New Poll! Nefarious: Reader's Decide! Click the link below to vote on how the next bonus chapter, Jacob's Nightmares, will unfold! This allows total anonymity for my readers, no account or email needed, anyone can vote!

https://forms.gle/a1b2hb7D35B9SCHp8

Volume II

Chapter 7

The Missing

The lids of her eyes opened, sweat trickling down her forehead, heart rate amplified. Blaire tossed the covers from her body, quickly hanging her feet from the edge of the bed in a cold sweat as the nightmare she suffered weighed heavily upon her mind. Clutching her chest and trying to control her breathing, Blaire turned and noticed that Jacob was still asleep on the other side of the bed.

Having stayed the night, it had been  the first time that they had shared their feelings with one another. Their relationship having developed considerably, it was a relief to wake up to such a charming man in her own bed after suffering such a perverse and horrific nightmare. Standing to her feet, Blaire recalled the disgusting chain of events that her mind had somehow conjured in her sleep. It was unclear what aspect of her life had led to such an odd dream state, to think her brain could have made up something so sinister and evil.

They were so small, the four of them. There was a man, Blaire somehow knew his name was Howard, as if the dream had revealed the details of her nightmare to provide context to what she had seen in her slumber. There were four other women, of normal size like Blaire. To her horror, the nightmare unfolded in the most sadistic and nefarious premise that Blaire herself could never have thought in a million years.

These four college women then proceeded to eat the three women, who were somehow tiny and hardly an inch tall, by chewing them apart and mashing them into bloody and mushy remains. Their screams were unhinged, blood curdled in nature. Despite the brutality, the four average women disregarded the suffering of their victims as they devoured them horribly. But nothing was worse than the fate of Howard, that part of the dream disturbed Blaire the most.

He had been devoured whole, alive. His horrific and torturous death in the confines of the woman’s stomach, Macy was it? It was beyond inhuman, it was demonic and evil. It was cannibalistic, absolutely the most intense nightmare that Blaire had ever suffered. It had been so long since she last dreamt of anything, but suddenly one night in bed with Jacob and she was faced with the most vile of nightmares that anyone could ever come close to creating.

Unable to fathom falling asleep again, and returning to some twisted continuation of that nightmare, Blaire decided she needed some fresh air. Without disturbing Jacob from his sleep, she entered the bathroom and began to undress for a quick shower. With her beauty unhidden in the privacy of her bathroom, she entered the shower and turned on the faucet to release cold water.

It hit her skin with a sting, as she reacted to the freezing temperature but pushed through the discomfort as it immediately leveled her heart rate and took her mind off the horrific details of the nightmare she had awoken from. Splashing water on her face and rubbing it into her pores, Blaire took a refreshing breath of air and began to apply soap to her hair. Using her fingers to spread it thoroughly, the smell of lavender filling her nostrils as she began to rinse the soap off with the cold water.

After her hair was clean, she used conditioner and spread it evenly. Letting it soak into her hair, she began to wash her body with a loofa; making sure to get beneath her sizeable breasts, around her privates and under the arms, it wasn’t long until she finished up by scrubbing her smooth, semi-wrinkled feet to ensure they were nice and clean.

Blaire always preferred a morning shower, but every so often she’d keep the water cold as she found it refreshing and also a testament to her mental fortitude. When she was with her family, she’d often hide in the bathroom, soaking beneath the cold water of the shower so that she could feel something else other than her own misery and the oppressive nature of her parents and relatives.

“You are worth more than wealth,” Blaire chanted to herself as she turned off the shower faucet upon rinsing off the soap from her body.

“You have a bright future… You are in control of your own destiny…” Blaire continued to chant these words, something she had begun to do shortly after arriving in Valdez. It was something she read online once, about speaking out loud the things you want to believe in. It was some study of manifesting your own life into how you see fit.

While Blaire was not one to believe in any deity or supernatural forces, she had found that speaking out loud the things she desired to be true had indeed helped her depression. Every day she grew stronger, mentally and emotionally. The more she chanted these words, the more she began to believe in them.

After drying off and leaving the bathroom, it was clear that Jacob was still asleep. He seemed restless, shifting in his sleep as Blaire tiptoed around the room to be careful not to wake him. She wondered if he too was suffering a nightmare, and if so what kind of nightmare he was having. There was little chance his dream could be as bad as hers, or so Blaire thought.

Opening her dresser, she pulled out some athletic tights which firmly accentuated her lower figure. Grabbing an athletic jacket to keep the cold from completely freezing her to death at the crack of dawn, she donned her athletic wear and headed towards the door of the room. Before leaving, she turned and smiled at a still sleeping Jacob, as he turned his back to her and lifted the covers closer to his chin.

‘I’ll be back before you wake up I hope,’ Blaire thought with an innocent smile. ‘I’ll make us breakfast, eggs and toast and perhaps a bit of hashbrowns… I hope you don’t leave if you wake up before I get back. Sleep tight, Jacob.’

Closing the bedroom door, Blaire made her way to the kitchen. After brewing some coffee and getting a good amount of caffeine into her system, Blaire filled a water bottle and walked over to her sport shoes. Slipping them on, without socks because she felt it gave her feet a better grip in the shoes. When she ran with socks on in her shoes, the fabric would sometimes slip and slide across her insoles, and thus Blaire usually did sporty activities without socks, which meant all that sweat stained her insoles over time with every activity.

With her water in hand, and shoes on, Blaire opened the front door and felt the welcoming embrace of the sharp and cold air of Alaska. Closing and locking the door behind her, she began to jog at a steady pace as she headed towards town. Approaching the sidewalk, Blaire began jogging along it as she passed the trees and other houses spread a ways from each other. The cold air rushed past her, her lungs seemingly on fire as they ventilated the freezing air that Blaire inhaled and exhaled, yet she reveled in it.

Her shoes slapped across the pavement, her soles already beginning to sweat which added more of a scent to her insoles as the imprint of her feet became more defined, staining the insoles with a permanent imprint of her bare feet and toes. Occasionally she’d scrunch her toes, giving them a decent stretch as she continued to jog and enjoy the fresh air and exercise in the peaceful and supposedly uneventful Valdez.

Often her mind would return to that of the nightmare she had, but every time she replayed the horrific chewing of the innocent lives, she’d try to avert her attention by noticing the details of her surroundings.

‘There’s the diner,’ Blaire thought, successfully distracting her thoughts and evading the details of the nightmare. Passing the diner that she and Jacob would frequent, Blaire began to notice a few random person's walking here and there. It was early in the morning, not even six yet.

‘I see an old man walking his dog,’ Blaire thought, passing the man and his Beagle. The dog lifted a leg, it was marking its territory which happened to be, ironically, a fire hydrant.

Continuing through town, Blaire looked out towards the port of Valdez. The waters seemed rough and harsh this morning, the waves large and washing up against the docks as the boats they harbored swayed up and down with the waters. At this temperature, the waters would be nothing short of freezing, taking a dip would likely mean a death sentence if you weren’t a profound swimmer.

‘I see a dock worker, or perhaps a boat owner, they seem to be approaching that small yacht,’ Blaire thought, still distracting herself as she enjoyed the morning jog. Her legs only being concealed by athletic tights, they had begun to get very cold. As she picked up her pace, the warmth her body generated from her jogging had slowly begun to spread throughout her body. The cold in her legs had been subdued slightly, making her jog considerably more tolerable to her enjoyment.

Before long Blaire had noticed one of the churches to her right, across the block. Approaching an intersection, she saw the road was clear of vehicles and jogged across the striped crosswalk. As she then shifted to the right, crossing the adjacent crosswalk, it was then that Blaire noticed another older gentleman. He appeared to be in his mid to late fifties, and he had a stack of papers tucked under his arm. In his other hand, was a staple gun, which he used to stick one of the papers to the wooden electrical pole.

Before she jogged by him, she began to slow down almost immediately upon seeing the face of a familiar person. There was a photo of a woman on the poster, a detailed description of her appearance and last known whereabouts. Unable to believe it, Blaire had recognized Liz almost immediately. Her full name, Elizabeth Sanchez, and Blaire came to a halt as she stared at the poster intently.

The older gentleman finished stapling it, before turning and taking notice of Blaire behind him. His eyes had said it all, the pain and despair behind them. Despite this, he managed a smile, nodding at Blaire gently as he lowered the stapler.

“Attending the service? Church won’t start for another couple of hours hon’.”

“Oh, no that’s not it,” Blaire blushed, holding her arms behind her back as she turned and looked at the poster again. “Do you know that woman? I saw her in the paper the other morning.”

“I do,” the man answered. “She is my daughter. I’ve been out all morning putting more posters up, hoping someone will find her. Do you know her?”

“Not personally,” Blaire answered sheepishly. “She worked with my… Boyfriend. He worked at a food wagon, she was the cook. I only met her once, briefly.”

Suddenly the man frowned, nodding as he turned and faced his own poster. Blaire could tell something was off, this entire interaction was slightly odd and unnerving.

“Well if he would care to offer an explanation anytime soon, let him know I’ll be waiting for one,” the man said harshly.

“Excuse me? I don’t understand.” Blaire was put off by this statement, it was as if the man was angry with Jacob for some reason.

“When my wife and I found out he sold the wagon, it was clear that Elizabeth had been let go,” the man continued. “She had been so happy to work with him, he was the only one who would hire her in this town because of her inability to speak. Then one day she just doesn’t come home, and when we go to her place of work, we find that Jacob sold the entire wagon and now we haven’t a clue how to get in touch with him. He didn’t even bother to try and give the police any details on her last whereabouts.”

“What does that have to do with Jacob?” Blaire defended him, not knowing the full extent of the details. “His boss is the one who sold the wagon! It isn’t Jacob’s fault, besides I was there that day! Jacob said he let her go early since it was their last day! He wouldn’t know anything anyways!”

The man crossed his arms, cocking his head and sighing again. His eyes became teary, as he shook his head and looked at Blaire with a somber expression.

“What is your name?”

“Blaire.”

“It’s been a pleasure, Blaire. My name is Josiah. I’m not really sure how you know Jacob, you say he’s your boyfriend. Are you telling me you didn’t know that Jacob was the owner of the food wagon? He was the boss, he owned that wagon.”

“What?” Blaire froze, her mind struggling to understand what she had just been told.

“I’m not saying he lied to you, but I’m not sure how you came to think that Jacob ever worked for someone else,” Josiah explained. “I met him once, he seemed like a charming young man. Elizabeth was infatuated with him, I think she started to develop a crush on him herself honestly. No offense, I just want you to know that Elizabeth trusted Jacob completely. It’s the only reason I haven’t lashed out for his lack of caring. I figured he would at least give us a call or give his condolences, but he’s done no such thing.”

“I don’t understand,” Blaire shook her head in disbelief, trying to ensure she wouldn’t offend this father for the circumstance of his missing daughter, but Blaire was confused. “I saw Jacob’s boss, she had long black hair. She was a bit tall, he talked with her at one point! You’re telling me that is all false? That I am making this up?”

“I see,” Josiah held a finger up to his chin as he thought about what he was told. Shrugging, he gave her a puzzled look. “Perhaps I am wrong, but that would mean Elizabeth either lied to her parents, myself, or she was lied to by Jacob about owning the food wagon. Doesn’t make a lot of sense if you ask me, seems something is off. Doesn’t matter to me now, all I care about is finding my daughter. My wife knew something was off here in Valdez, all the missing people as of late, we just never expected that Elizabeth would end up being one of the missing.”

This was a revelation to Blaire, and she was increasingly baffled by this entire interaction.

“The missing? Like that one girl, Alicia?” Blaire briefly mentioned something about a woman named Alicia Portman having gone missing a few months ago at this point. Was it actually related? Was this an actual ordeal that Valdez was faced with?

“Ah yes, we knew Alicia’s parents back in high school,” Josiah revealed. “Since her vanishing, they’ve resorted to drinking and locking themselves inside their home. Nobody has seen them leave that house in almost a month now. She was the last to go missing before our beloved Elizabeth…”

Josiah had to pause, leaning against the pole as tears began to stream down his cheeks. Blaire began to feel horrible, realizing that she allowed her bafflement to cause a line of questioning that Josiah was probably disinterested in participating. Yet she had to know more, especially regarding the missing context of who precisely owned the food wagon, which Blaire had been led to believe was not in fact, Jacob.

“I’m so terribly sorry for your loss Mr. Sanchez…” Blaire apologized. “I am deeply disturbed, it wasn’t long ago that someone had come to this town and begun to harass me myself. Please, I must know… How many people exactly have gone missing in this town?”

Wiping his tears, Josiah regained his composure. “I’m sorry to hear that, honestly I no longer feel safe on behalf of anyone in this city. You see, it’s not only young women who have gone missing without a trace, there have been a few men as well. As for my own daughter, she is the seventeenth person to be added to the list of those who are missing. Despite the sheriff’s office doing their best, the little resources they have and lack of aid from the Alaska officials has left the entire town to be mystified at the disappearances. Many people have already started moving elsewhere, fearing they may be next.”

“That’s terrible… Seventeen people, just gone…?” Blaire felt her heart racing, the familiar terror of the unknown filling her up from the inside all over again. It had not been long ago that she was faced with that private investigator, the possibility of being forced to go home back to her oppressive family had all but terrified her greatly.

Now it was worse, her own home, Valdez, was no longer safe? Seventeen people had gone missing, and nobody could offer a single inkling of what fate they may have beheld? How could this be possible, how could state officials not get more involved? Would Blaire be next, just vanish one day without a trace? Was this a serial kidnapper, an alien abduction, or some sort of monster that fed on the townsfolk? Each and every idea crippled her with anxiety, and her morning jog had no longer felt very comforting as thoughts of the nightmare began to plague her mind all over again.

Noticing the distress that he had caused Blaire by telling her the details of what had really been happening in Valdez, Josiah knew it could lead to nothing meaningful. Placing a hand on her shoulder to soothe her, he finally smiled again despite the agony showing in his eyes.

“I see I’ve troubled you, please don’t be afraid,” Josiah pleaded. “Everyone who has gone missing, is usually a month or so apart from the next. If I were you, I’d flee this town while you still can. You are a beautiful woman, don’t end up like my daughter. Please, leave this place. Give Jacob my regards, I may be upset with him, but I’ll always appreciate the kindness he showed my daughter. I should get going, have a better morning, miss…”

Smiling reluctantly, Josiah took his hand away and began to walk back towards the church. Blaire was stricken with fear, this was a lot of information to absorb all at once. The first thing she wanted was clarification. If Jacob was indeed the actual owner of that food wagon, that meant he not only deceived Blaire, but practically lied straight to her face. Who was that woman then? If not his boss, then who was she to Jacob? A lover? An Affair? No, none of that made any sense. Jacob spent all of his free time with Blaire, and she knew this.

Turning around and heading back from the direction she came, Blaire began to think about Alicia and Elizabeth. Seventeen people were all missing, and yet nobody had a single idea as to what happened to them. How could that be possible? There were no witnesses? No persons of interest that tied the victims all together? No remains had ever been found, no items, nothing at all? That was impossible, and Blaire knew it. Even the most renown and crafty serial killers had always left some sort of trail in their wake, even if that trail led to nothing notable.

Pulling out her phone, Blaire considered calling Jacob right then. As she hovered her thumb over his contact, she hesitated. Now faced with the possibility that Jacob had deceived her, suddenly her trust with him was compromised. Putting her phone away, Blaire decided instead that she needed to learn more about the missing seventeen. Despite the fact that the sheriff’s office had uncovered nothing, there had to be some kind of similarity between the victims. Deciding to address Jacob and the food wagon later, Blaire began jogging again but this time heading towards the local library.

There were computers with archives that detailed previous cases and articles, and Blaire figured it would be the perfect way to start investigating further back and see what exactly was going on in her home of Valdez, Alaska.

‘I can’t leave Valdez, not when everything I’ve done to come here has left me with nowhere else to go.’ Blaire thought to herself. ‘But perhaps if I find out why the missing were targeted, I can better protect myself. I’ll tell Jacob about all of this later, I’m sure he has to know about these people… I just wonder why he never said anything, especially considering Liz is now part of the missing total count… None of this is adding up, I hope Jacob can shed some light on this later…’

Feeling disturbed and hurt by the idea that Jacob had been keeping things from her, Blaire jogged towards the library.

One way or another, she was determined to learn more.