The Monstrosity, Part Eight

by J. Rosemary Moss

Genre: Fan Fiction (Bonanza)
Rating: R

LINK TO PART ONE

~

I was hunting Kane through the mine. I had no gun or knife, but it didn’t matter—I didn’t need a weapon. I was ready to kill him with my bare hands.

I could hear that maniacal laugh of his—it was taunting me from just up ahead. I felt a rush of satisfaction just thinking of what I meant to do to him. I wanted him to die; that went without saying. But I wanted him to die slow…and I wanted him to die in agony.

The rocks of the mine seemed to glint at me like mirrors—and suddenly I was in the Monstrosity, in a hall full of mirrors, each one more ornately framed than the last. I could see my reflection everywhere I turned. I smashed my fist or my elbow into each mirror as I came to it. The glass shattered on each, cutting me and bloodying up my hands and arms. But I kept going until I reached the mirror at the end of the hall.

The reflection in that glass was not my own. It was Kane’s—and yet it mirrored me perfectly. I slammed my fist into the glass, but it wouldn’t break. I jabbed at it over and over and even threw my shoulder against it, but it refused to yield.

I collapsed against the mirror, smearing it with blood as I fell to my knees. Then I forced my eyes shut. I was afraid to open them—I was afraid to find out if it was me or Kane in the reflection. I was afraid to find out which one of us I was hunting. Which did I want to carve up with my knife?

“Adam?”

The voice was so near that I jumped at it. I opened my eyes, but everything was dark. There was no lantern to light the hall—or to show me my reflection in the mirror.

But there was no mirror. And there was no blood on my hands or arms—all I could feel was the stiff linen of the long night shirt I had purchased for my stay at the Monstrosity.

“Adam?” the voice repeated.

It was Drew’s voice. He was, as far as I could tell, crouched next to me. I was on my knees, leaning against a door. I strained my eyes, trying to get my bearings.

“I’m all right, Drew,” I managed.

“Are—are you awake?” he asked. His voice was hesitant, I noticed, but not frightened. Well, at least I hadn't scared him off.

“Yes,” I said, nodding. “I am now, at any event. But I can’t see a thing—it’s too dark. Is this the doorway of my room?”

“Yes,” he answered. “Does this—does this happen often? You walking and talking in your sleep, I mean.”

I sighed. “It happens on occasion,” I admitted. “But only since Kane. What did I say?”

“I couldn’t tell—you weren't speaking clearly,” he said.

He was lying. Drew is a surprisingly bad liar for someone so canny. But I didn’t push the issue. I sighed again instead and shifted so that I was sitting on the floor with my back to the door.

“Your brother’s room isn’t in this wing, is it?” I asked.

“No,” he said. “I wanted my own wing.”

“Good,” I managed. “I’d just as soon you don’t mention this to him—I don’t want him fearing for your safety with a madman in the house."

Drew chuckled at that and took a seat beside me. “You’re not mad, Adam. Just angry, I’d wager. That’s perfectly understandable, given the circumstances.”

I gritted my teeth at that. He didn’t understand how deeply these dreams disturbed me. I was not the violent animal that I was in them—or so I told myself. Perhaps Kane was right about me after all.

“Are you going back to bed?” Drew asked.

I shook my head. “No. I’m wide awake now. I'll make my way down to the library and read for a while.”

He fell silent at that. “If you mean to stay up reading," he said at length, "would mind reading out loud?”

I turned my head toward him. I still couldn’t see him well, but I could imagine him trying to screw his face into a nonchalant expression. He wouldn’t want me to know how important this request was to him.

It had never occurred to me that Drew couldn’t simply read to himself when he was awake at night. He would have to wake up Jack or Brian and ask them to read out loud to him.

“I don’t mind,” I told him. “As long as we can find a book we both agree on.”

“Oh, there’s no problem there,” Drew assured me. “As your host I have to abide by your choice.”

I grinned at that. “Good. Let’s find a lantern—I can’t even see you, let alone see our way down the hallway.”

“You can see me,” he said. “Here, give me your hand.”

I cocked my head at that, but I put my hand out toward him. A moment later I felt him take hold of it. Then he brought it to his cheek and I understood that he was giving me leave to explore his face—the same way he had explored mine.

“There,” he said. “You’ll be amazed at what you can see with your hands.”

I smiled uncertainly, but I let my fingers feel their way across his face, noting his bone structure, the texture of his skin and the slight stubble of his beard.

“You’re right,” I owned, letting my hand drop. “It’s a different way of seeing—but still effective.”

I heard him stand up. “We can make our way down the hall without a lantern,” he assured me. “And there are large windows just around the corner—there must be at least a sliver of moonlight for you.”

I grinned again. “You’re determined not to let me rely on my eyes, aren’t you?”

“It won’t hurt you to have an inkling of the way I see things,” he retorted—but I’m pretty sure he was smiling as he said it.

“All right,” I said, pushing myself up and reaching for his arm. “Let’s go.”

LINK TO PART NINE