The Crimson Z

by Robert Cloud, Lee Rush, Richard Savage

  "Papa Zach, is something wrong.” Melanie asked as she looked at him with a quizzical look upon her face.

  "Ummm, precious, next time warn me before you wiggle. I need to distract myself first. That was just a little disturbing,” he said as he let out a deep breath.

  Melanie looked at him strangely then it dawned on her what he meant and she blushed brightly. Her heart raced as she could feel every muscle in her body quivering as if she was ready to leap from him his lap like a startled rabbit surprised by a wolf on the prowl. Just as her embarrassment was reaching its peak his loving arms wrapped around her and soothed her. There were tears in her eyes as she looked up at him. She heard his gentle voice say, “It is okay now, sweetie, I know you did not mean to do that. Perhaps one day you will want to know that wiggling like that causes that reaction."

  Still blushing she looked at him, a smile crossed her lips and then she kissed him gently. Her hand caressed his cheek as she chided, “Well then at least I know that even at your age there is nothing wrong with that part of your body.” A giggle burst from her lips and she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly.

  When she reluctantly ended the kiss their eyes met and Zachariah knew that her confession of love was not a child's wish but was indeed from her heart. He could feel the waves coming off of her and there was no doubt in his mind that Melanie did indeed love him. The warmth he felt within was something that had gone unfelt in so long he had forgotten how wonderful it could be.

  He opened his hand and Melanie laid a ring that was a slender golden band with strange fan-like markings etched softly into it. Upon the band was a single oval jewel the color of the deepest ocean that held the shadow of the crescent moon within its depths. “Tell me about this piece, Papa Zach."

  Zachariah looked at the ring. He remembered it well. The images of the events surrounding the ring flooded his mind. He looked at Melanie and began, “Now this piece helped a woman named Terran pass a test that she did not even know she was taking...

  On the Wings of a Dream

  A Novelette by Kara Elsberry

  On the Wings of a Dream

  Chapter One

  A tinkling of laughter, like the bells of fairies, rang out across the dewy spring air.

  She was racing through the forest, her tiny slippered feet scarcely touching the forest bed as leaves floated up around her to join in the merry race. Beside her, his hand clamped tightly in her own, was her dearest friend. Oddly, she couldn't seem to quite recall his name, but she knew that she was safe with him and that all would be well.

  With another peal of laughter, she pulled him along, her hair floating behind her in wild, coppery wisps. She snuck a quick peek at her friend, only to find his head turned and bathed in the shadows. Her only glimpse was of his beautiful wavy hair ... billowing behind him in a golden halo.

  The forest abruptly gave way to a meadow of colorful wildflowers as they stumbled to the ground in a tangle of arms and legs. Their breath came in gasps and giggles. They lay on their backs for a few moments to rest, pointing out fantastical creatures in the marshmallow clouds and making up even more fantastical stories about them.

  She caught sight of a very beautiful and unusual flower from the corner of her eye and went to investigate, leaving her friend to his own devices for a few moments. With a triumphant squeal, she rose quickly and turned to show her friend the lovely prize she had discovered. Instead, she ended up bumping foreheads with him, as he was coming up directly behind her.

  She was drowning...

  ...in two deep pools of aquamarine ... his gaze was mesmerizing and innocent ... calm and absolutely peaceful. He was so close that she could smell the blade of sweet grass he had just been chewing on. For a moment that seemed to stretch on into eternity, they held each other's gazes, each of them afraid to speak and break the spell. The flower dropped from her hand unnoticed. His pupils expanded and deepened in color as he took a deep breath, he moved in closer. He pressed his warm lips to her earlobe, sending a pleasant tingle all the way down to her toes.

  "I want you to have this’ ... he whispered softly into her ear.

  She felt a small cool object being pressed into her palm. She started to look down but he squeezed her hand tightly and she gasped, startled by his sudden aggressiveness. Curious, she unlocked his fingers and began to open her hand.

  Suddenly, the air around her began to shimmer and become misty. He kissed her softly as he whispered three powerful words against her lips...

  "You are mine."

  Chapter Two

  Terran awoke very suddenly, sitting straight up, her hands clutching the cushy sleeping bag to her breast.

  "What the heck was that all about? She wondered as the shards of the dream began to break away. She reached up irritably to swipe an errant piece of hair from her eyes.

  Well, she might as well greet the day; she had a lot of unpacking to do. It was time to ‘rise and shine’ as her dad always used to say.

  She sighed deeply and threw back the covers, sitting up to stretch her stiff and aching body. Well, that settled it, she was definitely too old for sleepovers. She stood up to make her way to the bathroom, still muttering under her breath and holding her lower back like a decrepit old woman.

  After finishing up with her morning routine and feeling vastly refreshed from her shower, she decided to clean up her bed and get to work unpacking the seemingly endless pile of boxes. If this is what it was like to move into your dream home, someone please give her a good swift kick in the you know what if she ever voiced such ridiculous ideas again!

  She rolled her sleeping bag up tightly and put it back into its duffel. Grabbing her pillow, she was just about to throw it all on the recliner when she glimpsed a shimmer of gold from the corner of her eye.

  "That's odd, I remember clearing off this spot to sleep on last night, she mumbled to herself. She was absolutely certain of it.

  Maybe the zipper pull came loose from the sleeping bag? She dropped the pillow and leaned forward. On the old wooden floorboards lay the most unusual and beautiful ring she had ever seen. The golden band was slender, with strange fan-like markings etched softly into it. There was a single oval jewel setting, the color of the deepest ocean, with the shadow of a crescent moon in its depths. Her breath came out in a sigh ... how absolutely breathtaking. But where did it come from?

  As she slipped the ring onto the middle finger of her right hand, she felt a warmth pulsing through her hand and up into her arm. Its heat reached up into her heart and finally encompassed her thoughts, so that the air around her seemed to shimmer for an instant.

  Her breath caught in her throat and she reached out to steady herself.

  "Whoa.” She gasped. “What is wrong with me this morning?"

  She stood there for a few moments more, leaning against the wall and allowing her breathing and heart rate to return to normal. She just didn't have time for this today! She had big plans for this house and couldn't wait to get them under way. What a wonderful omen, to find such a beautiful golden ring in her new house! She gazed down at her finger, absentmindedly tracing the markings on the band with the tip of her pinky finger. She recalled a time when things hadn't been so good for her and banished the thoughts quickly from her mind, lest she ruin the perfectly lovely day ahead of her.

  "Only happy thoughts!” she admonished herself.

  Terran walked to the kitchen, to search for the box of cleaning supplies that had made the move with her. An hour later, she still hadn't located the box and decided to give it up as a lost cause. She would have to make a trip to the store and it was no use putting it off. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the hall mirror on her way out and stopped to run a quick hand through her coppery tresses, fluffing them a bit to give her hair the ‘wild and untamed’ look she favored. Other than that, she looked pretty darn good for being dressed down for a long, hard day of unpacking. A cute and sporty powder blue sweat suit hugged her curvy figure; the white tank
top accentuated her ample breasts. She threw on her hoody and zipped it up half way.

  She was proud of her womanly figure ... she was certainly no size six model, but she had long come to terms with that unpleasant fact, thank you very much. It had taken her years to realize that looking like you survived on a diet of only water was just not the norm for most women. She was a healthy and vital woman in the prime of her life, with long shapely legs, a flat stomach and breasts that were more than a man's average handful. She smoothed her hands down over her body and gave herself a sly wink on the way out the door. She felt vibrant and alive!

  Chapter Three

  She stepped out the door to greet the morning with a spring in her step and a contented smile upon her face. It had rained the night before and the air was fresh and clean, clearing her mind as she inhaled deeply. As she walked, she mulled her dream over again. She had the strangest feeling that this wasn't the first time she had dreamt it, but it had been quite a while. The mysterious boy ... who was he? Why couldn't she see his face? When she tried to bring his features into focus, there were only shadows. Two bright oval pools of aquamarine dominated her vision and got in the way of any further contemplation. She was almost to the corner now, so she pushed all thoughts of the dream aside and crossed the street to stop at the town's only hardware store. The wooden door's bell chimed pleasantly as she entered. The store was small and cluttered, but in a clean down home sort of way. The town's old-fashioned charm had been one of the deciding factors in her big move. A fresh start to a new and happy life; a life she felt was well within her reach.

  She stopped daydreaming to focus on the purpose for her visit here and began to browse the shelves, looking for a hammer and some nails. She had a ton of pictures and knick knacks just screaming to be hung up in their proper places. It was a hobby she indulged herself in, collecting beautiful and unusual things. Some might even call them odd, (and in fact some had) but they each had a special meaning in her heart and she cherished each and every one of them. Most of her favorite pieces were ones given to her from her family. Those personal ones she reserved for her bedroom or den, so that she could surround herself in happy memories.

  "May I help you find something, miss?” a gruff, but gentle voice behind her inquired.

  Terran jumped slightly and blushed at the stocky, bearded man standing behind her. He was just about her height, maybe an inch or two taller, but he had to be twice, maybe even three times as wide as she was. He reminded her of a shorter version of Paul Bunyan. He could have been his son Paul Jr. He was even dressed the part with a pair of dark blue jeans, tan work boots, and a red flannel shirt rolled up to his elbows. He was staring at her with bushy eyebrows raised.

  "Oh! Yes, I guess that would be nice. I'm afraid I'm new here and don't know my way around just yet.” She smiled sheepishly at him, shrugging her shoulders slightly.

  She held her hand out to introduce herself. He looked somewhat surprised, like he hadn't shaken a hand in a few turns, but he recovered quickly and reached out, if somewhat roughly, and grasped her hand in his. She had a moment to register just how absurdly hairy his knuckles were, when she was no longer standing in the hardware store, but in cool dark room, with only a single bare bulb hanging from the ceiling, its miserly glow straining to reach the shadowy corners. She heard a furtive movement from behind her and she spun around quickly, a scream building in her throat.

  She had but a moment to register a hulking shadow coming towards her before it passed right through her body! She was so shocked that it was all she could do to remember how to breathe. The light fell upon the shadow and revealed it to be a man ... the man in the hardware store! He was humming a little tune that sounded suspiciously like something by the Village People. What's more, he was dressed in a lacy pair of red panties, a matching red bra, and a pair of black fishnet stockings that had definitely seen better days. She took it all in slowly, watching as he waltzed around the dim room humming to himself as he headed towards an old wardrobe she had overlooked on her first glance about the room. He began searching the contents of the wardrobe and soon she heard a pleased grunt emanate from within. He seemed to have located what he had been searching for. He spun around with a flourish, fixing a hideous platinum blonde wig to his head and smiling beatifically.

  "Okay, Terr, calm down.” She whispered to herself. “You're just going crazy, that's all. You knew it would happen sooner or later, you just didn't know it would be because of Paul Bunyan's doppelganger decked out as a trashy cross-dresser.” A crazy little giggle bubbled up from her throat as she sank to the floor and hugged her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes and rocked herself back and forth, whispering her own name over and over into the cool darkness.

  "My name is Terran, my name is Terran, my name is Terran..."

  She opened her eyes and found herself face to face with the store clerk, her hand still engulfed in his hairy hand shake. A sudden hot pain flared through her hand and up her arm and she jumped back, releasing his hand immediately. She was back! Gone was the dingy basement, gone was the cross-dressed lumberjack; she was back in the real world! At least, she sincerely hoped so.

  "Good to meet you Terran, my name is Daryl and I'm the owner of this fine establishment.” He smiled warmly at her, gesturing widely about the store. His teeth were bright white against his dark bushy beard. “I've been here ‘bout oh, 20 years now. Business is slow, but steady and I couldn't ask for a nicer town to live in."

  Daryl went on to regale her of the town's finer assets, but she was barely listening. All she kept thinking of was whether or not he was wearing that red bra and panties under his jeans and flannel shirt. She shivered imperceptibly.

  Terran exited the hardware store not long after, carrying her paper sack of hammer and nails. She hardly remembered her conversation with Daryl. Surely it had been quite one-sided, as she felt as if she were thinking through a wall of water. Shaking her head, she wondered just what was going on with her. Was she really going crazy? She had to be, didn't she? No one in their right mind would daydream about a lingerie wearing, cross-dressing lumberjack that sang and pranced merrily around his basement.

  Chapter Four

  Crazy ... such a harsh and final word. Was she really losing her mind? Terran certainly didn't feel as if she were. She contemplated a future of wearing faded house robes, munching on cookie dough ice cream (which she loved) and talking to her 2 dozen cats all while watching her daily ‘stories’ on daytime television. Yikes. The funny thing was she didn't have any trouble envisioning this horrific future.

  Well, not while she was in charge! She giggled to herself at the silly thought and continued on to the town's only grocery store, the ‘Bag ‘n Go'.

  The cool air of the store's air conditioner blasted her in the face as she pushed open the doors. She grabbed one of the shopping carts and headed for the cleaning supply isle.

  Three minutes later, she found it and was scanning the multiple bottles of soap when a woman, fuzzy dark brown hair escaping her long braid, pushed her cart into the narrow isle. She was actually kind of pretty if you overlooked the beginnings of dark circles under her eyes and the frazzled look of a mom who definitely needed a vacation.

  A cute freckled tot wearing a cherry red jumper sat screaming bloody murder at her two older brothers, who were paying her no attention at all. They were too busy pulling on their mother's flannel shirt and arguing loudly over whose turn it was to sit in the front seat of the car on the way home. One of the boys reached over, quick as a whip and yanked on his brother's shaggy brown hair, then darted behind his mother before his brother could retaliate in kind. The woman smiled apologetically at Terran and she returned the smile a bit distractedly as she continued her search for the perfect power cleaner. Terran tried to block out the racket and concentrate on her choices, but her ears were suddenly assaulted with the scream of a banshee. She flinched as the small girl's screams grew to octaves likely to break glass.

  The boys, not to be ou
tdone by their kid sister, raised their voices as if in competition and Terran could feel a severe headache approaching like a storm. Maybe a visit to the pharmacy counter wouldn't be a bad idea after this. Making her decision the split second the mother's patience hit its boiling point; she reached out and grabbed the nearest familiar cleaner just to get the heck outta dodge. She also quickly grabbed some sponges and window cleaner on her way by, nearly knocking a display case of Mr. Tidy's kitchen floor cleaner to the floor in her haste.

  She could hear the mother speaking low and fiercely as she attempted to make her escape. “If you don't all be quiet this instant, there will be no treats for you tonight!"

  Terran had a feeling that no amount of treats would calm these children. She felt a pang of sympathy for the mother and briefly wondered where her husband was. No doubt he was at home; ‘getting ready’ for a long hard day of six packs and sports shows. She smirked to herself.

  "Excuse me,” Terran said as she tried to maneuver around the noisy bunch. The isle was so narrow; their carts bumped and squeaked against another as they passed.

  The woman was still lecturing her children in low tones as she nodded to Terran and tried to move her boys far enough to the side so she could get by.

  Terran got all of two steps forward when the two boys, still arguing, jostled into her from behind, causing the woman to bump into Terran. The woman reached out to her to apologize and Terran cut her off with a wave of her hand.

  "Please, don't worry; kids will be ki...” her remark died on her lips as the woman's hand brushed her own and a wave of electric heat shot up her arm. She yanked her hand back to cradle it against her chest, her ring flashing and causing lights to dance behind her eyes. When the spots behind her eyes cleared, she began to realize that she was no longer speaking with the woman in the grocery store. In fact, she could no longer see the woman or her children at all. What's more, she wasn't even in the grocery store.