Chapter 26: Licking Wounds

Susie's eyes fluttered open, and she felt a great black fog lifting from her mind. At the same time, she became aware of an abominable aching in her abdomen. Susie groaned and turned her head to the side, and her gaze fell on a person in a chair sitting next to the bed she lay in. Susie blinked, coughed, and the person jerked awake. If not for the piercing grey eyes, she almost didn't recognize Calvin. A white lab coat was draped over his shoulders, his blond spiky hair was hidden under a beanie, a layer of blond stubble clung to his face, and huge dark circles rested underneath those eyes.

In spite of all his exhaustion, Calvin shot awake and leapt to his feet, sending the chair clattering across the floor. Calvin reached out for Susie, but paused at the last minute with a pained look on his face.
"Calvin?" Susie asked hoarsely. Calvin smiled widely, eyes sparkling. "Hey you," he choked out. He awkwardly placed his hand in hers and gently squeezed. Susie gave Calvin a weak smile and brought his hand to her lips. "How long have I been asleep?"
"Almost four days," Calvin sighed. "I knew you'd eventually wake up, but you have no idea how worried I was."

Susie reached out with her extended hand, carefully lifting Calvin's head, and her eyes widened. Calvin was staring deeply into her eyes. Up close, Calvin's eyes weren't just grey; Susie could see flecks of silver reflecting the evening light. But what took Susie's breath away was the strength and intensity of the raw emotion behind Calvin's eyes. Calvin was looking at her as though she would disappear if he so much as blinked. His eyes seemed to stare straight into Susie's very soul, seeking forgiveness, offering comfort, swearing vengeance and promising love, all in a single, silent moment.

Susie practically launched herself forward and threw her arms around Calvin, kissing him everywhere she could reach. Calvin held on tightly, and let Susie kiss her worries into submission. Susie eventually calmed down and started to lean back, taking Calvin with her. Sensing what she wanted, Calvin carefully climbed into the hospital-style bed next to Susie, gently placing his arm under her head. Susie snuggled into the warmth, before her nose wrinkled. "Um, Calvin?"
"Hmm?" Calvin looked down at his girlfriend. Susie blushed and cleared her throat. "Your shirt really smells."

Calvin burst out laughing in spite of the situation, and Susie started to giggle, before her ribs painfully reminded her that was a bad idea. Calvin leaned up, placed a kiss on Susie's forehead, and carefully stripped off the offending article of clothing, tossing it into the corner. Susie followed the shirt with her eyes, and noticed the room they were in wasn't the treehouse. "Where are we?" she asked, concerned. At this, Calvin's eyes lit up. "We're in an actual secret base!"
"Secret base? Whose?" Susie gasped.

Calvin cleared his throat. "Do you remember what happened at the prom?"
Susie froze. Spotlight. Music. Crowd. "King and Queen!" Dance. Spin. Kiss. "Graduate." Screams. Door. Smash. "Tell me you love me!" Crash. Gun. BANG. "Down on the ground!" Falling. Pain. Thud. "I love you."
"NO!" Susie screamed, shoving Calvin clean off the bed and curling into a ball as tight as she could. Susie trembled, unwanted memories rampaging through her head. Calvin scrambled to his feet, took one look at Susie and ran to the door. "Someone get a goddamn doctor in here!" he hollered down the hallway, and ran back to Susie, leaning over the bed and holding her tightly. "Hey, hey, it's me, I'm here, I'm sorry, it's okay, I'm here, it's okay, it's okay, shh, shh, shh."

As Calvin kept holding Susie, she started to cry, but she had stopped shaking. Susie took several deep breaths and sobbed into Calvin's shoulder as he apologised over and over. Behind the two teens, a doctor and a nurse practically burst into the room, the nurse carrying a defibrillator. The doctor slowed down dramatically and approached the bed, hands held out in a gesture of nonaggression. "Miss Derkins?" the doctor asked. "Is it okay if I come a little closer?"
Susie lifted her head and nodded once. The doctor leaned down and smiled. "I'm Doctor Moore. I'm just going to take a look at you so we can tell what's wrong, okay?"

Susie nodded again, and Doctor Moore shone a light in both her eyes, before gently holding her hand and taking her pulse. "Looks like you had a pretty bad panic attack," the doctor stated, letting go of Susie's hand. "Would you like me to give you something to help you calm down?"
Susie shook her head and wrapped her free arm back around Calvin. "He's helping me," she said in a small voice. Doctor Moore gave Susie a concerned look. "Are you sure?"
Susie nodded, her breathing slowing down. "I'm sure. I don't wanna go to sleep now."
"In that case I'll leave you to it," Doctor Moore smiled. "If this happens again, call me, okay?" Calvin gave the doctor a thumbs-up as Susie held onto him, and he and the nurse walked out and closed the door behind them.

Calvin looked Susie in the eye, his own gaze full of concern. "Are you okay?"
Susie hesitated, then shook her head and looked at the floor. "...no," she said in a small voice. "Moe...he...he shot me. He tried to kill you." Susie's breath caught, and she sobbed once. Calvin squeezed Susie tightly, taking care not to hurt her ribs. "I know he did, and I wish like fuck he got me. Seeing you hurt...I almost killed him."
"You saved all of us though," Susie smiled through her tears, but Calvin's face fell. "I couldn't save all of us," he said sadly. Susie's head jerked up. "What do you mean?"
Calvin pulled away and stood up. "There's someone we need to see. He has answers for us, and without him, we'd all probably be dead."

Calvin took Susie's hand, and helped her to her feet. Susie climbed off the bed a little shakily, and Calvin carefully helped her get dressed in the set of simple pyjamas that had been resting on a nearby chair. Soon, Calvin and Susie emerged into a clean white hallway. Calvin walked down the hall to a nondescript white door and pushed through. Susie followed, only to be met with a scream. Cheryl bolted up from the armchair she'd been sitting in, ran across the room and practically crash-tackled Susie, frantically examining her best friend's face and body, babbling apologies and asking if Susie was all right.
Calvin put his hands on the redhead's shoulders and carefully pulled Cheryl off. Susie reached out and touched Cheryl's face, smiling softly. "It's all right Cheryl. We're all okay."

It was the wrong thing to say. Cheryl's face crumpled and tears filled the corners of her vibrant green eyes.
"What's wrong?" Susie asked, alarmed. Cheryl sobbed and threw herself back into Susie's arms with an anguished wail. "They...they took Jimmy!"
Susie turned to Calvin with a shocked look. Calvin shook his head sadly. "The feds that crashed the prom kidnapped Jimmy. The guy we're about to see can help us rescue him."
"I said it would be a two-way street," came a voice. Susie extracted herself from Cheryl's arms and turned to see Agent Mack entering the room. The Agent stepped up to Susie. "Good to see you conscious, Miss Derkins," he held out a hand. "Agent Glenn Mack, Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defense."

Susie's eyes never left Mack's as she carefully shook his hand. Eventually, she found her voice. "What ha-"
"What happened to my eye?" Mack interrupted. "If I had a nickel…"
Seeing the three inquisitive stares directed his way, Mack rolled his eyes. "I suppose a better question would be, what happened to all of me. The simple answer is..." He paused for emphasis. "I'm dead."
"Back up," Calvin held up his hands. "The hell do you mean you're dead? He's walking and talking, right?" He looked to Susie and Cheryl, who nodded.
Mack rolled his eyes again and pointed to his smoking left eye. "See this? I took a bullet to this eye my first year on the job as an FBI Agent. By rights, I should be in the ground right now; but for some reason, I woke up in the FBI morgue with this smokeshow on my face."

"So what?" Cheryl raised an eyebrow. "You got lucky and survived a bullet to the head. It's happened a few times through history."
Mack grinned evilly. "I can guaran-goddamn-tee this hasn't ever happened in history before." With those words, a face made of silver smoke burst from Mack's own head. This face looked like Mack's but the eyes glowed black, and the mouth was packed with shark-like teeth and snarling viciously.
Cheryl screamed, Calvin swore, and Susie jumped backwards with a shriek. The smoky face snarled at the three teenagers again, before retreating back into Mack's head.
"Holy...shit," Calvin breathed, before breaking into a wide grin. "That was AWESOME! What the hell are you?"

"Thanks for that, Mister Watterson," Mack nodded. "I guess you could say I'm literally a ghost in a shell. My body hasn't aged in all the years it's been like this, so I think it's safe to assume I'm immortal, unless my body's destroyed or something. Not that I'd ever want to test that."
"So, how old are you, really?" Susie managed. Mack tapped his chin. "My body was twenty-four when I 'died,' and it's been forty-two years."
"So you're sixty-six years old?" Susie gasped. Calvin smirked. "You're looking pretty spry for an old man."
Mack's face exploded into smoke and the terrifying ghost face burst out again, snarling in Calvin's direction. "Call me 'old man' again, and I'll wipe the goddamn floor with you." As soon as it began, the outburst was finished, and Mack visibly collected himself. "Now, if you're finished interrogating me, I have to brief you three on the massive, national-scale operations we're about to undertake. Any more questions?"

Soon, Mack led Calvin, Susie and Cheryl into a wide-open space. Books lined the walls from floor to ceiling and the room was carpeted in rich red. A ring of balconies ran around the whole space, splitting the bookshelves into two levels. One section of wall was a sheet of glass housing a massive aquarium, filled with colorful fish of more species than anyone could guess. Artifacts rested on stands around the whole room, and the space was filled with warm light. "Ladies and gentleman," Mack gestured to the room. "Welcome to the library of Doctor Trevor Bruttenholm, BPRD's founder."
"Hobbes!" Susie exclaimed, seeing the tiger lounging at one end of the room in a comfy armchair. Hobbes raised his head and smiled widely.

"Right, everyone pick a chair and open your ears," Mack interrupted. "Brass-tacks time. As much as it pains me to admit it, we can't mount this rescue operation for Mister Sauchak immediately, for several reasons."
"They'd better be damned good reasons," Cheryl snapped, sitting down in a red leather armchair with a huff.
Mack pinched the bridge of his nose and flicked a switch on a piece of glass. The glass flickered to life with a dizzying array of images and words, all connected by colored lines. Disturbingly, the board was covered in dozens of glowing red question marks. Mack gestured to the board with a flourish. "On this workstation is the collective web of knowledge we have about INSIDS. As you can see, it's not much."
Hobbes padded over and curled up in front of Calvin's chair. "Define 'not much," he yawned.

Mack shook his head. "As in, jack-diddly-fucking-squat. We don't even know where their fucking base is, or how they get their information."
"Speaking of which," Susie raised her hand. "Where exactly are we?"
Mack didn't miss a beat. "Newark, New Jersey."
"This seems simple enough," Calvin stood up and examined the board behind Mack. "If we find the base, we can break in. Just point me in Jimmy's direction and stand back."

Mack sighed, rubbing two fingers on his temples. "Easier said than done, Watterson. We've clashed with these guys a few times, and things haven't always gone our way. INSIDS soldiers fight hard, fight dirty, and if they get wounded, they have a nasty habit of blowing themselves up to avoid capture. Even when we find the base, if we just go in guns blazing, we'll get shredded."
"So what do you suggest we do?" Hobbes spoke up. Mack grinned. "I was hoping someone would ask that. For starters, we need to draw out one of their acquisition teams and spring a trap on them. Now that we have you three working for us, it should be easy."
Cheryl stood up from her chair and glared at the Agent. "I'll help you for now, but if you get in the way of me finding Jimmy, you'll regret it."
Mack nodded. "Noted."

Several hours of planning later, Mack led the three teens and the tiger down a hall towards a thick steel door. As Mack pressed a keycard to the door, it swung open, and everyone gasped in amazement. The tree house, and the entire forest clearing it rested in, filled up the massive room beyond the door. A fake sky shone light down, and a breeze moved all the trees. Calvin finally found his voice. "How...the hell...did you do this?"
Mack shrugged. "We have a specialist who works with the Earth element. Moving this place was a piece of cake for them. And I figured you'd like your own base." Mack gestured to a row of four doors along one wall. "If you're not keen on bunking together in your tree house, there's individual rooms in there. Get some rest; our first operation is tomorrow."

Cheryl headed for one of the bunkrooms on ground level, while Calvin and Susie headed for the elevator to the tree house. Hobbes hopped up to one of the smaller buildings in the tree house cluster with a knowing smile.
Calvin and Susie emerged from the elevator into the tree house's main building. Everything was as they'd left it, down to the drinks in the fridge. All the windows had been repaired after Calvin's teleportation had blown them out, and Calvin's motorcycle was there, resting on the lifter in the workshop corner.

Calvin crossed the room to the kitchen and grabbed a Blue Devil from the fridge. "So, we're secret agents now," he chuckled as he picked up the can. "Pretty good for people who just graduated high school, huh?" Calvin straightened up and turned around, just as Susie crashed into his chest, wrapped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a crushing kiss. Calvin stiffened in surprise for a second, before closing his eyes and kissing Susie back. The drink can fell to the floor, forgotten. Susie slowly opened her eyes and gently pulled back, breaking the kiss with a soft breath as her lips left Calvin's. For his part, Calvin stood in the kitchen, eyes closed and slightly unsteady on his feet. After a second, Calvin came back to his senses, seeing Susie sitting on the bed and beckoning with a finger.

Here's a sex scene. Have fun

Song: Chase Atlantic - "Into it" (Slow Version)
Calvin turned down the tree house's lights and slowly crossed the room to where Susie sat on the bed. In spite of herself, Susie broke into a wide grin as she watched Calvin stride towards her, pulling his shirt over his head to land on the floor. Calvin stopped in front of Susie and held out his hands. Susie took them and Calvin carefully pulled her to her feet. Susie ran an appreciative glance over the muscles flexing in Calvin's strong arms.

The faint light of the setting sun filtered through the leaves outside the tree house windows, throwing flickering shadows onto everything. Calvin's grey eyes gleamed in the light as he stepped closer to Susie. Susie pressed herself to Calvin, from shoulder to knee, tilting her head back. Calvin leaned his head down and let his lips part, breathing in Susie's intoxicating, sweet perfume before pressing his mouth to hers gently. Susie lifted her arms and wrapped them around the back of Calvin's neck, practically melting into the kiss. Calvin leaned forward, gently bending Susie backwards, keeping her lips softly pressed against his. Susie shivered as one of Calvin's hands slid under her thin tank top, slowly dragging it up.

Calvin straightened up, breaking the kiss. Susie let out a soft breath, before putting her hands on either side of Calvin's face and guiding his mouth back to hers. Calvin allowed himself to be turned around, before Susie broke the kiss and shoved him onto the bed. Calvin lifted his head and fixed Susie with a look of pure lust. Susie winked slyly, and ran her hands up and down her body, pulling on the edges of her tank top and teasing hints of bare, tanned skin. Calvin tried to sit up, but Susie pointed back to the bed. Calvin lay back down and crossed his arms behind his head.

Susie gripped the bottom of her tank top and pulled it over her head in one smooth motion, tossing it to the side. Her bra soon followed, and Susie's breasts came into view, nipples hardening in the cooler air. Calvin grinned a smile full of hunger and desire, and Susie felt herself shiver under the intensity of his gaze. Susie took several steps backwards, pushing down her skirt and panties. She straightened up and walked back towards the bed, letting the last of her clothes fall to the floor. Calvin's eyes fixed on Susie's swaying hips as the slim brunette walked closer, naked except for her sparkling purple gemstone necklace.

Susie climbed onto the bed and straddled Calvin, grinding her pussy along his pants where his erection strained to tear through the fabric, drawing a long, rattling breath from the blond. Calvin reached for Susie, but she grabbed his wrists and placed them above his head. Immobilised except for his head, Calvin took advantage of Susie leaning over him. Calvin's tongue snaked out and lightly flicked one of Susie's nipples, before he placed his lips on her soft, warm breast. Susie gasped and pulled back, bringing her head down to Calvin's eye level. Calvin's grey eyes blazed with heat and hunger, staring deep into Susie's brown eyes, before she closed them and plunged forwards into another deep kiss.

Susie moaned against Calvin's mouth, feeling his talented tongue slip past her lips and lightly trace along her teeth. Calvin ran his hands up and down Susie's body, his nails lightly dragging across the soft skin on her back. Susie broke the kiss and crawled backwards down Calvin's body, unbuttoning his jeans and throwing them to the side. Calvin slipped his boxers off and leaned up, catching Susie in another kiss. Susie pulled back and placed a finger on Calvin's forehead, pushing him back down onto the bed with a coy look. Calvin grinned as Susie left a trail of kisses down his chest.

Susie took hold of Calvin's length in one hand and gently stroked up and down, planting soft kisses at his tip, swirling her tongue around. Calvin groaned and carefully gripped Susie's hair, drawing a soft moan from the brunette. Susie lowered her mouth and licked Calvin from base to tip, before taking him into her mouth with a contented hum. Calvin breathed hard and threw his head back, veins standing out in his neck as Susie continued her tender torture. After a few seconds, Calvin softly pulled back on Susie's hair, brought her face up level with his, and kissed her hard. Susie moaned into Calvin's lips and closed her eyes in bliss.

Calvin slowly leaned back, helping Susie crawl forward over top of him, kissing her all the while, until Susie lay on top of him, her soft breasts pressed into his warm chest, his pulsing hard length trapped between their two bodies. Susie ground her mouth into Calvin's, kissing him as though her life depended on it. Calvin sat up, nudging Susie to lean back until his face was level with her perfect breasts as she sat in his lap. Calvin reached one arm around Susie's back and softly stroked from her neck to the base of her spine, while his other hand cupped Susie's breast, holding it carefully. Susie purred appreciatively, running her fingers through Calvin's hair and guiding his head to her chest while she ground her hips into his.

Calvin pressed a gentle kiss into the soft spot between Susie's breasts, his warm breath tickling the sensitive skin, before tracing one of Susie's perfect pink nipples with his tongue. Susie tilted her head back and sighed deeply, eyes closed. Calvin took advantage of Susie's momentary distraction, reached down to where her hips rested on his, and lined himself up, before sliding inside Susie with barely a whisper.
Susie's eyes shot open and she gripped Calvin's head in both hands, tilting his lips up to hers before catching him in a searing kiss.

Susie began to move her hips, wrapping her long legs around Calvin's back and locking her ankles. Calvin braced himself on the bed and began flexing his hips, driving into Susie's warm wet heat, slow but firmly. The tree house whispered with the muffled sound of the wind outside, and Susie pulled Calvin close, letting him take charge. Calvin slid his hands over Susie's hips and grabbed her ass, moving her hips on him back and forth. Susie arched her back forward and rested her forehead on Calvin's chest, her mouth falling open in a silent 'O'. Calvin increased his tempo and Susie started breathing harder, letting out soft moans every time Calvin thrust inside her.

Calvin adjusted his angle, and Susie gasped as he hit her sweet spot. Calvin laughed low in his chest and kissed the top of Susie's head, before she lifted her eyes to meet Calvin's smoldering gaze and gasped again. Calvin's eyes were nearly black with intensity and lust, and he held Susie's gaze for what felt like forever condensed into one second, before kissing her fiercely. Susie melted into Calvin's strong arms as she basked in the wave of pleasure radiating from her core.

Calvin groaned in ecstasy as Susie rode him in his lap, chest to chest, face to face. "I love you, Susie."
"I love you too," Susie gasped, throwing her head back in pleasure as Calvin increased his pace. "I'll always love you; I'm yours."
Calvin's eyes went wide, and he smashed his lips against Susie's as he felt himself come apart and spill inside her. Bare seconds later, Susie cried out and threw her head back to the sky as her pelvic muscles contracted hard enough to snap, and her orgasm crashed over her. Calvin continued thrusting, until Susie's cries reached a fever pitch and she buried her face into his shoulder, sinking her teeth into Calvin's muscle, claiming him for anyone to see. After a long moment, the two lovers broke apart, and Calvin slid himself out of Susie, laying down beside her.

No words were exchanged. Everything that had needed to be said had been said. Calvin opened his arms and Susie snuggled up against his chest with a happy, contented hum. Calvin pressed a gentle kiss to Susie's forehead as he felt her breathing slow, and closed his eyes as sleep overtook him.

Okay, sex is done. This was a long time coming. Let me know what you think with a review, and I'll have more coming soon.
-the Seacopath