The light fades as Fernando puts down his arms. With the various items restored from their battle damage, Fernando begins to walk away. He was going to the Kharkovchanka but then changes his mind.  As he hears the merchants howling at the major, he changes direction and heads to the prisoner’s tent.
 
“Where’s the reverend?” Fernando asks.
 
The guard points to the last cell on the line.
 
“Bring him out. I need to question him.”  Fernando tells him.
 
The guard looks to his partner and nods. The guard goes to the reverend’s cage and takes him out.
 
“Uncuff him.” Fernando tells them.
 
The reverend shifted his eyes to count off if he can handle them and thinks of escaping. The guards reluctantly do as he requested, uncuffing the reverend. The reverend straightens his posture, rubbing his wrists. He looks at the guards one by one and at Fernando last. He then extends his caws and takes a swipe at the closest guard.
 
His arm stops in mid arc, inches from the guard’s face; Fernando was in dead front of him with an extended arm out stopping his arm from completing his swing. They stare at each other for a couple of seconds until a blur comes up from his left (Fernando’s right) and he gets slapped on the side of his face with a hand approaching Mach 1. The reverend doubles over from the hard face slap. It is followed with a knee to his groin. Fernando grabs him by his mane and lifts him up to his feet, hauling him out of the prison tent. He continues on his way, hauling the reverend to the Major and the merchants. He then pushes the reverend to the ground and puts a foot with half his weight onto between the reverend’s shoulders.
 
“What is this I’m hearing? You idiots want to go into Wessen town and burn it down? I am not going to allow that. Just because a group of Wessens attacked the town does not mean that those in the town were the ones that attacked you. There are many innocent people there, which you are going to leave alone. As for those who did it – I did the count, there are over 900 dead and many locked up in our jail. So the majority of those who did it will no longer do it again. As for their leader... this is him and his ass is mine to do as I wish.” Fernando tells them before pointing to the Löwen Wessen under his foot. He continues, “Any attempt to attack Wessen Town and I will deal with you like I am going to deal with this asshole personally. As for your followers and soldiers – we will be counting your dead.”
 
“See here Asshole! Who Are You To Be Telling Us What To Do On Our Land And Our Providence?!!” One of the merchants, the largest of the group, tells him.
 
“Who am I? I Am The Asshole That Saved Your Misbegotten Town From One Thousand Screaming Raging Wessens From Burning, Raging, Raping Your Stores And Homes. That Is Who I Am.” Fernando tells him and the others.
 
“Hector Will Bring More And We Will Triumphant Over You Hellions!” The Reverend yells from the ground.
 
Fernando lifts his foot off the reverend only to stomp it down back onto his back, making him gasp heavily.
 
“No one told you to talk – Heathen! If you can’t see that I’m trying to save your people’s houses and homes, then you are stupider than Hector is. You think anyone would do that for you?! Should I walk away with my group and let these angry merchants burn Wessen Town to the ground?! Because If I Do That, Nothing Of Wessen Town Will Be Left Behind But Ashes Of Burnt Down Homes And Charred Bones Of Those Who Lived There. And Who’s Fault Would That Be? Not Mine! I And My People Who Would Be Giving You That Protection Would Be Gone Instead. But You Know Who’s Fault It Is? Hector’s. He Created This Plan To Attack Flight Town, And It Failed. He – Through You - Gathered The Thousand Wessens To Fight, Only To Get Mowed Down And Killed Or Captured In The Fight Against Us. Not Even 200 Of Us And We Fought Off Over A Thousand Of You, So What Does That Say About Hector And His Plans? It Says It Is Stupid. And It Says You’re Stupider for Following It! It Is God’s Will That The Smaller Army Will always Defeat The Largest Armies And We Defeated You!” Fernando yells down at him.
 
Fernando gets up off the Löwen Wessen, bends over and lifts him onto his feet by a handful of mane. He then looks onto the merchants, “Go to your shops and homes and clean up and start a new day of vending and selling. I’ll be around buying.” He then pushes the Reverend, “You are coming with me.”
 
He pushes the reverend to the medical tent, and through to the patient ward. He continues guiding Löwen Wessen to the patient beds, taking him to Alice’s bed. He then smacks the reverend on the back of the head.
 
“Look at her!” Fernando tells him loudly. Reverend Wallace looks at him but gets slapped in his face and another order yelled at him “LOOK AT HER!”
 
The reverend finally turns to face the girl.
 
“She is an innocent victim of your work, this is your doing. Doctors tell me that she might not make it to the night, so if she dies, so will you by my hands. Nobody of power or authority told you to gather forces and declare war on the society that supported you. But you took it upon yourself to follow the orders of an idiot on a fool’s errand. We won because it is God’s will that we would win. But the taking of innocent lives...” Fernando pauses for a moment. He then gestures to the soldiers resting in their beds who were watching the show, “These people took an oath to defend the weak and innocent, attacking them is not the issue here. But taking the life of an innocent that this girl is, is the issue, and one you will pay with your life if she dies tonight as the doctors expect. And I will be your judge, jury and executioner. The Weak and Innocent are to be protected as a promise from god because bad things should not happen to good people and that where you crossed the line. That is your mistake. And in whatever god you believe in, if you want your life spared, you better be praying that she recovers from her wounds.”
 
The reverend says to himself but loud enough to be heard, “Lord forgive me in my failure and errors of my ways. Please heal this girl from her wounds and bring her back to this world anew and whole again. Please, do this for her, not for me.”
 
There was some silence for a while. Fernando then takes his arm, leading him out of the medical tent. He takes him outside and leads him to the Kharkovchanka, knocking on its door. He then opens it and tells the reverend to step in first and follows him in. The reverend steps into the main room of the Kharkovchanka, seeing the kids sitting or sleeping in sleeping bags and blankets, and the four adult Wessens keeping a watch on them. Minerva walks up to them.
 
“What’s happening outside?” Minerva asks as the others adults Wessens gathered behind her.
 
“The fighting is over for now. And there will be food for the children in an hour or two as we are cleaning up a mess outside. But until then, the children should remain here for your safety.” Fernando explains to her.
 
The Reverend sees Minerva and her twin Minya behind her, “Wait... Aren’t you Hector’s ‘Bonita’?”
 
The two hamster girls scowled at him, with Minerva telling him, “Don’t ever mention that abusing coward’s name around here.”
 
“No, err... please excuse me – but you and he were a couple for many years. He said so himself to me when I did not see you around him.” The reverend says.
 
“You listen to me carefully as I will say this only once. Hector abused me, beaten me, had me gang raped by his men and he went off to try to kill off these children because we did not meet his standards. What have these kids did to him to deserve his ire? What have I done to him to deserve this from him? Nothing. And he continues on with searching for young girls to have his way with them and do the same to them as he has done with me: Abuse, beatings, gang rapes and then left for dead. If it were not for this man, I and all of us would be dead thanks to him.” Minerva explains as she steps up to Fernando and takes his hand.
 
“Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, heal the sick and informed, help the poor – that is god’s work, and you and the merchants out there are stopping me from doing god’s work. I was working on the merchants to help the poor until you decided it would be a great day to attack the town and send hundreds to their graves. So do not talk to me about doing god’s work, because I’m doing in what you failed to do by deciding to follow an idiot and aiding him in his quest for power and conquest.” Fernando tells him. He then turns to Minerva, “I’ll talk to the Major and Miss. Ruth on getting food for you and the children. Until then you stay in here for your safety.”
 
Minerva nods and inches up on her toes to kiss him on the cheek, “I’ll see you later then.”
 
“Yeah.” Fernando replies. He then adds, “Before I go though...” He takes the reverend by his arm and takes him to the back of the vehicle. He takes him into a storage locker and steps in with the Reverend. Turning on the lights, there were heads and bodies of the dead lizard men piled up on shelves. The reverend gasps and his eyes open wide. “Two nights ago, Hector sent them to attack us in our sleep. We took them all out, and when I say we, it was I who did it alone with this.” Fernando draws out his katana and puts it to the Reverend’s neck, holding it there for a while to finish his words. “Now understand that I will not take a life out of anger or pleasure but I will take a life in order to defend myself, my friends, my family, and anyone not capable of defending themselves. I do not know what #$@!ing bug crawled up Hector’s ass about needing to exterminate mankind, but you Wessens are just a few in numbers. I traveled from one end of this land to its other side and I seen places with more humans than that you will ever see in a life time just being around here. I have seen schools and places of learning with more humans studying to improve themselves than this small town has people and Wessens as a whole. Hector is a dead end in his thoughts, his ideals and his actions; he is a one way trip to Inferno. You are supposed to be man of the cloth – you should see that you were being used by his actions and his words. He has seduced you to the dark side. Only forgiveness and undoing what you did can get you back to the light. Consider that as a message from god.”
 
The reverend faces him. “The Cold Blooded Ones are the spawn of Satan. And here they are in death and defeat. Anyone who can defeat them had to be Heaven Sent with the Archangel Michelangelo.”
 
“Believe on what you want to believe in. I did what I had to do in order to protect those children out there, for without me, all those Wessen children out there would be dead by their hands and Hector’s orders. Anyone giving orders to Satan’s spawn must be in league with the Devil. Hector gave those orders – do the math.” Fernando tells him. He then takes the reverend by his arm and leads him out of the room. He then leads the reverend out of the Kharkovchanka. He then takes him to his cell in the prison tent. “I’ll be back to give you your meals. Until then you have a lot of thinking and talking with your god.” He then walks away.
 
The reverend kneels down by his bed, and begins to pray.
 
Fernando goes out and walks about the camp. He sees the Major is now alone with her men, the merchants having left. The run for water and various supplies had begun again. He steps up to her when there is a message on the radio for her.
 
“Major Moynihan, Maddie’s Place is Open for business but is low on supplies!” A voice says on the radio.
 
The major looks at Fernando and then nods before going to the radio, “Alright then. Get what you can and we will help her out. Get a list of what she needs and we’ll do our best to help her.”
 
A few seconds of silence pass before an answer is given, “She says she will do what she can for us and thanks for helping her.”
 
“Tell her ‘thank you’ for her service and we will fulfill her order as soon as we get that list.” The major tells him.
 
Fernando reaches into his pockets and takes a couple of small sacks of gold and silver coins, handing them to the major. He nods to her as she takes the sacks of coinage. He then starts to walk away.
 
The major calls to him, “Uhm Fernando. You wanted to see me about something?”
 
“I was about to ask about the food for the children and your men but that radio call answered my question. The money is to help Maddie get her supplies, as she helps us.” Fernando explains.
 
The Major nods. Fernando then starts to walk back to the medical tent and waits for Hondo to arrive.
 
 
- To Be Continued -

Fernando guides them into the medical tent, asking a nurse to look over and check the vital signs of the females and possible x-rays while he takes care of Hondo in a separate room. He closes the curtain to their private chamber, telling Hondo to strip down to his underwear and to sit on the examination table.
 
“Aren’t ya goin’ to take care of Tonya and Molly before me?” Hondo asks.
 
“I’ll look at them after the nurse looks them over, get their vitals and get any wounds treated while I take care of you first. You need to remember, the one with the worst wounds get treated first before lesser injured persons. But I trust General Jastrey’s medical staff as they do me, so they are in good hands before I give the final treatment. Now tell me – what the hell is going on with you? You’re falling apart, and not even in the normal sense. You sick with something I don’t know about?” Fernando says and asks.
 
“Nothin’. Just a lota stress. You know that.” Hondo replies in a grumpy tone.
 
“This is more than stress, Hondo. Even if you smoke and drink your way to this level, it would take you 40 years to do so and you are not even in your mid 30s yet.” Fernando begins. He continues, “You got bitten by a snake or those lizardmen, or eaten a bad mushroom or something?”
 
“No.” Hondo replies.
 
“Anyways.” Fernando begins as lifts up Hondo cane, “If you need too, you can recall a better temporal image of yourself to use as a template to heal yourself. Some would dare say it is cheating but sometimes you have to say #$@! it. Anyways, lay down so I can put you in status and check that eye out.”
 
Hondo lies down the bed, complaining as he does, “I ain’t no cheater.”
 
Fernando waves his cane over Hondo, putting him into a frozen stasis field before taking off the bandage over the eye. It was an ugly sight – crud nearly shutting the eye closed with a large metal sliver sticking out between the eyelids. Take a pair of eye clamps, he uses them to open the eye lids, revealing that the metal splinter protruding from the eyeball and piercing his cornea. Under normal circumstances the sliver of metal would have worked its way out and deflated the eye ball as its internal fluids poured out, the stasis field prevents this from happening. He carefully removes the sliver of metal from the eye and checks the wound for infection. Lucky for Hondo there was none.
 
Normally one would receive corneal stitches, like those used on cataract patients. But that leaves the patient with an itchy eye while it heals and the urge to rub it is high. Thus Fernando gives Hondo’s eye a cataract stitch and a pass of his cane to heal it and let the stitch dissolve over accelerated time. With the eye dealt with, Fernando goes to his other wounds, healing each one as he sees them. He then flushes out Hondo’s system and injects him with one of the blue pills he has for him. He would cheat and restore him with a body from his past but that would go against any wish Hondo may have. But for now it is what Fernando can do without ‘cheating.’
 
Letting Hondo rest in stasis on the examination table, Fernando goes over to check on the females, seeing them naked in their fur. He steps up to them as the nurse explains to him their injuries and what they had done to deal with them. Fernando checks Tonya first, lifting her leg partially and twisting slightly it side to side while checking the bandage put on it. He then checks Molly’s face, arms, legs and body, all where bandages were placed. He takes his metal box and takes out two green pills for each. He gives one pill to Tonya and the other to Molly, telling them, “Take that with the water the nurse is going to give you and give yourself a day or two to rest and heal. If you do not rest and let yourself heal, you are going to end up in a worst condition.” He explains.
 
“You mean like Papa?” Tonya asks.
 
“I’ll tell you bluntly and say ‘yes.’ The only way the pills are going to work is if you rest and let the medicine do its job.” He tells them.
 
“What if he just takes pill after pill after pill every time he gets hurt?” Molly asks.
 
“Is that what Hondo has been doing?” Fernando asks.
 
Molly nods.
 
“You know where he has his pills?” Fernando asks.
 
“They should be in his coat. That is where I seen him put the metal box like yours into.” Molly explains.
 
“I see.” He says, adding, “Like I said, give yourselves a day or so to rest and heal. Hondo is going to need longer to rest and heal. But you did not hear that from me.”
 
They both nod at him.
 
He then turns to the nurse, “Unless they have anything else that needs to be looked at, give them a paper cup of water to take with that pill, get them dressed, and have them wait outside in the waiting area. I’ll be finishing up with Hondo.” Fernando explains to the nurse.
 
“Will do sir.” The nurse says to him.
 
“And thank you for your service.” Fernando tells the nurse before he leaves into Hondo’s room.
 
He searches Hondo’s coat for the pills, finding the metal box and open is. There are about 20-something pills when there were supposed be 42, broken into 14 pills each: Light Green (for anyone), Light Pink (for Val) and Light Blue (for Hondo), but most of the pink pills have been taken as just a few of the blue and the green. He puts an eye patch on the wounded eye before he waves his cane over Hondo, waking him up and healed physically but not perfectly. At least the gunshot wounds will no longer be a bother. But until he figures it out, Hondo is going to remain sick. Fernando takes a syringe and a test tube to draw some of Hondo’s blood out. He puts the metal box of pills on Hondo’s lap while drawing his blood.
 
“Tell me Hondo, which color pills have you been taking?” Fernando asks as he pulls the needle out of his arm and then points to the box.
 
“Color?” Hondo asks.
 
“Open the box and see.” Fernando says to him.
 
Hondo does as he says as he looks at the pills “I’m not sure.”
 
“Well, if you have been taking the pink ones, they would not heal you, in fact they might make you worse.” Fernando explains.
 
Hondo looks at the pills, “Hmmm... a lot of pink ones are missin’.”
 
“Yup. The Pink ones are genetically tied to Val. The Blue ones are genetically tied to you and the green ones are for anyone in general. You can take the green ones or the blue ones, not the pink ones. In fact, you are lucky you did not grow a pair of breasts and lost your moustache and beard.” Fernando says, almost joking in the end. “I flushed out your system and injected a blue pill in you. Now doctor’s orders – you three are to rest for the day or so you all can heal. No butts.”
 
“What about my eye?” Hondo asks.
 
“You are not going to lose if that is what you are asking, but you should keep the patch on until tonight and takes it off then so that you are not blinded by the bright lights of the sun. Then it should be fine after that.” Fernando explains. “Anything else?”
 
Hondo shakes his head, “No.”
 
“Alright then. Put your clothes on. The girls are waiting outside for you. You three should rest for next couple of days. Then you three should be alright.” Fernando explains.
 
“Anything else?” He asks.
 
“Nothing that I know off. Just take it easy – if you must – say the hell with everyone else and take care of yourself.” Fernando explains. “Also, Hondo...”
 
“Yes?” Hondo replies.
 
“You need practice with the cane. In case of an emergency, you can have the cane heal you and others in emergencies. Again, you need practice on that.” Fernando explains.
 
Hondo nods.
 
“Look, I’m not going bother you about your life or your marriage. You do what you think is right. But if Val gets in my way with the girls or gets stupid in my face, I’m slapping her. I’m telling you so you do not get in the way and interfere.” Fernando explains.
 
“Try not to do that, I do not wan’ her to get on my case about you.” Hondo replies.
 
“Like I said, if she gets in my way or gets in my face. She is to keep her distance from me, she is to also keep her distance from Macey and Ichigo. For what she did to you and the rest of the camp, I do not want to hear any excuses she has. I told her that if she kept the memories of what the Grey Lady did to her that she would have issues with PTSD, and I gave her the options to have the memories removed or to keep them. She requested that she keep those memories, so she knew full well in advanced that she would have to deal with those problems with the PTSD that memories gave her. Instead she is taking out all these problems on you and the rest of the camp. That is unfair to you and everyone involved. So in short, by her own fault, I do not care because she has pushed me not to care. So again, she is your wife, it is your marriage, as the man do not let her walk all over you, do not let her take a power grab, and do not let her control you or the others around you like your girls. She is literally poison. What you do with her and the relationship you two share, is on you. But you are the man, she yells at you, you need to yell at her back and yell louder and with more authority than she would. That is all I have to say. Do not let her have the upper hand over you.” Fernando explains.
 
Hondo was not happy with his denial. He knew he had to do something but he sees Val as his equal. And though women were equal to men in many regards, they are not equal on everything. And he as to make decisions for both him and the girls, and even for their pet cat.
 
Fernando breaks their silence, “The girls are waiting for you outside. Get dressed and go to them. I got things to do, including going to Wessen Town and make sure the merchants do not attack them in retaliation.”
 
“I might want to go with you for that.” Hondo says.
 
“Let’s see what happens. I have to go see what is going on to get everyone breakfast before I go. You make sure you get something to eat, you will need your strength even to rest.” Fernando tells him.
 
Hondo nods.
 
“I’ll see you outside.” Fernando tells him before he leaves to let Hondo to get dressed.
 
Hondo takes his time to put his clothes on. Once he is finished and is putting on his cot, he looks at the pills in the metal box. “Heh... Pink. I didn’t even noticed that.” He says to himself. He closes and then puts the metal box of pills into his cost pocket. He takes in a deep breath and lets it out, though not 100 percent, he was feeling better than before and in a lot less pain. He felt like he was running with a cold instead of the flu as he felt like before. He walks out of the patient room and meets Molly and Tonya in the waiting area.
 
“Feeling better Papa?” Tonya asks.
 
“I’ll be alirgh’” He tells her.
 
“What about your eye?” Molly asks.
 
“Fernando saved it, but I need it to be covered for a while.” He explains.
 
“Good. I was worried about...*” Molly begins to say.
 
“Enough abou’ me, what abou’ you girls?” Hondo asks.
 
“Fernando looked us over and gave us some medicine then told us to rest so we can heal.” Molly throws in.
 
“Then let’s go and ask about breakfast and rest while we eat.” Hondo tells them.
 
They both nod before the three of them leave the medical ward.

As they broke up camp and made preparations to continue their cross-country trip, one of the radios crackled to life in the big haul truck. After a moment one of the wessens jumped out of the back of the truck and trotted up to where two fucshbau, one male and one female, sat by a fire, drinking coffee and glaring at each other.
 
 
“Señor De La Cruz, a message for you, sir.” The blutbaud said as he gave a snappy salute and held out a paper.
 
 
The male fucshbau snatched the paper from the man’s hand and read its contents quickly. He balled it up angrily and threw it at the fire, missing by a few inches, and cussed in Spanish loudly as he stood up and stomped around like a spoiled brat.
 
 
The female fucshbau picked up the ball of paper and read it. She grinned slightly as she read it.
 
 
“So, your little war of extermination back-fired on you?” She asked patronizingly.
 
 
“You read the damned note, puta!” He snarled
 
 
“Now, now, Hector. No sense getting all bend out of shape.” She said with a sultry smile that annoyed him all the more.
 
 
“Did they say anything else?!” Hector asked harshly as he turned back to the man who had brought the note to him.
 
 
“N.n.not really, sir. Just that half or more of the wessen town forces and those who joined them were lost. They are figuring five to six hundred souls just from your followers, sir.” He said.
 
 
“There should have been triple that fighting!” Hector roared.
 
 
“Half of wessen town reportedly would not move against the humans, sir.” He said.
 
 
“They will pay, then, for their treason!” He growled.
 
 
“Yes sir!” The man replied.
 
 
“Did they say how many of them who opposed us died, other than significant less than our own??” He asked coldly.
 
 
The man swallowed hard and then nodded, “They gave a number but said it is not able to be verified yet.”
 
 
“How many do they estimate, then?!” He hissed as he got into the man’s face.
 
 
“One hundred maybe… maybe two hundred… but not more than that.” He said shakily.
 
 
Hector sighed in defeat and rubbed his forehead to try to relieve the tension headache that was already building as he walked off a couple places.
 
 
“They say how many from that infernal camp were killed from that number?” He asked flatly.
 
 
“twenty-five or thirty, maybe. Depends on if some of the more gravely injured live or not.” The man replied.
 
 
“I see… anything else you left out of that report?” Hector asked without looking at him.
 
 
“There was a rumor that two members from wessen town warned those at the camp, as much of the town shut down early or fled. That was why their casualties were so low, we believe.” The man said.
 
 
An evil sneer crossed his face as he nodded, “Traitorous rats…. Well, call and have a special team go in and get the two who warned the humans. I want an example made of them. An example of what happens when you cross Hector De La Cruz!”
 
 
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Valentine sobbed for hours and even ignored a knock on her door, which she believed to be someone telling her breakfast was ready, but she was not hungry.  She felt very small and very alone. She wanted to chase him and beg him to take her back, but she knew he’d want her to apologize. Something inside her balked at the possibility that she was the one wrong in all this. She was the victim after all! They should be apologizing to her, right?
 
 
She sobbed harder as these thoughts crossed her mind. Being the victim is what got her where she was. Everyone had been kind and fussed over her to a point and then it all changed. Everyone got stand-offish, some avoided eye contact, some acted afraid, and others lashed out at her.
 
 
She was so lonely, without a friend in the camp who would even sit by her. The other ladies walked a wide circle around her, though none of them had really been what you would call friends. The only real friends she felt she had, had been Hondo, Fernando, Maggie, and maybe Molly.  
 
 
Ruth had tried at times but neither of them had clicked as friends. She did not feel it was either of their faults. They got along but just didn’t have enough in common to be friends. Molly could have been a friend but Val tried to shoot her and seemingly drove her and her husband together. Maggie had felt sympathy and a shared connection but she was trying to make something of her new-found life and could not stay with Val as she only drug her down. Fernando she was fairly sure hated her and she was half puzzled why he didn’t zap her to the Jurassic period and leave her to get eaten by his pet T-rex. She knew she had tested their friendship way too far, and now when she needed some advice from him and the rare kind word most, he ordered her to stay away from him.
 
 
Hondo was the worst loss yet, though, and she had wronged him on a whole different level. Fernando hated women right now for what Tammy had done to him. She felt bad for him and tried to support him, but he pushed her away as she was a woman. That made his tolerance of her shit even less than it normally would have been. Hondo, on the other hand, had tried to support her. He took her abuse, took her berating him, and even took her shooting him. He had gotten angry but he always backed down and gave her space. It showed he cared, and cared deeply, so her hurt had cut the deepest in him. She knew that’s why he was growing closer to Molly and would probably, if he had not already, give into their physical desires and bed Molly. Part of her was angry at the thought and told her that if he really loved her he’d not play any hanky-panky with that wessen bitch! Another voice told her it was all her fault and that he was doing his level best to survive at the moment. The stress she had put him under, on top of that he endured from the girls, the camp, and such, would have broken most men. He might be shaky on his feet, but he still stood tall. She knew Molly knew he needed that stress release that only a woman could give a man, so she knew Molly would push for it, for both their sake.  
 
 
The thought of it all made her cry out angrily and beat her fist against the couch until the anger faded and she was left just sobbing again. She should be the one making love to him, but she could not get past her own failings. The worst part is she knew all this but did not know how to conquer the bitch inside her that held her back. She wanted to beg someone for help, but there was no one. Hondo was too hurt, Molly was too focused on him, Maggie was trying to become a useful team member, and Ruth was busy doing her job! Al that was left was Fernando but if she tried there was a chance he’d just shoot her, or at the very least kick the shit out of her and scream at her again. She was not sure she could take that right now.
 
 
As she contemplated her situation, suicide again crossed her mind. She was not sure how she would do it, as Hondo had locked up most of the meds and taken the keys, and the guns were locked up again too, or removed from the camper. The camper ceiling was too short to hang herself properly and strangling sounded like a bad way to go. There were some chemicals under the sink, but none of them would be an easy death, and she did not feel like suffering a lot more. It seemed her only option was to slit her wrists and bleed out.  
 
 
She stopped sobbing long enough to stand up and grab a sharp knife from the kitchen. She sat down on the ouch with it and stared at it for a long time. After a while she put it to the side of her wrist to line up where she would cut across. The sharpness surprised her as she nicked the side of her wrist and started to bleed. She had not cut any arteries, but the blood and the sting surprised her and she dropped the knife suddenly. She slowly, and shakily picked the knife back up and looked at the blood on it and the blood on her wrist. She clutched the knife tightly in her hand and leaned forward as the wracking sobs started again.
 
 
“God, I can’t!! *sob* I CAN’T!!! *sob* *sob* … Please kill me!! *sob* I don’t know how to fix me!!! *sob* I can’t!!! *Sob, sob, sob*…please.. *sob* … I hate me…. *sob* please take me away so I don’t hurt them more… *Sob, sob*… I can’t be wrong! …* sob* I can’t…. *sob* Please, just take me… I hurt too many to admit I’m wrong now… *sob*”
 
 
-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
 
 
At the hanger Hondo slowly cooked breakfast, as Molly helped with her one good arm. He had helped her change into one of her robes that was close to needing a wash and he stripped down to his jeans, boots, and hat, as both their clothes were too dirty to be wearing when cooking food. As they cooked Tonya got a shower.  
 
 
Hondo had to help Tonya get her shirt off, as her arms and back hurt from being thrown backwards and hitting the concrete floor from one of the explosions the night before, but beyond that she was able to take care of herself. She leaned against the wall of the shower enclosure and sighed as the almost scalding hot water fell down onto her neck, back, and shoulders, and trickled through her fur on the way to the floor-drain. She did not remember feeling this bad even the time she was almost beaten and whipped to death. She had been through a lot since though, and that beaten she had taken to save Zoey from being raped. Taking pain, she found, was a lot easier when you had what seemed like a noble cause, but what noble cause could she find in last night? They had fought for their lives and the lives of others, but there was nothing noble and no true cause she could see in it. It had been a dirty, retched night with both humans and wessens dying needlessly over some idea that did not matter if it existed or not. Fighting for a cause or purpose, like she had seen Hondo and Fernando do so far was something she wanted for her life before now. After last night she questioned it, though. There was no glory, no celebrating, no just cause to be held on high to show your intentions and who you were as a person. There was only dirt, destruction, and death. Those who were gone seemed like the lucky ones now, as those who were left had to deal with those things, as well as the memories, pain, and exhaustion that followed.
 
 
Hondo leaned against the counter and closed his eye for a moment. He opened it as he felt a hand placed tenderly on his bare back, and looked over to see Molly standing beside him with a worried look on his face.
 
 
“You okay?” She asked softly.
 
 
“Just exhausted is all.” He said
 
 
She sighed and walked over to the stove to check the biscuits.
 
 
“I wish you’d stop lying to me….I don’t need protected from the truth.” She said sadly.
 
 
He sighed sat back against the counter for a moment as he looked at her.
 
 
“I reckon I didn’t realize I made such a habit outta it… I hate lyin’ an’ liars… reckon the only lies I’ve ever excused were those ‘bout how I feel, though I admit I’ve been streachin’ that with you, Tonya an’ even Jefe lately… It’s not easy for a man to admit certain things, ya know?” He said.
 
 
She looked back up at him with a frown and shook her head, “I don’t know, not fully… I mean, I know we all lie about how we are, what we fear, and such, as if you show the wrong person that you are weak they will eat you alive, literally and figuratively! But… Hondo, we’re your friends. Can’t you trust us with what’s really going on?”  
 
 
He looked away from her and shrugged, “I’m not sure if y’all bein’ friends makes it easier or harder, actually… besides.. I reckon I don’t know whats really goin’ on.”
 
 
She walked over to him and got into his gaze so he had to look at her.
 
 
“What do you mean, you don’t know?” She asked.
 
 
“Just that. You know I’ve been injured, an’ the stress has been shit, but… Jefe kept askin’ if I was sick or somethin’ as he even sees I’m not snappin’ back like I should. I thought it was all in my head but now… I reckon I just don’t know.” He replied.
 
 
“Are you sick?” She asked.
 
 
“If I am with what? My symptoms are tired, weak, not healin’, an’ lookin’ like hell. How do you diagnose that?” He asked
 
 
“Stress, injured, and not getting enough rest is what it sounds like but I feel there is more to it than that too… So you aren’t lying then, really?” She asked
 
 
“I can’t say I’ve not tried to make myself out to feel better than I do, but when asked if I’m alright, I really don’t know.” He replied.
 
 
She nodded, kissed his cheek and then went back to the stove to take the biscuits off the baking sheet. Hondo pulled himself together and walked to stir the fried apples and scrambled eggs, and flip the bacon.
 
 
“Looks like it should be almost done.” Molly said.
 
 
He nodded, “Should work, but it would taste better with some coffee.”
 
 
“You need to sleep and rest. That caffeine isn’t good for your sleep.” She said
 
 
He gave her a long blank stare that said more than words would have. She sighed and bowed her head a bit after a moment.
 
 
“I’ll make you some.” She replied.
 
 
“Thanks.” He replied
 
 
She filled the percolator with water and the basket with grounds before putting it on the stove.
 
 
“I’m sorry.” She said quietly after a moment.
 
 
“For what?” He asked
 
 
“For what I said about the coffee and other things.” She replied
 
 
He waved her off, “Eh, no worries.”
 
 
“No, it is a worry and I shouldn’t do it! It’s not my job to mother you or tell you no. You are a grown man and you run your own household… If I want to be a part of it, for however much time I get, I need to learn my place in it.” She replied.
 
 
“You’re just worryin’ because you care. Nice to have someone care.” HE replied trying to smooth it over.
 
 
She shook her head, “I worry, but it’s no excuse. I could have asked if you’d be alright with the caffeine before sleeping to warn you but leave the choice up to you, but I had to try to tell you, you shouldn’t. I can show you I care other ways.”
 
 
“I think you’re makin’ a big ado ‘bout nothin’.” He replied
 
 
“No, It’s not nothing! If Val had realized this she’d not have pushed you away no matter what was going on inside her head.” She replied.
 
 
Hondo frowned, “I don’t want to talk ‘bout her.”
 
 
“I’m sorry.” She replied
 
 
“There you go again bein’ sorry. Where’s that tough but carin’ Molly? She’s the one that told me I needed her by my side. I liked her a lot.” He said.
 
 
She smiled softly and blushed a bit, “I guess she’s a bit tired and not really herself at the moment either.”
 
 
“Well, while we are waitin’ for Tonya to finish her shower, how ‘bout you tell me ‘bout these other ways you can show you care besides fussin’ at me.” He said with a wry grin on his face.
 
 
“I’d rather show you.” She whispered after she inched up on her toes so as he could feel her hot breath on his neck as she spoke.
 
 
It did not take much beckoning for him to lean down a bit and meet her lips as they came up towards his. Neither of them meant for it to be much more than a simple kiss, but the pent-up stress inside them pushed it to be far more passionate than planned. Molly half climbed him and put her knees on the counter on either side of him, though she almost had to do the splits to get them around his large frame. She wrapped her good arm around his neck and hung on for dear life as one of his hand held her up partially by her ass as the other pushed against the middle of her back, pressing her chest against his. As they kissed each other deeply and roughly a slight forced cough drew their attention. They paused in looked in the direction the cough had come from, without releasing their lip-lock on each other yet. Seeing it was Tonya, blushing and looking at the floor as if it was of great interest, they pulled and Molly climbed down to stand on the floor again. She took a step away from him ad tried to give Tonya a smile but she still blushed from it all herself.
 
 
“We… we didn’t hear you come in!.. S.s.sorry you had to see that.” Molly stammered.
 
 
“Its okay… I don’t mind… Just a bit weird seeing my papa kissing someone so sexually like that.” She said her blush getting deeper and brighter.
 
 
Hondo chuckled and shook his head, “What, you think I’m too old to have fun? How old do you think I am?”
 
 
She looked up at him in what could almost be called horror.
 
 
“No! I didn’t mean that! It’s just your my papa now and though I’ve had bad thoughts about us at times just seeing it was not something I thought about but you don’t look that old, anyway. Your still young! I know a lot of people in their forties and fifties that were still sexually active!” She said quickly, almost too quick to understand.
 
 
“Wait… how old do you think I am?” He asked
 
 
She looked at him then at Molly who just shrugged then back at him and shrugged.
 
 
“I don’t know… forty-five… forty-eight.. maybe.” She answered sheepishly.
 
 
“An’ Val?” He asked
 
 
“thirty-three… maybe.” She answered.
 
 
He rubbed his forehead for a moment as his headache seemed to be getting worse now. Maybe Jefe was right and there was something really wrong with him.
 
 
“I’m thirty-two an’ Val is twenty-five.” He said in a tired sounding voice.
 
 
Tonya looked at the floor again, “Oh!.... sorry.”
 
 
“Thirty-two, really?” Molly asked.
 
 
He gave her a tired and unimpressed look.
 
 
“What? I thought you were late thirties at least. Not because of how you look but how you act and such.” She said defensively.
 
 
“How old are you, then?” He asked.
 
 
“Twenty-three.” She said.
 
 
He shrugged, “I guess I thought you were closer to my age.”
 
 
“Is that a problem?” She asked
 
 
He shook his head, “Not if it isn’t for you.”
 
 
“It’s not.” She replied.
 
 
“Probably the hard livin’ that makes us all seem older… Hell, Tonya had me convinced she was at least twenty when I first met her.” He said.
 
 
Tonya nodded, “those of us out here tend to look older from the hard living, compared to those down south and on the other side of the Mississippi inland sea, at least those who live in the big houses and have others do their hard work!”
 
 
“At least we aren’t living in the desert wastelands, or out in the wilds! Seen a woman my age from the wilds once and she looked to be sixty.” Molly said.
 
 
“Maybe I should go live with them. At least I’d look like a young stud to them for a few years instead of an old fogie.” Hondo groused.
 
 
“I didn’t say old Fogie, papa! Just that you’re my papa and your older and until you see your father making out with someone on the kitchen counter its not something that you think about so much and even if you did you think of it as a fantasy, not real life!” Tonya replied defensively.  
 
 
Hondo held up his hand, “It’s fine, Sorry I said anythin’… Foods ready so lets eat. I don’t like to admit it but I need sleep bad.”
 
 
They nodded and both the girls jumped to the stove at the same time. They laid out three plates and piled the food on, though one was heaped more than the other two. Tonya, having two good arms grabbed two of the plates and sat one on the island in front of where Hondo stood.
 
 
“Here, Papa. This one’s for you. There’s a stool beside you too.” She said
 
 
He eyed the plate and shook his head, “I’m not sure I’m even hungry right now, so I’m not sure I can eat that much.”
 
 
“Once you start I’m sure you’ll be able to finish it, now eat as you need a shower before bed.” Molly said.
 
 
They all ate in relative silence, and Molly was right as Hondo ate the whole plate without blinking. He did not even realize how much he had eaten until he realized the plate was empty. The girls finished about the same time, though he had more food, but he was not sure if they ate fast or he ate slow. Molly started to pick up dishes but Tonya took them from her.
 
 
“I can clean up. You guys made breakfast and you need showers. Go get cleaned up and go to bed.” Tonya said.
 
 
Molly nodded and gave her a smile, “Thanks.”
 
 
She then turned to Hondo and nodded at the room, “Shower time for you.”  
 
 
He shook his head, “Go get yours. I’ll be along.”
 
 
“Might as well come with me. I won’t be long and I might need help getting the robe off too.” She said with an edge of a seductive smile on her face.
 
 
“Just go share the shower.” Tonya said, closing her eyes a bit to try to ward off the thought of her papa and Molly together in a shower.
 
 
“Well I don’t…” Hondo started to say but a tug on his arm stopped him.
 
 
“Come on. Doesn’t hurt to share a shower again. We are sharing a bed, after all… unless you changed you mind?” She asked.
 
 
He sighed and shook his head, “I reckon I haven’t.”
 
 
“Will you two go already!” Tonya exclaimed.
 
 
She acted like it bothered her, as at some level it did. Half because it was not Val or her with him, as she felt it should be one of them, though she tried to not even admit it to herself, and half because the whole talk made her hot and bothered but she had no one to release those urges with.
 
 
“We’re goin’.” Hondo replied.
 
 
He walked off a bit before he stopped and turned back to her.
 
 
“Love ya, sweet girl. Don’t take too long an’ get some sleep.” He said.
 
 
“What about the others like Marvin and Maggie?” she asked.
 
 
“There will be some more soldiers comin’ after they eat so they can get some breakfast an’ rest too. Just didn’t cook for them as they wanted to shower first an’ have fresh food.” He replied
 
 
She nodded, “Alright… What about that preacher and Blacksmith?”
 
 
“Marvin let them go before we got back. No sense on holdin’ or questionin’ them as they were right.” He replied.
 
 
“Alright. I’ll get some sleep after I’m done here… love you, papa.” Tonya replied.
 
 
He nodded and turned back to the room where Molly waited for him.  
 
 
As he entered he found her with her arm in her sling but out of the robe already.
 
 
“I though you needed help with that?” He asked, smiling wryly.  
 
 
“Regular clothes I’ll definitely need help with for a while, but that excuse was to get you to come with me.” She said blushing a bit.
 
 
He nodded, “I figured as much… You still want to share that shower?”
 
 
She bit her lip slightly as she nodded, fearing he would find some excuse to push her away again, as after all they had been through together all she wanted was to have some intimate time with him.
 
 
He sighed and nodded, “I reckon I can’t talk ya out of it, an’ besides with all this dirt, crud, and such, we both could probably use some help cleanin’ up.”  
 
 
She smiled a bit and relaxed her muscles, which she only just realized how much she had tensed up. From him, she took that as accepting that he wanted some time too, without admitting it. He was a plainly honest man except where it came to his own feelings, emotions, and well-being, so that was as good to her as if he came out and said he wanted her.
 
 
He half fell into a chair to pull his boots off but Molly stopped him, grabbing a boot with her one good arm.
 
 
“Let me.” She said as she yanked on his boot and pulled it off.
 
 
“I’m not a cripple, I can to it!” He protested.
 
 
She looked up at him with a sad but loving look.
 
 
“I know you’re not, but I want to. Please let me.” She replied softly.
 
 
He sighed a frustrated sigh but gave in and lifted his other foot so she could pull that one off too. She then pulled off his socks and threw them into a dirty laundry pile as he stood up. He started to undo his belt but she moved right up close to him and gently slipped her hand inside his to take it from him. He backed his hand away as she fiddled with the belt one handed and after a couple tries finally got it unlatched. She then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants and let them fall to the floor. Her hand went down to his boxers but before she pulled them down she ran her hand slowly over the front of them to feel the packed he carried under them. He took a deep, quick breath as she touched him and his member started to swell in response.  
 
 
She crouched down a bit to get a better look as she pulled his boxers down, and his pride popped out and nearly hit her in the face. She gasped a bit at it, as it seemed bigger than she remembered from seeing it last time, though he had been low on blood, injured, and just puked his guts up so it, like the rest of him, was not doing that great then anyway. She also did not have the time to inspect it like she did now as she had been more worried about getting him washed and in bed than about her sexual needs. She marveled at it for a minute or two, wanting to touch it but almost being afraid to. She had heard of those bigger then him, but had not seen one let alone experienced one like him before. Though he was not even half-mast yet, he still seemed huge to her, at least two to three times the size James had been, and he was bigger than the other two partners she had experienced before.  
 
 
After a moment Hondo’s deep voice snapped her out of her trance.
 
 
“I reckon neither of us will get cleaned like this an’ we are too dirty for much else… even that.” He said flatly, though a slight smirk on his face betrayed his tone.
 
 
She nodded and helped him step out of his clothes before she stood up herself.
 
 
“You know I can do that myself?” He asked as she stood and looked up into his eye.
 
 
She leaned against him, pressing her firm and slightly fuzzy breasts against him.
 
 
“I know, but I want to do things like this for you. Every woman should do to his man like that. The unfortunate fact is too many women think they are too good to serve their men.” She said
 
 
“Too man men don’t deserve that kinda service either.” HE replied.
 
 
She nodded, “That maybe true but that shouldn’t give us women the right to slack on our end. Besides, I do not have that problem as after all you have done, no one could say you are unworthy of this. If anything you are worthy of far more and my efforts are barely a drop in the bucket of what should be given.”
 
 
He sighed and shook his head, “I reckon I just can’t see myself bein’ worthy of any of this, but… It is nice havin’ someone feel that way ‘bout me.”
 
 
“Val never did this stuff for you?” She asked sincerely.
 
 
He frowned and turned away.
 
 
“I’m sorry! I forgot you said not to talk about her!” Molly exclaimed.
 
 
He sighed, “There’s no gettin’ away from it, I reckon… We, she an’ I, helped each other, but did she do this? Not really. I didn’t expect her to either…. We’d undress each other for fun at times, but it was usually to help spur on the mood when it hit, so it was a playful act, ya know?”
 
 
Molly walked in front of him and put her hand on his chest again, lightly as she stared up into his eye.
 
 
“Playful if fine but she should want to do more for you. It’s a woman’s job, and not one that should be seen as a drudgery either. I care about you, so I like doing that for you. Any woman should if they truly love and care about their man.” She said.
 
 
He put his hand over hers and slowly pulled it away from his chest and just held it.
 
 
“I appreciate it, Molly, but…” He paused
 
 
“But you don’t want to talk about her and this, … us, might be temporary… I understand. I’ll try not to talk about her and as for the temporary, I want whatever time together, helping you, that I can have.” She said
 
 
“I don’t want you doin’ all this for me for somethin’ that could be temporary.” He replied
 
 
“I want to do this for you but… its selfish too as I want this for me too! … Can I ask, what if… what if she leaves or things don’t work out? I’m sorry, I know its about her, but I must know. What if it doesn’t… are we still temporary then?” She asked as she looked up into his eye with a look of hope and fear.
 
 
“I.. I’m tryin’ not to think in those terms, Molly, but I reckon I’d not let this happen ifin I couldn’t see myself with you long term… if other things failed.” He replied.
 
 
She smiled and stretched up on her toes and kissed his softly. When she pulled back she sighed a contented sigh.
 
 
“That’s all I want then. To have you for now and to know if what you want fails that you’d still want me.” She said.
 
 
“We really better go get washed up.” He replied, changing the subject.
 
 
She chuckled softly and nodded, “Okay, Cowboy. Let’s get washed up.”
 
 
She held onto his hand and half lead him to the shower. They had to remove a few bandages, leaving only Hondo’s eye patch for now.  
 
 
Though the main point was washing up, like the time before, they both took longer than if they were washing themselves as they used the chance to wash each other as an excuse to explore each other’s bodies. Some area’s of their bodies seemed to get cleaner than others, but they managed to get all the dirt, grim, and dried blood off themselves in the process. The last thing cleaned was her long, bright red hair. Hondo insisted on helping her, and she did not protest her help. After they were done he leaned against the side wall and she leaned against him as they let the hot water trickle over their bodies.
 
 
“You really tired?” She asked after a bit as nuzzled her face into his muscular chest.
 
 
“I am beat, but this shower gave me back a little energy to do somethin’, if I understand what you’re askin’ right.” He said in a low voice as his hand caressed her back.
 
 
She could feel his member firm up a bit more as it pressed into her thigh, which made her smile softly.
 
 
“From the feel of it, you know what I want.” She said.
 
 
He bent down a bit again and lifted her up. He hurt still but the feel of her tight, muscular body against him was worth the pain he felt. He turned and leaned her against the wall, letting the soap holder take some of her weight from his arms as they leaned in and kissed each other passionately. After a while they came up for air and stared into each other’s eyes as they panted.
 
 
“You sure *pant* you won’t regret this?” He asked.
 
 
“I’ll never regret *pant* anything I do with you.” She said as her breasts heaved against him as her lungs sucked in air.
 
 
“I’m a bit worn out to give you a good ride now, you know.” He said.
 
 
“I know, which is why I planned to ride you instead of you riding me!” she replied with a seductive grin.
 
 
“I don’t have condoms here either so you’ll have to bail off when I tell ya as my holdin’ game won’t be the greatest after not even havin’ time to get myself off in almost a week.” He said.
 
 
“You can cum in me. My fertile time isn’t yet.” She said
 
 
“Fertile time?” He asked.
 
 
“Everyone is different, but the animal genes that make us wessen also make for different cycles. I have my period once every three months and then go into a sort of heat, like my animal counter part does, and am only fertile during that time. Most wessen are like that, though some differ slightly.” She said.
 
 
“Go into heat? So, you try to hump anythin’ that moves?” He asked, with an odd look on his face.
 
 
She laughed and shook her head, “No! It’s nothing like that! We just have a couple weeks where our sex drive is extremely high and our pheromone levels are peaked. Teens have more issues as they are not used to theirs, its often stronger, and also erratic. When I was a teen I went into heat for two months straight! I thought I was going to go crazy! But its all controllable. Humans have similar things but ours are just stronger and more defined because of who we are. That’s how I know its safe for you to cum inside of me.”
 
 
He shook his head, “Well, that’s definitely different, an’ you are straight forward an’ honest ‘bout it with me.”
 
 
“Does that bother you?” She asked.
 
 
“Bein’ different? Hell no.” He said.
 
 
“I meant the straight forward and honest.” She said.
 
 
He shook his head, “No, I like that.”
 
 
“Well, know that stuff is not something wessen talk about outside our kind, but I know I can trust you and if I’m with you, you deserve to know.” She said.
 
 
He nodded, “I’m glad you feel you can talk ‘bout that stuff with me then.”
 
 
He leaned back in and kissed her again before letting her back down. Once she was down she turned off the water and lead him out of the shower. She grabbed a towel and dried him off, getting certain areas dryer than others. He tried the same with her but she took the towel half way through and dried her own legs and waist so he did not have to bend down. He frowned a bit at having that taken away from him as the pain was worth the view and the touch.
 
 
After they were dried he helped her re-bandage, as all his wounds were closed up by Fernando at least, so only his eye needed covered. Once done she led him to the bed and got him laid down and comfortable. Once she covered him up she crawled in under the covers and stayed under there, playing with him to get him hard again. As she crawled out again, her smile turned to a frown as she looked at him.
 
 
“You are looking tired.” She said.
 
 
“So are you.” He replied
 
 
“I know but… I have all this sexual energy pent up! I was in  heat when James… when he… you know.” She said sadly.
 
 
“I have enough in me for one go. Just don’t be mad if I pass out after!” He replied.
 
 
Her grin returned as she positioned herself over top of him.
 
 
“I won’t be angry, trust me! I’ll probably be half asleep cleaning myself up and collapse when I get back!” She replied.
 
 
She reached down and tugged at his member a bit more to make sure he was fully hard as he reached between her thighs to see just how eager she was. From the warm, slippery wetness he found, she was quite ready indeed.
 
 
It was not much longer before she lowered herself onto his member. Her wetness let it slid into her fairly easily but it definitely stretched her farther than she had been stretched before! She half shrieked, half moaned as it went inside her. She lowered her breasts down to rest on his body as she tried to get him in the rest of the way. She let the weight of her body push him in father but he was a lot longer than she was used to too and it hurt more the deeper he went. As she let her legs slip from holding any of her weight the head of his member slammed into her cervices and pushed against it. She shrieked and then groaned as her body trembled and she held onto him for dear life. He rubbed her back and ass gently and whispered to her softly, telling her how pretty, sex, and tight she was, and how much he was enjoying her. He asked if she was alright as she held onto him and trembled but all she could do was nod at first. After a minute the pain subsided and she relaxed some.
 
 
“You’re just bigger and longer than I’m used to… hurt a bit but it will be worth that pain once I’m used to you.” She said softly.
 
 
As she relaxed she found her insides relaxed enough to stretch out and accept him fully, so she could feel his ball press against her body. She took a deep breath and slowly began to rock her hips back and forth. At first if hurt and she sucked air through her teeth and winced at the pain, but slowly it stopped hurting and soon she found it feeling good again as a moan escaped her lips. He explored her body with his hands, touching all he could reach, though he favored her breasts. Every once in a while, she would lean down and stretch up to kiss him again or he’d lean down and lick and nibble on her neck.  
 
 
Thought no records were set that day, they both lasted over thirty minutes and both got off, her more than once. Once done she got off and after another long kiss she went to the bathroom to clean up. She brought a warm, wet washcloth and cleaned Hondo’s member and the surrounding areas as he was already half asleep. The feeling of the warm cloth brought him to for a moment but once she threw it into the laundry and snuggled in beside him he fell fast asleep.  
 
 
Molly sighed contentedly as she snuggled in beside him. The sound of his breathing told her he had fallen right to sleep. Normally she would have worried about getting any sleep at all, but the feeling of finally being with him and the sweet release he had brought her, she knew she would sleep well. Only one thing nagged at her mind as she fell asleep and that was guilt, guilt from feeling that she was maybe too much a part of Val and Hondo splitting up.  
 
 
She wanted him all for herself but if Val would get her head on straight, Val would do him more good than she could. For the first time she considered sharing him with Val, if she would do that, but she was sure his honorable sensibilities would stand in the way of that. She wished she had someone else to talk to about that, but she did not. Many humans took wives and had one or move wessen sex slaves. If she was willing to be his, why should he reject her? She knew he was from a different time, though, from before the happening, or at least that’s what he had told her to explain Val’s doppelganger to her. She did not understand it all but she believed him. She had heard that time was different and a man having multiple women was worse than taboo. The thought crossed her mind that maybe Val would leave and had planned to all along, though, and none of that would be an issue. That thought was enough to calm her guilt and worry for the moment and let her fall asleep against the large, human man she had fallen in love with.  
 
 
(Time 9:30 ish am) *guessing at the time*
 

Maribelle and Joanna takes over a half an hour to do the food shopping but they managed to get a few supplies of grains (oats, wheat, barley and rice) to make porridge meals and cookies with, they are in the 50 pound bags. They were able to get some fruits and vegetables despite having the pay a bit more than usual, they were able to get them by the 5 pound sacks. The biggest fine was the dozen Giant Mutant eggs they got, which according to the seller, are not a high priority best seller for him but a few words from Maribelle to sell the current stock to the major and take any future stock to Center Town and sell them there go the vendor to lower his price accordingly. She also managed to get a case of regular mixed hen’s eggs, a box with 10 layers of 36 egg cartons. Joanne managed to get some sausages, uncut bacon back, a couple of hams and assorted cuts of beef from the butcher along with a couple bricks of cheese and a large tub of butter. One of their most interesting finds was a large jar of honey, though it was labeled as 5 pounds of honey. Everything went for less than one of Fernando’s sacks of gold. They were heading back to camp as soon as they loaded up the jeep.
 
Ruth was in shock when she saw what they managed to put into the tiny back area of the jeep, She took in what she needed and began cooking in her camper, making fresh oatmeal for the Sheep and Goat Wessens, and a ham/egg/cheese sandwich for everyone else. The Den Mother arrived earlier to see if she could help Ruth as she has her brood to feed and brought over her outdoor cooking utensils and a table to cook outside Ruth’s camper. In no time with some help of the supplies and Ruth’s assistance, she had managed to put together a breakfast for her eight or so kids. The Major started to bring food into The Kharkovchanka to feed Minerva’s group of kids, though most were omnivores, there were a couple herbivores in the mix, they were given juice, oatmeal and a sandwich (lettuce, celery, shredded carrots and raisins for the herbivores and ham/egg/cheese for the omnivores). Even the teens and their dogs were fed with Ruth’s help. The only group that was not fed was Jeanette’s group (other than Penny who was in Ruth’s camper and Mavis who was with the teens), as they were too busy asking when things were going to get done and not doing the work themselves. Eventually the Major gave them something for their meal and most of that was to get them quiet and to stop asking questions.
 
Other than Hondo and his group, the only one not to eat was Fernando as he avoided everyone. The 10o’clock hour was fast approaching, and the Major was gathering some of her men along with some added fire power to go to Wessen Town. Eventually she finds Fernando walking out of the parking area and stops her jeep next to him.
 
“Where are you going?” Major Moynihan asks.
 
“Walking to Wessen Town.” Fernando tells her.
 
“Then get on, we are all going there.” Major Moynihan says.
 
Fernando gets on though reluctantly. As they drive to Wessen Town, Fernando asks a question.
 
“Is your communication team listening to the airwaves?” Fernando asks.
 
“Yes they are. Expecting trouble?” The Major asks.
 
“Just that people like Hector does not take to losing easily. I would not be surprised if he has a trap set up for us, if not now then in the immediate future.” Fernando replies.
 
“Whatever he has planned, we will be ready for it.” The Major says.
 
The next few miles were uneventful. The soldiers cleaned up the mess that they could, confiscating what they could salvage from the wrecked vehicles that were used by the Wessen Army.
 
The Major asks Fernando, “I noticed there were a couple of burnt out sky-ship frames on the floor and my men did not report that they had shot down a sky ship. You had something to do with that?”
 
“I will say that there were three sky ships, I took out two, and Hondo took out the last one. Karl and Marvin assisted in getting and setting up the weapons we needed to take them down and with the get-away with all our equipment intact when our point was overrun with Wessens on jeeps and other vehicles.” Fernando explains.
 
“Where are these vehicles, so my men can gather them as spoils of war.” The Major asks.
 
“They are on the southern end of the runway, which needs to be cleared up anyways if the flight school is to get flying again.” Fernando explains.
 
“I’ll get my men on it right away.” The Major says.
 
“I think there are a few scattered about Hondo’s Hanger, if your men have not gathered them yet. I do not know if they did.” Fernando says.
 
“I’ll verify that later.” The Major replies.
 
“Alright then. Let’s hope for the best.” Fernando says.
 
A few more minutes of driving and they were entering Wessen Town and pull up to a double round-about in front of the town hall. They walk into the mayor’s office despite having a group of “concerned citizens” hounding at their door. Seeing the major and her men armed with various firearms, they decided to step away and let them through. They walk through the halls until they get to the mayor’s office, and request for an immediate appointment with his council through their secretary, a Willahara Wessen.
 
Needing to wait a few minutes, the mayor nervously lets them in.
 
As those in command have a seat, Fernando walks to the Mayor’s desk, and puts his fists knuckles down on it. The desk placard has he name of “L. Livingston.”
 
“Your honor, let me make this clear - this is not a request, demand or command of surrender.” Fernando begins. He continues, “This is a sit down meeting and see what Wessen Town needs of us to make a peaceful co-existence with Flight Town and unify the two as one.  But understand this much, because of Hector’s Wessens call to arms and attack of Flight Town, the merchants have gathered a small army that is not ours in order to attack Wessen Town and burn it and those who live here into the ground. We are here to prevent that.” He then steps away from the desk and takes a seat near the Major.
 
“I see...” The mayor, a Löwen Wessen like the reverend, says. He then asks, “If this is not a surrender then why come armed?”
 
The Major speaks up, “It is for our protection and by extension your protection. You have an angry mob at your steps which would not have us go in without a fight if they did not see our arms. A show of force is necessary in order to keep the peace and instill calm. Now to business; in this battle called upon by Hector, we have a few prisoners and counted over 800 bodies which we are grouping together on the North West part of town. Families can go there and pick up their relatives for private burial and the prisoners handed over to you and your justice system. Anyone not claimed or identified will be buried in a mass grave.”
 
“If I might add, your citizens need to be called to arms just in case an attack comes to Wessen Town. Though the Major’s men will do their best to put a stop to it, some will get by and I’m sure there are some from within that will start their attack from the inside. Once we can establish the peace can we continue on with the unification of both Flight Town and Wessen Town.” Fernando explains.
 
“When can families go out to pick up their dead?” The mayor asks.
 
“This afternoon. Let’s say at 1500 hours, 3o’clock PM in civilian talk.” The Major replies.
 
“Anything else?” The mayor asks.
 
Fernando gets up and steps to his desk. He taps onto the desk with his cane and two large bags of gold coins appear, “Distribute that with those who had a loss first and then with business owners of Wessen Town to rebuild from what losses they had. What is left over, give it out to everyone evenly. This will stimulate business growth and economic recovery of Wessen town.” He then waves his cane to the center of the room, and a wheel barrel with a large bag of gold coins appear, “And that is $1million in gold, as a reward for the capture of Hector De La Cruz for the crimes he has committed in this attack of Flight Town. A half million in gold coins will be given for the capture of any of his partners in crime.”
 
“How do I know this is not some Human trickery? Most Wessens will not turn in one of our own, especially one who has been instrumental in making Wessen town what it is. His teachings alone are engrained into us all that we are superior to you humans.” The mayor says.
 
“Then I will walk away and let the merchants and their hired army burn Wessen town and everyone here will be captured and killed. As for the money...” Fernando begins to tell him before making the bags of money disappear. He continues, “As for Wessens being superior to humans, Wessens were created from humans who were purged and sold into slavery since the beginning of the chaos. Furthermore, in the battle, over a thousand Wessens from across the land came to try to burn down Flight Town, and met up with 200 of the Major’s men with the result of over 800 Wessens dead, over 30 captured including the leader – a Reverend Wallace. Furthermore, if Wessens were superior to Humans, the two would not be able to mate and breed with each other and create hybrids like a certain red head hamster girl that I know.”
 
The mayor coughs for a bit but then recovers to ask, “A Red Head Hamster Girl? Is her name Minerva Narusegawa?”
 
“Don’t know her last name but that is her first name.” Fernando answers.
 
“But how is that possible? She is supposed to be dead!” The mayor says too loudly to himself.
 
“Bub, you better be explaining the truth.” Fernando says as he draws both of his 1911s from his shoulder holsters to the mayor’s forehead.
 
“I can’t! Hector would have my head!” The mayor complains. The major’s men arm their guns and aim it to the mayor as well as well as a few to the windows and doors of the room.
 
“You can run from Hector, you cannot run from me for I will hunt you down across this world and onto any other world the Spirits have that you could escape too.” Fernando tells him. He continues, “You are slowly losing my respect and any chance of giving the people of this town some peace and money to rebuild on. Remember this – I walk away, I take the army’s protection with me and the hired mercenaries the merchants have gathered will lay waste to this city and everybody in it, including you and this town hall.”
 
Just then the radio, a large Shortwave Transceiver beside his desk comes to life.

 
A female voice comes on, “To all furry ears out there, this is the voice of Hector’s command. Respond if you can hear me.”
 
The mayor looks at the radio and then at Fernando and his guns pointed at him. Fernando puts away his guns and then lifts his cane, waving it to the mayor. A flight flashes about him, finding him tied up and gagged within his seat.
 
The female voice comes on again, “To all furry ears out there, this is the voice of Hector’s command. Respond if you can hear me.”
 
Fernando steps over to the radio’s microphone, clearing his throat for a second before answering in a voice sounding like the mayor. “This is Mayor Livingston speaking.”
 
“Oh good, Mayor. Before we continue, what is the password?” the female asks.
 
“Os Animas” Fernando says in the mayor’s voice as he looks about the mayor’s desk. He finds a couple sheets of the mayor’s personal stationary, mentally reading the mayor’s full name.
 
There was silence on the radio for a second. Then the female voice comes on, “Good to hear from you again, Larry.”
 
Fernando replies sternly, “You know that is not my name. Ad much as I don’t like to say it, it is Latimore. Latimore Armounth Livingston, Mister Livingston to you. Now what do you want?”
 
More silence comes from the radio for a few seconds before the female comes on.
 
“Aright then, sir... It is heard from our end that there losses to last night fights. We need exact numbers. What do you have?” The female voice requests.
 
“On our side, over 2000 furs came to battle, over 500 sacrificed their lives to the cause. As far as we can surmise, the humans had 200 hired soldiers and highway gang members and 50 lawmen along with who knows how many self-appointed heroes making their last stand at their homes and businesses on their side. We counted over 220 human bodies out in the field, and several of the merchant buildings were burning. Most of our losses were in the merchant streets where the humans would hide and ambush them.” Fernando explains in his human voice.
 
After some silence from the radio again, the female replies, “That is not what we originally heard. We heard that we lost the battle!”
 
“We won the fight in the open field but penetrating Merchant Town was difficult at best and that is where we had most of our losses.” Fernando explains in the mayor’s voice.
 
A long silence hung from the radio, then the female voice returns, “What about the human convoy?”
 
“We can inform you that they were destroyed – all their vehicles and trailers were burning, with many bodies about the parking lot. Those bodies are not part of the dead soldiers and lawmen count.” Fernando answers in the mayor’s voice.
 
“That is good to hear!” The female voice returns. Then there was a pause before she says, “To my understanding, there were a couple of Wessens who switched sides and warned the humans.”
 
“Yes, a pastor and a couple of his followers. They were found dead next to a cowboy and several Wessens at the convoy camp.” Fernando explains in the mayor’s voice.
 
“Good to hear.” The female voice responds, she continues, “Any word on Reverend Wallace?”
 
“He was found dead with three of his men beside a burning jeep.” Fernando says in the mayor’s voice.
 
There was silence from the radio for a while before the female comes on, “That is sad to hear. He was a great leader.”
 
“He was despite our differences.” Fernando throws in with the mayor’s voice.
 
“That is odd to say, coming from his very best friend.” The female voice says.
 
“Though we may were friends, we disagreed on a lot of things. But whether we agreed or not on things is not the basis of our friendship.” Fernando replies.  He then adds, “Anything else as to why you called?”
 
“You gave me everything I needed to know. Thank you.” The female voice says.
 
“My radio is on if you need me, just call.” Fernando says in the mayor’s voice.
 
There was no reply for half a minute before Fernando reaches over and disconnects the power to the radio. He then disconnects the antenna and other wires in the back of the radio and picks it up off the table, handing to one of the men. “Give that to the communications team and tell them to use it to listen at that frequency.” He waves his cane at the soldier and teleports the man with the radio back to the convoy camp.
 
Fernando then turns to the mayor, waving his cane and removing his bindings, “So you are cahoots with De La Cruz? You think Wessens are better than humans? If Wessens are better than humans, then why almost a thousand of your numbers could not take down 200 of ours? I will tell you why – no force in this universe can defeat an army protected by god.”
 
“You are talking bullshit.” The Mayor says to Fernando.
 
Fernando looks about the mayor’s desk and finds a bible on his desk, looking at it over noticing selected pages from no doubt the reverend.
 
“Interesting selections, easily twisted about to make one say what they want to say. But you cannot change this – Genesis 1:27 ‘God made man in his image.’” Fernando tells him as he holds out the bible open to the first pages for him to see. “Wessens are not of God’s image. They are a Spirit abomination created to enslave mankind. In enslaving mankind, they enslave Wessens too. Or you have not figured that out yet?”
 
- To Be Continued. -

Something woke Hondo from his sleep, but he did not wake easily. He could hear a soft voice calling out to him but it did not register at first. He was startled awake by a small hand grabbing his shoulder and shaking him, which set his reflexes into action way before his mind started working. He grabbed the hand and bent it backwards into a submission hold as he leapt to his knees and felt around for a gun.  
 
 
At his flurry of movement Molly scrambled to her feet and dove at her shotgun, grabbing it and pointing it towards the perceived threat.
 
 
As their eyes and minds cleared the saw a very scared fox-girl holding her arm and crying out in pain.
 
 
“No, Papa, please don’t hurt me, I’m sorry!” Tonya begged.
 
 
He let her go and she fell to the floor where he promptly dropped beside her.
 
 
“Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I was in a deep sleep an’ ya scared me.” He said groggily as he put a hand gently on her shoulder.  
 
 
As she sat on the floor, she held her sore hand and tried not to cry. She looked up at them with tear filled eyes after a moment. Her eyes got wide and then she stared back at the floor. Neither of them were awake enough to figure it out right away.
 
 
“What’s wrong?” He asked her.
 
 
“You.. *sniff* You both are .. *sniff*.. uhm…” She stammered
 
 
It hit Molly first, and her face turned a bit red as she set the gun down and walked to Hondo’s side and bent down to whisper in his ear.
 
 
“We’re a bit naked and I have a feeling your daughter isn’t used to seeing that.” Molly whispered
 
 
Hondo looked down at himself and frowned before trying to slide back under the sheets. Once he had his lap covered Molly helped Tonya up off the floor and got her seated on the edge of the bed. Molly did not try to cover herself up as they were both women and she was not shy, but it still flustered Tonya a bit.
 
 
“Are you alright, girl?” He asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
 
 
She nodded, “Yes, papa… Sorry I woke you. I was just.. just.. I wondered if you got nightmares when you killed someone?”
 
 
Her question surprised him a bit but his mind was awake enough now to process faster and figure it out.
 
 
“You havin’ nightmares?” He asked
 
 
She nodded and looked down in same as a tear ran down her cheek.
 
 
He pulled her into him and held her and she started crying softly. Molly sat down beside her and grabbed on of her hands.
 
 
“It’s alright, sweet girl. Yeah, I’ve had them before an’ still do from time to time… It’s normal.” He said.
 
 
“I’m so tired but I can’t sleep! Every time I close my eyes I see that girls head blow apart that I shot! She.. she couldn’t have been much older than me!” She cried
 
 
Hondo looked at Molly, “What time is it?”
 
 
“10:40 am… we’ve barely slept an hour.” She said.
 
 
He sighed and nodded, “Good. As I feel like I didn’t sleep at all yet.”
 
 
“I’ll leave so you can sleep.” Tonya said through the tears.
 
 
“No, stay here.” Molly said.
 
 
She looked up at her questioningly and then at Hondo.
 
 
He nodded, “If you don’t mind sleepin’ in top of the cover sheet, you can sleep here with us… I know it’s odd but nothin’ ‘bout this place is right an’ you need some sleep.”
 
 
Her lip quivered a bit and she nodded, “Thank you papa.”
 
 
He slid more to the middle so she could lay beside him and he used the sheet to cover himself. Once she was in he pulled a light blanket over them both with Molly’s held and she climbed back in on the other side and snuggled up beside him. Tonya nearly curled up in a ball beside him and held onto his arm for dear life. As they had fought the day before she seemed like a tough adult woman. Now she seemed like a scared pup who needed her father to hold her. The horrors of war and death had a way of doing that to even the stoutest veteran, at times. It was no wonder a girl like her succumbed, yet for a girl her age to hold herself together so well spoke highly of her strength too.
 
 
It took no time at all before they all fell asleep, with Tonya beating them both out. Hondo woke a few times to Tonya whimpering beside him but a quick squeeze of her hand or pulling her into him was enough to get her to settle down again and he’d drift back off to sleep.  
 
 
-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-,-
 
 
As they stopped at a watering hole to refill their water jugs, Hector waited impatiently for conformation from the mayor on the numbers he received earlier. He paced as he waited and growled impatiently.
 
 
“What is taking them so long?! They know my communicades are top priority!” He growled
 
 
The scarred up Fuschbau rolled her eyes as his bitching, “They just got done fighting and dying for your bullshit cause. It’s not like they have nothing better to do than to sit by the radio and wait for you to want something. Let them lick their wounds and bury their dead, for god’s sake! You wanted fast info you should have been there.”
 
 
He snarled at her, “You wouldd have liked me to have been there and died, I think!”
 
 
She smiled to herself, “It’s what I ask Santa Clause to give me for Christmas every year.”
 
 
Hector clenched his fist and turned away from her angrily, “Bah! Like you could keep chaos going in the lands as well as Hector could!”
 
 
“I may work for the Grey Lady, but I work for her alone. You work for her to carry out the will of the spirits so she can pay her debt to them. She might be my master but you’re her bitch.” She said coldly.
 
 
Hector leapt forward, gritted his teeth, and drew back his metal hand as if to strike her.
 
 
“Go ahead, hit me! It will give me more incentive to kill you sooner and make your death more painful!” She growled
 
 
Hector drew his hand away angrily and walked off a few paces, “Bah! You are the bitch, not me, but Hector has not the time to remind you of that! I should hold you down and show you again who hector is, but you are too feo from Hectors work last time.”
 
 
She knew he was trying to piss her off, but little did he know she had been pissed off since the day he started raping and torturing her as a girl, all those years ago. Working for the Grey Lady just gave her tools, money, and the ability to be close enough to plot her revenge. Soon enough he would die, but not today.
 
 
The other woman with them trotted over from the truck with a paper in her hand.
 
 
“Good news, sir!” She said as she hurried to his side and handed him the paper/
 
 
He read it over then looked at her angrily  
 
 
“What is this?!” he demanded.
 
 
“The.. the actual count as confirmed by the mayor himself! Headquarters said he passed all verification.” She said.
 
 
The traitors are dead? We won? The cowboy is dead too?? These are all lies!” He roared.
 
 
“They can’t be! The Mayor said…” The woman started to say but was cut off.
 
 
“The Mayor is either a traitor or was forced to say this! Numbers do not change like that!” Hector yelled
 
 
He balled up the paper and threw it down. He paced angrily, muttering to himself for a moment before he stopped and looked at the two women as if he had figured it out.
 
 
“It is a trap… A trap to get Hector and to stop Os Animas.” He said.
 
 
“Os Animas is nothing more than a bullshit cult meant to stir up gullible morons so you can keep the humans and wessens fighting so they can’t unify against the spirits.” The Faschbau woman said.
 
 
“You will watch your tongue!” Hector said.
 
 
To make fun of him she stuck her tongue out and went cross eyes trying to look at it before shaking her head, “Nope. Still can’t.”
 
 
“You dare mock Hector?!” He hissed
 
 
The fuschbau turned to the other woman and nodded, “You are dismissed. GO help the others secure things as we are rolling out in five.”
 
 
The other woman nodded and left. The scarred fuschbau turned back to Hector and gave him a hard look.
 
 
“These people are loyal to me, me and the Grey Lady. We are watching you because you lost your damn ring and she asked us to. She did not order us to, but asked. So why did I say yes? I want to see your arrogant ass be handed to you! I’ll protect you up until we get where we are going but after that you are on your own and The Lady knows it! She’s the one who told me Os Animas was nothing but a big psyops mission and you were just crazy enough to make folks think you actually believed that bull! So, you can drop the act.” She said coldly.
 
 
“Si, it is bullshit and a psyops mission as you say, but I must have respect and those with me must act like its all true to make it work!” He growled
 
 
She rolled her eyes again, “La-dee-#$@!ing-da! So we have to look like we are all delusional with you? Fine! But cut the bullshit! You think that info is legit or a farce?”
 
 
“It must be a lie! There is no way they could say they had little death and we were wiped out and it change a few hours later! The one who took my hand wants me back to finish the job!” He growled.
 
 
“Then don’t go back! Even if they won, what’s lost by staying away? Either way the survivors should be at each other’s throats.” She said
 
 
“That bastard medic and the cowboy… they have to be behind this and if they are they will find a way to make peace!” He hissed.
 
 
“That’s bullshit. After a mess like that, no one could make peace there for years to come.” She said.
 
 
“These two might, but Hector has one last plan.” He said.
 
 
“Simple. We send a message to the assassin brothers who are laying low there to make an example of the traitors.” Hector said.  
 
 
“If that message was a lie, how do you know they are not intercepting our messages now?” She asked.
 
 
“Because Hector has a way of reaching them that the pendejo medic will not think of!” He said with look of confidence.
 
 
“And what is that?” She asked.
 
 
He walked up close to her, grinning like a Cheshire cat, “You ever hear talk of E.L.F.?”