Of Roses and Thorns

My eyes rolled when the heat slid up my lips. My hips thrust against the woman's face. I grabbed her head and moaned into the night.

****

Rachel was swimming. I managed a smile. Maybe the sleep and the pool would help cool her off. There was no talking to her when she was worked up.

I stepped away from the window and dumped the last of the broken plates into the full trash bag in the floor. Hoisting the bag up I made my way toward the garage door. There was a flash and I looked up at the lights in the chandelier above the table. One of the bulbs was flickering. I reached and tapped it, and the bulb glowed again. I started toward the door and again the lights blinked. This time every bulb was flashing on and off. Studying the chandelier, I wondered what could be wrong.

Then, the entire house went dark. It startled me at first, but I set the trash bag down and headed to the windows in the living room. I squinted to see if there were any trucks from the electric company. It couldn't be a blackout, for I saw street lights. I decided to check the fuse box. I was on my way again to the garage when a sound stopped me dead in my tracks.

My first thought was that it was Rachel. It sounded like sobbing. There was groaning and whimpering. It just didn't sound very feminine. I tilted my head and listened. The gasping sobs would deviate into grunts and growls. My heart fluttered. It didn't make sense. I had just come from the kitchen, but the strange noises seemed to be coming from there.

I had to know. I eased toward the doorway to the kitchen and peered through the dark. There was just enough light to make out shapes and minor details. I saw the table and the trash bag. The whimpers in the dark guided my eyes toward the back door. A shape moved in front of the glass.

I snapped back around the door frame. My breathing came in short gasps, but I tried to remain silent. Logic struggled for control in my head. There was someone in the house. The whimpers wound lengthen into long howling groans. It was the sound a wounded animal would make, and it chilled the marrow in my bones. I heard the trash bag rustling, then a guttural yelp. The same thought darted through my mind over and over.

What the fuck was in my house?

I needed to tread carefully. Peeking into the doorway, I tried to hold my breath.

The shadow stooped in the dark. The legs seemed feeble and wobbly as it staggered slowly across the tile. Long bony arms trembled and swayed. I saw a shaking hand feeling its way across the countertop near the sink. The hunched figure looked to be in pain. Its whole body would seize and jerk, all while it groaned and whined in the dark. It had to be a man, but how the hell had anyone gotten in the house?

I slunk back around the wall. As slowly as I could manage, I exhaled. My whole body was tense, and I could feel the adrenaline surging through me. I realized I was shaking. I had to calm down but I couldn't gather my thoughts. Rachel, I had to get to Rachel. I glanced to the hall, toward the second doorway to the kitchen. I needed to go around.

Stepping carefully through my own living room, I winced at every weep and wail from the kitchen. I tried not to think about the silhouette in my head, the way it lurched and trembled. I had to focus. It seemed like an hour before I reached the hall. Peeking into the door, I scanned for the intruder.

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of cracking glass. I had stepped on... what... a picture?

There came a sound that turned my insides to ice. The intruder whirled in the kitchen, his body snapping upright, and let loose a ear shattering shriek. My jaw trembled when the silhouette lunged toward the door... toward me. Gone were the staggering and shambling movements. He was all but charging at me. He stumbled into the table. The next thing I saw was the table flipping against the window with a loud crash and chairs shattering against the door frame. The intruder howled with rage, filling the silent darkness with a reverberating cry.

I hid. It was a lousy spot, but it was all I had. I darted to the wall beside the couch, out of the line of sight of the door, and crouched in the dark. My breath rushed in and out of my nose. The figure burst through the door and stopped. I covered my mouth. For a brief second, I wanted to rush the man, to tackle him and pin him to the floor.

What I saw did not act like a man.

He stooped and cocked his head to the side. His breathing was like the rumble of an engine, and his whole body heaved up and down. Slender arms thrust out into the dark. Those shaking hands felt and groped at the air. I saw something glisten in one of those hands. The image of a blade flashed in my mind. The intruder's head would snap this way, then that way, jerking and twisting about. I jumped at its sobbing yell. The person swayed until it fell against the wall in the hall in what seemed like defeat.

His fist collided with the wall violently. I recoiled at the cruch of the drywall. He beat at the wall relentlessly, all while his groan grew to a roar. I had to do something. I had to get Rachel. Acting quickly, I slipped around the wall into the kitchen door. The intruder seemed not to notice my movement.

Until my feet tangled in the remnants of a chair.

I tumbled right onto the trash bag in the kitchen floor. Frantically, I kicked away from the mess and scrambled across the tile. The shadow was faster. I saw it charging into the kitchen and I froze. It was upon me. I could only brace. This fucking thing was going to kill me. I wanted to kick at it, but I was in such fearful awe of what trampled toward me in the dark.

Broken plates went skittering across the floor from the trash bag as the figure kicked it aside. I had to cover my ears. The bellow of rage pierced my skull. I thought my eyes would pop from their sockets. I couldn't move. Why the fuck couldn't I move? My brain screamed at me to fight. Blinking against the sound, I gazed up at the figure.

Light from the window shone across his upper body. Black tangles of hair clung to his skull. The mouth... that screaming mouth. Where were the lips? I saw only a fixed expression of wild rage. Bare gnarled teeth jutted from blackened gums. Twisted leathery flesh stretched across his face. Most notably, the intruder's eyes were glossy, dripping with puss. I spotted the faded patches of the man's irises as they rolled to and fro. Their orientation was random and wrong, rather than staring straightforward. The man's face trembled. I could feel the malice seething from him. Frozen in terror, I couldn't move or scream or react in any way.

The screaming stopped and the man hovered over me. He twisted his head, turned it this way and that. He was listening. I realized that he couldn't see me! Blind! The goddamn thing was blind! Those wild glazed eyes rolled in their sockets, but even when his gaze fell over me, the enraged man didn't notice I was right in front of him on the kitchen floor. My lips were sealed and my chest nearly caved from holding my breath. I trembled and waited, praying that the horrid man would step past me.

His chest heaved. A terrible wheezing sound filled the air. His hands shot to his head. Fingers clawed in his black hair as he began to jerk wads of it from his scalp. I saw the knife in his bony claw of a hand. The man's head shook violently back and forth. When his jaw opened, a weeping whimper escaped that again built to an enraged cry of agony. I covered my ears and grit my teeth.

****

I was in heaven. Rose gave me a hard stroke with the flat of her tongue and flicked the hood of my clit. My lips were flared wide. I grabbed her head and forced her back down. She was happy to continue. I felt my lips sucked into her mouth. She pressed her face firmly into my crotch and shook her head furiously. It wouldn't take much more. My thighs clamped around her head and I cried out into the night.

Glancing down, I watched Rose's eyes roll into her head. One of her eyes spun up to the left while the other spiraled down to the right. Something was wrong. It was wrong. Her breath washed over my clit and my head fell back. It felt so good. The air smelled of flowers. I rolled my hips up into her face, riding the tongue that pleasured me. I couldn't control myself. My body shook as I neared my breaking point. I scanned the sky as my vision blurred.

I saw the stars twinkling. Adam would have pointed out their patterns. Adam would have whispered in my ear and kissed my forehead. Adam... I saw his face in the stars. It was wrong, all wrong. I heard the scream. It was faint but grew to a bellowing cry. I blinked. The house... the kitchen. My head rolled to the side as I moaned. The lights were out. All of the lights were out.

I lurched forward and gasped. Rose fell back to the deck. I knew I couldn't look at her. Scrambling, I clawed my way to my feet and rushed for the back door. Colliding against the glass, I fumbled for the knob and shoved open the door.

The house was dark but I could see plainly. I saw Adam, lying on the tile wide eyed. His head snapped toward me and the expression on his face shifted.

"Rachel, No! Run!"

I wasn't sure what I was looking at but I knew who that gaunt figure was. Its pale eyes flitted around in their sockets. Its whole body shook as if it were on the brink of exploding. The knife in its hand gleamed in the dark. As its jaw fell open, I winced at the sounds it made. Was it crying? The noise got louder and deformed. Saliva flew from its mouth. The sound of a man's mad screams filled the house.

My own screams followed.

"Rachel stop! Stop screaming!"

I barely heard Adam. Even so, what he said sounded ridiculous at the moment.

The thing exploded into motion. Reflexes took over. I bolted for the living room door. I slipped on something sharp and tumbled. It didn't stop me. I fled as fast as my legs would carry me. My sobs and screams were drowned out by the madman behind me. I heard things crashing and shattering behind me. The damn thing was ripping the house apart!

The wind burst from my chest when I hit the wall. I couldn't see straight. I couldn't see anything. I had collided with the edge of the hallway. Just as I spun into the wall, fragments of plaster exploded beside my ear. That knife had missed my face by inches. It spurred me on. Where? Where?

I stumbled into the guest bathroom and slammed the door behind me. Instantly it was pounded by an immense force. The screams were so loud and horrifying. Again and again the door was battered, sending jolts through my body. I cried. Slumped against the door, I was hopeless and paralyzed by a fear I had never know. I covered my ears, squeezed my eyes shut, and screamed for Adam. Still I heard the scratching, the scrapes, the pounding, the pummeling, the cracking wood, the breathing, and the roaring of the thing that beat at the door.

A blade blasted through the door above my head. The sound of Adam's name cracked in my voice.

****

I darted through the living room. I could see the bastard. The fucker wasn't getting Rachel. I would make sure of that if it meant my life.

I cried out when I rushed into open arms. Startled, I staggered back and barely kept from falling. Gentle arms wrapped with mine. Dizziness fell over me like a fog, and it smelled like a summer breeze. Rose petals drifted downward in my head.

"Shh, shh, shh."

I squinted up at the pale form in the dark. The screams beyond grew faint.

"You're alright," whispered a voice. "I'm here for you."

All else seemed to fade. She glowed before me, with hair as yellow as sunlight, skin as smooth as cream, and eyes that shone like stars. The girl was so damn gorgeous. Her tits bounced when she stepped closer. Her hips swayed like trees in the wind. I glanced down and gasped. It made no sense, but I thought I could smell her pussy. Flowers and honeysuckles.

"You're with me now. We can finally be together."

Why did her words sound so familiar? I didn't care. The woman pressed my chest gently. I fell backward and landed on the couch. I could not focus on anything but her. Cool air hit my crotch as I realized she had unfastened my pants. A creamy thigh swung over my lap. I gazed up at her and beheld her beauty. Flowing hair tickled my cheek. My cock nodded from just the touch. The girl leaned in and her breast hit my face.

It was too much. My hands explored her thighs. They were so thick and smooth. I dug my fingers into the cheeks of her plump ass. My cock strained in her soft grip. I wanted to be deep in her. We had to be made whole. I wanted to slam my cock into her and make her scream.

Her lips parted around my swollen tip. I groaned as the woman slid herself down my shaft. Soft ass mashed against my balls. Heavy breasts smothered my face. Distantly, loud bangs echoed. Wails of pain, or perhaps rage, drifted away from my ears.

The woman rode me and I forgot everything but her.

****

A piece of the door shot across the tiny bathroom. I screamed and scrambled away but I was too slow. Pain swept my scalp. My hair was jerked upward by the roots. I clawed at the bony hand clutching my hair. My feet kicked across the linoleum. I shook my head, writhed in the floor, and beat at the scrawny arm above. None of it helped.

"Adam!"

My voice could not match the wretched yowling of the thing that had burst through the door. I turned so that I could see it and immediately regretted doing so. Those blank eyes rolled. Its whole face shook from its rage. Still it continued to beat and stab at the splintered bathroom door with the knife in its other hand. It wouldn't stop.

"Adam! Please!"

Something connected with my cheek. Agony scorched my face. It was fucking intense. For several seconds I was dizzy. My head throbbed and I felt a trickle of warmth running down to my chin. The dark became even darker. I blinked through the tears and ground my teeth together. I was so scared. I had to get away. It was going to beat me, stab me, kill me...

Something gave away. I fell from the thing's grasp. My hair. It had torn out my hair. I scurried across the tiny room to the tub. My vision was blurred by tears. I saw the jagged hole in the door. I saw the slender arm disappear and I saw the door battered by the next violent charge of the thing beyond. It would get in. The fucking thing was going to get in.

"Adam!"

****

The woman was perfect. Her body rolled like a wave, sucking my cock into her pussy then gliding back across my shaft. I throbbed hard inside her. I toyed with her fleshy tit. I slapped the side of her ass to spur her on. She moaned and made the tip of my cock burn. If she kept that up I'd explode.

She steadied herself by gripping my shoulders. It had a massaging effect. I felt her soft blonde bush brushing me below. My jeans were choking my balls, but they also shoved them upward into the clenching embrace of the woman's ass. I looked up at her. Her blue eyes were rolling and her lips were pulled back into a grimace. Was she going to cum? I thrust myself high into her, driving my stiff dick deeper.

I heard my name. I blinked twice. Something in my chest hurt. It felt like I was being split open. The woman rode me harder, her hips firing into me like a piston. I craned my neck and wailed with pleasure. Again I heard that distant voice. It sounded so young and unique. The swirls of tattoos flashed in my head. Hair as black as ink, eyes of chocolate, words as hot as fire...

Rachel!

My mind felt like it was coated in cobwebs. I shook my head, rubbed my eyes, and stared up at the stranger in my lap. She was a trick. She wasn't Rachel.

"Adam!"

My eyes shot toward the hall. I saw the shadow of that horrid man. He flung himself at the door to the guest bathroom over and over with no heed to his own body.

"Rachel!"

I screamed my wife's name and lurched from the couch. The pale woman crumpled in the living room floor. I charged. I didn't know what was going to happen. The hallway rushed by me and I saw the man's head whip around just before I slammed into him. He sprawled into the dark, his limbs flailing wildly. His mad sounds filled the house.

Crashing through the door, I fell to the floor before my wife. Rachel groped for me and I crawled to her side. The terror was written on her face. God, she was bleeding. Her wordless sobs were more than I could bear. I pulled her into my arms and stared back in fright at the shattered door. I could hear the freakish screams of rage from the hallway. I waited to see the thing show itself. I clutched Rachel and waited.

Then there was no sound. The shrieks faded with a wheeze. Rachel tensed in my arms. The two of us shook and gasped with every breath.

With a flicker the lights in the house came on. The glow beyond the hallway was blinding.

****

Upon the table lay three items: a handkerchief, a book, and a knife.

Rachel stared blankly at the people on the TV. Her skin was warm. She felt hollow inside. She hadn't slept all night. The lights were on. The TV was on. In that she took comfort. Her eyes closed and she welcomed the smell of Adam's old t-shirt. It was much better than flowers.

She looked at the handkerchief. It was a fucking handkerchief. Days ago, it had seemed such a romantic little thing. Now, she could hardly bear the sight of the silky cloth on the coffee table. Rachel could not deny what she had felt... what she still felt. Even in the aftermath of so much pain, she felt her panties grow moist from the thought of that woman.

She wondered about the diary. She considered how it had all been a cruel trick. Those first entries had seemed so exciting and erotic. Then came the horror of rage and vengeance, to which she herself had been witness. She shuddered, for still, the most chilling of all were the final entries in the diary. When Rachel had seen her own name scrawled in cursive on the pages, she felt as if her very insides had been torn out. It was all there. The pool, the kisses, Roses licking her on the porch, the shower with Adam...

She reached for his hand and spoke softly.

"Adam?"

Her husband stirred but still seemed lost in thought.

"Adam?"

"Yeah?"

"What do we do now?"

Adam sighed. "What can we do?"

"We have to do something," Rachel said. "We could... we could move, or take a vacation and see if things settle down."

"You know that won't help," Adam told her quietly. "Nothing will."

Rachel squeezed his arm. She realized they hadn't touched in so long.

"There's gotta be a way," she pleaded. "We can't live like this."

"I know, Rachel."

Her eyes fell to the blade. It was a simple kitchen knife, but no less a weapon. She had seen the thing that had wielded that blade. The fear swelled and became a knot in her throat. Rachel looked at the diary. There had to be something more to it all. She wondered if she had missed some hint or riddle in the entries.

Rachel reached for the book. Adam's arm shot out to stop her.

"Don't."

He looked away, his lips tightening. "Every time you open that diary, it only makes things worse."

Rachel pulled back her hand and crossed her arms. She felt hopeless. She looked to the window but saw no signs of dawn. The TV was jabbering away about a miracle supplement that sucked away tummy fat. Her chest ached. Rachel wished with all of her heart that something so stupid could once again be an important concern.

She dared not stare at the knife. Adam didn't say where he had found it. When she saw the knife, she saw that twisted lipless face of rage. She saw those blind eyes rolling about. Splinters flew in her mind. Her scalp ached anew. Rachel had never seen such anger. It had humbled her to know that kind of terror.

The image of the women on the TV began to warp and bleed with saturation of color. The lights over head flickered. Her pretty lamps started to dim. Rachel's chest heaved as she glanced around the room. Adam sat forward. Her mind screamed inside her skull too loudly for her to think. She squeezed her eyes closed.