The Pit

It was time to go to the Pit. I felt the excitement from the rest of the team akin to going to some amusement park, and they were all talking about it… though most of the chatter seemed to revolve around their significant others.

Forty kept glancing at me, smiling meaningfully. I had no idea what it was about… okay, yeah, I had a feeling I knew what her glances meant, but… why? What could have made her so stuck on me?

Forty-five was flabbergasted when I came out of my room in uniform. He wore shorts and a t-shirt, with rough-woven sandals. “Dude… Pit night means you dress down! Don’t you have a dress-down uniform?”

“I… uh…”

“No, he doesn’t. Make sure he gets one.”

I turned to see a big guy in a blue shirt looming over us. I’m tall… he’s a giant.

Forty-five snapped to attention so fast, I thought he’d crack in half. “Sir, yes, sir!” he snapped out. “I’ll take care of it.”

The big guy looks at me and raises an eyebrow. “You got a problem, soldier?”

“Yes, he does.” I see Forty approaching at a run from behind him. “Forty-two still has memory issues, sir. He isn’t recovering as he should. Can’t remember a damn thing. Crispin said to be patient with him.”

It finally hits me and I snap to attention as well, feeling my face turn bright red. “Sir… I’m sorry, Captain, I didn’t… you are Captain Beta, right?”

He smiled slightly. “That’s better… and yes, I am.” His smile faded… there was a certain careworn quality to his face. I doubt he’s really a jerk… he just has a lot on his plate and an understandable demand for respect. “To be honest, Forty-Two, we don’t really stand on ceremony in the barracks. Out in the street, mind your manners, or I’ll teach you to mind them. Got it?”

“Sir, yes, sir!”

“Good.” The captain moved down the hallway and into a room at the end, then didn’t come out.

Forty-five came to my side and handed me some clothes like his. “Hey, don’t worry, Cap’s strict on the outside, but in here… let’s just say he knows loss better than anyone. He has no one left… his little brother was all he had, and he was on the team for a week before he was killed. Now… I guess he sees all of us as his siblings or kids… dunno. Do what you’re told, and otherwise, stay out of his hair. Okay?”

I nodded. I felt bad, like his loss was somehow my fault. But how could it have been?

I changed clothes, then fell in line with the others. The excitement was almost palpable. I didn’t know what the Pit was, but it seemed to be the place everyone wanted to be.

Except for me. What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I so anxious to get out of this place?

As we waited in line, Forty came to my side and took my hand, looking up at me with that same smile. She wore a strapless dress that barely covered her backside. “Hey… you okay?”

“I honestly don’t know,” I admitted.

“You’re so edgy. It’s understandable, after what you went through. Just relax… it’s time to have fun. Tomorrow we have to get back to business, but tonight, just let everything else go. Once you’re in the Pit, I’m sure you’ll feel better.”

Her advice was sound. Since I had no idea what to be worried about, I needed to stop worrying and just relax.

We made it in the door, gave our designations, and for a moment, all I could do was stare in wonder. The Pit was basically a massive party.

I saw a bar against one wall. Not many people were there, and I didn’t know what they would have besides water. The dance floor was crowded and it seemed to be full of people grinding to the heavy, pulsing beat coming from the speakers. It struck me as weird to see all this electricity, though I wasn’t sure why.

The music was catchy, and I found myself swaying to it. There was some kind of fine mist hanging over the dance floor… I wasn’t sure what it was.

The room was hot… it explained the uniform change. Forty showed me a rack where I could put my sandals. She then took my hand and led me to the dance floor.

The second I was down there, I smelled something. Some kind of incense… I wasn’t sure what it was, but it was a heavy, warm musk. The mist… that’s what it was.

“Take a deep breath,” Forty purred. “It feels so good… we only get it in the Pit, so get it while you can.”

After a few dances, she took me by the hand and let me over to the edge. When we first came in, I noticed that the floor dropped on all sides and that people were down there, but I wasn’t sure what they were doing. The mist had blocked my view. Now that I was closer, I could see a large collection of chairs and couches separated in groups by makeshift dividers. And… couples. Everywhere, I saw people in lip-locks or more. I spotted Forty-Five on one couch with his shorts unfastened, straddling a girl with her skirt up… the way they were twitching, it was obvious they were climaxing right there in the middle of the room.

“It’s rude to stare,” Forty teased me, pulling me to an unoccupied couch against a wall, a bit more private than most.

I sat with her, still incredulous. “They just… have sex right here? In the open?”

“She's a Delta,” she said as if it should have been obvious. “They have a dorm, not private rooms, and their captain forbids them to have sex in the barracks unless they’re an officer. Frankly, the way this is set up, it’s more private anyway.”

I looked into her eyes… they were a beautiful, warm brown. “It seems weird,” I murmured.

She shrugged. “At first, maybe, but that’s what the Pit is for. This is our fun place. Out there, on the surface, there’s no fun, no joy, no love… the General built this for us to keep us out of trouble. You don’t have to get together if you don’t want to, but if you want to, there are only a few rules in the Pit. One, keep your clothes on… at least most of the way. Two, no means no… rape means death. And three, no one gets hurt.” She leaned close and kissed me. “Otherwise, there’s basically no rules. It’s time to let go, Forty-two.”

I wasn’t sure what was more intoxicating… the mist or her kiss. I pulled her closer and for a few minutes, the only thought in my head was that she was a really good kisser.

Her hands slipped under my shirt and I knew what she wanted. Was it what I wanted? I tried to think of a reason not to, then I wondered why. It’s what everyone else was doing. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see that over half of the people in the lower area were involved in some kind of intercourse. They all had their clothes on, but it was blindingly obvious what they were doing.

Deep down, it strikes me as wrong, but on the surface, I felt a powerful yearning. I felt it in Forty as well… she wanted me so badly, she was shaking. Both of her hands were under my shirt, then one of them slid down and unfastened my shorts.

I caught another whiff of the mist, and all further objections were wiped from my mind. I caught the edge of her dress and lifted, sliding my hand under and caressing her… she let out a soft gasp and kissed me more fervently. I slid her underwear down… she was so soft. I’d never felt anything like this. I was fairly sure, even through the fog of memory loss- and the more powerful fog of the mist- that I’d never had sex with a girl before.

Except maybe… once?

There was the faintest memory… darkness… a sense of desperation… knowing I wouldn’t see her again for a long time, if ever…

The memory fled as Forty tugged on me, lying back on the couch with her legs apart and her hips completely bared, a soft smile on her face. “Come on, Forty-Two,” she whispered. “You know you want me… let me help you feel better.”

My head spun again as a heavy whiff of mist blasted me. She pulled something from a pocket and handed it to me. I slipped it on; at least they were smart enough to avoid getting their soldiers pregnant. I straddled her, and lost all sense of time’s passing as the only thing in my head was how it felt to be with her… the feel of her warmth, her caresses, the incredible ecstasy with every thrust… she was incredible. It seemed that the mist was designed to make every feeling we had infinitely more intense. I never wanted the feeling to end.

Unfortunately, the Pit had limits. We were only allowed two hours before the fun was over and we were sent back to our barracks. Forty was firmly planted under my arm… I was utterly obsessed with her already, as the one thing in this place that made my anxiety go away, and the mist still swirled in my blood. I wanted more of her… so much more.

When we got to our section, she led me to my room since I was too fuzzy to remember where it was. She took me inside and kissed me with the same passion she’d shown in the Pit. “I don’t know about you, but I’m not tired,” she murmured. “I’ve always wanted a guy like you… sensitive and sweet. You’re so amazing… I want to stay with you.”

I returned her kiss. “Of course… I want you to stay… can we? In here?”

She smiles. “You’re free to do what you want in your room during your off hours.” Turning, she pressed something, and I heard a click. “Just lock your door.”

In my room, with no one watching, there was no holding back. I pulled her into my arms again and unfastened her dress, slipping it and her underclothes to the floor. She pulled off my clothing, then showed me a box in my storage drawer, one I hadn’t noticed before.

“I put that in there,” she whispered as she placed a new condom. “I knew you would want me, and I want you.”

I picked her up and laid her on my bed. Without the restriction of our clothes- or others watching- sex was much more passionate and wild. She was an incredible lover… I felt like I would die if she left me.

Eventually, she wore me out, and we laid together on my bunk, entwined in each other with our hips together as we traded kisses. “You’re amazing,” I murmured to her. “You’re right, I feel so much better.”

“I thought you would,” she said. “But we need to get some sleep, now. It’s almost midnight, and we have to be up at oh-six-hundred.”

“I don’t want you to leave,” I protested softly, nuzzling my face in her hair and kissing her neck.

“I know, I don’t want to leave you either, but if we fall asleep on duty, we’ll get ourselves shot.”

Something in her words breaks through the mist… I look at her. “Is that the penalty for everything?”

Her face had turned deadly serious. “Yes… we can’t let down our guard for a moment, it puts everyone at risk. Tomorrow, everything will change. We have to be serious; you and I won’t be able to be together like this… you can’t even kiss me. After dinner, when we have free time again, I’ll come back. Until then, we’re soldiers and we have to act like it. Okay?”

I nodded reluctantly. I had no idea how I’d survive so long without her, but if I wanted to stay alive- and for some reason, I felt like I really needed to. It felt like there was something I was supposed to do, somewhere I was supposed to be.

After one last, warm, lingering kiss, she left my bed and put her clothes on. She blew me a kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Forty-two.”

I nodded. “See you then.”