by M H Ryan
The forest cleared, and a fireball launched from the ground with a loud thump. I held up my hand from the heat of it as it flew off into the sky.
In the clearing, there appeared to be a hole in the ground. On closer inspection, I noticed the door over the bunker. Some of the sand had shaken away from the edges, revealing portions of logs and fronds concealing the shelter.
“Stay here,” I said as I knelt with Aubrey into a sitting position.
“Don’t leave me,” Aubrey said, pulling at my hands.
She looked delirious.
“I’ll be right back. I need to get Hanna. Sherri, Emma, Kara—help me lift the door.”
I got next to the edge of the door that was about five feet by five feet, with a two-foot, square hole in the center. Smoke poured out from the bunker, as if the whole interior was on fire. I slid my fingers under the sand and felt the edge of it. The girls did the same, and we all lifted at once.
Sand fell from the door as we lifted and flopped the door over. A smoke cloud swirled out from the bunker and up into the sky. After a few seconds, a fireball blasted up from the shelter, grazing my shoulder and singing part of my shirt.
“Jesus!” I said, looking back at the fireball streaking through the tops of the trees, setting them on fire.
“Hanna!” Emma said, yelling into the dark pit below.
A young face emerged from the smoky darkness below us. She squinted and coughed, fanning the smoke from her face. I couldn’t see much, but the bright pink hair stood out from all the rest. That and her beauty. Her narrow face had smears of ash on it, but that did little to hide how stunning she was. Model thin, with straight lines, and a full mouth holding a pair of pouty red lips. She reminded me of Angelina Jolie.
“Emma?” those thick lips asked. “Is that you?”
I hadn’t noticed, but Aubrey had made it to the edge. She pushed her hand toward Hanna, and a soft gust of air rose from below, carrying much of the smoke with it. A few Crultar males were revealed. They held a tube, pointed toward the sky. A small fire was below the tube, and smoke rose from it.
With the smoke cleared, I got a complete view of Hanna, and I was shocked that I didn’t remember her from the boat. There was no way any male would forget seeing someone like Hanna.
Her pink hair extended down to her chest, where she wore a cropped, white shirt that showed her cleavage at the top and her very lean stomach underneath. Her breasts were pushed in by the tight shirt but were also pushed up to the top of it. Over her left breast, the shirt had a pink heart shape embroidered on it. She didn’t have the monster-sized chest like Emma but a nice sized pair that had me sucking in the smoke-filled air as I took her in.
Ash stains covered some of her stomach and arms but her visible skin was tan as I remembered and had a glow to it as if she used polish.
She wore a tiny pink skirt that might have been considered a bikini bottom by many. It was just long enough to cover her underwear and no more. On her legs, she wore long white stockings, pulled up to her thighs. Her legs were thin but toned, and she swayed on them as she gazed up at us.
I lay on my chest, at the edge of the hole, and reached down for her.
“He’s with us,” Emma said.
Hanna just stared at us and then to my outstretched hand. She reached up and placed her hand in mine. Her skin felt hot to the touch but soft as satin. I tried to give her my best smile.
“You have blood in your teeth,” she said, reaching up and grabbing my second hand.
With the girls help, we pulled Hanna from the bunker.
They mauled her with hugs before she even got a foot from the hole. With a scared expression, she pushed many of them back.
“Wait,” she yelled. “Are you the attacking force? Have I been sending the fire at you?” Her eyes were wide and wild looking.
“Yeah, but you didn’t hit us,” Emma said, touching her friend's shoulder.
“Those fucking liars,” Hanna said and turned back to the pit, glaring at the three Crultars still frozen below.
Hanna screamed and thrust both hands toward the pit. In a second, the entire hole exploded in a fireball. The impact and heat had us all falling backward and scrambling away from it.
“Fuck them,” Hanna hissed and got closer to the flames.
The fire swirled up higher and then went right back into the bunker. We all stared at Hanna a moment before Emma grabbed her hand and tugged her away from the hole. We rushed away as the heat felt as if it was going to melt us.
“Holy shit!” Aubrey said, smiling as she leaned on me. “That was intense, Hanna.”
Hanna glared in the direction of the bunker. White-hot flames rose from the hole, and even a hundred feet away, I felt the heat from it.
“They lied to me,” Hanna said. “They told me that you guys were already dead and that I was the last one out here. They said you were coming to kill me, and they could protect me until I could be transported to this city of some kind. But you are alive!”
Hanna pulled in Emma for a hug as tears filled her green eyes. I hadn’t even noticed their color in the smoke, but she had green eyes.
The rest of the girls rushed in and hugged her as well. I stayed back as usual but then Hanna broke from the girls and rushed to me. Crying, she hugged me. I staggered back a half step and then embraced her. Her whole body felt hot to the touch, but after a second of contact, she just felt warm, like a blanket fresh from the dryer. I pulled her tight against me. At about five foot six, she didn’t feel as if she weighed more than ninety pounds, but her body didn’t feel boney.
“I didn’t catch your name,” Hanna whispered near my ear.
“Jack Sawyer.”
“Thank you,” Hanna said, letting me go. “Thank you all. You even have a female fish person I see. My name is Hanna.”
“Shaya,” she said, pointing at her chest.
“You’re beautiful. I haven’t seen a female one of you yet. Tits and all—damn girl, you might be the most exotic thing I’ve ever seen,” Hanna said.
“Are you okay?” Sherri asked. “Did they hurt you?”
Hanna laughed. “Hurt me? They were terrified of me. Kept me locked up until I started burning shit down, literally and figuratively. In fact, there’s a bunch more on this island I’m going to light up,” she said, gazing around the nearby forest.
Hanna started storming passed Emma. Emma grabbed her and stopped her.
“Jack’s taken care of them for now. They won’t harm any of us,” Emma said.
Hanna stopped and looked at the group, taking each of us in. “Who’s the mousy one over there?”
“Umm…my name is Eliza,” she said, looking meek.
“She helped us find you,” Benji said. “She’s amazing.”
“I bet she is,” Hanna said. “Sounds like you guys are in a hurry, so give me the condensed version of what the fuck is going on around here.”
Sherri spoke first and weaved a speedy version of the things we’d seen and done since arriving at her. As I listened, even I had questions, and I had been in all the events described.
Hanna, on the other hand, just nodded her head, frowned, and smiled as the story unfolded. In the end, she asked only one question.
“So the JS tattoo is for Jack Sawyer, I take it? That’s like your wedding ring out here?”
“Pretty much,” Benji said, admiring the letters on her hand.
“Okie Dokie,” Hanna said and eyed me.
There wasn’t much emotion in her gaze, but I felt as if she was trying to decode me, figure me out.
“Wow,” Emma said. “When they told me the deets, I felt as lost as a kitty in a corn patch.”
“Well, everything wants to kill us, and we have no idea where we are or why we’re here. We have cool powers. Some dude is trying to kill us. But we get to fuck Jack,” Hanna said and then shrugged.
I smiled at the synopsis. She had this blunt manner to her that would be offensive on most people, but she delivered it in such a
sweet way that it came off endearing. Yeah, we’re in a shit storm, so what?
“Well, not all of us get to fuck Jack,” Emma said. “But I’ve seen the goings-on in his head. So I have plenty to keep me busy on lonely nights here.”
“Okay, overshare much?” Hanna said. “Now, I guess the question is, how should we kill these frozen bastards? I could start a fire and see if it burns through them.” The gleam in her eye gave me pause.
“Easy, Carrie,” Benji said. “There’s no blood dumping from the ceiling.”
“Yeah, they’ve done worse. They’ve deceived me. I’ve done things. I’ve burned places, all because they said we were fighting this great evil washing over the lands. The same evil that killed all of you, but now I know they were the evil. They were fighting against you and working for this…king. They all deserve to die for what they did to me and you,” Hanna said with her hand on her hip and smoke coming from the tips of her fingers of her other hand.
“I got one better for you,” I said, heading for the main group of Crultar.
As we entered the clearing, I spotted a red bird flying low over the group of male fish-men. It spotted us, screeched, and flapped its wings, gaining altitude.
“Tough bird,” Cass said.
“If I had some more arrows…” Benji growled, looking at the fowl.
“It’s not the same bird,” I said, feeling this one.
“I’ll block it,” Carmen said, holding up her hand that held the stone.
In a couple of seconds, she let out a breath and lowered her hand.
“Is it still blocked?” I asked, reaching for the creature and feeling the change in it.
“I tied it off to it. That thing will always be blocked now,” Carmen said.
“And don’t think we don’t know about that stone. They left that part out of the story, but I know you have it, even if I can’t feel it,” Benji said.
Carmen held her hands over her chest and appeared offended by the accusation. I pondered the idea of tying off her ability to the bird and wondered if I could do something similar. It made sense because that is what the king had to be doing to control these creatures from afar.
“We’ll deal with the stone later,” I said. “Emma, you got anything left? I might need your help.” My head throbbed in pain, and I wasn’t sure if I had anything left.
Between no sleep, physical exertion, and now mental exhaustion, we were all spent, but if I could do one more thing, everything could change for us.
“Any reason to touch you,” Emma said and took my hand.
I smiled and squeezed her hand. It was easy to like Emma and not just for the obvious reason. She had such a great personality, as horrible as that usually sounded, but she did. Always willing to work hard for the group and that body…dear God, I spent far too much time wondering what she looked like naked. What she would be like in bed. I’d never been with a woman with such large breasts that I wanted to bury my face in them and worship every inch of her.
“Maybe you’ll find out soon,” Emma said and then whispered in my ear. “I like you too.”
Now it was time for my face to turn a shade of red. I kept forgetting she could hear my every thought. Sorry, Emma.
“Don’t apologize. I love your mind. I love the way you think about all of us. It’s intoxicating.”
“Whoa,” Hanna said, putting her head between ours. “You two make a hot couple. Why don’t you have one of them JS tats, Emma?”
“Just haven’t…you know,” Emma said, stuttering her words.
“I need to concentrate on this,” I said and closed my eyes.
It took me a minute, but I found their minds, all of them. I hadn’t noticed it before but now it stuck out like lipstick on a pig. Okay, maybe I’d spent too much time sharing thoughts with Emma.
She nudged me.
The Crultar were free from the king. Whatever I had broken had obliterated the kings hold on them. They were like a blank canvas now, and I began to paint a new picture for them, and when I finished, I thought of what Carmen had said about tying it off. I pushed everything I had, making Emma squeeze my hand to warn me I was pushing it too far. Then I snapped it off and felt everything wrap around the Crultar.
They all came to life with their new plans. Their blades clattered, and mutterings of conversation spread through them.
“Do I need to—” Hanna said.
All the girls but Emma were getting what weapons they had at the ready.
“Just wait,” I said.
Then they spotted us, or, more specifically, me. They pointed and cheered as they rushed toward us with big smiles on their faces. The first one, a large male with many necklaces and two blades, stopped about twenty feet in front of me and kneeled, lowering his head before me.
The rest of the six hundred and thirty-two Crultar did the same, until all of them were kneeling before me.
“Holy fuck,” Hanna said. “You have that much power?”
She gazed at me as if assessing me for the first time.
“How?” Shaya pleaded, pointing out to them.
“You helped me. I found the edge, and they were all bound the same way you were. I think it was just much easier for me because they are males.”
Shaya shook her head, her large eyes filling with tears. She touched her chest and stared at me.
“I will, soon,” I said.
“You want to clue us in on what this is, Jack?” Sherri said.
“This, my ladies, is our army.” I gestured to the Crultar, knowing they awaited my command.
Chapter 25
“Would the leader please step forward?” I asked, raising a hand.
The male that had arrived first stood and walked toward me. He had long necklaces reaching down to his stomach, with a few bands wrapped around his torso to keep them tight against his body. The square tattoo on his chest was partially covered by the jewelry but still visible.
He had to be well over six foot, taller than me and with a lot more muscle. He had twin blades at his hips that had engravings along the shiny steel. His long, thick, black strands of hair reached his dark green shoulders. His large eyes were nearly black, with bright white around the outside. His whole body had a sheen to it, as if wet with sweat, or he’d just stepped out of the ocean.
“I know him,” Hanna growled, getting close to me.
The male got a few feet from me and stopped. He kneeled again before me but kept his head up.
“Service?” he asked.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Du’Kupha,” he said.
Benji snickered. “Like in Mario Bros?”
He didn’t answer.
The red bird screeched from high above. We all looked up at the bird, high enough now that it could be mistaken for a regular bird. It flew toward the west—where the king was. I was sure the king would have a good understanding of what happened.
“Do you know where that bird is going?” I asked.
“Lyra’s bird.”
“Lyra?” I asked.
“Yes.”
This might not be so bad then. She wanted our help, and maybe this bird was sent to see if we lived through this.
“Do you know where the king is?”
“No, we are not permitted to go past great divide.”
“The divide is near here?”
“Yes.” He pointed out to the sea, in the direction the bird followed.
“Have you seen a large, steel boat, with the words Veronica on the back?” Eliza asked, jumping in.
“Good question. Have you?” I asked.
“No.”
“Have you seen any other of our kind out there? Perhaps a couple of women?”
“Yes.”
“Where?” I asked, getting closer to him.
“Two were taken. Past the divide.” He pointed again.
“Two!” Benji yelled. “That’s them, it has to be. Molly and Areo.”
“Where were they taken?” Sherri demanded.
Du’Kupha glanced at her and then to me.
“Where were they taken?” I asked, understanding that he was only going to answer questions from me.
“The Mulshar took her to the king.”
Shaya gasped and then covered her mouth.
“Who are the Mulshar?”
“They serve king on other side.”
“Great, more of them,” Aubrey said, looking as tired as I’d ever seen her.
All the girls looked beat, and I wasn’t feeling too great, either. My head throbbed, and all I wanted was all the girls safely with me. They deserved better than this.
“We’re tired and need to rest, but I must ask—what am I not asking you? What should I know about our situation here?”
Du’Kupha looked at the girls for a moment and then back to me. His large eyes blinked as he searched for his thoughts.
“We help take other two, like you, for Mulshar. Pink one helped; we attacked Shultar. They held them, protect them.”
“What?” Shaya said, rushing to Du’Kupha as she winced from the single word.
“Sorry, Princess Shaya. We under control. Had no choice.”
She stopped, tears building in her eyes. “Where?”
“Toba Island,” Du’Kupha said.
Shaya gasped and took a few steps back from him. She shook her head and then looked to me then Emma. Emma took her extended hand.
“I have to go… to see them,” Shaya said.
“You sure you’re up to it?” I asked.
“My body will make it,” Shaya said, and she and Emma winced in pain.
“Go then.”
She let go of Emma and bowed.
“Du’Kupha, send twenty of your best men with her and make sure nothing happens to her. She is special to me personally, and no one is to lay a hand on her. Do you understand?”
“It shall be done,” he said, and with a few hand motions, a group of Crultar stood and moved next to Shaya.
Shaya looked shocked at the gesture, and tears fell down her face. She moved to me and took my hands, then leaned close and kissed me on the mouth. Her soft lips met mine, and I kissed her back.
“I will return,” she whispered.
