Chapter 8

The Seaside Armory was decorated with a banner that extended across the old facade of the building. It read 'Beginning of the End Dance Tonight.' It was the town council's way of providing some humor into what was considered a very joyful and inspiring occassion.

Each year, the town of Seaside celebrated the beginning of summer, and with it the coming of the tourists and money, with a dance in the old armory building. It was a time for friends who had not seen each other all winter to get together and discuss the upcoming season. It was a time for plans to be made for beach parties and other events that might inspire more people to come to the small beach town for their vacations. But underneath the surface, it acted as a convenient summit meeting for those who meant to acquire new lovers, or those Who meant to drop the old ones.

Lee Marks stood behind the serving counter, pouring whisky into sodas and keeping a careful eye on Jim. She had not wanted to come but Jim had convinced her that it would be good if she established herself as a community minded businesswoman. Tending bar, thus avoiding the lecherous propositions to dance from the men of the town was one way in which she could handle the evening.

But Jim had seen the promise of the dance under another light altogether. He sensed that his attendance might provide him with some outlet, some way of at least breaking out of the mould into which he had set for one night. If he could just manage to deliver himself into another area for four or five hours, he thought, then maybe he would be able to see something. He had no idea what he was trying to see, but knew there was something which he must look for.

The hall was crowded with the townspeople. Elaine was with Helen, standing off in a corner and talking softly. Lee watched her with something akin to envy. At least, she thought, there was no mistaking what her scene was. Everyone who passed by the female couple nodded abruptly and moved on. Some Men stared at them, fascinated by the thought of the two of them naked in each others' arms. The women were equally fascinated, sometimes even jealous of what they felt must be uninhibited sex. Lee watched these people carefully because she still felt them to be enemies.

When Ben Grant arrived with the little beauty from the North on his arm everyone turned to look. Anne wore white bell bottom pants wrapped snugly around her hips, not more than an inch above the line of her pubic hair. Her hair was piled high on her head, and her tanned body was revealed almost completely above her waist. She wore a simple shirt that was open so that her cleavage was revealed and tied in a knot just below her breasts. Aside from Lee's sultry and mysterious good looks, Anne was the most remarkable looking woman there.

"Why hello Lee!" Ben's voice was loud and Lee detected something akin to overacting. She remembered well the confession he had uttered to her that day at her Motel.

"Mr. Grant" she said, handing him a whiskey and soda, "it's nice to see you here." Her voice did not reveal a thing. Ben took the drink, handed it to Anne and turned back to Lee for another.

"I'm sorry" said Lee, quickly pouring another, "I didn't think she was old enough to drink...."

Ben searched her eyes. They were blank except for one small twinkle. Ben could not tell whether it was humor or what. But at least she had reacted to him, even if it had been in a very sarcastic manner.

"Thank you, Lee." He took the drink. Their eyes lingered for a second too long. Suddenly, Anne understood what had been ailing Ben. She took notice of Jim's Mother now. She realized just how beautiful and strange the older woman was. Now, Anne had reason to be doubly jealous.

"She's quite a beautiful woman...." Anne admitted as they walked across the wood floor. "Always has been ... every guy in this town's been chasing after her for years. Her hubbie left her and I guess she's never forgotten. Won't have a thing to do with any man."

"That's a shame," replied Anne, "seems like quite a waste."

From the way Ben shrugged off her statement, she knew that she was right. Their eyes had lingered there for reasons other than pure laziness or slowness. Ben was definitely desirous of her, and Anne knew that her time with him was limited.

When she spotted Jim, though, Anne knew that the tables were reversed. "Excuse me a minute...."Ben stood silently watching as Anne walked briskly to where Jim stood.

The record player blasted a Rolling Stones tune. Most of the people looked silly dancing. But Anne and Jim made a great looking couple. They seemed to know each others' rhythyms as they writhed and shook on the floor. Ben watched the other Men as they stared with wide open eyes at Anne's breasts bobbing beneath her thin shirt.

The people made a semi-circle around the couple and clapped as they moved back and forth in that small area. Anne smiled brightly, and Jim began to grin also. It had been the first time Lee had seen her son smile all winter. She felt the cold chill of greyness invading her body as she watched the couple. She poured herself a double and leaned back against the wall.

"That's a pretty strong drink for this early." Ben stood against the bar, smiling at Lee. He had seen her from across the room, falling quickly when her son had begun dancing with his young lover. He had decided that his moment had come.

"Like to get myself off as soon as possible. Pretty boring crowd here...." Her voice was high-pitched and defensive. She held her cup tightly.

"Well, there's nothing wrong with that! I mean, there's really not much else people around here do except drink and make love anyway. When they get together they tend to get pretty damn bored ... no one can cheat."

"Some people like to, though, don't they?" She talked away from Ben, staring out onto the dance floor where the music had stopped. Ben looked where she was looking and saw Anne and Jim walking off together.

"Oh" explained Ben, "she doesn't mean that much to me. I'm just kind of taking care of her."

Lee looked at him intently. She seemed confused for a moment then pulled herself together. "I wasn't talking about...."

But then she stopped. She had almost revealed what she knew could never be talked about. Suddenly, she felt very alone and very withdrawn. She realized that her affair with Jim had split her apart. She could hardly talk with anyone without giving her secret away; it had been so long since she had to deal with anyone.

"Well" drawled Ben, grinning broadly "it really doesn't matter, does it? I mean, you're a Woman and I'm a Man. We can understand these things, can't we?"

He looked intensely in her eyes. Lee caught his look for a second, then dropped her eyes to the floor. "Yes" she whispered, "I suppose we can."

"Care to dance?"

They were playing a slow ballad. For some reason which she could not explain to herself, she accepted his invitation.

He held her tightly, He felt her breasts pushing against his chest and allowed his hand to roam down to where the flesh of her buttocks pushed out beneath her dress. He had never held such a good feeling woman before in his life. His excitement over holding her and breathing her fragrance grew completely out of control.

Lee felt the strong, almost animalistic Man holding her grow hard between them. She pulled her belly away from his. She became frightened with the way he held her, with the strange presence he exuded. She felt that if she let herself go at all that she would be swept away into some ravaged land where her body would serve only as the ground he would tread upon. It was so much different for her now. Jim had always been light and gentle, hardly a physical thing at all. Now, she was in the arms of someone who demanded physical control. It was a very unsettled feeling. "Your Mother looks like she's grooving along."

Jim looked at Anne, the beads of sweat shining off her forehead, then turned his gaze back to Ben and his Mother. It was hard for him to imagine ever holding her naked in his arms; or rather, she holding him in her arms. That was the way it had gone. Jim hardly felt anymore that any participation on his part was necessary for sex. His Mother had done everything for him.

Anne held his hand and tightened her grip. But Jim did not respond. She squeezed a little harder, but still no Jim. Finally, she brought his hand to her mouth and bit him on the side.

"Goddammit! What the Hell ...!!!"

Anne smiled, happy that she had at least gotten something from him. "Just wanted to see if you were still alive. I thought maybe you had become catatonic...."

Jim took her hand, squeezed her fingers until Anne thought the bones would crush against one another. When he finally released the pressure, there were tears in her eyes.

"God, I'm sorry!" He really meant it, he was startled by his own reaction.

"Don't be" said Anne, trying to understand something that was just out of reach, "maybe you needed to do that...."

Her eyes moved down to his groin. Beneath his tight fitting double knits, it was obvious that he had a giant hard-on. He only noticed his condition after Anne had made the discovery first.

"Jesus!" He muttered, looking at Anne staring at him with curious and understanding eyes.

"Maybe that's become your scene, Jim."

It was a stark and uncomfortable realization. But that feeling he had had earlier about coming and maybe finding himself a way out was with him again. Only this time, the way out was visible, hinted at maybe, but still somewhere within his reach. It was obvious that Anne was offering him the chance to get out, to work this thing out in himself.

"If it is...?" He asked, not sure how to say what had become so vague within him.

"If it is" she was completing the thought for him, " ... that way for you, then it's the other way for me. I mean, you can use me if you like. It really doesn't matter in the end anyway."

"I'm scared." Jim said, looking at all the people whom he new would detest him for what he had done before this night and what he was now contemplating doing after this night.

"Don't be," replied Anne, smiling, "we'll work it all out."

Jim looked across the crowded room to where his Mother stood. The dance had ended and she was talking with Ben. At least, Ben was talking with her. He remembered the nights with her, the feelings of frustration and pain that he had suffered at her hands. The control that she had exercised over him. And suddenly he felt angry, angry enough to hit anyone or anything that would ever get in his way again.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" He took the most beautiful girl in the Armory and led her out the back doors. A few of the older Men watched her ass shimmy beneath the white pants as she walked out into the night with Jim Marks.

"Lucky son-of-a-bitch" they said, almost in unison.

Lee ignored the comments from the men around her. She lit a cigarette and turned her back on Ben.

"Young love, Lee, makes the world go around." Ben was trying, it had not occurred to him what the full extent of Lee's relationship with her son might have been.

"Yeah" she said bitterly, "a truly beautiful thing."

"Come out with me ... we'll go have some drinks."

"No ... thank you ... I can't...." Her voice was trembeling. Ben withdrew, thinking he had decided, one who would have to be courted with dignity and grace. Ben realized that he must change in some way if he was ever to get her. But Ben never changed for a Woman, and now was not the time.

"You sure?"

"Listen," said Lee, turning to Ben with a vacant look in her eyes, "you would make anyone with a little hair between her legs. And maybe a few without it! So lay off, you're a little too obvious for my blood. Go spit on fires or something!!!"

She was almost hysterical. She threw her drink onto the bar and stormed out of the Armory. Ben watched her leave, wondering what the Hell he had said.

"What's wrong baby, the bitch getting to you?" Elaine stood behind him. Helen was glaring at her from across the room.

"Have a drink?" He handed one to Elaine and took one more for himself.

"Maybe you should try the other side" she continued, looking at him with a penetration and hatred he had never seen before. "You know, a lot of Men around here would be honored by your cock."

"You're pressing, Elaine, just lay off!" Ben was barely able to listen to her. Her presence was off his limit, she was barely in his field of vision.

"So are you, honey. You know she's just a dyke ... like all the rest of us!"

"Elaine, please shut up, okay?"

Elaine laughed, thinking she had struck him where it hurt. Ben turned to her, ready to strike her across the mouth. Instead, he ran his hand up between her legs and grabbed her mound with such force that she almost fell over backwards.

"Goddamn you," she moaned, "you bastard!"

"Listen dear," Ben warned, his hand still firmly planted between her thighs, "it's not my fucking fault you married some goddamn fruit nor is it my fault you make it with Women. So get the fuck out of my way!!!"

But Elaine was soft now. That fiery hatred had vanished from her eyes. Instead, they watered now and there was a distinct warmth and moistness coming from her panties. Ben smiled.

"That's better, baby...."

"Take me outside, Ben, and hurry!!"

Ben looked over his shoulder as they left the building. Helen the bull stood in the corner, ready to destroy the entire building with her hatred.

The highway back to her house was empty of all traffic. Everyone was still back at the armory, joyfully bringing in the summer season. Lee Marks walked without thinking along the deserted road, staring only in the direction that lay ahead of her.

When she came upon the small beach that preceded her Motel, she stopped and wandered over to the cliff's edge. The full moon hung precariously over the horizon, illumination a wide belt of water towards the shore. She listened for the soft summer wind and heard it. She looked up and down the beach, trying to imagine the fat tourists baking themselves into a lobster color over the next few months and she saw them. Then, she tried to see herself during those months. She would play the casual, gay hostess, the woman whose chic and sense of the good time was the sole recommendation for anyone to come to her Motel. But this she could not imagine.

Her mind wandered aimlessly over the past few months. It had been like a dream to her. everything that had happened with Jim was still clear, but it all seemed to have happened 'out there' someplace, and not within her. She felt less involved with herself and with her own life than she had in a long time. It was as though she were standing outside, looking in and seeing nothing.

And then she heard the sound. It wasn't a bird shrieking after his prey, nor was it the wind whistling through the gorges in the mountains behind her. It was kind of a low moan ... a cry of pain that at once sounded child-like and sinister. She had heard much the same sound from cats when they were in heat, and it had always terrified her.

Lee stared intently down onto the beach but the noise had fallen away. When she heard it again, she looked down towards the cove where she and Jim had first entered their strange land. The sound was louder now, more intense and filled with more pain.

As she walked down the road towards the spot above the cove. Lee wondered why she was going there. If someone was in trouble there would be little she could do. But the pained sound seemed to draw her anyway, seemed to reflect what she felt inside.

The two figures were naked beneath the moonlight. The Boy held a branch of seaweed. He stood above the writhing figure of the nude girl. Her legs were spread widely and she was crying out into the wind. As her voice pitched itself, the Boy brought the branch high over his head and slashed the Girl across the thighs mightily. Her cry died down as she took the whip, then rose again as the pain of the strike shot through her body.

Lee stood transfixed above the cove. She had never seen anything like this, had never encountered pain in such brutal fashion. It was almost like a game, the way the Boy stood above the Girl striking poses of God-like stature. But the fantasy image of the action was broken by the real cries of the sufferer and by the real sounds of the whip as it struck the young Woman's flesh. .

"You bitch ... you bitch!!!" The Man cried, bringing the whip down across the girl's body.

"My God ... stop ... stop ... stopp!!!" She cried, then silence, then the moan of intense pain.

Lee shuddered and wavered on the cliffside. The blood pumped through her temples, drained itself from her body and left her helplessly weak. She fell to her knees and held onto the ground in front of her for support. The darkness, the moon's shaft of light across the sea, the sounds of the crying girl down below on the beach all swam together in her mind. She was losing control ... reeling into a vast pit of swirling pain and images. She had realized that the couple down on the beach were Jim and Anne.

"Nooooo ...!!!!" Lee screamed, dragging herself away from the spot where she had bore witness to the events below. But her voice was lost to the wind. She began running, the tears blinding her and the pain building inside her without mercy. In another moment, she would be overtaken completely. She must run fast.

The Motel was dark. There were no cars in the lot, and hers was in the garage. She unlocked the door, pulled open the door and walked inside. She knew exactly where to go in the darkened corners of the garage. There, laying beneath a blanket, was a five gallon gas can. Lee took the can, pulled a long tube from inside, and stuffed the tube down into the gas tank of her own car. She sucked wildly on the tube until she felt the gas coming from within the bowels of her car. She drained the car, transfering the liquid into the can. The car came for a full five minutes and then the gas can was filled. Lee closed the garage door, snapped the small lock shut and began walking purposefully towards Wilson's Grove.

The dance music could be heard from where Ben and Elaine lay. They had both raised such a heat in themselves that where or how they satisfied that passion did not matter. After leaving the hall, they had run through the brush outside, had found a bare spot amongst the bushes and had fallen to the ground in each others' arms.

They had undressed each other quickly. And when they were naked, Ben had plunged deep inside Elaine. She had met him with screams and moans of passion. They had both come while thrusting wildly into each other, and then had rested.

"I guess I'm a little AC/DC now...." Elaine said, stroking Ben's thigh and smoking a cigarette.

Ben turned towards her, raised an eyebrow and frowned. "What the Hell does that mean?"

Elaine shifted her body, and threw one long leg across Ben's groin. She massaged his penis with her knee, moving it in small circles around and around. "It means, my love, that I can go either way. A Man or a Woman ... the best of both worlds."

As he was growing hard, Ben felt a tinge of guilt. But then he realized that Elaine's problems were not specifically his. Her husband had neglected her, he was the one who had turned her into what she was. "I guess we all have our problems...."

"I'm not complaining, Ben. It's just that sometimes I wonder what the Hell happened along the way. I mean, I never really wanted that much. Just a home, a Man to sleep with and some kids ... so look what happens!"

"I'm sorry I didn't meet you earlier, Elaine. You're about all a man could ask for in a Woman

...." The phrase worked. Elaine smiled broadly.

"Thanks" she whispered, kissing Ben's ear and working her tongue slowly around inside. She knew that when she was with Ben she could feel like a woman. She had long ago discounted any pride as a factor in her relationship with him. It was enough for her to just be able to feel wet and moist, to feel the blood of both their bodies surging together in unison like a man and a woman's should. It was during these moments with Ben that she reclaimed herself to the world of the living.

Ben watched her naked body move beneath the moonlight. Her skin shone as she moved lower and lower on his.

Helen stood above them for a full minute before speaking. She was angry, and she looked like an outraged Mother ready to scold her little boy after catching him playing with himself. The two naked bodies were spread wide on top of the other, and the mouths were giving pleasure to the others sex. This was an act that Helen would never experience with a man.

"I hate to interupt this little fucking orgy!" She said finally, enjoying the sight of Elaine and Ben pulling away from each other's sex and trying to cover themselves.

"What the Hell!" Ben shouted, seeing the huge bulk of woman standing above them.

Helen stared at Ben's groin. He was hard and there was no way to cover himself properly. "You're not all that big, junior, I've got a dildo at home that makes you look like a Pan!"

"Shut-up, you bitch!" Elaine was outraged. She stood up without bothering to dress and Ben wondered if he was about to see a woman's wrestling match.

"You let him use you like that, you little fool, and you tell me to shut-up?"

"Helen " Ben said, pulling on his pants and standing up to the woman, "get the Hell out of here before I clobber you!"

Helen stared first at Ben then at Elaine. Her eyes were on fire, she towered above Elaine and was exactly Ben's height. "I've got a message for the fucking stud fire chief" she admitted finally, her voice a little soothed now, "Jimmy sent it. Wilson's Grove is on fire...."

Ben could not decide whether or not to believe her. The combination of her arrival and the announcement that possibly arson was on the rampage again struck him hard. Elaine watched him, waiting for him to move. She was still naked.

"Go ahead" Elaine said, "I can take care of Helen...."

There was no choice. Ben was almost afraid to leave Elaine in the hands of her lover. The huge Woman was much sadder now then frightening, but still her presence was ominous.

"Okay ... but you two behave yourselves!"

Ben pulled on his clothes, kissed Elaine quickly, then disappeared into the bush. Elaine watched him leave in silence, then felt Helen's hand moving slowly up between her naked thighs. She was still warm there, still wet from the scene with Ben.

"You want to apolgize?" Helen asked, her fingers playing at Elaine's vagina.

"Yes" moaned the naked girl, spreading herself so that Helen would have better access to her moist cunt.

Wilson's Grove was located ten miles from Seaside at the end of a riverbed that flowed to the ocean. Hundreds of tall, straight Sequoia trees stood proudly in the small grove, planted over fifty years in the past by Harold Wilson, after whom the grove was named. Harold Wilson had been a prosperous farmer who worked the land on the other side of the mountains in the fertile inland valleys. His one desire was to be immortal through the act of planting the immortal trees. Until the warm June night when the town of Seaside celebrated its summer season, that dream had been realized.

The road leading into the grove was a one lane affair. As Ben grant moved his hook and ladder through the crowds, his anger flared as high and strong as did the flames leaping hundreds of feet into the sky before him.

Once again, the townspeople had gotten there before him. Cars were lined up along the road, and the people milled about excited and turned on by the fire. Finally, with the help of the Sheriff's cars, Ben and Jimmy were able to edge their way to the grove.

The sight was spectacular. The tall, stately trees were still standing straight and proud. But at least a third of them, the orange fingers crept steadily towards the tops. The huge poles were doomed unless a miracle occurred.

Ben realized that what water there was, was limited to the amount that his pumper carried in the tank. After that, he supposed, they would have to begin chopping down the trees in the rear of the grove and thus hope to prevent a major forest fire. He directed Jimmy around to the rear and they began fighting the rushing blaze from there. If they could push the flame s seaward, out through the river bed where the people were lined up, then they might save the mountains.

The townspeople realized what was happening. The sheriff's, now numbering fifteen cars and thirty men, began driving the people back out through the bed and onto the highway. Within ten minutes, the needed ground was cleared.

On one of the mountainsides which flanked the grove, Lee Marks watched. She was naked, and the heat from the flames a hundred feet below warmed her already seething skin. She lay spreadeagled on the side of the incline, her fingers working feverishly indside her vagina, driving her strongly towards her 'place."

Her eyes were riveted on the small, almost miniscule figure of Ben Grant down in the center of the grove. His presence there seemed futile. He was a man alone battling the tremendous flames and the winds. She laughed and cried as she sucked on her nipple, and clenched her thighs tightly around her hand.

The sound of the sirens, a glorious and ominous sound, relieved Ben almost to tears. The message he had sent just before his departure had been heeded. The trucks, pumpers, hooks and ladders would be coming from as far away as Los Angeles and San Diego. There would be more than what was needed because the threat of a massive forest fire was iminent. And each of the cities who sent their men and equiptment fully realized the implications of this realtively small fire in Wilson's Grove.

Ben Grant had held off the enemy long enough. The tall, straight trees, their dark presence now illuminated and out in the open, would be saved. Lee felt herself retreat, she pulled her hand from between her legs and slowly began to dress. She remembered the evening. The dark trees looming above her like some threat to her own existence; the quiet, hot winds blowing softly through the grove. And finally, the way the liquid gas fell from her can to the base of the trees. She remembered her anger when she had finally thrown the match to the ring of gasoline, and the relief she felt when the flames leaped high onto the hulking mass of the trees. She had started the battle, and would retreat to the hillside to watch Ben in battle with the destructive flames. She remembered thinking that it would be like watching a Man fighting to save his own sex. And she remembered laughing when she had first seen Ben enter the grove, a small and helpless creature doing battle with the tremendous forces that she herself had unleashed.

The grove was scarred, but not destroyed. Ben stood at the edge, drinking a cup of scalding coffee and watching the units pulling slowly out of the battleground. Before him, the embers seethed and sometimes sparkled, emanating their last blast of energy before dying.

The dawn was breaking. The morning clouds hung over the little riverbed and gave the scene an eerie, unreal feeling. Jimmy Blackburn walked quickly along the banks of the dry river, carrying a five gallon gas can.

"Oh Jesus!" Moaned Ben when presented with the can.

"It's insane, Ben, I mean, we're dealing with some kind of pervert...."

Ben fondled the can, hoping to feel something from its presence, to gather some insight into where it came from. "Any analysis possible?"

Jimmy sighed. He had already handed the evidence over to the mobile arson unit from the Los Angeles company.

"Goddammit, Jimmy, I thought we were dealing with a one-shot arsonist. The summer's here ... it's going to be Hell!"

Jimmy nodded. The summer meant strong winds blowing in from the desert. They would dry out everything in sight, and by the end of the season the land extending inward from the sea would be a veritable tinder box, ready to erupt with only the slightest provocation. It was bad enough as a situation in itself; but now there was someone who set fires to contend with.

"We've got to find the bastard!" Ben was solemn, was fixing himself a goal which Jimmy knew he would not waver from until completed.

"We've got three months 'till the real bad time, Ben, I hope we can do it...."Jimmy surveyed the land he loved so well. He would commit himself to the problem with as much force as Ben would, but for entirely different reasons.

"We've got to do it, Jimmy. It'll be the end of everything if we don't!" Ben knew that his words carried more than just surface meaning. He knew that he was not only trying to save the land, but to save himself. He gulped his coffee down hard, felt the tension and worry drain from him. He felt more tired than he could ever remember.