Lotus needed to rest her leg again. They had been running for quite some time now, but they hadn't seen a trace of the hunting party. "We've put quite some distance between ourselves and the base." said Brianna, breathing heavily.

"Yeah," said Lotus in an equal manner. "Maybe they're looking in the wrong direction."

"Could be, maybe they thought we were spies."

"Maybe."

"In that case, they're probably looking for us in the Southwest."

"Why is that?"

"The Broken-Sword clan has its base there."

The two women were quiet for a few moments listening for the hunting party, but they heard nothing but an owl and the wind blowing through the trees. "I think it's safe to turn on the flashlights." said Brianna. "And I don't think we have to keep on running."

"Thank God, I was getting pretty tired of bumping into a tree every few seconds." Lotus replied.

"Is your leg OK?"

"Still hurts like a bitch, but I can walk."

Slowly the two women got up and started walking towards the caves at a considerable pace. After some time, Brianna suddenly stopped. "What? Do you hear something?" whispered Lotus.

"Shhhhh………Do you hear it?"

Lotus focused as best as she could. "Gunfire." she whispered.

"Yes……. in the South."

"You…..you were right, they're looking for us in the South!"

Lotus was relieved; the hunting party was looking for them in the wrong direction. She was so happy, she could scream. "We made it, we made it." she whispered as hard as she could.

"Yes! We made it." replied Brianna, as she started to laugh.

"We made it!" yelled Lotus, as she started laughing too. The two women embraced each other. Suddenly, Lotus felt a kiss on her neck. She pushed Brianna, so she was face to face with her, without releasing her. She looked deep into Brianna's eyes, which seemed to glow in the pale moonlight. Slowly, she moved her lips closer to Brianna's. She felt Brianna's tongue entering her mouth, every hormone in her body went berserk. Never before had she felt so passionate, her whole body seemed to be aflame. She gripped Brianna even tighter, as she felt Brianna's hands stroking her body. Slowly, she parted from Brianna, and sat down on the forest floor. She lit a cigarette and flung one towards Brianna. Brianna lit her cigarette as well.

"Is……is this wrong?" asked Brianna.

"Did it feel wrong to you?" she replied.

"No……no, it felt right; never before in my life has something felt so right. I……..I think I'm falling in love with you." Brianna went on. "I've always found you so beautiful, Lotus."

At this point Brianna looked to the ground and started sobbing. Lotus got up and sat down again beside Brianna. "It's OK." She said, putting her arm around Brianna. "It's OK."

"I've never been so happy in my life." sobbed Brianna.

The two women sat on the forest floor for a few minutes like this, until Brianna was able to control her emotions again.

Slowly, Brianna got up from the forest floor. "We'd better get moving if we want to make it to the caves before sunrise."she said, still with tears in her eyes.

Lotus also rose from the forest floor. "You're right, you're always right." she said, with a loving smile on her face.

They picked up their gear and started walking towards the caves again. After an hour or so, clouds started to shield the women from the moonlight. They didn't talk to each other, but Lotus heard an occasional sob coming from Brianna's direction. "We're getting close to the caves now." Brianna suddenly said after another hour of walking through the forest. "I think we'll be there in about half an hour. Is your leg holding up?"

"Well…no. Do you think we can sit down for a couple of minutes?"

"OK," answered Brianna. "But looking at the clouds, I think we might get wet within a short period of time."

"I don't care, I really don't care."

"Me neither." said Brianna with a big smile on her face.

Lotus sat down and lit a cigarette; Brianna did the same. After exactly 5 seconds, she heard a loud burst of thunder disrupt the serene silence of the night; moments later, it started to rain violently. Her cigarette was washed away in seconds and the ground she was sitting on rapidly started to turn into mud. Lotus looked up and the rain washed the dirt from the long voyage away. She screamed with pleasure and started laughing. "Rain!" she said. "How long has it been since I've felt rain?"

Brianna got up and looked at the sky. "Rain, cleanse me, wash the foul stench I have lived in for so many years away." she said.

She stretched out her arm and started to slowly turn in circles. Lotus started to laugh even harder when she saw Brianna turning and twisting in the rain. When Brianna heard that, she stopped turning in circles and helped Lotus up with a big smile on her face. "Come on," she said "The caves are calling us."

The women slowly walked towards the caves, enjoying the rain. At last, they could see a big black hole at the bottom of a small mountain.

"We're here." said Brianna.

They entered the cave and shone their flashlights around to see what the cave looked like. "Look," Said Brianna. "Dry wood! We can make a fire!"

That's great, Bri." Lotus replied. "But first, I've got to get out of these wet clothes."

Both women stripped down to their underwear; when Lotus saw Brianna take off her bra, she did the same. A gush of wind tickled her wet breasts and she smiled, first out of pleasure then at Brianna, who she saw smiling back at her.

Brianna started to gather wood for the fire. Lotus discovered a large, flat rock which was about 10 feet long and 5 feet wide at about 25 feet from the entrance. She got the sleeping bag from her backpack and unzipped it completely. She laid it on the rock with the soft side up.

Brianna walked up to her, carrying a considerable amount of wood. She dropped the wood by the large rock and smiled at Lotus. "Good thinking." she said.

"Thanks." Lotus replied. "Do you have a blanket?"

"There's one in my backpack."

While Lotus was getting the blanket from the backpack, Brianna started to build the fire. First she made a small pile of the smaller pieces of wood and lit it, then she put some larger pieces around it and got up again. When she bent over to pick up her lighter, Lotus couldn't help but look at her. Her blood started to rush faster through her veins. "Come," she said. "Sit down next to me."

Brianna walked up to her and sat down. Lotus felt Brianna's breast touch hers and she got even more excited. She flung the blanket around both their shoulders and lit a cigarette. She felt Brianna's arm slowly going around her waist and smiled at her. "Still kind of cold." said Brianna.

Lotus felt her shiver for a moment. "I know," she replied. "but I got something for that."

She reached over to her backpack and got out a bottle of whisky. "You've thought of everything." said Brianna, tightening her grip around Lotus' waist for a few moments.

Lotus opened the bottle and took a large swig before handing the bottle over to Brianna, who did the same. Lotus felt the alcohol driving away the coldness from her body and quickly took another drink. Brianna did the same and before they knew they'd nearly emptied the entire bottle. Lotus put the bottle aside and looked at Brianna, who she found already looking at her. She kissed Brianna shortly on the mouth, then somewhat longer. Brianna embraced her and the blanket slid off their shoulders. Her lips slowly moved towards Brianna's. They kissed passionately; she felt Brianna's tongue become one with hers. Brianna moved backwards a little and started fondling Lotus' breasts. "God, you're beautiful." said Brianna.

Lotus stroked Brianna's cheek gently. "I…..I think I love you." she said.

She suddenly embraced Brianna. "Let's not get carried away by the alcohol." She heard herself saying. "We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Fuck," said Brianna. "I hate it when you're right."

Brianna laid down on the stone bed, pulled the blanket up to her neck and closed her eyes. She opened them again, sat up and turned towards the entrance of the cave. She saw that the rain was still pouring violently from the skies. She lit a cigarette and thought about her situation. Food was no problem, there were plenty of edible plants around. Water wasn't a problem either, since she'd remembered hearing a stream before she entered the cave. "No," she thought. "Everything is going to be alright, everything is…. ……going to be….. alright…"

She flung her cigarette into the fire, laid herself down and put her arm around Brianna.

Lotus awakened. Confused, she stared to the ceiling of the cave for a couple of moments, before it all came back to her. She turned her head and noticed Brianna wasn't there anymore. "Probably went to wash herself it the stream I heard." she thought.

Slowly, she got up from her resting place and stretched herself. She picked up a pack of cigarettes from the floor and sat down on the sleeping bag. She looked at the opening of the cave and saw the sun was shining. The few rays of sunshine that pierced the forest roof created a beautiful sight. She lit a cigarette and got up again. She reached into her backpack and got out a short green tank top and a pair of short pants, which she put on. She walked around the cave for a few minutes, loosening her muscles, which were quite stiff from sleeping on a slab of rock. She decided she would go and see where Brianna was at. She flung her uzi around her shoulder and walked out of the cave.

When she had left the cave, she stopped for a couple of moments to let her eyes adjust to the bright light. She heard the sound of streaming water and headed in that direction. When she arrived at the small stream, she saw Brianna bathing in a small lake which a waterfall had created. She sat down on a big round boulder and let het feet play in the water. "Hey!" she yelled in a deep voice to Brianna, who hadn't noticed her yet.

Brianna quickly turned around and looked startled; when she saw it was Lotus, her fright turned into a smile. "So you think you're funny?" she said.

She waded towards Lotus and got hold of her feet, still smiling. "You wouldn't.." said Lotus.

"Oh no?"

Brianna pulled at her feet and Lotus tumbled into the small lake. "You little bitch." she said smiling, while splashing water at Brianna.

"You had it coming!" Brianna replied.

Lotus swam up to Brianna and grabbed her around the waist. "And now what are you going to do?" she said.

Brianna suddenly kissed her full on the mouth; Lotus, startled by the sudden kiss, let her go. "No fair!" she yelled.

Brianna quickly swam to the edge of the water and lifted herself out of the water. Lotus quickly swam after her. About halfway there, she saw Brianna had turned herself around and Lotus was now staring at her completely naked girlfriend. She suddenly felt all the passion she had felt the night before again and was lost for words.

"I see I still turn you on." said Brianna teasingly. "I'm going back to the cave to fix breakfast. Why don't you stay here and wash up?"

A bewildered "OK" was all that Lotus could produce as she saw Brianna pick up her panties and disappear between the trees. She took off her wet clothes and flung them on the shore, then swam to the small waterfall and let the cold water wash away the fire in her veins. Suddenly she heard a scream, which sounded like it came from Brianna. Scared to death, she rapidly swam to the shore and quickly lifted herself out of the water. She looked around for her weapon and saw it still lay on the big boulder. She raced towards the gun and picked it up. She sped towards the cave. When she got near the cave, she could see through the trees that a scruffy looking man was threatening Brianna with a rifle.

"Why, aren't you a pretty thing?" she heard the man say.

"Get away from me!" screamed Brianna.

"I'm going to have lot of fun with you." The man went on. "A lot of fun indeed."

The man slowly walked up to Brianna and grabbed one of her breasts; Brianna looked away and started crying. "Help me, oh God somebody help me!" she sobbed.

"Hey!" screamed Lotus.

The man quickly turned around to see who was screaming at him, while Brianna, who knew what was going on, ran into the cave. Lotus fired her weapon, hitting her adversary in a number of places. The man fell to the ground, but wasn't dead yet. He started to crawl slowly towards no particular direction. Lotus walked up to the man, wanting to finish him off; she aimed at his head. "No!" she heard Brianna yell.

"Why not?" she replied.

"I want to do it."

Apparently, Brianna had fetched her own weapon from the cave. "Get out of the way, Lotus; this is between me and him."

Lotus took a few steps back. Brianna walked up to the man and turned him over with her foot. Blood was oozing from several wounds on his body, and was also flowing from his mouth. "Motherfucker!" screamed Brianna. "You goddamn motherfucker!"

She aimed her uzi at the man's crotch. "Have a lot fun with this!"

Brianna fired her weapon for a few moments. His blood was spraying all over the place. "Come……come on, Bri," said Lotus. "Finish him off."

"Whatever you say." said Brianna, who was now breathing heavily. Slowly, she aimed her gun at the man's chest. "Bye bye."

She started firing. Blood was spraying all over her body, but she kept on firing. After a couple of seconds, the man's head rolled off the rest of his body, but she kept on firing. Finally she ran out of bullets. The man's chest was now reduced to a puddle of shredded organs and she was totally covered in blood.

Lotus saw Brianna walking up to her with a strange, terrifying look in her eyes. She was grabbed and felt Brianna force her tongue down her throat. She pushed Brianna away "What's……what's gotten into you?"

Brianna saw that she looked scared. "I……I don't know."

Brianna dropped her weapon and staggered towards the cave. Slowly, she looked down at herself. "I'm…..I'm covered in blood!" she screamed. "Get if off, get it off!"

She frantically started rub herself, which only spread the blood even more. "Run to the water!" yelled Lotus.

She saw Brianna running towards the lake, but she slipped on a puddle of blood and hit her head on a stone. Lotus dropped her weapon and ran up to Brianna. "Are you alright?" she yelled. "Are you alright?!"

She heard Brianna mumbling something unintelligible. Quickly, she gathered all the strength she had and picked up Brianna. She carried Brianna towards the lake as fast as she could. She jumped in the water with Brianna in her arms, making sure Brianna's head didn't go under. Shocked by the sudden coldness, Brianna came to her senses again."Where am I…?" she mumbled.

"You're safe." answered Lotus.

"What happened…?"

"You hit your head on a stone."

Brianna suddenly remembered what had had happened and started twitching. "Get it off, get it off!" she yelled.

"It's alright," Lotus replied. "it's alright; all the blood is gone."

Brianna stood on her own two legs again. "What have I done?" She said. "How could I just…..?"

"Shhhhhh." said Lotus. "It's not your fault, you just lost control."

Brianna started crying. "And then I kissed you!" she sobbed."I kissed you just after…..after I killed someone."

She turned her back on Lotus in shame. Lotus waded up to Brianna and put her arm around her. "It's OK" she whispered in Brianna's ear. "Let's just go back to the cave and get dressed, OK?"

Brianna nodded. They slowly got out of the water. Lotus picked up her clothes, and they started walking towards the cave while Brianna was still sobbing. "Close your eyes." said Lotus, when they got near to the splattered remains of the man.

"I don't want to…"

"Close your eyes!" she yelled.

This time, Brianna obeyed and Lotus maneuvered her past the puddles of blood. "You can open your eyes now." she said when they had safely arrived at the cave.

She walked up to Brianna and gave her the last bottle of whisky. "Here," she said. "this will calm your nerves."

Brianna took a large swig. "Thanks," said Brianna. "I hope this little incident won't…"

"Shhhhhh" she interrupted. "Don't worry, everything is going to be alright. You just stay here and drink your whisky and I'll go outside and make everything all better again."

She put on her uniform, went outside and lit a cigarette. She heard Brianna start crying again. She looked at the remains of what once used to be a man. "God," she said to herself. "I hope she learned her lesson, because next time she'll get to clean her own mess."