In The Bald

Click!

The digital camera hummed for a moment as it stored the picture of the hummingbird on the memory stick. Emma smiled, lowering the camera to watch the bird flit among the flowers. She lifted her face to the sun and enjoyed the breeze blowing through the forest. She inhaled, holding the fresh air in her lungs for a moment. Her hiking boot crunched along the pine needles covering the trail as she inched quietly among the trees. She enjoyed the filter the leaves created for the light as she squatted next to a rock and surveyed the scene. She brought the camera up and looked into the LCD screen, surveying the surrounding area for something else to photograph.

She caught sight of movement through the trees and began creeping forward, being careful not to make a sound to disturb the creature lurking nearby. She hugged the trees and stayed in the shadow, not wanting to startle whatever it was before she got a picture. She weaved among the vines, becoming part of the forest as she closed the distance.

She adjusted the focus and shutter speed for lighting as the big buck came into view. From its antlers, she knew it was a six point animal and suddenly she was glad she had eased away from Ty and his buddies. Ty wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet into the majestic animal and mount the head on the wall in his living room. Emma fought the urge to gasp and stare. She clicked the shutter as rapidly as she could, thrilled when the creature looked straight into the lens before bounding away.

Emma stood up among the bushes as the male deer darted around the trees and raced away from her. He stopped just before he disappeared over the horizon and looked back at her. She rapidly brought the camera back to her eye and started to snap another picture when a female and a fawn joined the buck. Emma snapped another shot before the family faded into the trees. Emma sighed contentedly and smiled to herself as she continued walking through the woods.

Emma dropped her eyes to the back of the camera as she walked without looking. She pushed the button on the camera to play and scrolled through the pictures she had taken that morning, deleting those she didn't like. She used the buttons to crop some of the images, zooming in on the hummingbird. She was amazed that the high speed camera could capture the tiny wings. She smiled and moved on to the pictures that she had just taken of the deer. She cropped the family picture and smiled, certain that she would be able to sell the photograph in an upcoming show.

She stopped walking and looked around, her brows coming together as she studied her surroundings. She had stumbled into a clearing. The trees immediately around the bald were close together, as if forming a natural barrier. She frowned and turned a circle, uncertain how she had gotten to the unusual spot. She lifted the camera and began snapping pictures of the area, wanting to capture every detail to study later. She couldn't remember ever seeing greener grass in the United States. It reminded her more of photographs from Ireland than the typically coarse grasslands found in the southern US.

The clearing was about twenty yards in diameter and she was amazed that it formed a perfect circle. She was certain that if she saw it from above that she would not be able to identify any imperfections in the shape. The clearing rose toward the center and perched there was a tall rock. Smaller rocks surrounded the clearing, each one located about two feet from the last. She walked over to one of the smaller rocks and looked up at it, wondering how she could associate the word small with it. It was as wide as her arm span and at least six feet tall. The center stone was possibly twice that, but still not as tall as the surrounding forest.

She dropped the camera, letting it dangle from the strap around her neck, and placed her palms flat against the stone. She expected it to be cool to the touch because of the shade provided by the towering trees, but it felt warm. As she moved her hands over the smooth rock, it seemed to grow warmer. The rock was smooth. There were no bumps or dips in the surface facing the center stone. She circled the rock and found that the back had not been shaped. Lichens and moss were growing on the back where none had been on the side toward the center of the circle. She started to dismiss the plant life, remembering something about moss only growing on the north side of surfaces till she looked across the clearing at the rock directly diagonal. She marched across the clearing till she reached that stone and was surprised to find no moss on the inside but a thick blanket on the back.

She took pictures of the front and back of the stone before lifting her eyes to the sky to try to determine what direction was north. The sun was to her left and it was just after ten in the morning. She moved to the center stone and took a picture facing each of the cardinal directions. North. Click. East. Click. South. Click. West. Click.

She turned to the center stone and walked around it. No moss or lichens were growing on either side of the square structure pointing toward the sky. She grinned to herself, thinking of phallic symbols in ancient architecture then shrugged. Plenty of modern architects incorporated phallic symbols in their work, too. Ty was one of them. Every structure he designed seemed to have some sort of single tower worked into the center of the blueprint. However, very few of Ty's buildings felt as virile as this clearing in the woods.

As soon as the word virile popped into Emma's head she felt a heated blush race through her body. It occurred to her that the monolith surrounded by the green grass could represent an aroused cock standing at attention, preparing to thrust into a warm pussy. The image caused excitement to flood through her body. Her nipples tightened and she felt a tingle in her own intimate areas. She shook her head to try to remove the image and placed her palms on the obelisk. As soon as she touched the surface, an electric jolt rushed through her. It knocked her away from the tower. She landed on her bottom. Her vision swam and blurred before growing dark.

As she lay back on the soft grass with electricity coursing through her body, her senses were bombarded with sensations. She could not pry her eyes open but she was aware of an aura of unbridled lust rising around her. The images of ceremonial orgies flashed against her closed eyelids. Her nose was filled with the odor of desire, the heavy smell of women with slick pussy lips, and the tang of sweat covering rutting bodies. The echo of heavy panting tickled her ears, punctuated by the sound of skin slapping eagerly against skin. She shook her head, trying to open her eyes and escape the impressions bombarding her helpless psyche.

She almost cried out when she felt hands touching her. She struggled harder to see who had joined her in the stone circle. Fingers caressed her skin, pinned her in place on the cool grass as the heat pouring from her body rose higher. She felt her clothes melt away and suddenly her mind and body were wrestling with her sanity. She knew her shirt was still in place but she was also certain that she could feel hot breath warming and teasing her swollen nipples. She twisted, feeling the material of the shirt rub against the extended buds, but at the same time, she felt a wet mouth suckling at one of her small breasts.

She released a moan as the sensations doubled, the arguments from her mind weakening as she felt invisible hands tearing at her shorts and underwear. The smell of lust was her own delicious aroma. She felt her hips rising to meet the touch of the spirits pouring from the rocks. The ghosts opened her, stretched her, and filled her. She could feel thrusting against her mound and could not stop her own sexual instincts from taking over her body. For a moment, she could see herself how she was, a fully clothed woman writhing on the ground alone, her hips rising and falling in a steady rhythm as she humped the air. Her body knew what her eyes could not see. She was being fucked. Judging by the hands moving over her body, she was being fucked by several. The imperceptible monster inside her was touching her places that she had never been reached by a human partner before. It had her stretched wider that any lover had ever filled her.

She cried out as she exploded in a spiraling radar of sensation. Her whole body was rocked with the outburst. Her muscles trembled as she continued screaming through another. Still, the unseen hands did not release her. They continued to push her and lift her. The indistinguishable cock pounding in and out of her wet pussy continued its terrible assault. The pleasure became pain and she screamed in agony. She pleaded wordlessly for the attack to end.

It stopped as quickly as it ended. Her eyes popped open and the spirits receded into the stones. The sun blinded her and she brought her hand up, trying to adjust to the dazzling. The only evidence of her experience was her trembling muscles. She could feel her lower lips sliding together to create a delightful friction, but she did not want the beast to be on her again. She struggled to her feet, but her knees gave out and she collapsed. She was tempted to curl up in defeat, but when she closed her eyes she felt the spirits rising from the sacred ground. Emma fought giving in to their desire and began crawling toward the edge of the circle. She felt the creatures that belonged to the stones tugging her back, but she gathered all of her courage and strength to inch beyond the rocks and past the trees.

She finally reached a fallen log and pulled herself into a sitting position on it. She rested her elbows on her knees and pressed her face into her hands. Her weak body was the only indication that what she had experienced was real. No one would ever believe what had happened. She wasn't certain that she believed it herself.

She heard rustling and lifted her head. A wolf stood a few feet from her. Its short hair had a reddish tint to the tips and the eyes were jewels of emerald green. Emma froze as the wolf advanced on her, her body's reaction changing instantly. She forgot about the experience in the stone circle as her heart lodged into her throat. Her body broke into a cold sweat as she stared into the wolf's eyes. She trembled as it came closer. If she tried to run, it would be on her in a second. If she stayed in place she might have a chance of survival. The animal would sniff her out, decide she was no threat, and leave her alone. She would escape back to Ty and never drift into the woods alone again.

The eyes of the animal enthralled Emma. She had never seen a creature with eyes so intelligent and gentle. She leaned forward a little, hypnotized by the wolf's gaze. She didn't think about the possibility that the wolf was luring her into complacency so that it would be easier to launch a successful attack. As she moved, her camera knocked against her knees. Without breaking the stare, she lifted the camera and snapped a picture of the creature's face. The noise startled the animal and it darted into the woods without disturbing the stranger any further.

Emma slouched as her adrenaline level returned to normal. She felt a wave of dizziness wash through her body. She carefully moved to the forest floor, pressing her back to the log that had been her bench. Nausea washed over her and she leaned forward, but nothing escaped. She laid her head back and allowed the looming blackness to consume her.

* * *

She'd had the dream again. Every time she had the dream she was amazed at the vividness of the vision. She could feel the twigs beneath her hands and feet as she loped through the forest. Her eyesight and sense of smell seemed to be sharper when she was lost in the hallucination. Her muscles always ached when she woke, as if in her sleep she had worked them in tandem with her motions in the dream.

She sat up and looked around, her mind fuzzy. She had run far and fast in her dream and there was a blanket of cool sweat covering her body. The dream seemed to be coming more frequently now. Each one seemed to last longer than the previous. It was always the same. She dreamed she was a wolf racing through the forest. In the dreams, she was roaming among the trees, driven by the primal needs of the creature she was becoming. She found it harder to wake each time and was afraid that she would eventually not wake. Her mind would be lost to the hallucination of the wolf while her body wasted away from hunger and thirst.

She stood, digging her toes into the soft moss on the ground. The cabin was about hundred feet away. It didn't occur to her to wonder how she had gotten outside. When she had the dream, she never woke where she had fallen asleep. She supposed that the dream must drive her to walk in her sleep. That would also explain why she woke tired and sore. She didn't like to think about how far she might run when she dreamed about being the wolf.

She didn't return to the cabin. She stretched her body, easing the tightness of her muscles. The sun felt good on her body as she walked through the trees to the spring. She was nude as she moved deftly through the forest and the branches scratched at her bare skin. She found herself moving faster and faster, racing toward the spring. The spring would be cold, but perhaps the cold water would snap her out of the daze the vision created. She could focus again.

She splashed into the spring, her body moving at full throttle as she threw herself face first into the icy depths. She laid there for a moment, holding her breath as her red hair floated around her, then stood up and began splashing water on her body, trying to scrub the stench of the wolf from her skin. Eventually, the water began to relax her. Her movements slowed and she allowed the trickling water to ease her body and mind away from the nightmare. She wanted the chill to wash away the memory of racing through the trees on all fours and lull away the desire to give in to the urge to be the beast.