Copyright (c) 2002-2003 Padraig MacIain. No permission is granted to redistribute this story.

Alyssa spat, clearing her mouth of the dust left by another car speeding by her. Every time there was a storm brewing in the sky, se did not ever manage to hitch a ride. She always played a game with herself, trying to guess each vehicle's reason for passing her by. Ultimately she surmised, it came down to her appearance and the drivers mistaking the shiver of electricity from the upcoming tumult for the warning prickle of fear.

Alyssa passed for beautiful. She was eighteen, athletic and blonde. But she was always hidden under layers of dirt, dust, torn clothing and the wear of years of living on the street. Her pleasingly curved shape and aesthetic bust were cocooned within sturdy cheap clothes, sullied, stained and warm. Slung over her shoulders, a knapsack, faded khaki, adorned with matching stains and scuff marks. Her knapsack weighed down with a heavy sleeping roll, her residence no matter where she is.

I blinked, trying to clear the clouds from my eyes. Through the hazy of waking I could see a dark silhouette standing over me, lit by flickering red and orange lights, as if the building itself was on fire.

I sat up quickly, trying to look at the figure. I could make out a face amongst the shifting light, it was a man. His head was hairless, the light playing off his skin. The rest of his body was hidden under a midnight black robe, and as hard as I tried I couldn't see a fold of fabric, or seam or crease. He bid me silence with one finger to his lips and offered me his other hand, to help me off the ground where I was now sitting. I couldn't resist his offer, and without control I accepted his hand.

I stared at him, I couldn't pull my eyes away. I could feel his black eyes staring back at me, digging their way into my very soul, finding out my every secret and taking command of my will. A wave of nervous, dread anticipation spilled from my stomach throughout my body. Seeing him nod made me go weak at the knees, and I felt like screaming in fear as I felt two sets of hands grab at me.

I broke my eyes away from his gaze, and tried to see the hands that had grabbed me. Two woman were there, standing either side of me. Both of them were darkhaired, and naked, staring at me with vacant stares, tugging at my clothes. They moved me around like I was a rag doll, my mind trapped within an non-working body, tossing me back and forth as they pulled all my clothes off. I wanted to yell at them, tell them to stop but my voice was gone, I was at their mercy as they exposed me to this strange man.

Alyssa growled to herself as she felt the first heavy drop of water fall on her head. Looking up, she saw the firmament bulge and swell, dark grey and angry, appearing to threaten the world with a flood that would inspire fear in Noah himself. She hurried her pace, hoping to find some shelter before the rain started in earnest if no one was willing to stop to give her a lift to the nearest town.

Another car sped past her outstretched hand as the second and third splashes of rain landed on her. As the dust from the car's passage cleared Alyssa saw a spire climb over the hill top, crested by an ornate cross. Hurrying herself into a tired half run, she started to make her way, in hope, to the church.

Reaching the peak of the rise, Alyssa's face fell, seeing the place of worship surrounded by chin high grass, broken fences and rubble. She worried that it would be sealed up, leaving her exposed to the impending downpour. Or worse still, it would be full of old homeless men, that would demand she perform for her lodgings.

Closing in on the building, Alyssa felt a flicker of panic erupt through her body. The church rose high above her, its dark grey brickwork, rising impossibly high and blending into the storm clouds above, stood bold against the golden yellow of the dried summer grass that surrounded it. Windows dirty against the bricks, traces of coloured glass showing through timeless stratum of fine brown dust. Old water stains on the walls of the old church struck Alyssa as being the five wounds bore by Christ as he hung bleeding on the Cross, calcium deposits seeping down the dark brick work, mirroring the anguish of the Saviour in his hour of death.

Alyssa reached the extensive arched doorway just as the sky broke and it began to drown the land. She felt relieved seeing some unintelligible graffiti on the black door, underneath a brass cross and a plaque naming the church as ``Saint Mary's Catholic Church''. The door hung loosely on old hinges, swinging lightly back and forth in the growing wind. She pressed a dirty hand against the painted wood, scraping flakes of aged paint, leaving snowflakes of black to spiral to the ground.

I shivered, goose bumps raised on my skin, a mixture of being cold and afraid. I felt shame as my nipples grew, pushing their way through the cascades of my long blonde hair, to jut erect for all to see. He traced his hand over my breasts, outlining their curve, circling his fingers around my nipples. They felt like they were getting harder. My face started to burn and I knew I was blushing bright red, unable to control the pleasurable sensation that now ran through my body, mixing with the dread I felt.

My head jerked back as someone took hold of my hair and pulled away from my body. My mind reeled as I was splashed with a bucket load of warm liquid. It was red and smelt like wine. One of the naked women stepped forward and started to rub and scrub the sticky red fluid over my body. When her scrubbing got close to my face a strong tang of copper hit my nose, the familiar scent made me feel dizzy.

Just as the scrubbing finished I was hit with another bucket load, this one was clear and icy cold. Water was being used to remove my previous anointing. I was scrubbed again, totally clean, leaving me shivering.

The door swung open easily, piles of dust behind it posing no barrier to Alyssa's invasion. Her entrance announced only by a slight screech of rust from the old hinges, a pregnant pause and a rolling clap of thunder. The distant sound from the sky caused her to hurry inside, and stumbling over a bit of broken tile lying on the stone floor inside the church.

Quickly Alyssa's eyes adjusted to the gloomy interior of the church, patches of floor light with fading beams of light that have fought their way through clouded windows. Turning her head from side to side the state of the building became apparent, overturned pews, broken bricks and tiles. She hurried inside, a strong gusts of wind pushing her in. Holding the door shut, Alyssa used her foot to drag a piece of broken tile closer, and bending down she jammed it under the door, essentially barring it from the outside world.

Turning back to the interior, she carefully picked her way over the remains of what seemed to be a few decades of alternating destruction and neglect. Feeling the light fade around her as the storm got angrier Alyssa looked around for a safe spot to sleep, looking towards the more intact pews away from the door. A large rectangular block towards the front of the church caught her attention. She moved towards it, continuing to avoid debris. On closer inspection the block showed to be an altar of sorts, the four sides decorated with raised crosses. Alyssa wrinkled her nose at the rusty stains covering almost one half of the top of the altar, looking up to the ceiling and hoping there weren't any more leaks in the roof.

Moving away from the stone altar, Alyssa had become aware of the increasing darkness around her. Reaching into a pocket on the side of her knapsack she pulled out a large white candle, as thick as her fore arm and about a hand span in length. Rescuing a lighter from her pocket she lit the candle, the tiny flame quickly growing and casting a small orb of yellow light almost vainly against the gloom. Raising the candle above her head trying to throw the light further. She succeeded briefly in casting some illumination into more far flung corners, lighting up a fallen crucifix, upside down, with a badly cracked ceramic Jesus crying blood-red painted tears upwards towards his feet. The human figure startled her at first but on seeing it as an upside down statue Alyssa relaxed and smiled at the comical positioning of the divine figure.

I shivered uncontrollably as a cover of scarlet satin was dropped over my head. After it passed my eyes I could feel the fine fabric waterfall down my body, rippling past my breasts, down to my thighs. Looking down I recoiled in shock, realising this material was shear, hiding nothing. Hands clamped around my waist, wrapping a leather belt around me, pulling it tight, clinching my waist almost like a corset. The hands that added the belt started to feel up my body, running over the underside of my breasts, pausing to press against my nipples. The hand started to work down my body again, back down over my breasts, tracing a faint curve that my stomach made, down over the belt. The hands moved down, pressing over my mound, and inwards, following the shape of my thighs, finding their way to the inside roundness that defined them. It felt so good to me, and disgusting. I felt like I had been cheapened into a whore, dressed in scarlet and made to moan.

I felt my body go loose, he no longer held by gaze. My legs refused to move at I could at least look around much easier now. A thick cloud of incense surrounded my head, making my nose tingle, making me want to sneeze. Moving my head to escape the smoke, I looked around seeing the floor clear of all the broken building from earlier. A circle was marked around the old altar with tall poles, each topped with burning flares. I could count about fifteen. Scattered between the flares were six of the naked woman, each identical with long black hair and neat triangles of black on their mound. Still standing in front of me was that mysterious man, his long robe starting to look like a living and moving ink stain, all the light near him just vanished into the blackness.

He offered me his hand to me again. He led me through the flares into the enclosure they made, surrounded by fire. As I stepped over the invisible line that marked the ring, each of the attendants started to chant in unison. Their voices rising loudly into a slow but incomprehensible jumble of consonant sounds that burned my ears. My head started to swim from the impossible voices I was hearing. Their chants were gibberish to me, and I could feel them eating their way into my mind, becoming a rhythmic caress that drifted throughout me, bringing a warmth that tingled to all my most sacred and inner places, the sensation making my breathing quicken.

Using the candle light almost as a shield she darted to a gap between two fairly intact pews looking to sleep soon. Resting the candle on the upturned back of pew, Alyssa put down her knapsack. Pushing aside the larger pieces of rubble and wood fragments Alyssa cleared a space between the two overturned pews. As she began to lay out her sleeping roll, a flash of lightning lit up the church, malformed shadows leaping from every surface, to pounce at her, underpinned by a thunderous explosion. Alyssa jumped, her heart racing. She breathed a sigh of relief, realising it was just the storm that had threatened her earlier had finally reached the church.

She unlaced her shoes, carefully pushing the laces into them after freeing her feet of their dusty leather confines. Setting her worn shoes to one side, Alyssa climbed into her sleeping roll, customary drowsiness overcoming her almost instantly as she squirmed down the layers of blankets. Her eyes heavy with the day's walk, Alyssa reached into her knapsack and removed portable CD player, its scratched surface a dull metal plastic colour. Fumbling in the soft candle light she fitted the earphones over her head and started to fall into sleep, remembering to blow out the candle, smiling as soon as the music started. The deep voice ringing through her ears crooning her into darkness.

The chanting continued, disjointed but calling to me, finding its way into my arms and legs, making me feel the sounds and filling me with the desire to dance. I started slowly, my body moving almost on its own, weaving around the clean floor, my eyes going from flare to flare. I felt warmth spread through my body, I felt it excite me and felt myself grow aroused. I started to dance and weave faster, spinning myself around and around, like I was a giant children's toy. I saw him go past my vision, smiling at me, his robe a brief dark stain. The woman spin past, flesh coloured blurs, nothing more. He comes past me again as I spin and twirl. I gulp down fear, in the instance that I see him, his eyes appear as shining black orbs thrust into his face, and his mouth look like a nest of squirming, fighting snakes. I nearly stumble, but continue to spin, doing a circuit once more. I see him for a third time, his face as original, human, smiling.

I stopped, realising he was standing before me naked, his robe gone. I looked his body up and down, seeing he had no hair anywhere, and an enormous erection. I could see a bead of fluid glisten on the tip of his penis, it held my gaze as would a flawless diamond would. He stepped forward, breaking my gaze. Scared, I stepped back, trying to distance myself. He stepped forward again and I tried to step back, running backward into the altar. I slide myself up and onto the altar top as he stepped forward again. I was trapped.

I felt a wave of heat surge through my body, and I could not resist a startled moan. I slide myself further down the slab, its cool surface pressing into my back. My hands felt as if they had a mind of their own, they moved down my body, spreading my legs apart, making my satin covering fall down onto my stomach, exposing myself to his advances.

I looked forward as best I could and saw him leaning down over me. He buried his face between my legs, his tongue licking over my damp opening. I moaned again, my voice almost foreign to me now, as I felt his tongue work its way up and flick over my clitoris. I felt him work back down again. His tongue pushed inside of me, sending a cascade of pleasure through my body, which turned to fear as I felt his tongue grow inside of me, I felt it grow and swell, as if it was a snake. It was squirming inside of me, stretching me, and as the pain grew, feeling as I was about to be torn into two he pulled out, leaving me to feel my insides throb.

He climbed onto the altar with me, kneeling between my open legs. His face above my chest, he smiled again at me, licking his lips, which glistened with my moisture. As he moved and pressed the engorged head of his penis against my moist hole the chanting reached new heights, sounding like a dying scream. I lent my head back over the edge of the altar, I wanted to escape the view of him I had. I felt comforted slightly, seeing the crucifix again, just near the flares, Jesus looked the right way up from the angle I saw him at, his blood tears falling down to his feet, as I could feel mine fall silently to the stone floor. I grunted as indescribable pain shot through my body, he had thrust himself into me, making me feel like I was being torn asunder, his cock was huge, bigger than anyone I had slept with before. It was inside me, hot and pressing hard.

He continued to thrust into me, with each of his strokes I felt like paths were being shredded and sliced through my soft inner flesh. I could feel my tears streaming from my eyes now, down my forehead to drip onto the floor. I imagined I could hear each drop as an pounding beat, as it landed, over the sound of the unbearable chanting. The strength of his thrusting jolted my head side to side, and as it happened I saw the chanters, they had moved into the circle, and had collapsed to the floor. They were writhing women with fingers bloody from scratching crimson shreds into their own bodies. The same fingers rubbing themselves, frantically trying to reach a peak and climax. I needed to escape, I tried again to yell, to scream, to beg to be free. I was still voiceless, weak from pain as his movements still continued threatening to tear me into pieces.

He pulled my head up roughly, the fingers of one hand intertwined with my hair. He pulled my face close to his, opening his mouth as to kiss me and I felt cold dread cover me as a swarm of tentacles spilled out. Their oily black surface left ooze over my face, it's touch was icy cold on my skin. They grabbed at me, pulling me closer to the abomination. I screamed. My voice appeared, forming a tidal wave of sound expressing my absolute terror. My voice halted as one of the slimy tendrils forced its way down my throat. As happy oblivion crept across my mind I felt him stop moving, and then felt wave after wave of hotness spurt into me.

I felt only black now.

Alyssa groaned and tried to roll over as the ray of sunlight struck her face. With an expression of terror she sat bolt upright and looked around. Seeing herself in the abandoned church in the morning she calmed a bit. Reaching under her bedding she found herself still dressed as she was when she fell into slumber.

Climbing out of the sleeping roll and trying to stand Alyssa almost folded in two. Her abdomen ached. She lent against the side of the old pew, holding herself up while she tried to breath away the pain. Her pain subsided within a few breaths and she stood up properly again.

Tentative she walked towards the altar, now illuminated by bright morning sunlight. Looking around, Alyssa was reassured that her nightmare was nothing more, seeing rubble and debris still around, and no sign of her visitors nor her dance. Breathing a sigh of relief Alyssa turned back to her gear, not seeing the small patch of clean stone beside the altar. Free of dust as if it had been cleaned by tears.