She snickered and gave him a friendly nod to show she took no offense, and then led her horse through when Franks moved a sawhorse over. They had to weave back and forth across the road, to move around several obstacles, no doubt set up so people couldn’t charge through at a sprint, since they didn’t have guns anymore.
Although she wasn’t entirely positive of that one, chemical combustion seemed screwed, but she thought an air rife might work. Only problem is, it took a compressor to reload the cartridges, so… maybe not. She was sure someone would figure out how to pressure air without combustion or electrical needs. A kind of pump would be possible, if they used counterweights and something extremely heavy. Then once a large tank had high pressure, they could fill multiple cartridges.
She was sure some things would come back, and she knew men would want their guns.
When they got to the center, there were a group of tents right on the road, and they were taken over to an infirmary. She was glad she hadn’t decided to bully through, there were a few hundred people here, not just the thirteen she’d seen near the checkpoint. She was also mad at herself, because she hadn’t thought to look through the magic, behind the obstacles on the road.
It wasn’t even hard, all she’d had to do was not ignore it, she’d actually been blocking it out.
In any event, they were led to one of tents, and she stepped inside with John crowding her, and she was starting to get annoyed. Maybe she’d done something to piss him off, but he should have shelved it until they were alone. Franks stayed outside with Nim, though he didn’t close the tent flap. There were two soldiers, the medic, and the lieutenant who looked like he was in a lot of pain, drinking down some whiskey.
She said, “Hi, I’m going to try and heal him, anyone object to that?”
The lieutenant looked up and smiled, “Ma’am, you can do whatever you want.”
She smiled, pointed her staff at the guy’s head, and whispered, “Relief,” and the lieutenants face cleared.
She warned, “Don’t move yet, that was just the pain I took away.”
All the soldier looked at her intently, and then the lieutenant.
She pointed her staff at the leg, and honestly had no idea what to do. She didn’t know shit about anatomy, except people had bones, and other stuff in there. Oh, she remembered ninth grade biology from six years ago, and all about the bodies systems, but only in general terms and ideas.
So she whispered, “Status,” and felt the spell take effect.
Immediately, a picture appeared in her mind. It was kind of… gross. But she could see where the bone was snapped, and how it needed to move to be fixed. She looked around, and didn’t see any blood vessels that were too close. It was a constantly updating picture, like she had an x-ray camera, only, much better because whenever she saw her own x-rays she wondered how doctors read the damn things.
She whispered again, “Fix,” while picturing the bone back together, and whole.
She watched it happen in that little moving status picture in her mind, the bone shifted, joined, and then the crack disappeared. She felt… immense satisfaction, and a sense of power. That… worried her a bit. She didn’t want to be addicted to the power, or become arrogant, or worse, overconfident. She cut the other spells she’d been maintaining, the status and relief, and then looked up at his face.
He was still drunk, but he didn’t look to be in major pain any longer.
“You should be okay now, I mean, you probably shouldn’t walk though, until you sober up. It may take a couple of days for the soreness and swelling to go down, I fixed the bone, but the surrounding tissue damage… I wasn’t sure how to fix that, so I left it alone, okay? Best to let that part heal naturally.”
She’d been worried if she’d tried, and did it wrong…
The medic shook his head, and then examined the guys leg, “I can’t really tell without an x-ray, but it doesn’t feel broken, or nearly as bad as it was.”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d set it wrong, so she turned and went back outside. She felt uncomfortable at Franks’ look, he was regarding her with awe. Was that what would happen, awe and shock, or hatred and suspicion. She’d have to get over it.
Franks escorted them through the maze out the other side, and bid them goodbye. They were riding at least two minutes and well out of earshot when John finally spoke.
“What the fuck was that?”
“Which part, and don’t curse at me again. Are you mad because of the whole scout out in front thing? Either way, you’re the only one acting differently here.”
“No… yes. No, I was annoyed at that, but only at myself. It was that third guy, he was totally eye fucking you the whole time you spoke to Franks and Hernandez. Didn’t that bother you? That whole camp put me on edge.”
She shrugged, “They’re soldiers on their home soil. I was perfectly safe, even if there was a bad apple or two in there, the rest would have stopped anything funny. As for the guy, I don’t let stuff like that bother me, I’m kind of… used to it. Either way, put that jealousy away, it sure as hell wasn’t my fault, and I did nothing wrong.”
She thought he’d respond, but he just bit his tongue and rode away to scout, leaving us in the back. The ironic thing, was he was in range of the magic she felt without even trying, she could feel about twice as far away as he was. She just needed to be more cautious, and stop filtering it out the way she’d started too, once she’d gotten used to it. It was a lot like filtering out sounds, and it was starting to come to her automatically, she’d have to work on it and make sure she didn’t ignore the wrong things.
Nim said softly, “He’ll get over it, and probably apologize, he’s just jealous. He sees you as his now and it bothered him.”
She frowned, “But why, looking doesn’t do any harm. I’m not arrogant about my looks, and I’m sure you understand what I mean when I say he’s going to have a tough time of it if that’s his reaction all the time.”
Nim smiled, “It really doesn’t bother you?”
Katie shook her head, “When I turned fourteen and got curves overnight, the boys, and even young men would look at me with desire. It scared me then, and I didn’t like it. When I turned sixteen, I enjoyed the power I had over the men around me, not abusively, and I wasn’t a tease, but it wasn’t hard to get my way. Then I graduated high school and went to college, that’s when… it just didn’t matter to me anymore.
“I love when a boyfriend looks at me that way, but the rest of them just… I don’t let it influence how I act or think anymore. Men are just wired that way, it’s pointless to get upset about it, nothing would change anyway, and manipulation just never appealed to me. I’m comfortable with who I am.”
Nim said, “I get it, it just took me longer to figure out, you’re a wise girl for a baby.”
She snorted, “My parents and being raised on a farm. I think it’s more common sense than wisdom, but far be it from me to argue with a goddess.”
Nim said in a faux deep and wise voice, “You are definitely wise young one.”
She snickered, and Nim stuck her tongue out at her…
Chapter 14 – Sean
Sean had always been a fairly solitary man. Before the invasion, he’d had his work friends, and went out on occasion, but in his old life he’d been at home alone more often than not. Even here, surrounded by everyone… people tended to leave him alone. In the past he’d thought it likely his looks and social status, although it had never really bothered him. Now… he knew it was his presence, plus, the whole zombie thing.
At least he wasn’t alone now, he was never alone with Cynthia at his side, and he’d grown accustomed to it, even liked it. Cynthia had become so much more than she’d started out as, to him, and more and more he had found himself using her as a sounding board for his ideas. Sure, the sex was a part of it, maybe a big part, but it was more than that now.
But still, for the most part, it was just Cynthia, his growing army of undead outside, and his thoughts
. Most others… stayed away unless they had a question or request, which mostly they asked Cynthia about. That’s why he’d felt a little uncomfortable all day, not in a bad way, just outside of his comfort zone. Because when he’d gone to check on Cassie in the morning, she had followed him when he left, just an unobtrusive presence, and he felt… studied.
Like Cassie was trying to figure him out.
He’d been considering reading her to understand what was going on in her head, but of course, how could he explain touching her? He knew if he just walked over and touched her it would come across as creepy, and telling her why would be… just as bad, so he dealt with it.
Maybe she’d never met another person that could do more either? Or maybe she was just grateful he’d saved her, or felt more comfortable with someone with power like her, and not comfortable among the women that couldn’t relate to it. Maybe she just saw him as someone that would protect her and keep her safe? In this new world that was no longer the handsome guy with the thick wallet and sports car, it would be men like him with power. The same instincts that had caused women to avoid him, may actually draw them to him now because of his power. Or maybe it was a mixture of all of that, and probably something he hadn’t even considered?
He wasn’t sure, and came to the conclusion there was no point, and that him trying to figure out a woman’s mind was probably an exercise in futility. He’d never understood them before, why would he now?
He was outside, checking up on the field to see if anything had grown at all yet. He wasn’t a farmer, and worried his knowledge wasn’t enough, after all the zombies were just following his thoughts on how to do things.
“Excuse me?”
He turned, it was one of the women that had been with them since the beginning. She was in her early thirties, and was starting to look less haunted, and he remembered she had a son. He always gave those women space, so really didn’t know them that well. He struggled for a moment, and couldn’t come up with a name.
Cynthia said, “Tara,” in his mind.
He said gently, “Tara, what can I do for you?”
She smiled, “Sorry to bother you, but my son’s asthma inhaler is running very low. I don’t… know what to do.”
Three of his zombies took off at a run toward town, reacting to his thoughts immediately.
“What kind?” he asked while sending out instructions to clean the place out, if it hadn’t been yet. He realized they didn’t have any first aid at all really, except the very basics. He also knew sooner or later they would need anti-biotics, pain medication, and other stuff… unless a sorceress could heal the sick.
She said, “Just an emergency inhaler… albuterol.”
Good, now his zombies would go somewhere else if they couldn’t find it in the Walmart pharmacy. He knew there was a CVS and Walgreens close as well. He was almost positive the pain medicine would be looted by the druggies, but maybe the other stuff would still be there?
“I’ll make sure you get it when they come back. Is he okay now?”
She nodded, “Yes, thank you. He still has a handful of doses. I just don’t know what I’ll do when the supply runs out.”
He frowned, “There must be natural remedies, we can send someone to the library, since the internet seems to be down,” he added with a smile.
She snorted, “Good idea, let’s hope none of the idiots burn them down.”
He asked, “Anything else?”
She shook her head, “No, thank you sir.”
He shook his head, “Call me Sean.”
She smiled lightly but just nodded tentatively before she left.
He turned to Cassie, “We’ve got hot water, food coming, we’re hunting for meat, medicines, beds, a stockpile of clothing, a roof over our heads, any ideas what else we need?”
Cassie frowned, “Entertainment. The necessities seemed pretty well covered.”
He raised an eyebrow, that was true. Well, movies and television were out. Books were a possibility though.
“Like what, bar sports?”
Maybe a pool table or two, foosball, and a few dart boards. Cards too, decks of cards. Maybe some Frisbees and balls for the kids?
She grinned, “And alcohol. Right now things are fine, but the lack of outlets will get people to arguing soon most likely. Right now everyone is grateful, but when boredom sets in…”
He nodded, “I’ll add it all to the list, we should probably learn to make alcohol as well. Both kinds. Our candle supplies won’t last forever either, soap and shampoo too for that matter, we need how to books. We can hope the world settles by then, but I don’t want to assume it will happen before we need it.”
She snickered, “I might be able to help with some of it. I haven’t had much time to experiment with my magic being on the run… so I’m not sure what it can do.”
He smiled, “It should be safe enough now, we need to keep an eye out for when they come back.”
She shivered, and kissed his cheek, “Thank you,” and for some reason he didn’t reach out with his power and read her. He knew she didn’t mean them harm, and although he was curious, he resisted doing so. He’d been more willing to invade her privacy when it was for safety, but for simple curiosity… it seemed like a much worse violation of privacy.
He nodded soberly, and got to work on all of that. More specifically, he got his zombies started gathering all the stuff they would need, while Cynthia went around asking who would be interested in what job. Maybe they’d even start some kind of trading post, for when things settled down. He’d had the idea someone would be doing that, why not his community?
It was a long day, but his zombies did find the medicine, and he got to enjoy a hot bath at the end of it.
That night, before he went to bed his door was knocked on one more time, when he answered it Cassie stood there, and she looked a little nervous.
“What is it Cass?” he asked not unkindly.
She asked in a soft intimate voice, “Would you mind if I joined you?”
He raised an eyebrow, he’d already spoken to Cynthia about it, and she wasn’t opposed to the idea, although that really didn’t surprise him at all considering…
“Come on in, I told you last night I wouldn’t say no,” he said in a slightly bemused voice.
She blushed, and stepped forward boldly and kissed him. He froze for a split second, and then kissed her back. She sighed into his mouth and then pulled away. He looked down into her eyes as she looked up. He didn’t see any conflict in her eyes, just trust, and desire. He considered reading her again, and decided he didn’t need to know, he already had a pretty good idea, she felt safe with him, and he could take care of her.
She’d been studying him all day, he was curious how she’d decided but… It was enough she was here. She was a beautiful and powerful young woman, and he was very aware of the fact he had no influence on her really, she was here completely of her own choice, and that turned him on a great deal.
She smiled lightly, “I’ve been wanting to do that for hours now.”
She turned, closed, and locked the door, and his mouth went dry as his heart sped up in anticipation.
He pulled her against him, and claimed her lips hungrily, and she moaned and melted against him, rubbing her nubile body against his subtly. He believed what she said, she had to have been thinking about it a while to be so worked up already. He felt Cynthia come up behind him, and kiss the back of his neck as she pressed her soft voluptuous body against him. If he hadn’t been having so much sex lately, he’d have blown right there, being sandwiched between the two soft supple bodies.
When their kiss broke, Cassie pulled Cynthia around him by her hand, and kissed her just inches from his face. He… really liked watching that, and started to undress, his manhood already throbbing and straining against his pants. Two weeks ago both of these beautiful women would have been far out of his league, but now, he got to have both… at the same time. He had the feeling it was going to be a very good
night, a night of firsts for Sean Anders, and he couldn’t wait to explore every inch of this young blonde beauty…
He moaned softly as he woke up to the sensation of warm wet pleasure below. He looked down, and saw sparkling blue eyes looking up at him. Cassie looked so beautiful with the morning sunlight against her soft light blonde hair, as she took him deeper into her mouth. She winked, and sucked harder as he hit the back of her throat, but then she popped her mouth off of him, and quickly straddled him.
“Good morning,” Cassie said with a grin, as she lowered herself slowly, impaling herself on his manhood. The pleasure that radiated through his body from her warm, snug, moist center was overwhelming.
He took a deep breath, and pushed up into her from below, “Morning beautiful.”
She smiled and winked, then he felt his head turned by soft hands on his face, and Cynthia claimed his lips, kissing him passionately as Cassie wasted no time and started to bounce on him vigorously, milking him with tight silken friction.
He cupped the back of Cynthia’s neck and moaned into her mouth in pleasure.
Cynthia broke the kiss, and looked at him with love in her eyes. He thought his heart would burst with the added pleasure that simply look gave him, as Cassie worked, squeezed, and pleasured him from above.
Cynthia whispered in his ears, “I love you Sean,” and then smiling a bit wickedly, she knelt, and straddled his face, lowering her already moist sex to his lips.
He heard kissing although he couldn’t see it, all he could see was Cynthia’s perfect supple ass, and puckered little hole, as his tongue and lips worked on her pleasure. They must have cleaned up somehow from last night’s sex, Cassie’s magic maybe? Because she was fresh, and he moaned at the taste of her liquid pleasure as she squirmed and lightly ground against his tongue.
He felt Cassie getting close, she was riding him hard and fast, and he wasn’t far behind working both of them from below. He wanted them all to cum together, so he reached up and started to play with Cynthia’s breasts, finding Cassie’s hands there already, and they worked Cynthia’s supple, firm, yet incredibly soft flesh as a team. After a few minutes when she was breathlessly grinding herself on his face, he thought she was far enough along for a more intense sensual assault, so he started to tease and please her swollen button.
Emergence: Return of Magic book 1 Page 10