Eugene scanned the room. A twin-sized bed adorned with a frilly, lilac covering sat flanked by twin cherry wood night tables with small amethyst-shaded lamps atop them occupied the middle of the room. A matching cherry wood dresser lined the wall opposite the bed. In the far corner a full-length mirror resided in a matching finish. Directly ahead, double-hung windows curtained by lengths of lavender material offered adequate natural light. Positioned below them was a small, wooden desk of shoddy construction with a varnish similar to the other furniture. A simple, wheeled desk chair was tucked beneath the small table and a laptop computer rested atop it.
Melissa was not home but had left her room lit by an overhead fixture. An alarm clock radio blasted noise from its small speakers filling the house with a discordant form of ambient melodies. Wasteful humans he thought as he traversed her room.
He picked up several pieces of clothing that littered the floor and sniffed them. All were suitable. All provided a scent that could be tracked. But a pink camisole tossed haphazardly over her desk chair offered a particularly potent scent. The garment bore a sweet mixture of vanilla, caramel and coconut mixed with natural secretions unique to Melissa’s body chemistry. Closing his eyes, Eugene pressed it to his face and inhaled deeply.
Sweat, oils and pheromones, and the perfumed substance on Melissa’s clothes, frenzied him. His mouth watered. A strong urge overtook Eugene.
He did not merely want to kill Melissa, he hungered to; he needed to.
Eugene shuddered as he inhaled the pink material a final time before replacing it on the chair.
He struggled to compose himself, to control his bloodlust. He began opening the drawers of Melissa’s bureau. He found nothing of interest. He searched her walk-in closet and nightstand. Still, no useful items were unearthed.
He did not want to waste time performing fruitless inspections. He decided it was time to leave.
Before he left, he surveyed the room a final time.
A piece caught his attention. A small, leather-bound book peeked out from beneath lavender ruffled bedding. Intrigued, he reentered her bedroom and moved toward the bed.
He picked up the book and immediately sensed he had found an article of great importance.
He opened it and began reading. His superior vision and comprehension skills enabled him to speed-read Melissa’s diary.
In doing so, Eugene became privy to Melissa’s innermost thoughts, her most personal moments. He was introduced to the people closest to her. More specifically, he was familiarized with Daniella Colucci and Alexandra Georgopoulos. Evidence contained in the pages suggested that the likelihood of locating Melissa Martin with either of the girls was great.
Melissa’s diary also brought to Eugene’s attention the intimate nature of her relationship with Gabriel James. He found himself laughing aloud for the first time in his life, a vicious, demonic cackle, when he read that Gabriel, Terzini’s perfect specimen designed to remain devoid of human emotions, proclaimed his deepest affection for Melissa. Moreover, Melissa claimed to love Gabriel in return.
These developments provided Eugene with an advantage greater than physical dominance. By torturing and killing Melissa, Eugene would be tormenting Gabriel as well. He had longed to torture Gabriel since his creation.
Invigorated, Eugene tossed the journal back on the bed and reached across to grab the pink camisole. Stuffing it in the pocket of his parka, Eugene left the Martin home.
He moved swiftly and stealthily down Blackstone Drive. He stopped briefly at a cluster of communal mailboxes. Under the postal boxes were bagged telephone directories for the community’s residents.
Errant droplets of rain began to fall as Eugene grabbed a phone book before continuing down the street and climbing into his Hummer to continue his hunt for Melissa Martin.
Alexandra Georgopoulos, Daniella Colucci, the names of Melissa Martin’s closest friends were branded in Eugene’s mind. He was sure he would find Melissa with one of these girls.
He quickly consulted the directory to locate either girl.
One Georgopoulos was listed in Harbingers Falls.
Confident that listing was the one he sought, he set his GPS navigation system with the address registered and found that her home was just under a mile away.
The dark sky opened with a ceremonious rumble of thunder before large drops of rain began showering down from angry heavens.