Author’s Note: This is a story I just started working on recently and I wanted some opinions about the opening chapters. As some of you might notice the first chapter was originally from another story of mine “Dark Embrace”. I decided not to continue with that one because I wasn’t feeling the vampire vibe that it was originally intended as. So, I switched it to this, which is going to be a crime thriller. I just need to know if readers think it has a good start or if I should can it and start over from scratch. Let me know. Thanks much and enjoy!

INFAMOUS

CHAPTER ONE

A fire crackled several feet from the still shape on the Persian rug, its flames growing steadily for several seconds before shrinking once more in their fervent dance. Since this was the only light in the room, it made it difficult for one to see that the dormant figure nestled on the floor was not the only sign of life within the walls of the dark house. Another figure, just as still as the other, was situated in an oversized armchair across the room.

This particular figure watched silently as the sleeping woman on the floor breathed softly. Her alabaster flesh tinted an abnormal shade of orange from the light of the fire, as was the fabric of her gown. While the weather outside was rather chilly in the heart of January, most of the room itself captured the warmth of the steady fire and gave the impression that it was a nice, cozy atmosphere. Of course, impressions are not always correct.

The woman stirred in her sleep, mumbling some incoherent words for a moment or two before falling silent once more. The figure in the chair did not move at this. It was merely content to stare at the woman from the shadows while she was unaware of its presence during her peaceful sleep. Eventually the room was quiet save for the occasional crackle of the fire or a creak in the wood as the house settled. This is how it stayed as the watcher observed the sleeping beauty in the darkened parlor while snow fell outside the fogged up windows.

Then, sometime in the late evening, the woman awakened from her slumber. As one would expect, she was quite groggy. One would be after sleeping for nearly twelve hours, but after blinking her eyes several times and gazing into the fire, she finally woke up completely. After deciding to get up, as the fire she was staring at appeared enormous from her position and made her think she was in some demon’s oven, she rolled onto her side and pushed herself with one hand into a sitting position. Still a bit incoherent, she wondered briefly if she drank a little too much the night before and was suffering from a hangover, but that thought vanished as soon as she realized she had no idea where she was or how she got there.

The fact that nothing surrounding her looked at all familiar was unnerving. She closed her eyes to try to remember what had occurred before she had apparently fallen asleep. However, it was useless. Her memory, or what was left of it, was full of gaping holes and she panicked that she might have amnesia. She calmed herself however, as she realized she couldn’t have amnesia since she knew her name was Victoria and she lived in San Diego, California.

Amnesiacs can’t remember that, right? She thought to herself as she pulled her knees up to her chest, hugging them with her arms as she looked around. Most of the room was dark though. The light from the fire only reached halfway into the parlor where she could see a small sofa and coffee table behind her and some pictures above the fireplace mantle. She couldn’t make them out however, or tell if they were paintings or photos. She noticed it was dark outside, or perhaps the windows were just covered by a thick curtain. Again, she couldn’t tell for sure. Her view was limited to a small portion of the room. Beyond that, the darkness took over and she wasn’t quite ready to venture into its waiting arms. Not until she worked up her courage to get up from the floor.

She wasn’t aware of anyone else in the room until a tiny light appeared over in the left corner, catching her eye as she scanned the shadows. Whipping her head in its direction, she then froze as she recognized the light as a baby flame emitting from a hand-held lighter. She watched as the tip of a cigarette ignited at its touch. The tobacco imprisoned by it turned a bright orange as the smoker inhaled a bit of its poison before releasing its hold on the igniter switch. The flame disappeared instantly, leaving Victoria looking at the soft trail of smoke wafting up. It provided the smoker with a strange halo before it morphed into an unidentifiable mass of acrid air.

The watcher remained silent in the armchair as Victoria kept her eyes trained to the spot. Knowing that she was being watched caused the angst she had been feeling to triple in intensity. She also suspected the person in the chair was male, judging by his attire and shoe size. Most of the person’s upper body was obscured by the darkness. Even the small light from the cigarette was not enough to reveal any characteristic features to her. Whoever it was appeared to have a larger physical frame than the average woman did and was dressed in men’s trousers and a pair of dark lace up men’s shoes. The legs were crossed at the knees in a casual manner but Victoria could see no movement from the person other than the occasional puff of the cigarette.

The silence and stillness of the watcher only served to make her more nervous and she was edging into near panic as she quickly glanced about the room. She was searching for any other hidden spies. They could be anywhere. The darkness provided plenty of hiding places and if she wasn’t about to wet herself from fright, she would’ve searched each and every one of them. Afraid of what waited beyond the firelight, Victoria wasn’t sure if she should speak to the person or wait until they decided to break the silence. She wasn’t even sure if she could speak. The words could very well be stuck in her throat, unable to materialize into sound. That is what happens sometimes when she was afraid of something. She’d freeze up, unable to move or speak.

In her mind, there are three types of people in this world, and she categorized them by their reaction to fear. There are the seekers. They can look danger in the eye and not even flinch. They are strong, more in the mind than the body, and face their fears head on. Then there are the faint-hearted, who will run at the first scent of danger. They are fearful. Nevertheless, they are survivors, who can usually escape a predator because of their good sense of intuition. However, one who runs from a beast will provoke its interest even more, leaving one open to a fatal mistake. Finally, there are the immobile. Ones who lose all rational thought when they feel threatened. They freeze up when faced with an undesirable situation. They are somewhere in between the seeker and the faint of heart. For some odd reason, they are indecisive about what they should do when they encounter a problem. They are not sure whether they should run away or stand up to it and conquer it.

Victoria was normally a seeker. All her life she had been mischievous and able to face her fears as they came. She had gotten over that childish fear of the dark long ago. At that moment though, she realized she might have conquered that particular fear as a child simply because there had been nothing in the dark to be afraid of. Not in her childhood bedroom, at least. Now, in an unfamiliar place, there was something hiding beyond the light’s borders, or someone, rather. She vaguely remembered being afraid of the boogeyman inside the closet as a small girl as well. She never could sleep with the door open, even just a crack. It used to be enough to leave her wide-awake, enhancing her insomnia until she felt brave enough to get up and shut the door. She had eventually grown out of it though. Just as one grows out of their clothes, she grew out of her childish fears.

Now her fear had returned. She could tell by the way her heart was racing inside her chest, frantically pumping blood through its muscular design. However, if she knew herself at all, she knew that fear wouldn’t last forever. Soon it would vanish like the sun behind a rain cloud in the winter. She was an optimist. Therefore, it was only natural for her to deduce that she could make it quickly disappear if she took charge of the situation. If she didn’t speak first, she’d lose her nerve and thus allow the watcher to keep control. As frightened as she was, she knew she could not let that happen. All of her life, she had been taught what she should do in different perilous situations. Now the knowledge that she had supposedly learned was being put to the test. She just prayed she wouldn’t fail when it counted the most.

Even in her current groggy state, she was at least coherent enough to realize that something was definitely not right. She had no idea what had happened, but her gut told her that it wasn’t good. Gulping, she squinted in the direction of the dark figure to try to make out his features. She found it was useless. She couldn’t see anything from her position. She’d have to get up, but she wasn’t sure her legs could hold her. She had no idea how long she’d been out, after all, or if there had been any drugs involved in her unconsciousness. She began to panic as thoughts raced through her head. With a troubled look, she found courage and asked the question, that she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer to.

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From his position in the chair, the man could easily view the whole room. Situated perfectly in a corner, he had visual access to all that resided in the parlor, including the girl. She was beautiful. At least she looked so by the firelight. He wondered briefly if her skin glowed so luminously without the flames reflecting off it. Straight hair of beige blonde framed her face in a chin-length bob. This face, which was heart-shaped, seemed like a clay sculpture, molded by some expressive European artist in ancient Greece. The man was blessed with superb vision, which he now found himself thankful for, for the first time in his thirty-three years. His own dark eyes fell upon the high cheekbones and Grecian nose of the young woman. Unfortunately, he could not figure out her real eye color, for the firelight was bouncing off them. This made them appear as if they were two crystalline orbs protruding from her skull. He shrugged off the fact that he didn’t know the hue of her “soul windows” as he called them, for he knew he’d find that fact out in good time. For the moment, he contented himself with observing her from his spot across the room.

He was surprised though when her voice cut through the silence. He’d never before met her, but he’d been informed that she was a bit unorthodox. Her choice to speak first was a clear indication to him that she was used to being aggressive. Frankly, he wasn’t used to that kind of behavior from a female, even though there seemed to be an increase in recent times. That was fine, though. It would just make breaking her even more satisfying.

“You can come into the light. It’s not as if I can’t see you over there,” she said, staring straight at his sitting figure. Her tone was a bit on the commanding side, but he could pinpoint the shaky undertone as well.

He smiled at this. It was a small one, showing no teeth. If the girl had been able to see his face, she would have been awestruck by his handsomeness. He was so that he could cause devastation to a woman’s chastity by a gesture as simple as a smile. He was arrogant enough to know this and use it to his advantage whenever he felt the need to.

“I’m afraid the darkness suits me better…for now,” he responded. His voice had a sort of melodic ring to it. Eloquence surrounded his words, making them more enticing than they should have been. It had taken him years to perfect.

He took another drag from his cigarette, held casually between his index and middle fingers. He never held it between his thumb and index fingers, the way some men did who thought it a more macho technique. An elegant appearance was more his style, and that included more than just his attire.

“Mind if I ask where I am? And while we’re at it, who the hell you are?” the young woman asked bluntly.

The man sighed as he placed his cigarette-holding hand on his knee. He would have expected someone in her position to be a bit more cautious but this was all new to him, as well.

“Who I am is not important at the moment,” he replied, knowing that the answer would cause major frustration on her part. “As for your question regarding your location, I’m sorry to say that I cannot reveal that either...safety reasons, you understand.”

“For you or for me?”

The man flicked the ashes from his cigarette into an ashtray beside him. Within moments, he spoke again, in a curt manner.

“Both.”

“This is your house?” She asked, hopefully, looking around but not taking her eyes off him for long.

“Technically, no,” he replied, “this building has been empty of life for quite some time.”

The young woman looked at all of the furnishings in the room. Then she turned her suspicious eyes back to him.

“You’re saying that someone just abandoned this house and all of its possessions and you broke in?” She inquired disbelievingly. From what little she could see, the furniture appeared to be quite expensive, antique even.

“I said nothing about an abandoned house,” he returned informatively, “I said it’s been empty of life.”

He knew his statement confused her. Apparently, she was trying to see through his words and decipher his meaning. She wouldn’t be able to though. It was probably too overwhelming to accomplish in her current state.

“I’m afraid I don’t quite get your meaning,” she said finally.

“You will,” he assured her, “eventually.”

At this, he finished with his smoke and abruptly put it out in the nearby ashtray.

“And now, seeing as how you’re awake, I assume you’d like to know why you’re here,” he said.

“That had crossed my mind,” she confirmed, looking up at him after examining her dress in bewilderment.

She didn’t recognize it, much like everything else for that matter. He knew that.

“Can I be frank with you, Victoria?”

“Please do, I hate it when men beat around the bush,” she replied.

She was being sarcastic, he could tell. Would all of them be this way, or was she just a fluke? Whatever the answer was, he was sorry he wasn’t going to get to play with his toy like he wanted.

“Thank you,” he said.

He had wanted it to go on longer, his little game. He had never done this before. He’d never kidnapped anyone. He’d never assaulted anyone. He certainly had never thought about doing what he planned to do, not until recently, at least. He was ready now, though. Ready as he would ever be. It was time to cross the boundary and break a new barrier.

In the darkness, he smiled and spoke the words he knew would send dread into every cell in her fragile body.

“You’re here, my sweet Victoria, to die.”