Coven of the Ancient Swamp Ch. 04

Author's note:

I am a new author here at Lit, and I'd genuinely appreciate your constructive comments. But first, I would like to thank Gamblnluck for his kind assistance in getting these stories kick-started and posted. I would greatly appreciate chatting with anyone who might want to sign on as a beta reader/editor; hopefully, you're someone who has posted your own stories. And thanks to you for reading this. I hope you enjoy going out into the bayou and swamp.

If you are looking for a stroke story, this is not it. All characters are over the age of 18.

=================

Coven of the Ancient Swamp Ch4

The Whale

Standing out on the back porch taking in the changes that my brother and his folks had finished in one day was simply amazing. They had gotten the temps moved across the yard and installed them in places, and everything hooked up. Day one of Operation Rolling Thunder was a success. The concrete pads for the yard were in place, and they got the shoreline reinforced, so it didn't fall into the bayou. Today would see the new dock come in if Derrick and his people stay on schedule.

Bob walked into the kitchen as I was getting a cup of coffee. "Bob? You need a cup?"

"Thanks, Shep, but the boss lady has informed me that I had my fill of coffee, but I want to talk with you about the cottages you want to build over here. Yesterday at work was like a three-ring circus with lines of people needing supplies to get all the debris ready to be hauled away. I spent my day on conference calls with the company wheel horses. Here's the idea, the company will sponsor your demonstration project to put up houses on the existing footings. We have a division that does modular homes, which are shipped nationally. These homes are certified to exceed all national and international building codes. As a result, there is no need for any local permits or inspections. Everything arrives on-site in a container, and then it's assembled here. Depending on the house, the size of the crew, and their skill level, it can take as little as two days to have a house complete and ready for occupancy. From go it takes about three weeks to get a house out the door. Now? Could a barge deliver the containers to the new dock? One way or the other, we can all be in our new homes in about a month or less from a green light. What do you think?"

"I think, WOW! I'm going to town to talk with the Admiral again. I will reach out to you with any questions or a green light this afternoon. Thank you, and please thank all of your people." Another problem goes down the tubes.

"Hey, Jack! Good morning. Do you need some coffee?" I called out.

"Hell yes! Angie is still asleep, and you know what they say about waking sleeping dogs, don't you, Shep?"

Handing Jack a cup of coffee as PG bounced out, "Daddy! What did you just about, my sweet Mother! Daddy, you know you gunna pay for that. Don't you, Daddy!"

"Baby, if I weren't in the dog house, I'd be lost."

Jack and I walked into the backyard and looked around at the new concrete pad as a mobile crane pulled in, followed by a convoy of transporters. "Well, here comes a new dock. If I don't miss my guess, the stump will be coming out of the water today too."

"Jack? Yesterday afternoon PG and I met an old friend of yours and his lady."

"Yeah, I heard all about it, Shep."

"Can you please tell me the story about how Leo's Dad worked with the Old Master and also Leo?"

"Well, yeah, I know the story better than most. Denzel was from the old world, where he had learned the craft of turning wood into amazing items. Anything he wanted, he could and did make. He created almost magical items, the beauty of the wood radiated out from what he made. He enlisted, oh I don't know, 25 maybe more local folks to help him here in the shops. He taught all of them his secrets, and together, they made beautiful wooden furniture and cabinets and flooring, countertops, paneling, and well, I don't know what else. Anyway, he worked with Leo's Dad, who was also from the old world, to sell what they made here. As you know, the Old Master went on about 20 years or so ago, and that was the end of the mill here. Leo's Dad lasted a year or two longer. Then he went on too. So Leo got the store, but he didn't have a solid product he could sell. The mill had shut down. The folks that worked there moved on. Some returned into the swamp, and others seemingly lost to the winds. At first, Leo wanted to get many of us who lived out in the Ancient Swamp and along the bayous to make what he called craft items. We all traded what we made for things we wanted, like clothes. This arrangement worked all right for quite a while. Then one and then another family that lived on the bayous got swept up in state tax issues. Just like my family and I did. In the end, we all lost our homes to Leo and became his slaves. As you know, many slaves and their families have run away, and they live out in the swamp now. The sheriff's deputies are always out looking for the runaways. The deputies cut channels in the mangrove thickets to make it easier for them to move about in the swamp. The way it looks, they didn't care about the damage they were doing to the swamp or what the cost was. Everything began to wash away."

"Well, Jack, that's a hell of a story. For sure, that is not right, at least not in my book. I do not know what I can for certain. I do not know how I can do it. But I know I will do something about this. That you can take as a fact."

"Hey Derrick, you got a quick minute? Or are you lost in the songs of the Loralie?"

"Very funny, brother. What do you have?"

"I guess the dock will be in today?"

"Yeah, there's a barge on the way here, and that hazard to navigation will be gone. So tomorrow will see the one crane delivered and installed. Then after that, the maglev system will go in, followed by putting up the yard crane going in the next day. After that, we will be bringing in the heavy-duty transporters. Then we rock and roll with the containers and whatever else that comes. OH!! Sorry, I spoke to the yard in Galveston. They have almost finished the work on your salvage barge. When they send it this way, they will put on the barge as deck cargo, a forklift, and a small mobile crane for you. That should be here in about five or six days."

"Hey? Do you know if the boss man has got anything hot going today?"

"Don't think so. Why? Are you going to piss the boss man off one more time?"

Parking by the command trailer, "Ensign! Where's the old buzzard?"

He stood at the top of the steps, "Shep, why? What is it about you that you so love to piss him off? Do you have any idea how much shit you stir up?"

"Ensign, you know in your heart of heart's I only speak the truth."

"Before you walk in here, I am going into hiding, taking off to the far side of the yard and turning off my communicator."

"Good morning, Admiral, and how are you today, sir? Would you like a cup of coffee, sir?"

"Why the hell did my staff disappear when you darkened my door? Did they flee for some unknown reason, or are you here to piss me off again?"

"Sir? How can you think that?"

"I know you're goddamn sorry ass all too well, Shep. You and I've been down these rocky roads too many times. All right, so what's on your simple mind?"

"Boss, two things. First - the Supply Store, I'm sure you know them, wants to do a demonstration project showing you how they can deliver and install modular housing here and build it out in about four weeks from a green light to move in. These houses will all have national building code certification, so there will be no local issues on that score. Getting them here is not a problem. They can be shipped containerized on a barge. Since this is a demonstration project, there will be no cost to the Navy or me. What are your thoughts?"

"This has to be a first. You came in with good news. Do it. When the barge gets here, I will want folks from the construction groups on hand to watch how they are assembled. You said two things, so what's next? Floods, hail, blizzards, or what do you have up your, never mind."

"I told you before I'd be back when I had the ducks lined up. You ready, boss?"

"NO! But that won't stop you, so go ahead."

"Here's what I have found out. This berg has three leading citizens, our Sheriff, who I think you may have encountered along the way, his trusty paper hanger, the circuit court judge, and Leo the Lion of the Ancient Swamp. A genuinely charming trio of wastrels. Leo, it seems cooked up this bright idea. He had all the families that lived along the bayous and out in the swamp here make stuff which they bartered at his store for things those families needed, like clothes. These people already lived on his land in shacks he owned. The agreement was that Leo would take care of all the taxes on these barter transactions. As the people never saw any cash. And that was the way it went for quite a while. This arrangement, bartering, is not unique. Where it became unique is Leo stopped paying the taxes for the families that supplied him. Since the taxes were state and local taxes, the matter went to the local circuit court judge. If you don't pay your taxes, what happens is your property, if any, is seized, and you and your family are enslaved. Many of the people who got caught up in this masterful plan didn't have any property; they all rented from Leo. The local sheriff handled the slave auctions from which he got a commission. The fly in the ointment is these "auctions" were actually private sales where the new slaves went to Leo. But now Leo didn't have to give so much as he did before because now he owned them.

These people are very independent and proud people who have lived off the land and waterways around here for generations. Their knowledge of the bayous and swamp is encyclopedic, so it wasn't hard for them to disappear into unsettled areas around here, such as the Ancient Swamp. Well, runaway slaves were an issue for the Sheriff. So he sent his deputies out along the bayous and into swamp hunting the runaways. What the deputies did was cut channels into the mangrove thickets. This was done to help the deputies find and capture the runaways. These channels have had the unintended consequence of increasing significant coastal erosion. Which is where we are today."

My old boss sat there, looking, thinking, taking one after the other deep breaths. "All right, I know you. You never go off half-baked. Thank you, what you laid out will take time to work out.

Oh? If they had to, could the area around the new dock handle an airbus coming in?"

"It should be able to, boss."

"All right, we'll be talking. Get the Supply Store rolling. If they need to, have them reach me for confirmations or whatever."

"Bob? Hey, it's Shep. How are you doing? Hopefully better today than yesterday. All right, I just left my old boss's office, and he has turned the green lights on. You are good on the project. The only thing is he wants to have his construction people there to see the delivery and build-out. Will that be a problem on your end?"

"That's excellent news. Hell, I've talked with the company's president more this morning than I have with Karen in the past two days. I know I will be paying the price for me not giving her the attention she deserves and wants.

I'll bet you dinner in New Orleans that my boss will send his airbus to Galveston and bring people back to show off the whole process. His thinking goes along these lines. Galveston is the home of all the agencies that respond to natural disasters, like what we have here. The company has a new division that makes modular homes, which the company's president wants to see as a significant driver for our growth. His idea is to deliver new homes to people who lost their homes due to natural disasters. These new homes will go in a container for delivery to anywhere.

You were in South Asia when the tidal wave swept away thousands of people's homes. Many of those people are still living in tents with little hope of a future. Can you picture a container ship sitting offshore that has onboard thousands of modular homes for the people stuck in the tents? Also, schools and medical facilities can go out as modules? There will be specialists who will work with the people to rebuild the local economy. That's his vision; he has been looking for a demonstration lab. That lab has a name, "Crawl Bayou."

"Now, Shep, about that bet. Dinner in Old New Orleans? We on?"

"No, but I'll tell you what. The both of us have been up to eyeballs in one or another thing. I know it will only get worse before it gets better. So I am going to have a penance to pay for my evil ways. Dinner and a night in New Orleans just might get me on the way out of the dog house, at least for the moment. Would you guys like to join us?"

I wasn't home to see it, but the stump is out and sitting on the ground next to the old mill. Damm, that thing is huge and smells. Well, Shadow will not go near it. He sits there and barks at it. How the hell am l going to do anything with this monster.

Then like a bell tolling in the late afternoon, I hear, "Shepherd. Oh, Shepherd. Have you forgotten something all day?"

"Shadow? Do you have any room in your place for me to be able to sleep tonight?

"Hi, baby."

"Don't you baby me! Get over here."

PG's tone of voice, the look in her eyes, her posture reminded me of an old picture I saw of a judge in Old Bailey. Never have I felt more apprehensive than when I looked into her eyes with her hands behind her back. Something was sure and certain. This woman's level of pissedoffedness was at a level I never had seen before, nor did I want to see again. Her eyes locked to mine as I stood on the back step, awaiting my fate. Like a lightning bolt, my PG reached out and wrapped her arms around my neck, and pulled me into yet another hug that only she could deliver. "Shep, I missed you all day. You promised us something, and it is time for you to perform on your promise."

"After you get out of the shower from washing off the sink from that nasty thing that your brother dragged out of the bayou, come see me. We need to talk."

"Yes, ma'am."

OK? PG isn't in the kitchen or the living room. Then looking in our bedroom, she called out. "Well, sailor! It took you long enough to get here. I have to wonder, do you know what to do with a very willing lusty woman in a bedroom?"

Dropping my towel on the floor as I advanced toward our bed, "Woman! Once more, you did it again! You sang the songs of the Lorilee and pulled me onto rocks of your shores. PG! You, my dear woman, are a total imp!"

"So? What's your point? I can see you are not totally pointless." With that, she reached over and pulled me into our bed using my rapidly swelling cock. "MM??? Sailor? I wonder something? I wonder what this thing might taste like? Let's see." Sticking her tongue out and slowly dragging it across the head of my swollen cock, then pushing my cock up, her tongue continued along the underside of my cock. Teasing, tasting, lightly nibbling where ever she wanted to; that crazy woman of mine led me along her glorious garden path. As she wrapped her hand around my cock she sat up. "Honey? Do I have your attention, now?"

"Baby, you have that and more. You know that you always have."

"You promised that we would make love every day we are together until the sun does not rise. Well, the sun has risen today. It looks and feels something else has too. So? What are you going to do now?"

"PG!! You are a witch!! It is magical how one look from you turns me upside down, how your hands mold me like a potter, takes a lump of clay, and makes a bowl that generations treasure. PG, I love you, my wonderful woman."

The rush of sensations I was greeted with took me away as my cock slipped into my woman's mouth, and her tongue teased me into places I never knew existed.

Rolling over on our bed, she reached out for me, "My only man, you promised me that each and every day you would fill me with your seed so we will have a child together. Baby, I need you in me. I need you to fill me as only you can. Take me, ride me, my loving stallion."

Early the following day, found both of us sitting on the back porch together under a light blanket, quietly enjoying the pure pleasure of each other's company. Under the blanket that hid us, our hands slowly went back and forth over what was becoming familiar territory. "Hey, you witchy woman, what are these things used for? They feel nice in my hands. And the little tips, those are so hard. But what could they be used for?" I asked so innocently.

I could feel her head rolling back and forth on my shoulder. "Sailor, you really don't know? Really? These will be used for me to feed our newborn babies and remind me again and again of how you take me to places l can only dream of. To new worlds of pleasures. Now old man, since you seem to be fully awake, I will take my lover's cock in hand and put it to good use and start our day in the best way possible." With promise, PG mounted me like she was riding a horse. She held those soft sweet breasts in my hands as her eyes directed my attention to them. "Baby? Do you like how they look? You should taste them; who knows, and you might like how they taste and feel in your mouth." Letting go of those delicate breasts, she put one of her hands behind my head and drew my head forward to meet her lips so our tongues would dance together again. Her other hand grabbed hold of cock as she sat up slightly. Placing the head of my cock inside of her, she impaled herself as she crashed down on me, riding me as a witch would ride her broomstick across the sky. Together with our primal cries to each other greeted the morning sun.

Slowly we fell back to earth. We were holding each other as we stayed so tightly connected. The feelings that filled us only drew us closer and closer.

"Good morning, Sailor. Next time, don't stay gone so long."

Reaching out, my sweet witch pulled up the blanket we had brushed aside. "Sailor, I'm getting cold. OH? Dinner in New Orleans sounds like a lovely idea."

With that announcement, she ducked back into the house and disappeared. Leaving me lost in the sunrise that was greeting the new day. As I pondered another mystery, how could she have known about my conversation with Bob? Into this slowly unfolding dream came the voice of my witch standing in the doorway holding a cup of coffee. "Hey sailor, you want this? Then get your bones in gear and get dressed. You got things to do besides sit out on the back porch all day."

As I slowly got up and headed into the house holding the blanket wrapped around me, I heard a hearty series of chuckles. "Shep, what did I tell you? The only thing you need to say is, 'yes, dear.' Then follow your orders."

"Daddy, now you be quiet. Or, I'll have mother talk with you."

"Jack, that's another witch. Her mother. And in case you don't know it yet, you better watch for both of her sisters too. They are both witches too, and I'd bet you that Bob would say the same about Karen too. And now me. Me, I'm going out and getting my pirogue and see if I can catch some fish. You want to join Zeke and me?"

"Jack, as much as I want to go fishing with you and Zeke. I better do something about this damm stump that got pulled out of the bayou and dumped beside the mill. Otherwise, Shadow might be sharing his bed."

The old saying goes happy wife, happy life. For sure, I want a happy life. I called the company that I was getting the bandsaw for the mill. I explained to them what I wanted to with the stump. After a series of are you kidding me's, along with a few you're crazy, as well as the occasional OMG? The response came; we need to put our heads together here. We'll call you back in an hour.