Survive the Monsters and Breed 5 Chapter 1

Shit. Realized I forgot to put up chapters!

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I stared at the footprints in the dirt and shook my head once more.

We’d narrowly escaped not one or two, but three woolly mammoths, only to find ourselves in what could either be another room or a maintenance tunnel. I wasn’t even sure how to tell the difference at this point.

“Did you just say we’re not alone down here?” Devonna squeaked, and a second later, the beautiful Southern woman was crouched down next to me.

“Look.” Shanice pointed to the tracks on the ground. “Those are definitely footprints.”

“It could be the maintenance workers if this is one of their tunnels,” Sarah pointed out as she leaned over my shoulder to get a better look.

“But if this were a maintenance tunnel, why would we need to scan our eyes to get through?” Marina asked in her thick, Latin accent.

“Perhaps is both.” Natasha, the gorgeous Russian woman shrugged.

“What do you mean ‘perhaps it’s both?’” Devonna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Natasha might be on to something,” Em, the petite Asian woman, noted with a gesture to the blonde in the dim light of the torch I held. “This could be another room, but maybe whoever put us here also uses it to access the other rooms. I mean, we know it leads to the tundra room, so maybe some tunnels around here lead to the other rooms, too.”

“Then they’d have to avoid the people in the room, though.” Sarah pursed her lips, and her long auburn ponytail swayed behind her as she cocked her head to the side.

“Not if they knew where people were,” Natasha said, and an eerie feeling accompanied her words.

“We have theorized that they’re watching us,” I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, which caused me to wince in pain.

“So, what’s our plan for tonight?” Shanice asked, and she looked at me seriously. “We could follow the prints and see where they lead. Maybe it would get us out of here.”

“They’re pretty clear,” Sarah added. “We could probably follow them for a while as long as they haven’t been disturbed.”

“Y’all realize we just fought a woolly mammoth, right?” Devonna asked, and she cocked her hip out to the side. “Any of you feel like walkin’ right about now?”

“Good point,” Em sighed.

“It is night time,” I noted. “A lot of cave-dwelling animals are nocturnal. If we don’t want another fight on our hands, we might want to set up camp for the night.”

“You think there’s bears in here?” Devonna asked, and her dark blue eyes darted around nervously.

“Why would your mind go straight to bears?” Sarah chuckled.

“Well, what else lives in caves?” the Southern woman asked haughtily.

“Um, wolves?” Sarah shook her head.

“Mountain lions,” Marina added.

“Bats,” I said.

“Foxes,” Em chimed in.

“Da, but we are not in cave,” Natasha said.

“Oh, I guess you’re right,” I agreed.

“What are you talkin’ about?” Devonna asked. “It looks pretty cave-like to me.”

“Just because something looks like cave does not mean it is one,” Natasha said. “This is tunnel. Cave is naturally occurring formation. Tunnel is man-made.”

“She’s right,” I confirmed. “This is definitely a tunnel, not a cave.”

“But there are still plenty of tunnel creatures to worry about.” Natasha smirked.

“Oh yeah, like gophers,” Sarah said.

“Wolverines,” Marina added.

“Snakes,” I chimed in.

“Alright, alright,” Devonna scoffed and threw her hands up in exasperation. “I get it. Apparently, there’s lots of critters for us to worry about in here.”

“Not to mention the bugs.” Shanice grinned.

“I don’t like that look on your face right now,” Devonna said, and she narrowed her eyes on the dark-skinned beauty. “You better wipe that look off your face, Shanice. Why does it seem like you’re eyein’ my shoulder? Is there somethin’ on me? Oh, God, get it off, get it off!”

Devonna spun in circles as she swatted at the imaginary bugs on her shoulder.

“Relax,” Shanice chuckled after the Southern woman had gone around at least twice. “There’s nothing on you, I was just kidding around.”

“Now is not the time, Shanice,” Devonna sniffed and straightened her shoulders to regain her composure. “We are in a very vulnerable position, you know.”

“Not that vulnerable, actually,” Natasha said, and her large, full lips pouted as she shrugged one shoulder up to her cheek. “We are in fairly safe place right now.”

“You call this place safe?” Devonna snorted and gestured all around.

“Chute is right there.” Natasha pointed up at the large metal slide we’d all just come down. “This is just wall here, and we know nobody else is going to come through chute since all others in tundra room are dead. So, now enemy can only come at us from one direction.”

“She makes a good point,” Em remarked.

“Don’t I always?” Natasha smirked, and her large eyes and lips shone with even more exaggeration than normal in the light of the torch I held.

“So, it’s settled.” Shanice clapped and stood up. “We’ll set up camp here for the night, yeah?”

“Sounds good to me,” Sarah said. “I need to check over Jake’s injuries anyway. And I’m sure we could all use some rest.”

“Da,” Natasha agreed. “And we need fire if we are going to not freeze to death tonight.”

“I am pretty cold,” Devonna shivered and wrapped her arms around herself.

“We’re all half-soaked, too,” Marina added. “I’m sure that’s not helping.”

“My boots are wet,” I noted. “I’m guessing everyone else’s are, too?”

“Yeah.” Sarah nodded.

“They’re squishy, alright.” Devonna wrinkled her nose as she looked down at her boots.

“We need to make sure we dry them out really well,” I said. “We can’t have wet shoes while we’re traveling. That’s a recipe for disaster.”

“I will get fire going,” Natasha offered.

“I can help,” Marina chimed in before turning to me. “Is the top of the chute still open?”

“I believe so.” I nodded. “Shanice and I pushed a piece of ice down to stop the door from closing.”

“Then it should work as makeshift chimney.” Natasha nodded.

“Si,” Marina agreed.

“Here,” Sarah said, and she held out her hand to me. “Come over here and sit down.”

“I’m fine,” I assured her, but I winced when she grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet.

“Mhm.” Sarah rolled her eyes. “All the wincing really has me convinced.”

“I’ve winced like twice,” I chuckled.

Sarah just raised an eyebrow at me.

“What?” I asked, and my brow furrowed. “Has it really been more than that?”

“You’ve been wincin’ with every move there, Tall Glass,” Devonna noted. “I’d listen to the doc if I were you. You did crash into a metal wall on the back of an extinct beastie at, like, full speed ahead.”

“Right,” Sarah agreed. “And the doc says to sit down and rest until we get the fire going. Then I’ll check out your injuries.”

“Good advice, Doc.” Devonna smiled.

“You know she’s not an actual doctor, right?” I laughed.

“Um, I’m the closest thing you have right now,” Sarah reminded me.

“Ahem.” Natasha looked up from where she was making the fire and raised an eyebrow at Sarah.

“Oh, right,” Sarah whispered. “You’re an actual doctor.”

“I thought you were a scientist?” Marina asked.

“Doctor of neuroscience,” Natasha noted with a shrug.

“Yeah, but that don’t help you with sick people, right?” Devonna asked.

“I suppose not,” the Russian woman chuckled. “But I still think is deserving of some kind of acknowledgment, no?”

“Yes,” Sarah agreed. “Sorry, Natasha.”

“Is fine,” Natasha said with a small smile.

It was little interactions like that which made me admire Natasha even more. The Russian woman was straightforward, but never rude. And while she wasn’t making a point that she was better than Sarah at this particular activity, she was reminding us all that she had her own skills, and they shouldn’t be looked over.

And she was absolutely right.

The Russian woman was usually quiet, and I had noticed that every now and then, she seemed to get forgotten by the group because of it. But she’d also given us the most insight into the monsters we were dealing with since she was knowledgeable about pretty much all things involving genes and the brain. Her specialty may be neuroscience, but she could talk about pretty much anything science related.

All the women I found myself surrounded by were incredibly talented, though in different ways. And some were louder about it than others, which meant that attention was often drawn to them above others. But just because someone was louder didn’t mean they were more valuable.

Natasha and Marina quickly got a small fire going, and soon enough, we had a roaring fire between us and the vast expanse of the tunnel.

We all formed a semicircle around the side of the fire closest to the tunnel wall behind the chute. Then I had everyone take their shoes off and carefully place them near the fire to dry.

Once that was done, Sarah gently patted my shoulder.

“Lean against the wall for me,” she said.

“Okay,” I agreed, and I leaned back and let myself relax some.

That relaxation was short-lived. Sarah was gentle as she ran her hands along my arm, up to my shoulder, and then down my chest, but it still hurt like a son of a bitch.

“Are you alright?” Sarah asked when she saw me wince again.

“Damn, Sarah,” Devonna teased. “You really aren’t a doctor. Look at that, you’re makin’ him hurt worse.”

“I’m just assessing his injuries,” Sarah told the dark-haired woman before turning back to me. “Where does it hurt the worst?”

“I’m not sure,” I admitted, and I sucked in a breath through my teeth as I tried to adjust my position. “It all hurts.”

I was putting it lightly. In all honesty, my entire body was so sore it hurt to even think about moving. I hadn’t noticed it until I sat down, but now that the adrenaline had worn off, I felt like total and complete garbage.

“No shit,” Shanice snorted.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I asked.

“I’m just surprised you weren’t writhing in pain sooner,” she explained apologetically. “I mean, your whole face is bruised to hell and back. I know you’re tough, but damn. That’s got to hurt.”

“Is my face really that bad?” I asked, and I winced as I reached up to touch my cheek.

“Yes,” all the women said in unison.

“Whoa,” I chuckled. “It must be really bad.”

“Now that the fire’s going, and we have better light to see by,” Sarah said, “I gotta say, it’s worse than I originally thought.”

“Oh, no,” Devonna pouted and scooted closer to me so she could put her hand on my arm. “Give it to us straight, Doc. Is he gonna live?”

“Oh, my god,” Shanice laughed. “You’re too dramatic.”

“I think he’ll be fine.” Sarah rolled her eyes at Devonna’s ridiculous attempt to lighten the mood. “But I am going to need him to undress.”

“Hubba hubba.” Devonna wiggled her eyebrows at me and looked me up and down.

“Can you go sit over there, please?” Sarah asked with a point behind her. “You’re making my patient uncomfortable.”

“I’m pretty sure he likes it.” Devonna grinned at me.

“Alright, you’re making me uncomfortable,” Sarah corrected.

“Oh, alright,” Devonna chuckled and stood up to make her way past me and Sarah and plop down between Natasha and Em.

“Thank you,” Sarah huffed and turned back to me with a sympathetic look. “I need to see the extent of the bruising. I’m worried you have some cracked ribs.”

“Pretty sure you’re right about that,” I said. “It hurts to breathe.”

“Yeah…” Sarah pursed her lips. “Let’s get that shirt off.”

Devonna put her fingers up to her mouth as if she were about to whistle, but before she could, Sarah whipped around to glare at her.

Devonna’s eyes widened, and she scratched her chin as if that’s what she were doing all along.

Sarah muttered under her breath before turning back to me, and I couldn’t help but think about how adorable the two women were. They bickered like sisters, and while it could sometimes be inconvenient to have my team split on certain matters, it also made for a fun time. We may be trapped in a series of fucked up torture chambers disguised as random ecosystems with genetically mutated monsters after us, but at least there was never a dull moment.

Sarah helped me to pull my jacket off and lift my shirt over my head, and after they were off, I was exhausted from the effort I’d just exerted. Which seemed crazy considering what I’d just gone through in the tundra room.

I managed to go head to head with a fucking woolly mammoth less than an hour ago, but now I could barely move my body to get my own clothes off because I was so sore and stiff. Adrenaline really was a double-edged sword. All that ignorance of pain and injury always came crashing down later, and I was at the bottom of that crash.

With a deep sigh, I leaned against the cool tunnel wall and closed my eyes while Sarah once again ran her hands along my body. She started on my left side with my ear and jaw, and then she worked her way down to my neck and collarbone. As soon as she touched the actual bone, I winced and jolted from the rush of pain that ran through my body.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Sarah sighed.

“I’m guessing that’s broken, too?” I hissed through gritted teeth.

“Definitely,” Sarah agreed. “But that’s not the worst part.”

“What’s the worst part?” I wondered, and I eyed her suspiciously.

“Well.” The redhead bit her lip and looked down. “It’s kind of… misaligned.”

“Shiiiiiiit,” I groaned and leaned my head back against the dirt again.

“What does that mean?” Devonna asked. “That sounds bad. Is that like that bad kinda cancer or somethin’?”

“What the fuck?” Shanice scoffed.

“You know, that misalignant or whatever.” The Southern woman waved her hand dismissively.

“Did you just ask if Jake has cancer?” Sarah shook her head in disbelief.

“Well, excuse the hell outta me for bein’ concerned,” Devonna huffed.

“I’m sorry,” Sarah snickered, and the rest of us couldn’t help but join in. “It’s just… How would I be able to tell if he had cancer?”

“I don’t know,” Devonna replied in a high-pitched voice. “Can’t you feel it or somethin’?”

“Technically, Devonna is not totally incorrect,” Natasha noted with an amused look.

“See?” Devonna asked with a pointed look at Sarah, but then Natasha’s words sank in, and she turned to the Russian woman. “Hold up, what do you mean I’m not ‘totally incorrect?’”

“Certain cancers can be felt in the body,” Natasha explained, and her short blonde pixie cut lit up bright orange from the flames in front of her. “At least, the supposed cancer can be felt.”

“Right, like a breast lump,” Em added.

“Da.” Natasha nodded. “Or testicular lump.”

“Ew.” Devonna wrinkled her nose.

“Why is that ‘ew?’” Sarah scoffed. “You’re so rude.”

“Sorry, I just thought about lumpy balls, and it grossed me out.” She turned back to Natasha. “Proceed with how right I am.”

“Oh, God.” Shanice rolled her eyes.

Devonna glared at the dark-skinned woman, but Shanice glared right back at her.

“You know people die from that, right?” Sarah scoffed, and apparently she wasn’t willing to let the ‘ew’ comment go.

“Actually, is not common,” Natasha said. “Testicular cancer is one of highest cured cancers. So is not probable someone who has it will die from it. But regardless, Devonna is still absolutely ridiculous for thinking Sarah could tell if any sort of lump was cancerous or not. A lump does not equal cancer, it must be biopsied to confirm whether is malignant or not.”

“Malignant!” Devonna pointed at Natasha and nodded fervently. “That’s the word I was thinking of earlier.”

“You don’t say,” Natasha said with a wry smile.

“Wait, so if Jakey doesn’t have cancer, then what were you talkin’ about, Sarah?” the Southern woman asked.

“She was saying his collarbone is misaligned,” Marina chimed in, and she put her two forefingers together tip to tip. Then she lifted one up slightly to demonstrate the concept.

“Oooohhhh.” Devonna nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense.”

“We’re so glad to be of assistance,” Natasha half-chuckled.

“Well, sorry I don’t know about doctor stuff,” Devonna apologized with an eye roll. “Cheese and crackers, y’all are judgy.”

“Am going to ignore this comment,” Natasha told her before turning to Sarah. “Normally with injury like this, doctor puts arm in sling and allows bone to heal itself. It develops somewhat ‘sticky’ substance at both ends of break, and as this builds up, distance between the ends decreases until fully fused together again.”

“Well, I’ll be…” Devonna shook her head in awe. “That’s some fancy healin’ right there.”

“Okay, but it’s, like, really misaligned.” Sarah bit her lip anxiously. “If he heals with it like this, I’d worry about his range of movement being affected…”

Natasha frowned and came over to look. Then her frown deepened.

“Da.” Natasha nodded. “Usually to force misalignment back into place requires surgery with bolts being put in to keep bone from moving again. However, Jake heals very quickly. So…”

“So we could realign it and just leave it?” Sarah asked hopefully.

“I believe so,” the Russian woman agreed. “Must be careful of arteries, but I can manage this.”

“Um, do you know the best way to do it?” Sarah asked.

“I studied the body for years,” Natasha replied with a small smile. “I can manage.”

“Didn’t you study the brain?” Devonna corrected.

“Oh, now you want to act like you know something?” Natasha teased, and the rest of the girls started laughing.

“Y’all are so mean,” Devonna huffed.

“You bring it on yourself,” Shanice chuckled.

“You do,” Marina agreed. “I am last to come to this group, but even I can see you dole out criticism far more readily than you accept it.”

“I believe you mean to say Devonna can dish it, but she can’t take it,” Em giggled.

“Si.” Marina grinned.

“Oh, whatever,” Devonna said with an eye roll, which only prompted the women to burst into laughter yet again.

While everyone else was picking on Devonna, Natasha made her way over to where Sarah and I sat on the far side of the fire. The Russian woman carefully laid me down, straddled me, and then leaned against my chest just slightly as she softly ran her hand up my abs to my collarbone.

The feel of her hands on me paired with the sight of her straddling me helped take my mind off of what was actually happening. Even when I knew she was about to cause me serious pain, I couldn’t help but think the Russian woman was absolutely stunning.

“Take deep breath,” she whispered.

I breathed in, and on the exhale, Natasha pushed the heel of her palm against my collarbone and popped it back into place.

My breath was cut short, and I let out a little gurgling sound as I was overcome by so much pain I thought I was about to have an aneurysm.

“Jesus,” I breathed as I lifted myself up onto my elbows and heaved in deep breaths.

Natasha leaned back and cocked her head to the side as she assessed my injury.

“Da.” She nodded. “Is straight now. Move carefully while healing begins.”

“Thank God,” I groaned.

“But bruising goes down past his hip,” the Russian woman pointed out, and she trailed her finger down to the waistband of my pants. “You should have him take them off, too. I can help assess if hip is partially dislocated.”

“You think his hip could be dislocated?” Sarah asked, and her dark green eyes widened to saucers. “Shit, I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Would only be mild considering he can walk,” Natasha explained as she crawled off of me to sit next to Sarah. “But I need to feel it to check.”

“I thought you weren’t that kind of doctor,” Sarah teased, mocking something Natasha had said just a couple of days before.

“I’m not.” She shrugged. “But I went to chiropractor a lot.”

“I thought real doctors hated chiropractors,” Sarah chuckled.

“Again, not that kind of doctor.” Natasha smirked.

“Fair enough,” Sarah laughed and turned back to where I was still trying to breathe through the pain of having my collarbone popped back into place. “I know that hurt, but Natasha and I need to take your pants off and check out the bruises.”

“Damn, Jakey,” Devonna said. “That woolly mammoth really did a number on you.”

“Did you expect anything less?” Shanice scoffed. “It’s a fucking woolly mammoth.”

“Yeah, can we talk about how crazy that was for a second?” Em asked. “I mean, we’ve seen a lot of monsters in these rooms so far, but a woolly mammoth? That’s crazy. How did they even get woolly mammoth DNA?”

“Frozen in ice,” Natasha explained. “DNA lasts years when frozen properly. This is how we’ve studied several ice age specimens.”

“It’s true,” Marina confirmed with a nod. “The ice and snow will preserve just about anything if it dies under the right conditions. I used to find frozen carcasses all the time in the winter when I’d go hunting.”

“Why a woolly mammoth, though?” Devonna wondered, and she cocked her head to the side. “I mean, it’s just a big, hairy elephant? Why not cross an elephant with something?”

“Why mess with nearly perfect predator?” Natasha shrugged.

“But I thought woolly mammoths weren’t predators?” Sarah asked. “Weren’t they herbivores?”

“Technically, yes.” The Russian woman nodded. “But if you were going to choose an animal to turn into predator, what would you choose? Woolly mammoth seems like perfect choice to me.”

“Their tusks are ridiculously long and sharp,” Em noted.

“And they’re massive,” Marina added. “That alone makes them valuable.”

“Splicing genes is not easiest thing in the world,” Natasha noted. “Perhaps whoever is doing splicing tried to mix elephant DNA with other animals already. Could be that splicing elephants with other animals makes result smaller.”

“Mmm,” Em mused and nodded. “That would make sense. I think. You’re the genetic expert.”

“I am not expert,” Natasha chuckled. “I am only guessing based on other knowledge I have.”

“Well, it sounds like a good guess to me,” Devonna said. “Either way, that hairy elephant did Jakey boy in. How long do you think it’ll take him to heal?”

“Collarbone and ribs should heal completely in less than two days,” Natasha said. “At least, that is what we’ve seen in past. But with added injuries it could be longer.”

“Alright, let’s lay you back down,” Sarah said, and she held her hand out to help me lower myself to the ground.

“Do we really have to take my pants off?” I asked, but as soon as my back hit the ground, my feet wound up right by the fire, and I couldn’t help but relax just a little.

“What’s wrong, Tall Glass?” Devonna teased. “Afraid we’re gonna see your manhood?”

“And what if I am?” I joked back, but it wasn’t much of a joke at all.

In all actuality, I was concerned about Em. I hadn’t been with either her or Marina, but I didn’t think Marina was a virgin. She’d probably seen a naked man at least a few times in her life. Em hadn’t, though, and the last thing I wanted to do was make her uncomfortable.

“Oh, come on,” Devonna laughed. “It’s nothin’ we all haven’t seen before.”

“Um, actually…” Em trailed off and looked down.

“Si,” Marina added. “Not everyone here has slept with Jake.”

“Oooh, shit.” Devonna bit her lip. “Sorry, ladies. I guess I kinda forgot. At this point, it just feels like we’re livin’ the sister wife dream and riding the same cock.”

“I’m sorry, but you actually watched that show?” Em asked as her brow furrowed.

“What show?” Devonna narrowed her eyes.

“Sister Wives,” Em giggled. “It’s a reality show about a polygamist family, but never mind. Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure that came out after your time… maybe, like, 2010?”

“Sounds like it’s right up my alley,” the Southern woman snickered. “Go on, tell me about it. Spare no details, either.”

“I swear, there is something wrong with you, girl,” Shanice said, and she put her hand over her mouth.

“I thought you were a good Southern woman?” Marina teased.

“I am a good Southern woman,” Devonna scoffed and put her hand on her chest. “But I do love me some scandalous reality shows. They’re one of my guilty pleasures. There was this one show where—”

Sarah leaned down and whispered to me so I stopped paying attention to what Devonna was saying.

“Natasha and I will block you as best we can, okay?” she asked. “But I do think we should check your hip.”

“I know,” I sighed.

“Looks like Devonna has them occupied over there, anyway,” Natasha said with a wry smile.

“Alright, let’s do it,” I agreed.

“Just lift up a little,” Sarah instructed.

I did as she requested, and she and Natasha shimmied my pants down to my mid-thigh. I quickly grabbed my shirt and covered myself, but when I glanced over to see if the women were still occupied, Em’s eyes met mine.

The beautiful Asian woman flushed bright red in the firelight, and then she looked away from me quickly.

Still, the fact that she’d been staring made the corner of my mouth lift with a little smile. She’d been checking me out, and I had to admit, I liked it.

The rest of the women had come onto me, but Em was a virgin, so I knew it would take longer for her to think about being with me, if she did at all. But now, seeing the way she looked at me, I knew she was at the very least considering the possibility of us together.

I’d already known she was starting to warm up to me since she’d jokingly agreed to go out on a date with me after we got out of here, but I hadn’t expected to see her trying to sneak a peek at me naked.

I didn’t mind, though. Not one bit.

Natasha and Sarah touched me gently as they assessed my injuries, and after a couple of minutes, they pulled my pants back up and helped me to sit up again.

“What do you say, Docs?” I joked with the two of them. “Do I get a clean bill of health?”

“Absolutely not,” Natasha chuckled.

“I think the medical term for your situation is fucked up,” Sarah said with faux seriousness.

“Can confirm.” Natasha nodded.

“Well, shit,” I laughed, which only made me wince in pain.

“Yeah, try to do less of that,” Sarah said with a shake of her head.

“At least for tonight,” Natasha added. “It seems first few hours after injury are most critical for expedited healing. You should try and relax.”

“Right,” Sarah agreed. “Try your best to chill–”

“Oh, my God!” Devonna screamed at the top of her lungs, and she leapt into the air and started to spin around. “Get it off, get it off!”

“Shanice!” Sarah chastised.

“I didn’t do anything this time,” the dark–skinned woman promised, and her wide eyes and the way she leaned away from Devonna told me she was telling the truth.

“Somebody get it off!” Devonna screamed and pouted all at once.

Just then, she spun around so we all got a good view of what was on her, and a collective gasp filled the air.

A monstrous centipede took up the length of her back.