Chapter Nine

Ben gasped in amazement as he saw the apparition shove Cameron to the floor. He quickly helped Cameron back up, and the two wasted no time in retreating, never taking their eyes off of the nurse. A light shone through the window, like the headlights of a car outside. The apparition disappeared.

Ben and Cameron exited the room quickly. They stood in the hallway, both breathless and in amazement. “Did you see that? She knocked you down,” Ben said.

“Yeah, I know. I was there,” Cameron retorted sarcastically. Ben looked at Cameron’s shirt. It was torn in three places and looked like it has been slashed with a knife.

“Are you bleeding?” he asked Cameron, who looked down at his shirt and noticed the slashes for the first time. He quickly pulled the shirt off to check the skin underneath.

“No, I don’t think so,” Cameron responded. “It looks like she just got the shirt.”

“Okay. Well, let’s call it a night.” Ben said. They carried the equipment back to their room. Cameron tossed the ripped shirt in the trash. Ben set up his computer and started perfecting the first half of his video. He needed to do something, because his adrenaline was so high that there was no way he would be able to sleep.

Ben transferred the video and audio files from the camera and voice recorder to his laptop. He put on his headphones to avoid disturbing Cameron, who was going to try to sleep.

Ben arranged the video clips and audio files in his final presentation, then saved his work. He checked the clock, and it was 6:00 AM. The sun was coming up outside, and his adrenaline was finally subsiding. He looked over at the bed and saw Cameron sleeping.

Ben felt guilty. He thought about Chase and what he would think if he could see Ben right then. It was then that he fully realized how he had treated Chase and how unfair it had been. All he wanted was to be a part of Ben’s life, and Ben had reacted by making important decisions on his own. He resolved that tomorrow he would call Chase and try to reconcile their differences.

Ben undressed and got into the bed. Cameron was putting off an incredible amount of body heat, and despite the cold air in the room, the bed was warm.

It took about an hour before Ben was able to fall asleep. He lay there in the semi-darkness, the sunlight illuminating the edges of the heavy, dark drapes. The air was cold enough that Ben could see his breath. Underneath the blankets, there was a cool draft of air. Ben re-adjusted the blankets and inched closer to Cameron, but he maintained enough distance to respect Cameron’s wishes.

When Ben finally fell asleep, he dreamed of Chase. He dreamed that Chase was coming to the mansion to see him and ask him to come home. The dream played like a movie in his mind. He saw Chase getting into his car and driving to the mansion. He saw Chase park his car behind his own and walk inside. Ben watched as Chase marveled at the splendor of the Silverwood Manor. Then, Chase climbed the stairs to find Ben. He stopped to look out the large window, and that's when the soldier appeared. The soldier attacked Chase, choking him, killing him. Ben's eyes fluttered open, and he started to cry softly.

It took a moment for Ben to realize where he was. The dream seemed so real. Ben looked at his phone. The time was 9:30 AM. He knew he needed to go back to sleep, but the dream bothered him. He wanted to call Chase, to make sure he was okay. He talked himself out of it, because Chase was likely still angry with him. He wouldn't want to hear from Ben.

He rolled back onto his side and fixed the blankets around him again. He started to doze off, then felt a comforting arm around his waist. It felt just like Chase. In fact, he could almost feel Chase cuddling beside him. He was comforted by the thought and slowly drifted back to sleep.

This time, Ben dreamed he was at the gym. He was running on the treadmill, and a soldier was running on the machine beside him. They exchanged glances, and the soldier smiled and winked at him. He was clean shaven, in his early twenties, about 6 feet tall and about 180 pounds. His reddish blonde hair was cut short, and he had striking blue eyes. They were the only people in the gym.

Ben turned his gaze back to the front and kept running. When he was drenched in sweat and his heart was racing, he slowed down and stopped the treadmill. He noticed that the soldier had already left. He walked into the locker room, and there was the soldier, shirtless with sweat glistening on his skin under the fluorescent lights.

Ben retrieved his bag from the locker and stripped off his own clothes. He heard the water turn on and turned around to see the soldier standing underneath a shower head. He was facing the wall with his back to Ben. Ben stared for a moment at the defined muscles in his arms, legs, and back, and his smooth, round butt.

The soldier turned around and smiled at Ben again. As his gaze dropped lower, Ben gasped. The soldier had an enormous penis. It had to be at least fourteen inches, and it was thick. Ben trembled with excitement and anticipation. He walked shakily toward the shower, his own erection bouncing as he walked.

He stepped into the shower and felt the hot water pouring over him. The soldier grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him against the back wall of the shower. Ben felt his rough hands slide down his chest and belly. The soldier grabbed him by his hips and kissed him deeply. Ben felt the hard, fully erect monstrosity pushing between his own legs. He widened his stance to allow it to pass between his upper thighs. Ben felt the soldier's tongue enter his mouth, and he kissed him back. He wrapped his arms around the soldier's neck and gave in completely. The soldier broke the kiss and started kissing Ben on the neck, then lower to his chest, and then his belly.

The soldier knelt in front of Ben. He shuddered with excitement at what he knew was coming. At that moment, the door to the locker room flung open. A group of other soldiers entered, staring at Ben and the soldier. They looked angry. The soldier fell backward, surprised and embarrassed. The other soldiers grabbed him, dragging him out of the shower. They started hitting and kicking him, hard. One of them kicked him in the face, knocking out several teeth. Ben stood in the shower, under the stream of water, just watching the entire scene. When the group of soldiers had beaten their friend to death, they all left the locker room, leaving Ben to stand there, watching as blood mixed with water from the shower and ran down the drain.

Ben woke suddenly with tears in his eyes. It took him several seconds to realize that he had just been dreaming. Just like his earlier dream with Chase, it felt real.

He looked at his phone. It was 8:10 PM. He got up, went into the bathroom, and undressed. As he stepped into the shower, he recalled the steamy shower dream he'd just had. He also thought of Cameron, who was still in the bed asleep. Ben thought of his sturdy, muscular frame and rugged good looks. Before his thought process could go any further, Ben heard a loud noise outside the bathroom.

He turned off the water and dried himself with a towel. He opened the bathroom door, flooding the bedroom with light. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Lying in bed, still in the same position as before, Cameron snored gently. Ben admonished himself for getting so worked up, then returned to the bathroom and dressed quickly.

Ben was careful not to wake Cameron, knowing that he had gone through something traumatic and needed all the rest he could get to recover. He fired up his laptop and made sure that his work for the video presentation was intact, then backed up the video and audio files from the night before. He checked the camera to make sure he had adequate free disk space to film tonight's investigation.

Cameron was sleeping so peacefully that Ben did not want to wake him. He decided that he would start the investigation alone, and Cameron could join him later if he wanted to.