The Fallen

Images of Lonnie’s face kept floating past her mind’s eye during these fantastical conversations, each time tearing at her heart like a tiger’s claws, disturbing her peace and her dreamlike resolves to work for her enemy and be content with her situation. Each time sleep threatened to overwhelm her completely, the vision of Lonnie’s grief-stricken face crept into her head and sent her back into the half-life with a heavy heart.

Eventually Carly began to drift away and her thoughts turned to dreams beyond her control. After a short time her conscious mind became aware of a sudden increase in background noise, but not enough to wake to it; she shifted her position as the noise quieted, still facing the wall as she nuzzled her head into the hard pillow. A slight rocking on the bed caused her to stir again, finally waking when two soft pads of warmth touched her shoulders. They gradually moved around her neck until it became apparent they were thin human arms; the heat of a human body became pressed up against her back and began to snuggle into her, its smooth legs slowly entangling into a full-body embrace.

Turning her head slowly, too tired to be afraid, Carly looked behind her to see a gaunt body pressed against hers, thin black hair draped across its shoulders. “Lonnie?” She called out softly. The bed shifted slightly as Lonnie’s face appeared over her shoulder, looking back at her with wide-eyed curiosity. “I’m…” Carly began, then realised she did not know what to say. “I’m glad it’s you.” She eventually managed.

Lonnie stared back at her for a moment, her expression not changing. Then she quickly leant forward and planted a soft kiss on Carly’s cheek, before settling back down behind her, snuggling up against her back, arms wrapped around her body in a tight embrace.

Carly felt her heart begin to relax as Lonnie’s soft warm skin pressed against hers; she smiled with a deep inner satisfaction. The frail, silent little thing was safe, and she was with her. She grasped hold of Lonnie’s hand with her good fingers and gripped it tightly, feeling her respond with a gentle squeeze and a soft kiss on the back of her neck. A sudden wave of exhaustion rolled over her and she began to drift into a deep, relaxed sleep.

***

A constant bleeping sound aroused Carly from her slumber and she sat up in the bed, reluctantly disentangling herself from Lonnie’s embrace. Lonnie turned onto her back and gazed longingly up at Carly as she cleared her eyes and stepped from the bed, looking at the console on the wall, then at her wrist console. Both screens displayed the same message instructing Carly to recharge.

Almost as soon as Carly had replaced her nutrient canister the forcefield clicked off and the Drone-Engineer walked in. It regarded the two girls curiously for a moment, its eyes flicking between them before it spoke. “Prisoner-Engineer 20801, follow me.”

Carly spent another hard day running to keep up with the drone as it made off down one of the platforms on its long metallic chicken-legs. The station was just as busy as it had been the previous day with cargo trains arriving and departing every few minutes, the heavy cranes rarely had time to stop before another train arrived to be loaded or unloaded.

The heavy body of the drone skittered lightly among the swinging cargo containers that arced around the platforms at head height. Once two containers closed on Carly before she had time to slip through after the drone; she ducked down ran in a crouch underneath the corrugated metal undersides of the great boxes; her flowing hair grazed against the carriage straps as she stood up again, sprinting to catch up with the drone.

The work involved routine maintenance of the track points that switched the heavy-gauge trains onto the correct platform. The rails were extremely weighty to withstand the bulk of the trains, the switching systems used simple but powerful hydraulic technology to move the fat rails. Maintenance was as simple as the system, and involved inspecting pistons and pumps for leaks, the relays, wiring and location sensors for wear and operation. The drone explained Carly’s wrist console could call up a maintenance schedule and log the results of the inspection. It could also show a schematic of the entire system or an individual component, and could be used to simulate sensor readings to test parts of the system under certain conditions.

All maintenance was done with the system live, with a loud bleep emanating from the console every time a train drew near. Carly and the drone had a few seconds to clear the rails and crouch into the siding while the train thundered overhead, making the ground shake and loose rocks jump up and down. The first few times this happened Carly did not notice the noise over the fear of the train rushing overhead, but as she grew accustomed to it she noticed that the sound diminished as the train approached. It appeared to be blocked out by some kind of valve that closed quickly in her ear each time a particularly loud noise occurred; Carly was fascinated that the aliens had put so much thought into her augmentations, even to protect her hearing. After that Carly was far less concerned about the apparent dangers of working on a live railway – if the aliens went to the trouble of installing an automatic ear defender they surely wouldn’t send her out into a particularly dangerous situation. She followed the drone’s lead, taking careful note of where and how it moved, moving whenever it did.

Some of the hydraulic pipes and pistons were located underneath sections of the tracks that were bridged over low gullies under the points and Carly was ordered to crawl on her back over the oil-stained gravel so that she could investigate the moving components above. She inspected the operation of the points as a train roared across above of her, shaking her body and blasting her with hot air, dust and oil particles.

Carly felt physically dirty and greasy as she crawled back out of the gully, and yet exhilarated by the intense rush of being under the train. Quickly the pair marched off to the next set of points, ticking off visual inspections of various subsystems as they went.

Carly returned to her room dead on her feet with exhaustion and almost black from head to foot, her long hair matted with dust and oil. The sudden quiet was like a signal to switch off, and Carly felt her mind going to sleep just as soon as she saw Lonnie sat on the bed in front of her. The gaunt girl quickly stood and walked to the shower with a scrubbing sponge in her hand, standing under it and beckoning Carly to follow, which she did with a faint smile of gratification.

Warm, soft water cascaded over her shoulders as soon as she stepped under the showerhead, hissing to the floor like a hot summer rainstorm. Lonnie stood behind her, pulling her hair back and combing out the dust with her fingers, teasing out the knots like a professional hairdresser brushing a curly child. Suds began to fall with the water, lifting the dirt from Carly’s face and helping to release her hair from its grip.

When Lonnie had disentangled Carly’s hair she began to scrub her whole body with the rough sponge, brushing the dirt aside and working the soap deep into her skin. Eventually Carly was as clean and pink as the day she was born as she stood, eyes closed, rocking under the hot jets. Lonnie began to clean herself once Carly was fully washed, and as the soap turned to water again she rinsed them both, leaving their half-naked bodies gleaming in the yellow light of the small room.

Hot air jets began to blow their bodies dry as the water stopped, revitalising Carly with its warm rush. Gradually her skin faded from glistening pink to smooth dry beige as Lonnie stepped around her, massaging her shoulders and back, working down to knead her buttocks and thighs, calves and feet.

When Lonnie had finished she stood facing Carly and stretched out her arms to embrace her gently around her waist. Carly opened her eyes for the first time since she had stepped under the shower and gazed back at the girl, who still looked at her with the same wide-eyed expression of innocent curiosity. Lonnie leant in towards her but Carly stepped back, uncertain and a little afraid; I like men, her mind told her. She remembered that in the heat of tormented lust she had let Lonnie kiss her, and she had enjoyed it, but she had been uncontrollably aroused and in such need for release that she hadn’t been fully aware of her senses. Now suddenly it didn’t seem right, trapped in the cell with a young girl who obviously wanted more than just a close companionship with another prisoner.

Lonnie stepped towards her as she moved away; they gradually moved back, Carly tried to push the frail girl away but she did not have enough fingers, and still Lonnie pushed in until she had her back to the wall. Lonnie leant in for one final attack and Carly did not resist as their lips met, her mouth opening as she felt Lonnie’s soft tongue teasing her top lip with quick little strokes.

Slowly their tongues entangled and Carly gave in completely, leaning into Lonnie as they kissed, tingles running through her body despite herself. Her grip relaxed on Lonnie’s wrist and both arms encircled the girl, her good fingers massaging tight circles on her back while her false right arm held the frail girl tightly.

For several minutes they kissed, gradually becoming more and more physical, pulling closer together as they writhed against one another. Eventually Carly broke free and pulled a reluctant Lonnie into an embrace as she gazed around the cell, suddenly aware that she was beginning to get aroused. Her conscious thoughts reminded her of the permanent shield over her sex more than of her uncertainty of making love to another girl.

Lonnie had taken to lapping at her neck, placing gentle licks and kisses over the soft skin; Carly pulled her across the room to where a fresh nutrient canister waited for her and allowed Lonnie to continue her administrations while she recharged. As her body relaxed into Lonnie’s delicate touch Carly began to feel tired again, her muscles still reminding her of the strenuous tasks of the day. She dragged Lonnie across the floor and flung back the bed covers with her good hand, letting out a sigh of relief when her aching legs touched the cool material.

She shifted herself into the bed and made herself comfortable as Lonnie slipped in next to her, still delivering soft kisses over her neck and face. Despite the growing tingling between her legs and the increasing pace of her heart, sleep came very quickly for Carly, and within moments she was sound asleep.

***

“Lonnie?” Carly spoke softly under the steaming water of the shower. Her companion stood in front of her, delicately washing away the day’s grime with the scrubbing sponge; she did not look up when Carly spoke, but carried on with her task, her mind seemingly lost between Carly’s breasts as she worked the sponge over her flesh.

Carly reached out and stroked Lonnie’s face with her left hand, brushing back her hair and grasping it gently to tilt her head upwards until their eyes met. “Lonnie, will you speak to me?” It was the end of Carly’s fifth day of physically demanding work, and she was aching again from running after the Drone-Engineer as it went about its routine maintenance. But her mind had been on Lonnie all day, trying to understand why the girl was so keen to cleanse her, kiss her, massage her and just be with her, and why she seemed so sad when they separated each morning. She really wanted to speak to the girl – she wanted to know why she was there, where she had come from, if she knew how they could escape. She wanted to know why she was so attracted to Carly and why she wanted to kiss every night, when she knew there was no hope of any sexual pleasure, even if Carly was interested (which she told herself she was not). But more than that she just wanted to talk – she had been conscious for fifteen, twenty, thirty alien days maybe. She had lost count of how long she had been imprisoned in the cell while she recovered and learnt how to use her tools, and she was terribly lonely, even with the girl curled up next to her all night long. She wanted someone to talk to, just for the sake of talking; she knew that soon she would go insane from solitude.

Carly had to admit to herself that she enjoyed Lonnie’s massages and her help in the shower when she returned aching each evening, but she felt that in some ways she was taking advantage of Lonnie’s devotion and would never be able to return her love in the same way. Despite the unattended tingling between her legs every time Lonnie worked her delicate little tongue in her mouth, Carly adamantly repeated in her mind: I don’t like girls that way.

Not since that tortured moment on the train, five alien days ago, had Carly been pleasured. The barest of tingles in her sex had been ignored without any sign of reward from her alien masters; presumably that was what the drone had meant when it said ‘reward?’ Each time she felt her body starting to awake to Lonnie’s sweet tongue and gentle embrace she reminded herself to cool off, not to get herself into a state. She decided that a sleepless night of constant frustration would be a bad thing indeed given the hard work each following day.

Lonnie stared silently back into Carly’s eyes, still with her round-eyed curiosity displayed upon her pale face. Her sponge had stilled on Carly’s chest and they stood, gazing at one another under the shower jet for more time than Carly cared to count.

“Can you speak to me?” Carly asked again, yet Lonnie continued to stare at her, stilled in her gaze like a frightened deer. Eventually Lonnie broke the impasse by leaning quickly forwards to kiss Carly on her lips before she had a chance to react, then carried on with her scrubbing, working out the dirt from Carly’s skin.

When the shower ran dry and the hot air had blown all traces of moisture away Carly remained standing, looking at the girl still working intently around her. Any moment, she thought, Lonnie will stand up and kiss me again, like she has done every night, and I won’t resist her. And I know she’ll make me horny, with the way her little tongue touches my lips. I don’t like girls that way, but still she’ll make me horny, and then I’ll have to try to sleep.

As if on cue, Lonnie’s lips touched Carly’s, bringing her out of her reverie and awakening her senses quicker than she could have imagined. Then she felt something new, as their tongues entwined and her head tilted, falling into Lonnie’s kiss and returning it with all she had: an electric tingling on her nipples and clit, gently arousing – a sensation she had not felt since the train journey.

Quickly Carly broke away and a sigh of disappointment emanated from Lonnie’s throat. Immediately the tingling stopped and Carly felt her heart rate increase suddenly. What are they doing to me? She thought to herself over and over again. What are they doing to me? For five days she had been denied pleasure – not an overly long time by her self-enforced battleship schedule, but with the solid shield preventing her from doing anything about it the frustration seemed amplified by a great magnitude. And now pleasure was there for her – if only she kissed her roommate on the lips. Knowing full well what she wanted, Carly found her mouth dropping open as she moved back in to Lonnie’s kiss, feeling the delightful tingles begin again as soon as their lips made contact. Together their breathing began to deepen as they fell into the sensations, momentarily lost in the immediacy of pleasure.

Lonnie let out long sighs of delight as accompaniment to Carly’s quiet squeaks, evidently enjoying the same erotic tingles as they kissed. Part of Carly’s mind told her that she was being tricked into loving this girl by her alien masters, but her sex told her how much it had missed this attention and in her head it won the argument.

Gradually Lonnie shuffled Carly towards the bed and she felt little cold patches around her sex shield where moisture was beginning to gather. When they reached the hard mattress Lonnie pushed her suddenly and they collapsed together, writhing on the blanket as they sought to heighten their own delight by pleasuring the other.

Carly felt the cold hardness of Lonnie’s sex shield against her thigh as the girl began to rub against her instinctively, moving up and down her leg in the rhythm she recognised immediately. She felt the dull pressure on her own shield of Lonnie’s thigh, pressing against her but doing nothing to appease the ache within. Yet still she found her left arm descending to Lonnie’s smooth round buttock, cupping it delicately and pulling their hips harder together, grinding to a beat that would have had them both wailing with pleasure, if only the solid sex shields were not hampering their enjoyment.

Waves of arousal crashed over Carly, making her shiver with lust – she had avoided thinking about sex for five days, but now the erotic tingles were driving her crazy and she wished she could slip the shield aside and bring herself to orgasm. Black walls of anger broke over her, cascading through the rising waves of pleasure and corrupting them, souring her enjoyment with the reality of denial. Still her body burned with the inner fire of lust, making her quiver and flush like it always had, but gone was the eager anticipation that accompanied any lovemaking session she remembered, replaced with a furious need to regain control of her body and give herself what she desired.

Lonnie seemed to be too lost in the pleasure of the moment to worry about her lack of control, lapping away at Carly’s face, nibbling her ear and sucking her cheek, biting her lip as she passed. Each time their lips touched another pulse of tingles ran across Carly’s throbbing clit, never failing to force a moan from her mouth but not enough, never enough to fulfil her inner need.

Suddenly sick of torment, Carly rolled over Lonnie and lifted herself up from the bed, staring down at the flustered girl beneath her. She tried to rise upwards to rejoin their kiss but Carly pushed her back gently, holding her down with her good hand while she propped herself up on her toolbox. Immediately calm and clear of Lonnie’s stimulating embrace she could feel the constant throb in her clit, echoed by the dull ache deep inside her, and the cool chill of her arousal seeping around the edge of her shield.

Lonnie stared back up, her face an expression of hurt rejection. Tears welled slowly in her eyes as she lay on the bed, face still flushed with arousal, thin black hair splayed out around her like a dark halo. “Ssh, Sweetie.” Carly found herself speaking, lifting her hand away from Lonnie’s chest and cradling her cheek gently, sensually thumbing her bottom lip. “We should sleep.”

Lonnie’s eyes began to close, failing to well the tears that built up behind them as they began to run slowly down her face. “Don’t cry, Lonnie, please? Be strong for me?”

Lonnie opened her eyes again, staring forlornly at Carly as she slowly mouthed her desire: Kiss me.

Carly brought her left hand up to her own mouth, planting a kiss on her finger pads before dropping them back down to the girl beneath her. Lonnie’s lips were soft and moist as they puckered against her fingers, forcing more tears from her clenched eyes. With a sudden feeling of sorrow Carly lay back down in the bed, cradling Lonnie between her arms and snuggling into her, glad at least of the soft warmth of another human being to share her otherwise lonely night with.

Quickly Lonnie stopped crying and shifted underneath Carly, wrapping her arms around her companion’s back and massaging in slow tight circles until they were both asleep, quietly breathing into each other’s necks.