When it was time to shower for the people not on shift, the living area cleared out completely, except for the three avian women and myself. I almost laughed at such a simple solution to my 'there's always people around' problem. Or so I thought. Almost right after everyone left, two guards came into my detection range.
“Oh, sneaky.” I said.
“What is it?” Val asked.
“Ladies, if you would join me at the back of the cubicle, I'll hide us from view.” I said and stood up.
The two avian women in the nest nodded and the four of us stood at the back of the cubicle. “Hold hands.” I said and the three women did and I covered us in Presence. I had to let them feel it, just so they would know it was there, then I shared my Stealth technique with them.
They let out a startled chirp as they faded from sight and then stayed silent. Ten minutes later, the female guard and a male guard came into view. They walked over to the cubicles and started searching them, one by one, and moved to the next one. I made the Presence solid around the three avian women and diverted the sound away, because I knew what was coming.
“Make sure you spray the nest.” The female guard said as the male guard came in.
“I know.” The male guard responded and took out a weird spray can, like an aerosol can, then sprayed the nest and covered it in whatever it was. After that, he dug his hands into the blankets and searched all of the folds and crevasses thoroughly, careful of the feathers and down that was there, and went all around the entire thing. All three avian women were frantically struggling to get free. They chirped and squawked their heads off at the guard for violating their personal space, and I couldn't blame them.
You just signed your death warrant, buddy. I thought.
The female guard walked by the cubicle and went into number nine, and the male guard finished and went into number ten. I didn't let the women go, though.
“Hunter.” Val said when she calmed down. “Let us go. We need to kill him or our threat is meaningless.”
“In a minute.” I said and she glared at me. “I can't let you do it just yet.”
“Why. Not. Now.” Val said as a statement and not as a question.
“I want their inspection to finish first.” I said and lifted us up with Presence, then carried us out of the cubicle and over to the main shaft.
“That doesn't matter.” Val said. The other two avian women were too angered to try to talk to me.
“Trust me.” I said with a smile.
“I do.” Val said and left the implied 'they don't' unspoken.
“Ladies, please. As soon as they reach the bottom of the stairs, I'll let you go. Val, you absolutely need to scream, in common, that you saw him violate the nest.”
Val gave me a skeptical look, then I used my electronic key to unlock the other two women's wrists and ankle restraints. The two of them let out loud angry squawks and pressed harder against my barrier.
“I'll even use Presence to carry his screams all throughout the mine.” I said. “Get ready.” I warned them as the two guards came down the stairs and Val let out a low warble and pressed hard against the barrier as well. “Now!” I dropped the Stealth technique and the solid barrier when the man's boot hit the ground, then all three avian women ran as fast as they could into the living area.
“HUMAN MALE! YOU VIOLATED THE NEST!” Val screamed at the top of her lungs.
The man had enough time to turn his head and look frightened, just as the women tackled him. “AHHHH!” He screamed at the top of his lungs as his eyes were clawed out, then Val and the second avian woman held his arms as the first avian woman took her time and slowly stripped the flesh from his face. They did this on purpose, so that his screams would be remembered by everyone that heard them. Since I was using Presence to carry the sound, everyone in the mine and the administration building heard it.
“S-s-stop.” The female guard was completely shocked at the brutal savagery as her fellow guard was then gutted while he was still alive. Even though they had human-like hands, they were just as strong as bird claws and easily tore into him. The guard took out something that looked like a gun and raised it to point it at them.
I was instantly beside her and put my hand on it and raised it towards the ceiling. “It's too late for that.” I said to her and she had tears in her eyes, then I spoke for her ears alone. “It was supposed to be your turn, wasn't it?”
She nodded and let her tears flow. “I hate checking that damn nest. It's always damp in places and the feathers are everywhere.”
“Then stay quiet and don't say anything.” I said. “If they find out that all of the guards have checked it, you know they have to kill you.”
She let out a sob and let the weapon go, then she hugged me tightly.
“I thought there was a no contact rule.” I said and she buried her face against my chest and cried. I tucked the weapon back into the holster it came from and put my arms around her to hold her while the male guard died a gruesome death. It took a while.
“Hunter, we need posts.” Val said.
I turned to her and saw that all three of them had blood all the way up their arms to their shoulders and they were splattered with it everywhere. They had eviscerated the guard completely and had all of his internal organs spread out in a pattern around the body.
“How many?” I asked.
“Six, at this height.” Val said and held a hand up at around eight feet. “It must be seen.”
“Give me a few minutes.” I said and brought the female guard over to the stairs and sat her down. “Don't look.” I said and she closed her eyes. I walked over to an open area and took out a mangled crate and a plasma cutter, then cut the crate up into strips. It was five feet wide, so I welded two strips together and made a ten foot tall post and added reinforcement with other pieces to strengthen it. I made five more posts just like it and stored the equipment I had and I had Val point to where she wanted the posts.
I hid myself from view and used a Light sword to make the six cuts into the ground for the posts, then I walked over to the middle of the living area and buried one of the orphaned cuffs. I walked back over to the holes and stopped hiding myself and shoved each post two feet down into the ground.
“Thank you.” Val said and kissed my cheek.
This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.
“At least you didn't eat him.” I said.
“We can't cook him and it's too unsanitary to eat him raw.” Val said as the other two women dismembered the body. The 2 arms, 2 legs, head, and torso were mounted on the six posts and the organs and viscera were strewn across them to tie them all together.
“Your people definitely know how to make a statement.” I said to her.
“If I wasn't covered in the blood of a fresh kill, which I know humans hate, I would ask you to make love to me to complete the ritual.”
“Right here?” I asked and she chuckled.
“No, we would need to use the nest that was violated.”
I turned to the two avian women. “We need to finish the ritual in your nest.”
Val and the two women let out warbles of surprise.
“But... you can't mean to...” Val started to say.
“I was covered in that doctor's blood and we had sex.” I said.
“Yes, but... that was your kill and...”
“What's the difference?” I asked and she couldn't answer.
“You have my permission.” The first avian woman said.
I let out a chirp and a warble of thanks, grabbed Val's hand, and led her over to cubicle eight.
“We can't... we just finished... it's our nest, and...” The second avian woman mumbled.
“Come.” The first said and led her over to the cubicle to be witnesses. “Just so you know, I will not enjoy seeing this.” She said to me and sat down on the chair beside the nest.
“I will.” I said and took off my jumpsuit to show her that I was already hard. She squawked in surprise and I tore apart Val's jumpsuit and spread the scraps of bloody cloth around the nest, then I laid her down in the middle of it and made love to her as I stared at the first avian woman. I let out squawks and tweets, as did Val, and the woman I kept eye contact with went along for the ride.
When Val screamed out with pleasure, so did she.
I stood up and left a very passive Val in the middle of the nest and used a piece of her discarded jumpsuit to wipe myself off, then I handed it to the first woman. I tweeted and chirped my appreciation to her for protecting her nest, then I bowed my head and dropped to a knee as I warbled my thanks for letting me use her space. Both she and the second avian woman stared at me and didn't say anything in response.
I stood up and put my jumpsuit back on. “I'll leave her in your care.” I said and left the cubicle.
Surprisingly, no one had come to investigate the man's screams. In the case of the other guard, I was pretty sure it was because they had already seen it and were just waiting until it was quiet to come and retrieve the man's dismembered body. For the prisoners, I assumed they had to stay and work no matter what they saw or heard.
I walked over to the female guard and helped her stand. “Can I ask you for a few favors?”
“Wh-what?” She looked at me like I was speaking gibberish.
“I know I can't get a power source from you, so what about a large battery pack charger?” I asked and started to walk with her and led her from the living area.
“I... no, I... don't have access to things like that.” She said.
“Hmm. Okay. What about prefab building materials like walls and flooring?”
“Per... perhaps.”
“I can pay.” I said.
Her eyes lost their look of horror for a moment. “I bet you can.” She said, then tears came back to her eyes. “How can I say something like that after... after...”
“I'm sorry you had to see that.” I said sincerely. “I was tempted to block your sight and hearing completely; but, they needed to see the shock and horror on your face.”
“Wh-wh-what?”
“They need a witness to convey that they completed their threat.” I explained. “It's part of a weird ritual of nest preservation.” I shrugged. “Different people, different cultures.”
“You... why aren't you bothered by that? They tore him apart just for touching their nest!”
“No, they tore him apart for violating their people's personal vision of safety for their children.” I corrected her as we walked. “I told you. Different people, different culture. If you don't respect it, sometimes you have to suffer for it.”
“But... you...”
“The other two hate me quite a lot.” I said and 'looked' back at cubicle eight. I saw the first avian woman with the cloth I had wiped myself off with. She looked at Val and then at the other avian woman as she raised the cloth to her mouth and licked it. “I'm apparently wearing them down, though.”
“You sound happy about that.” The female guard said.
“They are good friends to have, once they accept you.”
“But... but... they...”
“Yeah, they do.” I said. “Say, can you get me a few unused mattresses? I'll trade a few tasty meals for them.”
The female guard looked at me with wide eyes for a moment, then she sighed. “I'll need one to prove it to the supplies clerk.”
“I can give you one right now.” I said. “It's still hot, too.”
“I... wait until...”
“We're here.” I said and put my restraints on as we arrived at the start of the mine shaft and the platform that The Order member stood on with the other male guard.
“What are you doing here?” He asked me, angrily.
“I was escorting this lovely young lady back to safety.” I said and took out the food tray and gave it to her. “She was confiscating this altered meal.” I said and saw him wince a little. “Okay, I actually meant she coerced it out of me.” I said and he didn't wince. “I suggest not trying it, because you will not like how it tastes.”
The Order member didn't wince and he frowned.
I looked at the other guard and helped the female guard onto the stairs. “Please escort her back to the administration building. She's had quite the shock and needs the company.”
The male guard came down the stairs and guided her up the rest of the stairs and out of sight.
“Get back to the living area.” The Order member ordered.
“Sure.” I said and hobbled back across the open area and out of his sight. I took off my restraints and ran back to the living area in moments. I came to a stop at the other entrance to the main shaft and picked up the restraints I had released from the two avian women and stored them. I walked over to cubicle eight and stopped a respectable distance away and watched as both of the other avian women took tender care of Val. They tried to clean her up as much as they could and they didn't really have any means to do it.
“Please, allow me to assist.” I said and both of them turned angry faces to me and warbled angrily. I held up my hands in surrender. “I meant in providing hot water and a replacement jumpsuit.”
“Hot water? How?” The second avian woman asked.
“Planning.” I said and took out one of the mangled crates and used a plasma cutter to cut off the top, to leave it three feet deep, checked it to see if it was waterproof, then I dumped some of the water I had gathered from my last shower into it. Some soapy residue was in the water, since it was the water I had taken at the end of my lathered shower. I had two more bags of completely clean water left that I had gathered from the second rinse.
I was a little surprised there was that much water in the first bag, which meant there was a lot of water in the other two, since I had gathered all of the second rinse. Both avian women looked at the five foot by five foot square and then looked inside at the two feet of hot slightly soapy water.
The first one dipped her hand into it and gasped. “It's real. It's really hot water.”
“No, it can't be.” The second said. “He couldn't have...” She dipped her hand in and she looked at me. “How did you do this?”
“I'll figure out how to get more later. I don't like being dependent on them and only washing when they let us.” I said and then chuckled. “Especially since I'm supposed to work every day and I'm not supposed to be getting a shower.”
“So, your actions are self-serving.” The first one said.
“Of course they are.” I said. “I'm going to be here for a long time and I'm going to make myself comfortable here, no matter what.”
“Oh? What if they come down here and stop you?” The second one asked.
“I would feel very sorry for anyone that thinks they can come down here to cause trouble.” I said and let out a low and deadly warble.
The both of them shivered in pleasure at the sound and looked at me with wide eyes.
“Please, enjoy the bath.” I said and put the shrink wrapped jumpsuit that Val had given me on the closest chair, stepped backwards out of their personal space, then I walked over to the mine shaft and ran back to the broken item warehouse. If I was going to make a place to live, I was going to need a few things, like lights, food preparation machines, and a few conveniences that the people in the administration building had. I opened the warehouse and stepped in, then scrounged around for the basic necessities.
The first thing I needed was the device to prepare the Lover's Passion Fruit. I chuckled at the name and shook my head. I found a dozen of them and turned to 'look' at the food dispensary at the working one, then used it as a guide and scavanged the parts I needed to get one working.
Val's going to love this. I thought, then I remembered that I had no way to power it without a power source and sighed. Goddammit.
I looked through all the walls that I could see and none of them had a power wire that I could use, then I caught my breath when I realized that the cargo door had power.
I've been using the damn thing and it never occurred to me it had the power that I needed this whole time! I thought and ran over to the door. Stupid! I am so stupid!
I looked up at the door and sure enough, a thick cord of power wires went up into the ceiling about a foot, then it went down further into the mine and not towards the administration center like I thought. That threw my calculations and my plans off a little, then I smiled as I made a new plan.
I needed to find that power source.