Chapter 4

This time it was a flotilla that approached Our Savior -- that is, it was both boats. It contained no fertile women, at least not by design. Julie reflected that she herself might be getting fertile. The original boat had been improved to the point where bailing was not really required -- or not more often than every hour or so. In that boat were Julie and Grace. The second boat was slightly larger than the first, and it contained Lucy and Emma. All three of Julie's companions had felt at first hand the danger that men could pose, so they had been especially avid pupils in throwing rocks, hard, and hitting what they aimed at. Emma in particular was quite remarkable with the spear. These weapons lay in the bottoms of the boats.

In broad daylight, they approached the dock at which the annual boat used to land. They were noticed. As they paddled closer to shore, a haphazard scurrying of men turned into two organized lines, with the abbot in the center. Julie was relieved to see no sign of rocks or spears among the men.

The paddling stopped when the boats were 40 yards from the dock.

"I ordered you never to return," said the abbot. "Why have you disobeyed me?"

Julie had an inclination to question why the abbot thought he could give her orders, but thought better of it. It was his island, after all, not hers.

"Could I confer with you privately, on the dock?" she called out.

"What could we possibly have to talk about?"

"Maybe nothing. Maybe something. But only in private."

"Very well," he said with a weary sigh, motioning his men to retreat. Grace and Julie paddled towards the end of the dock. Julie stepped out onto the dock, stumbling, but she stayed on her feet. Grace pushed back a few feet, and Julie walked the ten yards to where the abbot stood.

"I hope all goes well in your community, Reverend Father," she said quietly. "Or whatever your title is."

He smiled thinly. "And I hope it goes well in yours as well, Reverend Mother."

"We need men. Just a few men, but men. Our nighttime visits were unacceptable to you and you prohibited them. We respect that choice. The alternative is for a few men to come with us and live on Our Lady. Permanently."

"Leave the island? Live with you? It is prohibited for a man to leave the island!"

"Yes, but the Book doesn't cover everything. Things have changed."

The abbot paused. "And just what makes you think any man would consent to go with you? No man will leave under duress!"

"I'm not certain, but I can think of a few men who might be interested."

He met her gaze, saw her significant look, and turned away. "There are certain men here, it is true, who are better suited to our calling than others. Some of the latter have been subjected to a corrupting influence."

"Yes, that is unfortunate."

"How many men would you like to lead into a life of corruption?"

"Our boats can carry three with safety. By happy coincidence, that is also the number we want."

"Three? Not four?"

"Four would leave your island free of any who have felt the corrupting influence, it is true. Oh, and then there is you, of course ... But that corruption should be easier to deal with, as the struggle is entirely within you."

"There is no struggle within me," said the abbot, eying her coldly.

"Of course not," she said. "You are a holy man and the corruption was only brief, if the tales I am told be true."

He smiled slightly, and it almost had a trace of warmth.

"Yet for one of the four who was corrupted, the corruption led to bodily assault. This we do not want on Our Lady."

The abbot nodded.

"What if the three do not wish to come with you?"

"Two would do."

"What if none want to come?"

Julie thought. When baby Paul was 14 or so, he could perhaps make women pregnant. Jean would be the same age. Of the others, the youngest, Kira, would be... 29. But what if something happened to Paul? All their hopes would depend on the survival of one person.

"If none want to come, we will return again and again, as long as necessary, until we find men -- volunteers, of course."

The abbot sighed, suddenly looking old. "You are certainly persistent. I will see what can be arranged. Why don't your boats go to the usual spot, the one where we captured your boat before, tonight after dark."

"Might it be simpler to just let them leave with us now?"

"Tonight would be better. The men can consider their decision carefully after prayer. They can say farewells. And, well, I would rather not have to watch men who have been entrusted to my care leave the order in front of my eyes."

Julie nodded. "I suppose if ten men all came racing into the water, eager to get aboard, that would be embarrassing as well."

The abbot's face became steely.

Julie realized her remark had been unwise. She continued quickly, "It would also be very difficult for us, as the boats wouldn't hold that many. You have made a generous offer. We will come to the usual spot, not long after dark."

The abbot turned.

Julie said, "And, most sincerely, Your Reverence, I know the lacuna of the boats was a heavy challenge to you as well. God answered your prayers differently than mine, but I deeply respect your decision. I wish you and Our Savior the very best. I will be praying for you."

"And I for you," said the abbot. "Farewell."

He stepped off the dock and walked with dignity to join his retinue. Julie returned to the end of the dock, while Grace tried to maneuver the boat back into position. But it was clearly going to be a lengthy and difficult process with one paddle.

So the Mother Superior jumped into the water, causing a ripple of excitement on shore. She swam to the boat and Grace helped her up the side and she flopped in.

When she stood, she saw George standing at the very edge of the sand. It looked like he might dash out and swim to the boats at any moment. Julie urgently put her hand up and shook her head. But she also surreptitiously gave him a thumbs up sign.

At the appointed hour the two boats approached the familiar cove. Julie smiled to recall the happy nights she had spent there.

When they were still some distance out, three figures ran into the water and began swimming towards them, joined shortly by a fourth.

The first three were, as expected, Luke, Jacob and George. As they approached, the fourth was closing fast, a strong swimmer. It was, to no one's great surprise, Peter.

"Great news! The abbot gave me permission to go after all!"

"Sorry," said Julie as he approached the side of the boat. "You're not invited."

"The abbot said you had to let me come too or else the deal was off!"

Julie said nothing.

The women in the other boat helped George aboard, and then Jacob. Luke's hand was on the side of Julie's boat.

"Well, there's always this," he said harshly, and with surprising force thrust himself out of the water until he was sitting on the gunwale. He then looked with some surprise at a stick pointing at his throat and presumably felt a sharp point of wood that rested against his flesh. On the other end of the long stick was Grace.

Julie's heart skipped a beat. She thought she knew Grace, but ... One sharp thrust with her powerful arms would do the job. Fortunately Grace's expression was calm, controlled.

Peter moved his hand up, as if considering grasping the spear to push it to the side, but then coughed, choked, and slid back into the water.

"She's a killer!" he called out as he tread water. The spear hadn't broken the skin; the added pressure had just been enough to convince him she meant business.

"Tell the abbot what a sinful sister I am for not letting you join us," said Julie as she helped pull Luke into the boat.

The women directed the men out of the way and got in position to paddle. The boats left Peter slowly swimming back to shore.

Conversation picked up as they got underway. There was news to share from both communities. Julie interrupted them and ordered the two boats together again. She stood.

"This is important. If you come to Our Lady, you accept me as your leader. You pledge obedience to me, is that understood? Just like you were to the abbot before, you are now to me. If not, now is the time to swim back to shore."

Julie offered her fist to Grace, who kissed her ring. When she offered it to Luke, he kissed it as well. Reaching across between the two boats, Emma and Lucy kissed it. As Jacob kissed it, George asked, "What do we call you?"

"Reverend Mother," she said.

He hesitated only a second before he kissed her ring as well.

The boats broke apart and headed around the island and towards home.

In Julie's boat, Grace was mostly silent and Julie and Luke did all the talking.

"The biggest news," she said, "is that we have babies. Two of them."

"Really?" said Luke. "That's ... that's wonderful!"

"Just wait, you'll adore them ... And, we want more."

"OK, sounds good!" said Luke.

Julie looked at Luke, and he looked at her. She returned to paddling, but then looked at him again. She bit her lip.

"Um, Sister Grace," she said. "This is really embarrassing..."

"Oh," said the older woman after a moment. She smiled. "No problem. I'll just sit way up here in the bow and look out at the horizon."

Julie saw Grace give the "everything's OK" sign to the other boat, and heard a titter of gossipy laughter as she thought about how to get horizontal.

Luke's pants and underpants were off, his penis hard and ready. The planking on the bottom of the boat would be hard against Julie's back, and the water that would need bailing was starting to accumulate.

"Wait, I've got an idea," she said, falling onto her hands and knees, rear towards Luke. "It works this way too," she said copying something she'd seen in one of the books with two dogs mating.

For a moment Luke was confused, but then he saw how it would work. Julie looked straight ahead at Grace's back and beyond to the other boat and the horizon beyond. Behind her she felt hands on her rear end, fingers at her vaginal opening, and then the hard, hot organ she'd been dreaming about for months. She adjusted her hips slightly, and the massive thing surged deep and deeper, and then began the in and out -- fast, deep and strong -- the motion of the male who, whether he knows it or not, is urgently trying to father a child.

"Should I, um, wait?" he said in a hoarse whisper.

"No!" said Julie. "Give it to me, as soon as you can!"

That was a mere five seconds later, as she felt his penis bump into the deep end of her vagina. It hurt, and she loved it. He banged again and again, and she loved the hurt each time. Maybe that would knock her open somehow so she'd be able to get pregnant. She could tell from his gasp and groan that he was doing his bit.

The transfer complete, they separated and kissed tenderly for a few seconds.

"OK, time to get paddling," she said, and Grace returned to the right side as Julie positioned herself to the left. Starboard and port, she remembered from a book.

"I don't know," mused Grace with good humor. "You guys seem to like that a lot. I wonder if I'll try it some day after all." She added quickly, "With one of the others, of course, Reverend Mother!"

In deference to the conservative sisters, the rule was that the men must never come near the main settlement. Instead, Julie set them up in a small hut on the other side of the island that was used in support of fishing. It was cramped for the three of them, but during a rainstorm they could stay dry in there. They quickly made little sleeping spots in the forest, a short distance down paths in various directions -- spots that could accommodate one or two with ease, like those they had fashioned on Our Savior.

Julie assigned a sister to pray with them at the requisite hours. The men went along with that easily enough. They protested when told to say the extra misprinted line in the women's version of the one prayer. But the Mother Superior ordered them to, and they did. They were also assigned work. A natural fit was fishing from their side of the island, and gathering from the forest nearby.

The new mothers brought their babies over to meet the men. Everyone agreed that baby Jean looked a lot like George. Baby Paul looked a lot like his mother Lisa, but his resemblance to any of the men wasn't so clear.

When impregnation required a long trip in one of the community's two boats, it was under Julie's complete control. At least she had veto power -- if you weren't on the boat, you couldn't get pregnant. Now all that was required was a mile's hike through the forest. She announced that no one should visit the men's camp without her permission. But knowing the power of sex, she had no illusions about vigorous enforcement. Even Sister Catherine, when she was Mother Superior, had not made the sisters account for their every minute. There was some unstructured time, and walking along the island paths in a prayerful attitude was part of their mission.

How many babies should they make? Julie did some figuring. Sister Kira was now 15. The chances of a sister getting pregnant above the age of 35 were small enough. Sister Ida had died a few years back, but everyone else in that age range was living. That made 20 of them in the fertile cohort. Maybe a half dozen of them were conservative and committed to never seeing the men at all, let alone becoming pregnant. If the other 14 of them all bore a child, they would still not have made up for the 24 boys and girls who were absent because the boats had not arrived. Julie found herself approving all requests to visit the men's side of the island, and soon lifted the rule requiring permission. If a sister specifically asked if she could try to become pregnant, she approved that request too. Sister Frances could give her advice about the best time for her to request a sperm deposit from the men.

Despite her luxuriously wide bed at the Mother Superior's residence, Julie spent most of her nights in a little bower in the woods with Luke. They talked for hours, and she began to value his counsel in her many weighty decisions. During the first days after their arrival on the island, he gave her his sperm at least twice every night.

"Julie," said Luke as they lazed intertwined after a nearly simultaneous orgasm.

"Mmmmm?"

"Is it your will that George and Jacob be the only ones who give sperm to the other women? I will accept that of course."

She looked at him with a small pang in her stomach. She had explained marriage to Luke earlier, including its promise of exclusivity. If the three men followed that pattern, of course, it would create two sisters beside herself of a different status -- wives and potentially mothers, probably several times over. That seemed unwise.

"Would you like to?" she asked.

"My body certainly likes the idea," he said. "And I think some of the women would appreciate it. Two of them have confided that they would like me specifically to father their children."

Julie knew that once they had observed how much Jean resembled George, the women looked over the three men carefully and developed definite preferences.

"I did pick the best one of you for myself," she said.

He smiled.

"How about this ... What if you only do it doggy style. You look at her rear end only, you stick your penis into it and deliver the sperm, then you leave right away. No kissing or hugging or playing around."

"OK," he said with a smile. "That will be just fine. Thank you, Reverend Mother." He kissed her hand.

"And you should make sure not to enjoy it. At least not too much. Is that right -- you can't deliver sperm without feeling good?"

"Uhhh, that's right. And we can't feel good without delivering sperm, either. Not in that way. But sometimes it feels better than others. And I delivered into a few of those other women on your visits to Our Savior, and it was nowhere as good as it is with you."

"You're very kind."

Julie held her breath when her period was late, and when she started feeling other subtle changes in her body, she dared to hope that she was pregnant. Signs remained good.

A few of the other women also reported missing their periods, and over time there were several swelling bellies.

Julie began to hear similar stories in confession. A woman had trouble concentrating on her prayers because she had pleasant and sinful memories of Jacob delivering his sperm into her. Another had a strong desire to go get another sperm delivery even though she knew her period was due very shortly and it could not serve the noble purpose of starting a baby. Julie absolved these women of their sins, but she felt uncomfortable. She had the same desires and she let herself indulge them. Could she somehow contend that she was married? Sex within marriage was acceptable and not a sin ... It was a stretch. She of course continued to receive the confessions of the conservative sisters when they requested it, and if one reported that her hand had strayed between her legs, Julie looked grave and upheld the woman's own belief that it was a sin in need of pardon.

Luke lay on his back on the warm sand, totally naked. George lay to his left, Jacob to his right.

Jacob said, "You know, it was nearly two years ago when we met Julie and the others for the first time on the beach."

Luke said, "Yeah, sounds about right."

"Who'd have thought we'd be here today? I mean, this is the life!"

George said, "Oh, yeah. It sure beats praying all the time, and jerking off somewhere every couple weeks, or trying hard not to."

Jacob said, "Do you think God's OK with this? It's not at all what we were taught. Here we are, naked on the beach."

"We still pray a bunch," said Luke. He smiled and added, "And I trust the Mother Superior to know what is best."

George sat up. "Yeah, well you get to cram your penis into the Mother Superior on a regular basis."

Luke said, "We're all benefiting from the Mother's wisdom. God didn't mean for us to die out, and so we've got to make babies, so the three of us have the chore of pumping sperm into the sisters."

Jacob said, "But you're still pumping the sperm in when she's already pregnant."

Luke said, "She says that the act is still blessed even when it's not for making babies. Once a man accepts he's going to be dumping sperm up there or a woman accepts she's going to get it pumped into her, they might as well do it as much as you want."

"Oh, yeah! That's the kind of Mother Superior I like! Not like the old abbot," said George.

"Not that she puts it quite like that," added Luke.

Jacob said, "Some of the sisters -- I don't know. Every time Nancy comes over here, she wants it from all three of us, right?"

"You can tell she really likes to get it, that's for sure," said George. "Hey look, I'm getting hard just thinking about her. 'Unnh, unnh, unnnh, Nancy, aaaahhhhh!'"

"She does that orgasm thing with me sometimes," said Jacob. "I mean, I like to give them sperm, but I figure there's no hurry. Shoving in and out feels really good, so why not just keep at it for half an hour and then give it to them?"

George said, "Not me so much. I like to jam it in deep and shoot. Of course if I've just done it a couple times recently it can take a little longer, but I don't hold back. If they're one of the fat ones I just do 'em from behind, 'doggy style'. Whatever that means."

Luke said, "Dogs are animals that live out in the wider world. They've got four legs and no hands. That's how they do it. At least that's what Julie says."

George said, "Whatever the heck an 'animal' is. And you, that's the only way you can do it unless it's with the Blessed Mother herself."

"Yeah," said Luke with a sigh. That was the theory. In practice, with Emma he'd done more. She'd wanted to see what it looked like when the sperm came out, so he'd showed her, using his hand. Later she'd wanted to lick his penis, and that felt good. So when she was on her back all naked with her legs spread wide, he didn't tell her to get up on hands and knees. He dove right in, and it had felt great. His penis was getting hard just thinking about it.

"You got a favorite vagina? They all feel a little different, right?" asked George. "Jennie's my favorite."

Luke smiled. Jennie was extra special -- hotter, slicker, tighter.

Jacob said, "Oh, yeah, she's something, isn't she? I can't last long with her. It's like her vagina says, 'Give me the sperm, right now! Or else!'"

Luke laughed. "Yeah, and I sure am happy to oblige."

Jacob said, "Eleanor wanted to just sleep beside me the other night after I'd done it to her, and I thought that was fine. Kind of warm and nice. But then Mary showed up looking for me. I woke Eleanor up and told her to get going because I had someone else to give sperm to. She got mad. But she did leave."