This story is really weird, but somehow appealing to me. I more or less wrote it in my sleep... actually in that in-between state that I often find myself when I move around and look like I'm awake, but am somehow still basically dreaming. I often come up with my best story ideas while in that semi-dream state. Normally I just create a file with the story name and put in a few notes about my idea, but this story was complete... well, as complete as any story written while I am sleep-writing in a dream state can ever be. But it is......... different.
My awake self thought about rewriting it to make it a little more normal, but I decided not to change it or try to correct its weirdness. Instead I just polished it and sent it on to my in-house editor to correct my atrocious spelling. The only rule of spelling that I am certain of is that there is an R in shirt. Everything else is a guess. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
WARNING
! All of my writing is intended for adults over the age of 18
ONLY
. Stories may contain strong or even extreme sexual content. All people and events depicted are fictional and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Actions, situations, and responses are fictional
ONLY
and should not be attempted in real life.
All characters involved in sexual activity in this story are over the age of 18. If you are under the age of 18 or do not understand the difference between fantasy and reality or if you reside in any state, province, nation, or tribal territory that prohibits the reading of acts depicted in these stories, please stop reading immediately and move to somewhere that exists in the twenty-first century.
Archiving and reposting of this story is permitted, but only if acknowledgment of copyright and statement of limitation of use is included with the article. This story is copyright (c) 2022 by The Technician.
Individual readers may archive and/or print single copies of this story for personal, non-commercial use. Production of multiple copies of this story on paper, disk, or other fixed format is expressly forbidden.
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I stopped by the old hermit's shack yesterday. His name is actually Tobias something, but everyone refers to him as "the old hermit" or Toby. He's lived in that shack out on the edge of the desert for a long time. I really don't know how long, but my father used to talk about going out there with his father when he was a boy to visit the old hermit. My dad's been gone for over twenty years now, so that hermit must be at least ninety... or one hundred... or one hundred ten. He looks even older than that. Dad used to take food out to him regularly, and when Dad got sick, he made me promise that I would see that the old hermit never went hungry.
So because of my promise to Dad... I think... I take food out to the old hermit every few weeks. Often we sit and talk. Once, many years ago when I was still a teenager, Dad sent me out with the food because he had to work. As I went to leave, the old hermit stopped me and then told me in a firm voice, "Stay close to the house tomorrow." When I looked confused he said in an even more firm voice, "Stay within running distance, boy. Your life depends on it."
I thought he was crazy, but the next day I stayed close to the house. I was home alone and was actually outside in the garage working on my car when I heard a sudden roar that sounded like an approaching train. There are no tracks within miles of my house so I knew immediately what it was and started running for the house. I was in the basement when everything blew apart.
When Dad and some other rescuers dug me out from under the debris, the house was gone, the garage was gone, my car was tumbled and crushed, and trees in a miles-long and very wide path were all broken off and pointed in the same direction. They called it a clear sky tornado back then. Now they call it a derecho. It is a wall of extreme winds that can flow out in front of severe thunderstorms. Sometimes it will be so far in front of the storm that the clouds will still be in the distance when it hits. With today's weather radars and all that, they can even forecast them. But back then only Toby knew it was coming.
Some say that he's a witch. Maybe the proper word would be wizard or warlock or whatever, but he is something. He is very old and very strange and very wise and according to many people, very magical. He has helped me a great deal as I have gone through life.
Last week when I visited him to bring him groceries, he said, "I have had a vision." When I remained quiet he added, "I think you will learn a great deal from it."
"What was it, Toby?" I asked as I sat down.
"It was a vision of heaven and hell," he said.
He waited for a reaction from me, and when I just sat there he continued, "The first thing I saw was a young woman who was dragged up on stage at some big event that looked almost like a concert, but there were no bands on stage. The two security men who dragged her up there tied her spread-eagled to two posts and then suddenly began ripping off all of her clothing until she was standing naked and spread wide in front of everyone. She started screaming and crying out 'Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!'"
He paused and looked at me in silence for a long time. Then he asked, "Was that heaven? Or was that hell?"
"It sounds like hell to me," I said.
"For her, it was heaven," he said with a smile. "She was a closet exhibitionist all of her life and when she was stripped naked in front of thousands of people, she had the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced."
"Oh," was all that I could say.
"The vision continued," he said slowly. "A different young woman was dragged up on stage. She too was tied between the two posts. She too was stripped naked in front of the crowd. She too began screaming, 'Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God!'"
He looked at me and again asked, "Was that heaven or was that hell?"
"Heaven?" I answered. Obviously, I wasn't very sure of my answer.
Toby laughed. "It was hell," he said, still laughing. "She was a very timid and shy person in life who often had trouble even speaking to strangers. Being exposed in public like that to so many people was overwhelmingly destructive to her mind. She left the stage insane."