Descend- Going Deeper
DESCEND – GOING DEEPER
by
David Burke
License Notes: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. This ebook is licenses for your personal enjoyment. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this ebook with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Descend- Going Deeper
Copyright © 2021
David Burke
Cover art copyright
© David Burke
Contents
Chapter 1 - Misogyny or Leadership
Chapter 2 - Horizontal or Vertical Training
Chapter 3- Round Robin Training
Chapter 4 – Taking Turns
Chapter 5 - Learning the Options
Chapter 6- Being Sneaky
Chapter 7 – Feeling Secure
Chapter 8- Solo Training, Not Likely
Chapter 9 – Cultivating Self
Interlude 1 - What Just Happened?
Chapter 10 - Little Ruins of Horror
Chapter 11 – Jumping with Jay
Chapter 12 – Boy Scout Who Bites
Chapter 13 – Secrets to Share
Chapter 14 - Long Awaited Meeting
Chapter 15 – Explaining the Bond
Chapter 16- Stalling No Longer
Chapter 17 – More to Share
Chapter 18 - First of Many Nights
Chapter 19- Feeling Bold
Chapter 20 – Fishing with Dynamite
Interlude 2- Syncing or Hiding?
Chapter 21- What Happened Last Night
Chapter 22 – In the Light of a New Day
Chapter 23- Details Discovered
Chapter 24 – Pain of Awakening
Chapter 25- Learning to Receive
Chapter 26- Landowners
Chapter 27 – Refining Amelia
Chapter 28 – Killing Time
Chapter 29- Guy Chat
Chapter 30 – Surprising Statistics
Chapter 31 – Proving a Leader
Chapter 32- Oaths of Security
Chapter 33 – Finding Common Ground
Chapter 34- Sliding and You’re Out
Chapter 35- Baby It’s Cold Out There
Chapter 36- Brainstorming
Chapter 37- When a Plan Comes Together
Chapter 38- Cheating Time
Chapter 39- Time for Cheating?
Chapter 40- Can You Hammer a Six Inch Spike?
Chapter 41 - She’s Gonna be so Pissed
Chapter 42 - The Passage of Time.
Interlude 3 - In a Galaxy Not Far Enough Away
Chapter 43 - It Just Slipped In?
Chapter 44 - Coming to an Understanding
Chapter 45 - The Price of Rushing
Chapter 46 - You Spent How Much?
Chapter 47 - Insane in the Membrane
Chapter 48 - Decisions to Make
Chapter 49 - Descending Again
Chapter 50 - Growing the Team
Chapter 51 - Breaking in the New
Chapter 52 - Forgetting the Team
Chapter 53 - In Prisons of Ice
Chapter 54 - A Crown to Claim
Chapter 55 - Strength in a Harem
Chapter 56 - I’ve Waited So Long
Interlude 4 - Where Beginnings End
Chapter 57 - Beyond all Expectations
Epilogue - The Swarm Cometh
Chapter 1 - Misogyny or Leadership
Jay felt sweat run down his neck. Everyone was clearly looking to him, or at least at him. The announcement had made him the leader, more than that he had been voted in as the leader for the next year.
Things got complicated there though because none of the newcomers had any say in that vote. Then again, none of them had any say in being placed here in the first place.
Better to get ahead of this, and he certainly didn’t want to think about the complication that was Trina now. At least he didn’t want to think about the emotional baggage related to her.
He called out, perhaps louder than he had intended, “Everyone, can I have your attention, please?”
All of his cluster moved to a circle around him, but only about half of the refugees from the other clusters followed suit. Charlotte looked at him with that shark-like smile she had at times. Jay couldn’t help but hope she was truly on his side now. Then she started moving around yelling, “You heard the man. Gather round. We don’t have time to waste.”
It didn’t take long for Samantha, Meikiyo and the other advisors to join in with the herding efforts. Even Jessie tried to help as she said to Trina, “Let’s try starting over again. I apologize for getting snappy with you. Can you just join in and listen to what Jay has to say.”
Trina said, “That’s gonna be a first, Jay was more the quiet type when we were at university together.”
Jessie’s attempt at peacekeeping both surprised Jay and made him proud. What didn’t surprise him was that by now all but Trina’s group had moved into a circle around him. Charlotte started to head over, but both Amelia and Mia beat her to it.
The expression on Amelia’s face was fierce while Mia looked determined. The height difference between the two was a bit comical, but it didn’t take away anything from their shared effort to bring Trina’s group in line.
“Look, you were politely asked to gather round and listen to instructions. Jay is the leader and everyone here listens. I don’t care if you knew him before coming here or not. You are still gonna listen now,” Amelia said while looking up at Trina. Her hands were on her hips and even through the crowd, Jay couldn’t help but admire her backside. He realized that was never gonna get old.
Mia was slightly more diplomatic but only slightly, as she started speaking the moment that Amelia stopped. “Don’t worry, everyone will get a chance to speak their mind and no one will be ignored. Jay is the leader, but I can assure you with absolute confidence that he cares very much about being fair.”
Trina just laughed as the other seven girls from her cluster formed up behind her. She looked back at them. “So what are you two supposed to be? Are you Jay’s little cheerleaders?”
“Fuck you, I’m his wife, but either way you are going to go listen to what he has to say.”
Mia was almost speaking over Amelia when she said, “I’m his fused soul-mate. So I can tell how worried that he is now about us. He doesn’t want this to turn into a fight.”
Amelia said, “I can feel that too.”
Trina smiled mockingly at Amelia and then called out to Jay through the crowd, “Married? Wow, you really bought into this entire patriarchal nightmare, didn’t you.”
Jay turned to Trina, who seemed to be trying to gauge his reaction. He wasn’t sure what to make of this, but he did know that he wanted to put an end to it before things got out of control.
“Yes, you might as well all know that I am married to Amelia. She has the ring on her finger to prove it. And anyone who wants to harm her will have to deal with me. Of course, that is if she doesn’t just hand you your ass first.”
Amelia beamed and Trina frowned as Jay continued, “So will you please bring your group to join the rest of us. You’ve proven your point and we aren’t going to make any long-lasting decisions today. As you said though, your team was second place, that means you only have around six hours left on your XP bonus. Do you want to waste it arguing or start training?”
Trina started to say something but then closed her mouth, and despite himse
lf, Jay couldn’t help but admire what luscious full lips she had. Then she and the rest of her cluster walked over to the circle.
Once he was sure that he had everyone’s attention, some of it curious, some lustful, and some hostile, he began speaking. “Like it or not we are all here. None of us asked to be taken for this experiment, but the simple truth is that we are here. Over the next few days we need to learn about each other and grow by combining our respective strengths and experiences.”
Another of the newcomers called out, “So what makes you the leader. Just cause some flashing screen in our heads told us you were?”
Jay looked at her. As with every other girl he had seen here, she was gorgeous. Long blond hair, a curvy figure, and piercing green eyes would have made her quite the catch back home. “That’s a good question. Um… excuse me, but what’s your name?”
“What? Oh, uh, I’m Janine,” she said with a smile and turned a bit, jutting her hip out. She angled herself to best effect, pushing her already-ample chest out. Then she snapped back and stood up straight, hands on her hips.
Jay couldn’t help but shrug and then chuckle, although he managed to keep the laughing inside. It was obvious that the aphrodisiac was in full swing now that it had been upgraded and that even upset with him, Janine had responded like a show pony. “Janine, it is nice to meet you even under these circumstances.”
“How can anything be nice under these circumstances?” another newcomer asked from the crowd.
A voice that he was pretty sure was Huong answered, “Trust me a night with Jay is nice, whether it’s in a bed, on the ground, in a tree, or on top of a bench.” Some strangely wicked giggling from a group of girls standing around Mia followed her words.
When Jay looked at Mia with a raised eyebrow, she responded telepathically, “I’ll tell you about it later, don’t be mad. Please.”
Jay hadn’t been the least bit angry up until that moment. But of course, when your girlfriend, or one of your five girlfriends says something like that to you, it is hard to not be curious.
He was brought back to attention by Trina saying, “If you are going to have telepathic conversations with people, then what did you call us all over here for.” Jay must have had a new facial expression because she finished with, “Yes, most people get a weird look either like they are concentrating really hard or laughing at a private joke when they are speaking telepathically.”
“Oh, sorry about that. I got distracted by a private matter. Either way, here is all that I wanted to tell you. For now, I am the leader here. Everyone in the original cluster will support that. We will talk about it later, but right now, my race team has a bonus to experience gains and I will not squander that. We will do our own training and some of you who came from our original cluster are welcome to train.
“Tomorrow afternoon, when our training bonus is up, we will have another meeting. I encourage you all to train, but also to get to know people from other clusters. Till then, Team Jay will pay for space in cabins and for food for anyone who can’t afford their own.”
As he said that he called out, “Will all of Team Jay move over behind me?”
Amelia, Huong, Meikiyo, Jessie, and Mia all immediately moved to stand behind him. Some other girls from the original cluster stared at the ground or shuffled their feet. Miguel called out, “Me and my team are with Jay. So while we aren’t technically part of Team Jay, we will support him. We will also help by recording everyone’s names, abilities, and getting to know a little about each of you.”
Jay felt petty to be annoyed that some of the girls clearly were quite taken with Miguel. Inside he knew that was stupid, he should be feeling relieved. Any of the newcomers that joined up with Miguel would be one less person he had demanding his time. After the oath and judgment from Samantha, Jay felt he could trust Miguel.
Yet for some reason, Jay felt oddly possessive of all the girls, especially the girls that were part of the original cluster. He shook his head and shrugged. That wouldn’t be productive. What sort of man whore was he becoming that he had to have all the girls? He shook his head and mentally kicked himself. He needed to focus.
“Thank you, Miguel, I appreciate it a ton.” Then he looked at the rest of the original cluster. “Charlotte, Madison, Kenzie, Emma, Ava, Samantha, did you all decide you didn’t want to be on Team Jay? What about the rest of you?”
“Wait, I thought that only Amelia and your core group were part of Team Jay,” Charlotte replied.
“We talked about this. I know things have been crazy, but I was standing there when Jay asked all of you to join Team Jay. Don’t make the man ask twice,” Meikiyo said.
“What is this, the pity offering? The second-class citizen thing?” Madison asked.
Jay was sure that both Mia and Amelia could feel his annoyance, but he kept it from his face. He shrugged and said, “You can choose to take it like that, but let me be clear. We have talked about it, and Team Jay as a whole is inviting you to be part of the team.”
He then sent a quick telepathic message to all five of his core members. “Sorry if this upsets you, but we need Madison, her powers are too important.”
As soon as he sent the message he got back a strong sense of approval from Mia and even from Amelia. The bond definitely seemed to have its advantages. At least he would know if he was upsetting them.
He looked very intently at Madison, trying to make her feel like she was the only woman there with that stare. “I can promise you that it is most definitely not a matter of pity. My invitation to you is very eager and heartfelt, maybe even selfish on my part.”
It appeared to work and not just on Madison, who smiled and moved over to stand behind him as did the rest of the girls from the original cluster, excluding Team Miguel obviously. He also heard some sighs from some newcomers and even a couple of outright moans, albeit soft moans. What he wasn’t expecting was the sensation he got from Mia.
He felt a rush of warmth to his crotch, or no, it wasn’t his crotch. It was hers, but he was feeling it. Wow, this fusion was powerful. Jay would almost swear that she got soaking wet when he was speaking to Madison. That was a rush, and he felt the skin on his face grow warm. He activated Iron Will to block it out before he couldn’t stop himself from doing something inappropriate.
“So a couple things. We will provide for any that don’t have the resources for the next few days, but in return we expect you all to be good neighbors. That means that for now, I’m the leader and the three assistants are Meikiyo, Charlotte, and Samantha.” He pointed out the three girls as he called out their names for those that didn’t know them.
“And the last thing is that no one is allowed to go into the ruins. Stay on the eastern side of the cabins. There is water and open space for training. The cliffs, wooded area and all that seems fine, but something is wrong with the ruins.
“There is some type of life force in the ruins. We haven’t been able to figure it out yet but don’t want to lose anyone until we get a chance to learn what’s going on. You may be asking yourself who is he to say that we can’t go into the ruins.
“Ultimately, if I see you trying to go into the ruins then you will find out who I am, but if you decide to go in when I’m not around then don’t expect me or any of Team Jay to come in and rescue you. If that sounds harsh, remember, this is a harsh place.
“Remember, we need to learn to work together. Nobody is better than anyone else, and we don’t want to make it any easier on the bastards who are running the experiment by fighting amongst ourselves. I guess one other thing. Since gravity is so obviously stronger here, I would recommend that you focus your training on Durability-based skills as that will do the most to increase your strength.”
Chapter 2 - Horizontal or Vertical Training
After Jay finished speaking, he felt the best thing to do was to move away from the newcomers, so he started walking quickly towards the open area to the northeast of the cabins. There was a rocky cliff, much like the one that h
ad contained the entryway on the first floor of the dungeon. He figured that would be a good area for practice and would get him away from any more questions about leadership, at least for now. Now it was time to use the quadruple bonus that he had earned in the race.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Trina’s group of eight trotting off towards the trees that were more due east of the cabins. At least they seemed intent on training, but they only had a few hours left on their bonus.
Which raised the entire question of how a bonus worked or even how they were undergoing all these rapid changes. The discussion with Huong, Jessie, and even Mia had convinced him that at least part of the purpose of this experiment they found themselves trapped in was to rapidly force evolutionary changes onto them. It made sense, Jay just had no framework for understanding the science of it.
That didn’t mean that he wasn’t going to explore it more. Life Sense was but one way that he felt they might be able to learn more about what was happening to them. Just not right now, right now he needed to train. He needed to because the chemicals in the water were making it hard for him to think straight. Jay knew he needed to out level the increase in chemicals or he was gonna be spending far too much of his day horizontal.
Not all the girls were able to keep up with his pace, but Jay didn’t slow down. He wasn’t going extra fast or anything, but the gravity didn’t slow him like it did many of the girls. The core team had all experienced enough increase in Durability to keep up with him, even if they clearly were having to work for it. Jessie and Mia didn’t display any difficulty, but the one’s skills made it easier for her and the gains Mia had gotten from the fusion were enough to keep her up.
Surprisingly, Madison was soon walking right next to him and not displaying any difficulty with keeping up. Then he realized that with her ability to control mass, she would be able to reduce the impact of the increased gravity. “So, did you mean what you said?” she asked.
“I meant every word. We can’t afford to lie to one another. Not if we are going to beat this experiment,” Jay replied. He had started to say “and make it back to Earth”, but he wasn’t sure that was his goal anymore. He meant what he had told Amelia the night before. He was happier here with her and the other girls he had come to care so much for than he would have been on Earth. Add to that the fact he wasn’t sure how they could even fit in back home anymore, and it became sort of a no-brainer.