Chapter 3

Ben cracked his eyes open slowly, trying his best to ignore the throbbing behind his eyes. He tried to move about but found that his range of motion was limited. Moving his arms was a no go, as he could feel something binding them together. Ben tried moving his feet but found that they, too, were bound.

Growling in frustration at his current predicament, Ben opened his eyes fully, taking in his new surroundings. He saw he was in a cage that had been constructed with thick branches and metallic odds and ends. It was small, which explained why he was curled up in a little ball. Ben shifted his arms and legs in a way that had his arms in front of him as he surveyed his position.

The cage in question was in a tent made of cloth, leather and thick animal hides. The only source of light was a couple of torches that lit the tent well, displaying everything. He saw he was being guarded by something that looked human but was very different from what he remembered.

It stood at around seven feet in height, bald, and with green skin the color of new leaves. Its skin was mottled in places but stretched tightly over a solid and muscular frame. Its brawny and solid appearance said that it was male and made Ben think twice about attempting to tangle with it. It must have had some semblance of intelligence, judging by the fact that it wore rudimentary clothes and basic stone weapons.

Looking down at himself, Ben saw that whatever these things were, they had taken everything he had. The only bit he kept was the clothes on his back, for which he was grateful, as it was more than a bit chilly right then. He looked around and saw that none of his belongings were there and figured that they were stored elsewhere.

Ben glanced around and saw two other cages like his sitting in the tent next to him. One cage was empty, while in the other sat what appeared to be a woman like the male in the room. The only major difference apart from the obvious from was that she had hair on her head as opposed to being bald like the male. Ben would have tried talking to her, hoping to get her attention, but was interrupted by another arrival.

The recent addition to the tent was another male like the first one, only he carried much better weapons. Specifically, he carried Ben’s bow and quiver of arrows over his shoulder, which Ben growled about quietly. He then started talking in a harsh and guttural language to his fellow guard, as it was apparent that’s what they were.

They seemed to growl and grunt, laughing about something, until the woman interrupted them. Her words caught their attention, and they looked over to her, and started cussing her out. Ben believed they were uttering expletives at her until she talked some more. Whatever she was saying caught them off guard and they were at a loss, going from the looks on their faces.

The woman continued to talk, her voice deeper than what Ben thought it would be. After listening to her, Ben found that her voice was comforting in a way. The men continued to look at her as she finished, and they seemed leery of whatever she said. She said a few things more, before the men put their heads together, whispering so quietly that even Ben couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Their heads came up, and they wore grins as they spoke to the woman, issuing commands to her. Whatever they wanted, she nodded in compliance, which pleased them. It was then that one man walked forward and undid the bindings on her cage, letting her out. She stepped out of it and stretched as her captor undid the bindings on her wrists and feet, letting her move about.

It was then that Ben got a really good look at her. She stood just as tall as the men, but less swarthy in build as they were. Her skin was more of a hazel than pure green and her features were far more human than the men’s and amazingly pretty, if not beautiful. The woman had curves in a way that seemed impossible. Her ass was round enough to make even him stare, and she had full and bountiful tits, which jiggled when she moved.

If women like her had existed in Ben’s era, she would have been considered an exotic and beautiful woman. Tall women this curvy were a rarity in Ben’s time, but if this is what humanity had evolved into, Ben certainly wouldn’t complain! Her hair was also something that was unique, as it was a deep red and partitioned into dreadlocks. The dreads hung to her ass and some of them had beads or trinkets worked into them.

She smiled at the men and leaned into one, kissing him, as they both moaned quietly. The other man was behind her, putting his hands on the woman’s ass, kneading and squeezing it as he licked her neck. The clothes she wore were a simple band of cloth that did little to contain her breasts and a basic loincloth. Said clothing was quickly dispensed with, torn to shreds before it was tossed to the ground.

The woman then stopped, breaking away from the men, which had them questioning her. Until she whispered, gesturing to them, and they wore smiles once again. The men quickly dispensed with their pants, showcasing their rapidly hardening dicks. Ben couldn’t help but feel slightly emasculated at this, as they were both sporting twelve-inch cocks that were easily as thick as his wrist!

Ben had no idea what this woman was thinking for wanting sex right now, but he was happy for the distraction. He started working at his bonds, doing his best to free his hands. He’d work on his feet once he had his hands clear, which wouldn’t take him long. These ... men ... mutants, he supposed, weren’t overly cautious about how they tied their ropes. Ben kept working his ropes as the woman continued to keep the men occupied.

One man let out a semi-loud moan, which the woman quickly shushed. He glared at her for a moment, until she whispered something to him, which had him nod reluctantly. It was then that he went back to kissing her and biting at her flesh, while the other one was nudging at her entrance with his cock.

The additional guard slid it back and forth, causing the woman to moan softly, before she broke away from the first one. She then pushed the second one to the ground, before she sat on his face, pushing her moist quim into it. He groaned in approval and started licking her, while she crooked her finger to the first one. He walked up to her, with his hard dick sitting in front of her face, before she swallowed it.

Ben couldn’t help but goggle at the woman and how she had just taken the whole thing in one swift motion! He could see the slight bulge in her throat, where the guard’s cock was shifting back and forth! She must have had some experience with this sort of thing, as it seemed to bother her little. Ben kept working his hand bindings as she kept working the men in front of her.

She sucked on the man’s cock hard, constricting her throat while she did, making him hiss in delight. She moaned a fair bit herself, as the man beneath her was making good use of his tongue, hitting her nerves nicely. The woman ground her hips down some more, egging the guard on, as she dragged the standing guard’s cock out of her mouth.

She really looked to be into it, as Ben had gotten his bindings off with none of them noticing. He eased his hands down to his feet and started untying the ropes there, when he made eye contact with the woman. He froze, thinking at that very second, she would say something out loud and he’d be in a world of hurt! It was a brief moment that she looked at him, and to his surprise, winked!

It was when she turned back to occupy the guards that he understood she was playing them! She was using the promise of sex and their personal enjoyment to have them get out of there! Or at least here, at any rate. He went back to removing his feet bindings, getting them cleared before he turned to the cage door.

The woman then stood up and bid the guard laying down to stand as well. She then bent over and wiggled her ass at the guard she was blowing, and he got the message. He stepped behind her and in one shove, buried his cock deep within her folds. She moaned loudly until it was stifled with the other guard’s cock stuffed into her mouth.

She squeaked at this sudden surprise, but quickly adapted and took the whole thing deeply. The guard fucking her had taken hold of her hips and was being careful not to go too fast. The other held her by the head with one hand, while holding her hair up with the other. The woman seemed to appreciate this as she cupped his balls and steadied herself on him as he fucked her throat.

Ben noted that the guards’ focus was solely on the woman in their hands, which worked for him. He quietly slipped his hands between the bars and started working the cage door as quietly as he could. The knots weren’t intricate, for which Ben was thankful, but they were tight. It would take a while before he had them loose, and he hoped that this woman would keep these two distracted a bit longer.

The guards switched back and forth a few times, each one getting a fair shot at both her pussy and mouth. She didn’t mind and going by the look on her face; she was enjoying herself. She worked both dicks like she’d had some experience in doing kinky shit like this, and Ben could tell. The way she kept corkscrewing whoever was in her mouth as she twerked her ass with whom was buried inside her, made it obvious.

Ben had finally loosened the ropes to where he could break out of the cage! He let the rope fall gently and sat there, waiting for the moment when he could get out. He was half tempted to make his move right then until one man removed his dick from her mouth.

He walked over to his friend and whispered something to him, and the other man nodded. He picked up the woman in his hands, lifting her clear off the ground and onto his dick. He then turned the woman around, driving his cock into her again, as his friend came around behind her. Her head snapped back, and she yipped in alarm, which earned her a cuff upside the head.

Her head lunged forward as she was hit, and Ben was tempted to bust out and make an example of the bastard. But he could tell that the optimal time hadn’t come just yet, so Ben kept his cool. He then watched as he lined his cock up with her rear hole and pushed. This new intrusion seemed to snap the woman back to reality, and she moaned in pleasure and pain, biting into her arm as she was violated.

Once he was seated in her, she seemed to calm down a bit. She also appeared to be familiar with being used and abused as she was, as her tears stopped flowing. Both men alternated their thrusts, making the woman groan slightly as they fucked her. They both grunted and groaned, sounding like they were drawing near their peaks.

Just as their cry climbed, another guard walked into the tent. This one was slightly bigger than the other two by a few inches and was surprised by what he found happening. He didn’t have time to say anything, as the woman grabbed him by the front of his pants, dragging him to her.

He tried protesting but his mouth wouldn’t work and he spluttered as he tried to talk. She put both hands down his pants, fishing for his dick, and her eyes widened. When she pulled the mutant’s cock out, both she and Ben were shocked at its size! It was easily fourteen inches long and thicker than her forearm! She blinked for all of two seconds before she inhaled it, shoving every inch that she could inside her mouth!

Ben was amazed that she could even fit that much in her mouth! Then again, she was a whole foot taller than he was, so her mouth was bigger and could fit more in it. Whatever she was doing to the guard, he was enjoying immensely as he grinned like an idiot. Her head bobbed up and down as she took more of it with each bob, sucking him off like there was no tomorrow.

The man must have been suffering from blue balls for a while, as he was grunting hard, like he was ready to blow. The two men fucking the woman were also close, as their thrusts had grown erratic and more forceful. All three men clenched their jaws shut as they came, filling the woman with their seed.

She took it all, focusing most on taking every drop from the man she was blowing. Sucking up every drop, she smiled as she did this, her hands playing with the man’s balls. It was right then that Ben spotted that it wasn’t just his balls her hands were on, but a large knife that hung on his belt.

Quicker than thought, she pulled the knife and slashed hard against his abdomen. He cried out in shock as his intestines spilled out, his hands trying to keep them in! The other two men realized what was happening and made to stop her, but the one underneath her had no chance. The moment she had made her first cut, the knife then descended into his eye, snuffing his life out.

The one behind her pulled his cock out of her and reached for his knife, but never got to it. At the very second where the woman had attacked, Ben had burst out of his cage and sacked the brute. His voice climbing up to octaves reserved for extreme pain, the mutant crumpled to the ground. Ben didn’t hesitate and put his foot to the bastard’s throat, crushing his windpipe.

The woman then turned around and looked down at the brute who had buggered her, then to Ben. She smiled and nodded at him in approval; the gesture thanking him for aiding her. Ben then inclined his head to the largest of the three, who was moaning quietly while trying to keep his guts inside his body. He was failing miserably and dying a slow death, but still making some noise.

Ben gestured at him, clarifying that she should finish what she started to keep him quiet. She looked down at him and considered it, before walking up to him and slitting his throat. She then stood and nodded to Ben, showing that she approved of his line of thinking.

She then moved around and scooped up the rags that was her clothing and scoffed in disgust, before using them to clean herself up. Ben bent down, taking back his bow, quiver of arrows and machete, beyond happy to have them back. He turned back to the woman, who was looking at him, wondering if he was going to try taking his turn with her. What he did next surprised her.

“My name is Ben. Do you understand me?” he asked her. Though he knew it was a longshot, Ben thought he’d try communicating, anyway. He tried again, tapping his chest before saying his name.

“Ben,” she replied. “You ... Ben?”

“Yes! And you? Your name?” he asked.

“Name?”

“Your name. My name is Ben. Your name is?” He asked, hoping that she understood him.

“Ylva. Me ... Ylva,” she told him.

“Ylva. Beautiful name,” he responded. Seeing her apparent confusion, he clarified with a simpler phrase.

“Pretty name.”

Her face lit up with surprise and she blushed, mumbling what he assumed was a thank you. He smiled at her bashfulness, wondering if she’d been called pretty much. Seeing this, he could tell that she hadn’t. Ben resolved to help her, as helping her was helping himself.

“Where are we? I remember being in some town before a big guy knocked me out,” he said.

“Big ... guy?” Ylva asked, confused.

“Yes. Big ... man,” Ben said, making gestures and acting out what a big guy looked like. Ylva’s face quickly cleared in understanding.

“Big guy ... leader. He ... lead ... slavers,” Ylva said, stumbling over the words.

“Slavers?? Here? Now?” Ben growled. He grunted in disgust and posed a question. “Well, that’s three down, but how many more are there?”

“I count ... seven when they ... take me,” she replied.

“So, seven when they took you, that means there’s four left. Can you fight?” he asked. Ylva smirked and picked up some knives and a tomahawk from the dead slavers. She also took a pair of pants off one of them, needing something to wear. She also took a shirt, which was less dirty than the rest, before nodding to Ben that she was ready to move.

Ben peeked out the tent flap and saw at least two nearby, looking like they were bored. They kept looking around, like they expected something to come at them from the shadows. Ben could see that the night was ending, and pre-dawn light was brightening the sky.

He looked back to Ylva and communicated that there were two right outside and she nodded. Nocking an arrow, Ben stepped out first, pointing his bow at the slaver furthest from him. The mutant looked up in surprise but had no chance as Ben’s arrow caught him in the throat, killing him instantly.

The other slaver, who was closer, got a shout out in warning, but was cut short. The Tomahawk flew from Ylva’s hand and quickly buried itself in the man’s forehead, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. A roar from behind Ben was the only warning he had, and he ducked, feeling the whish of air right above him.

Acting on reflex, Ben kicked out and up, smashing the knee of the man who had tried to end his life. The mutant staggered, crying out in pain as Ben brought his bow to bear. He didn’t have time to use it as it was knocked out of his hands with one swipe of the mutant’s axe. His head would have come off his shoulders as well, if Ben didn’t get his machete up in time.

Using what strength he could muster, Ben shoved hard, putting the man on the defensive. He swung his axe again, but Ben was ready and easily caught the telegraphed blow. Another came and another, and though each hit was powerful, they were easily deflected.

Several more hits came before Ben saw his opening, when the man overreached. Ben then dropped to one knee and swung as hard as he could at the shirtless mutant. Like Ylva had with the one in the tent, Ben’s blow had cut deeply into his belly, spilling his innards onto the ground.

The shock of the wound caused the man to drop his axe and clutch at his belly. This action gave Ben the moment he needed to end the fight, and he did not hesitate. Seconds later, the man’s head rolled along the ground behind him, separated from his body. Ben breathed heavily, this fight taking a bit out of him, as he went looking for Ylva.

He didn’t have to look far, as he found her in the middle of a fight with a gigantic brute. It was the same brute who had knocked Ben out from earlier. Ben was looking for some payback for that and ran up to help Ylva with the fight. Seeing Ben rushing to her aid, the eight foot brute acted quickly, knocking Ylva to the ground. He raised his axe, a massive bearded, two headed thing, looking to split the woman in two.

Ben cried out as Ylva looked up to see the axe coming for her. Her arms snapped forward in a resounding clap, which was loud enough to make Ben wince. He saw Ylva had effectively stopped the axe from killing her, as she held the head of it between her palms. Ben breathed a little easier, as though she had stopped the axe from moving. It had stopped a mere two inches from her face! The brute growled in frustration, and put more weight on it, seeking to bury the weapon in Ylva’s head.

Before he could move the axe more than a millimeter, Ben was already on him. He ran full tilt and stepped onto the haft of the axe to launch himself into the air. Executing a jump kick, the heel of Ben’s foot caught the brute on the hinge point of his jaw. The blow was hard enough where a massive crack could be heard by all three of them, and the brute howled in pain, letting go of his axe.

Ben landed on his feet and assumed a defensive stance, remembering his training in karate. Back when humanity was still civilized, Ben had taken the time to learn martial arts, wanting to make the bullies of his school think twice before picking on him. Though there were many styles of karate to choose from, Ben had opted for learning Shotokan karate.

He believed that practicing in an environment that promoted full contact practice and sparring was the best way to learn martial arts. After a year of study, the bullies tried picking a fight with Ben, as they always had, but received a rude awakening. Ben had drummed their asses, beating them down handily and in such a way that suggested their days of pushing him around were over. They had quickly learned after that incident that picking a fight with Ben Lopez was an exercise in humiliation.

Ben was glad that he’d kept on learning after that fight, eventually earning his black belt in the martial art. He had been working on picking up his second-degree black belt when he received the letter from CryoTek. Though it had technically been hundreds of years since he’d used the skills, to Ben, it was only yesterday.

Ben swung with his machete, scoring a deep cut in the brute’s arm, but getting stuck in it as well. He tried pulling it out, but the brute had recovered by then and was swinging at Ben, trying to pulverize him. The hit sent Ben reeling and had him seeing double, but he recovered quickly, taking ready position. Not wanting to get hit again, Ben ducked and rolled away from another powerful blow, keeping his distance.

He inspected the massive mutant and saw that he was mostly muscle, but moved slower than Ben could. Smirking, Ben moved in quickly, landing a few strikes before the bastard could retaliate. Taking cue from several of his favorite martial arts movies, Ben waded in, delivering a series of rapidfire strikes, before dancing away. Each time the brute swung, Ben would dance away, then dive in, striking like a viper.

Aiming for sensitive points, Ben could feel and see the brute slowing down each time. Though each hit had the intended effect, it was clear that the bastard was getting tired, as he’d never truly fought for this long. One thing Ben was grateful for was a sensei who believed in drilling his students relentlessly.

He believed that a fight could go on for minutes, possibly even as long as an hour, before a victor could be declared. Seems that his sensei was right and Ben was happy for the discipline the man had drilled into him. Ben did his dance routine again, striking the brute hard, but this time, he took hold of the machete and pulled it out.

After coming away in his hands, Ben waded in again and hamstrung the brute, while slicing at his shoulders. With all forms of mobility taken away from him, the behemoth of a mutant collapsed to the ground, like a puppet with its strings cut. Ben had put this bastard down and now turned to see if Ylva was all right.

Ylva had stood by, watching the fight while nursing some shallow gashes across her body. The brute had done a number on her, as he’d toyed with the woman, before deciding to end her. But that was before Ben joined the fight, showing her what it was to bring the pain. Ylva had been transfixed by the way Ben had fought, never having seen anyone fight like that!

“Wait!” she called out, as Ben made to cut his throat.

“What?” he wondered.

“I must ... speak to him,” she replied.

“You sure about that? He could try something,” Ben warned.

“Keep your ... long knife ... on his throat. Kill him ... when I say,” she told him.

“I can go with that,” Ben agreed and rested the edge of the blade on the brute’s throat. Ylva walked up to them and started speaking the harsh and guttural language, questioning the brute. He had clammed up, not wanting to talk to her, until she retrieved his axe and put the blade on his balls. The fear in his eyes was palpable, and he started speaking in a torrent.

Ben couldn’t help but snicker at this, as that was one thing that would never change: threaten to cut a man’s balls off and he’d do everything possible to keep them! Bright green blood spilled from his mouth as he spoke, trying to keep Ylva happy with what he knew.

Her face screwed up as she didn’t like what she was hearing, and when he asked a question, she promptly buried the axe into his ball sack. He roared briefly, the pain enough to make him cry out, but he was quickly silenced, as Ylva then cut his throat. Ben was horrified by what he saw and made a noise of disgust, which caught Ylva’s attention.

“That was unnecessary! The bastard was crippled and couldn’t move! You should have let him live! Cutting open his balls like that? Not cool!” he groused.

“You want ... be next?” she growled.

“No! Just saying that being cruel like that was a bit much! You could have just left him here and let the wildlife eat him alive,” Ben stated while raising his hands in a gesture of non-aggression.

“Hmmm. That would ... be better fate. Man was ... monster,” she said, looking at the corpse with spite.

“Did he hurt you?” Ben asked, seeing the wounded look on her face.

“Many times ... with ... that,” she pointed. Ben looked and saw that she was pointing at the brute’s dick, which was gigantic! It must have been easily eighteen inches in length and nearly three inches thick! By the look on her face, the sex she had with him wasn’t consensual, like with the others.

“Well, I guess you’ve had your vengeance. What will you do now?”

“I will ... keep looking,” she replied.

“Looking? For what?” he wondered.

“Family.”

Ben nodded and let the matter drop. Despite his Asperger’s, he could tell that Ylva was hurting and wasn’t in a sharing mood. He let her stay there as he went around, looking for the gear that had been taken from him when he was knocked out. He rummaged around in the other three tents and found his baton and hatchet. They were all relatively intact, for which he was very thankful.

He took a gander at his other supplies but found that most of the bars had been either eaten or destroyed. He found a couple that hadn’t been eaten yet and tucked those into his pocket. Ben sighed and went back outside to find Ylva and found that she hadn’t been idle.

In a pile right by where they had killed the brute, lay an assortment of clothing, tools and weapons. However long Ylva had been sitting there, dealing with her demons, it hadn’t been very long. If Ben had to guess, she’d been at this for nearly as long as he had, but she was simply taking everything. Ben was impressed by the amount of stuff that was there and looked over what lay in front of him.

“What’s with all the torches?” Ben wondered, noting how Ylva had moved the flaming sticks to surround her and the pile.

“They keep Clackers away. Clackers hate fire and will avoid. Fire kills them,” she explained.

“What are Clackers?” he asked.

Ylva offered a brief description of them, and Ben remembered those creatures that chased him to the slavers. At least it was good to know that they feared something other than the sun. Ben nodded and helped Ylva sort through the pile of stuff she’d gathered. Most of which was stuff that belonged to the slavers, but he found a couple more items, including his canteen, that belonged to him.

“Your ... things?” she asked.

“Yeah. Had all of this on me when they took me. Truthfully, though, I’m surprised that it’s all still in good shape. Thought it would have been busted or misused to where it was useless,” Ben remarked.

“Weapons from ... before ... are valued much. If you die, I will claim them,” she said matter-of-factly.

“I can have ... everything ... here?” she asked, pointing.

“Yeah. Don’t really have much use for it, other than food and anything to wear in the cold,” Ben told her.

Ylva squealed in glee and started rummaging through the pile, taking the best pieces out for herself. There were certain items she set aside, which Ben could only assume were hers from when she was taken. Ben noted she was taking a lot of the metal implements and tools, which he found odd.

“Do you really need all that stuff? I mean, you have plenty of weapons as it is,” Ben wondered.

“Not everyone finds ... good gear like yours!” she groused. “Getting ... lucky ... is not ... easy!”

“Luck has nothing to do with it when it comes to proper weapons and the like, as long as you know how to make it. As long as you know how to make things properly, luck has little say in the matter,” Ben shot back.

“Oh, you know how to make?” Ylva growled, calling Ben out.

“As a matter of fact, I do know how to make better weapons,” he replied confidently.

“How?”

“Well, the first thing to do would be to melt down the steel to where it is liquid, to let any impurities or slag float to the surface. From there, I would then add whatever was needed to make the steel stronger, tougher, etc. To do that, I would need specific items to add to the steel, then stir it in so it would spread through the whole batch. After that, I would recast it into proper ingots, then go from there,” Ben explained.

“You can ... do this?” Ylva asked, her face alight with wonder.

“If I had access to a furnace hot enough and a proper set of tools, yeah, I could,” Ben answered.

“What ... time ... you come?” Ylva wondered.

“Time?” Ben asked, confused.

“You come ... from the ... Before?”

“The ‘Before’? You mean back before your kind?” Ben asked, taking a stab in the dark.

“Yes! The Before!” Ylva replied excitedly.

“Yeah, that’s when I came from. I thought I was only sleeping for ten years, when I slept for over five hundred. Five hundred, you understand this number?” Ben queried.

“I understand five hundred,” Ylva replied, awed that he had come from that time. “How you not ... die from sleep ... too long?”

“It’s a special kind of sleep. Like when you freeze things and they stay the same. Only, with a special kind of water and bed,” Ben explained, trying to keep things simple so Ylva could follow.