Black Fox: The Vessel - 2. Chapter 2 - Strangers in the Night

“You're such losers!” Sarah mocked us. I wanted to kick her, but deep down I knew we deserved her every insult.

Me and Kevin were losing to the girls like 22:3 and we only managed to score something when they were laughing too hard to be able to jump for the ball. Volleyball was the only team game I considered myself decent at, but for the past thirty minutes, Sarah and Mia – Mike’s sister – had been proving me wrong. I thought at least Kevin would be better, but he was shorter than me and useless. Mia was older than us and she was obviously not giving it her all, but that just made me feel worse.

“How can you even jump in the sand?” I complained but I knew we were all in the same situation.

“Let's shuffle teams!” Kevin demanded but the girls only laughed.

“Let's play till thirty and then we can switch,” Mia said.

Both girls were very fit. Considering Sarah had Owen and Wayne for brothers it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but I was humiliated all the same.

After a while, the score was 26:4. The only point we got was because the ball bounced off Kevin's head and luckily landed on their side. The girls were rolling on the ground laughing too hard to try to get it. I was busy turning red on my face when I heard someone’s voice from the sideline.

“Look how they're owning them!”

It was Cayden. Mike, Josh and Owen were standing right behind him. Except for Owen, they all had stupid smirks on their faces. Shirtless and in their swimming trunks, they looked like young surfers. Owen was still in his long sleeve but he was a stunner anyway. I sucked my belly in and straightened up. Nine days around those hotties. Thank you, thank you, dear lord. Just please don't let them bully me and I swear I'll never skip church again. And if you let me see one of them naked, I'll become a priest when I grow up, honest!

“Care if we join?” Mike asked.

We looked at them. They were all older and significantly taller than us, maybe except Cayden.

“Okay,” Sarah conceded, “but we're not playing against you. We have to mix teams.”

“I'm not playing,” Owen said and sat on the grass just outside the field.

Cayden kicked some sand at him. “Oh come on, mate, you can't keep being such a moaner all the time.”

“Yeah,” Mike added, “you're on vacation, get over it. It's been two fucking weeks!”

“Fuck off, I said I'm not playing!” Owen growled and there was something in his voice and eyes that made his bandmates shut up. The rest of us watched the scene in bewilderment.

“Alright, jeez, just sit there and cry,” Cayden waved at him and turned to us. “Alright boys and girls, us three versus the four of you, how does that sound?”

It didn't sound bad at all so we started playing. We were losing but not outplayed. Shocker – it wasn't thanks to me and Kevin. At least we were all having fun even if I noticed that the Black Fox boys were going a bit easy on us. They seemed like a merry bunch, I realised. Even if Josh didn't smile once – he just wasn't the one to smile even if he was having fun. I'd like to see his stone-cold face as I'm sucking his cock. So what if he has a girlfriend. I bet I'd do a better job.

I didn't know the boys that much. Sure, I’ve seen the videos, drawn the drawings and even met them briefly at Owen’s birthday party but it was the first time I really had a chance to hang out and interact with them. In my mind, they were bloody famous. Especially with the attention they accumulated when Owen and Alex were together. I had been super stoked to be a part of it by contributing my drawings. Now that they split up, there was nothing else to draw. So I'd draw the boys separately – and bare-chested – and post from time to time. If only they knew. So far it seemed that Owen kept his word and didn’t betray my secret.

I'd occasionally glance at him. He was still pale as on the day we arrived and just kept staring at the lake no matter how much the rest of us were wailing and laughing. There was something in his eyes that almost made me feel bad for having fun, so I decided to just focus on the game. When I looked his way a few minutes later, he was no longer there.

Then it was time for windsurfing training. I actually managed to stand on the board and raise the bloody sail before falling into the water.

Later, the adults rented two boats. The four of us and Kevin's parents got on one and the others took another. It was cool, I was mainly laying back with my hat and sunglasses over my eyes while the rest handled the sails and other work. I wished I had my sketchbook with me. I mean, the safe-for-work sketchbook. I always had two – one for naked or half-naked boys and men and the other one for sunsets, skylines, still-life and regular, innocent portraits. You can probably guess which one I was showing to my mum and friends. I’ve made bloody huge progress over the months. I'd sometimes look at my early work and roll my eyes.

Drawing was the only hobby I could really call my passion. I got excited every time my pencil was dancing in my hand and would often get caught in a trance until I was finished. If someone interrupted me, I would throw something heavy at them and if it was Dad, that meant a spanking. Eventually, I made a “Do Not Disturb. Artist At Work” sign and hung it at my door anytime I was on a roll. Now, Dad was gone and I could only guess when or if he was going to be back.

We asked if it would be alright if we practised jumping into the water from the boat. Kevin's parents said yes but only if we wore the little pink floaty things around our arms. We looked at each other with Kevin and then at the Black Fox boys sailing in the boat nearby and concluded we'd rather die than wear those in front of them.

In the evening, we had another campfire. This time, the Black Fox boys brought some instruments. Mike and Josh had acoustic guitars. Owen was just sitting there with his arms crossed when Cayden came to him, carrying a weird wooden box, about twice the size of a shoebox, that looked like some sort of an instrument. Owen just turned away and waved with his hand.

“Come on, mate, don’t do it to us. It will make you feel better,” I heard the younger teen whisper from afar. I didn’t hear what Owen’s response was but judging by his eyes and Cayden’s frustrated reaction, it couldn’t be anything nice. He just left Owen sitting there, took a small shaker instrument I didn’t recognise and they started playing.

It all sounded pretty cool but when Cayden started singing, I opened my eyes wide. Fuck, he was the band's secret weapon. It was one thing hearing him on YouTube, but hearing him live from up close was another. I started wondering if he was maybe looking for a talented and funny boyfriend like me. Crap, being around those guys made me feel special even though I happened to be there mostly by accident. Some random people from other cabins stopped by and listened from a distance.

Meanwhile, everyone started chugging beer. Kevin's and Cayden's dads just placed a full crate of beer between them and were downing one after another without any noticeable effects.

After one of the songs, Cayden cleared his throat.

“Now, most of you know but just three days ago we signed our first deal with a publishing company to release a single and yes, it’s going to be our first original song. I mean, we didn't write it, but it's the greatest song ever, so we're going to play it now. It’s called Ride or Die.” He then pointed at the humble crowd that was gathering around us. “I dedicate it to the lovely girl standing right there, you're beautiful!”

Everyone was amused except for me and that girl's dad. But before the laughter died, they started playing. And oh my fricking god! This was an absolute killer of a song. Yeah, it was poppy and super catchy but there was something different about the song structure and the melody… I had never been too much into music so I can't describe it… it just hit different. When the second chorus started, I wanted badly to sing along with Cayden. Too bad my voice was good for nothing else than annoying people and coming up with silly stories. When Josh started his guitar solo, I literally had to cover my crotch with my hands to hide my excitement. Some people around us took of their phones and started recording.

When the song ended, it became clear I wasn't the only one sold on it. I've never heard twenty people make so much noise. The girl Cayden winked at after it ended had to go change her panties. I released my throbbing boner and started clapping like crazy. The boys' faces were lit by the fire in the dark. They looked like total winners. Frickin’ frick, they are going to be famous with that song. I need to fuck one of them, pronto!

Owen didn't look like a winner though. I’m not sure if he had even been paying attention. His dad stood up and ruffled his hair, but he didn't react. And yeah, I knew he hated my guts more than anyone, but it kind of bugged me that he was sad. After all, he had every reason to hate me. Two weeks ago, when I forgot to turn off the flash in my camera, I thought I would die. And after Owen went through my gallery and saw everything… I was scared to leave my room for three days. I thought everyone would know. They could have easily told everyone and ruined my life but they didn't.

After the final song, the little crowd dispersed and the conversations continued. By now, even the Black Fox boys were drinking openly and no one even raised an eyebrow. I was under the impression that Owen was drinking the most. After some time, I even saw him smile for the first time and joke with Cayden, but then he returned to his emo gargoyle stance.

The adults started talking about adult stuff, so we inevitably got bored and decided to sneak away and sit on a lake pier.

“Sarah, please let me stay your friend after you all get rich and famous, okay?” I asked when the three of us were alone.

“Yeah, right, knowing Owen, I won’t see a quid if he does.”

“What happened to him anyway?” Kevin asked. “He's looking like a ghost.”.

“He's been like this since the breakup, duh. Only getting worse.”

Kevin grimaced. “Him being gay, it's such bullshit.”

“No it's not," Sarah said. “I saw them kiss many times.”

“Eww," he said. “Too many details.”

"I can't be friends with homophobes, so better get used to that," she parried and that made Kevin shut up. If he wasn’t lying that he liked Sarah, he’d better be more careful with such remarks. Meanwhile, I was weeping over my lost, homophobic crush.

"Hey Ian," Sarah changed the topic. "You didn't finish the story yesterday."

"Yeah!" Kevin clapped his hands.

Uh oh. I forgot to come up with something clever and spooky and now I had to improvise – but I could work with that. I had a trick or two up my sleeve for such occasions.

The night wasn't dark and there was light coming from the nearby cabins. Ours was not the only campfire and the conversations and laughter could be heard from all directions. However, all was muffled by the gentle but omnipresent sound of the lake. Delicate ripples travelled towards the shore and made for a nice ambience as I started speaking.

“So, one stormy night, Wulfhelm, the lord's last surviving son, heard a loud banging at the door. He was all alone and didn't expect any visitors. He reluctantly stood up, his old leg wound still bothering him from thime to time. When he opened the door, he saw a man about his age. He was soaked and underneath his hat, he could barely see the man’s face. He thought he recognized him, but couldn't remember where from.

“Who are you, stranger?” Wulfhelm asked.

“You don't remember me, do you?” the stranger sneered. “No matter. What matters is that I do remember you. And I know who you are. There's a price for your head and I'm here to see what you are ready to do to keep my mouth sealed.”

“What do you want from me? I lost everything I had!” Wulfhelm cried.

“Surely you have enough left to save your life, don't you? I want one-tenth of your monthly income, paid every full moon. This is a small price to pay for peace of mind.”

Wulfhelm had no other option but to agree to these terms. He knew that not only his peace of mind but also his life was at stake and each time the moon was full, he'd give the stranger a handful of coins. Somehow, the stranger could tell even if a single copper was missing.

A few moons later, Wulfhelm married the smith's daughter and his child was on the way. He was happier than he’d ever been, but the deal with the stranger was a burden he'd rather get off his shoulders.

One evening, when the full moon was high in the sky, the stranger paid him a visit and as always, Wulfhelm paid his due tribute. This time, though, the stranger didn’t leave after hiding the coins in the inner pocket of his coat.

“What else do you want?” Wulfhelm asked.

“The price for your head went up – and so has my fee. I need you to pay me double the usual amount from now on.”

“Double? I’m barely making the ends meet as it is. And my firstborn child is on the way!”

“Then you will do everything to make sure it grows old enough to remember his father, right? I’ll be back tomorrow to collect the rest.”

Wulfhelm had enough of it. He couldn’t sleep all night and was coming up with a plan to get rid of his obligation. The next day, he lured the stranger near the forest – not far from where we are sitting right now – and stabbed him in the neck with his dagger. He dragged the body into the forest and started walking home. On his way back, he heard wolves howling and he smiled. Any traces of his crime would soon be gone.”

I looked at Kevin and Sarah and their eyes were wide. I was hoping for a strategic wolf howl in the distance, but I was out of luck this time.

“Alas, it wasn't meant to be,” I continued.

“The next day, when Wulfhelm went to the market, he saw the stranger who greeted him as if nothing happened at all. Wulfhelm stared at him, trying to spot a wound on his neck, but there was none. There was something else, though. More than once, he thought he saw a strange, bluish gleaming in the stranger’s eyes. He returned home and locked himself inside until the dusk, questioning his own sanity.

In the morning, he went to the forest, to the place where he abandoned the body. He only found bare bones, carefully scavenged by the wolves.”

“Wait!” Sarah interrupted. “So if the corpse was there, then who…”

I silenced her by pressing my index finger to her mouth.

“From that day,” I said slowly, “strange things started happening in the small town by the lake. People started disappearing. Then, they would return, denying that anything happened to them at all. Yet, each and every one of them had the same bluish shining in their eyes. Wulfhelm was afraid to mention it to anybody in the fear that his crime would be discovered.

One night, when going to bed with his wife, she looked at him and he saw the same, ghastly light. He jumped off the bed, looking at her in terror, but she just smiled at him and said…”

“Kids!” Sarah's mum shouted at us and we almost fell off the boat. “It's late, go to your rooms now!”

Kids my butt. I'm not ten!

We didn't argue though. We helped each other stand up and started walking toward our respective cabins. As we were walking, Kevin turned to me.

“Mate, your story is giving me chills. How do you come up with that shit?”

I shrugged. “It's all in my head, I guess. I never said I made it all up. Somehow I feel like this is exactly what happened.”

“Stop it! You're freaking me out! Admit it's all made up.”

I smiled sheepishly. “I can say whatever you want me to say.”

“Oh, you're so full of shit.”

“Bloody sure I am. When Mrs Davies called us I thought I'd crap my pants.”

“Yeah, me too. I need to go now.”

“No, I'm going first.”

“No way I'm going there after you!”

“Let's see about that!”

Before I could react, Kevin darted towards the cabin and I rushed right after him. I wasn't joking. I really had to go. Guess there was something in the food.

We ran inside the cabin and I was about to catch up with him when he stormed into the bathroom and locked the door behind him. I was running so fast I didn't manage to push on the breaks and I crashed against the wooden door.

“Fuck you wanker, you're a piece of dog crap!” I shouted through the door.

“You what mate?” he shouted back. “Better go get some extra TP, I'm gonna be here for a while.”

I couldn't believe it. My bowels were full and I wasn't a nature boy, ready to go in the bushes and wipe myself with a leaf. I thought about asking Sarah to use her bathroom but then again I'd rather be skinned alive. And she wouldn't let me inside her temple in a million years either.

I left the cabin and looked at the campfire in the distance. I heard some guitar sounds and everybody seemed to still be having fun. Sure, lock the kids up and go drinking all night.

The Black Fox boys' cabin was the nearest so I decided to go there. The windows were open, but all the lights were out. I entered quietly, but no one seemed to be inside. I flicked the light on just for a second to make sure and when I did, I entered the bathroom to take care of my business.

I didn't take my sweet time. I'd rather be out of there. But just when I washed my hands and closed the bathroom door behind myself, the cabin door opened. It was Owen. There was only a very dim light coming from the outside, but I was sure it was him. And he knew I was there.

“Little spy boy, huh?” he said with a raspy voice that made me almost crap myself again.

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean to spy, it's just that Kevin argued with me about who should go to the bathroom first and then he outran me and I would never go to a girls' bathroom, so I…”

“Fuck you're annoying,” he blurted and in a few steps, he was right next to me. He grabbed my chin and I squealed.

There was something wrong with him. I was scared. Think Sarah was right that he didn't take the breakup very well. Then I smelled his breath. Oh fuck, he was drunk. I was a dead boy. He looked ready to take it out on just anyone and I happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He swung his hand to slap me but stopped just an inch away. I flinched. Then he sent a punch at my nose and stopped again just before turning it into a bloody pulp. I flinched again and shuddered.

“You're the most worthless, stalking piece of shit that ever walked this earth,” he said as he pressed me against the wall. “I told you what I’d do if I ever catch you spying. You can cry all you want, you whiny bitch.”

I was too scared to cry, though. I was breathing fast and praying he'd start beating the crap out of me already. He didn’t, though. Instead, he was looking me in the eyes, as if considering something.

“On your knees,” he said after the pause.

I responded automatically and found myself eyes to eye with his bulge beneath his swimmer shorts.

“Take it out, quick,” he commanded.

My hands were shaking but I would eat my own arm if he asked me to. And he wasn't even asking.

When his cock sprung to life, I was amazed. It was beautiful but scary. I took it in my hand to pull out the foreskin, but he snapped at me immediately. “Keep your hands away. And open wide.”

Okay, maybe this wasn't how I imagined it. No dinner, no candles, no Italian music. But if this was my punishment… do your worst sir! I put my hands on my knees and did what he told me to do.

He wasn't delicate at all. He painfully grabbed my hair, pushed me even harder against the wall and stuffed it all in. There was no warning. I gagged as his cock hit my throat and then it hit it again and again and again.

“Bite me one more time and I'll kill you,” he said.

I wanted to nod in confirmation but I was pinned in place. I retracted my teeth as much as I could and tried my best to make it look at least a bit like a blowjob. To scan the shape of his boner with my lips. The truth was, he was face fucking me with no remorse. I wish he would say something but he just panted and moved his hips faster and faster. His grip on my hair tightened and fuck, I enjoyed it. It hurt but I didn't want it to end.

It did end, and all too soon. When he came, I had no other choice but to swallow it all. Not that I didn't want to, but he pushed his dick so deep! It almost went right into my throat and I was afraid I would choke. Owen grunted and moaned and his cock squirted like a garden hose as if it was his first climax in two weeks. Was it?

“Clean up,” he ordered when his orgasm subsided. I dared to gently grab his dick in my fingers and licked it clean with my lips and tongue.

When I was done, Owen backed away and looked down at me one more time. I saw anger, but this time there was something else. I realised I was looking at him with lust and I didn’t think he was expecting this. I could see him perfectly fine in the darkness but before I could properly read his face, he turned away and left, leaving me alone on the cabin floor.

Maybe ten seconds passed after he slammed the door behind him and I frantically reached for my cock. I pulled it out from the front of my shorts and, laying down on the floor, I brought myself to a climax in no more than two dozen strokes. I cried as I erupted with three spurts of spunk that flew a few inches into the air and landed on my t-shirt. Oh my god, this was the biggest one yet.

Suddenly, panic overwhelmed me. What has just happened? What if someone discovers me here like this?

I quickly pulled up my shorts and retreated back to our cabin on my trembling legs.

I undressed to my briefs and I let out a long moan as I collapsed on the bed. I laid down on my belly and pressed my face into the pillow. Just seconds later, the bathroom door opened.

“Mate!” Kevin yelled, “what were you doing?”

“Uuuuughhhh,” I moaned, laying there motionlessly.

“Did you just… You've gotta be kidding me, don't do it here!”

“Uuugh…” I moaned.

“The bathroom is free now if you want it,” he said and marched to his bed.

“Thanks, I’m good,” I croaked.

I was too tired to even brush my teeth. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep.