Always Darkest

Chapter One

Victoria Clover paced back and forth in front of the mirror in her bedroom.
 
She was wearing a black pencil skirt and a floral patterned top her sister had insisted that she buy. It was low cut in front and fit her body well. Tori thought it was a bit too provocative for a first date, but it was no use arguing with her sister.
 
Tori never wore clothes like this, not even in college. They finally reached a compromise by selecting a fancy red cardigan that perfectly matched the roses in the top that Tori could wear over it to feel a bit more modest.
 
This made perfect sense to Tori since October in
Kentucky
was a bit chilly.
 
Her sister, Kathy, had spent hours shopping with her to find the perfect outfit and accessories, and then she had come over to Tori’s apartment to help her get ready for her blind date.
 

Kathy had been a beautician for a few years, before her first son came along at the age of twenty-five when she quit
to be
a full time mom. She did Tori’s dark hair, smoothing it with a flat iron until her dark locks were smooth and shiny.
 
She also did her makeup for her, accentuating her green eyes and full lips.

“Tori calm down hon.
 
This is a date not a death sentence.” Kathy said trying to calm her sister’s nerves.

“I know it’s just that meeting someone off the internet gives me the willies.”

Kathy laughed, “Isn’t getting a willy kind of the eventual goal.”

“You slut,” Tori said teasing her sister.
 
“Does your mind ever get out of the gutter?”

“Nope and that is why I have two kids,” she said smiling.

Tori was
a tiny bit jealous of Kathy.
 
She had gotten married to her high school sweet heart and proceeded to have two beautiful children.
 
Her husband was kind, faithful and hardworking.
 
She had the life Tori dreamed about.

On the other hand, Tori went to college and got a job as a high school guidance counselor afterwards.
 
She dated off and on a little in college, but she just never found someone that she connected with enough to warrant a relationship longer than about three months.
 
This trend continued after college so her sister signed her up for an online dating service that was guaranteed to find a compatible mate for her.
 
Tori thought it was all a little silly but Kathy seemed so enthusiastic she decided to go for it just this once to make her happy.

Kathy had done a lot to make Tori happy.
 
When Tori
was
eighteen and Kathy was twenty four, their parents died so Kathy took on a kind of mothering role to Tori.
 
Tim and Kate Clover had decided to go on a cruise for their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, urged on by Tori and Kathy.
 
They went all out and even hired a charter boat to take them out for a private dinner cruise.
 
There was a storm and the boat never returned for its rendezvous with the main cruise ship.
 
The search continued for months but neither, their parents, the captain or any of the small crew were ever found.
 
Eventually they were declared dead and Kathy had been Tori’s rock ever since.

Kathy and her husband Randy welcomed Tori into their home for all the holidays and on summer breaks always making her feel more than welcome.
 
When Tori graduated from college, she didn’t even consider looking for work anywhere but close to her sister.
 
Tori’s career was going well but her love life sucked.
 
She hadn’t even been out on a date in over a year.
 
Of course Kathy had to intervene, thus the membership to the dating service and her first blind date.

Kathy handed her the dangly necklace they had chosen to go with the shirt, “you look gorgeous.”

“I don’t feel gorgeous.
 
I feel like a fraud and I look like a naughty librarian in this outfit.
 
I think I’m going call and cancel.”
 

“Don’t you dare,” Kathy scolded.
 

“You are impossible!”
 
Tori said.
 

“You’ll be fine.
 
You are meeting him at the restaurant in the Old Castle Inn so there will be lots of people there.
 
You’ve talked to him on the phone before and you said you two hit it off pretty well. Besides, he matched all your compatibility factors.
 
Text me when you get there.
 
Tori, you can do this. After your dinner you come straight here and give me the details.
 
Have fun, but if I don’t hear from you by
midnight
, I’m calling you.”

“Okay mom, anything else.” Tori teased rolling her eyes.

“Yeah don’t have too much fun sis, I love you.”

Tori pulled her black Toyota Camry into a parking spot in front of The Old Castle Inn.
 
Carson
was thirty minutes away from her hometown of Mercy and she always had to go to
Carson
for one thing or another as it was the closest town with a Wal-Mart.
 
She was really excited because she had never been to eat at the restaurant at The Old Castle Inn before and it was supposed to be really nice.
 
It was the kind of restaurant people went to on anniversaries and special occasions. Most of her dates thought they were going all out by taking her to the Dairy Queen.
 
Maybe Ben, her date, was a classy guy after all.
 
He sounded nice enough on the phone.

She pulled down the visor to do one last make up check.
 
She popped an altoid in her mouth and smoothed her dark hair one more time.
 
She had one last thing to do, she texted her sister.
I made it…wish me luck
.

She opened the car door and stepped out as a voice from behind her said, “Tori?”

She jumped as she turned around.
 
“You scared the daylights outta me. Are you Ben?” she said as she placed a hand to her chest and tried to catch her breath.

“I am and I must say you are even more beautiful in person.”

Tori blushed. In the dark parking lot with only the light from the pole lights and the moon overhead it was hard to tell if he looked like his picture.
 
She could tell he was wearing a suit and could see a basic outline of his tall frame, but that was about it.
 

“Well, thank you very much.” Tori said a bit self-consciously as she smoothed her skirt with her hands.

“Shall we dine?” he asked as he offered her his arm.
 

She took his arm and they walked toward the restaurant.
 
She felt so nervous she thought she might just pass out and was so thankful to have the support.
 

They walked arm in arm toward the entrance when he felt his back pocket and said, “I forgot my wallet in my vehicle.
 
I feel like such an idiot.
 
Do you mind if we make a little stop by my van on the way inside?”

“Of course not,” she said.

Ben led her around the corner of the building to where he had parked his vehicle. He released her arm as he unlocked his grey van.
 
He slid open the sliding door to the back and Tori wondered who keeps their wallet in the back seat?
 
That is a little odd. She was patiently looking up at the full moon as he rummaged in the back of his van.
 

Pain exploded from the back of Tori’s head. Within seconds Ben expertly gagged her and shoved her into the back of his van.
 
He closed the door and finished by tying her hands behind her back and securing her ankles with duct tape.

She tried to scream, but the gag did its job and all she could manage were muffled murmurs.
 
The back of the van smelled like oil and alcohol.
 
She could feel broken bits of glass cutting into her legs through her pantyhose.

Ben got into the driver’s seat and pulled out of the parking lot.
 
He was silent.
 
All Tori could hear were the sounds of the tires on the pavement and his breathing.
 
The drive seemed to take forever as she lay on the floor of that van unable to cry out and unable to save herself.
 

With each turn in the road her body would shift slightly allowing the broken glass to penetrate into her skin through her pantyhose.
 
Tori tensed as the pavement turned to gravel. She knew he was taking her into the woods to kill her. She had seen enough crime stories on the television to know that. Then the van stopped.

He grabbed her and roughly dragged her into the woods.
 
Frantically, she looked around to try to determine where he had taken her and where she was.
 
The glass from the van dug even farther into her legs as he dragged her across the rough ground.
 
When he stopped after what seemed like an hour she was grateful and terrified.
 
He did not speak as he went about his task.

He first cut away her shirt and bra, exposing her bare breasts.
 
The sight seemed to piss him off as he slapped her across the face. He slapped her until she closed her eyes and lay still.
 
She felt the duct tape binding her ankles being cut and waited for what would be her best chance to get away.
 
She waited and listened as he unzipped his pants.
 
She could feel him as he positioned himself over her.
 
She knew any second he would rip her pantyhose and then not only could she wind up dead but raped as well.
 
Her impending fate emboldened her.
 
If she was going to die, she would be damned if he raped her too.
 
She was prepared to fight to the death.

She kneed him in groin with all her might and that was enough to get him off her for a moment.
 
Tori got up and ran as fast as she could.
 
She had no idea where she was going or where she was. She just wanted to get away from that monster.
 
Without her hands to aid her, branches stung and bit at her face.
 
She just kept running, and then she tripped and slid down the side of the hill.
 
As she rolled, she felt branches and rocks bite into her skin.
 
She just kept rolling and rolling, falling and falling.
 
Save me, please get me away from him.
That was the last thought Tori had before blackness overtook her.