Ep. 06 Misled by Beauty

She then straddled Randy's waist again and lowered herself gently on Randy's throbbing cock. La'Tonya groaned as she felt herself becoming filled, and steadied herself by putting her hands on Randy's chest. Roughly, she pulled his tank top off, nearly ripping it. She looked down and marveled at the sight of Randy's naked body, feeling her pussy becoming hotter in response. She realized it had been a long time since she had been with a man, let alone a good man like Randy, so she gave him all she could. She laid down on him while his cock was still inside her, and kissed his lips lovingly. Randy's arms encircled La'Tonya as he returned the kiss, thrusting up to meet her hips. He could feel a tear drip on his cheek, and La'Tonya's cheek felt damp against his face. 'What is it she's feeling?' Randy asked in his mind. 'Is it guilt? Is it love? What is it?' As if sensing his mental questions, and as if to avoid them, La'Tonya sat up and said, "I want to feel you from behind, baby."

Randy kissed her lips quickly and grinned. Of all the sights in the world, one that he loved was the sight of the bare ass of a fat girl while she was bent over. He wasted no time getting behind La'Tonya and, gripping her wide hips gently, he slid his cock easily into her eager pussy. "Fuck me hard, baby," she cried. "Give it to me!"

Randy's hips thrust like the piston of an engine, making La'Tonya's ass jiggle. Her cries grew louder and higher as her pussy clenched onto Randy's shaft. Randy gasped as he started cumming inside her, the semen pushing against the tip of the condom. Both their bodies spasmed quickly, then they laid down, their flesh spent. Randy slid the condom off and dropped it in a nearby wastebasket, then held La'Tonya in his arms.

La'Tonya laid her head on Randy's chest, trying to block the thoughts that suddenly bombarded her mind. She could swear that the town was calling her. Images of run-down, ancient buildings insinuated themselves into her thoughts. They were familiar to her, and this terrified her. She felt as if she were submerging in cold, briny water, surrounded by a school of fish. She could feel their slimy scales touching her skin, their fins touching her breasts and between her thighs. She shuddered slightly at the sensation. Then, swimming towards her was that strangely handsome, but barely human man. He smiled at her sweetly and touched her face. Then his mouth opened, revealing his jagged, bloody teeth, and sunk them into her breast. La'Tonya tried to scream, but was silent, the tears mixing with the ocean water. She could feel the fish turn to tentacles, and they wrapped themselves around her legs, prying them apart. In her mind, she could hear the man speak: "You're MINE, Serena!"

She tried to scream again as the beast began to violently fuck her, but no sound escaped her lips - only bubbles. Tentacles bound her arms and her legs, so she couldn't fight him off. Part of her didn't want to; part of her felt she belonged here. "You belong to me," the voice in her head boomed again, this time from the back of her mind.

La'Tonya turned slightly and saw the source of the tentacles. She only saw one eye in the blackened deep, glowing hatefully a deep crimson. "Come back to me," the voice said, even louder.

Finally, she was able to scream as she felt the tentacles penetrate her. "NOOOOOO!" she cried.

"Come back to me, La'Tonya," a voice, a kinder one this time, said. "Wake up!"

She forced her eyes closed, and opened them again. She was back in Randy's bedroom, soaked in sweat. Reflexively, she backed away from Randy, feelings of violation and revulsion flowing through her. "Are you okay?" Randy asked without thinking.

"Do I fucking look okay to you?" La'Tonya shrieked, her voice a shrill rasp.

"I'm sorry," Randy said, backing away slowly. "You must've dozed off and had one helluva nightmare."

"I'm sorry, too," La'Tonya said. "And thank you for saving me." She looked him in the eyes and said, "I have to go there."

"What?!" Randy cried.

"I know what you're thinking, but I think it's the only way for these fucking dreams to stop."

Randy sat back against the headboard, closing his almond eyes with a sigh. "Fine," he said. "I'll drive you in there, but first sign of trouble, I'm getting you out of there."

La'Tonya's eyes went even wider. "No!" she shouted. "Darling please, this is something I have to do on my own. If something happens to me, I can handle that. But if you came with me and something happened to you, I'd never, ever, be able to forgive myself."

Randy started to protest, but a finger to his lips stopped him. "Please, Ran-Jong. I need to know why I'm having these dreams." She sat back and continued, "Growing up, I remember my momma always screaming in her sleep. She'd constantly wake me up until I started using ear plugs. The doctors always had her on meds, but they didn't seem to work, at least not completely. I prayed I'd never have to go through this, and I prayed I'd never put anyone through that.

"Randy, if I'm to have a future with you, I need to stop these nightmares."

Randy turned and met La'Tonya's wide-eyed gaze. "Fine," he said as evenly as he could. "But if you find yourself in danger, promise me that you'll call me."

La'Tonya held Randy in her arms. "I promise," she said, a sob creeping in her voice. "I'll never forget you, sugar."

She got off Randy's bed and quickly dressed. Randy got up soon after and dressed himself as well. La'Tonya opened the door, and Yonggary bolted under the bed. She looked under and saw the cat back away against the wall, his ears flattening against his head. La'Tonya sighed, and started walking towards the door. Randy followed her as she opened the door and left. He didn't want to let her leave; something in his gut told him he'd never see her again. The sun was setting as he watched La'Tonya's car drive off, and a thought occurred to him: she rarely blinked. He didn't know why the thought came to him, nor did he know why it made him cringe. All he knew was that something about her suddenly scared his cat, something that he'd never seen. He turned around and shut the door behind him. He went back into his bedroom and saw his cat poking his head out from under the bed. Randy picked Yonggary up and stroked his head, then laid down on his bed fully clothed. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was sleep…

…and get the Hell out of Innsmouth, never to return.

* * * * *

La'Tonya drove into the heart of northern Innsmouth. The difference between the two parts of town were palpable. While New Innsmouth Beach always seemed to have people shuffling about on errands known only to them, the sidewalks of Old Innsmouth were almost devoid of people. Something else troubled her. In most towns, even the rundown ones, there was always a sign of animals, whether it was a guard dog, an alley cat, pigeons or squirrels. Also, given that this was a seaport town, she expected to see more gulls. Old Innsmouth had none, not even road kill. It was as if the birds wouldn't fly within the town borders from the instinctive fear of something unnatural.

Something else troubled La'Tonya deeply. She realized that she never got any directions from Randy before she left, and yet she seemed to know her way around. She remembered the buildings as she passed by, not just from her nightmares, but it seemed almost from memory, as if she had been there before. This rising slum she was traveling through seemed more familiar to her than the bustling French Quarter where she grew up.

She parked her car in front of the largest building she could find. It was also the one in the least bit of disrepair. She could see the remnants of the Freemason symbol carved into the building's stones; it looked as if it were forcibly changed. The windows that were left intact were painted black, and the broken ones were covered with various boards. Beyond the gates was an overgrown front yard covered with dead weeds and bare branches.

She stepped out of the car and her nostrils were suddenly assaulted by the stench of rotting fish soaked in brine. She could feel her stomach tense up, but she held back the urge to vomit. She walked through the open gate, and slowly approached the door. Crumbling statues could be seen at both sides, staring at her in silent warning. "La'Tonya," she muttered to herself, "turn around and get out…turn around and get out…"

Finally, her feet obeyed, and slowly, deliberately, she turned to leave. "Pardon me," a voice behind her spoke. "Can I help you?"

She froze on the spot. The voice gravelly and flat, but not overly unfriendly. She steeled herself and turned around, and was face to face with an elderly man in the garb of a Catholic priest. His head was slightly pointed and devoid of hair. He had a slightly flat face, but a bulbous nose, and wide, watery eyes which didn't seem to blink. His skin was dry and almost scabrous, and what little hair he had grew in odd places. "Maybe," La'Tonya croaked, "I seem to have made a wrong turn and lost my way to the highway. Perhaps you can help…?"

The priest nodded and gave her accurate, if slightly wordy, directions to the highway. La'Tonya felt as if the priest was trying to distract her, from what she wasn't sure. When he finally finished, she thanked him and practically ran back to her car, locking the door behind her. She put the key into the ignition and turned it, but it did nothing. "Baiseur de mère," she growled, "don't you do this to me." She kept turning the key to no avail.

She popped open the hood and stepped out. Immediately, she could see various hoses and cables had been cut and removed. Immediately, La'Tonya pulled out her cell phone, but saw that there were no bars. "What?!" she yelled. "I'm in fucking Massachusetts! Why aren't there any bars on my phone?"

La'Tonya took shelter in her car and laid her head on the steering wheel, sobbing uncontrollably. She'd never been this scared before. Suddenly, a tapping on the window startled her. She turned and saw the old priest. "Is everything all right, my child?" he asked.

She got out of the car, then asked, "Is there a phone nearby I can use?"

"There's one in the temple," the priest said. "I'm not so sure it works - not much works here. But you're welcome to try."

"Merci, Père," she said. "Or is it Rabbi? You said 'temple', so…"

"No, 'Father' is fine, my child," the priest said. "Or, if you prefer, 'Father Sargent'."

"Thank you, Father Sargent," La'Tonya said. "I'm La'Tonya Morse."

The pair exchanged some small talk as they entered the run-down temple. When she went inside, La'Tonya instinctively knew that she had to leave as soon as she got a hold of Randy. The walls, those that weren't eroded from decades of neglect, bore various engravings and symbols of an alien nature, but yet seemed ancient as if from eons past. Bas reliefs of amphibious creatures and other obscenities assaulted her eyes and her mind. She remembered them from her dreams, and had to cover her mouth to hide her terror. "Are you all right, my child?" Father Waite asked.

"Oh yes, I'm fine," La'Tonya lied. "I'm just fascinated by this artwork.

"Where are they from?" she asked as they entered the priest's office.

"They were passed down from the original settlers, long before you were born," he said. He picked up the receiver of an old rotary phone and put it to his almost non-existent ear. Clicking the cradle a few times, he said, "I'm sorry, Serena, the phone isn't working. Can't say as I'm surprised."

La'Tonya's blood went cold. "What did you just call me?"

"I'm sorry, dear, I'm terrible with names. You remind me of one of my old parishioners, a lovely woman named Serena. Your name again…?"

"La'Tonya," she said, knowing the priest was lying. "You know, I think I'll try and walk back and try my cell. Thank you anyway, Father Waite."

"Of course," he said, nodding his head. "Good luck, my dear."

La'Tonya walked out of the temple, bypassed her car, and began walking back to New Innsmouth Beach as fast as she could while doing her best to maintain a normal façade. The screen on her cell phone didn't change as she kept walking. The sky quickly darkened into a terrible overcast, obscuring the moonlight. Curiously, the street lamps didn't light, leaving La'Tonya in total darkness. Croaking noises started coming from behind her, as if she were being stalked by toads. She walked faster, using the backlit screen of her cell phone to light her way. Just beyond the light's reach, she could see shambling forms on either side of her. Finally, she started running as fast as she could, weaving through alleys and by-streets to evade her pursuers. "No!" she screamed. "Get away from me!"

She tripped and fell on a pothole in the street and landed on her back. Getting up quickly, she bolted through a hole in the crowd and went inside a seemingly empty building to catch her breath. The voices grew louder, and La'Tonya could hear fists pounding on the door and the boards in the windows. She felt another burst of adrenaline as she ran towards the back of the building, bursting through the back door. She could see a light ahead of her - it looked like moonlight. She ran towards it, and realized her error as she happened upon a lighthouse at the end of a long pier. Her pursuers were long behind her, having apparently given up the chase. Slowly, she approached the lighthouse while looking at the screen on her phone. One bar appeared on the screen. "Better than nothing, I guess," she muttered, and began dialing Randy's phone number.

"Excuse me," a voice behind her said, surprisingly clear. "Are you okay?"

She turned and her eyes met a pair of the most beautiful green eyes she had ever seen. The man was about her age, maybe slightly younger. His skin had an olive tint to it, his black hair was cropped close to his head. "Oh, thank God," La'Tonya said, "someone who's normal. Please, you've got to help me."

"What's wrong?" he asked, his arms clasping her shoulders.

"There are these people…things…I don't know what…chasing me," she said, panting. "I need to use your phone."

"I'm sorry," he said sincerely, "I don't own a phone. I like to keep to myself out here. I'm sure you can see why, given what I have for neighbors. I'm Aaron Waite, and you are…?"

"La'Tonya Morse," she said. "Please, you've got to hide me while I try to call my friend."

"Of course," he said, leading her to the door of the lighthouse. "Come on in, let me get you something to drink."

La'Tonya had no intentions of drinking anything, but she was grateful for this man's help. He led her into the living quarters of the lighthouse. It was comfortably furnished, if slightly musty. The walls were worn from the salt air and decorated with pictures of Aaron's family. She wondered where Aaron had gotten his looks, because his family was a tad weird looking. One photo caught La'Tonya's attention, a picture of a young man holding a toddler, a pretty young girl with curly black hair and big green eyes. "That's my father holding my sister," Aaron said. "That was taken before my sister disappeared a year after I was born. I never knew her, but always wanted to meet her."

"I know how you feel, sugar," she said with a comforting hand on Aaron's shoulder. "What was her name?"

"Serena," Aaron said. "She was taken from my family by the government, along with my mother. It was just my father and I for quite some time. Then my father went to sea and hasn't been back."

La'Tonya looked at Aaron, trying to hide the sudden flash of fear at the sound of his sister's name. "Was your pops in the Navy?" La'Tonya asked.

"You can say that," Aaron said. "Come, let me show you around. You must be tired."

La'Tonya started to protest, but knew that Aaron was right. She was extremely tired, and needed to rest up. Aaron proved himself a kind host, and proudly showed her around the lighthouse. Suddenly, La'Tonya froze in her tracks. She looked in a small room that Aaron was using for an artist's studio. Various paintings and sketches were tacked on the wall and were on the floor. Her feet moved her into the room of their own accord, despite her mental protests. All of the artwork depicted a beautiful, voluptuous young woman in various states of undress. The woman's hair was long and curly, and her eyes were a curious shade of green. "That's what my sister looks like now," Aaron said from behind her.

La'Tonya couldn't say anything as she stared at the woman's face on the canvas…her face. She turned and looked at Aaron, and recognized him. "It's you," she whispered.

"Yes," he said, smiling widely. "You've finally come back, Serena. Thank Dagon, you've come back to me."

"My name's not Serena-"

"But it is, sister," Aaron said, a pleading look on his face. "Please, try to remember me. Try to remember yourself."

"I know who I am!" La'Tonya screamed. "I'm not your fucking sister!"

Thoughts intruded into her head. Memories of her mother's nocturnal screaming, and the terrible words that she would cry out almost ecstatically. "No…no…it can't be," La'Tonya cried.

"Remember what Mother always said in her dreams," Aaron said calmly. "Iä…Iä…"

"Cthulhu…ftaghn…" La'Tonya whispered.

"Serena," Aaron said with kindness in his voice, "you've come home."

La'Tonya sat on the floor and curled into a corner, rocking uncontrollably. "No…no…" she cried softly.

"Mother was a priestess before she was taken from us," Aaron said, crouching in front of La'Tonya. "The outsiders called it a 'reeducation' and a 'cult rescue'. She was devoted to He Who Sleeps In The Sea, and was close in spirit to those of us in the Order. My father loved her, for he still possessed human emotions. As I love you, Serena, and have always loved you."

Aaron touched her face and looked into her eyes. "How could you love me?" she whispered.

"I've dreamed of you, as you have dreamed of me, since Mother was taken by The Sleeping One. I've dreamed of the night you'd come back, and we would travel through the eternity that is Dagon's love."

The name echoed in her thoughts. 'Dagon'. She looked up, and finally met Aaron's gaze. She became aware of the waves crashing harder against the walls of the lighthouse's living quarters. The boards began to crack, and with one final wave, she could feel herself being pulled by the waves, and pulled under the water, but she never lost sight of Aaron's eyes. Finally, she opened her mouth, and sea water forced its way into her lungs. Blood flowed from her throat and into the water. She clutched at her throat, and felt numerous slits opening and closing. She realized that she was breathing. Elation flooded her heart, and Aaron smiled at her. 'Welcome home, Serena,' Aaron's voice came to her mind.

She could feel scaly hands upon her body, disrobing her. Forms swam around the pair belonging to his species…of her species…of her family. As a group, they swam deeper under the water. She didn't fight them; indeed, she welcomed them, for Serena Waite remembered them deep within herself. She reached for Aaron and kissed him. Soon, he too was naked, his engorged cock sticking straight out. Serena wanted her brother inside her, wanted her family to embrace her. Lips belonging to a pair of unknown females caressed her breasts. Serena turned and saw the face of Father Sargent close to her, and kissed him without hesitation. Aaron swam to Serena and slid his cock easily inside his long-lost sister. Serena felt another one behind her, and soon she felt as if she were being split in two. If she could speak, she felt as if she'd cry out in joy. She finally felt like she was where she belonged. Memories of her former life began flooding into her mind and faces began fading away. The woman she knew as Rachel disappeared, the men and women that had come and gone from her life soon forgotten. One name lingered in her mind, and briefly, a thought came to her…