Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 DEATH BECOMES HER by Invid Fan (c)2013

   Chapter 3



   The Red Thing was just standing against the wall, trembling.

   It is hard, very hard, to stay furious and defensive at something weak
and terrified.  Menolly wanted to.  The gods knew that.  She wanted to hate
this thing.  Hate it with every fiber of her being, drive it back into
whatever reality it was from.  Death should be invisible.  You should never
have to see it coming for you.

   It was Canth that decided it for her.  As the seconds passed, the red
skinned girl just standing there, unmoving, his tail slowly lowered.  The
growling stopped.  Taking a tentative step forward, Canth lowered his head,
a slight whine coming from him.  Almost as if apologizing.

   Menolly had to do something.  She did NOT want the creature to touch
Canth.  There was too much risk in that.  She called him over, the dog
whirling to bound over to her, relieved.  Even as he began to jump up onto
her, she was pushing him back down with her left hand.  Reaching over, she
held her pizza cutter out towards Jeff.

   "Here.  Take this."

   He took it, fingers touching hers momentarily.  He frowned, eyes
confused.

   "How can she be Death?"

   "Later."

   "No.  Now." His gaze went between her and the thing.  "Tell me what the
fuck is going on."

   "Let me find out myself, OK?" Moving around Canth, she slowly walked
towards the Red Thing.  Menolly could practically hear Jeff fold his arms
across his chest.

   "You seem to know a lot about her already."

   Yes.  Yes she did.  More than should be known, especially by...

   Menolly sighed.  She was being a bitch.

   "Just...  give me a moment."

   The unreal girl was watching her closely as she approached.  Those white
eyes were disconcerting, but, again, no different than Ai.  That's what she
had to focus on.  This was another Ai.  Yet, she couldn't let that lead her
down a garden path.  Ai was sexual.  For all orgasm has been called a
"little death", that was not the case here.

   Menolly stopped before her.  The creature was shorter than her, perhaps
five feet compared to her five foot, nine inch frame.  Her yellow hair, a
pure, organic yellow, fell down her back like it would on any human.  The
white tunic was rough, primitive.  Menolly had never seen the one Ai had
entered this world in, but this seemed similar to what had been described
to her.  Sewing obviously was not an advanced skill in the other reality.
Bracing herself, Menolly slowly squatted.  A slight wave of dizziness came
over her.  She had exerted herself too much today.  She needed food, her
medicine.  Sleep.  Ignoring the whining of Canth, and the questions of
Jeff, she looked the creature in the eye.

   "Hello."

   There were no eyebrows, or even a ridge for them.  Just those large eyes
set in a human head.  The thing looked back.  Menolly took another breath.

   "It's OK.  We won't hurt you.  You're safe." Yeah.  Right.  Because it
was this creature who was in danger here.  "My name is Menolly.  Menolly.
Do you have a name?"

   The head cocked.  A reaction.  Good.  Menolly forced a smile.

   "Tell me your name."

   There was a shift in those white eyes.  She could see it.  Describe it,
no, but it was definitely there.  Lips, almost a pink against the red of
its skin, moved.  The creature whispered.

   "Ve..."

   Menolly heard the sound of the pizza cutter hitting the wooden floor of
the cabin.  Her opinion of the guy went down a bit more.  You don't drop a
weapon when startled.  His voice came, unsteady.

   "She..."

   "She talks, yes.  Your name is Ve?" Menolly smiled again.  The Red Thing
nodded slowly.  "That's a good name.  A very good..."

   "What the HELL is she?  Tell me!"

   Ve's eyes shifted over Menolly's head.  They seemed to change again. 
Soften, maybe.  Menolly closed her own eyes, tired.  Was there a connection
between these two?  Yes.  Of course.  Damn it.  Why wasn't Violet here...

   "Jeff...  you died."

   Eyes opening, she turned to him, trusting the creature enough to ignore
her for now.  She saw Jeff, shirtless, her poor bandaging job starting to
come undone around his chest, staring at Ve.  Their eyes were probably
locked, souls talking, yadda yadda yadda.  Strangely, having only part of
his attention made it easier for her.  His gaze flicked to her for a
moment, disoriented.

   "Died?"

   "Died."

   "And she killed me?"

   "No." Menolly shook her head.  "You died because of your injuries. 
These things are...  they appear at the moment of death.  They touch you
the moment your life ends.  Not a cause, but...  a companion.  That's the
only way I can describe it.  Your heart stopping and a Red Thing touching
you happens at the exact same moment, both needed for death to happen."

   "But, she didn't touch me!  Not out there!  Not until just now!"

   "Yes." Menolly sighed.  "You died, but Canth didn't let her touch you."

   His eyes focused completely on the girl again.

   "Yes...  that's right.  I remember.  I...  I saw her.  Canth barked at
her..."

   "Yes." Weakness momentarily flowed over Menolly.  She pushed herself to
her feet.  "I'll leave you two to get better acquainted." Without waiting
for a reply, she made her way into the kitchen.



   ****



   Jeff was smart.  He was.  Three years at R.I.T.  had proved that, his
Engineering degree a foregone conclusion at this point.  He should
understand this.  Should comprehend what this woman, no older than he was,
was saying.

   Unless it was some kind of New Age, Pagan crap.  He knew girls who were
into that, witch wannabe lesbians, wearing black and such.  Jeff had given
it a chance once, after a buxom blond he liked had dyed her hair and asked
if he wanted to take part in some "sky clad" ritual.  Sadly, he decided she
wasn't worth that much stupidity.

   Plus, you know, Jesus and such.  And the music sucked.

   Menolly was in the kitchen, the dog having followed.  Jeff half heard
the sound of a glass on the counter, liquid pouring.  Given how much this
girl seemed to scare her, Menolly's actions were confusing the hell out of
him.  First she's swearing and brandishing weapons, then she's all nice. 
He was willing to cut her some slack, as she was obviously ill, but
still...

   The girl, Ve, was looking at him.  Unable to help himself, Jeff slowly
walked towards her.  He wet his lips.

   "Hello.  I'm Jeff.  Jeff."

   He said his name twice because Menolly had done it.  Maybe it was the
kind of thing you were supposed to do with people like this.  She said
nothing, even as her eyes seemed to say everything.  He swallowed.

   She was Death.  Why, then, did he feel so alive as he approached her?

   He stopped, looking down at her upturned face.  So...  so beautiful. 
Her skin was smooth.  Perfect.  No pores.  No hairs.  Just...  red,
stretched over unseen bone and muscle.  Only that stupid outfit marred her
beauty.  What did she look like, under it?  Was she...  human, under there?
Jeff's hand began moving before he was aware of it.  She had touched his
face, fire flowing through him.  Now, he returned the favor, fingers of his
right hand approaching her cheek.  They touched...

   Glass.

   She was glass.  Soft, smooth, burning hot glass.  He slid his fingertips
over her skin, the girl's eyes never leaving his.  There was no friction.
Fire burned his nerves, yet it was not pain.  Neither was it pleasure. 
After a moment, he pulled his hand back.

   "What are you, Ve?  Who are you?"

   "Ve," she said.  He smiled.  Her voice was low, yet female.  There was a
slight echo to it, odd, otherworldly.  Jeff's fingers flexed.  They were
undamaged from their adventure.

   "Yes.  Who am I?'

   "Mine."

   His smile faded.  That...  did not sound good.



   ****



   Menolly closed her eyes, the pills making their way into her stomach. 
So many.  So many drugs.  Even with the chemo over, so many drugs.  To thin
her blood, to thicken her blood, to resist this and counteract that.  To do
horrible things to her body, in the hope the greater horror could be
defeated.

   Was this life?

   She couldn't have survived.  Menolly knew that.  A final round of chemo,
of horrible treatments, would have killed her.  Even if the cancer was
vanquished, what would be left of the young woman who had entered that
doctor's office a year ago?

   No.  She had stopped it.  Eighty percent chance the cancer was gone.  A
reasonable chance it wouldn't come back.  Good enough.

   Not that her family had agreed.  She looked down at Canth, sitting on
the floor by his half empty dish.  Menolly still wasn't sure why Violet had
relented.  Her oldest sibling had led the charge to keep her on the
treatments.  Had yelled.  Unfair to the family, she had said.  Think of her
mothers, she had pleaded.  Then...  she had stepped back.

   Accepted.

   Why?

   "Do you know, Canth?" she asked.  "Did she tell you, when she dog sat
you that last time?"

   Her mothers still cried every time she went over to the house.  Nadia
and Elly were gone, now, out of school and on with their lives.  The
closest of her ten siblings no longer at her side.  Only Freddy, wonderful
Freddy, had supported her.  Supported her, as she knew Dad would have...

   So what changed Violet's mind?

   Her eyes went to the plain round plastic clock hanging on the wall. 
Almost 7 PM.  She wasn't hungry, now, but she had to get some of the pizza
now sitting on the counter into her.  Feed her body something more healthy
than the drugs.  Then...  wait up for the cop to come back.  Hope the Red
Thing didn't kill all of them.  Then go to bed.

   Maybe it was all a dream.

   Maybe she'd die in her sleep.

   There's a happy thought.  At least she wouldn't see it coming...



   ****



   Ve watched her companion kneel down before her.  Ve was not sure what a
companion was.  He was one, though.  She knew that.  He was hers.  Forever.
So, too, she was his, but that was meaningless.

   She knew what she had to do.  Somehow, that knowledge was in her.  Even
as those such as she had no place in this world, this aspect of reality,
deep inside what was now her mind lay all that was needed to survive.

   Ve wanted to survive.

   The other known as Jeff looked up at her.  Ve trembled.  He spoke to
her. Not with words, although he used them, asking things she had no
concept of yet.  No.  He spoke with his being.  His body throbbed with
hurt. With need.  With desire.  Desire for her.  Desire for what only she
could provide, for the only way both of them could survive.

   Together.

   His blue eyes on her, Ve moved her hands to her shoulders.



   ****



   Jeff watched silently as the white garment fell to the floor, piling
around Ve's feet.

   She was nude.

   Perfect.

   Her body was as smooth as her face.  No belly button, no hair.  Her
breasts, the perfect size to cup in his hand, had no aureola, her nipples
as red as the rest of her skin.  Eyes dropping down, he saw she was not
smooth down below.  No Barbie, she.  He could make out, not lips, but the
crease of an opening to her womanhood.  Was she as hot, inside, as she was
out?  What would it be like, to make love to a creature like this?

   "Jeff."

   Her voice startled him.  He looked up.  She stepped closer, leaving the
pile of cloth behind.  A smile was on her lips.  Jeff was a sucker for a
beautiful smile.  His eyes widened at hers, heart beating faster, cock
hardening.  Inches from him now, Jeff felt Ve's hand touch the back of his
head.  Her body lowered, her left breast approaching him.  God...

   "Drink."

   With no thought, Jeff placed his lips on her nipple.  He sucked.



   ****



   Ve shuddered.  Never.  Never had she felt.  She could feel his lips,
touching her where no touch had ever been.  Feel feelings, coursing through
her soul.  Ve felt her body respond.  Felt her soul pouring into her
breast, then...



   ****



   Hot milk pulsed into Jeff's mouth.  He swallowed reflexively, another
pulse immediately following its sister.  It tasted of wine, red wine drunk
on a riverbank at sunset.  He could feel it flow down his throat, through
his body.  It burned...



   ****



   Menolly stood in the kitchen doorway, plate of pizza in her hand.  It
was a square slice, from a square pizza, with spinach and mushrooms on top
of the formerly frozen cheese.  Any health benefit was probably
illusionary, but she liked the taste.  The same brand had a good chicken
pizza as well.

   Jeff was dining on something else at the moment.

   Menolly had never seen Ai feed.  That was an act, as she understood it,
done between lovers, between her, Bill, and Julie.  Menolly had tried to
picture it.  Imagine someone, herself, providing life to someone else.  She
would do it, if she ever had a child.  That possibility was remote now.

   She could see it.  See the red glow under Jeff's skin, the pulses moving
through his body as he sucked at the creature's breast.  So, she was
feeding Jeff.  What, then, did Ve eat?

   Jeff, most likely.

   Something caught her eye.  Menolly moved into the room, getting a better
view.  There was something on Jeff's back.  On the bandage over his wound.
A dark spot, getting larger.

   Blood.

   Jeff was bleeding.

   Menolly gasped.  She understood.  Jeff had lost all his blood, but had
not died.  Now, he was regaining it.  The creature sent to kill him was
filling him back with life.  With her own life?  That couldn't be good. 
There had to be consequences for that.  An old anime, and manga, came to
her.  3X3Eyes.  A daemon made a teen male immortal, so he could be with her
forever, or until she became human herself.  He died over and over, body
torn apart, but always came back.

   She probably shouldn't mention that to Jeff.

   The bandage was now mostly red.  Jeff pulled back from the creature,
shaking.  Putting her plate on the table, Menolly moved to his side.  He
turned to her, eyes wide.

   "It hurts." His voice was pained.  She nodded.

   "She undid some of the damage, refilled you, kind of.  Sit.  Let me
re-bandage you, and we'll get you into bed.  You need your rest."

   "Thank you..."

   Her eyes met Ve's.  Time would tell if there should be thanks.



   ****



   Officer Heather Zane pulled her machine up next to the half buried car,
looking at the cabin.  She idled for a moment, considering.  It was late.
Later than she had expected.  So many little emergencies turned into large
ones.  Mountain men who SHOULD be able to take care of themselves needing
her to undo their own mistakes.

   God, she was tired.

   The lights in the main room of the cabin were still on.  That's what
settled it.  Heather could just go home, not even bothering with the
station.  She had her boss's grateful permission.  But, that meant she
could be considered off duty.  She turned off the snowmobile.



   ****



   The thin bald woman who opened the door was older than the one she had
met just hours before.  More worn.  She smiled, though.  A good, honest
smile.

   "Hi.  I didn't think you were coming."

   "If it's too late..."

   "No!  No.  Come in.  Actually, could you do me a favor and bring in some
of those logs?  I put the last of the dry wood in just now."

   Heather turned, seeing the stack of cordwood against the side of the
cabin.  She nodded.

   "Sure.  Could you take this for me?" She handed Menolly her helmet,
walking over to the pile.  It was well stacked, the owner of the cabin
knowing what they were doing.  She grabbed an arm full, quickly taking it
inside.  Before her host could say anything, she went back out and brought
in a second batch, stacking them neatly on a stone platform next to the
iron stove.  Menolly stood next to it.

   "Thank you."

   "Don't mention it.  To serve, and all that."

   "Well, if you need something warm in you, I have some tea or hot
chocolate I can serve you.  Kettle's hot."

   "I don't see one." Heather looked at the bare flat top of the Franklin
stove.  Menolly paused, then laughed.

   "You know, you're right.  There's a propane stove in the kitchen, so
using this one to actually cook never crossed my mind.  Stupid."

   "It is hard to adjust the heat on this one." The two laughed.  Heather
unzipped her coat.  "Hot chocolate would be nice.  Thank you."

   "Make yourself at home."

   "Thanks."

   The cabin was warm, once the stove replaced what was lost as she
entered. She removed her jacket, hanging it next to two others on a peg on
the wall.  She pulled her boots off, too.  There was a rug in front of the
couch, so splinters weren't an issue.  She considered taking the socks off
as well, but that would be making herself too much at home.  She sat,
letting her body relax.  Too fucking long a day.

   "Here."

   Menolly handed her a white mug, a buffalo and some crossed swords on it.
It meant nothing to her.  The drink, though, went down like her mom's hot
coco.  Probably the same brand of instant mix.  Menolly sat beside her,
leaving a one cushion gap.  Heather noticed she had piggy slippers on.

   "Good hot chocolate.  Thank you." Heather took another sip, looking
around.  "Where's F'nor's dragon?"

   "Heh." Menolly's nose crinkled in a way Heather quite liked.  "He's
napping in the kitchen.  He likes to guard his food bowl.  It was a big
litter, plus there were cats who raided the dog dishes."

   "Understandable.  Where's your injured stranger?"

   "Bedroom.  Also sleeping."

   "They're taking all the good spots."

   "I know.  This couch folds out into a bed."

   "Want me to help you with that before I go?"

   "Could you?  Thank you."

   "No problem."

   They sat in silence, sipping their cooling drinks.  Heather wanted to
ask.  Ask about her health.  Why she was here, alone.  If she was here to
live...  or die.  She knew better.  Menolly had the look of one tired of
such inquiry.  Tired of what she was going through.  Of it being all she
was.

   She felt the girl shift on the couch.

   "Just to clarify, you helping me create a bed is not flirting on my
part."

   Heather barked out a laugh, her mouth luckily empty of coco.  She raised
an eyebrow at the bald woman.

   "Confident, are we?"

   "I was hit on often enough in school I tend to take pre-emptive
measures. Having gay family members must throw off the gaydar."

   "So you're not?" Heather had gotten that vibe, at least a bit.  Menolly
shook her head.

   "Again, given family history, I'm not going to rule out bi for the right
girl, but I do like men.  That one in that store at the bottom of the road
the other day confirmed that."

   Heather blinked.

   "Curly brown hair?  Grey eyes?"

   "You know him?"

   "Yeah.  Paul.  Nice guy.  Son of the owner."

   "Hence the name 'Riswell and Son'."

   "Naw.  That store has been called that since my Grandma was little."

   "Must be a lot of pressure on the wife to have at least one son each
generation, then."

   Heather had never considered that.  She nodded.

   "Very true."

   Menolly was silent for a bit.  Heather just watched her.  She was bi. 
Confirmed, for all the good it did.  Even in a small town, relationships
rarely survived for those serving the law.  The hours were horrible, the
stress unbearable.

   This woman, with the graceful line of her bare neck, knew stress.

   "I have a big family," Menolly said, softly.  Heather moved closer, to
hear better.  "I was in the middle batch of eleven kids."

   "God!"

   "No, we know who the father was for each one.  More than one mother is
involved, just so you're not worried about the strain." The woman paused
for a moment, then shrugged.  "Anyway, we sort of divided ourselves into
generations.  I had two sisters, a year older and two and a half years
older, who were in my group.  We, well, we were tight.  Are tight." Her
head dropped.  "Both of them have moved out.  Nadia's married.  Elly is in
Ohio.  Close, but still...  If I leave, only the four youngest will be left
in the house."

   Heather waited.  Menolly stayed silent.

   Time passed.

   Menolly finally stretched, yawning.

   "OK, bed time."

   "That's still not flirting?"

   "Nope.  Feel free to keep hope alive, though."

   Heather watched as the woman stood, a natural grace still there despite
all life had thrown at her.  She smiled.

   "I think I will."

   ****

   to be continued...

   ****

   Edited by Packrat

   ****

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