Counting Down

by Lilah Boone

  He watched her eyes as they moved together, and memories flooded her mind. She saw the man he used to be, remembered now that this was not the first time they had joined together. Both her body and soul remembered him with blinding clarity. And suddenly the part of her that had always felt lost was found again in the depths of his eyes and the flaming light of his touch.

  Their pace took on a trance-like rhythm, their eyes never parting. She felt the fire building, heard the heaviness of his breathing, and dropped into a sea of something beyond physical pleasure.

  She watched his eyes tighten, felt her satisfaction just around the next swell of sensation. Around them the light grew, popped and crackled through the dim light of the bunker. Finally it burst out, exploding around them until the brightness consumed every ounce of darkness beyond.

  She heard his thoughts, felt his emotions and his pleasure mingling with her own, and rode wave after wave of pulsing light. She heard the sounds escaping her lips, greedily took his mouth as he brought it down to quiet them.

  She continued to match his rhythm, arched her back and gave herself up to him with every shred of her soul.

  “Kyle.” She whimpered against his lips, felt him tighten and increase the tempo just slightly in response. “Callum.”

  When Abby thought she might die there happily in his arms, all at once the light flickered, shattered into millions of tiny pieces. It seemed the stars had come down to bless them as they collapsed together, sated and warm.

  For a long while they lay together, wrapped in each other’s limbs. Abby listened to his heart, absently tickled the skin of his belly and his hips.

  She had never experienced anything like that before in her life. She had searched for it in the touch of other men, wished for it always. Now she had finally found it. One time could never be enough, she thought as a smile crossed her lips.

  “A billion times could never be enough,” he said with a smirk in his voice.

  “You heard that?”

  “I was thinking the same thing anyway.”

  “I guess I don’t have the strength to keep my thoughts to myself at the moment. You’ve had uh… quite the effect on me.”

  “I think I know the feeling. I hope I didn’t think anything too… you know…”

  She rolled half onto him to turn and look into his eyes. “I already knew it all anyway. You’ll never have to tell me how you feel.”

  “Love’s too small a word.”

  He echoed her thoughts, which was a normal occurrence between them.

  She continued to toy with his skin, rolling her thumb along his collarbone. “There’s no word for this. No way to give it a name.”

  He took her hand, squeezed lightly. “Let me work on that one. I’m sure I could come up with something close eventually, even if I have to invent a completely new word.”

  “Well it is a new world now. We could probably get away with inventing anything we want.”

  He tilted his head, stopped in thought. “That’s actually a good point. We have a very unique opportunity in front of us. We could create any society we design, instill new ideas, values.”

  Abby was quiet, thinking about his words. “That’s a huge undertaking.”

  “We’ve got plenty of time to think about it now.” He squeezed her hand again. “Together we’ll make something beautiful out of all the ugliness up there.”

  “I’m content to be right here for now. By the way, what happened to waiting until we could get out of the bunker?”

  “Uh… yeah, I couldn’t take it anymore. A man can only withstand so much. Being near you every day, every night…”

  “Well I’m extremely glad you ran out of will power, emphasis on the extremely part. But what about the others and all your talk of distractions?” She was teasing him, a smile in her eyes.

  “I wanted the first time to be perfect. Actually, I’d like every time to be perfect.” He stroked her hair, held her to his chest. “You’ve never had anyone show you how special you are, how important you are. I wanted you to know that this was way more than just a romp in the sack, that this is real.” He sighed.

  “It was beyond perfect Kyle. It always will be. There’s no way for it not to be. I don’t care if I’m trapped in a sewer as long as you’re there with me, rats and all.”

  He nodded, continued. “You deserve a proper wooing. But I decided I had to give in or go completely mad. And Alex kept trying to make me crack. Though he did come through in a clutch tonight.”

  “Wait, you and Alex arranged this? Are you serious?”

  “Who do you think convinced him to make an exception to the Friday-is-poker-night rule?”

  “Oh my god.” She bit her bottom lip to suppress the laugh waiting on her tongue. “Alex was your accomplice? How did he take it? I’m not sure he’s over me and him yet.”

  Kyle’s eyebrows popped up. “He’d better be. I wouldn’t want to embarrass him in a fist fight since I learned how to punch a few thousand years before Caesar ruled Rome.”

  Abby laughed, played with his chest hair. “You can’t possibly be jealous of Alex?”

  “No, not at all. He’s not your type anyway. Real men don’t get mani-pedis.” He grinned. “I’m not worried about your end one bit. His end, on the other hand, well let’s just say he had better know his place or he’ll find those two-hundred dollar jeans he wears up around his head.”

  Abby couldn’t hold back the silly smile that spread over her face. She liked that he was just a little possessive. There was no insecurity in his words, in fact he was maybe even a little cocky. But she liked knowing he was ready to fight for her.

  “Alex knows all about us. I told him everything about the past and the present. I don’t think we have to worry about him coming on to me again anytime soon. Plus he seems to have taken a liking to Evie.”

  “Good. He’s actually an okay guy, so I’d hate to have to knock him out.”

  “Yeah, he’s got a good heart and he’s been a really good friend to me since we broke up.”

  “Um…speaking of that, I wanted to tell you something.” She looked up and he went on. “You know what happened between you and Alex… the cheating bit?”

  “Oh, I’m so over that whole thing. Actually, I’m not sure I was ever really under it.”

  Kyle cupped her chin and looked her in the eye. “He was wrong, no matter what his reasons were and I hope you know you’ll never have to worry about that with me.”

  “Even if we learn to hate each other someday and I become a bitter and fickle old woman who wants to leave you?”

  “Never gonna happen. I wouldn’t let you go. Not in a stalkerish way of course, but I’d fight for you, woo you, and seduce you all over again if that’s what it took. No matter how stubborn you might be.” He kissed the top of her head as though it was something he had been doing for years. “And I could never hate you. Maybe you’ll hate me at some point. I’m not the easiest man to live with. But this is a forever sort of thing. No refunds, no trade-ins. Just me and you.”

  “Hmm… I like the sound of that.” Abby sighed blissfully and made a mental note to remember the moment down to every last detail.

  No one had ever fought to have Abby before. They hadn’t cared enough to put forth the effort. Not even Alex. Not really anyway. His idea of fighting for her was trying to get her in to bed at every turn. Maybe no one who came before was supposed to fight for her because she hadn’t belonged with them. She belonged right where she was, in the arms of a man who had loved her for centuries. And she loved him back, god did she love him back. He consumed her every breath, her every thought. She needed him. And for the first time in her life the idea of needing someone else didn’t scare the crap out of her.

  She smiled, brought her hand down to his belly. “So does all that mean I can do things like this now?”

  He moaned as her hand took him, caressed him slowly. He rolled her body so that she was straddling him and clutched at her backside. “I’m all your
s.” Lifting her hips, he closed his eyes, sunk her down until they were joined together again. “I’ve always been yours.”

  * * *

  Abby left the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind her. It was at least three in the morning and the bunker was eerily still. As she headed back to bed the bathroom door opened again. She turned, pulled it shut and made sure the latch had caught. When she removed her hand it fell open again. She glanced behind her and saw the glowing yellow light of David sitting in the corner. She hadn’t seen him sitting there before. Where had he come from?

  His light had always been muddier than the brothers. It was dark and cold while Sam and Jake always seemed covered in gold. This was something Abby had assumed, until recently, was just a random variation.

  Without saying a word to him she started walking back to her bunk. An unseen force stopped her mid step.

  “You two created quite the light show earlier.” He walked to her casually, spoke close to her ear. “Was it good for you? The sounds alone had me picturing you for myself. You look like a wild one.”

  Abby spoke between clenched teeth. “What are you doing David?”

  He shrugged. “Just wanted to see if you were giving it up to everyone now. You’ve slept with at least two men in this bunker. Maybe three.” He paused, stretched a crude smile over his lips. “I’m sure you’ve entertained Jake’s fantasies at least once or twice. I just thought, since you were making the rounds, we could create some light of our own.”

  “Is that your way of calling me a whore?”

  He shrugged again, scratched his head. “If it walks like a duck… well you know the rest.”

  Abby glared at him and said nothing. When he moved closer to touch her hair, she glanced towards the curtain where she knew Kyle was sleeping soundly beyond.

  “Why don’t you call out to him now? Are you accepting my invitation?”

  She narrowed her eyes, met his stare straight on. “No. I am not. But he’s killed enough for one lifetime. And the rest of us have had our share of death. I wouldn’t want to add yours to the body count.”

  “You know, you’re pretty in your own way. Nice curves.” His hand moved down to her waist, ran along her hips.

  “I wasn’t being dramatic David. He’ll kill you if he finds out about this. And I’m sure he’ll wait until you’re sleeping to do it.”

  He chuckled. It was an ugly sound that came from a hollow place inside him. His hand moved and he released her from his invisible grip. “Let me know if you change your mind. We could lead them together. Just the two of us.”

  Abby felt an angry fire stir inside her gut. “I’d rather die.”

  His face was still close to hers. “That can be arranged too. But I’d prefer it my way. You would be so nice to keep around. Very entertaining I’ll bet. Tell me, how many men have you been with? I like experienced women.”

  She walked away again, trying to keep steady, fighting the urge to run to Kyle.

  “I wouldn’t mention this to him if I were you,” David said from behind her. “That is unless you want him to have another accident.”

  Abby shuddered and flung the curtain back. She speed walked back to bed and climbed in, pressing her body into Kyle and soaking in his warmth.

  He nuzzled her neck in his sleep, pulled her closer. “Everything okay?” he asked.

  Abby remembered to keep her thoughts hidden from him and tried to sound normal. “Yes. Everything’s fine. Go back to sleep, Love.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Wednesday, January 23nd 2013, 2:12pm

  Dead chickens were notoriously disgusting things. At least that was the general consensus when Kyle pulled the bird from the freezer.

  “Oh good god,” Jake said. “That’s just beyond gross. I can’t believe you carried that thing in here.”

  Sam, in his usual quiet fashion, choked on a gag and covered his mouth from behind his brother.

  Kyle stifled a grin. “We’ve all had chicken nuggets before guys. It’s really not that bad.”

  “Yes it is,” Evie said. “Chicken nuggets don’t have eyes and beaks and little feet.”

  “Or feathers,” Hanna added.

  Abby stood in the back of the group with Hanna. Both of them had their hands pressed against their mouths. Abby glanced towards David, met his eyes with a venom laced glare.

  She hadn’t mentioned the incident from the night before to Kyle and she wasn’t sure whether or not to take David’s threats seriously yet. She only hoped that once they were able to leave the bunker that David would go off on his own and never return to the farm. If not… well she didn’t like to think about the trouble he could cause.

  “So… you want me to make it cluck again right?” Hanna asked through her fingers.

  Kyle nodded. “That’s the plan. I think it’s how we’re going to, not only repopulate the planet with animals, but feed ourselves as well.”

  “We’ll help if you need us to Hanna,” Abby said. “Kyle and I haven’t used the power as much as you have, but we can certainly lend you something extra.”

  Hanna removed her hand from her mouth, jiggled her arms at her sides, and stepped up to the lifeless poultry on the countertop. With a deep breath she settled her hands over the bird and began sending her blue light into its body.

  Before their eyes the chicken began to change. It’s grey, dead skin turned pink and feathers grew back over the bald spots. The eye sockets filled again with big shining pupils.

  Hanna gasped, drew her hands away. “It’s still dead.”

  “Yeah, and it still stinks,” Jake said.

  Again Sam gagged, turned around and clutched his stomach.

  “Give it a little more Hanna,” Abby said. “Think about jump starting the heart.” She placed her hand on Hanna’s shoulder and the girl continued.

  Abby’s light shimmered into blue and she allowed the energy to radiate from her hand and into Hanna. Immediately the red head’s glow brightened, deepening into an almost opaque shade of sky.

  In a matter of seconds the bird blinked, made a very chicken-like sound, and jumped to its feet.

  As a group they laughed and applauded Hanna and her freckled cheeks lit up with red.

  “Well done,” Kyle said with a laugh. “Whoa, someone grab that bird.”

  Abby jumped aside, laughed as the chicken ran past her feet and straight into Alex’s waiting arms. The dogs jumped below him, trying to get the bird from his grasp.

  “I got it. No thanks to this one,” Alex said glancing at Abby.

  “Sorry. I’m not used to being around attack chickens.”

  Kyle smiled at her, brushed a hand against hers before leaning in to whisper. “Good job. She wouldn’t have found the strength without your help.”

  “Um… guys. What do you want me to do with this thing?” Alex held the chicken in front of him like it was a bomb about to explode.

  Kyle looked up. “Kill it.”

  The girls gasped, Jake made a face, and Sam looked close to retching again.

  Jim was the first to recover. “We’re going to eat it?”

  Kyle pursed his lips, nodded. “Yup. We all need to get used to killing our dinner from now on.”

  “I’ll do it,” David said and stepped up from his sulking corner.

  Kyle eyed him. A worried look passed through his olive eyes. “That’s okay Dave. I’ll do it.”

  “Really, I don’t mind,” David replied.

  “Yes, I’m sure you don’t.” Kyle’s brows came together. “But I’ll take care of it. We’ll make a lesson of it.”

  “Oh god, please no,” Evie said. “I can’t watch. Can’t I just live out my life letting you guys kill my dinner?”

  “If you want,” Kyle said with a shrug. “Eventually, it’s something you’ll need to get used to though. Supermarkets are not coming back any time soon and we’ll need meat to stay healthy.”

  He was right. There would be no more vacuum packed chicken breasts, no neatly sealed pound
s of ground beef. Their rations wouldn’t last forever and, while vegetarianism was a choice in a modern society that manufactured dietary supplements, malnutrition would be the only result in the world they suddenly found themselves in. They either learned to kill or they would starve.

  “Yeah,” Evie finally said. “I guess you’re right.”

  Kyle took the chicken from Alex and held it upside down by its feet. “Sorry little guy.” He positioned his other hand low on the chicken’s neck and snapped his wrist until a resounding crack echoed through the bunker.

  “Ah Jesus.” Alex’s groan mingled with little screams from the girls.

  Sam ran to the bathroom looking green.

  The bird’s wings continued to flap, hitting Abby in the face with air. Her eyes were on Kyle. He was looking past her face, his eyes not focused. He was having a vision.

  She touched his arm, avoiding the dying bird. “What is it?”

  “Give me a second,” he said.

  He took steady breaths through his mouth, still gazing past her head until the chicken’s wings finally stopped flapping.

  Kyle blinked, scrunched his brows together at Abby. “There are more Gleamers coming.”

  “More like them?” Abby asked pointing to the others.

  He shook his head once. “No, they’re different. The other colors. They are being drawn here the way the others were.”

  There was a hush among the group. Everyone in the room was now listening to Kyle.

  “How are they surviving the cold?” Jim asked.

  “The red ones have their own heat source and their protecting the others from the weather, walking in a circle with the woman and her teenage son in the center. The boy is glowing orange and his mother is violet. They’re walking from the south. Should be here sometime tomorrow.”

  Silence permeated the room as they all stared at him in awed silence.

  Alex finally spoke up. “That’s good though, right. We could use fire starters.”

  “Yeah, I guess so.” Kyle looked at Abby. “Could also be a little dangerous.” He thought for a second then shook his head and held up the lifeless body of the chicken. “Who wants to do the plucking?”