Island Girls 2 Page 14

  "How do we communicate with them?" Lin asked.

  "We go over there and leave messages for them. Writing in the sand, scribble on the wall, whatever we can do." I saw the women considering the idea. Catching Delilah staring at me, I asked her what she thought.

  After glancing to both sides, Delilah replied, "My people will not likely anticipate that. You will want to keep quiet with your plans, though, so the audio pickups will not give you away. There are some inside the building. The others are mounted on the camera drones."

  Of all the things that she had told us since we found her, this was the first one that seemed like genuine truth. It struck me as such, anyway, and made we want to think of her differently. Maybe she could be an ally in this whole thing after all.

  "So, you fuckers are listening to everything that we say and do?" Nancy asked, somehow surprised by the revelation.

  "What is entertaining video without sound?" Delilah reacted in her typical stoic manner. "We like to hear you talk about your plans, your feelings for each other. Every noise that you make is important to us. There is even a ranking for loudest orgasms, Nancy. You'll be happy to know that you had one that ranked number two on the chart."

  Instead of being offended like I expected, Nancy asked, "Who ranked number one? Lin? Trixie?"

  "No, there was a woman named Sara that screamed like she was being killed. It was even outlawed by some of our governing bodies until we better understood the human sexual climax. Now, she is well known throughout. They even use her audio file for what you would call commercials."

  Though a bit shocking, I could certainly envision that happening. I remembered making Nancy scream super loud once. Another time she almost barked like a dog. Could this Sara really top that?

  "Where is she now?" I asked, out of simple curiosity. All the women turned to look at me like I was inquiring about her exact location so that I too could make her scream. I shrugged like I was being falsely accused.

  "Sadly, she died a few years ago."

  "In one of your games?"

  "Yes."

  "A loud orgasm ranking sounds like a perverted thing for such modest aliens. Is it popular among your people?" Nancy asked.

  "Not really, but our kind is not as noisy during climax. It is a human only thing, so it fascinates us. Not even the other humanoid space-faring species are as loud as you during sex."

  "Your women don't make any noise during orgasm?" Lin asked, unable to stay her curiosity.

  "Some of us do, just not so extreme."

  "How about you personally?" I knew that question was going to get me more stares from my women. I even got the stink eye again from Shira for it.

  Delilah stared at me for a moment. It was a very personal question, no doubt among any species. I did not expect her to even respond. However, after a while, she finally replied, "I tend to purr like one of your kittens."

  I was pretty sure that I was not the only imagining that during the pause that came afterward. The fantasy in my mind was finally interrupted when Jayla asked, "So, when are we going to the other island?"

  "Today," I replied. "Tide is going out. Low point should be later today. I saw the red moon briefly this morning."

  "You guys have the blood moon here, too?" Jayla asked.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN:

  "Blood moon?" Nancy asked.

  "Yeah," Jayla replied without understanding why we were so shocked. It wasn't due to the term that she used. "That's what we call it, anyway. The red moon that precedes low tide. Is there one around every planet?"

  "No, Jayla, I don't think so." I stared at her for a moment, then turned my attention to our captured alien. "Delilah? Is Jayla's town on this planet?"

  She smiled at me, the biggest smile that I had ever seen from her, and I wasn't sure what to make of it. It may have been a weird version of the grin a mother gives her children when they figure something out. Did she consider us her children?

  "Yes, Joah. Jayla's town is on this planet."

  "What the fuck, bitch!" Nancy yelled at her. Delilah flinched again from the outburst. "Why didn't you tell us that?"

  "Because you never asked, bitch," Delilah replied with a touch of her own anger visible in her expression. "I have been cooperative with you. I am unbelievably fond of all of you, except Jayla. I just met her. I even lost my high position because of this fondness. Yet, you choose to treat me like the enemy. Guarding me like a criminal, making me sit on the ground. I'll have you know that I have never once before sat on the ground or even on the floor! Not in my entire life!"

  The outburst not only caught our attention, it impacted our view of her. At least, it did mine. Sure, Delilah was a liar. But it was part of her job. She no longer had that job. And many of the things that she has said and done since then seemed to indicate that she wanted to help us.

  "I'm sorry, Delilah," I said. To my surprise, none of the women rebuked me for my apology. "Trust is hard to come by, especially in our situation. You have gained and lost points in that department since we met you. Maybe you should be a little more forthcoming with information that you know we'll find useful. I'd much rather treat you with respect. Honestly, I would. But you'll need to earn it."

  Delilah took a deep breath, then stood up. Due to her recent outburst, Nancy and Jayla took a step back instinctively though the tiny woman was anything but intimidating. "There are four towns like Jayla's on this planet. They are not identical, but similar. I have never been involved with the shows that take place there, but I know of their existence. What else would you like to know?"

  "How far away are they?" I asked. Could we travel there I wondered? Would that be the closest that we could get to freedom?

  "Very far," Delilah replied. "It would take many days by foot if that were possible, probably most of a week by boat. I am not familiar with sea travel speeds."

  "How many planets, to your knowledge, hold human life?" I asked. I wasn't sure whether to prepare myself for a lie, or to be blown away.

  "To my knowledge, there is only one. This one," Delilah said. After an effective pause, she continued, "Our ship has been in orbit above this planet for decades. Ever since we acquired the stasis chambers where you all slept. That is all of you except for Jayla. Her parents were awakened and placed in her town before she was born. She is one of dozens of human children born here."

  "Jayla," I turned my attention to the beautiful young woman, dark skinned but not nearly as black as Delilah. "Are you familiar with these other towns?" When she shook her head, I turned to face Delilah again.

  "Three towns are on islands placed close together," she explained. Then gesturing out to sea, she continued, "Similar to these, only a bit farther apart. They are in contact with each other often. I have seen extensive video of those towns in our human behavior research studies. The fourth island is on its own. That must be where Jayla is from. I have seen some of the show focused on her people, but not much. They are more peaceful than the others, so less helpful in our planning. I do recall a man with a complexion similar to Jayla's named Joshua. He is a well-respected character in that show."

  "That's my father," Jayla whispered. I could tell by the look on her face that Delilah had successfully broken through a barrier with her. Or, maybe she was just saddened by remembering her family. Surely, she missed them terribly. Three days away from her folks was probably like an eternity. And, unlike us, she knew that she had loved ones that were still alive.

  "Jayla's description of her town in consistent with my memory of the show, in case that helps," Delilah offered. "Those four towns, and this tiny island are the only places where humans exist on this planet. I am confident that is true."

  "What about on your star ships?" Lin asked.

  "Only our ship, the one that I helped you escape, holds human life. It is actually more like an orbiting station now, but it does possess the ability to move from one star to the next, should the need occur. Many of your people are still asleep. My colleagues hope to have a stoc
k of characters for their shows to last a hundred years. At the current rate, they will run out well before then. Breeding in the towns on this planet have become important for our continued programming."

  "Are there still a dozen people in the game?" I asked, ignoring the distaste that I had for breeding slaves. Then clarifying, "The game that we played on the simulated island on the station?"

  "There are probably now sixteen in that particular program," Delilah revealed. "Four teams of four. However, there are seven shows with fabricated realities currently on the station. I do not know the exact character count, but I would guess it to be around fifty or sixty people. Some of them are forced to play games for our amusement."

  "Will they be sent down here as well?" I asked, taking advantage of this opportunity. If I could trust what she had to say. "Will they be the other teams to occupy the two islands?"

  "I do not know, for sure," she replied. "Remember, that was not my department. But it is doubtful. The plan was to start this new show with just you. Beginning a new program with popular characters significantly improves our chances of success. I would expect the others joining us here to be completely new, freshly awakened."

  Finally, I thought. Useful information from Delilah that didn't have to be pried out of her. Maybe she would be a useful asset to us after all. And worthy of some respect.

  "What do we do now?" Lin asked. "If what Delilah says is true, Jayla's home is pretty far away. Do we still go to the western island where the house was just built?"

  "Yes," I answered. Things were getting clearer for me, but there were still some things that could shape how we proceed. "That island is our short-term plan. We'll try to ally with them. Then, Jayla's town will be our long-term goal."

  "Can you hang with us that long, toots?" Nancy asked Jayla.

  "Yes, I think so," she replied with a funny expression over the term she was just addressed by. "As long as you follow through with that plan. I'm sure my chance of survival is much higher if I stay with you guys."

  The tide went out just like we thought. It was great that we were able to predict it. There weren't a lot of sureties in our world. Just like before, we were able to traverse the expanse between the two islands on foot, rarely walking through water higher than knee deep.

  We encountered more of the fish men three times. Twice they were protecting their home by moving rapidly in between it and us. The third time there were just a couple of them swimming along. They darted away once they saw us. I wasn't sure why, but they appeared to be less aggressive toward us than our previous experiences. We had six people this trip instead of four. That may have been a big factor. Two guns, if they were able to recognize those. My rifle was more impressive looking than the pistol as well. But another factor may have been Delilah. There was a chance that the Aguiti, as Jayla referred to them, recognized her as a different species. One that has perhaps caused them problems in the past.

  Jayla told us stories of altercations that her people have had with the Aguiti. There were several large communities of the sea creatures living in their area. Most violent interchanges were during fishing expeditions. They were rarely spotted walking on dry land. Remembering their lack of comparable mobility, I could understand why.

  Though I was trying to treat Delilah better since her improved flow of information, I refused to carry her all the way to the other island. And I wasn't going to leave her behind either. Though her boots looked more like thick shiny socks, she claimed that they were totally waterproof. If she didn't need to submerse her legs any deeper than knee high, walking would be tolerable. I only had to carry her through deeper pools a couple times. Her kind reportedly were less stable in moving water than humans.

  Delilah pulled her dress up and tied it around her thighs. The adjustment occasionally revealed a few inches of her thin black upper legs. I caught myself looking more often than I should. The woman certainly had a sexiness about her and carried herself like royalty. If she were human, her scrawny body would have been anything but appealing, though. Still, I found her very attractive.

  The same was true of Jayla, only her body was as tight and perfectly portioned as Lin's. Unlike Delilah, with her I had a chance. Maybe she would warm up to me during the time it would take to prepare for a voyage to her town. It was unlikely, though, that she would ever join Nancy and Lin as one of my wives. Sexual encounters would be the best that I could hope for.

  Though I didn't have full confidence in Jayla's allegiance, I didn't want her to have to travel through the sea completely weaponless. We gave her one of the spears that we had cut from our trees. She turned out to be much more experienced with its use than any of us. Nancy and Shira carried one as well, and a few of the coral stars.

  "A friend of my dad has a scar from one of those things," Jayla told us, referring to the weapons we had confiscated from the dead Aguiti. "On his chest. We thought that he was going to die when they carried him inside our walls."

  "Shira has a scar, too," Nancy informed her. Then, to her friend, "Shira, show Jayla your scar." When Shira raised her leg up for Jayla to inspect it, Nancy added, "Don't show us your pussy this time."

  Shira stomped her foot back into the water, and said, "Did you have to remind me about that? I had almost recovered."

  The girls had a few laughs on that subject, not all at Shira's expense. It brought back to memory how attractive the modest woman's vagina was. Did I still have a chance with that one, too? I wasn't sure. That couldn't be my focus at the time, anyway.

  When we finally walked up onto the beach it felt like we had arrived home again. I turned to look back at our island just to make sure the Thesphilians hadn't pulled a switch-a-roo on us while I was distracted. But no, we were on the western island. It was nearly identical to ours. I found myself trying to remember the exact placement of the trees. Was it still possible that this whole planet was a ruse? A simulation like the last one?

  No. There were distinct differences in the vegetation from our place. Of course, that didn't really prove anything. But it didn't have to since I already knew better. The evidence of this being a real planet was quite substantial.

  The house was empty for the most part. The new team's supplies would likely be in their onboard survival kits like ours. We had already discussed what our message to these new people would be. We'd keep it simple, using isolated words more than whole sentences. Human, friendly, and words along those lines. Arrows would point them to our island to avoid confusion as much as possible.

  After a few minutes both beaches held our messages, close to the rocky area that flattened out to form the landing pad. Lin and I also carved words onto the exterior of their house on both sides of the entrance. Our attempts to engrave letters into the table failed. The material used by the manufacturer was too tough to penetrate.

  While looking around for any other opportunities to communicate, we heard the familiar sound from above. Another vessel was coming. This one appeared to be a shuttle, like ours and Jayla's. We had every reason to believe that it would have a new team of players sent to make this island their new home.

  We hastily retreated into the house as it touched down on the stony plateau and patiently waited. We hoped that they would read our messages before they spotted us. That could make all the difference.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN:

  The first person to step out of the shuttle was a man, tall and thin, wearing a green sports uniform. His right hand was empty, but his left held a small pistol. From that distance it was hard to tell, but it appeared to be a normal ballistic weapon from my time. He had bushy blonde hair and long face. I did not recognize the guy.

  He looked over the island for a few seconds before gesturing for his teammates to join him. In the shadow inside the house we could not be seen, though we all could view them easily. The second person out of the craft was also male, but short and stocky. Black haired and square-jawed, he carried an assault rifle that also looked to be of human manufacture. Shirtless, he was all h
airy like a bear.

  I named the first two guys Skinny and Hairy in my mind. It was good to label your targets with names that easily communicated to your squad mates who you meant. Hairy then extended his hand for the next person, so I expected a woman this time. I was not disappointed.

  A long legged, pale skinned blonde stepped down hesitantly onto the rocky surface. I expected her to be in high heels the way that she was moving, but she was barefoot like the rest of us. She still managed to carry herself like she was being guided onto the red carpet of a movie release, and she was one of the stars. Both of her hands were empty.

  The fourth member of the team jumped down on her own. Shorter than the blonde, and noticeably more muscular, her short black hair stood on end skyward, almost like a fuzzy troll from memories of my mother’s bingo charms. Perhaps they had a blow dryer at their previous home that achieved the effect. In her right hand was another pistol, identical to Skinny’s I believed.