Three days after press conference

  Morgana Village Subdivision

  Carmen Asbury exits the idling Uber which delivered her home. Leaning into the vehicle, she yanks her humongous luggage bag from the adjacent seat and offers the driver a kind smile.

  "Thanks for the ride!" Carmen chirps in a polite voice.

  "Yeah, yeah," the unhappy driver says.

  The Uber driver activates the button which commands the side door of the van to shut and drives off. Carmen shrugs and grips the pull handle of her bag. She breathes in deeply and turns to go up the steps of her parents' duplex. They will be gone for a total of thirteen days. Some conference in Brazil. A mini-vacation. Sort of. Thank god for Work from Home. Time for a little unfettered freedom. It's a bit difficult to have alone time when you have three roommates, two of them male, without things getting a little weird. The only thing missing is her twin soul, Titus.

  A corgi-chow mix, Titus has been with Carmen since he was ten-weeks old. One of many dogs rescued from a depraved puppy mill. The tiny terror is almost never away from Carmen's side. However, since going off to college, Carmen finds herself leaving Titus behind more and more often. A plane ride is more stress than an animal deserves. Poor Titus has been through enough in his short eventful life.

  Flouncing into the parlor, Carmen closes the front door and does a childish whirl in the middle of the floor. She crosses to the nearest window and pulls back the curtains. The street outside is pitch black--except for a lamppost nearly a block away. The streetlight in between the far lamppost and the Asbury residence flickers sporadically, staying off for long periods at a time.

  Shrugging a second time, Carmen lets down her mane of tightly coiled frizzy hair. Maybe she'll give herself a glow up while she's here. Make Max go really crazy when she CC's him on Skype. He's always going on and on about her mixed heritage--claiming they'd be a perfect match. Maybe she can slip him a little surprise. No one would believe it was anything but an accident. Not from little mousey Carmen.

  With a high-pitched giggle, Carmen unbuttons her blouse and heads for the kitchen. After a two-hour flight crushed between "Amos and Andy go to Newark," and a forty minute ride from the airport; Carmen's lack of hunger on the plane is catching up to her.

  Once in the kitchen, Carmen makes herself a turkey and cheese sandwich. She grabs a can of lime soda from the fridge door and sits down at the table to eat. She shows very little concern for the fact that the window behind her is only partially obscured by curtains. There are only woods behind the duplex, and the nearest neighbors are five-hundred or more feet away.

  Tossing her long hair over one shoulder, Carmen shrugs out of her blouse. She prepares for a night of binging her favorite content creators. Soft laughter escapes Carmen's lips as she leans over the table, staring fixedly down at her phone screen. She is oblivious to the tiniest click which issues from the back door as a metal tool is slid between the locking mechanism and the wooden doorframe.

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  Carmen finishes up her light meal and stands from the kitchen table. She unbuckles the belt holding up her pleated skirt and crosses to the adjoining hallway which leads to the master bathroom. She is completely unclothed by the time she reaches the bathroom. Sitting on the edge of her parent's enormous tub, she gazes at the body washes and shower gels lining the edge.

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  "Mmmm. Banana, melon, and mango," Carmen mumbles to herself. "Sounds like a tropical drink. Will it make me taste good? Ha ha. I wonder."

  With another childish laugh, Carmen decides to try the banana, melon and mango body wash. She turns the knob for the hot water on full blast, while turning the cold tap a third of the way. As water fills the tub, Carmen wanders in the direction of the medicine cabinet. She gazes at her reflection, turning this way and that, admiring her body and making selfie worthy faces.

  "Mmmm," Carmen moans, closing her eyes while tossing her head back. "This is going to be a heavenly thirteen days."

  The hooded man's large hand grabs Carmen's right arm and spins her around. Carmen's eyes widen as she glimpses the man's face.

  "What?" Carmen stammers, staring up at the scowling man. "What are you doing in here? Who the hell are you? Let me go!"

  Rather than answer her questions, the hooded man yanks Carmen to him. He bends to kiss her, but Carmen shoves her left hand between their faces. The hooded man responds by gripping her arm tighter, and twisting--threatening to snap it.

  Carmen's response is equally violent. She risks removing her left hand long enough to grab her father's rotary shaver from the sink edge. Carmen cries out as she slams the shaver into the side of the hooded man's disfigured face. The blow has very little effect on Carmen's assailant. She issues a surprised yelp as he forcefully kisses her. Altering her plan of attack, Carmen attempts to gouge out the attacker's eye with a painted thumb nail.

  The hooded man grows steadily annoyed and reaches up to restrain Carmen's left arm. She tries to wrestle free but to no avail. She screams around the hooded man's mouth, which is pressed firmly to hers. Pinning Carmen's arms behind her back, the hooded man pulls her tighter against him. The pressure of her firm breasts makes his heart smash in his chest.

  Deep frustration seizes the hooded figure and he releases Carmen. The frightened woman stumbles and her attacker uses a hand to push her forcefully away. Carmen sprawls and lands partially on the edge of the tub. She grips her side and places a hand on the tub's edge. The man stands above her--scowling furiously.

  "Why are you doing this? Carmen questions through her agony, still holding her injured side.

  The hooded man takes a step closer and Carmen trembles, eyeing his balled up fist.

  "Please. At least tell me why you are doing this," Carmen pleads. "I don't even know you."

  The figure reaches down and grips Carmen's right elbow. He yanks Carmen up and glares down into her stricken face. Carmen forces herself to meet his angry gaze.

  "I came here to save you. You're so beautiful. You can never know the pain your beauty will cause you in life. I will take away your pain. You will be like me."

  The strange man gently caresses the right side of Carmen's face. Her eyes widen as he pulls a thin knife from a pocket of his black hooded jacket. Her body trembles uncontrollably and her lips quiver.

  "Please don't kill me. Please," Carmen tries to reason.

  The hooded man considers her words but does not put away his knife. He stares at her with an odd expression. Carmen continues to speak, hoping he will listen.

  "My parents will be home soon," Carmen stalls. "Please don't hurt me. I don't want my parents to find me like that. My mother...She'd never be the same. Please. I'll do whatever you ask. If all you want is to have sex? We can have sex. There's no reason for you to kill me."

  Carmen slides an arm around the black-clad figure's neck, her eyes focused on his unfortunate face. She attempts to draw him downward, parting her lips for what she expects to be another forceful kiss. The man allows her to kiss him, but shows no outward emotion. However, he does put away his thin knife.

  With some relief, Carmen takes the initiative, hoping to distract her attacker long enough to get to the living room--and her phone. Her right hand trails down the front of his dark hooded jacket, stopping to trace his tightened pecs. The hooded man reaches up with his left hand and grabs her wrist. Carmen separates and stares at him, panic taking over her thinking.

  "What I want...I can never have again," the hooded man says in a cryptic tone. "You would try to deceive me? But don't worry. Your parents won't find you. No one will. Unless I wish them to find you."

  Before Carmen can respond, the hooded man releases her arm. He lashes out with his other hand and a stabbing pain shoots through Carmen's left breast. She retreats a step, peering down at her chest. This gives the hooded man time to grip the back of Carmen's neck and depress the plunger on the syringe. Her expression turns blank as the drugs begin taking effect.

  "I won't do it here. Everything must be perfect," the hooded man says.

  He grabs a large towel from the hanging rack and wraps Carmen inside it. Throwing Carmen over his shoulder; the hooded figure carries her up the hallway, through the house, and out the back door. The silent trees, in the surrounding woods, are the only witnesses to his departure.