Burning Man Ch. 04

Chapter 4

Candy thrashed and bolted upright in her bed. She was freezing and felt disoriented, something was wrong. The sheets felt different, silk or satin, she wasn't used to that. She looked up at the mirror in the ceiling; She was naked and glistening, her skin was covered in a thin layer of sparkles. Collodi was sprawled out next to her, snoring, and dead to the world. She got out of bed and headed for a bathroom. She was naked but then she didn't mind that anymore. How long had nudity been normal. She always wore pajamas, or maybe this was something in her dream.

She left the room and padded lightly into the cold concrete hallway. The chill raised gooseflesh across her skin. The feeling was welcome. It enhanced the sultry nature of her adventures with Collodi, this secret place away from the world cold and rough and enchanting in the same breath. Further down the corridor she could see light. Candy followed the source until she reached an intersection. A single wrinkled bulb hung from a cord in the ceiling. Soft moaning drifted down the hallway to her ears. She grinned to herself and brushed a hand across her tummy. She was pulled by the sound.

Candy found herself in a warm and carpeted corridor. It was lined with heavy gothic doors. The sound of sex grew louder until she found its source. The sound was intoxicating. It reminded her of the last several nights and she could feel her arousal growing like the low growl of a panther, raising volume until it finally pounced. She grabbed the handle, it was smooth and warm to the touch, and her heart was beating a tattoo inside her chest. She pulled on the handle, the door slid open more easily than expected. Just a crack so she could see, she peered into the room.

Gauzy fabric hung from the ceiling, obscuring her vision but she could see a glint of sweaty flesh. A mocha colored thigh quivered just beyond the shrouds. She licked her lips, her mouth was dry she needed to see them, join them if they let her. Her body was groaning with desire but why did she hesitate? This was who she was now, a creature of lust. Courage was building in her spurred by the fire in her core. She pushed against the door.

Inside the room she padded lightly across the carpeted floor. She drew a gauze curtain to the side and slinked past. Tendrils of fabric caressed her bare skin, and the raw smell of incense hit her in soft waves. She could see both their forms clearly; the woman was on top facing her and all she could see of the pasty skinned man underneath were his hairy legs throbbing rhythmically to the woman's ministrations. She was a robust angel, her thick breasts swaying and bouncing with each thrust of her pelvis. Her face was torqued in a grimace of pleasure and her chocolate skin glistened from the candles surrounding the bed.

Candy parted the last curtain. She was in awe of the acts in front of her and Candy kneeled in worship, hypnotized by the scene. The woman lifted herself off of the man and swiveled herself round nibbling at his flesh as she slithered to his pelvis. She took his wet dick in her hands and licked around the balls and base of his cock. The man rose, and for the first time Candy saw his face. His head was bald and his body skinny but there was a virility in him that struck her as predatory. He ran his fingers through the woman's hair as she gorged herself on his penis.

He opened his glassy eyes and grinned when he saw Candy. Her first instinct was to run but the man just smiled. "We have a little voyeur."

The woman lifted her head to look, her expression was indifferent. She looked up to the man "Did you want her to join us, sir?"

The man groaned loudly and stretched back on the bed. "I don't know if I have the energy. Much as I've enjoyed your services Sadie, I think perhaps you two should play, let me be voyeur for a bit, hmm."

Sadie stood and held her hand out for Candy, Sadie's body was dripping sweat and other fluids. She exuded sex. Candy felt herself rising before she had even made a decision. Sadie attacked Candy with ferocity pulling her into an embrace. In return Candy pinned her mouth to Sadie's their tongues swirling together. Candy traced the curve of Sadie's ass with a fingernail while she stroked her smooth skin with her other hand. Sadie coaxed Candy to the bed; she flopped backwards uneasily. The man giggled as Candy dropped and absentmindedly stroked himself as the show went on. The black girl crawled on top of the white girl and pivoted dramatically till she faced the white girl's pussy. Whereas Sadie was animalistic as she began devouring Candy. Candy was more elegant in her approach. With Sadie's labia hovering inches from her face she delicately pulled the petals aside and swirled her tongue around the engorged clit. As their urgency increased so did the man's tempo. Both women moaned in between wet sucking sounds and the man whimpered lightly as he brought himself to climax.

"That was quite the display." The man said as Candy basked in an erotic haze.

"What is your name?"

"Candy." She sighed.

"I think next time I come you and I should have a little one on one." He tugged at her and she turned to him. Candy could feel her desire growing again as he looked at her, his deep eyes soaking in her form. "For now I think it's time you left so Sadie and I can finish our business together." She obediently stood up and started to leave when he spoke again.

"Thank Collodi for me, tell him I like these little bonuses," He waved her off as Sadie crawled across the bed and straddled him.

Sleepily she wandered back into the hall. A mammoth hand covered her mouth and a great hairy arm pinned her arms. She was swung hard around and pressed against the wall. Her eyes focused on her attacker, he was a brick made flesh. A thick beard covered his face and his hair obscured the rest. Candy could feel her nudity; she could feel his shrouded eyes scanning her nubile body. "You shouldn't have left Candy, I was worried." He spoke with a raspy voice but the words belonged to Collodi.

Confusion washed across her face. He removed his hand from her mouth, "Who are you?" She asked.

"When I couldn't find you I conscripted my bodyguard," The voice came from down the hall. She turned her head to see Collodi. "It seems you were so excited you couldn't hear my commands."

He approached and waved the guard off.

Adrenaline was swelling in Candy and her head was clearing "Where am I? What's going on? Why am I naked?"

Panic was rising in her. Collodi caressed her face and quietly whispered to her, "Hush now, you're safe here. Nothing is wrong. You are home Candy."

The name shot through her erasing any doubt or fear and she could feel herself melt into Collodi's embrace "I had to pee," she said meekly.

"It's okay," He stroked her hair and led her back down the hall.

* * *

It can't be real, Noami thought. She couldn't wrap her head around how her seemingly functional boyfriend could believe demons exist. She shook her head as she closed the journal and shoved it back in the drawer where she found it. She regretted opening the diary and as she moved to the next file she was questioning everything she knew about Key.

She pulled open the Primrose file. The files listed basic information about Morgan, her height, weight, eye color and hair color. There were a couple of recent photos of her. One of her standing in front of a large tree and the other a close up shot of her face. Key had made a scribbled list of Morgan's usual haunts which mostly consisted of her class schedule and a bar with a question mark behind it. She looked at her picture. The girl looked frazzled, pencils in her hair a pair of glasses hanging at the end of her nose as she tried to smile at the camera. The smile looked forced, her forehead was compressed in frustration and her eyes didn't join in the smile. Maybe she had just run away. Noami had overheard the conversation and recalled the suggestion. With her class schedule and photo in hand Noami was pulling a story together in her head of a girl fed up with her grind and in need of escape.

Noami left Key's office. Her pace was leisurely as she pondered Morgan. Not too long before Noami had been at school with maximum number of credit hours every semester, extracurricular activities, files collated, books straining her back. She hated it, every moment and she understood Morgan's plight and felt like she could help her as she stepped onto a bus. Noami was going to check out the bars, it had been decided back at the office and was becoming a more solid determination. She would order a drink and wait, watch for the girl and maybe get to the bottom of this before Key. No demons in this missing person case, just a girl trying to take a break, Noami was sure of it.

Noami didn't have much time before work but she did hit a couple of bars in the college area. She started out ordering a drink and asking the bartender if they had seen or heard of her. Two bars in she was feeling a buzz and decided to stop ordering drinks and ask. By the fifth bar she was becoming impatient and the clock seemed to be against her. Work was coming up fast.

She walked into work frustrated and defeated. Carla was already at the bar tying her apron around her waist and talking to Philip, the morning bartender. "I saw you over at Blakely's," Carla smiled at Noami as she got behind the bar. "You looking for shifts?"

"You work there?" Noami grumbled more then asked.

"No, I live across the street."

"I was looking for a girl named Morgan. She ditched school," Noami noted. Philip busied himself cutting fruit as Noami looked over her speed rail.

"Name doesn't ring a bell. You have a picture?" A lightbulb turned on in Noami's head as she looked at Carla. She was a student and close to the same age as Morgan. She pulled the photo from her jacket and tossed it on the bar in front of Carla. "Yeah. She goes to the OT on Thursday nights."

"Thank you. I'll check it out."

"No problem," Carla stepped away.

The shift moved quickly but Noami's thoughts kept drifting back to Key, Morgan, and the fucking demons. On her break she googled exorcism and saw some videos that suggested it was a form of hypnotherapy. The rationalization was strong in her and she decided that Key was doing some kind of unorthodox psychotherapy. Whether he believed in it or not was not the salient point in her mind, he was trying to help people. She finally had enough of swimming in her own head and decided over the course of three hours that whatever his motivations Key's good qualities outweighed his bad.

When Key got home he found Noami waiting for him outside. "I didn't expect to see you." He said as he leaned against the door frame.

She answered, "I remain skeptical, but overall you have been a sane and grounded influence in my life."

"I'll take it," He smiled as he moved up the stairs.

"Hey. I don't work tomorrow." She said playfully.

He turned back to her, "Really? You want to come up?"

"Sure," She said as she followed along after. "How was your day?"

"I got a gun pulled on me. Otherwise, it was pretty solid," He unlocked his door and pushed it open. "Such is the life of a private dick," she laughed and he smiled. The smile quickly moved into a kiss and they found their way to the bedroom in short order.

* * *

The OT was still closed when Key arrived it was early for a bar to be open. Through the windows he saw a bartender setting up the bar. He rapped on the window and tried to get his attention but the guy ignored him. He looked right at him but didn't make any move to open the door. It was times like this that Key lamented his punk aesthetic. It sometimes made it difficult to get people to speak to him. Other times it helped him blend into the urban landscape. He rolled his eyes and walked around the side of the building. Nothing but a dumpster and a small parking lot. There were two vehicles in the lot, an old two door silver Toyota and a motorcycle. He checked the plate and marked it down in his notebook. The back door opened and a biker with a bushy beard walked out. "Hey, could I ask you a few questions?" Key asked quickly as he stepped away from the bike. The biker was silent as he got on his motorcycle and started it. "I'm checking on a girl, Morgan Primrose. Just trying to get a hold of her," The biker kicked down the stand, got off his bike, and walked towards Key. Key threw his hands into the air and said, "hey, I don't want any trouble man," The biker grabbed him by the collar and punched him in the face which made his legs wobble and dropped him to his ass. Key shook his head as the biker continued his assault. He stomped on his chest. Key had the wherewithal to grab his foot and shove back as he stood up and speared the biker knocking him to the ground. Key straddled him and was about to deck him in the face when he saw the biker pull a gun from his waist.

Key rolled off of the biker and ran towards the front of the bar as two shots fired off. The biker continued firing as Key jumped into his car. One of the shots busted out his rear driver side window as he sped down the road with his head down and ran a red light. "Fuck!" Key cursed as he drove off.

* * *

Key was already gone but Noami wanted another go at finding Morgan before Key caught up to her. She remembered going to The OT once, but it was a distant memory. She sidled up to the bar, her appearance caused a stir with an elderly couple at the end of the bar. A man and a woman in their sixties, maybe older. Their eyes went wide as she walked in, the woman openly eyed Noami head to toe. She clucked to herself and whispered something to the man who grumbled in response.

The bartender, an overweight man in a too thin t-shirt and suspenders, found his way to Noami, nodded to her. "Bourbon neat." She ordered.

She looked around the bar and half remembered the few times she spent here, watching a band and hanging out with friends. It wasn't her favorite place, but she enjoyed the dive for what it was. The bartender returned with her drink she paid and leaned over the bar "Say, do you know Morgan Primrose?"

"Come again?" The man asked.

"Morgan Primrose." She repeated.

He shook his head and shrugged at the same time. "She go to the college?"

"Yeah."

"We get a lot of kids here. Too many." he said with dismay.

Noami put her picture on the bar. "This girl, she came here to watch bands. The Spurs I think."

He glanced over the picture. Noami tried to read his expression but their was no obvious flicker of recognition. "Sorry, can't help you." She shook her head in frustration and set into her drink. Looked at the photo again trying to glean some insight. The bartender busied himself doing dishes, made a phone call, and went about being a bartender. The couple at the end of the bar kept their conversation too low for her to hear.

She ordered a second drink and decided she would stick around and wait for the college kids to trickle in. She bought a newspaper and tried to read it, but her head was too stuck on her mission to absorb any of it.

A man sat next to her. She wasn't entirely sure when he arrived, just looked up from her paper and he was there turned towards her with a slight grin on his face. "My name is Collodi. I don't believe I've seen you here before," he said as he reached his hand toward her.

She shook it "Noami," it surprised her how quickly she'd blurted her name to him. His eyes took her in, like the barflies before but he clearly liked what he saw. She felt uncomfortable but strangely warmed at the attention. "Is there something I can help you with?" She asked.

"Yes I think there is," He answered.

Noami's world went black and when she came to she smelled dragon's blood incense and was on a thin vinyl covered mattress on the floor of an otherwise empty room. She tried to stand but the throbbing in her head forced her back down. "You're awake," She heard a voice say in the gloom. There were no discernible features to the room around her. It all looked like the same shadows and the damp chill in the air reminded her of the basement she slept in as a girl. "Don't try to move," The voice spoke again.

"How did I get here?" Noami asked, her tongue felt unwieldy in her mouth and words came out with less defiance then she had wanted.

"You don't remember. We met at the OT and you asked if I needed help."

She remembered the bar and reading the newspaper, but there was a frightening gap between that memory and her current surroundings. "Who are you?" Her words came out weak again.

"Collodi. I believe you can help. I don't imagine it is a coincidence that you come asking about Morgan the day after a private detective spoke to the university about the same girl. So you can help by diverting this private investigator's attention away from young Morgan Primrose," His tone was conversational.

"I'm not," words were becoming more of a struggle, but she could feel rage welling in her stomach. "I'm not going to do that."

"Yes you are," He said with more intensity.

Noami felt pressure in her head. He's doing something, she thought to herself. The thought came into her head and she instantly felt it to be true. He was in her head somehow and she could feel him shuffling things around. "No!" She spat and moved from the mattress again. The pain was still there, but her anger filled her with strength and she pushed her way off the bed. "No!"

"Sit down!" He yelled and came into the light. She had seen his face at the bar. The tussled hair. The boyish face. She recognized him.

She pushed harder and stood and raised her fist for an attack. "No!" He was still in her head, but she could feel his grip receding. She was trying to grasp what she discovered but as curiosity superseded her anger she could feel him come back stronger and whatever manipulation he was going for sunk in. She dropped her fist and felt herself kneel back on the dirty mattress. Her skin felt tight and suddenly very hot to the touch. She looked up at Collodi and felt a smile cross her lips. His face was perfect and she couldn't think of anything but that adoration. Her man, her lover, her protector. She would do anything to help him. She tried to remember what he was talking about before. The private investigator whoever he was would be distracted by her. She would use whatever means she had available. She would kill him if she had to. It wasn't even a question. "What were you saying about a private investigator?" She asked.

"His name is Key," He smiled. He lifted her chin gently and beckoned her to rise, which she did. "I want you to rip him apart," He kissed her lips gently.

She felt her knees go weak at his kiss. She couldn't remember ever being with a man before. She couldn't remember anything about her life, there was only Collodi.

* * *

Key moved wearily into his office and pulled the bottle of crème de cocoa from the left hand desk drawer. He took a swig and as he set the bottle down he noticed the files across his desk. The Primrose file was spread across the desk, "Noami." He said to himself. He hadn't looked at his desk the night before when she was there.

He sat down and rubbed his face with both hands before collecting the file and putting it back in his desk. A knock came at the door. Key looked up in time to see a broad silhouette step out of view. He moved cautiously towards the door, but the door burst open with a ferocity that stunned Key. The large man who entered was the biker who tried to take his head off at the OT. There was no time to react before the biker clobbered him in the face. Key crumpled and he was knocked unconscious by the punch.

The smell of gasoline and a flash of heat woke him. He opened his eyes as the room erupted in flames. Adrenaline pushed his eyes open. He was tied to his chair and had seconds before the flame would find its way to him. He stood awkwardly and slammed his body and the chair against the back wall. The first hit did nothing, but the chair came apart on the second. The front door and his desk were already engulfed in flame. The only avenue left for escape was the window. He opened the window and pushed out the screen. It opened onto a long drop to the asphalt. The alley below was filled with garbage cans and dumpsters. To the left he could see the fire escape, but it was easily ten feet from him. He took another look around in case he missed something and jumped from the window. He aimed himself towards a dumpster. The leap hit its mark but he landed hard with the wind knocked out of him, but nothing broken.