07 - Eternal - Kimberly
He closed the eyes and let the sleep overcome him as a collection of sappy love songs from the '50's and '60's filled the air and his mind.
Headed for North Carolina from Virginia on a tour bus, he was in his bunk with his radio on nice and low. He was resting up for the next gig. After all, he was Taylor Hanson of the pop trio Hanson. He couldn't go to a performance with bloodshot eyes. That would start questions he didn't want to give answers to.
Taylor shut off his mind as an ultra-sappy song started playing. As a final movement before falling into a world of peaceful rest, he blew a strand or two of hair off of his face.
He wasn't aware of the time when he awoke to screams and a strange sense of not being held by gravity. He didn't know that the bus driver had fallen asleep at the wheel and had driven over a cliff on the Blue Ridge Parkway. As he floated in a dreamlike state, he didn't know anything.
A sickening shock rushed through him as the bus hit rock bottom and burst into flames. He heard more screams. He tried to get out of his bunk, but he was too tired. Despite the acrid smell of smoke that made his senses reel, he fell back against his pillow and returned to that wonderful state of peaceful rest known as sleep.
The next morning he awoke to a strange, but welcome, silence. Before opening his eyes, he stretched his arms over his head and reached to push off his blanket. When his hands hit ashes, his eyes flew open to survey his surroundings. His entire bunk was a blackened mess. He gasped, remembering the night before. Thoughts flew like rapid fire through his mind.
What happened? How did I live through it? Was I the only one to live? Why am I not burned? What's going to happen now? How do I get out of here? Damn it! I want answers!
He pushed away the remains of the curtains that kept his bunk "private" and carefully dropped to the floor of the bus. When he didn't slide anywhere, another thought passed through his mind. How strange. We landed right side up, or rather, top side up.
Carefully, he walked to the front of the bus, noticing that the door was wide open. His stomach churned when he turned his gaze to the body of the dead bus driver. Once again he thought, why wasn't I burned?
He stepped off of the bus and saw that he was not, in fact, the only one who had survived through the night. His brothers were lying on the ground, not far from the bus, seemingly asleep. He walked over to them and nudged his older brother. Suddenly, both of his brothers sat bolt upright and he heard a voice behind him speak words he wouldn't be able to forget. "I gave you eternal life. You can thank me later."
All three brothers turned to where the voice had originated. There stood a girl of about seventeen. Her auburn hair was swept up in a top-knot. She wore a midriff-baring tank top and Daisy Duke cutoff shorts. Her figure was of the "Perfect 10" variety and her face was the epitome of beauty. She was about 5'8", slender and voluptuous. The three brothers could not help but notice that she was graced with large breasts. Whether they were a grace for her was yet unknown, but each brother wished to know everything about her.
She sauntered over to the three. "I'm so sorry that I couldn't save the rest of your family. What a pity. But, you are saved and for that, you should be grateful."
Taylor looked her up and down, somewhat appreciatively. "Why should I be grateful? What exactly did you do, who are you and what's going to happen now?"
She stepped up to him lithely. "You should be grateful because you didn't die in that. Not only you didn't die, but you weren't even touched by the flames. You have eternal life as do your brothers. All I did was cast a little spell. I'm a witch. Lily Ana Muertos. And, now, you are going to come back to my house so that I can fix you up so that you can look as though you were in the fire and crash so that people will boost you up to an even higher fame."
Isaac got up from the cold ground and brushed off his pants. "Couldn't you have at least asked us first?"
Lily Ana walked over and placed a hand on Isaac's cheek. "I didn't want you to die. Too many people would then think they had nothing to live for."
Zac jumped up from the ground. "So you gave us eternal life? Couldn't you have given us just a long life?"
Lily Ana looked to Zac, her hand still on Isaac's cheek. "It is just a long life. If I could have done anything else, I would have. You'll thank me later."
She began to walk away. When she was a few feet away, she turned around and beckoned them closer with her index finger. "Follow me."
Unsure of what would happen if they didn't, the three brothers, bandmates, friends followed the one who had given them eternal life.
With a final word, Zac felt spots on his arm and one spot on his face tighten up. "Man. This feels so weird."
Lily Ana set about putting away her candles. "Of course it does. The spirits have tampered with your flesh. Although, that's just because you're currently in solid form."
Isaac turned away from the mirror where he was examining his fake burns. "Solid form? You mean there's some other form we can be in?"
Lily Ana sent an amused smile his way. "Of course. The three of you are essentially spirits. You can basically dematerialize so that you're just floating particles. Sort of like being invisible. In the light, people will see you as specks of dust in the air. But, it's a useful thing when you're trying to sneak someplace. You can even leave your particles somewhere and let your soul wander. Astral projection of a sort."
Taylor pushed his hair behind his ears, seemingly to help him ponder this new piece of information. He bit his lip, let out a deep breath and spoke. "So, how do we do all of this?"
She walked over to him and placed an arm around his shoulders. "Your instruction begins after you at least give a press conference and definitely after you go to the hospital and do some good acting to make them think you're actually hurt."
Zac snorted. "Good acting? Them? You have got to be kidding."
Lily Ana sighed. "Looks like I've got to get those candles out again. Let me just do a quick spell and you guys will be great actors. Okay?"
Hesitantly, the boys agreed. But, did they truly want all of these spells cast over them? Lily Ana called them over. With a sigh, each brother took his place in front of her in order to be blessed with the abilities of a true thespian.
Taylor looked up to the video camera that was pointed down at him. "Hi there."
He spoke in a voice that seemed filled with pain. He and his brothers were now in the hospital and already the news crews had shown up to try to get the first glimpse of the remaining Hansons.
A reported shoved a microphone near his face. "So, Taylor, what was it like to go off a cliff in your tour bus?"
Smiling lightly, he spoke. "It was fun. Just like a roller coaster ride," then he frowned. "I just wish that roller coaster hadn't killed a majority of my family. But, at least I still have my brothers. I still have my best friends. We'll get through it together."
Zachary grabbed the remote control and turned on the TV. Seeing that it was the news, he looked at the remote control to try to find the button to change the channel. Just then he heard, "Hanson".
He looked up at the TV to watch that part of the newscast. "Earlier today, we showed you an interview with the members of Hanson who miraculously survived when their tour bus went over a cliff on the Blue Ridge Parkway with only a few burns, scrapes and bruises. Now, we're going live to outside of Duke Medical Center where the Hansons were transported early this morning."
"Yes, Jane. We're here and so are a lot of Hanson fans. Most of them have been here for at least five hours trying to get in to see the people that they look up to the most. We're now going to talk to a couple of fans to see what their reactions were when they found out that the Hansons had been injured."
"I was so scared. I heard that they had died. I was about to kill myself when I heard on the news that they were still alive. So, I came over here as soon as I could because I love them so much. I even brought them flowers."
"If my Zacky had died, I was going to go crazy. I love him so much. He's mine."
"Um, Jane, I think we're out of time."
"No, wait! I have to tell Zac how much I love him!"
"No! Let go of the microphone."
"Give me...."
"Well, that was Tony live with a few Hanson fans outside of Duke Medical Center. Now, onto other news."
Zac shut off the television. While he was glad that those people hadn't killed themselves or gone crazy, could it have been better for him if they had?
The clock ticked slowly, echoing throughout the small, dark room. He looked down at his hands, letting his thumbs rub together. Finally, when he could stand it no longer, he looked up at her. "Lily, say something."
She pushed a fallen piece of silken hair behind her perfect ear and smiled. "Lily Ana, please. Isaac, it's just not something that's considered right. I barely know you."
"Lily Ana, then. I don't care if society considers it wrong. I only know my feelings for you. There's no age difference, we could say we knew each other for a long time if they asked. Love at first sight if you want to be honest!"
She laughed. "Isaac, I'm not going to marry you. At least, not right now. You and your brothers just got out of the hospital this morning. But, we could go back into the bedroom and..."
The look in his eye and the grin that seemed almost painted on his face showed her that he would not be a hard one to break.
He pulled open the curtains of the window in the room he was staying in at Lily Ana's house. Immediately, he closed them seeing that a couple of fans had found out which room he was staying in and had posted their, "Taylor, take me!" signs just outside on the lawn.
Sighing, he began to strip down to his bare skin. He was happy to have a bathroom connected to his room. It wouldn't involve the hassle of having to worry about being clothed when travelling to his room after the shower he was planning on taking.
After turning the hot water on full blast, he grabbed a towel from the small linen closet just inside the bathroom. He tossed it onto the vanity and proceeded to pull back the shower curtain and step into the warmth.
As soon as the water hit his pale flesh, he gasped in pleasureful agony. He turned the water temperature down to a more comfortable level and began to wash himself taking a particularly long time on anywhere that felt good.
When he was finished, he turned off the water and with a bit of soap in his eyes, he groped around just outside the shower curtain for his towel. He grabbed it and wiped the soapy water away. The sight that greeted his eyes made him wipe them again.
Lily Ana stood nude before him, her breasts rising and falling as she breathed in the steamy air. She brought her hands up and pushed back the few pieces of hair that had fallen onto her shoulders. She shrugged when he brought his eyes to meet hers. "I really needed to take a shower. I didn't think you'd mind."
He lightly shook his head. She smiled and grabbed a towel from the linen closet. She set it on the vanity and made her way over to the shower. Upon seeing that he was still standing in it, dripping soapy water, she spoke. "How am I supposed to take a shower if you're still in there?"
Jokingly, he smiled and spoke. "I don't know. I thought you were going to let me watch, maybe join in."
With those words, she took a step into the shower and pushed him back against the tiled wall. Before she pressed her lips to his, she looked him in the eyes and said, "If you want to, sure."
Biting his lip, he raced along the computer-generated road. He was in front of a television playing Pilotwings 64. He accelerated his gyrocopter, but not enough to get it off the ground. He was trying to find the gas station that he had read about in Nintendo Power, or was it Electronic Gaming Monthly? He couldn't remember exactly.
He scoured the screen for the gas station sign. There. He pulled in and circled around the gas pumps. Having refueled, he set off to complete the mission. When he was finally done, he had a perfect score for all areas except for time. Wryly he thought, gee, I wonder why? It was with this thought that he heard the door creak open.
He turned around to see who had entered the room. Expecting one of his brothers, his mouth dropped open when Lily Ana came into view. It wasn't just that it was Lily Ana. It was the fact that it was Lily Ana with a black, lacy bra hanging off of her. She smiled coyly. "Zac? Could you possibly fasten this for me? It's a new bra, so I'm not quite used to it yet."
Without words or thought, he got to his feet and made his way over to her. She giggled happily and turned around. Just as reached to fasten her bra, she dropped a shoulder and let the strap slide down. It mesmerized him. He brought his hand to the strap and pushed it further down. She moaned lightly and dropped the other shoulder. As her bra fell discarded to the floor, Zac's lips met her neck and her moans met the air and walls.
Isaac pressed his lips against hers and trailed kisses along her cheekbone, down her neck, down her chest and to her breasts. Taking his time, he alternated between her nipples, taking each into his mouth, caressing them with his tongue and gently biting them. Her chest heaved with deep breaths taken between deep moans. He trailed his kisses back up to her mouth and spread her legs.
As he carefully penetrated her, he felt a rush of emotion that he couldn't interpret. He began to wonder if what he was doing was right, but as soon as the thought started, it was abandoned in favor of giving himself over to the pleasure. Easing in and out became a second heartbeat, a perfect rhythm that he didn't have to think about to maintain.
Bringing her legs up so that one of her feet was on each side of his head, he continued his motions as he heard her moans increase in volume. Feeling his climax approaching and somehow knowing that her's was approaching soon as well, he increased his speed. As she arched her back and neck, he shuddered in pleasure and released within her a good-sized portion of his seed.
Pulling himself from her, he grazed her warm flesh with his lips and lay down beside her, suddenly exhausted. Within moments, he was asleep and Lily Ana was gone.
Her nipples hardened under the pulsing water. She let out soft coos of pleasure as his hands explored her every curve. She leaned back against the wall and beckoned him closer with her index finger. "Taylor, I want you to take me."
Without so much as a rational thought, he advanced toward her and lifted her up so that she could wrap her legs around him. She did so with a seemingly practiced ease and managed to position herself so that by writhing just a bit, she could slip onto him. She did just this and smiled as Taylor let a moan escape from the back of his throat.
Taylor groaned as her lips found his neck and began a tantalizing dance across his skin. He pushed further within her with every stroke, knowing that she was as pleased as she was. He continued this for a while before feeling as though he was on the edge of orgasm, about to fall into immense bliss. The way Lily Ana's moans increased in volume and intensity, he knew that she was as close as he.
With a final push into her, he closed his eyes and released everything. He let Lily Ana down and carefully sank to the bottom of the shower. Soon, he was asleep, the water was turned off and Lily Ana was gone.
Zachary raised Lily Ana's arms above her head and began a trip down her back with his lips. It was a wonderful descent filled with sounds made by a woman pleasured. His hands trailed down her sides and came to rest on her hips, just where her skirt began and her skin ended. With a final kiss to the small of her back, he pulled away and began the agonizingly slow removal of the remainder of her clothing.
When she was void of clothing, Zac began to kiss her again. He was seemingly trying to kiss every inch of her skin at least once. After a particularly loud moan, Lily Ana pulled Zac up from where he was kissing his way up her thigh and began to tear off his clothing. He simply stood there and let her do as she wished.
He finally stood before her nude, so she sank to the floor, satisfied, and pulled him down with her. He showered her with more kisses and with careful hands, he positioned her beneath him. With a final kiss on her chest, he brought himself up so that he could enter her. As soon as he did, her hands found their way to his back.
He snaked a hand under her as she arched her back in blatantly obvious pleasure. He had never really been the selfish type and it showed now as he was only trying to pleasure her, to help her climax. However, he could not help but derive some pleasure from the experience.
Feeling her hot breath on his neck and hearing her whimpers of frustration, he began to thrust harder into her, not truly aware that he was doing what he was. He suddenly felt himself explode within her, but he kept thrusting until she screamed in pleasure. A bit tired, he pulled himself from her.
She smiled and curled into a ball on the floor. He cast a wary glance upon her, then decided to find her a blanket should she decide to spend the night there. He pulled on a pair of boxers and headed into the hallway to see if he could find something to keep Lily Ana warm.
He could have sworn that he saw her exit from Taylor's room just after he walked past, but then he chided himself for it. Lily Ana couldn't possibly be in Tay's room. However, as he walked past the room that Ike was staying in, he, once again, could have sworn that he saw Lily Ana exit just after he walked past. Shaking his head, he decided that he was far too tired for this. He decided to move Lily Ana up to his bed and spend the night holding her close.
When he entered the room, he thought he saw a semi-transparent form of Lily Ana slide into her true form. Deciding that he truly was exhausted, he gently picked Lily Ana up and placed her into his bed. He slid in next to her and placed his arms around her almost lovingly. Contented, he settled in for the night.
The three brothers awoke to the hellish wail of a perturbed cat. Each clambered out of their place of respite and began to get dressed amid the confusion of wondering what had happened the night before as none of them quite remembered. Simultaneously, they finished dressing and made their way into Lily Ana's kitchen, not questioning the three plates of breakfast sitting on the table. They sat down and ate in silence, never realizing that Lily Ana lurked nearby, observing them and controlling them.
As they ate, Lily Ana walked into the room garbed in some leather creation that came complete with a whip and handcuffs. "Your training begins today."
He imagined himself as clarity itself. He knew himself to be the dust floating in the darkness, the smoothest pane of polished glass and essentially invisible. Above his thoughts, he heard Lily Ana exclaim, "Now, try to wander."
The wind was what he became. He moved from one place to another deftly with only Lily Ana able to detect his presence. He heard her once more above the din of his concentration. "Now, leave your particles behind."
Imagining himself stepping from his body, he felt pulled from everything that had once felt like home. Yet, this was different and he'd always thought that different was good. However, he wasn't sure he liked the feeling of being away from his body, so he re-entered his particles and imagined himself in human form once again. As soon as he materialized, he felt lips on his cheek. Lily Ana. "Zac, that was wonderful. You've picked this up so quickly. I don't think anyone else has ever picked it up so fast."
He shrugged almost bashfully. He was happy to make her so happy.
After the several weeks of training had passed, Lily Ana had decided that the brothers were ready for a test of their skills. Only she knew what they were capable of and so she would have them do her bidding as their test. They were so enraptured by her that they would do so without complaint or fear.
It was a seemingly perfect day when Isaac, Taylor and Zachary Hanson were each given a piece of paper by their beloved Lily Ana and were led to the area where they had originally met her. They were instructed to read their papers.
Each brother's paper had the same message.
This is just a bit of instruction for your test. Each of you has one fan
that you've taken the time to give a second, third, fourth, etc, thought
about. Your test is to visit that fan and do what you see fit to do.
After thinking only a moment as to whom the instructions were referring to, the boys set off using their new skills to complete their test.
Isaac opened the door and took a step into the darkness of the room. He heard a gasp and the rustle of fresh sheets being pulled from their almost perfect position. "Who's there?"
He closed the door and made his way slowly across the room. Quietly, he spoke. "Me."
Deep breaths. "Who the hell is 'me'?"
He was next to the bed now. Before sitting down next to this girl, this fan, he closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of roses in the room. "'Me' is whoever the hell you want me to be."
Her breath quickened when she felt his weight next to her. "So, be Isaac Hanson."
Smiling, he turned on the small night light by this beautiful girl's bed. She gasped, then slowly raised her hand to his chest. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her. She was Adrianna, his lucky fan.
Taylor walked along the road looking at each house to try to find her house. He turned a corner and saw her standing in front of him. She brought a hand up to cover her full lips and then mumbled, "Taylor."
He pulled her hand from her lips and replaced it with his own supple lips. He mumbled, "Sheila," and placed his lips on her's once more. She pulled back. "Taylor?"
Silencing her with another kiss, he led her down the road, headed into the forest.
Looking down at the piece of paper in his hand, he tentatively knocked on the front door of his fan's house. He waited impatiently for the door to finally open, tapping his feet as he waited, thinking how much like Taylor he could be. Then, he saw the doorbell. Mentally scolding himself for not looking for it earlier, he rung the doorbell and had only to wait another few seconds before someone answered.
As soon as the door opened, Zac held out his hand and interoduced himself. "Hi. I'm the man of your dreams."
The young girl standing in front of his pulled nervously at her collar. "I see you got the letter I sent. I wrote that as a dare. I really don't dream about you that way."
Zac shrugged. "That's okay. Can I come in? Got a Playstation? Feel like going up against the master? I brought the Tekken trilogy if you feel up to it."
The girl's mouth dropped open slightly, but she quickly composed herself and let in the last guy she'd ever expected to see on her doorstep.
"Oh! Isaac. God, this feels good!"
Caught up in the passion, he mumbled a name into her neck. To her it sounded like "Adrianna". After all, that was her name. But Isaac had truly said the name on the one who had total power over him, Lily Ana.
When the pair came in violent ecstasy, Isaac got dressed and placed a kiss on Adrianna's forehead before leaving the room. She lay down and curled into a ball, not knowing that the next day she would die a bloodless death from the events of moments earlier.
Her hands were tangled in his hair along with leaves that had found their way there during foreplay. Her back was to a sturdy birch tree, her voice to the wind. "Taylor! Oh, you animal!"
He continued his rhythm of pressing into her and suckling her breasts, knowing that this was something she had dreamed about since the first time she had seen him, or so she had said. Feeling himself come closer to his wanted end result, he pulled her away from the tree and continued for only a moment with her bare back to only air. Then he came and held her close.
She mumbled her final "oh god"'s into his hair, then slid off of him to retrieve her clothing. When she had finished dressing, he mumbled his apologies for his quick retreat, gave her a lingering kiss and left her leaning against the sturdy birch that her back had become very familiar with, not knowing that her fate would be the same as Adrianna's.
"Oh man! How in the hell did you get this damn good?"
She laughed and continued to kick him senseless in the game. "Practice my dear Zac. Practice and luck that you are soooooo bad at this game."
He continued playing, trying futilely to block any of her kicks. "I can beat everyone in Tulsa. I'm good at this game!"
She turned to face him and yet managed to continue her brutal attack on his computerized character effortlessly. "You've never played a girl in this game, have you? Every girl around here can kick my butt at this game because it's a better controller for girl's hands and the button push is easier for us. It's one of those things that makes being a girl a great thing."
As his character died yet again, Zac threw down his controller and stood up. "I demand to play you at some other game." His lucky fan, Jennie, looked down at her watch, then back up at Zac. "Sorry. No can do. I've got places to go in about 10 minutes."
Zac pouted. "Just one game! Anything!"
Jennie looked at her watch once again. "I have to get ready in a minute, so unless we're playing paper, rock, scissors one of one, then no."
He pursed his lips for a moment then nodded. "Sure. On the count of three. 1.... 2.... 3!"
The defeated look that graced Zac's face when he realized that her rock beat his scissors made Jennie laugh. "Zac, it's just games. You'll always be the better drummer. I've just decided to never take up drumming so that you can remain the beatmaster. Now, you've got to go. I need to change."
An evil smile lit up his face. "Can I watch?"
The death look that was then shot his way silenced him momentarily. "Okay, okay. Gotta go then. C'ya around?"
She shrugged. "Sure. If you're in town. By the way, I expect backstage passes to your next concert here."
Impulsively, he threw his arms around her. "You betcha, smartass."
He waved goodbye as he exited the room. He was happy and would be happier when he found out that he had not fallen for Lily Ana's plan and that Jennie would remain a member of the living, even if he was only a partial member of that very thing.
They entered Lily Ana's home to find red candle wax covering the floor. Zac was the first person to notice it and make comment on it. "Lily Ana, you've got candle blood on your carpet."
Lily Ana appeared from an unknown place, wearing a flowing robe in a flattering shade of blue. "Oops! I should know better then to leave my candles burning while I sleep."
Zac nodded, somewhat bored. "Hey, Lily Ana, got any books around this place? I'm asking for that since I know you don't have a Playstation."
She shook her head. "Sorry Zac. But, I could give you directions to the town library."
He nodded once again and took directions from Lily Ana on how to get to the place that would turn his situation around.
He searched the shelves for something that looked interesting. His eyes fell upon a book entitled The Basics of Witchcraft. Zac pondered the title a moment, then grabbed the book and made his way over to a table so that he could read about what Lily Ana said she was.
Zac burst into the house, angry tears streaming from his eyes. When he came upon a confused group of brothers, he shouted as loudly as he could, "She's a liar! She's not a witch!"
Lily Ana came rushing from the kitchen. "Zac, what are you shouting about?"
He shook his head and backed away from her. "You said, when we met you, that you are a witch. You're no witch. Witches don't use candles. They can't do what you did to us. I don't know what you are, but you're no witch and I'm damn sure of that!"
She calmly walked up to him and slapped him. "You damn brat. This was my chance to take over and you had to ruin it. So, I'm not a witch. I'm a spirit sent here to do what I see fit. I was given the ability to do what I do by Mother Earth and Father Time, my parents. I'm not Lily Ana Muertos. I'm Eternal."
With his hand raised, he spoke. "I should have known that what I saw that night was the real thing. I should trust my vision. How dare you sleep with me, lie to me and hurt me!" With that, he let his hand bring itself to meet Eternal's cheek with a convincing slap.
Her eyes closed as she seethed, she dispersed into the air as a spirit. She spoke, though her words had no distinct place of origin. "Oh well. It's not like it matters. You know what you need to know and you will still do my bidding. You can't kill me."
Zac was not phased. He spoke the words that would rid him of Eternal. "As you are and as you were, you claim to be a sister, but 'tis not your faith, 'tis but disgrace, and so your soul shall die."
For the next few days, Isaac, Taylor and Zachary knew only darkness, silence and despair. They only existed in a time where nothing else did. When they returned to their world in a way they would never know, they felt free of something. They eventually decided that Eternal was gone.
No one ever told them anything of what actually happened as there wasn't anything that other people knew that they didn't. They lived on forever, not knowing what lay ahead, not knowing if Eternal lay around another bend. Eventually, Isaac, Taylor and Zachary became friends with Mother Earth and Father Time, but they never spoke of Eternal. It seems silence exists in many worlds.
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