Author's note: This was my first entry in Darkmind's "Storm Warning" contest. The rules: Write a story with a minimum of 2000 words that mentioned the weather as an integral part of the plot. The contest ran for only four days! Darkmind may have thought that a 4-day contest with a 2,000 word minimum would be a difficult task for many, but my first entry clocked in at 3,065 words, not counting the author's notes, title, author, etc. I hope you enjoy it! Feedback is appreciated.
Pottstown, Illinois was a strange sort of factory town - at least, that's what Leanne thought as she and her roommate Amanda drove to the small house they would be renting this semester. Both had waited a little too long to get an apartment on campus, so they had to settle for a house about ten miles down the road. The house was in a small town of about 1,400 people.
"Pottstown," Leanne said out loud as she drove. She looked over to make sure she hadn't roused Amanda from her slumber. Having come from Montana to study at what she jokingly referred to as "the fourth best university in Illinois," she was experiencing somewhat mixed feelings about the whole situation in which she now found herself. She was happy to find that she would be living close to school, she had a good roommate from England whose family had enough money to always come up with at least half the rent, and the rent itself was cheap - and that's why she was a little nervous. It was too cheap for a house as nice as the one the landlord described.
There was a single business in town - a factory of some kind. The landlord explained that there were no loud whistles, and only a weekly train made any real clatter in town. He also indicated that nearly everybody in town worked there, although he didn't mention exactly what it was they made; upon probing, he would only say it was a chemical that a pharmaceutical company was looking into. That, in addition to the fact that the factory spewed some strange, pinkish smoke from its lone chimney (which caused a pink haze to hang over the town sometimes), had both her and Leanne concerned about their health.
With a weary smile, Leanne remembered the conversation she'd had with the landlord about the smog.
"Don't worry," the landlord said. "The light smog isn't dangerous; in fact, the EPA says it's not a health concern at all. You can check that out, if you don't believe me, at the Library. They recently did some analysis on the air here. Anyway, feel free to walk around the main square and talk to people. You're both from out-of-town, and we just want you to know that we're not like most small towns when it comes to strangers." After that, he gave each of the ladies a key, and drove off.
Leanne saw the hill going down to the town ahead, and slowed down. Amanda was sleeping, but she woke up when the car descended the steep hill that lead to the town, which was located in a gulley or valley of sorts. It was so far below the level of the surrounding plains that they had to drive through the pink haze from the factory before they reached the bottom of the hill.
Once they arrived at their house, they unloaded the books and supplies on which they'd spent their first $1500 - each. Too tired for much else, Leanne grilled a couple of nice steaks, and the two ladies got to know each other over a couple bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon.
When he arrived for his shift, Sam was bombarded with questions about his new tenants.
"Do they know about..." Joe began, a little worried.
"Not yet. I think the best way to let them in on the... uh, you know, is to have them experience it. Anybody catch the weather report?"
Mike said, "Looks dry for the next five days, although we're expecting rain sometime next week or the week after."
Joe's eyes lit up. "Good. Good. We'll have a picnic, or some other stupid small-town thing that the redneck and Brit won't be able to say 'no' to. Hell, they're not even from around here; they'll probably believe anything we tell them... like, I don't know, an apple festival or something. Anyway, we'll plan it for a day when we're expecting to get rained out. That should work."
Sam looked at Joe and smiled. "Joe, it's a nice plan. But still... they're two young women, with no idea of what... I mean... is this the best way?"
Joe shrugged and said, "either that, or convince them to stay out of the rain and snow at all times. Somehow, I think we'll have a problem keeping them... dry. They are grown up, after all, and the English one at least should be used to the rain."
Mike piped in. "You know, it doesn't rain everyday, everywhere in England."
Joe responded with a chuckle before continuing. "I know that. (sigh) we'll have to finish this later... we have to punch in. See ya on the line, Mike," Joe said as the three friends, along with 30 or so other workers, headed onto the main floor of the factory.
After the first couple of weeks of school, Amanda and Leanne were... well, ready for some fun. Day one had been what they expected; meet the prof, get the syllabus, find out that you have an outdated edition of the main text, make friends, and scope out the resident geek who you could get to help you study for exams. The following days were pretty much spent getting to know where things on campus were, trying to keep up with the protest of the week, and fighting the urge to skip class.
They spent most of their off time at their house, decorating it enough to make it livable but sparsely enough to allow for quick packing at the end of the school year. Neither even noticed the pink haze anymore; they were completely used to it. In fact, they almost missed the glow when they drove up the hill and out of the valley. When they came home one Friday after Leanne's last class was over, Amanda saw a folded piece of paper stuck in the door.
"What's this then. 'You are invited to the 69th Annual Peach Festival, at Pottstown Park, tomorrow afternoon. Pot luck - bring a meat dish, side dish, salad, dessert - or just yourself!' How nice. Oh, Leanne? It seems we've been invited to some kind of town party," Amanda chimed, a little sarcastically.
"Do I detect some of that stuff you call a 'British sense of humor,' Amanda?" Leanne asked. When Amanda responded by rolling her eyes, Leanne added, "How bad could it possibly be?"
"Don't tell me you want to go!" Amanda exclaimed.
"I do. Hell, at least it'll be a free meal. Besides, we don't know anybody here. You need to have local friends in these parts."
"What do you mean, 'these parts?' This is America."
"Yes," Leanne said to her roommate, "but I'm pretty far from home, although not as far as you are from home. We get along pretty good, but wouldn't you like to meet some more of the folks around town? We haven't been out since we moved in."
Amanda smiled and relented. "OK, we'll go. But I get to choose what to do next time."
Leanne smiled and hugged Amanda, glad that they were becoming friends. The rest of the evening passed on in a lazy manner and they hit the sack at about midnight, too tired from week two of school to do much else.
Saturday rolled around, and being typical college students, Amanda and Leanne were up at the crack of noon. After a shower and some small talk, they got dressed and prepared to go to what Leanne had started calling "The Cornpone Peach Festival." They grabbed a few bags of chips they'd bought during their last grocery run (Leanne laughed every time Amanda slipped and called them 'crisps') and drove to the park, using the map on the invitation.
"It looks like it might rain," Leanne said as they made the short trip. It was overcast, but not dark.
"Well, that just means we'll be leaving earlier than we planned. Pity," Amanda quipped dryly as they arrived a few minutes after setting out. No sooner had they put the bags of chips on a table in the big pavilion than they heard a low rumble of thunder.
"You may be right, Amanda. But still, let's mingle a little."
The next couple of hours, Amanda and Leanne mixed with the crowd. The wind picked up a little as the afternoon wore on, and there were a few more rumbles of thunder here and there, but the thing that the ladies noticed was the total lack of any children. When it was time for the dinner, that little detail really nagged at them.
Amanda whispered to Leanne, "Have you noticed there's no..."
"Kids? Yes. Odd, but I asked around, and I get the impression that they all have babysitters - this is apparently a grown-up party," Leanne said. Suddenly, they heard another rumble of thunder and a slight 'plink.'
They looked, and from the set spot on the black, metal lid of a nearby barbecue grill, they knew that the first drop of rain had fallen. Everybody's faces shot up, and they all started off - into the rain. The ladies' landlord, Sam, put his arms around Amanda and Leanne and put his head between theirs.
"It's time for the... sack race!" He said, as if trying to remember a script.
"In the rain? Are you crazy??" Leanne said.
Amanda smiled. "Oh, come on, Leanne. It's not that bad; it's just starting. Besides, we might as well have one go before we leave."
Leanne reluctantly agreed, noting that there was no lightning and the rain was just starting. It was steadily falling by the time they were assigned sacks in which to hop to the finish line. And that's when Leanne started to notice something strange about the rain... and the women of the town.
They were rubbing their bodies. All over. Every female was treating the rain like some kind of lotion - even sneaking hands inside their shirts and shorts. And, the rain felt strange. It wasn't cool or cold; it was actually a warm rain. It was like taking a warm shower - but there was something else.
It made her skin tingle. She rubbed lightly on her bare arm, and as she did, she felt the warmth increase - but not just on her arm. 'Damn, that feels almost like running my finger up and down slit,' she thought as she continued to massage her arm. Every stroke felt a little better than the last. Tentatively, she began to reach for her thigh - and for the first time that day, she was thankful she'd worn shorts on an otherwise cool day. Just as she touched her leg, though, two things happened. First, she noticed that it was much more sensitive than her arm was. Then, she heard Amanda moan. She looked over at her friend.
Amanda had worn a tank top that exposed her flat tummy and stretched over her ample chest. The rain was coming a little harder now, and her red hair was matting to her head. Amanda's hands, though, were not concerned with her hair. She had slipped them under her shirt, and judging by the outline of the bra showing through it, she had unclasped the device and was now fondling her tits.
"What's... mmmmm, going on?" Amanda asked, rubbing the slightly slick rain all over her body and into her breasts, which - along with the rest of her body - were becoming extremely sexually sensitive.
"You... feel... it tooooo?" Leanne asked, sliding her hands underneath her own shirt.
Looking around, Leanne noticed that most of the women were completely naked by now, openly fondling themselves and making their bodies available to the groping hands of the seemingly unaffected men. The women responded to the touch of the men with whimpers and trembling - and when she saw two women touching each other, they were responding in a similar fashion.
It was then that Leanne noticed that Amanda was naked, her wet clothes heaped beside her as she ran her hands frantically over her body. Her eyes were closed in apparent ecstasy. Looking once more at the women around her, Leanne took off her clothes - she was far too aroused to feel any shame - and had an idea.
'If my hands feel this good on my body,' she mused, kneading her tits and occasionally rubbing her wet pussy, 'I wonder how Amanda will react to them?' Tentatively, Leanne reached up to her large-chested English friend, and while Amanda's hands were busy teasing her own clit, Leanne grabbed her breasts, cupping them with both hands and kissing them gently.
"Oh... ungh! Oh fuck, I just came..." Amanda breathlessly whispered when her sudden shaking stopped. Looking up, she saw a naked - and suddenly beautiful and very desirable - Leanne.
"I think whatever is going on works better if someone else touches you," Leanne said as she tackled Amanda to the wet grass. As their bodies touched, they embraced each other and Leanne came almost instantly. Just the heat of the other woman's body was enough to set off the initial climax for the Montana woman, and as they kissed and rolled around on the ground, their collective lust grew until neither could take the teasing anymore.
With Amanda on her back, Leanne kissed down her body, paying close attention to each breast and nipple. The rain tasted sweet, and actually began to turn her mouth into something of a sex organ - the sensations from her mouth and tongue were almost as powerful as she remembered from the last time she'd fucked her boyfriend. She reached up and slid a finger (wet with a combination of the rain and her own juices) into Amanda's mouth. Her body tensed up as she sucked on it - apparently, her friend's mouth was experiencing a similar tactile transformation.
The rain was pouring down when Leanne finally made her way to Amanda's more than ready pussy. As she licked the damp folds, Amanda grabbed Leanne's head and held it to her cunt, reaching another orgasm - louder than before, although it was hard to hear over the other women's screams - almost immediately. Leanne broke free of her grip, though, and came up to Amanda's head.
"Your turn, hon," she whispered to her sex-crazed roommate. Leanne then rolled onto her back, and Amanda got to her hands and knees, to the right of her friend and now lover. Instead of just getting between Leanne's legs, though, she lifted one leg and placed it to the left of Leanne's head, and slid her body up and down the rain-lubricated body of the American beneath her.
It took only a dozen or so passes before they both came. Leanne wanted more, though; she grabbed Amanda's hips, brought them to her face, and began to lick her, again. This time, Amanda's head dipped down and found Leanne's hot cunt. Quickly finding the clit, she sucked it gently into her mouth and flipped it with her tongue. Soon, she felt Leanne moan into her pussy - and the vibrations sent her over the edge. Again.
They continued like this - "they" meaning the whole town! - until about an hour or so after the rain had stopped. Then, they rested, and after awhile, the town's women began to mill about, going to their cars and obtaining a fresh change of clothes. Sam, dressed again, came up to the roommates.
"Well, now you know the little secret of Pottstown. The factory makes a compound that some company uses to increase the sexual pleasure and arousal of women - an aphrodisiac, if you will. An interesting by-product is the smog; it's heavy so it sits here in the valley, and it has," he said, running his finger down Leanne's back and ass, finally sinking it quickly into her pussy (which make Leanne cum, again), "an interesting effect on women, when mixed with enough water." He held the finger up to Amanda, who licked it clean, moaning at the sensation of the man's finger in her mouth.
"The first time, the effects last a long time - about a day or so. So, expect to be like this for a little while. Once you're used to it, it'll wear off after a few hours and you can go about your daily routine. But, that brings up an interesting point."
Amanda started rubbing Leanne's back, making her moan with delight. "What point would that be, sir?" she asked coyly.
"Well," Sam answered, "we can't have you blabbing about this to just anyone. After all, the drug is part of a secret project - or something like that. So, we have a proposition for you. I was told to tell you we have openings for executive-level positions at the company. You'd work from here, of course, and could - if you chose to do so - continue going to school. The job pays well. The only hitch is that you have to live here, and you can't ever tell anyone about the Company."
Leanne and Amanda looked at each other with lust-filled eyes. Leanne said, "We'll think about it."
Sam got up and smiled, saying, "No need to answer now; but I do suggest you two try to drive home - slowly. We'll talk later. Call me when you've decided."
Six months after her first 'town party,' Amanda called her mum. Her family could not believe her luck. An American company in a rural Illinois town had offered her a £75,000 a year job, and also would pay for her further education - all before she'd completed even one year at university! She said she'd be able to come out for a visit in a few months, she had told them, and that she'd be bringing a friend from the States.
When they arrived a few months later, they met Amanda's new friend, who was employed at the same company and made a similar salary. Nobody questioned out loud why they seemed to hold hands when they thought nobody was looking, or why they were so... well, enamored with one another.
When they left a couple of weeks later, Amanda's mother found a bottle with some water in it. She began to pour it out into the sink, when a little spilled on her hand. She rubbed it - it was a little slippery.
It's said that Amanda's father barely made it through the night. Not that he ever complained about it, though.