When we all stared at her, she spoke again, this time with a slight smile that was as sexy as can be. "That was a joke. It will likely taste like chocolate to you. Was it not humorous?"
Most of us did give a brief laugh that was more like a sharp, smiling exhale. It came from not being sure what to make of Delilah. She seemed so serious and deceptive. The joke was good except for the lingering thought that it might actually taste like shit. Making us eat it would then be the real joke.
"Oh, that was funny, alright," I told her. "As funny as shit." My joke got more laughter because there was no misunderstanding. Except Delilah. I had yet to hear her laugh. Was her species capable of it? She told her joke with such a straight face. Then again, how would I know her straight face from any other expressions. She was an alien after all.
CHAPTER TWELVE:
"Where is your rifle?" Delilah asked as I carried her from the raft to the island. She expressed a genuine lack of interest in getting her feet wet. Below her long dress she had on thin boots that could nearly be classified as socks. They were tall enough that no part of her legs ever became exposed when I carried her.
"It ran out of ammo," I told her. I wondered briefly how she knew about what weapons that we had. Then I remembered that she was tracking our progress during our escape from her starship. The arsenal that we managed to take aboard the shuttle may have been common knowledge.
"Both weapons are rechargeable," she told me as I placed her on the sand and turned to pull the raft up out of the sea. I stopped in my tracks as that bit of information was the most useful so far to cross her tiny thin lips.
"How do I recharge it?"
Delilah lowered her eyelids as she looked to the sky and raised her hands in that direction as well. "Sunlight will recharge it." When she looked back to me, she continued. "We use a special segment of the spectrum as a charging conduit, but sunlight will do the trick, only slower. Where have you been keeping the rifle?"
"Inside."
"Place it in the sunlight for an hour," she told me as she turned to walk slowly toward our house. "It will recharge enough for a test shot."
I stared at her slender back as she sauntered away from me. Getting more use out of the pulse rifle would be huge. The fact that she volunteered that information said something as well. Was having two working guns for her benefit? Or, was she genuinely trying to help us? I still couldn't be sure.
I desperately wanted to believe everything that she told us. If we could trust her, she could then become one of us. That would make things a lot easier. I knew well from experience what it was like to have people among you that you distrusted. It changed how you talked, how you relaxed, how you slept. Uncertainty in the motives of someone in your group made life less enjoyable overall.
There was an additional element as well. Delilah hips swayed gracefully as she walked through the loose sand. Her tiny little ass cheeks were taking turns bobbing up and down for my enjoyment. I remembered back to the contact that I made with her skin when we found her in the stasis chamber. I imagined how firm that ass could be.
"Is there something in particular that you are looking for in her backside?" Shira asked as she walked by me with an armful of supplies to return to the house.
"Honesty," I said, remembering the initial reason why I was staring after the dark woman.
"Honesty?" Nancy asked as she also carried stuff from the raft. "From her backside?"
I shook away my thoughts and ignored the question. We were home. It was good to be back. I needed to get the raft securely up on dry land and make a patrol around the island. I was also eager to test the recharging of the pulse rifle. Without a doubt, I had deprived the weapon of exposure to the sun. I thought that I was keeping the guns secure inside the house. Carrying the pistol on guard duty was probably what kept it charged all this time. How was I to know? There were no recognizable solar panels on the exterior.
I sat the rifle against the nearest tree facing the direction of the brightest part of the sky. Then I headed toward the south end of the island along the west side, past the raft. A full round would place me back there and I could grab whatever was left in the boat. Halfway around the island as I was heading north along the east side, Lin joined me.
"What's up?" I asked. Hopefully the new woman was not causing a disturbance already.
"Not much," she answered as she matched my steps along the edge of the grass. "I just thought we could talk in private during your patrol. I'm a little confused by your dark waif new companion."
"My what?"
"Delilah, I'm talking about Delilah. I'm trying not to use the term that Nancy prefers for her. Queen bitch."
"Where is she now?"
"She's sitting at the table in the house," Lin told me. "She hasn't lifted a finger so far to help us. Based on her size I realize that she probably can't carry as much as us but come on. She didn't pick up anything from the raft to bring inside."
"Why would she?" I asked. Lin looked confused by my question. "I guess defining her role would determine what we should expect from her. And we haven't done that yet."
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that if she is a hostage, we wouldn't expect her to help out with chores, right?"
"No, I guess not," Lin answered. "Is that what she is then?"
"If she is a guest, we wouldn't expect her to help either. It would be nice if she did, but we wouldn't demand it. I have to assume that you are looking at her as something else."
Lin stopped as she gave it some thought. The island was clear of threats and we were currently at the north end. If we wanted to continue the conversation in private, we might as well remain there.
"You are right, of course," Lin finally said. "I guess the three of us were expecting you to be friendlier toward her. Maybe even invite her into our bed. We do after all only have one place to sleep. How should we be looking at her then?"
"She's an alien, Lin! She was one of our captors. She might still be. Did you honestly think that I would look past all that because of what? Because she's attractive?"
Lin nodded. "Of course, you are right. We should have known better. You are a military man first, a horny bastard second."
"Bastard?"
"Sorry," Lin apologized sincerely. "That word just goes naturally with horny. Well, it is good that you have your head on straight. Help us do the same."
I released a deep breath as I thought about it. I was offended that my women thought so little of me, but there was a reason to be confused about Delilah. If she helped us escape, we should be appreciative and treat her well. If we suspected her as the enemy, we needed to treat her more like a prisoner. Turn the tables when we can.
"We need as much information out of her as we can get," I told Lin. "Treating her unkindly would not likely help us with that. We have no leverage to force information out of her. Threaten her life? No, that could lose this opportunity for us. We should play nice but keep her guarded at all times. We just need to be casual about it. Observe her. Question her. If something raises the alarm, we'll react. If not, we continue like that until we feel like we can trust her."
"Okay, sounds good," Lin replied. I could tell by the look on her face that she was feeling better about the situation than when she approached. "I'll go keep an eye on her while I help the girls."
I watched Lin walk away just like I did Delilah. Was I letting these beautiful women distract me? Yes. Undeniably, yes. If it was all guys here, things would be different for sure. But I was glad that it was not all guys.
We might be the last of the human race. Or, even if not, it might not be long before we are killed off. Whether it was for viewer entertainment or just from natural hazards on this planet. Any way I looked at it, I was happy to have Lin and Nancy by my side. And in my bed. That was not likely to change.
Decisions from this point forward in dealing with Delilah would be all about the survival of my women. And their happiness. What else was there to live for?
"Not even accidentally," Lin replied to her. "Don't brush against me and push any changes on my body." Lin had taken a seat across the table from our captive as Shira and Nancy put stuff away in the kitchen and began to sort out dinner.
"It doesn't work that way," Delilah answered calmly. "I can assure you that it will never happen again."
"Good," I said as I entered and slid onto the padded bench beside my newest wife, though I did not yet get the opportunity to announce her as such yet. "Lin's orgasms are my department."
"Joah!" Lin swatted my leg pretending to be shocked.
"I do have some questions for you, Delilah. Will you answer honestly?"
"To the best of my ability," the slender alien replied. Dark waif was what Lin called her. It was an accurate description, but misleading. On the ship she had a different eye color each time we saw her, matching her dress on both occasions. Since she opened them on the hillside of North Island, they remained green but varied in shade.
"Are we still on the show?" I asked.
Delilah made a strange gesture with her hands. I assumed that it was something like a shrug for her people. "I have been asleep for a few days, I am told. I wouldn't know."
"That doesn't sound like a cooperative answer," I told her. "We see the camera drones every day. To the best of your knowledge, are we still on the show?"
"Yes," Delilah replied. "I believe that the show has continued without me. It is reasonable to assume."
"Was sending us here to this planet, to this tiny island, part of the scripted plot of the show?"
Delilah studied me as she ran the pinky finger of her right hand across her nearly nonexistent lips, then down around her pointed chin and back. A continuous circle. It must be a gesture that she uses when she is contemplating something. In that situation, I did not expect it to be meant as arousing. Remembering her sharp teeth, I was not planning on placing anything of mine inside her mouth ever again.
"Yes, it was my job to guide you here as a continuation of the program."
"What about the simulated island on the ship? Is that show continuing?"
"Yes, Joah. More players will be added or have already been added to continue that program. Your arrival on this planet is more like a spin-off show. Related to the previous, but separate."
"So, you coming here is part of the show as well, then?" I asked, hoping that I was leading the questioning in the right direction. "Even though you claimed that we could escape imprisonment on that shuttle, you knew better. And now, you are here simply to improve the ratings on your show."
"We do not have a ratings concern," Delilah answered, deflecting the real question.
"Make more money, then."
"We are not highly motivated by financial gain."
"Whatever your motivation," I felt myself getting too emotional. I needed to calm down and stay focused. "For whatever the reason. You are here to improve the show."
"No," she said.
"No?"
"No, Joah. I never intended to follow through with my promise to meet you here. I must admit now that was a lie. We do what we do individually among my people primarily for recognition. For fame. Popularity is everything in our culture. The script, as you describe it, calls for me to send you here by any means that I see fit. I orchestrated the shuttle escape and decided for myself what to tell you in order for you to follow my instructions. At that point I was still in control. Claiming my rebellion against my people was a fabrication."
"At that point?" I asked. I hated that what she was telling me made sense. That just made it too easy to believe. This was possibly the most successfully deceptive female that I had ever encountered. And I thought I had already known the worst of them back on Earth. I had the gut feeling that the next lie out of her mouth was going to be convincing as well.
"The new program was not successful. Viewers lacked interest in watching you here on the planet's surface. The robotic supply spiders that I approved were criticized as ineffective. I was accused of sympathy. You see, my ruse became reality. I guess that must have been why I was so convincing. I wanted you to live more than I wanted my people to respect me."
"Bullshit!" Lin called out for the second time. "You said before that you left the starship the same day as us but went to sleep after boarding your shuttle. How could you come up with the idea of the spiderbots while asleep?"
"I lied about my shuttle leaving the same day," she admitted. She had a way of communicating that did not demonstrate the expected emotion that should be attached. That particular sentence should have had some regret displayed. Or at least some embarrassment in being caught. It did not.
"Or, you are lying now," Lin said.
"What would I have to gain by admitting to lying before if it were not true? I am volunteering this information to you."
"Why didn't you just tell us the truth from the beginning," I asked. I was trying hard to like and respect this woman while keeping her at a safe distance emotionally, but she wasn’t making it easy for me.
"There were a variety of factors in that decision..." Delilah started.
"Bullshit!" Lin cut her off once again. Nancy added her agreement from the kitchen.
"Okay, okay!" I said loudly as I stood up. "That is enough for now. Let's have dinner and get some rest. It is hard to tell what kind of challenge we will have to face next. Let me think things over before we continue the questioning. Delilah, you will need to earn your trust among us. Don't do anything to make us jumpy."
"I will remain here until you say so, Joah."
I handed my pistol to Lin before exiting the building. I probably should have held onto it until I was sure that the pulse rifle would work. Delilah's web of deceit had me wondering if the gun would even still be there by the tree when I returned. But what would she have to gain by lying about the recharging? The rifle was useless before. I was confusing myself the more I thought about all the possibilities. I was glad that I ordered a break. Let the truth rise to the top and the lies sink to the bottom. That could only be done with time, a clear mind, and a change of perspective. Or at least a change of view would help.
The rifle was where I had left it, thank goodness. I didn't have to wonder about that anymore. I looked around for a suitable target to test it on. Nothing was in sight that I didn't mind destroying. That's when I thought about the unusual crabs on the beach. It didn't take me long to find one of good size. I held my breath as I used the star-shaped reticle inside the scope to aim. Pulling the trigger, I was shocked somehow. A full blast of plasma shot out of the barrel and obliterated the crab into a charred mess.
Delilah was right about the sun recharging the weapon. What did she have to gain by telling me? And possibly more important, what else that she told us would turn out to be true?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN:
"Where is she going to sleep?" Nancy huffed.
"I don't know," I replied. I had mixed feelings about our alien guest. Guarding her constantly was a chore. Giving her freedom to move around was a risk. She had shown no indication to this point that she could be violent. If anything, her species were very weak in battle. They relied on battle bots to do their dirty work. Could I see her grabbing a knife from the kitchen and using it on one of my women? Yes. I didn't think it was likely, but I couldn't rule it out.
"It is going to be bedtime soon, Joah. You need to decide," Nancy urged me. "It affects where and how the rest of us will sleep."
"Wherever we put her, she'll need to be guarded," I said. "That will be easier to do inside the house. However, that means that two of us will need to stay awake at a time. One for patrols, the other to guard her."
"We can do that," Lin said. "We'll all pitch in to help. Even Shira." The
referred to Middle Eastern woman nodded her agreement. We were all standing in the grassy section while Delilah sat on one of the swings. I never took my eye off of her while we talked.
"We'll get tired, sleepy," I replied. "Tired people make mistakes."
"Two guards are better than one," Lin suggested. "Keep each other company. When the one goes on patrol, the other focuses." I nodded my agreement with that statement, but not necessarily making it my decision. Rotating people in odd shifts would work best, not two at a time. I could cover longer shifts, Shira short ones.
Before I could open my mouth to voice my next thought, we heard something skyward. Something was approaching from directly overhead. I already had my rifle, and Lin her pistol. We just needed to take cover.
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