Last time in, Lovin' in the Apocalypse!
Married couple, Tom and Rachel seek shelter after a long day of avoiding a mob of infected humans. A simple mistake nearly led to disaster and forced the couple to bunker down in an abandoned fire truck. After a steamy night in a tight spot, strangers reached out to them with an offer of safety.
Was the offer legit? Will Tom and Rachel finally find a place to live? What about these mysterious survivors in suspiciously good shape? Find out now!
Chapter 2: A Fresh Start
"We're from North Carolina, originally. My family lived in a small, rural town and when things went bad, we stayed with them. For a while it was good. Not a lot of infected ones and plenty of open space. But even those places fall eventually. The first thing that ran out was the food, the same problem everywhere has. We had to go out and loot for supplies and that led to us being discovered by bandits. Most of our family did not make it out and those of us who did were not in good shape. One by one until it was just us..." Tom's eyes grew distant as he tried to remember the faces of his loved ones.
"We found a settlement not long after that." Rachel picked up the thread of the story. "A place in Tennessee that was previously a military base. They did really well for a while but once it began to sink in for people that this would not end, panic and fear took over. The soldiers tried to keep everything under control but a young man shot a woman in self defense and the whole place turned into a madhouse. We managed to get out right as a huge mob of infected broke through the walls. We kept moving west."
Cameron looked at them through the rear view mirror. "Damn. It sounds like we've been lucky. Our place is the only one we've been in. There's been a few close calls with the infected and raiders but we've handled it." The truck slowed as Cameron navigated the vehicle over a washed out part of the asphalt. "Maybe it's the elevation? It's hard to walk over mountains."
"It's a miracle that we made it here." Tom reached over and squeezed Rachel's knee. "It helps not being alone.
The man crammed into the back of the truck and sitting next to Rachel spoke. He was part of Cameron and Kelsey's scouting team and had been posted on a nearby roof. He was watching through a sniper scope when Tom and Rachel emerged from the station. Gregg is an average looking man with buzzed hair who held himself with military formality. He seemed like a brooding type. "Closer to the beginning, there were problems with the infected getting in or someone hiding a bite or exposure mark. Then there were raiders that would attack our scouts and a few groups tried to attack us and take the place down. We've had a lot of recent issues with suicides."
"So there's no gladiator pit or systematic oppression happening here?" Rachel's tone was flat and not at all ironic.
Kelsey snorted. She was lounging in the front seat of the truck with her black boots up on the dash. "Good god, no. That would be wild as fuck." She noticed how serious their faces were. "Oh, you're serious?"
"In Georgia, a group was using a football stadium as a base. It was one of the places the government directed people to in the beginning. They've gone completely Mad Max in that place. Demolition derbies, animal fighting, so many insane events that leave people maimed or worse." Rachel shuddered at the bloody memories.
Tom leaned back in his seat. "A place in Kansas became cult-like, they were sacrificing people and giving women pregnancy quotas. In Alabama, a politician had set themselves up like a king and an actual revolution rose up against him. His head ended up on a pike, no shit. We have heard a lot of crazy shit and seen a little bit of it ourselves. I believe most of the stories."
"I guess our point is, we've seen the worst places you can imagine and we still agreed to come with you. That's how bad it is surviving out in the open. No matter what skeletons you are hiding, we're here for it." Rachel made sure to keep eye contact with Cameron until he broke it.
"That's, enlightening. We've heard some stories and have seen some pretty disturbing situations. But if it's that bad in some camps, I can't imagine how humanity will overcome this." Tom and Rachel sat quietly for a few moments while the people in the truck collected their thoughts. Cameron broke it after a bit. "We don't have any skeletons that would be all that bad but we've all made sacrifices. We've all done things. If you guys can pull your weight and contribute to the needs of the camp, you'll be free to stay."
"That'll be up to the council to decide, dad. You can't make that call."
"I guess we'll see." Cameron winked at Rachel through the rear view mirror and her stomach fluttered a bit. It was just a quick thing, easily dismissed. She leaned over and laid her head on Tom's shoulder and relaxed as everyone swapped stories.
Maybe an hour passed before the signs of civilization began to become obvious. Cameron wove the truck through a series of obstacles that were set to slow down any approaching vehicles. Old cars and concrete blocks scattered about without an obvious way through. Here and there Tom and Rachel spotted traps and deterrents that were used to stop and push back the infected. The area looked like a war camp with trenches and barriers. Men and women with compound bows and crossbows could be seen patrolling the trenches. Some of them were positioned in makeshift sniper towers, holding long rifles with sound suppressors. Behind this line of defense stood walls made out of wooden power poles that were laid together like an old fashioned log cabin. The walls looked to be 15 feet tall and more sturdy than anything Tom and Rachel had seen before.
"Woah. That is impressive." Tom said.
"Took a lot of hard work." Gregg replied. "A lot of blood too. You better be ready to earn these walls."
Rachel looked him in the eyes. "We'll do what we have to."
The warmish water fell out of the shower head in an endless spray. Rachel watched the drain and found it satisfying to see all the grime being cleaned from her skin. She wiggled her bent and calloused toes and tried to remember what it had been like to be soft with dainty feet. After 2 years of constant running, she doubted they would ever look gentle again. Rachel lifted her chin and let the water hit her face and she nearly sobbed in relief. The act of showering was restoring her humanity.
Tom's arms wrapped around Rachel and pulled her close. His rough hands ran along the soft, naked flesh on her stomach and she shivered in delight. His hard cock pressed against her back but he did not act urgently. Tom lathered shampoo into her scalp and Rachel closed her eyes. His fingers expertly loosened her hair and cleaned it from the top down. She was half asleep when he turned her body to rinse the soap out.