Demeter�s Pet

a Novel by Varkel

Fall, 2008

Chapter 17: Into the Streets

The boys remaining in the auditorium were searching among the stage props for their cast-off clothing.� Sam recognized Daniel and Elgy standing together on the lip of the stage, watching the girls streaming up both auditorium aisles.� Daniel had found clothing but Elgy was still naked.� Sam transferred to Daniel and took control.

Elgy was saying, �Crazy chicks!� Where do they think they�re going?�

Sam said flippantly, �To find fresh roosters, of course.�

Elgy�s eyes snapped to him suspiciously.� �Well, yeah, but naked?� That�s not how they got in here.�

�Caper and that kid showed them the front doors.� Have you seen Hannah?�

�You are Sam!�

�I am now.� Have you?�

�Yeah, a minute ago.� Thought you didn�t give her a nymph.�

�What changed your mind?�

�She didn�t know me.� She left with the crowd.�

Sam grunted.� �She didn�t want to go, I�ll bet, and Pester took over.�

�Pester�s a nymph?�

�Yes.�

�Speaking of that, which did you take over: Caper or the kid?�

�The kid.�

�How�d you like getting your ass reamed?�

�The kid liked it.� He�s stuck to Caper.�� Sam looked around.� �That�s the last girl.� Did all of them go out the front?�

�Almost.� I saw three or four in the dressing room trying to find their clothes.�

�Then half of those girls, or more than half, voluntarily went out naked.� Why would they do such a thing?�

Elgy grinned sardonically.� �You get a big bunch of chicks together and you can�t say what they�ll do.�

�Sort of like a mob, huh?� We better go after them.�

�Cops�ll be in the hall.� Besides, I don�t have the slightest idea where my jeans are.�

�I see some on the couches.�

�Soaked in piss!�

�As I heard somebody say, they�ll cover your grapes.�

�I guess so.�� Elgy looked around doubtfully but raised the nearest pair for inspection.

�Pull them on and follow me,� Sam directed, jumping down from the stage.� Ahead of him Caper and Jerry, now dressed, departed through the aisle doors.� He hurried up the aisle, shaking Daniel�s head, for the first time admitting to himself that returning the nymphs to Olympus might be a formidable problem.

He passed through the double doors in time to see the last of the girls crowd into the nearer staircase � except for four or five who had accosted two policemen, removed their blue britches and were fucking them in the floor.� Caper and Jerry had dashed in the opposite direction toward the far staircase, but as Sam watched three partly dressed girls emerged from a classroom and intercepted them.� Caper protested loudly, pushing his assailants away.� Jerry submitted meekly and in seconds had lost his pants.� Two other half-naked girls appeared.� Caper went down before a foursome of girl flesh.

Half-naked?� Sam decided that these must be the impatient nymph-ridden girls Hannah saw assailing boys in the hall at the end of Seventh Period.� They had never arrived backstage for his help in undressing.� Had they hid in the classrooms and leaped upon boys like tigers for the past three hours?� He wondered if they had figured out the hall water fountains.� Otherwise they ought to be afflicted by thirst, even if they showed no evidence of it.� Speaking of which �� Sam bent to a water fountain and drank deeply, assuaging Daniel�s thrist.

Elgy joined him and smelling of piss, was next at the fountain. �He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and glared wildly around.� �What happened to the rest of the chicks?�

�They went downstairs.� Come on, we�d better follow them.�

As they slipped past the two nearby fleshy tangles, Elgy�s eyes popped.� �Those studs are cops!�

Sam snickered.� �Taking bribes, you think?�

Their advance was noticed.� Three naked girls arose from the floor and started toward them, arms extended, eyes alight.� �Oh, shit!� declared Elgy.

The girls vanished as Sam teleported all three back onto the stage among the boys looking under couches for their clothing.

�Let�s get out of here,� he advised, dashing for the stairs while recalling the evidence that a few nymphs could also teleport.

Elgy followed on his heels.� They exited the school building behind the last of the nude girls.� The Indian Summer day was still warm, although the sun was setting.� The girls in a tide of flesh colors were streaming down the wide front stairs and into the street�s rush-hour traffic.� Cars swerved and horns blew.� One car struck a girl, knocking her down before screeching to a halt.� A young man emerged from the car with a look of horror.� The girl rose to her feet, apparently unhurt, and fell into his arms, pulling his face down for a kiss.

Cars stopped all along the street and crowded together at the intersection.� Nude girls ran among them.� Many regarded the automobiles and trucks with wide-eyed awe, as if they had never before seen self-propelled vehicles � which of course was true of the nymphs presently controlling them.� Some reached eagerly for men inside, smiles turning to bafflement when the glass windows rejected their hands.� The sight of young females in obvious distress fetched men from their cars � to nubile arms thrown around their necks and hands dipping into their trousers.� Here and there men fled before assaults of two or three girls, but more often they succumbed, throwing off clothing and bending the girls over fenders.

�Grown men are opportunists too,� noted Elgy, standing with Sam at the top of the concrete steps leading down to the sidewalk.

�In every man there�s still a teenage boy,� said Sam with a grin.

�Well, most of them,� Elgy agreed thoughtfully.� �I�ll bet their dicks get hard as fast as teenagers.�

It was rush-hour and many cars were driven by women.� These also had to stop, but the drivers mostly contented themselves with rolling down windows and calling, �What are you girls doing?�

Someone answered, surely one of the unridden girls, by screaming, �Freedom for women!� Freedom for women!�

Several other girls echoed the cry.� A woman emerged from her car with a look of fascination.� �Freedom from what?�

�Freedom from everything!� Freedom for women from everything!�

�God, yes!� Freedom for women!�� She tore off her clothing and joined the female throats screaming in unison, �Freedom for women!� Freedom from everything!�� The chant spread quickly from one end of the crowd to the other and rang loudly in the street.

Doors opened in the apartment houses across the street.� Females appeared, ripping off their clothing, screaming with the others.� The sound, shrilly feminine, grew louder.� Boys also emerged from the apartments.� The larger ones were soon naked and smothered in female flesh.� Other men and women were getting out of cars.� A city bus disgorged several of each.� Male voices deepened the roar.� �Freedom for women!� Freedom from everything!�

�What the hell is happening?� Elgy asked, mouth gaping.� �Are you putting in more nymphs?�

Sam shook his head slowly.� �I only brought 57 and they�re long gone.� This is hundreds of people and more arriving all the time.� It�s like they were gasoline waiting for a spark.�

�But � grown women don�t act like that.�

�Tell them, not me!�

�God damn!� They�re fucking every man in reach.� Look at those two: when they caught him, they ripped off his pants!�

Fascinated by the spectacle, Sam laughed.� �What does �Freedom for Women� mean?�

��Fill up my pussy?�� guessed Elgy.

�Like Roosevelt�s �Freedom from Want?��

�Roosevelt who?�

�Freedom from empty pussies.�

�Not many empty ones left down there.� But it�s not natural, Sam.� What the hell are we going to do about it?�

��Do about it?�� If you�ve got an idea, tell me, because I don�t have the first.�

�Can�t you � get your nymphs back?�

�Not unless they want to come.� Actually I don�t know how.�

�You don�t?�� Elgy gaped incredulously.

�And I don�t think pulling them out would stop this crowd.� Look!� It�s spread into the next block.�

The continuing chant, interspersed with car horns, was more distant and arriving now from all sides.� Up and down the street cars rocked to the rhythms of flesh draped over fenders.

�You�d think somebody would call the cops,� muttered Elgy.

�I�m sure somebody has.� But a helicopter is the only way one could get here.� Then what would he do?�

�Get screwed, like those two in the school.�

A nude girl, blonde hair in a tangle, rounded a car and climbed the steps toward them, pink nipples bouncing on buxom breasts.� Her chin, groin and thighs were wet.� Sam recognized Hannah despite her dishevelment.

�Please be Sam!� she cried, nearing.

�I�m Sam,� he responded.� Immediately he felt an arrival behind his ear.

Pester, is that you?

Oh, Sam, this is terrible!� What have we done?

Hannah looked from one boy to the other, sighed deeply and said, voice raised for audibility over the roar, �Guess I�d better get back in the crowd.�� She smiled ironically.� �I believe they call it �protective coloration.��

�Not unless you want to,� said Sam.� Suddenly the girl�s clothing fell at her feet.

She reached for it but paused.� �If I put these on, I�ll ruin them.�

�Hold still.�� Concentrating, he removed most of her external moisture to the grassy strip beside them.

Eyes wide, her hands felt between her thighs.� �You did that?�

�I hope you don�t mind!�

She sighed.� �Sam, I don�t know whether to love you or hate you!�

�You can�t say you didn�t have fun,� said Elgy contentedly.� He held her clothing while she dressed.

�And now we�re all ruined.� Well, misery loves company.�

�Don�t tell me your pussy feels miserable!�

She grinned, eyes lowered.� �What does it know?�

Pester, do you have any idea what we can do?� Can you call the nymphs back?

I might if my nymph body was here.

Maybe I can fetch it.

No, you can�t.� Zeus�s laws are absolute over Olympians.� Try it.� You�ll see.

How would you go about it as a nymph?

By screaming in a certain way.

Could you do that in Hannah�s body?

He felt the nymph hesitate.� No way.

How can you tell until you try it?

Uh-oh!� I was afraid of that.

Of what?

Look!

A naked girl staggered out of the crowd.� Tears ran down her cheeks to mingle with other fluids coating her shapely groin and even the small breasts.� She wiped her eyes with her hands and peered at the trio above her while climbing the steps toward them. �She seemed exhausted.

�Hannah, c-can you � help me find my clothes?�

She had a nymph! declared Pester.

How do you know?

Get in her head.� You can tell.

Sam slipped into the new girl�s mind, where he found total bewilderment overlaying thirst, lassitude and a tender groin.� He returned immediately before Daniel could react.

I�ll take your word for it.� What happened to her nymph?

She jumped to another body, probably one from a � shiny box.

They�re called �cars.�

Whatever.� That�s what I was afraid of.� The other hostesses must be � feeling as bad as Hannah does.� Lots of nymphs are jumping or will be soon.

It�s called �tired.�� And �thirsty.�� I thought they needed my help to jump.

He felt Pester�s dark humor.� Not when they realize they can do it without you.

Hannah was staring at Sam in accusation.

He spread his hands, palms outward.� �I can put her back in the dressing room.�

Hannah sneered.� �You didn�t plan for afterwards, did you?�

He sighed.� �No, I admit it.�� Suddenly the girl vanished.

Hannah shook her head.� �I hope she just went to the dressing room and not one of your far-out universes!�

�Hannah!� What do you take me for?�

She nodded.� �That�s what I�m wondering.�

* * *

Increasing numbers of nude girls approached the schoolyard and dragged themselves up the steps toward the watching three.� Bodies were streaked with fluids.� Tears overflowed their eyes.� Their common theme was exhaustion, expressed in erratic motion and blank faces.� At sight of Hannah and Elgy they showed hope.� Sam dispatched the first few directly to the dressing room but as they swelled to a crowd, to the stage instead.

Elgy demanded, �You getting the nymphs back?�

�No, I�m not.�

�Then where are they?�

Sam sighed.� �Probably snatching women out of the cars.�

�Or those apartments,� added Hannah.�

�Good god!� cried Elgy.� �Grown women?�

Sam sniffed.� �What�s that got to do with anything?�

The crowd noise, particularly shrill cries of �Freedom for women� interspersed by car horns, was still growing despite the girls� retirement.� It had spread out of sight in both directions down the street before the school, past the intersections at both ends of the city block.� Dusk was falling, obscuring distant details, and streetlights were coming on.� People still fucked on fenders or with legs waving through open car doors, but less flesh was visible.

Elgy wondered, �Why aren�t they taking their clothes off?�

Hannah guessed, �Grownups aren�t so keen on nudity.�

Sam grunted.� �The nymphs still don�t know how to undress.�

A whop-whop sound drew their attention skyward, where a colorful helicopter was descending toward the manicured grass of the schoolyard.

�Is that the cops?� said Hannah, eyes wide.

�Probably the news,� replied Elgy.

So it proved.� The machine settled nearby in a cloud of dust swirling to its downdraft.� Garish notes painted on the sides proclaimed it the �Sky-Eye� for a television station�s call sign.� A camera lens peered at them through a window.� The rotors slowed and the engine sounds joined the background noise.� A large door opened.� A woman and two men danced out, one man with a second camera on his shoulder.� All three hurried to the little group at the top of the steps.

�Oh god!� cried Hannah, flinching behind Daniel.� �If my daddy sees this ��

�You�re not doing anything,� Sam assured her.

The woman smiled winningly at them while the camera-less man shoved a microphone at Elgy.� �What�s going on here?� she asked loudly.

The boy grinned.� �You mean you don�t know fucking when you see it?�

The man winced and lowered his voice.� �This might be going out live.�

Elgy snickered.� �Well, turn your camera on the crowd and see what you call it!�

�Zoom way back,� said the microphone man to the cameraman.

The woman�s huge smile encompassed all three teenagers.� �May we interview you?� We�re already on override.�

Amused by the prospect, Sam caused Daniel to step forward.� �Sure, go ahead.�

The microphone man seemed to be in charge.� He bent his head to speak into his throat mike.� �Skeezix, you cover the interview with the chopper camera.� Dillon, you scan the crowd.� Don�t sweat the close-ups.� Front�s running a 30-second delay.�

�What�s your name?� asked the woman.� She was a pretty brunette wearing pumps, a short skirt and a frilly blouse with the top buttons open.

�What do you mean, �we�re on override?��

�We�ve interrupted OTA � ah, On The Air.� The network is picking it up too.�

�Okay,� said Sam.� �I�m Joe, this is Bill and this is Jane.�

�Joe, Bill and Jane,� she repeated, glancing from one to the other.� She cocked her head as if listening, straightened up, sidled between Daniel and Elgy and turned to face the camera peering from the helicopter.� Meanwhile her two coworkers scampered out of the scene.� The microphone man extended his pickup by pulling out nested rods, allowing him to stand clear of the picture with the padded microphone dangling over their heads.

He spoke to the woman.� �Skeezix says the angle�s perfect.� He can see the tangle of cars behind you but not too much detail.� Roll it.�

The woman declared brightly, �This is Gail Evans of Sky Eye at the scene of our unprecedented civic disturbance.� We have found three eyewitnesses.� They may be a bit young for it, but we all have to grow up sometime.� They are Joe on my left, Bill on my right and Jane beyond Joe.� Bill, are you all students here at Bessemer High?�

�Yes, ma�am,� said Elgy.

�And how long have you been watching this development?�

�Since it started.�

�Great!� Just how did it start, can you tell us that?�

The boy hesitated, looking at Sam.� For a second Sam thought of lying, but the idea of innocent high-school girls precipitating such a general orgy was too compelling.� Of course, a little embroidery wouldn�t hurt.

�It started with the girls� sex club.�

The woman blinked.� �The � ah � sex club?�

�Yeah.� The girls threw a party � um, a gig � this afternoon in the school auditorium.�� He grinned.� �They invited the boys, but the boys ran out of steam.� So the girls all came out here on the street.� It was rush hour, but they stopped the cars.�

The woman�s eyes were wide.� �H-how did they do that?�

His grin widened.� �They just walked out into the street � naked, you know.� Oh boy, did the cars ever stop!�

�I � suppose so!� the woman breathed.� She looked over her shoulder.� �I don�t see much actual nudity.�

�Oh, the girls finally got enough.� What you see down there now is mainly grown women.�

�Grown women!�

Sam�s grin widened even further.� �I wonder if anyone ever suspected a mob of women was so suggestible.�

The woman studied him.� �What do you mean?�

�You can still hear them screaming.� �Freedom for women!��

�Freedom from what?�

�Listen and they�ll tell you: �Freedom from everything!��

Her eyes narrowed.� �How old are you, Joe?�

�Oh, about 16 or 17.�

She stared for a second.� Her whole expression changed to the very picture of amused tolerance.� �You�re leading us on, aren�t you, Joe?� Very funny!�

She turned to Hannah with a grin.� �Jane, are you a member of Joe�s sex club?�

For a moment the girl stared fearfully.� Then her chin came up and her shoulders squared.� She ran a hand through tousled blonde tresses.� �A founding member, you might say.� And you�re right: it�s Joe�s sex club, not the girls�.� Except his name isn�t Joe.�

The newswoman could not hide her surprise at the unexpected response, but she recovered quickly.� �What is his name?�

�Sam.� I don�t think I ever heard his last name.�

�You mean he�s not a ��

Suddenly the three teenagers stood on the stage above the auditorium.� Girls were still pushing through the door to the dressing room, nude going in, clothed however uncertainly coming out, to stagger down the stairs to the backdoor.

Sam snarled at Hannah.� �What do you kids call that?� Ratting?�

She was defiant.� �That�s one word for it.� On myself too, you�ll notice.�

�Yeah.� Thought you didn�t want your daddy to notice.�

She took a breath.� �I didn�t.� That was before you called fives on the chicks.�

�Huh?�

Her lip curled in a sneer.� �Claimed it was their fault and not yours.�

�Sweet!� Do you have any idea what I could do to you?�

�A little, maybe.� It�ll be interesting to find out.�

�Sam!� said Elgy in warning.

Sam waived him off.� �Oh, I don�t mean to hurt her.� But I want to hear her say it.� Hannah, goddamn it, you never imagined sex as good as you had this afternoon!�

She grimaced.� �It was still rape.�

�Rape?�

�As you say, worse than any I ever imagined.� Worse than a big stud throwing me down in the bushes.�

�But you loved it!� You told me with Pester it was better than anything.�

She sighed.� �I didn�t lie.� I don�t believe in lying.� But Sam, before this � week I could still believe I was a good person.�

�I get it.� That�s why you want to call it �rape.�� If you�re raped you aren�t responsible.�

�It�s not my bad!�

�You only needed rape to begin with.�

�That doesn�t make any difference.�� She shook her head.� �And you�ll get away with it, won�t you?� You can just � skip to the next body.� Daniel and Elgy won�t be so fortunate.�

Sam visibly gave up.� �Can you get home, Hannah?� Or would you like me to send you somewhere else?�

�I don�t need your help, thank you.� My car�s in the parking lot.�

�Then good-bye and thanks a lot.�

Suddenly the two boys stood alone in Sam�s safe house.

�She�s right!� cried Elgy, ignoring the transfer, aghast at Hannah�s words.� �They�ll see us on TV.�

�Let�s find out,� said Sam.� He turned on the sizeable flat television set against the wall.� When a picture came up immediately, he smiled in gratification.� �I didn�t know if it worked.�

The screen showed a television studio with a well-groomed newsman talking into the camera.� Across the bottom a banner proclaimed, Live Breaking News.� The man was saying, �� spread over several blocks.� We�ll have an interview with the chief of police shortly to ask him about using pressure hoses to break it up.� Here is the current view from our Sky-Eye helicopter hovering 300 feet above the congested streets.�

He was silent while the screen depicted a street full of intermixed, motionless cars and trucks, viewed from overhead.� Several pairs and a few threesomes were draped over car fenders and dangling from open doors.� Where bare flesh would have appeared, the TV station had blurred out detail, but hip motion was still discernible.� Many people, mostly male, were walking among the vehicles, several with cameras to their eyes.� Shadowless dusk was falling fast.

�A few minutes ago our reporter obtained an interview with three students on the walk at Bessemer High School, which overlooks the center of the disturbance.� They claimed to have witnessed its beginning.� Here�s a replay.�

Daniel, Elgy, Hannah and the female reporter suddenly appeared.� The sky behind them was still bright.� The tangle of cars in the street was visible to their left.� The woman began, �This is Gail Evans of Sky Eye at the scene of our unprecedented civic disturbance��� The interview continued as Sam remembered it until the reporter asked Hannah, �Jane, are you a member of Joe�s sex club?�

He watched the girl�s face and posture change from apprehension to defiance.� With chin elevated she declared, �A founding member, you might say.� And you�re right: it�s Joe�s sex club, not the girls�.� Except his name isn�t Joe.�

The woman started.� �What is his name?�

�Sam.� I don�t think I ever heard his last name.�

The scene switched instantly to the talking head, who said smoothly, �As usual, Murphy�s law interposed itself at the most interesting point and our interview terminated with technical difficulties.� And now here is our chief of police.�� The screen divided into two panels.� On the left appeared a gray-haired man with stars on his blue collar.

�Chief Ascott,� said the announcer, �what can you tell us about the fire trucks that are setting up on Lexington Street?�

The chief was flustered.� Background voices were badgering him.� He said, �Not yet,� to a question before giving his attention to the camera.� �The firetrucks on Lexington, along with several others, are getting into position to wet down these ��� His teeth ground together audibly.� �These fornicators if they won�t cease and desist.�

�With high-pressure hoses?� Why can�t you just arrest them?�

�And lock them up where?� That mob is estimated in the thousands.� We have arrested a few.� It�s terrible.� One of the perps is a city councilman�s wife.� Several of my men got in the cars with those � depraved women.� I�ve never heard of such a thing!� One of my assistants is checking the history books.�

Someone shoved a note into his hand.� While he was reading, the TV announcer posed another question.� �Chief, what do you make of the claim it was started by nude teenagers?�

The chief looked up.� �Right now I�m interested in getting it stopped.� Here�s something hopeful.� Rush hour is just about over. �My staff report the crowd has quit growing.� Cars in the middle are trying to maneuver past each other to get out of the mob.� After all, these people need to get home for supper.� I�ll � talk to you later.�

He stepped out of the picture, which immediately switched to the announcer.

�Chief Ascott obviously needs to give his attention to this emergency that has choked several main arteries at rush hour.� We�ll talk with him later.� Here again is the scene, live from our eye in the sky.�

Briefly the boys watched the tangled cars, of which headlights and taillights were beginning to shine forth as the skylight failed and the occupants presumably reached satiety.

Elgy said suddenly, �Jesus, I need to go home to supper!�

Sam took a breath.� �I guess Daniel does too.� Where does he live?�

�Not far from me.� You can send us together.�

�Elgy, I�m going to need one of you as a base here until things return to normal.�

The boy thought it over.� He sighed.� �Guess it ought to be me.� At least with you in my head, Fred can�t make me bend over.�

�All right.� Where does Daniel live?�

�Not far from my place.� You can drop him on my street.�

�I�ll do that.� There�s food in the kitchen.�

Sam switched from one mind to the other before Daniel disappeared.� He left Elgy in control while the lad made a sandwich.� Pester, we�ve got to talk.

The nymph�s thought was bemused.� What is that thing, Sam?

What?

The magic moving mural in yonder room.

He chuckled.� I guess you said it: a magic moving mural.

B-but how do you do it?� I detected no spell!� You only pressed a tab and it showed us standing before the � house of instruction.

I told you about that.� It�s a school.

Whatever!� Not even the gods �� Oh!� The mural is like a play in the amphitheater, isn�t it?

He shook his head.� No.� That was really us.� But that�s not what we need to discuss.

Then what of that chariot of Hermes that settled near us before the, the school?

It�s called a helicopter � but will you please pay attention?

And all those horseless chariots on the streets: what moves them?

The awe in her spirit was so evident that Sam half-seriously tried to answer.� Fire, chained fire moves them!� But damn it, Pester, we�ve got to get those nymphs back.

Who cares about them? �Do you have different gods in the Human Preserve?

Gods?� That brought him up short.� What do you mean?

Hermes is the god of movement, but nothing of Him was in that flying chariot nor the others.� Who chained the fire?

Some very smart humans.� You�ve never heard of choppers and cars?

Umm.� Dobbit has said that men are learning to be gods.� Maybe he meant these things.

Come on, Pester, forget those toys!� We�ve got to recover the nymphs.� They�re going wild.

I said, �Who cares?�

Shit!� The whole city will care, soon the whole world.� Nowadays just about every house has a magic mural.� They�re called TV sets, by the way.

The whole world?� Surely you jest!� But why should it care if a thousand people are fucking in the streets?

Because it�s never happened before, so far as I ever heard.

Never?� How can that be?� I mean, why not?

Not in the public streets.� Hmm.� Do you mean the Romans used to do it?

I don�t �� You�re right, I don�t remember hearing of that, but the Romans sure did like to kill each other in the public streets!� You�d think they�d prefer to fuck.

That�s the way we humans are.� It�s still true.� You watch that TV set a while and you�ll see.� But for now �� Are you evading my question?

What question?

How can we get those nymphs out of human women and back into their bodies in John�s heaven?

Oh, that question!

Sam laughed.� He thought he could hear a sniff before Pester continued.� Let them keep fucking!� I thought you were in favor of it.

Generally I am.

Then let�s watch it some more on the tivviset.

By this time Elgy had gulped down a thick sandwich and half a bottle of chocolate milk.� He returned immediately to the living room, leaving his scraps to decorate the kitchen sink.

Sam directed a thought to him.� You�ve been listening to us?

The boy winced as he settled before the television.� �Pester�s right.� Let �em fuck.�

I�ve got a bad feeling about this.� Maybe you know something.� Why is Fred always so careful never to talk about Olympus?

The boy hesitated.� �Because he�s shy?�

Sam would have laughed aloud.� Who ever heard of a shy queer?

�I guess I don�t know.� But you�re right; he never does.�

You never heard him say he was forbidden, did you?

�No � not exactly.� But I think he�s afraid of the gods.� Look at that: strangest traffic jam I ever saw!�

Streetlights were lit in the scene apparently televised from a helicopter, whose cameras were sensitive enough for intelligibility.� Dusk had fallen evenly, almost to full dark.� Cars were intermixed crazily, headed in all directions on the crowded streets, especially those undivided by center islands.� Headlights shone from many in the center of congestion, as the drivers jockeyed for a path of escape.� Many people were afoot, wandering among the cars and back and forth to the street-side buildings.� When the camera panned towards the dark edges, it was clear from waving legs that the fucking continued.� Notably, zooming closeups did not occur in the televised scene.

Suddenly the view switched to the studio and two talking heads, a man and a woman.� Seeming to address the woman, the man said, �You heard what the crowd was shouting.�

�Yes,� she answered: ��Freedom for women� and �Freedom from everything!�� And I heard a lot of masculine voices too.�

�What do you think it means? �Are we witnessing the start of a new social movement?�

The woman sneered.� �From everything?�

�Well, what still restricts women in this modern age?�� He gestured at the camera.� �What those people are doing is illegal in public.� Can they truly want the freedom to, ah, go nude and to, ah, copulate in the public streets?�

�So it would seem.�� She frowned.� �Of course it�s not all women by a long shot!�

�With the government supporting them while they do it?� Isn�t that a � sort of an ultimate socialist ideal?�

The sneer returned as her frown became a glare.� �What a conclusion, Dan!� Nobody said anything about government support.�

�But if women have freedom from everything, isn�t that implied?�

Her glare intensified.� A red spot appeared in each cheek.� �If we�re free to be with strangers, Dan, who are the strangers?� How do men feel about this?�

�Well, uh ��� He smiled consolingly.� �It�s too simplistic, isn�t it?� It�s more understandable if this was started by high-school girls, as some have claimed.� Girls have not yet assumed adult responsibilities.�

��High-school girls?�� That�s a ridiculous idea.� What high-school girl would run out in the street naked at rush hour?�

He gestured to something off-camera.� �Run that clip of the kids again, Skeezix.�

Within a few seconds the screen displayed Daniel, declaring, �The girls threw a party � um, a gig � this afternoon in the school auditorium.� They invited the boys, but the boys ran out of steam.� So the girls all came out here on the street.� It was rush hour, but they stopped the cars.�

�H-how did they do that?� stammered the wide-eyed female interviewer.

�They just walked out into the street � naked, you know.� Oh boy, did the cars ever stop!�

The two talking heads reappeared.� The woman sniffed.� �That kid was putting us on.�

�Gail found others that saw a lot of naked teenage girls in the street � importuning drivers.� And you�ll notice the high school is in the center of the disturbance.�� Again he looked off camera.� �Did we ever hear from Mr. Caper, the principal at Bessemer High?�

He waited briefly before saying, �We�ll put him on as soon as we contact him.�� His face changed to a professional mask.� �Now here again is Chief Ascott.�

The gray-haired police chief stood before three stands of microphones.� Someone off camera asked, �Why did you decide not to use the fire trucks?�

The man ground his teeth while taking a deep breath.� �I can only tell you it was a local decision.�

The off-camera voice continued, �Is it true that women in the crowd assaulted the firemen and dragged them off the trucks?�

The chief hesitated, taking another breath.� �So I�ve been told.�

�Then this crowd is completely out of control?�

�I wouldn�t say that.�� The man wiped his brow with a handkerchief.

�Why not?�

�So far as we know at present, no one has been hurt and no property damaged.� I�m sure a lot of people have been assaulted, but the � the attacks have not exactly been painful.�

A female voice demanded, �You don�t think rape is painful?�

�I don�t think it�s rape.�

The male talking head reappeared, eyes alight.� �This just in from our Sky Eye!� Here is a view, recorded a few minutes ago, of a bus stopped on the fringes of the disturbance.�

The scene changed to a view of an intercity bus, head- and running lights gleaming, stopped among the jammed cars.� Again the streetlights were enough to show people draped over the surrounding autos.� Suddenly females, mostly nude, began streaming from the bus.� They wove between the cars toward a large building fronting on the street.� A few were without clothing below the waist; most were entirely nude.

The camera rose to focus on the building front, which sported a neon sign, YMCA.� Below that a floodlit suspended cloth proclaimed, Welcome Free-style Swimmers.� The throng of girls pushed into the large double doors.

Again the talking head appeared.� He said excitedly, �The Sky Eye landed behind a fence next door.� Gail and her cameraman found two girls who got off that bus but did not enter the YMCA.� Here is her interview.�

The scene went to ground level, lit from several directions by streetlamps and the bus headlights.� Sam recognized the woman who had interviewed him before the school.� An undulating couple were draped over a car hood behind her, the camera positioned so that her torso occluded their middle.� Equipped with a hand-held microphone, she stood between two jean-clad girls of high school age and smiled at the camera.

�This is Gail Evans of Sky Eye News.� These two young ladies, Marcia and Chrissy, were on the bus, most of whose passengers have just entered the YMCA.�� She thrust the microphone toward the brunette on her right.� �Marcia, where was the bus taking you?�

�Home.� We�ve been to Kettleville for the conference of glee clubs.�

�How many girls were on the bus?� Were you all girls?�

�All but the driver.� Mmm.� What do you think, Chrissy?� About 60?�

The girl on the left, a blonde, nodded.

The announcer continued, �I want you young ladies to tell us in your own words what happened when the bus stopped.�

�We were all trying to check out the scene.� We couldn�t believe what was happening.� People were (BEEP-BEEP!) in all the cars!� We saw one hotsy with her clothes all wrinkled between two men right over there.�

When the girl paused, the announcer urged, �Please go on.�

�The driver changed gears.� I think he wanted to back up, but cars had pulled in behind us.� He sort of gave up.� That�s when � the first one of us changed.�

��Changed?�� What do you mean?�

�Dagny Ritter was first.� We � Chrissy and I � were sitting in the seat behind her.� Dagny came out in the aisle with an awful scowl.� She went, �A pox on human cloths!�� What�s a pox?�

�Hmm.� An old word for a disease.� She said cloths, not clothes?�

�Cloths.� She was very clear.� She fumbled with her jeans, like she didn�t know how they worked.� But she figured it out real quick and pushed them down, panties too.� She grinned at us and went, �Come on, let�s stir his root,� turned around and went straight to the driver with her bare butt shining.� She jumped on him, threw her arms around his neck and plastered his mouth with hers.

�I couldn�t see what she did to him next because other girls were standing up or in the aisles, acting like they�d forgot how to dress � or undress.� But they all went to the front.� They were hollering, �Freedom for women!�� At first they acted like they�d never seen the bus door open until one of them figured it out.� More girls joined in.� I got a glimpse of Dagny hooking up with the driver.�

�Mable Saunders � she was sitting across the aisle ��

The announcer interrupted.� �What do you mean, �hooking up?��

�Sucking his (BEEP!) of course.� Mable Saunders was taking off all her clothes.� Her eyes looked kind of wild.� I�m like, �Are you bonkers?�� She�s like, �It�s women�s liberation,� and screams out, �Freedom for women!�� In two shakes she�s bare as a baby and goes, �Come on, you limpdicks.� Let�s demonstrate!�

�Other girls start snatching their clothes off, yelling, �Freedom for women!�� And running off the bus.� Dagny and another girl get up from the driver.� Dagny�s got (BEEP!) dripping from her chin.� Most of the noisy ones have left the bus, so I can hear her.� She goes, �This one is dry.� Let�s go (BEEP!) those boys in the castle.�

�They left.� Chrissy and me just look at each other.� She�s like, �They�ve gone nuts!�

�I�m like, �As a gang of fruitcakes.�� We decided to look around and got off the bus.� Is that about what you noticed, Chrissy?�

Again the blonde nodded.

The announcer peered off-camera.� �I see some girls still on it.� How many do you think went into the YMCA?�

�About half, I guess.�

�And they were changed, you say?�

�Two ways.�

�What do you mean?�

�Well, five or six like Dagny: talked funny and seemed to forget how to undress; the rest like Mable: pumped up but not forgetting anything � except how to keep their clothes on!�

Again the announcer looked away.� �Do you think the driver is hurt?�

�Huh!� That dirty old man was telling skanky jokes to anyone who�d listen.� He�s probably still sitting sideways in the driver�s seat with his mouth hanging open and britches around his knees.�

�Is your teacher still on the bus?� If so, I�d like to ask her a few questions.�

�Not Ms. Blair!� She was one of the first to run into the Y.�

Suddenly the scene switched back to the talking head in the studio.� �This just in: apparently our peculiar disturbance is spreading.� The Associated Press reports that attendees have emerged from a feminist dinner in Cleveland, tearing their clothes off, shouting �Freedom for Women,� and stopping cars in the street.� Another group, the, uh, Granddaughters of the Confederacy, is reported to be doing the same in Atlanta.�

Elgy muted the television.� �Jesus Christ!�

Too bad he doesn�t exist.

�How could your nymphs get to those cities?� Can they fly?�

In a manner of speaking.� Hold on a moment.� Pester, what about it?� Can nymphs transfer where they�ve never been before?

He felt a sense of irony.� I didn�t know they could transfer at all!� But it seems �� You can do it, you know.

I can?

If you know the person.� Hmm.� Maybe even if you know the feeling?

The feeling?

Suppose you were ready to fuck and looking for someone else who felt the same?� I�ve heard the gods can combine minds with like feelings.

He shook his head.� That sounds like wishful thinking, but it would explain �� How about this: didn�t you send images to them on that gold plain?� Are nymphs telepathic with each other?

Well � some of them.� They can all receive.

Maybe that explains it.� Some can teleport to a feeling and telepath to the others, �Here�s a bunch of women!� Come and get them!�

Maybe.� But I don�t think they can all teleport.

So how many does it take � to infect a bunch of women by their example?� Three or four, maybe?

Elgy had been watching the TV but attending to the discussion in his head.� �Jesus Christ!� he said again.� �This can spread all over the world.�

Sam sighed.� Pester, you know we�ve got to stop this if we can.� I want you to tell me how to get those nymphs back.

He felt a touch of aggravation.� How should I know?� Nobody ever did anything like this before.

Well, you�re a nymph.� How could I get you back?

Umm.� Pinch me, like waking me up?

You think that would work?

I can�t guess anything else.

Okay.� Elgy, turn off the TV.� I�ll send you home.

The boy obeyed.� �How about helping me dream up an excuse?�

What do you say when Fred keeps you out at supper time?

�Nothing that works.� She grounds me.�

Huh!� Tell her to turn on the TV.� She�ll see where you were.

�Yeah.� That�s what I�m afraid of.�

* * *

Sam opened his eyes to a bright overcast.� He was lying on fluffy green turf, surrounded by innumerable naked little girls � until he sat up.� Not girls with those ears!� They were Olympian nymphs, beyond whom the turf ended and became the infinite golden plain of St. John�s heaven.

Beside him a nymph stirred, rose to her elbow and regarded him from green eyes under a crown of green hair.� �Sam?� she asked muzzily.

�Yeah.� I was a little disoriented too.� That�s a first.� We must be working too hard.�

�Sam!� You�re a hero.� They�ll write new sagas about you.�

�Cautionary tales, no doubt.�

�Brave tales of wonder!�� She scuttled against him.� Her hand caught his flaccid cock.� �Sam,� she crooned into his neck, �I like you so much better without cloths.�

�Clothes,� he corrected automatically.

�Hannah would too, if she let herself.�

�Oh, yeah?� How did you like your ride with her?�

She hesitated.

He chuckled.� �Don�t tell me you�re at a loss for words!�

�I�m afraid to answer.� You�ll think I don�t love you.�

�Love!� That�s a word I don�t recall hearing on Olympus.�

�You�re not on Olympus.�

�Close enough.� Why won�t I love you?�

She sighed heavily.� �Sam, it was the best fucking I�ve ever had.�

�In the Human Reserve, by human males?� You�ve got to be kidding!�

�Better even than Zeus and Eros together.�

Sam chuckled in amazement.� �I�m glad we�re not on Olympus!�

�In the street she got in a big box with three men and took them all together.� I never, ever felt the equal of that!� We don�t often do it up the ass; our tails narrow the angle too much.�

�One in the mouth, eh?�

�Two in the pussy.� Olympus needs big chairs with arms too.�

�And she had the audacity to complain about rape!�

�Umm.� By rape she meant the time in the room under the school.�� Pester shook herself.� �I thought you were worried about the wild nymphs.�

He blew out a breath.� �That was on Earth.� Somehow, here it seems � who cares what happens there!�

She pointed to the nymph lying prone beside her.� �This one is my friend, Daynis.� Let�s see if it works.� Would you pinch �� I know: twist her tail!�

�I have a better idea.� You like to suck cocks.�

�Cocks?� There�s only one here.�

�You�ve noticed!�

She simpered, �Look how tall it stands, indeed a better idea!�

She slid down his side and engulfed the whole organ.� He felt her lips at the top of his balls and despite all their past experience was amazed that her shallow throat would accept such a summer sausage entire.� Her head bobbed and her swollen internal lump rubbed past his knob.

�What a deep throat!� Is that Jason�s influence?�

She nodded.� �Uh-huh.�

The thrills began.� �God, Pester, no one sucks better than you!�

The nymph giggled through flaring nostrils.

A confident soprano declared, �That�s why I moved her clitoris.� She did tell you, didn�t she?�

�Demeter,� he murmured in recognition, turning his head with a dreamy smile.� Suddenly his eyes opened wide.� �My god, Demeter!�

�Goddess.� What are you doing here, Sam?�

The goddess was a buxom adult, dressed in Her full-length green gown around bared breasts, but without the staff and sheaf of grain.� His stomach felt hollow but he managed a smile � at least a shit-eating grin, he thought.� �Getting a great blowjob?�

The goddess chuckled.� �Do you put that as a question, Sam?�

He studied the divine face.� The lips smiled but not the eyes.� �D-Demeter, ma�am, I was just � passing the time.�

The chuckled became a bark of laughter but the black eyes glittered like marbles.� �Not much else to do in this Christian abomination, I agree.� Do you know that visiting it is forbidden, Sam?�

�I, uh ��� He lifted the nymph�s face away from his groin and rose enough to kneel toward the goddess.� �F-forbidden?� he repeated, looking askance at Pester, who rocked back on her heels with a curiously expectant grin on wet lips.

�It is now,� said Demeter, �though who would have thought it necessary?� Zeus�s abhorrence is enough for everyone � everyone but you, eh, Sam?�

Before he could respond she waved her hand at the sleeping nymphs.� �This raises so many questions, Sam!� John of Patmos was insane when he found the power to construct this place.� It is 1,473 universes removed from Olympus.� I can imagine you learned of it from Dobbit, who communed often with John.� But how did you get here?� It took all the energy I could muster to follow you!

�And so many nymphs!� How did they get here?�

�I knew the way,� declared Pester.� �Dobbit and I came here once before.�

�You and Dobbit had the energy to get here?�

�We � did it by resting in stages.� But yes, I showed Sam the way.� He needed a quiet place to gather his nymphs.�

�A quiet place!�� She stamped Her foot.� �And this turf: did you create it, Sam, or transport it?�

�Ah, ah ��� He blinked.� Could he have created it?

�Obviously you transported the nymphs.� But how?� Fifty-seven nymphs across 1,473 universes!� Did you do it by Pester�s stages?�

He shook his head, bemused by Her intensity.� �They �� It was like going around corners.� I brought them four at the time.�

�Plus one?�

�Pester came first.�

�I used part of his strength,� said the nymph, staring fixedly at the goddess.� �He is wonderfully strong.�

�Is he indeed!�

Curiosity overcame his growing sense of ignominy.� �May I ask You a question, ma�am?�

�What question?�

�How many universes away from Olympus is the Human Preserve?�

�Twenty-five.�

�But I understand the will of Zeus makes transporting nymphs there impossible.�

�And you think, how 1,473 if not 25?�

�Yes, ma�am.�

�Perhaps it is the destination and not the distance.�

�Oh.�

Demeter actually chuckled.� �And perhaps not.� I don�t truly know the answer, Sam.� You may ask Him if He lets you speak.�

�Uh, ask Him?�

She smiled grimly.� �You will have the opportunity very soon.� It is only too obvious what you wanted with your sequestered nymphs.� Why only 57?�

�I got tired of fetching them.�� He blinked.� �You knew my purpose, ma�am?�

�I do now.� The disruption of those ridiculous customs is only too successful.�

�Uh, �ridiculous customs?��

�Would you prefer ridiculous sexual rituals?� I have lived among humans many times.� Even though their powers grow apace their sexual rules merely continue the cycles of repression and license.�� She giggled.� �You and your nymphs have taught new truths, certainly to women.� I love the reports of Zeus�s spies.� Human women are relearning the powers they forgot after Lysistrata.� I hope they do not soon forget again.� How did you imagine it, Sam?�

�Then You don�t disapprove?�

�I?� Am I not the Goddess of Fecundity?�� Suddenly she lost her bright smile.� �It is Zeus who worries.�

�Z-zeus is interested?�

�Of a certainty!�� She stood back and gestured around her.� �And if we do not soon appear in His throne room, He will be terrible.� I thought all was lost when I very nearly failed to sense you, this far away.� That was not a pleasant feeling.� Now recall your nymphs and let�s go home.�

�Umm.� That may be a problem, Your maj�� uh, Demeter, ma�am.�

�Problem?�

�I don�t know how to recall them.�

�Well, you had better learn quickly!�

�Ah, yes, ma�am.� Come on, Pester, give me a hand.�

Bending, he reached under the back of the nearest sleeping nymph, grasped her tail and gave it a powerful jerk.

Her eyes flew open.� �Hey, hey, mind the bottom, you son of a goat.� Oh, Sam?�

�Wake up,� he ordered unnecessarily, moving to the next.� He jerked two more while Pester awakened one.

Gratified by success, he declared, �I�ll send them four at the time to Olympus.�

�No,� said Demeter.� �Send them to Zeus�s throne room.� He�ll want to hear their stories.�

�I can�t find His throne room.�

�I never took you there?� Oh.� Then send them to me.� I�ll wait and send them on.� Don�t you dare to dally.�

On the last word the goddess vanished.� Sam looked around at the four nymphs, now risen on their elbows.� One said, �Put me back!� I was fucking two men with two more waiting.�

�Tell it to Zeus,� he said gruffly and strained to push them around the same corners he recalled from their fetching.� Immediately he and Pester turned to the next prone four.

�I knew it!� she crowed.� �Tails are sensitive.� Human women don�t have them, so my sisters have to wake up and find out what pulled them.�

�Very good.� Keep pulling.�

Oddly the transport effort was easier this time.� Due to familiarity?� The remaining nymphs vanished by fours, all except one.� She was a �teenager� with yellow hair and perky breasts who would not awaken.

�This is Tolis,� said his helper.

�I know her!� What�s the matter with her?�

Pester shrugged.� �Maybe she�s fucking six of them.� Should I bite her tail?�

�Is it advisable on Olympus to bite one bigger than you?�

The nymph looked at him narrowly.� �No, it isn�t.�

�Can I transport her while she�s asleep?�

�I don�t see why not.�

�Then ��� He looked around beyond the turf to the golden plain stretching everywhere to the horizon.� �Let�s go.�

They arrived standing on the green slope with Tolis still prone between them.� Demeter appeared immediately.

�What�s wrong with her?�

�We can�t wake her up.�

But Tolis was awake, hands in her groin.� �I�m coming, I�m coming!� Oh, by the gods I�m coming!�

Demeter extended a hand each to Sam and Pester.� �I think we can afford to leave her.� Come along.�