Dark Dancer

Dark Dancer
By
Raman Jalota

It dances in the Dark
As it Flashes
It Slashes
And it disappears like lightning
Leaving just a frightening
Red pool by the dead.

    Kathleen heard a whisper and looked to her left. Was there someone or something in the dark shadows of the black walnut trees? Or, am I just imagining things again? I should just run up the rest of the way and get into the safety of my apartment.
    She clutched her bag tightly and hurried down the remainder of the block. There was a welcoming streetlight at the corner. She relaxed for a split second and then turned the corner. She was quickly at her front door with keys ready. She pushed the key into the deadbolt and unlocked it. She quickly put it in the regular lock, pushed the door open, stepped inside, slammed the door shut and turned the deadbolt shut immediately.
     Someone with a dark sweat suit with the hood drawn walked slowly by her front window, stopped for a few seconds and turned and looked through the window. The figure nodded its head as the lights came on. Before Kathleen could notice the shadow at her window, it was gone.

…..

    It came up slowly as she walked through the park completely oblivious. There was a small cloud of dirt and garbage whirling on the ground and slowly rising, increasing in size and picking up more dirt and dust. Slowly and purposefully a funnel was building from the ground up. It raced haphazardly tracing a rhythmic pattern and then it became live. It headed straight for Kathleen engulfing her in a thick brown blanket of dirt.
    Her eyes tearing, she sneezed and coughed not knowing what was happening. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning and a loud thunder. She stood sobbing, rubbing her eyes afraid of the dark blanket that was surrounding her and pushing her into the center of the darkness that was thickening as it swirled.   There were multiple thunders booming like gunshots and lightning flashes lit up the center of the whirlpool. Her hair stood on end. Her eyes were closed as she was twirled around. Her feet left the ground as the skies opened up and the rain began.
    She awoke drenched completely, lying on the dirty pavement in the park. What happened? Who did this to me?
    She tried to remember. She sat sobbing as the big bad world towered above her and its cruel events engulfed her, reducing her to an insignificant nothing.

…..

    Rachel looked at the pictures again. She was dissatisfied. She wanted the eyes to show the fear. None of the girls seemed to have it. She took the ten folders and dumped all the prints on her table. She then stacked them like oversized playing cards and pushed the pile on her desk, exposing only the face up to the eyes. She pulled five of them out.
    She called her secretary, "Call these five. They have the potential. Set them up with appointments tomorrow morning, fifteen minutes each, starting at 8:30. Make it 9:00, I am not coming in till then."

…..

    Kathleen was floating on a cloud. This is nice after the horrible day I had in the park. Was that real? If I could have this sensation whenever I felt the pressure of the day. I would be the best model in the universe. I could have the nastiest day and still show the sweetest smile to sell that lipstick or cola or car.
    The cloud gently caressed her body as it lifted her higher and higher over a deep blue ocean. She could feel herself approaching the stars. Wow! This is so cool. I can wish it and the cloud will do it.
    She willed it to float left and then right and then straight up and then straight down. She wasn't sure if it was following her thoughts or just going through a random pattern that she was willing to believe as exactly the same as what she had willed it to do. She decided to stick to one direction - up.
    The cloud swayed slightly and settled into a smooth climb. Kathleen closed her eyes and tried to dream of a secluded beach with fine white sand and palm trees swaying in the wind. As she slowly drifted into deep sleep the cloud picked a steep angle and kept taking her higher.
    She awoke cold and short of breath. What the hell? Where am I? All these stars!
    She looked around. She was in the middle of deep space surrounded by stars at her side. She looked down and saw the world shrunken to a large beach ball. An unknown galaxy on the other side of the world reminded her of the white beach she had dreamed of. The air was getting thinner and the rate of climb was getting steeper.
    O.K. I will fix it. Go down! She willed it to go down repeatedly. It refused. It kept on its steady steep climb.
    O. K. Damn it. Stop! It ignored her completely. It didn't go left when she tried or right or anywhere she tried to move it. And the thin atmosphere was making her nauseous. She started gulping in large amounts of air to try and fill her lungs with oxygen.
    The cloud jumped a little and the air became thin as vacuum. She tried hard but couldn't get anything in her lungs. Her chest was collapsing. She tried to scream but couldn't push anything out of her collapsed lungs. The cloud seemed to bounce with added energy as it pushed her even higher out of the atmosphere. She lay on the cloud like a dirty old ragged doll, dead, unwanted and unnoticed.

…..

    The five models shuffled around waiting. Two blondes, two brown haired and Kathleen the only dark haired, blue eyed one among the five. Rachel called them all into her office and motioned them to sit down.
    "We have a very interesting and unique project that we are working on. This is a multimillion-dollar project and whosoever is chosen will be making very good money. You will be assigned to the Fear project for the next three weeks as it goes through its extensive shooting schedule. Any of you not able to work on this project exclusively, let me know now."
    They looked at each other and no one moved.
    "Good. All of you are available. That's good. Now for the details of the Fear project.
    There are three segments that will be filmed probably in the sequence I am describing. Remember this is the Fear project. The one common thread among all the scenes is - Fear. We want to portray fear through a woman's face and eyes. The one most important aspect of the display is how well you can show fear through your eyes.
    The first segment is a woman being chased by a wolf though a forest. The wolf will keep getting closer and closer as you run harder and harder and finally the moment of truth arrives. The wolf has you in his striking range and leaps at you. You hear and feel his breath, his fangs are almost touching you, about to tear off your flesh; in desperation you leap and look back as you leap. Yes! Your worst fears are true and the terror shows in your face. The camera zooms in, focuses on your eyes and the fear should explode out of your eyes on to the screen. O.K? You all understand. Good. Let's do a dry run and then we will do a take or two for each of you."

…..

    Kathleen was running through the forest. Her bare feet though hardened by years of running in the hot sands of the desert had started to hurt. I am carrying too much damn weight! Do I have time to undo my pack and get rid of some of this weight?
    She glanced backward as her feet rhythmically moved her forward, her hands quickening the rhythm every few steps with their movement. God damn it! The wolf is no more than twenty feet away. I have no time now. I must remember the technique. Breathe and inhale the oxygen in, breath and push the carbon dioxide out. In. out.   In …Out …
    The wolf was getting threateningly near. She could hear his heavy breathing and imagine his powerful muscles flexing as he ran inches from her heels. And then he growled as he opened his jaws for the kill.
    She heard him clearly. As she reached forward with her right foot and pushed back her left arm, she instinctively looked back. The wolf jumped at her in the same split second that she looked back.
The image of the wolf froze in her mind. A wide open jaw surrounded by thick dark hair and two blood red eyes slightly set back … that's all she saw. She felt his hot breath on her face as his tongue curved down with the lowering of his jaw ready to clamp down on her face. She screamed and instinctively froze in mid step.
    "Fantastic. Don't move. Stay there. Makeup, quick." Rachel yelled at everyone.
    The camera rolled forward and stopped inches from her face. Someone sprayed water on her face to show the sweat. A tinge of red was applied to the right corner of her right eye, the one next to the camera.
    And then it was over. There was no doubt in anyone's mind. This was a one-take shot. No second, third or umpteenth shots needed for Kathleen.
    As she sipped cold water through a straw and an assistant mopped her face, she smiled. This is I. This is who I am. This is what I do best. At last!

…..

    The limousine dropped her two blocks from her apartment just as she ordered the driver to do. Half drunk on the wine and half drunk on her own success, she slowly walked through the last two blocks savoring her night of triumph all alone at last. A gentle breeze massaged her brow lulling her in to a semi unconscious state of abandonment. The wind played with her hair unfurling the dark hair behind her head, it moved down and fluffed her dress lifting it off her body yet clinging to her body, it then moved on the ground pushing the leaves and grass on the ground.
    She barely distinguished the crunching sound made by a step from the rustling of the leaves by the wind. She was wide-awake now. It was a step I heard. I know it was.
    She walked a little faster, listening for any sound.
    Crunch! There it was again. Someone is following me for some unknown reason. I must turn around suddenly to see who it is.
    She breathed in, stopped and turned. Nothing. She stared through the darkness of the night, lit up here and there by a stray lamppost and an occasional car or truck that went aimlessly up or down the road. She stood and stared. As her eyes got accustomed to the dark, she saw it. There is someone in a white shirt standing next to a building about half a block from me.
    The wind blew and the man's shirt detached from the shadow and swung from a window that was now discernible. Rats! That's someone's curtain. I must be hallucinating.
    And then there was that movement on the ground. And the shadow that moved over there. And the strange noise from just behind her. She turned around hurriedly and started running. There were noises everywhere and movements everywhere she looked. I better get out of here fast. What was it? I have no time now. I must remember the technique. Breathe and inhale the oxygen in, breath and push the carbon dioxide out. In. out.   In …Out …
    The door was in sight. And as she heard someone or something move behind her, she unlocked the door and slammed it shut. She stood shivering in the dark, crying and breathing heavily.
    A dark figure twirled gracefully outside her window. It bent and picked up something from under her window. It crept closer and pressed its face to the window. It brought up a hand holding a rock and smashed it against the window.
     Kathleen heard the crash of the brick and the sound of the broken glass and screamed. She unlocked the door and ran wildly down the street, screaming incoherently.

…..

    The metallic red Lamborgini Countach hugged the winding road. Kathleen's hair was loose and flew around her face, framing it in exotic swirls of black and deep brown shades. The mercury glasses on her eyes reflected the green of the mountain and the blue of the sky as she pushed the car across the crystal clear winding road. At a hundred and eighty miles per hour, a red blur went whipping by. Inside the car, her face reflected the deep joy she felt.
    The joy of flying. The joy of speed. Wow! What a fantastic drive this really is. I could do this forever and ever.
    And then she saw the rockslide. The mountain gave up and tons of rock came hurtling down right in front of her. At her speed, she hit the rock before she realized what was happening, before she could formulate a plan of action, even before she could react instinctively.
    The left front side of the Countach hit the rock, tried to climb over portions of it, the steering already tight at this speed, was too tight for Kathleen's hands. It flew out of her hands as the car took off over the side of the mountain, flying a hundred and fifty feet in the air. She saw nothing but blue sky. The car decided to turn before it hit the side of the mountain. It rolled uncontrollably down, a red blur going through the green trees, slowing as it tumbled down and stopped as it hit a grove of trees about three hundred feet from the top.
    The steering wheel lay across Kathleen's throat as she screamed and gasped for air. The dashboard had pushed her face at an unnatural angle. Her deep blue eyes were wide with fear reflecting the deep blue sky. The red of the bloodlets on her face matched the red of the car.
"Fantastic. Kathleen, freeze. Don't move. Stay there. Makeup, quick." Rachel yelled at everyone.
    The camera rolled forward and stopped inches from her face. Someone sprayed red dye on her face to show the fresh blood. A tinge of red was applied to the right corner of her right eye, the one next to the camera.
    Again a perfect take. I am in my element. This is truly I, in my essence. Kathleen smiled at Rachel, at the crew, at the world and at herself.

…..

    Kathleen awoke to the sound of a piano playing softly. It took her a moment to get accustomed to the dark and the strangeness of the hotel suite she was in. That music must be coming from across the hall.
    She got up from her bed and walked into the lounge. There was a grayish figure moving rhythmically in the center of the room. The dance movements were almost hypnotic and Kathleen stood still, mesmerized staring at the dancing figure. This is fantastic. This is so beautiful!
    The music seemed to radiate from the dancer's movements; it came from the dark dancer. Kathleen stood there watching. The dancer started moving faster and faster as the music picked up the tempo. The dancer swirled, unfurling the black fabric that covered it. Kathleen gasped as something clicked in her mind. This is sinister. I must get out of here.
    Before she could formulate another thought, the dark dancer picked up the rhythm further, circling and moving faster and faster. It raised its right arm and a lighting flash lit up the edge of a steel blade that it held in its hand. The hand moved and a brilliant splash of light followed the movement of the blade as it streaked towards her. Kathleen screamed and fainted.

…..

    Rachel took her chin in her hand and looked at her face intently, "Kathy, Kathy, Kathy, you look terrible! What happened? I thought you would be O.K. now that you are out of the apartment."
    Kathleen spoke in a breaking voice, "I don't know what's happening to me. I saw this dark dancer with a knife in its hands. Coming at me. I don't know if it was a dream or what? I am drenched with terror, I don't know what to do."
    Rachel motioned to the makeup crew, "We will get you fixed up. Good thing it’s the last day of the final shoot. All we need is the final long shot and the last close up. You can then take off for a long, well-earned vacation."
    Kathleen nodded mechanically and let the makeup crew work on her.

…..

    She had walked into a nice and sunny park with the wind gently blowing and the noise of dogs running and children playing. She looked up at the deep blue sky and smiled at the world. She danced a little step to the tune in her head as she approached the pool. Water was splashed all over the side of the pool. She took off her shoes. This feels so good.
    She closed her eyes for a few seconds. When she opened her eyes, the world was turning dark. Out of nowhere dark clouds had descended on the city bringing dust and dirt with them. The wind turned into a biting storm and everything started swirling around her. A dirt cloud formed near Kathleen, approached her and engulfed her.
There was a flash of lightning and a loud thunder. She stood sobbing, rubbing her eyes, afraid of the dark blanket that was surrounding her and pushing her into the center of the darkness that was thickening as it swirled.   There were multiple thunders booming like gunshots and lightning flashes lit up the center of the tornado that now had her in its grasp. Her hair stood on end. Her eyes were closed as she was twirled around. Her feet left the ground as the skies opened up and the rain began.
The tornado lifted her up, twisting her body like a ragged doll. It then threw her up in the air. Kathleen landed with a loud thud by the pool, her left arm inside the pool and the rest of her body lying on the side. Her right eye was wide open and there was a streak of blood on her forehead and by the side of her mouth.
The pool started turning pink as the camera moved in for the close up. Rachel screamed, "Turn the dye off, now!"
Nobody moved. A voice from the back came floating over the silence, "What dye? We never turned the dye on."

THE END                3179 words

Copyright © 2004 Raman Jalota. All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the author.

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