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  LITTLE RED

  JUSTIN CAIRNS

  The Wolf

  The moment was surreal. It was all that he had hoped for and more. The soft, white blanket that coated the ground sparkled as the moon's glow struck it. He marvelled at his surroundings. The previous chase had caused his heart to pound rapidly behind its cage of bone. He inhaled deeply, filling his chest, the cool air nipped at his dry throat. Holding it within for several seconds then exhaling slowly, steadying himself and his pulse. Beads of sweat snaked down from his brow, his cheeks felt the warmth from under his mask. Through small holes he peered at his prey, his vision slightly blurred from the hunt. He began placing his hands on his waist to stabilise his frame and open his chest to the air, stopping himself suddenly as if it offered a sign a weakness. He regained a powerful posture and admired his victim.

  The moon remained full, its presence warming his now cold skin. He looked upon its beauty and flashbacks of the last ten minutes passed slowly through his mind, as if a slide show of the most memorable images were saved in the moment. He closed his eyes and in his mind’s eye he watched as the van crept to his desired location. The trees contained a darkness only found in nightmares. Gentle rays of light creeping through the small gaps from above, the snow illuminated at his feet. The rear doors open and displaying his victim. The girl shivered, wrapping the red cloak around her beaten and naked body. When ready, he let her run free into the mouth of the forest. He followed, senses sharpened by the rush of adrenalin as he gave chase. The moment he caught her, the slight orgasm he welcomed. The twinkling of small eyes observing the show, animals moving cautiously through the carpet of thick white powder.

  He opened his eyes and smiled fondly with his success. The girl lay on her side, the cloak hiding her body from his view. He leaned into her, placing a large gloved hand onto her shoulder. Her body felt weak, brittle. He imagined her breaking into small fragments of flesh as he rolled the girl onto her back. Her tears twinkled under the moonlight. He displayed her bleeding body to the sky above, the cloak pulled open allowing the freezing air to numb her.

  The time was right, the moment was perfect. He lowered to his knees, placing them either side of her torso, straddling his victim. The remaining energy she held was extinguished by her struggle to remove him. It failed. Her eyes fixed with his, they appeared sunken, deep behind the mask that looked upon her. The black and grey hair coated its face; the wind caused it to dance. The nose, long and hard, the teeth, large and prominent, stained with a yellow tint. He calmed and prepared himself. Leaning backwards and tilting the mask to the moon.

  His arms rose over his head, offering the blade to the vastness above. The howl echoed through their surroundings, bouncing off the trees and filling the night. His appearance drove fear into the girl, her eyes wide and glazed over, her skin pale and numb. The trickle of salted tears froze to her cheeks. Her erratic breath escaped as plumes of mist, the warmth smothering his face under the mask.

  The cold metal pierced her flesh, her warm blood escaping the wound. She choked, coughing lightly. The knife twisted and carved at her body. He watched as the life was taken from her, the soul expiring from within. He remained kneeling, her heart in the palm of his free hand. The brilliant white carpet absorbed her blood and intensified its colour.......the large pool forming below them. The arterial sprays blotted in several directions as the organ was removed. He raised it to the moon. The Wolf howled, yet again, filling his surroundings.

  Chapter One

  Nathan offered the chair and Jack Dawson accepted. They both sat, Jack with his back to the setting sun, the warmth soaked in by his skin. He shivered slightly. The warm tingle pulsed through him as he welcomed the heat. The bottle of beer felt cool in his hand and a sliver of water rested against his forefinger as it ran down from the neck.

  ‘Nice place you got here Nathan’ sipping on the cold liquid.

  ‘Jack, I don’t think you flew out here to admire my house, what’s up?’

  Jack swallowed the mouth full and placed the beer down on to the brown wooden table. He watched as Nathan attempted to read him, the bottle raised to his lips and his eyes fixed on his guest.

  ‘You know me too well, but I also believe you already know why I’m here Nathan…………how much do you know?’

  ‘Just what I’ve seen on the internet, I tend to avoid the news now Jack, we like the peace and quiet’

  Jack scanned his surroundings. The villa’s cream walls soaked in the sun’s rays and amplified the brightness. The ivy clung to one corner and snaked from left to right at the base of the roof, the decking where they sat was a dark brown wood. It supplied the occupants with a warm seating area and a breath taking view.

  Jack imagined Nathan and Elle, his wife, enjoying a meal and sharing a bottle of wine whilst the sun decided to call it a day, the slow rhythm of the resting waves crashing upon the golden sand.

  Nathan noticed his old friend pondering and admiring the building, ‘You should have called first!’ he distracted.

  ‘I know, but honestly, would Elle have been happy with me stopping by?’

  ‘Probably not no, but she has earned the right to intervene Jack, I hate to bring it up but last time I helped you on a case, I ended up with sixty four stitches and endless nightmares. Elle had to deal with it as well as me. It was hard Jack, for both of us!’

  Jack nodded an acknowledgement to sympathise.

  ‘So, what have you got?’ he pushed

  Jack removed a brown A4 envelope from his travel bag and placed it down upon the table, making sure to avoid the slow growing pool of water from his beer. Nathan noticed the crispness that the envelope still held. It had been stuck in that bag since Jack had left the office, man handled through customs at Heathrow Airport, squashed into an overhead storage cabinet on the plane and now sat, looking new, in front of him. Nathan reached forward and gripped the package with his thumb and forefinger.

  ‘Nathan, I’ll leave you with the information. It’s up to you if you take a look or not although I would appreciate it if you did, I have a feeling that we only have a short space of time to act before the next one is found’ Jack stood and poured the remaining beer down his throat, the bottle made a low thud as he placed it down again.

  ‘How long do I have Jack?’ staring at the envelope.

  ‘Tonight mate. I’m flying back tomorrow morning. You can get me on my mobile’, he gave Nathan a slip of paper with the contact information.

  ‘I’m staying at the hotel next to the airport’. He collected his bag from the floor and descended the wooden stairs onto the beach. Nathan sat still, his eyes closed. He could hear the waves as they struck the white sand. The roaring of a car engine and the high rev’s as Jack left in the rented vehicle, the gravel on the courtyard crunched under the strain of the wheels.

  Elle poured another glass of red wine. She hadn’t answered Nathan’s question and he chose not to force her. They sipped quietly as the sky burned with an orange glow. He admired her beauty, her kind eyes glazing over as she thought about the recent proposition. Nathan stood and moved towards his wife, he ushered her forward with his hand and climbed onto the chair, slotting in behind her. She laid back, her hair sticking to his lips as her head rested against his shoulder.

  ‘I’m sorry babe’ he whispered

  ‘Good’ her reply holding a slight tint of forgiveness.

  ‘I won’t go. If you want me to stay then I won’t complain!’

  ‘I know. But you want to do this don’t you? If you don’t you’ll be wandering about the house, not knowing what to do and being an unsociable pain in the arse!’

  She was right. Nathan knew it and so did Elle. It was in his nature to help, it was what he was good at. He had missed being part of the police force
, the label it held and position he had reached. But the thing that played on both their minds was the result of the last offer from Jack. The days they spent in hospital, the months of nightmares they both endured and the time they spent apart. Nathan had promised her that he would stay put and that he would never offer or agree to help Jack in any way. They both knew that when the time came, he would crumble and the urge would fill him once more.

  ‘I noticed Jack didn’t stay long!’

  ‘No, he knew you would be coming home, I think he preferred that you two didn’t meet face to face!’ they both laughed, giggles to begin with which then erupted into body jerking and tears.

  ‘Oh I can believe that……he knows I would have told him to piss off!’ Nathan kissed her ear, moving her hair away with his chin.

  ‘I love you’ he whispered softly

  ‘I love you too babe’.

  The picture was out of focus, it remained that way for several seconds. Nathan could make out blurred figures in the centre of the screen. One shorter than the other, he strained his eyes and could see that the shorter of the two was seated. He froze the movie and headed for the kitchen to get a beer. Elle had decided to go to bed and he was happy with the idea, he needed to give Jack an answer soon, so he needed to study the information given in the envelope. Once his wife had left the room he had ripped open the sticky seal and emptied the contents onto the couch. Three Polaroid photos had fallen free and scattered over the cream leather cushions, the DVD glistened under the light that hung from the ceiling. He had removed the sheet of A4 paper from the envelope and placed it down. The DVD was placed in the machine and he had kept the viewing till last. The cool bottle numbed his palm as he read the letter.

  Nathan,

  Look over this evidence, tell me what you think. The video is disturbing and I suggest you watch it alone! I know you left for a reason and I hate to ask you for help, but, to be honest……we need it, I need it!

  Jack

  He collected the photos and stacked them on top of one and other, tapping the sides to align them. They were numbered one to three. He re-arranged them into numerical order. The first was of a young girl bound to a chair. She was staring at the camera, her face displayed fear, her eyes wide and worried. At the base of the picture were the words. My, what big ears you have! He placed it down to his side. The second was similar to the first, the girl bound and fear stricken. On the bottom read. My, what big eyes you have! He looked at the next, this time the girl was bleeding from her cheek. The blood seemed to cover the entire right side of her mouth and neck. He noticed the tears that had started to snake from her eyes. My, what big teeth you have! Though the images were unsettling he was eager to move onto the DVD. He grabbed the remote and pressed play, the volume was lowered as the howl filled the room.

  Jack Dawson awoke suddenly. The vibrating from his phone had caused the lamp to wobble as it sat upon bedside table. He reached around in the dark to find the lamp switch. The click illuminated the bulb and blinded him temporarily. He sat up and grabbed the mobile phone.

  ‘Dawson’ he answered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

  ‘Jack it’s me’

  ‘Nathan, to be honest I didn’t think you would call’

  ‘Jack, let’s cut the bull shit…………..I’ll do it’

  ‘Great, I’ll……’

  ‘Look, no press conferences, no interviews, no reporters. I need to be a fucking ghost Jack!’

  ‘Done, don’t worry. We leave tomorrow, seven thirty. Meet me in the airport for five. I already got you a ticket’.

  ‘Ok’.

  ‘Oh and Nathan…..’ the tone told him that Nathan had gone. He placed the phone down and extinguished the light. Once again, he was in total darkness, this time he went to sleep wearing a smile.

  ***

  The sun fired a warm light through the small window. Nathan waved his hand slowly through the rays allowing his fingers to break the beam. He could already smell the other passengers as they climbed aboard the plane. He hated flying, although he was unsure why. There were no previous bad experiences or stories to aid in his hatred. It was just a feeling that lay in his gut. Like a resting beast that despised an awakening. He remembered the last time he boarded a plane, it was with Elle. They were leaving London after his last attempt to help Jack on a case. Though last time he donned several bandages and his right arm was balanced in a sling, not a good memory.

  ‘Still no fan of flying Nathan?’

  ‘No Jack, we disagree with each other’ the bong sound from above his head ordered him to fasten his seat belt. It had been applied the moment he sat down. Way ahead of you. He shuffled his feet to find a new zone of comfort, grateful that Jack had bought Business Class tickets due to his scaffolding pole type legs.

  ‘Hey, if you’re feeling a bit anxious or nervous, just think of something else, something………important and distracting! That sometimes helps.’

  He accepted his friend’s advice and closed his eyes. The sun warmed his cheek and he drifted to a happy place, to his house, sitting on the warm white sand. Elle wrapped up in his arms, her heart beating methodically with his as if synchronised. He felt himself smiling as he floated through the image. The waves crashing softly and the thudding of two hearts filled his ears…….until the Air Hostess began to speak.

  His eyes opened to find a young woman with enough make-up on her face to supply the rest of the female passengers. She smiled, doll-like as her arms motioned to the location of the Emergency Oxygen Masks and Exit doors. The large tin can shook as it reversed from its parked position. Nathan gripped the arm rests with both hands and squeezed, his skin turned pale. Happy place………Happy place…. He yearned to go home. He longed to be with his wife, he needed a Gin and Tonic. The plane came to a steady halt and he prepared mentally for the take-off, he awaited the ‘left my stomach on the tarmac’ effect as the engines moaned louder. His head was forced back as he endured the painful lift off, his eyes firmly shut and squeezing the life out of the plastic arm rests. The plane bounced and dipped as it ascended higher, the clouds rushed past, his eyes peered open for seconds at a time and the view from his window caused him to close them again. His feet tapped, his fingers drummed, his mind exploded with numerous thoughts. I can’t wait to land!

  ***

  He watched from behind the dark glass, his warm breath created circles of mist as he exhaled slowly. He observed the house, the bedroom and the new girl……..his new girl. The rain snaked down the observation window of the van, he traced the droplets with his finger from top to bottom, his eyes fixated on her room. The light bounced off the pink walls, an ornament hanging from the ceiling twinkled as it spun steadily in a clockwise motion. Abby sat behind the desk, the pencil protruding from her small hand as she drew. He studied her movements, the way her tongue began to slide from her mouth when focusing too hard. The way her brown hair shone as her delicate fingers ran through it. Her head was cocked slightly to the right in concentration. He copied her posture, feeling as though he were one with her. The drumming of rain on the van’s roof repeated in his head, like a military band playing just for him, playing his own special song. He began clicking the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth, keeping in time with the tune that echoed through his vehicle. His eyes scanned the ground, the rain made small holes in the snow as it landed. It was as if invisible fingers were piercing the white blanket. The binoculars were raised back to the girl, his eyes followed closely behind.

  ‘Hello Abby……….my little Abby’ the words whispered, his breath appearing and steaming the lenses of the viewing aid.

  His heart pounded as she gazed up and peered through her window, her green eyes watching as the rain soaked the glass. For a moment their eyes met.

  ‘Helloooooo……….smile for meeeeeeee’ he begged.

  The beeping tone from his wrist watch told him he had been stationary for fifteen minutes, nooooo, five more minutes……no more……no less!

  T
he first night was always exciting, the chance to view his new victim in her comfort zone……her safe place. The rush of the hunt coursed through his veins, he could barely sit still and felt the urge to fidget, but he fought it. He watched, knowing she couldn’t see him, knowing that nobody could see him, he felt invisible. Like a ghost haunting its chosen prey.

  The light coming from the road caught his eye. He repositioned himself and sunk lower into the seat, his eyes watched as the headlights crept closer. The approaching vehicle was moving cautiously, he willed it to move faster; his special time was coming to an end and he disliked interruption.

  ‘Faster, come on…..faster…..fasterrr…..fas…terrrrrr’ the words dragged out into a groan as the car passed by. He shuffled back to the original seating position and moved his attention back to Abby.

  ‘FUCK!’ his scream surrounded him. Her light had been extinguished. He had missed the last few minutes of their special time. He felt his body fill with rage, it drowned him slowly and he slapped the palms of his hands against the steering wheel, welcoming the pain it brought.

  The engine growled softly as he turned the key, his headlights remained off and he only switched them on when he felt safe, safe from suspicious eyes. The van rolled cautiously from its parking space, his eyes searching for one more glimpse of his prey. Please, please, pleeeeeeease……..! He gave up and focused on the road ahead, the wheels crunched into the snow as he placed his foot down on the accelerator. He longed for the girl, his new girl. Images of her soft skin and radiant hair flooded his mind. She was like a piece of art, such a beautiful piece of art……my lovely loveleeee Abbeeeeeee. He needed her heart.

  Chapter Two