Author's Note:
This is the first chapter of a story about a dark stone and hidden paths. The story begins innocently in an idyllic suburban setting, but don't be fooled: This is a story of descent -- shifting forms, pleasure, control, and the mystery of nature.
Elements: Human TG, TF, Transformation, M2F, genderbending, time and space. All characters are over 18 years.
*****
The Road Not Taken
Brandon ended the call. "That was Jake. He can't make it. Senior project issues."
"That sucks," Chad said. He was sitting next to Brandon in the front seat of the car. "Can we still use the pool?"
"Yeah, he said no problem there, so at least that's good news."
"Plus it makes it easier for me to hit on his mom," Mike said from the backseat.
Brandon gritted his teeth and looked at Chad with a scowl wishing he could telepathically communicate his disgust at Chad for inviting Mike. It was supposed to be Chad, Jake, and Brandon. But no.
Chad, why did you have to invite Mike? Why?
Brandon rubbed his temples and shook his head and whispered out the window, "Why?"
"Why not?" Mike asked. "She's hot."
Brandon shook his head.
The car navigated itself down the winding country road; scanning the scenery, and making countless small adjustments to steering, speed, and course navigation.
Mike thought of Mrs. Moore's curves nestled in her bathing suit as he peered into the forest -- if you could call it a forest. The trees were planted in row -- the unmistakable hand of humanity.
Mike focused his eyes into the darkness between the trees, scanning the shadows created by the thick canopy. The passing trees took the effect of a film projector so that each space between two rows became a frame. Mike searched the projection, finally spotting a buck standing deep in the forest.
The car sped around a turn and the film ended abruptly, melting into large swath of freshly-cut land. Twisted trunks and underbrush remained, baking in the sun. Stacks of unsatisfactory logs dotted the desolation, smoldering from fires set the day before. In a few weeks, the land would be cleared and saplings would be planted to take their place.
"I think we've gone too far." Mike said.
"You've gone too far," Brandon snapped. "Mrs. Moore is our friend's mom!"
"Miss Moore," Mike said.
Her husband had disappeared seven years ago.
"Still, she's Mrs. Moore to you..."
"Is she ever!"
"...and maybe you shouldn't be such a pig."
"I'm just saying what we all think," Mike laughed. "And we all think Mrs. Moore is hot. We're just three little piggies. Three lost piggies."
"The car has the right address," Chad said, checking the interface on his phone. "We can't get lost."
---
From the moment they moved into their dorm hall, Mike and Brandon had never mixed well. Chad, however, enjoyed them both as friends and did his best to act as conduit -- a weak one -- between them. "The more the merrier," Chad would say. Now he was beginning to doubt his trite slogan, but he begrudgingly attempted to steer conversation to better waters.
"So Brandon, how's your senior project coming along?"
Brandon felt an immediate tightness in his shoulders. He didn't want to talk about his project. He wanted to go to the Moore's pool and forget, at least for a few hours, about the mess that was his senior project; but, feeling Mike's presence in the backseat, he sugar-coated his answer.
"Great!" he replied nervously. "We had a slight issue last week, but the fix is in and everything is moving along nicel-"
"What's your project?" Mike mumbled from the back.
Brandon cleared his throat at the interruption. He didn't bother to turn around. "My project is an app. It's a social networking app that-"
"A social networking app?" Mike sighed and chuckled. The man-made forest returned and he resumed his searching, more intent to find signs of life in the shadows.
Brandon turned in his seat. His seat belt dug into his neck. "And what's wrong with an app?"
"What's wrong with a social networking app, you mean?" Mike spotted another deer, a doe, munching daintily at something in the underbrush. "Maybe you should make an app for deer instead..." he trailed off, his mind taken in by a new stretch of smoldering desolation.
"What? What the fuck are you talking about? Deer?"
"Guys." Chad said. "Please."
"Buckfuck." Mike mumbled to himself. "The Dating App for Deer. Hoof-sensitive touch screens."
"Ha ha. Very funny, Mike." Chad gritted his teeth and poked Brandon. "He's just having a little fun, Brandon."
"No, I want to hear what he has to say," Brandon frantically loosened his seat belt and turned back to Mike. "What's wrong with a social networking app?" he asked, trying his hardest to imitate the disdainful way Mike had said social networking, which had been more the product of Mike's languid way of talking than any deeply held opinion.
Mike thought of Buckfuck, The Dating App for Deer. Could it scale? How would it do during hunting season? He sighed. "Brandon. Do you think the world needs another app?"
"Guys. Stop. We're going to a pool. This is supposed to be fun." Chad looked at his phone in defeat. Nothing for the last mile looked familiar to him. They were lost. Fuck.
"Obviously, I do think the world needs another app or I wouldn't be making one," Brandon's stomach tensed, caught between explaining himself and wanting deeply to divert the attention from his failing project. "What's your senior project, Mike?"
"I can't tell you."