“It wasn’t what I wanted,” Luneira disagreed. “There wasn’t any want. Simply the instructions to do so until my master defeated and claimed me for his own.”

  “Way to not make it sound weird, Luneira,” Joel grunted as he hurried down the street.

  “You are welcome, master,” Luneira replied, completely missing her master’s sarcasm.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “You promise me,” Nicola snapped. “Promise me this isn’t a trap.”

  “I promise, fuck,” Joel grumbled as he started to lift the unconscious teen.

  “If something happens⁠—”

  “Nothing’s going to fucking happen,” Joel snarled, while being unable to do anything as Dale, with the help of someone else, took the unconscious girl from his arms. “We’ve been over this already. For fuck’s sake, there is nothing stopping me from just doing whatever the hell I want and I’m still bothering with things like introductions and offers of help.”

  When Dale had the girl, Joel released her and turned to Nicola, who was glaring. She’d been hot and cold the whole way back to the settlement. Half of her group had followed, the other half had split off. Home, or to scout, Joel didn’t know. Nor did he care.

  “If we banded together, we’d get you,” Nicola glared.

  Joel nodded. “Same with everyone here. You saw what Jess could do with those arrows. Hell, she knows where I sleep. Don’t even get me started on Amanda.”

  “She’s going to be okay,” Amanda interrupted, patting Nicola’s arm. “I promise.”

  Nicola looked from Amanda to Joel and then shook her head. “This is all so fucked.”

  “Been saying that since it started,” Joel murmured as he effortlessly hoisted himself up onto the fence before offering his hand.

  The others were taking turns with the ladder, but Joel wanted to get Nicola over so they could go see Marlene as quickly as possible. In fact, someone was already over at Jess’s place, knocking on the door to warn them. Nicola looked nervous as she took Joel’s hand and let out a soft yelp as he pulled her up by one arm.

  “Fuck, how strong are you?” she asked.

  “I dunno, maybe it’s like I already told you it was my highest stat.” Joel rolled his eyes as he helped lower her down on the other side.

  Jess was next, followed by Amanda. Luneira and Jenny were both over already. Jenny having blinked, while Luneira had adopted her liquid form and done the old, liquid robot assassin dressed as a cop trick and melted through the gaps in the fence without a fuss.

  After dropping down, Joel accepted the unconscious girl from Dale and hurried over to Jess’s house, where Marlene was waiting with Tim. She stepped aside, letting Joel move into the house with Nicola on his heels. Marlene didn’t bat an eye at the new faces, she followed inside and looked at the situation.

  “She’s dressed under there?”

  “Should be, yeah,” Nicola said.

  “Get this shit off her then,” she snapped.

  Joel nodded and gripped the webbing before pulling it apart. The heavy snaps of each strand echoed. Nicola joined in, grabbing a spot further down, while Tim went to the girl’s legs. Marlene leaned down and quietly began to activate her abilities as she got to work. Joel hadn’t seen much of it in person and wasn’t sure what to think. Marlene’s hands glowed slightly as she touched Josephine’s face and then slowly worked her hands further down.

  “Envenomed,” she muttered. “Stab wound. Minor bruising. And a broken wrist.”

  “Careful of her hands,” Joel warned everyone who had started unwrapping her.

  “Left wrist,” Marlene added, providing more context. “The venom is a paralytic.”

  “Is it lethal?” Nicola asked as she ripped off a strip of webbing.

  “Yes, but the larger danger right now is the stab wound,” Marlene frowned. “She’s bleeding internally. Punctured intestines⁠—”

  “Oh god, Josie,” Nicola began to sob.

  Even Joel grimaced. Gut wounds like that were often lethal without modern medicine. It also meant that if Marlene couldn’t help—the girl was dead. Nicola’s original plan of taking her home would have been a death sentence. Even now, she still might.

  “What can you do?” Nicola asked.

  Marlene frowned as she stopped whatever ability she was using. “You’re not going to like it.”

  Joel glanced at Marlene, who was looking a little pale. He wasn’t sure it was to do with her ability. It looked more like she had realized she was about to do something she really didn’t want to do.

  “Tell me,” Nicola switched her full attention to the cleric. “If it’ll save her. I’ll do anything.”

  Marlene nodded slowly. “I’m going to have to cut her open.”

  “What?” Joel asked, at the same time Nicola did.

  “It’s too deep,” Marlene said with a shake of her head. “I can set a bone, close a wound, even ease a fever or stop an infection with enough time and effort. If the wound is right there in front of me where I can get to it, it’s easy.”

  “Shit, how bad is it really?” Joel asked.

  “Pretty bad,” Marlene grimaced. “I’m… going to have to dig.”

  “B-but…” Nicola looked like she wanted to fight someone. “Won’t that make it worse?”

  “Short term… depends how you look at it,” Marlene admitted. “She’s going to bleed, have a big nasty scar. But she won’t develop a horrible infection that’ll kill her in a few days, no matter what.”

  Joel frowned. “What about the painkillers?”

  “They’d help, but this is more of a status effect than a simple wound.” Marlene shook her head. “It’d be a waste to give them to her if she’s just going to die, anyway.”

  “This is so fucked,” Nicola stood from the table.

  “Before you get yourself worked up, Marlene is the only healer we know,” Joel warned her. “Hate her. Hate me. Hate us all, but if you’re about to make threats, I’m going to kick you outside and help Marlene save her without you.”

  “FUCK!” Nicola threw her head back as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Fuck…”

  Joel turned back to Marlene and looked down at the girl. “Where do you want to start?”

  Marlene pointed out a spot. On the left, near Josephine’s kidneys. Marlene was sure they were undamaged. The venom itself wasn’t necrotic. Nicola stood by, with Jess holding her hand to keep her steady. She nearly had a fit when she saw Marlene take out a knife instead of a scalpel. There wasn’t any helping it though and despite her complaints, Nicola didn’t have an alternative.

  Joel stood with Marlene as she slowly cut into the teen, starting at the stab wound caused by one of the spider’s fangs. Timothy came around to support her from the other side. Luneira and Jenny remained silent and on watch, as several of Nicola’s people came by to check on things, only to be sent away once more. Marlene kept the cutting to a minimum. Josephine began to bleed and Joel watched her, growing paler by the minute.

  Marlene worked quickly. She hesitated only for a moment, before taking a deep breath and digging in. Literally. She pushed her hands into the gaping stomach wound. It looked like the kind of thing that would have scarred Josephine for life, but the girl was thankfully unconscious. Unfortunately, the rest of us were not.

  I watched in morbid fascination, and a little disgust as Marlene pulled out the girl’s intestines. She found the rips and tears. Using her healing ability, she was able to close the wounds before digging back in to find more. The whole time she worked, the teen continued to bleed. Nicola started to cry and beg while Jess held her back. There were no other options.

  Still. It was a relief for us all when Marlene finally nodded to herself. Then started to stuff the girl’s intestines back into her body. It was gruesome. But it seemed to work. Joel had wondered for a time how these kinds of surgeries worked. If the intestines had a particular way they went back in. The random stuffing and pushing, though, made him and everyone else queasy.

  With Josephine’s intestines back in place, Marlene went about closing the wound up properly. She seemed to be at the end of her steam, though. Joel had felt the fatigue from the constant use of his abilities. He figured this was more dramatic. The damage she had repaired so quickly was enormous. In the end, it wasn’t enough to close her up entirely, and she slumped back, leaving an angry looking cut across the girl’s stomach.

  “She’s still bleeding,” Nicola pointed out.

  “It’s clotting,” Joel disagreed. “And she’s back together.”

  Nicola looked like she wanted to argue, but Marlene shook her head. “I’ve done enough for today. If she can’t live through this, she wasn’t going to, anyway.”

  “Why is she still asleep, though?” Nicola asked.

  “I kinda figured wasting my energy waking her up before ripping her guts out would be a mistake,” Marlene replied softly.

  Nicola winced, but took the hint. “Then…”

  “Stay the night,” Marlene mumbled. “She might wake up tomorrow, or she might not. Either way, if you want me to do any more, I need to sleep.”

  “If you want to risk it, I’ll happily help carry her out and over the fence,” Joel offered. “But I think the smart option would be to stay.”

  “She’s all bloody.”

  Joel shrugged. “We have running water. It’s not hot, but if you want to give her a bath, that’s something we can do.”

  “A shower?”

  “Gonna suck in winter,” Marlene groaned. “Now, you wanna bathe her or not? Because if not, I need a shower, too.”

  Joel grimaced when he looked at her properly. She really was covered in blood. From her hands, to her elbows and all the way down her front as well. She’d gotten quite messy with the situation and Joel had no doubt she wanted to get herself sorted out.

  “I… I’ll bathe her,” Nicola nodded.

  “I’ll help carry her in,” Jess offered.

  “Great,” Marlene sighed. “I’ll just wait.”

  “Head next door if you like,” Joel offered. “You can shower there. I’m just a bit sweaty, so I’ll jump in the pool.”

  Marlene thought about it for a moment, before giving him a wink. “Do you mind if I bring Timothy?”

  “Mar,” Timothy blushed.

  Joel smirked. “I’d make a joke about saving us some hot water, but that’s not a thing.”

  Marlene nodded, while Jess and Nicola carefully lifted the unconscious Josephine into their arms.

  “Luneira, can you stay in case they need a hand?”

  “Yes master,” Luneira agreed with a nod.

  “Thanks.” Joel smiled at her in appreciation. “I’m going home.”

  “I’ll meet you there,” Jess called softly.

  Joel nodded and made his way out the front door. The purple sky was getting darker and Joel figured it wasn’t worth heading out again. They’d take an early day and enjoy the lower incursion chance come morning in the real world. He led their small party back to his house. Ducking into the bathroom to grab his soap and other supplies, he left Marlene and Timothy to their devices. Amanda, who had remained stoic and silent, followed alongside Joel into the backyard and began stripping off, while Jenny took the initiative and kept watch for intruding eyes.

  “You okay?” Joel asked.

  Amanda shook her head. “That was fucked. Completely fucked.”

  Joel nodded as he took off his shirt and pushed down his pants. “Necessary though.”

  “Didn’t say it wasn’t,” Amanda shuddered. “But seeing it… I don’t think I was prepared to see that shit. I’ve killed, but… Pulling… then back in…” she shuddered.

  “C’mere,” Joel opened his arms.

  “Not really in the mood to be seduced, big guy,” Amanda muttered, though she approached anyway.

  “Wasn’t planning on it,” Joel said, wrapping his arms around her middle. “I was aiming for a distraction.”

  “Distraction—AHHHH!”

  The splash was satisfying, and Amanda kicked off the bottom with a squeal and a fierce glare. Which only deepened as Joel laughed at her.

  “You fucking asshole!”

  “Mission success,” Joel said with a smirk as Amanda angrily swam towards him. He followed her into the pool, sitting on the top step as he watched.

  “I’ll give you a fucking mission!” she snarled, grabbing his arm, only to find him anchored in place. “Seriously?”

  “Strength stat,” Joel shrugged. “People keep forgetting.”

  “It’s not about strength,” Amanda grumped. “It’s about leverage!”

  She pulled her legs around and kicked hard off the step, causing Joel to tip forward, falling into the pool over the top of her. He grabbed hold of his prize and took her down with him. Much to his amusement and her squealing complaints. They thrashed about in the water for a while before breaking the surface together.

  “FUCKER!”

  She thumped her fists lightly against his chest. Or they might have been with all her might. Joel wasn’t sure. It didn’t hurt, nor did it feel like more than light taps, as she pretended to fight him off. Until she stopped and looked at him.

  “Also thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Joel smiled. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

  “I’m still not going to let you seduce me,” she said, crossing her arms.

  “I might though,” Jess called as she opened the back gate and slipped directly into the backyard. She seemed well enough, but Joel could tell by the red stains down each arm, and how she held her hands from her body, that she was looking for a way to wash herself.

  “Ooh, yeah, come on,” Joel waved her over.

  “Pants,” she chided him. “Leave the top. It’s ruined already.”

  Joel nodded and padded to the edge, where Jess knelt down to give him better access. Her top really was ruined. Josephine had bled a lot and covered Jess’s top half from where she’d helped carry the teen.

  Joel ignored that, though. As unpleasant as it was to think about. It must have been far worse for Jess. They had all gotten gore on them at some point. You couldn’t hack a person to death without getting blood on you. This felt different, though. This wasn’t someone who had tried to hurt them. But an innocent girl. A teen. Someone they were trying to save, who they had done horrible things to, in an effort to do so. It hit differently, and Joel made sure to do his best to make Jess comfortable.

  He wiggled her pants down her thighs before glancing up.

  “Yeah, them too,” she said softly.

  Joel nodded and pulled her underwear down alongside the pants. Jess then got back to her feet and Joel helped pull them the rest of the way off. She then moved over to the edge of the pool and climbed down onto the top step, before doing a little hop into the water to join Joel and Amanda.

  She didn’t remain with them, though. She swam down to the deep end to visit with Squishy. The little nraab must have recognized his mother, because he scurried over to crawl into her arms like a frightful, pointy, and grabby, kitten.

  “Can you imagine her with a baby?” Amanda asked.

  Joel froze, then looked at Amanda, who smirked at him. “No?”

  “Really?” Amanda looked back at Jess. “I bet she’d be a fantastic mother.”

  “What about you?”

  “Never thought about it,” Amanda said and shrugged. “I was at university. Studying took up all my time. Never really thought about guys all that much.”

  “You miss it?” Joel asked.

  “What?” Amanda leaned against him. “University?”

  “Yeah,” Joel shrugged.

  “Think I miss a hot shower more,” Amanda joked. “I liked learning new things. And I get to learn new things all the time now just… before it was so I could get a decent job and not live in a shitty rental. Now it’s so I don’t get carried off by some little demon bastard.”

  “Instead, you get carried off by some hefty barbarian with an iron cock and too many holes to shove it in,” Jess called over her shoulder.

  “Sounds bad when you say it like that,” Joel complained.

  Jess shrugged. “Wasn’t a complaint. And while I’m not some kind of cuck queen, there’s just… something about the way you look. You pull your cock out of Luneira or Jenny and then look right at me. Like I’m next.” Jess gave a little shiver and grinned as she let Squishy drop to the bottom of the pool once more. She licked her lips as she stared at Joel. “Different strokes for different folks, but you give me that look and all I wanna do is say ‘yes daddy’ as that cock comes at me.”

  Amanda snorted and covered her face, earning herself a couple of looks. “Sorry,” she apologized. “I just… yeah.”

  “Just you wait,” Jess said and smirked. “The anticipation builds as you try to decide if you should touch yourself or not. Then he gets all firm and you know he’s about to cum inside another woman. And while she’s laying there, panting and limp like a conquered prize, he pulls himself free, looks you in the eye and…” Jess shuddered. Because Joel was staring at her. Just the way she’d described.

  Amanda looked between them. Noting the stoic expression on Joel’s face. He was calm, but there was just a hint of control there, too. She flinched when he suddenly moved. Not because it was so sudden, but because it was so controlled. Joel waded up to Jess, who held perfectly still, like prey caught in the sights of a predator.

  “Really?” Joel asked, as he raised one hand and lightly brushed his fingers across Jess’s cheek before cupping the back of her neck.

  Jess licked her lips and nodded slowly. Joel grinned and reached up with his other hand. Jess’s breath hitched as he palmed her chest between her breasts. She didn’t realize what he was doing until he pulled. The fabric tore, and Jess trembled as he ripped her top completely off her body. Beneath, she wore a cute bra. It had been spared the blood, and Joel paused as he let the ruined fabric of her shirt sink into the pool.

  “You’re lucky there’s a clasp at the front, or I’d be ripping this off too,” Joel said as he reached up and deftly unclasped it.

  Jess shrugged her shoulders, pushing the bra off where it floated on the surface.