Human After All by Connie Bailey

frowned. “Does the ammonia cause a chemical reaction or something?”
    Jaymes shrugged and watched as the Exotic set the tiny chromolyres disc on a rock. Drue unfastened his trousers, pulled out his cock, and coaxed forth a stream that sparkled in the sunlight. The comm was knocked off the stone into the tall grass, where it promptly disappeared from sight.
    “Hot steaming murd!” Drue cursed, diving after the device. He rose with wet, empty hands to the sound of Jaymes’s soft laughter. Clenching his fists, the Exotic glared at the other Companion. “And you had the hide to call me a vac-head? I’m sure I look funny with piss all over me, but your little prank cost us our only hope of getting out of this alive.”
    “The be-damned thing didn’t work anyway.”
    “Maybe I could’ve made it work. Now we’ll never know.”
    “Why are Zots such drama royales?” Jaymes went directly to the spot where the disc had entered the undergrowth, much farther from the rock than Drue had searched. “Here.”
    Drue caught the piece of chromolyres and examined it for damage, but the iridescent surface was still featureless. No matter how long, or how many times Drue pressed his thumbprint to the smooth metal, nothing happened. Even the silvery-green sheen of the touch interface field was gone. “Useless,” he said, under his breath.
    “We’re still headed in the direction of the lights we saw last night, right?”
    Drue nodded. “It’s a long way, though, and neither of us is used to hiking, so it’ll be a while before we get there.”
    “I’m in very good physical condition,” Jaymes said.
    “Yes, you are,” Drue agreed. “But this isn’t a controlled environment.”
    Jaymes looked around, wide-eyed. “I hadn’t noticed until you pointed it out. Come on. What choice do we have but to keep walking?”
    “I guess if a T-bred can manage it, it should be a fat slice of zero-prob for me.”
    “So why are you still standing there like you’re waiting for a transport?”
    “I’m just admiring you, Prince.” Drue paused. “Really. You look very beautiful against the background of the leaves.”
    Jaymes ran a hand through his tumbled hair. “Shut up. I’m a terrible mess.”
    “But enticing nonetheless, maybe even more so.”
    “Enough foolishness.” Jaymes turned away to hide the blush that warmed his cheeks, chagrined at how good the Exotic’s compliment made him feel. “Let’s get moving.”
     
     
    “S TOP right there, Fringe rats!”
    Drue froze in his tracks, gesturing behind him for Jaymes to do the same. The voice that ordered him to stop came from the right, but though he had the prickly skin feeling that they weren’t alone, the Exotic saw no one. Cautiously, he held up his hands, and an armed man walked from the foliage directly in front of him.
    “You two carryin’ anything I should know about?” Dressed in much-mended clothing in faded colors that blended with the forest, the man who stopped next to Drue was half a head taller than the six-foot Exotic. “If you got any weapons, or anything else interestin’, you’d best tell us now.”
    “Us?” Jaymes blurted out, drawing a sharp look from Drue and the man who accosted them.
    “Reckon my tongue tripped me up.” The big stranger moved closer to Jaymes, fixing his oddly bright eyes on the T-bred’s tattoo. “Well, hello, spork.” He grinned. “Now that you know I’m not alone, does it make you feel better?”
    “Not really. The fact is, I’m so nervous at the moment that I’m approaching overload.”
    The giant grinned, his teeth very white in the blue-black frame of his scruffy beard. “Scared of me, are ya?”
    “Well honestly, if you were me and saw you coming, wouldn’t you be a little anxious?”
    “Aye, and with good cause.” The stranger stopped speaking and looked the T-bred up and down. “What on earth are you wearin’?”
    Jaymes pulled the voluminous overcoat more closely around him. “I left a party in a