| Touched (Part 1 of 7) |
Touched Part 1 Tuesday October 24th 1995 Amber McKenzie sipped a glass of orange juice while she divided her attention between the traffic report on the radio and her calculus homework. Beside her, her father Daniel read the paper while he finished the last of his breakfast. She heard him sigh and turned to give him a curious look. “Last night was another bloodbath,” Daniel said and turned the paper toward her to point out a story. “Five people are dead this time, and the cops claim to have already caught the killer.” Amber glanced at the article though she didn’t bother reading anything beyond the headline before she gave a half shrug. “The killer knew most of the victims, right?” “Yes, it’s the same story every time.” “So why are you still being a skeptic?” Amber asked. “The story is always the same. Someone just goes crazy and starts killing people.” “Yes, but that’s why I’m skeptical. There’s only a few days between each of these stories. No matter what the police say, it isn’t typical to see multiple serial killings in the same city like this,” Daniel said. He set the paper aside and looked up in thought. “Maybe it’s some new kind of drug on the market.” “Sure, that would be very popular,” Amber said as she went back to working on an equation. “I can see lots of people buying a drug that would make them kill their family and friends.” “Well maybe it’s a tainted-” “No, you’re grasping at straws again, dad. The police have said almost all of the people who have been captured came up clean for drugs. The few who didn’t were smoking grass or popping pain pills.” Amber glanced up as her mother Rachel walked into the dining room. “Help me out here.” “What are we discussing?” Rachel asked. “Dad thinks drugs are what made all those people go crazy and start killing.” “Oh, I’m not getting into that. Mostly I just tune him out these days.” Daniel chuckled and grabbed her arm to pull her down for a quick kiss. “I thought it was my job to smile and nod when you’re talking.” “I only do it a few times.” Rachel leaned over the table to start gathering dishes. “Mostly it’s whenever you want to start making up theories for these killers. It’s just too morbid a topic for me to think about.” “I wouldn’t mind if any of his theories made sense, but he’s just guessing. Even Jobe could-” “Amber!” Daniel shouted. “What have I told you?” Amber shut her book and notebook as she got up from the table. “I’m sorry, I must have forgot myself. Remind me who was put in the hospital again?” “That’s why you should know better,” Daniel insisted. “Why? Because it makes you mad that I still care for him?” She zipped her backpack shut and turned to glare at her father. “You can skip the lecture. I’ve already heard it before.” Daniel sighed and tried to reach out for her arm. “Amber-” She stepped back and away from him as she slid her bag over her shoulder. “Back off already.” “Where are you going?” Rachel asked. “I’m going to school. Otherwise I won’t be getting my homework finished.” Amber walked out of the dining room to grab her cell phone from the table in the hall. Before she was outside, she was already berating herself for mentioning her brother. She knew that bringing Jobe up would anger her father, and she did it anyway. At the same time, she was frustrated with his constant denial of what really happened. Jobe had run away from home, and she had tracked him down. He’d even plead with her to keep her distance, but she wouldn’t listen. She was trying to remember exactly what he’d said just before he attacked her when she froze in place and shivered. It wasn’t her memories that made her skin prickle, but a vague sensation that something had touched her. She cast a nervous glance over her shoulder before walking with a much faster pace to her car. The thought came to her that perhaps she was being watched by some crazy person. She pushed the idea aside and dug her keys out of her bag. -Nobody is watching you,- she thought. -Just chill out.- *** “Rough morning?” Amber looked up at her friend Rochelle Turner and shook her head. “No, not really. Dad was trying to spin another theory about the killers, and I mentioned my brother.” Rochelle sighed as she dropped her bag on the table and sat down. “If you know it makes him mad, why do you keep doing it?” “I guess because I still want to talk about what happened. The way my family sees it, he just attacked me. But that’s not what happened at all. Jobe told me that he was starting to have problems figuring out what was real or not, and I still wanted to take him back home.” “Yeah, I know. You told me a dozen times, and I still don’t see why you would forgive him. He almost killed you, and all you did was grab his arm.” “Rochelle, you’re missing the point. He ran away from us. Jobe knew that he’d become dangerous, and he left to protect us.” Amber frowned at a stray thought. “Maybe he caught whatever kind of crazy that people around here keep getting.” “Or maybe it was just the plain old kind of crazy.” Rochelle smiled and leaned over to pat Amber’s hand. “I know just the thing to get your head away from morbid thoughts. We can head over to the gym and watch Derrick work out.” Amy laughed and gestured down at her book. “No, I’ve got to finish this last problem. Besides, watching Derrick is what would cheer you up. I could only be mildly amused by the things you say while you watch him.” “I’d offer my help, but I’m just barely passing.” “I’m okay. I just need some time to work without distractions.” Amber smiled at her friend’s silence and went back to work. She gave a nod as she finished and checked the time on her cell phone. “Great, I still have twenty minutes until class.” “So now we can watch Derrick?” Amber shook her head as she got up. “No, I’ve still got to fix up my face a bit.” “You shouldn’t say it like that. You aren’t that bad.” Amber shouldered her bag and started to walk away from the cafeteria table. “You’re just being nice, but let’s be honest. When we go out to the bars, you like to invite me because I make you look good.” She glanced at Rochelle and smirked over her friend’s guilty expression. “There is a reason why you always end up going home with a guy, and I end up going back to my house alone. I’m buck toothed, pale, and I’ve got brown hair that people call mousy no matter what style I try to use on it.” She heaved a sigh. “I have this dreadful feeling I’m going to grab the first guy who stares at me, and he’s going to end up being a whack job.” “Well… but there are good and bad kinds of whack jobs, you know.” “Really.” Rochelle laughed. “No really. You could meet one of the comic or anime whackos. The worst that could happen there is that they ask you to dress up like their favorite heroine.” “That could work. I’ve already got a Lum costume.” “Sorry?” Amber shook her head. “Forget I said anything.” She turned to open the bathroom door and grinned at Rochelle. “Actually, I’ve been to the anime club meetings, and the only guys who pay attention to me are the ones who smell funny.” “Well see? That proves you have standards. You won’t just take the first thing that comes along.” Amber went to the counter and set down her bag. She glanced up at her reflection and made a face. “Bleh.” “Oh hush.” Rochelle walked into one of the stalls and closed the door. “You aren’t ugly. You’re just plain.” Amber ignored her, leaning over the counter to prod the tip of her nose with her finger. “Maybe a nose job might help.” “You’re hopeless.” “Or maybe just a boob job. Maybe if I had something for guys to stare at, they could ignore my face.” Amber smirked at her reflection then leaned over to open her bag. Her smile faltered when another involuntary shiver rippled out across her body. Her eyes snapped first to the mirror before she spun her head around to glance over her shoulder. “What is that?” “What?” “It’s weird, but twice now, I’ve had this weird feeling like… like something was touching me.” Rochelle made a small laugh. “Was it a good touch or-” Amber turned at the sound of Rochelle coughing. “Are you okay?” There was no answer. Amber walked to the stall and knocked on the door. “Rochelle? Hey, are you okay?” She was moving to lean her head on the door when it swung open suddenly, almost sending her falling forward. Amber steadied herself on the dividing wall and took a step back. “Don’t do that! You-” She couldn’t quite look up at first once she’d realized that Rochelle was peeing on herself. Her skirt was wet, and her panties were stretched around her knee. Amber forced herself to look up, and her heart began to hammer in her chest at the sight of Rochelle’s eyes. Her pupils were dilated out so wide that her eyes almost appeared black. More unsettling was the look of malice in her expression that Amber had never seen before. “Freak.” Amber took a step back. “What? Rochelle, what’s wrong with your voice?” “Why do I keep running into little freaks like you?” Rochelle asked. There was a rasp to her voice, and it sounded much lower, almost to point of being masculine. She took a step towards Amber, and her panties fell to her ankles. She dropped her head as she kicked her underwear off. When she looked back up, her lips were thinned in a wide, unnatural grin. It seemed impossibly wide, yet her lips continued stretching to the point that her upper lip split and began to bleed. She leaned her head over until it almost touched her left shoulder, and her expression shifted to a mocking caricature of sympathy. “What’s wrong? You look scared.” Amber tried to take another step back before she bumped into the counter. She barely had time to utter a short scream before Rochelle leapt at her. Amber threw her arms in front of her face, expecting to be punched or slapped. Instead hands clamped over her throat with a strength that seemed impossible. Thinking desperately for a way to escape, Amber slipped her thumbs into the crooks of Rochelle’s elbows. Though she pressed down hard enough to break the skin, Rochelle’s grip on her throat tightened further, and her vision began to blur. She leaned back onto the counter and wedged her leg up to plant her foot in Rochelle’s stomach. Straining to piston her leg out, she felt nails raking deeply into the skin on the sides of her neck. The pain was intense, and as soon as she could draw a breath, she began to scream. Rochelle stumbled back away from the counter, but she recovered a split second later and moved in for another attack. With nowhere to run, Amber hopped to sit on the counter and raised both of her legs to mule kick Rochelle back into the dividing wall between the stalls. Though the impact was strong enough to break the dividing wall, Amber had a sick feeling that it still wasn’t enough. She didn’t bother waiting to find out, and she slid off of the counter to run for the door. She was halfway across the room when Rochelle grabbed her hair and yanked her back. Forward momentum carried her legs out from under her, and she fell to the floor with a jarring force. Amber’s lungs seized as the air was knocked out of her, and she didn’t have a chance to open her eyes before hands clamped over her throat again. She struggled weakly to free herself in vain, but she was pinned with no way to escape. The bathroom door made a hissing sound from the pneumatic door pump being shoved back too quickly, and all at once she was released. Amber opened her eyes to see Rochelle staring at her with a look of genuine confusion. She scrabbled back across the floor, but even in her panicked state, the change in Rochelle’s expression and posture were obvious. They stared at each other for several more seconds before Rochelle seemed to become aware of her injuries. She began to shake before collapsing on the floor on her side. Amber looked up as a professor took hold of her shoulder to help her up. She pulled away and crawled to Rochelle to lay a hand lightly on her friend’s upper arm. “What happened?” “I… I don’t know. There was something…” Rochelle raised her hand to wipe blood from her lip. She stared at it blankly before shaking her head. “I didn’t really do that, did I?” The crowd parted reluctantly for a pair of campus police officers. “What’s going on?” one of the officer asked as he stepped into the bathroom. “I’m not sure yet,” Amber said and got to her feet, wincing as her hip and her shoulder both protested over being moved too soon. “Help her up. I think she’s in worse shape then me.” “What did you do to her?” the professor asked. “She didn’t do anything,” Rochelle protested. She made a small cry and grabbed her lower back before leaning heavily on one of the officers. “One minute we were just talking, and the next, I got up and started attacking her.” The officer drew back a wet hand as his face pinched into a look of disgust. “Oh hell, you’ve peed yourself.” Rochelle looked down, and her face became almost purple with embarrassment. “I didn’t do it. I mean, I remember everything that just happened, but I’d swear to you that it wasn’t me. I don’t know why, but somehow I just…” Her bloodied lips drew into a frown as she searched for the right words. “I lost control of myself.” |