Re-Scue by Laura Tolomei

Didri was bored.

Her world was just too…perfect. By far not an origi­nal thought, she stretched and yawned, mouth fully open turned to the blinking flashes overhead. Damn! Her shift about to begin, she was still in bed, despite the wake up system having switched on half an hour ago. The soft lights she had ignored, so the intensity grew a notch for every minute of loafing until they became too harsh to endure. And the blinding effect always got her out of bed, scrambling to her feet, then dragging them to the coffee machine.

Buzz, buzz, buzz. Now what? She was sure she had turned off the fastidious NetConnect before collapsing, yet here it was, bright and alert to remind no one was allowed to be off-line, not even during sleep. Reluctantly changing direction, she went to the opposite side, first looking for the remote…but who knows where the heck I buried it last night…then brushing a small sensor half hidden behind the glass-like wall of her tiny living quarters—a bed turned couch during the daytime, a closet, a stove and an essential bathroom all there was to it for Shindera wasted no space.

“Don’t tell me you just woke up!” A handsome young man smiled from the giant wall screen.

“Markay, what do you want?” Half exasperated, half pleased, Didri shuffled back to her first target. “Don’t you have anything better to do than wake people up at this ungodly hour?”

“Particularly before they had their coffee.” He chuckled.

“My point precisely.” With two steps, Didri reached the coffee machine. The lid stuck as usual, it required a brutal act of persuasion or a careful sliding back and forth to unscrew. Still no technologically advanced dispenser would ever re­place her trusted old-fashioned trapping, found at the bottom of a useless pile of junk in a so-called antique store, at least not until it made the best coffee in town.

“Just thought I’d keep you company while you got ready, since tonight we’re working the same shift—”

“Which doesn’t give you the right to barge in.” Too late she realized the words had gone out of her mouth before she had time to think them through.

Her friend since always, Markay had been something more at one point, and though it had not worked out for her, like a true Shindera gentleman, he never pressed it. His obvious disappointment notwithstanding, he accepted the fact women had the right to choose their sexual partners, free to change their minds even at the last minute. Politeness and respect being the rule, no man dared take a woman against her will and Markay was no exception. Besides, she liked him better as a friend—funny, kind, understanding, the perfect shoulder to cry on, a sympathetic ear in which to pour her frustrations during their numerous lunches or dinners.

“Hey, baby, only wanted to be friendly. That’s all.” His hazel eyes became suddenly darker and she knew she had hurt him. “What’s eating you lately anyway?”

Wish I knew! “I’m sorry, Mar­kay.” She stopped fidgeting with the unruly machine to send him an apologetic look. “It’s just…” Her hand waved aim­lessly in midair. “I’m bored,” she finally admitted. Or rather she had no taste for a perfect life without excitement, nothing new to discover or experience, everything meaning­less.

“Bored? What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said.”

“Come on! What about your job?”

Ha…as if that could ever make a difference! Checking on a stupid machine vomiting tons of pills was anything except heart-racing, however fascinating at first to watch them pour out, the many shapes, sizes, colors—blue round tablets, then red triangular ones, green spheres, purple hexagons, orange-coated cylinders. Authorities encouraged a large use of them, claiming they balanced shifting moods, or so the ads boomed from every street-corner screen. She had never felt tempted, like some of her friends, to try them, her brain still working on what a shifting mood meant. For sure, a bunch of shiny tablets could not cure her bore­dom, no matter how loud the ads shouted. “Big deal!” Hav­ing resumed the unscrewing, the lid finally came undone. “We all work such brief shifts we’ve got too much free time on our hands and nothing to do with it—”

“Only because you’ve been refusing to go out for the last month or so.” On the screen, Markay was not looking at her anymore, focusing instead on the contents of his closet. “You could’ve come to the club or—”

“I’ve had it with the clubs, the sex…” She grabbed a cup and filled it. “The orgies and everything even remotely associated with them.”

He spun around to stare at her. “Since when does sex bore you?”

Bringing the cup to her lips, she reflected on what to reply, unable to explain the voracious hunger for something different, something she could not even name. “No…I…” Shaking her head, she returned Markay’s hard stare. “I didn’t mean that…”

If sex in itself was not boring, the problem was finding the right partner. Number and gender not an issue on Shindera as long as everyone conformed to the polished, civilized veneer society seemed so fond of. We’re still beasts at heart, none excluded. Instead, the nice, polite, restrained men and women were…boring, Boring BORING! No male lover ever really satisfied her, not even the best of them, which to her was Markay. Oh, he had been perfect, less refined than most if she had to analyze it prop­erly, yet once it was over, the persistent, hungry growl, coiling like a fiery snake in the pit of her stomach, told her something was still missing. As for the others, too well mannered to be effective in bed, they had long failed all her expectations. And switching to women had not helped either. She had no taste for soft curves, round breasts or wet cunts, yearning instead for hard cocks that stuffed her every hole. Mostly, she wanted men who knew how to use them between her wide-open legs, or if they chose the back entrance…the mere thought enflamed and crunched her stomach even further. But it was all in her head. “Oh, Markay, I can’t explain it.” Sighing heavily, she moved away from the small counter on which she left the cup of coffee, going to her closet. “I have this…” She stopped to search for a word, even though she knew it did not exist. “Thing about finding someone who’ll make me feel something more in a different way perhaps.” Glancing behind her shoulders to catch his eyes, she glimpsed his magnificent naked body—tanned, muscular, firm ass turned her way—as he picked out a pair of pants. “It’s like I’m…”

“Unsatisfied.” Fastening his belt, he swung around to face her.

“Yeah, more or less.” Half dressed, powerful chest filling the screen, he looked even more handsome. Her eyes lingered longer than they should have before returning to the closet where, digging for clothes, she pulled out a skin-tight suit.

“That’ll look terrific, baby.” A dazzling smile lit Markay’s face. “Why don’t you wear it?”

Like him, she had no qualms about being naked, so she carelessly tossed aside the shirt she used as a pajama and proceeded to get dressed, the pants fitting as snugly as a second skin to outline her ass in all its firm roundness.

“I always said you had a great ass.” Markay just had to emphasize it.

“Didn’t think you still noticed,” she snapped back without bothering to look at him.

“Believe me, baby, you’re kind of hard to miss.”

Sure, by all the wrong guys! “I’ll take your word for it.”

“Hey, would I lie to you? In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s your most prized possession.” He paused and from the closet’s inner mirror, she noticed he sent an appre­ciative glance. “You don’t know how many men I catch at work staring at it and probably imagining—”

“Sorry, I’m not interested lately, remember?”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Hey…” Now she turned to face him. “I’m not like you who can change partner as often as changing under­wear.”

“Maybe you ought to try it, too, instead of moping alone at home.”

“Maybe I just had enough of it,” she challenged.

“Maybe you just don’t know what you want.” His reply sounded harsh, almost exasperated. “As long as it makes your life unnecessarily miserable.”

Yeah, like those sad kids at the baby factory. “Perhaps I’ll come with you next time and—”

“Have fun at the club for a change.”

“Sure.” Hardly convinced, she glanced once more at her mirror image, as always lacking in real beauty, at least the conventional kind men appreciated. Definitely too tall, too thin, too little breasts, and her well-developed muscles or her triangular shaped face, half hidden by long dark hair that could not conceal the green fiery eyes, did nothing to help.

“Come on, baby. I didn’t mean to—”

“I know you didn’t.” Closing the closet, she sent him her best smile, pretending everything was fine. “Are we ready?”

“Just waiting for you.” Without her noticing it, he had covered his torso with a remarkable blue shirt.

Together, they moved to the door, the apartment and screen going black as soon as they left, while they kept chatting on their way to the tiny, efficient glider that would fly them to work on the multi-leveled airlanes crossing Byoldar, the only solution to beat chaotic traffic.

“Tonight looks like a slow one.” Markay’s musings made her look outside the vehicle as it took off. “There’s practically no one around.”

“Better.” Interrupted during the brief walk, visual contact resumed with a flash the second she entered the aircraft. “Much better.” Turning on the engine, she took off, too. “That’s why I love the night shift.” Not that it made any difference for there were just as many people working as during the daytime, only the late hour made it seem less real, like a dream.

“Sometimes it’s fun to work days, too. You get to meet different people.”

“I’ll leave them to you.” She chuckled. “Speaking of which, how’s that new boyfriend of yours?”

“He’s great so far and even if it’s not been long, I think—”

“Hold on, Markay.” Looming in the distance, Didri knew she could not avoid it. “I’m going to be off line in a sec…” His handsome face faded abruptly, replaced by a dazzling picture of a technologically advanced city.

“Welcome to Byoldar, Shindera’s desert pearl!”

“Those damn ads…” Markay’s voice crackled.

“A city created for man’s absolute comfort and well-being.” Instead of his reassuring tone, a metallic voice took over, switching off all other transmissions as Didri glided near one of the giant screens suspended in midair. “Admire its beauty and elegance.” The voice insisted while the video showed a glossy picture of a shiny city under harsh light. “Built with the latest discoveries in industrial science, Byol­dar has impressive buildings and…” Exasperated, Didri turned off her earpiece in an attempt to defy commercials’ bad habit of activating automatically directly inside each flying device, obsessively broadcasting the desert pearl’s glittering reproductions from every corner screen.

The depreciable system was just another reminder technology ruled every aspect of Byoldar’s life, as if anyone could ever forget. Its tall, productive towers with glis­tening metallic walls glaring in the midst of a vast wasteland were impressive enough, even if to her knowledge, no one ever actually saw them, the desert or anything beyond for that matter. “Poisonous air, heritage of previous mismanagements, prevents life in the open for all of Shindera’s cities,” authorities claimed, “but thanks to the airtight, transparent bubble, Byoldar survives the deadly atmosphere outside.” So we’re all doomed. And the thought of having to spend her entire life in the same damn place, the amazing desert pearl, only added to the sense of frustration.

“Did you survive?” Reconnected immediately after the robotic croak turned off, Markay’s ironic tone brought her back to the present, his bright eyes shining from the glider’s small screen.

“Barely.” Then glancing up to calculate how far she still had to go, it caught her eye, same as always, similar to many other buildings, the cold metal surface with huge glass windows for eager gazes that were never allowed outside. But then, what else can you expect from a baby factory?

As a rule, society required everyone to donate their genes for artificial reproductive purposes, authorities having foregone the dangerous family upbringing traditions that had proved so negative in the past. Now no two people raised children, rather they grew up in organized groups managed by social workers doing their best to provide some measure of love and joy. Sometimes this worked and provided pro­ductively healthy individuals. Other times…well, no one liked to dwell on system failures.

“Beat you here!”

At Markay’s announcement, she realized she had reached her destination, too—the suspended parking lot over the pharmaceutical company. “Yeah, I see you.” Amused, she watched him get out of his flying trap.

“Don’t move, baby.” So she did not, after landing on the first available spot. “I’ll pick you up.” And he came straight over. “Give me a kiss.” Opening the door, he bent to receive his prize full on the mouth, then gave her a hand to get out of the vehicle. “Wow, I said you’d look good with this on!” Holding her at arm’s length, Markay ran an appre­ciative glance over the curves her outfit blatantly displayed.

“Then it ought to impress my new boss.” Closing the glider, she began walking to the entrance.

“So it’s true.” He followed close behind. “I’d heard Gallyan was to be transferred, but I didn’t think it’d be this soon.”

“Jaymien told me it was today.” Taking out the electronic plastic badge, the same used for every transaction on Shindera, she ran it through the machine that beeped in recognition and flung open the glass doors.

“But you don’t seem particularly excited.” Stopping on his way down the long tunnel, Markay searched her face. “Aren’t you the one who wants to meet new people? Who’s tired of the same, old routine?”

“Oh, he isn’t going to be any different from my other bosses.” Engineers were the worst kind anyway, their exces­sively methodical, logical minds in rigid bodies having failed her few expectations time and time again until she had none left. “And even if I don’t know him, you can take my word for it.” Moving forward, she hurried along.

“Have it your way.” Shrugging helplessly, Markay accelerated to catch up as she turned into another corridor. As she came to a halt midway, in front of a closed door, he reached her for another kiss, his lips briefly lingering on hers. “See you at meal time.”

One more electronic control, then after the beep, Didri was inside the pill-tech, as she called the workstation with ten machines rushing square-shaped blue tablets onto running belts and into dark blue cylindrical containers. As usual, nothing worth noticing, so instead her gaze ran to the manager’s closed office door and to the drawn blinds on the window next to it.

“Hello, Didri.” The only man in the room headed her way. “Ready to take over?”

“Sure, Jaymien. Do you have something unusual to report?”

“Nothing, no problems with machines or assembly lines.”

“All right.” One last glance around to make sure he had not missed anything, then she nodded, satisfied. “Have a good night.”

He turned to leave, but stopped before reaching the door. “Oh, just one more thing.”

“What is it, Jaymien?”

“Hem, about the new manager…”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“He’s…” Licking his lips nervously, Jaymien seemed to search for a specific word.

“Don’t bother.” Her hand ran to his shoulder to reas­sure him further. “I really don’t care how he is.” Then she watched him leave looking relieved. “He’s probably like every other engineer we’ve worked with, no big deal,” Didri added to herself, alone now with the machines hum­ming in their tireless drone.

“Actually, I’m nothing like any other engineer.” A deep, throaty voice rang out behind her. “Or any other man—for that matter.”

Startled, Didri spun around. “I didn’t mean…” A tall, well-built dark-haired man faced her, his arresting gray eyes and rippling muscles beneath a flimsy shirt almost too attractive to be true. His gaze not at eye level, though Didri was tall enough to expect it, he stared instead between her legs and made no mystery about it until with deliberate slowness, evidently wanting to evaluate the rest of her body, he raised it. Immediately a shiver ran down her back at his blatant disregard of conven­tions, or ethics for that matter, his mere presence making her nervous and strangely weak in her legs, not to mention tight in her stomach. But beyond the purely physical sensations, a warning bell rang in her head, forcing her to take another, more careful look at him.

Apparently a total stranger to her, she was sure she had never seen him before in her life, yet a nagging feeling of familiarity refused to be silenced, no, worse, pulled her in an uncommonly sexual way. “Hem…” Blushing violently, she lowered her gaze, doing her best to ignore the disturbing attraction by pretending to check one of the machines. “Do I have to do anything special tonight?”

“With an ass like yours, many special things come to mind.”

“What?” Unsure she had heard correctly, Didri’s gaze swung back to his face. “Beg your pardon?”

“Just a thought,” he teased. “Anyway, I know you’re a trained professional, so I have nothing more to add. Today will be an ordinary shift.” Then without another word, he went to his office and closed the door.

And that was it for the rest of the night, spent without either seeing or hearing from him again.

“Hi, Didri, you’re in early tonight.” Jaymien’s cleaned his hand on a dirty towel hanging by one of the machines.

“I…didn’t feel sleepy, so I came in as soon as I woke up,” she lied, glancing cautiously around. So where is he? Truth was she had not slept a wink plagued by one heated scenario after another. Her body responding in spite of the obvious unreality, unable to wipe his image or the few words he said, rather playing them over and over to assign with meanings she was quick to change the second after, the interpretations never quite satisfying her frantic heart. “It seems awfully quiet tonight.” But if it’s only a trick of my mind, why do I feel like he’s recognized me, too?

“Yeah, isn’t it great?” The man’s eyes twinkled in satisfaction. “You can always count on new managers to leave immediately after having taken active service.”

“You mean…”

“The engineer is on leave for the entire day and night.” His tone mocked the one used by top executives to deliver official messages.

“Already?” Her heart flopped to her stomach. “Hasn’t he just started?”

“Who knows?” Jaymien shrugged impatiently, obvi­ously what the boss did, or did not do, not one of his priorities. “Just watch out for the machine at the far end. There’s something wrong with it and I’ve had to check it through twice already.” Then mumbling a quick goodbye, he grabbed his jacket and left.

Serves me right, me and my stupid fantasies! Trying to keep disappointment at, Didri paced nervously around the workstation, going from one machine to the next, without checking any, uncaring if the pill-flow stopped or continued, wanting only her shift to end. And when it finally did, Didri walked out as soon as her replacement arrived, without even waiting for Markay, too depressed over her own foolishness to keep company with anyone.

*****

“Is the boss in today, Jaymien?” Though trying to sound normal, the nightmarish wait spilled to her voice, giving it an edgy sound she, for one, did not like. Then again, she was returning from the longest two off-days of her life after the previous four straight shifts. But who cared for one as miserable as the one she had just spent cooped up in her apartment, thinking of him, instead of going out with friends, a trip to the club or to the Holorealm.

“The engineer? Haven’t seen him all night.” With a curt nod, Jaymien went to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

“Are you sure?” More a whisper than a real question, her lips trembled as she watched him go, her tone weak, wavering.

“Of course, he didn’t see me.” A throaty voice be­hind her almost made her jump. “I really couldn’t care less about him.”

She turned around slowly, to give her heart time to recover from its disastrous plunge to her feet. “Hello…”

“So you missed me?”

“Oh, no…” Taken aback by his frank approach, Didri moved slightly, raising her head defiantly. “Why should I? I mean what’s the idea—”

“Liar.” With a single stride, he reached her, so close his breath caressed her face.

At the unexpected nearness, Didri averted her gaze.

“Look at me, sweetie.” A finger under the chin tilted up her face. “I have some interesting work planned for you tonight.” His gray eyes traveled down the length of her, undressing at leisure.

“Of what kind?” Angry with her body for tingling in excited anticipation, she pressed closer anyway.

“Do I need to spell it out?” Grabbing her ass, he pushed it against his crotch to dig the erection in her belly, which made her wet just like his mouth ravaging hers. Bruising her soft lips, he forced his tongue down her throat that required a fierce battle to avoid suffocation. Still she swayed seductively, daring him to go further.

“You have a wonderful mouth.” Briefly, he brushed her lips with a finger before pushing on her shoulders. “Why don’t you use it where it’s most needed?”

If the considerable bulge did not yield immediately to her fumbling undressing methods, it had no trouble stick­ing inside her mouth that up had no particular liking for it. Now, instead, she could not get enough, mouth and hands completely at his service, almost choking in her haste to swallow it entirely. He moved accordingly, apparently uncaring if he hurt her, only instinc­tively stopping when she was on the verge of throwing up, which made her double her efforts to please him, repeatedly curling her tongue around the demanding cock to satisfy it whatever the cost, craving his come like she had never wanted anything in her life before.

But he obviously had other plans. Picking her up and laid her against a machine, securing her arms through the handles, then slid her pants down to her ankles.

“Well, well, no underwear.” With a sigh, he clutched both firm buttocks, squeezing cruelly until a moan escaped her lips. “I totally approve.” Easing the pressure slightly, his fingers traced the round curves before following the tantaliz­ing cleft. “An ass like yours deserves all the attention it can get.” Then without warning, he stuck the same fingers, now drenched, in the tight hole.

“Ouch!” Shocked, if not frightened because she could not see him, Didri thrashed to get free. “That hurt.” However much she fantasized about it, only Markay had managed to penetrate it, causing more pain than pleasure. “Please don’t.” But in her heart she knew this man would not take no for an answer, no matter how pitifully she begged.

Without even bothering to answer, he replaced the fingers with his hard and large cock that pushed repeatedly, as if aiming for full depth despite Didri’s loud gasps.

“Relax.” Even if he whispered, it sounded more like an order.

“Easy for you to say,” she spat ironically, curling on herself and tensing every muscle.

Sarcasm at least made him stop moving. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Sorry, too late for that!”

“If it’s a burning sensation, it’ll soon pass.”

“It fucking hurts!” And in case he still did not get it, she raised her voice.

“Oh, you may think so, but your body likes it, I can tell.”

“You’re lying.” Pinned to the machine, she was afraid to move even slightly in case it helped his shaft slide further inside. “Just get out! I can’t stand it anymore.”

“Hush, sweetie.” Bending over, he stroked between her legs and to her intense shame, she realized she was literally dripping, her body obviously enjoying what he was doing to it over her mind’s objections. “You simply have to cross that boundary.” Then he stuck the fingers in her mouth. “Now lick them off and get moving.”

“What boundary?” However perplexed, she immedi­ately complied, wrapping her tongue around them to suck them dry of her sticky fluid intoxicating her senses, hoping all the while to stall him.

“The one between pain and pleasure.” As though reading into her intentions, his fingers returned between her legs, landing on the throbbing swell begging for attention. Stroking it with expert fingertips, just one touch and Didri almost screamed in plea­sure from his continued rub on the slippery flesh, arousing a fire she had never known before. Unconsciously, she started swaying at his rhythm to deepen the sensation until her ass rose on its own, then down and even sideways, so he thrust anew, screwing the erection up the confined space within moments.

Surrendering completely to his mastery, Didri matched his pumping, but as the cock filled all the available space, the heat from the increased rubbing, not to mention an odd ball of fire waiting in her stomach to surface and burst, propelled the already frenzied tempo. Or perhaps it was the hand-play that was driving her mad, trapped as it was in the honeydew between her tightly closed legs, burning for his sensual tease that traced the edges of her slit before shoving inside.

Pleasure caught Didri unaware, not accustomed to the fire spreading from her cunt and ass all the way up to her head, then down to her toes in repeated waves that swelled her body uncontrollably. She would have screamed, too, if circumstances allowed, instead of biting her lips, while goose bumps ransacked her body, throwing open her ass to fit his entire length all together, which he did, sucked inside by a few well-aimed shoves that drowned it with his powerful and convulsive jerks.

For a long moment, neither moved, slumped as they both were over the machine, the man collapsed on top of her, only Didri had to tighten her hold on the handles to pre­vent a shameful crumple to the floor given her shaky legs, still prey of the violent physical release. And just thinking about it brought pleasurable fresh waves of shivers across her back.

“Glad you liked it.” Grinning broadly, he pulled away.

Too dazed by the experience, Didri did not budge an inch, her guess he would return to his office confirmed by the familiar unlocking sound that flung open the private space. But instead of the clanging closure, she felt him near again like he had forgotten something. “By the way, I’m Tylean.” Then rapidly turning around, he was gone.