Hostile Ch. 09

ALIE

Alie woke early in the morning, screaming at the top of her lungs. The muscles of her left thigh were clenched so tight it felt like her leg was on fire. Wave after wave of pain flooded through her body as she desperately cradled her thigh and tried to massage out the cramp.

When finally the tightness in her leg began to ease, Alie laid back weeping on the bed. However, her tears were not just from the agonizing pain but also from her memory of the night before.

Alie's eyes moved over her surroundings. A small part of her was glad to be home again but most of her mind was berating her for her stupidity.

Alie would give anything at that moment to be in Jake's arms. In only a short time he had grown to mean so much to her and she had left him. The pain and self-loathing she felt over her leaving him far outweighed the complaints of her muscles.

She knew that her actions had been driven solely by fear and panic but it disgusted her that she was so beholden to those emotions that they had completely disrupted her ability to think clearly.

Alie could not understand why this morning she could clearly understand that her nightmares were simply dreams. She couldn't believe in her heart that Jake was actually capable of the things she had experienced in her nightmares, she had believed it the night before but now it seemed ludicrous.

The details of her journey the night before flooded through her mind and she shuddered when she thought of what could have happened to her in the woods. Naked, injured, and defenseless, she would have been the perfect target for a predator.

Alie felt sure Jake would be angry with her. He probably wouldn't want to talk to her anymore, or touch her, or hold her, or spend time with her. She felt a sudden deep longing to be with the man she had so recently almost murdered.

With sudden determination, Alie wanted to return to Jake. Talk to him and tell him about what happened, ask his forgiveness for leaving.

Alie attempted to scoot over to the edge of the bed so she could get up. Even just this attempt caused all-consuming pain, taking her breath away. She knew now there would be no return to Jake, not on her terms. She couldn't move her left leg without excruciating pain and the rest of her body ached deeply.

The young woman stared at the ceiling of her tent, tears silently cascading from the corners of her eyes, entirely disconsolate.

JAKE

Something was wrong. I could feel it before I even woke up. The bed was cold and empty.

My eyes opened groggily and after the prolonged process of clearing the sleep from them, I cast my gaze around the tent. Alie was nowhere to be seen.

I felt a jolt of worry but pushed it aside. 'She is just outside doing something, I'm sure,' I reasoned to myself, 'since she can walk again I should not expect her to always be by my side anymore.'

I rose from bed, planting my feet on the cool floor of the tent, and stretched to wake up my muscles.

I strode outside, expecting to see Alie somewhere nearby.

No sign of her. I looked all around the camp, and even called her name several times but she was obviously not nearby as I had assumed.

My mind, which I had managed to keep calm to that point, was having none of it.

Panic and worry began to overtake my senses. 'Where is she? Is Alie hurt? Did something take her in the night? Did she want to escape me?'

As my thoughts swirled, many of the possibilities seemed rather far-fetched but I was on an alien planet. Who knew what could happen here?

Finally my pacing and worrying brought me to footprints that trailed off down the beach. I looked closely at the path they created and it was fairly obvious that they were made by Alie.

As an experiment, to make sure they were not just mine from one of my trips to Alie's camp, I walked alongside the path and compared the two sets of tracks. It was significantly different, not just for the stride and foot size but also because the pattern was different. It must have been because of Alie's pronounced limp.

I hurried back to the tent and grabbed a few things. I threw some water, rations, and medical supplies in a pack and slung the pack on my back.

Striding out of the tent purposefully, I found the path made by Alie and began following it down the beach. The further she got from the tent, the more laboured her gait appeared.

I was beside myself with worry. Thoughts of finding her torn limb from limb by a Jungle Lion or other unknown predator, plagued my mind so much that it was almost too difficult to continue following her path.

I battled with myself to keep from panicking completely. My thoughts ranged between, 'She is a strong woman, I am sure she made it to her camp!' to 'She basically only had one leg. You will find her dead along the path through the woods. Then you will be alone, forever.'

I tried my best to calm my mind and reserve my panicking for when I actually had solid reason to do so.

I was now at the entrance to the trail through the woods and as I strode quickly down the narrow path, I attacked each obstacle with determination.

I moved quickly but also stayed alert for any sign that Alie had deviated from the path.

Before long, I was walking across the clearing to the river. As I reached the opposite bank of the river I could see long streaks of mud. My heart clenched painfully again when I realized Alie had been crawling at this point.

My feet carried me quickly up the incline to Alie's camp and I burst inside her shelter, no mind to whether or not she wanted to see me.

ALIE

Alie stared, shocked, at Jake for a moment. It hadn't occurred to her that he would come looking for her, especially this quickly.

She tried once more to raise herself up but her body protested and she lay back in resignation.

A worried expression clouded her features and she said in a small voice, "I am so sorry for leaving, Jake. I panicked... can... can I explain?"

Jake stood at the other end of small shelter, his eyes scanning her body, noting that she was filthy and looked very sore, before returning to her face. He nodded slowly with a wary expression.

Alie started talking rapidly, worried she would lose her nerve if she hesitated, "I had... terrible dreams last night. I couldn't wake up and I kept having them one after another... you were raping me and hurting me, keeping me in the bed so I couldn't get up. It was awful... awful..."

Her voice faltered, tears streaming down her cheeks, and she glanced nervously up at his face for just a moment before continuing, "When I woke up I was so scared... I completely panicked and I just had to get away. Then I was out in the woods and I was terrified I would get attacked by something and I guess that just kept me going and I made it here.

Jake, can you ever forgive me for leaving? I know you would never do those things to me..."

JAKE

I stood stock still for a long time, even after she finished her explanation. I was shocked at the things her subconscious mind had conjured up and wasn't sure how to react.

Finally I registered the look on Alie's face and it was a look that pleaded for understanding. "First of all there is nothing to forgive... you reacted in a natural way. However, you must promise me that in the future you will take a moment... just a moment, to try and think clearly."

I knelt beside her bed and kissed her gently on the forehead and continued in a low voice, "You could have died out there. I would miss you so much if you were gone and I would be alone. You have to promise me if you dream of things like this again that you will stop and consider your actions before you run off naked and injured into the woods."

Alie looked chagrined but replied quickly, "I promise you I will never do anything like that again."

I flashed her a small smile and nodded.

"You need to be cleaned up and it looks like you are very sore. I will help you out with that," I said in an even tone.

ALIE

*** Jake cleaned up Alie and relieved her pain with the medical supplies brought along. Alie noted throughout this interaction that the way he treated her had changed. He did an excellent job but seemed detached.

Days marched on into weeks and months. Jake relocated his camp and supplies to Alie's camp beside the river. Alie recovered not only from her original injury but her setback as well. She was now her old self, running around the forest with her bow, hunting all manner of creatures and spending the remainder of her time with Jake. They often swam at the pool with the waterfall or spent long days relaxing in camp. But something was missing...

Despite Alie's best efforts, a distance remained between the pair ever since the night she ran away. Although they slept together, Jake would not touch her the way he used to... and she couldn't stand it. Even inexperienced as she was, Alie tried occasionally to instigate sex but she was never successful.

Alie's frustration level was becoming high, relieved only by her increasingly long hunting trips into the woods, as she knew without any hesitation that she deeply loved Jake but she was becoming very concerned he did not share her feelings. ***

Alie strode back into camp in the early afternoon, her skin gleaming with a sheen of sweat from a rare unsuccessful hunting trip. Long ago she had resumed wearing clothing after her extended period of nudity. It was much easier to run and hunt with a tight top and shorts than it was naked.

Jake was sitting by the river, fishing, near camp. He wore a simple pair of shorts and had a bare chest. He heard her approach and turned to gaze upon her. He let out a soft gasp and his eyes briefly showed a burning desire. Seemingly marshaling himself, Jake took a deep breath and fixed his gaze back on the river.

Alie just sighed sadly, shook her head, and walked up to the tent.

JAKE

I was uncomfortable. Alie was amazing... so beautiful and desirable without even trying. Yet, every time I thought of her in that way all I could see in my mind was the tears on Alie's cheeks as she recalled me repeatedly raping her in her dreams.

That image plagued me and I couldn't shake it from my mind. However, it was not the only thing preventing me from acting on my desires. I thought it best to be respectful, it was wonderful to have her companionship and certainly if she thought I was trying to force myself on her she would do something drastic again. It was enough to be allowed to share a bed with her... even if it meant I had to take care of my desires privately.

Despite not speaking to anyone, I gave a sharp nod. My gaze shifted to Alie as she was walking back down to the river, now naked, holding a basket in one hand. My eyes lingered over every inch of her beautiful body and the passion for her returned to take over my thoughts. This was fueled ten-fold when Alie began splashing water from the river on her naked body to wash away the sweat and grime from her morning adventures.

When she was done, Alie walked up to me, her hair and body gleaming in the sun.

ALIE

Alie happily noted the return of his intent gaze as she smiled down at Jake. Raising the basket, she asked, "Jake, do you want to walk with me while I gather some berries?"

Jake smiled brightly and nodded, setting his improvised fishing rod aside, but asked haltingly, "Are you uh... going like this?" He gestured, seemingly nervously, to her nakedness.

Alie grinned and nodded happily with a twinkle in her eye, replying, "It has been a long time since I have been outside naked like this. It feels nice and its not like I need to do any distance running to gather berries."

Jake looked slightly uncomfortable but eagerly followed her as she walked away from the river towards the woods.

Their conversation was light and without any depth, as it often was these days. Alie could feel Jake's eyes on her every time she stopped to pick some berries and after months of frustration she wanted to be touched so badly that her skin tingled under his gaze.

Alie used the lack of serious talk between them to teach Jake about the world he now lived in with her. She knelt beside a small plant with flower-shaped deep green leaves and large dark purple berries and explained to him, "My mother and I named these 'duskberries' because they match the colour of the sky at dusk. They are very sweet and I like to eat them on their own but they can also be used to sweeten other meals."

For hours they walked through the woods chatting and filling her basket. Alie taught him about dozens of different plants and each animal they spotted. After each of the dozens of times Alie stopped to pick berries, Jake looked increasingly uncomfortable... occasionally even gasping or breathing heavily. His desire was now more than obvious by the constantly present bulge against his shorts. Alie was thrilled by his reaction, to know he was still attracted to her, but her frustration was rising on all fronts; not only was Jake not acting on his obvious desires but his constant burning gaze had Alie extremely aroused and in desperate need of relief.

Finally, when they were almost back to camp, Alie bent low to gather some berries that grew right along the ground at the base of a tree. She bent over at the waist, as she had been doing often that day, because she knew it presented the most appealing view to her appreciative, if frustrated, solo audience.

All in just a moment, Alie heard the rustle of fabric dropping to the forest floor and Jake stepping closer. She felt his strong hands solidly grip her hips and his rock hard penis sliding inside her dripping wet vagina.

Alie issued a yelp of surprise and then long groan of satisfaction as tingling bolts of pleasure arced through her body. Worried he would stop she said quietly, "That feels SO good Jake... please... I need you..." Her words were cut off and replaced with moans of pleasure as Jake began thrusting hard into her tight pussy. She reached out and braced herself against the tree and began pushing back against him with enthusiasm on each of his thrusts, which were increasing in pace constantly.

Alie had wanted this for so long... had wanted him. She felt all the frustration that had built up over the months drain out of her. Suddenly she felt his hands leave her hips, and then a sharp scream of orgasm burst forth from her lungs as Jake cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples roughly.

Her whole body shook in pleasure as Jake continued stroking into her depths from behind. Her legs grew weak and started to shake and just as she thought she would collapse from the long and mind-shattering orgasm, Jake pulled her upright against his body. His hands still lovingly cupping her breasts, his fingers continuing their pleasurable work upon them. Jake continued thrusting into her depths as he held her up full-length against his body, and as his desire continued to rise he began eagerly kissing and lightly biting her exposed neck and shoulder, soft growls of pleasure rumbling from his throat.

Alie was now beyond herself, her eyes closed and her body given over completely to the wonderful feelings coursing through every nerve, soft murmurings of Jake's name issuing from her lips every few seconds.

Suddenly Jake's pace slowed slightly and then he thrust once more, harder than any of the others, penetrating her as deep as she could take him, her toes nearly leaving the ground. Alie snapped her eyes open wide and she screamed his name in fierce, shocked passion as a second orgasm ripped through her body. An instant later Jake's cries combined with hers as he joined her in the throes of pleasure.

As their orgasms subsided, Jake guided their collapse to the grassy floor of the forest, both of them breathing hard and fast, both with wide and languid smiles.

Jake lay behind Alie, his softening member still buried inside her, and he leaned in close to her ear and whispered with conviction, "I love you Alie."