Topic: I was a lot of things . . .

Skyler · Date: 2007-06-03 00:07 EST

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. . .but what you once were is not important. What you are now is what matters, and what you are now is alone.

The man?s words resonated in his mind as Skyler left the cemetery behind, confused, afraid and alone. ?I was a lot of things,? he muttered to himself, contemplating what that meant.

In front of him he could see the buildings of a city. The city looked vaguely familiar, but he decided it was best not to go near it. He had a strange feeling that his presence there would be very chaotic. While he knew he would eventually venture inside, it was certain to him that now was not the time. Instead he began walking south, toward the countryside, pulling up the hood of his shabby brown robe to hide his face.

He walked and walked, until the city was many miles behind him. He veered off the main road and made his way along the back roads for several more miles. Eventually he found himself following a path that stretched into a forest. The forest was not lush and green and abound with life and growth. It was a dark, spooky forest filled with the sounds of hooting owls and eerie winds.

A little after sunset, he spotted an old shack off the side of the road. It looked like a suitable place to hole up.

Further behind the shack, deeper into the spooky woods, wolves howled in the night. Skyler found some old, rotting blankets in a corner and crawled under them, shivering. As he lay there on the floor, tears of sadness began falling from his eyes. He was confused and frustrated, but most of all he was lonely. He wished someone would show up and explain things or comfort him in some way. The problem was he didn?t even know who he wanted to show up. He tried to remember someone ? anyone ? but couldn?t visualize a name or even a face. There may have been a man ? a mean man ? and . . . a woman, too, but he couldn?t be sure. He couldn?t tell if those thoughts were real memories or figments of his imagination.

?I was a lot of things,? he whimpered in the darkness. ?But what I once was is not important. What I am now is what matters and what I am now is . . . lost.?

Sonia · Date: 2007-06-04 09:04 EST

Lucky for her, the haunted woods in which Skyler decided to take refuge was a familiar haunt for the Spider. She often hunted the wolves and boars and deer roaming the area. Animals such as those were never considered delicacies, though, so imagine her delight when, that very evening of the boy?s return to RhyDin, she spied from her treetop perch a healthy looking humanoid creep into the old abandoned shack.

She didn?t realize it was her old quarry, the beautiful Skyler Jackson Chamberland, until she crept to the window of the shack several hours after dark and saw his boyishly handsome face illuminated by a beam of moonlight that managed to cut through the canopy of trees. Staring at him as he slept, the Spider slowly ran her tongue down the length of one of her sharp fangs, her eyes bulging with hungry desire.

How could it be that he was here? Hadn?t she heard he?d been killed? Hadn?t she shed a tear over his grave a few months back? Strange. ..Very strange.

Something happened to Sonia as she watched her sleeping boy, hunkered down pitifully under those rotten blankets. Suddenly, as tasty as Skyler always appeared to her, she decided her desire to devour him was now secondary to her desire to simply have him. Have him as her plaything, as her most coveted possession. She found that, more than anything else, she simply wanted to take his creamy soft cheeks in her palms and lick his lips and suck on his tongue.

Sonia tiptoed around to the door of the shack and slipped into the darkness within.

Skyler · Date: 2007-06-04 16:01 EST

His sleep was restless. He dreamed of things chasing him through the dark, gnashing at his heels. Though it was summertime, he shivered under the rotten blankets. A cold updraft was coming from beneath the warped floorboards of the shack. He wished he had fire to lie next to, or a soft bed to curl up on.

Outside, the night wind blew through bare, dead tree limbs. The boughs creaked and moaned. Twigs snapped. Wolves howled. But inside the dilapidated shack lurked something much more frightening.

Suddenly he sat bolt upright, ripped from his dream by some powerful sixth sense. For some reason he was utterly sure there was another presence in the shack with him. Though it made no noise, he could feel it, could truly feel the person?s eyes on him, like bugs crawling on his skin. The boy squinted fiercely into the shadows, trembling.

?W, who?s there??

Skyler got to his feet, kicking the blankets away frantically. He stood guardedly, fists clenched in front of him, like a fighter.

Sonia · Date: 2007-06-05 10:23 EST

Her prey made the mistake of thinking his huntress was standing somewhere on the floor, level with him. But no, the Spider was watching curiously from above, clinging to the ceiling. She allowed him to stand there, afraid and disoriented, for only a few moments. Then she descended silently toward the boy on a thin strand of silk, lowering herself with expert precision. She dropped just behind him and affixed herself to his back, wrapping her slender legs around his waist and hooking them together at the ankles. Riding him piggyback, grinning, purring, she sank her fangs into the curve of his neck and shoulder and injected her venom into his bloodstream.

Skyler · Date: 2007-06-05 15:38 EST

Skyler had only enough time to take a sharp inhalation and attempt to shout before he felt the prick on his neck. He thrashed and bucked wildly, trying to throw his assailant off, but it was only a matter of seconds before he felt his strength wane. Suddenly his muscles grew gelatinous and his head became cloudy. A numbness began spreading from his neck down through the rest of his body. And then his knees buckled. Skyler pitched to the floor, limp.

Sonia · Date: 2007-06-08 12:57 EST

She rode her prey down, not releasing her hold on him until he had lain still for several moments. Sonia lay on top of Skyler, listening to him breathe, inhaling his sweet scent. After a while she carefully dragged his body into a corner. ?Rest here for a while, baby. I?ll make us a nice warm bed.?

And so she did. There was a small farmstead several miles down the road, the closest settlement outside the dead forest. She crawled through the window of the barn and gathered a sack full of hay, several horse blankets, a lantern and a few other items. She spooked the horses something awful as she went about her thievery, but escaped otherwise unnoticed. Sonia returned a few hours later with all the makings of a comfortable pallet.

The boy was still in the exact position in which she had left him, but that was no surprise. She?d injected him with enough venom to keep him paralyzed for much longer. She made a mattress of the hay, packing it into one of the blankets and molding it into an even shape, wide enough for the both of them. Hooking her arms beneath Skyler?s shoulders, she gently tugged him onto the pallet, whispering gently all the while. ?Sleep easy, baby. Nothing can hurt you now. I?m right here, watching over you. There?s no need to be afraid.?

The Spider relieved Skyler of that ugly robe he had been wearing. It was a coarse brown rag, not at all suitable for such a beautiful boy. He looked far better wearing no clothing at all. Once she had gotten him comfortable, she removed her own leather garments, folding them in a neat pile next to the pallet. At last she lowered herself on top of him, pressing her naked body against his, then pulled the rest of the extra blankets over them both.

Skyler?s skin had grown a little cold, but with her body warmth flowing to him and the cocoon of blankets around them, he began to warm quickly. Now, all she could do was wait for him to revive. While she waited she helped herself to any carnal desire that struck her. The Spider licked the boy?s cheek, a long slow lick that went from his jaw up to his temple, leaving a trail of foamy saliva. She fixed her lips onto the lump of his throat and began to suck on it, forming a nice, impressive hickey. She even placed his limp fingers into her mouth and slowly slid them in and out, sucking on them like popsicles.

Skyler · Date: 2007-09-15 15:36 EST

Skyler came awake to a world of darkness. When he tried to move his arms and legs they felt sluggish and heavy, as if he was underwater. He then became aware of a slender arm draped across his chest, and a supple body pressed against his side. The boy tried to pick up his head, but it weighed as much as a cinderblock. He tried to speak, but he couldn?t form coherent words, for his tongue felt dead in his mouth. The best he could do was mumble. ?Whymahohnon??

Sonia · Date: 2007-09-20 17:14 EST

?Shh,? the Spider whispered. ?Be still, my love. You?re having trouble with your motor functions because you?ve been incapacitated by my venom. Sleep a while longer and the paralysis will break.?

Sonia knew that remaining in the same position for too long wouldn?t be good for him, so she gently rolled him onto his stomach. There, in their warm cocoon of blankets, she climbed astride Skyler?s buttocks and very gently, very lovingly caressed the boy?s back.

?Don?t be afraid,? she murmured. Sonia leaned down, her breasts pressing against Skyler?s shoulder blades, her soft, full lips touching the top of the boy?s ear. ?You?re safe here with me. I won?t let anything hurt you. Relax and sleep. You?ll feel better soon.?