by Gillian Zane
“Is your family still there? Is everything ok?” Miley asked.
“We honestly don’t know; fires mainly are what we think might have gotten the better of our families. I think my family and Melissa’s got up to Redding, again possibly, but most of the cell towers are down in the state, so it’s been hard getting in touch with anyone. All we have is the news and that is garbled. I got an email a few weeks ago. They said they were safe for the moment. Nothing after that though.”
“My family made it to Reno and are holed up with relatives,” Mason said.
“We rented that SUV we’re in and were about to drive back home, and then this happened. We’ve seen so much death and destruction, when she bragged about the ensuing loss of life—well, we can’t see any more death.” Melissa sat at the counter and put her head in her hands. Flynn rubbed her back and said something to her I couldn’t make out.
“When did you talk to the father?” I asked the newcomers.
“Only a few hours ago, he caught us before we got on the Causeway, was standing right in the middle of the road. We were fleeing for our lives. She had made some scary threats, and there he was.” Melissa ran her fingers through her hair; I could tell she was tired.
“This must be a shock, it was a shock to all of us, and it’s not like these gods or whatever they are give us explicit instructions.” Miley ran a hand through her hair. “Like I said earlier, I have a place y’all can stay. Everything is covered here. We have a garden, and we’re looking into getting some kind of producing animals. We’re trying to be self-sufficient for the long haul, so we can fight her.”
“I’m great with animals,” Melissa perked up. “My parents had a small farm in Hawaii, and I was pursuing a career in veterinary medicine before the last pandemic.”
“That’s perfect.” I nodded my head and looked at the men, for them to include what they did.
“I’m not any kind of expert, but I was in construction, carpentry,” Flynn said and looked sheepish, like he had failed some kind of test. They were all so young. I was probably the oldest in the group. It shouldn’t be expected that they were experts in anything.
“College student,” Mason laughed, embarrassed. “When they shut the schools down, I started volunteering with the Clean Water Initiative. You know, dumb surfer.” He looked even more embarrassed. “Never even had a job before.” Mason was the only one that looked truly Hawaiian. He looked like he could be Polynesian and your typical surfer messy hair, tribal tattoo peeking out from under his shirt.
“It’s okay Mason, you can help Flynn and Liam. I’m sure you’ll pick up some skills,” Lily piped in, trying to ease the man. He smiled at her and the girl blushed.
“Right, that would great. I have to reinforce our fencing, and I really could use the help. Then, I guess we’ll have to set up pens and yards for the animals if we get some.” Liam slapped Flynn on the back. “Y’all will be a great help.” The two newcomers nodded and looked relieved.
“Let me show you guys where you’ll be staying, and tomorrow if you need to get any of your belongings, Zeke or I can go with one of you to your hotel,” Miley said.
“We have everything in the SUV,” Melissa said. “We were ready to drive home.”
“That’s easy then, well, c’mon, let me show you the property.” Miley stood and beckoned for them to follow her.
41
At this rate, I was going to run out of cottages. There were a total of ten cabins and cottages on the property, but most of them slept seven or more. If they came in twos and threes, they would have to bunk with others as they showed, and I guess I could start sleeping some in the main house. I didn't want to, but I guess there wasn't much of a choice. The bigger cabins were on the southern border of the property, outside the fenced and protected area. When I had to start putting people in those, we would have a huge issue to deal with since they were sitting in the open, right on the river.
The Tchefuncte River ran along the southern border of my property, well my original property since Liam had expanded it. The large river cabins were the most exposed to attack because they couldn’t be protected as well as the inner cottages. The cabins were all clustered together on the river, and they slept a good bit of people, but protecting those cabins would be an issue.
There were two original cottages on the property. I used one as a pool house, and then the other had been divided into two separate apartments when I renovated them to be rented. The smaller one was Zeke’s initially, basically a small efficiency. But its pair was much larger, with three bedrooms and a full kitchen. I would put Melissa and the boys in the larger one. They would have to fight for the master bedroom, that had its own bathroom, but the two other rooms came with bunk beds and a double in each room, along with a sofa sleeper in the front room, so I could technically add five more people comfortably in their cottage, preventing a rush to the river cabins.
“We should be near the Tchefuncte, right?” Mason asked.
“About a five-minute walk, runs through the middle of my property.” I pointed in the river's direction.
“Does it get a lot of kayakers or tubers in this area?” Flynn asked.
“Before the last pandemic, there were a few that made it up here, but now, none. This area of the river is not inhabited. There are not a lot of houses on the banks, so no one maintains it. This allows a lot of debris to pile up, fallen trees, blockades. The kayakers and tubers like the maintained portions better.”
“How’s the fishing?” Flynn asked.
“It’s been a while since I tried. It was never that plentiful for me personally, but neighbors brag that they’ve caught trout and redfish. Should only get better as the weather gets cooler.”
“Feels like summers never end in Southern Louisiana.” Melissa fanned herself.
“How long have y’all been down here?” I asked.
“We’ve come down every year for the past three years. Mason’s parents have some close friends out here. It made it easy,” Flynn answered my question.
I walked them through the pool area and then through the garden to the cottages. They oohed and ahhed as was expected as they checked out the garden. With the number of people there still wouldn’t be enough produce; we would have to look into that. I was excited about the animals, even though, I knew nothing about raising them. I didn’t even have a cat. Too much responsibility.
When I showed them the cottage they would stay in, they thanked me profusely, had thumb wars over who was getting the master with Melissa coming out on top, and then promptly declared they were going to bed, so I left them to it. They seemed so much younger than me, even though I only had a few years on them. I felt like I had aged at least a decade since this all started. At least, matured a decade. I wasn’t questioning myself as much, or getting lost in my insecurities, and I definitely wasn’t focusing on menial minutia like I used to, like proper filters for my next selfie. Hell, I hadn’t taken a selfie in a long time, well, it had been at least a couple of days. Adulting.
I walked through the garden, marveling at the growth and the little maintenance we had to give them to grow. I had been putting in a garden for a few years, mainly for the novelty of it, and the taste of the produce. There was no comparing a store-bought tomato to a freshly grown one. But in all my time of growing food, I have never had this much production. I had also never experienced this much ease of growing. There had been no fungus growth, caterpillars, slugs. Nothing.
The tomatoes were about ready to be picked. I touched one, its size was good and the feel of it, just perfect. Tomorrow, we would have fresh tomatoes.
“As soon as your feet touched the grass, I knew exactly where you were.” Zeke’s voice was warm water over my skin. I took a deep breath and realized that I had felt him as well, it just hadn’t registered that was what I was feeling.
“You know it’s me, specifically?” He nodded. “Can you tell other people?”
“If I know them, yes. Flynn is outside now; think he�
�s sneaking a cigarette.” I frowned. I would have to put ashtrays out; I didn’t like butts in my garden.
Zeke grabbed my hand and pulled me into the orchard, which was away from the cottages, where the trees were thick with leaves and blossoms and would block us from view. His mouth found mine, and I sighed against him, losing myself in the feel of him. We had only known each other for such a short time, but every time we touched, I felt safe, I felt whole.
“You are insatiable,” I chided him, but I was just as bad. I wanted him every moment of the day. If we could spend all our time wrapped up in each other, it wouldn’t be enough. We had just come together only hours before, but it was like he hadn’t touched me in days.
“For you, I can’t get enough.”
It wasn’t long before he had all of my clothes off and had me on my back in the grass, each tiny blade supporting me like a cloud. I wondered, and hoped, if he would use the foliage around us again, but there wasn’t much, trees and grass, nothing like the vines and plants of the garden. He used his mouth first to stimulate me, spreading me wide to accommodate his shoulders and exploring me with his tongue and mouth. He licked at me lazily, grinning up at me when I called his name and plunged my fingers in his hair.
I came when he added his fingers to the mix, pushing them inside of me while using his mouth to suck my clit into submission. I bucked beneath him while he unrelentingly fucked me with his fingers.
“Stop,” I cried, trying to squirm away from him, and he laughed and rolled away from me. “Ugh, you’re so hilarious.” But I laughed as well and rolled onto my side to look down at him.
“You always look so soft and pleasant after I make you come,” he smirked.
“Your turn.” I pushed on his shoulders so he fell onto his back. He had only removed his shirt, so I fumbled with the fly of his jeans, yanking them down with little style and grace. His cock was hard as a rock, and I made a triumphant noise when I had it in my hand. I didn’t want to play around. I wanted him inside of me, right that moment. I swung my leg over him, guiding him with my hand until he was aligned with my pussy — and then I sat back and took him inside of me in one smooth motion.
Zeke cried my name in surprise, and I rejoiced, sitting back, my hands on his thighs, my tits in the air as I rode him. Using our bodies, I called everything to me, the sky, the wind, everything inside of me and him. It coalesced around us in a great torrent, our offer accepted, our offer needed.
“Do you feel that?” Zeke cried over the wind.
“I feel everything.” I was past all reasoning; all I knew was the pleasure and the power. I pumped up and down on top of him, riding him hard, wanting every ounce of pleasure as I opened myself more to Zeke and let him touch my soul, let him see everything, hesitating for only a moment, thinking it might be a mistake, but then my walls fell as the first sweepings of an orgasm rang through my veins, and he was inside. We were both coming. We broke apart, particle by particle. The light was too bright. I closed my eyes, shielding my face. Zeke screamed as well.
I fell upon his chest, his arms came around me, and I sobbed. I hadn’t meant to do that. I hadn’t meant to change everything.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” he stroked my hair. He was still hard inside of me, but there was no drawing back, he belonged there.
“What did I do?”
“I saw everything. We were everything. We made something. Do you think that is what the gods feel like? Have we become like them?”
“I don’t think it’s anything like them, or maybe a small portion of them.” I fell away from him, onto my back, my hands going instinctively to my stomach. Zeke’s hand found mine and interlaced with it. “I’m sorry, Zeke, I didn’t mean for that, I didn’t mean to create…” I trailed off as his lips found mine.
“When it began, I knew it was right, whatever you did, I did as well.”
“Life, we created life.” I turned my head into his shoulder.
“If it’s a girl, I hope it has your nose.” I slapped at him, not even knowing what to think about what I had done, because it had been a choice. I was on birth control, and I had seen the option, felt it, felt I could go around it, felt I could guide the conception, and I did, because I didn’t think it had anything to do with any sperm or egg, it happened before either of us had come. It was a choice, a part of us that had broken off and spawned a new creation. I didn’t even know if what I had just done would be human. I was going to have a panic attack.
42
I stood naked in front of the mirror. I could feel my power, tap into it with just a thought. I could also feel whatever it was that we had done last night. I touched my stomach. We had created life, just like the father had told me they had seeded life on this planet. Had they done it like Zeke and I? Combining themselves to make something different?
Rubbing a hand over my belly, I felt the power within. I felt the connection. At first, I didn’t know what we had created, what could have possibly been done, but as the bliss faded realization had hit. Hit hard. We had created a baby because we were so wrapped up on the pleasure. Even with the birth control I took regularly, our power had pushed that aside and created life. If fate hadn’t shown its ugly head when it forced me into Zeke’s arms, now it had thrown down the trump card and yelled “call, bitch”.
I hadn’t wanted this, not in the least, but I couldn’t deny the appeal. The lure of family, of belonging, of having something—someone—that belonged to me. Now, I had Zeke, and this one on the way.
A month ago, I had been alone, content in my isolation. Now, I had so much around me, so much ahead of me. I could feel the others on my property, Zeke was in the kitchen, surrounded by Liam and Lily as they put together dinner. Lily hadn’t discovered what her power was yet, but I had a feeling it had something to do with organization. She was a beast when it came to putting things together.
Zeke’s conflicted thoughts about what was happening, about the new people living with us, and of course, my little issue. I didn’t want to delve too deep; I didn’t want to feel his reluctance. I knew when we started that it wasn’t going to be forever. It had felt like it could be, with the mixing of power thing. It gave the impression that it could happen. But all the myths, all the tall tales and religious texts, had one thing in common, they were usually tragedies. I knew that going into this, and now, I was pretty sure of the ending.
Turning to the side, I frowned at the mirror. There was no way my stomach poked out a bit. I poked it out and decided I didn’t want to do that again. Pregnant girl. No, that wasn't an aesthetic I was happy with. Sucking in my stomach and liking that look much better, I figured I was just overthinking things. My normal workout routine was thrown out the table. I had been eating a lot of good food. Just a bit of pudge, easy to do at my height. I kinda liked it. I did not like the idea of a huge round preggo belly though. I wasn’t ready for motherhood. I couldn’t even keep a cat. The tiniest of little flutters passed through my stomach, and I knew I was being paranoid. I grabbed my robe from behind the door and slipped it on, not wanting to look at myself anymore as I obviously had too much of a wild imagination.
Are they fighting?
That will be awkward if they break up.
I pressed my hand to my head. The thoughts came from someone downstairs. I hope they weren’t talking about us. Or it could just be flitting around in their heads because of Zeke's behavior. Liam and Lily, it was their thoughts. Not their words. I focused in. Zeke was withdrawn, which was all my fault. He had reached for me this morning, and I had slipped away to hide in the bathroom.
Will she kick us out if they split?
Do I have to wait for her to eat?
I laughed out loud. Liam. I was causing them unnecessary grief. I slipped into a pair of shorts and a tank top because I planned on running a few errands today. I had to get out of the house. Zeke would want to go with me, I didn’t know what I would do when he tried. I didn’t want him with me. Not with those puppy dog eyes looking at me all unhappy
.
When I stepped into the kitchen, everyone got quiet as if they had been talking about me. I knew they hadn’t, but the feeling was still there. The guilty faces. Mason, Flynn, and Melissa had joined the crowd, and since they had no idea who I really was, they were clueless to the tension.
“Y’all could have eaten without me,” I said, trying to be cheerful.
“That would go against the way I was raised, - or the way I was supposed to be raised.” Lily smiled and looked from me to Zeke, her smile slipping into a frown.
“Same here,” I agreed and grabbed a plate, bringing it to the table where Lily had laid out a variety of items for breakfast. “But there is going to be a few of us so we should probably get a schedule down for when everyone eats. And it might get to the point where we are rotating schedules and can't eat, so we might not want to be sticklers.” The set-up in the kitchen was coming together nicely. Lily was canning our leftover produce, which I was grateful for. She really went above and beyond making herself useful. I sat across the table from Zeke. I did it subconsciously, even though it was a blatant move. Most of the conversation involved Flynn, Mason, and Melissa, questions about their backgrounds, what they liked about New Orleans, and things like that. Small talk. Zeke finally spoke when they started asking questions about what we had been doing here, our powers, things like that. I kept my head down as I shoveled pancakes into my mouth, keeping quiet, lost in my churning thoughts.
When I finished my last bite, I picked it up, and brought it to the sink. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“I have errands to run, I’ll be back in a few.” I grabbed the fob to my SUV and headed to the garage to make a hasty getaway.
I wasn’t that lucky to make a clean exit. Zeke caught me at the door.
“Miley, what is going on? Please tell me. I can't take this.”
“I’m overwhelmed,” I told him honestly.