Living Amongst The Dead (Book 2): Dark Days

by J. N. Morgan

  “Geez, what is it? It looks like you’re gonna pop if you keep it in any longer. Meet the Easter Bunny or something?”

  “We’re trying to have a baby!” She finally squealed, a huge smile erupting on her face, but her ex-roommate just looked at her like she had two heads.

  “Are you insane?” It was said very matter-of-factly, like a legitimate question. “There’s no medicine, where will you get a doctor? You could die, and how do you know if this Nathan guy-”

  “Richard!” she said, insulted not just at how negative, though truthful, she was being but also that she can’t even get her man’s name right.

  “Richard…” Nick corrected, “how do you know if he’s gonna to stick around?!” Tiff didn’t entirely know the answer. He hadn’t spoken much at all about children, the fact he continued to cum inside her seemed to be mostly based on the fact that she just wanted it, but they had said they love each other, she’d seen the kindness in him, the tenderness, and now? She had literally saved his life! He may be crass at times, but it would be an unbelievable show of ungratefulness to get her pregnant then abandon her after she kept him from bleeding out, and she just didn’t think he had that in him to be that cruel. He even admitted before when he’d considered leaving her, but there’s no way he could now… she just refused to believe he could be that heartless.

  “Well for one, he’s not black…” with a shit-eating grin on her face, she glowed in the midst of Veronica’s coldly narrowed eyes and her frown. They had been friends long enough, however, that she knew it was a joke… even if it was in poor taste, eluding to how it’s something of a stereotype for black men to make themselves scarce after getting a woman pregnant. “I mean, he’s just… he’s a good man.”

  “He hit you…”

  “I tried to shoot him.”

  “So he’s going to hit me?”

  “STOP!... look… worst case scenario, alright?” Time to play the Devil’s advocate, she thought. It truly wasn’t believed that he’ll leave her, but just to try and satisfy her friend, to let her know that this is what she truly wanted, she would take the stance that opposes her belief. “Let’s say he knocks me up, ok? Then, let’s say he ends up ditching me, or dying, or running off with another woman, or whatever the fuck… how many men have you seen around lately?” It was a genuine question.

  “There’s barely anyone around… in the past month all I’ve seen is Jenn and you two.”

  “Jenn?”

  “’Fire-crotch’…” She used the nickname that her white friend had given the redhead… but none the less grinned dazedly at the memory of that fiery woman who was apparently straight.

  “Well that’s my point; there’s barely any men left, and somehow I’ve found a good one, and this is what I want! With or without him, I want a child… a baby…” There was silence, Nick put her hands on her hips, having put her rifle down in the grass a little while ago while they conversed. “... and Veronica, sweetie, I’m not… getting any younger…” The unapproving look faded on her dark features as she looked slightly downwards at the woman over a decade older than her.

  “… you really want this, huh?...”

  “Honestly, he wouldn’t even cum in me unless I’d have been asking him t-“

  “OK, JUST…” her hands came up, eyes closed, face looking off to the side with disgust on her features, and the hands shot forward with a “MMM!” as though she were about to lose her lunch if the woman continued. “I don’t want to hear… about your disgusting hetero… just… NO…”

  “Well you get the idea!”

  “I don’t want that idea!!!”

  “You know what I mean…” Nicky gave a shudder, hands lowering, eyes opening, bringing them back to the woman but the disgusted look on her face took longer to dissipate.

  “Alright, fine, I’ll stop trying to bring you to the side of reason.”

  “Thank you… and I know it’s kind of crazy in this day and age… but I just… I should get back to him… how was the meat, by the way?”

  “Smelled funny, but after I cooked it, it seemed alright. Would it be alright if I… had some more?... OH! By the way, I did a little ‘cleaning up’.” Gesturing over to the west of the house, Tiffany turned around, only now noticing the almost complete lack of corpses.

  “Oh wow… NICK! That’s AWESOME! What did you do with em?”

  “Well, that pitiful little creek wouldn’t float them away, so I just dragged them up into the woods. Some of those buggers were still alive, but like, paralyzed or something, but a few cracks on the head with ‘Angel’ here and they slept nice and quiet.” She gestured at her rifle with the black polymer stock. “Though I thought it best not to come too close to the house, so I didn’t… bother with the few over on this side of the river.”

  “No, no, it’s just fine, that’s great, such a huge help; thank you, sweetie!” The woman embraced her friend in a tight hug, which was happily reciprocated.

  “I can get these last few if you want, while you… cut off some more of that meat for me?” It was said hopefully, with a bright, friendly smile.

  “Hang on… how about… um… you could take the whole thing out if you want? Eat all you can! We don’t really want any more, been eating almost nothing but deer for like 3 days.”

  “You kiddin’?! All-RIGHT!! It’s a deal!” Clapping the shorter female on the back, jarring her for a moment, the taller, younger, slimmer female went to work. Thin, but evidently had more strength than meets the eye. Tiff went inside, thinking it was a good deal. The yard got cleaned up, the deer carcass can finally be taken out, and Nick would get a nice, big meal or two! She noted a burnt patch of grass on the other side of the road and on the other side of the river. That must be where she made the fire and cooked the meat. Some faint trails of smoke still rose from it.

  He was still asleep when she came in, pistol in hand, and she knelt down beside him to put the back of her hand in front of his mouth and nose. The warm breath was felt. Next to him remained the roughly 2/3 bottle of moose meat which she will happily continue to feed him, probably having another lacklustre plate of pancakes again for Dinner… possibly for Supper as well. The cans were not presently accessible since he couldn’t open them nimbly with his knife as usual. She didn’t trust the meat even if her friend found it to be alright; for now, pancakes was about all she could manage with her one good hand. The back door was locked, the front door unlocked, and she went out on the porch, gesturing for Veronica to come to the front door. She had dragged the corpses to the South, where the rotten fur from the deer had been left by the one who hunted it.

  They both managed to drag the carcass out onto the porch, and from there, it was left in Nick’s capable hands, who was all too happy to take it. They spoke for a time on the porch over the deer, whispering so as not to awaken or alert Richard. Tiff agreed to help smuggle her inside at night, to let her sleep in the guest room again, which she was very appreciative of and conceded to truly not look at or say anything to the man she nearly ended. It was mentioned that it was getting cold out, and still only wearing a muscle shirt on her upper body the goosebumps on her flesh was noticeable. Inside, beyond the door in the northeast corner of the kitchen which lead down to the basement, just below the stairs, were coats hanging on nails. The longest one she could find was pulled down. For the elderly woman it must have almost been a trench coat, but for Nicky it should fit just fine, if not a bit loosely due to the hefty nature of Denise, the previous owner.

  It was felt; thick and coarse material, but very warm. The inside seemed to be lined with a sort of satin or silk or something, incredibly smooth, and Tiff was almost tempted to keep it for herself. Still, she went outside with it. “Might be flammable, so watch out near the fire, ok?”

  “Woah, look at this thing! You bring me a fuckin’ blanket or something?! Hah! Naw, naw, this is great, thanks a lot! Ohhhh, damn…” she almost moaned as the smooth fabric was felt against her skin. To use the buttons would have this c
oat done up too loosely, so she tucked the right flap in against her body, then wrapped the left flap over the right and used the matching sash to tie it around her like a great robe. It was a light beige colour, probably didn’t match her black jeans very well or the black muscle shirt beneath it, but she took it happily all the same. No way was she getting cold this Autumn, and come Winter all she would really need is a toque of some sort, perhaps a scarf, and some layers to put under her or over her pants!

  A final thanks was given both ways, for Veronica’s help and for Tiff’s generosity for the meat and the coat, which ironically neither belonged to her with the coat being the previous occupant’s who was now buried in the backyard with her husband, and the deer had been hunted by Richard, but it was obvious that neither had any use for them anymore while her friend could put both to very good use. The carcass was dragged off, no doubt soon to be butchered; the meat taken off, and perhaps all cooked at once to be eaten as the day went on until it was safe for her to be snuck into the house to sleep. Yeah, this was going good. She had her friend back, a lovely coat to keep her warm, and she would be well fed today after a hard day’s work. The fire across the road and across the river was flamed up again, and she was careful about not burning her new acquisition.

  CHAPTER 3

  He woke up, not looking much better but thankfully not looking any worse either. Tiff knelt down beside him on his right, fed him more water, more meat, they spoke for a short time but he still seemed exhausted and winded… and so pale. In spite of the blanket and the fireplace being steadily kept full to the point that she was sweating, he said that he felt a bit cool. Without asking if he wanted it or not, she got under the blanket with him, straddled him, hugged him though being mindful of his right shoulder, and so shared her body warmth with the man she hoped would soon give her a baby if he hasn’t done so already.

  Whilst covering him with herself she informed the man that the corpses had been dealt with. Obviously it was asked how this had been managed because Tiffany only had use of one of her hands and she wasn’t all that physically strong to begin with. Slowly, gently, and apprehensively, it was told how Veronica, the woman who had… shot him… got rid of them herself. Just talking about her was making him angry; he asked why she did such a thing without having gotten something in turn. She’d gotten a safe place to sleep, it was pointed out to him, and also some of the deer meat was given to her.

  Even though he didn’t dare eat it himself, and doubted if Tiff should either, it angered him further that the meat that he had worked so hard to get, to bring here, to butcher and so on, was given to the person who nearly killed him!

  “We weren’t going to eat it anyways, baby… I don’t trust it either, but after cooking it up she said it was good, and it certainly hadn’t made her sick since she went ahead and dragged away all those walkers you killed. Oh Richard, I seen you taking care of them, it was almost like you turned that bolt gun into an assault weapon or some-“

  “No such thing… as an… assault… weapon;… Liberal bullshit… but… thanks…” She laughed softly in his ear as her warmth spread to him.

  “I thought your little dance was funny, too.” He smiled, remembering his sloppy rendition of ‘MJ’.

  “You’ve been… hit by. You’ve been… struck by…”

  “A smooooth criminal.” She giggled as she finished his quote, and he gave a weak laugh as well however then gave the inevitable groan of pain. The smile from her giggle faded, oh how she wished she had something to give him to make things easier for him. “Do you want more meat, sweetie? I could give you some more…”

  “Noooo, that’s ok… you have another… but try not to… choke on it, like last… time… okay?” He didn’t dare laugh again, but the smile on his face, and the tone told her he was joking. She gave another careful hug. “Ohhhh, Tiffany… you smell so… nice… if only I were… better. I’d be aaaaall… over you…” She gave a sultry moan at the thought.

  “I missed you so much last night, Richard… wanted to just craaaaaawl down here with you, slip under your blanket… zip open your pants… and feast on your delicious cock…” It was his turn to moan now, his body tensing under her, feeling him rise a little under her lower torso as he bucked his hips lightly.

  “None of that… as much as I… want you… so much… I really think that… a hard on would… make me pa-hass ou-hout.” Those last two were faintly chuckled, though it wasn’t entirely meant as a joke. She kissed his cheek, he told her he was nice and warm now, so she slipped out from under the blanket and tucked him in. So far he hadn’t had to use the washroom, but she didn’t know what to do when the time came… deal with it when they get there, she supposed. A part of her was looking forward to when he had to piss though… the woman was in possession of no urine fetish at all, but simply looked forward to handling his cock again, even if it was soft… will probably give it a little kiss, too, before or after he does his business. Probably open his legs, place a cup between his thighs, and have him urinate in the cup? Would it be better to leave the foreskin on, or to peel it back? An odd thing to think about as she went into the kitchen to make herself another batch of pancakes. The box of mix was getting a bit low, however.

  He slept, having eaten another 1/3rd of moose meat, it left only one third in the jar. Hopefully she’ll be able to get him to eat that before the night is out. Evening was setting in, the Sun getting low in the west, and she had herself more pancakes figuring there will only be enough for one more meal tomorrow for breakfast, maybe enough to give Nicky a couple. Being so skinny, it was assumed she didn’t eat all that much. After the meal, she went outside, across the bridge to the northwest of the house, which went east-west, and turned north where the fire was. Facing south at her fire, Veronica seen her friend coming and waved, having watched her approach ever since the front door of the house opened. Since she wasn’t rushing, the warmly bundled up and full-bellied female figured that the white man hadn’t died yet.

  “Hey, big momma!” Tiff’s black friend called out with a grin.

  “Ha- ha… what’s up, Nicky? How’s the meat?”

  “I know it smells a little funky, but I tell ya, after cooking it, it’s GREAT! Could use a little sauce of course, but nah, I was getting sick of canned food; this is delicious!” The bones seemed almost stripped clean just west of the fire, close to the woods, and laying on a smooth, wide stone that looked like it probably came out of the river was still a good few strips of cooked meat. It was close enough to the fire that it was kept warm, steaming, almost sizzling.

  “That uh… that actually does look rather good… mind if I have a piece?”

  “Go for it, it’s yours after all; here.” A piece of the hot meat was picked up and handed to the woman who sat at her left. “Hot!”

  “Ooh, ah, Jesus you’re not joking!” Laying it down on her pant leg, Tiffany shook her right hand that had almost gotten burnt. Her hands were not so thick and calloused as Nick’s it would seem.

  “So, think I’ll get to take that bed again tonight?”

  “Yeah, sure, I told him about what you did. Cleaning the place up and what not. Did you find any of those um… those bullet things?... the uh… the cases or whatever?”

  “Brass casings, you mean?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Seen a few, why? You expect me to go and pick all those up, too?” Her head recoiled as she looked over at the plump older woman, almost insulted as though her kindness were being taken advantage of.

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to, no, of course not! He does collect them though, knows how to make them into ammo.”

  “No shit? He reloads?” The tone was high-pitched, impressed. Being a gun owner even before the infection, she had heard of reloading but didn’t know the process whatsoever. Just heard that it was cheaper or more accurate or something to make your own ammo than it was to buy it, but then some ammo is even cheaper than reloading apparently, so it was all rather confusing; didn’t l
ook into it much, but it was clear that the black woman had learned more about it than the white.

  “If that’s what it’s called, then yeah… so I think, if you wanted to make a show of good faith, perhaps try to track down whatever ones you can find and bring them in to him. Or rather, probably best you see me first, and then I can tell him that you got them. I dare say he’ll be thankful to you… might not say it, because you know… he has trouble saying too much right now but it would make you seem better in his eyes.”

  “Pfuh…” she scoffed. “Going around, crawling through the grass and around all that dead blood on the road, looking for cartridge casings… like some little monkey.”

  “Heeeey, it’s not like that, Nicky. I just think it’d help him accept you. Maybe you could join us… he really is a great guy, and-“

  “He’d probably just shoot me ba-“

  “I told you! I tried to shoot him first, and you know what? He aimed his rifle at me, he obviously had the ammo to shoot me with… but he didn’t!”

  “Nooo, he just hit you, which is not big deal, right? A man hitting a woma-“

  “Would you STOP?! My GOD! You act like it’s some terrible sin! Murder, rape, torture, suicide bombing, slavery… slapping someone? You really think they are all in the same category? Face it, in this world where you can literally get away with murder, slapping someone is not something that is worth complaining about. I’ve slapped him, too, you know!” Just then she recalled when he punched her in the stomach on the first night they met, however she had been struggling and generally being quite disagreeable when in fact it was his thinking that had saved her from the horde. He could have tried to leave her outside the box of the truck for the dead to get her, but he didn’t object when she helped herself into his hiding place.

  Hypocritically, upon hearing that her girlfriend here slapped the man she shot, a grin came to her dark face. “Thatta girl, don’t put up with no man’s bullshi-“