Infection

All characters in the following story are above the age of 18. The events and circumstances are entirely fictional and should not be re-enacted in the real world outside of consensual role-play. Always be safe, always get consent, and always take care of your partners.

*****

Chapter One

Mark raised his voice to be heard above the noise, "I can't take this anymore!"

I tensed up. It was another classic bad first date, complete with horrible restaurant, lack of conversation, and a crowd of other people. This is the part where I smile, nod, and wait for the evening to end. I've already lost him. It's a shame... he seemed nice when he first came in.

"You wanna bounce?" He gestured toward the door. "I think this place is a bust."

I nodded, offering a sheepish grin. Apparently I wasn't the only person who disliked how this evening was going.

He rose first, and parted the throng of people milling about. I followed him quickly, ready to be free of the chaos and get back to my apartment. As we exited the building I couldn't help but notice him all over again. In reality he was probably just an inch or two taller than me, but as he carved a path for us he seemed ...taller somehow? I focused in on a freckle he had just above the collar of his dress shirt, right below his hair line. There was something about that freckle, it made me want to see more. "

No

" I thought to myself. "

Quit drooling over him and get your butt home

."

Much to my relief, we quickly freed ourselves of the crowded restaurant and began our walk toward the parking lot.

"Hey," he said, walking backwards, "Sorry about that place. A friend of mine recommended it..." He flashed a sardonic smile, "Something about 'the perfect spot' for a first date."

I nodded and put on a forced smile. "I guess your friend doesn't care much for talking?"

He smiled back, "I guess not..." He paused as we reached the hoard of cars. "

I

do though." He seemed to be sizing me up. "What should we do now?"

"Now?" I asked, trying to muster up the strength to tell him goodnight. It seemed a good time to end our date, but I just kept thinking about that freckle on the nape of his neck.

"Well, the folks that set us up seemed to think we'd be a match..." he flashed a toothy smile "Come on, I feel bad about my choice of spots. Let me at least take you some place and buy you dinner."

"I..." I could go back to my apartment. My cat would be waiting there and I might even be able to find something decent to watch.

"I

promise

I won't bite." His smile was still there, but it was colored with some other emotion, sadness? Loneliness? No, that wasn't it... I took a moment to size him up.

I met Mark at our University. He was a bit older than me, but he was kind and always went out of his way to say hello. He was one of the research faculty which meant he 'didn't have to worry about us baby undergrads,' and although I had a class near his lab, he wasn't affiliated with my department. There was no conflict of interest for us to see one another so I could do a lot worse...

"Dinner sounds lovely," I responded, "But I want to go Dutch."

He seemed surprised by my response, but quickly recovered. He was joking again, "Fine, but at

least

let me drive us there. Save on fuel and all that."

I smiled, and this time it wasn't fake, this time it wasn't forced. He turned around and began walking toward his car and I followed at his heels. There was that freckle again, in the dim light of street lamps it seemed even more mysterious - even more alluring. Maybe tonight wouldn't end as tragically as I thought. Maybe tonight wouldn't be a classic bad first date.

Chapter Two

I woke up sweating, again. Why couldn't I sleep? What was I so afraid of, shadows? S-something... chasing me? I wiped the sweat from my brow and glanced at my phone. "3:30 AM," I said to no one in particular, "This has to stop."

I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed a pair of shorts from my nightstand. As I made my way to the kitchen I found myself remembering the rest of my date. We'd driven to a little eatery a couple of miles from the parking lot. "A good place to talk," He'd joked.

"Just water," we both responded when our waitress asked about our drinks.

I helped myself to some water from my kitchen tap. In the dead of night, the kitchen seemed more ominous than usual. A lot of things seemed more ominous lately, even in broad daylight. The news reports had been vague but constant; a new strain of S.A.R.S. infecting large populations in Asia, reports of violence inside the quarantined cities, mass recalls on Asian food products. There were even a few reports of quarantines happening back here in the States.

My mind slipped back to Mark and our conversation in the diner. "What is it you research?" I asked him, glad I decided to continue our date.

He seemed a little distracted by the question, "Oh, a little genetics, a little drug development." He took a gulp from his water glass. "New cancer drugs, stuff like that."

"That's it?" I joked, "You make cancer drugs and you aren't going to play that up? I'm going into education because I want to help people, but you're on the cutting edge. It must be exciting!"

He didn't seem amused. He played it down... moved away from my attempt at humor. "It's really just where all of the money is funneled." He paused for a few awkward seconds before continuing. "So, you want to be a teacher?"

A full body shiver broke my remembrance. "Someone must be walking over my grave..." I set down my empty water glass and started back toward my bedroom. It had been a good date, I even agreed to meet him a second time. He had an energy about him that I found... intriguing? We felt compatible in a way I hadn't experienced on other first dates.

"I had a really good time tonight," he said, driving back into the parking lot where we'd left my car. "What about you?"

I was honest. "Surprisingly, yes. I had a great time!"

"Surprisingly?" he laughed, "It's been a while since I managed to pull a good evening like this off." He parked the car, "You'll have to let me take you out again sometime."

"I'd like that," I blushed.

"Asher..." It felt wonderful to hear him say my name, "May I kiss you?" He leaned over the front dashboard and cupped my cheek.

The butterflies in my stomach were going insane. "I'd like that too..."

I slipped back into my bed and pulled the sheets to my chin. "Sleep!" I ordered myself, not truly expecting much success. Maybe I just wasn't meant to get any sleep...

Chapter Three

My phone rang.

I stared at it a few seconds before scrambling to answer it. It was a restricted number.

"Hello?" I answered.

The voice on the other line was frighteningly calm. "Hey, it's me."

Why was Mark calling me so late?

"I'm on my way to your apartment now," he continued.

How did he know where I?

"I have to hang up now. Please just lock your door and wait until I get there." That was it, he was gone.

I sat in silence for a few minutes, holding the phone to my ear. I heard a police car go by outside, then several more.

The cat jumped onto my lap. "JESUS!" I pulled away and smacked my head on the wall. "God DAMMIT Jose!" She looked up at me with glossy eyes so I picked her up and gave her a quick snuggle. "Well, should we go see what's on the news, baby?"

That's when the power went out. I stood, alone but for my cat, in the middle of the living room. Something felt really wrong, my gut was screaming for me to run. Jose jumped out of my arms and fled into the bedroom.

I flinched when a heard the first noise, a low moaning coming from next door. Mrs. Walker had been sick for several days now and I hadn't heard a single peep. "Maybe I should go check on her?" I thought, "At least it will give me something to do."

I opened my front door and walked over, "Mrs. Walker?" I knocked, "Dear, it's Ash from next door... You all right in there?" The moaning sounded dreadful, like she was in some kind of pain. "I'm gonna let myself in, I just want to make sure you're okay."

I used the spare key she left under her mat to let myself into her apartment. She was a sweet old thing. Her husband had passed on shortly before I came to University, and she spent most of her time watching old soap operas. We occasionally made conversation in the hall and she was always inviting me over for dinner. One of these days I'd have to take her up on that offer.

The apartment smelled wrong, foul even. She wasn't in the living room so I called out again, "Mrs. Walker?"

I was grabbed from behind and forced against the wall, a hand covering my mouth to keep me from screaming.

"Shhh..." was that Mark's voice? He continued in a frantic whisper, "I thought I told you to lock your door! What the

fuck

are you doing over here? Don't you know ho-"

He was cut off by fresh moans from Mrs. Walker's bedroom. His face turned white.

"Out," he whispered slowly, "We're leaving, right now."

As he began to pull me toward the hall I managed wiggle free, "What the

hell

, Mark?" I pushed him back, "I'm

going

to check on Mrs. Walker." I opened the door to her bedroom and froze.

She was standing there, her shoulders hunched and haggard. Her skin didn't look right, it was tinged a green sickly color. At her feet was Mr. Parsons, our building manager. H-he... He was m-missing chunks from his face.

"M-mrs. Walker?" I couldn't move my body.

She slowly turned around, her movements clunky and awkward. Blood gurgled from her open maw, and the entire front of her body was covered in gore. But I couldn't look away from her eyes - They were inflamed, like she hadn't blinked in days.

She lunged at me, shrieking and clamoring like a mad-woman. I c-couldn't move!

Mark grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the doorway. With one precise motion he grabbed a hand pistol from inside his belt, aimed, and ended what was left of my elderly neighbor.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the carnage.

"It wasn't supposed to happen like this!" His face was flushed, but he calmer now that he'd dispatched Mrs. Walker.

"M-Mrs. Walker?" I looked up at him.

Our eyes locked but my gaze seemed to disturb him, "Don't look at me like that... h-he used to look at me like that..."

What is he talking about? "W-what the fuck was that thing?" My breathing was out of control, I couldn't slow it down. My mind was spinning a million miles a minute. This was very wrong.

His eyes softened. "There's been an accident." The words looked like they pained him. "W-we... we brought a specimen back to the lab from Asia... we thought we could keep it contained..."

The lab? His lab? What d-did he mean by specimen?

"We thought it would be safer to run the experiments here... we thought... w-we..." Tears swelled up in his eyes. "It was supposed to be safe, no more risks, no more accidents..."

He wasn't looking at me anymore. His gaze was somewhere in the past, like he was reliving a trauma he couldn't escape. I edged towards the hall door, needing to get away.

"I

told

him," he continued, "I told him we should have stayed here, that it wasn't our disease to cure, but that's in the past... it won't be like that this time," His eyes found me again. "They won't hurt you like they hurt him."

Shit, shit, shit. If I ran now I wouldn't make it, but what were my other options?

My half second of indecision was all he needed. He crossed the gap between us, pinning me against the wall.

His face was inches from mine. He cocked his head to the side, keeping both of my wrists against wall with only one of his hands. I shook in terror as he caressed my cheek.

"Shhh..." he whispered, his breath hot on my cheek. "Daddy's got you, you're safe. You're safe..." His hand left my cheek and he reached into his coat pocket.

"Oh no... No, no,

no

!" I whimpered unable to move. I closed my eyes and pleaded, "Not like this..." A needle pinched the skin on my right arm. "O-ow... Mark you're h-hurting me."

"No, no baby..." he cooed, "Daddy just needs to make you sleep."

Oh god, he's drugging me?

"We have to get out of the city..." His eyes looked almost tender, "You're safe, you're safe..."

I started slumping down against the wall. Why are we l-leaving the city? Wh-where... is h-he...? I was spinning... shapes were melting...

"Daddy's got you..."

Chapter Four

My head... oh god... what happened to my head? I felt like I was waking up from some kind of awful nightmare. Why did my body feel so heavy? My neck felt like I'd slept in a vice. When I tried to move my one of my arms, the other seemed to follow. What in the...?

"Shit," I whimpered. My arms were tied behind my back.

I re-lived the whole evening. Him smiling at my jokes, our dinner date, the phone call, Mrs. Walker's apartment, the pain of the needle as he... as h-he...

I sluggishly rolled to my side in what appeared to be a large king size bed. Not only were my arms immobilized behind me, but my legs were tied at both the knees and ankles. I-i wasn't wearing the same clothes. I'd been changed into a set of winter pajamas. Even my cheek felt different like I'd just been freshly shaved.

I heard heavy footsteps and a door creaked opened behind me.

"Who... who is there?" I fumbled my words, "P-please... where are we?"

I felt the bed shift as another body climbed on. A hand caressed my right arm, and whoever it belonged to settled in behind me.

"S-stop, please. You're s-scaring me..." It felt surreal; I couldn't be the person saying these words.

The hand stopped caressing, but the heat coming off of the body behind me did little to ease my terror.

"I have someone who is

very

anxious to greet you," It was Mark's voice, "But she's still pretty scared, so try to stay calm."

I felt a familiar set of paws knead into my side, "Jose? Jose, is that you, girl?" A low purring ensued, and something inside me began to calm. If Mark had been holding Jose, he couldn't be all that bad... could he?

"She insisted on coming with us," he began to caress my upper arm again, "And I couldn't just leave her there, not with..."

He grew silent. Jose's purring filled the room with its soothing vibrations.

I decided to speak, "My a-arms are very sore, could you... untie me?"

"You can't run." Mark sounded distant again, like he had back in the apartment. "There's no place to run to," He squeezed my arm gently, "And you're safe here..."

I felt myself shake, tears welling up to the surface. I choked them back down as best I could. "Where is here?"

"You have to understand," his hands wandered my body as he pulled even closer, "I had to get us out of the city, I had to get you away..." He paused to kiss the back of my neck, "...and you're saf - No, no, baby, don't do that..."

Sobs racked my body. I was losing it; He'd shot Mrs. Walker, kidnapped me, tied me up, drugged me - He wasn't stable! Why was he so unbearably close? "P-please untie m-me..."

His hand came up and covered my mouth just in time to stifle a scream. "Shhh... I've got you..." his chest warmed my back, his slow inhales working to bring calm my nerves "When you calm down I'll show you around. You'll be okay, you'll see..."

Jose seemed perfectly content to snuggle into my side, seemingly unaware of my distress.

"See," Mark reached out and stroked her fur, "Trust your pussy,"

Tears streamed down my face but, in spite of everything, I laughed. He may be unhinged, but the man can tell a joke.

Chapter Five

The house must have cost Mark a small fortune. It seemed to be secluded somewhere far in the mountains, with snowy evergreen trees spreading as far as the eye could see. There was no paved road, no mailbox, no power lines; we were completely alone.

"It's 200 acres of wilderness," he offered, seeming to sense my trepidation. "And the rest of the surrounding area is a national forest."

Of course it was. I stretched my legs and did some small shoulder rolls in an effort to loosen up. My body was still strained from being bound and drugged, and even now I wasn't fully free to move. After I had 'calmed down' he'd untied my legs but left the knots on my arms alone.

"I'll help you adjust," he said, as though it were a comfort.

I had returned to consciousness the house's master bedroom, on the second floor. Rounding out the upstairs was a large bathroom and study, complete with lavish window seat. Downstairs was a full kitchen, a walk-in pantry, a small entry room, and a spacious den.

"The house is designed to be as green as possible and is mostly self-sustaining." He seemed delighted to be showing me around. "The chimney wraps around the foundations of the house allowing a small amount of wood to keep us warm." He cracked a smile, "Not that you need to worry about that with me around."

I visibly cringed.

"...Of course, the obvious question," he changed the subject, "is where does the power come from?"

He waited for my response, and I decided to be vindictive. "Let me guess, you run your other captives on treadmills in the basement."

It was his turn to cringe.

"I..." he started a train of thought, but then decided to remain on topic. "No... it's a combination of solar and hydroelectric - there's a strong underground river below the house. The basement is actually larger than everything up here - there's an indoor greenhouse, a gym, a small generator for emergencies," he studied my face. "What do you think?"

I couldn't keep up the small talk, "How long are you going to keep me here? Don't you think someone will come looking for me? You shot Mrs. Walker! She looked sick but you ca-"

He crossed the room and grabbed me into a bear hug. "There isn't any place for you to go." It wasn't a threat; it was a statement of fact. "Things are... happening outside. You won't be safe." his voice was sincere, "I didn't want to take you like that, but there wasn't any time..."

I was shaking again, my face buried in his chest. "Why did you bring me here?"

He took a small step back, examined my face as if mystified. With his right hand he gently guided my chin upwards, his left hand rested on the small of my back.

Then he kissed me; briefly, adeptly.

I pulled back from him, "I... I w-won't..."

He held me firmly, "Your lips are dry," I turned my head away, so he kissed my cheek, "Come with me to the kitchen, you should drink something."

He broke contact with me slowly, wandering away toward the kitchen. My eyes caught the freckle on the back of his neck.

I... I don't have all the facts... what

is

happening back in the city? Why didn't he seem to care about shooting my sick neighbor?

Those questions could wait, a much more pressing, much more disturbing question came to bare. Why are my knees weak? Why... why am I blushing?

Why do I want him to come back?

I looked out the living room window. It was getting dark outside and I wasn't prepared for a night of captivity. He'd kissed me, made it clear to me through his actions and words that I was a prisoner, and when we toured the house there had only been one bed. He

had

changed my clothes while I was drugged... what else had he done? What was he going to do tonight?

I made my way to the kitchen table, but my mind was solely focused on the darkening sky. He put a blue straw in my water glass, so I could drink while bound. I cautiously sipped water from the glass, worried it might be drugged - worried I wouldn't be able to stop him if... I mean

when

he-