She wanted to tell the girl she wasn’t ready, that she was too emotional to start using the gun but she knew that this world didn’t provide them with the time to find a good mental place. They were fighting for their lives here and they couldn’t waste their time and energy on trying to pretend otherwise.
And just maybe her need for vengeance would be what kept the girl alive.
Veronica nodded. “In the morning before we break camp, we’ll do some target practice.”
Audrey looked at her and a pained smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. “Thank you. I don’t want to die like my parents.”
The words were said in a whisper and for a moment Veronica had hoped she hadn’t heard her right but the tears that filled the girl’s eyes told her the truth. The girl began to cry and Veronica pulled her into her arms, letting the girl bury her face in the crook of her neck. Veronica stroked her hair, murmuring comforting words into her ear as she rocked the girl, letting her cry it out.
Soon she felt Audrey relax in her arms, leaning against her heavily, exhausted from it all. Veronica continued to stroke her hair as she shifted to rest her head on her shoulder.
“I know you’re scared, I was scared too but you know when I stopped being scared?” Audrey shook her head. “When you guys found me. As long as we aren’t alone, we don’t have to be scared. I promise, I won’t leave you alone, okay?”
Audrey took a deep breath, wiping a hand over her face before nodding. “And I won’t leave you alone too.”
Veronica was touched by her promise and she hugged her again, spying Jackson and Hannah coming back from the bathroom over Audrey’s shoulder. The little girl was holding his hand tight and babbling a mile a minute. Veronica had to laugh at Jackson’s confused expression, his furrowed brow clear from even this distance.
“And Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus and flies really fast. And Applejack is a farmer and makes the best cider. And they all live in Ponyville.”
The girl’s eager chatter drifted to them as she and Jackson joined them at the fire and Veronica had to choke down a laugh at Jackson’s serious expression as he listened to Hannah.
“So ya do like horses,” he replied and Hannah rolled her eyes, a hand going to her hip as she cocked it to the side and gazed up at him.
“I like ponies, not horses,” she told him, sighing deeply as if he was particularly dense.
“Right, ponies, got it,” he said, patting her on the head affectionately. She looked at Veronica and Audrey and her eyes lit up as she smiled.
“Guess what?” she said with excitement. “Jackson didn’t know what
My Little Pony
was but I told him all about it.”
“He didn’t know about it at all?” Veronica said in mock shock, side eyeing Jackson and curling her mouth up into a smirk.
“Like you know shit about it,” Jackson grouched back.
“Fluttershy is my favourite,” Veronica told Hannah.
“Mine too!” she replied and Jackson snorted.
“Ya just told me Rainbow Racer was your favourite.”
“Rainbow
Dash
,” Hannah said with exasperation, “And they’re all my favourite.”
Veronica had a hand over her mouth, trying to hide her wide grin and she could feel Audrey shaking beside her with silent laughter. Jackson glared at all of them before throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.
“Come on, girl,” he said with a jerk of his chin towards the bathrooms. “You gotta get washed up and you’ll need someone to stand watch outside. I ain’t stayin’ up all night while y’all talk about ponies and rainbows. Let’s get it done so we can get to sleep.”
“Come on Hannah,” Veronica said, holding a hand out to the little girl as Audrey rose to her feet to follow Jackson. “I’ll tuck you in and tell you a story.”
“One about ponies?”
“It’s about nothing but ponies.”
The girl smiled and took off to the tent, Veronica following close behind. It was nice to see that after everything she was still every bit a child inside. A lot of Audrey’s innocence had been stripped away in these last few days but Hannah had appeared to hold on to some of hers. Veronica just hoped that it could last a little while longer for all their sakes.
Subject File # 744
Subject - You know, I used to think that I had lost my chance at a relationship. Single mothers don’t have men beating down their doors, you know. And now here I am, having the best sex of my life with an amazing man.
Administrator - Well…uh…I am happy for you. You are lucky to have that.
Subject - Don’t worry, we’ll find the same thing for you, just give me time to find you the right person. Trust me, nothing brightens up the apocalypse like good sex.
Though it was the dead of night, Kim had found herself unable to sleep. She couldn’t stop thinking and worrying and running through all these horrible scenarios where the men from town showed up to attack them.
Eventually she had given up tossing and turning in her sleeping bag and came out to sit by the fire, not wanting to disturb Trey’s sleep anymore than she already had.
It actually wasn’t so bad though. The stars were out in full force, glittering across the black velvet of the vast sky above her. They were nearly blinding in their brilliance, stars she had never seen within the city limits now shone with intensity. Though she supposed with the power grid down, the people left in the cities were now getting the same twinkling view.
If there were any people left in the cities to see it, that is.
The night was also alive with the sounds of nature. Bullfrogs croaking in the distance, the insects well into their nightly symphony and every once in awhile an owl hooted along. The slide of a zipper and rustling canvas joined in and she turned to see Malcolm emerging from his tent.
He came to join her at the fire, rubbing a hand over his face to clear away the last of his sleep. He had been out like a light since the funeral, even sleeping through the ruckus of dinner and putting the kids to bed.
“What are you doing up?” he asked as he sat down beside her.
“I can’t fall asleep,” she explained, turning to face him. “I can’t stop thinking about Travis and Quinton’s sister out there. This is the second night they’ve been missing. I want to know the truth, do you think they’re still alive?”
He took a deep breath, rubbing his hands over his knees and she knew he was preparing himself to say something she wouldn’t like.
“No, I don’t think so. Travis would do whatever he had to, to get back to Jenny. If he hasn’t come back by now, he’s not coming back.”
She bowed her head, wanting to hide the tears that started to burn in her eyes. Through the blur of her tears, she saw his hand cover hers and he threaded his fingers through hers.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I wish I could have kept that hope alive for all of us.”
She shook her head, lifting her chin and brushing away her tears as she took a deep breath. They didn’t have time to play pretend or lie to themselves.
“We need to face reality, no matter how ugly it is. Now isn’t the time to hide the truth.”
He stayed silent for a moment, staring down at their intertwined hands before nodding his head, as if he had made a decision for himself. He pulled his hand from hers and she frowned at the loss of contact. Before she could ask what was wrong, he put a finger under her chin, tilting it up so she was looking straight in his eyes.
“Truth is I want you,” he said, his breath tickling her lips.
“Good because I want you too,” she replied and his mouth descended to capture hers.
This kiss was much like their first, all lips and tongue but the passion here was not from panic due to a near death experience. No, this was pure desire, the kind Kim felt all the way to her toes. The kind that made her think of nothing except feeling his naked flesh against her own.
His tongue plunged into her mouth, tangling with her own as they both fought for dominance. His fingers tightened at the nape of her neck as he deepened the kiss and pulled her flush against the length of his body.
She relished the sensation of his hard planes against her soft curves. Her breasts pressed against his broad chest, his thick arm wrapped around her waist, a large palm dipping down to cup the curve of her ass. She needed no more urging and quickly straddled his hips, bringing her warm core to nestle against the hard length of his erection. He moaned into her mouth, thrusting his hips, grinding himself into her throbbing core.
His hand slid down from her neck, ghosting over her collarbone to cup a breast. Her nipple puckered painfully tight as his thumb stroked it through the fabric of her shirt. There were too many layers of clothing between them and she released his mouth to tug her shirt over her head.
Malcolm growled in appreciation, his eyes drifting to her breasts, clad only in the blue demi-cup bra. He lifted a hand to her shoulder, slipping a finger under the strap and dragging it slowly down. His finger drifted down to the lacy edge of the cup, tracing over the slope of her breast, causing her to tremble in his arms. He smirked as gooseflesh spread over her chest and he pulled down the bra cup, exposing her. He gazed at her, adoration clear in his eyes as the pad of his finger teased her nipple with lazy strokes.
She sighed in pleasure when he dipped his head to take her nipple between his lips, suckling the tight flesh. Her head fell back, mouth agape, pleasure shooting through her veins as he used his teeth to nibble gently on her. She dug nails into his shoulders when he released her nipple, whimpering at the loss of contact, but he was quick to free her other breast and take it in his mouth.
She let her head loll back as he suckled her, a throbbing ache starting up between her thighs. She bucked her hips against his hard length, already so close to the edge, and he bit down on her nipple, causing her to moan loudly.
The rustling of canvas behind them was loud enough for her to become aware of the fact that she was topless in the middle of the camp. She put a hand on Malcolm’s jaw and nudged him away from her breast. He released her nipple with an audible pop and she briefly mourned the loss. His breath was coming out in harsh pants just like her own and his eyes were dark with desire and looked up at her inquisitively.
“Let’s go to your tent,” she said and he smiled wickedly at her. She squeaked when his hands tightened on her ass and he stood up, easily lifting her with him and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He dipped his head to suckle her neck as he walked them to his tent, only letting her go long enough for her to crawl inside the tent with him right behind her.
After he zipped up the tent flap, he practically tackled her onto the sleeping bag, looming over her as he kissed her again. His hands were everywhere, ghosting along her skin as he made quick work of ridding her of the rest of her clothes. Soon his lips followed the path of his fingers, tasting every inch of her as she writhed beneath him in a frenzy.
“You’re so beautiful,” he growled in her ear, nipping at the lobe. His gravel voice and the warmth of his breath against her neck had her needing to feel him. She tore at his shirt and he helped her pull it off as her hands went to his chest. She traced the hard muscles, fingers teasing his nipples for a moment before slipping over his flat stomach, caressing the rippled plain.
“You’re beautiful too,” she whispered to him, hand moving down to squeeze his erection, eliciting a tight groan from him. He rolled off of her long enough to strip himself bare and then he was back, settling between her splayed legs.
“God, baby, I want you so bad,” he said, kissing her as he reached between them to guide himself to her entrance. She lifted her legs to wrap around his waist and linked her hands behind his neck, pulling back from the kiss to look him in the eye.
“Then take me.”
Their moans filled the tent when he drove home and their bodies soon found an easy rhythm together. The tension that now curled in her belly was the good kind. The kind that promised mind blowing pleasure that would make her forget everything for a little while.
She tossed her head to the side when he shifted, finding a different angle that drove her faster to her peak. His hand moved to the side of her face, thumb stroking her cheek.
“I want to see you when you come.”
His growled plea had her turning her head and when her eyes locked with his, she came undone. She forced her eyes to stay open as it hit her like a tidal wave, her body trembling beneath him and she cried out his name. It only took a few more strokes before he was joining her, a guttural groan slipping past his lips when she cupped his cheek, forcing him to look at her as it happened.
As he trembled above her, dark eyes looking deep into her own, his scent all over her skin, she finally felt safe again.
Subject File #745
Administrator: How long have you known Veronica?
Subject: Met her when this whole thing started.
Administrator: Why have her stay with you? You seem capable of taking care of things yourself.
Subject: She was alone. I know what it’s like when ya got nobody left.
Jackson had to admire the collection that was laid out before him. The light from the fire had the metal glowing red and orange against the dark blanket he had arranged the weapons on. Two assault rifles, two shotguns not including the one Veronica still carried, four Glocks, a dozen flash bangs, two leg holsters, two dozen clips and twenty boxes of ammunition of different calibres.