by Marcus Sloss
My Gpad showed Eddy waiting for Dedric to exit at the end of the dirt road. I looked up at the gargoyle bodies with a thought. I waved Jevon to follow me. Nancy arrived, Willow not far behind her. Perci joined us, talking to Slister.
“Torrez?” I asked. They replied with shrugged responses. I checked and saw he was in the barn, probably reassuring families. I turned to Perci and said, “How much freezer room do we have?”
“Not enough for all this. If we chop out the best parts, we can store a whole lot of it,” Perci replied over the rain. “What are the best parts to save?”
“We have two biologists. What do you girls think?”
“For taste, probably the ribs, but then you're storing bones. Go with muscle mass for maximum protein,” Slister said, her hands on her hips. “The goal is to avoid starvation. I will eat nasty meat over starving.”
“We looted some electric knives,” Jevon said suddenly, as if the thought just occurred to him.
“And you had some on your list from DU. Should be in the cave,” Perci said.
“To the cave it is. Jevon, I am going to see the cave. You have command.”
My friend nodded while slamming a hand into my back. “I have command. My truck is right there. Luckily, the driver didn’t get to smash it.”
I looked to the electric truck that was empty. I walked over there with Perci, Nancy, and Willow. We loaded up into the truck, soaking wet. The rain slammed into the truck, causing a loud drumming noise.
“Everyone okay?” I asked.
“I think you should have stolen those vehicles back. Fuck that bitch,” Perci said in agitation from the back seat.
Willow eyed me in the passenger seat with a stern look, “I normally am about preservation. However, I am conflicted on this one. She left Desmond and his group doomed. Sure, we were not far to save them, but still. Definitely in it for themselves.”
“They will not be forgotten and I hear both of you clearly,” I said, slowly driving us into the stronghold.
“Request to pull a drone in to avoid rain damage,” Nancy said.
“Granted.”
Willow placed her fingers in cybernetic digits that rested over the center console. “What does that mean, they will not be forgotten?”
“We will see them again. I hope we rob them in return. Why not let them collect a bunch of good stuff and then steal it?”
“Oh, that is devious and fair. Assuming the flapions do not send more flying elephant-sized panthers with wings at us,” Willow said with a scoff.
“Seeing that tank shred them was awesome,” Nancy mentioned with a grin.
We exited the main parking area, detoured around the barn, and picked up speed for the cave road. My Gpad pings were being diverted to Jevon for now and I was happy for the respite. My mood was souring by the moment. Up until this attack, I thought we would be fine. We would be capable of weathering any storm. The reality was, we had three less anti-tank missiles, fewer fifty caliber rounds, and evidently, there were enemies far deadlier than I had anticipated.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Willow asked.
“Is ‘penny’ code word for those big breasts of yours?” Nancy asked with a snicker.
“Hey, these ladies… Well, yeah, they are back-achingly big. I want to get them reduced before they start to sag. Also, my ladies are diamonds. Diamonds for your thoughts? Yeah, I like that more. How do you top that, Nancy?”
I smirked at the banter. Now I was thinking about boobs. Willow darted across the truck cab to smack my cheek with a kiss of success.
“Smh… My ladies are Rubyrific. Oh snap! That is my new name. Rubyrific Nancy!”
Perci giggled and said, “Not bad. I like it.”
There was a silence that I broke by saying, “I am worried. My thoughts are conflicted. There are still so many reports to read. All the aliens that are out there. These gargoyles as I call them were one of the larger threats. Yet they were animalistic with only a slight pack behavior. They had no strategy and only minimal communication. I am worried.”
“So much so you repeat yourself. You never said so in Saudi,” Nancy said. She turned to my girlfriends quickly to add. “No, we are not having that conversation with me around. Save it for your honeymoon.”
“Speaking of honeymoons,” Perci said, patting her lap in a shy fashion. I glanced at her nervously, fidgeting.
“What Perci?”
“Can we have sex in the cave?”
Willow burst out laughing, only to have Perci pull her hair. Willow grew confused until Perci shoved her Gpad into Willow’s face.
Nancy unbuckled to be a nosy Nancy.
“Oh… Really?” She asked, and I was clueless.
“Yes, really. That should also keep you away from wanting my man,” Perci said with a scoff.
Nancy huffed. A glance in the rearview showed the two ladies glaring at each other. Nancy didn’t deny the accusation, which resulted in an awkward silence. I went to talk when Willow gave me a warning hand squeeze.
We jostled down the rough road toward the cave. The soft fresh dirt was mudding quickly. I changed the subject. “Back to my worry. Hundreds of potential workers and helpers died tonight. Sure, we only lost two, but those numbers add up. What crazy, horrendous alien will we get from the next gate rotation? Denver has me freaking out. Everything hinges on the golden trade day. Now, what is causing you two lovely ladies to be all angsty?”
Willow squeezed my hand as if I had erred. I knew both of them better, though. They would stew if not confronted.
“I am ovulating. My Gpad says today is the day. Hence, me asking for sex,” Perci said, and the second she finished, Nancy shot back.
“Why the fuck would I not want to be around kids? What makes you assume I have no maternal desires?”
“Woah, woah. Nancy, tone it down. Maternal desire…” I said, giving her a glance over my shoulder. “When did you start talking like a grandma?”
“Apparently when I got a dusty vagina. Are you really wanting to have kids right now, Eric!?” Nancy asked heatedly.
All eyes were on me. I slammed the brakes on the truck. I forcefully opened the door and then slammed it as my boots sloshed in the mud. I circled around the truck with angry stomps. Willow looked at me with wide, concerned eyes. She grew confused when I passed her door. I yanked Perci’s door open and gestured for her to step outside.
“What are you doing, Eric? You look super fucking scary right now,” Perci said timidly.
“I am taking you to the truck bed, Perci, to put a baby in you. Unless -”
Perci’s hazel eyes went from mildly frightened to thrilled. I saw Nancy raise an amused eyebrow and hear Willow give a hearty laugh. Perci raced by me with a speed I did not know she had. In the time it took me to close the door, Perci was already in the truck bed. Her round ass glistened in the rain as her pants piled around her ankles. She bent over with her hands on the edge of the truck bed. I used the tire to join her.
After three minutes of hip-thrusting, animalistic sex, I exploded into Perci. I saw both Nancy and Willow chatting while they watched us. When I finished, I returned to the driver’s seat. Perci hopped into the passenger seat Willow had abandoned to perve out the back window.
Nancy gave a throat clear. “I am sorry.”
“For?” I replied.
“You two love each other. I cannot think of better parents,” Nancy said and stopped Perci from talking. “I love Eric in a different way. That is true. I desire what you two have, also true. At the same time, I do not want to disrupt that because…”
Willow kept her face neutral until she could hold it in no longer. “Bullshit.”
“Easy,” I said. “Are you okay, Willow?”
“Huh? Oh, you are fine, Eric. Perci and I already had this conversation. We are moving into RV3. It is our home slash command station. No more sharing beds. She wants a baby now. I want to wait,” Willow said to me directly. “Perci and I are in agreement on all things regarding you. We
have realized, in order to make us work, we need to communicate. Which leads to Nancy.”
“That is great news. I would like to wait, but I made a promise to her mother, and respect Perci’s desire. There may never be a perfect time. I love that you girls are in tandem and will support you however you need me to.”
Willow leaned forward and kissed my cheek. She turned to Nancy and said, “We are happy. The three of us. I respect your friendship with Eric. I really do. I also understand you want him. The problem is, you’re conflicting with his girlfriends. Who he either loves or is open to love. Stop cat fighting with us in front of Eric. You are not a meek, ditsy woman. Neither are we. Perci and I know you are triggering reactions from Eric. He can’t help but be sweet to you. However, that is not helping you win us over. Eric, if I told you Nancy was not welcome in our bed, what would you say?”
“No,” I said without hesitation.
“Are they your gatekeepers?” Nancy asked.
“Never thought of it that way, but yes Nancy, they are.”
“Well, Norm and Slister simply did not operate this way. I am sorry to offend and will keep things cordial while we work together for the good of the community. Does that help?” Nancy asked with arms folded. She was hurt.
“No,” Perci replied, eyeing her with empathy.
“Willow is not shutting you out, Nancy. She is giving you an opening. Be honest with us. Work with us. We see your pain and your hurt. We see that part of your lashing out is you being vulnerable. I also saw you biting your lip when Eric filled me with cum. Wait…” Perci said with a pause and placed a hand on Nancy’s hand. “I also saw your genuine hurt when I questioned your desire to be a mother. Eric loves you even if he will not openly say so. We all know how you adore him too. We are not wanting to crush love and start fights. We merely want to establish boundaries. Nancy…”
Nancy was crying intensely. A set of headlights arrived behind us, so I went forward. The rearview showed Nancy being cradled by Willow. Perci hopped back to join in the hug.
“It will be okay. We are here for you. We came to the conclusion you need to court us first.”
I wanted to say something, but kept my mouth shut. My Gpad pinged with a message.
‘Everything okay? Why were you stopped?’ - Torrez
‘Finished rain sex. You just missed it… Hey, why are you stopping?’ - cap
‘I got Maria with me to get some towels, and… Jasmine is being watched by Jill. Do the math.’ -Torrez
I chuckled, earning myself a slap on the arm. I showed the girls why I was giggling and they reacted with soft laughter. I put on some classical music from the Gtower library and set the speakers up front only. The three ladies began talking a mile a minute. I was not sure what happened. I think they all got what they wanted. Perci was trying to have a baby. Willow was resolved with the fact that she was more important to win over than I was. I think, at least. Girl dynamics were about as odd as our relationship was. Nancy wanted to be included and, for the first time, I saw her wanting kids and a family again. I knew it was not my story to tell, so I wouldn’t tell Willow and Perci about the reason Nancy had ended up in the military.
I heard snippets of her tale being told over the music. Nancy was telling them how she became an ex-con. As her commander, I knew. As her friend, she had confided in me long ago. She got pregnant suddenly. Sprung the news to a bad reaction from her fiancé. Nancy miscarried less than a week later. The doctor was shocked - she was shocked; because she tested positive for the latest instant abortion pill. She could never prove it was him. Yet it had to be him. The cops were empathetic, but without proof, there was nothing they could do. So she cleaned him out. Even killed his saltwater fish tank with bleach. The amount of money was what got her in trouble. Donating three million dollars to pro-life groups tends to raise flags. Twenty years for grand larceny. Five served before meeting the same two recruiters I did.
Now she was in the backseat of a car, bawling with two women supporting her. I hummed to the song - Mark Descending as it played. I found serenity in the tune. When we arrived at the cave, I left the girls in the truck. Thankfully, the lights were already on when I rushed into the cave.
CHAPTER 20
I spent ten minutes in the cave, super lost among the supplies. Thankfully, Torrez screws as quick as I do in the rain because, when he arrived, he found the power knives instantly.
“Everything okay?” Torrez asked as he saw my long face.
“You ever get that feeling you are losing control of a situation when a woman is involved?” I asked my friend, who instantly chuckled.
“What you meant to say is, my life is screwed when Maria is in a group hug with three ladies crying over how much they love Eric!?” Torrez said with a loud, echoing laugh. He handed me a pile of towels. “Since Maria is not here, you are volunteered to help. I have Felix prepping the freezer now so we can fit as much of the meat in as possible.”
I heard footsteps accompanied by the snort of sniffles.
“Eric está jodido. Estas mujeres quieren tener sus bebés durante el apocolypse. No te hagas ideas Miguel. Uno y uno,” Maria shouted to Torrez.
“Uh… I heard both our names. What did we do?” I asked with a dumbass expression on my face.
“You’re screwed. I am guilty by association. Really, babies right now?” Torrez said with an arched right eyebrow. He handed towels off to the girls.
“Why not? If it is what she wants, then I should make her happy,” I said laughing the way one did when overwhelmed. “It is not like next Tuesday will be clear skies with no aliens. Do we simply stop living as people?”
“And the baby?”
“The baby will grow up with a loving mother, a loving family, and a loving community. Life should not halt; it should flourish. I cannot make a greater commitment to our prosperity than by stating I am confident enough in our survival to have a child.”
“Ha! Stop while you are ahead, Eric. If you give Miguel baby fever, I will kick your nuts, which no one wants to happen…” The woman said with an extremely sassy tone. “Before you three ovulating love birds try to change my mind, why don’t you take a day off. I will go looting and you go babysitting.”
“Done,” Willow said happily.
“I am in,” Perci said.
“Me too,” Nancy agreed.
“You are so screwed, brother,” Miguel said with a roaring laugh.
“Oh, he is. Probably the best term for what he is going to go through!” Perci said, joining the laughter.
“Alright, enough boisterous belly aching on my account. We need to get these gargoyles chopped up sooner rather than later. Take care, Torrez,” I said, leaving for the truck.
I paused, realizing I was alone. I turned to see the girls having a standoff moment. I watched as both Perci and Willow lowered towels onto a dresser. They each symbolically extended a hand to Nancy. The three joined hands on the collected towels and resumed their rapid chatter. Nancy was almost skipping in happiness.
I shrugged. Woe is me. Should I whine and cry? Kick and moan? Bitch and complain? Fuck no. I was going to be banging three sexy babes I cared about. I started skipping myself. The girls caught me enjoying the moment and laughed. Humans were just a ball of emotions at times.
They crowded into the back to chat on the way home. I was daydreaming about sleeping in a bed with my bulldog and three lovely ladies when my Gpad rang.
“Go,” I said.
“Dedric is back with Mclain. All friendlies are inside the wire. The night crews are heading out now. I am limited to two groups. RV1 and RV2 are on point missions with trailers. Working toward more construction unless you wanted to do something else,” Jevon said, giving me an update. He hesitated and I waited. “Dedric wants to send a mission to Aspen to see if anyone still needs a lift this way.”
“Monitor with the drone. If people are walking, by all means.”
“I think you are missing my question,” Jevon said and I gave my Gpad a confus
ed glance. “You are converting RV3 into a command center in name…”
“Ah, that wasn’t my idea. To be fair, all three of these RVs are Perci’s vehicles. I get why Dedric wants to take the bulletproof ride, though. I can tell you this, I am not sleeping in the rain tonight,” I said, and Jevon gave me his ‘no shit’ look.
“Fine, I will tell him to play it slow and RV3 is off limits tonight. Hurry up so we can chop up these panther-dragons. Deluxe Duke out!” Jevon said, having way too much fun with the name.
Perci patted my shoulder. When I turned she was waiting with puckered lips. “Good job on not caving on the RV. We need a place to secure our family. I have always been a target against those wanting to harm my mother. Even when I went incognito, I had soldiers converted to guards. We have enemies now, even friends who could be enemies. Securing a place to sleep when we are our most vulnerable makes sense, even if it does not seem like it to the community. Ugh. This rain. Drop us off at RV3 while you go cut up our food, please, husband.”
“Wait, why…” I got three sets of eyes giving me stern looks. “Fine, you win. You girls deserve a break. Give up the dog, though. He will be my slicing and dicing sidekick.”
“Winston stays,” Willow said with folded arms.
“But… the bulldog.”
“I bet he looks at the rain and wishes you good luck.”
“Eh, you have a point. Here we are, ladies,” I said, slowly rolling beside RV3. They exited the truck in a hurry with the extra towel.
I waited until the door slammed and applied a slight amount of acceleration. The gate was cleared for me to roll through. I passed Eddy and Mclain unloading every street sign they could find. The sign had been dragged out of the ground with the concrete blocks still attached. I was sure Gary and the other builders could find a use for the metal posts once the signs were stripped. Maybe fencing or something. I thought it over while driving through to the first gargoyle body. I guess it did look like a panther-dragon in its own way.
