Assumption

Chapter Five

The next time the world froze, I wasn't sitting on my couch watching television.

I was in the bathroom at work, washing my hands, when the water flowing from the faucet stopped in midair. Something about the way it hung made me think that if I pushed through it, the stream would split apart into a hundred little droplets and bounce around the sink, but touching it only caused the liquid to shatter like a painting on glass along with the basin below and the wall behind it.

By then, I knew what to expect and held my breath in preparation for the journey through fire and purple nothing. It didn't feel any different than the last three events, but on the other end, I was not dropped into the usual place. I found myself outdoors, standing beside a small shed on a deck built around a swimming pool. In front of me, towering above it all, was a large, tan house.

The circle below me, drawn in chalk, was not the intricate piece that had appeared before. This design was much smaller and the area inside was filled by a pattern of plain triangular shapes. I extended my arm to test its boundaries but there was no resistance stopping me from reaching beyond its limits.

Just as I was about to step out, I heard a familiar voice. "Wait, Demon."

I turned to see the Matron standing behind me. Her heavy white ritual robe had been replaced with an oversized terrycloth bathrobe of the same color. Its sleeves ran past her hands and the bottom gathered at her ankles, covering everything but the pads of her feet and ten unpainted toenails. She extended her right arm toward me and rolled her wrist back. The same circle that appeared on the ground was drawn on her palm.

As soon as I saw it, my legs became unsteady, and I had to lower myself to a kneel to keep from falling over. I had been no less anxious and confused when I saw the lavish surroundings of an upper-class suburban home than when I arrived in the candle-lit chamber, but as I touched the treated wood of the pool deck, all of that drained out of me. I no longer felt anything.

The Matron's voice was barely a whisper, but I heard it as if she were speaking directly into my ear. "Today I have a use for your darker nature. Complete this deed for me and prove your worth."

This was the first time I hadn't been explicitly silenced. If I'd had a clear head, I might have taken the opportunity to finally explain to her who I was. Even if I were a demon, and I wasn't yet entirely convinced of that, I couldn't be the kind she had meant to trap. I was sure I had nothing more to offer than any other stranger she might encounter on the street.

Of course, I didn't have a clear head. I knew who I was, and I knew what was going on in the sense that I knew it shouldn't be going on, but I also felt compelled to do what this woman wanted, and she had no desire to hear me whine about how pathetically normal I was. Instead, I responded in a manner more fitting to my role. "What do you want me to do?"

"No," she said. "Ask, 'how may I serve you'?"

"How may I serve you?" I repeated.

"That's better. When you are with me, speak only when spoken to, and your words should always demonstrate that you know your place. Do as you are instructed, and you will find out that I am a generous master. Step out of line, and I will make you suffer for it. Tell me you understand."

"I understand."

"Take this." She handed me a knife. It was a regular steak knife, the kind that lives in a drawer in every kitchen. "Stay here. As soon as I'm done, kill him."

The Matron didn't wait for me to acknowledge or confirm understanding. Before I could ask, done with what? or, what the clear-headed me would have wanted to ask, kill?, she had walked away, disappearing around the corner of the shed. I followed her, but by the time I made the turn, she was already gone.

There was a window on that side of the building, so I crept underneath it and lifted myself just high enough to see inside. A skinny young man, no older than nineteen, was seated in a padded rattan chair with no arms. He was wearing shorts and a t-shirt with the logo of a pool company on it, "Dondiego Ool Service -- We get the P out!" I couldn't tell if it was a real company or not.

When the door to the shed started to open, he jumped up quickly but relaxed and sat back down once he saw who it was.

"Were you watching me swim?" The woman in white asked as she walked into the room. Her robe was open, revealing a two-piece bathing suit.

"Always, Mrs. C.," he answered.

"Well then, did it look like I got enough exercise for one day, or do you think I could use a little more?"

"You definitely don't need any more. I think you should hang out in here with me for a while." He pointed to another rattan chair on the opposite side of the room.

She put her hands on her hips and stuck her chest out. "I don't know. If I call it quits now, I'll feel guilty later. Isn't there something else I could do to burn off a few extra calories?"

"Nah. You've been in the pool for like an hour. Take a break, already. Kick back."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you sure you can't think of anything we could do together to keep my heart rate up?"

The pool boy stared at her blankly for a second before his eyes widened. "Oh yeah, exercise." He peeled his shirt off over his head with a flourish. "If you really want a workout, you should take me for a ride."

"I knew you'd get it if I repeated myself enough. Just keep your voice down, this time. My husband is sitting in the sunroom and I don't want him coming out here before I'm ready for him."

In the time it had taken her to remind him that she was married, the young man had already stripped to his boxer shorts, and as he pushed those down his legs, his erection sprang up to point straight out at his soon-to-be lover.

She crossed the room and he practically flew up from his seat to meet her in an embrace. His hands slid behind her, feeling around under her robe for the cord to her swimsuit while he mashed his lips into her neck and awkwardly poked at her with the evidence of his arousal.

"It's not a bra. There's no clasp. Just pull the string," she said after he began to grunt in frustration. The advice didn't help. She had to reach back and undo the knot herself.

Once the top was free, the young man stepped back so she could pull it off over her head, but quickly returned his mouth to the same stretch of skin as soon as she was done.

"They're out now." The Matron placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed down.

He took the hint and hunched over, bringing his head to her chest and opening his mouth wide before latching onto her left nipple and sucking in as if he were trying to inhale it. Her lips peeled back and her nose crinkled as she watched him work until irresponsible use of teeth made her jump.

"Stop," she said as she shoved him back into the chair. "You have absolutely no skill at foreplay. Do you know that?" Her hand darted into his lap and wrapped around his erection. The skin on her knuckles turned white as she squeezed.

He doubled over and grabbed her fist, trying and failing to pry up her fingers. "That's more time for the main event, then, right?" A pained laugh punctuated his statement.

"You know you never last long."

"Come on. It's not my fault, you just turn me on so much. Please let me go. You're gonna break it."

She put one last pulse of strength into her grip, then loosened her hold and began to stroke him gently.

"That's much better." He brought his hands to her breasts. "Treat it right and it'll last all afternoon."

She let go of him and pushed his hands away before stepping forward, walking bow-legged to position herself above his lap in the chair. As she lowered herself onto him, she pulled the fabric of her bathing suit bottom aside and guided the head of his manhood inside her. He let out an exaggerated moan as their hips met.

"Your record is three minutes. Do you think you can beat that today?"

He blushed. "I already told you. I'm ready to go all afternoon."

"We both know that's not going to happen, but if I were you, I would try and hold on as long as I can."

"Is that a challenge?" he asked.

"No, just a bit of helpful advice. You're going to want to make this one last."

"I'll take it." A dumb grin spread across his face.

The Matron draped her wrists over the young man's shoulders and began to rock back and forth. She moved slowly at first, building speed as he began pulling on her waist. He didn't stop until she was bouncing in his lap.

His face became a kaleidoscope of different expressions, each one accompanied by its own peculiar sound effect. She shushed him and he pushed his face into her chest, muffling his voice with her body.

My master was not as animated. She watched her partner with the same look she had given me as I knelt between her legs. Her pleasure wasn't coming from the piece of him inside her. It was the power she knew she had over him. His life was in her hands.

As the scene progressed, I became very aware of the pool boy. I could feel his heart beating fast in his chest and smell the blood pumping in his veins from the chambers of his heart to the head of his penis. My blood pressure was also rising but for a different reason.

It wasn't long before his final climax came. I wasn't wearing a watch, but I was sure he had not broken his record. Less than three minutes after entry, he announced he was nearing completion. "Oh, shit, sorry. I don't think I can hold on anymore."

The Matron let herself rise and fall in his lap several more times before abruptly stepping off. His erection popped out of her and started to jerk, spitting thick white strands into the now-empty space above him.

"What the fuck!" He yelled, jumping up out of the chair. "What the fuck was that?"

"This was flattering at first, but this whole two inches for two minutes thing is really not doing it for me. You can't even clean the pool right. I think it's time we found a better use for you." She looked toward the window and I felt her gaze tear right through me.

That was my cue. I rose and walked around to the front of the pool shed, letting myself in. When I entered the building, I found the room didn't look exactly as it had through the window. A dim red light shaded everything but my target. He appeared in his natural coloring, hued with a green aura.

The anger on his face turned to confusion as he saw me, then fear as he caught sight of the knife I was holding at my hip. His whole body tensed as the adrenaline entered his bloodstream, but he neither moved to fight me or flee. He froze, merely watching as I closed the distance between us.

Terror mixed with agony on his face as I pushed the tip of the steak knife into him. I started low, just above the belly button, and lifted. The pain snapped him out of his paralyzed state, and he brought his hands to mine, pushing down on it in an attempt to keep me from carving upwards.

"Mrs. C., Help!" he coughed. Despite his plea, she didn't move.

The pressure he applied made no difference. I continued to slice through the middle of his body. It was a serrated blade, and I was forced to saw as I reached bone and denser flesh. I knew it should have taken more effort and strength than both I and the dinner utensil I wielded were capable of, but I only felt the slightest resistance as I ripped through.

Blood and other things I couldn't identify poured out to coat my hand and arm, making my grip slippery. I had to grab the hair on the back of his neck with my free hand to get the leverage I needed to complete the line I was following up to his throat.

It took longer than I thought for his heart rate to slow. Somehow, I had etched exactly the right path to avoid slicing through his heart or severing any of its major connections and so it continued to struggle even after there was no longer enough blood in his body for it to do any good.

That's when some dark instinct drove me to withdraw the knife and stab him again, this time aiming straight through the pulsating muscle under his left breast. The beat of it reverberated through the handle of my weapon, at first fast and chaotic, then barely a tremor, and then gone. I watched the light die in his eyes within seconds.

The glow that had surrounded him began to detach itself, turning white and rising from his body like steam. Soon it had built into a large cloud, spreading across the ceiling like smoke from a fire.

Not all of it wanted to go up. Some of it floated over to me, enveloping me in a thin fog. Pins and needles spread up my body from feet to scalp and I could no longer balance well enough to support the weight of my victim. He slid off the edge of the knife and fell to the floor, followed by the weapon which made a dull thud as it bounced.

Even before I consciously breathed in, the cloud worked its way into me through my nose and mouth. My lungs locked up, but I didn't feel like I was suffocating. I didn't need to breathe. In that instant, life was no longer granted to me by some invisible gas that filled the world around me. It was the product of my force of will.

Emotionally, I went from feeling nothing to feeling everything. I experienced the highs and lows all at once, but instead of canceling each other out, the opposing extremes built upon each other to create a purity of expression there are no human words to describe. Love blended with hate, pleasure combined with pain, and fear melded with the thrill of overcoming it. It was the single greatest moment of my life up until that point.

"What is this?" I heard the Matron gasp behind me.

A hint of my humanity returned, bringing my focus back to the reality of the situation. I was struck by the thought that I had misinterpreted, or maybe even imagined, the directive to kill. When I saw that she wasn't looking at me, but instead at the substance that was collecting above us, I relaxed. It was the aftermath of the young man's death that shocked her, not the act itself.

My master reached up and touched the cloud. It swirled with the current of air created by her movement, following it to her face as her hand came back down. She inhaled sharply, sucking some of it inside her and holding it there, but her demeanor didn't change, and when she exhaled, it found its way out of her in the same consistency as when it went in.

She frowned and turned her attention to the body on the floor. As I watched, she walked over to it and got down on one knee, being careful not to touch any of the bodily fluids that were spattered about.

"Are you still in there, little man?" she asked softly, looking into his eyes. "Was I worth it?" For a moment she waited as if she expected he might answer, but no reply came. He was gone.

Her gaze shifted to me as she stood up. "Go back outside and wait in your hiding place in case something goes wrong."

The numbness returned and I crossed the room to follow the command I had been given. When I reached for the doorknob to let myself out, I noticed there was no longer anything on my hands. The blood and gore that had covered me had been absorbed just like the piece of my victim I had breathed in.

The Matron followed me, flipping the light switch as she exited. Once outside, she took the path toward the main house while I crept back around the corner of the building to conceal myself.

She stopped halfway up the walkway and called out loudly. "Honey!"

Almost immediately, a fit middle-aged man in khaki shorts and a blue polo shirt appeared from the back door. He beamed at her as his eyes scanned up and down her half-naked body. "Is that for me?"

"Of course not," she answered. "Go check on the pool boy. I think he's asleep on the job again."

The joy in the man's face receded. "Why do we even stay with this company? That kid is awful." He stormed past her in my direction.

At first, I wondered if I was meant to kill him too, but I stayed hidden as instructed, returning to crouch beneath the window where I had witnessed my master's lover make a fool of himself for the last time.

The man entered the shed. It was dark inside even with the day coming in through the windows, but he didn't hit the light switch. Instead, he took a few steps in and squinted until he made out the shape of the person crumpled on the ground, then walked directly to it. He crouched over the pool boy and gave him a shove. There was no response.

He tried to step back, but his foot slid on something slippery and he tumbled face-first into the body on the floor. A short grunt escaped him as he pushed himself away quickly, rolling back into a seated position. Once he had recovered, he touched his forehead to collect some of the liquid that now coated it, but the room was too dark for him to see clearly what it was.

In an attempt to stand up, he planted his hands at his sides, but as soon as he started to push against the ground, something bit him. He reached cautiously for the object, grasping it delicately and bringing it up to his face to get a better look. The tip of the knife caught the sunlight coming in from the window.

The next sound I heard was the wail of police sirens in the distance, followed by the horrifying scream of the Matron. She was back at the entrance to the pool shed. "Oh my God!" she yelled at the top of her lungs as she flicked on the light, exposing the full crime scene. "What have you done? I loved him!"

He looked at her, then at the weapon in his hand, then back at her, and finally at the blood covering the floor and furniture all around him. "Oh, you fucking bitch," he muttered.

She turned to look at the window, and I heard, even though there was no way the sound could have possibly reached me, the word that always signaled the end of our meetings, "away."

I fell forward, surprised to be caught by a piece of white ceramic. It hit me sharply in the ribs, knocking the wind out of me. My reflexes kicked in and I leaned away to avoid another attack but lost my balance and fell. As I landed, my skull rocked back, slamming against the tile floor with a loud pop.

It took me a moment to realize I had been sent back to the restroom at work. I turned my head and looked under the stalls to see if I was alone, and once I determined I was, I allowed myself to take an extra moment to recover. I took longer than that, but it didn't do much good. I could have laid there all day and it wouldn't have been long enough to process what had just happened.

Eventually, the door to the men's room creaked and I jumped to my feet. The man that entered nodded in my direction, vaguely aware there was something off about me but not too concerned about finding out what it was. I had seen him before, but we had never really spoken to each other. To him, I was just another faceless office worker.