The Great Escape Chapter 4, Part 4 of 6

The Great Escape
Chapter 4, Part 4 of 6

The boy looked up, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Doctor Goldrick, I've not finished," he mumbled.

"Well, that's all right," she said, "we've run out of time anyway. You can send me your work later."

She stood to walk around the class, collecting the students' projects on data cubes in case she wanted to double-check their work later.

"Well, this brings the lesson and the term to an end. Next term, Professor Jenkins will join an advanced study group on exotic matter, which I recommend. Thank you for being such good company and working so hard."

There was a murmur of thanks in response, and then the class broke up. Only Li remained, locked onto his computer, frowning in an ever-more puzzled way at the display.

Danielle turned to her computer and started making notes on her copy of Rosa's program. When she finished, she noticed Li was still there.

"Aren't you going to lunch?" she asked him.

"Er, yes, Doctor, presently. May I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"You gave us the star-map coordinates, but have you seen the latest data from nearby Samothea?"

"As it happens, I looked at the star map for Samothea just four days ago."

"Oh, then it must be a problem with my calculations. ... I'm sorry I didn't complete the task in time."

"That's quite all right. It wasn't an exam, and you have done outstanding work this term, which is more than enough to earn credit for the course. Please don't worry."

I wasn't worried about the credit but about his calculation errors. His virtual ship never reached the Samothean system because some nearby anomaly made the hyperspace pathways impossible to navigate. As Doctor Goldrick said, she had checked the star map four days ago when the delayed signal from an old probe had last updated it. He assumed she knew of the anomaly and had considered it for her and the other's calculations.

Only Li's original and untested method failed to calculate the correct route, but he had no idea why.

Unfortunately, Li had been concentrating on his apparent error when Rosa presented her method, and he needed to pay more attention. It was a shame because, had he understood her work and his own, a rescue mission to Samothea might have been possible within the year. As it was, what prevented Li's discovery from coming to Danielle's attention was love. Danielle's shy and lonely young student was desperately in love with her - as she was desperately in love with her boyfriend, Roger.

Danielle had not seen Roger since that night in her apartment with the ritual of Ezra's letter. He had been visiting another university: she had been busy at her job. They did not live together, and they were at that 'honeymoon' stage of the relationship when they ached constantly for each other's touch. Now she was equally excited by Rosa's work and horny for her boyfriend. Sex won. What she wanted more than anything was for Roger to be here, holding her, kissing her, driving his stiff cock deep into her.

With Li now gone, Danielle sent Roger a message. Roger's communicator flashed while he was studying in the university library, his blond head a human cupola over a castle of books.

I've got an itch, it read.

Where? He typed in reply.

What do you think?

I mean, where are you?

Trinity College, Astronomy dept., room 4.

On my way.

Be quick, or I'll take matters into my own hands.

Roger packed his communicator and reading glasses into his case but left the open books on the table. He hurried out of the library into the cold wind, which blew rain and hail from the North Sea across the fens and into the unprotected faces of hapless Cambridge folk on a dank winter's day. He made his way quickly to Trinity College, passing through the Great Gate with its statue of Henry VIII.

In Roger's opinion, a benefit of the scouring wind was that it was gradually eroding the face of the gross monarch. He called his ritual greeting to the statue:

"Another hundred years, and your face will just be a memory, you syphilitic old bastard!"

A point made for the Good Old Cause, Roger's long legs brought him swiftly to the entrance of the science building, where he caught up with a student. It was Li Qu Yuan who politely held the door for him. Roger ran inside and sprinted up the stairs, three at a time, finding Danielle's classroom by lust-filled instinct. From the door to her arms, there were only five reasonable steps, and then his mouth was on hers, his arms around her waist.

"I have an itch as well now," he said, his voice rasping. "Where can we go?"

"The broom cupboard, if we're quiet," she whispered.

Roger threw his coat and jacket aside, and kissing wildly, they bundled themselves into the storage room with the quaint, anachronistic name. He pushed her against the door, his hard cock upright against her belly. They breathed heavily, fumbling to loosen their clothes without breaking the kiss. Her skirt soon dropped to the floor, followed by his trousers. The buttons of her blouse were quickly undone, and she released her bra. He cupped a warm breast and held its erect nipple between his finger and thumb. With his other hand, he grasped a perfect buttock.

She lifted her leg over his hip and began pushing her pelvis against his, her hands under his shirt, holding his shoulders.

Roger broke the kiss to pull her bra down and take a mouthful of bountiful tit. He suckled joyfully while she moaned with her head held back. He put a hand between her legs and dipped a fingertip into her slit to feel her moisture. She closed her eyes and dug her nails into his shoulders as he teasingly ran his fingertip along her labia.

With his fingers nicely lubricated, he began to rub circles on her clitoris to match the circles he was licking on her nipple. She moaned deep in her throat, making pelvic thrusts in a slow rhythm. He started sucking on her other tit and sped up rubbing her clit, now dragging his fingers across from side to side.

She closed her eyes and held him tightly.

"Oh, God! Roger. I need your cock," she whispered.

What she got was his finger pushed into her vagina, his thumb still diddling her clitoris.

"Oh, God!"

He turned up his fingertip and thrust at double speed. Danielle had been horny for days but had not sought any relief. It was no wonder she came so quickly. "Oh! Fuck!" she cried and went weak at the knee. Roger didn't stop working on her pussy, however, and pretty soon, she had the electrical sensation again on her clit and in her vagina. She collapsed, juddering. Roger had to let her breast go to hold her up.

She recovered quickly, and they kissed again. He hooked her leg back over his hip. She helped him position his taut cock against her soaking vulva. They pushed together, and she sighed with the pleasure of being filled up.

They fucked standing, trying but failing to remain silent. He thrust deeply into her, and she met his every thrust.

Her tight muscles massaged his cock, giving her the delightful sensation of being stretched. His heavy breathing and her sweet moans filled the cupboard as they rose toward their peaks. He thrust faster, pushing Danielle's back hard against the door with every long, energetic stroke.

They didn't care who heard them now, but it was a race to the finish line. The door rattled on its hinges in the final frantic minute of fucking, as they banged each other hard to reach a shuddering moment of climax together. His cock throbbed as he squirted his juice deep into her pulsating snatch. Breathing heavily in unison, their hearts thumped in their chests.

Winding down from their peaks was sweet and tender. He held her tightly and whispered the exact words of love he had grunted incoherently while they screwed.

They dressed each other slowly and tried their best to straighten Danielle's hair before peeking out from the slightly opened door to see if they could leave the broom cupboard unobserved.

She collected her books in the classroom, and he picked up his coat and jacket. Danielle noticed a data cube next to her computer. Thinking she must have forgotten to put it away before, she flung it into her bag. Taking Roger's arm, they left the classroom, hoping no one would notice the glow of satisfaction on their faces.

Outside, on the steps of the college entrance, they kissed chastely, and Roger returned to the library while Danielle went back to her job.

The data cube belonged to her student, Li, not Danielle's. After class, he went to the refectory to discuss his program over coffee. He was convinced his program worked but knew it was unlikely Rosa and Dr. Goldrick had the wrong results. The small part of Rosa's presentation he had heard was that her ship emerged from hyperspace about half a light-year from Samothea. Given his method and data, that was impossible.

I struggled with the problem, running the program repeatedly on his computer and then giving it up. He decided he would hand Dr. Goldrick his project, which was complete with its errors. Maybe she could tell him where he had gone wrong. He left the refectory and crossed the quad back to the science building, holding the door open for a tall man in a raincoat, who rushed into the building and ran up the stairs. I followed at a slower pace, going over in his mind what he would say to Dr. Goldrick.

He wanted to say "I love you," but he didn't know how. It was not that he feared rejection or even being laughed at. He knew she wouldn't laugh at him, comical though his love might seem to her. He feared she would be kind and understanding; she would pat his cheek and say, "You're lovely, but " as though he were only an infatuated teenager. If only he could make her see what he was like inside, she would know he was worthy of adoring her; more than anyone, he understood her brilliance, worshipped her perfection, and thoroughly deserved her.

When he got to the classroom, it was empty except for her coat, bag, books, and computer on a desk. A man's coat and jacket were also idly discarded on another desk, which worried him. I was too shy to call out her name, but he thought waiting for her to return would be polite. He placed his data cube beside her computer on the desk and sat on a stool.

Presently, he thought he heard noises: high-pitched moans and low-pitched grunts. It was coming from behind the door at the end of the room. Despite his shyness, Li approached the door and listened. He heard Danielle's ecstatic cry "Oh! Fuck!" and a man's voice as well. In embarrassment, shame, and anger, he grabbed his coat and bag and ran along the corridor, down the stairs, and into the quad, where cold wind and rain soothed his boiling face. Nothing, however, would lift the stone he felt, crushing his heart.

The following day, Ezra awoke with his usual erection. Angela was in the hut this time, waiting for him to rise.

"Good morning," she said brightly. "Would you like to go for a walk this morning?"

"Yes, I'd like that," he murmured sleepily. Ezra had not yet regained all his strength and was still drowsy in the mornings.

"Good. I'm going to delegate my chores and fetch us some food. I'll be back soon."

Ezra dozed for a few minutes, then swung himself out of bed and struggled with his trousers.

At last, Annela decided to obey Mirselene and get Wildchild and Tamar to do her work while she spent time with Ezra. The girls agreed because they liked Annela and she nursed Ezra so well: they had a proprietary interest in Ezra and approved of anyone who cared for him. They did some short work helping Erin clear the ash from the campfire and lay new logs for the next night.

Ezra managed a private moment at the crapper and was ready for his walk when Annela returned with a basket of provisions he insisted on carrying. He bent down for her to hook the basket over his shoulders, and they wandered into the forest.

They walked in silence at first, enjoying the sounds of the forest as the birds woke up and announced their importance. When Annela began to talk, it was simply to make conversation. She wondered if the plants and animals on Samothea had the same names as on Earth. Ezra knew something about wildlife and thought the names were the same, though there was a greater variety of wildlife on Earth.

He added that one significant difference between an Earth forest and a Samothean one was the age of the trees. No trees were older than one hundred and twenty years, and the forest looked like a plantation, with trees evenly spaced in rows. He described the forests of Earth, some so thick with trees they were impenetrable, and the forest giants: ancient trees hundreds of feet high and dozens of feet in circumference. It amazed Annela, who found it hard to imagine trees so fantastic.

As they walked, they passed trees that the Woodlanders had fallen, many of which were now slowly rotting moss-covered corpses. Others had lost only their bark, and a few were still fresh victims of a strange butchery that left most of the trunk intact but robbed them of their branches. After an hour, they decided they were hungry, so they sat on a convenient tree trunk and fished seed-filled biscuits, apples, and salted pigeons wrapped in leaves from the basket for a hearty breakfast.

Comfortable on the log, Ezra waited for Annela to tell him why she had brought him on this walk. He thought it must be substantial and probably delicate because otherwise, why not tell him when they were alone in her hut?

Annela also realized it was time to speak but needed to figure out how to carry out her plan to seduce Ezra. If he were a woman, it would be simple for her to know if there was any attraction between them. They could sit and work together. The conversation would become intimate, and she would know by what they revealed to each other whether they could be more than friends. Or they would brush each other's hair at the bathing place, and she could tell how she was touched by what the other woman felt about her. But with a man, it was a complete mystery. There were no guidelines, no shared code.

Ezra seemed happy to help her weave but did not want to share intimate details of his life. Touching each other was strictly between the nurse and the patient. She could not read anything into it and wondered if men do not respond to subtle signals. Or the signals the Woodlander women gave Ezra were not nuanced enough.

It was a puzzle, but, as it was Mirselene's plan, Annela intended to use that devious woman's method and approach the subject from an oblique direction rather than head-on as her honest nature would generally have counseled. She started speaking.

"Ezra, do you know what bedmates are?"

"No."

"It's when two people share a bed at night. It's mostly for warmth, but many bedmates are also lovers."

Light dawned on Ezra: he leaped to the obvious conclusion.

"Oh, God! Annela. I had no idea I had displaced your lover. I'll move out, of course. Wildchild and Tamar have a tent. I can borrow that and sleep under one of the awnings."

"Oh, Ezra! I didn't mean that at all! I have no bedmate. I was only trying to tell you about Samothea's customs."

She smiled ruefully and thought it would be the last time she tried using Mirselene's roundabout methods.

"I understand," he said, not understanding. "Sorry to jump to the wrong conclusion."

Now Annela was in a fix. She had planned to lead up to the question of whom Ezra would choose as his bedmate and then tell him that all the Woodlanders would gladly accept him, especially herself, but now she did not know what to say. Luckily, Ezra filled the silence, saying:

"I'm surprised you don't have a bedmate."

Having failed with Mirselene's method, Annela reverted to her usual simple honesty.

"I've had bedmates before. I don't have one at the moment."

"I see. So tell me more about bedmates."

"Well, a girl usually stays with her mother until she is eighteen; then, she can choose a bedmate. I stayed with my mother until nineteen when Dipti invited me to join her. I had always liked Dipti, and I was curious. My mother encouraged  Dipti and me to become bedmates. We were bedmates for about a year."

"On Earth, there are marriages, long-term relationships, and casual relationships," Ezra said, "and lots of heartbreak and jealousy because of them. Is the bedmate custom like that? Do lovers break up and reconcile? Is there jealousy?"

"There are all of those things; though we are such a small tribe, large fights would threaten the whole community, so we manage to contain our jealousy. Mirselene has a keen eye and manages to quell most disputes before they develop into severe disagreements with a quiet word to one or both parties. Sometimes, a nudge or a hint from Casti or Parvinder will do the trick. I don't believe anyone was ever jealous of Dipti and me.

Also, Urulla and I were bedmates for a few weeks early this year. When we broke up, she and Dipti became bedmates, and I was happy for them both."

Ezra remained silent, wondering if she planned to tell him anymore. It was the right thing to do.

"I've had three bedmates in all," she continued: "In between Dipti and Urulla, I shared a hut with Erin. She was a great comfort to me after my mother died."

Ezra waited for her to continue, but she looked down at her feet and said nothing.

"Don't answer if it's painful for you," he said, "but I noticed an age gap between Mirselene and Casti where I assumed your mother ought to have been. Won't you tell me what happened?"

She looked up at him, smiling sadly.

"My mother's name was Freya, and she was the sweetest, gentlest woman I've ever known. Everyone loved her, and she was devoted to the Woodlanders. When she was young, the Mariners tried to entice her away, but she was loyal to our tribe, so she stayed. It troubled her when the Cloners became so distant, and then the Herders became aggressive."

"She fell ill when I was twenty. She had pain in her stomach, and none of our medicines helped her. When our treatments no longer even dulled the pain, she agreed to go to Cloner City for help. Mirselene had to stay, but Casti, Dipti, Dagma, and I started on the journey. Mum had declined quickly, and we couldn't go fast. Normally, it's four days to the Cloner City, but Mum's speed would be at least eight days, and when we had to carry her, it was even slower."

Annela's eyes filled with tears as she told the story.

"We weren't even halfway there when Mum asked to be let down. She didn't want to go any further. She just wanted to sleep."

"We set up a tent to shield her from the sun and made her comfortable. She died later that night in my arms. I wept for days."

She was weeping now. Tears ran in streams down her cheeks, and Ezra's heart broke for her. He laid his hand gently on her shoulder. She grasped it and looked up at him, seeing a face of concern and sympathy. She put her arms around him, laying her head against his chest. She had never held a man before, but some ancient instinct told her there was absolute comfort here. He hugged her.

It was an utterly non-sexual embrace that made her feel warm and protected. She had not felt as safe as this since her mother died. She held him tight as she wept in memory of her mother.

When her tears ran out, she looked up at him and smiled. He let her go. There was more to say.

"I don't think the Cloners could have done anything," Annela admitted, "but Mirselene was very angry on my behalf. In the old days, the Herders might have taken Mum to the Cloner City by horse, but since all this distrust between the tribes had begun, we couldn't contact them directly. Sometimes, I think Mirselene is too insular and blames the other tribes too much, but then I remember how she felt about my Mum, and I understand."

Annela wiped tears from her cheeks and smiled.

"As you can see, I'm not quite over Mum's death. But that's why I broke it off with Dipti. We had a wonderful year together. Dipti is very romantic and passionate, but she cannot comfort me. I felt guilty about leaving Mum and didn't want to be reminded, so I moved back into Mum's hut. Dipti understood and waited for me, but I knew
I was never going back to her."

"Erin was very sympathetic. She helped me, and I loved her, but she had Carlin to raise, so again, I preferred to be on my own. Then, last year, Urulla turned eighteen. She came to me and offered to be my bedmate. I was flattered, especially when everyone smiled and looked happy for us, but my heart wasn't in it, and I knew Urulla could tell, though she never said anything. Anyway, she and Dipti found each other, and I think they are the perfect couple."

There was nothing Ezra could say, but she would remember the sympathy on his face and the warmth of the embrace.

They walked back to the camp in silence. Annela had failed to seduce Ezra this time nor find out his opinion on mating with all the fertile Woodlanders. Still, she had learned something about how chivalrous men treat vulnerable women. She had also given him plenty to think about.

Ezra had fallen for his lovely nurse on his second day as her patient. He had wanted to kiss her all that morning and hoped for his chance on the walk, but Annela's sad tale prevented him. He wasn't a man to take advantage of a woman in distress.

Back at the camp, they met up with the girls. Tamar and Carlin were talking about Wildchild's feat of strength that morning, how she had lifted the bucket of ash on her own, though it usually took two people to carry it. Ezra shared in the praise but was not surprised. He remembered how he had been able to lean on Wildchild when the girls rescued him from the sea, and he could barely stand or walk.

Later that afternoon, Annela set up her loom under the awning and gave Ezra the ball of twine to hold. He helped her weave until it was time to prepare for the feast. She went to wash at the pool and brought a bucket of water back to the hut for him: Ezra was not quite ready to expose himself in his underwear to the entire tribe.

Annela waited outside the hut, drying off in the afternoon sun as Ezra washed. She wore her long shirt instead of her smock but left off the peasant skirt for now, letting the sun bathe her legs. When Ezra was done, she came in to take the bucket back and noticed him rubbing his bad arm.

"What's wrong?"

"I've got an itch."

"Where?"


To be continued