Dirty Girls

by Rodzil LaBraun

  Then I noticed that my shins and feet were tingling. I hadn't realized it until I relaxed. Those were the areas where my skin had touched the river water. I wondered if that was why I was suddenly getting so tired as well. Maybe the magical green soup had sleepy time powers over my body.

  I laid down flat on my belly facing the direction where the girl had been. I planned to keep watch in case she returned. Unfortunately, my eyelids fluttered for a few seconds, then stayed shut. I was so crazy tired. My body was dead to the world. It was as if I had lost a lot of blood. If mister dragon was hungry and came looking for me, I was being served right up for him on a red bark platter. I surely wouldn’t have the strength to try to fight him off.

  CHAPTER SIX:

  The humungous green dragon was straddling me. It's fierce gator-like face mere inches above mine. Hot breath burning my skin, steaming up my eyes somehow. A twisted alien smile pursed its lips before it opened its long jaw to reveal sharp man-eating teeth. I was about to be eaten.

  The horrific scene jolted me awake. I was dreaming. Shit, that was scary. But as I cleared my vision, I realized that it was not entirely a dream. I found myself staring into the face of a beast for real.

  Though not a flying lizard, it was still astonishing to see. Sharp talons stabbed at the flesh through my shirt. Slotted black eyes winked at me as its face surged forward suddenly then retreated back without making contact. Its head was bobbing, getting multiple perspectives to better judge depth of vision. It was just a bird.

  There were no feathers. Instead, the bright blue skin initially looked like fur but turned out to tiny scales. That was about as much observation as I could register before I panicked.

  My arms frantically flew up to strike the creature causing it to go into a clicking fit as large wings extended to lift its body off me. I may have screamed as well. Once the ugly bird left the tree I glanced around to see if my outburst had drawn any attention. I looked skyward first, and at the upper branches of the natural castle of growth that I was resting in. Then to the ground.

  Nothing seemed to be paying much attention to me. All of the smaller white birds took to flight from one of the upper branches, but that was the only reaction that I could see. When I turned to gaze at where the young woman had been spotted before my involuntary nap, I was shocked to see her there once again. She had returned to nearly the same place. Not only that. She was staring right at me.

  Last time I waved and scared her off. I wouldn't make that mistake again. If she was intent on running from me, I would need to get much closer before she went on alert. I should play it cool. Act like I don't see her. Give myself a chance of catching up when she fled.

  My bulky pack was under my head while I slept. I must have had enough sense as I was struggling with consciousness to place it there. My machete laid untouched beside me just a few inches from the edge of the branch. Nothing was missing. Even my walking stick was retracted and tucked into my bag.

  I tried to keep an eye on the dirty girl out of the corner of my eye, but that was challenging to do from that distance with all the foliage. Though brown instead of the predominantly green, she blended in with the scenery. Perhaps that was the reason for the condition of her skin. The soil may have been self-applied as a camouflage. Every few seconds I would look directly at her very briefly to confirm her position. She was still squatting there by the time that I reached the base of my tree.

  Instead of heading straight for her and risk scaring her off, I chose a path meandering to the left. Each bush that I passed I readjusted slightly to head more toward her. So far, she wasn't running. Either she didn't realize that I was coming for her or she wasn't afraid of me this time around. I didn't care which was the case as long as I could catch up to her.

  Each step I took gained me more energy and confidence. The negative effect of the green water on my skin was wearing off gradually. There was just a slight tingling in my toes, not near enough to slow me down.

  The girl was then only three shrubs away, maybe twenty feet. Unfortunately, I was too focused on her despite my casual approach. I nearly stepped into a divot where three of the leaping furry critters were sleeping. I caught myself at the last second, foot in midair, then adjusted to land off to the side gently. I was relieved that they remained slumbering unaware of the threat.

  When I looked up the girl remained in the same spot but standing. She also had something in her hand that had a long blade but emitted a bright blue light. A fancy weapon I assumed. The good news was that she wasn't fleeing from me. Or charging at me. The young woman had to know at that point that I was coming for her. She simply prepared for the meeting with self-defense in mind. That was to be expected. My hopes of a warm welcome were pure fantasy.

  "Hello," I said as I traversed much of the remaining gap between us. She didn't reply. I had no idea where the woman was from or if she spoke English, but it was the only language that I knew. I might as well try. I figured we could learn how to communicate over time if needed. I had plenty of available space on my schedule.

  When I crept around the last sticky bush, she raised the device to ward me off, cautioning me to keep my distance. Her hand was around the black handle, a shiny steel blade extending a dozen inches or more. Almost as big as my machete. However, there was a pulsing blue illumination along the sharp edge resembling an electrical current. The thing looked freaking awesome. Her grip was steady, indicating to me that she was comfortable with the weapon. There was no fear visible in her body language either. Only distrust.

  Despite the dirty skin she was exceptionally attractive. A roundish face, tan skin and soft feathery brown eyes. Her long straight brunette hair was dishoveled but still effectively complimenting her unbathed appearance. She was just a couple inches shorter than me, so say five-foot-eight-inches. Slender build, modest breasts. Not much of an ass from my angle. Narrow hips. I guessed a hundred and thirty pounds or so.

  Her clean black shorts barely reached her slim fashion model thighs. A matching form-fitting short sleeve top had a closure that revealed no buttons. Maybe a zipper, or velcro. Some unsoiled tan cleavage was barely visible just above where the two sides met. The clothes were some kind of uniform. Skinny brown striping gave me that idea, as well as the squarish logo on the chest. Her black wedge heels lifted her three inches to place her at roughly eye level with me.

  Her fingernails were a luxurious glossy brown. At least they were when I first approached. As I was taking in her lovely form, they gradually changed to emerald green instead. That was a cool trick that my girlfriend would have gone crazy for. Ex-girlfriend I reminded myself silently.

  Though the dirt on her skin covered most of her exposed body, I could see the smudges of how it was applied by hand or brush. Hidden beneath it I caught sight of dots on her wrists and ankles, paler than the lovely light brown skin. Perhaps she had some kind of disease that resembled bleached splotches. I had a friend with a similar affliction in high school.

  I knew that was I grinning uncontrollably. I could feel it on my face. Of all the types of people that I could find on this planet, this girl was pretty much at the top of my list of my preferences. Sadly, she was not returning the smile, so I must not be her type. The only facial expression that I could deduce was confusion. She probably didn't see a lot of strange men walking through this valley, if any.

  My hand with the machete lowered until the intimidating blade was pointing straight down. I watched her eyes follow it. I hoped that she was taking it as a sign that I would not be a threat to her. Her stance loosened up noticeably, but her weapon stayed pointed toward my chest from four feet away.

  "Hi," I tried again. "It's nice to meet you. I didn't realize that there were people here. I mean you no harm. I was hoping that we could talk."

  She said nothing in return. Shy? Mute? More likely she just didn't speak English.

  "My name," I gestured to my chest with my empty hand, speaking slower as if that would somehow help. "Is Kash."

&nb
sp; Silence from her as she continued to stare at me.

  "I'm new to the neighborhood," I told her with a lighthearted tone, essentially giving up on her being able to understand me. "I was hoping that you could give me a tour."

  There was still no sign of recognition on her face. She clearly didn't comprehend me. I would have to resort to simple hand signals or drawing in the dirt. I was okay with that. But not just yet. My friends all considered me a comedian. I liked to make people laugh. But jokes were also a defense mechanism for me. I would try to humor myself to remove stress. I also liked to sing my favorite songs when I was alone, only fuck up all the lyrics intentionally with sexual references. This seemed like the perfect time to entertain myself, but I didn't quite feel like singing just yet.

  "So, my flight was delayed," I said to her blank stare, gesturing over my shoulder toward the cliff that I had fallen from. "Indefinitely. It looks like I have some time to kill. Maybe there is a nice club where we can get a couple drinks."

  Still nothing from her. If anything, her eyes narrowed as I spoke. I was picking up on a faint scent of cinnamon. I wasn't sure if it was her perfume or if it came from a nearby plant that I had not yet discovered. Maybe it was emitting from her weapon.

  "Some place sexy," I continued. "I'd love to get you cleaned up and into a nice lace dress. You have a spanking hot body." I gestured toward her slim hips and long legs, not wanting to point directly at her breasts and look too confrontational. "Then, maybe later on, that dress could come off and we..."

  "That's inappropriate," she cut me off abruptly with soft high-pitched voice, shocking the hell out of me.

  "Fuck!" I blurted out. "Sorry, I didn't realize that you spoke English."

  "What is English?" she asked, holding her weapon steady. My aggressive flirting while unaware that she could understand me did not have the befriending effect that I was hoping for.

  "The language," I replied, a little confused. "The words that we are using. It's English."

  Silent once more. I wasn't about to fall for it again and say something more stupid. I knew that she understood me now.

  "So, where are you from?" I asked. "Earth, obviously, but how did you get here? Did they offer you the same deal? A get out of jail free card?"

  "The language we speak is standard," she then said.

  "Standard what?"

  "Your name is cash?" she asked, ignoring my question. "Like money? Why are you named after money?"

  "No," I replied with a chuckle. "It's Kash, with a K. It is just a name. What is yours?"

  I got the same blank stare again. It was like I was on a blind date. She took one look at me and lost interest, getting tight lipped. I was surprised that she didn't pull out a cell phone to complete the rude gesture, texting a friend to call her with a fake emergency. This was not going well at all, but it was still a hell of a lot better than being alone.

  The truth of the matter was that she had the advantage. I was new to the planet. And horny like a recently released inmate should be. Seeing a beautiful girl had the tendency to bring the worst out of a convict. She also had much more to offer me than I had to benefit her. A damsel in distress she was not. But still, I was excited to be in her presence. That was why I was doing too much talking.

  However, my personality did not lend well to this scenario. In situations where it was best to keep your mouth shut, I couldn't help myself from making things worse.

  "Look," I said to her. "I mean you no harm. I apologize for the things I said earlier. That was ignorant of me. I'm not familiar with my surroundings so I was hoping that we could have a little convo, you know. Learn a little from each other."

  "What is convo?" she asked with a distasteful expression. Perhaps she thought it was a sexual reference. I deserved that reaction after my previous blunder.

  "Conversation. Talking. An interchange of spoken word between us." I could hear the frustration in my own voice.

  "We are talking," she told me.

  "I'm talking," I responded with some irritation. "A lot. And you are barely saying anything. I asked for your name and you didn't reply. That is just plain rude. Is that how your momma raised you?"

  When the question came out of my mouth, I even shocked myself. What the fuck was I doing? This girl was a godsend. Why was I determined to offend her?

  "My name is Cinnamon," she said then, the scowl fading from her dirty but lovely young face.

  "Cinnamon?" I asked. She nodded. "I thought that I smelled cinnamon when I walked up. Is that your perfume?"

  "It is my chosen scent," she replied. A simple yes would have been sufficient.

  "Okay, Cinnamon. It is nice to meet you. If you don't mind me asking, why are you covered with dirt?"

  "It masks my scent," she explained. "The dragons hunt us down when they can smell us. The real question is why are you not covered in dirt? Are you trying to get eaten?"

  "I don't have a scent, I guess. I mean, cologne was not something that was provided for me in my pack."

  "You absolutely do have a scent," she said pointedly. "You smell like vinegar and dirty ass mixed together. Who would choose to smell like that? Is that what Kash means in this English language of yours?"

  In so few words she said enough to completely bewilder me. But the words that stuck, as was usually the case, were the insult. Vinegar and dirty ass? I guess I kind of deserved it from what I was saying to her, when I didn't think that she could understand me. But did I really smell like that to her? I was tempted to sniff my armpit.

  Then I heard the flap of mighty wings behind me. I turned rapidly to see the dragon taking flight from the tree. When I crouched down behind the girl's bush, I mean the bush that she had been using for cover. It wasn't like she had pubic hair big enough to hide behind. I was encouraged that she squatted down right beside me. I should have been more focused on the giant flying lizard like she was. But being that close to an attractive female was intoxicating.

  She did smell like cinnamon up close, which added delicious to the words I could use to describe her. If I wanted to eat her up, I could completely understand why a dragon would. But wouldn't it be better to stop using the perfume instead of covering yourself with dirt?

  The girl was even more beautiful up close. I was checking out her body big time as she looked to the sky. Her breasts were smallish, very little cleavage exposed, but it was incredibly distracting.

  "I'm surprised that you are still alive," she said without turning to catch me ogling her. "I saw you sleeping in the dragon tree."

  "Where do you sleep?" I asked.

  "In my ship," she replied, finally turning to face me. With the dragon gone, she stood and backed away to what she probably considered to be a safe distance but did not raise her weapon. "Is your ship in too bad of shape?" she asked me.

  "My ship?" I was getting more confused by the minute.

  "How did you get here?" she asked. "You obviously are not from this planet."

  "I came through the portal over there in the cliff," I said, trying to figure things out. "Is that not how you got here?"

  "No," she answered, surprised by my statement. Her expression suggested that she didn't believe that there was a portal. "Our ship crashed here. We've been living in it."

  A crashed spaceship? Is this for real? If so, we had to be close to Earth. Maybe I could get rescued after all. But when did they send manned vessels to other star systems? We couldn't possibly be on a planet around the sun. Unless this was Venus. The temperature here was hotter than Earth, but not by much in astronomical terms. There was a book that referenced Venus as the home of human females. But scientifically, it was supposed to be uninhabitable. As puzzling as that was, I just realized one more important thing that she said.

  "We?"

  CHAPTER SEVEN:

  "Hey you with all the dirt on,

  I gotta find a way to wash it off,

  I've got a lot of lust and its growing strong,

  I'd like to see you wearing just a tho
ng."

  I sang my little ditty under my breath as the alluringly lithe Cinnamon led the way. Her three-inch wedge shoes covered her entire foot but did not rise up over the ankle. The bottom must have had some kind of anti-slip material because she had no problem keeping a steady pace. I would classify it as a sensible outdoor office shoe for business minded females.

  The effect that the footwear had on her slender legs was amazing. Her ankle appeared dainty in comparison, her the lower leg below the calf bewitchingly delicate. The incline forced on her foot bulged her calf muscle sexily. Thighs were firm but not bulky in the least. If supermodels walked a jungle runway, this girl could certainly show them how it was done.

  Her clingy uniform shorts stopped just below her ass cheeks, which were tight little mounds of seduction. I couldn't stop watching them take turns bobbing up and down as she walked. It was hard to concentrate on my footing and I repeatedly checked my bottom lip for saliva.