DISCLAIMER: The following story is completely FICTIONAL is does not imply anything concerning the private life of Paul walker or Josh Hartnett. I don't know them and I don't know anything about their lives. This story is only meant as fiction and does in no way describe real occurrences, situations or facts. All other persons mentioned in this story are fictional. Any resemblance to an existing person, company or business is totally coincidental.
Author's note: Just want to stress again that this story is complete fiction. In this chapter there's some talk about their families and childhood. That's all made up ok. I have no idea what their real lives look like so please keep that in mind.
A lot of people have been asking me what the deal is with all the "mystery-stuff", as they so eloquently describe it, is...well you're finally gonna get some answers. But on the other hand, you're also going to get a whole bunch of new questions (laughs sarcastically).
For the rest: Enjoy chapter 12 and please let me know what you think ok?
author's note: chapter 11 contained a small typo, in the first paragraph it says: ". The winter was as good as gone but when the sun had sank there still was a chill in the air." ...that should have been: ". The summer was as good as gone and when the sun had sank there was a chill in the air." ...sorry for any confusion.
WARNING (important please read): the following chapter contains some paragraphs dealing with suicide, that might be upsetting to some...DISCRETION IS ADVICED !!! <<<
Chapter 12:
They continued driving. Before long they were on the freeway, back to NY. After about an hour Josh noticed Paul took an off ramp, leaving the freeway.
"Why are you leaving the freeway?" He asked Paul.
Paul sighed, "We need to talk" he said.
...
"What's wrong?" Josh asked concerned.
"Let me find a place to park the car first." Paul said, avoiding Josh's question. Truth was he was quite nervous about what he was going to tell Josh. But it had to happen sometimes, he knew that much.
After a couple of minutes he stopped the car at some sort of pick-nick place where drivers could pull over to eat or rest a bit. They made their way out of the car and to a bench not too far from the road. Besides them the place was deserted.
"Could you please tell me what's wrong?" Josh asked. He knew this was serious. All he had to do was to look at Paul's face to know there was something on his chest.
"Do you remember this morning when you and my mother were talking in the kitchen." Paul asked.
"Yes" Josh confirmed
"well, you noticed how she got all confused when you mentioned the desert?" Paul continued.
"I did...what was that about?" Josh asked.
"That's what I want to talk about." Paul said, as he let out a heavy sigh, "but I'm not sure you're ready for this."
Josh was growing increasingly concerned with Paul's tone and the direction this conversation was going. he could sense very well this was difficult for Paul so he put his arm around him and pulled him a bit closer.
"Hey, you can talk to me about anything..." he said reassuringly "you know that."
"I know,..." Paul said. "this happened about ten years ago...before my career took of...I don't think I ever had a more difficult time in my life...I was alone, miserable and thought I'd be for the rest of my life..."
Josh tightened his arm around Paul's shoulders. he knew very well what Paul was talking about. He had been there too. The feeling that there is no way life will get any better...The fear of never finding anyone to love...He knew it all to well.
"My parents and I were spending a few weeks touring Mexico for vacation..." Paul continued. "We were in a small village in the middle of the desert..."
...
"Faster, faster!"...Mary-Ann yelled to the police officer.
Paul had been missing for almost a day now. After she and Tom had spent most of the morning looking for him they had decided to call the police. They to had spent most of the day looking for Paul. Just an hour ago, when the sun was already setting they had found a track of footprints leaving the small trail at the edge of the desert.
"That track heads straight into the desert", the policeman had said "there's nothing there but sand and rock...Whoever that was, we need to find him cause under those conditions he doesn't stand a chance."
That was an hour ago...Now they were following the trail of footprints in a rusty 4x4 from the Mexican police. To say that Tom and Mary-Ann were nervous was an understatement. They had both felt how hot it had gotten during the day, and if those footprints were indeed Paul's he had been in the desert all day, without water or food.
Half an hour later they saw a dark shadow contrasting with the yellow sand...far away, almost at the horizon something was laying in the sand. The police officer pushed the gas pedal as far down as possible as he speeded toward the shadow. As they got closer it became obvious it was a person laying in the desert sand. It took another ten minutes before the reached him. Mary-Ann jumped out of the jeep before it had completely stopped. She ran to the figure...
"It's him!" she yelled..."Quick he needs help!"
Paul was unconscious and badly burned by the sun. The police officer grabbed a bottle of water and quickly let a bit stream across Paul's lips. He used about half the bottle to run across Paul's face to somewhat treat the sunburn.
"He needs to get to a hospital quick!" He said as he picked up the unconscious Paul, "But I think he'll make it. It's a good thing we found him cause he wouldn't have made it through the night."
...
Josh didn't know what to say at first. "You got lost in the desert?" He asked, still quite shocked by what he had just heard.
"No" Paul whispered. His eyes became blurry but he was able to hold back the tears.
"What do you mean?" Josh asked both confused and afraid.
"I went into the desert willingly..." Paul said .
"What..." Josh tried to ask something but Paul ignored it and continued.
"I went in there...to die." He spoke softly.
A cold and heavy feeling overtook josh as he heard those last words. He was shocked. Most people will never be able to understand how hard a life must be to drive a person to such actions, but he could. It's hard to describe the feelings he was experiencing, they were a mixture of shock, confusion, sadness but most of all a profound compassion for Paul and the pain he obviously went through in his life. He pulled the boy as close to him as he could. He wanted to hold him forever, protect him,...make sure he'd never feel alone like that again. Both guys were fighting their tears by now.
Paul felt Josh's grip tighten around him and it meant the world to him at that moment. he had just shared one of the darkest moments of his past with him, so Josh's support was something he needed very much right now. He too was experiencing a mix of emotions ranging from shame and guilt about what he had just shared with Josh to the pain attached to the same memory. Sure it had been ten years and sure he had moved on and built a great life for himself but the memories followed him wherever he went, like a vulture circling a weakened animal. The past is funny that way,...time can heal a lot of wounds...if they are confronted. Oppressed memories grow into demons that can haunt a man for the rest of his life. Pandora's box had been opened and there was no telling what the consequences could be.
Both guys just sat there quietly for more than an hour, trying to figure out for themselves how to move on from here. meanwhile the sky was slowly filling with greyish clouds and the wind seemed to pick up a bit, blowing dried leaves over the grass. It wouldn't be long before raindrops would start to fall from the heavens. The picking up of the wind seemed to bring both boys back from the thoughts that had preoccupied them. Paul looked up at josh who still had his arm wrapped tightly around him.
"Are you all right?" He asked josh in a quiet voice.
"It's just hard to believe what you just told me" Josh sighed. And the truth of the matter was he couldn't believe it. In the weeks he had known Paul he had known him as an upbeat, positive guy who seemed to enjoy every bit of the day. He had no idea Paul carried something like this with him. The contrast was just to big for him to fully grasp.
"I can't believe it most of the times myself..." Paul said, "It almost seems as if it was another life...someone else's life maybe. But it happened...and there's no way of changing that."
"But why...?" Josh asked even though he could already guess the answer.
"I don't really know myself..." Paul tried to answer honestly. "I had been battling with depression for nearly two years before that...but suicide wasn't something that was in my mind... " He paused for a moment then continued. "The evening before as I headed to my hotel room I crossed a young couple in the hallway...I don't know what happened...it just brought everything back...it made me think about how I never would have that in my life...I just lost it I guess."
Josh had listened quietly to what Paul was saying. He understood perfectly: life is a difficult game for nearly every teen...let alone when they find themselves attracted more to their team-mates in the football-team than to the cheerleaders. He had been there...boy, had he been there. He patted Paul on the back and said:
"I just hope you know you have `that' in your life now..."
"I know" Paul smiled, "Back then I wanted to fall in love with just about every-one...anything but being alone. But I didn't fall in love with just about anyone...I fell in love with you...Guess the lord knows what he's doing after all."
" what do you mean?" Josh asked.
"It just seems that everything that happened in my life has been building to what we have now." he explained.
"Funny...I feel the same way." Josh thought out loud.
The heaviness of the moment began to wear of. To say the had dealt with it...would be over-optimistic, but they were dealing with it. Even though they were in a public place, visible to anyone that would pass...Josh pulled Paul closer to him and slowly placed his lips on Paul's. They shared a long passionate kiss. A kiss that was only interrupted after about five minutes when the first droplets of rain began to fall down.
They slowly walked back to the car. Paul felt the rain gently run across his face. It felt good in a strange way...somewhat refreshing. In the car he grabbed for a bottle of water in the glove compartment took a big gulp, before offering the bottle to Josh who signalled he wasn't thirsty. Paul felt the coolness of the water sink into his body. Again it felt good. He started the car and they continued the car. Taking some new questions with them, leaving some old ones behind.
The sky had turned a light shade of grey. Little droplets of rain slowly fell on the windshield only to be swept of by the wiper-blades. While George Strait was sounding through the speakers is the background they headed back for NY.
"You've been awfully quiet..." Paul spoke after about forty minutes, "What are you thinking about."
"Nothing really..." Josh answered.
Paul could see that wasn't the case so he pushed on: "Come on Josh...tell me...what's on your mind."
Josh sighed as he thought about how to formulate his words. "I just want you to promise me something..." He said in a low voice.
Paul didn't say anything but looked at Josh to continue...
"Just promise me..." Josh continued, "whatever happens,...no- matter what the problem might be...just promise me you will talk to me about it...ok? If anything is ever bothering you...promise me you will come to me, please?"
Paul was taken aback by Josh's sudden seriousness. He could see Josh's eyes were turning a bit red as if he was holding back a few tears.
"are you all right..?" Paul asked concerned.
"Yeah..." Josh sighed, "it's just..." He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts..."It's just...what you told me earlier...it brought some bad memories back."
"What do you mean?" Paul asked still a bit concerned.
"One of my best friends killed himself over some guy who didn't want him..." Josh said very quietly. "It's just...I don't want that to happen again...I won't let that happen again..." he was talking more to himself now than to Paul.
"Hey..." Paul said, "Don't worry...life is different now...it was along time ago...I would never try anything like that ever again...I am happy now...I am happy with you..."
Josh couldn't help but smile a little when he heard Paul's words.
"what was his name?" Paul asked.
"Adam..." Josh answered, "He was my next door neighbour and we went to the same school."
"when did it happen?" Paul asked further.
"About ten years ago..." Josh answered "when I was sixteen or something."
Paul decided not to ask much more. He felt they both had had enough for one day. At the same time, however, both guys felt the importance of these moments. It felt as if they had grown closer in sharing these painful memories, and truth be told they probably had.
...
The sun was already setting when the New York skyline started to appear on the horizon. It had stopped raining a while ago but the sky was still clouded, looking a bit depressing. There was quite some traffic on the road but they moved along nicely. As they approached New York Josh began to grow a bit uneasy. The city even looked a bit threatening to him. He couldn't really understand why he was feeling like this. It felt as if he was going for a audition he hadn't prepared for...knowing something is going to go wrong, you just don't know how bad it's going to be. He had absolutely not the slightest idea where this nervous feeling was coming from. But it was there and he didn't like it one bit.
"Home sweet home" Paul sighed as the city came closer and closer. The sky-scrapers grew bigger with the minute, rising up into the sky as giant trees of steel, glass and concrete. For Paul there was no feeling like driving into the city. The rhythm of the metropolis was something that immediately grabbed you. And NY had a rhythm of it's own. It was unlike any place he'd ever been,...and he loved it. It really felt like you were in a world that never slept. Where there was always something happening. It felt great to him, to be where the action was.
It was unknown to them at the time but when they crossed the city boundary two very different people thought the same thing at the same time: "He's back".
...
Another hour later They pulled up the parking lot underneath the complex that housed Paul's apartment. Paul parked the car in the place that was reserved for him. They grabbed their bags and headed for the elevator. When they'd reached the right floor and where heading for the apartment Paul was addressed by some-one of the maintenance staff. He was handed a new key to his apartment. apparently several residents had complained about weird noises and someone seen sneaking around the building. The staff didn't want to take any chances and had pre-emptively changed all the locks.
Josh meanwhile had walked to the door of the apartment. As he stood by the door waiting for Paul something caught his attention. He put down his suit-case and knelt down in front of the door. On the floor, on the doorstep to be precise, he noticed a bit of dirt. It was a fine brownish- red, almost terracotta-like, powder. He grinded a bit of it between two finger-tips...It seemed to be clay or sand of some sort. He was intrigued by it...not so much by the dirt itself but by it's location,...right on the doorstep. Suddenly he heard Paul saying goodbye to the person he had been talking to. Josh drew a heavy breath and blew the dirt away,...then quickly got up before Paul came around the corner of the hallway.
After they had unpacked their luggage, ordered something to eat and had caught up with their messages that had built up over two days; it was far into the evening. Both guys settled down in the sofa in front of the TV to enjoy a few ours of rest before the next week arrived. They both had gotten quite a lot to deal with the past 24 hours and they took this quiet time to reflect on everything that had happened this day. Josh was sitting on one end of the sofa while Paul was laying across it, his head resting on Josh stomach. From time to time Josh would run his hand through Paul's hair, while his other hand was just laying on Paul's chest, feeling it move every time Paul took a breath.
"What's that?" Paul suddenly asked.
He noticed the tips of Josh's index and thumb were covered with some brown colour.
"Oh, there was some dirt out in the hallway" Josh replied, as he wiped his fingers on his shirt, "somebody must have dropped a flower-pot or something."
"Got your lines memorized for tomorrow" Paul wanted to know. "Got `em all right here." Josh answered while he pointed at his head.
"One more week, and our part of the job is done with..." Paul thought out loud.
"Can't wait to see the finished product" Josh added.
"Guess we'll have to wait a couple of months for that...Our scenes may be in the can, but I think it'll take some time for the rest of it to be completed..." Paul said.
"Probably" josh agreed, "Oh btw, I'm going to be late tomorrow evening." he added. "Got to meet a few people for another movie they want me for."
"you know anything about it?" Paul asked.
"No, not yet...I talked to my manager on the phone a while ago...he'll tell me more tomorrow I think." Josh replied.
"well good luck..." Paul spoke, "Hope it's something interesting."
"so do I" Josh smiled.
After a while they decided to call it a night, and went to bed. It had been a long drive home and both guys were quite worn out. They both felt tired, and mentally drained after a day like this. A good nights sleep was definitely in order. After the last light was turned down everything went quiet in the apartment and soon enough both guys were fast asleep.
After an hour or two the silence in the apartment was somewhat broken by Josh mumbling in his sleep. If anyone could have seen him through the darkness it would have been obvious he wasn't sleeping very comfortably. His expression gave away a mixture of fear and anger, and he was moving bit as if something was agitating him. Very quietly, almost undistinguishable, he mumbled: "It can't be...go away...leave me alone...". Suddenly his eyes flew open. His heart was pounding in his troth and his breathing was rapid, as if he had just been running. It took him a few moments to regroup. During the week-end his dreams hadn't bothered him, but now they were back, and they were unsettling. He couldn't quite figure out why his sleep was interrupted by these nightmares again. "Maybe it's the emotions of the day that are still playing" he tried to dismiss his nightmare. he laid back down, and tried to fall back asleep. Next to him he could hear Paul's rhythmic breathing, and soon enough he fell back asleep.
The morning went quite chaotic. They overslept quite a bit...and when they finally got ready to leave Paul couldn't find his car-keys anywhere.
"I could have sworn I put them right here on the table." He said.
Both guys spent about five minutes looking for them, till Josh finally spotted them on the kitchen cabinet.
"I don't understand..." Paul said, "I am 100% sure I left them on the table last night."
"well we got them now,...so let's go!" Josh ended the conversation.
They finally headed of to the studio for a long day of continuous shooting. They were only fifteen minutes late, mainly thanks to Paul's politically incorrect driving. The day progressed without any incident so after a long days work the final scene for the day was in the can. Just as they wanted to head home the director stopped them in their tracks.
"hey guys,...could you stay for 15 more minutes?" he asked them.
"Sure..." Paul said, "anything else needs to be done?"
"I'd appreciate it if you guys could just take a look at a few scenes we shot before...and give your ok for them." he informed them.
"sure, no problem" Josh said.
They stepped into a small room near the main hall where a TV and DVD-player where installed.
"This will only take about 10 minutes" The director assured them, "It's a few clips I need you guys to ok, before I can use them."
Most of the film they were seeing where short clips from a few key-scenes. the director wanted to know if both guys were happy with their performance and the way it came across on the screen. The last clip they got to see was a backstage interview they filmed in the parking lot. It was supposed to go in the extra's on the DVD release of the movie.
Suddenly Josh's hart stopped. He looked at the screen as if he had seen a ghost. There in the background, across the street...there was somebody standing there. Then the clip ended and the screen went black.
"So guys, everything ok?" the director asked.
Paul nodded `yes' but josh asked: "could you show that last one again, please?"
"Sure thing..." the director said as he pushed some buttons on the player.
This time Josh knew where to look. He paid close attention, not to what he and Paul were saying in the interview. But to the figure in the background, across the street, standing under a tree, well hidden in the shadow. Most of the figure was hidden in the shadow and it was hard to distinct anything. Then...for a brief fraction of a second, the figure looked up and sunlight fell on his face. Josh recognised him immediately...at least he thought he did. Because the guy standing there, there was no way it could be who he thought it was. Josh did his best to hide the shock he just experienced from the others and succeeded very well. He needed to be sure before he could tell anyone. After they had both told the director the footage was acceptable to them, the left the studio's and headed to the parking lot. Josh quickly glanced at the tree across the street. This time there was no-one there.
Paul drove Josh to the restaurant he was supposed to meet the producers of an upcoming movie, then drove back to his apartment. It was agreed josh would take a cab back home after the meeting was over.
The meeting went to slow for josh's liking, but the project that was presented to him seemed quite interesting. The early script was presented to him and it was explained to him this movie would be a historical reconstruction of a battle against the British in the war of 1812. Not much details were available for the producers were still assembling their team and a lot of rewriting might be required. The general outline was nevertheless very appealing to josh so both parties split ways at the end of the evening in a very positive mindset.
After Josh had said his goodbyes he left the restaurant and walked along the street looking for a cab. The wind was picking up steam again and blew cold polar air in his face. He turned up the collar of his coat to shield himself from the freezing wind. He had walked a few minutes without finding a cab. Actually he found several but every time some-one would appear out of nowhere and just beat him to it. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and heard the words.
"Joshua...we need to talk."
Josh stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn't heard that voice in years but he instantly recognised it. He turned around and saw his assumption was right.
"Maura ?" He said. A huge smile of surprise appeared on his face as he recognised the old woman standing before him. "How did you get here?...Why are you...?" He wanted to ask about a hundred questions at the same time. He was, however immediately interrupted by the old, silver haired woman.
"We can catch-up on old times later Joshua, ...we need to talk quickly...walk with me" she said as she held a surprised Josh by his arm and guided him along the street.
"Where are we going?" Josh managed to ask. "My hotel is just a block away..." she said, "we can talk there undisturbed."
Josh was too surprised to say much. It had been almost ten years since he had last seen Maura, the woman now dragging him through the streets of NY. She had been a neighbour of him, back when he still lived with his aunt in Australia. She used to live only two houses away from him. He remembered very well how he spent much of his time with her back then. Since his aunt and uncle would often work late he'd be a regular visitor of Maura. The old woman was somewhat of a character in the old town. She had very close relations with the aboriginals and was often called a witch by the people in the town. Off course not because she flew a broomstick, but because she knew every herb and it's powers, because she always had an elixir to cure whatever might ill some-one,...and most of all because she had an intuition that was frighteningly accurate.
After a few minutes they had reached Maura's hotel-room. Josh quickly glanced around the room and immediately recognised several things. There was the copper bowl he had seen her use so many times. Those god-awful candle's that could suffocate a skunk. The animal skull...He couldn't help but smile a bit as the memories came back.
"So how did you get here?" Josh asked
"I flew" Maura said, a bit sarcastically.
Josh looked at her with a confused expression.
"In a plane...dummy" Maura laughed, but quickly restored her composure. "now let me take a look at you..." she said as she moved closer to josh, "you have grown up very nicely, what a beautiful young man you have become...if I was 60 years younger, you'd be in trouble." she joked.
Josh couldn't help but laugh at the comment.
"You look so happy" Maura noticed, "What's happening in your life these days?"
"well...I met this guy seven weeks ago..." Josh said, a shy smile on his face.
"Really ...that's great" Maura said. Anyone else would have been surprised to hear josh say he had met a guy,...but she had always had a feeling about Josh. Even though this was the first time he opened up to her...she already knew.
"Why are you in NY?" Josh asked. He was still quite surprised to run into her here in NY.
"To ask you a question?" Maura said, suddenly turning serious again.
"What question?" Josh asked, a bit suspicious. "How have you been sleeping lately?" she said, a serious look in her eyes.
Josh was flabbergasted. How did she know? There was no doubt she was referring to the nightmares that had been haunting him for weeks now. Maura saw the look on Josh's face, and saw her suspicions confirmed.
"I felt it too...weeks ago...back down under" she said. "like hearing a wolf quietly following your tracks...invisible, but definitely there. I followed it halfway around the world...till it stopped moving, here in NY. When I discovered you where in this city to...too much of a coincidence."
Josh listened carefully to what she was saying, and he understood. "So what exactly is happening?" He finally asked her.
"I don't know...yet" she said, "If this really has something to do with you...I need your presence to find out...take a seat" she said as she pointed to a chair behind the table. After Josh sat down she took a seat in front of him. She lit the candles that immediately began to spread their thick, heavy odour. She filled the bowl with water.
"take these..." she said as she handed Josh a couple of dried leaves. "Grind them to powder above the water."
Josh did as he was told and crushed the leaves to a fine powder which he then sprinkled in the water.
"Good" Maura said,...she held her hands over the water, mumbled something in a language Josh didn't recognise, than reached for the little velvet bag at the edge of the table. She spread the bones on the table in front of her.
"close your eyes and pick five..." she told Josh, who did so. "Now hold them above the water like this..." she formed a `basket' with her two hands to show josh what he needed to do,..."now drop them"
Then she grabbed the remaining bones in front of her and dropped them in the same manner. She remained quiet for several minutes as she studied the bones lying on the bottom of the bowl.
"what do you..." josh wanted to ask, but Maura raised her hand somewhat to signal he needed to be quiet.
"I see a shadow...a dark shadow...a shadow from the past...and he's reaching out to grab you Joshua...He's looking for you...and his intentions are wicked...He's come to settle a score"
Josh got a heavy feeling in his stomach as he heard these words. His suspicions, as unbelievable as they had seemed even to him, were being confirmed.
"Adam?" He asked, almost afraid to hear the answer he knew was coming. "yes" Maura said.
"But how?..." Josh asked, his instincts were telling him she was right, but his brains had a harder time catching on.
"I don't know" Maura admitted.
"What can I do about this?" he asked.
"there's little advice I can give you..." Maura replied, "...except that the only way to deal with the past...is by confronting it...but how you do that, that's up to you."
...
Meanwhile Paul had arrived at his apartment. He had eaten and was now stepping out of the bathroom after a quick shower. there were still a few droplets of water in his hair, from time to time one would run down his face or drop on his shirt. He poured himself a cup of cold coffee as he headed to the living room.
suddenly he stopped in his tracks. He saw the curtains slowly move as if they were pushed by the wind.
"I thought I had closed the terrace-door..." Paul thought, "no...I'm sure I closed it."
He slowly walked towards the curtains. He had put his coffee on the table and quickly scanned the room for something he could use as a weapon. He grabbed a heavy steel candle-holder and tried to walk towards the terrace as quietly as he could. Once he was standing in front of the curtains he needed a few seconds to muster the courage. Then in a quick movement he pulled the curtains open. His heart skipped a beat...there was somebody standing right in front of him, on the terrace, only the half-open door in between them.
...
Maura suddenly looked up at Josh, a look of shock on her face.
"go home quick..." she said, "I sense danger...somebody you love"
That was all she needed to say. "Paul" Josh whispered as he jumped up and stormed out of the door.
...
Paul was shocked to see a stranger standing there right in front of him. In a reflex he tried to slam the terrace- door shut, but the intruder was one step ahead of him and moved his foot-between the door. Paul quickly stormed back into the apartment, ran to the bedroom. He quickly locked the door behind him and put a heavy chair against the door-knob. All this was done in only a few seconds. The adrenaline and fear were pumping through his veins. He quickly opened the closet, threw a lot of clothes aside till he found the black box he was looking for. He quickly loaded his handgun, that was inside the box, then sat down on the bad, his back against the wall, facing the door. His breathing was heavy and his heart was pounding in his troth. He was only now beginning to realise what was happening. Someone had broken into his apartment. Someone was still in there, behind that door. He kept his eyes locked on the door. after about he minute he saw the doorknob slowly turn.
"get away from me!" Paul yelled to the man on the other side of the door.
"I have a gun,...and I will use it" He yelled at the door.
the door-knob immediately stopped moving. Paul waited about half an hour before he quietly got up. He slowly moved towards the door, careful to not make a sound. He gently moved the chair away from the door. His adrenaline was pumping again. He positioned himself to defend himself if the intruder was still standing behind the door. He took a deep breath before, in one swift motion, he unlocked the door and pulled it open.
There was nobody there. He held the gun in front of him, ready to fire at any threat that might present itself. He slowly moved through the apartment, scanning every room and every place someone might use to hide. he noticed the door to the hallway was opened but didn't want to jump to the assumption whoever was in here had left, ...just in case.
Then his attention was drawn to the open terrace-door and the curtains flapping in the wind. It was too dark outside to see the balcony so if the intruder was still in the apartment he'd have to be hiding there. Paul slowly stretched his arm, the gun still in his hand. he started to make his way to the terrace, very slowly, every muscle in his body stretched...anticipating very move the man could make if he was in fact still out there.
Then he heard a commotion in the hallway, someone running in his direction. He heard someone yell "Paul" and immediately recognised Josh's voice. He didn't turn to Josh but kept his attention completely fixed on the balcony. Josh, even more worried by finding the apartment door open, came storming in...
"Paul, are you..." he began to say, but was immediately cut of by Paul raising his free hand behind his back to motion Josh to jeep quiet.
Josh then saw Paul holding the gun and slowly edging towards the balcony. Josh, understanding immediately what was happening, grabbed a steak-knife from the counter and placed himself behind Paul. When they reached the door to the balcony they quickly looked at each-other then stepped through the door...darkness there and nothing more.
"Thank god..." Paul sighed as he crouched down to regain his breath "he's gone."
"What happened?" Josh asked very concerned, "Are you all right?"
Paul looked up at Josh, seeing the concern in his eyes. "I'm fine" he said, "somebody broke into the apartment while I was in the shower. But he left when he realised I had a gun."
"What did he look like?" Josh asked, the tone in his voice was changing from concerned to apprehensive.
"well..." Paul said, "he had long black hair, down to his shoulders...He was wearing a black trench coat or something like that...His face was quite pale...and..." He stopped talking.
"And what?..." Josh asked, desperate to know whether his fears would be confirmed.
"Those eyes..." Paul whispered.
"What about them..." Josh asked, while he already knew the answer. he closed his eyes for one moment and saw them...those bright green eyes, flickering like an emerald.
"...they were green" Paul continued, "But they were so..." he couldn't immediately find the right words to describe them. "... strange...so dark...as if there was a storm raging inside of them...so green, like..."
"...and emerald?" Josh finished Paul's sentence.
"yes..." Paul confirmed. He paused for a few seconds but then something dawned on him.
"How did you know?" he asked
...
~to be continued~
well that's all for this instalment I'm afraid. Boy am I glad the last two chapters are finished, cause they really were a handful. Now I can at least get to the story I've been trying to get to the past year. Hope you're still with me,...It's only gonna get more interesting (at least I hope so) from now on. Please let me know what you think, or if you have any questions, feel free to ask: my mail-address is: beer4myhorses@hotmail.com