Dead End Stories From the End of the World

by P. S. Power

  The men paid most of their attention to the younger women, and those that were prettier. Until they got bored. Then Sue was targeted really hard. There had been things done to her that Colleen wasn't certain she could have survived. The one constant thought was that she always complained about little things. Not the large damage. When she'd had a baseball bat inserted into each hole of her body, at once, she'd cried and whimpered at the time, but never spoken of it again.

  Each splinter was treated like the end of the world however. The rest of them pretty much just tuned it out and didn't hold it against her. Earlier, it had really seemed like Mickey, or Jake now, she guessed, had honestly been about to shoot her.

  The eerie thing there was that he smiled when he put the gun back in the holster at his side. The joy had radiated from him then, too. Not because he'd almost killed someone, but because he didn't have to.

  No one else seemed to get that though, except for Dave, the boy with the splint on his arm.

  When they were finally back behind the fence, safe again, Becky walked over and nudged her arm. There was a demonstration going on, about how to skin and dress an animal. Jake did the first cow, though there were also some deer and sheep. It looked like a lot of meat to her, but everyone from the new group agreed that it wasn't even close to enough. They all told them that hunting was also about luck, and that they didn't have enough time to do it all. Even if they had to.

  Becky nudged her again, getting her to make eye contact, whispering almost in her ear. It was what you did when you wanted to make certain no men overheard you. It could still get you beaten if you were caught. Or worse, depending on the mood of the day.

  "Did you see that guy earlier? Jake? He nearly got you and Darla killed!" Her face was bitter and hard, which, a bit atypically, seemed to be backed with anger, rather than fear.

  Something warm pressed up against her other arm, which turned out to be Dave, who was standing way to close to her, not even pretending that it was about wanting to share body heat. He whispered too, though.

  "Nah. Darla had it. If she didn't there were three other weapons on the Z that would have handled it. The only person that had really been at risk was Sue. That was too close. Jake didn't even draw down on you Colleen. I nearly did though. Screaming like that...What are you, an amateur?" Then there was a youthful but charming grin that didn't actually seem real to her. Like it was all for show. A mask meant to fool her into letting her guard down.

  That wouldn't be happening. Not with this boy.

  Becky let her face go blank, clearly not wanting to be hurt, but spoke anyway, trying to test what the limits were to what she could say and still survive now.

  "Darla's just a kid. More of one than you are, even. Do you even have pubic hair yet?" It was meant to be mean. To get a negative reaction from the boy, who was probably the safest of the men that had come. He was young after all. Not that it had kept him from fighting. Killing, either. That was why Becky also held an undercurrent of fear. This little boy could kill them both for giving him attitude. Or possibly do worse than that, being that he wasn't all that young.

  Instead of getting mad, Dave nodded, almost happily.

  "I sure do. Wanna see? We could get together later for that, if you want? I always did think you were kind of cute. Especially your ass." There was no malice in it, but he was clearly responding to the challenge. Like a person that was confident and in charge might, if they were being playful.

  Awkwardly Becky nodded. It was clear that she'd trapped herself now. Then again, Dave hadn't pulled a weapon and ordered her to get on her knees right then. He'd just offered to show her what she'd asked about. It wasn't blushing and stammering, but not an offer to rape her for insolence, either.

  "All right. Later. Um..."

  Then they all went back to watching the show. It was fascinating, since they didn't have a lot of entertainment left. Almost everyone had turned out for it. Even the teen girls that had been kidnapped and brought in early on. Cam, Mary and Kim all stood in the front row, covertly watching the men there. Most of the looks went to Carl, who was not hard on the eyes at all, but about a third of them went to Mickey.

  That started to leave her feeling a little jealous, to be honest about it. He was hers. Even though that had never been a real thing for anyone else in her life, she'd always been there for him. In a very real way, literally for the group of people there, Colleen had seen him first. Out of all of them, she seemed to be the only one that knew who, and what, he really was. Not that it was hard to see why everyone else might like him too. Everyone loved Mickey. It was his smile, more than anything else. It still flashed at times, peeping out, like the sun from behind black clouds. Nearly blinding when it happened. Special and so bright that no one could ignore it. Not unless their eyes were closed.

  They all managed to pay attention to the lesson being given, which was a good thing, since there would be more hunting to come, and, as it turned out later that day, Mickey wasn't going to be there for all of it. He and his crew were going back to their house, but promised to come back, in order to help them move to where it would be safer. That news didn't spread until the next morning though, as they were about to leave.

  It got mixed reactions. On the one hand, no one wanted to leave the safe compound. It had a strong fence that kept the dead out, and some stores of food left. That was running out though. They had some weapons, but most of them barely knew how to use them. The news left her feeling a bit lost. Mickey was going away again. Possibly forever. That was what it felt like.

  People not with you now had to be presumed dead. Rationalizing it to herself she walked up to him and touched his arm gently. He looked down at it, and smiled, his eyes friendly.

  "That's my gun arm. I need to keep that free, just in case." He shrugged, making a cute thing that denied having just said the words. They were dark and harsh, but he wasn't.

  Not ever.

  "Mickey? Um... I was wondering if I could come along with you? Robin said she's going, and Darla. Maybe it would be a good idea..." Not that either one of them needed a babysitter. Darla was only a little kid though.

  He shook his head, smiling.

  "No. Look, Colleen..." It was clear that he didn't want her around. Except that his feelings didn't really say that at all. They told her that he missed Rachel, which hurt, but that he was also attracted to her. And felt bad about it.

  What he said though also resonated as simply being the truth.

  "Someone is going to have to stay here, and help Becky hold things together. You need to make sure that people go hunting every day, and that they learn to hold their voices down. It will be dangerous, and you might have to kill people to make it happen... But I don't think anyone else here can get that done. I could leave Darla, but she needs training. Robin needs to get out of here for a while, because it isn't safe for her, being the Chief's kid. That leaves you to hold things together until we get back."

  She didn't want to, but she nodded, and put her hand on his chest. That wasn't going to be shooting anyone, after all. He was so lean now. Everything on him was hard too. He smelled like soap, but only faintly. Not sweat, or stronger things, like most of the men and some of the women, did now. Clean.

  "I miss you, that's all." Then she stopped speaking, since he nodded a little sadly, as if he just didn't hear her, and moved back, breaking the contact. It should have made her feel rejected, but she really didn't think that was what he meant for her to take from it.

  It was, as always, about Rachel. The pretty one. The good daughter. Except that had never really been true, had it? She hadn't been a horrible person, but she was the one that went out and got drunk on Saturday nights. Picking up men in clubs and bars, trying to forget the men that haunted her.

  Colleen had always remembered them. Mickey and Derrick. It was just so hard for her to let go. That probably meant she was weak, didn't it? Fragile and little. Too small for this world of the damned to actually make a difference.

>   Except, like Mickey had just said, someone had to, and she was there.

  Maybe not the best person for the job, but the one they had.

  "Yeah. I'll take care of that. You can count on me. You always could, you know?" Because she loved him.

  The words just wouldn't come. They couldn't yet.

  Still, he smiled at her, and nodded.

  "I know that Colleen. That's always been true." Then, once again, he smiled. It flickered out after a few seconds, but for just a moment she felt it. The old Mickey Robson, standing there in front of her, spreading joy and peace just by being.

  The man she loved.

  Then he turned and walked away, leaving her alone. Just standing there with the rest of the women, watching their captors, who clearly weren't that, and possibly their only hope of survival, vanish down the road, pulling a large wagon by hand.

  A Very Good Bunny- Tiberia "Tipper" Skolu

  The little house, which wasn't small at all compared to where the main base had been set up, smelled of smoke and cooked meat. It was mouth watering. The kind of thing that she didn't want to admit to herself, since it spoke of long term starvation that was a lot closer to dying than she wanted to cop to most days. This place also smelled like Jake. Warm and clean. Hints of testosterone mingling with something that nearly drove her to distraction.

  Not in a good way either.

  It wasn't unpleasant, but it didn't fit the situation. Jake, her friend and teammate, was hard. A killer by nature. Possibly one of the best fighters that humanity had ever produced that wasn't seven feet tall and holding some kind of alternate lineage at the same time. That dissonance troubled her. He was strong on a level that few ever really managed. It wasn't physical strength, but he never hesitated when it came time to do the dangerous or difficult things. Even she did. All the Vals had moments where they had to stop and make themselves do their duty.

  It was one of the things they trained for, putting duty above personal feelings or concerns.

  Underneath the surface of this whipcord lean and solid warrior, there was something... Flowery. Like a delicate tulip in the snow. Holding together for the moment, but about to fall apart at the lightest touch. When the wind shifted, he might well disintegrate. Except that wasn't visible at all.

  They sat there, in a space that looked decently rich, compared to what the rest of them had. There were thick hangings on the walls, made of embroidered cloth that seemed like thick silk and gold wire. It wouldn't be that, but in the slightly dim light that looked about right. The table was bare wood, but the whole place was tidy. Almost military in a way.

  Even with a bed over to the side of the kitchen, it seemed right. That had an old and worn looking bedspread on it, but there were thick layers of cloth, not just a few thin blankets like most of the others still had. So far they didn't need more, but the humans would soon. They got cold so easily, after all.

  Jake had given them cups of beef broth. Salted, but with no other seasonings. It wasn't bad. True, it also wasn't a fine whisky, but that couldn't be helped. This wasn't the time for luxuries anyway.

  Carley rolled her eyes, and paid most of her attention to Samantha, who'd organized the little trip to this second base, so that she and the other women could apologize to Jake.

  For not fucking him, or something.

  That... It was probably fair enough. Even if he did seem off to her. Vickie had been right. Still, the bitch could have used her words, couldn't she? Stabbing her like that had hurt, which she meant it to, but it wasn't like Tip hated Jake or anything. It was just that he was wrong, inside. Not even just crazy. She'd have gladly done things with him then. Vals were strong that way, and didn't have kids that weren't made from good material. Not that she wanted to settle down yet. Not given the clusterific horror show they were currently in.

  The curly blonde next to them, a Killgrade as it turned out, snorted. Softly though, since Jake would straight up shoot her for getting too loud.

  Then, like a moron, she started right back into the guy. It was bad enough that Tipper touched her arm lightly, and shook her head.

  "We came to smooth things over, not start a bigger problem."

  "What?" The hot blonde woman, who looked almost like she had makeup on, which she didn't, shook her head. "That's just the truth, isn't it? Jake is just trying to get laid. That's mainly what men do in life. Let their pecker lead them around, and then get all moody when someone points out that they aren't all that wonderful. I don't see why he can't just accept that and go on. None of the other men whine about it." It was stated firmly, which got Sammi to look down her nose at the Killgrade.

  Then the girl, also cute and blonde, but with eyes that made her look like one of the Sami people... Which Tipper just got, rolling her own eyes for a moment in the darkening room. All of the Bawdri looked like that. Caucasian, but also without an epithelial fold to the eyelids. She should have gotten that right off. Instead the girl, who was probably about a hundred and fifty or so, had managed to hide out right there, in front of her the whole time.

  Vickie hadn't even mentioned it. That was probably because she was a giant pain in the ass. That, or she figured that it was so obvious that Tip would have already made the situation out on her own. Except that she'd been too distracted, hadn't she? Trying to keep morale up as well as she could for everyone else.

  Jake clearly thought that she was just a lying slut, but that wasn't why she slept with everyone like she did. It was useful in a very tense situation for everyone to have that kind of connection. Without it, people, especially humans and some of the other groups, would start to melt down.

  She even got that she'd sort of let that happen to Jake. Misery poured off of him, as he sat and listened to Carley demean his normal urges. Dismissing them as unimportant for some reason.

  Yes, her kind could be a bit dismissive of men, but Tipper had met others of her kind over the years, and they weren't like this. She wasn't treating Jake as valuable, but fragile. It was like she really wanted to drive him away for some reason.

  Killgrade men died. So the very few that didn't were treated like glass. Cosseted and comforted. Waited on, practically. Jake, who was clearly in pain over all of this, should have made Carley want to protect him. Not act like she was the biggest bitch on the cell block.

  The Bawdri glared, but then schooled her face. She looked annoyed, even given that.

  "Carley, I know that it must be hard for you to understand, given your upbringing, but Jake has feelings that are just as valid as your own. Perhaps you could try to keep that in mind?" It sounded reasonable enough.

  Even Carley didn't seem to really disagree, it was in the tone of her voice.

  "I guess. I just don't get what the big deal is. Can't he just, you know, take care of himself? This is a little thing being turned into some kind of a massive issue. There are limited people around, and it seems that there's no one for Jake yet. That will probably change. Most women are morons, after all. At least when it comes to men. One of them will see him as being worth sleeping with. Eventually."

  The sad thing was that the woman clearly thought she was being nice. Jake's hand twitched in a way that would have had her diving to the floor and scrambling for her own side arm, if his look had been directed at her. Carley didn't even seem to notice.

  It started a big debate about how she didn't see him as a valid person, but that wasn't the point of what Carley had just been saying, was it? This was her version of trying to get the man to buck up, and not give in, just because things seemed a little hard romantically in the moment. She was just that bad with people.

  They managed to get past things without gunplay, but Samantha cleared her throat, and looked at Tipper, her face a bit blank.

  "I don't suppose that you noticed what was going on here? I thought that Valkyrie protocols would have virtually mandated you didn't let this kind of thing go on this long. One way or the other."

  "I... Yeah." They'd already had a conversation about
what she'd said a few days before to Jake. When he repeated it the words had practically seemed like a challenge to a duel, rather than the simple explanation that she'd meant them to be.

  "There's just something wrong here. I mean, Jake's great. He's a hard worker, clean and nice looking. Really, he's about the best human fighter I've ever even heard of, which should be making my little Valkyrie center all warm and gooey. I guess in a way it does. Still, there's something inside of him that doesn't mesh with that, and I can't really trust it. I've been keeping him distant because of that part of things. I know it isn't fair..." She was about to go into how she'd fix that now, if Jake could bear to be around her that way. That he was a virgin didn't really make sense to her though.

  Or, maybe it did? He worked nearly all the time. When he wasn't on a mission cleaning up one of the nests, he chopped wood, or worked at collecting it, helped build things and was never seen sitting except at meals. Even after that he went and washed dishes. When did he have time to make a connection with anyone?

  The Bawdri nodded a few times, then looked over at first Carley, and then her. Fixing them with a hard gaze.

  "That makes sense. This must be very baffling to your senses that way. You see Jake fighting, killing and consistently doing things that a human man shouldn't be able to do, over and over again. Sometimes doing them better than you, a hereditary warrior, could have managed." She fixed Tip with a stare as the room got darker, the window behind them only letting just so much light inside. It was enough for her to make them all out clearly still, but she didn't think Jake or Carley would be able to see more than shadows where their faces were.

  Then the girl went on.

  "It would be like seeing a cute little bunny take up a sword and kill a pack of ravening wolves. Not just once, but time and again. Then twitching its nose a bit when it was done and hopping off to eat carrot leaves. The one thing, seeing all the death and violence confuses your mind a little, since the rest of the time, he's very different."