The Fractured World 2, page 1
The Fractured World 2
David Aries
Copyright © 2020 by David Aries
All rights reserved.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
This book contains plenty of alien raunchiness, harem action, swearing aplenty, and monster-smushing goodness. You’ve been warned.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Epilogue
Author Notes
More From Me
Chapter 1
Bang!
Dirt erupted into the sky. A fresh crater besmirched the planet’s surface, adding to its mismatched appearance.
What was the culprit this time? Had another ship been dragged from the heavens to its doom? Perhaps a meteor had crashed down at full throttle? Or, maybe, the cause was altogether more sinister: a missile which had been fired with the aim of ending all life on this planet.
The answer was none of the above. Neither machine nor divine intervention could take credit for giving this world a new scar. The true culprit was a man and a simple weapon cobbled together from wood and stone.
As you’ve probably guessed, that man was me.
It should probably be made clear that ‘crater’ was overselling the damage I’d caused. All I’d done was smash a pothole-sized wound into the ground.
If I’d been gardening, I would have been very pleased with my work.
“Missed,” I said, clicking my tongue. My eyes remained focused on my intended target.
A creature as foul as it was ugly perched a couple of feet away after dodging my planet-crunching blow. Its appearance wandered the often-delicate line between big cat and monstrous lizard. In the feline’s favor, it had a yellow fur coat littered with spots and two massive teeth ripped from a saber-toothed relic of the past. As for the lizard side, it pretty much won everywhere else.
We’d taken to calling this particular menace a ‘sabard’ because ‘that annoying lizard-cat monster’ doesn’t roll off the tongue. Not that I gave two shits about its name or beauty contest potential. All that mattered to me was keeping my mates safe.
I roared and charged in. When I got within range, I delivered another swing.
Boom!
Dirt slapped me in the chin. The floor lay devastated beneath my club.
The sabard did not.
It stood upon the trunk of the closest tree and used the vertical surface as I used the ground. More the standing part rather than the tearing it a new one.
“Tricky bastard,” I said as I pulled my club free of its shallow grave. “Why can you never stay on my level?”
It raised the frills around its neck and hissed.
“Yeah, yeah,” I said. “I’ll just have to bring you down to me.” I struck the tree with all the force I could muster, cracking straight through.
The sabard jumped from its lurching footrest and directly over my head.
“Got you!” I said as I took a rock from my pocket and unleashed.
I’d spent the last week honing my throwing prowess. My accuracy was on the rise, which meant I was free to unleash each throw with the devastating force it deserved. I didn’t envy anything that faced the brute force of my stony bullets.
The sabard weaved around the rock which exploded into the woodland behind.
I stood in my throwing pose while my gawping mouth caught flies.
Missed. I missed.
I even announced my glory in advance. Damn, that’s embarrassing.
I’m so glad my girls weren’t here to see that.
Okay, my fractured ego wasn’t the main issue here. It was that I was still no closer to securing the kill.
Alright. Time for plan B.
I took a deep breath, composed myself, and took off running.
The sabard gave chase. It pounced from tree to tree in pursuit like some shitty Trez tribute act.
“Don’t even try it,” I warned as I peeked over my shoulder and let loose more pebbles of mass destruction.
The pint-sized missiles shattered the natural scenery while leaving the evasive sabard unscathed, and not through want of trying.
There was no getting this saber-toothed menace off my back.
I steeled myself and kept charging until I escaped from the rough and mazy jungle into a tight canyon bathed in harsh midday sunlight. It was a location lacking in any offshoots. The only way forward was directly ahead.
Midway down its narrow alley of a route, I skidded to a stop to face the sabard, who had stuck to me like glue. “You thought I was chickening out? Guess again. I’ve got you right where I want you!” I unleashed the final stone in my arsenal straight down the constrained path.
The sabard leaped over the rock and onto the walls above. From there it climbed higher to a position where my club couldn’t reach.
I grinned. “Clever but not clever enough.”
The bright yellow sunbeams that bathed the narrow crevice were eclipsed by an angel appearing at the summit.
“You might be alone,” I said to the sabard, “but I’m not.”
The sun-backed figure unleashed a torrent of blistering orange fire into the upper canyon.
Faced with being cooked to a crisp, the sabard had no choice but to free itself from the wall and drop as fast as possible.
To where I was waiting.
I watched the sabard fall with the biggest shit-eating grin plastered across my face. “Hi there,” I said, once it got close enough for me to whack.
Splat!
Red gunk and bits of pink mush sprayed onto the rock wall. Moments later, the sabard’s limp carcass thudded to a halt.
I breathed out a sigh and wiped the sweat from my forehead. At least I tried. I more smeared it around.
My backup dropped down to greet me.
“Nice work, partner,” I said.
Faris grunted.
It was good to see her. And not only because she’d helped me squash a rather fuzzy fly. It was always great seeing Faris. Her toned brown body looked extra tantalizing after a session out hunting. The glisten of a good workout really emphasized her gorgeous proportions. Not to mention she looked more than fine in her black leotard. Her powerful legs did terrible things to me. Absolutely outrageous.
“Did you take care of your end?” I asked in a conscious bid to drag my mind from the gutter.
“Yes,” she said. “And I can see your results for myself.”
I shook the nasty stuff from my club. “Couldn’t have done it without you.”
“I’m aware. You were lucky I was here.”
“Nothing lucky about it. I trusted you.” Don’t be mistaken into thinking this was some chance meeting. We’d chosen this rendezvous point on purpose, specifically to deal with this sort of situation. The only risk was if Faris hadn’t managed to finish her side in time.
That wasn’t something I had to worry about.
Faris huffed. A warm tint highlighted her cheeks. “It’d be better if you could do this without me.”
“What’s wrong? Don’t enjoy spending quality time together?”
She looked away. “This is the fifth sabard in three days. They’re increasing.”
“It’s nothing we can’t take care of,” I said.
“For now. That could change. You need more training.”
“I’ll let you kick chunks out of me later,” I said as I slung the results of a hard day’s hunt over my shoulder. “For now, let’s go make sure some lovely girls are staying out of trouble.”
No matter how far I wandered from our little home in the middle of this dense land of alien wonder, I could always rely on my bond with Casella to guide me home. Using nothing but my sense for her, we soon found ourselves back at camp.
It wasn’t too dissimilar to the private sanctuary we’d once enjoyed in the land of frost lurking below. Sharpened logs bared their fangs at any who approached our domain, with nature-based tripwires bridging the gaps between. We’d moved from using woven leaves to vines plucked from the environment. The results remained the same.
The defenses had been spread around a clearing created by my trusty club. The secure spot served as an expansion to our cave and was perfect for cooking meat, sharing a meal, and just hanging around under the stars. Our fire crackled away in the middle with a few fallen logs left around as benches.
I’m not saying it was paradise b
“My Brandon!” one of them cheered, the way she always did upon my return. Casella rushed out to greet me and threw herself into my arms.
I caught her and held her curvaceous body into my chest. “Hey, beautiful.”
She giggled delectably and nuzzled her face into my pecs.
I bit back a laugh of my own.
I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this.
Casella wasn’t exactly a girl it was hard to find yourself infatuated with. Doubly so seeing how she’d changed her clothing style from warming layers to something more climate appropriate. The skimpiest combination of fur and scavenged materials clung to her busty body. Her grass skirt, firmly deserving the rank of ‘mini’, danced seductively around her thick blue thighs. Vines served as the strings securing two tiny triangles of fur over her nipples. They were ill-equipped to hide much else and did little to stop her bosom from swaying when she rubbed herself against my body.
Not that I was complaining.
My blood surged through no will of my own. There was no stopping it when such a tantalizing delicacy was shimmying against my scarred muscles.
“Oi!” Trez yelled as she sauntered over. “Who said you could skip out on cooking?”
I smirked. There she was, my favorite zulk. Yet another devotee to the more natural wardrobe.
Her old cold weather clothing had been relegated to storage. She now flaunted something from the cavewoman catalog. And, if I do say so myself, she’d chosen well. An exotic strip of sabard fur clung to her slender chest, acting as a tube top. Down below was a matching pair of underwear lurking on the small side. It did little to cover her hypnotic behind.
Casella glanced over her shoulder. “You can take over, yes?”
“You’re the pro here. Do your job.”
“You just want to take my spot,” Casella said as she squeezed me extra tight.
“Damn right I do,” Trez said as she hurried on over. “Give him here!”
I dropped the sabard so I could handle them both. “You know there’s enough of me to go around.”
“I’m selfish, what can I say?” Trez said as she made herself at home against my side.
“I’m happy to share,” Casella boasted. “Especially if that’s what my Brandon prefers.”
I growled and squeezed them tight. There was no way for me to adequately express just how much I adored them. And that wasn’t specific to the two of them.
“Hey, Faris,” I said. “I’m sure there’s room for one more.”
She rolled her eyes. “Behave.” Next, she sniffed. “And what’s that smell?”
I whiffed the air. “Burning?”
Casella squealed. “Ah! The food!” She rushed back to the campfire.
Trez took off after her. “I told you this would happen!”
I sighed and shook my head. “Don’t sweat it. We’ve got grub to spare,” I said as I slung our morning’s work back over my shoulder.
Trez glanced my way as she and Casella worked to salvage their attempt at lunch. “Another one? I like meat as much as the next girl but this is taking the piss.”
“It wasn’t the only one,” Faris added.
“For real? Ain’t that, like, five now?”
“In such a short amount of time,” Casella said before blowing on the darkened meat. “That’s not good, yes?”
“Of course, it’s not,” Trez said. “They must have caught our scent or something. We might need to move.”
“Really and truly?” Casella whined.
“Don’t worry. It’s nothing we can’t handle,” I said.
“For now,” Faris said.
I scoffed. “I’ll keep you girls safe forever. No ‘now’ about it.”
Faris folded her arms. “That doesn’t mean things will improve.”
“All this danger and here I am screwing up lunch,” Casella said as she eyed a clay-molded bowl of crispy burned sabard stew. “I need to step up my training. I don’t want some mean old monsters to take our home away.”
“It ain’t like you’re doing any worse than me,” Trez said as she regarded her food helping. “At least you’re training.”
“Hey, even I’m not meeting the master’s expectations,” I said, nudging toward Faris. “Not that it changes anything. After all, I’m your mate. Keeping you safe is my job, and I don’t intend to let you down.”
Casella giggled and offered me a bowl of the good stuff. “My hero.”
I went to take it, but Faris snatched my wrist.
“Eat later,” she said. “Bathe first.”
Sweat covered my body. The jungle was so hot and humid that simply existing was enough to get me going. Doing serious exercise turned it into some sort of biblical act.
“Yes, master,” I said, bowing my head.
Faris rolled her eyes. She looked at the others. “Stay here. Don’t go anywhere.” Then she dragged me away.
A stone’s throw from our camp, on the other side of a wall of trees, was a beautiful blue lake as clear as the cloudless sky drifting above. A small waterfall hopped down a rock incline and kept the reservoir nice and fresh, before flowing off into the jungle in the form of a meandering river. The water brimmed with life but nothing that meant us any harm. The peaceful residents had served as our meat supply before our days in the jungle had turned more turbulent. Still, it served as a convenient spot to gather water and bathe. It was shallow enough that you didn’t need to swim unless you really wanted to.
Faris stripped first. She removed her hair tie, releasing her ponytail into a long flowing mane of gorgeous red that seemed to shine under the sun’s warm glow. As she entered, the water rose up over her wide hips and rested at the top of her abs, not far under her large firm breasts.
“Are you coming?” she asked, staring at me.
“Patience is a virtue,” I told her as I stripped from my pants and joined her in the water.
As soon as I got close, Faris lunged and hugged me. She purred like a cat as she rubbed her toned body into mine and coiled her tail around my leg.
I chuckled and gave her a squeeze. “Couldn’t hold on anymore?”
“It’s their fault,” she whispered into my ear. “Showing off like that…”
“I invited you to join.”
“You know I can’t do that.”
“Why not?” I asked as I rubbed the base of her tail. “So what if they find out you’re my mate? It’s nothing to be ashamed of.”
“Because,” she grumbled under her breath.
“Because?”
“I… I need more time.”
“It’s already been a week,” I said. “Aren’t you sick of sneaking around like this?”
“Quiet,” she said. “I didn’t bring you here to scold me.”
“I know. You brought me here for this.” I flipped her around so that her back was pinned to my chest. Then I got to work. One hand moved to her delectable breasts where it toyed with her stiff dark nipples. The other brushed down her abs toward what lurked beneath the water.
Faris moaned as she melted into me.
“You love when I ‘wash’ you, don’t you?” I whispered into her ear.
“Mhm,” she hummed.
I snickered. “I love it too. You get so cute when I touch you like this.”
“Cute—?!” she gasped, voice breaking off when I brushed across a certain sensitive spot.
“Of course. You’re adorable. To think you’re usually so tough and reliable.” I didn’t stop moving my hands. I targeted those special zones which made her whimper in raw delight.
Faris gave me what I wanted. Her tail choked my leg as her excitement rose.
I wasn’t far behind. My rigid length rubbed against her toned rear. I couldn’t wait to slide—
An uncomfortable sensation surged through me. I tensed and scoured the area.
“Brandon?” Faris mumbled. “What’s wrong?”
“We’re being watched,” I said.
“What?!” She dragged herself away from me and looked around. “Is it Trez?”
“Would Trez make me this jumpy?” No, my girls weren’t capable of triggering such a reaction. This instinct was reserved for nearby threats.
I opened my senses as I scanned the area.
Where are you?
One of the overlooking bushes rustled.
There!
I darted from the water, toward the sound.
The inconspicuous shake turned into a commotion courtesy of something which didn’t want to show itself.
