Lisa Reisert shot up in bead, sweating. She looked at the alarm clock on the table next to her. It read 2:56AM. She put a hand over her heart, feeling it jumping and kicking under her tank top. She had had the nightmare again. It brought her right back to the flight once again, trapping her inside her own memories, making the dream scarier than any that her mind could have made up. Jackson Rippner had almost killed her, twice. How could she ever manage to sleep at all?
She looked again at her night stand, but this time at the small bottle of blue pills that Dr. Moss had given her. "Feel free to take these whenever you cant sleep. And dont worry, their not habit-forming," he reassured her. She hadnt taken them yet. She didn't like the idea of altering her natural state, even if the state was one of constant hypertension.
She rose from her bed, doing her best not to disturb Malcolm, her black-eared kitten. She jostled him accidentally, and he stretched luxuriously, looking up at her indignantly with wide, frank eyes. "Sorry," Lisa whispered.
Malcolm had been her father's idea. He'd said she needed someone to keep her company, when she refused to move in with him. "Why dont you get a dog," he'd said. But she was happy with Malcolm. He was soft, cuddly, and protective. He had stood his ground in front of her before a medium sized beetle that was advancing on her hostilely, before she had scooped it up with a paper towel.
She went downstairs into the kitchen, to get herself a glass of water. As she stood at the sink, she couldn't help glancing all around the room, wondering if she could feel eyes on her. She knew no one was there, but every time she closed her eyes, icy blue ones covered the inside of her mind, making her jump. The police had promised that she was safe, but she knew that they still had no idea as to where Rippner was. And nighttime was the worst.
When she imagined him coming for her, it was always at night, when she was all alone. It had happened in her dreams countless times, and when she tried to scream, a whisper would come out. She would wake up terrified and helpless, shaking.
To build up her sense of security, she had begun to take karate, and had quickly advanced to the top of the class. She imagined that it had something to do with all of the suppressed rage that she had built up over the years after the rape. And her analytic mind understood the trajectory and force of each move, while her flexible and sensual body could mimic them perfectly. She didn't kid herself that she could beat him if he came for her, but she hoped that she could at least hurt him a little.
After she finished her drink, she held the cool glass against her forehead. She then set it in the sink, and walked back towards the stairway. Before she started up, something made her look out the window onto the street. She didn't see or hear anything, but she had some kind of feeling that she couldn't explain to herself. She mentally shook herself, and went up the stairs to bed.
Out on the street in a silver sedan, Jackson Rippner watched his prey. He knew she was still afraid of him. He saw it in her every day. It amused him that she had started martial arts, thinking she could fight back. "Don't worry, Leese. You'll get a chance to use them on me soon."
He had been following her every since he got out of the hospital after the attack at her dad's house. He told himself it was to find a good time to kill her, but there had been plenty of perfect times, and here she was, still alive. He just loved to watch her. He knew everything about her now. He knew that she woke up most nights, and got a drink of water. He also knew that when she dreamed, the dreams were about him. He could tell it by the terror in her eyes, and it made him excited. He never wanted to be out of her thoughts, because she was always in his.
But tonight, he had almost gone inside while she was downstairs. He was actually poised, with his hand on the car door handle, about to open it and claim her, but something had stopped him. He saw her walk back to the stairway, and then she had halted, turned, and, inexplicably, looked right at him. His breathing had frozen, and then sped up. The fear in her eyes made them glow to him, and his stomach had tightened. But she hadn't seen him. After a moment, she turned again, and went right back up the stairs without another hesitation. But he had been paralyzed, immobilized, unable to move. "Can you feel me here, Leese?" he asked quietly. "I can feel you. I'll see you soon." with that, he started his car, and drove off into the night.