Desert Rat

The sun, the damned sun! Beating him like a club into the sand. Why had he come to this miserable damned desert to start with? He had been lured here, like so many others, with the false promise of wealth. He knew if he didn't find Warm Springs soon, he would perish. The desert constantly lied to him, showing him the promise of an oasis and then snatching that promise away into the super heated air.

In the distance he thought he saw some mountains. Probably another mirage, he thought, but he trudged toward them because he had nowhere else to go. He looked for anything that might offer some shade. There was nothing but barren sand for as far as he could see. He walked slowly toward the mountains. The sun was getting low on the horizon. It cast a shadow where he thought the mountains were. They must be real!

But in the desert, there is no way to estimate distance. They might one mile away or a hundred. He knew the sun wouldn't last much longer. He also knew that the desert gets cold at night. He needed to rest badly. He was almost out of energy when he saw the faint glimmer of light in the distance. It was probably another mirage, but he struck off straight toward it. Maybe if he walked all night, he could reach it.

Five hours later he still hadn't reached the light but it did appear to be closer. He was completely exhausted and threw down his pack, sinking to his knees to rest. Despite his best efforts, sleep overwhelmed him.

He woke up just as the first faint hint of daylight threatened the eastern sky. The faint light was still there. He drank half of his remaining water. Today his water ration would run out. Then he would die. He walked toward the light.

A small collection of shacks appeared out of the desert sands. The light was coming from the nearest shack. He couldn't believe his luck! He staggered up to the shack and was met by an old man with a long grey beard.

"Howdy stranger," the old man said. "Say, you look like you could use a meal and something to drink."

"I'm mighty grateful for your hospitality," the desert rat thanked him as he took a long drink of cool water. "What is this place?"

"This here's Tonopah. Where were you headed?"

"I don't rightly know. I got turned around out in the desert. My mules died and I was left afoot. I'm damned near out of water. I figured I'd die sometime tonight or tomorrow for sure."

"Well, I can fix you up with some water and a meal, but I ain't got no mules."

"I thought I saw some mountains off in the distance. Are they really there or are they a mirage?"

"They ain't no mirage. They're real alright but they're a long ways off. At lease three days walking."

"Is there anything there worth walking for?"

"I don't know, I've never been there."

"Do you mind if I bunk in here for a day to get my strength back?"

"No, I'm glad for the company. The supply wagon only gets out here once a month if I'm lucky. If you want to catch a ride on it, it'll be here in five more days. You're welcome to stay until then."

"What's your name?" he asked the old man.

"I'm Pete Travers. Folks call me Desert Pete. I've been out here for three years. Who are you?"

"My name's Jonathan Deever. I've been prospecting for ten years out and about here. I guess I'll never strike it rich, but I've gotta keep tryin'"

It was a lot cooler in the shack than out in the sun. Jon was so thankful for the rest he received. He made up his mind to get on the supply wagon and join the gold rush near Sacramento.

It took six days for the supply wagon to show up. Jon negotiated with the wagon captain and they settled on a deal. With a friendly wave to the old man, Jon rode out of Tonopah.

It took a full day for the wagon to reach the hills. Jon got off the wagon as soon as he saw green grass. The wagon took off and Jon marched resolutely into the west. The next day he found a creek. He refilled his canteens and walked down the hillside beside the bubbling water. Two days later he found the lake. He stripped off his clothes and dived into the cold water. He washed his clothes and enjoyed his first shave in eight months.

He was swimming across the lake when he saw the girl. She was standing on a rock watching him swim. All she had on were her knickers. She was barefoot.

Jon surmised that he was in her swimming hole. "Come on in," he yelled.

She jumped off the rock and scampered over the closest hill.

He made a temporary camp in a glade beside the lake. The next day the girl appeared again. He watched as she carefully surveyed the lake and surrounding hills. She didn't spot his camp. She peeled off her knickers and dived into the lake. Jon watched her swimming nude for a long time. She got out of the water, picked up her clothes and washed them in the lake. She laid beside them on the big rock, drying in the sun. When she sat up, she saw Jon watching her. He heard her yelp, "Oh my!" She pulled on her clothes and again disappeared over the hill.

I wonder where she goes, Jon thought. He gave her an hour head start and then followed her over the hill. Jon was an expert tracker, so it was easy for him to follow her trail through the grass. He followed her tracks for a couple of miles and then he spotted the cabin. He crept down to the edge of the woods and watched closely.

The girl was carrying a load of firewood into the little hut. He heard a man yelling something, but he couldn't make it out. The girl appeared at the doorway and the man was right behind her. He had a whip in his hand. As she ran for the woodpile, he cracked the whip across her back. She stumbled and fell. The man was on her in a trice. She lay whimpering as he beat her. Finally he went back inside as she dragged herself to her feet and set out again for the wood pile.

Jon crept closer to the hovel as she toted another load of wood inside.

The man yelled in an obviously drunk voice, "Get me some supper, you lazy slut! I'm hungry."

"Yes daddy," the girl whined.

Jon waited until dark and quietly walked down next to the cabin. He heard the drunk say, "Get them clothes off and get over here. I want some pussy!"

The girl whimpered, "Yes daddy."

Jon could here the grunting sounds from within as the father took the daughter. She was crying and screaming. By that time Jon was thoroughly pissed off. Nobody should treat a woman that way, much less a daughter. Jon resolved to do something about it. He walked back to his camp.

He waited in the brush along the trail the next day. It wasn't long until the girl came walking quietly up the trail. When she got just past him, him grabbed her from behind. She struggled hard, but Jon had muscles hardened from years of hard work. After a while the girl calmed down enough for him to talk to her.

"I'm not gonna hurt you. I want to help you."

"Nobody can help me," she squeaked. "Just leave me alone!"

"You know that sooner or later that drunken son of a bitch is going to kill you."

"He has the right. He's my daddy. A daddy can do anything to his daughter. It's the law!"

"Who told you that nonsense? Daddies are supposed to protect their daughters, not beat them and rape them. Your daddy is a liar, a drunk and a criminal."

"No, no daddy has the right. He told me so."

She had stopped struggling now, realizing that he wasn't going to hurt her. He sat her in the grass and turned her loose. She started to jump and run but something made her stop.

"What do you care anyway? You don't even know me or my daddy."

"I'm just a man who doesn't like to see women abused. Especially pretty young daughters. What your daddy is doing is against every law in every state in the Union. I can help you if you want. You don't have to live like a dog anymore."

"But what can you do? If you tell daddy to stop, he'll wait until you're gone and then he'll beat me to death."

"Well, there are ways of talking to guys like that. You go back to the cabin and I'll be there in a little bit."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna rescue you from the plight you're in. Get going!"

The girl walked quickly down the path and out of sight. Jon returned to his camp. He tucked his pistol into his belt under his jacket and set off for the cabin. He broke out of the woods just in time to see the girl run out of the door with her father close behind. He had the whip in his hand.

"Howdy," Jon said.

The man stopped dead in his tracks. "Get out of here! We don't want no strangers here!"

"That's not very neighborly of you. What's the whip for?"

"That's none of your damned business," the bully snarled. He let the whip lash close to Jon.

"You ought to be careful with that thing. It could get you killed," remarked Jon.

"This here whip ain't gonna kill me but it's gonna beat your dumb ass half to death!"

The drunk aimed the lash at Jon. Jon sidestepped and the lash popped in the air.

"Last chance! Put down the whip!" Jon yelled.

"I'll put it down your back!" And the drunk hauled the whip back.

Jon pulled the pistol and shot him between the eyes. The drunk fell to the ground, the whip curled around his body.

"You killed my daddy!" screamed the girl. "What did you do the far?"

"You saw him. He was fixing to beat me with that whip. There ain't no man beats me with a whip!"

"What are we gonna do now?"

"We're gonna bury him and then you're coming with me. You don't need to be up here in the wilderness getting your butt kicked every day."

They dug the grave and buried her daddy along with his whip. She shed not a tear. They didn't mark the grave. Jon knew that nobody would ever find a solitary unmarked grave way out here in the sticks.

"Gather up whatever you've got and let's go."

So the girl followed Jon back to his camp. For the first time in her memory she didn't get whipped or raped in the afternoon. She followed Jon around like a puppy.

"Okay, now that you're with me, what's your name?"

"My name is Lucy."

"How old are you Lucy?"

"I think I'm nineteen, but I don't know for sure. Two years ago daddy told me I was seventeen or eighteen."

"Where were you born?"

"I ain't sure. Daddy said I was born on a wagon train. He said Indians killed my mama. I don't know what her name was. Daddy's name was Bret, but that's all I know about him."

"Do you have a last name?"

"I don't think so. All daddy ever called me was Lucy and slut."

"Those days are over. We'll head on through the mountains and get you to Sacramento. Then we'll see if we can settle out who you are. Let's eat."

She scrambled to her feet looking for something to cook. She fell in a ball in front of him. "Please don't beat me! I don't know where the food is. Don't beat me!"

Jon picked her up and hugged her. "I'll cook. Nobody's ever gonna beat you again. Just sit down over there and it'll be ready in a while."

Lucy sat down by the blankets while Jon fixed supper. When he brought her plate to her she was shivering. "What's the matter Lucy?"

"I keep waiting for something bad to happen. When's it gonna happen?"

"I'm not gonna let it happen. Eat your supper and then we'll go for a swim."

After they ate and sat for a while, Jon said," Let's go for a dip."

"I'll wait for you. I don't want to go naked."

"Why not? We've both already seen each other naked. I'm not gonna rape you. I just want to go for a swim. Stop acting silly and come on."

Jon stripped his clothes off and headed for the lake. He turned when he got to the shore and Lucy was right behind him, nude. He dived into the water and heard a splash as she followed him. He stood up in water that was armpit deep and turned around. She was following closely. When she stopped and tried to stand, she found the water was over her head. Sputtering and splashing, she sank. Jon reached for her and held her head above the water.

When she stopped choking and coughing she looked up at him. He had her under the armpits. She reached out, grabbed his muscular arms and smiled at him. Her legs went around his waist. She hugged him to her as hard as she could.

Jon bent his head and kissed her tenderly on the lips. A look of adoration flooded her face. Jon knew she was in love with him. He let his arms curl around her little body and held her tight. He let her go and they swam slowly back to shore.

They lay naked on the blankets. She looked at Jon and said, "What was that thing you did with your lips out there in the lake?"

"That was a kiss. Haven't you ever been kissed?"

"Nope. That was the first time I liked it. Can we do it again?"

He scooped her body next to his and kissed her tenderly again. She closed her eyes and pressed her lips urgently to his. She wouldn't let go. Then she felt his tongue lick her lips. She giggled and licked him back. His tongue shot into her mouth and twisted around hers. She poked her tongue into his mouth. He sucked on it. Finally he broke the kiss and she lay in his arms panting for breath.

"Why do I feel this way? I've never felt this way before."

"This is the way that men and women get ready for love."

"Like daddy used to do it to me? I didn't like that. He just jammed his thing in me and pumped. Sometimes he made me bleed. Is that love?"

"No Lucy that is rape. Making love is something two people want to do together. When you feel strongly about someone, you will want to have him in your body and he will want you. It is supposed to be tender and gentle, not painful and hard."

"So what am I feeling now? I really like kissing. I want to do more of it. If you are loving someone, what comes next?"

"Well, then you get to feel each other so you know that the other person really wants you."

"Do you really want me Jon?"

"I don't know yet. I don't want to take advantage of you. We can kiss and feel each other, but we better wait to do anything else."

"I'll do whatever you want Jon. I want to kiss you and feel you too."

"Let's get rested up and we'll hit the trail tomorrow. I don't know how far it is to the next town."

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" she asked innocently.

"You'll have to. There's only one bed roll."

"Daddy made me sleep on the floor. You won't make me sleep on the floor will you Jon?"

"No honey, those days are gone."

"I'm glad you killed daddy. He was a mean man."

"It might be better if you just forget about your daddy and about me killing him, okay?"

"What ever you say, Jon my love."

It was a tight squeeze but Jon and Lucy managed to get into his one man bed roll. She had her face buried in his chest and he had his arms around her.

Before she went to sleep she told him, "I've never felt safer than I do right now. Thank you for saving me Jon."

"You better wait to thank me until we get to a town. There's no telling what will happen when we get to civilization."

They wriggled out of the bedroll early in the morning. Jon fixed some coffee and hard tack. They set off over the mountains to find a town.

Ten days later they were at Placerville. Miners were everywhere. The rush was on! Jon found a Justice of the Peace. He and Lucy sat in the office while Jon explained Lucy's circumstances.

"Where's her daddy?" the Justice asked.

"Daddy died three weeks before Jon found me. I don't know what he died of. He just turned red and fell over. It took me a week to bury him. I'm not sorry he's dead. He was a mean man and he did terrible things to me."

Jon was amazed at Lucy. She had dreamed up a much better scenario than he could have.

"Okay," said the Justice, "What do you want now?"

"Well, she's got to have a name. She'll need some kind of certificate to show where she came from." replied Jon.

"Okay son. We can fix it all up. You two decide on a name and come back tomorrow."

Jon checked them into a boarding house. He sat on the bed while Lucy curled up in his lap.

"What are we gonna call me?"

"I don't know. I'll think on it."

"While you're thinking can we practice kissing again?" She put her arms around his neck and drew his lips down to her. Soon their tongues were engaged in battle. "Feel me Jon, please feel me!"

They removed their clothes and got back on the bed. He hugged her and started another soul kiss. His hands found her breasts and he massaged them gently, pinching the nipples.

"OOooo, I like that," she whispered. "Do it some more."

Jon's lips sought her nipples and he suckled from them. She was starting to writhe on the old mattress. He placed his hand on her knee and started to slide it upward.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"I'm feeling you. Why don't you feel me?"

As his hands brushed her pussy he felt her little hand grasp his cock. "It's so hard and so soft. I like it." She remarked.

His fingers were rubbing up and down her slit. He felt her getting wet. He slipped a finger into her. He felt for her 'g' spot. When he found it, he gently massaged it. Her hips were bucking off the bed. "Ooohhh Gggoddd," she moaned.

Suddenly his lips were on her pussy. He licked it up and down and then stuck his tongue into her. When he sucked on her clit, she screamed and bucked up and down. Her first orgasm took her by surprise. She screamed, "Yes, yes, yes, oh Jonny, yes!"

"That was the best thing I ever felt. What else is there?" she panted into his neck.

"Now comes the part where your daddy hurt you. If you don't want to do it, I'll understand. You should know that it is really, really good when it is done right."

"I want to do everything with you Jon. Let's try it."

He eased himself between her legs and placed the head of his cock at her entrance. Slowly, slowly so as not to frighten or hurt her, he slid his cock into her tight little cunt. She was really juicy but she was also really small.

"Are you alright Lucy?" he asked softly.

"Oh yes. It feels very good. I didn't know it could be this way. Put some more in me."

Jon slowly slid his cock into her until he felt their hairs entwine. He waited a minute or two for her to adjust to the invasion.

"I wanna be your slut Jon. Take me now!"

He started to slide in and out of her at an ever increasing rate. Her pussy was getting wetter and she was making little funny noises. She could feel every inch of him in her. This was her man! His cock was getting harder and hotter. Daddy never felt like this. Now there was no blood and no pain just an increasingly wonderful feeling deep down in her center. Her pussy was throbbing around his cock. She could feel another massive orgasm approaching. This time she was ready. This time she gave herself up to it as it consumed her soul. "OOoohhhh Gggggoddd! Give it to me. Give it to me!!"

Jon felt her cumming on his cock. He drove into her as far and as fast as he could. He wasn't quite long enough to reach her cervix, but he filled up her little pussy. Her pussy massaged his cock. She humped into him faster and faster. He was losing control. His eyes fluttered and his toes curled he held tightly to her. He grunted loudly and shot a massive load of cum into her. She squealed when she felt it hit her inside. How could anything be this good? Their sweat mingled with their love juices. He held her tight and rolled over so she was on top. He couldn't let go. She was too good, too perfect.

His cock was still in her. He stroked her lightly. "Oh Jon, I love you. Don't ever stop. Don't leave me."

"I'm not leaving. I want to make love to you from now on. Kiss me."

His cock was in her. His tongue was in her. His soul was in her. He knew his days as a desert rat were over. He knew he loved this little woman and he wanted her forever more.

When his cock finally softened and popped out, she sighed and groaned. "What happened to it?" she asked.

"It'll be back. It's just resting."

"Oh. Kiss me again?"

They stumbled into the Justice of the Peace's office next morning. "Well, have you two decided on a name?"