by Loki Renard
But I know she’s dead either way if I don’t at least try.
I break open three vials. One I slip into her side, the other I pour into the exit wound. The third I drip carefully down her throat, massaging her neck to stimulate the swallowing reflex.
Regret. All is regret. I should never have taken her with me. I should never have left her alone. I thought I would lead the soldiers away from her, but predators always find the nest.
I pull her into my lap and I hold her. Her breathing is shallow. Her pulse is weak. She may last a matter of hours. She may last a few days. If she’s going to die, I hope for the former. I have no means of assuaging her pain.
For now, she is silent and still in my arms. I curl up with her in the hollow of a tree and I sit there, knowing that the hunters are still out there. Knowing that they won’t care what they did to her.
She was so brave. She didn’t know what they were capable of. And now I don’t know what I will be capable of. I took almost a dozen doses as I ran. The surge made my mind vicious and simple, like an animal. It also made me too stupid to realize that they weren’t following the second path I was making, but the first path I’d made. It occurs to my slow brain that they’ll follow this one too. They’ll be here soon. They’ll see the blood. They’ll track us here like wounded animals.
I hear footsteps already.
They see me. Start shouting. I don’t move, so they come around the tree, a dozen guns pointed right at me. And then they see what they’ve done.
They look down at her broken, female, innocent form with horror on their faces. They’re idiots. They meant to bring me down, but they didn’t care what they did to her. Now they see her lying here, dying, they regret it.
I only have two words for them. Two words that matter.
“Help her.”
The leader takes out his radio. “Get the chopper in here now. We have one down. Repeat. We have one down.”
Chapter Twelve
Briarlee
I am so fucking horny.
That’s the first thought I have on waking. My pussy is wet and swollen. I can feel it between my thighs, begging for a dick. I try to push my hand down there, but I can’t. Something is stopping me. Something cold and metal and… I look and discover that not one, but both my wrists are chained to the sides of a metal-framed bed.
It takes a moment to realize that I am not in the woods with Daniel. I’m in a… hospital?
“Hello. I’m Doctor Stains. You were shot.”
Yes. Hospital. And worse introduction ever.
“You’re a soldier military person,” I note.
“Mhm, now, okay, you seem to be healing up nicely. Something to do with the medication given to you by Doctor Knight.”
“Who the hell is Doctor Knight?”
“Your companion.”
“Oh, you mean Danny. Where is he? And why am I tied up?”
“Well, ma’am. You’ve been in quite a state.”
“I was aggressive?”
“Not quite,” he says with a slight smirk breaking through his professional demeanor.
“Then why am I chained down?”
A faint blush passes over his features. His mouth opens and closes for a moment, as he tries to find the right words for what must be a delicate thing to say. “You were trying to, er, mate with passing men. And one woman. Then, when we contained you to the bed, you tried to, er… sate the urge yourself. We were worried you’d do damage.”
I’m not hearing a word he says. My eyes leave his face and go to his crotch. This craving is insatiable. Every part of me needs one thing: sex. I feel that as keenly as I have ever felt hunger. This is an appetite that must be fed.
“Where is Daniel?”
“He’s in another facility.”
“Take me to him.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
Now I’m horny and angry. It’s not a good combination.
“Calm down. You’re wounded. You were shot. We’ve sutured several holes in various parts of your stomach.”
I don’t care. “Take me to Daniel. Now.”
The doctor turns away from me to speak to the woman standing nearby. “Nurse, we’re going to need more sedative.”
So that’s what they’ve been doing. Knocking me out with drugs and keeping me prisoner here while somewhere Daniel is being held. Probably being tortured. Definitely being hurt. They’ve already showed they don’t really care about either one of us. They were happy to let me die if it meant getting to Daniel.
The nurse comes to the doctor’s aid with a syringe of something I’m sure will render me unconscious while they do god knows what to me. I will not lie here, a passive victim. I’m going to fight back. I’m going to make them regret the day they ever decided to come for us.
As the doctor approaches with the needle ready to stick me, I sit up and yank my arms toward my chest, away from the bars. The chain links of the cuffs snap like they’re made of crappy toy plastic. And then I am gone. Naked aside from the medical gown that flaps in the breeze as I run through the ward, shouting Daniel’s name.
“Tranquilizer! Tranquilizer!”
They’re shouting for something they don’t have. People try to tackle me on the way past, but they can’t hold onto me. They end up tearing the robe from my body, but I run on, entirely naked, looking for Daniel. Looking for my mate.
* * *
Daniel
It’s dark.
Twinkle twinkle little star…
Pitch black.
How I wonder what you are…
Really. Fucking. Dark.
Up above the world so high… like a diamond in the sky!
Can’t see my hand in front of my face.
Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle Twinkle
The track loops and the words blare as the lights come on, fluorescents searing my retinas. ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ is ramping up to the same level as a 747 taking off, loud enough to damage hearing if it’s left on for sustained periods.
Since being taken in I’ve learned that when the military try to break you, they get weird. They can’t risk messing with my sanity too much though. If I go mad from the music I’m never going to tell them how I made Regenermax actually work. I’ve pointed that out, but I think they like their methods of torment. They tell me it could be worse. I believe them.
They’ve been holding me for three days. In those three days, in between creative attempts to break my spirit, I’ve been assured that Briarlee is alive. I can’t see her, not until I give them what they want—the Regenermax formula. They’ve asked nicely. They’ve asked not so nicely. They’ve bargained with me. They’ve threatened me. They’ve offered me money. But they haven’t offered me the one thing I want: freedom.
The music stops suddenly. The silence is weird. Almost eerie. Footsteps at the door sound far away for some reason, even when it opens.
“We’re letting you out. Need you to catch someone.” I don’t know who the speaker is. None of them tell me their names. All of them hide the patch on their uniforms where the name would be.
It was only a matter of time before they tried to use me as some kind of brute on a leash. I’m surprised it happened so quickly.
“Who?”
“Miss Smith has evidently gotten out, is not responding to tranquilizer, and is causing a significant disturbance.”
“You want me to catch Briarlee for you? Not going to happen.”
“If we don’t get her under control soon, we’re going to have to shoot her.”
It takes everything I have not to grab his head and twist it off his body. “You shoot her, you harm one hair on her head, and you’ll never get anything from me. Ever. I will go on a rampage the likes of which you’ve never seen. I will destroy you and yours, and you will regret the moment you ever drew breath.”
“Enough with the threats, Doctor Knight. Come and get her.”
They lead me out of the room of breaking and into the l
ight of day. It doesn’t take long to see where their problem is.
Briarlee is running around the center of the compound, stark naked. The effects of the Regenermax are clear even at a distance. She’s more toned than she was last time I saw her, and her curves are more pronounced. In my body, Regenermax produced hyper-masculine changes. In hers, it has brought out the feminine. I can barely see the scars where the bullets entered, and her current state suggests she’s still fully under the influence, three days on.
Whenever anyone gets close to her, she turns and advances on them. She’s looking for something. She’s looking for me.
The relief I feel at seeing her alive is immeasurable. This is the woman I knew would die if I didn’t allow myself to be captured. This is the creature I love more than anything in the world. I would die for her a hundred times. And not only is she alive, but she’s healthy. The Regenermax worked. But it’s had some strong side effects too.
As I look on, Briarlee approaches a vehicle and begins to grind against it. The motions of her hips and ass are desperate, the rutting gyrations of an animal who is in high heat.
I know what she’s feeling. I know the terrible desire that makes you feel as though your blood is on fire. I know the need that will not let you go. Briarlee is deep in lust’s fever grip.
Her thighs are slicked with lust all the way down to her knees. I thought a commanding, demanding erection that would not go away was bad enough, but I can see the suffering her needy sex is giving her.
I approach her slowly from behind. Mustn’t startle her. I don’t know how conscious she is of what she’s doing. I don’t know what state she’s in mentally, aside from the lust.
“Briarlee…” I say her name gently.
She whirls around, stares at me with those pretty eyes that have always wrapped me around her little finger—and she leaps on me.
I catch her as she dives, knocking me to the ground, her pelvis threatening to grind me to dust. She doesn’t speak. The sounds she’s making are grunts and moans, not quite human.
I have to take control. I have to give her what she needs. There’s half a base watching, but this is no time for modesty. That lust won’t clear until she orgasms. Hard.
Grabbing her by the wrists, I twist my hips and toss her onto the ground next to me, rolling over on top of her. Her cries are quickly cut off with a passionate kiss that promises every bit of what she needs.
There’s no time for me to undress. I reach down, unzip, and push my cock to that writhing wet spot between her thighs. The moment she feels my dick, she calms down a whole lot. It’s a pacifier for her, one that is more effective the deeper it sinks inside her. She is soaked, but the Regenermax has made her sex tighter. Her inner walls grip me with a desperate desire as I start to fuck her right there on the grass.
* * *
Briarlee
I don’t know what happened. One moment I was swearing at a doctor, the next I was under Daniel. The relief at finding myself in his arms makes tears come to my eyes, and finally I am being given what I need, that long, hard cock that stretches me wide over and over, plunging inside me with rapid strokes.
It’s not possible for him to fuck me too hard, or too long. I was dying of desire before he found me, and now I scream my arousal to the world at large. Like an animal, he takes me, pounding me against soft green turf.
My cunt grips him for all it is worth. I can feel him grunting with every contraction of those inner muscles. I have to have his cum. It’s the only antidote for this madness.
Daniel pulls me up from the ground, wraps his arms around me, and puts me on wanton display. I am grinding against his thigh, my now empty pussy demanding more from him as he tries to maneuver me around.
One big hand slides around my waist and finds my pussy. He pulls me back against him and pushes into me from behind, but his hand remains over my clit. The other arm is wrapped around my neck, not tight enough to choke, but firm enough to control.
He starts spanking my pussy, his fingers swatting my desperate clit as his cock pounds inside my wet lips. There are wolf-whistles and approving shouts from the crowd of soldiers who have given up chasing me and are now watching me be fucked into submission.
When I come, it is like no orgasm I have ever experienced before. Climax used to feel amazing, but it was never like this. I can feel it in every cell in my body. It is as if trillions of little entities all cried out in ecstasy at once. In that peak of pleasure, I am taken apart and put back together. The cock plunging deep inside me gives me more than release, it gives me life. It gives me clarity. It gives me everything I need to survive.
* * *
In the aftermath, they find me a blanket. And some clothes. Daniel keeps me close, but there’s something wrong. I can see it in his eyes. I can hear it in every hollow, comforting word he says. And eventually, he tells me exactly what I don’t want to hear.
“I agreed to work for them in order to save you,” he says. “So I’m going to give them what they want. You’re free to go. The effects of the Regenermax won’t last long. You’ll be back to normal in no time.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. I’m free to go. But not him. I have to leave without him?
“What? No! I want to stay with you!”
“No civilians,” the officer says. “This is a restricted facility.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” he says, brushing the hair out of my eyes. “This is going to be better for you. You’re going to be safe. You’re going to have a life.”
This can’t be how it ends. He has broken his body for me, and now he’s sold his soul for me too. He doesn’t want to work for the military. He doesn’t want to give them this technology. He doesn’t want it used for war. He wants it to help people. He’s been broken morally and spiritually, and it was because of me. I was the final straw. I was the one thing he couldn’t stand to see die.
“I have to see you, Daniel. I have to be with you. I can’t live without you.”
I can see the tears in his eyes. Tears he won’t cry.
“I’ve put you in danger, Briarlee. I almost got you killed. That’s not going to happen. You need to go and live your life, safe and happy.”
“I’ve never been safe. And I’ve never been happy without you!”
They don’t listen to me. The deal is done.
I cling to Daniel. I hold on so tight I might never let go.
“Please don’t do this,” I murmur in his ear. “Please don’t. Don’t let them win. Not like this.”
“Doctor Knight, it’s time we left. Say goodbye to the lady.”
I feel him bristle in my arms. He hates them. He hates this. This is Daniel, sacrificing himself again, no matter how much it hurts, because he thinks it’s good for me.
“I won’t leave. I’ll kick and I’ll scream and I’ll…”
“Briar, please…” he says. “I’ll get leave at some point. I’ll come and see you.”
“When?”
“I don’t know.”
That’s not good enough. And this can’t be how this ends. But it is how it’s ending. They’re taking him from me, and there’s nothing I can do.
“It’s time to go, Doctor Knight.”
“Briar,” he says, his voice husky with emotion. “Please…”
He’s asking me not to make this harder. Maybe that’s the only thing I can do for him now. Maybe I can try to make this sacrifice a little easier for him. I let go, with the most reluctance I’ve ever felt in my life, and I watch as he is escorted away, his massive form moving between two lesser men. He could crush them both, but he won’t, because it’s my freedom that hangs in the balance. Not his. His is gone.
“Don’t you fucking touch me!” I snap the words as the soldier next to me tries to lead me away.
“Don’t make a scene, ma’am.”
Oh, I’m going to make a scene. I’m going to make the kind of scene that they won’t be able to ignore.
Chapter Thirteen
> One month later…
“Free Doctor Knight!” I wave my placard high and I scream at the top of my lungs into a megaphone that makes my thin, hoarse tones go a little further.
I’m standing outside the barbed wire fence that surrounds the base where I last saw Daniel. Megaphone in one hand, placard in the other, I am a one-woman protest movement. This is ineffectual, but it’s all I can really do for him. I betrayed Daniel’s trust. I didn’t listen to him. I didn’t trust him. And now they have him. I don’t know if he’s still in this camp, or if they’ve moved him. I do know that I’m never going to stop looking for him, trying to get to him.
“Ma’am, you need to vacate this area.” A man in a helmet with the letters MP is approaching me. He’s saying what he always says.
“I’m not leaving until you release Daniel. He’s done nothing wrong.” I’m saying what I always say.
“Ma’am, you’re trespassing. You will be arrested if necessary.”
“Take me in if you have to. I don’t care.”
We’ve played this game before. We both know how it ends.
He grabs me and spins me around. The cuffs go on. Cold and hard. Then he marches me to the holding cell they use for arresting civilians. There used to be anti-war protesters in here. I can see the peace signs scratched into the concrete here and there. They’re long gone, and war is still here, so I don’t know what that says about anything.
“Hold her until the PD gets here,” the officer says to the soldier manning the desk. “Recommend a mental health hold.”
“Fuck you, I’m not crazy!”
They shut the door and leave me sitting there, helplessly. I’ve never had to fight for anything in my life. I’ve never had to work for anything either. Now I have to work and fight and I don’t know how. Everything I think to do seems so ineffective. One woman can’t win against an entire military. I’ve lost Daniel. Probably forever. For a second time, I’ve hurt him so badly he might never recover. All he wanted was my help, and I utterly fucked him over. I’ve been writing every commander in this place. In the end, they outright told me that the way they tracked us down was through that call I made when I decided I knew better than Daniel, that he was just paranoid.
