should, the only annoying aspect of it being
that the doorbell wouldn’t stop ringing. I tried to yell out to say I would be
there in a second, but only a hoarse whisper came out. It didn’t hurt, the
attack had only left me with a bad case of morning throat, so I had to clear it
a few times to get my voice to work.

Before I could get my vocal strength back,
however, the doorbell turned into a knock on the sliding glass door. Fear
gripped me for a second as the thought hit me that it might be Rochere coming
back to finish me off. What a ridiculous idea, though, I realized. That monster
wouldn’t bother to knock or ring the doorbell. She preferred attack by way of
bathtub, the epitome of dropping in unannounced.

Who could it be then? I didn’t know anyone here.
How did they get past the gate? I held my breath.

“Hello? Hello? Cleaning service,” a woman’s voice
emanated loudly through the glass of the apartment door. Oh, thank God, I
thought. It was the maid. “I’m a little early today, but is it okay for me to
come in and clean?”

I had to clear my voice a few more times before
anything above a whisper would come out.

“Just a minute,” I said, still not as loudly as
I’d intended. My voice was coming back fine, just not fast enough.

I cleared my throat again but it was already too
late because I heard the sliding front door open.

“The do-not-disturb sign’s not on the door. Is
anybody home? I’m coming in, okay.” I heard her put down something heavy, most
likely her supplies, and walk into the apartment.

“Just a minute,” I yelled in a panic as I grabbed
a large towel and wrapped it around my naked body as fast as I could. “I’ll be
right out.”

“Hi, sorry if I caught you in the shower,” she
yelled back. “Do you mind if I get started in the kitchen awhile or do you want
me to come back in a half hour or so?”

I scrambled out of the bathroom, clutching the
towel, so I could talk to her more easily from behind the semi-closed bedroom
door.

“Hope I didn’t come at a bad time,” she said.

“No, actually, except for maybe another minute,
your timing’s pretty good.” I was so glad she hadn’t arrived in the middle of
my healing dreams. “I’m afraid I’ve made a bit of a mess in the bathroom here,
though. I slipped in the shower.”

“Oh, dear. Are you okay? Do you need me to call an
ambulance? Do you need to go to the hospital?” she asked, concerned.

“No, I’m fine,”
now
,
I added mentally. “Which is more than I can say about the shower head.”

“It happened again? Cheeze.”

That was not the reaction I expected. “It’s happened
before?” I knew the answer, but wondered how much she knew.

“You’d be amazed how often that happens in this
apartment. I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know what kind of cheapo
plumbing fixtures they use here but I need to find out so I can avoid them like
yesterday’s plague if I ever get a house of my own. It’s gotten so bad that it
even happens when nobody’s officially even renting the place. Personally, I
think this apartment has gremlins. I am so glad they installed that weird floor
drain way back when or else I’d be mopping up bathroom floods constantly, not
to mention that the bedroom carpets would get all moldy and mildewed, too. How
did it happen this time?”

“I’m afraid I slipped and grabbed hold of the
shower head trying to catch myself when I fell. But I just succeeded at taking
it with me when I went down. I hate to tell you this, but I also bent the
shower pipe.” I figured that was a plausible lie. “And the shower rod’s down,
too. Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m just glad that you
weren’t hurt. Is the water still on?”

“No, I just shut it off.”

“I’ll let the water drain off awhile, then, and
I’ll get to the bathroom in a minute. I’ll just straighten up in the front
while you get dressed, okay?”

I walked into the next room and closed the bedroom
door. Taking off the towel, I put on my clean underwear and jeans, a fresh top,
and a new pair of socks after pulling them from my suitcase. Then I re-opened
the door so I could talk to her.

“I guess this’ll be put on my tab now, too.” I
said, trying hard to sound blase.

“Are you kidding? No way. Don’t even worry about
it. I’ll get a handy man out here later today to straighten out that pipe and
stick the old shower head back on it so you can at least still use the shower
if you want to. We’ll have to wait till Monday at least before we can get the
plumbing completely replaced, though. It’s not that big a deal. It happens way
too often. That’s why I put so many non-slip decals in the tub, but I guess it
hasn’t helped much. Don’t worry about your deposit. You’ll get it back and
probably a little extra. I think it’s Rochere’s way of paying people off. I
don’t think she wants to get sued and I guess it’s worked so far, ‘cause
nobody’s sued her yet.”

“Does everybody that stays here slip in the tub?”

“No, not everybody. Some people get away
unscathed, but I tell you, the chances are worse than the odds in Vegas. Go
figure. It just amazes me that nobody’s been killed or seriously hurt yet.”

If you only knew, I thought, but instead just
answered blandly, “That’s good to know,”

The lucky ones, the ones that didn’t “fall” in the
tub must have been just regular vacation renters, who most likely rented the
apartment in the quiet times between those called to play the “game”. I’m sure
they came in handy to deflect suspicion from Rochere. I realized how lucky I
was, for most that fell never survived to tell the tale; they were silenced by
death. I wondered what cock and bull story that horrible bitch would have told
my family and Carolyne, my emergency contacts, if she had succeeded in killing
me. She couldn’t have used her standard “she never showed up” line, because
Troy had seen me in her office and I’m sure he would have come forward once
news of my disappearance hit the papers. I was certain, though, that she had a
myriad of other excuses worked up over the years to cover all sorts of
situations.

I didn’t let on that I had any knowledge of the
real answer because I was sure it was more than this lady wanted to know or
would be able to accept. Besides, I didn’t want to do anything to endanger her
life, especially since there was nothing she nor anybody else could do about
it. In the real world, that responsibility rested squarely upon my shoulders
alone.

“Just to be on the safe side, though,” she reiterated,
“if you think you need to get to a hospital, let me know. I’m serious.”

Dressed now and my hair combed, I walked out into
the front room to meet the person to whom the smoky voice belonged. I was
surprised. She was a young and pretty redhead, a little stocky but athletic.
She was a very different picture than the one I’d envisioned as we’d been
speaking.

“Why don’t you go on and sit down in here while I
finish the kitchen,” she told me. “I’d feel better if you sat for awhile and
took it easy after that fall.”

“Really, I’m fine now,” I said, sitting down at
the table anyway.

“So, just a little trash and no dishes, huh? Been
eating out?” she asked, trying to make conversation.

“Yep. Mostly just take-out.”

“I love clients like you. You don’t make a lot of
work for me. When I finish in here, I’ll just mop up the bathroom, change the
towels in there and vacuum over the carpet. You need me to make the bed, too,
right?”

“Actually, I do have to be a little more work.
Could you please change the sheets? I’m afraid I had too much to drink last
night and passed out in the bed with my clothes on.” I left out the part about
landing face first in the alley last night. I didn’t even want to think about
that any more; the thought of having to sleep on those filthy sheets again made
my skin crawl. I was clean now and wanted to stay that way.

“Sure, no problem. Funny, but did you know that
sometimes I have to change the sheets when nobody’s even renting the place? I
know that makes no sense, but it really does happen once in a blue moon.”

It may have made little sense to Brenda, but it
spoke volumes to me. Those people were the few that slipped somehow through
Rochere’s clean-up system. Time must have run out on these few individuals
before Rochere could get the sheets changed prior to Brenda’s arrival. Virginia
was right, Rochere did have her weaknesses. It was a thought gave me hope.

“But hey,” she continued, “there’s got to be a
logical explanation, right? I mean, forget gremlins, this place must get
squatters. Whatever the reason, this apartment can get a little creepy, which
is why I guess that a lot more people pack up and leave this place early than
with any of the other properties that I clean. A lot of them get sick and have
to go home right after they first get here. Most of the ones that stay just one
night clear out without notice, too. You’d find it hard to believe that just
how people check in and then just leave. It’s kinda nice finding somebody here
to talk to, cause too often, they’ve cleared out already even before one night.
I know I shouldn’t say this, but just between you and me, I think that maybe
there’s something wrong with this place. Maybe there’s some kind of mold or
fungus in the walls that makes some people dizzy and fall and makes other people
sick. Maybe all the bathroom flooding’s done its damage despite that drain they
had put in the floor.”

If you only knew
,
I thought.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” was all I said. “At
least it’s not our property. We don’t have to worry about it, right?”

“Hey, I’ll drink to that.”

She cleaned the bathroom, then walked into the
bedroom and began to change the sheets. I wasn’t used to having anyone do
housework around me and the silence was becoming a bit awkward.

“I’m Ashley, by the way.” I yelled into the bedroom.
“What’s your name?”

“Brenda,” she yelled back.

“So, you do this full time?” I asked her.

“I used to. I just clean part-time now.”

It became silent again as I listened to her finish
making the bed. The silence didn’t last long, as she soon came out of the
bedroom, hauling out the old sheets.

“Well, these go into the laundry,” she said,
placing them into a large plastic bag. “I’m all done except for the vacuuming.”