"I said who the hell are you! Where is this place?!"

Austin’s eyes, wide with panic, involuntarily drifted downward. The woman stood before him in the dim, flickering light of a single mana-lamp. He watched the way her skin glistened with water and the way its droplets slowly ran down her curves.

Gary, or rather, the woman who looked like a feminine, hauntingly beautiful version of Gary, smirked.

She didn’t miss the way Austin’s eyes lingered, nor did she miss the prominent twitch of his open dick.

’Hmm. So he’s a grower, not a shower.’ she noted in her mind with a predatory smile.

Austin looked down at himself, finally noticing the thick layers of medicinal gauze wrapping his torso and limbs. Then he noticed the involuntary reaction of his own body. Heat rushed to his face in a mix of fury and intense embarrassment.

"You... you crazy bitch!" Austin swore as he grabbed the bed sheet and wrapped it around his body. "I asked who the hell you are! And put some damn clothes on!"

The woman didn’t move to cover herself. Instead, she tilted her head, a lock of wet hair falling over her shoulder.

"Don’t you recognize me, Austin? After everything we’ve been through?"

"The fuck I don’t! I’d definitely remember a pair of tits like those. I’ve never seen you before in my life."

"My tits...?" Gary looked down at her breast then back to Austin who is still staring at hers.

"I see..." Shadow subtly fazed around Gary’s head and formed strands of long hair. "Nice to meet you, Austin. I’m a distant relative of Gary’s. You can call me... Gracie. I’ve been helping him look after you while you were out cold."

"Liar! Gary’s a single orphan! He would have told me if he had any family. So where the hell did you crawl out from?! And g-get dressed already!"

Gracie (Gary) saw an opening and pivoted the conversation. She took a slow step toward the bed as the water from her hair dripped onto the stone floor.

"And why should I? It’s just us down here, Austin. Are you scared of a little skin?"

"Scared?" Austin forced a crooked smile. "Don’t make me laugh. I’m giving you a warning. If you don’t cover up, I might just decide to assault you. I’m not in a patient mood after getting cucked and nearly beaten to death."

Gracie didn’t flinch at his threat. She walked closer and closer until her knees pressed against the edge of the cot. She leaned down, her face inches from his. "Go ahead then," she whispered. "Do it."

"... Don’t say I didn’t warn you," he growled.

He then reached out from under the sheets and grabbed both her breasts with trembling hands. His grip was desperate and rough. He squeezed hard, trying to assert some kind of dominance, trying to see a flicker of fear in her eyes.

"How’s that? Feeling scared yet, ’Gracie’?"

She looked at him blankly. Her pulse didn’t even quicken. "Is that it? You talk like a big man, but your hands are shaking."

"S-Shut the hell up! It’s been a while since I fucked anyone! Ten years. Not since my wife...."

’Shit! What the hell am I saying?! I can’t give it away that I’m not from this world!’

Gracie’s gaze shifted instantly. The playful amusement vanished, replaced by a dark, swirling intensity that made the shadows in the room seem to deepen. She lunged forward and pinned Austin’s back onto the thin mattress.

"Your wife?" she hissed. She reached out and delivered a stinging–

SMACK!

"Hey! What the—!"

SMACK!

She smacked him again, harder this time, her strength overwhelming his weakened state.

"Tell me. Who is this wife? You never mentioned a wife to Gary."

"That’s none of your fucking business!" Austin yelled, trying to shove her off.

Gracie’s hand shot out and she wrapped her fingers around his throat. She began to squeeze, her eyes burning with a manic light.

"G-Gack! A-Ack! L-Let..go!"

As the air began to thin in his lungs, Austin’s vision blurred. The sensation was a perfect, horrific echo of his nightmare. The stone walls of the cellar seemed to transform into the rainy docks, and the woman above him began to shimmer.

He saw the silver and green hair. He saw Emelie’s cold, beautiful face.

Austin started to panic, his limbs flailing as he squirmed beneath her. Seeing him so utterly helpless, Gracie began to giggle. She squeezed harder, watching his face turn a mottled red.

"I didn’t mind you chasing other women, Austin," she murmured, leaning close to his ear. "Men are animals; I know how you work. But a wife? That changes things. How would your wife like it if she saw me doing this to you?"

She leaned down, her lips crashing into his in a forced, suffocating kiss while her hand remained locked around his windpipe.

Austin’s mind became a whirlwind of trauma. The lack of oxygen, the physical sensation of being choked, and the overlap of his nightmare with reality created a perverse cognitive break.

As he pictured Emelie’s face in Gracie, his body responded with a sudden, traitorous surge of adrenaline and lust. His dick grew rock hard, poking sharply against her thigh.

Gracie flinched as she felt the heat. She pulled back from the kiss, dropping her eyes to the sheets. Then, she let out a sudden, wild laugh.

"Ha! Ahahaha! You... you got hard!? For me!? While I was choking you!? You really are a sick one, aren’t you, Austin!? Ahahaha!"

She reached down, her hand disappearing under the sheets to grab him. She began to stroke him with a frantic, punishing speed, her eyes locked onto his as she started to chant his name.

"Austin... Austin... Austin..."

"S-Stop, Em– I’m gonna... cum!"

Austin’s eyes rolled into the back of his head. The combination of the near-strangulation and the stimulation from her hands was too much for his battered body. Within seconds, he let out a choked groan and ejaculated into her hand.

The sudden wetness caused Gracie to stop. She pulled her hand back, staring at the white fluid coating her palm. She brought it to her face, inhaling the scent. A visible shock traveled through her spine and her pupils dilating as a wave of lust washed over her.

She looked down at Austin with a smile. He was glazed over, his mouth hanging open as his body twitched in the aftershock of the climax. He looked like a broken shell of a man.

Then, realising what she had done, panic quickly flickered in her eyes.

"Fuck! What have I done..."

Dark, purple-black smoke billowed from her feet. In a flash of shadow magic, she vanished, leaving the room silent once more.

Nearly twenty minutes passed before Austin’s mind cleared. He groaned, rubbing his throat, which felt like it had been crushed. He sat up slowly as his mind spun.

In the corner of the room, sitting on a wooden stool by the shadows, was Gary. His hair was back to normal and he was fully dressed.

"Gary?"

Gary flinched and quickly stood up with a masked look of practiced concern. "Austin! You’re finally awake. You’ve been out a whole day and then some."

"Where the hell is she!?" Austin demanded as he looked around the room. "Where’s Gracie!?"

Gary tilted his head, looking confused. "Gracie? Who are you talking about? I don’t know any Gracie."

"Don’t you fucking lie to me!" Austin yelled, clutching his throat. "There was a woman here. She looked sorta like you! She... she basically assaulted me, Gary! She almost killed me!"

"Austin, I’ve been here the whole time. No one has been here. Nobody even knows about this hideout. It’s impossible."

"She said she was your relative! She said she was a distant family member!"

"What are you talking about? I’m an only child, not to mention I’m an orphan. I don’t have any ’Gracie’s’ in my bloodline." He sighed, looking at the bed.

"You were having a nightmare, Austin. You were twitching in your sleep, clawing at your own neck like you were trying to choke yourself. You even... well, look at the sheets. You must have had a vivid one."

Austin stumbled out of bed, his legs feeling like jelly. He looked at the sheets and saw the mess. He looked at his own hands. He remembered the nightmare with Emelie. Then he remembered the choking from the woman

’What the fuck? Is that my... jizz? What is going on with my brain?’

"Maybe..." Austin whispered as his hand shook, touching his bruised neck. "Maybe you’re right. It felt so real. But... it was just a dream. Just a goddamn dream..."

"Of course it was," Gary said smoothly. He pointed toward a corner where a bucket of heated water and a sponge sat.

"You should take a shower. You smell like sweat and... well, you smell. I’ve left clean bandages and fresh clothes in the basket by the door."

Austin didn’t argue. He felt confused and was still in a state of shock. His mind was a blurry mess of silver hair and phantom hands. He limped toward the wash area and shut the heavy wooden door behind him.

Once the latch clicked, Gary’s entire demeanor shifted. The helpful, concerned friend vanished.

He reached into the pocket of his trousers and pulled out a small, glass vial. Inside was the carefully collected sperm that Austin had spent.

Gary held the vial up to the light of the mana-lamp and a chilling, triumphant smile spread across his face.

"Hehehe~ I should save this as a backup. In case all else fails."