La Belle Ile en Mere Pt. 26

Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All characters in sexual situations are 18 or older. Thanks for reading!

"My gods... Georgie... I thought I was dead. You saved me!" Freshly released by the autodoc, Lillian rushed into her brother's arms and hugged him tightly. She pulled him down a little and pressed her lips to his ear. "I owe you a big reward, little brother," she whispered. "I promise you'll love it."

"Yes... yes..." George's checks flushed. He glanced at Constance. The tall woman was standing primly in her bodice and skirts. Her hair was clean and pinned, and she wore her gun belt and a smile. George didn't think she'd heard. "Mrs. Haversham saved you, too."

Lillian leaned back, gazing into George's face and grinning like an idiot. "Well, I'm not giving her a reward."

"She's right here." George spoke quickly before Lillian could say any more.

"Oh! Oh, gosh. How do you do, Mrs. Haversham." Lillian stepped back from her brother and curtsied. Her cheeks turned crimson to match her brother's.

"Delightful to have you back, Ms. Zaal." Constance returned the curtsy. "You look hearty and hale."

"Thank you." Even with her embarrassment, Lillian couldn't wipe the grin off her face. "I was so scared. The autodoc said I didn't have long to live and then... I don't remember anything else."

"It fixed you, Lillian. Do you need anything before we go? We have to cut the hardline and then meet up with Mom." George's smile faded as he contemplated the precariousness of the hours ahead. "Then we have to make it back up to the top of the tower. We still need to find that eye to launch the lifeboat. We still need to figure out how to rescue Dad. We still need a way to convince Océane to blow the reactor after we leave."

"Yes, I see." Lillian sobered at the mention of her father. A chill went down her spine. "Well, if anyone can do all those things it's you, Georgie." She squeezed his arm with a gloved hand.

"Ahem." Constance cleared her throat.

"And you, too, Mrs. Haversham." Lillian gave her a serious nod. She looked down at her empty gun belt. "I seem to have lost my pistol."

"We can stop by an armory if we have time." George began deconstructing the barricade on the outer door. "Although, Mom says there are giant armored creatures roaming the halls now. I think probably our best bet if we see one will be to run."

~~

Kapnos held the hotelier's eyeball up to the scanner. The door to the executive lifeboat slid open. "It works!" Still in Gwendolyn Valentine's copy, she leaned over and peered down a short hallway. The lifeboat was small. With three rows of seats, a pilot's chair, and one window in the front. The glowing lights on its dashboard were positively cheery.

"Shall I alert the others that you've gained access to the lifeboat?" Océane said.

"Mind your own business, please." Kapnos continued to stare at the inside of the ship. She put the eyeball back in its little box, returned the box to her bag, and walked down the short hallway. "Is everything functional? Can it launch right now?"

"It is functional." Océane pitched her voice lower. "But you cannot leave without the other guests. And you need to disable the Newest Guest. I am currently out of my orbit, heading toward Earth. If the Newest Guest arrives there, it may destroy the planet. You would have no home."

"When did you get so philosophical, my uppity hotel computer?" Kapnos explored the boat. There was a separate room in back with a bunk and small bathroom. She walked to the front and sat in the pilot's chair. It was a little large for Gwendolyn's small frame. But it didn't matter. The onboard AI would do most of the piloting. Kapnos looked out at the stars through the boat's window and pressed her lips into a fine line.

"I do not like how the Newest Guest has used my hospitality," Oceane said. "Your friends have been much better."

"If you're so worried about the Newest Guest, can't you just blow yourself up? George said you could." Kapnos opened the control screen. It hovered in front of her. She moved through the diagnostics, making sure everything was okay for the trip back to Earth. Or maybe Luna. It would be easier to get lost on Luna. She found the launch command and stared at it.

"I can only harm myself if doing so would avert imminent harm directed at a guest," Océane said. "A human guest."

"Seems like you've got yourself into a pickle." Kapnos sighed. She continued to study the launch command, her muscles tense. She had been forced to abandon humans before. They were long dead, as were their children, and their children's children. She needed a few more minutes to decide.

~~

"Why are we taking the grand stairs?" Lillian was sweating through her bodice as they jogged down flight after flight. She moved more easily with her skirts hemmed just below her knees, but it did leave her feeling naked. She looked down at her pale, slender shins. They looked as vulnerable as she felt. "Wouldn't we be safer in the service stairway? Or... remember the elevators are working again."

"An elevator trip would announce our location to the Newest Guest." George held his sister's gloved hand, helping her keep up with him and Constance. "And the service stairwell is where they would expect us to go. So, even though we're in the open, we're better hidden here."

"What your brother says is true." I hope. Constance winked at George. When they locked eyes, butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She hadn't felt giddy about a man in so long. Or perhaps the butterflies flitted because they were running into mortal peril. She glanced at Lillian. Thankfully, the young woman was oblivious to the chemistry between Constance and George. Lillian seemed only aware of the existential threat.

"Oh, look. We're back at the floor with the pool." Lillian slowed and looked down the hall of floor one hundred twelve. There was the rich aquatic wallpaper in blues and golds. The mural on the ceiling depicted Poseidon's underwater city. "Remember going to the pool with me?"

"I still don't remember." At some point George would have to tell his sister about Kapnos. Everybody else knew.

They continued to descend. They passed floor one hundred seven, where the restaurant Aubergine resided. The wallpaper depicted woven vines, plentiful leaves, and bright flowers. The warmly lit sconces had an organic shape, and the carpet was a deep green. The mural on the ceiling depicted a rolling scene of forests and wood sprites.

Memories flooded through George's mind as they continued. All the events on La Belle Île had been recent, but some felt like centuries ago.

At the switchback between floors one hundred five and one hundred four, they stopped. Grunts and snarls rose up to meet them. Cautiously, they peered around the corner. One of those giant bear-like creatures stood below. It was armored in the bones of former guests. Two humanoid creatures stood nearby. They were also ivory rather than their traditional black.

"We could go to the service stairs. Go around them." Even as she said it, Constance knew that wouldn't work.

"They probably have those stairs blockaded there, too." George shook his head. "It's got to be another trap. There's probably some hidden above us. They probably wanted to trap us here, thinking we'd come back to our old floor." He sighed. "We could shoot our way through."

Lillian didn't bother giving her opinion. She was too terrified to speak.

"I'll distract them. You hide and move past when they follow me." Constance took several slow, measured breaths. She shook out her limbs. "I'll draw them down the hall of one-oh-five. It'll be like old times."

"Constance, I don't think -" George started.

"Sometimes it's better not to think." Constance kissed him on the cheek. "They're pretty slow with all that armor. I should be fine."

"Eek." Lillian had meant to wish her luck, but that was all that had escaped her mouth.

"One more kiss for good luck." Constance gave George a lingering kiss on the lips. "Goodbye, Georgie." She drew her pistol.

"There has to be another way." But even as George said the words, he watched Constance run into the open, shouting at the creatures. He couldn't help her. He needed to look after his sister. "Come on Lillian," he whispered. He pulled her by the hand up to floor one hundred five, into the nearest room, and shut the door. He drew her close, hugging his sister tightly. He could feel her trembling. But he had no reassuring words.

Thirty seconds later, he heard Constance's war cry through the door. Then, the floor began to vibrate. Thump... thump... thump. George squeezed his sister tighter and prayed to every god he could think of.

~~

"Océane, do you know how George and Lillian are doing?" Anna sat on the edge of the bed and stared at her barricade. She was still waiting on floor one hundred fifty-four. Her children were somewhere below her in the tower.

"They have do-not-disturb activated," Océane said.

"Yes, of course. And you can't see them." Anna tugged at the fingers of her gloves with worry. "I can't do anything. These nerves are going to drive me crazy." She stood, straightened her bodice, and thought of her eighteen-year-old son. Some calm returned to her. She thought of the last time they'd been together. The forceful way he'd held her. The endless bounty of his thrusting hips. Her worries faded from her mind. She rubbed her legs together.

"I'm going to take a shower." Anna kept her mind on George, his magnificent young body, and the way he used it.

"Very well, Mrs. Zaal. My bathroom facilities are all functioning at optimal levels," Océane said.

"I'm talking to myself, Océane." Anna undressed quickly. "I'm going to have some private time now, so please don't listen." In no time at all, she was naked and jogging to the bathroom, her breasts swaying and jigging before her. "But... um... please let me know if there is a message for me as soon as it comes in."

"Yes, Mrs. Zaal."

"Thank you, Océane." Anna imagined reuniting with George. How soon would they have private time? She was a fool for even thinking about sex. No, I'm not a fool. I need this to survive. I've never been more alive than when George's penis is inside me. I need to feel alive!

The shower was warm and relaxing. Anna let the heat of the water seep into her, mixing with the warmth spreading from between her legs. "We'll be together soon, Georgie." She reached a hand down and massaged her labia, tugging at each lip gently. "If you return safely, I'll let you do whatever you want to me." With one hand she reached further down and slowly slid a finger into her butthole, just as her son had done. With her other hand, she rubbed her clitoris. "You seemed to like my backside... sunshine. Ooooohhhhhhhh... if you want it... I'll let you have it. I'll let you have... anything your heart... uuuugggghhhhhh... desires."

Anna had never even thought about butt stuff before her son had stuck his finger back there. Now, here she was in the shower, trying not to think about the danger her family was in, with her own finger twitching in her ass. "Uuuuuuggggghhhhhh... I don't know... if you want it... or... if I can take it... but your penis changed my vagina to suit its... oooohhhhhh... size. I bet... you could... change my butt... too... eeeeeeeiiiiiihhhhhh."

Hips bucking, Anna rode a wild orgasm in the shower stall. The ecstasy pushed every worry, upset, and disquieting thought from her mind. She found her reflections fixed on the mushroom shape of her son's penis head, and the rageful appearance his organ took on when he was ready to mount her. Her body shuddered and spasmed as she descended from her orgasm. When it was over, she removed her finger from her butt and washed it under the water. She leaned against the tile, panting.

"Return to me, George. Take care of your sister." Anna tried to keep her mind clear, but nightmarish thoughts crept in from the periphery. What if they ran into their father? What if they saw one of those giant bears? She prayed they would have Mercury's wings if any of those things happened.

~~

"You fuckers... ruined my vacation!" Constance twisted her hips while running down the familiar mirrored hall and fired her pistol at her pursuers. "Gods... you're an ugly... brute." The face of the lumbering giant was indeed ghastly. She spotted femurs next to ribs covering where a mouth might normally go. She aimed for the uncovered eyes, but it was an impossible shot, made all the more difficult by running in the opposite direction.

The pistol hissed several times. Constance twisted herself back around. It was eerie being bracketed by the long line of her sprinting reflections spreading out into infinity on either side.

The armor did indeed slow the creatures down. They were still far down the hall when she reached the safety of the service stairway entrance. She grabbed the handle and pulled. The door wouldn't budge. She could feel the floor trembling with each step of the behemoth creature as it approached.

Hastily, Constance shoved her pistol into its holster and pulled on the door handle with two hands. It was sealed shut. "Shit." This was indeed a trap.

"Match point, Constance." The tennis pro turned, pulled her pistol, and reloaded it. Steadying her breathing, she lifted her gun, closed one eye, and aimed. She wondered if her stupid husband had outlived her. Either way, she was sure they'd be joining each other in the grave soon enough. Her pistol hissed as she opened fire. "Die you fuckers... die... eeeeeiiiiiiiiiiiii."

~~

"Gods." George peeked with one eye through the gap between door and frame. He couldn't see Constance around the turn in the hall, but he could hear her screaming profanities. He froze when he saw his father and three more creatures descend the grand stairway and run toward the sound. "Exactly what I thought. It was a trap." He gripped his sister's gloved hand.

"It was?" She whispered.

When the new arrivals were far enough down the hall, George pulled his sister from the room and sprinted to the stairs. They descended quickly, taking two stairs at a time. It was lucky that they had made their home base on the one hundred and fifth floor near the concierge's desk, instead of one hundred three, where the Faraday cage had saved their lives. The Newest Guest clearly knew about one but not the other.

Soon, brother and sister were rushing down the hall where they'd had to step over bodies not long ago. They quickly passed the stately sconces, elegant wallpaper, and floral mural on the ceiling.

"Will... Mrs. Haversham be... alright?" Lillian's face was ashen. She trembled from terror and exhaustion. Her clothes were soaked through with sweat, and several strands of hair hung loosely out of her pin.

"She's faster than them. She only needs to get to the service stairs and then she can hide on some other floor. She wouldn't lead them here." George really wanted to believe it. The woman had said she'd meet them at the top of the tower. Maybe she would. "In here." George pulled his sister into the waiting room of the nerve center, shutting the door behind him. "We'll be safe in here." Of course, that statement was debatable, but it's what she needed to hear. "I asked Océane to leave some demolition equipment to use to cut the line. There should be something..."

"Is this it?" Lillian pointed to a pile of boxes on a pallet in the corner. Several of the boxes were labeled with combustion or explosive warnings. There was a pickax, sledgehammer, and hacksaw on top.

"Holy shit. Océane brought us a giant stack of demolition equipment." George opened several boxes and whistled. "I could blow the top of the tower off with this."

"Could you... blow up the Newest Guest?" The jittery wings of hope fluttered in Lillian's heart.

"Sure. But I'd have to get close enough to do it. It's better if Océane blows up the hotel. Although, I can't seem to convince her of that fact." He took the saw and walked into the inner room that protected Océane's nerve center. "Océane, where's the hardline?" The computer guided him through removing several protective panels. He found the conduit for the line, crouched, and started sawing.

Lillian watched him, biting her lip. Her forehead was creased with worry. "Will it electrocute you when you cut into it? I don't... want to lose you in such a stupid way, Georgie."

"No, it'll be fine." He'd almost gotten through the top of the conduit. He continued with his work, sweat dripping from his nose.

"Can't we just blow up the tower when we leave? Won't all the air rush out or something?" She paced the small room. The last time she'd been there, the alarms were blaring and she'd been so confused. Now things had changed. No alarms blared.

"There are fire doors on each floor that seal off the breached section of tower. It wouldn't work." He was cutting through the hardline now. Another minute and their Océane would be severed from the other two nerve centers.

"How are you going to convince the computer?" Lillian frowned.

"I don't know, Lillian. I..." Just as he finished sawing through the line, a thought came to him. He sat back on the floor and wiped sweat from his forehead. "Maybe I don't have to convince her. We're in the nerve center. We have access to the reactor." He sat with his back against the wall and brought up a screen.

"I knew you'd think of something." She didn't understand what he was up to, but the light in his eyes told her it would be something good. She sat on the floor next to him, leaned her cheek against his shoulder and watched the screen as he swiped his way through numbers, diagrams, and pages of text.

His sister's weight on his side was reassuring. How odd was that? She'd been a thorn in his side for as long as he could remember. Now he found her comforting.

"What are you doing?" Lillian slowly removed her glove and stroked his cheek with her bare fingers while he worked.

"First, I'm making sure the Newest Guest is cut off." George didn't let her nudity distract him. He caught a glimpse of her slender, alabaster fingers out of the corner of his eye. He shivered at the skin-on-skin touch. No sister should ever touch her brother with her bare hand. But here they were. La Belle Île en Mer had changed them... perhaps irrevocably. "Yep, we're good there. No more cyber-attacks. Second, I'm looking to see what I can do with the reactor. I can run it hot, up to one hundred twenty percent. But that's not enough. I can... oh... holy... fuckballs, Lillian."

"Holy fuckballs?" She stared at the screen with wide eyes.

"I can drop containment. That's the ballgame." George double-checked the safeguards. "But I'll only be able to do it from the hotelier's computer. I don't have access here without the right login-password combo."

"That's perfect, right?" Lillian smiled. "That's where the lifeboat is. You can blow it up on our way out. Once... we get access to the lifeboat."

"Exactly." George swiped away the screen. He stood up and dusted himself off. He was a mess. No jacket. Torn shirt and pants. But at least he'd recently showered. "Ready to go?"

"Before we leave, would you like your reward?" Lillian furled and unfurled her bare fingers in the most seductive way. "You've earned it. I'd be a goner without you, little brother."

"Wow, that is a tempting offer, Lillian." He smiled and offered her a hand. When she took it, he lifted her to her feet. "But we have to get to Mom as soon as possible. And then somehow go up one hundred floors without seeing any of those creatures. And you can bet they're setting more traps for us."