Apocalypse Wow

In Part 8...

After a somewhat cagey start in the house, Caroline shared her story with the others, her background as a Marine doctor and her survival on the First Day.

Along with it, she was able to tell them more about how the world ended, how the red-eyes spread across the world like lightening, about how only men seemed to be affected and how the government tried to use thermonuclear devices to stop them.

And a new plan was formed to return to the Durden hospital so Caroline could acquire the equipment she needed to start answering some of their questions about what happened and, ultimately, about whether Jim could really be the last man alive.

***

It's the End of the World as Jim Knows it.

Part 9 - "You guys never heard of a bedroom?"

***

So it's been a couple of weeks since... How are you feeling?

*I'm OK... I'm not late or anything, not yet anyway.

When will you know?

*Another week or so I guess.

Are you excited?

*Of course I am Jim! Are you kidding?! I wouldn't have done it if I wasn't sure I wanted it.

Yeah... yeah I guess.

*Feeling a little guilty are we?

Dani, come on...

*Jim, you know how I feel about you going out scouting. I understand your reasons, but you can't honestly expect me to like 'em. And don't expect me to feel sorry for you that you might miss the birth of... how many will this be exactly?

Jesus... I... well... Shit. Don't laugh Dani, fuck. I haven't got a clue.

*Don't worry about it Jim, honestly. I don't know how you could possibly keep track!

I used to know... hell, I used to know everyone's name. Now I can't even figure out how many grandkids I've got!

*How could you Jim? Give yourself a break. When you were my age, that might have been weird or whatever but... like we always say...

It's a new world.

*Right. You ready to keep going?

Sure, yeah, let's do it. The second run to the hospital, right?

*Right.

OK. Well, there was no movie that night, the night before the run. We'd wanted to go to bed early I guess but we actually ended up staying up pretty late just talking.

Something had really changed that night. And I know it was Chloe that was responsible for it. If she hadn't come on out and just asked Caroline how she was doing we might not have... Well... anyway, if there had been any doubt up to that point, and I'm not saying there was, it was a sure thing now. Caroline was one of us. She was as much at home in the house after that night as any of the rest of us.

We set out pretty early next morning. I was with Chloe in her dad's electric truck, she was driving by the way. She hadn't driven at all since she'd joined us and I guess it made sense to give her the practice. Simone had no interest though, said she'd always hated driving, so Caroline drove with her in the SUV.

We took it pretty easy through Old Sal but, like before, there was nothing really. Only movement we saw was stuff blowing in the wind. It was actually kind of eerie, a real ghost town.

I brought it up with Chloe on the way, how what she'd asked Caroline at dinner the night before had been such a good idea. I told her I was proud of her and then immediately regretted it. It sounded so... I don't know, patronizing or something when I heard myself actually saying it, even though it was genuinely what I felt.

Anyway, she... she didn't seem to mind. She just smiled a little, kind of sheepishly I guess, and kept driving.

Caroline and Simone were right behind us the whole way. When we made it to Durden, we were all kind of keeping our eyes peeled. We didn't think getting the supplies we needed from the hospital was going to be too difficult. I mean, we knew it would be hard work lugging all that shit around but I guess we didn't think it would be too dangerous. We were well armed and with Caroline's training we felt confident we could keep ourselves safe. But the other part of the plan, that was definitely to the front of all our minds.

So we pretty much crawled through the city but we didn't see anything, nothing we were looking for anyway. When we pulled onto the street with the hospital, I kept trying to see the bodies of the red-eyes Caroline had taken out the last time we were there, but... they were gone. That definitely got me a little nervous.

Chloe turned the truck so it was facing for home and Caroline backed the SUV right up as close as she could to the hospital door.

We went over the plan one more time before Caroline and Simone went inside. Caroline gave Chloe and me some more pointers about watching and listening for red-eyes. It was weird, none of us had ever even spent a minute in the military but just a few days working with Caroline had made us feel so confident in what we were doing. I guess she just has that way with people.

Anyway, the next couple of hours were actually kind of boring. At first Chloe and I were pretty on edge, but there was nothing that caught our attention. Nothing. We'd actually discussed beforehand about being careful and calm, not panicking if we heard any noise that was probably more likely to be a fucking rat or something than a red-eye. But there was nothing. For want of a better word, the whole fucking city seemed... dead.

Caroline had taught us to keep conversation to a minimum so we wouldn't be distracted and so we wouldn't miss any telltale sounds if they did happen but, really, I don't think we needed to discuss it. We both knew the quiet wasn't good. On the one hand, it just seemed too good to be true, that there was no threat to deal with. But then, on the other, if the red-eyes were actually gone or whatever... then we'd never get the answers we were looking for.

The first couple of loads Caroline and Simone brought out were pretty light and we got them packed up easily enough. It got slower after that when they had to go to higher floors in the hospital and lug the stuff down by hand. So it was well into the afternoon by the time the SUV started to seem full. Caroline was happy that she had most of what she'd need to do her testing and research. There was definitely more equipment from the hospital we would have loved to take but we knew we could always come back.

And when they were done, Chloe and I still hadn't seen or heard the slightest sound of a red-eye. Caroline and Simone went back inside with binoculars to try to see if there was anything visible from the roof. Simone thought she saw some movement about ten or fifteen blocks away, but she wasn't totally sure.

We knew in advance that this part of the plan would have to be a little on the fly, but I still felt a lot more nervous about it.

So we decided to use the truck to do a little hunting. Its electric motor was a lot quieter than the SUV and Caroline thought it would give her a decent platform if we found a red-eye she could take from a distance.

So Simone joined Chloe in the front and Caroline jumped onto the bed with me. She had one of the assault rifles with her, as did I. Simone directed us to where she thought she'd seen movement and we took our time. It was a little odd driving around town like that, the whole place totally deserted.

I think we were all pretty much on the verge of giving up when something finally caught Simone's eye.

"There! Look!" she said, kind of whispered actually. We'd just turned a corner onto a narrow street. There weren't many cars or other debris around, which was unusual.

Caroline kind of stuck her head in Chloe's open driver's window. "Stop here," she said, real quiet like, and Chloe brought us to a gentle stop. Maybe a hundred meters ahead of us we could make it out clearly enough. It had its back to us but we knew it was still alive.

"Oh my god," I heard Simone say and I used the binoculars to get a closer look. It was a red-eye alright. And it looked like it was... eating another red-eye. The other one was splayed out on the street, arms and legs spread out and the live one was on its knees next to it kind of digging into the dead one's abdomen with its hands.

I don't know what it was that alerted it to our being there but I did a bit of a jump that was pretty embarrassing when it suddenly turned around to face us.

I was still looking at it through the binoculars when I heard the shot. I think it had just been about to open its mouth to scream. I don't know, maybe that's why Caroline took it right then but, regardless of why she did, it was one hell of a shot. Right between the fucking eyes.

"OK Chlo," she said, "take us closer, easy now. Eyes open Jim."

So Chloe crept the truck forward while Caroline and I scanned the street for any other signs of movement, the muzzles of our rifles following with our eyes so there'd be no delay in taking out any threat we saw.

But it looked like it was alone. When Chloe brought the truck to a stop just short of the freshly killed red-eye, the city was just as silent as it had been all day.

Now, we'd planned for this part. Given what had happened to me after my run in with a red-eye at Chloe's house, I wasn't allowed to go near it. We were pretty sure whatever... turned people only affected men but still, for extra safety Caroline and Simone put on full hazmat suits while Chloe and I kept watch. They spread a tarp on the ground next to it and then carefully rolled it over and wrapped it up. They had it on the back of the truck in no time. We had an extra tarp too so Caroline decided it was a good idea to take the other one as well, the one that had been getting eaten by the first one. That was a little messier but no one argued with Caroline.

We'd spent some time over the previous few days getting the house ready to be a science lab, the garage anyway. We'd cleared out some of my dad's old garbage and set up some tables and benches for the equipment. Caroline had also insisted on setting up a decontamination shower using the garden hose just outside. I rigged up a few of sheets of plywood for privacy.

Once we got back and she and Simone had the two red-eyes inside the garage, they burned their hazmat suits in a barrel and then decontaminated themselves in the shower.

I guess you'd imagine it made the most sense for me to help Caroline with her work, given my science background and all, but Caroline wanted to make sure there was no risk of contamination before she'd let me. So Simone helped her out instead.

Caroline was really eager to get started right away, I guess we all were so Chloe and I unloaded the supplies and equipment from the SUV and Caroline and Simone brought them into the garage and got it all set up or stowed away.

It was getting pretty late but Caroline didn't want to waste any time, the fresher the better as far as she was concerned when it came to dissecting the red-eyes.

I remember their hair was wet from a second decon shower when she and Simone finally came back into the house that evening. It was already dark outside and we were all pretty tired sitting down for dinner.

"I've never seen anything like it," Caroline said. "They look human on the outside but I can't make heads or tails of what's going on inside. The heart seems to be in pretty good condition, I guess it must have been pumping right up to the end but all the other internal organs are in various stages of total atrophy as far as I can see. Like, dead."

"What about the brain? The eyes?" I asked. I wasn't sure if there would have been anything left after the shot Caroline took but the first real symptom of the change was massive pain in the head and, well, red eyes.

"There was obviously some major damage from the bullet," she said, "but the brain is definitely the weirdest part. The red eyes we can see from the outside seem to be some kind of new tissue growth. It's totally absorbed or replaced the eyes. It's just this eye-shaped mass of red tissue, pretty solid. I've never seen anything like it. I'll have to get some samples under the microscope in the morning. It's a little hard to tell because of the bullet trauma but, I think whatever it is that has replaced the eyes has replaced a good deal of the brain as well. It's a bit of a mess in there but there seems to be a lot of that red tissue in the cranial cavity where'd I'd expect normal brain matter to be. The other one's skull is more or less totally intact so I'm hoping we can learn more from that."

So going to bed that night, there was actually a really positive mood in the house. The mission had been a total success, more successful even that we'd hoped. There was a sense, I guess, that maybe, finally, we were going to get some answers.

And it was another early start the next morning. Caroline took about ten vials of blood from me in the kitchen before she and Simone went back to the garage lab.

Now, I have to say, I hadn't done any real science since I was in college, and if any of my former high school students have survived this long and happen to listen to this, I mean no offence by that, and even though my background was more chemistry than biology, it was definitely a little frustrating to know that some real, honest to god scientific research was happening a few feet away and I couldn't get in on it.

I think, maybe, that's why Chloe made the suggestion she did, maybe she thought I needed, I don't know, a distraction I guess.

She'd brought Jerry off for a walk and Caroline and Simone had been working in the garage all morning and when she got back, I was sitting at the kitchen table, probably looking a little glum.

"What's up with you?" she said.

"Wha...? Oh, nothing, it's nothing," I said. "Just wish I could help, you know?"

And I swear to god, she didn't miss a fucking beat.

"Well you know Jim," she said, "I've got something you can help with right here." Swear to god, that's what she said.

She took me by the hand and led me into the living room. And then she shimmied out of her shorts and climbed up onto the sofa, spreading her legs and fucking grinning at me.

"Chlo," I said, "I don't know if... I mean, maybe we should-"

But she cut me off. "Fuck that Jim," she said. "They'll be out there for hours. Come on. Eat me. I'm already getting wet just thinking about it."

I mean, fuck. What was I supposed to do with that? She was rubbing herself a little now. She arched her back and let out this long, heavy sigh.

I think I might have actually said "Fuck it" out loud but I'm not sure. I definitely thought it though because about five seconds later I was climbing between her legs.

She did a kind of giggle and said "Yay!" So I couldn't help but chuckle as I settled in. Now, at this point you are well aware that there are few things I enjoy more than eating pussy so actually, apart from just being excited about the prospect of getting my mouth on Chloe I was also feeling pretty affectionate towards her just then. I mean, she'd seen me looking down and had immediately thought of something that she knew would make me feel better. And I guess it didn't hurt that she was going to get something out of it too.

So, on the one hand I really wanted to make her cum fast, you know, to show her my gratitude but then I also really wanted to make this last.

So I took my time. I could already feel her squirming under me when I slowly drew my tongue along her slit, right up to her clit and I could hear her moaning just a little. I think I smiled to myself. I mean, sure, yes, absolutely, we should've been more careful or whatever but... Shit, I don't know what to tell you. I just loved eating pussy. And Chloe loved having her pussy eaten. We were totally just lost in it.

And I was on fire. I really wanted Chloe to enjoy this. And by this point, having eaten her out quite a few times I guess, I knew exactly what she wanted, what she could take and pretty soon, she was really moving so that I had to use quite a bit of force to hold her in place. Her hips were coming up off the couch and her hands, when they weren't pressing or pulling on my hair, were moving up her body, teasing her nipples.

And like always, when I felt her just about on the edge, I eased her back down, slowing my movement and staying away from her clit.

"Bastard," she whimpered and I guess I smiled to myself again, but I never took my mouth off her. I took my face from her pussy and I kissed her softly and lingered a little on her inner thigh and on her mound before I really went back at it again. I brought my hand up to help this time though and she really gasped when she felt my finger press inside her.

"Fuck... Jim," she moaned and I really grinned this time.

Now, I guess the next sequence of events actually happened more or less all at the same time so, bear with me a little here.

So from my point of view, I wasn't going to hold back this time. I was pressing my fingers just into that spot inside Chloe's pussy that I knew drove her wild while really working her clit with my tongue and my mouth and I was totally focussed on her reactions. She was practically humping my face, arching her back off the couch and all, and I guess she'd gotten pretty loud at this point. I mean, she wasn't fucking screaming or anything, but she was gasping and sort of squealing pretty hard I guess.

And then when she finally did cum, her thighs were pressing on either side of my head. I really want to emphasise this point here, OK? If you had a pair of orgasming thighs wrapped around your head with your mouth clamped down hard on a pussy, I'd like to see if you... well...

Yeah, so, I guess the thing that happened at pretty much the same time was that Simone and Caroline decided to take a break. Now, honestly, I think the understanding that they would have to take a decon shower before they came into the house was one of the things that probably made Chloe and I feel that it was OK to do what we were doing in the living room, you know? Like, the decon shower was such an effort, and they'd brought food and coffee and stuff out there with them, we figured they wouldn't bother until they were finished for the day, right?

Wrong, as it turned out. Way wrong.

They came in the back door together. Later, I figured it was something like eight to ten seconds between Caroline turning the handle of the door and Chloe finally erupting. Simone told me after that they'd been just chatting about something but as soon as they came in and Caroline could hear Chloe... well, I guess she immediately assumed something was wrong, you know? Honestly, I've asked myself the question a lot since but I honestly don't know what I would have thought if it had been me.

Anyway, her instinct, obviously, was to rush to Chloe's aid. Fuck. Simone said she made it from the back door to the alcove that separated the kitchen from the living room in about two steps. And I guess she arrived just in the nick of time for the big finale. And like I said, with Chloe's thighs wrapped around my head and with her cumming really fucking hard, I guess neither of us heard anything until, well...

"What the fuck?!" I think is what Caroline said. Or some variation on that theme anyway.

Simone told me later that it was a real effort not to burst out laughing when she got to the alcove just a second or two later to find me and Chloe looking back at her and Caroline with total shock and my face very obviously glistening from Chloe's pussy.

So, yeah, there were definitely a few seconds there where I guess nothing happened. From my point of view, I didn't have the first idea what to do so, as usual I guess, I was pretty fucking relieved that Simone broke the silence.

"You guys never heard of a bedroom?" she said and kind of glowered at us a little.

"You... you knew?" Caroline said. I mean, at this point Chloe and I hadn't moved a muscle, my finger was still inside her for fuck's sake, and I didn't know where to look. Caroline had shifted her eyes from us to Simone.