He chuckled quietly and grasped her on the shoulder companionably as he rose to his feet. “You’re a stronger man than I am, Commander.”
“That remains to be seen,” she said cheerfully, rising to her feet as well. “Let’s keep a guard on Grey. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“I’ll see to it,” he said agreeably.
She grinned, watching him walk away and letting him go a few steps. “And Doug?”
He stopped and turned a look over his shoulder.
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure,” he said with a rakish grin.
She watched him go with a genuine smile.
———
Corky watched Malory enter Medical and stop to speak quietly with the young, machinegun-toting Coy, who would be serving as both nurse and guard for the duration of the evening. When the conversation was over, she shot her a wink and went to share a few words with the convalescing Dr. Ballenger. Her rounds apparently completed, she favored her with a bright smile.
“Care to join me for dinner, Dr. Rivers?” she asked politely.
“Sure,” Corky said casually. “Let me meet you there in about ten minutes?”
“Okay, see ya in a few,” Malory agreed easily and turned to amble out into the hall.
Lest Coy might observe, Corky tried not to watch the sway of the Commander’s hips as she walked away. She was only partially successful and mentally chastised herself for the failure. Earlier, she had come to the inescapable conclusion that she was in love with Lt. Commander Malory Lovecraft. The idea only so shocking because of her reluctance to admit it and the full weight of that knowledge had struck with the force of a ton bricks when she had watched her openly frightened lover prepare to enter the lab alone. Watching Malory struggle with her fear had scared her as well and when the Sergeant had intervened, it was all she could do to keep from hugging the man. With a sigh, she rose from her seat and looked in on her patients one last time prior to relaying last minute instructions to Coy.
When she entered the mess, she was disappointed to see Malory sitting across from McNeely and engaged in conversation. She scanned the room for alternative company and came up empty as the only other people present were DeSoto and Butler.
Scowling, she got a tray and made for a vacant table but paused uncertainly when Malory waved her over. She shot a cautious look at her companion and received a nod and another wave so she padded over, choosing a seat across from her and next to McNeely.
“Hi guys,” she said brightly.
“Good evening, Doctor,” McNeely said with a curious smile.
“Dr. Rivers,” Malory said amusedly. “How is Dr. Grey?”
Their demeanor instantly brought up her guard and she narrowed her eyes covertly at the intriguingly smiling Commander. “No change but stable,” she said slowly. “I can’t find a reason for his symptoms. I have several tests I’d like to run tomorrow, hopefully they’ll be a little more conclusive.”
“I see,” Malory said quietly. “No sign of an intruder in his system?”
“None that I can find at the moment,” Corky replied clinically.
Malory digested this thoughtfully as she slowly assumed an alarmingly innocent expression. “Mr. McNeely asked me a question earlier and was quite disappointed when I wouldn’t answer it. Perhaps you’d have better luck with Dr. Rivers, Sergeant,” she said mildly.
McNeely abruptly stopped chewing the food in his mouth, his eyes widening and then narrowing into deadly slits.
“What question is that?” Corky asked cautiously, not liking in the slightest the look on Malory’s face.
McNeely hurriedly swallowed his food in one large gulp. “Nothing of any real importance, Doctor,” he said hastily.
“Would it be easier if I presented it to Dr. Rivers for you, Sergeant?” Malory asked helpfully.
He pursed his lips thoughtfully. If the Commander presented the question, it would only succeed in embarrassing him and the doctor. In his estimation, it would only be fair to capture the devious woman in her own trap. “No, I can handle it,” he said amiably. “Dr. Rivers, I asked the Commander earlier if she would inform me as to what exactly she was doing to you the other night that resulted in the screams that woke the entire facility.”
Corky gasped in surprise and McNeely ignored his own blush as he pleasantly observed the crimson beginning to flagrantly cover the Commander’s face.
Malory chuckled slightly at having been outmaneuvered. “You crafty bastard,” she said amusedly. “Oww!” she yelped as her shin was kicked from across the table.
“I can’t believe you,” Corky hissed angrily.
“I didn’t tell him anything,” Malory defended lamely.
McNeely’s blush faded and he went back to the business of eating his meal, casually observing the entertainment unfolding around him.
Corky fumed, her face an angry shade of red. “Do you want us both to lose our jobs?” she asked heatedly.
“That’s not something we have to worry about as far as the Sergeant Major is concerned,” Malory explained as she reached down to rub her wounded shin.
“You could have at least given me a little warning,” Corky accused.
“Where would the fun be in that?” Malory replied with a chuckle.
Corky huffed and crossed her arms over chest, glaring dangerously at her moronic girlfriend. “Well, to answer your question, Sergeant,” she growled. “I was screaming because our clueless leader could lick the stripes off an asphalt highway.”
McNeely had to bring a hand up to cup his mouth in order to prevent spitting his food across the table and he struggled to get himself situated, risking a quick glance across the table. The Commander had her head stooped and a hand covering her eyes, the hand a severe white in contrast to the visible and almost purple forehead.
Corky smiled victoriously and haughtily went about finishing her dinner, occasionally casting triumphant little looks at the hiding Commander.
“On that note,” Malory mumbled. “I’m obviously 0 for 2 this evening and will try to finish my dinner with a modicum of dignity,” she added, emerging from her refuge bravely and pointedly ignoring the looks being cast upon her.
“Doctor, is there a series of exercises you could prescribe that might strengthen my skill in that area?” McNeely asked cheerfully, relishing Malory’s sigh of defeat and Corky’s fresh blush.
———
“Well, that could have gone better for me,” Malory said dejectedly as she flung herself onto her cot.
Corky shut the door to Malory’s quarters and chuckled. “Ya know, I like that man,” she said jovially. “He had you twisting and churning.”
“Yeah,” Malory admitted. “He kicked my ass. I’ll have to think up a suitable punishment.”
“Don’t be a poor sport,” Corky chided. “You started it.”
Malory grunted into the blankets.
“How long has he known?” Corky asked curiously.
Malory rolled over onto her back. “Found out today.”
“Is he the only one?”
“Yeah, unless your pal Clovis knows.”
“He probably does. He knows about my preference but he hasn’t said anything,” Corky said mildly. “How did McNeely find out?”
“You called me by name earlier,” she said sitting up to unlace her boots. “That and I sent him in here to get the extra chair and he found some of your scrubs.”
“Oh,” Corky said thoughtfully. “You scared me today.”
“I was scared myself,” she said honestly, wiggling out of her pants. “This shit freaks me out.”
“Do you think whatever was in that thing got inside Grey?”
Malory pulled her sweatshirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. “I have no idea but there wasn’t a trace of anything left in the lab. Maybe it just emitted some sort of gas. I just don’t know.”
Corky came forward to kneel in front of her, reaching around to unclasp her bra. “Is that why you have Coy
standing guard in Medical with a rifle?” she asked as she tossed the garment to the ground behind her.
“Yeah,” Malory said distantly as Corky’s eyes roamed over her chest. “Since you can’t find anything wrong with him, I thought it prudent.”
Corky leaned in to a pull a nipple into her mouth lovingly. “Do you love me, Malory?”
“You know I do,” Malory sighed.
Corky withdrew and flicked at the nipple with her tongue until it hardened. “Then say it,” she demanded softly.
“I love you, Corky,” she said quietly.
“Are you wet?” she asked as she teased back and forth between breasts.
“Yes,” Malory whispered.
“Do you want me?”
“Always.”
With a delicate bite on an erect nipple, Corky rose to her feet and began to undress. “Why were you with your first for only one night?” she asked.
“Because I was just curious,” Malory answered absentmindedly, her eyes riveted on the figure in front of her.
“Not curious enough to see her again?”
“It didn’t work out and I’m glad it didn’t.”
“Why?”
“Uhm…” she stuttered as panties fell to the ground. “Because I wanted to wait until I felt what I feel with you.”
“Was that the only reason?”
“Turn around,” Malory requested gently.
“Why?”
“Because I want to see your ass,” she said starkly.
Corky smiled and turned around to remove her T-shirt. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Uh… yeah,” she answered distractedly. “She didn’t want to see me again anyway.”
“Really? Why?”
“There was…oh boy,” she broke off abruptly as Corky bent over deeply at the waist, letting her bra slide off her arms to the floor.
Corky set her feet further apart and wiggled her rear provocatively. “You were saying?” she asked coyly over her shoulder.
“Uh… I don’t know, what was I saying?”
“Do you like?” Corky asked teasingly.
Malory could only nod stupidly.
Corky stood and turned around. “Why didn’t she want to see you again?”
“Don’t tease,” Malory whined softly.
“Tell me and I’m yours.”
“Because when I took her home that night I ran over her dog when I pulled into the driveway,” Malory said quickly.
A hand rose to hide a smile. “You’re kidding me, right?”
“No,” Malory said, moistening her lips with the tip of a tongue.
Corky couldn’t contain her mirth and slowly went from chuckles to an all out belly laugh. She carried on long enough that it completely spoiled the mood for as far as Malory was concerned.
“It wasn’t funny,” she said indignantly after a moment.
“She had to know it was an accident,” Corky laughed.
Malory gave up and flopped onto her back to glare off into space. “She loved that fuckin’ dog. She dressed it up in a stupid knitted hat and carried a ridiculous picture of the mutt in her purse.”
Corky’s eyes twinkled in amusement. “It’s not like you did it on purpose.”
Malory rolled her eyes and sighed. “After I hit the brakes, she wouldn’t move and made me get out to look. It was dark and the driveway was on an incline so when I got to the front of the car I slipped and fell on my ass in a puddle of blood. I freaked out and was hopping all over the place like a big sissy. Anyway, I tried to fling off the little pieces of doggie parts that were on my hands and ended up hurling the pooch’s bloody little hat onto the windshield, where it landed with a gross little splat right in front of her face.”
Corky brought both hands to her mouth and laughed..
Malory pretended to ignore her. “Understandably, she never called me again.”
“You made that up,” Corky accused delightedly between chuckles.
“Who in their right mind would make up a story like that and ruin a perfectly good turn on?” she asked irritably.
Corky spent a moment working the giggles out of her system before sensuously climbing onto the cot to cover her lover’s body with her own. Legs immediately wrapped themselves around her waist to trap her and she tenderly placed a kiss on Malory’s lips. “I love you, Malory,” she said softly.
A small gasp was her reward. “Really?” Malory asked meekly.
“Really,” Corky confirmed with a whisper, placing gentle kisses on the throat below.
“Say it again,” Malory sniffled.
Corky brought her head up in surprise and Malory quickly raised an embarrassed hand to wipe away the tear that had escaped. “I thought you knew?” she inquired warmly.
“I did,” Malory sniffled again. “I just didn’t realize how badly I wanted to hear it,” she added, moving quickly to catch another tear but her hand was intercepted and Corky moved to kiss it away.
“There all better now,” Corky said sweetly.
Malory smiled. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Malory.”
———
Coy slouched in his chair by the door and yawned powerfully behind his hand. He spared a quick survey of his charges, lingering on the still immobile Dr. Grey before moving on to the sleeping Dr. Ballenger, noting nothing amiss.
When he joined the Coast Guard he never pictured himself performing guard duty in an underground complex at the bottom of the world, yet here he was. He ran a hand through short-cropped blonde hair and sighed, wondering what had possessed him to volunteer for Antarctica. He had spent six months under the tutelage of Dr. Rivers before being seconded to the Department of Defense and thus eventually falling under the command of the newly-assigned Commander Lovecraft.
At first he didn’t know what to make of the subtly hostile doctor, although he had to admit that she had certainly loosened up recently. She even flashed a smile in his direction from time to time. He wondered if it had anything to do with the presence of the easygoing Commander, who rumor had it, was extremely formidable if one was unlucky enough to pull a fuck up.
A small whisper of noise came to his ears and he raised his eyes to again scan the interior of the room. Spotting nothing out of the ordinary, he rose and padded across the room to check the status of Dr. Grey.
A few minutes later, he was treading back to his chair, pausing in the middle of his journey to indulge in a yawn and stretch that brought him to his tiptoes. The sound of a rasped gurgle from behind brought him to his heels and he spun to find himself face to face with Dr. Grey. Fear left him motionless as he met eyes rendered frighteningly insane.
Grey brought both hands up and inserted them into his mouth. Without anything but the sound of tearing tissue and cracking bone, he exerted enough force to savagely break his jaw. The corners of his mouth tearing bloodlessly like a fleshy cellophane.
Coy stood mesmerized in terror, all sound and action trapped within a motionless body that refused to respond. It was only when a nest of thick, muddy-red worms filled the doctor’s mouth, their tubular bodies contorting in a maddening frenzy, that the rifle came up and he drew in a deep breath to scream.
All sound died in a macabre embrace as his mouth was engulfed by Grey’s and filled with a nest of traveling worms, muffling his cries. The invaders fought through his gag reflex unhindered, forcing themselves forward and tearing through soft tissue like barbed needles. His mouth and throat filled with what he knew was blood and his agonized cries filtered silently into labored gurgles. He contorted violently as Grey’s teeth cut through his cheeks to solidify their union and he felt his body burning in the wake of the frantically moving intruders. An unholy strength lifted him off his feet and his legs struggled desperately in the air until finally, his activity decreased to a lifeless standstill and his rifle fell uselessly to the floor at his feet.
05/09/02 - 0600 hours
Percy strolled carelessly down the hall to relieve Coy. His t
our of duty ended with the impending summer and he had spent many happy hours contemplating how to enjoy his accumulated funds. In his view, there were benefits to spending a year underground and the best one, in his opinion, was the savings plan. Everything was provided for him and paychecks added up untouched, the funds waiting impatiently for his arrival in an economic environment.
So embroiled in his daydream of an irresponsible spending spree, it took him a moment to seriously register the abandoned rifle laying within a congealing puddle of blood just inside the door to Medical. Stopping in his tracks, he leaped backwards to place his back against the wall of the hallway and hurriedly pulled his gun from his holster. His head turned rapidly back and forth to make sure the hall was clear and he reached for his radio, every sense on heightened alert.
His terse report to the rapidly waking Sergeant Major resulted in the klaxon being activated not five seconds into his explanation.
“Commander Lovecraft and all military personnel report to the hall outside of Medical immediately with weaponry,” McNeely barked urgently over the intercom. “All other personnel report to the mess and remain there. This is no drill. Move it people. I say again…”
———
Malory flew out of bed at the sound of klaxon, dumping a grumpy Corky on the floor.
“What the hell!” Corky complained loudly.
“The alarm,” Malory explained curtly, hurriedly slipping into her fatigues and sweatshirt without benefit of any underwear.
Corky sleepily and tardily noted the klaxon, preparing to speak when McNeely’s voice reverberated through the complex.
“Jesus,” Malory whispered when he was finished and fell to the floor to put on her boots. “Get dressed, hurry. I want you to come with me as far as the mess.”
“Shouldn’t I go to Medical too?” Corky asked worriedly, reading the depth of fear etched onto Malory’s face.
“No!” Malory said sternly. “Hurry, now,” she added in a softer tone.
Corky frantically hopped up to get her clothes, trying unsuccessfully to hastily get into her bra when Malory pulled it out of her hands.
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