Chapter 1 : The calm before the storm
The grass glistened with dew as the sun rose heralding the arrival of another day. A nearly deserted roadside hotel stood out from the mostly wooded area with only a single car parked outside. The road that ran in front of the highway was deserted with only the screech of black crows breaking the silence that pervaded outside.
However, it was far from silent inside the one room that was occupied in the hotel. The television was showing a recently released Hollywood blockbuster while the sounds of running water emanated from the washroom. After about ten minutes or so, a blonde woman emerged from the washroom with a towel wrapped around her waist and rubbing another one through her wet hair. She had several visible cuts and bruises visible on her arms and legs indicating a recent struggle with someone or something.
After the woman finished toweling herself off, she sat on the edge of the bed and opened up a duffle bag that was sitting on top. A silky C cup bra and panty set were the first to come out, followed by a red t-shirt and blue shorts with matching socks. After those, the woman extracted a laptop computer and, strangest of all, several long yarn needles and a couple of air pumps you might see for inflating tires.
The woman dressed and then stood up with her computer in her arms with a brief pause as if she was listening for something in particular. A few seconds later, she walked over to the table by the door and set her computer on top of it. After plugging it into a nearby wall socket, the woman flipped open the lid and started typing immediately after it was finished booting up.
"My name is Irene Bates and
I'm writing this so that someone will be able to comprehend the story I tell
here. It's been about 48 hours since things went topsy turvy in my life
and in the world around me. I still find it hard to believe what happened
without warning to everything and everyone. It all started...."
Irene typed out on her keyboard before leaning back in the chair and staring
up at the ceiling. She closed her eyes as she rubbed her forehead in deep
contemplation.
" The
start ?....how do I know ?...it seems like it happened long ago... and not just
yesterday... " Irene thought as her mind flickered back.... back to
...
Two days ago.....
" Geez, are you sure you're going to need all
that, Doreen ? You're just going on a field trip... not on a six month
voyage to the jungles of Africa." Irene said jokingly to her red haired
room mate as she watched her pack up to go. She looked out the room window
and saw several other women standing around chatting with bags packed up around
them.
Doreen laughed softly as she zipped up her canvas bag and
put it on the floor next to two others. " If I could get away with
packing just one bag, Irene, I would. Unfortunately, the archeological
dig that we're going on in the nearby mountains will require several changes
of clothing, not to mention the notebooks and tools I have to take with me.
I just hope that the place isn't full of mosquitos or any other bugs,"
she said softly.
" Well, my March break is going to be more
than just digging up old bones and pottery. My boyfriend Jack is coming
by tomorrow to pick me up and considering the fact that this college is an all
girl one, I'll be more than happy to see a man that is within ten years of my
age for change. Ha ! " Irene said with a broad smile and chuckle.
Doreen stared at her room mate for a second and sighed.
" You're so lucky ! I get to spend the next week pawing over
rocks and old bones while you get to have your hands on stuff that's rock hard..
in a good way. Ha! Ha! " she said with a laugh as the two embraced.
Irene walked with her friend downstairs and shortly
thereafter waved good-bye as Doreen left on her bus along with her fellow spelunkers.
As the bus disappeared in the distance, Irene turned and looked up at
her nearly deserted residence. Aside from a few foreign exchange students
and a couple others who, like her, were leaving tomorrow, the building was empty
and devoid of any energy or fun.
" Hmmm..now what the heck am I going to
do for fun tonight ? " Irene thought to herself as she walked up the
concrete steps back to her building. She had just reached the entrance
when a blonde haired woman came running up to her from behind calling out to
her.
Irene turned and saw it was Francine, who lived on
the floor just below hers, who was heading towards her. Known for her
willingness to party and treating men like candy samples who could be disposed
of on a weekly or even daily basis, the blonde's voluptuous physique and perky
attitude made her very popular with the men in the town nearest the campus.
" Irene ! I was just wondering if you
wanted to have a little fun with me and a few others looking over the old Myers
house. I got a copy of the key to it from one of the caretakers in charge
of it for the campus. For an older man, he was quite yummy..." Francine
said mischievously while chewing on the end of one of her blonde locks
Irene shook her head in slight disbelief at her friend's
antics " You are one wild woman, Francine. Well, as long as we don't get
into any trouble by looking around, it sounds like a lot of fun," she said in
agreement which produced a loud yelp of happiness from Francine followed by
an enthusiastic hug.
Later...
The group of women slowly walked down the deserted
campus road towards the Myers house at the end chattering and laughing as they
walked. Joining Irene and Francine was Debbie, Kylie and Mandy, who were
members of the campus swim team and scheduled to leave in the morning with their
team mates. The sixth member of their little group, Gretchen, was an exchange
student from Germany who had decided to stay on campus for the duration of the
break.
The group were
about three quarters of the way there when they heard the sound of a car approaching
them from behind. They stopped and and saw it was a campus security car
which stopped just short of them. After a few seconds, a woman in her
early 50's dressed in the drab green security stepped out and shone a bright
beam of light into the group's midst.
" All right,
ladies, where do you think you're heading to tonight ? " Mildred asked
the group of women while slowly panning the light from left to right.
" Well,
if you must know, we're heading to.. ooof...." Irene started to say before
being elbowed in the ribs by Francine.
" As Irene was
going to say, we're going into town for some fun. We were going to go
by car but it's such a great night out weather wise we decided to walk the half
mile or so. Anything else you'd like to know, officer ? " Francine
said with an obvious mocking tone to her voice.
Mildred frowned
before switching off her flashlight. " Well, I'll be around if you have
any problems tonight. With the campus almost deserted, I'm the only one
on tonight. Take care, ladies ! " the plump lady said before getting back
in her car and turning to go back the way she came.
" Old bitch.."
Francine muttered as they watched the car disappear in the distance. She
then turned to her friends and motioned them to continue walking.
Fifteen minutes
or so later, the six women arrived at the house which stood at the top of a
steep hill. Surrounded by a black iron fence with an open gate, it was
an imposing sight with its three stories looming over the women as they walked
up the concrete walkway and up its wooden steps. Arriving at the front
door, Francine fished out the key and, with a grand gesture, opened the door
up.
There was
no visible light switches on the wall so Debbie flicked on the flashlight she
brought with her. The six took their time wandering through the main floor
looking over the various odds and ends that were on display.
" Guys,
this stuff is boring. Why don't we go have a look in the basement ? I
bet there's all kinds of cool stuff down there. " Kylie said to the enthusiastic
agreement of the others. They opened the door leading to the cellar and
walked down the long set of stairs to the concrete floor of the basement. The
six had just started to rummage around slowly with the flashlight providing
the only light available when they heard a car motor outside.
" Quick..kill
the flashlight ! " Mandy whispered and a second or so later Debbie clicked
it off. The six waited in the darkness for whoever it was to leave and
let them get back to looking around. Five or so minutes later, they heard a
loud rumbling which shook the floorboards above them along with a flash
of light they couldn't see from their vantage point. After it passed,
they waited in silence for roughly another thirty minutes or so to be sure the
car was gone for the night.
Once they were
reasonably certain that whoever was outside had left, the girls went back upstairs
and out of the house. The first thing they all noticed was that the night
sky now had a weird pink glow to it that wasn't there before. As they
headed down the walkway, they saw the car belonging to the guard parked near
the entrance.
Irene walked
over to the driver's side of the car and saw that side's door was open. She
looked at the ground and saw what looked like the guard's uniform, undergarments
and shoes lying on the ground with a flashlight and set of keys resting next
to it.
A little perplexed
and finding no sign of the guard in the car, Irene stood next to the car and
looked around in all directions. " Hello..security..are you out there
?.." she called out several times as the other five young women gathered around
the car.
After five or
so minutes, Irene looked down and picked up the flashlight and keys. "
Maybe we better head back to the residence now...I've got a bad feeling
about tonight." she said with a note of uneasiness. The others quickly
nodded and headed back up the road much quieter than they were before as they
looked around for signs of the guard while walking.
Ten or so minutes
after they left the vicinity of the Myers house, the sound of rubber and vinyl
sliding on pavement started to be heard...
And was
growing louder...