Sinner's Run Ch. 10

Noah's fingers curled against the firing range shelf. DId he really want to go back to all that? All the stresses of living in the day to day? He could easily stay here, continue to exist as part of the game. If 32 wanted to leave to find her own purpose he could easily help her do that, then remain here with Larka and-

Furred fingers snapped in front of his face. "Hey, Noah."

He started. Nala had moved right in front of him, a hand on his shoulder. "Lost you for a minute there, Killer." She tilted her head. "What's on your mind?"

Her scent was in his nose, her presence working its magic on him like all of the other women he'd grown close to here in the game. "Just thinking about things," he said.

"BIt of a heavy conversation, I know," she said. Her fingers rubbed his shoulder. "We can come back to it another time and do something else for now."

"Back to shooting?"

Her eyes flashed. "I had something else in mind."

Noah was about to ask what she meant when she closed the distance between them and kissed him on the mouth. It was a little like kissing Larka, her having to tilt her muzzle to the side to get it to mesh well with his human lips. But after a little back and forth they found a comfy medium, and stayed there for a good long while.

When they parted for air, Nala's eyes ran up and down his body. Had that hunger in them always been there? Sure, they'd spent a good amount of time at each other's throats - or, more accurately, she'd spent a good amount of time at his throat. Had any of that been based on some sexual tension simmering below the surface? Judging from the way her pupils had contracted and her tail was dancing back and forth behind her, the answer was a solid yes.

The mood int he room shifted, both of them angling their bodies a little closer together. "Do you want to...?" Noah asked, letting the question hang.

"Killer, the answer to that is painfully obvious. Let me see what all the other gals have been enjoying."

Noah blinked. "Wait, right here?"

By way of answer, Nala stripped off her shirt in one fluid motion. She wore no bra underneath, two small tits covered in fluffy white fur coming into view. Pink nipples stiffened in the chilly air of the firing range. "Yeah, right here. Nobody but us ever comes in here anyway."

Noah looked behind him at the metal door, as if expecting someone to walk through at that very moment. Then again, what would happen if someone did walk in on them? It'd be a little embarrassing, sure, but Noah's trysts with his close allies seemed an open secret at this point. And who were they going to get him in trouble with? The police force that didn't exist?

Emboldened, Noah turned back to her. "Alright, you're on."

Nala hopped up on the firing range counter, knocking the pistol onto the floor with a sweep of her hand. "Then get over here, Killer."

She put such an emphasis on the last word that Noah probably couldn't have resisted if he wanted to. He scampered over to her, and she spread her legs apart to let him get close. His stiffening hard-on rubbed into the cleft of her legs, and she let out an appreciative purr. "Well hello there..."

"I've had a lot of practice over the past month," Noah said, leaning in close to her face. "While you taught me how to use guns, the others taught me how to use that."

"Well then." Her sandpaper tongue flitted out and licked his face. "Let's see what the girls taught you."

They kissed again, arms sliding around one another to bring them closer together. Nala was wiry, but strong, and her not quite fully retracted claws added an element of danger that sent shivers down Noah's spine. Her fingers kneading his shoulders, the points of her claws dancing across as skin as lightly as possible. How many times had those very digits been at his throat before? How many times had the legs twined neatly around his waist chased after him and run him down, or had moved to his aid when they'd been paired up together? His relationship with Nala had been a series of ups and downs. It felt so strange that now of all times she'd come on to him.

Not that he was complaining.

Nala was purring, literally purring, and he could feel the vibrations from her body reverberating into his through their kiss. THey broke apart only so he could get his shirt off, and came back together, heat building between them. Her hands moved lower, brushing along his belly, those clawtips scratching against his skin as if to say "I could slice you open right now, but I want something else from you."

His own hands explored, running down the unfamiliar curves of her back and feeling the contour of her spine. It flowed in a neat curve down to the small of her back, before sprouting out into her tail. Even the tiniest motion there caused muscles to bunch and contract, a unique sensation unlike any of the others he'd gotten naked with. They kissed again, angling their heads so that Noah's was higher than Nala's. Her sandpaper tongue rasped against his own, warm and soft like no other.

Nala's hands dove into his pants, caressing and cupping his cock while teasing his pants down his thighs. Her breath huffed into his mouth. "Hurry, hurry..."

She shifted, lifting her thighs and rump off the shelf so he could slide her pants down her legs to her ankles. Nala kicked one leg, leaving her bottoms hanging off her ankle. She spread her legs wide for him. The white fur on her neck and belly flowed all the way down to between her legs, an ivory expanse begging to be explored. But she'd gotten him wound up, and judging from the way her pupils were dilated, foreplay was negotiable.

So he compromised and cupped a hand between her thighs, crooking a finger into her slick heat. Nala panted, bumping her muzzle against his shoulder and making a soft "nnnh" noise. He explored, sliding the finger in up to the second knuckle. His palm pressed to her clit, pushing against the sensitive nub as he woked another finger into her. The kaldar squirmed, pushing her head against his collarbone with more force. Warm breath fanned across his chest. A soft paw closed around his cock and pumped with gentle motions. "Don't tease me, Killer," she mewled.

The plaintive whine was enough to spur Noah into action. He slid his fingers out of her heat, and replaced them with something she'd enjoy a while lot more. The head of his cock met only a little resistance before sliding in smooth. With that hot, wet warmth around him, it was his turn to jam his face into Nala's neck, the soft fur tickling his cheeks. "Fuck..."

Nala growled, nipping at his neck with a gentle, controlled bite. Her incisors scraped the hollow of his throat. "Mmmgoooooood," she moaned. "So good..."

"Just wait..." Noah grabbed her butt and pulled her closer to the edge of the shelf. Then he hiked his hips up more, working the rest of his cock into her. Nala's head rolled, a heady breath slipping from her muzzle. Despite the weird angle they were at, Noah quickly found that he was able to thrust up into Nala, a different angle than what he was used to with all his other partners. There was a strange texture to the inside of her cunny, but in no way was it unpleasant. She gripped him like none of the others had, making it so he actually had to work a little to thrust in and out. His balls brushed the inside of her inner thigh with each motion, a little accent to the heat rippling through his body.

"Oooooh, yeah." Nala's legs grapevined around his waist, her arms linking at the nape of his neck. "This is what I needed..."

Noah leaned his head against her shoulder and thrust up into her with lazy, gentle motions, not even caring if they were walked in on anymore. He wanted to prolong this as much as possible, savor every second. He may not get another chance with Nala if he wound up leaving the game.

Then again, if he'd gotten in somehow, and was somehow able to get out, couldn't he in theory jump between the two worlds? It was an interesting prospect, but one that he wasn't sure about. In the end, the first thing that had to come was escaping the game in the first place.

Well, actually, that was the third thing that had to come. The first two were him and Nala. And judging from how the kaldar was wriggling in his embrace, she was getting closer and closer to that peak. Noah himself could barely hold on, through the warmth of her body and the slickness that sheathed his cock between her legs.

Her lower jaw pressed into his shoulder, a low moan escaping her throat. "Almost...there..."

Noah picked up his pace a little, the finish line in sight. He didn't sprint for it, just kept up his methodical pace until he could take no more. With a deep grunt he thrust home, his balls clenching as he came hard inside Nala. The kaldar writhed and wriggled, her purr almost deafening in volume. He could feel the vibrations thrumming through her chest. She pulled herself tight to the curve of his body, her rough tongue lapping at the hollow of his throat. "That's it, Killer..."

They stayed like that for a time after, Noah's cum leaking from between her legs to drip on the firing range shelf. Nala was still purring a mile a minute, nuzzling his face affectionately. "You're quite the snuggler," Noah commented.

She swatted his shoulder lightly. "Don't push your luck, Killer, I'm just in a really good mood right now."

"You liiiiiike me."

"I can also body slam you before you even knew what was happening, so mind that tongue of yours."

Noah decided that quiet was better as they let the moment last as long as it could. When it passed, they separated and dressed, leaving their guns on the shelf next to the wet spots from their coupling.

Later that night, Noah lay awake staring at the ceiling. He turned the conversations he'd had with the girls over and over in his mind, wondering which path he'd rather take. Stay or leave. Hide or go public with his experiences. What might happen to any of them who came with him. There was so many ways all of this could spool out it made his head hurt, and when he got tired of thinking about it, he rolled over and closed his eyes.

When he woke up, Noah immediately knew something was wrong.

Rather than the neutral off-white lights that had lit up his quarters for all his time in the Barracks, the room was lit with a muted red color, as if hazard lights hidden in the walls had been turned on. Noah sat up quickly, looking around the room for anything out of the ordinary. The rest of the Barracks was silent, no alarms of any kind that might normally accompany this kind of lighting going off. What would even cause an alarm here anyway? It was a video game!

Noah slid out of bed, opening up the drawers by the side of his bed. From inside he withdrew the healing hypo he'd taken from the dev room the previous week. Something told him it was going to come in handy soon.

A knock came at his door, and for a moment Noah wished he'd thought to take a gun from the dev room too. "Hello?"

"Killer, get your ass out here," Nala's voice said from the other side of the door. "Something's happening."

Noah threw open the door. Nala was outside in full gear, along with Larka and Fidget. "I figured," he said. "But what?"

Nala's mouth mashed into a thin, tight line. "Wait until you get to the Atrium. You'll see."

Noah followed the three of them down the hallway to the Atrium, where all the rest of the Primes were gathered. He spotted 32 across the way, and she made to move closer to him, only for Iago to grab her by the collar and hold her in place. Noah started to close the distance, only for Larka to hold him back. "Finyan. Look."

Noah followed her pointing finger, and stopped trying to tug himself away from Larka's tight grip. The sight in the center of the Atrium had rooted him to the spot.

Quirrel stood over the bloodied, broken body of Archangel. The bio-mechanical man was mangled almost beyond recognition, his metal body bent and broken. Both of his wings had been ripped free of their sockets, lying on the ground next to his prone form. Quirrel was breathing heavily, his entire front covered in Archangel's blue-black blood that appeared midnight black in the red lights around them. The other Prime let out a weak moan, lifting a hand in the only plea for help that he could manage. Quirrel looked down at him, his eyes flaring with a red light.

Then he stomped his boot down on Archangel's neck, breaking it was a deafening snap.

A wave of shock rippled through all of the Primes watching. Nothing like this had ever happened in the Barracks. Hell, nothing this brutal had ever happened on the Run itself. Had Quirrel gone mental?

The screen above him on the wall crackled to life. Instead of showing the Run as it usually did, this time it cut to a room that Noah recognized - the stark white walls of the developer room. Facing the camera were two figures. One he didn't recognize. THe other he did, though he hadn't seen her since this all began.

"I knew she had something to do with this," Noah said, glaring up at Colleen on the monitor.

"You know her?" Nala asked.

"She came home with my roommate the night before this all started. We had sex, and then the day after, I appeared in the dropship for the first time. I didn't want to jump to conclusions, but I mentioned her to Vivian as a possible connection."

"So you're saying she managed to sex you into our world?" Fidget whispered. "What kinda cooter has the power to make that happen?"

"Not the time, Fidge," Nala hissed.

THe second person in view of the camera looked like a department store mannequin, all matte gray skin and no features to denote a gender of any kind. Yet they moved all the same, and though they lacked eyes, looked down upon the Primes. Even without a mouth or eyes, Noah caught an air of imperiousness radiating off the figure.

"And with that, things are balanced," the mannequin person said, and Noah felt a chill as he heard the voice. Every other person in the room recognized it too. It was the voice of the Announcer, the one that called out the ring closures and announced the winners at the end of the games. The voice that had been in Noah's ear at the beginning of his time in the Game, and the one who had been conspicuously absent afterwards.

"What's the meaning of all this?" Montana called out from near them.

"The meaning is quite simple," the Announcer said. They leaned forward, resting their chin in their hand. "The Game is changing."

Noah looked at his friends. Whatever that meant, it couldn't be good.

"Today's Game will be played for keeps," the Announcer continued. "All of you have come to this place to seek something. Penance. Power. Punishment. Today, those desires will be meted out to the willing and able, and those that fall short will fall for good." They looked down at the prone body of Archangel. "Much like our friend here. Unfortunately, I desired even teams of four for this, which means that someone had to sit out. Archangel was simply unlucky."

Noah's jaw clenched. As he looked up at the screen, he got the sense that Colleen was staring directly at him through the camera. What was she if she was here? Nothing made sense.

"In just a few moments, you will be dropped onto the Run for the most important Game of them all." The Announcer stood up. "Play for keeps, my Primes. For if you fall short, you will no longer have any more chances."

The screen went dark, and before anyone could do anything, everything went black and topsy turvey. Noah slammed into the dropship seat. He pushed hard against his restraints, trying to free himself to no avail. "Goddammit."

"I'm with you, Killer," Nala said to his right. She pushed with all her strength against the harness, but it wouldn't budge. "Fuck. Fuck."

"It seems as though we're left with no choice but to fight," Larka said to his left.

"I'm really glad I'm on a team with you three," Fidget piped up further down to the left.

Noah stopped and looked up and down the dropship rows. All the other Primes had grim determination stamped across their faces. Every one of them was going to play for keeps, then. "Where's 32?" Noah asked.

"Dunno," Nala said. "Killer, you're in charge of the drop. Let's play this really safe, okay? If this is our one and only last chance, we need to win this." She put a hand on his arm. "Especially if you want to get out of here."

Noah closed his eyes. The past ten minutes had been a whirlwind, and here he was about to make the most important drop of his time in the game yet. He knew that 32 was on another team from him and his usual allies, but he wasn't about to run over her to free himself. They'd have to figure out a plan on the fly. The stakes had been forcibly raised.

He nodded and looked at the drop map. "Alright. Let's make it happen."