Gwyneth was a little groggy, but undeniably lucid. Seeing her awake and conscious flooded him with relief. Tears sprung to his eyes but he forced them...back, not wanting to show her how torn up he was inside."Hey," his voice was gentle and loving. "How are you feeling?" Pretty badass," she drawled, a small smile on her lips. She meant it as a joke, but he flinched at her words. "I'm fine, don't you worry. Sorry for the scare back there." Sorry? You're sorry? Jesus, if anyone should be. It huffed rhythmically, was this revenge for the scars he had given it? These animals must be far more intelligent and emotional than anyone at XCOM had suspected.The alien’s obscenely long and meaty tongue left its parted lips, trailing strands of thick saliva as it reached out like a tentacle to slide across his cheek, it was hot and slimy, he turned his head but the Viper held him straight, tasting the sweat on his skin. This whole situation felt ... wrong. It wasn’t killing him, it wasn’t. Still no panties. My dress is made of some magic fabric because I gave it a shake, slipped it over my head, zipped it up and smoothed it with my hands and it looked remarkedly decent. I slung my bag over my arm, picked up my shoes and tip-toed towards the front door. Just before I turned the handle I heard the clank of pipes which told me the shower had been shut off.I slipped out the door, shoes in hand, and went straight to the bank of elevators at the end of the hall. I raced past several. I sold my Jeep to one of my high school buddies for two hundred dollars and a ride to the Army recruiting office in Great Falls. Shortly after enlisting I was at Fort Dix, undergoing basic training. It was said that the Army often assessed men for their talents and then assigned them to tasks with no remote connection to their capabilities. Fortunately for me, that was not the case. When I completed basic training, I was assigned to the 63rd Engineering Battalion, deployed in Bad Hersfeld,.