The Succubae Seduction Ch. 09

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Chapter 09

Fire Ant.

"Oomph!" Grunting, I slam into the back of my couch, barely dodging the fireball. It explodes behind me, sending a wash of painful heat over me.

Wasting no time, I get back to my feet just in time to jump over my couch. The second gout of flame powers into the couch, shoving it back and taking me with it.

What is this thing? A humanoid creature made out of red ants and spewing fire? Ugh, might as well call the thing a fire ant. . . . I know, a bad pun, but the heat is on with this one.

"Hold still, and your death will be quick," the things gravelly voice sounds, just as the fire alarm goes off.

"Sure," I say, trying to milk the sarcasm. Peaking around the edge of the couch, I see the fire ant slowly stepping around the furniture to get a clear shot at me. "Giving up has always been my style anyway."

Looking behind it, I see the door to my apartment up in flames. Well, at least now I know where that first attack hit.

The thing's mandibles open wide, and I super-speed to my last hope of escape: my back window, over twenty stories up.

Crash!

The window shatters as I dash through it, and I find myself once again falling from a deadly height. Panic grips my heart, and for a second I freeze before remembering to grow my wings.

Too late I feel the drain on my system as pain in my shoulder blades shatters my consciousness, and I black out.

* * *

I'm not sure if it's the impact that wakes me, or if . . . naw, it's definitely the impact. My body aches as I lift my head, and see a flickering shadow lean out of a broken window. I watch in horror as the thing shakes, scattering itself and sending ants flying in all directions.

Somehow my apartment building starts moving away from me. In confusion I watch as the wall slides past me, and then of all the absurdities, the large building actually turns.

Now wait a minute. . . . Rolling over, I find myself nestled into a decent sized dent in the top of the Orange Bubble.

"How the. . . ." I trail off as my car comes to a stop, and the driver's side opens up. It takes me a moment to coordinate rolling off of the vehicle, as my wings get in the way. They must have slowed my descent enough to land almost safely. I have to tuck them in tightly to my body as I slip into the driver's seat.

To my surprise, the car doesn't immediately get moving. I don't know how long before the fire ant coalesces and comes after me, but it shouldn't take long before it's on my trail again. Then I realize my vehicle is waiting for me. It strikes me as odd that sometimes it will act on its own and other times, wait for me to do something.

Where can I go, though? The sun is just setting on the horizon, and I don't know where Becky or Lisa work; but even though Lisa is a martial artist, I don't want to get either woman involved in this.

My mind goes to Jennifer Lansbury and how sad she's going to be that I'm going to end up standing her up. I'd call her, but I lost the paper with her name and address on it, and I'm not sure if my phone survived the fall.

Without warning, my car pulls back out into traffic, and I turn to see the fire ant forming back up as it comes out of my flaming apartment building. Thankfully it's not spewing fire into traffic as it begins chasing me. Also thankfully, with all the rubberneckers passing my burning building, the monster gets slowed down. Somehow the Orange Bubble is able to find an opening, and soon the beast is far behind me.

But where am I going? The last thought I'd had was. . . .

"No," I say, realizing what my VW Beatle had picked up on. "I can't involve her either! Guard Lansbury isn't going to be able to help. Find Angela or Brooke! One of them will know what to do." If my car takes my advice, it doesn't show. I try to take control of the wheel, but it won't budge, and the pedals do nothing.

Finally I give up, and just watch the scenery zoom by. It takes a force of tremendous will to remove my wings, without blacking out.

I'm surprised when my car pulls up outside of a grocery store.

"What are we doing here?" I ask, but my question is answered as Jennifer walks out, pushing a cart full of food. "No, I won't involve her," I declare, but the Orange Bubble betrays me by honking twice.

"Mr. Snow?" Even through the closed door, I can clearly hear her.

Sighing, I open my door and step out. "I hope that's for dinner," I say nodding to the food in her cart, "because I'm famished." I don't want her involved, and try not to let on how hard my heart is still beating in my chest. Supernatural monsters trying to kill me is NOT a good way to end the day.

She just stares at me, shock painted plainly across her face. "What are you doing here? How did you find me here?" she manages to get out after a couple of uncomfortable seconds. "I was certain you wouldn't show up, but how did you know I was here? And what happened to your car?"

"Can I tell you a secret?" I ask, trying to act cool and nonchalant. "The Orange Bubble is really smarter than I am, and brought me here." My car actually revs up a bit as I say that. Just how smart is my vehicle?

She pushes her cart closer to me, a scowl marring her face. "Are you making fun of me, Mr. Snow?"

"No!" I promise. "Please, call me Lyden." She's now facing me directly, angrily meeting my eyes.

"Didn't you have a good enough laugh at me at work? Did you really have to stalk me and tease me some more?" I can smell a bit of liqueur on her breath.

What the heck? I thought she'd wanted to meet me after reading my email.

"Dang it, Jennifer, I told you that wasn't my intent, and I'm not here to make fun of you now. I—"

"Oh my god, why are your clothes burned?" she asks suddenly, cutting me short. She grips my shoulders, flipping me around, and as I look down I realize that my pant legs have been charred. I guess that thing had come closer to cooking me than I thought.

"Yeah, see, I was at this BBQ, and this guy showed up thinking I was the main course—"

"You even have ants on you," she says, and I feel a chill enter my bones.

"A-a-ants?" I stammer, and turn to look. I find one immediately. It's crawling across my shoulder.

"And what did you do to your shirt? You have two large holes in the back. Lyden, you weren't at one of those S&M bars were you? I know how kinky some men get." While I'm happy to hear her getting back to her normal self, the fact that I'm finding ants on me is enough to set my teeth chattering. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue? Or do you want me to do something with it?"

I'm looking around furiously, trying to watch all directions at once. The monster has to be close. What's that shadow over by that truck? Is that a chittering sound I hear by that car? I can barely hear anything over the sound of my own heart thumping painfully in my chest.

"Jennifer," I say, trying to keep my voice calm, but knowing that my fear is bleeding into my tone, "Whatever you do, don't turn around."

I can see the thing clearly now, stepping under a street lamp, and walking calmly towards us.

"What do you mean, don't turn around? Hey, who is that?" Of course she doesn't listen. Why should anyone listen to perfectly good advice?

Well, if my advice is going to be ignored, I might as well dispense some more. "Don't worry about that. Just get in my car, and let's go."

I know the thing is somehow tracking me through the ants. Pheromones maybe? How did it know where I lived? But if I can get far enough away, and kill any ants I find, then maybe I can escape the killer.

"Has this guy been bothering you, Lyden?" Jenifer stands, and faces the oncoming horror.

"Lyden Snow. You cannot escape me. Your death has been commanded by the Pillar of Fire." The thing's voice doesn't sound any less scary in the open air than it had in my apartment.

"What the. . . .?" Jennifer says as the thing comes close enough for the monster's mandibles to become visible.

"Get down!" I shout, tackling the large woman out of the way, as the fire ant's mandibles open wide, and flame spurts out. We hit the ground just fine, but the Orange Bubble isn't as lucky. In horror, I watch as flames spread across my faithful vehicle as if it were covered in gasoline.

"Oh, hell no!" Jennifer screams, shoving me off her and standing to face the creature.

"Jennifer, no! You can't—" Before I have a chance to speak further, she reaches into the back of her pants, and pulls out a pistol she has hidden there. Thunder cracks as she fires off a couple rounds into the fire ant's chest. I watch in burgeoning hope as I see the rounds slam into the creature, and pieces of it burst free from the impacts of the two rounds.

The fire ant doesn't even seem to notice. In fact, if anything, the thing begins to laugh.

"What IS that thing?" Jennifer demands, as she pulls me away from the advancing fire ant and fires a couple more shots at it.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I shout over the sound of her pistol firing a couple more rounds.

"Try me," she snarls. "Right now a fire breathing thing is trying to kill us. I might just believe whatever you have to say."

I decide not to point out that it's technically after just me. "Okay, well, it's a man-thing, made up of fire ants."

She only gives me a partially skeptical look, before checking her magazine. "Damn! I only have a few rounds left. And double damn the new laws!" She shoves the magazine back in and then pulls me down behind another car. Flame lances over our heads, but the car blocks it from us. "I need to get to my truck. Do you think you can get to my cart?"

"Your. . .? I don't think we need food right now. We need to get out of here," I tell her.

"Dammit Lyden, I don't want the food in there. I have a can of Raid in one of the bags. Been trying to fend off some roaches." I can tell she's a bit insulted at my words, but what was I supposed to think?

Raid. Right. . . . "I don't think there is enough Raid in that store to kill that thing." I sound sooo optimistic right now.

"Can you do it?" the large guard presses me.

I glance around the car and see the cart, then the flaming remains of the Orange Bubble on the other side of the fire ant. Dang, that fire burns fast! Can I do it? I'm exhausted and out of energy. I overdid it with my wings and escaping that thing in my apartment. I don't have the strength to even run right now.

I stare into Jennifer's large blue eyes and nod my head. I'll do it, or die trying.

I just wish that latter option wasn't the most likely outcome.

The big chested woman shoves me away, taking off running and firing her last few rounds into TanaVesta's hired thug. "Over here, you hot piece of insect riddled meat," she calls, getting the thing's full attention. "Are you only a one trick man? Can't you do anything else to please a woman?" Even under pressure, she manages to be raunchy. My respect for her increases.

Moving quickly to the other end of the car, I try and sprint for the unguarded cart. So, maybe sprint is too strong of a word, maybe something more like shambled quickly. Anyway, I'm able to reach it without incident, but groan as I see how many plastic bags are in the thing. How am I going to find a single can of Raid in here?

"Lyden," Jennifer screams, and I hear an odd clicking sound, "Any day now. I only have one round in this thing."

I spare a glance at her, and see that she has a double barrel shotgun in her hands, apparently grabbed from the cab of her truck, and I understand her plan. Unfortunately, the fire ant's attention is back to me as well, and it starts running back my way.

Frantically, I start pulling bags out and dumping their contents onto the asphalt. Eggs splatter, and a carton of milk breaks open, but no cans of Raid.

"Lyden. . . ." Jennifer yells a warning at me. Looking up, I see the thing inhaling to fire at me, and I shove the cart and start moving.

Wait, was that it? Frantically I lean into the cart, falling in and start tearing at the spot I thought I saw it. The cart continues to roll.

Yes! I cheer in triumph as I hold it up. Naturally that's the moment that the moving cart hits a curb and sends me tumbling out. I even manage to lose my grip on the can, and watch in horror as it rolls away from me, and under a car.

"Lyden, quit fucking around!" Jennifer screams, but I ignore her as I scramble to my feet just in time to avoid another bolt of searing hot pain. The cart and what contents remained end up well done. If I weren't so terrified for my life at the moment, I'd almost enjoy the smell of cooked food. Hey, I missed dinner, remember?

Catching up to the can, I reach under the black car, scoop it up, and turn to throw it near the monster. My aim is poor as I'm off balance however, and the can flies straight at the fire ant.

"Fuck!" I scream, yelling the worst word I know in my frustration. Can't I get at least a little break?

The thing doesn't even try to dodge, and the can strikes it in the chest. To my surprise, instead of bouncing off, the ants that make up the thing's body pull the can into its torso.

"Jennifer, NOW!" I bellow, and I watch as the things mouth opens to expel fire at me. I know I'm not going to get away from it in time. Everything seems to slow as I watch the heat build up in its throat. I know that I only have a couple seconds left, until I'm a Kentucky Fried Chicken. The thing roars, and then appears to grow larger, its chest expanding out. Is it trying to make me extra crispy with more flame?

Jennifer must have shot the thing with her shotgun, I think, as the monster is suddenly engulfed in a cloud of smoke and fire.

Something doesn't feel right, and it's hard to hear through the loud ringing in my head, but it dawns on me that I'm lying on my back.

And laughing.

I'm alive, I think, and then can't hold it in anymore, and scream, "I'm ALIVE!"

"But you won't be free for long unless you get up and we get out of here." Jennifer leans over me, and I find myself thinking about just how large her breasts are. She's holding her hand out to me, and with a strong grip, she pulls me up. "I hear sirens," she tells me, and suddenly I'm worried again. My apartment is burned up, and after the fires, and the gun shots here, the police are going to want to talk to me.

I let the woman pull me over to her truck, and I get in the passenger side. I wave one last farewell to the remains of the Orange Bubble as we peal out of the parking lot. The flames are dispersing, but I can make out that my car is nothing more than a blackened husk. I can still make out the dent in the top, where it had caught me from my fall earlier in the evening. Thoughts and memories of all the years we'd been together, and even of the time spent under the ocean, flit through my mind as the city zooms by.

At some time, Guard Lansbury puts her shotgun back into the rack in the back window, and I only absently note the two unused shells in her hand.

"What made you think to throw the can into it, instead of by it?" she asks me. "I planned on shooting the can as it got close to the thing, but your plan worked much better. I'm guessing that the internal heat was too much for the can, and it exploded. Do you think it's dead?"

She continues to drone on, and I decide to take a nap.

It feels like I only have enough time to blink, before Jennifer is shaking me awake.

"Wake up, Lyden. If you think I'm carrying your skinny ass into the cabin, think again!"

"Cabin?" I mumble, wiping some spittle from my cheek.

"I thought about taking you back to my place, but I've never let another man in there before. The cabin seemed like a smarter choice anyway," she tells me, and I can only smile and nod. I'm completely exhausted. "It only has one bedroom, and the bathroom is out back, but you can sleep on the couch. You look too tired to tell me much tonight, but I expect a full explanation in the morning."

I stumble more than walk into the cabin and collapse onto the proffered couch. I don't even notice how dark the cabin is.

"No hanky-panky. I'll be locking my door," are the last words I hear before oblivion folds me within its wonderful embrace.

* * *

Birds chirping are the first sounds to penetrate my consciousness, and drag me from a terrible dream of being chased by ten foot ants, waiving their antennae at me, and trying to get me to stay for a BBQ.

"'Bout time you woke up," Jennifer says, and I look over to see her lounging in a wicker chair, sipping from a steaming cup of something that smells deliciously like coffee.

"Got another one of those?" I murmur as I groggily sit up. She goes to the attached kitchen, and pours me a cup. I realize that there's no electricity in this place, and know that the coffee must have been made over the wood stove.

"Now start talking," she tells me as I take my first sip, burning the tip of my tongue on the bitter brew.

"It won't be easy to believe," I tell her, but the look she gives me says I'd better get yapping. I tell her about how I'd somehow seen Angela in my office, and everything since then, glossing over the sex, but otherwise giving it to her straight.

"A generator?" she asks when I get to the part of the story where TanaVesta held me captive. "So you can stick a light bulb in your mouth and make it light up, like Uncle Fester?"

"Not quite," I chuckle as I finally feel the effects of the coffee kicking in. "Somehow I draw in energy from someone, magnify it, and then return it."

"You draw in energy from someone? How?" I can tell she understands that question just about as well as I do.

I've been trying to avoid this, but decide that she deserves complete honesty after saving my life last night.

"Sex. Through orgasms, to be more precise." The look she gives me is enough to know that she doesn't believe a wink of it. "I'm not trying to make fun of you, I swear."

"So what about all this stuff you say you can do? Move really fast, or what did you call it? Super-speed? Changing your clothes? Do something like that."

I try to give her the same look she'd given me, but it just bounces off her tough exterior. "I can't," I admit. "I'm worn out and exhausted. I used up too much last night, and haven't been able to recharge, so to speak. I haven't even eaten since lunch yesterday."

"If that's your way of getting into my knickers, it's not working. As for food, I had a whole cart-full, and someone went and got that destroyed."

"Look, I thank you for saving my life, but I'd probably better get going. No telling when another assassin might come for me," I tell her as I start to stand.

"Not happening," she tells me while standing up to block me, and the strength of her grip on my shoulder, coupled with the fact of how easily she holds me down, causes me to give up. "I already used your phone to call in to work. I told your bitch of a boss that you were sick and pretended to be your girlfriend."

OUCH! Sheila's not likely to like that! On the plus side, I guess my phone is working fine.

"You didn't tell me your apartment burned down." Her tone has turned accusing, as she sits back in her chair.

"The fire ant," I tell her, and she nods.

"So, if I have this straight, you're some sort of supernatural being that magically creates power. Your best friends are a succubus and a mermaid, and there's a god-like dragon that's out to kill you. That sound about right?"

"Well, when you put it like that, it sounds crazy," I reply defensively. "Besides, you left out my debonair charm and good looks."

She laughs at my joke, but it's soon swallowed by an uncomfortable silence.

"Look, Jennifer, I don't want you to be in any more danger. You saved my hide last night, you're tougher than you look, but I still count you as a friend and don't want you getting hurt."