Photograghic Memory

PPhotographic Memory
Warnings: For this chapter, none.
Word Count: 2429
Disclaimer: This is fiction. I don't own the people or the characters. I make no claims about their sexuality or lifestyles. Still no profit being made.

Chapter 22
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Orli leaned over to Viggo's ear, "What was that all about?"

"I don't know, but if a coven, order, group, or what ever else they want to be called, wants to use my graveyard on Halloween, I'm not going to stop them. Speaking of which," he turned to address his group, "Change in plans guys. Let's light the torches and get the hell out of here. I will give you your photos when we get upstairs."

There was general agreement all the way around with a resounding cheer from Billy who volunteered to lead the way. They lit their torches and started back to the house.

Viggo and Orlando led the way, following the path through the forest. They walked along quietly, very aware of their surroundings. The normal crunch and crackles of the wildlife around them took on whole new dimensions. The group moved closer together as the night pressed in on them.

When the clouds rolled in obscuring the stars and moonlight, they were left in the pitch-dark woods with only the torches for light. Viggo paused then and had Orlando pass his torch back to Sean in order to spread the light some.

Sean was having a much easier time of it now. Eric had sobered up enough to walk on his own and Billy was more than eager to get where they were going this time. Sean took the torch and they continued walking in silence.

Well, as silent as they could be.

Dominic and Elijah were making suspicious noises, whispering and gasping occasionally. Sean couldn't see much in the dismal light cast by his torch. All he could make out from behind them was that they were walking close together, arm in arm. Whatever groping they were doing in front was a mystery in the dark.

In front of Dom and Elijah were Karl and David. They were walking close too, but not touching each other. They kept leaning back and forth whispering and snickering. Occasionally their hands would brush each other, which was the only thing that even vaguely hinted at their conversation.

Karl and David had come along on this little trip for reasons other than "Sean asked them". Any time either of them were in town, dropping in on Viggo was one of the first things they did. Sean mentioned a party and that was all they needed to know. Past experiences have proved that a party at Viggo's meant several things. Most important to them, there would usually be several means to alter one's state of consciousness. There would be good food, good people to hang with, there would always be some sort of amusing entertainment, (knowing Viggo), and a place to sleep. Because one more thing you could usually count on at one of Vig's parties, was that you usually didn't wake up alone.

The pictures weren't even a consideration to them. They both knew Viggo pretty well, neither of them even entertained the notion that Viggo would give them his only copies. No, they were here for other reasons and so far had not been disappointed.

David and Karl were both pretty well on their way to drunk. Their current state of arousal, they could attribute to several things, including the possibility that Vig's had slipped them something. The cemetery scare-fest had been kinda cute and just something they figured Viggo had set up for Halloween. The high point for these two, and another contributing factor to their current state, had been the erotic peak at Viggo's favorite toy.

There had been the lovely Orlando in all his naked glory. The way he had looked and moved when he came had been the visual definition of erotic bliss. If he ever decided to change career paths, Orlando definitely had a future in porn.

Their only real concern at this point was how they could catch Viggo alone. Karl wanted to hit him up for some weed, or maybe something stronger, and knew Viggo wouldn't discuss it in front of Orlando.

The noises from the forest grew louder as the guys continued down the dark path. They found themselves edging even more closely together as the crunch and crackle of twigs came nearer to the path they were on. There was a collective sigh of relief and their pace quickened when they cleared the woods into the back yard.

When they reached the kitchen door Viggo showed Sean where to mount his torch. Only one was needed to light the fireplaces, the other being merely a back up. The extra one they left standing by the back door.

Viggo walked through the door, into the kitchen, being very cautious with the remaining flame. The high ceilings of the old house added a measure of safety, but not much.

He reached for the light switch just as the over-whelming coppery scent of blood hit his nose. Viggo staggered backward as he grappled for the switch.

The light that flooded the room did nothing to disperse the odor. Viggo turned slowly toward the table expecting to see the corpse of a once beautiful woman slumped there. Her dark hair would be matted and clumped. The blood, seeping from the hole in her head, would form a puddle that would slowly creep across the floor.

He had seen this before. When the blood puddle reaches the counter the woman would rise from the table, retrieve a bucket and mop it up, sobbing the whole time. The scene played out like this every night. In fact, it had already occurred tonight. Even so, he was surprised when he faced the bare empty table.

The smell, even without a source, was so strong it left that coppery taste in his mouth.

Orlando entered the room behind Viggo. It took only seconds before the smell hit him.

"Oh fuck!" was all he managed as his hand flew to his mouth and he ran to the sink gagging.

Viggo moved quickly to the fireplace, anxious to get this room over with.

Orli had turned away from the sink, his hand still covering his mouth. Sitting the case with the pictures on the counter, he fanned himself with the other hand as he fled into the other room.

Viggo got the fire started and looked up to see Orlando backing his way back into the kitchen. He quickly slammed the door leading to the dining room shut and leaned against it. Apparently there were worse things than the smell of blood because Orlando was now taking deep gulps of air and shaking his head.

Billy walked in next and froze in his tracks.

"Oh my God, it smells like, like death in here. Like.. like.. something died."

Sean grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back out the door, the whole time muttering, "Holy fuck, Viggo. What the bloody hell have you done?"

Exiting behind Billy, Sean quickly looked around to see where Eric was.

Viggo pulled Orlando away from the door and reached for the doorknob. Intending to have a look himself until Orlando lunged for his arm screaming, "NOOOOOO!"

Viggo, wrapping his arms around the hysterical young man and pulling him close, began trying to sooth him "Calm down, Orli. It's all right baby, just calm down. Nothing here can hurt you."

"Viggo," Orli responded very slowly, "Exactly how sure are you of that?"

Their eyes locked.

"I.. Well.. Victoria said.. Fuck."

"Vig, why don't we just go in through the den? That way we can light the fireplace there and in the living room and head on upstairs? We don't need to go this way." Orlando was obviously very shaken.

"What did you see?"

"It was.. big. Real big, Viggo. It looked.. slimy and bloody. Almost, I.. I don't.. It was big, Viggo. Just don't open the bloody door!" Orlando all but stumbled over his words.

"Orlando.."

Orli clapped both hands to Viggo's mouth. "That's what it said. Just like that. Sounding just like you.. only, with phlegm."

Viggo stared at him as Orlando's hands dropped.

"You stay right next to me. I want to feel one of your hands on me at all times." He stuffed Orli's fingers into the top of his pants. "Don't let us get separated." Viggo warned. "No matter what!"

"Viggo, it turned to me and said my name."

"I know baby, just stay with me, alright?"

"It didn't have any eyes. It's eyes were gone. How did it know it was me? How did it know where I was standing?"

Viggo did not answer. He put one arm around Orli's shoulders and checked that the younger man's hand was clinging tightly to the top of his pants. He picked up the photo case off the counter and Orli took it with his other hand. Only then did Viggo grab the torch that he had hastily propped against the table and they quickly headed outside.

Sean was standing by the door waiting for them. "What the hell died in there, Viggo?"

"Died? Try slaughtered, judging by the smell," Billy shuddered as he spoke.

"There's nothing in there, just the smell, must have been an animal or something. We can go in through the den, it's just around here." He motioned with his torch and led them around the house.

They were passing the back entrance to the hall when a streak of bright white light briefly illuminated the yard around them revealing a bunch of what looked like dogs or wolves at the edge of the forest. They were sitting on their haunches, watching.

Within seconds a very loud clap of booming thunder caused the ground under them to shake.

"Maybe we should head in through the hall, Vig?" Orli was staring in the direction of the beasts. Now that he knew they were there, he could see their faintly glowing eyes in the dark.

Viggo had lived here for several months now. While he had heard howling in the distance, he had never seen any wolf tracks near the house. He was silently thankful that the others hadn't seemed to notice the animals, except for Sean and Eric.

Sean stood there glaring at Viggo as he struggled to keep a grip on Eric. One hand was tightly gripping the back of Eric's shirt and Sean's other arm was around his waist. Eric was leaning forward, chanting "Here Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.."

"Knock it off, Eric! Those aren't kitties!" Sean nearly growled at the drunken man.

Viggo steered Orli toward the hall entrance then handed him his torch. Viggo reached for the doorknob and turned it, feeling slightly leery of what he was going to find. However, when he turned the knob to open the door nothing happened. The door wouldn't budge. The knob turned fine and freely, but the door would not move.

He made Orlando stand behind him, and then he tried to push on it with both hands. It just wouldn't budge. Sean turned Eric over to Karl and David for babysitting so that he could help. He and Viggo both tried pushing against it, to no avail. Karl's idea of helping was to shout "Have you tried 'Speak friend, and enter'?"

More lightening flashed across the sky, immediately followed with the loud clap of rumbling thunder.

Sean and Viggo wrestled with the stuck door until the wind started picking up.
"Fuck this. Let's head for the den." Viggo glanced at the tree line as he spoke looking for any signs of glowing eyes.

Sean nodded then turned to go retrieve Eric who was deep in conversation with Karl and David. Standing between them, with one arm over each man's shoulders, Eric was nodding his head and agreeing to everything they said.

Eric grinned wide when Sean walked up. He pulled his arms away from David and Karl to wrap them around Sean's neck. Eric then pressed himself up against Sean.

"You came back for me! I knew you would!" Eric nearly shouted as he nuzzled into the older man's neck.

Sean rolled his eyes, pried Eric's hands loose, and turned him around so they could follow Viggo.

As they trudged along toward the entrance to the den, it started raining. Just a light splattering at first, but the air was thick with promises of more to come. The clouds had blocked out any possibility of moonlight and the small lawn torch did little to help. The strobe effect caused by the lightening added to the feeling of urgency that was beginning to weigh heavy on each of them.

When Viggo reached the door, he grabbed the knob and quickly threw the door open. He honestly didn't remember if he had locked it, and right now, he didn't care. His only concern, at this time, was getting Orlando inside, and of course, the others as well. They just happened to be his second concern, not his primary one.

With Orlando still attached to his hip, Viggo wasted no time flipping on the lights and moving to the fireplace.

Sean handed Eric off to Billy and motioned them through the door. Billy took Eric's hand and led him inside. They settled on the sofa with Billy watching the door for Sean and Eric starring longingly at the videotape sitting on the bar.

David and Karl were the next ones through the door. Dave was hopping back and forth trying to avoid Karl's pinching fingers.

Between hopping, giggling, and pinching, they stumbled through the door and landed in a heap on the floor.

Karl's pinching fingers had managed to get under David's shirt and latched onto his nipple. David had gasped and responded in the only way he knew how. He shoved his hand between Karl's legs and grabbed a handful in an attempt to distract him.

They were both still struggling to get their feet under them and ended up knocking themselves back down again.

Billy was laughing madly and elbowing Eric to get his attention. Eric slowly pulled his gaze away from "the tape" which Viggo had left sitting on the bar, to take in the sight before him.

"Heeey, they are mud wrestling with no mud!" Eric stated indignantly, "Viggo! They need mud!"

"No they don't." He replied as he watched the fire catch and spread along the logs.

"Viggo, we have a problem." Sean stood in the doorway; his face bore a mixture of concern and anger.

"What is it?" Viggo asked even though he really didn't want to know.

"We are short a couple of hobbits."

"What?"

"Elijah and Dom are missing."

~Continued~