Felix marveled over how quickly the slender, shapely legs of Ari’s petite body were able to cover ground as his longer, lean muscled ones struggled to catch him up with her. If she’d remembered his club foot, she wasn’t giving him allowance for it as she moved along at a pace that was as close to a jog as one could get and still be walking.
“I don’t need a bodyguard,” she hissed over her shoulder as she leapt over a log-like branch that had fallen off a half-dead tree.
“What’s bothering you?” he managed with labored breath. “Geez, can you slow down just a bit?”
“If you can’t keep up, then go back,” she snipped. “I didn’t ask you to come along to begin with.”
His ankle was beginning to pain him from the unfamiliar demands that he was putting on it, but he held firm. “I’m not going back.”
She abruptly stopped
Kendra adjusted the wrap that she’d just created from a bed sheet to secure Eugene to her back. Although Felix frowned upon carrying him in that fashion - preferring to have him snuggled close to his chest – Kendra found it both comfortable and convenient. It kept her arms free for important issues such as defending them with her bow and arrow. She could feel the heat of his relaxed body against her as he peacefully slumbered off the meal he’d so greedily consumed.She envied the security and peace that he was enjoying. She couldn’t remember ever having the privilege of experiencing such a feeling, although she probably did when she was a baby as well. Her memories began with the traumatic destruction of her village and the murdering of her parents. It was a foggy and abstract type of memory that would mostly present itself during sleep, but it was a memory that she found impossible to erase.
The leg that bore the burden of his club foot buckled from beneath him as he slid from the saddle after a long night’s journey to safety. Felix quickly grabbed the saddle horn with one hand while holding tight to Eugene with the other, giving thanks for the fact that his mount was not an overly zealous one when it came to exerting his energy through unnecessary movement.Ari was quick to rush to his aid. “Are you okay?”Embarrassed by his weakness, he turned away. “I’m good. Nothing to worry about. My leg went to sleep from sitting for so long.”Realizing that her show of concern may not have been the best thing for her traveling companion at that time, she backed away. “It’s happened to me more than once. I hate riding in the dark like that. You can’t relax your muscles at all.”Relieved by the direction the conversation was going, he sighed and gave her
Rough shaking of his shoulders roused Felix from the deepest slumber he’d experienced in a very long time. It took him several moments to register where he was as he looked around. When he did, he sat up to see who it was that was shaking him with such aggression.He didn’t recognize the male figure that towered over him. As his eyes focused more solidly on him, he could see that his tormentor was around the age of twenty. He had a solid, muscular frame that was well defined. It was easy to see this since he was bare from the waist up. Although Felix had a well-defined and muscular frame as well, his torso was narrower than this intruder. If his perception was correct, he was also a few inches shorter than the man.“Who are you?” he asked with an annoyed tone and a voice that was still filled with sleep.“Wake up!” the intruder growled. “Ari’s been waiting outsi
A loud grunt flew from her mouth as cyborg Rex flung Kendra onto a narrow cot that was positioned against the cold, concrete wall of an equally narrow cell. He said nothing as he turned to leave. She would have asked him where she was, but he’d slammed her down so hard that she was still working on regaining her wind when the metal door slammed and locked behind him.She lay in silent misery while thoughts of what might have happened to her poor baby tormented her. When she could no longer stand worrying about it without the means to do anything, she shifted her concerns to where Rex might be and finding a way to escape.Her stomach felt bruised from enduring his rough gait while trussed over the cyborg’s shoulders. He may look like Rex, but that’s where the similarity ended. Rex would have been more concerned about her comfort, even if she was his prisoner. Of course, Rex was human and a conscience was a human attr
Time was a blurred mixture of breeding her with the alien’s chosen male studs and milking her breasts to feed orphaned infants. She’d lost count of how many men Josie and the guards had paired her with or how many times the guards had used her on the sly. Peanut had been timid and resistant at first, but he soon fell into sync with Les with his desires and frequency.She was sure that she was pregnant. It was impossible for her not to be with the bounty of semen being deposited into her multiple times a day.Exhausted from being roused every four hours to pump her milk and having sex forced upon her up to four times a day, she waited for Josie to come to take her to the shower and feigned illness. As she guessed, the doctor was sent for and a thorough examination ensued.The doctor fit the description of the old docs in the western novels that she’d read while convalescing back home. His abundant mustache was just a shade dark
Ari paced in front of the single men’s building while she waited for Felix to join her. She hadn’t seen him since he and Olga had gone to fetch Eugene almost two weeks ago. She wasn’t certain, but she guessed that Eugene had been sent off to the main Center Land with the other children since no children were kept in her village for any length of time. Surely, Olga knew this when she left Eugene in the care of the newborn nursery? It was just the way things were and there was nothing to be done to change it. It certainly wasn’t her fault. She didn’t run the village or make the rules. She simply followed them to the best of her ability.So, why did she have a knot in her stomach the size of her fist at the prospect of having to face first Felix and then Olga?“After two weeks, you finally come around?” Felix barked as he bounded out of the front door and down the steps to the sidewalk. “W
After a steaming cup of some of the best tea Ari had ever tasted and twenty minutes of reviewing their plans, the three were ready to head out on their rescue mission.Felix was both impressed and a little intimidated by the men who greeted them at the stables. They reminded him too much of the ones who had assisted Ari’s brother, Baelil, with the butcher job that was done on him in the cave before they left him for dead. He had to force back the tremors and sweat that surfaced almost immediately after setting eyes on them.Seeing his reaction, Olga placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s the uniform, son. Those bastards are all dead and gone.”Felix swallowed hard. “Is it that obvious?”She gave a gentle smile as she tapped her temple. “Only to me.”He gave a weak chuckle. “When did you start using you psychic powers?”“It’s encouraged
Life in the maternity ward was much easier than Kendra had anticipated. Josie paid a good deal of attention to her needs and comfort, which helped a great deal. She noticed that wasn’t the case with the petite woman and most of the other women in the ward which, of course, made her curious as to why the special treatment. One day, she broached the subject with her. Although hesitant to admit it at first, Josie eventually told her that she was trying to make amends as best as she could for the horrors that her brother had inflicted up on her and a few other women in the ward.Kendra was quick to point out that the special treatment given them didn’t endear her to the women who were excluded -which was most of them- but Josie simply shrugged. She was risking a good deal by providing Kendra and the other handful of women with the comforts that she did without taking on any more. There was also the fact that Kendra was kind of heart
Waiting for the drunken soldiers to finish their plans of turning Rex in the following morning had to be one of the most grueling things she’d done in a long time. She longed to run inside and warn him, but knew better than to alert them. They may be drunk, but they were still highly trained men of combat. If they decided to capture Rex, they’d find a way to do it. Superhuman strength or not.She did her best not to show her relief when Felix popped his head out of the door to find out what was taking her so long to return. The soldiers pulled him out into their drunken circle and jovially bantered with him about his future as a married man until they finally tired and the call of alcohol pulled them back inside. He was about to escort her in behind them when she tugged hard enough on his arm to grab his attention.She was grateful that he hadn’t consumed enough alcohol to cause him to lose his faculties. One look at her eyes and at
Felix noted the looks on the faces of the three people he loved with all of his heart as they joined in the reception celebration, but he and Ari were inundated with well-wishers and their toasts so he was unable to make his way to them to see what was up. Also, his beautiful bride was glowing with happiness and enjoying the adoration and complements that were flowing her way. After such a long time of being mistreated by her peers, it had to be like a dream for them to be surrounding her with laughter and marriage jokes as if they were the best of friends. He couldn’t spoil the moment for her. If whatever was bothering his family was truly serious, he was certain that they’d find a way to confer with him about it.As time progressed, he and his bride eventually managed to work their way to the table that his family sat around. They were in such deep and serious conversation that they didn’t notice the newlyweds standing next to them.
Kendra slipped out of the great hall as quietly as she could. She’d just witnessed Felix’s wedding and was filled with mixed emotions. She was happy for him, of course. It was wonderful that, after all of the misery he’d seen in his short life, he’d managed to find love. Unfortunately, the blatant happiness of the newlyweds mirrored her own misery back at her.She and Rex were far from normal in their relationship since they’d escaped the aliens; let alone happy. It was weeks since their escape and they’d yet to come together as man and wife. Nor had they sat down to talk about what they’d been through. It was like it had never happened.They could use the excuse that their days were filled with searching for information about how they might get Eugene back. Olga had even stood before the village leaders on more than one occasion to plead for his return. Sadly, she was given the same response each
They made it back to Center Land without mishap. True to his word, Jax spread the word that Trevor had been speaking garbage and that he and his men had witnessed, firsthand, the courage that the female soldier possessed. He proudly proclaimed that he’d accept a mission with her at any time and urged his men to give her the respect, consideration… and apologies… that she deserved. Although it felt good to finally be free of their taunting and ostracizing, Ari just couldn’t muster up a warm and fuzzy feeling for her comrades and she doubted if she ever could.“They love you now,” Felix said as he lay on the narrow bed and nestled his face into her bare breast.“I could care less,” she sighed. “It’s too late.”“You need to try to find the good in what we’ve been through before you become permanently embittered,” he murmured.“That’s one
It was past midnight before the camp settled down for the night. Although Rex and Kendra lay together in the make-shift tent that they’d created with the tarp from the cart, they lay stiff and separate. Kendra wanted to feel the security and love of being wrapped in his powerful arms, but she feared that he might want more from her than she was presently comfortable with.The thought of being touched in an intimate way - even by Rex- after being manhandled for so long by the guards and being forced to climb atop strange men by the aliens made her hesitate. She just needed a little time without sex to put the past behind her.Understanding that everyone was different and, therefore, had different needs for healing, she decided that if he needed the intimacy of coupling with her to bring normalcy back into his own existence, she would ignore her own emotions. She loved him and wanted things to go back to the way they were as quic
It took all three of the prepared shots before Rex was able to comfortably move about and speak coherently. At first, he remembered very little about what he’d endured, but what he did remember left his mood dark and sullen. As time moved forward, more bits and pieces of what occurred came forth, like a puzzle waiting to be put together.He quietly sat and listened to Jax and his men update him on the preparations that they were making and the precautions that they were taking in the event that the aliens sent a search party after Kendra and him.Doing his best to focus on their words, he battled memory flashes of strange naked women mounting him as he lay strapped to the bed. When his manhood began to react as erotic sensations accompanied one particular vision, he quickly forced it from his mind while doing his best to put his body in check. This type of reaction to a sexual thought had never occurred before. He assumed it was residue from the shots
The location that Ari found for them was as close to perfect as Olga could have asked for. She quickly went about assigning tasks for everyone so that the camp was set up in record time. Kendra was amazed at the lack of resistance Jax gave Olga when she barked orders to his men. Most of them obediently obliged her right away. Of the one or two who looked to Jax for guidance over what to do, he simply nodded his approval of her request and they went about it without question.Felix took charge of the baby that Kendra had rescued. As he swaddled the infant in a clean shirt from his backpack, he noted how familiar the features of the little tyke were. Was he Kendra’s child? No. He had Rex’s bone structure and -although he was still too young to tell for sure- it looked like he had his nose as well.Olga took a brief moment to coo over the infant before she poured her attention towards Rex’s well-being. She accepted the littl
Olga and Felix had just finished packing up their camp when Ari returned with Jax’s soldier. She quickly explained that the others were bringing Kendra, Rex, and a baby by pony cart but that he wanted them all together for strength in the event of a battle against the aliens as well as peace of mind in knowing where everyone was. She’d hardly finished her explanation before Felix and Olga were mounted and ready to leave.They were closer to each other than they’d imagined. Within an hour Kendra’s cart – surrounded by Jax and his soldiers- could be seen making its way down the road.Felix kicked his horse into action and raced toward them. Not as expert in the saddle and very aware of the hard macadam beneath her horse, Olga had to be content with urging her horse into a trot.The reunion was bittersweet as they embraced and cried while giving just enough information about what had been happening to each
Kendra stroked the stubbled hint of a beard on Rex’s face as she debated whether or not to give him his first shot. She cursed herself for not having the presence of mind to have asked Josie to explain what type of reaction Rex might have. Would it be physical? Emotional? Was she capable of handling it on her own? Or, should she do her best to get back to her family where she’d have help.Taking the water jug, she carefully tipped it to his lips to make sure that he stayed hydrated during their long journey.After checking on the baby’s position to make sure that he’d stay secure during the travel, she loosely propped the tarp over them to protect them from the sun’s rays, but still allow a comfortable air flow for them, and then climbed back into the driver’s seat.By the position of the sun, she guessed that she had about four hours of sunlight left to her before she’d have to find a