Chapter 24

Gretchen

After the delicious dinner and the strange conversation about David’s future, she was shown to her room.  One of David’s younger brothers, a hulking football player, carried her suitcase up. 

The room was on the third floor and had its own bathroom.  It was bright, clean and new.  Her old bedroom back in Innsmouth was large, but it was hollow, decrepit and old.

“Thank you,” she said to Mrs. Taliafero and David’s brother who hadn’t introduced himself. 

She didn’t go in though.  She followed them to see where David’s room was.  She wanted to see what kind of things he kept there. 

When she glanced in she saw rock and movie posters as well as models of realistic military vehicles and brightly colored robots from those Japanese cartoons David liked to watch.  

“It’s definitely your room,” she said. 

“Yeah.  This is it.” 

“You two get some sleep.  You had a long drive and need to rest,” David’s mother said.  “When you’re older you’ll realize how important rest is.” 

“Right, well, good night,” David said. 

“Good night,” Gretchen said. 

She went back to her room and sat down on the bed.  It was softer and fluffier than any bed she had ever felt.  She’d get lost in it. 

Gretchen stripped down and climbed under the dozens of thick quilts and blankets.  It all felt so soft and she could rest in that bed for days and never want to get out. 

But she couldn’t sleep.  They had been driving all day and was tired, but she didn’t want to sleep.  She wanted to stay up talking to David and exploring this house where he grew up surrounded by love and normalcy.

She wondered how she would have turned out if she had had a normal childhood.  If she’d grown up in a house like this she might have been someone good and happy. 

Gretchen got up and looked out the window.  All she saw were dark trees.  Not much of a view.  Her house at Innsmouth was a horrible place, but her room offered a view of the sea that she never took for granted. 

What was David doing?  Was he sleeping?  She wanted to see him. She wanted to kiss him and wanted him to kiss her.  She wanted to feel his hands on her skin.

She put on her bathrobe and crept down the unlit hall to David’s door.  She lightly knocked so no one else could hear. A few seconds later the door opened just a crack.  David peered out. 

“What are you doing up?”  He asked.

“I wanted to see you.  Can I come in?”

He thought for a moment. 

“Yes,” he said and opened the door. 

She walked into the dark and he closed the door behind her.  All she could make out was his outline. 

“Do you have something on your mind that you want to talk about?”  He asked. 

Talk?  She hadn’t really come here to talk. 

She walked over and sat down on the bed.  Then she lay down and crawled under the covers.  David walked over and got into bed next to her. 

“This is bold,” he said.

“I feel comfortable around you.”

He then moved over her and began kissing her.  It wasn’t long before her robe was open and they were at second base.  She knew what came next. 

It dawned on her what third base was and they spent the rest of the night at third base.  She bit his shoulder to keep from moaning out and disturbing others. 

She hated showing herself in a swimsuit but to David she felt no such hesitation.  She would give him anything and everything he wanted. 

She didn’t go back to her room until the sky started turning purple.  She was exhausted and felt tingly all over but as soon as her head hit the pillow she went right to sleep.

When she woke up four hours later she took a long shower and thought of David. 

She walked down stairs to the kitchen and found David there with his mother.  She seemed the nicest of his relations.  She also felt her cheeks redden as she met David’s eyes.    

The things they did last night were…shocking.  She didn’t know where it had come from.  She was still a virgin, but only just.  Her father had warned her on pain of death to remain a virgin.  She was starting to not care what he had told her to do.

“Good morning, Gretchen.  Sleep well?”  David’s mother asked.

“I believe I’m…still tired from the long trip,” Gretchen said.

“I’m going to take Gretchen on a tour of Richmond today,” David said.

“But first you need breakfast,” his mother said.

She fixed them a full breakfast of eggs, toast and something called “grits.”  She had no idea what the substance was made of, but it was good in a simple fashion. 

Then they got back into David’s car and drove to Carry Street and parked.  They spent the afternoon walking around and going through the different stores.  She tried on numerous vintage clothing, some styles she had seen in what used to be her grandmother’s wardrobe.  She settled on a pair of circular blue tinted sunglasses that David said she looked good in.  

They had lunch at an Indian place and then continued to walk around and explore. 

Then she saw an art gallery and walked over to the window to look in.  The sign said “Byzantine Gallery” in gold and black mosaic. 

The paintings in the front window were dark and beautiful.  Some of them were portraits of people that showed their complete life story in a single expression.  But then a photo in a black frame caught her eye.  It was a photo of what looked like a dead little girl playing the violin. 

This was no makeup job or trick photography.  She had seen enough real bodies to know if it were fake or not.  And this photo was not fake. 

“Can we go in?”  She asked.

“Of course.”

He opened the door for her like a proper gentleman and she entered the white room filled with art.  There was a door at the rear and a staircase going up to a second floor with a sign that said “private residence upstairs.”

Then a head poked out from the open doorway at the back; thin man with scruffy black hair and a goatee.  He smiled when he saw them. 

“Welcome!”  The man said and pushed himself out of the office chair he was sitting in.  He was wearing black slacks and a black buttoned up shirt.

“You have a lovely collection,” Gretchen said. 

He looked around and smiled.

“Yeah, we work hard at it.  Name’s Alex.”

“Pleased to meet you Alex,” David said and they shook hands. 

“I noticed the photo in the front window,” Gretchen said.

“Ah, yes.  That’s done by my daughter, Elizabeth,” Alex said. 

“It’s quite intriguing.  What process did she use to create such a dramatic image?” Gretchen asked. 

“Well, she likes to keep her techniques secret,” Alex said. 

“Is there any way I could meet this young artist?”  Gretchen asked.

Before he could answer the door to the gallery opened up and a small woman with short dark hair entered.  She was wearing a black jean jacket, loose dress that came down to the knees, stripped leggings and large boots.  She was smiling but it was the kind of smile that covered her entire face and was as natural to her as breathing.

She was carrying a Taco Bell bag.  

“Oh! Hello!” The happy woman said.

“This is my wife, Adriana,” Alex said. 

“A pleasure to meet you,” Gretchen said. 

Adriana shook her hand with genuine glee. 

“I got the grilled stuffed burrito you like,” Adrianna said to Alex. 

“Awesome.  Hey, these people here are interested in Elizabeth’s work.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a very curious image.  May I speak with the artist?”  Gretchen asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Adriana said.

Adriana then went to the stairs and called up for Elizabeth and Edna to come down. 

“Lunch is ready!”  Adriana added at the end. 

Two teenage girls came running down the stairs but stopped when they saw their guests.  Gretchen saw that the girl in the photo was this Edna. 

Something was different about this girl, she could feel it in the corners of her mind.  She opened her mind and let the magic flow in a passive way.  The Edna girl was practically radiating magic. Edna's dark eyes locked onto Gretchen and didn't let go. 

“Mind if we eat and talk?”  Alex asked.

“Not a problem.  We already ate,” David said. 

They pulled up chairs and the two girls sat on the stairs. 

“You took that photo?”  Gretchen asked. 

“I did,” Elizabeth said. 

“May I ask about your techniques?  How did you accomplish such a real appearance of death?” 

The photo was real and Gretchen wanted to know how Edna looked dead.  If there were other users of magic then she wanted to know more about them.  She wanted to know if their magic was inherently evil or if magic could indeed be used for good.  She had never met a sorcerer or witch that wasn’t wicked, but they had all worshiped the dark gods.  Were there other sources of power out there?

Elizabeth looked to Alex and then to Edna. 

“Photoshop,” Elizabeth said. 

“I think you and I both know that isn’t true,” Gretchan said. 

Alex then leaned in.

“Who are you?”  Alex asked.

“Someone that knows death when I see it.  This girl,” she pointed at Edna, “is dripping with supernatural energy.” 

The gallery people fell silent. 

David cleared his throat. 

“Gretchen’s somewhat of an expert on the unusual,” David said with a forced laugh. 

“How do you know all this?”  Alex asked. 

“I was raised around magic all my life,” Gretchen said. 

“I’m dead,” Edna said.  “Or at least, I was.”

“What brought you back?”  Gretchen asked.

“An ancient relic and a certain ceremony,” Edna said.

“What kind of ceremony?”

“Not a good kind,” Edna said. 

“I’m sorry,” Gretchen said. 

Maybe there was no such thing as good magic.  Maybe magic was inherently evil and corrupting. She didn't like this thought. She had used magic many times, often to save lives.  Could it be that it was really evil or was it the intent?

She bought the photo and thanked them, getting their full names so she could friend them on Facebook. They promised to keep in touch.

They left the gallery with promises to return. 

“What’s wrong?” David asked. 

“Nothing,” she said. 

They didn’t return to the house until well after dark.  They had had dinner and a movie at the old fashioned Byrd Theater.  It had been an actual date. They got home, went to bed and then she snuck over to his room to get back on third base.  He liked kissing her belly and she liked him to do it.  Not as much as other things though.

The next week passed in a similar dream world of happiness and forgetting about all the bad things that lay just under the surface of this world.  He took her to see Williamsburg, Jamestown, Yorktown, Washington D.C. and the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Virginia was beautiful and filled with history that she had never learned.  American history hadn’t been important where she was from.  The Esoteric Order of Dagon wasn’t a very patriotic religion.

*

David

 

Gretchen was smiling more than usual.  She generally seemed to be happy with him.  She was always ready to go see something new, even things most people would consider normal or boring.  She wanted to see it all and he wanted to be with her when she did.

Then Thursday rolled around: Thanksgiving.  So far he had seen very little of his family and he preferred it that way.  They’d just embarrass him or would offend Gretchen.  He wasn’t looking forward to the big Thanksgiving meal at noon.  Some people had dinner: the Taliaferos had lunch.  That way they could lounge around the rest of the day and snack on leftovers. 

It wasn’t a bad system. It also meant that he could ignore his brothers after the meal. 

Breakfast wasn’t allowed on Thanksgiving to save room for the feast.  He and Gretch woke up late and barely had time to shower and get ready. 

He waited outside her room while she prepared.  When she came out she was wearing a white buttoned up shirt, simple black skirt and Vans shoes.  She looked normal and nice.  She could have worn her pajamas.  The Taliaferos weren’t ones to stand on formality when comfort could be achieved instead.  Her hair was neatly combed and straighter than he’d ever seen it.  She was trying to impress and succeeding magnificently. 

He took her hand and led her down stairs to the dinning room where everyone was gathering. 

Both Nate and Steve were wearing football jerseys of the teams that were playing that day.  Steve had flown in last night and he hadn’t seen him yet.

“Hey, bro,” Steve said. 

“Glad you could make it.  The weather was looking rough over in Chicago.”

Steve shrugged. 

“This your girlfriend?”  Steve asked.

“Yes.  This is Gretchen,” he said.

“Why’s your hair white?”  Steve asked. 

He saw a scowl fly briefly across Gretchen’s face. 

“Don’t be rude,” David said.

“What?  I was just asking a question,” Steve said.

They took their places and he squeezed Gretchen’s knee to remind her that he was right there. 

Mother came in with platters of food.  His brothers didn’t volunteer to help so he jumped up and helped mom bring the feast to the table.  Mom didn’t cook any of it, though she liked to pretend she did.  She did hire the cook that did prepare it though.  He doubted if Mom knew how to cook anything that didn’t involve a microwave.  

Once the table was set they began to dig in.  Platters and bowls were passed around he David got a triple serving of stuffing.  Stuffing with gravy was one of the things that made life worth living.

“So, Gretchen, what are you studying in college?”  Dad asked. 

“Comparative religion, history and art.” 

“You can’t earn a living off of any of that,” Dad said. 

“College is a waste of time,” Nate said.  

“You don’t learn anything useful, just a bunch of science and history crap that doesn’t do any good,” Steve said.

“When are you two getting married?”  Dad asked.

David rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air. 

“Dad, really?” 

“What?  You two obviously like each other.  This isn’t going to be a shotgun wedding, is it?” Dad asked. 

“Henry!” Mother said.

“Just make sure you’re using protection,” Dad said. 

This was going from terrible to catastrophic. 

“Protection?  Like guns?”  Gretchen asked. 

Nate and Steve just started laughing and Dad looked confused. 

“How does your family normally celebrate Thanksgiving, Gretchen?”  Mom asked.

“We…uh…we eat a lot of pizza,” Gretchen said. 

“Pizza?  Non traditional, huh?” Dad said.

“Yes, non traditional,” Gretchen said. 

At least the conversation had steered away from sex advice from his dad.

“You don’t have a big family, do you?”  Dad asked. 

“No, sir,” Gretchen said.

“I can tell.  You don’t have good hips on you.  Too narrow.”

“Enough, Dad,” David said.

“All I’m saying is that if you marry her, don’t expect to have twenty kids.  She won’t be an Octomom.” 

“Thank you, Mr. Taliafero,” Gretchen said, though the look in her eyes said that she had no idea what he was talking about. 

“She does have a pretty neck though.  You can judge a woman by her neck, you know.  If she has a good neck now, she’ll have an alright neck when she’s older,” Dad said. 

“And such pretty eyes,” Mom said, obviously trying to steer the conversation back on track. 

“So, why you going out with my brother?  You like war heroes?”  Nate asked. 

This was the last time he was bringing anyone home again.  Ever. 

“I’m going out with him because he is kind, considerate and desired to accomplish more in life than making money,” Gretchen said.  Her silver eyes bored into Nate and he looked back down at his plate. 

“Why pizza?  Your family Italian?”  Father asked. 

“No,” Gretchen said. 

“Yeah, I remember learning about the Indians sharing pizza with the pilgrims,” Steve said. 

“Yes, that’s why we have pizza,” Gretchen said.

Steve couldn’t tell if she were being sarcastic or serious. 

Chapter 23

David

David found the midterms to be too easy.  Of course, he was taking classes that he loved.  Now if he was taking math right now it would be a different story. 

It was Wednesday before Thanksgiving break and he only had one more test before Friday.  Too easy. 

The hard part was coming.  He had just found out from Gretchen that she was staying on campus during the break.  Of course she was.  She wouldn’t go back to Innsmouth.  He was such an idiot.  He should have realized it sooner. 

Now he had the pleasure/torture of inviting Gretchen to his family’s house for Thanksgiving.  Would she think this was some kind of signal that all women understood and men didn’t that he was “ready for the next step?” Whatever that was. 

He didn’t want her to think that this was a proposal, but some girls get weirded out when asked to meet the parents.  He had never been far enough in a relationship to ask that so he had no experience with it, but his friends have had odd experiences.  One of his buddies from the army had a girl dump him because he asked her to come over for dinner to meet his parents. 

But then he had to look at who he was dealing with.  He couldn’t imagine Gretchen getting weirded out by anything.

He found Gretchen and Beth in the cafeteria and went over to sit with them.  He had had to pay to get in and got a plate of nachos. 

He sat down and picked at his nachos.  He needed to speak with Gretchen alone.   

“Give me and G a few minutes,” he texted to Beth.  

She just gave him a nod and a smile. 

“Hey, guys, I’ll catch up later.  I gotta go turn something in,” Beth said and winked at him as she left. 

He looked across the table at Gretchen.  He now had a girlfriend that had bought him a gun, wanted to kiss more often than a hormonal teenager and was perhaps one of the most intelligent people he had ever met. 

Her family was horrible and she had seen some pretty awful things in her life, including people being killed.  He had seen that as well.  No one comes back from a war unchanged. 

“What are you going to do during Thanksgiving break?”  He asked. 

She shrugged her shoulders, something she’d been doing more of lately.

“I don’t know, perhaps watch movies on my laptop and read some books.” 

He adjusted his chair and cleared his throat. 

“Yes, well, I was wondering if you’d like to come with me down to my family in Virginia and spend Thanksgiving with us.  You, know, I’d hate for you to be all alone here.  At least this way you’ll get a good dinner out of it.” 

She cocked her head to the side.

“You want me to meet your parents?”  She asked.

Great.  Here it comes.   Time for the “we’re not at that stage in the relationship” speech that every woman seemed to have memorized. 

“Yeah.  It’ll be fun.  I promise they won’t force you to play Monopoly,” he said. 

“Really?  I won’t embarrass you?”

“Embarrass me?  No, not at all.”

She smiled, another thing she did more of lately. 

“I’d love to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family,” she said with a look on her face that told him she probably would have curtsied if the opportunity had been there.    

“Awesome,” he said.  “When’s your last mid-term?”

“Friday morning at eight.”

“Okay, then after your exam we’ll pack my car and drive down to Virginia.” 

“I’ve never been out of the state before.”

“If you don’t count the dream world.”

“That might count.” 

“Great.  I’ll call my folks and let them know you’re coming.” 

The rest of the week went by quickly.  Except for his last exam he spent most of his time playing Space Marine and Skyrim.  Gretchen took her studies seriously and he saw very little of her or Beth that week.

At nine in the morning on Friday he drove to Gretchen’s dorm and found her packing an old fashioned suitcase.

“I’m almost ready,” she said. 

She was dressed in her gray old fashioned clothes as well.  Perhaps she thought this was all more formal than it really was. 

Gretchen wasn’t smiling and looked more like her old sullen self.  Her mouth was closed like it always was and her large, silver eyes seemed to take everything in.  She stood there a minute with a finger to her lips in her “I’m thinking” pose. 

“I do hope I’m not forgetting something,” she said. 

“If you are, we’ll just buy whatever you need.” 

“Does your hometown have plenty of stores?”

“I live in Richmond.  It’s a big city.”

“Bigger than Arkham?”

“Much bigger.” 

She nodded and closed her suitcase.   

They walked down to where his car waited and he helped her with her two-ton suitcase.  Did women always bring their cinder block collection with them?  Seriously, how could they pack so much stuff?

“You ready?”  He asked. 

“I can’t wait to meet your family,” she said.  A smile started to form on the ends of her lips.

“You’ll like them, though they may be boring by your standards.  No demons, dark gods or dream worlds.” 

“That sounds particularly nice.” 

His younger brothers would probably spend most of the time in front of the TV watching endless football games.  No wonder they all passed out after the meal.  Was anything more boring than watching sports on TV? 

They were silent as he drove through Arkham and got on the freeway heading south.  Then he turned on his iPod and handed it to her. 

“You’re the DJ this trip.  Your call what we listen to,” he said. 

She switched it to a “Birthday Massacre” song and put set it down on “Random.”  

“Did you hear that Dr. Nelson is listed as missing?”  She asked.

“Yeah, saw it on the school’s website.”

“I have to assume that Nylarthotep dealt with him and Hecate.”

“Safe assumption.”

“Indeed.”

“I hope he isn’t following me,” he said after a few moments. 

“He knows who you are, the question is: does he care enough to do anything about it?  I don’t believe so.”

“I don’t like those odds.”

She put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a brief smile. 

“David?”

“Huh?” 

“What’s third base?”

He shouldn’t be surprised at the question.  Then he started to imagine what she might say at dinner.  Gretchen’s idea of polite conversation could prove embarrassing.  ‘What animals do you sacrifice for Thanksgiving,’ could be a little awkward.

“Third base is…we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

“When does that bridge get crossed?  Will I know it?”

This was getting weird.

“Well, Gretchen, you’re now participating in the great American tradition of a road trip.  To make it complete we’ll have to stop for greasy food, snacks and listen to good music.”

“What else does this road trip entail?”

“That’s about it.”

“Nothing else?”

“We get to see America.”

“My family wasn’t the most patriotic of people.”

They drove south along 95 and watched the scenery pass by.  They stopped by for some fast food bacon cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes.  

Gretchen sat formally in her seat with both hands on her shake and stared out the window.  When he firs met her that day in class, he’d never imagine that she’d be his girlfriend.  He had kissed those pale lips and touched that slender neck.  She was beautiful and could look at her all day. 

“What’s been your favorite movie you’ve watched this semester?”  He asked.

She thought about it a moment. 

“The Ring, I think.”

“Good choice.”

“And you?”

“30 Days of Night or Pandorum.” 

“I enjoyed both of those.  Before I came to the University the only movies I’d seen were the ones they showed in school.”

“Not the best choices I take it.”

“They were all too happy.  The world doesn’t have happy endings.”

“You might have one.”

She looked down at her shake. 

“I doubt it,” she said.

They stopped for gas and he got them some beef jerky and Mountain Dew.  Gretchen looked through the assortment of chips. The way she moved about and looked over everything, reading their labels, she looked like she was seeing everything for the first time. 

She bought some Oreos and they got back on the road.  The billboards and unknown cities passed by and song after song played over the stereo.

They talked about his childhood and she told him of hers.  It sounded like one long nightmare after another.  It also sounded like she didn’t get along with her half sister.  She’d witness strangers being run out of town, kidnapped and worse.  Hell of a childhood. 

He told her all about the war from mobilization to his final coming home.  That took a while.  She told him of the mythology surrounding Nylarthotep, Cthulhu and other, unsavory deities. 

It was a wonder how she managed to be at least partially sane after living with all this.  He grew up with teachings of a loving, kind Jesus that died for mankind’s sins.  Instead she grew up with a god that would one day wake up and destroy the world with the care and love of an SS officer. 

Cthulhu wants you for a sunbeam?  That probably wasn’t a popular song in Innsmouth. 

After seven hours even Gretchen was starting to lose her proper posture and she leaned the seat back. 

“You can put your feet up on the dash,” he said. 

She took her large black boots off and put her small, white feet up on the dash.  Her toenails were painted black.  He pointed to them. 

“Beth did it,” Gretchen said. 

They drove into Richmond around eight o’clock and he pulled off of 95 at the Cary St. exit. 

“I’ll have to show you Cary Street.  You’ll like it.  Lots of interesting stores, music, movies, antique clothes.”

She pointed out the window. 

“A Thai resteraunt?  I’ve never had Thai food,” she said.

“Then we’ll take care of that as well.”

His parents’ house was a few blocks from Cary St. in what some people might call a mansion.  His father was a corporate big wig and mom was a doctor.  Plastic surgery.  They had money.  Of course, they hadn’t been the closest of families. 

He pulled up to the large white house with a circular driveway.  The lights were on and his brothers’ cars were there. 

She strapped her boots back on and sat there, not moving. 

“You okay?”  He asked.

“I believe I’m nervous.”

“What do you have to be nervous about?”

“What if they see that I’m a freak?”

He reached over and caressed her cheek. 

“You’re not a freak.  You’re beautiful, you’re smart, you’re unique.”

She gave him a smile and got out of the car. 

His mom answered the door.  She looked as young as she had since he’d been eight years old.  The woman didn’t age and never used plastic surgery on herself.  She hugged him and then looked over at Gretchen.  He saw her face freeze in an unreadable expression he hadn’t seen on her before.  Then the moment was gone and mom’s perpetual smile was back on. 

“You must be Gretchen.  Welcome.  Come on in!”

Mom ushered them in.  The entry way had a giant staircase curving up to the second floor.  A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and antique oil paintings with frames costing more than most people’s cars hung on the walls.  Mom liked the antique look.

“Are you two hungry?”  Mom asked.

“Starving,” he said.

“Just leave your things there.  We’ll eat first then show you to your room,” mom said.

They walked to the dinning room and mom sat them down and hurried off to the kitchen. 

Dad came in holding his newspaper.  He looked at both of them with a disapproving expression.

“Thought I heard something,” Dad said. “Gretchen?”

“Yes, this is Gretchen Marsh.”

“She your girlfriend?” Dad asked.

Great, and the embarrassment starts.  Gretch was worried about him being embarrassed by her, but he was more worried about his family be embarrassing.

“Yes, she’s my girlfriend.”

Gretchen coughed and she glanced at him with surprised eyes.  He just gave her a wink.

Dad sat down and opened his newspaper again. 

“How’s school coming?”  Dad asked.

“Well.  Finished my midterms.  I got a handle on it.”

“Good.  You’ve wasted enough time in the army.  About time you started working for your future.”

“Yes, serving my country was a waste of time,” he said as sarcastically as he could.

“You’re capable of better things. Let the GED dropouts fight the wars,” Dad said.

Gretchen sat there with her hands folded in her lap looking somewhat uncomfortable with the topic. 

“I should have played football and got a scholarship, right?”  David said.

“You would have been graduated by now.”

“I know this is crazy, but some things are more important than money.”

“Your future is important.”

Mom came back in with steaming enchiladas on expensive plates.  She always brought out the good stuff for guests. 

“Mom’s famous recipe.  You’ll find them a little better than the cafeteria’s enchiladas,” David said.       

“Thank you Mrs. Taliafero,” Gretchen said.

“A girl with manners,” Mom said with a warm smile directed at him. “Not bad for the first girl you’ve brought home.”

This wasn’t going to be an easy week.

Chapter 22

Gretchen

Gretchen lay down next to David and got as close as she dared.  She wanted to touch him and wrap her arms around him. 

Beth was snoring quietly and Sayako was lying down with her eyes closed.  She didn’t know if Sayako was sleeping, dead or both.  The difference between the two was smaller than most people realized.

She saw his helmet lying on the ground and picked it up.  It was heavier than it looked and she wondered how he wore it every day.  After turning it over and around she put it on her head.  

In the faint glow of the magic flashlight she saw David look up at her and smile. 

“It looks good on you,” he said. 

She felt herself smile. 

“Maybe I can join the army.  I could be an officer and charge in on my warhorse with my saber pointing the way.” 

“Wrong century, Gretch.” 

“I know, but sometimes the old ways are more interesting.” 

She lay back down next to him, using the padded helmet as a pillow.  It was surprisingly comfortable that way. 

“I used to sleep like that,” he said.  “I had many days like this, nothing by my pack, helmet, gun and a hard floor as a home. 

She turned over on her side to get a good look at him.  He was on his side looking back at her. 

“I’m sorry you were dragged into this,” she said. 

“No, I’m sorry.  I think Nylarthotep’s gunning for me and you guys got caught up in the cross fire.” 

“I think my magic attracts unwanted attention.  I don’t know why you two tolerate my presence.  I know I’m a freak.” 

He didn’t say anything.  He only looked at her with those kind eyes of his.  She couldn’t take his gaze any longer and looked away.  She didn’t know what he saw when he looked at her.  Did he see a pariah that would never fit into society?  Did he pity her? 

David was everything about the world that she wanted.  He was normal, smart, funny and warm.  She didn’t deserve him as a friend. 

Then she felt his hand on her shoulder.  She turned back and saw that he was leaning up on his elbow looking down at her. 

Still he didn’t say a word. 

“Yes?”  She managed to get out with a shaky voice.  Just his near proximity was making her feel strange all over. 

Then he cleared his throat and backed off a little.

“Gretchen, you’re an amazing person.  I’ve never met anyone as strange, unique and interesting as you.  I’m honored to have you as a friend.”

She felt herself smiling again and she gathered the courage to look him in the eye. 

“You mean that?” She asked. 

He nodded. 

“May I hold your hand?”  She asked before she could stop herself. 

He smiled and his warm, calloused hand slipped over hers.  She hadn’t expected him to want to hold her monstrous hand, but he hadn’t hesitated. 

She wanted to reach up and stroke his cheek and run her fingers through his hair. 

Then David leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips.  It was a small, light peck but it stopped her breathing and every muscle in her body tensed.  It wasn’t tense out of defense or fear, but of anticipation and nervousness. 

He opened his eyes and looked into hers.  All power of speech left her and she didn’t know what to say or do. 

Fortunately, he did. 

He kissed her again and this time he didn’t break away.  Hesitantly she brought her hand up and put in to his cheek.  She had never dared touch him like this.  It felt perfect.

She had never experienced anything as wonderful as this kiss.  It was warm, soft and tingled every nerve ending she had.  She had no idea that her lips could feel so much sensation at once. 

Gretchen ventured to kiss back and soon she found herself in a kind of natural and rolling rhythm with the kissing.  It was almost like a game but the goal was to let the other player in instead of keeping them away. 

He was now on top of her and his weight felt reassuring and pleasant.  One of his hands went down and rested on her hip and the other held the back of her head.  His touch felt like electricity. 

She ran her hand through his hair and he responded by kissing her harder.  That felt even better and she returned his kiss even more, but this time she found herself lightly biting his lower lip.  

When he began kissing her neck she took the opportunity to speak. 

“I don’t know how you can even stand looking at me like this,” she whispered. 

“That’s not the real you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.  I know the real Gretchen and she doesn’t look like this.” 

“So…you don’t mind?”

“It’s an illusion; nothing more.”

“Then you think my real form is pretty?”

“I haven’t been able to take my eyes off you since that first day I saw you in class.”

She had had no idea.  She assumed that he had thought little of her at first like everyone else did.  Outsiders seemed almost repulsed by her at high school.  Now she questioned it and wondered why. 

“One of us should stay up and guard in case those mummies show up again,” he said between kisses on her neck and ear.  She particularly liked the ear kisses.   As much as she liked it, she wanted the full thing again and she grabbed his chin and moved him back to her mouth. 

This time his whole body moved with the rhythm and she found her body following in the same way. 

Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist.  It was strange and she didn’t understand it, but she found her body wanting to do certain things.  She had seen others do similar things during the orgies back home at the reef and never thought she’d want to do them. 

“Hey!  Keep it down you two!  I try to sleep here,” Sayako said. 

Gretchen quickly broke off and scampered to her own space and David did likewise. 

“Sorry,” David said. 

“Shut up,” Sayako said. 

She sat there, going over everything that had just happened and trying to figure it all out.  She looked over at David and saw the giant grin on his face and couldn’t contain her own. 

“That was amazing,” she whispered. 

“Likewise.” 

She was breathing heavily like she had just swam a couple of laps. 

One thing was certain: she wanted to do it again. 

She had never been kissed before and found that she liked doing it more than anything else, even more than swimming. 

Despite having never done it before, she had found it natural and self explanatory. 

She could still feel his lips on her as she went to sleep. 

In the morning they shared grinning looks and continued on down the impossibly long hall. 

As they got closer she could feel the vibrations in the air grow stronger.  They were almost there. 

An hour later they came to a pair of doors with carvings of strange gods all over it.  Some of them resembled the alchemical illustrations from Dr. Nelson’s presentation.  In the middle was Yog Soggoth, the Gibbering Mad God.  On the bottom left was one that had bat wings, claws and an octopus head: Cthulhu. 

David tested the door but it was locked.  Simple solution.  She easily did her “open” spell and the door swung open. 

What greeted them was an enormous room as big as an Olympic stadium with four giant statues in each corner that looked as though the were holding the ceiling up.  In the middle of the room was a pyramid as big as the outside pyramid only this one had a staircase going up the front. 

At the top of the pyramid was a throne with a tall back.  It was too far away to get a clear view, but someone was sitting on the throne.  Someone with black hair and pale skin. 

David pulled out his binoculars and looked at the sitting figure. 

“I think it’s her,” he said. 

“Of course its her,” a voice said.  It sounded like Dr. Nelson but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from. 

“Dr. Nelson?”  David asked.

“Yes and no.  I was once known by that name,” the voice said.  “Have you come to harm my goddess, the Queen of the crossroads, the Dark Goddess of the Moon?”

She didn’t like where this was going so she began to prepare the “messenger” spell to inform Nylarthotep of Hecate’s location. 

“I will not let you harm my goddess!”  Dr. Nelson roared in a voice that didn’t sound quite human. 

Then something stepped out from behind one of the four colossi.  If it had ever been a man it wasn’t obvious and its appearance distracted her for a moment from her spell. 

The thing that was once Dr. Nelson was massive.  It was easily twenty feet tall with four long, spindly legs ending in three clawed toes.  Tentacles sprouted out from all over its bulbous body and they whipped around as if furious of their own existence. A long neck rose out from the center and at the end was an elongated head, almost like a skinned horse, but with twisted, asymmetrical horns and crooked, dagger teeth. 

“What the…” Beth said. 

“Guys, I no like this,” Sayako said, slowly backing away.  

“I can smell your fear,” Dr. Nelson said.

“What did she do to you?”  David asked. 

“She gave me power to serve her.” 

David snapped his machine to his shoulder and let loose a burst.  The muzzle flash illuminated the space around him.  The bullets hit Dr. Nelson to no visible effect. 

“Not good,” David said. 

Gretchen drew three connecting circles on the ground with her finger and said the final words of the spell.  She felt the energy leave her body and shoot away.  It was done.  She had done what Nylarthotep had wanted.  Of course, that guaranteed nothing.

The Dr. Nelson creature roared and began charging at them in an awkward, lopsided gait.  David fired another long burst then shouted for them to go back into the hall.  The thing was too big to go into the hall but somehow that wasn’t terribly comforting. 

Suddenly the monster stopped short.  She looked back to see what caused it to stop. 

Standing in front of it was a tall figure dressed all in red.  Its arms were folded and it appeared as though it were looking down at the ground.  Nylarthotep had come.

The figure on the throne stood up and began walking down the stairs.  She could see Hecate’s pale legs through the slits in the sides of her dress and she descended. 

“Be gone from this place,” Hecate said. 

“I came to find out why you left my hospitality,” Nylarthotep said. 

“This is my place of power, not yours.”

Nylarthotep laughed. 

“A place of power like a child hiding in his crib.” 

“You know nothing,” Hecate said. 

“I know more than you’ll ever be able to and it’s so far above you that you don’t see then end so you call it nothing.” 

Hecate came to the floor and Gretchen got a good look at her.  She was beautiful.  Her eyes were the blackest things she had ever seen.  Her hair trailed on the floor behind her and her transparent black dress seemed to move under an unseen wind.  She could feel the magic pouring off of this goddess. 

Then the red god turned back toward them. 

“You have done all that I have asked and you shall have my reward,” Nylarthotep said and began walking toward them.  As he approached she felt more than saw a faceless man in jeans and well worn cowboy boots.  She saw a pharaoh with coal black skin and fiery eyes.  She saw thousands of forms all stacked on top of each other like a grotesque funhouse mirror. 

It had only been an instant but time moved differently here.  Sometimes if was stronger than at other times.  The moon had something to do with it. 

“I’ll return you back home, buckle in my little boyscouts,” the cowboy boots wearing Nylarthotep said in a thick southern accent. 

Then the undead lich Nylarthotep in black robes and a staff topped with the skull of a saint raised his hand and there was a painful flash of light.

*

Suddenly Gretchen found herself back in her bed.  She struggled with the sheets that had become tangled up in her limbs and looked at the clock:  Three in the morning. 

Her mind instantly went to David and Beth.  Had they awakened as she had or had Nylarthotep deceived her? 

She didn’t have a phone like they did so she flipped her laptop open and got on Facebook.  She quickly sent off a message to David and Beth and within moments she got back replies from both of them.     

They were safe and had just woken up.  They asked if it was over and she assured them that they were back to their proper reality and that she didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary. 

Gretchen walked to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.  She was back to normal, well, at least human looking.  Her familiar gray eyes looked back at her and her hands no longer were webbed and clawed. 

Since she was already nude she stepped into the tub and took a very long shower.  She could still feel the sand from the desert all over her. 

After the shower she wrapped a towel around her head and grabbed a can of soda from her mini fridge: another “necessity” that Beth had informed her she needed.  Beth had been correct. 

She lay down on top of her covers and stared up at the ceiling, imagining the unfamiliar stars and the giant yellow moon of the dream world. 

Had all that really happened or was the definition of “reality” subjective?  She knew there were other planes or existence and that sometimes the different planes could be bridged.  After all, the Old Ones existed in a place that was neither here nor there.  Could a space exist free of time or were they inseparable?

So many questions filled her mind that she couldn’t sleep. 

But then one thought emerged and rose up over all others and her hand went to touch her lips. 

Even now she could still feel the sensation of David’s lips. 

She wanted more of it. 

But how much could she expect from David and how much should she even ask for?  She knew none of the rules and feared she’d get in trouble if she didn’t go about this in a normal way. 

So she messaged Beth, “need advice.” 

“About what?”  Beth messaged back. 

“What are the rules for normal relationships and physical intimacy?”

“Who calls it that?”

“I do.” 

“Just call it what it is. Making out, the horizontal mambo, knocking boots.”

“I’m serious.”

“Why you asking?” Beth asked. 

She didn’t know what to tell Beth.  Was a kiss something that was supposed to be a secret or was it free for everyone to know?  She knew so little of the rules that she decided she had to know something. 

“Me and David kissed.  I don’t know what to do now.” 

It was a full minute before Beth responded. 

“Did you want him to kiss you?”

“Yes.”

“I guess you two can kiss how ever much you want now.  That door’s open.” 

“So it wouldn’t be bad to ask for another kiss?”

“Not at all.” 

Gretchen opened the chat window to David. 

“I can’t sleep.  Would you like to come over to my dorm and kiss me some more?  I enjoyed it very much.”

The answer came back in less than a second.  She wondered how he typed so fast. 

“Hell yes!” Was his response. 

She couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re coming over then?”

But she got no answer and she wondered if he was already out the door. 

Then she realized that she was nude except for a towel around her head so she changed into one of her knee length skirts and Flyleaf T-shirt. 

Less than a minute after she finished dressing there was a knock at the door.  She opened it to find David there with his hands in his navy jacket pockets and a slight grin on his face. 

“So, you enjoyed it, huh?”  He said. 

She motioned for him to enter and she closed the door behind him. 

“I did, very much,” she said.  “But what does it mean?”

“I didn’t kiss you just to have fun.”

“But, does that mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend?”

“What do you think?”

She paused for a moment and folded her arms as she thought. 

“I would like it to be so.”

“Then let’s make it official.  Please be my girlfriend.” 

“Yes.” 

“See?  That was easy.” 

He took off his coat and tossed it over a chair.  He was wearing a shoulder holster for his broom handled Mauser she had given him.  He looked quiet dashing and a little dangerous. 

Now that their relationship was defined she found that she still had no clue what to do.  What did boyfriend and girlfriend do?

“What happened now?”  She asked. 

“I thought you invited me over for something.” 

“Oh, well, I did.  But how…?”

He walked over to her and brushed her check with his hand.  Then he cupped her face with both hands and kissed her.  They kissed for a long while and somehow ended up on the bed.  

At breakfast Beth informed her that she had gotten to “Second Base,” though the definition eluded her.