Beth had grown up in a military family, as did most kids these days. Most of the world had been at war with itself for almost 13 years. The parts of the world that wasn’t either under water or bombed to shit, that is.
Beth had been lucky being born in the relative safety of Cuba to the Commander and his wife, a Captain, in a top secret US military installation. What came to be known as “The War” broke out 3 years after Beth’s birth, in 2122.
The entirety of Cuba had been evacuated by the UN after the radioactive spill in 2072. Nobody officially went to Cuba anymore. What came to be known as Fort Purgatory was established roughly 5 years after the incident by the US Government to serve as an elite training ground for the next generation of soldiers, as well serving as a secret bunker for the Leaders of the US government in the event of an emergency.
When The War broke out, 17 countries, including all of the countries belonging to the United Kingdom, Japan, Iraq, Iran and several US states were reduced to smoking rubble within 6 months.
The Leaders of the US Government became residents in Fort Purgatory a month after The War started, and are to this day.
Fort Purgatory and the entirety of Cuba was unaffected by The War, being declared a no-man’s-land and uninhabitable since the incident. The US government ensured that the UN never attempted to change this status before The War broke out. After War was declared, no one really cared enough to have closer look at the island.
Fort Purgatory was home to the most advanced military technology and the most grueling and exclusive training camp in the world, far away and hidden from the prying eyes of the enemies of the US, as well as Her own citizens.
Beth had been born and had grown up in the concealed underground “fort”. She saw the light of day for the first time when she turned 7.
Her education, which formally started when she turned four, started with literacy, maths, science and daily classes in hand to hand combat. She was one of seven girls in a “class” of 28 children her age. As the children matured, they were introduced to engineering, medical aid and fundamentals of construction. The children’s official weapons training started when they turned 9, starting with staves, long knives, pistols and finally reaching assault rifles by the age of 12. All of the children were required to have mastered all of the standard issue weapons by the age of 14. The children that didn’t make the cut were either enrolled for other military professions such as piloting, engineering or, in extreme cases of failure, reduced to the administrative or maintenance staff of the fort.
Only children with exceptional abilities, intelligence and skills were accepted to proceed, in their 14th year of age, with training for the elite covert ground force simply known as The Xs. The Xs were the only ones ever allowed to leave the fort’s compound, not to mention the island, a measure to ensure that only the most trusted individuals come into contact with the outside world. The secrecy of the installation was the paramount concern of the fort’s command.
Beth’s excellent genes, coupled with extremely demanding parents, ensured that she was ranked first in every single class and course during her education. No less could be accepted or tolerated from the fort Commander’s child.
By the end of Beth’s 13th year all of the children or “recruits” deemed to be unsuited to enter the X program had been transferred to different departments in the installation with the exception of one death. The death of a recruit, although rare, was not mourned, but celebrated by the institution as a death of a “war hero”. Beth found this tradition strange, especially considering that the “hero”, a 10 year old Molly Anderson, died as a result of suicide. It was rumoured that Molly hanged herself because she had lost her knife during outdoor training.
***
Beth sat with the other 9 X recruits in Commander Moore’s briefing room. Today is to be the day they received their briefing for their X Assessment Assignment, or XAA for short (pronounced ‘ZA’).
There was a general buzz of excitement in the room, low murmurs of challenge and bragging. Beth was whispering with the rest of them, the 10 recruits being closer than siblings. They were a Unit.
“I bet all of you a month’s soap rations that I’ll do the best in the XAA” whispered recruit Mills, puffing up his chest slightly with pride. Recruit Jones, a tall dark skinned girl, snorted mockingly at him, whispering “You don’t even know what the XAA is and you’re already confident you’ll beat us all”, ending her derision with another snort, and then a mocking grin. Mills smiled back at her with calm self assurance.
“Beth,” whispered recruit O’Mally, a handsome dark haired boy conspiringly, “hasn’t your father let anything slip about the XAA over dinner or something? Anything that could help us prepare for what lies ahead?”.
Beth shook her head slightly and was about to respond when her father, abruptly marched into the room. The recruits all immediately snapped to attention, transitioning from standing huddled together whispering to a clean line of soldiers in less than a heartbeat.
Commander Moore slowly paced the assembled recruits, not looking at anyone directly, more like an occasional glance that felt like he was assessing the very fabric of one’s soul. He reached the end of the row of recruits, about-faced, pacing back and stopping directly in front of recruit O’Mally.
“I can assure you, recruit, that I have not let anything ‘slip'”, the last word being said with an almost smile, before continuing “I assure you recruit Moore knows as little of the X Assessment Assignment as the rest of you, which I trust is absolutely nothing.”, this time actually smiling, clearly amused by the general panic in O’Mally’s eyes. Commander Moore stared at the unfortunate recruit a moment longer.
He turned around to stand behind his briefing podium, a few feet away from the line of recruits. “At ease recruits. As you all know, you are about to embark on your XAA, upon completion of which you will be formally welcomed into the ranks of the Xs. You may all blame recruit Mills for the assessment being held so late in the year, seeing as we all had to wait for him to turn 18 before we could continue”. Recruit Mills had the decency to blush when everyone looked at him with mock scolding expressions.
“We call the bunch of you ‘recruits’ as a collective term, but be assured that you have all met the standards set to you by this installation, and some of you have been able to so far exceed our expectations by such a large extent that the General himself has looked at your files in admiration”. The Commander was looking down at his watch at this, as if to indicate that this was a regular occurrence, but Beth allowed herself a tiny smile of self-congratulations. She knew he was referring to her and one other recruit, who her mother refused to name but a few days prior.
“Be that as it may, be warned”, his voice suddenly serious, instantly snapping the recruits back to attention, “the XAA is the most grueling and dangerous assignment that you have faced. Many recruits have died in the past, and more still came back not quite the same. Every single skill will be tested, and we expect every single one of your unit to complete it. You are by far the unit with the most potential I have had the pleasure to train”. The recruits all puffed their chests up slightly at the praise.
“You are all too assemble directly following this briefing in the north motor yard. You may speak to no one and take nothing. You are allowed 10 minutes to go to your personal quarters and stow any non-regulation items. When you reach the motor yard you will be wearing your standard issue fatigues, boots and dog tags. The girls and our recruit Watts”, raising a curious eyebrow at the long haired boy, “may take one hair band and two plastic bobby pins. Nothing else.”
He stared at the recruits for an awkward moment, a sentimental shine in his eyes before saying “dismissed” just louder than a whisper.
Ten minutes later found the recruits in the North Motor Yard, strangely bereft of any vehicles. The recruits stood silently, all considering the Commander’s strange look, feeling that it may have underlined just how dangerous this assignment just may be.
The motor yard was gloomy and stuffy, possessing no windows. It did however possess one of the only 3 exits from the Fort. The heavy steel door suddenly started sliding into the floor, illuminating the yard with brilliant sunlight and leaving all of the recruits squinting into the unexpected light, trying to see what was going on outside.
A stern female voice announced over the motor yard’s internal PA system: “Each recruit will be called by name. When your name is called, exit the door and enter the rear left door of the vehicle waiting outside. Do not hesitate, do not look around, do not waste time”.
The recruits glanced at each other nervously.
“So we are to be separated? I thought this would be an assignment to test as as a unit?”, recruit Wills whispered with an edge of panic in his voice, no sign of his earlier enthusiasm evident.
“It makes sense,” whispered recruit Hickey, a short, attractive girl back at him, “Xs operate alone as often as in a unit. The XAA is probably to test our skill in completing a task independently”.
The PA system crackled for a moment, silencing any further conversation and then announced: “Recruit Bennett”. Recruit Bennett swallowed audibly in the silence, glanced at his unit and promptly marched out of the door into the blinding light. The recruits were called alphabetically, one by one, at intervals of about 5 minutes, until only Beth, recruit O’Mally, recruit Wills and recruit Watts was left.
When recruit O’Mally was called he looked at Beth for a moment with a strange expression, seeming to be on the verge of saying something before shaking his head just visibly and then departing. Beth frowned slightly at this.
A minute or so, knowing that she was next, Beth started breathing faster, as if having been running. Her name was called and she departed from the last two recruits without a word. She walked into the sunlight and took half a moment to have her eyes adjust to the light. In front of her stood strange 4 wheeled vehicle. It was roughly the same size as the humvees that normally transported them to the further corners of the fort’s compound. This vehicle however had pitch black tinted windows and was heavily camouflaged. Clearly a vehicle that had to move around stealthily outside of the compound. The left rear door stood open and Beth climbed in with a tiny backward glance.
The door closed behind Beth a moment after she got in and she was surprised to see that the front half of the vehicle was completely sealed off from her. She also noticed that her windows were in fact not tinted but were blacked out. She could not see through them at all. The vehicle was dark inside, only two small lights providing illumination from the ceiling. The vehicle started moving less than 10 seconds after the door being closed.
The sensation felt wrong as Beth could hear basically nothing and see less. She noticed a tablet on the seat next to her and she started reading the instructions.
“Greetings Recruit
Welcome to your X Assessment Assignment. Your orders are simple:
Proceed to the point indicated on your map, which will be made available to you upon reaching your infiltration point, and destroy the target. The time in which you may complete your Assessment is two weeks, starting the moment the infiltration point is reached.
You will be extracted once your target is destroyed.
Inside your gear is an emergency device. Once activated, for whichever reason, you will be extracted. Activating the device automatically ends your assignment, the consequences of which is the same as failing to destroy your target in the allotted time.
Failing to complete your objective will result in failure of your X Assessment Assignment and transfer to a suitable military department. When the allotted time is up your emergency beacon will be automatically activated and you, or your corpse if found, will be retrieved.
Good luck and Godspeed”
Beth read the paragraph a second time and swallowed loudly. “Just what am I about to face?” she asked the vehicle’s interior.
***
“Not too much longer” she whispered to herself in an attempt to soothe her nerves.
She wasn’t exactly correct in her assessment of the remaining distance. More than an hour of bumpy and painful jostling followed before the vehicle suddenly stopped. A small speaker somewhere in the ceiling stated in a clearly recorded voice “You have reached your infiltration point recruit. Leave the vehicle and get your gear from the trunk. This vehicle will stay in this location for several hours before leaving. Good luck”. A moment later the door clicked and opened wide, leaving Beth once again squinting against the bright sunlight.
Beth got out of the vehicle and started surveying her surroundings. The vehicle had stopped in a depression between a number of hills, each being at least a mile away. She could see nothing but sloping terrain in all directions. She sighed and knew she’d have to figure out where she was when she climbed one of the hills. She walked to the back of the vehicle and collected the single pack. She thought about going over her gear first but reconsidered, deciding to do so when she reached the top of the hill, wasting as little time as possible. She pulled out the map and saw that her target, marked with a red circle, was in the eastern part of the island. She knew that the fort was in the western side of the island, which inevitably meant that she would be traveling East. She glimpsed at the sun, judged that it was still before noon and started hiking with the sun in her face towards the Eastern hill before snapping a quick salute to the unseen driver of her vehicle.
Beth reached the top of the hill, higher and steeper than she had initially judged, and sat down in the shade of a small tree. She checked her pack and discovered that her gear consisted of the map, two canteens of water, a small pack of trail rations, a wide brimmed hat, a knife, a small first aid kit, a metal pot, a spoon, a flint and what she took to be the emergency device. She knew she would rather die than active the device. She couldn’t shame her parents by forfeiting. She noted that there were no explosives and therefore she would have to improvise once she found out what her target was.
Beth was thankful for the hat. Her fair skin was not very fond of the sun, as evidenced as by the light dusting of freckles on her nose and cheeks. She quickly tied up her long, shoulder blades length red hair into a ponytail and secured it under her hat. She stood up and surveyed her surroundings, quickly learning her general location and the direction of her target. The sun was shining brightly and warmly. She undid the bottom half of her fatigue shirt and tied the loose lapels around her waist with a loose knot, exposing her flat stomach to the gentle breeze. She gently ran her hand over her stomach, secretly pleased with its physical attractiveness. A lifetime of exercise had left her with an athletic body, flat stomach and strong legs. She was not very tall but was fit and strong.
Beth took off her boots and socks, allowing her feet to cool off from the surprisingly taxing climb and also allowing her socks to dry out in the sun on a nearby rock. She would not allow herself to dehydrate. She looked at her toes and smiled to herself. Painting her toenails bright pink was the only overly feminine pleasure she allowed herself.
She stuck her legs straight out in front of her and surveyed her map again. She was not sure exactly where she was but she was sure of the general direction of her target. She knew that the XAA wouldn’t be a race against time and therefore she was assured that she would not have to walk as fast as possible. She allowed herself five more minutes of rest before setting off again.
***
Dusk found Beth a few miles east of her infiltration point in a lightly wooded region. She had been searching for a water source since setting off, knowing that water would always be the most important concern. Her first canteen was half empty already. She was also looking for a sheltered spot to make camp for the night. She walked a few minutes longer when she started hearing what sounded like flowing water. She turned in the direction and found the stream. It was not wide or deep but the water was clear. The water was also flowing East. She knew that it would not be irradiated as the radiation spill was on the eastern edge of the island.
She glanced at the sky and knew that she had only a few minutes of sunlight left. She quickly found a sheltered spot, a large jutting rock next to a thick stand of trees. “This should shelter me from the wind” she thought to herself. She took off her pack and immediately started gathering wood for a fire. It wasn’t cold enough to need the heat but the light would be a comfort, especially to someone who had never been alone outside for more than a few hours.
With the small fire burning merrily she walked to the stream to refill her canteen and pot. She knelt next to the stream, the canteen in one hand, resting her other hand on what she took to be a rock right next to the water for support. The moment she touched the object she knew that the failing light had deceived her eyes, but it was too late, her momentum carrying her hand downward and crushing the massive mushroom. The mushroom was hollow except for its dust-like spores, which exploded all around her, going into her mouth and eyes. At least she was quick enough to exhale immediately and did not breath any of it in.
She immediately threw herself into the stream, washing her eyes and mouth. The water was freezing but she did not care. The spores could kill her for all she knew. She emerged from the water several minutes later, fairly certain that she was safe. She quickly refilled her canteen and the pot a few yards upstream from the devious mushroom and headed back to camp. She briskly climbed the short incline to her camp and put down her the pot and canteen.
She stood back up and suddenly felt the world spin. She stood still for a moment, wondering if she had breathed in any of the spores after all. Another wave of dizziness hit her suddenly and she lurched awkwardly and tried to grab onto a nearby branch. She felt a blinding sting in her right hand and belatedly realised that the branch was covered in small sharp thorns. She let go of the branch instinctively and the last thing she saw was the ground rushing up at her at an alarming rate.
Beth awoke several hours later, her head feeling numb and empty, her hand feeling like it was on fire, pulsing strongly with every heartbeat. She glanced at the sky and saw that the sun had long since set and the sky was overcast. She was about to rise when she heard a stealthy shuffling sound a few feet behind her. She held her breath, not knowing whether any dangerous animals were left In this side of the island. She slowly rolled onto her back to see what she was hearing. Her fire had burned very low and she could just make out a humanoid shape looking through her pack.
She was about to protest, thinking that another recruit or someone from the fort was pilfering her supplies when the clouds suddenly parted, allowing some moonlight into her small clearing. The shape looking through her pack looked human at first glance. Seemingly shirtless, long brown hair and arms. When she looked closer, where it’s torso should have ended and it’s buttocks and legs should have started, seemed to be a giant protrusion falling all the way to the ground. She looked closer and realised that the “protrusion” was in fact a giant coiled tail upon which the thing was “resting”.
Beth gasped and, far quicker than what she would have possible, the thing spun around to regard her. The thing carefully started approaching Beth, its arms held out in front of him, palms upturned. Beth knew that she had to be hallucinating and lost consciousness again.
She opened her eyes and saw the ground a few feet below her moving as if she was looking down at the ground from the inside of a car. She closed her eyes again, not comprehending what was happening and being sure that she would awake safe in her bed.
She awoke again, this time lying on something soft. She smiled to herself, believing that she was right about dreaming the whole thing. She lazily opened her eyes and saw a bright fire a few feet from her. She relaxed a bit and closed her eyes again. “Wait!” her mind screamed at her suddenly, “Why is there a fire in my bedroom? Or why do I have a bed in my camp?”.
She opened her eyes fully and sat upright. She was not outdoors and neither was she in her bedroom. She was clearly inside some sort of structure on top of a very old mattress and she got up onto shaky legs. The fire was in what looked like an oil drum, sawn in half down the length and allowed to lay in its side.
She looked down at her hand and saw that it was bandaged with what looked to be a strip of the cloth of her fatigues. She did not remember coming here or bandaging herself. “How much of those spores did I breath in?” she asked aloud to no one.
She heard a sound and suddenly the door in the far wall opened. She saw it again, this time in far more light. She backed away, pressing her back against the wall, terrified.
It approached her slowly and near silently. The fire illuminated it far better than before. She saw the face of a man, his skin tone reminding her of Recruit Mills who had Latino origins. The face was not unattractive. It had the upper body of a man, shirtless and brown from the sun. Well muscled and defined. She could clearly see that it’s bottom half was that of what looked to be a massive snake. He was using his giant snake like body to move towards her slowly. She immediately thought of the mythical Medusa, a gorgon from the myths. She did not know how it had found her again or what he was going to do to her.
She pressed her back against the wall even more, feeling a scream building in her throat. He seemed to have noticed this and held up his hands in an unthreatening gesture. He came forward still. She glanced around erratically but could find her knife nowhere. She had instantly forgotten all of her training and wanted nothing other than to flee. He was right between her and the door and the windows were securely barricaded with wooden planks.
“Stay away! Don’t come any closer! I’m more dangerous than I look!” she shouted hysterically. He ceased his approach, a look of utter confusion and concentration on his features. His mouth moved slightly, mouthing unspoken words.
“Po… Por.. Por favor… Por favor calmate” he finally uttered, a questioning expression on his face. Beth realised that he was speaking Spanish, having been educated in the basics of the most widely used languages.
“I said stay back. Don’t come any closer” she said loudly in Spanish, her voice not being nearly as strong as she wanted it to be. She was breathing ruggedly, her legs were numb and her brain could not comprehend anything she saw. She felt like crying for her father. “Please.”, she pleaded to the creature in a voice easily to be mistakenly identified as originating from a 5 year old, “Please don’t hurt me”.
“Please, be calm” he repeated and after a few moments “I won’t harm you”. His voice was unsure and unsteady, as if he had forgotten how to speak. He held up his hands again in a sign of peace and proceeded to approach her again. Beth had calmed down slightly but was still pressed up against the wall. He stopped about two feet away from her, not looking threatening at all. He held out his one hand, palm upwards, as if asking for something and with his other hand pointed to Beth’s injured hand.
Beth looked back at the creature and only then realised how tall he stood, or sat, or whatever he was doing on his coiled snake body. He stood more than 7 feet high, his head just barely clearing the ceiling. He had wide shoulders and well muscled arms. Beth could sense the potential of great strength in his body and decided against initiating any violence. She was not sure she could win anyway. She hesitantly raised her hand from her side and lightly put it into his upturned palm. She was terrified and peculiarly intrigued at the same time. She decided that complying would be safer, as she might inadvertently set the creature off by refusing. His hand was huge and far warmer than she had expected. He gently removed the wrapping and she noticed strange leaves underneath. He gently took off the large leaves and wiped away the sap, inspecting her palm.
“Poison thorns” he explained simply, pointing at the tiny wounds. “Mushroom just makes you sleep, thorns kill” he explained with a great amount of stuttering. “Thank you” was all that Beth could manage. He reached for a bowl on a nearby table and scooped some fresh leaves onto her palm before wrapping her hand in the fabric again. She was amazed at the gentleness of his massive hands. He looked up at her with a half smile on his face. She looked up into his face and saw the kindness in his eyes as he smiled. For a moment she forgot that this was not a man she was looking at and she felt her face turning red with embarrassment.
His facial features were that of a European; round, beautifully blue eyes and full lips. He had a strong jaw and perfectly straight teeth. She felt a strange turn in her stomach. His top half was decidedly human, and quite attractively so, but she was immediately reminded of his bottom half the moment she looked down in embarrassment. She instinctively tried to back away from the creature; unsuccessfully. She was already backed up against a wall, literally, and she had nowhere to move without making any major movements.
Her being unarmed, alone and without even an inkling of what type of creature she was facing, every instinct, honed after a lifetime of intense training, was screaming to her to run, to scream, to fight if need be. She could not do any of these things. Her legs would not move, apart from the involuntary trembling that seemed to have taken up permanent residence there. She could not make a fist, and she was sure that she would not be able to manage more than a whisper should she attempt to call for help, much help that would have been even if she could manage it. She looked back up at the creature’s face, attempting a calm smile, failing miserably, and tried to gently withdraw her hand from the creature’s palm.
He closed his hand around hers seemingly at the same moment as she started to move hers. Her arm twitched in alarm, but her hand did not move as much as a hair’s breadth. His grip was firm; strong. Incredibly strong. The fact that he was so strong without any visible effort only increased Beth’s impending emotional outbreak. She decided to attempt a change tact.
Taking a few deep breath to calm herself, she softly said “Thank you sir. I owe you my life, if what you said about those thorns is true.”. She attempted a grateful smile at the creature before continuing “I feel a lot better now, so if you would let me get passed you I won’t bother you anymore.”. She considered for a moment before hastily adding “I promise I won’t tell anyone about you”.
He smiled down at her, his deep blue eyes penetrating hers for several moments. Beth kept his eye contact, intent on not glancing away and possibly admitting weakness. The longer she stared into his eyes, the more calm she felt. The trembling in her legs began to lessen the longer she stared. She no longer felt the persistent burn of her hand. Her thoughts were starting to blur, her head feeling light. The way someone would feel after laughing with pure joy after several seconds. The creature’s smile deepened.
“Wha- what are you doing?” Beth stammered in a half conscious voice. “What are you doing to me?”.
“I am calming you” he said, his words coming through clearer than before. He smiled again, and there was not a trace of malice in his gaze.
Beth considered his answer for a moment and realised that she no longer felt afraid. When she really thought about it, she COULD still think, clearly, but the calmness that had descended on her made it feel unnecessary to think. The creature slowly lifted his hand free hand towards Beth’s face. Beth calmly considered attempting to withdraw again, but decided against it. ‘What would be the point?’ she asked herself. ‘He is far stronger than I am, and if he wanted to hurt me, he could have done so ages ago’. His hand reached her face and he surprised her by gently brushing a few strands of red hair away from her eye and putting it behind her right ear.
The unexpected warmth of his hand against her ear and cheek, coupled with his strange, yet comforting aroma, decidedly earthy, sent a strong shiver down Beth’s back and throughout her entire body. There was something… something IN that odour that brought a feeling of comfort over Beth that she had never felt before. She idly considered it for a moment and decided that it must be the fresh, grassy, decidedly “naturish” smell of him, a smell she only experienced on rare occasions, that had the effect on her.
Evidently satisfied with the amount that Beth had calmed down, the creature released his firm grip on Beth’s hand. He gently brushed his hand against the bottom of Beth’s hand, making its way ever so slowly against the exposed skin of her lower arm. He closed his eyes and Beth noticed an expression of sadness and pain in his face. A moment later, and it was gone.
The creature returned his gaze to Beth’s face, his other hand tracing a gentle path around Beth’s ear, and down the side of his neck. It was Beth’s turn to close her eyes, her entire body shuddering again under his touch. She could feel her body reacting to the creature’s ministrations: her whole body was covered with goose flesh, her nipples rock hard against the fabric of her clothing, and she felt a decidedly clear tingling in her crotch.
She scolded herself, reeling from the thought of being aroused by her current situation. ‘He’s not even completely human! Get a grip on yourself!” she thought to herself, before opening her eyes. She hadn’t meant to, but her gaze fell directly back into the eyes of the creature. Her conviction to “snap out of this madness” lasted all of a few heartbeats before the creature’s influence took over again.
“What’s the harm in it?” a dreamy voice sounded in her head. “He’s not going to hurt you! Besides, look at him!” she thought to herself. The creature’s hand passed over a sensitive spot on the back of Beth’s neck, and her eyes closed again. Her legs trembled again, this time in a new way. Her breathing hastened and she had a very strong suspicioun that her crotch had gotten damp.
She was not unused to the sensation of arousal. She usually felt this way when she was watching recruit O’Mally exercising without a shirt. She had no doubt that this was arousal, but this time there was no inner voice to attempt to reason with her. She opened her eyes again, her mouth slightly ajar, cheeks flushed and breathing deeply. She glanced down the creature’s torso and saw the muscle beneath the browned skin. She swallowed loudly and felt her heart beating in her ears.
She looked back up the creature and saw the gentless gone from his face. His smile remained but his eyes had a cast of hunger. He was loudly inhaling through his nose, as if he could smell her arousal. He moved closer to her with slow determination in his eyes. “I will not harm you” he almost whispered with the same hungry look in his eyes. Beth was afraid and excited at the same time. She breathed in and smelt his body. It smelt of fresh grass, the musty smell of leaves and… Something else. She had never felt so aroused in her life, her cheeks fully flushed and her hands were trembling, her injured but healed hand now resting on the creature’s upper arm.
He stopped, his torso about an inch from hers. She was looking up at his face and could clearly feel the heat emanating from his naked skin. He pulled her gently away from the wall and she followed, entranced. He moved with her, his torso not touching hers but not moving further away either. She saw his face and torso being lowered to about her eye level and realised that he had uncoiled his tail and was slowly wrapping it around her calves and thighs. She panicked for a moment, and then it was gone.
His tail was scaly and cool, but was not restricting her in a threatening manner. She moved closer to him, against her better judgment, her whole body aflame with internal heat. Her torso was pressed up against his and the heat from his skin almost burned her through her shirt. He softly touched his lips to hers. She breathed in his breath and found the aroma intoxicating. A small sigh escaped her lips, and she put her hand on his shoulder as she melded her lips with his.
She had no idea what she was doing, or why. She was terrified and giddy and lightheaded with arousal. Her mind screamed at her that she was in danger and that she should flee. Her body overruled her mind and all rational thoughts disappeared when she put her injured hand on his pectoral muscle. She could feel the firm muscle under his skin, quivering slightly.
The hand in her neck disappeared, and was replaced on her hip. He gently stroked her skin, moving to her back. He pulled her further into his embrace and she also felt his tail pulling her closer to his body. They shared the kis for several moment and Beth instinctively parted her lips and slipped her tongue into his mouth. She felt his tongue gently against hers and discovered that it was split down the middle. Not a true forked tongue but it was not the shape of a human’s. Her mind screamed that it was all wrong but her body did not listen.
He moved his hand to her stomach and felt the warmth where her exposed skin met his hand. A deep shudder ran through her body at the touch and she moaned softly. He moved his hand further up and under her shirt. She felt his hand encounter her army issue bra, an ugly piece of brown material, not unlike a sports bra, which basically crushed her breasts to her rib cage. His hand hesitated as if unsure what to do. She wanted nothing other than being rid of it immediately. She broke off the kiss abruptly and raised her shirt up over her head and onto the floor. The creature took her meaning and lifted her bra over her head without any ceremony.
She suddenly felt very vulnerable, even more so than when she thought it was about to kill her, standing bare chested in front of the creature. She glanced down at her breasts, hoping that they looked attractive, and nearly burst out in laughter at the ridiculousness of the sudden thought. She would have laughed if she didn’t really want him to approve. She had firm, B cup breasts with small lightly coloured nipples. Her nipples were as hard as she had ever seen them, and she had once spent an entire day in a freeze room to simulate Arctic weather.
The creature let out a sound between a growl and a moan and gently cupped her breast. Her breast felt tiny in his large warm hands. He gently rolled her rock hard nipple between his thumb and forefinger, the sensation making her moan unabashedly out loud. Her legs began to quiver and she could feel that her crotch had basically soaked her panties and her fatigues.
The wetter she felt herself get, the deeper and faster the creature seemed to breath through his nose. She was certain by now that he could smell her arousal, the same way that most animals could smell each other in heat.
She felt the cool tip of his tail on the skin on her lower back, the sensation of the temperature and the coarseness of the scales causing her entire body to prickle up in goosebumps. She felt him slowly moving the coil of his tail up her legs, no longer being wrapped around her calves. She felt his tail wrapping around her hips, the tip stopping against her naked skin where her stomach started and her trousers ended. She felt the tip turning downwards slowly entering and moving down her trousers, stopping again right at the edge of the band of her panties. She spread her legs slightly, unconsciously, which he took as an invitation and slipped it down into her panties. The cool, slightly rough texture suddenly rubbing against her hugely sensitive clit and her outer lips nearly sent her over the edge. She moaned out loud and wrapped her arms around the creature’s neck in an effort to stay upright.
The creature seemed to sense her difficulty and he guided her down onto the bed. She lay down on her back and he lay next to her, their faces level with each other. They resumed their kissing, his tongue gently playing with hers inside her mouth. His one hand was supportive beneath her neck as there was no pillow, his other hand gently cupped and caressed her breasts. He his hand down her stomach, sending a new wave of goosebumps through her body. It reached her trousers and he swiftly undid the bottun. His hand returned to her small breasts, gently cupping and tweaking her nipples. A moan escaped her mouth.
His tail again started wrapping around her calves. It tightened slightly and he pulled down her trousers with one swift motion. He swiftly moved his tail around her hips again, and wrapped himself snugly against her. The tip of his tail swiftly found its way back into her panties.
Beth started breathing heavier again as soon as he resumed gently rubbing against her clit. She could feel it slowly gliding downwards, the tip curling itself and gently parting her lips before moving back in the opposite direction. Beth unconsciously started moving her hips up and down in symphony with his tail, moaning almost without end into his mouth, his warm hand still caressing her breasts and nipples gently…
She firmly planted her feet on the bed, lifting her hips in counter synchronisation with his movements. Each time his tail moved down against her clit, her hips were moving up, and reverse. Her entire body felt tingly, her breathing coming ruggedly. Her moans escaped her mouth without any stopping them. Her body had taken over, and human instinct new exactly what to do. She could clearly feel an orgasm approaching, having given herself several in the past. This, however, was no rushed rubbing of her clit before lights out.
The creature had broken off their kiss, seeing as Beth was unable to operate her mouth and tongue at the time. He moved his head downward, until taking Beth’s nipple into his mouth, his other hand still cupping and fondling the other.
Beth could feel her crotch building up, her stomach muscles contracting every few moments, her legs trembling, her hips rocking and gyrating against his movements against her swollen clit. She took one last breath before all reason and thought ceased; he increased his contact both in speed and intensity against her clit, his tongue sucking her nipple into his mouth.
Beth unleashed a loud, high pitched moan, and her groin exploded. Her hips rocked in an unstoppable tremble, her back arching and her toes curling over inside her boots. Her legs slammed shut around the creature’s tail. The tip was not to be stopped however, and continued running up and down her clit. Beth moaned loudly, and managed to take a large gulpe of breath. Her body started to relax, still trembling though. She realised that she had her nails dug into the creature’s back, and relaxed her hand.
Her body started to relax, and the creature withdrew his tail from between her legs. He lowered her head to the bed, where she pay panting, he whole body throbbing, her heart still beating in her ears. The creature’s face came back up to her face, and he smiled his deep, blue piercing smile at her again.
END OF PART ONE
Please comment if I should continue with the story. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Any comments and criticism is welcome.