The Beginning

Amanda Richardson stared at the page in front of her with an open-mouthed look of delighted disbelief. Feeling another wave of skepticism coming, she read the ad out loud again. "Scientist looking for willing participants in scientific study. $150.00 per hour. No medical check. No background or credit check. Simply arrive at said address. First come first hired." Even as her eyes skimmed the newspaper ad she still didn't believe it. Finally it occurred to her that it couldn't hurt to check it out. With her mind made up, she reached into her worn jacket and pulled out a crumpled five dollar bill. Nodding in the direction of the waitress, she stuffed her hands into the thinning pockets of her faded jeans and allowed her scuffed sneakers to drag across the dusty floor of the diner. Amanda glanced at the clock in the back corner quickly noting that the greasy antique read 10:20am. Aware that if she continued to lag she could be late, Amanda allowed her slender body to adapt a more purposeful stride as she rushed to the place of her appointment.
Presently she strode up to a dignified looking house. This was easily the most expensive-looking house on the entire block. "6384..."she murmured as she leaned across the railing on the left side of the porch. Glancing up again, despite the vines and the unchecked growth, this was still a nice house. Would have in fact been one of the better homes in West Willow if the lawn and the house itself were looked after more often. Mentally putting an end to her musings, she summoned her courage and bravely knocked on the door. Almost immediately the door was promptly opened by a rather polished man who looked to be anywhere from his mid-thirties to his very early forties. Expecting him to say something, Amanda observed the man while she waited for him to start his pleasantries.
The individual standing in front of her was a man of average height between five-ten and six feet tall with a fit medium build that realistically couldn't have been more than 185 pounds. He had smooth, even features that had a distinctly Mediterranean appearance. He would have been handsome had it not been for his eyes. Clear, pale, and colorless. Eyes that indicated a man who observed everything and absorbed nothing. Eyes that were so assessing that she was unable to meet his gaze beyond a half second. It has been said that the eyes are the windows to the soul, and glancing and wincing at the colorless black holes her porch companion had for eyes, Amanda was chillingly convinced that if he had been blessed with a soul at birth he was surely losing a part of his humanity that was almost if not completely gone.