The Complete Creeping Darkness
Page 16
“What’s with you guys anyhow? You never told me, you get to keep your secrets?” He asked her.
“Maybe one day I’ll tell you,” she said kissing his forehead, “For now you have to wake up, but be careful, not everyone has your best interests in mind.”
It felt like He stood still as everything swirled around him. Howling winds and ice cold rain woke him from his hallucination. Maddie was gone again.
Chapter 15
“You had quite the fever,” Sophie’s disembodied voice told him.
He opened his eyes to his dimly lit bedroom. She slowly came into focus.
“Have I been sleeping long?” He asked hoarsely, his throat hurting.
“Yeah, about two days. You were pretty bad off,” Sophie told him.
Pain gripped him as he pushed himself up against the back of the bed and looked around the candle lit room. His dream was already fading, Maddie told him to be weary didn’t she?
He turned his attention back to Sophie. Why was she here? Didn’t she hate him? Once again she was acting weird.
“Do you think it was smart being naked on your balcony during an ice storm?” Sophie asked him as she poured some water and handed it to him.
“In retrospect, maybe not,” he answered groggily.
He winced from the pain of drinking and just from the general pain he was in.
“Regardless you’re safe now. When you’re the supreme leader people tend to give you preferential treatment. I could have used you during a couple sales at Saks. I once saw this awesome Armani Herringbone jacket on sale for seven hundred dollars and…” she stopped and looked away. She slowly turned back to him and smiled a very queer smile.
“It doesn’t even matter. I lost most of my clothes when Maddie’s car burned up and the rest of them were at my parent’s house in Burbank. I guess I have some here, because they never shipped, but what’s the point in looking super fabulous when there’s giant bugs trying to eat you. How good do you really want to look for a hole in the ground? Well I guess they do dress up people for funerals don’t they? But at least you get a coffin there, a nice padded one, my grandfather’s was probably nicer than my bed, don’t know why comfort was such a factor. Just a status symbol I guess.”
“Right. What have I missed? How’d the Yale thing go?” He asked and weakly took another sip.
“You’d be better off asking Olivia,” she answered. “She knows how to spin it.”
He nodded and attempted to stretch. Big mistake!
“Relax, take it slow! Your muscles just need to warm up,” Sophie told him.
“And how do you know that?”
“I had an uncle in a coma. He had to have rehab for about a year.”
“Must be nice to be in a coma,” he commented, thinking about the world you’d be in, purely fiction.
Sophie got up and opened the curtains.
“Maybe. But you’d probably be dead right now then. You’d be a liability!”
Suddenly there was an explosion outside his window. A rich kaleidoscope of colors bursting through the air over the ocean.
“What the hell is that?” He asked.
“You’ve never seen fireworks?” Sophie asked and sat on the bed beside him.
More and more fireworks illuminated the sky.
“It’s also Olivia’s answer to whether or not the Yale raid went good or not.”
She grabbed his hand and helped him outside. She pulled open the door and they went to the edge of the balcony. She leaned him against the rails, and threw a blanket over him to keep him warm. He could barely stand, but she held him up.
He looked down at all the kids by the cliffs watching. One looked up at him and then shook his friends back, he looked up at him too. Soon it was a domino effect. Everyone looked up at him and then they started cheering.
He waved.
“What’s been going on?” He asked.
“Okay, you asked for it. Your war machine has rolled on without you. When we came back the ice storm started, so Lee sent a fresh bunch of soldiers back into town. We raided the entire town. Olivia and Lee then put the Yale survivors to work and we started shipping whatever vehicles and trucks we could find back here. Your army has evacuated the entire town and set up base here. Before they mainly used Yale, but that was obviously compromised,” Sophie explained.
“In two days?” He questioned.
“Well we’ve had cold weather, and people were pumped after our success.”
“Whoa what? We didn’t…”
“Well that’s apparently a matter of perspective, and to people like you and me and maybe a few that were there, we might think it went horribly. But to the ones that weren’t there, and to people like Olivia, it went splendidly. We not only achieved our goal of nullifying the doctor’s war efforts, but we managed to save innocent Yalers and expand our own forces, according to Olivia that is.”
He looked down. Their population must have at least tripled.
“What do you mean expanded? We have more fighters?”
Sophie nodded, “You know, I’m not the best person to be talking to you about this.”
“You’re one of the most honest though.”
“Not when I was younger I wasn’t. I’d always tell the stupidest white lies. I once even told this guy I had to have surgery on my brain so he’d feel sorry for me. But then… I guess I grew out of it, into the fashionista that you knew yesterday.”
“And then?”
She took in a deep breath.
“And now I’m just a little girl afraid of bugs.”
“You and me both. Well, not the girl part, obviously.”
He touched her hand on the cold rail.
“Obviously. We also took in a lot of civilians. Lee shot two guys that were questioning his authority. He and Olivia even started a prison.”
“Civilians?” He asked questioning her use of the term. “Prisons?”
She laughed.
“I’ve been hanging around Lee and Olivia too much, Mr. and Mrs. Military.”
“I bet. I need you to do something for me.”
“Sure.”
They stood in silence watching the fireworks as a new batch went off. He wondered where Olivia and Lee were. The sky danced with the exotic colors and designs, reminding the mass below of forgotten Fourth of July’s and happier days when dinner was waiting on the table.
“Do you know where the student records are?” He asked.
“Yeah, sure. Olivia moved them, but they were in the office. I’m pretty sure I can get you what you want.”
“I want Olivia’s.”
She looked at him curiously.
“Maybe this is none of my business, or maybe I just want to look after you for Madison’s sake, but don’t you think you and Olivia are getting a little too close? She’s been here most of the time fawning over you while you were asleep. Lee isn’t blind; she flaunts it right at him. This isn’t going to bode well for your friendship you know. And Lee’s got the backing of the people. He tries to look the other way, but it eats at him, how long can he put up his charade even for friendship?”
“Me and Olivia…” He protested.
He could faintly hear his bedroom door opening.
“I don’t care,” she said quietly, “and I guess it’s really none of my business, but you play with fire and you’ll get burned,” Sophie said leaning in, whispering, “Olivia’s a bit bi-polar and she’s manipulative. She gets what she wants and if you’re in charge so she wants you. She turns Lee against you and… “
“And you think I’ve only encouraged her, is that it?” He asked with a lump in his throat.
Sophie shrugged.
Approaching footsteps halted any possible answer.
“Oh, my god!” Olivia exclaimed and ran out and hugged him.
Sophie had to back up as not to get pushed out of the way.
“You’re awake!”
“And that’s my cue,” Sophie muttered. “I’ll see you later, Peter.”
&
nbsp; “Bye. And you’ll get what I want right?” He asked Sophie.
“Count on it,” she answered and disappeared into the darkness of his room.
“Are you alright?” Olivia asked him and pulled him away from the edge.
“Yeah, just a little weak.”
She kissed him. He wanted to stop her and tell her that what we were doing was wrong, but he couldn’t. Instead he just held her close to him.
“I hear you’ve been busy,” he said through kisses.
She stopped and presented the fireworks like a model would a brand new car, arms outstretched, pouty lips, flaming eyes.
“And this is dedicated to your triumph at Yale. Some people graduate from there, others blow it up.”
“Yeah usually psychopaths.”
“Or brave soldiers freeing a town.”
“Olivia don’t try that spin crap with me. I know how bad that went. So many people died for no reason. I failed.”
Olivia shook her head. “Oh Peter you don’t get it. You did exactly what you had to do. Some people might try to tell you you were wrong and make you question your motives and actions. But you shouldn’t! You dealt with a potential rival, an enemy, who could have struck against us at a future date and then how many would have been lost? Instead we had minimal casualties, the Night Crawlers left! And we saved people, had we not been there, every single person there would have died! We procured men and supplies. And now we managed to save an entire town.”
“If we’re saving people what’s this about prisons?”
“Do you think bad people can become good people just because there’s a war going on? No! And listen handsome, just because we think we’re doing the right thing, doesn’t mean everyone goes with the flow. Do you know who we jailed? Try a nut that thinks that we deserve to be eaten by the bugs. He says it’s fittest of the species and that we’re not the fittest. Well I say we are and I say we’re going to win!”
“Yeah, but what about the authorities, I mean the real cops and government. How do you think they’re going to view this?”
“Favorably. They can’t govern. You don’t think that this is the only town with this problem do you? Not a chance. But we have us. And we’re good! We’re American heroes; America will survive because of people like us.” She took his hands and wrapped them around her. “Your brother got a hold of us.”
“What?” He asked shocked.
“Yup. New York is not in good shape. Most major cities aren’t. You think what happened here was bad, try being in New York. He said that they attacked in the tens of millions.”
“Is he coming for us?”
Olivia shook his head.
“Not right now, he’s a bit busy, did you not just hear me.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I told him not to bother with us, that you were doing a bang-up job. He’s very proud of you. He will be here as soon as possible. He’s trying to get out too.”
“So we’re on our own?” He got very cold, he started coughing.
“Yeah, makes it real doesn’t it, but with the town evacuated, maybe the Night Crawlers won’t bother us if they can’t find any food.”
“Yeah,” Peter said feeling very fatigued.
She turned and grabbed his hands and put them under her shirt on her stomach.
“Besides we don’t need anyone else, we’ve got each other and that’s more than enough,” she pulled him inside.
She helped him to his bed, it felt so nice laying down, Olivia laid down beside him, she draped one leg over his, his stomach knotted again.
“I hope you’re not angry with us, with what we’ve done,” she said giving him her best pouty look. She looked over at him and moved a strand of hair out of her face.
He wasn’t very strong. He put his arms around her as she crawled on top of him.
“No. You did a good job, you’re a natural.”
“Not at all things.”
“At enough,” she said and pulled at his pajama bottoms and pulled out his penis. She sucked on his flaccid member and it grew in her mouth.
She bobbed up and down on it and licked the tip of it and all around the shaft.
“Sorry, not too experienced.”
“That’s ok.”
Olivia stood up on the bed and pulled down her pants and her panties and lowered herself down onto him. She adjusted his cock and slid the head into her.
She slowly rocked on it as it went deeper into her.
She grabbed Peter’s hand and lead it to her pussy, Peter rubbed at her clit.
“I might not last too long,” Peter said as he licked his finger and went back to her pussy, rubbing around his cock and her pussy.
“That’s ok, I just want you to be happy.”
“I am.”
“You don’t seem to be.”
“I feel like I screwed up you know.”
“Don’t.”
Peter’s dick was now fully engulfed in her pussy and she started riding him faster.
“Do it the other way.”
“Like what?”
“Turn around, but leave my dick in you.”
“Ok, weird, I’ll try.”
Olivia maneuvered herself as she turned with his dick still in her.
Peter sat up a little and pushed her over, she grabbed his knees and continued bouncing on his dick.
Peter rubbed her ass and touched her asshole, she jumped.
“Sorry.”
“That’s ok, you just caught me off guard.”
Peter touched it again and rubbed around her anus.
“I’m going to cum,” Peter said.
Olivia sat up and Peter’s dick flopped out.
She went to move, but Peter stopped her.
“I got this,” Peter said and rubbed it against her anus.
Peter shot a stream of cum out against her asshole. And rubbed it hard agaisnt her as he came.
“Done?” Olivia asked.
“Yeah.”
Olivia turned and passed Peter some tissue. He wiped himself and his cum off of her ass.
Olivia turned to him, “Are you going to help me?”
“Sure,” Peter replied as Olivia spread her legs in front of him and started rubbing her clit.
Peter slowly pushed two fingers in to her pussy and she moved closer as Peter finger fucked her harder.
She leaned back and rubbed herself as Peter fingered her. Her body started spasming as she came.
She pushed Peter’s hand away as she finished up.
Olivia stood up and pulled her panties on and then her pants and mounted Peter as he pulled up his pants. She leaned over and kissed him.
“Now that we’ve got that out of the way. Can we talk?”
“Of course. You’re so hot, you know that?”
“Thanks. I was thinking next we could plug up the hole, which would make sure they stayed away.”
He nodded as she kissed his neck.
“We’d be doubly covered. And we’d be truly safe and then we can worry about what’s really important.”
“I’m tired,” he replied.
“Okay, sleep,” she said and slid off him. She patted his hand.
He rolled over and faced her in the dim candle-lit room. He stared at her trying to figure out what was going on in her brain. She looked back at him, maybe doing the same.
He closed his eyes. He could feel her cool hand against his hot head. Why was he so weak with her? Damn the weakness of flesh. He let his worries be taken away by the darkness and he drifted off.
Chapter 16
“Do you like Olivia?” Lee asked Peter as they walked through a grove of once thriving trees, but now decaying.
“Do I what? No, that’s ridiculous…”
He raised an eyebrow at him. “Dude, she’s my girl, you’ve got to like her.”
“Well… Uhm,” he measured his answer, his heart beating faster and faster, “I suppose she’s a nice girl,” he shook his head at his own stupidity.
“Yeah,” he said, and kicked at a dying branch. He grabbed another branch and pulled on it until it made a sharp snapping sound.
“All dead, all these trees. What the hell are we going to do in the future?” Lee asked.
They both had flashlights. Peter placed his beam of light on Lee’s face, Lee shielded his eyes.
“Dude.”
“Sorry,” Peter muttered. “Why do you ask?” He wondered if his heart pounding was louder than the rustle of the leaves or it was his imagination.
“She… just seems so distant to me. We’ve done all this stuff. We’ve saved an entire town, and almost lost our lives more times than I can count, and…“ he drifted off.
“How do you feel about her, I mean really feel?” Peter asked.
Stupid High School bullshit! He thought he was done with all this. He knew now things had real consequences. Lee could turn on him. He could shoot him, or Peter could shoot him. Maybe he was baiting him. Maybe he knew something, or suspected something. Maybe…
“She’s more worried about surviving and… and she’s always worried about you,” Lee said jealously.
He turned and punched Lee in the arm.
“Dude, she likes you a lot more than she likes me. It’s just my natural charisma. She just feels sorry for me. Look at Sophie and Rachel. Sophie hated me, couldn’t stand me, now she’s always around me, I can’t get rid of her.”
Lee smiled in the pale moonlight.
“She’s good at what she does though, isn’t she?” Lee asked.
“She is, but that is worrisome too sometimes,” he said. “Remember you were talking about World War Two?”
Lee nodded.
“Well, what bothers me about this new world is that ordinary people are going to be turned into extra ordinary people.”
“Yeah of course, hard times…”
“Yeah, yeah. But unlike Japan, The third Reich was filled with painters, teachers and pig farmers. Don’t you get it?”
Lee nodded his head.
“We haven’t even had sex yet, you know that.”
Peter had a point and now he found himself fumbling for words.“Uhm… really? I just kind of figured… it’s the end of the world type thing, you know, so screw it.”
“We’re soldiers of the apocalypse and I can’t even get laid. I worry about losing her.”