Hulty con maso

Michael

Sophie and I grew up together. Did everything together. We were closer
than brother and sister, although we were just neighbours. Sophie was
the most beautiful girl that I had ever known, the funniest, the
smartest, the bravest. I started to love her when I was too young to
understand it, showing my undying affection with presents of crushed
snails and laughing and running away from her, pushing her over and
pinching her, and making her cry. She hated me back then, but we soon
became close friends, when I had finally realised that girls were in
fact human beings after all, that pig-tails are not antennae and it
does actually hurt when they are pulled.

So when we were about ten we began to form a friendship that surely no
other would ever be able to penetrate.

When we were sixteen, she got herself a boyfriend.

But we still went on holiday together, to Dover as we always did, it's
just that this time he came along with us. Me, Sophie and Alex. Of
course I pretended to like him when in actual fact I despised him
intensely. He was tall, dark haired (with no mis-behaving locks that
never went down as mine had), dark eyed and intelligent. She was also
tall, had long strawberry blonde hair that fell down her back
immaculately like a sheet of gold. Her eyes were dark and mysterious
and they suited one another perfectly.

I was short, freckly and quite possibly the ugliest boy in our whole
year at school. I wouldn't have even been talking to Sophie had we not
been friends since we were so young. Before looks mattered. When status
played no part in everyday life as it did now.

When we arrived at our cottage, Sophie and Alex hand-in-hand, the room
that had once been mine and Sophie's was now Sophie and Alex's.
Collapsing on my bed in the smallest room, which smelled strongly of
damp and pickled onions ( which I never discovered the reason for) I
listened to them giggling and twittering like little girls, the pair of
them, jealousy and sadness interchanging in my mind. Why was it not me
in there with her? Why was I so desperately unattractive and
dumb?

I decided to get up and go searching for caves as Sophie and I had done
in the past. Just clambering over rocks and hoping to find a recess
large enough to fit us both inside. I knocked on the bedroom door and
entered. I knew that Sophie liked Alex, and that was bad enough, but
nothing could have prepared me for what I saw as I entered the room.
She was sitting up in bed, the duvet pulled up to her chin, blushing
and modestly concealing her chest, although I could see the straps of
her bra. She wasn't naked and even if she were, it was nothing I hadn't
seen before. But Alex straightened and scowled at me.
"Ever heard of privacy? You're supposed to knock you pervert!" He
cried, throwing a pillow at me, "Get lost!"

I hurried back out of the room, angry, confused, sad, hurt. A million
things all at once, I decided to go cave searching on my own. You ever
seen Quasimodo? You know, the Hunchback of Notre Dame? Well, that's me.
And Sophie, she's Ezmerelda. Except there's no happy ending for
me.

*Michael ran out of the house, not understanding anything. He thought
Sophie was sensible. He thought she was modest. He thought that she
wouldn't do that sort of thing. He thought, he thought, he
thought.
It started to rain. He didn't care. He went to the bottom of the great
white cliffs and began to climb, the rain soaking through to his skin
and chilling his bones.*

Alex

Me and Jon and Ad and Mark had been mates for ages. None of us could
give too much of a shit about school, even though we all wanted to go
to college. We decided one day to put this bet on. We were all virgins
and wanted to get laid, but to make it a challenge. There's this shy
girl called Sophie, tall, two-backed- you know what I mean, she got no
tits. Anyway they bet me to shag her. she's a bit of a geek but her
face is all right. I wouldn't normally go for her, but now that I'm
going out with her she's not too bad. She might be quiet at school, but
she talks enough on her own.

Ad gave me his parents camera, it's digital shit, but I know how to use
it. Sophie is so na?ve that it is going to be absolutely no problem
getting her knickers off. We are going on holiday tomorrow so it's
sorted. I don't really want to hurt her, but I fancy Zoe and I've
already said I'd do it. Her friend Michael's going. He's about as geeky
as she is. They'd suit each other actually.

Sophie

God, I am so nervous. I don't know if I should really do this. I mean,
I always planned to lose my virginity to someone I love. I always
wanted it to be Michael, but recently I've realised that he doesn't
look at me as anything but a friend. We grew up together after all and
he probably thinks of me as nothing more than a sister.

Alex is in the corner of the room, sorting himself out. I don't know
whether to take all my clothes off or leave some of them on. I'm not
sure I even want to do this now, He makes me laugh and he's kind and he
listens to me rant on and on, but we've only been together for two
weeks. Is that long enough?

God, here he comes. I have to relax, it's nothing. All my friends have
done it. With older people too, I'm probably lucky that I am actually
doing it with someone my own age. Well, I can't back out
now&;#8230;Was that someone at the door. Alex doesn't seem to have
heard anything but&;#8230;.Oh my God, Michael!
"Haven't you ever heard of privacy you pervert? Next time knock! Get
lost!"
Oh God, poor Michael. He did knock. He saw me. I mean, he's seen more
before, but he saw me with Alex.
"How could you speak to Michael like that? He's my best friend"
"Sorry, babe. C'mon, lets forget about it."
"No, I don't want to do this now. I'm out of the mood."

God, why am I crying. I mean, I can refuse if I want to cant I? Shut up
shut up you stupid girl. Stop crying. I mean, what if he goes and tells
all his mates I'm frigid? I'm lucky to be going out with someone as
popular as him. I'm so ugly, I don't even have any breasts, I probably
couldn't get anyone else anyway. I don't want to disappoint him. I'd
better do it.

*Michael continued climbing. He was freezing cold and his hair was
stuck to the sides of his face. He spotted one small opening and
decided to go for it. Lighning had started to streak the sky and, he
desperately craved shelter. He climbed on until he came to it and
crawled through the hole. Inside was much bigger than it looked from
the outside. He pulled his torch out of his pocket and pushed the
switch. Shivering he looked out into the sea, his clothes were soaked
and he was hungry, but some how there was a warmth inside this small
cave that was almost supernatural. Something caught the corner of his
eye. He looke towards the far end of the cave and saw a very small
block of wood. Upon it lay a large book, that had fallen open at the
centre. Somebody had obviously been here before. Some how, Michael
didn't think they would be coming back and deciding to wait until the
storm had subsided, he went and sat cross legged and turned the book
over to reveal the cover. It read " hulty con maso". He turned to the
first page and read;
"Hult ased ghud rinn fio
oiy ma fiio dunea daino
rinnthe io manne est glutt
dan hult dan hult dan hult."

He understood none of these words, yet that didn't disappoint or deter
him. Infact, he felt quite comfortable and suddenly warmed by the
words. He momentarily forgot his sadness and anger and began to read
the words in the unknown tongue once again. He felt his face flush with
warmth and a surge of energy surged through him. Unaware of himself, he
began to actually speak orally the words as he read them, as though
chanting some ancient spell. When he became conscious of himself doing
this, he became suddenly frightened, shut the book, dashed out of the
cave and headed back to the cottage.*

Sophie

I had been feeling awful since Alex and I well&;#8230;and Michael
came in. It was hard to forget it. I felt embarrassed and ashamed. I
wished all the time that Alex was Michael. When Michael returned that
night, something about him was different. I thought at first that he
had just felt uncomfortable around us, but then I noticed some strange
new behaviour. I didn't want to talk to him about it. I hardly spoke to
him at all, just felt too embarrassed.

He kept on going out and coming back hours later, without telling any
of us where he had been. I thought he just wanted to be alone, and I
resented it. When Alex stopped being so kind and funny, I became upset
and decided to follow Michael. It was hard work, clambering over all
those jagged rocks. I saw him slip into a cave, such a small hole. It
reminded me of when we were younger and we used to go cave hunting. I
smiled at the memory and thought I would surprise him, just like old
times. But when I entered&;#8230; I saw him sitting with his legs
crossed, chanting.

"Michael?" I asked faintly. He ignored me, or didn't hear me. "Are you
o.k?" I thought he'd lost it.

He still continued to ignore me.

"Michael!" I said louder. Still no reply. I came to the conclusion that
he was deliberately avoiding me. Tears began to well up inside me and I
struggled with both sadness and anger. Did he not realise that he was
hurting me?

"MICHAEL!" I screamed. "You&;#8230;selfish&;#8230;" But I stopped
short. When he turned to look at me, his eyes seemed to glow for a
moment. He stared at me absently. Then looked down sadly.

"Go Away."

I stared for a moment at a face that seemed not to be really his.

"Michael?" I tried, trying to understand what was wrong.
"You don't need me anymore." He said and turned back to his
chanting.
He had changed, somehow. He was no longer Michael. I didn't know what
to do except burst into tears and leave him to it.

Michael

What has happened to me? I don't feel like me anymore. Ever since I
started reading that book&;#8230;it is just mesmerising. I cannot
leave it be. It frightens me and yet it teaches me, lends me wisdom,
gives me power and warmth. When there is no love for me back at the
cottage, I come here. Sophie ignores me, because she sees how ugly I
am. But I no longer feel ashamed and embarrassed. I feel stronger and
more alert. More than just a mere boy. Alex is nothing. Sophie is
nothing. Nobody is anything but I am everything.

Yet I do not know why I feel this way. I can't keep away, I cant keep
away. Whatever I do, I can't stop thinking about it. It has conquered
me, its power. It has me under its control, but worse is that I have
become its willing slave. It tells me things, sometimes guides me. I do
not understand the writing, but I hear its message.
Somehow&;#8230;that is all I can say.

I feel as though I am growing stronger but I fear I am growing weaker.
Sophie help me. You are the only one who can. Sophie help me, please
find me, please.

"MICHAEL!"

I look up, you are there, but I fear you are just a dream. You are an
illusion. It is another part of the book's terrible power. It alludes
me with mirages of you. I wont be tempted. Why would you come for me?
You need me no longer.
"Go away. You don't need me anymore."

*When Michael began reading the book, the inner spirit began to take
control of him. It was only a matter of time before Michael became
fully enslaved to the book. He did not know why, or how, but every time
he left the cave, frightened or weakened he slammed the book shut.
However when he came back (he had to come back) the book was open on
the page where he had left it. He had thrown it into thesea twice,
burned it with a light and fuel. Scattered the ashes. It reformed. The
more he went back, the harder it became for him to resist it. The more
he read, the weaker he became and he needed to be reading it to feel
strong again. Although he was aware of what he was becoming, he could
not stop the process. Yet he had not forgotten Sophie and Alex and just
before the end of the holiday, he and the book (who were becoming one
and the same) made a plan together.

"Let's kill him .Kill him kill him. Push him, throttle him, drown him,
squeeze him."

Who was it saying these words? Michael indeed spoke them&;#8230; but
did not appear to be thinking them. Sometimes he did think he was
thinking them&;#8230;.but then shut it out. He was becoming as
confused as he was evil and there was nothing he could do about it. For
what he had found was not just an ancient book, but a Bind. He learned
many things, but the most important thing was that the book, in the
past had had many slaves, but they had cut their services short with
guilt-ridden thoughts which soon turned to suicide, The book was
pleased that Michael had not been the same. He was stronger than that.
He was becoming one with the book. Soon the process would be complete
and Michael would be host to a more extraordinary power than he could
ever dream of.

"Kill him, we shall. I shall." *

Alex

I think I'm gonna go and see stuff. It's nearly time to go home and
I've been so bored. I've got what I wanted. The proof. Tied the camera
well hidden in the corner of the bedroom when Sophie thought I was
getting ready. I don't feel guilty. I just want to go home, but I cant
look at her. I wish she'd dump me. I want it over with. Sh'e been so
upset, but that's her problem. That Michael's got so weird. Keeps
muttering to himself. Sooner I get away from the freak the
better.

I'm on my way to the cliffs, its sunny for a bloody change so I might
use the camera a bit more, do some filming at the cliff edge. So many
sea-gulls. If one of you bastards shits on me, you're gonna be sorry so
don't even think about it.

Noisy bastards.

Michael

I kept telling myself to do it. But I knew it was wrong. Why then? I
couldn't stop it. I took the book with me. I never realised how heavy
it was, but I couldn't go on without it I couldn't leave it. I fed me
strength. I was nothing without it. I wanted Sophie so badly. I wanted
her to see me, how powerful I was. I wanted her to love me as I had
loved her for so long. She didn't look at me. Brushed passed me.
Ignored me. I felt angry and hurt. I would show her, kill her beloved,
the good-looking one. The popular one. The one that made her laugh amd
held her hand. As though I had never done any of those things. She was
rightfully mine. Always had been. I wanted her, and I knew what I had
to do.

I left the cave with the book concealed in my jacket. I climbed the
rocks to head back to the cottage, but then something caught my eye. A
figure at the top of the cliff, Could it be&;#8230;my lucky day. I
climbed to the top. It took a while, but I was eager. I had to do it
quickly, while there was no one around to see. I made it to the top and
crept up behind him silently. I heard him mutter,

"Bastard seagulls"

Or something.

But he turned around, just as I was about to swing.

"WHAT THE-" he began, but I soon silenced him. The book proved to be a
better weapon than I could have imagined.

But he was still alive. Weak, but alive. I looked around me, dragged
his body to the edge-

"Michael&;#8230;please&;#8230;please&;#8230;."

And threw him over. I watched his body tear itself apart on the rocks
below. Heard him scream and suddenly become silenced. Watched his head
crack against rock after rock before he finally crashed into the calm
rippling sheet of sea below.

I stared for a moment. I was transfixed for a few seconds by the soft,
curling waves of bluey-green.
Then I realised what I had done. I had killed someone. I had killed
Alex, my love's boyfriend. Without him, she would be miserable. I would
be found out, there was no way I couldn't be. Rage filled up inside me,
towards myself and towards the book. I began tearing the pages out of
it one by one, quickly at first, then more slowly as each tear became
more agonising for me. I couldn't do it. I sank to my knees and made a
wish. I deserved to be there instead of him.

"Let me go&;#8230;" I begged " Let me take his place. I deserve no
less."

I thought I heard a voice somewhere in my head saying.

"Weak. Weak. Weak. I have no use for you.

Hult ased ghud rinn fio
oiy ma fiio dunea daino
rinnthe io manne est glutt
dan hult dan hult dan hult.

I have no use for you"

Alex

I am strolling up and down with the camera in my hands. I'd better make
sure I don't tape over anything valuable. Bastard seagulls. Fuck
off.

Well, I'm gonna film the rocks for starters, then slowly move to the
sea, make it look really expertise. I dunno what Ad's on about I'm
wicked with the camera. Heh heh. WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT.

I'd better get a closer look. Oh Shit, there's a man down there, a
fucking man. A fucking body. What The, what the fuck&;#8230; holy
sh-

"Alex!"
Sophie's voice.

" Sophie get here! Look down there!"

I point.
She screams.

"MICHAEL MICHAEL OH MY GOD IT'S MICHAEL!"

It is Michael.

She screams again and covers her mouth. Shaking her head she looks at
me.

"You did this!" she cries accusingly. "AND you're filming it. YOU SICK
BASTARD!"

She cries hysterically. Then runs towards me.

"What're you doing?!" I cry, she's coming straight for me, she's
stronger than I imagined. Her fists hit me, I can't believe it. I try
to attack her, I am on the edge. I grab her. She screams. I scream. We
are falling.

*Their bodies collided with the rocks and broke against them. Alex's
scream was suddenly silenced as his head cracked against a rock.
Sophie's was not until it was stifled by the waves. She kept screaming,
even underwater. When she came bobbing to the top, their was no air
left in her to fuel a scream, or a life.

Hulty Con Maso was left, opened at the centre upon a block of wood
inside a small cave waiting for a stronger host. Maybe it would never
find one. It had been so close&;#8230; *