The Quest (Horror, Sci-fi) "Women are just as good as men. Anything you can do, I can do just as well." She spat. He laughed. "Stop hissing and getting your claws out at me. I just happened to remark that you, and by that I mean any woman, wouldn't, in fact couldn't, react under pressure the same as a man." "We'd be better!" "You crack me up! Better indeed! In which case why don't you go off and fight in the wars and leave the men behind?" "If we were in charge of wars, there wouldn't be any!" "Ouch! Touche. No wars, just very intense discussions once a month hey?" He ducked as she threw a cushion at him. He then moved, smartly, out of range in case she found something with a bit more substance to hurl in his direction. He could see by the set of her mouth and the high spots of colour on her cheeks, that she was furious. Which suited him perfectly. "You...you...sexist bastard!" "Not at all. Just an observer of human nature that's all." "Well you're a fucking lousy observer - now he knew she was mad, she NEVER swore - and you know fuck all about women." The argument had started casually enough, with a chance remark in a newly refurbished bar on the trendily, re-fashionable Unter Den Linden. It had simmered gently all evening, eventually erupting into a full scale battle as they returned to their hotel. In the red corner. Weighing in at a very reasonable size 8. Amanda Heyden. Doyenne of the fashion world. Writer, traveller, one time (not so very long ago) model and, at this precise moment in time, one very angry alley cat. In the opposite corner Mark Travers. Industrial Chemist and head of Pheromone International inc. Amused and sardonic, playing an interesting little headgame with his, when it suited them, girlfriend. "Oh I don't know. I've been around you know, in forty odd years you do get to see a few things and a few women." "Typical! So we're all the same are we? That shows you how much you know." He shrugged and his amused grin infuriated her even further. "No. You're not the same. I'll give you that. Listen, lets go back to the original discussion. I just happened to think that you couldn't react the same as a man if put under similar pressure." "And I said you're fucked up." "See what I mean. I put you under pressure in a discussion and you resort to violence and foul language. Whereas me? I'm all sweetness and light." She knew he was needling her, and he was right in this instance. But his sardonic smirk and his infuriating tone of voice was making her blood boil. "Fuck you!" She shouted. "The age old answer to everything eh?" He held up his hand as if to ward off her anger. "Hey, settle down, its only a discussion. You want to settle this, then how about I prove it to you? With a little wager attached to make it more interesting." "Wager? What sort of wager?" Her anger yielding slightly to her curiosity. "Let me see...I tell you what, I bet you say a Porche Carrera against you acting as my slave for a week that you couldn't get back to London on your own." "You must be fucking joking. I've flown more times than you've had medium rare steaks. What makes you think I couldn't make my own way back to London?" "Oh to make it fair to me, I'd have to put you under a little pressure." "You'd take my money or something?" "No you can have as much money as you want. Its nothing like that." "What then?" "I'll give you a patch to wear for an hour before you start." "Its not some form of hallucinogenic drug or something is it?" He laughed. "You are so suspicious. Now there's somewhere where women really do have the edge on men!" He continued quickly before her anger boiled over again. "No, its nothing like that. No drugs, just a smell." "What sort of smell?" "I can't describe it. Here just smell it for yourself." He produced a small patch, like a sticking plaster and unpeeled the wrapper. She leaned forward and smelled it, suspiciously. Surprisingly it smelled of very little at all, with maybe a slight hint of zest like a newly squeezed lemon. "Is that it?" She asked. He nodded. "That's it." "A Porche Carerra? A new one?" "Brand new, you go to the showroom and choose it yourself." "How long have I got to get to London?" "I won't make it too hard. Say a month." She expected him to say two hours, or something impossible. The flight from Berlin took three hours at least. "No other catches?" "None." "Right I'll do it." "I'm so pleased. Give me your arm. I'll attach the patch and you can be on your way. Oh don't worry about the hotel bill I'll settle up." The patch felt cool on her arm. She looked at him but he just smiled and waved her farewell. She could have sworn he was holding his breath. ************************************************************************* She couldn't help but notice the stares she was getting as she walked through the lobby. The men were following her every move, with eyes like chapel hat pegs. Their women, meanwhile, held onto them like grim death, scowling at her. She was used to male attention. Since making the awkward transition from gawky teenager to svelte young woman, men's eyes seemed to have an invisible thread connecting them to her breasts, her butt or her legs. But this....This was unnerving. Luckily Mark had taken the bulk of her luggage on ahead just leaving her with a small overnight tote bag, that she slung over her shoulder. So she didn't have to hang around the lobby. The atmosphere was a little eerie in there. Once outside she stood waiting for a taxi. Two inevitable Japanese tourists, with equally inevitable cameras, were also waiting. One of them, the male, seemed to sniff the air, his eyes glazed over and he leapt at her. The surprise was total and he had nearly succeeded in plunging his hands inside her blouse before she came to enough to launch a kick which caught him mid scrotum. The man's wife (girlfriend, whatever) launched into a torrent of Japanese and kicked the guy herself, doubling him over. But he still groped for her. Luckily a taxi hove into view and she was able to evade his clutches and tumbled into the safety of the cab. The woman behind the wheel asked: "Wohin gehst du?" Where to? "Lufthaven Tegel bitte." The airport please. The Mercedes swung into the ordered traffic of the Greifswald, while she sat shaking with suppressed anger. She pulled up her sleeve and tore the patch off. 'That'll put an end to it.' *************************************************************************** The taxi dropped her at the extreme end of the curved frontage of the airport. She fumbled inside her bag and collected her small denomination marks, before handing them into the outstretched hands of the taxi driver. "Bitte." Said the young woman unemotionally as she scooped the coins from Amanda's outstretched hand. Their fingers touched briefly, but neither woman thought much about it. The taxi moved on briefly but stopped to the hail of an overweight businessman. Amanda searched through her bag for her passport and ticket for a few seconds. Then she looked up and saw the door of the cab was still open. Thinking something was odd she approached, to find the man was pulling the taxi driver over the seat pawing at her clothing as he did so. Amanda ran up and straight armed the guy in the gut. The breath whooshed out like a collapsing paper bag, with almost explosive force. She followed up by pulling him out of the cab and delivering a roundhouse punch to his adam's apple. He collapsed on the pavement. "You ok?" She asked the woman, who was panting crazily. "Jah, Danke." She puffed. "Fucking pervert." Said Amanda as she delivered a kick to the guy's midriff. By this time she could see the bottle green uniform of a policeman heading in their direction. Unusually, in Germany, she was glad of the sight of it. As the Policeman got closer his eyes seemed to become all vacant and, instead of arresting the guy, he launched himself at her. Again her shock was total. The world had suddenly turned into a madhouse. She fought with the fit young man as he tore at her jeans frantically. This time the taxi driver came to her aid by kicking the cab door with both her feet which caught the policeman on his shoulder, spinning him around. "Schnell!" She screamed and Amanda, needing no urging, again leapt into the cab which immediately tore off with the policeman running behind. "Wass?" Exclaimed the taxi driver, trying to calm herself, as she tore into the traffic. "Can you speak English? My German is not up to a philosophical discussion." Panted Amanda. "Jah. Yes, I'm sorry I speak English." "Good now what's your question?" "Why is this happening?" "I'm not sure but I've got a pretty good idea. I can't explain it all now, because it probably won't make sense. Listen do you know where I could get a shower or something. I think the problem is to do with the way I smell." She could see the German woman looking puzzled, through the rearview mirror. "The problem is your nose?" "No, no the way I smell, what I smell like. Er - she groped in her memory - Geruch, I think the word is." "Ah! Why?" "Long story. Any thoughts on that shower?" "Yah you may use my house. But why does it affect me?" Amanda leaned back in her seat. "I'm damned if I know. " She muttered. *************************************************************************** The taxi driver had a small apartment out in Grunwald, which had its own entrance, luckily, so they didn't encounter anyone. Amanda scrubbed herself pink and after an hour she emerged, lightly perfumed and ready to face the world again. Especially mankind. The Taxi driver had stopped shaking and her innate German efficiency was starting to kick in again. The coffee mug steaming gently on the counter, a thousand unanswered questions glittering in her eyes. Amanda sat sipping the coffee, the borrowed bathrobe clutched tightly round her body, as she explained about the patch and its unusual effects. The taxi driver looked irritated. "So I need to, how you say, unsmell my taxi?" "Fumigate! Er I don't know, maybe a strong scent will work, or an air freshener or something." Amanda answered vaguely. "What about me?" "A shower wouldn't hurt." After her shower the pair of them spent the next few minutes spraying air freshener inside the taxi cab. "Right that should do it." Said Amanda, tossing the spraycan into the glovebox. She looked at the German woman. "Ready to try again?" She nodded and turned to climb into the cab. Just then an old man walked by walking his dog. Just as he approached his eyes seemed to glaze over and he hobbled as fast as he could towards the young German. "GET IN. GET IN." Screamed Amanda as she saw the old guy approaching. They jumped in and slammed the doors and screeched off. The most unnerving thing about the incident, in Amanda's mind, was the way the dog's eyes also glazed over and the way it tried to tear at the taxi door frantically with its claws. "What do we do now?" Asked the terrified driver. Amanda thought for a moment. It was pretty obvious that their shower hadn't helped, so that cut out the airport. 'Think, girl, think.' She told herself. She was bright, she was used to sorting out problems, she must have a solution lurking somewhere in the hidden recesses of her brain. It was just that this development, this horror, had happened too fast. Damn Mark, damn him to hell, for putting her through this. Her rational thought also told her that he was the key to unlocking this mess. So the answer was obvious, she'd have to get to London. She turned to the taxi driver. "What's your name?" "Gertie. Why do you ask?" "Because we're going to have to spend a lot of time together that's why. I'm Amanda by the way. Listen can you drive me to London?" "LONDON!" Exclaimed Gertie, swerving into the outside lane of the autobahn. "Weshalb?" Why? "Because that's where the antidote is. Don't worry about the cost." She pulled out a platinum American Express Card. "I can pay." "Scheisse!" Was the reply. ***************************************************************************** The sun had dropped below the horizon, and the darkness was closing in, as they reached the old frontier of East Germany at Helmstedt. "I have a friend who works in a hotel in this town." Ventured Gertie. "It is not busy. Maybe we see no men this time." "Hmm?" Answered Amanda sleepily. The previous adrenaline rush, and the numbing boredom of the drive, rendering her groggy. "We stay here tonight. You pay?" She looked across at Amanda. "Yes, of course." She yearned for a bed and a big, fat, steaming mug of cocoa. The carpark, fortunately, was not full and Amanda's hopes of an unmolested evening were lifted slightly. Things got better as they entered the hotel lobby, which smelled strongly of new paint. It was evidently newly opened. Gertie's friend embraced them both like long lost cousins. Of course they could have a room. There were only a few guests, getting ready for some show in the Messe in Hanover, so they could have virtually whichever rooms they wanted. So they installed themselves in two rooms on the downstairs corridor, facing the embankment over which the autobahn hummed. ******************************************************************************* It was around midnight that her door splintered open and a series of silhouetted figures dived upon her as she lay dressed only in her underwear. She tried to fight them off, but there were too many and they each had the strength of ten. She could feel them clawing desperately at her panties as they held her rigidly down. She fought but it was no good. There were too many and they were too strong and...... One of them humped himself between her widespread legs and Amanda screamed out in rage. They couldn't do this to her. Her body was hers, only hers, not an empty headed vessel for a bunch of perverted males. She struggled and heaved, fruitlessly, as she felt the head of his member urgently seeking her sex. He lunged, she arched her back. They were at one. It was the silence as much as anything else that unnerved her. Sure they were panting with suppressed lust as they fought to force the guy off so they could take their turn. But there was no shouting, no laughter, no catcalls. In fact nothing like she would have imagined a gang rape would be. It had almost a dreamlike quality about it. A nightmare to be sure but somehow not quite so real. The man was quick, which was a mercy, then the next one took his turn inside her seeping pussy. Dimly she was aware of two other females. Screaming into the indifferent night. Again he was quick and yet again she was mounted. Then, just as she was becoming resigned to having to satisfy them all, they left. Just like that. As if nothing had happened. Just after the third guy had ejaculated into her. They seemed to lose interest and left her sobbing and panting on the bed. Their juices staining the rumpled sheet between her legs. She hadn't even got a good look at them. 'Fuck Mark!' She'd get him for this. She tied a large towel around herself and stumbled into the corridor towards Gertie's room. She lay crying on the bed. It didn't need a degree to work out what had happened to her. The odd thing was that she, too, was left alone after only a few of the men had satiated themselves. In her case it was after 4 men. Her friend had suffered the same fate too. Amanda wept for her, if only they hadn't hugged. They all slept together that night, snuggled in each other's arms seeking solace from the gentle embrace of another woman. ****************************************************************************** They left Gertie's friend behind. She had wanted to call the Police but Gertie had told her of the incident at Tegel and so she resigned herself to whatever fate had in store for her. Amanda urged her to come with them, but she declined. It would be all right, she'd cope. Anyway the men seemed to have lost interest in her. It was true. The nervous girls had made their way to the dining room that morning, half expecting to be jumped again and nothing happened. The few men present just politely ignored them, except for the occasional lustful glance that Amanda knew so well. "Maybe it is all ok now." Said Gertie hopefully as they pulled onto the autobahn. It certainly looked that way. Maybe it was just a one day thing and the smell had worn off. "Possibly. Can you take me to the nearest airport then?" "Jah. That will be Hannover." "That'll be fine." She sought out the girl's hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." The girl shrugged, but tears glinted in her eyes. "It is not your fault. You find this Mark and you kill him ok?" She was serious. They covered the rest of the journey in silence. Finally they swept into the departures area of the airport. Amanda turned to the girl. "Thank you." She pressed the remains of her currency into her trembling hand. "I know this doesn't anywhere near cover what has happened but please take it." The girl shrugged. "Please go. It is better if you go now." Amanda opened the door and, within seconds of stepping out she was surrounded by pawing males. The driver's door flew open and the men started to drag the screaming Gertie out. Amanda lashed out, her Karate training now paying off in spades, as she brought down one of her attackers blunting the assault with the bulk of his body. "Drive!" She screamed. Gertie needed no second bidding and she floored the accelerator and the car raced off, with a couple of men hanging on for dear life. The wind of their passage blew the doors closed and the men dropped astern. Where they picked themselves up and walked away as if nothing had happened. Amanda tried to sort her jumbled thoughts as the taxi swerved back onto the Autobahn. It was obvious that the effect wore off only temporarily and, even then, only after she had satisfied a number of men. A gangbang would therefore provide her with a few hours respite. She groaned at the horror of it all. Is this what Mark meant by coping with pressure? Men could never be put under this amount of pressure, especially in light of the fact that she could pass it on with only the merest of touches to another, unsuspecting, female. Gertie was sobbing openly now. Amanda sighed for her new friend. They must go to London. They must end this. ************************************************************************** To say that the rest of the journey to the ferry port was uneventful would have been a tissue of lies. They were jumped at a service station near Osnabruck and had to satisfy a group of truckers. That paid for their fuel. Another time, another fuelstop. This time Amanda hid out in the ladies bathroom as the men panted outside. She touched the hand of a teenager that was admiring herself in the mirror. "What a pretty bracelet." She exclaimed, touching her guiltily on the wrist. It provided enough of a respite for her to escape through the window, the screams echoing around the station. They learned more about the effects as they went. How it dissipated after they had been laid, but only as long as they did not douche themselves. It was as if the smell of the sperm somehow neutralised the pheromone. And the reactions of other women! How they affected to look the other way while the attacks were taking place, muttering about how she obviously deserved it. And, finally, how a subliminal scent could provide an overwhelming attraction for one group of people and a powerful deterrent to another. It was a journey of bitter discovery. **************************************************************************** It was near Eindhoven that Amanda lost her friend. A group of men pounced on her, as she pumped the fuel, and hustled her away to an ominous black van that stood under the shade of some trees. The last look she had of the beautiful, young, blond was as she was thrown inside and the side door slammed shut. She followed as best she could, but was not used to the traffic, nor the steering wheel being on the wrong side. She eventually lost them on the Damrak in Amsterdam. Close to the red light district. She tried to push the fate of her friend out of her mind as she motored towards the ferry terminal. She'd get the antidote then she'd be back! She paid for the ferry ride twice. Once with her credit card, the other time with her body, in the back of a camper van with a group of enthusiastic teenage boys. *************************************************************************** Mark looked up in surprise as the door slammed open and Amanda stormed in. She wasn't the same Amanda he had left in Berlin just two weeks before. This one had a wild hunted look about her. And she was dishevelled, something the old Amanda would never be. "Give me the antidote you fucker!" She screamed. "Antidote? What antidote?" He asked, puzzled. "There is no antidote! There never was." ************************************************************************* You were warned! Tell me what you thought of it.