Eyes in the Dark
Brother must protect the sister he loves from evil forces...
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Drive

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I don't know you, not yet anyway, but I guess I'm writing this for you. It feels strange to do so, but not wrong. None of this feels wrong, although it probably should. At some points, however, I felt a lot of guilt about all of this. You will too, most likely. Just read it to the end and know that you're not alone.

* * *

June 5th, 1985

Driving to the cabin was one of those times where I felt that deep sense of shame. I didn't want to be there. Well, that isn't true. I did want to be there. I wanted it a great deal. I just didn't think it was right, or honest, or wholesome of me to be there.

The two-lane highway was pretty empty. Our cabin was in a rural area, practically wilderness. There were steep hills and forests, wild streams full of trout and lonesome lakes that sat still and unseen in the morning light. Our cabin perched on a small rise, near one of those lakes. To my knowledge, there were no other human habitations within at least ten miles of it. It was isolated, but comfortable and not at all rustic.

The lack of traffic that morning let my eyes wander to the right. To my passenger. She was asleep, as I expected. God, she looked sweet like that. Pure, almost angelic. Her legs were curled up, and her head was leaning against the window. Her arms were folded over her chest, and she looked at peace. A sick part of me wanted to run my hand up her leg. To stroke her face, maybe tuck that strand of escaped brown hair back behind her ear. Perhaps I'd see those beautiful hazel eyes open and look at me. Would they look at me with the welcome that I desired? Or with disgust? I feared the latter because it was how I felt towards myself. I re-focused on the road.

My little sister didn't think of herself as beautiful, at all. She makes self-deprecating jokes frequently, calling herself "fat" or "chubby." I couldn't stand that, but I couldn't very well correct her the way I wanted to. Maybe she did carry a little more weight than she wanted to, but it didn't make her look ugly. The opposite in fact.

Ashley was just over six inches shorter than me, with lovely wide hips and large, proportional breasts. Her ass pushed out whatever she wore to the degree that was impossible not to notice. All of these beautiful curves fit together perfectly, to my mind, into an hourglass. I wouldn't ever expect other women to fit her standard, but to me, she was gorgeous.

That was to say nothing of her cute nose, or girl-next-door freckles on very kissable cheeks, or her cupid's bow lips.

God. I was lost with desire for her. That would have been bad enough. Who wants an older brother perving on them? But I was also completely and totally in love and had been for longer than I wanted to admit, even at this late stage.

"Where are we?"

Ashley's voice was small and tired, having just woken up. I almost swerved the car, as I felt caught in the middle of my own guilty thoughts.

"Good timing. We're about twenty minutes out. We made good time."

"Great. I really have to pee."

I laughed.

"You have a bladder the size of an acorn. Which I guess is appropriate since you're the size of a squirrel."

"Shut up, dick," she said, with affection. She didn't like being reminded of how short she was, having the silly idea that only tall, thin girls could be attractive, but I had been teasing her height since we were both in elementary school, and now it had become a habit.

Besides, how she could think of herself as unattractive, with the way she filled out her short, cutoff jeans, or worn, but well-fitting, sweatshirt was beyond me. At the last place we'd stopped, a man and both of his teenaged sons had been checking her out, much to his wife's dismay. They just looked, though, and she hadn't noticed. She rarely did, thankfully.

"Thank you," she said, suddenly. She sounded a bit sad. Why would she be sad?

"For what?"

"For taking me. For coming. I know...I know that you didn't want to."

* * *

May 13th, 1985 - College

That was true, sort of.

I had wanted to come, but lately, my thoughts and feelings had grown more intense, and being away at college hadn't made them go away. If anything, I wanted her more than ever. So, in May, I'd called home and made up some bullshit story about wanting to take summer classes to get a "jump-start" on finishing my degree. I wasn't really in a rush. Aside from missing Ashley, college had been pretty great, to be honest.

"That's too bad," my father had said, the connection to the pay phone I was using crackling, "I guess I'll have to tell Ashley she'll be home alone this year."

"What?"

"Her school ends before yours. She's going to an early honor's society orientation thing at her new college while you finish up your year."

I would miss her graduation, unfortunately, because I'd be knee-deep in exams.

"Why does that mean that she can't go to the cabin?"

"Well, your mother and I aren't going to take the detour to pick her up or wait for a bus to get her. I have to go a few hours north to a sales meeting, and your mother is coming with me. We're going directly to the cabin from there. She was really counting on you picking Ashley up on the way and opening up for us. We'll be there a week or so after you."

It seemed presumptuous of my parents to assume that I'd be available to pick Ashley up, but thinking about it, it made sense. I went to a state school. Ashley was going to a private university roughly between my college and the cabin. If she was finishing up her initial orientation around the same time I was leaving, it would be only a half hour out of my way to pick her up. And if I didn't pick her up, then she'd have to take a bus home and be alone there all summer. I couldn't even join her if I were to actually take summer classes. Fuck.

Ash loved the cabin, even more than I did. It was her favorite place in the world and was really the only time where we would all be a family together. As much of a pervert as I thought of myself, I couldn't do that to her. I never really considered how odd it was that neither Mom or Dad would go out of their way to get her.

"You know what, Dad, I'll just take my time I guess. If I want to get ahead, I can take an extra class or two next year. Just tell me where and when to pick her up."

I could hear his smile on the other end of the line.

"Great, son. Your mother and I are really looking forward to seeing you. Ash is, too, by the way. She hasn't talked about anything else for the last month. She really misses you."

"Um. Great. I'll see you guys soon."

I wrote down where and when to pick her up. I wished he hadn't told me how much she missed me. It pushed my mind into all kinds of scenarios that I did my best not to think of.

Well, maybe I'd get lucky, and she'd be dragging some boyfriend along with her. That would be tough to watch, but at least it would push my mind to healthier avenues. Or at least I hoped that it would.

* * *

June 5th, 1985 - The Road

Of course, I had no such luck. Ashley was alone, and she was so happy to see me that it was almost ridiculous. She had flown into my arms as I got out of the car and the people around the student center had clearly thought we were boyfriend and girlfriend rather than siblings. I had enjoyed the long, tight, hug, and let my warped mind wander.

I snapped back to the present.

"I did want to drive you. I still do."

"Come on. Dad said you were thinking about taking summer classes, but that you changed your plans when you learned I needed someone to pick me up."

Shit. Why had he told her?

"Well, I mean, I wasn't exactly married to those plans. I thought I was being responsible, but I really miss the cabin. And...I really missed you too. I couldn't bear the thought of you sitting home alone all summer because I wanted to graduate a few months early."

"Oh," she said, quietly. I was uncertain if the emotion I read in her voice was sadness or...something else. "I'm glad you changed your mind."

"I'm glad I did too. Besides, if I didn't come, who would carry you home when you invariably injure yourself in some ridiculous fashion?"

She hit me in the arm lightly but laughed with me. It certainly didn't happen every year, but she'd hurt herself significantly a few times over the many years that we'd gone to the cabin. Once she'd fallen off a log crossing a stream and broken her arm. We hadn't gone home, but she'd been in a cast for the rest of the vacation. Another time she'd burned herself pretty severely trying to toast a marshmallow. Mom's expert care had kept it from scarring her but she'd woken up more than once, crying in pain, and I'd held her until she'd gone back to sleep. The most recent, and sort of funny, incident had been two years ago. She'd dropped a jar of honey on her foot and broken her big toe. It had hurt, but all the doctor could do was give her a splint and tell her to rest up. I'd called her Pooh Bear for months after that, to her dismay.

At least, I thought to myself, we were getting along, and we wouldn't be alone together for too long.

How naive I was.

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Arrival

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June 5th, 1985 - The Road and The Cabin

Finally, we reached our exit. There was little there. A McDonalds and a few gas stations. We took a lonely road past a long stretch of trees, and at last turned left at an old, weatherbeaten "No Trespassing" sign. We drove down the long, gravel road in silence and anticipation, the trees on either side nearly touching above us. If you had never been to the cabin, you would probably be expecting something run down, perhaps even ruined. As soon you came into the clearing, you would realize how wrong you were.

We pulled back out into the morning light. The lake had small ripples from the wind, and the cabin sat on a small hill overlooking it, perhaps one-hundred feet away. It was two stories and had an attic room as well. It sprawled a bit, having been initially relatively small and then expanded in all directions as new generations inherited it. The way our father told it, this had been the first place that our ancestors had settled, and it had gone to the first child ever since then, with the understanding that it would never be sold. I looked over at Ash and enjoyed the childlike delight that played across her face. I suddenly felt that the trip was well worth it. She looked at me and blushed.

"What is it?"

"You always get like that when we arrive for the first time. It's really beau...amusing."

I barely caught myself, but her smile grew anyway.

"I can't help it. I love being here, and I love that you're here too. I worry every year that you won't come. I don't know why, but I know it wouldn't be as special if you didn't."

"What about mom and dad?"

She rolled her eyes.

"You couldn't keep them away. They get so, um, affectionate here..."

She trailed off. I knew what she meant. It was usually left unspoken, but our parents had a lot of sex here. We heard it, and it didn't bother us much as maybe it should have.

"Do you remember when," I started, but Ash cut me off.

"God yes. But I don't want to talk about that right now. Let's go open her up!"

The cabin was always referred to in the feminine, and I never knew why. It was tradition, and as I would find out, tradition was strictly followed in our family, even when we tried to escape it.

I got out and walked to the plain wooden structure. It was made of simple lumber, stained against the elements. It was most impressive from the inside. I unlocked the door, and Ashley rushed in.

Dad paid multiple crews of people to keep the cabin in good shape as it wasn't possible for us to do it ourselves. One was a cleaning crew that came out once a month over Spring, Fall, and Winter and then did an extra intense job right before Summer when we arrived. Another was a handyman who came out regularly and inspected the cabin, inside and out, and then did repairs. The last was from the local grocery, delivering frozen foods, dry goods, and fresh fruit and vegetables on a regular schedule throughout the summer. We never needed to leave the property if we didn't want to, and some summers we didn't. It never felt claustrophobic. After all, there was the lake and miles and miles of trails in the woods. There were so many things to discover and explore.

Besides that, the cabin wasn't as isolated as it appeared. It had a connection for both power and phone, although in bad weather we frequently lost both. We also had a generator for those occasions.

It was honestly a refuge for us. I felt the great weight of school and expectations of success lift from my shoulders. I could just be me, even if it were only for a few months.

Ashley and I unloaded my station wagon efficiently. There wasn't very much, most of it was the stuff that I didn't want to leave in my off-campus apartment, and her bags. She didn't exactly pack light, but with two people everything got moved quickly.

I was just pulling her large duffle bag out when I realized too late that it wasn't completely zipped. About half of it spilled on the gravel of the driveway.

"Shit," I said, picking things up, "I'm sorry."

"I'm pretty sure I'm the one who forgot to close it."

We worked quickly, me picking up her stuff (trying to ignore her panties and bras) and her restoring it to more or less how it was. I stopped when I reached a plain brown package. It was light, about the size of a legal pad, and maybe an inch thick.

Remember, open me if things get rough!

Love, Mom

I passed it to Ash, who looked at it and laughed.

"I guess Mom didn't think we'd be ok on our own, so she made sure to give me this before they left on their trip. She was so serious about it, it was weird."

"They're pretty weird in general."

"True," she said as she put the package back into her bag, forgotten quickly in the relaxing atmosphere of the natural setting.

"It's odd, being the only two people here," I remarked.

"Bad weird or good weird?"

"Good weird, I think. I just expect Dad to walk in making a dumb joke and then Mom to laugh and hug him, you know?"

"Well, you should get used to it."

"Why? They should be up in a few days."

Ash looked confused.

"Dad didn't tell you?"

"Didn't tell me what?"

She rolled her eyes at our father's absent-mindedness.

"His trip got extended. He's got to go out of the country and deal with some legal stuff for the new factory in Germany. Some nonsense about it being close to the border. They won't get here for at least two weeks, but probably more like a month."

I froze. A month? Alone? I found the idea very appealing but also a bit frightening. I had been counting on at least having the distraction of our parents to keep my mind off of Ashley. Surely, I could avoid being a creepy older brother for that long, right? I found new resolve, thinking about the fallout if I alienated her. As inappropriate and strong as my desires might be, I never wanted her to hate or fear me, or hurt her in any way. I ended my train of thought to Ashley looking at me quizzically.

"You look...worried," she said.

"I guess I am. I never thought that I'd be alone up here. I mean without Dad."

"I'm not worried. We can handle it"

I nodded, but I also remembered what he'd told me years ago about the old place. I wondered if he'd told Ash. Somehow, I doubted it. He was old fashioned and pretty big on men protecting women. Well, I'd tell her if I had to. It could all be nonsense anyway.

"I agree. I guess I was just surprised. It's not like Dad to fail to mention something like that."

Ashley shrugged.

"Do you want to go for a walk? I want to do the path around the lake."

I nodded, smiling. So we went. It was an easy walk, around two miles in total, leading around the lake, sometimes passing from view and other times right next to it. On the opposite side of the cabin was a series of ruins. Just foundations really, dating back to the first settlers. They were fun to look at, but archaeological teams had dug up everything of interest back in the early '70s. Eventually, we came back around to the clearing with the cabin. Ashley, who had been explaining to me how her last concerts and college auditions had been going, grew silent. I followed her gaze to The Flat Rock.

That was what we called it. It was on our left as we came out of the trees, at the far edge of the clearing with our cabin and directly on the shore. In many other places it probably would have been mundane, but it didn't fit here. It was smooth and flat, unsurprisingly, but was maybe fifteen feet wide by twenty long. There were no other rocks of its size or type nearby. I was no geologist, but I was majoring in engineering with some light focus on architecture. Bedrock was very deep here and tended towards granites. This was more like limestone...but harder. We'd often come out and sit on it to fish or stargaze, as it had many curved indentations that were surprisingly comfortable. There were markings on it as well. I had asked my father when I was younger if they were native, and he said that they were essential to the white colonists, but that he didn't know what they meant.

Ash walked over to it and stopped, wrapping her arms around her chest. I could see the anxiety in her stance.

"What is it?"

"You were going to talk about...what we saw here. Earlier, I mean. I stopped you."

"Yeah?"

"Well...god this is dumb, never mind."

"I'm not going to think it's dumb, dumbass. It's obviously bothering you."

"I've been dreaming about it lately. And they haven't been good dreams, either."

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Witnesses

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July 17th, 1980 - The Cabin at Night

We were both a lot younger; I was fifteen and Ashley had been thirteen. We were bored. That's why I think we did it.

Ashley and I had been playing Adventure on our Atari 2600, but we'd become a little frustrated with playing the mode where all the item locations were randomized. Eventually, being surly teenagers, we started to argue.

"I can't believe you're so terrible. That dragon has killed you the same way, three times now!"

Well, really, I started to argue, exasperated by what I regarded as my sister's lack of skill.

"Like you do any better. You can't even figure out how to deal with the Bat."

"He stole the sword and left a dragon! You can't blame me for that, you little shit!"

"Be nice to your sister! She's the only one you have!"

It was Mom. Dad laughed, seeing our bickering as both typical and healthy. Mom and Dad often took walks at night, and they were leaving for one now. They never really asked us to join which was fine because we usually hung out enough with them during the day. Neither of them waited for a response before they shut the door behind them.

A second later, the silly argument already forgotten, I had another thought.

"We should follow them," I said, quickly, without thinking.

Ashley looked at me, her brow furrowed.

"I...I don't know. It's like really special to them..."

"Yeah, but, like what if they're smoking weed or something?"

I laughed at the thought.

"What if they're making out, though?"

"Then we sneak back. No big deal."

"And if they see us?"

"We went for a walk, too. We can just act like we meant to go in a different direction."

"Ok, I guess."

Ashley was less than enthusiastic, but she was usually game for my dumb ideas. So we waited another minute or two and then left. They often carried a flashlight, and we could see it, the only real light on that cloudy night. We crept toward it, saying nothing.

As we got closer, the light winked out. I stopped, and Ashley bumped into me. We both waited. That's when the strangeness started.
We could hear our parents speaking in low tones. They were on the rock, and probably just enjoying a romantic moment without their kids. Well, that's what they thought anyway. As it turned out, we didn't see what they were up to.

The first sign something was wrong was Ashley grabbing my hand. We hadn't really held hands in years, being surly awkward teenagers. And that night, her grip was strong and sweaty and I know without looking at her that she was afraid. I turned to look at her, confused. My first thought was she was afraid because it was so dark and we were close to the water, but that wasn't it. She was partially turned around, staring back towards the house.

"Ash, wh..."

That was all I got out when the lights of the house went out. I knew something was wrong then. Panicked, I followed Ashley's eyes. With the lights of the house gone there were eyes everywhere.I knew that's what they were, even though there were no bodies to accompany them. Never mind that they burned like flame of green and yellow, orange and purple, or that some seemed to be in the woods while others danced over the waters. I was afraid, suddenly. For myself, but more so for Ashley.

As we stood there frozen, the eyes moved, some barely floating inches above the earth while others almost as high as the roof. They closed in, and almost too late I realized that they were surrounding us, corralling us. To my credit I didn't wait a second longer. I ran, pulling my sister behind me. Panic filled me, not just fear of the unnatural but fear for her. Dad had warned me. He had specifically warned me about going out at night with Ash. I felt like the worst brother in the world at that moment, but I refused to let her get hurt.

I ran fast, probably faster than she could keep up. I remember we bolted far inland from where Mom and Dad were, probably too far away for them to hear us. If I had shouted, I might have gotten in trouble but to be honest I didn't think that they could help us at that moment. I was, however irrationally, sure that only I could get us out of this. Ash was smart enough (ok smarter than me, easily) but this was something I had to do. I couldn't have explained it then and I can't now.

To this day, I simply know it's true.

Soon we entered the forest, no sounds of insects, just the soft padding of pine needles and the occasional light snap of a twig. Low branches and brambles hit us in the face, arms and hands. I worried about Ash but I know now that I had the worst of it. I deserved the worst of it, for coming up with this stupid plan.

"John, stop! Please!"

I did. Ash was breathing hard, scared and exhausted and crying.

"Hey, it's going to be ok. I'll get us home, all right?"

I said it so confidently that I almost believed it, but Ash wasn't having any of it. She shook her head, sadly. I expected her to shout but she was quiet, almost sad. Her voice sounded years younger; a child in the grip of terror. That worried me more than the eyes did.

"No, it's not ok. I...I can't run any more and they're gonna get me. They'll get you too if you don't leave me here."

That snapped me out of my fear. It made me angry too. Not at Ash, never at her. At myself and at those things. I really didn't know what to do so I did what seemed right. I picked her up. We were only two years apart but even then she was much smaller than me. I had no trouble carrying her. I took off running again, but this time, I was looking for a path, any path. I knew I would cross one sooner or later. The truth was that we both knew all of the trails that ran through the woods by our cabin, and now that I was thinking straight I found one that I recognized, and I followed it.

Every moment I ran a spun my head around, looking for the eyes. Now and then I saw a set, floating in the distance, maybe one-hundred feet away or so, but not towards us, and that's all I cared about. Eventually, thankfully, I saw the house, power back on. In a moment we were back inside, the door shut behind us, the warm light of the living room dispelling our fears. It had felt like we had been fleeing for hours, but it had probably only been minutes. I set Ashley down and laughed, just glad to be back.

The same could not be said for Ashley. She pulled free of me and immediately ran up the stairs. I heard the door to her room open and close. I felt awful. What kind of brother would expose his sister to such a thing? Normally I would have left her alone for a while, but I couldn't let her out of my sight right now, not after what had nearly happened. I followed her upstairs.

I knocked on her door and went inside her room without asking. I wouldn't do it typically, but I had to talk to her, to make sure that she was ok. She was not.

Ashley sat on the edge of her bed, holding a pillow close to her chest. She looked younger than she was. She didn't acknowledge me until I sat next to her. I tentatively put my arm around her. She flinched, but only for a moment, before looking at me, eyes filled with tears.

"They wanted me, John. They wanted me, and they were going to take me! If you hadn't been there..."

Then she dissolved into tears, and I held her close to my chest. I knew that she meant the eyes. At the time it felt like they had been coming for both of us but that wasn't exactly the time to argue about semantics. I held her and told her that I wouldn't let anything get her. It took an hour to calm her down, and our parents came home not long after.

The next day Ashley was quiet and stayed close to me, but nothing strange happened. Over the weeks she calmed down, and things returned to normal. We never followed our parents again.

We didn't speak of what we saw until the summer of 1985.

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Monsters

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June 5th and 6th, 1985 - The Cabin

"What kind of bad dreams?"

"Promise...promise not to think I'm weird? Or make fun of me?"

"I promise."

"O...ok. So, it's like that night? Except I'm older, and I'm walking out to the rock with...with someone. I'm scared, but I trust them. It's the things. Those eyes! They're all around us, and they keep touching me, brushing against me. I can't see them but I feel their cold fingers pass through my clothes and I know...I know that if they take me, I'll die. I'll die afraid and cold and alone."

She was crying now, and I put my hand on her shoulder in what I hoped was a reassuring way.

"Oh my god."

"Yeah, I knew that I had to do something, and that if...if the other person...was not there, I would have been...taken, by them. But he's there, so I'm safe. Sort of. There's more but..."

She trailed off.

"But?"

"I...I'm sorry, I know I'm weird. It's sex. I have sex. On the rock. I'm afraid but I'm so excited. I just want the man I'm with so badly... I wake up before anything else happens."

"Who are you with? In the dream?"

My voice is a little too cold when I ask. I know why but I don't think about it. She flushes, bright red in the midday sun.

"I...I don't know."

She looked down and wrapped her arms around herself. I feel sick for questioning her like that, for being jealous of a dream man. I put my arm around her, and she cuddled into me, all lecherous thoughts gone from my head.

"Are you ok? With being here, I mean?"

Ashley's concerned frown turned to a much more relaxed smile.

"Yeah. I am. It's disturbing, but it's just a dream, right? And...those eyes we saw...I kind of think they were like, animals. Foxes? Raccoons? Owls? I don't know. We never saw them again..."

"I'm here, too. You might be a complete brat, but you're still my little sister. I'm not going to let anything hurt you."

I'm not a particularly brave man, so I surprised myself with how strongly I believed what I was saying. I would protect her, I realized, at high personal cost.

She just smiled and blushed, then hugged me tightly. As we walked back to the Cabin, I tried not to think of her body pressed to mine, and failed.

* * *

We were pretty lazy the rest of the day, and neither of us was particularly stressed out. I watched Ashley as best I could, but all I could determine was that she'd grown more beautiful in her last year of high school. Her curves had grown until they almost matched Mom's, and she must have had plenty of boys pursuing her. I was getting hard constantly that first day, and I realized that it did not bode well for the rest of the summer.

Ashley didn't seem to notice, although she did stay pretty close, except for a nap she took in the afternoon. When she woke up, she insisted on cooking dinner. We had salads and grilled chicken with homemade salad dressing made of some kind of fruit vinaigrette that she made on the fly. It was delicious. Afterward, we played some dumb card games. I made us hot chocolate, then we went to bed. All very normal.

I slept well, dreaming of...well, to be honest, making love to my sister out on that rock. In my dreams, I'm free from guilt or social mores. They don't lie to me but tell me what I want. What I *must* have. Soon, she was crying out as I fucked her harder. Then screaming. Wait, screaming?

I woke in a panic, free from any drowsiness. I was up and running. I stayed in a large corner room, with windows on two sides. As I ran down the hall I passed a bathroom on my left and then I reached my sister's smaller room. It was warm and snug, and she preferred it to something more open. I didn't knock or check if it was locked. I just grabbed the handle, turned it, and put my full weight into my left shoulder. It gave easily.

Ashley was unharmed, but sitting up in bed. She clutched a pillow just as she had those years ago, but her tears were frantic and full of fear. Before I could even react, she jumped up and flew into my arms. I held her as she sobbed.

This wasn't like her. She was independent almost to a fault. She hated being seen as weak, and I was one of the few people, especially men, that she felt comfortable being vulnerable in front of. I gently led her back to her bed and with gentle pressure got her to sit down. I was about to leave to get her some water, assuming that she'd had a nightmare, but she gripped my forearm tightly.

"No! Don't go!"

I stopped. Instead of leaving I sat with her. Before I could ask her what was wrong, she spoke again.

"C..close the shutters, please."

I got up and walked around the bed. The windows were open and had easily moveable screens on hinges. Rather than just close the interior shutters, I closed the outside ones first, and then closed and locked the windows, before finally closing the inner ones. I looked back at Ashley and saw that I had made the correct decision. She was already looking more relaxed.

"Thank you...I'm sorry...I just. Oh god, I'm so embarrassed."

"Why? Because you're afraid? You've seen me afraid."

"Yeah, but you didn't collapse in tears."

I sat down next to her again, but she got under the covers and lay down again.

"Will you stay with me, for a little bit? You can just lay here...next to me. I promise it won't be weird."

Jesus Christ. She was dressed in a tank top that she probably outgrew at some point this year. It pushed her breasts together and showed some frankly magnificent cleavage. And then there were the small girls' athletic shorts she wore. She might not make it weird but my already stiffening cock sure would. But I couldn't leave her. And neither my more honorable protective feelings nor my more lewd desires wanted me to.

"All right."

I lay down next to her, and before I said anything she curled up against my left side, her head on my chest, her arm wrapped tightly around me and her leg over mine. There was nothing sexual in this that I could tell. She wanted to be close to someone and to be safe, and I was here for her. I put my arm around her back, and she made a small satisfied noise in her throat. God, it was sexy.

She soon fell asleep again, her breathing regular, her body relaxed. That made me happy, and I did not want to disturb her, so "a bit" turned in a half-hour and then an hour. I finally accepted that I was just going to have to sleep here tonight. Or not sleep here tonight, as my cock insisted on keeping me awake. That's when it started.

Ashley was moving slightly, and made a small noise, somewhere between fear and...pleasure. Her body shifted back and forth rhythmically, and I realized with some alarm what she was doing. She was grinding against my leg. And she was still asleep. Fuck.

I tried to move away. I really did. I wasn't going to abandon her, but I just wanted some space between us. Or rather I didn't, which is what worried me. As I shifted slightly to my right, away from her, her arm tightened around my chest and her leg wrapped around mine more tightly. I realized that if I were going to move, I would have to wake her up first. I couldn't do that.

I knew that she would be embarrassed to have done that in addition to being scared, and I didn't want that. I also was intensely aroused. I decided to just let it play out. If things escalated, I swore to myself that I would stop what she was doing and wake her immediately. I don't know if that's really true.

Her breathing grew ragged and hot on my neck. Her movements sped up. God her pussy was so hot against me, and I started to feel a little dampness on my leg. My cock strained at my shorts. My intentions may have been protective, but my more instinctive parts were telling me just to take her. "She wants it," they said, but there was no way in hell that I was listening to the devil on my shoulder. I loved her, maybe too much, but I'd never take advantage of her. Not like this.

She picked up speed and somehow gripped me tighter. This was the most erotic thing I had ever experienced, and I was completely passive. I was terrified that I'd cum too. Finally, with a shudder and a deep moan, my sister came. I swore that I heard my name in that moan, but it could have easily been my ears hearing what I desperately wanted to hear. It was more likely the name of some boy from her college. As soon as I had the thought, I hated that anonymous boy.

Ashley interrupted my guilty train of thought by sighing deeply in her sleep, and finally rolling over. I felt loss at her presence being gone but also deep relief. I may have been incredibly horny still, but it would pass. I tried to think of other things, and at last, I slipped into sleep.

Unsurprisingly, I had dreams of my sister that night. I knew that I was dreaming right away because it was too lovely to be really happening. In my dream, I was fucking Ashley. It's a blur now, but I remember her being facedown in the basin, and I was on top of her. I was trying hard to be gentle with her, but there was so much...going on. It was difficult to focus. She was moaning gently under me as if trying not to make noise. Every thrust was met by her rolling back against me. In fact, it felt like I wasn't doing anything at all, but she was rolling and grinding her ass back on me. I felt my arm reach around her and my hand on her breast. She gasped. God, it was so firm and soft in my hand. I squeezed it and pinched her nipple through the fabric. I felt myself finally, at last, let go, cumming inside of her. It was wonderful.

I woke with my arm around her. I was spooning my little sister like it was the most normal thing in the world. To my horror, I felt the familiar sticky feeling of the morning after a wet dream. Did she feel it? Did it soak through my shorts and into hers? Oh god, was I some kind of sleep-rapist?

I felt her stirring. I did the only thing a brave and honest soul could do. I pretended to be asleep. It worked. Or it seemed too.

Ashley yawned, noted that my arm was limp, gently moved it off of her to avoid waking me and got up. I kept my eyes shut so I couldn't tell if her shorts were wet. To my horror, I caught a whiff of the scent of my own sin. I stayed silent, frozen there for minutes after she left. I heard the shower start, so I got up, grabbed a shirt and jeans from my room, ran downstairs to the other bathroom, and then washed quickly before getting changed. Then I went back to my room. I sat down and sighed. This was too much for me to deal with and, to be honest, I was worried about how the previous night would affect our relationship. I'd do anything to prevent that if I could.

So, I resolved to talk directly about it with Ashley. I'd tell her about last night, about how it was a dream. I would apologize and tell her, somehow, about my inappropriate fixation on her. I'd give her the choice of sending me home if she wanted. It was the only fair thing. The only right thing, to do.

I took a deep breath. I'd been sitting there on my bed thinking dark thoughts for nearly a half hour.

"Coward," I said to no one but myself.

I opened the door, and to my surprise, the smell of bacon and pancakes wafted up. My stomach grumbled. I guess feeling up my sister and grinding against her had worked up an impressive appetite.

I walked downstairs, cautiously. I had to tell her. Even if it ruined breakfast.

"Hey," Ashley said, a pleasant and relaxed smile on her face, "I was just about to come get you. Can't have breakfast getting cold."

"I..."

"Oh my god sit down so we can eat. I'm starving."

I did as commanded, finding coffee poured for me, and a plate sat in front of me. The perfect number of pancakes and slices of bacon. Syrup already poured over butter. God help me; she was way too sweet.

Making breakfast wasn't odd. We took turns doing it. But she made my favorite, had prepared it just as I liked it, and then had served it to me. We always made each other get our own food. Even if we got something for Mom and Dad. It used to be because we were just being assholes to each other, but anymore it was just tradition.

We were big on tradition in my family.

Ashley was already eating. I didn't hesitate anymore.

"Ash...about last night...I'm sorry..."

"For what," she asked in between mouthfuls. She really was hungry.

"Um, I think...last night, I uh...think I felt you up and maybe...I'm not sure but..."

Ashley laughed.

"Oh, that. Yeah, I noticed. You were asleep, and I was hoping that you wouldn't remember. That's fine."

I sat staring at her for a moment. She laughed again.

"Oh my god, you're face right now...if only you could see it."

"I don't think this is funny, Ashley. I just...I don't want to hurt you and..."

"Do I look hurt? Scared? Angry? Even worried?"

Ash did not look any of those things.

"No."

"Well then, maybe you should listen to me then. It's fine. And eat your damn pancakes."

I followed orders, too stunned to do anything else. Fine? This was her definition of fine? I mean, granted, my intentions were not in any way to do that but, still, a part of me shouted that I was an evil little-sister toucher and should go straight to hell. It didn't even matter that no-one knew. I knew, and the fact that I cared deeply about her made it worse.

I'd be damned if they weren't good pancakes though. As I chewed, she spoke.

"I should have thought of that. I was just so scared, you know? Probably of nothing. And you've been really great. It's not like you snuck into my room or anything. You wouldn't even have been in my bed if I hadn't asked you. And, I'm, uh, pretty sure I may have rubbed against you a little...you know, got you going. By accident. I know that I pulled your arm around me because I felt safe having you hold me like that. I never thought that maybe, you might, um...be a little pent up."

"Yeah, I guess I was. But um...I never want things to be, you know, weird between us."

At this, Ashley smiled widely. I will fully admit to you that I was bewildered.

"It's not. It just feels...natural. You're freaking out about it but are you more worried about hurting me or what actually happened?"
"Hurting you," I said, no hesitation.

Ash gave me that smile again.

"I know. That's why I feel so safe with you. I know you'll never hurt me. You know...in a way, it felt...never mind."

"No, tell me."

She was hesitant for the first time in our conversation.

"It felt good. You touched me, you know? On my chest and my belly. I hate my belly. To me, it's always been ugly, and fat. But you got hard when you touched it. And you pulled my body so close to you. You loved it. And um, dicks don't know how to lie. It felt really, really good to be wanted by someone like you. Attractive, intelligent, muscular..."

She didn't so much stop talking as she let the words just die out after she said them. I considered them. Let them roll around in my mind. I felt a small hope, deep in my heart, but I quashed it. I'd think about it later, but right now my concern was for my sister's wellbeing.

"Well, as long as you're not upset, I'm not. Thanks for understanding."

"Of course. I'm sure that if I rubbed against you, really enjoying how, um, firm your body felt against mine, how warm you were, how you smelled, you wouldn't be mad at me either. Even if...I, um, finished."

I looked her in the eyes, and when she saw that I wasn't upset, only a bit surprised, she smiled mischievously. I returned the smile. Then I said something, without really considering anything but how fortunate we were that no one was here to listen to this conversation.

"I guess we're alone up here. No one ever has to know what happened."

"That's right. I'll never tell. It'll just be a memory we share. Something...just for us."

"Yeah."

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence, but it wasn't uncomfortable. It was two people, who loved each other, sharing a meal, and enjoying each other's company.

When the food was done, I brought up something that was in the back of my mind.

"Ashley, did Dad ever warn you about anything up here?"

She laughed.

"You mean how he got all obsessive he got about us being home before dark?"

"Yeah, kind of..."

"Ok, I'm interested now. What is it?"

"A few years ago Dad had one of his 'man-to-man' talks with me..."

Ashley rolled her eyes theatrically, ever a believer in equality. I didn't blame her, but this seemed important.

"...yeah I know. But listen, ok?"

"I'm listening, sorry," Ashley said.

"He told me that there were spirits in the woods. I thought he was joking, but now I don't think so. He said that they were fairly safe. They would never do anything during the day, and probably wouldn't at night, but you could never be sure. And that they, um, preferred to hurt women, when they got angry."

Ashley's face paled.

"You mean the eyes, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do. Did you see them last night?"

"Y..yes. They scared me, John. I couldn't even move. I wanted to run, but I couldn't even breathe. Eventually, finally, I screamed. And then you came so fast. I knew you would."

I was uncomfortable with the intensity of her gaze. Probably because I fucking loved it.

"I think Dad knows more about this place than he's told us. Maybe Mom too. I don't know but...if you want to leave..."

"No!"

"I mean...I won't be angry..."

"No! I'm not going to let fucking ghosts or a stupid nightmare drive me away from my favorite place. If you want we can try to get a hold of Dad, he gave me the hotel they were staying at in Germany. But I want to stay. Especially if you're with me."

"All right," I said, torn between happiness to be alone in what amounted to a romantic location with my little sister and fear that she might be hurt. By me or whatever was in the woods.

-----------------------

Water

-----------------------

June 6th, 1985

"We should go swimming!"

It was a strange thing to say, almost alien to me given the context. I was sitting on the couch, lost in thought about what to do when Ash walked in with the biggest, goofiest smile on her face and announced her plans.

"The lake is gonna be cold," I noted.

"It's always cold this early in the summer, but the day is already getting hot. It'll feel good, and we can take a break if we need to and lay out on the rock."

I could see by the way she was looking at me that there would be no resisting.

"All right, sounds good. Let's go."

So we got changed. I threw on some trunks and a t-shirt. While I waited for Ash, I filled a jug with cold water, made some sandwiches for later, threw them in a cooler, and grabbed some towels. By the time I was done, I saw her coming down the stairs. I should have realized something was up by the fact that she was wearing one of my t-shirts, which was huge and baggy on her.

"I grabbed the sunscreen," she said suddenly, eyes oddly big.

"Oh, good, I would have forgotten," I said, which was true. I had a tendency to burn myself through negligence at least once every trip.

We walked out quietly. I locked the door behind us, which was something we seldom did. It was unspoken, but we were both being extra cautious. Even if I hadn't wanted to go swimming, I'd have still gone with her, just to keep an eye on her. I cared too much not too.

We came to the rock and looked out onto the water. It was peaceful. There was a beautiful breeze and a few clouds scudded across a deep blue sky that only seemed to reside here and in my memories. I felt a twinge of fear for Ashley, but that ended when she kicked off her sandals and took off her shirt.

I can't really describe my reaction, except to say that I must have been flat-out staring at her. I can't imagine any other response. I was also hard in about a second.

Ashley was wearing a bikini. I'd never seen it before. More importantly, I'd never seen *her* in it before.

It fit. No one would say it was "too small." Well, no one who was attracted to women, anyway. It was bright red, the top covering her breasts but not leaving a lot to the imagination. I wish I could tell you that I didn't look as hard as I did. I felt sick about it, but I was compelled to. I could see the outline of her nipples, and it was easy to see that they were stiff under the thin fabric pushing a generous amount of breast to the side. I told myself it was because of the breeze, but there really wasn't much of one. Again, nothing scandalous about this, not really, but I was already having a tough time seeing her as just my little sister.

Her soft curves were on full display, her beautiful belly, pale and with a little paunch, drawing my eye as much as anything else. The bottoms covered everything that they were supposed to, but that still left a lot of hip, and frankly the best ass that I'd ever seen, on display. And I knew that as soon as she got wet (no pun intended), I would be able to see the outline of her sex.

I felt myself getting harder already, my nostrils flaring. Every part of me was telling me to fuck her, and I felt nauseous. This wasn't how I was supposed to be. I was supposed to protect my little sister, not look at her like a piece of meat on display. She wasn't doing anything wrong, and if it wasn't safe for her to wear a bikini around her older brother, then it certainly wasn't safe for her to be in a secluded cabin with me.

I hadn't noticed, but I'd closed my eyes in my effort to bring myself under control. I guess it had been pretty obvious.

"Are you all right?"

I opened my eyes, shocked at the cold, wet feeling on my back. Ashley was rubbing sunblock on my back. She took her time, really making sure she got it everywhere, on my neck and shoulders, places I might forget. I was proud of my back, and it was firm. It would have even been hard if I'd lost a little weight. My little sister finished, making a noise between accomplishment and regret. When I reached for the bottle, she danced out of reach, laughing.

"Not yet," she said with a smile of mischief, "I'm not done."

Ashley continued, slowly and carefully rubbing the lotion into the muscles of my arms. She had a look of amazing focus on her face. After hesitating for just a moment, she started on my chest. She may be used a little more force than needed, and her breathing sped up a little. Or so it seemed to me.

As Ashley reached my stomach, I was sure that she was enjoying this at least as much as I was. The blush that spread over her cheeks and chest confirmed this as much as anything else. At last, she finished, slowly removing her small hands from me, and taking a step back.

"Ok," she said after a moment, "you can do me now."

I blinked as my mind went places that I desperately did not want it to. It only took me a long second to understand Ashley's true meaning as she was holding the bottle out to me.

Eventually, I took the hint. Ashley turned around and moved her hair out of the way, then stepped backward, towards me. She had to know that it made it unavoidable for me to see how her breasts looked from above and over her shoulder, barely constrained by the tight fabric.

I swallowed once, ordered my cock to behave (ineffectually) and squirted out some lotion onto my hands. Unlike my sister, I was attentive enough to warm it a bit before putting it on her. Slowly, and carefully, like she had done, I spread the lotion over her shoulders, back, and that dimple in the lower back that never fails to drive me insane. I was working my way down closer to her butt when she gasped.

"Too low?"

"No...it's fine. Keep going down. I mean, uh, do my legs? Please?"

Never mind that she hadn't done mine. There was no stopping this now. I got more lotion and attended to her legs. Her thighs were soft, and she parted them slightly so I could get all around them. I heard her breath catch as I did so. I spread the lotion over her calves and the tops of her feet, and then I did the front, working my way back up to the front of her thighs. I was very focused, but I heard her breath catch when I reached the small triangle of fabric covering her sex.

"Do you want me to do the rest?"

"Y...yes. Please. Finish what you start."

Fuck if I didn't have a flash of how I wanted to finish. Just a split second of me tearing her bottoms right off and bending her over on that rock. Not quite forcing myself on her, because I knew, deep down, that she would have taken it, but not the way I wanted things to go either, not really. I took a deep breath.

I spread lotion on her slender arms and hands, and she giggled. I looked at her, expecting her typical mischievous smile, but instead got a bashful glance and then she looked away. I stopped, figuring she really didn't want me to do the rest, but she just waited. I didn't ask permission, though.

"Ashley," I said as I smeared more lotion on my hands.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted you to know," I said, as I gently started rubbing it into her belly, beginning in the center and working outward. She quivered, and I smirked ever so slightly.

"K...know what?"

She was really having trouble focussing.

"Well, that you're beautiful," I said, before spreading lotion around the top of her breasts, lightly, "and you must know the kind of impact you'd have in that suit. On any man."

I tried to drive home the last point. I wanted her to say it, to admit what she was doing. It would, at least, make me feel a little more justified in my little sister lust. After all, if she was doing it now, maybe she'd been teasing me for a long time? It was pretty pathetic post-facto justification, and I knew it.

"Oh...um...thank you..."

And then I was done. And we locked eyes. Then Ashley was off, laughing like she was twelve, jumping into the water and shrieking at the cold. I shook my head and followed her in diving headfirst.

I swam out past her, the way I liked to. I went out into the lake, smooth and steady, if not truly fast. The air and the silence enveloped me. I turned around about one hundred feet out and swam back, this time mostly underwater, coming up for occasional breaths. The cold did, eventually, bring down my erection, somewhat.

"You know I hate that."

"I'm sorry, did I splash you on the way past? I didn't mean to."

I hadn't, not really. Ashley loved the water, but there were some things I knew not to do. When she got water going the wrong way or water splashed her in the face, she panicked. I dunked her once when I was about twelve, and I felt terrible about it. Our parents tended to take my side and didn't make a big deal out of it, but she sobbed and clung to me first and then dad until we were out of the water and headed back to the cabin.

"No, not that. You didn't splash me. I mean when you go all crazy and swim out to the middle like that. I see you go, and I worry that you won't be able to make it back."

I laughed as only the young and confident can.

"You know, I've never had any issues with it. I still swim at college, and I never go farther than I feel safe doing. Plus, you've never complained about it before."

"Yeah...well, it scares me, ok? And dad isn't here to come to get you, and I'm not strong enough and...I sound like a total dork, don't I?"

"Nah. Would it make you feel better if I stayed closer? If I want to swim hard, I can just do it parallel to the shore."

Ashely smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. That would be great. Thanks."

"Anything else, your highness?"

"Oh my god, you're such a dick. I can't believe I agreed to be up here alone with you."

"Hmm, I remember it the other way around, but I was under the impression that you'd stopped being such a little brat by now. Guess I was wrong."

I was goading her, but in the gentle way that we always had. I guess using the word little made it sound like I still thought she was just a child. I did not, but it didn't matter. She looked at me, and I was sure she was genuinely upset. Her gaze was so intense, it worried me, but for the wrong reasons. When she got close, she swam up and pressed herself into me, hard. So I could feel the warmth and pressure of her soft breasts. I'm sure that she felt my growing erection too. She spoke in a whisper, sultry well beyond her years.

"Do I still feel 'little' to you, big brother?"

Then Ashley laughed and turned and swam away, but not before brushing up against me with her gorgeous ass. I couldn't take it anymore.

"Jesus Christ, Ashley."I couldn't believe I had said it, but it was too much, and I was almost out of self-control.

"What?"

"You're driving me fucking nuts by doing stuff like that, especially in that swimsuit. I'm sorry, but, I can't even focus when you're..."

Ashley's smile grew sensual and widened. She swam back over to me and pressed against me. She couldn't stand here, so she hooked one of her legs around mine.

"I know. I can feel your eyes wandering all over me, John. That's why I wore this bikini today. I bought it for wearing on some stupid beach party, but I wasn't brave enough. And there weren't any boys that I wanted to see me there. I want you to see me."

"You know I do Ashley," and then my mouth kept going without my mind's permission, "you have to know I see you as more than a little sister. Why would you want to tease me like this?"

"Hey...don't be mad, please? I told you that it felt good seeing how much you want me. Feeling it."

Her hand slid inside my shorts, and I groaned as her small hands wrapped around my cock.

"But I'm not a tease, big brother. I won't leave you frustrated, ok? Don't push me away, please. I want to do this for you. I want this. And like you said, there's no one else here. It's just you and me, and...and I want you at least as much as you want me."

Ashley began to move her hand up and down my cock. Hesitantly, lacking experience, but eager. The water was still cold in the lake, and it should have made my hard on more difficult to maintain, but my cock was like red-hot iron. I could have stood there, passive, and let my little sister jerk me off under water, but that didn't feel right. I was well beyond the point where I would have pushed her away. I knew it would hurt her, and goddammit I wanted this so badly.

I put my palm on her soft, belly, and felt gratification at the way it quivered under my touch. As slid my hand down into her bikini bottoms Ashley gasped and instinctively squeezed my cock, just a little too hard. She looked like she might apologize, but I wasn't fucking having any of that. Not now. I let my fingers explore her coarse hair and then her outer lips. This wasn't the first time I'd pleasured a woman with my hands, and I, thank god, knew where the clitoris was.

Ashley moaned and clung to me, giving up on the idea of getting me off for the time being. I was close anyway, but now she had pressed her warm, soft body against mine and was breathing hard into my ear. I realized that she was still partly treading water and, gallant brother that I was, I put my other hand under her butt and drew her up, holding her tightly against me. She tilted her head into the crook of my neck, and I felt her hot breath as I kept going. I crossed the next boundary without even thinking about it.

With no forethought of consequences or anything beyond giving the woman I loved pleasure, I slipped my finger inside of her. Ashley cried out, and for a moment I thought I might have hurt her, but the way I felt her lips kissing and nipping at my neck told me a different story. She was amazingly tight, and I had a little difficulty at first moving the finger in and out, but I kept at it, slowly and gently. As I withdrew each time, I made sure that my palm massaged her clit, and soon she was grinding against me.

"Please...please John don't stop. I need this...I need you to do this...please"

Ashley's voice eventually cut out into moans and whimpers, with the occasional pleading. I loved her like this, needy and wanting. I was tempted to keep her at the edge of pleasure, not allowing her to cum, but there was an urgency to her movement. I felt her body tightening up. I knew what she needed.

I left my finger inside my little sister and directly stimulated her clit with my thumb, softly but unceasingly. Ashley's body clenched and her back arched.

"Oh, yes yes yes yes yes..."

Ashley's body tensed and relaxed as the pleasure rolled over her. She was helpless to pleasure, and I realized that she was having multiple, rapid-fire orgasms. I held her close and felt both aroused and proud for having done this to her. Finally, at last, her body relaxed in my arms. I felt her head shift, and she looked up at me. We kissed then, for the first time.

It was long and intense and passionate. There were no lies between us then. Nothing but very improper mutual desire between a brother and sister.

"Come on," she said, suddenly, swimming towards the shore. I followed, trying to keep myself under control. I needed to cum, but I wasn't ready to cross the next line. I wanted to, though.

As soon as I got out of the lake, Ashley put a towel down.

"Lay down. I'm going to take care of you."

"Ashley, I..."

"Please! Please, I need to do this for you. I need you to know how much I love you, all right?"

I obeyed, wanting nothing more.

"Good. I'm going to be so good for you. You'll see."

Ashley was trying so hard to convince me, but she already had. She loved me. She wanted me. She wanted to make me feel good. She was perfect. There was still a small part of me screaming that I had to stop; that she was my little sister and that I was supposed to protect her and not lust for her. It was overwhelmed by my baser instincts.

That, and the small hand that awkwardly fished my cock out of my swimming trunks.

"Fuck, Ash. You don't have to..."

She laughed. It was nervous, but there was a sultry current I'd never heard before. I wanted some more of wherever that came from.

"But I want to. You know I do. If you hadn't distracted me out there in the lake, you would be pretty relaxed right now..."
"I know...but what I did..."

"Do you regret it?"

Ash's voice was sharp, maybe even hurt, but it didn't stop her from moving her hand up and down, stroking me gently, perhaps a little too much so. She was being cautious and caring for others, as always.

"N...no. I mean...fuck. Yes? I don't know..."

"Do you want me to stop?"

I didn't answer. She smiled, knowingly. A little too knowingly. She leaned over and whispered in my ear. Despite us being the only ones around for many miles of forest and river, it still made me shiver from the forbidden nature of what we were doing.

"Do you know what I think, John?"

I shook my head, unable to answer properly. She laughed again, soft and throaty.

"I think that you didn't stop me last night, and you won't stop me today either."

So I didn't. There, right on the rock, that we still did not fully understand the significance of, I let my sister jerk me off. And she did well. She learned quickly how to speed up to get me close and how to slow down to keep me on edge. I reached out reflexively and grabbed her thigh. She gasped and, after a moment's hesitation, took my hand in hers. I thought it was odd that she'd stop me from touching her leg at this point, but if that was her boundary, I'd respect it. Instead of taking my hand off of her she moved it to her breast.

Jesus. I'd just fingered my baby sister, so why did this feel even more wrong. Was it because I'd fantasized about doing it so much? Dreamed about it so often? I didn't fucking know. The only thing I knew was my sister was making me feel good, her left breast felt warm and firm in my hand, and her dark, wet hair cascaded down her back, gleaming in the sunlight.

"You're beautiful, Ashley. You know that, right?"

"I don't always think so...but I can see how you see me, and that makes me feel so much more...well more. I kind of love you for that alone. You're a smooth talker though. Is that why so many women get in bed with you?"

I laughed and then grunted as Ashley squeezed my cock just slightly too hard.

"I'm laughing because not all that many girls jump in bed with me? And why bring that up now."

"Because of ...well, just because, ok? I'm jerking you off, you know. I think I have a right to know whether I'd be just another notch on a very long belt."

"Ashley, you have to know that I'd never treat you like that. Never. I don't know what this is but...oh fuck that's nice...but it's more than just sex for me."

"I'm glad. It's more than sex for me too. But I still want an answer..."

Ashley moved her hand more rapidly. I winced a little as the friction got too much. I'd have to discuss lubrication with her later. She slowed down a bit, and it was good again.

"Well, you don't get sexual histories with just a hand job. That's more of a post-oral thing."

Ashley laughed, half-amused and half-annoyed. I was familiar with that laugh at least.

"Oh, is that so? I suppose that I must be very inexperienced since I'd never heard of that rule before today. Still, I guess I better take your word for it."

I didn't understand what Ashley meant. Then she slowly, hesitantly, leaned over and took my cock in her beautiful, full lips. I gasped in shock and then put my hand in her hair. She gagged a bit but wouldn't stop. I knew this was her first time doing this. Did she save all of her firsts for me? What did that mean? Was this how we were supposed to be?

"Ash...I'm going to cum...you might want to..."

To my awed surprise, she sped up. She may not have been experienced, but she wanted me, and she wanted me to come in her mouth. I finally reached the peak of my pleasure and let go. Pulse after pulse of sticky, salty cum poured into my little sister's mouth. She did her best but wasn't ready for all of it. I heard her swallow once, twice, and then she coughed and let me out of her mouth. My hot cum splashed on her face, mouth, and throat. We both sat there for a moment, shocked.

Ashley looked over at me, her eyes deep enough to fall into, her expression that of a nervous little girl, wanting to impress her big brother. With my cum on her face, and flowing down her neck onto her full, beautiful breasts, she spoke.

"Was that, um, ok for you?"

"Fuck, Ashley, it was the best."

Ashley smiled so widely and happily that, at least for that moment, I didn't feel a bit guilty. I leaned forward to kiss her. She tried to dodge.

"Wait, I need to clean up fir..."

I cut her off by kissing her on her lips. I tasted myself on her, but I didn't care. I needed to kiss her, show her how much I cared. After what could have been seconds or minutes. I stopped, stood up, and led her to the lake. At first, my thoughts were about cleaning her, so we didn't get in trouble, but as I slowly washed my seed out of my sister's face and neck and chest, I flashed back to all of the times that I'd taken care of her before. When I'd cleaned her cuts and kissed her bruises. When I'd held her when she cried. When I'd kissed her head after tucking her in. This felt weirdly similar.

You know, washing your sticky cum out of your sister's bikini. Just normal sibling stuff. Jesus fucking Christ.

The rest of the afternoon was kind of wholesome, in a way. We ate lunch together and swam more and laughed at stupid stuff. We lay down on the rock like we used to, but this time we held hands and dozed a little. We woke up and made out like new lovers, which I guess we were. Ash was a really good kisser, and for a moment I wondered if she really was as inexperienced as she insisted, but I honestly didn't care. Our hands explored each other, touching and groping. Even though I was hard again and she was probably wet we didn't escalate. It seemed wrong somehow. Like we had to wait for the night to come before we did.

As we walked back, quietly, hand in hand, Ashley spoke up suddenly.

"You can go down on me later. I mean...if that's something, you...um...want to do. I don't really know...I mean...I know a lot of guys don't like doing that..."

"Ashley," I cut her off, "I'm going to eat you like a fat kid eats cake."

She laughed.

"Um, should I be, uh, flattered or offended?"

"It doesn't matter. You're gonna cum hard either way."

Ashley laughed again and leaned into me. I put my arm around her waist. It felt natural. Whatever else happened this summer, I realized that we had changed. And I thought it was probably for the better. We just had to be careful not to be caught and cautious of each other's feelings. Even if this was some kind of fluke, that was what was important, right? If we did that, everything else would work out, right?

I wouldn't understand how wrong I was until later that night.

-----------------------

Nightmare

-----------------------

[b]June 6th and 7th, 1985 - The Day of Sacrifice[/b]

Ashley insisted on cooking that night, much like she'd made breakfast. I realized, somewhat belatedly, that she was taking the same role that Mom would have for Dad. She was being both the satisfying lover and the domestic goddess. I'd never really thought of what I'd want in a wife, and somehow I saw it more as a partnership, but I won't pretend that I didn't appreciate what she was doing.

I just wish that she didn't feel like she had to do it. It was clear that she wanted to impress me by the way she kept looking over at me and asking me if I wanted anything. She'd already gotten me a beer and told me that she was going to take care of everything and that I should just relax.

I was having a difficult time following that instruction.

For one thing, despite loving every second of what had happened that afternoon at the lake, I still had second thoughts. Was I taking advantage of her? Was I hurting her in some way, even if unintentional?

For another, she was wearing a short yellow sundress, and I could tell that she had decided that a bra was optional. When she put the apron on, she really did look like the incarnation of the ideal mate that she was trying to emulate. After catching myself staring at her for the dozenth time as she busied herself with mixing ingredients, I finally made up my mind and set my beer down.

Ashley was so focussed on getting the proportions right that she didn't hear me sneaking up on her. She stiffened slightly as I wrapped my arms around her but then relaxed and sighed as my hands found her belly and breasts respectively. She tried to focus but almost dropped a measuring cup full of flour when I started to tweak her nipples.

"H...hey. I'm trying to...oh fuck..."

I'd meant to just surprise her a bit, but I felt myself stiffen again as I began to kiss and nip her neck. She protested again, weakly. Then she spun and faced me, putting her flour-covered hands on my chest.

"I...I want to get this pie right, ok? That feels so good...but...I really want to do this for you."

I relented. I never could deny my little sister anything.

"All right, I'll leave you be for now, but I can't just watch you do all the work while I sit and do nothing. Can I at least start making dinner while you make pie?"

"Ok. I mean, I always did like cooking with you, you know."

I did. We didn't do it as much as we used to, but soon we were back in our old rhythm. We moved through the kitchen in something approaching harmony, me making lasagna (and of course garlic bread), and Ashley working on the homemade pie. We passed each other ingredients, sometimes before being asked, we moved around each other smoothly, and snuck kisses and gropes when we could. Pretty soon the lasagna was in the oven, and the bread and pie were ready.

It was the best dinner I've had in a long time. I sat there with my sister, my lover, and we overate and made stupid jokes and laughed at each others' expense. We talked about history and the people that we'd dated, and how none of them quite worked out. About how none of them felt entirely right.

"I always felt," Ashley said, "that I was cheating on my future spouse whenever I let a guy so much as kiss me."

She stopped then and held my hand, blushing furiously. I should have said something then about how we were too young to talk like that, and how we did not need to be thinking that far ahead. The truth was that I felt the same and that my little sister was the first person I'd done anything sexual with that did not have that vague, looming guilt hovering over it.

I couldn't bring myself to speak either truth at the time, so I just squeezed her hand and kissed it. I think she understood.

After dinner, we sat with each other on the porch. She had a beer, and I had lemonade. I didn't mind watching out for her if she drank a little too much and despite (or perhaps because) of the closeness that I felt, I was aware and thinking about last night, and not just the fun parts. I was mostly concerned about the eyes in the dark and about our father's warnings.

Don't you ever let your sister go into the woods alone, John. Your mother never goes out without me as her protector, and I want you to be the same for Ashley. This is important.

He made such an impression on me that I remembered the exact words that he'd spoken. I'd thought about sharing them with Ash, but as the day went on, I realized that she was going to need rest and probably would already be afraid. I decided to keep it to myself.

Besides, I was probably going to be sleeping in her bed again tonight so I could tell her if it became important. I was fairly certain that wasn't the sort of "protection" that dad had intended.

"I could get used to this," Ashley said, at last, waking me from my gloomy thoughts.

"Me too. We have to do this as much as possible before Mom and Dad get here."

Ashley nestled her head into the crook of my neck.

"Yeah...but we don't have to stop, do we? I mean, we have to be careful, but we can still hang out together...and go and do stuff in the woods. Or sneak into each other's rooms at night, right? I...I really want this summer to be special. I want to prove to you that I can be everything you want."

"Why would you think you have to prove anything?"

I felt her small hand gripping the hem of my shirt and releasing it, an old nervous habit.

"Well, I mean...I'm so inexperienced. And you've had so many girls that I..."

"Ok, let me stop you. You said that before. Why would you think that I was sleeping around with a ton of girls? I mean, I've dated, yeah. And I've had sex with some girls at home and at college..."

"See!"

"But the grand total is like five, Ashley. Only three of them went all the way with me. And only one was more than casual, but we broke up earlier this year. I'm not exactly Casanova. So why do you seem to think I put my dick in every pussy within a three-state radius?"

"Well, I mean...you have a lot of girlfriends."

"Yep, friends. One or two of them I might have made out with, but that was spur of the moment and never went anywhere. Still just friends."

"And, well, Mom kept telling me that you were seeing this girl or that she thought you were dating an 'older woman.' She would get weird about it."

"How weird?"

"Well, not like obsessive but like...she'd always point it out to me, whenever you talked about a girl on one of your calls home. Or if she thought you were going to bring a girl home for the weekend. Always me. Never dad. She had to know it bothered me..."

"It did?"

"Of course it did! Would you want dad to tell you about guys he thought were fucking me?"

"No."

"Yeah, so I kept thinking about it, and it made me upset and...and frustrated. I kept imagining you doing...things...to girls you knew, and it made me so angry. I wanted to slap you and then...well..."

Ashley blushed again. We'd crossed a lot of lines today, but it was still hard to talk about a lot of it.

"That's...weird, Ashley."

"What, being jealous? I know, but...I mean...don't we both have the same feelings for each other?"

"No, I meant what Mom was doing. I mean, was she like, proud or disappointed in me or what?"

"She never judged you for it, but I got the impression that she didn't approve...but really, I don't know. Whenever I got mad she'd just smirk at me...like she knew something I didn't..."

"Maybe she did. Maybe she was trying to make you jealous..."

"You're not saying that she wanted us to get together?"

"I'm not saying anything, just that I can't think of another explanation. Can we change the subject?"

Ashley laughed.

"Aw, is big brother embarrassed?"

"Yeah, I am, and that really says something considering what I'm about to do to my little sister."

Ash's voice got hushed and a little hoarse.

"Y..yeah? And what's that."

"I want to take her upstairs to her bed and taste her. I want to feel her cum on my tongue. And not just once."

"Fuck...I...I'm going to go take a shower. Come upstairs in like twenty minutes?"

And with that she hopped off my lap, not waiting for a response. I guess she was excited. I finished my drink and walked around the house once, then twice, looking into the slowly growing gloom of twilight. I wasn't sure what I was searching for, not really. Eyes, I guess, but also what came with them. I realized with some surprise that I wasn't afraid for myself at all. I'd never seen myself as brave, but the idea of something hurting my little sister...my lover now...made me that way. I couldn't accept a world in which I wasn't able to protect her.

* * *

I waited twenty-five minutes before I went upstairs, just to prove that I had some willpower left. I knocked on her door and heard her swear, softly.

"Um...come in, I guess?"

I went inside. Ash was under the covers already. Her shoulders were bare, and I guessed the rest of her was too. Fuck I wanted to see that. I wanted all of her. If I weren't careful, I'd end up fucking her...and as much as I desperately wanted it, I still was unsure about that last frontier. Well, we'd gone far enough that getting each other off was ok, right?

I have no idea who I was trying to justify to myself. By all social and cultural standards, we were in the wrong, and me especially as the older brother. We were beyond that now, making up a new morality as we went.

I just never wanted to hurt her, or be hurt by her. I decided that if I kept that in mind, this would work out.

"You know," I said, softly, "If you're not ready, we don't have to do anything at all. I'll still hold you and stay with you."

"No! I'm ready, I just...I'm nervous. It doesn't make any sense. I was so happy and turned on to show my body to you today...and you saw pretty much everything. I guess I still think you'll see me as...fat."

"There's no chance of it. We can keep the lights off if it makes you more comfortable but...I really need to see you, Ashley. I need to see all of you."

"Uh...what about a compromise?"

"Compromise?"

"You light that candle and then turn out the lights. Then, I guess, I feel a little safer, and you get to see me. Win-win, right?"

I smiled at her and lit the candle. My hand was shaking as I struck the match, but I tried not to let it show. I turned the light off and then looked at her again. She was still under the covers, but she released her grip on them. I walked over, and slowly pulled them off of her.

It's corny, I know, but Ashley was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen, and that included the stack of Playboys back at my dorm. She was clearly tense but had forced herself to leave her hands at her sides. She was exposed to me, vulnerable, large breasts spreading a bit, legs slightly parted. She hadn't shaved, but she might have trimmed a bit. It didn't matter to me at all. Everything about her was the ideal mix soft and firm. Her nipples were hard and just the right size. Her sex was swollen and the wettest I'd ever seen. I caught her scent then, and I almost fucked her right there. I don't think she would have minded.

Instead, I took off my shirt and shorts and stood naked in front of her for a moment. It was only fair to share her vulnerability. I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't want her to see how hard she'd made me. It was gratifying to see her eyes lock on my cock and grow wide. She was definitely as into me as I was to her. I crawled into bed with her.

"I'm not ready," she said, with more than a hint of fear in her voice.

"That's ok. We don't have to do anything. I can put my clothes back on and..."

"No, I mean...I'm ok with doing other stuff, and I'll get you off. I really want to. I just, um, I'm not ready to go all the way. I'm sorry but..."

I smiled and then cut her off with a kiss. I would never push her into anything she didn't want. She responded, practically forcing her tongue into my mouth. My hand found her breast, and I squeezed it gently before pinching her nipple, a little hard. She gasped and then was clinging to me, her arms moving around my neck and pulling me closer. I resisted, drawing it out, wanting this kiss to last a long, long time in my memory.

I relented eventually. I kept fondling her as I kissed her neck. I nipped her then, again a little hard. She made a noise between a gasp and a whimper, but I knew she loved it. I knew a lot of things more or less instinctively about what she wanted and needed. I didn't question it. I was too far gone for rational thought.

I moved down and kissed her breast. How many times had I dreamt of doing this and then felt terrible in the morning? She cried out when I took her nipple into my mouth, her body arching, trying to drive her pussy into me. I satisfied that urge with my hand, and I felt her reflexively grasp my hair, too hard, and pull. Knowing that I could make my sister lose control like that was a fantastic feeling.

"Yeah...yeah...please...please make me cum again. I'll be good, I swear. I won't make you...I mean..."
I didn't understand what she meant at all, but I didn't want her to be good. I slowly kissed my way down the underside of her breast, to her stomach, which fluttered and tensed beneath me. I felt her small hands, both of them in my hair now, pushing urgently down. I resisted. I didn't need to look to know that her eyes were on my head now, willing me to move faster. I knew that they would be wide and needy and full of something which scared me.

It was when I tasted her for the first time things started to go wrong. My lips met her wetness, and I swear her musk was enough to make me insane. I wanted her more than I had wanted anything. More than I wanted to live. I'd never felt like this about anyone, and I doubt I ever will again. It hurt. Deeply in my stomach, my mind, my balls. I ached, and as I lightly sucked on her swollen clit, I knew that she felt the same.

She came, screaming my name, grinding into my face, much too hard to be comfortable for either of us. I could feel it pass through her in waves, desperate in its intensity. Her body would tense up like she was being electrocuted, then go completely limp. It happened over and over as I slipped my finger inside her. I should have stopped. I knew enough about being a good lover to know when a woman was getting too sensitive. Usually, they told me though, and Ash just wanted more. Her hands were no longer pushing me in. She wasn't truly grinding anymore. Her body was in an endless cycle of orgasms.

I looked up then and was terrified.

Ashley was lost in pleasure, her whole body writhing. She could not, did not see them. The eyes were everywhere. They shone with light that no star had ever shined and I could feel their hunger as if it were a real spike of iron in my gut. They wanted her. They reached out with hands, insubstantial and black as the void. I knew that if they touched my sister, that she would die. I did the only thing I could think of: I threw myself over her, covering her as best I could.

I don't know why I did that rather than try to fight them. I was lucky that I made that choice, and so was Ashley. There is no weapon made by man that can kill a thing that's never lived. They seemed stymied, however briefly, by my actions. I felt them then, grabbing at...no, reaching into my arms, desperately pulling. I'm sure I cried out because the pain was as intense as if I had shards of ice embedded in my shoulders and biceps. All I heard was Ashley, confused and scared, screaming at me. After a time that could have been a minute or an hour, I felt the cold hands release me.

I picked her up then and ran. I didn't know where I was going, not really, so I just acted on instinct. I went down. Down the stairs to the first floor then down again, to the basement.

Yeah, I know how that sounds. I just knew I had to get her away from those...things. And down was the farthest I could go without taking her outside.

"Put me down, John," Ashley said. There was a quiver in her voice, but she sounded remarkably calm.

"I don't know...I mean we might have to..."

"No, John. It's ok. They aren't coming. You need to put me down."

I looked at her then. I couldn't understand her tone. When I saw her eyes, I saw fear, yes, but mostly concern. For me.

"Oh...I mean of course," I said stupidly, not really understanding any of this. I put her down, gently, my arms shaking. Why were they shaking that much? It wasn't fear. I was definitely afraid, but right now I was deep in fight or flight and the rest of my body was ready to act and strong. She wasn't that heavy either, nor had I carried her for long. That's when I noticed the marks.

Curling around my biceps and shoulders of both arms were long bruises. Far too long to be fingers, but that was clearly what they were. Ashley very gently touched one, and I felt sharp pain, grunting involuntarily.

"I'm sorry! Fuck. I don't know what to about these."

"I don't think anything can be done about them. I think they just need to heal.:"

"This is my fault. They wanted me. They wanted me but hurt you."

"They can't fucking have you."

"But they will! This is...it's my dream. It's all coming true. They're going to fuck me and kill me on that fucking rock, and there's nothing I can do. And you're just going to end up dying trying to protect me."

"No! I won't let you die, and I won't die either. We can leave today..."

Ashley shook her head, sadly.

"They won't let us. I know that now. They're going to take what they want. Its best just to give it to them, so they don't hurt you any more..."

"No!"

My shout reverberated in the tight basement. I swear it felt like the house shook in that moment.

Ashley hugged me then, and I held her. Neither of us knew what to do.

* * *

We got cold fast down there. After waiting for a half hour, I went back upstairs, cautiously. As if I could sneak around spirits. I searched for Ashley's room. The only sign anything was wrong was a lamp I'd knocked over in my hurry to leave. It wasn't even broken.

"It doesn't look like the sort of place where there'd be demons, does it."

I jumped. Ash had followed me despite my wishes, but I wasn't about to yell at her. I started putting on my clothes.

"I'm going outside."

"What?"

"I'm going to get the car started. When I do, I'm going to honk. Just get dressed and run out. We'll leave everything else behind. Fuck this place."

Ashley's expression turned from fear to pity.

"Ok. I'll be ready."

From her tone, I could tell that she was just humoring me though. She knew what I had only dimly become aware of. She had said as much, too.

I ran outside in my bare feet, not even taking a wallet. I got in my car, slammed the key in the ignition and turned it. Nothing. Just a click that sounded like the finality of death.

Fuck.

I went back inside, aware but not running anymore. I opened the door to more bad news. Ash stood just inside the door, waiting, as I had asked her. She was wearing a long t-shirt and was still in bare feet.

"The phone's dead," she said, simply.

I didn't bother even telling her about the car. I could tell that she already knew.

"Ash, I...we can walk out in the morning."

"You know it won't happen. These things...they want what they want. And they're going to have it."

"I'm not letting you just walk out there and die!"

I was aware that I was the panicked one. Ash was eerily calm. I knew that she showing more courage than I ever had. She sighed.

"I think they're done for the night, but they'll be back tomorrow evening. If we can't figure out a way out, I'm going to them. I won't let you die for me."

I didn't argue. I knew there was no point.

"Wait," she said, in a very different tone, her eyes wide in surprise, but there was...hope? I didn't understand, nothing had changed.

"What? Have you thought of a way out?"

"No...and it might be nothing...but the package."

"The what?"

"The one mom gave me, remember? She said if anything went wrong while they were gone, I should open it and read it."

I doubted that it would have any insight into this particular problem, but Ashley wasn't talking about wandering off in the woods to get killed or worse by monsters, so I wasn't going to argue. Instead, I followed her up to her room. She might have been scared, but she wasn't hesitating. She took the thick envelope out of her nightstand and tore it open. A book, almost the size of a composition notebook, fell out onto her bed.

"Look how old it is! And the pages...they're even older. Someone must have rebound this."

The handwriting was quite legible, but the paper was ancient. It had been expertly and lovingly preserved. The original binding had probably fallen apart, but even the new one looked like it dated to the 19th century. The pages were probably decades or even centuries older than the cover. Abruptly, almost as if pushed, a note fell out between the pages. Ashley snatched it up.

Ashley sat and read the first paragraph. I leaned over her, and she folded it shut, abruptly. She met my eyes, sadly.

"John, I think I should read this first."

"Why, in case it tells you to do something crazy and self-destructive?"

"If I promise that I won't, will you give me privacy to read this alone, first?"

"Goddammit, Ashley. The one thing I don't think you should be right now is alone."

"I swear that I won't do anything hasty. And I'll be sure to share anything important that I find, either in the letter or the book. Mom gave this to me, though. And she made it clear that it was [I]only[/I] for me. I want to respect that. I think you should too."

I sighed but made no effort to hide my frustration.

"Fine. I'll come running if you scream, I guess."

I turned to stalk off and pout, but before I got far, I felt Ashley hugging me from behind. Her soft warmth pressed into me, and my anger vanished, leaving only the desperate fear for the safety fo the sister that I loved too much.

"Don't be mad. Let me do this, and then we can decide what to do, together. I won't abandon you."

I patted her hand in what I hoped was a reassuring manner, and then left the room, closing it quietly behind me.

* * *

I patrolled the outside of the cabin a few more times, then went back inside. I didn't know what else to do, so I made sure it was locked and shuttered tight, and then decided to try and nap. I finally fell asleep just as the dawn started to brighten the horizon.

I woke up in the late morning. Ashley hadn't left her room. I made her some eggs and bacon, which she took gratefully. I could tell that she hadn't slept at all. She was still reading the book, and she'd gotten one of her own notebooks out and was making careful notes in her own small but neat handwriting. She'd drawn a few simple pictures too.

"Those are from the rock, aren't they?"

I realized then that maybe I shouldn't have looked, but Ashley just smiled and finished eating a piece of bacon.

"I guess some of them were out there when our ancestors showed up, but some they added. This book is...well, it's wild. I still have some things that I need to understand, but I'm going to come down and share the important parts with you soon, ok?"

I left her alone again, feeling helpless to protect her. And if I couldn't protect my little sister, what use was I?

Although I knew it wouldn't be helpful, I packed some food and camping supplies into a backpack. Despite what we both knew to be true, we could try and bolt down the winding road or cut through the woods.

Even if I couldn't save her, I'd still need to tell someone what happened.

That thought was too much. I ran to the downstairs bathroom and threw up. No. No, she wasn't going to die. And if she was...I wasn't going to be a passive witness. I'd go too. It was a grim thought, but it made me feel a little better for whatever reason.

"Soon" turned out to be in the middle of the afternoon. I'd packed and planned and looked at maps all afternoon, and I finally had slept a little more. Later I'd be glad I did, but at the moment I was just frustrated that Ashley hadn't come down. We needed to decide what to do, and soon.

She came downstairs just as I was splashing water on my face in the kitchen sink while I boiled water for coffee. Ashley smoothly took over the coffee making, and I got out some leftovers from last night. I didn't bother heating them up. We had to eat, but I doubted she had any more appetite than I did.

To my surprise, Ash wolfed down a piece of cold lasagna. I did the same. When she was done, I realized that she was staring at me. She was calm, but still looked worried. Except it seemed like her concern was for me. Strange.

"I think," she started cautiously, "that things might be ok. If we do something specific and in the right way."

"What?"

"I can't really tell you. I mean, I would but...I think you need to read some of the book. I picked out the important parts. You don't need all the details. There are more books like this in mom and dad's room too. I took a look at a few. This has been going on for...a while."

"Do we really have time to be reading?"

"Yes. We can't do anything until they come out and that won't be until after dark. We've got at least three hours, and I really need you to understand all of this...before I ask you for a favor."

I was about to tell her that I would do whatever she wanted, but I decided to read, instead. Ash was right. We had some time before the things came again.

"Ok. Tell me where to start."

To my surprise, she kissed me, gently, on the mouth. Then handed me the book, already open to a specific page.

-----------------------

The Book

-----------------------

Spring, 1645

The Elders have decided to settle here, on the frontier, beyond the protection of the main colony and its strong arms and steady guns. Although they do not know it, I recognize the markings on the rock. This is a place of the Ancients, and the natives must have known it, and respect its boundaries. They will not trouble us here, and they probably haven't lived here in centuries, if not longer.

The water is clear and clean, rain is prevalent, and the ground fertile. Cate has told me that she wants another child and I am pleased to try and give one to her. Margaret, John, and Rachel all seem to love it here.

God has granted us this place of solace, and we are grateful for it.

* * *

I'm not going to lie, seeing my name here did not please me. In fact, it made me shiver. I looked up, and Ashley was watching me read. She took the book and turned it to a different page, and handed it back to me wordlessly.

* * *

Early Summer, 1645

Our homes are solid and safe, our lands are fertile. We should have known that there would be a price.

After much thought, I have decided to enact the rites. Shadows have been seen about the outside of the colony, and little Gwyn ran to her father Aled while he worked to clear the old forest. She was drowned in tears and sweat, the poor thing, and could not even describe what had terrorized her. I was there, assisting in the difficult work, and saw how her dress had been torn. The Ancients here have not had proper offerings in a very long time, and are lustful.

The rites my grandfather taught me will enable me to find out how to lay the Ancients back to rest or bring them on the side of the colony. The "god fearing" Elders would not approve, but I do this for them and their descendants as much as my own.

Such an endeavor can be dangerous, but I must risk it. Else the Ancients will simply take what they want with no care for the dead they leave behind them.

* * *

Again, Ashley took the book from me and turned to a different page before returning it to me. Her hands shook, and as I read, I reached out and put my arm around her. She leaned into me gratefully. Even as stressed as we both were, feeling her body against mine was welcome.

I cleared my mind and read further

* * *

Late Summer, 1645

What have I done?

I know it was the only path forward. I know it. But...the Ancients demanded so much. If not, they will take all of us, starting with the women and children, and return to slumber once all of us are used and dead.

They...they ache with carnal passions. The natives were not foolish to leave this place alone. They demand abomination and taboo. I should not be surprised, but in my hubris I believed that I knew better.

I agreed to their terms. What other choice did I have?

I must explain to Margaret and John what their duties are and how they must accomplish them. Cate already knows and understands, although she hates forcing such a thing upon her children.

* * *

Late Summer, 1645

Margaret has fled us. I do not blame her.

Cate and I explained things as best we could. Margret and John have always been...close, so I hoped that they would both agree, even if not eagerly. Margaret has always been protective, however, and she refused, saying that she would not damn John because of my sins and witchcraft.

John stayed quiet, but I knew that he must have considered the idea of laying with his sister. I feel he would do so if only to save her. Perhaps love might come from such a union, but it is not a necessity. He must lay with his sister, and she must bear him at least two children. One boy and one girl. They must lay together often and at least once a year upon the rock, spilling his seed and her fertile fluid upon it. In this way, the Ancients will be sated and will not need to "harvest" us, as they call it.

Cate said that she would speak to Margaret again upon the morrow when she was calmer, and we went to bed. I should have known that Margaret, always an impulsive child, would act without thinking. When we awoke, she was gone. There was no note, but we all know why, save Rachel, who asks us questions and does not understand our silence.

John and I will leave shortly to search for her in the wood, where she would have to flee through to get back to the main colonies. Cate and Rachel will ask about her in the village. If anyone asks we shall tell them that she ran back to Boston to be with a boy, she had met there. It would not be to her character, but the truth would not be wise to share.

God save her.

* * *

Ashley again took the book and flipped forward. This time not as far and the handwriting was obviously different, although still masculine in nature. It resembled my own.

* * *

Early Fall, 1645

Father has given me his journal and told me to record both the sad and necessary events that have occurred over the past month. He says that he has no stomach for it, but it is needful to do so. Future generations must understand their duty.

For if they fail, then not only will our family suffer, but the descendants of all who lived here will fall forfeit to the contract as well.

We did not search long on that bleak fall morning. Only a few hours. I remember the smell of leaves mixed with that of blood. She...Margaret was in the trees. They had not been gentle to her. She was torn asunder as if by the worst beasts of the wood, and her parts were laid out upon the branches. Father said nothing, but I know that she suffered before her death. With his help, we collected everything we could and buried her there, in the forest.

We told the town that she had been torn apart by wild animals and that we could not bear the various parts back to the house, to spare my mother and sister. We were not lying. We had a somber service in the new meeting house, and then Father and I led the reverend out to bless the grave where she lay. We took down the simple stick we used to mark her place of rest and put up a more sturdy wooden cross. I wept openly and for the first time in many years.

We returned home, somber and dead inside. I loved Margaret, and she loved me. Perhaps more than what god intended, but she could not be with me as...as a wife. I feared for our safety and our future. Rachel is of age, but she does not know much of the world or of our family's connection to the Ancients. She would probably abide by Father's wishes in any case. She had been obedient in the past.

But would I hurt her? That was the question in my mind. Would it harm her to have such an act perpetrated upon her? Father suspects but Mother does not know that I am no virgin. I had a barmaid many times back in New Amsterdam. Before we left to start anew here, I was even thinking of wedding her. Winnie was no pure dove, but she was fair and kind and open. She had no interest in leaving the town, however, and I did not blame her. I was sad for a time but hoped to meet a new woman here, to lay with and perhaps marry.

I did not expect her to be my sister.

All of us spoke together in the evening. Mother and Father explained all to Rachel. She listened, and her face grew even paler. I felt for her, more than I expected to. She had been close to Margaret and had been wrecked by her death. Such instruction as this on the heels of awful news must have been terrible for her.
To my surprise, Rachel was much more agreeable than I thought she would be. After we all spoke together, She and mother spoke in private, most likely praying. Rachel returned to the hearth, blushing, but smiling at me, if somewhat sadly. I saw her then as if for the first time and a great and profane hunger woke in me. She is well-rounded and heavy in hip and breast. I would blame the Ancients for this new lust, but I know that would be a lie. Now that it was likely I welcomed the opportunity to lay with my fair sister. She is beautiful, sweet, and submissive. What else could a man ask for in a wife?

I feel a monster for this consideration, but I knew that it was both desirable and necessary.

Now I must be explicit. Any who read this will be descendants of ours, and they must know what is to be done. Even if it shocks them. To me what happened may have been unnatural, but I would be a liar if I said that I did not enjoy and welcome it.

We went to the rock that night. There was no reason nor excuse to delay. It had to be done, or more would share Margaret's fate. Rachel wore but a simple shift and I my breeches and shirt. It was unseasonably warm for the autumn, and I was grateful for it.

The Ancients were there, in the night. Before we had merely glimpsed them moving in the tree-line, and thought their eyes to be ignis fatuus. Now they were in plain sight and much closer. Rachel shivered and moved closer to me, and I instinctively put my arm around her. She pressed her body to mine, and I must confess that I felt a stronger desire for her at that moment than I have felt for any woman before or since. Her scent drove any thought of daemons and spirits from my mind. I craved her. I felt her small hand settle on my chest and explored me slowly, tentatively making its way down to my breeches.

I moaned as my sister lightly brushed and then more firmly grasped my manhood from outside my clothes. Rachel moaned and looked at me, and we kissed. No chaste church wedding kiss was this; I was savage with her, pulling her to me and eliciting soft whimpers. I had always tried to treat my sisters with kindness, but there was no mercy left within me. I would have her. No protest from her would matter, nor would she stop if I begged her. We were lost.

From around us, a great shuddering moan vibrated the very air. Such power! I felt it infusing me, entering me, using me as its vessel. They were not gentle. I understood why my bloodline has long bargained with such creatures. There is no opposing them. There is only death, or perhaps profiting from their beneficence.

Rachel looked at me, fear and lust warring across her delicate features. I understood. These things wanted her, desperately. Had there been no vessel they still would have taken her, but she would not have survived. She realized, however, what she must do. She took my hand and smiled on me, as pretty and calm as a fae lady carrying away a farmhand. I could no longer persist as a conscious being and was filled with too much unholy will to do what must be done on my own.

At last, we reached the rock. But it was no rock. It was an altar. They had placed it here, before even the first man arrived here, to await and demand the worship and sacrifice of those who would come. The Ancients were not of us or our meager firmament. They came and did as they wish, as we might raise the calf and later demand its slaughter.

My attention was drawn back to Rachel, who gently but insistently pulled my shirt above my head. I complied and even groaned as she ran her hands over my chest. I was the first such man she had felt in this intimate fashion, I was sure of it. I thought of filling my own sister with my seed, and I was nearly overwhelmed with cries of desire, that were not made outside of me rather within. I felt her small hands unbuttoning my breaches and pulling them down. She gasped as my manhood sprung free. I smiled, feeling proud as all men must when a beautiful woman admires them and finds them pleasing. She gripped my cock, almost harshly, and I shuddered.

Rachel then stood back, aware that I was exposed and vulnerable to the wind and her eyes. She loosened the laces of her shift, perhaps aware that this was the moment when she became a woman, then let it drop from her shoulders, fluttering slightly in the cool breeze. She covered herself immediately, but I saw her form. It was winsome and pale and delightful. The curve of hip and swell of breast were, to me, perfect. Her smooth skin broke out in gooseflesh, and she took a deep breath as she prepared herself for her first mounting.

Rachel shivered as she sat upon the rock, but she looked up at me, and there was true longing in her eyes. I wondered for the first time if she had perhaps seen me differently and desired me for a long time. As she put her hands behind her to support herself, she released her breasts which swung freely, and I found them to be most satisfying. Then she parted her legs, and I saw her womanhood, surrounded by dark hair, glistening in the moonlight. Such a vulgar show should disgust my morals, but I was inflamed by it. I could never be disgusted by Rachel, in any case.

She extended her hand to me, beckoning me to her. I went, aware that even then I was leaking from my cock. I mounted her then. God save us both, I mounted my own sister and made her a woman, and she moaned beneath me. Even in such dire pain as I was, for make to mistake, this rite is painful, I lost myself swiftly, for I was overly aroused. Perhaps it was the forbidden nature of the act or the love I held for her, or even merely that I found her fine and beautiful. In any case, I thrust in her again and again, unable to control or stop myself. Rachel, blessed Rachel, gripped my flanks tightly with her legs, whispering her love to me in my ears, encouraging me to take my full measure of pleasure from her willing warmth. I did so, calling her name as she shuddered around my manhood. My seed filled her and spilled out upon the rock, and we both lay there, sated .

I know that my love was too fierce. After we returned home and shared a bed, I kissed the bruises on her thighs softly as she told me how proud she is of them. I know that I should fear damnation for this act, and for the times after that I have lain with her, but I feel only anticipation and increased desire. I suppose it is for the best.

I believe that my sister is expecting now. We will soon leave and start anew elsewhere as "husband and wife," returning only to renew our pact upon the stone. I know not what the future holds but I will cherish her and raise any children with love and care. We will find happiness together, and god...or Ancients...willing, she will bear fruit that will pass down upon the generations.

May God have mercy upon us for what we have wrought.

-----------------------

Release

-----------------------

[b]June 7th, 1985 - The Night of Sacrifice[/b]

"Does this mean that Mom and Dad are brother and sister?"

It was my first thought even though we had bigger concerns. I had to ask even though I knew the answer. Ashley thought for a moment.

"I think so. And I think Mom loves Dad like I love you."

It took me a long moment, and finally, I turned to look at Ashley. She blushed fiercely but didn't look away. Even then it took me a moment to understand what had happened. Our parents were brother and sister, and my sister had just confessed her love to me. I felt suddenly like a coward again. I loved her, and she needed me, and I was too afraid to tell her the truth. Before I could reply, Ashley spoke again, quickly blocking any possibility of rejection. Not that there was any.

"It's a lot to ask of you."

Ashley must have seen me pause, deep in thought about the revelations of the last few minutes. I looked up at her, into her eyes, expecting fear or revulsion. But I saw only my own feelings reflected: deep care and hungry desire. She took my silence as denial.

"There are other journals here, too. Mom's note told me where to find them in her room. Some are much more recent. But this was the one she wanted me to read. I know what has to be done now...and so do you. I won't blame you if you refuse but...I know you want me. I want you too. I want you to take my virginity, and if it has to be on that rock, I won't care. I'll take you any way you want. I've dreamed about it before. I'll be a good...a good wife to you, John. I can be that if you let me. Or a mistress, if you want."

I looked at Ashley, right in the eyes. She blushed, obviously uncomfortable, but there was no easy way to say this, so I went with the blunt truth.

"Even if this isn't true, if we stay another night here, we're going to end up fucking."

It wasn't a question. Things had been intensifying between us, every hour. It was like being in a pressure cooker, and neither of us wanted to back off. I felt, and I'm sure that she did too, but it wouldn't stop us. I knew that now. Ashley just nodded and looked away.

"So," I continued, "I guess it doesn't matter whether we do it in here or out on the rock does it? I mean...I believe you. And the book. I've seen the eyes, too. But more than that, I want you, Ashley. And I'm going to have you tonight."

Ashley bit her lip and leaned into me, for a moment but stopped herself.

"No," she said, "If we start in here we won't stop. It has to be out there on that goddamned rock so they can...witness it. And feel it. I know that's what this is about. They're going to use you, John. And it's going to hurt. The book barely mentioned it, but others did. It's described as being intense and worse than..."

"So what," I said, without thinking.

"So what? I know you want to help me...and get laid, but it might really hurt you! More than before! I think the book downplays it so that people will go through with it, so others don't suffer, but..."

"If I don't do it, you're going to hurt a lot worse. And probably die. So it'll hurt. You're worth it. And I need to be inside you tonight. This isn't just selfless sacrifice."

Ashley stood up, and I did too. She pecked me on the cheek, oddly chaste given what we'd done and were planning on doing.

"I'm going to, uh, get ready. I know its silly but...I kind of want things to be a little special, even if this whole thing is weird. Give me five minutes, ok?"

Ashley ran upstairs, and I went to the downstairs bathroom. There wasn't much to be done, but I agreed with her: I wanted this to be special. I needed it to be. To prove that we weren't just sick, that we were part of something more significant, and older than us. More importantly, I wanted Ashley to know that I truly loved her. I wanted to prove that to those things out there too.

Just because my ancestors were foolish enough to deal with them, didn't mean that we were their puppets. We'd keep the deal. But it would be for ourselves and our children. Not for their hungers. Not out of fear of them.

We didn't have a lot of time. I washed myself off in the downstairs bathroom. There was an odd sense of finality to it, as though I was preparing myself for my own funeral. When I was done, I put on shorts and nothing else. I had lost my virginity some time ago. I'd stood up to some surly drunks when my friend was getting ganged up on, and taken a beating for it. I'd turned eighteen two years prior. But this was the first time that I felt like a man, and a brave one at that. Seeing myself how Ash saw me made me strive to be a better person.

When Ash came down the stairs, my breath caught in my throat. She wore yet another thing that I'd never seen. It was simple, a shift, thin and cotton. Maybe to be worn over a swimsuit. It draped over her, hugging her curves as she walked barefoot down each step. She moved slowly, and with purpose. There was something different about her, and I realized that I did not see a trace of a girl here. She was undoubtedly Ashley, but she was entirely and utterly woman. She came to the bottom of the step and swayed over to me. I realized then that she was seducing me, indeed. I was helpless before her, and I did not mind. There was no fear in her eyes, only adoration, respect, and submission. She held her hands out. I took them in mine and kissed her simply, softly on the lips.

We said no vows, but both of us recognize that moment as our wedding. It's not exactly Christian, but then neither are we.

Ashley took my arm, and we walked out into the night together. It was too dark for an early summer's eve. There was no trace of the recently set sun, and we were lit only by flickering lightning coursing through the high clouds that had settled in without our knowledge. There was no thunder.

And all around us, the eyes. Deep purples and unnatural greens and unholy reds. They drifted all around us, their hunger barely held in check. They were many things, these creatures, but they were not liars. If we upheld our end of the bargain, they would not kill Ashley. They would grant our family prosperity. Still, I felt Ashley's small hands tighten on my arm. I wondered if it was out of fear of them or concern for me. It didn't matter.

I felt it then, as my cock surged to hardness for what I was about to do, what I'd wanted to do for so long, struck me. At the same time, the pain started. It was like a backache at first, not severe, just a dim throb. As we reached the lake and headed toward the rock, it became a stabbing pain. I made a noise between a cough and a moan. Ash looked at me and said nothing.

It hit full on when we reached the rock. I knew then that their hands and minds were inside me. They saw through my eyes and felt through my skin. Perhaps I should have been sickened by it, but there was too much sensation to think about such things. Deep within me, fire and ice warred to decide which would hurt me more. I stumbled to my knees there, on the rock.

"John!"

Ashley stumbled with me but kept me from falling further. I held her too me, first as support, but then as strength returned to me, I crushed her small form to mine. She whimpered as I buried my head in her breasts.

"Now," was all I could say, almost growling from pain and want, "now!"

Ashley stepped back then, and I almost cried out in frustration. But she slipped the shift of her shoulders, and let it slowly drift down her body, exposing her perfect form to me, as if for the first time. She cocked one hip, and it was without any doubt the most erotic thing I'd ever seen. I thought she was teasing me, but I realized then that she was afraid. This was her first time, with any man, and the need in my eyes must have been frightening to her as well. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. I couldn't rid myself of the pain, so I let it be. I held my hand out to her, inviting, not demanding her. She smiled then, and even in the light of those goddamned eyes, it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

I stood. I didn't have to, not really, but I wanted to show Ash that I was ok. It was just pain. It wasn't death, and it certainly was far better than what happened to Margaret. I would bear it for her. I would bear anything for her. I pulled my shorts off and stepped out of them, pleased with how her eyes grew wider.

Ash drifted into my arms, briefly, then slowly got to her knees and lay down on her back. She fit into the small basin there perfectly, as if it had been made for her body. I saw her relax into it, pass her hands along the smooth rock to her sides. Then she looked at me, still so shy, and nodded. As I knelt and moved over her, she parted her legs. She relaxed then, and I saw that she had submitted to me with complete trust. I winced as the pain grew sharper, more demanding. Fuck them. I was going to make this right for her.

I needn't have worried about rushing. One hand went to my neck, and the other passed over my chest and onto my back, and Ash pulled me. She had run out of control, out of will. She needed to be fucked by her brother. By me. Her legs, more flexible than I expected, began to wrap around mine, her heels digging into the back of my thighs, pleading to be penetrated with her whole body.

I kissed Ash as I positioned myself and slowly entered her. God, she was tight. I know I sighed as I slid further within her. She was more than just tight. She was perfect for me in every way, and my cock filled her the way she needed. She was wet and swollen and so very ready. Her back arched as I bottomed out, and to my surprise, I saw that she was in the throes of a small orgasm. I forced myself to breathe, balancing out the pain and need. Letting them flow together. I began to move.

Ash was no passive participant. She may have eagerly submitted, but she wasn't going to sit there and get fucked. She rolled her hips into me, resisted as I withdrew and pulled me hard back into her. Soon we moved together, in harmony. Accelerating gradually and naturally but not quickly.

"Fuck, John...you feel so good, baby..."

I merely grunted, having difficulty focusing. I didn't want to cum yet and the pain, god the pain. Would it even let me? It was getting worse. I'd never had a heart attack, but I imagined that it would feel much like this. I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw as I grew lightheaded.

No! Not now. I had to finish this. I needed her, and I needed to finish inside her, and I couldn't even remember why. There was just so much pain. I just wanted to stop and to make it stop.

Ash touched my face then, gently. I opened my eyes and saw her looking at me with such sorrow and sympathy and love. She was still close to cumming, I could tell, but it didn't matter to her.

"It's all right, John. You can stop. You've done..."

I kissed her then, silencing her kind but self-destructive offer. No. I regained myself and began to fuck her hard. If I had to suffer, perhaps she could bear some of it too. I hoped so. I mauled her neck, bit and nipped at it. She whimpered and cried, but clung to me tighter and tighter. Finally, thunder rolled across the clouds.

Then she came, hard. Harder than I'd ever made any woman cum. Her body writhed and shook, almost unnaturally, as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through her. She tensed again, relaxed, again, her body a puppet moving on strings of pleasure. The pain spiked again, but it didn't matter. I lived only to make her cum.

This went on for longer than either of us understood. Over and over again, she shook, but each time a little less. She was exhausted now, practically limp, but still conscious. Still lost in pleasure as I kissed her mouth and her tongue danced with mine. The first cold drops of rain hit me then, triggering something in me long held back. I looked her in the eyes as I came.

I buried myself inside of Ash. I wanted nothing but that, nothing but for my sister to be full of my cum and to be marked as mine. She was my mate, my wife, no one else's. She was meant for me and me alone. And my cock pulsed again and again, filling her with my sticky seed, and still pumping when there was nothing left. The rain was pouring now, drenching us both. She came one final time as well, much more gently, as a sigh worked through her body.

The things came too. I know because it hurt worse than anything that had happened before. I blacked out as what felt like long knives drove themselves through my back and into my chest.

* * *

I woke to gentle shaking, thunder rolling, and lightning flashing.

"Come on, please," Ash pleaded, real worry in her voice, "I can't carry you. Get up!"

I struggled to my feet, looking around stupidly.

"My shorts," I said in a daze. I wasn't in pain, but I was beyond tired. I wanted to just lay down on the rock until morning came. Ash seemed to sense this, and I suppose it panicked her a bit.
"Forget them! Just...just follow me ok. Lean on me but don't stop. Not until I say so!"

I nodded and leaned into her. She staggered under my greater weight, but somehow we got back to the cabin. I remember coming inside and then being led to the sofa. Apparently, Ash didn't think I would make it up the stairs. She let me sit then, but not lay down.

Ash got a towel and then dried herself and then me. She was gentle and slow and almost worshipful of my body. I'll remember how loving she was, how careful, for the rest of my days. I was cold and shivering, so she covered me in a blanket. She brought me water and it was the sweetest thing I'd ever tasted, except for her. At last, she pushed me down, and I lay back on a pillow that had somehow appeared there when I hadn't been paying attention.

I felt some apprehension, but then Ashley got under the covers with me and settled her naked form on mine, cuddling on my chest. I sighed deeply. Things were, at last, as they should be. All was right. I slept.

-----------------------

Understanding

-----------------------

I woke late the following afternoon. I expected Ashley to mock me, but instead, she just seemed really worried. I suppose it's only fair though. If the women have to suffer a more profound threat, then men should bear the more significant pain and fatigue. We still made love, but slowly, and she was on top. I didn't feel genuinely like myself again for three more days.

Things, however, were wonderful. The fear was gone. Nothing troubled my beloved little sister. We were never far from each other, but it was by choice. There was no annoyance or over-clinginess. I suppose this is what it must be like to be newlyweds.

Mom and Dad didn't respond to our calls, but we didn't expect them to. They just showed up two weeks later. I had been upset for a while, but Ashley urged me to be calm.

"They probably learned the same way, John. And really, if they explained it to us directly, wouldn't there be a possibility of a reaction like Margaret's?"

"I guess," I said, not really believing it. It was hard to be angry at anyone at that moment, really. I was sitting on the porch, in a large, comfortable chair. Ashley was in my lap. We'd made love just that morning, and I could tell by the way she was occasionally kissing me on my neck and moving her hand over my chest that we would do so again, soon. Maybe right there on the chair.

I will admit that I had a moment of panic and guilt when our parent's car pulled down the lonely road up to the house. Ashley looked at me and smiled reassuringly.

"Relax, John. Mom and Dad are brother and sister too, remember?"

"I know...it's just hard to get used to."

Speaking of our parents, they were happy and smiling when they get out of the car. My remaining anger dissipated. They were, more or less, proud parents of newlywed children. Mom was even crying a little, and Dad's smile was huge.

"See," he said, "I told you they'd be all right. Just like we were."

I didn't even get a chance to reply before Ashley jumped up and hugged Mom. Dad walked over and shook my hand. It was weird, but not awkward, and generally wholesome, all things considered.

I don't remember a lot of the conversation at that moment, but it was mostly congratulations from them and a little grumbling from Ashley and me. Soon we were all in the kitchen, making lunch together like old times. The only difference being that Ashley snuck up behind me while I was making the salad, hugged me tightly and then sneakily groped my ass before snickering and running away.

After we sat down to eat, I finally had to ask. I did it bluntly, the way Dad would have.

"I don't want to bring you down, but how could you guys be so sure that we'd figure this out. To me, it seems like you were gambling with Ashley's life."

"John, they would never do that!"

Ashley was upset, but by her smile, I could tell that she loved that I was protective of her. She'd always appreciated that part of me.

To our surprise, Mom and Dad looked at each other and laughed.

"Your father said almost exactly the same thing to your grandfather. In that same tone. This isn't something that can be explained, or forced. You had to come here on your own, discover your feelings, and read the book. Any interference from us...could cause more harm than good. I wanted to tell you, but in this case, your father was right to keep to the traditions."

Dad laughed.

"I'm not right all that often, but I knew it would be ok. To be honest, neither of you are very subtle. You started avoiding each other more and more but were never angry at each other. You were both so happy to see each other even if you had only been apart for a few hours, but there was that last barrier to overcome. I knew what would happen if we left you both up here. For what it's worth, I'm sorry if anything happened to make you afraid. I hate it, but you needed to experience it, so you understood how serious the whole thing is."

I sighed and conceded the point.

"Yeah. Even if you both had sat down and explained things to us I probably would have thought you were crazy. Seeing those...things...made it real enough that I would have done anything you protect Ash. Even if I thought it was, um, morally wrong."

I was still struggling with that in those days. I don't so much anymore. Ashley broke the silence, squeezing my hand and looking at me with pure adoration in her beautiful hazel eyes. I'd do anything for her when she looks at me like that, and I think she knows it.

"You were so wonderful, John. You wouldn't leave my side, and you were here for me however I needed you to be. And, um...I can't imagine a better first lover."

I must have turned deep red because everyone started chuckling at me. What can I say? I still wasn't used to talking about my incestuous union with my sister in front of our parents. Things like that can take some getting used to.

The evening passed. I took Ashley out and fucked her on the rock again, this time in the warmth of the afternoon sun. It still hurt, but very little. If anything, it just enhanced the pleasure I took from my little sister's body. We swam afterward, leaving our offering of fluids in the small basin there.

That was how the summer went. We never wanted to leave the cabin to go back to school when we were young, but this was different. We would be leaving each other. It was indeed more than a secret affair by then. It was a marriage in all but name. And one day, it probably would be that as well.

But Ashley had dreams, and I had plans. So she started at her college, and I went back to mine. We weren't that far apart, in the end. We spent almost every weekend together. Once when Ashley called, and I could hear desperate loneliness in her voice, I drove out in the middle of the night and surprised her. We made love in her bed there, quietly, so as not to wake her roommate a few doors over. I would still do much more just to be with her, and I know she would for me as well.

We're close now. I graduated, and she will soon. We're looking at places to live. Far enough away to be safe from discovery, but not too far from Mom and Dad, or The Cabin. Every summer is like the first time for us.

I thank the Ancients now and am happy to give something to them in exchange for this happiness. Our love grows stronger. The tradition is maintained. Soon, I'm sure, my little sister will tell me that she's carrying my child.

So like my father, did, and like his father, all the way back to the first of our family on this continent, I'm recording this. I've read many more of our family records since then. Some are tragic, but most are stories like ours. Without exception, all of them are full of love. It's written in every word on every page, and if a little pain is the price, then I will gladly keep paying it.

With Love,

John & Ashley, 1987