Ian Noakes is a former projectionist who lives in the

West Midlands with his wife and their five children. For
the past six years, Ian has been writing screenplays and
training to become a behavioral therapist. !e finally
took the plnge and wrote a novel so the world cold
read the words that have been consistently
complimented by prodcers and script consltants over
the years. "en years on from scribbling story ideas on
the late#shift at the cinema, Hourglass Heights was
born.
For more information please visit$
www.iandavidnoakes.com
www.facebook.com/iandavidnoakes
www.twitter.com/iandavidnoakes
H O U R G L A S S H E I G H T S
"his book is dedicated to my loving wife. %he never lost
faith in me dring my writing jorney, and never
allowed me to give it p for a reglar pay che&e.
I love yo, Nic.
I a n Da v i d o a k e s
H O U R G L A S S H E I G H T S
'opyright ! Ian (avid Noakes
"he right of Ian (avid Noakes to be identified as athor of this
work has been asserted by him in accordance with section )) and
)* of the 'opyright, (esigns and +atents ,ct -.**.
,ll rights reserved. No part of this pblication may be reprodced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, withot the prior permission of the pblishers.
,ny person who commits any nathori/ed act in relation to this
pblication may be liable to criminal prosection and civil claims
for damages.
, 'I+ cataloge record for this title is available from the 0ritish
1ibrary.
I%0N .)* -*2.34 54) 6
www.astinmacaley.com
First +blished 786-29
,stin Macaley +blishers 1td.
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'anary Wharf
1ondon
:-2 510
+rinted and bond in ;reat 0ritain
,cknowledgments
I wold like to thank my family and closest friends for their
ongoing encoragement 7yo know who yo are<9, and even
thank the people in my life who believed I was wasting my time
bt inadvertently drove me on to scceed 7yo know who yo
are too<9
I wold also like to express a sincere thank yo to the following
people$
0rian +aisley, my old friend and writing bddy from across the
pond who has always fond the time to read my work and pass
jdgment.
Meg %tefanac, my copyeditor, who with her eagle#eye helped
me polish my manscript so it wold shine bright on the page.
I wold also like to say thank yo to =im 0land who was with
me at the start of my jorney and stayed ntil life stepped in and
pointed her down an alternative, bt e&ally sccessfl career
path.
"hank yo to my pblisher, ,stin Macaley, for taking a
chance on a new writer.
Finally, this page woldn>t be complete withot saying a big
thank yo to the staff at %tarbcks in Walsall. "hey always
asked how I was getting on, kept a smile on my face when I
came in to write, and most importantly, ensred that my decaf
venti mochas kept on flowing<
"ro#o$%e
'?IM+1: "@1( M: "!," I N::(:( "@ 1:" I" ;@, that I
was only sixteen years old when it happened and that I sholdn>t
have allowed sch a tragic brden to weigh so heavily on my
yong sholders. !e told me that I cold never have predicted
sch a terrible thing wold happen and that I sholdn>t contine
to blame myself. I was told a lot of things bt none of them
made any difference. I coldn>t let it go, and I woldn>t allow it
to rn away from me. "his tragic brden wold weigh pon my
narrow sholders ntil my final breath becase I did blame
myself.
'rimple was right when he said I coldn>t have predicted
sch a mrderos act, bt the trth was it did happen. I had lied
to my father and he had been brtally mrdered becase of my
own selfish behavior. ,t sixteen, I wasn>t a child and I didn>t
deserve to be happy.
Fifteen years later, there I was, brdened and still strggling
to smmon the corage to keep going. I existed with the
knowledge that the easy way ot woldn>t help me if I wanted
to look my father in the eye when I reached the +early ;ates.
, commnal printer sparked to life from within the shadows
of an open#plan office space sprinkled with what cold be
mistaken for the same old desks that I sed to hide behind in
school. :&ally old compters perched on the desktops and the
classroom image was completed by blletin boards that filled
the walls. "hese, however, weren>t covered with mndane
homework assignments. No, these days I looked pon grisly
crime scene photos, sspect profiles and wretched back#stories
of hmans at the lowest moments in their lives.
I was alone as sal, bt that was my own doing. I was the
only one desperate enogh to be working at sch an ngodly
hor. I didn>t want to be at home sleeping becase, for me,
sleeping wasn>t the same as the typical slmber that innocent
people cold experience at the end of a working day. For me,
sleeping meant fidgeting in bed, thinking. It was never a good
idea to allow my mind to wonder abot the past.
It didn>t bother me so mch when I was at the precinct. (ay
or night, the precinct provided me with the sanctary of my own
bbble A a secrity bbble created to protect the people arond
me as mch as to protect myself.
It was better to rminate over what the printer had jst been
spitting ot becase work served two prposes$ it kept me bsy
doing something meaningfl, which meant less worry time, and
it provided an opportnity to brn both ends of the world#
renowned candle.
I was finally able to tear the reslts from a dated inkjet that
had only jst completed its task. I was sre it was only a matter
of time before it wold be replaced with a swanky new laser#jet
that wold spit ot a hndred pages a minte, bt the decade#old
thrm of this printer invigorated me. It reminded me of filling
ot fake police reports as a child when my dad had to bring me
in to work with him.
0ack then, I always caght the bad gy with my meticlos
administrative work and my ama/ing powers of dedction. My
fingertips wold be covered in black ink and my crime reports
wold be peppered with smdges. Bst like my dad>s.
If the department shrink had been able to read my mind, I>m
sre I woldn>t have been deemed fit for dty. , police
detective coldn>t be broken. My father once told me that the
role of a detective was simple$ stop the bad gys. !e had been a
well#respected detective on the police force A ntil I lied and
ended his reign, that is. It wasn>t easy back then for a Bapanese
detective to earn respect on the force, and I owed it to him to
phold the "anaka name and carry on catching the bad gys.
"he printot delivered the news I had hoped for, bt it was
too late to act on it tonight. I wold speak to the captain in the
morning and maybe he wold finally deem me fit enogh to
leave the office and actally follow p on something myself. I
knew I was a good cop A a great cop even. If blackmail and
attempted mrder coldn>t get me ot of bed and keep my life
progressing forward, then I was in troble.
&'a(ter )
"!: ?,IN 0,"":?:( "!: !:11 @C" @F !@C?;1,%%
!:I;!"%, a &aint, for#story apartment bilding that looked
like it had been plcked from the contryside and then dropped
smack bang on the northern edge of the city limits.
If any bilding deserved to have the hell battered ot of it,
then !orglass !eights was that bilding. @n the otside, the
brickwork had crmbled and the paintwork had peeled back
arond the window and door frames. , closer inspection wold
reveal that the woodwork had once been brgndy, and that the
brickwork had once had the weathered#contryside look that a
typical rral bed#and#breakfast wold have boasted in its prime
years.
"he inside told a different story altogether, one that began
back in the late eighties when an ambitios cople had made the
trip from Bapan to open and rn their own apartment bilding.
1ike any cople pping roots and travelling to a new contry,
!iro Naoki and his wife Dri, hadn>t fond it easy. "hogh !iro
had dreamed for most of his forty years of moving to a new
contry and rnning his own bsiness, for Dri the change had
been like moving to another planet and she strggled to adapt to
sch a different way of life.
"wenty#five years later, only shattered dreams and a
yonger wife remained for !iro. !e was now jst a shadow of
the yonger man who once held big ambitions for a sccessfl
bsiness and happy family, something he>d been determined to
achieve after a bleak childhood. !iro had managed to keep
!orglass !eights alive, bt his marriage to Dri had died many
moons ago.
!iro lay with his head wrapped in his pillow and his arm
drooped over the top to keep it firmly in place. ,kemi, his pretty
new wife, lay beside him. %he stared at the ceiling, bt she
wasn>t interested in drowning ot the rampant sonds of a bed
crashing into the wall that were coming from the apartment next
door. !iro snored throgh the cacophony of primal grnting and
banshee#like screaming.
E!iroFG ,kemi whispered in more blind hope than
expectance. !iro mmbled in his sleep and tcked his knees
tighter into his chest to form a perfect foetal position. ,kemi
rffled her spiky black hair, retrned a mffled whimper and
slmped back onto her side of the bed. %he wasn>t in the mood
to sleep.
%he stared at the wall that threatened to topple over and end
their lives before morning, then trned her ga/e to !iro who
was still snoring. %lowly, ,kemi clambered onto her knees and
gripped the headboard to steady her weight. ,fter one last
glance at !iro, ,kemi pressed her ear against the wall and
shifted to a more comfortable position with her elbows perched
atop the headboard. ,kemi smiled her cheekiest smile.
"he relentless grnting and groaning intensified, and the
thmping from the bed next door grew so frios that it began
jolting ,kemi>s head, bt she had no intention of moving away
from the wall. Instead, she positioned all her weight on one arm
and slithered her free hand down her body throgh the wrinkles
of her silky gown and only stopped when she reached warm
flesh.
,kemi closed her eyes as she dragged the edge of her gown
p to her navel and secred it between her ribs and the
headboard. , gentle moan escaped her lips as her fingertips
brshed along the crease at the top of her leg. ,nother moan
trickled throgh her lips, this time with more intensity as her
fingers traced her clitoris. ,kemi glanced down at !iro as
another lod groan penetrated the wall. %he was desperate to
contine, bt craved !iro>s toch even more.
EI know yo awake, !iro<G ,kemi waited, bt !iro didn>t
move an inch. !is snores contined in accompaniment to the
banging of the bed on the other side of the wall. %he rested her
hand on his sholder and leaned in toward his ear. EMr. Naoki,
no fakin> me<G she poted with a frstrated whisper, bt !iro
merely fidgeted into a different position and started to snore
again. E!iro, I want stffing like neighbor do. +lease<G
When !iro still didn>t move, ,kemi srrendered to defeat
for five short seconds. 0t then a big smile pshed p her
beatiflly defined featres.
EI give yo hand,G she giggled. 1ike a snake seeking ot its
prey, ,kemi>s hand slithered across the &ilt, intertwining
between the folds, valleys and hilltops formed by the dck
feathers inside the &ilt and searching for the edge so it cold go
in for the kill. ,kemi twitched a cheeky grin and gently
tightened the palm of her hand arond !iro>s penis. ,lthogh
,kemi had petite hands, there wasn>t enogh rigidity in !iro>s
wrinkled manhood to give her something to work with.
,fter a fll minte of s&ee/ing, tgging and stroking, it
became obvios to ,kemi that sex wasn>t on the men tonight.
%he snatched her hand from beneath the &ilt and crossed her
arms like a petlant child who had been denied a lollypop.
ENo fair, mean man<G ,kemi waited, hoping her stares
cold magically trn !iro into the ball of sexal energy she
craved.
When !iro wasn>t working, he cold sally be fond
watching his favorite wildlife programs. @ne animal that
fascinated him was the possm, a creatre he>d learned was
famos for playing dead when nder attack, thogh in trth,
they go into shock when stressed. !iro cracked a smile when he
wondered if that was jst what he was doing now.
,kemi tgged the &ilt over her sholder and trned away
from him. , tiny sigh drifted from her moth, bt it made
!iro>s smile fade away. It wasn>t a sigh of anger. !iro knew
,kemi loved him, bt he also nderstood she was a yong
woman.
!iro opened his eyes. !e wanted to show ,kemi some
affection bt didn>t want to lead her on. !e wasn>t a yong man
anymore, and he was exhasted. In an impressive manever, he
let ot a groan that cold only escape the lips of an nconscios
man. !e wrapped his arm over her and &ickly resmed
snoring. For good measre, beneath his snoring, he mttered the
words E1ove yo, ,kemi.G
,kemi shook her head, bt coldn>t hold back a tiny smile.
%he placed her hand on his forearm, kissed his hand and gently
eased it between her sholder and jaw to rest on.
@N "!: @"!:? %I(: @F "!: 0:,":N W,11 was the
%ommer residence. 1orraine and (avid had been married for
forteen years and refsed to allow the transition of time to
dictate how fre&ently they made love or how passionate and
vigoros their sex shold be. When the mood took them,
1orraine and (avid liked it hard and fast A and the mood had
taken them tonight.
, family photograph strggled to stay pright on a bedside
table that was being absed as aggressively as the wall. "he
photograph featred the cople hgging their twelve#year#old
twin girls on a snny beach. "hey didn>t go away very often so
they treasred those rare days when they were able, and this
photograph was a constant reminder of the importance of
escaping the city with yor family. "hey loved their children to
distraction bt saw no reason to se them as an excse to place
bondaries on their sexal fantasies or to act in a way the world
believed an experienced married cople shold.
1orraine didn>t have the body of a sper#model bt her
crves were in all the right places. %he was a dedicated wife and
mother, and it was her decision to stay at home and raise her
children as she saw fit. 0ecase the cople shared the same
vales and goals, it was rare that they wold fight over the
children.
"hogh it didn>t seem possible, the pace of the rocking bed
intensified. "he bed joints had started s&eaking and were now
on the verge of splintering and falling apart nder the pressre.
"hese sonds only added to the moment for them as their love#
making approached a crescendo.
EI love the fckin> shit ot of yo, love#pot,G (avid grnted,
before biting 1orraine>s lower lip and brshing the backs of his
fingers across her cheek.
(avid worked as a salesman at a local car dealership.
0siness had been pretty slow the past cople of years, so (avid
was never going to make it rich selling cars. 0t he was okay
with that becase so long as he cold pay the rent and pt food
on the table. !is family was all he needed to keep smiling.
With grinding hips and a strained face, 1orraine howled
lodly and ran her fingers throgh (avidHs hair before gripping
it tightly and plling his face closer to her own.
(avid>s body shddered as if a bolt of lightning had strck
him deep inside his belly and then rocketed to his head.
!is eyes closed.
&'a(ter *
MD %"@M,'! ;?@,N:( ," M: @N "!: W,D !@M:,
begging me to eat before the twisting and wrenching committed
it to the hnger nt#hose. I sympathi/ed after feeding it nothing
bt shitty coffee and stale city air for the past fifteen hors.
I plled into a parking lot that was srronded by a handfl
of fast#food otlets. No famos brand#names like Mc(onalds or
=F', bt a collection of local otlets that tried to pt a spin on
them by sing similar colors and fonts in their logos and then
playing on the words. Do had 0rger Ieen for all the brger#
and#fries lovers, =en>s "cky Fried 'hickens for the poltry#
bcket fanatics, and +i//a %mt for the pi//a nts. "hat was my
place, thogh I can>t think for the life of me why I had ever
ventred into a fast#food establishment with EsmtG in the name.
, big sign in the window flashed E0est +i//a in the 'ity.G I
coldn>t arge this statement. "he pi//a cold have been topped
with shit and sgar and it still wold have tasted good after I>d
worked for so long on so little.
I santered inside and the aroma of crispy bread, toasted
mo//arella, seasoned pepperoni and rich tomato sace helped
my weary legs carry me to the conter. I hadn>t noticed the
brly sbrbanite gawking at me from the corner when I had
first arrived. When I finally did, yo wold have thoght his
thick woolly sweater and black jeans wold have caght my eye
firstJ bt instead, it was the wedding band swirling arond his
finger and the old#fashioned glasses he pshed p his nose to get
a better look at my ass.
When he noticed that I>d spotted him gawking at me, he
swiftly focsed his attention on a fishing maga/ine he had
opened on his lap. I stared for a while, jdging his gilty faKade.
EMarcia, yo>re late tonight<G 'arlos beamed as he
approached the conter with a pi//a box. EI thoght I mst have
cocked#p yor last pi//a.G Topped with shit and sugar,
remember?
EBst a bsy night, 'arlos. +i//a was jst as good as the last
one.G
'arlos flashed his shinier#than#white teeth again and slid the
pi//a box across the conter with a steaming foam cp perched
on top of it. !e patted my hand and tossed in one of his cheesy,
innocent winks for good measre.
'arlos was born and raised in New Dork, and if I hadn>t
been looking his way when he spoke I wold have sworn he was
?ay 1iotta from Goodfellas. If I were to pt sex on a plate for
him, he wold be tempted to take a bite A bt nlike ?ay>s
character, he knew the lines that sholdn>t be crossed. !e was a
married man and althogh the idea of screwing a cop might
have appealed to him, I think 'arlos wold have bitten his
knckles and resisted the implse. 0t do yo ever really know
what>s going throgh the mind of a manF
E"hanks, 'arlos. =eep well.G I glanced over my sholder on
the way to the door, crios whether Wedding#0and Man was
still ogling my ass. "his time he held the maga/ine halfway p
his face, gawping at me as I left. "here was no mistaking what
was going throgh the head of this man$ he wanted to fck me
before going home to his wife and family with dinner.
!e held my stare as I made my way throgh the glass door.
I trned my back on him and ventred across the parking lot.
I slid into my !onda, laid my pi//a on the passenger seat
and positioned my steaming coffee cp on the dashboard. I had
the keys in the ignition, bt something deep and strong inside
stopped me from trning it. "he steam misted p my
windshield, bt I cold still make ot the front of the pi//eria.
!e was still in there. 1onging to fck me.
I>d eaten two slices of pi//a and it had started raining by the
time Wedding#0and Man finally walked ot. I had no idea why
I had waited for him, and I had even less an idea what I was
going to do next.
My hand plled the door handle. "hat Esomething deep and
strongG reared its gly head again. Why didn>t I resist itF It was
becoming clear in my mind what I was going to do next, and
althogh the deep and strong was pshing me forward,
something closer to the srface of my consciosness was telling
me that it was wrong.
I opened the door and stepped head first into the wet night. I
was only a few strides from my car before my white cotton
blose was soaked and see#throgh, sagging across my breasts
and leaving very little to the imagination. I carried on
regardless, the rapid raindrops now glancing off my satrated
clothing. I stopped when headlights flashed jst in front of me.
!e was staring at me throgh his windshield.
"his time, there was no maga/ine to obscre his longing
look at me. I knew how wrong it was to do this. ,fter all, I was
a dedicated detective. 0ack in the days when I was a beat cop,
I>d arrested people for doing what I was prposely stmbling
into.
!e killed his lights, left the motor rnning and waited in the
car. !e knew I had taken a big risk already and that I was very
likely to see it throgh, regardless of what he did next. !e was
right.
I pressed forward toward his car, a station wagon that
completed the family pictre. When I reached it, he didn>t open
the door. !e didn>t even wind down the window. !e jst sat and
waited for me to make the next move. ,s I tapped the window, a
sly grin creased his face as he leaned across the passenger seat
and inched the door open.
I gripped the edge of the door and, for the first time, a
moment of ncertainty tickled my decision making. "he door
rim was ice#cold from the bitter night and my hand started to
shake. I was a strong#minded detective, so why was I so intent
on going throgh with thisF ,nd, more importantly, why was I
so scaredF
"he thinking and hesitation was killing me. I swng the
door wide open, refsing to allow myself another second to
reflect on what I was doing. ?eflection cold wait ntil I had hot
water rnning down my lathered body in the comfort and
secrity of my shower A and maybe not even then, becase I
was doing this for a reason. , priest wold call it penance. I
called it pnishment. I believed that I deserved everything this
man wold do to me. ,fter all, I didn>t give it a second thoght
fifteen years ago when my father was being bldgeoned to death
in an alley.
'limbing into the car soon proved to be the only control I
had over the next ten mintes. !e pinched my chin hard with his
smooth, paper#pshing hand and held it far enogh away so that
he cold look into my eyes. !e stared at me for a while,
examining me. !e seemed nsre, yet determined.
, second wind sddenly exploded throgh his body and
into his hands. !e gasped and fmbled with his fly, strggling to
release his throbbing erection. With growing frstration, he
pshed his pelvis ot of the seat so he cold pll down his
trosers and nleash his frstrations and regrets on me.
I hit my head in the mayhem, bt he didn>t ask if I was
okay. Instead, he wrapped my long black hair arond his fingers
and slowly bt srely shnted my head toward his lap.
E@pen, open, open,G he snapped in harsh, labored breaths.
!e didn>t say what, bt I knew that he wanted me to open my
moth. I didn>t have time to take a breath before he forced my
head down hard. I coldn>t inhale, bt he didn>t care. !e plled
my head p by my hair, bt his erection still occpied my moth
and I was nable to take a breath before he pshed me back
down.
I gasped and I gripped his knee hard, bt I didn>t fight backJ
I coldn>t and woldn>t. !is foreskin drew back and gathered
arond my lips as the silky tip of his penis slid arond the walls
of my moth. ,s he pshed my head down frther, his shaft
jorneyed down my throat. !is girth blocked my wind pipe and
I gagged and grgled. 0t I refsed to stop him.
I opened my moth wider, searching for oxygen to draw
into my lngs, bt the vacm scked my cheeks in tight as he
forced my head p and down on his cock.
, tiny jet of li&id released in my moth, bt I knew that it
was far from over.
It was difficlt for me to reflect on what I was feeling as he
shoved and plled my head p and down by my hair, bt when I
finally entertained a momentary thoght, I reali/ed that it was
pity for this man. Was he actally doing anything wrongF !e
was violently absing me in his car, sre, bt I had invited the
abse. I wasn>t naLve enogh to believe that this man wold
walk throgh his front door afterward with his family#si/e pi//a
and tell his wife what he had done to me. Instead, he>ll kiss her
on the cheek and give absoltely no indication that he>d jst
fcked a stranger in his car while their dinner cooled on the
back seat.
I gasped and choked as he manevered his cock deeper into
a position that woldn>t allow me a snippet of oxygen to keep
me lcid. I>d tipped over the ledge of panic, bt that deep and
strong something inside me prevented me hrting this man to
attempt an escape.
Withot warning, he navigated my moth off his penis and
held my head p like a trophy to admire as drool and pre#
ejaclate clng arond my moth and dangled from my chin.
I was hmiliated A and rightly so.
!e revered my face for a few very long seconds. , gilty
smile flickered for the smallest moment and then disappeared.
!e was as ot of breath as I was. I thoght that maybe he had
finished, bt he was jst resting p for the dramatic climax.
!e heaved me on to his lap. !is erection was hard and it
hrt me as he blindly fmbled with it in his hand, trying to
plnge it inside me. !is tension and anxiety stng my neck
throgh his hot breath. I shrieked ot lod when he entered me.
!e rammed me harder, panting like a rabid animal that had jst
escaped captivity and was rediscovering its primal instincts.
I shoved my palms against the ceiling of his station wagon
and pshed down hard. !e barely had room to pll back his hips
and thrst, bt he remained deep, pnching the depths of my
womanhood. :ach blow strck a deep emotional chord within
me. It hrt physically, bt not as mch as it hrt to live with the
knowledge that I was responsible for something so terrible.
I trned to face him and leaned in for a kiss. @f corse, the
something deep and strong inside me knew that he woldn>t
sccmb to sch an affectionate gestre and that I wold be
rejected and hmiliated. "hat was why I did it. !e wrenched my
face away.
I lowered my hands from above my head and, as I did, he
cltched my sholders and drew me down hard into his lap. !e
tgged my blose and tore at my collar, ripping it over my
breasts as he lost control. !e didn>t care enogh to apologi/e.
!e grnted, exhaled spittle with a long deep sigh, and
closed his eyes, momentarily still and silent. I was stck in his
lap and if his erection plnged any deeper I>d be dead. @ne
cold arge that I was dead, bt I cold still feel the hrt. ,nd
with the hrt, a pain that slept far deeper$ regret.
I trembled on his lap, bt I wasn>t the case of the
movement. It was him. !e tilted my head back, ga/ed into my
eyes, and then jerked his hips forward, hard, and held it. !e
didn>t break eye contact as his shaking intensified. (id he feel
the mintes rnning away from him as normality knocked on his
doorF Was he finally wondering if he cold deal with the
memory of this enconter in the ftre, or whether witnessing
something so wicked within himself wold hant him for the
rest of his lifeF
!e closed his eyes. !is body twitched and something warm
released inside me. It was over and I no longer needed to be
here.
!e started to cry. "he strong arms that had thrown me
arond his car only mintes before weakened and flopped to his
sides. I slipped off his penis and scrambled ot of the car. I
didn>t say a word becase there was nothing to say.
,s I tgged my skirt down over my thighs, a pathetic hand
grabbed my arm. !e had a wallet in his other hand and he
gestred to the money inside, bt all I cold see was the moon
glistening off his wedding band.
I shrgged free and crossed the parking lot to my car. I
wondered what my father wold think if he cold see me now.
Was he there above, sitting beside ;od, watching me pnish my
life from the inside ot, all in his nameF If so, wold he be able
to see that I was drowning in shameF I hoped so.
&'a(ter +
, ?:%"1:%% M:I1 @F MI%" !@M:?:( @M:? "!: 0I"%
@F N,=:( skin that weren>t hidden beneath their bed clothes.
"he cool night air had taken (avid and 1orraine>s si//ling body
temperatres back down to earth and they were now in a nited
state of serenity, a moment that cold free/e them in time and
protect them from all the worries the world cold throw at them
A ntil morning, at least.
1orraine>s leg was awkwardly sprawled across (avid>s
thigh and his hand was crled arond it to ensre that their
embrace coldn>t escape them while they slept.
(avid tilted his head to one side and his eyes flickered open
jst long enogh to catch a glimpse of a silhoette flashing past
him. !e s&inted throgh his narrowed, sleepy eyes. !ad he
dreamt it or was it simply a smdge of sleep that gla/ed his eyeF
(avid was too tired to debate it, and neither explanation seemed
sfficiently interesting or of enogh concern to delay him from
dropping back to sleep.
@N "!: @"!:? %I(: @F "!: W,11 !iro and ,kemi slept
sondly. It may have been the %ommer cople doing all the
bmping and grinding, bt the excitement and sexal intrsion
had taken its toll on both coples. "he silence was interrpted
when a stifled moan penetrated the wall and woke ,kemi.
E:nogh is enogh< Do having sex, and we not. I get it,G
grmbled ,kemi, who wrapped herself tighter into her &ilt. ,s
she did so, another moan erpted. "his one lingered for a few
seconds before abrptly ending. ,kemi clambered onto her
knees and pt her ear to the wall. 0t this time, she was
concerned.
E(avidF (avid, I can>tNG cold be heard clearly throgh
the thin wall that separated the two apartments.
,kemi scrambled down beside !iro and shook him from his
slmber.
E!iro, wake< %omething wrong with %ommer lady<G
!iro propped himself p on his elbows and mmbled,
E"hey are jst screwing arond again.G
,kemi shoved !iro hard in his sholder and threw him a
ElistenG glare to avoid any miscommnication.
, few seconds passed, and the sporadic grnts and groans
they heard were not enogh to convince !iro to knock down his
neighbors> door and save the day.
0t then, sddenly, a dll thd ponded ominosly against
the wall. It wasn>t a bed. It didn>t sond like anything wooden.
It was a mffled, deathly sond, as thogh the collision with the
wall was made by a hman head.
!iro still wasn>t ready to break down the door and barge in,
bt he had heard enogh to convince him to swing his legs ot
of bed, pll on a pair of denim jeans and plck a baseball bat
from behind a chest of drawers.
!e approached the wall and leaned in closer.
E'loser, !iro<G ,kemi snapped.
!iro rested his head against the wall jst as a terrifying
yo>ve#got#no#fcking#choice#bt#to#knock#down#the#door
scream pierced the dividing wall and !iro was instantly throgh
the door and down the corridor with his baseball bat held firmly
over his head.
EMrs. %ommer<G yelled !iro as he slammed into the door.
!e jiggled the handle, bt it was locked. EMr. %ommer, please
let me inside,G he shoted desperately, Eotherwise I will be
forced to call the police<G
"here was no answer, and no shadows cold be seen
fidgeting beneath the door to indicate any movement.
!iro thmped on the door.
E,kemi, get me my keys<G he ordered. %he hrried down
the corridor and disappeared into their apartment. EMrs.
%ommer< Mr. %ommer< +lease say something< ,nything<G
pleaded !iro.
"hmps and scrapes echoed from deep within the
apartment, and then !iro heard the sond of what had to be a
door slamming into a wall. Mibrations rippled throgh the
doorframe !iro was cltching, and he plled his hand away as
rapid footsteps cold be heard approaching. !iro stepped away
from the door.
EMr. %ommerFG he asked catiosly.
"he footsteps stopped a split second before something big
crashed into the other side of the door. !iro rapped on the door
with greater vigor.
E1orraineF (avidFG !e peered down the corridor to see if
,kemi was coming yet. %he wasn>t. !e rested his head against
the door and listened careflly. !e cold hear a shddering
whimper drawing closer, and in the space of a cople of seconds
the whimper trned into a shriek.
E@h my ;od< (avid< No< No, noNG
EI>m coming in<G !iro shoted. E,kemi< !rry p with my
keys<G !e dropped to his knees, peered nderneath the door and
opened his moth to speak. 0t jst then, blood started to seep
ot from nderneath the door at a freakish pace. It flowed
toward him and swiftly collected arond his knees and feet.
E,nswer me<G "here was still no reply, bt ,kemi now
thndered toward him with his keys in her hand.
!iro was ot of breath and beads of sweat had started to
jorney down his forehead and into his eyes. !e anxiosly
fished throgh a typical over#si/ed bnch of keys that all
landlords sed. "he rivers of stinging sweat weren>t helping,
and thoghts of what he might face when he opened the door
grew more frightening with each passing second.
!iro decided on a key that cold open the door. !e took a
deep breath, inserted it into the keyhole and jiggled it. !alf of
him hoped it woldn>t work so he cold delay the inevitable
sight he expected to witness when the door swng open. 0t
waiting meant grappling with the nknown, and the longer
!iro>s imagination florished, the worse the images in his mind
became.
!e trned the key and the lock snapped open. %tanding in
the blood that had eaten p the corridor arond the door, !iro
took a deep breath and shoved the door open, prepared for the
worst.
@ne look forced !iro to his knees and made him vomit into
the pool of blood he was now kneeling in. ,kemi fell
backwards, screaming and weeping. %he scampered away from
the bloody doorway, clambered to her feet and hstled down the
corridor, away from the ghastly scene.
Neighbors started to appear from doorways down the
corridor. 1ike with !iro and ,kemi, it only re&ired a
momentarily glance throgh the %ommers> gaping doorway to
indce screams, tears and fear from all who ventred ot to
satisfy their criosity.