Chapter 10 - Sand Consumes

Roul tossed and turned in restless motions, his cot groaning beneath him. His fears of what was to come consumed him, a dark maw snapping shut on his hope. When sleep finally did grasp him, he fell into nightmares of the most unkind nature. Visions of Aeris, slain at his feet, her neck split open, blood pooling around her head like a halo of the unholy. Sights of her in torment, burned and wounded, bloody and battered, crying out for him to save her, and he could do nothing. Roul found that he could not sleep any longer, he feared to much that the dreams would be real. He decided to take a gamble. 

He rose from his pallet and donned light leather gear. In silence, with only his thoughts to turn to, Roul gazed around his sparse tent. With crunching steps he stepped through into the darkness of night. He closed his tent's opening, more out of habit than anything else, but also hoping to keep anyone from preemptively learning of his escape, should he be gone long. The night's sand hid his departure from those whom might be spying about.

Across the midnight dunes he traveled, at a time when all but the oddest creatures slept. The sand was untiring in it's constant wave, an ocean of stinging pellets. The Qiraji never slept either, it seemed their tireless work to undermine the efforts of all mortals progressed at all hours, and Roul pondered if they had a chance in this war.

Briefly, Roul stopped to wondered what he was really doing. What would he do if he actually went through with this and plumbed into that tunnel? How would he find her? What would he say?

Mentally, he pushed those thoughts aside. He focused merely on getting himself safely across the sands, a harder to do task than it is spoken, for the Qiraji are ever-vigilant. And never merciful. But it was night, and he was dressed lightly, so he eluded the wary eyes.
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The cave's mouth loomed open, the ominous jaws of fate awaiting Roul to swallow him into their game. With cautious steps he tread into the gaping opening. Darkness engulfed him, a cold blanket that brought out the deepest fears. His hand guided him through memory and feeling, the pulsing wall his guide and guard.

He made it through unmolested by Silithid, all the way to the crossroads. At that point he could hear a noise, echoing from the direction of the circular chamber. Curiosity got his better. Roul's soft steps began to guide him into that hallway, and briefly he wondered if that was smart. He shrugged the thought away, deciding it was better than nothing to follow the sound.

At the mouth to the altar chamber, Roul almost turned back in disgust. The room was bathed in the warm orange glow coming from the walls. Inside was the source of the noise. Aeris was having sex with the Brood Father. A tentacle pumped inside her, stretching the skin of her stomach where it ended. Her juices dribbled down the mandible, electing double, conflicting emotions from Roul.

The segmented tube shoved through her, producing a squelching noise, and scattering various fluids all around. Aeris had one hand on her breasts, the other one positioned just above her opening, rubbing in time with the thrusts. Her moan was loud enough to wake the dead inside that chamber, Roul thought. He seethed with anger, he hated the Father with a passion, for Aeris was HIS, not the Brood Father's. The more he watched the creature take Aeris, the more he hated it.

He turned to stalk off, fury roiling inside him. And nearly left, had something not distracted him. One noise made him stop and stay. A different sound than those of the tentacle. A single noise from Aeris. A remark from her mouth.

"Ahn... Roul..." Her gasping moan caught his attention. She was fantasizing of him. Roul was caught off-guard, he wouldn't have pinned her to be the girl who fantasized about him. It didn't reduce his anger, but he stayed, if for no reason than to hear her call his name, something he had missed hearing. The wait proved too tedious, as one can take only so much of watching another man or thing sleep with his woman, and he stole into the room.

Aeris looked up at him and then turned to the Brood Father, a look of almost expectance passed over her face. A clacking, insect type noise slipped from her mouth, the noise many of the Silithid use to communicate. The Brood Father removed himself from her in a very quick motion, almost anti-climactic to Roul, as he had expected some fancy finish, and vanished into the upper reaches of the cavern.

Aeris, laid out on the altar, beckoned Roul with hand and appearance, one of the most seductive motions he had seen from her, a come-hither look and a slow hand motion. He proceeded toward her slowly, ensnared by her beauty, he felt a well of emotions. As he drew near she began speaking to him.

"Roul, oh how I miss you. I must, lest I would not be plagued by these visions of you, Oh! How I wish you would come to me." Her voice was a whisper, tinted with sadness. She thought he was an illusion, a fact Roul wanted to alert her too, but decided against it. He finally reached her.

"Roul, there are many things that I must say to you, things that you'll probably never hear from me, now that I have changed." Her hand caressed his cheek. "I love you, I always have and will. Unfortunately, fate sit not with what the wishes of a girl may be. I want to be with you. But now I must remain here. I cannot ever leave, for I will not leave my children, I can't even fathom the idea. I wish I could explain this unto you. I love my children, despite their abominable lives." She pulled him onto the altar, warmed by her presence. "I wanted to tell you this Roul, but I couldn't. I felt betrayed by those at the camp. I felt terrified at seeing you again as I am." she gestured toward herself. The chitin had been hidden, and now reformed slightly, only to vanish once more, a smoky flash.

He said nothing, only kissed her, his warm lips meeting her wanting ones. His willingness and her acceptance. With that move, they both were trapped in a snare of their own device. They took off from there. Her voice was more filled with life than before, it seemed to Roul, even though it was muffled as their tongues dueled one another, in a battle sensuality. Her breasts leaked milk, which his hands worked out of her, and smeared across her body.

Aeris's body was already warmed up, cunt wet and sweat dotted across her flesh. He mounted atop her, firm grip on her shoulders, legs wrapped around her waist, eyes locked with hers, and began thrusting. This time, he caused the squelching noise, and she was not fantasizing. He pumped away at her, hoping that she might change her mind, and leave with him. Hoping that he might erase the touch of that monster

Their moans syched, till a cry of ecstasy burst forth from both simultaneously. Sweat poured off them profusely, pooling on the altar and dribbling into the sand. Hot air was traded from mouth to mouth, their lips locked, tongues wrestled, hands gripped hands. Roul gave a final thrust.

Aeris and Roul relaxed on top of each other. Arms and legs tangled together in a fusion of passion and flesh. Their breath mingled, faces staring at each other, Roul thought he could see in her eyes the desire to stay with him, the need to have him, but she could not have him and the children, she knew this. Her hand caressed his face once more. Body snuggled up to his.

"You're the best illusion yet." She murmured into his ear. Her voice was a murmur, exhausted sounding. Her eyes were an almond color, deep wells of various emotions, and were locked with his. Her now short hair stuck to her, soaked with sweat.

He stood up and walked a bit away from her, head hung low, and retrieved his clothes, so lost was he in the heat of the moment, he hadn't seen her remove them. "Come with me, Aeris." He pleaded, hopeful face turning to gaze upon her form, sad eyes peering in to hers.

"I can't Roul, however much I desire too, I can't leave my children! I could not bear it!" A tear slid down a red-flushed cheek.

"I will have you Aeris." He looked at her longingly, voice spoken with absolute resolve, the voice of the man making the future, and stalked off into the cavern, feeling his way into the waning night. Swirling sand buffeted him as he dressed, clinging to his wet body.

Aeris stared where he had vanished through, and a thought dawned on her. With astounding speed, she leapt up and sprinted after him. She cried out, "Wait! Wait!" But he wasn't there. Into the outside she bolted, but only swirling sand greeted her. "You weren't an illusion..." She mumbled, face softening as she stared into the night. "Roul, don't come back like that, next time I may not be able to say no. And I can't bear that choice." She whispered to the wind, "Just, don't threaten this existence... Please... For all our sakes. I can't let you harm my children, nor take me."

Back inside, the Brood Father loomed in the chamber. His tentacle was already awaiting her. With a twinge of sadness, she returned to the altar, and Aeris fantasized once more of the man she could never have, with a tentacle she never wanted inside her. She felt hopeless.

At the base camp, the general scowled at the approaching Roul. "A scout saw you leave your tent." He glared with an agitated face. "So, what seemed so important you had to vanish in the middle of the night?" His armor was still on, Roul vaguely wondered if he somehow slept in it, but its spikes would've made that quite difficult.

"I went to see Aeris." He was too tired to lie, all he knew was that he had a plan and needed to execute it soon. His eyes lazily eyed the general, noting his obvious anger. But his mind was off of that, he was formulating the details of his plot.

"Well, I hope it was worth it. You may never get another chance to see her!" The general seethed, he despised disobedience greatly. A thick green hand clutched into a fist, veins pulsing.
 
"Maybe not. I've got a plan to cripple and eventually destroy the Hive down there." His voice was filled with resolution. His eyes were stone set. People had begun to trickle out of tents as the morning dawned upon them. They eyed the event occurring before them with sleep clogged senses, and groggy looks. Roul ignored them and focused on the general.

"Well?" The General demanded, "You going to let the suspense kill us?" His angry face had shifted to a curious one. He looked Roul over with a scanning eye. His green fist relaxed and he regarded those around him with an acknowledging nod. They returned the greeting.

"First, we must capture the Brood Mother. She's obviously pumping out tons of larvae, as the hive has grown exponentially. After that, we keep her away for a while, rile up the Silithid. Then, we'll taunt the Brood Father, kill some of his children, burn around the cave. Then, when he shows his ugly mug, we spear him. Destroy the whole cave." Roul's eyes glinted maliciously, their green seeming more fel than normal.

The general returned his dark look with a steely one, eyes portraying his idea of considering this. With a quick look about him, the general decided that Roul's plan would be their course of action. "But first, get some rest Roul. You'll be leading it on the morrow."

He drifted to sleep with thoughts of what he would be doing the next day. Thoughts of his returned love. Thoughts of revenge. Thoughts of success. And dreams of wonderful things. Dreams of having Aeris in his arms once more.