Glory (Book 4)

by Michael McManamon

  She pulled at his face to bring it closer to her own. Then they kissed.

  Scooter was just as surprised by this as with everything else she had done and said, but he didn't pull away. He felt the softness of her lips. The warmth.

  It was only when she stopped that he was able to ask, "Why did you do that?"

  "I wanted to."

  Marianne placed her hand back on his leg. This time it was higher up on his thigh. He still didn't understand what was happening.

  "I don't know about this," he said. "Maybe we should…"

  She broke off his speaking with another kiss. She opened her mouth and stuck her tongue into his own. He felt it twist around inside. He kissed her back.

  As her hand moved up his leg, he could feel himself get hard. It wasn't that he found her attractive. If anything, he thought she was too old for him. But he couldn't deny that her touch felt nice.

  He let her undo his zipper. Then she pulled out his cock and began stroking it.

  Scooter could barely breathe. He had been with a few other women before, though nothing like this. Marianne knew what she was doing.

  "Lay back," she said, pressing her other hand against his chest.

  There was a quick moment that he thought he should stop this.Nothing good could come from this. Yet as he laid down and she took him in her mouth, any arguments he might have made left him.

  He felt the wet heat of her mouth slide up and down his cock.This older woman. He looked down and could see the back of her head bobbing up and down. He could see the bright yellow shirt glowing in the darkness.

  Then she began to take off his pants.

  She pulled at each side until the sipped down from under him. She took off his underwear as well. And his socks. The whole time she kept her mouth on him. She stared to make purring noises.

  She took off her pants next. Scooter helped.

  When they were off, he noticed her panties. Cream coloured. Large. Unattractive. But he didn't pay them much more attention than that.

  Marianne grabbed hold of the band and pulled them down. She straddled him after.

  Scooter felt his penis press up against her pubic hair. He felt her warmth.

  Now, if only she'd take off that bright yellow shirt.

  As if on command, she started to undo it. One button after the other.

  It was a slow process and Scooter didn't want to wait for it. He reached up and pulled the blouse open. He didn't bother with the buttons. They popped off. He could find her a new blouse in the morning. He tore at her bra (cream coloured, large, unattractive) as well.

  Naked, he could see her age in the flesh of her stomach and of her breasts. He could see where her skin had stretched from the weight she gained over the years. Her nipples pointed more downward than straight ahead.

  Though, at the moment, none of that mattered. He wanted to fuck her.

  Marianne reached down and grabbed his cock again. She placed it against her vagina and moved it around. Scooter could feel the juices building down there. Then she slipped him into her.

  Scooter bit his lower lip, stopping himself from screaming out.

  She felt so good.

  She began to move back and forth on top of him.

  "Like it?" she asked.

  "Mm-hmm."

  She continued to fuck him. Heavy breathing. Moaning.

  "You're amazing," she said. "Fuck me."

  Scooter pressed himself deeper into her.

  And that was when he heard a sound come from the door. It wasn't a knock. It was a rattle. Someone was trying to get in.

  "Stop," he whispered. "Someone's out there."

  She looked at him and smiled, but kept moving.

  Scooter heard the door once more. The rattling this time was a lot louder. More forceful.

  He turned to face it.What if it was Julie? What if she was listening to the whole thing? How would he explain that to her?

  "You'll never love her" Marianne had said. "You deserve someone strong…like me."

  "Stop," Scooter said again. "Someone's outside!"

  Marianne continued to ignore him. She began to pick up speed.

  Scooter thought about pushing the woman off of him. He was sure that he could explain things to Julie. But before he had a chance, the knob turned and the door opened.

  He couldn't see who was there. It was too dark for that.Though who else could it be? John? Alice?

  He heard a gurgling sound. Like someone was choking. Then he saw someone move.

  The figure came closer. Marianne kept on fucking him. Scooter didn't know what to do.

  He waited until he had a better view.

  A young girl.

  Emily.

  Scooter placed his hands on Marianne's stomach and started to push. The layer of fat that had built there felt soft in between his fingers.

  "Get off me," he said. "Emily is here!"

  But it wasn't Emily. As she came closer into view, he saw that it was the little girl from the restaurant. The one with the bottle stuck in her neck. Fresh blood was flowing out of it. When she opened her mouth to speak, that gurgling sound was all that came out.

  "What the fuck?" Scooter shouted.

  Marianne pressed harder against him. Faster.

  He tried pushing her off again, but she wouldn't stop.

  The little girl came closer.

  Marianne's panting picked up. Her moaning got louder.

  What the fuck was happening? Scooter wondered.

  Marianne started to come.

  Scooter screamed.

  With one more try, he finally pushed Marianne off of him. She fell onto the other side of the bed and started to laugh.

  "Are you fuckin' crazy?" he asked. He pointed at the little girl. "Can't you see her? Didn't you hear me?"

  Marianne's laughter didn't stop.

  He turned from her and went to reach for his axe at the bedside table. It wasn't there.

  He quickly searched around the room. Nothing.

  "Where is it?" he asked. "My axe!"

  Marianne ignored him. The little girl got closer.

  He felt the urge to run out of the room. But he didn't know if he'd make it past the little girl. He had seen those creatures attack before. They were ruthless.

  That's what this little girl was, right? One ofthem?

  He needed his axe.

  He bent down and looked under the bed.It may have fallen down while he and Marianne had been having sex.He reached his hand under it and began feeling around.

  Nothing.

  "Where the fuck is my axe!?"

  Scooter raised his head and looked over the edge of the mattress. Marianne was no longer lying down. She was kneeling. And in her hands was his axe. She held it up above her.

  "What? You have it?" he screamed. "Give it to me!"

  She did, bringing it straight down into Scooter's face.

  *

  Scooter woke up, yelling. He grabbed at his face and felt for the axe that he expected to be sticking out of it. He pressed against his eyes, against his nose, making sure that they were still there.

  "Fuck," he gasped when he realized that he was okay.

  He turned over and grabbed for his axe at the side of the bed. It was still there. He sat up and placed it in his lap.

  "What the fuck was that?"

  He looked around. No one else was in the room. No Marianne. No little girl.

  A dream,he told himself.It was just a dream.

  He took a few deep breaths to steady himself. Then he looked over at the door. It was closed.

  He turned to look at the window. The moonlight still shone through it. It would be a few more hours before morning, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to get any more sleep. Not tonight.

  Fuck.

  He pressed his back into the wall and squeezed the axe once more. He pictured Marianne slamming it into his face.Her naked on the bed. After they had had sex.

  And he wondered what it all meant.

 
Day 12

  Chapter 1

  John woke up with the sun shining brightly through his window. His wife was sleeping beside him. The side of her face pressed against her pillow. Her breathing soft.

  He raised his head, unsure of where he was. The blanket pulled over top of him wasn't familiar. Nor was the wallpaper and paintings on the wall. He couldn't remember ever having seen the television set before. There was a small table to the side of it, covered with empty boxes and cans.

  He looked back at his wife and thought of waking her. Yet she looked too peaceful to be disturbed.

  Where was he?

  He spotted a large mirror. A telephone. An alarm clock radio that didn't show the time. A pen and pad with games of tic-tac-toe scratched across it.

  None of it was familiar.

  He was at least able to figure out that he was in a hotel room.But why would he be in a hotel? The last time he had spent the night in a hotel was when he and his family had gone on vacation all those years ago.

  His family.

  Their faces passed quickly through his mind. Images of their upbringing. Memories.

  Then it all came back to him.His family was probably dead. And, if not, there was no way that they were going to be able to contact them. People had changed. The world had changed. Now they were looking for survivors.

  He placed his hand on Alice's shoulder. He still didn't want to wake her, but it was too difficult for him to be on his own at the moment.Too overwhelming.

  "Alice," he said. "Honey."

  She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Is everything okay?" she asked, her voice sleepy.

  John didn't answer straight away. He was no longer sure how much he wanted to tell her. He didn't want to burden her with it. He also didn't want to admit that he had forgotten where they were.

  "It's nothing," he said. "Sorry I woke you."

  Alice pushed herself onto her elbow. "What is it, John?"

  "Nothing, really."

  His wife didn't believe him. She pushed herself up further. "No, there's something wrong. I can tell."

  "I…" He broke his gaze and looked back around the room. "I was just thinking."

  "Of?"

  "Of everything." Alice waited for him to continued, but he didn't want to say any more about it. He leaned his back against the headboard. "Did you have a good sleep?"

  "John…"

  "Does that mean 'yes'?"

  His wife huffed. "Yes, I had a good sleep. You?"

  "It was fine." He leaned over and kissed her forehead.

  She smiled. "Are the others awake?"

  "I don't know. I just woke up. I haven't heard anyone else, though."

  "Should we wake them?"

  "In a little while."

  He put his arm around his wife and pulled her into him. She nestled her head against his shoulder. Their hands locked.

  They sat like that for a while. Not speaking. Listening to the sounds of their breathing.

  Until there was a knock at their door.

  Chapter 2

  John got out of bed and hobbled over to the door. His legs were tired this morning.In pain. "Hello?"

  "Hello," came the reply. "It's Scooter."

  John opened the door.

  The young man stood in front of him, axe in hand. His eyes were downcast. There were dark black bags underneath them.

  "Everything okay?" John asked.

  Scooter didn't seem sure of his answer, but he nodded his head anyway.

  It reminded John of how he had responded to his wife's question earlier.Something was wrong. "You sure?"

  Another nod.

  "You don't look very good."

  Scooter chuckled, trying to make a joke out of it. "Well, thanks."

  "You know that's not what I meant."

  "I know." Scooter looked up and down the length of the hallway, as though searching for someone. John prayed that it wasn't one of thosethings. "I guess I just had some pretty strange dreams last night. That's all."

  "Strange dreams?"

  "More like nightmares."

  John hadn't had any bad dreams, himself, but he could see how such a thing was possible. He placed his hand on Scooter's shoulder. "Why don't you come in and sit down?"

  Scooter thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I'm all right. I just wanted to check in on you."

  "Everything's fine here."

  "Good. I guess I should go see the girls then." A slight shiver ran through him as he spoke.

  "I'm sure they're fine," John said, mistaking that shiver for concern.

  "Me too." Scooter looked back down the hall. "But I should should go over there anyway. Wake them up. We need to get going soon."

  "Okay." John didn't press him any further. Instead, he gave the him a smile.

  However, Scooter either ignored it or didn't notice. He turned away from John and walked slowly to the next room.

  Chapter 3

  When Scooter heard the door close behind him, he felt a rush of panic make its way through him. He didn't think that the little girl with the bottle in her neck was going to come out and attack him. Marianne wasn't going to charge out of the room and slam an axe into his face, either.His axe. But he couldn't get the image of them out of his mind.

  He also couldn't figure out why Marianne had been in his dream. More than that, why had he dreamed about having sex with her? And why had he enjoyed it?

  None of it made any sense.

  He continued on to Marianne's room, but paused before knocking. He wasn't ready to see her yet.

  He went back and forth between a few possible reasons there might be for the dream, but couldn't come up with anything that sounded like it made sense.Did it have something to do with their time in the restaurant? Was it because Marianne had proven to be braver than he had expected? Did anything she said in his dream ring true? That he deserved someone stronger? Were his feelings changing for Julie?The questions continued while the answers did not.

  He knocked on the door.

  It had only been a dream,he told himself.Nothing more.

  He heard people moving around in the room. Then the door opened and Marianne greeted him. Buster was beside her.

  "Scooter," she said. "Good morning!"

  Upon seeing her, Scooter couldn't speak. The whole of last night's dream played itself over again in his mind. He pictured Marianne's lips against his own. He saw her naked body on top of him. Himinher.

  "Everything okay?"

  "It's…uh…" He knew that he was being ridiculous.It had only been a dream! "It's fine."

  "Are you sure? You don't look to well."

  He thought about making the same joke he had to John, but the words didn't come out. "Yeah, everything's okay."

  Marianne's brow raised.

  "Really," he continued. "I'm just being stupid."

  "What do you mean?"

  "It's…it's nothing…really." He squeezed his axe to give him a little more confidence.

  Marianne didn't look as though she believed him, though she didn't say any more about it. She stepped back and motioned for him to come into the room. "We're just getting up," she said.

  Scooter hesitated for a second, then went into the room. Marianne closed the door.

  "Look everyone," she said pleasantly walking with Buster into the room behind him. "We have a visitor!"

  Julie and Emily were still lying on the bed. Awake, but barely. Julie had her head rested on her arm. The blankets pulled up over her. Emily peered out from the top of them. Her eyes fought to stay open. Though she was able to manage a smile.

  "Good morning," he said.

  "Good morning," the little girl replied.

  Julie forced herself to sit up. "Are you all right? You don't look too good."

  He smirked. "I've been told."

  "You don't," Marianne reiterated. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You're not getting sick, are you?"

  Her touch startled him, but he fought the urge to pull away. Th
at would only make things worse. "I'm…no, I'm not sick."

  "Then what's wrong?"

  "Nothing, honestly." He made his way over to one of the chairs and sat down. They continued to watch him, waiting to hear the truth. "I…uh…I guess I just didn't have a very good sleep."

  "I told you you shouldn't have slept on your own!" Julie said. "You were probably up all night thinking thosethings were going to get you!"

  "No, it wasn't that."

  "Then what was it?"

  "Nothing," he said again.

  "Well, you should've stayed in here with us."

  Scooter didn't like the sound of that at all. He couldn't imagine sleeping in the same room with Marianne. Not anymore. He grabbed a can of juice that was on the table and opened it. "We have to get going soon," he said after he took a long sip.

  Julie shifted uncomfortably. "Are you sure we have to leave?"

  The question surprised them.Of course they had to leave.They had talked about it yesterday. There were too many dead bodies in the hotel. They needed to find other survivors. And after his dream, he had no intention of spending another night here.

  "We can't stay," he said. "It's really bad here."Fuckin' horrible.

  "But those creatures aren't around. We have food."

  "Can't you smell it it? There'll be disease soon enough."

  "But we could clear it out."

  "Too many bodies. Too much blood." He didn't understand why she was arguing.

  "I know," she said, defeated. "It'd just be nice to have a safe place for a while."

  Scooter couldn't disagree. It would be nice to have that. Except this hotel wasn't the place for that. They had to leave.

  "Give us some time to get ready," Marianne said. She touched his shoulder again.

  "Okay." He got up from his chair and went to the door. "I'm going to head back over to John's and see if they need any help."

  "We'll be over there soon." Marianne followed him to the door. "Now, listen, are you sure that you're okay?"

  "Everything's fine." He pushed out the thoughts of his dream that threatened to come back into his mind.

  "Okay. But if there's ever anything that you need to talk about, let me know."