Dark Secrets

Eighteen Years Earlier... Swirls of fog danced in the air on a late October night in the city. Litter blew down the deserted sidewalk in the downtown commercial district. At this ungodly hour, all the stores were closed and their owners were tucked away safely at home miles away in a picturesque suburb. In their absence, something stirred in the darkness! It moved by a small convenience store which had been owned and operated by the same couple for the past fifty years. The store closed as early as four in the afternoon in winter months because the wife refused to stay open after the sun went down. The neon sign they had purchased to hang above the door many years ago had developed an annoying buzz. It got worse as various sections of the sign burnt out. Before giving up completely, a failing section of the sign would blink intermittently. The neon light shone brighter for a moment, barely illuminating the outline of someone, or something, moving towards the doorway of the store. When the light buzzed and flashed again, it revealed a hooded figure dressed in medieval robes. The figure ducked into a nearby alley and disappeared in the fog and shadows. A couple blocks away, Serena Gallows strutted down the street. The fog parted as she walked, clearing a path for her. Her hips swung back and forth rhythmically as her high heels clipped the cement. She didn't seem to mind the cold air since her miniskirt left most of her legs bare except for the nude-colored nylons which hugged her legs like a second skin. Serena noticed that every other storefront on the street was empty; this created a strange checkerboard-like appearance when observed at night because the vacant business spaces were dark while those that still housed active businesses had some kind of lights or signs in the windows. Like many old New England cities, this one had seen better days. The larger stores and the chains had long ago left the downtown commercial district for the multi-story enclosed mall right off the highway exit. The mom and pop stores which still dotted the downtown neighborhood were the last of a dying breed. Serena passed the window of a video store with a sign boasting that they no longer charged rewind fees. The store's next window featured frames of mini light bulbs around movie posters advertising the new releases of Batman Returns and Unforgiven. The young woman caught her scantily clad reflection as she walked by, but she didn't stop to look at herself. She didn't have to; she knew from past experience that she was dressed perfectly for the job. Serena heard a low rumble as a car turned the corner. Its headlights broke through the fog like rays of sunshine piercing dark clouds. The fact that the headlights landed precisely at the same height as her butt and showed off how shapely and inviting it was couldn't have been planned, but was certainly a welcomed coincidence. Serena glanced slyly over her shoulder at the expensive, brand-new sedan as it slowly cruised by her. She licked her lips both in anticipation and as a not-so-subtle enticement to the driver. Her tongue moistened the harlot red lipstick as it slithered over her lips. The sedan passed her without stopping, but Serena wasn't worried. She knew how this type of pas de deux played out. As her full length reflection appeared in the driver's side mirror, Serena noticed the brake lights illuminate. Serena smiled as the car circled back around toward her. From a short distance behind Serena, the hooded figure followed her silently. It blended in with the fog and shadows again. Its stealth movements were planned and precise, like a cat stalking its prey. Serena felt something wrap around her high heels. It startled her for a moment as the fur rubbed against her open toe shoes. She looked down to see a rat with its mouth open, ready to take a bite out of her ankle! Most women wearing high heels with exposed ankles would panic for at least a second before they had time to react. Serena had already formulated a plan and put it into action before the first second passed. She raised her other foot and jabbed it through the rat's open mouth, instantly piercing its vocal cords in order to prevent it from making so much as a dying squeak. In the next movement, she angled her foot up sending the spike of her heel into the rat's brain, finishing it off instantly. Serena shook its carcass off her shoe and it rolled silently into the gutter. Her only concern was that its blood may have stained her shoes. As if in response to her thought and as if at her command, the dark clouds in the sky parted to reveal a full moon. Serena utilized the fleeting moonlight to quickly glance at her feet and her red pumps. Her fears of finding a stain proved unfounded. As rapidly as the clouds parted a second earlier, they blocked the moonlight again. Serena had dispatched the rat so quickly and effortlessly that neither the driver of the car nor the hooded figure following her even noticed that anything was amiss. Finally, the sedan pulled up right next to her. The tinted, reflective window rolled down slightly. A hand reached out and waved two twenty dollar bills. Serena giggled and motioned with her slender finger and brightly painted fingernails to roll the window farther down. The driver complied. With the slight hum of the electric window motor in the background, the tinted window disappeared into the doorframe. The driver of the car was not a middle aged man as one might presume, but in fact, a twenty-one year old blonde-haired jock wearing a college letterman jacket. In the shadows, a second hooded figure joined the first hooded figure. The two of them watched and waited. Serena slinked her way closer to the car window. As she leaned down, she pushed a lock of her raven-colored hair behind her ear. Her boobs practically jumped out of her blouse and slapped the wide-eyed jock in the face. "Looking for a little excitement tonight, Sugar?" she managed to ask in a tone that was both sweet and seductive at the same time. "You offering?" he asked, playing it cool. Serena smiled. A stray bit of light gave a glimpse of contrast between her gleaming white teeth and her blood-red lips. The young woman brushed an imaginary piece of lint off her left breast. "What's your name?" she asked him. "Carl." "Got your daddy's car tonight, Carl?" Carl shook his head affirmatively and added, "And his money." Serena smiled again and stood up tall. As she sashayed a few steps away from the car, Carl's eyes followed her. He couldn't believe the way her tight skirt hugged her ass. Serena looked back over her shoulder and beckoned him with the long fingernail of her index finger. She confidently strode to the sidewalk and approached the stairs of an occult bookstore that was located on the garden level of a brick building. The five stairs and metal drainage grate created an alcove in front of a glass door with peeling green paint on its wooden frame. Carl shut the sedan's engine off. He left the headlights on, however. They provided beams of light through the dark and fog which still rolled in and around them in the breeze. The young man got out of the car. He ignored the faint warning beeps the car emitted due to the headlights running. He leaned against the hood of the car, watching Serena, but not taking any steps to follow her. Serena enticed him by lifting the hem of her miniskirt a couple more inches. She reached under the skirt and moved her hand suggestively. Despite the stirring in his jeans, Carl asked, "Out here? It's freezing!" "I've got a warm place for you to put it," she assured him. Definitely wanting to explore Serena's "warm place" forced Carl's legs into action. He followed her to the top of the stairs. She took his hand and led him down the five steps into the bookstore's alcove. Nearby, through the darkness, the eyes of the hooded figures stared at them. Serena toyed with the uppermost button on her blouse that was actually fastened. She drew circles around it with her finger. She looked down at the button lustfully and teased the plastic with her tongue. She took it in her mouth and the button disappeared from sight for a moment until she puckered her lips and spit it back out. Carl was disappointed to see that it was still attached and still buttoned. As he felt the disturbance in his jeans growing more pronounced, he reached out to grab the button. He had every intention of ripping it right off her blouse. CLANG! The sound of crashing metal startled Carl. The rest of his body stiffened. He swung his head around toward the direction of the sound. Several thoughts ran through his mind simultaneously. Who or what was out there with them? What harm would it do? A mangy cat darted out from behind a trash can at the top of the stairs and scampered off down the sidewalk. Carl breathed a sigh of relief. "Stupid cat. Scared me half to death." Serena ran her fire engine red fingernail through his blonde hair and whispered, "Just wait."