Chapter 8: The Rescue

When Liz woke up she glanced at the clock and noticed it was late. She stretched and yawned and then found Fantine curled up against her. She brushed her hair aside, kissed her forehead and then studied Fantine’s sweet, peaceful face. It had been so long since Liz had ever felt anything like what brewed inside her now. She wondered how it could be that she was so fortunate. She was truly in love.

She laid still, holding Fantine late into the morning until finally deciding to get up and start some coffee. She got a pot started and slipped quietly into the bathroom to take a shower. She soaked herself in the warm spray and thought about Fantine and their fresh relationship. She tried to imagine what their future would be like.

Through the frosted glass of the shower door she watched a sleek, feminine form stretch before the bathroom mirror and then turn face her. She recognized the dark hair and graceful curves. She smiled and reached out to touch the shower door as though painting the image on the glass. She watched the figure sprout a long, red tail and then walk toward her.

Fantine opened the door and warmed Liz with her smile. Liz welcomed her with an embrace. They touched foreheads together and gazed into each other’s eyes. Their smiles said everything.

Liz had always been careful about exposing Charm in the shower (the soap stung so), but as their lips met she slowly pushed it out to join Fantine. Their tails entwined and the moment became a soul kiss.

The rest of their morning was spent in bathrobes either lying in bed or on the sofa with hours of playful banter or heartfelt entreaties. Fondness for each other grew on them as if it was their nature to be lovers and friends. They tried to make an effort toward cooking breakfast but it was useless, they could not keep their hands off each other. Realizing the futility, they decided on venturing out for lunch and then strayed repeatedly while trying to get dressed.

Liz’ strong sense of propriety and order prevailed and they eventually found themselves at a quiet little restaurant beside a stretch of river-walk.

At the restaurant and all through their lunch, Fantine continued in her playful, almost lackadaisical mood but Liz was strictly business.

“I’ll have to sell my car but I can just give away my furniture and clothes,” Liz asserted, she was practically just thinking out loud because Fantine was not really in a planning frame of mind. “That leaves us with just a few boxes to take with us.”

“My boat is waiting for us in San Diego,” offered Fantine, then she gave a mock pout. “Why do you not tell me again how much you love me?”

“Perfect. I’ll tell them I accepted a job in Baltimore,” continued Liz, ignoring Fantine’s playful taunt. “Nobody would dare try to track me down there.”

“If someone, they love you very much, then they search the world for you, eh?”

“Silly girl. Plan now – love later,” Liz chided in acknowledgement of her lover’s plea for attention. She took Fantine’s hand over the table and smiled warmly at her. Lunch was over and they both needed more private time. They agreed to go back to the apartment and curl up together for a nap. They paid the check and eagerly headed back to the car.

She saw him only an instant; an angry face standing in the parking lot. Her only thought had been, ‘Oh, what is he doing here?’ Liz quickly dismissed the incident and her mind turned back to organizing her move and leaving this life for good.

As they approached the car, she released Fantine’s hand and walked around the front of the car to the other side. She never saw the quick movement from the shadows or heard the rushing footsteps. She did hear a shriek and when she looked up she saw the figure of a large man standing in front of Fantine. She saw the blur of motion as the man thrust his arm repeatedly upward against her love’s stomach. She heard gasps as Fantine took the blows.

Fantine slowly crumpled to the ground and over her, the burly attendant from the adult book store stood with a bloody knife clutched in his fist and a furious grimace on his face.

“You think you can fuck with me, bitch,” the man yelled at his prone victim? He looked over at Liz with the same wild glare in his eyes. He pointed the knife at her and growled through clenched teeth, “I got the same for all you bitches.”

Liz froze in shock and fear. Her Fantine was struck down and now she faced the same fate. She was powerless to stop him and simply waited for his rage to spend itself on her.

The man had apparently redeemed whatever anger he had. He glanced down at Fantine and his face melted from rage to fear at what he had done. Instead of attacking Liz he simply thrust his bloodied hand and weapon into his coat pocket, turned and quickly walked away.

Liz recuperated from her shock and rushed around the car to Fantine. When she saw her lover curled up on the ground in a pool of blood she dropped to her knees and cried. She lifted Fantine’s head to her lap and wailed her grief out loud. Her years of medical training and experience fled her. Her conscious mind helplessly retracted at the catastrophe before her.

A witness had seen the entire attack and had called for an ambulance. Within seconds the two women were surrounded by concerned strangers offering sympathy and aid. Liz was inconsolable. She rocked Fantine’s limp form in her arms and called her name but Fantine would not respond.

It was all a blur for Liz; a confusing collage of images and events. Some passed like a blink of an eye, some dragged like torture. Paramedics arrived and tended to Fantine. They put her on a stretcher and Liz rode with her in the ambulance. At the hospital, the emergency room was a flurry of activity and change. Liz was dumbfounded through the entire experience. Covered in blood, she stood helpless and vacant at the side of the chaos and was physically led through the calamity in a horrified daze. At last she was walked into a waiting room and made to sit.

It was quite some time before she climbed out of her stupor and became responsive. Once she had seized reality, her first priority was to find out everything she could about Fantine. She asked the nurse at the desk and was referred to the intensive care wing. When she got to the ICU, she was given the run around and when she found some one who would talk to her the only thing they wanted to know was Fantine’s vital information, her financial status and insurance. Liz resolved herself to sit in the waiting area and wait to speak to her doctor.

It was late afternoon when a man in a lab coat came looking for her. “Hello, I’m Doctor Murray,” He said. “Are you the young lady who came in with our stab victim?”

“Yes. Thank you so much for seeing me, Doctor,” Liz anxiously replied as she rose to shake his hand. “My name is Elizabeth. How is she?”

“I’ll be honest with you, she’s been hurt bad,” replied Dr. Murray in a grave tone. “It doesn’t look good for her. Frankly, ... we’re surprised how well she’s hung on so far.”

Liz choked back a sob. She tried to say something to express her desperation and dire need for his support. “But ... she can’t. We were... “ She was lost in desperation.

“I’m sorry,” Dr. Murray continued. “Does she have any family; anyone else who should be here for her? For you?”

Liz felt stunned, like her emotions had just been tapped dry. “No, ... they’re all dead,” she said in a hollow voice. This news was so terrible. She felt so sad for Fantine; she had so much; she had been through so much. Now, she would lose it all, right when she had finished her long quest. She did not even want to begin probing her own loss; finding love for the first time in four hundred years. She had protected her heart from this for so long and just when she found some one to give her heart to, she was going to lose them again. It was not fair. They had both come so far to find each other and would now lose it all.

“Well, we’ll ... do everything we can for her,” said Dr. Murray, awkwardly fumbling for the right thing to say.

“Can I see her,” she asked, hoping he was painting a worse picture than the situation warranted?

“It will still be a while,” he confided. “She’s still in surgery. We’re waiting for her condition to stabilize. We’ll let you know when you can go in.”

“Thank you, Doctor,” Liz replied. “I know you’ll do your best.” She turned and sat down. She looked bedraggled and tired. She was still covered in Fantine’s blood and shuddered to think what people wondered about her. She broke down and cried.

About an hour later, a nurse summoned Liz to Fantine’s space in the ward. When Liz saw her she was shocked. The bold, courageous girl she met two days ago looked frail, helpless and wasted on the stark hospital bed. Her face was pale, drawn and listless. Her body looked limp and fragile with all the wires and hoses dangling from her. Liz approached her carefully and tried to be brave. She kissed Fantine’s brow and whispered her name; hoping to draw her from her peril. She sat by Fantine’s bed held her hand to her cheek, lulled hypnotically by the steady beep of the cardiac monitor.

It was starting to get dark out when Liz was roused from her lament by the nurse telling her that the police needed to ask her some questions. Two grave looking men were waiting for her in the hallway.

“‘ evening, ma’am,” said the taller of the two men. “I’m detective Yates. This is detective Haney.” Each of the men offered his hand which Liz shook in succession. “We’ve been assigned to your friend’s case, Ms... ?”

“Smith,” offered Liz. The fear of giving her personal information to the authorities was always fresh in her mind.

“Yes, Ms. Smith,” Yates continued. “You were there at the scene. Did you get a good look at your friend’s attacker?”

“I did,” Liz affirmed.

“Do you think you could give us an adequate description, ma’am,” asked Haney?

“I don’t need to,” said Liz with a tinge of vengeance in her voice. “I’ve seen him before. He works as the store attendant at Wicked Wanda’s Pleasure Palace. It’s east on Highway 10, just this side of that big truck stop. He’s tall, dark hair, on the fat side with thick eyebrows and a moustache. He usually works the night shift.”

“You know this for certain,” injected Yates?

“Oh, yes. It was definitely him,” she said. She was thrilled to set that bastard up.

“Is there any particular reason this man might have for attacking your friend,” queried Haney?

Liz knew she might be revealing information that could attract the wrong kind of attention but it was for Fantine. “We were involved in ... an altercation there on Friday night.”

The two detectives looked at each other and then back at Liz. “Altercation, ma’am,” asked Yates?

“He expelled us. Hostilities were exchanged.” She hoped they would not probe any deeper than that. “He kicked us out for ... creating a scene.”

“And you could pick this man out of a line-up if you had to,” Yates pressed?

“Definitely,” she did not want to be the only one in court. “Everybody there saw him.”

“These questions are just part of our investigation,” Yates said. “We hope your friend pulls through but ... if she doesn’t, there’ll be a homicide investigation. Is there anything else you’d like to tell us?”

Homicide - that word brought a pang of fear and dread to her. “No. That’s all. He’s the one. You’ll find him there.” They asked her for her number and address in case they needed her for any more information. Liz gave them a reasonable fabrication and they left.

Liz returned to Fantine’s side. Deep sadness and fear ruled her. If Fantine did die, there would be an autopsy. And if there was, they would surely discover her secret. And that would raise many questions. This situation would quickly become toxically volatile. ‘She must not die! I can’t let her.’ Liz thought. But what could she do?

She poured over her medical knowledge, all of her carefully gathered facts and experience she reviewed to find some way she could help. She even debated revealing Fantine’s nature and deep secret if it might help her treatment.

Then an idea struck her. Fantine had been near death once before. Her jharum pulled her through. It could again, but how? Liz knew what she could do to help. There were many uncertainties. It would be risky but she would have to try. To rescue her love, she would do this and much more. She needed to work fast. She stood up and leaned over the face of her dear Fantine. Fighting back tears, she steeled herself to make this gambit for her life. She kissed Fantine and left.

Outside the hospital, Liz hailed a taxi and rode to her apartment. On the way she quickly worked out a plan of action. She needed a skirt, for ease of access and cover; she needed her car, to move fast and safely; and of course she needed money, for the arcade.

In her apartment, she got out of her bloody clothes and put on a thick flannel shirt and denim skirt. She took off her panties; they would just be a nuisance for what she needed to do. She took a long jacket from the closet and pulled it on. Next, she needed cash. Rummaging through her purse she found some fives and ones; enough to occupy some time. She would be missing her full complement of safety devices but this was an emergency and risks would have to be taken.

For convenience sake she would go to an adult book store near the hospital. She had never visited this one before because it was so close to home. She trusted that it had enough in common with all the other arcades she had been in that her usual technique would not have to be altered too much.

For the second time in a week she was going into an adult video arcade to collect sperm from store patrons. Her plan was to store up a quantity of it within Charm and then, somehow, pass it on to Fantine. There were some holes in her plan but she was desperate and this was her only option. She just hoped with all of her heart that Fantine could hold on until she got there.

A short trip from her apartment down to the main drag and then straight downtown and she was there. She pulled into a seedy looking old brick building at the edge of the warehouse district with a lit yellow sign blaring out the attractions of Books, Videos and XXX Arcade.

It was only yesterday that she had woken to the notion she would never have to visit such a place again but she was back again, this time for Fantine. She took none of her pre-forage liberties to prepare herself for the chore as she usually did. Her time was too short and she lacked any inclination to make this pleasant in any way. She took only a moment to reaffirm her resolve and then stepped out of the car and closed the door. She pushed Charm out as she walked. Charm squished wetly and she stretched it fully before curling it under her butt, ready to strike.

Walking up the stairs to the loading dock entrance she was met by an overweight and unattractive black woman, cheaply under-dressed in a gaudy display of sexual enticement.

“Where you think you’re goin’,” she intoned in a threatening manner?

Liz had no time to exert her rights and simply side stepped the woman.

“Hey! I’m talking to you.” she insisted. “Dis MY co’na!”

“I’m not working,” was Liz’ only reply. The woman was set on making it an issue for her to leave but Liz defused her argument by quickly stepping through the door. ‘Let her try that in here, ‘ she thought.

Inside, Liz was not surprised to see anything she had not seen before in dozens of similar such places. A barely cognizant attendant sat on a stool behind the counter reading a paper and did not even register her entrance. She merely glanced around the room to find where the arcade booths were located. A sign directed her to a dark hallway in the corner. Unlike most of her haunts, this place was virtually deserted – Sunday obviously being a slow night for the porn industry. She reasoned that taking her place in a booth and waiting would not attract suitors if there were none around to witness her presence. She needed to wait.

It was not too long before a young man stepped out of one of the booths and then almost froze in shock at the sight of a lone female standing in the fantasy realm of male longing. Liz hoped he had not already spent himself. Regardless, she needed him. She smiled at him and held him in her gaze, a very provocative maneuver but especially for this venue. At first, he seemed to be caught off guard like a deer in the headlights, then his expression melted into one of disbelief, but once he figured out that he was being propositioned with little or no likelihood of misinterpretation he boiled over into a look of hungry lust. This was something Liz could control easily.

Never relenting her wanton smile, she passed close by him and entered the booth he just vacated. These were a different kind of booth. These were narrow with a bench seat at the back. Above the seat at about eye-level and behind a window sat a projector. A projection screen was on the back side of the door. This did not give her much room to work but she knew she could make good use of it just the same. She turned around and watched him through the open door, she made her offer with her eyes.

He took her bait but instead of entering the adjacent booth, he walked right in with her. Not what she had planned but she could still get what she wanted. Time demanded she take whatever chance she had. He closed the door behind him.

“Hey, lady. So how do you want to do this,” he whispered?

Liz patted her hand on the top of the coin box and then shuffled to change places with him. She latched the door as he dropped some quarters into the slot. Immediately it got dark and the projector started playing. She pushed him back toward the bench and started to unfasten his pants. His hands went to her legs and under the hem of her skirt.

Alarmed, Liz seized his hands. “Let me,” she whispered to reassure him. She dropped his pants to fall about his ankles and took him by the shoulders to apply her kiss. It was wet and sloppy, obviously one of his first and Liz gave it to him deeply with plenty of tongue action. His cock, probably hard since before she met him was pressed firmly against her stomach and she took it in her hands and tried to wrestle him onto the bench before his hands went wandering again. She lost her lip-lock on him when he sat down and before he could use the available light to check her out, she quickly straddled him and thrust her pelvis firm against him.

She drew Charm within to protrude just beyond her pussy’s lips. She opened Charm wide to grasp his cock as soon as she brought it close. She was going to fuck him with Charm as a sleeve between them, just like she had done with the last man she had in the arcade on Friday. They both breathed heavily in the excitement and struggle of the impending tryst. Liz thrust her hands between them before he could. She dug beneath her bunched up skirt and found his stiff rod with her hands. Lifting herself, she guided the eager meat to Charm’s waiting mouth. Unceremoniously she sank down upon him. Charm devoured the smooth fleshy pole to its hairy root. The young man gasped his relief and joy and thrust his hips up to a tight lock with Liz’. His hands seized her round butt and held her against his straining loins.

Their fuck commenced. Liz rose again when she felt his hips rock back and then dropped again to meet his next thrust. Charm stayed with her and indulged his captured dick with withering caresses. There was no denying Liz was enjoying this. She was taking a risk in exposing her secret but she had a plan to cover herself. She rode him for a few more thrilling pumps and then she felt it was time to put him under. She covered his mouth with hers and pushed in her tongue.

The effect was almost instantaneous. He clamped her ass with his hands and trapped her against his hips as his first spurt of relief gushed into Charm’s clutch. He grunted and his cock spat another thick stream to join the first. Another came and then another. Liz reasoned that he must have gotten terribly worked up in the arcade. That and his young age were making for an enormous load. His weakening grip on her ass and the slow drop of his hips signaled his lapse into unconsciousness but his cock continued to feed her jet after jet of his issue. She collected it all and fought off her instinct to swallow it down but she kept her kiss with him to knock him out good.