The Island Pt 02 3

The Island

Part Two

by o_girl © 2024

Chapter Thirteen - 3.000 years BC - The Sacrifice

by o_girl © 2024

The morning mist dissolved as the sun rose over the horizon.

It was going to be another very hot day. One of many this long summer.

Out of the haze a slim wooden ship cut through the waves towards the island.

On each side five men dressed in brown, woven cloth and fur used short paddles to push the ship. The mainland quickly became a distant silhouette in the lingering haze.

The flat planks that made up the sides of the ship squeaked in the lashings made of strong plant fibres holding them together.

At each end the top and bottom planks were extended and swung in a beautiful upward curve.

A man stood by the steering oar and looked at the approaching island.

His "Hep!", "Hep!", "Hep!", "Hep!" kept the rowers staying in sync.

Their coordination was perfect.

In the middle sat a young woman, swept in a large, brown-black bearskin.

She was absolutely still, and had her eyes locked on the approaching island.

This was the day, she had been waiting for, and had prepared for all her life.

The day she was going to save her people, and bring prosperity, rain, crops, and prey back again.

She had delicate features, and soft hands that had never done a day's work.

At birth she had been declared chosen, and had grown up isolated and excluded from the day to day business of her village.

The last couple of days she had gone through a cleansing ritual: Been washed with scented water, had her hair done into a fat braid down her back, been rubbed with oil and given massages two times a day.

She had had songs and dances done in her honour, and Eyolf, the shaman had given her one final instruction about her duties.

They now approached the holy island of the Gods, where she was to save her people.

The ship hit a sandy beach below a cave. Some of the men jumped into the low water and pulled the ship safely up on the shore.

They lifted and supported her as she climbed out of the ship. Then she walked a few paces away and got down in a kneeling position.

Now the focus of her gaze had changed and even though she was now facing the distant shore her eyes were empty. She was lost in herself.

Some started unloading the cargo, some began cutting down small trees on each side of the cave and making a pile of firewood in front of it.

They worked fast and their sharp iron axes cut into the wood with ease.

Eyolf carefully took his bundles from the ship and carried them inside.

In the cave the men made a wooden scaffold by tying long branches across from one side of the walls of the cave to the other and Eyolf unpacked the holy cauldron.

It was pure silver and shone in the sunlight. The panels on the sides showed the Goddess in all her glory and scenes depicted how offerings were made to her.

Eyolf mumbled the sacred words over it and caressed the relics.

He proceeded to place his ingredients on a line along the wall of the cave: His paints made from plants, animal blood, ground chalk, and rock. All in separate small, clay bowls. Finally, he unpacked his most prized possession: a number of brushes made with bone handles and animal hair.

In front of the scaffold and cauldron they arranged a ring of rounded stones from the beach, made a hollow in the middle and soon had a fire going.

Finally, the men brought the drums from the ship and placed them along the other wall of the cave.

The bass ones were made from of logs. Hollowed out and they produced a deep, thumping sound when beaten with well-used heavy wooden sticks.

The higher pitch ones had animal skin stretched over clay or wood bowls and were worked with the fingers and hands.

Their preparations took all day and all the time the woman, Svala had been sitting absolutely still and facing the ocean.

Everything was ready just as the sun went down and touched the top of the hills on the mainland to the west.

They gathered around the fire. Except Svala. She moved to a place at the opposite side of the cauldron and she still seemed lost in deep thoughts.

Eyolf brought out a small, clay pot and mumbled the sacred words over it. Then dipped a wooden spoon in the mixture and gave each of them a portion.

They each swallowed the bitter drink, with Svala being the last.

It had a strong taste and left the mouth dry, and as it reached the stomach small convulsions went through their bodies.

Eyolf turned to his paints and the wall.

While muttering strong words he painted grain and prey and sun and rain in a long frieze on the wall.

All symbols to please the Gods and showing what they were asking from them.

When he had finished he packed everything away and went and put it back in the ship.

As the daylight faded the fire made their shadows dance on the walls.

They started beating the drums slowly and rhythmically calling upon the Gods.

Svala felt the potion begin to work. The colours became vivid, and the shadows on the wall seemed to multiply. The cave also began expanding and retracting. She felt slightly dizzy, but also very joyful. The corners of her lips went up in a small smile.

She started swaying to the drums as the rhythm slowly increased.

Darkness fell and only the fire lit up the scene. Someone threw more wood on it and the flames increased.

Svala slipped out of her bearskin and rose naked in the light. She closed her eyes and moved from side to side in the rhythm. Then began to dance around the circle of men. Stroking their heads and necks as she passed each one of them.

She picked one at random. Did not how why, but maybe the Gods were guiding her. He rose and she took his hand and led him to the back of the cave. Let her body slide up and down his and caressed him with her hands.

Slowly but still in sync with the rhythm she went to her knees, undid the knot that held his clothes together, and cupped his balls with one hand. Letting two fingers on the other hand enclose the base of his penis. Looked up at him with a smile.

"Make me fertile. Let me bring your seed to the Gods in order for them to multiply and bring prosperity to us all!"

He moaned as she softly closed her lips around his member and sucked in sync with the rhythm.

When he was good and ready, she turned. Got on all four and spread her knees. He grabbed her hips with both hands and she gasped as he entered her and pressed hard. She made her hip do a circular movement and pressed against him.

It was as if she could not get him far enough into her.

This was the first time she had had a man and it was a burning sensation when he released his seeds into her. She bit her lips not to scream and closed her eyes. Seeing strange figures dance in her head.

They stayed locked together until he became slack again and fell out.

She composed herself while he staggered back to his place by the fire.

Then she rose and began her sensual dance around the men again.

Some sticky substance was making small and tickling traces down each side of her inner legs.

She invited another man back to end of the cave and the same thing repeated itself.

She had them all and was sure the Gods would be pleased when she met them and told of how she had brought the holy seed with her.

Now the potion had had a plenty of time to work, so after the last man had left her they all got up and danced. Only Eyolf and the three playing the drums remained seated.

The cave seemed full of strange creatures to her. She danced with a lot of them and sometimes felt like floating, sometimes like riding on a wild spirit.

Finally, after many hours, she collapsed on the ground. She was half-unconscious, but happy and smiling.

She did not register that her ankles were tied together with a combination of tendons and plant fibre.

Nor did she understand or sense that she was lifted up by her ankles on the scaffold that was prepared earlier.

She hung upside down in the flickering light, but her mind was away over the seas and mountains.

She flew like the eagle.

The landscape was wonderful. Sun shone and the colours were vivid: She felt very happy and absolutely detached from her body.

She hung quite still. Her arms pointing down towards the ground

Eyolf grabbed a firm hold on her braid and used a tiny but sharp bone. Found the right place on the side of her neck and punched a very small hole.

An extremely thin red ray made a perfect arch out from her neck and into the cauldron. The ray followed her heartbeat and made a tingling sound as it rhythmically filled the cauldron with her blood.

She never realized it nor did she regain conscience.

The landscape into which her mind had gone slowly became distant. A red edge around her inner vision closed more and more. She saw it through a red tunnel. Distant in a hallucinatory haze her body and mind shut down slowly, till the ray stopped coming and she was absolutely still. Her eyes were wide open but seeing nothing.

Directed by Eyolf they took turns dipping both hands in the blood in the cauldron and then pressing them with spread fingers underneath the frieze Eyolf had painted on the cave wall earlier.

The drums slowed down and finally only the bass gave a booming sound with larger and larger intervals. Until even that stopped.

One by one the men fell back from their places around the fire and went into a deep, deep sleep.

When they woke the next morning, nothing was said. It had been a good and successful ceremony. Now they hoped the Gods would accept it and be appreciative. All that could be done had been done.

Eyolf made a hollow in the sand next to the cauldron. Lined it with sacred herbs and poured the blood into the hollow. He watched as it seeped into the ground, then covered it with more sand, wrapped the cauldron and put it back in the ship.

The others packed up and then they rowed slowly towards the mainland.

It was another sunny day but clouds were gathering in the horizon.

It looked like it might rain and the Gods had accepted their offering.

At some distance away from the island Eyolf turned at his place by the steering oar and looked back. Far away he could see the white body still hanging in the middle of the cave.

Chapter Fourteen - 5 Years Ago - Gloria

by o_girl © 2024

After their eventful night they slept most of the next day.

They eagerly scanned the net and bought all the papers to see if their night adventures had been noted anywhere. There was nothing.

Neither did anything surface the next days.

They relaxed and sat in their deck chairs and looked at the sea.

Together they applied for a new Driver's License and a social security card via the net for Sunniva.

They had reported to the local Police that she had had her purse snatched by an unspecificed 'young man on a moped' when they had gone shopping.

Since she had the same address as Brynhild and all her data seemed to be correct in the system, her claim was duly registered with the Police and her papers arrived within a week.

She had been nervous when they went to the local Police station, but the nice Constable had found her in their system in no time, and all worked out well.

She was now officially recognized as Sunniva Pierson, living with Brynhild.

--

One morning Brynhild looked rather serious, and when Sunniva asked her what was wrong, she told her that her mother had died, and that she had to go attend the funeral service.

All the turmoil at "The Pines" had been too much for her and even though she lived in her own constantly narrowing world, she had finally given up.

Brynhild went on her own and came back rather sad, but also somewhat relieved.

In the following weeks, Brynhild went to meetings with lawyers a few times, but as she was the only relative there was no problems.

They went to see Starfucker once. To get an update on things.

George had been evicted and now lived in a small one-room apartment and doing his best to dodge the debts from his bankruptcy.

His claim that his sister was still living and actually had caused him so much grief was rejected by anyone he tried to contact.

It was obvious to all that Elizabeth Hullchester had died at The Pines.

Everyone could check that in the official registers and even see a copy of the death certificate.

Most official agencies just shook their heads and assumed George was losing his mind and maybe trying to find an obscure reason for his misfortune.

Gloria was also down on her luck as the contents of her bank accounts had disappeared mysteriously and her investments had been cashed out and gone the same way.

She did still have her art gallery which made some money, so she was able to stay in her town penthouse and even give a little money to George now and then.

That was going to change soon!

Brynhild's brain was still on overtime trying to figure out a good way to get at Gloria.

It would be hard.

Gloria came and went by a Limo-Service, and she almost always stayed in her penthouse with the only access through an elevator. This elevator was exclusive and only went between the ground floor and the penthouse. Gloria held the only key.

The fire escape was a series of metal stairs on the back side of her building, and the lowest part hung high. Only people coming down could release them and reach the streets.

After a lot of thinking and discussing they decided that the Limo-Service was the weak point.

They started planning.

One fine morning Brynhild popped in at the Limo Service's main office.

She was wearing the blonde wig, and a girlish looking flowered dress.

She explained to the nice receptionist that she was a very good friend of Gloria's and that she and a group of friends were planning a surprise Bridal Shower for her.

It was all hush-hush. Especially as Gloria wanted a small and quiet wedding.

They arranged that Brynhild would come by the next day with her own driver and the necessary documentation.

It was no problem and the meeting with the owner of the place ended on a very good note.

The next day, Brynhild appeared as arranged. This time with a rather chubby and unhealthy, but clean looking man in a perfect chauffeur's uniform.

She presented the Limo Service owner with the necessary (forged) documentation.

According to the Driver's License, she presented, she was Sophia Hullchester, and her driver was "Stjern E. Puler". A Norwegian national but with a full Driver's License and many years of experience in Limo-Services at home in Norway.

The papers seem to be in order, and they signed a contract to take over the Limo on a given day next week.

"Stjernepuler" in Norwegian is of course Starfucker, and one of Brynhild's more weird ideas but he had accepted that. It had taken a lot of persuasion to make him leave his hideout at the allotment garden, something that had not happened for a very, very long time.

Brynhild had had lots of ideas, but Sunniva had put her foot down. Enough was enough. So, they had chosen the 'small variety'.

--

Gloria came and went like a clockwork, so on this particular day she stepped into the Limo at the usual time. Not noticing that it was a new and different driver.

They took off from the curb and drove the usual way to the gallery.

At an intersection the Limo took an unexpected and unusual turn to the right and stopped by the curb.

Gloria tapped the dividing window: "Hey. What's going on?"

At the same time both doors to the passenger cabin opened, and Brynhild and Sunniva stepped in from each side.

"Hello, Gloria!" Sunniva said, and as she turned her head in Sunniva's direction,

Brynhild placed the Taser on her exposed neck and pressed the button.

The car was moving again before Gloria lost conscience.

When she came to her hands were locked on her back with pair of steel cuffs, and her head was in a cotton bag tied around her neck.

"Hey you! Take this off! You can't do this!" She wriggled her locked arms and tried to kick out. Of course, her legs just went into the empty air. The Limo had enough room for Bryn and Sunny to have moved away to a safe distance.

As no-one answered her cries, protests and cursing - the steel cuffs were locked tightly around her wrists, so she gave up after a while and became quiet.

Half an hour later the Limo stopped on a small, rarely trafficked forest road. They grabbed Gloria and dragged her out of the Limo.

A few metres away the wooden workman's shed on wheels they had rented the day

before was parked. It had a cheerful rental sign on the side.

Gloria tried kicking out several times as they forced her up the stairs and into the shed where they dumped her on the floor. Bryn held her body down with a foot between her shoulder blades.

Sunny then sat on her legs while Bryn tied her ankles together with a thick rope.

As part of the preparations the day before Bryn had mounted a very solid, steel hook in the middle of the ceiling. She now slipped the end of the rope through this hook and pulled with all her strength.

Gloria had been quiet until now, but as her legs and half of her body left the ground a long flood of curses and swearing's came from within the hood. The material did not do much to dampen her loud and foul language.

After securing the rope, they left her alone.

Star dropped them off at the rented Suzuki they had parked the day before, drove the Limo back to the service and pretended everything was quite normal. Then he dissolved back into his beloved allotment garden home.

The two girls used the keys in Gloria's handbag to access first her gallery, then her penthouse. Of course, in blonde wigs and happy clothing.

All done they walked two streets down and got into the car.

Back at the workman's shed, they put the keys to the cuffs in one of Gloria's locked hands, lowered the rope so she would be able to access the ties around her ankles if she stretched herself, and left her to wriggle and fight to get the keys to fit the cuffs free herself.

That would take her a while and by then they would be far gone.

--

They burned their clothes, delivered the Suzuki back at the garage and went to pick up the Porsche. Now not only with a new and better sound system, but also after a general service check and a short period in a parking house in town.

They eagerly followed the news once more, but there was nothing of interest.

One thing did surface though. A smaller article of a known, female art dealer had her gallery vandalised and all the art pieces destroyed.

Almost as an afterthought, the last sentences in the article mentioned that the gallery owner had no insurance on the displayed art, and that almost all of it was in commission, so bankruptcy could be just around the corner for the gallery and its owner.

--

That evening the girls sat in their deck chairs outside the cottage and shared a bottle of "Clos D'Ambonnay Vintage" Champagne.

A bottle Brynhild had saved for the occasion.

"Here's to a great conclusion of our revenge, my dear Sunniva!"

"Thank you. I hope this is the last of it and we will hear no more?"

"I'm sure it is. We have been very, very careful and erased our tracks. Think no more of it, and we saved a large portion of your due inheritance from the vultures," Brynhild laughed.

"Yes, they could have been decent from the start, so I suppose they asked for it!"

"Now to the next step: How would you like for us to find a country estate or some nice place away from it all - and settle down in peace and quiet?"

"Sounds great. A new start and preferably a place where we will be left alone from the trouble of the world?"

"Exactly. I have a decent inheritance from my mother, sold off my very expensive town flat as well as my mother's huge, old apartment and have a good, solid saving. If we pile our resources, we don't have to do a decent day's work for the rest of our life!"