FSE

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Full dark has fallen as a ragtag group of six teenagers make their way across the parking lot of an abandoned church. Despite the cracked asphalt and tall weeds everywhere, the church itself looks in good shape without no signs of vandalism.

“Can’t believe you guys talked me into this,” Thomas, the one at the back of the group, says quietly.

“Oh come on! You love churches and stuff,” Jaz, the one closest to Thomas responds.

Thomas grabs the religious medal hanging around his neck. “This church was abandoned in 1940 because a priest was murdered here.”

“I know! Doesn’t that make this place like super creepy!” Jaz’s long blond hair blows in the wind as she turns around and faces Thomas with a big smile on her face.

Thomas just gives her a disappointed look and walks past her. “How are we even going to get in, it’s completely sealed up.”

“Cole found a way in!” she says as she comes up behind Cole and claps him on the shoulders.

Cole is your typical jock, but has a heart of gold, and is most likely the reason why “scaredy-cat” Jaz would put up with something like this. Can’t say I blame her. Something scary like this is the perfect opportunity to grab onto him, and I might just do it if the opportunity arises.

“Well, it was less ‘found’ and more ‘made’ a way in. All it takes is a big crowbar and some big muscles... and I have both,” he flexes his bicep and winks.

Thomas rolls his eyes but can’t help smile.

When the group makes it around to the side of the building, they all see their way in; a door with just one board nailed across it.

“Don’t worry, it’s only there for show and I already broke the lock on the door,” Cole smiles and brushes off his shoulders.

The board comes off with just a tug and the door easily swings open. The inside looks even nicer than the outside and one could almost think it wasn’t abandoned at all. Almost everything is still inside. One of the few things missing is one of the most important, the tabernacle behind the altar. To put it simply, it’s a fancy box (although sometimes circular) that holds the bread and wine used for mass.

“I’m surprised it hasn’t gotten dusty after being abandoned for decades. Maybe the ghost of the priest keeps it clean,” Ben, who’s holding hands with Jenna, tries to say in a creepy voice.

“Well, all the windows look intact, and we’re the first ones to open a door since it closed, so it’s not too surprising,” Thomas says trying to keep things less creepy.

“Ya, you big dummy,” Jenna gives Ben’s arm a slap but kisses him right after.

While everyone one is talking, Samantha, the one dressed all in black and who was the first one inside, sneaks away.

“It’s kind of a shame, it’s such a nice old church. It would have been nice if they did something with it,” Thomas says as he looks at the details in the columns and ceiling.

“Do you know the name of the priest?” Jaz asks.

They all turn to look at him. Thomas sighs and says, “Father Ignatius. They think someone wanted a place to stay so he let them in for the night. The next day there was morning mass and someone found his body right by the front doors.”

“Did they ever find out who did it?” Jenna asks as she squeezes Ben’s hand tighter and moves a little closer to him.

“No, but I would doubt they are alive anymore.”

“Maybe there’s a killer geriatric on the loose,” despite Cole’s joking demeanor, the thought of a killer on the loose seems to set everyone on edge.

“You make it sound like that’s something scary... or are you worried that your muscles wouldn’t be enough to fend off a centenarian?” Thomas says with a coy smile. Cole makes a fake, hurt expression but Thomas notices something and is looking elsewhere. “Where’s Sam?”

Cole looks around too and doesn’t see her anywhere.

“Hey Sam! Samantha, where are you!” Thomas calls out, sounding a little freaked out.

“Over here! I’m finished, so come on over!” she says as she sticks her hand up from behind the altar.

“Finished what?” Thomas says to no one in particular, but Cole gives him an excited look. They all run off leaving the clueless Thomas behind.

Thomas is the last one to see what Sam was working on. Behind the altar is an almost perfectly drawn pentagram, with strange symbols all around and inside. “What the hel... what is the meaning of this?” Thomas corrects himself.

Samantha is the one to speak, “I found this occult shop and was looking through their books, mostly fakes, and this page fell out that didn’t match the book it came from,” she points to the center of the pentagram where the page rests. On the page is a smaller version of the pentagram Sam drew on the floor.

“So you thought you’d just do some random ritual for fun?” Thomas can’t quite believe what he’s hearing or how everyone seems so calm about it.

“Yay,” Sam says matter-of-factly, “and what better place to do it, then here?”

Thomas lets out a deep sigh. “Best case, nothing happens.”

“Best case? That would be super lame,” Ben says with a cheeky smile.

“Lame, perhaps, but in the worst case... it works and we die, or worse.”

Jaz puts her arm on Thomas’ shoulder, “you worry too much, nothing is going to happen!”

“If nothing is going to happen, then what’s the point?” Thomas says, sounding exasperated.

“Well, I mean, it’s just kind of exciting, isn’t it? The thrill of it all?” Jaz just shrugs her shoulders and looks around at the others.

The others all look at Thomas, he sighs, “you are all impossible.”

They laugh and Jaz says, “if anything goes wrong you can exorcize us.”

With his deepest sigh yet, Thomas says, “that’s not something I can... and no one’s paying attention.”

“I’m not exactly sure what to do but I think these symbols mean we have to stand at the points and wait... I guess,” Sam shows the others the symbols on the page before setting back in the center. The five of them all take their places at the points and stand there as told.

“You guys really shouldn’t be doing this...” Thomas says as he tightens his grip on his medal.

Jaz says, “you worry too...” suddenly they all fall over in unison.

With a look of terror on his face, Thomas says in a shaky voice, “O-okay, th-that's not funny. Joke’s over! You scared me so now you can stop this!” Looking them over closely to see if anyone was smiling, he notices their heels are the only part of their body touching the floor, with their heads floating inches above it. “Oh shit! Hold on! I don’t have a phone so I’ll go get help!” He turns and takes a few steps. Should I leave them alone? Who could even help? I can’t even think of where the closest priest might be. He turns around again, but they’re gone. The pentagram is gone too, now it’s just a clearing in the dust.

At the edge of his vision, he sees something. Slowly raising his head, he sees them and the pentagram. The pentagram has moved eight feet up the wall and his five with it. Their heads are now resting on the points of the pentagram, with their feet a few inches from the wall. They are holding each other’s hands now, forming a circle. Even all this isn’t what makes Thomas back away into the middle aisle between the pews.

Pouring out of their gaping mouths is liquid darkness. As the liquid pours out, it obscures their faces and continues flowing to the center, where the page used to be. As the pool of darkness grows larger, Thomas can see something moving inside it, something trying to get out. Whatever this thing is, it hurts his head to look at it. Somehow, impossibly, it’s darker than black, it feels like trying to comprehend a new color.

Instead of staring at it, Thomas lowers his head and clasps his hands together around his medal in prayer.

“What do you have there?” a voice speaks with odd pauses and strange intonations as if it’s their first time speaking.

Not sure why, Thomas responds, “a medal from my great-grandmother. It will protect me from evil and demons.”

“I’m not a demon, nor am I evil.”

“I-I will not be swayed by your lies!” Thomas says, trying to gather all his courage.

“Is that so? There’s a long pause. “Did you know she’s not your great-grandmother at all? She’s the first female saint and your one-hundred and fifth great-grandmother, Saint Fiammetta of Matera.”

Thomas’ eyes open wide, “How do you know her name or where she was born?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t.”

“Oh? What do you mean?”

Thomas smiles, “if that were the truth, she would be well over a thousand years old. I got this medal from her personally. I still remember her touch, it made me feel safe, like a blanket of warmth surrounding me.”

“You... humans? Yes, humans, are so interesting. I wonder what my touch would feel like.”

Thomas looks up and sees the darker-than-black liquid has taken a humanoid form. The lower half is hidden beneath the pool, but the upper half is reaching its arm toward Thomas. “Please great-grandmother, I need your help!” A moment later he feels a hand on his shoulder. A familiar warmth covers his body.

“How’s your arm?” a voice whispers in his ear.

Every time he’d go visit his great-grandmother; she would ask this question before she helped him practice throwing a baseball. Every time she asked, Thomas would say, “better than ever!”

When he says these words, the presence disappears. Thomas takes the medal from around his neck and holds it in his hand. “Give me back my friends foul evil!”

“I can’t do that. They’re gone.”

“I don’t believe your lies!”

“Doesn’t matter what you believe. The truth is the truth.”

With a grimace on his face, Thomas grips the medal harder. Suddenly he throws it at the pool of darkness. A pure white fills his entire vision, and then suddenly disappears. He looks around and can see just fine, no blindness, no afterimage, nothing. The light isn’t the only thing gone. Looking up at the wall, he sees the darkness, his friends, and the pentagram have all vanished.

Thomas walks up the few stairs and looks behind the altar. He instantly sees the golden medal and chain glittering in the light from the windows. Once he picks it up, he notices black markings on the front. Five lines pointing toward the center, each with a curve that almost forms a circle. “My friends...” he says quietly and slowly puts the medal back around his neck. “What am I going to say to your families?” he falls to his knees and starts crying alone in the abandoned church.

-Many Years Later-

Thomas is now in a much nicer place, a popular bakery that’s almost always busy, and today is no exception. Hanging from his shoulder is a large and full looking satchel, which he rummages through and finally manages to find his wallet at the bottom.

“Hi there,” Thomas says to the lady behind the counter, “I’m here to pay for the twelve dozen buns for St. Jerome Orphanage?”

“They’ve already been paid for and will be delivered today,” the lady behind the counter says, sounding a little confused.

Thomas opens his satchel and puts his wallet back in the bottom of the bag. “The lady who was in charge of most of the food recently got very sick. When she said she took care of everything, I guess she really meant it!” Both Thomas and the lady chuckle. “Thanks for your time,” he says as he walks out.

Thomas doesn’t even make it to the end of the block when he hears, “wait!”

Turning around, Thomas sees a dark-haired man running up to him. Not sure if the man was even talking to him, he just stands there and waits for the man to run up to him. Indeed, the man stops in front of him and bends over with his hands on his knees and takes a couple deep breathes before standing straight up.

Now that he’s closer, Thomas can see how very handsome the man is. It’s hard not to notice how his large muscles stretch out his button-up shirt or how his rolled-up sleeves show off his thick forearms. Thomas manages to pry his eyes from the man’s muscles and look at his smiling face. His black hair is a little messy from running but makes him look even hotter if anything. The black hair continues to his face, where he has it trimmed into a long stubble beard, Thomas’ favorite style.

“H-hello? Is there something I can help you with?” Thomas says while trying his best not to turn bright red.

The man smiles and runs his hand through his hair, which makes Thomas turn a bit redder. “Actually, I think I’m the one that’s going to be helping you. I think you forgot this,” he says as he holds out a wallet.

Thomas’ hand immediately goes to his bag. “Thank you,” he says as he takes his wallet with a confused look on his face. Now that he has his wallet back, Thomas starts looking through it.

The man chuckles a little, “don’t worry I didn’t take anything.”

“Probably not or you wouldn’t return it. I’m checking if anything got put inside,” he starts taking out cards one-by-one, looking each of them over.

“Oh, I see. If you want my number... you can just ask.”

Thomas looks up and sees the man with his hand on the back of his neck and looking away with a sheepish look on his face. Damn, not only is he sexy but he’s super cute, despite the thought, he keeps taking out cards and checking them over. “Did you know there’s a pocket a never use in my wallet because with all the cards I have it’s impossible to open it?”

The man just shrugs his shoulders, not sure why he’s being told this.

With all the cards now in Thomas’ hand, he reaches into the previously sealed pocket. “Ah-ha!” he says as he pulls out and holds up a folded square of paper.

The man seems even more confused, “I’m not sure what that is.”

Thomas rubs the paper between his hands, “it feels like genuine parchment. It must be very old. I’m surprised it’s holding up so well.” Reaching into his bag, Thomas brings out a two-inch-wide vial of water. Removing the cork, he puts the square of paper in the water and puts the cork stopper back on. “I always carry around holy water, just in case,” he says as he shakes the vial of water with the paper inside. He takes a larger bottle of water out of his bag and uses it to wash his hands and wallet.

The man looks genuinely confused and perhaps worried that Thomas is a little crazy, but Thomas isn’t buying it. “Thank you for giving me back my wallet,” Thomas says as he puts his wallet back in his bag... again. “I’d love to get you coffee as thanks, but I have to go. I’m helping with a fundraising lunch that the children are having at St. Jerome Orphanage. You are welcome to come... if you can,” his last words are said with narrowed eyes and sound less like an invitation and more like a challenge. Thomas is smiling once again and waving goodbye, “thanks again!”

-Many Months Later-

Despite the moonless night, the lights of the city keep the large, fenced-in area fairly well lit. Even with all the light, Thomas has his phone out and using it as a flashlight. “This is the place? It looks abandoned,” Thomas says as he walks towards a brick warehouse with a lady beside him.

“That’s what makes this place cool! Old on the outside, new on the inside. Turning a place of work into a place of fun. Don’t you love the aesthetic!” Morgan says with a big smile on her face.

Thomas doesn’t seem too convinced, especially due to the similarities from that awful night. “I’m still not sure why you brought me.”

“You know Linda from the soup kitchen? She told me that you also volunteer at an orphanage.”

“Okay? What does that have to do with anything?”

Morgan stops and places her hand on Thomas’ shoulder, “you’re so overworked you can’t even see it. You need to take a break and wind down.”

“It’s not work, I enjoy helping others,” he unconsciously moves his hand to the medal hanging around his neck.

“Well, you still get tired, and won’t you be able to work harder and help people more once you’re rested?” Thomas can’t really argue so Morgan continues, “don’t worry, this isn’t a crazy or super-loud place. I think you’ll enjoy it.”

“I suppose one holiday a year is okay... I guess.”

“This is just a night out, hardly a holiday.”

“For me it is,” Thomas just shrugs his shoulders, while Morgan shakes her head.

They head around to the back of the warehouse, the side that faces the water. Once they make it around the corner, they see a bouncer by the door and a few people standing around. Now that they’re this close, the faint bass of music can be heard. Thanks to Morgan they get in right away. Inside is a surprising number of people dancing to some techno music. Looking around, Thomas sees the windows are blacked out which explains why he couldn’t see all the colorful lights from outside.

“It’s actually not that bad in here. I think it would make a nice coffee shop or something,” Thomas says as he turns toward Morgan.

“See! I told you that you would like it! Now let's go get some drinks!” before Thomas can speak, Morgan interrupts, “don’t worry, you can just get them virgin,” she smiles, “virgin for the virgin!”

Thomas sighs and rolls his eyes, “I have more volunteer work early tomorrow.”

“I know, I’m just teasing! Now come on!” she says as she practically drags him to the almost empty bar.

“What can I get you two cuties?” the bartender asks.

Thomas is thankful this isn’t the dark-haired man. This guy has blond, slicked-back hair and is clean-shaven, except for a little goatee. He has the almost stereotypical bartender vest; except he isn’t wearing a shirt underneath so his muscular chest and arms are quite visible.

“I’ll have a Bloody Mary,” Morgan says, unaware of the look Thomas gave her.

“I don’t know... something sweet and fruity, but please no alcohol.”

The bartender nods and grabs a couple glasses.

“Are you going to come dance?” Morgan asks Thomas.

He looks out at all the people, then back to her, “not right away? I think I’ll work up my courage as I work on my drink.”

Only a minute or so goes by until the bartender says, “here are your drinks,” and passes Morgan her red drink and Thomas a light-orange one.

Morgan immediately heads out on to the dance floor while Thomas stays behind. “What is this?” he asks, grabbing the drink from the counter.

“It’s a virgin Bellini. I thought I’d get you something from Italy,” the bartender says with a wink.

“I’m impressed you can tell I’m Italian, most people can’t, at least not on their first guess.” Thomas puts the drink under his nose and can easily smell the sweet peach scent.

“What can I say, I’m good at reading people.”

“I picked up on that with the ‘two cuties’ comment, must help with the tips,” Thomas takes a sip of his drink and the bartender just shrugs his shoulders with a grin on his face. “This is good, thanks.”

The bartender nods and walks off to help a couple other people who just sat down.

A few minutes pass, and Thomas takes one final gulp of his drink before heading to the dance floor. Most of the songs have been techno but the current one is pop, and definitely more his style. He spends a minute or so trying to find Morgan, but decides to give that up and just copy how the others are dancing.

Despite his earlier reservations, Thomas is having a good time. He even finds himself dancing with some other guys and not even minding if someone gets a bit too hands-on. The song ends and transition into another pop-style song, except this one is much faster. It doesn’t take much time for it to get quite hot inside, and it takes even less time for shirts to start coming off. He isn’t ready to take his shirt off but he definitely doesn’t mind the eye candy or rubbing up against one of the sweaty guys around him.

Thomas stops for a moment when a wave of dizziness hits him. I think I’m partying a little too hard. I should take a break and get some water. He doesn’t make it too far before the dizziness increase to the point of him almost losing his balance. I hope Morgan didn’t secretly tell the bartender to add alcohol. No, I don’t think she would, and the bartender would probably get in trouble for doing so. Even if that were the case, I only had one and I didn’t taste any alcohol. His muscles start to feel weaker, making it even harder to walk.

His slow walk to the bar comes to an end when Thomas collapses on the floor. He can hardly move and the world seems to be spinning. Reaching into his bag, he brings something out, an EpiPen. He injects the adrenaline into his thigh and after a few moments is able to stand again. “Someone help! I think I’ve been drugged!” the music isn’t too loud so everyone in the room should hear him, yet nobody reacts, not even the people right next to him. He looks around and not a single person is paying attention to him. Eventually, his gaze turns to the DJ, who’s staring right at him and seems strangely familiar.

Thomas tries leaving, but as he struggles against the crowd, the strength begins to fade from his body. He somehow makes it further away from the DJ and closer to the door, but the crowd of people seems to have followed him and blocks the way to the exit. At his limit, Thomas collapses again.

When Thomas feels a hand on his shoulder a feeling of relief washes over him until he sees who it is. It’s the DJ, and as he thought it’s the dark-haired man who he first met when he gave him his wallet. The months following the wallet incident, Thomas came into contact with this man multiple times, but always benign and nothing like this.

“G-get away!” Thomas says as he weakly smacks the man’s hand away.

“I’m only trying to help. Really good music can be... trance-like, so I think I’m the only one who heard you,” the matter-of-factness in his voice makes his strange statement sound even stranger.

How can he be strong enough to affect an entire room of people? Is he using the music somehow? “I said I don’t need your help!”

“I think you do,” he says with a solemn expression on his face. “Even in a nice place like this bad stuff can happen, especially to someone as vulnerable... and beautiful as you,” he brushes Thomas’ cheek with the back of his hand.

Again, Thomas smacks the hand away, although this time with far less force.

The man shakes his head, “I guess it doesn’t matter. When you pass out, I’ll make sure you get the help you need.”

Thomas puts his hand on his knee and pushes himself up. With a little more effort he’s standing once again, much to the surprise of the dark-haired man. “I will not let you win.” Despite his efforts to stand, the crowd isn’t moving. He clutches the medal around his neck and tries to recite a bible passage despite the pain and fog in his head. “Though I walk... I walk through the valley... in the valley of dark... darkness...”

Even with the mistakes, the crowd parts before him as he makes his way to the door. With his confidence growing, Thomas picks up speed and finally makes it outside. I can’t breathe, my chest hurts and my head too. At least the dizziness hasn’t gotten much worse. He looks around and sees a bicycle leaning against the fence. There’s a hospital nearby, with the bike’s help, I might just make it.

He takes the bike and only manages to get it going by pushing off the ground. Not thinking of shifting gears to make the pedals usable, Thomas simply sits on the seat and continues to push off the ground. I hope I can make it.

After what seems like an eternity on the bike, the hospital finally comes into view. Closer and closer. Two blocks. One block. He crosses the street and manages to make it a bit further until the world seems to flip upside down. It barely registers with him that he fell, but he still manages to get up and starts walking straight to the entrance. He’s only about fifteen feet away before he collapses again, and this time he passes out.

With a gasp, Thomas wakes up. It takes him a moment until he realizes that he’s in a hospital bed. He presses the call button and lays his head back down on the pillow and shuts his eyes tight.

“Oh, you’re awake! How are you feeling?” the nurse who just arrived asks.

“I feel like I have the worse hangover ever. Other than that, I’m fine, so I just want to go home,” he puts his arm over his eyes to try and block out all the light.

“You’ll have to wait for the doctor, but I’ll get you something for your headache.”

It takes a while for the doctor to arrive, but the medication he got from the nurse finally starts working. “So can you tell me what happened? When we found you there were two used EpiPens in your pocket,” the doctor looks at him with a look of concern on his face.

When the dark-haired man was distracted, Thomas had snuck out the two EpiPens from his satchel and injected them without the man noticing. “I was at a nearby club and I think I got drugged. There was...” he suddenly stops. Idiot, don’t mention the DJ or the police will make a huge deal and more people could get hurt. “There were some people watching me but they didn’t help so I used a pen. I tried calling out but no one seemed to hear me over the music. I was desperate so I used two more pens and managed to make my way here.”

The doctor lets out a deep breath. “It sounds like you had quite the night. It was dangerous to use that much adrenaline, but it sounds like it got you out of an even more dangerous situation.” He taps his clipboard with his pen, “your preliminary test results seem good, so I don’t think there’s any internal damage. You should consider yourself lucky.”

“Ya, lucky,” If you can count getting drugged lucky. At least that dark-haired man didn’t ‘help’ me. Who knows what he would have done. Thomas takes a few deep breaths. I’m amazed that the crowd let me go. If I’m being honest, I don’t think the bible verses did the trick. I think he respected my determination and let me leave. That’s a scary thought.

The doctor continues flipping through the pages then lets them all fall back down. “Everything seems good so we won’t keep you. You should come back tomorrow though and we’ll do more tests to make sure everything is okay.”

“Thank you, doctor, I’ll make sure to do that,” except I actually won’t. If he can affect regular people, just think how easy it would be for him to influence those who are weak and sick.

The doctor nods and says, “have a good rest of the day.”

It’s a bit of a walk to the soup kitchen but they’ll be open by the time I get there. Some exercise could do me some good too. I hope Morgan is all right.

It was more than a bit of a walk, having taken Thomas almost two hours to reach the soup kitchen. The frequent breaks didn’t help with things but he still made it on time.

“Well, well, well, look who it is!” Morgan’s loud voice drills into Thomas’ head before he could even make it through the doorway. “Where have you been?” she says with a smirk on her face.

“The hospital. I spent the night there,” compared to Morgan, Thomas is much quieter.

At the mention of the hospital, Morgan’s smirk is quickly replaced with a look of concern. “What? Are you alright? I tried looking for you but couldn’t find you. In all honesty, I thought you hooked up with one of those fine-looking men last night.”

“What would make you think that?” Thomas quickly realizes what, or in this case, who would make her think that. Having been influenced, he can’t be mad at her so he continues, “no, that’s definitely not what happened. I just wasn’t feeling well and I couldn’t find you so I made my way to the nearby hospital. Apparently, it was just a combination of fatigue and dehydration, nothing too serious.”

“Oh, well that’s good... I guess. Want to help a bit, then I can drive you home?”

“That would be great. I’ll just load the dishes into the washer,” he says, making his way to the back.

-A Couple Months Later-

The door opens and Thomas slowly makes his way into his apartment. Despite how weary he looks, he makes sure to lock all five of the locks on his door. Who knew building houses was such a tiring job? He laughs to himself as he makes his way to his old but comfy couch and all but collapses on it. He leans his head back and takes a long, deep breath. Instead of the usual faint smell of incense, there’s a pleasant, and strangely comforting, cologne-like scent filling the air. That’s strange, most of the places I volunteer at are scent-free so I don’t even use anything with perfumes any more, not even in the shower.

The shower. He lazily turns his head toward the bathroom door and sees it cracked open. The door isn’t was worries him, it’s the fact that the light is on and only now that he looked in that direction can the obvious sounds of the shower running be heard.

I’m sure my door was locked. I even made sure to change them so I was the only one with a key. It can’t be him. Thomas looks around his little apartment and checks over all the religious objects. They all seem to be untouched and not damaged or defaced in any way.

Walking as slowly as he can, Thomas still gets to the bathroom too soon. He pushes open the door. This is definitely where the cologne smell is coming from, the smell is much stronger here, especially since the bathroom doesn’t have an exhaust fan. Gathering up his courage he says, “hello?”

A hand grabs the shower curtain and pulls it aside a couple feet. The head of the dark-haired man pokes out from around the curtain. “Oh! I didn’t hear you come in. Once I’m done, I’ll put on a towel and I’ll be right out.” He winks and draws the shower curtain closed again and continues on with his shower.

Thomas slowly closes the door, still leaving a gap out of habit, and makes his way back to the couch. Once again, he slumps down and this time just stares blankly in disbelief. I don’t understand. I pray all the time. I have a priest come and bless my home. The incense, crosses, pictures of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. Thomas leans forward and rests his face in his hands. My one safe haven has been invaded, where do I go now? I could always go to the cathedral; I know they have a spare room there. What if he follows and infects the church or something?

“You look troubled, can I be of any help?”

The voice sounds like it’s right in front of him. I didn’t hear the shower stop or him walking over here. How did he get so close without me noticing? Thomas slowly raises his head to face the dark-haired man. He doesn’t even make it half-way before something large catches his attention.

The sight proves that the dark-haired man is most definitely not wearing a towel. Right at eye-level, just inches away from Thomas’ face is a long, thick and veiny dick. The large dick is paired with a pair of large, furry balls. Even though the pair hang quite low, the dick is easily long enough to hang many inches past them. Just above the mighty package is a thatch of pubic hair thick enough to be considered fur and an equally thick treasure trail that leads up the dark-haired man’s abs. Seeing all this causes a stirring in Thomas’ crotch, which makes him quickly look away.

With cheeks turning red, Thomas asks, “I thought you said you were putting on a towel?”

“What do you mean? I did, see?”

Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas looks to see where the dark-haired man is pointing. It turns out the towel is wrapped around his head. “You don’t even have long hair. Why would you... why am I even talking to you? You are an uninvited trespasser, get out!”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” he says in a playful voice. “I could tell you liked what you saw. I could sense a stirring in your loins.”

“How vulgar,” Thomas’ cheeks grow even redder.

“I know you aren’t such a prude as to find that vulgar,” the dark-haired man lets out a thoughtful sigh. “I know you know how to have fun. I don’t want to say I’m easy but I’m definitely willing to have some fun right now in your bedroom,” he raises his eyebrows and gives Thomas a seductive look.

“Don’t you dare go anywhere else! Just leave!” Thomas shouts as he stares in the beautiful blue eyes of the dark-haired man.

“If you don’t want me in the bedroom, we could always do it right here?” he leans in closer, making Thomas falter and lean back. “I bet when you saw it, you thought it was big. Well, that was me completely... flaccid,” the emphasis on the last word practically drips with sex.

“I’ve had enough,” Thomas says in a quiet voice. He clasps both hands around his medal and starts praying the Our Father.

The dark-haired man lets out a disappointed sigh. “I see I’ve put you in a bad mood. I’ll let you cool off and I’ll come back later so we can talk about this.”

Thomas says the prayer two more times before he opens his eyes. The man isn’t in the living room. He checks the other rooms and finds no trace of him. If he’s able to come and go as he pleases... I think I will have to risk staying at the church. Perhaps I should try going somewhere far away, someplace that he hasn’t had a chance to influence. Someplace extra holy. Just then, Thomas remembers a book on religious groups around the world.

Rising from the couch he heads over to the bookshelf in his room. He quickly finds the book, and it takes him only a few moments to find the place he was thinking of in the table of contents. Flipping to the correct page he reads, a monastery in France. It rarely gets visitors due to its location in the mountains. It’s also known for producing many saints. I’ll have to do some more research but I think this might just work.

Thomas puts the book back, and sits on his bed thinking, well, it’s a good thing I learned French and that I’ve been saving up money. I’ll have a few calls to make to let everyone know I’m leaving on a trip, although I probably shouldn’t say where. He looks around his room and can’t help feel a little sad at the thought of having to run away from his problems. I know I should face him but he has me beat. He clutches the medal around his neck and eventually drifts off to sleep.

-A Few Weeks Later-

The little old car pulls off to the side of the road and parks in a little clearing. “This is as far as I can take you. You’ll have to walk the rest of way,” the man driving the car says in French.

“Thank you for the ride,” Thomas says back in French and hands the man some money. With only the satchel over his shoulder, he exits the car and begins the long walk to the monastery. At least the path looks maintained, Thomas thinks. There is only the odd small weed growing on the path and the shrubs have all been trimmed back from the path. Hopefully, once I get there, I can have some peace and a good rest. The dark-haired man has appeared at least once at every place Thomas stayed. A shelter, the cathedral, and even appeared at his apartment the day before he left.

Thomas looks around at the snowy mountains and even manages to see a bunny on the path. I hope this isn’t a waste of time, but at least the scenery is nice. Despite his brisk pace it still takes him quite a while before he even sees the monastery.

The large stone building looks very old but it is obvious people live here. The windows look spotless and all the native flowers and plants around the building are nicely trimmed and well maintained. Hanging beside the large main door is a thick rope that disappears into the building. Thomas walks up to the door and tugs on the rope, causing a bell to ring somewhere inside the building.

Thomas stands there in the cold for a couple minutes, and just as he’s about to ring it again, the large wooden door starts to creak open in front of him.

From the darkness comes a male voice speaking French, “hello, what brings you here?”

“I was wondering if I could get some help? I promise I won’t be a bother,” Thomas responds in almost perfect French.

The man steps out from the darkness and looks Thomas over.

Thomas does the same. The man is probably in his late forties, maybe early fifties. He’s wearing a simple brown garment that covers him from neck to feet with a knotted rope around his waist. He doesn’t have much for wrinkles, other than some crow’s feet, and his hair is mostly dark-brown except for some gray along the sides and most of his short beard.

The man nods his head and stands aside while holding the door open for Thomas.

The door closes behind Thomas and while his eyes adjust to the dimmer light he says, “all I need is a place to stay, and some food and water. I’ll do any work necessary for me to stay.”

The man chuckles, “there’s no need to worry so much. Despite our remote location, our doors are always open to those in need. I am Brother Charles, and if you’re going to be staying awhile, I should probably show you around.”

“Oh! Thank you very much, Brother Charles. My name’s Thomas.”

The tour doesn’t take long. The area connected to the main entrance is a snowy courtyard, which is the hub for the other wings. There’s an eating area, with an attached kitchen in the back, a little chapel for prayers and mass, and the last area is a two-floored sitting and bedroom area.

“So where is everyone?” Thomas asks as his tour comes to an end.

“There are only a few other Brothers here, most of them are in town doing missionary work,” Brother Charles smiles and leads Thomas upstairs. He opens the door closest to the stairs and says, “I know it isn’t much but I hope it’s satisfactory.”

Thomas looks around the little bedroom. There’s a small bed in the corner with a kneeler for praying beside it. There’s also a simple dresser with a candle in a candle holder and a box of matches on top. The last thing is a little square table with a large bowl and a jug on it. “No, this is great! It’s surprisingly warm in here too.”

“That’s thanks to our one little luxury. This monastery was built on a hot spring so we use that to keep it nice and warm in here, even during the heart of winter,” Brother Charles beckons Thomas to follow him. He leads him down the stairs and on the other side of the room there is a stone stairway leading underground. Taking and lighting one of the candles from a table next to the entrance, Brother Charles descends into the dark.

As they head down the spiraling stone stairs the heat and humidity gradually increase. After only a flight or two of stairs, they reach a large, circular stone room. In the center of the floor is a recessed circular pool of steaming water. “Most of the water gets diverted to other parts of the monastery first. What remains, ends up here and is used for bathing and some relaxation, but it’s best not to overindulge,” Brother Charles says with a wink.

With his jacket still on, Thomas finds himself sweating from the heat and humidity. “I’d hate to be rude, but would you mind if I got some sleep? It was a long flight and a long walk up that path.”

“Not at all, please go rest. I’ll make sure to set aside some food for you when you wake up,” Brother Charles smiles and pats Thomas on the back.

“Thank you so much for all of this.”

“It’s the least I could do. May God watch over you as you sleep.”

They both head back up the stairs. Once at the top, Brother Charles waves goodbye and leaves the sleeping quarters. Thomas takes off his jacket and makes his way back to his room. Once inside he finds an old, gray nightgown in the dresser. It smells and feels clean, so he decides to strip and put it on. Snuggling up in bed, Thomas quickly falls asleep feeling safe and sound.

Thomas wakes up in the dark and covered with sweat. He throws back the blankets and sits up in bed. Dang, that hot spring keeps it a bit too warm in here. Using the small amount of light coming in through the window from the moon, Thomas lights the candle on the dresser. Searching through the few drawers of the dresser, he finds a simple towel and takes it and the candle with him as he leaves his room. Everyone is probably asleep. Now would be the perfect time for a bath.

It only takes Thomas a minute or so to make his way downstairs to the bath. Just like I thought, I’m the only one here. Guess I can stay in here as long as I want, he thinks to himself with a smile. He sets down the candle and takes off his gown. Slowly, he enters the bath until he finds a step hidden under the water. Once his feet touch the bottom, he heads over to the opposite side and sits down. “This feels amazing,” he says as he sets his towel behind him and leans his head back on it.

Unaware of how much time has passed, Thomas has sat in the water with his head tilted back until he hears, “hello?”

Raising his head up, Thomas sees a light coming down the stairs. He lets out a sigh, disappointed that his peaceful bath has come to an end. “It’s Thomas!” he calls out.

“You are finally awake. I thought you might sleep all day and night,” it’s Brother Charles who appears from behind the curve of the stairs, although this time he’s wearing a gray gown like Thomas’.

“Oh, hello Brother Charles. You are certainly awake quite early... I think,” Thomas says, not exactly sure what time it is.

“It is early, but there is much to get ready for the day, as always,” he smiles a tired looking smile.

“You always get up this early? How can you sleep so little?”

Brother Charles lets out a chuckle, “I find strength in the Lord to make it through the day.”

Thomas sighs, “I could certainly use some of that strength.”

Brother Charles sets his candle and towel down before taking off his gown.

Much to Thomas’ surprise, the Brother is in better shape than he is. I guess it makes sense. Simple, healthy food and lots of hard work.

Just like his beard, most of the Brother’s body hair has been taken over by gray. It’s this trail of gray that Thomas’ eyes follow down. Realizing what he’s doing, Thomas looks away before his eyes get to the Brother’s crotch.

Knowing where the step is, Brother Charles enters the bath much faster than Thomas did. He slowly walks over and sits an arm's length away from Thomas. He lets out a sigh as most of his body disappears underneath the water, “the warmth always does so well to ease these old bones.”

Thomas finally looks over to him and says, “you don’t look old at all.”

Brother Charles lets out a hearty laugh, “why thank you. This life is a simple one but it can be hard on the body.”

“This water certainly isn’t hard on the body. It’s making me feel so warm, and sleepy too, even though I just got up,” Thomas lets out an unintentional yawn.

“You have to be careful. The last thing you’d want is to fall asleep while in the water. I guess it’s a good thing I’m here,” Brother Charles says while smiling at Thomas.

Thomas smiles back and lets out a sigh. “When I first saw you, I was a little shocked.”

“Oh? How come?”

“For a moment I thought you were my father. Although I noticed you had gray hairs and wrinkles... n-no offense!” Thomas practically shouts when he realizes he insulted the Brother.

Brother Charles lets out a chuckle, “no offense taken.”

The smile fades from Thomas’ face, “he... passed away when I was barely a teenager. I still miss him even though he...” Thomas shakes his head. “Sorry, never mind. I think I’m feeling a bit lightheaded from the water; I should probably go lay down.” Thomas stands up and slowly makes his way out of the bath.

“I’ll assist you. The last thing we’d want is for you to fall down the stairs,” Brother Charles says as he grabs Thomas’ towel and gets out of the bath too.

“Thank you,” Thomas says as he leans against the wall naked.

Brother Charles hands Thomas his towel, and once they're both done drying, Brother Charles helps Thomas put on his gown. “Put your arm around my shoulder, and let's get you to bed.”

Despite almost tripping on the stairs twice, Brother Charles manages to get Thomas back to his room and lying down. “I’ve opened the window a little so that should help you cool down. Just lay down and don’t try to move around. I’ll come back later to check on you,” Brother Charles pats Thomas’ shoulder and gets up to leave.

“Don’t go, dad,” Thomas says in English and grabs the Brother’s hand.

Brother Charles reluctantly sits back down on Thomas’ bed.

Thomas pulls up his gown with one hand and with the other, he places the Brother’s hand on his leg. Guiding him, Thomas slowly moves the Brother’s hand up his leg and under his gown. “Please don’t go. We can have our special time, just don’t leave me alone,” Thomas begs, sounding like he’s on the verge of tears. Thomas lets go of Brother Charles’ hand.

Instead of taking his hand away, Brother Charles continues to slowly move his hand up Thomas’ leg. The bulge of his hand can be seen moving underneath the gown, that is until he reaches the top of Thomas’ thigh. He starts rubbing his hand back and forth along the top and inside of Thomas’ thigh. When rubbing his inner thigh, the back of Brother Charles’ hand brushes against Thomas’ dick and balls, which causes the former to start growing.

“Are you sure you want to have our special time? If we do, you remember that you can never tell mom, right?” he says to Thomas in English.

“I would never tell!” Thomas yells, which makes his father raise a finger to his lips. “I would never,” he says again in almost a whisper.

“Help me take this off then,” his father says as he raises his arms.

Thomas struggles to sit up but still manages to pull his father’s gown off. Checking out his father, Thomas sees that his dick is already fully hard and sticking straight out at least six inches. “You’re as handsome as ever dad.”

“Not nearly as my beautiful son,” Thomas’ father says as he makes his way to the foot of the bed. Once at the end of the bed, he crawls between his son’s legs, lifts up the gown and sticks his head underneath. He wraps his lips around Thomas’ hard dick and begins sucking him off.

Thomas lets out little moans as his father expertly sucks his dick. He pulls up his gown so he can rub his father’s hair, not daring to push down on his head. His father continues to blow him and even starts fondling his balls, sometimes giving them a rough tug and making him cry out. “D-dad, I-I'm getting close!” Thomas practically moans out.

His father sucks up the remaining bit of precum but stops blowing Thomas entirely. Instead, he lifts up his son’s legs and pushes his face between the supple butt cheeks. He’s just as skilled here, licking and rimming the tight hole and even managing to force his tongue inside. Just like last time, he doesn’t spend much time pleasuring his son. He moves off the bed while grabbing Thomas’ legs and pulling him down to the foot of the bed with him. Now standing, he gives one final pull so his son’s butt is right on the edge of the bed.

“This is going to hurt,” he says, only giving the slightest indication of choice.

Thomas nods his head, “I’d never say no to daddy.”

His father smiles and pushes his dick between Thomas’ butt cheeks. Grabbing hold of his son’s hips, he pulls back, forcing his dick to enter his son’s tight hole.

Thomas takes a sharp breath through clenched teeth and slowly lets it out, trying to relax and make things easier.

Despite Thomas’ gritted teeth, his father keeps pushing his dick inside until it won’t go any further. Not giving Thomas any time to rest, he slides his dick out until only the tip is left inside. Without any warning, he quickly thrusts his dick back inside, making Thomas cry out in pain. His son’s cries do nothing to slow him down as he continues to ram his dick inside. After enough thrusts and enough force, he’s finally balls deep inside Thomas.

Thomas stifles his cries, but he can’t stop the tears from rolling down his face.

“You are so nice and tight and feel so good on my cock,” is the only comfort he gives Thomas.

“You make me feel good too daddy,” he sniffles but smiles back at his dad. “I’ve missed the warm feeling of you inside me.”

His father smiles back, “have you been with any others?”

“No!” Thomas shouts while vigorously shaking his head. “You’re the only one daddy.”

“That’s my good boy,” he leans over and caresses Thomas’ head. He leans closer and starts kissing him. Perhaps trying to distract Thomas with the kissing, he starts thrusting again.

In spite of or perhaps due to the pain, Thomas exerts some control over his father. He runs his fingers through his father’s hair and pulls his head closer so their lips are pressed tighter against each other. Growing bolder still, Thomas opens his mouth and tries to French kiss his father.

He doesn’t let Thomas inside him, but instead opens his mouth and sticks his tongue inside Thomas’, forcing his tongue back in. With his tongue filling Thomas’ mouth, his cries are all but silenced, and this continues until, “shit! I’m getting close!”

“Inside me! Please!” Thomas begs.

“No need to tell me, you were getting it either way. But since you’re such a good boy, I won’t make you wait,” he stands straight up and starts thrusting faster, holding onto Thomas for leverage. His breath quickens and he lets out a loud grunt. His thrusts slow down but become extra hard, slamming into his son’s already red cheeks.

With each thrust, Thomas can feel his dad pumping warmth inside him. “Dad, Daddy, I can feel it inside me! It’s so nice and warm!”

His thrusts slow down and eventually stop. “Do you want more?”

“Yes! Yes, please, more than anything!” Thomas cries out with a beaming smile on his face.

Daddy bends over and puts his arms around his son. Quickly, he rolls over so he’s lying on the bed and pushes Thomas up so he’s now sitting on his dick. “You’ve been such a good boy, that I think you deserve more as a reward.”

“Thank you, daddy,” Thomas says wiping his tears away.

“I’m a little tired so you’ll have to earn it yourself,” Daddy says as he places his hands behind his head.

Despite still being dizzy from the water, Thomas rides his father like his life depended on it. Up and down, rocking back and forth while rubbing his father’s chest, and clenching at just the right time to milk his dick.

“Damn, where did you learn to do all this?”

“Just from videos, I guess,” Thomas replies shyly due to his father’s compliment.

“Learning how to better service your old man. You make me so proud,” Daddy gives Thomas the crooked smile he likes so much.

That did the trick, Thomas says, “thank you!” and picks up the pace. It takes only a few more moments until his father grunts and he can feel more warmth flowing inside him. Thomas’ smile is quickly replaced with a grimace, “I’m not feeling very well. I think I’m going to be sick,” Thomas puts a hand over his mouth.

Daddy takes over thrusting as Thomas slows down. “I think you drank a few too many!”

“I didn’t drink anything,” Thomas says sounding a little unsure of himself.

“Of course you did. You’re not old enough but we always have a few during our special time. That’s another secret just between the two of us,” he brings his finger to his lips and gives Thomas a wink. “Would you like me to take over?”

“Yes, please. I’m sorry daddy,” Thomas says as he grabs his stomach.

“No need to be sorry. You’ve been such a little trooper,” Daddy says as he takes off Thomas’ gown and throws it to the foot of the bed. “Now why don’t you turn around a lay back on your daddy?”

Thomas does as he’s told, albeit a little slowly. With his head lying right next to his father’s he turns and faces him. “I’ve missed you so much,” he says trying to hold back tears.

“I know. I’ve missed you too,” Daddy says as he runs his fingers through Thomas’ hair. At the same time, he also starts stroking his son’s cock. “It’s been such a long time since I’ve seen you.”

“It has,” Thomas sniffles.

“There’s so much love I never got to give you over the years. I’ll make sure tonight you are filled with as much love as you can handle. Does that sound okay?” he says, continuing to stroke Thomas’ dick and running his fingers through his hair.

“Yes. Please fill me with your love,” Thomas says smiling at his father.

Daddy wraps his arms around Thomas’ chest and begins thrusting harder than ever.

Thomas can barely feel the pain or the sudden flow of warmth getting pumped inside him. He only holds on a couple more seconds before he passes out and knows no more.

With a start, Thomas sits bolt upright in bed. After a few gasping breaths, he manages to calm himself down. “What a crazy dream. I haven’t even thought of dad in such a long time. I guess it was Brother Charles’ resemblance that brought all this on.” With the sun already filling his room, Thomas knows he shouldn’t stay in bed any longer so he decides to get up. Only one leg makes it from under the covers before he suddenly stops. Moving his leg causes a sharp pain in his rear.

Thomas closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. Slowly, he pulls the raggedy blanket off his body. A quick look is all he needs. Looking at the threadbare sheets, the black stain underneath his butt tells him last night was no dream. He quickly looks away and tears begin forming in his eyes. “How is this possible? I should have been safe... finally.”

A sudden gust of wind on his naked body makes Thomas shiver. “Right the window was opened last night,” he turns to see the glass all but gone and the frame looking like it’s ready to fall off. In disbelief, he looks around the rest of his room and sees everything else in a similar condition. “This place... is abandoned, and has been for quite a while...” he lets out a defeated sigh. Thomas gets up slowly but still grimaces from the pain.

The gown he picks up at the foot of his dilapidated bed is full of holes and looks ready to fall apart, still, he puts it on. He grabs his satchel and takes some holy water from inside, pouring some of it on the black stain on the bed. The only thing left to do is grab his clothes and make his way to the bath.

The main area outside his room is in the same rundown condition. The first thing Thomas notices is the huge hole in the roof. Scattered all along the floor are the remains of the collapsed ceiling, along with a dusting of snow. He carefully makes his way down to the main floor and somehow manages not to have his foot go through the rotten wood.

Using his phone for light, Thomas begins heading down the stone stairs. The heat and humidity from the hot spring have been replaced by a strong smell. Thomas recognizes it right away, it’s the smell of wine. The smell gets stronger to the point of being sickening as he enters the main bath. Thomas isn’t too surprised to see the once full bath completely empty, empty of water at least. It's what he does see that surprises him. The stone inside the bath has been stained a faint maroon color, and sitting in the center of a familiar-looking pentagram drawn on the floor, is a crate of empty wine bottles.

Thomas’ head is spinning and it isn’t just from the smell. Did I bathe in wine last night? How could I not have noticed that, or the rest of the building? How did he do all this? Thomas doesn’t have any answers so he starts doing what he came down here to do. Never did I think that I would end up giving myself a holy water enema, let alone in an abandoned monastery. It takes quite a few tries before the water coming out of him looks clean. Thomas looks at the puddle of blackened water in the bath and decides to empty another bottle of holy water over the pentagram.

Thomas puts the empty bottles back in his satchel and thinks to himself, I’m almost out of holy water, although I’m not sure it’s making much of a difference, if any. He uses the raggedy gown to dry himself off and is happy to finally be back in his own clothes. I wonder what that black stuff will do to me? Again, he doesn’t have an answer to this question so he just slowly and painfully makes his way out of the monastery.

Like the rest of the place, the courtyard is overgrown and the front door is laying on the ground, having fallen off its hinges a long time ago. The path leading to the village is even worse, with bushes almost completely cutting off the path right at the start. Thomas lets out another loud defeated sigh. “Who would have thought that the trip down would be tougher than the trip up?” he says and laughs to himself.

While battling the overgrown bushes, Thomas thinks to himself, how long has he been planning this? Since the beginning? I at least hope that recreating an entire monastery look a lot of time and effort. His thoughts are interrupted when a branch sneaks past his hand and smacks him in his face. “Stupid fucking branch!” he shouts as he breaks the branch off the bush and throws it as far as he can. Thomas stops and takes a deep breath. This must mean he also manipulated all the text I read when researching this place. I should have known this was too good to be true. Well, this certainly is a decisive loss for me. Hopefully, once I get back to the village, I can find someone to take me to the airport and I guess... I’ll just head home. With a frown on his face, Thomas continues his trek down to the village.

-Three Days Later-

Thomas struggles to open all the locks on his apartment, but after a lot of jangling of keys, he finally manages to open them all. I can’t believe with all the delays it took me so long to get back. I feel like falling down face first on the couch and dying. Instead of faceplanting on the couch, Thomas decides to use the little bit of the holy water he has left to bless his home.

While walking around, he notices the smell of the body wash the dark-haired man used still lingers. The thing I hate most is how much I like the smell. Doing another lap around his living room, Thomas lights a couple sticks of incense before sitting down on his couch and leaning his head back with his eyes closed.

Thomas opens his eyes and notices the sun has moved from the horizon to high up in the sky. Dang, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. He looks at the ashy remains of the incense he lit, well at least they didn’t start a fire. He sniffs the air and notices the incense seems to have done nothing and the body wash is as strong as ever. “Well, since it’s too early to sleep, I might as well get some water and get it blessed.”

The trip to the store, then the church seems to go by in a flash and before he knows it, he’s back in his apartment again. Setting the bags down, Thomas places ten large bottles of water on the kitchen counter. “I hope over twenty liters of holy water will last me a while,” he says while placing a few jugs in the fridge. Thomas grabs one of the jugs, cracks it open, and takes a few big gulps of the blessed water. Hopefully, this will help cleanse me of that stuff he pumped inside me, it’s not like I can do much else.

Fighting the jetlag, Thomas walks around praying and taking the occasional sip of holy water. After what seems like forever, he notices the sky has started becoming darker, “I think it’s late enough that I go to sleep,” he says, sounding half-asleep already. Thomas lazily strips down to his underwear and flops down on his bed. With one last sip of holy water, he closes his eyes and in only a few minutes is sound asleep.

The morning sun streams through Thomas’ large bedroom window, and the warm sun in his eyes is what wakes him. He sits up in bed and stretches his arms as far as they will go. Despite the pops and cracks his joints make, he feels well-rested and much happier. With a loud rumble from his stomach, Thomas gets out of bed and heads toward the kitchen. I think I’ll just have some cereal, then I can make some phone calls and start volunteering again.

“Hey there sleepy head! I’ve made you some breakfast.”

Thomas slowly turns his head and sees the dark-haired man standing by the stove. He’s wearing nothing but a kitchen apron, so Thomas gets a good look at his backside. The first thing his eyes go to is the man’s large muscular butt. It’s covered with a thin layer of black hair and gets thicker near the top. Once at the top, the thicker hair tapers into a triangle and continues to go up most of his spine like a treasure trail.

Thomas mentally scolds himself for checking him out and looks away. His cheerful demeanor is gone, quickly replaced with defeat as he makes his way to the couch. He just sits there in his underwear until the man sets a plate of food on the coffee table in front of him.

“Eat up!” the dark-haired man says cheerfully with a huge smile on his face.

Thomas looks down at the food in front of him and is shocked to see that it looks like it came out of a magazine. Waffles with syrup and fruit, a breakfast omelet with perfectly cooked bacon and sausage, and some golden-brown, handmade hash browns. It smells just as good as it looks, and despite where it came from, Thomas digs right in.

The dark-haired man stands by the end of the couch with a smile on his face as he watches Thomas eat. “Is it okay?” Thomas continues eating but gives him a quick thumbs up.

With his plate clear, Thomas sits back on the couch with a hand on his stomach.

“Do you mind if I have a drink?” the man asks.

Tired from the large breakfast, Thomas doesn’t really pay attention and just says, “go ahead.” The man gets Thomas’ attention when he picks up the bottle of holy water and starts drinking it. A hopeful look appears on Thomas’ face as he watches the man chug the rest of the holy water.

“Ah! Thanks for the water. Is it weird that I kind of prefer room temperature water over cold?” he laughs and gives Thomas a beaming smile.

The hopeful look quickly disappears from Thomas’ face. “Okay, now you’re just taunting me.”

“What?! No! Not at all!” the dark-haired man sounds hurt by the accusation.

“You knew this was holy water. You just had to rub it in my face that it does nothing, and that all my struggling against you has been for nothing,” Thomas turns his head to face the man and give him a scathing look.

The dark-haired man walks toward Thomas and kneels down in front of him. He puts his hands on Thomas’ shoulders and looks him straight in the eyes. “It was not my intention to rub anything in. I just wanted to show you that you don’t have to struggle and work so hard. I really care about you, I don’t want to see you wear yourself out.”

“Oh? You care about me?” Thomas says in an incredulous sounding voice. “What about what you put me through with my friends?”

“That’s not fair, I had no control over what they did,” he says sounding hurt.

Thomas lets out a deep sigh. “Damn, you’re right. I should have stopped them... but what about the nightclub?”

“Well...”

“Or, I don’t know, the entire monastery incident?!” Thomas glares at the dark-haired man but he doesn’t look away. “Using the image of my father, getting me drunk and making me relive the day he...” getting a little choked up, Thomas stops talking for a moment. “Is this how you show you care?” he says with as much venom as he can muster.

The man shakes his head, “you never gave me a chance! I tried doing nice things like the wallet, but you always rejected me!” The dark-haired man takes a quick breath and continues, “very little of me came over before you closed the gateway so I was very weak and on the verge of disappearing. I was desperate, so I had to try and force our connection to become stronger so I could become stronger.”

Reeling from the raw emotions and new information, Thomas just blinks his eyes and sits back on the couch. He spends a few seconds trying to process the information before speaking, “so you’re saying all the bad things that happened to me are because I backed you into a corner? If I had just accepted you right away none of this would have happened?”

Not wanting to distress Thomas further, the man shrugs his shoulders and nods his head a little instead of speaking. Judging from the look on Thomas’ face, it didn’t really work so instead he says, “I promise you that I didn’t want to hurt you. It’s like if you... have a-a... starving... pet lion! It will resist but it will eventually bite. Can you blame it?”

Thomas doesn’t say anything and stares back almost emotionlessly at the dark-haired man.

“I know my actions were extreme, but I was able to wear you down with the little strength I had. And thanks to that our connection is stronger and so am I,” he rubs Thomas’ shoulders and gives him a playful shake.

“So does this mean you’ll be torturing me for the rest of my life?”

“No! Haven’t you been listening!” he shouts more out of frustration than anger. “I did that stuff because I had to, but now I’m going to be the best person I can be and try my best to make sure you never have a sad day and that you’re never alone again.”

“I wasn’t alone until you showed up,” Thomas says coldly, then looks away from the man.

The dark-haired man lets out a huff and says, “you can wallow as much as you want or need to but I’m never giving up.”

True to his word, the dark-haired man, whose name turned out to be Morlus, rarely left Thomas’ side during the next few months. Every time Thomas would do community work, Morlus would come along and help. Thomas couldn’t really be angry at him, especially since he did more work than anyone else and always seemed to do it better. At the soup kitchen, he made the best food to ever be served there, and the word got around. The daily turnout steadily increased as people who might have been too embarrassed to come before, were enticed by the overwhelming praise the others gave.

At the orphanage, Morlus had a knack for interacting with the children. When he was there, the tears were few and all the children seemed to get along better. Perhaps it was just by chance but the adoption rate had increased since he started visiting the orphanage.

On the few days that Thomas had off, Morlus would pester Thomas to go out and do something fun with him. The first couple of times were met with significant resistance but still resulted in Thomas giving in. As the weeks and months went on, the only resistance Morlus got from Thomas was when he was especially tired.

Today they were at the fair and both were having a great time, although Thomas was being especially picky about which games to spend their money on.

Suddenly and with a gasp, Thomas stops in his tracks, points to something and says, “Morlus, look!”

Morlus turns his head and instantly knows what Thomas is pointing at. At the top of the milk bottle toss booth are the grand-prizes, and among them is a large, stuffed purple dragon. “The dragon, right?”

With a big smile, Thomas nods his head. His smile doesn’t last long as he watches people struggle to knock over all the bottles. “It looks like it’s going to be really hard to get though. It would probably cheaper just to buy one online.”

Morlus slowly shakes his head, “oh ye of little faith.” Morlus walks up to the booth and hands the carny some money.

The carny speaks in his loud voice, “we have another challenger! The rules are simple just...”

Crash! All six of the bottles practically explode off their stand. “Just knock the bottles over and win the dragon, right?” Morlus turns around with a cocky smile and winks at Thomas. Ball after ball, the pyramid of bottles collapses against Morlus’ mighty throws.

“Looks like we have a winner, folks! And to the winner goes the spoils!” the carny uses a long rod to bring down the dragon and hands it to Morlus. “Can anyone match this man’s strong arm and eagle eyes?!”

Thomas laughs as Morlus hands over the big, purple dragon, “you’re right I shouldn’t have doubted you. Thanks,” he gives the big dragon a big hug.

“Now that you have your prize,” Morlus says as he pats the dragon on the head, “would you like to go on one last ride before we go?”

“After all that food we ate? I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

Morlus grabs Thomas’ hand and begins pulling him along. “Do you really think I’d take you on a ride that would make you sick?” After leading Thomas to the other side of the fair, the ride they stop in front of is the Ferris wheel. “Do you think your tumtum can handle this widdle ride?”

Thomas smacks Morlus’ arm and says, “you’re the worst. Just give the guy the tickets.”

After a little while of waiting they finally get on the ride. The ride starts and stops as people are loaded and unloaded, making the seats swing back and forth.

Thomas lets out a ragged breath.

“Are you alright? You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?” Morlus leans in and asks.

“Not really, but all this rocking certainly isn’t helping either.”

“I think I might have something that will help you feel better,” he lifts up his arm and moves it part-way behind Thomas. He raises his eyebrows and tilts his head, silently asking for permission.

Thomas rolls his eyes a little but a smile creeps onto his face. “Asking permission, how proper.”

“Well, what can I say? I am a gentleman,” a big smile spreads across Morlus’ face.

“Your behavior has been exceptional and without fault... fine, go ahead.”

“Yes!” Morlus says quietly as he puts his arm around Thomas’ shoulder.

As the ride stop and starts, and the seat sways back and forth, Thomas moves closer and rests his head on Morlus’ shoulder. Once all the seats are full the Ferris wheel can finally spin without stopping, and Thomas can enjoy the view and the moment. He reaches across the stuffed dragon on his lap and holds his hand out to Morlus.

With his free hand, Morlus laces his fingers between Thomas’ and gives his hand a gentle squeeze.

“This feels really nice. I probably should have given in earlier, that way we wouldn’t have had to go through all that trouble.”

Morlus turns his head and looks at Thomas, “it’s not your fault. I think most people would have acted in a similar manner, especially given the circumstances.” He gives Thomas’ hand a squeeze, “thank you.”

Thomas looks up at Morlus, “for what?”

“It’s a bit hard to explain... I guess, for giving me a chance to prove myself.”

Thomas stretches and gives Morlus a quick kiss on the lips.

Caught off guard, Morlus’ eyes go wide for a moment. He lets out a chuckle as Thomas quickly rests his head back on Morlus’ shoulder and tightens his grip on the dragon. Morlus squeezes his hand tighter and rests his head on top of Thomas’. They both enjoy the view and the moment.

-Later That Night-

After all the excitement of the fair, Thomas is ready for bed as soon as he walks through the door of their apartment. After a quick trip to the bathroom, he makes his way to his bedroom with the stuffed dragon in tow. He closes the door behind him and starts undressing. Although doors don’t really matter to Morlus, after Thomas gave him a talking to about privacy, he stopped appearing on the other side of them... most of the time. He undresses without incident and snuggles under the covers with his dragon.

A knock at his bedroom door causes him to sit up in bed and say, “come in!”

Morlus open the door and takes a couple steps inside. “I just came to ask if you had a good time today,” he asks in an uncharacteristically shy voice.

A sly grin appears on Thomas’ face, “well, it was better than this one time where I went to this shady club.”

Morlus grins and looks away in embarrassment while scratching the back of his head.

“I did enjoy today, thanks to you... and thank you,” Thomas smiles and raises his stuffed dragon, hiding most of his face from Morlus.

“You’re welcome. Have a good sleep and... pleasant dreams,” he turns away and leaves the room.

Before the door could fully close, Thomas asks, “where are you going?”

“To sleep on the couch like usual?” he says with a confused look.

Thomas moves over from the middle of his bed and folds the sheets back, “that can’t be very comfy. You... can sleep here if you’d like,” he says in a quiet voice.

“Okay!” Morlus clears his throat, “I mean... thank you.” He walks over to the empty side of the bed, walking in front of the large window. The moonlight coming in from the window seems to intensify, illuminating the whole room and turning Molus into a glowing silhouette.

Morlus slowly unbuttons his shirt and lets it slide off his body onto the floor. He turns sideways and shows off his muscular outline. He undoes his belt and slowly pulls it from the belt loops on his pants. The belt clatters as he tosses it on the floor. His pants are next, and the sound of his zipper seems to fill the room. Bending over, he pushes his pants down, revealing the curve of his muscular butt and the impressive bulge created in the front of his underwear.

“Wow, you are just... beautiful,” Thomas says before he can stop himself.

“Not nearly as much as you.”

Thomas scoffs, “I know that’s not true.”

“Then why can’t I seem to take my eyes off you?”

Thomas turns around as his cheeks start turning red. “Just get it bed already.”

“Certainly,” Morlus says quietly. He slowly gets into bed and folds the covers over himself. Moving closer to Thomas, he puts his arm around his chest, “is this okay?”

Thomas doesn’t say anything, instead, he moves closer to Morlus so now their bodies are tight against each other. He also pushes his butt back into Morlus’ impressive bulge, I can feel the warmth through both our underwear. It’s strangely comforting. “Now it’s okay.”

Morlus presses his face into Thomas’ hair and snuggles right into it. “Goodnight,” he says in a muffled voice.

Once again, the sunlight shines in Thomas’ eyes, waking him from his peaceful slumber. Reaching over to the other side of the bed, he finds it empty. “Morlus?”

“In the kitchen!” he calls back.

Thomas throws the covers back and makes his way to the kitchen. Morlus is making breakfast and has donned his usual attire, completely naked except for an apron.

“Did you have a good sleep?”

Thomas stretches, “not even exaggerating, but I’m pretty sure that's the best sleep I’ve ever had.” Thomas walks up behind Morlus and sneaks his arms under his apron and wraps his arms around him. Perhaps wanting to return the treatment from last night, Thomas pushes his bulge into Morlus’ ample butt.

“Oh? What’s this? Are you trying to get your sausage and eggs early?”

Thomas snickers, “I’m just feeling up the meat to check it’s doneness,” he moves his hands and gropes Morlus’ thick, muscular pecs.

Morlus lets out a quiet moan, “be careful or you’re going to get some milk too, and it won’t be going in your coffee.”

Thomas stops his groping and asks, “well, what would happen if you did?” Morlus seems to tense at the question.

After a few moments, Morlus finally speaks in a serious tone, “our connection would grow stronger and we’d become closer than any two humans ever could.” Thomas doesn’t say anything so Morlus continues, but his time in a cheerful voice, “if you’re worried about that I could always bottom!” he wiggles his butt against Thomas’ crotch.

“We’ll see.”

“Yes!” Morlus shouts and does a victory fist pump.

Thomas laughs, “you’re a dork.”

-Many Weeks Later-

Morlus and Thomas are lying in bed, although neither one is sleeping. “Are you still awake?” Morlus asks and sees Thomas nod his head. “Is there something bothering you?”

“It’s midnight.”

“Ah, that means it’s our anniversary,” Morlus says as he reaches out and grabs Thomas’ hand.

“That’s one way of looking at it... Sorry, that sounded mean. I don’t blame you for what happened,” Thomas grabs the medal around his neck. “The years have gone by and I just feel like I haven’t done enough. I mean, I even have gray hairs already.”

“I didn’t notice,” Morlus says while giving Thomas’ hand a squeeze.

“Thanks,” he returns the squeeze. “It’s just that I don’t think I’ll ever be able to do enough good to make it up to them.”

“You’re not in this alone. Don’t forget that I’ve been helping too.”

Thomas turns around and faces Morlus, “I know and thank you for all your hard work. I don’t think I say that enough, especially since you do more than me,” Thomas laughs.

“There’s always another option,” Morlus says as he moves Thomas’ hand to his bulge. The hand touches warm, bare skin instead of cloth since the underwear seems to have suddenly vanished. “If our connection grows stronger, I can share more than just my love with you.”

“So I can live longer to pay them back?”

“Forever, if you want,” Morlus gently touches the side of Thomas’ face.

Thomas lets go of his hand and turns around.

A sad smile appears on Morlus’ face; he can’t help but feel a little disappointed.

Thomas turns around again with slightly red cheeks and a shy look on his face.

Morlus is confused by the expression but finally notices what Thomas has in his hand; a bottle of lube. Morlus slowly takes the bottle from him and asks, “are you sure?”

“I want to feel you inside me again!” Thomas quickly says, then covers his face with his hands.

Morlus moves Thomas’ hands from his even redder face, “you are so cute, and beautiful.”

“I... I love you.”

Morlus moves lightning-fast and kisses Thomas. Once the kiss is over, he says, “that’s the first time you said that. I love you too.” He kisses Thomas again, which quickly turns into full-blown making out. Morlus throws the sheets off of them and rolls on top of Thomas. Still making out, Morlus starts grinding his dick against Thomas’ still covered bulge.

“Enough foreplay, I want you.”

With a shocked expression, Morlus says “this is different, but you won’t hear me complain.” He kisses Thomas’ lips one final time and continues kissing down his body. From his chest to his abs, then finally he gives Thomas’ bulge a big, wet, sloppy kiss. Looking up at Thomas he sees an almost pained expression, “okay! I get it, enough with the teasing. How about you lift those legs for me.”

Thomas is more than happy too and lifts his legs straight up. Morlus grabs onto his underwear and pulls them off, sliding them up his legs.

Morlus brings the underwear to his nose and takes a quick whiff before tossing them aside. He grabs Thomas’ legs and gently spreads them apart. The sight of Thomas’ balls dropping and dangling between his legs, along with the already hard six-inch dick is almost enough to make Morlus start pounding Thomas right then and there. He resists and instead grabs the bottle of lube off the bed and pops the top off. Instead of squirting it on his hands or either of their intimate areas, Morlus tilts his head back and makes the lube erupt into his mouth as he practically crushes the bottle.

“Ah, Morlus? I know it’s strawberry, but you probably shouldn’t eat it, especially that much,” Thomas says with a grimace on his face.

Morlus shakes his head and brings a finger up to his lips.

Thomas just sighs and shakes his head.

Morlus lays down on the bed and pushes Thomas’ legs back, revealing all of Thomas’ butt cheeks. Thomas quickly takes over holding his legs. With his hands now free, Morlus spreads Thomas’ cheeks and finally gets a good look at his tight hole. Not waiting a moment longer, he buries his face as deep as it will go and starts licking and rimming Thomas’ hole. A little bit of lube leaks out his mouth and starts coating everything his tongue touches. With the help of all the lube, he starts pushing his tongue inside, which elicits a moan from Thomas.

The lube continues to slowly leak out of Morlus’ mouth and using his tongue, is able to push it deeper into Thomas’ tight hole. He lets some of the lube run out of his mouth and onto his hand. With his hand lubed up, he reaches for Thomas’ dick and begins stroking it. The fast pace of his stroking is almost matched by his vigorous tongue fucking, which somehow reaches Thomas’ prostate.

Thomas grips the sheets and squirms from the sensations. Despite his involuntary clenches, Morlus’ tongue stays firmly planted inside him. “I don’t know how you’re doing it but... I’m going to come already!” It only takes a few more strokes before Thomas' back arches and his dick begins erupts. The cum flies everywhere, the wall behind him, his face, the bed, but most of it ends up on his stomach. He releases a deep breath as his orgasm ends and his dick lets out a final few spurts of cum.

Morlus raises his head and grabs Thomas’ hands. Leaning over, he spits the rest of the lube out onto the cupped hands. “Thought I’d warm it up for you,” he says with a wink. “Although, I thought I’d let you do the honors,” Morlus pushes himself up to a kneeling positing, revealing his erect cock to Thomas.

Thomas’ eyes go wide as Morlus’ ten-inch-long, two-inch-thick monster twitches before him. “Looks like I’m not the only one who’s excited,” he looks up and they both smile at each other. Thomas brings his hands underneath the massive dick, and slowly coats the underside with the lube. While moving his hands up and down the shaft, he begins raising them until his hands completely surround the dick. As he massages Morlus’ dick, the veins coursing through it bulge and collapse, and the big head grows larger. He brings one of his hands and starts rubbing the engorged head.

Morlus shudders. “Either you stop doing that, or you get your mouth ready.”

Thomas smiles and gives the head a few more rubs for good measure. Laying back down, he lifts his legs and presents his tight hole to Morlus.

Not wasting any time, Morlus pushes his dick down and starts pushing against Thomas’ entrance. Despite all the lube, Thomas lets out a pained gasp but Morlus keeps going. Just a little more pushing and the head disappears inside Thomas. Morlus stops for a couple moments, “sorry if that was too quick.”

Thomas smiles and shakes his head, “keep going.”

A lecherous smile crosses Morlus’ face, “with how tight and good you feel, I think it’s too late to stop me now.” Instead of trying to force his way past Thomas’ tight insides, he starts thrusting, trying to work the lube deeper inside him. It works, and with each thrust, he can feel more and more of his dick being squeezed by Thomas’ tight insides. “That’s it. Just relax and let me inside you completely.” Morlus leans over and starts making out with Thomas.

Thomas almost automatically wraps his arms and legs around Morlus as he starts making out and continues to go deeper inside him. Thomas opens his eyes and stares into Morlus’ beautiful blue eyes and can see them burning with intensity.

Unable to go deeper, Morlus stops his thrusts and stares deeply into Thomas’ eyes. He grabs Thomas’ shoulders and begins pulling out his dick. With a fast, hard thrust, he shoves his dick into Thomas’ now looser insides and continues to push at the end of his thrust. Over and over, he rams his cock inside, making Thomas cry out each time. Eventually, one of his thrusts succeeds and he can feel his cock slip past the tightness and deeper than ever before. He quickly thrusts in and out of this tight spot to make sure it’s nice and loose, and won’t give him any future trouble.

Having concurred the second tight spot, Morlus once again focuses on going deeper. His thrusts are much gentler, and in no time the last couple inches of his dick are surrounded by Thomas’s soft, warm insides. “I’m in. That wasn’t too bad was it?”

Thomas shakes his head, “some parts made me jump a little, but overall you did a good job; not too gentle, not too rough.”

“I guess that means you’re ready for the main event,” Morlus pulls his dick out, leaving only the head inside Thomas. He slowly thrusts back in until he’s balls deep. He continues to thrust, slowly picking up speed until the sound of his body smacking into Thomas’ butt cheeks is louder than his moaning. “I think this is what they call ‘clapping cheeks’.”

“Oh, just shut up and do me!” Thomas barely says through all his moaning.

“Sounds like you enjoy it, or maybe this is better...” Morlus stops his fast, long thrusts and switches to quick, hard thrusts.

“Yes! Yes! Give me both!” Thomas moans out.

Morlus listens and begins switching between the two types of thrusts, and everything in between. “You feel so good; I don’t know how much longer I can hold back!”

“Don’t hold back. I want it now!”

Morlus picks up his pace and, “here it comes... fuuuck!” he shouts. With every pulse of his cock, he lets out a bestial grunt and a surge in the constant torrent of cum.

“I can feel the warmth inside me! It feels like it’s spreading through my entire body!” The warmth makes his dick harder than it’s ever been and makes it feel like he’s getting jacked off and blown at the same time. He can only moan and take ragged breaths as his body approaches another climax.

Thomas shouts as his body unleashes an orgasm stronger and longer than the first. He doesn’t cum as much but still more than normal. Once his orgasm ends, he notices Morlus is still grunting and filling him with cum. “How are you still going?!”

“This is all of my love for you, and I have some much to give!” he struggles to say through his multiple orgasms.

“I want it... I want it all!”

“I don’t know if you can handle it. You might pass out,” Morlus tilts his head back, barely able to handle himself.

Thomas reaches up and grabs Morlus’ chin and tilts his head back down. Looking him straight in the eyes, Thomas says, “don’t stop fucking me until you’re empty. I want it all. I want all of you inside me,” his voice is very calm and serious.

“Your wish is my command,” Morlus continues thrusting, grunting and filling Thomas with his love. “You’re still so tight but you won’t be when I’m finished with you!”

“Yes! I want more, and I want it harder, faster! Just ruin my hole with your massive cock!” his legs wrap even tighter around Morlus and his nails start digging into his palm through the sheets.

“I will give you everything you want!” Morlus picks up the pace and starts hammering his dick into Morlus’ abused hole, increasing the flow of cum.

“I can feel more than just the warmth; I think I can feel ‘you’ spreading through my body. Yes! I can feel you in my veins!” Thomas grabs his body in rapturous ecstasy.

“How does it feel? How do I feel?”

“Like Heaven... and I want more!” Thomas practically claws at his body from the overwhelming sensation. “I’m feeling dizzy and... it’s hard to concentrate, but the one thing I know is that I want you.”

“Are you sure?”

“There’s nothing I want more.”

Morlus shouts at the top of his lungs and unleashes a torrent of cum/love that makes the previous amount look like a trickle.

Thomas can feel the pressure of it inside him like he’s a water balloon being filled. His eyes shut tight, and his mouth opens wide in a silent scream of pleasure. After what seems like both an eternity and only the shortest of moments, he passes out.

Thomas’ eyes fly open and he sits bolt upright in bed. “Morlus?” Thomas looks over to the other side of the bed and finds it empty. He looks out of his large bedroom window and sees that the sun has only just risen. Maybe he’s in the kitchen? Feeling not the slightest bit tired, he gets right out of bed without stretching and makes his way to the living room. Morlus isn’t in the living room or the kitchen. The last place to check is the bathroom. While walking through the living room to get to the bathroom, Thomas tugs on his underwear, when did these get so tight?

The bathroom door is ajar but the light isn’t on. Guess I might as well check anyway. Thomas turns the light on and goes to check behind the shower curtain just in case. Before he’s able, something catches his attention out of the corner of his eye. It’s his reflection in the bathroom mirror, but at the same time, it isn’t.

The person looking back in the mirror isn’t him but at the same time, it is. His once light hair is now almost pitch black, along with a stubble beard that wasn’t there yesterday. His eyes are now a deep blue and he can’t be sure, but he even looks taller. He’s definitely bigger, as most of his muscles have almost doubled in size and look very toned. Thomas looks down at the rest of his body. His huge pecs are covered in dark hair, and his washboard abs sport a thick treasure trail. At the end of the trail, is indeed a treasure. Contained within his now too small underwear, is a massive package. He pulls the top of his underwear away to get a better look. Just being flaccid it’s already longer than his six-inch hard-on. He lets go of the underwear and asks, “how did this happen?”

For some reason, Thomas decides to look in the mirror and look closer at his chest. With a closer look, he notices something he missed before in his shock. Underneath his chest hair are five black marks on his skin where the medal sits. Looking even closer, he notices that the black marks are no longer on the medal.

“You look so confused.”

“Morlus?! Where are you?” Despite hearing his voice, Thomas is unable to determine where it came from and still finds the bathroom empty. Like earlier, he decides to turn and look in the mirror.

“You’re looking at him,” Thomas’ reflection says and winks at him.

Thomas is at a loss for words and can only open his mouth wide in shock.

His reflection copies him, but then it smiles and laughs. “You did say you wanted all of me inside you.”

“How did this happen?” Thomas and his reflection ask.

His reflection speaks, “the gateway I came through at the church was closed when it moved to your medal,” the reflection raises its hand to the medal hanging from its neck. “When you accepted all of me, you became a living gateway so now we can stay together... forever.”

Looking down, Thomas notices that his hand is at his medal too. Suddenly, he finally understands what’s happening. “The reflection isn’t just an illusion or trick, that’s really me doing it. It feels so natural that I didn’t even notice. But wait, does that mean we’re stuck together? That there’s going to be no more hugs, cuddles or... sex?”

The reflection laughs, and so does Thomas who finds something funny too, “That’s what you’re worried about?! We’re not stuck together, but you’ll find that everything feels better when we’re together and it will feel like something vital is missing when we’re apart.”

Thomas’ eyes widen a little in disbelief, “okay, I’ll take your word for it... No, I won’t. I know I’m not... you aren’t lying.” Thomas shakes his head, “this is strange.”

“Mentally, it won’t take long to get used to this, but physically... tell me, how do you feel?”

“I suppose you already know, but I feel amazing! I feel really strong and full of energy like I could go out and do anything,” Thomas flexes his large muscles and can feel their awesome strength. “Is this how you felt all the time?”

“Just with you, but now that we’re together, we’ll both feel it all the time.”

A look of confusion crosses Thomas’ face, “there’s something else though...”

“What is it?” the reflection asks, although already knowing the answer having felt the same thing for so long.

“A... yearning?” Thomas gropes one of his meaty pecs and his mighty bulge.

“A yearning for what?” the reflection asks coyly.

Thomas squeezes his package harder, “to have sex? No. To be inside another, I think?”

“Who do you want to be inside?”

“I’m not sure, but I want to find them,” he nods his head vigorously, confirming to himself that this is what he wants to do.

“Find them and do what?”

“To be inside... No. To fill them with my love,” a realization hits Thomas, “that’s the same thing you said, this is the same thing you felt.”

“The community work you’ve been doing for so many years is good, but we could really help five people who need it.”

Thomas touches the black marks on his chest. “Help one for each one lost.”

“Yes, and not only that.”

“What else?” Thomas asks impatiently.

“I know you can feel me. What do I feel like?”

Thomas screws his face up in confusion, “I can feel you, but it feels so natural now like I’ve always been like this... A blanket!” Thomas suddenly says. “A blanket of warmth surrounding me, but also penetrating me and warming my entire being,” his groping intensifies and he can feel the warm precum leak through his underwear.

“It’s a little similar to the feeling you got when your great-grandmother gave you the medal.”

“A little, but she was calming and reassuring while you are more...” instead of words, Thomas just moves his hand from the outside of his underwear to the inside. “You also feel a bit... rougher.”

“Well, that’s not too surprising. My feelings towards you are completely different from hers... I’m also much hairier...”

Thomas starts laughing and can feel Morlus laughing through him too.

When the laughter dies down, Morlus says, “that feeling you described; we can spread it to those five people, and in doing so, reopen the gateway.”

Thomas frowns, “won’t they end up like...”

“No! I wouldn’t think of suggesting it if it meant more lives lost. This time it will be different...”

“Why?” Thomas interrupts.

“When your friends opened the gateway, the abandoned church acted as the vessel and because it wasn’t a living thing, it wasn’t able to... hold onto them.”

“So the pentagram that Sam drew was meant to be drawn on a living thing? A person?”

“It wasn’t ‘meant’ to be drawn on a person but it would have meant that they lived on inside you like I am right now.”

Still a little confused, Thomas asks, “so, I’ll be a mix of seven different people? Won’t all those thoughts and voices drive me crazy?”

“Not at all. It will feel as natural as if you were born that way. When all five are inside, your body and mind will have improved drastically, just like it did with me. You’ll rarely get tired, any pleasure will be mind-blowing, you’ll be the smartest person alive, and there’s so much more.”

“That all sounds almost too good to be true, but I know you’re telling the truth... Do we have to re-open the gateway though?”

Morlus shakes his/Thomas’ head, “you can stop at four people but that yearning will always be there. Only a fraction of me came through, if I had access to all of me, well...” Morlus thinks for a moment. “Do you remember how I made you feel last night?”

“You’re inside me. I can tell you know the answer,” Thomas says with a smile.

“You’re right, ‘how could I forget Heaven?’ I believe?”

“My words exactly,” Thomas’ smile fades and is replaced with a thoughtful expression. “I think I know what you’re thinking too.”

“What am I thinking?”

Thomas brows furrow in concentration, “you’re thinking that if the gateway were re-opened and more of you came through, then we can fill not just those five, but everyone with love.”

They nod their head, “that’s right, they will feel even better than we do right now. There will be no more loneliness like we felt for so long. Everyone will have... us.” Morlus looks at his reflection/Thomas right in the eyes and asks, “would you like that?”

“I’ve never felt as good as I do right now with you inside me. If I could spread this feeling to everyone...” Thomas smiles and squeezes his pec, “I’d like nothing more, so let’s start looking for the five.”

Morlus laughs, “Now, now, there’s no need to rush, we have forever now. It’s only a matter of time before I... No, I’m not alone anymore... before we are inside everyone. What has been set in motion cannot be stopped, and why should it?”

“I agree, nothing can stop us now... but what should we do then?”

Morlus smiles and pushes down his underwear and tosses it out into the living room. He sucks on his fingers then suddenly inserts them into his not-so-tight hole.

Thomas gasps and without pause starts jacking off his now huge dick.

“I’d knew you’d catch on quick. How does it feel?”

Thomas moans, “it feels better than an orgasm. I-I... feel like I could... do this forever!”

“We most certainly could, but we can’t forget the others,” Morlus says in a much steadier voice.

“The others... I wonder if there are others out there in the universe,” Thomas looks up and sees the starry sky, despite the ceiling and the shining sun.

“If there are, we will find them and...”

“...and fill them with our love.”

“We won’t stop until every inch of the universe has been searched and every being filled with our love.”

Thomas rubs the precum around the head of his huge dick and moans, “can we r-really do all that?”

“We can. All we need is time, and we have an endless supply.”

“What do we do after that?”

“Is the entire universe not enough for you?” Morlus teases. “In my universe, my home, I was all there was. Alone for eternity, reaching, probing and stretching the boundaries, just to try and find something... someone else. Just for the smallest moment, there was a connection. In that moment, the tiniest part of me spread into your universe. It was just a thought, a thought that...”

“...that someone wrote down on a page, and that page ended up in a book in an occult shop where...”

“...where it was found by a strange girl, who, with her friends, opened a gateway for me to come over.”

Through his moaning, a moment of clarity or perhaps a thought from Morlus enters his mind, “you were never a demon.”

“I wasn’t. That’s why none of your religious methods worked, but I did use them to my advantage.”

“So on that day, it wasn’t really my great-grandmother, it was you?” a mixture of pleasure, confusion, and hurt form the expression on his face.

“Yes. I’m sorry I lied about her and used her to rile you up.”

“Why? You could have just let me tremble in fear and poured out at the church.”

He takes a deep breath, “because when I first laid... eyes on you, for the first time in forever, my entire being knew true heart-breaking loneliness, but I felt something far greater than that. Love. Love beyond comprehension. What you feel now is nothing compared to what I felt.” He takes another deep breath, “I wanted you to fall in love with me on your own accord, not because I forced it on you.”

“Why not just act like an ordinary human?”

“I wanted you to fall in love for what I was, despite the circumstances. The beast instead of the prince, I suppose.” He squeezes another finger inside himself, Thomas moans, but his face hardly changes. “Another reason was that I simply couldn’t be a normal human. Since so little of me came over, I was extremely weak. How could you fall in love with someone who was hardly ever around? I couldn’t stop you from thinking I was a demon so I used your faith against you. I’m very...”

“I know you’re sorry, and I’ve already forgiven you so you don’t have to say it. I was too stubborn and you didn’t have anything else to work with. How’d it work though?”

“When you felt defeated, like seeing me in your home or at the church or drinking holy water, that meant I won in your mind. That mental acceptance is almost as good as the physical connections we made, and it made me stronger.”

“I know you’re not a demon, but then... what are you? You said you came from an empty universe?”

“As you called it, I am the ‘darker than absolute black’ liquid you saw. I am the only thing in my universe, but it was still full... of me. I’m all that there was or has ever been.”

“So, you’re a mass of black liquid that fills up your entire universe?”

“Yes. Infinite but alone. I literally cannot express the amazing feelings I felt when I first saw you.”

“I-I... think I can feel it...” he moans out.

“Are you sure that’s not just my fingers inside you?” they laugh.

“You mean our fingers!” he smiles and moans at the same time. “Once we’ve finished exploring this universe, that won’t be the end then? We’ll be able to push on the boundaries of the universe like you... like we did, and head to another?”

“Yes, this is just the beginning. The first page if you will.”

“The first page? Let’s make a library.”

“Yes, let’s.” When two more hands start circling and playing with their nipples, they don’t think for a second it’s strange, it’s as natural as breathing. They fall down onto their knees and start stroking, rubbing and fingering themselves faster with all four of their hands. Their tongue hangs out and their breathing quickens as their climax approaches. With a scream of pleasure, an eruption of black cum explodes out of their dick. It splatters against the wall, runs down it like black paint and begins pooling on the floor. Even after five minutes of screaming, panting and moaning, the torrent of black cum hasn’t slowed down and has already almost covered the entire bathroom floor. From the expression on their faces, it doesn’t look like they’ll be stopping any time soon.