Well Beyond the World

Occasionally, you hear the minotaur but have not seen him since that initial encounter.

Finally, the tunnel widens into a bulbous dead end - however this spot has a vaulted ceiling with a single slit somewhere up above letting down a thick shaft of light. Where the light touches the floor of the castle, an enormous oak tree has sprung up.

And there, embedded in the trunk, is Michael.

His head flopped forward, his curly black hair falling in his face, his eyes and mouth closed. He looks in a deep sleep. His body from the waist down appears to be inside the tree, with his arms melding into the trunk in a way that makes you nauseous when you look at it too closely. Only his chest and head are free.

You rush forward.

"Michael!" You shout. His head lolls to one side and he looks at you through heavy lidded eyes.

"Oh gods, Michael, what did they do to you?" You cradle his head as his mouth struggles to move but no sound comes out. You kiss him but his lips are cold. "Oh sweetheart, I'm here!"

You pull at him but he is stuck solid. You feel his chest and find the hole. Right in the middle of his sternum, there is a hole, right through the skin and bone.

Not just a hole, a keyhole.

You examine it, a keyhole right where his heart should be - behind it, the wood of the tree.

"Okay, you hang in there, I'm going to find us that key and get you out." You give him one more tender kiss, running your hands through his hair. He moves faintly and then closes his eyes, returning to his fugue state.

You backtrack - scoring notches and arrows along the way with your knife to ensure you can find your way back. The center of the labyrinth, that must be where the key is. You set off, as quick as you can.

###

You can tell you are getting close because the turns are getting more frequent and the straight passages shorter. You feel yourself going through switchbacks, faster and faster until finally it empties out into a large chamber.

Built like the parthenon, the ceiling opens in a circular skylight, bathing the whole chamber in pale white light. There's a babbling pool of water, churning from some underwater river encircling an island of green, with flowers and a large ancient oak tree. Butterflies circle the upper branches of the tree and you see a wooden hut, assembled from the branches and latched together artfully, at the base of the tree.

You spring across the river onto the island and make for the house. Afraid to knock, you gently push open the door. Inside you see a large bed, complete with woven reeds stuffed with grass to make pillows. There's a desk with bone and stone tools laid out, two bows and a quiver full of arrows hanging from the ceiling and in the corner, a small altar.

Approaching the altar, you find a carved goddess and god figurine, and materials representing the four elements. It looks remarkably like something you would assemble at home.

HUFF SNORT. You hear the breathing. You scamper to the door and peak out.

The Minotaur leaps across the river and slowly makes his way towards the hut. From the front, you can see his face. Even with the seven inch bull horns, you know that face.

It's Chiho. Or Aleki. Whomever he is, he's coming right towards you.

The other thing you notice is his chest - it is covered in a broad black lined tattoo - the outline of the handle of a skeleton key. The shaft of the key descends down into his wrap pants. He's coming this way, what do you do?

You crouch underneath the window sill of the hut and watch as he sets down his back. A cloth sack. He pulls out several large yellow melons, looking like grapefruits in his large hands, as he kneels in the river and washes them. He sets them on the sack to dry and then, with one smooth movement, unhooks his wrap pants, wading into the water and splashing it over his body to get clean.

He looks much like he did in the pirate ship, muscular thighs and a cock that's thick like a small corn cob even when limp. The tattoo travels down the center of his body and deadends at the base of his cock. What could that mean? Does he have to put his cock in Michael's chest to make it work? Is he the right key?

You aren't going to find out anything here.

"Hello?" You stand up, revealing yourself through the window. He turns, startled, his horns swinging around as he looks at you.

"Who are you?" He demands. "How did you get here?" His eyes narrow. "I know you, don't I?"

You nod. "Hello Chiho? Aleki? We met, when we had different names." His eyes drift to your bare chest.

"Yes, I remember you, from the dream on the ship." His brow furrows. "And elsewhere, it's hard to remember. My name is Jonuez."

"Hello Jonuez, I'm Brenna. I came into this place because I'm looking for my friend, Michael, and I found him. He's stuck inside a tree." Jonuez gives a sad smile.

"Yes, the hungry grove. They do play with their food before they finish." You shudder at the description.

"I need a key to free him, can you help me?" Jonuez gives you a cocky smile, tossing his wrap pants over a nearby branch to dry and sauntering towards you, still naked.

"That depends. There is only one key in this place and I am it. I can open any door or lock, but I need help to bring forth the key - and my wife is out hunting." His eyes cling to your curves and the massive cock hanging between his legs gives a twitch.

"How far along is your friend?" He asks.

"He is up to his waist in the tree."

"That's not good, he only has about an hour left. I'm not sure if she will be back by then."

"I need that key, I need to set him free. What must I do?" You ask pleading.

He reaches the window sill and caresses your breast, his hot fingers like lightning on your cool skin.

"Bring me to completion and the key will appear."

"I'll do whatever it takes to free my friend. Take me as you like." He gives a toothy grin and points through the window.

"Get on the bed." He commands, his voice low and rumbling. You slide your shell skirt to the ground and do as he asks. He comes into the hut, stooping in through the doorway to avoid bumping his horns, and sits on the edge of the bed. He takes your hand and puts it on his cock.

"Stroke it." You wrap your hand around the thick, throbbing shaft. He gives an appreciative groan, reaching down and squeezing your breast. The roughness of it has you already excited.

"More." You slip the large head between your lips, feeling the smooth head, flicking the little slit with your tongue and then bobbing the best you can to fit some of it inside your mouth. It swells in your mouth as you frantically stroke the shaft.

He grabs your tits, and mashes them together, sliding his wet cock between them. You take the hint, pressing them together to get some friction and work up and down, lifting yourself up and down to stoke him with your chest, slipping the head into your lips when it comes close.

The bed shakes from your exertions. How long have you done this? His head rolls back as he groans in pleasure as you work his cock, up and down, faster and faster.

Suddenly, he grabs you by the shoulders and pushes you over onto the bed. You land flat on your back. Oh fuck, is he just going to . . .

"AAHHH!!!!" You cry out as he pushes your legs apart and forces himself inside you. Thank god you were already wet - you look down and see he's only put the head in. Fuck!

You look up, past his tattooed chest as his large arms, like tree trunks, bracket you on either side. He flexes and slides more of his cock inside of you. You raise your legs straight up in the air, trying to help him find the right angle.

He reaches down, holds one of your legs stead and rams it home - sliding all of his cock inside of you.

"AGGHHH!!!!" You give a big shuddering groan as he starts thrusting, in and out. You are so wet, gushing wet as he reaches deep inside you. Faster and faster, his thrusts become more violent as you are tossed this way and that underneath him.

The bed shakes, banging against the side of the hut in rhythm with his fucking. You reach up to his chest, desperate to find something to cling to, anything as he uses your body like his own pleasure toy. You find his face and grab ahold of his horns with both hands.

He gives an animalistic roar and you feel him swelling inside of you. He bites at your neck, sucking and ravishing you. You pull at his horns, urging him onward. His large balls slap against your butt, the wet sloshing sounds of your coupling filling the hut.

"Give it to me, give it to me!" You moan, tightening yourself around him. He gives one mighty thrust, you latch your legs behind his back and squeeze.

"UUUUGGHHHHH!" He cries out and you feel it, load after sloppy load spurting into your pussy. He keeps thrusting, pushing more and more into you. "Ugghhh." one last shuddering gasp and he slumps forward, his full weight upon you. You both take a moment to catch your breath.

He opens his mouth and you see a slender skeleton key between his lips. You pull it out and turn it in your hand.

"It only lasts an hour so you must be swift about it." He mutters contentedly on your chest. You hear footsteps at the door of the hut and the clatter of someone throwing down a hunting bow.

"Excuse me Brenna, but why the FUCK are you sleeping with my husband?!" Pixie shouts.

###

Jonuez lifts himself off of you, his limp cock sliding out of you as you desperately try to catch up.

"Hey Pixie, I can explain . . ." he begins.

"No. You don't explain. You!" She yanks you up off the bed.

"I've been here two goddamn years because of you and this stupid fucking idea of yours and now, you finally show up and you are fucking my goddamn husband?" You do the only thing you can think of. You give her a hug.

"I'm so glad I found you." You whisper into her ear. She's stiff for just a moment and then wraps her arms around you, tears pouring out in a gush.

"This is not what I wanted." She sobs. The two of you hold each other tight.

"Brenna, the hungry grove." Jonuez reminds you. You try to compose yourself.

"I have so many questions, Pixie, but I need to go. I need to free my friend."

"How far along is he?" With a deep shuddering breath, she is all business again.

"We need to go now." Jonuez says, offering you one of Pixie's tunics. You slide it over your shoulders, trying to squeeze into her slimmer bust.

"Then we can talk on the way." Pixie declares and the three of you set off through the maze.

###

"Two years." You begin, Pixie setting a fierce pace with a somewhat sheepish Jonuez trailing behind. "How did you even get here?"

"Kalchik grabbed me." She said. "It wasn't even close - it was as if he knew that someone was there. I made it down one of the floors and he was right behind me. He touched me here," she places a finger between your shoulder blades, right on the spine. "And that's when everything went dark. I assume that is when this appeared."

She holds up her hair and tugs down the tunic on her back. There, in that spot in her back, you see a tattoo of three diamonds - not like gems but like the playing card symbol, one stacked on top of another.

"Does it hurt?" You ask. She shakes her head.

"It does glow red sometimes. When Jonuez and I are having sex." You lower your voice, trying to get out of earshot.

"So what is his story?" The two of you round a corner, you note the scratched arrow on the wall, you are close. Jonuez, has dropped a few more paces behind.

"You tell me, you were the one riding his dick a few minutes ago." She says sharply.

"Pixie, I'm so sorry. I needed to get . . ."

"No, no." She takes a breath. "It makes sense. I'm not angry with you. This isn't the first time he's bedded some woman with bigger tits." You give her an apologetic look.

"Anyway, when I awoke, I was on the island. The first month was hell. Giant Scorpions, HypnoMonkeys, the lost boys and the pearl divers."

"The lost boys! That's a good name for them." She gives you a sidelong look.

"I missed my family, I nearly died a dozen times. I was hungry and alone. I considered killing myself - hoping that it would end all of this and I could go home but I couldn't take the risk that I was wrong."

"Finally, I found this place - a world within a world and at the middle of it, Jonuez." She glanced over her shoulder, checking he was out of earshot.

"I remembered him from our adventure in the Cabin in the Sky. The tough guy who you jerked off in your office after he found us having sex." You blush but she continues.

"But here, he had the tattoo and the horns, like some mythical creature. At first he hunted me but when he found me, I . . . uh . . . persuaded him not to kill me." Now it was Pixie's time to blush.

"When we had sex - we weren't making love, not yet anyway. When we had sex, something flipped inside him. He remembered me. And more importantly, he remembered who he was. Brenna, he's the keymaker."

Pixie pauses and gives you an expectant glance. "I am the gatekeeper?" You say hesitantly. She gives a short bark of a laugh.

"God I miss movies." She sighs. "But yes, back when they were building the hotel, he forged all the keys for the rooms out of the alien metal. When he finished, Kalchik took the keys and then did something. Jonuez doesn't like to talk about it but it sounds traumatic and then the next thing he remembers is being here, with me."

You round the last turn before the tree - almost there.

"So we've made a life here. We sneak out at night and get what we need from the island. The Lost Boys and Pearl Divers don't bother us here and we have each other. It's not much but there's no bills or facebook or crappy bosses." She sounds cheery but you can hear the heartbreak in her voice.

"So what happened to you?" She gestures towards your shell skirt and bone knife. "Were you living with the pearl divers this whole time? I thought I would have seen you at some point."

You turn to her, realizing she doesn't know. "Pixie, I just got here four days ago."

"What?!" And with that, you are at the tree.

"I'm sorry!" You say and rush towards the Oak. Almost all of Michael's body has been subsumed by the trunk, with only a slice of his chest and head still showing. He hangs, limp and lifeless. You run forward, holding the key tight in your hand. You slide it into the hole in his chest - it glides in with a satisfying CLICK.

You turn the key and there is an earthshaking groan. The tree twists, wood splintering and bark falling like rain and with a heave, Michael falls forward out of the tree. You try to catch him and the two of you go tumbling to the ground amongst the twisted roots.

He gives a wheezing cough and his eyes flutter open. His beautiful deep brown eyes, looking up at you under that intense brow and hair.

"Are you alright?" He asks. You laugh.

"Am I alright?!" You kiss him, cradling his head in your lap. You kiss him with love and passion as he clings to you like the last bit of debris in after a shipwreck.

The four of you return to the house at the center of the maze to retrieve some supplies for the group and some clothes for Michael. Pixie and Jonuez ask for some space so you and Michael go for a walk around the river surrounding the Oak, hand in hand.

His story is relatively brief. The pearl divers hit him with a dart, he woke up in one of their nets while they debated what to do with him. He tore his way free and tried to make a run for it and they trussed him up and dumped him into the Unyielding Pit. Once here in the maze, he wandered till he found the Hungry Grove where he fell asleep. Everything was hazy after that until you freed him.

You hear a crash from inside the hut and raised voices, Pixie shouting about keeping his big dick where it belongs and Jonuez snipping back. Michael looks concerned, you shake your head.

"They are just working some things out." A twinge of guilt pokes at you. "Although, I should mention . . . to get you out of the tree, I slept with Jonuez." Michael looks at you in alarm.

"Why?! Did he refuse to help?" You shake your head.

"No, no. He is connected to this place, somehow, and can only make a key if he . . . finishes." Michael gives you a slow nod.

"Did you enjoy it?" He asks. You think about it for a moment.

". . . yes. I think I did. Is that a problem?" You ask. Michael looks conflicted and then gives a shrug.

"I keep thinking that it should be a problem, that the woman I love is sleeping with someone else, but now that I think about it, I'm not bothered. After all, we are both married anyways. And who knows what this place is and where we are. The rules are what we make them, and you do what brings you joy."

You wrap your arms around him and squeeze.

"So you love me?" You grin. He blushes, "You caught that?"

The shouts from inside the cabin have switched to moans and the creaking of the wooden bed.

"Sounds like they worked out their problems." Michael remarks. You smile.

"They are just making sure we have a key to leave." But when Pixie and Jonuez emerge, a short while later, you suspect the truth. Pixie carries a large bag made out of some sort of pelt, stuffed with things, a bow across her shoulder and a full quiver of arrows. She has a grim expression of sadness and determination. That wasn't just trying to create a key, that was a goodbye. A goodbye to this life.

"Are you ready to go?" You ask Pixie. She nods, trying to hold back tears.

"Let's get going."

###

The door groaned open and the four of you walked into the mist. It felt like a thick fog and then there was a sickening lurch in your stomach and with a jolt, you splash through the metallic surface of the pit and flop onto the rocky ruins next to the pool. Michael, Pixie and Jonuez are close behind and in short order, you are all free of the pit.

It's night - how much time passed while you were in the pit? So hard to tell. You look around but there is no sign of Aaron and Kai - or the Pearl Divers for that matter.

"Okay, let's stick to the plan. Pixie, you and Jonuez head to the stone temple, where hopefully Aaron and Kai are waiting for you. Michael and I will grab Caroline and meet you there."

With that, they head out and you and Michael make your way into the jungle, stumbling over vines and squishing through mud in the dim moonlight.

"I wish I could remember more about my time with the tribe." Michael says. "But it is like trying to remember a dream after you awake, I only have glimpses."

"Are you trying to tell me that you don't know where we are going?" you ask. Michael laughs.

"I think we are headed the right way. It looks familiar but I can't be sure. Do you have a plan when we get there?"

"I think we have to let them think you've captured me." He gives you a strange look.

"You know, like I snuck off, you chased after me and brought me back. They will put me wherever they are keeping Caroline and we can get out together."

He looks concerned. "What if they want you to do things?" You shake your head.

"When I talked to Paol, he was talking about the initiation as if it were a once a lifetime sort of thing." Michael gives you a skeptical look.

"You think a whole village full of men only have sex once in their lifetime?"

"Good point." You take a deep breath. "Okay, then just don't leave me alone for too long, okay?"

He nods. "We are getting close. Time to lose the shirt."

"It's a tunic." you grumble, pulling it over your head and handing it to him.

"And the knife." You pull it out of your seashell skirt and hand it over begrudgingly.

"I want that back." He smiles. "Maybe," he teases.

"Maybe? I am going to make you beg me . . ."

"Enough talk!" he shouts, shoving you forward so you stumble into the roots.