“There's been some chatter about a terrible creature that has been skulking around the outskirts of town. But nobody has actually shown any evidence and it's probably just a story that people are telling to frighten their children. I thought we lived in an age where we were past all these silly superstitions.”
“They are not silly superstitions and there have been some very reputable men and women who have declared that they have seen this thing,” his mother replied indignantly.
“All in the dark and none of them can offer any corroborating details. Some of them say that this thing is a hairy beast who is at least twelve feet tall with big talons, others say that it's more like a tall man, around seven feet, with beady eyes, some say there are more than one creature-”
“Then how do you explain the disappearances?”
“Disappearances?” Amelia asked, sitting forward in her chair. Her skin began to tingle at the prospect of a mystery. The excitement and fear rippled through her and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck. Tom rolled his eyes again and folded his arms in a huff while his mother lowered her voice, as though even speaking of these occurrences was enough to place them in danger.
“People have been going missing for weeks now and there has been no trace of them. There's no denying that fact,” she said, making a point to glare at Tom.
“With no reason? Who has been taken? There's really no trace?” Amelia asked, a thousand questions on her mind.
“None. Which is why people are so baffled and the only explanation seems to be a creature of the night.”
“A creature upon which nobody can agree what it looks like. I'm sure there is a simple explanation to all this. Perhaps all these people merely grew tired of the town and left, or it's some kind of practical joke. Either way, it's not for us to worry about. There is nothing we can do about it. The only thing to do is to make sure we do not go out at night. And mother, if you really are so worried about this then you are more than welcome to stay with us. There is plenty of room and it would save you worrying.”
“Yes, you must come,” Amelia added, but Tom's mother shook her head.
“I cannot leave work now. And I will not leave this city in a time of crisis. If we are under attack then my place is here.”
“Mother you are so melodramatic,” Tom said.
“I've seen it,” his father said in a low, grim voice, interrupting the argument that was about to take place between mother and son. Everyone looked at him, shocked. There was a haunted quality to his eyes as he seemed to look past them all and back into the maw of that horrible beast.
“When?!” Tom's mother yelled.
“The other night. I was coming home from work. I heard a sound, heavy breathing, and I was filled with dread. I quickened my pace. Before then I didn't think anything of it either. There are too many people in this world with fanciful imaginations but there was definitely something in the air. The streets were deserted and I felt a strange fear overwhelm me. I walked as quickly as I could but I didn't think it would be quick enough. I saw something out of the corner of my eye, but it disappeared before I could see it properly. I carried on walking, and then I saw it properly. It was far away, and hard to make it out in the darkness, but it was definitely no man. It was a hulking beast, something called from hell itself. It stared at me but I could not speak, and then it left. I do not know why it spared me but I am one of the lucky ones. All I know is that something terrible is coming to this town and none of us can be sure of our safety.”
The words were damning and all of them felt dread flood over them. Amelia's throat ran dry, and she could tell that even though Tom was skeptical, he was still worried in case his father was telling the truth. They departed after that, eager to get home before the sun dipped below the horizon. When the night came they both looked out of the window and wondered if something was out there, hunting the people of the town, and if so, how long would it be until it found their mansion?
Chapter 4
As it so often did when she was alone, Amelia's mind turned to the past, to Edward's funeral. With no body it had been a strange affair. A small box stood in for the coffin, and Amelia didn't even get a chance to properly say goodbye to her husband. Many had turned out for the funeral and the priest had said some lovely words about her husband. So had she, and she had refrained from letting the resentment and festering anger out. He had taken the trip against her wishes, and his stubbornness had cost him his life. There had been an unsettling, eerie feeling that shrouded her as soon as he left and it had made her sick to her stomach, but there was nothing she could have done to prevent it. At the funeral she had been teary and secretly she had bemoaned him for leaving her a widow, and with no closure. He had sailed to Europe after hearing news about a sought-after antique that he had been scouring the world for. He left in pursuit of it even though people had warned him that it was not the season to cross the oceans, but he remained undeterred. His shipmate told of how they had braved the storms to find an island upon which the antique was located. Edward had ignored all tales that had been told about the curse of the antique and had foolishly taken it from its rightful place. There was an unholy rumbling on the island and a high-pitched scream that pierced the air, then Edward was buried under a pile of rocks.
Amelia couldn't imagine what the last moments of his life must have been like. His obsession drove him to ruin and she blamed herself for not standing up to him more, for not forcing him to stay at home. Instead he had died alone, on some godforsaken island halfway across the world and he hadn't even been able to say goodbye to his wife. There were so many things that she wished she would have said to him, and often she yearned just to be held by him again, to breathe in his scent and wash this all away as a bad dream.
Tom had asked her to stop mourning Edward but Amelia knew she could not, and she was ashamed that she could not give Tom what he deserved. If Tom had requested a divorce to go and be with the pretty young girl in town, Amelia would not have had any right to deny him that chance at happiness because she had lived that part of her life, she had been in love and had experienced all the joy it could bring, and part of her wanted Tom to have a chance at that as well. But then she would be alone again. She didn't fancy her chances of marrying for a third time, and she couldn't bear to be in that house all by herself. So Tom was stuck with her, although she had an impending sense of doom that inevitably he would tire of what she had to offer him and would look elsewhere for pleasure. But that was all in the days to come and Amelia was not going to lose herself to what could be, especially not when there was some sort of monstrous creature roaming the city.
She was sitting in the drawing room, looking out of the window when Tom came in.
“That was some far-fetched story my father told us today. I think working that hard has finally broken his mind,” Tom said.
“You didn't believe him? Even after other people in the town have been talking about the same thing?”
Tom shook his head. “I imagine it began as a prank and word spread and people now see what they want to see whenever they look in the shadows. It's all superstitious nonsense. Think of it, are we really to believe that somewhere out there a monster is prowling the area?” he said, walking up to Amelia. He stood by her side and rested his arm along her shoulders. His fingers began to dance against her slender neck and played with her soft brown hair. A smile played across her skin as the warm feeling spread through her body.
“That girl was pretty today,” she said. Tom paused for a moment, then continued the tracing of circles on her skin, slowly pulling the fabric of her clothes away.
“She is a friend. We speak often whenever I go into town.”
“I don't mind, you know.”
“Mind?”
“If you find other women attractive. It is natural for a man of your age and with such strong passions to be drawn to girls like that, especially when compared with an old widow like me. You may look, but do not touch. That is all I ask.”
Tom's hand
s moved around her shoulders and began to massage them. His long fingers curled around her neck and reached down to the top of her chest. He stood directly behind her and she leaned her head back, resting it against his body, which was burning with desire. Amelia breathed in deeply as she prepared herself for the onslaught of passion. It was only in these moments where she allowed herself to forget about Edward, because the heady delights of Tom's body were primal and savage, and her body screamed for him. His hands made erotic sensations tingle throughout her body and she soon found her eyes closing. He cupped her chin in his hands and tilted her head up, bending down himself to plant a strong, deep kiss. Their tongues began to dance and a muffled moan escaped her lips. His hands drove down further beneath her clothing and began to fondle her voluptuous breasts. Her nipples were already hard and she winced with anguished delight as he teased them with his fingers, pinching them. Sharp waves of pleasure coursed through her body as her burning wetness tingled and twitched.
“It feels like too long since I have enjoyed my wife properly,” Tom said, and promptly dragged her from her seat and threw her onto the nearby desk. Amelia's breath was driven out of her lungs and both she and Tom were fueled by an angry lust. He came upon her with a mad look in his eyes. The moonlight streamed through the window but his body was lit by the flickering candles. He slowly stripped off his clothes and came up to her. Her hands ran across his smooth, youthful skin. She kissed his chest and reached deep down to feel his erection, and she curled her fingers around it as her breath ran across his skin. She kissed his neck as she massaged him and squeezed him, and in turn she felt his hands run through her hair and along her shoulders and arms, and the descended into a burning fury of passion.
Her clothes were ripped from her body as he attacked her with his ardent kisses and fervent desire. His energy swept over her and it was as though he was possessed by some erotic god. The sheer force with which he took her made her feel young again, made her feel reborn. Her mind grew hazy with the delights that he caused in her body and they gripped each other fiercely. Her legs clamped around his body like pincers and his hands squeezed her thighs, moving up her body to force her curves down and then he entered her, hard and deep and with completely abandon. There was nothing that could stop his ardent desire and all Amelia could do was cling on as all his youthful energy was spent on her. The blazing passion allowed her to forget who she was and enjoy the uninhibited physical sensations of her younger husband's lust. Her skin flushed and blood boiled inside as her body screamed out in pleasure. Tom pounded deeper and deeper, losing control as he slammed into her against the desk, biting and tearing at her, grunting and moaning like a wild animal and surrounding her with a cacophony of noise. Amelia's eyes clamped shut as she dug her nails into his back as he got faster and faster and soon enough everything thundered inside her as the hot explosion made his body jerk and convulse and his strength dominated her, pressing her down hard. Sweat poured from their bodies and their chests heaved as he collapsed, spent and weak now, while she was on fire.
She laughed deliriously as the remnants of passion burned, and she flung her arms around him as they kissed once more, enjoying each other’s bodies as though they were the only two people in the world. But the lust that had entered her heat soon burned into ashes as they went back to bed, and although they slept together she knew that it would never be the same as it was with Edward. The release of pleasure was irresistible but there was something missing. She didn't feel like she belonged in Tom's arms the way she did with Edward, and it left her feeling empty. Beside her the sound of Tom's steady breathing was loud, but her eyes were locked out of the window, gazing into the abyss of night. She couldn't hear it, but somewhere out there was an anguished howl.
Chapter 5
Over the following few days, life continued as normal for the married couple. The release of passion seemed to deal with the tension that had been built up and they were on good terms again with no disagreements. Tom ventured into town as usual while Amelia stayed at home, reading books or tending to the garden. The weather was calm and although it was late in summer the temperature was still comfortable. Amelia though had taken Tom's words to heart and she did feel that she had been more than unfair to her husband by so openly grieving for Edward, so she had taken to only wearing black underneath her main outfit. This seemed to appease him as he was more affectionate than usual, and the frequency of their lovemaking increased. However, Amelia had been intrigued by the tale of the beast that was roaming around the city and whenever Tom returned from a sojourn she pestered him with questions, to the point where he would actively ignore her pleas for information when he entered the house.
“But I am so bored here. This is the most exciting thing that has happened in this town for a long time and you do not even seem to care!”
“I do not care because it is pointless. There is no way such a creature could exist so something is amiss, and I will not entertain the delusion,” he said stubbornly. It led to another argument where Amelia accused him of being so arrogant that he knew the entire nature of the world, and Tom shot back with some harsh words of his own. The night ended with them lost in the throes of anger, which added an intensity to their sexual activities, increasing the pleasure gained tenfold.
Yet while Tom was adamant that this creature could not exist Amelia was sure there was some truth to it, and began to send the staff into town with the task of finding out more information. She discovered that more people had been going missing and the police were actively searching for the perpetrator but the only descriptions were of a supernatural creature. And then it happened. One night Tom returned with a haunted look on his face. He immediately closed the door and locked it, then dragged Amelia into a room and locked that door again. He paced along the floor, muttering to himself. His hair was unkempt, as were his clothes, and his skin was sallow and pale.
“What's the matter?” Amelia demanded, and had to repeat the question for Tom to snap out of his trance. He walked up to her and she could see that his eyes were filled with terror.
“It took my parents,” Tom said, trembling. Amelia's jaw dropped and she tried to calm her husband.
“How do you know? Did you see it?”
Tom shook his head. “I went to visit them and the house had been ransacked. I spoke to the neighbors and they said that late the previous night there had been a disturbance. I was such a fool. I should have listened to them. Why didn't I listen?!” he said, beating his fists against the wall. Amelia moved towards him and placed a hand on his back.
“Do not blame yourself, I know it is easy to do so but you are not responsible for this. I felt the same for a long time after Edward died, always telling myself that I should have done more, that I should have-”
“Oh will you shut up about him!” he said, turning to her with anger, his eyes red and raw from the tears that had built up within them, “Edward has been dead for a year and I am sick to death of hearing about him. Am I not enough for you? Is this flesh and blood not enough, or would you rather be married to a ghost?”
He spoke in a vicious tone and Amelia was taken aback by the harshness of his words. Tom was trembling and had evidently been shaken by the events, and it had caused his suppressed emotions to come to the surface. His expression immediately softened and he reached out to Amelia, but she backed away from him, recoiling in horror. She ran through the house, away from him, even after he chased after her, trying in vain to apologize.
“I didn't mean it,” he cried, but his words echoed through the house as the sound of Amelia's footsteps faded from his ears, and he knew that chasing after her would have done no good.
Amelia was filled with violent emotions. The outburst from Tom made her question the foundations her new marriage were based upon. She was well aware that she hadn't been the perfect wife but she thought that Tom had understood the position she was in, and to throw it back in her face like that was hurtful. Tears stung her eyes as she sprinted through the em
pty hallways until she finally collapsed, heaving her breaths as she fell against the wall. A wide window loomed in front of her, with the wan moon taunting her from above. Her life had been so perfect until Edward had been taken away from her.
“I did not ask for this. I did not want this!” she shrieked, but the moon remained resolute in its silence. Amelia wept fretfully. Her entire body trembled for she had seen a side of Tom that she had never seen before, and never wanted to see again. It made her long for her marriage with Edward and she felt a fraud for giving up on their love. She felt guilty for sharing her bed and body with another man, and all the accusations of her peers came back with force. She was too old for him, he was only after her money, she was only after companionship...in that moment it all seemed true and the guilt was overwhelming. If only she could have turned back time and escaped that hell it would have all been fine...but she was stuck in a prison of love, unable to fully let go of Edward, which prevented her from completely embracing Tom. Amelia was caught in a fluctuating chasm between the past and the future. Neither offered her peace or serenity, and she could not live in one without losing the other, and she wanted to hold onto both. She cried out loudly and lamented her fate, fearing that she was destined to be alone, and only pity would accompany her aching heart, until she heard another noise, one that abruptly silenced her tears.
Savage Urges Page 2
