Love Me or Kill Me

by James P. Alsphert

  “Fiona bad…I come back…for you…feel love…”

  I sat up. “You—you need to put some clothes on. We’ve gotta get out of here, kid. Grab what you can and let’s get up to the main house.” She was co-operative, mainly because I think she liked me, but also because I think she sensed danger and I would be able to protect her and her “sea-child” a lot better where we were going.

  We descended the rope ladder. When we reached the sand, however, I spotted three ornery looking men running towards us around the bend by the edge of the rocks to our south. I took Zephyr’s hand and at the same time realized it was too late for Mr. Crickle—they had gotten to him and time was running out for us as well as we ran down the beach. Zephyr pulled me along a spit that led into the tide line and we sped into the surf. She pulled me under and we swam in the murky waters, with me following her toward a huge sea stack in the distance.

  I was out of breath and had to surface. As soon as I did I heard gunshots and bullets riddle the water just inches from my head. I took a big breath and shot under the water again. Bless her soul, Zephyr had waited for me and we continued toward the sea stack. Since the sun still shone brightly, we could see down about fifteen feet or so. She led me into an opening in the sea stack and suddenly we were in a huge cavern, only half of which the tides of the ocean could reach!

  Zephyr pulled me up on a deck of rock. I was seriously out of breath. “Thanks, babe—too damn many Lucky Strikes and booze lately, I guess. Are you alright?”

  “Yes.” She nuzzled her nose into my neck, kissing it gently. “Both okay…Lexie smart, go under waves…”

  We were in a fine mess. The train and boat tickets were now a soggy clump in my pocket, I was trembling from the cold water, more than likely Mr. Crickle was dead, the goons who were after us probably either burned or flattened the tires on my borrowed Packard—and I doubted that I could swim out of this cavern back to the shore. “What are we going to do, Zephyr?” I asked, feeling defeated as hell.

  “Love…”she said quietly, looking down into the surging waters below us. “Love is good…like ocean is good…” Then she looked at me with those wonderful green eyes that were housed in that gorgeous little nude body of hers. It seemed to me we were up a creek without a paddle. The only light in the cavern came from the restless, shifting ocean water below us, but it was mid-afternoon by now and I knew when the sun set in a couple of hours, we would be trapped in a hopeless pitch black tomb. I also realized Zephyr could easily dive down into the waters below and swim her way to freedom. If I perished here in this crypt of rock, so be it. But something kept telling me my number wasn’t up—not quite yet.

  “You go ahead, maybe you can go for help, kid. I don’t think I can swim out of this hole and back up to the surface in one long breath. I almost didn’t make it into this dank hole.”

  “Zephyr stay with Denning…not leave…”

  “Well, if we’re gonna die together here, we might as well be on a first-name basis—Cable—call me Cable. But I think you should get out of here.”

  “No…stay,” she persisted. So I grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into those green eyes barely glowing in the subdued light of the cavern.

  “You’re just as stubborn as your damned sister. Now, look, Zephyr—get out of here, now! Go and try to find some help.”

  She looked at me, her eyes widened at my touching her. “No! Stay! I stay with you, Cable…!”

  “What the hell happened to you and your sister that made you so strange and incorrigible? Hell, what do I have to do to kick you out of this deathtrap we’re in? I’m freezing and as my body temperature drops, it won’t be long, I’ll probably just drift off to sleep and that’ll be it, lady. So, go—and go now!” Again I nudged her with my trembling arms and again she resisted. By the time I had scooted her half way down the escarpment toward the water, she turned on me and hit me hard on the chest. Then a wild look came into her eyes.

  “I told you I hated insistent men!” boomed the voice of Fiona. “If you touch me again, I’ll—I’ll kill you!” I drew back, shocked that the gentle Zephyr had once again turned into the monstrous Fiona. But even if these were my last breaths on earth, I would still do my best to save the poor, confused little creature.

  “Look! Whoever you are, you’re getting outta here—understand? I don’t want your death on my hands when I leave this old world and I sure don’t want to be choked to death by you…while I’m sleeping my last sleep into oblivion.”

  “You are stupid, like my father! You never understood—ever!”

  “Never understood what, Zephyr? What happened when you were a little girl that split you in two? Yeah, I might be stupid, kid, but I’m not that stupid. You’ve got to bring it up and spit it out—that’s the only way you’re ever going to become whole in this screwed up world—face it, Zephyr—face whatever chased you so deep into yourself that you can’t find your way out!”

  “Never! Never! Never!” she shouted as she jumped up and started to climb the rocks above us, clamoring like a little crab to get hold of the jagged edges. I tried to grab her ankle, but I tripped and lost my footing on the uneven floor of the ledge. Fiona/Zephyr fell several feet, hitting her head as she tumbled over the edge, and went splashing into the water fifteen feet below us! Instinctively I dove in after her, hitting the cold water like it was a block of ice. She was stunned from the fall and bleeding from her scalp. I felt terrible and there seemed to be no way out of this nightmare we were trapped in. Suddenly I heard a chattering behind me and Lexie the “sea-child” appeared with his happy perennial smile. He flipped his tail at me and somehow I got it that he wanted me to grab it. I reached for Zephyr’s arm and with my other hand, latched on to Lexie’s tail. He let out a series of chatters as if he was telling me something. I took a deep breath and he plunged into the murky waters with me in tow, while I held on to the stunned Zephyr’s arm. The little creature was fast and powerful and we zipped down into the abyss and then headed straight up for the light above us. Soon we burst up to the surface and I gulped for air as I pulled Zephyr’s limp body closer to my own until I held her head in a clench above the water so she’d be able to breathe. The little magical Lexie continued to pull us toward the shore. He took us in as far as he could, and when I was able to catch my breath, I lugged Zephyr’s wounded body out of the surf to the safety of the sands above the tide line.

  I quickly looked around, the thugs who shot at us earlier had gone. Lexie continued to stand by, circulating just enough in the water to keep his body submerged. I was still trembling from the cold and exhaustion, but I began to pump on Zephyr’s chest, put my mouth onto hers and blew some air into her lungs. The blood had stopped running down her face and she opened her eyes. But these were different eyes looking at me, the same green orbs but someone else lived inside them now. As her vision cleared she looked up at me and smiled. “Cable…it’s me! Zephyr! I can…I can speak…freely now…like I’ve been dreaming, but I remember you—”

  “—that’s great, kid! Welcome home!” In that moment I realized by some miracle the knock on the head had somehow finally merged both of her personas into one perfectly whole and lovely young woman. She lay there beneath me, her naked body heaving new air into it, her countenance calmed and at peace. She reached up, threw her arms around my neck and hugged me. “So, is—is, uh, Fiona gone now?”

  “No, Cable. I love her…she’s here, inside me…she was always my first name. I was born Fiona Zephyr Royce.” Then she got a puzzled look on her face. “But something happened—”

  “—don’t try to think about it right now, kid. Right now we’ve got other fish to fry—uh…pardon the expression.” I looked around. There was perhaps an hour before sunset. “We’ve got to get you off this beach and to safety. Can you walk okay?”

  “Yes. But I can’t leave Lexie.”

  “I wasn’t planning to. That little guy saved our lives. We owe him. Can you go tell him we’ll be back for him? We have to find a wa
y to transport him to the aquarium aboard the train.”

  “Yes.” She ran into the water and embraced the chattering happy little creature. She spoke to him and soon returned, grabbed my awaiting hand and we ran up the trail to the beach house above. We got to the top of the hill and I asked her to hide in the tall grasses until I was sure the coast was clear. I was still freezing from the dripping wet clothes and the oncoming cool of night. My .38 was still in its breast holster and I took it out. I crept closer to the house. The front door was open…always a bad sign, I reminded myself. I did find Mr. Crickle’s body slumped over one of the living room chairs. He’d been dead only a short while. There was no sign of anyone else. I rummaged through the closets until I found enough clothing for both Zephyr and me to wear. The Packard was still in the driveway. I checked it out and it was untouched…the key still in the ignition. The thugs must have left in a hurry, which also bothered me. What other death assignment might they have yet to perform this night?

  I went back for Zephyr and we dressed there in the grass because I didn’t want her to see Crickle’s corpse. We ran quickly to the Packard and I started it up and soon we were roaring down Highway One. “How are we going to save Lexie and Mr. Crickle?” Zephyr asked, that wonderful soft note of concern in her voice that was so characteristic of her.

  “We’ve got enough dough to get a tank truck to the cottage. A couple of us can put Lexie in a blanket sling and carry him up to the tank. Then he’ll be safely transported to a boxcar in downtown L.A. Of course you and I will accompany him.” Then I took hold of her delicate hand. “But I’m afraid it’s too late for Mr. Crickle, Zephyr. Whoever it is that’s trying to kill you got to him first.”

  “Oh, no!” she whimpered. “Not Mr. Crickle! He never hurt a mouse! I knew him since I was—” She began to cry and turned her face toward the window to conceal her tears.

  “—we have to let it go, kid. There’ll be lots of time for grieving later on. Right now we’ve gotta stay clear headed and make sure you and your family are safely on that train in a couple of days.”

  She squeezed my hand. “I’m frightened, Cable. But as long as you’re here, I feel better, at least. But what about my sister? Were you able to persuade her to come with us?”

  “Nope, not yet. But we’re working on it. I’ll drop you off with your folks, then head over tonight to see if I can rope her in.”

  “She’s very stubborn. She’s like I was—in a fog—and more than one person—”

  “—yeah, so I’ve discovered. Well, she’s not any more stubborn than Fiona was,” I kidded her.

  She giggled. “Yes! You’re right! I must have been horrible.”

  “Well, let’s just say you were persuasively unpleasant,” I said.

  “Cable…even in that haze I was in, I could hear your voice. And I can remember using the word love—and I meant it. With you, I mean.”

  “Thanks, kid. You’re a swell little lady.” She grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

  “You are the only man…I’ve…ever known…Cable…I have been afraid to touch anyone—especially men.”

  “I don’t blame you there, Zephyr. Men, including me, seem to have this one preoccupation—you know, wanting to seduce anyone with nice tits and who wears a dress.”

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean,” she said innocently.

  “Forget it. It doesn’t really matter.”

  As we approached Neptunia, hackles started to form up and down the back of my neck. My intuition was coming in loud and clear. I found a little indentation by the side of the road a block or so from the estate and pulled into it. I told Zephyr to wait but she wouldn’t stay without me by her side, so we trudged through the grasses and oak tree thickets until we came to the back of the house. Indeed, I had seen a large green touring car parked immediately outside the front entrance and was taking no chances. Those ruthless mugs could be waiting inside, guns cocked. We sneaked quietly in through the back door, found the stairwell and Zephyr led us upstairs into the private quarters of her childhood. Everything was dead silent. She took my hand and led me into her bedroom. She excused herself to go into the bathroom and I waited quietly with my .38 drawn, not even knowing whether or not it was too waterlogged to fire. Quickly and like a sprite on wings of air, Zephyr dashed out to check on things, leaving me helpless to defend her. Soon she returned and told me the coast was clear and there was no one in the house. “What about the car outside?” I whispered.

  “It’s Daddy’s. I’m so worried. But if Mother and he are safe, I think I know where to find them.”

  “You do?” I asked, raising my eyebrows.

  “Yes, Daddy had built a secret hideout in the house. I don’t know why. I think he was afraid of something for many years. He did it to protect us, I think.” Then she noticed the shabby way we looked. She took my hand and we went back into the bathroom. Quickly, before I could recover myself, she stripped me naked, did so herself and led me into a large, warm shower. I must admit it felt good as hell—and twice as warm. Zephyr’s little naked body rubbed against mine as she took a bar of honey-colored soap and began to wash me down. “Sweetheart soap,” she purred, “since I was a little girl Mother always made sure Eden and I washed with it. I love the smell.”

  When she got to my private parts, though she was uninhibited about it, I contracted a half-erection, which did not go unnoticed by the comely little sea nymph. She seemed to focus on the area for an extra long time, watching it rise there in the hot, steamy shower. I could see her instincts come to life. “This…is okay? What’s happening, Cable? I have so little experience with men and—”

  I cleared my throat. “—well, not really, kid. It’s a man’s way of getting sexually excited before he penetrates the female’s—genitalia.”

  “I’m sorry, Cable. I don’t understand. But…I think it’s causing me to experience something…between my legs. Like a hot, throbbing, opening—”

  “—Zephyr! I’m sorry, kid, but we have to stop this. Please. Thank you for washing me—and you’ll forgive me if I don’t do the same for you—but that would be tempting the fates, and I’m sort of promised to a beautiful young woman. I’ve already broken my promise once—and I don’t want to do it again. Can you understand that?”

  “Yes. But that doesn’t stop what I feel. But I respect you, Cable, an awful lot.”

  “Now that you’re completely you again, young lady, someday you’ll meet someone who’s good for you and right for you.”

  “Young lady? How old are you?”

  “Almost thirty.”

  “Well, I’m twenty-six, Cable. I must ask you, please don’t call me ‘young lady.’ I’m a woman, barely younger than you are.”

  “Yeah…I guess you’re right. I sometimes feel a hell of a lot older than I actually am. Maybe I’ve just lived too damn much life—”

  She put her hand to my mouth. “Shhh…!” she whispered. “I think I hear something.” She turned the shower off. We got out of the shower, grabbed a couple of towels and quietly began to dry off.

  “You do know what my instinct was when we were in the shower, don’t you?” she continued to whisper. “I have never felt anything like it before…and it felt so good…”

  “Yeah, it’s called being human, that’s what humans do—they’re sexually on most of the time—natural breeders, you know.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Forget it,” I said, winking at her. “I’ll tell you someday.”

  We sneaked totally nude into her bedroom. She led me to a walk-in closet where she quickly dressed into clothing she hadn’t worn in years. It still fit pretty well, I thought, even though it might have been a little tight here and there. That didn’t make it any easier on my libido, which seemed hard pressed to ignore this lovely little woman’s womanly curves. She asked me to stay put and ventured forth into the rest of the upstairs. Soon she signaled for me to come. We went into what must surely have been her father’s room. There she fit me into s
ome rather awkward clothes until once again I looked like some vaudeville clown. Even the shoes were too big for me.

  “Now…follow me,” she said. She led me downstairs to a fireplace with large wooden panels on either side. Then she pressed a stone on the hearth and the left panel swung open like a door and we entered quickly. She pulled a lever and the panel closed. We made our way down a narrow passage until we came to a flight of descending stairs. We went down, cautiously. Suddenly we were in the most comfortable quarters one could imagine, a large room decorated with wonderful gold leaf framed pictures, a dazzling chandelier hanging from a twelve-foot ceiling. There before us stood Mr. and Mrs. Royce and Henry the steward of the house.

  Both parents called out and Zephyr went running into their arms. When they heard her articulate speech and noticed her relaxed mannerisms—the new-found Fiona Zephyr Royce—they were jubilant. They thanked me profusely, and registered sadness at the murder of Mr. Crickle. I updated them as best I could and they sent me on my way to retrieve the one remaining daughter. Zephyr accompanied me to the front door. She hugged me. “Cable, I think I felt my first pangs of desire tonight. I want to thank you for making me feel so many wonderful things. I wish it were me you wanted and loved—but I respect you so much—that I know if I were that lady you love, I would want you to be true to me.”

  “Thanks, Zephyr…you’re okay, you know. The journey ain’t over yet, kid, hang on to your britches—there’s a bumpy road ahead.”

  “Please don’t call me kid, Cable. I’m a grown woman capable of everything healthy, grown women are capable of, okay?”

  “Yeah, sorry again…woman. I’ll—I’ll, uh, try to remember that. You know, old habits die hard and all.” I walked down to the Packard and roared off into the night.

  CHAPTER 5

  TIE ME UP, HANG ME DOWN

  It was very late by the time I reached Eden Royce’s Hollywood Highlands Manor. I knocked and some cute little thing in a blue robe came to the door. “It’s too late, Mister. Business hours are over for the night.”