by Nick Harland
Esme was standing with her back to me drying her front with a towel. Her hips were not as curvy as Eve’s but she wasn’t bony thin either, despite whatever weight she must have lost since being trapped. Her bum wasn’t as full and round as Eve’s but it was a lovely shape and as pert as any I’d seen naked or otherwise. Even though she didn’t have what I would call large breasts, as she dried herself and wiggled from side to side I could see some side boob appear then disappear as she moved. The overall effect was to make me hold my breath and turn back to Eve with a big smile on my face. Eve matched my smile and briefly raised her eye brows one last time before disappearing around the isle again.
When Esme said, ‘ok’, I turned around and she was wearing some nicely fitting jeans and, because it was a warm day, a simple black t-shirt with no bra. I feel bad for saying so but I was glad they didn’t stock bra’s. I tried not to stare at her nipples which were erect with the cold water and stood out from under the t-shirt. It was a shame it wasn’t a white t-shirt but you can’t have everything. I don’t know if she noticed my efforts but she said, ‘That’s a lot better, thanks.’
Within fifteen minutes we had a large pile of clothes on the counter and had re-grouped. Eve had kindly collected a pile she guessed would fit Bill. I said, ‘We should make the most of any Zed free shopping. Lets dump the clothes in the car, grab some bags and see what else we can find. There is water and sweets and it looks like there is bedding upstairs and the stuff at the base won’t last forever.’
Eve nodded, ‘Brads right, Zed free shopping is not to be wasted.’
We loaded the clothes into the back of the car and went back inside. We collected some food, sweets, and all the bottled drinks they had. Then we filled the rest of the back with linen and a couple of duvet’s. Before we got into the car Eve said, ‘Right, let’s get back to the truck and you can follow me home, poor Bills waited long enough and walkie-talkies are definitely high on the list now.’
As the others got into the back Eve stopped me, held my hands, and said, ‘Sorry, I know I’m acting a bit weird. I’m all messed up, I’ve not seen Andrea for so long and It’s stirring up lots of old memories. Stay with me will you?’
I was glad she said something, the insecure bit of me had started to ruminate, ‘I squeezed her hands back and replied, ‘I’m with you, you know I am.’
Then Eve was herself again and hugged me, kissed my neck, and whispered in my ear, ‘Good, because I want to have a long talk about Esme’s bum later. I want to tell you about all the things I’d like to do to it and all the things I’d like you to be doing at the time.’
Before I could reply she scampered away to the other side of the car and got in.
Chapter Twenty – Back to Base
We picked up the truck and got home by mid-afternoon. Bill was waiting by the gates and was obviously emotional. We got both vehicles in and Eve and I jumped out to greet Bill. Even before he mentioned the truck he stood breathless with emotion and said, ‘I thought, I thought you’d gone. I thought you weren’t coming back, I..’
Eve went to hug him and tears sprang from his eyes. Eve said, ‘Sorry Bill, we would have come back sooner if we could. It’s all ok now though. It’s better than ok, we brought friends.’
Andrea and Esme got out of the car and Bill wiped the tears from his eyes. I was stood between Eve and Bill, and Andrea and Esme and said, ‘Bill, let me introduce our science team, Andrea and Esme.’
Eve let Bill go and he came and offered his hand to both of them saying, ‘Hi, I’m Bill, it’s really good to meet you. Sorry for saying so but you look even worse than how I felt when these two found me. Come in, sit down, and I’ll make us some hot food and arrange hot showers for you both.’
We followed Bill in and he’d been busy. He had moved more comfortable furniture from the offices to the open area in front of the accessories shop where we had been cooking and had emptied some of the shelves in the shop and put some of the food on them. We gratefully sat down on a couch and Esme and Andrea sat down on one opposite, leaving the choice of three chairs for Bill.
Bill said, ‘I think we need nutrition over convenience don’t we.’ Looking at us he said, ‘I’ll boil some water, who wants tea and who wants coffee?’
Andrea started to get up and Bill was in front of her immediately with a gentle hand on her arm. He crouched down so he wasn’t looming and said almost tenderly, ‘It’s ok, we’ve got this today. There will be plenty of time for you to help out. I barely made it a week and you guys made it two, I can’t even imagine what you’ve been through. Let me do today at least, it’ll make me feel good.’
I felt Eve’s hand find and squeeze mine and I could see tears glaze over her and Andrea’s eyes. In response Andrea put her hand gently on the side of Bill’s stubbly face, nodded and said, ‘Thank you. I’ll have coffee.’
Bill made tea and coffee to order, I had really hoped the fresh milk would have lasted better but it was on the turn and not nice. I had to start the grieving process for milk all over again. We ate tinned green beans and carrots with rice and chicken curry. Bill was the first to speak when we were all eating, ‘The truck was a good find. It sounds like at least one of the back brakes might be beyond saving without parts but I can remove the pads if we have to, it’s not like we’ll end up fully loaded and going 60, though it will still pull when you brake. I guess you’ve already thought about it but now there are more of us communication is important. I think some long range walkie-talkies is close to the top of the priorities list now.’
Eve replied, ‘Yup, we’ve already figured that one out. We have a load of clothes in the car and some provisions but we can’t be scavenging for new clothes every time we get gooey or sweaty, which is almost every day. It’s also not sustainable to use our drinking water for cleaning them. This base is pretty awesome but I have no idea where the nearest water source is.’
Bill nodded, ‘Agreed. There is a river a mile or two over the other end of the estate, we’ll have to clear a rout to it. We also need to make the most of all the roof space and guttering. I can keep the guttering clean and although they are large to transport if we could find some rain collector barrels it would help a lot. I guess we could take the truck, and Lulu of course, and throw a load in the truck. There are four places where we could use them.’
I chipped in, ‘We could go back to the first shopping centre Eve and I went to. We did some pretty serious damage to the local population and the DIY store there should still be empty if we’re lucky and it will have some water barrels. There is an electronics shop there that should have some walkie-talkies and we could use some more dog food. Trust me, feeding Mutt rich food and then being within twenty feet of him over the next few hours is something to avoid.’
Then I thought how strange it was that toileting was such an important issue in an apocalypse, ‘Speaking of toileting, how are we managing ours. They seem to be able to smell fresh poo from quite a distance and they know it’s a sign of live meat.’
Bill said, ‘The toilets in the vans we are using need emptying every two to three days or so and I’m rationing the chemicals we’re using. I’m emptying them down one of the larger drains. If the smell attracts them then we need to deal with Mutts business quickly when it happens on site. I’ll make up some chemical dilution that’ll be strong enough to cover the smell and they will need putting down the drain. I guess if you’re hitting the pet store some proper poo bags might come in handy.’
Eve was the next to speak, ‘It sounds like a big shopping trip is in order and we’ve learnt we need to make the most of them after the resource heavy job of clearing out the locals is done. I think we need a couple of days rest at least but I think we should all go. Many hands make light work and all that, and these things are time sensitive. There is a car accessories shop and a department store with a food court that will be full of useful stuff and the truck should be able to haul as much stuff as we could possibly fit into it. We’re not going to be quiet
so I think we can afford to use the M9’s we have and the rifles as well. If we make the absolute most of the trip it will be worth the ammo and diesel usage but we should still use the vehicles rather than bullets whenever we can.’
Esme looked down at her knee’s and said, ‘I’ve never killed anything before, let alone shot a gun. I’m not sure I can pull my weight out there and I don’t want to be a burden.’
I left it to Eve to say what needed to be said. She looked at Andrea and Esme, ‘We’re a team now and we all have our strengths and our weaknesses, but we all need to be able to defend ourselves at least. No one is expecting you guys to become gun wielding ninja’s overnight. Firing a gun is basically as easy as it looks and the rifles we have are really accurate over a short to medium distance. It’s important we all know what we’re doing so even at the expense of some ammo and noise I think some practice over the next few days is absolutely worth it. Even Brad would benefit.’
Then Eve looked at me and put her hand om my thigh, ‘I’ve been firing a gun for years and I’m good at it but when Brad found me I was scared shitless and hadn’t even gone outside my front door. We need to do the same thing with you that he did for me back then. After we’ve finished eating we’re all walking out of here and looking for some trouble. You can have a few shots first just so you know what it’s like but your fear and uncertainty about the unknown are at least as bad as what you’ll experience out there. You guys survived two weeks under horrible conditions without giving up. Your survival instincts must be strong or you wouldn’t have lasted, trust me, you’ll be fine.’
We finished our food and Eve dished out the weapons. I still had the Werlod but put the M9 on my right where I would use it. Esme opted for a Henry and so did Bill, Andrea took the other M9. Bill had made another Seven and gave it to Andrea, I insisted Eve keep the original. I had a pry bar as did Bill and Esme was left with the Tyre iron. We walked out to the gate and Eve stopped us a few meters from it, next to one of the cars we didn’t have keys for.
Eve said, ‘Right everyone, back up away from the car and when I say a name and a part of the car that person has to shoot that part. Only the people with pistols at this range, when we get outside we’ll find targets for the rifles, probably some moving ones by then.’
Eve reeled off targets for me and Andrea and after about four shots Andrea got over the initial shock and started to hit roughly where she was aiming. Eve gave me smaller targets like wing mirrors or the tyre and I did ok, but we both benefited from the pointers Eve doled out after each shot.
We gathered at the gates and could see a few Zeds coming from a large building over the road, attracted by the noise. I undid the gates and we walked through them and out into the open. Esme and Bill held their rifles up and Eve said, ‘The closer they are the more accurate you will be, most of them don’t speed up until they are about twenty feet away these days so you have some….’
Eve’s speech was stopped by the sound of a rifle shot and we all saw one of the Zed’s drop. It must have been well over a hundred feet away but it was still a head shot. Esme lowered her rifle and smiled. Eve said, ‘Or you can just engage your super sniper skill and kill them from as far away as you like.’
Bill, not to be outdone, raised his rifle and dropped another when it was a little closer and they took turns dropping the next five who came into sight. When another two came into sight from a building down the road Eve said, ‘Even if you can, don’t. There is no getting away from the fact that you will end up face to face with one at some point. All it takes is one decent hit to the head and they drop, but you have to make that first hit count. We’ve found a strong front kick to the chest works well to stagger them and makes them easier to drop. Getting the first swing on target when they have sped up a bit and are reaching for you isn’t as easy.’
Esme seemed possessed and started walking towards the nearest Zed before Eve had stopped speaking. We followed her and Eve drew a pistol in case of emergency. There were two Zeds with at least ten feet between them which was ideal. Esme didn’t hesitate and as the nearest Zed broke into a near jog she sped up herself. As they came together, rather than hitting or kicking it she dodged to the side with a sweeping movement of her arm which deflected its reaching hands. The Zed seemed to be confused at finding itself facing thin air and a moment later Esme stamped on the back of its knee bringing it to the kneel on the ground in front of her. Then with a brisk movement she buried the tyre iron in its skull.
Esme smiled, ‘Just like Taekwondo training….well sort of.’
Andrea approached the remaining Zed but her arms were shaking as it came towards her and Eve took a few steps to the side so she would have a clear shot if she needed it. Andrea shouted, ‘No!’ and lowered her weapon. Eve dropped the Zed. Andrea stood there shaking and Eve and I reached her together. We were about to speak when she stood tall and said, ‘It’s ok, well obviously it’s not, but there are plenty of things I can do to earn my keep. I can sew and cook and I’ve done some advanced first aid training. I was the first aider for the Lab. I still remember washing clothes by hand when I was young and I can…..’
Eve interrupted her, ‘It is ok Andrea, we need all those things and more. It also seems that despite her fears Esme is an unstoppable killing machine so we have another fighter amongst us. Now let’s get back to base before Esme embarrasses us all anymore.’
We walked the short distance back to the gates but before we went inside Esme said, ‘So in theory that building over there might be empty now, while we’re here why don’t we go and investigate.’
I looked at Eve who nodded. Bill said, ‘Andrea and I will go and clean up if you don’t mind.’
Eve, Esme and I walked towards the building while Bill and Andrea went inside. Despite our trips out we hadn’t done much investigation locally and it was time. For all we knew one of the local buildings was a canned food store. My hopes ran away with themselves as we got closer. There was a small plaque to the left of the open door that had a simple logo and the initials, ‘TMJ’ on it. The warehouse only had dirty high level windows so it was pretty dark inside and I admit my heart started to race.
Mutt was fearless and strolled right in. I assumed his vision was better than ours and there wasn’t any growling, so we followed him in. The warehouse was lined with wide floor to ceiling metal shelves with enough room for two forklifts between them. All the boxes on the shelves were different which was good news. A warehouse full of the same useless electronics gear wouldn’t have been much of a find.
Eve shrugged her shoulders, got out a penknife from her pocket and went over to the nearest box. Esme and I stood transfixed, imagining the possibilities. Eve cut the plastic ties and slid the knife along the top of the box. Then she opened the box slowly, obviously enjoying her control of the situation. She reached in and pulled out the box inside, as well as a load of those annoying polystyrene pellets. She turned the box over, examined it and said, ‘It’s a radio controlled car, looks like a nice one, batteries included.’
We gave ourselves half an hour to search for stuff and it looked like it was a supply depot for one of those catalogue shops. Most of what we found was pretty useless but we held onto the car, a box of decent multi-tools and a believe it or not a small chainsaw. Of course my head was immediately filled with images of mowing down hordes of Zeds with the chainsaw, but I was suspicious the reality might be somewhat more dangerous than in the games, and a lot more messy. I wondered if we’d been in America and we’d found a similar depot whether it might have boxes of guns and ammunition. I spared a moment’s thought for American survivors, that thought being, ‘You lucky bastards.’
We took our haul back to base and gathered at the seats again. Bill was showing Andrea around a van and explaining what chemicals to put in the toilet thingy. He’d found an empty one of the containers I had grabbed from the Pizza shop to put under the water outlet. Esme put down her weapons and went to join them. Eve and I sat on one of the couches.
I was pretty sure I knew and mumbled from my place pushed between her boobs, ‘Is it round?’
Eve wiggled trying to envelop me further but her t-shirt and bra were in the way. She said, ‘Good guess, and for being right you get a treat.’ She reached round, expertly undid her bra, slid her arms out of the straps and quickly removed it from under her t-shirt. Pushing me much deeper into her cleavage now she said, ‘What else can you tell me about it?’
I mumbled, ‘I can tell you that’s its round, amazingly pert and blemish free and that you would like nothing more than to get your hands on it.’
Eve groaned a familiar groan then whispered, ‘You can tell me more about it in the van if you like.’
Before I could say anything else she got off me, picking up her bra, and briskly headed for our van.’
As she passed Esme and the others who had seen the whole thing she said, ‘Brad and I were up pretty much all night so we’re going for a rest. You guys must be tired too and should probably do the same after Bill’s organised showers for you.’
I was embarrassing to walk past everyone, obviously on my way to a booty call, and I’m not sure if it made it better or worse that Andrea looked at me a roller her eyes. By the time I got to our van Eve had pulled her t-shirt off and was facing away from me and bending forwards, pushing her jeans off her shapely behind. I grabbed her hips while she was bent over and pulled her to me. When she stood up again and leant back against me I ran my hands down her waist and over her hips and said, ‘Yes its cute, and yes I wouldn’t say no, but right here right now I wouldn’t exchange what I’ve got a hold of for anyone or anything.’
