The Underground River

The man wiped Rey’s spit from his cheek, still holding the wicked smile.

A gesture from one hand and a guttural bark. His men departed the circular chamber through four opposing tunnels. The man left last, eyes lingering on Rey’s impaled form.

Rey spent exhausting hours riding the metal pole. In the echoing distance, drums beat once again. A form of communication? she wondered.

And then, a tingling on her brain.

They are preparing you.

“For what?”

Zildrog, somehow, conveyed a shrug. It doesn’t matter, only that you must survive.

“You know what’s coming next. If you want me to survive, why not tell me?”

And rob you of your Trial?

The drumming ended, and, moments later, so too her connection to Zildrog.

Her skin pinched where the ropes drew tight, her insides stretched beyond what she once thought possible. Rey stubbornly refused to urinate, despite the burning in her bladder.

The man, clean now of the ghostly paint, utterly nude, entered the chamber.

His skin was gleaming black, his—cock, she recalled from the holodisk—was somehow larger than the rod that stretched her out. Rey swallowed, predicting what would come next, confused to find her body reacting in anticipation, rather than disgust.

Your sex is not a weakness, she told herself.

She brought her eyes to his and bit her quivering lip. He circled like a predator, examined her naked flesh. Her nipples stood erect in the cool damp air.

He bent down and cut the bonds at her ankles. Hoisted her, slowly, gently, off the metal rod. At first, pain, as the widened base stretched her open once more, followed by a groan of relief when it slipped free completely.

He barked, and two women, naked as Rey, scurried out of a dark tunnel as the man undid her hair. The women flanked Rey, still bound. They grabbed a bit of rope on either side, guided her down a long hallway unlit by the strange insects.

When the tunnel began to brighten, Rey noticed a fat root growing along one wall, and a lizard of some sort, as long as her arm from wrist to elbow, fastened to it. The women dragged her past before she could examine the lizard closer.

It was not long before Rey entered a room with flowing water, steam rising from the surface. A distant break in the ceiling allowed indirect sunlight, red as blood, to filter through. The women, youthful and attractive, now that Rey could see them clearly, untied the ropes.

Rey struggled with the urge to shove them off and flee, but this deep inside the maze, she knew that urge was fatal.

They walked her to the edge of the steaming water, lowered her slowly into the hot depths. Rey sat on a shallow ledge, submerged to the neck, aches and pains disolving in euphoric waves. Discreetly, she emptied her bladder, hoping the flowing water would wash it all away.

“Ala,” one woman said, pointing toward herself. And the other, “Nala.”

They joined Rey in the water and used soft cloths to scrub her skin of grime and dirt. Rey was amazed at the dark clumps floating away.

Ala stroked Rey’s hair while Nala washed between her toes. Slowly, Nala worked up her legs, her waist, her breasts.

Back down to her intimate parts. A heavy breath, mixed with desire and discomfort, escaped Rey’s lips. She squirmed as the woman found her clit. Your sex is not a weakness, she repeated like a mantra.

Refusing to be weak, Rey gave in to the sensation. Ala leaned over for a kiss, Rey’s first with a woman. It was delicate and light. Only the tip of the woman’s tongue tickled her own. Two of Nala’s fingers found their way inside Rey’s pussy. A breathless gasp slipped through her lips.

A hand, Rey didn't know whose, caressed her breast. A gentle pinch and pull on her hard nipple teased free another moan. Warmth spread between her legs as Nala's expert fingers wiggled and pumped in turn. Ala slid a hand between Rey's, pressing firmly against her swollen clit, aiding Nala in bringing Rey undiscovered pleasure.

Rey stood on the edge of orgasm, heart pounding, breath coming in shallow gasps. Her back arched as she raced over the edge. One arm draped over Ala's shoulders, hugging tight, the other squeezing Nala's wrist, afraid she might pull out too soon. At last, a long low moan of primal pleasure, and Rey collapsed into the water.

Ala and Nala finished washing Rey's exhausted body clean. Rey's hair was washed and oiled, too. Glinting metal made her nervous, but the women only used the blades to shave her body smooth. They massaged scented oils into her flesh. Rey felt several knots of tension break against their firm and expert hands.

The two women guided Rey further through the underground tunnels, into a dark room. A hammock hung loose from the ceiling. Rey lay down and shut her eyes. Sweet and real rest, the first in months.