The Great Escape Chapter 8, Part 5 of 9

The Great Escape
Chapter 8, Part 5 of 9

It was a running start from the line halfway up the beach. Belena shouted, "Go!" and nine naked women ran down to the sea and dived in. They all swam breaststroke. It was a close finish: Devon won by two lengths over Kalyndra, who was out of practice. Cressi came third, and Elinor, Salema, and Thalassa were tied in fourth place.

Next, the women had to dive from the raft to the sea floor to retrieve colored stones. Devon won again. The third contest was holding breath underwater. Kalyndra won this, staying submerged nearly a minute longer than anyone else. The fourth contest was swimming as far as possible underwater toward the next raft. Kalyndra had a natural talent for holding her breath. She came first, Devon was second, and Cressi was third. Elinor, Salema, and Thalassa again vied for fourth place.

The women returned to the beach to rest before the final event, a long-distance race to the island. This would decide the contest; Kalyndra's lack of practice seemed to favor Devon. Ferne, who had given Ezra a running commentary on the whole contest, was on the edge of her seat, wholly engrossed in her daughter's competition.

While the women stretched or rested, Belena came over to speak to Ezra:

"Can you swim?" she asked.

"Yes, Madam."

"Then I have a challenge for you. Take part in the final race and, if you win, I will let you choose your bedmates.

If you lose, then I will choose them for you."

Belena was very confident when Ezra hesitated, which he did because, though he was a capable swimmer, he was not sure he could beat Devon or Kalyndra, who were expert and very swift. Yet he was naturally brave and didn't care who chose his bedmates.

Ezra stripped down to his shorts and stretched for a few minutes before joining the competitors on the start line.

Some of the matrons also stripped off and joined the race.

The island was half a mile across the bay. It would be sensible to follow the line of fishing rafts in case anyone got cramped or needed a rest.

Belena shouted "Go" again, and, this time, fourteen women and one man ran down to the sea, some yelling for joy, the more serious saving their breath for a challenging swim. They all waded in amid noisy splashes, some trying to swim too early, others lifting their legs high, trying to run further into the surf than they needed, wasting precious seconds.

Devon and Kalyndra had already dived in, but Ezra took a few more steps before judging it deep enough for him also to try swimming. He did a belly flop, put his head down, and kicked hard while pulling firmly with his arms. Snagging at first on the sand, he kicked hard again and soon was buoyant and making good progress.

He turned his head to breathe every two strokes until he had established a rhythm and reduced it to a breath every three strokes.

Not wanting to waste time looking to see how far behind the leaders he was, he concentrated on keeping his rhythm and breathing. His strokes were slower now, and he kicked only twice for every arm pull. He knew he could easily keep up the upfront crawl at this pace despite being so out of practice.

Plowing on, he looked up only to check he was going in the right direction, parallel to the line of rafts. He thought it odd that no one was directly beside him but thought perhaps they were taking a different line, knowing more about the currents than he did.

With the fourth raft just ahead, he was halfway to the island. It was an excellent place to rest and see where his competitors were. He trod water and looked up. There was no one in front of him at all. Turning around, he saw a flock of bobbing heads far behind. As far as he could tell, they all swam breaststroke.

It came as a revelation to him that none of the Mariners knew front crawl. There was something valuable he could teach them. Ezra marveled at how his luck had held for so long, giving him many easy victories. After catching his breath, he struck out for the island and rested in the shade of a palm tree when the first of the Mariners arrived.

Devon was next, followed shortly by Kalyndra, Cressi, Salema, and Thalassa. The rest arrived in a bunch. They all had the same thing to say: Ezra was mobbed by fourteen naked women amazed at his front crawl, demanding he teach them the stroke. He was happy to do so, of course, and promised to give them all lessons.
Thus agreed, they swam slowly back to the shore to be greeted by a big lunch, set out, and ready for the exhausted swimmers. The vital matter of explaining the front crawl dominated the meal, but a different important matter became pressing after lunch. Belena announced her challenge to Ezra, triggering an animated discussion, which died down only when she spoke again:

"Well, Ezra, I'm impressed with your swimming. You've won the right to choose your bedmates. So, whom do you choose?"

"Madam," he replied, "you know Kalyndra has already been my bedmate. Do you object if we remain bedmates?"

"Of course, I don't object! She can do whatever she wants. So can any of my women, who are of age."

There was an interesting difference between the Woodlanders and the Mariners. Mirselene was petrified of jealousy and, at first, strictly licensed Ezra's bedmates, but she would never dream of calling the Woodlanders "my women."

"For the four weeks of my stay," Ezra said, "I choose Kalyndra and the first three competitors to finish: Devon, Cressi, and Salema, in the order they finished."

"Very well. Devon, if you want to, you are with Ezra this week."

Some in the crowd cheered, and Devon's friends congratulated her, but the girl remained indifferent. Faithful to his task, Ezra glanced at Calliope's reaction. He could have chosen Thalassa, who came fourth, so he thought it was odd that Calliope looked more concerned, not less.

The tribe had a lazy afternoon at the beach, sunning themselves and running into the sea when they got too hot. Ezra was not used to direct sunlight and didn't much care for the heat, so he sat under a tent roof and chatted to Belena and Ferne. Kalyndra sat nearby, getting up occasionally to offer them fresh water. Again, he got the sense of two factions: the group he was present with and another group centered around Calliope, who sat beside the oldest Mariner, Yolande, Elinor's mother, and Philippa, Devon's mother. Their daughters, Elinor, Devon, and Thalassa, lay in the sun nearby.

It was a lovely day. Waves lapped at the beach, and the soft wind blew dusty sand over their feet. In the late afternoon, small white clouds gathered on the horizon as the shadows lengthened. In the late afternoon, they packed up to go home. Before the night rain arrived, there were some chores: bringing in the dried fish, collecting the salt, and building up the permanent fire in the stove to last the night.

Kalyndra fetched a bucket of clean water to take into Ezra's hut. He followed her inside to talk to her.

"Kali," he said, "can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"You know why I asked Belena if we can be bedmates?"

"Yes, but we're not jealous like the Woodlanders. You can have any of us, any time you want."

"So, I see. Belena might want me to try with women I've never been with. After all, you might already be pregnant."

"I'm not."

"I'm sorry. Well, we'll be lucky this month.

"We won't be. Ezra, I should have told you, but the subject has yet to come up. I can't have children."

She said it so matter-of-factly that it seemed she felt nothing, but he was sure it was the opposite. He sat her on the bed and put his arm around her.

"How do you know?" he asked. "Just because we've failed together. What if you went to the Cloner City?"

"I've been to the Cloner City."

"You have?"

"Yes, a year ago."

"What happened?"

"They tried, but it didn't work. It doesn't always work, but you only get one chance."

"Please tell me everything."

She paused for a while to keep her feelings steady. She had no right, she thought, to burden him with her problems.

"You know the Cloners have Cloning Kits?"

"So, I've been told. They were for some domestic animals, but now they're used for people."

"The kits have testers, chemicals, plastic jars, and an applicator. They started a few weeks before my period, taking a tiny piece of skin from one of my nipples. When it was nearly a week before my period, they took blood tests, one a day, until it was the right time when they used the applicator on me. It squirted something inside me, and then I was told to wait, but nothing happened. I had my period, as usual."

"So why didn't they try again?"

"They said because there are a limited number of kits."

"I'm so sorry, Kali, but maybe we'll have better luck together."

"I don't think so. We've been bedmates for two months already."

"Don't be disheartened," he said, getting up. "My other bedmates have been very lucky. I'm confident we'll also be lucky together - and nothing will ever stop us trying."

She smiled for his sake, saying:

"I don't mind. I'm not one of those women who must have a child."

"But you don't not want children?"

She parsed the sentence and smiled.

"Yes, I would like a child."

"Good. And you have answered one of my puzzles about the Mariners."

"What puzzle?"

"Why is Gerta, younger than you, at the Cloner City? I thought it might be preferential treatment by Belena for her daughter."

Kalyndra was shocked.

"Using cloning for preferential treatment? No, Belena would never do anything like that! No one would. I don't think the Cloners would allow it. No tribe would send a younger woman to Cloner City if there were an older one to go first. Why did you think that, Ezra?"

Ezra had forgotten that Kalyndra didn't know of Mirselene's suspicions regarding the Mariners.

"I'm sorry, it was a stupid assumption. I forget how ignorant of Samothean customs I still am."

They let the matter rest and, as it was almost time for the night rain, went to say goodnight to everyone. Most women were milling around the campfire, chatting about the day's events. He looked around for Devon. She hadn't spoken to him since before lunchtime when he chose her as his first bedmate. He didn't know if she accepted him or not. She wasn't there.

Belena called to Ezra from across the campfire, reminding him to give the whole tribe swimming lessons the following day. Then she went to bed, which was the cue to the others to turn in. Ezra took a last look for Devon but couldn't see her. He did see Calliope looking at him and smiled at her.

She smiled thinly back and turned away.

In his hut, Ezra washed, cleaned his teeth, and stripped. As he felt his way to the bed, he heard the cloth curtain over the door swish open. Devon stepped inside. She carried a long, lighted taper that she stuck into the ground near the door. Then she turned to face him. She'd been to bathe in the river and put her short leather skirt and jacket back on while she was still wet. The thin light of the taper reflected off her dripping hair and damp thighs, picking out her curves as she stood, arms at her sides. Her sad face was framed by long, straight brown hair that faded into the shadows.

Ezra had thought Devon was the most timid woman he'd ever met, more so than any of the shy Woodlanders.

He hadn't been sure she even wanted to be his bedmate, yet here she was, gazing at his naked body, biting her lower lip.

"Hello, Devon."

"Hello."

"Would you like to talk..."

He didn't finish the question because she took a forceful step and jumped onto him, holding on tightly to his shoulders, wrapping her strong legs around his waist, and planting her mouth on his.

She kissed well, full of lust, turning her mouth until she found the angle she liked best, then using her tongue, running her fingers through his hair. He put his hands under her skirt to help hold her up.

They kissed like this, getting a taste for each other, getting turned on. His cock was soon hard and pressed against her buttocks. She began to buck her pelvis, rubbing her naked pussy against his stomach.

He turned and made to lay her down on the bed, but she pulled her mouth away to say, "Not like this."

She wanted him to stay standing. They kissed again. She rubbed her pussy up and down his belly, using him to build her arousal until she was ready.

She reached down, grabbed his cock, and angled it upward, pulling away with her pelvis, ready to launch. This time, he broke the kiss to whisper in her ear:

"It may hurt."

"It won't," she said and pushed herself onto him, enveloping his cock in a swift, sure movement. She was tight but soaked, and he slipped in. She felt his heavy, hot breath as she pumped herself against him with her muscular thighs.

She had fantastic stamina, thrusting hard and doing all the work. He wanted to help, to slow her down and last longer, but she kept up her rhythm. So he stood there, legs apart, a hot girl clinging to him, bucking her pelvis, her tight pussy massaging his stiff cock, not sure if he was fucking or getting fucked, but quickly rising to a climax.

She moaned quietly in her throat, her head back, her eyes shut. Ezra was sweating, the sweet rub on his cock building him up.

She leaned back to increase the angle, and now he helped, steadying her with solid arms under her back. She pumped the last dozen thrusts that brought him over the edge. He groaned and shook, splurging his cum into her, gripping her tightly until the spasm passed.

He tried to lie her down on the bed. He didn't know if she had cum and was going to play with her clitoris to bring her off, but she resisted again. For some reason, she wouldn't have him lie to her. Instead, she got him to sit on the edge of the bed and sat facing him on his lap, his cock still in her pussy.

There was no after-play, but she clung to him until she was rested when she got up, stripped off her clothes, and wiped away the cum that had leaked down her thigh. She rinsed her hands in the bucket, snuffed the taper, and climbed into the bed. She had barely spoken to him. It was clear she wanted sex in exactly her way and none other, but she was happy to snuggle against him for warmth, turning so he could hold her.

He didn't want to say too much with such a silent lover, but he had to say something.

"You were wonderful, Darling," he said.

"Mmm. Good night, Ezra Goldrick," she replied, wriggling her back against him, holding his arm to her chest.

A few hours later, while Ezra was sleeping, Devon snuck out of bed, carefully trying not to wake him. She left the hut via several loose panels in the rear wall. It was bad luck for her that Ezra woke up just as she left the bed. He also noticed when she returned an hour or so later and got back into bed, but he said nothing, assuming it was none of his business.

The next day, when the morning chores were done, Ezra taught most of the tribe swimming lessons. He started them off lying on the sand, doing the front-crawl motion, coordinating their arms and legs. Then he took them into the sea, supporting each woman in turn under her waist while she practiced the stroke.

Holding naked women in his arms had the usual biological effect, and he stayed in the deep water long after the girls were off swimming, watching their progress and waiting for his erection to die down.



To be continued