"We Do What We Do" (A Post-Apocalypse RP)

[DM2015]

"We Do What We Do"

(A Post-Apocalypse RP)

OOC Thread​

"We do what we do."

Brett Tyner looked from left to right, then back again, taking a moment to meet the gaze of each of his five traveling partners. They were, as his father would have called them, a mixed bag of nuts: males and females, former military and civilian, unapologetic killers and reluctant survivalists. There were really only two things they each had in common: a need to survive, and a need for each other.

"We do what we do," Brett went on, reaching for the AK-47 leaning against the dying pine tree. "To survive. It's an ugly world full of ugly people--"

"We're not--"

Brett looked to one of the other three males, who'd gone quiet when he realized that he didn't truly know what he'd wanted to say. Lee Kim dropped his gaze to the ground for a long moment, then looked up and continued softly, "If we raid this camp, doesn't that just make us ugly?"

Brett didn't immediately respond. He liked Kim. The two of them had been in the Army together when the Collapse came. Of course, Brett had been an eight year veteran with two tours and three dozen kills while Kim had barely been out of Advanced Training.

"We need supplies," a third man cut in, his words forceful and confident. "We're almost out of ammo, and between us--" He lifted his rifle, which was beginning to look very sad. He continued, "--we've got four working weapons and maybe a hundred rounds, half of which are for inop' weapons."

Brett was conflicted about Victor Green's input. He couldn't tell whether the man was supporting his decision to raid the encampment in the canyon below them or simply criticizing Brett for allowing the group's situation to get to where it was now. They were a day from being out of food, and even a starving, feral dog would likely turn up its nose at what food they had. They were, as Vic had said with a venomous tone and harsh stare at Brett, almost out of ammunition and sporting weapons that were almost as dangerous to those shooting them as to those at which they were being shot.

Vic was a new addition to the troop, a cousin to one of the other veterans. Brett had only allowed him to join them on their trek across the Montana waste land because of that blood connection. It was a decision he now regretted. Vic hadn't been shy about criticizing Brett's leadership. Brett was actually rather surprised that Vic hadn't put a bullet in the back of his head sometime during the last three weeks that he'd been with them.

"I say we do," Vic said, looking around to the others. "We need what they got."

Brett waited to see if there were any reactions to Vic's support. He looked to the last of the males -- Julio Ramirez -- and then to the two females of the group, his sister Brantley and Jade Short. "You don't have to partake if you don't want. I know there are some reservations about attacking people who have not attacked us first."

In their year on the road together, the five -- and now six -- had never taken an offensive action against a group of people as Brett was suggesting now. They had always acted in defense only. Of course, because it was a kill or be killed world, the punishment for attacking Brett's group was usually severe. It wasn't uncommon for them to kill everyone with a weapon and steal everything of value, justifying it with variations of "Well, you should have left alone, huh?

"But these people," Brett went on. "They got what they got by raiding that little town we passed through. You saw the dead bodies. You saw the burned buildings." He hesitated, then looked right to the two women sitting side by side on the far side of the little fire over which was roasting a skinny little rabbit corpse. He said with a feigned tone of concern, "You saw the raped women. Attacking these people... Maybe they didn't attack us. Maybe they didn't steal from us. But they did attack those poor, defenseless people in that little town ... raping, murdering, stealing. They deserve to lose every thing they took ... and every thing they have or had ... including their lives."

He let his argument die there.

"I'm in," Vic said quickly, and not surprisingly.

After a moment, Kim spoke up, "I'm with you Brett. You know I am."

Julio was a bit more hesitant. He'd never liked killing, even in self defense. In fact, Brett couldn't be certain that the man had ever killed a Road Raider or other enemy. Oh sure, he'd pulled the trigger enough times, but Brett couldn't honestly say that any of the rounds the young man had fired ever hit their target. But eventually Julio nodded to Brett and said, "I agree. If they attacked those people ... they should be punished."

Brett looked to the two women. "In or out?"

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley Tyner sat still, quiet, as she listened to the men talk about their future. Their future. It was an unsettling conversation. It was a conversation that hinted that they might not have any future after tomorrow. She listened to her brother, nearly forcing the group to do something they had not ever done before, and she thought about just how far they had fallen. Not five years ago, she had been seventeen, a junior in high school, a track athlete in their mid-size town in the plains of Montana, spending her days in class daydreaming of boys and where she might go to college, and wondering if her grades would be good enough to get her there at all, while she spent her nights watching television or going to a football game to watch the boys at school do what they did. She had been a normal girl for the most part. They had all been rather normal, never suspecting the way it would all end and then what would come once the end had passed. Now, she couldn't believe what was being discussed. Or who it was discussing it.

"We do what we do," Her brother said. She said nothing. They had never killed. They had, but never as an offensive. Never to take something, but only to defend. Some form of frontier honor had been borne out of the collapse, held together within their small group, though such honor was always tentative and uncertain. And now, it was her own brother who was urging they take a whole new turn toward a very dark place. She wasn't sure what to say. She wasn't confident enough to say anything. She just listened. It was, indeed, an ugly world of ugly people. Brett was becoming uglier. She didn't like it. She didn't like what it could mean. She didn't like what it might mean for her alone, even if he was right.

Her relationship with him was volatile. Growing up, he had been her protector. He had been something of her hero. Then, as the collapse came, she found herself in a precarious, even dangerous position, and he had protected her, rescued her, once more. However, the price had been high and this time there had been repercussions that lasted to this day. He could be kind, yet he could be so cruel. And though he had always been her brother, he would always be the embodiment of man, with all that entailed. She shivered silently as she let her own mind roam to the dark recesses where she kept to herself the things he had done and the things she feared he might as he became more callus and cruel. She had seen hints of it before. She had been the victim of it before, though victim perhaps was not an adequate term. She knew he had their best interests in mind. He had taken them this far, kept them alive this long, and she could not help but feel she owed him anything he demanded. And so she always provided when the demand came. She tuned out the conversation, knowing she would do what he recommended this time too. It was not until there was a long silence in the men's discussion that she came to her senses. And it was then that her brother addressed her and the woman to her left.

"You don't have to partake if you don't want," he said. "I know there are some reservations about attacking people who have not attacked us first." She looked at Jade, who looked back at her. Jade's gaze was not for any reassurance, she knew. The older girl was very ready for the mission. She had an angry streak in her that made Brantley uneasy. And she knew Jade was directed at her to see if the younger of the two women, the little sister of the group's de facto leader, would cave and cower at the camp, weakening them and trembling in fear while they fought for what they needed.

Brantley didn't like the death. Rationally, she knew that nobody did. Occasionally, Brett, or others, had to mete out justice, when they were attacked or robbed. Once, they had found two highwaymen raiding their food stores at night. The two men looked emaciated, clearly had been starving, and could, in another bygone world, been forgiven their trespasses. In this world, she had seen her brother sever their hands before allowing other men in the group to shoot them in the forehead on the banks of the river. That and other, similar, times had remained etched in her mind. And the idea of attacking another camp, perhaps with women like herself, or even children, froze the blood in her veins. She didn't want more death. It was simple as that.

"But these people," she heard him continue. "They got what they got by raiding that little town we passed through. You saw the dead bodies. You saw the burned buildings." She had. Death brings upon death and upon death shall be brought death. It was the way of the times. She was afraid. But she was also loyal. And the people he spoke of could be, no would be a danger, perhaps soon, if nothing was done or if the group simply tried to move around them or in another direction. "They deserve to lose every thing they took," he concluded. "And every thing they have or had. Including their lives." Brantley listened to the silence of the night, weighing his words, the only sound the crackling fire at her feet.

"I'm in," Vic said. Of course you are, the girl thought. The newest member of the group seemed ever ready to battle. He was not the Silverback, but so badly wanted to be, that he made her uncomfortable.

"I'm with you Brett," Kim said. "You know I am." His support surprised Brantley somewhat. Kim had been always an honorable guy, one who was not quick to rage or hostility. He was the most rational of the group, Mr. Spock to Brett's Captain Kirk, as she had heard it described by Jade, who was old enough to know who those now seemingly ancient characters had been. Julio was next, and despite his rather pacifist manner, confirmed his assent, too.

"I agree," Julio said. "If they attacked those people...they should be punished." His sense of justice carried him into the fight.

Brett looked at Brantley and Jade. "In or out?" He gazed at them, waiting and, of course, expecting.

"Brett, you know," Brantley began to protest, seeking to talk some sanity into this soon-to-be bloodbath, when her response was interrupted.

"Goddamn right, I'm in," Jade stood up, rearing to go.

http://image.toutlecine.com/photos/b/l/a/blade-trinity-2004-120-g.jpg

The girl had always been a warrior, even before the collapse. Trained in Judo as a teen, she became a deadly machine, studied in hand to hand combat during the first year of compulsory service when the second civil war erupted. Brantley had once looked up to her, as if to a sister, her beauty and skill unmatched as a package. Around Jade, Brantley always felt somewhat inferior. And she also, for reasons passing understanding, felt a great anxiety, suspecting Jade had feelings for Brett and, though he was her brother, Brantley's relationship with him being what it was made her a bit jealous as well. "That leaves you little bit?" Jade looked down at her. Brantley hated when she called her that. "Are you in?"

"What if I'm not?" Brantley asked, though already knowing her answer would not rock any boats. Jade crossed her arms and looked at the rest of the group as if to ask if they could believe the girl's level of defiance. Each of the five looked upon her and waited.

"Well?" Vic spoke up. Brantley reached in the pocket over her shoulder and found her compulsory ID, which had been a new requirement of the New Federal States' government after shortages hit and a military draft installed. She looked at it a moment, remembering the girl in the picture.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/trutv/trutv.com/graphics/photogallery/mugshot-model-search/jennifer-jensen.jpg

She had been naive, still somewhat innocent, though Brett had taken so much from her by then. But she was not a killer in that picture. She never had been. Now, that girl slipped away, and she refused to let that girl be known as the one that was about to speak up in a way she could have before never imagined. She tossed the ID into the fire.

"I disagree with this," she said, remaining seated and in no way looking forward to what they were about to do. "But I'm in."

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/1a/46/84/1a468475c9574278cdb1d2b4ae886e78.jpg

 

[DM2015]

Ten minutes later, the plan was set and the now Six Fingers were making their way down the steep slope toward the encampment. Brett had, of course, been entirely in charge of designing the attack plan. Kim and Julio had asked questions and made comments, but neither of them had forcefully disagreed with any of it. Victor, of course, had had lots of issues with it, but once Brett had told him flat out Follow me or leave, the man had reluctantly gone silent, expressing his resistance with little more than slight shakes of his head and rolling eyes.

The two girls were bait. That, of course, had been Vic's biggest problem with the plan. Vic had designs on Brantley, so he was reluctant to see her get killed before he'd been able to partake of what he assumed was a heavenly piece of pussy. Brett knew of Vic's desires, of course. Brantley knew it, too. Hell, every one knew it. But Vic would never have Brantley, Brett had decided early on, even if his sister chose to allow him to partake of her.

"Wait twenty minutes before you step out on the road, so we can get into position," Brett had told the pair before he and the guys headed off in their own directions, talking mainly to Jade, who would be in charge of that part of the ploy. He looked to his sister and once again stressed, "You call out before you get too close, just in case they have someone in the woods on lookout. And once you get close enough for the light of the fire to illuminate you, you make sure they see the gun you have pointed at Jade. If they don't see it, they won't realize she's your prisoner."

The plan was simple: Brantley was going to deliver Jade to the camp in exchange for food, water, and maybe inclusion in the group, under the universal thought of There's safety in numbers. Jade would have her hands tied behind her back, or so it would seem. In reality, she would be gripping the heavy section of rope wrapped loosely around her wrists, allowing her to slip it off in a flash and pull the loaded, six shot .45 revolver that would be hidden in the small of her back.

"You give her a push at one point," Brett told his sister again before looking back to Jade to say, "Fall and roll. Let them see that you're bound." Again he looked to Brantley. "Be mean when you pull her to her feet, but for Christ's sake, make sure you get her to her feet before anyone gets close enough to see that the ropes are loose. They ain't gonna shoot you. It'll be guys in charge, and they'll want Jade as a sex slave, so they'll want to deal with you. Of course, they'll want you, too, Brantley, but don't let them know that you know that."

Brett checked the clip in the semi-automatic rifle Brantley had been carrying for the past few months. He slammed it into place, jerked back the slide to load a bullet into the chamber, then reminded her, "You got two rounds, sis. Make'em count."

(OOC: sending you a PM about the rest of the attack plan.)

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley listened intently and was not thrilled that she would be the trojan horse, and first into the raid. She understood it was an okay plan, but she doubted its efficacy. Jade was much stronger and battle hardened than she, and a bit taller. She felt certain people at the camp would see through the ruse. It was far more likely she would be Jade's prisoner, but whatever. She nodded at her brother's instructions. She trusted him. She loved him. He would not let anything happen to her, though she also knew that in war and rebellion, things could happen. The men took off and the girls waited, just as instructed. As they waited, Jade began to speak.

"So?" She said. "Vic, huh?" Brantley rolled her eyes.

"Gross."

"He's not that bad," Jade said. "He's not Brett, of course." Brantley turned sharply toward Jade.

"What does THAT mean?" Brantley snapped. Jade chuckled back at her, giving only a suggestive shrug. "Not another word about it." Brantley instructed. "Give me your hands." As Jade allowed her hands to be tied, she responded.

"Come on," she said. "Brett looks good. And there's only two of us. One of us has a chance right?" Brantley didn't like any possible implication of her suggestions.

"I said shut up," she said. "Let's go." The girls stood and began traipsing down the road. They veered off toward the campsite and slowly neared the glowing fire ahead of them. "Walk," she said, shoving Jade. When they got to forty yards away, Brantley raised her gun, high, pointed squarely toward Jade's upper back.

"Hey!" Brantley shouted. "Approaching! No threat!" The girls heard rustling nearby, no doubt the camp bracing for the unknown and moving to protect theirs. "Keep walking!" She shouted, in an authoritative tone.

"Stop!" A voice called. "Stop there!"

Shit, Brantley thought, knowing they had not gotten close enough to the fire to be seen with any weapon. She had to improvise.

"I want to exchange a prisoner!" She shouted. A bit more rustling. "I need food! You can have her," her voice quivered, suddenly unsure. "And I join your group!" She heard the sound of boots jogging up the rocky path toward them. As they did, she shoved Jade to the ground, then stepped forward, tugging her arms hard. "Get up!" She shouted, then shoved Jade again. Quickly, two men were on them, one each grabbing her arm and Jade's, beginning to escort them to the camp. The men asked a number of questions as they approached, while Brantley held the gun where it was, still on Jade. A third man approached, unarmed as they all approached the camp.

"Well," he said, looking Jade up, then down. He nodded at one of the men, who quickly removed the gun from Brantley's hands.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

The third man now pinched Brantley's chin lightly, enough to turn her head to one side, then the other, gazing at her, appraising her in the minimal light.

"Stupid girl," is all he said, just before turning to the other men. The plan was not working. "Take this one," he nodded toward Jade, "to the revine. I don't care what you do there, but put her down when you're done." He nodded at Brantley. "This one goes to my tent." Brantley's breath caught in her throat, just as the men began to grab Jade. Just then, her priosoner shed her bindings and erupted in a series of kicks and punches, as she quickly disarmed them both, retrieved a blade from her boot, and dispatched them both.

"Brant, go!" She said, reaching for one of the men's guns and nodding for Brantley to do the same. The third man lunged toward her from where he had retreated from Jade's onslaught and Brantley, now unarmed, heard shots ring out as she began racing for the treeline. Jade no doubt wondered if she had just fled the scene leaving them, her, to fight alone. She didn't care, she was following Brett's orders.

 

[DM2015]

"Hey!"

Brett recognized his sister's voice filling the shallow canyon. He gritted his teeth and chastised himself: twenty minutes hadn't been enough for him to encircle the camp and find an approach point on the other side. He knew that all attention would be on the girls now, so he hurried, abandoning stealth for relative quiet.

"Approaching!" Brantley continued. "No threat!"

An unfamiliar male voice called out into the darkness, "Stop! Stop there!"

Just about that time, Brett reached a point at which he could see the camp fire, as opposed to the simple orange glow it had been casting. Everyone in the camp was up on their feet and moving. At least, Brett hoped it was everyone because there was a lot of movement.

Brantley's voice continued in the night, from too far away to protect her, Brett feared. He paused for a moment to study the Raiders, then looked to the far side of the narrow, relatively flat area for the other men. He could see no one. He murmured, "Fuck."

Suddenly, there was movement very nearby in the trees. Very nearby! Brett crouched and froze, gauged the threat with a combination of instinct and training, then jumped forward and slashed into the darkness with the hatchet which -- due to a lack of working, loaded firearms -- was the most dangerous weapon he was carrying.

The blade cracked into bone, and when no scream followed, Brett knew he had hit and penetrated the man's skull. The man and hatchet both fell away into the darkness. As Brett struggled to retrieve his weapon, it was only then that the smell wafting up from the ground told him he'd caught the man in the middle of taking a shit. He ripped the hatchet out of the man's skull and headed toward the camp, concerned about Brantley and already forgetting the corpse.

"Stupid girl," a man Brett could barely make out said, continuing, "Take this one to the revine. I don't care what you do there, but put her down when you're done."

Brett's attention was shifting quickly about, from the now visible girls who were being held by a pair of men each to the man speaking to the others in the camp who were either arming themselves or just milling about, likely wondering what the hell was going on.

Brett's quick assessment was that there were maybe 20 Raiders at the most. He could distinguish men and women both and some who, wrapped against the night cold, might have been either. Most of them were armed, but that didn't mean much these days. Hell, Brantley had gone into the night with two fucking bullets, and Brett himself was carrying an unloaded 9mm simply for show.

He crouched again and slipped through the night toward the dark side of a tent, wafting in the breeze. He slipped up behind a pair of men watching the action at the end of the camp. Brett had already slipped the hatchet into the belt loop holder and replaced it with his knife. He grabbed the smaller of the two men from behind, his free hand over the man's forehead to secure his head and sunk the knife deep into his brain from the back of his neck, just below the skull. Instantly, Brett withdrew the blade and went for the second man, who had finally seen him.

"H--!"

It was all the Raider got out as Brett skillfully slapped his free hand over the man's mouth, tripped him up to fall back flat to the ground, and sunk the blade neatly between two ribs to cut a fatal slash through his heart. The man was, for the most part, already dead, but Brett stayed with him a moment, his hand over the Raider's mouth as his eyes returned to the scene at the end of the camp.

"This one goes to my tent," the obvious leader said. Brett recognized the man's the lust and hunger in the man's voice. Brett often had that same tone in his own voice when dealing with Brantley.

And that was when all hell broke loose. In a flash, Jade's feet and hands were flashing about in the light of the fire. Men were going down or, at the least, crouching or falling back as Jade did just as Brett had imagined and expected.

"Brant, go!"

Suddenly, the night erupted in gun fire. Brett had begun moving toward his sister but now checked his movement while he assessed just who was shooting at whom and from where. Screams of panic and yells of anger filled the canyon. The Raiders, who outnumbered the Fingers four to one, were actually at the disadvantage: they were out in the open, while Brett's people were hidden.

Well, except for the girls, that was. Brett looked back to the head of the road and found flashes from the weapon Jade was unloading toward the enemy. There was no sign of Brantley, though. That was good because it meant she'd done as Brett had ordered, but it was bad because now he had no idea whether she was safe or not.

Brett's attention was pulled away from that concern, though, as a body charged him. He took a defensive stance, then easily avoided the attack, dropping the Raider to the ground and sinking the knife into flesh once more. As he twisted the knife to ensure a kill, Brett realized that his knife hand was pressing hard against a large, full breast. It wasn't the first time he'd killed a woman, but that didn't make it any easier.

It was pure mayhem about the camp. Brett moved about carefully, mostly observing the damage Jade and the other three men were doing while occasionally dispatching a Raider on his own. He could see that some of the people weren't fighting but were instead simply looking for a place to which they could flee.

"If you don't want to die...!" Brett hollered into the night, moving as he did to present a moving target for any Raider still armed and committed, "Get on the ground ... face down, arms out ... get on the ground now or you will be killed!

A couple of bodies hit the ground immediately, and a couple of more did the same once their brains were able to understand the offer at hand. As Brett continued to move carefully about the perimeter of the camp, doing his best to stay out of the light of the fire, the danger and mayhem began to abate.

Brett finally caught sight of one of his own men, and to his relief, it was Victor. Brett crouched and backed into the darkness, watching the biggest of the attackers as he stood over several now prone Raiders, quietly threatening them should they decide to get up and be a problem. Brett continued around the edge of the camp, now fully returned to his Army stealth mode.

The wanna-be usurper of the Five Fingers never suspected what was coming. Brett had his hand over the Vic's mouth and the blade deep into his rib cage before the man could react. Well, there was one reaction: the AK-47 in his hands fired as his fingers instinctively tightened at the pain surging through his body.

"Get down! Get down!" Brett hollered into the night, feigning concern over yet more violence from the now unarmed and unthreatening Raider survivors. As Vic fell to his knees before Brett, the former Army killer snatched the Czech made rifle from him and pulled the trigger twice more, continuing his unnecessary warnings, "Get down or die! Now!"

He looked about the people laying on the ground -- some of the crying in fear and panic -- and, certain that none had seen him kill his own comrade, let Vic's body fall to the ground. He surveyed the area for other witnesses and seeing none hollered, "Fingers! Count off!"

One after another, Brett's traveling partners hollered out their names, until there was only Brantley left...

 

[CarnivalBarker]

As Jade had erupted on schedule, Brantley had sprinted to the edge of the revine and into the tree line, racing deep enough into the somewhat sparse forrest to hide from any pursuers. She turned around only when she felt clear of the camp, turned and kneeled behind a native oak, raising her weapon again, in all directions checking off each angle, making sure nobody had seen her. She heard shots and firing, the occasional scream amidst the struggle. She could see, in the dim backlit haze, the occasional body fall, and each time one did, she cringed, not knowing who it was or whether her team had been safe. She wondered if Brett was okay, her heart gripping every minute, her fear being she would not again see him alive. She would hate if he had led them into his own demise, and she would never forgive herself if that had been the case.

As she watched the camp, she heard shuffling steps coming in her direction from her right. She turned and saw the face of someone she did not recognize and, in a single motion, fired both shots squarely into the oncoming camper's chest, dropping him on the spot. She turned toward the camp once more.

Shit, she thought one more time. Her ammunition was gone and she was alone. She rose to a squat and slowly began creeping, tree by tree, back toward the campsite, where the skirmish continued. The voices died off as the combatants died off, and as she approached, she could see Victor rising over a couple of people square on the ground before him.

"If you don't want to die..." her heart leapt as she heard her brother's voice, clear and unharmed. She rose to race toward him, but before she could, his instructions rang out further. "Get on the ground? Face down, arms out. Get on the ground now or you will be killed!" She began pacing toward him and, when she was maybe fifty yards away, she could see him crouch down, lit by the fire. She stopped as he had clearly been startled by something to draw him into such position, prepared to attack. She turned to her right where she still saw Victor, though noticing that he had taken no such action. She wondered what Brett saw that the newest member of the group had not. But in a flash, she could see Brett leap in Victor's direction, then heard a guttural grunt as Victor tumbled to a heap on the ground, the gun in his hand firing.

"No," she shouted, half gasping, half speaking to herself. She put her hands on her knees, catching her breath, in complete disbelief in what she had witnessed. She picked her rifle up once more, took a deep breath, and marched into camp as the noise now died off, the peace returned.

"Get down! Get down!" Brett cried, despite there being no remaining threat. "Get down or die! Now!" It was then that he stood and shouted for the group to count off.

He looked about the people laying on the ground -- some of the crying in fear and panic -- and, certain that none had seen him kill his own comrade, let Vic's body fall to the ground. He surveyed the area for other witnesses and seeing none hollered, "Fingers! Count off!"

"One!" Kim called from a clearing nearby.

"Two," Jade said, stepping into the light of the campfire.

"Three," shouted Julio, somewhere in the distance.

"FOUR," said Brantley, her voice stern and filled with irritation, anger, and disbelief as she approached Brett from behind. She stomped toward him, completely furious that he was becoming what he apparently was becoming. She marched swiftly to his side before the others could regroup and gather near and with a low voice, where only he could hear, she confronted him, squaring her body to his, looking up at him where he stood over her, looking down upon her diminutive stature.

"What the hell did you do?" She said, her teeth pressed together, seething. "WHY did you kill Victor? This," she paused, pointing at the bodies and prisoners nearby. "THIS is NOT who we are, Brett." As her voice trailed off, Jade approached them both.

"You guys okay?" Jade asked.

"We're fine," Brantley snapped, showing a bit more anger than perhaps she otherwise would. She quickly realized that it was possible the others had not seen what Brett had done. As much as she hated it, she quickly acted to help him cover it up. She nodded to the heap where Vic remained.

"One of the raiders got to Vic," she said, as her eyes darted to Brett, expressing once more that she knew her words were a lie and that she knew the truth. "Put a pin in his back before he knew they were there." Jade shrugged.

"Good," she said.

"Good?!?" Brantley asked, completely incensed by the world they were all living in. She didn't recognize anyone, and she certainly didn't condone a disloyalty that resulted in what amounted to murder.

"Yeah," Jade said, heading off to begin searching the camp for supplies, taking off down a short trail where several tents remained standing. She looked over her shoulder briefly at Brett and Brantley. "That fucker wasn't one of us." Brantley knew her words were true, but she also wondered if any of the others could be trusted. They couldn't trust Brett, and that pained her. If Brett couldn't be trusted in their tiny collective, then how could they survive, she wondered. As Jade walked off, Brantley turned to face her brother again.

"This is NOT who we are," she repeated her prior admonishment. She fought back tears, more from fear and stress than sadness. "We can't do it like this, Brett. I won't!" She stood down, waiting for his response, wondering if she had fought back too hard.

 

[DM2015]

Through all of his sister's chastising, Brett remained silent, his gaze shifting from her to Vic's corpse to Jade and finally to Brantley again.

"This is not who we are," she repeated. "We can't do it like this, Brett. I won't!

His gaze was on the ground as she finished. He stepped closer to her, raised his eyes -- which still left him looking down into her from his greater height -- and, with a menacing growl that would be very familiar to his little sister, Brett whispered, "You'll do as I tell you to do ... and you'll be who I tell you to be."

Even as he was still staring hard into her eyes, Brett hollered, "Kim!"

"Here, boss," the other former Army warrior called from somewhere in the dark. When he spoke again, it was obvious that he was coming closer. "Everyone at the other end is either dead or secured. Julio's standing--"

Brett looked away from Brantley in time to see Kim stop short, seeing Vic's body laying face down in the beaten grass of the no longer used roadway. The group's leader turned away from his sister and went to his second in command, patting him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kim," Brett spoke with expertly feigned sympathy. "He was a good man. A great warrior. We needed him. This ... this is a great loss."

Kim only nodded, unable to get out the words that his parted, then closed again lips had prepared but not delivered. Brett studied the younger, less experienced soldier's face for a moment, looking for deeper meaning in his silence. There were no tears. There were no sobs. Honestly, this didn't surprise Brett: Kim had told him in secret on more than one occasion that he'd thought including his cousin in the group had been a mistake.

"He wasn't with us long," Brett continued, turning to look at the man he'd killed so easily. "But we will bury him properly ... with honor. Why don't you, um..." Brett looked around, then pointed to one of the tents. "Why don't you get some blankets ... wrap him up. We'll take him away from him for a proper burial."

"Yes, boss," Kim said. The young soldier never called Brett Sir, of course. They had both been enlisted men in the Army, the basis for the old joke Sir...? Sir...? Don't call me sir! I work for a living. Kim didn't know what else to say, so he simply finished, "Thank you, Brett."

"Julio! Jade!" Brett called into the dark. "I thought I saw a stash in the woods as I was making my way around. Knowing it would piss her off, he told them, "Lil' Bit and I are gonna check it out. You got these people handled?"

"We got this," Julio hollered. Just to ensure that the surviving eight or nine Raiders -- now mostly women and weak or sick men -- knew not to mess with the two remaining Fingers, he asked, "If one of these fuckers gets up, can I shoot him?"

"Feel free," Brett said, already having turned and begun stomping toward Brantley. When he reached her, he snatched her by the upper arm and spun her toward the dark forest, growling in a low whisper, "Get over her, bitch. Don't you ever question my actions when they are intended to keep you safe. Fuck!"

It only took them a few steps to be out of the light of the fire and a few more to be undoubtedly out of sight of the others. Brett ignored Brantley's reaction to his manhandling of her as they delved deeper into the woods. They cut through the slice in the cliff through which Brett had originally reached the camp, and he pushed her forcefully ahead of him, causing her to trip on something and fall to the ground.

"Unbuckle," he said, meaning -- of course -- the belt holding her worn, dirty trousers in place. He was already unbuckling his own pants as he growled in a low whisper, "All I want in this world is to keep you safe ... and this is how you repay me?"

 

[CarnivalBarker]

"You'll do as I tell you to do ... and you'll be who I tell you to be," Brett had said. Brantley knew she had gone a step too far.

"Kim!" He hollered, calling the others into the camp. Brett proceeded to bark orders, and Brantley kicked dirt at her feet, as if waiting for instructions of her own, while her brother ignored her, making talk with Kim as if he had not just murdered Kim's cousin and one of their own. She didn't like him like this. She knew this wasn't him. He wasn't ruthless, but kind. He wasn't cold, but as warm as anyone she knew, at least under normal circumstances. But she knew the world had changed. She knew she had a place and so did he. At least, that was how it would be for them to survive. Her soul, however, disagreed, naive to the idea that the world would be kind and just and fair again. Naive that it ever had been perhaps. Her reflection was broken when Brett mentioned something outside the camp.

"I thought I saw a stash in the woods as I was making my way around," he shouted to the group. "Lil' Bit and I are gonna check it out."

Fuck you, she thought, irritated that he would use the name Jade always used when dismissing her. She hated being the youngest in the group. She felt like she was the youngest in the world. She turned her back to her brother and began scanning the campsite for anything on the ground that might be of service, choosing to turn her focus on something productive and away from the nightmare that was. No sooner had she done so, she heard footsteps growing louder in her direction, then she straightened up and faced them, seeing Brett storming her way.

"Get over here, bitch," he said as he gripped her arm.

"Hey!" She said, squeaking from the firm, not quite painful grip, only loud enough that he might hear, hesitant to push back against him in public any more than she already had. He spun her toward the edge of camp and began marching her off in that same direction that she had come from not moments before.

"Don't you ever question my actions when they are intended to keep you safe. Fuck!"

"Brett, let me go!" She said, pulling away from his grip, unsuccessfully. She continued walking as he led her away. "Where are we going?" She asked, knowing there was no stash. He said nothing, driving her deeper into the woods and then through the cliff nearby. As they passed around the bend, in a narrow stretch in the cliff wall, she felt him release her arm with a shove, her foot catch on the ground, and she stumbled forward, onto her stomach, catching herself with her hands on the rocky ground. She turned to her back and rose to her elbows, looking up at him, looming now over her.

"Unbuckle," he said. A chill ran along her spine and her blood began to boil again. She could not believe anything he was doing.

"What?" She stammered. "Now?" She asked. "HERE?"

"All I want in this world is to keep you safe ... and this is how you repay me?" He said, still tall above her and angry as ever. Her eyes grew wide as she watched him unbuckle his belt.

As a kid she had sometimes been the worst kind of brat. She had punched him, thrown things at him. Once, she had scratched up his car in a fit of boredom and in the wake of a fight they had over something stupid. She had done far worse than try to remind him that he was not a murderer. In all those times, she had rarely seen him this angry. Such displays were not uncommon, but such intensity was. And it was often from such anger and rage that had found her beneath him, on her back, subject to his indulgence, as she was now. She could fight him, and perhaps it would be worse. Or she could apologize, serve her penance, and get back to camp. She had a decision to make.

"Brett, what is this about?!" She implored him. She always hated feeling like she had put herself in this position. And yet she always loved her brother and also knew how she would react. It would not all be terrible. It never was. She simply hated being powerless. Tears welled into her eyes, the conflict within her rising to the surface. She reached one hand to her waistband and unlocked her belt, leaving it lying open, before returning to rest on her elbows, the rest up to him, for the moment.

 

[DM2015]

"Brett, what is this about?!" Brantley implored.

He didn't answer, instead only continuing to unbuckle his belt, then shed his heavy jacket -- now stained with fresh blood -- before stripping his over shirt beyond his head and tossing it aside.

Brantley obediently reached one hand to her belt and unlocked it, waiting for Brett to do the rest, as more than often he did. It always angered Brett that his sister made it just this much harder for him to administer her punishment, forcing him to strip her lower half bare. But then again, Brantley shouldn't have been expected to put in much effort to make her brother's rape of her easy in the first place.

And it was rape, of course. It always had been. Brantley had never asked to have her brother's cock shoved inside her. Brett had begun this, had repeated this, and would perpetuate it until he felt that his sister had gotten all she needed from it. Somewhere deep in his mind, Brett truly believed that his fucking Brantley was nothing more than a way to protect her, to make her stronger, to steel her against the even worse horrors and ravaging that the other men of this world could and would do to her.

Of course, the fact that he derived some definite pleasure from the punishment wasn't totally lost on either Brett or Brantley. But any pleasure gained by either of them had never and would never be discussed between them. This wasn't about sexual gratification: it was ... education.

Some lessons needed to be harder, Brett knew, and today's bit of learning was one of those. Brantley had questioned his actions -- chastised him -- with the potential for the others hearing her criticism of him. He couldn't have that, not from his little sister! So today's education would be done as it had in the past when Brantley had been a particularly bad girl.

Brett dropped to his knees near his sister's feet, grasped her lower legs tightly, and flipped her forcefully to her belly. He ignored her reaction to that and to his reaching to her belt line and jerking both her trousers and her panties clean off her hips and down almost to her knees. He moved his powerful hands to her hips as he knee-walked between her ankles, forcing her legs apart.

By the time he was in position, Brett's cock was hard as a rock. The weapon of the moment wasn't enormous by any means, but it had a larger than average girth, which had caused a number of women across the globe to scream out in pain until they'd relaxed to his intrusion.

Despite this being Brantley's punishment, Brett eased his erection into her. He didn't want to hurt her. She was his sister, and he loved her very much. This wasn't about hurting her: it was about helping her. The sooner that she understood he knew what was best for her and that she should do what he asked, when he asked, how he asked, the better person she would be and the better she would be at surviving in this God-forsaken world.

Brett reached one of his hands down between Brantley's thighs, fingering her until he found and forced open her wet lips, then cradling his cock in his palm, pressed forward...



"Looky here," Julio said with obvious excitement as he lifted a bandoleer nearly full of 12 gauge shotgun shells. Kim gave a joyous whistle as he himself held up an AK-47 in one hand and an M-16 in the other. Julio laughed, saying, "These guys could have put up one helluva fight had they been thinking with their big heads and not their little ones."

Julio looked around the camp, particularly in the direction that Brett and Brantley had disappeared, wondering whether the pair would be back soon. He looked to Jade, then -- allowing his eyes to fall to beauty's body for a moment -- said, "I guess the Boss's plan to send in our most valuable assets worked, huh?"

He smiled broadly, then winked, though the gesture probably wasn't very noticeable in the low light. It was no secret that Julio had the hots for Jade. Hell, so did Kim, and for that matter Brett, too. And while he'd never made any sort of overt attempt to seduce the fem fatale, he also hadn't kept his lust a total secret. One day, when she was ready, Jade would drag Julio into the bushes and give him that for which he'd been yearning for so long.

He looked past her again for a moment, then met Jade's gaze and asked, "What do you suppose they found back there? Should we go help them?"

Julio was totally oblivious to the nature of the true relationship between the siblings, of course. Even if someone had told him about it, he wouldn't have believed it. Brett and Brantley worked so well together, as siblings and as fellow warriors. The idea that they were engaged in a rough, incestuous relationship simply would have made Julio laugh.

In the darkness a few yards away, though, Kim was looking toward the naïve man, hoping he wasn't going to have to stop Julio from taking a walk toward the cut in the cliff. Kim had his suspicions. He hadn't caught them at it, of course, but ... there was simply something about Brett and Brantley that wasn't right. The way they slipped off together, particularly after Brett had unloaded on his sister for this thing or that; and they way their moods changed once they returned to the group again.

It was simply ... odd.

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brett scared her just about every time he did this. When it first began it had been a complete shock, traumatizing even. But he had quickly explained himself, made her understand there was a lesson in his lust, and made it clear too that she had nobody else but him, and she knew that was true. However, it did not make it any less harsh, sometimes leaving her sore, bruised, and afraid of him for days, even weeks. And for everything he did to her, every pleasure he took from her, he made up for it every day of their lives. He fed her, protected her, kept her away from others with similar, or far worse designs upon her body, though without the same connection and protective love he also showed. She wasn't his, but she was. Now, her lip trembled ever slightly as he stood over her, refusing to answer her pleas.

"Brett don't do this," she asked, her voice barely more than a squeak. She watched him peel off his shirt. "Don't," she begged again. "Please, don't. I'll take care of you later, in camp. Please." Still, he said nothing. He simply dropped to his knees in front of her, and she squealed again as his hands gripped her and twisted her over, so that he could do as he pleased. As she lay still, feeling his hands on her hips, she knew once again just how angry he was. As much as she knew he would soon pleasure himself with her body, she also knew he had turned her, facing away, to come at her from behind, such that it was impersonal. Such that it would be cruel. She felt her pants shed from the force of his hands, then her panties, a small, sporty pair of yellow and black boy shorts, followed down her thighs.

"No!" She continued to plead, as he gripped her, now spreading her thighs with his own, as she felt him brush against their smooth insides. "No....Nggggggghhhhhhhhhhh," she gave a moaning grunt as she felt his rigid, thick rod pierce her body as it had so many times before. Her eyes grew wide and she dug her fingers into the earth, seeking a purchase against which she could try and pull away from him, though she did so to no avail. Her body was small, her entrance smaller. And every time, no matter how ready she was, he stretched her and filled her as much as she thought could be possible. Now was no different. She felt his hand on her hip, almost gently pulling her onto him. She blinked away a tear, realizing that this was not one of the times, as he had done before, where he wasn't gentle. He could have slammed his full length into her pussy and the screams would have filled the fields and valleys surrounding them. She reached back and put her hand on his own as she moaned once more, her center filling with moisture, knowing she would again be made into a woman beneath him. She felt his hand slide once more from her knee, inside her thigh, slowly up to where his cock speared deep inside her, his fingers opening her more as he pressed in again.

"Unnnnnnh," she moaned with each inward drive. "Unh!" Her squeaking breath grew higher in pitch and faster with each hard thrust. She balled her hands into fists together in front of her face, and Brantley placed her head on them as Brett began pounding her in earnest. After a few moments, she felt his hand in her hair, grabbing a single, tight grip near her skull, arching her back as he administered the coup de grace, grunts of his own signaling the eruption of thick cum deep into her core, just before he collapsed over her, his breath ringing in her ear as he slapped her ass one time, the only sign of approval she would get coming with a sharp sting, jolting her back to the here and now. She had not cum herself. She never did, even when she got close. It wasn't his way.

As Brantley pulled herself together, the remaining three members of the group hashed out their haul back at the raider camp. Jade collected a series of knives and blades, as well as precious food and water stores, sitting them in a central location inside the largest tent nearest the fire.

"I guess the Boss's plan to send in our most valuable assets worked, huh?" Jade heard Julio say as she bent over and leaned inside the tent, just before standing up to face him once more.

"Yeah it did," the woman said, paying no mind any of Julio's suggestive tone.

"What do you suppose they found back there? Should we go help them?" He then asked. Jade was quick to respond.

"No," she said, curtly. "They'll be back soon. They're fine." She had known Brett and Brant from times before the collapse. She had babysit for their parents when Brantley was a pre-teen, even though she had only been sixteen herself. She was six years younger than Brett and even then had a crush on him that had rarely, if ever, waned in the subsequent years. And she knew they had a special relationship, but could never pin down just what it was, or how that had come to be. She wondered at times how special. Brantley had grown into an attractive girl - attractive as hell. Jade knew she looked good herself, but for some reason the blonde hair, hazel eyes of the smaller, more petite girl, intimidated her, while everything else about her screamed that she would be the weak link of any group. Jade thought she was pretty, sure. But she also felt she had been spoiled, soft, and immature, since well into her high school days. But the beauty never faded and she always noticed the men's heads turn to follow her as she passed them by. Even Brett. And she paid attention whenever she teased Brantley about him, too. The girl got defensive, and flushed. She stammered and became angry. She battled protectively and became enraged at any suggestion of any inappropriate act of sex or carnal thought about her brother. She acted like a threatened lover might, and though Jade had nothing other than suspicion, her suspicion was strong.

As the only living Tyners returned to camp, Brantley tried to pull herself together. She told herself to not look shaken, to hide any sign of tears. Her body was still sore and she made a conscious effort to walk normally, following her brother back into the world they hid this from. She dared not cross him so soon, but she already worried about what came next. There were survivors in the raid. There were people laying face down, hands tied by the remaining Five, awaiting their fate.

"What are you going to do with them when we get back to camp?" She asked, carefully trying to hide her objection to any harsh treatment and, certainly, any more death tonight. "And where will we stay tonight?" She suspected she would be staying not with Jade, but with him. She would do whatever he said.

 

[DM2015]

Riled as he was, Brett's thrusts into his sister numbered twice as many as was typical. It was ironic, he'd often thought, that he lasted longer when he was pumped up about something, such as tonight's chastising by Brantley. He'd continued to slam, slam, slam his cock deep into her for the longest time before he let out a deep moan and exploded within her.

Unfortunately for Brantley, the extended fuck was still just a bit short of what she'd needed to share in the euphoria that was now ripping through her brother. Brett had never concerned himself with his sister's pleasure, obviously. This wasn't supposed to be about pleasuring Brantley: it was about punishing her. Climaxing would have defeated the purpose!

Brett collapsed forward upon the small woman, caring not that his larger bulk was smashing her to the ground. He lay there atop her, ignoring her discomfort as he enjoyed the pounding heart, deep breathing, and deeply satisfying pleasure. Eventually, as his cock began to shrink, he lifted himself from his sister's body and pulled from her warm, wet hole. He slipped off to her side, laying half on, half off for a long moment, thinking.

"Don't question my actions," he whispered, his tone soft and gentle, not angry and fierce as it had been ten minutes earlier. "I love you, Brantley. All I want is for you to be safe and happy. But I need you to trust me ... to trust in me. Vic was a danger ... to the Five Fingers ... to you ... even to me."

He wanted to say more, but he knew also that they needed to get back to the camp before the others came looking for him and Brantley instead. He stood, refastened his clothing, and waited until Brantley was put together herself. They headed back out to the camp without a word spoken.

Jade, Julio, and Kim quickly announced -- with obvious excitement -- some of the resources they'd found: working firearms, ammunition, med kits, food, and more. Brett listened to what the trio had to say and was about to respond when Brantley asked, "What are you going to do with them when we get back to camp? And where will we stay tonight?"

Brett answered his sister with orders to the others that were also intended to be a warning to the Raider survivors. "Gather'em all up. Put'em in one tent. If anyone attempts to leave the tent, even to piss on a tree, shoot the tent up until there is no more movement inside it, understand?"

Julio and Kim said almost simultaneously, "Yes, Boss," then began herding the survivors into the largest of the tents. Brett looked to Jade, who was going through the stack of weapons and ammunition. "Get some sleep. You've got the 2am watch."

He turned to the men, telling them, "I want each of you within sight of that tent, but not too close to one another. Wake Jade at two. Wake me at four."

"Yes, Boss," Julio said, already beginning to scurry the survivors along.

Brett watched the activity for a long moment, then turned back to Brantley. He said softly, "Find a dry tent and connect our sleeping bags together. Gonna be cold tonight. We'll need to keep one another warm."

That was Brett's way of telling Brantley that he planned on sleeping the night with her. It wasn't unusual for various combinations of the Five Fingers to share sleeping situations. Hell, there'd been one severely cold winter when they all slept in the same doubled up bags together..

"Go," he told her simply.

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley did as she was told, wandering down a trail a bit off the center vein of the camp and finding three tents each facing a central campfire. She watched as Jade climbed into one of the tents back at the main fire and Julio and Kim took their place near the largest tent where the raider survivors were being placed. That would leave her and her brother about fifty yards away. She unrolled his pack and hers in a small tent and set about zipping together one large sleeping bag from two. On the heels of her recent assault, and the adrenaline from attacking the raiders, she figured her brother was going to keep her up most of the night. It wasn't even that cold, so his excuse didn't fly.

"I love you," he had said. She knew he didn't lie about such things. And she loved him back. And in this world where survival was everything, he was the only one she felt she could love or who would love her for real. She wanted him to be satisfied, to get his needs met. She wanted him. Years ago, such a situation may have been unthinkable. Today, however, what was unthinkable was getting captured or taken by someone else, someone without her well being in mind. She couldn't - no, she wouldn't - have that.

When the tent and bags had been arranged, she wandered back outside. A strong acrid scent filled the air and she saw a large glow beyond the tents where the others had remained. A pyre had begun to burn where Kim had started to pile bodies of the raider dead. Brantley still couldn't believe what they had done. She knew what they had gained from the attack, but she had never sought to kill anyone, and now they had done just that. She watched and waited, unable to make out what her brother and the others were doing at the main camp. She did not have it in her for any more trauma tonight. Brantley walked to a nearby water supply and opened a small bottle of water. She took a tiny sip, then stepped behind the tent, and did her best to clean up with what little water was left, so as to not be accused of wasting any. She returned inside, pulled a fresh shirt from her pack and removed her pants and panties, wadding them, still soiled from her brother's essence, and tossing them in the corner. Naked but for her shirt, she climbed into the sleeping bag, listening to the others' distant voices, and she began to cry silently, upset by the day, upset by the death, upset by the entire world as it now was and afraid of what would be next for the group.

Moments before, Jade climbed into a tent near the front of the camp. As she did, she turned and tossed out several useless items the raiders had left that she simply did not need or want in her sleeping quarters. She noticed the other girl sulk off down the path to the smaller part of the camp, and turned to stick her head back outside, peering through the darkness, where she saw Brett, near the other two men in the group.

"Hey," she said. "Is she okay?" She asked. "She can stay with me if she wants." She even thought it would be okay if Brett himself wanted to. It had been too long and he was the alpha male of the group. She knew such an action would cause a dynamic to go south in terms of morale. She wondered if she cared. She looked across the camp and to Julio, and wondered about him.

Forget it, she thought, as she awaited Brett's response. Just go to bed, you'll feel better tomorrow. It was the only time she wished she was where Brantley was.

 

[DM2015]

(OOC: First of two posts.)

"Hey," Jade called from the tent into which she'd crawled. As she watched the three men pass around a 32 ounce can of six year old chili, she asked, "Is she okay...? She can stay with me if she wants."

Brett looked to Jade, studying her for a moment. He thought he saw a bit of yearning in Jade's face as she stared at him. He'd often considered taking Jade as an occasional lover or even as a long term mate. They'd flirted a great deal and shared an unknown number of inappropriate male-female comments over their years as traveling partners; and they hadn't been shy about their bodies when the rare opportunities to wash in creeks or lakes presented themselves. But he'd passed on those days, and -- turning back to the two men -- he would pass tonight.

He saw the look in Julio's eyes, though, and knew that his high school friend had more than just an interest in the fiery female warrior. Brett knew that the only reason Julio hadn't made a play for Jade thus far was that he was afraid of her. Seriously afraid of her. He'd seen her kill men with her bare hands or bend their legs in an unnatural way with a powerful, swift kick to the knee. While Brett was the rough and tough, even cruel at times type, Julio was the soft, gentle, considerate lover type. And in his mind -- and in his fantasies -- he saw himself making passionate love to Jade and then, like the male Preying Mantis, being eaten afterward.

"Wake Jade up at two," Brett instructed the two again, turning toward the camp fire to which they'd added more wood and stoked into the growing flame it had become. "Wake me at four."

He left the two behind, moving to the fire to clean up. Behind him, Kim began to notice Julio's occasional glances toward Jade's now closed tent. When the other man met his gaze, chuckled nervously, then looked away as if it would hide his current feelings, Kim only said with a knowing tone, "Hey ... they're your balls. Use'em or lose'em ... or ... as might be the case if you go over there ... both."

Kim turned away and moved to stand closer to the funeral pyre. He stayed downwind from the smoke and, of course, the smell of burning flesh that came with it. From here, he could watch the fire and feel the warmth and still see the prisoner's tent, yet he couldn't see Julio or Jade's tent. It was, of course, the reason for finding this particular position: he really didn't want to know what those two particular Fingers might be doing for the next minutes or hours, together or apart.

Julio hesitated for several minutes, glancing repeatedly between Kim, Brett, and Jade's tent. He finally screwed up his courage, dug through the pile of booty until he found a pull-top can of Ravioli, and made his way over to what could be heaven or hell for him.

"Jade...?" he whispered. He hesitated, cleared his throat conspicuously, then asked a bit louder, "Are you awake? I have food ... if you're interested."

(OOC: Next post will be about Brett and Brantley. I'm not expecting Julio and Jade to get anywhere, obviously. I'm just testing the waters.)

 

[DM2015]

As he neared the camp fire, Brett gathered a few things from the piles of booty pillaged from the Raiders' tents and carts. He laid a blanket out on the ground near the fire and upon it set a couple of towels that were relatively clean. He stripped to his birthday suit, ripped one of the towels into a trio of rags, then used the almost painfully hot water that had been over the flames since before the fight to give himself a luxurious bath.

It was shocking how good it felt to run the hot towel over his body. It had been two full months since he'd enjoyed hot water like this and almost two weeks since that day in the cold creek with a bar of soap they'd found. He ran one wet rag fully over himself, tossed it away, repeated with a second, then did the same with the third. He still wasn't as clean as he wanted to be, yet at the same time, he felt like a new man.

He wrapped his body with the blanket, slipped into his untied boots, gathered up his clothes, and moved away from the fire to the tent in which Brantley was awaiting him. He dropped his gear and dirty clothes outside, then -- for the benefit of the men who he thought might be spying -- demanded, "Brantley! Toss out my pack."

This was a ruse they'd played in the past when Brett had cleaned himself up before laying down with his sister. The others knew that he often slept in the same tent or vicinity as his sister. Few nights had passed when the pair of them weren't within arms reach of one another. And while Brett knew that there might be suspicions that he was actually fucking his own blood, they still maintained this ruse of them being innocent in that nature, with this aspect of their closeness being simply a brother's love and concern for his little sister.

The pack slipped out of the open tent flap, and a minute later Brett was dressed in a tee shirt, boxers, and relatively clean socks. He left his dirty, smelly clothes outside and entered with only his pack. He pulled from it a wind up battery-op lantern, wound its handle a couple of dozen times, then flipped it on.

He found Brantley sitting in the middle of the doubled up sleeping bags' opening, holding the thick, padded cloth to her breasts like some young bride in her wedding bed about to lose her virginity. He studied her as he shed his tee shirt, socks, and boxers -- the ruse no longer necessary -- then slipped into the bags with her.

As she laid back, looking up into his eyes, Brett could see that she'd been crying. He presumed it was because he'd punished her so violently earlier, or because she was still affected by what he'd done to Victor. Brett didn't comprehend that his sister was afraid for him, for what he was becoming.

He didn't comprehend this, of course, because he didn't see himself as becoming anything he hadn't always been. This mad creature who could so easily take a life -- even that of a compatriot -- had always been inside of Brett. The man had simply hidden it for all of these years, hidden it from his sister, from the others in the group, even from his Army commanders years ago who had often been amazed at well he performed his very dangerous and sometimes lethal duties.

"Victor would have hurt us," he said, thinking that that might be what was in his sister's head at the moment. "He wanted to replace me as leader of the Five Fingers. He would have killed me to do so. And after I was gone, there would be no one to protect you."

He reached out to her, hesitating as she flinched a bit, before gently pulling a lock of her hand out of her face and caressing her cheek. "I had to kill him. You understand that, don't you?"

He let her react, then leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. It was a very brotherly kiss, not anything romantic or intimate. In all the time that Brett had been abusing his sister's body, their lips had never touched. He fucked his sister as punishment and hardening, not as romance.

Brett's pleasure in fucking Brantley was a happy side effect, of course, but certainly not the primary goal. At least ... that was how he presented it. He greatly enjoyed the orgasms he experienced while plunging deep into her still tight pussy, and he wished that he could fuck her every night. But to maintain the ruse that it was punishment only, Brett only violated his sister after she'd done something for which he felt she needed to be chastised, such as questioning his murder of Victor tonight. Sometimes Brantley's offense was minor. It all depended upon how bad Brett's need for release was at the moment.

And at this particular moment -- despite what had happened in the woods less than thirty minutes earlier -- Brett's need for release was great. He rose a bit and slid over the top of her, forcing her knees apart as he said, "You need to learn not to question me when the others might be within ear shot."

He grasped Brantley's wrists, raised them above her head, and pressed them to the tent's dusty floor. Down below he performed a Look, ma! No hands! maneuver, adjusting his hips to and fro until his fully hardened cock was at his sister's wetness. As he pushed forward, he told her, "I can't have them thinking that I'm not fully in control of my own sister..."

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Jade watched Brett as he stood, non-responsive to her question, instead opting to repeat the instructions he had given each of them regarding wake and watch times. As he turned his attention elsewhere, the woman simply shrugged it off and retreated inside.

Typical Brett, she thought. Always needing control. Never breaking. In a way, it was good, she supposed. It probably kept the rest of them focused more and, therefore, alive longer. But she wondered if there was any vision inside him. They spent a ton of time roaming, scavenging, trying to hop from place to place before being overtaken by any other band or outfit, trying not to die, that this nomadic endeavor was beginning to wear on her and, no doubt, the others. Montana was home, for all of them. But in this new land, this new world, she felt certain there was civilization SOMEWHERE, some place they could travel, form into a larger collective, obtain a more permanent safety, and ultimately rebuild. But the collapse had made so much so uncertain that she allowed for the chance that she could be wrong. And there appeared to be no other option than to trust him, certainly above the others, who she thought to be capable at what they did, but not at all qualified to lead them to any longer term safety. If anything, she felt it was herself who would have to pick up the gauntlet, should it be thrown down if something were to ever happen to Brett. She shimmied out of her cargo pants, and laid back on a few blankets, the cool night air inside the tent comfortable on her skin. She closed her eyes, only a few minutes, when she heard a voice outside.

"Jade?" It was Julio. She sighed silently, hoping he would think she was asleep. "Are you awake?" He asked. "I have food...if you're interested." She sat up, a bit annoyed, but finding it difficult to be difficult toward the guy. He meant well. He was sweet. And no doubt, it would be tough for he and Kim, both on the outside of Brett and Brantley, traveling with her as well as Jade, and likely wanting, needing the things that men had needed since the dawn of time all the way to now, which appeared to be the end of it.

"No thank you, Julio," she said, politely, without opening her tent. "But that's very sweet. I appreciate it." Her sentiments were sincere, but nice guys had never been her thing. She liked the strong types, guys who knew they were guys. Julio had been capable in the Five Fingers, sure, and had never done anything to offend her. He was handsome enough, which made her consider him earlier in the night as a backup to Brett, perhaps down the road. But she couldn't imagine being with someone of lesser status and power than herself. She still wanted to feel like a woman and her skills and ability had often made her feel the opposite and, perhaps, caused others to have a similar perception of her. She waited to hear no further response from him, and she laid back on the mat, her wrist finding its way to her lower stomach, beneath her tight shirt and above the waistband of her panties. She slid her fingers down, inside the tiny, printed cotton, and slid a finger up, then down her slit, slowly, not enough to even make her squirm. She did so a few times, before rolling over, indulging her thoughts of Brett, of any real man, and drifting off to sleep until the early wake up time that would come too soon as it always did.

In a tent a distance away, Brantley heard steps coming near the tent, stopping abruptly, knowing it would only be one person.

"Brantley! Toss out my pack." She rolled her eyes. It's a foot away from you, she thought. Reach inside and get it yourself. She sat up and leaned to the side, grabbing his small bag and shuffling it just outside the tent, before sitting up and waiting for him to come inside, which she knew was only moments away. She wiped her puffy eyes and hoped he would not see she had gotten emotional. He probably would not understand. In a short time, he entered, ready to sleep, as she held the sleeping bag over her chest, only it and her t-shirt between them. She released her grip and held the bag open to allow him entry, not upset at all, perhaps happy that her brother would be with her through yet another uncertain night. She rolled to her side, facing him as she lay down beside him, blinking as he looked back at her, uncertain of which temperament he brought to bed with him. She saw a recognition in his eyes, seeing clearly that hers were still a bit wet.

"Victor would have hurt us," he said, curling against her, her stomach pressed against his, her body erupting in chills as it did. She had not been crying about Victor. She didn't care about Victor. She simply hated this world and everything that came with it. She wanted the world to go back to how it was. And she knew that Brett was not wrong. "He wanted to replace me as leader of the Five Fingers. He would have killed me to do so. And after I was gone, there would be no one to protect you." She simply nodded at his words. She flinched as his hand came up, brushing her hair from her eyes. "I had to kill him. You understand that, don't you?" She nodded again, now fully compliant. She gave a tiny grin when he leaned in and kissed her cheek, happy that he was being her brother and not her commander, not her angry lover. She snuggled into him, hoping the discussion was over, and hoping to sleep through the night. No sooner had she done so, she felt him rolling her to her back, one of his muscular legs rising over and then between her own.

"Brett, no," she said, barely above a whisper.

"You need to learn not to question me when the others might be within ear shot," his eyes were steely once more, and she simply couldn't understand how he could change in such a flash so quickly.

"Brett, I'm not, unh!!" She grunted as he raised her arms forcefully over her head, positioning her to be used beneath him once again. "I'm not questioning you," she plead in a childish, sad whine. She swallowed her words when she felt the tip of his spear press between her legs, readying for action. She stopped resisting beneath him, knowing it would do no good, knowing he would just hurt her if she did. Maybe he just needs sex, she told herself, suggesting none of this was about her or anything she did. He's a man, after all. Her eyes closed and her brow furrowed as she felt him start to open her up once more.

"I can't have them thinking that I'm not fully in control of my own sister," he said, burrowing deep inside her, stopping short of completely filling her the first time because she had not gotten wet enough on such short notice. She felt him pull out and her mouth gaped in a cross between intense pleasure and obnoxious pain, and she opened her legs wider, allowing him to try once more with a second hard thrust.

"Unnnh!" She moaned, raising her own hips to greet him. She looked down, barely able to see past his muscled chest in the darkness, certainly unable to see where he penetrated her. He looked good above her, she had to admit and, as he pulled out a second time, she felt her body loosen up and relax, her juices beginning to leak just slightly around his shaft. In moments, he was entirely in her, and she closed her eyes, to just feel him, take him taking her as he wanted. She ground her hips against him with each thrust, little mewling sounds piercing the night only within the tent and not beyond, while she raised her athletic thighs, spread wide, and locked her ankles together at the small of his back, ready to be taken and used. "Ohhhhh, fuck," she groaned, feeling him give stronger and stronger, if not faster, strokes the length of himself, ending deep inside her pussy.

I love you, Brett. She couldn't believe the thought crossed her mind in times like these. But god I hate you too.

 

[DM2015]

"No thank you, Julio," Jade answered from beyond the tent flap. "But that's very sweet. I appreciate it."

Julio waited for more from the woman but there was none. He contemplated trying a different tact -- Do you need anything else? Fresh water? Hot water for a sponge bath? I'll do it for you! -- but he instead just turned away and returned to stand with Kim a couple of dozen yards from the funeral pyre.

They stood there in silence for a long moment before, without looking at his mate, Kim said, "So ... Rosy Palm tonight?"

Without hesitation, Julio responded, "Well, she's never said no, so ... yeah."



Brett was beginning to moan in time with his slow, deep thrusts into his sister's warm and now very wet pussy. She felt so incredible. She always had. And every time he fucked her, Brett couldn't help but think back to the first time he'd forced himself on her...



Brett had always lusted for her, of course. All men lusted for their beautiful sisters. And Brantley had certainly been beautiful back in the day, particularly after she dolled herself up with the aid of her fully stocked make up case. But he'd never done anything to satisfy that lust, of course. Hell, she was a full ten years younger than him, and she'd only been 13 the first time he stood over the bathroom counter with his lotion coated cock in his hand, jerking off to the fantasy of having her before him, staring into the same mirror, begging him to go harder, faster, deeper.

He'd deserted the Army when The Collapse came, desperate to get home and protect farm and family. It was then, in the weeks surrounding her 18th birthday, that their lives and relationship changed forever. Their ranch and all of its stock animals were confiscated by the Guard of the new Montana Republic. Without any wealth to support them, the Tyner family was also without resources to bribe the corrupt Guard into protecting them. Protection fell to Brett and his father and their guns.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough, and two days short of Brantley's 18th, the ranch was sacked by Guard-aided hoodlums who stole every thing else of value and, in the process, killed their father and critically wounded their mother. Three days later, Brett and Brantley were all that remained of the once valuable and prestigious Tyner legacy.

It was only four days after Brantley's birthday that Brett even realized he'd forgotten it. They'd been hiding out in their old play cabin on the edge of the woods, avoiding one group of pillagers after another who arrived at the ranch house, found nothing, and left. As they huddled close together, Brantley made the mistake of being a little too open to her brother, telling him of how she'd been intimate with one of the men who was now in the Montana Republic Guard and who had done nothing to protect her, her family, or her home from the new savages running amok across their vast lands.

Brett had lost it, totally. He'd become enraged, not so much at the knowledge that his innocent young sister wasn't so innocent after all, but at the fact that she'd been with one of them! (In all honesty, Brantley hadn't actually told her brother whether or not she'd lost her virginity. And Brent hadn't asked her point blank, "Are you still a virgin?" He'd simply been so angry and distraught over what was happening to his world that he let his long simmering lust for Brantley get the best of him.)

He'd ripped her clothes from her body and fucked her mercilessly, right their in the little childhood fort. It had been brutal and cruel ... and, in a sense, very satisfying for Brett. He'd dreamed about having his sister for so long, and now the excuse to take her had presented itself.

And the excuse would present itself again and again over the months and years to come. It had become an accepted part of their life together, despite the inappropriateness of it. And now, here in the tent between her thighs, Brett was so thankful that he had Brantley with him, to give him what he needed without question. Oh sure, you almost always told or begged him no. But she rarely resisted in a meaningful way, which made Brett feel that she, too, understood it to be an accepted part of their existence.

He was deep into the pleasure of the activity when he thought he sensed something different in his sister. The way Brantley was wrapping her legs about his waist and clutching at his back made him think that maybe she was enjoying this a bit more than usual. As he continued to plunge into her warmth and wetness, Brett pulled his head back to look into his sister's face. Her eyes were closed, her lips were parted a bit, her breathing was quick and shallow, and her head tipped a bit this way and that as he'd never noticed before, as if the pleasure he was feeling was also affecting her.

Brett had never considered Brantley's pleasure. In fact, he'd never even considered that she was enjoying pleasure. He assumed that she had always simply accepted this punishment in the same way that a beaten wife accepted the slaps and punches of a brutal husband. But something in her signs, in her grip, in her body movements below him made Brett think that maybe, just maybe, his sister might actually be enjoying what he was doing to her.

He turned his head away again, not wanting her to know that he was studying her, and contemplated what was happening between them. He had been holding back his orgasm by adjusting his plunges, wanting to extend his own pleasure as much as he could. He was close. He could ram into her hard half a dozen times and cause himself to explode.

But ... he didn't. Something inside of him ... something was changing. Although he'd never even contemplated it before ... this time ... tonight ... here and now ... Brett desperately wanted his sister to achieve the ultimate pleasure that she gave to him every time he violated her.

He shifted his entry a bit, trying to press his stoking cock harder against the upper cut of her pussy, near her clit, testing to see whether that would please her more. He repositioned his knees to cause his cock to press against the front of her vagina and cervix, just behind her clit and the nerve endings that ran to and past it.

He didn't know whether this would please Brantley more or not. He only knew that it had worked with other women before her. All he could do was try ... and see what happened...

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley gave a series of gasping moans with each deep penetration by her brother, her hands remained over her head long after his had let go, to move behind her firm thighs, keeping her grip around his waist where he wanted it. She tried to grip his cock with her pussy, the tent now smelling like sex as she released her sweet cream around his rock solid shaft, a faint, wet, smacking sound starting to echo over and over as he fucked her hard and steady. She closed her eyes and arched her back, her shirt still on, only her lower half from just above her navel available to and made use by him. She was his toy, his tool, his lover, and here, alone, away from the prying eyes of anyone who might see them otherwise, she gave in and really felt everything she wanted to feel. Most of the time, the sex was pure punishment. But no matter how hard or rough Brett became, she was always still making love to the only man in the world she felt love for and at times like these, her body needed a release too, though she never got it from him as much as she tried. She did not worry about it now, merely relaxing into him, taking what he gave and taking what she could from that. She felt her body tingle, her stomach and core gripping over and over, trying to welcome him deeper inside her small body, trying to feel every inch of him slide along her walls, enjoying the stretch that came with it. She loved feeling full when her brother was not purely abusing her, and after the night's events, this was one of those times. Moments later she opened her eyes, finding his head turned, looking over her shoulder, paying her no mind. She turned her lips upward toward his face. A mere turn of his head would find his lips at hers, and the thought of kissing her brother sent a sharp burn through her spine. She wanted so badly to. She wondered what it was like. As her body rocked up and down with each of his thrusts, she wanted it more than ever. All he needed was to turn his head. She felt a disappointment she did not expect when he failed to do so. As always, she was only his to use, and that's all he did. She closed her eyes again, and returned her head to the ground behind her, to imagine something more. It was safer in the darkness and it all felt, really felt so much better than the dark reality.

"Unh! Unh! Unnnnh!" She cried, opening her legs wide, taking him, trying to take him more. Her eyes flashed open when she felt him move, a slight difference, only a matter of inches, torching his cock to batter up into her, pressing against her front wall as he raised up just a bit. As she closed them again, her lips remained open, her breathing heavy, the tiny squeaks she gave expressing just how much she was enjoying being made his once more. She stretched her arms up once more, feeling him regrip beneath her thighs, pulling her tight around him again and again. As she arched her body against him, she felt a stir in her core become greater and greater, the wave of pleasure hitting her suddenly, causing her stomach and thighs to shudder, her pussy gripping him tight and hard, as light erupted behind her eyelids.

"Unnnnnnhhhhhhooooooooohhhhhh!!!!! OH! Ohhhhhh!" Her slit flooded beneath him, as she came around his cock, a feeling so intense as to ably say she had never felt it before. Her breathing remained heavy as she caught her breath and composure, still prone beneath him as he continued taking her as he wanted, pounding away over her small form. She ran a hand over his shoulder, down his side, around her leg and beneath her, gently, but firmly rubbing his balls, on them and just behind, in a rhythmic, pulling motion, as if coaxing him to fill her with their contents, leaving him to do just that at his leisure. Her eyes looked up at him, grinning only a bit, careful not to suggest to him he was not in control, which he still certainly was.

"Cum in me, baby," she whispered, tilting her head a bit as she looked at him, becoming his innocent sister, feeling like the girl she had been years ago, before the collapse, for the first time since the end of the world began.

 

[DM2015]

"Unnnnnnhhhhhhooooooooohhhhhh!!!!! OH! Ohhhhhh!"

Brantley was cumming below Brett. It was obvious. He'd never felt what he was feeling or heard what he was hearing from her before, but he'd been with enough women to know an orgasm when it happened. He continued to pound into her, wanting the feeling to continue as long as possible. He wasn't thinking about why he wanted this: he was just doing it.

Her entire body was trembling against him as the before-unknown euphoria swept through her. As he pounded deep into her, Brett's ego was buoyed by the thought of what he was doing to her. It was a feeling he'd never had fucking his sister. Before, it had always been about control and power and punishment, whether deserved or not. Now, it was about ... what...?

What was it about? What was this need to make his sister climax truly about? With other women, it had been about ego. And about fully pleasing them so that they would, in turn, fully please him, which meant sometimes doing things they didn't want to do, in and out of bed both. But what was it about with Brantley?

He didn't fully understand it now, but what it was about was restitution. For almost four years, Brett had been fucking his sister, and not once had he ever concerned himself with whether or not she wanted him or, if she did, whether or not she enjoyed it as he did. For Brett, it was get in, get off, get out. He didn't know if Brantley slunk away to a private place to finish the job on her own or simply did without total satisfaction. He'd never cared enough to wonder, let alone do anything about it.

But now, with his sister exploding beneath him in what he couldn't know was her first orgasm with another person he was ... delighted. And then ... she spoke.

"Cum in me, baby."

Brent's thrusts suddenly stopped and he looked into her face with an expression of ... disappointment. His delight in having pleased her in the ultimate fashion was meant to be a personal, private success. And yet, her was Brantley speaking to him -- acting with him -- like nothing more than a regular, normal, every day lover, urging him to achieve his own pleasure as she had herself.

Brett pulled out of his sister's pussy with a loud, wet plop, rose to his knees, and flipped her forcefully over to her belly. He said nothing to her, didn't chastise her for something he would have expected to hear from a street walker back in Italy or a post-Collapse whore in a trade camp or even Jade, as Brett had fantasized the women to be in the sack. But "Cum in me, baby" wasn't something Brett wanted to hear coming out of his little sister's mouth, now or ever again.

He grasped her hips in tight powerful hands, lifted them, easily found her wetness, and rammed his full length into her in one, cruel stroke. He pulled out and slammed into her again and again and again, each time grunting with exertion as he pulled her ass back against his groin with a slap of flesh.

Brett's anger was all too obvious, even if he didn't explain why, and he didn't stop pounding the smallish woman's pussy until he grunted loud and long at the feeling of his cock exploding to add his own fluids to the multitude of her own. Brett held their bodies together tightly until the last ejaculation caused his erection to twitch. Fully depleted, he gave her hips a forward push, shoving her back to the ground and the now sweat-drenched sleeping bag.

Still without a word, he stood and turned away from Brantley, staring out the open tent vent toward the pair of fires in the distance. His heart was pounding furiously and his chest was rising and falling with each deep breath. He didn't know how long he'd been standing there, staring but not really looking, before he finally became aware of his sister once more...

(OOC: I left open her response or what he detected of her.)

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley knew immediately she had done something wrong, by the look on her brother's face. She had gotten caught up in the moment, gave too much of herself, and clearly was about to get burned. Brett pulled from himself from within her body and rose to his knees before roughly flipping her to her stomach, his rough hands gripping her waist and hips instantly and pulling her ass toward him, leaving her kneeling in a heap before him.

"Ungh!" She groaned, gasping beneath him as he speared his full length into her in one furious stroke. She didn't hurt this time, having been worked over enough before this and, instead, merely looked straight ahead at the tent wall, rolling her eyes in disgust. Just let him have his way, she thought, her body jolting with each slam of his hips against her ass as he reamed her out over and over again. His grunts and moans filled the tent, and he began going at her harder, faster, making sure she knew who was in command; making sure she knew he owned her. What he didn't know was that she didn't want anyone else. But as she took his cock again and again, she wondered why he could not find it in himself to just enjoy her, and enjoy her enjoying him. Finally, his breath grew short, his growls less intense, and he tugged her back against him hard, keeping her there as he erupted deep within her core. She felt him fill her, as he released, everything from the day being put on Brantley once again, the focus of whatever he felt or didn't feel. He rested a second or two, no more, and withdrew again. Brantley collapsed forward onto her stomach as he stood and turned away, watching the camp and the glow of the pyre beyond.

Brantley rolled onto her back, her legs slightly apart and sat up. She pulled her shirt up slightly, revealing her slit, checking herself casually for any blood and wiping off any spill along her thighs, knowing it would only be a temporary relief. Content that things were okay, she curled onto her side and back into a fetal ball, before raising her head to lean on her hand, her elbow bent underneath her, so as to prop her up.

"Brett," she said, tentatively, her voice quiet, soft, not in the least defiant. She was simply his sister, asking her brother what was wrong. "What's this about?" She paused as he still looked outside. "Are you okay?"

 

[DM2015]

"Brett."

He half turned his head, to let her know that he'd heard her whisper his name.

"What's this about?" She paused. "Are you okay?"

He looked back out the vent again for a long moment, not sure how to answer. He didn't honestly know how to answer. Was he okay? If not, what was wrong? He responded by snatching up his clothes, pulling up the tent's zipper, and disappearing into the night.



He arrived at the camp fire -- fully dressed by now -- and nodded to the men, who were obviously surprised to see him up and around. Kim asked casually, "Can't sleep?"

Brett just shook his head. He adjusted his shirt, feeling it stick to his skin, which was still drying from the exertion of his fucking his sister. He casually moved to the opposite side of the fire, fearing he smelled like sex, and said with his typical commanding tone, "Hit the sack guys. I got this."

The two men looked between themselves with knowing expressions, causing Brett to ask simply, "What?"

They were hesitant, but eventually Julio said, "While you were away, one of the Raiders asked to talk to who ever was in charge. We said it would have to wait until morning."

"What does he want?" Brett asked, tossing another log onto the fire.

"She," Kim corrected. When Brett looked up, he continued, "She wants, first, to make sure no one else dies. She says they weren't part of the Raiders who attacked the town."

Brett studied the two men, knowing they were hiding something. "And second?"

The two were silent for a long moment. When Brett pushed them, Julio said quickly, "She wants to keep some of her stuff ... food and the like ... and she's willing to pay for it ... you know ... pay for it."

Brett did know, of course. Sex was one of the chief currencies out her in the Montana wasteland anymore. And Brett knew that the two men had gone without for quite a while, long enough that they would probably give up everything they had to get a piece of warm, wet woman. Before Brett could respond, though, Kim added, "And some of them want to go with us."

"No," Brett said without hesitation.

The two began making the case for diversifying their merry little band, talking about having extra hands to search for food and other resources.

"We've talked about finding a place to settle down, to rebuild," Kim reminded Brett. It had been an on again, off again topic with the Five Fingers, but with the constant raids and other dangers, thus far it had been nothing but a fantasy. "How are we going to remake society with two men and two women, particularly when one of them is your sister and you won't let anyone touch her--"

"Hey!" Brett snapped, only half as ticked as his tone made him sound.

Julio finished the thought with, "And the other one is scarier than shit and would rather cut our dicks off than to ever let it inside her."

By the time Julio had finished, Brett was chuckling. When the two stared at him in confusion, he explained, "You're talking as if you're gonna have to repopulate the planet on your own, just you four."

An outsider might have thought Brett's math was wrong: 3 guys + 2 girls = 5 breeders, not 4. But the others were fully aware that Brett was sterile and would never be passing on his genes to a new generation. It was the reason he could fuck his sister all day long and never worry about getting her pregnant.

Kim took up the subject again, starting, "No, it's ... it's more than--"

"It's more than just having babies, Boss," Julio cut in. "Between the five of us, we have what's needed to survive. But not thrive! What're we gonna do, wander around Montana until we're all so old and feeble that--"

He stopped when he saw Brett casually waving him silent. "I hear what you're saying. And ... you're right."

Brett knew that it wasn't just these two guys who wanted more from life than raiding and being raided. Jade had talked about it greatly, and -- when she thought her brother was receptive to the topic -- Brantley talked about it, too.

They stood there in quiet for a while, then Brett said, "We'll vote on it in the morning. Unanimous vote. No majority rules shit. All four of you have to agree to this. I'll ... I'll just be ... what's that word...? I'll abstain."

The two guys were positively giddy. Brett looked hard at them, causing them to make their best attempts at being serious but failing miserably. His lips spread in a smile as he presumed, "She must be pretty good looking, huh?"

"God almighty!" Kim responded without realizing it was a trap.

Julio smacked him across the chest with the back of his hand, but seeing Brett shake his head in disbelief, he admitted, "Boss, she's got an ass on her that ... oh fuck."

"Go to bed, both of you," Brett ordered. "I'll wake Jade for my watch, and she'll wake y'all for the 6am. Go ... git."

The two wandered off toward side by side tents whispering and making gestures that even in the dark Brett understood to be inappropriate man talk. Once he was all alone, he looked toward the prisoners tent, wondering just how wonderful that ass might be. He was surprised to find a female face staring out at him. He couldn't see her very well, but she appeared youngish -- 20s maybe, or a youthful 30 -- and fairly good looking, though at this distance and in the flickering light, it was hard to tell.

Brett waved her back into the tent, and after a moment, she disappeared once more. He watched the tent for more activity, and when there was none, turned to pacing very slowly around the camp fire as he searched the dark perimeter for signs of danger. There could be any number of Raiders out there, ready to attack, and Brett wouldn't know until he was dead. He was playing the odds that the Five Fingers had caught the group off guard and that they'd all been here at the time of the attack.

All he could do was hope...

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley sat in disheveled disbelief as her brother fled the scene. God forbid she enjoy begin fucked by a guy she loved, who would fuck her whether or not she wanted him to. God forbid he cope with the world as it was now, and discuss what was going on in his mind with her, his closest and only living family. She wiped away tears before they could fall, uncertain what to do, but knowing that if he had wanted her near him, he could have stayed. Instead, she let him go, before curling into the sleeping bag once again, her mind keeping her awake far too long, before drifting off to an exhausted, restless sleep, bringing more distraction than relief.

**********​

"The guys vote yea," Brett said. "What about you girls?" Brantley looked at her older counterpart.

"All of them?" Jade asked, her voice low enough to avoid the detained raiders hearing the implication if the answer was no.

"It has to be all of them," Brantley said, unwilling to see or perform the grisly act of thinning any herd.

"Three of them are elderly," Jade said. "And the pregnant one is going to be a risk to have with us." She turned and looked at the younger girl. "What are we going to do with that?" Brantley had no better plan. It's why she was in no position to lead any group. "And if you don't think that the three guys under sixty won't rape you the first chance they get, little girl, then maybe that's what you deserve." Brantley crossed her arms and scowled.

"I can handle myself," she said, slowly, her affect only alluding to what she often already had to endure, not revealing that she was the only person in camp that had been raped not even twenty-four hours before.

"We cannot take them all," Jade said.

"Jade, they're harmless," Julio piped up, prompting Jade to turn and face him abruptly.

"Is this about sex?" She asked. "Do you want to populate the earth or have someone touch your cock?" She looked at Brett. "Is that what this is about? Is it?!"

"Jade, calm down," Kim said. "I don't get why you're so upset." Jade looked over the group across camp, eating a meager breakfast. Life was already so hard. Their numbers alone would make them a difficult group to control. There would be no trust established quickly, or easily - the Five Fingers had just killed ten or eleven of their group the night before. The dead were colleagues at least, friends or close family at most. Revenge would be something sought. At least, it could not be counted out. Jade didn't like the idea at all. Brantley glanced at the raiders herself. Jade made a point. As harmless as some in the group looked, one of them in particular caught her eye. A girl, around her age, not much older than eighteen, if at all. Pretty, with blonde hair and an athletic build. Perhaps innocent, perhaps not. She did not know her story. She glanced back at Kim, Julio, and Brett, then at the girl once more. Perhaps Jade had been on to something. Brantley's wheels started to turn.

"We have to decide," Julio said, looking at Jade. Jade paused a moment, before dropping her shoulders. She could be a killer, but she wasn't ruthlessly so. And the guys in the Five would soon turn on her if she denied them their needs and also refused to provide them herself. She noticed that two of the raiders were only a bit older than her, both attractive and apparently strong enough they could contribute. She looked at her longing group.

"Okay," she said. Julio flashed a broad grin to Kim, who smiled back.

"Alright," said Kim. "Let's get them rounded up and talk with their leader about joining us."

"And collect reparations to join us," Julio grinned wider. Brantley looked at the entire group, the young girl, and the other women, one of whom was similarly attractive. She looked back at Brett, and thought about the risk to her place, no longer thinking as just his sister, but as the lover she had become the night before, when that alone had almost pushed him away from her entirely.

"No," she said. Julio gasped, nearly audibly. "Take the boy and the pregnant woman," she said, stunning the group. "That's all I will agree to."

 

[DM2015]

"No," Brantley said, stopping the two anxious men dead in their tracks. "Take the boy and the pregnant woman. That's all I will agree to."

An argument broke out without hesitation, with Julio snapping in Brett's direction. "She voted already. You heard her. It has to be all of them!"

"Brett, c'mon man," Kim was pleading. "You said unanimous, and Lil Bit--"

Brantley snapped at the man for what even Brett considered a poor time to use the derogatory nickname. She repeated, "The boy and the pregnant woman ... or no."

As the fighting continued, Brett glanced toward the other group, seeing them all looking this way, many with concern, others with fear. Brett had spent an hour talking with the woman who'd approached Kim and Julio the night before, learning a great deal about them. He'd learned enough to feel confident that they weren't a threat, but -- unlike the strategic decisions about where and whom to attack -- this wasn't his decision to make alone.

"Quiet," he said softly, barely being heard by the four bickering Fingers. He raised his voice and hollered, "Quiet!"

One by one, the voices ended, and after a long moment, Brett said, "The boy and the pregnant woman only. Vote. Yea or nay."

Immediately, there was a combination of yeas and nays. It didn't surprise Brett, of course. The guys wanted sex partners, as well as laborers; while Jade and Brantley wanted ... well ... to be honest, Brett wasn't entirely sure what they wanted.

"That's a no," Brett said, sealing that vote. He looked around to the faces, all of which showed a certain degree of disappointment. He looked back to the group, finding that the woman in charge had taken a few steps closer, eager to learn of the decision. "There's another option."

Brett reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, which he opened up to show the others. It was a flyer from the Chamber of Commerce, with a name at the top, Sodaville. It was typical CoC propaganda, a colorful city map you typically found in businesses, libraries, gas stations, and the like showing the corporate icons of the various businesses that called Sodaville home, as well as a calendar of upcoming events at which the townsfolk hoped outsiders would spend their money.

"The town the raiders hit," Brett explained, tapping a finger on the name near the top of the paper. "We could..." He hesitated, knowing that this was a huge step for the Five Fingers. "We could try to make a go of it there."

Brett looked around at the faces and could see the wheels a'turning behind the wide open eyes. Some of them wanted desperately to stop wandering and settle down. Some who did probably didn't want to do it here! And still others, or one other in particularly -- namely Brett -- felt certain that the Fingers were safest while on the move and that it was premature to settle down here and now. But again, it wasn't his decision.

"Serena..." he said, nodding toward the woman who had taken yet another half dozen steps their way. "She's from Sodaville. Born and raised. She assures me that the people here--" Brett nodded his head toward the group. "--are not a danger. And she says that if we can provide protection for the town, the people back there still alive will welcome us with open arms..."

He looked to Kim and Julio and added with a suggestive tone but a stone face, "... and yes, with open legs."

Kim's mouth widened in a smile, but Julio looked away quickly, embarrassed.

"So ... another vote," Brett went on. "Sodaville ... yea or nay?"

"Yea," Kim said without even thinking, followed quickly -- though less emphatically -- by Julio with, "Yea, boss."

Brett looked to Jade and Brantley...

 

[CarnivalBarker]

Brantley held firm when Julio protested her vote, and Kim referred to her with the pejorative term that Jade had infected the group with when she first began speaking of her in such a dismissive manner. Jade had originally called her Little Bit with a sisterly endearment and while it annoyed her, Brantley had paid little mind, until it came out of their mouths in a deliberate effort to pull rank or minimize her already minimal stature with the group, such as now. Each of them endured hunger, anxiety, fear, exhaustion, starvation, and battle, which threatened their lives each day. On top of that, she would more than occasionally suffer rapes at the hands of her brother, sometimes violent ones, which left her with emotional confusion and scar tissue. Here, now, in this moment, she would not be treated like a child. She stepped quickly toward Kim when he did it, objecting vehemently.

"The next time I hear that, I will make sure you pay for it, you son of a bitch!" Her tone was harsh, but her voice low, to underscore her fury. "And if either you or Julio think you will EVER see another woman on this team, or that I won't kill her if she found you degenerates remotely intriguing, just try me." She stared Kim down, not reversing course. "The boy and the pregnant woman, or no."

"Quiet," Brett said as their skirmish continued when Kim stepped to the diminutive girl, making sure she knew her place.

"I will make you know good and damn well what a woman of this group should be," Kim said through clenched teeth. "I don't know who you think you are," he began before the cutoff was made by Brett.

"Quiet!" The two quickly separated and looked at their de facto leader.

"The boy and the pregnant woman only. Vote. Yea or nay."

"Yea," said Jade.

"No," said Julio and Kim, simultaneously.

"Does it matter now?" Brantley sneered, mostly pointing out that she felt like her vote never mattered.

"That's a no," Brett said, ending the discussion before launching into a third option. He showed the group a flyer featuring some place - Sodaville. Brantley had never heard of it before The Collapse, and she couldn't imagine if the ragtag group of raiders had sacked it what, exactly, kind of stronghold it could be.

"We could try to make a go of it there," Brett suggested. Brantley crossed her arms and looked at Jade. Jade raised her eyebrows as if she had no preference or clue as to what position to take. Julio and Kim shrugged.

"Serena," Brett said, nodding toward a rather attractive woman who stepped forward from the collective group of raiders. "She's from Sodaville. Born and raised. She assures me that the people here---are not a danger." The group remained silent, open to possibilities, but noncommittal. "And she says that if we can provide protection for the town, the people back there still alive will welcome us with open arms..." he turned his words toward the two other men of the group. "And yes, with open legs." Brantley and Jade sneered. Brantley kept her arms crossed and shook her head no.

"I can't believe that's what this has come to," she said, turning her head toward Jade, who took her by the arm and stepped a few paces away from the others.

"Look," the older girl said. "I don't know what is going on with you and Brett," she began. "But you just changed your vote TWICE on what you wanted to do." It was Jade's turn to cross her arms and look down her nose at the kid of the group.

"Don't do this Jade," Brantley shot back.

"Do what?!" Jade put her arms out, palms up, a sign of good faith. "We are going to continue roaming the countryside, going nowhere, trusting no one. We are going to again run out of ammunition and food and supplies. And you know what happens then?" Brantley shrugged before Jade continued. "What was about to happen last night. Brett and the others are going to let you spend a night or ten with the first leader of one of these bands of raiders that is the first one to be so numerous that we can't beat them, in exchange for not shooting them in the head. And that raider leader is going to spend those nights, with every part of himself inside every part of you - hell, inside every part of me - until we are dead or wish we were, and once he is finished with us, we will be." Jade's eyes scanned Brantley's eyes, one then the other, pleading to her as tears welled in the younger girl's eyes, hearing yet another layer of this awful world becoming her reality. "This is a chance, Brant," Jade said. There will be strength in bigger numbers and we can eat. We can shower and shave. We can meet a guy that's not these two slappys or your brother. Brant we can try to live a life, at least for a little while. And I will be there and Brett will be there. We will not let anything happen to the Five, okay? I promise you that." Brantley gave a tiny nod, beaten down to the idea.

"So ... another vote," Brett declared. "Sodaville ... yea or nay?"

"Yea," Kim said. Julio concurred.

"Yea, boss." Brett looked to Jade and Brantley. Jade slowly turned her eyes away from her putative little sister.

"Yea," she said. Brantley kept her eyes on the older girl. She did not want to feel weak any more. She did not want to look at her brother. For all of Jade's intensity, and for all of her rough edges that reared their head at inopportune times...for all of her free spirit and wild ways, Brantley knew she was strong and someone she looked up to, somewhere deep down. She kept her eyes on Jade, a simple crutch to choose her reason over the very fear that had moments before sought to keep her brother away from any other.

"Yea."

 

[DM2015]

Brett wasn't honestly sure how to feel. They others had voted to set down roots, to go to Sodaville. That was that: the vote was in.

"I'll tell Serena," he said.

He took a step back out of the circle of Five, then walked around the others to go meet with his counterpart from the town. He chatted with her for a couple of minutes, occasionally looking back at his long time traveling mates as if concerned about what he was negotiating. At one point, it became obvious that he wasn't happy with what Serena was demanding: he stepped away, turning her back to her to stare at the Fingers for a moment before turning back to talk some more.

Finally, they shook hands, and Brett returned to their own people as Serena returned to hers.

"So, here's the deal ... the details," he told them. He went down through a list of demands, starting with his own. "With the exception of one Townie ... sort of a body guard to Serena if you want to call him that ... only the Five Fingers will be allowed fire arms. We have ours, of course--" He glanced to the pile of weapons they'd secured after last night's fight and continued, "--and those, and the town has a few stashed away, which will fall under our care until we train and authorize additional security amongst the Townies...

"There will be a dusk to dawn curfew for all Townies until further notice. Serena didn't like that, but I told her that we've learned that to stay alive out here on the road we shoot first, ask question later ... and I don't want any of her people shot on accident. We'll have to train some additional security ... lookouts ... but ... we'll make them understand how to be safe and not get dead in the dark...

"Resource distribution will be co-managed by Serena and myself. That means food, medicines ... everything. I will have the final say, but she knows what's available ... what her people are capable of making or growing. Her people will be doing the lion's share of the labor for a while as we're providing security. That means that some of the Townies are going to think we're getting a free ride. There gonna think we're not pulling our weight if all we're doing is standing around with guns in our hands, so ... make it obvious what you're doing ... make it clear that we're keeping them safe ... help out with stuff ... make friends..."

Brett looked off toward Serena and her people for a moment, then back to the Five, then -- obviously reluctant to continue -- to the ground before him. "There is one other thing."

He hesitated, clearing his throat before looking up to the others yet not really looking at anyone in particular. "Serena ... she used to be a history teacher before The Collapse. Still teaches today. She, um ... she knows her shit, particularly that stuff I could never keep straight in senior year History of Western Civilization about how the royals used to trade familial hostages as a way to ensure that treaties were honored by both sides."

He glanced -- for only the briefest of moments -- toward Brantley, then looked to the ground again, clearing his throat once more. "For us to be the only one carrying weapons, Serena wants assurances that we aren't going to run rough shod over the Townies ... wants assurances that I won't become some tin pot dictator. She wants a hostage of sorts. Someone important to us--"

The emotion was beginning to show in his voice, even if he wasn't able to look up into the eyes of those who were likely already aware of what was coming.

--important to me," he continued. He looked up and met Brantley's gaze, finishing, "She wants you to live with her for a while ... stay in her home ... under her care ... and, of course, under her guard ... until she knows that we can be trusted."

 

[CarnivalBarker]

The Five waited as Brett spoke with the woman who, hours before, was nothing more than a prisoner of the small group. Brantley squinted into the morning sun, trying to make out what the two negotiators were discussing. A slight breeze passed through the camp and she turned to look toward Jade.

"Something's up," she said. Jade nodded, silently, her lips pursed as she too watched the discussion take place. Brett shook hands with the woman and returned to where the Five remained, taking place in front of them. Brantley saw, behind him, the remaining raiders begin gathering packs and uprooting their things, packing to go. Brett announced the terms of the deal between him and the larger group. Each item he ticked off sounded reasonable. It was late in his speech that his words began to slow and he stared at the ground, seemingly reticent as he spoke of his inability to maintain things during his school days. Brantley grinned a bit. She thought Brett was cute when he let his guard down, when he became human again. She attributed his stammering to a simply connection he had made with Serena, until two words struck her mind with a sharp resonance.

Familial hostages? Brantley thought.

"For us to be the only one carrying weapons," Brett said. "Serena wants assurances that we aren't going to run rough shod over the Townies ... wants assurances that I won't become some tin pot dictator. She wants a hostage of sorts. Someone important to us--"

No, no, no, no, no, no, NO!!!! Brantley's mind raced through the possible scenario he was describing. You did NOT agree to....

"She wants you to live with her for a while," Brett said, glancing directly at her. "Stay in her home, under her care and, of course, under her guard...until she knows that we can be trusted." Kim and Julio backed away a bit, no doubt seeking any way to find a distraction what was sure to become very uncomfortable. Brantley took a deep breath and turned toward Jade, tears finding her eyes again in a silent cry for help.

"No," Jade said. "We won't do that." She told Brett. "They cannot guarantee her safety. We can." Julio crossed his arms, frustrated.

"I agree," Kim said. "We just want to get to town and settle somewhere for a while. What keeps us from leaving these people in the revine and just taking Sodaville ourselves?" He asked defiantly.

"There may not be enough of us," Brett said, simply. "This is one way." Brantley could not believe he would abandon her, leave her to be seen by someone else, not knowing who these people were or what they might do to her.

"Yeah," Julio said. "Is Serena some threat to Brant? I mean, look at her. She could maybe be her mother. Probably has kids Brantley's age. Let's just agree to their terms." Brantley balled her hands into fists and turned back to face the group.

"Brett what will this mean?" She asked, careful not to defy him.

"You will be safe," he said, stone cold and emotionless. "You'll be free to come and go as you please and you'll be accompanied at all times by one of Serena's people. We will be in the city and you can see us any time." The group grew silent, each person's position dug in.

"I....." she stammered. "I don't want to leave you." She caught herself quickly. "Any of you."

"It's not permanent," Brett said. "A few months until the city is functional and trust is built. Then you can live with me or Jade."

"What about me?" Jade asked. "Can they hold me?"