Tuesday 9 October 2007

ONE OF ThE THiRTEEN (4)


ONE OF ThE THiRTEEN. (Number 4)


It took a while before Joshua Kane (number 4) realised what IT was. IT had caught his eye as he padded through the soft undergrowth. Initially, it was just a flash of white in his blurred vision, but as he took a few more steps towards IT and peered more closely, he realised what IT was.She lay there, naked, completely still. Barely covered with fallen foliage from the bushes and trees. At first he thought she was asleep but as he got even closer, it became clear that the figure lying before him was dead. He looked around and seeing that he was quite alone, he approached her body with some excitement and caution, tentative steps at first and then more assured as he got nearer and the form took proper shape; definition creeping in. He saw that she was young, slim and dark, not dark skinned but dark featured; her face peaceful with no sign of trauma save for a deep red mark round her neck.His body was shaking, sweating, the palms of his hands sticky and he felt strange, his head spinning, his eyes felt tight and his mouth was dry. He stood still and stared at her, he calmed himself and once the feelings that overwhelmed him subsided he began to grow more relaxed and confident in her presence. She looked so peaceful lying there, and brushing her long hair away from her face, he realised that she was in fact quite beautiful. He knew what to do. The voices told him to take photographs with his camera phone, the voices told him to touch her dead skin and the voices told him to kiss her. But, another part of him urged calm; do nothing, and just gaze upon this rare beauty. He was sure, convinced, that he had never been this close to such a beauty. This was to Joshua Kane (4) a murky discovery. And that was just it. It was a murky discovery, his discovery, his prize and he didn’t want the others, the scum, the awful, swarming around her poking and prodding. She looked at peace. He wanted to enjoy that peace and inhale her beauty.He sat down next to her, slowly and quietly, as if not to disturb her. He was in awe of her delicate face and perfect skin and he felt a certain amount of reverence towards this creature that lay so still, so wonderfully sublime on the soft moss. He wondered about the likely identity of this dead young woman. He gave her a name, he called her MISTY. He gave her an occupation, she was a chambermaid, he created her hobbies, her likes and dislikes, her favourite books, her favourite films, and by the time he finished, he knew that MISTY was his soul mate. They had so much in common. He wanted her to talk to him, to hold him. He tried to bring her back to life, opening her mouth and breathing into her, pressing onto her heart and chest, pumping her, as he had seen on television. Yet, she lay dormant and dead. Joshua Kane (4) felt a vast sadness within him and shed some tears. He attempted to breath life into her again by making her seem more real, removing her cold anonymity. He massaged her, he spoke to her, and he told her of the thirteen and the many secrets.
He kissed her face, he kissed her eyes and he held her head in his arms. Then he sat with her. Gazing at the sky and listening to the sounds of the nature that was around them. The perfect moment, for the perfect couple.After about an hour of sitting, staring and imagining, he slowly reached out to touch her upper arm. He drew his fingers back, quickly, the chill of her body shocking him. He reached out again, this time prepared for the cold. Once used to this he became intoxicated, sliding his hands up and down her slim arm. Eventually, touching her more sensually, firmly, erotically, he put his hand behind her neck and gently lifted her head from the ground. Her hair stuck to the clammy undergrowth and, using his other hand, he pulled it out from behind her head, spreading it out above her. Placing her head gently back on the ground, he admired her beauty once again. He fixed a few hairs here and there and when he was finished he took a step back. Her hair fanning out behind her, catching now and again in the wind the wafted through the woods, he thought she looked almost alive, the wind imbuing her once more with life. His touch, he decided, was making her more animated, more alive.He had been close to many a naked woman before, but not as one as sensual and beautiful as this one, the sexy and delectable MISTY. He longed for her touch but what she could not give; he decided he had to take. He looked around his surroundings, checking that no one was around; he wanted to ensure that they had their privacy, MISTY and he. He noticed a small, secluded bank not far away and gently taking both her ankles, he dragged her through. He couldn’t look at her as he did this, feeling that he was treating her beautiful form with a casual brutality, which her perfection did not deserve. But it was necessary if they were to have the privacy they both craved.After he had got her in the position he wanted, her arms back down by her sides, hair fanning out around her head, he stopped and contemplated about the thirteen and the voices, the insistent voices in his head. So many voices, so many ideas and suggestions. He knew it was wrong to ignore them. But, he had his own ideas and the thirteen were not like him, Joshua Kane (4) was a true romantic, he looked upon MISTY and felt his love surround them, he could hear gentle music and a choir of angels sing to them, he craved her contact. Looking the way she did and sharing the same social skills as Joshua Kane (4), MISTY was his ideal partner, his mate for life, oh how he loved her, with all his heart and soul.

She hadn’t been dead that long. Since rigor mortis had not yet set in and her skin, although cold, was still soft to the touch. Determined not to be typical of the thirteen, he started to explore her body with his hands; every inch, every crevice was touched, stroked and savoured. He felt a charge rush through his body, a feeling that was alien to him; he felt dizzy, light-headed yet invigorated. He started to take his clothes off, whispering what he imagined were seductive words to MISTY. Slowly, gently, he lowered himself on top of her with all the style and panache of a middle-aged virgin. His nerves got the better of him and the voices were screaming in his head. It was difficult at first but once he was in, he lost all sense of self-consciousness and imagined himself the last of the great lovers. He ad-libbed her groans to match his. At first he felt awkward but gradually he got lost in this macabre love scene. He placed, with difficulty, her arms around his waist and imagined that he was her only one, the one she had waited all her life for and now, in these dark, dank woods, they had found each other.When he had finished, he got off her immediately, all the passion suddenly evaporating with his release. He was ashamed, disgusted and terrified. What had he done? What had he become? He knew it was by no means normal but still, on reflection, he felt that he deserved it; he was in some way entitled to it. Years of rejection had been leading to this point, the point where he had possessed the most beautiful figure he had ever seen. He had had no choice. What was expected of him? A life of loneliness, never knowing what it felt like to live a normal life? He looked down at her again, lying as still as she had before. His manipulations of her body during the act had convinced a part of him that she really had been reanimated by his lovemaking. Now? Now she was as she had been. Cold, pale, like a Victorian porcelain doll. He hurriedly put his clothes back on as reality started to flood back into his mind and bring him back to the moment. The voices were telling him what a good thing he had done, he was right to ignore them, being in love was better than being a master to a servant, even if she was only a chambermaid. He was not a freak. The voices told him so, the voices soothed him, and he felt like a great lover who had taken the virginity of an innocent loving girl. He bent down and kissed her cheek and whispered gently in her ear, “Same time, same place tomorrow sweet MISTY”? He covered her body with branches and leaves and left. Deciding to contact Mister Zero, to ask for help in removing her from the woods and taking her home to his studio. Where Joshua Kane (4) and MISTY could live forever in happiness. He hummed happily as he got closer to the road. He was one of the thirteen and he was number four, but he was content in knowing that compared to the others, he was a Joshua Kane that was loved.

The End

No comments: