It started out as an average Sunday. Ignored alarms, late breakfasts and a haze over Kyle's mind. It all changed when the attack happened. He was watching some stupid show on the TV with half a mind when the lights went out. He sighed, and right as he was about to call his mom to get the fuse box checked, he recalled that both his parents weren't at home. Annoyed, he sighed again and debated whether to call his sister Kait to fix it, or get up from his comfortable perch and try to do it himself. In the end, he decided to do it himself considering it might just take more effort to ask Kait.
He was descending the steps to the cellar when his sister stumbled past him, nearly tripping to the floor, and dumping several bags of water bottles and tin cans, of all things, onto the cellar floor. He was more than annoyed at this point and was about to say something before she shoved him roughly out of the way and shut the cellar door behind them. Before it closed, Kyle noticed stacks of furniture behind it, barring the way and possibly obscuring the door entirely. Kyle finally found his tongue.
"What the fuck are you doing?!"
She was fussing with the locks with her back turned to him. She paused at his question and turned to stare at him with hazel eyes. She was silhouetted against the meagre light coming out of the door gaps, which barely illuminated her. Despite the darkness, Kyle couldn't help but admire her figure. Her shoulder-length auburn hair was loose, with a few strands floating close to her mouth as if she were underwater.
"Didn't you hear? Armed forces, marching this way. They'll be here in less than a few minutes. Everyone has been texting me. I thought you knew! Why else would you be down here? I've had texts from Elle and Sabetha both... it's not good, Kyle. Stay here." She abruptly turned around, fussing with the locks again. If Kyle didn't know any better, he'd think she was on the verge of tears, but Kait wasn't like that. A chill creeped down Kyle's spine as he realized the full implications of what this could mean. Questions bursted out of his mouth unintended.
"What armed forces? What about mom and dad? Are they safe? Do you really think the cellar is the best place to hide? Should we hide?"
"I don't know, Kyle. Make yourself useful and search the cellar for anything that might come in handy later."
He left her and descended the steps with dread. He couldn't believe what he had just heard. Surely it was a hoax? No, Kait wasn't that stupid. She'd know. What if a bomb fell on them? Would they die here, buried alive, screaming for help that would never come? His stomach felt queasy, but he decided to do as his sister recommended. He found a few tools, containers, some gas and scraps of torn old leather from the ancient sofa. He had to use his phone flashlight and was grateful that his phone was close to full charge. He had no idea how long it would last, but it should be more than a couple of days if he used it sparingly.
When Kait was finally done with the multitude of locks that comprised the cellar door's security, she checked the bags she had dumped on the floor. Everything that her hands could reach had been snatched, even a few toys, since their batteries might be useful for the fitful flashlight she had brought. If they fit, she thought grimly.
The other supplies were just bottles of water and canned food. It would be enough for an extended stay, if they were willing to be sparing in their use, of course. Kyle was anything but scrupulous when eating, but he would have to make do. She took a look at him. He was crouched over by the old tool-box, sorting what remained of them. He had the same startling hazel eyes as her, and was pretty much the same height as well. He had a short stubble, probably due to the fact that he hadn't shaved this morning. He was cute, in a way, amplified by the fact that he didn't even know it yet. She abruptly realized with regret that she had forgotten to bring any hygiene supplies. Awful, just awful.
She was thinking of filching some supplies from the closest bathroom when the first explosion hit. It wasn't close, since all she heard was a huge boom that reverberated through their little town. The second one was closer. It caused the earth to shake and set her ears ringing. She dove for the ground, ended up clutching Kyle and putting her arms over him protectively. She had no idea how long the explosions went on, or if there were any after that. Fear made her forget the passage of time, and when she could feel her surroundings again, she discovered something warm covering her, and rhythmic beating. A beating heart, she realized belatedly. Somehow, during the attack, Kyle had gotten his arms around her instead. In spite of everything, it actually felt nice to be held like that, so she savored it. For a short time anyway. The fact that her home was no longer the safe place she had always assumed to be was settling down, burying itself into her bones. She felt a jolt of vertigo as she realized that things were never going to be the same again. There were no tears; Kait had gone almost numb with shock. Abruptly, she decided that sitting still and whining about how things were wasn't going to make the situation any better. So she straightened her back, and removed herself from Kyle's arms. She immediately put a finger to his lips. They had survived the explosions meant to weaken the area, but there was no telling whether armed forces would march through the town or not. The best option would be to stay as quiet as possible, preparing for the worst.
They remained absolutely silent for the remaining day. Sometimes, if Kyle strained his ears, he could hear the sound of boots stamping on the earth, in an orderly fashion. He wasn't sure if he was imagining it, but he did not confirm it with Kait. He was too scared to even move, let alone speak something out loud.
The room was completely bare, save for some unused decaying furniture. He dared not to touch them much, for fear that they would come down all together. It was completely dark, save for the fitful light that made it through the door gaps, and Kait's occasional flashlight use, which wasn't much better in the end. The both of them just huddled by the wall by the opposite side of the room.
At one point, they both distinctly heard gunshots firing in the distance. They had held hands, staring wide eyed at each other until it had passed. He knew she tried to be brave, and it frightened him more than he could admit that she could possibly be scared. Still, they had survived where others possibly had not, and he was grateful for it.
Eventually night had come, and what little time they had left for sleep was spent in the same position by the wall. The next morning, he woke up, stiff from the awkward posture he had slept in. Later, they tried to ration the food and water. There wasn't much, and what Kait had managed to filch wasn't exactly tasty either. Kyle estimated it would last 2 weeks, if they decided to be very conservative in their use. He doubted they could, and he doubted it even more that they would stay in the cellar for that long. Sooner or later, they'd have to leave, so he tried to stop worrying about it. They shared some canned corn which did little to sate Kyle's appetite. He hadn't eaten anything for a whole day but he kept his silence and tried not to complain.
Little changed in their routine for the next few days. Ever so slowly, their resources depleted, and they crept into a routine. Thinking about their survival put a lead weight in his belly, so he refused to think much at all. There was nothing to do; both their phones were dead at that point, and there wasn't anything to talk about that they hadn't already done so. They usually remained quiet, and talked only in whispers. Once a day, they both heard marching footsteps, which usually killed all their attempts at entertainment or conversation. Kait once tried to play chess with him, only with the board coordinates, since they had no board. It had made Kyle's head hurt. He probably would've wrecked the chess board in annoyance if it had been real.
Even worse, despite all that had happened, despite the fact that they could literally be dead in seconds, he was getting damnably horny. There was nothing to do, which only amplified his desire to rub one off. One night, when he was reasonably sure Kait had fallen asleep, he went to the other side of the room to take care of business.
Kait was lying by her side to the wall when she heard Kyle get up. He fumbled with his pants for a bit, which Kait took to mean that he had to take a dump. But soon, she started hearing a rhythmic, light, slapping sound. She was confused for a bit. The sound was unusual and shouldn't... And then she cursed herself for being stupid. He must be masturbating. How the actual fuck is that dude horny, after all that's happened?
She felt herself flush, and buried her face in her hands, using her thumbs to block her ears. It didn't help of course. Try as she might, her thumbs couldn't block the sound from reaching her ears. She heard a few muffled grunts, and almost called him out to stay quiet, but then decided it would be best if he didn't know she was awake. She felt sick, and could hear blood roaring past her ears. Soon, the tempo of his strokes increased to a frenzy. It was so fast, she didn't know how he bore it. To his credit, he remained quiet as he finished. The only thing she heard was his stroking and the sound of his semen dropping with several splats to the floor. He exhaled deeply in satiation, pulled his pants up and then returned to his space to lie down. He was snoring in a few moments.
Kait felt disgusted by his behavior. This was no time to be horny. And what could he possibly be thinking, to jack off in the same room as his sister? She wanted to reprimand him and tell him to at least stay quiet while he did the deed, but the thought of telling him that she'd heard him jack off, and looking at his face while doing it, was too much to bear. She would let it be, for now. He might not do it again. Surely he was satiated for a while. The way he was breathing made it likely that he was tired, which meant he wouldn't do it again. She fell asleep on these comforting thoughts.
Next morning, she forced herself to confront that they were really low on food. They could survive a little more than a week, if they decided to skip eating every other day. Water wasn't much better, but if the need was great, one of them could sneak upstairs to check if the taps were still running. She was reasonably confident that their other food stores in the kitchen were gone, so she didn't hold much hope for them, but if any hygienic supplies had survived, she'd get them. She knew she stank, even though she didn't smell anything bad. Her nose had likely gotten used to the musty smell the room must be giving off by now.
She found out she couldn't go to sleep when night finally fell upon them. She dreaded hearing her brother masturbate again, but for some reason, there were butterflies flying in her stomach. It made no sense for her to feel this way, but there it was. All she could do was lie in wait, to be absolutely certain of whether he was going to jack off or not.
She was almost asleep when she heard him get up. Anticipation warred with disgust inside of her as she heard Kyle pull his pants down, releasing his cock to the warm air of the cellar. Soon, he began stroking it, at a slower pace than last night. Against all her inclinations, warmth began spreading throughout her body. It felt very, very wrong to feel horny over the fact that she was listening to her own brother beat his meat. One of his grunts sent a tingle down her spine, causing her to shiver in excitement. She was horribly disgusted at herself now, even more so than she was at her brother. At least he had the decency to not to jack off thinking about his sister or something. Or was he jacking off because of her? The thought of him jacking off thinking of her made her almost start doing the deed herself, but she stopped her hand before it could reach her pussy. This was so very, very wrong and she had no desire to make things more complicated. She'd take care of her own needs when they were out of this damn cellar. It was just the endless dark and boredom getting to her, that was all. Somehow, it was hard to convince herself of that.
She waited impatiently until he was done. She frowned at the sound of his semen hitting the floor, and then cursed herself for a fool. Semen was consumable, wasn't it? This was a way to at least extend their resources for a bit. She wouldn't drink it of course. Kyle would just have to man up and recycle it for himself. She didn't know how many nutrients it contained, but it was protein, and liquid. He would just have to make do and stop wasting it. She resolutely decided to confront him tomorrow about it, and tried to go to sleep.
She wasn't able to sleep much, since her stomach wouldn't stop its fluttering. The confrontation later in the day, when she told him he'd have to ejaculate inside a jar would be humiliating. Especially more so because she'd have to tell him she had been listening. Would that change things between them? Surely not. She would find a way to tell him to be quiet as well. It was a good, logical decision. It just made complete sense, but it didn't stop her from being anxious all day. And horny. So damn horny. Damn Kyle. If he hadn't jacked off, she never would've given even a thought to her libido, but he just had to ruin things for both of them.
They had finished eating their rations for the day when she decided to broach the subject. She took a deep breath. This had to be blunt, to get this over with as fast as possible.
"I know what you've been doing for the past 2 nights."
