Tales From The Horror Dungeon

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That Old Dragon

As the thunder raged outside, Adam sat in his living room, attempting to read his latest textbook. Picking it up last week for his Microbiology Class, every word his eyes tried to focus on was interrupted by the sound of the pounding rain hitting his front porch. Becoming annoyed with the situation, he thought to himself, why? Why try to change careers? I’m happy being a carpenter, so why go back to college? Sure, my bones hurt, my muscles ache, and I can probably make so much more with a college degree, but is it really worth it at forty? 

This seemed to be the problem he suffered from more than any other… procrastination. He owned a small home, made a decent wage, and even had the newest electronics, but that never seemed to be enough. No, he always longed for more out of life without the drive to go out and get it. 

This dilemma was only exacerbated by the fact of his age and that he was still single. Being the type of male who always ended up in the dreaded ‘friend-zone,’ he knew multiple women, yet he was always too scared to tell them his real feelings. So instead, he chose to befriend them and hoped one day they would fall head-over-heels in love with him… as if that has ever worked for any man in history. 

And where did that lack of confidence get him? No girlfriend, still making another contractor rich off his fine woodworking skills, not even a nest egg other than Social Security, he had nothing to show from it. Yet, just signing up for classes at the community college was a first step that took him years to finally take. 

After a sip from his diet Dr. Pepper, he got up from the couch and walked over to the window, looking out at the storm the weatherman said would pass them by. He shook his head and wondered how anyone could be wrong seventy-five percent of the time and still keep their job? And not only staying employed but getting regular pay raises and accolades from everyone in town. Meteorology, what a joke. 

Turning towards the hall, he headed to the bathroom, ready to return-to-sender the soda he had been drinking all night. Inside, he turned on the light and lifted the seat because even living alone, he still hoped one day there would be someone for whom he needed to put the seat down. After finishing up, he slammed the lid down and flushed before looking in the mirror. Damn, I’m handsome, he thought. I have a full head of hair, blue eyes, and a great chin. I’m not overweight, so why am I still alone? What the hell is wrong with me? God, what I would give for a woman in my life. Is that really too much to ask? 

Nearly jumping out of his skin, he heard a loud knock on his front door. Turning back to the hall, he slowly made his way over as the knocking continued. Not expecting anyone and not friends with his neighbors, he had no idea who could be out there banging away. But, even with his heart in his throat, he still approached. Bang, bang, bang!

Finally, he looked through the peephole of the door but saw no one there because the porchlight was burnt out, and he was too lazy to replace it. Louder and faster, bang-bang-bang! Working up the courage, he asked, “Who’s out there?”

Then a very feminine voice responded, “My car broke down. Can I please use your phone?”

Through the door, he asked, “Don’t you have a cellphone?”

“It’s dead because I forgot to charge it.”

“Who forgets to charge their cell?”

“Please… it’s really coming down hard out here.”

“It’s really late.”

Please, sir… I’m getting drenched out here. I could really use your help right now.”

Against his better judgment, Adam opened the door allowing the light from inside to shine on the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. With long flowing, fiery red hair, dark eyes, and cream-colored skin covering the definition of a perfect female body, she had no equal he had ever laid his eyes upon. Wearing a wet, short black dress that stuck to her every curve, leaving very little to the imagination, she said, “Thank you. I don’t know what I would’ve done if you weren’t home. I tried a couple other houses, but no one seems to be there.” 

Still drinking it all in, he replied, “That’s funny my neighbors are an older couple who never leave their house.”

“Weird, maybe I missed their house. But anyway, can I come in and use your phone?”

“I mean, it’s ten o’clock at night… how is nobody else home?”

Smiling something fierce, she responded, “What is this… the inquisition? I tried a few other houses, and no one was there.”

Adam returned her smile, “No, I didn’t mean anything by that. I’m sorry… won’t you please come in? My name is Adam.”

She walked over the threshold and now stood inside the entryway in all her glory. Turning to him, she put her small hand on his chest, sending a chill to his bones, before she softly said, “Adam… I love that name. Mine is Lilly.”

“Lilly… that’s a beautiful name.”

“Oh, thank you so much. I was named after my great-grandmother… well, or so I was told when I was a little girl. But, then again, my mother always told me some of the weirdest things when I was young.”

“My folks were exactly the same when I was a kid.”

Looking around the small, immaculately clean living room, which pretty much only consisted of a matching brown leather sofa and chair, a sizeable sixty-inch flatscreen over the fireplace, and zero art on the walls, Lilly asked, “So, Adam… how about that phone?”

His trance broken, he reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell, swiped his security pattern, and said, “Oh yeah, sorry. Here you go.”

Then, handing it to her, she said, “Thank you,” and proceeded to make a call. With the phone to her ear, she walked around the sofa towards the fireplace to warm herself while she waited for someone on the other end to pick up. Placing her left forearm on the mantle, she rested her head while tapping her foot as she waited through the rings. Yet, as the seconds ticked by, she seemed to grow more annoyed as no one picked up. Finally, turning back to Adam, she said, “Well, shit… my roommate isn’t picking up. Maybe I can wait a little while and then try again. What do you think?”

Not really tired and far from wanting to keep studying, Adam responded, “Sure. I don’t see a problem with hanging out for fifteen to twenty minutes or so. I really didn’t have anything better to do.”

With water dripping from his guest’s hair, he noticed it beginning to puddle on the floor beneath her feet, almost creating a mirror on the already glossy wood floors of what treasures lay above. Not wanting to be that guy who would gawk at any instance where certain more private areas were visible, he excused himself and made a beeline for the linen closet to grab her a towel. 

Then, racing back to her with a towel in hand, he said, “Here, beautiful, you should dry off before you get sick… or something like that.”

Handing it to her, they both felt a spark when their fingers touched during the exchange. This caused Lilly’s smile to grow as she responded to the gesture, “Oh, did you feel that? I think we may have a bit of chemistry going on.”

Of course, ruining the mood, he replied, “Yes, I felt that. It’s the old carpet in the hallway. I tend to drag my feet, which causes a lot of static electricity.”

Wiping off her face and hair, she looked down and saw the microbiology textbook on the coffee table, “Seriously, Adam. Sure, science can explain almost everything… but what if the spark was something more? Something beyond this realm. Maybe something like two lost souls who’ve traveled the eons of time looking for one another… and then finally found themselves on a dark stormy night. Have you ever considered that?”

Watching as she continued drying herself off, rubbing down the dress that seemed to get shorter as she caressed the fabric, he responded, “I guess there can be some magic to it, but I’ve been so focused on trying to get my degree in Forestry that I’ve lost that sense of wonder.”

“You seem a little bit old to be going to college.”

“Well, honestly, I’m a carpenter, but I’ve grown bored with cutting wood and want to try something different with my life. You know what I mean?” 

“Everybody grows tired with their lives at some point. And I guess that’s where the old expression, change is good, comes from.”

“What do you do, Lilly?”

“Oh, a little of this and a little of that. Nothing really that doesn’t excite me.”

Taken aback by such a simplistic statement for someone who has worked every day since he graduated high school, he asked, “What about money?”

Smiling, she responded, “Money… what’s money? It’s nothing more than a chain around your neck. Whatever happened to passion? Passion for life, passion for love… passion for sex? If all you worry about is your next paycheck, you’ve become nothing more than a slave to the system… one in which I choose not to take part in. Anyway, I always find a way to eat and make ends meet.”

“Wow, that’s a crazy way to look at things. I don’t think I could live like that. I need to know where my next meal is or how many hours of overtime I need to work to pay my mortgage.” 

Walking over to the couch, she took a seat, crossed her legs, and looked back at him with a smile, “You have passion in you. Think about it. You said you’re a carpenter, yet you are going back to school to learn something new that could change your career path. To me… that’s passion. A step you are taking into the unknown.”

Taking a seat on the chair next to the sofa, he replied, “Huh. I never really looked at it like that. No, I’m just tired of always being tired. Dirt under my nails, splinters on my fingers, sawdust in my hair… tired of being dirty all the time.”

With a slight laugh, she said, “Well… I like to be dirty sometimes, don’t you?”

Watching as she began to seductively rub her knees and upper thighs, he wondered if she meant her statement in a dirty way, forcing him to ask, “I don’t get what you mean, Lilly?”

Grinning just wide enough to show her porcelain teeth, she replied, “Passion, Adam… passion. If you can’t get dirty every once and a while, then how will you know when you're clean? Kind of like, if you don’t practice a little bit of evil every now and then, how will you know when you’re being good? But anyway, what does your girlfriend think about you changing careers?”

Turning back to the fireplace from the heat he felt being generated on the couch, he replied, “I don’t have a girlfriend because apparently women like assholes, not nice guys.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Adam. Little girls like assholes, but a woman likes confidence. They like a man who is ready to take on the world, someone who doesn’t take no for an answer. We want a king, not a jester. It doesn’t matter what you look like, as I can see you take good care of yourself and are very handsome, but the fat guy who walks into the room and doesn’t take shit from anyone will always score the victory. Do you know what I mean?”

“Yeah, I guess so. I just don’t know what’s wrong with me. I see a beautiful girl, such as yourself, and I clam up. Honestly, you’re the first girl I even feel comfortable telling this to. What is it about you that makes me want to open up like I am?”

“It’s my honesty, Adam… it’s very infectious.”

“Yeah, I can see that.”

“Ask me anything, and I’ll tell you the truth… no matter how shocking or embarrassing it is.”

Smiling, he thought of a question he had been told all women hate and most lie about, “How old are you?”

Laughing, she responded, “Oh, how dare you… you know never to ask a woman that question. But, I said I’d be honest, so I’m twenty-one with plenty of years of experience.”

With a slight chuckle, “That’s really funny, Lilly.”

Returning with the same question, “How old are you? Wait, let me guess… twenty-five.”

Continuing to laugh, he replied, “Well, now I know your lying because I just turned forty last month.”

“Oh, please, you don’t look a day over thirty-nine and a half.”

“Uh-huh.”

“So let me ask you something now. Have you ever had a long-term relationship?”

“Well, I’ve had a few girlfriends but never anything really long-term. I don’t know. Women always seem to grow bored with me after a few weeks.”

“Why? Don’t you like to experiment… or are you one of those Mr. Missionary types?”

“Ummmm, wow, that’s a bit personal, Lilly.”

“So what if it is? Answer the question.”

“I just don’t feel comfortable telling a strange woman I just met, no matter how sexy she is, about my love life.”

Leaning forward, the lowcut neckline of her dress exposed more skin than before, “Come on, Adam… don’t be such a prude. Life is meant to be experienced, not just walked through with your blinders on.”

Attempting not to stare at her cleavage, he said, “That’s easy for you to say. But I have so many responsibilities that I can’t just live my life like you do.”

“And there you go. That’s why women aren’t throwing themselves at you. You’re way too worried about paying the bills or what other people think of you to truly experience the pleasures life has to offer. If you were to just give in and live in the moment, you would shine like the brightest star in the morning sky.”

Sitting back, he looked at the ceiling, “No, I wish I could. But I just can’t.”

“Adam, look at me.” 

Reaching to her neckline, she began to run her fingers on the exposed skin of her breasts as she stared deep into his eyes. Then leaning even further forward, exposing so much more, she continued, “We are sexual beings who need to feel the skin of another underneath our fingers. We need love, we need compassion, we need… sex. It’s our basic animal instinct. So give into yours, and you’ll be so much happier on your journey. This I can promise you.”

Watching her every movement, he said, “You say these things because life hasn’t beaten you up enough at your age. Sure, when I was in my early twenties, I thought life would turn out different, but then it just kept sucker-punching me in the gut, turning me into the man you now see before you.”

“Yes, life may have beat you up, but you’re doing something about it.”

“Like what?”

“Are you not going back to school to learn a new profession? Or are you just going there to look at all the hot young ass like me on the campus? I know you have devious thoughts whenever you see some young chick in tight yoga pants walk by you. And that’s okay… you’re a man, and you need to feel this to know you’re alive.”

“Yes, I’m going back to learn something new and hopefully start down a different path in life. But I really don’t feel like telling you about my so-called devious thoughts when I see a sexy woman.”

Sitting back, Lilly crossed her legs to the other side, “Don’t lie to me, Adam. I know when I walked through your door, you saw me and imagined me dropping to my knees and pleasuring you. But that’s fine. You’re a man, and I’m a woman, and those are the thoughts we’re supposed to have… it’s perfectly natural.”

Uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had taken, Adam stood up and looked at his watch, “It’s been close to twenty minutes… why don’t you try and call your roommate again?”

“No, we’re talking about you and why you’re sitting here alone on a Friday night, reading some extremely boring microbiology book, instead of being out hunting down a woman to score with. Because even at forty, your cock should still be guiding your way.”

“Okay, Lilly, I think this conversation is getting a bit too graphic for my liking.”

Smiling, she responded, “Sit back down, Adam. All I’m telling you is that women have the same feelings you’re trying to suppress. I don’t mean to make you uncomfortable, but maybe you need to be, to understand that you are a man and need to take back what is yours.” 

“And what is it that is supposed to be mine?”

“Your manhood. The media, the church, hell, even society has tried to rob you of your primal instincts. But I’m here to tell you that you still have them. You are a hunter, and women should be your prey.”

Looking her over, trying to process everything she had told him, he focused on her perfectly sculpted body. God, she’s stunning, he thought. But why would this woman who had never seen him before a half-hour ago tell him such things? Yes, she was right. His spirit had been broken by his lack of confidence to speak to the opposite sex. And yes, that had led him down the path of loneliness he was on, but how could he become the man she was telling him he needed to be? No, it just wasn’t possible. He was the nice guy, the friend, not the lover he had longed to be. 

Sitting back down, he finally found the courage to speak up again and asked, “Okay… so how do I re-capture this caveman mentality that you say I have buried deep down?”

Getting off the couch, Lilly sat on the floor at Adam’s feet, looking up at him, staring directly into his eyes. This was a look that he had not experienced in a very long time, the look of passion she was talking about. She then said, “Taking back your manhood is so very simple. First, you must wash yourself of your mind’s constraints brought on by years of oppression. Then, reboot yourself like a computer, but this time not in safe mode.”

Looking down at her lustful gaze, he responded, “Oh, how I wish I could. I wish for nothing more than the touch of a beautiful woman.”

Putting her hand on his knee, she said, “Like this?”

Feeling a jolt of powerful electricity race up his leg, he responded, “My God, yes! Just like that.”

Then, grabbing his other knee with her free hand, she raised up to his face, closed her eyes, and took in his every breath. With her head on a swivel, she became entranced with the sounds coming from the perfect lungs of forty years of clean living. Finally, opening her black eyes to his, she asked, “Can I kiss you?”

“But we just met.”

“So… what does that have to do with anything? You’re a man, and I’m a woman. This is what we are meant to do.”

“I don’t know what to think about this?”

“You don’t need to think… you just have to be in the moment and act like the hunter that I know you are.”

“Yeah, but this is really weird to me.”

“Don’t let it be. Let your animal come out and play for a while. You will be so much happier in the life you have left to live… I promise you that.”

Seeing that he was not leaning in to kiss her, she took control and leaned into him. Touching his lips with hers, he felt the power this strange woman held over the world. The passion for the moment that she spoke of was all true. The feelings of pleasure were real, and with her mouth next to his, he could feel everything she had told him.

Pulling back, she said, “I felt your soul in that kiss. I knew you had it in you… no matter how far suppressed, you keep it.”

“But this is so crazy, Lilly! I don’t know anything about you.”

“You know everything you need to know about me.”

“No, I mean, I don’t know where you live, what you do, or even your last name.”

“Those are all meaningless things to know. You just need to know that I’m here in the moment, and so are you. That’s it. That’s all that is important in your life right now.”

Not believing what was happening, he said, “But-“

Forcing her legs between his and the armrests, straddling him, she responded, “No buts… this must happen to break you from your self-imposed prison.”

Then, grabbing the sides of his face, she again pressed her lips against his. But this time, going even deeper into her lustful feelings for him. On the other hand, he attempted to not seem too desperate, even though he was, keeping his hands tightly clinched on the armrests. This caused her to pull away from the kiss and ask, “Why are you not touching me? Am I not the woman who haunts your dreams? So what, do you not find me desirable?”

“My God, no! You’re so beautiful. I just… I just have never moved this fast with a woman. Let alone a woman as stunning as you.”

Putting her hands on his firm chest, built by years of heavy lifting, she responded, “You must move this fast sometimes, or else your life will pass you by, leaving you to regret everything you missed out on. Do you really want to miss out on knowing me like the countless other women you have not dared to take control of?”

“No, I want to know you… but this is just moving so fast for me.”

“Life moves fast. Live it before you die. Now touch me!”

Moving in again, she felt his hands finally make their way to her back, softly caressing as if he was scared that he would break her. This forced her to say, “I’m not a glass doll. I want you to touch me with force. I want to feel your hands deep down, massaging my muscles.”

Kissing him again, she felt her orders being carried out. Rubbing her back harder, his hands found their way lower, causing her to whisper in his ear, “Very good, Adam. Now you are living in the moment. I want you to explore more of my young body.”

Kissing him again before he could respond, he followed her instructions. Touching her every curve, he felt the pleasures of her body as his began to rise. Yet, the thoughts of this can’t be happening kept rearing its ugly head as he attempted to stay in the moment she told him to live in. But then, like a lightning strike from out of nowhere, those thoughts disappeared, and he truly began living in the here and now. 

Grabbing a firm hold on her ass, he used every ounce of strength he could muster, lifted up from the chair, and began carrying her to the bedroom. The hunter she told him he was had ventured to the surface, and he was ready to partake in the spoils of his prey. This action was what she wanted, what she was trying to get him to do, causing her to say, “Yes, now you’re acting like a man! And I want you to ravage me as such.”

Heading through the bedroom door, Adam dropped her on the bed and removed his shirt. Then, as he began to unzip his jeans, she rose up and forced him down on the mattress. “Are you ready to feed me what I crave, Adam?”

“Yes-yes! God, yes!”

With a large smile, she responded, “That’s what I wanted to hear because I need to feel your flesh inside me.”

Grabbing the hem of her dress, she pulled it over her hips, breasts, and finally, her head, exposing every lustful thought any man had ever dreamt about. Dropping to her knees, she spread his legs apart, pulled down his briefs, lowered her head to his manhood, and began to explore his ever-growing ego. Writhing in sexual pleasure, the ecstasy given by this mysterious woman caused every muscle in his body to tense up as she continued her mission. Locking his knees, his expansion of enjoyment filled her mouth. But as soon as Lilly felt the throbbing of what was about to come, she raised her head and looked directly into his eyes, saying, “It’s time.”

Rising back to her feet and taking hold of her panties, she leaned over and pulled them down, exposing her perfect back, leading him to exclaim, “You’re so amazing.”

Lifting back up and without warning, her skin had turned to scales, and her face transformed into something evil. With a large grin that extended from ear to ear, making clear her intentions with a mouth full of fangs, Adam lay there, too scared to move. All he could do was witness how this once beautiful woman had turned into a grotesque serpent-like monster, complete with the horns of a rattlesnake upon her head and nose. With the eyes of a snake to the sides of her reptilian head, she said, “I’m so hungry for you.”

‘God no! What the fuck are you?”

Oh… I’m just some old dragon cursed long ago to live like this by him, the Traveler who walks the backroads, hidden behind the shadows of society.”

Terrified beyond belief, he asked, “Are you going to kill me?”

With drool dripping from the sides of her large lip-less smile as her forked tongue tasted his fear that filled the air, she said, “Well, of course, I am, Adam… don’t be silly. That’s what I do.”

“But why me?” He cried.

“Because I love you and want you to be a part of me.”

“No, God… please don’t!”

“Did you not wish for a woman in your life right before I arrived? No, you did, and I heard you, so I came, my love.”

“No, this can’t be real… this can’t be fucking real!”

Approaching the edge of the bed, she looked down and responded, “But, my love… I must feed, or else I will die!”

As he screamed out, “No,” Lilly pounced atop him and began tearing at his flesh with her razor-sharp claws. With his blood flying in every direction, his pain was amplified tenfold when she leaned her head down and took her first bite from his chest, ripping the first layer of skin and muscle fiber to shreds. Unable to move from the assault, she grabbed hold of his bicep between her long fingers, plucking it from his arm, and bringing it to her mouth. While still straddling him, she raised her prize above her head, squeezing it as if it was nothing more than a kitchen sponge, letting the blood pour into her mouth. But still not hoping to kill him just yet, she said, “Stay with me, Adam… stay with me. I want you to enjoy this as much as I am.”

Then another bite, and another, as his vision turned red from the blood spewing out from the grave slashes all over his face. With every touch her sharp nails made on his skin, it left a deep gash, exposing more air upon the nerve endings, increasing the pain to a level unimaginable. Then another and another as she ripped the remaining flesh from his ribcage, exposing his organs beneath the bone, causing him to go limp in complete shock. “Adam… Adam, are you still with me, my love?”

Cradling his face with her long talons, she went in for a final bite of his neck, tearing out his trachea and jugular vein, finally ending his torture. Returning with blood dripping from her mouth, she looked down at her prey and smiled. Cupping her long fingers behind his clavicle, she lifted his upper body to hers. Then, leaning into his lips, she kissed his for a final time before lovingly saying, “Oh, Adam, you were so very delicious… you truly were. Thank you… thank you so much for feeding my hunger, that old dragon!”