Rover of the Sands

Viola likes it when you whisper in her ear. She giggles and squirms as one does when being tickled. You hate to wake her, but…

“My darling,” you speak softly, right into her round, red little ear. “You know our friend Slugger, the one who’s always drinking? Well, today he told me the strangest little tale about ‘seeing something’ in the cantina. I think he’s usually ‘seeing something’ if you know what I mean. All the same, I wanted to know more and would you believe it? I saw it too! I saw an Apparition! My first one. Of course the Captain doesn’t want me telling anyone, but it’s different with you, isn’t it, my naughty girl?” You circle your tongue slowly around the outer edge of her earlobe.

You see Viola’s breathing coming faster as her ribs rise and fall and you know for certain she is awake. Just in time for the good part, if only she could hear it!

“It was horrible, Viola! A disgusting old hag, like in a fairytale but so much worse. She had long hair, but not beautiful like yours. It looked moldy and gray and she was so old, with such horrible big eyes, Viola, her eyes, they were made of fire! I could feel in my guts how much she hated me! It was so eerie, so…”

Viola takes your breath away as she suddenly rounds on you, turning to face you with two alarmingly bright eyes filled with terror and something else you can’t quite define, but which sends a chill careening down your limbs.

“Wh…what? Viola! What is this! What’s the matter, old girl?” You try to rise from the bed to find something to calm her, but before you can blink, she is straddling you, holding you down with an unnatural strength. You squirm against her bare flesh, whose touch is suddenly more scalding than the sand winds. You try to cry out, but she clamps down your mouth, shaking her head in warning. What the hell is she playing at? Hasn’t she had enough?

Deciding to trust your silence, she releases your face while holding your gaze in hers. Without further ado, she readies you to be ridden at her pleasure. As she lifts herself up and down, her thigh muscles compressing and squeezing, you sense neither pleasure nor fear, but rather an overwhelming need for the deed to be completed without interruption. In the sudden stillness, there is only your labored breathing and the creaking of the ship. When it is over, she lies down on her back and you stare in awe at her ever-changing features. The surreal vision from a moment ago is gone. The fire leaves her eyes and even her skin seems to be cooling.

There’s a knock at the door.

“Just a minute!”

“Out now, Hogan! Muster on deck.” You recognize Quartermaster McGirk’s voice and sigh in relief, since only officers are required for such exercises. Viola turns to the wall.

“Sorry M’am,” says McGirk to Viola through the door, “but the Captain made his orders very clear. Muster everyone above decks. Even Old Dog is expected. I’ll give you both a minute.”

Viola is huddled on the bed, face to the wall. You touch her shoulder, which still feels very warm, though she shivers. As she turns her eyes to you, you feel the same heavy dread, for that eerie blue luminescence is back, not so bright as before, but sure to shine out like a beacon in the night.

“You can’t go like that!” you shout, but she jumps out of bed, pushing you aside as she searches up and down for her hooded caftan. Finding it, she throws it over her naked body as you manage to get your uniform back on. With no time left to think, you rush up the rope ladder.

You have 1 choice: