Numb

by Aaron Hunter

Adam is lost. He doesn’t know where he came from or where he’s going. It seems that his whole life is a mystery. Why is he working a dead-end corporate job? Why does his life seem to be going nowhere? And why does he keep having visions of a dark clad visitor who tells him to do horrible things? His office lies in the basement, deep underground. Here Adam is harassed by an overbearing office manager and his sniveling assistant. Every moment that Adam is in this place he feels his very essence being stripped away. Slowly, this place is killing the person he believed himself to be. Adam's life begins to make more sense when he meets Amber. Her intelligence, kindness, and compassion are strong enough to soothe the pain. Though their relationship develops quickly, Adam can imagine himself finding contentedness with this young woman. But there are dark forces that cannot be denied. Adam can no longer deny the dark temptations of the ghostly figure in his mind. He becomes aggressive. In an alley outside a bar, he commits his first heinous crime: a savage beating of a man who antagonized him. Though Adam distances himself from his actions, he feels liberated by what he has done. At work, he starts to gain strength. He resists. He fights back. He does not allow himself to be pushed around. But soon things start to unravel. Adam’s frustration at work finally reaches a boiling point. He becomes fed up. Simultaneously, he begins to suspect that Amber is cheating on him. When he catches her being amorous with another man, everything comes crashing down on Adam. It is at this point that Adam truly accepts the dark figure and what it has to tell him. He and the specter then go on a violent bloodbath, murdering Adam’s enemies at work, as well as the man Amber was seeing. He feels powerful and vindicated, but he knows that he has crossed the line. He also knows that he is in big trouble. Adam is gathering his things to flee the country, when both Amber and the police confront him. Amber is pregnant with his child. And the police want to cage him up. It is in this moment when Adam comes to a realization. There is nothing more for him. This world has nothing more to offer. A shootout ensues as Adam wonders if there was one decision that might have steered his life clear from the dilemma he faces.

360 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2007

Reviews

[Aaron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book that had me excited and anxious to turn each page. Many people will relate to the main character enough that they will place themselves deep into the mystery. The author's great detail and understanding will have me picking this book up again.