Her sister interrupted. “Barbara! You know the rules about that. Kissing on the lips like that can get you emotionally attached. You don’t know these people and his wife carries a Taser!”
Barbara sighed. “I don’t care and rules be damned. I’m not a hooker anymore; after what he did for me, I’m his. I know he’s married and I will back off, but I’ll be forever grateful.”
Carol got Amanda’s attention. “You see that we’re not going to hurt you. Would you like me to rid you of that poison like Alec did for your sister?”
Amanda nodded. “If you can I’d be grateful, just like my sister. I might not kiss you as she did him; I don’t swing that way often. I hate being a slave to that junk.”
“Carol,” I called before she started, “after you clean her blood, there is a spot in the brain that will have to be put back to normal. That stuff is monstrous in the way it holds people. I can see why folks here use it for control.”
Carol nodded and went to work. Since Carol hadn’t called Barbara down for kissing me like that, she’d taken my hand and stood there watching as Carol worked on her sister. It was easy to see when she’d cleared the girl’s system of the stuff, and equally as easy to see when she corrected the imbalance in her brain.
Amanda straightened and then hugged Carol. “I can see why my sis reacted so strongly! I haven’t felt like this in forever. She’s right, we owe you our lives.”
Carol smiled happily. “We’re not from around here, as I’m sure you can tell now. I asked my husband if we could come and look for girls in need, and we found you. If you know of any other girls that would be happier out of the business, we might be able to help them, too. Then we could help you get home or find something for you to do.” She winked at me and continued. “If you’ve fallen in love with us, we might even consider taking you into our family. If we do, you’ll have to be told a few things first. Oh, and Barbara? Where I come from, people like Alec often have young ladies other than their wives, so I don’t mind you holding his hand.”
Barbara looked confused. “They have other girls? And you don’t mind?”
Carol laughed. “That’s just the way of things there. In fact, the wives of men like Alec often encourage their husbands to take a few Consorts; that’s what they’re called.”
Amanda snickered. “You really aren’t from around here! The guy that you knocked out, our ex-pimp, has four girls that he’s been ‘grooming’. They’ve all mentioned getting away from him. Two of the girls might already be gone, if they had money for the bus. The other two don’t have families, so I don’t know if they’d want to go with you too, or not. But I can tell by the look in Barbara’s eyes after you said holding your hubby’s hand was okay, she wants to stay with you guys.”
Carol, excited by her success so far, jumped at her chance to do more. “Do you girls think that we could get to the other girls without having much of a fight?”
Amanda nodded. “He has them scared so they won’t leave the apartment. I’m sure that with Barbara and me there, they’ll go with us. Mister Jackass said that he had plans, and that means blackjack. He won’t be home until really late. If he loses, he’ll cruise the bus station looking for more ‘product’. I hope he loses all six of his girls tonight. That would serve him right for shoving me!”
Amanda led us to the road and asked if I had any cash. I’d figured out that word and handed her a one hundred dollar bill. She nodded gratefully and waved at a yellow car that was coming by. It stopped and she climbed in front. The rest of us piled into the back, packs and all. She gave the man directions and off we went. It didn’t take long to make it across town in a car and Amanda handed the driver the money.
He shook his head. “I ain’t got change for no hun’red.”
Amanda looked at me for options and I shrugged. “Just keep the change and have a good evening.”
The man waited, patient and happy as we untangled from the back seat, and then drove away.
Amanda looked at me for a moment and then shrugged. She led the way into a building and up a couple flights of stairs. She knocked on a door that was cautiously answered. She pushed the door open. “Relax, Linda, it’s just Barb and me with a couple of friends.”
Linda shook her head. “They can’t be here, Amanda! If Grady comes home and catches them here, he’ll kill them!”
Barbara smiled. “They might be a bit harder to kill than he would think. They’ve come to help. We’re leaving with them and they said that they’ll help you get away, too. They even have a way to get the junk out of Maria and Elizabeth’s system. That way they won’t get sick and won’t want it anymore. I think Carol would buy them bus tickets home, if they want to go. Since you and Susan don’t have family, you can go with them and they said they could find you honest work.”
Linda sighed. “All that sounds good, but they say if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is.”
Amanda smiled sympathetically. “Except this time, it is true. They got us off the shit and we don’t even want it. I wouldn’t have thought it was true either, if I hadn’t seen it myself.”
I signaled Carol. “Why don’t you go in there with the girls that need healing? I’ll stay in here, in case we have unexpected company. If these girls would like to leave, they can go with us. If they want to stay and continue living as they have been, that’s their choice, too. All we can do is offer to help; we can’t force it on them.”
“All right, Alec, I’ll leave you in the quite happy hands of Barbara. I don’t think she’ll mind keeping you company while I talk to them. If they want to stay, I’ll be back very shortly.”
Barbara sat on a couch and waited. I watched the door for a possible unwanted guest and Barb held my hand. I knew that there was a difference between gratitude and true love, but having her show that she was thankful felt nice. I knew that Carol was hoping to keep her and her sister as Consorts, but that brought up the image of the wagons again. I wasn’t sure that was something that I wanted, but if Carol wanted female traveling companions, she could have chosen worse. The sisters seemed to love each other very much and would stick together. They were attractive also, which is always a bonus. If they did stay with us, one of the first things I wanted to do was get them different clothes. The ones they had on were too skimpy, even for my taste. Something has to be left to the imagination or it isn’t as fun to look at!
It was only a half hour or less before the girls came from the back. They were all carrying bags, even Carol. She was bringing Barbara’s stuff up for her. Two of the girls, Elizabeth and Maria, wanted us to escort them to the ‘bus station’. They were going to get transportation home there. The other four girls were going to go with us to our campsite and decide what they were going to do from there.
Since there were eight of us, there wouldn’t be a car that we could wave at to get a ride. We’d have to walk a couple miles, but that didn’t concern Carol and me at all. Carol and Amanda led the group, while Barbara and I brought up the tail. As we were traveling, I got an idea of the price of a bus ticket and what the girls would need in the way of spending money for food.
I thought to Carol, “If we give them three hundred each, they will have enough for the bus and for whatever else they need, according to Barbara.”
“I have that in my pocket and can give it to them when we get there. You might think about getting another tent for tonight. I think that six in a two man tent is about four too many.”
I chuckled silently. “Perhaps my personal tour guide will know of a place near the bus place. I’m sure I could talk her into leading me.”
In my mind I heard her amusement, “I’m sure that just guiding you to the tent store wouldn’t be the only thing easy to talk her into. If you decide you’re ready to give in and take a Consort, you have my blessing.”
“Thank you; did you know that you’re worse about pushing Consorts than my Aunt Isabel?”
Again the amusement, “Well, thank you! Comparing me to the Queen is a ver
y nice compliment!”
With a smile, I passed on the argument. Instead, I talked to Barbara. “Carol has enough money to give the girls to pay for their trips home. Since Carol and I are camping, we’ll need an extra tent to sleep everyone comfortably, and bedrolls, too. We can keep the camp site warm enough, so we won’t need much in the way of thick blankets. Is there a place near where we’re going that would sell things like that?”
Barbara nodded. “I think there is a pawn shop just a few blocks west. They might have what we need. I think they close at nine so we better hurry and get the girls on a bus. If it doesn’t come soon, the shop will close before we can get there.”
“Carol said that she’ll take care of getting them on the bus and will look out for trouble. You and I can go get the tent while they’re waiting. Carol can call if there’s a problem.”
Barbara gave an accusing look. “There’s something you’re not telling me. I’ve been with you every second and you didn’t talk to Carol about catching the bus or buying a tent. Now you know what her plans are and she can call you? I haven’t seen a cell phone in your hand the whole time. I doubt you even know what one is!”
I nodded. “Ok, you want the truth? When you hear it, you might think that Carol and I are a couple of crazies, but if you’re going with us, you should know. We said we aren’t from around here, and that’s the truth. We’re from a place called Eredwynn and got here using magic. We both have magical skills and one of them is called telepathy. We can…”
Barbara interrupted, “You can talk to each other across distances using your minds! I’ve heard of that and that also explains how you could get the smack out of our systems! Why you jump when a horn honks and tip cab drivers eighty bucks. What else can you do?”
“If you stick around long enough, you’ll see. I’m sure that some of the things that we do as second nature will surprise and maybe scare you. Rest assured, we won’t do anything to hurt you or your sister. I want you to be able to trust us to take care of you; I like you and wouldn’t want you to be afraid.”
She raised her eyebrows and winked flirtatiously. “I don’t think that you’ll scare me, unless you’re hiding something that scary…” her eyes drifted below my belt.
It was one of those rare times when I was the one made to blush and not the one causing the blush. I had nothing to say, so I chuckled, shook my head and followed the line of ladies in front of me.
When we got to the bus station, I checked to make sure the man whose girls we were stealing wasn’t around. Barbara told her sister that we were going to the pawn shop to look for a tent and they filed inside. Barb and I went off on our mission and made it to the shop in time. We found a large four-man tent made of a fabric that I’d never heard of. It was half the weight of my two-man and claimed to be waterproof. What this place lacked in humanity, it made up for with science!
We also found tiny bedrolls that unpacked and fluffed up to full size bags that a person could fit in. I decided that Carol and I could use one of those each, for nights we weren’t snuggling really close. Barbara claimed that, even if it was a tight fit, she and I could squeeze into one at the same time. That sounded like something I might have heard from the working girls in Tesil, but Barb wasn’t working anymore. Maybe sex was the only outlet she had for affection and she’d have to learn to love. Since Carol wanted her and her sister to come with us on the road, she could learn about love from us.
We packed up our purchases, which included two more packs to help carry everything we’d bought. I handed the wad of money I had to Barb so she could handle the transaction. I knew she had more experience with paper money than I did. She was shocked that I just handed it over, but made the transaction and hesitated as she handed the money back.
I asked, “Do you need money for anything? I still have quite a bit and you can have it if you need it. This place says they buy gold and I have a lot of that with me, too. It’s the best way for us to get money from our realm to yours.”
She looked at me with a questioning gaze. “Do you know I love you?” she whispered.
“Why do you love me, Barb?”
“Because you don’t want anything from me. You do nice things for me and don’t expect a blowjob or a straight fuck in return. I don’t think I’ve ever loved anyone before. I all I know to do to show gratitude is screw, and with you I feel you’d be happy with a simple ‘thank you’.”
“Now you might be learning what love really is. It isn’t what you can do for someone or to someone, for that matter. It’s just wanting to do things for them because it makes you happy. Holding your hand this evening has been as pleasant for me as getting sweaty between the sheets. Don’t get me wrong, that’s fun and I enjoy it. But it isn’t what love is all about.”
She took my hand and we walked back the way we’d come. As we got close to the bus station, she spoke for the first time since we’d left. “Alec, I understand whatcha mean. I have a lot to learn about real love. Would you and Carol let my sis and me go with you so I can learn more about it? I know I love you, but I want to make sure it’s the real kind, and not just the ‘sweaty sheets’ kind. Does that make sense?”
I nodded. “It makes a lot of sense and I’m glad you feel that way. We have working girls in Eredwynn that start thinking the way you were. I don’t know if they’ll ever learn to love if they can’t quit thinking that love is based in the bedroom.”
We got back in time to wave to the bus as it was pulling out. Luckily, the bus they needed to take was already there and had empty seats. It made me a little sad knowing that I’d met someone once, learned their name and situation and would never see them again. That feeling was overshadowed by the happiness of having helped someone better their situation.
We walked to a dark area along the side of the building and I gathered the girls together. “It’s getting late and it’s very dark where we’re going. We are camped near the city limits to the north and it would be midnight before we could get there, if we walked.”
Linda, the eldest girl in our group commented, “If we walked? There’s no other choice! If you asked a cabbie to take you the city limits at this time of night, he’d laugh and drive away.”
I smiled. “I’ve told Barbara some of this already, but I’ll tell the rest of you now. Carol and I are from a different place. You’ve seen Carol fix those girls with that stuff in them and you thought that was impossible. We can do quite a few other things that you haven’t seen. If you think I’m insane, you’re free to go back to your life, or wherever you choose. We’re at the bus station and we’ll buy you tickets out of here if you’d like.”
Barbara grinned. “I want to hear more. I know that they can use telepathy, and that was pretty cool. And Carol must know some tricks, judging by how easily she dropped the prick, Grady. What are you going to show us now, Alec?”
I laughed. “We better let your sister and the other two get on board first. I know that you’re all kinds of ready to go anywhere, even to Eredwynn!”
She nodded with a smile and Carol spoke up, “What he’s saying is true and the reason he’s saying it is because he wants to use a skill called ‘porting’ but doesn’t want to frighten you. If you’ll trust us, you’ll know for sure we’re telling the truth in just a matter of moments.”
The three girls whispered together for a moment then Amanda nodded. “Ok, we’ll believe you to a point. We’ll believe what you show us and can prove, but not necessarily what you tell us right off. Is that fair?”
I nodded. “That’s perfectly fair. What is going to happen is I’m going to take us to our camp site. We’ll be here one second and there the next. If I do it right, you’ll barely even notice you moved. So, everyone ready?”
There was a group nod, I gathered everyone and the gear into the port, cast for the location just to be sure and ported. There were a couple stifled screams as our location changed, but Barbara’s wasn’t one of them. She grabbed me by the collar, pulled me to her and kissed me breathle
ss.
She giggled. “I knew you weren’t nuts! I’m glad I was right, too, ‘cause you’re too cute to be nuts.”
Carol laughed. “I agree, I think he’s pretty cute, too.”
Barb jumped. “I’m sorry about that, Carol. I have to quit kissing your husband before you turn me into a toad or something.”
Carol shook her head. “That’s quite all right. I like kissing him too, and can understand. I’m going to cut up some more of this tree and get the fire going. Why don’t the rest of you start working on getting the tents set up?”
As Carol began cutting up the tree, I knew that I’d be on my own for a while. There was little chance of getting help while my wife was chopping through wood and floating it into piles with minor hand motions.
I had the smaller tent up and was working on figuring out the larger one before Carol began cooking. With that mundane task going on, help arrived and the girls knew more about tents from this era than I did. They slid the flexible poles through the loops running the length of the fabric, bent them in to the loops at the bottom and the tent erected itself! They staked it all around with small metal stakes and it was secure. Simple, but ingenious.
Chapter Ten
The next morning Carol and I woke at dawn as usual. We packed our bedding, took down our tent, and started breakfast before the girls began to stir. They came out with bushy hair and rumpled clothes. After they’d all made it to the fire, I began packing their things. By the time I had the tent cleaned out, they’d awakened enough to help take it down and pack it up.
We sat down to a famous Carol field breakfast and I decided we needed to know what the plans were. “All right, ladies, here is the situation. You know now that Carol and I aren’t from here and it’s getting close to time for us to go home, at least to check in. We wouldn’t want to abandon you here, now that you’re free of the man who had you working for him. We could take you with us to Eredwynn, but that place is much different than you’re used to here.” I smiled at Susan and Linda. “I know a couple of farm boys that would be interested in meeting you two and if I’m right, they’d treat you like princesses.” I turned to Amanda and Barbara. “You two have gotten attached to Carol and me and could stay with us, if you wanted. Or, and this offer is for any of you, we have a few thousand dollars that we could give you before we left and you could do… whatever.” I leaned back against my pack, signaling that I was done with my speech.
Alec the Wanderer: Generations of Eredwynn #4 Page 10