4.45 – Return

4.45 – Return

It took a few more rounds, but Zoey and Delta fucked the slimegirl into submission. The solid, dark-green orb in her chest quickly turned red, then shattered, leaving her a half-formed mess. As the last time Zoey had defeated Mel, her mind was turned into as much of a sludge as her body. Getting fucked to the point of so-called defeat left her unable to move, and only half able to form words.

But in a good way. Mel looked like she’d been left out on a hot day, her sticky body melting into a puddle, but a very satisfied, well-fucked puddle. Honestly, Zoey felt a bit the same.

“Before you go,” Mel mumbled. “Take this ... wanted to give it to you...”

Holding out a hand, liquid green goo poured from Mel’s hand, separating from the rest of her body. At a gesture from Mel, Zoey crouched down and took the glob of slime, thought was confused by the event.

“It’s me,” Mel said. “I can’t leave my shard, but maybe a part of me can? Don’t know,” she mumbled, half to herself, her eyes fluttering. “Talking’s ... hard. Keep her well fed, okay?”

Zoey blinked as she took the words in. The puddle of goo was Mel? Right now, it was mostly formless, just green liquid. But that would change if she kept it well fed? And change how? As in, turn into a mini-Mel?

“Fed with what?” Zoey asked.

Mel gave her a look that suggested she was stupid.

“Right. Dumb question.”

“And come visit in your dreams, here and there,” Mel said. “Though I don’t sleep much. Might be tricky. Okay ... that’s it ...” she sighed contentedly. “Thank you again. Now, taking a nap.”

With a last mumble of satisfaction, the goo-girl lost consciousness, her humanoid form almost fully dissolving into slime.

“Huh,” Delta said. She crouched down next to Zoey and inspected the puddle of goo in Zoey’s hands. “So it’ll grow into a second Mel?”

“I guess?” Zoey asked. “I’ll have to ask her, once she’s less ...”

“Fucked to mindlessness?”

“That.”

Rosalie joined Zoey to the left, also crouching down. “Well,” she said. “I’m glad we’ve apparently saved this friend of yours, but we didn’t get many answers. And have something watching us, now? Something that eats shards? I feel like we’ve glossed over that.”

“We’re not glossing over anything, blondie,” Delta said dryly. “We were just a little busy.”

Rosalie huffed. “Regardless. What are we doing?”

“Let’s get moving, first,” Zoey said. “Get our gear back. We need something to hold mini-Mel, too.” She tilted her cupped hands and shook them back and forth, watching the thick liquid jiggle. It was highly viscous; it refused to separate or spill between her fingers.

“I assume the chests are still under the lake,” Rosalie said. “Is that going to be a problem?”

Zoey frowned, understanding the real question. Would the slime rejoin to the lake, if she brought it in? She doubted it.“Think we’re fine. Swimming’s gonna be hard, though, with my hands full.”

“Put it in your inventory?”

Rosalie pinched the bridge of her nose, and Zoey just laughed.

“I don’t think it’ll be that easy,” Zoey said.

“That’s a no?” Delta shouted into the empty air, ignoring Zoey. She shrugged. “More for me and blondie, I guess.”

“Will you please take this seriously?” Rosalie asked. “The world is ending.”

“Allegedly,” Delta said. “The world is allegedly ending.”

“You saw the broken item. And the warnings of Ephythithys? There’s surely more of them.”

“More cum vampires?” Delta said. “Zoey’s really going to have her hands full.” She placed a hand above her forehead to make shade, then peered around. “I say we go this way.” She pointed at a seemingly random direction.

Or, maybe not random, because Rosalie nodded in agreement and set off. Zoey followed, mentally bracing herself for another long trip through the wilderness.

“Okay, but taking it seriously,” Delta said. “We’re lacking information big time. Only real way forward, the way I see it, is baiting the vampire out. Having a talk.”

“Mel couldn’t find a way to talk with her, so how could we?” Rosalie asked. “She had to use Zoey’s ... substance ... just to get her to show herself.”

“And we have an infinite supply of Zoey-cum,” Delta said, not half as hesitant to be crude as Rosalie. “Goddess-certified fresh, always on tap.”

Rosalie growled at the ridiculous phrasing, and Delta smirked in return, pleased she’d gotten a rise out of the blonde—not that she ever had problems with that.

“Still don’t think it’ll be that easy,” Zoey said. “Clearly she doesn’t want to be seen.” She remembered the horrified expression on the woman’s face, seeing Zoey and them watching her—at Mel’s trick having worked. Then the way she’d vanished into nothingness. “Don’t think it’ll work the second time around.”

“And we’re assuming she did follow us,” Rosalie pointed out. “That’s not guaranteed.”

As one, the three of them peered around, seeking out a mysterious follower. Of course, they saw nothing but arid landscape.

“Well,” Delta said. “We’ll do our best to make her talk. If we can’t, we’ll look for information some other way.” She tilted her head. “You know, maybe those cultists were right. The ones going on about how the Fractures are decaying? Maybe it’s this.”

Rosalie didn’t immediately dismiss the idea, though she seemed doubtful. “Cultists and doom-sayers are as old as time.”

“It’s some kind of start,” Delta said.

“Are you suggesting we volunteer? Join them? A cult?”

“Not necessarily. But check it out. It’s the only starting point I can think of.”

Rosalie couldn’t argue that, though it seemed like she wanted to, merely because Delta had suggested it. Eventually, she nodded.

“It’d be a start,” she said.