Prologue
It was the year 1890 in the dark foggy streets of downtown Charlottesville. A woman cloaked in black screams for help while running through the streets as if someone or something was chasing her. Lighting strikes, revealing a shadow on the side of the buildings of the man chasing her. The man chasing her appeared to be cloaked in blood red hooded robes and silver eyes. He had cornered the woman. There was nowhere she could go.
“What do you want with me?” she asked, but the hooded man said nothing. He just stared at her with those silver eyes. His eyes also appeared to be blood shot. He drew closer and closer to her. A figure stepped out of the shadows behind the hooded man. Before anything else happened, I woke up gasping for air. I woke up in the bar where I work.
My name is Jake Peterson. I work at a bar on the downtown mall in Charlottesville. The year is 1996. I was a waiter. It wasn’t that busy in here. Not too many customers. One of the waitresses approached me. She was a red headed beauty with brown eyes and a gorgeous smile on her face. And might I say a nice set of.....hands. Ashley was her name.
“Are you okay?” she asked. I replied.
“I guess, not really. I barely got any rest these past few nights ever since I started having these dreams.” She stood there pondering while she poured me a drink.
“Here.”
“Thanks.” She handed me a full cup of water to help me wake up.
“My shift is almost over. I’ll see you tomorrow. And try to get some rest.” She said only that to me and grabbed her coat and left. I of course had to stay. At least until the evening. As I was cleaning out the glasses with the wash cloth, the boss approached me and handed me the keys to the bar. He was a rounded man who had a black, scruffy beard and glasses.
“I’m going home. I trust you to close up shop when your done right?”
“You can count on me sir.” He grabbed his coat and left, leaving me to clean up. As I was back to cleaning the glasses, a man came into the bar. The man looked to be in his forties. Dark blue eyes, long hair and a scruffy beard wearing a rather long raincoat and a hat.
“I’m sorry sir, bar’s about to be closed.”
“No its okay, I’ll just be a few seconds.” he said as he seated himself. I stopped what I was doing and faced him.
“Okay. What can I get you?”
“A bottle of scotch.” he ordered. I pulled a bottle out from the self behind me and poured him a glass. I handed it to him.
“Leave the bottle.” he told me. I did as he requested. He started making conversation with me.
“Its chilly out there, isn’t it?”
“Yes it is sir. Like in the forties or something. Tomorrow’s supposed to be a little warmer.” I noticed something flashy inside his coat.
“So where you from?” I asked trying to keep the conversation going. The man put his glass down on the desk and pulled out his badge.
“I’m a detective from the FBI, on a missing persons case.” He put the badge back in his coat and pulled out a paper.
“Have you seen this man?” He handed me the flyer.
“He’s been missing for two months now.”
“No sir, but I will sure keep my eye out. If I do see him I’ll let you know.”
“See to it that you do. Thanks for the drink.” He paid me and than got up and left. I looked again at the flyer that he given me. I studied the face carefully. I rushed outside to see if I could catch the detective.
“Wait!” I shouted. “You never told me your name sir.” He turned to face me.
“My name is Walter Carter.” He said as he pulled his collar up and walked into fog. It had began to rain. It was time for me to go home. But before I left, I went back to close up shop. I locked the door to the bar. My apartment was on the downtown mall so I did not have to walk far at all. Just across from the bar. As I walked, I noticed that there were not many people walking on the mall today. It started to rain harder now and I didn’t even bring my umbrella. I had entered the apartment building. My room number was 304 on the third floor. As I walked up the stairs, I ran into my neighbor Athena Rhodes.
“Oh, Jake. Its only you. I thought it was the postman again.”
“No, only me. I’m sorry but I need rest, my head has been killing me lately.” I walked passed her, but she stopped me.
“Oh, your radio was left on.” I looked up the stairs then back at her.
“That’s weird, I don’t remember turning my radio on this morning. I guess I hit my head pretty hard too.”
“Well, I won’t keep you, get some rest. I’ll see you later.” As she left I waved good-bye and headed to my room. I had grabbed my room key from my pocket and walked in. All of the rooms in the building were studios, one room rooms. Athena was right, my radio was turned on. It was tuned into a song called ‘Last Dance with Mary Jane’. Every time I hear this song I feel sad for some reason. I turned the radio off. I took some Advil for my head from the cabinet. I took one and drank some water to wash it down. I laid down on my bed and shut my eyes.
As soon as I shut my eyes I started to dream. My dream was the same dream I keep having. I’ve had that same dream back than, and back at the bar and now I was having the same dream again here in my bed. A woman cloaked in black running through the foggy streets of downtown Charlottesville. The man cloaked in blood red hooded robes chasing her. The woman was cornered, nowhere to go or hide from the man. The man saying nothing but just stared at her with those silver eyes. The woman was frightened and screamed as the man drew closer and that was the end of the dream. I awoke astonished. When I awoke, the TV was mysteriously on. I had not remembered even turning it on. It was on channel four which was the news.
“This just in.” spoke the Anchor. “The raincoat killer has struck again. Still at large with a number of fifty-two kills, all of them brutally killed with the same weapon. Police are working hard to catch this maniac. How many more lives will he claim before the police catch him? Hopefully soon, the raincoat killer case will be closed.” I got up and turned the TV off.
“Hey, I was watching that!” A mysterious voice said from behind me. I did not recognize the voice.
“Who said that?”
“Turn it back on!” I was looking, but did not see anybody. The person suddenly appeared right in front of me and scared the living piss out of me.
“HOLY FUCKTARDS!” I shouted as I fell on my ass. “W-who are you?” The person in front of me was a woman cloaked in black, like the one from my dreams.
“Oh I’m sorry. Where are my manners? I’m....” she paused. “I don’t know who I am.”
“Are you high?” I had to ask. What she said after that cracked me up.
“I don’t know. I might be.”
“What are you doing here?” She looked around, than back at me.
“I live here.”
“No you don’t.”
“Yes I do.”
“I have a lease.” I pulled out a piece of paper from my desk drawer and showed it to her, saying “there’s one owner of this apartment and that’s me.”
“Oh. Well I guess you do live here.”
“So what are you doing here? Wait, are you a ghost?”
“Ghost, where!?” she freaked and looked around. Than she looked at herself and than back at me again. “Oh, me. I guess I am a ghost. Wait, how am I a ghost? Am I dead?” She was freaking out. She sounded like she was all confused about who or what she was.
“Okay just calm down....”
“I can’t calm down! If I am a ghost, how did I die? Last thing I remember.... Oh god I can’t remember anything! I don’t remember my name or where I lived! I don’t remember where I come from, what age I died in! Nothing, I can’t remember anything at all! Who I am or where I died is a mystery to me! None of this! I can not remember! Oh god, oh my god!” She was freaking out.
“Whoa, just calm down, I’m gonna help you get your memory back!” I told her as I reached for her and grabbed her shoulder. She looked at my hand on her shoulder. I was confused myself.
“Am I touching you?” I asked as I pulled my hand away. “But, I thought ghosts were untouchable?” She smiled at me.
“Touch me again please. It calms me.” I did as she requested and put me hand on her shoulder.
“Oh, that feels so warm. Its been so long since a man has touched me. The last time I was with a man was....” she paused and her eyes grew big. “Oh god, I can’t remember even that!” She was back in her freak out stage. “I can’t remember! I can’t remember ANYTHING!” I pulled her closer as I hugged her as if she needed one. Hugging a ghost. I bet no ones ever heard of such a thing.
“Hey, no more freak outs please. Its okay, everything’s going to be alright. We’ll get your memory back.” She was sobbing over my shoulder and hugging me back. Poor girl. I felt so bad for her. She’s dead and she can not remember anything at all.
