Chapter Nine

A new plaything. It had been so long since he brought a new plaything to the cellar. There was that woman in the other cell, but she was already there. In fact, Novak wasn’t sure how she’d arrived. Had he blacked out again? Sometimes, when it had been too long, the experience was simply too much for him to handle and he lost all concept of space and time.

Killing the three women in Alice’s house would tide him over for a bit. Keeping Alice around would help him go even longer. She could keep him satisfied.

He pushed her door open and stood in the doorway, a slight smile on his lips. She lay on the bed, her back to him, knees tucked up to her chest. Her panties hugged her ass so perfectly.

“Hello, Alice,” he said.

She turned her head far enough to see him out of the corner of her eye.

“You’ve got nothing to say?”

She looked away again.

Novak entered the room and walked over to the bed. He placed his knee on the edge and shifted his weight toward it. The mattress dipped toward him, turning her body slightly. She covered her breast with her hand, but part of her nipple poked out. Novak leaned in further.

“You can say anything you want, Alice. Don’t fear me.”

How could she not? After what he’d done? He hoped she realized that wasn’t him in the house. No, that wasn’t entirely true. That was a different version of him. And, as he had told her earlier, if she didn’t want to see that version again, she had better start engaging him.

“Can I get you anything?” he asked.

She rolled over onto her back, covering her chest with both arms folded over. “Water. Please, I need water.”

Novak lowered his face toward hers and kissed her cheek. “Anything for you, my dear.”

She bit down on her bottom lip and tried not to cry, but it didn’t work. Novak almost felt sorry for her. Poor thing. She didn’t ask for this.

Shut up! She sure as hell did when she invited you into her car.

He had a point. Why on earth those women thought it was a good idea to stop and help him was one of the world’s great mysteries.

Novak left the room and headed back upstairs. He grabbed a cold bottle of water, unscrewed the cap and set the bottle down on the counter next to a stack of dirty dishes. He looked at them in disgust. Better to throw them away and buy new ones than wash them all. He searched the cabinet for the small vial of powder. It was further back than he remembered, and on its side. His fingers brushed against it, and it rolled further away.

“Son of a bitch!”

He grabbed a chair and stepped up on the seat, putting him eye level with the shelf. The vial had rolled all the way to the back. He reached his arm in past the elbow. The chair teetered and he spread his base to counter the effect and keep it steady.

Novak popped the lid off the vial as he stepped down. He pushed the chair out of the way, and sprinkled some of the powder into the water bottle.

“Here you go, Alice,” he said, reentering the room.

She remained on her back, but had given up covering her breasts. He tried not to stare. It would be impolite, right? She propped up on her elbows and snatched the bottle from his hands. He couldn’t help but watch as her breasts wiggled side to side. Alice sucked down the contents of the bottle in less than ten seconds. Water dripped down her chin, onto her chest, finding the groove between her breasts.

“It’s good, yeah?” he said.

Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and she fell back against the mattress. She wouldn’t respond to his question. She couldn’t, not after what he’d just mixed into her water.

“And now we have fun.”