From the Smoke Club to the Ridge, the Smoke Screen Unveils (Part 2) | 23 July, 2024 @mariannewest's Freewrite Wrting Prompt Day 2417 | Prompt: meeting the devil (with 4 other prompts)

Part 1

The dog days of summer caught everyone in the city off guard, including me.

To alleviate the heat, one Friday afternoon I retreated to my lake cabin on the outskirts of town behind a small, dense section of the forest near the ridge. Citing a working weekend, I declined my fiance's invitation to join me.

That decision turned out to be the biggest mistake of my life.

After studying case notes on young women who'd disappeared over the past few years, a prickly sensation crawled up my spine as I read about the ax left next to the crime scenes.

Deciding to relax, I prepared for a painting session. No sooner than I reached the peak of the cliff, a menacing face from my dreams stood looking directly at me, then advanced toward me holding an ax.

But this wasn't a dream. He was here in the flesh. I reached down and grabbed my backpack, hurled it at the man, and with one giant leap, jumped from the cliff to the ground, landing hard on my ankle.

Through the pain, I managed to lift myself up and run as fast as I could through the sparse trees until I reached the clearing where I'd parked my vehicle.

Now Part 2

A slow week followed after returning home from the lake cabin.

As an investigative reporter, insisting "that man at the Smoke Club is trying to kill me!" without any proof or evidence didn't mesh with my skills or personality in helping to being resolution to unsolved murder cases.

Besides, no one else saw this man except me.

Refusing police protection, I instead requested a leave of absence. It was granted, so I moved into Jordan's apartment and planned to stay until at least that month's end.

The nagging question remained. How did that man learn of my whereabouts that weekend?

Other unanswered questions followed. That's probably what prompted the nightmares to continue.

Progressing further each time, the man from the Smoke Club became my dream nemesis. And the sequence began with me running through the woods.

At the time of the incident, I didn't know and didn't care what prompted Jordan to come to the cabin that weekend. All I knew was that instantly I ceased fumbling with the keys and ran toward him, falling into his arms the moment I saw from the corner of my eye the man emerge from the brush still holding the ax in his hand.

But Jordan claimed not to have seen anyone.

After jumping into Jordan's car and speeding away, my mind was too absorbed with remembering the details of the incident to think beyond the scene. I had an excellent memory and an eye for detail.

This sudden attack rattled me.

"How do you know that he's connected to the disappearances near the caves?" was the question both Jordan and the police hammered me on. I couldn't explain why I felt this. Instinct. Gut feeling.

I shut down mentally. No sleep; No appetite. No clarity. Thought gremlins scurried through my mind plucking bits and pieces of information and rearranging them out of order as all I could see was the man enjoying his pipe, blowing out smoke while his menacing eyes stalked and devoured me.

I'd wake in panic just as I reached the clearing where I'd left my vehicle, heart pounding hard. I would turned around and glanced upward as the ax hovered above my head. Frozen, all I could do was scream for Jordan.

Is this what the innocent victims saw and felt moments before their lives ended?

Only one victim was alive to recount the ordeal. But the hooded figure could never be identified. Her brush with death secured her silence for the time being.

I could understand her reason.

A distaste for the lakeview landscape set in, unnerving me to the point I never wanted to return.

Jordan arranged for a local real estate agent to view the property for a possible sale. That picture perfect scene where the small mountainous area captured the spectacular formations. However, I couldn't bring myself to visit the lake cabin again. Nonsense, I told myself, because I'd left my car in the parking area near the walking trail. Inside were my purse and phone.

Jordan accompanied me to retrieve my car.

Though you couldn't see it clearly at that distance, I didn't want to feel the enticement of the caverns beckoning one to come. A popular exploration spot for vacations and local folks alike, the landscape was marred in folklore. Tourists unaware or unfamiliar with the lore flocked to the mysterious caves.

The east side of the ridge could be seen in the distance. Breathtakingly beautiful, it still held wonder and surprise for anyone willing to explore. But the beauty was now gone from my spirit.

Before we left, Jordan approached me.

"Tracie, it would benefit you to visit the site of the incident. You have to remove this fear from your mind, Tracie," he implored. "This is unlike you to be scared of anything."

I retreated, shocked he would suggest such an insensitive move. The moment the statement rang in my ear, I starred mindlessly at him, paralyzed by his words as though I didn't know who he was or what he meant to me. Before I could think, the words burst from my lips.

"Are you crazy?! How could you suggest such a thing knowing the ordeal I suffered." I hissed in an uncharacteristic tone.

It was the shuffling of feet and that voice I'd heard whispering in my dreams long before I met that man at the Smoke Club. The pungent odor of the cigar from Jordan's shirt waffled toward me. I frowned, sickened at the smell.

Something wasn't right. And I would soon come face to face with my dream.

"You disappoint me," Tracie," Jordan quipped.

As before, the air above turned dark. My mouth flew open, then closed immediately as those words I thought I heard filtered through my senses. I realized the faceless man of my dreams was standing before me.

I was alone with Jordan, approximately the same height as the man who'd committed the ax murders in the nearby caves.

This can't be. How could I have lived with this man for over two years and not have realized? I quickly reasoned. But he introduced me to the other gentleman. Afterward, I thought I was meeting the devil. I hadn't just met the devil. I already knew him.

A difficult position I found myself entangled with. Confusion set in.

I frowned at the knowing smell from the Smoke Club, and slowly backed away from the man I thought I knew. Take a sniff he'd once dared me once he realized my distaste for the odor of cigars and pipes.

Frantically, I searched for a way to escape from Jordan, but couldn't see no way forward or around him.

The man I'd planned to marry one day.

[to be continued]

For my theme, I was inspired by and utilized the @daily.prompt's publishing of four prompts:

31 July 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2450: difficult position

29 July 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2448: slow week

28 July 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2447: no way forward

24 July 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2443: meeting the devil

13 July 2024, @mariannewest's Freewrite Writing Prompt Day 2432: take a sniff