by Skye Jones
“What is it?”
“There’s a best of the nineties album on here; it’s all bad.” His face still stared down at the piece of technology as if a slug lay on his hand.
“Oh, God, put it on,” I begged.
“Really?” Ben chimed in.
“Yes, really. Do you know how long it has been since I heard a good old-fashioned pop song? Forever! Put the damn thing on… please.”
“Since you asked nicely,” Jackson said with a smirk. “But you owe us.”
“What?” Oh, dear.
“Yeah…” Ben looked at his friend, and they grinned at one another conspiratorially. “We’ll play your shitty pop music, but you’ll owe us.”
“Owe you what?” I remembered his words about wanting my ass and swallowed hard.
“Not telling; where’s the fun in letting you know now? You’ll have to wait and see. Nothing you won’t like, don’t worry.”
“Okay, but not anything to do with your dick in my… my erm, you know, the back area.” I flushed.
Jackson stared at me for a moment, and then he burst out laughing. It was a proper, head back laugh. And my heart clenched at the sight and the sound. He was beautiful like this, free, happy in the moment.
“The back area?” Still laughing, he wiped at his eyes. “The back area; you’re such a prude sometimes, Milly.”
“Maybe I am; until recently I hadn’t even had sex.”
“We’ll stay away from the back area, for now. But one day, I’m going to take you there and you’ll want it and enjoy it.”
“What if I don’t?” I argued. “What if I never want it?” I didn’t think I’d want a huge dick in my ass.
Jackson sobered as he stared at me. “We aren’t going to force you do to anything you don’t want.” He sounded offended.
“It’s just… I don’t know if I’m all that keen. I mean, would you want something the size of a cock up your ass?” I asked Ben.
He shrugged, surprising the hell out of me. “Never tried it, but I would, if you wanted to do me with a strap-on.”
“You don’t need me,” I retorted with a wink, “you’ve got Jackson here.”
Both men gave a shudder. “I’m not going anywhere near his hairy ass,” Jackson retorted.
“Yeah, not letting him within a mile,” Ben added, but then he smiled at me. “But you, little one, you can do whatever you want to me. Tie me up, tie me down, drip candle wax all over me, stick a dildo in me. I don’t care.”
Drip wax on him? Did people do shit like that? Jesus, Ben was kinky.
“Ignore him,” Jackson said. “He’s a perverted motherfucker. We’ll all keep him under control, though.”
“Oooh yeah, you could dominate me, if you want.” Ben said to me, an excited glint in his eyes. “Or I could top you. I’m easy. I like to switch things up.”
“Like I said, fucking kinky.” Jackson cuffed the back of Ben’s head. “Focus on the road, you freak.”
“As if you’re any better; you flat out like to dominate,” Ben huffed.
And he did. I couldn’t see Jackson letting me tie him up and dominate him, which was fine by me because the idea didn’t do it for me.
I sat back in my seat, a little more relaxed. Ben intrigued me. Out of all the men, he was the one who could wind me up the most, but who would come to my defense at surprising moments. He also possessed a wicked sense of humor. I wondered if I should take him seriously at all because he probably didn’t mean half of what he said.
“My aunt used to be a dominatrix,” I blurted out, deciding to share a little of my life.
“Whoa, really?” Ben’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror.
“Yup, one aunt is a dentist, and sensible as anything, the other went wild and became a dominatrix. She used to tell me stories of her glory days before the crash, and Dad stopped her coming around. She’d make men clean her home and get paid for it. I have to say I admired her.”
“Oh,” I added, “and they paid to polish her toes.”
Ben snorted. “Men paid to polish her toes? Fuck me, I don’t get that shit at all. Then again, before the collapse, a friend of mine had gotten into his girl dressing as a pony. She wore a tail and everything, and I didn’t get that either; until I saw her one day, prancing around his living room, these pointed hoof boots on, hair in a ponytail, long, dark tail attached to her Brazilian panties. I got it then. Sexy as fuck, and I didn’t think it would be.”
“Ben, I get the impression you’d find an amoeba as sexy as fuck, if you’d gone without long enough.” I laughed, and he joined in.
Ahead of us, the massive fence surrounding the compound came into view. My heart sped up, and I leaned forward as if doing so would get us there faster. I wanted to see my parents so badly. To be sure they were alive and well. I hoped they’d come with us. Mum would probably put up a fight because these men were hardly the respectable family she’d imagined me marrying into, but for the first time in my life I felt able to stand my ground with her. I’d gone through a lot, and Mum’s disdain didn’t bother me half as much as it used to.
“New hole, halfway down on the right,” Jackson said and pointed. Ben followed the action with his gaze and gave a grunt.
“Shit, your parents need to come with us,” Jackson said. “I think this place will fall soon.”
I swallowed the bile that rose up at the idea. All those people clinging on, struggling to make a decent life, and it was going to be ripped away from them. They’d end up as Foamers or taken as slaves by bastards like the Ravens. Worse, they’d end up Feral, roaming around, lost, and at the mercy of other gangs of stragglers.
I turned to gaze out the window and gave a cry of dismay as I saw the body of what looked to be a young girl.
“Fuck. Baby, don’t look.” Jackson’s words were urgent, but of course I did what most people would. My gaze automatically went back out the window, pulled by the need to see what had happened.
There were people, dead people, littering the roadside like nothing more than discarded food wrappers.
“Oh, God.” Tears filled my eyes, and I stared in horror. These were probably people from my compound. Maybe my friends and neighbors, possibly my parents.
I vaguely heard Jackson unclick his seatbelt, then he was pouring his massive bulk over the small space between the front seats, grunting as he did.
His feet were pushing against the front window, and he used them to shove himself farther forward until he slid, with no grace at all, onto the backseat. For a brief moment, I contemplated how it was the first time he hadn’t looked completely in control of his body, but then he pulled me to him. He pressed my head against his chest and stroked the back of my hair murmuring words I couldn’t hear properly. The car began to slow, and I pulled my face out of Jackson’s cotton t-shirt to look warily once more out of the window.
We reached the gate, and where normally there’d be two or three guards, there were about a dozen men, armed to the teeth. They trained their weapons on us.
Jackson got out of the car, hands in the air. He spoke clearly, “I’m here to find the parents of Mildred Brown.” He gestured to the car. “She’s with us, and we need to speak with them urgently. We have news of her brother, Simon.”
“No entry,” one of the men said with a snarl. “We’re under siege, and you need to turn around and get lost.”
“Mildred, get out of the car,” Jackson ordered. “Come see if you know any of these upstanding gentlemen.”
My throat ran dry as I stepped out of the car. The men gathered at the gate didn’t look like the folks my family hung with. Some were big, Altereds I presumed; others were vaguely familiar, people I had passed on the street but not spoken with. Yet more were total strangers. Our compound was large, encompassing a lot of acres, and even though we were trapped in a relatively small community compared to the cities of old, we didn’t all know one another.
“Milly?” An achingly familiar voice came from the back of the group, and B
lake pushed through the men to reach the front. “Jesus, Milly!”
He turned to the big men holding rifles. “Open the gate!” They did as he said, and the gates swung back with a deafening whine. The steel giants whined past as guns clicked and barrels were trained right on us.
Blake rushed out and up to me, ignoring the shouts of protest from the men behind. He pulled me into his arms and we hugged, my eyes closed tight as I held onto a piece of home; even one I hadn’t been particularly fond of.
When we parted, Blake looked at Jackson and his eyes widened. I couldn’t help the small grin splitting my face. I recognized the look in Blake’s eyes, and it wasn’t simply fear; no, there was a healthy dose of lust simmering there.
“Down, cowboy,” I whispered. “He’s mine.”
Blakes eyes grew wide. “He’s what?”
“Mine. Or rather, maybe more accurately, I’m his.”
“Got it right the first time.” Jackson took a few steps to stand by us. “Her parents in there?” He jerked his head to the compound. “I’ve been looking, but your people seem to have given me and my men the run around.”
“I wonder why.” Blake let his gaze travel the length of Jackson’s body. “You look like a stand-up kind of a guy.”
“Blake…” I kept my tone calm, knowing we needed his help. “Jackson saved me. He is a stand-up guy as you put it, and we need to find my parents.”
I couldn’t tell Blake the whole truth, not with his family’s connections; who knew where his loyalties would lie.
“They need to know I’m alive, and I have news of Simon too.”
Blake considered me for a moment, looked at Jackson, then at Ben sitting in the driver’s seat, hands loose on the wheel but face taut, expectant.
“You can come in, but only big guy here can come with you; the other one waits outside. And you need to be checked for weapons,” Blake told Jackson. “I’m not sure how you’ve been getting in previously, but I don’t recall us having visitors here at the checkpoint.” He raised a brow at Jackson who merely smirked.
“Where’s your dad?” I asked. “Are you in charge here now?” Blake sure seemed to be, which struck me as odd because he’d always had his sights set on grander things than running our little old compound.
“Everything’s falling apart, Milly. No one is in charge as such, but Dad and a few others have created an emergency council. The raids are getting worse, and the Ferals are bold as hell, but something is happening with the Foamers. They’re figuring things out they couldn’t before. Like finding small holes in the fence and using fucking tools to widen them.”
“We’ve noticed the same thing,” Jackson said.
We reached the big men by the gate, and although they were impressively large, none of them matched Jackson’s stature. Three of them broke from the group and pushed Jackson against the fence. For a moment I saw him tense, the fight instinct rising to the surface, but then he went loose, relaxed. Only the tic in his jaw gave away how much he hated letting them pat him down. They took the two knives he always carried from him, and the gun in an ankle holster that I didn’t know about.
“You’ll get these back when you leave.” Blake tossed a nod at the weapons then turned to me. “It’s good to have you home, Milly.”
“Oh, I’m not… I mean it is, but I won’t be… I’m not staying.” Why did I find it so hard to say?
“Yeah, guessed as much.” Then Blake leaned in close and whispered, “Neither would I if I found myself a specimen like him. You know your mum is going to shit a brick when you tell her, right?”
Oh, yeah. Mum! She’d most likely make a total scene, but hopefully after her tantrum she’d accept things as they were.
“You’re welcome to come with us.” Jackson surprised the ever-loving hell out of me with his offer.
“What?” Blake said, evidently as surprised, his mouth hanging open.
Jackson lowered his voice. “Things are getting gnarly around here, only going to get worse. If your secret comes out, how much support do you think these fuckers will give you? We don’t care.”
“How do you know? Did you tell him, Milly?” There was hurt in Blake’s voice, but Jackson carried on talking.
“I already knew, but your response just now confirmed it.” He grinned, and in a sing-song voice said, “You like me.” Then he sobered and sniffed the air. “Hormones, pheromones, size of someone’s pupils, they give a lot away.”
“I can’t simply leave my parents,” he said. “Walk away from everything.”
“Bring them. Bring a few trusted people with you. We can fit them in our place; sadly, we can’t save the couple thousand who live here. This place is falling. It won’t hold. Your choices are leave for London now, try to make that political career your daddy wants for you. Big risk in that, though. Will they even grant you guys a pass to enter? Things are being tightened down there. Or you go somewhere else. The two compounds in Leeds are holding up. The smaller rural ones dotted around are also doing pretty well because they run a tight ship security wise and have much less perimeter to guard. Or you can come with us.”
“What the hell would I do where you are?”
Jackson grinned again. “Oh, you could be quite useful to us actually, Blake. And you’d be helping out humanity at the same time. Win-win.”
How would Blake be useful to them? Jackson better not be talking about putting him in harm’s way. I turned and glared at him, but he steadfastly ignored me.
Blake sighed and shook his head. “As tempting as it would be to get out of here, I can’t leave my community behind. I think I’ll call a meeting tonight and talk about trying to get to the compounds in Leeds.”
“Okay, but if things go to shit, do you have a phone you can use?”
Blake nodded.
“Here.” Jackson dug into his pocket and pulled out a torn piece of yellowing card. “You can reach me on this number, when it’s working. Keep trying, you’ll get a signal eventually. You run into major trouble, call.” He paused then and took hold of Blake’s arm. “But only you, your family, and a few close confidants. We can’t help everyone. Sorry.”
Blake nodded grimly and tucked the paper into his jean pocket.
We approached the church where Jackson had thought my parents might be, but we went right on by it and to the back where there were a couple of empty old buildings. To the right of those was a small Methodist chapel. “They’re in there. The minister has been helping the families who lost their homes. I’ll wait out here.”
I swallowed and walked to the door, Jackson right behind me. Turning to him, I placed my hand on his chest. “Let me go in alone, at first. It will be easier.”
“No can do,” he said. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. Sorry.”
I bristled at this. “I’m asking you to please let me go in alone.” I remembered that tears worked when it came to getting my way with Jackson, but I couldn’t cry on demand. I wasn’t an actress. I sighed. “Please, Jackson.” I pouted.
He shook his head again. “That routine might work on me when it comes to a lot of things, but your safety is not one of them. I’m not leaving your side. Come on, do you want to see them or not?”
“Fine,” I replied, giving in.
I pushed open the heavy wooden door and entered the cool, dark interior of the chapel, focusing on the possibility of seeing my parents again and pushing other deliberations to one side.
I’d never been in the chapel before. Simple wood benches ran either side of a narrow aisle. To the front was a large, raised, but again simple, pulpit. One plain cross dominated the wall at the back. There were no stained glass windows. No ornate candlesticks or carved stone. It was a stark contrast to the fancy interior of the church I’d attended as a child. Before the collapse.
In the dim light, I made out a huddle of people near the back of the room, blankets and sleeping bags were scattered about, and the smell of food filled the air.
Then I saw him.
&nbs
p; Dad.
“Oh my God.” I ran forward, tears streaming down my face as I called out, “Dad!”
He turned, his face lit up, and he ran toward me. We crashed into one another and hugged as if we’d been apart for decades.
I became aware of someone else standing right by us and turned my head to see Mum watching, her expression closed off. Guarded.
Great.
I’d known she might be angry when I told her the truth of my situation, but she’d not seen me for days, hadn’t even known if I was alive, and she already had attitude pouring off her.
I pulled away from Dad and turned to her. “Mum, it’s good to see you.”
It was, despite our difficulties. I cried as I spoke, overwhelmed at being back in their company.
“Why are you here?” she demanded.
What? I turned to my father, only to see his gaze close off. Always the same story, he always gave in to her. Chose her over me.
“I’m alive, Mother. Thought you might want to know.”
“We already know. Simon came here.”
“He did? When?” What the hell? How could they let a member of the Ravens into the compound? “You do know what he is doing now, right?” I shook my head.
“Yes, he’s working with people who say they might be able to help us.” She gave a tight smile.
“Help you? They took me, Mum. Took me and were going to sell me.”
She leaned in close, her face harsh. “Yes, well that might have been better all round because you’ve shacked up with mutants, according to Simon. Brought shame on us all.”
I gasped as if she’d hit me, when a low rumbling growl to my left had me remembering Jackson.
“Listen. You don’t deserve my help,” he said to Mum, his face hard, lips tight. “If it were up to me, I’d leave you here to rot when the Foamers finally break in, or let you get over run by Ferals, but your daughter here cares about you. Why, I do not know, but she does. So here’s the offer. You can come with us, now. We will keep you safe, but you never, and I mean never, speak to Milly in this way again.”