by Matt Hickman
The remaining assistant backed himself up against the screen, clawing at the glass desperately with the tips of his fingers and screamed as both men slowly began to approach.
Bonus Stories
Silent Scream
By
Andrew Lennon
Stomping through the trail, wet mud splashing up her legs and covering her socks, Melody sighed and exhaled a loud frustrated huff. She waited for a moment for someone to ask what was wrong, and when no response came, she huffed again.
“Okay, what is it?” Mark asked, waiting for the moaning to begin.
“Well, look at me.” Melody threw her arms up in an exaggerated gesture.
“What?” Mark looked her up and down. “You mean because you’ve got a little bit of mud on you?”
Melody paced back and forth, mud splashing with each step.
“Look, it’s not just the mud. I’m dripping wet, I don’t even know if it's from the rain or the sweat. It’s disgusting, a girl isn’t even supposed to sweat.”
Mark laughed at her.
“What are you laughing at?”
“A girl isn’t even supposed to sweat,” he mimicked. “Are you serious? We're on a hike. It’s normal to build up a bit of a sweat. It’s good for you, and I’m not being funny, but we’re not exactly overexerting ourselves, are we? We’ve fallen a long way behind the others. If we don’t get a move on then we’re going to get left behind, and probably lost.”
“Fine!” Melody snapped, and marched ahead of Mark. “I don’t know, who ever thought walking through the middle of nowhere was fun anyway?”
Mark laughed and shook his head as he watched Melody march off. He held back for a moment so he could take advantage, and get a good look at her in those tight hiking shorts. Even covered in mud and sweat, Melody was hot.
Mark was going to use this hiking trip to finally try and make his move on her. That’s assuming she was still talking to him by the time they set up camp. He had a feeling she was going to be sulking soon enough after breaking a nail or getting her shoes dirty or something. Yes, she was hot, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t annoying. As she rounded the corner out of sight, Mark started to pick up the pace a bit to catch up with her.
He started to jog a little bit; he didn’t want to fall behind completely on his own. God knows he wasn’t the best at orienteering, and there was no chance he’d find his way out on his own. Hitting a raised root, he stumbled, falling forwards. Mark managed to put his hands out and break his fall but for a moment, it knocked the wind out of him.
Climbing to his knees to get back up again, he noticed something on the floor in front of him. It was fluorescent green; it looked like a nail that had been dipped in paint. When he picked it up, he could feel that it certainly wasn’t any kind of metal, nor plastic. He’d never seen anything like it before. It just looked so out of place, perhaps it had fallen out of someone’s bag.
“Arrgggghhhhhh!” A scream sounded from further up the trail.
“Melody!” Mark sprinted toward the sound of the screaming; he rounded the corner, pushing leaves and branches out of the way. In front of him stood Melody, her hands raised to her face, either side of her wide screaming mouth.
“Melody, what is it? What’s wrong?” Mark asked in a panic.
Debbie and Keith came running into the clearing from the other side of the trail. They had already covered quite a bit of distance ahead of the other two, but sprinted back at the sounds of the screams.
“What the hell is it?” Keith asked.
“Melody!” Debbie screamed while retrieving a pistol from her rucksack. “Did something attack you?”
Melody hysterical screaming continued for a second until she was able to get one word out. “Spider.”
The three companions stood, jaws dropped, staring at the hysterical woman.
“Are you fuckin’ kidding me?” Keith asked.
“There’s a spider … on me,” Melody began to hyperventilate.
Mark approached Melody and grabbed her by the shoulders. He started to shake her until she looked him in the eyes.
“You need to calm down,” he said. “Where's this spider?”
“It … it was on my shoulder.”
He looked at her shoulders, then he walked all the way around her, checking her back, her hair, everything. Mark laughed. “Well, it looks like your screaming scared it away.”
“It’s not funny!’ Melody snapped.
“I thought you were being attacked by a bear or something, Melody. Jesus Christ, do you have any idea exactly how many insects are in these forests? That was probably the hundredth spider on you today, just the first one you noticed.” Debbie put her gun back in her bag.
“Please, don’t say that.” Melody’s face was a picture of sheer panic. “I hate spiders.”
“Did you think someone came and cleaned the forest for you before we arrived?” Keith asked in his best sarcastic voice. “Seriously, Mark. You need to sort your girl out, man.”
“I’m not his girl,” Melody spat, and with that she stormed ahead.
“Keith, come on, man.” Mark looked at his friend.
“Sorry.” Keith held his hands up in the air in defence. “I thought by how far behind you guys had fallen that you’d already sealed the deal.”
“Forget it, you two.” Debbie called. “Let’s go catch her up before she spots a snake or something, and the shit really hits the fan.”
*****
Dusk was upon them and they wanted to set up camp before they lost the last of the light. Keith set about to collect firewood, while Mark began to set up the first tent with Debbie’s assistance.
“We need to make sure that the soil is tough enough to hold the pegs,” Mark said. “Sometimes the wind can really pick up speed while travelling through these trees. We don’t want to wake up and find that the tent is flying away from us.”
“What about here?” Melody asked.
Mark looked to the woman standing in the middle of four trees about half a metre apart from each other.
“Yes, the soil there will be okay, Melody,” Mark said, “but you realise that we need enough space to actually fit the tent, right?”
“Oh, yeah,” Melody replied in her dizzy way.
“Why don’t you help Keith collect some firewood?”
“Okay.” She started rummaging on the ground collected small pieces of wood.
“She is really, really dumb,” Debbie whispered. “I honestly don’t understand what you see in her.”
Mark glanced to Melody, who was bent over while collected the firewood from the floor. Her arse shaped to perfection, the cheeks just barely tucked into her shorts, less than an inch away from escaping. Mark licked his lips.
“Yeah, I don’t get it either.”
Mark found a large clearing in the trees. Ironically, it was just behind the spot that Melody had previously mentioned.
“Debbie, this spot is perfect; we’ll be able to fit both tents in here, with the fire in the middle,” Mark called.
“Sounds good to me,” Debbie answered. “Let’s get 'em set up.” She threw her bag to the floor.
It didn’t take them long to set up the tents. Both Mark and Debbie had been camping countless times, so it came as second nature to them. Shortly after they had finished, Keith returned with arms full of firewood. Melody followed closely behind him, with a hand full of sticks. Debbie looked at Melody and rolled her eyes.
“Well done, Keith. That should do us for the night,” Debbie said. “Set them up in a little triangle on the floor.”
“Oh, and he can do that spinny thing with my pieces to start the fire,” Melody said, filled with enthusiasm.
“Or we could just use this?” Keith smiled and held his Zippo in the air.
“Oh, okay, well it’s not as cool, but I guess that could work.”
Before long, the fire was crackling and spitting embers. The four campers sat around it, embracing the warmth. Darkness hadn’t so muc
h as crept up on them, but rather swept a blanket across the sky. One minute it was light, the next it was gone. Melody gazed upwards.
“The stars are so bright out here,” she said.
“Yeah, it’s beautiful, isn’t it? I didn’t think we would be able to see them through the trees, but it looks like we’ve got a good spot.” Mark put his arm around Melody and pulled her closer to him. She liked it when he did that, it made her feel warm, safe.
“So, what do we have to eat?” Keith asked.
“The only thing you should ever cook over a camp fire,” Mark answered. “Sausages, and for dessert, marshmallows.”
“We really are living the dream, aren’t we?” Keith laughed.
“Can’t beat the view in the starlight café, my friend.”
As always when having fun, the night passed by far too quickly. The group was beginning to feel drunk after consuming several cans of beer. Choosing not to leave litter and piles of cans lying round the forest, they had decided to keep their litter in bags that they had brought along with them. Seeing that three plastic bags were now full with beer cans, it was probably a sign that it was time for bed.
“Right, I think I’m gonna call it a night,” Mark announced. He looked to Melody. “You comin’?”
“Not yet, but let’s see what you can do.” Melody giggled.
“Oh God, I think I’m gonna throw up,” Debbie said.
“Night, boys and girls,” Keith said. “Come on, Debbie. I suppose I’ll let you sleep in the tent with me.”
“Oh, you suppose.” Debbie laughed. “You have no idea how many men would want to share a tent with me.”
“Oh yeah, I’m really lucky. Yay.” Keith whined in a tired tone.
“Night everyone,” Melody called.
*****
Before they left for the trip, Melody had told Mark about how scared she was at the thought of sleeping outside in the wilderness, alone. He, of course, comforted her and explained that she wouldn’t be alone, he would be sharing the tent with her.
Now they were here in the tent, Mark had kissed her goodnight and tucked himself into his sleeping bag. Melody lay on her back staring to the roof of the tent. She heard something crack outside.
Nothing to worry about, she thought, they had left the fire burning.
It was probably just spitting embers again.
But what if it wasn’t? What if that was the sound of someone creeping up to them, ready to burst into their tent at any moment, or slash it open with a knife?
“Mark,” she whispered.
He snored in return. He must have fallen into a drunken sleep almost instantly.
“Mark!” she shouted his name this time.
“Woah, what it is?” he sat up in fright.
“I’m scared, I can’t sleep. Can I get in your bag with you?”
“Hang on,” Mark sighed, half asleep as he crawled out of the bag. “Actually, I think we can connect these bags together and make a double duvet.”
A smile spread wide across Melody’s face. “That would be perfect.”
“It might be a little bit cold; we won’t be lying on anything. Although I suppose I could throw our coats under us.”
“Oh don’t worry; I’m sure we can keep each other warm,’ Melody said, suggestively.
It was too dark for Mark to see her facial expression, but he was hoping that her tone meant he was going to be getting lucky as soon as he had sorted the blanket out.
Struggling to see, he fumbled with the zippers from the two bags, Melody shined the light from her phone on them, in an attempt to try and help. Eventually he connected the two and zipped the bags up. As he said, it had created a large double duvet.
“Right, let’s just spread our clothes on the floor a little bit so we’re not just sleeping straight on the ground sheet. That’ll make us feel a little bit warmer.”
As suggested, the two spread their clothes around evenly to try to cover the space on the floor. It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was certainly nicer than sleeping on the cold ground sheet.
“This is perfect, thank you. Night,” Melody said, and gave Mark a quick peck on the lips.
“Night.”
Mark sighed quietly, guessing that quick peck on the lips was a subtle way of saying he wasn’t getting any tonight. He rolled over so his back was facing Melody, and tried getting himself comfortable. She snuggled into his back, the warmth and the feel of her breasts pressing against his back felt amazing. He wanted to turn around and kiss her, but he couldn’t find the courage. Gradually, sleep began to consume him.
Melody lay awake, her arm wrapped around Mark’s chest. She could hear the change in his breathing; he had fallen asleep now. She felt a little a bit annoyed, since she was sure that he was going to make a move on her tonight. After hinting over and over again, she thought that surely he would seize the opportunity while they were lying in bed together. Now, he was asleep.
I know what’ll wake him.
Melody gently stroked her hand up and down Mark’s stomach. He started shuffling a little bit, but was still asleep. She moved her hand further down, pausing at the waistband of his boxers. She hesitated for a moment.
Did he want this? Maybe he would wake up and freak out.
No, this was it, she was going for it. She slid her hand into his boxers and wrapped her fingers around his penis. It was still limp in his drunken sleep. Slowly she began to slide her hand up and down. She could feel his shaft hardening in her grip. He began to groan. Still, she slid up and down, gradually increasing the pace.
“Melody?” Mark asked, still mostly asleep.
‘Shhhhh,” she whispered. “Just relax.”
She gently pulled on his shoulder so he turned to lie on his back. Melody lowered herself beneath the makeshift duvet. She slowly lowered Mark’s boxers, his penis sprung upright as it escaped the waistband.
“Well, you’re awake now,” she giggled. “At least down here, anyway.”
She took him whole in her mouth, twirling her tongue around his shaft while she held him in her warm, moist grip.
“Oh my God!” Mark called out.
Melody giggled, and almost choked. She removed him from her mouth.
“You like that?” she asked.
“Jesus Christ, don’t stop.” He pushed his hips up as if to direct himself back into her mouth.
Melody slid her hand back up and down quicker this time, and then followed the action with her mouth. Mark was moaning and groaning above her. She was getting moist herself, just at the thought of how much pleasure she was giving him.
She shuffled back up the quilt so she was now face to face with him.
“Hi,” she said.
“Hi,” Mark gasped.
Melody sat up and removed her shirt, Mark couldn’t see very well due to the lack of light, but what he could see looked perfect to him: Melody’s perfect perky breasts silhouetted on the wall of the tent. She leaned forward as Mark grabbed them and took her nipples in his mouth. She moaned as he sucked, and he slowly rotated his thumb around as he licked them. Melody moaned more. Slowly, she lowered herself and allowed him to enter her. She was so wet, warm, and tight.
“Oh God, that feels good,” Mark sighed.
Melody started to gradually slide up and down on Mark’s shaft, he kept pulling her closer and taking her nipples into his mouth. She started to increase the pace, faster and faster as she began to bounce on him. Slapping noises filling the tent as her arse hit his thighs.
“Oh, God. Oh, God, I’m gonna come,” Melody panted.
“Shhh, they’ll hear you,” Mark laughed.
“Oh my God!” she screamed.
She flopped forwards onto Mark’s chest. He wrapped his arms around her.
“You didn’t finish did you?” she asked.
“No but…”
“Shhh, it’s okay. I’ll take care of it.”
She lowered herself back down and took him once again in her mouth.
“
Oh my God,” Mark whispered.
“Mmmmmmm,” was the only response.
*****
Debbie lay on her back, grinding her teeth while listening to the sound of Mark and Melody pleasuring each other. She thought back to a camping trip a few years ago. Back then, it was her that filled the forest with screams of pleasure. She remembered waking up with Mark’s head between her thighs, his tongue flicking rapidly, making her tremble with delight, but that was a lifetime ago. Now they were just 'friends'. They had both agreed to never discuss that night again, with anyone else, or between themselves. It was a drunken mistake and better best forgotten.
Except to Debbie it wasn’t a mistake it was everything she had ever wanted, it was Mark. Now she had to lie in silence and listen to someone else enjoying him.
“Well, at least one of us is having fun,” she sighed.
She glanced over to Keith; he was lying flat on his back. He let out a very quiet snore. Debbie smiled; she thought it was cute.
“Let’s give you a little bit of fun.”
Debbie quietly crawled over to Keith. She unzipped his sleeping bag slowly, trying not to make a sound. Keith muttered something in his sleep, but Debbie couldn’t understand him. She just ignored it. She climbed on top of Keith so her legs straddled him and then she leaned forwards. She began to kiss his neck.
“Huh, what’s going on?” Keith asked.
“Shhhh,” Debbie whispered, and kissed him on the lips.
“What the fuck are you doing!” he shouted and shoved her onto the ground.
“What’s the matter?” Debbie asked, confused.
“What are you playing at?”
“I just thought we could have a little bit of fun.”
“Why the hell would I want to do that?” Keith laughed.
“If you’re not interested, then fine.” Debbie sighed. “You don’t need to laugh at me.”
“Look, Debbie. I’m sorry.” Keith calmed down now; he was rubbing Debbie’s arms. “You’re a lovely girl, but…”
