by Sam Ryder
Soon, I heard another sound—the pitter-patter of raindrops on the ground, a sound so foreign to the Ends it took me a few moments to place it. Even then, I didn’t really believe my ears until I felt the wind carry a few drops of the moisture into the cave, wetting my face.The wind had finally died down a few degrees, and in its place, rain fell from the sky.
I stood and removed my clothes, not wanting to let them get saturated, which would make sleep cold and impossible. Naked, I took a few steps outside. Sure enough, rain fell freely on my skin, soothing and cool. For a few minutes, I just stood there, raising my head to the sky, eyes closed and mouth open, enjoying the rare rainfall, letting it wash off the dust and sweat of my travels. It was peaceful and relaxing. Thankfully, it was an even, neat rain, not like the previous ones I’d endured.
Without the wind blowing, the air wasn’t particularly cold. The rain invigorated me.
“Amazing, isn’t it?”
The voice took me by surprise as I spun around. Vega stood at the entrance to the cave with a smile on her face, her eyes darting down to take in my nakedness.
“Sorry,” I said, reaching down to cover myself up. “I thought everyone was sleeping.”
“They are,” she replied. “But I heard the rain and wanted to see it for myself. Mind if I join you?”
Before I had the chance to answer, she pulled her shirt off over her head and wiggled her pants off her hips. She threw her clothes onto the rock inside next to mine and walked out into the rain.
A slice of moonlight managed to breach the cloud cover, highlighting her curves, and I could just make out the outline of her form. The water had drenched her by the time she reached me. She ran her fingers through her hair and brushed it back, then smiled at me.
“This feels amazing,” she said as she stepped closer. “I don’t know the last time I stood in a rainstorm.”
“Me either,” I said, locking eyes with her. Her stare was fierce.
“Cutter,” she said. “You are a rare kind of man in the Ends these days.”
“I’m just a man.”
“Yes, you are,” she said, reaching down to touch the part that, biologically speaking, made me a man. “A very big man.”
Not another word was said. She placed her other hand on my chest and ran her fingers down along my abdomen, feeling the slickness of my skin. I slid in closer to her, threading my fingers through her hair and pulling her in for a kiss. She was short and light and exceptionally curvy, and she kissed me with enthusiasm, like she thirsted for me. When I slid my hands under her ass and squeezed it, she leapt up into my arms effortlessly and wrapped her legs around me.
Her nipples, hard from the cold, pressed into my chest. As I held her there, she slipped her tongue into my mouth and squeezed the back of my neck.
Her passion excited me. As the rain tickled our skin, my dick swelled, pressing against her while she straddled me. She moved her hips forward and back, sliding the lips of her pussy down my shaft.
I lifted her up higher with one hand and grabbed my dick with the other. As she moved up, she pushed onto my shoulders to hold herself steady and guided one of her tits into my mouth. I sucked on it while she held the back of my head.
Then I slipped the head of my cock into her and guided her back down.
She locked her ankles behind my back and rode me, throwing her head back and smiling as the rain showered her. A flash of lightning briefly offered me an incredible view of her tits pointed skyward, ample and round.
Usually, my stamina allowed me to last longer, but something about the rain and the unexpected encounter left my blood flowing fast. Still, I held on to ensure she would reach her maximum pleasure too.
I felt her body tighten and her breaths come out in sharp waves as she approached the end. “Oh God, Cutter,” she said. “Holy fuck.” It certainly felt holy, my nerve endings firing as she reached her climax and buried her face into my neck and shoulder, clutching me as tightly as possible. My arms ached from the unexpected workout, but she felt so good—and the sheer novelty of the experience seemed to excite us both.
I knew I could last a while longer, but the rain had picked up even more and I didn’t want her to catch pneumonia, so I pushed myself to the finish line, thrusting inside her, licking her breasts, sucking on the nipples as rain cascaded over them, slick and wet. My toes curled as I exploded into her.
Vega laughed and climbed off me, planting her feet on the ground and releasing the tension in my arms. I held her in the rain for a few more minutes, our bodies smashed together.
Then, without saying another word, she tilted her head up and gave me a gentle kiss before pulling away and heading back inside. Whoa, I thought. What was that? Whatever it was, Vega could do it any time she wanted.
Soon, however, the rainfall intensified from a drizzle to a downpour, followed by the slow rumble of thunder rolling across the plains. Lightning flashed again. The storm was upon us. I hustled back inside to dry off and get warm.
Chapter 33
Battleground Geneva
The next morning, we marveled at the muddy terrain the rain had created. While certainly everyone had seen mud many times before, it was rare to see the entire wasteland covered in the muck. At least the rain had stopped, allowing us to travel without getting drenched.
I caught Vega’s eye as we continued across the desert as the now-shining sun dried things out, soon to return the wasteland to its dusty old self. She ran her tongue over her lips and eyed me hungrily. Holy shit, I thought, wishing we were in a position to go for round two. I noticed Belenie watching me, her head cocked to the side and an eyebrow raised. When she saw me looking at her, she grinned knowingly. Oh boy, there are no secrets in the Ends. I wondered what Gehn would think when she found out. Though Vega and Gehn were no longer mortal enemies, it still might be too soon.
By midday, Geneva appeared in the distance. Before we approached the city, I stopped the group to address them.
“I know Geneva is supposed to be neutral, but it’s not. Enders and humans co-exist here, but only because they are segregated. Biases continue to run deep. The last time I was here, there were several confrontations. There was violence.”
Everyone agreed to be cautious and we soldiered onwards.
Five minutes into our final stretch, I raised my fist to stop the group. Something felt off, even without Gehn’s instincts to tell me.
“What is it?” Belogon asked. I motioned for him to stay quiet.
A breeze blew across the land, temporarily drying the damp sweat building on my brow. I tried to listen as closely as I could while scanning the area.
In the distance, a few groups of people came and went from the city. Nobody seemed to even notice us, or care that we were approaching from an unusual direction. And yet, I still felt the eerie sensation of being watched.
“There,” I said, pointing off to a hill to our right just as the top of someone’s head popped up and then immediately ducked back down. “Spies. Stay alert.”
Those words hardly escaped my lips before an explosion detonated to our left. The shockwave of it knocked me to the ground. The sheer force of the explosion itself rattled my bones.
I hit the ground hard, my ears ringing. Simon crawled over to me.
“It’s the Rising!” he shouted. “They’re the only ones with explosives. Some kind of a timed mine.”
“Everyone take cover!” I yelled, and we crawled low to the ground until we reached a small dune that offered a bit of protection.
Another explosion struck behind us. The heat from the fire cooked my feet, and I wondered how close we were to dying right there.
I rolled over the top of the dune, hauling Belenie with me and hoping the others could follow. On the other side, I counted the group. We all there, which allowed me a small measure of relief. With everyone accounted for, I drew Alpha and Beta from my holster and readied to respond to our attackers.
Simon sidled up next to me, setting up his bow and arr
ow. “Those are white grenades,” he said. “Vega helped develop them.” Thanks a lot, Vega, I thought. “They are being thrown by hand, so someone must be closer than the spy you spotted. They pack a punch but don’t have any shrapnel, so a direct hit is the only thing that’ll kill us, which is why we’re still alive.”
“How many do you think they have?” I asked.
Simon shook his head. “Couldn’t be more than a half-dozen,” he guessed. “Watch for the white of them against the blue sky.”
We both peeked over the top of the dune. What looked like a ball wrapped in a white handkerchief soared through the air. It was about to land within six feet of us and Simon tackled me back down behind the dune.
The pop of the explosion rumbled in my chest. Dust flew back over our heads and past the dune.
“Thanks,” I said.
“The good news is, we can see these things coming,” he replied. “They only detonate on impact, so if you can shoot at them, you could detonate them in the air before they get anywhere near us. But you’d have to be a crack shot to do that.”
I smiled. “No problem,” I said, and propped myself up against the dune, one gun per hand, at the ready.
As I scanned the sky, another grenade pierced the blue firmament. With one shot, I fired a direct hit and the bomb exploded in midair, just as Simon predicted. Bullseye, I thought. It took me back to my days shooting skeet. I’d won a few tournaments in my prime, though never with pistols.
Ash and remnants of the bomb floated to the ground. That was a hell of a lot easier than dodging the explosions at ground level.
“Okay, I’m on it,” I said. “I’ll take care of the grenades. Everyone else be at the ready. If you see movement, fire at will.”
Three bombs arced out from behind the hill simultaneously, which told me they had at least three men. I preempted the first one before it reached it’s peak. BAM! It exploded. One of the dumbasses had thrown the second one too close to the first, so it exploded too, caught in the blast of the first one. The second was further away but I tracked it to its peak, hitting it just before it started to be pulled back to ground by gravity. BAM!
Three bombs up, and three obliterated.
“That should piss them off,” Simon said with a chuckle. “Hold your fire,” he instructed. “I know Atticus. The order will be to bring us in, dead or alive, and they aren’t thinking of going back to their leader without us.”
I smiled, understanding. “Which means if they can’t take us out with the grenades...”
“...they’ll charge,” Simon finished. “They have a job to do and they intend to do it. So everybody better kill or be killed.”
I enjoyed the target practice as more grenades arced through the air. They had more than a half-dozen, but it made little difference. I took them out one at a time. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM! Although I couldn’t see the enemy yet, I could sense their frustration as the throws became faster and more haphazard. Some of them would’ve even missed us by a wide margin, but I shot them out of the air anyway just to show the enemy how easy it was for me.
The rest of our group stared over the top of the dune with weapons at the ready. It was just a matter of time before they came for us.
“Prepare yourself,” I said, noticing a brief lull in the grenade tossing. “Prepare for the charge.”
I risked reloaded my six-shooters during the pause. Finally, heads peeked out from the other side. The Rising militia revealed themselves, leaping over the hill and booking it right at his, flames bursting from weapons as they fired.
One whizzed past my ear, and I dropped down behind the dune, anger coursing through me.
“Watch your asses!” I shouted. “Stay down unless you’re taking a shot.”
Simon unleashed an arrow with a twang of his bowstring. I risked popping up just in time to see the arrow hit one of the men full in the chest, knocking him off his feet.
A grenade flew over the men’s head. Someone had stayed back to cover them! I stood, risking getting hit to ensure my aim was true. BAM! I hit the target and it exploded over the men’s heads, which caused them to quaver from the explosion. I dropped down, unscathed, taking up a more cautious position just as the next grenade flew.
I continued taking care of the grenades while the others picked apart the militia with guns and bows, one by one. Derig, as advertised, was a good shot, piling up bodies. Belogon, though not as accurate, made up for it with sheer quantity of shots, killing almost as many. Vega twice used her Blinder after warning us. Even though they weren’t close enough to get the full effect, the light was bright enough to temporarily blind our enemy, giving us the opportunity to take them out at will.
Every so often, bullets from their side kicked up the dust around us. The shots weren’t accurate, but they made visibility poor at times. Once, I lost a grenade in the air.
“Down!” I shouted. Everyone scatter-dove just in time as the explosion rocked the earth nearby.
“Up!” I ordered. Everyone scrambled back into position, firing at will once more. Men fell one by one until there were none left. We’d successfully held the line.
“Hold,” I said, even after the field was clear. There was at least one more enemy, the one tossing grenades.
From behind the hill, a pair of hands reached to the sky. In one of their grips was a white handkerchief.
“He’s surrendering,” Simon said. “We got them.”
“Hang on,” I replied. “It could be a trick. I’ll go first. Wait here.”
I gripped both guns, aiming in the direction of the hands. I stayed low, watching for any signs that the enemy would drop a hand and then toss another grenade. I stepped over a few fallen bodies from the militia, but my eyes never left my opponent.
My instincts were right. Once I was within twenty yards of the far hill, I caught another gunman out of the corner of my eye, the barrel of his weapon sliding over the flank.
I could’ve dove to ground, but I had a feeling I could outshoot this guy, whoever he was. I swiveled calmly, pulling the trigger at the same moment as he did. He fell back, hit between the eyes. His bullet had whistled past, close enough to be dangerous but off the mark. I immediately swiveled back toward the “surrendering” guy, who’d taken advantage of the distraction to hurl another grenade. BAM! I blasted it out of the sky before it was anywhere close to me, sprinting now, legs churning as I mounted the hill, throwing caution to the wind now in order to gain the element of surprise, catching the asshole as he was reaching down to grasp another grenade, the last one, and firing Alpha not at him but at the incendiary in his hand. It exploded, taking his arm with it and leaving a sizeable hole in his chest. His fast was shocked as he fell, bleeding profusely.
I scanned the area. A trench had been dug. They’d been waiting for us, which made me uneasy. How did they know we’d come this way again rather than marching on Rome first? How long had they waited here for us, vigilant in the outside event that we showed up?
I turned back and waved the others across. Then I dropped into their makeshift ditch to grab whatever valuables were available. There were some coins on the dead man and a gold watch, too.
I climbed out to find the others salvaging the remaining bodies. People in the Ends were a fickle bunch, but one didn’t survive these days by being merciful.
“Nice work,” I said, counting quickly. “Seventeen. And we lost no one.” It felt good, especially after our lopsided loss outside of Rome.
Belenie roped an arm around my waist, and I could tell she was looking for something to ground her after the altercation. “Keep this up and I’ll have made a long journey for nothing,” she said.
“Let’s hope so.”
We left the bodies lying in the wasteland while we continued onward toward Geneva. That sense of danger in my stomach subsided. I felt a renewed confidence.
Still, I felt a niggling fear about the fact that they’d been waiting here at all. Was there something they were trying to hide? Or did they just know th
at Atticus’s father would make an ideal target for us. Perhaps whatever he knew would give us the advantage we desperately needed.
Chapter 34
Keenak
Everyone stayed on high alert as we stepped into Geneva. A few people stared at us the second they saw us, but the looks weren’t particularly threatening. Just suspicious.
A male Ender walked right up to me, glancing at our strange mixed group. “What the hell happened? We heard explosions?”
I explained what had happened. “Look, I’m guessing a lot of misinformation is going around about us. But we were just defending ourselves.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Why are you even here?”
“We’re looking for someone.”
“Who?” he grumbled.
“A man named Keenak,” I replied.
“Don’t know him,” he said. “Just watch yourself. Geneva isn’t the place for fighting. Bring that violence inside and you’ll find yourself in a bad place. Even the male Enders behave themselves here.”
Could’ve fooled me, what with all the fighting I’ve done here, I thought, but I didn’t say anything other than, “Thanks for the warning.”
He nodded and strode away.
“How are we going to find Keenak?” Belogon asked. “No one will be willing to help us even if they do know who he is.”
“If there’s one thing I know, it’s who has the most information in the Ends,” I said. “Bartenders hear a ton of shit. They know everybody in their area. If Keenak really does live here, even if it’s well outside of town, the bartenders will know.”
I gestured over to a packed corner bar. We entered as a group, scanning the situation. Simon started to take charge, marching right up to the bar, but I stopped him. This was my turf. “Let me,” I said. He frowned but nodded. I knew a bartender doesn’t talk to anyone who doesn’t buy, so I gestured the group to find a table big enough for us, then I turned back to the bar and ordered drinks.