Luki
By Richard Lee
(owned, written and copyrighted
by Richard Lee, used by permission)
It’s dark and
cold here. Here is where? Christ I don’t even know where I am. On the
ground, it’s lumpy and cold and damp and I can feel small stones sticking
into my side.
How did I get
like this? I don’t remember clearly what happened, all I do remember are
teeth. Big long teeth. And fear, yeah I remember that fucken clearly. Fear
and teeth.
Japan, of all
places! Jesus I remember the error of my decision to come here. Luki, the
hottest Asian chick I’d ever had the pleasure of fucking. Damn she was hot,
tight body and firm.
A shiver runs
down my body. My hands search for injuries in the darkness, I can’t see
anything but I can feel wetness on my stomach. Further down, my God, I’m
fucken naked.
What’s
happened?
Noises I can
hear noises. Someone was moving about. A hand touches my shoulder. I don’t
scream but I want to.
Danny, I tell
myself, you’re a fucken man, grin and handle it.
Hands on my
eyes now. They’re open, the feeler knows this. The voice whispers to me but
the words make no sense.
Pain. I don’t
suffer any pain. Even fear of my location has lost its strength. I breathe
deeply of the dank, moist air. There’s a foul taste to it. Yet, I like it,
something about the foulness is invigorating.
Luki.
#
Our last night
together in New Zealand. You were extra loving. Took head for the first time
and were good, no, you were damn exquisite. It is my greatest pleasure
making love to you. Your slender frame riding me, your tits perfect in size
and nipples erect. I sat up, you screamed in pleasure and I squeezed them
together and got both nipples between my teeth. You bit down on my head. I
flip us over and pounded like never before. Close to climax, I didn’t want
to finish I wanted to drink my full of you so I pulled out. You put your
finger in your mouth and gave me that look. You remember? I do, so sexy, so
innocent, so fucken wanton. You were the devil that night and I was the
plaything and that’s fine. Everything if fine with you around. And the next
morning you’re at the airport, getting ready for your flight.
“Danny, my
visa has expired,” you’d said.
“Fuck the
visa, we can work something out.”
“Come to Japan
one day, Danny-san,” oh the lovely smile of yours encased in a sea of long
black hair. “Let’s enjoy Japan together.” And with that you walked off, no
kiss goodbye, no ‘I’ll miss you’, hugs. Nothing, just your sweet ass swaying
side to side as you walked away towards the entry gate and away from me.
Heart broken?
Not me, I’m a man, cold to that shit. I didn’t cry when I got home, I didn’t
stop going to work. I’m a man and I can handle this stuff, always another
fish in the sea.
But no fish
matched you did they. No fish were Luki. I wanted Luki, I needed Luki. And I
came to Japan.
I found you
three weeks later by chance. Both of us in line at Starbucks, both of us
with Latte on the mind.
It was me who
noticed you first. You were standing in line, a thousand yen note in your
hand, waiting for the person in front of you to finish their order, but she
was taking a long time deciding on what drink and cake she wanted huh? It
was a long line and getting longer. I pushed through the line and said,
“Let’s go somewhere else.” Startled, you turned and your face brightened
seeing me. Seeing the smile, seeing you again confirmed what I thought about
back home. We are meant to be together. Nothing could hold us back.
Nothing.
I was wrong.
#
Oh, how wrong
I was. Who’s hand’s touching me? It is you Luki? No, I don’t think so. I’m
cold, wet, naked and in a dark place. Time to get out.
I push the
hand away…
Bright lights.
I remember bright lights.
#
Kanji written
neon flashing madly. No stars in the sky, it’s too bright down here to see
them. You’re laughing at my side, holding my arm like old couples in the
movies. We’re both drunk. A few too many is always good. Gangsters on the
corner, loud music blearing from big speakers in their trunks. They stand
around, showing off their shit. One called out to you. I don’t understand
what he said, but I understand the anger in your reply. I can deal with that
wanker. “No,” you say. “They have guns.” You pull me away down a dark alley.
Small bars line each side.
#
A voice moans
as if in sleep. I turn to face the sleeper, can’t see who it is. Female,
sure of that and not Luki. Have I been a bad boy? Did I … no, that sort of
thing isn’t in my blood.
Getting to my
feet hurts. Pain rips through my ribs. Automatically I clamp my hands to the
area causing more pain. There’s a light, thank God. I’m in a room with thick
curtains but a light is filtering through the gaps between the door and the
frame.
My back is
sore; I know that comes from sleeping on the floor. I opened the door. Light
screams in filling the room. The lady on the thin futon pulls a blanket over
her head, denying me a sight of her face. There are a bunch of magazines
scattered on the floor. I was sleeping on them, Christ I’d thought they were
stones. This room is messy and that foul stench has faded. Not gone.
Holy fuck, I’m
covered in blood. My stomach, legs, arms also. I don’t remember. Was I in a
drunken stupor? No, I never get that drunk especially when I’m with Luki.
She has a power over me.
Squinting
against the bright sunlight, I make my way into the kitchen. It’s a standard
Japanese apartment, small and cramped, a kitchen and dining room combined,
two small rooms. A toilet and shower next to the kitchen.
Standing and
walking sure has helped the pain. My body is still stiff and sticky. I don’t
think the lady will mind me taking a shower. Hell I’m already naked. I have
no idea where my clothes are. Strangely that doesn’t bother me.
On the wall
next to the bathroom is a towel rack with two towels, one fluffy and the
other threadbare. They are both pink and have ‘Hello Kitty’ embroided on
them. Above them is the gas control for the shower, I set it at forty-two
degrees. Nice and hot should do wonders.
And I am not
mistaken. The hot water slices the blood free to the drain before whipping
it away in a whirlpool of red. I soap the rest of my body enjoying the feel
of the water. It’s wonderful.
The shower
door opens. The woman is standing there, oval eyes puffed from sleep. She
looks nothing like Luki. Her hair is bleached yellow, she’s a little chubby
with light bulb shaped breasts. Her face is what captures my interest. It’s
whiter than most Japanese. And the eyes, they are blue (could be contacts, I
tell myself) at least they aren’t yellow … Yellow …
#
From the end
of the alley, the yellow eyes watched us. I see them first don’t I Luki? I
told you but you saw nothing. They were gone when you looked.
We’re nearing
the end of the alley now, and the rough gangster talk echoes behind us. He’s
followed. You hurry pulling hard at my arm. I’m not afraid and maybe that is
stupid. I don’t want to run. I have never ran before in my life. But you’re
strong aren’t you Luki. I remember your strength in New Zealand.
A growl
freezes us. The sound was at our backs. I have to turn. I have to see. Dogs!
I hate the fuckers, unpredictable.
It wasn’t any
kind of dog I’d seen before. The gangster is running away. He’s halfway down
the alley.
The things
yellow eyes stare at me as if sizing me up. Luki, please stop screaming,
you’ll scare it. The thing turns it’s head from me and watches the gangster
run, he trips over something. A few small bar doors slide open, people look
at the commotion. Seeing the beast the doors slide shut quickly. Some people
are running, crowding the alley.
Luki pulls me.
This is our chance.
The beast
charges the screaming people in the alley.
We run, I have
no qualms about this now.
I look back.
The beast has the gangster’s legs in it’s mouth. Only the leg, the rest of
him is lying in shock watching the events. Feeling eyes on it, the beast
swipes a large claw, slicing the gangster neck. Cracking bones loud in the
alley. The head rolls sideways.
Police sirens
now.
Luki pulls me
to the connecting street but I want to see more…
#
She steps into
the shower. Hot water lashes her face, soaks her hair. “How do you feel?”
she asks.
“A bit sore,
but otherwise okay.”
“Good.” She
starts soaping herself. She turns and starts soaping me, little circles on
my chest. Her hand moves down, the soap falls to the floor and her hand
reaches my manhood. She tugs at it, pulling harder than I like.
“Where’s Luki?”
I ask.
The woman
sinks to her knees. “You don’t remember?”
No need for me
to answer. She’s licking it now. I’m hard although I don’t want to be. I’m
confused, have no idea where I am or who the woman is that’s about to suck
my cock. She sure as hell knows me though.
“Luki? The
girl with you?”
“Yes,” I
respond.
“Ookami otoko,”
she smiles at me.
I have no idea
what she just said. Her hot mouth is on me, sucking hard. Angered I push her
away. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Danny-san?”
She on her ass now, legs spread wide, and a well-used pussy gaped at me. My
cock shrunk. “Are you hungry?”
“Hungry!” I
scream. “What the fuck!”
I throw the
shower door open and storm out. My clothes are on the short sofa in front of
the television. I dress without drying and the clothes stick to me. The
woman hasn’t come out of the shower yet. I feel like shit for treating her
the way I did. Snap shots of last night is all I can remember, bundles of
images igniting my brain. My shoes are near the door, I put them on.
I can hear the
shower running. Briefly I consider apologizing but second thoughts push me
through the door.
Bright
sunlight stings my eyes.
Signposts
bring a flash of memory. A brief glimpse only, multicolored in the center, a
black circle surrounding it. Wandering aimlessly, vans, cars speed by, each
one another glimpse of the past. I’m dizzy; a coldness has wrapped my body.
It feels like my blood is ice. Yet my head is hot like a fever dancing below
my skull.
Across the
street, a supermarket I know is doing good business. People rushing in and
out. In a haze I cross over. A newspaper stand. Papers with pictures of a
wolf stuff each basket. No English newspapers here so I can’t read about the
thing I saw with Luki.
Dear God, I
have to find her, try to explain my way out of last night. I’d pieced many
of the nonsense pictures together, but it still doesn’t make sense. I feel
like a lost child trying to find my way home.
People are
giving me strange looks. Nothing unusual there. What is weird is how
everyone moves out of my direction. I can hear the whispers loud in my ears.
I turn searching for the talkers. It’s like there’s a hundred people all
looking at me.
I move on. I
have no idea what they see, but fuck ‘em all. Let the old ladies gossip to
their black hearts content. I couldn’t care less. I’m going to find Luki
again and then we are moving, leaving this shit hole and going to my
country. One month here is long enough for me.
Around the
corner I stumble upon the alley…
#
Cops have
their guns out. They are shouting. We’re crossing the street now, aren’t we
Luki. Where are you taking me? “Home,” you say. “We’re going home.”
The park is
dark.
Gunshots from
the alley. More people scream. Luki is running. I hurry to catch up, but
she’s fast damn fast and scared. I feel the fear also. The park is wide and
open. We’re running across Osaka Castle Park. Cherry Blossom Trees, branches
bare in the winter, wave in the cold breeze like skeletons pointing the way.
More gun
shots. An animal howls in pain.
Luki is well
ahead of me. I know I’m not fit and I’m running as fast as I can. Fuck it.
My chest feels like it’s about to explode, I gotta stop, gotta rest.
Looking back.
The alley is quite a distance and I haven’t heard any sounds, gunshots or
other in the last few minutes. I watch Luki keep running, she’s saying
something over her shoulder. Doesn’t know I’m not there.
Now she has
stopped. Turned, looking at me. Her eyes widen in horror. She’s pointing
behind me, screaming in Japanese. Why can’t she just use--
The low
rumbling growl grabs my attention, steels my thoughts. I can heard some
Japanese men yelling. With little choice, I face the beast.
It’s covered
in blood. One eye gone, a mushy socket dribbling. The nose has holes, as do
the front shoulders. The snarl is vicious, torn lips curled back exposed
large teeth with dangling flesh. It crouched, ready to pounce.
Behind it,
Japanese police are yelling at me. I can’t run. I know that. They can scream
as much as they like. But I’m a man, I face my fucken problems head on, I
ain’t gonna back down. I have never backed down. And besides I can barely
hear them, they look a million miles away. Only one is close enough to
help.
In a flash
it’s on me. Teeth ripping my neck, my hands trying to push it off. More
gunshots. Doesn’t faze the beast. Luki screams. The power of her terror
reaches me, charges me. I struggle, loss of blood affecting my sight. I
twist and the beast looses balance. Claws rip my chest, cutting through my
thick winter jacket easily.
The beast
turns attacks a policeman. Shaking from pain I crawl to the fallen gun. My
bloody fingers touch the cold steel. The beast turns, attention drawn back
to me. It leaps. The gun fires, pounds against my ripped arms. The bullet
rips its only eye, slams into its brain. The force of the bullet slams the
large bulky head back. It flips in the air, lands on its side.
It’s breathing
heavy and fast. Not dead.
A police car
pulls up, driving on the frozen ground. A man jumps out. He doesn’t have a
uniform. His eyes are cold like a man who has seen too much of the dark
side.
He opens the
trunk and pulls out a large axe and a white sheet. One swing takes off the
animal’s head. Something happens to the body but he covers it with the sheet
too fast for me to see.
To me, he
says, “The one who bit you is dead. You’re free. A lucky man.” With that he
climbs back into the police car and races away as more cops show up on the
scene.
Luki is with
me now, she hugging me. Although in pain I feel fine. My eyesight as cleared
and with Luki’s help we manage to flee the scene. I don’t remember getting
home, but Luki is with me, tending to the injuries the best she can. Says I
must go to the hospital. I tell here I’ll think about and fall asleep.
The morning
comes…
#
A truck horn
blears breaking me from my memories. I’ve walked onto the road. The truck
just misses me as I jump back. The curb clips my foot and I fall hard.
The summer sun
burns hot in the mid morning light.
Osaka Castle
is far behind me. I’ve walked a long way. I’m almost home. I can see the top
of my apartment complex a block away. Luki’s there, I know it and start to
worry about the night’s actions. How do I explain waking up naked at another
woman’s apartment?
The
nervousness attacks me early. She’s gonna be seriously pissed, that’s only
to be expected.
I slow my pace
giving time to think, thinking up some lies that might work. Hell, don’t
need to tell the truth, right? She’ll never know if I’m lucky.
I round the
block and my large apartment complex comes into full view. I look up to the
seventh floor. The sliding door is open and the white net curtain is
flapping in the wind.
The elevator
takes me to the seventh floor too fast for my liking but putting it off
doesn’t work either. Time to be a man and face the problem head on. Like
always.
A quick search
of my pockets doesn’t produce a key. I try the door and thankfully it’s
unlocked. Not removing my shoes, I enter quietly. The television is on at a
low volume.
In the kitchen
a newspaper sits folded on the table. Everything is spotless, the counter
shining. Making my way to the bedroom, I open the door finding it also
empty. The bed is made. A small dresser with a mirror has a lot of make-up
products scattered in front of it.
“Luki?” I
call. No answer.
Something is
wrong, very fucken wrong.
A headache
starts pounding against my temples. I massage the area to no effect. My
vision blurs from tears. Where’s Luki? Where’s my Asian princess?
A sound in the
living room. Someone walking on the wooden floor. High heels. The television
set is turned off.
Luki’s home!
Joy fills my heart.
I leave the
bedroom at a fast pace and enter the living room. The woman looking at me is
not Luki. I remember her name now, Kazuka. Half American and half Japanese,
which explains the blue eyes, and the perfect English.
“Eight
months,” Kazuka says. “Do we have to do this every full moon?”
I look at her
dumbfounded.
“It’s in the
freezer where you left it.”
Not knowing
what she’s talking about I nevertheless went to the freezer. Inside I find a
frozen plastic bag containing what looked like a heart…
#
Anger. Luki’s
yelling. Pain tearing at my body. She throws something at me, bounces off my
head. I chase her through the living room and into the bedroom. She cornered
now. For some reason, I’m on all fours. I stand up.
The animal’s
back. That’s why she’s screaming, why she’s bleeding. I’m a man I won’t back
down from the beast. I didn’t the first time, and I won’t the second time.
It moved in
time me with.
A moment later
I realized I was looking in the mirror.
The beast is
me. The beast is hungry…
#
“Eat her heart
and finish it,” Kazuka said.
I put it back
in the freezer. “I can’t.” The pain of understanding hurts.
She looks at
me with resignation in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” I
say. And I am. I am sorry for doing this to her every full moon. I am sorry
for putting her through the heartache and guilt I feel for killing Luki.
And I’ll forever be sorry until it ends. Until the man with the axe finally
traces me. I will forever be sorry. Especially to Luki. My sweet innocent
Asian princess.
End
