by Garth Owen
Finding the seed bank, or, so far, coming closer than they ever had, was thrilling. But Veronique knew nothing ever came easily. Somewhere in these files might be the directions right to that big metal door, but there were always dangers on any journey, and surely the prize at the end of this one would make it more dangerous than any other.
Her fears kept Veronique from bursting out of the wagon and declaring success. She would wait until she had seen just what information was on the drive, and assessed the dangers between them and wherever the vault turned out to be.
Using the trackball, Veronique highlighted the smiling faces in the picture and zoomed in on them. The reproduction was fuzzy close up, but one of those faces, the man standing second from left, looked familiar. She had seen it before in pictures in the château so many months before. It would have been no surprise if he was one of the bodies Maxine had found in the bunker's dining room, the man who had put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Why had he and his companions killed themselves, she wondered. Perhaps she would find some form of journal on the drives, if she continued searching them once the data about the seed vault had been extracted.
Zooming out again, Veronique scrolled down to look at the next page of the brochure.
* * *
Behind the farmhouse, there was a large water trough lined with glazed tiles but mostly filled with dust that some pathetic scraps of grass clung to. On the uphill side of the trough was a U-shaped cast concrete channel. Like the trough, it hadn't seen water in years. Maxine clambered up to the level of the channel and looked along it up the hill. Extending the line she could see would take her to the right of the trees she had been aiming for. She decided to follow the concrete track up the hill.
The channel had been barely visible when she had stood atop wagon two and stared up the hill to get a better look at the copse. Yellow grass bowed across the gap and knotted together to cover it. Confident strides tore or pushed the little canopy apart, and walking through it wasn't any more tiring than a straightforward climb.
When the slope of the hill kicked up and became steeper, the channel started zig-zagging to keep from becoming a cascade. Maxine used the levels as steps rather than following them back and forth. At the top of this little piece of hydraulic engineering, the track of the gutter had changed, and the channel pointed straight at the bunch of trees. It terminated at another, smaller trough. Behind the trough was a large outcrop of blue-grey rock, which the trees ringed and then draped over.
Stepping up, Maxine was presented with a beautiful, crystal clear pool, the outcrop forming a natural bowl for it. Water flowed into it over rocks off to the right, bubbling up from a spring, whilst almost directly opposite where she stood, it flowed out over the lip of the rock. Beyond this overflow, the foliage was denser and greener. There were work marks in the stone just in front of her, where the lip had once been chipped away so that the water would come over there, down to the trough and into the channel. This overflow, however, had been blocked when one of the trees had toppled over and lain across it. What little gap had been left under the tumbled trunk would have silted up, or filled with debris, quickly.
Sitting on the tree trunk, Maxine studied it. Eventually, rotting and weathering might wear it away and reopen the channel, but she was more inclined to bring an axe and do the job herself. She leant over and ran fingers through the water. It was cold, but refreshingly so in the heat of the day. Finding the stub of a long gone branch, she hung her 9mm on the water side of the trunk, doing the same, at a different point, with the .38. The small satchel she had brought along went under the trunk somewhere inconspicuous. Then she dropped the knives into the shallows and started stripping.
Naked, Maxine stepped over the trunk and up to her ankles in the cold water. The chill ran through her body, and felt delightful after being in the dry and heat of the wastelands for so many weeks. Picking up the knives, she walked toward the middle of the pool.
At its deepest, the water came up to her belly button. Her skin seemed to tighten where the pool cooled it. She let the knives drop to the bottom and dropped straight down until her head was under the water. Shooting straight back up, she gasped at the exhilarating chill of it, then dropped back down until only her head was above the water. Her hands found the knives and held onto them. They wouldn't have stopped to pick the farm if they thought there might be hostiles in the area, but it was always a good idea to have some weapon to hand when out of sight of her family.
It didn't take long to get used to the cool water, and Maxine soon fought down the shivers and began to like it. She leant her head back to wet her hair again, dunking and scrubbing it to clean out as much as possible of the crap and dust of the cellar. After ducking under again, she rose from the water feeling fresher than she had in weeks. Water ran down her breasts and arced away from her perked out nipples, which made her giggle.
Maxine didn't have any form of towel to dry with, but she didn't need one. She walked out of the pool and stepped over the tumbled tree into the direct sun. She stretched out on the warm rock and let herself dry out. It was relaxing, and another sensual experience after that of the pool. Rolling over, she enjoyed the sun on her back for a while. But she wasn't the sort who could sit still for long, and once she was dry, she stood and walked over to where she had stowed her satchel.
Inside the shoulder bag were some of the items she had picked up in the bunker. None of them was practical in the slightest, she had taken them mostly out of curiosity. She took the soft, thin wisps of underwear out gently, almost nervous of tearing them. The skimpiest item was a mere triangle of material with thick strings coming from each corner to go around her waist and between her legs then meet. She understood what it was and how she was supposed to wear it, but still she stared at it, confused that anyone would wish to wear something so minimalist. Shrugging, she stepped into the thong and pulled it up.
The front panel just, barely, covered her unruly pubic hair and the lips of her sex. Maxine wasn't much troubled by modesty, and somehow she would have felt more self conscious wearing this little slip of material in front of others than being completely naked before them. But, again, the fact that there was so little to it made moving in the little piece of underwear feel unrestricted and easy. She jumped up onto the downed tree and ran along it a short way, then skipped back to her bag. They weren't to be worn for long periods, but maybe if she ever got around to wearing a dress or skirt, they would go well under one of those.
The next pair of knickers had panels front and back, but they were made of a sheer material that meant her pubes, and even the outline of her lips, could be seen. After the thong, they felt restrictive, and she didn't like the way they were see through. If she wanted someone to see her pussy, she would stand before them in the nude, not let them think they were getting one over on her because her panties were transparent. They wouldn't do, she didn't like them.
The last piece of underwear was a peachy pink colour and made of material that was light and fine. Maxine's fingers slid easily over it. They were like small shorts, Maxine thought as she pulled them on. Light and open, they were unsurprisingly comfortable, though loose about her waist and flaring out. Made for someone with wider hips, she decided.
These sexy under things must have been expensive when they went into the bunker, for they had been in the display cabinet with all the other trophies. There had been bras as well, but they were made for someone with a larger chest than Maxine, so she had left them. Even if only one of them fit her, it would be nice to have a reason to wear them. To have someone to wear them for.
There had been a boy, the year before, at a town they had been trading in. But he had wanted to stay when they moved on. More likely, he had been happy to have his fun without the risk of commitment. And there had been a girl, as well, from another band of pickers they had met down near the Mediterranean. That had been two weeks of sneaking off for fun that still raised a tingle when she recalled it.
Max
ine slipped the knickers off. Now she was turned on. Veronique had her husband, and her father seemed to have a woman in every town. But she almost never got laid, no matter how much she looked for it. She bunched her clothes and kit up by the tree trunk and sat against them in the sunshine. There was one last thing in the bag that she had picked up for the hell of it. The dildo was made of a shiny metal, she hadn't checked to see which yet. It was cold, but it would warm up, and heavy.
Still wary, Maxine had her right hand by her 9mm as her left brought the head of the dildo up the inside of her thigh. It warmed up soon enough as she teased her pussy lips with it. She could, maybe, do this in one of the wagons, but she always managed to be interrupted when she did that. She'd got herself all excited just thinking about it. The dildo slid easily into her.
"Max! You wanna come down to the wagons, we found something cool!" Tony shouted. He was still only halfway up to the copse, at least he hadn't seen her.
"Fuckit!" The word hissed out through clenched teeth. A few more minutes and she could have got herself off. It never worked like that. "I'll be a minute!" she shouted back to her brother in law.
In the next town, she promised herself, she was going to get laid.
* * *
Remy had cleared the table of metalwork and laid a large map of Europe on it. There was a small pebble in the west of Spain, marking their current location, as nearly as it could. A road atlas at the end of the table would show them more precisely where they were when they needed it, and the large screen hung on the side of the wagon would show any digital maps Veronique had found. Remy noticed the flush of Maxine's cheeks when she returned. Veronique and Tony shared a look. Tony shrugged.
When Maxine sat down, Remy said, "Veronique has been going through the hard drives you recovered from the bunker, and she has found what we were looking for. The owners of the bunker, had interests in many many industries before the collapse. They put money into good causes as well, trying to buy absolution for the harm they helped cause. One of the projects they were involved in was setting up a seed bank. That was the hint we got when we picked their château and found out about their hideaway from the apocalypse, anyway."
Maxine already knew most of this, but her father was rarely so talkative. She wasn't going to stop him. He took a drink of water from the canteen slung over the back of his chair, then went on. "If there was anything in the château to tell us where the seed bank was, it was hidden far too well. So, down we came to raider heavy territory to have a look in the bunker. If only we had had enough time to go through it properly. Ah, well.... Anyway, Veronique has worked her magic, and she has extracted all manner of documents about the seed bank, including security details and, most importantly, of course, where it is."
"Bounty." Maxine said. Leaning over the map, she asked, "So where is it?"
Remy pulled a sheet of paper from under the atlas. Another map had been printed on it, one that must be important if Veronique was willing to use up one of her precious sheets of virgin paper. It was a topographical map of a mountainous region. Roads were marked on it, joining up small towns and hamlets that, mostly, wouldn't exist any more. There was a red dot on the edge of one of the towns. "It is as well hidden as the bunker was, the entrance hidden in an existing building, where it can only be found by someone who knows what they're looking for."
Maxine studied the small map, turning it around and around. It looked familiar, but not enough for her to recognise it. "But, where is it?" she asked.
"A fair distance." Remy traced a finger across the big map, from the pebble eastwards, over the Pyrrenees into France and then up to the Alps.
"That looks close to...."
"The Valley? Yes. Very close. This is the Valley." Remy indicated on the map. "And the seed bank is here. It's just a few hills away." He smiled at the understatement. Those hills were pretty large mountains.
"Are we going home?"
"It looks like it."
Remy knew this was news to Tony as well as Maxine. Since Tony had joined them on their journeys through the bad lands, they had hardly ever talked about the town they left when Maxine and Veronique were still children. "Is that going to be easy?" he asked.
"Well, it is a long way, but no more major than other journeys we have made. I know, I know, that wasn't what you meant. There may be some bad blood still, but, perhaps, we can clear some of it."
"We could just go to the seed bank." Maxine suggested.
"We could. You do not want to see your Uncle Julien again?"
Maxine looked away. "I don't know. There was so much shouting after Mama...." For a moment, she looked like the little girl she had been ten years before, when they had loaded up the original wagon and driven from the Valley. Remy reached across and laid a hand on hers.
"It is time for me to go home and make my peace with the family and the town. We took important resources with us when we set out. Not enough to do lasting damage, but it must have caused some hardship for a while. We could go to the seed bank by some other route. There will still be a hard trek by road or over passes to get to it from the Valley. But it is so close, it is the obvious place for us to work from. And I can think of few other places better suited to use what we will find, or reward us properly for our efforts."
"If the town is still there." Veronique said, quietly. Everyone turned to look at her. "We have been away for a decade. A lot can happen in that time. How many of the villages and outposts that we have traded with have disappeared the next time we've been through them. Diseases happen, raiders attack. All sorts of things...."
"It is still there, and your Uncle Julien is mairie now. At least, that is how it was before last winter. I have been asking other traders and pickers over the years. Some of them have even been there, others dealt with those who had visited."
"You never told us this." Maxine said, the hint of anger in her tone.
"All the other information I got from them was useful. It went onto the map. But this was just.... Something I wanted to know, for myself. I didn't want you to know your old Papa was so sentimental."
Maxine wouldn't look her father in the eye. Her gaze had dropped to the larger map, and he could tell she was already moving past the anger. Indeed, it was only a moment before she was tracing possible routes through the two countries that stood between them and a homecoming. "We have to avoid Madrid, what is left of it. We shall probably be best to go to the South, but then we will have the bulk of the Pyrrenees before us. At least it is Summer and there won't be snow...."
Remy looked to Veronique and Tony. His eldest daughter had found the location of the seed vault, and had the longest of any of them to think about the consequences of going to it. She and Tony were having a silent discussion, all eye messages and body contact. Tony nodded. "I have always wanted to meet my extended family." he said.
* * *
Tony had rested the axes against the downed tree trunk and stripped off. He was, he had declared, going to enjoy the pool before they unblocked it and let the water flow down the culvert. Veronique sat on the tree and watched her husband, enjoying the movement of his tight muscles as he waded out into the water.
She had never been interested in men until five years ago. She had just turned eighteen when they had met Tony whilst trading at the same outpost. She had been instantly fascinated by the blue eyed, blonde man her father was doing deals with. Of course, she had been incapable of starting a conversation with him herself, every time she thought she had an opening gambit it had died in her throat. Remy had seen it, and suggested that Tony teamed up with them. He was a sole trader with a broken down biodiesel powered tractor and trailer, whilst they were a family unit in a larger wagon and with plans to salvage a second. Along the way, they had shed the compatriots they had left the Valley with, and needed extra hands and new blood.
Their relationship had bloomed from there. It had practically exploded. Forced by circumstance to talk with Tony, Veronique had found it incredibly easy. Within days,
they were in bed. At the next village they had visited, it had been made official. They held a small ceremony, and she and Tony were man and wife.
Not a hint of excess fat troubled Tony's body, and his musculature was tight and defined from the hard working life they led. Veronique watched his tight buttocks disappear under the water. She loved to grasp those so tight as they made love, loved the feel of his body against hers. Most of all, she enjoyed his big cock. As he rose from dunking himself and turned to her, she waited to catch a glimpse of his member. She couldn't keep herself from laughing out loud at how it had shrunk in the cold water.
"What? Oh, right, that. It's cold in here, you know." Tony stood with hands on his hip, reduced manhood just above the level of the water. His torso was pale white, at odds with the tanned brown of his face and forearms. Veronique knew she looked even darker pressed up against his pale skin. "Come in here and join me and he'll soon be back on form." he suggested.
Veronique wore a light pair of dungarees and a top that had once been white. She kicked her boots aside and stripped in a moment and stood on the tree looking down at her husband. She imagined the expression he had looking at her was the same as the one she had been directing at him. She stepped into the cold water and kicked up little waves as she approached Tony. He embraced her, his body cold and wet.
"Need to wash off the dust?" Tony asked. Veronique nodded, then squealed as he tumbled them into the deepest part of the pool. They splashed each other, enjoying the chance to play for a while. With both hands, Veronique directed a wave at Tony, its droplets glittering in the beams of sun that cut through the branches above. While he was distracted, she stepped right up to him and pulled him in to a kiss.
