The Time Spine Complete

It was then he realized something else. He could smell nothing. Well, he could smell his own cologne, but that was it. No fresh cut grass, no blooming trees, not even this beautiful woman's perfume. It seemed aromas were locked in the same stasis as everything else.

Well, I've come this far, he thought. He reached up and pulled the cups away from her breasts.

Yep. Perfect. Each breast a smooth globe of rosy flesh, topped with a perky little nipple. He spent a moment squeezing and kneading them, feeling their taut firmness. He noticed to his surprise that after a few moments, the nipples hardened. How strange!

"In for a penny," he mumbled to himself as he grabbed the edge of her tight yoga pants. He pulled them straight down and was surprised to find she was wearing no panties. Well, that's one way to get rid of panty lines, he thought.

He was disappointed to find that she was completely shaven down there. Most girls were nowadays, and James never understood it. A thick bush was a sign of a real woman, in his opinion. A shaven snatch was vaguely suggestive of extreme youth, and that sickened him.

He moved around behind and was awarded a fine view of her athletic ass. Nicely rounded buttocks tapered down to her upper legs, with a nice little gap between, where nestled her little cunny. He could just barely see the lips from behind. He reached between and ran a finger along the slit. He was surprised to find that as soon as he touched her there, he was able to smell her too. That faint, hothouse smell of young, clean pussy. Somehow he was a catalyst in this situation. By his touch, he brought things close to the surface of the time-divide. That was how he could move things, he supposed.

He continued moving his finger along her innocent slit, and was amazed to find it getting slick with juices. Again, he thought that perhaps his touch was the cause. He brought his finger under his nose and breathed deep of her musky sex. His cock was rock hard in his jeans and he fumbled at the zipper.

Then he stopped short. He looked around. He was surrounded by hundreds of people. He looked up at the perfect woman in front of him and felt a twinge of guilt. This was no better than rape. She was not consenting to be touched, dammit. He had no right.

It was too much like rape. And a quite public rape at that. He just couldn't do it. Cursing his own morality, he spread her ass cheeks one last time and saw that juice had actually dripped down the side of one leg. Her pussy was now red and engorged. How strange! He spent a few more moments running his hands all over her body, relishing the firm curves of her fit, naked, young body, then he carefully replaced her clothing to its former state.

Feeling a bit like a creeper, he carefully grabbed the spine and made his way back to the dorm room.

"Pop!" the world was back in all its noisy glory.

Arthur was smiling, saying, "God, I'll never get used to how you suddenly shift from one place to the other. His eyes grew big, "What's this, then?"

He reached up and ran his hand along James' cheek. "You've got stubble, mate. I can swear you didn't a minute ago.

James ran a hand along his own jaw. Damned if he wasn't right. He looked closer at Arthur and noticed that he, too, had stubble, but being blond it was less noticeable.

Arthur shrugged and said, "Well, it appears something about time-stopping stimulates the follicles or something. Anyway, tell me everything."

James went on to explain every detail of his wicked little molestation of the fit young soccer fan. Naturally, Arthur ate it up. Until he got to the end.

"Awww, you stopped?" he said incredulously. "Come on man, you've got to leave your scruples behind, man. This is big, bro." He waved his hands around abstractly. "This is bigger than anything we've ever imagined."

He leaned forward. "We can have any woman. We can rob any bank. We will never want for anything." His smile had faded and his eyes were hot with intensity. "We are gods, now, James. Get used to it."

Something about the way he said it sent shivers up James' back.

PART 5:

The next day, the two friends slept in. The Saturday after the last day of classes was perfectly suited for such slothful indulgence. As the two young men woke up in the late morning, each in turn searched out the spine laying on the desk, as a reminder that yesterday had indeed happened.

It was there. Grotesque in its reptilian languidity. Curving almost erotically, daring one to linger upon the unwholesome thought that it had once held the body of a living human being erect.

As soon as he laid eyes on it, James realized it repelled him. Then, upon realizing that, he remembered that had been his initial response as well. Even as Arthur had unrolled it from its fur bundle, he had loathed it. There was something, well, something wrong about it.

He had to smile at his own line of thought. An ancient spinal cord that could stop time... could that possibly be "right?"

But none of that really mattered. He and Arthur had spent hours last night discussing the possible uses for the spine. Arthur was right. If they played it smart, they would never need to work another day in their lives. This was life-changing big.

And from time to time their conversation had taken darker turns. They could have any woman they wanted, any time they wanted. It had yet to be proven that they could have sex with a time-frozen woman, but from the evidence so far; erect nipples, engorged labia, lubricated vaginas, it seemed quite likely they could, and with ease.

It made James distinctly uncomfortable to talk about, and each time he tried to steer the conversation around to other things.

But deep inside, he felt it too. It was indescribable, the feeling of power. It changed his whole world view. Nothing could stop them now. A car wreck? Stop time and get out of the car. A mugging? Stop time and deliver the thug to the police station. A tornado? A flood? Earthquake? Trifles. The power of time trumped all.

Arthur was right. They were now gods. And what god had ever cared one whit for the morality of taking tribute from mortals?

The thought scared him. And excited the hell out of him at the same time.

Around noon, the two went down to the commissary to get lunch. As they took their trays to a quiet corner of the Student Union building, Arthur began to speak. He had clearly been thinking while lying in bed, and he had quite a bit to say.

"Listen," he began, "I've been thinking a lot about this." He stuffed a chicken nugget dripping with maple syrup into his mouth.

"We've got to find a fair way to share the spine. There's bound to be conflicts eventually as to when we want to use it. So I say we get things clear right up front."

James nodded. Arthur was always a stickler for details, and so far this attention to detail had gotten good results. "Go on, then," he prodded, to fill the pause.

"To me, the easiest solution is to just switch days." He waved his fork to the left and right. "We each get the spine every other day. Naturally we'll be flexible if one of us needs it on an off day, but we're best mates. That won't be a problem."

James nodded. He hadn't really thought about any of this, but it made sense.

"Further," Arthur went on, "We won't always be living together, you know. Someday we'll have our own homes. When that happens, a daily switch-off will become inconvenient if not impossible."

James nodded again. Amazing, he thought, he's thinking years ahead and I'm still thinking about that fit young girl's wet little twat.

"So I figured," continued Arthur, chewing slowly, "If we live in the same town, we'll switch weekly, and if we live in separate towns, monthly. Sound square to you?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

James was suddenly uncomfortable. He and Arthur had never had a need to so legalistically outline the boundaries of their common property. Hell, they had shared girlfriends with less fuss than this!

But he recognized that this was in a class by itself. This was something entirely new. Well, at least to them. The power of godhood was not to be lightly handled, he supposed.

He was put somewhat on the defensive by his friend's proprietary attitude, but he dismissed it as silly. This was Arthur. Good old Arthur, painting by the numbers once again. He may not be creative, but he was a great administrator and executor.

Some of the best parties known to mankind had been carefully constructed by Arthur Ellis. And he planned each and every detail, down to the individual flavors of the jello shots.

Finding himself comfortably back inside the trust and love of their friendship, he nodded emphatically. "Smart idea to get things clear up front. Why don't you take it today?"

Arthur's sunny smile was almost blinding. "I knew you would say that, my dearest friend. I accept."

James and Arthur parted ways after lunch. James was going to the Green Party rally that was scheduled for that evening, and as usual, Arthur would have none of that hippie shit.

Sometimes James could not even believe they were friends. He, the shy, dark, introverted, intellectual liberal, and Arthur, who looked like a poster boy for fraternities everywhere, and who would likely someday become a successful businessman and card-carrying conservative.

But none of that matters now, he realized. Everything is different, and he knows it. It's a different game, now.

For some reason, that gave him the creeps. He felt as though he was looking over the edge of a vast, dark, canyon. What hidden peril lay in those dark, hidden depths? And why did he suddenly feel as if he and Arthur were on different teams? That was silly. They were mates for life.

And yet James was not blindly stupid. His mind did not work the same way as Arthur's. He tended to be more trusting, and more optimistic in general, but he was no Pollyanna. He knew the world was filled with bad people precisely because bad people were so good at justifying their own bad deeds.

At the Green Party rally, he had trouble concentrating on any of the speeches. He couldn't stop thinking about the Time Spine.

If we are gods when we hold it, he thought sadly, what are we when it goes to the other fellow?

And thus James, long behind his friend, came to realize that the gift of godhood was one not easily shared. To be a god one day, and a mortal the next. How maddening! How frightening.

What if the mugger found you on your off day? What if the car accident came while you were empty-handed?

What if his friend, obviously ahead of him in this line of thought, already had plans to take and keep the time spine for himself?

He shook off the implications. He could trust Arthur, damn it! He would not give in to self-fulfilling prophesies of mistrust. Mistrust only begat mistrust. He would believe in his friend until proven otherwise.

Thus girded, he finally turned his thoughts away from troubling things. A few minutes later, he saw a group of freshmen he recognized from Intro to Philosophy. Two girls and a guy, nerdy as hell. In other words, exactly his kind of people. He walked over and began a conversation based on their professor's flatulence. Within a few moments, they were chatting easily and even getting into some "deep" philosophical discussions.

James never took the time to think how rare this was. He had never walked up to a group of strangers, charmed them, and become part of their group easily in his entire life. Never. It was something completely new under the sun.

The truth was, and is; one cannot remain unchanged in the face of godhood. It is impossible.

PART 6:

When he awoke the next morning, the first thing James saw in his mind's eye was the face of one of the girls he had met the day before. Sarah. Such a smart, sexy little thing! She was exactly his type, dark eyes set deep in dark eye sockets, dark hair like charcoal scratches falling around her face. Wild and unkempt, while simultaneously brilliant and creative.

The things she said surprised him, and that was unusual. One of the reasons he was so reclusive was the boredom of human interaction. He loathed "small talk." He was incapable of pretending he cared about the trivialities of others' lives. But Sarah was anything but trivial. Her mind was keen and questioning, while also quirky and original.

He sat up in bed, a bit nonplussed by the amount of hard-drive space this girl seemed to be occupying in his brain. He looked over and saw that Arthur had made it back some time last night.

He did a double-take, noticing the light golden beard on his friend's face. Stimulates the follicle indeed, he thought, that thing's a fucking beard machine!

By the time Arthur woke up, James was thinking about going down to the commissary on his own to grab a bite.

Arthur yawned, stretched, scratched his beard and sat up. He seemed a bit disoriented, so Jamie supplied, "Well, where were you last night, Grizzly Adams?"

James saw that mischievous spark in his friend's eye. "My god. Where wasn't I? James, this thing... it's bigger than we thought. I walked in and out of businesses. I ran my hands through piles of money. I made the most beautiful women into my mannequins." His eyes were hot and strange. "You'll see. Today is your day."

James was a bit out of his comfort zone as the two talked about the... indelicacies... of the night previous. Arthur hadn't fucked a woman yet, but he had progressed to posing, fingering, and madly making out with the cunts of various innocent, unknowing strangers.

Even better, to Arthur's perverse mind, was the fact that between one second and the next, these women went from being in a normal, day-to-day situation, to being highly excited, and near orgasm. Instantaneously.

He brought a history professor to near orgasm before returning the flow of time with cunt-juice running down her legs. She was a smart woman, so she pulled it off, merging the moan with a word and carrying on, but the more alert students in the front row could clearly smell aroused pussy.

He diddled a student sleeping in the back row. Leaned her back. Opened her legs. Licked her little clit until her cunt was flowing with juices and her pussy was a throbbing, sexed-out, red. When he restored time, she awoke with a sexy moan and smell that aroused every male in the room to full erection immediately.

The stories just kept coming. Young Arthur had been quite busy.

But the stories all had a fairly predictable adolescent mentality that was textbook Arthur. James found himself smiling as Arthur told of hiding another professor's stapler in his own underwear in full view of the class.

The rest of the afternoon passed as usual. They played some Black Ops, smoked a bowl, threw darts at the closet door, and in general vegged out. Normal Sunday.

But after a while, James started to get an itch. Godhood time.

"Hey bro," he said quietly, "I'm ready to stop time. Where's the spine?"

Did he see something dark flash in those baby-blues? No. Not Arthur. Arthur looked down, and seemed surprised he had already been holding the nasty, twisty thing.

"Here you go," said Arthur, grin frozen in place.

James took the repellant thing and walked towards the door. He turned and faced his oldest friend. "God for a day, huh?"

Arthur smiled a genuine smile. It was positively golden. There was much love between these two young men. Years of shared experience. Trials suffered through. Hearts broken and mended and broken again.

They both heard the pop that changed everything as James entered the frozen country.

PART 7:

James stepped out into the surreal landscape of frozen time. He thought he would never get used to it. His brain was used to taking cues from certain postures, but in this world, posture meant nothing. A man running full-tilt after a Frisbee was moving at exactly the same speed as a man sitting, reading a book. Which is to say, not at all.

Even odder, he had never in his life experienced a total block of odor. We are at times without sight; turn the light out and your vision is gone. We are often without touch; feeling nothing beyond our own bodies. We are even at times without hearing, as anyone who has had a double-ear infection can testify. But we are never without smell. The most primal, subtle of senses.

But suddenly he was the only creature on earth moving. The only creature making sound. The only thing with a scent signature.

The only living thing on earth moving with purpose and freedom.

As he wandered among the students out on the quad, he tingled with excitement. They were all frozen! Trapped and helpless. He alone on the earth had free-will. He alone.

What a feeling of power. How seductive and sweet!

He walked up to a cute little blonde with glasses. He caressed her pert little tits. He reached down and cupped her ass in both hands. Her young ass cheeks were firm and round. As he pressed against her, kneading her ass from the front, he breathed deep. He thought he could smell the ghost of strawberry shampoo. Was he bringing her closer to the time-divide? What the hell did that even mean?

His dick was rock-hard in his pants. Once again, he felt the guilt, but less sharp.

He stepped back from the pert blonde. Nice, he thought. What else? Looking around, he spotted a fiery redhead at the other end of the quad. He'd seen her before, the kind of ginger with curly hair and lots of freckles. She had a ripe, full body that was almost too perfect.

He jogged over to her. She was frozen in conversation with a friend.

He waved a hand in front of her face. He knew it was silly, but couldn't help himself. She was so damned cute! Bright green eyes and button nose. Freckles all over the place.

James took one shoulder of her sun dress and slowly pulled it down. Interesting. Even though the neckline of her dress was clearly pulled tight, when he let go, it stayed in place. If he started time again, he knew, it would spring back, but for now it stayed where he put it.

He pulled the dress further down until one bra-capped tit was exposed. He let the neckline go, expecting it to snap back in place, but no, it stayed where he had left it. Again he felt a thrill as the true scope of his power sunk in.

He put the dress back in place and lifted her arms. They stayed in position as he tugged the thin dress up and off her body.

And oh, my God, what a body! Lush and pale, she was the very form of woman. Her large, proud breasts spilled out over the top of the cups of her bra. Her cotton panties strained to cover her womanly hips and buttocks. As James moved around behind her, he saw the dimples above each buttock that he loved so much.

He went down on one knee and just kissed one dimple, then the next. He massaged her lush ass with both hands and rained kisses down on her lower back and tush.

Staying on his knees, he shuffled around to her front. He saw with pleasure that her cotton panties puffed out a bit. Evidence of a healthy bush. He felt a tinge of guilt, but not enough to stop him. He slowly pulled her panties down.

Ah, what a glorious bush. It was a flame red triangle centered between her pale, perfect legs. He took a moment and just buried his face in the curls. He could smell her faintly, and it smelled very, very good.

He decided to reposition. This turned out to be easier than he expected. He laid out her dress, then began pushing her back. However, at no point did he have to support her weight. He had to exert strength to move her, but once she was moved, she stayed there. At one point he stopped and admired her. Her feet were still on the ground, but he had pushed her upper body back, and her arms were at her sides. She looked for all the world like a person levitating a foot off the ground. Hell, he supposed that was exactly what she was.