The Beholder by Ivan Amberlake Read Free Book Online Page A

arrived downstairs in the living room, they were sitting beside each other on the couch, engrossed in a comedy.
    At the sight of pizza and beer, Jason’s stomach produced a mutinous gurgling, which was thankfully drowned out by more laughter. He grabbed a piece—fully loaded, he noticed—took a bite and washed it down with cold beer. Soon his stomach was full and his body relaxed, sprawled in the armchair.
    Night settled over the city while the trio sat in front of the TV, enjoying themselves. It was a brief escape, and they knew it. Part of Jason’s mind remained alert at all times, but he was glad he and Matt had stayed at Debbie’s. He didn’t want to be alone, either. And it was almost time for sleep—a time he had come to dread—but he was far too tired to fight it.
    Before going to bed he kissed Debbie on the cheek and wished her sweet dreams. She smiled and did the same for him.
    Matt clapped on Jason’s shoulder, trying to cheer him up. “Maybe you’ll dream of hot babes for a change.”
    Jason grinned. “That’d be awesome.”
    The trio headed to their separate rooms, and after Jason had closed the door, he exhaled deeply. No more pretending. Behind his mask of calm, panic and fear ruled. He was trapped within a whirling chaos of mysteries, and the farther he went along this path, the worse the situation became. And now his friends were involved, which meant they might also be at risk.
    He undressed and collapsed onto the soft bed, trying to extinguish every thought in his head. Unfortunately, that only stirred up new thoughts.
    His connection to the disappearances and killings repulsed him, yet he couldn’t doubt the evidence. Digging up further facts would be dangerous, but he thought of the letter which had somehow made its way into his apartment, and realized he had no choice. To someone his mind was an open book, and the idea of being someone’s puppet disgusted him.
    Jason closed his eyes, longing for a few hours of undisturbed sleep—blackness with no dreams. His eyelids felt as if they were weighed down with metal, and he didn’t resist the sweet feeling of drifting away.
    Then something in his mind clicked, screaming at him that he was being deliberately dragged into sleep. Dread rushed through him as the blackness advanced on him from all sides, transforming the room into an almost unrecognizable mass of blurred patches. He tried to fight back, but it was all in vain.
    God, no! he pleaded. Splinters of previous nightmares flashed before his eyes, memories of infusing his mind into someone else’s, of the incredible tension that made him fear his head would explode. Then the pain receded, and reality disappeared.
     
    ***
     
    He was running through a corridor. Doors. Offices. Another corridor. Dim streaks of light hid the truth of where he was, but each area was projected with the help of glinting lines, giving shape to everything.
    No, he wasn’t running, he realized. He was in the runner.
    The place felt familiar, but he couldn’t put a finger on where he was. The speed of motion heightened until he couldn’t manage to register any details, and he traveled with the runner, going upstairs, then downstairs, then back upstairs while the darkness altered between feeble light and none at all. The pattern repeated again and again. They bolted upstairs using the fire escape, launching a one-second ascent—apparently the elevator was too slow—then finally stopped.
    A small plaque near the door said Floor 24 . Suddenly Jason realized why his surroundings looked so familiar: he was inside the Evelyn & Laurens building, but everything felt different. He was used to the place being a busy, noisy anthill, not the creepy cemetery it became at night. The body carrying him entered Jason’s empty office and glided across the room without making a sound, approaching his workplace to rummage through the papers on his desk.
    Jason felt indignant at the trespassing. Whoever this was, they had no right