Ashes

She felt her body start to shake. She could feel him rubbing against her, thick, hard and ready. She could feel him pulling down her pants and underwear. And she could feel him thrusting violently into her.

He lifted her pressing her back hard into the books on the shelf. He grabbed her breast through her blouse and began to roughly massage them leaning in occasionally to bite at them. When he was tired of holding her up, he pulled out of her then turned her to face the books. Before she knew it, he rammed into her and mashed her face in to the shelf.

Throughout the whole experience she couldn’t help but remember his words.

“If you struggle I won’t hesitate to kill you.”

Fallon shot up from her sleep breathing hard and fast. She clutched her chest in an attempt to steady her racing heart. After a few minutes she was finally calm enough to breathe normally.

She lay back down on the large bed and gazed at the ceiling. It was painted black with splashes of white and silver and it also had randomly placed glow in the dark stickers giving it the look of a night sky. Looking up at her painted ceiling always seemed to calm her but tonight it had no effect.

The dream was the most real she had experienced in a long while. She could smell his sweat in the air and feel his breath on her neck. It disgusted her. Fallon glanced at the alarm clock on her night stand. The green numbers glowed 4:02am.

Great! Just great!

There was no way she would be able to fall asleep now after that dream and it was three hours away from when she actually needed to get up to prepare for work. Sighing loudly she sat up and switched on the lamp. Flicking at the chipped blue nail polish on her fingernails she thought of something to do to pass the time. Coming up with nothing she got out of bed and paced the room.

From the corner of her eyes she spotted her new running shoes. It was then she decided to take an early morning run. It wasn’t the first time that Fallon had went out on these early morning escapades and it certainly would not be her last. At least until she figured out a way to stop those dreams of hers. It was because of the dreams she started running in the first place.

She peeled off her sweat soaked sleep shirt and tossed it into the hamper. She walked over to her closet and pulled out her dark blue sweat pants, a dark blue t-shirt and a black DC hat. She made her way to her dresser and found her sports bra and slipped it on together with the rest of her clothes. She located her socks even though one was blue and the other one was black and slipped them on as well. After putting on her shoes, she headed out the door then locked it then placed her apartment key in her left sneaker.

Beads of sweat rolled down her neck as she pushed herself harder. Maybe today she’ll run ten miles. As she entered the park, she pulled down the bill of her hat. She slowed her pace a little taking in her surroundings. She liked running through the park in the dark. It gave her the chance to enjoy the atmosphere with no one to interrupt even though she could barely see more than a few feet in front of her. It was always very interesting to see who was up and about at that hour. “People watching” was fun, especially when they could barely see you.

Today though there were the usual suspects. A homeless man was sprawled out on one of the benches getting a good sleep before taking to the streets again. There were usually two other joggers out in the park at four in the morning. One was a woman. She seemed incredibly fit. She always wore jogging shorts and a loose t-shirt over a sports bra. She had her i-Pod strapped to her upper arm and the ear buds pushed into her ears. Didn’t she know how unsafe it was to be walking around with those things, especially in the dark. All those warnings about not having headphones in when walking by yourself because it prevented you from being aware of your surroundings and she still paid no attention to them! Countless times Fallon thought about going up to the woman and giving her this piece of advice but she didn’t.

The other jogger was a man. He was extremely muscled. His large shoulders flexed as he ran by. She was always cautious of him because he seemed like he could be dangerous; like he could break someone’s neck with a flick of the wrist. But she liked watching him as he ran because he was gorgeous. He was like an Adonis. From what she could see, his hair was dark, most likely black or a dark brown, and short. Fallon could see that his ears were pierced as the gem glistened under the lamp light. His arms and legs were littered with tattoos. He was definitely her type.

She sighed knowing that she didn’t have a chance in the world with him. She was never really lucky when it came to men and now that she is troubled by her past, her chances seem even slimmer.

One and a half hours later, Fallon unlocked her door and entered her apartment. The run did nothing for her except make her tired and sweaty and even more insecure about herself. She grabbed the remote and put on the television then walked to the kitchen to get some water. She unscrewed the cap and took a big gulp.


“Now were going to Jessica Avery who will give us the details of this latest murder. Jessica?”

“Thank you Pam. It is a sad, sad day for the regular customers of the Thorny Rose on Mason Street. Police have confirmed that Rosemarie Thornton is the latest homicide victim. Her body was found early this morning in her doorstep by a neighbour. The police have reported that she was found with her throat slit and she was stabbed in the back. An autopsy is currently underway to determine the exact cause of death. Rosemarie was the owner of this local diner and as you can see people have been coming by, placing flowers, cards and other items outside the door of the now closed establishment to pay their respects. She will surely be missed.”

“Jessica, what is the feeling of the residents in the area? How are they reacting to such a brutal murder is such close quarters?”

“Well Pam we can only imagine the shock and fear that is in the hearts of the residents of the area right now. I spoke to one of Miss Thornton’s regular customers and he told me that he was in stunned that something like that had happened in the neighbourhood far less to a woman who was as loved by the community as Rosemarie Thornton. The residents are also worried because about to weeks ago there was a similar murder not too far from here. For those of you who don’t remember, Carrie-Ann Mayer was stabbed outside her workplace by an unknown assailant. No word yet on whether this killing is linked to the murder of Carrie-Ann Mayer. Police are urging everyone, especially women to be on the lookout and to take precautions when going out at night.”

“Thank You Jessica.”

Fallon’s breathing became uneven and her heart began to race. Her eyes almost popped out when she saw where the murder had taken place. It was two blocks from her house.

That could have been her.