American Nocturne Read online

  “Well, just so you know, I’m still reserving the right to change my mind.”

  “Of course. But this really shouldn’t take too long. And I’d like to get started.”

  Levi looked at the curtain again. “Can I see it first?”

  “Certainly.”

  The man walked over to the edge of the curtain where it abutted an adjacent wall and reached behind it. Levi saw him make a pulling motion and two halves of curtain began to part in the middle. A few tugs and they were spread enough to reveal a stone platform of two ascending layers. Atop the platform lay a body.

  Levi took several tentative steps forward. It’s a mummy, all right. The body was carefully laid out, hands crossed over its chest. A white sheet covered its midsection. Its coriaceous skin was wrapped tight over a thin frame. The flesh of the face was sunken, like someone had stuck a vacuum hose in the back of its head until its eyelids collapsed. Its lips were peeled back, displaying teeth the shade of a coffee stain. Wisps of hair, the color of mold, clung to its head the way cobwebs might cling to a ceiling.

  “And people actually want to pay good money to see this. Me and this?”

  “I’m afraid it’s difficult to explain. But the answer is yes.”

  “I’m not going to put my lips on this thing.”

  “I assure you, it is quite sanitary. He is meticulously cleaned at regular intervals. But, if it makes you feel any better, you are not required to kiss him in any way.”

  “Well, I suppose if all of it is just pretend…”

  The man pursed his lips, studying her for a moment. Then he stepped past her and pulled back the sheet. At the figure’s groin was a semi-erect penis, pointing toward the head of the body.

  “Not pretend. The deal is for you to have intercourse with him while I tape you.”

  “You’re out of your mind!”

  “Look, what did you say your name was? Ariel?”

  She regarded him with a suspicious eye. Yeah, Ariel. On Thursdays, at least. He had to know that’s all it was. Didn’t he hear her on the phone? Of course he did. He was humoring her. “Yes.”

  “Ariel, think of it as nothing more than a leather sex prop. As I said, it is quite clean. Come and inspect it.”

  Levi hesitated, then stepped closer. Definitely a penis, she thought. Slightly shriveled, but nothing to be ashamed of. She’d seen worse.

  “By all means, touch it. I believe you’ll find there is nothing unpleasant or repulsive about it.”

  Levi shook her head, but then extended her hand and gently poked a finger at it. It felt softer than expected, not brittle. She gave it a slightly harder push. It was supple, but firm.

  “I understand your apprehension. Even though I can assure you it is completely sanitary, I have gone one step further and prepared an extra precaution.”

  The man crossed the room to the table next to the leather chair and withdrew a leather case. He unzipped it, then set it on the table and laid it open. When he turned around, he was holding a syringe and a pharmaceutical vial of clear liquid.

  “This is a powerful antibiotic. Very safe. It will ensure that even the infinitesimal chance of infection you are concerned about is not a factor.”

  “I hope you don’t think I’m going to let you inject me with that. I mean, c’mon! Do I look that stupid?” She shook her head and pointed herself toward the stairs. “I think I should go.”

  The man stepped in front of her. “Please, don’t be silly. This is perfectly harmless. Don’t you think if I’d wanted to drug you, I could have slipped something in your drink? Seriously.”

  “Yeah? Well, in that case, inject yourself.”

  The man hesitated for a moment, then smiled. He held out the syringe and the bottle, gesturing for Levi to take them. Then he took of his jacket and rolled up his sleeve.

  “Hey, I was kidding…”

  “No. It’s only fair. You are merely being prudent. Here.” The man took the syringe and bottle from her, stuck the syringe needle into its rubber stopper, filling the tube about halfway. He removed the needle, angled it toward the ceiling, and pressed the plunger with his thumb until a thin stream of liquid shot out. He handed her the bottle, then jabbed the needle into his upper arm and pressed the plunger down.

  “There. That should ease your mind. As I said, it’s little more than an antibiotic.” He retreated to the table and picked up another disposable syringe from the case, still in its paper packaging. He tore it open and reached for the vial, repeating the same procedure as before.

  Before Levi could object, the man took her by the wrist and pulled her arm forward. As she tried to pull back, he stuck the needle into the side of her tricep like a dart and pressed the plunger. When he pulled it out, a pin-prick of blood swelled into a drop on her skin.

  The man let go of her and removed a foil packet from his pocket. He tore it at a corner and produced an alcohol swab that he used to wipe her arm. “All done. That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

  Levi felt anxiety worming through her body. Her legs were weak, rubbery. She wondered if she had just allowed something bad to happen, but saw how the man’s demeanor hadn’t changed a bit, how he didn’t seem any different than a moment ago. He wasn’t even looking at her now, having turned his attention to the video camera. Like he’d said, she drank a vodka tonic he mixed for her. If he’d wanted to drug her, he could have. And she had just watched him inject himself.

  This is insane, she told herself. Just climb those stairs and leave.

  “Why don’t we get started, shall we?”

  Levi found herself nodding as she began to unbutton her sleeveless blouse. She had come to two distinct conclusions almost simultaneously. The first was that she did not want to do this. The second was that she was going to do it anyway. It was almost as if the shot had sealed the deal, like a blood pact of some kind, though she knew the thought was silly. Still, she preferred it to the other possibility – that she knew she was going to do it all along and was looking for an excuse.

  That’s just your mother talking. Quit it.

  She stepped out of her leather skirt and her spirits improved. This was still a sex job, and the sexual was the familiar. People were paying to see her do this. She was still in control. Even if the situation had long passed being weird.

  “So, you and your friends want to see me take King Tut here inside my sacred pyramid, huh?” she asked.

  “Yes. That is what we want.”

  She nodded again and looked at the camera. No sense asking about a condom. She could guess the answer to that one. “Would you like to film me taking these off?”

  “Sure. Why not. But don’t remove the necklace.”

  After pausing momentarily so her client could adjust the camera, Levi leaned forward and blew a kiss at the lens, half-closing her eyes. She licked her lips in an exaggerated gesture, chin up, tongue unnaturally extended, as her hands found her breasts and cupped them. She rolled them in small circles and pressed them together. She turned around to look over her shoulder while she unhooked her bra, clasping it against her chest with her forearms. A teasing moment of hesitation, then she gave a wink and let it drop to the floor.

  This’ll show him.

  She turned away once more and bent forward, gazing back at the camera with a craned neck, reaching through her legs and stroking her hand down and through toward her stomach, dragging her splayed fingers across her crotch. Then she hooked her thumbs into the sides of her g-string and wiggled her hips with a shiver as she pulled them down, still bent over, flashing her best come-hither look. She slapped her palm flat against her ass, grabbing a firm hold, and gave it a hearty shake.

  Gay, she thought, concentrating on the man as he stared at the flip-out display screen. His hand occasionally reached to adjust a control on the camera, but he did not look up. Yep. No doubt about it.

  She lifted one high-heeled foot out of the underwear draped around her ankles and spun to face the camera. She turned her head slightly and lifted the
back of her hand to the side of her face, slipping her pinky finger into the corner of her mouth while her other hand kneaded the flesh of her breast. Then she blew a kiss and stepped up to the slab where the body lay.

  The body looked ancient. She couldn’t decide whether it reminded her more of a fossil or something expertly carved from the trunk of an oak. Its arms were corded like the exposed roots of some petrified tree. Its head was tilted back, and the tautness of its face, wooden-like teeth bared, gave the impression it was in pain.

  Camera’s rolling, she told herself. Get this over with and get out of here.

  The slab felt cool and hard against her knee. She propped her weight onto it and leaned forward. Her breasts swayed loosely, grazing the body along one of its thighs as she placed a hand on each side of it. She looked over to the camera and shook them with just a bit more force. The nipples brushed across the body again and the necklace swung like a pendulum. Her host continued to stare at the view screen, expression unchanged.

  I cannot believe I’m doing this. She crawled over the body, a hand and knee on each side, until she was straddling it at the midsection. She glanced over to the camera, hesitating.

  “Just reach down and insert his member,” her host said.

  She pooled some saliva in her mouth and let it drop into a tiny puddle on her fingertips before smearing it across her vagina. The penis felt leathern and a bit cool to the touch. She lifted it and guided it into her, pressing her weight onto it, pulled up, then pressed harder, repeating the sequence several times until it became slick enough for her to slide completely down.

  She began to move rhythmically, rocking her body, raising and lowering herself. Before long, she was forced to admit that it felt good. Really good, in fact.

  Oh my God, if this makes me come I am going to die. Just fucking die.

  The pace of her motion quickened a bit and she straightened her back, pulling herself erect. She closed her eyes and cupped a hand beneath each breast, lifting them, massaging them for the camera.

  Oh, man… I am going to come. Holy shit. I never would’ve—

  Something moved. Something touching her, if not inside of her. Levi was certain of it. Or close to certain. She stopped and looked at the body, then over to her host, then at the body again. Everything seemed the same. Norman was still operating the camera, not showing any reaction. As far as she could tell, nothing about the body had changed.

  But still, something seemed different. The feeling sent a wave of discomfort through her gut and she told herself to just get things over with. Work up to a nice moaning climax for the camera, get paid, and get out of there.

  She started rocking again, bouncing lightly, and realized something was different. It was bigger inside her now. Firmer. It even felt better.

  It’s your imagination, she told herself. It had to be.

  She rolled her head back and pretended she enjoyed the feeling. But she knew she wasn’t pretending. She pictured herself atop Bobby – trim, athletic Bobby – imagined him growing larger and larger inside her as she moved, both of them building to a climax—

  Then she realized it wasn’t all just in her mind.

  This time there was no doubt. The thing was throbbing inside her. She snapped her head forward and pulled the hair from eyes so she could see. It did not appear to have moved. The face looked the same. Nothing was different. Almost nothing.

  The mouth. Had the lips been peeled back that far before? She leaned farther forward for a closer look. Maybe.

  The head spun to face her, a pair of wide eyes slamming their intense gaze onto hers. Its teeth were bared like a predator’s, and it let out a low series of breathy grunts through clenched jaws as it grabbed her by the arms.

  She screamed until her breath was gone, then sucked in enough air to scream again. The thing had a firm hold of her, pinning her hips down as it began to thrust itself into her over and over again.

  Talons of fear slashed and grabbed at her mind, freezing it, blocking out all rational thought. Her screams changed to cries for help then back to screams, but the screams soon gave way to moans as the adrenaline seemed to enhance her physical responses. Within seconds the violent thrusts brought her to orgasm in spite of herself even as she struggled to break free.

  Again and again she came. By the third time she had stopped resisting. She opened her eyes as she felt the thing bury itself even deeper into her and stay there, pulling her down like it wanted to split her in two. She felt it ejaculate; a hard, thick squirt against her cervix, filling her with a warm, wet release. For just a heartbeat, she thought she saw its face change. As if another more triangular face inside pressed through, a face that was sharper, more defined. High cheekbones, a jutting, cleft jaw. Two protuberances on its forehead. A long, curving nose. Then it was gone.

  The thing’s hands released their grip and its arms dropped straight down as its head lolled to the side. It lay motionless again. Completely lifeless.

  Levi was sobbing uncontrollably, choking off tiny squeals and screams as she cried. It took her a moment to realize the thing was still inside her, and when she did she threw herself off of it with a sudden yelp. Her entire body was shaking. She moved without any discernable purpose, as if in a daze.

  She let out another short yell when she felt something being wrapped around her from behind.

  “There, there. Calm down. It’s over now,” the man said, securing a blanket over her shoulders. He rubbed her arms through the cloth. “It’s all over.”

  Levi was breathing in short, rapid spurts. She tried to speak, but couldn’t. Her legs were like heavy tubes of flimsy rubber. Her groin felt raw. Raw and sticky.

  “You should feel complimented. You warranted one of the big boys. Maybe not the Prince himself, but someone very high up.”

  The words made no sense to Levi, but she was hardly listening anyway. It was several more seconds before the fog started to clear. Then another panic attack set in.

  “Easy, easy there. I told you, it’s all over. Relax.”

  The man walked her to the door on the far wall and slid over a large deadbolt.

  “Wh-where are you taking me?”

  “You need to rest. I have a bed waiting.”

  “But… what… that thing…?” She tried to slide out from under his arm and push the man away, glancing nervously back to where the body lay. “What was… that?”

  The man’s voice was patient, soothing. “Look, you need to get a grip on yourself. It is over. Really. That body will not be moving again tonight. Or tomorrow. Or the day after. I can promise you that.”

  He opened the door and guided her through it. The room they entered was dark, but the light from the adjoining room illuminated a metal-frame bed. The sheets were turned down.

  “Here. You really do need to rest.”

  Levi pushed his hand off her shoulder again. “I-I want to go. I want to leave.”

  “I understand. I would be happy to discuss the situation with you, but the fact is, you are suffering from a mild case of shock. Please, just lay down.”

  The man sat Levi on the bed over her weakening protestations. With gentle insistence, he pressed her down by the shoulders, then lifted her legs and swung them onto the mattress. Cradling her ankles one at a time, he removed her high-heeled shoes.

  Levi felt the energy drain out of her as soon as she was no longer standing. She was exhausted and jittery. An occasional surge of panic caused her to sit up, but each time the man laid her back down and told her to rest. She felt a prick in her arm and bolted up once more, and saw the man was holding a needle. For an instant, she thought she had been hallucinating, that she was still standing by the body, just having received the shot of antibiotic. That maybe nothing had really happened, except in her mind. She tried to hold on to the thought, to nurture it, but couldn’t.

  “A mild sedative. That’s all. Get some sleep.”

  Almost at the mention of the word, sleep became the only thing Levi wanted. Sleep. Yes.
Precious sleep. She laid her head back on the pillow and shut her eyes.

  She dreamt of a beach where sharks attached themselves to bathers. The terrified swimmers would drag themselves back to shore, only to find that’s what the sharks had wanted all along. Once on dry land, the sharks would run off and disappear, leaving the mutilated victim behind.

  When Levi realized what was happening, she tried in a frenzy to leave the water herself, but something grabbed her at the wrist. She pulled, but it wouldn’t budge.

  She was still pulling when she opened her eyes. The dream melted away, only something really did have hold of her wrist. Hold of both of them, she realized.

  The room was dark, and at first she had no recollection of where she was. She recalled the house, the secluded room, the body—oh God.

  An electric sizzle of awareness ran up her spine. “Help! Is anyone there?” Her voice cracked, but even so its sudden loudness scared her. The room was deathly quiet, and seemed to ring with the remnants of her voice.

  She thought she heard footfalls. Before long, there was the sound of a latch opening. Then a bright shaft of light from the doorway erupted over her, forcing her to turn her face away and squint.

  “Ah. You’re with us again. I trust you had a good rest.”

  “What’s going on?”

  The man left the door open as he entered the room. The light from behind him cast an elongated rectangle of brightness onto the bed. The rest of the room remained veiled in darkness. Unable to move her hands to cover her eyes, Levi continued to squint and blink.

  “Sorry about that. Your eyes will adjust in a moment.”

  “My arms. Why can’t I move my arms?”

  “I’m afraid I had to restrain you to the bed. Can’t have you wandering off.”

  The man sat next to her on the mattress. He reached to open the top drawer of a nightstand and removed a thermometer. Holding it by one end, he gave it a few downward snaps, then inspected the thin line of mercury along its center.

  Levi turned her head away as he tried to stick the thermometer in her mouth.