by Logan Jacobs
“Oh, yeah,” Matthew said. “There are a bunch of the aquarium staff here. Obviously, they didn’t leave after their shift when they realized there were dinosaurs plodding about the city center.”
I looked over at one of the rock pools and saw a young girl with thick glasses beside it. She had a scrub brush and was cleaning the glass inside a pool, and she was being careful to avoid the orange starfish which clung to the side. The girl couldn’t have been older than sixteen, and I guessed she had been doing her weekend job when the attacks started.
“So,” Matthew continued. “Through the back over there you’ve got the viewing tunnels. Not much being kept in there, but some of the patients have moved their beds so they can watch the fish while they rest.”
“That’s what I would do,” Becka said. “I used to love coming to aquariums when I was little.”
“Then we have some wash stations set up through there,” the nurse pointed to the right, where the large room led off into a smaller one. “There’s a couple of showers that the divers used to use after they did their feeding shows. There’s toilets that way, too. We try and keep them as clean as possible, so they should be in pretty good condition.”
“Ooh, luxury,” Hae-won giggled.
“At this point, anywhere with loo roll is five star,” Becka laughed.
“Do you think you’ll be able to spare anything?” I asked. “Bandages, disinfectant wipes? We don’t need much, just enough to make it to Ravenscar safely.”
“I reckon we could give you something,” Matthew said. “But I’ll need to check with the others to see what state our supplies are in. We managed to get a fair amount stocked up between all the medical workers.”
“Do people just stay here?” Kat asked. “Even after they’ve been treated?”
“We tried to discourage that at first,” the tall man replied. “We thought if we let people stay, then it would just become too overcrowded. But it turned out nobody had the heart to send others out there, and we haven’t had many people arrive lately, so it’s been okay for space.”
“It was a ghost town outside.” Hae-won nodded. “I guess there are less and less people around as time goes on.”
“Less people. More dinosaurs.” Kat sighed.
“Matt,” a middle-aged woman called as she scurried over. Her bright red hair had been tied up in a pleat, and she had an armful of bandages. “Can you help me with some redressings? A couple of people need their bandages changed.”
“Sure,” Matthew replied, and he turned back to me as the woman hurried off. “You guys just clean up, or whatever you want to do. I’ll see what I can do about supplies. You can stay for however long you want, I guess.”
“Thank you,” I said in earnest. “We really appreciate your hospitality.”
With that, the lanky nurse jogged off to follow his coworker, and he got to work in the makeshift hospital.
“Well,” I sighed. “It feels pretty good to be away from anywhere dinos can spot us.”
“And among good people,” Becka added.
“They’ve done well.” Kat nodded. “It’s good to see people coming together like this.”
“It reminds us what we’re fighting for,” Hae-won said.
“So, can we get clean now?” Becka asked. “No offense, Kat, but the dino blood has kind of matted your hair, and it bloody stinks.”
“You are one to talk, lass.” The corporal scruffed Becka’s own bloody hair good-naturedly, and I laughed as we headed toward the right side of the area to find the wash stations. We carefully stepped between the beds, although most of the ones at the front half of the room were empty. Through the chatter of patients and staff, there was the occasional burst of laughter, and my shoulders loosened at the sound.
The small corridor led us to another room with a “Staff Only” sign attached, but it was propped open, and a middle-aged man stood right inside with a small pile of towels in his hands.
“Showers or a quick basin wash?” he asked as we approached, and I saw his eyes flicker over Kat’s blood-soaked clothing. “I’m guessing showers. Here, you can have the big towels.”
He handed us each a soft, lilac towel and smiled.
“Ladies to the right, gents to the left,” the man added.
“Aww,” Becka giggled. “Can’t we all go in together?”
The man flushed bright red, and he stuttered at the blonde’s teasing.
“S-Sorry, miss,” he finally said without looking at Becka. “Just keeping things moving as quickly as we can. Ladies to the right.”
“That’s a shame.” Hae-won grinned at me. “I guess we’ll just have to help Kat wash herself off without Jason.”
The curly-haired soldier looked up at me with her half-grin, and there was no denying she wanted me in on this.
And I suddenly wanted nothing more than to join her in a steaming hot shower to help clean the blood from her athletic body. The man with the towels was glaring at me, though, and I offered him an apologetic nod.
“See you on the other side,” I told the girls, and Becka winked before grabbing her two friends’ hands and leading them off to the ladies room.
“Are they all with you?” the towel man asked as he stared after the gorgeous trio. “All three?”
“Yeah, actually,” I said and grinned. “They are.”
“Bloody hell,” the man replied with wide eyes. “At least someone’s enjoying the end of the world.”
I laughed in agreement, and then I made my way to the left in search of the showers. It was a short walk to the men's locker room. The floor had blue tiles, and there was a tower of lockers next to a urinal, a cubical, and two showers. One of the shower doors was shut, and whoever was inside sang to themselves as steam rose over the door.
I shoved my rifle into the biggest locker at the bottom and then tore my armor, bulletproof vest, and clothes off. When everything was crammed inside, I closed the locker and took my towel over to the small shower cubicle. The walls were high enough to be blocked from view, and there was a hook just outside the door for my towel.
I grinned as I stepped inside, shut the door, and turned the water on. My body was covered in grime, sweat, and splatters of dino blood. As the water warmed up, I stuck a foot underneath the shower and watched the dirt run down the drain. Once the temperature was nice and hot, I stepped under the showerhead and sighed with deep relief. The warm water fell down and washed away the filth and stress from my body, and I felt calmer than I had in days.
“Need some shower gel?” The man next door shouted, and a bottle was slid under the partition to my feet.
“Thanks,” I laughed and grabbed the bottle.
It was crazy to be around genuine humans again.
The shower gel was scented like warm vanilla, and I savored every second of sudsing up my body. I thought about the girls in the showers next door while I did, and I wondered if they really would all go in together. Something about Becka’s wink made me certain they would, and the thought made my head almost explode. I couldn’t stop thinking about what Kat’s body would look like under all the uniform and protective gear, but adding my two beautiful girlfriends into the steamy mix was wreaking all kinds of havoc on my lower extremities.
I scrubbed every inch of my body while my mind offered up too many erotic ideas for me to count, and it wasn’t long before the water ran clear, and I was thoroughly clean for the first time in what felt like forever. I heard the man beside me whistle as he got out of his cubicle, and soon, I was alone in the locker room.
The solitude was so foreign to me.
I stood under the warm flow of water with my eyes closed for several minutes. I knew luxuries like this were getting harder and harder to come by, so I enjoyed and appreciated every second of it. I let the steam engulf my body and seep into my lungs while not a single dinosaur roared in the distance, and when my mind began to drift back to the three beautiful women I’d arrived here with, an easy grin spread across my face.
&n
bsp; Eventually, I forced myself to reach out and turn off the water, and then I grabbed my towel and headed back into the locker room.
The towel was unbelievably soft, and as I dried myself off, I wished I had some new clothes to get into. After a quick visit to the bathroom, I opened my locker and started to get dressed. Once I was fully clothed, I swung my rifle over my back and headed back out into the hall, with my wet towel in hand.
“Just chuck it in the basket, mate,” the man at the entrance said.
I threw my wet towel into the container and headed out to find the girls.
I wandered through the hall back into the rock pool room first, but I couldn’t see the girls around, and I guessed it took them longer to shower with whatever hair washing they had to get done. I took a seat at the edge of the room to wait so I wouldn’t be in the way of any of the medical goings on, and I sat back with a heavy sigh.
There were a few people who were asleep in their beds, and a few who were cradling various limbs. I knew everyone there had faced some kind of danger, and I almost wanted to ask each person what they had seen. I wondered if anyone else had noticed how organized the dinos seemed to have gotten, or how terrifyingly clever they could be when they needed to be.
“Hey, handsome,” Becka grinned as the girls piled out of the hall. They all looked great, with clean hair and shining, blood-free faces.
“They had hairdryers and everything,” Hae-won said. “But we really missed you in the shower, Jason. Did you miss us?”
“You know I did,” I assured without a second thought, and my two lovers smirked to hear it.
Kat didn’t say anything, but her cheeks turned slightly pink as she smiled at me. Her curls were back to being dirty-blonde, with no trace of dino blood in sight, and she had removed the blood-covered uniform shirt to reveal a white tank top, which showed off her toned arms and impressive cleavage.
“You guys look great,” I said as I stood up. “I have to say, there was room for you in that shower cubicle with me. It’s a shame we couldn’t be together. Well, shame for us. Not for the guy who was in the next cubicle.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” a man called out from the other side of the room. I looked over and saw a young, chubby man with wispy blond hair. He wore an aquarium staff shirt and had a shiny manager badge on his chest. “The seal feeding will be taking place in half an hour. If you would like to watch, please make your way through the viewing tunnels. Thank you.”
“What?” Kat snorted. “A seal feeding?”
“I love seals,” Becka said excitedly. “Can we go and watch?”
“Matthew did say they’re still taking care of the animals,” I said. “And it’s probably a nice distraction for the people here, too. It makes sense to keep things running as normal, in whatever small ways they still can.”
“It will be like a date,” Hae-won said as she slid a hand into my back pocket. “What do you say, Jason?”
“I think that sounds great.” I grinned as I wrapped an arm around the Korean beauty’s tiny waist. “I couldn’t think of a better looking bunch to take out.”
“Yay,” Becka squealed with a little jump. She reached up and planted a kiss on my lips, and the smell of coconut shampoo filled up my senses.
I wanted to reach out and bring Kat into the embrace, but I didn’t want to overstep my bounds, so I just gave her a smile.
“I do like sharks.” The soldier smiled back. “I mean, as long as they aren’t from thousands of years ago and trying to kill me.”
“I reckon we can find some of the regular ones for you,” I said as we headed around the side of the room toward the viewing tunnel entrance. I had one arm around Hae-won, and I reached out to give Becka’s perfect ass a squeeze as she walked in front of me.
The blonde giggled and shimmied her hips in response, and I noticed Kat smile to herself.
We reached the tunnel, and inside, we could see the huge tanks that enveloped the walkway.
“I’m so excited,” Becka squealed, and she stepped inside to lead the way. “Here we are, weeks into the end of the world, and I’m finally getting a proper date with a decent man!”
I chuckled at the sentiment, but as I glanced at the beauties around me, I definitely agreed with the gorgeous Brit. A date with three lovely, deadly ladies was exactly what I’d been needing.
The tunnel was dimly lit by small spotlights along the floor, and all around us was glass that held in a world of sea creatures. Brightly-colored fish swam lazily over our heads, and crabs scurried along the bottom of the artificial seabed. The tunnel curved around, and as we turned the corner, we stepped into a long stretch that opened up into the main section of the tank.
“Awesome,” Hae-won breathed as we stopped to watch the larger creatures swim above and around us. A sting ray drifted over us, and Hae-won hurried over to the glass to watch a small group of clown fish.
“Hey, look,” Becka snorted. “That fish is making the face Jason has when he just wakes up.”
She pointed to a creature with an unfortunately grumpy-looking scowl, and the whole group burst out laughing.
“Oh, yeah?” I teased. “Well, that one definitely has your smile.”
I pointed to a sting ray that had a tiny, expressionless face, and the girls wheezed with laughter.
“This one is Kat,” Hae-won pointed out as a small fish with curly antenna-like parts swam past.
The Corporal grinned, and she pointed out a scuttling crab that darted past.
“Well, that’s Hae-won,” Kat said. “It’s cute and travel-sized, but it also looks like it might kill me.”
The girls laughed even harder, and we carried on around the viewing tunnel admiring the colors and varying sizes of the sea life. As we walked and laughed, I noticed Kat’s tough exterior start to soften as we joked together. Becka and Hae-won were acting like she had always been part of the group, and I could have watched the three of them all day.
There were a couple of people camped out in beds, like Matthew had said, but they were all happy to let us by and offered friendly waves. Other than the occasional patient camped out on the floor, I could almost imagine I was just on a normal date.
With three gorgeous women, and no threat of flesh eating dinos above us.
We all stopped to watch as a hammerhead shark drifted lazily overhead, and Kat clapped excitedly.
“Fuck yeah!” the corporal laughed. “Now, that’s my kind of shark!”
“I remember when I thought that would be the biggest sea creature I’d ever encounter,” I sighed. “After the things we’ve seen, that shark looks like a goldfish.”
We stopped just before the tunnel ended to watch the shark loop around and swim past some brave angelfish. Hae-won tucked her hand into my back pocket, and Becka laced her fingers between mine as we enjoyed the view. Kat hovered close, and her lopsided grin sent an excited shiver down my spine.
“Seal time,” Becka squealed as we eventually exited the tunnel, and we stepped out into a large, roofed area.
The seals had a separate tank from the fish, and there was a small seating area with plastic benches to watch the demonstrations. The young man who made the announcement earlier bounded over to us with a bucket of fish in hand. His manager badge shone, and it looked like we were the only people who had come.
“Ah, brilliant,” he said, and I wrinkled my nose at the smell of the fish. “Most folks have already watched the seals, but we might get a few more soon.”
“You do this every day?” I asked.
“Yes, sir.” The young man nodded. “We’ve got a lot of the food frozen for the animals, so we should be fine feeding them for another month or so. After that, I guess they’ll have to just put up with whatever we can find for them.”
“Seems like you really love your job.” I smiled. “I’m Jason by the way, and this is Hae-won, Becka, and Kat.”
“Good to meet you,” the manager replied. “I’m Oscar. I only got promoted two weeks before this whole thing h
appened. Great timing, huh?”
“They’re lucky to have you,” I laughed. “So, we’ll take a seat, I guess?”
“Yes, please do,” Oscar said. “Ah, here are a couple more visitors.”
I looked over to the tunnel exit and saw two children bound through toward us. The girl looked about ten, and the boy who clutched her hand couldn’t have been more than six. They didn’t look injured, and I imagined their parents must be patients in the makeshift hospital. The girl had a blue flowery dress and her afro hair had rainbow clips, the boy wore a mini denim jacket and looked slightly more wary than his sister.
“My two favorite helpers,” Oscar said as the kids rushed over to him. “Issac, Eva, these are some new friends who are going to watch.”
I smiled at the two young children as they waved before they turned to the tank and bounced up and down.
The seals swam around in front of us, and there was an exposed part of their tank that had a large flat rock, and a gate that separated them from the viewing area.
Becka and Hae-won were on the bench to my right, and Kat was on my left. We watched as the kids pressed their noses up against the glass, and Oscar reminded them of the seals' names.
“Okay then, ladies and gentlemen,” Oscar said, and the kids scuttled over to sit on the ground in front of us. “It’s time to feed the seals.”
The manager opened the small gate and stepped through onto the rock, and this immediately prompted three speckled gray seals to jump up from the water and join him. The kids roared with laughter and clapped their hands, and it looked like they could hardly stay seated.
“I can’t handle how cute they are,” Becka whispered as she looked at the children. “My uterus is going to explode.”
“Down, girl,” I chuckled as I rested my palm on the blonde’s perfect thigh.
Oscar made a show of the feeding, and he gave the seals various commands. The seals rolled over, played dead, and clapped in exchange for the offering of fish. It was clear the animals were besotted with their trainer, and they almost knocked him over several times with their enthusiastic playing.
“Would anyone like to help?” Oscar called over to the small audience, and the little girl’s hand shot into the air. “Alright then, Eva, come on over.”