WAKE UP

WAKE UP

BY JESUS NIEVES

Tracy wakes from the phone ringing nonstop. She sits up, squinting at the sunlight peeking through her blinds. As she brushes her teeth, again her cell phone rings, and the caller ID shows Anna. As she is getting dressed, the phone rings again, this time with a follow-up text, it says “hey, the last reading you gave me came true, exactly as you said”.

Tracy is a psychic, except she really wasn't psychic at all, it was a scam. Tracy calls Anna. Anna picks up shouting “you’re amazing!, the real deal … I doubted you, but this is incredible”. Tracy pulls her cell away to stare at it in disbelief. She begins pacing, thinking to herself how it is possible she predicted something. Tracy, baffled, says ``So, what reading came true?” Anna with no problem, says “the man! Tall, dark, and handsome. I received roses and an envelope with a secret admirer on it”.

Tracy needs to know if she can do it again. She tells Anna to come in for a reading, free of charge. Tracy sits in her shop, waiting. Anna walks in towards Tracy, giving her a big hug. Tracy tells Anna, “let’s see what else is in store for you”.

Anna stops her with a finger to Tracy’s lips. She gives Tracy the envelope she received. Tracy can see that the envelope was all red with gold trimmings. She notices the writing, she reads “from your secret admirer, may the first time be memorable” written in gold. Tracy is in disbelief, she couldn’t fathom that her fake reading came true.

She tells Anna that she wants to look further into the situation. Anna with no hesitation shoots her hands out with excitement, wanting more. Anna looks at Tracy in her eyes and says, “predict all you want, I will pay more “. Tracy is loving the praise but is panicking from within. Anna tells her, “give me the goods on this hottie “.

Tracy proceeds to grab Anna's hands, she closes her eyes, doing the usual pretend convulsions, but something different happens. She starts getting flashes of a man in a hotel room, with his back to Tracy. She can see Anna sitting on a bed, talking with the man, asking him if he wants champagne, he answers “sure, princess”. Tracy still can’t make out the man’s face. The man is standing in front of Anna, blocking her from view. He says, “Do you want love? to see what I see”, Anna replied, “Give it to me, baby”.

Tracy’s far into the reading, Anna can see Tracy’s veins bulging in her neck, eyes all white. Anna disturbed, says “are you ok?”. Tracy grips tightly to Anna. Tracy sees flashes of Anna moaning in desire with the man on top of her, then a terrifying scream. She wasn’t sure if it was Anna, Tracy starts trembling. Anna panics, yelling “Tracy!”. It all goes black, she sees the man, blocking Anna's lifeless body on the bed.

She could see the man’s back had several scars in the shape of hearts. Tracy wakes from vision, gasping for air. Anna says“ what was that? My hands went numb, your eyes white like a horror movie ”. Tracy grabs a water pitcher from the fridge, gulping the whole thing.

Tracy sits back down. She tells Anna about the two being in a hotel, enjoying themselves from laughing to getting intimate. Tracy can see Anna is loving everything she is hearing. Tracy gets to the part of the scream, seeing the man standing with scars and Anna's body seeming lifeless. She wanted to tell Anna that the reading made her feel terrified. Anna says” wow, so I get a hottie, champagne, and laid… this is so amazing!”. Tracy can’t believe that Anna is ignoring the scars and the creepy details of the prediction.

Tracy tells her, “laid? That’s all you see from this?” Anna replies ”well yeah, the scars seemed creepy, maybe it’s subliminal ”. Tracy in disbelief of Anna’s understanding of the reading, everything she saw wasn’t true love but evil in a mask. She tells Anna, “I think you should take your time, get to know him first” Anna replies” I pay you for happiness, if I get to know him with champagne and sex, that is my business, not yours”. Anna gives Tracy 400 dollars. Tracy looks at the amount being double what she charges. Tracy says” this is $200 more than I charge'', Anna replies ”you deserve it for giving me happiness, and for being a friend”.

Anna gives Tracy a long, affectionate hug, she grabs her things and walks out of the shop. Two weeks have gone by since Anna's reading. Tracy Is asleep, she begins getting spasms. Flashes of the man on top of Anna. Tracy can see the man slowly pulling out a knife from under the sheets. Anna is fully aroused, enjoying the aggressive passion the man is performing. Anna’s eyes go wide; The pleasure becomes pain. Tracy can feel everything as if feeling what Anna feels.

Tracy’s body contorts, seeing Anna being tortured by the man using the knife as his penis. She can see the sheets are drenched in Anna’s blood. Anna’s last scream causes the man to climax. Tracy can see the man was having an orgasm from her torture. The man then carves a heart on Anna's forehead and says” now you know love”, he turns as if feeling Tracy’s presence. Tracy can see the man’s face, full of darkness and rage. Tracy turns around to run, but she trips from a room service cart, knocking everything down.

She notices that the cart has a card from a flower shop downtown saying “flowers for the heart, flowers, and gifts”. Tracy gets up and is spun around by the man. Tracy cringes in pain. She looks down to see her intimate part soaked in blood. She looks up at the man, and he says” you see, what I see”. Tracy wakes up from the vision screaming, she runs to the bathroom to throw up. She lays by the toilet crying hysterically knowing that Anna was gone. The next day, Tracy sits waiting for a detective to take her statement. She sees a man approaching her, who is wearing his badge.

Tracy notices that he looked like a weathered, unshaven Colin Farrell, tormented by his career. He sits, opening a folder with several photos of tortured dead women, all having heart-shaped carvings on their foreheads. They all died the same way, just like Anna in her vision. Tracy gasps in horror to see Anna in the pile of photos. She could feel every bit of the pain and fear Anna felt. The detective introduces himself as detective MacLachlan, showing a close-up photo of the heart shape carving. He says, “in your statement, you supposedly saw our PERP… the broken heart killer”.

Tracy gets a hold of herself and replies” I saw it in my vision”. She can see, from his expression, that he didn’t believe her. He says “you some kinda psychic?”, Tracy replies “I guess I am now”. Maclachlan scoffs in disappointment, and closes the folder, he says “look lady, I have a psycho that is gonna kill again; I don’t need one sitting here with me”. Tracy infuriated, tells him “it was in a hotel room, the man you are looking for has the same carving all over his body, I heard him say “you see what I see”.

Maclachlan is in shock at Tracy knowing the details of the crime. He says “you have my attention, not only for what you know, but I’m desperate ”. He begins taking notes of the details, he asks her, “did you see him ?”. Tracy takes a moment, she says “yes… I think I know where he buys flowers” MacLachlan is puzzled “flowers?” Tracy replies” yea, flowers for the heart… I saw a business card in my vision”. Maclachlan is still skeptical, but the woman he thinks is crazy just gave him a new lead. He tells her, “let’s go, we’re gonna take a ride”. The two sit in MacLachlan’s car, outside the shop Tracy identified.

Maclachlan looks in the back seat, and through the mess, he pulls out a bug. Tracy, not knowing what MacLachlan is up to, says, “what are you doing?” He replies “I’m gonna send you in with a wire; I want you to act like a woman buying flowers for her friend’s funeral”. Tracy begins to panic, she says, “what if he is inside?” MacLachlan gives her a reassuring look and says” if he is in there, I can hear everything, all I need is for you to identify the PERP and get him to like you”. Tracy begins shaking; Maclachlan grabs her hand and says, “once we have him, I can get my captain to agree to a full investigation on this guy”.

Tracy walks into the shop, praying that her fear doesn’t show like the sweat going down the back of her neck. She acts casual, she notices an older man by the register. She asks him, “any flowers for a funeral?”. The older man replies “well over to your right we have some, let me know if you didn’t find anything you like”.

Tracy has an earpiece; she can hear Maclachlan tell her “kill time, let’s see what happens next”. Tracy takes a moment to look through the flowers and says to the old man “sir, do you have any more, I didn’t see anything I like”. The old man tending to another customer replies, “sure!”. The old man yells "Johnny, we are short on flowers for funerals, can you bring some more for this kind woman!”. Tracy waits patiently when her heart stops beating, Johnny comes out from the back with flowers. The man is tall, dark, and handsome, but Tracy saw the eyes of the man in her vision.

Tracy swallows her fear literally as the man approaches, he says, “wow, the old man didn’t say you were beautiful”. He puts the flowers where they belong, keeping his gaze on Tracy. He says, “for a funeral, huh?” She replies “yes, for a friend that passed away…”. The man, not seeming empathetic, shakes his head and says “death hurts but is necessary for new life”. Maclachlan is fully into the conversation. He says on the earpiece, “Tracy, mention funeral for Anna and sees how he responds”. She complies and says “yes it is, my friend Anna was a very happy, energetic soul”. The man’s eyes looked intrigued.

He says “Anna?” we had an Anna who would buy here often, please don’t tell me it was her because she was also a good friend of mine”. Tracy replies, “oh, really? How come we never met?” The man smirks, “well, I’ve gotten to know her when she would come here a lot”. Maclachlan with the excitement of knowing that he finally found his PERP tells Tracy, “tell him if he is interested in going to a funeral”. Tracy asks the man. He replies “sure, I would love to pay my respects, when is it?”. Tracy replies, “it’s this Saturday, can I take your number to send you the details?”. She can see the man was uncomfortable with the question, he replies “I can take your number, here write it on this and I will be in contact”.

The man passes Tracy the same business card she saw in vision. Tracy writes her phone number on the back, she says, “here you go, I expect a call from you”. She can see the man was very cocky. He replies “where there's love there is no doubt”. The man grabs her hand to kiss it. Tracy’s senses were going crazy. She knew in her soul this man is pure evil, and now more than ever she has to stop him. She walks out of the shop.

Tracy enters MacLachlan’s car. He could see her face was intense. She says “it’s him, I know it”. Maclachlan replies “and you're gonna help me catch him”. The funeral went well; all of Anna’s family and friends mourn. Johnny walks to Tracy, he gives her a hug, not knowing that Tracy really wanted to see him 6 feet under. He tells her “I’m so sorry for your loss, is there anything you need?”. Tracy, still carrying a wire. MacLachlan tells her “tell him you need a friend, feed his ego so that he traps himself”.

Tracy tells him “in need of a friend, are you free tonight, like 8-ish?” Without hesitation, he replies, “sure, where do you want to meet?”. Maclachlan tells her to give her address so that it shows her vulnerability. She tells him, and he smiles and gives her a kiss on the forehead. Tracy can see him looking back at her as he walks away. She speaks into the wire, “it ends tonight” she said. Tracy cleans her home and even cooks dinner so that everything looks believable.

Maclachlan and several officers prepare the apartment with bugs. Tracy is dying inside from fear of what can happen. Maclachlan can see it all over her face. He walks up to her, he looks her up and down, noticing that she looked beautiful in her dress. He says “looking like that, he is gonna be all over you”, he points at her dress. Tracy nervously smiles, “I bet you say that to every woman crazy enough to take down a psycho”. Maclachlan smirks, “don’t worry, I won’t let anything happen,” he says.

Tracy nervously says, “you promise?”. Maclachlan lays his hands on her shoulders. Looking her in the eyes, he says, “believe me, I’m looking for any excuse to send him to hell…that’s a promise”. Maclachlan looks at his watch, it says 7:45 pm, he tells his crew to wrap up. He looks at Tracy, with a determined face, he says “it’s almost 8, focus and I'll do the rest”. Tracy nods her head, understanding Maclachlan. She sits by the kitchen counter, three knocks on her door, it is time. She fixes herself before opening the door.

She sees Johnny wearing a suit and tie, in one hand he’s carrying red roses and in the other an envelope just like the one Anna had. Tracy, “come in,“ she says. He looks her up and down as if eating her with his eyes. He walks in giving her a kiss, “wow…flawless” he says. Tracy replies “thank you…you're too kind”, and he looks around the apartment, “have a seat,” she says.

The two eat, drink, and chat about their likes and dislikes. Three hours pass and Maclachlan is bored to death from hearing the two seem like a perfect match. He speaks into the earpiece so that Tracy can hear, “come on, Tracy, get him to snap”. She listens to MacLachlan and asks Johnny “why is a guy like yourself isn’t married?”. Johnny, uncomfortable with Tracy’s question. “I haven’t found the right one,” he says.

Tracy can see that the question of love irritates him, “what is an ideal woman for you?” She says in a flirty kinda way. She can see the evil eyes of a killer creeping in his face, “you are” he says. Tracy says, “me? I’m flawed with many exes,” she says. Johnny didn’t like Tracy mentioning her exes. He moves close to her, “you’re a virgin, right?”. She lies to gain his trust, “yes, I never slept with my exes” she says.

She kisses him, everything in her body is repulsed by him, but she needs him to make a move. Tracy gets up, and grabs his hand, leading him into the bedroom. The two lock eyes,“ make love to me” she says. Johnny pushes her onto the bed, and Tracy unzips her dress. Johnny removes all his clothes except for his boxer briefs. Tracy can see the heart-shaped scars on his body, “are all those hearts for how much you love me?” she says. Johnny, hypnotized by Tracy's body, walks to the edge of the bed, “they’re for the times my heart was broken” he says.

Tracy replies, “show me”. He begins to climb on top of her, and Tracy, hiding her disgust, continues to act it out. Johnny begins kissing her toes, climbing his way up her body. He reaches her neck, turning her face to look him in the eyes, “do you want love?” He says. Tracy replies “yes”, she can see Johnny's puzzled face instantly morphing to rage.

He creeps his hand behind his back to pull out a knife, keeping it from Tracy’s sight. Tracy knowing what is next says “now you see what I see”, she grabs his hands. Tracy’s eyes go white, with her empathic abilities transferring the pain and torture Anna went through. Johnny screams in agony and pain. Maclachlan storms up the stairs, knowing if he doesn’t make it in time, Tracy will be dead. Johnny with one hand choking Tracy attempts to give her the death blow. The evil in his eyes is now ready to kill, “you broke my heart” he says.

Johnny goes for the kill, his eyes go wide in shock and pain, and he looks down at his private region, soaked in blood. Tracy had a knife under her pillow. He looks at Tracy, stuck in disbelief that she stabbed him, just like the other women. Tracy looks at him fearless and says “die broken-hearted”, MacLachlan kicks open Tracy’s bedroom door. He sees Johnny on top of her, “put the knife down, now!” He says. Johnny knows there is no turning back, he attempts to stab her.

Maclachlan unloads his gun into Johnny's back, blood splatters all over Tracy. Johnny falls dead on her, everything goes black. Tracy wakes up screaming, her phone buzzing at her bedside, it’s Anna. This time answering her friend's call.