Clouds of Tyranny Page 10

  After breakfast Ruthie went to visit Clyde while Terra and Ray sat quietly waiting for Ruthie to return to take Terra to the training room. “Whatever,” said Ray out of nowhere, “Me and Pearl? Smith ain’t all there.” “Are you trying to convince me or yourself?” “What? Please.” Terra smiled at Ray as she winked, “So, what’s with the that thing on your arm?” “It’s an arrow turret. It holds eight mini arrows at a time, when I fire one the whole device rotates so the next on is just above my knuckles.” “Neat.” “Ray,” yelled Pearl from the doorway into the Returner’s private rooms. Ray turned to face her, “Yeah?” “Come on, we gotta study the floor plans for the next mission.” Clyde got up and followed Pearl down the hallway. Terra sat patiently for several minutes until Ruthie returned. Then, they went to the training room where five of the young workers were setting up bull’s-eye targets for target practice. Terra took a series of shots from different distances; it turns out that she is a natural, landing several bull’s eyes and the rest inside the middle rings. “Okay, Ter. First thing I’m going to show you is a sleeper hold. No matter how big your opponent is, this will incapacitate him.” Ruthie got behind Terra and put her forearm across Terra’s throat and put her hand on her left bicep for leverage. “Feel the pressure?” “Mmhmm.” “Okay, next is a move that will by you some time.” Ruthie released her hold on her and got in front of Terra. “Okay, you want to close your fingers half way and bend your knuckles back so they are almost touching the top of your wrist. Then, you want to punch using the bottom of your wrist right into the space just below their nostrils; where the nose meets the upper lip. This will push their nasal cavity up into their brain.” Ruthie took Terra’s hand and formed it like hers, “Okay, like that.” Then Ruthie placed the bottom of Terra’s wrist in the area below her nose. “Good. And you can always just chop your hand into the spot where the chest meets the throat. That’s always a crowd pleaser. They’ll be on the floor fighting to breath for a few minutes.” “Hmm, good to know.” Ruthie sat down on the floor, as did Terra. “Did good today Ter. So, when Locke gets back your not gonna do anything foolish, are ya?” Terra looked at Ruthie with a half smile, “Define foolish.” “Kiss him…in his bed…while your both naked…” “No, of course not.” Ruthie sat Indian style, “But you want to right?” Terra blushed, “Oh yes. Very much, but I want him to make the first move.” “Why? Guys like it when you make the first move, it turns them on.” “So I’ve heard. I just get mixed signals from him and my biggest fear is him pushing me away.” “Yeah, I gotcha. Rejection is never fun.” “When do you think he’ll get back?” “By morning maybe, if he stops in a town to rest.”

  It was a few hours past sundown when Locke and Alex reached the wall of separation. “So, what’s the plan? Am I your long lost love that you couldn’t leave in Pan’dier, so you decided to rescue me and bring me home with you?” “Nothing that complex…or far fetched. You’re a horse trainer that was born and raised in Pan’dier. Your father was a high level soldier in the Velxeer military; that’s where your fighting skills come from. And no spells and I mean it, Alex.” “Okay okay, Dad.” “Okay then,” said Locke as he leaned against the countrywide wall and pulled a glass flask from his jacket filled with a light brown liquid. Alex looked around in confusion, then looked to Locke for answers, “So… what are we doing?” Locke twisted off the cap and took a swig, “We’re waiting till after ‘lights out’ before we enter.” “Oh, I get it,” said Alex as she pulled out two rolled cigarettes, “Smoke?” “It’s been a while,” said Locke with a long pause, “Sure, why not?” “I can’t think of a reason,” said Alex as she handed Locke the cigarette. Locke and Alex spent the next two hours sipping the whiskey and smoking cigarettes as they swapped stories of battles and more importantly the days before war when their lives were innocent and full of hope. Alex regaled him with her travels of the western continent, telling him of the large hand holding a torch that stuck out of the ocean along the northern coast. Locke, who had not changed his position from the wall since they had arrived, finally removed himself and said to Alex, “Okay, let’s go in. Silence till I say otherwise.” “Okay,” responded Alex. The exchange of past experiences changed her feelings of him and made them more like friends than like an excuse to survive. She understood him more than most people could; they had similar lives. Their lives consisted of heartbreak, death, and utter disappointment.

  Locke opened the door to the long dark corridor leading to the Returners hideout while he thought, Is it crazy I’m bringing her here? For some reason he trusted her though he didn’t know why. Locke made sure he was at least one step in front of Alex; he didn’t want anyone to see her yet. When they made it to the main dining area Locke peaked his head from the corridor and looked left; nobody. Locke looked to the right; the doorman was asleep with Hans resting his head on his lap. “Okay,” whispered Locke, “Let’s go.” “Why are we whispering?” asked Alex. “Quiet!” Locke took Alex’s hand and pulled her through the door marked ‘Returners’ and into his private room.

  “I’ll be right back, don’t leave this room.” Locke left her standing there in the center of his room; she saw his private sink, big bed with one leg shorter than the rest, vials and herbs on the shelves above his dresser, and a wooden upright chair with limited padded. The door slowly crept open as Alex clutched her dragon blade; Locke entered and quietly closed the door and latched its lock. “Okay,” said Locke with arms full of squeeze tubes and small boxes with various items protruding out of them and a duffel bag hanging over his shoulder that was undoubtedly filled with clothes, “It’s time for a change.” “Sick of the dress already?” “That was in case someone was awake when we arrived. Now, we change everything else about you.” Alex narrowed her eyes, “Like what?” “Eye color for starters. Not many people have two different colored eyes. Kind of distinguishing,” “That’s true, I suppose.” “And of course-“ “No! Not my hair! I love my hair! Don’t even think about it you sick ma!” “Sorry, Alex. We need to cut and color it. Sit,” said Locke as he pointed to the wooden chair as he sat on the bed. Alex pouted for a few seconds then grabbed the wooden chair and pulled it up to the bed and sat with her back to Locke. Locke sat the boxes next to him on the bed and removed a pair of stainless steel grooming scissor from one of the boxes. Alex could feel Locke hovering behind her as he took sections of her hair in his hand as he cut it shorter and shorter. She couldn’t see what she was losing but felt the long strands fall along her arm to the floor, as her head seemed lighter. She cringed with each click of the scissors as they closed. After several minutes Locke exhaled a sigh of relief, “Okay, short and acceptable.” Alex closed her eyes in anticipation and ran her fingers through it; it was even shorter than she thought. Her hair went from a long beautiful golden blonde to short hair on the top and sides that barely reached her ears. “Oh god! This is awful. What did you do to me? I look like a boy, don’t I?” screamed Alex. “Shhhh! It will grow back one day.” “Fine! What’s next?” “Time to color.” “Okay, just not brown, it’s so dull…no offense.” Locke couldn’t see her face, but felt her smiling. Locke brushed the loose hairs from her shoulders and ran his fingers through the back of her hair looking for strays; she let out a small breath of happiness. “Okay, lean your head back,” said Locke as he gripped a squeeze tube of dark red ooze peeking out of the nozzle. She leaned her head back and looked at Locke as he brushed her bangs back so he had access to the roots. She felt Locke’s strong hands glide across her soft face. He began squeezing the thick liquid onto her scalp line. He felt her looking at him and shifted his eyes to look at her; she was staring into his eyes. I’m gonna miss those eyes, he thought. He rubbed the ooze into her hair, massaging it so it was all evenly colored. “Okay, just let it sit a few minutes… unless you want pink hair. Hmm, that actually suits you, Alex.” “What? Your crazy!” she laughed. “While your heads back,” started Locke as he reached into another box to retrieve a tiny eyedropper, “Here, squeeze a drop into each eye.�
� Alex took the eyedropper and did as he said. Within seconds of squeezing the liquid into her eyes they changed from blue and green to both becoming hazel. “Well,” asked Alex. “Looks good,” smiled Locke, “Okay, let’s rinse.” Alex stood up and followed Locke to the sink as he turned the knobs and checked the temperature. “Okay, dunk.” Alex did as Locke said and the as the water fell against her hair the thick red dye looked like blood twirling down the drain. Locke held his left hand on her back while he helped rub the dye out with his right until the water went clear. “It’s out,” said Locke as Alex stood and he handed her a towel. She took the towel and began drying her short red hair. From inside the towel Locke heard, “Got a mirror?” Locke opened one of the drawers to his dresser and pulled out a saucer-sized mirror for her to look at herself with. Alex took the mirror and gazed into it, “Not bad, but I still like the blonde better.” “Me to.” She lowered the mirror and looked at Locke and they shared a quiet content look with each other. Locke snapped out of his trance and said, “Ahem, got you some clothes too.” “Locke?” “Yeah?” said Locke not looking away from the duffel bag he was now immersed in. “Come here, I’m not very good at this.” Locke snapped his head up and walked over to Alex, “Good at what?” “Appreciation. I want to thank you for saving my life and getting me out of that place,” said Alex as she put her palms on Locke’s chest, “You’re an amazing man and I’m sorry for trying to treat you like an object last night, I just needed a stress reliever. I hope you can forgive me.” Locke smiled as he looked into her eyes, “I already have.” “Good, and I will do anything I can to help your group stop the empire from hurting anymore people.” “Thank you Alex, it’s late, you can tell me all you know about the empire tomorrow. The bag has night clothes and day clothes for you, you can change in the bathroom in the women’s room.” “Thank you.” Alex leaned into Locke a gave him a light nonsexual peck on the lips then smiled and walked to his bed to retrieve the duffel bag. She picked up the bag and turned and saw Locke standing a few inches from her face. Locke slid his hands across her sides and around her back till they met on her lower back and kissed her passionately on lips like he wanted to do since the night before. Their lips were moist against each as their eyes closed to enjoy every second. Alex’s right hand found its way to the back of Locke’s neck as her finger nails scraped against his flesh. Locke slowly pressed his tongue against her wet lips and her mouth opened granting him entry as he pulled her body closer so their hips were pressed together. Alex moved backwards, pulling Locke on top of her as she laid on the bed as they continued swirling their tongues with each other. Locke’s mouth strayed down to the V on her dress and slid his tongue in circles along the top of her chest then slid it to her neck and began nibbling her ear. Alex let out a moan of ecstasy and closed her eyes tight enjoying every second of his body pressed against her and his mouth making love to her flesh. Alex took her left hand and pulled her dress up a little so the could wrap her lags around him as they vibrated against each other. As Locke continued to kiss her neck and ear she whispered, “I’m so wet for you.” Locke lifted his head and looked into her eyes; his heart was beating a mile a minute. He kissed her deeply as he caressed her cheek and she caressed his. Alex began pulling his shirt up- KNOCK! KNOCK! They heard a slamming against the door, “Locke, are you back?” yelled Pearl from behind the door. “Fuck!” grunted Alex. Locke sighed and looked down at her, “I gotta get that.” “Duty calls,” sighed Alex as she pushed Locke up and fixed her dress.

  Locke opened the door to see Pearl standing there in her long white T-shirt that stretched all the way down to her knees, the same shirt she always wore to bed. “You are!” yelled Pearl as she gave Locke a big hug. “Yup.” Pearl peeked into Locke’s room where Alex was standing with the duffel bag over her shoulder, then looked back at Locke and grinned like she knew what was going on in the moments prior to her intrusion. “This is Alex; she’s from Pan’dier.” “I’m a horse trainer,” said Alex nervously and abruptly. Locke sighed, “She was a prisoner of the empire, she has some information that could be useful to us.” “Really?” said Pearl, “Like what?” Locke froze and realized that she didn’t actually tell him anything yet, “It’s late; we’ll all go over it tomorrow.” “Sounds good.” Locke looked back at Alex and said, “I was just about to show her to the dorm.” “Really,” scoffed Pearl, “For a minute I thought this was it,” Pearl winked and turned to head back to her room, which was across and to the right from Locke’s room, “Night Locke. Nice to meet you Alex.” Locke hung his head in shame. “How long do you think she was listening?” He turned to face a grinning Alex. Alex dropped the duffel again, “So…where were we?” “It really is late Alex,” said Locke as he scanned her sensual body.

  After grabbing her duffel and her dragon blade she followed Locke to the women’s dorm. After getting changed in the bathroom while Locke waited, she emerged in Speedo-styled panties and a blue half shirt barely covering the bottom of her breasts. Locke was confused. “I had to cut the shirt, I get very hot at night,” said Alex nonchalantly. Locke led her to where Ruthie and Terra were fast asleep, “Okay,” he whispered, “Your sleeping here above Terra.” Alex draped the duffel bag over one of the posts and climbed the small steel ladder leading to the top bunk, never releasing her sword as she slept; It was her answer to a teddy bear.

  When Locke got back to his room he put the wooden chair back against the adjacent wall where it was and put the boxes full of coloring and cutting supplies in the corner then stripped and jumped into bed. That was close, he thought; recalling what went on in this very bed a few moments ago, It’s like I couldn’t stop myself. I had to touch her and taste her. Wow, she smelled so good and felt even better. There’s no way I’m gonna get any sleep tonight.

  CHAPTER 10: WHO’S THE ALPHA FEMALE HERE?

  Terra lay in bed in a deep sleep with the soft silk sheets beneath her, the cool breeze caressing her flesh from through the window. She awakened by soft moist lips pressing against her dry mouth; a sensual tongue licking her lips as a hand came and it’s fingers glided in between her breasts down to her belly and curved around to hold her side as the tongue enter her mouth. She dared not open her eyes. She felt the strong male body press down against hers as her hands rubbed his back as they continued to kiss. She moaned in pleasure as she felt pressure and then something slip inside her; hard, painful, but pleasureful. She felt it thrust in and out of her slowly, then his hand slid slowly down her thigh on the side oh her butt. He began exhaling loudly at the passion he was experiencing with Terra. She moaned louder and louder feeling him go deep inside her. She had to, she couldn’t help herself, she had to look. Terra’s eyes slowly shuddered open to see Locke atop her making love with her. Just the fact that it was Locke made her moan louder because this what she wanted, all she ever wanted. Their breathing heightened and he dropped his head on her shoulder about to fill her with complete tranquility. She throbbed and felt herself letting go. “Terra!” yelled Ruthie, waking her up from a very sensual dream.

  “What? What?” yelled Terra angrily, mad that that dream was ruined even though it was just a dream; the only thing real was the perspiration in her pajama pants. “This is Alex, a new girl,” said Ruthie excitedly motioning towards Alex. Terra rubbed her eyes and extended a hand reluctantly, “I’m Terra, nice to meet you.” Alex shook her hand smiling at her; Alex was wearing military boots, black cargo fatigues, and a long sleeved mesh top that hugged her flawless thin body, “Yeah, got here last night. Locke brought me from Pan’dier last night.” “Ya know,” said Ruthie, “Terra here has a bit of a crush on our Locke.” “Ruthie!” grunted Terra angry at Ruthie’s big mouth. “Well, you do.” “Doesn’t matter, “ scoffed Alex conceitedly, “Your not his type anyway.” Terra eyeballed Alex, “How would you know? You just met him.” “I bet I’ve done more with him than you.” Terra got angry as her teeth clenched together and her fists tightened, “I’m gonna go change.” Terra left with her change of clothes toward t
he bathroom. “What’s her problem?” asked Alex, “I was just breaking her chops.” “Her crush is really bad. Scary sometimes.” Alex laughed at the inexperience of young girls, “If you crush on someone, you’ll never get them. Men like confidence; know your beautiful and they will too.” “That’s right,” agreed Ruthie, “So, what ‘did’ happen last night.” “Nothing, just a lot of confusion.”