My Zombie Shelter (open to everyone)

I backed up against the little wall and felt him press against me. It was a heady feeling, the way he reached up and tucked my hair behind my ear. I blushed.

"It meant a lot to have someone close, and to feel like I was cared about, you know? I made me feel nice."

His hair was askew. I reached up and ran my hands through it, smiling at him serenely. I glanced out of the tower and noticed Mike and Max doing a lap of the compound and I grinned.

"Exercise. Good idea. I might take advantage of that lake at about three in the morning. The water would probably be good for my back." I watched as they ran out of sights absentmindedly setting my hands on Randy's chest, just like I used to do. The familiarity was eerie, but it gave me a sense of peace. I just hoped he didn't mind.
 
"It meant a lot to have someone close, and to feel like I was cared about, you know? I made me feel nice." she said as she returned the favor by running her fingers through the mop of hair atop my head.
I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation remembering another time would that would happen quite frequently. I don't think women ever figure out what that's like for guys, well for me anyway. It's one of those gestures that can be as calming as when you mother used to do it, or as sensual as a kiss. That one little act of tenderness, can smash right through the walls one has built after so much time being consumed by anger and fear.
With his ever flawless timing, Mike and Max passed below us going for a run.
"Exercise. Good idea. I might take advantage of that lake at about three in the morning. The water would probably be good for my back." she said laying her hands on my chest after they had passed.
I was thinking of another kiss, but the moment had passed, so I reverted back to the banter we shared.
"Well I will make sure to be on watch then, I will have a good vantage to the lake from here. I can stare... I mean watch over you." I said grinning and flashing her a wink.
 
"Nu-uh!" I retorted. "The whole point of 3am swims is so no one sees me!" I playfully jabbed him with my finger. "God you're moods are crazy. One minute you're trying to kill me and the next you're Mr Suave. You give me whiplash."

I rolled my eyes and looked him up and down. There was this kind of air between us, like something I couldn't explain. It wasn't hearts and flowers love, but it was a flirtation of sorts. I didn't want to let my guard down. My mind kept telling me to only trust so far, not to be a fool about it. But my body was dancing to a whole different tune. Here we were, him pressed against me, and I lowered my head, looking up at him as I leaned back on the wall, putting my hands against it to brace me. I half smiled.

"You realise that I can't move." I said in a low tone, moving my hips infinitesimally as I looked up at him.
 
"Hey, now wait just a minute!" I shouted in mock anger. "It's been several minutes since then, and I wasn't trying to kill you."
I tried to put on my most fearsome gaze, but now, after everything, I couldn't maintain. She had broken me down and I think she knew it. Now she just liked to rub it in.
She leaned back on the wall moving her hands to support herself. It was the kind of sexy pose in movies where the bad boy would come out of school and see the head cheerleader leaning on his hotrod.
I swear I could feel her press her hips tighter against me, "You realize that I can't move."
My hands were still on her hips and without thinking I pulled her pelvis even tighter to grind just a bit against mine. I returned the smile that played on her lips.
"I beg to differ, you definitely have..." before I could stop my self I leaned a bit forward and my right hand moved to the cheek of her ass. "...the right moves."
 
I tried my absolute best not to laugh. I pinched the end of my nose as he made his "right moves" cheese-line and I snorted in laughter. Dammit. I patted him on the arm.

"Oh god Randy, and you were doing so well..."

But I couldn't help feeling ... well, feeling the reason he had ground his hips against mine. I turned best root red and scooted up until I was sitting on the wall. I grinned at him. I was teasing him and I think he knew it.

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping lookout? What if there's some mad zombie ninja out there with a vendetta to kill us all and marry one of the goats, and here you are being distracted by little old me." I cocked an eyebrow and tilted my head.
 
My attempt at a full court press was an epic fail, not that I was surprised. As close as we had gotten, the reality of only knowing me for two days had to be weighing on her mind. It sucked for me, but I understood. Like I had said, it was five months before I got to kiss the woman I later married and who was carrying my first born. Patience was a strong suit of mine and although a rather rigid part of me was severely disappointed, I figured I had time to wear her down. After all, how many guys were there?
"Aren't you supposed to be keeping lookout? What if there's some mad zombie ninja out there with a vendetta to kill us all and marry one of the goats, and here you are being distracted by little old me."
God I liked this girl.
"Sweetheart, we are surround by a little over a half mile of wide open pasture field behind a twelve foot high wall. Short of some super double secret James Bond gubbment type carrying 130kg of shit with catlike reflexes, the speed of a mongoose, and a propensity for run-on sentences shows up, you can rest assured that I will protect that sweet little behind of yours."
It was obvious that things were not going to escalate between us so I sat back in the chair and picked my rifle back up. I didn't think that she was really worried, but I couldn't help but try to reassure her anyway.
"No one will ever harm a hair on your pretty little head...as long as I am around."
I put the rifle back to my shoulder to scan the edge of the woods, but then looked back to her.
"Besides, kickin your ass is my job...right?"
 
"Sure, sure," I nodded, swinging my bat over my shoulder again as he sat in the chair. Maybe he thought I was fending him off. I sucked at trying to be seductive. Always have.

When he said no one would ever hurt me as long as he was around, I blushed. He sometimes could say the sweetest things, it was a damned pity he was terrible at the initial meeting of a woman. I wondered how he had met his wife, and if they had been as happy as Joel and I were. I reckoned so. No man would kill someone for his wife unless he really loved her. As I thought about this, I looked at him. A man trying to survive and my heart stirred a little.

"Right, well, if you're playing lookout then I'm going to play farmer's wife. The animals need put away." I turned to head back down the steps, but before I did, I came up behind him, threw my arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. "Try not and get killed on me. Leading you into life-threatening peril is my job."
 
She hefted the bat back to her shoulder so I laid my cheek against the stock and peered through the reticle. She had mentioned something tending to the animals and about being the farmer's wife making me question who said farmer would be? I hadn't heard her start down the stairs but before I could turn again her arms were around my neck and I felt her lips against my cheek.
"Try not and get killed on me. Leading you into life-threatening peril is my job."
I leaned back and brought my hand to rest on hers crossed arms. I turned my head as far as I could, trying to look into those green eyes that always seems to capture me.
"Only the good die young. You are stuck with me for a while hon."
God she was pretty, would it break the mood if I tried to steal a kiss? I decided to risk it and placed a hesitant kiss at the corner of her lips.
"You need me to help you? There's nothing or no one out there that I can see. I would rather watch you run around after those chickens."
 
I thought about that for a minute. Randy and I cloistered up in the barn. It made me shiver and I pulled away.

"What if we are attacked by cat-like mongooses?" I tilted my head. "Mongooses? Mongeese?" I blinked and shook my head as I headed towards the steps. "It's up to you, sitting there like Jimmy Stewart in that Hitchcock movie..." I started my descent and swung my bat over my shoulder when I finally reached the grass.
 
I watched the sultry sway of her hips as she turned to leave.
'She's toying with me.' I thought. However, when my options are sitting here watching grass grow at thirty two times magnification, or watching the finest sugar shaker I have seen in a few years chase barnyard animals, the choice was clear.
She was already opening the door of the barn when I caught up to her.
"So, how about while you play Wild Kingdom, we get to know each other a little better?"
 
I hesitated. "Get to know each other?" I blinked at him as I stood by the door. "Shoot. What do you want to know?"

I moved past him and started coaxing the cows inside the barn. They were quite some work. Had to use the bamboo rod to get them shifted, it proved a little more troublesome than I recall doing when I was younger at my relatives' place.
 
"Anything...besides that you have an unnatural affinity for the devil bat. Like what's your favorite color and what was the last book you read, or are you Col. Markinson? Simple stuff."
She seemed to have a way with the cattle. Of course, I would go where she wanted me to if she was whipping me with a bamboo rod.
"I just thought it might be nice to know more about one another. Take my family, I am the only one who never enlisted, but still I use words like honor, code and loyalty. I use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something, while others use them as a punch line."
 
"
"I just thought it might be nice to know more about one another. Take my family, I am the only one who never enlisted, but still I use words like honor, code and loyalty. I use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something, while others use them as a punch line."

"I was 18 when I enlisted," I said rather loudly as I ran by the cow pens in a huff and pant. I circled around and stopped. I stretched while Max took an opportunity to mark a fence post. I knew I was interrupting what could very possibly be private time between them. I also knew that I had something worthwhile to contribute even though I had inadvertently eavesdropped on their conversation. (Hell, it wasn't like privacy was a factor here, anyway).

I propped up on a gate and looked out over the paddock. I took a few deep breaths, more to calm and center myself than to get my wind back. "When I was a junior in high school I had to take PE because I had had a full load of college prep courses up until then," I began, still looking out at the paddock and away from where Randy and Pan were working and standing. "The PE coach was also the head football coach. He was the type that if you didn't play football then you weren't shit. Well, I didn't play football. I didn't play anything. I mostly kept to myself and just went to school.

"One day at the end of class I was in his office with a bunch of other boys. They and he were all talking about the military and the Coach, Murray was his name, said he had been in the navy. I think he said he was a gunner's mate or machinist's mate or something. Anyway," I stopped and folded my hands on the gate and rested my chin on them, "one of the guys said something about the SEALs. When he said that I said, not to anyone really, just kinda out loud, I said, 'yeah that's what I want to do'. When I said that the coach looked right at me and said, 'you'd never make it in the SEALs, you're not strong enough.'"

I took the Camelbak water bottle off my belt and took a sip from it. I was still looking out over the field while I continued. "I went home that day and told my dad what he had said. I told my dad I wanted to be a Navy SEAL. My dad had been career navy, a retired master chief in charge of a flight deck on a carrier. He took me down to the recruiter's office and talked to the guy who gave me a pamphlet about the SEALs. It gave a basic breakdown of the training requirements. We left the recruiter's office and went straight to the YMCA where he got us a membership.

"Every afternoon after school he and I would go to the "Y" and I would swim that damn pool and run the track and do pushups and situps while he timed me and pushed me to do better," I explained. "Shit, by the time I was 18 and old enough to sign up I was pretty well cut-up. I wasn't big, but I had the body of a swimmer. I signed up and got a guarantee of being able to take the BUD/S physical fitness test at boot camp. If I passed the test I would get a slot at BUD/S. I graduated high school in June and shipped out to the Great Lakes Training Center in August of 1989.

"I passed the test at boot camp and graduation I was at the SEAL prep training. That was just more tests to see if I really was ready for BUD/S. I made it through that, then on to BUD/S. Hardest thing I've ever done. Seriously. I wouldn't go back through it again for anything in the world. After BUD/S, I got my trident on my uniform, and then went on to airborne school, and finally SQT."

I turned around with a smile on my face. "Here's the good part: I went back to my high school on leave wearing my dress blues with that trident all shiny and pretty on my left chest. Turns out, though, the football coach had taken a job at a local college. I tracked the motherfucker down. I walked into his officer and made damn sure he could see that SEAL Trident on my uniform. I told him, "Don't ever tell me I can't do something."

I took another pull from my water bottle. "I spent six years active duty, then started policing and got into training dogs. I went back in, the Navy Reserve, and did my drill as an instructor to the navy and marine security forces at King's Bay, Georgia. I got deployed right after 9/11 to Afghanistan, or as we call it, 'Trashcanistan'. I was sent to Iraq shortly after that. When I finally got home, my term was up, and I told them they could have it. They tried their damnedest to get me to re-up for another tour, promising promotions and bonuses and just about anything if I would come back to the Teams. No, hell no, Iraq and Trashcanistan did me in, I'm here to tell ya. So, I went back to policing and met a girl who I was all stupid over. She was from Washington state and had gotten a job back here with Microsoft in Seattle. I moved here with her. We didn't last long, but I stayed on anyway."

I took one more long sip from my water bottle, draining it. I gave Randy and Pan a nod, "Now you know me," I said, "just in case you were wondering."
 
It startled me a bit when I heard Mike speak. As usual it seemed these days, I was too busy talking shit to notice him coming up to us. It was nice to hear someone share something about their life before. Pan was a bit of a mystery still and me, well, I was too busy trying to get with Pan. It was great to hear about's Mike life and journey, they way he had persevered, and succeeded. After hearing about the places he had been and the things he had accomplished, I felt even better about having him here with us.
"I almost joined. Late in the spring of my junior year, my school offered the ASVAB during class. I took it just to avoid Mrs. Harlow's english class, figuring that a three hour test would be more inetersting. I scored and eighty five, which turns out was a pretty decent score. All summer I had recruiters calling and coming to the house promising me the world. I was in trade school at the time, and had earned a spot to compete in the Plymouth/AAA Troubleshooting competition. The navy said that I had a good shot at joining their nuclear power program and then when I finished my tour I could make some great money. I told him that if we didn't win, I would go to Pittsburg and take the physical. Turns out, we won at the state level and placed in the top half at nationals. I got a scholarship to the University of Northwestern Ohio, and that's where I went. Sfter that, I got a job at a local dealership then eventually ended up working in the motor pool at a local municipality.
They had a SWAT team and I got to know a bunch of them. I had bult a couple of ARs so after a while they would bring them to me and I became the defacto armourer for them. I would keep their Bushmasters running, and they would let me shoot with them.
I met Fiona in Ireland while on a golf trip and fell head of heels when I met her. She moved to the states to be with me and we started building a life. She hated guns, but she knew how important they were to me. She was the brains of our pairing without a doubt, always reading and writing. We were so different, I liked action and comedy, she like cheesy low rent horror movies by Kevin Smith, but we made it work.
When I lost her, I thought my life was over. I was a bad guy for a very long time..."
I looked at Pan
"but I'm still a work in progress."
 
As soon as Mike started to regale us with his stories, I patted my knees inviting Max to jump up so I could lavish attention on him. I listened to Mike's tale with interest. I always had liked the story of a boy-done-good, and I had a huge grin plastered on my face when he told us of his victory over the teacher, and proudly showing off his trident. I smiled at Mike. He was a nice guy, down to earth, and even though I hadn't really gotten to know him, I felt like he was decent, and really going to look after us. It was nice to have friends again, if that's what these two were. I smiled gleefully down at Max and got down onto my knees to give him proper hugs and wrestle with him. I absolutely loved dogs. It killed me that when I moved in with Joel I had to part with my gorgeous golden retriever Bruce.

I ended up sitting cross legged on the ground and every time I stopped petting Max he would nudge my arm with his head and make me pat him again.

"I thought you were ex-service," I said, nodding at the tattoo on his arm. "But I don't really know much about the forces. I was a teacher in my ... um ... Past life?” I smiled, scratching at Max's belly. "But thank you, all the same, for fighting for our freedom and stuff. Not that it really compares to the current events, you know."

Randy started telling his story, and I have to say, I enjoyed getting to know these two a little better. He was looking at me when he made his 'work in progress' comment.

"You definitely are," I retorted. "Kevin Smith makes comedies, from what I recall. Cheesy low rent horrors are Peter Jackson, prior to his Fantasy rebirth." I shook my head but smiled up at him. He made me smile, it was a nice feeling. "Well then, I guess it's my turn."

Max had lain down in front of me, his head on my knee as I lovingly ran my hands over his coat. "I went to college in Denver, studied English Literature, minor in poetry and American Literature. My family is from Colorado, so." I shrugged trying not to think about them. "Me and a few friends went to the Comic-Con in San Diego the summer we all graduated and that's where I met Joel. We met in a line for a signing for Stephen King. The bastard tried to steal my spot. He asked me out that night." I smiled. "We got married five years later, because I got pregnant, and set up home in Phoenix, it's kind of halfway between his folks and my folks. I got a job teaching in a college, my dream job. And then after we'd been married about five months or so, I had Mara." I looked down at Max. "Everything was perfect for a while, until she came home after her first day of kindergarten with a bite. That's when the world ended for me."
 
After Pan finished her story, there was a bit of a silence. I guess the three of us were all reflecting on the past and the loved ones we lost. I had never been good at sympathy, but both of us had lost a child. And thought I had never gotten to see my sweet boy's face, I loved him from the moment Fiona had told me 'I had fucked things up royaly this time.' That woman had a way with words.
I couldn't take it any longer, "Comic-Con huh? Did you wear one of those slinky Catwoman costumes, or were you a Pricess Leia type?"
She didn't have her bat, but that bamboo whip was still in her hand, so I took a small step back...just in case.
 
"Ehh, no..." I said as I whipped the bamboo rod around, swatting him on the behind. "Princess Peach from Super Mario actually. And it was only on the first day." Max's head shot up as I swept the rod back, and I set it on the ground. "No baby, you can't play fetch with that. You'd break it, and I need it for the other animals." Which reminded me, the animals. "Mike, if we were to get more animals, do you think you could train Max to herd?"

I headed out to lock the paddock the goats were in, and led one of the horses and her foal back inside the barn. The other horse was kind of afar off, grazing. I dropped the bamboo rod against the barn door and headed off in it's direction.
 
I stood there griting my teeth, bound and determined not to let her know how much that love tap on the ass had stung. She was scampering off to collect the horses, and I couldn't help but let my eyes follow her.
"I hate to see her go, but I sure do like to watch her leave." I said probably just a little to loud.
She had asked mike about training Max to be a herd dog, so I fel that I should find something to keep me occupied. I still wanted to find the fertilizer, but I just wasn't in the frame of mind. "I'll leave you guys to handle that, I'm gonna take up overwatch from the tower, maybe do a little target practice on some walkers if I see any."
I trudged back up the stairs, mind racing with thoughts of Pan, Fiona, my baby boy Ethan, and the prospects of living here for who knows how long.
 
I reached where the lone horse was, he raised his head as I walked towards him. I could get used to a life like this, just milling along every day. I looked back, Randy had disappeared and Mike was still there with Max. I figured he would probably think over more stuff to do with going out on a recon run. He seems the organised type. I ran my hand over the horse's flank and it reared its head as I started to coax it back to the barn. It stomped on the ground with its hooves and I smiled, wondering. I ran back into the barn and found a saddles which I brought out. The horse reared its head again and I started to saddle it up, tying the restraints underneath it. I was excited. I hadn't done this in a long time. I put my foot up, slid it in and hoisted myself up and over, clamping my thighs down as I stuck my other foot in the spur.

"Oh my god, boy, you are some kind of wonderful." The horse reared its head again and I patted it's neck, holding on to it's mane as I couldn't find a bridle. I waved at Mike. "Look, Mike!" I felt like I was on air. I held onto the mane again and nudged the horse with my heels, it started to canter, and I could feel myself just bouncing along as he jaunted along behind the house. I nudged him again and he started to run.

Oh! It was incredible! The feeling of the air in my face, my hair flying out behind me as we ran. He tossed his head, and jumped over a pile of chopped wood at the side of the house. He galloped down by the gate, and past, and I whipped my head around to look up at the watchtower but he was too fast. I threw my arm up and waved anyway.

We must have ridden around the compound a couple of times, the feeling of strength that I could get from this glorious beast was amazing. I felt amazing.
 
I grabbed my rifle and released the mag, tapped it on my leg to make sure the shells were all in place, then blew the dust out of it. I set the mag on my leg and pulled the charging handle slowly trying to catch the cartrige in the chamber before it went flying. A quick look in the chamber then I pushed the ejected shell into the magazine. Normally, one would slide the mag up through the well, seat it with your palm and then load it. However, like a lot of uber macho gun guys, I tap the bolt release with my palm loving that familiar sound as it slides into battery. Then and only then, I slide the magazine into place, tap, and pull the charging handle to chamber a round, hearing that delightful clashing of metal not once, but twice.
I could have said I was function testing it, but there was no one around to see me, so fuck it.

I settled into position for some recon of flies fucking or whatever I might see going on around us when I heard the galloping of hooves. I stood up to see Pan and Flicka running around the inside of the compound. Pan had a smile a mile wide and for the first time since I had met her, she looked...happy. I don't think she saw me, but she waved as she passed by and part of felt better, knowing she was having a good time.

I hate horses myself. Well, not so much horses, or even riding them, I hate the thought of me riding them. I had only been on once and that was enough. It hadn't thrown me or anything, it was just so hard to relax with something moving around undeneath you like that. Add in the fact that you are six feet off of the ground and if you do fall, you break something, been there done that. The inside of my legs hurt so bad that I swore that the only way I would feel like that again was if I went on a date with Megan Fox. As long as I had a choice, I would rather walk or drive.

I watched her for a bit more before returning to my self assigned post. God I wanted to be a saddle.
 
I rode the horse into the barn and unsaddled him, gently brushing him down. I made sure the barn was locked and bolted before I looked out over the mountains again. The sky was a little pinker, the afternoon was drawing closed. My pelvis was a little sore from the riding. It was an ache I wasn't familiar with, with every step I took. My thighs ached and I began to think maybe riding a horse wasn't a great idea for someone who hadn't had anything between her thighs in months.

I sighed and looked up at the watchtower. I felt my body tingle as I had when he had kissed me and I wondered what might happen if I went up there. I stretched my arms over my head. Damn energy build ups.
 
As I sat there, in position, ready to do what is needed a thought struck me, 'What the fuck am I doing?'

I had been up here for two damn days and hadn't seen shit. Even if I had, what would it have mattered? Some super strong, super fast, super smart, mad skill havin, no writing ability douche whistle with a half ton of gear and no reasonable way to express himself and it wouldn't matter. We had a high wall, a steel gate, and enough firepower to invade a small coastal village in Northern Ireland on hand and if you added in Pan's devil bat, we were good.

The sun was sinking into the western sky and the memories of Pan and I, on the bed upstairs, lips pressed together, were making forget that outside of these walls, hell still raged. I set my rifle down and decided that even if she weren't there to share it with me, a nap in the place where a spark of passion had ignited, would suffice
 
I was halfway up the stairs of the watchtower when I heard movement from above. I backed up against the wall, my mind racing to think up an excuse as to why I was on my way up there. My mouth was dry, my legs were tingling and my temperature was up.

Shit, woman, what the actual fuck are you doing? I took a steadying breath, my hands splayed on the wall behind me. I felt like the air was crackling and my lungs were in overdrive. I looked up the stairs as I heard footsteps, and saw Randy. I swallowed, and licked my dry lips.

"I thought I'd come and let you rest a bit. Get some food or water..." Part of me still hoped he would buy it and go. The other part wanted his lips on mine again.
 
I started down the stairs an ran into Pan on the up. She was standing there, back aginst the wall, sitting on her hands. She had this look, a mix of nervouness, and...something. I proceeded down the steps until standing in front of her. The stairway was narrow, barely enough room for me and our bodies slid across one another as I made my way to pass.

"I thought I'd come and let you rest a bit. Get some food or water..." she said sounding out of breath.

"Thanks..." I said. "I was thinking about lying down for a bit. If I am going I'm going to spy on you during your late night swim, I need some rest."
Jesus, why was I such a fucking idiot. She seeks me out, offers to take my watch, why couldn't I just be normal? Just one time!
"Uhm...there's not much going on out there. If you wanted to...what I mean is we could... it's a pretty big bed...and not that I..."
I was seconds away from putting the Kimber to my head and saving us both from struggling with my asshattery.
"I just mean...if you wanted to lie down too...we could share."
 
I took a breath and tried to ignore what was happening under my tee shirt. Star Wars had punctuation peeking out it had never had before. I was turning red as I reached up and scratched my head. "Bit cold, um..." I smiled down at the floor and lowered my hand to my side.

"You should rest though. I already dozed a bit when I was up there, I'm good to keep watch for a bit." I looked at his mouth, and sank my teeth into my lip again. My mind was doing laps of the inside of my skull. "I'll keep lookout, if your rifle's still up there. I mean, it's best." I glanced up the stairs, trying to look anywhere but at him.

...we could share...

I met his gaze, I felt like I was on fire. "We shouldn't... We should keep this, whatever this is, keep it sensible." Already I wanted to just die. What was I saying? I looked at him, my face scorched with heat, it sure as hell wasn't the only part of me that was hot, either. My breath was racing, my body would not listen to the rationale of my mind...
 
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