by G A Chase
“Right.” He turned and dove into the water like a fish who’d finally been released into his natural habitat.
God, what an ass, she thought as she hurried into the water behind him.
With the decorum of the river to hide her nudity and lust, Sere swam after Bart to the waterlogged school bus. He arched his back—allowing her one last good look at his incredible butt—and dove toward the bottom. You could at least wait for me to figure out Joe’s traps. Between her rapid breathing at seeing him naked for the first time and the physical exertion of the short swim, she was in no condition to go diving in after him. Fucking injuries.
The water settled to a perfect glassy calm where he’d submerged. In only the dim light of the moon, she couldn’t see more than a foot below the surface. You’d better not have gotten rolled by some alligator. As one minute stretched to two, she took a couple of deep breaths to oxygenate her blood prior to searching for him.
Just as she was ready to jump up to make her dive, however, a moss-covered window of the bus fell open like a submarine hatch. “Come on. Joe has got quite the setup in here.” Bart didn’t even bother poking his head out the window.
She grabbed the base of the frame opening and heaved her body into the bus. Though half-submerged in the swamp, the interior was completely dry. Beyond the racks of knives, guns, and ammunition that she expected, a small two-person speedboat sat on rails, aimed at the rear doors.
Bart leaned into the craft to inspect the controls. “I’m guessing he has this set up for a quick escape.”
She tried not to stare at his dangling cock while he stood bent over. “Sounds right. Joe tries to plan for every contingency.”
Why am I finding it so hard to say Joe’s name while staring at Bart’s naked body? Get it together, girl. You are not cock-hungry Jennifer.
Bart straightened up and faced her. His erection nodded ever so slightly as if saying, Caught you looking. “So I’ve got you out here. Time to fess up. What’s this secret plan that I’m going to hate?”
She eyed the ever-present backpack stashed below the weapons, which contained her personal med kit. “Do you trust me?”
From his changing facial expressions, she could practically see him beat back the snarky response. “Not when it comes to your personal safety. You rush into dangerous situations like nothing can hurt you. You’re no superhero.”
But I am. “I need you to hook me up to the med kit. I’ll tell you how to adjust the settings.”
Bart’s squinty eyes and tight lips let her know that Joe hadn’t given him the abbreviated instruction manual to the paranormal first-aid kit. “Tell me you just plan to advise Jennifer on how to escape.”
Damn you. With her secret ability to control Jennifer’s body exposed, there wasn’t much point in playing coy. “I’ll only take over her body as a last resort. Help will be on the way, but I can’t leave her out there on her own.”
He ran his hand along his SEAL tattoo. “Sounds risky. At least I’ll be here to monitor your progress.”
Sere hoped he wouldn’t be there. “How good are you at hacking technology?”
He broke eye contact and turned toward the wall of weapons. “I don’t like talking about it.”
She walked up and punched him in the shoulder as hard as she could. He barely flinched, though his cock and balls swung like bell clappers. “I’m standing naked in front of you and not for the first time. You’ve seen me hooked up to my real and slicing the head off a demon, and your answer when I ask you something personal is ‘I don’t like talking about it’? Too fucking bad, asshole. Spill. What do you know?”
“It’s classified. What do you need me to do?”
That was just another bullshit answer, but if he could do what she asked, she didn’t really need the details. “Your cousin said all of the boats on the swamp have GPS installed. Joe’s little runabout over there is sure to have the latest in marine technology. Think you could hack into the system and find the demons?”
He tightened his lips into a fine line. “Normally, it wouldn’t be much of a challenge, but around you, any wireless system loses signal.”
She crossed her arms at her stomach and waited to see how long it would take for him to put two and two together.
“Wait a minute. You don’t expect me to hook you up to Jennifer without the professor’s fail-safes then leave you while I go tearing after the doppelgängers in Joe’s boat? You’re right. I hate that idea a lot.”
She put her hand on his muscularly solid chest. “I’m not going to get stuck in her. I promise. There’s a clock built into the connecting program. Just make sure you give yourself enough time to reach her.” She let her hand explore down to his navel. “Oh, and you might want to put some clothes on. Jennifer gets a little obsessed by men’s bodies.” And she’s not getting yours.
“Just don’t get cocky,” he said. “That woman doesn’t have your muscle memory.”
“No kidding. It’s been nearly a decade since she ran the cheerleading squad, and she’s had a kid. You don’t have to remind me.”
Bart grabbed her hand but didn’t remove it from his rock-hard abs. “Are you sure this is such a good idea?”
Bart, the constant worrier. How ever did you survive SEAL training?
“We can’t expect her to make a break for it on her own,” she said, “and waiting for Joe to show up is too risky. I trust you.”
“Just don’t do anything stupid. If everything goes according to plan, all you’ll have to do is escape. Wait for me to confront the demons, then get out of whatever restraints they have on her. Once you’re free, swim as far from their boat as you can. I’ll grab your shotgun when I pick up my clothing. Those doppelgängers won’t know what hit them.”
Jennifer huddled, shaking, in the front of the boat, with her arms wrapped around her knees. Her hands and feet were tied with old twine that stank of chicken fat and dead alligator. With each turn of the boat or ripple on the river, spray hit her until she was drenched from head to toe. Her new silk blouse was ruined as was her cute black skirt.
“Why are you doing this to me?” she cried. But no matter how much she begged, the men who had abducted her kept on like robots.
Sere had been a mental passenger in Jennifer’s life enough times to know when to keep quiet, but something about this union was different. She wasn’t a part of the homemaker. Her emotions were still her own, and those consisted more of lust for the muscular, naked bartender than anger and fear at not being in control.
“You’re going to be okay,” Sere said inside Jennifer’s mind.
You don’t know that, Jennifer thought. Where the hell were you when I ran from the house? I went out to the park, hoping to find the bravery and strength that saved my poor Bobby, but you weren’t there. I was just the scared, useless little girl I’ve always been.
Sere made her usual threat calculation, only this time, the field was purely mental and she wasn’t facing an adversary. Jennifer could hear her if she talked, but Sere’s thoughts didn’t move her real’s body. They were two distinct spirits this time. Interesting. Must have been that idiotic blood transfusion. My body’s now made from more than this woman’s projection, so I can’t just step into her skin.
“I’m here now,” Sere said. “I want you to calmly look around at the others in the boat. I need to see their weapons.”
Like I would even know how to shoot a gun, Jennifer responded, but she slowly turned her head as if filming with her husband’s camcorder.
An arsenal of rifles, long-handled boat hooks, and knives were stashed in an open bait locker along the side of the boat behind two of the doppelgängers. They were expecting a fight. The third demon stood at the controls.
“Now, look over the side of the boat.”
The view though Jennifer’s eyes shook so violently from side to side that Sere didn’t need to hear the objection. This is going to be more of a challenge than I expected, she thought.
“I know you’re
scared,” Sere said. “You have every right to be, but you’re stronger than you think. I’m going to talk you through this. All you have to do is follow my instructions.”
Can’t you do it for me? Jennifer asked plaintively.
I’m not taking possession of her. Sere’s mental declaration was less an answer than a promise, but she had to keep it to herself. Jennifer didn’t need the confirmation that there was another person inside her, or the woman really would go insane. “Help is on the way. The men who were chasing you weren’t out to hurt you. They know you’re in trouble. You just have to be brave.”
When I saw the guy dressed all in black, I got so scared. I just ran.
“It doesn’t matter now. But since he wasn’t working with these men, you have to conclude that he was trying to help. He’ll still be trying to rescue you.” Sere chose her words carefully. Convincing the woman to believe her about who was trustworthy and who wasn’t seemed like an impossible task.
What do you want me to do?
“That’s my girl. Keep watching the men. When we get the opportunity, we’re going to take one of those knives. Don’t worry. I’ll tell you what to do when the time is right.”
Are you crazy? I don’t know how to fight. She quivered so hard her teeth chattered.
“Listen to me. I’ve got one job, and that’s to keep you safe. I’m not going to ask you to do anything I know you can’t. So if I tell you to do something, it’s because I know you can. I’ve seen you in action. Just trust yourself. You’re not going to attack anyone, but when the fighting starts, you’re going to need to get out of the way, and that means needing a knife to cut your bonds.”
From behind Jennifer’s eyes, Sere registered a trembling nod.
“Okay. I need you to watch and listen. When the rescue boats close in, things are going to get busy in a hurry. That’s when you’ll make your move. Look at the guy closest to you.”
Jennifer looked down at the dude’s heavy work boots. Whoever was behind all the demon invasions was getting smarter. Sending a CPA’s doppelgänger really didn’t make any sense. At least the guy in front of her looked like someone accustomed to the outdoors.
“That’s good, Jennifer. See how he has the knife between his sock and shoe? There’s no leather sheath. That means he doesn’t know how to use it very well.”
Like I do? Jennifer thought. That guy must be two hundred pounds of pure muscle. He’d swat me like a bug if I tried to get that close.
“If he’s distracted, he might not notice. He’s just one option. Now, look up his leg to his belt.”
The scan was painfully slow. The demon wore torn blue jeans caked in mud. From the dark wet patches at the cleanly sliced upper leg, Sere could imagine the fight he’d had with Joe. Slice hard, then jab. Try to disable your opponent at the legs, then move in for the kill. The combat lesson was still fresh in her mind. At the strained leather belt, Jennifer’s eyes stopped moving. A snub-nosed .38 pistol was stashed in the back of his pants.
“Okay, he’s not our boy. Though he might not know how to use a knife, that gun is all I need to see to know we don’t want to mess with that one. I need to see his torso.”
Why? Jennifer protested. She clearly wanted no part in the evaluation, let alone any potential fight.
“I need to know how big a threat he is. Once the rescue team shows up, we can direct them on the guy in charge. Just look at his shirt. You don’t want to make eye contact with him.”
Jennifer shakily nodded. Like the pants, the sweat-stained cotton shirt was more befitting a worker than a foreman. The battle scars were as Sere had expected. A long horizontal cut that would have dropped a normal human still had glistening wet blood dripping all along it, but the scar on the demon’s stomach was little more than a pink gash. A soldier, not a commander, but one who knows what he’s doing. That’s probably why he’s stationed close to Jennifer.
“Very good. One down, two to go. Let’s have a look at the goon in the middle of the boat.”
Doppelgänger number two sat against the side of a storage locker with his hands over the rifles like a human weapons closet. His cowboy boots were a little too clean and new. The black jeans could have been from a city boy trying to look tough or a country kid who’d just cashed his paycheck and wanted to look good for his girl. The silver chain at his waist, connected to a studded belt, confirmed Sere’s impression of him as someone out of his depth. The gleaming black knife handle that projected up from the back of his belt didn’t even have fingerprints on it.
“Look at his face.”
Jennifer kept her head down but lifted her eyes to the young man’s face as he stared out over the swamp. He was young and clean-shaven. The look in his eyes was that of an innocent trying to look tough. He’s our boy, she thought, but confirming that to Jennifer would only make her stare at the kid until someone noticed.
“And last but not least, have a look at the dude behind the wheel. Take your time.”
Her eyes moved down and across to the middle of the boat. Jennifer’s eyes moved tentatively, focusing on the steering-console area until she got to the demon’s hands. They were so coated in blood that the metal controls were dark red where he’d touched them. One look at the steel resolve in the pilot’s face told Sere all she needed to know. This was the ringleader. Her pulse quickened.
Sere assessed the options. His hands are busy driving the boat, and we’re moving at approximately ten miles an hour through the swamp. One good backflip off the center thwart, and I could foot stomp that ugly mug backward into the river. Even if he did cut the throttle, our momentum would take us clear of the assgänger. Then it would only be a matter of grabbing the boat hook from the side opposite doppelgänger number two, and with one good swing, I’d have dispatched him as well.
Sere mentally shook her head. She was in Jennifer’s body, and unless she was willing to take possession, there was no way the woman could make the quick moves. Stick to the plan, she thought.
“You did very well, Jennifer. Now, try to relax. Help is on the way, and I’ll be right here with you the entire time.”
Though Sere remained on high alert, the eyes she depended on for information were half-closed again. “Wake up.”
I don’t want to. I’ve had a bad couple of days. I’ve done more running than I have in years, been abducted and dragged out to this smelly swamp, and I just want to go home. Why can’t you let me sleep?
At least the woman was showing some backbone. “Up!” Sere insisted.
Jennifer worked back up to a sitting position with her hands around her legs and peered around in the dark. There were no lights, just trees looming out of the swamp like spectral spirits out to snag her soul. “Where are we?”
That was a remarkably good question. If they’d been headed toward Joe’s cabin, they would be encountering signs of civilization along the shoreline. Sere analyzed the smells that wrinkled Jennifer’s nose. Rotting wood, animals, and fragrant night flowers. We’re headed for the deep swamp. Sere went stone quiet to prevent Jennifer from getting even an emotional whiff of what she was thinking. They were headed for the hellmouth. The ramifications of taking a living person down to hell against her will were too numerous for Sere to consider. Come on, boys, she thought. Move your tight military asses.
As if obeying her command, the high-pitched whine of a speedboat pushed to its limit registered in the distance. Bart had never been one for subtlety.
“Time to get to work, Jennifer. Fold your knees under you as if you were about to be sick, and rest your hands on the deck.”
I am about to be sick. The woman did as instructed. Is that noise what we’re waiting for?
“Yes, and fortunately, your abductors are too focused on the route ahead to notice—so far. They’ll figure it out at any moment, though. As soon as they do, the guy at the controls is going to hit the throttle. When the boat lurches, act like you lost your balance and lunge toward the guy in the middle of the boat. We need that knife he’s g
ot sheathed at his back.”
Whether out of exhaustion, irritation, or resolve, Jennifer hunched down, ready for the attack. Once I’ve got the knife and cut my bonds, what do I do?
“One thing at a time. Your abductors are going to have their hands full fighting off the men that are headed this way. Stay low. We’ll have to see what happens. Just do what I tell you.”
I can do that.
Sere wasn’t sure if Jennifer’s words were a response to her directions or a means of reinforcing the woman’s resolve. As was always the case in battle, time took on the quality of a slow-motion film. She saw the man throw the throttle to full speed before yelling to his comrades. He’d given them no time to prepare themselves, and their disorientation worked in Jennifer’s favor. The woman sprang her legs out straight like a frog leaping from a lily pad. Her head smacked right into demon number two’s butt as he stared mindlessly out at the water. Fumbling like a virgin trying to get into a boy’s pants for the first time, she grabbed for the knife with both hands. He might have noticed her if he hadn’t fallen overboard.
“Now what?” Jennifer said out loud. In her state of panic, she’d forgotten that Sere wasn’t actually standing next to her.
“Get down on your stomach so they can’t see what you’re doing, then cut the ties. Hold the knife with one hand and run the other back and forth so the zip tie cuts along the blade’s edge.” Sere was amazed she even had to explain this. Describing how to use a knife was like talking to a child.
The boat swung violently to the right, causing Jennifer to lose her balance and land in the pile of guns. Really? You have to tempt me like this? Sere thought. She struggled to resist the urge to take control of Jennifer’s body and join the fight, like being an alcoholic holding a bottle of whiskey up to her mouth but keeping her lips closed.
Bullets whizzed over her head as Jennifer frantically sawed at the bonds. “Now what?” she kept repeating over and over as if asking what further travail she would encounter.