The Lighthouse

Out of habit when I left a building, I closed the door behind me and trudged towards where I suspected the shore, which I wanted to use as guidance, just like I had originally planned.

I found the coast easily enough. Following it would be harder. It was too steep; the whole landscape was too rough. I looked back towards the tower with as little paranoia as I could muster, only to find my fears confirmed. The door was open. I hoped the wind had just blown it open until I saw a black figure following my trail.

Damn, I thought. The guy was coming to get me. Why didn't he want me to leave after he had advised me to do exactly that? The only possible reason was that he knew what I had seen in his workshop. He might prefer to keep his little quirks from becoming public knowledge. I could almost see his point.

Surprisingly, the black clad person following me started to wave, obviously trying to convince me to stop. A true predator like Dr. Butcher wouldn't do that, would he? Shit, this was even worse. It was his wife. Like a true idiot, I waited for her.

"Please. Take me with you," she pleaded.

I could have said any of a thousand things, but I couldn't think of them right then, so I just nodded and continued to walk. She followed me, trying to keep up. The snow was heavier and wetter, indicating that the temperature was starting to rise and no new snow had fallen for some time. Maybe we were going to make it.

I looked at the tower once again and saw a truly horrible thing. The door was closed again.

"Is he following us?" I asked.

She looked around and saw the same thing.

"Yes, definitely. He won't attack us here in the open, though. He avoids fair fights. He would probably win, but he does this shit too often and doesn't want to take any chances. We have no doctor here, so he has to avoid even small injuries. He will just follow us for now."

"Okay, then what's his plan?"

"He wants us to panic, to flee mindlessly, to make mistakes. He will attack us when we are weak or distracted. Or, if we stay cool, he will do it in the darkness, trying to surprise us. He doesn't believe in fairness; he's just interested in the result."

"Will he take you home and hang my dried corpse from the ceiling? Or will he kill you too and hang you right next to me?"

She laughed bitterly as we made our way forward. The rocky landscape had forced us farther and farther away from the coast, and I could no longer see the water. I sought guidance from my compass and saw that it didn't work. When did that happen? Damn. Just what I needed. The needle just didn't move. I shook it a bit, but it didn't help. The needle was somehow pinned and wouldn't swing freely. Following the coastline was my only chance now, impassable terrain and all.

"Maybe. I don't know and I'm not sure he does. Maybe he will kill me too, this time. He said he would if I cheated again. He said it might be the only way to stop me."

"Cheat? Like sexually cheat? How could you even have done that when you're all alone with him in that damn tower?"

"Don't ask me, okay? He's become obsessed with this cheating thing. That's what started this whole madness. One day, he just told me he had to kill a man. He said it in a very normal, very calm way. I still remember it clearly. We were sitting at our kitchen table in our old home. This was when we still lived in a house, like normal people. We were just having breakfast. We had just talked about the weather when he told me about this man he had killed. He said I had forced him to do it."

"Wait, what? You forced him?"

"In his mind, yes. He told me the name and I didn't even know who he was talking about. I told him that and he replied that I couldn't fool him. He knew exactly what I was doing. His mother did it, all women did it. Especially women as beautiful as me, which was the most left-handed compliment I ever got. He had always known it was just a matter of time until I did it, he said, and now I had. I left him no choice, apparently. Otherwise, he would be a cuckold, he said. At the time, I didn't even know what that is. Now I know. Do you?"

"Sure. I wouldn't want to be one either, but so far I've managed not to kill anyone or cut off their genitals."

"Lucky you," she drily replied. I liked her humor. "He explained how the guy had looked at me and that he knew immediately what was going on. The fact that I acted as if I didn't know the guy while he was watching me didn't fool him, he said. Real men just know, he said. Weird, huh?"

"I don't think he's a real man, I think he's a nutjob."

"No doubt," she confirmed as we continued on our way. "Still, that's what happened. Story of my life."

"Just out of curiosity, did you ever cheat? I hope you don't mind the question."

"No problem." After years with Dani, with her signs and omens, not to mention her newfound desire for polyamory, this woman seemed refreshingly uncomplicated. "No, I didn't. I looked at men sometimes, men always liked to look at me, there was nothing I could do about that. Except become an Amish nun living in a one-person space station, of course."

"Of course," I chuckled. I had to admire her for keeping a sense of humor in what must have been a horrible situation. "Did you tell the police?"

"I considered it, but I had no evidence at all and he threatened to kill me if I did."

"Damn. You continued to live with him?"

"Well, he can be very convincing, as you might have noticed. He said if I left him, he'd kill me, plus my whole family."

"And the neighbor's dog."

We shared a laugh. "Right, and the neighbor's dog. So, I endured the unhappiest marriage in the world. You see, I really liked that dog."

"So, how did you end up in the lighthouse at the end of the world?"

"After the second murder, I knew I had to do something, despite his threats. I was obviously married to a lunatic serial killer. I had just made up my mind to leave him when I woke up in that damn basement, right in the chair you first saw me in. We have been on the run since then, I guess."

"Wait, what happened?"

"He had obviously drugged me and brought me there, Sherlock. He didn't trust me any more than I trusted him."

"And he brought the first two corpses with him? Or did he kill all of them here?" I had no idea why I wanted to know if his total was five or seven.

"I have no idea. I only went into that horrible room once, and there were three corpses at that point. How many are there now?"

"Five."

"Damn. I have no idea why he killed the others. I had no real contact with anyone after he shut me up in that lighthouse, so he couldn't use that as the reason. I think he just enjoys it and found other justifications. Hikers that got too close, fishermen, I have no idea."

"The locals told me to stay away from there."

"I didn't know that. It wouldn't have taken long then, anyway."

"What?"

"They would have caught him soon in spite of his moving to the lighthouse. If people vanish and there is just one building around, how long will it be before someone figures out what's going on?"

"That might be true, but won't save us."

"No, that's something we'll have to do ourselves."

I liked her attitude.

"At some point, we'll have to stop, right?" I remarked.

"We can keep walking, but it usually gets dark in the evening. We can't avoid that."

"Let's keep walking even then. We will deal with the darkness problem when it comes. Do you have a weapon,... um I don't even know your name."

"People call me Nina the Unarmed."

I had to laugh yet again. How could she still have a sense of humor after the things she had gone through?

"I'm Tom."

"Nice to meet you, Tom," she said sincerely. I was sure she would have offered her hand if we weren't wearing thick gloves.

"So did any of the guys in the basement try to rescue you?"

"Yes. One of the local boys, full of curiosity and testosterone, stumbled into the lighthouse one day. I've no idea what he thought he was looking for. You say the villagers warned people and that might have encouraged him to check the area out. Well, in any case, there was suddenly this young man in my living room. You have seen it."

"Oh yeah, it looked surprisingly comfy."

"It was, if you disregard the dried dick on show in my glass table."

"Wait, what?"

"You didn't see that wonderful detail? He placed it there as a warning. Said my lover would never use it again. To this day, I have no idea who it belonged to. I think I can live without that knowledge, actually."

We continued our way in silence for a while. I was a bit worried, as the rocky hills had forced us away from the coast and without a compass, I didn't know exactly where we were.

"Tom, you were smart to leave when you did. He would have killed you soon."

"Really?"

"Yes, he had this specific look. It was mostly in his eyes. Right before he took someone's life. I came to hate everything about him, but I hated that most. I would have tried to warn you, but he was keeping an eye on me and I wasn't sure how to do it. I saw that look only after I visited you up there or I would have mentioned it to you."

"Why did you marry him in the first place?"

"What do you think? Because he was a psychopathic monster? No, like all good psychos, he can be very charming, loving and even vulnerable. He either hid his true nature well or he changed radically later. I have no idea. Like the proverbial frog in heating water, I stayed way too long when things got bad. Then, I suddenly found myself in an old basement and didn't have a choice anymore. Say, you know where we are, right? This somehow looks familiar."

"Really?"

I looked around. There were still rocky hills to our right; the coast should be right behind them. The sky was too cloudy to see the sun. Nina looked around too and seemed a bit worried.

"Shit," she exclaimed, a bit un-ladylike.

"What?" I replied, a bit moronic.

"He's there."

"Yeah, we knew that."

"No, he's close. He's closing in for the kill."

"Really? It's still bright daylight."

"He's a lunatic, remember? He follows some rules, but not always. His behavior has become more and more erratic recently."

"Fuck! Let's go then."

"That's what we've been doing all the time."

"Let's go faster then."

"You sure know where we're going?"

"I hope so."

"Wait, buster. What does that mean?"

"My compass is broken. I wanted to follow the coast line instead."

"The coast line? We left that hours ago."

"Fuck!"

"Let's keep calm, Tom. He wants us to panic."

"Maybe a bit of panic would help. Look, he's right behind us."

The giant followed us at about a hundred meters distance and walked briskly and determinedly. We both knew it made no sense, but we increased our pace. He responded and were soon all walking as fast as we could.

"How fit is he?" I panted.

"Nothing to write home about, but he's damn determined. He doesn't care about his own pain and exhaustion."

"That's the spirit..." I answered and we both had to chuckle a bit, despite the exertion.

We did our best, but it wasn't good enough. He slowly and methodically closed the distance. We heard him panting even more than we did, but he didn't let up. I kept looking back at him, although it didn't help at all. Because of that, I missed what Nina saw.

"Oh, shit," she exclaimed.

"What is it?"

"Look," she replied, while pointing at something. It was a dark, tall structure in the distance. It looked like a lighthouse.

"Oh, shit," I agreed.

"Let's go! This might be our only chance!"

She was right, I knew it and the nutjob following us knew it, too. Maybe he knew we were walking back to the tower before we did and that was the reason he'd closed in on us. We all started to run, and it turned out we could run faster than he could. We would reach the tower before he did, but I asked myself what would be gained by it.

"Can we lock the door?" I asked between pants.

"No idea. We'll see, right?"

Yes, we'll see, I thought. Our lives would depend on it, but I kept my mouth shut and just looked at her. I hardly knew her, but I knew she thought the same thing.

We reached the tower before he did. We stumbled inside and immediately shut the door. I heard it latch. I shone my phone flashlight on the door, frantically looking for a lock. There was none. The first violent slam came from outside. I pressed my body weight against the door. Nina ran around the dirt-floored room, looking for anything to block it with.

The first thing she came up with was a small piece of wood that would work as a wedge. She jammed it under the door and that helped a lot as long as the old door didn't collapse entirely. I kept my body leaned against it as the hits from outside continued. Nina vanished downstairs and came back after a few minutes with a longer plank. That blocked the door nicely and I praised her work.

"We're safe for now," I exclaimed, still out of breath.

"For now, yes. You can put down your backpack now."

"What?"

I had totally forgotten that. During the whole chase, I had carried my camping gear.

"Damn."

"Great exercise, though."

I had to laugh again. That happened often with her around, I liked that.

"Almost no food left in there, though."

"No problem, Tom. There is some downstairs."

"How did he get supplies in here, anyway?"

"I don't know for sure, but I guess he has a car somewhere. He avoided the nearest fishermen's village, I think. That would have raised suspicion. I think he drove to the city, parked the car where the road ends and carried it here."

"You think we could reach that car?"

"I don't know where it is or where the keys are. I don't even know if it really exists. I just assume it does."

"Okay. Damn."

"We're at an impasse, right? He can't get in, yet, but we're under siege. He won't give up, but he'll keep out of sight so we won't know where he is."

"Shit."

"Truer words were never spoken, Tom."

After we were sure the door was blocked as well as possible and we confirmed there was no other entrance, we went downstairs to get some rest. Of course, we avoided the corpse room and went straight to what had been her and her husband's living quarters.

It was small, but actually quite comfy for something that was inside an ancient basement under an abandoned lighthouse.

"The dried dick has to go, though," I remarked. "Otherwise, I won't move in."

"Deal. You get rid of it, though."

"Hey, it's not my dick."

"I sure hope yours is nicer than that. It's not mine either."

"I sure hope you never had one, dried or otherwise."

"I can assure you I never had."

"Glad to hear that. As no one claims ownership, what about removing it with the glass table it's in?"

"I don't know. I always liked the table. He brought it from our old house."

"I hope the dick wasn't in it back then."

"No, that's a newer addition. My mother gave me the table without it inside."

"Your mother has a good taste in table decorations."

"I know. Strictly no dicks in them. She used to say, 'Nina, never put a dick...' "

That's when we both burst out laughing, clinging to each other, hardly getting enough air. The danger was gone for the moment and the joking helped releasing the tension.

Afterwards, she showed me their bedroom. The room was small, had rough stone walls and was dark except from the light coming from one small light well. There was just a bed inside and one wardrobe.

"This is where I had to sleep with him."

"Dreadful, I bet."

"Yes, being in the same bed with a serial killer is not exactly living the dream."

"God, I can't imagine. Did he expect... You know..."

"Sex? God, no. That part of our marriage ended early on."

"Weird. I mean, look at you..."

"Why, thank you. It wasn't his choice."

"Oh, okay," I just answered. I obviously didn't fully understand the dynamics of their marriage, but didn't think it was any of my business.

We both sat down on the bed, exhausted and having no other place to sit together. Suddenly, I was startled by something. I realized I'd just woken up, I was lying on the bed in my clothes and Nina was snuggled to my side. I thought about waking her up, but I realized I enjoyed it, and she probably needed sleep just as much as I did. I didn't move until my numb arm forced me to.

"Hey," she protested.

"My arm..."

She fully awoke with a start.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry," she said.

"No need. It was nice."

"It was." She smiled mischievously. "I might want more of that. I haven't slept that well in a very long time."

"My arm..." I complained, although I wanted more of that, too.

"That's because you're still wearing your gear. Take it off." That was when I noticed we were both still wearing all of our winter clothes. No wonder it felt warm in here.

We finally took off most of our clothes, but it was awkward and done for purely practical reasons. We slept much better this way, and she soon clung to me like a burr again.

We spent a few days in the underground apartment. My initial plan was to let him starve out in the wild, although Nina was a bit skeptical about that. I hoped he would eventually leave to find food and shelter, but she said he was determined enough to endure for a long time.

We frequently checked the blocked door. It seemed fine, and we'd heard no more banging from outside, but we were still wary.

It was a life-threatening situation. We were confined to a small space and the same bed, so it was hardly a miracle we got to know each other quite well in a very short time. We had some really good, long talks, but avoided the really heavy topics.

It was impossible to overlook the fact that she was a very attractive woman, but she was married, and as far as I knew, so was I. Besides, the situation was too dire for any romantic thoughts. Still, she seemed to snuggle against me automatically as soon as she fell asleep and it was increasingly difficult for me to hide my reaction.

The apartment was tiny and very dim. We couldn't avoid bumping into each other, but I started to have the impression she was sometimes doing it intentionally. As her living room only had one chair, I spent my time sitting on the bed in the tiny bedroom, often thinking about Dani, what had gone wrong and wondering if she was still alive. Nina was always nearby, although her chair was way comfier. I didn't mind at all, she often managed to distract me from the cloud of dark thoughts surrounding me.

"So, what happened?"

I didn't know if she meant it just as an innocent conversation starter, but that was all it took to open the flood gates. I told her my tale of woe, starting with Dani's lack of affection, my fears she might leave me, my self-doubts and finally the idea of doing this hiking trip together to reconnect, although it was already quite late in the year. Of course, I also told her about the absolutely crushing conversation in the tent, about the way Dani and I parted and my resulting worries and self-recriminations.

She just listened patiently, only interrupting me for the occasional clarification. At times, I felt like a whiny idiot, talking about my worries to a woman who had literally gone through hell, but she seemed genuinely interested. I could sense how upset and compassionate she was about my story. In my opinion, it paled compared to what she'd had to endure, but it seemed almost as if Nina was more repulsed by Dani's behavior than by her husband's.

When my story was told, I was exhausted. Letting these words out was like letting the air out of a balloon. Nina didn't say much, she didn't judge, she just held me and I was grateful for it. We were like two lost souls, trying to comfort each other in what might very well be the final days of their lives. We fell asleep that way, next to each other, warm and comforting. It was totally innocent until suddenly it wasn't.