Available For Chat a serial by Cynthia Piramalli

An Internet-era story about two young people who meet via instant messaging. One turns out to be a predator, and the other will be his victim. Will she survive?

Available for Chat, Part 1 - David Martin sat on the edge of his couch, dressed only in his boxer shorts, and smoked a cigarette. He looked around him - the room was a mess, but he didn’t care. He would clean it up soon enough, it wasn’t as if he was going to have visitors any time soon. Right now he just wanted to take in the moment and savor it before the panic set in. He was getting used to the routine now, knew when to enjoy the moment and knew when to panic. Now was the time for enjoyment. The adrenalin was starting to subside into a serenity that was almost tangible. He could almost touch it, almost taste it. He wished he could keep it forever.

Lucy started off a message window. - Lucy pressed the power buttons on her computer and monitor, then sat back and tapped her ragged fingernails on the desk as she waited for the pc to boot up. She cursed at it under her breath for being so slow as it crunched away. At last the start up screen appeared and Lucy double clicked on the Internet icon. Another long wait as it dialed up. She sighed, lit a cigarette, coughed, spluttered, then took another drag.

At last! - David had been sitting at his computer for hours. His eyes were getting sore and he was frustrated at how slow it was. If he had the money he could trade up, but right now that was a pipe dream. He was too out of it to hold a job for any longer than a couple of months. He hated going outside these days - he had done too much, was drinking too much and was getting too paranoid. Only to meet the next one, or for more alcohol and cigarettes, otherwise he wouldn’t go out at all.

Black hair, cut in a bob with a fringe - David arrived at the uni bar an hour early at eight. He went straight into the men’s room to check his reflection – he scrubbed up okay, especially considering this was the first time in a week that he’d had a shower. Unless he was going out, he couldn’t be bothered. He slicked back his hair a little more with water from the tap, then ventured back out into the smoke filled bar-room to wait for Lucy. He sat at the bar and ordered a beer, then watched everyone around him to pass the time. Some music played on a speaker system, but it was all that independent rock stuff that he wasn’t into. He wasn’t particularly keen on passing an hour listening to this stuff, but if that’s what he had to do, he’d do it.

You’re all mine - Lucy lit a cigarette and inhaled more confidently than she had for a long time. She was starting to feel alive again. She hadn’t felt like this for nearly a year. There was a large part of her that was disappointed that she could only get this sort of strange happiness by toying with other people, but that was eclipsed by that small part of her that was taking over again. Bloody hell it felt good though.

Shall we? - Lucy finished her second drink then went into the ladies room to do one final check before Dave was due to arrive. She wobbled on her heels a little and vowed to just have a Coke when she went back to the bar. Only two wines and already she felt drunk—it must be the nerves and the adrenalin as well as the wine. Normally, she could take in a fair amount of alcohol with little effect. She’d been drinking since she was twelve, after all. All the same, she’d better take it easy. She could have a big night ahead of her.

It’s not fair. - Lucy went home with David, just as she knew she would, just as he hoped she would. Once there, the ‘date’ as they had known it stopped, and something else began. Something one of them was not prepared for, and the other could not control.

only a few days later - It was only a few days later, but the hunger came back again. So quickly is it satiated, that it must be fed again. It was unexplainable, but that’s how it was. No point in arguing with it, just comply. Once you cross the line, you can never go back. You need more.