by Piper Leigh
My body clenched, anticipating the rush of pleasure sure to come. Benson moved faster, thrusting hard, his hand moving to my clit, and I wrapped my legs around him to press him even deeper. He uttered something in his own language before stiffening. Those fervent words brought me to the crest of my own pleasure and I tumbled down into my release.
We lay together beneath the blanket, trying to get our breathing back to normal. Benson pulled away slightly and smiled down at me in the gloom. “That was amazing.”
“Amazing,” I echoed. I wanted to ask when I’d see him again, how many times he thought we could get away with this illicit activity before we got discovered. But before I could say anything, the shift-change claxon sounded out in the hallway. The night was drawing to a close. The day shift was getting ready to take over.
With a regretful sigh, Benson reached for his pants. “I have to go. If I don’t swipe out they’ll think something happened to me and come looking.
I stretched against him. “You’d better go then. If you’re caught, it’ll mean the end of all…this.”
That made him laugh. “Wouldn’t want that.” His lips brushed my forehead before he pulled away to get dressed. He gave me one last lingering look before heading to the entrance of my room. “See you later,” he whispered. I heard the zzzt of the force field deactivating then reengaging, followed by Benson’s footsteps disappearing down the walkway.
I turned over and pressed my face into the pillow that still smelled like Benson.
Who knew my life would get better after I’d become a zombie?
* * * * *
I slept like the dead, pun intended, until they roused me for another round of tests. Just thinking about my time with Benson the night before made all the blood drawing and needle sticking bearable. No one said anything about a cure being imminent though I don’t know what I was hoping for. Maybe that five minutes after I’d arrived, one of the scientists would go running through the place screaming, “Eureka, I’ve found the cure!” And then we’d all go home.
Still, my depression lifted a bit. The shock of being bitten was at long last wearing off, and while I should have felt despondent about possibly spending the rest of my life in this facility, instead, hope soared inside me. I’d come to the end of the road and found a friend and a lover.
After the needle poking, we were released into the recreation bay. An array of exercise machines fancy enough to rival those in the best gyms stood at intervals around the room. Security personnel stood just inside the doorway, but other than a couple of bored-looking guards we were pretty much left to enjoy our leisure time.
The yellow-skinned woman was busy running on the treadmill. I waved, but she was working out too hard to maintain a conversation. I decided to work the leg press. Thighs were my trouble spot. I hadn’t really given them much thought since I’d been bitten, but after last night I figured I’d better get back to my regimen.
The red-furred woman, who I now knew as Gryl, sat down at the machine beside me.
“Hey. Missed you at breakfast,” I said in my best attempt at the galactic trading language. We all spoke it with varying proficiency. We learned it in school. If you intended to go into business of any kind, you needed to know it. And it was useful if it was the only common language you shared.
“Hi,” she said back tiredly.
I had to admit she didn’t look herself today. Her normally glossy fur was matted and dull. When her gaze centered on me, I caught a flat, lifeless look.
“You okay?”
She shook her head. “Feeling down today. It’s this place. I can’t bear the thought of living here for…” She shrugged. I guess she didn’t want to say “forever”. Or “the rest of my life”.
“Have you talked to medical? Maybe there’s something they can—” I stopped talking abruptly.
In the blink of an eye, the expression on her face had slackened.
Just as quickly, her blank gaze took on a predatory gleam.
I got up slowly from the leg press and started edging away. I looked quickly beyond Gryl, in the direction of the guards at the door. They appeared to be engaged in an animated discussion. Likely the galactic games that had begun the night before. They didn’t so much as glance our way.
“Um, guys?”
Gryl lunged.
I jumped backward, falling over another exercise machine. Still no attention from the guards.
The normally friendly expression had vanished from my assailant’s face, replaced by a feral sneer. Her teeth parted. Claws extended from the tips of her fingers. I frantically tried to scramble away.
She perched for a moment on top of the machine nearest me, her teeth snapping together.
Just because I couldn’t be reinfected didn’t mean I wanted to be eaten alive. I screamed. Loudly.
That finally captured the attention of the guards in the doorway. One drew a weapon and fired.
The beam caught Gryl mid-leap and she collapsed in a heap mere inches away from me. Her limbs twitched. It didn’t seem as if the blast would hold her long.
The guards raced toward us. With calm efficiency, they shackled her arms and legs before one pulled a muzzle from his pocket and snapped it on over her head. Awareness had apparently returned to Gryl, because she thrashed her head back and forth, trying to dislodge the muzzle or perhaps bite the guards through it.
As they dragged her away to the bowels of the facility, I realized I was shaking all over.
For a long moment no one did anything. Everyone pretty much stood in place, frozen in an appalled tableau. Finally, more guards arrived to set the exercise equipment upright again. A pair of female guards took up surveillance at the door.
Were they just going to stand there pretending nothing had happened?
Apparently so, because no one said anything.
I sank back down on the leg press. I couldn’t summon the will to work out anymore, so I merely stared into space. The yellow-skinned woman came to sit beside me.
“We saw Gryl yesterday, she seemed fine.” She whispered the words in the trading language.
“She said she wasn’t feeling herself this morning.” I responded in a low voice.
“Is that how quickly it happens? One day you’re totally fine, the next…”
My gaze shot to the guards at the door, but they didn’t seem interested in our conversation. “Maybe the treatment doesn’t work so well on her species.”
Her black eyes centered on the guards. “Perhaps the drugs don’t really work on any species. What if all this talk about a cure is just that? Talk?”
I’d wondered that myself. Had they really brought us here to help us, or did they just want to keep us away from the rest of the population? I shook my head. “Does it matter? We can’t stay out there with everyone else. Eventually the whole galaxy would be zombies.”
I thought of how quickly the disease had spread among the stars. It didn’t take much of an imagination to picture the entire galaxy wiped out. I pictured whole planets falling, their industries drying up, going off-grid. I envisioned whole star systems dark and lifeless, mere rocks in space overrun by flesh-eating fiends. At least here in this facility, I didn’t have to worry about hurting anyone else.
“Recreation time is over,” one of the guards barked. With that, we were unceremoniously herded back to our rooms.
Lunch was delivered to our rooms. No chatty mealtime today. I didn’t have much of an appetite. I picked at my food in silence.
The afternoon passed in a flurry of doctor visits. Technicians drew so much blood I was surprised any was left in my veins. In spite of all the needle stabbing and prodding that morning, specialists subjected me to yet another round. I could only guess that Gryl had taken them by surprise. Whatever had happened to her came on so suddenly, no one had expected it. With a whole complex full of zombies-to-be, that had to have the scientists and the security people worried.
Once the doctors left, I tried to pass the time watching the news
feed, but it only depressed me more. Whatever had happened here at the facility was happening out in the stars as well. Quarantine facilities were told to expect a fresh influx of patients. New complexes were being built as quickly as possible. I turned off the feed. I couldn’t bear to watch any longer. Another meal appeared at my door. I didn’t even take off the cover.
For a long time I sat in the semidarkness, the lights having dimmed for the night at some point. I’d barely noticed.
At a noise in the hall, I glanced up to see a man-sized silhouette in my doorway. A shriek died on my lips as I recognized Benson.
I rushed to the entrance of my room. “Benson?”
“I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“That’s okay. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping very well tonight.”
His shoulders heaved with a deep sigh. “Me neither.”
“What’s going on? I got attacked in the recreation room.”
“You got attacked?” He glanced over his shoulder, checking the walkway before lowering the force field. He stepped into my room, reactivated the shield and circled me in a strong hug. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” I pulled back so I could look into his eyes. “The guards got her before she could hurt me.”
“The woman with the red fur?”
I nodded.
“I heard about that. Don’t worry, she’s locked away safely, somewhere she can’t hurt anyone.”
“But she was okay just a few minutes before. I don’t know what happened.”
Benson pulled away from me. Grasping my hand, he led me back to the bed and sat beside me. “It’s been happening more often. They aren’t sure why.” He shut his mouth tightly after that.
“I’m guessing you weren’t supposed to tell me that.”
He took a deep breath. “No, but you don’t need to be a genius to figure it out.”
“Is that what happened last night when you were called away?”
I sat close enough to feel the deep shudder roll through him. “Last night was bad.”
“I thought we were coming here to be healed.”
He had no answer to that. No one did. I realized for the first time how much responsibility must rest on those scientists’ shoulders. The whole galaxy looked to them for rescue.
“You’re feeling all right?” There was an edge of desperation in his voice that hadn’t been there before. In spite of what we’d shared last night, I wondered if he truly felt safe sitting so close to me.
“I don’t feel any different. Whatever they’ve been giving me seems to be working.” Gryl hadn’t been so lucky. “So, what do we do?”
His lips brushed my forehead and he pulled me close again. “We enjoy the time we have together.”
The way he said it only reminded me that our time would eventually come to an end. As Gryl had found out, it could come sooner rather than later.
But I stopped thinking about that when he drew me closer still. He hung on to me as if tonight might really be our last. I had no way of knowing if it was, but I intended to enjoy myself. And if I got another night after this, it would be a bonus.
Benson’s mouth covered mine, hot and demanding. I parted my lips, allowing his tongue to slide inside. Today’s brush with danger only served to heighten my passion as I kissed him back.
He pushed me gently down against the mattress. Normally I’d be all for surrendering to his touch, but the stress of the day got the better of me and I shoved until he yielded the top to me. Benson’s eyes were glazed with desire, but I saw urgency in them that hadn’t been there yesterday.
The same panic surged through my veins. Time weighed down on me, eager to steal my last breath. My fingers fumbled to undo the buttons of his uniform. His hands covered mine and stilled my frantic movements.
“Easy,” he breathed, his face close to mine. “Let’s just enjoy tonight.”
Suddenly it didn’t matter that we were in my room in this quarantine facility. The only thing on my mind was the growing passion between us.
I undid his buttons one by one. His eyes followed the path of my fingers and his breathing grew ragged. I spread his shirt so I could run my hands over his chest. I reveled in the sensation of that hot, muscular flesh beneath my fingertips. But I had to let go as Benson pulled my t-shirt over my head. Cool air brushed my nipples before he reached for me, his hands warming my breasts.
The feeling of his hard cock reminded me of how good it had been between us last time. That memory made me wet all over again. Unwilling to wait, I shimmied down his legs so I could loosen his belt and undo his pants. The movement brought a rough moan to his lips.
I covered his mouth with my hand. “Shh. We don’t want to be interrupted.”
He bit his lip and nodded. I shoved his trousers down his legs, freeing his cock into my hand. That hard yet velvety flesh made my breath catch. He was so big I could barely close my fingers around him. I ran them up and down his shaft instead, teasing him while lingering just out of his reach. His hips bucked, showing me how much he enjoyed that touch.
He stretched slightly and his hands seized my hips, pulling me close enough so he could shove my loose pants down my legs. I kicked out of them. Then, as an afterthought, I pulled up the blanket to shield us from curious eyes on the other side of the semicircular structure.
My body was long past ready. When his fingers grazed my clit, I bucked, almost shouting aloud. I moved over him, positioning myself so the tip of his broad cock rested at my moist opening. I smothered a moan as I slowly lowered myself down.
I sucked in a long, slow breath at the exquisite feeling of all that hard flesh deep inside me. Tentatively, I began to move. He let me set the pace even though I could tell from the tortured look on his face that he had a much quicker rhythm in mind. But I intended to enjoy every second left to us.
Smiling, I moved up and down slowly, torturing him, torturing myself. I placed a finger in my mouth and sucked before easing it down to my clit…
Finally, unable to stand it any longer, he gripped my hips and quickened the pace. My entire body clenched, ready for the orgasm that lingered just out of reach. Benson moved faster beneath, plunging deeply, hands lifting and lowing me on his cock, and my body coiled tighter still. My finger flew over my clit. Passion rippled through me and I came hard and fast.
I heard Benson’s choked gasp as he gained his own release.
Our mingled breath created a hot dampness beneath the blanket. I pulled away and peered around a corner of cloth, shooting a glance at the walkway. All seemed quiet. I sagged back into the protection of his arms.
As I lay there sated and content, all my worries seemed far away. Benson’s arms tightened around me, one hand stroking my back gently, and I rested my head against his shoulder. All I wanted was to fall asleep just like this.
Benson’s radio crackled, making us both jump. “All guards report in.”
“No!” The word slipped from my lips before I could call it back. But Benson still had a job to do. One that didn’t involve sleeping with me.
He sighed and wiggled out from under me. I clung to him, refusing to let go.
“All guards to level one,” the radio demanded.
With my own sigh, I released him.
He got to his feet and yanked his pants back in place. Tucking in his shirt, he bent forward to give me a lingering kiss before moving to the entrance. He dropped the field and cast a glance full of regret over his shoulder.
I pulled the blanket back up to my chin. “You’d better go.”
He nodded, offering one last hot look before reactivating the force field and disappearing once more.
Beyond my room, I heard the echo of other radios followed by the familiar slap of guards’ boots against the metal walkway.
Level one. That was several floors below, where everything had happened last night. It was also where they’d taken Gryl. I shuddered at the thought of Benson down there.
Shouts resonated up the facility’s hol
low interior and for the millionth time, I wondered why the builders had designed it that way.
And then it occurred to me. Perhaps this place had never been designed as a medical facility. Maybe it was just what it looked like.
A prison.
That explained why the builders made the acoustics so sensitive. The jailors wanted to hear what was going on in every part of it. Their survival depended on it.
I sat at the head of my bed with my back toward the wall and the blanket pulled up to my chin. Benson’s warmth began to dissipate and the chill that permeated the entire rocky structure seeped in. I pressed my hands to my ears to muffle the screams coming from downstairs.
Hours went by and the sounds continued. With all the commotion, I didn’t hear Benson’s approach until he was standing at the entrance to my cell.
“Benson!”
He shifted from foot to foot but didn’t lower the force field.
I got up and walked toward him. “Are you coming in?”
He shook his head.
I had a sinking sensation some very bad news was coming. “What’s wrong?”
“Something’s happened.”
Chapter Four
Even in the dim light I could see his stricken expression. I recognized that look of shock and disbelief. I’d seen it on the faces of the people who’d made the journey to Zombicus with me. I moved to stand as close as I could to the entrance, just inches away from the force field. “Oh god, Benson! Were you bitten?”
He brought his finger to his lips. “Shh!”
“You were, weren’t you?” I whispered.
He nodded grimly.
He shouldn’t be here. The realization came with a stab of panic. He should be downstairs in the med lab getting his first round of shots.
Which meant he hadn’t told them yet.
“You have to report it, Benson! You can’t just leave a thing like this.” I lowered my voice even more. “The virus is already surging through your bloodstream. If you don’t get treatment, you’ll turn in hours.”
“I don’t—I don’t know what to do.”
