Evening
Evening
L ewis shuffled to his room. He probably should have paced himself better, but Ryan and Ayla had an open bar and he did not want to waste the couple’s generosity. He was unsure who drove him back to the hotel, but it didn’t matter. He hadn’t lost his wallet or keys in the process at least. The flickering lights of the hallway assailed his swimming head, and it took him two tries to unlock his door. As he fumbled for a light switch, a breeze caught his attention. Lewis lifted his head to stare across the room. The cutout of the window shone faintly against the black shadows filling the space. It was open.
Lewis sucked in a breath before finally finding the lamp in the abyss. Light spilled from the nightstand, stripping back the shadows. Revealed was nothing. Perhaps the cleaning staff had left the window open, or he had. The alcohol was an excellent mind wipe. After emptying some of the past few hours into the toilet bowl, Lewis flopped onto the bed, switched off the light, and closed his eyes for sleep.
“ Fei …”
Lewis stirred.
“ Fei …”
A weight came upon his chest.
His breath hitched. Briefly Lewis thought he was choking on his spit, as one sometimes did in sleep as one got older, but his mouth was clear. The weight was more than the duvet. Still in the shallows of sleep, he waved his arm before him. It struck something solid.
Lewis woke with a gasp.
“Fei!”
The voice hovered over his head. There was no hint of the room, nothing limned by moonlight. There was only black.
“What the—”
Darkness enveloped his mouth. Lewis blinked the sleep from his eyes. Though his mind was awake, he still saw nothing.
“Fei …” the voice said again, only this time warmth bloomed in the syllable. Soft. Before, it was harsh like metal scraping across the stones on a riverbed. Now it was a gentle babble of water.
Lips free again, Lewis spoke, “The fuck’s going on? Who’s Fei? Who are you ?”
The voice did not reply. Instead, Lewis felt the whisper of night air on his skin as the blanket slid from his torso. The band of his boxers shifted away to his ankles. Surprise sparked on his face, but Lewis could not shape any words around what was happening.
“Fei …”
“Hey, I’m not—” A wet warmth enveloped Lewis between his legs. “Whoa!”
Pulses issued over his flesh and before long he was stiff. Lewis blinked harder to ensure this was no dream. Then what could it be? As the pulses intensified, flicks of his room flagged his attention from the corner of his eyes. Enough moonlight from the uncovered window reassured his location. He was in his hotel bed, but he still could not place the dark before him or the sensations below.
“I’m not Fei,” he said aloud.
The statement failed to dissuade the voice. “But you are so like him.” The voice was neither masculine nor feminine, something in between like a memory.
“Who are you?”
No reply. Lewis did not know if he should try again. A wave of pressure squeezed around his cock. His mind stretched, unsure whether to stop it or let the mysterious force do as it wished. It felt good, he had to admit. Perhaps he could simply acquiesce and let this strange phantom finish. In several hours, he’d wake up to resume his normal, sad life. He could at least have this.
Then the world came to his eyes again. The darkness shifted to his waist. A slicker force wrapped around his cock. Silhouetted against the window was the shape of branches. Lewis went cold.
He reached toward the nightstand and struggled for the lamp switch. Gold beamed out. The shadows coalesced into a figure over his hips. Lewis screamed.
Wet, slathered in mud, the creature seemed constructed of the natural refuse from the river. The mud disguised any form that may have been discernable, but the thing appeared to be hunched over. Its head had the approximate shape of an alligator with twigs and branches sprouting from it like mismatched antlers. A fishing line was tangled between them. It looked like a Jim Henson puppet without the charm or whimsy. Lewis swallowed.
The thing fixed Lewis to the bed with an amber stare.
Lewis screamed again, though it was warbled by his tongue attempting to form words at the same time. His chest heaved with breath and racing heart. But as the creature held still, some sense seeped back into his head.
“What are you?”
“I am as I am.” The thing canted forward slightly as if in a bow.
A bit of frustration clamped around Lewis, honing his senses further. “Well, then. D-do you have a name?”
The creature flexed its jaw, or what looked like a jaw. It could have been a piece of wood. “You may call me Huk.”
“All right, Huk.” Lewis swallowed. “Wh-what did you want with me?”
“I spied you in the window. Then you were on the river,” it said in low gargling tones.
Lewis nodded, dislodging a bead of sweat from his brow.
“Thank you for the fish,” croaked Huk.
The man’s mind flashed to the moment on the river when he released the fish he had landed. Surely something as mundane as that could not have invoked a demon or whatever this thing was.
“I have lived along these banks for very long and I cannot remember the last time I’ve been granted such kindness.” Huk’s voice seemed to clear up with use as though each word spoken erased globs of mud from its throat. “You remind me so much of him. I thought he had perhaps returned.”
“Who was Fei to you?”
“My love. He crossed the ocean to come here. I followed.”
Lewis balked. Surely there was still some alcohol in his body, otherwise, this was the most vivid and strange dream he had experienced yet. He rubbed his face.
A low hum like whale song issued from Huk. “It’s been so long since I’ve felt him.”
“Was it you that’s been visiting me at night? I had these dreams …”
Huk remained a silent shroud of mud and river detritus. Its eyes fastened to Lewis’ gaze.
Something within Lewis gave. He could not bring himself to be mad at this creature. “I guess we’ve both been lonely for a long time.”
“Your name?”
Lewis’ head popped forward. After a breath, he replied. “Lewis.”
“Thank you, Lewis.” Huk then slid backward toward the foot of the bed. The moon peered from behind its shoulder.
“Wait.” Lewis’ heart skipped. He gazed into the gold gleaming from muddy hollows. “You can stay tonight.”
A nearly inaudible hum came from the creature, stirring the thick stillness of the room. It vibrated through the air and alighted upon Lewis’ nose. Following in the wake, Huk’s body slinked up the bed. Lewis braced himself for the detritus crashing into him, but the creature nestled at his side. Its form barely grazed his arm as breath filled and emptied from its lungs.
Despite seemingly having been dredged from the river, a soft, dry warmth emanated from Huk, and Lewis invariably leaned closer. His skin prickled at the unknowable beast. What else could Huk do beyond what it had already accomplished in his dreams, he wondered.
“May I touch you?”
The words jolted Lewis to the present. He locked eyes with Huk’s golden stare a little above his head. He breathed an affirmation before he could think better of it.
Huk’s digits slid over Lewis’ bare waist, skimming the hem of his shirt. As far as the man could tell, no mud or wetness trailed after. He didn’t have to worry about getting muddy at least. Still, Lewis lay like a board under Huk’s attention.
“You may relax. Like in your dreams.”
Lewis nearly laughed. “Being asleep and dreaming is one thing. But I’m awake now and you’re here and real .”
“I was as real and present the past nights as I am now.” The circles of Huk’s strokes slowed. “I did not touch you then.”
“Th-then how?”
“I merely laid myself beside you. Your body did the rest.”
Lewis wasn’t sure if he could trust Huk, but he was still too drunk to do any critical thinking at this point. Besides, Huk’s hands felt good against his skin.
Huk varied its pace, petting Lewis’ torso, leading the man to warm into the strokes. Nearly lulled to sleep by the ministrations, Lewis fought to keep his eyes open. He attempted to study Huk’s features, though the creature easily melted into indistinct textures of bark and reeds by the lamplight. Lewis forced blinks to clear his eyes. It still felt like a fever dream.
He hadn’t noticed until Huk grazed the top of his pubic hair, but the creature had continually widened his circles with each pass. Yet Lewis was reluctant to stop it. Loving and tender, it was a massage that extended beyond his skin to his spirit.
“I’ve missed this feeling,” said Huk.
“Me too,” Lewis murmured, gaze flitting to the strange gangly arm by his waist.
Huk seemed to sigh. ”Humans are soft within and out.”
“And you?”
“My softness is hidden.” Huk fixed Lewis with its gaze. “Would you like to find it?”
The pure intimacy sent a flush across Lewis’ face. He had to admit that he was curious. Long had it been since anyone had caressed him as tenderly as Huk. He pressed his lips together. Fuck it. One night to be selfish and drift away from the responsibilities of the world. He would have this.
“Guide me.”
A little chitter came from the depths of Huk’s throat as it slinked up to meet Lewis’ face. The pads of its paw cupped around Lewis’ balls, coaxing his cock to jerk.
“When you are ready. You will see,” said Huk. It continued to knead and stroke, making short work of Lewis and his composure.
The creature drew its claws around to the man’s rear. Lewis’ skin tingled from the trace of Huk’s claws and the leathery press of the pads. His cock sprang forth, kissing the dark mass before him in a nod.
Lewis peered down, the creature’s nethers were a tangle of weeds and mud. He ventured a touch. It was solid and nothing came off on his fingers. There was some magic holding the thing together. At least they could avoid a mess and an embarrassing talk with hotel management.
The man delved past the exterior debris, coming to something akin to a gator belly. Palming the length of Huk’s form, his fingers came to a slight depression. Huk’s breath stuttered. This was the place. With a gentle press, Lewis sank in a finger. The firm smoothness there parted to reveal a wet slit. Well, most of Huk was wet, but here a considerable warmth welcomed him. Lewis ached with longing.
“There,” Huk affirmed.
The tip of Lewis’ finger pulled away. His mind hesitated again but something compelled him to stay. He traced his slick finger around the edge of the slit. Huk released a tremulous breath, the vibration echoing through its body. The man choked an exhale. The creature roiled upward to take in Lewis’ finger. He obliged with another.
“Please,” hissed Huk, “more.”
Lewis considered the rest of his hand, then promptly remembered the other part of him. He bumped up his hips, his cock nudging between the reeds. The depression received him and his length slid into the wake of his hand. A restrained gasp billowed over his teeth.
Huk’s insides circled the man’s cock, enveloping it in wet, rolling heat. Lewis pressed in, the resistance firm but malleable with coaxing. A golden surge bloomed across his front. His hips began to buck. Each drag sparked a fiery glow, lighting and pulling the strings deep within his body to a tune of categorical pleasure.
All the intimacy Cynthia had withheld, the frustration that built inside him, everything boiled over. Lewis thrust into the slit, his cock grinding against a short length buried within. He didn’t know what he touched, didn’t question what sort of anatomy this creature had. He simply barreled into the embrace.
The creature’s eyes closed into slits barely visible in the shadows and mud of its face. It coiled its body around Lewis’ torso, holding onto him with gnarled arms. Its neck glided between the man’s nape and the pillow, leading the head to rest atop Lewis’ crown. Its legs clamped the back of his thighs. Its tail wound around his ankles. With a groan, Huk’s whole body began flexing.
Were he with another beast, a concern of his impending suffocation or swallowing would have crossed Lewis’ mind. Yet, all he could think about was the blissful hold Huk had on his cock, his entire person. Huk cradled him and devoured him all the same.
He chased the heat, the contact deep inside. His cock pushed into the cavity and Huk gave him more to discover with each thrust. A jerk, a slick of fluid, a firm pocket, a contraction, a quiver, a flare of the nub. Lewis hung his arms around Huk’s shoulders, grasping at the reeds slathered across its back. His pelvis continued to pump, but the encroaching wrap of Huk’s body pressed upon him from all sides.
To Lewis’ chagrin, he teetered on the edge of climax. The compression solidified his want into a molten ball. One more strike of his cock and he burst. Jerks racked his body as he spilled into Huk. The creature clenched him, muffling his paroxysms until it, too, snapped. Huk’s torso swelled in a singular wave cresting at their juncture before breaking into tremulous echoes.
Wave after wave crashed between man and creature, each crest a hug of hot passion. They careened away, falling from the bloom. And though the flashes of fire ebbed, there still lingered a red afterimage.
As their breaths caught up with their bodies, Huk relaxed its hold on Lewis. The man crawled onto an empty spot on the bed that the creature did not occupy with its mass. Returning to a mooring of reality, Lewis’ mind whirred to process what had transpired. His eyes roved down Huk’s form, assessing, while his hands patted his own skin, feeling the sweat and remnants coating him below his waist. He definitely wasn’t still drunk.
“Thank you,” said Huk.
Lewis propped onto his elbows, shooting the creature a quizzical look. As though orgasm was the goal, as though not wanting to overstay the welcome, Huk withdrew from the bed. The man’s lips trembled for words. But what to say to a creature beyond the imagination he had yesterday?
As the dark figure inched away, the lamp illuminated hints of its body. Haunches, ridges, feet, a tail. Still, everything was covered in a layer of river mud that seemed to adhere only to Huk. Lewis watched the hunched creature reach the windowsill. Its whole body seemed to sigh, dejected. Lewis inhaled.
“Wait.”
Huk halted, and turned its head back to the man set against a white tableau that retained none of its presence.
“You’re covered in mud. Maybe you’d like to clean up a little?”
Under a torrent from the old showerhead, the dirt was stripped away. Lewis had no idea how it worked—if Huk was somehow letting go of the mud or if it required water warmer than 60 degrees Fahrenheit to banish the magical muck.
The shower carved out the creature’s form. Steaming streams revealed a dark, twisted shape with a long hunched spine and shrunken chest. Feathers or fur plastered against the crooked frame. The hot water dug hollows between stringy muscle and knobby bones. Even without the muck, the creature appeared as a mass of river debris, like some thrashed driftwood or mangled animal carcass. Had Huk not been so cordial, Lewis would have been quite apprehensive to be in its company.
Huk lifted its head to the flowing water. It looked something like a cross between an eagle, an alligator, and a horse with small antlers. Skin and feathers shone a graphite gray-black. The exact details of its face remained hidden. Lewis was still puzzled as to what sort of cryptid this thing was, but he thought it rude to ask at the moment.
“I do not remember warm water,” mused Huk.
Feeling the sweat from the labor earlier, Lewis’ skin itched. He nodded toward the acrylic wall. “Mind if I—”
Before Lewis suggested sharing the shower, Huk loped its leg over the tub. It stepped out completely, the fresh water refusing to drip onto the grimy tile floor. Lewis’ eyes widened at the continued rebellion against physics.
“You may bathe,” Huk said with a bow of its head. It padded to the threshold of the bathroom door.
The man’s heart thumped in a pang of panic. He was sure no one could see this creature slip back into the river in the middle of the night, or early morning as it was. But that meant the possibility of him not seeing it again as well. Lewis bit his lip.
“Would you like to wait for me in bed? Y-you can stay the night. If you want. I know this room is way different from the river—”
“It would be my pleasure.”