The Strangeness Within Pt. 03

He swallowed and let himself look at Jackson's tits again. They were really quite nice. He was pretty sure he could see a hint of dark areola through her blouse.

Jackson sighed and nodded. "Thank you so much for your help, Mr. Sanchez. If you think of anything that might help find Esther, don't hesitate to call us."

Javier breathed a huge sigh of relief when her tight rear end disappeared through the door. Maybe he was blinded by her boobs, but Jackson didn't seem like the cold-blooded killing type. But then, she'd obviously used her sex appeal to try to daze him. That seemed like a pretty calculated move, and not a random corporate employee kind of thing. And of course she'd been blatantly lying through the little interview, just as he had. He had the unpleasant thought that she was a lot more practiced at it.

* * *

Despite Esther's exhaustion, she woke early, or at least before the other two. She blushed when she recalled the fragments of her dreams. Generally she was glad her excellent memory didn't extend to those, and this time was no exception. She vaguely remembered having a different body, like Nicola's. There had been a man driving a rather enormous penis into her vagina, and a second man's penis moving towards her mouth. Her fantasies could be astonishingly perverse.

She heard the tiniest noise and looked over. Mark had jumped down from his bed, nearly silently. He was utterly naked, and he had an erection, the way Javier often did first thing. When Mark saw her gaze, he blinked and quickly turned away, rummaging for clothes.

The dense, soft hair covered his abdomen and continued down to his testicles and the base of his penis. And his penis had, well, freckles. Similar to those on her own chest. Bright greenish-blue dots, even a few right on the tip. The glimpse had been mesmerizing. The organ was no bigger than Javier's, and perhaps a little skinnier, but of course it would be just as anatomically impossible for her.

She didn't know why she even was thinking about that. Mark had shown no interest in her at all, and he was practically a stranger. Maybe it was the dream, or maybe she was lonely. Missing Javier.

Mark slipped out the door, fully dressed and carrying his pack, so Esther figured she could grab a shower. She pulled out a shirt Nicola had let her alter, and yesterday's pants. And of course another pair of Nicola's bright underwear.

She'd been quiet, but Nicola was quieter still. The other woman was sitting up watching her, the sheet down around her waist.

Esther glanced away and hurried out to the bath. But the hot water didn't do anything to wash away the memories of what her roommates had been doing last night.

...*** Chapter 16 ***...

"Close your eyes," Abuela said.

It was the first thing the older woman had said for at least ten minutes, so of course Esther did that.

Finally, an exercise. It was the fourth day of this, and so far they'd spent their sessions almost entirely in silence until Abuela dismissed her.

She waited for more instruction, but Abuela was silent. No doubt this was something to do with the non-visual senses. Learning to hear, feel, smell, taste, and the more subtle senses she'd read about. Proprioception, the sense of one's own body. The sense that Mark apparently had mastered to an extraordinary degree. She waited for her senses to sharpen the way they had a few times before, but nothing happened. She listened as attentively as she could, and she heard a little wind noise outside. Her own breathing. It was very quiet in the room.

But nothing happened. Finally, she sighed and opened her eyes. Abuela was smiling at her.

"It is not so easy, is it? To quiet a brain like yours enough to begin opening the senses. But you have managed it a few times, I believe."

Esther blushed. The feeling she'd first thought was an orgasm, when she got herself as aroused as her body could manage. Of course she knew this was important, but she couldn't imagine discussing it with Abuela. Though it had happened once in a different way, when she'd let herself feel some of her grief over Father.

She tried to recapture that sense, but everything was closed off again. And here in Abuela's cabin she couldn't muster even the level of frustrated arousal she usually carried with her these days.

When she emerged, Nicola was waiting expectantly for her turn.

"Not today, Nicola," Abuela said. "You have the tools you need for the moment."

Esther had never before seen Nicola look truly upset, and even now it only lasted a few seconds. She swallowed and nodded.

"Perhaps tomorrow, then?" she asked.

"Perhaps," said Abuela.

Nicola closed the door and looked at Esther with annoyance.

"So, anything exciting for you today?"

"She had me close my eyes," Esther said. "Nothing happened."

Nicola laughed, and suddenly she seemed more at ease.

"Yes, I remember days like that early on," she said. "I'm sure you'll get the hang of it."

Esther followed Nicola to the tool shed. Apparently there was some plumbing work in to be done for the bath. The next hour or so was educational, even though Nicola didn't explain much of what she was doing. Esther handed her the tools she asked for, and sometimes held a flashlight. Occasionally Nicola stopped briefly to think, and once or twice Esther caught a soft humming sound. She'd come to realize this was Nicola's equivalent of her drawings.

At the moment they were working to replace gaskets on an older water tank that Nicola had repurposed for the bath. Esther saw the orderly way Nicola moved around the tank, and she picked out the appropriate wrench for the next one.

"How did you know I wanted that one?" Nicola asked sharply. "Did you guess?"

"I - the old manual was hanging on the side," Esther stammered. "I read it while you were struggling with those rusted bolts on the back."

Nicola stared at her a bit longer.

"So, you just memorized it. You really don't have to show off, you know. I'm sure we're all quite impressed. I know Mark is."

She grabbed the wrench and went back to her work.

Of course Esther hadn't meant to show off her memory. She'd assumed Nicola could as easily have done the same thing.

Nicola was insecure, jealous of her somehow. That was the conclusion Esther had drawn from their interactions so far. Whenever Esther seemed hopeless at something Nicola became amused and indulgent. At worst mildly annoyed. She might tease on those occasions, but it wasn't truly meant to be hurtful.

Esther was certainly hopeless at enough things without having to pretend. But when she did show proficiency, Nicola could be quite cold to her.

Don't show off, Mother had always said. Whatever her intentions, showing off on the mathematics exam had torn Esther's life apart. It had indirectly caused Father's death.

Even here, she needed to be cautious about what she showed. Except perhaps to Abuela. But then, what did she truly know about the old woman?

She'd thought she was meant to be here. But much of that was Abuela's subtle influence, however she did it. Esther needed to remember that fact, whatever Abuela repeated about her coming here freely.

* * *

Javier sat in the empty classroom, marking up his outline. Today's free period was devoted to an English assignment from last week. Progress, he supposed, though it was nearly killing him. And with college applications due soon — well, that was this weekend's plan. He'd drawn it all up two weeks ago, and if he could just stick to it, he'd be back on track in time for winter break.

There was a noise at the door.

"Javier?"

Surprised, he looked up. It was Clara, of all people. They hadn't even talked since a few days after he broke up with her.

"Hi, Clara," he said with discomfort. She looked pretty uncomfortable herself, but she walked in and sat a few desks away.

"I'm so sorry," she finally said. Javier realized she was truly upset, so he let her take her time.

"I should never have said what I did about Esther," she said. "Those insults, and then that rumor about you two. I was angry at you, and I took it out on her. And then right after that her father died and I felt like the worst person in the world. When you ran off with her, I actually thought maybe I'd pushed you two together, or maybe the rumor was right. But it wasn't, was it?"

Javier shook his head. The untruth sat heavily in his mouth, but it was necessary.

"We were just friends," he said. "And even after being on the road, that's all it ever was. But I'm the one who should apologize to you. I tossed you out of the house, and then I dumped you without even really explaining."

Clara shook her head. "No, I think you were clear enough. And you were probably right that we weren't going to last forever. But I didn't want to hear that. I hadn't let myself think that far ahead yet."

They sat there, together and not together.

"It was good while it lasted," said Javier.

"Yeah," said Clara. "And we were friends before that. We always got along."

"We did," agreed Javier. He gave her a little smile, and she matched it.

"OK," said Clara. "I know you have a lot of work to do. I just had to get all that out. See you around?"

Javier nodded and she stood up to go.

"I miss the sex," she blurted quickly, then started to giggle.

Javier snorted while suppressing a laugh, and Clara saw what he didn't say. She smiled and walked away, leaving him with his unfinished work and a massive erection.

* * *

Mark was waiting for Esther to catch up. He was as still as the trees, almost disappearing when he stopped.

Esther had never been this exhausted. Her lungs burned, and her stomach roiled with nausea. But Mark never let her rest as long as she needed.

"You are working much too hard," he said when she arrived.

"Whose fault is that?" Esther snapped, leaning on her knees and heaving.

Mark stared at her for a while, and then nodded.

"This is how I learned," he said. "Perhaps there are other ways. Still, a body is a body. The more you exercise it, the stronger you become, even for ordinary people. Maybe you think it's pointless, because you've always been so weak. That might just mean it's all the more important for you."

Of course there was truth in that. But Esther hated feeling like this.

"Close your eyes," Mark said unexpectedly.

Nervously she did that, waiting for him to grab her or adjust her posture or something.

"Do you smell anything?" he asked. "Something you might eat."

She concentrated. In her exhaustion she couldn't focus. Everything was as blank and dark as her vision. Except — there was one bright strand, pulling at her senses.

"Good," said Mark. "Let yourself turn to face it. Now open your eyes."

She did that. All she saw was another stand of trees.

Mark walked that direction, and she followed. Behind the trees there were a few stalky green plants, like bulbs. She recognized them when Mark pulled one up.

"Onions," she said. "Wild onions! Wonderful. And I actually smelled them myself! Maybe I'm learning something."

Mark paused. "Almost anyone would have been able to smell those onions from so close."

Then he walked briskly off. Esther fought back tears and lurched after him.

* * *

"That's right," said Esther. "Now, try the running stitch."

Mark paused, the needle frozen in his hand.

"Could you describe it again?" he asked.

Esther smiled and nodded. "I could write these down for you," she said. "There aren't too many."

"No, that won't help," Mark said angrily. His breath was ragged, the way Esther got when she exercised. She couldn't understand what was wrong.

"Maybe that's enough for now," Esther said.

Heedless of his fingers, Mark stabbed the needle into the fabric patch and abruptly shoved his chair back. He kicked the door open and was off running, disappearing into the woods.

Esther stared at the fabric, now smeared with a drop of Mark's blood. He'd been doing just fine. Sewing took practice, the same as anything. He'd seemed perfectly patient and focused for a good forty-five minutes, and then everything had gone awry. She'd seen tiny glimpses of his temper before, and it always surprised her. But he'd never actually exploded like that.

For lack of anything better to do, Esther pulled out one of her own projects. Nicola was unusually irritable today, and she'd refused any help in tuning the truck's engine. Esther suspected it didn't really need any attention. But it was the third day in a row that Abuela had put off Nicola's lessons.

When dinner time approached, Esther began to cook. Nicola arrived, frowning when she saw Esther alone.

"Where's Mark?" she asked.

Esther described what had happened. "Is he all right? I didn't expect him to be gone so long."

To her surprise, Nicola began to help her with cooking.

"He might not come back for a while," she said eventually. "He might even be out all night."

"Oh," said Esther, moving to cut up some carrots. "Is that safe?"

"For him, yes," said Nicola. "Unless he does something stupid, which is possible. But we can't do anything except wait."

They finished assembling the soup in silence and set it to simmer. Esther joined Nicola at the table.

"I said something that set him off, didn't I," said Esther. "But I can't work out what it was."

Nicola nodded, looking upset.

"You repeated to me every word of that conversation with him, didn't you? Exactly the way it happened?"

Esther nodded, swallowing. It was hard to remember not to do things like that, but for once Nicola didn't seem upset at her.

"You have an excellent memory," said Nicola. "Maybe even better than mine. I think Mark used to be that way, too."

"What happened?" Esther asked, before she realized. "Oh. The scar. He was hurt?"

"His father beat him," said Nicola. "Brutally. Left him for dead. I don't know why, and maybe Mark doesn't remember either, or else he won't say. I was here two years before he told me this much. He was only nine years old when it happened."

"That's horrible," said Esther. "Has he been here all this time, then?"

"Most of it," said Nicola. "Mark was obviously tougher than his father understood, and he eked out a living alone somewhere in the forest. Abuela found him after a year or so and drew him up here. But Mark said he was like a wild creature then, prone to blinding fits of rage. He still gets them sometimes, though you've seen he's mostly good at controlling himself. But he can't always remember things very well. And he can't read or write anymore. I tried to teach him for a time when I got here, and — well, it was a disaster."

They sat for a while.

"You love him, don't you?" Esther asked.

Nicola's brief look of shock quickly turned to a sneer.

"What, because he's a good fuck? He was here. We were lonely, though Christ knows he must have been a lot more lonely than me. I guess things have improved, now that there's someone else for him to fantasize about. Though he claims you're too young to fuck."

Esther couldn't take it anymore. She shoved her chair back and went to attend the stove.

A few minutes later, Nicola got up silently to join her. It was as close to an apology as she would get.

"There hasn't been anyone else here, then?" Esther asked.

Nicola stirred the soup and adjusted the burner.

"No, there have been some," she said. "There was an old man here when Mark arrived. Keith. He taught Mark a lot about hunting and cooking. Took care of things for Abuela. I don't think she's gone out much for a long time. But Keith died, and then as far as I know it was just Mark until I got here. Afterwards, well, there was —"

The door opened, and Esther turned, expecting Mark. But it was Abuela.

"Hello, Abuela," said Nicola. She seemed nervous. But Abuela just smiled and moved slowly to take a seat. Abuela was so small. No taller than Esther, though perhaps she'd shrunk a bit in her age.

"It smells wonderful," the old woman said. "I believe Mark will join us by the time it is ready."

Esther smiled in relief. Sure enough, a few minutes later Mark entered, breathing heavily. She wondered if he'd been out running all this time.

Mark looked at the stove and nodded, then headed to the cupboard for place settings.

"Thank you for making dinner," he said.

Abuela said nothing through the meal, slurping her soup contentedly and gazing at the wall. When the rest of them got up to clear the food, she nodded and stood slowly.

"It is good to see you together," she said. "You have much to learn from each other."

With that pronouncement she made her stately exit, leaving the three of them in awkward silence.

"I apologize," Mark said to Esther. "I should not have lost my temper."

"We all have difficult days," said Esther. "I apologize again for my attitude yesterday. I know you were trying your best to teach me."

He nodded.

Nicola gave them a look and stalked outside. Mark sighed. When they'd finished the cleaning, he made his own exit, leaving Esther sitting at the table.

Probably Nicola had told the truth. Mark thought she was too young. It shouldn't hurt the way it had, though. She hadn't seriously expected something to happen between them, had she?

Maybe it was simply having her fantasies squashed, the ones she was embarrassed to have at all. She put her head down on her arms and thought of Javier. Had he gone home the way she hoped? What was he thinking now? Did he hate her for what she'd done? She would give anything to have him there right now, holding her from behind, rocking her gently. Kissing the back of her neck, and moving his hands against her.

She might as well go to bed. Maybe she'd have a little time alone before the other two arrived. She suspected tonight would be another of their marathon sex sessions.

She turned off the light and sat until her eyes adjusted. Then she walked back to the cabin.

Unfortunately there was light spilling out the side window, which meant she wouldn't be alone. With a sigh she pulled the door open.

Nicola and Mark were having sex, on Nicola's lower bunk instead of their usual spot. And the light was on.

Mark was lying down facing away from her, with Nicola squatting on top of him, slamming herself onto his erection while looking right into Esther's eyes. Her breasts jiggled in a mesmerizing way, and Nicola's smile broadened as Esther remained frozen in place. The freckles high on her chest were brighter than usual, a deep purple not so different from Esther's.

Nicola was partly shaved, with a thick triangle of brown hair above her vulva. She had one hand touching herself, but she quickly removed it, exposing herself completely. Her vulva was sopping wet, pink, and utterly normal. Beautiful. There was another series of purple freckles sweeping up her inner thigh. Mark's freckled penis was coated with Nicola's juices. It slipped in and out, in and out, with the pounding rhythm she'd previously only heard in the dark.

Esther sucked in her breath and slammed the door, rushing to the outhouse. When she'd locked the door, she sat fully clothed, trying to keep her sobbing quiet enough that the others wouldn't hear.

...*** Chapter 17 ***...

Javier finished editing his essay, saved it on the disk, and told the machine to print. On the other side of the lab the printer began its rickety clacking noises.

It was faster this way, despite his slow typing. It took forever for him to write his essays neatly enough by hand. And his typing would only get better with time. There was even a game on the machine to practice it.

It was after four, and aside from Mr. Lancaster, the only other person in here was Samuel, a quiet younger kid who seemed to have a knack for computers. And math, of course. He'd done well on the exam, though of course nowhere near as well as Esther.