Survivors (Open)

[Snork Maiden]

Survivors

This is an open SRP for guys and gurls. Set on the eastern seaboard in the year 2057.

The early part of the 21st century had been a long and difficult haul for pretty much everyone in the civilized world, the struggle for identity, for political correctness, environmental awareness and all the other sound bites that had prevailed in and around the few decades in the ‘self righteous’ western world had stifled technological development and progress at the expense of profit margins and investors.

In this world driven by profit, were it was more acceptable to sell and develop weapons of mass destruction than promote welfare and humanitarian projects which had once been the pride of the mid 20th century, were now seemingly lost in the political rhetoric which drove the personal ambitions of the few powerful men running their countries. Each embarked on self motivated crusades of ‘goodness’ against ‘evil’ to save their own politically sagging careers aided by the press who deflected the real domestic issues that seriously threatened the home front away from the peoples attention.

So it was that in that stifled moment of frustration, the game of Poker once started a generation before by the misinformed, had concluded with the pride blinded boasting and bluffing of a generation that had either forgotten or misunderstood the real issues.

The bluff was called in 2048 when in a desperate attempt to salvage the economy of a once proud and righteous nation, one which had squandered resources, opportunities and lives in it relentless pursuit of the ‘truth’ and ‘freedom’; a belief for which everyone knew was a thin disguise for a totalitarian regime which even spied on it own spies in its own paranoia with control freak like psychosis.

The button pressed and the small cogs which drove the machinery of destruction slowly began to turn, smaller cogs, driving larger ones, gearing the great beast into action, its flywheels gaining inertia, picking up momentum, keeping it spinning, relentlessly on. The Curfews and propaganda designed to control the masses. Suspicion fuelled paranoia turned friends and neighbours against each other. Children informed on their parents, parents on their colleagues, and all the while the fabric of society continued to disintegrate. Petty crime, looting and burglary were common place as the food supplies dwindled. Fuel was rationed, clothes stolen from the lines. Foreign lands were bombed and raided. And then on 2051, March 3rd. a Friday afternoon that no one who would awake on the following day would ever forget it ended.

In two and half short hours, all electrically powered devices were functionless. The magnetic pulses from the numerous mega tonne bombs detonated high in the atmosphere had knocked out all satellite communications and terrestrial systems. Those that were above ground and in the cities stood no chance their ownly epitaphs the shadows etched into the sidewalks as their bodies vaporized instantly in the bright flash that had preceded.

Some had sort refuge underground, others taken to the hills to find natural caves in which to dwell. The 5 years that followed would later be referred to as the Second Dark Age. A period of barbarianism and struggles, which stripped the last vestiges of civilization from the surviors as Darwin’s Laws took on their truest meaning.

Now in the Year 2057 as the darkness that has filled the skies for 6 long years, plunging the temperature of the planet to sub zero temperatures, the Sunlight is beginning to shine through once more on the man ravaged planet called Earth, and small tribes of people who have struggled in underground caverns are immerging from the darkness, their eyes adjusting to the light as it breaks through the dark clouds……

 

[CNDPhD]

Survivor

David

Born at the dawn of the new millennium, trained by the nation that destroyed itself, turned outward to fight in the short, bloody, and meaningless actions of those international battles that had been known as the TV wars. A survivor. A natural leader. Once a warrior now something of a philosopher king, he is a man of boundless energy, drive and determination. The protection and growth of his Clan is now his life’s work. Towards that end, all means are justified. Every member of his Clan is directly indebted to him for his or her life, health, and survival. A fair man, but one of absolute authority. The Clan had survived and grown over the past six years through his constant care, and occasionally the culling of those who would not or could not fit in.

The Clan’s holding was a large limestone cavern located in what was once known as the Shenandoah valley of Virginia. Prior to that March day of 2051 it had been a commercial enterprise - Luray Cavern. Today, six years later, it was a busy warren of life, love, and the first faint blooms of something that might be recognized as hope.

On this day, in early Spring, David new it was time to begin to expand the Clan’s reach. As he sat by the small fire, he regarded his most trusted, and most respected, followers. Were they as ready for a new direction as he?

 

[Snork Maiden]

Juliet

Juliet Rosen
Age 21
Hair Raven
Height 5'8"
Weight 124lb
Build lean atheletic



It had been difficult growing up in the comminity, the early days especially. My youthfulness had proved my greatest asset, not being especially attractive but being young and female had certainly increased my chances of survival. I couldn't remember the number of owners, and I mean owners that had fought over me in the passed 6 years having been just 15 when I first stumbled into the cavern after wandering around in the wasteland above.

I had given birth three times, some of the other girls even more in the time spent below ground. The babies of course hadn't survived. The small children being a drain on the already limited supplies of food. It was gross of course at first, but morality had long since passed, it's limited reign culminating in it own devastating end, the corpses of the dead infants had been eaten by the tribe as many of the others that had passed away or had been culled. It was survival, everyone agreed. At first it had been difficult but it got easier as the hunger got more intense.

It wasn't unusual for the men to go on raiding parties in search of hermits or other small groups that could be herded as cattle for later consumption. Occasionally animals to had been found, attempts to breed them had failed and supporting them had been impossible with a lack of feed. The skins however were treasured items, clan property and shared by any who ventured out into the permanent winter landscape that existed outside the cavern complex.

Now the skies were clearing and the first rays of sun shone through the sick sky its glow eerie, a diinished reminder of it once bright, eye blinding glory .

I walked to the edge of the cavern and gazed at the handiwork of man. Bleak, barren monochome where once were green lush plantations and blue skies, and cities of white towers and sparkling glass now appeared as black ragged ruins on the horizon. The snow swirled around in dusty clouds at my feet as I made my way to the small camp fire, it warm flickering flames the only color in this depressing grey world.

 

[Lyonhart]

The Wandering Swordsman

Eric Drake
Age: 30
Eyes: Brown
Hair: Dark Red
Height: 6' 4"
Weight: 180lbs
Build: Tall thin and muscular

Eric was a Web Designer before the war. He was good at his job, he lived well, he supported his family...and on the weekends he participated in a medieval reenactment group. He Learned to live in a primitive fashion and to fight, it was his hobby...Now it's his life.

Eric had taken off work early that fateful Friday, and was on his way to a weekend event in the mountains when the bombs fell. His family was caught at school and work. When it became clear that something had happened, that the world was dead, he Mourned his family and the life he'd lost with a marker on the side of the road, and wondered. Avoiding the radioactive remains of the cites. Selling his services as a Swordsman and General Medieval handyman for gas and food. His Restored Chevy Nova eventually gave up the ghost, but when it did he replaced it's engine with a team of horses, and moved on.

Eric is skilled with sword, spear, and crossbow (and can build you a new one with time and salvaged parts). He is a passable carpenter and tailor (and can even weave wool, very badly). He wears, a worn medieval style tunic and trousers, equally worn boots, and thick leather armor.

P.S I saw Bullets having been used up fairly quickly, many of the sorces there of having been destroyed with the cities, and the rest haveing been shot at other people and or food. I imagened that there would of course be those that horded them, but when you need to feed a tribe of 50 the guns run out of ammo fast...

 

[ariosto]

Julian Steele...Procurer


He lay quietly in the snow watching the girl sitting by the fire.
The lens on one side of the binoculars was cracked but he could still see well enough through the other.

"Do we take her now?"

Julian turned a scarred face to his companion and shook his head, putting a finger to his lips.

"Quiet," he said under his breath...
"Not yet...go and check on the others."

The big man nodded and crawled away while Steele went back to looking at the woman in the mouth of the cave.
She'd be a hell of a prize, worth much more than the two they'd taken this morning; a skinny frightened girl who was years away from a period and a much older woman...an attractive woman, who seemed mute. Both no doubt were from this band and would be missed soon.

He knew they were secured well, but sometimes the constant presence of Cal Sutter got to him. The man, the boy really, was totally devoted, had been his student before the War in fact, but sometimes Julian lost patience with his cloying servility.

I had a little shadow that went in and out with me...and everywhere my shadow went....

Voices interupted his reverie.
Two men were standing with the girl, speaking loudly and gesturing in his direction.
He froze and slowly brought the gun up, sighting down the double barrels towards the cave mouth.
Sweet, sweet weapon, he pressed his lips to the cold metal...
It took more than a nuclear war to kill your basic shotgun.
He had four of them and made his own ammunition...not much good at this range though...

They were gone!...the dark mouth of the cave was an empty black hole in the snow.
He lay on his back letting the big fat flakes fall on his face
and smiled for the ten thousandth time at the paradox of his life.
Doctor Julian Steele, Albright Professor of Social History at William and Mary had become the most efficiant procurer of female 'assets' in what had once been the state of Virginia.

YOU WANT THEM...I'LL GET THEM FOR YOU!,
was his motto.
Right now he was operating at the behest of the Committee To Resurrect Virginia...what ever the fuck that meant.

 

[lienm]

.

 

[CNDPhD]

David

Sitting close to the fire, David looked up. Silhouetted against the cave entrance some one hundred feet away was Juliet. Damn, would the girl never learn? He had said, at least a thousand times, to stay away from the entrance to the cave system. Setting his cup of water aside, he motioned to one of the nearby men to come with him. Working their way quickly but silently up the stairway installed long ago by the owners of the cave, David keep his eyes locked on the tall, willowy girl. Her long dark hair caught the wind and flowed back off her shoulders. Shaking his head, he could still see the small, scared, little girl he had found huddled in the cellar of a ramshackle farm house. The years had been hard on her. No one should be forced to grow up in the chaotic environment of the Clan. Despite his efforts to protect her, he knew she had suffered at times. Two of the men who treated her especially bad would never touch her again. David had taken care of those two personally.

Currently unattached, David knew the young woman was now a respected member of the Clan. Her dedication to survival, her iron will, made her one of David’s favorites. Despite the great difference in their ages, he was drawn to this mysterious, quiet woman.

As David and Tommy reached the cave opening, a reflection of light caught David’s eye. It was a good quarter of a mile from the cave, but without question it was the reflection of the breaking sunlight off something man made. Knowing nothing good could exit in the white hell outside the cave, David drug Juliet down and silently flashed commands to Tommy. The boy scampered down the stairs and would raise the alarm. Long training had made this reaction automatic. David knew, with complete confidence, the Clan would be armed and ready in less than a minute.

Feeling Juliet’s slim, strong body squirming under him, David softly clamped his large hand over her mouth and pulled his 9mm sidearm. Eyes flashing over the white landscape spread before him, he slowly pulled the girl and himself back from the cave mouth.

Looking into her dark eyes, he whispered in her ear to lay still and be quiet. Taking his hand away to support his forearm, he slowly swung the pistol from side to side. Glancing down at her again, he reacted as he always did to intense situations, a mix of professional calm and raging passion. Dipping his head for a moment, he kissed the woman full on the mouth.

 

[Snork Maiden]

As I turned to head back to the safety of the cave with it's relative warmth and shelter, I paused momentarily. I had a feeling that caused my neck hairs to raise. I turned once more to look out from the cave entrance. I had the sensation that I was being watched, yet I could see no visible traces of any animal.

Having spent so many years in darkness and dim lighting, my hearing and persceptual cognition had heightened, perhaps a remanant of our ancestors rekindled by dwelling as they had.

I peered again into the blizzard that was raging outside the cave. The soft white flecks of snow drifted and landed on my face melting into tiny droplets on my cheeck as my eyes scanned the snow covered rocky outcrops. I searched for the tell tale vapor of breath made visible in the winter chill that many inexperienced marauders failed to mask by breathing nasally or exhaling through a cloth.

I was certain there was something out there but my eyes were blinded by the snow and wind.

David's hand covered my mouth as he pulled me backwards. I hadn't even heard him approach such had been my concentration on the snow covered landscape, "mmmmmmphh mmmphh" My muffled complaints sounded from the cupped palm over my mouth.

He glanced about nervously, his trained eyes like those of a snowy owl seeking an invisible prey. He pushed me back inside the cave entrance towards the fire. Removing his hand and looking at me with gentle eyes but with an look of annoyance on his face, he pushed me towards the floor indicating I should keep low.

I complied falling softly to my knees and watched him intently as again he peered from the cave across the snow covered landscape. His hand was unfastening his pistol holster and his fingers curled around the hand grip and trigger.

He turned again to look at me, bending forward and kissing me hard and passionately before beckoning to Tommy to keep close to him as they ventured forward from the cave entrance. David's hand waving low indicating I should keep down as he moved foward.

 

[papillon24]

Tanya

I heard the sounds of the alarm as it roused me from my sleep. It was my duty to protect the clan that had taken me in a few years ago. Now here I stand at 24 and 6'0" as a protector of these people.

My tall lean body had become a major asset in my surval in these harsh years after the darkness fell. In those years I had become a rouge warrior protecting others in exchange for a bit of shelter and food. This clan was the one that actually took me in in my worst years and I have devoted my life to protecting thier future.

Quickly I pull my long auburn hair back and rush to find David.

"David I heard the alarm, what's the situation and where am I needed?" I questioned huridly as I glanced to Julliet.

 

[Snork Maiden]

I looked around startled at the sudden sound of the horns.
"Hey Dave, Tommy someone's sounded the alarm", I rose to my feet and edged to the entrance of the cave watching the two men as they paused to look back as the sound resounded from the cave entrance.

Tanya had appeared, her reactions swift as always at the sound of the alarms. "Hey Tanya," I looked at the woman surprised as she rushed forward. "I'm not sure what's happening, I think David saw something in the snow and he's gone out with Tommy to investigate."

The unseen watcher who up until now could have only speculated as to whether he had been spotted could be certain now that something was afoot, had he been spotted or had something else happened to cause the alarm to be raised.

Grabbing a burning stick from the fire for a torch I kicked snow onto the camp fire to dowse its flames. Fire was to valuable a weapon to leave unguarded should we have to make a rushed retreat back into the caves and beyond to the fortress gate which had been built deep inside the caverns as a barrier and Keep.

 

[CNDPhD]

With building anger, David glanced quickly from side to side.

"Everyone get down, and get quiet.. Now!" he said firmly but quietly.

"I know someone is out there.. most likely more than one someone."

David new every inch of ground for ten miles in any direction from the cave, and had a good sense of the land for another ten. Over the past several years, as snow accumulation and the decline of fuel sources inhibited anything but foot travel, this had become an increasingly essential set of data.

Who ever they were out there were good. They had made it in as close to the Clan as anyone ever had before. With a small shiver, he thought about what that must mean for the pickets he had carefully placed the night before. Most likely they were either dead, or in the cases of the women, captured.

"At this point, we have an open field of fire, and since they have not hit us yet, it must be that they do not have weapons that can reach us here with any accuracy. So... we play the waiting game. Tommy, get down the hole and bring my 30-30 and a bandalior of ammo. Tanya, here take my pistol. Juliet stay close to my side, I want us to move to the other side of the cave opening, there is a better view down to the south from there."

As everyone moved slowly and quietly in response to David's orders he cursed his failure to bring his white cloak up the stairs with him.

Turning to the slim woman next to him, David whispered as he scanned the open field to the south. "Who ever that was, if they have half a brain, which I am sure they do, has now moved up the hill to the left and is on the hill behind the cave opening. I want you to sit with your back to me, and keep an eye on the skyline along the ridge. Sitting like that will help hold heat, what the hell were you doing out here without a coat?"

David could feel her move to his back. He could feel the strength of her shoulders and flanks as she pressed back to him.

Another day, another battle, and most likely at least one more death.

 

[papillon24]

Tanya

I caught his pistol in mid air as he flung it to me. Quickly I crept to the otherside of the opening and flun myself to the side of the cave.

"Who the hell let their gaurd down to let an inturder withing a mile of the compund?" called to David as I scanned the area for the intruder.

"Let us just hope that none of them are armed. I'm not losing anyong today and that is a promise."

 

[ariosto]

Something was wrong. He'd watched people coming and going all day and now...nothing. The cave was an empty hole in the world, another empty hole.

Slowly, holding the precious gun on his belly he slithered back down the hill on his backand into the maze like nest of broken trees and limbs that hid the van.

The ancient vehicle was camouflaged in streaks of dirty white and black. Cal had tinkered with it till it could burn anything from kerosene to moonshine. Small stocks of fossil fuels could still be ferreted out here and there. It was tires that were the nightmare...keeping something on the rims.
By the time the bombs fell, combustion engines were a thing of the past and transportation rode the smooth silent currents of batteries and even the new Power Grid Projection Systems, PGP's
available near the larger cities.
The ruins of that system now lay under a dozen feet of snow and ash.
The Van wasn't pretty but it was home.
He reached up and opened the door.

The girl, the young one was on her knees sucking Cal's thick cock.
Her breasts trembled, they were hardly formed, her eyes were shut tight with terror, tears ran from them and fell on her thin, bony shoulders.

"GODDAMIT!...get away from her!"
He cuffed Sutter aside and picked the girl up, pushing her against the other woman, the silent one who only stared at them, her face devoid of anything at all.

"Christ!...take that one if you want to fuck. The kid is too young."

He thought briefly about giving her back to the people in the cavern and heading back to the Committee with just the one. But he had a reputation to uphold and besides he wanted the bitch he'd been watching.
He had to have her.
It was a point of honor.
He threw himself into the drivers seat and began to formulate a plan.

 

[Snork Maiden]

His words lashed my ears, his annoyance and anger was apparent from the white tip of his nose. His nose always drained of color when he was enraged. I looked down at my feet sheepishly as I took my chastisement. Indeed it had been a foolish thing to do, so often we were warned not to venture out of the caves for fear of raiders or worse.

I trapsed along behind him as we edged to the south side of the cave, following closely to his words of instruction as he hissed them out at me. I felt throughly miserable, I had only wanted to see the glow of the sun in the skies. For so long I had longed to see and feel it's warmth. I had almost forgotten what it looked like. Now I had jeopardized the safety of the Clan.

"Another Life...", his words emphasized and engraved themselves in my mind as I watch Tanya steal around to the ridge, the pistol cocked and held firmly in both hands as she steadied it ready to react and loose a bullet at the slightess of movements.

"I.. I.. I'm sorry David I just wanted too..., I caught my words and I sank down pressing my back to his as instructed eyeing the skyline of the ridge, "Why does he bother with me so" I wondered to myself as I watched Tanya moving skillfully across the snow. How I envied her, her boldness and natural leadership, her beauty."When he should be with her", my thought continued.

We sat back to back watching, waiting for a sign or movement, the wind howled as it gathered momentum and the snow flurries became more intense. I shivered, hugging my shoulder and drawing my knees up waiting for Tommy to return with the weapons and ammo David had requested.

 

[airborne92]

Sven Lone Eagle

Age: 35
Height: 5'11"
Weight:165 lbs.
Hair: black
Eyes: blue

Sven is half swedish and half Iroquois indian. He wears his old fatigues usually, but has started adding animal hides as part of what he wears. He spent 4 years in the Army when he graduated from high school. He had be trained as a Cavalry Scout. After the Army he had trained and worked as a blacksmith. He had become quite good at that trade and then the world had ended while he was on a hunting trip on the reservation in upstate New York.

Now six years later, he was a handyman, trapper, scout, mercenary, and a loner. This was partly by choice, partly due to the fact that not many people had survived the destruction of the world. He was one of only a few people that still had firearms. Normally he used the flintlock Pennsylvania rifle he had been using while hunting, he also had a M1911A1 .45cal pistol and 500 rounds of ammunition, a FN-FAL and 2000 rounds of ammunition. He also carried a hunting knife, and a throwing axe. He preferred the flintlock, since he could make his own gunpowder and mold his own bullets, usually from fishing weights or tire weights.

It had been six years since the war had ended life as anyone had known it. He had wandered from place to place, trading and doing odd jobs as he travelled for food and any supplies he needed. That spring day he saw the first rays of sunsshine and blue sky in six years. He wasn't sure where he was exactly, but he knew he was south of what had been Washington D.C. Hopefully he could find a group that would take him in, none of the others he had met had been willing to do that.

IC

I had just crested a ridge late in the morning and saw what I guessed to be the Shenandoah Valley in what was once Virginia. There was no sign of any life down there, but the Valley was very large. I decided to head down the valley and see if there was a group hiding in here somewhere.

 

[Quintissa]

Mina Beauclair
Age: 20
Height: 5'6"
Weight: 120 lbs
Hair: Brunette
Eyes: Green


She had skipped school the day it all happened staying home on the farm and playing in the basement where her "paranoid" father kept his supply of food, water and ammunition. For the first few months she had eaten the military rations in the basement and hadnt even wandered outside. Shortly after that she realized they wouldnt last forever and had taken to eating the livestock. There had only been one other human being to come near the farm and she had shot him and fed him to the remaining hogs when he tried to rape her. She had her dad's old John Deer in the barn and several large tanks of diesel but never had any inclination to leave the safety of the farm but the year before the cattle had been taken by something and the hogs had gone sterile so food was running low.

 

[ariosto]

"Let's forget about that girl, Professor. We can go back to that farm we passed on the way here.
There was smoke from the chimney and I swear I saw a woman's dress on a clothesline."
Cal had forgotten the girl and the grim silent woman quite frankly scared him.

"Don't call me that!...that was another life. It's all gone."

Julian thought for a minute, there was merit in Sutter's idea.
The farm was vulnerable, much more so than the cave...
Even if it was well defended, maybe they had something to barter, something these trogladytes could use.

The plan suddenly crystalized.

"Boy, I think you may have a plan afterall...yes let's take a look at that farm shall we."

Cal gestured at their two captives with his shotgun.
"What about them...they ain't worth saving are they?"

Steele sighed,
"Aren't...They aren't worth saving.
But they are. Anything with a pussy is worth saving these days my boy...anything."


************************************************

The impossible looking vehicle emitted choking black fumes and looked like it was running with different sized tires on every wheel...which it was.
It was painted white and black where it wasn't covered with mud and on the side facing the house a crudly hand painted sign announced in big red letters...

Joe Dale...Scavenger Etraordinary!
I Have What You Need!

Mina looked at it from behind the curtain for a very long time.
A stooped man with a long beard had gotten out and set up a table at the end of the driveway by the long empty snow filled road. He was putting things on the table...working silently.
No one had driven on that old country lane in a very long time.
She held the rifle in her hand, she'd chambered one of the precious rounds when he'd first driven up...actually had taken a bead on him...and then he'd started setting up his display.
She was curious...

"HELLO THE FARM HOUSE!"
He yelled,
"I MEAN NO HARM...I"M A MERCHANT...A COLLECTOR.
I HAVE THINGS TO TRADE...THINGS THAT WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER...THINGS YOU HAVN'T SEEN IN TEN YEARS!!"

 

[Snork Maiden]

We sat there watching... waiting..., my eyes scoured the edge of the ridge peering into the gloom, the hazy glow from the sun illuminated the landscape with an errie dark reddish brown as it filtered through the atomic dust which had been thrown up into the atmosphere triggering this permanent winter that had devastated first the plant life and then the animals.

"I don't see anything up there David, I spoke quietly, cautiously, hoping his temper had subsided. Across from us Tanya was circling back being cautious not to venture to far from the cave entrance, her own sorties to discover any hidden sniper or marauder seemingly as fruitless as our own.

The sound rapid foot full echoed up from the cavern as Tommy reappeared carrying the Winchester 30-30 hunting rifle in one hand, the item that David had requested and a belt of ammo slung over his shoulder. Keeping low he scooted over and handed the rifle to David. I smiled at him as he settled on his stomach nearby with his own rifle sweeping from side to side as he peered through the sights of the weapon.

"I really don't think there is anyone about Dave" I reiterated huddling closer and blowing into my cold hands, rubbing them together hoping the friction would help the circulation. I pressed myself closer to him his strong back felt reassuring. Once more I huddled in the cold winter chill and shivered..

 

[CNDPhD]

David

David silently took the weapon from Tommy and signaled for him to return to the cave entrance. Moving slowly, he settled into a prone position behind a small snow bank that covered the remains of what once had been the ticket booth for the commercial cave. Trying hard to remain focused on the fact that there was at least one intruder in the area, David did not respond to Juliet’s comments. He was, however, please she was keeping a watch on the ridge.

Damn it was cold, if anything the hint of sunshine breaking through the gray clouds made it seem even colder than the perpetual gloom that had covered the world for years. Keeping his eyes moving over the sweep of land falling away from the cave entrance, across the old parking lot, down to where the highway once was. All covered in nearly ten feet of snow. At the edge of his vision, he could make out the line of broken trunks of the trees that once lined a small stream. Damn it! He thought, we are either going to have to get back inside or start a search.

David could feel Juliet moving behind him, and was surprised when he felt her lay down next to, almost on top, of him. With a short intake of breath, his body stiffened slightly. This young woman was the only thing that could distract him from the military training that was still, after all these years, second nature to him. He could feel the warmth of her body next to him, he could feel her warm damp breath blowing softly against his left ear. Her right leg was between his, her long slim thigh pressing between his, she was almost grinding herself against him trying to stay warm.

Turning his head, he looked into her eyes, “its ok, baby-girl, I think the bad guy took off, must have been all the shouting and horn blowing from inside…” he almost chuckled. He could see how tense she was, afraid… afraid of his anger, afraid of his reaction to her mistake.

Leaning closer, he brushed her forehead with his lips. “Don’t worry, everything is ok. Let’s get back inside. We can leave Tommy and Tonya out here for a while to stand guard. After we warm up, we will go back out and have a look around. If the wind doesn’t get up, we should be able to find some tracks.”

The worry lines around her youthful face eased, that dazzlingly bright liquid light of life returned to her eyes. She almost smiled.

David tilted his head slightly, and their lips met. Her thin, firm lips, dry, slightly chapped, parted, accepting his tongue. Drawing it in. He let it graze over her teeth, and then she sucked lightly, pulling more into her mouth. Damn the girl did know how to kiss.

After a moment, their lips parted and the slowly stood up. He could feel the hardness of his excitement press against his jeans, how could one kiss from this woman-child do this to him? He took her hand, and they walked back to the cave.

 

[susan__32]

Monica

She was scared. As scared as she had ever been in her miserable second life. Before Armageddon rained death and chaos from the sky, everything had been perfect. Now, every moment was a living hell. Even her dreams were filled with the vividness of each experience, more awful than the last.

But she was scared. For herself, of course, but also for Jenny.

Monica was 38, or was it 39? She could not remember. There were still seasons, but in a white world, what difference did it make how long the night lasted. It snowed more in what they had once called summer. During the long dark time of winter, it was too cold for much snow to fall. Now, with spring coming, it was snowing again.

With long blonde hair, and green eyes. She still maintained a hint of the allure she once had. Her body was full, and kept softer than most because the men would allow her extra food, since no one wanted a bony pleasure slave. Her large breasts swayed as she moved slightly to allow some blood to flow to her bound hands.

They had left the night before. The older woman, trying to protect a young girl she hardly knew. Monica was both an outcast, and one of the most desired members of the Clan. She had no skills useful for survival. She was neither a warrior nor a craftsperson. But she was kept alive. Guarded closely, in fact, because she had come to be the Clan’s best pleasure slave. In the weeks after the end of the world, she had been found by a group of young thugs. They had broken into her home in what once was one of the most posh suburbs of Richmond. Taken from the shell of her former home, she had learned quickly that there was only one way she would continue to live. The inner city thugs had been killed by group of half-crazed rednecks. And during the brutal hours after, one of the men had crushed her voice box. Rendered mute, she had become even more valuable. Now no one had to listen to her cry. The constant abuse, the transition from socialite to slave, had broken her as completely as the men, drunk on whiskey, had shattered her vocal cords. Now, she could no longer tell the difference between the moments of sanity and the constant haunting fear that filled her.

Over the years, she had passed from group to group. Treated as the spoils of war, she always went with the strongest. A year or so ago she had been taken by the Clan after a small battle with the two men who had held her for a year or more. While she was treated better by David and the other members of the Clan than she ever had before, she was still a pleasure slave. Or at least she had been. She might not live through this day.

Huddled in the corner of the van, she hugged her knees to her and tried not to watch what was happening. She had taken Jenny from the cave last night to protect her from one of the young men. She was far too young to be introduced to what would one day be her role in the world. But that plan, like everything Monica tried to do, went wrong.

They had been found, and captured by two men, a middle aged man with death in his eyes, and a young, very muscular man in his early 20s. They had been bound and left for several hours at daybreak, and only a few minutes ago the larger, younger man, had returned.

As soon as he opened the van door, she knew there would be trouble. she tried to put herself between him and the young girl, to offer what had been taken so many times before. Cal, his name was, this massive, foul-mouthed man had not wanted her. Instead, he roughly pushed her aside and began to assault Jenny.

Monica’s eyes went wide, she sucked in her breath silently, when Cal opened his coveralls and exposed his manhood. Only half hard, it was the largest penis she had ever seen. Thick, and long, with two heavy balls hanging from below it. She could smell the sweet musky scent of the man’s sweat. God don’t use that on the girl, Monica thought, trying to get his attention. His hardness was dangling in front of the girl as the other man, Professor, the kid called him, pulled the door open and started yelling.

In moments the boy stuffed his tool back in his coveralls, giving Monica an evil glare and the van started.

For the once proud wife of a state senator, this day would prove to be just another in a long series of nightmares.

 

[Quintissa]

She decided to be cautious no matter what the stranger said and slung the rifle over her shoulder before jogging into the kitchen to pull down the 10 guage shotgun and loading her last 4 slugs into it. She cautiously stepped outside towards the strange man keeping the shotgun aimed at his chest the whole time. Once she got within 30 feet of him she stopped and lowered the shotgun to her hip still keeping it aimed at him. "What could you possibly have to keep me from shooting you?"

 

[airborne92]

Sven

I put away my flintlock rifle as I made my way into the valley. No sense in giving away my position with a big puff of smoke. I got out the FAL as I continued into the valley. I could smell smoke in the distance. That meant that there was at least one person in the valley. I could use some more supplies. I made my way further into the valley, staying just inside the tree line.

'How friendly are the inhabitants of this valley?' I thought as I made my way through the trees. 'Is there more than one person here? Are there several groups here?' were more of the questions running through my mind as I cautiously advanced further into the valley.

 

[Snork Maiden]

Juliet

I huddled close to the man that had rescued me so many years earlier as he steadied his rifle and panned the area in front of the cave using the remains of the kiosk that had once received the queues of tourists, for cover. The faded lettering
‘Luray Caverns
Admission
Adults $4.50
Children $2.00

‘Step back to the dawn of Man’ the faded letters read

”How ironic that the dwelling place of the Dawn of Man had now turned full Circle to the ‘Eve of Man’, I thought to myself

In just less than one hundred and fifty minutes Man with all his wisdom, all his experience had undone fifteen thousand years of evolution and advancement. The technology and knowledge with which he had arrogantly measured his own progress had turned and bitten him fairly and squarely on the arse.

I watched David as he continued to scour the landscape for traces of an intruder and snuggled closer to him for warmth. He turned as I moved against him and smiled. It was a smile that warmed me far greater than the heat from his body, it was a smile of companionship, of understanding and compassion. A smile of forgiveness. My own face creased as my dry lips formed a returning crescent, dimples forming in my cheeks. I moved my head slightly towards his. He met me with an equal response and our lips collided my own instantly parting as I welcomed the probing his warm sweet moist tongue in my mouth.

I sucked on his tongue savoring his taste flicking and curling my own tongue over his across the front of his smooth pearly teeth before allowing it to retreat once more into my own dark cavern dragging his tongue with it.

Our mouths parted and we gasped in unison, exhaling our breaths in white clouds of vapour which mingled and swirled in chilled wintery air, slowly dissipating as the wind swept them away.

David edged back from the kiosk and rose to his knees helping up as he did so. Standing together he wrapped his strong arms around my body indicating we should return to the safety of the caves whilst Tommy and Tanya remained on sentry. I could feel the delightful hardness of his arousal as he hugged me it’s firmness pressing against my upper thigh. I smiled up at him and pressed my hand down over the swelling feeling it strain inside his pants, the thought of naked bodies under warm furs filled my head. It was a pleasant thought.

 

[ariosto]

He didn't seem quite so old up close maybe a wellworn fifty or sixty.
His beard was ragged and unkempt but his clothes were clean and looked almost...new!.
Impossible she thought...new clothes?

He smiled at her and opened several of the boxes on the table.

"I rekin you ken shoot me ma'am...if you've a mind too. Though it could be a loss to you and the other folks in the valley, seein's how I'm close as you'll come to a department store!"
He chuckled and pushed a box towards her.

Dresses!...Rose reds, saffron yellows, sky blues!
She hadn't seen such things since she was a girl.
She reached out and touched the soft cool cloth, thinking how nice it would feel against her skin.
He made a sudden move and she whipped the shotgun up, jacking back the hammer.

"NO WAIT!"
His hands shot up in the air.
"I was gonna show you whats in that little box...that's all."

She eyed it suspiciously. It was locked.
"What's in it?"

"Put the dang gun down an I'll show ya."
She lowered the gun and nodded..."Go ahead"

"It's somethin' you'll need more than dresses I'll lay odds."
Taking a key from around his neck, he opened the cover.

Shotgun shells!
At least a hundred of them.
Mina's eyes went wide at the sight of the red, yellow, green tubes, at the shining brass.

"10 gauge is pretty damn rare but I think I got some in there, here take a look..."
She laid the gun on the table and began to sort through the
box.

"How much...I mean what do you want for these..."
Her answer was a sharp blow to the temple, delivered with the practiced ease of a man who'd done it many times before.
Mina dropped to the ground, momentarily senseless.
Julian pulled off the fake beard and bent over her smiling...a real good catch...yes indeed.

"CAL! Get out here and get her in the van, I'm going up to the house and see what we can find."

 

[Quintissa]

She felt the blow to her temple and then she was on the ground she did her best to regain her senses. Trying to be discreet she reached behind her and unsnapped the sheath to the knife she was carrying being sure not to let the men know she had any of her sense.

A larger younger man emerged from the van and yanked her up from the ground only to find the blade of a very sharp knife barely poking into the flesh just below his sternum.

Mina used her other hand to pick up her shotgun and lead the man called Cal into the van while the other was inside her house. Once inside she noticed that there were two other women in the van or more precisely another woman and a girl. Mina handed the shotgun to the older of the two telling her to keep it pointed at Cal's chest. She slung the rifle off her shoulder closing the door of the van enough that the other man wouldnt be able to see in and took sight on the front door of her house waiting for him to pop out.