The Door

Chapter 5- I Will Survive This!

The sun hung low over the forest. From the river, the land moved up in elevation, and in the distance, mountains could be seen. The forest, however, was already growing dark, very dark, when I heard a blood-curdling scream off to my right. It appeared to be upriver. I was naked, armed, and armored, but still, excited and frightened all at the same time. Also, the scream was distinctly feminine and very desperate. So, without a second thought, reacting to my formerly husbandly and fatherly instinct to protect, I started running all out as hard as I could.

Tree limbs grabbed at my shoulders and seemed to come out of nowhere to swing for my head. Brush and shrubs scratched at my arms and thighs. Needles, weeds, and debris cut and pierced my bare feet. And yet, I felt nothing as I raced through the forest.

Screams continued to cry out, alerting me to where the woman, or girl, was and where she was running to. It seemed she was coming towards me but also veering away from me, headed away from the river. So, changing my trajectory, I steered toward the female and closed the distance with every pump of my legs.

The sun disappeared behind the mountains just as I cleared the forest and charged into a small grassy meadow. Opposite me, a cloaked woman stumbled out of the forest and turned to my left, headed straight for the river. She never even saw me.

A cloak was gathered around her shoulders, and the hood was drawn forward over her head, covering her face. However, the cloak streamed out behind her, revealing all of the rest of her, and the rest of her was strange indeed. In those brief seconds as she ran toward the river, I saw several things at once. Firstly, her skin was a burnished garnet color. Her coloring was not a natural human color at all. Second, there was something odd about how she ran. The roll of her hips and the way her legs and feet worked—there was something strange there. Third, she was almost as naked as I was!

From what I could see, she wore a leather underbust corset that girded her ribs and waist, and protected her belly. It seemed to ride high over her broad hips, but then left her lower belly fully exposed. Also, tied around the corset was a purple sash, and atop the sash was a wide leather belt with a small knife and a long sheath hooked iron rings along with several small pouches that bounced on her broad hips and thick, very well-rounded, and completely exposed ass cheeks. And lastly, and most surprising of all, sprouting from between the woman’s big round ass cheeks and waving back and forth with her every stride was a long thick tail some four or five feet long that tapered to an olive leaf-shaped point!

‘Wait! Was she naked?’ I gasped in my own head.

Stunned, I blinked but couldn’t keep my eyes off the woman as she ran away from me as fast as she could! Sure enough, I confirmed to myself that woman’s ass was as bare as the day she was born! It was big, it was beautiful, and it was out there for all the world to see! All the world being me at the moment, and whoever or whatever was chasing her.

Just then, five cloaked men dashed out of the forest behind the woman and chased after her. Whatever the girl was, she wasn’t human, so I wasn’t sure if I should think of her as a woman. However, whatever she was, she was in need of rescuing from brigands. At best, they wanted her possessions, and at worst, they just wanted her. I had a split second to think and choose, and so I did.

Running all out, I gave chase. The men’s gear and tack clinked and rattled loudly. They were dressed in full leather armor with strips of chainmail. It was quite beautifully done. Their armor seemed like it was made for scouts, woodsmen, or trackers. It was light and flexible. Easy to give chase in. They also wore matching blue cloaks and brandished matching swords. One man wielded a dagger as a secondary weapon while another wielded an axe. Another held a great sword while the last two men brandished short swords and shields.

They barreled out of the forest, looked around wildly to find the girl, and then the commander yelled directions as they gave chase. The other men yelled back and forth at each other and laughed as they followed their commander. It made it easy for me to catch them off guard as I came up behind them.

Without thinking too much about what I was about to do, I reversed my grip on my sword as I caught up and leapt at the rearmost brigand’s back. A picture of glistening half-naked hardbodied men in the movie ‘300’ flashed in my mind, but then I superimposed myself, a slightly overweight fifty-year-old man with his short limp d**k waving in the air as I leaped and I almost laughed as the tip of my sword pierced through the rearmost soldier’s back, and plunged through his heart as I pounced on his back bearing him to the ground almost silently. The operative word being almost!

The soldier hit the ground hard as all the air went out of him while I landed on top of him, and we slid for several feet. The change in the tempo of the noise was enough for the other four brigands to slow and look over their shoulders while still running after the woman, female, girl, or whatever she was. The commander barked an order, and two lead soldiers kept pursuing the girl while the last two slowed and stopped.

Shocked by what I had done, I stared at the dead man beneath me. I disentangled myself from him and started to rise. I had just killed a man. This was not a game. This was not a fantasy. Well, maybe it was, but still. The killing was not fantasy. This was very, very real, and I had just ended a man’s life—for real!

“Hey!” One of the soldiers yelled.

“Murderer!” The other yelled.

Their faces were confused and enraged and bloodthirsty. They looked at me as if I was the villain here, as if I was the monster. Outrage and disgust painted their faces. Then, they yelled and charged at me!

My shock fell away as I grabbed the hilt of my Gladius sword and hefted my shield. I had no time to feel guilty here. I had no time to feel ashamed or guilty. My sword slid from the dead body below me, and I brandished it as I prepared to meet my opponents in battle.

The two men moved apart, thinking to flank me from two sides. I had seen enough movies and been in enough fights as a kid to know this was not good for me. My choices were to flee or charge. Running would give me opportunities to find better ground to fight, maybe even split the two soldiers up. However, that left the woman alone with two men still chasing her. I decided then to think of her as a woman. I had no time for running or strategy. It was also possible that they would just chase me down and kill me once I was tired from all the running. No! This was my best chance.

Charging at the left soldier, I shield bashed him, knocking him to the side and off balance. Unfortunately, the soldier to my right was immediately upon me. I barely deflected his sword thrust with my sword, keeping him from slicing my leg just above my knees. With a quick hop and jump, I reset my stance just in time to intercept his next swing with my shield. I swung my sword at him, but he deflected my sword with his shield easily. Meanwhile, the first soldier I bumrushed was circling behind me. Something had to change and fast, or these guys were going to kill me!

The second soldier swung and thrust his sword while I did my best to block with my shield. He was trying to push me toward his partner, but I retreated away from them both. I tried to position the first soldier to my right.

The second soldier charged at me again, and this time I leapt back and straight at the first soldier, swiping my blade at him wildly. His eyes opened wide, and he retreated, but not without his sword scoring a hit, slicing my ribs just below my right armpit.

Hissing as the pain flared hot as the sword sliced through my skin and muscle and scraped against bone, the shock nearly costing me everything. I cried out in pain while the soldiers hooted triumphantly. I had never been injured like this before. Sure, I had suffered injuries from work, but nothing like this. It was surprising, and yet, I felt calmness settle over me again as my mind raced to solve the problem before me. The pain itself was no worse than having a nine-hundred-pound dewar smash my fingers or land on my foot. I was able to get out of those situations and finish my workday while in incredible pain; I could survive this as well. I will survive this!