Chapter 12: Resuming an Old Pattern
“Hello world; we’ve got some exciting news: we’ve finally identified specific cells associated with the Great Death plagues. This is significant, because while we still consider the plagues to be caused by viruses, we’ve identified a companion cell that seems to flag when the virus is present. The problem researchers had before the collapse of the medical system was that they were looking in the blood for the source of the infection, where there were just too many components to consider. It seems that besides these plagues, the asteroid shower also introduced numerous other microscopic life forms which aren’t as deadly, and they’re easy to mistake for the plague sources.
What we’ve managed to do, by examining the people who have survived the Death, is to calculate how the plague works, especially in a weakened form. By doing that, we’ve determined that sweat, blood and saliva are all effective methods of contagion. By examining sweat samples—which aren’t nearly as complex as blood or saliva—we’ve managed to isolate a suspect cell.
Testing this associated cell, which functions in conjunction with the virus and appears to act as a transmission mechanism for the plagues, proves that blood samples containing these cells produce rapid cell death in healthy blood samples, whereas samples without it don’t.
Based on these relatively simple tests, we’ve been able to determine several things. While the active plague is easily spread by airborne contagions, the modified strain found in survivors shows that the plague requires humidity to survive. While you can catch it from left over skin cells on a door handle, for instance, once the surface dries sufficiently, it’s no longer contagious. However, that also means if you enter a previously infected area that contains high humidity, you’ll still need to wear gloves before touching anything.
What’s more, we’ve determined that those who have survived the plagues are still infected, though with a much weakened version of it. While it’s still contagious, the effectiveness of the contagion is very limited. Essentially it requires skin-to-skin, blood-to-skin, or face-to-face physical interaction to communicate the infection. This stands in marked contrast to the active plague, which has been repeatedly determined to be carried in the air, blowing great distances on the upper air currents. It’s now our understanding that it was the moisture content that allowed these pathogens to survive in the airstream.
However, it’s important to note that these results have only been documented in a few individuals, each of whom has survived each of the plagues. We haven’t managed to test anyone who has survived only a single plague, and we’re unsure whether this ‘weakened efficiency’ applies to them as well. We have a few samples from someone in this category, which we’ll be testing to determine whether it applies in their cases as well, but we’re currently stymied by a lack of test subjects, as most people who’ve survived a single plague variant then fall victim to the other versions.
Anyway, we’ll continue to conduct these tests, letting you know what we learn, but we thought it essential to get this information out to you as quickly as possible, as it will help you with your risk assessments.”
“Harrisonburg? Virginia?” Greg asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. “Wouldn’t it make more sense to try for Charleston? After all, it’s a much larger city. Since it’s the state capital, it should also have more resources.”
“Think about it,” David explained, “Charleston is surrounded by a meandering river and shadowed by mountains. You’ve got to cross three major bridges to even reach the main potion of the city. The chances of the roads leading into the area, or the mountain passes leading into the city, being blocked by either downed trees or landslides are significant. And even if we make it there the bridges might not even be passable given the damages of the initial meteor showers, so chances are we’ll have to build rafts just to reach the city. For as far as we have to travel and what it’d require to make the trip, it’s just not worth the risks involved.”
Everyone was scattered around the living room, which given how much machinery Tom had installed there, made it very crowded. Since most were still susceptible to exposure, that meant they couldn’t squeeze too closely together.
David had taken the center seat on the main couch, with Alice sitting on his right, symbolically positioning herself as his ‘right hand’ man – a point she was very consciously trying to make. Mattie, still seeking the close physical connection that had originally gotten her infected, was sitting on the floor leaning against his legs, while Betty was leaning against David’s left side.
Having suffered through so much, she felt it was her right to demand the same kind of physical contact that Alice and Mattie shared, and while she wasn’t making a big deal of it, she wasn’t shy about cuddling against him, feeling the comfort of his arm protectively wrapped around her and the reassuring warmth of his body reminding her of how much she’d been missing over the many weeks she’d so studiously avoid such contact. But her focus was on the discussion, because she knew that this was no time to play, and she wanted to prove that she could be as important to David as both Alice and Mattie were.
The new kids were all sitting on the floor, and while they were physically near each other, they each maintained a certain minimal distance from each other, each very conscious of exactly how close the others were to them. Every time one of them would shift position, they’d all shift as well, maintaining the exact same distance between them, each painfully aware of the physical risk the proximity of their own siblings represented to them.
Greg sat in an easy chair across from David, with Melissa perched in his lap. Now that they’d committed to each other, they both seemed much happier, and while they were paying attention to everything that David said, they also spent a fair amount of time staring, touching and whispering sweet nothings to each other.
Monique, ever conscious of both social and medical protocol, stood behind the chair that Debbie was seated in. She still felt protective of her, almost acting as her new mother, but she didn’t want to appear too involved, not because she was afraid Debbie would react negatively, but because she didn’t want her to get used to the comfort of others now, since such a hunger could quite literally kill most of those here.
Jenny too, was strategically positioned sitting in front of the other kids, with each of them forming a circle around her. The meaning was clear to everyone watching. They’d have to get through Jenny to reach any of the others. It was clear she took her role of their protector seriously, and she’d gladly trade her life for any of them, but she wouldn’t risk casually touching any of them – even her own brother – for fear that such an oversight would be as big a risk as a stranger’s physical attack.
Finally, Tom occupied the last chair, situated in isolation next to his busily flickering machinery, holding John-John in his lap as he idly stroked his fur. David noticed that his positioning said a lot about him; that he used his interest in science to hold other people at bay, and he used his knowledge of the risks that others represented to physically distance himself from connecting emotionally with anyone else.
“Meanwhile, Harrisonburg,” David continued, leaning forward cradling a warm mug of post-dinner coffee in his palm, “while not as close, has several significant population areas surrounding it, so it makes a better target. It’s easier to reach, it has more likely targets, and the geological surroundings make approaching it much simpler. It also has more routes to access it, in case any one is inaccessible.”
“That does make sense,” Greg said, taking his eyes off of Melissa as he considered the idea. “But what about heading north, hitting Morgantown and the various towns in that direction?”
“That’s a valid option,” David admitted, sitting back and luxuriating in the feel of so many loved ones close by, which felt that much more bittersweet in comparison to how everyone was reacting to each other, “and it’s more likely to succeed than Charleston, but while it’s farther away, the cities and towns along route 81 are more populous than those along 79. If Harrisonburg proves a bust, we’ll still be near Charlottesville in one direction, and Strasburg and Winchester in the other. We’ll have more options heading east than we will moving in any other direction.” David took a sip of his coffee, giving Betty another comforting hug as he allowed the others to consider the wisdom of his words. He’d already been planning this for some time, and they were just hearing it now.
“Before we get any farther, I have one more thing to add,” Tom hurried to contribute, not wanting to leave such an important decision up to a bunch of Luddites who didn’t know how important this truly was. Everyone turned their attention to the solitary scientist, and his little dog too, as he wore a smug self-congratulatory expression on his face. “I’ve been sitting on this, since you’ve been so distracted with other things,” he began, sliding his eyes first towards Betty, then to the kids scattered across the floor. “But since it’ll impact where we travel to, it makes sense to bring it up now.” He took a second, allowing the tension to build a bit for a dramatic delivery, his eyes filled with amusement as everyone focused on him with intense interest, supplying him with the emotional satisfaction he couldn’t derive from other means. “I’ve isolated the cells that I suspect are spreading the disease.”
There was silence for several long moments as everyone took in this newest revelation.
“Shit, that’s major,” Monique replied with an astounded expression on her face. While she knew he’d been fiddling with blood samples, she’d never really thought he was anywhere near discovering anything, thinking his skills – which he’d never defined – were too limited and his available resources too few.
Tom spent several minutes detailing the results of his latest research, speaking rapidly and using scientific terms that went right over the heads of most of his audience, although Alice make copies notes as he went on for her planned broadcast later, before he got to his point.
“This idea is an unproven hypothesis at the moment, and we can’t prove it until we can identify the virus and tie it to the associated bacteria. To do that we need access to a working electron microscope.” He paused, making a vague hand gesture in David’s direction. “That’s why traveling to Harrisonburg is the only valid choice here. There’s such a device in Charlottesville, which isn’t that far from Harrisonburg, but there’s none in Charleston. We’ll need to plan on visiting the University of Virginia campus, and take along a generator or two to allow me to finish the necessary research.” He was so sure about the value of this important consideration, representing a major step in eventually curing the Great Death, that he thought it rendered the entire discussion moot.
As if to echo the import of his words, John-John took that opportunity to bark sharply at the others, as if to say “Listen to my master, as he knows what he’s talking about!”
“That’s a lot of material to drag around, especially over such a long distance,” Greg pointed out. “That’s asking for a lot, both in terms of effort, resources and time.”
“It is, but that’s why I’m bringing it up now,” Tom replied. “I think it’s necessary, but hey, I’m just the lead researcher here, David’s the project manager,” he added with a slightly dismissive grin, again thinking the conclusion was evident to everyone. “I’m leaving it up to you to decide. I can continue my work without it, but we may be barking up the wrong tree and wasting valuable time we can’t afford. This is a simple but complicated step that’ll move us significantly forward towards learning how to handle this crisis.”
“All right, I’ll consider it,” David said, unhappy that it fell to him to consider all the risks and provide the solutions to carry out everyone else’s grand schemes. “But I’m not making a decision on the spur of the moment.”
“Keep in mind that traveling to Harrisonburg is already pretty far, and venturing to Charlottesville is likely to be both more trouble and more problematic,” Greg pointed out. “There will be more abandoned cars, more potential for conflicts, more downed trees, power lines and dead bodies.”
“Just remember, we don’t know if the facilities are even intact,” Monique reminded them.
“And there’s always the chance we may have to fight our way there,” Alice pointed out, reminding everyone that she was now effectively David’s security chief.
“That’s true,” Tom argued, feeling the obvious solution slipping from his hands, “but I think a visit there would be a risk we should all be willing to take, given what it could do for us. For both us and the rest of humanity,” he reminded them. “This would help us identify the central component of the Great Death, and would be a major advance towards finding a potential cure. We have a working understanding of how these plagues work, but we need to determine whether I’m not missing something.” Tom paused, running his fingers nervously through his unruly hair, afraid of losing this opportunity.
“Again, you’ve all made your points, but we need to work out the logistics, and I’m not going to do that in an open forum,” David stressed. “This is looking more and more like a trip of several days, at the very least. Now, is there anything else?”
“I’d like to return to Tom’s previous announcement,” Monique said, turning to him. “While these new theories about the diseases are interesting, what are the real world implications?”
Tom smiled at this, as it allowed him to further expound on his research. “Well, it means I could run tests to tell if someone is infected, and I can identify just how sick they are even if they have no symptoms. I’ve also demonstrated that we don’t have to worry about touching surfaces, as only still moist ones are contagious. If we enter a house that’s been standing empty for some time, it should be safe, although if the house has a high level of humidity, you’ll need to be cautious.”
“Damn, that’s pretty significant,” Melissa observed, sitting up and leaning away from Greg for the first time since sitting down for the discussion.
“Yeah, it is,” Monique agreed with a nod, glancing at everyone sitting on David’s couch. “But I’m mostly interested in what it means about our infected carriers.”
“Ah, now that’s where it gets interesting,” Tom responded, leaning forward and disturbing John-John, who liked always knowing where everyone was, since he always lived in fear of someone doing something disgusting behind his back. John-John settled back down as Tom began explaining his research, the words tumbling from his mouth in an excited rush. “As I said, I can tell how sick someone is by how quickly the fresh blood cells begin to die. If they die quickly, then the person is both sick and highly contagious. David, Alice and Mattie’s blood doesn’t rank as highly contagious, and as we thought – their blood can infect healthy, unexposed cells, but the newly infected cells die much more slowly. While they’re still carriers of the plagues, the version they carry is very weak and thus it takes a while for the cell damage to accumulate.”
“Does that mean we’re relatively safe if we stay here?” Peter asked, ignoring his sister’s glare as he tried to make sure he understood Tom’s complicated explanation.
“Exactly,” Tom replied. “It’s just as we’ve surmised so far. As long as you don’t touch anyone who has survived any of the plagues, you should be fine. I’d also stay away from their shower, their towels or their clothing, but otherwise there shouldn’t be a problem.”
“You hear that?” Betty asked Mattie as she leaned forward and ruffled her head. “It’s safe for us to make out.”
Mattie smacked her hand away as everyone laughed, but Betty’s eyes had been looking at David when she’d made her comment. David hadn’t noticed, but Alice sure did.
“What’s more, I did some quick saliva samples,” Tom continued. “Again, that gets complex because there are SO many cells in saliva, many never fully identified, but knowing what to look for, I could evaluate just how contagious their spit is. I then had Betty cough into a couple of specimen jars. As far as I can tell, there are no contagious elements transmitted beyond about half a meter. So the only way they could affect you via an air-borne transmission is if you were standing right in front of their face.”
“That’s reassuring,” David responded. “I’ve been worried about compromising everyone here. Just in case you’re worried, Greg, I’ll try not to breathe the next time we kiss,” he teased, generated laughs from everyone, although Betty’s laugh was more nervous than heartfelt. “Instead it looks like our assumptions about it have been spot on.”
“Well, that much is based on empirical evidence,” Tom conceded, “so it doesn’t require this trip to confirm. The bottom line is that, yes, you’re still contagious but the contagion is drastically reduced.”
“Well that’s reassuring,” Jenny said, looking like a major weight had been finally lifted from her shoulders. She’d been afraid she’d have to take everyone from the house at some point, but if what Tom said was true, while it was possible that someone might end up contracting it, the rest were unlikely to, and David at least had a treatment for it. “We’ll definitely stay here in that case. Just make sure you all stay away from David and the others,” she reminded her kids. “While this is an acceptable risk, a simple mistake is still life threatening.”
“Okay, Mom,” Peter said in the world-weary tone of a put-upon tween.
David was hoping the kids would spend the rest of the evening watching movies, but instead an intense discussion started over who was going to be able to join in the trip. David merely shook his head, realizing there was never an end to this management business.
“Dad, we’ve got another one,” Alice yelled from her post in the radio room.
“You’d better hurry,” Mattie added excitedly, shouting loudly enough for her voice to echo into every nook and cranny of the house. “It’s someone new that we haven’t met before!”
“Hold on a minute, Dougan. I’m sure my father will want to hear this, and there’s no sense repeating it unnecessarily,” Alice explained into the ham radio.
“Understood,” replied the faint voice at the other end of the crackling static filled connection. “This is a big event on my end as well, and I’m interested in talking with whoever I can at this point.”
“Well, we have a houseful of survivors at the moment, but I’ll let you speak with my father, who’s in charge of the operations here.”
“All right, all right, I’m here,” David said as he entered the room, glancing about wildly expecting to see someone injured given how excitedly the two had been calling. When he saw they weren’t as panicked as they’d sounded, he approached them clustered around the radio on the table, ruffling Mattie’s hair. “How the heck can a woman as small as you generate so much noise?” he asked wryly. At her grin and shrug, he harrumphed and turned his attention to his daughter. “What’s the deal? Who haven’t we met?”
“It’s someone new,” Alice repeated.
“So I gathered, since that announcement is still ringing in my ears,” David responded. “Okay, what about the others? Have we received any word from either John Taylor or Adrian?”
“No, neither one has responded lately,” Alice responded before turning back to the radio. “My father’s here now, go ahead and explain what you told me,” Alice instructed Dougan.
“Sure. My name is Dougan Larks, from Loveland, Colorado. I am … I was with my family,” he replied, choking up slightly. “Our house burned down in a fire started by the initial meteor shower and we were forced to take shelter in Denver. The city created an emergency shelter that took in all the fire victims, but once people started dying, we figured that many people in one place was a recipe for disaster, so I took my family and looked for someplace safer.
“We took refuge in the Cherry Creek Marina. It’s a landlocked lake complete with a yacht club, and since most of the boats were totaled by the meteor shower or the owners were either injured or missing, the place was empty. We took over an abandoned boat, stocked it with whatever food we could find, and settled in to escape what was happening outside. Only it didn’t work out so well,” he concluded, sounding close to tears.
After a short pause, during which David was afraid they’d lost the connection, he continued. “My wife and kids died, one after another. I got ill, but I recovered just after watching my youngest die. When I finally recovered enough to crawl out of the boat, I couldn’t find anyone still alive. There were dead bodies all over, but there were no others survivors. I didn’t know what to do, and not knowing where else to go, I decided to try the radio that was in the boat. It took a while to figure it out, but the original owner had a decent manual with it, so I finally got it working. I’ve been calling periodically for several days, but when I turned it on today, I heard you, so I responded immediately.”
“Yeah, the plagues were spread via the air, so there wasn’t any escaping it,” David explained. “By leaving the shelter, you probably bought yourself several days time, but there wasn’t any escaping it.” He gave Dougan a quick overview of his and Alice’s experience, as well as some basic information about the survivors they’d taken in. “So,” he asked when he wound down, “there’s no one who’s survived near you?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Dougan told them. “The lake and marina are on the edge of a large state park, so there wouldn’t have been many people nearby. Honestly, I couldn’t venture too far, since there are too many abandoned cars and animal carcasses to drive anywhere. After walking for hours, calling out for anyone, I finally gave up and returned here. I’ve got no idea what to do now.”
“Well, not knowing the area, I’ve got no idea on how to advise you. I don’t know how Denver held up.” David considered Dougan’s situation, trying to come up with possible options, but came up blank. “The thing is, we’re expecting some extreme weather this winter, much worse than you’ve ever seen, so if you don’t think you’re prepared for it, you may need to find someplace more secure,” he said, falling back on his basic survival knowledge. “You’ll need shelter, a reliable source of warmth, and access to anyone who may still be alive who can help you out.”
“That doesn’t leave many options,” Dougan replied unhappily. “Without public services, I’m not sure anywhere here will be that safe in the kind of conditions you’re describing. If it turns out as bad as you think, then Denver might be the worst place to be. Maybe I need to head for warmer climes before the first snowfall, but it’s going to be tough if I can’t drive.”
“You’ll have to focus on finding a decent SUV designed for off-roading, something that will allow you to drive around any obstructions. You’ll also need to grab whatever resources you can scrounge. We have a good idea on what’s safe and what isn’t, so we can tell you how to keep your exposure to diseases to a minimum. I think you should be able to get away from the city without too much trouble, but you’ll have to figure out where to go from there.”
“I’ve got family in Oklahoma,” Dougan suggested. “Maybe I could try for there?”
David glanced at Alice and Mattie, frowning at the prospect of delivering more bad news. “Unfortunately, the odds are that they didn’t survive either,” he finally said, opting for brutal honesty over false hope. “If you feel it necessary to check, that’s fine, but you’d better be prepared to be disappointed.”
“Well, then maybe Albuquerque, New Mexico would be better,” Dougan suggested, remaining positive, still hoping for the best. “Or maybe even Arizona. They’re warmer, so it should be better for escaping the cold and snow.”
“That sounds like a plan, but they’re both a long ways away. Keep your eyes open on the way down for anyplace that looks like you could survive if you get stuck or things don’t work out.”
“OK, I’ll try for that then. It’ll take me a little time to get organized before I go, and I’ll need to find some way of taking this—”
“CQ CQ CQ,” someone else broadcast, interrupting their communications, “This is … the hell with it, I’m trying to reach whoever is on the line.”
“This is David in West Virginia,” David responded, also ignoring the formal rules of ham radio communications. He glanced questioningly at Alice, his eyebrows raised in surprise. She shrugged her shoulders as if to say ‘No idea who he is’. “We also have Dougan from Denver with us. Who is this?” he continued.
“This is Nick Rogers,” the new voice replied, the signal being clearer so the sound of the wind in the background could be heard. “I left on an extended solo hunting trip almost two months ago, I was camping in the secluded Rozel Bay area of the Great Salt Lake in Utah. While I was humping my way up into the hills, the meteor storm started and destroyed my vehicle, so I had to walk out. Fortunately I’d packed for an extended stay, so I had basic amenities like a tent, sleeping bag and some freeze-dried food to help me survive. Plus I’d gone there to hunt, so that helped as well, although I figured out to stop when I noticed the animals looking sick. I just got to Ogden, the nearest city about six hours ago, and there doesn’t seem to be anyone left alive. There are bodies everywhere, human and animal! What the hell is going on? What happened?”
“Ah, Nick. You’ve officially missed the end of the world, I’m afraid,” David told him with a grim smile. He then provided a brief recap of what had happened, what had survived so far, and what he believed the origins of the plagues were.
Nick was interested, but had trouble wrapping his mind around its implications. After a long silence, his voice came back subdued.
“Really? There’s no one left?” he asked, his voice almost pleading as if asking David to tell him it was all some vast cosmic joke.
David took a deep breath. “I wish I could tell you otherwise, Nick. There are survivors, obviously since we’re speaking, but there are very few of us. We don’t know for sure, but we estimate that there was only a couple hundredth of a percentage survival rate. This was more than an apocalyptic event, it’s closer to extinction event. We survived only because there are so many humans that a few had either the odd genetic advantages or just random luck. The problem was that there were multiple plagues, and if someone survived one, they might not survive the next, or the one after that. Each of these was transmitted via the air, so no one was spared.”
David paused for a moment to let his words sink in, and then continued in a more sympathetic tone. “I know it’s a difficult concept to grasp, but you need to deal with it because you’re going to need to struggle to survive from here on out. I’m afraid you’re not out of the woods yet. The plagues haven’t disappeared, but have simply lessened in severity because there aren’t enough people surviving to transmit it as quickly. And there’s more bad news … There are very few resources left, and on top of that the meteor shower put so much ash in the air that it’s blocking the sun. That means that there’s going to be fewer things growing, and it’s going to get incredibly cold for the next five to ten years.
“You’ve got to begin collecting resources,” David said, speaking slowly so that Dougan could consider the import of his words as he spoke them, “and you need to find a safe place to live where you can sustain yourself. If you can’t do it where you lived before, then there’s simply no reason to return there other than to say goodbye, and if it’s been contaminated by the dead, then it’s not worth risking it. You’ll need to find any other survivors you can, and a way of providing for them.”
“Shit,” Nick exploded unexpectedly. “Shit, shit, shit! I left my girlfriend, my parents, my sister, and all my friends behind in Provo. I’ve got to….” His voice trailed off as he thought about what he’d seen on the streets of Ogden and what David had told him. “They’re all dead, aren’t they?” he asked in a small lost voice.
“I’m sorry,” David said, feeling the man’s pain, “but you’re not alone… We’ve all lost those close to us. Though it’s no consolation, be glad you weren’t there to see them passing, because it wasn’t a pretty sight. But you’re still alive, and we need to make sure you stay that way. Do you have any plans for what you’re going to do now?”
“Damn, I don’t really know,” Nick said with a sigh. “I haven’t had any time to consider it. After all, I only found out that the world ended about ten minutes ago,” he added with a slight chuckle, obviously his attempt at black humor to cope with events. “I haven’t really checked Ogden. I just came across the bridge and found dead bodies amongst all the animal carcasses, so I found a nearby marina and searched until I found a boat with a ham radio. I tried the local emergency channels but….”
“Yeah, they never responded. There’s no longer any existing government entities, and if you find anyone claiming to represent the government, be very skeptical, as they’re probably trying to take advantage of you. But yes, you should check to see if there are any survivors, but do it sensibly. We’ll discuss what you need to do to stay safe. But before we do, what do you plan on doing? This is important. I don’t think your tent would do you much good in a blizzard.”
“Shit, I don’t know,” Nick replied, hesitating as he considered all he had to do. “I suppose the roads are largely impassible if the bridge leading here is any indication. I guess I’ll take that boat I found and sail around the blocked roads and head for Salt Lake City. Most of the city will probably be horribly contaminated because of the numbers of people … I mean bodies there, but I figure there’s got to be some nice secluded houses in the suburbs on some widespread lawns that can be turned into farmland with a little work.”
“Good, that’s better; you’re starting to think ahead now. So let’s go over what both of you need in order to survive. You won’t have much time, and if you’re not careful, you won’t last long enough to see what happens. You’ve got to be careful, but you can’t hide out like you’ve both been doing anymore. Now let’s see if we can’t keep you both alive for the next couple months and the next several years.”
After working out who was going the next day and ironing out what was required, David felt tired, finally trudging up to bed, ready to crash and try to catch up on all the sleep he’d missed the past week.
Entering his bedroom, he saw Alice pulling her sleeping bag – which she hadn’t used since she and the other girls had all spent the nights on the floor of her room – out of the closet.
“What are you doing?” David asked, unsure what she was up to.
“Mattie and I have decided to spend the night with the other kids in my old room,” she informed him, glancing back at him.
David noticed that Mattie, sitting on the bed apparently pouting, wasn’t looking very enthused at the prospect.
“You realize that sleeping with them tonight probably isn’t the best idea?” he asked.
“Don’t worry,” she assured him. “I realize just how infectious I am, and I’m not planning on actually sleeping there where I may accidently roll over and infect someone. But we wanted to curl up in our sleeping bags and just talk late into the night. As soon as everyone starts to fall asleep, I’ll sneak back in here. You won’t even know when I slip in we’ll be so quiet,” she promised.
“That won’t be a problem,” he told her. “I plan on being sound asleep by then, and I doubt a steam locomotive could wake me. I’m exhausted, I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since Betty started her treatment, and if I don’t get some sleep, I’ll be useless tomorrow.”
“So you won’t mind all the giggling girls in the other room?” Alice playfully teased.
“I won’t object to the girls, after all, they need to relax for a change. They’ve been struggling for too long, and they need the comfort of being able to act like kids again. What I’m more concerned with are the boys.”
Alice turned, her sleeping bag safely tucked under her arm, and rolled her eyes at him. “Dad, no one is about to try anything inappropriate. They already told you how they feel about it. They’re all too young to want to get caught up in that kind of thing yet, and they’re all terrified at the thought of catching the Great Death from us. Nothing will happen.”
“I’m not so sure that Peter would agree that he isn’t interested in sex yet,” David pointed out with an arched eyebrow of his own. “And sometimes fear isn’t the deterrent you expect it to be. After all, a lot of young boys are terrified of their date’s fathers, yet that’s never stopped them from getting young girls pregnant before.”
“Don’t worry,” Mattie replied, smiling for the first time since he’d entered the room, though it had a decidedly evil gleam to it. “While they may not be afraid of you, they know that Alice and I could each put a bullet in their foreheads if they try anything. Don’t underestimate the deterrent value of an angry woman with a gun.”
“Now that’s more reassuring,” David laughed. “Good luck and have fun,” he told them as they trooped past him out the door. Alice smiled knowingly at him as walked past, but Mattie looked at him somewhat pleadingly, unsure about the entire enterprise.
David didn’t let her indecision sway him, though. He knew that both girls needed a chance to spend some time with other kids their age. Alice had been stuck with only him for too long, and while the other kids were a bit old for Mattie to relate to, he was sure she’d enjoy spending time with them as well. They’d both become much too attached to him of late, and David wasn’t convinced that sleeping with him every night was the healthiest thing in the world for them. He’d put up with it because there wasn’t much point in not doing it, as they were the only ones available and it seemed to work. The incredibly close relationship they’d formed by what they’d undergone had helped them all deal with what they’d suffered through, but David was worried that reliance on him might prevent them from building their own relationships with others later on, and they certainly couldn’t expect to live with him for the rest of their lives.
This was the first real chance they’d had to spend with other kids, and letting them stay up late was a small price to pay for allowing them to regain some of their lost childhoods. The fact that Mattie was so unhappy proved that thought. Not only had she been unhappy with the idea, she’d looked guilty about it as well. It was another sign that she was feeling overly dependent on him, worrying about how she’d cope without him and equally worried about how he’d do without her. That kind of obsession just wasn’t healthy in kids that young.
Still … it was odd that Alice was so enthused while Mattie was so unhappy. Something just didn’t seem quite natural about that.
Shaking his head and telling himself he was trying to read too much into it, a clear sign he really did need more sleep, David shut the door and removed his shirt, tossing it into the laundry basket, adding his undershirt as well.
“It’s about time you finally got here,” David heard from behind him.
He practically jumped out of his jeans he was so surprised to find someone else in his bedroom with him. As he turned and saw Betty standing in the bathroom, holding the door open while putting her toothbrush back on the sink, he figured he shouldn’t have been surprised. Since Betty was now like Alice, Mattie and him, it made no sense for her to sleep anywhere else. Sleeping with someone else could infect them, and sleeping in another bed or on the floor would spread her contaminated skin and sweat cells for others to encounter. Having everyone sleep in the same bed only made sense. But David was glad, once more, that he had a big enough bed to hold plenty of people.
“You saw the girls before they left?” she asked as she finished wiping her hands, turned off the bathroom light as she casually strolled into the bedroom wearing nothing more than a too small t-shirt and a brief – almost nonexistent – pair of panties. David was sure the t-shirt must have been Alice’s, or maybe even Mattie’s. It certainly left little to the imagination.
Although she’d lost a lot of weight over the course of her illness, and her skin bore an unhealthy pale pallor, she still looked very good; her curves still holding up nicely, even though he could count her ribs through the t-shirt.
David waited until she walked past him, figuring he’d quickly doff his pants while her back was turned. David had gotten used to everyone’s non-concern about their nudity before they’d died, and Alice and Mattie hadn’t been shy since then either, though they certainly didn’t flaunt themselves. He figured that if Betty planned to sleep here, that she’d have to get used to it eventually as well. But when Betty reached the bed, she carefully pulled the covers back, turned, grinned at David – ignoring his state of undress – and proceeded to remove her t-shirt.
David was once more surprised by another woman’s casual approach to nudity, even as he’d resolved to help her adjust to his own sleeping in only his boxer shorts.
While she had her head buried in her shirt, David couldn’t help but study her nearly naked form. Although her ribs showed, and she looked painfully thin, her breasts still stood up proudly, even though they weren’t much bigger than Alice’s.
When she finished removing her t-shirt, David immediately moved his eyes north, looking her dead in the eyes. When she smiled at him, seemingly knowing what he’d been doing, he blushed, having to look away.
For someone who’d had such intimate relationships with as many women as he had only a few weeks ago, he was still surprisingly shy and uncomfortable with women. Betty laughed at him – giggled actually – before she climbed into bed, looking up and watching to see what he did, clearly waiting for him.
Shrugging, he finished removing his pants, carefully folding them and setting them aside before moving to join her.
“You’d better scoot over. When Alice and Mattie join us they’ll need enough room so they don’t wake us,” he suggested her.
Betty didn’t bother answering, simply scooted over and holding the covers for him to climb under, though David thought he noticed her rolling her eyes at him as she did so.
“Do you always sleep without any covering?” he asked, genuinely curious.
“I’ve got covers,” she answered simply, looking at David for several moments before continuing. “You’ll be covering me.” She couldn’t help it; she broke into a big infectious grin. David followed suit, grinning broadly as he climbed in beside her.
When he settled in, she moved in beside him, pressing herself against him, breathing deeply as if filling her senses with his essence. David couldn’t help noticing her insistent erect nipples pressing against his flesh, and he felt awkward, unsure how to handle things. His penis knew how to respond, but he still had a variety of issues with pressing himself on someone almost half his age who might feel obligated to endure it.
“You don’t think you’d be more comfortable sleeping on your own farther over?” he suggested gently. “After all, you might get restless or uncomfortable. And maybe being so close to another person might give you nightmares? After all, you’ve been through a lot recently.”
“Don’t worry,” she told him sweetly, cuddling even more tightly against him, “I’ll be fine. I had a couple of nice naps today and I was okay then, so I’m pretty sure I’ll be fine. And frankly, sleeping alone is the last thing I want right now.” She was quiet for a second, and when she continued her voice was tinged with pain.
“For the last several weeks, I felt like I was always alone, despite being with Melissa and Greg. It was … hellish, out there,” she explained as she lifted his arm, settling it around herself. Even though he felt conflicted, he held her, figuring she needed the reassurance. “Everyone was afraid to touch everyone else; the living, the dead, the sick or healthy. The fear of catching a plague was bad enough – but in this harsh world, the risk of complications just from being close to another virtually ended all contact and robbed us of our basic humanity. What do you think made me volunteer for that ghastly nightmare I just suffered though? I was tired of living without people, of not touching and not being touched while being so close to so many others.” She gave a little shrug. “I figured if that was the new way of life, then it was a life that I really didn’t want to live.”
“Whew, you certainly seem to have recovered,” David said lightly, amazed at the virtual torrent of words that spilled from the young woman in his arms. “Have you been guzzling coffee? I’m only asking ‘cause you seem a bit wired.”
“No,” she said with a laugh as she gently swatted his chest. “As I said, I was sleeping on and off all day while recovering, so I’m kind of wide awake now. I hope it doesn’t bother you, but I’ve been waiting all day to curl up with someone and feel human contact again. And,” she added with another gentle thump, “since you’re the only one here, that duty falls squarely on you.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re feeling so much better,” he replied. “You were so sick that I had my doubts you’d be capable of doing anything for some time. Although I have to warn you, I may not be able to entertain you for long if you can’t sleep. I’m exhausted, and I don’t think I can keep my eyes open for much longer.”
“That’s fine,” she answered, smiling sweetly as she stretched against him, kissing him sweetly on the lips. “I just want to touch someone else, feel their heart beating and the warmth of their body. You don’t need to be awake for that.”
Satisfied with that, David returned her kiss before relaxing and closing his eyes. He honestly expected to fall asleep quickly – however, the way Betty was lying against him made her presence difficult to ignore. It was both familiar yet disturbing…. Most recently he and Alice and even Mattie had taken to sleeping spooned together, with tiny Mattie curled up in a ball pressed against his chest while his daughter hugged his back. The image of curling up with certain others flashed through his mind, and while briefly painful, the pleasant memory it triggered made him decide that it was a small concession to make.
It quickly became apparent, however, that Betty had other ideas. As David had feared her wakefulness soon made itself known as she kept stroking him, running her fingertips along his chest, his side, his abdomen, moving her hand lower and lower, until…. David’s eyes snapped wide open when her hand came to rest on his cock. Subconsciously his body had been responding to her attentions, and he had felt a stirring down there, but as Betty’s hand wrapped around it her fingers found a more ‘natural’ position, and within seconds it began filling in nicely as his long-neglected erection began to reawaken.
“Umm…,” he said, trying to figure out a way to address the issue.
“Shh, don’t say anything,” she responded quietly. “Just go to sleep. Don’t get any ideas. My hands are cold, and I’m just holding the warmest thing I can find,” she answered, smiling innocently at him even as her hand began slowly stroking it.
“Right,” he replied hesitantly. Though he was positive that she wasn’t being exactly truthful, David wasn’t willing to push the issue, so he tried closing his eyes once more. However, the quickening of his heartbeat seemed to chase sleep away, and though he truly wanted to, he realized that he wasn’t yet ready to relax by any stretch of the imagination.
It quickly became apparent that Betty wasn’t either. She started squeezing his cock, her lithe fingers seeming to encourage his cock to grow even harder. She wasn’t actively doing anything, adding absolutely no motion to her attentions – merely squeezing his shaft every so often, sometimes so gently that he wasn’t sure she was doing anything at all. But her attentions were enough to keep him engorged, his cock slowly growing to its full length, throbbing in her palm. “Betty, if you keep that up—” he said, his voice low and husky.
“Hush,” she replied gently. “Just think of it as a hand warmer. It’s so comfortable here lying against your chest – feeling the beating of your heart against me – that I don’t want to disturb it with words.”
David tried to hold his tongue, but her comment only made him focus that much more on their contact. While he hadn’t thought that much about it earlier, dismissing her blatant nudity as she climbed in bed much in the same way he’d dismissed the other women’s nudity when he began sleeping with them, but now he was very aware of her firm young breasts pressing against him, and their heartbeats beating in synchronization. What’s more, she wasn’t just lying beside him, she was lying pressed fully against him, with her leg wrapped around his, leaving her thigh just under his balls, not far from her hand massaging his cock.
Again, he tried not to overreact, but he was getting more and more self-conscious. Her motions were becoming more regular, and he was aware that he was now beginning to ooze pre-cum from the tip of his cock. Betty certainly didn’t help the situation when she flicked a thumb up and stroked the tip, smearing the slick fluid around his crown, an act that made his suppressed lust spike even higher. His cock was actively throbbing, twitching each time her grasp eased, pulsing in time to his heartbeat. Despite his reluctance to take advantage of her, he pulled her more tightly against him, wrapping his hand around her exposed breast.
It was when her hand began an up and down motion that the self-delusional world his mind had created finally began to clear. Unbidden, images of Flora came flooding back into his mind, of the way the young woman had initiated and pursued him. It was suddenly clear that, like Flora, Betty knew exactly what she was doing, and she wasn’t sleepless simply because of the naps she’d taken, but because she was interested in some more intimate touching than she’d originally claimed.
With a sudden dawning he realized that this was her intention from the start, both today and before they’d done the plasma transfer. She’d said she wanted to be touched, to feel like a human again, yet David had never made the natural assumptions of sexual intimacy. Perhaps subconsciously he just assumed that she wouldn’t be interested in an older man such as himself, a man old enough to be her father. Yet the reality was there before him – pumping his cock as she pressed her nipples against his chest and rubbed her pussy against his thigh – and he was responding to it as well.
“Betty…,” he tried to say, at a loss of how best to respond to her attentions.
“Shh, no talking,” she insisted, her voice thick with lust as she interrupted his objections, following up her words by kissing him again, her soft bee-strung lips effectively silencing him as he accepted her tongue’s invasion of his mouth.
He felt conflicted as images of not just Flora but of Ellen, Linda and Maggie flashed through his memory. Part of him felt that lying with Betty was wrong, like he was betraying their memory by sleeping with someone else so soon after they’d died. He hadn’t been ready to reconnect with another woman, so he hadn’t been looking for a sexual partner, or even a romantic entanglement. He hadn’t suspected that others might have plans of their own, such as undergoing an experimental, life-threatening treatment just so she could sleep with him. He simply wasn’t ready for the repercussions yet. He hadn’t had time to prepare for it. Logically, consciously, he knew that he should really stop this. But by then it was too late. As much as he wasn’t ready for another emotional relationship, it had been far too long since he’d had sex, or even granted himself the release of self-pleasure, and as he’d gotten so used to having regular sex with his four previous sex partners, his sexual urges now flooded back with a vengeance.
He returned her kiss with enthusiasm, shifting his hand so he could openly fondle her firm ripe breast, seemingly eager for his touch, the nipple fitting so comfortably in his palm. Pulling her partially onto him, his other hand reached down, grasping her ass cheek, squeezing and reveling in the tight muscles underneath the soft supple skin.
She responded to his sexual response, moaning into his mouth as her hand picked up speed. She pumped his cock confidently, marveling at the feel of his response, rather than merely responding to her lust. After having feared she’d never again be able to touch someone else, she was in no hurry to rush things, but more than anything else she wanted to both enjoy and reward the man she credited with saving her, because she knew that even with Alice’s plasma, it was only David that had guided her beyond her desire to surrender.
Throwing her leg over his, she ground her slick, moist pussy against his thigh, marveling at how much more sexy the simple physical contact was than her own physical excitement. But her excitement wasn’t really in question. Rubbing against him under the comforting encouragement of his arms, she rubbed her erect nipples against his chest hair, trying to touch as much of his flesh as she physically could, each inch of contact causing an additional thrill to ripple through her.
David realized that she not only knew exactly what she was doing in seducing him, but that she was primed and ready for whatever took place. He had a vision of her sitting there at night, dreaming of connecting physically with some man, her fingers stroking her sex as she pleasured herself, while fear kept her from revealing her hunger for others to anyone else. Tom and Monique’s suggested alternative must have been the answer to her prayers, which was proven when David had refused their own offers to undergo the same treatment. David now clearly saw why she’d jumped at the chance, even though it could easily have meant her death.
As if responding to the thoughts in his head, confirming his suspicions, she rolled fully atop him, rubbing her pussy against his erection, spreading her juices along his length. David, unable to help himself, thrust against her as they preceded to dry-hump each other, only it was quickly becoming less dry as they continued.
Her excitement finally getting the best of her, she reached down, fumbling with his boxers, half removing, half shifting them to the side. Her need, her insistence, her sheer obsessive aggressiveness in her pursuit of him finally wore away his remaining resistance. Growling in the back of his throat, he surrendered to his animal instincts and took control of the situation. In a single motion he rolled both of them over, physically positioning her beneath him.
Breaking their kiss, he stared at her, reading her parted lips, her flushed face, the sheer look of acceptance in her eyes, and he didn’t ask any more questions or tried to argue with his baser emotions. Instead he grasped his cock, rubbed the tip along her slit until he found what he was seeking, and slid inside her in a steady single thrust.
She was so slick that he slid inside easily, though it took a couple more thrusts to get fully home. Each time he thrust into her, she’d gasp with pleasure, arching her back to give him greater access. With a growl of her own she laced her fingers through his hair and pulling his head down, resumed their kiss. He returned the kiss, hungry for both a figurative and literal taste of the young woman beneath him, hungry for the familiar intimate contact he couldn’t share with his daughter, or his own hand.
Even as she struggled to maintain their kiss, he settled into a fierce rhythm fueled by their combined lust and need. Betty responded just as eagerly, wrapping her legs around him and rolling her pelvis up, welcoming him into her, writhing and moaning beneath him, fucking him back as much as he was fucking her.
She’d waited too long for this, had sacrificed too much to engineer it and paid too much to not take advantage of it now. She rode him like her life depended on it, but she found her weakened state betraying her, so she was forced to relinquish herself to his actions, succumbing to his assault. She continued to encourage him with moans and thrusts, but she was tiring quickly, despite her desire to appreciate this encounter to the fullest.
David gasped for air, trying to control both his emotions and his overwhelming desire to come deep inside the woman half his age beneath him. But Betty, feeling her strength ebbing and knowing she couldn’t keep up with him for long, instinctively began encouraging him to do just that.
“Do it, David,” she begged, her flushed face gleaming with the sweat of her effort. “Do it, come with me. I’ve been waiting for this moment since before I knew you. I’ve imagined this scene even before I knew what you looked like. Ah! Yes, like that! I always wanted someone just like you, doing this,” she continued encouraging him, driving him further and further, forcing him to do what she was now becoming too weak to do herself. “I despaired of ever finding you, and then when I did, I was terrified of actually doing it.”
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, trying to squeeze him on ever thrust into her, wanting to make this so special for them both. This was much too special for her to spoil by collapsing, but she had to speed it up or she’d never be able to make it to the end with him.
“There’s no longer anything preventing it, you can have me and I can have you! Fuck me just the way I’ve been dreaming of. Do me, David. Pump me full of your cum, make me feel alive. Give me all of you, make it feel it in every inch of my soul, pound me into oblivion. Yes! Yes!!! Make me feel more alive and loved than I’ve ever felt!!!”
Aside from the love she felt for this man, and the physical delight of the skin-to-skin contact, she felt more committed to him than she had any man before. She didn’t have to worry about how much he loved her; even without any expectation of sex he’d proven he’d do anything for her. He’d waited on her through her worst, through her sweat, piss, shit and puke, and he never hesitated. He wouldn’t care if she put on a few pounds, or slowed down over the years, because it was clear he was committed to her in a way no one ever had. Anyone else might have sat with her, but they wouldn’t have dedicated themselves to her, and when told she’d be better off if he simply let her go, they’d close their eyes and say their goodbyes. But instead, David had spent hours singing to her, encouraging her to fight even when she couldn’t understand his oral pleas. He slaved away, trying to get her heart beating even after assured she was gone. He wouldn’t give up on her, and she’d love him for the rest of her life as a result. There was no way she could possibly return that kind of commitment, but she was determined to spend the rest of her life trying.
Her words, her desperate need, her hunger for him was all that David could take. Her beauty and her grasping pussy were almost an afterthought. Her intense desire for him pulled him over with her. He shoved home hard, clutching her to him and he began unloading inside her. She gasped and arched her back, still urging him to come as she reveled in this orgasmic intermingling of their souls as she succumbed to her own orgasm, sweeping the last of her strength away as it washed over her in an intense and powerful wave of happiness and fulfillment. Betty’s pussy pulsated around him in a way that was so familiar and yet so distant. He pumped and pumped into her until nothing more would come out. He collapsed atop her, his lungs wheezing like a bellows as he tried to get his breath back.
“You … you need to … move,” she gasped, her voice rising like a lost cause beneath his heaving chest. “I’m too weak, I can’t move.”
“Oh, shit!” he blurted as he suddenly realized what he’d done. Realizing how she hadn’t actually been up to what he’d just delivered, how she was too weak and too overwhelmed to withstand it, he rolled off of her. But he held her hips tight to his as he moved, pulling the young blonde over on top of him. It didn’t work, of course, as his pulsing post-orgasmic erection slid easily out of her well fucked pussy, but Betty didn’t seem to care as she stroked his body while also struggling for breathe.
They both gasped as they lay there, their eyes locked on each other’s, feeling the depth of what they’d shared, even as the reality of what he’d done began to suddenly dawn on David.
And then the clapping began.
At first it was only one person, and in his exhausted, confused state David struggled to understand just what it was. As a couple of others joined in, suddenly he had visions of others clustered outside his bedroom door, others who were now long gone, voicing their opinions of his performance. He raised his head and glanced at the door, and saw it had been left ajar, although he couldn’t actually see anyone peering in.
“Way to get back on the horse, Dad!” Alice called out, proving that she’d prearranged this secret performance for the other kids. David opened his mouth to berate her, his anger quickly flaring with thoughts of his depraved daughter corrupting these other innocent kids, but just as quickly rethought that. These were hardly ‘innocent’ kids – they’d lived on the streets, seeing the worst of humanity, and while they’d supposedly maintained their virtue, he was well aware they were probably wrestling with their desires as well. He should have known it would happen as soon as other kids came into the household.
In fact, now that he thought of it, Alice was the one who’d encouraged Mattie to climb into their bed, and she’d been the one to lead Mattie out, leaving him alone with Betty, and who’d left the door open so she and the other kids could listen in—just as she had so often with her other friends before they… well, before.
“Very funny, but seriously, couldn’t you at least give us a day to get ready for a performance?” he complained, speaking loudly enough so he could be heard outside.
“Are you kidding?” Alice called back with a laugh. “It took you long enough! If you’d waited any longer, you’d have exploded at any moment, and Betty would have been a quivering puddle! This took much too long to happen as it did. You both needed this, and I’m glad you both finally did it.”
That triggered yet another thought in David’s mind, and he looked into Betty’s widely grinning face.
“Did she put you up to this? And did you know they’d be watching?”
“Who me?” Betty replied, her protests of innocence betrayed by the wicked gleam in her eyes.
“Don’t worry, Dad. No one peeked,” Alice quickly assured him from outside. “I just opened the door so we could hear the conversation. After all, that’s the best part; all the intriguing bits without the yucky parts jutting out.”
“She hardly had to force me,” she acknowledged, looking proud of herself, though she struggled to respond, her chest rising and falling with her labored effort, “but she did help prepare me for it.”
As she paused, still trying to regain her breathe, David realized that she was still too physically worn out for this much physical activity after her illness. He’d have to treat her more delicately in the future. “She told me what would get to you, and the best way to approach it,” the young blonde finally said as her breathing slowed. “I’m guessing she’s seen more than most kids her age.”
“Hey, you can just forget that,” Alice called defensively from outside. “You’re thinking of kids from way back before the first meteor storm. Such kids don’t exist anymore. Just look around. Do you see any wide-eyed innocents anymore?”
“Hey, this kid certainly isn’t as innocent as you want her to be,” Mattie yelled, also wanting to assert herself. “While I’m not ready to get down and dirty yet, why do you think I was so ready to start sleeping with you? Why do you think I end up in the bathroom by myself before I go to bed, and sometimes several times during the night? We’ve all grown up a lot in the last several weeks, and you can’t turn the clocks back.”
“Hey, who’s the one who had to be dragged out of the room earlier tonight?” David countered. The other kids laughed, finally confirming they were actually there, and David knew he’d scored a major concession that put his mind at ease. As much as Mattie may be thinking about sex, she wasn’t ready for it yet.
“So how long until the next show?” Alice asked.
“Is there any way to get better seats?” added Nina. “The way Alice arranged everything, I couldn’t see much of anything.”
“Should we come in and congratulate the happy couple,” Alice asked, “or should we stay and keep our motors running while you continue the next act?”
David glanced at Betty before responding. “Given those choices, you’d all better stay out there. I’m not sure Betty could stand either a repeat performance or entertaining an attentive crowd. After all, I’d hate disturbing you after you’ve all gotten so comfortable.”
“Speak for yourself,” Betty corrected him. “It may take me a while, but I plan on trying again as soon as I can manage it.”
“Way to go, Dad,” Alice yelled. “When you get back in the saddle, it’s hard knocking you loose again.” The other kids laughed, even as they settled in for what was looking like a long night – though David insisted they at least close the door.
“Man, are you always that noisy whenever you get busy after dark?” Tom asked good naturedly as David came downstairs the next morning. He handed David a hot cup of coffee, grinning like two ‘good ‘ol boys’, sharing a shared secret.
“It’s something that Alice initiated and my … old girlfriend encouraged,” David explained, still having trouble grappling with the memory of his deceased lover.
That revelation was strangely reassuring to Tom, who hadn't really had much time to develop a close friendship with the one man who effectively controlled his entire life at this stage. Here he was, finally revealing his intense personal pain, while up until now he'd only projected a tough guy image as someone who was clearly level-headed and not suffering from the same doubts that haunted everyone else. Frankly, Tom wasn't sure whether he liked this new image of David. As endearing as it was, he, like the others relied on the dependable, unemotional leader they knew. Thus he was torn between fascinated support and terrified rejection. But he struggled to hide that response from David.
“It seems she’s trying to reinstitute it,” David concluded, already noticing Tom's unvoiced response.
“Well, you didn’t seem to resist much,” Monique responded from behind them. Turning, David observed both Monique and Debbie descending the stairs, giggling at Monique's teasing comment. Although David wasn't so appreciative, he noted that this was the first time he'd seen the normally combative, pushy women visually relaxed around him. As he glanced at them and Tom, he realized that he was walking a very thin line between acceptable humanity and uncomfortable human frailty.
He didn't know whether Alice had considered this when she'd engineered the whole encounter, and the subsequent eavesdropping party, but he marveled that she'd managed to find such a perfect solution, giving everyone something to share, something to laugh at, and also a way of viewing David more realistically without having to worry about his mental state.
He also noted that along with her more relaxed attitude towards him, Monique seemed to be looking at him in a whole new manner.
“I was tempted to join the group in the hall,” she responded, smiling wolfishly at him, “but I didn’t know if it was a private affair or not.”
“What did everyone do after they went into your room?” Debbie asked, her face bubbling over with excited curiosity. Again, David realized that being able to laugh at their ability to pull one over on him – to catch him with his pants down, as it were – seemed to relax everyone and to melt some of their insecurity about their new living arrangements. They might still be worried about the possibility of infection, but they no longer saw him as an impossibly imposing unapproachable figure.
“Don’t worry, it was mostly innocent,” Betty said, coming down behind them. She’d taken a little longer getting ready than David had, but she looked just as freshly fucked as he did, both of them wearing the telltale grin of those who’d just gotten lucky. “They all came into the room and teased us, climbing into the bed once I managed to straighten it up a little, telling a variety of off-color jokes, commenting on our performance. At least, Mattie and Alice did. The others participated, but kept their distance.”
“I can see that,” Tom reflected, opening up on a personal level as well. “They didn't yet know how you'd respond and what was allowable territory with you,” he explained, revealing his own issues while discussing everyone else's.
“Again, it was something that Alice and her friends initiated before everyone … well, they did it partly to tease and partly to establish that they were no longer just kids, but that they wanted to be considered quasi-adults,” David explained.
“That makes sense. You should have seen this one,” Monique said as she pointed at her companion. “While she didn’t try anything sexual, she was more than ready to talk about it all night.” Debbie blushed even as she found it hard to wipe the smirk from her face. They each headed for the coffee, including the now ‘adult’ Debbie.
“So I take it everyone’s going to be dragging today?” David asked, still trying to gauge how everyone was feeling, as well as how much they’d gotten carried away the night before.
“Not me,” Tom responded with a grin. “I haven’t slept that well in quite a while.”
“The others will be down in a bit,” Alice called from the top of the stairs as she descended, still fastening her belt, her knife sheath and gun belts already attached. “They stayed up talking for quite a while, and they aren’t used to this enough to temper it yet.”
“So is this going to become a regular thing again, or was this just a onetime performance?” David called back, his voice hopeful, though he already knew the answer even as he asked it.
“You’ll have to ask the others,” Alice responded. “I just asked them if they wanted to hear something impressive. I have no control over just how impressed they were by it.” Reaching the counter, she turned and yelled up the stairs, “You’d guys had better hurry, the coffee’s almost gone!”
There was a sudden burst of grumbling from upstairs, and suddenly several heads started appearing. “Hey, save us some,” Jenny protested.
“Hey, we’re the ones that need to be awake enough to drive cross country,” David argued. “You lot can simply make another pot after we’ve left.”
“Still, we want to be awake enough to catch any additional teasing. That Alice just never stops,” Peter interjected.
“And it wasn’t our idea to stay behind,” Jenny protested. “While I agree that we need to stay here and maintain the place while getting comfortable with everything, it was hard convincing Peter and Adam that it was the best choice.”
“Yeah, we want to help. We need to be able to pull our own weight,” Peter insisted.
“Don’t worry; staying here, maintaining the plants and animals is contributing,” David told them, speaking firmly but encouragingly. “Once you’ve had some firearms training, and can handle a vehicle and manage moving heavy equipment, then we’ll consider it.”
“Ah, man,” Adam complained, stomping down the stairs to demonstrate how unfair he considered that position to be. “We’ll never be big enough to do all of that!”
“Don’t worry;” David repeated, “I plan on making sure that all of you not only survive that long, but that you thrive as well. That’s partly why I insist on only taking those who are ready when we take on trips like this.”
“But yes, Alice doesn’t stop, unfortunately,” David said, trying to get the topic back on the earlier teasing, which was helping everyone relate better, rather than fretting over who he’d included in the coming trip, “Once she sets her mind to something, it’s hard to distract her,” he teasingly grumbled, casting Alice a quick glare. She shook it off, though. It had been too much fun getting the kids involved and reliving happier times, and they both knew she’d do it again.
“Anyway, I still want to get out of here early,” David told them. “We’ll take the dead truck, just ‘cause it’s handy. If you people need something to do while we’re gone, I’d suggest either cutting the grass back or begin collecting the dead animal carcasses from the woods. While the open areas are mostly cleared, the stench is getting atrocious.”
“I’d also suggest you spend some time practicing shooting,” Alice suggested. “We’re letting you skip it this time, but you’ll be packing yourselves soon, and we’d prefer you know enough not to shoot us in the backs if trouble occurs.” She was enjoying playing the role of experienced gunslinger, since she and David were the only one’s who’d actually been involved in a gunfight before.
“Don’t worry, I’ll practice plenty,” Peter assured her, his eyes dancing at the thoughts of being able to defend himself.
“As will I,” his sister echoed, looking at them with steely determination instead of her brother’s glee. “I don’t plan to leave anyone exposed to the kind of abuse they suffered while we hid in the bushes again. If I can stop that kind of thing in the future, I will.”
“Good, that’s what I was hoping to hear,” Alice replied with a grin, having accomplished a second coup in only eight hours’ time.
The adults headed out soon after, stopping to pick up Greg and Melissa on their way out. They had a long trip ahead of them, and they knew they needed plenty of time to deal with whatever they encountered.
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