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    Parker Owens
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 

Predator Prey - 5. Escape

em>No special warnings for this chapter, apart from general squalor.

Silence. He snapped to awareness in deep silence. No party. No noise of any kind.

Sunday. Of course. Sunday was always the quietest morning of the entire week in the residence.

The only remaining evidence of the previous night's debauchery from his place on the bed was the stench of beer, smoke, sex and vomit. Someone had lost it somewhere in the apartment. Maybe several someones. More than once.

He stifled a groan as he managed to move protesting muscles into a sitting position on the bed. His ass didn't appreciate the change. He hurt. His ass burned and ached and throbbed in pain. He wondered if it would ever work again. He held his head in his hands, and stayed in that position for a long time, just getting used to being semi-upright again. He wondered if he needed to go to a hospital.

Hell, no. He'd wasn't going to any damn hospital. He'd be fine. He had to be.

At least his roommate wasn't in the room.

After what seemed an eternity, he eased himself forward, looking for some clothes to put on. Nothing on the floor that he could see. He'd been naked for twenty-four hours, he reckoned. He stood, pawed in his drawer, and pulled on some jeans: a tee, a hoodie, socks and sneakers followed after. His wallet. He needed his wallet.

He groped gingerly around under the bed for his pants from the day – no, two nights - before. Nothing.

With increasing urgency, he searched the bedroom. In time, he found the leather billfold, tossed carelessly on his roommate's study desk. Stupid name for the stolid piece of oak furniture; the redhead had never done any kind of studying there. They'd fucked once or twice on the hard wood surface, though.

The billfold was empty. No cash, no credit cards or debit cards – there had been four – virtually nothing remained. The only things left to him were a library card, his student ID, an expired coupon to a local pizza place, and his driver's license.

His keys were missing. And his phone. What had they done with his phone? He practically lived on the thing. Neither keys nor phone were anywhere in the room; another, more thorough search told him that.

Another missing item registered in his brain. His lockbox. The big, grey steel box held pretty much all his stock of the pricey stuff. It was what he made the real money on. All the best weed, the pills, the powders – and the cash – all that was in the box. It wasn't just that the box was empty, it was gone completely.

He hesitated to leave the confines of his bedroom, his prison for the past day and night. Confronting Ted and the redhead could be dangerous. Would be dangerous. The throbbing ache in his butt, gut, and joints reminded him of that.

No choice, though. He had to find his phone. He needed to see what was up. He eased himself out of the bedroom.

The social area of the suite was a disaster area. It always was after one of his events, but this was worse than usual. He'd need to hire a cleaning service and pay them overtime for all this.

A few late-stayers were draped on bits of furniture or the floor where they'd passed out. After every event, he usually woke people like this and made them help with the cleanup in the afternoon.

Ted and the redhead slept, entwined quite naked on the couch, where they'd obviously coupled sometime in the darkness. Their clothes could have been anywhere in the mess all over the floor. He picked his way around the room carefully, trying not to wake anyone. He checked a couple of stray pairs of pants for his keys or cards. Nothing.

In the second bedroom, he found a pile of naked bodies sprawled on the bed. The room smelled like the rest of the suite, a bad mix of pot and semen. He didn't have to ponder what the customers had got up to in there. He backed away. His keys turned up in the kitchen, lying on the counter beside a half dozen mostly empty bottles. One of his credit cards lay next to them. He gathered these up, but further search proved fruitless. No phone. He wondered if he had anything left in his account.

The lockbox was nowhere to be seen.

He found a laptop in the bathroom, of all places. It wasn't his. His own computer had some rather embarrassing records and figures and files on it. Strictly business. That elegant steel-cased affair was safely stashed in an anonymous locker in one of the classroom buildings. Who would look for it there?

No, this laptop was a pretty standard-issue college student machine. The screen flashed to life when he nudged it. Whoever owned it never installed a password protection on it. Stupid.

He froze when he saw the screen, though.

A tube site. A porn tube site. Free streaming video. Not great quality, obviously taken from a phone camera. A man, spread eagled on a bed, getting gang fucked, while two or three others drank, smoked and jeered. Himself. Unmistakably. His own slack jawed face was completely visible. When had that happened? He shuddered involuntarily. His stomach heaved, and he added incrementally to the cesspool that was gathered in the toilet.

The stink. Ugh.

He retched again.

When he could stand, he stared again at the laptop. The video. It had been taken and uploaded in the night. It was on someone's phone. No way to retrieve it. And if it was out, it could be anywhere. Everywhere.

He'd been used like a whore. Like a party boy.

It was then that it hit him, hard; an almost physical blow harder than any part of this disaster had dealt him. This was his own work. He'd trapped others into making his events more unusual, more hedonistic, more outrageous each time, all for his own fun and considerable profit, and at little cost to himself.

If he felt like a victim, well, so what? Turnabout was supposed to be fair play. Fair or not, it made him sick. Maybe it was the pills, an aftereffect of the chemicals in his system. Maybe it was something he'd walled off inside after leaving home. Conscience.

Voices and faces of people he'd hurt, people he'd used, people he'd sold. Their eyes, fearful or stoned, appeared to his vision. He heard their manic laughter or cries of hurt echoed in his ears. Every one of them seemed to fill the cramped, stinking space, crowding in on him, on his mind, on every sense he possessed. He shut his eyes, willing the apparitions to disappear.

They faded, but failed to vanish into the miasma that was the bathroom.

Shaking, he slipped out into social area. He drifted to the entry foyer and stared at the wreckage of the apartment. He couldn't face anyone right now. He told himself that he needed to eat, though his stomach was sending the opposite message. Maybe he'd come back in a while, after everyone had left, and he could confront the disaster this weekend had been.

He heard someone moving. Someone in the living room. He thought he recognized Ted's low growl. His roommate's higher voice responded sleepily with a simpering chuckle a second later. A chill ran down his spine.

He fled.

em>Please leave a review. I appreciate all comments of any sort and variety.
Copyright © 2017 Parker Owens; All Rights Reserved.
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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, events, and incidents are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously. Any resemblances to actual persons (living or dead), organizations, companies, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you. 
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Chapter Comments



On 10/28/2016 02:05 AM, Mikiesboy said:

Oh dear. What a mess. What is our predator going to do?

You're right - and not just a serious mess of a suite, but our predator is a physical, emotional, personal and psychological mess, too. For now, all he can do is flee - that seems to be all he can manage. Thanks for reading and and for your comments!

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I'm glad I wasn't eating anything when I read this - you convey the stench, mess and general squalor far too well ... Our anti-hero has at least some self-realisation, even some insight into his previous behaviour. Will it come to anything?

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On 10/28/2016 02:29 AM, northie said:

I'm glad I wasn't eating anything when I read this - you convey the stench, mess and general squalor far too well ... Our anti-hero has at least some self-realisation, even some insight into his previous behaviour. Will it come to anything?

The predator certainly had what can only be described as a horrific vision. But you are right to wonder if it was at all cathartic. Sorry about the squalor, but post-party mess is rarely pretty. Thanks so much for your remarks and for reading this chapter!

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Actually I thought I had read the worst - but to be exposed in that way and robbed of everything of meaning (even if it is only money etc. - which for him though had been everything) seems even harsher - I do not like feeling that way but I do and in that very moment to realise what he had done himself to all those young men - you really convey that moment of terrible insight so powerfully. And then to flee in abject terror simply from hearing Ted's voice - he is broken. Indeed.

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On 10/28/2016 04:29 AM, mayday said:

Actually I thought I had read the worst - but to be exposed in that way and robbed of everything of meaning (even if it is only money etc. - which for him though had been everything) seems even harsher - I do not like feeling that way but I do and in that very moment to realise what he had done himself to all those young men - you really convey that moment of terrible insight so powerfully. And then to flee in abject terror simply from hearing Ted's voice - he is broken. Indeed.

It's not easy to crack a heart of stone. Perhaps his cracked, perhaps not. But surely, our predator has had a particularly searing experience and a horrific vision. That he could not face Ted and his roommate is telling. Thank you for reading this chapter, and for your support.

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I love this story Parker. Like the others, I found the description of the aftermath to be very real. Maybe we've all been there at some point, although I hope not in the same way as the Predator.

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If this is a metaphor, I know who the protagonist is. I hope the rest of us don't have to suffer four or eight years for that mistake!

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I believe this was the chapter where I stopped hating "him." As horrible as "he" was/is there was somebody worse. I guess having such an awful experience foisted upon you would give anyone perspective and empathy. It's almost like he knew he was doing awful things but somehow switched off the part of his brain that actually cared.

 

The subtlety with which this is written makes it so effective. There's nothing obscene or salacious about the writing, and yet I still get a twinge in my gut when I'm reading it. That description of the orgy aftermath. It made me sick, and I don't even dislike the smell of semen in the right circumstances.

 

You did such a good job with this chapter Parker.

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Hopefully his car is in one piece. I wonder what they used it for.

 

I agree with everyone who pointed out how subtle it was written when the predator FINALLY realized what he had done to all those boys. Now he has a conscience. Maybe he'll stop being a predator.

 

It's obvious he's afraid of Ted. And he has every right to be; I don't think Ted is done with him.

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On 10/28/2016 09:30 AM, Dodger said:

I love this story Parker. Like the others, I found the description of the aftermath to be very real. Maybe we've all been there at some point, although I hope not in the same way as the Predator.

Thank you for making your way through what is clearly a difficult story. The aftermath was especially squalid. The predator might have faced the cleanup if that was all there was to it, but no way could he face Ted, his missing money and lockbox, and his newly awakened conscience, too.

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On 10/28/2016 09:58 AM, droughtquake said:

If this is a metaphor, I know who the protagonist is. I hope the rest of us don't have to suffer four or eight years for that mistake!

No, not that metaphor. Thanks for continuing to read this tale!

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On 10/28/2016 10:40 AM, spikey582 said:

I believe this was the chapter where I stopped hating "him." As horrible as "he" was/is there was somebody worse. I guess having such an awful experience foisted upon you would give anyone perspective and empathy. It's almost like he knew he was doing awful things but somehow switched off the part of his brain that actually cared.

 

The subtlety with which this is written makes it so effective. There's nothing obscene or salacious about the writing, and yet I still get a twinge in my gut when I'm reading it. That description of the orgy aftermath. It made me sick, and I don't even dislike the smell of semen in the right circumstances.

 

You did such a good job with this chapter Parker.

Yes, there is someone actually worse than our predator; a bigger fish, a larger carnivore. But now that our particular predator is out of his cage, he is faced with the awful familiarity of his existence, and the terrifying thought of facing Ted. No wonder he flees. Thank you so much for your wonderful support and for reading this tale.

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On 10/28/2016 11:55 AM, Lisa said:

Hopefully his car is in one piece. I wonder what they used it for.

 

I agree with everyone who pointed out how subtle it was written when the predator FINALLY realized what he had done to all those boys. Now he has a conscience. Maybe he'll stop being a predator.

 

It's obvious he's afraid of Ted. And he has every right to be; I don't think Ted is done with him.

The rush of conscience and the conviction of the soul can be a devastating experience. In our predator's case, it seems to have swept in on him in the squalid aftermath of the party. Yes, he is definitely scared of Ted, and with good reason. Hard to face both Ted and his newly active conscience. Many thanks for your perceptive comments and thoughts.

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I've been queasy all night, and this sure didn't help. Superb writing, buddy. I'm not sure I trust the reappearance of a conscience, but it is believable that he has faced his crimes in the stark reality of the bathroom, after being reduced even further with the public exposure. It sounds like something he would have done to HIS victims. I have always believed people can redeem themselves... I wonder how HE will react as everything settles. Is Ted a horrible man or an avenging sword? That is my biggest question right now... my guess would be he was settling an overdue score for someone close to him. I feel no pity for Ted's victim... horror? Yes. But he still has a life, and he hasn't been forced into dependency on drugs... he should count his blessings despite his sore ass... chilling, my friend... cheers... Gary....

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On 10/29/2016 04:11 AM, Headstall said:

I've been queasy all night, and this sure didn't help. Superb writing, buddy. I'm not sure I trust the reappearance of a conscience, but it is believable that he has faced his crimes in the stark reality of the bathroom, after being reduced even further with the public exposure. It sounds like something he would have done to HIS victims. I have always believed people can redeem themselves... I wonder how HE will react as everything settles. Is Ted a horrible man or an avenging sword? That is my biggest question right now... my guess would be he was settling an overdue score for someone close to him. I feel no pity for Ted's victim... horror? Yes. But he still has a life, and he hasn't been forced into dependency on drugs... he should count his blessings despite his sore ass... chilling, my friend... cheers... Gary....

I did not mean this as a chilling Halloween tale, but Ted sure seems like a darkly drawn character, doesn't he? Ted's role is hazy, and the predator is rightly skittish about hanging around to demand answers or clarification. You are completely right about what happened to the predator: it is something that might have happened to his own prey, though he gives us no recollection that he ever employed restraints. You're right, too, that the predator escaped with a life unbroken by chemical dependency. That he can feel the beginnings of remorse must be an indication that his soul is not completely desiccated. Thank you for reading this chapter, and I am sorry to have contributed to your queasiness - though this was not as rough as the previous chapter. I am glad you have remained with this tale.

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A very believable thought-pattern from our boy as he tries to make sense of what he has become. Nicely done.

 

He flees. But where to? What's his next step? Can't wait to find out!

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This chapter was frighteningly too real with the descriptions. That made it a little harder to read. I'm glad that he, the predator, realised the depth of what horror he had unleashed on others. Now he is out, but not free. There is Ted. I don't think he can hide from Ted as I also think that Ted manipulated that escape. I don't know what's worse for him. Living with the full knowledge of what he's done or looking over his shoulder for Ted who just upped the game.

 

This is yet another captivating chapter.. Thanks Parker..

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On 10/31/2016 07:56 AM, skinnydragon said:

A very believable thought-pattern from our boy as he tries to make sense of what he has become. Nicely done.

 

He flees. But where to? What's his next step? Can't wait to find out!

The predator turned prey has a chance to consider and reflect. Not everyone gots this chance, or this stark an opportunity. And of those that do, many ignore what their inner voices tell them. I am glad you thought this believable. I really appreciate your supportive words. Where will we find him next? That's coming....

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On 10/31/2016 10:19 AM, Defiance19 said:

This chapter was frighteningly too real with the descriptions. That made it a little harder to read. I'm glad that he, the predator, realised the depth of what horror he had unleashed on others. Now he is out, but not free. There is Ted. I don't think he can hide from Ted as I also think that Ted manipulated that escape. I don't know what's worse for him. Living with the full knowledge of what he's done or looking over his shoulder for Ted who just upped the game.

 

This is yet another captivating chapter.. Thanks Parker..

You make an excellent point - our predator is escaped, but not free. His constraints aren't physical, but surely he is bound in some way. Looking over his shoulder for Ted will be difficult enough. Thanks so much for your kind remarks and response!

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I'm really intrigued by your story as it's so very different from the usual ones here. The darkness is compact and the image you paint of the party scene is chilling. Using and abusing... The people who knew the whole event was sick but went ahead anyway... To get to know man who is not a good man is fascinating. And as always, your writing is amazing.

 

That said I must add two things that bothered me. First I find his coming from being raped in severe pain very strange. Of course, I'm not a man and lack knowledge of the pure physical aspects of the male anatomy, but would a guy who never gives it up really respond like that? Second, his realization of his own flaws and despicable acts came a bit sudden. His personality (arrogant and callous) would make me expect either anger or denial at this stage, the morning after. Running away yes, but to plot his revenge or just getting out of there to forget it ever happened. Not accepting it as fair turnabout. He's been repeatedly raped, drugged and humiliated. That to me would spark a more intense reaction.

 

Just a few thoughts...

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On 11/01/2016 07:15 AM, Puppilull said:

I'm really intrigued by your story as it's so very different from the usual ones here. The darkness is compact and the image you paint of the party scene is chilling. Using and abusing... The people who knew the whole event was sick but went ahead anyway... To get to know man who is not a good man is fascinating. And as always, your writing is amazing.

 

That said I must add two things that bothered me. First I find his coming from being raped in severe pain very strange. Of course, I'm not a man and lack knowledge of the pure physical aspects of the male anatomy, but would a guy who never gives it up really respond like that? Second, his realization of his own flaws and despicable acts came a bit sudden. His personality (arrogant and callous) would make me expect either anger or denial at this stage, the morning after. Running away yes, but to plot his revenge or just getting out of there to forget it ever happened. Not accepting it as fair turnabout. He's been repeatedly raped, drugged and humiliated. That to me would spark a more intense reaction.

 

Just a few thoughts...

You have a fair point. Revenge might be one reaction, one that's certainly a reasonable possibility. The predator might have raged. I also think it possible that the video upload may have done something to his psyche. You are right that being raped, drugged and humiliated would be perfect reasons for revenge; and for flight, if one felt sufficiently powerless, rudderless and broken. It is the degree of brokenness that might be telling. Anyhow, that's what might be true in this case. But I think your thoughts very provoking. For if the predator had felt at all in control, perhaps there might have been blood on the floor. However, I doubt that was our predator's style, anyway. Thank you for this review and for your really valuable thoughts!

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So we see a glimpse of humanity in our predator. I was wondering how you were going to make him redeemable. Now I see a glimmer of hope for him... faint, but it's there. He still has a long way to go to atone for his sins. I'm still not ready to conjure up much sympathy for him. I'm very interested to see where you take this next.

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On 11/05/2016 10:04 AM, Valkyrie said:

So we see a glimpse of humanity in our predator. I was wondering how you were going to make him redeemable. Now I see a glimmer of hope for him... faint, but it's there. He still has a long way to go to atone for his sins. I'm still not ready to conjure up much sympathy for him. I'm very interested to see where you take this next.

I wondered, and still do, if atonement is possible for the predator, and by extension, for anyone. But that was the point of writing this story, in part, buT. I am glad you see a spark of humanity glowing somewhere in the darkness here. For perhaps the predator can experience that once again, as he must have once upon a time, before he chose to snuff that fire out. Many thanks for your generous and supportive words.

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Well, it can happen. Sometimes, even those with no apparent conscience can suddenly discover it was there all along. I don't know if this is quite our boy or not. He has thus far been portrayed as a savage - and someone who has acted like he has to this point would not be contemplating remorse so much as revenge. I am going to have to wait and see where you go next before deciding.
You've definitely got my interest by the...scruff of the neck. :)

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