by K D Grace
Keeping their arms around each other, they floated through the afterglow of their union, smiling contentedly, until he felt her body go limp in his arms and she drifted off to sleep. He just kept holding on to her, feeling the gentle softness of her body against him, deriving new comfort from her presence. Lying there beside her, he tried to come to grips with what had so suddenly and unexpectedly happened to him and what he was doing in her strange world, wondering desperately if he would ever be able to escape.
After what seemed like hours, he finally dozed off himself and fell into a deep, nightmarish sleep, plagued by ghastly, hauntingly disturbing images that wouldn’t leave him alone. And probably never would…
Something About Mary
by J S Black
How could I not smile at Casey? After all these months of being holed up in her workroom, never allowing me so much as a glimpse no matter how many coffees I took her or begged, here she finally was, beaming with pride and moments away from unveiling her latest creation.
‘Ladies and gentlemen, I give you …’ Casey announced grandly, although I was the only person present in our living-room, ‘Mary!’ Casey proudly pulled away the purple silk sheet that had covered the shape upon our sofa and in my disbelief at what was unveiled I felt the smile fall from my face.
‘Larry,’ Casey asked worriedly, ‘what do you think? Do you like her?’ I’d seen much of Casey’s work but never anything quite like this. Mary, or so the creation had been named, was a life-sized figure of a woman dressed in a long silken gown of black and deep green the luxurious colours of which served only to define more clearly the creation’s pleasing curves. But impressed as I was by the figure’s shapely thighs and full breasts, it was the face that had silenced me. Long, straight black hair cascaded around the white face made alive by eyes that held my gaze with a life of their own and although the face wasn’t without its imperfections, which strangely added to its realism, my first thought was that this might be a joke played upon me by Casey and one of her arty friends.
‘It’s uncanny,’ I said quietly, my brow furrowed as I scrutinised the construction lounging on our sofa. Glancing towards Casey I saw her proud smile waning and chose my words more carefully, ‘I mean she’s so lifelike, I’ve never seen anything quite like her,’ and I wasn’t lying. Casey seated herself next to Mary, the smile now returning to her pretty little face.
‘Look Larry, I’ve constructed Mary so that we can move her into any position we want, she’s fully jointed …’ Casey demonstrated by moving Mary through a series of poses as though she were manipulating an unconscious guest. ‘I won’t bore you with all the details but I’ve used the body of a mannequin as a base and upon this I’ve used latex, fibreglass, plastic tubing, dowels, ball and socket joints, polyurethane …’
‘OK, OK, I get it,’ I said, while not really getting it at all. Casey observed me with amusement when I began to move about the room while keeping my eyes upon Mary, testing something. ‘Casey, no matter where I go her eyes follow me, they watch me.’ They freak me the fuck out, I thought.
‘Mary’s the playmate we’ve desired, Larry, we can use her, we can fantasise, for us she can be real and you need never feel jealous of her.’ Casey gazed upon the figure next to her and I found the adoration in her face towards her creation distasteful somehow. And despite Casey’s words I felt the small ball of heat that was my jealousy began to stir somewhere deep within me.
‘Why Mary?’ I asked a little too sternly and immediately hoped that Casey hadn’t noticed. Casey turned her gaze from Mary to me, her face calmly vacant and in a gentle voice she said, ‘Larry, please don’t feel jealous towards Mary, I made her for us both.’ She was silent for a moment but her eyes never left mine. ‘And there’s something I want to tell you about Mary, something that I didn’t quite figure on.’
‘It was never my intention to make her look like the Mary I knew back in my university days,’ Casey told me. ‘She just began to appear out of the materials I was using, Jeez, Larry, if I really thought about this I could be as freaked about her as you are, more so really.’
The bright San Francisco autumnal sun had slipped away to a murky evening and after a late evening supper we sipped Blue Devils in our cosy candlelit room, snuggled together on our favourite couch. Mary reclined in the two-seater across the room from us. Under the glow of candlelight she appeared more alive than when she’d first been unveiled and I felt that we were rudely discussing a guest.
I took a sip of my drink. ‘So, do you wanna tell me a little more about Mary, the real one I mean.’ I nodded in the direction of Mary’s doppelganger. ‘I bet that would just freak her the hell right out.’
Casey took a sip of her drink before answering. ‘Well, Mary was both interesting and … unusual. She was deep, you know, and her interests were things we didn’t really understand but that didn’t matter because we were drawn to her all the same.’
‘She looks like a Goth chick to me,’ I said with a smirk.
‘Well, I guess she was,’ Casey agreed with a smile. ‘She definitely seemed more European than American, if you know what I mean.’
I looked at Casey’s face, beautiful in the candlelight and knew that she was thinking deeply. I suspected that she wasn’t telling me everything and her silence prompted a burning question from me. ‘So, did you like her, Casey. I mean did you …’
‘Desire her?’ Casey looked at the figure sitting across the room from us. ‘Yeah, Larry I did. I had one hell of a crush on her.’
‘You were lovers?’ I had to ask the question, but I probably didn’t want to hear the answer.
‘No, never.’ Casey gave an incredulous laugh, ‘I just didn’t have the nerve back then to voice my feelings I guess …’
‘But what if you had done? How do you think this Mary of yours would’ve reacted?’ I asked, struggling to conceal my scorn.
‘I don’t know, Larry, I guess that’s always been at the back of my mind somewhere.’ She looked from me towards her figure of Mary, which returned her gaze as though fully aware of the conversation taking place.
‘Christ, so all the time that we’ve been together this woman you adore so much has been floating around in your head,’ I said vehemently.
‘Larry, it isn’t like I’ve been thinking about her every day, and don’t you have memories too?’
‘I guess so yeah,’ I answered and realising how petulant I was sounding I endeavoured to move the conversation forwards. ‘OK, so tell me a little more about her, what made her so unusual?’
‘Well she said lots of stuff, Larry, maybe we should just change the subject.’
‘Well, that’s kind of hard considering she’s as good as sitting across the room from us,’ I said. ‘Come on, I want to know who we’re messing with here, what sort of stuff did she used to say?’
‘OK.’ Casey took a sip of her drink, ‘Mary used to say that lust was one of the most powerful desires known to man, that lustful energy was something to be harnessed and used, but never really gave an explanation to this and if she did I guess it kind of went over my head at the time.’
‘I think she was right about the lust thing, the rest sounds like mumbo-shit to me.’
‘Well, whatever, look, all you need to know is this; a doll could never replace you so how about we move on from this now huh?’ Casey snuggled closer to me on the couch, lifting up her knees so they were across my lap. I rested a hand upon her exposed thigh, Casey’s smooth skin serving to soothe me and I felt instantly better despite my resentment of Mary, real or unreal. I just hoped that the real one didn’t show up any time during my life with Casey. Casey placed her drink down upon the table; her cool lips were at my cheek, my ear.
‘Want me to mix us more devils?’ I asked, noticing her empty glass.
‘No, not just at the moment,’ Casey whispered into my ear before planting a soft yet audible kiss followed by a delicate tongue flick, something she knew melted me every time.
I glanced i
n the direction of Mary, hoping she had slipped from her sitting position to at least look like someone asleep and inanimate.
Mary was looking directly at us.
Directly at me.
I reminded myself that Mary was nothing more than plastic and all the other crap that Casey had mentioned earlier. Casey, though, was real and her hand rested now upon my cock through the thin material of my slacks. I tasted Blue Devil upon her lips and briefly upon her tongue pushing between my own lips and my own lust began to rise as I returned her kisses, my hand deep in Casey’s lush hair as I held her close. Casey gently squeezed the erection growing beneath her hand and I moved my own hand over the expanse of her smooth naked thigh, her soft skin like silk under my appreciative touch.
I released a groan of pleasure into Casey’s mouth when I felt her small hand begin to tug at my zipper and my kisses became more intense, more demanding as my arousal grew.
Casey pulled away from me, breaking our kiss. Her eyes held my own as she turned her attention to my belt, her smile enchantingly beautiful in the glow of the candlelight. I stole a glance over Casey’s shoulder, not used to seeing another person in the room as we made love I needed to assure myself that the figure of Mary was still indeed just that, a contrived figure produced by Casey’s own hands.
As before, Mary was looking directly towards me and in the shine of her eyes I thought I saw emotions that I was all too guilty of feeling; anger and jealousy.
‘Casey wait ...’ Pulling Casey’s hand away from me I pushed her away in one swift movement. From the opposite end of the sofa she looked at me in shock and confusion.
‘What’s the matter? What did I do?’ She searched my face for answers. I looked from Casey’s concerned face to Mary’s. The doll had fallen into a slumped position, her head tilted to one side lifelessly and yet her glassy eyes appeared to look through me as only the dead eyes of a doll could.
Holding my arms down firmly against the bed on either side of my head, Casey lowered her moist heat fully down the length of my cock and although her ferocity had taken me by surprise it didn’t lessen my yearning for her enveloping warmth.
In the candlelight I watched Casey’s lovely face above me as she ground herself against me, her eyes closed as she concentrated on her movements and the pleasure it gave.
‘Does it feel good, babe?’ Her voice was little more than a harsh whisper.
‘Yeah,’ I looked up towards Casey’s face once again to see her looking to her left, the intensity in her eyes now for the benefit of someone, something else.
Mary was seated in the wicker chair next to our bed, carefully positioned there so as to observe us. I looked to my right and in the candlelight it appeared as though a third person was in the room watching us, those intense eyes bringing life to her otherwise waxen face in the yellow light, watching us as we fucked.
Casey’s movements quickened along with her breath as she rode me hard towards her approaching peak. She held me down more firmly and a groan of sheer pleasure escaped her lips when her orgasm powered through her lithe body and still she continued to stare at Mary, her eyes locked on to the doll’s, as though seeking approval there.
And despite my annoyance, despite my growing jealousy I felt the erupting warmth signalling the onset of my own orgasm when Casey it seemed had passed the peak of her own.
‘I’m coming …’ I spat the words knowing I’d be able to hold back no longer, such were the power of Casey’s thrusts upon me as she ground as much pleasure as she could from her orgasm. Quickly, Casey climbed off me, finally releasing me from the bed and I wondered what she intended. Although I was aware of the “watching” figure to my right I was nevertheless too preoccupied with my own release to pay Mary any attention. I let out a groan of pleasure of my own when I felt the sensation of Casey’s warm mouth upon my erupting cock to relish the sensation of my powerful spurts caught by her welcoming mouth as I bucked my hips and yet Casey was sure not to release me until I’d fully spent for her.
‘Oh boy.’ I managed a smile for Casey who looked up the length of my body towards me. She hadn’t swallowed my spend but was holding it in her mouth and I guess I must’ve looked confused again when climbing up off the bed, she moved towards the figure of Mary still seated in the wicker chair to my right.
‘What you doing?’ I asked as I admired Casey’s slender form and beautifully smooth skin glowing in the candlelight, reaching for the figure of Mary. Casey placed Mary down next to me on the bed and silently I watched, wondering what she intended.
Despite my jealousy I still found it erotic to watch Casey lower her face towards Mary’s, her lips meeting those of the doll’s. I watched as she slowly released my spend over Mary’s unmoving lips to run in silver streams down over those lips and smooth cheeks. I knew that Mary’s lips weren’t fully sealed, that Casey had given her the smallest of openings that was a mouth and surely some of my semen was entering that mouth now.
‘You know I’m broad minded but this is freaking me out just a little now, honey,’ I said as gently as I could, not wanting to upset Casey who withdrew from the doll, a seam of glistening come still connecting them.
‘I’ll go freshen up and get us drinks,’ she told me, smiling a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes and then she was gone, leaving me alone on the bed with Mary.
I observed Mary’s face in the candlelight, her features so realistic, so creepy but something else momentarily stopped my breath.
Sounds, so faint as to be almost inaudible were emitting from her mouth.
Leaning closer to the doll’s face I heard the small “popping” sounds created by my juice in her mouth. I watched more closely, my brow furrowing as I tried to understand what was happening here in our bedroom. I watched my semen form into a small bubble upon Mary’s lips before popping and knew that this was the sound I’d heard only moments ago.
The doll was breathing.
I awoke to find myself alone in bed and feeling the coolness of the other side I knew that Casey had been gone some time. I glanced at our bedside clock, 1.34 a.m. Maybe she couldn’t sleep, maybe she’d gone to get herself a drink or read downstairs for a while, reasonable thoughts but I just wasn’t buying them.
With a sigh I pulled myself up off the bed and padded out of the bedroom into the dark hallway. A dull light emitted from under the door of the guestroom where I’d asked Casey to keep the doll now that I didn’t want it anywhere near me. I considered returning to bed but knew if I did I most likely wouldn’t sleep.
Treading carefully in an attempt to be quiet in this creaky old house of ours I managed to reach the door and reached for the solid brass handle. The door let out a gentle creak but if the occupants of the room had heard then they chose not to take notice.
In the gentle light of one small corner lamp Casey lay on the bed, her arms wrapped around Mary who not for the first time appeared to be so very real in this dull light. I knew that if anyone were to witness the couple they’d be forgiven for assuming they were being treated to the sight of two women on the bed, each entwined in the other, closer than I myself had been with Casey for some months, regardless of sex.
I considered whispering Casey’s name, to wake her and ask that she come back to bed but the words never left my lips; I knew I’d be intruding here, that I wasn’t welcome. Gently I closed the door before making my way back to our bedroom alone.
Awake, I lay in our bed with troubled mind. It was something I’d seen in that room just a few steps away from me. Casey and that damn figure she’d constructed, Mary. Their arms wrapped around one another, their arms, Mary’s arms around Casey’s slender figure, holding her.
‘Tell me about Mary, the real one I mean because if I’m honest with you, Casey, that thing in the other room is freaking me the fuck out!’ I’d been waiting for Casey, having been awake for most of the night I was in no mood to be fobbed off. She looked at me with sleepy eyes and seated herself opposite me at our table. I placed a coffee in front of
her and waited for her to speak.
Casey raised her face to look at me. She appeared tired, tired of me.
‘We were members of Mary Wolfe’s select group and would perform … rituals with her, she’d allow us to enter her dark world, although never really fully, she never fully opened herself up to anyone, including me.’ She took a sip of her coffee and without looking at me continued, ‘Something happened, something dreadful …’ She was silent for a moment, her brow furrowed.
‘Yeah?’ I encouraged.
‘It was rumoured that she killed the man who stole her lover from her but because a body was never found she was never held to account.’
‘Christ …’ I muttered.
‘And it got worse, Larry,’ Casey sighed. ‘One foggy evening Mary leaped off the Golden Gate bridge, right here in the city but guess what? Her body was never found either and some doubted she’d even leaped at all but whatever happened, Mary hasn’t been seen since.’
‘And you expect me to have that thing in our bedroom?’ I said in disbelief.
‘That thing?’ she echoed. ‘That thing, as you call it, took me months to construct, she’s my masterpiece, my playmate!’ Her anger seemed to intensify with each word until she was glaring at me from across the table. ‘Look, I’m going to be late for my meeting in the city if I don’t get moving. We’ll talk about this later tonight, OK?’ Her voice had softened but there was still determination in her eyes.