Nocturnesque Chapter 6
by Jeff Lewis (aka The Werewolf!) © 1985
The trip out was very relaxing. She didn't talk a great deal, even
though I tried to coax her into conversation about herself. She claimed
to have a normal mid-west upbringing but for some reason I didn't
believe it. I couldn't imagine anything about her being normal or
mid-west.
We stopped at small towns long the way for meals and other amenities.
She had a wild way about her, she would touch things like trees and
people. I've never felt comfortable around people like that, except for
her. They always seemed threatening to me. If they could touch you,
they had a line on you. I've never liked shaking hands either.
With her though, it was quite different. Touching her was an experience
in itself. I felt a charge like a shock travel between us. A very
pleasent shock.
When I asked her about her problem she was very evasive. She didn't
want me to know and I told her that was what I felt. She said that I
wouldn't understand and that I'd just have to wait. In time, she told
me, I'd understand everything.
Most of the time we spent riding along with her singing along to the
radio. She had a fantastic voice and could blend in with almost any
song. She even managed to get me singing along with her. Hard to believe
I'd sing along because I have a terrible voice. Actually, I felt
compelled to sing along.
We finally came to a stop in a park with camping facilities. She wanted
to find a secluded part to be away from the other campers. This was the
wrong season so we had no problem finding a quite out of the way spot
and setup our tent. She had obviously done this before. I'm not a
camping type. I've only done it from time to time and while I enjoy
camping, I prefer the comforts of home.
I built a fire and we sat around and talked a bit. She seemed nervous
now and not at all tired. I was exhausted from all the driving and
wanted to get to sleep.
I crawled into my sleeping bag. She said she wouldn't need one but I had
offered mine to her if she wanted it. If she felt cold, she could join
me in mine. I wouldn't mind.
Small towns have a special feeling to them. At the same time they're
both very friendly and very inward. Strangers are not well tolerated
until they are known. It's the same way when you meet a dog for the
first time. All tension and nervousness until it knows you're ok, and
then you're best buddies.
I drove him crazy stopping in small towns and buying farm vegetables and
little knick knacks. I needed to keep my mind off the growing deadness
in me. I needed to keep his mind off me so he wouldn't ask too many
questions. I fear what he'll say when he find's out the truth.
We stopped in a camp in a beautiful woodland park. I hoped we could
camp near a lake or river. We found just the right place and I set up
camp. My man doesn't know how to set a tent.
We put together a fire and sit about it for a while. He's tired and I
tell him to go to sleep. The night air is cool and richly scented. He's
concerned about my getting cold, but I tell him that there's no problem,
I like the night air. At least this is still with me.
He nods off and I begin to stroll along a path to the lake. I'm
watching the trees, but the small ones are so dim to me now. The path
opens to a clearing on a small rise looking out over the lake. A large
outcrop of rock forms a natural resting place and I sit and watch the
bright flickers of moon on the waters surface.
My hearing, dimmed as my sight, catches the rustlings and stirrings of
the life moving under the brush. I want to run and join them, to be
freed of the horrid weight growing on me. I try to shift but cannot.
My heart grows leaden and I start to cry. A long calling howl of some
lost wolf in the woods stabs my soul and my desolation becomes
uncontrollable.
A crunch of underbrush behind me and a grey form moves to me. His soft
tongue wipes the tears from my cheeks. I wrap my arms about the heavy
fur of his neck and bury my face. He whines his concern and gently pulls
away. A moment later and he's gone.
On the path he stands, dressed only in shorts. He lays the sleeping bag
on the ground, moves to me and gathers me up. I fall into his warmth,
tears still running down my cheeks. He kisses my tears and tells me that
he couldn't sleep.
I pull him down to the soft grass, on top of me. I want to be covered,
to be surrounded by him. Never to be left alone or separated from him.
I free him from his clothing and he, me from mine. Our skin touches and
his weight presses onto me. I pull him into me and our desperation and
my fear drive our frenzied coupling. We bite and growl and groan as the
fire singing along our nerves burns away any control.
I feel the clenching and the rippling as he move deep into me. He cries
out and presses harder as he peaks. I feel the rush of warmth within me
and moan as we join in incandescent release.
He rolls us on our side, still within me. His arms slide around me and
pulls me to him. The heat of his skin soaking into me, the scratchy rub
of his chest and air around us mingles with our scents. The moment
seems endless.
He pulls the bag around us and we drift into sleep.
The morning wakens us. I feel cramped but it doesn't matter to me.
She's still pressed against me. I cannot believe the experience I had
last night. Nothing ever felt so intense and complete as that.
I kiss her and she awakens.
She kisses me back and hugs me. Standing she tells me she's going to
swim in the lake. She stands there, a perfect woman. Every part
perfectly proportioned and placed just right. A female symphony. She ran
to the lake and waded in. Seconds later she was in the lake and
thrashing about spraying gouts of water about her.
I ran in after her and was given a great splash of water as a chilling
gift. I shouted my surprise and she pulled me under. I felt her warm
lips kiss me and a hand slid between my thighs that pressed and them
moved up me to my chest. We broke through the surface.
The water flowed over her and she told me that last night was very
special. She said we must do that again. I looked at her with a question
and she touched my lips with a finger, smiled and told me not now, but
soon.
We dressed and returned to the campsite. Breaking camp, the gear was
folded and stowed into the car. She happier but still distracted or
somehow hurt. It pained me to see her this way, but I knew she would
let me help when the time was right.
The rest of the trip to her town was fairly uneventful. We stopped at a
couple more towns along the way and she met an old friend in a town not
too far from hers. He hugged and kissed her and they spoke of old times.
I surprised myself by not feeling even the least bit of jealosy or
anxiety. I felt so much a part of her; I had no fear of losing her.
The old town hadn't changed much. We drove through slowly and I looked
out for old friends. They waved and called to me. I waved back and told
them I'd see them later.
We broke free of the town and continued up the highway a bit to the
turnoff which led to the farm. We pulled in and parked next to a large
truck I hadn't seen before.
Entering the house, I saw the town elder speaking with my parents. When
they saw me, they rose and walked to me. My mother took my head in her
hands and looked deep into my eyes. She caressed my face and gave a
little frown.
You've lost the gift haven't you.
I think so. I feel like it's gone.
And this man. Is he the one?
Yes.
You're certain.
More so than anything.
She hummed and turned to my father. He looked at her and they touched
for a moment. The Elder watched impassively and moved to the man I
loved.
I must look into you. I must see your soul. Will you agree?
He looked to me and then back at the Elder. He was nervous but said
yes. The Elder gripped his head and stared deep into him. They stood
like this for several minutes and then the Elder pulled away.
He is very strong and has the gift. He has always had it by his parents
but it is deep buried in him. If he agrees, he can join us.
When we entered her house there were a couple who just stepped from
American Gothic and a man who while very old, fairly shined with life.
These people seemed very odd and I must admit, scared me a little.
When he told me he had to look into me, I was ready to run fast and far
from that rustic looking farm but held back. I looked to my love and
asked her soul to tell me if it was safe. I turned back and agreed.
The man took my head in a vice lock grip that felt like it would crush
my skull. I started to shiver and then his eyes locked onto mine and I
couldn't move.
It felt like fingers were sliding through my mind turning the folds of
memory over and touching each experience, weighing, caressing and
returning each until my life was completely known. Then a pain bore into
me as he burrowed deeper into my soul and slowly pried free long dead
fires extinguished before my life, before my parents life.
Then he slid free of me and I was alone. His hands weren't on me and I
felt like collapsing and throwing up.
Her old man came over to me and helped me up the stairs and put me down
on a large soft bed with a quilt over it and I passed out.
I awoke screaming. Some nameless horror was oozing over my body and I
couldn't rip it free. Fingers were digging into me and ripping my flesh
from me, stealing me away.
The light came on and my eyes seared. Something wrapped itself around
me and I suddenly felt calm. I shuddered and closed my eyes.
Opening them to the light again, the room swam into clear view and she
was there holding me.
I couldn't take that again. It was time.
What is going on? These things are not possible! If you won't help me
understand, I can't stay. I'll completely come unglued and run around
gibbering if this keeps up.
She looks into my face and looks grim. I can tell she knows she has to
tell me her great secret and I feel like an ass for forcing her like
this, but no person should be hit with something out of a Twilight Zone
episode in real life. It's not fair.
She tells me that if she tells me she'll lose me. I tell her that if I
don't understand soon she'll lose me anyway either to sanity or
insanity. She nods and leads me downstairs.
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