She was abruptly awoken from her sleep by a sudden crash. Amanda shot up in bed and frantically glanced around the dark room. The rain still pelted against the windows and all was quiet until there was a bright flash of light. That was followed by another of the crashes which had awakened her so mercilessly. The storm outside had taken a turn for the worse, and thunder and lightening traveled across the sky in a game of tag. First one would crash through the air, then the other would follow.
Amanda's shoulders slumped down in relief when she realized it was only the weather grown more violent. She looked to the clock on the nightstand and noticed it was only three in the morning. Then her eyes glanced over to the door beside the bed, and a thought struck her. She slid out from beneath the covers and wandered out into the hall. Opposite her bedroom was Tony's own abode, and the door was still shut. However, she could see that the light had not yet been shut off, as a soft glow was beneath the door. He must have not yet gone to bed.
Amanda softly knocked on the door. There was no answer. She tentatively tried the knob and wasn't surprised to find it was unlocked. The young woman peeked her head inside and saw Tony was still seated in front of his computer screen. However, his eyes were closed and his breathing was even. He was asleep.
Amanda quietly tiptoed over to him and glanced into his angelic face. She smiled at the way his lips parted with each breath and his eyelids twitched. He must have been having a dream. She was about to return to her own room when her eyes caught a few of the words on the computer screen. She froze, then leaned in and silently read a few of the headlines.
Hikers missing. Search called off after a month of hillside scouring. Bear attack suspected in the disappearance of a transient.
Each headline was like the last. Someone had disappeared, never to be found again. Her eyes scanned the URL and information about the site. All these headlines were from a newspaper located in the area of the mountain. Amanda frowned and glanced down at her boyfriend. She wondered why, after everything they'd felt up there and everything they'd heard from that man, he still had interest in that horrible place.
Then the young woman noticed the notepad on the keyboard, and she picked it up. There were a few notes scribbled on the pad which made up a to-do list, and revealed to her his intentions to inform his editor about the strange going-ons up there. Amanda felt so disgusted by Tony's single-minded efforts at making this horrible situation far worse by inviting others up to the cabin. She tossed down the notepad back onto the keyboard.
Amanda had half a mind to wake him up and knock some sense into him, but she was suddenly hit with a pain in her back. It felt as though someone had pinched her skin and pulled at it. She flinched again when the pain returned with double the strength, and she moved away from the computer and back to her own room. Try as she might she could not reach the point of pain. Her stumbling feet took her to the bathroom where she hoped to see what was going on back there.
Amanda flipped on the bathroom light switch and glanced at the cabinet mirrors. The medicine cabinet was wide enough to have three swinging doors, and these would allow her to view a great deal of her back. However, even as she positioned the mirrors to forty-five degree angles the pain was subsiding. She half turned and raised her shirt to peer at her back. There were lingering stabs of pain, but those spots held no clues as to what had caused such severe agony. She ran her hand close to the areas of skin affected by the pain, and yet nothing was found save for the usual bumps of bone.
She dropped her shirt and sighed. Maybe the pain had just been her strained imagination playing tricks on her. The young woman returned to the main part of the bedroom and glanced around. After such a fright as the pain had caused, she found herself both tired and restless. She opted for some more sleep, and slid back beneath the covers. For an hour Amanda tossed and turned, and finally through sheer exhaustion her mind rested and she fell into sleep.
Before the night was out Amanda had another unexpected disturbance in her sleep, but of a different sort. The first had been her fully awakening to the loud crack of thunder, but this time it was a slow, drowsy sort of realization that something wasn't quite right. Her sleepy mind tried to gather what was wrong even as she felt something cool brush against her thigh.
In any normal circumstances Amanda would have shot up screaming, but she couldn't find the energy to brush aside the deep lethargy her body was trapped in. Her limbs would not respond, nor would her eyes open. The daze did not wear off even at the touch of her breasts by this unknown intruder. She tried to scream out, to yell for Tony to come save her, but the only noise which left her was a small whisper of air.
Amanda felt her pulse rising when the horrible truth hit her frantic mind. She knew what was wrapping itself slowly around her body and pressing itself against her. It was that thing. That creature had somehow found her and immobilized her using its toxin. She struggled to free herself from its embrace, but try as she might her limbs remained limp. Amanda had enough strength of herself to turn her head down.
Starting from the foot, the covers swayed and pressed out along a branched path toward her body. Tendrils spilled out both sides of the sheets while the largest bulge pressed up against her lower body. The creature wasted no time in taking advantage of her servile position. Its tendrils slid up over her breasts and spilled out from the collar of her shirt. The hems of her nightshirt rolled up with the climbing creature and was soon raised above her heaving breasts.
Amanda felt her body tightening as she had during her first liaison with the creature. Her hips and butt tightened, and her breasts swelled to a seductively large size. She still could not move her body on her own, but the powerful drug of the creature began to cast a fog over her frantic mind. Her thoughts were soothed into a haze of seduction as the tendrils swooped and crawled their way over her heated flesh. Her shallow pants flowed from her parted lips while her arms were slowly lifted up over her head. Then her shirt followed suit, and was tossed aside into the darkness of the room.
She was completely naked now but for the sheet, and even that was being pushed away by the insistent circling and creeping of the tendrils. There was a distinct movement beneath her back, and Amanda had the impression the creature had slid itself underneath her body.
Soon her naked body was bared to the prying eyes of the cloudy night outside. The storm had passed, but a new flurry was building up in the bedroom. This one promised delights which would surpass the ecstasy of their last encounter, and Amanda moaned against such a lovely prospect. The creature, too, delighted in her pleasure and it parted her legs to give her the fullest promise of sensual lovemaking.
Amanda felt the lethargy of the creature's toxin slide off her limbs, but by this time she didn't care for escape. The first moment she felt she could move, her hands gripped the covers and she arched her back. The delicious feeling of those tendrils slipping between her legs was both frustratingly and wonderfully pleasurable. Those smooth arms teased her thighs, but kept tortuously far from her wet center. She fidgeted and whimpered to press upon it her desire for complete satisfaction, and the creature was eager to fulfill her tense, quivering need.
Amanda groaned when the first thick, pulsing tendril smoothly slid into her. As before, the limb touched and pushed into every crevice of her body. She felt as though they became one, and she reveled in the thought. When it began to pull out and push in, her hips matched the achingly slow rhythm. The motion was as smooth as soft waves splashing against her body. She sought to control the tide by quickening her pace, but the ocean of tendrils demanded control.
They took hold of her hips and directed her as they sought fit. Amanda growled in frustration, but could not remain angry for long. The tendrils pressed up and wrapped themselves around her full breasts. Her tight nipples were deftly massaged and pinched. The teasingly soft touches drove her close to her climax, but the creature knew her limits. She was kept at the edge even as its pace quickened. In and out, pushing and pulling against her. Her
body tensed and jerked at every one of the monster's caresses, and great was her joy when she felt the reverberations of pleasure ripple through her body.
Her hands clenched the covers. Each breathe was a struggle to pull out from between her parted lips. Her eyes were shut tight until she felt the final wave descend upon her. Then it all came crashing down. Her pleasure poured over her hot body, and her legs kicked and twisted in the tendrils' hold. The creature stretched out her bliss by sliding down on her clit and she reached new heights of euphoria. She felt as though she were flying in the clouds of tendrils which embraced her body in a firm but gentle hold.
Then Amanda found herself drifting back down to earth. The pleasure subsided, the euphoria drifted off her body, and reality sank its sharp, merciless teeth into her mind. That's when she realized what had just happened, and that the creature was still very much wrapped around her body.
The monster must have sensed her change of mood through her stiffening body, for the tendrils wrapped tighter around her. She opened her mouth to scream but a flattened limb stretched over her lips. Her eyes widened in horror when she felt the toxin push into her mouth and down her throat. She struggled to find enough air and free herself even as the strange mist drifted down her throat. There was no escaping the creature's grip. She was certain it meant to kill her. Amanda made one last effort to free herself by pushed up off the mattress.
Then Amanda was suddenly able to shoot up in the bed. Her body was covered in sweat and her thighs were soaked with the evidence of her orgasm. Instinct took over and panic swarmed over her mind. She kicked and squirmed, and finally flung aside the covers. What was revealed were the white mattress sheets and her pale legs. There were no dark, slender arms reaching out for her from the shadows. Much was her relief when she realized it had all been a wet dream, that is until she noticed one very important detail about her body.
She was completely naked.
Amanda let out a small eep and pulled the covers up to her neck. She frantically glanced around the room, and her eyes caught sight of nightshirt. It was on the ground by the large windows, clear across the room. Her body was quivering now from that creeping fear deep within the primitive places in her mind. Every instinct of man told her to the dark truth. The creature had found her and forced itself upon her all too-willing body.
The more rational side of her mind agreed. There was no other explanation for why her nightshirt laying way over there. She would never have removed her clothing and thrown it away. Her dream had also been too vivid, too real. No dream she'd ever had before had been that exhilaratingly, magnificently real. The feel of the creature as it slid along her tight muscles. The way it touched her in every sensitive spot.
"What the hell are you doing?" she whispered to herself. Her thought had taken a decidedly inappropriate turn.
She swept aside those pleasant thoughts, and in its place the fear washed into her mind. Amanda hugged the blankets up against herself as though they were a wall of impenetrable stone, and her eyes nervously glanced around the room. The dark, shadowed corners with their deep secrets frightened her and the bedroom was eerily quiet. Her eyes darted over to the clock. It read three-thirty. No more sleep would come to her that morning. She sat there in bed for the better part of an hour before she finally gathered enough courage to slip out from beneath the covers.
Amanda kept her feet far from the space beneath her bed, and then shot over to the light switch. The room was blissfully illuminated by the bulb overhead, and for a few moments she stood there and basked in the warm glow. With the light giving her comfort, Amanda had half a mind to make her way over to Tony's bedroom. She could wake him and tell him what had happened.
And then he'd publish it.
Her breath caught in her throat. When that last thought struck her mind, Amanda's stomach fell and she leaned heavily against the wall. Her mind recalled back to when she'd found him sitting in front of his computer with that notepad of notes and that web page of horrifying headlines. She didn't want to become one of those headlines, one of those people paraded before the public to be used as an exhibition piece in the newspapers' schemes to make a ton of money.
Her eyes narrowed in determination and anger. She wouldn't be used by anybody, especially when the matter was so horrendously personal and sexual. Even the thought of her two liaisons with the creature brought a deep, hot blush to her cheeks. However, there was a way to turn this situation on its head. She could use Tony's research into the creature to help her find out what was going on and how to get rid of it. Maybe there were some clues in those dusty old articles, something that would tell her how to drive off the creature.
However, Amanda felt that relief from the creature's attentions was a double-edged sword. She couldn't deny that she found the sensual trysts exciting and addicting, but like any drug it had its drawbacks. The young woman well knew that if these continued most every night, she would physically and mentally fall apart. Even now the fear and temptation she felt toward the creature was pulling her mind in two very separate directions.
"All right, old girl, just calm down," she ordered herself.
The young woman took a deep breath and released. Her lungs were now clear, but her thoughts were just as muddled as before. Amanda's shoulders slumped and for the first time since awakening she was very much aware of the early hour. It was as though she was released from the gentle arms of shock. Her body began to ache from the creature's intense lovemaking and exhaustion swept across her mind and body.
Amanda picked up her night garment and stumbled over to the bed. Sleep was her only option right now. The plan to inform Tony was nixed in favor of using his discoveries for her own use. The young woman couldn't bring herself to wear the nightshirt, the creature had touched it, after all, so she tossed it onto the head of the bed. She'd need to wear it tomorrow in case Tony peeked his head into her room to see how she was doing. There was the option of grabbing other clothes from her bag, but those were limited to jeans and tshirts. Those made for poor nightclothes if she wanted to get an easy few hours of sleep. The bedsheets she couldn't change because she had no idea where there were any spares. Besides, if Tony found those tossed aside in the hamper he'd definitely have questions for her, and she'd only have lies.
Amanda slipped onto the soft mattress cover and pulled the covers over her nude form. She felt naughty sleeping without clothes, but the soft feel of the sheets over her curves was deliciously erotic. The clothes slipped into every curve of her form much like the creature, and before she could stop herself a soft, short moan escaped her lips. She blushed out of embarrassment and horror at her lustful self, and she frantically pulled the covers up around her. With the sheets bunched up rather than tight against her, the sensual urge evaporated. She was herself again.
With that final thought in mind, Amanda closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep.
Tony awoke the next morning in his not-so-comfortable computer chair. He stretched and winced when his back popped like a string of firecrackers. His neck ached and his arms were sore from hanging over the arms of the chair all night. He woke up his computer and stared at the clock. Six o'clock. Even for a Monday, that was devilishly early.
The young man stood from his seat and glanced over to his door. Tony frowned when he noticed it was slightly ajar. He was sure he'd closed it before he drifted off to sleep. Cautiously he stepped over to it and peeked out into the hall. The way was clear, and the door to Amanda's room was closed. He wondered if he should wake her up. It was early, but in the silence of the apartment he felt strangely uneasy. Maybe a little company would liven things up before he went to work. Tony crossed the narrow passage and knocked on her door.
"You awake yet, Amanda?" he called out to her. He waited the obligatory ten seconds and then knocked again. "Amanda?" Still nothing. His heart beat jumped and he frowned. "Amanda, you okay?" Tony tried the knob and was relieved to find it unlocked.
The young man opened the door and peeked insi
de. He noticed nothing unusual, and his eyes trailed over to the bed. Amanda's form was visible beneath the sheets, so he quietly tiptoed to the bed and leaned over to glance at her still body. She was peacefully asleep with the covers up over her bare arms. Tony frowned. There was something not quite right about this picture, then it hit him. She wasn't wearing her nightshirt. To make sure of his theory, he pinched the blanket between his fingers and ever so slightly pulled back the covers.
The tops of her full, naked breasts were revealed to his prying eyes. He admired them for a moment, and then shook his head to toss out a few lecherous ideas. There were bigger questions to answer to than the call of his libido. Tony's eyes caught on something laying at the top of the bed, and the answer to where the shirt had gone was found. Her nightshirt was atop the short headboard of the bed, folded almost neatly. He wondered if she had gotten too warm in the room, but as he sat there and judged the temperature he brushed aside that idea. It was perfectly comfortable, without the slightest bit of heat. Then again, this was his apartment and the thermostat was set to his preferred temperature.
Either way, he wanted to make sure she was feeling all right. Tony pulled the covers back up and gently shook her shoulder.
"Mandy, you okay?" It was a pet name he'd adopted for her a short while after they'd hooked up. Tony was worried when she didn't respond, so he put both his hands on her shoulders and rocked her back and forth quite hard. He was relieved when her eyes finally fluttered open.
Amanda, however, wasn't too thrilled with his pushiness.
"What do you want?" she garbled out. Her vision was unfocused and she glared at him beneath heavy, tired eyes.
"I was just wondering why you were, well, naked." He stiffly pointed down at her bare skin that was revealed above the sheets.
"I got, um, hot. The room was a little stuffy." She told herself it was a white lie. Her first priority would be to protect her secret double-life. Innocent victim by day, ravished vixen by night.
"Well, you might want to put that on before you make me hot," Tony pleaded. He didn't have enough time before work to have a romp with her, and he still wasn't sure if she was up for the fun yet. The young man wondered how long it would take for her to get over her trauma with the creature attacking her. Those types of attacks weren't easy to overcome. "And while I'm gone, you can turn the temperature down. Just make sure to put it back up before I get back after work so you don't freeze me out."