Dark Dreaming by Jack Cady & Carol Orlock

Author:Jack Cady & Carol Orlock
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy, Dark Fantasy, Science Fiction, General
ISBN: 9781933846200
Publisher: Fairwood Press
Published: 2022-07-18T04:00:00+00:00

After two and a half hours, the view from the front windshield had faded behind a fog of condensation. Using a tissue that had been made damp from many wipings, Meredith swabbed a porthole clear on the side window. She could see the side mirror, part of the street, the steps, and the doorway of the red brick building.

Few people passed. The old woman had returned an hour ago, limping, her shopping cart a heavy load to be lugged up the steps. Cars passed, but none of them were the yellow compact Meredith remembered seeing in the driveway that morning. The clock on the dash said 4:10. Arthur Watson had neither come in nor gone out.

Meredith reached for the key to start the engine, but the gesture broke off in futility as it had each time she tried to leave. If she went home, she would find only the emptiness she had come here to escape. Besides, if she waited until Richard came home, perhaps the house would feel safe once more. She set the damp tissue down and glanced at the side mirror. The street seemed sodden with neglect or sadness, not with rain.

The street reflected the delicatessen window and the blinking red sign above the doorway to the Top Stop Tavern. The sign flashed like a warning or like a beacon to souls who endured evenings by drinking through the afternoons. A figure was coming through that door, and as she watched, he turned to shake hands with another man. The two men waved to each other, and then one broke away and began walking in her direction. Meredith recognized the black raincoat and widebrimmed hat. Arthur Watson, his shoulders hunched against the rain, approached on the far side of Dimont.

Meredith’s hand closed automatically on the door handle. She yanked it down, but suddenly the figure in the side mirror stumbled and lurched toward the side of a building. He caught his balance on a stair railing and walked on unsteadily.

Before she knew what she was doing, Meredith heard the engine roar to life. She slammed the car into gear and felt a jerk as the tires squealed from the curb. The windshield was a blur, and she swabbed at it madly. She accelerated past an amber light, which went red as it disappeared at the top of the windshield. Buildings and signs raced past, shimmering reds and yellows that rippled in the rain.

He was drunk. The man was drunk and he would hurt her. Hands would rip her clothes, and the stench of alcohol would press against her mouth as surely as a man’s body would force itself into her. That wasn’t possible, because this was the man in her dreams. At the same time the drunkenness sent its own terrifying message. She had to get away before his face, terrifying and ghoulish as some grotesque rubber mask, came up to the side window. She had to escape before his hand closed on the door of the car.

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