by Leela Ash
“Peggy’s your family. I’m your family now,” he reminded her.
His injured voice struck a chord with Britney. “I know. I thought maybe he might eat rats and feral animals or something.”
“Maybe he would if he wasn’t pegged to the site,” reasoned Robert. “But you know we need him here. He’s pegged to perimeter alongside the others to keep any stray zombies from coming near the ranch. You know how it works. For whatever reason, when the zombies see other zombies, they lose interest… They just don’t attack. Maybe it’s some weird undead territory thing. Hell, I have no fucking idea. Or maybe they just aren't smart enough to spot someone alive when you’re surrounded by the undead. Whatever it is, our little ring of zombie pets seems to be working.”
“I know. It’s just so hard to let go. I wish I could feel better about seeing him like this.”
“I know, hon. Britney, think of it like this. We’re on our own out here. If we were in a bigger town, maybe we would have the manpower to keep ourselves safe. But the nearest town is a two-hour drive away and its population was only 4700 people before the turn. No one came to our rescue at the Turn, and no one is coming to our rescue now. Liam, at least, is still helping us, and we get to see him around. Even if he’s a little…different now.
“You’d think your son would’ve done something to get the army out here to help,” said Britney bitterly.
The same thought had crossed Robert’s mind, but he didn’t want Britney disparaging his son. But he also knew it was ridiculous to think they could just send troops out into the middle of nowhere on one soldier’s whim. They had to defend the cities.
“Bobby was a private. Hardly the highest ranking. I don’t think he’d have the gall to sweet talk a general into rushing in to rescue his hometown with tanks and supplies.”
Liam took a step toward his sister and crumpled to his knees.
“Ahhh, Jesus,” cussed Robert at the pitiful sight.
Britney burst into tears.
“He’ll live forever and have no quality of life. He needs to eat.”
“What are we supposed to feed him?”
“So I just stay here for the rest of my life and watch my brother exist in this constant state of death?”
“Maybe, but at least you know where he is and what happened to him. It’s a darn sight better than wondering if one of your sons was killed in action. It’s better than wondering if your youngest son is dead, has turned or is desperately trying to make his way back to his old man. You know he promised to help me and sometimes I can’t help but wonder if he’s on his way home even now. Be thankful you know where your loved ones are and what happened to them. That’s all I’m saying.”
A silence settled between the two.
“Do you want me to put him out of his misery?” murmured Robert.
Britney shook her head. Standing up she walked over to Liam. Obtaining a pocket knife from the front pocket of her jeans, she set about cutting Liam’s cord and freeing him.
“They may find a cure one day. If I killed my brother and didn’t give him the chance to survive, I’d never forgive myself.”
Liam began to gather himself and stand. Again his frail legs couldn’t bear his weight and he crumbled. With a sickened expression, Britney watched as her step-brother crawled off towards the open plains.
Chapter 4
It had all been different when she first arrived. Robert still remembered that day. He had driven back with her holding on for dear life the whole way. As soon as he got back, he set to adding the tanker to his fortifications. After lining it up, he jumped down from the cab to see what adjustments needed to be made. At the same time, he saw that Britney had climbed along the top of the truck.
She had no idea what distance they had covered, but the journey had been a full day. Britney was relieved he had stopped after the first four hours, which gave her time to climb the ladder and hold tight to the top of the truck for the remaining four-hour drive to his compound. It was secure, flatter and a lot less strain on her muscles. Now as she finally came out of hiding, her legs and arms trembled as she lowered herself down each rung of the ladder.
Coming out from behind the truck, she saw Robert checking that the front of the new truck was pressed up against the rear of the truck in front.
“I'm not dangerous and I'm not one of them,” she greeted.
“Oh, you decided to come down. Good. I wasn’t sure you would be able to hang on the whole way, but you did a mighty fine job.” He went back to aligning the truck. He had been raised with good manners and taught to treat women with respect, but times were different now. Still, this girl did not set off his alarms. He'd seen women with guns and vulgar language ransacking the supermarket and even looting the service station. She was not one of those woman.
Slowly, he walked toward her.
“You knew I was up there! Well why didn’t you stop and let me sit inside! That was eight hours…I could have been killed!”
“Well, maybe I wanted to be sure you were a survivor.”
She just looked at him, holding her ground and unsure of what to say next.
“So, if you don’t mind my asking, what exactly can I do for you, miss?”
“I've seen you at the service station the last few days. We were there when it happened. I mean we were staying there. People came and went, and when my brother tried to defend our position, maintain what few supplies we had...well, almost everyone got violent.”
Britney sensed that Robert was listening keenly to her. She kept talking calmly and clearly.
“We watched you, and well, we can’t stay there forever, and you seemed somehow, nice, or maybe strong. We don’t know where to go and so, well… I thought you might help us.”
By the age of fifty-two, Robert considered himself someone who got an accurate picture of a person from first impressions. The girl wasn't a liar.
“Why didn't you approach me at the service station? It's an eight-hour drive here.”
“My brother and I couldn't agree on whether or not to ask you for help. You look like a good man to me,” Britney said it aloud and prayed her assessment of Robert was right. “Rather than argue with my brother, I hitched a ride so he couldn't stop me.”
“That brave,” drawled Robert, “and kind of stupid.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures,” admitted Britney, shrugging.
Robert smiled. The folly of youth. She was young, perhaps even younger than his youngest son. She was sweet and open and honest.
“So, like I said, what exactly do you want from me?”
“I hadn't really thought that far ahead.”
“You want to come in for something to eat and drink? You must be shattered after riding on the top of the truck for eight hours.”
“I can trust you?”
“It's a bit late to worry about that,” laughed Robert.
Britney had a healthy appetite and was good company. In just a few hours, Robert realized just how much he missed interacting with other people. His house was huge and even if his son did arrive, the size of the house would comfortably accommodate Britney's small family of three. She had finally told him of her grandma as well.
Plus, with another man to help out, Robert could reduce the number of trips remaining to collect the final two trucks to close off the farmland area. He’d scouted the remaining vehicles on the motorcycle so he knew what needed to be obtained, and from where.
Arrangements made, they left early the next morning to ensure they were at the service station by dusk to drive back through the night.
Britney ran to Liam upon arrival. With pallid skin and raspy breathing, he reined in his usually sharp tongue and permitted a minor display of gruff affection toward her.
“Thought I'd lost you,” he said. “I was going to be super pissed if your grandmother was my first meal as a zombie.”
“You don't know if you'll turn,” encouraged Britney. “You've lasted this long, and your body is fighting
the infection. We really don’t know how this whole zombie thing works anyhow. Maybe you’ll get better. Stay strong, and your next meal will be meat and fresh vegetables like I was treated to last night.”
“Doesn't matter. I've got a three-course meal waiting for me when I zombify now that you've recruited this old dude.”
“He's not that old. He's mum and dad's age.”
“And look how they fared,” sneered Liam. “Maybe it was crazy of them to end it the way they did, but at least we know what happened. Your crazy mother convinced my dad to blow his brains out.”
“Probably,” agreed Britney placidly, “but I'm here, and I'm telling you to fight. I'm not her.”
“No. You're not,” said Liam quietly, kissing Britney’s forehead.
“Can you drive a truck back to my land?” asked Robert after being introduced to Britney's brother.
Britney caught Liam's eye. “He doesn’t have a license,” she answered on his behalf. “I do, though. I'll drive it and Liam can keep me company.”
“Sounds good,” agreed Liam gratefully.
It didn't sound as good to Robert. Britney was preferable company to the ninety-two year old woman who seemed to think her husband was away at war fighting the Japanese. She'd spent her time lambasting him for not joining up and evading being drafted. Eight hours of her incessant babble would have him wishing he were a zombie too.
And he had to admit that he even though Britney could have easily been his daughter, it was hard not to look at her and think some pretty impure thoughts.
It wasn't until they reached the ranch that Robert realized Liam was ill. He apologized profusely to the youth. It was at that point that he realized why Liam hadn't been able to drive and why Britney had been so solicitous of his condition. What he didn't know was the nature of Liam's illness. The kid remained alive for only forty-eight hours before the night Robert heard him weeping and wailing. Britney had been caring for him herself, saying she did not want Robert to be bothered by the situation.
Robert entered the bedroom to see a near skeletal version of the boy he'd taken in. His skin was a dark green color, similar to seaweed.
“It's going to happen, it's going to happen,” he was mumbling over and over as Britney comforted him.
“He's been bit?”
Liam nodded and Britney cried. She cried for her brother, and she cried for omitting the truth from Robert who'd opened his home to them.
Robert beckoned Britney out of the bedroom as he went to get his 45-caliber.
“He has to go. He's a danger to me and your gran and you. I’ll do it tonight when he is asleep, if he doesn’t turn sooner.”
Britney had refused point blank. She begged and pleaded and finally convinced Robert that Liam could serve as a means of protecting the ranch from other zombies. She was so adamant with the plan that they'd finally gone out and collected more zombies to tether to the ground at random spots around the outskirts of the perimeter to the property. If you were careful and dealt with them one at a time, it was safe enough to handle the dead.
In the end, they'd compromised and Liam had been placed in the barn until he turned fully. His mind was already gone and so they had attached the rope to his leg so they lead him outside to spend eternity guarding their property when the time came. It was a sad day. It was even harder because Britney's grandmother was just as gone in her own world, so Brittany was left to grieve without any family.
He could hardly blame her for being upset. She had no one left from her old life. He knew what that was like. He had been lonely and by himself for a long time before she showed up, and now it was just the two of them. Sure, her grandma was still alive, but in some ways she was like a zombie herself. This hardly seemed the time, but for some reason, he suddenly felt free to see her as a sexual being. With her brother around, Robert had still felt governed by the old ways. It would have felt weird coming onto a girl like her with her brother right there, seeing the whole thing. But now that he was gone, he realized it was just the two of them and that all the old societal norms were gone. It was almost like they were back two hundred years when marriages of convenience were the norm. He also had to admit, now that he really let himself look, she was hot as hell.
He had heard that in times of death, people were inclined to have sex to celebrate the fact they were still alive. He felt a little ashamed to be thinking along these lines now, but he was a man, after all. He couldn’t help it.
But then he vividly remembered his wife's funeral and suddenly the last thing on his mind was sex. The grief had been overwhelming. Britney appeared awash with the same remorse and pain that Robert felt back then with his wife, and maybe that was why he felt obligated to stay by her side. Maybe somehow by helping her through this time, he was able to heal his own heart. So, for whatever reason, he sat with her as the hours passed. It was somewhere in that time, during the few days that it took her to let go of her brother, that Robert realized his love for her.
Chapter 5
Britney knew what she wanted and what she had to do. Robert wasn't going to take the initiative. He was too much of a gentleman. It was obvious from the way he looked at her, and all the little kindnesses he showered on her, that he cared for her in more than a passing fashion. They had become steadily closer since her step-brother turned, but they still had maintained the old relationship. She had actually tried to snuggle up to him on a few occasions, but he pretended to not notice. But she could see that his resolve was breaking. There was still a little distance between them, but it was the barest separation. She knew that it would not take much from her to break through his stoic demeanor and get him to comfort her in the way she really needed to be comforted at this point. She just hoped he could let go of all those ideas about appropriateness and the age gap. Who really cared now? They were probably the only ones alive for one hundred miles in all directions. Times had changed, and besides, she really needed to get laid.
As she lay snuggled in his arms, Britney pressed her face into his chest. She let her fingers toy with the buttons of his shirt. At first Robert thought it was nothing more than a subconscious fidgeting on her part, but her deft, delicate fingers popped open each button to reveal his solid, hairy chest. He could feel the pace of his heartbeat increase and hoped the thumping in his chest wasn't too obvious to her.
Britney could hear his breathing becoming more rapid. Rather than stroke his masculine chest, her hand went straight to the instrument she was after. She smoothed her hand firmly over the crotch of his jeans. Robert was already getting hard as she rubbed her breasts against him. As the palm of her hand rubbed over his hardening cock, he could feel himself growing and straining against his zipper. Britney stroked firmly and gripped the outline of his hard on.
Aware she'd just lost her step-brother, Robert was wary of her vulnerable emotional state, despite how desperately he wanted to have sex with her. Britney, on the other hand, was determined to have this silver-haired fox. Twisting her head so that she could cast her eyes downward to his groin, Britney undid the belt buckle of his jeans. Robert inhaled deeply and held his breath as he watched her pull the leather belt apart. She was on a mission. As soon as the belt was open, her hand freed the button and tugged the zipper down. Robert wanted to groan with relief. The full length of his erection was finally able to spring free from his snug jeans.
It had been years since he'd been touched by a woman. There hadn't been anyone since the death of his wife five years earlier and even then in the last year of their marriage she'd been too ill for sex. Britney was barely legal and seemed enthralled by his engorged prick. Of course the whole concept of “legal” was quickly fading into memory. He was momentarily embarrassed by his tighty whities, thinking them an unfashionable, unflattering sign of his age. Britney did not even notice as she was fascinated by how thick and long his cock was. Pressing her hand to his erection, she could feel the blood pumping through it as she traced its shape through his underpants.
Slithe
ring down the bed, Britney stopped near his crotch. Robert closed his eyes, letting her take the lead. Britney pressed her face against his briefs and inhaled deeply. The scent of the clean underpants with the musk of masculinity was going to make this an enjoyable experience. She could feel his pulsating prick as it pressed against her cheek. Instinctively, she peeled down the elastic of his pants to give herself the full visual of his middle-aged hard-on.
She was shocked by the size of it. With little experience in sex, she wasn't exactly sure how she'd cope with the fat nine inches. Britney knew in order to secure a permanent place in Robert's heart and his home, she was going to have to go the distance. She actually wanted to anyhow. She had grown to appreciate his rugged strength and underlying gentle nature.
She'd never had a man's cock in her mouth before. Tentatively, Britney let her tongue flick over the slit in Robert's helmet. She caught the glossy drip of pre-cum and was surprised by how sweet the taste of the transparent liquid was. Without thinking, her mouth widened to imbibe the head of his dick to suck hard for more nectar. Robert flinched at how forceful her mouth was with its suction. Finally letting his eyes lower, he took in the blonde hair tousled by his crotch as the youth began to examine her first cock close up.
Releasing the top of the rod from her mouth, Britney was able to see how strong and proud the erection was. Moved purely by instinct and desire, she began to let her tongue lick the underside of the shaft from base to tip. She licked all around the rod. Satisfied that he was naturally lubed, Britney gripped the prick firmly. Her cherry colored lips parted. Hungry for more, she shoved her tongue into the slit and delved deep. Robert groaned aloud as she began to slip him in her mouth. It wasn't until she began easing his length in inch by inch that Robert started dripping again. He was so thick, Britney struggled to take him in, but she liked the feel of him filling her mouth – then filling her throat. Her head began to bob as she sucked and let her tongue swirl around the dick embedded in her mouth. Robert jerked his hips, wanting to go deeper. Unfamiliar with the action and frightened by the sheer size of him, Britney gagged and dislodged him, tears streamed down her face from the sudden invasion of his prick. Frightened she may have upset him, Britney set about licking his balls. She lapped at them like a thirsty dog, her tongue slapping against them. Britney had always thought it was such a sensitive area of a male that it was best avoided, but she took them in her mouth.