Prologue:

 

Moonlight dappled the dark, smooth surface of the lake, and something large made a quiet plunking sound as it broke the still water, somewhere out in the blackness. A huge, naked man dragged the brutalized carcass of what was once a pretty teenage girl named Jessica carelessly along a rotting old dock that jutted out over the water. The full, silvery moon gave him light enough to pick his way, carefully stepping around loose, spongy boards to avoid falling through.

 

There were things in this lake even he was wary of.  

 

He came to the edge of the dock and inhaled the night air deeply, expanding his massive chest. Except for the water lapping at the dock, all was quiet. Few animals ever snuck out of the woods to drink or hunt here, and those that braved the lake only did so out of desperation.  And the people that built the camp where he lived, and this dock; they all disappeared long ago.

 

Another human hadn’t willingly stepped in these still woods in years.

 

A sharp, gore-stained hunting knife glittered in his free hand. More drying blood covered his naked body from head to toe. The faint smell of the blood and the dead meat he carried would attract those that lived in the lake, driving them into a blood-frenzy; but that was expected. The man was not afraid or overly concerned; he had made the offering many times before.

 

The scars covering his body would protect him with their magic, for a time. Not long, but time enough to finish his grisly chore, and keep the nameless things he served appeased for yet another day.

 

The splash came again, but louder, and now joined by another, and yet another, jarring the man from his reverie. He shook himself from the daze and reversed the knife in his grip, then bent over the body and stabbed the blade deep into the dead girls’ cold, mutilated flesh.

 

Her glazed eyes seemed to stare up at him, pleading. Vexed, he cut the eyes out of their sockets and threw them into the water for the waiting, hungry things to fight over. Then he gutted the body like a fish, working slowly and methodically, hacking off thick chunks of the pale flesh and tossing the offal into the water.

 

Instantly, the mirror surface around the dock turned into a frothing, churning mass of gnashing fangs.

 

The whorls of scar tissue covering his hairless body glowed red, then white-hot as the things fed. He whistled to himself while he finished his grisly chore, finally filling the corpses’ empty belly with heavy stones, and tossing the remains into the lake.

 

He watched her sink in a bloody cloud. He knew that even the bones would be gone by morning.

 

The man wiped sweat and blood from his eyes and started back to camp. The work had aroused him. The moon was still bright, calling him, and he still had two more pretty toys to play with before eventually, they too would find their ultimate fate at the water’s edge.

  

***

 

            “There’s a rest stop up ahead.”

 

            Mary’s husband Gus pointed at the faded, bullet-pocked green road sign as they passed.

 

            “Half a mile.” He turned to her and stretched, scratching at what was left of his wispy-grey hair. “Up for a break?”

 

            “I sure am.”

 

            Mary rubbed her tired, drooping eyes with the heel of her hand, trying to wipe away the scratchy, itchy-burning sensation that felt like sandpaper under her eyelids. It didn’t help. Hadn’t for hours, really. She was half-asleep, driving by instinct. Only Gus’s rip-saw snores from the passenger seat had kept her awake these last several miles. He’d finally mumbled something incoherent about pumpkins and woke up when she rolled down her window to get some fresh air.

 

            It was dusk; the purple streaks from the sunset were fading black, and the thick growth of trees lining the steep embankment blotted out what was left of the sunlight. She inhaled the cool night breeze blowing through the car and smelled the moist air from the creek running along the bottom of the hillside to their right.

 

They were on their way back North to Seattle from California, after a two-week visit with their daughter Jenny and her family. They loved the kids dearly, but after two weeks of hyper, sugar-fueled grandchildren; the non-stop, go-go-go to every theme park, marina, and beach in the state, as well as all of the other things they had cram in on the visit…

 

Mary knew they were finally getting old. Maybe they didn’t need the bifocal reading glasses yet (well, not her, anyway. Gus had his reading glasses stuck on top of his head and was rubbing the sore-looking red welts at the bridge of his nose), but they were both definitely on the cusp, on the slow downhill slide after fifty. And after two weeks away, they were both flat-out exhausted and perfectly glad to be getting home.

 

And to top it off, as if someone had to prove the point, just as they were crossing the border into Oregon, Mary took a wrong turn. They’d wound up winding through the mountains instead of going the easy way, straight up I-5. They just laughed when they finally figured out what happened. Not too big of a deal – they were still heading in generally the right direction, and the drive was nice and scenic.

 

Mary smiled at the memory of her grandkids as Gus pointed out the entrance to the rest stop. Gus grinned back at her with his own crooked smile; the very same one that had charmed her so when they met, way back in college. The only difference being that now, when Gus smiled at her, his face wrinkled up like a prune.

 

            Good Lord, she realized. We’re already old farts...

 

            “Penny for your thoughts?”

 

            He reached over the cup-holder and patted her hand. She looked down and was happy to note that the skin on her arms and the backs of her hands was still smooth and soft, tanned an even nut-brown from lying by the pool in Jenny’s backyard. No age spots yet.

 

            “Just wondering: why is it that I’m always more tired when we get back from a vacation than I was before we left?”

 

            Gus laughed. “Nobody ever said vacations were relaxing.”

 

            Mary giggled and pulled into an open space not far from an old brick bathroom and stopped the car next to a new, reflective sign set into the curb that listed the rules of the rest stop: No skateboarding, No overnight camping, No alcohol. All animals must be leashed. Above the sign was a map showing the layout of the area. The parking lot was shaped like a U, with another, larger parking strip hidden behind, back through the trees, past the day park and picnic tables.

 

            She turned off the ignition, sank back in the leather seat and sighed. Except for their car and a large 18-wheeler idling near the exit, the rest area was empty. Not a lot of traffic followed this route anymore. When the last of the sunlight faded away, automatic lights ticked on, illuminating the bathrooms and the parking strip. They opened the car doors and stepped out into the night air.

 

            “Oh, that’s better,” Gus groaned with relief and knuckled the small of his back.

 

            Suddenly, Mary’s bladder was near to bursting. All the coffee she’d sipped during the drive was ready to gush down her legs if she didn’t get to a toilet, fast.

 

            “I’ll be right back,” she said over her shoulder.

 

            “H’okay. I’ll just mosey around out here a bit.”

 

            The restroom was gloomy and dark and stank of old urine. Years worth of graffiti and old, brown cobwebs defaced the brick, the mirrors above the chipped sinks were just broken frames, and most of the lights were either flickering or out altogether. Moths and gnats swirled around the one steady bulb encased in a protective mesh above the door.

 

            Mary wrinkled her little nose. How quaint, she grimaced. It’s worse than going camping and having to poop out in the dirt.

 

None of the stalls had doors, two of the toilets had overflowed, and all of them faced the open doorway leading out to the parking lot.

 

            Eww. Yuck, yuck, yuck. Mary sighed and checked the last stall.

 

To her amazement, it was relatively clean and almost seemed in good repair. At least there wasn’t a pool of smelly brown water that she’d have to wade through in order to do her business, like the others. There were even a few scraps of rough brown toilet paper left on the roll. On the off-chance her luck would hold up, Mary checked, but there were no paper seat covers left in the dispenser. Not that it really mattered anyway. What was left of the lid to the toilet was cracked and chipped, and half of it was torn away.

 

            Oh well, she thought, pulling the hem of her light summer dress up to her hips. Beggars can’t be choosers.

 

            She pulled down her panties, and holding her dress up with one hand, squatted; awkwardly bracing herself by holding onto the paper dispenser and trying to lean over the bowl without actually touching it with her butt. And of course, she managed to lose her balance and almost fall in.

 

            Mary caught herself before there was any damage, and rolled her eyes.

 

            If Gus could see me now, I’d never hear the end of it.

 

She balanced on the lip of the cold, slimy bowl and sighed as the aching pressure in her bladder eased. While she pee’d, a toilet in the men’s room flushed, and she heard water running through the old pipes in the wall behind her.

 

Someone whistled and a long shadow slipped past outside, pausing at the open doorway. Mary closed her eyes and folded her dress over her knees, hoping no one would peek through the door while she tinkled. Anyone walking by the restroom door right then would get an eye-full, and the glare from the outside lights blinded her to anyone who might be watching.

 

            The whistling continued outside, and there was the click of a lighter, and a quick flash of light. Mary sniffed, smelled cigarette smoke. Then she heard heavy footsteps on the cement walkway, receding away from the restrooms towards the back parking lot.

 

Mary wiped quickly with the remaining bits of toilet paper and flushed. A few minutes later she walked briskly back to the car, shaking cold water from her hands. Gus was waving at the truck driver, who honked back and pulled the noisy rig out onto the old highway.

 

            She glanced around, feeling strangely uncomfortable, like she was being watched. But the lot was completely deserted now, other than Gus, who scratched his bald head as she approached.

 

            Leave it to Gus to make a friend out here in the middle of nowhere. I wish I could do that.

 

Mary smiled at her husband, attributing the feeling to coffee jitters and the long drive. She nodded at the truck as it melted into the darkness. “New buddy?”

 

            “That was a fella named Max. Max Davidson. Used to work at the railroad with old Elmer Cole, back when I was stationed in Tacoma. Small world, huh?” He grinned at her over the roof of the car. “Ready to get moving?”

 

            “Yep. Did you take a potty-break?”

 

            “Potty-break?” Gus laughed out loud. “Hon, you’ve been around the grandkids too long.”

 

            She laughed too, and unlocked the car. Gus looked concerned as she fumbled with the keys.

 

            “You want me to drive for a spell?”

 

            “I think I’m okay.”

 

            “Okey-dokey. I’ll keep the coffee coming just in case.”

 

            “Good. I knew there was a reason I kept you around all these years.”

 

            They laughed together and buckled in. Mary turned the key in the ignition and they eased back onto the highway. In the rearview mirror, Mary noticed another pair of headlights flicker on and follow them out of the parking lot. Barely a mile down the road, she heard the siren wailing. Blue and red lights suddenly spun in the rearview-mirror and headlights flashed, making her squint with the glare.

 

            “Oh, no.”

 

            “What?” Gus turned around in his seat to look.

 

            “The police, or a sheriff, or whatever. We’re getting pulled over.”

 

            “That’d be the state police, I think. Well, that’s a damn fine thing. What’d we do? Make an illegal turn?”

 

            “I don’t know.”

 

            Mary eased to a stop on the lip of the road. Gravel crunched under the car’s tires, and she set the parking break. Next to Gus on the passenger side of the car was a sheer drop; easily a hundred feet straight down to the creek gurgling in the darkness below.

 

The other vehicle pulled up about twenty yards behind them, and a bright spotlight illuminated the interior of their car, blinding them both.

 

            “What the hell...”

 

            Gus lurched back down in his seat, blinking spots out of his eyes. Mary jumped as someone smacked the butt-end of a flashlight on her window. She groped blindly until she found the switch and rolled it down. She squinted, peering out at the huge, tall man standing next to her. She held up a hand to shield her eyes from the glare of the spotlight, but he snapped on the flashlight and Mary found herself blinking again, unable to see anything but the vague outline of his face behind a pair of dark glasses.

 

            “Can I help you officer?”

 

            She was greeted with stony silence as the officer played the flashlight over Gus and the front seat, then the back of the car.

 

            “Turn off the car and take the key out of the ignition, please. License and registration, ma’am.”

 

            “Um, okay. Let me find it...” Mary turned the key in the ignition. She dropped the key-ring in a cupholder and flipped down the sun-visor. “May I ask what the trouble is...?”

 

            The flashlight snapped back to her, and then to Gus, who was rooting around in the glove compartment. “Sir, keep your hands on the dashboard, please.”

 

            “Oh, sure. Sorry, but I thought we stuck the new registration in here...”

 

            “Just keep them where I can see them.”

 

            Gus looked at Mary, who shrugged. She found the paperwork and handed everything to the officer through the window. He snatched them from her and the light danced back and forth, from her face to her license and back. The officer grunted.

 

            “Stay in the vehicle. I need to…call this in.”

 

            He spun on his heel and stomped back to his car.

 

            “Gus, what’s going on? What did we do?”

 

            Mary was shaking. Her husband smiled reassuringly.

 

            “It’s probably just a routine stop, hon. Don’t worry. We didn’t do anything. It’ll be fine. I...”

 

            Heavy footsteps crunched outside the Mary’s window.

 

            “Ma’am? Please open the trunk of the vehicle.”

 

            “Wh-what?”

 

            “Pop the trunk please. The back of the car.”

 

            “But...why? I don’t understand.”

 

            “There was a drug bust at a truck stop on Highway 84 about an hour ago. Several vehicles carrying suspects were seen leaving the scene. Witnesses described one vehicle with an older man and a woman driving that match your descriptions, and your license plate number. Now, please pop the trunk.”

 

            “This is absurd! Officer, we haven’t done anything wrong!”

 

            “Ma’am, I won’t ask you again. Pop the trunk. Do it now, or I’ll arrest both of you.”

 

            Gus shook his head, dumbfounded. Mary reached between her legs, found the trunk lever with trembling fingertips, and pulled. The blinding light eased as the trunk opened, and both Gus and Mary sighed with relief. They listened to the officer rooting around in back. The trunk slammed shut a moment later, and they were blinded again.

 

The officer stomped back. He held several small plastic baggies in a gloved hand, all of them full of fluffy white powder. He unholstered his weapon with his free hand.

 

            “What’s this?”

 

            Gus stared open-mouthed, flabbergasted. “B-but...that’s not ours! We didn’t...”

 

            The officer pocketed the baggies and yanked open Mary’s door. He waved at her with the gun. “Ma’am, please step out of the car. Sir, stay right where you are, keep your hands on the dash. Do you understand?”

 

            Gus gulped and nodded. He was shaking as Mary stepped outside. The officer took her roughly by the arm and spun her around.

 

            “Both hands on the car. Right now.”

 

            Mary burst into tears, but bent at the waist and did what she was told. Her feet were kicked wide apart, and then a gloved hand was moving over her body, under her armpits, down her sides, over her hips and back up again. The officer bunched up her skirt and patted between her thighs, ran his hand over her stomach, up to her breasts.

 

            “S-stop it! Please! We didn’t do anything! We...”

 

            Inside the car, Gus watched the officer frisk his wife, watched her cry with shame as he groped her full breasts. He pounded his fists on the dash, feeling totally, completely helpless. The officer yanked Mary’s arms behind her back and handcuffed her, grinning lewdly as he locked the metal bracelets tightly around her wrists.

 

            “Goddammit, you bastard! I don’t care who you are! Leave her alone, or I’ll...”

 

            Gus opened his door and tried to step out, but Mary had parked so close to the cliff his foot dangled out above open air. Vertigo made his head spin as he leaned out over the precipice. Gus jerked back inside and tried to crawl across the seat, but the officer was already there, waiting for him.

 

Gus froze, the cold barrel of the gun pressed hard against his forehead.

 

            “Oh. Oh no.”

 

            Gus blinked once before the officer fired. His head exploded like a ripe melon, splattering blood and brains out the open passenger door and all over the interior of the car. What was left of Gus jerked backwards, then slumped forward into Mary’s seat, blood still spurting from the ragged wound.

 

            Mary screamed and fell to her knees. She crawled through the dirt and the gravel, scraping her knees raw trying to reach her husband.

 

A heavy boot planted itself in the middle of her back and pushed her flat to the ground. Vaguely, as if from far off, she heard someone whistling. Then a strong, gloved hand clamped a smelly rag to face, covering her mouth and nose. Mary screamed again, inhaling putrid fumes, and her world slowly turned black.

 

            The officer grinned and bent into the car, casually pushed the corpse out of his way. He found the keys and stuck them in the ignition, then started the car and braced the gas pedal down with a stick. The engine revved loudly. He put the car in gear and unset the hand-break. The officer calmly lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply, blowing smoke out his nose as the car rolled off the embankment and crashed into the creek below.

 

            He smoked the cigarette down to the filter and tossed the burning embers after the car. Then he picked up the old bitch and threw her lightly over his shoulder. He whistled as he carried her back to his cruiser.

 

            A fireball exploded into the night sky, and the ground shook as he drove away.

 

***

 

            Mary woke up with a pounding headache, handcuffed and gagged in the filthy back seat of a car. Her feet were bound loosely and someone had thrown a dirty blanket over her. The car was moving slowly down an old, unused dirt road.

 

Mary bounced around uncomfortably as they seemed to hit every pothole in the road. The rough jostling had aroused her out of her drugged stupor. She could see stars through the treetops, the moon full and luminous in the clouds above.

 

            Eventually, they stopped.

 

            The officer got out of the car, and Mary listened to him light a cigarette and walk around to the side door. A few moments later the door by her head opened, and she was being dragged out of the backseat as if she weighed no more than a child. The officer set her on her feet and gave her a shove.

 

            “Walk, bitch.”

 

            She tripped over the ropes around her ankles, but managed to stumble forward towards a rotten wood overhang above dilapidated old benches, tables and fire pits. There were a few small A-frame style cabins scattered around the site, their moss-covered roofs caving in.

 

The officer guided her to one of the picnic tables. A small lantern hung from a peg in the wall, illuminating the area for a few feet. He made her walk up to the edge of the table and spun her around.

 

            “Sit down.”

 

            Mary sat on the edge of the rough wood, and he pushed her back onto the table. She shook her head, moaning into the gag.

 

 The officer took a large hunting knife from a sheath at his belt and sliced through the heavy rope binding her ankles. The cigarette dangled from the corner of his lips as he worked, smoke drifting up, obscuring his features. Mary grunted again through her gag and tried to kick at him, but the officer punched her hard in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

 

He sneered and brandished his blade, scraping her cheek with the sharp edge.

 

“Try that again, bitch, and I’ll hack of your tits and feed them to you.”

 

Mary gasped and struggled for breath as he tied her securely, spread-eagled to iron rings set into the legs at each side of the table. He tugged at the ropes and grunted with satisfaction. His knees popped loudly as he straightened.

 

“Almost done.” He stabbed the tip of the knife into the table next to her. “Remember – you fuck with me now, and I’ll hurt you, bad. Understand me?”

 

Mary managed to nod, terrified. He took a key ring from his belt then rolled her halfway over and unlocked the handcuffs. The officer stretched her arms above her head and handcuffed her to another ring at the top of the table.

 

            Then he stood back and smiled, blowing cigarette smoke from the side of his mouth. He ran his finger over her face, down her belly. He yanked the knife out of the table and walked over to a rack of tools mounted on the wall.

 

            “So pretty,” he whispered, sheathing the knife. “So pretty.”

 

            He took something from the rack. Mary strained her neck to see, but his broad back blocked her view. Then he flicked his wrist, and the long, supple, barbed tails of a whip slithered in the dirt. He turned to her, raising his arm above his head, and brought it down hard, snapping the whip and raking bloody furrows across her abdomen.

 

            Mary shrieked into the gag, her back arching and her body writhing with the sudden, overwhelming pain.

 

He came back to her and stood between her open legs. He took the knife in hand again, and Mary squeezed her eyes shut and panted as he cut her dress open from the hem of her skirt up past her breasts. The officer gasped with pleasure at her bare flesh, and licked his lips. He ran his hands slowly over her prone body, squeezing and probing.

 

His leather gloves were rough against her soft skin. She cried and whimpered when he prodded at the gashes in her belly.

 

            “So pretty. Now, let’s see those big, old bitch titties...”

 

            He flicked away the cigarette butt and cut through the thin band between the cups of her bra. He gently lay open the soft, lacy material, bent over her and bit her left nipple hard, making her cry out. He moved from one nipple to the other, squeezing her breasts, biting and chewing at her soft flesh. Fresh tears ran down her dirt-streaked face.

 

            “So pretty...”

 

            He unbuttoned the uniform shirt, threw it onto another table, then unbuckled his belt and dropped his pants around his feet. His massive cock stood out from his hairless body, huge and throbbing. It had the same, tiny circles of scars that circled his chest and legs, covering the rest of his body. It looked somehow diseased; deformed and mangled like a gnarled tree limb.

 

Mary whimpered as the knife ripped into her panties. He cut them off and threw them over her face, rubbed the inside of her thighs with the cold, sharp steel of his knife.

 

“You like my knife, don’t you bitch? Can’t take your eyes off it.” He scraped the edge through her soft thatch of pubic hair. “How’d you like me to fuck you with it? Think that’d be nice, if I jab it into that pretty coo of yours?”

 

He poked the tip into her cunt. Mary screamed and jerked in her bonds until she was breathless, but he just laughed and stabbed the knife tip-first into the table. Then he bent and began lapping at her cunt, licking her pussy like a thirsty dog.

 

“Mmmm.” He stood and smacked his lips. “Tasty.”

 

            Mary cried when he pressed the tip of his mammoth shaft into her sopping cunt. He roughly shoved himself inside her with a few hard strokes and fucked her, ignoring her screams. She rocked her body and jerked up and down; trying to dislodge him, but her efforts only excited him more.

 

            “Mmm…” He moaned with pleasure and wrapped his huge hands around her neck. He squeezed until Mary’s vision blurred and he climaxed violently inside her.

 

            The officer twitched once, twice, and then collapsed on top of her, letting his cock shrivel up in her pussy. After some time, he stirred from his stupor, and his hand found the smooth leather grip of his whip.

 

            Time for more fun, he thought, pushing away from her.

 

He cracked the whip and dragged the spiked tails over Mary’s chest, tearing her soft, milky skin, leaving more bloody gashes. She screamed her throat raw as he whipped her again and again. He grinned as her pussy muscles clamped around his cock, kneading him hard.

 

            “So, so pretty.” He whispered. “I just wish we had more time together.”

 

            She bounced and squirmed underneath him, exciting him. His cock was throbbing inside her again. He bent and licked at her bloody cuts.

 

            The whip cracked again.

 

            As the moon set, Mary’s screams faded to hoarse whispers, and eventually, as the morning sun appeared, finally stopped altogether.

 

***

 

            Jessica and April cut out of school early, skipping their last period class, and took the bus to the mall. Their new, eight-grade motto was simple: why sit and listen to stupid, boring teachers with a bunch of zit-faced dorks, when you can hang out at the food court at the mall with the cool high-school kids?

 

            No contest. The mall won that battle hands down. They’d forge themselves excuse notes later; now it was time to split. They left most of their homework at school too; instead of heavy books and folders tucked into their backpacks, the girls carried the so-uncool clothes they were wearing when they left their houses that morning.

 

            Now they were both dressed in cute half-shirts to better show off their matching new belly button rings. April wore a sexy black mini-skirt that showed off her round little ass, high heels, and a lime-green t-shirt torn away at the sleeves and the neck. She had to keep pulling an errant bra strap back up her shoulder as they walked. Jessica was wearing a pair of faded hip-hugger jeans that were getting nice and worn out in the butt, a pair of fuck-me high heels that would’ve given her repressed, born-again mother fits, and a tight pink t-shirt with a slogan nice girls do it doggy-style splashed across her heavy, round breasts.

 

            Puberty came big-time for them both this year. Jessica especially – her boobs specifically. They were huge, and she knew she was the hot thing in school right now. She liked how the boys at school turned pink when they stared at her tits, trying to read her shirts. She had a whole drawer full of them hidden at home.

 

Her mom hated how she dressed, but what the fuck? She was an old prude anyway. April’s mom, too. That’s why they had to leave the house in their stupid nice-girl clothes, and change in the bathroom at the mini-mart every day before going to school.

 

            They got to the mall and hopped off the bus around three that afternoon, dodging around a cop car parked next to the bus stop. They wandered around, but there was hardly anybody there yet, so they decided to shop for a little while and go back later. They spent some time wandering from store to store, giggling at the old people before sneaking into the lingerie shop.

 

            That’s about when April noticed the guy in the brown uniform. He looked like a security guy or something, and he was following them. She pointed him out to Jessica as they walked into the shop.

 

“Look!” She pointed, then turned quickly away. “Jesus! He’s coming in here!”

 

“Omigawd!” Jessica laughed. “Shh! Here her comes!”

 

April giggled and grabbed a tiny, lacy black bra off a rack and turned to the guy, batting her eyes up into his mirrored sunglasses.

 

            “Hey, mister!” She teased, modeling for him. “How d’you think I’d look in this? Cute, huh?”

 

            The guy never even cracked a smile. He just stared. So weird, April thought. She pursed her lips and stuck out her chest, gave him her best pouty look and tried again.

 

            “Wouldn’t you like to see me in it?”

 

He stayed quiet, but reached over and gave the bra a little tweak, spreading the gauzy material out with his huge fingers. His scarred knuckles lightly brushed April’s nipple, and a little, electric thrill shot through her body.

 

“How old are you girls?”

 

“Sixteen.” April lied. She smacked her gum and did a little twirl for him, giving him a quick glimpse of smooth, tan thighs and white panties. “So, what do you think?”

 

“Sixteen? Well, then. Hmm. I don’t know. Let’s see…”

 

He looked down at her tits, then back into her eyes. April’s whole body started to tingle. Jessica bounced from one foot to another as they stared each other down. Finally, he grinned at them both.

 

“Well, yeah. I guess I would.”

 

Their mouths dropped open. April felt the tingle spread down between her legs, and suddenly she needed to pee. A pretty blond saleswoman walked over from another corner of the store and asked if she could help. The guy stared at the saleswoman, down at the gold nametag pinned to her jacket, then back at the girls.

 

“Well.” He grinned at April like they were old friends. “Are you going to pay for that?”

 

            April chewed her gum nervously, shot a confused look at Jessica.

 

            “Uh, I was just kidding around. I don’t have any money.”

 

            “Oh.” He turned back to the saleswoman. “Miss? Um...Cindy?”

 

            Cindy smiled uncertainly, wondering what the hell was going on here, wondering if the big cop had caught a pair of shoplifters for her.

 

“Yes?” She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

 

            The man took a brown leather wallet from his back pocket, flipped it open and shuffled through a thick ream of bills with his gloved fingers. He handed her six or seven crisp hundred dollar bills.

 

“This should cover whatever my…daughters want. If you could help them while I finish my shopping?”

 

            The clerk raised her eyebrows even higher, but took the cash. “Uh, sure. Okay. Is there anything else I can help you with…?” She drifted off.

 

            “No. Thanks.” He looked at April and Jessica, who stared back at him, totally confused. “Get anything you want girls. I’ll see you later.”

 

            He spun on his heel and clomped out of the store. They all watched him leave.

 

            “Well.” Cindy crossed one arm under her breasts, fanning herself with the money. “What tickles your fancy today, ladies?”

 

            April stared at Jessica.

 

            “Oh, shit! He was serious!”

 

            They both broke into huge grins, and for the rest of the afternoon, hot, sexy panties and lacy push-up bra’s flew off the racks. By the time the mall closed at six, the girls were weighted down with shopping bags full of sexy new undies, stockings, body sprays and whatnot. Cindy smiled as she finally ushered them out of the store, more than half-an-hour after she normally locked up, and told them thanks and asked them to come again.

 

The girls waved and took the escalator down to their exit. They pushed through the doors and stepped into the parking structure, chatting happily about their crazy benefactor as they walked towards the street.

 

Jessica tossed her hair back over her shoulder. “I can’t believe you were flirting with him!”

 

“I was not!”

 

“Ye-ah! You were!”

 

April looked hurt, then grinned and told Jessica about the guy touching her boob.

 

“No way!” Jessica collapsed in giggles. “Really? He touched you? On purpose?”

 

“Yeah.” April shrugged. “I dunno. But it felt kinda…nice. I mean…”

 

“Wow. April, that’s sick. He was so old.”

 

“He was not old.”

 

“He must’a been at least thirty.”

 

“Uh-uh! Shit, Jess…”

 

“I mean, he was wearing those dumb sunglasses, and that big, dopey hat, too, an’…”

 

            The parking lot was deserted, quiet except for their conversation, so when the car pulled up and honked, both the girls jumped. Driving just behind them, the security guy had his window open and was leaning out, waving. The girls smiled and walked over.

 

            “Hey, mister!” April smiled coyly.

 

            He nodded back. “Hi again.”

 

            “Thanks for the stuff!” Jessica held up her bags. “Really. You didn’t have’ta do that. I mean…”

 

            “Not a problem.” He shrugged. “Where are you girls off to?”

 

            “Home.” April nodded at the exit. “We gotta catch the bus back.”

 

            “You want a ride?”

 

            The girls looked at each other. Jessica was feeling uneasy. “Hey, I don’t know. We can take the bus...”

 

            “It’s no problem. I can get you home so you can try all those dainties on even sooner. Where do you live?”

 

            “Over by Normandale park.”

 

            “That’s quite a ways.”

           

            “Yeah. Well. I guess.” April adjusted her bags. “You sure? I mean...”

 

            “Yeah, of course. Here...Give me some of those...” The man opened his door and stepped out. He opened the door to the backseat and took their bags. “In you go. We’ll get you home in a jiffy. You ever ride in a cop car before?”

 

            “No.” they said together, then giggled.

 

            April looked at Jessica, then at the cop, and jumped in, making a show of wiggling her ass as she crawled over the hard plastic seats. Jessica watched him watch her friend. April’s skirt was so short it crawled up over her butt, and Jessica was sure he was staring at her panties. She followed more slowly, while the officer stowed their bags in his trunk. He slammed the door after she was inside, and the car lurched to one side as he plopped back into the driver’s seat.

 

            “So, you’re a cop?” Jessica asked, running her hand over the bullet-proof partition separating the front seat from the back seat. “We thought you were maybe like a security guy for the mall.” The back of the car was nasty dirty, and stank. She wondered what the smell was. It seemed to be getting worse.

 

The glass muffled his reply. A hissing sound came from the air vents. Next to Jessica, April groaned and coughed, then slumped over. Her forehead smacked into the window, and she tipped over into Jessica’s lap.

 

            “Mister?” Jessica pounded on the glass. ”Hey! Mister! Hey!”

 

            The smell was getting worse. Jessica’s eyes began to blur and run, and her chest felt suddenly tight, like she was having trouble breathing. Terrified now, Jessica tried to roll down the window, but there were no handles. She groped at the door, but there was no way to open it from the inside. She felt her stomach clench, like she was going to throw up, and then she fainted.

 

            “Sleep tight, girls.” The man casually turned to look at his newest prizes. Their unconscious forms reflected in his sunglasses. “We’ll be home in a bit. I just have one other person to wait for.”

 

            The officer parked the car behind a concrete pillar and let it idle. He used an old wool blanket from the trunk to cover the girl’s limp bodies. Then he sat back down and tapped a cigarette out of his pack and smoked, blowing out the open window. He rolled the cigarette around in his mouth, chewing the filter and letting the ash fall on his chest.

 

He let his thoughts drift back to the real reason he was here…

 

***

 

            He was buying cigarettes and some sandwiches at an Asian-owned market in Hood River. He was just drifting around, waiting for the next hunt, when the pretty little blonde entered the store with her friends. He knew they were city kids from their clothes, seven friends going out into the woods for a week, camping.

 

They were obnoxious, so he paid quickly and left the store. He almost left to hunt elsewhere, but something about the one girl, the blonde…

 

The officer decided to wait for a bit and test the waters, see what they might bring him. He could be patient. He sat in his cruiser with the windows rolled down, letting the breeze blow through, smoking a cigarette and sweating under his hot uniform.

 

When the kids finally piled into a beat up VW van, he followed them to their campground; a nice, secluded spot up in the cascades by a small creek. He parked the cruiser under some overgrowth on an old logging road about half a mile upstream, and hiked back down through the woods with a knapsack containing his food and cigarettes slung over his shoulder. He had a large bottle of water in the bag too, and high-powered pair of night-vision binoculars strapped to his weapon belt.

 

            When he came to a small, dry embankment, he hunkered down, concealed in the thick woods across the creek from the campsite. He watched the kids unpack and set up their camp. They built a large fire-pit and ringed it with stones and then plastic lounge chairs; they set up three small nylon tents; and with the camp complete, changed into swimsuits and went for a dip in the creek.

 

            Dumb city kids, he mused. Shouldn’t set the rocks around the fire. With all the rain lately, they could explode if they get too hot.

 

One of the boys climbed up the small embankment on their side of the creek and shouted to his friends – he found an old swing rope strung from the thick branches of an old-growth tree, and they quickly began taking turns swinging far out over the creek and splashing in.

 

The officer watched the kids play in the water, laughing and joking with each other until dusk, his attention completely absorbed with the blonde in her bikini. It was all he could do not to unzip his trousers and satisfy himself right on the spot.

 

            There were three boys and four girls, he noted. Only one pair actually seemed to be a couple, and they had a tent to themselves. The others split up, boys in one tent and the girls in another. The blonde didn’t seem particularly involved with any of the boys.

 

He liked that.

 

            The other girls were attractive enough. But the blonde…

 

            Well. She could keep him warm on a cold night.

 

            A cool breeze sent shivers through the wet kids, and the girls ran back to the tents to dry off and change. He watched the blonde’s titties bounce as she ran, letting himself fantasize; imagining her tied down underneath him, unable to move, tearing off the damp bikini and clamping his teeth around her cold-hard nipples, biting and chewing on the rubbery nubs of flesh, listening to her strangled cries and stroking himself until he was ready to take her…

 

            He shivered happily. Below, one of the boys had started a campfire, and they were all relaxing in the lounge-chairs, pulling food and beer out of plastic coolers. He ate with them, sipping warm bottled water instead of the beer the kids were drinking. They laughed and joked while they ate.

 

The girls were already drunk by the time one of the boys lit the first joint and began strumming an old acoustic guitar. The moon was high in the night sky now, and the officer glanced at his watch. It was after nine o’clock, and he had an idea.

 

He packed up his things and hiked back through the woods. He found his cruiser where he left it and drove slowly back with his lights off. The kids were so wasted they barely noticed him pull in behind their old van, until he flashed his spotlight on and pointed it directly at the campfire, lighting their surprised faces with its glare.

 

After that, it was a simple matter to roust them.

 

He wrote tickets for underage drinking, confiscated the booze, burned the pot and threatened them all with arrest for possession. He left them freaked out and packing to go home. He followed them all the way to Portland, checking the addresses he’d jotted down as each person was dropped off. The blonde was number two.

 

The van door slid open, and they left her standing with her sleeping bag at the foot of a driveway that led to a cozy two-story bungalow, across the street from a school and a playground.

 

She was awkwardly unlocking the front door when he eased the cruiser by. The van turned right at the corner ahead of him, and he whistled along with a tune on the radio as he noted the rest of the stops.

 

He drove back to the blonde’s house and parked by the playground. He spent the next couple of days waiting and watching, discovering where she worked, what her habits were, who her friends were. Her family. He tapped the phone line and listened to her conversations, watching her at night through her bedroom window.

 

Enjoying the hunt.

 

***

 

After he’d followed her to work that morning, he knew she’d been sent to him as a gift. He knew she worked in the mall, and had spent the better part of two days casing the building: checking security, how it was monitored, where the blind spots were.

 

Pathetic, he decided.

 

A rabid pit bull loose in the mall would’ve made a better guard than the pathetic security staff that seemed to consist of a few zit-faced college kids, paunchy ex-football jocks and a one-armed, toothless geriatric who could barely walk. He was more worried about the janitorial crew, who were everywhere – scattered throughout the building with their brooms and trashcans. They were always underfoot and paid more attention to their surroundings than the strutting idiots with the fake badges.

 

After watching the guards and the janitors for an afternoon, he was relatively familiar with their routines, their patterns. They were easy to avoid. He especially liked the parking structure. Despite warnings posted throughout the building regarding ‘video surveillance’, the only real, working cameras were located at the entries and the exits.

 

It was a simple task to disarm them without being noticed. He laughed when the old security guy came to check, spoke into his walkie-talkie for a few minutes, finally shrugged, and left. The camera stayed broken.

 

Now, he thought. Time for the prize.

 

***

 

She liked to park between levels, usually next to a large concrete support pillar, where there were fewer cars. It was a perfect place to take her.

 

He tailed her for the fifteen minutes it took her to drive to the mall, and all the way to her usual parking spot. She never noticed. He was going to make one, final walk-through, when he noticed the two giggling teenage girls making their way straight to the lingerie shop where the blonde worked.

 

Three for the price of one?

 

The man broke into a confident smile and followed the girls in. Now he had them too, and he was calm, content to wait until he spotted the pretty blonde salesgirl.

 

Cindy. A sweet name.

 

She emerged from the same doors the girls had used, just a few moments later. She was digging around in her purse, heading towards a bright yellow convertible. He started the car and drove over to her, parked and as he got out, grabbed the chloroform soaked rag from the seat next to him.

 

            “Hey. Miss? Excuse me?” He held the rag low and stepped close to her. “Cindy?”

 

            “Oh!” The girl looked up, startled, but relaxed when she recognized him. “Oh. It’s you. I’m sorry, but you scared me.”

 

            “Did I?”

 

            “Mmn.” She nodded. “Where are your girls?” she asked absently, hunting again for her car keys.

 

            “Asleep in the back of the car. Long day.”

 

            “Oh? I guess it is getting kind of late, huh?”

 

Cindy smiled nervously at the big man, who was just standing there, staring down at her tits with a crazy little smile on his face. She was used to guys doing that while she was at work. It was part of her job; during training, her manager made a point to inform her that her body and the way she looked was a big part of why she got the job, and that she could and should use it to her advantage with the gentlemen who came in to shop.

 

But this guy…

 

Even if he was a cop, he was creeping her out.

 

“Well.” She stammered. “I should go...”

 

            Cindy beeped the lock on her car and opened the door, tossed her bag into the front seat. She had one long, slim leg in the car when the officer clamped the dirty rag over her face.

 

He calmly counted to ten while she struggled in his arms, then twenty.

 

            The girl went limp, unconscious before he got to thirty. He picked her up easily and threw her into his trunk. Then, whistling, he grabbed her purse and her keys, locked up her car, and tossed everything onto the floor of his vehicle.

 

The officer glanced at his watch as he pulled out of the parking lot. He had a long drive. The moon would be up soon, but there should still be plenty of time tonight to play with his new toys before the offering.

 

He signaled and turned onto a freeway on-ramp, merged with traffic. He gunned the motor, flashed his lights and grinned as the other motorists speeding by him suddenly slowed down to a crawl.

 

Yet another benefit of this damn uniform.

 

He was already excited, aroused just from holding the girl for a moment, smelling her perfume when he dumped her in the trunk.

 

He could hardly wait to get home.

 

***

 

            Jessica woke out of a deep sleep.

 

Something was tugging at her, pulling at her insistently. She tried say, Stop! Knock it off and go away! But she couldn’t speak.

 

She blinked open her crusted eyelids.

 

The officer smiled down at her, whistling happily as he cut off her pants with a knife. Jessica could see herself, reflected in his sunglasses, tied spread-eagled to an old picnic table. Her arms were stretched tight over her head, her hands and feet bound to heavy iron rings with a thick, rough rope that dug cruelly into her soft flesh.

 

            The man pulled Jessica’s panties away from her crotch and shoved his thick, gloved fingers into her tight, virgin snatch.  She jerked wildly while he brutally finger-fucked her, but her screams were muffled by a pair of wadded up panties stuffed into her mouth. A bra was wrapped around her head, holding the makeshift gag in place.

 

            “You like that, you little bitch? Don’t you, you little fucking cock-tease?”

 

He pulled his fingers out and showed them to her. They were slick and bloody. He licked them clean and tore open her t-shirt.

 

“You think you’re so pretty, don’t you? You like to tease the boys? Show off your body, you little whore?”

 

He shoved his thumb deep into her sore pussy and pushed his fingertips into her tight little asshole while he squeezed her tits with his other hand.

 

“Now let’s see those nice big tits.”

 

            He tugged her bra down until it stuck under her breasts. Jessica squeezed her eyes shut, gasping with pain as he violated her, the rough leather of his gloved fingers scraping her tender insides raw. He bit her nipple hard, drawing blood. Jessica cried as he sucked and chewed on her tit.

 

            She cried out again in pain. And then he just stopped.

 

            He was standing over her, breathing hard. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, smearing his lips with her blood, then backed up and unbuckled his gunbelt. He tossed it onto a picnic table covered with S&M sex toys, and then he unbuttoned his pants, pulled them off, and tossed them onto the table too.

 

            “There, bitch.” He grated through clenched teeth. “Look at me.”

 

He wasn’t wearing underwear, and he just stood there in his boots and uniform shirt, staring at her. After a moment, he began stroking himself hard, until his cock stuck straight out from his hairless crotch, pointing right at her.

 

“Look at it! You see how it wants you…?”

 

His cock was huge and ugly, scarred like the rest of his flesh: tribal, ritualistic swirls and patterns ripped into his skin, reminding Jessica of the tattoos the kids in school were crazy for. His obscene manhood stuck straight out at her, throbbing. It seemed to move with a life of its own, blindly hunting her, radiating heat and brutality.

 

Jessica couldn’t take her eyes off it.

 

The officer roughly slapped her oozing pussy and pinched her bloody nipple, pulling her tit up into the air. He let go and grinned as it bounced back and pooled on her chest, wiggling.

 

            “There, there,” he mumbled. “That’s enough for now. Not all at once. I’ve got other toys to play with. Can’t forget them, now can I?”

 

            Jessica watched him move to the next table. April was lashed to it doggie-style, with her arms and feet roped to the table legs and her ass pointed up in the air. The officer had looped a black leather belt around her neck, keeping her face level with the edge of the table.

 

April stared at Jessica, wild-eyed with fright.

 

The officer had stripped April of her t-shirt, and dressed her in the little black bra that she’d teased him about at the lingerie store. A silvery metal ring was wedged into her mouth, locking it open in a wide ‘O’. April shook her head frantically he approached and strained to look up, silently pleading to him with her big, tear-streaked brown eyes as the officer grabbed her roughly by the ears. He jerked her head into position, so his cock was right in line with her gaping mouth, and shoved it in.

 

“Ahhhhh…so nice…”

 

He stayed still for a minute, holding her head in place, letting her gag and snort and spit around his cock. Thick ropes of snot and vomit spewed from her nose as April’s stomach heaved. She jerked and wiggled as he fucked her face. He closed his eyes and pumped his thick shaft deep into her throat until his balls slapped against her chin. The muscles in April’s slim neck bulged with each thrust, and her eyes rolled back into her skull. Jessica watched the man sodomize her friend with a sick fascination.

 

“This’ll teach you, you little bitch…” He muttered, and back-handed April hard across the face. “I’ll cut those perky little tits right off and cum in your ass…”

 

Jessica closed her eyes and turned her head as far away as she could, but she couldn’t blot out the awful smacking sounds of his heavy hand against April’s flesh, or her soft cries.

 

OhmyGod, she realized.  I’m gonna be next. He’s gonna do this to me, too.

 

In a sudden spasm of fear, Jessica pulled and pulled at the rope binding her wrists and ankles, until a new set of groans joined with April’s. Cindy was waking up.

 

The officer had Cindy hand-cuffed standing up. She was gagged like Jessica, and fully dressed except for her suit jacket. She was bound so that she was leaning up against the wall of the overhang, with her arms locked to a rusty iron ring mounted high over her head. Her legs were spread wide apart, and her ankles were tied to heavy, metal tent pegs pounded deep into the hard soil underfoot. She was limp now, hanging in her bonds.

 

“Well, well. About time you joined the party.”

 

The officer pulled out of April’s mouth with a wet pop. He walked over to the junk-covered picnic table and whistled until he found his whip.

 

“Ahh. There you are…”

 

He cracked the whip at Cindy, the spiked leather flicking through the air by her face. Cindy cringed as one of the spikes ripped a shallow furrow through her cheek. The officer wedged his hips between April’s legs and cracked the whip again, tearing bloody gashes through Cindy’s white silk blouse.

 

Cindy screamed with each lash. She jerked and swung from the ropes, her eyes shut tight, oozing blood from her torn flesh and panting for breath. The officer laughed cruelly at her pain and put the whip down. He bent over and spread April’s butt-cheeks open with his hands.

 

“Mm-mm good,” he grunted, and shoved his tongue into her asshole.

 

April screamed again and all the muscles in her body clenched while he ate her out. Cindy cowered against the wall, still groggy from the drugs and the pain from her flogging, not yet coherent, not fully understanding what was happening.

 

Jessica kept her eyes shut tight, praying she was dreaming.

 

“Fuck that little pussy…” The officer shoved the whips’ leather handle into April’s cunt. April’s eyes bugged wide and she jerked and wiggled while he reamed her out and fucked her with the whip. Her heart-rending cries filled the air.

 

“Mm.” He came away smacking his lips. He left the whip lodged in her bleeding pussy. “So tasty. Let’s see what else looks like fun… ”

 

The officer stood and picked up a wooden paddle from the junk table.  He began spanking April, who cried out incoherently with each smack of the paddle. He knotted his hand in her hair and spanked her until April’s ass was a deep, glowing red, then he threw the paddle away.

 

“Now…for…the main…course…”

 

He ripped the whip out of April’s bloody pussy and grabbed his swollen, purple cock. He rubbed the scarred tip over her ass and down to her pussy. April screamed again as he rammed it into her. He bent over her back and grabbed her tits, thrusting savagely.

 

“Oh, shit, bitch. You’re so sweet and tight.”

 

He bit her shoulder as he buried himself in her cunt.

 

“Uhh…you’re so tight…am I your first fuck? A little tease like you couldn’t be a virgin, could you?”

 

He ran his gloved hand down the soft skin of her belly and spread her pussy lips further open with his fingers. He scratched them up and down her clit, making her jerk her hips, trying to hide her sensitive little nub from his touch. Her exhertions just managed to excite him even more.

 

“You like that, don’t you bitch? Oh yeah…”

 

April hung her head and cried while he took her. He whispered in her ear.

 

 “Maybe I’ll keep you and your little friend. Knock you up. Make you my breeder-bitches. What do you think? Huh?”

 

The officer rested his weight on April’s back and bit her ear, chewed her neck. He drooled in her thick brown hair and pinched her nipples until she whimpered pathetically, kneading her breasts through the lace of the bra.

 

He came suddenly, grunting like an animal.

 

Thick white cum oozed out of April’s torn cunt and dribbled down the inside of her smooth, tan thighs. The man collapsed onto her back and wrapped her tightly in his huge arms, hammering his cock into her one last time, enjoying himself, letting April’s fear and shame intensify his orgasm.

 

He shuddered, and rested on the trembling, weeping girl, letting her body carry his full weight.

 

Jessica waited until the man seemed to doze off, then she doubled her efforts, tugging fiercely at her bonds until the rope was slick with sweat and blood. The rope around her left wrist seemed to be looser now. She focused all of her attention there, gritting her teeth and pulling, biting her lips bloody.

 

Then the officer pushed himself off April.

 

Jessica lay still as he took his whip in hand. His cock dangled halfway down his muscled thigh now, flaccid, slimy with blood and cum from April’s snatch.

 

He unbuttoned his shirt and tossed it casually on the table, then stood behind Cindy with his legs braced, now completely naked. He cracked the whip and brought it down hard, raking the spikes over Cindy’s poor, unprotected back. He whipped her again and again, until his barrel chest was heaving and he was dripping sweat. When he finally stopped, his cock was rock hard.

 

Jessica watched him toss the whip to the ground and take his hunting knife from the table. Cindy hung limply in her handcuffs, covered in blood and sweat, exhausted.

 

The officer stroked himself with the blade, then cut a slit up Cindy’s skirt and tore it up the back, exposing her panties and a lacy black garter belt and stockings. The knife gleamed in his fist.

 

“Let’s see what else you’ve got for me, bitch.”

 

He cut away her panties, and Cindy didn’t fight him as he levered his hips under hers, and shoved the tip of his cock into her ass. She just groaned pitifully and her head rolled loosely on his shoulder. He worked his dick further into her, then ripped open her blouse and cut the elastic strip between the cups of her bra, exposing her tits.

 

“Fuck…I knew you’d be beautiful. I told them you would be…”

 

He ran the edge of his blade over her belly, pricked the tips of her nipples with its point, and then ran it lightly back down, scraping it over her trimmed blonde bush. Cindy shivered and the blood from her cuts smeared over his sweating, naked chest. Her head drooped, rolling away from his shoulder, and bobbed in time to his thrusts.

 

“No, no. Not like that.” He pressed the knife to her neck, used the flat of the blade to tip her head back again. “I liked it like this…”

 

Jessica ignored them, squirming, twisting until her left hand popped free. April stared at Jessica with a look of desperate hope in her eyes as she worked at the knots tying her other wrist.

 

Once Jessica had both hands free, she tried to rub the feeling back into her fingers, and glanced quickly over at the man raping the poor salesgirl.

 

His face was buried in Cindy’s thick hair and he was fucking her ass brutally, grunting like an animal in heat, oblivious to everything else around him. Jessica carefully sat up and went to work on the ropes around her ankles as April darted little scared looks back and forth.

 

First one set of knots parted under Jessica’s trembling fingers, then another and another.

 

And suddenly, she was free.

 

She slid off the table and tried to reach April, but the movement caught the man’s attention. He turned on them, taking everything in with a glance. April squealed in terror. Jessica hesitated for a moment, not wanting to leave her friend, but his face twisted with fury, and he pushed Cindy’s limp body away from him. She swung loosely as he twisted the knife in his grip and advanced towards Jessica.

 

Jessica squealed and bolted into the woods. He roared senselessly and threw himself after her, crashing through the trees, both of them quickly lost in the darkness.

 

In a moment, the camp was quiet, except for the soft cries of two terrified girls.

 

***

 

            The woods were lit only in spots by the full moon shining down through the treetops. Jessica ran and stumbled, righted herself and then ran some more, always away from the sound of the heavy body crashing through the brush right behind her.

 

            Sobs wracked her chest, sharp twigs and stones bloodied her bare feet. Jessica fell against the stump of an old tree, gasping. The sounds of pursuit seemed to come from her right; so she set off to her left and ran until the sounds seemed to swerve to her right. She adjusted her path, and fled again, further into the darkness.

 

            “Please leave me alone…” She panted. “Please. God, please…”

 

            The ground under her feet was getting softer, muddy, making it harder for her to run. Jessica broke out of the cover of the forest onto a shoreline seconds later, stumbling into a decrepit wooden dock. The sounds of pursuit were fading away behind her. Jessica braced herself and took her bearings.

 

A moonlit lake stretched back into the darkness. And suddenly, as if from far away, Jessica heard singing. It was a soft, gentle voice, and feminine. It drew her east, down the shore, like a moth to flame, until the ground underfoot became solid, littered with stones. She moved as if in a trance, her steps leaden, halting.

 

Just ahead, perched naked on a rocky outcrop, naked and unafraid, was the most beautiful woman she’d ever seen. Jessica stopped and blinked, unbelieving.

 

The woman smiled gently at Jessica and continued singing with a sweet, lovely voice, a voice that seemed to soothe all her fears. She beckoned Jessica closer, but Jessica hesitated, her body trembling from fear and exertion. The woman slipped gracefully from the rock and stood tall, holding out her arms like a mother welcoming her daughter into a loving embrace.

 

“Come to me, my child.” She whispered without speaking, and the words were like warm, sweet honey to Jessica’s mind. “Do not be afraid.”

 

The world around Jessica spun and narrowed. Somehow, she knew it was alright, that the woman would take away her pain, make her safe.

 

“Come…” breathed the sing-song chant. “Come to me…”

 

Jessica stepped closer, and the woman took her into her strong arms, wrapping them tightly around her, pulling her close. Her full bosom was soft and inviting, and she smelled of the woods at night.

 

Jessica smiled and closed her eyes, letting her body melt into the woman’s arms.

 

Standing in the shadows at the edge of the woods, the man watched, smiling with anticipation. The silver knife gleamed in his hand, and his skin was black with blood and sweat. The echoes of the song died, whispering in his ears, and the pale scars on his body began to burn blood red.

 

“A sweet gift…”

 

The lethargy that had stolen her will suddenly left Jessica, leaving her senses clear. She stared around her in confusion.

 

And the woman changed.

 

Her warm, soft arms withered and the flesh blackened and fell away. The sweet face twisted and melted into a craggy, featureless mass of gnashing fangs, and the foul stench of rotting flesh hovered thick in the air.

 

“Take her my sweet…”

 

Jessica screamed as the woman’s fingers clawed into her back, her putrid breath hot on her face. She sniffed at the air, like a starving animal smelling out prey.

 

“It is her time…you must be swift…”

 

The man stepped out the trees and was behind Jessica with three long strides.

 

“N-n-noooo!” She wailed. “P-please don’t…”

 

He wrapped a strong hand over her forehead and brutally snapped her head back. He kicked her legs wide open and wrapped his other arm around her belly, forcing her ass against his crotch. Jessica felt the deformed head of his cock, hot and pulsing, digging at the soft skin, searching for her pussy. She screamed again as he found her and pushed inside, tearing apart her hymen.

 

“Yessss…” The thing hissed.

 

He grunted with satisfaction and his scars burned with agonizing fury as he buried himself in the virgin pussy. The woman-thing clawed at Jessica, tearing away great strips of skin as it’s snapping fangs sank deep into the soft, exposed flesh of her neck; feeding on her nourishing life-blood even as he ripped her virginity away.

 

Hot blood spurted from Jessica’s mangled throat, gushing out over her heaving chest, covering her breasts and the clawing, scratching thing as it fed. Jessica twitched and kicked fitfully, her face frozen in confused pain. The silvery moon reflected in her pale blue eyes as the life slowly fled her body.

 

The man cried out as he climaxed, violently riding her to his peak. He swooned and collapsed to the rocky beach. When he woke the moon was high, and he was alone except for the torn, bloody corpse of a young girl held tightly in his arms. The familiar siren call echoed in the recesses of his mind, persistent, urging.

 

Overhead, the moon was a full, blood red: a great, dead thing hanging in the sky like a fat, bloated spider. The woods behind him were quiet, his entire world hushed with anticipation. Far out in the darkness, he heard the first, faint splashing begin in the lake.

 

It was time.

 

He stood weakly, steam rising from the scars which still glowed hot, as they burned away the girls’ blood, renewing him; giving him strength. He found his knife hidden among the stones scattered on the beach, and began dragging the body towards the dock.