Outbreak

by A L Carter

  Marie wished that she had never asked and just praised him for his amazing archery.

  A few hours after he had his record distance kills on the two zombies he was on another recon of the area and arrived at the two casualties, an arrow poked out of each right socket. A shiver went down his spine, at that distance even he had not been able to see that clearly. To be fair he could barely differentiate their heads from their bodies, his eyesight was amazing it felt like he almost had a zoom lens. Because when he concentrated he could see even further and focus on an object. He let his mind go back to when he took the shots, he was able to visualize both shots with great detail. This felt very strange like replaying a video file in his mind, with stunning detail and not like a vague memory that was confused and fuzzy. He could even go through slow motion or even frame by frame. This didn't seem natural, or was it? Maybe he just had awakened a part of his brain that normally we only have limited access, that somehow his brain had rewired itself. Yes, he felt more comfortable with that. After all, there were theories about abilities like telekinesis that maybe it was a lost ability, and that back in ancient history was considered magic or witchcraft. There was also an ability called scrying which meant far-seeing. Even now there were stories of people being able to see things around the world, giving accurate details and drawings of places they had never been or seen. Had he visualized the shots, it certainly felt like that. He remembered visualising the arrow penetrating the eye socket. Practically eye socket was the best chance of a kill shot and especially from that distance. If they had hit the skull at that range when considering their decreased acceleration, then in all likelihood they would have glanced off. In fact, all his shots were aimed for the eye because it simply preserved the arrows, skull shots were simply more likely to break arrows. They were a precious commodity and he was starting to run low on them. That brought him to overall supplies firstly food stuffs. Protein was generally easy as animal life seemed unaffected, in fact, it seemed to be thriving. They seemed to be off the zombie's menu just like Dinah, and seemingly few to no vehicles driving on the road, which had taken out a wide variety of wildlife. He also presumed that there were possibly farm livestock still alive, which may have been able to fend for themselves if they had access to food and water. Next was fruit and vegetables, they had to supplement their diet with more of these for optimum health. Of course, they could scavenge for tins which should be in plentiful supply for now as most people were dead. He had not seen any other survivors yet, but he had no doubt there would be, Marie's own encounters came to mind. Most were probably hidden away not wanting to leave the protection of their homes but running low on food. Then there would be some who would thrive, the strong and the ones born to violence. So they would have to be wary of strangers. Their mainstay of fruit and vegetables should be fresh from the trees and from land which may be ready to harvest from the planted ground. If they survived years to come then they would have to become farmers themselves. Medical supplies would also be essential, antibiotics, painkillers, disinfectant and wound dressings. So a visit to pharmacies and maybe a hospital or even an ambulance. But in the short term, the here and now he wanted better weapons, theirs were okay in a pinch but hardly efficient. They needed better close range mêlée weapons and distance weapons like guns. Small groups of zombies were easy enough to take down, but large groups or hordes were a problem. He was worried about Marie, she was obviously tough and you could argue that she had had it a lot tougher than him. But he didn't think that she was immune and this worried him immensely. He had fought in the thick of them and been showered in their blood. Well he thought, he had been covered in all their bodily fluids, stomach juices, saliva, vomit and probably even shit and piss and he had probably even swallowed some of it. The day he had found Marie he had stunk and it took ages to clean himself and his clothes. Maybe they needed some sort of armour and face protection, especially for Marie. Yes, she had a shotgun and the throwing knifes, but that wouldn't get her far. She needed to be able to survive if he wasn't around or otherwise engaged. Then a police or military supply run would be critical to long term survival. Which of course would put them at greater risk but at least it was a calculated risk for a future. What they really needed first was a solid dependable vehicle. For now, though it was time to finish his reconnaissance and return to discuss this with her and to pick up lunch of course.

  He arrived back at the farmhouse a little while later a small deer over his shoulder. It was a buck, he wouldn't a kill a female because of the risk it might be carrying young. He was mature male as it had antler development, but was just a smaller breed than the usual ones seen at nature parks. Dinah found him and was looking at what he was carrying, she seemed to grin in approval. He then wondered where Marie was, so he focused his hearing and heard heavy breathing coming from the barn. Puzzled he silently walked over there peering in. She was doing pull-ups on the bar he had fixed to a ceiling beam for just that purpose. He was impressed, although he hadn't seen how many reps she had done before he got there. After five reps she dropped down and bent over giving him a pleasant view while she caught her breath, the vest she wore was soaked in sweat. Up she went again perform to perform another eight reps, then dropping again and doing the same pose. He realised Dinah had silently followed him and was looking up at him as if to say you perv. To which she was probably right. Another set of six, then rest again. Now it was push Ups and he noticed how short the shorts were which she must have found in the house. He could see straight up the leg revealing the white knickers she wore, which had the instant effect of making him grown hard straining against his trousers. Silently he retreated, embarrassed at himself. They hadn't been properly intimate since before the apocalypse and everything felt new and awkward. So he went around the back of the house where he had set up a butchering table and hefted the deer onto it. Then he proceeded to take the nearby hose and held his head and shoulders under the cold spray.

  Marie continued her workout, back from when she had been on her own at the old house she had built her upper body strength with the rope climbing. But felt that she needed to improve on this dramatically. To survive this new world you had to be fit and strong to survive and did not want to be a burden to Max. He had already saved her twice and she didn't want him getting killed saving her ass all the while. Being realistic she would never be on his level, but who the fuck was? It was like he wasn't even from this planet any more. She hit the heavy bag, jab, jab then right cross the sweat dripping off her and continuing to work combinations. Every time he went off she was training, even if it was a light jog on a short circuit around the farm, even Dinah came along sometimes giving support. That was up until she began to get faster then she would just find somewhere to lay down and watch. She felt her body changing, becoming leaner and stronger. The feeling was like a drug and made her want to do more. The only problem with this is that she felt so sore in the evening, stretching helped but what she really craved was a hot bath. Which she had managed to do on occasion but was very time-consuming. Often the only thing she could do was crawl off to bed early leaving Max on his own. So times she felt he was a little hurt by this. They still were in separate rooms and still hadn't been intimate yet apart from the odd hug. It seemed so strange after the years they had been together and the ups and downs of day to day life. But now it felt strange and different, almost like they were strangers. Like they both had evolved into different people. But that didn't mean she didn't still love him because she did without a doubt. In fact, she felt she was getting to know her new self first. She started throwing kicks at the bag now, roundhouse kicks, high and low. The striking was area was the shin, which when impacting vulnerable areas like the skull, ribs or knee's could actually break bone. Max had always enjoyed martial arts and was always going on about the merits of this move or that move. At the time she had found it mind-numbingly boring, but now she was glad because at least she had a level of understanding. She started doing front kicks both high and low, timing
them with the swing of the bag. A low kick could often be the most effective strategy in a true life or death situation. If a good kick to the knee could bring down man, then a zombie that appeared ungainly on their feet would probably topple much easier. Then they could be finished for easier or it would give her time to escape. She went through several minutes of sidekicks. Although he had always said that kick was not recommended for a real fight he'd always admitted that if it was done right that it could be devastating. She had to admit it was harder than the other kicks often throwing her of balance, this was probably due to not being able to get her knee high enough in the chamber position. But this should improve over time with increased strength and flexibility. She had observed him doing this kick. He was able to hold the chamber position for minutes at a time firing hundreds of kicks at a time and able to execute both roundhouse and hook from the same position. But the most amazing thing to see was a single powerful sidekick into the heavy bag which caused it to hit the ceiling. She felt that if this was to hit a man or indeed zombie then the impact would probably destroy them. Now finished with her workout she towelled herself off. Yes, she had to admit she liked her new body as she had never really liked herself before and always covered herself up. But now she enjoyed her new body, she moved easily, didn't get out of breath easy and clothes better. In fact, the clothes she found in the house had initially only just fit her now were baggie on her now, and she was having to use a belt or drawstring to hold them up. Now actually having the urge to get new clothes, something she had never really been interested in before. But as long as they weren't girly, she wanted tough functional clothing. Unnecessarily she rubbed the towel over herself again. She had to admit it to herself though she did feel sexy.

  The cold shower hadn't worked, he had to butcher the deer standing side on only just managing to keep his own meat and two veg away from the heavy chopping blade. But eventually, he managed to complete the task without injury. He packed the prepared portions into a sturdy carrier bag a made a comical a precarious climb up the ladder to enter the house. The problem was that he was becoming stuck on each rung, having to force it down and over each rung. This was both painstaking and painful but eventually, he made it, even managing to hold onto the carrier bag of deer meat. He went down to the kitchen and washed all the cut steaks. Putting enough on a tray for tonight's meal, which then he seasoned put into the oven and turning it on low. The rest went into a cool box, as there would be enough for several hearty meals. He looked down at himself, it was like a tent pole sticking out in front of him. Straining the material of his trousers and throbbing like mad. All these months and not even a thought of sex, now one glimpse of knickers and he was like a teenager again. But he never remembered it being this bad? She might be back soon, it was driving him into a panic. He ran upstairs and into the bathroom locking the door behind him. He stripped off naked readying himself for another cold shower.

  He resisted the urge to look, but then he did it and looked down at himself, "Oh my fucking god!"

  The thing was huge, the whole time he had growing upwards his manhood had been doing likewise. He suddenly felt quite proud of it, what man wouldn't. But that didn't get him out of his current fix. So into the shower he went, he didn't mind the cold spray so he tried to enjoy it and not think about his current predicament. Wanting to be rid of the day's grime he lathered himself which only seemed to make his problem worse. Then in an attempt to take his mind off it, he thought of zombies, horrible nasty smelling, with bits hanging off them. This felt really weird but it might work, concentrate he thought. But it was no good as his mind wandered back to earlier when she was bent over. Then he heard noise from across the house, the creaking of the ladder and her scent.

  "Oh shit, what do I do now?" panicking further.

  Moments later she turned the handle of the door, but he had locked it so he was okay for now. He stayed quiet hoping she would go away for a while.

  "Sorry but I'm busting for a wee and could use a shower, you going to be long?" she asked.

  "Eeeerrr...can you give me five minutes I'm nearly done," he replied stammering.

  He quickly grabbed a large towel, dried himself off and wrapped it around his waist tying up it off at the side. Daringly he looked down but it was no good, tent pole still. There was nothing else for it he would have to make a run for it. Quickly opening the door and running for the bedroom and shutting the door behind him. There was no lock on the door but hopefully, she would leave him alone, so he just sat there on the bed trying to think calm thoughts.

  She watched as Max shot by her and dived into his bedroom. Strange? But she was genuinely desperate for a wee. So she attended to that first. Something was wrong, he had sounded worried and maybe in pain. Postponing her shower for now and pulling up her knickers and shorts she decided to confront him.

  He listened for the sound of the shower turning on but it didn't come, the bathroom door then opened. Please go the other way he thought. But there was no such luck because instead, she came this way.

  "Max are you alright in there?" she said concern in her voice.

  "Yeah sure I'm fine," his voice sounding high pitched.

  "You don't sound fine can I come in?" she said, worry in her voice.

  "No, please no," he pleaded grabbing a pillow pushing his hard-on down with it.

  That was it she had had enough something was clearly wrong and with that, she burst into the room. He was sat on the bed worry in his eyes, and only wearing a towel around his waist and a pillow on his lap. Above the waist he was naked every muscle was visible as if carved out of granite, immediately she felt herself blushing and suddenly unsure of herself. But then she remembered why she was there.

  "What's wrong Max I know there's something wrong please tell me," she demanded of the verge of tears.

  Seeing her upset like the made him forget himself and he stood up. This then catapulted the pillow in her direction as his manhood returned to its previous position. She looked down in total shock mouth hanging open.

  "Oh my fucking god," she yelled.

  "That's what I said," was his reply.

  Hours later she awoke to smell of roasting meat. Smiling to herself at the pun. Their lovemaking had lasted hours until they had fallen asleep exhausted. He had been gentle but she still felt sore, it had certainly been worth it. After her initial shock, she had burst out laughing at the ludicrousness of the situation. Which in turn had broken the ice between them and making them a couple again? The cooking smells now aroused her other appetite, she was starving and felt the need to investigate. So she found a bathrobe a headed downstairs.

  Dinah went into the kitchen when she heard the mistress come down, she greeted her but Dinah turned her head away in disgust. She knew what she had been doing with the master. Hearing the noises and she could smell it on her. So turning back around and making a huffing noise she returned to her bed in the living room.

  Marie smiled to herself as she was used to this behaviour from the dog and it was always her fault never his, as he could never do wrong in her eyes. Even when they took her to the vets and took her into the treatment room the dog always blamed her. She checked the oven, Luckily he had put it on low and on the bottom shelf. The mystery meat was still tender and smelled gorgeous so she had to have a slither, chewing and swallowing, melting in the mouth. It was so delicious but still unknown to her forcing herself to return it to the oven though so she didn't pig out and turning the oven down to a half gas mark. There were two pans on the worktop one with potatoes in and the other with carrots, as she had managed to find in a small vegetable plot. She had prepared these earlier anticipating that he turns up with something to go with it. So these went on the hob on full while she sat at the table and waited. Marie heard his footsteps coming down the stairs and he appeared in the wearing nothing but a cheesy grin and a 70's style pair of bright orange paisley Y-fronts. She started laughing hysterically nearly wetting herself it was such a long time since she had felt so g
ood, after all the doom and gloom of late.

  "The lunch-box has arrived," she whistled.

  He played along posing like a catalogue model, then put his foot on a chair pretended to look far into the distance hand shielding his eyes and then pointed.

  That set her off again, tears streaming down her face and holding her sides.

  He laughed along with her also enjoying the change in mood. Dinah seemed to have cheered up to and was bouncing around enjoying the fun, and was rewarded with a fuss off Max. Eventually, she managed to calm down enough to serve supper which was the best meal they'd had together yet, even enjoying a bottle of wine. Eventually, they retired to the lounge talking till late and falling asleep in each other's arms.

  Chapter 19

  King Sid

  Sid lay on the sofa bed looking up at the ceiling, Lucy was naked and curled up against his chest sleeping. Yes, things had gone well since the start of the apocalypse. That was weeks ago now and he had no trouble settling into his role as leader. Hell, the role was easy, mostly it comprised of him going round and offering words of praise and encouragement to others that were doing all the work. Even the makeshift bedroom he was in now was all done for him. This consisted of sheets hanging up like a tent offering him some privacy. He also had the only half decent bed in the store. The others had to make do with air beds, but he had no complaints as yet. Reg had quickly become his right-hand man and proved great at rallying the troops. Dawn and Mandy worked well together organizing food supplies. After they had removed the dead out of the rear fire exit and cleaned up all the blood and guts the place now smelled sweeter. The store was dotted with trolleys and baskets full of groceries, items were returned to their proper place to get an idea of what they had. A rough calculation suggested that they could last over six months and that wasn't even counting what was in the stock room. Obviously, the fresh stuff would have to be used first, so they completely pigged out the first week otherwise the food would be wasted. But they soon became lethargic due to lack of work and activity. It was agreed that they perform daily tasks of cleaning, general maintenance and organization. Mandy also did fitness sessions daily, the store is ideal for a running track as well as general strength training. This broke up the monotony of being imprisoned in the store. They even had evening barbecues with alcohol rationed among them. Especially when the power went and they had to use up all the frozen meat stuffs. Yes, Sid felt very pleased with himself especially because of the fact that he was shagging both Trisha and Lucy whenever he pleased. The funny thing was they both were aware of what was going on and content to compete over the attention of the boss. He knew the other men were jealous of his power over these women. Well, they could just fuck off, they were his property. Reg, however, commended him on his roguishness over a sneaky late night whiskey. He had allowed Reg to secret away their own private stash away from the others.