Chapter 1: Wide Awake
Andrew sat at the small pull-out dining table and put his head in his hands. Across from him, still in full ringmaster attire his friend Leon poked at the plate of tepid lo-mein in front of him.
"You done pacing?" Leon asked of his manager. "It won't make things any better. Just file for bankruptcy, and you'll make it through this."
"Why are you still wearing that getup? The show is over and you're sweating like crazy," Andrew groaned.
He put his fork down and eyed his sequined vest and cuffs. "I'm not sure. I guess it makes me feel important, you know? You could do with a bit of clothing confidence yourself."
Andrew peeled the neckline of his stained undershirt from his flesh and cradled his head once more. Unlike the clean-cut performer, he was shaggy and unkempt and couldn't hide the eye bags that clung to his face. "Low priority, low priority."
"It's not your fault. Getting into this business is hard, and damn near impossible to compete with the theme parks these days. We had a good run. Now you just got to tally up your assets and make the most of it."
"You make it sound so simple." His fist met the table. "Do you know how much money I sunk into this circus? The high top, the rehearsals, that...one lawsuit."
"Clearly a lot." Leon smacked through noodles. "That was part of the issue."
"I just wanted to make it magical. You got your last paycheck, why are you still here?"
"I wanted to give you something actually." He rose and discarded his greasy plate in the open dishwasher.
"Is it a million dollars?"
"No, I was originally going to add it to your Tent of Oddities for the pre-show. I thought you would get a kick out of it, but then things started heading south so I forgot about it until now." Extending his arm, he allowed his sparkling hat to roll down his sleeve and revealed a small teapot atop his head.
Andrew couldn't help but chuckle. "So that means you've just been sitting with that under your hat for the last half-hour."
"No, no, magic all the way."
"So, what's up with this teapot?"
"It snores."
"What?"
"It actually snores. Makes some kind of weird noise at least with no prompting. Found it at a flea market and thought it was interesting. See for yourself." He plucked it off his dome and handed it off.
Andrew humored him and examined it before holding it up to his ear. It was clearly an old piece and the china had begun to chip at the spout. The only visible markings seemed to be a series of Z's hastily scratched onto the side. To his amazement he could hear the faintest sounds of steady breathing. He tried to snatch off the lid only to find it held tight.
"It won't come off." Leon grinned.
"Crazy."
"Keep in touch will ya?"
He accepted a one-armed hug and saw him to the door. It was already early morning and the crickets were growing louder as he watched the headlights turn on and eventually fade along the road. Sighing, he returned to his trailer and turned the teapot over and over in his hands.
"There has to be something more to this." He held it overhead and stared down the spout to find an inky blockage. Shaking it more vigorously a tiny black drop landed on his brow.
Instantly a full stream of ebony liquid doused him, quickly overtook the table and cascaded to the floor. Andrew jerked and knocked his chair over as he snatched up all the papers he could. He watched open-mouthed as the stream quickly became a geyser, offering a hundred-fold what the object could have contained.
In mere moments the flood had rushed to the edge of the trailer and was pooling up to his knees. Andrew tried to force open the door, but found the tide was already too much. The substance was oily and viscous, but unlike anything he had ever felt. It was warm and smelled of smoke and lilac, as if a bonfire was fueled solely by bouquets.
He took to banging on the door until a brutal wave crashed against him and brought him under. On the verge of sheer panic, he held his breath and tried to find any foothold that would put him on higher ground. Though impossible in the cramped trailer, Andrew found nothing within his reach as he flailed. Against his better judgement he opened his eyes and was immediately struck still. While an impenetrable black at its surface what he witnessed beneath was a void of immeasurable distance. A thousand leagues away an inky imprint of the other side of the trailer was visible though distorted.
"What is this place?" He brought his hands to his mouth as he realized he could breathe.
He scanned the dark horizon in all directions, finding only a few stray papers and articles of clothing that had followed him into the abyss. Finally, he could discern a pale figure floating in the murk.
She was nude and clutched her legs tightly to her chest. A magnificent mane of raven hair sprouted from her head and disappeared into the surrounding night. While her face was obscured her body possessed cuneiform symbols raised from her flesh by means of scarring. The intricate lacework of which ran symmetrically up her spine and down her hips and thighs.
Her long eyelashes fluttered as he reached a hand out to her shoulder. Her skin ran hot like a piece of sheet metal left in the sun. He froze as her eyes flashed open in a haze of pink light. Instantly her slitted pupils caught him and an enormous toothy smile formed on her lips.
In a hail of bubbles, Andrew felt himself slammed against the refrigerator in his trailer as he was exiled from the oily world. The substance itself was still present and now swirled in a hypnotic dance until it finally coalesced into a perfect black circle on the floor. The disc grew into a column until its exterior resembled a mass of hair.
A single alabaster leg parted the curtain, before the woman's full being was on display and the column had become one with her raven locks. Her cuneiform markings extended to the front of her body and encircled her large bust line and taut stomach. No navel graced her front, though prominent off-blue nipples stood proudly on her breasts. Her mound was graced with a small tuft that stood out against her egg-shell skin. Her eyes possessed no whites, only obsidian diamond pupils set against a shiny bloodshot fuchsia. Dimples were present in her cheeks as she smiled.
"Hi." She crooked her head and blinked robotically.
"H-hi."
"You look tense." In a flash the woman jumped forward like a predator and kept him pinned to the ground. "Let's fix that."
Long prehensile fingers tipped in black seized his pants and tore them down his legs. Andrew scurried backward and held his breath as she lorded over him and giggled maniacally.
"Sorry for the morning breath. I've been asleep for a few centuries and I am ungodly horny right now. Fancy a suck, handsome?"
"Oh, shit."
"Just put your brain on the shelf for a few minutes, yeah?"
Despite his resistance the woman took up his cock and willed it hard under her palm. Much like the rest of her svelte frame her grip was unnaturally smooth. It was only when she applied a generous layer of spit to her open hand did Andrew notice they possessed no creases or indeed fingerprints of any sort.
She stared blankly and opened her mouth to allow a flat lavender tongue to unravel several feet to the floor. It moved of its own accord over his thighs and coiled tightly at the base of his shaft while she continued to work. Andrew clunked the back of his head on the fridge and sat hypnotized by her rhythmic motions. His rod was growing longer with her instruction, with each pass he swore more was added to his anatomy.
"How're you doing that?" he huffed.
The woman only winked before committing her pursed livid lips to the task. His dick was growing larger, unnaturally so as she bobbed and accepted her own tongue back in her mouth as she gagged down the entirety of his member. She brushed her bangs back and quickly dove into a flurry to polish every inch of his girth.
Andrew gasped as she finally popped off with a thick ring of white paste plastered around her mouth. His manhood hit the floor, a full two feet in length. Fear was now bleeding into the pleasure. "No more, please, don't make it any bigger."
The strange woman brought a confused finger to her lip and quivered. "Bigger?" She hauled up the slab of cock and threw it over her shoulder with an evil grin.