The Invisible Man

Written for #FridayFrights, with the theme, Monster Movie Fan Fiction

 

Invisible Man

 

“Nine-One-One, what is your emergency?”

“Please send help, I was just raped.”

“Ma’am, is your attacker still there?”

“I don’t know. It was my ex –husband. I have a restraining order against him… Oh my God, I think he’s still here.”

“Can you lock yourself into a room?”

“I’m in the closet… I think…”

“Ma’am? Are you still there? I’m sending officers out, they’re on their way.”

***

Charlene opened her eyes and looked around. The room she was in looked sterile. A hospital. She tried to sit up and then winced as pain shot through her body.

“Take it easy, you’re pretty banged up.”

Charlene turned her head towards the voice. A woman she didn’t recognize was standing next to the bed. “Who are you?”

“My name is Denise Sparks. I’m a detective. Do you know why you are here?”

“Yes. I was raped. My ex-husband…”

“We’ve been trying to locate him, but he seems to have vanished.”

Charlene chuckled, but the sound came out more like a bark. Coughing, she reached for a cup of water, waving the detective off with a hand. She took a sip and then leaned back against the mattress and smiled wanly at the other woman. “Funny, your wording… He seems to have vanished. You don’t know the half of it, and you aren’t going to find him, not unless he wants you to.”

“Oh we’ll find him…”

“You don’t understand, Detective, he has vanished, as in he is no longer visible.” She laughed, almost hysterically. “He’s the Invisible Man.” Then she looked around the room, her face suddenly filled with fear. “He might even be in the room with us right this moment. Are you here Dan? Where are you?” She was becoming more and more frantic, looking around the room. Suddenly she turned her head, seeing something in the corner that Denise could not. “I KNOW YOU’RE THERE, DAN! Charlene picked up a vase of flowers from the nightstand and through it across the room. The glass shattered on the wall and water splattered across the floor.

Denise grabbed hold of Charlene’s arms, holding them down while a nurse ran in, followed by a doctor.

“HE’S HERE,” Charlene screamed, fighting to free herself from the detective’s grip.  “I can smell him!” She looked into Denise’s eyes, “I can smell his cologne. Can’t you? He’s here. HE’S HERE!” She started sobbing then, while the doctor administered some medicine with a syringe. As the drug began to take effect, Charlene’s eyes began to close. Denise watched her for a few minutes and then headed for the door. Charlene would be out for a while and she needed to fill her partner in on what had just happened.

It had been decided that she would talk to her alone, since rape victims responded better to female officers. This wasn’t strange, by any sense of the word. Victims often seemed disoriented after. She’d never had one claim she’d been raped by an invisible ex-husband before, but there was no doubt she’d been attacked by someone. Denise paused just before she reached the door. The water on the floor seemed to be moving, almost as though someone were walking across it. When wet footprints appeared briefly on dry sections of the floor, she took a step back.

“I’m just imagining things,” she told herself. “Charlene’s panic attack is causing you to see things where they aren’t… plus you haven’t had much sleep lately. That’s it, too many late nights. Besides, I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for this.”

Then the hospital door opened, blowing the scent of aftershave her way. She glanced into the hallway but no one was there. The door had opened on its own. Then, just as suddenly as it opened, the door slammed shut.

***

It was late by the time Denise got home. She’d filled her partner in on everything that had happened in the hospital room, except for the part where she saw wet footprints and a door open and close on its own. She didn’t want to be taken off the case or sent to see the shrink. She wasn’t crazy… just overworked. Unfortunately it wasn’t going to get better anytime soon. Pouring a brandy, she set the files down she’d collected on Dan Brown.

He was a scientist, working for the government. Whatever he was working on was top secret, she had a hard time getting what little information she could. Still, what she had found, made for interesting reading. A few of his associates had hinted that he’d been working on a cloaking device for the military; something that a soldier could wear and turn on and off at will. One moment you see him, the next you don’t.

“It was all theoretical of course,” one scientist said, when he realized he’d said too much. “It will be years down the road before that kind of technology actually exists, and the cost of maintaining it, well, it’s not likely to ever happen.”

“But what if he did it?” She wondered. Finishing the last of the brandy, she pushed the folder away from her. Her eyes were heavy and she wouldn’t be able to stay awake much longer. Besides, she needed to be up early and at the hospital when visiting hours began. Standing, she stretched, wincing at the pain in her shoulders.

“Maybe a bath first, release some of this tension.”

A bath seemed to be what she needed. She slid into the water and let her head fall against the back of the tub. Before long she was asleep and dreaming about a man she couldn’t see. He was stroking her breasts, squeezing the nipples between fingers that were both soft and cruel. She tried to scream, but nothing came out. Then she felt herself being pushed down, her head being forced into the water. She struggled, but she couldn’t fight him off… she couldn’t even see him. A ringing pounded in her ears, thudding loudly, urging her to fight her way back up.  She woke up, sputtering and spitting water out of her mouth. The telephone was ringing in the next room.

Climbing out of the tub, she ignored the towel and hurried for the phone. This late, it could only be her partner.

“What is it, John?”

She listened to the voice on the other end and then hung up the phone. Charlene had been found dead an hour ago. She’d slit her wrists. Returning to the bathroom, Denise grabbed a towel and began to dry off. Looking in the mirror, she gasped and dropped the towel. Written across the glass with lipstick were the words, Behind you.