Page 59 of Doubts of the Egoist
A dense forest surrounded him, and the dirt squishedbeneath his feet as he stood there, staring at the car that had kissed a tree. Although the damage was minimal and the engine still ran, the car’s forty-five-degree tilt made further traveling impossible. There was no way he could push the car out of the ditch.
Hoping to find something useful, he rummaged through the glove compartment and trunk, but found nothing. The car looked recently cleaned out—no radio, no forgotten phone or flashlight, not even a scrap of cloth to wrap around his bare feet.
He slammed the trunk closed, leaned his elbows on it, and stuck his fingers in his hair.
“I can’t believe it! This place is like the fucking Bermuda Triangle. Once you step in, you can’t escape...” His voice was hushed in the oppressive silence.
He shifted his feet, feeling mud cling to his toes. The ground was colder than he’d expected. The idea of sitting in the car and waiting for someone to drive by perished at birth. This was the only road to Yugo’s mansion, so he was more likely to encounter his goons than anyone else.
Yugo’s words echoing in his ears, made him uneasy.“They wonder exactly how I fucked you last night, and how much you loved every inch of my cock. They want to find out if they can make you scream even louder.”
Yugo’s theory sounded absurd; still, he didn’t want to risk making it come true. Above all, he didn’t want to become a victim of the S-Syndicate’s domination games.
He considered returning to the mansion to get another car, but he had been driving for over twenty minutes, meaning he had covered at least fifteen miles. Even if he could swallow his pride and somehow shuffle back that distance, he fearedhe wouldn’t be allowed to leave again, especially if Greg had informed Yugo about his discoveries in the small surveillance room. Unwilling to take that risk, Kuon climbed out of the ditch and started walking.
Dense forest towered around him, leaving a narrow strip of overcast sky that was only a fraction brighter than his surroundings.
In no time, the bumpy dirt road chafed the soles of his feet raw. The lack of streetlights hampered his progress as he could barely see where he was stepping. No car drove through the night, and no bird chirped; only the strong wind howled as it stormed through the forest, bending the treetops. It swept down the road, twirling around his feet, tearing at his jeans, and making Kuon’s teeth chatter.
His imagination ran wild. In the darkness, the fantastical landscape looked like ugly silhouettes of raging monsters lined along the road’s edges. They creaked and bent, reaching branches to snatch a lone wanderer. Whenever the moon peeked from behind the clouds, its silvery light shattered the illusion, transforming the monsters back into tall pines and magnificent oaks.
The night’s chill pressed on his lungs with a humid freshness. Though the end of summer brought sultry days, the nights were cold and damp, prompting him to rub his shoulders with icy hands to boost circulation.
Shuddering under a powerful gust, Kuon covered his face with both hands, shielding his eyes from the cutting, penetrating sand. Then the first drop hit his palm.
“Perfect… Rain is just what I need,” he grumbled, trying to silence the soul-sucking loneliness. He held up his palm,waiting for another drop to hit, but seconds ticked by and his hand remained dry. He squinted up. The wind chased away the clouds, slowly clearing the starry sky. The longer he stared up, the brighter the night became.
Something tickled his cheek.
“Huh?” He ran his hand over his face to brush away the sand but instead smeared wetness. He zoomed in on his fingertips, glistening in the faint moonlight.
“What the…” he whispered, stunned and confused by the wetness, then a battering ram of realization crashed through his ribs, forcing a backwash of emotion. The suppressed, smoldering feelings blazed through his chest, burning the air from his lungs and forcing him to fold into himself.
Humiliation, indignation, remorse, betrayal, anger. A raging, soul-destroying, helpless rage at Yugo, the endless dark road, the cold weather, the wind and sand, and finally at himself for being such a fool, flooded every corner of his soul once cleared by the emotional numbness.
An angry trickle slid down his chin, gaining strength as the energy left him. He crouched and covered his face with his palms. “Ugh… Fuck you, Yugo.”
High beams dazzled, chasing away the night’s darkness beneath the thicket of spruces. Not wanting to be seen, Kuon squinted and blended into the shadows but winced as something stabbed his heel. His feet were raw and chafed; his big toe was bleeding. Spruce needles sank into his battered, frozen soles, adding to his misery. Grasping a branch, he lifted his foot, plucked a thorn from his heel, and flicked it aside.
A luxurious black SUV whizzed past, heading toward Yugo’s mansion. Then it swerved from side to side as if the driver had lost control. A loud screech of tires pierced the night. The rustle of wings joined the howling wind, as dark shadows flitted across the strip of stars overhead.
The SUV swung into a U-turn and pulled level with him. The driver’s window rolled down, revealing a blond head
“Puppy? What a pleasant surprise. Did you sense me coming and want to greet me first? You really shouldn’t have,” Tobias said. The mockery, hiding behind the crooked grin, made Kuon lose interest. With a theatrical gesture, Tobias glanced at his wristwatch and said, “Hmmm, well past midnight. I guess I missed all the fun and the magic has already dissipated. Did the carriage turn back into a pumpkin, the horses into mice, the footmen into lizards, and the clothes back into ordinary rags again? Shouldn’t the shoes have stayed on, though?”
Kuon let the sarcasm slide as he unconsciously examined the car which shared its master’s edgy aura. He’d heard that the Knight XV was a Fort Knox on wheels, but he’d never seen one. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t impressed; the car looked like a tank straight out of a James Bond movie. The high beams provided enough side light to make out his pitiful reflection in the mirror-smooth car fender.
Kuon looked up. In contrast to the freshly polished car, its master looked like he’d just been through hell. Tobias’ dirty blond, shaggy hair was disheveled and greasy. His tanned face with dry, weather-bitten skin had a yellowish bruise on his left cheekbone. His pale lips were chapped, and week-old stubble covered his chin, making Kuon think the man had last shaved around the same time he had. Kuon scoffed, then resumed walking. It was too cold outside to stand still.
“Ah, I guess it’s worse than I thought,” Tobias droned after a too-long moment of mutual scrutiny, the car rolling, perfectly in sync with Kuon’s pace. “Come on, hop in. I’ll drive you home.”
“Don’t waste your time. I’m not going back,” Kuon said, trying to sound confident despite the gooseflesh prickling his skin.
“How far do you think you can go barefoot? It’s barely twelve degrees[6]outside.” When Kuon didn’t answer, the tires screeched again, and the car blocked his way. Tobias lost his grin. “I said, get in. I won’t repeat myself. Now.”
After a brief hesitation, he realized that getting physical with Tobias was an idiotic idea. Judging by the look in the man’s eyes, that would be an inevitable outcome of Kuon’s prolonged stubbornness. So, he circled the car and pulled open the passenger door. The cold handle burned his frozen fingers, and he almost groaned when his back met the warm honey-brown leather upholstery. Kuon glanced at the time; he’d been walking for more than two hours. He twisted at the waist to look over his shoulder at the huge compartment, which had two seats facing forward and two more facing backward. Yugo sure paid his lieutenants well if they could afford a car like this.
“Even though I have a pretty clear idea of what this is about, you’re an idiot for going out like this while you’re on immunosuppressants.” Eyes trained on the rearview monitor; the blond swung the car around.
