Stormy Dark Night

STORMY DARK NIGHT

Copyright © 2021, 2023 by OmegaPet-58

Chapter 1: The Rubber Failed!

Andrew Barkley was enjoying a leisurely scenic road trip, from his former home in Nashville to his new life as a student at the University of Maryland.

Choosing to avoid the interstates, Andrew had elected to tour through the Shenandoah Valley in eastern Virginia, ending the day at a motel in the town of Front Royal.

His old Prius was fully packed with everything he would need, and he had enough cash to get all the way to Maryland without worry.

He anticipated being on his own and starting college, after breezing through his high school classes. He was nineteen, athletic, and attractive enough to date frequently.

However, what he didn't bring with him would soon become an enormous problem.

After stopping for lunch and fuel, he directed his car into the valley using US 340.

Andrew was relaxed as he cruised along, but the sky darkened mid-afternoon.

By 4:30, his little car was being lashed by curtains of rain; the wipers slapping uselessly at the deluge.

"In this weather, I should have stayed on the Interstate or stopped somewhere to wait it out."

Traffic slowed from 50 to 30 to zero. Peering ahead, Andrew saw an 18-wheel truck jackknifed across the entire two-lane highway.

He pulled out a map and studied it under the dome light. After consulting with both Mr. Rand and Mr. McNally, Andrew eased out of his lane and U-turned.

After backtracking some distance, he turned onto a side road. He planned to parallel and then return to the main highway.

Unfortunately, he had misinterpreted the road map. Instead of the indicated alternate, the lane he entered quickly degenerated into a ragged mess of ancient concrete, loose gravel, and mud.

And, unbelievably, the rain increased!

Andrew was in trouble. For better gas mileage, the Toyota Prius is designed with tiny and narrow wheels and tires. They are grossly unsuitable for maintaining good control in terrible conditions.

Worse, he had almost no tread remaining on his tires as he blundered on with reckless speed.

The end came quickly. The impact of the crash and the deployed airbag knocked him out cold.

Chapter 2: The Dark World

Andrew eventually roused, but he was fully disoriented by total blackness. He checked, his eyelids were open, but there was no detectable light. The dashboard was blank and his car was totally powerless (the impact had broken key electrical components).

Also, he couldn't tell which direction he was facing. The only certain thing was the pounding rain hammering the roof of his Prius.

It felt like the rain was actually slamming into his head directly.

Which brings us to the other thing he forgot to bring. Along with the bald tires, Andrew had left Nashville without a mobile phone!

At the time, it had seemed prudent to wait until he enrolled at university to get a local number and new smartphone using a student discount. He was now bitterly regretting that choice.

Besides requesting help, a phone could have shown his GPS location and the time. He didn't know it, but he had been unconscious for hours. Andrew realized he would have to go out in the storm and seek help.

The first task was to bundle up in warm clothing and keep dry. He had at least brought some warm clothing, assuming Maryland would be colder than Tennessee.

He stripped and then piled on the layers he would need. Fully outfitted, Andrew attempted to exit the car. His door was jammed shut, so he crawled across to get out.

He intended to follow the track back to the main road, using his feet to feel his way. But it was the wrong direction: deeper into the forest. In the blackness, he walked right into a tree. "OW!"

Groping around, he found a small branch he could break off and use as a hiking stick. (Back in Nashville, he had learned a little about cane-walking from a blind friend.)

So equipped, Andrew kept slogging through mud and gravel.

And the rain poured on.

Chapter 3: End of the Track

On and on he trudged. At last, he recognized a faint light. The sky was brightening ever so slowly. He judged there was more brightness on his right hand. (This was his first indication that he was moving north.)

As the darkness lifted slightly, Andrew could see that the "road" was just barely-discernable parallel ruts. As if the last vehicle to pass had been an ox-drawn wooden wagon. He tossed aside the now-useless stick.

Then he came to a collapsed iron gate. There was a small clearing, but no sign of the track continuing any further. The gate's purpose was clear: beyond were scattered semi-legible headstones and a partially collapsed chapel.

The chapel's steeple was swaying in the wind and the back wall was laying in the weeds. There might be shelter in a corner of the structure; the storm still drove the rain in curtains.

Andrew was tired, damp, and hungry. He had a horrific headache (in fact, he had a concussion from the crash). All he could think about was getting the rain off his face.

Picking his way through the churchyard, he tried to read the headstones' inscriptions in the dim light. There were a few names, but no dates he could make out.

And then the soggy ground swallowed him up!

When Andrew stopped sliding, he pushed the mud from his face. Once again Andrew was lost in total blackness. He shook his head, and immediately regretted it as vertigo and nausea overwhelmed him.

After collapsing, he was unconscious once again for hours.

When he awakened, he carefully turned to look up. Above him, he saw a patch of bright blue sky. The rain had blessedly stopped.

There was a terrible dank odor. A muddy stream trickled near his feet. He was in an irregular underground chamber, apparently.

The ceiling opening that he fell through was at least 12 feet over his head. The room's walls were a loose mixture of sloppy mud and soil. There were no roots or rocks to help him climb up to the surface. He couldn't get out!

Worse, the room was strewn with decayed corpses and skeletons. The bodies were partly wrapped in remnants of cloth shrouds, instead of coffins or caskets.

Apparently, the cemetery above him had deep graves, many with multiple bodies stacked inside. He guessed that later the stream had excavated the muddy room (undermining the graves), so then the dead had fallen through the ceiling.

(Perhaps a plague had taken whole families, causing relatives to be buried stacked together under one marker.)

Without even any useful wooden pieces to help him escape this cave of death, Andrew had no hope of escape.

It was this revelation that drove him to ultimate despair. He had no food; the stream stank of decomposition and black mold was everywhere. And the pain in his head was excruciating.

When he roused again, sundown had ended the light from above. Andrew knew that his life was over.

It was several hours before death took him. (Blood had been leaking into his brain since the crash.)

Chapter 4: Cum Mortuis in Lingua Mortua

Andrew shook himself awake and looked around in confusion. Angled sunlight suggested it was mid-morning.

He was naked in some kind of hotel room. There was no bathroom, just a covered bowl under the bed. And he was erect; he needed to pee. A pitcher of water with a metal basin, towel, and soap stood to the side. The furnishings were all antique-looking.

There was a knock at his door. An adult woman, sturdily built, mid-30's, swept into his room. He stared at her in confusion.

"Good morning, young man. My name is Ella Longworth; who am I speaking to?"

"I'm Andrew Barkley. Where am I?"

"All will be explained. First, I'm here to get you ready for breakfast."

Ella was about 5' 5" and he estimated her weight at around 150 lbs. Brown hair, brown eyes, medium skin tone, and a curvy build with wide hips.

"Let's get started, shall we?"

Ella wriggled out of her full-length dress and petticoats and put a towel on the floor. She dropped to her knees and checked out his semi-stiff cock, ending with a kiss and lick.

"Very nice. Just give me a moment."

She took him into her mouth and began an excellent blowjob. After a few minutes, she moved off and lay across the bed with her ass up and her feet on the floor.

"You know what to do!" But he hesitated.

"I don't want to make you pregnant, Ella."

Ella shrieked with laughter; he was perplexed.

"Trust me, a dozen Andrews couldn't get me pregnant. Now do your duty!"

Andrew bent to his task, but he was nervous. It was the first time for him to have sex from behind. Ella was thrilled, he was angled just right for her.

Before long he groaned and filled her with his milk.

"Oh, that was perfection, Andrew."

She reached down and uncovered the pot, then squatted to expel, pee, and then wipe herself. She hoisted her dress back over her head.

"You're going to fit right in here. Oh, look, still hard. Piss in the pot so you can put that beautiful young organ away; dress and join us for breakfast. See you downstairs."

With that, she left his room.

Andrew looked in the mirror. He was surprised that he was clean and showed no obvious injuries from his ordeal.

In the chest of drawers, he found and threw on a coarse linen shirt, socks, and loose pants.

Parked by the door were a pair of old-fashioned leather shoes. Putting them on left him ready to be social. He wandered downstairs to the dining room.

At the table were a half-dozen people, evidently the other hotel residents. They politely welcomed Andrew and passed him a plate loaded with biscuits and eggs, and an enamel cup of burnt coffee.

At the head of the table, an older man with a full black beard began the discussion. He introduced himself and his wife. He was Horace Lawson, "your host."

Seated at his right hand was Mrs. Elizabeth Lawson, who impressed Andrew as warm and happy. She was likely in her 40s and clearly well-fed.

"My name is Andrew Barkley. Is this your hotel?"

"It is. We welcome you to stay here. And now meet our other guests."

Opposite from Andrew was a rail-thin man in his early 20s, also with a black beard. Although Mr. Jonah Hillyard was outwardly polite, his nervous mannerisms gave a poor impression.

Like Elizabeth, Ella, and Horace, he was outfitted in old-fashioned clothing (from the 1800s, Andrew guessed).

By contrast, the man in the next chair was tall, burly, and powerfully-built. He had thick blond hair and blue eyes.

Jean Dureaux was a Quebec outdoorsman who had been working in the logging business for many years. Unsurprisingly, Jean wore a plaid flannel shirt and denim jeans.

"And this beauty is my baby sister, Céline Dureaux."

Andrew was transfixed: Céline was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She was in her early-20's, tall, and slim.

Her blonde hair was covered by a white cap, her eyes were a shimmering blue, and her slim body was wearing a flattering sleeveless blouse and skirt.

She smiled at him. It felt like sunshine on his face.

Regarding an obviously stunned Andrew, Céline giggled.

"I'm glad to meet you, Mr. Barkley."

Slowly, Andrew regained his composure.

"Pardon me. I'm pleased to meet you all."

Ella joined them at the table.

"May I ask, where is this place? Are we in Virginia?"

Horace Lawson spoke up. "Andrew, where are you from? What's the last thing you remember?"

"I come from Nashville, Tennessee. I was traveling to Maryland for my education. There was a terrible storm, and I had an accident. I had to set out on foot, seeking help.

"I reached a graveyard, and then the ground swallowed me up..." Andrew sputtered to a halt. Whispering: "Am I dead?"

Ella held his hand. Her voice was inside his head (only), and carried a saddened inflection: "Yes, you are. All of us are dead. I'm sorry."

He buried his face in his hands. Then, looking back to Ella: "I guess being dead is how you can speak to me silently. Are all of you so, uh, gifted?" She nodded. "Yes."

Andrew said, out loud, "You all seem alive! How is this possible?"

Horace spoke then, silently. "Beth and I were the first here. The chapel and graveyard you saw were nearby and in good condition when we passed by in our carriage.

A huge tree unexpectedly fell and crushed the life from us. I only had breath and life to whisper 'goodbye' to my beloved.

Local people must have buried us together in that cemetery. It was April in the year 1847 when we died."

Andrew was shocked. "But you seem healthy and in your 40s! Not 200+ years old and dead!"

"Andrew, I can offer you no explanations. Nevertheless, we are all here together."

"Beth and I woke up without our clothing in an open meadow on a sunny day. We were full of joy to be alive again and to have each other.

My best guess is our revival was about 300 or more days ago, as we have experienced it here. Certainly, though, time elsewhere moves more quickly.

"After we stopped, um, kissing,"

Andrew perceived an inaudible, but wonderful, tinkling chuckle in his head courtesy of Beth.

"...we wondered what to do with ourselves in this new world. We had owned and operated a hotel before our ill-fated trip.

But then we were shocked to find in this strange new land an exact copy of our old business, ready for us to move in and take over.

"Even stranger, this version of Lawson's Hotel runs itself, without staff. Rooms are cleaned, laundry and linens are washed, the pantry is always full, and so on."

Beth chimed in, "The only real work here is the cooking, which I enjoy, and the pans and dishes tidy themselves. It's become a complete fantasy life I share with my wonderful husband."

Andrew sat with his mouth open, as Horace continued explaining.

"As the days passed, we were curious. Why have a hotel with no guests? The answer came with Jonah. One morning, we found him on the veranda just starting to rouse.

"He was frantic and terrified. It took a lot of patience and time before he was calm enough to explain himself.

"It seems many years had passed in the outer world, and Jonah was caught up in a gigantic and dreadful war between the states over the issue of slavery. He had been unwillingly impressed into the military.

"In the Virginia woods his company was attacked by enemy soldiers. After seeing several of his fellows gruesomely killed, Jonah met his own end. He watched himself bleed to death."

"We've done our best to keep Jonah calm and comfortable, but he still has nightmares and harmful daydreams."

"Ella came next. According to her, the entire planet had become caught up in a 'World War' with horrendous fighting in Europe and involvement by the United States. And then a hideous influenza epidemic killed millions, including Ella in 1920.

"There were some positives that came to us with Ella. It turned out she had been a nurse caring for wounded soldiers back from the war. (She had to explain 'nursing' as a profession to us as there was no such vocation in 1847.)

"Ella immediately set about helping Jonah.

"Besides you, the newest members of our little society are the Dureaux siblings. They report being from the year 1965. They do not remember their deaths, but the supposition was they were working in a nearby lumber camp (Céline as a cook) when the 'propane' tank exploded.

"Being from Canada, they have a little different take on the history we have learned about. And they likely know a lot of the modern things of your era, which I can estimate as the year 2020 or so."

"Really? That is the current year, in my mind at least. How did you know?" asked Andrew.

"Well, like I said, two days for us is about one year for the living world. Your arrival this morning fits that span of counting our days.

"Here and now, we should get you into our routine. As you can likely tell, the rooms of this hotel are stuck in the 1840's. So, we don't have what some of you describe as 'indoor plumbing.'

"But there is a hot spring for bathing. We leave our dishes in the kitchen to be cleaned, automatically, after meals. With Ella came a modernized (for 1920) kitchen.

"Then when Céline and Jean arrived, we had another reformation. We have a cooler box, a stove, and an oven. Céline's pies are perfection! But I still don't understand what makes these new things work."

Andrew was distracted: with Horace's words came a perceived delicious smell of fresh fruit pie. He continued, "It is time you learned our skill with interior language. Ella, please take him back upstairs and teach him our ways of social intercourse."

Ella choked back her laughter.

"Beth, darling, I'm tired from all this out-loud talking. Let's go have a good nap together. One more thing, Andrew, the spring and the pool are naked only.

"Our clothing can't handle the minerals in the water. We'll see you all at supper time."

Chapter 5: Back in the Saddle, Again

Back in his room, Andrew watched Ella disrobe. He raised an eyebrow, and she said "Your clothes too! We start with skin-to-skin contact."

She continued, "I note your skepticism with indifference. Strip off now!"

"Yes, ma'am, I obey."

"Good; get your skinny ass up on the bed. Don't forget to bring that stiff prick."

Andrew was surprised, he was already aroused. Ella climbed on to him and molded her bare body against him. Trapped between her thighs, his penis rested comfortably.

"Alright, Andrew, close your eyes and listen for my questions. We will start with simple answers. Do not open your mouth or nod. Can I call you Andy?"

He disliked that name and tried to send a negative answer.

"Is that a 'no'? How about 'Drew'? OK, we'll go with 'Andrew' instead."

Andrew relaxed.

"Did you have a program at the university?"

Andrew tried to convey a "shrug" meaning to Ella.

"Girlfriend?" Shrug. "Boyfriend?" A definite no.

"Too bad, I think his army experiences skewed Jonah in that direction, and he's lonely. It's a shame, because he's well-endowed."

Andrew saw in his mind's eye a long and flaccid cock being washed. Another shrug.

"Now tell me, what gives you romantic feelings?"

Andrew envisioned Ella's face.

"Oh, you're sweet. But try again."

Andrew re-envisioned Ella's face, with her lips moist and slightly parted.

"Oh, you're teasing me. What about Céline?"

Andrew pictured a stone tower, at the base was Jean Dureaux, scowling, and armed with a double-bitted axe. Céline was at the top, wearing a gauzy white gown tied with a golden belt.

Above her head was a blazing halo.

"Wow, have you got the wrong idea. Céline is very lonely and approachable. Jonah and Horace are unwilling, and her brother Jean is naturally unavailable. So, you are absolutely targeted for her entertainment."

Andrew shrugged again, and Ella was back in his mind, this time in that same semi-transparent gown. Externally, they were embracing, with his hands on her ass and his tongue in her mouth.

"Oh, you're crazy. But adorable. Now speak to me with silent words. You can do it."

Andrew tried to still his mind and express himself. "Ella, can you hear me? I'm sending you a number: two. Two!"

Ella whispered, "Two."

Another number. "Ella, seven. Seven!"

In his mind, Ella spoke: "Seven. There were six of us in the hotel, now seven."

Andrew: "Correct!" Andrew thought for a minute and thought of a rebus as a tool to help him. In turn, each of them appeared in his mind with a large numeral beside their faces: "Beth-1 and Horace-2, Jonah-3, you-4, Céline-5 and Jean-6, and me-7."