Aquata Cove Ch. 94

Chapter 94: Haunted

"Mgghh! Mgghh!" Adam pants as his insides feel like sharp metal poles are moving inside him, his eyes covered in his tears as he stands in pain, hunched over, his arms held back by two pairs of strong hands. He looks with begging eyes, one of them bruised horribly as he sees the two other attackers, with the other two holding him from fighting back.

"NNH!" One of the attackers punched Adam's other eye hard, before clocking his jaw, and sinking into his stomach.

"MMMFFFF!" Adam doubles over, his eyes clenching while feeling the wet paint on his face and clothing, his many cuts stinging like fucking hell, as well as the horrible taste trapped in his mouth by the duct tape.

"Hah shit, he's crying. Fuckin crying, be a fuckin man for ONCE!" The attack says as the crowbar flies and cracks into Adam's knee joint.

"MNNGH! M-hnnhh!"

'Help me! Somebody fucking help me!' Adam thinks desperately, every inch of him wracked with mind-numbing agony, his worst fear of his whole life is now taking place. 'Merrick! Help me, Merrick, where are you?!' His metal-struck mind reeling. They've hit him in the head a lot... All he can think of is where Merrick is, he could fight these men. As if he's forgotten Merrick went to the sea. 'MERRICK!'

-KKKHH!-

"MMhmhmhmh!" Adam clashes onto his knees, one of them feeling like it's exploding from the inside, cringing onto his side on the concrete floor of the parking lot, before he's forced back on his feet, and his head is struck again, and then his hand. "HFFFFF!" Sprits of pink paint and saliva jump from his duct tape as more of him breaks apart inside him.

"Fuckin gross, man." One of the men jeered as they see the fluid moving down Adam's chin and neck, dribbling all over downward.

"Merrrkkkk!" Adam spat out, "Mrrrkkk!" One of the masked attackers forces the tape back onto Adam's mouth as his stubble dribbles with the fluid mixture.

"Oh shit! ... Thin someone's coming"

He hears a distant voice. Adam struggles as he takes a step with his barely good leg, his blurring eyes looking desperately for any help. Adam finally yanks himself partially free to swing at the guy with the paint bucket, only to have his right ribcage burn with pain. He then feels the penalty of a fist's blow to the side of his head, before his arm is pulled back away.

"Hey! What's goin on?!" Comes a familiar dark voice.

"PNNFFF!" Adam gets struck into the stomach again, trying to see the incoming newcomer, but everything is so blur, it's all noise and pain right now, and blaring lights.

"HEY!!" Comes the voice again. It's Jamal!

"Shit, man!" Says one of the men behind him. Adam's eyes flood with tears as he tries to yank his arm again, but is again immediately crippled by searing agony.

He looks to the two men in front of them, one of them holding the paint bucket, and the other one brandishing the crowbar. Before moving it back, and swinging it at top speed at Adam's-

KUNG!!

()()()

"AH! HOHhhhh! Aahhhoohh!" Adam yelps as he jumps up in his bed. He pants, heart pounding, covered in sweat as his hands grab his head, panicking as he feels, trying to feel some sort of excess liquid. He keeps looking as his fingers after investigating his hair, trying to see any blood from his scalp. There's no such crimson substance anywhere on him.

Adam shakes violently as he sits there, the images of the nightmare still fresh inside his mind... What was that? A few hours ago, he was having one heck of a wet dream, wild and sexy. Now he suddenly has this night terror?

None of his dreams or nightmares have ever felt like this one... They were thorough and detailed and fanciful, but this one...

This one feels real...

"Thhhrreer." Came the purring mew from Skyler. Adam huffs as he turns, chuckling as his kitten scrambled behind him.

"Hey there, kitty..." Adam takes the small cat and puts him on his blanket-covered lap, "Hey fluffy boy." He says lowly, stroking the purring critter. He pets the kitten as he stares drearily at the blanket, before he hears a soft knock on his door, "Y-Yeah?"

The door opens, and a large silhouette, with the weak blue early morning light showing large pectoral muscles and a few curves of muscles. "Hey, man, you ok, Adam?" Jamal asks.

"Y-Yeah, I'm fine..." Adam answered back, "I had a bad dream... I'm ok though."

"You sure?"

"Nhh, what's up?" Yuri asked while groaning sleepily from behind Jamal.

"I just... I had a freakish nightmare... I-I'm ok..."

"Alright... I'm down the hall if ya need anything."

"Night..." Yuri turns away and creeps lazily into her room. Jamal moves the door to almost close it, before he walks back into his own door.

Adam takes a deep, shaky breath, and exhales slowly. "I wish Merrick was here..." Adam mumbles, "I wonder if he'd be willing to stay here for a while, sleep on the couch..."

For some reason, he feels like Merrick would make situations like these better... Just hearing his voice or something, being near him... Like he'd be the only one who might understand.

~~~

"HHH... HHH... Hhh... Hhh..." Merrick pants in his small reef dwelling, his gills twitching madly as his whole body shakes. He unfurls, and swims out between the ice spires of Savarna's Sea Spot, into more open water, holding his head softly.

"What was that..." Merrick asked himself, "What was that." He paces around in the water, his tail gliding around behind him, "What was I..." He rubs one of his arms, remembering here the crowbar hit him in the dream. "By the Sea Mother, what did I just see?"

He remembers several masked people. They where beating the hell out of him and pelting him with pink paint. "And I think I heard Jamal's voice before I woke up... Damn..." Merrick puts a hand on the left side of his head, where he was last struck, "I can still feel it..."

"Brother?" Savarna says. He turns to see the Adra Noita come to him from nearby, "What has happened? I sensed a powerful source of darkness and fear from here. Now it's just vanished."

"That may have been me, Sister. I have just awoken from a painful nightmare." Merrick swims to her, "Look into my eyes. I think I have memories that don't belong to me."

"..." Savarna peers into Merrick's soul though his eyes, instilling her inner sight into his mind. She can see wavering bits and pieces of the intense pain of lingering horror, and a few vague shapes of human hands, brushes, a metal rod with a hook at the end, strange colors blotching and smearing here and there, "This is confusing. There is not a lot I can see. Only fragments of a dream. I don't know how they are supposed to piece together."

"What was going on then?" Merrick ponders as he crosses his arms and turns his gaze down. "See, I dreamt that four humans have attacked me, as if they were trying to kill me. And it felt like they did, or at least almost by a near miss. But something like that has never happened to me, not since years ago when I was captured, and this was nothing like that."

"Four humans assaulting you? I don't know just how skilled you are with your legs, Brother. But I don't think they could kill you that easily, given your time on the land..."

"If four humans attacked me, I wouldn't have any trouble dealing with them at all." He replies to her.

'I am an elite when it comes to aquatic combat, and even Yuri says I'm a good fighter when we spar in the yard. I can easily just use my voice alone to disengage them and get the upper hand; heck, I could kill them or knock them unconscious if I hit the right sound... So why was I so helpless in that nightmare? They just... Came out of nowhere, and started breaking me. Like I wasn't even given a chance to fight...'

"Brother, maybe I should bring Mother. She can see better into auras than I can." Savarna suggested.

"No, I'd rather not wake her on my account... By the time she gets here, there won't be much for her to see anyhow."

"I see..." Savarna nods, "Do you... Wish me to stay with you until the sun rises?"

"Yes, please..." He nods.

Merrick huffs as he turns, and swims back to the rocks and coral. He whimpers silently as he returns to the reef, putting his forehead onto his arm, "I wish I can be with Adam right now..." His shimmering, graceful fish tail curves closer to him.

~~~

Adam woke up several hours later, groaning as he turns and gets up. He looks to his computer, thinking of writing in his diary, but yesterday was completely uneventful - it's only been a whole night since he moved back into this house. Today though...

He huffs as he gets up, and got dressed before coming into the living room, where he can smell a delightfully sweet aroma. He peers in, and raises his eyebrows up as he sees Merrick working at the sizzling oven.

"Merrick?"

"Ah, good morning, Adam." Merrick greeted with a smile. Adam blushes as he notices Merrick isn't wearing a shirt under his apron. He walks around, looking, and ending the momentary suspense upon seeing the beige cargo shorts he's wearing.

"Um, what are ya doing here?" Adam asked.

"I was in the area, thought I'd cook breakfast." Merrick smiled, "I have a key to the house, and I had no where else to be. Jamal and Yuri don't mind if I come here and cook."

"O-Oh, really." Adam says, as he looks at the food on the pans, what looks like thick, roasted bread. "Had a rough night..." He said, "Had a couple of weird dreams, and I had a hard time getting back to sleep."

"I know how you feel. My night was like that too." Merrick says as he seasons the food with cinnamon and a dash of butter around the pan.

Adam looks about in the kitchen, his mind recalling the vision he had yesterday when they had noodle soup and chicken for lunch. He remembers... Something...

Adam walked closer to Merrick, moving close behind him.

Merrick looks curiously from the corner of his eye wondering what he's doing turning his head over his shoulder. Adam places himself right where he was in the very vague memory, his front pushing onto Merrick's back, before his arms held around Merrick's waist. Adam closes his eyes as he puts his chin on Merrick's shoulder.

Merrick moves the pan away from the fire as he lets Adam hold him. He quietly takes one of those hands, rubbing it gently. Adam moves his hand with Merrick's. His hand is so soft...

Something about standing in this exact position feels so familiar, it's almost scary... But very nostalgic at the same time. Adam rests the side of his face onto Merrick's bare shoulder, closing his eyes as he hugs him.

"Mnhhh..." Merrick moans quietly as Adam hugs him closely. After a minute of holding him, Adam steps away, and to the side. He scratches the back of his head awkwardly.

"I uh... I'm sorry..." Adam mumbled, "I just... I still feel alone, and..."

"I understand." Merrick smiled, "Don't apologize. I missed this a lot." He said before moving up, and kissing Adam's cheek.

"A-Ah..." Adam feels that awkward prickling sensation again, "M-Missed this?"

"That's how my boyfriend used to hold me. Before he disappeared." He says before Merrick takes the French toast from the pan, and pours syrup on it, and sprinkles it with powdered sugar, and slicing the strawberries and banana to garnish.

"You made two?"

"Yeah. I had a feeling I'd have someone to eat with." Merrick said with that cute grin after picking up the two plates of food. "I'm pretty intuitive."

"Oh ok." Adam says as he follows him to the living room.

-Several Minutes Later-

"This was, oh man." Adam said as he chews the last bits of his meal, sitting at the couch with Merrick while the TV plays a show, "You're really good at cooking."

"Thanks, it's pretty fun." Merrick says as he puts his plate down. "So when do you go into work?"

"In a little while." Adam answers, "My Dad is picking me up and taking me there."

"I see." Merrick nods as he leans back. Adam glances at Merrick a few more times, his stomach feeling a trickle of fear and suspense. He wants something from him... He keeps thinking of all those times Merrick just randomly kissed him... Taking a quiet deep breath, he cleared his throat and adjusted in his seat.

"M-Merrick?"

"Yeah?"

"Um... Can I... I-If you um... If it's ok..." He blushes hard as he rubs his arm, "C-Can I try and... Kiss you?"

Merrick smiles at him, "Of course." He said.

"O-Ok..." Adam scoots over to him, and sat right next to Merrick. Hesitant, Adam's chest goes crazy with nerves as he moved his face to the other, until he plants his lips onto Merrick's cheek.

Adam adjusts, and kisses him again. Merrick giggles as Adam kisses him more than once, while Adam wonders just how Merrick would mind him doing this.

Merrick moves his face, and then kisses Adam's lips. Adam blushes as he hears their lips lap and part - just the sounds alone are so appealing, and even doing it at all feels so good... No wonder Merrick does it so much...

Adam looks to the side as he sees Merrick's hand move, going to him. He flinches, but stops when his hand only tenderly rubs his arm. Adam pushes his lips onto the other, suckling Merrick's for just one moment, before repeating.

"Hahh... Hahh... Hahh..." Adam pants as he stops kissing Merrick.

"Are you ok?" Merrick whispered.

"Yeah..." Adam nods, "I just... I like this..."

"Ok..." Merrick kisses the corner of Adam's mouth, nuzzling his perfect cheek along Adam's shaven jaw line, before kissing his cheek again, "Do you want to stop?"

"No..." Adam hushed. Merrick faces him again, and comes forward. Adam opens his mouth as he lets Merrick come to him, their mouths gently pulling and gnawing on each other. Adam shudder's as Merrick's tongue even makes a rub onto his upper lip. "W-Wait, wait..."

"Yes?"

"Is it... Is it ok if we just... Like... Sit together?" Adam asked, "You know, just like close?"

"Heheheh, I'd love to." Merrick smiles. He comes to him, and snuggles next to Adam.

This morning is turning out to be very... Eventful. Adam feels so compelled right now... He keeps thinking of when Merrick stripped to nothing in the ward, and now all he can think of how much of a mistake that was. Merrick closes his eyes as he snuggles to Adam, before Adam slowly puts his arms around him.

Merrick lays on Adam, cherishing every second of this... Does Adam finally remember? Has his memories come back? ... No, it's too much to hope for. If they have come back, Adam would probably look a lot more shocked and surprised or something.

'He's holding me so tight...' Merrick thinks, '... And he held me like he always has in the kitchen... I want him back...' His eyes quiver for a moment as he felt a hint of tears, 'I want my Adam back...'

Adam stares with astonishment at Merrick's perfect complexion. Not a single hair below his neck. He's so perfectly smooth. His hand lies flat on Merrick's smooth abs, tracing his fingers along every line.

"Hehehehehe!" Merrick suddenly squirms and stopped for a moment, "I'm ticklish."

"Oh, aheheh..." Adam chuckles, but he continues to feel Merrick's body. Why does he want to do this? Why is he caressing him so much? Why does he feel this very weird sense of want inside him?

Adam's other hand rubs along his side, and around the border of his pants. Adam blinks as he sees some kind of bulge in those cargo shorts. Merrick breathes deeply and moans slightly as he feels Adam's strong hands explore every inch of his torso.

Adam's heart is pounding as he stares at that button keeping Merrick's pants together. Adam trembles, trying to find some kind of reason why... Why he wants to feel deeper like this, why his mind is oddly curious about doing this now.

Adam's fingers push in under the waistband, finding it easier. Merrick feels himself blush as he can feel Adam's hand go into his garment. Say nothing, let him do what he wants. Let him take these steps.

"Are you ok..."Adam mumbles.

"Mmhhh." Merrick nods, his eyes still closed. "Yes..."

'Why am I doing this... I don't even know him...' Adam thought.

"I don't know why I'm doing this..." Adam whispers.

"It's ok... It's ok..." Merrick answers back quietly.

Adam's hand reaches deeper into the warm confines of Merrick's clothing, feeling the layer of Merrick's underwear as he breathes harder, until Adam's fingers close in on a round shape inside.

"Mllnn." Merrick lets out a small moan as his balls are gently fondled.

"Are you ok?"

"Mmhh..." Merrick nodded. Adam's hands then unbuttoned his pants, and pulled down his zipper. He's wearing them. The same boxerbriefs he wore on that day. The same color, the same tight appearance, but it feels so loose and smooth. Adam's face goes hot as he allowed his hand to return to that warm pouch.

"Ohhhohhh..." Merrick moaned as he let Adam's hand feel and roll his balls in those underwear. His boner throbs inside his underpants as Adam's warm fingers press and investigate his testicles. "Please don't stop..." He whispers.

Adam silently nods as he becomes extremely invested in this. Something's telling him to do this. Something is making his hands hold and stimulate Merrick like this. Something is pulling this intangible urge the depths of his psyche and acting on something he doesn't even know about.

All he knows is that he wants to make Merrick keep moaning.

Adam's hand moves from Merrick's twin orbs, and glides his hand over the fabric, and then widens his eyes as he feels something long and solid in his search.

"Hhhoollhhh..." Merrick whines as his leg shifts on the couch, his torso flexing a bit just from his erection being grabbed. Adam glances at Merrick, and then back into the cloth-like cave his hand is inside. This whole time, Adam's own penis is raging hard as he does this. Adam rubs that rock-hard rod up and down, even feeling a weirdly wet spot at the end of it. Merrick squirms very softly as Adam strokes him, breathing out as his member is caressed and massaged.

Adam makes a bold move. He removes his hand from the enclosed dick, tugs at the waistband of his underwear. Through the low-lit area, Adam's eyes can make out what is hidden under the garment. He puts his hand into it, and moves his hand onto Merrick's cock.

"Mnnnhhhh~" Merrick moans as Adam's fingers wrap around his dick, skin-to-skin, a hot palm pushing on a throbbing rod. "Ollhhh... Nnnhhh..." Merrick whines as a fist-shaped bulge moves up and down in Merrick's cargo shorts, "Hahhhh... Ennhh..."

Adam breathes harder, his chest purging deeper and deeper as he systematically rolls his grip up and down on Merrick's meat. Merrick holds onto groans as he grooves his hips, sliding his dick with Adam's slow pump. Encouraged and horny, Adam strokes Merrick harder, stroking his and touching the sensitive flesh.

"Ohh, Hoohhh, Hoohhhh~" Merrick's moaning escalates, his hips moving in sync with Adam's hand, almost wailing out as the stimulation grows higher, oh so high. The more Adam jerks him off, the more thoughts come into mind. He wants Adam to push him against the wall and bite his ear like a wild wolf. He wants Adam to hold his head as he fucks his mouth. He wants Adam to pin him on the bed and wreck his ass. He wants to be bound and restrained tight and blindfolded as Adam teases him with random and very erotic advances.

"Awwwll! Hawwll!" Merrick furrows his brow as his moans get louder, "Ohhh! Hohhl! A-Ahhh!"

Then, Adam feels Merrick's penis pulse wildly, followed by something wet and hot roll on his fingers in Merrick's briefs. "Ohhh, ohhh, ohhh..." Merrick huffs and whimpers, panting as Adam slowly pulls his hand from Merrick's underwear, the cum wiping from his hand and fingers.

Merrick pants as he lies on his side, his arm around Adam as he calms down. Adam's heart is racing, now distracted from his own hard-on, actually feeling a little tired again. He turns his face to look at Merrick, who moans quietly as he moves up. Their lips meet again in a soft, thick kiss. Adam pushes his lips on him, his arm still shaking from the ordeal.