by Lia Nox
Not that that would be a bad ending.
When I’d first arrived on this planet, I’d thought I’d find death in the jaws of some ungodly creature. If, instead, the alternative was to die from too much pleasure, I think that most sane people would choose that option. I, for one, wouldn’t hesitate before making my choice.
How could I? The way they willed me into such action, my mind, body, and soul unable to resist their movements, showed me that I was no longer a woman in charge of my own senses. They’d taken the reins and were leading me down a path I had to follow. For better or worse.
Gasping, watching galaxies spinning behind my eyes, I blinked at the clear sky. The guys settled around me, all of us close, just touching. Their hands reached out to stroke me, and my body responded with urgent fire.
As tempting as it was to pull them further into another sexual encounter, I knew I should let them focus on the bigger picture. We weren’t safe here, as the recent encounter with the wolf beasts proved.
Besides. It’s not like I could get up right now, no matter what my motivation. My body was burning, desperate for more of this delirious pleasure I had discovered. But from the way I was trembling, I knew I was near my limit.
I sat up a bit, trying to control my breathing. Roth looked up immediately, always the first to respond. His face was eager, and his tongue crept to the edge of his lip. The hand that stroked me gently on the arm pressed against me a little harder.
“Is there more I can do for you, Erin?” he asked, eyes devouring my naked body.
The others snapped to attention immediately, not wanting to be left out. I took a few halting breaths, reaching for my shirt.
“I’m sorry, I let my emotions get the better of me. We should be planning our next move, shouldn’t we, not rolling around in the dirt.” I smiled at them as I pulled my shirt back on, gathering it tight around my waist as I looked for my pants.
“Anytime you wish to let your emotions get to you, I am in full support.” Kern grinned at me, trying for a look of mock seriousness.
I laughed at his crooked expression. “You really are cottoning on to the human lingo.” The confused looks that flew around the group set me into giggling again.
“What is this cottoning?” Talos asked. “And what does it have to do with lingo?”
“Nothing, nothing.” Laughing combined with multiple orgasm recovery was an impossible situation at the best of times. Right now, it was bordering on painful.
A good kind of painful though. Put this up against any of the painful times of my childhood, and deciphering alien expressions while your pussy pulses, looked like a party.
Maybe because it was a fucking party.
“Honestly?” I pulled my trousers on, wriggling to get into them. “I don’t even know what ‘cottoning’ means. Something to do with baling cotton, which is a fiber. . .or knitting, which is what you do with fibers.” I made a little pattern with my hands.
“Like weaving,” Roth said with some authority. “An old-fashioned way of making clothes with rudimentary machines or by hand. This ‘cottoning on’ may be the start of a new thread.”
“Yes, I agree.” I nodded at Roth, surprised. “How did you figure that out?”
Roth shrugged. “Old villages, other types of people. They still live in that way. Probably very different to your idea of it, but the principle is the same.”
“Do you know many other types of people?” I asked him softly. Running into Delia and her crew was enlightening—it made me realize there might be all kinds of people running around. Now I thought there might be other kinds of aliens, maybe even tribes.
Roth shook his head and it was echoed by the other two.
“Just tales.” Roth said sadly. “When there are groups that meet, they tell stories. Some are from other places, brought here in pods. There are no peoples living here that are not warriors, not teams. . .not in the territory.”
I thought about this as I fastened on my shirt. To me, the planet looked like a vast space that could be inhabited by any number of strange creatures, but the way the guys talked about it, the place was more like a massive arena.
As the guys got dressed, they handed out a few more morsels of dried meat. I took it gratefully, chewing to occupy my hands as well as my thoughts.
“So, this place is like. . .” I didn’t know how to describe it to them. “I want to say playing field. Arena, for sport?”
“I’m not sure what you mean by playing field,” Kern said to me as he stepped up onto the rock to scout the area, “but if you mean place of game, or competition, that sounds right.”
“The whole planet? Has the climate and everything always been designed to challenge you?”
The guys looked between each other curiously.
“I had not considered it,” Roth said slowly. “At times, the weather certainly felt antagonistic. I did not think much of it. But yes, I think environmental conditions could be manufactured.”
I nodded slowly, taking a bite of food. “Did anyone ever win?”
They looked between each other again.
“Win?” Talos asked.
“Well. . .if it’s a game, what do you play for? Surely, they would have to show winners and losers, to give you incentive to keep going.”
“I know not of this ‘incentive’ you say.” Roth shook his head. “But to live, that is winning. Sometimes extra rations or weapons. To die is to lose. There is nothing else.”
“You mean they don’t offer you satin cushions and fancy gadgets? What the hell do these Masters get out of this?”
They all shook their heads this time.
“We don’t know the answer,” Kern said, eyes big and sad. “If we knew, we could offer you some clue as to what you are doing caught in it.”
“So. . .” I was getting confused now, but I thought that I was closer to the truth. “How do we know if the Masters are here or gone? You guys seem to think they have disappeared, but it could be just another trick.”
Talos leaned over, slipping an arm around my shoulders to cuddle me gently. “It could be. We really don’t know. Why are you asking so many questions?” He seemed puzzled by my interest.
“I want to help you.” Only as I spoke the words did I understand how true they were. “I want to understand for myself but also for you. It seems as if you are all thinking pretty hard on this and I don’t want to be carried along like a lump, I want to help.”
They all smiled, like my honest words were the most beautiful thing they had ever heard.
“I assure you; you are no lump.” Kern smiled at me, getting down from the rock to take my hand. “You rescued me. You have proven yourself in battle. You can adapt and think quickly. You are a valuable addition to any team.”
Talos hugged me a little tighter. “Being a wellspring of sexuality does not hurt, either.”
I cracked up, thinking about the difference between his words and what a human might say.
“Okay, I get it.” I tried to calm down my giggling. “That’s great that I’m not useless. But I can see that you are all thinking on this. I have a different perspective to all of you. Maybe if we really hash it out, I can think of something you guys can’t see, you know, because you’re too close to it.”
“I do not know what is this hash,” Roth said slowly, rolling the word on his tongue. “But if you mean to fully examine the subject, we are willing to do so.”
I nodded at him, easing out from Talos’ arm to get up. I stretched my back, pushing my arms into my hips to make it crack.
“That’s good. I’m pretty lost with everything you say but hopefully, something rings a bell.”
“I don’t have any bells.” Talos looked down in dismay and I burst out giggling again. I thought about the impossibility of explaining hash as well as bells and figured I’ll have my work cut out for me, either way.
All I knew was that everything we had been doing went beyond the physical world. Our bodies merely served as a bridge that co
nnected whatever realm that lay beyond the physical, our bond so strong that it was all we needed to survive the crossing.
I drifted off to sleep, thoughts still slowly circling.
I wasn’t sure if I had understood the reasons behind them thinking I was part of their pack, but I wouldn’t want to argue them even if I did. All I knew was that life became easier around them, and that was a gift I simply couldn’t scorn. Life before them had been cruel and hard, and I had been hurt and abused far too many times to count.
But with Roth, with Kern and Talos. . .with them the impossible became possible. They had opened my eyes to the fact that there was more to life than just surviving.
I could rest.
“Erin,” I heard Roth say, and his voice jolted me out of my reverie. Slowly, I opened my eyes to the new day and looked up at him, my heart tightening inside my chest as I saw the kindness in his face. This time there was more than just lust or desire there. There was something else, something I couldn’t quite place my finger on.
Could it be. . .?
No, it couldn’t be that. We barely knew each other. And yet, the way he looked into my eyes held promises of so much more.
For the first time since arriving on this planet, the urge to go back home disappeared completely, like the flame of a candle that had been snuffed out by the wind.
I knew that eventually I’d be rational about things again but, in that moment, in that small sliver of time, I thought myself capable of remaining in this doomed planet forever.
As long as I had them with me, everything would be fine.
Roth
“Erin,” I said, her name itself causing my heart to beat at a different rhythm than it had before. It wasn’t a faster rhythm or a slower one, it was just different. And I liked it.
Acting on what my heart told me to do, I reached for her and took her hand in mine. Gently, I pulled her up to her feet.
I sensed that if I let myself cave into my urges, Erin would be more than happy to satisfy them. She made a good point though, about letting emotions overtake us. The recent attack by the wolf beasts had put us on edge—but spending our adrenaline in sex could be a grave mistake.
“Yes, Roth?” she asked. I still had the urgency in my chest, but my emotions could no longer be expressed.
“It’s time to move on.” Not what I’d meant to say. Not what I’d thought about during my watch.
She ran her hand up my arm and when I raised my eyes to hers, they were soft, full of compassion. The deep carnal emotions running through us were naked but instead of creating urgency, they calmed me.
It was all there in her gaze. She felt the same as I and there was no need for words.
She nodded. Kern and Talos shared a water can, handing it over to me. I drank from it then handed it to Erin.
Talos looked out over the plains, taking Kern’s place on the rock. I could tell he was withdrawn. I wanted to think about it, but my thoughts led me back to Erin. I looked down at our linked hands, trying to identify the storm of feeling inside.
It was something new, something I had never experienced before. I didn’t know what it was, but of one thing I was certain: I needed to go deeper, to explore these blossoming feelings. I wanted to know it fully. If I didn’t attempt to delve into the unknowns of what it could mean for me, for us, then I’d have missed out on a wonder greater than those I’d already discovered. Of this I was certain.
“I’m pleased you’re here with us,” I continued, admiring how she stood in front of me, tall and strong. She looked more beautiful than ever, the afterglow that lingered on her skin lending her the radiance of a queen or goddess. Even though she was still waking and her hair was a complete mess, that just added to her charm. “No. . .I’m more than just pleased. I’m happy.”
That last word sounded foreign to my ears. Even though I had uttered the word in my language, had I ever used it before? I wasn’t certain. After all, had I ever been truly happy? The glory of the battlefield, the joy of victory and triumph. . .those were one thing.
But this, this was something else entirely.
Something more powerful than the shallow battle cry one lets out after crushing his enemies. Something more intense and valuable than all the rewards the Masters’ could’ve offered me. There was a profundity to this happiness I was feeling that I couldn’t quite grasp.
I wished that the others felt the same, but I could see Talos was thinking more serious thoughts. He scanned the plains like he expected answers to pop up out there, as easy to nail down as small prey creatures.
A day where Talos was more concerned with scouting tactics than me was not one I ever thought I’d see. Where my eyes kept hungrily devouring Erin, his stayed firmly on the horizon as if he expected immediate attack.
Kern sidled up to Erin’s other side, making her grin. She reached up, running her fingers along his pointed, dark horns. She pulled my arm a little as she moved, not letting go of my hand.
“Talos, brother, do you see anything?” His avid focus was starting to trigger my instincts.
“No, no, Roth.” He jumped down from the rock, looking over his shoulder. “I don’t think an attack is likely. I was just making sure.”
Erin stepped away from us, letting our hands fall as she walked up to Talos. His face immediately brightened as she turned her attention to him. I felt no lack, no jealousy, only relief that she could give him comfort.
Tension seemed to run through him even faster under her attention. Finally, I understood. Talos was worried about protecting her. When it was just us, the threat of danger was bad enough. Now that we had Erin in our pack, he was far more careful than he had been.
“I’m not used to seeing you so vigilant, Talos,” I said softly. He looked up from Erin’s embrace and smiled, joy coming easily under her comfort.
“I’m not used to caring so much about our perimeter,” Talos muttered. “All this talk of Masters being here or not is jiggling my guts upside down.”
“I’m sorry—is it something I said?” Erin stepped back from him, turning to me. “I was just trying to help. Seriously, I didn’t mean to ask the wrong questions.”
“No, no,” Talos tried to reassure her. “It isn’t your questions. I had the same ones. I don’t know what makes me more nervous. The idea we are being watched—or the idea that we aren’t.”
“I hear you.” Kern slipped the water bottle back onto his belt. “If we are under some kind of game rules, then there must be order to it, even if we can’t see it. If the Masters truly are gone. . .well. We could just be waiting to die in chaos.”
Erin made a strange humph sound, almost a laugh. “I think we may have wandered into dangerous philosophical territory.”
“How do you mean?” Kern’s face had that curious look I knew too well.
“Humans have debated the existence of God since the dawn of time. Is someone watching, is there a reason, a purpose, or is it just random biological components clashing against each other for eternity?”
“You lost me,” I admitted with some defeat.
“Who is the god?” asked Kern with rapt fascination. “Is he a Master?”
“Kind of,” Erin replied. “We don’t know if he—or she, or it—actually exists. You guys know the Masters exist, right?”
We looked at each other. Surely there would be some hard physical evidence we could call on, but for the moment it seemed elusive.
The silence built between us as the warm sun glowed above. Gods, Masters, they tumbled through my mind. The more we talked about it, the smaller the circles became.
Was it all part of the plan, to have us so confused and anxious? Was it something this human god did purposefully to them? The idea seemed monstrous. I wanted to produce some kind of answer, something that would put us all at ease.
There was nothing. Only the sun growing hotter with no breeze to cool our skin. The faint hissing of insects nearby. Did the bugs question their place? If I squashed one, did his fellows wonder ab
out it?
In many ways, Erin’s presence had simplified our lives. We could prioritize now in a way we never had before.
In other ways, our lives had become far more complicated. Questions that were mere fancy had become grave concerns. The bigger picture was no longer a distant flag to be idly considered—it was vital to the survival of our new pack.
“What do we now?” she asked, taking a few steps forward away from us. She was still pulling on her outer layer of clothes, moving up onto the rock without shame. She was comfortable with her nakedness around us, and that pleased me immensely. Her comfort was my priority.
She stretched again as she balanced on the peak, thrusting her breasts forward. The pose made her waist look as supple as a young tree. Her nipples pushed against the shirt as she slid her armor on. I wondered what it felt like to have such warm, sensitive nipples.
“We continue west,” I said, fully knowing that I was only guessing as to our best destination. Sure, the mission and all the unanswered questions still bloomed in the back of my mind, but in that moment, I couldn’t pay them heed.
Practical matters sounded absurd after what we had experienced.
And yet, practical matters had to be considered if we were to survive. And that was what finally pushed me to begin moving. It was no longer about just the team’s survival.
It was also about Erin’s survival, and nothing would ever stop me from protecting her. For her, anything. As scary as it was to admit to myself, I’d walk through raging fires and dive into the darkest depths of the sea if it meant it would keep her from harm’s way.
Talos
Standing atop a rock that jutted out from the edge of the cliff, I frowned.
The path we walked led to a dead-end, a rocky canyon splitting the land in two and blocking our path. Alone, I walked along the edge of the canyon, trying to see if it became narrow enough for us to cross.