The Creepers Ch. 01

Diamondback sighed. She simply wanted to get cleaned up and get to bed. She inquired of a village official where she might take care of the cleaning problem.

"Go up to the big red building at the end of the street. That's the bathhouse. It's fed by an underground hot spring."

Diamondback felt a shiver. Warm water! It was just what she needed.

"Just ask for some clean towels, or anything else you would like. Happy to help the Legion in any way we can. And if you'd like . . . ahem . . .well, company, I know some fine young men . . ."

"That's quite all right," she returned almost sharply. She tried softening her tone a bit. "I'm just tired. The food and bath is all the hospitality I can handle this evening." She paused for a moment. "There was a girl we brought in who wasn't from around her. I was hoping to make sure she was okay. Do you know who I'm talking about?"

"Oh yes, she headed up to the baths almost as soon as you got here. Borrowed some razors, soap, and a pair of scissors." He got a frightened look on his face. "You don't think she'll hurt herself or someone else, do you?"

"I doubt it. But I'll keep an eye out. And thank you. You've been most kind." The man beamed with pride at the compliment as she headed up to the baths. The entire town was at the celebration, so the street was deserted. She stopped and took off her boots before she got up to the shower. Snow or not, she had to feel the earth beneath her sore feet, if just for a moment. It was quite cathartic for her. There was a single person sitting next to the door handing out towels. The young man looked very nervous in her presence.

"Listen, I'd kind of like to be alone right now. Why don't you go join the party?"

"But I was told . . ."

"I'll be alright on my own. Go have fun. Now." The last was a command even this young oaf could understand. He went to run a quick errand as she went inside. It was a nice building with lots of open space and tiled floors. Torches were mounted on the walls, and the smoke escaped through holes in the upper walls. Diamondback heard some noise at the other end of the room. The room was divided into a number of smaller pools, and the noise came from the one farthest from the door. She wondered if it was their mysterious guest. She walked quietly towards that end of the building. The girl, as it turned out to be, apparently had good hearing and only the top of her head as well as her eyes were visible above the surface of the water.

"It's alright," Diamondback said, trying to sound calming. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm just here to get wipe this gunk off me, but I would like to ask you a few questions. Is that alright with you?"

The girl looked at her suspiciously for a moment, but then nodded her ascent. "I guess so," the girl uttered, barely making a sound.

"Good." Diamondback looked around for the razors and scissors. Things were calm at the moment, but she wanted to know where the pointy bits were nonetheless. She spotted them next to the girls muddy clothes. They appeared to have been used. "So what were you doing out there? Not a great place to be in that kind of weather."

A pause. "I was hunting. I had goner farther than usual, so when the first storm hit, I knew . . . I knew I was stuck. So I looked for shelter. But the raiders were already there." She started sounding angry. "So stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid!"

Diamondback paid rapt attention to both what was being said and how it was being said. The "how" led her to think the girl wasn't used to talking to people. She had a manner of speech that was common for people who lived alone. And the "what" . . .

"You said you had gone farther than usual. Do you live in the woods east of here?"

The girl was silent for a moment, realizing she had given something away. "Yes," she said, probably realizing that trying to hide things from the other woman wouldn't work. "A couple of days walk."

"And do you live alone?"

Another pause. "Yes."

"No family?"

The girl didn't answer at all. Diamondback figured she had just stumbled onto something.

"What's your name?"

"Rain."

"Rain, what happened to your family?" She heard the girl sob. It was quiet, but it was what she was listening for. "Rain, what happened to your family."

"They're dead." Silence filled the room. "Raiders took them."

"When was that," she asked gently.

"Four winters ago."

Diamondback was both saddened and impressed. "You've been living alone for four years? That's . . . That's quite a feat. Why did you and your family live so far from the village?"

"My family . . . Apparently, the villagers around here have always wanted to join the Legion. So my family has . . . had been living alone since before I was born."

"So you don't like the Legion?"

"No. Well . . . yes. I mean . . . We wouldn't mind, but the breeding program . . . My parents didn't want that for us. I wanted to join up, you know." Rain sounded wistful at that moment. "I wanted to help look after people. But . . . I just can't imagine being forced to have babies in order to do it."

Diamondback had the sinking feeling that this young woman was capable of bearing children. Meaning that if she wanted to fight in the brotherhood, she had to agree to the rules. So the Legion lost a possible soldier because she didn't want to be a mother. Sometimes, even the most loyal of soldiers, such as Diamondback, thought the system sucked.

As with many people after long periods of isolation, once Rain started talking, she couldn't stop. And to think, Diamondback thought she might have to interrogate the poor girl. Now, she felt she'd need a cork and some glue to shut Rain up.

Rain's father and grandfather had apparently been very competent outdoorsman. They had taught her and her brother and cousins to hunt, trap, fish and shoot a bow and arrow. She had been able to catch, skin and butcher her own food since she was thirteen. She had been out hunting deer when raiders descended on her homestead. She had returned to find what was left of them. She had been seventeen when she buried her own family.

Diamondback fought back a grimace. She was tough and she was hardened, but she was also human. She had heard stories like this before. Too many times, in fact. Then she realized how long they had been there. "It is quite late," she said with a forced calm. "Are you going to be all right this evening? Do you have a place to stay?"

The girl was quiet all of a sudden. Diamondback hope she hadn't taken that question to mean . . . Her line of thought was cut short as Rain climbed out of the pool and grabbed a towel. The soldier was caught absolutely speechless. Rain had gone from being a clod of dirt to being the most beautiful girl Diamondback had seen in her life. The girl's matted hair had been cleaned out and brushed, and was a deep chestnut brown filled with delicate curls. Her eyes were large and clear and seemed to be as brown as her hair. Where Diamondback's face was stern, Rain's was soft and almost devilishly inviting. She had a small, cute noise, and full lips. Her neck was long, her shoulders lightly muscled and her breasts . . . They were perfect. She must have had them wrapped earlier, otherwise Diamondback WOULD have noticed. They stood out proudly, each larger than she could wrap her hands around. It was a concept that started playing over and over in the soldier's mind. She had a lean, narrow waist and narrow hips that led to strong thighs and muscular calves. And between those legs . . .

"Are you okay?" asked Rain timidly.

Diamondback had been caught dead-cold staring at this girl's crotch. She, a woman who could walk into an ambush, pick someone's pocket and walk out again unnoticed, had been caught with her literal and proverbial pants down.

Rain took a step toward her and Diamondback quickly stepped out of the pool and grabbed a towel. She suddenly and inexplicably felt very homely.

"I'm sorry," said Diamondback. "If you'd like, we'll escort you home, but you might want to consider staying near the settlement for a while. I'm sure they'd be willing . . ." Diamondback felt a presence very near her. She spun around and Rain was standing no more than two feet away, still nude and dripping wet.

"I . . . I saw you looking at me." She glanced down at her body. "Do I . . . Do I please you?" Rain had a look of confusion on her face.

Moments earlier, Diamondback had been a bit of an emotional mess. Suddenly, she was under control again. This young girl probably thought that the legionnaire expected certain liberties because she had saved the girl. This was just a placating offering. That's all it was.

"That's all right. You don't need to do this," said Diamondback, some of the sternness returning to her voice. "Just think about what I said." Rain looked confused and upset. "Don't worry," the older woman said, trying to sooth this young woman, "it's not you. I just don't accept that type of gratitude." With that, she turned and walked away. The young man who had been manning the front had left some clean robes for them and a note stating that if they left their clothes in one of the baskets, they would be cleaned in the morning. She slipped on the robe, which felt wonderful in her skin, and strode quickly towards where she would be bunking that evening. And she tried very hard not to look back.

The town elders had offered her any room that she wanted. Most of her squad had probably taken their evening conquest off to bed already. But she had refused their hospitality. She told them she didn't want to put any of them out of their own homes. She made a request that seemed strange to them. She was given the top portion of a barn to sleep in. There was a loose bail of hay on the upper deck, and a window that opened to the night sky. She was given a large, down pillow and a generous allotment of blankets. Let others have their fancy bedrooms and mattresses and other amenities. She had lived for so long under the stars that she could rarely sleep when she couldn't see them. She thought back to her life as a child before she began training as a legionnaire. She had lived in a small farming community. She and her friends had often slept in barns just like this when their supervisors allowed it and the weather was warm. Those were times deserving of fond memories.

She located her barn ascended to the loft with little difficulty. Everything she had asked for was laid out at the top of the ladder. She dumped her pack next to the pile of hay, making sure her rifle and at least one punch-dagger was within easy reach. She got undressed, relishing the sensation of the chill night air on her worn and weary body. She placed her hands on her smooth head and stretched her back. She realized how long they had been on the trail when she became aware of just how tired she really was. She placed a lighted candle on a table nearby, making sure it wasn't in a position to light her bed on fire. She lay between the blankets for a minute, looking out at the stars, trying to make sense of the constellations she had read about as a child. The people who had named them were either brilliant artists or raging alcoholics. Either way, those small, flickering points of light provided comfort to her.

Then she heard a noise on the ladder leading up to the loft. Probably just one of her squaddies checking in before going to bed, but she grabbed her rifle just in case. Shortly thereafter, Rain poked her head above the level of the floor. Diamondback sighed.

"Listen," she said as Rain climbed up into the loft, "I told you that you didn't have to do this." She put the gun back down. She turned away from the young girl and stared out the loft window, trying to ignore the sudden increase in the beating of her heart. "I don't expect anyone to give themselves up out of gratitude or some weird version of hero-worship." She heard light footsteps approaching her. "And I'm sure you have a place to sleep so . . ." and then she heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor. She took a deep breath and then swallowed. She turned her head to further discourage the girl, but her objection got caught in her throat. Rain hadn't gotten any less beautiful in the last fifteen or so minutes, and the gentle light from the candle didn't help matters at all.

"I don't understand," whispered Rain, who sounded like her voice was breaking. "You looked at me. I thought you liked the way I looked." Diamondback couldn't express how right the girl was with that point. Rain continued, "Do you find me attractive?" The young girl was stumbling over her words, unsure of what to say.

"God yes," the soldier said without even thinking about it. Her voice was raspy and tinged with desire.

" So why won't you have me?"

"Because I don't know why you want to be here. I don't need charity, and the only other reason is you've been alone so long that you're just looking to be with someone, and anyone will do."

"There were others who . . . who offered to be with me . . . when I went to the towns for trade. But they . . . those boys . . . I just looked at them and felt empty. I look at you, and . . . " she said, picking up one edge of the top blanket and lying down next to Diamondback. The soldier's skin was covered in goosebumps, and it wasn't because of the cold. "I looked at you in the meadow and at the baths and my skin feels hot and my heart beats hard and I don't know why." She took Diamondback's hand and put it on her chest, and the older girl could confirm both of Rain's claims. "And maybe I have been alone for a long time. But I don't want to be alone tonight."

Diamondback was a very calm and collected person most of the time. She wouldn't have been as an effective leader otherwise. But she was only human, and there probably wasn't a human being alive who would've held out as long as she had. Diamondback had given the girl every chance to back out.

Rain's face conveyed her nervousness, even in the dim, flickering light. Since her hand was still on the young girl's chest, she took Rain's hand and put it on her thigh.

"Can I safely guess you're new at this?" she said, breaking the tension a bit. Rain blushed. "If you really want to enjoy someone, get to know their body. You don't have to rush into anything."

Rain's hands started to roam. The young girl seemed bound and determined to touch every squared inch of Diamondback's body. And those fingers seemed to light the soldier's skin on fire wherever they went. They traced her abdominal muscles, the curve of her breasts and the outlines of the muscles in her arms. Diamondback let her hands caress the muscles of that beautiful long neck and the swell of her breasts. It appeared that while Rain's hand seemed to cause fire, Diamondback's were causing earthquakes. Every touch and caress, however light, sent shivers through the young girl's body. Rain was looking at the older girl, licking her lips. Squad Captain Diamondback hadn't gotten where she was by overlooking obvious signs. Rain wanted to kiss her, but wasn't sure how. She leaned in slowly and moved her body closer to Rain's.

"This," she whispered huskily, "is how you do it." And she kissed the young girl. Rain's entire body shivered with that kiss, which was met with youthful exuberance. The heat being given off by her young lover's body was intense. Diamondback held the girl close and relished the warmth. And the kissing . . . Rain's lips were so soft and inviting. And she was a quick learner, it would seem, as they had started using their tongues to explore one another's mouths. It was close to heaven for the grizzled veteran. She had never thought she might find a woman so beautiful, fresh and willing in a place like this. She looped her arm over the girl and traced her spine from the neck to the small of the back. Rain's body shivered again, but this time it didn't stop. Dawn's eyes flew open and she stopped kissing Diamondback. The young girl had a new look on her face. It was the familiar confusion combined with an unfamiliar look of pleasure.

You've got be kidding, thought Diamondback. This was light foreplay for her. And the look on Rain's face . . . It was like she had never had a . . . Good God! That was impossible. Even if she had masturbated, surely she had . . . But the look on Rain's face said it all. The young girl, who had to have been twenty or twenty-one years old based on the story she had told, appeared to be experiencing the first orgasm in her life. The young girl was gasping while making a high pitched squeaking sound. She was looking straight into Diamondback's eyes, unsure of what this feeling was but knowing she liked it. She looked to the other woman for comfort; to know that this was supposed to happen.

"Just let it happen," the older girl said. "This is what it's all about."

Rain still had a look of surprise on her face as the waves of pleasure ebbed, but she was smiling wholeheartedly as well. She looked down between their bodies towards the epicenter of her pleasure. "Is it always like that?" she gasped at last.

"I wish. Have you never, well, felt like that before?"

"No. I've . . . I've played with myself but I never felt anything like that. My parents were kind of close-lipped when it came to talking about sex. I was never around anyone who made me feel interested before, so I just . . ."

"Well, I'm glad to have helped introduce you to the lovely world of sex. You must have been wound tight girl, because it usually takes much longer than that to get someone off."

"Off?"

"Yeah, bring them to orgasm. That's what you just had."

"Can I have more?"

The question had been asked with such childlike wonder that Diamondback almost laughed. "I suspect so. That was just heavy petting. There is still heavy foreplay to go, plus the actual sex."

"There's more? Is it better than kissing?" Oh, she was adorable!

"Yes, there's more. And when it's done right, it'll turn your world upside down! But kissing is always good." Rain seemed to accept that as she locked onto Diamondback's face again, who was delighted by feel of the girl's lips against her own.

"What happens next?" asked the girl.

"Next . . . Well, it's easier if I just show you. You see," she said sending a trail of kisses down from Rain's mouth over her neck and to the slope of her breasts, "kisses aren't just for lips." She planted a kiss on the soft skin of one nipple then the other. She cupped the underside of those glorious mounds, holding them steady for her marauding tongue. Rain was arching her back, thrusting those globes against Diamondback's face. Her own hands were tracing patterns on the older woman's smooth skull.

Then the kisses continued southwards. Diamondback spent a lot of time teasing the poor girl's abdomen, especially the navel. It turned out that her delightful bellybutton was particularly sensitive. Rain was giggling and cooing like a dove at the same time. The soldier enjoyed making the young girl jump out her skin, and watching her generous chest jiggle whenever it happened. But enough of the teasing, thought Diamondback. It was time to consume that which she desperately hungered for.

By that point, she was completely encased in blankets and was finding it hard to move. She threw back the covers, exposing both girls. While the air was chilled, neither of them seemed to care. It didn't matter to Rain because of the pleasure she was experiencing. And it didn't matter to Diamondback because she once again got to look at that perfect body. She sat back and lifted Rain's hips upward and helped the young lady to hang one leg over each of Diamondback's shoulders. It wasn't the most traditional position, but it allowed her to look down at her young lover. And she wanted to see Rain's face when she started. If a simple caress had that kind of effect, then she could only imagine what this was going to do. She started by blowing lightly on the labia, causing Rain to shiver. The young girl was looking at her with total wonderment. She had no idea what was about to happen. Then Diamondback ever so gently traced the outer edges of Rain's lightly fuzzed and very moist sex. She didn't dive in despite her own urges. Not yet. And Rain was responding well already. Her face had returned to that amazed/happy look from earlier.