The next night she was again brought to the negotiations compound for dinner. Geraud and Saul were there as before, and Katie fell to ruminating about the ease with which she accepted routine. In reality, it was the very idea of a routine that made her circumstances tolerable, but the scintillating prospect of another encounter with the overcurious guard provoked a sensible hesitation from her. During the meal, as before, she was left to her own meanderings. In this civilized atmosphere, she could apply reason to evaluate both her situation and actions in a way her disturbingly asylum-like cell did not allow for. She determined that her participation in the incident the night before was due to a conceivable, albeit irrational projection of the hypnotically attractive soldier from the hotel onto the guard with whom she had become personable. The possibility that they were actually the same person was more than unlikely, which was one of many realities she would need to concede.
“Ms. Riley,”
Geraud finally saw fit to address her.
“We have made contact with the appropriate department of your government to facilitate the exchange itself, but Company Insurance has not made itself as available to us as would be expected. I would like to point out that, although it is too soon to predict the nature of this transaction, I would be remiss if I did not make you aware of set backs such as this.”
Katie was unsure what the appropriate response would be to such information, so she simply nodded, which, if nothing else, had worked well in the past. She spent the next half hour acquiescing to their highly interrogative small talk. She fielded questions about her former life: the nature of her position at the Company, any and all interested parties in her unharmed return, and the like. And so, despite her former conviction to disregard the allure of anonymous sexual promiscuity, when finally they called for the guard, a sense of relief washed over her… followed by glinting excitation.
He directed her down an unfamiliar hallway. She could hear the intermittent approach and recession of laughter, argument, or elemental discussion from each doorway as they walked along. At long last they passed through one of their own, out into the open air, and she could feel that is was night.
Malik was reflecting on the information he had overheard at the door of the NC. He was hoping to glean something that might assuage his interest in her. He learned she had no family. Neither did he, but for women that predicament was culturally condemnable. He learned that she was not married nor were there any prospects with a vested interest in her return. The fact that he felt encouraged by this news troubled him. She was two years younger than he, but being American, he could reasonably assume she was sexually experienced. He could hardly fathom living in a society so liberal. He attempted to embrace his own scattered, unpracticed sexual energy with self-righteousness, but was left feeling only jealousy and desire…
He turned further inward in attempts to deny his fascination. He considered what he had at stake.
His allegiance to the Rebels was a matter of pride. He was not indigenous to this country, but instead brought here when he was still very young. The orphanage, like the rest of the village was established and supported by the Rebels. His green eyes and loopy, cherubesque locks were markedly unlike the eyes and hair any of the villagers, and when the other children began to notice, he did what he had to do to gain acceptance. He looked to the Codes, dutifully attaining all the idealic characteristics of an asenciate being, by their standards. He worked his body and mind, educating himself, strengthening himself physically, denying the nonessential, and at all times being the embodiment of humility. He had the respect of the entire village by the time he left with the Militia. In the company of other soldiers he felt a little more like himself, however, he still had to combat their resentment of his unfamiliar appearance by achieving popularity based on a different set of values. He impressed them with his obedience, his brutality, and his intolerance of weakness, all the while preserving a comradery with the other men. He had set himself up well with these extreme, albeit well-established people, and yet the slight blonde stranger he was accompanying threatened to undo him, to sabotage everything he had done to earn a new life. He pledged of himself not to fall pray to the unholy fascinations that had occupied his thoughts since the night before, but by then the shower stall was already in sight. He felt beads of sweat forming at his temples, and tremors rippling through his body at the thought of the task at hand.
When the ground beneath her feet became cold and hard, Katie knew they had arrived somewhere. She knew that the room was small by the sound of their footsteps resounding bluntly against the close-set walls. He was still behind her, holding her by the arm. His grip was firm, unlike before when he had been gentle, even sensual. They had stopped walking, and she heard the squeaky sound of a nozzle being turned. The spray of ice cold water did not quite miss her, and she shivered, goose bumps appearing all over her body.
As he removed her nightgown he felt sure his heart would physically leap out of his chest. A shallow ledge ran around the walls of the shower room on which sat well worn bars of soap. It was caked with soapy residue in the areas beneath the shower heads, but near the door it was fairly clean and dry so he laid her dress on the ridge and turned back to remove the other articles. She stood waiting in nothing but her bra and panties obediently, almost innocently. His hands were trembling as he attempted to unlatch the back of her bra. He fumbled terribly and then tried to make up for it by yanking off her panties with a swift pull before stuffing her undergarments in the corner with her dress. The entire episode was awkward. He felt vulgar and clumsy, yet every part of him ached at the sight of her immaculate body. Her fair skin was so creamy and smooth. She was unreal.
“Um, um, the, uh…” He fumbled absurdly, then gulped audibly. Taking a deep breath, He began again.
“The showers here are fed by natural hot springs. The, uh, water should warm up shortly. You… you have five minutes to shower.” He was uncuffing her as he spoke.
“Thank you,” she said. Her voice was calm.
Her confidence was arousing him.
It was clear she was athletic. Her pale skin stretched firm and tight over her lean muscles. She had sharp facial features, high cheek bones. He remembered her eyes. She has long lashes and profoundly dark, gentle eyes. He tugged at his fatigues, hoping to relieve the constraining affect they had on his erect penis. The fabric of his boxer shorts slid over its swollen tip. The stimulus was slight but it caused his mind to erupt with images of lust. He thought of her thin frame submitting under his imposing masculine form. He imagined pinning her to the floor, lifting her legs up over his shoulders and spreading her thighs apart. He shuddered at the immediate attainability of his desires. Thankfully, the hot springs did not fail him, and warm water from far up the mountain surged through the shower head, bringing him back to reality.
“You may remove your own blindfold,” he said, and as she did, he turned and quickly exited, slamming the makeshift door of sheet metal behind him.
Dim light from small windows at the tops of all four walls illuminated the steamy enclosure, and Katie took pleasure in the comforting, simple luxury of a shower.
Being stripped by the guard, fantasy soldier or not, had Katie reeling from anticipation. She was curiously receptive to how adorable he could be, struggling with the clasps on her bra. It was obvious that her understanding of the Rebels’ dogmatic restrictions was not entirely correct. Although he had undone her the night before with only a few simple manual maneuvers, she was confident that he had little to no experience being satisfied by a woman.
Malik stood looking out on the encampment. He watched the lights die, one by one, in the main building and tried desperately to distract himself from thoughts of her naked body in the concealed darkness and warmth of the shower.
Five minutes passed like an eternity for Malik. He cracked the door ajar and spoke in an authoritative tone
“Five minutes,” he said, but there was no response.
