Dark Temptations

by Eric Alan Williams

  Travis wanted so badly to confide in his coach and beg for help, but he couldn't; all he could do was stutter. "I… I have, a lot, going, on. I can't focus."

  The coach leaned back. "Well, son, then you need to see the doctor on campus if you're having trouble focusing, but either way, Travis, I have to send you there any way for a drug test, and until further notice, I have to suspend you from the team."

  Travis mostly snapped out of it, not enough to tell him about what was happening, but at least respond to the suspension. "What do you mean suspend me? What does that mean?"

  The coach shrugged. "You've missed eight practices, and a game without any notification or a doctor's note. I'm sorry, but the University has rules. Until a doctor has had a look at you and gives me a good reason why you've been missing, I have to suspend you." The coach leaned forward again. "Now I do have some pull with Doctor Yates, you're a good kid Travis, I don't want to lose you, so please, cooperate with her and hopefully we can salvage your scholarship, otherwise, this institution may have to let you go if you can't come up with the funding on your own."

  Travis was clearly devastated.

  "Armstine University is one of the few schools that has a grandfather clause in place, Travis. You need to make some choices, son. Like I said, Doctor Yates is a friend of mine, I have some pull, so please, come up with something I can use to keep you on the team."

  "You want me to fabricate something?" Travis asked.

  The coach shrugged. He wanted to say yes, but he could be held liable. He hoped that Travis hadn't asked that, but all he could do was try to hint in another way. "All I am saying is that if... Something is going on, like ADHD, depression, anxiety, too much stress, and it was reported, and in your file, then a medical pardon could be issued."

  He got up and patted him on the shoulder. "Figure it out, Travis. But if your grades continue to slip, there's nothing further I can do to help you."

  Travis felt numb as he walked over to the clinic. Meanwhile, Michelle Laserton, his girlfriend of two years, and fiancé of six months were running after him. He hadn't returned half her calls.

  Michelle Laserton was studying at a university across town, Packard University, which was a Global Alliance University. She had gotten in based on her grades and was studying forensics. The determined blond caught up with him. She grabbed him by the arm forcing him to look at the lovely soft-faced beauty looking at him. He wanted to run his fingers through her shoulder-length blond hair, but couldn't he just stand there. "Hi…"

  The lovely beauty was furious. She had tears in her eyes. "Travis, why are you not returning any of my texts or calls? I have been trying to reach you for days."

  "I've been busy with my studies." He said lowly and slowly.

  "Travis, what the hell? You've never blown me off before? Even Mitchell says you've been acting weird lately? Missing games? Practices? I was here just last night looking for you after practice, and you were nowhere to be seen?"

  "Talk to me?" She demanded.

  Just like the coach, he wanted to tell her. He needed to say to her. He wanted someone to help him and save him from seeing the devil every night and feeling the devil enter him, laying its foul seed inside him, but he couldn't. All Travis could do was makeup things that Heidi had planted there. "I've been busy. My grades are slipping. I have been studying more than I usually do."

  She put her hands up. "Look, I have seen you study, you are not like these dumb ass jocks that couldn't hack the grades to get into a Global Alliance school for free, you're bloody brilliant, so what is it, Travis? Is there someone else?" She asked as tears started to flow.

  He looked at her with a vacant glare. "No, no one else. I'm just studying is all."

  She looked off. "You're acting like my parents' fucking droid Trav."

  "I am just under a lot of stress right now, Michelle."

  "Fine, I get it, but I'm coming over tonight. I can help you study."

  He looked distant. "After nine, come over after nine."

  _____

  Doctor Yates' office.

  Travis sat there in an exam gown. Doctor Yates was an older woman, about the same age as Coach Burnside. She had a troubled look on her face. She had examined him from head to toe, and even ran a neural scan. She was standing there with her arms crossed while clinging to a tablet. "Mr. Newstead, I didn't find any drugs in your system, and your neural scan doesn't show any signs of ADHD, but you did register for depression. But I'm worried about your sexual habits?"

  He looked up.

  "I get it, college, experimenting around, but you need to be using a better lubricant. You have anal tearing, now I can use a cold laser to speed up the healing, but I need you to come clean, is there anything else going on?"

  He felt trapped in his own mind. His mind had become a prison in which he couldn't escape. All he could say was. "No, nothing else is going on."

  She could tell he wasn't telling her something but had to at least respect his privacy. "Well, I'm going to report clinical depression to help you with a medical release, but for the time being, please lay on your stomach so I can apply the laser."

  Travis laid on his stomach and looked down through a metal pillow. He could feel something going inside him, it was far gentler than what he had been going through. He could feel something warm inside him. The entire time, he kept thinking about what the demon had been doing to him. To him, he didn't see the chubby girl anymore, it was as if she vanished from his ability to see her, all he could see was Cale transforming and his eyes while he fucked him.

  Travis left the doctor’s office and felt compelled to look at his watch. It was almost six in the afternoon. He started to cry. He couldn't help but call an aircab to go to the warehouse…

  Chapter 0.2- Flashback.

  Almost a full week had passed for Travis since Cale had been in him again after Doctor Yates had healed his rectum. Cale loved it, and it was as if he had fucked him for the first time all over again. Cale gave Heidi an order to get Travis to heal up again before they were to meet on Friday. Cale had even given him a break, though Travis had no idea why but was grateful to have some time away from his torment. All he knew was on Friday; he was to return to the warehouse.

  Travis was sitting in Michelle's dorm room. Her roommate had agreed to give them some privacy. Michelle was making Travis's favorite, grilled salmon and steamed broccoli. Travis seemed more relaxed. Doctor Yates had given him docalorizide, which was a tablet that melts under the tongue. It helped with depression, anxiety, and was promising with PTSD patients. It was derived from the drug Xyphamine, which caused sensitive evolution, but so far, the drug had been purified to so far, has no known side effects, including producing sensitives.

  "Man, that smells really good," Travis said.

  Michelle sat a small table, she put his salmon on a plate and his broccoli. He usually only ever drank water, so she had a metal cup set out for him. After he sat down, she scooted her seat in. "I also made your favorite dessert."

  "You made lava cake?" He asked.

  "I sure did. But you don't get any dessert until after dinner, and then maybe you can have an extra dessert?"

  He looked a little distraught at that. He wanted to so badly, but something about even thinking about being intimate with her almost seemed repulsive. As if something was changing in his nature, whatever it was felt forced. "Are you sure? I have been under a lot of stress lately. I don't want to, you know, underperform?"

  Michelle scoffed. "Since when have you ever had a problem performing in bed, Travis?"

  He took a bite out of his salmon to ignore the question. "This is really good."

  She looked annoyed. "It's your favorite. I've made it for you like a thousand times."

  He took a deep breath. "Well, it tastes like the first time. It's just really nice to be here with you tonight, Michelle."

  "We are engaged to be married, Travis." She looked at him curiously while taking a drink of water. "Are you sure this is just
stress? Cause babe, you are acting all kinds of weird lately."

  He sighed. "Doctor Yates at the University diagnosed me with depression. She has me taking docalorizide."

  "Docalorizide?"

  "Yeah, why?" He asked.

  She took a bite, chewed, and replied. "It's just new is all." She pointed her fork at him. "You know that docalorizide was made from that drug that caused the sensitives, right?"

  "WHAT?!"

  She nodded as she took another bite. "I mean, I hear it has been purified and tested, but new drugs make me nervous. Especially since that whole mutation that Xyphamine caused." She took a bite and looked up. "You know, Xyphamine was supposed to be a complete cure-all for just about anything related to mental health, from ADHD, depression, anxiety, varying degrees of autism. If I remember my pharmacology class correctly, it was supposed to help reverse and treat several forms of dementia."

  Travis smiled. He loved it when his fiancé showed off her brain. He loved that about her. "You would know Doctor Laserton."

  "By the time we both graduate, it will be Doctor Newstead." She took another drink. By the way, I had my nexplotec implant renewed."

  Travis grinned. "Are you saying we don't need a condom tonight?"

  She grinned. "I know how much you like the real feel, so yes. I had it renewed last week, so I am all good to go for another four years."

  By the end of the night, Travis had taken an extra docalorizide tablet to take the edge off. The two managed to make it to bed. He had a slow start, but after a few minutes, Travis was at full performance. The bed rocked; Michelle scratched up his back. He managed to forget everything at that moment. At the moment, it was perfect looking into Michelle's eyes as they made passionate love. It was like the first time all over again. Travis kissed all over her body, making sure she finished first, and then again before he even considered letting himself go ahead.

  _____

  Friday…

  Travis was compelled to return to the warehouse. Part of him was accepting it, thinking he could live this double life so long as he had Michelle at the end. She was the light at the end of his tunnel in this darkness he was going through though his schooling was another concern.

  He sauntered up to the decrepit stairs. Whores were sucking off a guy, taking turns. Travis was repulsed at seeing it. He felt nasty being here. He was about to feel a lot dirtier, though. Cale was waiting at the top of the steps already naked.

  Travis got in the swing, and it was like every time he had been with him. Right when Cale got close, the illusion began. Travis this time, was numb to it, he just looked at Cale with a blank stare. He spoke the words Cale got off on, but he was losing the facial expressions that Cale loved to see.

  Looking down at Travis, Cale watched as Travis saw the illusion. Even his voice changed with the elaborate details that Heidi was capable of. Travis heard the devil speaking to him. "Well, this is starting to get boring. I mean, you have a tight ass, but we need to work on the fear because I am… The Devil!"

  "God will see me through this," Travis said in a whisper.

  Heidi had made herself invisible to Travis. He couldn't see her, but she knew what Cale wanted. They had been through this before. She made another illusion appear. To Travis, he saw six demons, each one looked like a man, but wasn't, their heads were nothing but a large mouth with shark-like teeth. They had no eyes, no nose, just a sizeable rounded mouth that opened up and growled. He saw them, all around him taunting him as Cale went at it again. They clawed at him, scratched him. He saw his insides being ripped out as Cale fucked him harder. Travis screamed. Heidi had made it to where he felt the pain; it was a new level of hell, being ripped apart while the devil fucked him. To spice up the man's torment, Heidi made it look like the room was on fire. Travis could even feel the heat that wasn't there. He screamed as Cale climaxed a third time.

  His treatment went on for two more weeks. With the increased intensity of new demonic creatures dreamed up from Heidi's mind. He was withdrawing again. He was beginning to feel hopeless. He would stay up for hours, praying for this nightmare to end. He prayed so much that, prayer and Michelle were the only two things he could think about. He woke up to his alarm ringing; it was his sixth alarm, which meant he was late making it for his English exam.

  He quickly leaped out of his single sized bed and started getting dressed frantically. He didn't have time to groom, brush his teeth, or anything. All he could do was grab a ball cap, white t-shirt, pants and run out the door in flip flops.

  He lived on campus, which made it more comfortable and easier to get around, but no matter how fast he ran, he missed his chance to get in the door. Professor Tipton had closed the door like she always did right on the hour, locking it. A sign was hung, "Testing, do not disturb." Travis knocked anyways. If he missed this exam, there would be dire consequences to his overall GPA.

  A younger professor opened the door. She was a little on the heavy side but carried well. She stood there in a white hooded robe and smirked. "I can't let you in Travis, you know the rules, you're late, and there are no makeup dates. I'm sorry." She closed the door.

  Travis leaned against the wall to the left of the classroom door and slid down to the floor. His eyes were heavy; the bags under his eyes were even more burdensome. All the mentally beaten man could do was let out a whimper.

  He sat there for the full ninety minutes until the bell rang. He stayed down as the students exited one by one. Finally, Professor Tipton came out. He stood back up. He tried to get her attention. "Professor, please, I need to take this exam?"

  Tipton wasn't having it. "Travis, you have done nothing but slack off and on for over two months now. I am sorry, but you had your chance today, and you blew it. The world won't cut you any slack, and neither will I." She walked off.

  It wasn't an hour later until he had received a call from the Dean's office. Tipton had undoubtedly reported his absence. Travis knew exactly where this road was leading, and it wasn't where he wanted it to go. He knew this was the end of his days at the University.

  He sauntered as if to kill time before facing the inevitable. Soon, his parents would be calling him demanding to know what happened, and his father would be the one leading the battle charge in the conversation. The biggest reason Travis wanted to attend here was that this was where his dad went. He tried to make his father proud, and now, only epic disappointment laid the tracks ahead.

  It was just as Travis feared; he sat there in a tall brown leather chair facing Dean Poots. The gentlemen expressed how deeply troubled he was, over and over to Travis, and how he wished it were different. The distinguished man, with the graying mustache, looked Travis right in the eyes, "Mr. Newstead, after speaking with all of your instructors, while I realize you are dealing with depression, I am sorry, Mr. Newstead, but missing class, especially on exam days is unacceptable. Normally we would allow a student to apply for an Academic leave of absence but based on the type of scholarship you were awarded; I am afraid Mr. Newstead that we can no longer accommodate your education at our University. I'm sorry, but you will be granted twenty-four hours to vacate University grounds."

  Travis's heart felt like it had fallen into his stomach and was burning in acid. He was shaking inside. Again, he tried to muster the willpower to say something about what was going on with him, but he couldn't. It was as if his brain had a lockdown on that ability. The devil's will was strong. All Travis could do was a slight nod. He wanted to cry, he wanted to beg and plead with the man, but he couldn't, nor would it have done any good. "I understand Dean Poots."

  "We have already contacted your Parents, and I am sure they will be along to help you pack."

  As if it couldn't have gotten any worse, that feeling in your stomach when the shit has hit the fan, and you had no way to do anything about it, just exploded to the point that Travis ran over to the trashcan in the Dean's office and puked.

  Travis ran back to his dorm and packed everything he had. It fit mostly into two duff
le bags. As for his computer, it was a slap PC, he simply went over to it, and rolled the PC up like a slap on bracelet and put it into his bag. He didn't want to face his father, but Travis knew he had little choice. He had no transportation of his own and relied on the free shuttle buses provided by the University, and the money his parents funneled into his account each month to pay for air cabs and food.

  Travis logged into his checking account and knew instantly that his father knew for sure he had been dropped from the University. His funds were withdrawn. There was nothing in the shared account. All he had left was forty currency in his primary. "Damn it! Why is this happening to me!" He cried.

  Knowing that he wouldn't be able to see Michelle anytime soon, he pressed the button on his cell phone and called an Aircab. He had to see her before the shit hit the fan. In his opinion, it couldn't get any worse at this point.

  Travis was wrong…

  Travis was walking down the hallway to Michelle's dorm room. He passed a few women talking in the hallway, a few droids making cleaning rounds, and arrived at room 88. He pressed the buzzer, knowing she would be home by now since it was after six. It took longer than he expected for the door to open.