All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!
"Mr. and Mrs. Zaal?" Océane said.
"Please don't call us that." Anna's cheeks were already red from their quick descent down the stairway. They turned redder with embarrassment. "It makes it sound like we're married."
"George Zaal, Anna Zaal, and Oldest Guest." Océane tried again.
It was Kapnos's turn to blush. Gwendolyn Valentine's skin was alabaster white, and with her blond hair pinned up, she was sure the others saw the crimson color spread from her cheeks to the back of her neck. "Please don't call me that, Océane. My name is Mrs. Valentine."
"Why would the computer call you that?" Anna looked over at their companion with her eyebrows raised in confusion.
"Please. George Zaal, Anna Zaal, and Mrs. Valentine. I have urgent news." Océane didn't like to cut in, but it really was urgent.
"What is it, Océane?" Anna put a hand on George's shoulder and stopped him. She moved close to him, her body tensing. The computer wouldn't interrupt them for good news.
"I have spotted two of the Newest Guest's drones moving rapidly up the stairwell," Océane said. "They just passed floor one-forty."
"The shadow creatures? Why didn't you give us more of a warning?" George pulled his pistol and dropped his pack to the ground. He straightened his tie and checked their current floor. They were on one hundred forty-four. He fished the spare pistol out of the bottom of the backpack and loaded it. He made eye contact with Kapnos, and she nodded.
Of course she can shoot. She's been around for a thousand years.
He made sure the safety was on and tossed the gun to her.
"My visual detection is rudimentary in Version 3.2. They move in a way that is hard for me to detect." Océane spoke in a matter-of-fact tone.
"What's going on? Why did you give Mrs. Valentine a gun?" Anna looked back and forth between her companions.
"I'm trained with a pistol, Mrs. Zaal." Kapnos hiked her skirts and bent on one knee. She aimed her pistol down the stairway at a point where the switchback went out of view.
"Get behind me, Mom." George had learned how to shoot in a duel. They hadn't taught him to drop to a knee. That wasn't manly. He stood on a stair, his feet evenly spaced, arm extended. He pointed at the same spot as Kapnos.
"I really wish the elevators were working." Anna climbed several stairs behind them and drew her sword. She was far enough away that she wouldn't stab George or Gwendolyn by mistake but close enough that she might help if one of the creatures made it past their gunfire. Her heart thundered in her ears. She struggled to relax her muscles. "Whatever happens, I'm proud of you, sunshine."
"Thanks, Mom." George took slow, even breaths as he'd been taught. He was pleased to see that his hand wasn't shaking. "We're going to be fine. This will all..." The creatures came into view using their momentum to run high on the wall. They weren't where he'd been aiming. They moved fast with their disjointed limbs. He felt like the one he'd seen before had been awkward, but these were swift and sure-footed. He tried to follow their path as they landed on the floor and bolted up the stairs toward them in a zigzag pattern. He exhaled and pulled the trigger. His pistol hissed.
"I think... they're... learning." Kapnos squeezed the trigger. The creatures zigzagged in a random pattern as they ascended. It made aiming difficult. "Mrs. Haversham didn't say... they moved... like this... when Mr. Haversham shot one. Oh... gods... it's going to get me. It's going to..." Her arms shook as she fired again and again. The creatures steadily closed the distance.
"Unload your pistol. Spray bullets at them." George did just that. Rather than trying to hit the creatures he sprayed a cloud of bullets in every possible direction the creature could go. It worked. The creature on the left sounded like a leaky airlock seal, before exploding in a splash of body parts and black, viscous goo.
Kapnos dropped her sidearm and fell backward in panic. The creature on the right leapt into the air. It sailed some twelve feet high in the vaulted space and crashed down on Kapnos.
George turned his pistol on the creature, but it didn't hiss out any more bullets. He was out of ammunition. "Shit... shit..."
"Oh... gods!" Anna could see that Gwendolyn's arms were pinned. She thought about what had happened to poor Edith. She leapt down the stairs and thrust her sword toward the top of the creature's head. She could see a floating brain and eyes below the black, opaque surface. She aimed for the brain. She landed on her feet as the sword pierced the creature. With a cry of pain, her ankle gave way, and she tumbled down the stairs past Gwendolyn and the creature, leaving the sword behind.
"Nossy! Mom!" George dove to stop his mother's fall down the stairs. He caught her with his chest, and they landed with a thud several feet below Kapnos. George could hear hissing from the creature, and then a wet explosion. He looked up to see Kapnos, covered in goo, scrambling away from what was left of the creature.
"Are you okay... Mrs. Valentine?" Anna stood and winced when she put weight on her right ankle.
"I think... I think..." Kapnos looked down at the mess on her bodice. She quickly tore the clothes off her. She would make new clothes later. She would need to add some mass, but that was fine. She wasn't ever again using the part of her that was soaked in the Newest Guest's vile liquids. "I need to wash myself."
Anna blinked. How had the woman ripped her own clothes like that? Maybe it was superstrength brought on from the situation. She'd heard about things like that. "Do you need me to wash you?" Anna limped toward their new friend.
"No... no... I'll do it." Kapnos needed to leave behind her skin, too. But she couldn't very well do that in front of the humans. "Let's find rooms on this floor. I need some time to clean and... rest."
"Yes, of course." Anna reached for George to support her. She winced again. "And I'll need to give my ankle a little rest before continuing." She watched Gwendolyn rush off in her bra and panties, discarding her blackened gloves as she left. When she turned to her son, she saw the hungry look in his eyes. "Avert your eyes, George. The poor woman almost died."
"Sorry, Mom." He met her gaze and smiled with relief. "You saved Mrs. Valentine. You're a hero."
"I guess it runs in the family." She found that her hand was shaking when she patted his backside. They gathered their things and followed Gwendolyn. George supported her weight as she leaned on him for a time. Then he picked her up and carried her to the safety of a barricaded room. It wasn't lost on Anna that when he carried her across the threshold, they were mimicking a newlywed couple.
~~
"Do you think Mrs. Valentine is okay?" Anna sat on the edge of the bed and put her face in her hands. She was still trembling. "Maybe I should go over and help her."
"I think she wants to deal with it on her own." George guessed that Kapnos was going to need to change into her true form to clean up. And he knew she needed absolute privacy for that. He kneeled in front of his mother and carefully removed her shoes and socks. "How's the ankle?" He held her calf gently and raised her ankle. He kissed it softly and reverently.
"It hurts. But that... helps." Anna pulled up her skirts, showing him lots of leg. More bare skin than was proper. But what did it matter now?
"I can feel you trembling, Mom. Does it hurt that bad?" George gently kissed the inside of her calf, slowly moving his lips up the inside of her leg.
"It's just shock... I think. I... ooohhh... Georgie. Should we... do this now?" She lost sight of him as he kissed his way up the inside of her thigh and disappeared under her skirts.
"I was scared, too." George pulled her panties to the side. He could smell the fruity pungency of her excitement. "I thought I might lose you, Mom."
"I... didn't say... I was frightened. Just shocked and... ooooohhhhhhhhhhh." Anna arched her spine and fell back onto the bed. She gripped the blanket in her gloved fingers. Her son's finger was inside her again. And his lips were on her little button.
"Mmmmmppphhhhhh." George said around her clit.
"Uuuugghhhhhh... I don't want to ruin... my clothes." Anna's legs were in the air, her toes pointing. Her ankle throbbed. "Undress me... before... you make me... squirt all over."
George removed himself from her pussy and stood. He loosened her skirts and removed them with an uneven mix of haste and caution for her ankle. While he worked, she removed her gloves and frantically unbuttoned her bodice. He pulled off her panties and spared a long glance at the neatly trimmed triangle of blond hair between her legs. "I'm going to get undressed, too."