Horror Fan Fiction ❯ Midnight Boy ❯ Unknown Hands ( Chapter 4 )

10:49 AM. It was a Saturday, thank god. At last, Motoko can have a day where it doesn't involve her getting critically lectured by an old teacher who would have probably hated her all together. AJ asked her out on going into the city; the other guys were going to be there, including Cane. She had her mind on that man for a little while yesterday. He did seem the cheery sweet guy whom any girl would fall for. But just, wasn't enough. She didn't know. She just thought that he wasn't enough for her. Not like the other guy on the second floor, yet he did appear to be the bed-tempered type who you don't want to piss off. However, he was truly a sex appetiser for her dirty needs; a perfect example was inflicted upon herself last night in her bed...but enough about that, Motoko wanted to get a good head start.

She closed the door as she tapped her way down the stairs, wearing black Capri pants and a red t-shirt with a monkey logo on it; she also decided to bring a long strapped bag instead of her rucksack. So, making her way down, she still continued to notice that the second floor remained as normal and eerie. Could this guy be cursed or something? He probably was from being so egotistically rude to her the night, but still, her curiosity continued to rumble inside her head. However, that day wasn't meant to be about him, it's about trying her new life out in the big city.

She finally got down to the last floor, where she met AJ just outside of the block.

“So, are you ready?”

“Yeah, I'm ready.”

“There's probably gonna be another girl joining us later...you don't mind that, do you?”

“Oh, no, no, it's okay; the more friends the better.” Motoko nervously chuckled, whilst trying to stop herself from blushing. AJ twitched slightly as she noticed her change of appearance.

“Are you blushing? Are you sure you're not a dyke?” Motoko slapped the Goth's arm as a sign of irritancy.

“No! I am not a dyke...I'm just...”

“New here? Yeah; it won't last forever.”

“Let's pray to God that it won't then.”

“Oh yeah; I'm an atheist.”

“It was just a figure of speech.”

“Well it sucked ass.” Their continuation of giggling and gossiping resumed on their way down. When they reached the last floor, Cane was spotted walking out from his apartment locking his front door; he still remained a pretty boy towards the redhead.

“Cane's gay.” AJ insulted him in a mischievous tone.

“AJ stinks.” Cane backfired. But then he stared straight at Motoko. She tried not to blush but only half succeeded. The young blond only smiled at her as a friendly gesture of saying “Its ok.” Yet the girl then noticed something, that had changed in his appearance; his eyes.

“You're eye's are almost green like mine...last time I saw them, they were blue.”

“Oh,” He looked down with a silent chuckle as he then looked back up at Motoko. “There were only contact lenses; I only just try them out for the day but they weren't very comfortable on me.”

“Are you short sighted?”

“Only in a minor account, but don't worry, I can still see your pretty face.” That was what set Motoko off; the rosy cheeks, the flushed up temperature, the quickening of the heartbeat; the typical symptoms of a romantic. AJ looked like she was trying to hide the compliment that was besotted upon the young redhead instead of herself; so she stuck her nose in the air and pouted with a saccharine taste upon her lips as well as huffing out air.

“Well I believe that we're going to be late for our own shopping spree. So if you guys want to stay here and giggle at all the pitiful flattery you make with each other, that's fine by me; I can go to the city on my own if I want to.” But then Cane's attention had turned onto the young, slightly resentful face of AJ.

“AJ, c'mon; don't be like that. You know that I think you're still the feisty gorgeous girl you are.” He spoke whilst he brought AJ to a pause by touching her left shoulder and nuzzling his nose into her feather punk hair. He must have been a player. None of Motoko's boy-friends ever did that to her back in New York out of comfort, maybe Cane was just the consoling kind of man who would make anyone happy. He's must have been the guy whom everyone wanted to be close friends with.

A few seconds later, AJ already cheered up from her quick melodramatic shower and brought back her cheekily sinful smile as the three of them waited for their taxi to take them to the city of surrealism. They all met up in the centre of town with Marissa and Saeki. Just walking around fashion shops and stopping by fountains like any typical day out with friends. Only for Motoko, it seemed like this was all adapting fast for her. She already had two men on her mind. First there was Cane; the archetypal breed of men who had attractive charisma and can perform any kind of miracle reassurance to make any girl feel beautiful. Motoko never really thought to herself as beautiful. Being brought up in New York, she actually never thought about her love life, not to mention her sex life either. But then, on the darker hand, there was the enigma on the second floor. Oh, how mysterious she thought that man was. That dark cerulean sleek hair, his amazingly slender tone, his pale eyes; the fright of them gave her thrills in her lungs. But there was something about him that gave her the impression that he was callous inside; so cold and filled with a silent but deadly malice. But it excited her. She didn't want to admit it, but it excited her. Damn, he was hot.

Hours later, the whole group went to a small cafe with soda pop and carrot cake...carrot cake? Anyway, AJ decided to leave the two young university students alone as she and the other two girls gossiped away to a photo booth to take obscene pictures of their breasts and faces. Motoko wasn't always the active kind, most of the time; all she ever did was sitting in cafes drinking hot chocolate and oatmeal biscuits in the Big Apple. But young blond Cane didn't seem to like the silence.

“Still trying to get use with Tokyo?” He shifted his seat closer to Motoko's as they half-stared at the front window that reflected the outside town. The redhead sipped timidly on her soda and located her vision on him.

“Yeah, things look a little blunt for me at the moment.”

“It's natural to feel that way; I had a similar feeling when I first came here.”

“But I bet it didn't last long.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well...seeing you with the others, you get on really well with them, ESPECIALLY AJ. I mean, I saw you this morning, getting up close with her face. A bit too intimate don't you think?” Crap. Motoko shouldn't have said that.

“Ah, well...me and AJ use to be lovers. But I decided to end it.”
“Why?”

“I didn't felt the same way for her anymore. She got really pissed off with me, but after a while, it didn't become much of a deal in the end, and we start hanging out again.”

“Hanging out...like friends?”

“Yeah, of course...but we do have times where we get so drunk we end up fucking each other from time to time.”

“Doesn't that affect your relationship with her?”

“She wouldn't talk about it the next day; she just shuts up like nothing happened.”

“That's....repressed.”

“True, but I always tell her that I would be there to help her with anything she wants. If she wants me to help her get over depression, I would be there. If she wants me to lick her pussy, I would be there. Or if she wants me to protect her 24/7, I would be there.”

“That's sweet...in a bizarre way.”

“Hmmm, yeah. But I would be there just to make her happy.”

“Again....crazy....and perturbed....but sweet.”

“It's not about getting some when hard, it's just...in a way, trying to encourage her to carry on with life.”

“She really was depressed?”

“Yeah, one time, I walked into her apartment, and she was getting ready to hang herself from her bathroom.”

“Oh my God...”

“Yes.” He sighed deeply “I saw her about to kill herself one morning with her wrists bleeding. It was horrible; the thought of seeing a best friend about to take her own life because of something pathetic.”

“As pathetic as it may seem; everyone is different Cane. These kinds of issues can be taken blatantly, or very sensitively.”

“True...but AJ is a strong willed girl, I thought she isn't the type of girl who wouldn't let these things ruin her life.”

“I wouldn't mind if a boy dumps me; I'm use to being rejected.”

“What do you mean?” Motoko's lips pursed for a short moment; sucking in a quick breath and breathing out again.

“I don't know...not a lot of guys like me...well...I did have a few friends who were male, but they never saw me as...the girlfriend kind.”

“I believe any kind of girl is the girlfriend kind...even a pretty one like you.” Motoko hushed out a silent chuckle and smiled intently.

“I'm not pretty.”

“You don't tend to look at yourself in the mirror much then.” The young girl then bit her bottom lip, hoping that what Cane was saying wasn't true, and that he was just joking around.

“It's just...” She turned her face away from Cane and tried to hide her face with her autumn hair. It smelt like coconuts from her shampoo that day. Cane then turned his face a little staid as he grew curiosity out of her.

“It's just what?” His semi-stern tone made Motoko turn back to him, as then they met their identical eyes together. Colour wise that was. It was that moment when Cane realised, that he could see something in Motoko that remained placid yet sinister; a malicious memory she must have encountered when she was younger. And like most secrets, they all get found out in the end.

“Ah, you two are getting along then?” AJ interrupted the brief yet eerie moment between the pair, as she then bombarded them with pictures of her cleavage and ridiculous face expressions that made Motoko cringe slightly.

“Very....nice AJ.” The redhead quivered slightly.

“I know; I'm a 34D cup.”

“Do I REALLY need to know that?”

“In my case; yes.” The punk Goth then drew a recoiling smile and then skidded off to fetch the other 2 girls messing around in the booth; getting themselves into enough trouble that they could have got thrown out at any moment.

“Well,” The handsome blond wiped his mouth with a white tissue and placed his cup to one side of the table, to then let his hands and fingers entwine into one fist and placing them firmly on the table. “Everyone is finishing their fun here; want to have a walk around the city?”

“Uh...sure.” Cane then lifted himself from his chair and called AJ over.

“I'm going to have a small walk around with Motoko. Do you mind at all?” AJ grew a little quiet for a moment, but then looking over at Motoko quite piercingly; she then pulled out a small saccharine small and breathed out a sigh of release.

“Go ahead, I'll just shop around with the others, do you want to meet back up over here in an hour or so?”
“No, an hour is good. Have a good time.” Cane then leaned in closer into AJ's space, as then Motoko noticed; the way he slithered his hand around her waist, pressing his chest into her breasts, and biting down gently on her ear lobe; making the girl suck in a quick sharp breath and close her eyes solemnly. Motoko still didn't know why he acted this way around her. But then she spotted him whisper something in her ear, somewhere along the lines of `...mine...'and'...apartment...' Then AJ jiggled off again, leaving the pair alone to walk around the city.

“So...” He then rotated back at Motoko, and gave out an open hand at her. “What do you say?” Motoko remained stuttered at first, but then she gradually clutched his hands as she brought her bag up with her and was lead outside the door, when Cane let down the bill and tip near the empty cups.

 

4:37 PM. The two of them were lightly walking on the path with divided the two sides; one with the lively market with candy and teddy bears up for grabs, the other with the jostling cars sprinting down the running track of tarmac. Can remained close to Motoko during their walk, as she tried to maintain her cool and kept her flower blushing to a minimum, until the blond began to speak his silky lined voice.

“If you don't mind me saying this, but, a girl like wouldn't stay single, judging on your pretty looks.”

“Look, are you this cheeky; you tend to make me blush naturally?”
“Hmm, you don't really see yourself as beautiful, don't you?”

“It's not that....I don't really think of myself much.”
“What do you think about then?”

“Well...I like to think about...image.”

“Image?”

“Yeah, like...in art; how you picture an image in your head, and, how to lie it out on a sheet of white paper, or collect a snap of it in a camera.”
“One of the reasons why you took up photography?”

“Well, yeah...I liked photography since I was 11.”

“I began to like filming media when I was 14. How do you picture yourself with `image' in your head?”

“I see it as a glimpse of reality; a still life portrait of what happens and what gets expressed in real life...like emotions...such as love, hate, disbelief...and perhaps curiosity.”

“What are you curious about...since moving here?”

“Well...”

“You like saying `well' a lot, don't you?”Another chuckle breathed out from the redhead's lips.

“Ok then, straight to the point...what I find curious since moving here...is the city life, the University, AJ, you, quite surprising, but I think, most of all...the man who lives on the second floor.” His legs suddenly halted, his hair veiled his eyes for a brief moment, and his cheerful colour abruptly into a dark duotone.

“What's wrong?” Motoko tilted her head slightly.

“Why do you find that guy so interesting?”

“I met him last night...he was strange, but he is quite rude.” Cane scoffed briskly.

“I'm not surprised.” Still remaining quiet.

“You don't like him.”

“No. I don't. And I definitely don't trust him. Not with me, not with AJ, not with anyone, even you.” He then turned his green eyes at her.

“Why don't you like him?” Even though the air was consumed with the heavy crowd of chatter, the atmosphere between the two of them was still as silence.

“I sometimes worry that he is a very bad person.”
“How bad? I mean, he can't be that bad.”

“He is bad Motoko. You won't believe the things he's done...” While Cane continues with his statement, Motoko slowly turned to the corner of her eye; where she could see the hustling of the humane swarm, the up-fleeing marker, pass the yellow cabs, stood the forbidden subject.

He stood amongst the crowd; separate from their pink faces, their benevolent eyes and their blank souls. Out of the few thousand people in one area of the city, Motoko was the only one who had spotted the odd one out. She still remembered those thick flowing locks of blue, and the unique slender tone that he must have built. But out of all of those skin deep features; his eyes were what intimidated...and yet infiltrated by his dark aura at the same time. But when he then locked his target upon her...she became trapped. Caged into an erotic prison for only him to confide in you; a moment of that picture would have wanted her to embrace and engage her primitive ego. She continued to look. He continued to stare. She could already hear her heartbeat speed up.

 

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

 

“Motoko...” Her sight became distracted by the prep voice of Cane, looking firmly into his similar green eyes to avoid contact from the seemingly inhumane man.

“Hmm?”

“Is something wrong?”

“...No...I'm ok.”

“Ah, good, well cross the road then; we'll be meeting the others in a minute.” His moderate pace nearly seemed to difficult to catch up, as he quite rapidly walked away from the crowd and across the wide street. Motoko made her motions feel like they were going at a slow pace whilst resuming her eye contact with her stranger; he didn't break off his contact either, like a movie scene when two people somehow created a connection, or binding a link, knowing that there will be something that will occur in both of their lives.

Continuing with their movie moment, Motoko forget to pay attention to the road.

A yellow taxi was about to pass through, but the auburn's attention refused to leave the man behind. No matter how many steps she gradually took, it didn't stop the car from going to run her over. Cane reached over to the other side, and then looked behind to check for his new friend. His facial expression immediately changed when the car was about to collide with her fragile body.

“Motoko!” The voice distracted her again, as she sharply looked ahead. The screeching of the car hollered from the engine to make her look. Her eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Her stance became frozen. It was going to hit.

Abruptly, she was then ruthlessly thrashed to the other side of the road. Her head hit against the curb heavily. Her eyes winced in a blurry pain and her limbs hovered momentously. Her vision became hazy and dim, but a black figure towered amongst her. It was a bizarre moment, but in the blink of an eye; it was already gone. The crowd returned to their hustling as if there was no such moment, but Cane refused to stay still.

“Motoko! Motoko, are you alright?!” He cautiously helped her back up by hauling his arms underneath her pits and trying to gently lay her head in the crook of his neck, but Motoko was still stable enough to balance her head properly, as she harmlessly pushed her right arm away from his chest. She then hurriedly shook her head from side to side, her eyes turned vivid and hyper for attention, and her heartbeat defied decreasing.

 

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

Ba-Dump!

 

“Motoko...what's wrong?” His other arm was still wrapped around the redhead's shoulders, as her sight pinpointed into the crowd to spy her foreigner. But he wasn't there.

“...Nothing....” She then moaned from an ache pounding within the back of her head, as she rubbed it with one hand gently.

“Your head must have hit the side curb; you need to go to the hospital.”

“No! No need...It's just my head; I haven't hit it too hard.”

“That doesn't matter, you still need to go.”

“Cane, it's ok! I'm not in any critical danger.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Are you definitely sure?”

“Yes!” She tried to get up in a rush, but then her legs shivered and trembled like jelly, but Cane became her barrier from collapsing to the floor.

“Well, you'll get a heavy migraine the next day; it'll be best to start taking some Paracetamol for the next 5 days.”

 

 

9:32 PM. Cane was still supporting Motoko's frail body. He already called AJ about the incident and asked her to postpone going to her flat later on. She was a bit silent for a moment when that was mentioned, but she quite grudgingly agreed and hung up the phone slightly quicker than she usually did. Cane didn't take that into any account; for he was too busy focusing on the young auburn. Slowly but steadily they both managed to get onto the second floor and walking down to Motoko's door.

“I must say; not a good start to live here.”

“Hm, you could say I'm still a tourist around these areas.”

“Foreigner, for me, seems to be the proper term.”

“I don't think using proper English terminology will help my migraine get any better.”

“Oh right then, shall I just shut up then?”

“That would help.”

“Very funny.” The two of them chuckled light-heartedly as they both reached towards the end of the door.

“Well, this is where I head off to bed.”

“I bet it is.” But then Cane carefully pressed one of his hands upon Motoko's forehead, but then gently pushed away.

“Cane, I'm ok!”

“Just checking, are you sure you don't need to go to the hospital?”

“I am positively sure.”

“Ok then.” He suddenly yet leisurely pursed his lips and pushed them against her white forehead, before brushing her fringe away from her glowing face of the moonlight.

“What was that for?”
“To try make you feel better.” This time Motoko didn't blush; she knew that his charisma was his way of getting along with women, so instead she just smiled. “I'll see you tomorrow just to check how you are.”

“Ok then. “ Motoko gradually pushed her key into the hole, twisting the mechanism and opened the creaking door to let herself in, and giving off another smile towards the blond, before closing the door fully shut. She exhaled heavily, whilst she dropped her bags and took off her shoes with her feet. She wasn't even gonna bother about changing clothes; she was just going to slam herself to the bed and dig her head deeper into her pillow.

Silent seconds passed; she was tired, but not drowsing off to sleep...just yet. She lazily rotated her body so that she was staring at the ceiling. A dull white feature with her arms and legs half spread on her bed. She began to think. Who was that figure who...must have saved her?