Master's Touch

"Blend and Balance Pain and Pleasure deep within you,

'til you will not want me any other way."

-Tool -- Ænima

Miranda couldn't tell if they still followed, but she ran anyway. Her heart nearly burst when they crossed the path on her nightly jog. They melded neatly into the shadows, and she hadn't seen them until she could almost touch them.

Then one of them stared at her, fear motivated her to run again, faster than she ever had.

She dashed off the beaten trail and through the woods; trying to get as far away from those... things... as possible. A branch caught her top and tore at the polyester fabric.

The ground became uneven, a log jutted out, caught one of her running shoes and flung her forward. She braced for the impact, but water enveloped her instead, giving Miranda a surreal moment of floating where she should be moving.

As she pushed up to get fresh air, a firm hand pressed her sternum to the bed of pebbles, her breath came out in bubbles as she tried to scream.

Suddenly as she was below the surface, she was out of it again, gasping and choking on the fresh-water in her lungs. Something had hauled her out with one arm, something she cared to never see again.

The cloaked figure deposited her to the ground, where she sputtered and tried to stand.

"This one?" a whispery voice asked behind her.

Mud caked Miranda's body, elbows and knees worse where she landed on the dry soil. The thing standing above her only watched as she fumbled until she was upright. As she turned to run, another one blocked her way, the concealing hoods fluttered in a gust of air she didn't feel.

She about-faced, directly into a third; they had her surrounded in all directions. Finality struck her, then, as fatigue caught up with her, Miranda began to quiver.

"Yes," one of them answered.

The largest one had yet to speak as it stared at her beneath the hood, Miranda couldn't see any eyes, but could feel its gaze upon her, roving over her drenched form.

Her throat closed as she felt the one behind her latch its hands over her shoulders, securing her in place with nails that threatened to pierce her skin. "This one is afraid."

The largest one took a step forward, bringing its hand to her chin and forcing it up to meet its eye. It said nothing, but she felt a press on her mind, like heavy painkillers entering her bloodstream. The fear dropped to a dull roar as its hand wrapped slowly around the back of her neck and pulled forward; so close to the void within the hood, she could almost taste the shadows. "Do not be frightened," its voice was different than the others, deeper, something that might escape the bowels of a great cavern. "humans are not quite so material as you are led to believe, it will be over soon."

Miranda could not understand, but its presence was anesthetic even as she was paralyzed.

The one behind her tightened its grip on her shoulders, sharp nails digging into her flesh with ease and running through her as one might run fingers through hair. She felt the bite, the tear of her flesh under its hands, but did nothing to stop it.

The last one, likely the smallest, stood between her and the big one, tilting her chin skyward and using a single nail to slice away her running clothes. Her breasts released from the sports bra as it broke. The thing continued its path down, until it reached the band of her shorts and yanked them down, revealing her dark curls. Miranda felt the creature marvel as it dropped low, dragging its claws over her narrow stomach, latching onto her hips and bringing its hooded face close.

Similarly, the one behind her wrapped its arms beneath hers and toyed with her newly freed breasts, every touch of its claws raking lines through her skin. She moaned involuntarily, reaching for the biggest one as the others played with her.

A cold firmness touched her rear and she gasped, something solid pushed into it and shoved through the tight hole, making her cry out at the intrusion. The thing in front simultaneously pressed its dark face into her sex, which split open for what she could only imagine was its tongue. But it was much too thick to be so, as it pressed deeply inside, threatening to tear her open.

Both thrust deeply, mining, it seemed, for her core. She gasped, trying to keep her toes on the ground as the third watched on, not participating, only keeping her gaze. "P-please." Miranda appealed, breathless as the one behind shoved even further inside, seeming to grow longer within. "Please, stop." A tear trickled down her cheek as she begged them. The one in front ravaging her with a feverish intent, the tongue thickening still.

The big one brought a hand to her face once more, pressing what could be its thumb onto her tongue and pressing. Its claw piercing her and she tasted her own blood. Before she could react, the dark face descended upon hers, rolling an acrid, smoky process into the mix of saliva and blood. This close to the dark thing, she couldn't breathe without tasting sulfur.

The assault on her rear increased, traveling deeper into her colon, where the tip seemed to be navigating independently of the feverish creature behind her. It clenched into her breasts, causing dew drops of blood to rise from the pristine skin. The one in front made a purring sound as it breached the end of her tunnel, further than any man had gone.

They would skewer her by the end, Miranda was certain. But she could do nothing but comply, as the largest ate up the blood as fast as it flowed from her tongue, eventually searching deeper to find what it was looking for.

In a moment of clarity, she reached out to yank away the hood, but it was as if it was made of smoke, and fled at her touch. The big one made a sound like a chuckle as it explored the recesses of her throat, bent on suffocating her.

The one behind snatched her arm and twisted it painfully, but Miranda had grown uncertain if she felt pain or pleasure anymore. She could no longer tell why she was in these dark woods, surrounded by shadows that explored her every crevice.

As her eyelids began to droop, the big one pulled away, and she could swear there was a glint of light behind the shadows. She reached out with the last strand of energy and appealed to the big one with an open palm as the others pushed deeply inside of her, the one behind spraying an acrid substance deep into her gut.

The big one in front took her hand with his and leaned forward, razor sharp barbs split into her palm, causing the blood to rush forward. It pulled in all of her, allowing her to fall away from her ruined body into a liberating blackness.

*

The woman's body slumped to the ground as the minor ones finished. They looked to their Master with expectation, who only gave them an inscrutable nod.

"I have not yet penetrated." The youngest complained, still new to the dark trade.

The Master strode away from the bickering peons, and looked out across the park, there were many souls to gather still, and plenty of time to do so before the fiery orb forced them back to their own dimension. Little Miranda was just the start of the evening, an easy catch, but admirable. It was only the beginning of her torment, however, as he had plans for her soul. The Master intended to play with her long after her body returned to the earth.

"It is okay," the Master heard the other one say. "we will find you another."

*

A needling pain was the first sensation, in the dimness that surrounded her. Miranda's skin felt wrong somehow, as if it had tightened unnaturally over her bones. On the first inhale, she choked on the rancid air, curling up tighter against the toxic environment. There was sand beneath her, but it bit like broken shards of glass, abrading her cheek and thigh.

The worst part was she could remember everything, more clearly than when it happened the first time around. Miranda's whole body was violated, entered more intimately than she'd ever known. They had taken her as they willed, and stole every last ounce of fight.

It was the big one that had given her reprieve, if she could call this such; more like a perpetual hell that she found herself naked and vulnerable in.

"Little one." The rumbling voice found her, like thunder rolling over the hills.

Miranda levered up and looked around wild-eyed, afraid to speak, not knowing if her wretched vocal chords could utter a sound.

"Do not speak," the voice manifested into a smoking darkness above her, "you have fallen like many before you, do you remember your death?" It hunched over her with curiosity, she could see no features, only the utter darkness that seemed to be its substance.

Had she died? Miranda was still there, still feeling every molestation on her skin.

"Yes, you are passed." it said with a finality, "And you are mine, now."

She shook her head, mewling a small 'no' as her eyes grew wide. It reached for her anyway, closing her arm in a writhing vice and pulling her up into itself. Glass shards crunched beneath her feet, sending pain spearing through her ankles.

"You were beautiful when we found you, and when you writhed in pain beneath my minions. Your suffering is admirable, little one. I could not let you escape when we can have... so... much fun together."

Miranda felt the brush of darkness against her neck as she tried to pull away. She shook her head and screwed her eyes shut, refusing to accept any of it.

"Best to accept it now," it said, "for this is quite real." It drew a line over her heart, "And so is the pain I will inflict upon you, this magnificent, glorious sensation that you will come to know as the sole relief from this barren existence. I am your Master, and you will call me such."

She tried to shake her head again, but the thing caught her jaw in a vice and closed its mouth over hers. Miranda squirmed, but could not find purchase as the tongue assaulted her again, this time barbed and cutting into her gums and tongue, then further, deeper, into her throat. She was helplessly latched to it, unable to pull away, lest it remove her jaw.

After a time, its tongue receded back into the blackness, "What is my name?"

Miranda stayed silent behind pursed lips as her mouth healed, the pain fading as if it had never been, as if its violation had not occurred.

The thing watched her and waited for an answer, when it did not get one, it laughed. "Defiant already, little one? You will scream my name soon enough, and I will delight in the breaking of your spirit. How tender you are..." Darkness rolled over her as if, not one, but many hands grasped at her, molested and cut into her flesh, "You will beg me to skewer you when I am done. But even that will not relieve you from my care." The many shadow hands pulled back.

Pressed against this thing, she could do nothing but whimper, rubbing a fist to her eye to stem the tears. "Please," she whispered hoarsely, "I just want to go home."

"You are home." Its tongue curled over the word 'home' as if it were a curse. Its steely vice dragged her through the darkness, shards beneath her feet slicing deep.

Flailing against the thing did no good, the shadowy arms seemed much stronger than she ever was, even in life. Miranda cried out as her knees dropped to the hellish sand, but it continued dragging her forward through the dim space.

Both wrists were caught in its grip as she was hoisted high in the air above its head. Something like a living band wrapped around her wrists and held her suspended as the thing turned away from her, Miranda's knees and ankles dripping blackish blood to the dark sand. Waiting for the thing to turn around again was worse, not knowing what creative torture it might inflict upon her.

Before it turned back to face her, more tendrils from above and behind sought her out, touching her bare skin and nosing to find an orifice. "No!" she did not want to be penetrated again. One caught her mouth open and dove in, gentler than the thing's tongue, but curious, searching. She could not spit out the throbbing tendril as it slid down her throat and into her gut.

"Begone with you," the dark creature had whipped around, the thing inside her throat slithered out with all the speed of a striking snake and disappeared into the darkness. Something cold and heavy was shoved into her mouth, "Do not release this." It closed her jaw over the bitter object, "You will learn Obedience first, and then you will cry for only me."

Miranda clamped her teeth shut, scared that worse might befall her if she did not listen. Her knees shook in the open space, but she could at least be grateful she did not feel the bite of glass anymore.

The thing in front of her unrobed, and for the first time, she realized it indeed had a form. Standing to its full height, it had charred skin laced with sharp designs branded along its spiked shoulders. Its knees were bowed forward, bending backwards at the ankle and ended at sharp, thick hooves. Three sets of long horns curled behind its head, and as it turned around, red eyes glowed and a jagged row of teeth gleamed from a ravaged muzzle. It had a tail, brushing the ground, covered in the same fur that circled its face. A long, blackened member swung between its knees, threatening to harden.

Miranda took a breath as her heart sank, almost dropping the bit in her mouth.

The thing brought its clawed hand to her cheek, "Have you so soon forgotten the lesson?"

She curled away from it in utter terror, cold tears trailed down her cheeks, Miranda shook her head, trying to comprehend what could not be understood.

It gripped her breast thoughtfully, teasing the nub with a claw that sliced through her very first layer, but no deeper, "This might have been over quickly if you had not defied me," it considered, "but that is why I chose you, this evening, and not the other dozen. Were you satisfied, then? When my minions had their way with your flesh?"

Miranda nodded violently, anything to keep this creature from progressing.

The hand fell away from her body, "Already impatient for another lesson, I see. Do you know what I do to those who lie to me?" the thing chuckled, "Choose your answers carefully or you will find out the next time. I will ask again: were you satisfied?"

She could not keep eye contact and dropped her head down, not knowing what the creature might consider a lie. Miranda did not feel her own murder was satisfying in any way, but knew deep down, it had satiated something she couldn't, or wouldn't, admit.

"That is a better answer, little one. I only ask for the truth." The pad of its clawed hand touched her cheek gently, and she cringed from its softness, for this creature was anything but soft. Nothing would be concealed from this thing, it was inside of her mind, sifting through thoughts like one perused a newspaper. "Focus on one lesson at a time, and you will not suffer needlessly."

The bit in her mouth grew heavy, expanding with the accumulation of saliva. If she did not spit it out now, it would grow too large for her to remove.

"Steady yourself, don't fight it." The creature loomed over her, taller, even, than before. "Trust your Master. Fear is for the weak, and I do not see that you are weak, little one."

Miranda might have said anything to get free, if she could speak.

"That is bargaining," the creature explained. "Bargains are lies wrapped in niceties, would you risk my wrath to plead for a life I already own?" A twisted grin stretched over its matted muzzle as it reached down and grabbed her pelvic bone, two clawed fingers entering her, "These many parts of you belong to me, to do with what I wish. That was the agreement between me and your god." The creature whispered in her ear, a smoky plume washed over her senses as the thing in her mouth expanded further. "It is almost ready, prepare yourself, your Obedience will be tested to its limits."

Her jaw was thrust open by the object, it creaked against her skull and stretched her mouth wide, leaving it a gaping, muted hole. The fingers that had been inside of her moved to her mouth and wiped a smear of mucus onto her tongue.

"Do you see how you desire me? Even in your denial." The creature teased, grabbing around her neck and shoulders, pulling her down to her knees onto the glass shards. The living rope adhered to his tug and released only enough to lower her to the creature's groin. The dark member in her face pulsed, growing thicker and longer as she watched in horror. "Hold firm, little dove."

Without ceremony, the barbed member thrust into her mouth, filling her throat and bending down into her esophagus. It cut off her airway as the monstrous creature pushed deeper, a smile crested over its ruined face as its fiery eyes watched her reaction. The lack of breath caught up with her as another tear fell, she was already dead, certainly, but she still needed air?

The barbs sliced through her mouth and gums, lubricating its thickness. Miranda sobbed through a ruined throat, a foul aftertaste evidenced that she was not the only victim of its passion. She clung to denial, wishing it were all a bad dream, and she would wake covered in sweat. But she did not wake, nor did the thrusting skewer release her.

Soon, the tension in her muscles released. This creature would continue its assault until it was satisfied, or she had been fucked to pieces. Either way, it did her no good to waste her energy fighting. As the thoughts arose, its speed accelerated. It shoved her head so far into its crotch that she felt its furred stomach on her forehead.

Acid sprayed down her esophagus as the member shuddered, pulsing harder and faster. The thing did not groan as a person would; surely, this was only to torment her.

It shoved her off of the pulsing skewer to the ground and she writhed against the burn in her stomach. "Very good," it hunched over her with an elbow on one knee, its member still spitting black sputum that hit the ground with a hiss. "Now, what is my name?"

It pulled the bit from her mouth as she cradled her stomach, Miranda didn't know when the living rope had released her. "Master," she hissed between gritted teeth, "Master! Have mercy on me..."

A clawed finger touched the creature's cheek as it smiled, "'Mercy' is not a word I am familiar with. But I do see you understand my first lesson. Have you had enough for one day?"

The acid burned through her stomach, taking more and more of her focus. Miranda nodded, burying her cheek in the sharp sand to relieve the slow burn in her stomach. The creature said no more as it lifted her in its arms, letting her writhe against the poison without punishment and carried her away.

When it released her, she fell into a tumble of soft things that she could no longer appreciate, fighting a scream as her insides liquefied and reformed, only to liquefy again. A sharp pain brought her back momentarily, a searing on her breast.

"This is my mark, you will carry it with you so that none may question who your Master is." With that, her Master's touch was gone, and she was left to a vast sea of suffering, alone.

*

It was a miracle when she woke without the searing burn in her gut. Miranda opened her eyes, slowly, carefully, as if she could pretend to still be asleep if that thing were near. When she did, a scream escaped her; the soft things she'd lay in, gently rousing, was a mound of severed heads. As she tried to fumble away from them, those beneath her kept slipping, she accidentally inserted her fingers into one's mouth, and felt its tongue writhe at the sensation, moving to suck on them. It was a woman's head, a pixie cut blonde with sad eyes.