HE... God, it couldn't be me... putting on Jeremy's shoes and jacket.
HE wiping down all the places where his fingerprints might have been. HE
deleting the text message from his cell phone inviting him to his place.
HE checking all the messages on Jeremy's cell phone.
HE carrying Jem out of his house.
HE in some dark room, tearing off a piece of Jeremy's jacket.
HE... God, don't let me believe it's me... cutting Jeremi's hand.
HE with a piece of his bloody jacket by the car near the "Black Lady."
HE pulling his friend's fishing rod out of the car and heading towards the lake.
HE... No, this can't be that dream... sitting on a chair with a fishing rod in his hand.
HE placing a fragment of the fishing rod and a bloody shred of his jacket next to it.
HE leaving tracks with Jeremy's shoes around the spot where he was sitting.
HE swimming across the lake.
HE talking to... no, that's not that guy, God no... a young man
. HE leaving Dreois.
HE injecting Jeremy with something.
HE burning his shoes, jacket, and the remaining pieces of Jeremy's fishing rod in the fireplace at his house.
HE again in a dark room, changing the bandages on his unconscious friend's hand...
HE... Dude, hey... wake up... what is this... hearing a voice.
HE... something shaking him violently and...
"You can't get rid of me that easily, get up and let's get this over with," Derek hears the male voice again. He opens his eyes and sees he's lying where he lost consciousness. He's above the "Black Lady." "Man, you scared the hell out of me." I thought my money was gone. Forgive me for searching you, but you understand... You probably have it in the car... Am I right? Don't pull any more stunts like that.
"Help me up..." Derek said. The man helped him up, and Derek brushed the dirt off his pants.
"That's right, the money's in the car, no more numbers, let's get this over with."
If the man knew Derek better, the unnatural tone of his voice would have aroused suspicion, but he thought the strange way he said those words was a result of losing consciousness. "Okay, then let's go," the man said.
When they reached the car, Derek opened the door and got in to open the glove compartment. He knew instinctively what he was looking for. One thing was certain: it wasn't the envelope of money the man behind Derek had expected.
"Just don't try to rip me off again, dude. No more blackouts and weird 'I don't remember anything' behavior." Give me the money and you'll never see me again. A deal's a deal; you have your honor, after all. You give me your due, and I'm gone in a second. Der."
Derek flinched. "What did you call me?
" "When you were unconscious by the lake, you mumbled that nickname a few times. Something like 'don't call me Der...' Something like that. Is that your nickname, right? We didn't even introduce ourselves the first time. But that's very good, personally, it's...
" "You called me Der, only my friend calls me that. And I don't even like it when he does that.
" "Your friend, that guy I was supposed to see by that lake a month and a half ago, right? Okay, don't get excited, I let it slip... I'm waiting for the money. Let's finish this, I'm hungry..." the man said, impatiently glancing at his watch.
"You live alone here in Dremois, right?" Derek asked, smiling as he finally felt the touch of what he'd been searching for in the glove compartment.
"Yes, I'm single. I live here alone. I moved in a week before you accosted me at the bar. I practically live in the back. I don't really hang out with the local rednecks. In fact, I plan to leave soon. But what's it to you?
" Derek ignored the man's question. "So you practically know no one here, and hardly anyone knows you?"
"That's one way to put it, but why do you need to know?" The man was clearly impatient.
"I'm just asking, I have it, I found the envelope, so we can finalize the deal," Derek said, turning to the man. The glint in his eye definitely didn't belong to the Derek who had arrived in Dremois this morning, and what he was holding behind his back as he got out of the car looked more like the knife that had slit Jeremy's hand eighteen months ago than an envelope of money.
A dark room resembling an old warehouse or some sort of basement. The only lighting comes from a single bulb on the ceiling.
To the right is a metal bed permanently attached to the floor. Next to the bed stands an IV drip. The man lying on the bed has his legs and arms handcuffed and gagged.
Only a trained eye would recognize this extremely thin, deathly pale figure as Jeremy Wolles, a successful lawyer who disappeared a month and a half ago.
If a mind reader were in this gloomy room, the thoughts of the man on the bed would freeze their blood.
Please, God, let me die... please, let me die... please. God, make it short... make it short, let me..." His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. God no...
"Hi Jem, how are we feeling today? I know I've been gone for a while, but you know how it is," said Jeremy's guest, entering the room and closing the heavy metal door behind him.
And again, only a trained eye would have recognized Derek Potter, the crack IT guy who, just a few hours ago, had been in the parking lot near the lake known as the "Black Lady." This Derek's face now held nothing but pure madness. Madness no longer hidden behind any veil. Madness that had subsided for a while, only to now strike with renewed force.
"I'm here, and you know... I even brought you something to make up for my long absence. I'll take care of you now, my love. Don't worry, everything will be alright." The grimace on Derek's face left no doubt that madness had once again found its way into his mind.
Extremely exhausted, Jeremy would surely have started screaming if his mouth had not been wrapped in a strong, but breathable, material.
"I arrived just in time, I see. Your IV needs to be changed, but you see... I measured it well last time. Studying medical books after work paid off. But before I change it, I want to show you a present."
Jeremy saw Derek crouch down in front of him, pick up a large backpack, and open it.
"Hehe... you see, when I think about it. Who would have thought I'd ever need the basement in my grandmother's house? I was about to sell it, because what good is a shabby, lonely place like this in the middle of nowhere? And yet, I could have adapted everything here so nicely for you. Okay, enough, look what I brought you..." With that, Derek pulled the severed head from his backpack. And once again, only an observant person could recognize the face of the man who, just a few hours ago, had stood waiting in front of Derek's car in that blood-dried mask. A
terrible shiver shook Jeremy's pale, frail body, and tears, a mixture of terror, hatred, and helplessness, appeared in the corners of his eyes.
"Yes, Jem, you see, now no one will disturb our peace. You don't have to thank me, anyone will do anything for the person they love. You're mine, Jem, mine, no one will take you away from me. I've suffered enough watching you with that bitch Linda, but now everything will change. I won't leave you, Jem, I won't leave you..."
Derek leaned down and kissed the love of his life gently on the forehead. And if madness hadn't completely blinded him, he would have noticed Jeremy, with the last of his strength, gripping the IV tube and squeezing it. Please God... Please... shorten it..."
He would have noticed that Jeremy could do it, because the IV was almost empty and the tip of the fluid was flowing through it, making it easier for Jeremy's emaciated hand. The handcuffs did restrict his movements, but the tube, with its needle inserted into his arm, was within his reach.
"Shhh, darling, shhhh..." whispered Derek, stroking the head of the man who was barely recognizable as his former friend.
If he hadn't been looking into his eyes, Jeremy would surely have failed in his exhausted body's final attempt.
The Phantom Doppelganger, the Imprisoned Derek, and Derek Number Two, or simply Derek Potter, would have noticed his friend's hand fiddling with the tube. But he stared into his beloved's eyes the entire time.
"Shhh... Everything will be alright, Jem... I love you more than life itself, you know..." whispered the man who had once been closest to the man he was constantly stroking. And who had become his tormentor and curse.
Derek, still staring madly into his beloved's face, forgot everything and saw nothing but the eyes of the person he had destroyed with his love.
"Shh...I won't leave you now, everything will be alright, you'll see, you'll understand it too...You'll understand that we're meant to be together...Yes, Jem, it will finally get through to you...Shh...And neither the handcuffs nor this place will be necessary anymore. Now I know everything. It had to be this way. It was such a test...But...Shh...nothing matters now. Because you know, I know everything now...Yes...And you'll understand it too...I'll take care of you, and you'll understand that you love me too...You love me more than life itself...Shh...It'll be alright, this house, you and me...Shh...Oh yes, Jem, you'll understand soon..." Derek leaned in again and kissed Jeremy's forehead. "Shh, it'll be alright, you'll understand...
" "Yes, and I'll take you away from here...Jem, you'll see...I know everything...No one will stop us this time...Shh...It had to be this way. I know it...Shh." I won't leave you now, Jem... I already know everything... It'll be alright, you have to understand that... We're meant to be together... But you'll understand... Yes, you will eventually... Derek suddenly untied the gag covering Jeremy's mouth and planted a tender kiss on it. He wasn't surprised that not a word, not even the slightest sound, escaped. Then he returned his gaze to the pale face of the figure lying on the bed.
And perhaps if Derek's madness hadn't already reached its extreme stage, he would have understood that God had finally answered the pleas of the victim of his toxic love. Oblivious to anything, he continued to stare with utter fascination into Jeremy's eyes. Eyes from which the light had already faded.
"Shhh... Jem... you'll understand... it'll be alright... this place won't be needed anymore... Shh... you know I love you... we'll be together, Jem... everything will be alright... I love you... Jem... you know that... more than life... Shh... more than life..."
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