Goblins.
by Vanderbilt.
Chapter Two.
Four women sat in the flickering light cast by the little kerosene camping stove in the middle of the floor. Small candles had been lit in the corners of the room.
Juli wriggled her toes. She grit her teeth against the needle stabs that shot up her leg from her heavily bandaged ankle. She leaned back in the leather armchair and closed her eyes for a moment. Black bin-bags had been taped across the windows of the room in the top of the condo building where they’d carried her.
“Y’all take it easy,” said Beth squatting over the stove. “Be done real soon.”
The low hissing sound of the flame filled the space as Beth leaned over the metal camping pan, pushing the scraps of rat meat around with a small fork. In the candlelight, Beth’s mass of red curls spilled down the back of her camouflage jacket. She whistled beneath her breath in a motherly fashion as she cooked.
Sam—Samantha—sat beside Maria on the ugly leather couch to Juli’s left, “How’s ya ankle, Juli?”
Sam’s fine blonde hair twitched as she jerked her head in a nervous motion as if always looking over her shoulder. Sam’s accent sounded pretty local.
That accent would have made Charlotte twitch; she could be such a snob about anything located west of the river—having come from there herself. Juli smiled at the memory.
“It’s getting better, thanks, Sam,” said Juli. Nasty sprain, but she’d live. Juli had no idea what she’d have done if it had broken. Thank goodness the . . . soldiers . . . had bandages to strap it.
By contrast to Sam, Maria had olive skin and dark, curly hair. The tiny girl kept her shoulders in a permanent hunch as if refusing to look backward. They both should have been hanging around some college bar getting hit on by drunken frat boys, but then the world had come to an end before that could happen. Like Beth, the girls wore uniform, although only their pants were camouflage; their dark blue shirts looked more like old police issue.
All the women kept their black automatic rifles in arm’s reach.
“When will Rachel get back?” asked Juli.
“The Lieutenant,” Beth grinned, her round cheeks dimpling in the candlelight, “will be back once she finishes talking to the Captain back at Centcom. Usually takes an hour.”
Beth leaned forward, her eyes suddenly sparking in the flickering light. Her voice husked in a stage whisper, “Between just us folks, I think she’s sweet on him.”
“Omigod, shut up Beth,” Maria hissed through teeth, “Does this look like fucking high school?”
Sam put a hand on Maria’s leg. Beth’s face crumpled and she turned back to the food. It smelled utterly delicious. Juli decided to change the subject.
“So how often do you guys get to have rat?”
Sam seized on the conversational gambit and started an overly cheerful monologue on the Lieutenant’s forage scheme and the awesome frequency with which rat ended up on the menu. Her eyes got a faraway look when she spoke about Rachel, all of the women did. Each one had been straggling on her own, at wit’s end, when Rachel had shown up and told them about Centcom. Juli supposed she had to include herself in that too.
Beth chirped, “Rat’s up y’all!”
They ate with relish. Juli took the time to roll it around in her mouth before swallowing. She shut her eyes again and savored the taste of cooked meat. The couch squeaked as Sam and Maria rose together.
“We’re going to go, uh, for a wander,” said Sam. Juli opened her eyes. The girls stood next to each other, arms pressed together, rifles over their shoulder. She could see the girls’ interlaced fingers.
“Beth,” said Maria. “Thanks for cooking.” She smiled.
Beth beamed. “Y’all have a nice wander.”
The two girls disappeared through the door. Beth shook her head at Juli, “We don’t ask and they don’t tell.”
A mild buzzing started in Juli’s ears. Beth grinned, “Guess we can’t blame them now, can we? Only men around are at Centcom, so girls ain’t going to act too normal. Sad though, two nice girls like that . . . what a world.”
The buzzing became a high-pitched whine. Juli stared at Beth.
Beth’s big green eyes suddenly widened, “Oh, you’re . . . ? I didn’t . . . .”
“Yes,” said Juli. “I had a girlfriend called Charlotte. She died of cancer just when it all started.”
Beth’s mouth turned down, “I’m sorry.” She fumbled in her camouflage jacket pocket and brought out a picture. She held it up for Juli to see, “My boys.” The picture showed a couple of little redheaded urchins posing on their bikes outside a jumbled garage. “They were staying at their Daddy’s house when it happened.”
Juli’s stomach clenched, “Beth, I’m so sorry.”
Beth shook her head excitedly, “Don’t be though. That’s the great thing of it. They’re at Centcom with the Prez’nit and the Lieutenant’s Captain and all the other men. The Lieutenant confirmed it on her satellite radio.” Beth grinned. She had a small gap between her two front teeth. “So there’s hope. You know. When we done this mission the Lieutenant is going to take me to see them.”
Juli grabbed the makeshift crutch that Rachel had made for her out of a broom. She could feel her breath sticking in her throat. Her hands trembled a little. Juli levered herself up, “That’s great, Beth. I need to take a walk myself.”
“Alright,” said Beth. She sat back on the floor and stared at her picture. As Juli reached the door, Beth called out, “I’m real sorry about that whole thing with you being . . . gay. I didn’t mean nothing by what I said, we’re all in this thing together, aren’t we?”
“Okay,” said Juli. She powered herself into the corridor, ignoring the shooting pain in her leg.
The silhouette of the city stood out in dark outline under the moonlight. Pale puddles of light reflected off the wide river surface separating the city island from the western shore. Juli pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the window at the end of the dark corridor and took a slow, deep breath.
She looked down at the shoreline below her. A goblin stood still against the railing by the promenade. A pale, still shadow in the dark. She knew it couldn’t see her, not at night at this distance. Juli squinted at it. She suddenly remembered the sound in Rowan’s voice when the girl begged to be taken. Juli could go down stairs now and climb out a window and let it kiss her. Let it take all the pain away. She’d heard of women who’d done it.
She could feel the memory of the musk licking at her senses. The sound of the goblin music pulling her in. She could feel her disobedient pussy getting wet just thinking about it. She imagined herself, kneeling by the railing in front of the goblin, pressing herself between the goblin’s spread thighs. The goblin teasing her with her scent and her song until Juli begged for it. Or maybe the goblin would just wrap its arms around her neck and push her lips apart. A sudden violent orgasmic surrender and then . . . bliss.
“It’s better to stay together, Juli.”
Juli jumped. She spun in the dark, biting her lip as her ankle protested with ragged pain.
“You don’t make much noise,” she said.
“It’s a learned skill,” said Rachel. “I’m sure you know all about it.”
Juli shrugged, “Yeah.”
Rachel stood a few feet back down the corridor, almost invisible in the shadow in her all-black combat uniform and boots. She stepped forward. Her sniper rifle with its laser sight hung off her right shoulder. She’d killed both the goblins that had been about to turn Juli with it. A pair of black pistols were holstered on her hips.
Rachel had very pale clear skin and long raven hair pulled back in a tight braid. Her striking black eyes didn’t so much look at Juli as look straight through her. She owned an extra inch too. Juli found herself staring at Rachel’s full lips.
“Centcom is pleased we recovered you. There’s a shortage of medical staff. You’re a significant new asset to this team.”
“Thanks,” said Juli. “I’m very grateful, but I’m not really a military type.”
“Nobody is to begin with. Don’t worry, you’ll fit in in no time.” Something about Rachel’s manner indicated Juli’s acceptance came as a given.
Juli opened her mouth, trying to formulate a suitable protest, but Rachel didn’t give her a chance. She pointed past her out the window. Juli noticed that Rachel had long elegant fingers.
“We’re going into the city tomorrow night. Under the river, in the train tunnel. When we’re on the island we’ll move up through the old subway system. The goblins don’t go down there.”
Juli found herself nodding along, “They can’t see.”
“Yes.” Rachel’s lips curled at the corner and Juli fought down a feeling of pleasure. “We’ll have to go on the surface at certain points, but we’ll do it at night. We’re heading for the hot zone on the east side of the park.” Rachel turned her eyes on Juli again. “Where the breakout happened.”
“I wasn’t there.”
Rachel moved a little closer to her. Juli flushed.
She babbled. “Charlotte, my girlfriend, she had cancer, the treatments weren’t working any more, I was so exhausted, we’d been working so hard, I’d been working so hard, new therapies, trying anything, she was in so much pain and I just had to rest, so I went to our apartment, I was going to come back, I was, and then it was too late, the cordon . . . the evacuation . . . they wouldn’t let me.”
Rachel’s hand stroked the back of Juli’s neck. She didn’t say anything while Juli sobbed.
Juli recovered herself, wiping her right hand across her face. “So, yeah, I’m not the military type.”
Rachel’s hand slipped around Juli’s shoulders and squeezed her gently. “You’ll do great. And you know the hospital. That’s a huge intelligence boost. . . . And we can find out what happened to Charlotte too.”
Rachel’s fingers felt intensely hot through the thin cloth of Juli’s tee. Her soft breast pressed against Juli’s left arm.
Juli bit her lip. She shook her head, “Is it true what you told Beth about her boys? Did you tell Maria and Sam their families are safe inside some mountain too?”
“You’ll do great.” Rachel’s hand squeezed Juli’s shoulder again and then dropped. “You’re a soldier now.”
Rachel left as silently as she came.