I See You

I See You

    It was June 21^st, the summer solstice as people called it for it was the longest day of the year and Rix was in his bedroom staring out the window. The window was one of three- it would have been a normal rectangular window had it not been for the semicircle addition at the top. The other two windows were slightly smaller replicas of half the larger window. One was placed on each side of the large window and all three almost completely covered the back wall. The sheer size of the windows did not allow Rix to be inconspicuous. His windows afforded him a splendid view of the neighbourhood, but everyone could see him; it was a view that lacked the privacy a smaller window would have offered.

    Rix was admiring the beautiful sunset- motley of colours splayed across the sky as if the sky itself were a rainbow- yet the setting sun allowed the trees to cast ominous shadows that danced in the breeze. By the light of the setting sun, a disc of gold in the horizon, the shadows appeared to be wraiths flitting about on the ground, as demonic looking as any creature conjured from hell. It was a silent night, no one was strolling about. From time to time the eerie silence was interrupted by a sudden gust of wind rattling the branches. It would then caper off into silence again. The stillness unnerved Rix. There were always people out, especially when the sun was still out. However it was night even if it appeared to be late evening. His watch said it was 9:04 pm- some people slept at 9.

    BEEP! BEEP! Rix turned around. The sound was coming from his laptop, which was opened up on his desk. It was a black Toshiba that he had gotten as a gift for his 23rd birthday. His room was brightly lit by a miniature chandelier and it illuminated the screen.

    BEEP! BEEP! He sat down on his chair- one of those rolling black ones that every Staples has in stock- and saw that it was his girlfriend, Jasmine calling via Skype. He accepted the call.

    Jasmine’s face appeared into view. Her pearly white smile sparkled as her brown eyes shined with joy. Rix smiled to himself. There was never a time when Jasmine was not happy to see him. Her constant happiness was infectious and made him feel warm inside. She had delicate features encased by a wreath of ebony curls that always smelled of her namesake, with a faint wisp of roses and vanilla.

     "Hey baby! Parent’s aren’t home just Ellie! I have so much to tell you!" Ellie was Jasmine’s 17 year old sister. They always argued but Jasmine adored her.

    "Hey, how was your day? Seems like you have a stories to tell, let’s hear it," said Rix, grinning broadly.

    "So today I went out to get--" Jasmine started to say.

    Tap, Tap, Tap. Tap, Tap, Tap. "Did you hear that? There’s a tapping sound coming from your side!" interrupted Rix.  His face turned pale, almost as white as chalk. "There’s someone in your house Jasmine. You should get out … now."

     "Nice try Rixie,” said Jasmine, calling him by his pet name. "I don’t scare as easily as I used to.  Besides silly, it’s just a tree branch tapping against my window," she said giggling.

    Rix laughed. "I’ll scare you properly someday!"

    "Sure Rixie, keep dreaming," she said affectionately. "Anyways as I was saying, today I went out to get--" She stopped mid-sentence. "Rix, I think someone’s really in the house," she said quietly. Her eyes widened in fear and her smile disappeared.

    "Very funny. You know, there is an art to scaring someone that you haven’t perfected Jasmine," said Rix laughing.

    "It’s definitely not an art you've perfected!!" she said giggling.

    Ellie stepped into Jasmine’s room. "Hey, I’m going over to Shelly's house, I’ll be back within an hour," she said.

    Jasmine turned around. "More like you're going over to Stine's house," said Jasmine. Ellie shot her a dark look. " Don't worry, I don't care where you're going just be back before Mom and Dad get home. Lock the door behind you."

    "Yea, yea," Ellie said hurriedly. She left the room. She ran down the stairs as her footsteps echoed in the silence of the house.  A few seconds later, Jasmine and Rix heard the door slam shut.

    "Finally she’s gone. I don’t want her eavesdropping on everything I tell you," said Jasmine.

    "She could be back soon, you never know! So if you want to talk, get talking," chuckled Rix.

    "Ok, ok I’ll tell you what I was going to say--" she stopped in mid-sentence again. She had heard her house door open. Through Skype, Rix could hear it to.

    “Looks like your parents are home,” said Rix.

    “I think so too, they're a bit early though. I wasn’t expecting them until after 11.” She paused to think for a second. “That’s weird I would’ve heard the jingle of their keys as they tried to open the door ... Ellie!!” she groaned. “She forgot to lock the door, like always.  Maybe it’s Ellie coming back to get her books, that wouldn't surprise me. Ok well-” She leaned her head towards her bedroom door. She could hear voices drifting up towards her, voices Rix could hear to- voices they could not recognize.  The words spoken were indiscernible but it was clear that the voices belonged to two men. Jasmine’s eyes widened, her fear almost tangible. This was not a joke Rix was playing, this was reality. There were actually people in her home. Her pulse started to race. Her mind raced frantically with thoughts she could not control- thoughts of ending up murdered and dead. She gulped as a trickle of sweat ran down her face.

    “Jasmine, listen to me. Minimize your Skype screen so I can watch what’s happening and go hide under your bed. I’m going to call 911,” said Rix amazingly calm. His heart was beating fast and he felt fear take a hold of him. The warm feeling he had moments ago was replaced by an uncharacteristic chill given the season. It was a chill borne of concern and fear for Jasmine. He did not know what to expect but he knew he had to be strong for her. If he panicked she would to and then all would be lost.

    Luckily he had a view of most of her small room. There was a fairly large bed with ornate carvings of roses on the maple headboard, in the corner of her room. It was covered by a black duvet with matching pillows. Her closet was opposite her bed and the desk upon which Jasmine’s laptop rested was obviously out of sight. The carpet was of a dark blue shade, which he could see ended at the doorway of her bedroom located between her bed and closet. Beyond that he could not really see anything.

    Thump. Thump. The men had started to climb the stairs. Each footstep echoed off the elm wood staircase, breaking the unearthly silence of the house.

    “Rix I’m scared,” whimpered Jasmine. She knew they were getting closer to the top of the stairs. She knew it was a matter of time before they would come to her room.

    “I know you are honey but I’m going to get you out of this. Now go hide under your bed. I love you,” he said confidently.

    “Ok, I love you to,” she whispered. Her voice trembled and faltered, as the tears started to come. She ran towards her bed, her footsteps indiscernible on the nylon carpet. She lifted up the duvet to get under the bed.

Rix watched in horror as realization hit him. It would be hard for her to get under the bed as the gap was not made for people to go under. Jasmine tried going head first. She struggled to push through, but to no avail. In Jasmine’s panic she had forgotten to close her bedroom door and turn off the room light. The men could guess that someone was or had been in the room.

    Thump. Thump. Thump. The men were nearing the top of the stairs. Rix frantically looked for his cell phone which he had left on his desk. His desk was littered with papers and textbooks- typical of that of a university student. He rifled through his papers but could not find his cell phone. In his frustration he swept his papers and books off his desk, frantically trying to locate his cell phone. He was starting to panic, his sense of urgency driving him forward.

     Jasmine pushed harder to get under the bed. Her head made it through slightly, but then suddenly she was stuck. Rix glanced at the screen to see Jasmine struggling to extricate herself from the grip of the bed frame.

     Rix could sense that the men had come upstairs. He could hear them as they tried jiggling the doorknob of the first room. He willed Jasmine to get under the bed, his fear increasing with each second that passed.

“It’s locked,” a man with a slight French accent said. The other man said nothing. Still Jasmine struggled to get under the bed.

    Thump. Thump. They were starting to walk towards the next room which happened to be Jasmine’s. Rix clenched his hair tightly and shut his eyes for a moment, fearing the worst was about to happen, but opened them almost instantaneously, knowing Jasmine needed him there. She started to wriggle more frantically, but still she was unable to move.

    Thump. Thump. Their footsteps had gotten closer. Rix could hear it echoing off of the hardwood floor.

Tap, Tap, Tap. Tap, Tap, Tap.  The footsteps stopped. “I hear a tapping sound, I think maybe someone is inside that room,” said the man with the French accent.

    Rix froze unable to take his eyes away from the screen.  His hand started to tremble, he held his breath, hardly daring to breathe.

    Thump, Thump. Their footsteps resumed and they stopped in front of her doorway. Jasmine continued to wriggle barely concealed by the door. “This is interesting. The light is on, someone is here for sure,” said the man with the French accent. He paused. Rix could now see the man clearly. He had dark eyes that could have been either black or brown. He had unkempt, brown hair with stubble covering his pale skin. His face was marred by an ugly scar that stretched from underneath is right eye, over the bridge of his nose and ended near his left jawbone. It gave him an inhuman appearance- repulsive and terrifying at the same time. The man who had not spoken stood slightly behind his partner, his face out of view from Rix. Rix could see that the man had glossy black hair and wore what appeared to be a well fitted leather jacket. It was a jacket that spoke of wealth, with its charcoal black, glossy, uncracked appearance. It was a stark contrast to the leather jacket worn by the man with the French accent. His jacket had a dull sheen and it was cracked all over.  

    “Where could they be? We know one is outside,” the man with the French accent said, laughing manically.

Rix felt goose bumps all over his arms. He knew what he was talking about. They got to Ellie! he thought.

The man who had not spoke shook his head ever so slightly as if to say, there is no one here, if there was they would be dead .. like Ellie.

    Tap, Tap, Tap. Tap, Tap, Tap. “Ahh the tapping noise is just that branch tapping against the window. Nothing to be concerned about I guess,” the man with the French accent muttered.

    Rix knew that if anything were to happen it would happen within the next few minutes. His eyes stayed glued to the screen. Jasmine get under the bed, please get under the bed, he thought.

     The men stepped into the room and glanced around, appraising everything with their eyes slowly. Just as their eyes flitted towards Jasmine's bed, she pushed through, miraculously without making a sound. They stared at the bed for a moment, their gaze seemingly of a suspicious nature but then they turned away. Rix sighed in relief, close call, he thought. While the man with the French accent looked all around, his face visible to Rix, the other man’s face was never visible. His face was turned so perfectly that Rix could not get a glimpse of who he was at all. It was as if he knew that Rix was watching them through his laptop. It was an unsettling feeling and panic threatened to engulf him. 
    Rix glanced at the man’s hand. What he saw nearly made him scream. He bit his tongue hard, trying to stave off the terror that was overwhelming him. Hanging from the man’s hand was a knife. Dripping from the blade was blood. It dripped steadily towards the ground. Now that he was focused on the knife he could hear the drip.. drip.. drip.. as the blood fell like tears. He knew it was Ellie’s blood. These men were not just intruders. They were people who had killed and would not hesitate to do it again. If they found Jasmine, the game would be over.

    “Should we take the laptop?” asked the man with the French accent, gesturing in Rix's direction. The other man shook his head and gestured towards the closet with his knife. The man with the French accent obediently opened the closet and ransacked it for valuables. He tossed aside clothing as he muttered under his breath about how no one had anything of worth in their houses these days. His partner watched him, the back of his head facing Rix. He was motionless the entire time, even the hand holding the knife did not move as his partner continued to search for valuables. He seemed almost statue-like but the constant drip.. drip.. drip.. as the blood fell to the ground, reminded Rix, that man was dangerous. The man with the French accent was about to give up the search when he found a pair of gold and crystal earrings, evidently very expensive. He smiled with glee. This would do.

    Tap, Tap, Tap. Tap, Tap, Tap. Rix watched as the man pocketed the earrings he had gotten for Jasmine’s 22^nd birthday a few weeks ago. The man with the knife gestured towards the doorway, his indication that they should leave. Rix sighed in relief. Jasmine would be ok, nothing would happen to her. He looked at his desk again and finally spotted his cell phone behind a textbook he had not thrown off the table. He immediately dialed 911.

    “Hello, what is your emergency?” a monotone voice said on the other end.

     "I need help. My-my girlfriend is being robbed, I-I think her sister might be dead,” he whispered into the phone. He did not have to whisper but he felt as if the man with the knife was standing just a few feet away and not in his Jasmine's house. Seeing everything through his laptop screen made it only too real for him. His sweaty hands struggled to keep their grip on his phone.

    The man with the French accent paused a moment. “Do you hear a sound?”

    The man with a knife slowly nodded his head. It must be the tapping of the tree branch on Jasmine’s window that they can hear ... because I can still hear it to, thought Rix.

    “ Ok Rix, I want you to calm down and tell me where your girlfriend lives,” the dispatcher said.

    “13 Petals Road,” he whispered frantically.

    The man with the knife slowly turned around and walked towards the bed. Rix’s pulse started to race. Why are they coming back, they were just about to leave! “Please hurry up, they’re going towards the bed!” Rix screamed into the phone.

    “Please calm down. Nothing will happen to your girlfriend. She will be fine. The police will be there within 10 minutes,” said the dispatcher in an infuriatingly calm voice.

    Suddenly the man with the knife looked under the bed. “They’ve found her, please help her!” Rix sobbed. Then a thought struck him. He froze. “I think they heard me,” he whispered into the phone. He could only watch in horror as the man with the knife dragged Jasmine out from under the bed.

    Rix could hear Jasmine screaming his name and begging for someone to help her. Rix could only stare, powerless to help as she struggled against the man with the knife. Still Rix could not see his face. 
    The lights in the room suddenly turned off and her screams abruptly stopped. Rix held his breath, not knowing what to do. Then a guttural voice came through the speakers. It was a voice that would send anyone running to hide under their bed. “I See You,” the voice laughed and the screen went blank.

    “They’ve got her –hello?! Hello?!” Rix screamed into the phone.

     Nobody was on the other end, the call had been disconnected.