Apocalyptic Beginnings Box Set

by M. D. Massey

  I looked up at him and started to cry. I didn’t cry on a regular basis like some girls…Claire, for instance. There had to be a damn good reason, and I’m not talking about a broken nail or bad hair day.

  Thinking about what had happened in the moments before we sped off in the limo, it occurred to me that I wasn’t exactly sure who this guy really was.

  Typically, Henry was gentle, soft-spoken, and would only enter conflict when absolutely necessary. Unless, of course, he was drunk and a random pervert tried to fondle my goods. The Henry I knew would never kill anyone, let alone yell at me.

  “Elaina, come up to the window.” Frightened, I shook my head. “Elaina, please. I need to talk to you.”

  “You think? I’m staying right here, thank you very much. I can hear you just fine.” My sadness turned to pissyness and I narrowed my eyes at him. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Henry?”

  Using part of my dress, I wiped the tears trickling down my face. Claire grabbed my hand and we scooted closer. She put her head on my shoulder, continuing to cry.

  “Maybe this should wait until we can both sit down at our place.” Our place? Who was he trying to convince here? He turned onto the street his apartment was on.

  “If you think I’m going into your apartment with you, you must be mental. I don’t even know who you are anymore! Plus, you made me leave my family behind in all the psychotic bullshit at the church!” I crossed my arms and turned toward the window. My maturity level hit high on the epic scale.

  “Elaina, I need to explain to you what’s going on. Just give me a few minutes. If you don’t like what you hear, you can leave. I’m not imprisoning you.”

  His statement seemed a bit calculated. I looked out the limo window, ignoring him, trying to piece together what I had just seen.

  We passed a car wrapped around a light pole, the driver hanging out of the window with his throat torn out, some psycho lady snacking on his arm like it were a turkey leg. My stomach protested again. I had a feeling I would be safer with Henry rather than out there having Mental Susie eating me for dessert.

  “Am I having a nightmare? Please, Claire, pinch me. Tell me this isn’t real.” She reached up and slapped me across the face. “Ouch! Damn it! I said pinch me, not slap me, you bitch! I guess I am awake,” I said, rubbing the newly-minted handprint on my face.

  “This is not a dream, Elaina, but it is a nightmare of mega proportion,” Henry said calmly, like it wasn’t a big deal. I looked back at him, confused, as he pulled the car up in front of his apartment building.

  He hopped out and ran to the back door, throwing it open. He held out his hand to me. When I didn’t make a move, he squatted down. “Elaina, love…”

  “Love? Love?! Really?!”

  “Elaina, I am begging you. Please… Come inside so we can talk about this. It’s far too dangerous for you two to be out here on your own.”

  “Talk about this? Are you fucking kidding me right now?! You left our families and friends stranded with what looked like crazed, people-eating monsters!” I looked at Claire. She had her arm hooked through mine, and we were squeezing each other’s hands.

  “Claire, talk some sense into her. This is important. We need to get off the street and to safety.” Henry spoke with urgency.

  “I can’t make her do anything she doesn’t want to do.” Then Claire turned to me, her eyes welling up with tears. “But, Elaina, Marc’s gone, and I’m really scared out here. For me…please.”

  I looked back at Henry, wondering who he truly was, then sighed. “I am doing this for Claire, not you.” I pushed his hand away and scooted out of the car. My dress caught on the door latch, tearing it even more. I couldn’t have cared less.

  Henry unlocked his third floor apartment. I had only been there twice…on those rare occasions he wasn’t walking around my apartment in his birthday suit. Both times were in the evening and he met me at the door, so I didn’t see much of anything.

  “Come in. Please, have a seat. I’m going to go change out of these clothes and wash up a bit.”

  With nervous energy, I sat and looked around. At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Everything in there was contemporary, the furniture consisting of light colors. There was not a speck of dust anywhere, not a book out of place. All clean lines, except for the trunk under the front window. It was exceptionally old and looked out of place.

  Maybe a family heirloom, I thought.

  Everything was much different than my style, namely the shabby chic, lived-in look. Plus, I wasn’t exactly a neat freak and, by looking around, I could see Henry definitely was. I suddenly realized he always cleaned up behind me. I would be drinking the last sip of coffee out of my mug, and he’d grab it to place in the dishwasher.

  I looked over at Claire hugging herself. We’ve had previous discussions about Henry’s apartment. Whether he would keep his bachelor pad after we married was always in the back of my mind.

  We had planned to seriously look for a house when we came home from the honeymoon. We talked about it for months and looked at several houses. The prices made me choke. Henry kept urging me not to worry about the financial aspect. He said it wasn’t an issue. Just choose what I liked and he would make it happen.

  “Claire, I am so sorry about Marc.” I reached over and held her, making her sob again. Her make-up made its way all over my dress.

  “I’m sorry. I’m ruining your dress.” She wiped her nose with the hanky I had given her. I looked down at the black mascara all over my dress.

  “I wasn’t a fan of it to begin with. Not to mention the giant rip up the side.” I pulled it around so she could see the rip, the Tiffany blue garter midway up my thigh peeking out.

  It reminded me of my mom. Kind of an odd statement, but she bought it for me after conceding to the color of my choice. I loved Tiffany, owning more than a jobless person should. I looked down at my engagement ring and twisted it around my finger. I started to get choked up.

  My mom drove me batshit crazy most days. However, at the end of the day, she was my mom and I loved her. I couldn’t help but wonder if she were a victim along with my father, my brother… The list goes on and on of all the people Henry made me abandon. There were over two hundred people at our wedding.

  I could faintly hear Henry talking on the phone in his bedroom. He sounded furious and… I cocked my head to one side. He was talking with an accent! Curious, I looked at Claire.

  “Be right back. I’m going to see if I can find a tissue or something.” Claire nodded. As quiet as I could, I got up and headed toward his voice.

  I was shocked. I had never heard Henry shout like that before. He was generally so mellow and in control. And, for whatever reason, he was speaking with a British accent.

  “I can’t fucking believe this!” Henry yelled into the phone, yanking off his tuxedo jacket and loosening his tie.

  Kellan chuckled. “You knew perfectly well that it was going to happen.”

  “Fuck you. Now I have to figure out how to explain this to her! She lost a bunch of family today, but that doesn’t faze you head-fucks, does it?”

  “Meh… Just collateral damage.” The nonchalant tone in Kellan’s voice infuriated him.

  “God, you have no heart. You are a bunch of sick fucks.”

  “And there is that bleeding heart Roger spoke about.”

  The tie came off, quickly followed by the vest. “Innocent people are dying just so others will stroke your egos! That doesn’t bother you?!”

  “Why would it? I always like a good stroking, ego or otherwise.” Kellan was having too much fun.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?! Children will die…have died! Jesus Christ,” Henry mumbled, unbuttoning the top three buttons on his shirt.

  “Survival of the fittest, yeah?”

  “I can’t fucking believe this.” Henry paced the floor of his bedroom, practically wearing a path in the dense, plush carpet.

  “Did you think you would
have the upper hand by holding the injection hostage? Well, you failed. Miserably, I might add. Did you not think someone, let alone Gunther, could possibly break into your flat? Now that was really stupid. Who taught you those lock picking skills that you excel so well at? It wasn’t dear old mummy.” Kellan knew referring to Henry’s mother would send him over the edge.

  “Shut up,” he growled.

  “Oh, what’s the matter? Miss your mummy, do you?”

  “You shut the fuck up about her right now!”

  “Or what?” Kellan’s laughing drove Henry to near insanity. He yanked his hair, seething in anger. He needed to calm himself down so he wouldn’t completely snap in front of Elaina. If she saw him so unhinged, it would frighten her even more than she already was.

  “You could have at least informed me when… I could have taken proper precautions.” He took the cufflinks out of his cuffs and yanked the shirt out of his pants.

  “Now, Liam, when you saw it was gone, you knew it was bound to happen. Besides, the element of surprise is always fun, yeah?”

  “Goddamn it!” Henry raged. He kicked the ottoman in front of his chair. Thankfully, he still had his wingtips on or he might have broken a toe or two.

  “Just because we love you so much, we are sending Sophie over. She’s on a plane as we speak. Xander’s already set her up with a truck and weapons.”

  “Jesus Christ.” Henry scrubbed a hand down his five o’clock stubble.

  “Not quite, although I do appreciate you referring to me in that way. Anyway, she is going to bring you back here so we can have a discussion with a few of your old mates: Mr. Taser and Mr. Brass Knuckles. You remember them, don’t you, Liam?” Kellan chuckled. “If anyone can bring you back, she can. You know how hard it is to resist her. Bloody hell, she is fucking brilliant.” Kellan’s evil laugh made Henry’s skin crawl.

  “You leave her the fuck alone! I told you I would kill you if you got near her.”

  “Too late. Sounds like you still love her. How can you love two women at once? I’ve fucked two women at once, but love? Nah. That’s for bleeders, like yourself.”

  “If I ever see you again, consider yourself dead, asshole!” Henry was full of rage, knowing Kellan took advantage of Sophie and he wasn’t there to stop it. He knew he would have to keep her with him once she arrived. There was no way in hell he was going to let her go back. “She’s not bringing me back. You knew I was done with this bullshit ages ago.”

  “Well, guess fucking what? You are to come back here, or I will personally come hunt your cock-up arse down and punish you for not following orders. In reality, I hope I do get to come find you because I want to beat the fuck out of you in front of that woman of yours.”

  “Good luck, motherfucker.”

  Kellan burst out laughing this time, making Henry angrier. “Oh, Liam. You were always a character.” Then his voice grew venomous. “You know you cannot take me on.”

  “Fuck off.” Henry hung up and slammed the phone down on his dresser. He needed to finish changing and get back to Elaina so he could try to work it all out.

  Henry…if that were his name because I was really questioning it at this point…stopped yelling. When I heard him mumbling, I figured he was off the phone and changing. He growled to himself and pulled open the door, his gun in hand. Being a newly-minted sissy girl, I screamed.

  “Damn it, Elaina!” he yelled in his American accent. He jammed his gun in the back of his jeans and grabbed my shoulders. “What are you doing? I told you to sit and wait for me.”

  In a second, I made up an excuse. I do admit I was a professional excuse maker. I always had one ready for my parents about why I got fired from job after job. It was never anything I did, of course. I was always an innocent bystander.

  “I…I was looking for the bathroom to get a washcloth for Claire.” Then I narrowed my eyes at him and crossed my arms. “But, seeing as I haven’t actually ever been in your apartment in the two years we’ve been together, I wasn’t sure where it was.”

  “Stop. Just stop, please. I don’t need this right now.” He held up his hands, walked past me, and flicked on the light to the bathroom. He turned on the faucet, held a cloth under it, then shoved the dripping wet cloth at me.

  “Gee, thanks…Henry. If that is even your name.”

  He grumbled and turned, heading toward the living room. I wrung out the cloth and walked behind him, sitting on the couch.

  “Claire, let me help you.”

  “Thanks,” she said as I wiped away her makeup.

  Henry sat on the coffee table, staring at us, rubbing his lips with his fingers. “Okay, so… I’m looking for the right words.”

  “Just spew it, would you? We need to hurry so we can go back and get our family and friends.” My patience had worn thinner than the see-through lingerie I bought for our wedding night.

  “I guess I should just start from the beginning.”

  “The beginning? How about you drop the fake accent.”

  Henry stared at me in stunned silence. “Bloody hell. I knew you heard me.” I think he meant to say that to himself. “Okay. I’m not American.” And there it was. He said it in the same accent as when he was all angry-shouty on the phone.

  “Yeah. I think I figured that one out myself. Just call me Sherlock-Fucking-Holmes.” Claire’s jaw hit the floor.

  “Please, Elaina. Let me explain.” A heavy sigh escaped. “I just want to say how much I love you. That’s not fake, no matter what you might think.” I rolled my eyes as he took another deep breath. “My name is Liam Henry Daniels, so I didn’t lie about that. If you want, I can show you proper paperwork to support that.”

  I laughed so hard, I snorted. Claire still sat there, jaw to the floor. “Now… Liam, is it?”

  “Henry. Please, call me Henry. I don’t go by Liam.”

  “Okay, whatever. You are obviously hiding something fucking enormous, so I would say it would be easy for you to just, let’s say, produce fake paperwork.”

  Henry shook his head, holding up a hand. “Please, just listen.” I sighed and finished cleaning Claire’s face. “I’m from England.”

  “Hello? Remember me?” I pointed at myself. “Sherlock-Fucking-Holmes,” I said in an annoyed tone. “Chalk one up for me because I have this phenomenal skill of placing people in the proper geographical locations based on accent alone.”

  “Damn it, Elaina! Please, I need you to listen. We are all in trouble here! I’m trying to be honest, so shut it for a few minutes.”

  He won that one, but next time… “Okay, fine.” I bit my lip, trying to prevent another outburst with the utmost maturity, of course.

  “When I arrived in the States, I lived with Harold and Margaret, who are also undercover. I don’t have time to get into all that right now. It’s far too complicated.”

  I threw my hands up in the air. It never occurred to me that Harold and Margaret weren’t Henry’s parents. They always called him “my boy”. I never would have thought to question it because they seemed to have a very loving relationship.

  I remember the first time I met them.

  -March 2013-

  One weekend afternoon, Margaret called Henry while we lay in bed, recovering from yet another exhilarating sex marathon. She hadn’t heard from him in a while and just wanted to check on him.

  When she invited him over for dinner that night, he looked at me. I nodded. He happily accepted her request, asking if he could bring a date. Henry pulled the phone away from his ear. Cheering loudly, she was beyond ecstatic since she had never met any of his girlfriends before.

  “Just to forewarn you… She is a bit overzealous.” Henry sounded worried and unenthused.

  “It’ll be fine.” I smiled as I got up and sauntered my naked butt to the shower. He jumped out of bed and chased right behind me.

  After a round of shower fun, we left the house, pulling up to their quaint home on the outskirts of town about forty-five minutes later. It was cute with perfec
t landscaping. My mother would have swooned over all the colorful flowers and the manicured bushes.

  As soon as Henry turned off the truck, Margaret and Harold burst out of the house.

  “My boy! How have you been?” Margaret embraced him in a crushing hug. Henry had about a foot or so on her and I would estimate near one hundred pounds, as well. She had the typical older mom wardrobe: collared shirt with pants that looked like a flood was coming in. Her hair and make-up were perfection, just like her landscaping.

  Smiling with pride, Harold shook Henry’s hand. They were the same height, but Harold was thin as a rail. He was bald and had very telling eyes. His attire looked much like his mom’s: plaid button-down shirt and khaki pants.

  “Still having circulation issues, I see,” Harold said.

  Henry pulled his hand back and looked at it. “Yeah, the doctors are still baffled. You know me. I like to keep things interesting.” They shared a laugh.

  “Well… Aren’t you going to introduce us to this beautiful young lady?” Margaret was so excited, she could have given a clapping seal a run for its money.

  “Yes, sorry. This is my Elaina.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and smiled proudly. It was so sweet and melted my heart.

  “I’m Margaret, and this is Harold.” She came over and hugged me. “This is so exciting! He has never brought a girl home!” When I looked at Henry, he shrugged.

  Harold took both of my hands and held them for a moment. I smiled at him. “You are just stunning. Excellent choice, my boy! Haven’t seen him smile like that in a long time.”

  “Well, you don’t know me yet. I can be quite surprising sometimes.” I smirked.

  “Sounds like exactly what our Henry needs. A little less routine and a little more…dare I say…wild.” Margaret chuckled.

  “Oh, Christ,” Henry mumbled. I looked at him and laughed. If she only knew…

  “Anyway, please come in. Dinner is almost ready. I made your favorite.”

  “Excellent!” Henry smiled appreciatively. Then he looked at me and apologized under his breath. I laughed. “Not funny, love.”