(This story features the assault and psychological abuse of a young woman. Please do not read on if such things disturb you. Creating stories is how I purge my soul of my darkest instincts. Hope reading does the same for you.)
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There are people whose paths you should not cross. I am one of those people, not that you would know it if you saw me. But that is kind of the point.
I am not physically imposing, but I am strong. I speak softly, but I am vicious. I am the last person whose face you would notice in a crowd, but if I have chosen you, mine will be the first face you see when you close your eyes at night. If you don't believe me, you can ask Sarah Torn.
Sarah Torn was just finishing her last semester of high school. She was a tiny little thing, all of eighteen, but even younger on the eyes. Intelligent, bookish Sarah could not wait to get out of her little private high school and out into the world. She wanted to meet people with big ideas and open minds. She wanted to meet people who had seen far-off places and had read great works of literature. She wanted to meet kind people who were as different from the conservative jocks and judgmental little debutantes at Lucretia Bryant Academy as anyone could be. She met me instead.
Sarah was thrilled to reach her eighteenth birthday so that she could get a job at Crystals, the New Age Store in town. She had long been a customer, but the store featured a large erotica section and a tattoo parlor (open twice a week) in the back, and employees needed to be of age to work there. As the owner, Lilith, had promised, Sarah started working there the day after her birthday.
It was there that I saw Sarah Torn. New Age women had always been favorite choices of mine, and the leggy redheaded Lilith had actually first caught my eye and I had tailed her to find her place of work. Soon, I became a regular customer. I sorted out the work schedule and began to construct the plan to ravage the owner. On one of my final visits prior to my intended rendezvous with the unsuspecting thirty-something redhead, Sarah appeared. What a fortunate turn of events for Lilith!
My sights immediately shifted to the naïve little waif behind the counter. I didn't like changes to my meticulous plans, but this was too delicious an opportunity to forego. Sarah was too perfect a target. She walked that thin line between emo girl and New Age hippie wannabe. There was an innocence there waiting to be ripped to shreds.
I found little work to be done in acquiring my new target. Lilith posted the work schedule behind the counter, and she wrote it in a big flowing script that I could easily read from my position at the cash register as I purchased my book of erotic prints. There it was, "May 19th—Lilith 10-4, Sarah 4-Close." Sarah's big brown eyes floated for a moment over the cover of my big book for a moment.
"I love the way she makes the setting work with the lovers," I said, acting as if I were just a little embarrassed to be making such a purchase. "I mean, the relationship across—um--eras and attitudes. She's a—a very insightful artist." Sarah glanced at the cover again, searching for evidence of what I had seen in the book, and at the same time trying to appear as if someone with her obviously limited experience could truly comprehend the subtleties of such sexually charged material. The cover featured a lordly man in the midst of his seduction of a serving wench while the lady of the manor watched from concealment behind a great tapestry. The lady's face twisted with a dark smile.
"Oh, yes. I see what you mean. And is that Zeus and Leda on the tapestry?" She was booksmart, alright. And that made her certain she was handling this right. Bless her soul, she thought she was helping me out and putting me at ease. Even as she did so, there was a slight trace of red in her pale cheeks. She was just a touch excited to be discussing grown-up ideas with grown-ups.
"Yes, exactly the sort of detail she uses. You're an old soul," I said without a hint that I found her to be anything but. "You are perfect for a job in a bookstore. Well—um see you soon—I suppose."
"Yes, I've seen you in here before. Well, we get some new things in every week. Come again."
"Oh, I will. I'm a creature of habit."
She didn't see me again until May 19th. I came in about half an hour before closing, carrying a bookbag as I usually did, and laying it by the door on my way in. Shopkeepers love customers who know enough to check their bags without being asked. As usual, there were no other customers around. Sarah gave me a tiny smile, and I nodded and went right to work pretending to be shopping. This was all normal for her, and she was comfortable. The innocent turned back to her work with no idea what was about to befall her. After about ten minutes, she went into the office to check on something. I moved to the door, called out a soft good night, snatched my bag and closed the door just hard enough to make sure the chimes jingled to signal that someone had left.
I quickly snuck into the restricted section and concealed myself in a blind corner. Now came my favorite part of the set-ups for my little escapades. I loved waiting in a dark corner while the woman I was about to destroy unsuspectingly went about her routines. I lived for that moment when I was suddenly there, and their lives as they had known them were suddenly gone. I was certain that my pale little beauty would not disappoint. There would be terror and tears. I would become something more than a man. I would become the demon that stalked her fears for a lifetime.
In a few minutes, I could hear the deadbolt lock of the front door click into place. Even over the Celtic Woman music being piped softly through the sound system, the finality of the heavy sound was unmistakable. She pulled the metal screen down over the windows, turned off the main lights and headed toward her doom. She was mine now.
She stopped in the doorway of the restricted section and looked in to be sure that it was empty before she turned off the lights. Good girl, locking up exactly the way Lilith did it. Just like the owner had taught her new employee. Sarah shut down the computer and locked the office, double-checking so that her boss would know she could be trusted with the responsibility of closing. She grabbed the cash envelope for the night deposit box and headed for the back door. I let her get deliciously close to the alarm's keypad, but I was inching ever closer in the dark. As she raised her right arm to reach for the pad, I sprung. Her tiny right arm folded so very easily behind her back, and my left hand clamped over both her mouth and her nose. I cranked the arm quickly to the pain point.
"If you try to bite my hand, I'll break your fucking arm," I whispered calmly. "Understand, little girl?"She nodded. "Are you going to scream so that I have to break your neck?" She shook her head. I forced her to her knees. "I'm letting you go in a second. You will turn slowly with your eyes cast down to the floor. Do not try to rise or run. That would be a fatal mistake."
I let her go and stepped back. She breathed heavily. I had cut off her air. She followed every order perfectly. Her tears were running so profusely that I had already felt my hand getting wet. With her left hand she held the money envelope up in the air, still looking down. I snatched it from her with my left. "Raise your eyes," I said. From down on the floor, the tiny quivering girl slowly looked up. There was terror and confusion in her eyes. Delightful. I looked at the money bag and shook my head, tossing it over my shoulder. She finally got it.
"No, please. No." Her voice was barely a whisper.
"Put both hands behind your head." She slowly put them where she was told, closing her eyes in denial of the situation. "Open your eyes, Sarah Torn. This is your life, now." She fought to keep them open as she was told, but the tears made it difficult. I reached down to the front of her light, gauzy dress. Even in this position, her breasts barely made a bump in the fabric. She wore no bra. I pinched her left nipple hard.
"Ouch!" she whimpered softly.
"Hurt?"
"Yes."
