Minotaur

Ellie got in at her usually stop and took the seat available on the left side of the bus. Every evening she got off from work and walked the short distance to the bus stop to catch the 7:12 bus to Whitehawk, Old Village. This was her daily routine ever since she started working as a personal assistant at the offices of Baumford Stationary Supplies Corp, less than two months ago. She was thankful for her job even though she thought of her boss as a bit of a sexist prick that never seemed to run out of excuses to stop at her desk and stare down her blouse, kind of like the young man standing next to her was doing right now, she noticed.

There were still a few vacant seats left and no decent excuse for the man to be standing next to Ellie. She looked up at him busy as he was gawking at her cleavage. The guy gave off a creepy vibe- pasty white skin, ratty brown hair and dull gray eyes behind thick glasses clumsily perched low on his nose. The weather had gotten warmer and yet he wore a trench coat, suspiciously buttoned up even though he appeared to be sweating profusely under it. She looked at him sternly. That usually did the trick, but this guy was either too preoccupied with his ogling or he was pretending not to notice her discomfort with the attention he was paying her.

Being a bit "top heavy" as some people liked to describe her, Ellie was used to her chest drawing attention. As a teen her tits made her awkward as she tried to hide her curves in baggy, oversized clothes that made her look dumpy. But by the time she completed high school she had figured out that her large breasts gave her an advantage over other girls that were smarter and better than her in many ways. Ever since her discovery she made sure to dress in fitted or scooped neck tops that displayed her assets to their full advantage. People liked to look at her body, though most were discrete about it; a few were obvious but none as obvious as the man who appeared to be literally drooling over her.

Ugh! Even the douche pretends to read the document on my desk whenever he hovers around.

The douche was the nickname Ellie had given her boss. It's how she referred to him in her thoughts, never out loud though.

Fed up with the guy's behaviour she stood up. "Excuse me," she said to the man forcing him to step aside for her. She moved to a vacant seat further back in the bus and sat down next to an old lady who smiled and nodded at her.

Maybe now the pig will get it.

The bus halted and more people got in. The man took the opportunity to move to the back of the bus himself and stand beside Ellie where he once again continued to stare away at her chest failing to note the annoyance on her face.

As crowded as the bus was now, no one appeared to take note of the man's rudeness. Even the old lady sitting beside Ellie looked like she was taking a nap. She saw no choice but to try and simply tune out the pervert like the rest of the commuters. Reaching into her handbag she took out her headphones, plugged them into her phone, pulled up her playlist and closed her eyes. A few minutes of listening to her favourite singers helped her forget all about the annoying man near her.

She opened her eyes when she felt a gentle nudging on her right.

"Excuse me, young lady..."

It was the old lady sitting beside her. It looked like she was ready to get off. Ellie gave her way to pass and expected the pervert to try and squeeze past her so he could sit next to her but he didn't. Instead he stepped aside to allow another woman to take the seat.

"Thank you," said the lady as she took her seat. Ellie looked up and saw that the man was back to staring.

Sheesh! At this rate his eyeballs are gonna to pop out like Will E Coyote.

Her irritation with him continued to mount as the stops rolled by. Fortunately they were only two more left for her stop.

When it was finally time for her to get off the man didn't give her much room to pass so she had to brush past him. That's when he finally made eye-contact with her. His dull vacant eyes staring into hers unnerved her more than any other thing he had done so far. She shrugged it off as she got off the bus to walk to her home.

*****

Ellie got off work as usual the next day and waited for her bus. She had made an excursion to the bookstore located at the corner of where she worked during her lunch break to pick up the latest offering from her favourite author. She was excitedly looking forward to cracking the book open on the journey home.

She shuffled to the back of the bus and took the corner seat in the last row so her reading pleasure wasn't interrupted by anyone during the journey. In her eagerness to get to her book she failed to notice the dull eyes staring at her as soon as she entered. She didn't even pay attention when the person came and sat beside her. The novel was a thriller that hooked in the reader from page one. She was on the edge of her seat swiftly turning page after page as she devoured the story.

The driver braked suddenly forcing the commuters to lunge forward in their seats. As Ellie settled back into place she noticed for the first time the man seated to her left. He didn't smile awkwardly in recognition or respond in any manner.

Course not; coz that would've been the normal thing to do, you creep.

She tried to return to her novel but found herself too distracted by the presence of the creepy guy next to her. Something about him seemed off. He didn't come across as one of those awkward young men who behaved oddly around women they found attractive because they were lacking in social graces. She'd dated her share of shy young men to know the difference. For once she wished she dressed more conservatively in public so she wouldn't feel as exposed as she did under his scrutiny.

Giving up on her book altogether she slammed it shut and put it away. For the rest of the journey she stared outside the window trying to ignore the boor. Just before her stop arrived he stood up to leave. Ellie sighed in relief as she saw the man get swallowed up by the crowd as he made his way to the exit. She wanted nothing more than to get home and unwind with a glass of wine and her book to put this creepy encounter behind her.

*****

It was Friday, a day when Ellie usually headed home later than usual as she stopped by the supermarket close to work to pick up any supplies she may have need for over the weekend. She was still fairly new to the city and had yet to make the kind of close friends she had back home, which meant that she usually ended up spending her weekends at home.

Her house was a modest single storey bungalow on the outskirts of the city. The place had never been lived in so it needed some work done. It wasn't ideal but it was all she could afford. She ended up spending her free time in home improvement tasks. Ideally she would've flirted with some handyman type to get this sort of thing taken care of, but, she didn't appear to have too many neighbours and they were scattered.

There were a few Fridays when Ellie would head to the bar down the street from her office to join her co-workers for drinks. However, she soon learnt that her boss just became more of a prick outside the workplace and she didn't want to risk her job because of an awkward moment outside of work.

It was close to nine o'clock when she finally arrived at the stop with two bags filled with groceries. She struggled to get in with her bags as stepped into the crowded bus and instantly regretted dawdling about the supermarket instead of rushing home immediately.

At least, I won't see that creep again, she consoled herself.

She didn't have to juggle her bags for too long. An entire group of kids got up at once, leaving several seats vacant. She jumped at the one nearest to her and had barely set her bags down when she felt another presence near her.

Fuck! It's that creep.

Is he stalking me? Hmmm...

No, unlikely. He wouldn't have known where to begin.

Still, creepy- as fuck- coincidence.

She tried to avoid looking at him or his dead fish eyes. He sat beside her quietly. He hadn't actually done anything so far other than stare at her tits. She sat with her eyes closed determined to ignore him till it was time for one of them to get off.

Ellie was wearing a white silk blouse that complimented her tan nicely. The neckline was modest compared to most of the tops she possessed, however the fabric was sheer enough to display the top half of her globes sticking out of the demi cup satin bra she was wearing. She knew if she walked with an extra bounce in her step sometimes an errant nipple would naughtily peek out. She hoped this was not one of those times as she could feel his eyes boring into her.

She enjoyed showing off her body and she knew she had the reputation of being a cock-tease back home for it because she rarely, if ever, gave the men what they wanted. She enjoyed the power she felt over the men turning them into drooling creatures who would do anything she asked for. But, this guy didn't seem to care for her at all; it was plain objectification and it made her uncomfortable.

Ugh! This is really annoying. But, it's not like the perv's even doing anything.

She watched as he simply sat there staring at her chest. He had his trench coat open and Ellie was amazed he wasn't naked underneath. Looking at the front of his pants, he didn't even appear excited.

All that staring and no wood? Either I'm losing my touch or that's one wee willy.

She took another look at him.

Yup, teeny, tiny pecker for sho.

Probably why you can't talk to women anymore, eh?

Grew tired of them laughin' at your stub, dintcha?

Mmmhmm.

She was so amused by the thought she didn't even realise when it was time for her to get off. By the time she was walking home she was giggling out loud thinking about the pathetic little man she had encountered on the bus.

Looking forward to the weekend she was engrossed in making mental plans, which may be why she never noticed him till she turned into a dark corner near her home. For the first time she became aware of the footsteps close on her heels. The faster she moved the closer they sounded. She turned and started to panic when she saw the pervert from the bus following her.

"What the-"

She reached into her bag for the bottle of mace she kept in there and as she got ready to spray him, she took note of the bags he was holding before him.

"You-you left these." He said while handing her the bags.

"Oh!" She sighed in relief. She had been so preoccupied with the guy while alighting that she had forgotten all about the two bags of groceries she put down while in the bus. She quickly put away the mace and took the bags from him, embarrassed for being so wrong about the guy.

"Thank you so much."

"Gabriel-Gabriel. My name's Gabriel." He said putting his hand forward.

Gosh I must make him nervous. Poor guy won't stop stuttering.

She carefully balanced the bags in one hand as she took his hand.

"Thank you Gabriel. I'm Ellie."

"Eliel-Ellie, that-that's a pretty name."

He took a hold of her hand and shook it firmly.

"Thank you," she said trying to retrieve her hand but it was difficult as he was now clasping it with both of his hands as he continued to shake it away.

"Very pretty, you are very pretty."

"Thank you, again." She said finally managing to yank her hand away. "It's late I really should be going now."

"Yes, yes of course-course. Buh-bye pretty Ellie."

He simply stood there as she hurriedly took off. She felt rattled by how he had held on to her hand. Not once during their brief exchange did he smile at her, instead he had maintained his expressionless expression throughout. She remembered the way he spoke, how he avoided eye contact.

Wait a minute. Could he be autistic?

She had never interacted with a person with autism before but some of Gabriel's behaviours appeared to match with what she read about it. He was a little different for sure, is that what she was picking up as a creepy vibe, she wondered. She was inside her home by then.

Ellie was busy in the kitchen putting the perishables away when the doorbell rang. She didn't have friends but she did have a neighbour across the street that sometimes dropped by in the evening for a cup of tea and some commiseration. But Martha never came by this late. She wondered who it could be as she drew the curtain aside to take a look at who it was.

That's odd. Could've sworn the porch light was on.

"Who's there?" She called out. It was dark and difficult to make out who was standing on the other side of the door.

There was no response, instead the person began to furiously pound on the door.

"Who is it? Who are you? What do you want?" Ellie yelled, panicking. She remembered that her phone was in her bag which was currently sitting on top of her kitchen counter. She ran back towards the kitchen and halted in her tracks when the pounding stopped all of a sudden.

She strained her ears to try and pick up on any sound, but, all she could hear in the silence was her own breathing. She tiptoed to the kitchen, considering her alternatives. Running outside wouldn't help as she didn't own a car and the nearest occupied home was at least a hundred feet away. Plus she had no way of knowing how many people were outside at the moment trying to break into her home. She didn't want to risk running straight into one of them. The best course of action it appeared was for her to call the cops and lock herself in the bedroom till they arrived.

She grabbed her bag and rushed into the master bedroom slamming the door shut behind her and dragged one of the two armchairs to barricade the door. A quick check ensured that the two double hung windows were locked before she drew the curtains shut. She switched off the bedroom lights and crouched low on the ground before finally pulling her phone out to dial the cops.

"Dammit!" She exclaimed when the call wouldn't connect. Biting her tongue she hit redial. When the call still wouldn't connect, she checked her phone display.

Shit!

Her phone had no reception. She couldn't understand why, she'd never had problem with reception before and yet at the moment there wasn't even a single signal bar on her display screen. She tried again in vain. Even moving closer to the window did nothing. It was really odd.

Fuck!

She began to hyperventilate. It looked like she had no way of getting help, which meant that she would need to be prepared to deal with the problem herself. She didn't own a gun and wouldn't know how to handle one even if she did. The kitchen had some knives but to do any damage with a knife would require her to get close to whoever was trying to get in, something she was trying to avoid at the moment.

Calm the fuck down!

Okay now, deep and calming breaths.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Nice and calm.

When she managed to calm herself down it struck her that she hadn't heard anything outside for a while now. She wondered if she may have over-reacted, but, preferred to err on the side of caution. After staying huddled in the dark for around fifteen odd minutes with no sound of any activity on the outside she figured that she had indeed jumped the gun.

Ellie stood up and switched on the lamp on the nightstand. She sat on her bed and checked the phone. There was still no signal. She waited for a few minutes before she decided it was safe to step outside the bedroom. She moved the chair she used to block the door and unlocked it. She had barely taken a step out of the bedroom when she felt something make contact with the back of her head. She put her hand to the spot- it felt wet. She was struggling to focus on her surroundings at this point. She brought her hand in front of her eyes and observed her fingers were stained with some reddish coloured sticky substance. Then the lights went out.

*****

She blinked her eyes open. Her head was pounding and her vision was blurry. She tried to look around but the movement made her head hurt even more. She shut her eyes once more and tried to calm herself.

Deep breaths, girl. Calm down and then figure out what the fuck is going on.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Opening her eyes slowly this time she found herself lying on the floor outside her bedroom. She tried to get up but the movement made her head hurt. Nothing seemed out of place. She reached back to feel her head. This time there was no sticky fluid. The bleeding must've stopped.

How did I end up with a bleeding head?

Did I hit my head against something... or slip and fall?

Best take a look at it.

She pressed the sides of her head to help alleviate the pounding as she pulled herself up to go to the bathroom. There was a basic first-aid kit under the sink which would have something to clean and patch the wound.

She found it hard to focus and was too shaky to walk steadily. She took off her shoes hoping it would help make things a little easier. Staggering the few steps to her bathroom, she was amused to watch her reflection in the large mirror dominating the wall behind the sink. Her hair was slightly mussed up, gait unsteady, face flushed and nipples poked out of her bra.

So, this is what I must look like when I'm drunk.

She leaned closer to the mirror and tried to get a look at the back of her head in vain. She grabbed the counter as she bent to open the cabinet below the sink.

"Mother fucker!" She screamed from the pain brought on by the sudden movement of her head. Holding her head still, she slowly reached into the cabinet and pulled out the box with the first-aid supplies.

Ellie settled the box on the counter and opened the sink faucet; she gingerly lowered her head under the water stream with the intention of cleaning the wound out. When she was satisfied that it was clean enough she used one of the hand towels to press it against the back of her head. She stood in that position for a few minutes observing her reflection in the mirror.

"This is whatchu get for being so paranoid." She reprimanded herself.

She set the towel aside and opened the first-aid box to take out the tube of Neosporin. She leaned forward and squeezed the anti-biotic ointment in the general direction of the wound. Since she couldn't see where it was landing she made sure she emptied the contents of the tube on her head. She was still a little dizzy and thought it prudent to get the wound examined right away.

Oh well, best call a cab then. Now, where's my phone?

She cursed and fumbled her way across her house to retrieve her phone from the bedroom. She remembered sitting on the bed with the phone in her hand the last time she'd used it. That was before she ventured out of the bedroom and hit her head. But at the moment she could see no sign of it on the bed.

Where the fuck is it?

"It has to be here." she assured herself out loud.

Did I drop it?

She dropped to the floor and groaned in agony from having moved too fast. She looked under the bed but it wasn't there. She checked the nightstand and her bag which was neatly kept on the chest of drawers. The phone appeared nowhere in sight. She was pretty certain that the phone never left the bedroom.

"So where is it?" She scrunched her eyebrows in worry.

*Buzz-buzz-buzz*

She followed the buzzing sound to the nightstand drawer and opened it to find her phone inside. She stared at the buzzing phone in shock because this was not the ringtone she was currently using for her phone. The call display didn't show the number of the person calling.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Hel-loh?"