Author's Note: This chapter is rated "M," due to some graphic sexual imagery.
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Chapter Two: Rude Awakening
Brandon awoke first the following morning, feeling utterly content although slightly hung over. He stretched and yawned as Gwen stirred beside him, her naked form brushing against his in the process. He desired to take her again, but knew that if he disturbed her sleep, she would be furious, and that was something he'd rather not deal with after their first night of passion.
Half of the candles had burned out, casting dim shadows within the cave. The young man used care as he got to his feet and pulled on his pants in order to answer 'natures call.' Suffering from a case of 'yuck mouth' as Gweneth so eloquently referred to it, he warily followed the tunnel that led to the fissure in the stone wall. As he peed, Brandon took in his surroundings, still yawning. It took him several moments before he realized that he should be standing on an outcropping, not the ground itself.
He hurriedly zipped up his fly and wandered about in his bare feet, shocked that the terrain had totally changed.
"What the fuck?" he said aloud. Yesterday, they had climbed up a stone path that wound along the cliff, but today; Brandon was standing on short stubbly grass amid scattered forestland. To the east was a mountain range that had not been there the day before. As he explored the landscape, he saw nothing familiar to him. Absolutely nothing. There were no four wheelers, no paths, no nothing. He convinced himself that he was still under the influence of the booze and pot that he had consumed the night before.
After stepping on a thorn bush, he limped back to the fissure of the cave and sat down. As the young man rubbed his injured foot, his anxiety grew. There was no doubt in his mind that Gwen would freak out when she woke up. He could find no plausible reason for what had happened. Brandon sat there rubbing his temples, his head was throbbing something fierce.
This has to be a nightmare of some sort, thought the Englishman. As the sun ascended into the blue sky, he entered the cave. Since they appeared to be in some strange place, he thought it would be best to see what provisions they had left from the night before. Any food left would have to be rationed. God only knows how long they'd find themselves in that situation.
Gwen finally woke at half past eleven in the morning. Brandon sat beside her on the blanket, dreading the thought of telling her what had happened during the night.
"Good morning," he said softly.
"Morning," she answered as she sat up, looking for her clothing. "I can't believe we slept here all night," she continued with a shudder. "It's chilly."
"It's warmer outside," said Brandon as he handed Gwen her neatly folded clothes (he had to do something until she woke.)
After she dressed, she needed to pay a little visit outside. Brandon escorted her through the tunnel and watched as she nonchalantly walked behind a tree to pee. It wasn't until she started walking back that she had abruptly come to a halt.
"Brand?" she queried as she looked around at their surroundings. "Um, where the hell are we?"
He slowly approached her. "That's a good question, darling," the young man answered as he rubbed the stubble on his chin. "I've been pondering that myself for the past few hours."
Gwen's eyes were fixed on the mountain chain behind Brandon. "How the hell did that get there?" she questioned, pointing at the face of the black rock. "Is this some kind of joke?"
"I'm afraid not," he replied as he tried to put a comforting arm around her. She pushed him away.
"Take me home. NOW!" she demanded. "This isn't funny any more."
He looked at her somberly. "I don't know the way home," uttered Brandon.
When Gwen noticed that he wasn't playing some prank on her, she freaked out. "How the hell can this be? How the hell does the whole landscape change?"
"Maybe we went through some portal or something," suggested the young man lightheartedly.
"That shit doesn't happen in real life, Brand!" shouted the blonde-haired young woman as she pushed her hair behind her ears.
"Well I don't have any other suggestions, Gwen. I- I don't know what to do," he answered, attempting to conceal the panic in his voice.
"We gotta think. We gotta think," she mumbled repeatedly. She began pacing back and forth, rubbing the palms of her hands together nervously. "My cell phone!" declared the golden-haired beauty as she ran back into the dark chamber. Brandon dutifully followed her, but his gut told him that the phone would be of no use to them. He was correct in his assessment. That's when Gwen started bawling. The young man did his best to console her, this time she didn't push him away. She clung to him and continued crying hysterically.
Brandon was frightened as well, but was determined to be strong, for her. They had enough food for maybe three scant meals. All the ice in the cooler had nearly melted and they had enough water to last a few days if they were prudent. They still had half a bottle of champagne, but that would only make them thirstier. That didn't matter to Gwen; she refused to pour it out. Instead, she gulped down every drop, preferring that beverage to water.
Gweneth offered Brandon a Vicodin tablet for his headache. He wasn't a big fan of pharmaceuticals, but he gladly took the proffered pill. His nerves could use some calming after the morning they had. Gradually, they both became somewhat sedated and spoke of their dilemma more rationally then before.
"Do you think we've entered the Twilight Zone?" queried Gwen thoughtfully.
Brandon began mimicking the theme from the classic TV show. He laughed.
"You know, I don't think we can wholly rule that out now, can we?" replied Brandon with a chuckle. "I would never have thought anything like this possible. I'd always thought that magics and such were a bunch of rubbish."
"Until now," chimed in Gweneth.
"Until now," he repeated in a serious tone. "There's definitely something trippy going on, that's for sure."
Shortly afterwards, the duo left the cavernous chamber and sat outside the cleft of the rock wall. Gwen didn't want to explore the area, but wanted to stay close to the cave. She thought that if they did travel by some portal or something equally as bizarre, then perhaps that night, it would happen again, and they'd wake up back in England once again. Brandon wasn't of the same opinion; he yearned to travel deeper into the woods to see if they could discover any signs of life. The mere mention of that scared Gwen. She had watched enough TV to know that there could be some creepy crawlers lurking in the woods, and she didn't want to become a meal for some demonic creatures.
They both fell into a fitful sleep later that night. While Brandon experienced some amazing dreams, Gwen was plagued with nightmares that left her with an ominous feeling the following morning. Much to their dismay, they were still in that mysterious place, not England.
"We've got no other choice, Gwen. We have to go. If we stay here, we'll end up starving to death," advised the young man later that morning.
"But we don't know what's out there," she protested.
"We have to go," he repeated again. The resolve in his voice indicated that the matter was not up for debate. Once Brandon made up his mind that was it. He was now in his take charge mode.
They filled the empty wine bottles with the melted ice water from the cooler. It was imperative that they find some type of water source as they had only enough to last two or three days. Brandon sat down and began removing the batteries from the boom box.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Gwen as she took a drag off her cigarette.
"I'm going to use these as a weapon should the need arise," he answered.
"A weapon?" she questioned with a chuckle. "What the hell are you gonna do? Chuck batteries?" Brandon scowled at her before removing his shoe and pulling off his sock. He slid the eight 'D' batteries into the sock and then swung it around. "So who are you… fuckin' MacGyver?" she queried sarcastically.
"Actually, I remember seeing something similar in Death Wish, except it was quarters, I believe," answered Brandon. "One whack to the head with this should incapacitate any villains we come across," he added with a smile.
Aside from the batteries and water-filled bottles, they took the blanket, a few pieces of chicken, bread, and the goblets. Brandon argued with her over taking the glasses, but Gwen refused to leave them behind. She thought that they might be used for bartering for food if they did come across any 'civilized' people. All those items were placed inside the basket, which Brandon carried. Gwen slung her purse over her shoulder. It contained mostly make up, drugs, cigarettes, her wallet, hairbrush, more drugs and chewing gum.
It was early afternoon when they left the cave. Brandon decided that they should head due east, following the black mountains. "Many springs issue from the feet of mountains, so perhaps we'll come across one as we travel."
"Whatever," she replied breathlessly as they continued to hike under the hot rays of the sun.
On the third day of their journey, they did manage to find some wild berries, which they happily ate, ripe or not. Unfortunately, they ran out of water later that evening. By that time, Gweneth had become bitchy as hell. She had broken several of her formerly well-manicured fingernails and she complained about how filthy she was. Both of them were suffering from a bad case of body odor. Brandon didn't fare much better, but it was only a minor annoyance when compared to the big picture of being lost in some mystical world.
The following morning, Gwen awoke amidst the fragrant trees only to find that Brandon was nowhere to be found. She started freaking out, screaming out his name while sobbing uncontrollably. They had been heading in a southwesterly direction, but she was unsure of which way he could have went, or if he had been abducted while she slept. All these horrible thoughts went through her mind. Gwen cursed herself for watching so many horror movies, she half-expected some deranged murderer to jump out at her any minute. She continued to shout Brandon's name, the forest seemed to be stifling her voice, frightening her even more.
Thirty minutes later, she could hear his faint voice calling back to her. She followed the sound until they finally caught sight of one another. A weeping Gweneth ran to him, leaping into his arms. Brandon embraced her trembling body tightly as feelings of guilt washed over him. The young man felt horrible that he had caused her so much anguish.
"Don't ever leave me alone," cried Gweneth. "I didn't know what happened to you."
He stood the blonde-haired girl back on her feet, wiping the tears from her dirt-streaked face.
"I'm sorry, my beautiful Gweneth," apologized the young man as he pushed the stray hairs off her face. "I shan't ever leave you alone again. I promise," he added softly before kissing her softly on the lips.
She looked into his deep gray eyes, attempting to regain her composure. "Do that again and I'll kick your ass," she shot back humorously, her arms still wrapped around his waist.
"Is that so?" he asked with a glint in his eye. Before she could respond, he picked her up in one swift motion and threw her over his shoulder, spanking her bottom playfully. She, in turn, started pinching his butt in an attempt to free herself from his clutches. "OW!" exclaimed the young man, putting Gwen on the ground.
"I didn't pinch you that hard!" she said incredulously.
He sat on the ground and pulled off his left shoe. "It's not that, it's my bloody heal," admitted Brandon before showing Gwen the huge blister that had burst open. Since he didn't have a sock on that foot, his new shoes were rubbing against his heal making it raw.
"Oh, damn," commented the American, her face showed her concern. "Does it hurt?"
Brandon rolled his eyes as he looked up at her. "Of course it hurts… You wouldn't happen to have any bandages in that bag of yours?" he queried.
"No, but I've got something for the pain," she answered before running through the woods to where their stuff was. Brandon called after her. "I'll be back in a minute," she replied as she disappeared amongst the trees.
Ten minutes later, she returned with all of their belongings. She sat down beside him and began rummaging through her purse.
"Listen, Gwen, I really don't want to get loopy first thing in the morning," remarked the young man, figuring that she'd give him one of her 'pain' pills. "We've got a lot of miles to put behind us today… "
"Don't be such a dumb-ass," smirked the young woman. She pulled out the baggie of powder. "Cocaine has anesthetic properties, it'll numb the pain," added Gwen. She wiped her fingers thoroughly on her pants before licking her index finger and sticking it into the powder. She gently applied the drug to his open wound. "That should do that trick," she said after she had finished nursing his injury. The young woman licked her finger clean before helping herself to a bump of the white powder; she needed the extra oomph before starting on their journey.
"It feels better already," said the surprised young man. "Thanks." Brandon never would have imagined that Gwen's illegal drugs would actually have a practical use. Even though the bandana was dirty, she insisted that he wrap it around his wounded foot before putting his shoe back on. The Brit did as she suggested.
They changed directions and traveled due south through the forest.
Many hours later, the lack of water had begun taking its toll on the teenagers. Their pace became slower and often they found themselves stumbling over fallen limbs. The rays of the afternoon sun managed to penetrate the boughs of the pine trees that now surrounded them. The air was hot, dry and still; both young people were drenched with sweat.
It was with great joy when the couple heard the rushing sounds of water, breaking the silence that had encompassed them throughout the day.
"C'mon Gwen," encouraged the young man. He took her hand before quickening their pace. The thought of quenching her parched mouth was enough to make Gwen move faster. Brandon led her down a game trail, knocking spider webs aside as they went.
They soon found themselves standing atop a cliff, looking down upon a clear river. The current was swift and based on the sunlight; it ran in a southeasterly direction. Their only problem was finding a way to get to it. The walls of the cliff were of sheer rock and impossible to descend. The teens continued to follow the course of the river, hoping beyond anything, that they'd find some way to reach its waters.
After walking another mile or so, their luck changed for the better. The teens came upon a spot, just past a bend in the river, where the stone cliff had eroded for some unknown reason, granting them easy access to the riverbank. Carefully, they walked across the broken rocks to a pebbly shoal.
"Thank god," uttered Brandon as both he and Gweneth dropped to their knees by the waterway. They used their cupped hands to transport water from the river to their mouths, savoring every drop that touched their dry mouths. Once they drank to the hearts content, they filled the empty bottles that they had been carrying with them.
"I'd say this is a pretty good place for us to rest a while," said Gweneth as she glanced at the tree that grew out of the side of the embankment, which created a natural shield from the mid-afternoon sun. "What do you think, Brand?" she asked the young man.
"I'm with you on that," he replied as he pulled off his shoes.
"I can't believe we actually get to wash up! How many days has it been since we've last bathed? Five?" she queried as she spread the blanket beneath the boughs of the tree.
"Yeah, I think so," answered Brandon, as he pulled off his t-shirt.
Before long, both teens pulled off their dirty clothes and cautiously walked out into the river. The current was strongest in the center so the couple stayed close to the shoreline. Brandon and Gwen scrubbed themselves clean before doing the same to their clothing. They hung their garments over some tree limbs to dry as they lay on the blanket watching debris floating downstream.
It was amazing how much the water had lifted the duo's spirits; it rejuvenated them. They were still hungry though, and spent way too much time talking about what they'd love to be eating at that moment. In the last twenty-four hours, all they had eaten were a handful of berries each.
Brandon watched as Gwen carefully rolled a joint; his hand softly stroked her naked back. He was so happy to see her finally loosening up. And things only got better after they smoked some weed; teasing words turned to playful touching, which in turn, led to sex.
As they lay there in post coital bliss, Brandon suddenly sat upright, nearly hitting his head on his khaki's that hung from the tree limb above him.
"Déjà vu!" he exclaimed.
"What? Really?" queried a slightly disoriented Gweneth.
"Oh yeah," he replied as he crawled out from underneath the canopy of leaves and got to his feet. Brandon looked down the river for several minutes before he continued. "It's weird as hell but we need to cross the river and continue to head south." He turned to Gwen, who was now sitting upright, brushing her long golden hair. "I have this uncanny notion that I've been here before. Isn't that bizarre?"
"You're stoned, Brand," answered Gwen as she pulled her hair into a scrunchie. "And I'm pretty sure you haven't been here before," she continued as she eyed the scenery, "wherever the hell here is."
"I'm serious, Gwen," declared the young man before dressing. "We're going to have to swim across."
"Fuck you!" protested the American with furrowed eyebrows. "I'm not fucking swimming across that. I'll drown!"
"No you won't," said Brandon reassuringly. "It's only about two hundred feet, that's nothing."
"To you!" cried out Gweneth in an affronted tone. "You're a jock, I'm not! My job's to stay slim and look pretty!"
"I'll show you how easy it is," suggested the young man. "I'll swim over and show you that it can be done, then I'll come back and we'll go together."
"You're fucking nuts!" she exclaimed as she started to dress. "And you're not leaving me! You promised!" whined Gwen.
"Then we'll go together," offered Brandon.
"NO!" shouted the young woman. "If we need to get across, let's keep walking along the river. Maybe we'll come across a bridge or something."
"Look how long it took us to find a cleft in the wall," argued the dark-haired teenager. "We're going to have to cross it by swimming, Gweneth. We need to get a move on before it gets dark."
Before the girl could protest some more, Brandon dove into the water, fully clothed, and began to swim across the river. Gwen stood on the shore hurling curses at the young man as the current took him further down stream. By the time he made it to the other side, he had drifted a good half mile past his starting point. The young man climbed up on a tree that had fallen into the water from the cliff on the opposite side of the watercourse.
"Stupid idiot," mumbled Gwen with a shake of her head. It was then that she heard the sound of boisterous singing coming from upstream. She was so startled by the sudden sound that she began to panic. "BRAND! SOMEONE'S COMING!" she foolishly shouted to her lover.
"HIDE!" came his breathless response. Gwen could tell, even from afar, that Brandon was exhausted from his swim.
Gwen stood there for a moment, frozen with fear. She heard the young man shout again before he dropped back into the water. She went to retrieve their belongings so nobody would know that they had been there. When she crawled under the boughs, she noticed a boat coming around the bend. Three scruffy men were in it and they were singing in a language that she didn't recognize.
"Fuck this," she whispered to herself as she ran up the rocky slope, leaving their stuff behind. Several of the small stones came rolling down causing her to loose her footing. "Oh, fuck, oh fuck," she repeated under her breath as she regained her footing and continued ascending the slope.
The men stopped singing and one of them shouted something, but Gweneth had no idea what he said or if he was even talking to her. She was too scared to look over her shoulder to find out. When she got to the top of the cliff, she ran into the woods about two hundred yards before hiding behind a large oak tree. She kept her back to the tree and attempted to catch her breath.
Tears began streaming down her face when she heard the sound of a man's voice in the woods with her. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep quiet but her breathing seemed amplified to her ears. Everything seemed still, Gwen could hear the crunching sound of the leaves on the forest floor. Her eyes desperately searched for something that could be used as a weapon. The only thing that she saw that would be effective was a heavy limb about twenty-five feet away. She was debating whether to run for it or not when a man jumped out from behind the tree and grabbed her, terrifying the girl even more.
He appeared to be well over six feet tall with broad shoulders. Gwen thought that he looked like a cross between Grizzly Adams and Hagrid with that bushy hair, both on the head and face. He tightened his grip on her arm. The look in his eyes, which lingered on her breasts, indicated that he had to be one of those creepy Deliverance type of characters. The banjo music played in her mind.
"Get your fucking filthy hands off me," she shouted, summoning all of her courage. His response was unintelligible to her ears; she couldn't understand him. Yet his behavior became more aggressive as he used his other hand to pull her against him. Gwen struggled like a wildcat. She raked her chipped fingernails across his face before kneeing him in the groin. She managed to escape, fleeing for the large limb on the ground only feet away. The gap was closing in when all of the sudden the beastly man jumped on top of her back sending her to the ground, face first. The impact knocked the wind out of her, leaving her somewhat stunned.
The brute then rolled her over on her back, his opened mouth reveal yellow and twisted teeth. The man backhanded her; Gwen immediately tasted blood in her mouth. He held her arms down over her head and she could smell the strong scent of alcohol on his breath as he attempted to kiss her. She tried to wrestle with him, but the man was too strong. Things only got worse when one of his friends showed up.
"BRAND!" she screamed, before the other evil man gagged her with a dirty cloth. She was nearly bowled over by their body odor, which was fouler than anything that she had ever smelled before. As the man who gagged her pinned her arms down, the other pulled her sweat pants and panties off. Her muffled screams fell on deaf ears. She closed her eyes, kicking her legs wildly at the other man until she was hit by a blow to the head, knocking her out.
When Gweneth started coming to, she heard loud grunting sounds in her ear. Her head ached as she once again became aware of her surroundings. That same smelly, bushy-haired man was on top of her getting his rocks off. Nausea engulfed the girl. She was now completely naked. When the man ejaculated, he climbed off her and exchanged places with the one that had held her arms down so that he could take a turn. Gwen couldn't believe what was happening to her. The young woman's horror escalated when the third man appeared, his voice sounded as gravely as his companions. She closed her eyes tightly and let out an inaudible cry of pain when she felt the filthy rogue penetrate her. Gwen could feel the other two men's hands groping her body as they held her down. Her worst nightmare had come true.
As the one man continued assaulting her, the other two began rubbing their exposed genitalia against either side of her face. No matter where she turned her head, she encountered an engorged member causing her to gag. She thought that she would pass out from the smell.
Time seemed to come to a standstill as Gweneth lay there with her eyes tightly closed, praying for that ordeal to come to an end. Only moments later, a blood-curdling scream rang out from one of the men. The young woman could hear the sound of the men shouting in their foreign tongue as their bodies began to collapse on top her. With her arms now free, she attempted to push their heavy forms off fearing that she'd suffocate beneath them. Gwen felt a stream of warmth on her nude body and assumed that one of them had just pissed on her. But she was wrong.
"Gwen! Gwen!" shouted Brandon tearfully, pushing the bodies off her.
The young woman opened her eyes only to see her lover standing over her, a scimitar in one hand, and a bloody battery-filled sock in the other. Gwen then noticed that her own body was covered with blood; she pulled the foul rag out of her mouth. Brandon helped her to her feet as she started retching. She managed to walk a few paces, before she collapsed to her knees, vomiting.
From behind, Gwen could hear Brandon cursing the evil men as he slashed them repeatedly with the blade. He did not stop until all three lay dead. All fell silent again except for his labored breathing and blonde girl's sobs. The soaking wet young man then approached his lover.
"I'm sorry, Gwen. I'm so sorry," he cried as he fell to his knees, unsure of how to comfort the distraught young woman. He was hesitant to touch her; many bruises covered her body. When she finished expelling the contents of her stomach, Brandon continued speaking to her in his most soothing voice. His heart broke. He failed to protect her. As tears streamed down both their faces, the young man led his lover back to the river in order to wash the filth from her flesh.