Sheep's Clothing

by Gary Lewis

  Before placing his first foot, the front door opened slowly. Janice stood in a thin, red gown that clung to her plump breasts before loosely hanging past her thin waist to meet her hips. Wide, long sleeves drooped open from her wrists with laced cuffs. The relaxed look on her face drew David's attention to her full lips that shimmered with her softened eyes.

  David's chest filled with purpose as his shoulders fell back on his way to the door. He stepped inside the living room, never once breaking eye contact as he looked down into her face. He slowly handed her the bag of food, revealing the rose he held behind it. Her thick lips tightened into a smile as she took it from him and promptly set it along with the bag on the end table beside the couch.

  Janice turned back to David as he reached back to close the door. David aimed his thumb behind him, beginning to speak. "I was just at the-" Her finger pressed against his mouth as her eyes gleamed up into his with a smile that hid behind her pressed lips, evident by her tightened cheeks.

  "Mm-Mm" she shook her head in a no as her pressed smile slowly relaxed. Janice lowered her hand and David felt her fingertips sliding up his chest. They found their way to his shoulders as he squeezed his grip around her hips. He massaged his way around her thick round bottom before gently sliding his fingers up along the silky fabric of her nightgown and around her waist. While he watched her gaze into his eyes, her breasts leaned against him. Her mouth relaxed open and he placed his right hand behind her neck, holding her head firmly in place. David tilted his face to taste her lips, squeezing hers between his until their tongues rolled against one another.

  David's mouth found its way down the skin of her neck as he continued squeezing it between his lips. He ran his hands up and down her sides, pressing into the contour of her back until Janice backed up with a huff. "Okay," she said with a deep breath.

  David couldn't contain his smile as he spoke. "I guess I got a little carried away."

  "Oh no you don’t, mister," Janice said with a bright gaze that shined right through him. Her hand grasped his with a subtle tug before she released and walked quickly up the steps to her room. David began to follow.

  By the time he entered her room, Janice sat on the thick, red comforter of the bed. Her smooth, tan legs spread forward to dangle from the edge as she leaned back, propped up by her hands that pressed into the mattress at her sides. David reached behind his shoulder blades, pulling his t-shirt off as she scooted further back, with a soft smile. She slid one foot closer to herself to bend her leg as the other laid stretched across toward David.

  He kicked off his shoes before climbing onto her bed. David wrapped his left arm around her raised knee, sliding his hand up and down her soft thigh as he slid her gown all the way up to the white laced bra just above. His mouth worked its way up her belly while the sound of her breath came harder.

  Janice sat up, pulling her gown higher. David slid his hands up her sides, caressing the skin of her shoulders while he helped her lift it off. When Janice turned to set her clothes aside on the bed, David reached behind and unhooked her bra. She briskly reached around her shoulders to slip it off as her full, naked breasts fell free from their confines. He planted his face into her chest. Pushing her to lay on her back, he came to rest between her legs, tasting his way down to her large, deep red nipples.

  As he rolled his tongue around her left nipple in large, slow circles, he could feel her legs bending and straightening. Her heals rolled up and down the back of his legs. David's left hand rubbed at her right breast while his lips squeezed tightly around her nipple until he lifted his head and looked in her eyes.

  He scooted further up to her face. His full hardness pressed firmly against her through his thick blue jeans. While David was kissing Janice's smooth neck, her breasts brushed against his chest and she squirmed below with quiet moans. After quickly unbuckling his belt, he wrestled free of his pants and boxers. As he kicked them from his ankles, his belt buckle clanged on the floor.

  Her hands rubbed up and down his arms while he rested on top of her, bringing his face to hers, their opened, heavily breathing mouths nearly touching one another.

  He inhaled her breath before kissing her lips. David could feel his hard penis brushing against her panties while he continued tasting her moist lips. His left hand rolled down her side until he felt his way beneath her panties. Janice bent her right knee as he pushed her underwear down and she pulled one leg free. As her leg was still bent, he wrapped his left arm under her thigh, holding it up.

  David brought his face back up to hers, pulling up on her leg as he could feel the head of his throbbing hardness pressing against her wet lips below. With a slow, firm thrust, he slid deep inside her tight, slick depths and she tilted her head back with a loud gasp. He slowly rocked his way in and out, deeper every time as her voice moaned louder. She began to melt all over him below, soaking the bed. Janice arched her back, raising her plump breasts up with every moaning breath.

  He then reached his right arm to under her other thigh, accidentally pulling himself free from her. David raised up and grabbed her calves. He propped her ankles against the front of his shoulders and leaned toward her, pushing her knees close to her breasts. Janice’s clean-shaven, wet lips glistened between her legs, above the white, dampened dark sheet as he wrapped his arms around her thighs and stared down into her round, green eyes. After scooting close to her hips, he slid back inside her slick warmth all the way to her core while she arched back again, squeezing the pillows beside her. When his thrusts became faster, her moans gained in pitch as she jerked back again and again. David continued slamming himself deep into her. She tensed up with a gasping shout and released a long moan that left her limp. He burst everything he felt for her as deep as possible with one final release that pumped over and over until he let go of her thighs.

  David fell to relax on top of her naked body where they held and caressed one another silently.

  ###

  Outside, the hot summer day passed slowly as David spent an eternity with Janice in his arms, rolling and kissing under the sheets in her cool bedroom. But even this ever-flowing moment had an end. David finished getting dressed and strolled down the stairs. Janice followed closely behind. He stopped at the carport door, turning to smile at her just before opening it. Her beautiful green eyes shined into his mind with a blissful blankness that erased all words.

  David wrapped around her, rubbing his hands up and down her back as she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. He gave her a long, slow kiss, savoring her moist lips as they ran across his. David raised his face and took a moment to burn her happy expression permanently into his mind. "I love you, Janice."

  Her eyes shimmered with a watery gloss. "I love you too, David," she said as a tiny tear ran down her cheek.

  "What's wrong, Jan?" David asked.

  Her eyebrows rippled with her huge, white smile as she wiped the side of her face with her sleeve. Janice shook her head as her eyes continued to glow into his. "I'm just so happy."

  Her voice almost broke into a whimper and David squeezed her head tightly against his chest. "I won't let anything happen to you."

  #Terry#

  The church steeple stood high, unmoved by time, where it pointed to the large, nearly full moon as the midnight hours drove it to the center of the sky amidst the pale, stringy clouds that wrapped in a jagged wreath around it. Terry endured through the heavy, mournful air from his car to the locked side entrance of the church. He fumbled with his keys before finally inserting the correct one. Its serrated teeth grinded into the keyhole until he turned it with a click, opening a path to his sanctuary.

  Terry hit the switch on the wall as he walked into the congregation hall, brightly lighting the empty building as his steps echoed across the historic hardwood walls. Blood red, velvet lining draped the pulpit, towered only by the giant, white cross that hung atop large, geometrically patterned stained-glass windows. Various hues of purple, orange, red and yellow shown through from the bright fals
e lighting in the back room. It was a kaleidoscope of colors refracting through a window into a world that wasn't to illuminate a world that was. The aroma of dead flowers clashed with that of magnolia blossoms and roses, a battle between life and death that hung in the air as a reminder of what had been.

  Terry sat down in the front row, a long, darkly stained chestnut pew that had heard more silent prayers than his entire life had seen days. He pulled out his phone, lighting the screen as he opened the group chat.

  "Church. Meeting. Now!" His final message, seen only by Tony's phone. From his back pocket, he pulled a torn, blood-stained wallet wrapped within a plastic sandwich bag. Terry laid it to rest beside his phone on the shiny hardwood pew where he looked at Vance's license jutting out from the ripped black leather. Only sadness filled his heart now.

  As he slowly bowed his head to meet his clasped hands, a shadowy form silhouetted across the other side of the stained glass. A person, plainly visible, yet concealed by the fragmented colors that outlined its shadow. It leaned over, writhing side to side as it grew larger. It began to rise up with violent shakes. Long points rose from the head and leaned back, pointing downward behind. The outline grew thicker and less defined around the back and shoulders just before a long snout slowly pushed upward from where it faced the ceiling.

  Snarling growls echoed through the building, jolting Terry's head to attention. As the large, beastly form rose behind the glass, Terry's feet filled with ice that sucked the life from his stomach. His trembling hands attempted to grasp at his phone, clattering in his fumbling grip across the wooden seat. It fell into the floor with a sharp tumble that snapped the monster's shadow to attention.

  Terry bolted into a dash through the center isle of the nave. He reached the middle of the large room before a shattering blast burst from a distance behind. He jumped behind the center pews. A solid ton of fear locked him in place where he ducked out of sight. The room intensified the sniffing and snarling that blasted his ears and skin from every direction.

  Pattering paws scraped their way around the front of the room, going silent before a series of rapid sniffs huffed through the air. Terry struggled to remain one with the silent objects that became his cover, breathing as slowly as possible amidst the pounding heart that exploded continuously into his head. As the sniffing subsided, a rumbling growl became gradually louder. It approached closer along the isle, signaling a pending danger from which there was no escape.

  He gripped the hard rim behind the pew that he hid behind, squeezing against the floor as he slid underneath. The odor of dust filled his nostrils with a sting that he dared not expel as he waited. The creature's feet tapped the floor sharply with every step until he could tell exactly where it stood. Terry remained pressed between the bottom of the hardwood seat and the cold floor underneath his back as he gazed through a tiny gap where a few feet of the isle's white tile flooring were visible.

  A large, dark brown paw plopped onto the isle as he remained silently still, then another swept in front. Another step brought the monster out of view as it passed his secret shelter where he was squeezed between life and death. The snarling growls started again with renewed ferocity. A roaring howl hit his ears with a loud, brain shaking force that vibrated through the wooden seats.

  From the other side of the isle, a hard crack ripped sharply into splintering snaps. Large pieces of heavy wood clanked loudly around the room. A heavy crash popped another pew loose before it collided into the seats on the other side of Terry's hiding place. The werewolf barked primordial sounds of punishment as it continued ripping the benches loose and flinging them crashing across the church.

  A burning sting returned within Terry's sinuses. It exploded into an uncontrollable sneeze. The room went still with a dead quiet that stopped time. Suddenly, the heavy wooden barrier that pressed at his chest yanked viciously to the side.

  Terry's terror washed away into acceptance as a warm peace came over his core, flowing deep into his arms and legs. Splintering planks of wood snapped apart, revealing the horrifying beast that loomed above. It tossed his only shelter aside effortlessly. Dark fur covered the menacing stare that lifted its lips to display long, white, spiteful teeth that drizzled hot saliva onto his chest as the hairy creature stood high, extending out razor sharp claws.

  While he continued staring into the bright yellow eyes filled with a hatred fueled by pupils of pain, he saw beyond the beast that had stalked their social circles, beyond all the tragic events that pain had ravaged its way through, ripping flesh from souls along the way. He saw the troubled spirit he had wanted to console.

  "I understand now," Terry said loudly over the growling that began to subside as he laid back, curled in the floor. "I understand." His words were even louder now, flowing with a conviction that poured from the center of his chest. "I forgive you for what you are about to do."

  The noise stopped from the werewolf as it took a step back, tufted shoulders still rising and falling with its hot breath, a warm wind that blew death all around it. After a moment of uncertainty, it resumed its fierce growl, straining its face tightly to reveal the fangs of fury and the monstrous ferocity seemed to regain control. It lunged in an instant. Terry's face was slammed with a bone crushing force that squeezed teeth popping into his skull. One violent tug ended the struggle in a snap that cracked a shock down his spine.

  Chapter 23

  #Sarah#

  The morning news sounded from the living room as Sarah cracked an egg, dropping the yolk to sizzle in the hot frying pan that rested on her stove.

  "County officials are still urging residents to remain indoors and to restrict travel. The mayor declined to comment on the cause, except to say that a local hunting group is assisting local police and that the matter will be taken care of shortly."

  Sarah turned off the stove eye, paced quickly into the living room to pick up the remote and stood transfixed to the screen. Firefighters and an ambulance joined a swarm of police cars flashing lights in the Willow Baptist parking lot. "In other news, another victim was mauled by-" With a click, she turned the screen black before tossing the remote onto the table and pacing back into the kitchen.

  "Forget it," she said, dumping the still runny egg into the garbage. She threw the hot pan into the sink with a sizzle as she dialed David, placing the phone firmly to her ear.

  "Hello," David's voice sounded through the phone, barely audible above the sound of air and music in the background.

  "Where are you?" she asked.

  "Why?" He sounded even more distant.

  "We need to meet again."

  "I'm on my way to meet Jan at the city park."

  "Okay. I'm on my way," she said, pulling the phone from her ear.

  "Wait. I wasn't-" David's words were cut short with a single tap of her screen.

  Sarah didn't waste any time grabbing her keys and heading out the door, still dressed in the dark blue shorts and white t-shirt that she wore to bed.

  ###

  The passing scenery blurred into a wash of green, blue and gray as neighborhoods, stores and trees flew past. Her singular focus collapsed into a point, the point where she would find David and Janice.

  To her left, a row of neatly trimmed trees lined the front of the park where she slowed to catch a hundred split second glimpses between them of the parking lot. David's dark red car sat parked near the pristinely painted, white, wooden benches. With a sharp jerk of the wheel, she turned in. She quickly sped into the space beside his.

  Sarah got out just in time to see David rising from the car, giving his door a light shut that could barely be heard above the slam of hers. As she forcefully strode around the back of his car, David lifted his eyes from the phone he held in his hand. "I haven't been able to reach Terry," his oblivious voice rang in her ears.

  Sarah rolled her eyes. "Yeah. That's because your little girlfriend ate him last night." She swung her hands in the air as she glanced side to side for any sign of Janice.

 
"What?" David asked, hanging his jaw open.

  "It's been all over the fucking news," she said. "Earth to David."

  She watched David slap his phone down against his thigh as he shoved his other hand into his forehead, pushing back his bangs before pacing in a wide circle in the parking lot. "Or... by you or Vance," he said with a huff.

  "Get real, David. Wake the fuck up." As she spoke, the sound of an approaching car drew her attention to Janice's minivan. It slowly rolled to a stop two parking spaces away from where they stood.

  Janice emerged, walking around the back corner of the van. She held her phone in front of her as she looked in Sarah's direction, strolling closer to them by the second. "Sarah, did you hear ab-"

  "Hold it right there," Sarah said, pressing her palm into the air at Janice.

  David's voice burst from the right. "No. You hold it, Sarah."

  She raised her eyebrows and turned to David. "Oh really? It's like that now?" Her anger pushed hot through her pounding heart, looking for a place to explode.

  "Listen," Janice said. "Terry was killed last night. They're saying it was Vance."

  Sarah rolled her eyes as she listened to David join in. "But why Vance?"

  "The news said he dropped his wallet at the scene."

  "His wallet?" David asked. "I knew it." He turned toward Sarah. "See?"

  Sarah abruptly turned back to her car, walking to the driver side door. "Wait," David said, marching after from behind. "We need to find somewhere safe to g-"

  "Stay away from me!" Sarah shot back with a turn, pointing her finger at him. David stood in place as she got in the car and gave the door a slam. She cranked the engine and swung the car in reverse, before speeding past them on her way out.

  The burning well of pain had flooded her past longer than she could remember. But the last month brought it to the boiling point, splashing out into what was once a well-structured and civilized exterior, now awash with the wild fury that spilled from her heart. She watched the bright sun glare above white fluffs of cloud as she drove toward Bluff Mountain, now taking up half of her view ahead. The daylight burned brightly across evergreen slopes that piled below the rocky cliffs, but she knew that fire would quickly burn out. Darkness would soon reclaim the day and it always brought death along with it.