World Travelers Ch. 04

It was another twenty or thirty minutes before our dresses were complete. The six of us remained in the circle, feet planted on the ground, hands clasped onto our neighbors', until the last exhausted spider slowly crawled down his assigned woman's leg and retreated to what I first thought an anthill.

"What do you think?" Lica said as she made a slow turn, modelling her new dress for me.

"I absolutely love it," I said. And meant it. The plunging neckline wasn't my style, but, with her figure and personality, she'd be a natural for a red-carpet photo shoot at the Oscars.

"And I love yours as well," she said, eyeing my dress. "It's exactly what you asked for. Comfortable, practical, and not too revealing."

Which would have been true, except for the two round cutouts that completely exposed my breasts.

The last thing we did, before following the jungle's path away from the dress making spider's home, was throw our old dresses on top of the mound. Just before the path closed behind us, I turned and watched as the discarded dresses slowly sunk into the ground. To be recycled, I presumed. Apparently, nothing was wasted in the Jungle.

David Greene

Our opportunity to escape the canyon came several days later.

The sun was directly overhead when the river dumped us into a large pool, formed by the intersection of two other streams with ours. While the way downstream was still lined by high walls, one of the feeding streams flowed down what appeared to be a scalable hill. A hill that I hoped would lead us up to the canyon rim and, eventually, to the Jungle.

We fashioned my tunic into a passable backpack, loaded it up with the meager tools and food we had accumulated, donned our poor excuses for shoes and started up the hill. It was slow going. Our moccasins did an adequate job of protecting our feet but weren't shit for traction. Corin and I both slipped several times over the rough terrain, especially when we had to wade in the slippery streambed to avoid the occasional copse of trees. After over an hour of climbing, the stream did indeed lead us out of the canyon, but the gentle slope turned into a ten-foot precipice just below the rim. We walked several hundred yards in both directions, trying to find a way over the small cliff that stood between us and the next stage of our journey and not only couldn't find access to the top, but also came upon impassable terrain blocking our progress in each direction.

Determined to succeed, I retraced our steps to a point where a large tree grew on the edge of the lip, its roots hugging the wall as they descended into the ground below us. Picking the sturdiest root available, I climbed up to the top of the small cliff and, using every ounce of energy left in me, slid my body over the lip. Corin struggled getting up the first four or five feet, but once she was high enough, I grasped her by the wrist and, using our combined strength, pulled her up and over the edge.

I was exhausted, covered with dirt, and bruised in places that should never get drug across the ground (note: don't climb a cliff naked). Looking at my equally sapped and bruised travelling companion, I saw tears in her eyes for the very first time.

"Are you okay?" I asked. "Are you hurt?"

Instead of answering, she hugged me tight, kissed me like I'd just proposed, and then pushed away.

"I never knew," she said.

"Never knew what?"

She pointed over my shoulder. "I never knew anything like this existed."

Looking where she pointed, I too shed a few tears. We were on a small hill on the edge of the canyon. Stretched out before us was a vast expanse of grassland with large hills on both sides and larger peaks just barely visible in the distance. The canyon bisected the prairie as it meandered its way to a sizable area of thick, dark green vegetation... the Jungle.

Unlike the damp humid climate of Corin's home, the air on top of the hill was dry, clear, and clean. Even though it appeared that one could reach out and nearly touch the mountains, they had to be at least a hundred miles distant and possibly much more. I had no idea how many miles we were from Corin's home, somewhere between twenty and a hundred. Regardless of how far our journey would be, as I took in a deep breath of the rejuvenating air, I knew we would make it.

I decided to spend the night on top of that hill. We still had an hour or two of useable daylight left, but not knowing where our next watering hole might be and with nothing to carry water in, I thought it best to sleep close to a known stream and venture off into the unknown the following morning completely hydrated.

Corin couldn't take her eyes off the horizon. At first, I didn't understand her fascination with looking out into the distance until it dawned on me. She spent her entire life in the Jungle, surrounded by vegetation, unable to see no more than thirty or forty feet in any direction. Even her sight above was blocked by the canopy. The vista before her was akin to a prisoner being released from her cell after decades of confinement.

"How long will it take us to get to the Jungle?" she asked.

"I really can't say for sure. Several days. Maybe more."

"I'm okay with more."

After dinner, and all that entailed, I spread what was left of my tunic on the ground and sat on it facing what might have been west. Corin sat her cute little butt on the small bit of fabric in front of me and watched in awe as the sun turned distant clouds into a kaleidoscope of color.

"Does it do that every night?" she asked, making me realize she had never seen a sunset before.

"Yes, although it isn't always this pretty."

We continued to watch as the bright colors grew darker until the sun slipped well below the horizon and night wrapped its arms around us. Much like my arms had unconsciously wrapped around Corin. And my hands instinctively homed in on her chest.

"You think I'm pretty," she said.

"How can you tell? Are Panternian women mind readers?"

"No, but I can read your body. And right now, your vine wants to tell me I'm pretty."

"Does that bother you?"

Instead of answering, she turned around, straddled my legs, and pressed her lips against mine. Having never kissed a toothless girl before, I didn't quite know what to do with my tongue. Even though I was assuredly the first man Corin had kissed, the fact that she initiated the action made me think it wasn't her first make out session. Corin also seemed hesitant to stick her tongue in my mouth, most likely because this was the first time she'd kissed somebody with teeth.

Not wanting to break any sacred Panternian taboos, I kept my tongue in my mouth until she took the first step and hesitantly explored my incisors with the tip of her tongue. Satisfied I wasn't going to hurt her, she probed a bit further and let her tongue meet mine before withdrawing. Not one to shrink from a challenge, I did the same and, while I found caressing her bare gums slightly erotic, her response was much more positive.

Apparently, a Panternian woman's gums are high up on their long list of erogenous zones. Our tongue-gum play quickly went from playful to passionate and I was soon flat on my back with my needy human cock deeply imbedded in Corin's willing Panternian pussy.

Only one of Panternia's three moons was visible that night, and it was nothing more than a sliver. The result was a sky so dark and stars so bright and numerous; their vista rivaled the sunset.

I had two heavenly bodies to look at and, as Corin's gaze shifted upwards, what started as passion transitioned to love. Love for each other and for the world around us. She continued to rise and fall on my erection, and I thrust up to meet her every stroke. But the urgency was gone, replaced with a need to remain physically and emotionally coupled as our two worlds met on uncommon ground. And then, after what could only be described as a spiritual event, our more animalistic personas took charge.

My thrusts became more impassioned, her moans more guttural. Paralysis crept up my legs and down my spine, forcing my cock deeper than it had ever been, where it deposited enough sperm to impregnate every woman on the planet. As I cried out in relief, Corin arched her back, pointed her head towards the heavens and howled.

Somewhere in the darkness, something howled back.

Our first night on the Panternian prairie was nearly our last. The relative safety of the confined river canyon was replaced by a wide-open, unprotected expanse of grass land. The soothing sound of the flowing river gave way to an eerie silence, interrupted by sporadic howls of unseen predators. As threatening as the wails of wild animals in the distance might have been, my biggest concern was the occasional rustle of grass emanating from just outside the visible arc of our campfire.

"Are those coblaush?" Corin asked as she snuggled into me.

"I don't think so. I've never seen a coblaush out at night before. I'm guessing these animals are predators, looking for their next meal."

"What do you think they eat?"

"Anything that's smaller than them... or, if they hunt in packs... they'll eat pretty much anything."

"They wouldn't try to eat us, would they?"

"If they lived in my jungle, they would," I said. "I'm not sure about the rules on Panternia."

"Well, if they try, I'm sure you won't let them." With that innocent display of faith, Corin kissed me and then closed her eyes, soon falling off to sleep.

Which was a good thing. Because I didn't want her to see the multiple sets of red glowing eyes glaring at us from the tall grass. Or hear the throaty growls coming from whatever owned the cat like eyes. Or taste the fear rising up in the back of my throat as I prepared to battle an unknown foe.

I wasn't completely defenseless. Knowing what kinds of hunters roamed the earth's savannas, I gathered whatever weapons I could before the sun set. It wasn't an impressive arsenal. A pile of softball sized rocks, a hefty three-foot limb, two thinner but longer sticks with sharp rocks lashed to the tips, and a shitload of firewood. I would have preferred my grandfather's deer hunting rifle with a case of cartridges.

In addition to my meager stash of weapons, I had also picked my battle ground. We were on top of a small knoll, under an enormous tree. The shade from the tree not only made it slightly cooler when the sun was up, it also prevented the grass from growing around it, providing us with a good-sized circle of relatively clear dirt with nothing to conceal our visitors.

The thought that there might be predators in the tree crossed my mind but, given the chances of a menace waiting above us, compared to what could be in the acres of grassland surrounding us, I stuck with the odds and hoped a python or tiger didn't wake up from his afternoon treetop nap and drop in for a human/Panternian snack.

I guessed right. The threat came from the tall grass. A single set of red glowing eyes stepped out of their concealment and stopped as we sized each other up. It was a cat. Sort of. Kind of a cross between lion and leopard with a touch of saber tooth mixed in. My opponent had about fifty pounds on me, his teeth were three times the size of mine and he enjoyed the backing of at least six of his buddies.

A lesser man would have climbed the tree and watched as the snaggle tooth family feasted on my naked, sleeping, Panternian girlfriend. But I wasn't raised like that and, with my luck, once I got in the tree, a snake would swallow me whole. So, I stood my ground. With a rock in one hand, a flaming torch in the other, and without a stitch of clothing, I mentally prepared for battle (and my imminent demise).

After an initial inspection, the oversized cat paced back and forth along the grass line, sniffing the air as he went. I mirrored the cat's moves, ensuring I was directly between him and Corin, hoping the combination of fire and an unknown enemy would encourage him to look for other prey. Not to be. His pacing had a purpose. I wouldn't call it stalking. From his demeanor - chest out, low growl, constant eye contact - it was like he was challenging me. Daring me to attack. Or... maybe distracting me.

Shit. They're after Corin.

Spinning around, I instinctively threw a rock-hard fastball at a second cat who was silently approaching the sleeping pink haired beauty from the other side of the circle. Not waiting to see if I did any damage, I turned towards the charging first cat, just in time to stuff my flaming torch into his wide-open maw. I caught him in midair and his momentum sent us both tumbling towards Corin. The cat's now smoldering jaws never reached their intended target (my neck), but he managed to take a healthy swipe with his claws at my back before retreating to the safety of the high grass.

It took me a second or two to get my bearings and, when I did, I found myself laying between an extremely confused girl with sleep in her eyes and a comatose, oversized cat with a large bump on his head.

"Can you climb a tree?" I asked Corin.

"Now?"

"Right now," I said as I boosted her up to the lowest limb.

"Why?" she asked as I grabbed both of her ass cheeks and pushed upwards.

"Because I don't want to be on the ground when he wakes up," I said, pointing to the two-hundred-fifty-pound slumbering cat.

With Corin a good ten feet off the ground, I handed her my two makeshift spears, put more wood on the fire and then used my tunic-turned-backpack to attach a dozen rocks and my club onto a limb fifteen feet off the ground. I planned to return for a burning log but thought better of it when the cat I had beaned with a high and tight fast ball started to stir.

My plan would have worked a lot better if we had been attacked by wolves instead of cats. Dogs don't climb trees. Cats do. Corin and I spent the rest of the night fighting off the advances of grey and brown furred felines as they did their best to be the first on their block to eat a human.

Sometime before dawn, the pack of wannabe saber tooths got tired of getting pelted from above with rocks, stuck in the chest with sharp sticks, and beat over the head with a club. From our elevated vantage point, we watched them slink off into the grass and, with the illumination of a second rising moon, followed their progress away from us.

I used the opportunity to throw the rest of our wood supply on the fire and then scamper back up the tree before the cats changed their evil minds and came back for a second round. I knew it would be impossible to get any sleep perched on a tree limb, but the lack of aggressors at least let us lay back against the wide trunk and get some rest.