"THE  TIGER"    by   NIUTA

	Lucas  visited  Selena at  school. It  had been  some 
time  now  since  her  fathers'  birthday. Her  mental  state  improved  
but  Lucas  felt  that  she  had  still  some  regrets about his ludicrous 
accussations about her and Caleb.He didn't  care  much:  Caleb  
mattered a  lot  to  him ,  in  fact  so  much  that  Lucas  was  
jealous  about  the  possible  relationship  that  could  have  
developed  between  those  two. She  was  Caleb's  teacher and  
that  was  o.k.  as long as she wouldn't act against that rule, as long 
as she  wouldn't  become  Caleb's  confidante.  Lucas  could  see  
her  slim  figure  through  the  glass  window  in  the  classroom  
door.  She  wasn't a  beauty, right, but  the  way  she  moved  
and  spoke  reminded  him  of  tuna  fish  sandwiches  somehow. 
He  didn't  enter  the  classroom.  Not seen by  anyone,  the  Sheriff  
of  Trinity,South Carolina,  left  the  building.The third eye, his heart's 
voice, his intuition-  or whatever you wished  to call  it-kept telling 
him something strange was  about to happen.

***

	Late  in  the  evening  he  was sitting  on a sofa  in  his  
living  room.  He  was  all  alone.  He  closed  his  eyes.  He  didn't  
sleep though.  He dreamed.  He  dreamed  about  the  hunt  on  the  
really  big  game.  He  was  in  the  jungle (he'd never been out of 
Trinity  in all his life but as a boy he'd enjoyed reading  adventure 
books  about hunting on the wild beasts) . So, he was in the jungle 
and was following the tiger.No...it wasn't  the tiger, it was... a Tigress. 
The Queen of the Jungle,absolutely fantastic and wonderful.The 
Beauty, the Grace and the Miracle--all in one. All he knew was 
that his only thought, wish, desire  was to  catch Her.He knew he 
had to do that.
	So there he was, he must had been forcing his way through 
the jungle for some time but he couldn't remember exactly for how 
long.He'd been wearily following Her step by step, easily finding 
the track  since the Tigress' blood had distinctly marked it only 
hours before. True, She was very brave trying desperately to get 
away from  Her oppressor yet She was at the end of Her strenght. 
Lucas felt the blood with his fingers, he felt it with his tongue. The 
sweet taste drove him crazy. In the air he smelled Her scent. All 
that made him all the more want to kill Her.The Beauty.

***
  
	A new day dawning.Lucas woke up  at10 a.m. with a huge 
hangover like feeling.  He set off for his office late but it didn't matter 
as he was the Boss in this town, anyway.  Without  a word he came 
past Ben and Floyd .He entered his room.He sat down and did 
absolutely nothing for the next hour. He tried to remember his 
dream,his nightmare,  but all he could recall was the image of  
the blood.Then he followed his routines till the evening.  He didn't 
have a wish to see Caleb although a thought about the boy was 
always present , lying in wait for him ...to attack. What a nonsense.
	He visited  Selena.Without  any questions she spread her 
legs wide open for him.Another routine.The next part of menu were 
tuna fish sandwiches  served tastefully by Selena.Hmm...delicious. .
So, life should be nice'n easy.But it wasn't. Lucas felt awful.  As 
Selena was crying and moaning  in her very much expressive way 
( that tune always moved him deeply)  he was with his thoughts far 
far away...Where the hell was he as he was supposed to think  
about the pleasure or rather didn't think about anything at all?Was 
it ... the jungle?Fuck! Yes it  WAS. Impossible to deny.  He was 
dressing and Selena was watching him.She was admiring his swift 
but graceful movements.
	"Was it good?Did you feel good Sheriff?" her voice calm 
and slightly provocative but Lucas knew her probably better than 
she knew herself. What he'd just heard was a sense of guilt  hidden 
scrupulously in her heart. That meant she suspected something was 
wrong  and wanted him to confirm it was her fault. Most probably, 
as a slightly masochistic girl she  wanted that more than his denial.
Well, he wasn't going to satisfy her needs  on that score.
	"Honey,you always make me feel like I'm in heaven."  He 
bent to kiss her on the cheek and left her there lying  on her lonely bed.

***

	Back at home he dreamed again.
	That night the Tigress  from the jungle came to his house. 
But she came to his house in  Her human form.  Absolutely 
fascinating and pretty much hungry. Hungry for him. He opened 
his eyes and saw Her  standing by the fireplace.So beautiful.So 
full of Light. A Saint.She put Her hands on his shoulders and 
smiled.There was only goodness in Her smile. And warmth.
Lucas wanted to stand up and strip Her of Her very very light 
clothes. However, he wasn't able to do that, to move even an 
inch.He simply was sitting there, utterly spell-bound and speechless.
He was enjoying what he saw with all his heart, his soul and the 
most visibly with his body. The Tigress  controlled  him utterly.
He hated it --that sense of  being out of power. He didn't like it 
at all.He would  give everything to regain the ability to stand up 
and touch Her but that wasn't possible.Not  yet, anyway. His 
members were numb and how much Lucas hated  that too! She 
stood in front of him  completely fearless, with a white veil on her 
face.
	He watched Her going away,vanishing into the darkness 
like tears in the rain. So immaculate.So absolutely out of  touch for 
him. So unattainable.He wanted to call Her, call Her by Her name 
but his tongue was numb too.Besides, hard as he tried he couldn't  
remember  Her name.He tried to fight  the  sudden sleepiness.  No 
use doing it; he was drown into  the  very cold whirl of Darkness.
	He woke  up twice as tired as  on the previous day.  He 
came to the kitchen to drink a glass of cold water..He felt the 
absolute abyss in his heart, his soul, his body. No absolution, 
however.He felt so... deserted inside.The Beast.

***

	"But Lucas we can't let him go !"  Ben didn't believe what 
he'd just heard. "That man   was brazen enough to rob poor 
Mrs.  Jones right before our eyes!" He looked at the young man 
being  watched by Floyd on the other side of the street.A small time 
robber.Lucas grinned. Nevertheless, his eyes were deadly serious.
	"Ben, I'm telling ya, you're  over-zealous.You're not listening 
to what I'm saying to you: He's to go free." Whatever that means, he 
added in his thoughts.  
	Of course, Ben knew that if Lucas had told something once 
he had told it a thousand. He shrugged and  gave Floyd a sign.The 
young robber, surprised at the unexpected absolution, walked 
away quickly feeling a hard gaze of the Beast on his back.

***

	Back in his office, Lucas sat at his desk in a complete 
darkness.He was feeling warmth in his chest, exactly where he 
felt the cold abyss in the morning.Now the warmth was becoming 
the heat and the heat  was becoming the smouldering fury.No, not 
the fury.Rage. The Rage he'd been keeping buried deep  in the 
dungeons of his soul day by day for so many years.  He thought  
about the young robber.He saw his body falling on the ground and 
being crushed against the soft  earth by heavy weight  on the top of 
him. He saw his body being torn into pieces by the white, shining 
fangs.He saw the robber's terrified face and the mouth which cried 
for help.
	"What're you possibly doing here sitting like that with the 
lights off, Sheriff?"  a  womans' voice pierced through his brain.Was 
it that  nosy  journalist? No, it was his  beloved  sister-lover.Or should 
it be lover-sister?He didn't know and once again he didn't care.
Lights blinded him.
	"Oughtta be at school, teacher." Lucas  tried to keep  his 
voice down.He didn't want the  Rage to show its face.  He didn't 
want  Selena to hear its song.
	"What's going on, Lucas?, Ben's just told me  you're not  
well and that robber..."
	"Ben's overworked.I think, I'll give him a day off."  Lucas 
wanted her to go away and she got the message.He stood up and 
opened the door for her.She wanted to say something else but the 
look at his face told her it's better not to try.She sneaked away.

***

	Home sweet home. Lucas entered  the living room and  
threw a glance at  his bookcase. Something attracted his attention. 
Instinctively, he took out one book. By  W. Blake, "The Tiger and 
Other Poems".The book opened itself on the right page.
	His eyes swallowed the first lines:
        
                      "Tyger, tyger burning bright
                                         In the forest of the Night..."

	He knew them all by heart, those words.Blake was one of 
his favourite poets, the other one was, of course, Rimbaud.He 
loved the poem about the Perfection  Itself emboddied in the 
Wild Beast. 
	The ringing of the telephone brought him back.He knew 
who it was.He knew what he was going to hear.
	"Lucas?", the voice speaking to the other receiver uncertain 
and unsteady
	"Listen, you're not gonna like it..." Lucas waited. Oh, 
come on Ben, show me some balls, he thought.
	"That robber...he... was found  under  the Johnsons' 
Bridge...his body   dismembered  and  massacred .It seems ...
uhm...a  wild animal tore him into pieces it .A predator."
	"And a  man, Ben?"  
	"A... man?" his Deputy faltered.
	"Yeah, Ben.Couldn't  he have been murdered by a human 
being?"
	"Well, Lucas..." Ben considered Lucas' words."if a man did 
it...it must have been a psychopath Trinity's  never seen before."
	"Ben, you know what your job is, don't ya.Just do it."
	"You won't come, Sheriff ?"
	"I'm not well yet, actually. Tomorrow will feel better." 
Lucas put the reciver down.Wanted to be alone.Well, not exactly, 
he  needed to stay in the company of  his dreams.He had some 
matters to settle.

***

	There he was again in the jungle.He felt Her near.A few 
steps more and , finally, there She was.He hunted her down as 
She was resting by the stream.Her wild beauty and her irresistible 
glamour mesmerized him.The Tigress was licking Her wounded 
hind leg.The dried blood was covering the fur .Once again, he 
felt the Light in Her. The Queen of Serenity. The Sea of Love.
The Tigress.His heart wanted to chant a litany to Her. Again 
he thought She was so immaculate She simply couldn't be real. 
Life  was usually so dirty."You can't be real" he whispered to 
himself  so as She wouldn't hear it.But She did.She looked at 
him with Her burning eyes.He saw how tired She was of this 
continuous running away from him. Suddenly, there was a 
movement in the bushes  and Lucas saw  two cubs there, 
well, just like he'd anticipated. They were defenceless and 
utterly helpless . She tried to protect them against him.They 
nestled close to their  Mother as Lucas was  the Darkness and 
She was the Light. The Light he could stand no more, the Light 
he intended to put out even if he would die doing that. He took 
a strong hold of his long, shining riffle and he fired.He wouldn't 
stop until the magazine was empty.Her blood and that of the 
older cub was  on him and all around him.But the younger one 
was alive and Lucas saw the great strength in its eyes .He 
smiled as he felt the hunting was successful.He took it into his 
arms and looked into its eyes  one more time.He was looking 
into the eyes of his son.
	He  woke up in his bed with a start.Sweat was running 
down his spine and all over his body.He wasn't alone,he felt Her 
body close to him. Tangible, real.
	He knew what he should do.First hesitatingly ,  then more 
urgently, his mouth touched the  warm skin of her cheek, his hands 
of the Victorious Man closed on Her breasts.Her Light so alluring 
he knew he could find peace in there . But Lucas didn't care about 
the Light.He needed Her now when she was lying defeated  for 
the second time, here , in his arms.Of course, She did fight him. 
She screamed and bit his hands, his neck and  his chest. Her 
hands repelled him. She was one, big NO.
	Oooh, yeah to possess Her, to plunge deep into Her warm 
inside like he'd done once. Yes,yes,yes, he simply wanted to fuck 
Her, to violate this Sainty again. That was a moment of a crucial 
decision.He was given a chance to let Her go but he chose to take 
Her  here and now.The more she screamed and defied him , the 
tighter was his grip on her hips. His eyes of the Beast were burning 
with the Flame of the Rage.He knew alright how to handle  that 
kinda women  even if they  were only the works of his mind.He 
was really good at it. The tension accumulated for the past few 
days  was  unbearable. He pulled Her fair hair with one hand and 
caressed her pubes with the other.His hot lips kissing Her eyelids, 
his tongue licking  Her tears. One final thrust of his hips next to hers 
and  there he was in her  wet  secret  sanctuary.Yes, yes honey; 
the Beauty  and the  Beast together again.
	"You're not real, you don't exist !Not anymore!" he hissed 
into her ear. The Rage roaring  and howling in his weary  soul.
	"Did you really think you could mess like that with my mind? 
If It was up to me you would die not for the second time but for a 
hundreth. You and your brood."
	He was licking her nipples when the wave of  sensual 
pleasure almost knocked him unconscious. He finished unexpectedly 
quickly and fell dead tired on his back. Into  the Darkness. Silence.               
	She  was unusually still which only confirmed She was no 
ghost nor goulie. She wasn't there in any form in fact. OK, so She 
was his hallucination, a creation fo his rich imagination.Next minute, 
the Creation of His Imagination was standing  soiled and naked next 
to his bed. Undeniably beautiful.
	"You're never gonna be reedeemed Lucas Back and that's 
for sure.Somebody like you can't receive any forgiveness," said 
Judith Temple with her sad , gentle voice and She smiled. The Light 
shone with full brighteness.How much he both despised  and adored 
it.He looked at his late -in-the-night nightmare visitor.
	"Oooh, you've always  been  such a  great classic lover, Judith.
So sentimental sweet little darling."  Lucas was watching Her carefully 
for a while with a blank face. Finally, he said. "I think you'll like it when 
I tell you  I REALLY DON'T GIVE A DAMN !!!"
	Having said that, the Sheriff of Trinity, South Carolina , turned 
on the other side and fell asleep.  No, no, no tigers nor jungle this time. 
Well, being so tired he slept the sleep of the just till the midday of the 
following day.


THE END