She shakes her head at the conversation she is having about her breasts with a man she just met. "I'd offer you a ride, but you're working." She smiles up at Shawn, handing the driver a fifty dollar tip. He thanks Lisa as she nods to him.
Turning back to Shawn, she says, "Thank-you for helping me, Shawn. You're like a big teddy bear." She smiles and waves to him, slipping into the car. The valet shuts the door behind her and approaches Shawn's side.
"Teddy bear?" Shawn turns and glares at the valet.
"My bad," he says, holding up his hands and moving back to his valet station. Lisa revs her engine and takes off. Looking back as she passes through the parking lot, she waves again and he smiles, turning to head back into the club.
Arriving home, Lisa parks her car in the garage. Getting out, she locks it up and heads upstairs. Walking inside, she drops the keys in the crystal bowl on the table, then removes her heels. Welcoming the chill of the hardwood floor on her feet, she walks into her bedroom and turns the light on, ready to be done with tonight’s events.
Padding across the floor of her bedroom, she sets her designer shoes on the floor next to her armchair. Setting her clutch on her dresser, she reaches behind her head, grasps the zipper, and begins pulling it down. Stepping out of her dress, she lays it across the chair. Her mind continues to try and figure out how she went from the bathroom to the alley. Having no memory of what happened or how she got there, she assumes that someone slipped something into her drink and Shawn found her just in time. Shaking her head, she takes a quick shower and slips into pajamas. Turning down her bed, she turns off the lights, and crawls into her waiting bed. She pulls the sheets up to her shoulders and relaxes, allowing sleep to take her.
Chapter 3
Suspended from chains, hooks are threaded roughly through the skin of her back. It feels as if her skin is tearing like raw meat. Claws scrape at her body as layer upon layer of skin and muscle is shredded. Her body screams in torment; her eyes cry blood, which seeps onto the floor. The air is so thick with smoke, sulfur, and fire that her skin begins to bubble and melt off of her body, just to regenerate and start again. The hellhounds below her feed off the flesh that falls off of her body. Her bones crack and heal over and over. Her body is pulled in inhumane ways as she screams. The fire burns all around her, licking at her body, and the pungent smell of death fills her nose. The pain is constant, the torture never ends. It. Never. Stops. It is eternal.
Lisa can hear his voice, hear his snarls. He’s coming towards her. In between her blood curdling screams, she tries to make out his appearance. The shadow reflecting on the wall is huge. He stands close to ten feet tall; his build is incredibly thick; his chest and arms are massive; he has the snout of a bull and the build of a man. He snarls and swings his fist at something, which screams in fear as it flies across the room. There’s a crash and its screaming stops. Maybe she can’t hear him over her own screams. Fear is coursing through her as the shadow begins to turn. He’s walking, loud thumps vibrating throughout the room. Heat radiates from him, from the walls, from the demons. Everything suffocates around her as he approaches. The demons torturing her body back away and cower in fear. Standing before her, he looks down at her suspended body. She dares to look up to him. He roars as fire engulfs her body, a scream leaving her lips.
Lisa bolts up in bed, screaming. Looking around her room, she’s panting and beads of sweat are slipping down her body. Her sheets are soaked and her hair is matted. Her hands reach up, quickly patting her face and body, realizing it was a dream. No, it was a nightmare. She closes her eyes as warm tears stream down her cheeks, while her heart attempts to regain control of itself. Opening her eyes, she rotates on the bed and her feet touch the hardwood floor. Standing, still shaken from the nightmare, she looks around her room again, not able to shake the feeling that she’s still being watched. Looking to her left and then her right, she decides that she’s alone. A part of her brain screams that she’s not, but she convinces herself that it’s just the nightmare still having an effect on her.