by Alpesco
Teenager Jo finds herself alone in a foreign land
Jo was sixteen. She stood five feet eleven inches tall in her sleeveless top and denim shorts. She was dull blonde, of athletic build, and already turning heads. She looked out of the window of the hotel office, seeing the blue tropical sea and the forested islands beyond.
"What's happened to the rest of my group?" she said as she turned back to face the three members of the holiday resort staff who were in the room with her.
"When you got ill, the doctor took care of you," the man in the off-white, deputy manager's uniform said. "You were not allowed to travel, but the rest of your team had to get the flight back home. They left five days ago."
"Five days!" Jo was surprised.
"Yes," the man nodded. The two women with him nodded too. They were all short compared to Jo, but of about average height for this region, at around five feet five inches. "You've had a bad fever," he said. "It kills many of the local people. But you recovered very quickly."
"I have a strong constitution." The blonde teenager shook her head, stretching out her long, well-built arms as she stood in front of the open window. "When I get sick, it doesn't usually last long. So what happens now? I need to get to the temples at Gong Kai."
"Oh no,' the man shook his head sharply. "No more trips. Vacation is over. You fly home this afternoon at 2pm." He produced a handful of papers. "These are your travel documents."
"I can't go home yet." Jo refused to take the papers. "The whole reason I came to South Asia was to find my sister. She came here three months ago, wrote home saying that she was going to find enlightenment or something in the temples - and then she disappeared."
"That is not a concern for you now," the man shook his head. "Leave it to the police. This is your ticket. Vacation is over. You have to go catch the plane."
"No. I'm not leaving. Where are my passport, money and backpack?"
"They're already on the plane."
"You're lying," Jo frowned. "You didn't know I was fit to travel till the doctor left just now. My stuff still has to be here. Where is it?"
"You're not old enough to stay here alone," the man said to her. "You're under age and you have to do as you are told. " He nodded to the girls. "Take her."
The two women seized an arm each, but Jo was annoyed now. As they tried to force her arms behind her back, Jo simply stopped her arms moving.
Jo felt the two local women pushing at her arms but they didn't have much idea how strong she was. The first thing they learned was that they couldn't move her arms back by as much as an inch if Jo didn't want them to. Even with two of their smaller, thinner arms working against each one of hers, they couldn't defeat them. The women were surprised as Jo's long bronzed arms just would not move. They began to push and struggle, trying to force the tall sixteen year-old's arms back but they had no success. Jo allowed herself a slight smile. Her arms had a six feet three inch wingspan, and she had trained them hard and long for basketball, volleyball and swimming. She had knocked over eighteen year old guys with the force of her volleyball spike. When she hit the ball hard, wise people just got out of the way. It had won her team a huge number of matches. She smirked as she gathered her strength. Then she began to push her long arms forward. She enjoyed the shock on the faces of both women as this one teenage girl began to force both sets of arms back.
Alarmed, they pushed forward, pressing their bodies into the assault, but it was no use. Jo forced her arms forward in a sudden surge of power, and the two women crashed back noisily into the metal filing cabinets that lined the near wall. The two hit hard, losing their grip on Jo's arms as they slammed into the cabinets. They cried out in pain and one of them fell to the floor, both astonished by the power in the tall American girl's arms.
"Don't try to force me anywhere!" Jo glared at them. This had been even easier than she'd imagined. She'd thought she might have a fiercer struggle, but the two were already hurt and cowed
Pushing the stunned manager aside, Jo strode out of the office. Grabbing her passport and money from behind the desk outside, she strode out of the beachfront hotel.
She swam out to one of the outboard canoes that were used to ferry guests around the resort and climbed aboard. Starting the motor, she headed across the bay to the nearest town. She knew where to start looking. Her sister had written about an office near the bus terminus where travelers could book guides to take them inland. That was where she would go.
"You need to see that woman over there," the man in the tour office pointed. Jo looked round to see a woman of about thirty getting into a green tour bus. "If your sister came here she will have spoken to her. She deals with the guides who go to the mountains."
Jo ran over. "I need your help."
"I'm very busy." the woman said. "If you want to arrange a tour I'll be back here tomorrow morning. You can ask for me in the office. My name is Nadia."
"No." Jo climbed into the bus beside her, telling her about her missing sister. "Do you know where she went?"
"I deal with so many people. I can't remember every blonde American tourist. Now I'm in a hurry. I'm guiding a trip to the gorge."
"I'm staying with you until you tell me something," Jo said as the bus pulled away. But she couldn't speak to Nadia again until the bus reached its destination. They were at the top of a deep gorge with a distant waterfall. As the tourists poured off, Jo grabbed her by the arm.
"Will you leave me alone!" the woman shouted. "I have nothing to tell you. Let me get back to my tour group!"
"No! This is a lot more important than your tour group!" Angry now, Jo prevented Nadia from joining the chattering German tourists as they made their way toward the falls.
"You can't do this!' the woman said angrily. 'Driver!' she called out. 'Come and help me!'
The driver of the bus hadn't heard. But if the woman kept shouting, someone might hear her, and come to interfere. She needed somewhere quiet. Bending, she scooped the older woman up in her arms.
"Aaaaah!" Nadia screamed in surprise as Jo picked her up off the ground, turned, and simply carried her away from the bus and the rest of the tourists.
"I think we need a quiet talk," Jo said as she strode toward the gorge. Carrying this woman was easy. The tourist guide couldn't have weighed more than 125 pounds. Jo had curled that much in training. That meant she could cradle-carry twice that weight if she wanted to. Her captive was struggling to escape, but Jo's arms were strong enough to keep Nadia's arms and legs clamped tightly in place. Reaching the edge of the drop, she saw a narrow rope bridge that crossed the gorge. Some steps led down to it. The older woman hung on to her like grim death as she carried her down the steep steps to the bridge.
"You have no right to do this!" the older woman wailed. "Let me go! Put me down, you bitch!"
"Dont make me have to hurt you," Jo warned, letting Nadia feel the strength of her arms as she hoisted her captive six inches higher. "I can beat you into a pulp if I want to - and I'm in just the right mood to do it if you annoy me."
Nadia was silent. She had the sense to realise that the nearly six foot tall Jo was a lot stronger than she was. She stayed quiet until Jo decided to step out onto the swaying rope bridge. Then she began to panic.
"We'll fall!" she screamed.
The woman continued screaming and fighting to break free as Jo walked out over the 200 foot drop. But it made no difference to Jo. Nothing that the older woman could do could break the steely grip of her arms. She simply carried her captive even farther out on to the swaying rope bridge 200 feet above the stony river bed.
Jo stopped right in the middle of the bridge. "Now I'm going to ask you to think again," she said quietly. "What happened to my sister?"
"I don't know your sister."
"Okay," Jo turned, swinging Nadia out over the rope hand-rail so that she was hanging over the two hundred foot drop. Nadia screamed horribly, writhing and squirming in the sixteen year-old's grip, but she was entirely dependent on Jo's long arms for support. In fact Jo's arms were now the only things between her and the rocky gorge floor.
"I'll ask you one last time," the sixteen year-old said slowly. "So think. Not many twenty year-old girls will have come to you wanting to trek all the way to the temples. So what happened? You better tell me quickly. My arms are weakening." That was a lie. Nadia's 125 pounds seemed like nothing to Jo now. She knew that her arms were strong enough to carry this woman for most of the rest of the afternoon if she wanted them to.
Nadia, on the other hand, was shaking with terror. "I don't know where your sister went," she admitted. "I only saw her once. All I know is that I sent her to a local guide, a young man from the village."
"What was his name?"
"He's called Jin. He lives in Kamban village, not far from here. He should be there now."
"Good." Jo looked at the terrified woman, who seemed to be telling the truth at last. "You could have made that a lot easier on yourself if you'd just taken the time to be more helpful." At last she swung her back in across the hand-rail. Nadia sobbed with relief as Jo turned to walk back across the bridge, carrying her terrified burden back to solid ground.
"I'll report you to the police!" Nadia said, the last of her terror vanishing as soon as they got off the bridge. She again began writhing and struggling to be free. "You won't get away with this. I'll see that you go to jail!"
"Okay..." Jo gave a scowl. "Enough is enough." She set the woman down on her feet, gathering her right hand into a heavy fist. "Sorry about this. But I warned you..." Half closing her eyes, she set her long arm in motion. Nadia didn't even see the blow coming until it was a millisecond from impact - too late for her even to flinch.
CRACCKKKK!
Jo hadn't used more than seventy percent of the power in her arm, but it was more than enough. Nadia dropped like a stone. She lay slumped on the ground, unmoving, like an oversize rag doll. Jo studied her for a moment, then bent, forcing her long arms beneath the body. Then she stood, lifting the 125 pound dead weight high in her arms once more. She allowed herself a wry grin. She should have done this earlier. Carrying the unconscious body was a lot easier, and quieter, than restraining a struggling captive. This was child's play now. She turned and carried the twenty five year-old woman's body down toward the riverside. "You really ought to be more pleasant," she said - even though it was quite clear that Nadia was unable to hear her.
It took nearly ten minutes for her to carry her burden down the 200 feet stairway to the river. She knew there were boats there to take her back to the resort. She felt the pleasant swell of her biceps as they placed the still-unmoving body in the back of one of the boats. Her punch had been very potent. Nadia showed no sign of coming round even when the boat pulled in just outside the town twenty minutes later. The thirty year-old's jaw was swollen where Jo's blow had struck, and the bruising seemed to be getting steadily worse. Nadia would have an unpleasant week or two recovering from the after-effects of Jo's punch - even if her jaw wasn't broken. Jo tied up the boat and used the arm that had done the damage to feel gently about the older woman's jaw. The bones did feel loose. It probably was broken. She moved her hand down to check Nadia's pulse and breathing. Those seemed okay. The older woman would probably begin to come round in a few minutes. Even so, she had to wait. As she lifted the body out of the boat, and then sat waiting nearby, Jo couldn't help being pleased at the effectiveness of her punch. The thirty year-old had been out cold for nearly forty minutes now, and she hadn't even hit her as hard as she was capable. Jo flexed her right arm, inspecting the swelling muscle. "I'm one six foot tall mean machine." she said to herself.
It was another ten minutes before Nadia began to come round, and Jo could safely leave her. The tour guide was groggy, and found it hard to speak. Jo placed the woman's purse and keys beside her. "You'd better lie there for a bit more before you try to get up," she said as she got back in the boat and started the outboard motor.
Kampan village was a small settlement about two miles down the coast. Jo found the man she wanted after asking two people for directions. Jin was a tall young man of twenty-one who was sitting in the doorway of one of the thatched village houses. "My name's Jo," she said. "I believe that you were the last person to see my sister three months ago. She wanted a guide to the mountain temples."
"Your sister?" He stared at her. "Yes I saw a woman who looked like you. She was going to the north to see the old temples. I was her guide for part of the way. I told her it was dangerous."
"You need to show me where you took her."
"I can't do that." He shook his head.
"Why not?" Jo said. "I'll pay you."
"It's too dangerous now." Jin stood. He was quite strongly built, and taller than the average person here, but he still stood two inches shorter than Jo, even though he must have weighed about the same. "There are bandits operating up there in the forests. Leave finding your sister to the police. You're too young to go after her. Pack your bags and go home."
"No." Jo said firmly, standing in front of him. "I've come a long way to find her, and I want you to help me."
"No way." He shook his head. "I have no time for that. I have other tourists to look after."
"Not today," she said with a frown. Stepping forward, she bent, swept her arms beneath Jin's legs and back, and then lifted him up off the ground. She enjoyed the feeling as her biceps contracted, overcoming the resistance of his bodyweight. Jo was surprised how easy it was for her to sweep him off his feet, even though he weighed as much as she did. Her arms were definitely a lot stronger than they'd been even a few months ago.
Jin gave a cry of alarm and tried to struggle free as she picked him up. But much as he objected, he found that he could do nothing to stop this teenage girl lifting him in her arms. He felt it happen, he could see it happening, but it was still hard to believe that it was happening. This foreign teenage girl was amazingly strong! She had hoisted him off the ground, and was holding him cradled in her arms in front of everyone. His feet kicked impotently as one of her strong arms held his legs firmly in place. The other crushed his arms into his sides, stopping him from escaping.
Turning, the sixteen year-old made her way through the stunned crowd and strode out of the village on a northward path along the beach. The villagers just watched in stunned silence as this American teenager carried the twenty one year-old off.
"Let me down." He said loudly, when he realised that they were leaving the village. He tried to struggle, but the solid bronzed arms that held him five feet above the ground were amazingly resilient. They just didn't give.
"I'm not putting you down anytime soon." Jo said. "You're coming with me."
Jo had enjoyed the shock and astonishment on Jin's face when she had picked him up so easily, and she was still enjoying the control she had over the older male as she continued to carry him along the beach. She felt elated and powerful, as if she could carry him for miles. She didn't have a firm plan yet of what she was going to do. But it was enough that she had disrupted the twenty-one year old's plans and she would be able to talk to him in peace and quiet.
"I've got to go back," Jin said. "I've got work to do at the hotel."
"That's why I'm taking you in the opposite direction," she said. "You'd better take it easy, because there's nothing you can do about it."
"But you're only sixteen."
"Yes... And?"
"I'm twenty one years old! You should respect me!"
"Just because I'm younger than you doesn't mean I'm not in charge," Jo said. "You'd better get used to the idea of doing just what I say."
"No!" Jin blazed into anger. "I won't do what you say!" With a wrench, he tore his hand free to make a grab at her face.
"Stop that!" She leaned her head back out of the way. "- or I'll do something about it."
"What will you do?" His voice was scornful.
Jo stopped and set him on his feet. She wasn't feeling in that much of a good mood now anyway. It was time that she gave this cocky young man a lesson in being co-operative. Her arms felt a little cramped from the long carry. She felt like giving them a different sort of exercise. It would feel good. It wouldn't feel nearly so good for Jin though. Her hand gathered into a fist - then she moved it, up and across.
CRACKK! Her blow caught him on the side of the face and sent him spinning to the ground.
"Oooooooow!" He wailed as he fell his length in the sand. Jo already knew how strong she was. But even though she'd been carrying him for ten minutes, Jin was astonished by just how hard she could hit, and by the shocking amount of pain her blows could inflict. Jo smirked at the surprise and anguish on his face. She liked that.
But his shock turned quickly to anger as he got back up to his feet. There was a large bruise swelling visibly on the side of his face where her blow had struck home, and the full effect of the pain was just beginning to kick in. Jo was expecting this reaction. Guys hated it when a girl got a really good and painful hit in against them, and they often came back strong. She took a half step backward to give herself just the right amount of space for her arms to take the optimum swing. She decided to go for two more blows, but with an awful lot of strength behind them. That would be enough to show her adversary that her first punch had been no accident, and also that she was someone who it really didn't pay to annoy.
Jin was angry, but he swung wildly. Avoiding his blow was child's play. Now it was her turn. She focussed her effort. Speed and accuracy were the key, but to those she was going to add a good degree of power.
KRAKKK! KRUNKK! Her two blows slammed into his face and breastbone with satisfying force, eliciting two loud howls of pain.
Jin was flat-out on the ground again, moaning in pain, blood running down his face. Jo couldn't help feeling slightly sorry for the twenty one year-old. She also felt a thrill of power. She loved being this strong. She was only sixteen and this guy hadn't touched her. Instead he was lying there, dazed and in shock at her feet. It was a great feeling to knock all the fight out of a guy and still have something to spare. He would think hard about opposing her now. She watched him try to get back up, but he wasn't able. Twice he stumbled to his hands and knees, only to fall back down again into the sand. Her punches were certainly having their effect today. She bent down and picked him up in her arms once more. He winced as her strong arms took his weight and swept him off the ground, but he didn't struggle. "Now this time you stay very still," she said.
"Oww! You hurt me!" he said.
"Then don't make me do it again." Jo hefted him higher in her arms.
"Are all American girls this strong?"
"Not all of them," she grinned. "You just got lucky with me. I'm particularly strong - and you better believe that I'll beat the crap out of you if you don't do exactly as I say."
The words sounded brash, but Jo knew now that she could carry out the threat if she needed to. Jin had nothing to hurt her, and even after all that she'd done, she still felt full of strength. The weakness from her long days of sickness was gone.
She waded out toward the boat she had left here and placed him in the front.
"Where are you taking me?" he asked.
"Don't speak." Jo could have told him, but she was enjoying her ability to give commands to the twenty one year-old - commands that he didn't now dare to disobey in case she hit him again. He remained very quiet indeed as she pulled herself into the back of the boat and started the outboard engine. "I know just the place."
Soon they were speeding across the calm blue water toward a maze of small islands several miles away. "We took a trip out here when I arrived," Jo said, steering the canoe between the islands. She pulled in to a small island with a single hut and a jetty. "There are a lot of old tourist huts here that aren't being used this season." She looked around. It was starting to get dark. "Okay. You can get out now."
Jin looked reluctant to move.
"Do you want me to lift you out?"
"No." Jin stumbled out of the canoe and on to shore as Jo disabled the outboard.
"What are we doing here?" he said.
"We're going to talk, and tomorrow morning, you're going to take me where you took my sister. But first... Here," she threw some cans at him. "Go inside the hut and prepare something for us to eat."
"I will not do woman's work for you."
"You will," Jo said.
"Why?"
"Because of these," Jo stretched her arms out wide and flexed. She knew just how impressive they looked like this. "Now do what I tell you - or they will punish you again."
Jin grumbled, but he did what he was told. he even agreed to help her find her sister. It was when the time came to leave the island the next morning that things changed.
"No." Jin said, when it was time to board the boat again. "I'm not going with you! The journey is too dangerous."
"It's not that dangerous," Jo said. "And I need to find my sister."
"I don't care about your sister!" Jin said. "She was a stupid girl like you. She wouldn't be warned. I'm not going back!" he strode away.
Jo stepped in front of him to prevent him leaving. He grabbed her arms and tried to push her aside, but the nearly six foot tall Jo quickly proved the stronger. Her arms twisted themselves free of his grip, pushed him back, then gripped him around the waist from behind. Feeling strong, she decided to try a wrestling move.
She tightened her grip around his waist, feeling him gasp as her power drove the wind out of his body. Then with a low grunt of effort, she hoisted him off the ground so that his feet were dangling a foot above the sand. He was surprised enough by this. But this was only the first part. With a powerful wrench, she twisted her arms, swinging his whole body around through 180 degrees like the sails of a windmill, until his legs were kicking in the air and his head was hanging down above the sand. He gave a wail of surprise, pain and alarm. He'd never expected her to do this to him! She grinned and drew a breath. That was the major bit of work done, and she still felt strong. Now she raised him an inch or two higher, letting his legs and body fall back over her left shoulder. Clamping her arms around his upper body, she completed the move. Now she held him securely, his back arched over her shoulder, his legs flailing uselessly down her back. She had him helpless, unable to free himself or even move. And this was a very painful hold - for the victim at least.
"Aiiiii!" he cried out. "Owwww! You're hurting me! You're breaking my back!"
"Is that uncomfortable for you?" Jo said, turning to face the sea. "You know I feel quite comfortable like this. And I can keep you up there for just as long as I want." That was the truth too, Jo realised. Now that she'd got Jin up across her shoulder, all the work was done. She could hold him there for ever with almost no effort.
By the sounds coming from the twenty one year-old, however, things were very different for him. Gravity was pulling all his weight down against the small of his back, and he was clearly in a lot of pain.
"Ooooougghhh!" he moaned. "Stop! Stop! Please put me down!"
"First of all we're going to have to come to an agreement," Jo said slowly, holding his shoulders carefully in place so that he couldn't wriggle off her shoulder. "I'll pay you two hundred dollars to show me exactly where you took my sister. But it must be the truth. You must tell me everything, and I don't want any tricks. Okay?"
"Okay. Okay!" Jin was squirming and writhing. "Anything you say! Just please let me down!"
"Not so fast," Jo said, keeping him exactly where he was. "I want you to get the full benefit of this little demonstration. I don't want you forgetting what I can do if I get displeased with you. I may only be sixteen but I'm very strong, and I can do a lot worse than this if I get really mad. Do you understand?"
"Yes. I understand! Please stop now!"
"I'll stop when it pleases me," she said. "And that will be when I'm sure that you have the right attitude."
"Please! Please! What do I have to say?" Jin sounded really desperate. "I can't guide you if you break my back!"
"You're not convincing me," Jo said. "I need to be convinced." she shrugged her shoulders, producing a scream of pain from her captive. "I'm waiting."
"I'm sorry!" Jin begged. "I'll be loyal, I promise. I'll take you where you want to go. I'll do exactly as you say. You are the boss - I swear!"
"All right," Jo said, relenting at last. "I'll believe you. But you'd better mean what you said." She walked up the beach, bent her knees and let Jin roll off her shoulder onto the dry sand. He lay there for a while groaning in pain and trying to massage life back into his legs and back.
"I can do that again any time I feel like it," Jo said, stretching her long body. "Now let's go."
"Yes, miss," Jin said.