Sell you a Bridge chapter 143 (Patreon)

New Genesis December 30th 2010 8:00 PM EDT

Traveling  on the surface of New Genesis was weird. Half the time we were bored  out of our minds and had to entertain each other talking, the other half  we were running for our lives from horrifying freakish bug monsters so  terrifying even I didn't want to mess with them. I was still a ways out  from being able to get us that Whiz Wagon thing, so we were hoofing it  for the most past, though Wally and I also carried our respective  girlfriends as much as possible given our notable advantage in raw  speed.

After more than a week  traveling together though we were all getting much more comfortable  around each other. I had to admit that part of me was pretty sure we  were using Wally as a substitute for Reggie because out group dynamic  felt off without him. Still, the redhead was a blast to have along on a  road trip and a genuinely funny guy and the longer we were around him  the more I hoped he and Artemis worked things out. Occasional monster  beast aside, the whole trip really did kind of feel like a camping trip.

I'd  used my phone secretly a few times to grab some survival gear, some  food, and various other supplies, blowing through a thousand points  between supplies and travel. Luckily my spatial ring was pretty much the  perfect excuse for conjured items as long as we were careful not to let  Wally see them showing up. I pulled things out of it all the time, so  when a random tent with a bedroom in it showed up, or a machine that  converted raw materials into delicious meals, there was no reason to  question where it came from.

Today  was nice enough. The trees had become sparser, letting in actual  sunlight, which seemed to make the horrifying bug monsters less likely  to attack. We were all walking at the moment, because we tried to save  carrying the girls for when we needed to run from a monster or had  confirmed we would be safe for the next while. However, as we made our  way into a particular clearing, I froze. The others stopped on a dime,  trusting my sense. Zee sidled in close, whispering to me. "What's wrong?  Is it another bug beast?"

It  wasn't. I hadn't sensed one of those for days. I could sense something  though, a new aura I didn't recognize. Or rather quite a few of them. I  tried my best to keep my voice casual. "Nah, nothing like that. I think  we might have some new friends to say hi to is all. No reason to be  anything but calm." I hoped my tone conveyed the mood I was trying to  communicate. The auras I felt seemed on edge and potentially violent. I  absolutely did not want to fight anything native to this planet after  meeting the bug things.

Luckily  they also seemed intelligent enough to watch us and try to puzzle out  what we wanted instead of just jumping us. I stepped out into the  clearing, pitching my voice low enough to be nonthreatening but not so  low that nearby listeners couldn't hear me. "Hello? Is anyone out there?  We don't mean any harm." I kept my eyes focused straight ahead as I  spoke, doing my best to look between the groups of auras I could see  without making it obvious that I was doing it on purpose.

No  response. I gave it a minute and then looked to my friends. "Ok, guess  there isn't anyone there after all, my bad." I winked, making sure my  head was turned away from the woods where the auras were gathered. I saw  their heads all nod slightly, proving they got it, and then we started  forward again, pretending to be oblivious. I raised my voice a bit, just  so they would know we were talking. "So, Zee any ideas for what you  want to do for new years? As far as I can tell it's tomorrow."

Her  voice at a perfectly normal pitch, and clearly not acting, she  immediately responded. "Sex." I stopped and turned to stare at her, a  bit surprised to see her being so blunt. I knew she'd been pent up but  she was usually a bit more discrete about our sex life. At least when we  weren't in the actual process of engaging in it. She shrugged. "What?  It's been over a week, and before that we took like a month of for your  meditation. I mean sure, I'd love to kiss you at midnight and be all  sappy and romantic too, but a girl has needs. I want my tonsils tickled  from the bottom."

Artemis  burst out laughing, ignoring her boyfriend's distinctly uncomfortable  look. Which I suspected had more to do with how hot it was when Zee  talked like that than any prudishness. My best friend wiped the corner  of one eye. "Oh gods, I needed that. I'm a bad influence on you baby  girl and I love it." She shot her own boyfriend an appraising look,  chewing her bottom lip. "Also not against that plan. We can split up a  bit and have some fun. The sending stones can't reach home but they  still work between us."

I  actually had no reservations about that plan at all. I'd been pretty  pent up myself, and clapping my girlfriends thick juicy cheeks in the  woods for new years sounded like paradise to me. She could obviously  tell too because she shot me a smug little smirk and a wink of her own. I  laughed. "Ok then, tomorrow night we'll give each other some alone  time. Though maybe Zee can make us some sound dampeners or something?  They won't affect the sending stones and I have literally no desire to  hear my surrogate sister hit a high C on her back."

Wally  threw his hands up, his face almost as red as his hair. "Oh my god do  you guys have to be so gross about everything." He couldn't meet any of  our eyes and it was hard to hold in the giggles. We'd noticed Wally was,  despite his flirtatious nature, uncomfortable with blunt talk about  sex. We'd made sort of a game out of trying to get him to break by  making the lewdest comment possible. As soon as he said anything both  girls threw up their hands with a groan, glaring at the redhead.

I  however, whooped with glee, pretty much forgetting our wood dwelling  stalkers. "Fuck yes!" Wally looked confused as I stalked over to the  girls, holding out my hands as both of them coughed up some of the more  delicious berries we'd found on the walk. My aura sight made finding  edible food easy, but some things tasted better than others. I collected  the mouth watering delights as I turned to the redhead. "Sorry about  that. We had a pool going about who would get you to crack and say  something first."

His  jaw dropped in shock and Artemis snickered a bit. "Sorry babe, but you  kept wincing so cutely whenever one of us made a euphemism or crude  joke. It started out as just trying to make you flinch a bit but then  kind of spiraled. It was just a joke I promise. If it helps we have  almost no boundaries anyway because bright eyes over there screams like a  banshee during sex. Seriously, I know things about their sex life I can  never unhear, so it's only fair that you join in my torment."

Wally  rolled his eyes a bit but I could see from his aura that he wasn't  offended. The guy could take a joke, and that's clearly what this was.  There was a reason I liked him after all. Despite that, he narrowed his  eyes at all of us. "You realize of course, that this means war?" We all  grinned as he declared his intention to prank us all back. It was the  reaction we'd been hoping for. Especially me since my ninja powers made  sneaking up on me or getting me in a trap impossible.

All  I had to do was keep up a bit of vigilance and enjoy the constant  terror the girls were subjected to by the revenge seeking speedster. It  was kind of nice really. Having enough faith that we would get out of  this to feel comfortable ragging on each other like that. Sadly, all  good things must end, however, because apparently our mystery peeper got  tired of waiting and suddenly, we weren't alone anymore. Suddenly there  was a woman standing in front of us. She appeared out of nowhere like a  ghost (and I should know) but that wasn't the most shocking thing about  her.

Wally  raised his hand in a mockery of a kid asking a question in a classroom.  "Um? Does anyone else see a naked woman standing in front of us?" When  we all signaled that we did he exhaled in relief. "Oh good, I thought it  might just be me." He wasn't the only one confused. The woman in front  of us was...well, gorgeous. I was taken but I still enjoyed a good view  and this lady was a nine out of ten. Tall and lithe with olive skin  covered in colorful tattoos and absolutely physics defying tits that had  to be E cups and completely defied gravity.

I  admit it, I stared a bit, at least until Zee elbowed me in the ribs. I  winced and glared at her but she just arched an eyebrow. I rolled my  eyes and focused on the newcomer. "Hello. I'm Morgan, what's your name?"  I didn't speak slowly or louder than usual because neither of those  helps people understand a language if they don't speak it and I always  hate in movies when people do it. Luckily, I didn't need to because one  of my least utilized and most interesting devil abilities chose that  moment to rear its head.

Devils,  for whatever reason, can speak any language. Well, no, that wasn't  accurate. We spoke our own language, the passive ability "Language" just  translated it into understandable speech for anyone hearing it and vice  versa. Still, even the appearance of being able to speak their dialect  seemed to stun the beautiful woman, whose aura suddenly seemed much less  hostile. I was pretty glad of that because I could sense a shit ton of  power from her and I really didn't want to have to fight her.

Her  body hummed with natural energy, especially the gems seemingly embedded  in her flesh. She raised one delicate eyebrow and spoke, her words  sounding like English to me. "You speak our tongue? Not even all of the  City Gods bother with such respect. Why do you traverse our wilds? We do  not appreciate uninvited guests, even those who pay us the courtesy of  learning our tongue." I had to bite down to prevent myself from making a  joke about learning her tongue that would have gotten me on the bad  side of both the native woman and my girlfriend, but I managed.

I  shook my head. "We didn't come here on purpose. We ended up stranded  here and we're trying to make our way to the City. I don't suppose you  have some means of reaching there more quickly?" Judging by her comment  about the City Gods I somehow doubted the two peoples were close, so  unfortunately we were most likely on our own in terms of transport to  the golden continent.

To  my surprise she gave me a sharp smile. "Perhaps. Why don't you return  with us to our home and discuss it." I got a very unpleasant feeling  from that smile, which unfortunately was almost immediately confirmed as  dozens of the natives came pouring from the trees to appear encircling  us. Her smile pulled into a baring of teeth. "Please. We insist."  Somehow, that didn't seem like it was going to end well. Shit.