Dead Force Rising

by JL Oiler

  “Hello Gorgeous,” Caleb said, moving forward toward them, eyeing Thorn with each step.

  John growled low and primal, a warning to the younger man to back away from what he saw as his.

  “You had better stand down Bell,” Hark suggested, “Otherwise there might not be enough of you left for the medics to identify.”

  “She certainly looks better in that uniform than you, Beamer,” Caleb said as he took a few steps back, his hands rising in surrender because of the dangerous glare in John's eyes.

  Guiding Thorn out of the room and down the corridor toward the meeting room, he sighed a bit in relief. John hadn’t expected the ugly feeling of jealousy to rear its nasty head, threatening to send his beast into a deadly fit of protective rage. The whole idea both confused and worried him. What if he couldn't control the monsters lurking inside? He could never live with himself if he harmed Thorn.

  “Sergeant, Miss Grant, please come in and have a seat,” General Strait called as they entered the meeting room.

  ****

  Thorn felt odd dressed in a strangers clothes. Of course, walking through a room filled with wide-eyed soldiers did little to relieve her apprehension in the least. And now she had to face down the General who she would guess would be none too happy to see her in this secret place. She couldn't understand how her world, so simple only a few days earlier, had so quickly turned into one hot, weird mess.

  “Miss Grant, I would first like to give you my upmost apology for the traumatic events in which you were exposed last evening,” he told her with sincerity. “It does however create somewhat of a problem for us. We’d hoped to keep the existence of these creatures and this unit under wraps.”

  “Believe me, General I would never tell what I've seen. Even if I did, who would believe it? I would find myself wrapped in a straight jacket with a nice set of guards escorting me to the funny farm,” Thorn told him as John handed her a glass of water and took the seat at her side.

  “That being true, we also have the issue of your recently deceased partner. When I sent the clean-up crew, his body was gone. I’ve pulled some strings to keep it out of the press and your employer believes the two of you have been performing a special service with the base. But I’m afraid Keith Boyd might have converted.”

  “Converted? What do you mean converted?” Thorn asked panicked. Did he mean Keith was now one of those things, those vampires?

  “Relax, sweetie,” John attempted to calm her, his hand on her shoulder.

  “Don’t tell me relax and stop calling me sweetie. He means Keith is going to be one of those damn monsters, doesn’t he?” Thorn yelled. She saw the hurt in John’s eyes at her reference to monsters. He was one of those “things” and he’d never been anything but kind to her. It was an unnecessary generalization that hurt someone she was just beginning to find a connection with.

  “I’m sorry,” she said taking a deep breath. “I didn't mean to imply that...”

  “Forget it.” He cut her off, withdrawing his hand from her shoulder and sitting back in his chair, obviously hurt. “We’ll have to hunt him down and dispatch him. Do you have any idea where he might go?”

  “I don’t know, back to the station maybe?” Thorn told them as she looked down into her glass, ashamed of her outburst.

  “I’ve already put a unit on that,” General Striate informed them. “He hasn’t showed up there.”

  “He just broke up with his long time girlfriend, Rachel, last week. Maybe he went there. She lives over on Horner,” Thorn said after some thought.

  “Do you know the exact address?” Striate asked as he grabbed the phone receiver off the table.

  “One thirteen, apartment four I think.”

  Thorn sat in silence as she listened to the General talk on the phone and John rap his fingers in a cadence like rhythm on the tabletop. So much for exploring the attraction she felt for the Sergeant any further. As it stood, she would be lucky if the man even spoke to her again.

  “Miss Grant, since you're now aware of our little operation here, I have been given the authority to see that you join the unit as a civilian corpsman. You’ll be assigned to work with Dr. Hough drawing blood and administering basic aid. You'll answer directly to him on medical issues and report to me on all matters occurring inside the medical wing.” The General shuffled through some papers in a manila folder as he spoke, his voice and tone saying that this wasn't actually a request but a fact.

  Thorn wanted to argue, to say he had no right to force her to stay in this place and be part of this madness. However, she didn't say a word, only nodded her head in silent acceptance. Her brother, Thomas, once said it was the duty of every person to rise to the occasion when their country and way of life needed them, despite the risk or challenges ahead. Thorn thought perhaps this was that occasion. She would've liked to say that this sense of duty was the only reason, but it would've been false. The idea of not having the opportunity to make things right between her and John was also a deciding factor. She owed him her life, not her scorn.

  “Sergeant Rose will take you down to Miss William's office to take care of all the paperwork and such. Welcome to the Nest, Miss Grant.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Sign here, and initial here and here,” Miss Williams told Thorn as they completed the last of what had to be a tree's worth of paperwork.

  John had brought her here and simply left. She knew he was upset with her, with her careless statement and she had no idea how to make it better. It wasn’t as if she could take it back. It came out of her mouth and upset or not, her words had hurt him.

  “You'll be issued seven sets of uniforms which you're to wear on duty. Here are your ID and clearance cards. We are not permitted to leave the nest unescorted, so I have an arrangement with the guards to visit the PX every Wed. in case you wish to join me.”

  Was she serious? They expected her to reside here as though it were a prison.

  “There's a common room on level three with a pool table, large screens and computers. We are each also issued a laptop but be aware all your action on it is monitored. So I suggest no cybersex,” Miss Williams continued as she handed Thorn a map and copies of the paperwork. “Payday is the 15th and 30th and it will be direct deposited into an account which I'll set up for you. The General has arranged for someone to take you topside so you can collect some personal affects.”

  The woman stopped then and gave Thorn a soft smile which didn't quiet reach her eyes. “Welcome to the Nest. It will be nice not to be the only female in this fish bowl. I’m Karen.”

  “Thorn,” she said, reaching her hand out to shake the long, thin hand of the woman who was obviously in charge of all the clerical aspects of this place.

  She was a pretty woman, about thirty with short, auburn hair cut into a sassy bob and she had deep green eyes. Thorn hoped they could be friends since the two were seriously outnumbered down here.

  A sharp knock on the door stopped any further conversation as John entered the room and gave Karen a nod in acknowledgement.

  “Are you ready?” He asked. “I want to get back quickly so I can take the rest of the team out to hunt down Boyd before he infects anyone.”

  Thorn could hear the agitation his voice. He was still angry with her. Standing, she told Karen she would talk to her later and followed him out and toward the elevator which would return them to the surface. The silence between them was numbing even in the short distance. She didn't know how to fix this, only that she needed to.

  “Get only what you can’t live without. We’ll have the rest packed up and put into storage for you.” John told her once they were in the jeep and headed toward her street. “Your room is much smaller than mine so you won’t have much space.”

  “l'll only grab a small box or two. Not like I’ll need much. They arrange for everything,” Thorn said, staring out the window, noticing it had snowed more since the previous night and the world around them looked like a sparkling wonderland. With only a we
ek until Christmas, she wondered if they would allow her to go see Caroline and Becka for the holiday. She hated the thought of not seeing Becka open the pile of gifts already wrapped and sitting in her hall closet. It was something she would've to take up with the General or perhaps John when he was no longer sore at her, which might not be for a while, if ever.

  “Here you go, madam. Do you need us to accompany you?” The young guard asked as they pulled into the small driveway outside her home.

  “That won’t be necessary,” John inserted before she could respond. “I’ll be accompanying her inside.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  ****

  John’s emotions ran heavy as he walked Thorn to her house. He’d thought they shared something, certain she’d felt it the same as him. Still, her words wrung loudly in his mind. She thought him a monster. How could he ever expect her to have feelings for the beast she thought him to be?

  Stepping through the front door, he looked around. The place seemed cold and lonely and wasn't anything like he expected. The furnishings were small and he wondered if she even used any of it. John stood in her living room staring at the cluster of family pictures that crowded the wall as he heard her take to the steps.

  He couldn't help but smile at the images of Thorn and Thomas at various ages along with a couple he assumed were their parents. How happy they all seemed. He recalled Thomas talking about his parent’s death from an automobile accident once when the two of them were pulling duty in a rain soaked foxhole. Thorn was only sixteen when the happy life she knew was torn to shreds. Thomas, who’d just turned eighteen, quit school during his senior year so he could get a job and support them. When Thorn started college a few years later, Thomas enlisted.

  John felt a need to protect her, fight the self-imposed loneliness that her home reflected. Turning, he headed for the stairs, taking them two at a time to reach her. Thorn was standing with her back to him, a small red suitcase in front of her on the bed. Moving up behind her, John put his hands on the flare of her hips and leaned down to breath the scent of her deep.

  “I’m sorry about what I said earlier,” she sighed as he slide both hands further around so they rested across her abdomen. “I don’t think, I mean, I know you’re not a monster.”

  “There's a beast inside me, Thorn. Something dark and unnatural.” He turned her in his arms so they stood face-to-face, their lips only inches apart. “But I would never harm you. I promise, Thorn.”

  He took a deep breath against her skin before reaching around her to sweep her overnight bag to the floor with a thud. Only one thing stuck in his mind at the moment, he wanted Thorn here and now.

  ****

  Thorn’s body trembled with desire, her cunt becoming hot and wet. Never had a man made her feel so wanton. “What, what are you going to do?” She asked with a mixture of apprehension and excitement as she licked her lips.

  “Whatever you want me to, Thorn.” He told her as he brushed his lips gently across hers, teasing her mouth.

  “I want you, John,” she said in a trembling voice that made him want to scream in triumph. “Make love to me.”

  “Are you certain? I’m not the type to play easy with what I want and I want you so badly,” he admitted.

  She worried her lower lip as he lowered her to the bed. Crouching overtop her, he grinned down and Thorn could see the sharp edges of his canines. He made quick work of her clothing, leaving her laying before him in nothing more than her undergarments in a matter of seconds.

  She could feel his hands run across her tucked waist and strong fingers loop into the string sides of her panties, breaking them as though they had been made of paper, baring the soft flesh of her shaved pussy to his eyes “I don’t know where to start.”

  Thorn felt his hands move to the insides of her thighs, pushing her legs far apart as his weigh shifted on the mattress until both of her legs rested across his shoulders and his hot breath danced across her throbbing cunt. His flattened tongue slid across her already damp pussy lips, gently at first then with a sudden growl, as he pushed deep into her and lapped at the flood of moisture that coated her. Moaning loudly, she attempted to grind her cunt against his mouth but he held her hips tight, refusing to allow her to move. Instead he forced one thick digit past the muscle rings of her tight ass and finger fucked her as he fed on her cunt. Fastening his mouth to the tight bud of her clit, he tugged then sucked the pulsating bundle of nerves between his lips making her breathing quicken and her body tremble in impending release. Just as the first quiver began to move through her body, he stopped and moved away from her, making her cry out at the loss, a cry she snuffled when she realized he was undressing.

  Moving back to join her, John pushed two fingers into her pussy, fucking them in and out of her quickly. Burying both to the last knuckle and holding them there, John smiled as she attempted to rock her hips into him. He loved the wild look in her eyes, seeing her flushed and needy for him.

  “I want to see you take me in your mouth, to feel you suck me,” he told her as he pulled his fingers free and watched her slide to the floor between his knees. His heart pounded hard in his chest.

  Thorn reached out and gripped his massive cock, circling the base with both hands as she ran her tongue along the edge of the purple head. Opening her mouth, she slowly took the organ inside, scraping across the tender flesh with her teeth as she took it part way. With a feral growl, he grabbed her head and pushed his massive cock deep until the bulging head bumped against the back of her throat. With his hand wrapped tightly in her long hair, he fucked himself in and out of her wet mouth until she was certain he would cum at any moment. Suddenly he joined her on the floor, pushing her on all fours and positioning his cock at the opening of her hot cunt. With one strong thrust, he pushed into her. Her muscles tightening around his cock, gripping him tightly. Withdrawing so that only the head remained inside her, he thrust harder, this time seating his entire length. With a howl of pure delight, he began to fuck in and out of her tight cunt, grunting loudly with every forceful thrust.

  Loud, breathless moans filled the air and it took a minute or two for Thorn to realize that they were coming from her own lips. “Oh, I’m going to cum!” she cried out as he increased both the speed and force of his thrust, his fingers biting hard into the soft flesh of her hips. Screaming his name, Thorn exploded, her hot cream coating his cock as he continued to pound into her.

  A second orgasm came on the heels of the first as John pulled her upper body up so both his hands rested on the bed. With a deep growl he bit into her shoulder, his cock convulsing with its own release. The feel of his mouth and teeth on her flesh did nothing to lessen the intensity of the orgasm that left her screaming his name. Crumbling against him, Thorn tried to catch her breath as John stroked his slick fingers up and down her abdomen, his cock beginning to grow hard inside her once again.

  “Mmmm, I love seeing you like that, with aftershocks raking your body after we’ve made love.” He growled against the side of her neck as he spoke. “I know it seems premature and rushed, but say your mine Thorn, only mine.”

  She didn't know how to answer the request. There was so much that lay between them. Hell, she hardly knew him. Still she wanted to say it, to scream it to the heavens. Instead, she sealed it with a kiss.

  “I’ve bitten you,” he told her as she felt him wipe at the trail of a stray droplet.

  The idea she’d been bitten should have frightened her but instead she felt only mild curiosity. “Will I be like you?” She wondered aloud as he continued to trace the red streak his bite caused across her shoulder.

  “No,” John assured her. “It must be death causing, not a result of an overzealous lover. I didn't hurt you, did I?”

  “Not at all,” she told him before again pressing a kiss to his lips.

  “We’d better get you dressed and back to the Nest if I expect to get any work done tonight. Otherwise I'll make it my mission to see you never walk right again,” John told he
r as he pressed soft kisses to her neck and shoulders.

  “That or the guards will hear me screaming and run in with guns drawn,” Thorn added with a chuckle.

  “That would definitely be the highlight of their evening,” John added as they both stood up and began the search for their forgotten clothes.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  John pulled on his fatigue pants and shirt then turned to watch as Thorn slipped a gray tee shirt over her head and stood there grinning at him in only the shirt and a pair of black lace panties. The sight of her made him want her all over again. His beast called for him to do so repeatedly until they both were sated, a notion he would've readily entertained if there were not two Thorndiers waiting for them outside.

  A glimmer of something caught John’s attention only a moment before the loud crash of glass breaking away from the window and showering sharp slivers of glass across the room hit him. Thorn screamed as Keith Boyd burst through the opening, grabbing her roughly by the hair and roaring in anger. The sound of her fear echoed through John, calling to primal beast dwelling inside of him, making the man in him fight to maintain control. This wasn't the time to rush in unthinking.

  Boyd was still dressed in his medic uniform though shredded in the front and soiled heavily with mud and blood, both old and new. There was also the thick smell of death, which filled the air each time the creature bellowed.

  “My Master calls for you, Thorn,” Keith seethed through blood-tainted fangs. “My Master calls for you to join us.”

  “Let me go Keith, please,” Thorn begged, her words making John's battle for self-control more difficult.

  “My Master has ordered I bring you to him. I must do what the Master wishes or he won’t stop the pain.” The beast who’d once been her partner sniveled in a childish tone.