Freedom Rock Chronicles (Book 1): Death Has Fallen

by Kris Beus

  Sitting on the log with Jaime she slowly put her arm around me and placed her head on my shoulder. As she did I felt my heart skip a beat. Ever since the forest I had been attracted to her, but because of the circumstances did not want to push for anything besides friendship. I put my arm around her and we sat watching the sun fall behind the iron wall which surrounded us. It was easily one of the most romantic moments in my life. After a few minutes we heard the cooks yell out of the kitchen that dinner was ready.

  We stood slowly and walked to the kitchen holding hands. This simple gesture would have been something to laugh at in my former life, but with a world filled with such monstrosity and travesty the simple gesture of holding someone’s hand took on a new meaning. Neither of us wanting it to end we stood a minute looking at the bowls before letting go. After getting food we walked back sitting on our log and enjoyed eating together in silence after the day we had.

  When we got back to our house Amanda and Timothy were together in Amanda’s bed sleeping soundly. I walked back to my room and laid down, but was shocked as Jaime entered my room after me. She looked absolutely beautiful in the moonlight which was able to pass through the small holes in our roof. She walked up to me slowly grabbing my hand then looking up and moved forward kissing me deeply.

  I took a step back shocked at her actions. Because of the position that I had found her in, all of my sexual motivations were suppressed. After being held prisoner I figured she would not want any type of relationship. She looked at me with those blue eyes smiling and said, “I know you are worried about me, but it is not helpful if you keep treating me like I am broken.”

  She stepped forward once again and I leaned forward to meet her kiss this time. Realizing that our life expectancy had dropped dramatically from the period of the outbreak I felt as though we should live every day as if it was our last. Slowly we move locked together towards the pile of blankets making up our bed. Her blue eyes held firm to mine and the blond hair seemed to encompass me. We laid slowly together on the blankets Jaime lying on top of me. She reached down pulling my shirt over my head and I did the same to her.

  As the shirt slipped above her head I saw how wonderfully her body had recovered. We once again locked in a kiss. I rolled her over taking top. She had her hand between my legs gently massaging. Reaching down I began untying the cords she had continued to use for keeping her pants up. After a minor struggle I was able to untie them and she helped me strip her completely. My hand slid between her legs slowly sliding my middle finger inside her. As I did she let out a moan making me even more excited.

  Sliding my finger in and out and nibbling on her ear Jaime grabbed the back of my neck pulling my ear towards her mouth and whispered, “I want you inside me.”

  Instantly I ripped my pants off them positioned myself between her legs. She was extremely wet and as I slid inside her our eyes locked. Slowly I started sliding in and out, every time pushing myself inside her a little further. From the second I entered her it was nearly impossible not to instantly orgasm. I was amazed at how tight she was. My strokes became quicker and we continued to lock our gaze, both of us taking in the moment. The faster we went the more difficult it was to hold back the oncoming ecstasy. I slid myself out of her and she gave me a disappointed look. When I told her to get on top her smile returned.

  She sat up and straddled me. As she reached placing me inside her I let out a moan. Looking up at her I reached grabbing her breast. She began grinding back and forth. As I watched her I wondered how I got such a beautiful girl. Her speed began picking up and her moans grew louder at each movement. Her excitement began bringing me closer and closer to climax. As she let out one final scream and relaxed I finally stopped holding back allowing myself to flow inside her.

  She fell off me lying on her side we were both completely ignorant of the world outside ourselves. Out of breathe neither one us able to talk. I suppose right after the perfect night any words would be inadequate to express what we both were feeling. She laid on my arm and stared at the roof. We laid together like that for an hour, focused only on being together.

  Jaime finally broke the silence, “So I guess this changes things between us huh?”

  I looked at her seeing the worry on her face, “Yes it does, but certainly for the better.”

  After that she closed her eyes falling to sleep. I remained awake thinking about what happened. Over and over her naked body passed through my thoughts. Exhaustion began creeping in making it difficult to stay awake replaying what we just did. My fight to stay awake was finally lost and I closed my eyes happier than I had been for a long time.

  Waking the next day Jaime was still next to me. The temperature had dropped below freezing forcing us to stay close the entire night. Not wanting to wake Jaime I laid close with my chest against her back. With each breath I took in her scent reminding me of the night before. Ever since I rescued her there was some attachment. Lying awake with my arm around her stomach I wondered if we could have a future. I knew that we had real chemistry and hoped she felt the same way.

  I began hearing footsteps outside our house. Then a voice screaming breakfast came from the kitchen. Quietly I whispered to Jaime asking if she would like breakfast. I had to repeat myself a couple times before she was awake enough to answer me. As we rose I was thankful her face showed the expression of happiness rather than regret as she looked at me. I began smiling back giving her a kiss. We quickly got dressed because of the freezing temperature. Walking slowly towards the kitchen we were both silent unable to express how we felt about what happened.

  Walking back into the kitchen the smell of sausage and cheese filled our senses. We watched as the cooks began shoving the meat and cheese into tortillas and throwing them in a massive basket. Looking at the amount of food they had prepared impressed both of us. The cooks seeing our smile said, “Sunday breakfast means you eat all you want.”

  Shocked at such a delightful meal both Julie and I started with three large breakfast burritos. Walking back out I saw a man sitting on the log we usually sat on. Luckily the log was large allowing room for all of us. Before sitting down I asked if we could join him. The man looked very sad when shaking his head letting us know we could. Jaime and I sat together very silent and feeling the tension flow from the man next to us. After a couple of minutes I broke asking him, “Why are you so sad?”

  He looked at me astonished that I knew that something was bothering him. He continued staring and I could see the thoughts flowing through his mind. The hesitation told me what he was thinking had been traumatic. Someone does not close down without having a reason and the things we can’t talk about are the things we need to discuss most. Seeing his struggle and pain I looked back at him saying, “In this world we have now, if you hold on to your pain the world will destroy.”

  Slowly his mouth opened finally releasing, “I am alone. My family was torn from me and not from undead, but by a group of men. They took my wife and two young daughters then beat me within an inch of my life. Thank god earl found me. He picked me up and threw me in the back of the truck then stuck me in his house nursing me back to health. It has been weeks and finally I have been able to leave the house, but that day they took my family stays with me.”

  “That is terrible, I lost my mother to one of the dead, but I couldn’t imagine having my family stolen away and there be nothing I could do. Was there anything about the people you remember?” I asked.

  He faded back a moment remembering every detail of that night. His eyes lit up a bit showing he remembered something. “They had large bikes. I remember there was over 20 of them who pulled around our house. They spent some time looking in the windows seeing that we were hidden in a bedroom. I remember the sound of a sledge against our front door and within moments they grabbed the woman and knocked me out. They said nothing and were extremely efficient as if they had done the same thing over and over. After they took the girls one swung a bat hitting me in the head and the next thing I knew I
awoke in this town.”

  “Where did all this happen?” I asked wanting to once again strike against those who caused nothing, but pain.

  “I lived in the town of Wellston. It lies around a hundred and fifty miles to the East. When I awoke earlier today Earl asked the same questions you did. When I told them where I was attacked he said thank god our scavenge team got caught up at the gas station unable to make it to the town.” He said this looking down showing he didn’t feel the same enthusiasm as Earl about us not making it into town.

  Attempting to brighten his spirits some I asked, “Did you hear about us killing five bikers out that way?”

  “No, Earl was more interested in what I had to say. Glad to hear some of those bastards got their due.” A vengeful smile crossed his face as he spoke.

  “I will talk to Earl about scouting in that direction. If we find they are held up in the town and have taken hostages, Earl may decide it would be worth an attack.”

  At the thought of perhaps being reunited with his family the man became overjoyed. It seemed that before he spoke with me he didn’t believe he would ever see them again.

  Looking at me happily he asked, “What’s your name? Mine is Joseph, thank you for helping me find out what happened to my family.”

  As he said this I began to worry that I may have ran my mouth a bit too much in the attempt to cheer him. I had no idea if his family was alive or dead. Not only that, but I also was unsure if Earl would allow a full out assault on a town even though they were terrible people.

  Looking him in the eye showing a bit of my worry I said, “Joseph, my name is Jake, and I may have mislead you. I have no idea if they will send anyone to the town after your family. It would be a huge risk to everyone so please don’t get your hopes up quite yet.”

  Even with my misgivings his mood had not changed. He explained why his happiness would not be undone, “Jake anything is better than what I have been feeling. I know they could still be alive and being forced to do god knows what. Before you sat down it was all a lost cause, but if you at least ask Earl if he would at the very least make an attempt, it would be a thousand times better than if I felt as though there was nothing that could be done.”

  With that I believed he had a good understanding of the realistic chances of the mission. Before we sat down he was unable to see any future with his family. Simply willing to talk on his behalf would be enough to give him some hope. I continued eating barely able to finish the three burritos I had grabbed from the kitchen. Jaime was struggling with her last one. She looked at me with a pathetic sort of glance and asked if I would take her last one.

  “Amanda missed breakfast I bet she would be glad to take the burrito off you.”

  She smiled at the thought and we walked back home. Timothy had woken much earlier than Amanda and headed off to work letting her sleep in. Amanda had all the blankets pulled over her head. Jaime walked in whispering her name as I stood in the doorway. The third time she whispered Amanda jumped up giving a frightened shout. Once she recognized Jaime and I she calmed down instantly, and laid back down.

  Jaime whispered again asking, “Would you like a breakfast burrito? Lots of sausage and cheese.”

  Once again Amanda sat up looking at the food and accepting it gratefully. She began picking at it slowly tasting it. After she realized it was hot and fresh she began taking full bites. We sat down inside her room waiting for her to finish. So engrossed with the burrito she took no notice of us staring at her. The burrito was devoured within minutes she was just as enthused as us at not eating canned food.

  She finished licking the grease from the cheese sausage mixture off her hands. Looking up she noticed that we had not left the room and were looking at her. A confused look came across her face and she began darting her eyes across herself to see if there was anything wrong. Looking up confused she asked, “Why are you guys staring at me like that?”

  Jaime and I looked at each other both not sure exactly why we were sitting in her room. After a moment of thought I said, “We spent a lot of time together before this quarry and over the last few days we haven’t seen much you. I just wanted to see how you were doing.”

  She hesitated before speaking unsure of my sincerity, “I am good. Timothy has me mainly on cleaning duty. I really like that he doesn’t treat me different since we are seeing each other now. I spend most of my days cleaning the town hall, security office, and kitchen. Other than that I keep myself busy doing odd jobs around the town making myself useful. I am really enjoying the break from death and Timothy of course.”

  As she said those words once again my mind went back to redheaded Caz and the night I pulled the trigger. After a moment of thought I stood up smiling and said, “Glad to see you doing so well Amanda and please let me know if you need anything.”

  She smiled back nodding her head. Jaime and I stood up and began walking out to see if there was any work that needed done. Before we walked out of the house Amanda shouted, “Thanks for breakfast Jaime.”

  Chapter 17

  The sun was bright as we stepped from our dark house. The warmth felt wonderful on my face. Looking at Jaime helped me forget all the death I had caused. Another house had begun being built right across from where we put ours up. I started looking for any trace of who our new neighbor would be. It seemed that they were in no rush to put the house up simply piling the supplies on the ground. They were using the same system as our house. Sheet metal for the walls and ceiling with wood for the floor.

  We continued on towards the security office so I could speak to Earl about Joseph. Walking in Earl looked like he usually did very frustrated and in the midst of chaos. Looking at him made me somewhat regret the promise I made to Joseph, but I knew no matter how mad such a request might make him it would be worth it. Slowly I walked through the armory still full of guns and into the back room. It seemed a couple of other guards were waiting for assignment so I decided to wait until Earl had a moment. After a few minutes Earl looked up from staring at the notepad full of writing.

  First looking through at the three guards waiting inside with us he told them to go on patrol and not to stray too far from the town. He then looked at Jaime and I and said, “I need you guys to go back with Aaron and pick up the rest of the food. Make sure you scout the area well before going in.”

  Looking back down to his pad where he kept all the information about the defense of the quarry I slowly stepped forward.

  He looked up with a glare, “Problem?”

  A bit frightened I relayed everything Joseph said in a short and sweet version. I told him that the town he sent us to scavenge from held the biker gang that had taken Joseph’s family. As I spoke of the terrors he witnessed Earl’s face didn’t change. He already knew what had happened and looked as though he wished to stay away from any conflict.

  “We can’t risk the safety of our town for the hope of a rescue mission.” Earl said this with unwavering command as if he had already contemplated going to the town.

  “Not going to the town would be a much higher risk than doing nothing. We have already had one altercation with them. They only live a couple hours away and by the way they attacked us, I believe they will be coming to end as many as our lives as they can. Not only is it in our best interest, but how can we look at our town’s people and have them expect us to keep them safe when we let raiders take their family and don’t even attempt to rescue them when we know where they are.” By the end I was almost yelling.

  The rage that filled me was the same that I felt looking at the two men I shot for taking Jaime and Amanda. Earl’s face filled with fear as he saw my face changing back into that primal killer. He was unable to respond afraid of setting me off. To calm down I walked out of the office and began walking toward my house. As I got closer I noticed the pile of scrap next door beginning to take shape.

  The rage I was feeling began being replaced with curiosity. I began walking up to the forming house trying to see who was working. Jo
seph walked out of the frame he was constructing. Seeing me he waved and began walking towards me.

  “Were you able to talk to Earl yet?” He asked enthusiastically.

  “Yea, but it didn’t go well. He doesn’t want to risk lives on investigating the town. I told him we should go even if it was unsafe. I tried convincing him the danger of leaving people like that unchecked so close to us would lead to trouble. Hopefully he will change his mind and let us at least go scout to see if they have kept their prisoners alive.” Looking at him I could see the disappointment as I relayed how my meeting with Earl went.

  Slowly he turned and headed back to work on his new home. Suddenly I felt Jaime pulling on the back of my shirt. When I turned she pointed at both Aaron and Earl walking towards us. Earl had an angry look on his face while Aaron looked cool and calm as he always did. I thought over everything I had said to Earl.

  He approached and seemed to be unable to talk. Aaron was the first to speak, “Jake.”

  Looking towards him then back at Earl I asked, “What’s wrong?”

  His face was still red, but cooled a bit and he began talking, “After a discussion with Aaron and a few other security officers they seem to agree with you about how to handle Wellston. I really don’t appreciate the way you handled the situation, but we do need to at least figure out how much of a threat they pose and how many possible prisoners they have. It will be an extremely dangerous mission and I will not force anyone to go. I think you would be the perfect person to go convince a team to risk their lives for your cause.”

  “Understood sir.” I said with confidence.

  “Good glad we understand each other. Now before we go scout a hostile town let’s first get the remaining supplies from the gas station. From what Aaron and Jim has told me there is enough food to keep us going for quite some time. The bikers will probably be scouting the area just in case we come back. This time I am sending a five man assault squad which will ensure the trucks are safe. You, Aaron, Jaime, Max, and Tim.”