The Nature of Man

By Kenn Ghannon



The Rules

I thought, before we got to the actual reading of this story that we should
set down a couple of ground rules:

1) This story involves frank and explicit descriptions of sex.  If it is
immoral or illegal in your area to read about topics of this nature, please
quit reading here.  If you don't want to read about topics of this nature,
please quit reading here.  (I don't, by the way, agree with the legal
aspects of this.  I believe that the United States, as a society, has gone
too far in putting the onus of maturity on a rather arbitrary physical age.
I've known 13 year olds who were far more mature than some 40 year olds.  Of
course, this may be the exception to the rule, but still.)

2) If you are looking for a story where everyone is always happy all of the
time, please find another story.  If you are looking for a story where
everyone is always sad all of the time, please find another story.  Reality
is somewhere in-between these two extremes and I try to write as near to
reality as an erotic fantasy can get.  Do I succeed?  Only you can tell me.

3) If you are looking for a story that absolutely revolves around sex, sex,
and more sex, please find another story.  I *WON'T* write one of those.
There is sex here, but only as a function of the story.

4) Everything you read hear is fiction.  It never happened, so I am
definitely not writing about YOU.  J

If you've read this far, I hope you enjoy this.



Author's Note:  I am dedicating this story to Frank Downey.  It may not be
quite up to his romantic ideals, but I hope that it is passable.



Mr. Downey: I am hopelessly in love with Sophia.  How do I tell my wife that
I'm in love with a figment of YOUR imagination?  J  --KG



Chapter 6



The argument was relatively brief, but it was heated.



On the one side was Eric.  The emotional roller-coaster that he had been
riding recently had him at the peak of the first drop.  All of the anger and
hatred and pain that he had suddenly begun to feel filled his veins.  He
begged, he pleaded, he cajoled and threatened.  For the first time in nearly
9 months his sister was awake and coherent and he was bound and determined
to see her immediately.  In his mind, he couldn't understand why they weren'
t in the car already and driving.



His Aunt and Uncle, on the other side, were a little more cautious.  The
doctor's didn't want the family storming in there yet.  They needed some
time to evaluate the little girl's condition, to make sure that she was
ready to see her family.  They had assured Tom and Jean that there was no
reason for them to rush over there tonight; the following morning would be
fine.



Eric was having none of it.



"It's my sister!" he ranted.  "I've got to see her!"



"Eric," Tom began.  "Be reasonable.  It's the middle of the night.  There's
no one there to show us in.  She's probably already asleep."



"She's been sleeping for the past 9 months!  She's awake.  She asked for me,
damn it!"



"The doctors don't want want us there, Eric."  His Aunt knew how he felt.
Her first instinct was to rush out to the hospital.  The doctor's had
advised her against it.  "They just want to observe her over night.  She'll
be ready tomorrow."



"Fuck the doctors!  They've been observing her for 9 months!"  Eric was
nearly in tears.  How could these two people not see?  This was his sister,
the last close family he had left.  Oh Uncle Tom and Aunt Jean were family,
but they weren't close.  Not like Gwen had been.  And Christina...well, after
this past night he wasn't too sure how he felt about Christina.  He was
still trying to get over what she had done at the drive-in.



The tears rolled freely down Eric's face.  He didn't care.  He had gone far
too long keeping his emotions bottled within him and it was high time he let
them go.  "Don't either of you see?"  His voice was raspy as the sobs broke
over him.  "This is my sister.  I promised her I'd be there for her."  His
voice had dropped to a whisper and he fell rather than sat in the recliner,
his head buried in his hands, his shoulders bobbing uncontrollably as the
full measure of his anxiety and relief broke like a dam within him.



Jean and Tom looked at each other briefly.  They had been married long
enough that no words needed to be spoken.



"Come on Christina," Tom took his daughter by the shoulders.  Christina hadn
't said a word through either of this.  She just stood there, her back
against a wall, listening.  Her face was confused and anxious, like a deer
trying to decide the safest way to turn.  Tom pulled her from the wall.  "We'
ve got a big morning ahead of us.  You should get some sleep."  They walked
softly up the stairs.



Jean wasn't sure quite what to do.  Her motherly instincts told her to take
this boy and hold him.  Let the crying run its course and comfort him as
best she could.  But this wasn't her child and she wasn't sure how the move
would be accepted.



'The hell with it,' she said to herself in the roiling turmoil of her mind.
'He's my nephew and he's in pain.'  She sat next to him and held him around
the shoulders.  For the briefest of instants she felt him stiffen and pull
away.  Then, he grabbed her in a hug that threatened to crush her, and his
head fell on her shoulder and the sobbing began in earnest.





Christina sat on the end of her bed and mulled over the recent evening.  She
was a little surprised at herself.  Sure, she knew that she was a bit of an
exhibitionist - there had been that party with Steve Meyers where they
couldn't find a room and had finally done it right on the couch in front of
tons of people - but she had never been so blatant about it.  At the party,
Steve and her had remained dressed, for example.  She had been wearing a
mid-length skirt, so it had just been a matter of unzipping him and...



The sex had been truly incredible and she had to admit that it wasn't Steve
that was doing it - oh, he had been good but not THIS outstanding - it had
been the fact that other's were watching her.



Going from that to getting naked before other people - and in front of her
own cousin, no less - was quite a leap.  However, it had been exhilarating.
And when he and Shawn had started nibbling on her breasts...it was, she
admitted to herself, the strongest orgasm she had ever had, bar none.  Of
course, some of that could have been Evan - but she knew that she wouldn't
have even gone off if it hadn't been for the extra stimulus.



Then to come home and hear that Gwen was coherent again.  She thought it
over and decided the day couldn't get any better.



What was troubling her, however, was what Eric must think of her now.  In
the heat of her passion she couldn't stop herself.  Now, with the cold
analytical light of time covering her, she knew that he had to be
uncomfortable and she worried that he might resent what had happened.  She
didn't want that; not when he was just starting to get to the point where he
was even talking to her.



And what about Shawn?  She had never even thought about a tryst with a
member of the same sex until this evening.  She had to admit, though, that
as much as it had been Evan and Eric taking her to those otherworldly
heights, Shawn had contributed just as much.  It frightened her, just a
little.  She felt like she might be moving just a little bit out of control.





The next morning dawned bright and early.  Very early.  Eric hadn't really
slept that much last night.  After his Aunt had managed to calm him down, he
had reluctantly gone to his room to bed.  He couldn't sleep much, though.
He tossed and turned.  When he had managed to fall asleep the nightmares
gripped him, those old familiar ones where he was still living with his
parents - that his parents were still alive - and he was back getting
beaten.



Somehow though, the dreams didn't hold any particular sway this time.  He
couldn't quite put his finger on exactly why not - just that he somehow in
the back of his mind knew that that time of his life was over.  Maybe he was
finally getting over them.  He knew he'd never be rid of them, of course.
Something that ingrained within him would never truly be gone.  He knew,
though, that they would be a mere shadow of the night terrors he had been
living with.



Of course, he had spent some of the night thinking about Shawn.



And Christina.  No matter how he tried, the two faces that Christina
displayed just couldn't be reconciled.  As long as he'd known her - which
wasn't really that long, but still - she'd been such a good girl.  A little
outgoing perhaps, but not the...wanton?....not the wanton woman that had
presented itself earlier.



He still wasn't quite sure what to do about his part in all of it.  He hadn'
t wanted to participate.  At least, he didn't think he did.  She had been so
needy, though.  For some reason, he just couldn't deny her.  As he thought
about it, he realized that he hadn't truly done anything too outlandish.
Sure, the circumstances were wrong and the place was wrong.  He'd probably
never get past THAT.  But all he'd done was to nibble on her a little.
Nothing wrong with that.



Then why did it feel so wrong, he wondered?



And Shawn.  He was a little scared about her.  Sure, he had a crush on her.
But he'd had those before.  He'd mooned over plenty of girls.  Something had
happened, though.  Something he wasn't sure he could fathom or handle.  It
felt different this time.  Like a light bulb had switched on in his head...or
his heart.  Something had passed between them in that moment when their
passions had been laid bare.  It frightened him.



But did she feel it too?  From her eyes, it looked that way.  Maybe, though,
that's just what he wanted to see.  Maybe there was nothing there and he'd
imagined it.  Maybe...maybe he'd just keep going maybe until the end of time.
There was nothing to do but wait and see.



Little Gwen.  He'd meant what he'd said, earlier.  He wasn't about to let
her go.  She was his anchor, his soul.  She'd been hurt and beaten, but he'd
make sure it never happened again.  He was going to watch out for her and
take care of her.  He was going to do a better job than his father ever had.





At 5am he'd gotten up and showered.  He strove to keep things quiet, to keep
the others from waking.  He felt bad about the argument the night before.
Not because he didn't think he was right, but because he knew deep in his
heart that they cared and wanted what was best for Gwen and him.  He shouldn
't have gotten so out of hand but he'd wanted to be at her side so badly.



He needn't have worried about waking anyone up.  As he was coming out of the
bathroom, he ran into Christina and it didn't look like she had slept much
more than he had.



"Morning, Er," she yawned as she walked by him.



"Morning, Chris."  All the apprehension that he'd felt about yesterday
bubbled to the surface but he realized now was neither the time nor the
place.  Soon, though.



He heard his Aunt and Uncle's shower going strong as he dressed.  He didn't
know if he'd woken them up or if they were as anxious as he.  He had to
admit he was a little worried.  Gwen hadn't spoken a word in 9 months; what
if there had been damage done.  Not damage done emotionally - he knew that
was there, and he knew that she'd eventually over come it - but damage done
physically.  He didn't want to live in a world without the sister he had
always loved.  He didn't want her to be any different than she was before
all this happened.



That was a lie.  He wanted her to be better.  She had the chance to finally
have some happiness in her life and he wanted her to be able to partake of
it.





Breakfast had been cereal, instead of the traditional Saturday morning
breakfast.  Everyone had been silent, stewing in their own thoughts and
apprehensions.  The car ride over was likewise cold and quiet.



She was sitting at the window, her hands cupping under her chin and her
elbows on the small table when Eric first came into the room.  The
brightening dawn was just peaking into the room and she looked like a little
angel bathed in the purging fires of the sun.  As long as he lived, Eric
knew that he'd always remember the way she sat there like that.



"Gwen."  His voice was soft and hesitant.  His emotions roiled within him
and a cold fear sat in a knot in his stomach.  She looked okay but what if
she wasn't?



She turned her head from the dawn and looked into his blue eyes.  The look
seemed to last forever and was filled with fear and relief.  Most of all,
her eyes held a look of trust...and perhaps acceptance.



"Eric?"  And then, the tears came.  She struggled to stand, but her
atrophied muscles betrayed her.  Eric was across the room in the barest hint
of a moment and, kneeling, held her close to him.  Both of them cried in
fear and joy.  In that moment, Eric knew a peace that he had never felt
before.



His little sister had returned from hell's abyss.





-- To Be Continued --

-- 
Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights
reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated.
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