Chapter 1

Debbie Kenson had survived one of the worst serial killers in history. She had been slated to be one of the killers victims but for some unknown reason she had been spared death only to be subjected to torture and sexual abuse. The worst of the tortures had been the symbols burned into her back by the killer.

Debbie had also received a large sum of money from her captor. She had been more than a bit surprise by the sum of money deposited into her account. She had waited for what seemed like a long time then invested the money in good solid investments. Now six years after ordeal she was richer than she ever thought possible. Debbie still went to work every day but managed to keep a very low profile. The media had forgotten her altogether, and that suited her just fine.

Debbie had spent a few months in a hospital recovering from her ordeal but she had also changed her name and now had a new back ground to cover up her past. This had gone a long way to helping the media loose track of her. The only person who knew her real name and history was her psychatrist. Because of patient-doctor confidendiality the doctor was forbidden to ever say anything.

Debbie had also invested part of her money into having the scars on her back removed. Now the only thing that marked her past was a bitter memory of the past. Every year on the day that she escaped and every year on the day that she was abducted, she took a day off to be alone. Debbie even managed to visit the graves where James and Shelly were buried.

The new owners of the estate had asked the courts to have the graves moved to the local cemetery. Now James and Shelly along with the rest of the graves now had a section all to themselves. The missing three victims from New York had also been located and the victims had been reburied by their friends and family in their home towns.

To Debbie’s co-workers she was a nice enough person but kind of cold and hard on the outside. She was always invited out for lunch with the rest of the girls but she always said thanks but not today. After a while they stopped asking and just assumed that she was shy or introverted.

Debbie was nice to her coworkers and everyone that she came in contact with but to those that knew her best she was kind of cold and hard on the outside. She didn’t joke around with anyone and seldom was seen laughing or crying. Debbie spent most weekends at the library or at a movie. She lived a solitary life, and for the most part she accepted it. But deep inside she wondered if there was any hope for her. Some times late in the night she would dream about James and Shelly and wonder if they were together or not.

Debbie had a reoccurring dream about once a month. In her dream she was happy and healthy, living with the man of her dreams. In reality she was not capable of having an intimate relationship with anyone. Since she was alone in the world Debbie had no commitments to anyone but herself and to the job she held. Her doctor told her that she needed to get out of the house and to be with people. Debbie didn’t need to work but, she followed the doctors orders and kept the job.

For a year after she left the hospital she never left her house. She had everything delivered. One day a delivery girl arrived at her door and managed to entice her to out of the house and down the corner to the local coffee shop. The entire time she was divided between wanting to get back to the safety of the house and wanting to enjoy more of the beautiful weather. For the next three months the delivery girl would stop by her door and invite Debbie out to lunch, and every week Debbie agreed and after a few weeks it becamae easier to get out of the house. After four months Debbie was able to get out of the house anytime she wanted to and the do anything she wanted to. The only thing she couldn’t do was trust anyone.

At the end of the summer the delivery girl told Debbie that the job was at an end and that she was going to school in England. Debbie was sorry to see her only friend leave but she was also happy to know that her life was happy and bright.

The last thing that the delivery girl said to Debbie was to sell her house and to move to a new town. She needed to start a new life and look to the future. Debbie thought about it for a few weeks then put her house up for sale and decided to move to Las Vegas, Nevada.

The house didn’t sell right away. Debbie had time to think about her move and decided that she needed a real change in her life. While Debbie had been a shut in she learned that it was possible to change your name and entire history, in essence become a totally different person. She made arrangements to have a computer hacker fix all the pertinent data bases, and also to generate a new set of identification papers. Her college records were also changed to reflect her new name. To everyone but a few really talented hackers, Debbie Kenson had become Darla Ann Evans. With this change of name and history she hoped to put all of her past behind her.

The last thing Debbie did before she changed her entire life was make arrangements to have all of her money transferred to her new name. This required that she sell all her assets and to reinvest them in the new name. Finally she made arrangements for all of the computer records that the hacker could get to were purged from all the same data bases. To the world Debbie Kenson had either never been or had died of natural causes a year earlier.

Darla drove across the United States from Atlanta to Las Vegas. On the way she stopped at several tourist sights and managed to enjoy herself. Darla always stayed a good hotels, ones with good security in the safest part of town.

With part of the money she had received from James she bought a good Mercedes Benz and a small automatic pistol. This pistol she carried with her any time she traveled. Although she didn’t have a permit she felt safer with the gun. Darla had even taken a course in how to fire it.

In all Darla took two weeks to drive the distance. Once she arrived in Las Vegas she hired a real estate agent to find a house for her. A week later she took possession of a six bedroom house in a very good section of town. Her lot was just over three acres and had a tall stone fence around the perimeter. A heavy iron gate divided the street from her property.

Darla didn’t have much furniture for the house but what she did have meant a lot to her. Her roommate once owned a couple of the pieces. Darla had decided that she would keep them no matter what. She needed to remember her roommate and what had happened to her.

Darla spent a month getting her new house in order and seeing some of the sights in Las Vegas. In the meantime she was also searching for a job. She had graduated with a degree in Accounting but had yet to use it.

Darla had sent out a few resumes and had managed to get two interviews and was hired by the second one. She now worked for a company that did Accounting work on a consulting basis. Her job was basically an office job but on occasion she had to go to other offices and do her consulting.

Her office had ten other workers in it and for the most part they go along well together. Debbie was the outsider but because she was quiet and effective the others considered her part of the team. After a few months the rest of her office stopped trying to get her to come out with them. From then on they treated her with kindness at the office but knew nothing about her private life.

Each night Darla went home and had dinner and then watched some TV then did some studying and then went to bed. Every now and then she would go out to a movie but only if it was light outside. Darla still had a problem going out after dark.

After a year in Las Vegas, Darla had managed to get her backyard finished and also had furnished the rest of her house. The only thing missing in the house was the occasional guest. No one had ever visited her house and Debbie didn’t know if anyone ever would.

Eighteen months after she had moved to Las Vegas, Darla sought out another psycologist and again started to take some therapy. Her new doctor didn’t know about her past and Darla wasn’t about to tell her. Debbie just felt the need to talk to someone about her present life and maybe she would be able to come out of her shell.

IT was her new doctor that prescribed a new mood altering drug. And it was the start of her change in personality. Debbie’s last doctor had been against the use of drugs and had refused to give Darla any kind of prescription help. She was sure that talking was the answer. Her new doctor tried to help her face her fears and move on and with the help of prescription drugs she did just managed to come out of her shell. What her new doctor didn’t know was that Darla (Debbie) was a borderline Manic Depressant, one that could turn dangerous very quickly.

Her new Doctor had no idea that that Darla Evans was a new identity. Darla managed to come up with a past that helped the doctor treat her but never get close to the real problem or her real past. Debbie had managed to change her name and her entire life but her old problems transferred to her new name. Darla was still not able to have an intimate friendship with others. Darla was still not capable of facing some of the real deep seated fears, such as sex, being with strangers, and having people come to her home.

Darla did manage to get out and do her own shopping and even go to movies and a few other outdoor activities. The drugs that she was given did help her get past some of the nightmares that she still had. But the drugs also made her feel slightly keyed up and on the edge about an hour after she took the next dose. The Doctor had warned her about the side effects and to not drink any kind of alcohol, because it would only serve to alter her view of the world around her. Darla found that if she had a small glass of white wine about ten minutes after she took hrr next dose her nervousness would not be as defined.

Three months after she started with her new Doctor she managed to come out of her shell enough to accept an invitation to a party to welcome the newest accountant to the company. To the surprise of the rest of her coworkers she accepted and even managed to have a pretty good time. Darla laughed and talked a bit and had dinner with the rest. She skipped her dose of her drug and had two glasses of white wine and by the end of the night she was in a pretty good mood.

At home she went to bed and for the first time in months she had a good dream instead of nightmares. In her dream she saw herself married and with two beautiful children. Just before she could see her husbands face she was awakened by her alarm going off. Darla couldn’t remember that last time she had had a good dream. Darla desperately wanted to have more of those good dreams.

Darla continued to take her doses of drugs and would still top it off with a small glass of wine. As long as she didn’t over do it she would be fine and life would look better than it had as Debbie. Every morning Darla would get out of bed and shower then stand in front of the mirror and get ready. She never looked at her back in the mirror and never wore a bathing suit. Even though the surgery had removed the scars she had found out by accident that if she stayed out in the sun with her back exposed faint lines would appear a different color from the rest of her skin.

To the naked eye her back looked normal and was as smooth as could be expected by medical science. Because of the depth of the burns the faint lines of the symbols would show up as lighter areas that the rest of her skin. Because of this she vowed never to let her back be seen by another person.

More Friends

Darla continued on with the same doctor and the same regiment of drugs and small doses of alcohol for more that a year and during that time she came out of her self exile more and more. It was not unusual for her to go out with some of the others from the office on Friday night. Usually a group of five or more would agree to go to a restaurant and have a good dinner and then if the night was warm the would go to a show down on the strip or to a night club. Darla went along most of the time but never danced at the club. She would sit in the booth or at the table and listen to the throb of the music and wonder how others could enjoy themselves and why she couldn’t.

Darla was always asked to dance at the clubs but she was polite and always refused. Her coworkers tried to understand and would always offer to dance with her. One Friday night the entire group went to a new night club and sat together as usual. That evening one of the girls in the group announced that her brother from out of town was joining them. Darla and the rest agreed and all had dinner and then wnet to the club.

Roxanne’s brother joined the group at the club. Ted was over six feet tall and had the build of a body builder. He had close cut black hair and a very nice smile. Roxanne introduced him to the group, introducing him to Darla very last. Ted shook each hand politely and exchanged the usual greeting. It was clear the entire group the Ted was very shy, very handsome but very shy. Ted was a Major in the United States Air Force and flew Jet fighters.

Over he course of the hour or so, the group managed to find out that he was being stationed at the local Air Force Base and was just in town to see the base before he moved out to the area permenantly. It was also clear that Ted was only happiest when he was in the air flying as fast as his fighter would go. The rest of the time he was very quiet and reserved.

Darla sat in the middle of the group and smiled and listened to the questions and answeres being asked and offered. She didn’t feel the need to pry into his life. Ted did manage to get Darla to answer a question or two but for the most part they smiled at each other and Ted let the others ask all the questions and do all the talking.