7 comments/ 35971 views/ 11 favorites A Secret Amid The Trees By: mythtrav16 Author's Note: For the sake of the narrative, let's just say this story takes place in the days before campers could buy those emergency radio beacons. * Every exposed inch of Melissa's fair skin was searing under the hot summer sun. She could feel every one of the countless beads of sweat clinging to her body, sliding down the small of her back and rolling over her breasts. The rocky landscape was illuminated so harshly, it hurt Melissa's eyes to gaze upon it. Yet the sight before her made the pain all worthwhile. Her guide was more male than she had ever seen before. He was just over six feet tall, with broad shoulders and muscular arms and legs. A long, brown ponytail flowed down from his black cowboy hat. Melissa could barely take her eyes off his denim-clad buttocks, which looked even harder than the rocks beneath her feet. Watching them pump tirelessly up and down sent a wild tingle across her nether lips. As they came to a small rock ledge, the guide made an agile leap to the top, landing with a dancer's grace. He turned back toward Melissa, his eyes hidden in the shadow of his hat, and offered her his hand. With a smile, Melissa reached forward. They tightly grabbed each other's forearms and the guide lifted Mel up on to the ledge in a seemingly effortless motion. The momentum from being pulled up bought Melissa into a gentle collision with the guide. When she steadied herself a second later, she realized that she was grabbing onto his shoulder with her left hand. It was so big and toned. At that moment, she was reminded of the fiesty excitement between her legs. She lifted her head a little and saw her guide's face for the first time. He had Hollywood good looks, with a strong chin, roguish five-o'clock shadow and dark, commanding eyebrows. His eyes were green and clear, yet inexpressive in such a way that gave him a very sexy mystique. The guide slowly relaxed his grasp on Melissa's forearm and she responded likewise. Their hands slipped down each other's arms until they met, then they held each other ever so gently. Mel reached down with her other hand, to see if the package of man-meat secured within the guide's jeans was as large as she'd hoped. She puckered her parted lips just a little as she leaned toward him and closed her eyes. Melissa opened her eyes to total darkness. It took her a second or two, but she realized where she was - rugged up in her sleeping bag, in the middle of god-knows-where. She could hear a cricket chirping somewhere to her upper left. It was reasonably loud; it must've been right outside the tent. Mel sighed in disappointment. Her little escapade with the hunky guide had just been a dream. An incredibly hot dream. Hot indeed. In fact, Melissa was sweltering! She felt the sweat clinging to her skin, all over her body. She quickly found the sleeping bag's zipper, pulled it down and threw the bag open. A gasp of relief passed her lips as much of the heat rose away from her body. Mel found it difficult to breath properly; her clothes felt too tight. After a moment or two, Mel had cooled down somewhat, but she was still uncomfortably hot. For one thing, the lower half of her sleeping bag was charged with a great deal of her body heat. Mel sat up, shaking her head lightly in frustration. Just getting some air on her back already made her feel better. Her eyes had adjusted to the darkness by now, at least enough for her to be able to find her camping torch. After slipping her bare feet back in to her lone pair of sneakers, Melissa unzipped the entrance flap of her tent. The rush of cool fresh air felt wonderful. She realized it would be nice to ventilate the tent and her sleeping bag for a little while so she decided to leave the flap open. Once she had stepped out into the woods, Melissa zipped up the mosquito screen over the entrance, to ensure none of the local wildlife made themselves at home while she was away. Now that she was out of the tent, Melissa aimed her torch a good distance away from her companions' tents and switched it on. She shuffled aimlessly around for a little while, wanting to get some air, yet reluctant to wander too far from their campsite. That delicious dream had left Melissa's belly sizzling. There was moisture all over her body, but unlike the rest, the extensive dampness in the base of her panties was definitely not sweat. Her labia was open and very erogenous; her clit was yearning for a little TLC. She hungered in her depths for a taste of a nice, hard cock. In a moment like this, Mel really missed Drew, her boyfriend. Drew was supposed to come on this camping trip, but as it turned out, the project he was collaborating on was taking longer than he had anticipated, meaning he had to stay at college for a few extra days. Melissa offered to forego the camping trip herself (even though she was looking forward to it) so she could meet Drew at the airport when he finally came home, but Drew insisted that she go camping as planned. Of course, if she'd known how the trip would turn out, she would've stayed home anyway. The hiking party consisted of Melissa; her big brother, Evan; Evan's best friend, Gabriel and family friend Neil. They had set out a week ago on a modest walk through a small stretch of the forest. Aside from the odd blister and a clumsy stumble or two on Neil's part, the first two days of their venture had been most enjoyable. Then halfway through the third day, they realized that they had strayed from their planned course. When they tried to backtrack, they must have made a wrong turn somewhere. Now they were hopelessly lost; three days overdue, with no hint of civilization to be seen. Their supplies had been exhausted and they had to live off the land. Water wasn't a problem as they had crossed a couple of rivers on their journey. Reliable food, however, was not so easy to find. After a few minutes of meandering around in the cool night air, Melissa still felt warm, but not uncomfortably so. What was uncomfortable was that fucking tight shirt! She was starting to feel like a shrink-wrapped twinkie! She halted and switched her torch off for a second, slipping it into her shorts pocket. That way, her hands were free to unbutton her shirt. Doing so made her feel a little better. Then she remembered that they had camped close to a shallow river and thought it might be nice to splash some cold water on her face. She turned her torch back on and carefully made her way down toward the babbling stream. Suddenly, a bright light hit her in the eye from her right-hand side. "Oh. Hi Mel," A familiar voice greeted. "Neil? Is that you?" Melissa responded. "Yeah," Neil said, lowering his torchbeam so that it was no longer burning out Mel's retina. It hovered over her torso for a second, before considerately slinking away from her open shirt and visible bra. Neil was a year younger than Mel and two years younger than Evan and Gabriel. He had grown up living next door to Mel and Evan and they often played together. After all those years, Mel and Evan almost regarded Neil as something between the little brother they never had and a close cousin. He was a kind soul, the kind that most women wouldn't mind having as a friend, but very few seriously considered dating. His problem, as far as Melissa could tell, was that he was just so terribly ordinary. He was nice-looking, but not great and his personality and intelect were about as average as could be. A little bit of confidence might have given him the edge he needed to get a girlfriend, but unfortunately, that was the one thing that Neil lacked most. "What are you doing out here?" Melissa asked as she trained her torch toward him, just enough to illuminate his body without blinding him. "I thought I heard something... like a big truck driving by in the distance. Sounds silly, I know, but..." Neil shrugged. It had not escaped Melissa's attention that Neil wasn't wearing a shirt. He was lean, with very little muscle to speak of. Nonetheless, the sight of a male body sent a rush of anticipation through her loins. She didn't realize it, but her pulse was accellerating and her breath was growing heavier. "What about you?" Neil prompted, as if only to break the awkward silence. "Couldn't sleep," Mel replied after a distracted pause. She felt her hot fluid pooling within her saturated panties. The emptiness in her vagina ached like a long thorn piercing her tender flesh. The urge to fill it was incredible. The sight of Neil before her was beginning to make her giddy. He had what she needed. "Oh," said Neil. Melissa sauntered toward him, without really knowing why. "I was just going for a little walk," she remarked in a somewhat absent tone. "I think I'd like some company." Melissa stopped just a couple feet in front of Neil and for a moment they simply stared at each other. Then Melissa reached forward and placed her palm upon one of Neil's subtle pecks. Neil gasped in shock. As she slowly began to stroke his chest, the torch in her opposite hand slipped further and further out of her grasp. It soon fell to the ground, bouncing off a rock and coming to rest against a small shrub. Mel's newly-freed hand joined its partner and together they gently massaged Neil's chest and shoulders. A moment later, she gently took him by the wrists and after relieving him of his torch, lifted his hands on to her breasts. She pulled them to her body with considerable force, mashing her supple tits firmly against her ribs. Neil began to pant and tremble in disbelief. While Neil started instinctively rubbing and squeezing her luscious melons through her bra, Mel laid his torch upon a nearby tree branch, but it soon rolled off and landed in a small bush directly beneath. She rubbed his arms back and forth with rising gusto, squeezing his upper arms and shoulders at times until she felt the muscle within. By now, Mel's tits were erogenous and desperate for fiercer teasing. She peeled off her loose shirt and reached back to unclip her bra. She was surprised by how tightly the strap was digging into her back. The cups exploded off of her bust the instant she had undone the clip. Now Melissa understood why she'd been so short of breath! Her breasts had grown by nearly two cup sizes since she had fallen asleep! Though it seemed impossible, her smokin' C-cups were now well into the DD range! Neil wasted no time in wrapping his lusty paws right around her enormous love pillows. The sudden, harsh squeezing made Melissa rise up on tippy-toe and gasp in delight. She hurriedly popped open the top button of her shorts and slipped her hand into her soaking panties to stroke her inner lips and clit. "Christ, Mel! Your tits are amazing!" Neil uttered. The light from one of the torches was actually shining over portions of them. Neil pinched Melissa's sensitive nipples, then mashed her breasts together. Then he squeezed them again, only much tighter than before. Mel threw her head back and let out a quiet yelp as she came. She gazed up into the richness of the starry sky above afterwards, as her pelvic muscles relaxed. Oblivious to what had just happened, Neil dove forward with a hungry snarl and began suckling on Mel's velvety areolae. A moment later, Melissa kneeled before him and set about removing his cargo pants. Once they were down, she peeled off his bulging cotton briefs. Neil took the opportunity to catch his breath. Melissa stared at the semi-erect rod before her. Strictly speaking, she had not yet passed the point of no return, even if her body had. But, with a relenting sigh, she leaned in and wrapped her warm lips around the head of Neil's cock. She pictured the mindless broad grin that was surely on his face as she listened to him exhale a quivering breath. She hated herself. Neil's maleness was a bit bigger than what Mel had expected. It continued to grow as she massaged the head with her mouth and tickled the very tip with her tongue. She worked the stiffening shaft with her hand for a little while, then she lifted her chest and pleasured him between her pliant breasts until it was like a pole of solid iron. Mel was just so horny, all she wanted was to get him erect as quickly as possible so he could fuck her. Meanwhile, Neil had wrangled his feet out of his pants. Melissa stood up and brushed her matted red hair out of her face. Neil tried to kiss her on the lips, but she leaned away from him with a sneer of discomfort. Unfazed, Neil went back to fondling and nuzzling her soft tits. Melissa relieved herself of her shorts and cotton panties in a single motion. The smell of her lusty womanhood was overwhelming; it certainly gave Neil pause. Mel grabbed his maleness and stroked it slowly, twice. Then she guided it over to her nether opening and, with Neil's assistance, plunged it deep into her loins. Mel was rediculously well lubricated. Even though she was tight, Neil was able to move in and out the length of her canal almost effortlessly. "Ooooooh, Fuck! Oh, Mel, I've wanted this so bad! Oh god, I love it!" he declared in a breathy whisper, as he continued thrusting inside her, faster and harder. Melissa's embrace around Neil's head and torso grew tighter by the second. The firm trunk of man-meat pumping her snatch felt sublime. Never in her life had she so badly needed an itch to be scratched. A continuous whimper of ecstacy seeped through her clenched teeth. In between brief bursts of passion, they wandered a few steps here and there, until Neil pinned Melissa against a large tree. With her buttocks in his hands and her athletic thighs embracing his hips, Neil tirelessly penetrated her roasting cunt. Once again, he leaned in to kiss her on the lips. This time Melissa was far less reluctant and even began to reciprocate his affection by the third or fourth kiss. After an extensive stint of wild, sweaty sex, Melissa came three times in quick succession. At some point in there, Neil's cock exploded with a heavy offering of hot cum. As countless lashings of his sperm surged into Mel's heavenly depths, Neil gyrated slowly against her loins and tightly fondled her perfect ass. He vented his beast-like growl and hot breath upon her naked shoulder, while Mel's subdued moans of satisfaction dissipated out into the night. Once they were well and truly finished, Neil removed himself from Melissa's privates. He also loosened his embrace, allowing her to rest comfortably against the tree. His cock was totally covered in the glistening honey of her femininity and still quite erect. As semi-lucid Melissa caught her breath, Neil planted a fleeting kiss upon her neck. One kiss led to another and before long, he was licking and sucking the beads of sweat off Mel's supple breasts. Eventually, Mel gently pushed him away from her body with a subtle sigh of discomfort. Their eyes met for a second, but neither of them said anything. Neil watched her silhouette as she carefully stepped over to the nearest torch. Then in an instant, the naked vixen was no longer the focus of his attention. "Do you hear that?" Neil whispered. Melissa turned to him with a quizzical glance. They stood in complete silence for a second. Then, amid the ambient chorus of crickets, Mel began to notice a distinctly mechanical sound; a deep, repetitive hum. "It sounds like..." Neil began. Then a look of astonishment washed over his face and his arm shot out, pointing up into the night sky. "THERE! IT'S A CHOPPER!" he exclaimed. Melissa followed his finger and soon found the flashing light moving across the sky. The sound of its rotor was now very clear. Neil heedlessly bounded over to the other torch, almost stumbling head-over-ass on a tree root along the way. He retrieved the torch from a bush and began to wave it at the chopper in broad sweeping gestures. "HEY! HEEEEEEEEEEY!" he cried at the top of his lungs, "OVER HERE!" "Shit Neil, I'm naked!" Melissa complained. "You're naked!" "Mel, this could be our only chance to be rescued," Neil reasoned. "God knows how long we could be wandering out here if we don't flag this guy down." Melissa didn't argue. Instead, she began frantically searching the forest for her discarded clothing, all the while muttering to herself, "Shit! Shit! Shit!" The chopper was getting louder and louder every second. "I think he's seen us. He's seen us!" Neil declared proudly. "Shit!" Mel repeated. She took what clothing she had and hurried behind the tree they had just fucked against, to get dressed. She had managed to recover her shorts, panties and shirt, but she didn't find her bra. She would just have to make do with the shirt. Neil used short breaks between signalling the chopper to search the forest floor for his pants and briefs. He soon found them and proceeded to put them back on, while awkwardly keeping his torch trained toward the chopper, as consistently as he could. Part way through struggling to get his shoes down the legs of his cargo pants, Neil spied something pristine white in the grass nearby. It was Melissa's bra. Hardly delicate lingerie, yet sensuously feminine all the same. Neil knew that Mel was surely missing it, but in that single now-or-never moment, he hastily pocketed the undergarment instead of telling her he'd found it. He crammed the last few inches of the strap inside just as Mel emerged from behind the tree. Both fully clothed and with the chopper bearing down on them, Melissa and Neil raced back to the campsite. By now the commotion had roused Evan and Gabriel, who were both standing around the campsite in confusion. The chopper activated its searchlight and the brilliant white beam swept through the nearby forest, before soon coming to rest on the wayward campers. The flimsy nylon tents thrashed wildly from side-to-side beneath the intense downdraft of the hovering chopper. "Do not be alarmed," a voice commanded through the chopper's onboard megaphone. "We are here to help you. Are any of you in need of urgent medical attention?" All of the campers shook their heads. Gabriel and Neil even made a futile attempt to shout, "No!" over the deafening drone of the chopper blades. "Stay in your present location. There is a clearing about 200 yards to the east. We will attempt to land there. I repeat, stay where you are. Do not attempt to find the landing site. We will come back on foot and escort you back to the helicopter. Is that understood?" The chopper pilot asked. The campers all nodded at the almost-godly light in the sky. Evan waved his hand broadly as a visible gesture of confirmation. "Stay put," the chopper reiterated, before switching off its light and zooming off in the direction it had been travelling. Evan, Gabriel and Neil began hooting and hollering in celebration almost immediately and raced together for high-fives and group hugs. Melissa approached the group with a great deal more restraint. Evan strolled over to meet her with a beaming grin and they gave each other a big bear hug. "We're going home, Sis!" Evan said. "Yeah, and not a moment too soon, either, " Melissa replied with a forced chuckle. "But a moment too late," she silently lamented. Thinking about the incident with Neil made her increasingly self-conscious and she dearly hoped that Evan couldn't smell the sex on her body, though she thought it was more than likely that he did. She pulled out of her brother's loving embrace as nonchalantly as she could. "Hey, they'll be back soon. We should probably get all this shit packed up, right?" Gabriel suggested. "Good idea," Melissa nodded. She headed toward her own tent to begin taking it down and packing it up. "Yeah. Then we can get the fuck outta here! Woooo!" Neil cheered. -------------------------- The rescue team leader was the last to board the chopper. He was a very fit-looking middle aged man, who carried himself like someone who had once served in the military. He signalled the pilot with a 'thumbs up', then took his seat at the back, beside his young female colleague, as the engines began to power up. A Secret Amid The Trees "You kids are damned lucky that Roger Wallace spotted your campfire tonight," he told the wayward hikers. "Who's Roger Wallace?" Melissa asked. "Guy with a hunting lodge up on the ridge over there," the rescue leader explained, pointing in the cabin's general direction. "The whole county knows you went missing, so when Roge' saw lights in the valley tonight, he called it in. Looks like he was just in time, too 'cause from what you were telling me, it sounds like you were heading further and further out into the wild." "Yeah," the other male rescue worker chuckled. He was much younger than the man in charge and even seemed a couple years younger than the female member of the crew. Judging by his level of excitement, this could well have been his first ever excursion in a helicopter. "You guys must've really gotten turned around!" he told them. "You were in Moon Maiden Valley - way off the map! There ain't any trails that pass even close to it. You were miles from where you were supposed to be." "Interesting name," Evan muttered after a brief pause. "Why's it called Moon Maiden Valley?" "Not sure," the young rescuer shook his head. Evan looked inquiringly at the team leader, who simply shrugged in response. "Will would know," the woman remarked. She was a very attractive lady, even with no makeup. The focus of her naturally pretty face were her strong, clear eyes, which were lined with thick black lashes. Even beneath her loose jumpsuit, her firm bust made itself apparent. Her voice and mannerisms were one hundred percent country girl. She was the type one could easily imagine being in a playboy spread, probably laying buck naked in a pile of hay. Yet she also seemed reliable and well respected among her colleagues. "Yeah. Probably," the young male rescuer agreed. The remainder of the flight passed mostly without conversation. Melissa hadn't intended to be seated next to Neil. Truth be told, she would've preferred them to have been at opposite corners of the chopper. But she had been seated before Neil and when he boarded, he (predictably) chose the space right beside her. As regrettable as their steamy little fling had been, one thing about it made Melissa particularly uneasy. In the midst of their screwing, Neil had mindlessly uttered that he'd, "wanted it so bad." The more Melissa thought about those words, the more she suspected Neil had long harbored a secret crush on her. To say it was an awkward predicament would've been the understatement of the century. When it seemed like nobody else was paying attention, Neil placed his hand upon Mel's bare thigh. He gently rubbed it, nonchalantly working his way further and further north. Melissa was horrified, but she couldn't spurn him too overtly, lest someone else might notice what was happening. By the time Neil's fingers were almost brushing against her crotch, Mel was squeezing her legs so tightly together that his hand could barely move. Neil seemed to get the message and unceremoniously finished his teasing. But the ordeal was still not over, as Melissa soon realized that she was excited again. It almost felt like her pussy resented her depriving it of a little attention. The vibration of the chopper only compounded the problem. Her lithe folds began to yearn for some manual appreciation. As the urge intensified, Mel started to remember how gratifying it felt having Neil's thick, rigid maleness filling her cunt. But no matter how bad she needed it, Mel staunchly resolved not to make that mistake again. No way, no matter what. She squeezed her thighs together even tighter. Only this time, she did it to deter her own hands from rubbing her hot little slit. -------------------------- It had been a long night for Mel and the others. After the helicopter touched down in the outskirts of the large town, the hikers were taken to the local hospital, where the on-call doctor examined each of them in turn. As they all seemed reasonably healthy, the doctor discharged them once her examination was finished. The rangers needed an official statement from each of the hikers, but they were quite willing to leave that for tomorrow morning. Melissa and Evan's parents, as well as Melissa's boyfriend, Drew, were there when the hikers got off the chopper. When the group failed to emerge from the forest as scheduled, they came to the area to be closer to the search. Their emotional reunion with their loved ones occurred in front of several intrusive television cameras. No doubt they would all get their fifteen minutes on all the morning news shows. As soon as Mel and Evan were discharged from the hospital, their parents and Drew bought them back to the motel where they'd been staying. After bidding her parents a fond good night, Melissa retired into Drew's motel room, just down the hall. Evan, who had just rented his own room, had already turned in. Melissa took Drew by the hand and gently led him into their room. Drew closed and chained the door behind him. When he turned around, Mel's arms slithered around his body and she gave him an amorous kiss. Her hips began to gyrate against his crotch as their tongues got reacquainted. "You have no idea how much I've been thinking about this," Melissa sighed between kisses. She was right; Drew couldn't possibly fathom how badly she needed to screw him right now. The chopper ride back, and every minute since had been excruciating for Melissa. By the time they touched down, she just wanted to rub her snatch like heavy-duty buffer. But alas, she hadn't been given a single moment of privacy. Though her biggest concern was that she and Neil might be left alone together and that in a pinch, she would succumb to the mere convenience of his presence once more. It had been a huge relief to see Drew waiting for her in the town. For she knew she would be able to vent her pent-up sexual cravings on him, without any guilt. Mel grabbed the sides of her dirty hiking shirt, the only thing containing her voluptuous breasts and forcefully pulled them apart, ripping off most of the buttons. She took the shirt off and threw it at the wastebasket in the corner. "I want you to fuck my brains out," she cooed in a breathy voice. Drew could see the pure, animal lust burning in her eyes as she stared deep in to his. It was almost intimidating. Almost. Melissa grabbed him by the shirt and led him briskly toward the bed. "Oh, I've missed you so much, babe!" Drew declared along the way, "It almost feels like it's been a month! I forgot how big your boobs are!" Melissa didn't correct him. She still had no explanation for their mysterious growth. It was kind of troubling. But at the moment, Melissa had other things on her mind. Without bothering to pull the covers, Melissa flung herself onto the soft matress, dragging Drew down on top of her. "Fuck me! Fuck me like a rabbit!" she uttered amid a chaotic series of passionate kisses. "Fuck me all night long!" Mel quickly peeled off her shorts, then her panties. Now completely naked, she wrapped her legs around Drew's hips. She wildly ground her erogenous opening against his crotch, smearing her fragrant lady juices all over his pants. With Melissa's arms and now her legs tightly embracing him, Drew could barely move. Ironically, Mel was actually hindering their lovemaking by making it so difficult for Drew to remove his pants. With a little persistence, he managed undo the button and the fly. That was enough; he didn't need to bother removing them completely. He reached in to his boxers and produced his fully-erect manhood. Suddenly, there was an urgent knocking at the door. The interruption made Drew pause, though Melissa continued to caress and pad kisses upon him without concern. A few seconds later, their unknown caller began insistently pounding on the door. "Shit!" Drew huffed in frustration. "Melissa Brochey?" a muffled masculine voice called from behind the door. "I should've put the 'Do Not Disturb' on the handle!" Drew muttered. "Miss Brochey, Park Ranger," said the man behind the door. "I need to speak with you, urgently!" "Goddamnit," Melissa quietly complained. "Just a second!" she called out. Drew rolled off of her, with the top few inches of his throbbing penis sticking out the top of his boxers. Melissa got up and quickly put her panties and shorts back on. Meanwhile, Drew tried to cram his cock back in to his pants and underwear, but soon realized that even if he succeeded, he would not be able to conceal his massive erection. So he tried to hide it behind some strategically placed pillows. As she was rebuttoning her shorts, Melissa realized that she wouldn't be able to cover her breasts with her damaged top. "I'll just be another second!" Mel shouted, stalling for time. After thinking for a moment, she raced in to the bathroom, hoping that the motel provided bathrobes. It did. She marched back to the motel room door, tying the robe's belt along the way. Melissa threw open the door with an indignant glare in her eye. She was greeted with the sight of a man dressed in full park ranger uniform, including hat. He was a handsome man who looked to be in his early thirties. He wore the air of an authority figure quite well, commanding respect without seeming conceited. Judging by his facial features and complexion, he looked like he had some Native American blood in him. At the sight of Mel, his brow furrowed in displeasure. "Is this something we can possibly do tomorrow?" Melissa asked the man, without even trying to hide her frustration. "I've been up..." "No," the ranger interrupted, "I'm afraid it can't. I need you to answer some questions about what happened while you were lost. Right now." Mel sighed and reluctantly nodded, realizing that the ranger was not going to take 'no' for an answer. Peering in to the motel room, the ranger could see Melissa's boyfriend peering suspiciously at them from the double bed. "...And it's probably best if we talk in private," the ranger added in a soft voice. With yet another sigh, Mel silently waved the man out into the hallway and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind her. Stopping just a few feet away from the door, Mel looked left and then right to confirm that the dimly lit hallway was indeed deserted. Then she gave the unusual park ranger her full attention. He hesitated a moment before speaking and just then Melissa noticed a subdued sense of worry in his expression. "My name is Will Eaglefeather, I work with some of the people who rescued you tonight," the man explained. "They tell me that on the helicopter, one of you said that your food supplies ran out two days ago. Ever since, you'd been living off the land; catching fish, forraging in the bushes. Is this true?" "Yes," Melissa answered with a shrug. The ranger nodded with an odd grimace; as if he had been hoping he was mistaken. "Did you, you personally, eat any berries that came from a pod?" he asked. Mel was taken aback by how specific the question was. "The pods would've had hard wooden shells," the man continued, "about three inches long, round and tapering to a shallow point at the end. And when you open the pod, it fans out into three equal segments. The trees they came from wouldn't have been taller than nine feet and their leafs would've been very long, but slim." "Yeah," Mel nodded, a little amazed by the accuracy of the man's description. "Yeah, I ate some berries like that just before dinner." Mel didn't notice, but a look of panic suddenly washed over the ranger's face. "Me and Evan found the pods this afternoon," Melissa explained, "One was open and we saw the berries inside, so we picked a bunch and loaded them into our packs for dinner. They didn't taste too bad, actually. Kind of chewy, like taffy. I know it probably wasn't a good idea to eat strange berries, but we were hungry. I only ate one pod's worth, same with Evan. Then Gabriel caught a big trout in the river and we traded up." When she stopped talking, Melissa noticed how intensely the ranger was staring at her and found it unnerving. "Why? Those berries weren't poisonous or anything, were they?" she asked with a feigned chuckle. The ranger placed his hands on Mel's shoulders and said, in a very serious tone, "Listen very carefully, Melissa; no matter what, I need you to answer this next question with absolute honesty." His demeanor was scaring her. "Have you had sex with anyone since you ate those berries?" the man asked. Melissa didn't make a sound at first, but the way her gaze darted shamefully to the ground answered the ranger's question for him. His head sunk and he sighed. Just as Mel's answer was about to pass her lips, the ranger cut her off. "Him?" he asked, gesturing toward her and Drew's room. Once again, the evasive way her eyes turned away gave the ranger his answer. "Then who?" he demanded. -------------------------- Ranger Gail Sanders (no relation to The Colonel), the woman who had been aboard the rescue chopper, escorted Neil to the front office of a medium-sized motel. Gail reccommended a motel to Neil that was on the opposite side of town to Melissa's, as she didn't know where Melissa's family had been staying. Neil didn't really mind. This one was more suited to his budget, anyway. Neil had been the last of the wayward campers to be examined by the doctor. Melissa and Evan had been taken away by their family and Gabriel had caught a lift to some unknown motel (perhaps this one?) with the rescue team leader, Howard. Gail volunteered to wait at the hospital and make sure Neil found a place to stay the night. As Gail suspected, the office was closed. Not surprising as it was almost midnight. This was precisely why she had decided to come with Neil. Park rangers had no authority over private businesses. But Gail hoped that if a park ranger verified Neil's unique circumstances, the motel staff would be more amiable to admitting him well after business hours. She knocked loudly on the glass door: once, and then again a bit later. A slender young blonde woman appeared from a back room. "We're closed," she told them, apologetically. But then she seemed to notice Gail's uniform. At Gail's beckoning, the woman approached them. "Can we talk?" Gail asked. After hesitating for a moment, the blonde decided to open the door for the visitors. Together, Gail and Neil explained the situation and played on the young lady's sympathies. She was a timid creature, who hardly seemed the type to stand up to an assertive customer, let alone a strong woman in uniform. She was reasonably attractive, though her chest wasn't all that impressive; there was only the slightest hint of bosom beneath her light blue blouse. But she had a cute face and her eyes were very pretty. As the lost hikers had been prominent news in the county, the woman ("Brenda", according to her name tag) was well aware of who Neil was and was delighted to hear that he and his friends had been recovered safe and sound. Neil was allowed to sign in and was given the keycard to his room. Brenda even waited for him to fill out a late breakfast order. Gail followed Neil to his room, mainly so that she would know where to come to collect him tomorrow morning. After unlocking the door, Neil stepped inside, ran his eye over the tidy room and gave it a nod of approval. First order of business was to take that heavy pack off his shoulder and set it down near the bed. He moaned in relief. "Don't forget, we still need to take your official statement. And there's forms you gotta sign," said Gail who was leaning against the frame of the open door. "So someone from our office will come and pick you up tomorrow morning." "You?" Neil asked as he approached her. "Maybe," Gail answered with a coy smile. Neil seemed pleased. He continued toward her until he was only inches away. "Then, I guess I'll see you first thing in the morning," Neil said suggestively. They gazed at each other smiling for a couple seconds. Then Neil cupped Gail's face in his hand and laid a slow sensuous kiss upon her tender lips. When it was over, she just continued gazing into his eyes. "You know, I'd probably sleep better if I had a little exercise first," Neil remarked. Gail took a moment to consider his proposition before responding. "Okay," she agreed with a smirk. She sauntered in to the room, closing the door behind her. Neil wasn't really her type. But for some reason, she was just in the mood to have a little fun tonight. They shared several open-mouthed kisses as Gail stripped off her uniform. After she had removed her pants, Neil snuck his hand inside her lacy black panties. He teasingly ran his fingers through her bush, up and down with a touch that grew increasingly firmer. Then they ventured further down, where they rolled upon her nether lips in wide circular motions. When she became wet, Neil pressed a finger into her labia a little to collect her juices and spread them around. Meanwhile, Gail slipped her hand inside Neil's pants and gave him an arousing handjob. Gail was wearing nothing but her matching black underwear by the time Neil led her over to the bed. He gestured for her to climb on to the matress on all fours and she willingly complied. As Neil got undressed, he admired the sexy ass pointed at him. Gail could've sworn she heard a quiet, lusty snarl. While she waited, Gail petted her crotch, giving priority attention to her erogenous nub. After a few enjoyable seconds, Neil pulled her panties down all the way to her knees. He proceeded to gently penetrate her glistening hole with two fingers. He shifted the pressure each time, as if testing to see which side of her pussy gave her the most pleasure. He planted a soft kiss upon Gail's butt cheek. Then he stood up behind her and with his hands on her hips, burried every inch of his rock-hard maleness inside her sex. Gail began to moan uncontrollably when he began his industrious humping. They'd only just begun and it was already the best sex Gail had ever had! She didn't care why, but for some reason she just loved being Neil's little sex toy. Once he'd established a rhythm, Neil set about undoing the clasp of Gail's bra strap. It was very stubborn, but he eventually managed to unhook it. The bra dropped to the matress and Gail's ample tits hung freely from her body. They started swinging side to side, until Neil reached over and began fondling them furiously. After a couple of minutes, Neil unhanded Gail's breasts, leaving them throbbing with excitement. He began to cycle his hands around her waist and hips as he fucked her with increasing vigor. As her climax neared, Gail felt many bizarre sensations throughout her body, that were neither pleasant nor unpleasant. They were not unlike an irresistible urge to stretch. Then her body seemed to react to the sensations in ways that seemed impossible. First, she felt her tits growing a little larger... and also firmer! Then she noticed her thighs losing some muscle tone and even becoming slightly shorter. About that same time, she felt her chestnut brown ponytail shaking free of her hair tie. She soon realized it was loose because her hair was only half the length it had been a few minutes ago! Seconds later, she was mystified by the shiny orange locks bouncing around her face. With each quaking thrust Neil made against her body, some of her pubic hairs fell from her crotch like dead pine needles being shaken from a tree. By the time they finished, her sweet snatch would be completely bald. But the weirdest sensations were in her face. It felt like it was being painlessly stretched and contorted in most unnatural ways. Yet none of it mattered to Gail, because Neil was doing things to her womanhood that were beyond amazing. A Secret Amid The Trees Gail moaned long and loud as they came together. Her roasting sex clung desperately to Neil's rod as it spilled its heavy load within her depths. Her entire body was electrified with exhausting pleasure. Her arms gave way and she collapsed onto the bed. She rode out countless waves of ecstasy and when it was over, she was left feeling wonderfully serene. Everything seemed so much simpler now. She realized that she no longer needed to bother with tiresome matters like thoughts or decisions. All she needed to concern herself with was pleasing Neil. And for the first time, she truly appreciated her own sexy body, knowing that through it, she could satisfy his every desire. -------------------------- Will raced through the streets at hazardous speeds. He had already lost too much time taking Melissa Brochey back to the hospital to be quarantined overnight. But it was imperative that he prevent her having sex with any other men. It was a good thing that the on-call doctor owed him a favor, as technically there were no medical grounds on which to hold her. Now, he had to track down the man who had already been exposed to her, Neil Shaffer. He'd phoned his colleagues and they'd told him that Gail was going to give him a lift to the 'Hillside Motel'. That's where he was heading post haste. Will still had no idea what the hell he was going to do when he actually found Neil. He didn't even know if there was anything he could do. Right now, he could only pray that the legend wasn't true. When Will was growing up, his father had taken him many times to meet the elders of their tribe. Several times a year, he and other young members of the tribe would gather to bask in the elders' wisdom and learn of their heritage. But at the moment, he was only concerned with one particular lesson he received in his late teenage years. It was an important story, but because of its nature, it was only ever told t mature students. The words of the elder echoed through Will's mind tonight as clearly as the day he'd heard them. "Many generations before the white man came to our land, our people lived in what we now call 'The Valley Of The Moon Maidens,'" the venerable elder began. "One night in the summer months, three of the tribe's young maidens disappeared. The next morning, three strange maidens, from a tribe beyond the horizon wandered into the camp, lost and confused. "These strange things had happened because a dark shaman from distant lands had come to the valley. "The shaman had once been in love with the beautiful daughter of a tribal chief. But she died shortly after they were married and his grief was great. "Though it was forbidden, the shaman performed a ritual to restore his beloved bride to life. It is said that he drank of her blood and cast powerful spells upon her body. "His attempt to lure her spirit back to this world did not succeed, but it also did not entirely fail. "The bride's spirit was shattered by the ritual and only three parts of it remained with the shaman. They could not return to the bride's dead body. But the shaman knew that each spirit fragment could enter the body of any living woman and reshape it in their own image. "These possessed women became known as the 'Moon Maidens', because the spirits could only take their bodies for one cycle of the moon. On the night of the new moon, the spirits' control over the bodies would weaken and the shaman would have to chose three new maidens to take the appearance of his bride, for a month. "The moon maidens were living women of broken spirit. This means that they had no path and no will of their own. They thought only of serving the shaman. They could not feel emotions like happiness and love. But the shaman saw only that their features were like those of the one he loved and was blind to their inner emptiness. "Because he had broken the sacred laws of his people by performing forbidden magic, the shaman had to flee his homeland. Along his journey he took many maidens from many tribes to give bodies to his moon maidens. "When the dark shaman stole three maidens from our own tribe, the chief sent his finest warriors and trackers to find the dark shaman and free the maidens from his magic. "They found him one night, performing a ritual, while his moon maidens watched. The warriors attacked quickly and silently, ending the dark shaman's life. The spirits of the moon maidens were torn from the bodies of the tribal maidens and they returned to their natural state. "But even as the shaman's spirit left this world, the spell of the moon maiden remained. By the following spring, a grove of strange trees had grown in the place where the dark shaman's blood had been spilled." Will and the other teens watched as the elder picked up an ancient leather pouch from the table beside him. He tipped the contents into his gentle, weathered hand. It appeared to be the open shell of some kind of plant pod. "Upon the trees were many of these pods," the elder continued. "Some people of the tribe ate the fruit of these pods. What followed was a time of great trouble. New moon maidens appeared and bought with them jealousy and conflict between their masters and the husbands of the women whose bodies they had taken. There were many deaths and our tribe was almost destroyed. The elder leaned over and handed the pod to a young man sitting at his feet, to be passed around the room. "This pod is empty," the elder said. "But a fresh one contains many bad berries that harbor the spell of the moon maidens." Will was the second pupil to hold the empty pod. Even today, he still remembered every little detail of it. About as tall as an apple, but not as plump, the pod 'flowered' out into three equal segments, joined at the stem. Its shell was dark brown, very hard and bumpy. The innards were a very dull yellow-ish color. Inside each segment was what looked to be a sinewy honeycomb of empty spherical compartments that were each about half an inch in size. The inner framework was thin, but looked very tough. "It is said that if a man eats the bad berries, the spell will not affect him, because the spell has not been given a woman to mimic," the elder continued. "But if a woman eats the bad berries, she becomes a source of moon maidens. "Until the next dawn, an endless river of spiritual energy will be drawn to her. Eventually, she will be filled with more spirit than she can control. When that happens, she becomes like the deer in heat and will have a powerful urge to mate." At this, a few of the young men began to snicker, but were quickly silenced by the elder's dissuading glare. "This is the time of greatest danger," the elder told them, "for once the fluid of her genitals covers her lover's genitals, she sheds three layers of her excessive spirit, like the snake sheds its skin. These three layers of spirit become moon maiden spirits and they will follow the woman's lover for the rest of his life. "For a moon maiden to take a body, the man must choose a woman and mate with her. The moon maiden spirits were shed upon the man's genitals and this is how they enter a woman's body. The man will find it easy to seduce almost any woman for this purpose. Though it is really the spirit of the moon maiden seducing the woman, for it wants her body. "Once the spirit has entered a body, she takes the appearance of the woman who shed her spirit upon the man. She has no will of her own and is like an empty slave to the man. She thinks only of pleasing him. "On the night of a new moon, when a moon maiden spirit is at its weakest, the moon maidens lose their bodies and the man chooses three new bodies for them. "The women who harbored the moon maiden spirits return to their natural state. They keep no memories of their time as vessels of the moon maidens. "This is the story of the moon maidens, passed down through our tribe for generations. This is why The Valley Of The Moon Maidens is now a forbidden place. And most importantly, this is why no one must ever eat from the pods of the shaman's trees," the elder concluded. As Will pulled over in front of the 'Hillside Motel', he noticed Gail's car parked beside the office. That was a relief! At least he knew that Neil Shaffer was here, somewhere. The problem was, he had no idea what room he would be in. Will raced over to the well-lit office and tried the door. It opened. He stepped inside the empty office and immediately went to the front desk. "HELLOOOO? SERVICE PLEASE! IT'S VERY IMPORTANT!" Will called, urgently tapping the service bell. He paced around anxiously for a few seconds before trying again. "HELLO? ANYONE THERE?" He leaned over the front desk to see if there was any visible clue to Neil's room number. Unfortunately there wasn't. He was about to hop the counter and start rifling through the drawers when he noticed a door with a frosted glass window at the back of the office. There was a figure moving behind it. "HELLO?" he called again, in a somewhat quieter voice. The door opened and a woman stepped out... It was Melissa! But that was impossible! How could she have escaped from quarantine at the hospital and beaten Will here? She had put on new clothes, too. She was wearing a long grey skirt and a light blue blouse that she was in the process of buttoning up. The blouse seemed much too petite for her voluptuous chest and for some reason, there was a name tag upon its breast: 'Brenda'? Her behaviour was odd. Despite Will's loud cries just a moment ago, Melissa barely seemed to notice him. Also, she had a dreamy smile of satisfaction upon her face; almost as if she just been... No. It couldn't be true! Could it? A moment later, someone else came through the door and Will's worst fears were realized. It was another Melissa! His heart sunk when he noticed she was wearing Gail's park ranger uniform. Right behind her was a deceptively ordinary-looking young man, who was brushing her along by the small of her back. Neil Shaffer, no doubt. His grin was twice as broad as the first Melissa's. It was all true! Will didn't want to believe it, but it was true! Neither one of these women were the real Melissa! They were both moon maidens in Melissa's image! "Sorry, pal," Neil remarked, acknowledging Will for the first time. "I just had a look back there and nobody's around. I guess the staff have all gone home for the night," he smiled. Will watched incredulously as Neil and his two companions walked around the front desk and out the front door. Neil's hands were lightly squeezing the ladies' asses. "Come, master. Let us find our sister," the Brenda-Melissa suggested once they were outside. "She will surely please you, also." "Excellent idea, ladies," Neil declared. "We should see if we can find a bar that's still open. We might find her there." Neil completely understood his new powers. He had no idea why he suddenly had them, but he understood them. For the rest of his life, he would have his own little harem of submissive Melissas. He dreamed of long nights of decadent foursomes, being warmed by that luscious body on three separate fronts all at once. And when he became to tired to participate himself, he would have his beautiful moon maidens bring each other to screaming orgasms, while he watched. He looked forward to holding Melissa's naked body in his arms as he drifted off to sleep at night and waking up every morning to the sight of her angelic feminine features. So many nights, Neil had gone to bed masturbating to erotic fantasies of Melissa. He had spent so many collective hours staring across the fence to the house next door, hoping for just a glimpse of heaven through a window. Now, after all these years the girl he had secretly longed for since puberty was finally his; three times over. It bought a smile to Neil's face. He was glad he'd gone on that camping trip. Even taking into account all the misadventure, he felt that week amongst the trees had been the most rewarding experience of his life. The End