Kiss My Apocalips
The story of Jacob Jones and the end of the world
CHAPTER THREE -- Sweet Sofia
Barns are not comfortable. I've always heard that hobos and vagrants seek them out, but after experiencing a night in one, I have my doubts whether that was ever true.
The camping paraphernalia was all heaped in the living room, and I easily found a few flashlights. Then I killed the generator before any other goonies happened to drive past. I stood studying the headlights shining in the night, out in that field. Weary as I was, I knew that wouldn't do, so I fetched that trusty little hand axe I'd gotten in the camping store, and trudged out there once more and broke the head and tail lights. The walk back seemed even longer.
Next: a shower. I had substances clinging to my body and in my hair that I didn't even want to think about. The water sluicing off my body carried away more colors than any rainbow, though they were muted and dark, and I wished the drain could sweep away some of my memories of that deadly evening along with the physical detritus. Wanda kept trying to get into the shower with me, but I didn't feel very amorous; and I begged Doriana to do something to keep her occupied while I cleaned up.
When I emerged from the bathroom, they were in bed, making out. I don't know why that shocked me. For a long minute, I stood silently looking down at them, and at feminine fingers exploring smooth feminine flesh. Each of them moaned wantonly into the other's mouth, and I discovered that I was stiffening considerably, despite the gorefest that was still fresh in my memory. I found a pair of shorts and some sandals from the camping store that fit fairly well. Then I went back to the women, rousted them out of bed, and we finally started the process of moving to the barn for the night.
We stacked several blankets on top of some hay, but it was still lumpy and uncomfortable; and pieces of straw kept working their way to the places that irritated us. Well, that irritated me, anyway. There were several horse blankets out there, but they were coarse and scratchy and felt like sandpaper. Eventually, I went back to the house for more blankets, but when I returned, the girls were sound asleep, holding each other tenderly, the puppy curled up at their feet.
Believe it or not, it wasn't even ten o'clock, but to me, it felt like it should be the middle of the dark morning. I was weary and exhausted, but sleep wouldn't come, and when I did doze, I was plagued by dreams that terrified me; however, I couldn't hold onto them after I awoke. I thought the night would never end. But all of a sudden, I was fully conscious with sunlight streaming in through various niches and gaps in the outer walls; and the smell of warm cinnamon and coffee was everywhere.
Wanda sat in front of me with a plate of rolls that dripped icing and butter. The coffee was strong and black and, quite frankly, wonderful. "You didn't go back into that horrible house to bake these, did you?" I asked her, licking my fingers.
"No... Doriana did it while I was still asleep. I guess she's been up for a while."
I looked around for her, then was startled by what sounded like a diesel engine straining at some task. "What is that?" I asked, genuinely alarmed.
"I'm not sure," Wanda answered, stroking the puppy. "She told me she was raised on a farm. I think maybe she's plowing a field or something. She found a tractor in one of the little buildings behind the greenhouses."
I'd slept in the shorts, so all I really had to do was pull on the sandals I'd found last night. They hadn't been broken in yet, and I was worried they might rub a blister. I walked out the front of the barn, stretched and looked around; then I followed the sound of the tractor in the direction of that uncultivated field I'd run across the previous night.
She'd found a front-loader, a tractor with a big formed scoop in the front, like some snowplows use. In one corner of the field, she'd started digging a wide trench, about thirty feet long. One end of the excavation was level with the surrounding ground, then it went progressively deeper as it advanced, and it must have been five or six feet deep at the far end.
Carrying my coffee cup, I made my way over to her, Wanda and Rocko at my heels. The pup kept tripping over its own ears. Doriana saw us coming and cut the engine. "What are you planting today?" I asked, curious.
"Assholes," she responded, and pointed toward the house. I looked that way and saw two rolled-up sheets that announced their grisly contents by their shape and dark red stains. She had dragged the corpses twenty or so feet from the house.
I looked at her in awe. "What have you been doing today?"
She shrugged as she walked over to us. "Cleaning up and cooking breakfast." Then she pointed in the opposite direction, toward the driveway. "I couldn't get the last one out of the car. It's sort of wedged in there. When you feel up to it, could you help me get it into the bucket?" She indicated the front of the tractor. "I'll dump them all in and cover them up."
"I decided last night that we'd find someplace else to set up camp," I said.
But she shook her head. "Wanda told me all your plans. You should stick with them. This place is pretty centrally located. You can do a lot of research here, figure all your strategies, make a few more supply runs, and move when you're ready. I know it was a big mess in there, but check it out one more time before you decide to abandon this place."
She suddenly made me feel like a high school student in the presence of an adult. I studied her thoughtfully. "Come here, Doriana," I said firmly.
She never wavered. She was only a few feet away from me, but she walked right up to me, almost touching me. Almost. And she lowered her gaze and blushed.
I tried not to let my nervousness surface. "Now, kiss me," I told her firmly.
Without hesitation, she put one of her hands flat against my chest, and she arched slowly onto tiptoes and kissed me. It was tender. And erotic. Rocko started barking, obviously jealous that he wasn't being included. I brought my hands up, grasped her by both shoulders and pushed her back. She looked slightly shaken by my action. And perhaps a little disappointed. Staring at me quizzically, she nodded. "You're testing me."
"How else are we going to learn?" I asked her. "Do you think you have any limits?"
She blushed even darker. "I... I don't think so. If you told me to suck your cock right now, I'd do it." She took a deep breath. "Do you want me to?"
"We could both do it," Wanda offered. She looked expectant. She obviously didn't know what we were really talking about.
I continued. "The big question is: If some stranger walked up to you right now and ordered you to suck HIS cock, would you do THAT?"
I could see her consider my question seriously, her thoughts turning inward. She looked over at Wanda, and tears flooded her eyes. "I... I... Yes, I probably would."
"Hey!" Wanda said, startled. Then she threw her arms around the blonde and hugged her tightly. "Hey! What's the matter?" The puppy ran up and jumped on them, pawing their legs.
"Oh, Wanda, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"
Wanda looked at me sternly. Whatever this was, in her mind, it was obviously my fault. "Tell me what's wrong," she urged her companion.
"The shit I injected you with last night. We've all heard rumors that some of the affects are permanent. Jacob is worried that any Tom, Dick or Harry can grab us, and we'd do anything he told us to. He's afraid that we're both so suggestible now, that we'd follow any order from anyone. I'm SO sorry that I did that to you!"
"Stop crying!" Wanda ordered. "That's not going to be a problem!"
Doriana sniffed. "It's not?"
"No. Jacob has promised to protect us. He always will."
The blonde turned her head and looked in my direction. "He has?"
"Well, he's promised to protect ME. And I'm not going anywhere without YOU. I love you."
Doriana sniffed. "That's probably the drug talking."
"I don't care. And if it is, I HOPE it's permanent. Because I'm going to love you forever. Just as much as I love this big oaf!" She didn't let go of her companion. The dog whined. Turning her full attention to me, she said: "And now, I'm all squishy again. It might still be morning, but it's time to go to bed!"
We all laughed at that, but when we hadn't moved in several seconds, she turned toward me. "Use your powers of suggestion and tell us to take you to bed, Jacob. Now!"
In mock seriousness, I stood up straight, raised a forefinger, as if making a public proclamation, and intoned: "I hereby order both of you...."
"Good enough," Wanda said. "I feel the power flowing through me, don't you, Doriana?" She gripped the blonde's hand and started walking toward the house. Her companion burst into a fit of giggles."
"Hey! I wasn't finished!" I groused, and I picked up the puppy and trailed after them.
I followed them up the steps, across the porch, into the house. They disappeared back toward the bedroom, but I couldn't resist, and I walked into the dining room, utterly stunned. No blood. No blood, anywhere. The hardwood floors looked as if they had just been polished. I saw a few damp spots on the wall beside the buffet, but they weren't red... or even pink. It was as if Weslie had never been there at all. None of my own blood, either, I thought. My nose was still sore, and I was surprised I hadn't broken the damn thing.
Holding my breath, I walked into the kitchen. No blood. No brains. No evidence of the carnage at all. There was a hairline crack in one of the tiles on the island counter. That was all. The whole room was spotless, and it still smelled of cinnamon.
I wandered back to the bedroom and was struck into immobility by the site of the two naked women standing beside the bed. It was like some position out a men's magazine or a porn site. Their arms were encircling the other's waist, and they were turned slightly sideways, looking expectantly at the doorway I was occupying. Wanda's left breast was mashed provocatively into Doriana's right one, where they flattened together, seeming to merge. Wanda's smile was just a little more inviting, but they both looked delicious.
"Holy shit!" I muttered.
"He always says that," Wanda whispered in her companion's ear, making sure it was loud enough for me to hear.
I walked up to them, but they kept the pose going for my benefit.
"How old are you, Doriana?" I asked quietly.
"Twenty."
