The Hour-Glass Figure

Submitted into Contest #203 in response to: Start your story in the middle of the action.... view prompt

77 comments

Science Fiction Speculative Romance

This story contains themes or mentions of sexual violence.

The Hour-Glass Figure


Her eyes popped open. Someone had their lips on her mouth. Kissing her. Oka-ay. Kissing... She let her eyes drift shut to enjoy the sensation. It must be her mate. What? Wait. No! It can't be...

She had the overwhelming need to cough. She couldn't help it. She coughed. Turned her head to the side and coughed and… Eww. That had to be a turn off! She spewed out even more. Poor fellow trying his best to make passionate love to her coming in again to close his mouth around hers just got spit on instead.

He turned her towards him and patted her back. “There you go, Your Highness. Good job. Keep spitting it out. You're coming around now. You'll be fine. Good. Good.”

She kept coughing and sputtering. “Wh-what..? W-why..? Who..? Who are you? What are you trying to do to me? Why are you kissing me? Get away from me! You can't be...” She raised her arm to take a swing at his smoochy face but he was faster and already had a firm grip on her wrist and had it under control.

“You are okay now. Take some deep breaths. I am trying to save your life. Giving you my own breath. You swallowed an ocean and wasn't breathing. Keep spitting it out. Good. Good.”

“Who are you and why are you out of...? Why are you out of any...?”

“I thought you needed it more than myself at the moment. Seems you lost most all...”

She looked down at herself seeing only a flimsy sheet covering her nearly naked body. That means he must have seen her. All of her.

“Maybe we can discuss this after I try to save his life?” He pointed at a lifeless looking body nearby.

She tried to watch as he bent over the body and started making kiss-y sounds. Over and over again. She thought he must be trying to force air into the man's lungs. Exactly as he had been administrating to her lips. She brought trembling fingers to her lips remembering the connection. Not unpleasant at all. Life-saving! That was...different.

She tried to move closer but pain shot through her and a whelp of agony escaped her involuntarily. She felt like something was tying her down. His eyes shot towards her, “Don't try to move yet until I can see how bad your injury is. One thing at a time, please, Your Highness.” He proceeded with his fruitless task.

Think. Think. What happened? Where were they? How did they get here? Was that her lover he was working on? Her mate? She didn't see how it could be so. He didn't survive the coupling did he? No. Not one ever had before.

She strained to see whatever she could around where she lay on her back. Everything looked out of context. Something had gone terribly wrong for them to wind up here. Wherever this could be. As leader she was the one who should be leading but how when she couldn't move. And why couldn't she move. What had happened? How many other survivors were there? Only three? Two if the hapless gent didn't start responding soon. Shouldn't he be responding by now? How safe were they laying here? Were there predators lurking nearby?

Her breathing quickened. She must conserve her energy. Wait. Just wait for his help. She took some deep breaths trying to get the pain to subside. And remember. She must remember. Why couldn't she remember?

He sidled back to her side. “I'm afraid my efforts are to no avail. He was too far gone. I can't bring him back. I am so sorry. Now, if I may, I must attend to your condition.”

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. “I-I don't know what to say. Who was he? Do you know?”

“You mean you don't remember? Yes, yes of course, I knew him well. We were working together.”

“Really. What, what is your position? Why don't I recognize you?”

“You took a mighty fall. You've suffered a blow to the head and other injuries. It is no wonder your memory is fuzzy. Relax and trust me to administer to you how I must and perhaps it will all come back to you. Don't worry. We will get to know each other very well.”

He started soothing her head then moved downward, down toward her swollen abdomen and kept massaging and -- and, what felt like stitching with ever so soft silkiness, over the sore spots. It was easing her anxiety so she let her vision drift upwards.

There above was... what was that up there? Was it night or day? Something way above was blocking out the light source. It seemed heavy with intricately crossed sections creating a structure for support. She was peering at the underside. The side that was decorated with shimmery delicate webs. Webs? Yes, webs! Her kingdom of webs! That's where she fell from. That's where she belonged!

It was all coming back to her! Betrayal! Her lover. Her chosen mate. Every detail was well planned. He had brought her an enticing offering of soft-bellied beetle. They had started enjoying it together. She was willing to share. She was no longer ravishingly hungry. He entertained her with a skillful courtship dance. He had been so good looking and such a virile choice she had no intention of cutting the ritual short. It was going to be an awesome night of mutual copulation. Maybe, maybe even multiple times. They were both going to get lucky. She was looking forward to it being so sublime. So fulfilling.

She was bulging with a ripe egg sac perfectly spun and all that was needed was his speedy sperm and the deed would be complete. The pheromones were reading ready and she was welcoming his pedipalps to unfurl within her. Suddenly, a piercing stab to her hour-glass figure jolted her and made her lose her grip causing them both to spiral down; down into a great abyss ending in murky blackness gasping for breath beneath a watery grave. If not for this life-saver...This pale, skinny wanna-be...

“No! You are no life-saver! My spidey senses failed. They should have warned stranger danger! You are the one that pierced my center. You are the one that caused our fall!”

“Ah, I see even with half your brain eaten you are beginning to remember. Yes, I am but a puny, pale male. But we males all have an instinctive drive to pass on our unique DNA to a new generation. I find myself extremely drawn to an older more voluptuous female specimen such as yourself. The chance for one like me to attract one of your royal class and desirability is near impossible. Much more probability I would be eaten for trying. I could have resorted to the suicide sacrificial effort of simply throwing myself directly into you waiting maw while delivering my seed to your quivering underbelly epigynum. At least my legacy would live on.

“No, instead I chose to work with Mister Big, Strong, Brown Body and let him take the risk of your rejection and act as a distraction for him. He was actually fairing pretty well for a first timer. He was ready to take the plunge but I beat him to the punch, so to speak.

“So, yes, My Pretty, it is my heritage your precious sac will carry. I will guard it with my life now after I hoist it back to the rafters above. I assure you, the coitus has been captivating. The bonds that bind your legs have obviously left you spellbound. Strictly a self-preservation tactic. I have plugged your riveting receptors so no other male can have the pleasure. But it wouldn't matter anyway. Your lover's guts gave me the fortitude to get you prepped. Now I'll have to devour you, My Sweet, to have the nourishment necessary to complete the hefty job before me.

“I admit mating with you has provided ecstasy beyond compare. I will cherish the memory. Once I'm finished wrapping our fertile sac in silk for transport I'll dive into your attractive red hour-glass figure to feast on that tasty shiny black buffet of bulbous abdomen you brandish about so temptingly. Sure, sure I stalked you. I wanted you. You would have devoured me. I planned, I betrayed a friend and I have been victorious. So sorry, Your Highness, but what would you expect in this mate-eat-mate world of ours?”





June 21, 2023 03:33

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77 comments

Judith Jerdé
21:56 Jun 24, 2023

Brilliant, I love the whole concept of your story. A new take on “it’s a dog eat dog world.”

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Mary Bendickson
22:46 Jun 24, 2023

Exactly! Glad you liked it.

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Jack Kimball
21:25 Jun 24, 2023

Hey Mary. Not much to add to the accolades posted in comments. Here’s my favorite line. “black buffet of bulbous abdomen you brandish about” Consonance indeed! Super job with the twist. Credit to the muses of your imagination!

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John Werner
18:49 Jun 24, 2023

Mary! So sinister and unexpected! You definitely drew me in with this one! Amazing!

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Mary Bendickson
19:57 Jun 24, 2023

Not my normal prose. Thanks for liking.

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John Werner
22:06 Jun 24, 2023

Expertly done all the same!

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L J
17:02 Jun 24, 2023

Charlottes web...not! This actually was amazing! Great twist at the end. Almost lost my lunch when they feasted on beetles..creepy..awesome and actually, I liked it. Which is hard because I hate bugs...but this could be a great fantasy series about the queen and her kingdom, the tangled webs she weaves. Kind of Shakespearean... Please take this as the compliment it is..eww and icky..good work!

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Mary Bendickson
17:32 Jun 24, 2023

Such nice compliments. Thank you. Glad you disliked it so much to like it.☺️

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07:51 Jun 24, 2023

I don't like spiders. I had to read it twice because I somehow missed the fact that there were three of them. The first time I was so riveted with suspense wanting to find out what had happened. I know the male gets eaten but in this story the 2nd male wins the day and overcomes the hour glass female. Didn't originally realize the story is about spiders. Describing the other male as a man kept it a mystery. When she looked up and remembered how she had fallen, I understood. Well written. Seriously creepy. What an imagination.

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Mary Bendickson
13:57 Jun 24, 2023

Took a little research about spiders.

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20:08 Jun 24, 2023

LOL. Don't all stories need research! This one especially. All that distinct terminology. Well done. A week isn't a long time to get a story right.

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Kevin Logue
06:33 Jun 24, 2023

Brilliant. What a twisty surprise and very informative about spiders lol. My mind went from possible ship wreck, to, was she pushed off a cliff, to wtf. Marvelously constructed and caught me completely off guard, never thought I'd be emotionally invested or disgusted at the idea of spider rape.

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Mary Bendickson
14:03 Jun 24, 2023

Something in this world that is out of this world.

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09:56 Jun 23, 2023

Caught me by surprise with this one Mary. Nicely done, keeping the true identity/form of the characters a secret as long as it had to be. Nice, dark little story (you know I'm a fan of this kind of thing lol)

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Mary Bendickson
13:13 Jun 23, 2023

Thought I would try something a little different.

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Michał Przywara
20:49 Jun 22, 2023

Ha! Didn't see that twist coming :) And then looking back at things, the whole story falls into place. A very creative idea, and the conclusion is ruthless and pragmatic - and while it seems alien to us, it nevertheless fits the characters. (And now I wonder how cutthroat our world would be like, if mating was so high stakes for us.) "She took some deep breathes" - breaths? Enjoyable, dark, and twisted! And considering the characters, "hourglass" takes on a whole new meaning. Thanks for sharing!

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Mary Bendickson
21:29 Jun 22, 2023

Will correct.Thanks. Amazing how many times can look but not see. Glad you liked it.

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J. D. Lair
23:43 Jun 21, 2023

Oh man, what a unique perspective you chose. I thought it was a shipwreck or something similar at first. When I figured it out, the rest of the story gave me the willies lol.

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Mary Bendickson
00:39 Jun 22, 2023

Started out thinking other worldly but as progressed realized there are other worlds right here on ours.

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J. D. Lair
00:55 Jun 22, 2023

This is true! So much inspiration all around us we never take notice of. This reminds me to think outside the box. :)

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Lily Finch
17:06 Jun 21, 2023

I loved the descriptions in this piece. The action and pacing were awesome. Keep your beta reader - must be a good one! So it was a twister of a tale that leaves the reader feeling "For real? Damn!" in a great way. Loved numerous lines but your poetic/prose alliteration. Well done. Loved it. LF6

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Mary Bendickson
17:14 Jun 21, 2023

This is the way it is for real in Spidey world.

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Lily Finch
17:31 Jun 21, 2023

Spiders. We moved into my grandmother's house and it was chock full of spiders and eggs. Ick. LF6

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Mary Bendickson
21:51 Jun 22, 2023

Yep, my husband is still grossed out remembering a zillion baby spiders coming after him when he swatted at a spider web under a chair while on his hands and knees. My research told me they eat their smaller siblings to survive.

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Lily Finch
22:56 Jun 22, 2023

I believe it. They are everywhere. LF6

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