by Jake Stone
Struggling to lift myself up, I see through blurry eyes the mutant looming over Chun Hei’s back. Its claws are out, and its hand is raised, ready to stick her from behind.
“Chun Hei!” I scream, over and over again. But she doesn’t respond. She doesn’t hear me. But the mutant does.
Its head spins around to look at me, a feral grunt leaving its mouth when it realizes that I’m sneaking up behind it. I have to hurry. With one final tug, I heft myself onto the roof and aim. The barrel flies backward as I press the trigger and my eyes shut tight again as the pain returns.
Did I get it?
I squint as I try to see through my pain, hoping that I hit my target. Instead, I see a figure walking toward me, its shape growing larger and larger with every step. When I raise my arms to block its attack, I instead feel a soft hand gripping me by the wrist and lifting me up. It’s Chun Hei, I think. Thank God. I must’ve gotten the mutant after all.
The sounds of battle begin to dwindle around us, and after a few seconds, an eerie silence starts to settle over the dunes. The battle is over. There is only the occasional moan or grunt as soldiers’ wounds are tended to.
“Take this,” says a female voice that sounds like Petronelous’s. “It’s water.”
I reach out to feel a cold bottle in my hand. Twisting off the cap, I quickly take a giant gulp, invigorated by the clean liquid.
“Now, pour it into your eyes,” she adds.
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. Leaning back, I pour at least half the bottle into my face, relishing the cool sensation that alleviates the burning sensation almost instantly.
“Better?” she asks.
I nod as the world around me begins to clear. The burning is still there, but now it’s only mild.
“Mutant blood,” Petronelous says. She wipes the edge of her blade against the leather cloth of a dead mutant. “Don’t worry, though. It’ll go away. Everybody gets it in the eye eventually.”
“Petronelous!” Zorel says, scolding her playfully. “What did I tell you about talking dirty while on duty?”
Petronlelous rolls her eyes.
“Hurt like a motherfucker,” I say, still blinking. My eyesight begins to clear, and as it does, I start to notice the carnage around me. Dead bodies—both human and mutant alike—litter the landscape. There has to be over a hundred, at least.
Atia and Chun Hei begin to scour amongst the dead, collecting whatever weapons and ammunition they can find, anything that might help us in our journey. I look for the other Purifiers, hoping to find some survivors, but there are none. We’re all that’s left.
“Collect as much as you can,” Atia announces. She’s already switched gears, focusing on salvaging what she can. But when she turns to Chun Hei, instead of speaking, she begins to sign her instructions with her hands.
The pale beauty pays attention with intense focus, then nods.
“She’s deaf?” I ask, turning to Zorel.
“What gave that away?” Zorel asks. “The fact that she doesn’t hear?”
“No,” I say. “It’s just…I thought she hated me.”
“Chun Hei has her demons,” Petronelous admits. “As do we all. But there is no hate in her heart, at least, for any of us.”
It makes sense now. The fact that she never spoke to me, the fact that she didn’t turn around when I yelled at her to do so. This is just who she is. And, as ridiculous as it sounds, I’m relieved that she doesn’t hate me. Like a fool, I start to laugh.
Atia tosses a handful of cartridges on the ground, where they’ve begun to build into a tiny hill. Her cape is missing and her armor and suit have been smeared with green blood. But her face and blond hair are untouched, still as pristine as before. “We’ll need everything we can get if we’re going to survive.”
“What about the vehicles?” Petronelous asks.
“Fried,” Atia says.
“How ‘bout that one?” Petronelous asks, motioning to the one in the back. “Doesn’t look so bad from here.”
“Only one way to find out,” Zorel says, shooting me a wink.
I watch as everyone turns to me. “What?” I ask.
“Well, you’re a mechanic, right?” Atia crosses her arms in expectation. “Shouldn’t you take a look at it?”
The suggestion is a challenge, I know—a passive aggressive slight meant to publicly demean me in front of the other women, who’ve begun to believe in me. This is her strategy. But I accept it with a shrug, knowing that I’m the only one who can get us out of here.
The metal exterior of the vehicle is peppered with plasma bolts. The front rim on the left side is fractured but still holding. And there’s a tiny plume of smoke curling from the engine block, where a mutant had rammed its spear. Overall, though, it looks okay.
“Try to turn it on,” I say, leaning over the hood.
Petronelous hops into the front seat and turns the ignition. I know it’s a long shot considering all the damage, but who knows? Maybe it’ll work.
My hope is quickly dashed as we’re met with the sound of a burnt-out alternator.
“Damnit,” I say, suddenly acutely aware of the burning sun overhead. It’s barely morning, and already I feel like I’m in an oven. Just wait till the afternoon.
“How much water do we have?” Zorel asks, her brow dripping with sweat.
“Enough for the trip back,” Atia answers.
“What do you mean, ‘trip back?’” I ask, confused.
“The mission’s over,” Atia says. “We’re heading back.”
“But you can’t do that,” I say. “We had a deal.”
“Look around you,” Atia says, “The deal’s over. We’re all that’s left. If we didn’t have a chance before, it’s even worse now that we’re so few.”
“But I can get us there,” I say.
“And then what?” she says, gesturing to the dead bodies around us. “The plan’s ruined.”
“Then we make a new one,” I reply.
“We don’t have a team!” Atia yells. “Look at us.”
“Maybe we do,” Petronelous says.
Atia’s eyes narrow at her second in command.
“The mission is to find the captured girl and to bring her back, correct? Well, if that’s the case, maybe we could do just that?”
“And who’ll cover our retreat if things go south?” Atia asks.
“Chun Hei will,” Zorel says, signing something to the beautiful sniper, who quickly responds with a nod.
“You can’t be serious,” Atia says.
“We can do it,” Petronelous says. “We go in and get out. As simple as that.”
Atia considers this for a moment, the anger in her face rising as she looks at me. I’m the cause for this divisiveness amongst her troops and she hates me for it. “Your desire for this woman has cost us many lives, Xander. And now you want to waste more?”
“I want to save her,” I say. “But that doesn’t mean you guys have to come along. I can go by myself. You’ve done enough already. And I’m thankful. Just let me fix one of the other vehicles, and you can take this one.”
“But we need you,” Atia says.
“And I need her,” I reply.
After a moment of disquiet, I set off for the next transport, hurrying to see if I can fix it. I’m already about to unlatch the hood when I hear Atia’s voice behind me. “Wait.”
Turning around, I find the captain staring at the ground, her brow furrowed as she wrestles with the matter. She’s right. This is my fault. But she also needs to find these demons of hers. And without my help, she’ll never get her chance at redemption.
“The transport has already lost too much fuel,” she says in a defeated tone. “Collect the rest from the others and load it into this one. We’ll need all the fuel we can get for the trip.”
“So, we’re going?” I ask.
“What choice do you leave us?”
Chapter Sixteen
The ride into the desert is long. I can’t s
ay for sure, but if I had to guess, maybe a couple of hours. We pass the time by resting. The battle from earlier took a lot out of us.
Chun Hei shuts her eyes as her head falls back against the wall of the transport, while Petronelous, who’s splayed out along the bench opposite me, rolls over to the side, letting out a tiny yawn as she begins to awake. Zorel is up front with Atia, who’s driving us. Apparently, she doesn’t need rest.
“You did well out there,” Petronelous says.
“What does it matter?” I say with a tired shrug.
“What do you mean?”
“All those people died because of me.”
Petronelous pushes herself up to a sitting position, the center of her brow forming a hard line as she looks into my eyes. At first, she wears a mask of puzzlement, a determined attempt to console me by appearing baffled by my bleak assessment. But the truth ultimately wins out, and any look of assurance quickly melts away. “What you say is true,” she admits sadly. “But what is also true is that they were all trained soldiers—warriors who knew the risk of fulfilling their duties. At least they died in battle. What more can any of us ask for on this damned planet?”
“Yeah,” I say with a shrug. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course, I’m right,” she says sternly. “Remember Xander, only strength can survive on Dardekum.”
“How can I forget? Everywhere I look I only see pain and suffering. Shit, I’ve only been here a couple of days, and I’ve already lost everything. I can’t imagine what living here your whole life will do to you.”
I look over at Chun Hei who’s still resting, her legs crossed with her hands on her knees, her eyes shut as her head and body rock unaffectedly to the jagged terrain beneath the transport’s tires. She’s at peace, I can see, like a Buddhist performing their daily meditation. What kind of life could she have had growing up here in this world?
“You saved her,” Petronelous says, following my gaze. “Be proud of that.”
I shrug. Knowing that doesn’t make me feel any better. It’s still nothing compared to the other deaths that I caused. Am I ever going to be free of this guilt? My fingers curl around the pulser in my lap—the one that I haven’t let go of since we left—and I wonder, worriedly, if it’s going to jam up on me again.
Petronelous, sensing my fear, lifts from her bench and sits next to me. “The reason it jammed is because of the desert.”
“What do you mean?”
“The sand,” she says, her lips curling into an annoyed smirk as she takes the pulser from my hands. “You mustn’t have been paying attention to me when I explained that part to your class.”
I think back to days earlier when I was standing amongst the other recruits under a hot sun, barely able to keep awake from heat exhaustion. “Sorry, I guess I was trying not to die.”
Her green eyes narrow at me, playfully, as if aware of what I’m thinking. “That never bothered you when you were looking at my ass.”
“You noticed that?” I ask, my face growing warm.
“How could I not? You followed it everywhere it went.”
A weak laugh escapes my lips as I’m unexpectedly disarmed by her humor. It’s moments like these when the rough exterior of the disciplined soldier melts away, and I get to see the fun, flirty side of her. I like it.
I watch with concentrative effort as she pulls back the barrel of my pulser, which is still in my lap, her red lips pursing into a tight o as she begins to blow into the chamber. The gesture is incredibly erotic, and I can’t help but think that she knows what it’s doing to me.
“There,” she says. “Now it’s clean.”
“Thanks,” I whisper.
Her eyes glimmer with mischief, and I sense a plan forming in that pretty little head of hers.
“It’s going to be a long ride,” she says, her body curling against the metal wall behind her. “Maybe we should get a bit more…comfortable?”
I look at her, able to pick up the connotation, then glance at Chun Hei, who’s still meditating with her eyes closed. “What about—”
“She won’t hear us,” Petronelous promises. She unclasps the front of her cloak, then removes the top of her armor, revealing the set of massive tits that are pressing, almost painfully, against the skin of her bodysuit. Before I can say anything, she’s reaching for my crotch, rubbing the length of my cock over my pants.
“What the…”
“Relax,” she whispers, “If you’re going to survive the second half of this mission, you’re going to have to unwind.”
I glance nervously over at Chun Hei. I’ve never been in a situation like this before. Can I really do this? In front of another woman? My breathing stopped, my throat dry, I turn to Petronelous. Her lips are only inches away from mine. “Are you sure?”
“Look, it’s my experience that, for a man to shoot straight, he must fire off a round before going into battle.”
I swallow. “Can’t argue with that logic.”
I watch as she opens my fly, her hand quickly gripping the base of my cock. The sensation is amazing, and I close my eyes as I drift into her embrace, loving the way she’s thrusting it up and down.
The battle from earlier has kept me wound up for the past couple of hours. I had no idea how badly I needed this.
Her hand works slowly at first, rising and lowering, changing pace as she studies my breaths. But I need more of her. I need to feel her, to grip her tits and suck on her nipples. But with her bodysuit it’s nearly impossible. Instead, my hand falls to her ass, where I quickly begin squeezing her muscled cheeks.
“You want to fuck me in the ass, don’t you?” she whispers hotly into my ear.
My fingers claw at the skin of her suit, unable to hide my lust, wanting to pierce through its thin lining and sink my fingers into both her holes. “Fuck yeah,” I breathe out.
“I’ll let you if you come for me.”
My mouth sinks into her neck, biting at her skin as I’m overcome by a wave of lust that makes my hand claw at her ass even harder. Her hand tightens around my cock and she begins to stroke faster.
Unable to hold back, I grip her left tit, squeezing it as hard as I can. She lets out a tiny moan, her head falling back as she’s hit by a sensation filled with both pain and pleasure. The reaction fills my chest with heat and I suck on her neck harder. She likes it, and I can only imagine how wet her pussy is. Reaching for her waist, I feel the slimness of her stomach, accentuated by the roundness of her hips and thick ass. She’s a masterpiece.
About to come, I close my eyes, my fingers resting in the crack of her ass where I want to sink my cock.
When I finally climax, I do so in spasms, deep heavy loads that spurt out like waves. It’s a gush of cum that seems endless, but luckily, Petronelous is there to catch it all. She aims the head of my cock into her petite mouth, capturing every drop as though it’s her duty. Apparently, she’s disciplined in all fields.
My body shudders in the aftershock, and I close my eyes, suddenly feeling the fatigue of the day.
“I’ll wake you in a bit,” is all I hear before I fall asleep.
“We’re here,” a voice says.
I wake up, blinking to find Zorel looming over me. She watches me in amusement, a grin on her pretty face. She tugs one of my ears, then messes up my hair up like a playful girlfriend. “Wake up, sleepy head.”
I was asleep? For how long? My eyes turn to the back of the transport. The doors are open, and I see a dusky sky with layers of orange and purple in the distance. A pair of moons is rising on the horizon. The day has ended.
“How long have I been asleep for?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.
“A couple of hours.” Zorel answers.
I sit up, finding myself eye level with her armored breasts.
“I guess someone must’ve slipped you a sleeping pill, or maybe…” Zorel glances over at Petronelous who offers nothing through her solider’s mask. “…Someone made you feel better?”
Embarrasse
d, I lift up from my seat, moving as fast as I can past her through the back and hopping down onto the ground below.
A few feet away, Atia is arguing with Chun Hei. Their fingers are flashing in a heated exchange, each making their point, as the other shakes their head in reply.
“And that’s how it’s going to be,” Atia finally decrees, her lips pursed as she spins away from the frustrated soldier.
She stops as she sees me, her stunning face turning to stone as if I’m Medusa herself. She doesn’t like me, I know. But it’s even worse now that I’ve forced her on this mission. My only hope is that she doesn’t kill me before the slavers do. Turning away, she marches off toward the back of the transport.
“Ignore her,” Petronelous says. “The captain is just tired. Do what she says, and everything will work out.”
“Or not,” Zorel adds with a grin.
“Thanks,” I say.
If I wasn’t nervous enough…
It’s not long till the sun finally sets, and with it, a cold chill settles over the desert. It’s a warning, I fear. The start of a rough night that could prove to be my last.
Apparently, we have new clothes—apparel meant to help us blend in at the auction amidst the slavers, mutants, and mercenaries. I gawk at the shabby clothing, noticing the thick tight black leather bikinis and boots the girls are supposed to wear.
All of them, except for Chun Hei, begin to undress. They untie their cloaks and unlatch their armor, taking their time as they start their transformation. Atia’s already reaching behind her back to unzip her bodysuit when she suddenly notices me ogling her.
“What are you staring at?” she asks.
“Uh…nothing, I was just—”
“Leave us,” she orders.
Both Zorel and Petronelous exchange an amused glance, smirking at their superior’s indignation.
I take off without a word, leaving them to undress behind the transport, while I join Chun Hei on the other side.
The welcome I get from Chun Hei isn’t that much different. Long dark hair whips across her face as a sudden breeze tears over the horizon. But she remains still, unfazed, studying me through careful eyes that see everything. They’re so piercing, so intense. Sometimes, it feels as if she’s looking into my very soul. It’s unnerving.
