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vanillalimeTitle: A Doomed Deception
Pairings/Main Characters: Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller, Fiona Zonioni, Tim McManus/Sean Murphy (pairing implied)
Rating: PG-13 (mild sexual situations)
Length: 6,469 words
Creature Prompt: Mad Scientist (with secondary appearances from Ghosts and Aliens)
Summary: When Toby and Chris experience car trouble, they head up the road to an old mansion to ask for help. Oddly, the person they encounter there seems to be unusually happy to meet Chris.
Notes: In Oz canon, the character of Fiona is a pre-op transexual, so I refer to her in the feminine sense accordingly. Portions of this story were loosely inspired by the movie "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," and a few lyrics from the song "Sweet Transvestite" were used as dialogue (credit to songwriter Richard O'Brien). Written for the 2015 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. The artwork prompt used for the story is included within the text.
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A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the winding road before them.
"It was a dark and stormy night… " Chris quietly mumbled. He cranked the metal handle on the passenger-side door, and the car window slowly crept up.
Toby’s eyes briefly left the road as he glanced at Chris. "You’re a fan of 'Paul Clifford'?" he asked in surprise.
Chris furrowed his brow and turned to look at Toby. "No," he answered. "Snoopy."
Toby’s derisive snort was masked by a deafening crack of thunder, and he returned his full attention to the road. The two of them rode in silence as the strength of the wind increased and rain began to fall.
Toby tensed and sat up straight. He couldn’t see a goddamn thing.
Keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel with one hand, he fumbled around with the other until he found the knob for the windshield wipers. He turned them on full speed, but the dilapidated rubber blades just smeared the rain, forming an opaque layer directly in his line of vision.
"That didn’t really seem to help," Chris remarked casually.
Toby huffed. "It probably wouldn’t matter so much if you had found us a car with more than one working headlight," he snapped. Toby shifted in his seat, trying to find an angle with better visibility. "Preferably one built within the last half-century," he added through clenched teeth.
"Beggars can’t be choosers, Tobe," Chris calmly reminded him. "Given our situation, I didn’t think it was in our best interests to spend a lot of time shoppin’ around."
"Shopping? Is that what you’re calling it? I imagine the cops will have another name for it."
Chris finally aimed a cold glare at Toby. "Maybe you’d rather be walkin’ out there in the woods right now," he suggested. "In which case, feel free to pull over and get out. I’ll take the car from here."
Toby didn’t respond to that. Instead, he continued to cautiously drive along the narrow road, slowing down for every twist and turn, as the rain and wind and thunder and lightning seemed to close in around them.
Finally, Toby quietly said, "I’ve seen the way you drive. I’m not gonna let you kill yourself."
Chris smiled in the darkness. He reached over and gently squeezed Toby’s thigh.
At that moment, a muffled sound exploded from the rear of the car, and Toby lost all control of it. Before he knew what was happening, the car had spun around in a full circle on the rain-slicked road. Toby frantically pumped the brakes as the car proceeded to careen down into a shallow ditch and back out again. The car finally responded by coming to an abrupt stop on the shoulder of the road, inches away from a massive oak tree.
The two of them sat there motionless, staring out at the rain as it pelted the windshield, while they waited for their senses to return. Eventually, Toby let go of the wheel and turned the car off. Slowly, they turned to look at each other.
Chris cleared his throat. "I think a tire blew out."
Toby raised an eyebrow. "You think?" he retorted sarcastically.
Chris gingerly rubbed the back of his neck. "I hate to bring this up, but… " He hesitated before continuing.
"There’s no chance in hell that there’s a spare tire back there," finished Toby.
"Yeah."
Another flash of lightning appeared, and somewhere nearby a tree came crashing down with a loud crack and a thud.
Toby wrapped his arms around the steering wheel and leaned forward to rest his head on them. He slowly began to shake his head from side to side.
"Listen, Tobe," Chris whispered soothingly. "Less’n a mile back, we passed a big ol’ house on a hill. I’m sure I saw lights on inside. All we gotta do is walk back there and ask for help. Maybe they’ll have a spare tire that’ll work. They’re bound to have somethin’."
"Do you really think that’s a smart plan?" mumbled Toby through his arms. Moving his head slightly, he peered at Chris out of the corner of his eye. "What if they’re suspicious of us, of who we are?"
Chris reached down to the floor of the car and grabbed the handgun lying at his feet. He sat back up and tucked the gun inside his jacket pocket. "Then we’ll just have to change the plan accordingly," he proposed.
Toby groaned and looked away. But when Chris stepped out of the car, he followed.
Bracing himself against the elements, Toby quickly opened the trunk of the old car to retrieve the backpack that contained all their worldly possessions. Chris helped Toby slide the bulky bag over his shoulders before he slammed the trunk lid down again.
They turned around and faced the full impact of the blustery storm. Keeping close to one another, they began walking back up the road in the direction of the old mansion.
Toby and Chris were both soaked to the bone by the time they reached the house. A tall, black, wrought-iron fence surrounded the estate's property. They found the gate, but it was secured shut with a heavy lock and chain. A hand-made sign that read "Keep Out!" emphasized the point.
"This isn’t encouraging!" yelled Toby over the roar of the wind and rain.
Chris just shrugged. He looked around and took note of all the debris that had already come down in the storm. He spotted a decent-sized tree branch lying nearby, picked it up, and proceeded to swing it repeatedly against the gate until the lock fell to the ground in pieces.
Chris pushed the gate open and motioned for Toby to walk through it.
Toby turned and faced Chris as he passed by. "That’s not going to make a great first impression!" he shouted.
Chris gave no response as he took Toby by the arm. He pulled Toby up the long path to mansion’s front entrance. Together, they climbed up the steps to the front door, and Chris pressed the button for the doorbell.
They didn’t have to wait long.
The door slowly opened, and the person who stood before them took their breath away. Chris and Toby stood on the threshold, speechless, while the house’s proprietor looked at them curiously and studied each of them from head to toe.
Suddenly, both Toby and Chris were wordlessly grabbed by an arm and pulled inside the mansion’s foyer. The door was quickly closed and locked behind them. The illumination provided by the interior lighting now gave them a better idea of who exactly they were dealing with.
Their new acquaintance possessed definite masculine features, but was heavily made up to look like a woman. Dressed in an outfit consisting of a leather bustier, black silk underwear, long fishnet stockings held up by lacy garter belts, and red stilettos heels, this person emanated an enormous amount sex appeal regardless of gender identity.
"Well, hell-oooo. I am Dr. Frank N. Fiona," purred their potential savior.
Chris and Toby glanced at each other. Chris choked out, "Doctor?"
"Yes, doctor. I am a research scientist," explained Dr. Frank N. Fiona with a smile. "This house is both my home and my laboratory." The doctor paused to adjust the height of a stocking. "And, in case you’re wondering, I am also a transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania."
"What?" blurted Toby.
"That’s just a little joke, honey," the doctor replied with a wink.
Chris tilted his head. "Do you like to be called Frank, or Fiona?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh, sweetie, I’ll respond to anything you call me." A long red fingernail ran down the length of Chris’s dripping jacket. "But I do generally prefer to be known in the feminine sense."
Toby’s fears and worries began to fade away as his emotions turned to jealousy and annoyance. "We’ll call you Dr. Fiona," he stated firmly. "Unfortunately, our car got a flat tire about a mile down the road. We were hoping that you might be able to help us out."
"So, you got caught with flat? How 'bout that?" the doctor hummed cheerfully.
"Yes," confirmed Toby impatiently. "And we’d like to get back on the road as quickly as possible. We don’t want to bother calling anyone for help in this storm. Do you have any spare tires that we could use?"
"Well, babies, don’t you panic. I can definitely offer you something," Dr. Fiona murmured. She returned her attention to Chris, and they shared a meaningful look. "But this storm is ferocious. Why don't you stay for the night? Or maybe a bite?"
Chris grinned and glanced over at Toby. "Dr. Fiona makes a lot of sense. Why don’t we stay here tonight, grab a bite to eat, and see if things blow over?"
Chris turned back, catching Dr. Fiona’s eye, and added, "So to speak."
Toby glared at Chris. "That isn’t part of our plan," he stated emphatically.
"Yeah, well, plans change."
"It’s settled then!" cried Dr. Fiona with a clap of her hands. "I think getting the two of you out of these wet clothes should be our first priority. Let me get a lab coat for each of you to wear, and I’ll start drying your clothes."
Dr. Fiona playfully tugged away at Chris’s jacket, not stopping until it had come off completely. "Maybe we can all sit down together and chat," she suggested. "Have some hot tea and honeycakes. Oh, we’ll have a gay old time!"
Dr. Fiona gave a throaty laugh and raised an eyebrow at Chris. "So to speak," she added with a wink.
Toby grabbed Chris’s jacket out of the doctor’s hands, conscious of the gun in the pocket.
"Thank you for the offer," Toby said, "but your lab coats won't be necessary—we both have an extra set of clothes with us." Toby removed the bag from his back and lowered it to the floor. "Is there someplace private where we could change?"
"He’s shy about other people seeing him naked," Chris told Dr. Fiona in a stage whisper.
The doctor giggled in response. She led the two men to a back staircase that took them up to a deserted section of the house. She turned and began walking down a narrow hallway with several doorways, one after another.
"Many years ago, this wing used to house the staff's quarters," she explained with the wave of a hand. "The bedrooms are tiny, but they will adequately serve their purpose for the night."
Dr. Fiona pointed Chris in the direction of one room, and Toby in another. Addressing Chris, she commented, "I apologize for the twin-sized bed. I'll bet you're used to a big, soft mattress to rest that hard, bulky body of yours."
"Oh, you have no idea," Chris replied with a smirk.
Dr. Fiona repeatedly tapped a finger against her cheek, appearing lost in thought.
"Well, I'll leave the two of you to change while I get the tea brewing," she finally declared. "I'll meet you in a few minutes back at the bottom of the stairs." Then she turned and gracefully strutted back down the hallway.
When the doctor was out of sight, Toby grabbed Chris and pulled him into his room. He slammed the door shut behind them.
"What the hell is going on between you two?" he huffed. "You wanna fuck her, or do you wanna get back on the road again?"
Chris shook his head. "You’re lookin’ at this all wrong," he replied calmly as he stripped down to his underwear. "Can’t you see that I got this doctor wrapped around my little finger?"
Toby dropped their backpack on the bed and threw Chris’s jacket and gun onto the tiny nightstand. "I don't think it's your little finger that she wants to wrap herself around," he muttered.
"Relax, Tobe," Chris said. "If I play our cards right, we'll be leavin' here tomorrow morning with a whole lot more than just a spare tire." Chris unzipped the backpack and began pulling out clothes. "And I don't need your jealousy gettin' in the way of that."
"Jealousy isn’t the issue here! At least one of us needs to be thinking with his head, and not his dick! There’s something strange about this place, and I say the sooner we get out of here, the better."
Chris tossed the clothes onto the floor and walked closer to Toby. He cupped the back of Toby’s neck in his hand and pulled his face close.
"I’m always thinking with my dick when you’re around, Toby," Chris declared before placing a firm kiss on his lips. He grabbed Toby’s hand and placed it over his thickening cock. "Trust me. Things have worked out okay so far, haven’t they?"
Chris began to massage the back of Toby's neck. "Just remember I love you, and it'll be all right," he murmured into his ear.
Toby reflexively sighed in comfort. Mirroring Chris’s rhythm, he gently stroked Chris’s cock before slowly falling to his knees in front of him. All his thoughts about the storm, the flat tire, and the strange doctor were temporarily forgotten as he let Chris’s strong hands guide him in the right direction.
An irritated Dr. Fiona stood at the bottom of the stairs and impatiently wondered what was taking them so long. Her special blend of tea was going to get cold.
As the storm continued to rage outside, Chris and Dr. Fiona chatted away at the kitchen table, drinking tea and eating cake. Toby had impulsively declined the doctor’s offer of refreshments, as the only thing he really wanted at the moment was a nice, dry martini. So, he simply sat there, observing the two of them, and tried to politely hold his tongue.
But Toby grew tired of hearing Dr. Fiona’s running commentary concerning Chris and her appreciation of his various body parts. He decided that a change in the topic of conversation was necessary.
"So, doctor, exactly what kind of research do you do here?" he asked.
Dr. Fiona slowly turned and looked at him. Toby got the vague impression that she had forgotten he was there.
"The human reproductive system," the doctor answered with a smile.
Chris started choking on a bite of cake and quickly took a sip of his tea.
Dr. Fiona looked back at him in concern. "You alright, honey?"
Chris gave a little wave of his hand in the direction of his throat. "Went down the wrong pipe," he coughed.
Dr. Fiona gently patted his arm. "Oh, I can help rinse out your pipes," she commented with a grin. Then she poured more tea into his cup.
Toby narrowed his eyes. "That's an ironic field of study," he said curtly, "considering your personal situation."
Dr. Fiona slowly put the teapot down and gazed intently at the tabletop. After a moment, she said, "There is nothing I would love more than to have a child of my own." She sighed and her dark eyes welled with tears. Softly, she said, "My interest in researching alternative methods of human conception was fueled by just such a desire."
Dr. Fiona wiped her eyes, taking care not to smudge her mascara and eyeliner. Suddenly, Toby felt like shit.
After collecting herself, the doctor said, "You know, there’s a reason why I chose to do my research here, in this old house." She spread her arms wide. "There is an aura of innocent desperation here that is unimaginable, and I feed off of it."
Staring off into the distance, the doctor’s voice took on an ethereal tone as she began to regale them with a story from the mansion's history:
"You see, many years ago, this place used to be an orphanage, housing beautiful, unwanted children who had no parents to love them. The building was twice the size that is now, and many children of all ages lived here, waiting to be adopted.
"But in 1932, late one night, something terrible happened. It was Halloween, and some of the children were feeling a little mischievous. They decided to play a few harmless pranks. Some of them, in their zeal for unsupervised fun, snuck up to the bedroom of the orphanage’s director and barricaded his door.
"Unfortunately, one of their pranks led to some carelessness with a burning jack-o-lantern. That carelessness resulted in a fire in the orphanage's main hall. With no adult presence to help or instruct the poor children, pandemonium broke out. Their feeble attempts to put out the fire were futile, and it quickly grew and spread to other parts of the building.
"The children began fleeing into the darkness outside. Eventually, their cries and the flames alerted a passerby, and the fire department was summoned. Miraculously, all of the children managed to escape the building before the burning section of the orphanage collapsed completely.
"But Mr. McManus, the director who had been barricaded in his bedroom, died there in the flames before he could be rescued. A lone, brave fireman, who had heroically broken through the barricade to reach the doomed director, perished there as well. They say that he died clutching McManus with one hand and his axe with the other.
"They closed the orphanage, and the children were all sent elsewhere, scattered like ashes to other facilities in the state. Eventually, someone bought this land and the remaining portion of the house, and it was converted into a private residence.
"However, as beautiful as this place is now, there has been a lot of turnover in its ownership. There have been reports from previous residents that the spirits of Mr. McManus and the fireman haunt the house. The two of them have been seen roaming through the hallways at night, looking for their way out of the building. On other nights, the director's voice has been heard repeatedly screaming, 'Fire! Fire!' while the crack of an axe echoes in between."
A loud crack of thunder caused Chris and Toby to jump, and it brought Dr. Fiona out of her trance-like state. She glanced at them in surprise, seemingly unaware that they had been sitting there, breathlessly, hanging onto her every word.
"Of course, that last part is just a silly ghost story," she said with a high-pitched laugh. "I've never seen or heard anything of that nature in all the time I've been here, and neither have any of my assistants."
"Assistants?" asked Chris. "You have assistants?"
"Of course, sweetie! I certainly can’t do my research all by myself!" answered the doctor. "They are very dedicated to me, and they spend all their time in the basement where my lab is located. They surface for a bit of fresh air occasionally, but I doubt that you’ll see any of them."
Toby felt slightly better at the news that there were other inhabitants of the house, and he hoped that they would be able to assist them in their exit when the time came. He was developing a sneaking suspicion that Dr. Fiona might not want Chris to leave in the morning. Toby needed to break the connection between the two of them before the doctor got the wrong idea.
"Well, it’s been a long day," Toby proclaimed as he stood up from the table. He looked pointedly at Chris and said, "I think we should be going up to our bedrooms."
"Oh, no! Not already?" cried Dr. Fiona. "Maybe you’d like more tea first?"
Chris shook his head. "No, he’s right. We should plan for an early start in the morning. We still need to get that spare tire from you, if you don’t mind."
Then Chris paused as he took Dr. Fiona’s hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "You’ve been so kind and helpful already. But if you could provide us with a few other supplies when we leave, we’d really appreciate it. If it’s not too much trouble."
In turn, the doctor patted Chris’s cheek with her free hand and said, "Like I mentioned before, baby, there are all kinds of things I can offer you."
Chris smiled, pushed back his chair, and stood up. "We’ll see you in the morning, then," he said with a slight bow of his head.
Dr. Fiona looked at him with a lascivious grin. "Not if I see you first," she replied.
Toby woke up with a start from a restless sleep. He had been dreaming about washing their laundry and had discovered that Chris’s gun was missing. He rolled over in bed and reached toward the nightstand, seeking to confirm that the gun was there where he'd left it.
Just as his fingertips brushed cold, hard metal, a prolonged flash of lightning revealed a strange man standing at the foot of his bed.
"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed Toby as he grabbed the gun and sat up.
The man looked at him with a pitiful, somber expression on his face. "No," he answered. "My name is Tim."
"How did you get in this room?" Toby asked. "I locked the door before I went to bed!"
Tim turned, looked at the bedroom door, and shrugged. "I can get into any room in this house," he answered. He slowly looked back at Toby. "It’s getting outside the house that's the problem."
"You must be one of Dr. Fiona's assistants," Toby said in a hopeful voice. His heart was racing, so he took some deep breaths to steady it. He lowered the gun but kept a tight grip on it. "Were you able to locate a spare tire? The doctor said that she would help us find one so that we could get back on the road."
Tim tilted his head and gave Toby a sad frown. "Dr. Fiona will not help you leave," he said mysteriously.
Toby felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"That was never her intention. She wants your boyfriend."
"My boyfriend?"
"Yes, the man with the tattoos."
Vaguely, Toby wondered how the man knew that he and Chris were lovers, and that Chris had tattoos.
"Well, thank you for your concern, but I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself."
Tim shook his head. "No, he can’t. He drank some of her tea."
Toby's heart started to beat faster. "What happens if you drink some of Dr. Fiona's tea?"
"Whatever Dr. Fiona wants."
Toby climbed out of bed and threw on his pants. This man was being infuriating, but he seemed to be trying to help.
"Look, Chris is sleeping in the room across the hall. I’ll just go check on him," said Toby. He quickly slid his shoes on. "I’ll make sure Dr. Fiona’s tea didn’t make him sick, or whatever."
"He’s not there."
Toby froze. "Yes, he is," he argued.
"No, he’s not. He’s gone. They came and got him."
"Who did?" Toby asked in alarm.
"Dr. Fiona and her assistants."
Toby stood and stared at the man, trying not to panic. "Why in the world would they do that?"
"Dr. Fiona needs him for her experiment," Tim explained. "They’ve taken him down to her laboratory."
"Experiment?" Toby gasped. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He wished he had trusted his instincts—he had known from the start that Dr. Fiona was crazy. They should have left the old house as soon as she had opened the door, spare tire or not.
Toby needed to find Chris and get the hell out of here. But he knew that he couldn’t do it alone. He frantically looked back at Tim.
"You got to help me find him—the sooner the better," Toby pleaded. He hurried to the bedroom door and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. He banged his shoulder against it and shook the doorknob, but his efforts were in vain.
"Looks like she sealed the door from the outside," Tim observed.
"But you got in!" Toby cried in confusion. "Can’t you get us out?"
Tim opened his mouth, then closed it again. He slowly walked over to door and tapped on it. In a conversational tone, he remarked, "Sean? He can’t get out."
After a moment, Toby heard some movement on the other side of the door. A loud, gruff voice called out, "Tell him to stand back!"
Tim pointed back toward the bed. "Go over there."
Toby did as he was told. Seconds later, a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the room, one that had nothing to do with storm outside. Instead, it came from an axe as it crashed into the wooden door to Toby’s bedroom. One blow after another ensued, until a sizable hole had formed in the center of the door.
Motioning for Toby to come back to the door, Tim remarked, "You might want to bring that gun."
Toby threw Chris's gun into the backpack and flung the bag over his shoulders. He raced back to the door but came to a sudden halt when he realized that his rescuer on the other side was dressed like a firefighter. He noted that the style of the uniform that the fireman was wearing was probably last seen during Great Depression.
Speechless, Toby stared at him for a moment before turning around to stare at Tim. Pieces were falling into place, but Toby’s brain wouldn’t allow him to see the picture.
Growing impatient, the fireman spoke up. "Well, are ya gonna go save him or not?" he asked. He waved his axe in front of the door and added, "Don’t tell me I broke through this door for nothin’."
Toby rubbed his hand over his face. He bent over and crawled through the opening in the door. Once on the other side, he took a moment to stand up straight and realized that Tim was already standing next to him.
"C’mon, let’s get going!" the fireman exclaimed. "We gotta job to do!" He took off like a flash down the hallway, heading toward the back staircase.
"Wait up, Sean!" yelled Tim, and then suddenly he was by the fireman’s side. Toby ran to catch up to them, desperately thinking of Chris and wondering what, exactly, Dr. Fiona intended to do with him.
Sean silently led the way while Tim brought up the rear. Together, the three of them crept through a labyrinth of dark hallways, rickety staircases, and secret chambers until Sean finally came to a stop in front of a small, half-door in the basement. The hatch was sunk deep into the wall, practically hidden from view.
"We need to enter the lab from here," he explained in a hushed voice. "Otherwise, they’ll see you walk in. Their hearing is terrible, but their eyesight is keen."
Sean quietly opened the door, got down on his hands and knees, and crawled through. He turned around and motioned for Toby to follow.
Repeating Sean’s actions, Toby cautiously crept through the door on his hands and knees. He slowly crawled into the nearby corner where Sean was waiting and sat up in its protective dark shadows. Then, looking into the room, Toby immediately froze in place while he experienced the sensation that the whole world was slipping away from him. He blinked several times and tried to assimilate what he saw in front of him.
At the center of the room, under a plethora of bright lights, was a large examining table. Two nude bodies, that of a man and a woman, were bound to the table with heavy metal brackets. The man was Chris.
As alarming as that sight was, however, it was no match for what Toby saw surrounding the table. For there stood several man-sized creatures that could only be extraterrestrial in nature. Each of them had four arms and a head with two giant orbs that appeared to function as eyes. Some of the unearthly beings hovered over the bodies on the table, while others operated nearby machinery.
Both Chris and the woman appeared to be in a semi-conscious state, but otherwise looked unharmed. However, the woman had an unusual device positioned over her pelvis, and one of the alien creatures appeared to be using it to either remove or replace something on the woman’s body.
Toby then shifted to one side and got a slightly different view of what was happening to Chris. Another kind of apparatus had been attached to his penis, and it was clearly being used to stimulate it. At the moment, Chris’s dick was fully erect, although Chris exhibited no awareness of his body’s arousal. As Toby sat there and watched, Chris suddenly ejaculated, and one of the creatures rushed forward to collect the fluid in a large metal bowl. It then carried the bowl over to one of machines and began shaking and stirring the contents.
"They’re trying to make a baby for Dr. Fiona," Toby whispered under his breath. Sean confirmed his conclusion with a nod of his head.
"That’s fucked up," Toby hissed. "Who’s the woman?"
"Her name’s Norma," replied Tim, who was now on the other side of Toby. "She and her husband showed up here a couple of weeks ago."
"Where’s her husband?"
"Gone," answered Sean with a shrug. "They determined that he couldn’t reproduce."
Toby watched the hustle and bustle of the creatures as they worked away. "How do we get rid of them?" he asked. "I can’t just start shooting at them."
"We need some kind of distraction, something that will make them want to leave," suggested Sean. "But they’re very focused when they’re working."
"I have an idea," said Tim.
Sean glanced at Tim over the top of Toby’s head. "What?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just watch." Tim stood up and walked out of the shadows and into the light of the laboratory’s work area. A couple of the creatures looked at him.
"Fire!" Tim yelled. He began waving his arms.
A third creature looked up at him from the examining table. "Fire!" Tim repeated.
Then Tim’s physical form began to expand. As he grew larger and larger, his earthly presence gradually transformed into a spiritual one.
"Fire! ….. Fire!" he cried out in loud moans.
All the creatures looked at one another, and then they turned back to their work. They ignored Tim as he continued to cry out and wave his arms.
Back in the corner, Sean slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, Tim," he mumbled with a shake of his head. He looked back at Toby and said, "He tries so hard, ya know?"
Slowly, Sean stood up. He slid along the back wall until he was behind a section of machines. He raised his axe up high in the air and swung it down into a machine’s electrical wiring and circuits. As he broke through, sparks began to fly, attracting the creatures’ attention. They put aside their instruments and tools and bowls and started moving toward him.
Sean continued on to the next machine and repeated the damage, causing more sparks. Before the aliens could reach him, the sparks had found a fuel source. A true fire broke out and quickly grew.
As Tim continued to cry out "Fire! Fire!", the creatures turned and retreated to the center of the lab. They frantically gestured to one another in a crude form of communication until the flames spread in their direction. Then, en masse, they scurried to the double doors of the laboratory’s main entrance, flung them open, and left the room.
Toby rushed to the examining table. He quickly unfastened the metal brackets restraining Chris and Norma and removed the devices from their bodies. Sean slung Norma over his shoulders in a firefighter’s lift, while Toby did the same with Chris. Together, they left the room using the same wide exit as the mysterious creatures.
The sound of Dr. Fiona’s shrieks from the floor above caused them to stop in their tracks. Next, they heard a flurry of activity and footsteps heading in their direction.
"Circle around the back way!" Tim shouted at them. "I’ll divert their attention!"
Sean turned and ran in the opposite direction, and Toby followed. After taking a few sharp turns, they reached the same back stairway that they had used to come down to the basement. Taking the steps two at a time, they quickly reached the main floor of the mansion. Sean led Toby to the rear of the house and into the kitchen, where Dr. Fiona had shared her tea and cake with Chris just a few hours ago.
Together, they laid the semi-conscious Chris and Norma down on the floor as gently as possible. Sean took off his firefighter’s coat and tenderly placed it around Norma’s naked body. Toby retrieved the remains of Chris’s damp clothes from earlier in the night out of his backpack. He shook Chris by the shoulders, trying to get him out of his dream-like state.
"Chris!" he hissed. "You need to get dressed before Dr. Fiona comes back. We need to get out of here!"
Chris smiled lazily. "Aw, Tobe, ya like it when I’m naked," he mumbled. "Why don’t you get naked, too?"
"Ugh!" grunted Toby in exasperation. "Not now." He began dressing Chris himself—pulling his shirt over his head, pushing his pants up each leg.
Toby stole a glance at Norma, and could see that Sean was leaning over her, gently patting her face. She was gradually coming to her senses as well.
"Where’s my Agamemnon?" she asked groggily.
Toby looked at Sean and raised his eyebrow inquisitively. "Her husband," Sean whispered to him.
"Where is he?" Norma repeated. Neither of them answered her.
Suddenly, they heard two very distinct sounds. One was the rapid staccato of Dr. Fiona’s heels running across the mansion’s hardwood flooring. Apparently, Dr. Fiona and her assistants had been able to control the fire in the basement, and now she was intent on finding out where her subjects had escaped to. But the second sound was the more curious of the two, for the wail of sirens could be heard in the distance, quickly growing louder as they drew closer to the house.
Toby’s sense of urgency and panic escalated. He wasn’t sure which of the two sounds was the more troubling.
"Look," he whispered to Sean. "I just want to take Chris and get out of here. Do you know if there is any kind of spare tire around here? Anything that could help us get our car on the road again?"
Sean stood back up and scratched his head. "Why don’t you just take Dr. Fiona’s car?"
"Dr. Fiona has a car?" Toby asked in surprise. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," nodded Sean. Tilting his head, he added, "And I don’t think she’s gonna need it where she’s goin’."
Toby realized that the screaming sirens were now drowning out any sound of Dr. Fiona's pursuit. The sirens were much louder than before, as if several emergency vehicles were parked right outside the house. He prayed that the distraction outside had forced the doctor to give up on her search for her subjects.
"Dr. Fiona’s car is in a garage at the back of the property. The driveway will lead you out to one of the private back roads," Sean described. "Now, if I could just remember where the keys are… "
"They're hanging on a hook under the sink," said a breathless voice above them.
Toby and Sean looked up into the face of a beaming Tim.
"Hey, where ya been?" asked Sean, while Toby made a beeline toward the sink.
"Outside!" Tim exclaimed. "And I have great news—Norma’s husband is okay! Apparently, he escaped, and now he's brought the cops back with him!"
"My Agamemnon is all right?" Norma mumbled with a smile. "He's here?"
"Wait, you were outside?" asked Sean. "How'd you get out of the house?"
"I don't know. It just happened," Tim declared. He reached over and grasped Sean's hand. "I think it might've had something to do with us finally rescuing someone. I think we can move on now."
Toby heard the sound of doors opening and closing, the shouts of the cops, and the screams of Dr. Fiona. He grabbed Chris by the arm and pulled him up.
"We're going to go now," he whispered urgently. "Thanks for all your help."
"Hey, it was our pleasure," Sean responded with a wink. He slid an arm across Tim's shoulders. "It’s nice to see true love prevail in the end."
Toby managed a small smile before he whisked Chris out the back entrance. They headed toward the garage where Dr. Fiona's car waited.
Toby got Chris settled into the passenger seat, then hurried to get behind the wheel. Chris was already half-asleep again.
Miraculously, the car started right up. Toby slowly but steadily drove the car out of the garage and down the steep driveway, heading toward the road that abutted the rear of the estate. Before turning onto the road, he glanced in the rearview mirror and momentarily froze at the sight of what appeared to be a large spacecraft hovering over the top of old mansion.
Toby shook his head and pulled out. He wasn't going to look back again.
By sunrise, the storm had died down—the heavy rain had turned to a drizzle, while the strong winds had become a light breeze.
Chris gradually began to stir until, eventually, he was fully awake. He sat there and stared at Toby for a long time, not saying a word.
Toby spoke first. "About two more hours until we get to the border," he remarked.
"How you doin’, Toby?" Chris quietly asked.
"Me? I’m fine," Toby answered, a little too quickly, in a voice that was a little too high. He cleared his throat. "Apparently, I had one hell of a PCP flashback, though."
Chris continued to stare at him. After a few minutes, he asked, "Do you wanna explain how you got this car?"
Toby’s fingers gripped the steering wheel. "No," he answered curtly.
"All right," said Chris slowly. After a moment, he observed, "Ya know, it kinda smells like your dad’s cologne in here."
Toby snorted. "I was thinking it smelled like a whorehouse," he countered.
"Well, either way, it turns me on," Chris said. After a pause, he added, "Ya know, Tobe, I think you’re one sexy motherfucker."
"Well, that’s a relief."
"Speaking of relief, Toby… I could use some right about now." Chris reached over and slid his hand between Toby's thighs.
Toby smiled. He could use some relief of his own. He tried to remember how much farther it was to the next rest area.
THE END
Pairings/Main Characters: Tobias Beecher/Chris Keller, Fiona Zonioni, Tim McManus/Sean Murphy (pairing implied)
Rating: PG-13 (mild sexual situations)
Length: 6,469 words
Creature Prompt: Mad Scientist (with secondary appearances from Ghosts and Aliens)
Summary: When Toby and Chris experience car trouble, they head up the road to an old mansion to ask for help. Oddly, the person they encounter there seems to be unusually happy to meet Chris.
Notes: In Oz canon, the character of Fiona is a pre-op transexual, so I refer to her in the feminine sense accordingly. Portions of this story were loosely inspired by the movie "The Rocky Horror Picture Show," and a few lyrics from the song "Sweet Transvestite" were used as dialogue (credit to songwriter Richard O'Brien). Written for the 2015 Spook Me Multi-Fandom Halloween Ficathon. The artwork prompt used for the story is included within the text.
_____________________________
A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the winding road before them.
"It was a dark and stormy night… " Chris quietly mumbled. He cranked the metal handle on the passenger-side door, and the car window slowly crept up.
Toby’s eyes briefly left the road as he glanced at Chris. "You’re a fan of 'Paul Clifford'?" he asked in surprise.
Chris furrowed his brow and turned to look at Toby. "No," he answered. "Snoopy."
Toby’s derisive snort was masked by a deafening crack of thunder, and he returned his full attention to the road. The two of them rode in silence as the strength of the wind increased and rain began to fall.
Toby tensed and sat up straight. He couldn’t see a goddamn thing.
Keeping a firm grip on the steering wheel with one hand, he fumbled around with the other until he found the knob for the windshield wipers. He turned them on full speed, but the dilapidated rubber blades just smeared the rain, forming an opaque layer directly in his line of vision.
"That didn’t really seem to help," Chris remarked casually.
Toby huffed. "It probably wouldn’t matter so much if you had found us a car with more than one working headlight," he snapped. Toby shifted in his seat, trying to find an angle with better visibility. "Preferably one built within the last half-century," he added through clenched teeth.
"Beggars can’t be choosers, Tobe," Chris calmly reminded him. "Given our situation, I didn’t think it was in our best interests to spend a lot of time shoppin’ around."
"Shopping? Is that what you’re calling it? I imagine the cops will have another name for it."
Chris finally aimed a cold glare at Toby. "Maybe you’d rather be walkin’ out there in the woods right now," he suggested. "In which case, feel free to pull over and get out. I’ll take the car from here."
Toby didn’t respond to that. Instead, he continued to cautiously drive along the narrow road, slowing down for every twist and turn, as the rain and wind and thunder and lightning seemed to close in around them.
Finally, Toby quietly said, "I’ve seen the way you drive. I’m not gonna let you kill yourself."
Chris smiled in the darkness. He reached over and gently squeezed Toby’s thigh.
At that moment, a muffled sound exploded from the rear of the car, and Toby lost all control of it. Before he knew what was happening, the car had spun around in a full circle on the rain-slicked road. Toby frantically pumped the brakes as the car proceeded to careen down into a shallow ditch and back out again. The car finally responded by coming to an abrupt stop on the shoulder of the road, inches away from a massive oak tree.
The two of them sat there motionless, staring out at the rain as it pelted the windshield, while they waited for their senses to return. Eventually, Toby let go of the wheel and turned the car off. Slowly, they turned to look at each other.
Chris cleared his throat. "I think a tire blew out."
Toby raised an eyebrow. "You think?" he retorted sarcastically.
Chris gingerly rubbed the back of his neck. "I hate to bring this up, but… " He hesitated before continuing.
"There’s no chance in hell that there’s a spare tire back there," finished Toby.
"Yeah."
Another flash of lightning appeared, and somewhere nearby a tree came crashing down with a loud crack and a thud.
Toby wrapped his arms around the steering wheel and leaned forward to rest his head on them. He slowly began to shake his head from side to side.
"Listen, Tobe," Chris whispered soothingly. "Less’n a mile back, we passed a big ol’ house on a hill. I’m sure I saw lights on inside. All we gotta do is walk back there and ask for help. Maybe they’ll have a spare tire that’ll work. They’re bound to have somethin’."
"Do you really think that’s a smart plan?" mumbled Toby through his arms. Moving his head slightly, he peered at Chris out of the corner of his eye. "What if they’re suspicious of us, of who we are?"
Chris reached down to the floor of the car and grabbed the handgun lying at his feet. He sat back up and tucked the gun inside his jacket pocket. "Then we’ll just have to change the plan accordingly," he proposed.
Toby groaned and looked away. But when Chris stepped out of the car, he followed.
Bracing himself against the elements, Toby quickly opened the trunk of the old car to retrieve the backpack that contained all their worldly possessions. Chris helped Toby slide the bulky bag over his shoulders before he slammed the trunk lid down again.
They turned around and faced the full impact of the blustery storm. Keeping close to one another, they began walking back up the road in the direction of the old mansion.
*~*~*~*
Toby and Chris were both soaked to the bone by the time they reached the house. A tall, black, wrought-iron fence surrounded the estate's property. They found the gate, but it was secured shut with a heavy lock and chain. A hand-made sign that read "Keep Out!" emphasized the point.
"This isn’t encouraging!" yelled Toby over the roar of the wind and rain.
Chris just shrugged. He looked around and took note of all the debris that had already come down in the storm. He spotted a decent-sized tree branch lying nearby, picked it up, and proceeded to swing it repeatedly against the gate until the lock fell to the ground in pieces.
Chris pushed the gate open and motioned for Toby to walk through it.
Toby turned and faced Chris as he passed by. "That’s not going to make a great first impression!" he shouted.
Chris gave no response as he took Toby by the arm. He pulled Toby up the long path to mansion’s front entrance. Together, they climbed up the steps to the front door, and Chris pressed the button for the doorbell.
They didn’t have to wait long.
The door slowly opened, and the person who stood before them took their breath away. Chris and Toby stood on the threshold, speechless, while the house’s proprietor looked at them curiously and studied each of them from head to toe.
Suddenly, both Toby and Chris were wordlessly grabbed by an arm and pulled inside the mansion’s foyer. The door was quickly closed and locked behind them. The illumination provided by the interior lighting now gave them a better idea of who exactly they were dealing with.
Their new acquaintance possessed definite masculine features, but was heavily made up to look like a woman. Dressed in an outfit consisting of a leather bustier, black silk underwear, long fishnet stockings held up by lacy garter belts, and red stilettos heels, this person emanated an enormous amount sex appeal regardless of gender identity.
"Well, hell-oooo. I am Dr. Frank N. Fiona," purred their potential savior.
Chris and Toby glanced at each other. Chris choked out, "Doctor?"
"Yes, doctor. I am a research scientist," explained Dr. Frank N. Fiona with a smile. "This house is both my home and my laboratory." The doctor paused to adjust the height of a stocking. "And, in case you’re wondering, I am also a transvestite from Transexual, Transylvania."
"What?" blurted Toby.
"That’s just a little joke, honey," the doctor replied with a wink.
Chris tilted his head. "Do you like to be called Frank, or Fiona?" he asked cautiously.
"Oh, sweetie, I’ll respond to anything you call me." A long red fingernail ran down the length of Chris’s dripping jacket. "But I do generally prefer to be known in the feminine sense."
Toby’s fears and worries began to fade away as his emotions turned to jealousy and annoyance. "We’ll call you Dr. Fiona," he stated firmly. "Unfortunately, our car got a flat tire about a mile down the road. We were hoping that you might be able to help us out."
"So, you got caught with flat? How 'bout that?" the doctor hummed cheerfully.
"Yes," confirmed Toby impatiently. "And we’d like to get back on the road as quickly as possible. We don’t want to bother calling anyone for help in this storm. Do you have any spare tires that we could use?"
"Well, babies, don’t you panic. I can definitely offer you something," Dr. Fiona murmured. She returned her attention to Chris, and they shared a meaningful look. "But this storm is ferocious. Why don't you stay for the night? Or maybe a bite?"
Chris grinned and glanced over at Toby. "Dr. Fiona makes a lot of sense. Why don’t we stay here tonight, grab a bite to eat, and see if things blow over?"
Chris turned back, catching Dr. Fiona’s eye, and added, "So to speak."
Toby glared at Chris. "That isn’t part of our plan," he stated emphatically.
"Yeah, well, plans change."
"It’s settled then!" cried Dr. Fiona with a clap of her hands. "I think getting the two of you out of these wet clothes should be our first priority. Let me get a lab coat for each of you to wear, and I’ll start drying your clothes."
Dr. Fiona playfully tugged away at Chris’s jacket, not stopping until it had come off completely. "Maybe we can all sit down together and chat," she suggested. "Have some hot tea and honeycakes. Oh, we’ll have a gay old time!"
Dr. Fiona gave a throaty laugh and raised an eyebrow at Chris. "So to speak," she added with a wink.
Toby grabbed Chris’s jacket out of the doctor’s hands, conscious of the gun in the pocket.
"Thank you for the offer," Toby said, "but your lab coats won't be necessary—we both have an extra set of clothes with us." Toby removed the bag from his back and lowered it to the floor. "Is there someplace private where we could change?"
"He’s shy about other people seeing him naked," Chris told Dr. Fiona in a stage whisper.
The doctor giggled in response. She led the two men to a back staircase that took them up to a deserted section of the house. She turned and began walking down a narrow hallway with several doorways, one after another.
"Many years ago, this wing used to house the staff's quarters," she explained with the wave of a hand. "The bedrooms are tiny, but they will adequately serve their purpose for the night."
Dr. Fiona pointed Chris in the direction of one room, and Toby in another. Addressing Chris, she commented, "I apologize for the twin-sized bed. I'll bet you're used to a big, soft mattress to rest that hard, bulky body of yours."
"Oh, you have no idea," Chris replied with a smirk.
Dr. Fiona repeatedly tapped a finger against her cheek, appearing lost in thought.
"Well, I'll leave the two of you to change while I get the tea brewing," she finally declared. "I'll meet you in a few minutes back at the bottom of the stairs." Then she turned and gracefully strutted back down the hallway.
When the doctor was out of sight, Toby grabbed Chris and pulled him into his room. He slammed the door shut behind them.
"What the hell is going on between you two?" he huffed. "You wanna fuck her, or do you wanna get back on the road again?"
Chris shook his head. "You’re lookin’ at this all wrong," he replied calmly as he stripped down to his underwear. "Can’t you see that I got this doctor wrapped around my little finger?"
Toby dropped their backpack on the bed and threw Chris’s jacket and gun onto the tiny nightstand. "I don't think it's your little finger that she wants to wrap herself around," he muttered.
"Relax, Tobe," Chris said. "If I play our cards right, we'll be leavin' here tomorrow morning with a whole lot more than just a spare tire." Chris unzipped the backpack and began pulling out clothes. "And I don't need your jealousy gettin' in the way of that."
"Jealousy isn’t the issue here! At least one of us needs to be thinking with his head, and not his dick! There’s something strange about this place, and I say the sooner we get out of here, the better."
Chris tossed the clothes onto the floor and walked closer to Toby. He cupped the back of Toby’s neck in his hand and pulled his face close.
"I’m always thinking with my dick when you’re around, Toby," Chris declared before placing a firm kiss on his lips. He grabbed Toby’s hand and placed it over his thickening cock. "Trust me. Things have worked out okay so far, haven’t they?"
Chris began to massage the back of Toby's neck. "Just remember I love you, and it'll be all right," he murmured into his ear.
Toby reflexively sighed in comfort. Mirroring Chris’s rhythm, he gently stroked Chris’s cock before slowly falling to his knees in front of him. All his thoughts about the storm, the flat tire, and the strange doctor were temporarily forgotten as he let Chris’s strong hands guide him in the right direction.
*~*~*~*
An irritated Dr. Fiona stood at the bottom of the stairs and impatiently wondered what was taking them so long. Her special blend of tea was going to get cold.
*~*~*~*
As the storm continued to rage outside, Chris and Dr. Fiona chatted away at the kitchen table, drinking tea and eating cake. Toby had impulsively declined the doctor’s offer of refreshments, as the only thing he really wanted at the moment was a nice, dry martini. So, he simply sat there, observing the two of them, and tried to politely hold his tongue.
But Toby grew tired of hearing Dr. Fiona’s running commentary concerning Chris and her appreciation of his various body parts. He decided that a change in the topic of conversation was necessary.
"So, doctor, exactly what kind of research do you do here?" he asked.
Dr. Fiona slowly turned and looked at him. Toby got the vague impression that she had forgotten he was there.
"The human reproductive system," the doctor answered with a smile.
Chris started choking on a bite of cake and quickly took a sip of his tea.
Dr. Fiona looked back at him in concern. "You alright, honey?"
Chris gave a little wave of his hand in the direction of his throat. "Went down the wrong pipe," he coughed.
Dr. Fiona gently patted his arm. "Oh, I can help rinse out your pipes," she commented with a grin. Then she poured more tea into his cup.
Toby narrowed his eyes. "That's an ironic field of study," he said curtly, "considering your personal situation."
Dr. Fiona slowly put the teapot down and gazed intently at the tabletop. After a moment, she said, "There is nothing I would love more than to have a child of my own." She sighed and her dark eyes welled with tears. Softly, she said, "My interest in researching alternative methods of human conception was fueled by just such a desire."
Dr. Fiona wiped her eyes, taking care not to smudge her mascara and eyeliner. Suddenly, Toby felt like shit.
After collecting herself, the doctor said, "You know, there’s a reason why I chose to do my research here, in this old house." She spread her arms wide. "There is an aura of innocent desperation here that is unimaginable, and I feed off of it."
Staring off into the distance, the doctor’s voice took on an ethereal tone as she began to regale them with a story from the mansion's history:
"You see, many years ago, this place used to be an orphanage, housing beautiful, unwanted children who had no parents to love them. The building was twice the size that is now, and many children of all ages lived here, waiting to be adopted.
"But in 1932, late one night, something terrible happened. It was Halloween, and some of the children were feeling a little mischievous. They decided to play a few harmless pranks. Some of them, in their zeal for unsupervised fun, snuck up to the bedroom of the orphanage’s director and barricaded his door.
"Unfortunately, one of their pranks led to some carelessness with a burning jack-o-lantern. That carelessness resulted in a fire in the orphanage's main hall. With no adult presence to help or instruct the poor children, pandemonium broke out. Their feeble attempts to put out the fire were futile, and it quickly grew and spread to other parts of the building.
"The children began fleeing into the darkness outside. Eventually, their cries and the flames alerted a passerby, and the fire department was summoned. Miraculously, all of the children managed to escape the building before the burning section of the orphanage collapsed completely.
"But Mr. McManus, the director who had been barricaded in his bedroom, died there in the flames before he could be rescued. A lone, brave fireman, who had heroically broken through the barricade to reach the doomed director, perished there as well. They say that he died clutching McManus with one hand and his axe with the other.
"They closed the orphanage, and the children were all sent elsewhere, scattered like ashes to other facilities in the state. Eventually, someone bought this land and the remaining portion of the house, and it was converted into a private residence.
"However, as beautiful as this place is now, there has been a lot of turnover in its ownership. There have been reports from previous residents that the spirits of Mr. McManus and the fireman haunt the house. The two of them have been seen roaming through the hallways at night, looking for their way out of the building. On other nights, the director's voice has been heard repeatedly screaming, 'Fire! Fire!' while the crack of an axe echoes in between."
A loud crack of thunder caused Chris and Toby to jump, and it brought Dr. Fiona out of her trance-like state. She glanced at them in surprise, seemingly unaware that they had been sitting there, breathlessly, hanging onto her every word.
"Of course, that last part is just a silly ghost story," she said with a high-pitched laugh. "I've never seen or heard anything of that nature in all the time I've been here, and neither have any of my assistants."
"Assistants?" asked Chris. "You have assistants?"
"Of course, sweetie! I certainly can’t do my research all by myself!" answered the doctor. "They are very dedicated to me, and they spend all their time in the basement where my lab is located. They surface for a bit of fresh air occasionally, but I doubt that you’ll see any of them."
Toby felt slightly better at the news that there were other inhabitants of the house, and he hoped that they would be able to assist them in their exit when the time came. He was developing a sneaking suspicion that Dr. Fiona might not want Chris to leave in the morning. Toby needed to break the connection between the two of them before the doctor got the wrong idea.
"Well, it’s been a long day," Toby proclaimed as he stood up from the table. He looked pointedly at Chris and said, "I think we should be going up to our bedrooms."
"Oh, no! Not already?" cried Dr. Fiona. "Maybe you’d like more tea first?"
Chris shook his head. "No, he’s right. We should plan for an early start in the morning. We still need to get that spare tire from you, if you don’t mind."
Then Chris paused as he took Dr. Fiona’s hand and looked deeply into her eyes. "You’ve been so kind and helpful already. But if you could provide us with a few other supplies when we leave, we’d really appreciate it. If it’s not too much trouble."
In turn, the doctor patted Chris’s cheek with her free hand and said, "Like I mentioned before, baby, there are all kinds of things I can offer you."
Chris smiled, pushed back his chair, and stood up. "We’ll see you in the morning, then," he said with a slight bow of his head.
Dr. Fiona looked at him with a lascivious grin. "Not if I see you first," she replied.
*~*~*~*
Toby woke up with a start from a restless sleep. He had been dreaming about washing their laundry and had discovered that Chris’s gun was missing. He rolled over in bed and reached toward the nightstand, seeking to confirm that the gun was there where he'd left it.
Just as his fingertips brushed cold, hard metal, a prolonged flash of lightning revealed a strange man standing at the foot of his bed.
"Jesus Christ!" exclaimed Toby as he grabbed the gun and sat up.
The man looked at him with a pitiful, somber expression on his face. "No," he answered. "My name is Tim."
"How did you get in this room?" Toby asked. "I locked the door before I went to bed!"
Tim turned, looked at the bedroom door, and shrugged. "I can get into any room in this house," he answered. He slowly looked back at Toby. "It’s getting outside the house that's the problem."
"You must be one of Dr. Fiona's assistants," Toby said in a hopeful voice. His heart was racing, so he took some deep breaths to steady it. He lowered the gun but kept a tight grip on it. "Were you able to locate a spare tire? The doctor said that she would help us find one so that we could get back on the road."
Tim tilted his head and gave Toby a sad frown. "Dr. Fiona will not help you leave," he said mysteriously.
Toby felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead. "What do you mean?" he asked.
"That was never her intention. She wants your boyfriend."
"My boyfriend?"
"Yes, the man with the tattoos."
Vaguely, Toby wondered how the man knew that he and Chris were lovers, and that Chris had tattoos.
"Well, thank you for your concern, but I'm pretty sure he can take care of himself."
Tim shook his head. "No, he can’t. He drank some of her tea."
Toby's heart started to beat faster. "What happens if you drink some of Dr. Fiona's tea?"
"Whatever Dr. Fiona wants."
Toby climbed out of bed and threw on his pants. This man was being infuriating, but he seemed to be trying to help.
"Look, Chris is sleeping in the room across the hall. I’ll just go check on him," said Toby. He quickly slid his shoes on. "I’ll make sure Dr. Fiona’s tea didn’t make him sick, or whatever."
"He’s not there."
Toby froze. "Yes, he is," he argued.
"No, he’s not. He’s gone. They came and got him."
"Who did?" Toby asked in alarm.
"Dr. Fiona and her assistants."
Toby stood and stared at the man, trying not to panic. "Why in the world would they do that?"
"Dr. Fiona needs him for her experiment," Tim explained. "They’ve taken him down to her laboratory."
"Experiment?" Toby gasped. He shook his head and ran his fingers through his hair. He wished he had trusted his instincts—he had known from the start that Dr. Fiona was crazy. They should have left the old house as soon as she had opened the door, spare tire or not.
Toby needed to find Chris and get the hell out of here. But he knew that he couldn’t do it alone. He frantically looked back at Tim.
"You got to help me find him—the sooner the better," Toby pleaded. He hurried to the bedroom door and tried to open it, but it wouldn’t budge. He banged his shoulder against it and shook the doorknob, but his efforts were in vain.
"Looks like she sealed the door from the outside," Tim observed.
"But you got in!" Toby cried in confusion. "Can’t you get us out?"
Tim opened his mouth, then closed it again. He slowly walked over to door and tapped on it. In a conversational tone, he remarked, "Sean? He can’t get out."
After a moment, Toby heard some movement on the other side of the door. A loud, gruff voice called out, "Tell him to stand back!"
Tim pointed back toward the bed. "Go over there."
Toby did as he was told. Seconds later, a loud cracking sound echoed throughout the room, one that had nothing to do with storm outside. Instead, it came from an axe as it crashed into the wooden door to Toby’s bedroom. One blow after another ensued, until a sizable hole had formed in the center of the door.
Motioning for Toby to come back to the door, Tim remarked, "You might want to bring that gun."
Toby threw Chris's gun into the backpack and flung the bag over his shoulders. He raced back to the door but came to a sudden halt when he realized that his rescuer on the other side was dressed like a firefighter. He noted that the style of the uniform that the fireman was wearing was probably last seen during Great Depression.
Speechless, Toby stared at him for a moment before turning around to stare at Tim. Pieces were falling into place, but Toby’s brain wouldn’t allow him to see the picture.
Growing impatient, the fireman spoke up. "Well, are ya gonna go save him or not?" he asked. He waved his axe in front of the door and added, "Don’t tell me I broke through this door for nothin’."
Toby rubbed his hand over his face. He bent over and crawled through the opening in the door. Once on the other side, he took a moment to stand up straight and realized that Tim was already standing next to him.
"C’mon, let’s get going!" the fireman exclaimed. "We gotta job to do!" He took off like a flash down the hallway, heading toward the back staircase.
"Wait up, Sean!" yelled Tim, and then suddenly he was by the fireman’s side. Toby ran to catch up to them, desperately thinking of Chris and wondering what, exactly, Dr. Fiona intended to do with him.
*~*~*~*
Sean silently led the way while Tim brought up the rear. Together, the three of them crept through a labyrinth of dark hallways, rickety staircases, and secret chambers until Sean finally came to a stop in front of a small, half-door in the basement. The hatch was sunk deep into the wall, practically hidden from view.
"We need to enter the lab from here," he explained in a hushed voice. "Otherwise, they’ll see you walk in. Their hearing is terrible, but their eyesight is keen."
Sean quietly opened the door, got down on his hands and knees, and crawled through. He turned around and motioned for Toby to follow.
Repeating Sean’s actions, Toby cautiously crept through the door on his hands and knees. He slowly crawled into the nearby corner where Sean was waiting and sat up in its protective dark shadows. Then, looking into the room, Toby immediately froze in place while he experienced the sensation that the whole world was slipping away from him. He blinked several times and tried to assimilate what he saw in front of him.
At the center of the room, under a plethora of bright lights, was a large examining table. Two nude bodies, that of a man and a woman, were bound to the table with heavy metal brackets. The man was Chris.
As alarming as that sight was, however, it was no match for what Toby saw surrounding the table. For there stood several man-sized creatures that could only be extraterrestrial in nature. Each of them had four arms and a head with two giant orbs that appeared to function as eyes. Some of the unearthly beings hovered over the bodies on the table, while others operated nearby machinery.
(artwork by Frank R. Paul)
Both Chris and the woman appeared to be in a semi-conscious state, but otherwise looked unharmed. However, the woman had an unusual device positioned over her pelvis, and one of the alien creatures appeared to be using it to either remove or replace something on the woman’s body.
Toby then shifted to one side and got a slightly different view of what was happening to Chris. Another kind of apparatus had been attached to his penis, and it was clearly being used to stimulate it. At the moment, Chris’s dick was fully erect, although Chris exhibited no awareness of his body’s arousal. As Toby sat there and watched, Chris suddenly ejaculated, and one of the creatures rushed forward to collect the fluid in a large metal bowl. It then carried the bowl over to one of machines and began shaking and stirring the contents.
"They’re trying to make a baby for Dr. Fiona," Toby whispered under his breath. Sean confirmed his conclusion with a nod of his head.
"That’s fucked up," Toby hissed. "Who’s the woman?"
"Her name’s Norma," replied Tim, who was now on the other side of Toby. "She and her husband showed up here a couple of weeks ago."
"Where’s her husband?"
"Gone," answered Sean with a shrug. "They determined that he couldn’t reproduce."
Toby watched the hustle and bustle of the creatures as they worked away. "How do we get rid of them?" he asked. "I can’t just start shooting at them."
"We need some kind of distraction, something that will make them want to leave," suggested Sean. "But they’re very focused when they’re working."
"I have an idea," said Tim.
Sean glanced at Tim over the top of Toby’s head. "What?" he asked suspiciously.
"Just watch." Tim stood up and walked out of the shadows and into the light of the laboratory’s work area. A couple of the creatures looked at him.
"Fire!" Tim yelled. He began waving his arms.
A third creature looked up at him from the examining table. "Fire!" Tim repeated.
Then Tim’s physical form began to expand. As he grew larger and larger, his earthly presence gradually transformed into a spiritual one.
"Fire! ….. Fire!" he cried out in loud moans.
All the creatures looked at one another, and then they turned back to their work. They ignored Tim as he continued to cry out and wave his arms.
Back in the corner, Sean slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Oh, Tim," he mumbled with a shake of his head. He looked back at Toby and said, "He tries so hard, ya know?"
Slowly, Sean stood up. He slid along the back wall until he was behind a section of machines. He raised his axe up high in the air and swung it down into a machine’s electrical wiring and circuits. As he broke through, sparks began to fly, attracting the creatures’ attention. They put aside their instruments and tools and bowls and started moving toward him.
Sean continued on to the next machine and repeated the damage, causing more sparks. Before the aliens could reach him, the sparks had found a fuel source. A true fire broke out and quickly grew.
As Tim continued to cry out "Fire! Fire!", the creatures turned and retreated to the center of the lab. They frantically gestured to one another in a crude form of communication until the flames spread in their direction. Then, en masse, they scurried to the double doors of the laboratory’s main entrance, flung them open, and left the room.
Toby rushed to the examining table. He quickly unfastened the metal brackets restraining Chris and Norma and removed the devices from their bodies. Sean slung Norma over his shoulders in a firefighter’s lift, while Toby did the same with Chris. Together, they left the room using the same wide exit as the mysterious creatures.
The sound of Dr. Fiona’s shrieks from the floor above caused them to stop in their tracks. Next, they heard a flurry of activity and footsteps heading in their direction.
"Circle around the back way!" Tim shouted at them. "I’ll divert their attention!"
Sean turned and ran in the opposite direction, and Toby followed. After taking a few sharp turns, they reached the same back stairway that they had used to come down to the basement. Taking the steps two at a time, they quickly reached the main floor of the mansion. Sean led Toby to the rear of the house and into the kitchen, where Dr. Fiona had shared her tea and cake with Chris just a few hours ago.
Together, they laid the semi-conscious Chris and Norma down on the floor as gently as possible. Sean took off his firefighter’s coat and tenderly placed it around Norma’s naked body. Toby retrieved the remains of Chris’s damp clothes from earlier in the night out of his backpack. He shook Chris by the shoulders, trying to get him out of his dream-like state.
"Chris!" he hissed. "You need to get dressed before Dr. Fiona comes back. We need to get out of here!"
Chris smiled lazily. "Aw, Tobe, ya like it when I’m naked," he mumbled. "Why don’t you get naked, too?"
"Ugh!" grunted Toby in exasperation. "Not now." He began dressing Chris himself—pulling his shirt over his head, pushing his pants up each leg.
Toby stole a glance at Norma, and could see that Sean was leaning over her, gently patting her face. She was gradually coming to her senses as well.
"Where’s my Agamemnon?" she asked groggily.
Toby looked at Sean and raised his eyebrow inquisitively. "Her husband," Sean whispered to him.
"Where is he?" Norma repeated. Neither of them answered her.
Suddenly, they heard two very distinct sounds. One was the rapid staccato of Dr. Fiona’s heels running across the mansion’s hardwood flooring. Apparently, Dr. Fiona and her assistants had been able to control the fire in the basement, and now she was intent on finding out where her subjects had escaped to. But the second sound was the more curious of the two, for the wail of sirens could be heard in the distance, quickly growing louder as they drew closer to the house.
Toby’s sense of urgency and panic escalated. He wasn’t sure which of the two sounds was the more troubling.
"Look," he whispered to Sean. "I just want to take Chris and get out of here. Do you know if there is any kind of spare tire around here? Anything that could help us get our car on the road again?"
Sean stood back up and scratched his head. "Why don’t you just take Dr. Fiona’s car?"
"Dr. Fiona has a car?" Toby asked in surprise. "Are you serious?"
"Yeah," nodded Sean. Tilting his head, he added, "And I don’t think she’s gonna need it where she’s goin’."
Toby realized that the screaming sirens were now drowning out any sound of Dr. Fiona's pursuit. The sirens were much louder than before, as if several emergency vehicles were parked right outside the house. He prayed that the distraction outside had forced the doctor to give up on her search for her subjects.
"Dr. Fiona’s car is in a garage at the back of the property. The driveway will lead you out to one of the private back roads," Sean described. "Now, if I could just remember where the keys are… "
"They're hanging on a hook under the sink," said a breathless voice above them.
Toby and Sean looked up into the face of a beaming Tim.
"Hey, where ya been?" asked Sean, while Toby made a beeline toward the sink.
"Outside!" Tim exclaimed. "And I have great news—Norma’s husband is okay! Apparently, he escaped, and now he's brought the cops back with him!"
"My Agamemnon is all right?" Norma mumbled with a smile. "He's here?"
"Wait, you were outside?" asked Sean. "How'd you get out of the house?"
"I don't know. It just happened," Tim declared. He reached over and grasped Sean's hand. "I think it might've had something to do with us finally rescuing someone. I think we can move on now."
Toby heard the sound of doors opening and closing, the shouts of the cops, and the screams of Dr. Fiona. He grabbed Chris by the arm and pulled him up.
"We're going to go now," he whispered urgently. "Thanks for all your help."
"Hey, it was our pleasure," Sean responded with a wink. He slid an arm across Tim's shoulders. "It’s nice to see true love prevail in the end."
Toby managed a small smile before he whisked Chris out the back entrance. They headed toward the garage where Dr. Fiona's car waited.
*~*~*~*
Toby got Chris settled into the passenger seat, then hurried to get behind the wheel. Chris was already half-asleep again.
Miraculously, the car started right up. Toby slowly but steadily drove the car out of the garage and down the steep driveway, heading toward the road that abutted the rear of the estate. Before turning onto the road, he glanced in the rearview mirror and momentarily froze at the sight of what appeared to be a large spacecraft hovering over the top of old mansion.
Toby shook his head and pulled out. He wasn't going to look back again.
*~*~*~*
By sunrise, the storm had died down—the heavy rain had turned to a drizzle, while the strong winds had become a light breeze.
Chris gradually began to stir until, eventually, he was fully awake. He sat there and stared at Toby for a long time, not saying a word.
Toby spoke first. "About two more hours until we get to the border," he remarked.
"How you doin’, Toby?" Chris quietly asked.
"Me? I’m fine," Toby answered, a little too quickly, in a voice that was a little too high. He cleared his throat. "Apparently, I had one hell of a PCP flashback, though."
Chris continued to stare at him. After a few minutes, he asked, "Do you wanna explain how you got this car?"
Toby’s fingers gripped the steering wheel. "No," he answered curtly.
"All right," said Chris slowly. After a moment, he observed, "Ya know, it kinda smells like your dad’s cologne in here."
Toby snorted. "I was thinking it smelled like a whorehouse," he countered.
"Well, either way, it turns me on," Chris said. After a pause, he added, "Ya know, Tobe, I think you’re one sexy motherfucker."
"Well, that’s a relief."
"Speaking of relief, Toby… I could use some right about now." Chris reached over and slid his hand between Toby's thighs.
Toby smiled. He could use some relief of his own. He tried to remember how much farther it was to the next rest area.
THE END
