Note: Special thanks to Silk for making sure I broke the right bone and then set it correctly!

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 11

I was halfway out the locker door when Carr stopped me with his hand on my wrist. “Hold it, Andy. These guns don’t seem to do much good against that thing.”

“We can’t stay here debating that! Bob needs us!”

His eyes swept the darkened galley, pausing at the niche that held the fire extinguisher. “Let’s see if this will do any good.”

I waited impatiently while he retrieved it, edging closer and closer to the corridor. It was quiet out there again, and I dreaded what I might see.

Or what I might not see.

Carr joined me, pulling the pin and upending the canister.

“Is that CO2 or foam?”

“It’s too dark to tell. Does it matter?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know.”

But we’d soon find out.

We stepped out cautiously. On the deck at the top of the ladder leading down to sickbay was a tiny pool of blood that was rapidly being absorbed by something green. Carr squirted it with the extinguisher.

The amoeba-like mass seemed to grow and swell, trying to reach Carr on the stream of carbon dioxide that exploded from the fire extinguisher. With a cry of disgust he flung it away from him. It bounced against the deck and then rolled toward the edge of the steps, teetering for a long moment before toppling down to bang against each one until it hit bottom.

“That wasn’t one of the smartest ideas I’ve ever had,” he castigated himself.

“Shit happens, Colonel,” I shrugged, trying to conceal my shudder at how close he had come to having that stuff on him. “We don’t have time to play pin the tail on who’s to blame. Let’s see if we can get back up to command.”

He stopped me before I could take the first step up. “What’s wrong, baby?”

I closed my eyes, unable to keep contact with his somber gaze. “What makes you think something’s wrong, Colonel?”

“Aside from you calling me Colonel, instead of Carr? Talk to me Andy!”

“Colonel. Carr,” I corrected myself. “We were screwing around in that locker, while Bob was out here facing that thing.”

He began crowding me back toward the galley, toward the locker. His hand smoothed over the front of my trousers, and I was ashamed that he could feel how hard I was. How hard I still was! I backed away from his touch, until I was back in the locker and could go no further, and his fingers traced the outline of my cock.

Carr my hand and pressed it to his groin. He was hot. And he was fully aroused. I trembled with the need to have him in me; in my ass, in my mouth, his choice, his call. I just knew I wanted him, had to have him. I was going up in flames.

His fingers were sure on my belt. With competent moves, he had it undone and my fly unzipped. Between one breath and another, a warm hand reached into my shorts and drew me out, and the coolness of the air contrasted with the heat of my flesh. I tipped my head back against the wall and closed my eyes, my whole being concentrated on what he was doing to me.

Carr’s thumb brushed across the tip of my cock, gathering the drops of precome and rubbing them over the broad head, making it slick, making it weep more. Driving me up the mountain. The fingers of his other hand nimbly teased my shaft, and I grew harder, if that was possible. His breath was warm in my ear, and his tongue did a quick reconnaissance.

“In situations like this, where we never know when death will find us, the urge to mate and reproduce is extremely powerful!”

“We can’t reproduce!” I gasped.

He let my cock go and took my chin in his grasp, forcing me to look into his eyes. “No,” he agreed, as he licked at my lips. “But we can mate. And, in case you have any doubts about this, Andy, you are my mate! You’re mine! When this is all over, you’ll be coming home with me! And the world can go fuck itself!”

Before I could process what he was saying, what he was declaring, he was sliding down to his knees and tugging my trousers down and out of the way, leaving my cock to spring back and slap my belly. His tongue replaced his thumb on the tip, dipping in, licking me as if I was a lollipop.

And then I was enveloped in the wet heat of his mouth, and I was shuddering on the brink. He let me loose and I moaned. “Oh, no, baby. I want to make this good for you, and you’re much too hot!” He squeezed the base of my cock and I jerked, and found myself able to breathe once again.

But not for long. His mouth took me again, and his teeth grazed my length and his tongue lapped at me, and my brain was fogged by clouds of lust. I wound my fingers in his thick hair and urged him on, needing to feel more, needing to fuck his mouth.

My movements became jerky, and this time he didn’t pull me back. A questing finger stroked across my puckered opening and sent me spinning, freefalling out into space.

And because he was there to catch me, I wasn’t afraid.

****

He was back on his feet and I sagged in his arms, trying to catch my breath. I could feel him smile against my mouth. “Carr,” I sensed his satisfaction that I was back to calling him by name, “you didn’t come. Let me…”

He shook his head and pressed my hand to the front of his trousers, which were damp. “Making you come did it for me, baby.” He took my lip between his teeth and tugged gently, then sucked it into his mouth.

I hummed with sated pleasure, not a thought in my mind.

A muffled sound from below deck, like a bucket of ice water, brought us both back to reality.

Carr pushed himself away from me and helped me get myself in order. “I guess we’d better see if we can get back to command,” he sighed.

“I guess we’d better.”

The corridor was empty and we silently made our way up the ladder. The hatch was still closed, and I tapped a message in Morse code. For a long, agonizing moment, nothing happened, and then it swung up and open. I had my rifle at the ready, not sure what would greet us, but prepared for any event.

What appeared was Mary’s white, stricken face, tense with concern.

“Oh, my God, Andy! Are you all right?”

I climbed up and waited for Carr to reach me before pressing the switch that would shut the hatch. Mary observed the two of us, and her lips tightened. She didn’t need to be told that if Bob wasn’t with us it was because he was dead.

“What happened up here?”

She nodded toward her husband, who was lying on the deck, unconscious. “Eric decided he’d rather we died than ‘it’. He broke Jack’s leg with a rifle, and closed the hatch before I could stop him. He was going to shoot Jack; that was a bonus for him: he went mad with jealously.”

No shots had been fired, yet obviously the science officer had been stopped. “Van shouted at him. Told him as his commanding officer he was ordering him to stand down. Eric just laughed. ‘How can you hope to command me, when you can’t command your own lover!’ he demanded.”

“What did you do, Mary?” Carr asked gently.

She cast him a startled look. “How did you know I did anything?”

“You’re not a weak woman, Mary,” he told her.

“Eric always made the mistake of treating me like a…”

“Like a woman? You’re right. He did.”

She did that thing with her hair again. “I beaned him with Van’s thermos. It was the only thing I could find to use as a weapon. He would have killed Jack,” she explained. “He would have seen us all dead!” She was holding on to her composure only by her fingernails.

Carr looked at me and nodded toward the Major. He held Mary, giving her what comfort he could.

Major Perdue was leaning back against the command console. His face was pale and beads of sweat dotted his forehead. Lines of pain etched his mouth. I could see where his tibia had broken through the skin, tearing through his pants. He opened his eyes and regarded me miserably. “I’m so sorry, Andy. I didn’t even see it coming!”

I crouched down beside him. “Don’t worry about that now, Jack. Carr, he’s got an open fracture. This has to be reduced immediately. Mary, are you up for it?”

She pulled herself together. “Of course.” She took a bottle of anti-microbial scrub from the supplies and poured some on her hands. “Cut away his pant leg, will you Andy?”

I took out a pocketknife and sliced Jack’s pants along the seam. “Andy, where’s Bob?” Jack clutched at my arm.

I eased the material away from the bone. “He didn’t make it, Jack. Not your fault. Carr and I were down there with him, and we couldn’t do anything! Now shut up, begging the Major’s pardon, and let Mary get this set.”

“Carr.” She handed him the bottle. “I’ll need you to apply traction. Andy, you’ll hold onto his thigh.”

Carr tossed the bottle to me and I scrubbed my hands with it. Eric started to groan. I picked up the thermos that was beside him and whacked his head. “Sorry, Mary.”

The look she cast at her comatose spouse was lethal. “Not at all, Andy.”

“Will Jack need an anesthetic?”

“No. I’ve been feeding him whiskey. He should be feeling no pain, right about now. Ready, gentlemen? All right them, Carr, I want it smooth and steady until I tell you to stop.”

From far away we heard pounding, but we ignored it and continued working on Jack’s leg. He stood it until the jagged ends of bone grated together and the fracture was reduced. Then he passed out. Mary finished the procedure and set about splinting the break.

The lights in command flickered and dimmed. The instruments stuttered. We looked around to find Van with his hands on the electrical switch.

“You were too busy to notice we were about to have company. That thing should be on ‘its’ way to hell right about now!” He tried to smile, but staggered and then began to collapse. I managed to catch him before he hit the deck. I was about to shut off the power. “No, let ‘it’ burn!”

I let it continue running, while I got Van back into his chair and covered him with more blankets. He shivered, from his fever, from nerves, from triumph. Then I shut down the grid and we waited for tense minutes.

“Andy, I’m going to open the hatch. Get the rifle and back me up.”

“No problem Carr.” I went to do as my lover ordered and stood off to the side as he pressed the switch that would raise the hatch.

And there ‘it’ was, waiting, ‘its’ eyes wild with pain and fury.

*****

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 12

‘It’ took the rifle blast point blank, right between the eyes.

All that did was make ‘it’ mad.

****

It’s funny, what goes through your mind at times like that.

My mother died when I was really little, so it was left to my Pop to raise me alone. Pop’s a good person, and worked really hard to do the best for me. We didn’t have as much as some, but then again, we had more than many.

When I married at twenty-one, right after graduation, Pop looked sad, but didn’t say it was a bad idea.

When I divorced at twenty-two, Pop looked sad, but didn’t say, “I told you so.”

As a kid, I was baseball mad. I joined first the PeeWee League, then graduated to Little League, and finally went into Pop Warner. And Pop saw to it that I made all the practices, that I got to all the games on time. I know it cost Pop, in business as well as privately. But Pop did it for me, and Pop never missed a game.

I could have gotten a baseball scholarship to any of the Ivy League schools, but that wasn’t where I wanted to go. I got into the Academy because of my senator’s letter of recommendation; and it didn’t hurt that they desperately wanted a winning baseball team. West Point and Annapolis had left them in the dust.

The scouts came sniffing around, and if I hadn’t wanted Space more than anything in the world, they’d have snapped me up in a New York City minute.

****

But I went to Space, and now I was facing something from out of mankind’s worst nightmare.

And Carr was between us and all that rage.

I switched my grip on the rifle, holding the barrel as if it was a Louisville Slugger. Like that greatest of southpaws, Lou Gehrig, I took my stance. I could feel the shades of the Iron Horse, Babe Ruth and Joltin’ Joe looking over my shoulder. And my Pop. “Keep your eye on the ball, Tinker!”

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I started my swing.

And then, just like that, it speeded up. With an explosion of sound, the stock of the rifle connected with ‘its’ head, and ‘it’ tumbled back down the ladder. Carr slammed his hand on the control and the hatch swung shut.

The stock was broken. I tossed the rifle aside and stood there, shudders almost breaking my body apart, and listened to the roars coming up from below. “What do we do now?”

‘It’ had to kill us or starve.

We had to kill ‘it’ or die.

Jimmy propped himself up on an elbow. “There’s only one thing left to do!” He glanced from one to the other of us. “Put your head between your legs and kiss your ass good-bye!”

“I’ve got an idea!” Van temperature had come down a bit, and he was able to think more coherently. “If we can get around behind ‘it’, and lure ‘it’ into the reactor, that should finish it!”

“Who’s going to bell the cat?” I asked, knowing it wouldn’t be Jim Calder, who hadn’t recovered from his concussion, and knowing it couldn’t be the Major. Mary was needed too desperately for her skills as a doctor.

“Huh?”

“Someone’s going to have to go down there,” Carr concurred. “How did you plan that, Van?”

“You go out the emergency airlock here in command, Ed. Go down the hull to the airlock on the motor level. That’s one level below what ‘its’ staked out as ‘its’ territory.” Van explained it as if it was a matter of utmost simplicity.

“Sure, we go take a walk out into space. Piece of cake! What do we do then, jump out at it and yell, ‘Booga, booga?’ You gonna wish us luck, in case we don’t come back?”

“We? Chicken…”

“Van, if Carr goes, I go with him! You’re my commanding officer, but I have to ask you, what makes you think ‘it’ can’t withstand all that radiation? ‘It’s’ withstood enough voltage to kill thirty people! Don’t you get it? ‘It’s’ fucking not human!”

“Baby,” Carr said softly in my ear as he stroked my shoulders, trying to calm me down.

I huffed in disgust. “Come on, Carr. Let’s get suited up!” I pulled open the locker that stored the suits that would have been used if repairs were necessary to the skin of the Defender.

There was a scream of outrage and we whirled to see Mary grappling with her husband, the hatch standing open. He was trying to disable the mechanism that would keep us out of the clutches of our visitor. Carr leaped toward the struggling couple and landed a solid blow to the science officer’s chin. Eric Royce tumbled backwards, disappearing down the ladder to the galley deck.

Mary almost broke her hand hitting the switch that shut the hatch behind him.

We all held our breaths, waiting to see if we would hear anything signaling the small man’s fate. Nothing greeted us but the sound of Eric going deeper into the ship’s bowels.

And then Mary realized what she had condemned her husband to, and doubled over from the agony of her recriminations.

I looked helplessly to Carr. He cupped the back of my head and curled his fingers through the hair that grew there. Suddenly, I was hard, and I wanted more of what we had started in the cold storage locker. I licked my lips and he looked as if for a minute he was going to lick them himself. He gave me a tender shake and went to the doctor.

“Mary, he made his choice. It was his decision to put that thing above us. Here, stay by Jack. He needs you now, and so do Jim and Van.” Carr eased her down to the deck beside her lover. As he straightened, he staggered and nearly went to his knees.

“Carr! What’s wrong?” I was at his side and had my arms around him.

“I…don’t know. I suddenly felt…I don’t know!”

I looked over at the gauges that covered one wall of command. “Mary, has someone, Eric, maybe, been fooling with these gauges?”

“No, Andy. Why? What is it? Why am I feeling so tired all of a sudden?”

“Look at this! The carbon dioxide levels have risen forty per cent over all previous maximum levels!”

“Oh course! That makes sense! Mars is ninety-five percent CO2! That creature has developed lungs that breathe it. And it’s going to need more than we do! If the ship continues to accommodate the increased demand for CO2, we’re all going to die!”

“And that’s why the goop that was slurping up Bob’s blood reacted so strongly to your fire extinguisher, Carr!”

“Yes!” Carr gave a spurt of laughter. “I love how conversant you are with scientific terms, baby!” He turned the dials to raise the level of oxygen.

I shrugged, but secretly I was tickled that I had given him a moment of amusement. “Can we kill ‘it’, poison ‘it’ with oxygen?”

“There’s only one way to tell.”

****

Howls of rage, human rage, filtered through the intercomm. “You’ve killed ‘it’. Goddamn you, you killed ‘it’!” Sobs echoed throughout the ship.

“Now what?”

Carr looked relieved. “Now we get that thing off the ship.”

I nodded and headed toward the hatch. “There’s some protective clothing in the science lab, we can suit up in there.”

“Good idea.”

****

But when we got down to C compartment, we found Eric Royce spraying the creature with layer upon layer of carbon dioxide from the last of the CO2 fire extinguishers. “They thought I wouldn’t figure it out? They thought I was so stupid that I didn’t know ‘it’ had to breathe carbon dioxide?” He was muttering to himself.

He looked up sharply when he heard us approach. “It’s too late! You’re too late!” His eyes glittered with madness.

And then ‘it’ was starting to move. I grabbed the science officer by his collar and dragged him away from ‘it’, back to the lab. We just didn’t have time to make it all the way to the command level with him struggling to free himself.

And as much as I wanted to kick the shit out of the little man, I wouldn’t leave him to become a meal for that thing. Or worse, a nursery.

We sealed ourselves into the lab, safe for the moment. Carr ran a hand through his hair. I threw Eric into a corner and turned my back on him.

I began poking around in the lockers, trying to find something to use as a weapon. “Well, well!”

“What, baby?” Carr asked.

I held up a space suit that should have been replaced with the others up on the command level. I remembered Bob had been the one to use it last, on the trip out to Mars. He needed to make a minor repair, and had competently completed the job.

But Bob had a tendency to leave things wherever he left them. Gino had come by, and physicist had stretched a long arm to snatch him into the science lab, where they had whiled away a brief quarter-hour.

I had come upon them. Their clothing was disheveled, their hair mussed, and their eyes had a sated look to them. That was when I decided I wanted that look in my eyes. I placed the suit in an empty locker and forgot all about it. I went looking for Van, and made the biggest mistake of my life.

“Do you have a plan?”

“Yeah, I do.” I began climbing into the suit. I latched on the helmet and kicked on the interior mic. “I’m going to throw out the trash!”

I hoped the suit would prevent that thing from sucking me dry, but if my plan didn’t work as I hoped, then I’d go out with ‘it’.

‘It’ was still groggy from the overdose of pure O2, and I was lucky enough to slip past ‘it’ without attracting ‘its’ attention. I managed to get myself into position in the cargo bay. I fastened the straps of the chief’s chair, which I hoped would keep me in the ship when everything else was flying out. The chair contained all the controls for C compartment, and I began tapping out the sequence that would open the emergency air lock.

“You… are my… lucky star,” I wasn’t even aware I was singing that old song. I could feel sweat trickling down along my cheekbone. “Lucky, lucky, lucky.” I pressed the last key and the lock began to slide open.

Everything that wasn’t bolted down sailed out into the black void. As the oxygen screamed past to surrender to the desolation of space, I held on and prayed the straps wouldn’t freeze from the cold and snap, sending me to float in the darkness until finally my air ran out and I suffocated in a suit filled with carbon dioxide.

And then that thing went whipping by me, shrieking in rage, as helpless as any of us would have been to resist the pull of the inevitable.

I managed to reach the control and reversed the sequence that brought us freedom.

And waited as the compartment filled once again with oxygen.

*****

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 13

The airlock was sealed. The oxygen level had been restored. And that thing was somewhere out in the vacuum of space, pissing blood and popping eyeballs.

I unfastened the straps that had held me safe in Heinholz’s chair, and staggered in reaction to the events of the past hours. My gloved hands fumbled with the latches that secured my helmet and tipped it off, breathing air that didn’t stink of sweat and fear.

All I wanted now was to get to Carr and collapse in his arms. I peeled off the gauntlets and started undoing the toggles that kept the suit airtight.

The distance from C compartment to the next deck was only ten feet, but it looked as high as Everest. I leaned against the railing and peeled off the suit, leaving it where it fell.

Adrenalin was slowly washing out of my system, and exhaustion was taking its place. I dragged myself up the ladder and stumbled down the corridor to the science lab.

I triggered the opening mechanism and the door slid back with a quiet shhht. I was in the lab before my brain registered what my eyes were seeing. In the corner, trussed like a Thanksgiving turkey, Carr lay on his side, a gag in his mouth. He was frantically shaking his head, his eyes trying to telegraph a message to me.

But before I could decipher it, something cracked across the back of my head and pinwheels of pain exploded in my brain. I was aware of the deck rushing up to smack me in the face, and then there was nothing.

****

The trickle of blood had dried, so I knew I must have been unconscious for a while. I was on my side in the identical position as Carr. Restraints on my ankles were fastened by thick cords behind my back to restraints on my wrist. My body was uncomfortably bowed, and I felt a creeping agony in my shoulders.

I had no idea where I was.

Two boots appeared in front of me. “It’s about time you woke up, Lieutenant! I’ve got things to do, and I don’t have time to wait around for a sissy boy like you! Oh, you didn’t think I knew what was going on between you and the Colonel? I knew, and I intended to inform Van Leuen as soon as we return to Earth. But I’ve got better plans for you now!”

“We couldn’t have let that thing loose on Earth! You’ve got to see that! Listen, Eric, you’re confused; we’ll get you some help!”

He struck me across the mouth with Carr’s side arm. “I’m Dr. Royce to you, you …” He seemed at a loss.

I swallowed the blood from my cut lip. “Yes, I know, sissy boy. What are you going to do, if you aren’t going to tell Van Leuen?”

“You thought you spoiled my plans when you sent that creature out into space! But I’m not stupid! I have a back-up plan!”

The pain in my head was pounding out a rhumba beat, and I felt nauseous. “All right, Eric. Dr. Royce,” I corrected hastily when I saw him about to swing the weapon at me again. “I’ll bite. What’s your plan?”

“You forgot about Gino, didn’t you? He hatched the prettiest little baby out of his chest!”

I closed my eyes and whispered a prayer for the hapless cook.

“’It’ seems to have adjusted to the ship’s atmosphere amazingly well. I’ve come to the conclusion that ‘it’ must have this latent ability to adapt to whatever environment ‘it’ is born into. And ‘it’s’ grown! Oh, my, Andy. You would not believe how the little fellow has grown! ‘It’ already is the size of ‘its’ papa!”

He thrust his face against mine, his sour breath almost making me gag. “And ‘it’s’ ready to mate, Andy. Guess who’s going to be a momma?”

I stared at him, horrified. “Eric! Dr. Royce! You can’t do this! You’ve said yourself that ‘it’ is unusually adaptive! You’ll be condemning every last soul on Earth to extinction!”

He frowned at me. “Of course not! Oh, you will die, and it will be rather messy I’m afraid. But then, giving birth always is a messy process. But Van Leuen will use these creatures to further man’s quest for knowledge!”

“And you believe that?”

Eric Royce didn’t even hear me. He was lost in his dreams of glory. “And he will make me the man in charge of leading the way into a new era of advancement! Now, you just lie still and rest. You’re going to need your rest, Lieutenant. I’ll go and fetch your mate!”

He was gone, and I was left alone in that dark compartment. The knowledge of what he planned for me became too much. I was barely able to turn my head to the side before I vomited the meager contents of my stomach. And then dry heaves wracked me and I felt as if I was trying to vomit up a lung.

All I could wonder was how that thing was going to impregnate me.

****

Quiet footfalls alerted me to the fact that I was no longer alone. I tried to dry my damp cheeks as best I could against my shoulder. “Eric. Dr. Royce, please. You can’t do this!”

“Shhh. It’s alright Chicken!”

“Van? What are you doing here? How did you find me?”

He was slicing through the ropes that bound my wrists to my ankles. “Ed was able to alert us over the intercomm that you were in trouble. Mary had a fit when I told her I was leaving command. So I put her in charge.” Van smiled and nuzzled the hair at my temple. “Jimmy and I found him. They’re searching the other compartments.” He took my chin in his fingers and tipped it up so that I had to look at him. “Chicken, did you doubt that I’d find you? I may be sick, but I’m not dead yet! This is my ship. I know every inch of her!”

Van deftly twisted the combination on my ankle restraints and got me lose. Then he kissed me. It was the last thing I expected. “No, please, Van! My mouth must taste like…”

He stroked my hair. “It doesn’t matter, Andy.” He put his arms around me and held on. “I’m dying, Chicken. And I realize that I love you. We could talk about this later, but there isn’t going to be a later. Not for us. I don’t know what I did to make you turn away from me, but whatever it was, I’ll regret it for the rest of my life. Which won’t be too long!”

“Van, I’m sorry!” An errant tear fell from my lashes.

“If…if I had more time, would we have been able to make it work, Andy?”

I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Van,” I repeated. “I guess the problem was that I was just too grass green for you. I didn’t know what to expect and…”

He pulled away and stared at me. “Are you trying to tell me that I got your cherry?”

“Van, you always were the most insensitive clot on the face of God’s earth!” Carr was leaning casually against the door. I wondered uncomfortably how much he had heard. “Andy’s got blood all over his collar, probably from when Royce hit him with that fire extinguisher. I want Mary to take a look at him and make sure he doesn’t have a skull fracture.”

“Dr. Royce! The other Dr. Royce! He was going to …” I couldn’t tell them what he had planned for me. “He said there’s another one of those things running around lose.”

“*Shit*! How did that happen?”

“Gino. He was incubating ‘it’. Dr. Royce said ‘it’s’ already big.”

“*How* big?”

“Bigger than the first one?”

Van didn’t waste his energy swearing, although I could see he would have liked to. “Ed, get Andy up to command. Jimmy and I will see if we can find Eric. And if we can get rid of this other thing.”

“Van, please be careful!”

“Why, Chicken! You still care!”

*****

Note: Colonel Carruthers’ POV

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 14

It was my fault.

I had been so worried about Andy going out to face that thing, that I wasn’t as alert as I should have been.

That little shit Royce got the drop on me. And when I regained consciousness, I was bound and gagged. He took great relish in describing, in loving, explicit detail, what he had planned for my young lover. And he gloated while I struggled frantically to free myself.

And when Andy stumbled in, looking so exhausted, and so precious, there was nothing I could do to warn him. I had to watch, wild-eyed, as Royce struck him with a fire extinguisher and sneered at me. Then he dragged my beautiful boy out to be fodder for that thing he treasured more than his own species.

I’ll say one thing about Eric Royce: he was no Boy Scout! As I worked the gag out of my mouth with teeth and tongue, I managed to get my hands loose. “Ahoy, command!” I called softly. I freed myself of the rest of my bonds, telling Van what had happened. “And now Royce has Andy somewhere in the ship!”

“Carruthers, this is your fault!” Van snarled. “I don’t know how you managed to get my Chicken in trouble, but I know it’s all your fault! Mary, throw the master switch on the intercomm. I want to know if you hear anything unusual. Jimmy, I don’t care if you are still seeing double, you’re coming with me!”

I could hear Mary protesting, to no avail. And then I tuned that all out. Royce had the pistol with which I had been armed, but there were some scalpels that Andy used in examining the organic specimens he had brought up from Mars’ surface.

One thing for that type of weapon: you had to get up close and personal to use it. Not many people had the guts to face down a man with a knife. I didn’t think Eric Royce was one of them. And I was looking forward to ripping out his black heart and carving my initials in it.

Van and Jimmy caught up with me as I got to C compartment. Before I could suggest continuing the search on the next level down, Van ordered the lieutenant and me to check out the rest of the cargo level, while he explored the deck below. He disappeared into the dimness of the motor level.

Calder turned to me, confusion on his face. “I must still be suffering from that concussion! I would have sworn they were somewhere down below us!”

Well. Wasn’t that interesting!

Van seemed just a trifle too anxious to have us elsewhere. He wanted to be alone when he found Andy. Why?

It didn’t take me long to find them. They were having a low voiced conversation, Andy’s fingers twisted in Van’s shirtfront, trying to make his point.

I had to get Andy out of there. It looked like he was holding on to his composure by teeth and toenails.

Van, being the commander, insisted on trying to track down Royce and his little playmate. “Be careful, Van!” Andy pleaded with him.

“Why, Chicken! You still care!”

And Van gave me a triumphant look over his shoulder, before he disappeared into one of the other compartments on the motor level, Jimmy reluctantly following him.

I urged Andy up the ladder, mulling over what I had heard.

“Andy?”

“Please, Carr. May we stop by my quarters?” His words came out achingly formal. “I need to get out of these clothes!”

“Shouldn’t you see Mary immediately?” My tone was sharper than I intended, and I saw him flinch away from me.

“No, Colonel. I’m not that badly hurt: just a few scrapes and bumps.” Andy was back to calling me Colonel; not a good sign. He was standing right beside me, but he might as well have been on Earth. It seemed as if he was encased in ice.

And then I thought I knew what was causing the problem. It was through my negligence that he had fallen into the clutches of a madman. How could he trust a man who was bad luck to any soldier who followed him? I had lost nine members of my own crew, and had come so close to losing him as well!

“You might have a concussion.” Was he distancing himself emotionally because of a physical problem? “You did have an episode of vomiting.” Or was it something more ominous: could Van have convinced him of his willingness to change, to become a more considerate lover?

“Something else triggered that off.” Andy looked as if he preferred saying nothing further, and I didn’t press him.

I couldn’t let him know that Eric Royce had boasted of what he had in store for him.

“Andy.”

Andy turned and swayed as if the deck was rolling beneath his feet. I reached out to steady him, but he never saw, and I dropped my hand. He caught himself and made it back to his quarters without further incident.

I trailed along behind him, not about to leave him alone. There was barely enough room in his quarters for the two of us.

He took out a clean uniform and laid it on his bunk. “I’m going to take a shower. I’m …I can’t stand the way I feel, and I can’t bear the thought of putting on clean clothes without washing his touch off me!” Andy walked into his tiny bathroom and closed the door firmly behind him.

I imagined him stripping out of his soiled uniform and turning the water on as hot as he could stand it. I couldn’t leave him to face whatever demons Eric Royce had loosed; I opened the door and stepped quietly into the tiny cubicle.

My heart broke at what I saw.

The water poured down on him, and he was braced against the wall of the shower stall. Shudders rippled through him, and his shoulders shook. Andy wept silently, although the sound of the shower would have drowned out his sobs.

And then he curled into the corner of the stall, his cheek against the tile, one arm wrapped around his middle, as if to hold himself together, while the fingers of his other hand clawed at the wall. The floodgates had opened, and all the fear and horror and hopelessness came pouring out in gasps of desolation.

I could feel moisture gathering in the corners of my own eyes. I wasn’t about to let him grieve alone. I shed my clothes and stepped into the shower.

I enveloped him in a snug embrace and pulled him back against my chest. Andy started and he tried to jerk free. When he realized I had no intention of letting him go, he tried to avert his face so I wouldn’t see him like that, with his eyes red, and his nose running, crying as I’m sure he never cried in his life.

But I wasn’t going to let him go. And then he turned, burrowing into my arms, holding onto me, his tears hotter than the hot water. He sought a haven, an island of safety.

And I? I would give him whatever he wanted, no matter what the cost.

****

I took the bar of soap and began rolling it between my hands. “Let’s get you cleaned up, baby. Then I want Mary to take a look at you.”

“I’m sorry, Carr. I’m not handling this well.” He tipped his head back and let the water wash his face clean of tears.

I stroked the soap over his neck and shoulders, drawing my hands down his torso to his narrow hips. My nails threaded through the wiry hair at his groin, and to my surprise, I suddenly found myself with a handful of hot cock, and a mouthful of hot tongue.

“Make me forget, Carr. Oh, please, God! Make me forget!” he moaned as he nuzzled my mouth.

My soap-slicked fingers traced past his balls to the sensitive skin behind them. For the first time I dipped past the tight ring that guarded his almost virgin passage. I wanted to go easy, afraid I would hurt him. I wanted to go slow, afraid I would frighten him, even more than the events of the past few hours.

And then he was climbing up my body, his thighs clutching my waist, his hole at a perfect angle for penetration.

“Fuck me, Carr!” he whispered, his breath hot in my ear.

“Not with soap to ease the way. Not for our first time!” I rinsed him off and shut the water, which was now decidedly tepid. Herding him out of the stall, I grabbed a towel and started drying him off, rubbing briskly to warm him.

I wanted to keep his level of excitement high, and I teased gently at his mouth, careful of the bruising and swelling I could see.

His eyes were fever-bright, and Andy backed out of the bath, luring me after him. He rummaged through the small set of draws built into the wall and came up with the tube of salve he had needed. With a quick kiss, he pressed it into my hand and climbed on his bunk, shoving aside the clothes he had laid out.

On his hands and knees, he presented me with that most perfect tableau of masculinity waiting to be ravished. My arousal became painful. I ran a finger over the tip which was leaking precome and wiped it over the rosebud that was offered to me. Then I warmed the salve and began stroking it into him.

In spite of himself, he was tense, and I petted his back and thighs to relax him. I fondled his cock back to hardness as I eased a second finger into his snug passage. It was no trick to find his prostate and give him a taste of the pleasure that was in store for him.

He was moaning and thrusting back onto my fingers. I scattered kisses over his spine and up to his shoulders as I positioned the broad head of my cock at his entrance. Distracting him with nimble, teasing caresses along the length of his cock, I entered him slower than I would have liked, but I wanted to make this perfect for him.

I might never have another chance, and no matter what, I didn’t want him to regret us.

I was deep inside him before he realized it, and setting up a steady rhythm that brought me into constant contact with that spot inside him that left him moaning and trembling. I wanted to make it last for him, to make it so good.

But I wanted him too much. I had been alone too long. And it had been forever since I had had a male lover. I know I left bruises on his hips trying to keep from pounding mercilessly into him.

I shuddered as I poured myself into his channel. I’ve had better orgasms, but none as fulfulling. This was Andy who let me ravish his ass.

I knew he hadn’t come. But that wasn’t a problem. I eased out of him and rolled him onto his back. Frustration was written clearly on his face, and he swore tonelessly.

“You know what’s wrong with you, baby?”

He turned his face away from mine, and I gently brought my fingers to his cheek and forced him to look into my eyes. Misery looked back at me.

“Nothing, Andy! Absolutely nothing!” I started making my way down his body.

Call me a bastard for taking advantage of a young officer who had just been through a terrifying experience. Call me a son of a bitch for being naked in the shower with him. Call me a cocksucker for…

*****

Note: Just to clarify, Route 66 was a buddy TV drama, from the 60s. Come to think of it, what did they do beside travel across country?

Note #2: ‘To shoot’ in this context, is a method kids used to use to choose up sides.

Note #3: Carr’s prayer is from the Twenty-Third Psalm. Song lyrics, Amazing Grace.

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 15

I lay sprawled on my bunk, boneless, so sated that if that creature had come looking for me at that moment, I would have been hard pressed to do more than peel open an eyelid. Carr lay with his head on my abdomen, absently stroking my hip and thigh.

“There used to be this blond who lived near the base,” I sighed contentedly. “She drove a ’66 ‘vette, like that one on ‘Route 66’? And it had this license plate frame that said, ‘If you beat me, you can eat me!’ Oh that feels nice!”

Carr had dipped his tongue into my navel. I would have purred if I had the right vocal equipment for it. “You were telling me about some blond bimbo?” I could feel his smile against my skin.

“What? Oh, yes. In the cherry red corvette! Mmmm! I was thinking, that if I knew you were the one who would drag race with me, I’d put that on my car and let you win every time!”

He licked a drop of precome from the tip of my cock, then blew across it and chuckled as it quivered in his hand. “Are you saying you like when I eat you?” The head of my cock was in his mouth now.

I moaned and thrust up just a little. “Yes. Oh, yes! But I’d really like…”

Carr let me slip out of his mouth and began pressing openmouthed kisses over my abdomen. When he reached my diaphragm, where my ribs curved in to my breastbone, I felt the scrape of his teeth. “What would you really like, baby?”

“I’d really like to come the same time you do. When you’re inside me.”

“Oh, baby. I’d like that too. We’ll just have to keep on practicing until we get it right.”

“*We*? Then you don’t think…something’s wrong with me?”

He leaned up and kissed me, letting me taste the saltiness of my skin on his lips. “Andy, if you were any more right, you just might kill me!” He went back to exploring my torso, dragging his tongue across a nipple to see what my response might be. I shuddered. He bit down gently. I moaned. He suckled.

I drew his mouth up to mine and fitted them together. But I had forgotten that Eric Royce had hit me in the mouth with a pistol, and I winced.

Carr pulled away immediately, and touched a finger to my swollen lips. “Let’s not rush it, okay baby? We’ve got all the time in the world.”

But we really didn’t have much time at all.

****

The intercomm in my quarters hissed with static, and then Mary Royce’s voice came over. “Ohshitohshitohshit! Carr, wherever you are, I need you in command on the double! Oh shit! Oh shit!”

We looked at each other. And rolled off the bunk and dressed rapidly. I was still knotting my tie as we pounded up the ladder to command.

“Mary, what’s wrong?” Carr’s eyes searched the deck. Jack was settled with his leg stretched before him, looking grim.

Jimmy was hunched over next to Mary, his face a pasty white. She had an arm around him, supporting him, helping hold a mug of coffee. His entire body shook. As I got closer, I could smell the whiskey in the coffee.

“Jimmy, what happened?”

He tried to speak, but the dark brew spewed out and he choked. “Van…” He swallowed and tried to get himself under control. “Oh that stupid son of a bitch!”

“Take it easy, Calder,” Carr said. “Take your time, and tell us what you can.”

Jimmy nodded and swallowed hard. “Van’s dead.”

I couldn’t prevent the shocked cry. “What? How?” I knew he was dying; there was nothing Mary could do to slow the alien virus’ attack on his system. But I thought…time. There was just never enough time.

Carr took me in his arms and rocked me. “I’m sorry, baby. I know how much he meant to you.”

“Carr,” I whispered in his ear, panicking. “I don’t feel anything! He took my…I should feel…But I don’t!”

“We’ll talk about it later, baby,” he said softly. “Calder, what happened?” he demanded in a normal voice.

Jimmy was shaking his head. “I don’t know. I don’t know! He was up ahead of me and I heard him yell back that he had found Royce. I went running into the motor control room and Eric was against the wall. His clothes were all torn and his mouth was bleeding. He was moaning, saying something about his momma, I think.

“Van was in the reactor room, I could see that through the shielded porthole in the door. He had the reactor open and ‘it’ was in there with him. ‘It’ looked almost…human! And oh God, Andy wasn’t kidding when he said ‘it’ was bigger than the first one!” Jimmy’s shoulders heaved as he battled nausea, and it took him a long moment to get under control again.

Carr rubbed his back, trying to give him some comfort. His eyes met mine over the lieutenant’s head. “What did the Colonel do, Jim?”

“He kept forcing ‘it’ to back up toward the reactor. He was jabbing at ‘it’ with his rifle, but that thing wasn’t stupid; ‘it’ wasn’t about to let ‘itself’ get fried. ‘It’ was starting to ease away from the reactor. Van let out a scream of rage and charged ‘it’. The force of his attack knocked that thing backwards, but ‘it’ had Van. They went into the reactor together.”

“Then ‘it’s’ dead?”

Jimmy sagged against Carr. “They’re both dead! I’m sorry,” he mumbled as he lost his struggle with his stomach. He leaned over and vomited.

“Carr, what do we do now?” Mary took Jimmy and got him settled in the other console chair.

“You’re in command, Mary. Van saw to that before he went out to play hero.”

“I don’t need this bullshit, Colonel. And you’re goddamned right, I’m in command. But, Jesus, I need some help here! I’m a doctor, not a fucking soldier!”

Carr swallowed a smile. “Are we still on course for Earth?”

Mary nodded, looking abashed at her uncharacteristic outburst.

“Andy and I will see if we can find Bob’s body. It’ll need to be cremated as soon as possible. We’ll want to have Gino with him. Jack, will you give Mary whatever help she might need?”

Jack looked as shell-shocked as the rest of us, but he nodded and even managed to give her a lascivious wink.

****

We found Gino in an airshaft in B compartment. His chest had been exploded from the inside out. The flesh was in tatters and jagged bone gleamed whitely, with indentations that indicated that the ribs had been gnawed on.

I bit my sore lip and the additional pain kept me from following Jimmy’s example and throwing up all over my shoes.

Nothing else was going to be birthed by him, so we left him and went searching for Bob.

****

Bob would have been happy. In the end, as in life, he wasn’t too far from his lover.

We found him around the first bend in the airshaft. His chest was still whole, but we couldn’t be certain for how long. The entire situation was too fluid for my liking.

We got Bob up to sickbay and onto a table that could be programmed to empty its contents into the reactor. I wanted to bring back Gino while Carr sat with Bob, but my lover refused to allow it.

I had no intention of complying, and would have been tried for insubordination by any other senior officer. Carr smiled sweetly and said, “I’ll shoot you for it.”

He shook out his right hand and held in waist high. I did the same, only with my left hand.

“Ready? Okay. Once, twice, three: shoot!” He had two fingers out to my one. “Mine.”

We repeated the process. This time we both had one finger out. Tied.

It took six tries, and I’m still convinced that somehow he cheated. But I lost and had to stay and make sure Bob didn’t give birth while Carr went down and retrieve Gino. He wanted to send the two lovers to Valhalla together, but if there wasn’t time, they’d just have to go one at a time.

I knew they would have understood.

I did. Carr didn’t want me to have to deal with the remains of what had been my shipmate.

He must have run both ways, although he was barely winded. But he was back just as the little critter in Bob’s chest started chewing his way out. He placed Gino in Bob’s arms and slapped the control that would send the table into the wall and empty its contents into the reactor.

We could hear the quiet roar of the reactor as the bodies were consigned to it. Carr said a prayer for them.

“…Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…” The solemn words rolled out in his quiet voice, and a tear trickled from the corner of my eye.

He bowed his head, and I raised mine and began to sing.

“Amazing grace, how sweet the sound

“That saved a wretch like me.

“I once was lost, but now am found,

“Was blind, but now I see.”

And then he took me in his arms and just held me.

*****

Note: The alien James Frost went up against is from The Crawling Eye, also made in the 50s.

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 16

Carr stood looking out the viewport, watching as the Earth grew ever so slowly larger. An orb of green and blue, banded with the white lace of cloud cover, our home planet swung silently in the deep velvet of space. My lover’s eyes were sheened with emotion. It had been a long time since he had last walked Earth’s soil.

I stood behind him, my chin on his shoulder, my hands in his trouser pockets, idly stroking the line of his cock. I let my eyes drift shut and took in a deep breath, relishing the scent that was uniquely him.

But he wasn’t getting hard. Reluctantly, I pressed a quick kiss to the side of his throat. “I love you, blue eyes,” I whispered softly, not meaning him to hear, and stepped back from him.

He grabbed my arms and settled them around his waist, pulling me back against him. He turned his head a fraction and managed to capture my lips. I wasn’t prepared for such an open demonstration of passion, and my lips parted in surprise. Carr slid his tongue past and lapped lightly at mine, then withdrew.

“I love you too, baby.”

I jerked in his hold, but he refused to let me go. “Did you think I didn’t? That I just wanted to get in your pants?”

“I…You’re a colonel! You’re a hero! I’m just…”

“As far as I’m concerned, you’re the hero. And I just happen to think you’re the sexiest thing since sliced bread!” He sighed as he felt my cock press against the crease of his ass, and nestled against me.

“You sweet-talker, you!”

He smiled, but then it vanished, and the pensive look returned to his face. “We won’t have much time, I’m afraid. Van Leuen isn’t fond of me; he would have liked nothing more than for me to never have survived that crash landing. Or better yet, to be the one who died in that reactor!”

“Why did he send the Defiance to Mars, Carr? I thought originally the Space Program was to concentrate on the Moon, on perhaps terraforming it.”

His voice was so soft, I had to strain to hear his words. “Photos came back, revealing…something. Van Leuen got a bug up his ass about exploring Mars and pushed the Science Advisory Committee to approve the mission.”

“Dr. Royce, the other Dr. Royce, said something about Van Leuen wanting to use that thing for research, to learn from it. The only thing I think it can teach us is a lousy way to die!”

“You’re right. I think the real reason he wanted it was for the biological warfare division of the SAC.”

I shivered and tightened my hold on him.

And we watched as the Earth drew imperceptively closer.

****

We fell back into the normal routine of space flight.

Mary discovered a combination of drugs that seemed to be successfully battling Jim Calder’s illness.

Carr and I were sharing a cabin, as were the ship’s doctor and Major Perdue. I was sure they made love, although I wasn’t sure of the logistics because of his broken leg. And I didn’t really want to know. Mary Royce was old enough to be my …well, I’ll be a gentleman and say my older sister. I couldn’t deal with the image of her and the Major naked, the doctor seated astride him, riding him like a stallion.

I know that’s provincial. But…it’s like I know my Mom and Pop made love. Well, they had to in order to have me!

I just don’t want to think about it.

Occasionally we’d catch sight of Eric Royce. His clothing became more and more disheveled and filthy and he would scuttle away from us, finding increasingly remote places of concealment. And then we didn’t see him any longer.

But we were busy preparing the Defender for her landing on Earth.

And we didn’t even notice.

****

Van Leuen had insisted on the court martial of a high-ranking, highly decorated member of the armed forces. The Air Force was not happy that the Security Advisory Committee had taken it upon itself to hold a witch-hunt against one of its own. Especially one so well liked, and renowned.

However, they didn’t have much choice in the matter. Not if they wanted funding for the next generation of space ships.

But if word got out to the Press that his superiors were apparently abandoning the first man in space, well, to say there would be hell to pay would be a mild understatement!

I wasn’t there at that point; I had been given a three-day pass. And not informed that Colonel Carruthers was going to face the most feared man in the government.

I strolled into the BOQ, the Bachelor Officers’ Quarters, to find my friend James Frost with his feet up on my bunk. He smiled at me, his teeth startlingly white in his dark face, and poured me a drink.

Frosty began regaling me with his adventures in Switzerland. If I hadn’t gone toe to toe with my own particular horror, I would have been sure he was pulling my leg with tales of a creature that looked like an enormous, bloodshot eye.

And then he brought me up-to-date with the base news, which included the fact that Colonel Edward Carruthers was being brought up on charges relating to the loss of his ship and his crew, not to mention the deaths of four others from the Defender.

I gathered up a small book and ran.

I slipped into the back of the room, noticed only by the M.P.s who were guarding the door. The big one on the left was an old baseball buddy of mine, and I whispered urgently in his ear. He nodded toward the General who sat off to the side and let me by. I hurried to my commanding officer and spoke quietly to him.

General Cameron kept his piercing grey eyes on the man who sat at the center of the semicircular table. Van Leuen was a bulky man of average height. He was glowering at the group who stood in front of him, but mostly at the man who had ruined his plans to gain unlimited power for himself.

Mary Royce and Major Perdue stood to one side, Jack balancing his weight on a cane.

Lieutenant James Calder, looking better than he had in months, after completing a course of chemotherapy, waited at ease.

Carr was in the center, as alone as if it was just him and Van Leuen in the room.

Van Leuen had read their debrief; the pages were on the table before him. He dismissed their statements and their presence: they weren’t the ones he wanted destroyed. They took their seats, relieved to no longer have to face his barely contained rage.

“Andy!” Mary’s voice was very quiet and she looked surprised to see me. “Where have you been? Carr’s been worried sick! He thought you were cutting him loose to face the wolves alone!”

“I’m here now, and that’s what’s important!”

The head of the Science Advisory Committee frowned mightily in an attempt to silence our whispers. “Colonel Carruthers, you seem to have made a strong impression on these people. However, this is immaterial and does not preclude the fact that you lost nine members of your crew. You are responsible for the destruction of an Interplanetary Exploration ship, notably, the Defiance. What say you to that?”

Carr looked tired. “My people where killed by that thing we found on Mars. Under your orders! As for the ship… ah, hell, Van Leuen, you can bill me for it!”

Smothered laughter rippled through the conference room.

“*Silence*!” he roared. Control was slipping away, and a niggling sense of panic started to crawl up his spine. “You also interfered with the agenda entrusted to the science officer of the Defender, who has still not reported to me! I strongly suspect that you had a hand in his disappearance.”

Van Leuen bared his teeth in a feral grin, feeling secure once again. “Your ass is mine, Colonel!”

“No, actually, it’s mine, sir.” I spoke up for the first time, with the General’s permission.

Carr’s head whipped around, and the look on his face warmed me, confused me. Relief and joy, and… despair? What was wrong?

“Ah! The inexplicably unavailable Lieutenant Anderson! I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, young man!”

I kept my face blank. “Indeed, sir? Why would such a powerful man as yourself want to meet with an unimportant Air Force lieutenant?”

He leaned forward, his eyes hot as they ran over my body. I could feel my skin crawl. And then Carr was stepping between us, shielding me from that lecherous gaze.

“Lieutenant Anderson has nothing to do with this inquest against me,” he said tightly.

“Actually, I do.” I glanced at my lover apologetically. “I’d like to present the log of the Defender into evidence.”

Van Leuen’s face turned an unhealthy shade of puce. “I was informed that the log had been destroyed!” he snapped.

“You were misinformed.” I handed him a neatly bound notebook, and his eyes burned with triumph.

“This is not an official ship’s log! Anyone could have concocted something like this!”

“Of course it’s not the official log. I’ve given that into the custody of General Cameron.” My general grinned wolfishly at the head of the Science Advisory Committee and held up the black, leather-bound book for the entire room to see. A wave of whispers ebbed from the observers and flowed back to silent, avid interest.

For too long the military had been at the mercy of the man at the front of the room. Now it appeared the tide was about to turn.

For an instant, Van Leuen’s eyes were panicked. And then all emotion was wiped from them. “Colonel Carruthers, I thought you told me that the log was lost.”

“I was under that impression, sir.”

“Perhaps Lieutenant Anderson wouldn’t mind explaining how this missing log turned up in his possession?”

I shrugged. “I found it when we were searching the Defiance for the remains of her crew. Colonel Carruthers asked if Colonel Heusen had it. I replied in the negative. I would have assured him that the log was in my quarters, but that thing you wanted for the biological warfare division distracted me.”

“That accusation is preposterous!” Van Leuen sputtered. “I had no idea…”

“Didn’t you?” General Cameron rose to his feet, his face tight with anger. “This log states otherwise. Lieutenant Anderson has also provided me with this microchip, with your voiceprint, giving precise instructions to Eric Royce, science officer of the Defender, to use any and all means necessary to secure that creature. You sacrificed the lives of thirteen good men and women for your own goals!”

Van Leuen’s face was now paper white. He got jerkily to his feet and faced the ocean of spectators who grimly watched the beginning of his downfall. “I will not stand here and allow these base accusations! You will all be hearing from my attorneys!”

His grand exit was spoiled by the M.P.s, who, grinning, refused him egress. “Sergeant!” General Cameron barked. “You will escort Mr. Van Leuen to his rooms here on the base. He is not to leave them, under any circumstances!”

The big guy gently opened the door and nodded for Van Leuen to go precede him. The head of the Science Advisory Committee impotently clenched and unclenched his fists, then abruptly left, the M.P. a respectful distance behind him.

General Cameron glared at the remainder of the occupants in the conference room. “What are you all lollygagging about for? Dismissed!”

Only what was left of the crew of the Defender lingered. The General sank back into his seat and began thumbing through the ship’s log. His face grew darker as he read of the sealed orders Colonel Carruthers had been obliged to open after the unexpected crash landing of the Defiance.

Van Leuen had thought that being the first man in space would not be enough for the Colonel. He thought being offered second in command to the man who controlled the fate of the planet would be enough to lure Carr into betraying the men and women under him.

And when Edward Carruthers radioed him back that he’d see the other man in hell before he allowed him to jeopardize the entire population of Earth, Van Leuen changed his plans.

He convinced Eric Royce that together they would lead the human race in the dawn of a bright new era.

With a snap, the General shut the log and slammed it down on the table. “Anderson!”

Carr and I had been doing an unusual dance. I’d approach, he’d back off. I sidled right, he sidled right. I went forward, he went back. Away, always away from me. But I had finally cornered him. My forearms were braced by his head and I angled my body to make sure he felt every inch…every aroused inch!

At the General’s growl, I glanced lazily over my shoulder. “Sir?”

“Oh shit, Andy!” Carr whispered in my ear, and I shivered from the warmth of his breath. “You’re in deep shit now. And me along with you!”

“For chrissake, Andy! Save it for later, will you? We’ve got problems!”

*****

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 17

“Permission to be dismissed, sir?”

General Cameron looked at the surviving crew of the Defender. This inquest, on top of their hellish journey back from Mars, had left them all tightly wired. “I want the three of you to report to my office tomorrow. I’m granting you indefinite leave to recuperate from these events. Dismissed.”

He tossed them a negligent salute. “Andy, I need you and Colonel Carruthers to stay a little longer, if you have no objection.”

“Begging the General’s pardon, but the last time I looked, you still out-rank us.”

He laughed and ruffled my hair, and then remembered that we were not alone. “Sorry, Andy. I hope I didn’t embarrass you. I sometimes forget that he’s not the young cadet my son brought home for Thanksgiving that first year, Colonel.”

“As you say, sir.” Obviously, Carr had no idea how far back my history went with General Cameron and his son, who was in my class at the academy. And I fell more deeply in love with him than ever. My cock stirred and I shifted unobtrusively, hoping the General would not notice my condition.

Of course he did, but he pretended not to. He was like a second father to me, allowing me to stay with his family those times when I couldn’t afford to go home to Pop.

“Business, gentlemen. What do you think has become of Eric Royce?”

Carr and I exchanged glances. “Sir, I think by now he’s dead.”

The General started. “Explain yourself, Lieutenant.”

I ran a hand through my hair. “Lieutenant Calder informed us that at the time of Colonel Heusen’s death, he had seen Dr. Royce in the corridor outside the reactor room. His mouth was bloody.”

“Yes, I read the Lieutenant’s report. I assumed he meant that Colonel Heusen struck the science officer to get him out of his way.”

I shook my head and the General’s eyes widened as he realized where I was taking this story. “Van can be a bastard in bed,” I bit my lip, hating to reveal what a fool I had been, but needing to make the General understand. “But he’d never raise a hand to a fellow crew member, no matter what the provocation.”

“Then…”

I nodded. “We never saw the other men immediately after they were impregnated. There’s no way we can know, but it’s my belief that the creature Dr. Royce meant for me, took him instead.”

“And no one had seen him since…when?”

“I know definitely before we landed. Before that, we saw him so seldom, and he always ran…I’m sorry General. I don’t know how long he’s been dead, but I’m certain he is.”

“And if he is,” Carr added, “then as sure as God made little green apples, we have one of those creatures loose in that ship!”

“Oh, hell! And maintenance is scheduled to go over it at any time now!” The General picked up a phone and punched in a series of numbers. “Vince? It’s Flynn. Oh, Trudy’s fine, thanks. How’s Edie? Good, good. Listen, Vince. Major problems on this end. I need you to call back your maintenance crew. The one that was scheduled to clean up the Defender. What? What? Oh sweet Jesus! Get your men the fuck out of there, immediately!”

My mouth went dry and I began to shake. If one of those men had been infected…

General Cameron slammed down the phone and then made another call. “I want everyone to clear off launch pad 7. Seal up the Defender! Yes I know she’s just come back from space. We’re sending her back up again. Do you have a problem with that, Airman? All right, I didn’t think so! I’ll be right down there! No one is to enter that ship, or leave it, do I make myself plain?”

He looked at us. “Van Leuen shook his escort and got into the Defender. The maintenance crew entered shortly thereafter and found Dr. Royce. Or what was left of him. They left to get help, but when they returned, they found the ship buttoned tight. Apparently Van Leuen has some half-assed idea of raising her and threatening the White House.”

“Oh, my God!” Carr was stunned.

“I need to be at Ground Control!” The General was on his way out the door.

“We’re with you, sir!” We jogged after him. “If Van Leuen ever makes it out of this alive, he’s a dead man!”

“He already is, Carr. Don’t you realize what’s in the ship with him? Van Leuen is about to have a close encounter of the most personal kind!”

****

Ground Control was chaos. The Defender’s mic was live, and we could hear Van Leuen cursing and swearing as he tried to decipher the complex controls of the ship.

We heard everything.

“What…what’s that? Who’s there? Don’t come any closer! I have a gun! Oh dear God! *What are you*?”

Horrible screams were even more horribly cut off. Carr and I knew what was happening on that ship. I sagged and he got his arms around me and kept me from collapsing.

“Fire the engines!” General Cameron ordered.

With more haste than would normally have been safe, the Defender was prepared for lift off.

“Sir, she hasn’t been refueled!”

The General looked grim. “How much fuel does she have?”

“Enough, perhaps to get her out of the stratosphere. But not enough to keep her going. She’ll fall back into the atmosphere, maybe burn on re-entry.”

“Will that destroy whatever is on that ship?” General Cameron demanded.

“Andy sent one out into space; we assume that one’s dead. Van shoved one into the reactor; we assume the radiation got that one. But truthfully, General? We just don’t know!”

“Fuck it! There’s only one-way to be sure! Nuke it from space! Andy, get one of those little fighters up. Pace the Defender. As soon as she’s out of our atmosphere, blow her up!

“What about Van Leuen, sir?”

“If he’s not already dead, I’m betting he wishes he were! Hop to it, Lieutenant!”

“Aye-firmative, General!”

****

While I was gearing up, the Defender was being prepared for her final voyage. She deserved better than what she was getting, but there was no time to mourn her.

My fighter was hovering in the vicinity of the space ship, almost like an annoying insect. And then the gantries fell away and that beautiful ship left Earth for the last time. I eased back the throttle and followed her up into space.

The power of her engines was enough to fling her past the grasp of Earth’s gravity. I saw the moment she ran out of fuel. She hung in that backdrop of deepest night, and then began the slow, graceful glide that would return her to her home.

Which I could not allow. My fingers tightened on the switch and the first of my payloads was launched. While it was speeding toward the Defender, I triggered the second, and waited to see how good my aim was.

There was a brilliant flash of light, as the atomic torpedo struck the motor level, and the engines exploded. The top of the ship took the second hit and came apart, spilling whatever was in there into the cold embrace of space.

****

I climbed out of the little fighter’s cockpit and removed my helmet. Air never smelled so good. I jumped to the ground and was seized by a pair of strong arms that held me tight.

“You’re okay. You’re all right!” Carr whispered over and over, uncaring of who might be observing us, rubbing his face over my hair, breathing deeply, scenting me.

“Carr,” I whispered urgently. “I really need you to fuck me. Take me away from this!”

There was a loud clearing of a high-ranking throat. “I’d suggest you stand down, Colonel. We’re about to be bombarded by the gentlemen of the fourth estate!”

Carr let me go, but so reluctantly. I wanted to burrow into his arms again. However, I was an officer too. I drew back my shoulders and stood at attention.

“No, Andy, I don’t want you facing them tonight. The military has gotten together and will put our own spin on this. Colonel Carruthers, I suggest you get him a hot meal and then make sure he goes to bed.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you sir.” The man looked absurdly grateful. I wanted to drop to my knees in front of him and swallow him whole. Carr glanced my way and must have seen that in my eyes. He flushed and licked his lips, and grabbed my sleeve. “If you’ll excuse us, sir?”

“Colonel Carruthers, it’s been an honor to meet you. I’m just sorry it had to be under such miserable circumstances. You take good care of Andy now, you hear?”

Carr tossed him a snappy salute and barely gave me time to salute as well.

“Yes, Colonel,” I heard the General murmur. “You see to that!” The General smiled. “Take good care of our boy!

*****

Note: The French phrases are actually from Rodgers and Hammerstein:

Ditez-moi, pourquoi, la vie est belle

Ditez-moi, pourquoi, la vie est gai

Ditez-moi, pourquoi, chere mademoiselle

Est-ce que, parce que vous m’aimez

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 18

Our actions that day put the military in a very good light. They had saved the world from a madman who would have brought about the destruction of the entire population of the Earth.

The people of a grateful nation, and a grateful planet, showered the armed forces with accolades. Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force: their funding was increased, their every wish would be granted. And General Cameron was overjoyed!

He arranged for us to have air transport to anywhere in the United States.

I just wanted to go home.

Carr got us on the plane, and before it had even taken off, I was asleep with my head on his shoulder.

****

The house was on a quiet, tree-lined street. A white picket fence bordered the lush green lawn. Azaleas bloomed riotously along the walk, and rhododendrons framed the wide porch. Two oaks, sturdy enough to support a swing and a tree house, graced the front yard.

It was the epitome of small-town America.

And being Sunday, it was empty. Pop most likely was at church.

I pulled out my dog tags and whipped them over my head. Hanging next to the two pieces of metal that held name, rank, and serial number, along with my blood type, was my house key. Pop had had it made up in sterling silver when I graduated from the Academy. And I never left home without it.

I inserted it into our front door and pushed it open. “Enter freely, and of your own will!” I intoned, and Carr cocked an eyebrow at me and chuckled.

He took the chain from me, examining the inscription engraved into the key. ‘Always remember I love you. And the road leading home.’

“I’ll have to get you something just as appropriate. Nice,” he observed as he followed me into the entrance hall, which led to the parlor on the left and the dining room on the right.

For a second I couldn’t catch my breath. When I finally could, all I could utter were inanities. “Thanks. We like it. Um, come on up, I’ll show you where you can put your things.” I bounded up the stairs, and flung open the door. “This is the front bedroom.”

Carr entered and glanced casually around the large room. It contained a double bed and a bureau and nightstand. One door opened into a walk-in closet, another into a shared bath.

“Is this all right, Carr?”

“This’ll be fine, Andy, thanks. I’ll just unpack and join you in a little bit, okay?”

“Well…Just let me show you one thing, and then I’ll leave you to get settled in, if that’s what you want to do.” I walked into the bathroom and opened the adjoining door. Carr looked over my shoulder, his curiosity suddenly aroused. Among other things.

He walked into the other bedroom, looking around with interest. It was obviously my room.

The late morning sun glinted off a diploma that was framed on the wall. Citations and commendations were scattered around it, and there were trophies in a specially built cabinet. “Pop keeps the major ones in the parlor.”

Next to it was the case that contained my collection of mementos of Colonel Edward Carruthers’ illustrious career, from the time he earned a field commission flying e-vac helicopters in Nam, to the newspaper headline that proclaimed the loss of his ship on Mars. I blushed as he went over to examine them more closely.

“Your room.”

I nodded, my throat suddenly dry.

He gestured toward the front of the house. “My room.”

I nodded again.

“And we’ll be sharing this bathroom?” He began strolling toward me. “Am I wrong in assuming you will not be locking your side of the door?” He laced his fingers with mine and tucked my hands behind my back, forcing my lower body into contact with his.

He was hard. His eyes were sultry and I moaned and leaned into him to take his lips. He turned his head aside, teasing me. I strained to bring my mouth onto his.

All that did was rub our cocks together, and I shuddered and grew harder. “Carr! Please!”

He put my hands on his collar. “Undress me!” he ordered.

My fingers became all thumbs as I struggled to undo his shirt, but finally I was able to spread it aside. He wore an A-type undershirt, without sleeves. I plucked at his nipples through the material, and he hummed with pleasure. Then I dipped my head to take one in my mouth, sucking it through the ribbed cotton.

My palms itched with the need to stroke over his chest. I ran them up to his shoulders, and pushed the shirt off him. His eyelids drooped, and his navy eyes watched me through his lashes. “On your knees, baby!”

A soft sound whimpered past my lips, and I sank down before him, unfastening his belt and drawing down his zipper. His cock was straining against his shorts, and I mouthed him through the material, which was already damp with pre come. I slid my fingers up his thighs to his hips, dragging my fingertips through the wiry hair at his groin, lightly touching the flesh that was hard, yet velvet soft.

“Take me in your mouth, Andy!”

I groaned and stripped his shorts out of the way. His cock sprang free proudly, the tip dusky with passion. I lapped at the slit, gathering the drops that beaded there, tasting him for the first time.

“Suck on me, Andy. I need to know it’s me you want!”

Helplessly, I obeyed his order, taking as much of his length as I could into my mouth, sliding my tongue over it, scraping the large vein with my teeth. I rolled his balls in one hand, while with the other I stroked the curves of his ass, pulling him closer to me. His scent was musky, masculine, Carr.

His hands were combing through my hair, massaging my scalp. His hips rocked forward and I moaned around the cock in my mouth. He shuddered at the vibration.

Gently he withdrew from the wet heat of my mouth and urged me back to my feet. “Get your trousers off, Andy.”

I was shaking so hard I could barely work the button at the top of my pants out of the buttonhole. I skinned them down my legs and kicked them off with my shoes. Carr took my weeping cock in his hand and squeezed. “Get on the bed, baby; I can’t wait any longer to have you!”

This was the bed I slept in whenever I was home. This was the bed I had jerked off in. Only now did I accept that my most intense orgasms had been the ones I had experienced when I fantasized about the man before me.

I scrambled onto the bed and laid my head on my folded arms. My ass was high and my legs were spread, and I was pleading mindlessly under my breath. “Please, Carr. Fuck me. Fuck me now! Please!”

His slicked fingers pressed into my opening, easing past the tight muscle, preparing me. His other hand stroked my back, trying to keep me relaxed. But I didn’t want his fingers, and I didn’t want relaxed. I wanted his cock in me, deep and fast and hard.

And then he was giving me what I wanted, and more. The broad head of his arousal breached me, nudging past my prostate and I took his entire length. He picked up the rhythm and his balls slapped against me. One hand toyed with my nipples while the other teased my cock.

Harder and harder he pounded into me, making me burn, setting me on fire. Sweat dripped from my temple to my cheek to my chin, and I whined with the effort to breathe, and at the same time get more, and more and more!”

He tugged on my cock one last time and I began to spill into his waiting hand. My inner muscles clamped down, and triggered his orgasm. He groaned and filled my channel with his hot semen.

I could feel him pulsing within me. “I love you, Carr! Through heaven and hell and beyond!”

He growled and bit the side of my throat. “You do have a way with words, baby.” He eased me over onto my side, losing the battle to stay inside me. His flaccid cock slipped out. He tipped my head back and kissed me, rubbing his lips over mine. “I love you too, Andy. But…how will your father feel about us?”

I smiled at him. “Pop already knows. That three-day pass? I came home to tell Pop all about us. Pop thinks I’ve made the right choice this time.”

He rolled me onto my back and nudged my legs apart, settling himself comfortably on top of me. His cock was aligned with mine. “I think so too.”

I nuzzled the space beneath his ear and murmured some phrases in French.

“In English, baby! I haven’t had French since high school!”

“’Tell me why life is beautiful, tell me why the world is all aglow,

“’Tell me, my very dear one, that it is because you have made it so!’”

He drew in a sharp breath and then began to ravage my mouth.

*****

Note: Apologies all around. Minor pronoun problems, and that has been corrected. The Management offers sincere regrets.

Disclaimer: The Creature from the Black Lagoon belongs to Universal Studios. I just wanted to borrow him for a bit. War of the Worlds belongs to H.G. Wells, but I’m using Orson Welles’ version.

The One Who Got the Bullet Was Lucky

Part 19/End

We had time to shower and shave before Pop got home from church. I sat on the counter top in the bathroom and carefully stroked the razor up over Carr’s neck and jaw.

And I couldn’t resist following the path I made with my lips.

And then a warm contralto voice called up the stairs, “Andy, is that you?”

Carr gave me an amused look. “Your Pop’s lady friend?” he inquired.

I snatched a soapy kiss and hopped off the vanity. “Nope. That’s my Pop!”

****

I had to laugh at Carr’s stunned expression. “My biological father left before I was born, and Pop stepped in to help out, just for a short time. But it wound up for much longer. And then my Mom got sick and died. And Pop was there for me.”

And had been ever since.

Carr followed me down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Pop was putting the finishing touches on a meal fit for the prodigal’s return.

I played least in sight while she and Carr got better acquainted. Things needed to be arranged just so on the dining room table. I carried platters into the room and stopped short.

The table was set with the good china and silverware. A lacy antique white tablecloth, used only on special occasions like Christmas or birthdays, graced the small round table. The centerpiece was a bouquet of lush white carnations, their delicate fragrance scenting the room.

“Pop?”

She came to stand beside me, and reached up to kiss my cheek. “Only the best for your ‘fella’, sweetie. Shall we be seated, gentlemen?”

****

Carr was enchanted.

Pop loved him.

And I was relieved.

I remembered the fiasco when I had brought my bride home. The wedding night had been less than spectacular. And her palpable shock and disapproval of Pop had left me hurt and questioning my judgment in choosing her for a life partner.

Which is why I hadn’t informed Carr that my Pop was a woman.

So I just sat there, and watched them charm the pants off each other, and basked in the knowledge that the two people I loved best were united in their love for me.

****

I insisted on clearing off the table while they got comfortable in the parlor, sipping the coffee I brought them. Out of habit, Pop turned on the TV. Whenever I was home, we would always watch Movies for a Sunday Afternoon, which invariably showed black and white films from the 50s. The last time it had been Target Earth.

Today it was The Creature from the Black Lagoon. I glanced at my lover. “Do you mind, Carr?”

“Whatever you want to watch is fine with me, baby.” He ran his hand over my hair.

Pop sighed happily and settled herself at her end of the couch, leaving room for me to stretch out. I really wanted to show a little class, with the Colonel sitting there beside me, but old routines are hard to break, and eventually I wound up sprawled on my side with my head on Carr’s thighs.

As I watched the gillman lusting after the girl, I felt my eyes grow heavier and heavier…

****

Eyes shielded by bony ridges, the Gillman watched as the object of his desire swam through the murky water of the Amazon. A creature of the depths, he was able to see as clearly in the shadows as man could see in daylight.

His lips parted and warm water flowed in to wash past his gills. It was time for mating, but he was the last of his species. For too long he had satisfied the imperative of his sex drive within the scaly grip of his palms. Even the reptiles that inhabited the river were too wary of him to be caught in his lustful grasp.

Now, finally, here was a creature that would take every inch of his quivering penis into its body, and bring him long delayed satisfaction.

The unsuspecting creature far above the lurking Gillman floated gracefully on its back, arms reaching out to slice gently through the water, letting the warmth of the sun caress its face. And when it finally rolled over to begin the lazy glide that would take it back to the safety of its companions, the Gillman got a shock.

From between this creature’s thighs, a thick, erect cock jutted up toward its belly. The being above him was aroused, and he could scent the fluid that was weeping from its penis.

A soft growl emerged from the Gillman’s lips, and he felt his cock become harder, the need to penetrate almost overwhelming him. With an easy thrust of his strong, webbed feet, the Gillman started his rise to the surface, and the tempting creature that swam there unawares.

David Reed, scientist, was taking out his frustrations in the warm waters of the Amazon. He had swum for quite some distance, until weary, he turned onto his back and floated on the gently wafting current. Being naked, feeling the eddies flowing over his heated skin, he was amazingly stimulated, and he found his cock growing hard.

He flipped back over onto his bellyt and the contrast of the water on his flushed skin caused pre ejaculate to ooze from the slit at the tip of his erection. David was about to take himself in hand, when he sensed something approaching from behind.

Before he could strike out for the shore or make any move to evade the being stalking him, strong, scale-covered arms encircled him. A large body seemed to cover him, and legs also covered in scales, but warm as human flesh, nudged his thighs apart.

Something was pressing at his exposed anus, and he froze in terror, certain he was about to be ripped apart. Instead, he was invaded by a warm, slender, well-lubricated penis that shocked him with the sense of fullness, and the pleasure it gave.

Whatever it was that had possession of him made sure his head stayed above water. But David was so lost in the rapture of being fucked by this creature that he would have happily drowned, and thought the world well lost. He spread his legs further apart and tried to thrust back onto the male appendage that was teasing him to heights of excitement that he had never reached with a human woman.

Moans spilled from his throat, as the Gillman ravaged his ass, and then David came, his semen a cloudy trail in the haze of the water.

The creature riding him stilled, and David expected to feel its sperm filling his entrails. Instead, the Gillman’s penis began to swell until David was writhing, the sensation reaching to border on pain, and the creature produced a knot, much as a male dog does during copulation. The Gillman’s knot effectively plugged David’s ass, and only then did the creature come.

Impaled on the Gillman’s penis, David would have breathed water and never realized. He grew hard once more, and the copious amount of semen the Gillman pumped into David left him feeling even more exposed and at his mercy. It was voluptuous, this feeling of helplessness. The creature reached around and took David’s erection in the scaly palm of his hand, and began to stroke his mate to completion.

After what seemed like a pleasurable eternity, David felt the knot within him begin to shrink. The creature pulled out of him, trails of ropey come spilling into the water.

He demonstrated to David that he wanted him to take a deep breath, filling his lungs with life-sustaining oxygen, and when David followed his example, the Gillman sank down to the bottom of the Amazon with David in his arms and brought his mate to his lair.

David was placed on the rocky ledge, come oozing from his cock and from his ass, dazed at the events that had swept him along powerless to do anything but enjoy them. The creature gestured for him to roll onto him stomach. David watched in stunned surprise, as the Gillman’s penis emerged once more, hard and glistening with its own natural lubricant.

But he was too slow to turn over, and the creature was too desperate, needing to have him again. He positioned David’s legs over his shoulders and parted the man’s buttocks. With one quick thrust, David once again found his ass filled with Gillman cock.

The creature set up a driving rhythm and…

****

“Baby? Andy? Come on, Tinker! Wake up!”

“Huh?” I wiped my mouth, embarrassed that I had drooled all over my lover’s thigh.

“The movie’s finished. Your Pop got a phone call a while ago and had to go out, which was a damned good thing! What were you dreaming about? I thought you were going to come right here on the couch!”

My cock was still hard from the visions that had colored my dream. “Wow! That’s what I get for falling asleep on a full stomach!” I ran my heated gaze over his body, lingering at his groin, and his cock swelled and tented his trousers. “Want to play monster and the scientist?”

He licked his lips. “Shall we take this upstairs, Lieutenant?”

“Oh, you bet!” I was about to get to my feet when the phone rang. “Hold that thought!” I blew a kiss at my lover and went to answer the phone. “Anderson residence.”

I know the color must have drained from my cheeks. “Hell, General, when did this happen?” I swore under my breath. “Okay, we’ll be down at the airfield in fifteen minutes!”

Carr was looking tense. I scrambled around, trying to find a paper and pen to leave a note for my Pop.

“What’s going on, baby?”

I finished the note and said grimly, “Something, they think it might be a meteor, has landed near Princeton, New Jersey. So far, fifteen hundred people are dead. And it doesn’t look good! General Cameron says some kind of atmospheric activity was observed on Mars!”

“Mars?”

I nodded.

“Oh, hell! Here we go again!”

~End~