From the sketchbook of G. McCrossen.

Captured! Thankfully, only James’ pride wounded. In hindsight, it was fortunate that his pistol misfired.

The fight had been short. Although James did his best to defend us, his revolver failed to fire, much to his obvious chagrin. After a short, but spirited skirmish the lizard-men, as Emma has dubbed them, quickly overpowered him with their spears, disarming him of both pistol and saber before the others could reach him. Soon, we were all within their power, hands trussed behind our backs with rope fashioned from a pliant hemp like material. Soon, we were trussed together at the waist like a caravan. I was somewhat humbled by the realization that the experience not only planted a seed of fear within me but greatly heightened my arousal as well. I could feel the warm trickle of lust making its way slowly down the inside of my right thigh as our captors paraded us from the camp that we had come to call home.

They were surprisingly gentle, despite the fierceness of appearance and their arms. Although their language was alien to our ears, Emma and I managed, with much patience, to communicate with them though gestures, setting up a basic, and very primitive, rapport. They seemed to mean us no harm, appearing as wary of us as we were of them. My thoughts wandered to the historic new worlds that the British Empire had laid claim to, realizing that we were, in a sense, invaders. How could I fault them for defending their territory? With that in mind, I informed the others that it would be best to acquiesce to their demands, despite Bull and James’ desire to effect an escape as soon as possible.

Our journey as their captives lasted several days. I am under the impression that they could have traveled twice the distance had they not been so burdened by our small company. There was a grace, as well as a quickness, to everything they did, and I found myself relaxing in their presence, unlike my companions. Yet another aspect that made me feel apart. Oh, how I missed Isshu during that trek, dreaming of his touch at night. Emma worried, believing that the trauma of the last several days had made my dreams uneasy, and I let her, not wishing to share the real reason that I writhed and moaned in my sleep, suffering not from fear, but from the ache of unquenched desire he had instilled within me.

The men, unsurprisingly, tended to regard our captors as dangerous beasts at best, and, in James’ case, as hostiles. Despite that, they had to admit that we were well treated, perhaps better than if we had been the captors and they our prisoners.

oOo

Eventually, we reached their village. Although crude by the standards of such great cities as London and Paris, there was a cultured sophistication that surprised everyone. It stood within a meadow surrounded by an ancient wood and bordered, on one side, by a peaceful river and by a cliff face, not unlike the one that had led me to my alien lover, on the other. The buildings themselves were fashioned from living things; flowering vines and living trees looked to have been cultivated into homesteads. The cliffs had been carved into apartments, walkways chiseled into the rock which was criss-crossed by blooms so that it appeared to be a vertical garden.

Like our paradise above the beach, great butterflies and other benign insects moved about, seemingly unconcerned about sharing their territory with the reptilian beings. There was an artistry to it, one that gave me hope that, indeed, we had nothing to fear from our captors. I felt a moment of sadness, thinking that Professor Waites would be fascinated. While I still held hope that we were merely separated and that he survived the wreck, the uncertainty hung like a dark cloud, piercing through the eternal fog of the lust that the lustberries brought.

Rosouk, our best pronunciation of our chief captor (It was probably as inaccurate as the name he used to address Emma and me; Ahmal and Hiffee) led us to a large cave, within which was a pool, fed by a small spring emerging from a crack, of refreshing water. It wasn’t difficult to understand his commands. Stay, drink, rest. Leaving a pair of guards just outside the cavern, he left us to our devices.

It would be remiss of me to mention that the berries we’d become dependent upon, addicted to, even, had been plentiful upon our journey and that the lizardmen had let us feast to our heart’s content, even seeming amused at the sight of what transpired at night when our lusts outweighed any discomfiture at being observed in coitus by our guards.

The cave was cool, something none of us minded. We did as Rosouk suggested, unsure how long we would be confined within the cave, doing our best to rest and relax and even bathe while we awaited his return.

Leaning up against Emma, my head upon her shoulder, I let myself drift, reminiscing silently, of my tryst with Isshu, my memories and longing refreshed our surroundings. I could almost picture him rising up from the pool, his tentacles dripping, his beautiful phallus erect as he pulled me to my knees and ravished me.

Soon, I was burning with desire. It felt natural to gently tangle my fingers in Emma’s hair and kiss her passionately, pulling her to me, feeling her respond in kind. Soon, our limbs were tangled as I cupped her sex, her cunt, my palm grinding against her nub as I slid my fingers within, her moans silenced by my tongue as I began to thrust within her with a violence that matched her need, not stopping even after bringing her to the peak, and then over again and again, until she’d climaxed thrice. Only then did I submit to her, letting her pin me to the ground, her arms wrapped around my thighs as she buried her face between my legs and made me shake and shiver as she kept be balanced on the brink for an eternity before finally letting me spill over the edge with an incoherent cry again and again until I lost all track of time, barely aware of Bull and James’ becoming embroiled in our lovemaking.

Indeed, soon I found myself stretched, almost painfully, as Bull rammed his swollen member into me from behind, my mouth fastened to Emma’s breast as she took James’ prick into her mouth, his seed already coating her ripe breasts from his first orgasm. Our moans and cries were accompanied by those of Gavin and Hugh as they, too, slaked their lust, the gruff American so close that his foot pressed against my calf as he drove himself into his lover’s ass with almost valiant vigor.

oOo

When Rosouk returned, he gestured for me, and only me, to rise and accompany him. Slightly perplexed, I stood, shrugging at James’ questioning raised eyebrow. It was true that I, of all of us, had made the most effort to befriend our captors, so it made a certain sense that they would use me as a liaison in any diplomatic endeavors. Naked and alone and smelling like sex, I accompanied him, this time, my hands bound before me and attached to a short leash. Once again, I felt the thrill of submission that Isshu had awoken in me; a trembling need that danced throughout my nervous system like the wings of an anxious butterfly. I had, in such a short time, become a slave to it, I realized, unable to quell the need that ebbed within me and made my cunt drip with every heartbeat.

Oh, Isshu, what have you wrought, I wondered silently as I crossed the village, aware of a multitude of eyes upon me as Rosouk led me to a brightly decorated edifice, the doorway framed by stone lintels with familiar etchings – the same that Grant had discovered in the cave on the beach and I had found in upon the walls near Isshu’s pool. I would have stopped dead in my tracks had Rosouk not tugged on the leash, compelling me between the carved supports and into a short hallway ending in circular room that smelled of citrus in which paced one of his kind, a stooped and wrinkled creature with a stump where its hand would have been and a milky white eye above a horribly scarred cheek.

They conversed at length in their sibilant speech, Rosouk occasionally gesturing in my direction while the elder lizardman regarded me with intense curiosity. For the first time in ages I felt naked, my cheeks hot with humiliation as his gaze traveled over my body, lingering on my breasts and my sex before returning to my face with a toothy smile that felt menacing.

“Hiffee,” Rosouk hissed, tugging on my leash until I stumbled forward and then, to my knees, before the elder creature, trembling with sudden trepidation. Was I to end my days here, alone and helpless? Strangely, my thoughts turned not to my companions, but to Isshu, my brief lover. Oh, how I longed to feel his limbs around me, pressing me delicately to his chest, his tentacles gliding possessively over my exposed flesh as he lowered me onto his swollen phallus. I closed my eyes briefly, imagining him inside me, quivering with hunger and unable to silence the soft moan of desire that erupted as strong claws slid though my hair, tightening as my chin was forced upwards, my head back, until I found myself staring into one milky white orb and one of emerald.

“Suka ri Sa,” it hissed, releasing my hair, the tips of its one claw trailing down my neck, pausing at hollow of my throat, the implied threat obvious. “Mris ri Kirsh.”

Transfixed, I gazed deep into his hypnotic eyes, both the sighted and the sightless, gasping as I felt the same touch upon my thoughts that I had just experienced upon my tender flesh.

“Bringer of storms. Breaker of prisons.”

I felt the words, rather than heard them, his claws pressing into my flesh until they pierced the skin. My reaction was immediate and unsettling – raw lust began to consume me as I felt beads of blood welling and rolling slowly down my chest.

“Isshu.” His words startled me almost as much as the translation implanted in my brain. “Devourer.”

“Non,” I breathed, feeling both the hatred and the fear radiating from my captor, his eye glittering and cold.

“You have woken death. I exile you to Ilbissara.”

oOo

Shaken by my experiences, I meekly followed Rosouk from the room and down the brief hallways, trepidation growing as I realized that he led me away, not towards, the cavern in which my companions were being held.

“Where are you taking me?” I asked, my voice sounding small as I was led down a worn stone pathway, past others of his ilk, their glittering eyes gazing coldly at me as they paused in their tasks, obviously curious. After all, I was as alien to them as they were to me.

We walked in near silence, the tread of my bare feet soft upon the smooth stone, the pounding of my heart growing incrementally as each step drew me further and further from my companions.

“Where?” I demanded, fear rising within my breast making me balk, my feet planted firmly as we approached what appeared to be a well of some sort. A wooden frame work, rectangular in shape, had been constructed over an opening in the earth. A pit, its maw dark and ominous. A chain, attached to what appeared to be a winch, hung from the structure and from it dangled a pair of manacles forged of a silver hued metal.

“Ilbissara,” he hissed. I thought I detected a hint of either reverence or fear in his tone, perhaps both.

Despite the heat of the sun on my skin, I felt the icy grip of fear claw at me as my captor led me closer. My mouth went dry and I began to struggle in earnest as we drew closer to the dark maw, but I was no match for his sinewy strength. With harsh words he yanked on my bounds, upsetting my balance. I fell, with a sharp cry, to my knees, tipping forward as he continued to drag me. Panicking, I cried out, begging for mercy as he cut the bonds from my wrists with his sharp claws and replaced them with manacles, clasping them in place, the click of the locking mechanism silencing me.

Trembling, I let out a gasp as my eyes were drawn to the dark maw of the earth. What awaited me down there, I knew not, but my imagination suddenly ran wild. Flesh eating beasts, perhaps? Or worse, solitude and starvation? Tears filled my eyes, clinging to my lashes before rolling slowly down my cheeks and dripping to the ground as I was roughly pushed so that I dangled above the pit, wrists tightly encased in unyielding metal.

"Hiffee," he said, a look of sympathy in his reptilian eyes. I thought for a moment that perhaps he might take pity upon me and perhaps set me free...

Hope was crushed as I heard the rusty sound of gears grinding. I watched in horror as Rosouk turned the winch, lowering me into the smooth walled hole, darkness slowly swallowing the sunlight until the world above was a mere pinprick of light far above my head and then, even that was gone and I was truly blind.

oOo

Eventually, the motion stopped. How long it had lasted or how far I had descended, I could not even guess. I was helpless and without hope, dangling in midair far below the earth’s crust like bait on a fisherman’s hook. That image drudged up renewed terror within me and began to struggle, whimpering as I swung vulnerably from my unbreakable bonds. Eventually, exhausted and afraid, I surrendered myself to my fate.

My thoughts turned to the others. I took solace in believing that, perhaps, my sacrifice, this exile into darkness, meant that they would be spared. Prisoners, perhaps, but well treated and together. In my heart, I knew that Bull and James would look after Emma.

Perhaps they might even be freed and live out their lives upon the beach that had become our sanctuary, our garden of Eden. I let my eyes drift shut, dreaming of Emma’s kisses, her mouth upon my breasts, her tongue lapping at my eager pussy. I imagined Bull’s thick cock filling me, his large hand cupping my bottom as he spent himself inside of me. I let out a soft moan, the fear chased away briefly as I recalled James’ prick in my mouth as I explored his ass with my finger, feeling him stiffen, his semen filling my mouth and sliding down my throat as I writhed in ecstasy.

And I recalled Isshu – the devourer – as he held me down, partly submerged in the waters of that underground pool, his phallus stretching my cunt, his tentacles everywhere, tightening around my limbs, his sharp teeth sinking into the tender flesh of my breast until pain and pleasure overwhelmed me and wave after wave of ecstasy cascaded over me for eternity…

oOo

I awoke slowly, my thought fuzzy, as if I’d been drugged. Inhaling, I detected a strange scent in the cool darkness – reminiscent of cocoa, both bitter and sweet. Vaguely, I felt a dull throbbing pain in my wrists that slowly made its way down my arms into my shoulders. I blinked slowly, trying to bring my thoughts into focus, my breath measured and slow, my heartbeat quiet yet steady. Blinking again, I was bemused by the faint pinpricks of prismatic light in my peripheral vision. With a soft kick of my dangling feet, I felt myself spinning slowly, yet it remained just outside the boundaries of sight.

The scent, one that reminded me strangely of my childhood, lingered, slowly filling my nostrils and throat, clinging to my lips, my tongue, my skin. I imagined it coating my flesh, even seeping into my pussy. The fear I’d felt before seemed suddenly distant.

“I am hallucinating,” I mused, my voice sounding strange and echoing slightly, reminding me of my predicament. Like the pain, however, my fear had been dulled.

I began to hear music, the faint strains of bells, a distant sound, surely imagined. A lullaby my grandmother would sing when I was a child, familiar if long forgotten. Bemused, I whispered along, slowly recalling the words.

Bumble bee plays, pretty princess, grasshopper sings. Dragonfly prays, little princess, sun on her wings. Butterfly dances, pretty princess, life is a lark. But spiders never take chances, little princes, lurking in the dark.

I found myself repeating the words in my head, humming along to the mysterious tune, the taste of bittersweet chocolate almost cloying as it enveloped me. I felt my skin prickle, the sensation of tiny needles pricking at my flesh. I shuddered, writhing slowly in my bonds, barely aware that I as rubbing my thighs together, a feeling of frustration slowly growing as I felt desire dampening between my legs, the trickle of juices like thick honey as it seeped from my warm lips, coating the insides of my thighs.

I let out a moan, unsure of what was transpiring, the words twisting on my tongue as if I was merely a vessel for someone else’s voice.

Bumble bee feeds, pretty princess, grasshopper thirsts. Dragonfly hides, little princess, expecting the worst. Butterfly writhes, little princess, bound up in wires. But spiders know how, little princess, to stoke her fires.

I felt fingers brushing down my spine, soft as a breeze, their touch feathery. I gasped softly, whimpering as I felt them trace along my hip bone, caressing my mons, tracing my puffy lips, teasing free my swollen nub of pleasure as I hung, helpless in the dark.

And suddenly, I was alone again, abandoned in the dark.

“No, please, don’t leave me,” I whispered into the dark, my voice desperate, breathless, tears threatening.

How long I waited, I cannot say. It felt like eternity before I felt a light touch upon my breast, gentle, almost ghost like fingers stroking my nipple to hardness, another brushing along my side, over my ribs, exploring my underarm tentatively, and then, a gentle kiss upon my throat, lips gliding upwards, along my jawline, brushing my cheek until they found my eager mouth.

“Oui,” I sighed before I was silenced by a tongue pushing past my lips in tandem with something thick and warm pushing between my other lips, slipping into my wet sex so easily, pushing deep within in me, pulsing and throbbing with life, and then out, leaving me feeling empty…

“No, please, don’t stop,” I begged.

I was greeted with a silky soft chuckle, accompanied by the touch of fingertips dancing along the globes of my ass, parting them before pressing against my puckered ring, pushing past it even as he entered me again, this time slowly pumping in and out of me, harder and faster, until I shook with the violence of his thrusts, feeling myself pushed to the edge, finally tipping over as I felt my cunt flooded with copious amounts of fluids. He filled me with a soft grunt, holding himself deep within until, finally, my heart had calmed down. Then, and only then, I felt him slip out, his prick still swollen and hard, his cum spilling down my legs obscenely, his barely heard chuckle warm against my ear.

“Such a tasty little morsel.”

“Who are you?” I whispered, feeling dazed with ecstasy by the encounter, my body still craving pleasure as fingers continued to tease me, touching me seemingly everywhere as if purposely keeping me aroused and yet unable to do anything about it. “What are you?” I managed, breathless with desire.

“Hers.” My unseen assailant kissed me once more, and I returned it hungrily. “As are you. Only, unlike me, you cannot hide in the shadows, little butterfly. ”

He left me with those words, dread warring with lust within me as I dangled in the darkness, our combined fluids coating the insides of my thighs, dripping into the darkness below me, my hungry whimper amplified within the pitch black prison in which I’d been exiled to.