Message-ID: <44750asstr$1066122609@assm.asstr-mirror.org> X-Original-Message-ID: <20031013163309.66696.qmail@web20507.mail.yahoo.com> From: Lazlo Zalezac X-ASSTR-Original-Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2003 09:33:09 -0700 (PDT) Subject: {ASSM} John Carter II 13 (mf mmf ffm ff mm sci-fi) Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2003 05:10:09 -0400 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail Approved: Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation X-Story-Submission: X-Moderator-ID: hecate, RuiJorge __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search http://shopping.yahoo.com <1st attachment, "Mesa13.txt" begin> DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fiction. If you are offended by sexually explicit material or are under the age of 18, stop reading now. This material cannot be reproduced for commercial purposes without the consent of the author. John Carter By Lazlo Zalezak Copyright (C) Lazlo Zalezak, 2003 Part 2: Mantle Of Aries Chapter 13 John leaned against a boulder watching the evergreens sway in the breeze. Occasionally, handfuls of snow would cascade down from a tree. The snow in the area was over two feet deep and powdery. The footprints that Rover made when he had charged into the woods were visible as dark spots in the snow. He could hear the few birds left in the woods singing. It was peaceful and as quiet as nature allowed. It was never perfectly silent in the woods. Leaves rustled, birds sang, the wind blew, and animals moved. Nature was never static. There was always motion, but the dynamics of natural surroundings was relaxing rather than stressing. John reveled in the solitude. It had been so long since he had the chance to just sit and be at one with nature. His last extended hike had been almost six months ago. He wondered when his next chance to walk alone in the wilderness would occur. He promised himself to make the opportunity rather than wait for it to occur. Having the chance to walk out his back door and walk for hours through the desert was very nice. He was able to put together a couple of two-day hikes on occasion. They satisfied, but they were a poor substitute for the kind of introspection that would occur after two weeks alone. The soft swishing sound of a cross-country skier attracted John's attention. John stood up and adjusted his cloak around his shoulders. He brought his walking stick up and leaned on it. Rover came out of the woods to sit by him. The noise of the skis increased in volume as the skier neared. At the other end of the clearing, a figure emerged moving mechanically. The person stopped at the center of the clearing when they spotted John. The two of them stared at each other for a minute. John spoke in a voice loud enough to carry to the skier, "Come here. I was sent to meet you." The skier slowly approached and stopped about six feet away. John reached under his shirt and brought out his medallions. He showed them to the skier. The skier looked at them and then fished out their medallion. John stated, "I know you're a little disoriented now and full of questions. If you come with me I will answer all of the questions that I can." "Are you going to hurt me too?" The voice sounded feminine. John shook his head. "No, I was thinking of taking you to a café where we could get something to eat and talk." "Okay," replied the skier. With a glance over at Rover, "is he safe?" John nodded, "He's safe." "Okay." John turned and headed up the hill. He still moved a little slowly and stiffly. He hadn't recovered fully from the gunshot wound. It was only three days ago that he had been shot. The skier kept shooting out in front. Finally, John waved, "Hey, slow down. I was shot a couple of days ago. I'm still moving slow." The skier stopped and removed the skis. John headed towards the highway, it was only a mile away. At this pace, it would take him forty-five minutes to reach it. The skier revealed herself by removing her goggles and hat. John glanced over, "My name is John Carter." The woman was silent for a moment and then stated, "I know who you are. You invented the fusion battery." "Yes. More important for you is the fact that I serve the Gods and the Goddesses. I take it that you serve the God?" "I guess." They finally reached the highway. John and the woman followed Rover. John stated, "That's Rover. He's my friend." The woman walked along beside him. Finally, she stated, "My name is Catherine Sullivan." John followed behind Rover. After a while he answered, "It is good to meet you Catherine. Before we get to the café, I must warn you that you've probably undergone some major physical changes. I became more muscular, my hair changed colors, and my cock got bigger. Since I don't know what you looked like before, I can't say what changes you've experienced." Catherine smirked, "Bigger cock? Yeah right." John laughed, "Just wait. When we get in the café, there is a small mirror near the coat rack. I'll remove your coat and give you a chance to examine yourself in the mirror. I'll fumble with the coats for a minute or two. Then I'll take you to the table. You don't want to make people wonder about you." "Sure." They entered the café and John removed her coat and took his time hanging it up. Rover bounded over to the counter where Martha was standing. Other patrons made noises of shock and dismay. Martha smiled as she saw the cat. She shouted into the kitchen, "Six pounds of hamburger served raw!" George shouted out, "Hey, John. Have a seat. I'll be right out with a little snack for Rover." At the interaction between George and Martha, the other patrons slowly returned to eating. John smiled as he hung up his coat. He glanced out of the corner of his eye as the woman stared at herself open mouthed in the mirror. He turned and grabbed her by the arm. He calmly led her over to one of the chairs at the counter. Martha moved over to them. John greeted her, "Hi Martha, I'd like you to meet Catherine. Catherine, this is Martha. She and her husband own this place." Catherine pulled herself together, "Hello Martha. Nice place you have here." Martha smiled, "You can thank John for that. He provided some motivation for us to fix it up." Catherine looked at John for a moment. She tried to remember all that she had heard about him. He was famous for a couple of reasons, but the only one she could remember was the fusion battery. John asked, "What's the soup today?" "Beef Barley. Good hardy soup for a cold day like to today." "Sounds good to me. We'll both take a bowl," John saw George come out of the kitchen with a plate of hamburger. "Hey, George. That had better be for Rover or else your stove isn't working well." George laughed as he came around the counter and set the plate on the floor. Rover went over to it and started eating. "John, don't you know that Rover is the only one that appreciates my ability to not cook!" A couple of patrons laughed at the joke. The realization that the man at the counter was John Carter assured that he wouldn't be bothered. He was actually well known in this region. He had helped bring a much-needed doctor into the area. One of the patrons shouted out, "Hey John, you need to visit the hospital here. Both doctors are getting meaner every year. We need you to put them in their place!" Everyone, except Catherine, laughed. The story of John's stay in the hospital down the road was very well known. John replied, "You just have to kiss them on the lips!" "Hey, since the old doc got married his wife won't let us kiss him anymore! We figure she'll let you." The man talking was huge and John couldn't imagine how anyone could intimidate him. The laughter was wide spread. Martha turned to Catherine, "As you can tell, John is a legend around here. He's helped many people in this area. He saved the daughter of the Sheriff from being killed by a serial killer, brought us a new doctor in the area, saved a boy, and helped take care of old Jed's place after he died. Every once in a while he makes the evening news and he's all that the town can talk about." Catherine turned to stare at John. She remembered some of the other things about John that she had heard. John turned to her and stated, "My exploits are exaggerated. There are a hundred people there and they give me all the credit. It's not fair." Martha smirked, "Keep saying that and one day you'll find someone who will believe you." George came over to John. He smiled, "That was a nice bit of work you did with the FBI in Nevada. How many of the bastards did they get?" John answered, "Actually I don't know. I was shot in the middle of the whole thing. They hauled me off to the hospital." George stated, "That's not the way I heard it. I heard that you arrested a guy with an automatic rifle after wrestling with him bare handed. Rover took out another one that was hiding in the shed. Then you plugged the barrel on a gun and the fool using it was stupid enough to pull the trigger. That plus the tear gas you threw in the house caused them to surrender." John shrugged, "Well, Rover did get a little angry at the guy that shot me." George asked, "Where did you get shot?" "In the side," John replied pointing to the location. He laughed, "I died, but I'm feeling much better now." Martha asked, "That's at least twice now that you've died." "Just twice. Let's not exaggerate it any more than it is." George shook his head, "So you died four days ago with a gunshot in the side. What are you doing here?" John looked at Catherine, "I came here to meet her. I promised Jed that I would be here to find the new owner of his store. She's probably the one. Still have to interview her." Catherine looked around, "What do you mean, you promised Jed to give me the store? What store?" John smiled, "All in good time. Hey, speaking of time, where's our soup? You feed the fur-ball, but starve us?" Rover shot John a look and went back to cleaning the plate with his tongue. John leaned over to Rover and whispered, "Sorry about that." Two bowls of soup magically appeared in front of John and Catherine. John dug into the soup for a minute savoring the warmth. He looked up at Martha and George, "This soup is great!" Martha asked, "What else can we get for you to eat?" "I would like a grilled cheese sandwich. Rover will take another four pounds of hamburger, if you have it. How about you Catherine?" "I think I would like a Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato sandwich." George answered, "How about two pounds of cubed steak? I'm a little low on hamburger." John nodded, "That'll be fine. Of course, this time you are going to have to give me the real price of our food. If you don't, I'll write into all of the contracts that no one is allowed to sell you a fusion battery!" "Oh, I'm mortally wounded," replied George. He laughed, "I never met anyone get so mad about getting undercharged!" George went into the kitchen to work on their order. Martha drifted off to take care of some other customers. John turned to Catherine, "So tell me. Do you make things?" Other people might not have understood the question, but Catherine knew exactly what John was asking. She nodded, "Yeah. I make all of my own camping equipment." John smiled, "Good, then you are the one I was sent to get." George delivered the meal and the couple ate it. After a morning in the cold weather, the soup and sandwiches really hit the spot. Everyone, including Rover, left the restaurant feeling much better. They walked down the street and got into John's rental car. Rather than heading to the store, John first went to the hospital. Catherine and Rover followed him in. John saw the receptionist and winked. She smiled and pointed to the back. John whispered, "Anyone sleeping?" "No. You can shout." John smiled and walked to the middle of the corridor. Catherine followed behind him confused. John shouted out, "I heard there were a couple of guys here pretending to caring physicians." "John! You cad. The veterinarian is down the street. Get there now!" The voice of old Dr. Simpson echoed down the halls. "Come on out here you old goat and let me kiss you! I come into town and everyone is complaining about you!" Dr. Simpson came out of his office and walked up to John. He was laughing, "So what are you doing here?" "Ah, I came to get some stitches looked at. I think I pulled a couple this morning." "Do you want me to do it or your friend?" "Where is Dougie?" Dr. Simpson smiled, "He's hiding in my office. We flipped a coin to see who would come out here. I lost." John laughed heartily. Nurse John came out of one of the rooms. John saw him and shouted, "Hey, Nurse John. I'm still waiting for you to dress up for me." "John Carter, this place hasn't been the same since the last time you were here." "I'm going to let Dr. Simpson patch this old body up. That is, if his hands don't shake too much." Dr. Simpson grabbed John by the ear and pulled him down the hall to one of the examination rooms. John made little noises of complaint, but followed him anyway. Catherine looked puzzled, but followed them down the hall with Rover. She entered in time to hear the doctor stated, "Okay, remove the shirt." She stared in horror at the mass of scars. The doctor pulled off the bandages as another doctor entered the room. The other doctor stated, "I thought we had agreed that the next time we were going to send him to the vet." It was at that time, Doug noticed the cougar sitting at his feet. He jumped in the air, "Jesus. John is that your cat?" John grimaced as Dr. Simpson pulled on a stitch, "Yes it is. His name is Rover. He doesn't like vets." Dr. Simpson smiled, "Well, I was hoping we would get to operate on this degenerate without anesthetic." "I heard that a certain doctor made an honest woman out of Myrtle. Congratulations." Dr. Simpson grunted, "She married me for my body." Even Catherine laughed at that one. John started to laugh, but Dr. Simpson pulled on another stitch. John looked over at Doug, "So Dougie, have you found a love interest yet?" "Yes, you might know her. Her favorite sex game is pirates!" John looked embarrassed, "Oh, you must mean Lucy. She's perfect for you. That's great. I'm really very happy for you." Dr. Simpson interrupted, "Lie down here. We need to remove all of these stitches. Taking into account your healing rate, they should have been taken out yesterday." Doug walked up to the edge of the bed and looked over John. He said, "Jesus, John. You look like you've been in a war. I see gunshots and knife wounds." "You should see the bottom half. I have shrapnel, burns, and snakebites in addition to gunshots and knife wounds." Catherine stared at his body. She was sure that she was going to look just like that because of the medallion around her neck. She couldn't believe how cavalier he was about the scars. She would never let anyone see her body if it looked like that. She asked, "Is that going to happen to me?" John laughed, "I seriously doubt it. I'm a special case." Doug replied, "You can say that again." Dr. Simpson told John to roll over on his side so that he could get the stitches around the entry point. John did as requested and more scars became visible. Catherine shuddered at the sight of the long one down his back. Doug asked the question that was on her mind, "How'd you get that ugly one down your back?" "Getting a kid out of a burning building. I didn't see a nail or something when I slid out the window." Doug's voice got very soft, "Your brother would be very proud of you." John nodded, "I know. He'd be proud of you too. The people in this town are very happy you are here. They teased me about you, but it doesn't fool me." "Thanks, it means a lot to me to hear that from you." Catherine asked, "How do you two know each other?" Doug answered, "We grew up together in Texas. His brother was my best friend." A female voice was heard in the hall outside the door, "Avast, me maties. Prepare to be boarded!" John and Doug answered in unison, "Shiver me timbers!" Lucy entered the room. She gave Doug a very emotional kiss. She smiled at John. "Thanks for bringing this guy here. If I could get him to wear a peg leg, my life with him would be perfect." John laughed. "I could just picture that." Dr. Simpson sat back. "I'm done. Get dressed and get out of here before you corrupt more of the staff around here." "Thanks doc. What do I owe you?" "Don't worry about it. You opened my eyes regarding Myrtle. Of course, she is after me for my body." John shook his hand and hugged Doug. Lucy kissed him. She stated, "Next time you come to town, make sure you visit us." John frowned, "You aren't going to invite me to the wedding?" Doug laughed, "Yes, but only if you wear a pirates costume." "I'm gonna buy you a parrot for a wedding present!" Lucy laughed. On that note, John and Catherine left the room. Rover followed them, pausing only to look in each room. When they got to the car, Catherine turned to John. "The doctors in there were nasty to you.' John laughed, "No, they weren't. You heard many inside jokes told in gruff voices that hid their real feelings. They are both very good doctors. Dr. Simpson saved my life once." John started the car. He put it into gear and pulled out of the hospital. Catherine asked, "Where are we going now?" "Off to the Sheriff's office. You're going to meet him sometime and it's best if I'm the one that introduces you." Catherine sat back. Unexpectedly she stated, "You know my comment about you getting a bigger cock. Well, I gained some curves, lost about ten pounds, and gained two cup sizes on my breasts. My nipples have been hard ever since I left the woods." "It takes a bit of getting used to, but you'll adjust. Pretty soon, you'll look in the mirror and not even think of the changes." Catherine shook her head, "That'll never happen. You go from an A cup to a C cup instantaneously and then tell me about it." He laughed, "Well, I've gone from six inches to eight, so I know what you are feeling." "Eight?" "Yes. Oh, and you've lost a day. You were in there for twenty-four hours." "Damn, my parents must be worried about me. I promised to call them last night." "Don't worry. Those kinds of things work out," replied John as he pulled into a parking space. He got out of the car followed by Rover. Catherine got out on the other side. She followed him into the Sheriff's office. John shouted, "I surrender. Which cell is mine?" "John, I swear one of these days I'm going to throw you in the cell just for scaring the hell out of me." The Sheriff came out of the back room and looked at John. He smiled, "It's good to see you again, John. You did a great job the other day." "Thanks. That means a lot coming from you. I want you to meet Catherine. I'm giving her ownership of Jed's place." The Sheriff nodded in the direction of Catherine before asking, "Are you sure that you want to do that?" John nodded, "It was Jed's wish that I find the person to take it over." "I take it she's one of you?" Catherine asked, "What does that mean?" "We get a lot of strange people that come through this town. Almost without exception, they all stop at Jed's. When Jed died, the whole lot of them showed up. Every one stranger than the previous one. I don't know what's behind it all, but that was the most peaceful this town has been ever since I became Sheriff. Not a single speeding ticket, argument, parking ticket, or drunk." John nodded, "It was a nice ceremony." The Sheriff nodded, "The whole town showed up. We never saw anything like it. I swear you could almost see Gods and Goddesses gathered around the body." John looked thoughtful. He interrupted, "Well, I just came by to introduce you to each other. I'm sure she wants to see the store." The Sheriff shook her hand, "Glad to meet you Catherine. I'll stop around the store later and help you get settled into the community. I imagine you'll need a house in the area. Myrtle's place is available. It would be a good place for you, particularly if you travel as much as Jed. I live right next door. No one will bother you there." Catherine looked surprised, "Thank you, Sheriff. I'll look forward to it." She followed John and Rover out the office. At the door, she turned and looked at the Sheriff for a minute. She got into the car quietly. "Every one talks like I'm moving here and taking over a store. Tell me about it." John started the car, but didn't put it into gear. He stated, "Jed was our supplier. He made custom equipment that was appropriate for each one of us who received a medallion. He made my staff and this cloak." "He died at the end of summer. You are his replacement. As such, you will get the store. I don't know how it works, but a maker knows what equipment is needed before the person is even selected. I'm sure it is some kind of urge to create something specific. You won't be able to ignore it." "I guess that is reasonable." John continued, "Jed spent most of his time traveling. I don't think there is any part of the world he did not hike through. That includes the north and south poles. He assembled a very good staff at the shop, so if you take it over you won't really have to be here except when the urge calls you back. Again, I don't know exactly how it works." Catherine asked, "Does it matter what I want to do? I mean, I may not want the store." "I have no idea. What were your plans for the future?" "I'm going to college to get a degree in business. Once I graduate, I'll open a business." John laughed, "So you are going to do it in reverse. You're going to get a business and then get a degree in business." John put the car into gear and headed to the store. Catherine was silent the whole way. Rover studied her carefully, as though he were memorizing her features. The trip to the store only took a minute. John parked in the parking lot. He got out of the car. Rover raced past him heading into the woods behind the store. John laughed, "He'll be back shortly." Catherine went into the store and stopped as the magnitude of it overwhelmed her. She looked around in awe at the variety of merchandise displayed. The effect on her was almost sexual as chills ran up and down her spine. She had come here to cross country ski and now she was going to own this magnificent place. A clerk approached her as she stood there, "May I help you, ma'am?" She didn't know how to answer. John saved the day by entering the store. He smiled at the kid who immediately recognized him. He turned to Catherine, "Excuse me a minute ma'am." John said, "Call the employees that are duty over here." The kid stuck two fingers in his mouth in gave a shrill whistle. People appeared out of nowhere and stood in a semi-circle around John. John smiled, "Everyone, I would like to introduce the new owner to you. This is Catherine. Catherine would you like to say a few words to everyone." Catherine nervously cleared her throat. She stated, "This is all very sudden. This is an amazing place. I want to keep it that way. With your help, we will." John had gone behind the counter and pulled out two envelopes. He walked over to Catherine and handed her one of them. He was left with one last envelope addressed to The Grand Druid. He stated, "This is yours. Jed wrote it before he died." John handed the keys over to her and then left. Rover was waiting by the car. Catherine turned to see him driving off into the sunset. Somehow, it seemed fitting. <1st attachment end> ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ Notice: This post has been modified from its original format. 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