There has been more than one message suggesting that the incest in Caymen 3 was just "Nifty Fluff". To this I respond that no, it was in fact, sensationalism. Some people are just never content to wait for a plot to develop.
Hope this answers a few questions. I haven't decided if I'll do another chapter, although the story is very much alive at this point. Let me know what you think won't you?
Dan
Rimshot@planetaccess.com
The Truth about Caymen part 4
Merit knew he was dreaming and struggled to wake up. In the dream, he walked through a long passage made of stone. It was dark, and the walls seeped nasty fluids that burned his nose. He was completely naked, and his feet stuck to the floor. He had to find Caymen. He had to.
A slight shadow near a door had him racing down the corridor, and for a second he thought he saw Baggy running ahead of him. He turned sharply into the open doorway and collided painfully against the wooden jam. The room beyond was totally black, and he glanced back the way he'd come.
A frightened mew came from the blackness, and Merit turned back to it. "Baggy?" He whispered. Nothing. Cautiously he moved forward into the room, his pulse racing. All at once the door slammed shut and a light bathed the center of the room in a reddish glow.
Caymen and Darius stood before him in each other's arms, tenderly kissing. Merit's heart twisted, and tears stung his eyes. Baggy rubbed against Caymen's legs, then came towards Merit. She mewed almost frantically, and Merit tried to cover his eyes. "Oh, God! Please let me wake up." He whispered harshly.
"Idiot," Dare snarled at him, "You are awake!" With that he produced a long bladed dagger and thrust it up and into Caymen. Merit saw the light in his love's eyes dim, and he screamed.......
"No!" Merit sat bolt upright, his chest hammering. He was bathed in sweat, and his bed sheets were tangled around his legs and body. He took in several ragged breaths, fighting to calm himself. It was only a dream for chris'sake. And yet the images were vivid in his memory. Crystal clear, he saw again the blade going into Caymen's stomach and the sneer on Darius' face. Even Baggy, the one thing on earth that Caymen loved above all others, seeming to plead with Merit for help.
He collapsed back on his pillows exhausted. He wanted to call Caymen, but the clock was barely past one in the morning. With a sigh, he pulled the covers loose and rolled over. His body had calmed down, but his mind was still going a thousand miles an hour. Determined that it had only been a nightmare, spawned from jealousy, he closed his eyes and moved his legs to find a more comfortable position.
Something was in the bed, and it was slick. He turned on the lamp and whipped the covers back. He nearly always slept naked, and thought that the covers were sticking to his sweaty limbs. In the light there was an oily substance on the sheets. His heart began to pound again, and he slowly sat up to look at his feet. They were covered with a sticky brown mess. The room seemed to spin as he realized it was the same stuff as on the floor of the passage.
Caymen stretched and rolled onto his side. Through slits for eyes he observed that Dare and Baggy were both up already, and that it was nearly eight. He debated going back to sleep, but decided to stretch again then rolled up and out of bed. He was sticky, and he looked down at the bed with a face puckered in faint disgust. He pulled the sheets off and threw them in the hamper, then made his way to the shower.
Caymen's feelings were a jumbled mess. He stood and let the hot water pound on his back, trying to sort it all out. The winning contender in the emotions category was guilt, and he couldn't get Merit's face out of his mind. What was he going to tell him, and why the hell had he done what he had with Dare? Of all the stupid ways to fuck up two relationships, that took the cake.
Miraculously, he began to calm, and he moved his shoulders under the spray, feeling them relax. By the time he turned off the water, he felt better, almost chipper. Pulling on shorts and sandals, he went down stairs. He found Darius in the kitchen, and his empty stomach rolled at the smell of breakfast cooking.
"Good morning." Dare said, setting a plate of ham and eggs on the table in front of him. "Deirdre has gone to the market. She asked that you straighten the garage today. Something I gather you said you'd do?"
"Yeah, I promised her I'd get it done before school starts next week. Thanks for breakfast, by the way." Caymen attacked his plate and took no prisoners, unaware that he routinely hated eggs. "Did you sleep well?" He managed around a mouthful.
"I did." Dare sat at the other end of the table with a mug of coffee. His eyes were bright, almost electric, as he clasped his hands together. "How 'bout you? Did you sleep well?"
Caymen wiped his mouth on a napkin and swallowed some coffee. "I actually slept really hard last night. I've been dreaming a lot lately, and I don't remember anything last night." He missed the expression of pleasure that crossed Dare's features.
They sat in silence as Caymen ate. Caymen wanted to ask several questions, but didn't quite know how to phrase what he was thinking. Again Merit's face entered his mind, and the guilt welled up. Again, the calm returned, and he was able to set his feelings aside.
"I'll be glad to help you out in the garage, if you like." Darius' accent was pleasing, almost hypnotic. "Then after that's done, maybe you'll show my Ogden City and it's finest."
"Sounds like a plan." Caymen took his plate to the sink and rinsed it, his thoughts about Merit now firmly squashed. It could wait. It was never that serious anyway. Or was it? The calmness drifted through his mind, lifting him like a breeze.
Merit stood in front of his new locker trying to work the combination. During his fifth try, tears began to course down his cheeks, and he slammed a fist into the metal door. The noise reverberated through the semi empty hallway, startling a couple of girls near the doors.
He had tried all morning to open the link but nothing seemed to work. Now, after several hours of real and imagined hell, Merit was a nervous wreck. With one last bang on the door, he turned and stomped towards the parking lot, nearly colliding with Rick Peabody, one of Merit's one time favorite enemies and champion quarterback.
"Watch it, fag." Rick grumbled, shoving past Merit.
Something snapped, and a torrent of rage erupted in Merit. He grabbed Rick's shoulder and spun him around, then grabbed his neck, shoving him against the lockers. Rick squawked, and Merit tightened his grip, lifting the other nearly off the floor. He leaned into Rick's face, stopping with their noses nearly touching.
"If you ever speak to me again without my permission, I will rip your head off and shove it up your ass, GOT IT?" He bellowed. Rick's face was beet red, and only a gurgle escaped his lips. In disgust, Merit dropped him to the floor and left. On any normal day, they would've been evenly matched. Today, six Rick Peabodys would have been in danger of dying. He turned the nose of the truck towards Ogden and Caymen.
Caymen's garage was not that dirty. Actually, as with the rest of the house, it was fairly organized and just needed a few things thrown out. Caymen grunted as he set a large box of old canning jars in the middle of the floor. Several other items already rested there, and the jars teetered as he set them down.
Darius dropped his broom and grabbed the other corners of the box. Caymen mumbled thanks, and the y adjusted it so that it wouldn't fall. An old bicycle tire and broken ironing board were the last items on the pile.
"I think that's it." Caymen said, wiping his chest and stomach with his T-shirt. "I never thought of me and Deirdre as pack rats." As soon as he said his grandmother's proper name, a funny feeling went through his mind. Not Grandmother, or Grandma, but Deirdre. It didn't feel right to call her that, so why had he?
"Look at this." Darius said, proudly producing two battered broomsticks from the corner by the door. "It's our knightly swords, right where I put them the last time we used them." He tossed one to Caymen, then lifted the other up for inspection. "Your father...OUR father spent hours teaching us to fight with broad swords, remember?"
Caymen smiled and nodded, hefting the familiar weight in his right hand. A memory of Darius and his dad in the backyard came to mind, and he could see his father instructing on proper defensive form. The were rooted to his lessons for hours, hearing him and feeling him teach them to be knights of the round table.
So lost in the thought was Caymen that he had on a split second to bring his sword up, blocking Dare's attack. Without thinking, he spun and cut, nearly clipping Dare's right leg. The battle was on. They moved into the yard, each thrust countered, their arms and wooden weapons blurring with speed.
God, it was great, and Caymen through himself into the fight. The link with Dare opened, and he felt the other trying to anticipate his moves. "You trying to cheat!" He shouted, then ducked low and scored on Dare's bare abdomen.
"First blood." Dare smiled, then launched a vicious attack, driving Caymen almost into the roses. The tempo had changed, and Caymen fought the idea that Dare might actually hurt him. A dark cloud filled the link, effectively blinding his mind, and he found himself more and more on the defensive. This caused a spark of anger in the normally even-tempered boy. Each blow from Dare fanned the flame.
Caymen saw an opening and lunged, missing the arc entirely. Darius' sword cracked against Caymen's left arm, and something snapped. Teeth gritted, he started with an overhand chop and a series of cuts to Dare's right side. The other was getting winded, but the tight smile of patronization never left his face.
With a scream heard a block away, Caymen broke Dare's broomstick in two, narrowly missing his face. "YOU GODDAMN CHEAT!" He roared, tossing his stick aside and shoving Dare in the chest. "You never did play fair!"
Darius batted Caymen's hands away easily and threw him over his leg to the ground. "Calm down Cay. It was a game." He said quietly. "Do you feel that power though?" He inhaled loudly and exhaled. "The power of a victory?"
"Victory my ass! I beat your ass, even with you cheating!" Cay struggled to get up and Dare straddled his chest, effectively pinning him.
"Yes, Caymen, you did." Dare leaned down, his eyes dark and wild at the same time. "How did it feel?" His words were like oil, black and slick, and Caymen could feel Dare in his mind, but not where he was or what he was doing.
"Let's up the stakes, shall we?" Dare smiled, chilling Caymen. "Let's fight on the field only you and I can play on, and the winner gets the prize for keeps."
"What are you talking about?" Caymen snarled, finally managing to push Dare off. Grass stuck to his bare back, and he swiped at it absentmindedly. "What the hell's wrong with you, Dare? Why are you acting like this?"
"You didn't answer my question. How did it feel to beat me?" He advanced on Caymen, his eyes almost seeming to burn. Caymen retreated, tripping but not falling over the garden hose. "I'll tell you how it felt, Cay. It felt marvelous, didn't it."
"Yeah, it did. Now answer my question." Caymen sat down hard in the grass, betrayed by a sprinkler. He oofed as he hit, then suddenly had Dare on top of him, those eyes boring into his. He tried, but he couldn't look away.
"In fact, winning is everything, isn't it?" Dare ran his hand across Caymen's stomach and chest, stopping for a lazy loop around his right nipple. "I'm going to win, Caymen, and I want my dear little brother by my side." He lowered his head and kissed Caymen with an amazing gentleness considering the last few minutes.
Caymen turned his head, breaking the kiss. "You sound like a bad sci-fi movie, Dare. What the hell are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the big prize, dear Caymen. The only prize worth having." He nuzzled Caymen's ear, and the presence of Dare in his head intensified, almost becoming painful. "What other gifts do you have?" Dare asked sensuously. "Do you levitate, or maybe move objects with you mind?" His words were intimate and hypnotic, and Caymen fought against them. "Do you see the future, little brother, or implant suggestions into other minds?"
In his mind Caymen felt Darius sifting through private thoughts and memories, searching for the answers to his questions. Caymen threw up all the defenses his grandmother had taught him, only to have them knocked away. "Get out of my head, Dare, or you're not going to like the future."
"Still you refuse to answer my questions. Their not difficult, my love."
Caymen winced in pain from Dare's blundering around in his head. A white blinding light flashed in his inner eye, and Dare was gone. He opened his eyes to see the other land on his back several feet away. Caymen blinked and rubbed his temple, not remembering exactly when he threw Darius off.
"That's it. That's what I need to know." Dare stood up and moved towards Caymen, brushing dirt off his arms. "I knew you had it in you, Cay. It is genetic, I knew it." Again Dare's mind entered his, this time going straight for the memory of the last few moments.
Caymen panicked and held up his hand, and again the flash in his mind went off. This time, however, he clearly saw Dare lifted off his feet and flung backwards. He landed sprawling, and Caymen jumped up and landed on his chest. The anger had begun to build again, and this time he jumped into Dare's mind.
"Why are you here, Dare, and why did you seduce me last night?!" He slammed his way through Darius' defenses, using his own tactics against him. "I don't think uncle Marrin is on business, and I don't think you stayed here because you missed me!" He dug for the truth, and he could hear words coming from Dare, but they made no sense.
As he neared the memory he was after, he could see a paper through Dare's eyes. A legal form of some sort. On it the name listed for Darius' father was Marrin McCandles, not Andrew. 'YOU LIED TO ME!' Caymen thundered through Dare's consciousness. 'You are not my brother!'
'Idiot!' Dare bellowed back in the link, 'Look at the plan!' Images of important people being influenced poured in. Political figures and leaders, businessmen, and educators. Of money pouring into family accounts through family owned companies.
Mind control. That's what this was about. Getting Caymen to help control minds to increase the family fortunes. Dare tried to stop Caymen from going further, but there was something important in the shadows. Andrew was the eldest. When he died it was Caymen, not Darius that became the heir. Marrin was only a custodial guardian until Caymen's eighteenth birthday, three months away.
The black mist from his dreams was suddenly baring down on him, and he felt like he was suffocating. Marrin McCandles appeared from nowhere and kicked Caymen in the ribs, sending him sprawling on the grass.
'You pathetic whelp.' The blackness sneered, burning it's way into Caymen. "You didn't even know you had a pot to piss in!" Marrin hissed, drawing back for another kick. "Andrew was a dreamer. He didn't produce so much as a coin of the realm. I did the work!" Again the foot caught Caymen in the ribs. He cried out in pain as he rolled away, trying to cradle his side.
"Darius offered you a way to help us, to be part of the future, and you tossed it a way." The blackness completely filled Cay's head now, and his resistance was gone. "It's time you learned that I don't require your permission, boy, just your obedience!"
Caymen's whole body exploded with pain as the mist traveled through ever nerve and fiber of his being. Even fear was not left to him as the mist prepared to take its final form, controlling Caymen's every thought and move. The spark of soul that was Caymen was dwindling.
'Get away from him!' Merit's voice and thoughts erupted into all three McCandles minds at once. He bulldozed through the gate in the fence and ran towards Caymen. Darius jumped up and leaned to tackle him, but Merit dodged and jumped, landing well past the other.
Marrin frowned, and like flicking an insect, Merit flew against the bricks of the house. "Your simple trick isn't impressive. Die." The mist descended on Merit's mind, and the pain shot through him. He groaned and collapsed, his eyes locked on Caymen's.
Caymen climbed shakily to his knees, and the mist receded. His eyebrows descended over his brow, and his eyes cleared, focused, and lit up with fire. He could hear his father's voice, but not the words, and he lifted his hand towards Marrin. He caught his uncle's eye then squeezed his fist tight.
Marrin's eyes widened and his hand went to his chest. Caymen rose to his feet and moved forward, seeing in his mind the car accident that had killed his parents and the hand that had orchestrated it. Marrin sank to his knees, his eyes locked on Caymen's. "Ante up, uncle." He said quietly, then opened his hand. Marrin tumbled sideways onto the grass, his breathing shallow and harsh.
"Daddy's having a heart attach, Dare, what would you like?" Caymen turned on his cousin, his eyes smoldering. "I do at least owe you for one thing. I know who I love." The flash went off in his head, and Darius crashed into the wall beside Merit, out for the count.
"Cay, you need to calm down, babe." Merit wheezed, pulling himself up. "If you lose yourself, you'll be just like they are." He stumbled forward and put his hands on Caymen's face, terrified of the fire eyes, but unable to abandon him. "Please, Cay, don't leave me alone."
Caymen blinked his eyes and focused on Merit. Tears started, and wouldn't stop. "They wanted to use me." He whispered, laying his head on Merit's shoulder. "Oh, god, Merit, they wanted me to do awful things." He began to sob.
"I know, Cay. It's all right now."
The following Friday Merit deposited his books in his locker and made his way to the parking lot. One thing he felt positive about, ever since the episode with Rick Peabody, the respect issue was solved. He smiled and nodded at two members of the football team and got shaky waved in return. Yessir, it sure was gonna be a righteous year.
One hour later, he stood in Caymen's room with his hands on his hips. "Get out of that bed, or I will throw you and that dusty flea bitten tabby out the window!"
"Quite right!" Deidre McCandles intoned, giving Merit an affectionate squeeze. She patted his cheek and left, pulling the door shut.
"I'm not kidding, Caymen. Get out of bed and shower so we can go to the movies, or I will drag you kicking and screaming." Merit smiled then sent through the link 'I mean it, too.'
Caymen smiled weakly and sat up, using his arm to support his ribs. "Come here and help me, please?" He held his hand up and let Merit pull him to his feet. He wore only the spandex wrap for his ribs and a new pair or thong underwear that Merit had bought. Lemon yellow this time.
"You're standing up straighter this time." Merit smiled, carefully wrapping his arms around the other. "I think you'll live."
Caymen's eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry, Merit. I didn't mean to hurt you."
"We've been over this, Cay. You were mindwashed or whatever. I don't hold you responsible." He guided Caymen into the little bathroom and got out a wash cloth. "It hurt, yeah, but it's over. Let's forget it, OK?" Caymen nodded and swiped at his cheeks with the back of his hand. He leaned forward and kissed Merit, feeling the golden glow of love fill up the hollowness inside him.
Merit dropped the wash cloth and concentrated on the kiss. His Caymen was a little beat up, but he would be fine. He and Baggy would see to that. He leaned back as Caymen held out his hand and the wash cloth jump up into it. He shook his head and grinned.
"You have got to teach me that."