KISS IN PARADISE
Part 15
By Heloisa

Mark slowly opened his eyes. He momentarily couldn't remember where 
he was. Trying to stand up, he moved his legs in a feeble attempt, only to cringe 
in pain. His body and clothes were still damp from the rainstorm, and he felt a 
terrible headache. "Damn it…", he moaned, suddenly realizing the amount of 
blood on his forehead. He unsuccessfully tried to crawl to under the nearest 
tree, but all his efforts were useless due to the excessive pain in his leg. 
Panting, he let himself collapse over the moist ground hoping someone, 
somehow, would find him. "I don't think anyone's gonna miss me", he thought.
After some time, Mark felt something touching him, but he was too weak 
to fight. Suddenly, he felt being turned over, and dragged to the shadow of a 
tree by an unknown force. He was placed against the tree's trunk, in a more 
comfortable position. Mark tried to cover his eyes in order to see who or what 
had done that to him.
"You shall not move", a gentle voice said. Mark got his eyes used to the 
light and had the ethereal sight of a woman dressed in a white dress. Her long 
blonde wavy hair fell over her shoulders like a cascade, and she stared at him 
with deep blue eyes. Mark for a moment thought the woman was an image 
created by his delirium state, due to the pain. 
"Who are you?" a confused Mark asked.
"Call me Aurora", was the response. "You shall not move".
"But…"  Mark's words were abruptly cut by the girl's lips finding his.  He 
felt her tongue demanding entrance, and accepted it amazed and shocked. All 
of a sudden, a strange jolt of energy took hold of his body, and the pain was no 
more. After breaking the kiss, Aurora touched his head.
Mark remained stunned and silent for some time, just admiring the sight 
of Aurora; she said nothing else to him, but looked at him with sad eyes. Mark 
slowly tried to stand up; noticing the pain in his leg was gone.  Whatever that 
girl did to him had healed his wounds… his forehead was intact again, with no 
sign of the deep cut from the night before.
"How…", he tried to talk to her, but she suddenly disappeared in the air.


Aurora attentively watched the man trying to move in the forest. She had 
been watching him since the night before. One thing she couldn't understand 
was why all those people suddenly had showed up in the islands… and why 
one of them had awakened the Beast in the Mist.
The Beast in the Mist… Aurora remembered well when it was awaken. 
She knew everything… she saw everything. Through the eternity she was 
condemned to roam those islands until she found someone who could 
somehow save her. She had no memories from the past, or who she was, apart 
from her name. Aurora Dawn. 
She saw the man moaning again and knew he needed help. Carefully 
she motioned to him, and with the help of her powers, took him to rest under a 
tree. However, the man had woken up, suffering stamped on his face. It had 
been a long time since she had last used her powers, and at that time the spell 
hadn't been broken. She was uncertain if her powers would work again or not, 
but seeing the man's despair, she knew she'd have to try. Cupping the man's 
face between her small hands, she kissed him gently, relieved to see it had 
worked. The man looked very stunned, and tried to communicate with her, and 
she knew it was time to go.


Aurora opened her eyes and saw that she was now on the northern 
island. She had been aware of the kids that had been held captive by a man 
and his lover, and she knew she should help. She remembered the horrible 
episodes that had happened on that cursed island in the past, which originated 
the strange creatures from the southern island. She also knew those creatures 
kept one of the strangers with them, the one the others were looking for. 
She teleported herself to the lab under the island, in her invisible form. 
She didn't want to be seen, and was a bit worried about the man she had just 
healed. Would he tell the others about her? 
She noticed one of the girls leaving the lab and going upstairs. That was 
the one she knew was linked to the boy the vampiress had with her and also to 
the stranger in the southern island. The girl carried a gun, so Aurora felt trouble 
starting; that island was cursed, and danger was everywhere. She followed the 
girl, still unseen. Then it was a mix of confusion and darkness. Two gunshots 
were heard. Aurora couldn't see anything. The next scene was the girl lying in a 
pool of blood. Aurora ran to her, in a feeble attempt to help her.
She held the girl's head, placing it over her lap, trying to place the girl in a 
more comfortable position. Blood was coming out of her mouth.
Aurora sighed. She knew her powers were useless with women, and that 
was one of the curses she had to carry. And above all, her powers were useless 
with death.
"The girls…", Simone tried to speak, gasping and coughing blood.  The 
big wound on her belly was bleeding non-stop, and Aurora knew there wasn't 
too much to be done at that point.
"I know", Aurora whispered. "Who did that to you?"
Simone forced some words. "I don't know… I saw a shadow… and two 
red eyes behind it…". Her voice became very low and weak. "KISS… 
Gene…Peter… help…".  With a deep sigh, she was gone. Aurora gently closed 
her eyes and placed her body gently on the ground. She knew the kids would 
now need even more help. She had to find this Gene and this Peter very soon. 
But she couldn't understand what the word kiss had to do with them. Also, who 
could have shot Simone? Who would be helping the Beast in the Mist?


Eric Singer yawned. Hours had passed and no news about Peter or 
anything else. "Maybe I'll go for a swim", he thought.
He looked at the big blue sea. It was a sunny day and the water was 
clear blue. He put on his trunks and slowly walked into the sea, feeling the 
warmth of the water in his body. The sea was very calm, and he closed his 
eyes, floating.
All of a sudden, a strange mist began to form. The fog was so intense it 
covered the sun. Eric opened his eyes, startled by a strange sound and the 
feeling of being watched. All he could see were two red dots in a distance. 
Suddenly, he felt something pulling himself deep into the water. He fought hard 
to breathe, and to swim back to the shore, but it was useless. The strange force 
was much stronger than him, and he felt water feeling his nostrils.  Exhausted, 
he passed out.


Aurora felt the strange feeling again. Closing her eyes, she was 
transported to another island. She walked a bit to the beach, and saw a blonde 
man lying in the shore. The waves came and went, kissing his feet.
She walked over to the man and turned him over, putting his head on her 
lap. He had the handsomest face, in spite of the deep cut in his forehead. She 
stroked his damp hair and touched his jaw line.  The man wasn't breathing, so 
she kissed him in an effort to bring him to. Slowly he opened his eyes, coughing 
and gasping the salt water from his lungs. He jumped back in fear.
"Who are you?", he asked, in a bit of panic.
"I'm Aurora Dawn", Aurora replied, in her soothing voice.
Eric looked at the woman. She was very beautiful, pale skin and blue 
eyes framed by a cascade of curly blonde hair. 
"Have I died and gone to heaven?", he asked.
"Would you be bleeding in heaven?", she replied.
Eric touched the wound in his forehead. It hurt like hell, and he sat on the 
sand. Aurora sat beside him, taking his hand.
"What will you do to me? And could you please tell me who are you? I 
mean, I know your name, but…"
He was interrupted by her lips seeking his. Aurora cupped his face in her 
hands, her tongue demanding entrance. Their tongues met, exploring each 
other's mouths. Then she broke the kiss.
"Whoa", he said, still astonished. "What was that for?"
"Touch your forehead, stranger", Aurora demanded.
Eric obeyed, still amazed. His forehead was now intact, no sign of the 
bleeding nor the deep cut from before.  He gasped in surprise.
"How did you…"
"I don't know…", Aurora looked away.
"By the way, I'm Eric.", he said, stretching his hand to her.
"You're one of the strangers", was her response.
Eric laughed. "Hell, I don't know if I'm a stranger or not, but now at least 
you know my name… Aurora, right?"
Aurora nodded.
"So tell me about you…"
Aurora knew she shouldn't tell him about her, but something inside told 
her to do it.
"I'm Aurora Dawn. I don't know how I came here. I'm under a spell. If I fall 
in love, the spell is broken."
Eric looked at her in complete disbelief. "I don't understand".
"I'm not human, I'm not like you. I used to be human, not anymore."
"Right, then… you want me to believe you're a fairy or something like 
that? Ha!"
"Call it a fairy if you wish… but I'm not human… I'm here for ages… and I 
know what attacked you on the sea. The Beast in the Mist".
Eric cringed remembering the pair of red eyes in the fog. Aurora saw the 
fear in his eyes, and pulled him for another deep kiss.
"Please help me", she begged.
"My pleasure", was Eric's reply.


Eric Carr walked among the woods, followed by Tiger. He wasn't sure 
where he was going to, he was just following his instincts. Something was 
telling him he should head to that direction, even if there was nothing there.
"Where are we going?", Tiger asked. Eric didn't reply. A strange force 
was guiding him. He increased his pace, leaving Tiger behind. She was 
becoming tired.
"Eric, where are we going?", she tried again. And again, no response. 
"Look, I don't know what's on your mind, but I'm going back, OK?". The wood 
was deep in that part of the island, and yet Eric insisted on going deeper and 
deeper into it. Tiger made her way back; Eric was much ahead, not noticing she 
was leaving him on his own.
He had to go on… a strange force was carrying him through the woods, 
now so deep and dark he could barely see a thing. His feet were tired, but 
continued to walk.
He walked for about half an hour until he reached a clearing. A tiny ray of 
sunlight made its way through the foliage, almost like guiding the way. He 
proceeded to the north, and suddenly reached a large field; so large he 
wondered how it could have been hidden by the forest without being noticed.  In 
the middle of it, there were several large and tall rocks, disposed in a circle as if 
they were marking a sacred place. The place reminded him of Stonehenge in 
England, and he wondered if that island had also been home to Celtic 
civilizations. He started walking among the rocks, slightly touching them. Every 
time his hands got in touch with the rough surface of the rocks, he felt a jolt of 
energy running through his body. Those rocks were there for a reason, but 
which reason was that?
He noticed some inscriptions on the lower part of the largest rock. They 
were a series of odd inscriptions in some language he couldn't understand. 
Again, an awkward feeling dominated him. Something was telling him he 
shouldn't be at that place, but otherwise he felt he was there for a reason.
He turned around to face the giant middle rock, mesmerized by its size 
and magnificence.  A small form caught his attention… leaning against one of 
the rocks was a young lady, blonde hair falling down her shoulders. She had a 
sad expression in her blue eyes, and walked slowly facing the ground when she 
saw she had been noticed. 
"Hey!".  Eric yelled. "Hello!"
She didn't say a word. Her pale skin almost shone bathed by the 
sunrays, her white gown flowing gently around her body, impelled by the light 
breeze. She looked at Eric, inquisitively. 
"Hey, you!", Eric yelled again, to receive silence as a response for the 
second time.  He was intrigued by that woman's presence, what was she doing 
there? Or maybe he was just seeing things. He walked to her, and saw her 
moving to the back of a rock. When he reached her, she was gone. 
Eric ran his hands through his hair and forehead. Sweat dripped from his 
face. Was the woman a ghost or just a fruit of his imagination? All of a sudden, 
he felt very tired. He needed to get some rest… his eyelids blinked very 
slowly… he let himself to the ground, collapsing on a deep sleep. 


Aurora sighed in relief in her invisible form. She was glad the man had 
given up following her. He was also one of the strangers, and she felt she 
should guide him to the old altar. She'd noticed the woman who followed him, 
and thought it would be inappropriate for her to know about the place. 
Fortunately, the woman got tired… her powers couldn't work on women. 
She took another glance of the man. He was very handsome, a very 
abundant hair now glued to his face due to the excessive sweating. She felt he 
had spent all his energy, and needed some rest. She walked to him and with a 
wave of her hands, made him very sleepy.
She was satisfied. At least he knew about the altar. One of the strangers 
should know about its existence… maybe one of them could figure it out, and 
hopefully, help her.