I emerged from behind a tree about twenty yards from him and trained my Glock on him. In my peripheral vision, I saw Ella coming around on my left, and Purshia creeping forward on my right.
Stone Man sat down by the stream and breathed laboriously.
I aimed at his head. He didn’t have long, and I kind of felt bad for the brute. He’d killed two other players singlehandedly and defeated a monster spider from hell.
He definitely had my respect.
“Any last words?” I asked as the girls pointed their weapons at him.
He glanced over his shoulder at me and coughed. In a deep rattling voice, he said, “Fuck the grays.”
Then he smiled and fell over.
Attention, Warriors!
An opponent has died!
13 remain.
He rolled down the bank and into the river, and I reminded myself not to drink from it.
“Purshia, open the door. You ready, Ella?”
“Ready.” She raised her weapon.
Purshia pulled it open and dodged to the side, but there was no apex predator waiting inside, and no freaky space spiders. Instead we found six big metal boxes that looked like astronaut luggage.
I went inside first with my shield in front of me. Purshia was next, bright laser sword buzzing, and Ella kept watch. I prayed the supply boxes weren’t booby trapped and grabbed one by the handle.
“Shit, this is heavy.” It weighed about forty pounds. “They must have lead in this damn thing.”
I tried the others, and they were just as heavy.
“There must be a lot of supplies packed in here,” Purshia said, testing the weight of one of them.
“Or the grays are dicks and made the cases heavy on purpose.”
“Why would they do that?”
“To watch us struggle,” I suggested and hauled two of the crates to the door.
“You two should get these back to the cave as fast as possible,” I said. “Just take one each so you can keep a weapon handy. I’ll hang back and protect the rest of the load.”
“That’s what she said,” Ella chimed in with a grin.
“You can do better than that.”
She nodded.
They each took a case in their real hands and started off across the river. I covered them until they were out of sight, then found a suitable tree to climb that would give me the best cover while at the same time providing a good view of the area.
The minutes dragged on as I waited for them to return, and I began to worry about them. There hadn’t been any gunfire, but that didn’t mean something hadn’t happened to them.
Movement caught my attention, but it was only a bird.
There was a rustle in the bushes by the river, and I turned my gun in that direction. I expected to find the women walking back; instead, three apex predators emerged from the forest and crossed the river.
They stopped halfway across and turned their heads in unison.
My heart sank when Ella and Purshia emerged from the brush. They were walking right into the apex predators’ path.
“Shit!” I hissed and took aim at the closest one.
I fired once, hitting the creature in the side of the head and blowing its left eye out. The beast roared, and all of them turned toward me, but at least the women had been made aware of the danger.
I fired again at the injured predator, and all three of them surged across the river toward me. One of them leapt on the supply crate and ran to the tree I was in.
I’d seen this strategy before, and I held on for dear life.
The predator slammed into the tree like a psychotic monkey trying to dislodge a banana from a branch.
Me timbers were shivered, but I held tight.
After the first predator bounced off the tree, the other two took turns crashing into it.
Wham! Wham! Wham! They hit like a freight train. The tree creaked and protested, and then there was a loud snap, and it began to fall.
I leapt off before the tree hit the ground, but a branch caught my shirt and took me down with it. The predators stalked me as I struggled under the tree limbs. I was hurting, to be sure, but I didn’t think anything was broken. My only concern was getting the damn gun out before the hungry bastards tore me to pieces.
And where the hell were—
Purshia landed on the back of one of the predators and stabbed the laser sword into the top of its skull. The glowing blade protruded from the beast’s bottom jaw, and blood gushed out of it like water from a broken pipe.
I fired three times, but the last time I squeezed the trigger, it clicked. I was empty. I scrambled for the other clip as the predator reared back from the assault. I slapped the other clip in my gun. The predator had his eyes on me and was coming closer. Before I finished reloading, I heard laser gunfire, and a dozen rounds slammed into the monster’s head. It fell to the side as I climbed to my feet.
Congratulations, Warrior!
You have helped kill an Apex Predator.
Nanobot bonus: Adrenaline Boost
Duration: 10 minutes
Would you like to use NOW or Later
I tapped NOW, and my heart went into overdrive.
The last predator roared at Purshia when she landed on the ground beside Ella, and the blue-skinned babe aimed her nano gun at the beast.
“Keep your claws off my clan!” she screamed and shot the thing in the face about twenty-five times.
It dropped to the ground, dead, and I offered Ella a raised brow.
“Catch phrases… I like it.”
“We must go,” Purshia warned as she sniffed the air.
“Got it. Something stinky this way comes.” I was jittery from the adrenaline rush, and I marveled, not for the last time, at the nanobots in my brain. I grabbed two of the remaining cases, which now felt like they weighed half as much.
The girls each took a case, and together we hauled our loot back to the cave.
It was a son of a bitch dragging the cases up the hill, and we had traveled about a mile from the cave. By the time we got back I was drenched in sweat and my head was as light as a fairy’s boots. The nanobot bonus had worn off before we got to the cave, but I barely gave a thought to how I felt. We had six cases in front of us, and it might as well have been Christmas morning.
“Which one do we open first, ladies?” I asked, rubbing my hands together eagerly.
Purshia chose one of the crates she had carried back to the cave. I made sure Ella was ready with her nano gun, knelt in front of it, and thumbed the glowing pads on each side of the panel. They turned green, there was a clicking sound. I cautiously lifted the lid, but nothing leapt out at my face.
Inside were a bunch of packets made out of something resembling cellophane. I snatched one up and sniffed it, but I didn’t smell anything. The packages looked like military MREs. The nanobots in my brain must have translated the text on them; it read simply protein meal.
“It’s food,” I said and dumped the crate on the floor. “Looks like thirty packets or so.”
“Should we eat now or open the other crates?” Ella asked.
“Let’s open the others first,” I said. “I don’t want any surprises while I’m eating for the first time in two days.”
Purshia grabbed another crate and settled it between her legs. “I’m opening this one now.”
“Wait!”
She popped open the lid.
I had already been reaching for her, and the case was between me and her, so when a crazy little lizard creature jumped out, my nano hand snapped out and snatched it from the air.
“By the stars!” Purshia said and clutched her chest.
I put the lizard monster back in the case and shoved it aside.
“You’ve got to be more careful,” Ella told her and shook her head.
“Sorry.” Purshia winced.
“I’ll open the rest of the cases,” I told her.
Ella covered me, and I popped the third one. It had no monsters in it,
only more supplies. Purshia rummaged through them and offered guesses at to what they were.
She purred deep in her throat and handed me a small device. “We’ve got a fire starter, and here’s a big warm blanket. Water containers. A cook pot. That will be useful for you two. And look, a backpack.”
“What are those?” I pointed at four black balls at the bottom of the case.
She picked one up and peered at it closely. Then a smile spread across her face. “These are proximity sensors.”
“Sweet. That’ll help us sleep a little better.”
“You are always talking about sleep,” Ella noted. “But what about the things people do before they sleep?”
“That again, huh?” I said with a laugh.
“You said once we had a shelter and food, you would let me repay my debt.”
“Dinner first, dessert later.” I opened the fifth case, and inside we found a big med kit. “This is a hell of a score so far.”
The sixth case contained another lizard monster, but I quickly closed it before it got out. I hefted that case and grabbed the other one containing a monster.
“I’m going to put these things around the perimeter for some unlucky bastard to open. Then I’m going to set up the sensors and gather firewood. In the meantime, Ella, you should take care of your wounds.”
“What do you want me to do?” Purshia asked.
“Make a fire pit and fill the cookpot with clean water from the spring. I shouldn’t be long.”
I put the perimeter sensors in the backpack and shouldered it, planning to fill it with wood on the way back. The cases were still heavy as hell, but the promise of food gave me strength.
Outside, the sun was rising in what I considered the east. This was a good time to enable Sense Danger, but I held off using it. I wouldn’t be out long, and I had a good view of the immediate area.
I put one of the crates on a rock about a hundred feet away from the cave entrance, then I moved to the other side and dropped the last one. I put a perimeter sensor on each side of the entrance. I didn’t know how to enable them, but there was a glowing thumb pad on each of them, so I pressed one to see what would happen.
Congratulations, Warrior!
You have paired with a Perimeter Sensor.
Tap the icon to see through the eye of the sensor.
Tap again to put it at the top of your vision.
To shut down, press the pad for three seconds.
I tapped the new small black ball icon on my interface, and instantly my vision switched from my eyes to the lens of the sensor in my hand. I was staring at my own face through a fishbowl lens, and the sensation was weird as hell.
Another tap and I was seeing normally, and the square feed became thumbnail-sized and settled high up in my field of view near my brow. Both icons seemed to move with my head rather than my eyes, so they weren’t blocking everything I looked at.
I enabled the other sensors and positioned them so I could see north, south, east, and west. I now had four small thumbnail screens at the top of my vision, and I felt a hell of a lot more secure.
After I had gathered as much wood as I could carry, I went back to the cave.
It was time to eat something.
“Welcome home, Harry!” Purshia said giddily when I came in.
She was sitting next to Ella on the big blanket as the blue-skinned beauty put away the first aid supplies. It looked like Purshia had stitched her up good.
Purshia showed me how to use the fire starter, which was basically a small blowtorch twice the size of a Zippo. It looked like a crack lighter from space, and it worked like a charm. Soon a fire was crackling, and the water in the cookpot was boiling. We slipped three of the food packs into the water and waited until they looked like they were going to explode.
They were surprisingly cool to the touch when we took them out, and I eagerly tore mine open. When I did, steam rolled out. Inside was a chunky concoction that looked like beef stew but without any recognizable ingredients. When I touched the brown stuff, the texture was like that of a chewed up Slim Jim in gravy.
It smelled good though; faintly beefy, with a pungent, earthy undertone.
“I’m soooo hungry,” said Ella as the pinched a bit of the food out of her packet and popped it in her mouth.
I tried some of mine. It tasted like bland potted meat. Super salty, sandy texture, meaty taste. But it was nice and moist and warm.
We ate in silence as three more packets warmed up. Purshia discovered the concoction was nothing but powder if the packets weren’t boiled, so she opted to wait until hers was cold before she ate.
Ella had filled the water container while I was out, and we passed it around until it was gone. When my second packet was history, I leaned back against one of the heavy crates and let out a contented sigh.
“If I just had an ice cold IPA in my hand right now, I would be the happiest man on Earth.”
“You mean you’d be the happiest Earthman in this space arena,” said Purshia.
“Don’t remind me.” I groaned as I rested my eyes.
“Now that we have fire, water, shelter, and food,” said Ella. “Will you ravish me?”
“Ravish you? Before you said that you wanted to ‘repay’ me, which implies willingness.”
“Oh, I am willing… willing to be ravished.”
“That’s what she said,” Purshia put in with a cute little scrunched-nosed laugh.
“Yes, she did,” said Ella. She trailed a metallic finger over the curve of her left breast.
“Listen, Ella. I’ve never said no to a beautiful woman that I click with, but you don’t have to throw yourself at me just because I saved your life.”
“On my planet—”
“This isn’t your planet,” I reminded her. “I don’t want to make love to a woman who is only doing it to fulfill some social obligation, no matter how deeply rooted her belief that she must do it.”
“You think too much, Harry Warwick.” Ella stood and gave me a look that made me feel like I was dessert.
Sitting cross-legged nearby, Purshia clapped happily. “Oh, this will be fun to watch!”
Ella peeled off her top. Her large cone-shaped breasts broke free of the material and dropped and jiggled into their natural positions. The half dollar-sized areolas were puffy and a darker blue then her skin. She had big nipples that put a big smile on my face.
My cock swelled, which wouldn’t have been a big deal, but unfortunately I’d been born with a rather large instrument. Rock hard, it was ten inches long and thick as a hammer handle, and although that might sound great, it was kind of a pain in the ass.
For one thing, it was too big to hide in certain clothes. And for another, most women couldn’t handle it, and that meant I could never really grind, which, I had been told by one of my more experienced buddies, was what really got women off.
“Come sit with me, Harry!” Purshia patted the spot next to her. “The blanket is more comfortable.”
Ella nodded and smiled and offered Purshia a furtive glance.
“What are you two up to?” I asked as I took Ella’s hand.
She led me over to sit beside Purshia on the blanket, and the cat woman purred and snuggled up to me. I adjusted myself so my boner had room to grow, and Ella returned to her striptease.
A moment later her bottoms landed on my head.
Ella stood before us naked, gyrating her hips and moving like liquid as she performed a sensuous, alien dance. My gaze traveled over her body, and as she turned, I caught a glimpse of her blue slit. I saw her swollen pussy lips clear as day, and I grinned at the tuft of short blue hair on her mound.
She turned and bent over in front of us, but her tail moved between her legs and covered her ass and camel toe. Her hips moved alluringly as she slowly sashayed toward me.
Purshia was purring like an engine, and her big eyes were wide with intrigue.
“Isn’t she so pretty?” she said with a sigh.
“S
he is, and so are you.”
She turned her big eyes my way, and they sparkled with admiration and gratitude.
I turned back to Ella, who was now on her knees between my outstretched legs. She leaned in close. Her breasts swayed, and she pressed a nipple against my lips.
I bit it gently, and she shuddered with passion.
She moved her fingers through my hair and moaned as I sucked on her nipples like they were a delicacy. Then she pushed my head back, stared intensely into my eyes, and kissed me long and hard. Her tongue tasted like wine, and her hair smelled like rain and honey.
Her eyes lit up, and she grinned devilishly when she eyed my girth. “Look what I found.” She turned to Purshia, whose eyes were glued to the bulge in my pants as well.
My dick had always been a great party favor in college, but requests from everyone to do the helicopter gets old when you’re just trying to pick up a girl.
“Is it real?” Purshia poked it with a finger.
“Ouch.”
“Oh, I’m sorry!” She pulled back, then saw I was teasing and playfully slapped my shoulder.
“Maybe I should kiss it.” Ella bit the corner of her lip.
She unbuckled my belt, and Purshia licked her lips in anticipation of the big reveal. Ella pulled down the zipper and opened the front of my pants, which exposed four inches of cock.
I lifted my ass, and she peeled my pants down. My dick was pressed against my underwear like a loaded spring, and once Ella got those down, it sprang into view and slapped her in the chin.
She laughed uproariously and stared at it with delight.
“By the triple moons,” Purshia said and gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like it on a Felion man.”
“Nor I,” said Ella. She wrapped her hands around the base and gave it a squeeze. “On any man.”
“You two aren’t very shy, are you?”
She stroked me leisurely. “We might all die in an hour, and I want to have a little fun before I go to the great beyond.”
Warwick: Galactic Arena Page 6
