Dinner was unusually quiet. Half the group was functioning on 4 or less hours of sleep then spent the day killing walkers through the fence. Kelly, Hayley and Jess all complained and whined and took the longest to acclimate to the job of wielding the second death. Everyone was tired and miserable. Evening meeting was short and sweet. She couldn't take anymore coffee or anymore conversation for one day.
"Zombie slayers all passed. Congrats, people." Julia nodded at her fence killers. "Tomorrow we throw you over the fence and best of luck. You each have to have 5 kills each." No one said anything. They all nodded, which gave Julia an extreme boost of confidence in their confidence. "Well, ok. I was kidding, you nitwits. A little humor."
"If we got more sleep at night we may be more humorous." Cassidy complained to her.
"Yes, Julia. We understand that you and Jay are in love, but that was a little too much." Tom complained.
"You're absolutely correct. I had way too much vodka. I apologize, and it won't happen again."
"Yeah, sorry. Won't happen again." Jay said. "Please bang on the wall or something if it should ever get too loud."
"We did." Andy and Rey both chimed in. "Jay was really driving you crazy last night." Rey said sarcastically.
Julia set her book down and covered her face, Putting her head down. "It's been awhile." She yawned. She waited a minute.
"Are you even awake, Julia?"
"Yeah, I'm awake. Are you all done? I'm waiting for all the comments or complaints. Want me to write them down?"
She looked around the table at everyone, blushing that shade of crimson that signaled either embarrassment or guilt or shame. Red was red.
"Ok. Went to see Bob this afternoon. You're all familiar with my friend Bob?"
"I saw him when you were sick." Kevin announced. "I thought you'd want me to check on him."
"Thanks. He said hello, and he's thinking about going with us to the farmhouse. I've tried to get him here a few times. He's refused to leave the house. Would anyone have any objection if he joined us?"
"He's the gun happy one? He held them hostage." Luz said.
"He was alone and scared and they kicked in his door. He raises his gun at strangers. Anyone else vouch for Bob other than me?"
Hayley, Kevin, Cass, Jess and Jay's hands went up.
"Lord, ok. I'll figure out what to do with Bob." She paused. "Anything else?" No response. "Meeting closed."
She set her book down and went to the sofa in the living room. Jay sat quietly, watching the fire as the kids watched a video. Julia collapsed onto the sofa and passed out cold. She woke up in the same spot a few hours later in the dark with no fire. She was scared to death, but happy, thinking it had all been a dream.
"It wasn't real. This was a fucking dream. Jay!" She yelled as she was in a state between asleep and awake. She felt around in the dark for Jay and he wasn't there, but she was calling his name in her head. She calmed herself down, called for Jay one more time and then felt toward her right side where Jay always lay. When she reached, she rolled off the couch and landed on the floor with a shockingly hard thud. "Jesus, I rolled out of bed." She complained as she sat herself up in the dark. She wondered where the hell she was for a minute. She'd been dreaming of home. She'd even been in her bed. But when she fell off the couch at the fenced in death fortress, she'd woken up and a sense of fear and dread consumed her. She crawled through the living room to the steps where she stopped and settled herself down. She took slow deep breaths. Repeated slow deep breaths. She suddenly understood why Callie took her life there. She understood the suffocation and desperation people felt under extreme circumstances. She felt petrified.
"Jay." She called. "This is real." She started crying. She'd woken up so hopeful, so sure it was all bullshit. Her mind played tricks on her. She pulled herself to her feet and turned to go upstairs into more darkness, following the stairs that weren't hers to a room that wasn't hers and to the bed that wasn't hers.
"Julia," He called opening the bedroom door. "What's wrong?" He asked.
"Jay,"
"Are you alright, babe?" He asked, coming to the top of the steps.
He met her half way, putting his arm around her. "Why are you crying? What's wrong?"
"This is all real." She stammered through her tears. She tried to cry quietly before waking anyone else. "I had a dream, Jay. That's all. Then I fell off the couch and I-I was so sure it was all a dream."
"Come on, Julia. It's ok. I got you." He said, guiding her to the bedroom.
"I was so sure it was a dream. I swear I woke up in my bed. It was so real. Then it was gone and I was here." She explained. "Jay, I want to go home." She cried onto his shoulder. "I want to go home."
Jay tucked them into the warm spot he'd left on their mattress and snuggled up beside her. He listened to her cry. Occasionally she'd say she wanted to go home. Every one wanted to go home. Everyone woke up from time to time in the same situation, thinking it had all been a dream because the dream itself had been so epically real.
"What's wrong?" She heard Jess ask.
"Nothing." Jay answered as he comforted her, petting her hair, kissing her head, squeezing her tight in his arms as he rocked with her. "Go back to sleep, Jess. Just a bad dream."
The dream stayed with her when she awoke in the morning and the memory of the fear and disappointment stuck with her throughout the day as she put the finishing touches on packing them up to move one more time. As she carried boxes and baskets containing the pieces of their lives to the living room, she felt sad to leave this place. It had been their home for so long despite the circumstances in which they obtained their new home.
Tavin carried boxes out one by one as they were brought to the first floor. They'd seen each other a handful of times, they'd passed and said hello and he gave no indication that they'd spent hours in a bed together less than two days ago. Julia reminded herself that she didn't have to work that out with him. If they abided by the rules, there was no talking about it and no rehashing it. It simply lived and died behind that closed door. He was all business and so was Kelly. The thought of deflowering his little virgin did pass through her mind and that was worth thinking about. Kelly was the one she'd need to talk to eventually.
"Hey, Julia." Jess said, bringing her out of her train of thought. She gave her a kiss on the cheek. "You alright now?"
"Sure, babe. I'm good."
"What happened with you? A nightmare?"
"I don't remember the actual dream, but when I woke up, I thought I was home and none of this was real. I guess I miss my house, my bed. My life."
"We all do."
"It's how it felt not the dream. That kind of dream that stays with you. Geeze, it's weird is all."
"How did we accumulate this much stuff?" Jay asked annoyed with the amount of belongings they were loading into their box truck.
"I know, but we're almost done."
"We started out with back packs and now we're an episode of hoarders." Tavin complained, hoisting the last box onto his shoulder.
"The rest is just furniture, Tavin." Julia said, acknowledging his frustration.
"Yep. Did you tag what we're taking with us? We can get a jump on things right after lunch." He asked as he carried out the box. Julia followed behind him.
"I'm working on it." Julia told him. "Hey, I was thinking. You know how some people have an issue with Bob."
"Julia, leave him be."
"Who, Bob?"
"Are you fucking Bob too? Christ. Let it go." He muttered annoyed.
She let out a little gasp when he said that, a whole lot of surprise boiled inside her as he'd just insulted her. He broke the rule, talking about that outside the room. She had tears in her eyes. "No." She stammered. "I'll -uh- I'll go finish tagging." She said, turning away from him. She head back inside the house and got out her sticky notes. She started tagging the furniture they'd be taking with them.
"Hey Red." Tavin called about a half hour later. "Red."
"What's up?" She asked.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you. I don't know what I was thinking. I took it out on you."
She nodded. "I just finished tagging everything that goes out today." She advised him. "I'll round up the guys, including the ones I have not had sex with, and things can start going in the truck."
"I said sorry."
"They would be the same people your girlfriend has also had and not had sex with." Julia smirked, walking past him.
"Ouch, Red. That one hurt." He called.
"Remember that next time you stick it in her, Keller."
Julia sat watching the fellas move the furniture out. Julia also kept an eye on the zombie killers who were having fun at the fence, stabbing the dead in the head. She sat with her book and documented their progress and they were for all intents and purposes on track.
Not like they had a timeline they had to follow because they had nothing but time on their hands. There was no such thing anymore as running late or lacking time. Time, the double edged sword, moving slow or flying by. It was all the same when there was no clock.
The sun was their clock now. When the sun rose, they rose and when the sun set, they set for the night.
Jay sat with her on the truck bed as she wrote. "You seem better tonight."
"Ah, it was just a dream." She shrugged. "Listen, have you spoke with Tavin about the other night?"
"Nope. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Why? Is he bothering you?"
"Oh, no. He's not. Just a feeling is all. Chill with him later and feel him out. Tell him how things work."
"Ok, but it was just sex, Julia."
"I'm aware of that."
After evening meeting, Julia and Kelly did the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen from the meal. Luz took the night off. They washed and rinsed in silence, each waiting for the other to speak first.
Kelly's hair hung in her face over her soft features. Her brown eyes always seemed to have a special light to them. She was young and cute and still shy despite the other night. What would it take to draw the kid out of her shell?
"So," Julia said. "You excited about the move?"
Kelly thought a minute, "I can live anywhere as long as me and my brothers are safe."
"I know. It's all about them and us having a future."
"I like it here though, too."
"Tavin seems kind of grumpy today." Julia said.
"He's got a lot on his mind is all. He's working hard."
"This is a busy time for all of us." Julia agreed. "It's great to be able to chill together and relax like the other night. Lose yourself a little while and have fun."
"Do you do that a lot?" Kelly asked.
"Whenever we feel like it, me and Jess." Julia answered. "Would you like to do it again sometime? Did you like it?"
"I did, yeah. And I would."
"Cause we liked having you with us."
"Thanks." She blushed. "Jay was really sweet with me."
"You like my Jay?"
"Oh. no, not like that."
"Kelly, honesty. That's what we base our relationships on here. If you like being with my Jay, it's ok. That's why we share time together like that."
"Yes, well, ok. He was sweet."
"He's very attentive to your needs. Everything he does is to please you before him."
"That's what I meant." She said.
"And me and Jess? Were we sweet with you?"
"In a different way, yes. You were. Jess makes me feel like I don't know what I'm doing and I don't, but..."
"She's like that. But she forgets what it's like. Remember, we didn't know either. We do what feels good." Julia shrugged. "Any time you wanna hang out with me or us, you can. You can hook up with us whenever you like, but the boys are off limits unless we're all together. There are rules."
"Ok, that sounds fair." She replied, thinking. "So if I was to come upstairs with you now, you wouldn't care."
"Nope. Just make sure he doesn't care, alright?"
"I was thinking about what you said."
"What was that, babe?"
"That one day they might not come home."
"And we're going to need someone to make us feel good and loved, babe. If my Jay ever leaves me, I want to be able to still make love to someone that loves me back."
"And that's us."
"Yes." Julia answered, drying her hands on the dish towel. She took Kelly's hands and dried hers as well. "I want to get to know you as well as I know Jess. And I want you to know us the same way. To feel completely open with us."
"We only have each other." Kelly said softly, looking at Julia touching her hands.
Julia led her upstairs.
"Since when do you smoke?" Jay asked his brother. Tavin sat on the back end of the truck, smoking a cigarette. He hadn't closed the door and latched it yet even though they'd moved all the furniture out that they could for now. Jay hopped onto the end and sat with him. Tavin offered the cigarette to him and he said no.
"I have a cigarette now and then. Had to quit when the world fucking fell apart." He said. "Think we could grow some tobacco next to Chess's weed?"
"I don't see why not." Jay said, really not caring either way.
"Me and Tom are smokers and there are days I could kill for one of these."
"Never had one. I'd kill for a joint though sometimes." Jay said, understanding him somewhat.
"So what's up little brother?"
"Julia wants me to talk to you about the other night."
"Why?"
"Not sure." He shrugged. "She's into Kelly."
"I noticed that." He thought a minute. "I don't understand why you all do that together in the same room?"
"That's how it started. That's how the girls want it. So there can be rules. The rules, they make up. If they said we could only do it on the lawn on a full moon, I'd still be up for it. It's so they have control over the entire situation." Jay explained.
"It doesn't freak you out at all?"
"No. Julia and Jess explained this to us a while back. The reason behind this. It's really simple. And it's really twisted too."
"Please, inform me." Tavin told him, but part of him didn't want to know what was going on in the girls' heads.
"The two of them just got done sucking and fucking both of us, like a total routine or something they'd come up with to mind fuck us. After this personal show they put on for us, when we're at our weakest and most vulnerable, her and Jess told us about the rules. But their reason, " He said, shaking his head. "Picture this scenario. So, me and Chess we go out one day to do some random task that we set up or for supplies or something. All hell breaks loose while we're out and only one of us comes back."
"Which one of you?"
"That's not important. Doesn't matter to them. It could be either one of us. That's random."
"And-"
"Whichever one comes back inherits the girl."
"So, Chess and you go out and you come back alive, but he doesn't, you claim Jesslyn? Like sister wives."
"I get to keep her. Yes. And vice versa."
"What if you both don't come back?"
"That's fine too cause they still have each other."
"So Kelly is-"
"Another sister." Jay said.
"What the hell? How did they come up with this idea?"
"Just add vodka, brother."
"They make the rules. We can't."
"Why bother? It's a win-win."
"Have you ever broke the rules?"
"Why would we want to do that? Who cares about the rules? The rules are not important, except for one. The one rule you don't break and we all agree on this rule."
"Which rule is that?"
"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. The girls can fuck with each other whenever they please. We cannot fuck with them whenever we please. Do it in the room or not at all." Jay advised him. "Which brings me to the point, we can't fuck the girls outside the room."
"I see, so we can fuck our own, but no extracurricular activity."
"What if one of the girls dies?"
"The left over females would still take care of you." Jay said.
"Why would they make up these rules? What if Chess decides to kill us in our sleep? Then he gets all the girls."
"Who wants all fucking three of them? You don't get it, idiot."
"Get what?"
"You don't just get her inside the room, you get her outside the room too. For Chess to do that he'd have to deal with all three of them inside and outside. All their bullshit, all their moods, all of them on their rag at once. It's all on him. If he were to do that it's not just the pussy anymore. It's the whole entire girl."
"That's-, shit, that's insane."
"I can't keep one under control. I couldn't imagine three."
"We can't die then."
"I wouldn't, no."
"It's just a game to get off though, Jay. They're not real laws or anything."
"Ok, bro. You try telling them that."
"No way." he laughed.
"You're going to wake up one night and you're going to be alone in bed and you'll go looking for your sweet and lovable girlfriend, then you find them. You wait. You'll find them all together and cuddling with each other, plotting. Try and separate them. See what happens. Their bond is strong, you'll see, they're sucking her into their coven. She's going to change. Watch and see." Jay tried to advise and warn him of what he'd been initiated into. "It takes on a life of its own."
Tavin stretched out on his bed. He lay watching through the window as the sun started its climb into the sky. He had a physically taxing day ahead of him. This move would take up the entire day. He had reservations about the farmhouse, but it had more space and when the build was complete, they'd have some semblance of privacy back. The next couple weeks would make or break them. He doubted that bitch slapping this group to the 18th century made a lot of sense. It would be a culture shock for sure. Similar to living on Green Street with out the modern accommodations of life. These people were going react badly to lack of modern plumbing and lack of electricity. Tom had plans to put plumbing in place, and the solar power would bring a lamp per room to life. He put his comfort in someone else's hands. They still had to learn how to grow some food and there were no animals. Julia's cache of shot guns and ammo was piled and ready to go, but he had no clue what she was going to do with it. They were not fans of shot guns with the dead and they had alternative weaponry for living threats.
He rose and sat on the edge of his bed, he glanced at Kelly who hadn't stirred yet. He didn't know whether to wake her or not. There were certain things he'd grown accustomed to with Callie. She was sexually liberated and totally relaxed in the presence of the male body. He'd inherited Callie already comfortable with her sexuality and confident with herself and her body. She didn't require a lot of tweaking in that area. Kelly, on the other hand, required a lot of hard work. Kelly had a lot going for her. She tried to make sure he was happy. She was attentive and thoughtful, soft spoken, not a mean or vindictive or hateful bone in her body. She had a variety of interests and she could sketch the hell out of anything. She drew comics and wrote the story that accompanied the comics. She drew people thanks to Doug's tutoring. But every time he laid down with her she seemed scared to him. She was enthusiastic, enjoyed what he did to her and how he pleased her. There was no lack of desire for him to make love to her, but the reciprocation of the love making lacked. She always felt inadequate and criticized, which was not his intention. He debated whether to wake her or not. He spent more time talking her into a blow job than it did to actually perform the blow job.
"Kell," He called her. "Kell."
She roused a bit from slumber, rolling onto her side. "What?" She asked, placing her hand on his bare back. She traced the dragon tattoo on his back with her fingernails, and for some reason that only made him hornier.
"How about some head, Kelly?"
To his surprise she actually moved closer to him, then next to him, then onto the floor on her knees in front of him. She licked her lips, looking up at him. She used her mouth on him and even licked around a bit on her own. When he tried to guide her, she intertwined her hand with his and placed it over his erection, guiding his hand in the up and down motion, working together instead of him instructing her. To his surprise, when he finished, she swallowed.
There was no gagging and no pulling away quickly.
When she finished, she rose from her position and chugged the water bottle that sat on the window sill. She leaned to his ear when she crawled back into bed, " Love you." She cooed in her soft voice.
"I-I Love you too, Kell."
As he dressed he kept his thoughts to himself. He thought about the hand thing, he'd had that happen before. He'd done that before. With Julia. They'd been playing around together, she wanted to hold hands while she sucked on him. It had been spontaneous when she did it back then, but it was obvious Kelly hadn't thought that up on her own.
Kelly dragged herself out of bed while he dressed rather than go back to sleep like she wanted to do. She pressed her nudity against his back and embraced him. "You can talk to me. Tell me things."
"Like what?" He asked, holding her hands in front of him. "What would you like me to say?"
"Anything."
"What's up, Kelly?" He asked rolling his eyes. "I'm not a mind reader."
"How about you say something like 'that was a great blow job'?"
"It was, Kell."
"I would like for you to treat me like a girlfriend not like a kid."
"I-what?"
"I'm your girlfriend. I tell you things. Like how I feel and what I think about and how my day was. I want you to do the same thing with me. I know I'm younger than you, but if I'm old enough to share your bed, I am old enough to share other things."
"The age thing bothered me at first. I won't lie. I love listening to your stories and I love watching you sketch, how it consumes you. I like that you're young. But you act it too. It's a good thing. There's things I think and want to say, but I don't want to fill your head with it."
"Try me, Tavin. If this is going to work, I want to know you like you know me. I know this is new. Fill me up with you. That's what I want. To love someone, doesn't that mean hearing the bad things too? Unless I am the bad thing."
Tavin turned to her. "You are the only good thing. God, Kelly, do you know how long it takes to get to really know someone? It doesn't happen over night."
"But it starts over night, right? I may be 14, but that much I do know."
"Kelly, I keep losing people I love."
"So do I. So saying that is not fair to me. I know what goes on out there. I sit in the meetings and I listen. When you leave me, I get scared. Why start it if it won't last, right?"
"Shit, Kell." He sighed, holding her. "Ok, I promise to open up more. From here on out. You want to know, I'll tell you."
"Thanks. That's all I want."
Tavin kissed her forehead, "I'll start now. I like blow jobs in the morning. That was a great blow job too. Really, the best you've ever done. And since you want me to be open, Kell, I think if you could pay more attention to my balls while you're down there-"
"Hey, one thing at a time. Balls? Really. In my mouth? Both at the same time or one at a time or-" She started rambling. Whenever she got nervous she either said nothing and held her breath or she rambled nonsensically. It drove him nuts.
"Hey, stop. I have an idea. Maybe you could ask the girls? Whichever one taught you how to do that-"
"No one taught me." She giggled.
"That's a lie and I know it. We don't lie to each other."
"Ok, I'll ask then."
"I love you. Get dressed and come down."
"I am. It's chilly in here this morning."
The fireplace was roaring on the first floor. Julia had started a fire, then organized an impromptu breakfast of canned fruit and PB&J sandwiches on Luz's homemade bread. Tavin took a sandwich that she'd already made off the plate that was on the table.
"Where is everyone?"
"Still getting ready." She smiled.
"I am sorry about the other day, Red."
"It's ok." She smiled. "Is Kelly up and moving?"
"Yes, she is." He answered. "Funny, something interesting happened this morning."
"Like we have no heat and no electricity?" She sighed with an annoyed tone of voice.
"Better get used to it, Farmer J." He said. "Are you sure this is the move you want to make?"
"Between you and me, I'm not sure about any decisions I make. It's all a gamble. I'm scared to death most of the time."
"What's plan B, Red? Of all the things we talked about, settling down and all, there was never a back up plan for if things go south."
"The cabin, I suppose. We'll make plan B when we get settled." She answered. "Hey, wanna take a ride with me before we leave? Since you're up."
"Sure. Where to?"
Tavin parked the Prius in front of Bob's small suburban home. He followed Julia up the walk to the door where Bob was peeking through the window. The frail old man opened the door cautiously. He eyed Tavin over his glasses. He was keeping warm in there with extra layers of clothes. He had a hat on his balding head, thin gloves on his hands. His rifle was propped against the wall just inside the door. He asked them inside and said hello as Julia introduced Tavin.
Julia had told him about the members of the group on her last visit, those who'd died and those who'd survived. He mentioned to Tavin as they shook hands that he was the leader as well. Bob felt more comfortable with Tavin than he had the others. "You're not a kid." Bob said.
"No, I'm not." Tavin conceded. Bob's reservations had become suddenly clear. He needed reassurance that there were adults or something resembling adulthood in their group. He didn't trust children. Where age never matters to a kid, it matters to an adult. "The ages vary in the group." Julia said. "Our youngest is 2 and I guess Tom and Luz are the oldest, in their 40's."
"You've stayed alive this far, huh?"
"We get by." Tavin replied. Julia chose to sit and listen to the conversation rather than lead it. She listened as Tavin explained the group's dynamic and the way they all functioned, the roles they all played, the division of work age appropriate and according to strength. Julia had never asked Bob how old he was, she just knew he was old. Tavin learned he was 63. He'd looked forward to retiring and sitting in the house all day, but 'not like this', he admitted. He missed his wife, Ann, who'd never come home from work one afternoon. He'd been waiting there all along for her to return, hope having dwindled after a few days and Bob was now resigned that his Ann would never come home.
When they drove away from Bob's home, they had Bob seat belted into the back seat with his rifle, which they learned had never been loaded in the first place, and his bags. Bob never intended on killing anyone. He couldn't without ammunition. He'd bought the rifle 20 years ago at an auction and hung it on the wall in what was his man cave because it matched the décor. Ann, he admitted, would never have allowed a loaded weapon in her home. That day he held her group hostage, he had to allow Julia to talk him into letting them go. He had no other choice. That afternoon he had no other choice but to leave his home and join them. He wouldn't survive alone.
Those in the group were surprised at the sight of Bob sitting at the dining table with his puzzle book. Those that hadn't met Bob were a little put off at his presence and those that were familiar with Bob greeted him hello and made sure he was comfortable and fed and warm. Bob was either a mystery or a local celebrity.
Tavin pulled her aside as they began loading the rest of the belongings in the truck. "This old fella is what held those three hostage?"
"He appeared more menacing that afternoon." Julia chuckled.
No comments:
Post a Comment