Chapter 8: Do You Want the Good News?

Something was wrong. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something just seemed ... I don't know, off. It had been over a week since I had successfully bridged Mikkelson, discovered just how serious the problem had become and then gotten suckered out of the dream. Since then I had not been able to reestablish a connection with him. He had been unavailable before so I wasn't overly concerned about it but somehow this just felt ... different. On the positive side, Lizzy seemed to be making headway in her observations of Amber. It was surprising how long it was taking. I expected her to be able to figure out what was going on just by looking at her. I guess that was a little much to ask for.

Elizabeth was by far the most fascinating person I had ever met. Shannon, who had wanted more than either Allison or I to meet her, had been more than a little, I don't know if hostile was the word, but defensive just doesn't do it justice, since we finally brought her in. Originally, while not as pushy as Allison had been about us getting together with this mysterious person, she had been excited about the possibilities of sex with her. It had been an interesting year, well, almost a year, since the girls and I had discovered each other and Shannon in particular was seriously into the sexual aspects of our relationship, and while she claimed to be extremely satisfied with both Allison and I, she nevertheless had expressed a sense of anticipation about meeting and getting to know Easy Street. The fact that Easy had made it clear to Rebecca that she was looking forward to not only meeting us, but really getting to know us, if you know what I mean, had sparked something in my oldest girlfriend, something that had burned brightly right up to the point of actually meeting her. Since then...

Allison had confronted her about it over the weekend as we all lay together on the beach. We had just spent several hours, subjective hours anyway; it's hard to keep track in dream time, having a wonderful time in the cabana.

"Shannon," she had said as we all lay naked in the sun, "what's bothering you?"

"Who said anything was bothering me?" Shannon responded, the defensive tone not helping her case.

"Well obviously no one 'said' anything or I wouldn't have to ask," Allison continued, "but something is obviously bothering you."

"More like someone is bothering you," I added, sitting up and looking at her. Allison sat up as well, facing me across a marvelous expanse of feminine real estate. I could have just sat there admiring the view all day. Unfortunately...

"No, I'm fine," Shannon insisted, then suddenly she gasped, her back arching and her nipples almost instantly erect. Startled, I glanced at Allison and saw the smirk on her face.

"Liar, liar! Pants on fire," Allison said as Shannon squirmed, one hand reaching down toward her crotch as if to push something away. Suddenly she slumped back on the sand.

"If I was wearing any! God, that was so not fair. It was like an instant orgasm only not quite, like I was suddenly on the edge but then it just stopped. I didn't even know you could do that."

Allison giggled. "That's what naughty girls get. C'mon Sha', you've been on edge ever since Easy showed up. I don't get it; you've been saying how much you wanted to meet her ever since Rebecca told us about her. You were practically drooling at the thought. Now suddenly it's like someone hosed you with ice water, what gives?"

It was like a cloud passed over her face. "I don't ... I mean I can't ... I don't know, okay. I just ... she bothers me. I'm sorry; she's just not what I expected."

Allison pushed, "Well then, what did you expect?"

"I don't know, I just thought she would ... oh, I don't know what I thought."

"I think I do," I said quietly. They both turned to me. I sat staring out at the water. "You expected her to be what we had described in the dreams. Even after Rebecca told us the rest of the story about her, a part of you wanted her to just show up and start tearing our clothes off and fuck us. Instead she showed up and it was all business, she bent some of the rules and proved again that there was a lot more to her than we had given her credit for. So now, instead of lusting for her, you're actually a little afraid of her."

"I am not!"

Allison was sitting up by now, nodding her head. "Maybe afraid is the wrong word but you certainly don't trust her, and I think I know where it started."

"I..." Shannon sat up and started to answer but Allison held up a hand to stop her.

"You are disappointed about the sex, don't even bother trying to deny that one. You were all excited the first night when they sent us away to get back and catch them in the act. You were just convinced that as soon as they were alone she would start tearing Jimmy's clothes off. When we walked in and they were kissing you were sure it was going to turn into a giant love fest."

Shannon started to say something but again Allison held up her hand. "Then when you found out that she had actually slapped Jimmy, you were pissed."

"She had no reason..."

"You see, that's where you really got lost," Allison said, cutting her off before she could go farther. "She did have a reason. Just not one you understood. Tell the truth, Sha', what was your first thought when you heard she slapped him?"

"I don't know, I mean I guess I..."

"Wanted to pull her hair out?" Allison finished for her. "And before that you were so convinced that they were making out, and they were, but not for the reason you expected. You were just convinced that she was going to seduce him as soon as they were alone. What you don't want to admit is that you were jealous."

"I was not," Shannon complained.

"Yeah, baby, you were," Allison said, putting her hand on Shannon's knee, "you still are. What's really bothering you is that it's not her being with Jimmy that you're upset about, it's him being with her. You want to fuck her so bad you can't stand it."

Suddenly Shannon burst into tears, her hands coming up to cup her face.

"I'm sorry," she said. "You're right, I do, I love you both so much but still I want ... oh god, I want her ... but ... she scares me."

That certainly wasn't what I expected to hear. "She scares you?" I asked. "How, you mean like physically?"

"No," she said, desperately wiping trying to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"It's her gift that scares you, isn't it," I asked softly.

She was sitting up now, wiping again at her eyes and trying to speak coherently. It was beginning to look like a losing battle. It was a measure of how upset she really was that she was having so much trouble. This was a dream, she could stop crying as easily as flipping a switch if she wanted to, and she knew it. The fact that she couldn't seem to get a strong enough grip told me just how serious this was. I leaned in and kissed her and stopped her tears for her. As soon as I touched her, she grabbed onto me like I was a life preserver.

"I'm sorry," she said. "Really I am, I know it's silly of me but I'm afraid that..." she couldn't finish but just buried her head against my shoulder. I held her for a moment and she finally got it out. "I'm afraid she'll take you away from me."

Stunned is a good word. Surprise just doesn't cover it. From the beginning I suspected that this revolved around Lizzy's gift, but I really wasn't expecting anything like this. The look on Allison's face said she wasn't either

"Take him away? You silly thing, no one could take Jimmy away from you. He loves you, and even if someone could, you'd still have..." She stopped as Shannon dropped her head and the tears came again, then said softly, "Oh."

Climbing to her knees she crawled up behind her lover and wrapped her arms around the both of us, kissed Shannon's hair and whispered, "No one could take me away from you, Shannon. You have to know that. I love you; I'd die without you. I would, I'd just wither up and die." Then she pushed back and came around to sit next to me. "Now tell me what's gotten into you."

A new voice suddenly came from behind us, "Oh god, please tell me this isn't about me."

We all started and turned toward the cabana to find the person in question staring at us. We must have been blocking her view of Shannon or she probably wouldn't have even asked. She stepped closer, moving at an angle so she could see us all better. A sudden sadness washed over her face as she got a clear look at Shannon.

"I waited too long," she said softly, moving toward us. "I'm sorry, Shannon, truly I am. I've been so caught up in trying to help Amber that I've neglected you. Jimmy? Allison? Could you just, like, pop into the cabana for a second? Just for a second, then you can come back. I just need to see her and you two still kind of overwhelm me. Do you mind?"

"Of course not," Allison answered, taking my hand. "How long do you need? Is five minutes long enough?"

"Oh no, nothing like that. Five seconds, ten at the outside. In fact I need you to come right back." She held up her hand as Allison started to ask the obvious question. "I'll explain when you get back, okay?"

Without waiting I popped Allison and I into the little hut, where we sat with our feet dangling in the water for a few seconds before I moved us back to the beach.

"Was that long enough, or do you need more time."

There was more than a little sadness in her voice as she said, "No, I got it. Thanks, Jimmy." She knelt down in front of Shannon and took her hands gently into her own. "Shannon, look at me, listen to me. I'm not here to take anyone away from you. I could never do that. It would go against everything I believe. Do you understand?"

"But he'll fall in love with you, they both will."

"Why would they do that?" Elizabeth asked, cocking her head to one side.

"Because you'd be perfect. You're the perfect lover. You know just by looking at them just exactly what they need, every time. How could they not?"

"Oh Shannon, trust me, it doesn't work like that. Having sex with me doesn't make people fall in love with me. I'm a healer, not a succubus. If anything it's just the opposite. None of my ... I don't know if you can call them patients, but that sounds a lot better than victims. Call them what you will, none have ever try to pursue a relationship once it's over. They don't love me. Once I move on they don't even try to hook up with me again. Fortunately I have some really close friends I can fuck the rest of the time. It's true I've wanted to jump these two from the moment they first showed up, but that's different. They're not broken or even damaged, and it's going to be mind blowing when we do it. That goes for all of you, not just them. I didn't realize, didn't even imagine, that there could be more until I got here and met you too. They glow, you all do. Jimmy more than anyone I ever met, and he gets brighter when Allison is near; when you're both with him it's like staring into the sun. You and Allison glow more when you're together too. Nothing like when you're with him, but much more than when you are alone. You guys are totally different from anyone I've ever encountered and I've wanted to touch that glow since I first saw it. Once I met all of you together, well, let's just say that I'm looking forward to getting a really bad sunburn. But when it's over, nothing will have changed with you. Trust me, it just doesn't work that way."

"I think you're selling yourself short," Allison said. "Don't get me wrong, I understand what you're saying and I know that that's what works best for you, but you're wrong on one point."

Lizzy looked at her quizzically, "What do you mean?"

"They do love you. Not all of them I'm sure, but some do. They're not in love with you, but you'll never convince me that Sheriff Dobbs doesn't love you."

Lizzy got a huge grin on her face and shook her head. "Rusty? Nah, Rusty's in love with someone else; heck, he's getting married in a few months. I'm in the wedding."

"You didn't hear what I said. You're right when you say he's not in love with you, but I'm right when I say he loves you. There isn't much that man wouldn't do for you. I know he'd kill to protect you."

"He's the sheriff, that's his job!"

Now it was Shannon's turn, "No, she's right. It's you who's kidding yourself. We saw him when Rebecca was with him trying to find you. Lizzy, that man couldn't love you more if you were his own flesh and blood. I wouldn't want to be the person who hurt you if he was around."

"You think?" she asked. "Rusty?"

"See for yourself," I said. "It should be easy enough for you to do. Find someplace you can see him but he won't see you. Get a good look at him and then move out where he can see you and walk up to him. See if he changes. I think you'll be surprised."

"I doubt it, but I'll check it out next time I'm home, maybe Dave too." She thought for a second and then looked at me. "Meanwhile, we need to talk." She reached up and took Shannon's face in her hands, placing a light kiss on her forehead and then another on her lips, she said, "I would never do anything to hurt you, Shannon. We'll talk more later, if there's time. If not then I want to make some time, okay, don't let me forget. I don't know how you guys keep up the pace around here with so much to do." She grew a knowing smile. "But obviously you do find time for the important things."

Allison actually blushed before she said, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Amber, but it's kind of personal and I can't share it with everyone right away. If you don't mind I'd like to talk to Jimmy first, maybe even your friend, Bob, and see what they think. Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay, we've got lots to talk about ourselves. Do you mind if we take the cabana though?"

I rolled my eyes as I reached to give Shannon a hand up, kissed them both and sent them on their way. Once they were inside Lizzy said, "You know she was just teasing, don't you. Neither one of them was thinking of sex."

"Yeah, I know. We all like to tease and remind each other just how sexy we think they are, and you never know, just because they weren't thinking it or planning it doesn't mean it won't happen anyway. So what's up with Amber? It sounds serious. How bad is it?"

"I can't fix it."

"You mean it's not a sex thing?"

"Why don't you call Bob? I think you're going to want his input on this and that way we won't have to repeat the whole thing."

"He may be with Rebecca. Is it okay if she comes?"

"I think it would be best if she didn't know about this just yet. She may need to know, probably will need to know later, but I'd rather wait and see what Bob says first."

I was more than a little nervous as I pulled out my phone and called, "Bob? It's Jimmy."

He chuckled. "I would be extremely surprised if it were anyone else."

"Is this a bad time?"

"Jimmy, it's a dream, and even if it weren't, if you took the risk and trouble to call, I'd listen. What's on your mind?"

"Lizzy just came back from watching Amber. She says we need to talk and by 'we' she means all three of us, and in case you're not sure what I mean, just the three of us."

"Really? That does sound serious. Give me a second, and a door." The phone went silent and Bob walked out of the little changing tent that sits on the beach. He was dressed for the occasion, swim trunks, sandals, tank top, straw hat and sunscreen on his nose.

"How did you know we'd be at the beach?" I asked.

"I didn't. The door brought me to the changing tent so I knew it was the beach. If it had been the elevator I would have worn something else. Elizabeth, nice to see you again. So what's up? Is there a problem with Amber?"

"Well, for starters she's very depressed. I'm sure that's no surprise to anyone but that's not even the tip of the real iceberg. It took a while but I now know what the real problem is: guilt."

"Guilt?" I said. "Why would she feel guilty? She didn't do anything. This psycho stalked her, kidnapped her, and then raped and tortured her for weeks. What could she possibly have to feel guilty about?"

"I don't want to tell you what I think just yet. Let me tell you what's been going on and then you tell me what you think. Her dreams have been really erratic. Not that uncommon when you're stressed, and sometimes these little tidbits have a common theme that connects them. Anyway, then the nightmare started..."

"Wait," I interrupted. "What kind of nightmares? Because I blocked the ones she was having initially, if that block is wearing away then maybe I need to rework it a little."

"You can do that?"

"Sure, I've done it several times but usually blocking a nightmare is a temporary solution. Usually the person needs to work through the cause before any real solution can be attempted. At least that's the theory. I've had varying degrees of success with different people I've tried it with. If we know the cause then it's a lot easier. As far as I know..." I stopped myself just before I said Samantha's name, "the one is still doing fine."

"Maybe you can tell me about it some other time," she said. "Twice Amber's nightmare was the same. Both times she was tied up while this guy in a mask fucked the crap out of her. Both times it ended up with her crying and just sort of wallowing in guilt. At first I didn't understand it, but then the next time it changed. It started out with you and her in a car somewhere, and then you were somewhere else. Then you were, like, eating at the mall or something, then she was tied up with the guy in the mask and he was, not so much torturing as tormenting her, if you know what I mean."

"Ooh my lord." Bob said. "I think I know where this is headed, and it explains both the guilt and the inner conflict she has been experiencing. No wonder she's been so depressed."

"I don't get it. It explains what?" I asked. "What are you talking about? Do I need to try and rework the blocks and stop the nightmares?"

"No," Lizzy said softly. "Whatever you did before is working just fine, they're not nightmares."

"Jimmy," Bob said, "when you were with Angela, did she ever express an interest in being tied up, or having rough sex?"

"No, not that I..." I had a flashback of my hand firmly wrapped in her long hair, pulling it as I pounded her from behind.

Bob caught my hesitation and pressed, "What?"

"Prom night; we were at the hotel with Tim and Cindy and it was a real wild night. Cindy had a few fantasies she'd been dying to live out. At one point she and Tim were ... doing something and Angela asked me to do something ... similar but not quite the same..."

"I get the picture, go on."

"Anyway, she wanted me to pull her hair and, you know, really ... she passed out at the end but I thought it was just that thing that Allison suggested."

"She passed out?" Lizzy said. "You mean like, unconscious? You weren't like, choking her or anything right?"

"God no!" I answered. "I could never do anything like that. But sometimes when it gets really intense the girls have a tendency to sort of ... overload I guess, and pass out."

"Allison came up the suggestion that Jimmy is subconsciously projective, affecting the subconscious of people he comes in contact with. In dreams, where he contacts the subconscious directly, it manifests as an instant post hypnotic suggestion. With very impressive results. The most serious manifestation in waking has been a tendency for his lovers to pass out during sex, the theory being that he is actually projecting his pleasure onto them, overloading their pleasure center and causing a temporary shutdown."

"Okay, we have to change the subject," Lizzy said, smiling and shaking her head. I could tell the thought was more than a little exciting to her. "So you thought this is what happened to her but now, Bob, what do you think? Not so much Jimmy's fault as he may have believed?"

"I'm afraid so. Now she's been feeling these urges and she feels guilty about what she perceives as the cause."

"She thinks she's some kind of sicko," Lizzy said.

By now I was feeling more than a little irritated as they seemed to be talking around me. "What are you two talking about?"

"Jimmy, this is going to be very hard to explain," Bob sail. "Are you familiar with the term BDSM?"

"That's a term?"

"Didn't think so. Actually it's sort of an identifier, an acronym if you will although that's a real abuse of the term. BD stands for bondage and discipline. SM is short for sadism and masochism. In erotic fiction it's used to indicate elements that may appear in a story. Other similar terms are dominance and submission. I've heard you and Allison joke about spanking her. I say teasing because Allison does not strike me as being a terribly submissive type. If she were, then her teasing would quickly change to something more serious and she might get more demanding about it."

A light bulb came on and I suddenly didn't like where this was going, "You can't be serious. Angela spent almost a month getting the crap beat out of her by this guy and you're telling me she enjoyed it? That's nuts."

"Oh no, you've got it all wrong, that's not what I'm saying at all," Bob said. "We're not talking about torture here. Torture is, by definition, out of your control, but somewhere inside, part of her liked the sex, liked being dominated, and that is where her guilt comes in." He was getting into lecture mode now. "Elizabeth is right; we have a huge problem here. This is something most people learn over time, under controlled circumstances. There is a huge, and I mean really huge, sub-culture that centers around this area. There are all kinds of rules, guidelines, and most importantly safeguards to insure it doesn't go too far, ever. Angela, Amber now, has been dropped in with no support and no understanding of what is going on. She needs help, professional help, and she needs it fast or she is going to be in real danger."