STPTown gets hard-boiled (a group story)

[Branflakes]

Bran slammed on the brakes and jerked the car to the side of the road. Asis' head bobbed like a bobblehead doll.

"What did ya do that for?" Asis said, eyeing the sun visor she had nearly collided with.

"Hey, Lulu, get in!" Bran said, looking past Asis to the sidewalk the car partly occupied.

Asis turned her head and saw black leather and shades just outside the window. Did Lulu really think she fooled anyone with that getup?

"Where are you going?" Lulu asked, smiling with her patented "i'm too sexy in these shades" look.

"To eris' place. Looking for clues and Asis' memory," Bran said. "Come with us. You look...bored."

Lulu hopped into the backseat. Bran launched the car forward, narrowly missing a lightpole.

As they approached Eris' place, Lulu slowly stuck her foot under Asis' seat, feeling around for anything. Maybe Bran kept the photos hidden in the car.

"Um, Bran, you got any live animals in here?" Asis said. "Something's moving under the seat."

Bran glanced into the rearview mirror. "Lulu, dear, I don't keep the photos in the car."

Lulu grinned sheepishly. "Photos? What photos? I was just stretching my feet."

"Uh huh," Bran said.

"I'll rub them for you," Asis said, smiling at Lulu.

"Lulu's not into girls anymore, Asis," Bran said, winking at Lulu through the rearview mirror.

"Not since my FireBird is back," Lulu said, smiling.

"So what happened when you got to his resturant?" Bran asked.

"He got knocked out a few times, I did that by accident, then we made up, after he was in the hospital..." Lulu said.

"Hospital?" Asis said.

"The bump on his head, it could've been serious. Anyway, he's staying there overnight. So, he told me all about the special ops he's a part of and that's why he left me at the prom..." Lulu said.

Bran burst out laughing. Asis realized she hadn't heard a real laugh out of her before. Well, not that she could remember.

"He told you that?" Bran rolled her eyes just as they pulled up to eris' apartment. "And you believed him and forgave him, Lulu?"

Lulu nodded.

Bran shook her head. "You haven't changed a bit when it comes to 'Bird. Next time you see him, ask him if he still wears zippered pants."

"Huh?" Lulu said.

"Uh, Bran?" Asis interuppted. "Is that eris' front door?"

Bran's gaze followed Asis' pointing finger. The door looked kicked in, it's middle splinted, one hinge broken.

"Yeah, that's it," Bran said, frowning. This looked bad for eris.

"Guess you don't need your key," Asis mumbled as all three of them climbed out of the car.

"Are we still going inside?" Lulu asked. She had a sudden urge to go see 'Bird and ask him about those zippers.

"Yep. Come on you two. We'll be like Nancy Drew," Bran said.

All three stepped up to the door and pushed it the rest of the way open. They walked inside.

[AsIs]

AsIs and Lulu follow Bran into the bar.

"So does she have a key to your place too?" AsIs asks Lulu. After a glace or was that a glare from Bran, AsIs says, "Nevermind."

The trio surveys the damage, there is a constant *drip, drip, drip* sound coming from the kitchen sink. Furniture has been ripped apart. Chairs are over turned. Drawers are open with contents spread about.

"My apartment didn't look this way..." AsIs says softly.

It is obvious to all three that a struggle took place here.

Bran goes to look at the computer.

Lulu goes to see if there is anything to eat in the fridge.

AsIs stays in the living room, looking for a trace of people she used to call friends. Looking for any clues as to what is going on.

"CHOO CHOO!"

A train chugs by overhead startling the KiSA. "What the hell?" Then she notices all the train models strewn about, intermingled with Xena figures. Damn, my friends are geeks...she thinks to herself.

"CHOO CHOO!"

She looks up, there is something odd about the train. It appears as if something is taped to the underside of one of the cars...

[Firebird98]

and just like that.. Bird was gone again...

[Lulu]

With her head stuck in the fridge, Lulu secretly fought back the tears as she hunted for chocolate or other comfort food.

She had left Bird in the hospital with a concussion- but she suspected that he was probably long gone by now. An old conversation ran through her mind:

"If I leave here tomorrow
Would you still remember me?" He had asked.

"Why?" She had asked caustically "Are you planning on travelling on, now? Someplace you'd rather be?"

"Listen," the Bird had tried to explain, "if I stayed here with you, girl,things just couldn't be the same."

It was true, Lulu finally understood. He was free as a bird now. And the Bird would never change.
Lord knew.

It's been sweet, Lulu silently sent a farewell to the Bird. At last, to numb the pain, she had located the mint chip icecream. She pried open the carton and seized a spoon....

It was then, through her tears, that she noticed something very odd in the back of the fridge...
and dropped her carton in shock.

"What the- OMIGOD?!"

[Miral]

Larim was getting anxious and Crazy couldn't stop staring at the twins. Miral had resigned herself to shooting pool solo and was actually very good. Crazy watched her for a while. She concentrated on every shot and flawlessly executed the move she wanted to make. He internally grinned everytime she had to make a shot with her back to him. He noticed that she would lean very low over the table, giving him a perfect view up under her shirt to see the swell of her breasts, every once in a while she'd lean a certain way and a nipple would show. Larim sat caddy corner to him and her skirt rode up so high that he could tell panties were the last thing on her mind when she dressed. He smirked and Larim caught his wandering eye this time. "Hey, Mir, you're Private Dick was staring up my skirt." Miral stood up straight cocked her hip and chalked her cue. Crazy thought that was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen, but considering what this chick was capable of doing he sort of resented the fact that she was actually cute and sort of vulnerable looking. "I don't know what you want me to do about it. He's not MINE!" She gave Crazy a strange look and he could almost see the apology in her eyes. She turned away and started racking the balls for another solo round. La, stood up and approached Crazy, rather fast and before he could react she hauled back and punched him. He fell flat on his back and La reached into his coat pocket grabbed the strange picture and ran out the door. Crazy lay on the ground stunned for a moment. A shadow moved across his plain of vision and it turned into Miral. "Are you alright?" Genuine concern? She pushed his hair back from his eyes. "Can you see me?" The light above her head looked like a halo. "Crazy, you look confused." He had wanted to do something all night, and now that he had the opportunity to play the amnesia ploy on her, he was going to run with it, but not before he kissed her like he wanted to. He reached up and brought her to his lips, he imagined how soft they'd be and how warm her body would be pressed to his. She gave in rather easily and before he released her he copped a quick feel.

[AsIs]

Balencing precariously with one leg on a broken table and a the other on the over turned sofa, AsIs trys to get the piece of paper off the moving choo choo train running along the ceiling.

Completely focusing on the train, she waits patiently for it's next pass by.

*choo choo!*

Just as AsIs is about to grap the slip of paper, Lulu exclaims from the kitchen, "OMIGOD?!"

"What the..." AsIs loses her battle with gravity as she shifts her weight wrong and the table collapeses, dumping her on the floor.

Bran comes out of the bedroom and goes quickly to the kitchen. "Lulu, what is it?"

AsIs mumbles something under her breath and crawls to the kitchen to find out what is up. "Lulu, you ok?"

[Ski]

Lulu stands pointing at a man sized shadow in the corner........


"Hi Guys!" er...Girls [img]wink.gif[/img]

the 3 in unison: SKI!?!?!

Yep it is I, Sorry I took so long to get here but I missed the left in albuquerque and I also had a layover in denver. you would think in this day and age they could send your luggage to the same place as you but NOOO!!!
*SIGH*
*Looks around*
Asis, why do you have a big red welt on your head?
And where is everyone else?

<font color="#776446" size="1">[ April 29, 2003 03:48 PM: Message edited by: Ski ]</font>

[AsIs]

AsIs reaches up and touches her head. "OWWWWW!" she exclaims.

Bran looks at her, "What did you do now?"

AsIs shrugs, "I was just balancing on that couch and..." She stops abruptly and runs into the living room. The note was still hanging down from the train, flapping as the train chugged along, where she had made a grab at it as she fell.

"What's that?" Ski asked from behind her.

AsIs turns and looks at Ski, "Do I know you?"

[crazy a]

They broke their kiss. Miral looked at me, smiling.

"You seem to be okay," she said.

"I don't know," I said, doing a bad job of faking injury. "Maybe I need a nurse."

"You want me to take you to the hospital?" She knew I was faking, but the sweet girl played along.

"No, maybe I just need to go to bed with a private nurse." Miral laughed at that. "I mean, have a private nurse to help me out a little."

"Yes, I think you do too." She helped me up and out to my car. "I'll drive," she said, "you still look a little woozy."

We made it to my apartment. It still smelled like burned water. We went to my bedroom and opened a window. Miral helped me out of my clothes, looking at me with approval. Then I was in bed covered only with a sheet. I looked at her.

Keeping her eyes on me, she slowly removed her dress. I let my eyes take in the sight of the white flesh of her shoulders, her belly, her thighs. She removed her bra and panties and there she was, exposed, all curves, inviting. She was a goddess, an angel. She was all the women through time manifested in one body.

She walked around to the other side of the bed and slid in under the sheet, moving next to me. She put her head on my chest and I put my arm around her, rubbing her back and hips.

"I like your bedside manner," I said.

She giggled then moved up and kissed me. I kissed her back. My body ached, it had been forever since I'd had a woman and Miral felt so good. I wanted to make it last.

We kissed more, eagerly, trading our breaths, our tongues stabbing at one another. She climbed on top of me and we joined. It was all the magic in the universe stored up in one woman. A thin sheen of sweat covered her throat, her arms, her breasts. She took me and I took her. And when we climaxed, we were ready for more. We gave to each other and took from each other until there was nothing left. The sheets were wet with our sweat, our love, our lust. A breeze came in through the open window, cooling us.

We held each other and slept.

[crazy a]

"Do you know me? Do YOU know ME??" Ski asked incredulously. "OF COURSE you know me!" Asis looked doubtful. "She knows me, right?" he asked the other two women.

Lulu and Bran looked at him. "Do WE know you?" asked Bran.

"AW, C'MON!!! Don't be that way!" Ski pleaded.

Bran turned to Asis. "What were you doing?"

Asis led her and the others to the train which was still rolling along on the track near the ceiling. "I was trying to get that piece of paper hanging off."

Bran took off her shoes and waited. As the train came around, she jumped. It was graceful. She snatched the paper away and landed.

"Hey, that was pretty good," said Lulu.

Bran smiled. "I used to play sports in college." She unfolded the paper.

"What does it say?" asked Asis.

Bran looked puzzled. She turned the paper around so the others could see it. In bold letters was the message "20 SECONDS".

"Twenty seconds? What does that mean?" asked Asis

"Isn't that a band?" piped in Ski.

Lulu rolled her eyes. "No, that's 7 Seconds."

"Well, it can't have anything to do with me. I can last a lot longer than twenty seconds," Ski joked. The three women glared at him.

Asis looked up. "Hey, the train stopped." Everyone else looked up. The train HAD stopped. It sat there on the track, the silence deafening.

There was a small red light flashing. Bran got scared.

"GET OUT! GET OUT, IT'S A BOMB!" she screamed at them.

They scrambled towards the door, almost tripping over themselves trying to put distance between them and the house. They ran past Bran's car and kept running.

The house exploded into a ball of fire. The four fell onto the ground, covering their heads with their arms, trying to avoid burning debris raining down. After some minutes, they all got up and turned around.

The house burned.