"What Comes After" (closed)

[PennySaver]

"What Comes After"

closed to SandS13​

14 November 2030:

Apocatrips...

Apocatrips … really?

Becky Taylor often what attention-hungry, social media influencer, pop journalism, hack asshole spawned that horrifically asinine name for the end of the world. No, wait, it wasn't the person who first spoke or wrote that portmanteau -- that blended word --who should have been ashamed of the way their brain works; it should have been the first legitimate news outlet talking head reporter who used it in their story who should have been taken out and shot … and not shot dead but shot in each limb several times, working up from the hands and feet toward the torso and head until finally they'd either bled out or died from shock. And if it had been a man, his cock should have been one of those limbs that had been targeted, too.

Smoke and fog into smog…

Motor and hotel into motel…

Now those were true, lasting, worthwhile portmanteau.

But apocalypse and triple into Apocatrips…? And then to capitalize the first letter as if it were the name to be properly used to describe the end of the world, as if to use Holocaust or Second World War to describe the horrors of the 1940s.

It just made Becky's skin crawl to think that such people existed.

Of course, such people probably didn't exist today, and the reason -- dare she think it? -- was probably the Apocatrips.

The end of the world -- the apocalypse, spelled correctly -- had begun long before now 19 year old Fuck, Becky Taylor had been born, of course. Global warming, pollution, and resource depletion had been taking place since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution -- capitalized! -- and as life altering concepts had risen exponentially through the late 20th and early 21st centuries. That had been Part A of the Apocatrips.

Part B, of course, had been COVID-22. The meaner, nastier big brother to the Coronavirus pandemic of 2020, COVID-22 had mutated -- and still was mutating -- so quickly into Type B, Type C, Type Whatever-By-Now that the vaccines created and dispensed to fight it were described as Tour de France riders finishing Stage 5 while the virus was already on the trophy platform in the yellow jersey being showered with Champagne.

And then, as if Human Beings hadn't fucked with Mother Nature bad enough already via Part A and Part B, Mother Nature decided to fucked the Humans back with Part C: the BAI, or Bermuda Asteroid Impact. Of course, that big fucking rock -- Becky wasn't aware of its actually size -- didn't actually strike the island of Bermuda, but its splash down location 300 miles to the west of the British Overseas Territory was near enough to give it an identifier.

In Becky's view, the damage caused by the BAI was the true apocalypse. The tsunami wiped out cities on both sides of the Atlantic from Tromsø in Northern Norway to Rio Grande in Southern Argentina to Cape Town in South Africa; it continued to kill millions as it left the Atlantic, surging through the other oceans to the coastlines of Australia, China, Japan, India, Indonesia … oh, there was no reason to list them because there wasn't a country with an ocean shoreline that wasn't hit by the waves, whether it was the primary that came first or the secondary and tertiary that left a new definition of what tsunami actually meant.

And it wasn't just the wave. The heat, the vaporization, the wind blast, the ejecta, the seismic shaking … it all contributed in its own way to the Apocatrips. Becky didn't know this because, well, no one really truly knew this who was still alive and disseminating information, but the 46 million who had died from COVID-22 had been an insignificant number compared to the over 460 million people killed directly by the BAI … or the 4.6 billion who would die over the next 7 years or so.

Becky couldn't honestly say whether or not surviving all of this had made her one of the lucky ones. She barely remembered her life before -- gag! -- the Apocatrips truly began. In some sense, she'd been lucky that her family had been government conspiracy survivalist crazies who'd for years been preparing for the end of the world. As a young man, Becky's grandfather had purchased and converted an abandoned mining complex just off the I-90 freeway between Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and Missoula, Montana, into a reinforced, survivalist-style bunker.

Becky had loved going there as a child. Pop Pop used to take the youngsters back into the safer of the shafts and tunnels and play out live action Dungeons and Dragons adventurers with her and the other grand- and great-grandchildren, all of whom had been home schooled by family right there in the area per her grandfather's insistence.

(Pop Pop had made a fortune as a young man in real estate before he was struck by the survivalist bug, sold everything, bought gold, and hid himself away in the Rockies, and if you were one of his offspring and wanted your share of the estimated $14 million dollars he had squirreled away, you resided in the area, home schooled your children, and came to the house every 3rd weekend of the month -- every month -- for Family Get-together. Of course, after COVID-19, Pop Pop offered one last invitation of access to the Compound for all family members, then locked the gates and told the rest of the world -- including those relatives who'd balked -- to fuck off and die.)

Becky and her parents had been amongst those who'd answered Pop Pop's call, and because of it she'd survived BAI. Time went on, and the squirreled away resources dwindled. The bunker's doors eventually had to be opened. Family members -- including Pop Pop went out into the altered landscape to learn what's what; some came back, while others didn't … including Pop Pop.

Ultimately, Becky and her parents -- as well as a sibling, two cousins, an aunt, and an in-law Pop Pop had reluctantly accepted into his little kingdom -- ventured out into the world as well. That had been a year ago; Becky was the only one of the small family group still alive. The others had succumbed to disease, starvation, exposure, violence, and other tragedies until finally -- with the death of her mother six weeks ago -- Becky found herself wandering the wastelands of Central Montana all on her lonesome.

They'd been making their way east by northeast toward the Central Lakes region of Manitoba. For as long as she could remember, Pop Pop had told stories of childhood vacations in a place called Horsfall Island. Becky had seen photographs of it and had thought it the most incredible place in the world, probably because of Pop Pop's stories; literally, it was nothing more than woods surrounded by water, with virtually no roads, literally no towns, and -- per her grandfather -- thankfully no people.

Even after her mother died in her arms and left her all alone, Becky was determined to reach Horsfall, and that had led her here, to Pembina, North Dakota, less than a mile south of the Canadian border and 70 miles south of Winnepeg, the capitol of her destination Province.

Pembina was literally a dead town; she'd been here for 3 days now and hadn't seen another living soul. Becky wondered whether or not the community that had claimed a 2010 census population of 592 had ever been alive in the first place; there was no theater, no public library, and -- apparently being a dry town -- no bars or taverns. What the fuck did they do here, I wonder … other than literally fuck, I mean?

Becky had been spending most of her time scavenging through BAI-dust covered homes and businesses, and while the pickings had been slim, she'd managed to fill the bed of a canopy covered F-250 pickup with food, bottled water, and other supplies that hadn't been discovered by other scavengers, evidence of which Becky had found, leading her to be very cautious in her wandering.

Oh, and she'd found clothes. Becky had never been a fashionista as a child or teen; Pop Pop had stressed function over style when it came to anything and everything, particularly clothing, so she'd worn a lot of oversized, comfortable wool shirts and hearty trousers, all of which had had specialty pockets for carrying the tools of survival. But sometimes, when she was rooting through dressers in the bedroom's of long absent girls and women, Becky liked to don things that would have made Pop Pop laugh hysterically or cry disappointedly.

Today was no different. She'd found a walk-in closet full of the most outrageous clothes and slipped into a pair of … well, could you even call them pants? They were little more than a second skin that clung tightly to her round, fit ass and long, athletic legs like … well … like a second skin! They were incredible; they were sexy, the first pair of … pants she'd ever slipped on that fit that definition. She'd found a bra that -- while a bit tight around her rib cage -- shaped and boosted her B-cup bosom in a way that would have shocked her very conservative mother, particularly when she slipped a tank top over it that clung to her tits and flat belly as well as did the … pants?

Can you call them pants if they don't have pockets for holding your shit? she wondered as she stood before the mirror and continued to turn this way and that, observing and admiring her incredible shape. She wouldn't continue to wear these, of course; they were wonderful, and they made her feel good about herself, but they were simply impractical. But … Jesus! If the guys back at the bunker could see her in these. (It was kind of a sad irony that she had been the most beautiful young woman in the compound, and yet all the boys and men who very often complimented Becky on her looks were either her male relatives or the significant others of her female relatives.)

But for the hell of it -- and because it was a lazy sort of warm, early fall morning -- Becky decided to wear the sexy outfit out of the house and over to a small warehouse where she hoped to find more supplies before heading north into Canada--

--and that was when Becky heard a sound behind her and turned … to find herself face to face with another woman … who looked just as shocked to see Becky and Becky was to see her.

 

[SandS13]

Like most little girls Lily wanted to be a ballerina. She wanted to wear pink shoes and tiptoe around on a stage. She wanted to twirl and dance. She poured over the pictures of her mother. She had been beautiful. Dark haired, dark eyes with graceful arms. A ballerina until she got pregnant. Then she retired and they settled into a quaint life in Vancouver, British Columbia.

When she was little her mother would teach her simple ballet moves and would dance around their little house with her. Lily dreamed of a day when she could be like her mom.

Course, she had taken after her dad, a mop of red where her mother’s beautiful dark waves were and eyes of hazel but still she wanted to dance and be graceful.

She hadn’t really noticed when things first started to go bad. She was too young to really remember the or register just how bad it was.

When her mom died, shit got real very, very quickly. Her dad did what he could. He found them a safe place with friends, way up in the mountains. She remembered helping to pack essentials and begging him to let her take the photos. He relented.

Everyday she flipped through them.

Now, she was alone and doing her best to stay alive. She only had one photo left of her mother. Just the one but she cherished it. It reminded her of happier things.

Lily, thankfully had developed her mother’s physique and not her father’s. He had been a big, barrel of a man. A firefighter. He decided to train her as they hid away in their strange little commune. He told her it was good for their mental health. It was but it also made her lean and strong. She was not strong like he had been though. She had thought he was the strongest and bravest man. It was what made it so hard the day he went out hunting and never came back. The had found him at the bottom of the ravine. Evidence of a rock slide and signs that he had tried to climb back up. She left the commune after that. It became apparent the only reason none of the men had bothered her was her father’s presence. Without him she was an easy target. Or so they thought.

The knife on her belt and hunting rifle on her back spoke otherwise.

Lily had packed the biggest bag she could manage, one of those big backpacker’s ones and headed out on her own. It had been hard. Harder than she thought. The good part was she was fast, light on her feet and smart. She stayed away and out of reach of others.

She had no end goal per say she was at one end of the country she figured why not start heading across it? She weaved her way between the States and Canada because...border didn’t really matter anymore and no one was really going to stop her. Her path made no sense but she diligently marked it on her map. According to it she was in Pembina, North Dakota.

It was small but she liked small. Less likely to find trouble.

She didn’t have time to draw her gun. She was completely shocked at the sight of the woman. She had come in here hoping for supplies. Lily blinked. The woman, her age or maybe a little older, she wasn’t sure, looked as shocked as she felt.

Lily put her hands up to show she wasn’t currently holding a weapon. Her red hair was tied back in a tight braid. Her black tank top was covered with a denim jacket. She wore military cargo style pants and boots. She prayed she didn’t look like she was ready for a fight. Okay, the gun and knife might say different but Lily was hoping her stance was enough.

“Easy. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Her eyes moved over the woman looking for a sign that she should run or be ready to fight.

 

[PennySaver]

“Easy. I didn’t mean to startle you.”

Becky's heart was pounding, the adrenaline of suddenly being face to face with another human being coursing through her in an instant. She was a bit perplexed when the stranger lifted her hands up and out in a surrender gesture, until she realized that she'd instinctively raised and pointed her Beretta at the woman's chest. Ironically, though -- once she realized that she'd drawn down on the redhead -- Becky didn't do anything to lessen the threat she was making; the semiautomatic handgun remained leveled at the woman's heart with Becky's finger on the trigger.

"Who are you?" Becky asked. It was kind of a silly question, but it had been the first one to come into her thinking. She quickly asked the right questions as she looked hurried about the loading dock, the road fronting it, and the buildings across the way before looking back to the stranger. "Where'd you come from...? Are you alone...? Answer me!"

 

[SandS13]

"Okay...I will answer but you sort of have to stop asking questions..."

Her lips were impossibly dry. Her heart was pounding so hard she could hear it in her ears.

"Lily. Vancouver and alone." Lily gave a nod of her head. 'Think you could lower that, just a little? I am not going to draw on you."

 

[PennySaver]

"Okay...I will answer but you sort of have to stop asking questions..."

The response confused Becky; in her panic, it never occurred to her that to get answers from the other woman, she would need to leave a gap in her inquiries.

"Lily. Vancouver and alone."

Lily … her name is Lily, Becky repeated in her head for reasons that baffled her. She asked sharply, "Which Vancouver? The one in Oregon … I mean, Washington--"

Vancouver was a suburb of Portland and a part of the Greater Metro Area, but while the latter was in Oregon State, the former was in Washington State, just beyond the Columbia River. It had all been kind of confusing to Becky during her last summer before moving to the Idaho compound, when she'd stayed with a host family to fill a volunteer position as a Zooguide at the Oregon Zoo.

She continued her question, "--or the one in Canada?"

The girl answered, then after a moment asked, "Think you could lower that, just a little? I am not going to draw on you."

Becky was at a loss for what to do. Her last six or seven encounters with other people … well, hell … all of her and her now-extinct group's encounters with other people since leaving Idaho had been negative ones.

"Put the firearms on the deck," she said, using the proper word as opposed to guns as she'd been taught by Pop Pop. She added immediately, "Slowly...!"

If the girl did as told, Becky would tell her to back away, after which she would move forward to collect them. If she didn't...? Well, Becky hadn't gotten that far yet.

 

[SandS13]

Lily sighed. She took the gun from her back and did as she was asked. The other woman's gun was trained on her. Lily did not have the upper hand.

She backed away.

"Do I get to know your name?" The tone was almost that of a sulking teenager. Lily didn't like not having her gun, didn't like not being the one in control and she hated that she was in this mess.

"Are you alone or is some guy gonna come and put a bullet in my brain? Look, I was just looking for stuff. It's just me."

 

[PennySaver]

Becky was so relieved that the other woman did as she asked that she visibly let the breath she'd been holding for several seconds rush out in almost a gasp.

"Do I get to know your name?" the girl asked as Becky collected the rifle from the loading dock's deck. When Becky didn't answer, Lily asked, "Are you alone or is some guy gonna come and put a bullet in my brain?"

Without even thinking about what she was saying, Becky spat out, "Why the fuck would I have a guy with me?"

She hadn't meant to frame her response in a sexual preference sort of way, like I wouldn't have a guy with me, I'd have a girl with me. She'd actually meant it to mean Why would you think I need a guy with me, for protection...? I can fucking protect myself, thank you very much.

"Look, I was just looking for stuff," Lily went on. "It's just me."

At that, Becky instinctively looked around the neighborhood again. She tended to believe the young woman; Becky had been here for three days already, preparing for her next stage northward, and not only had she not seen anyone else but she hadn't see any signs of anyone else.

Feeling a bit more at ease, Becky took a moment to look the other woman over. Lily was probably the most beautiful woman upon whom Becky had ever laid eyes, and that was saying a lot considering Becky's mom had been the 2nd Runner Up in the Miss Idaho beauty pageant her first year of college. Once she'd taken a hard look at her, Becky found it difficult not to stare at Lily's red hair and freckled face; all of her people had been dark haired, dark skinned, dark eyed folk and she'd never really known a redhead, particularly one so incredible.

Becky suddenly felt a blush fill her cheeks. She didn't know why this would happen. No … that wasn't true; she knew exactly why it would happen, and she found herself embarrassed. Pop Pop would be ashamed of his granddaughter for having lustful feelings for another female!

Taking her finger off the trigger of her Beretta, then slowly lowering it to dangle at her waist, she told the other girl, "My name is Becky."

 

[SandS13]

Lily looked shocked at the woman's outburst. She hadn't meant it like she expected her to have a guy just...usually if people travelled in pairs it was two men or a man and a woman. And given how beautiful this woman was Lily wouldn't have been surprised to find a man travelling with her.

She could feel her cheeks turning red as the woman stared at her. Okay...you can stop inspecting me...not going to grow a second head...

The blush spread down her neck and the top of her chest. At least the other woman was blushing now too. Maybe she realizes we are just standing here and staring.

Lily let her breath out slowly through her lips as the woman lowered the gun. She slowly lowered her hands. "Nice to meet you. Where are you from?" She licked her lips and reached for her canteen. "Just water...just going for my water."

She didn't want to spook the woman.

 

[PennySaver]

"Idaho," Becky responded after deciding it didn't hurt to tell of her origins. "I lived there with my family."

She tensed a bit but left the gun at her side as Lily went for and used her canteen. As the woman was drinking, Becky reached into the small bag hanging over one shoulder and pulled out a breakfast bar. She ripped open the wrapper, sniffed at it, broke off about a quarter of it, put it against her tongue to test for spoilage, then popped the piece into her mouth. She chewed for a moment, broke off another quarter, and said, "It's about four years out of date, but with all the preservatives, it'll probably be good for another four."

She offered out the half still in the wrapped and said, "Trade for a drink?"

 

[SandS13]

"Sure, Becky from Idaho." Lily smiled softly. "Want to find a place to sit?"

She held out the canteen for Becky to take. She took the offered breakfast bar with the other hand.

"Anything good in this town?" Lily looked around and gestured to a nearby metal table. It looked like it would have been used for packing things or maybe, once people stood around it looking at order sheets. Maybe they chatted over coffee, leaning against it.

She shoved the melancholy thoughts away and moved to the table, sliding up to sit on it. Her feet dangled. Lily chewed the bar.

 

[PennySaver]

"Anything good in this town?"

Becky wasn't sure how to answer that or even if she should answer at all. It had taken her three days of scavenging to fill the backend of the pickup for which she'd also had to scrounge up diesel, which now filled both of its tanks and six 5 gallon Jerry Cans.

She moved across the deck with Lily but instead just stood in front of her while they ate and talked. She lied, "I haven't found much worth keeping, other than a couple of these bars … but, I've only just started looking, so. What about you?"

Becky's eyes never left the other woman as Lily gave her answer in return. Any time the redhead looked away from her, Becky's gaze fell to her body, which even in more conventional end of the world clothing than the body hugging clothes Becky was wearing, was obviously well rounded and fit. Becky suddenly felt like a stripper dressed as she was, and she let the bag over her shoulders slip around to casually rest before her waist and groin as she also crossed one arm around under her bosom while the other crossed diagonally over it in an attempt to casually hide her uplifted titties.

 

[SandS13]

Lily wasn't entirely surprised at the dominant stance that Becky took. It didn't bother her. She chewed the bar.

"I just got into town a couple hours ago. I tend to look for big places first then hit the stores then homes...I have to watch though I can only carry so much. My bag isn't that big and I learned early on not to try and carry too many heavy things. Kills the feet." Her legs swung as she sat on the table.

Lily cocked her head. "I like your pants." She gestured with her chin towards the woman's legs. "Any decent clothes here? Its starting to get chilly at night. Figured I would look for a sweater or something, you know?"

 

[PennySaver]

Becky looked down at the skin tight clothes about her legs, hesitated, then pulled the bag away that was hiding her more feminine area. She asked meekly, "Really...? I … I don't normally wear stuff like this, but … I just … I thought I'd try it..."

She blushed fiery red again and crossed her arms in an "X" across her bosom. "I … I just wanted to feel like a girl for once in my life I guess, but … it's too much, isn't it?"

 

[SandS13]

Lily shrugged. "Who is going to judge? The boxes? The dirt? The empty stores?" She laughed. "Dress how you want. This world is messed up enough. and looking like a girl suits you. I don't know how you dressed before but stick to this."

She smiled and hopped down from the table. "Can I have my canteen back? I am going to look for a sweater, maybe a canned food or two if I can find it then I gotta get walking. Need to get into a good shelter before night."

She looked to her gun. "Mind if I take that too?"

 

[PennySaver]

Looking like a girl suits you.

Becky blushed at Lily's compliment, and after a moment let her arms slowly descend from hiding the bosom that was usually hid within an oversized wool shirt but today was so very obviously displayed by the push up bra and the thin fabric of the scanty tank top.

"Ya think...?" she asked meekly.

"I don't know how you dressed before but stick to this."

Becky smiled, then chuckled just a bit. She responded softly, "I might."

Lily spoke about her own needs for water, food, and shelter, then looked to the firearm Becky had confiscated. "Mind if I take that too?"

Becky tightened her grip on the rifle instinctively, but … after a moment … stepped a bit closer to Lily and offered it out to her. She said softly, "I was just being careful … ya know?"

Looking down the street toward a section of town that she was yet to investigate, Becky suggested, "We might find some clothes and stuff down that way."

The pair began a slow, casual walk toward the end of the dock, onto the street, and down along the sidewalk. Becky was nervous, for multiple reasons. She'd survived this long -- with her family, with her mother, and more recently on her own -- by not taking chances, and yet here she was taking a big one with this woman she'd only just met.

She was also overwhelmed with some strange feelings that she'd never experienced before, all caused by the presence of this incredible woman walking beside her. Oh, Becky was a beautiful, sexy young woman, and the clothes she was currently wearing only showed her off so much more. But she'd never been exposed to people -- men or women -- who had really let her know just how attractive she was.

Since even before the COVID-19 epidemic 10 years ago -- when she was only 8 years old -- Becky had been isolated in a mountain compound with family and the significant others of family. There had only been a few men who might have felt at ease speaking to Becky about her sex appeal as she entered and passed through her teen years of development, but they wouldn't have spoken of it because Pop Pop would have taken them out to the edge of the property and cut their nuts off.

Becky had grown up isolated and protected and sheltered as few women were in this day and age. What she knew about sex and relationships could fit into the cartridge of a 9mm reload … something which she ironically knew a lot more about then sex.

So, why was this stranger bothering her so much? Becky didn't understand it … but she was eager to learn about it with Lily. She pointed off to the first house they reached, saying, "Haven't checked it yet."

She looked to the west and added, "Gonna be sunset in maybe forty, fifty minutes. Maybe we see if the beds are clean and we stay here."

She swung her bag around and fished inside it again, saying, "I have a can of hash … and another of green beans if we don't find anything inside."

 

[SandS13]

Lily waited to see if Becky would give her the gun back. When she did, she smiled, relieved. She needed it if she was going to survive.

"Thanks. You too. And find more clothes like that. You should feel good. This world is too shitty not to feel good right?"

Lily was a little surprised when Becky started to walk with her. She was also unsure. She stayed alone. It was safer that way. Then again, Becky didn't look ready to jump on her and slice her throat open or try to rape her. Still, it was better safe than sorry.

"Alright, let's go check it out." Lily smiled. "You don't mind hanging out in this place with me? I mean, I don't know your story but I am not used to company. I might snore..." She laughed. It helped her nervousness.

 

[PennySaver]

"And find more clothes like that."

Becky smiled and blushed again at what she presumed was a compliment of her physical appearance. Despite being what most people would consider attractive or even sexy, Becky had never enjoyed much of such praise. It was nice to hear it now, even if it was from another girl.

Of course, being from a girl was odd in itself. Becky had never known a lesbian, not that she had any reason to believe that Lily was one. The point was, that except for her mother's obligatory you're a beautiful girl compliments, Becky had never had another female tell her she looked nice.

After just five minutes of hearing Lily talk of her like that, Becky was already decided that she would look for some more sexy if unpractical clothing.

They checked the door of the target house and found it unlocked. Inside, they discovered what Becky had found in most of the houses so far: very little food, very few perishable supplies, and a small amount of damage that was indicative of a house that had been looted.

"Some of the homes look really bad," she told Lily, likely without need as Lily had probably seen the same in other towns. "There are a few over on the east side that were burned to the ground. Not sure why someone does that. Boredom? We should check the kitchen, and most of these houses have basements, but … we should go down together, in case there's someone there, or maybe a dog. I got bit a couple of days ago by one … bastard."

They divided once they were upstairs again and took their time searching through each of the two floors. They each found something worth keeping; Becky found a box of 9mm ammunition hidden inside a steel wool box under the kitchen sink. Most of the shells were discharged with only eight good rounds. She searched for the weapon that with them but couldn't find it anywhere.

"What'd you find?" she asked Lily after they met up again in the kitchen. She expressed her joy saying, "Nice find. Surprised that was left behind."

They decided to stay here together tonight, even after Lily warned, "I might snore..."

They laughed about it, and Becky said that for all she knew she did, too. They made themselves comfortable in the second floor master bedroom, which had a fireplace. "Is we use this one instead of the one down in the living room, the heat won't rise up away from us."

The master bedroom was nice, with a king sized bed, a couch, a cat bird seat in the window, and an attached bathroom. There was an attached bathroom -- an en suite as she'd read in a magazine once -- but there was no water pressure, as expected.

After they had a fire going and had brought up firewood from the downstairs back porch, Becky dropped into the cat bird seat such that she could look out upon the city and look to Lily, too. She answered the other woman's earlier question, "I'm on my way north … to an island called Horsfall Island. Island … Horsfall Island … duh."

Becky told Lily all about her Pop Pop's vacations there as a kid without speaking about the survivalist camp he'd had or in which she herself had essentially grown up. "There's probably nothing there, but then, maybe that's not a bad idea. No one's going to go there is there's nothing to steal or salvage or scavenge, right?"

 

[SandS13]

"Yeah, some places looked pretty torn apart. Some people just like to destroy for the sake of destruction. Maybe it helps them get out their anger?"

They inspected the house, dividing and conquering as it were. When they regrouped in the kitchen, Lily presented some rope, a bottle of water..one of those 2L spring water bottles, a first aid kit which really was just some randoms bandages and a bar of soap.

Stuff was gathered and they settled into the second floor master bedroom. Lily dropped her pack and gun against a wall. She paused for a moment before removing her knife from her belt. She shrugged off her coat once they got the fire going.

"Horsfall Island huh? Never heard of it but it is good to have a destination. I am just wandering. Figured I would go east because...why not? One coast to the other. Then maybe north..." Lily shrugged.

The fire made the room toasty and comfortable.

Lily sat and took her boots off. She rooted in her pack and pulled out a pair of pants. She turned her back to Becky, a mistake in some cases but Lily didn't feel threatened here. She removed her cargo pants revealing lean muscled legs and slim hips. Her underwear clung to her toned ass. Lily pulled on the looser black pants. She stretched her arms over her head and tilted to the side as she turned. Without her coat it was clear the red head was not wearing a bra. She didn't see the point. Her breasts were decent but not overly large and taut and high. She leaned the other way.

"I guess I was more tense than I thought. Thanks for not being an asshole." Lily chuckled. she began to undo her braid as she approached the edge of the bed to sit down. "How do you want to do the sleeping arrangements?"

 

[PennySaver]

Lily talked about not having a destination any more precise than east, and Becky very nearly blurted out Come with me! But she'd only just met this girl; she didn't know Lily and Lily didn't know her, and while Becky didn't believe that Lily had a hidden band of rapist thieves hiding the next block over, she still didn't know her enough to be making traveling plans with her.

When Lily suddenly removed her pants and was standing there before Becky in her tight fitting panties, Becky's eyes opened wide. She simply stared at the fair skinned beauty's ass and athletic legs, unsure of what she was feeling but knowing that she was getting a tad bit warm inside her own panties. By the time Lily turned and presented her unbridled breasts and the swollen nipples hidden behind just a thin layer of cotton, Becky realized that her heart was racing excitedly.

"How do you want to do the sleeping arrangements?"

Without hesitation, Becky responded, "I prefer the right side."

Her face exploded in a fiery blush as she realized that she'd implied -- no, pretty much stated in fact -- that she was thinking that the two of them would share the bed, as opposed to one of them taking the cat bird seat or the couch or the carpeted floor for that matter.

"What I mean is...! Becky started quickly, stopping just as fast as she found herself unsure of what she was trying to say. "What I mean is ... I always took the right side when my mother and I shared a bed ... you know ... when we were still traveling together ... but ... I can take the couch."

 

[SandS13]

Lily shrugged. "I will take the left then." She had been asking more if they wanted to set up a watch or if Becky wanted her to sleep on the couch or something but the woman seemed fine with sharing the bed and Lily didn't give it much thought.

She shook out her hair, long red waves down her back and slid into the bed. "I grew up in a sort of commune...lots of sharing beds for warmth. Not like..sharing beds but well...okay some of them fucked but you know....to save space, conserve heat. I don't mind sharing if you don't."

The young woman hadn't been raised conservative and after shit went down there was even less reason to stick to conservative notions about sex or language.

"So you travelled with your mom? Where is she now?"

 

[PennySaver]

Becky's face exploded in yet another blush when Lily used the word fuck in the context of sex, not profanity. She found herself imagining Lily in bed with men ... having sex ... oh, God. That was what she was saying, wasn't it? That she'd had sex with the men -- did she actually say men? -- with whom she'd shared beds.

"So you travelled with your mom?" Lily asked, not that Becky heard the question. "Where is she now?"

Becky's mind was still on the image of that beautiful, shapely, fair skinned body entangled with some man -- who Becky didn't try to picture specifically -- under the covers. Becky had on occasion caught some of the couple in the compound engaged in acts of affection or outright sex, but she'd always been to shy to lengthen her viewing of the event. That didn't prevent her from knowing, though, that sex was something she'd always wanted to experience one day when she met the right man ... or ... now she was thinking, woman?

"She's dead," Becky answered when the question Lily had asked finally made its way through the sex-addled maze that were her current thoughts. "She got sick. Don't worry! It wasn't the plague ... the virus. Mom and I both immune to it. Actually, no ... I had immunity, but she'd caught it and survived, so, she had the antibodies in her. The government..."

She'd been about to explain that after she'd shown anti-bodies to COVID-22, the government had tried to get her to join a CDC program to bleed her, as Pop Pop described it, for the benefit of others. Instead, she went on, "We found a stash of food in a basement and ate it, and the next morning I woke up to find her dead."

Becky turned away, not wanting Lily to see her eyes as they glazed over, threatening tears. She hopped up and began searching through the dressers and then the walk-in closet. She was looking for something to wear to bed but found neither sweat nor pajama bottoms. She looked back to Lily.

"I don't think I can sleep in these," she said about the skin tight pants she was wearing, "and my bag is at the house I slept in across town ... it has my sweats in it."

She didn't actually want to ask is it okay for me to sleep in my panties, so she looked around the room for another option of something to wear that would be less ... suggestive.

 

[SandS13]

"Oh, I am sorry to hear that Becky." Lily gave the woman a look of sympathy but she had turned away. She wanted to tell her she understood loss but then again hadn't everyone? She didn't want to be trite.

Her eyes followed Becky as she moved about the room. "You could just take them off or if that makes you uncomfortable you can...ugh..." Lily looked a little at a loss. "I can put my pants back on and you can have these ones? I don't care a lot of extra stuff...I don't mind if you just sleep in your underwear, sleep naked. It isn't like I haven't seen it before." Lily was trying to make Becky feel more comfortable, trying to let her know that nudity, partial nudity..none of that bothered her.

 

[PennySaver]

"I don't mind if you just sleep in your underwear, sleep naked. It isn't like I haven't seen it before."

Becky giggled, then felt silly for doing so and giggled again, saying, "Sorry, I just..."

She didn't finish what she was saying. She considered it all, then only said, "Okay."

She lifted the lower hem of the tank top to expose the snaps and zipper on her left hip, then hesitated; she'd never undressed in front of anyone but her mother, and it was too light in here despite the illumination only coming from the fire and a single hand-crank LED lantern that had been part of Lily's kit.

"Do you mind...?" Becky asked about the lantern. She didn't wait for permission to turn it off, instead just pressing the button on the front, adding, "I mean, gotta turn it off sometime, right?"

Becky glanced to Lily, then turned her side to her; she didn't know why she was feeling so insecure about this until she reminded herself that she had only just Met Lily and she was crawling into bed with her. She unfastened the tight fitting pants and pushed them off her hips, but the panties she'd found in a partially looted department store a couple of weeks back started coming down, too. She giggled again, untangled the two items from one another, and continued working the pants down until they were off. She kept her side to Lily for a moment as she laid the pants over a chair, then quickly turned to the bed and slipped under the bedding.

"Oh, this is nice, isn't it," she said, mostly making chit chat to hide her nervousness. "I wonder where the people who lived here are or if they're still alive, I mean."

Folding her pillow in half and stuffing it under her head, Becky laid on her side and looked at the other beautiful young woman with a smile. Nervously and unsure of what she was supposed to do next, she awkwardly said, "Hi!"

 

[SandS13]

It was clear Becky was shy, even a little bashful. The light went out and Lily shook her head. The young woman contemplated taking off her pants but feared that instead of helping to relax the woman it might make it worse. She wasn't sure that Becky would appreciate the gesture.

The bed moved, bounced as Becky undressed.

Lily laid down on her back. She chuckled softly. "Hi." She was quiet for a moment. "I miss people. I lived with a lot of them. I am glad we ran into each other."

She rolled and faced Becky in the dark. "I think a lot of people are dead. I used to dream that people hid away, like my family...big groups and one day they would all come out again but...I guess it was wishful thinking."

 

[PennySaver]

Becky was all smiles as Lily rolled to face her. It reminded the girl from Idaho of when she and the other girls her age would have the survivalist compound's version of sleepovers, where instead of sleeping in their family cabins the girls would be allowed to take over one of the empty shelters for a night to laugh and play and eat poorly and generally have a good time. Becky missed those nights; Becky missed those girls.

"I miss people," Lily said, which made Becky actually smile at knowing that they were thinking alike. "I lived with a lot of them. I am glad we ran into each other."

"I did to ... live with a lot of people," Becky responded. "Mostly family ... wives and husbands of my relatives ... a few others but not many 'cause the Compound was for family."

Becky's smile faded as Lily said, "I think a lot of people are dead."

Becky didn't have to think that; she'd seen it. How many dead people had she seen in her trek from Northern Idaho to Northeastern North Dakota...? 50...? 100...? Some of them had been so badly decomposed or gnawed on by animals that she'd hardly been able to tell that they had once been people. Ironically, many of the animals had died, too, only to be eaten by other animals ... or bugs! Yeah, there were still a lot of bugs.

Becky thought about how Lily had said think. Did that mean she hadn't seen as many dead? Becky hoped that was true. No one should have to see one dead body, let alone dozens or scores.

"I used to dream that people hid away, like my family ... big groups," Lily continued. "And one day they would all come out again but...I guess it was wishful thinking."

Becky didn't immediately respond but eventually said softly, "Probably ... withful, I mean."

They stared at one another in the dancing light of the fire for a moment before Becky told Lily, "My Pop Pop ... my grandfather, dad's dad ... he was a survivalist. My mother used to use the word Prepper ... meaning he was prepared. She called him a nut, but I loved him. He's the reason I'm still alive..."

She thought about the man a moment, then continued, "He had a radio in the Compound. That was where I grew up ... we called it the Compound. It was in Idaho, in the Rocky Mountains. Pop Pop had made a fortune selling things, land mostly ... and he'd bought an old abandoned mine and hundreds of acres of land and mountain and forests around it."

She was smiling again at the memories, but that smile faded as she got back to what she'd been about to tell Lily. "After we all moved to the Compound, in 2020, after the COVID ... the first one, 19 ... after we moved there, he would listen to radio every morning and every night ... sometimes in the afternoon. It was one of those, whaddaya call'em ... HAM radio? He had an antennae clear up on the mountain, more than 3 miles away, and a wire that came all the way down ... a power wire or whatever.

"Anyway, I would sit and listen with him ... to people all around the country ... around the world. Sometimes we listened to the news, but Pop Pop didn't trust the news. Mom said it was 'cause he was a conspiracy nut, not that she would say that in front of him, of course. Anyway, he would let me use the math I was learning to keep track of all kinds of things ... including how many people were dying because of 19.

"And then ... a couple of years later, 22 hit during the winter ... and then it came back even worse that fall. I can remember one day, I collected all the numbers and did the math ... it was the 3rd of January, 2024 ... I did the math..."

Becky rolled to her back and looked up at the red and orange dancing upon the ceiling. "For the first time in the history of human beings that the rate of population growth was zero. I mean, I can't say that it happened that day, of course. I just mean that ... well, that was the day that number of people dying from 22 was pretty much equal to how many babies Pop Pop said were born in the world ... 300,000 ... 300,000 thousand babies born across the world each day ... 300,000 people dead, too."

She just stared upward for a moment, looked to Lily with a solemn expression, then rolled to face her again. She chuckled, then said, "And then we got hit by that asteroid ... Jesus! Pop Pop said it was for a reason. Mother Nature was pissed. He said we caused COVID-19 and COVID-22 ... we ruined the Earth with pollution and we used up all the resources and we didn't show Mother Nature the respect she deserved, so ... she hit up with a fucking rock the size of Grizzly Stadium. That's in Missoula, by the way. Pop Pop loved College Football."

Becky rolled out of the bed and went to the window to fetch a bottle of water she'd been let cool outside. When she returned, she threw herself onto the bed, uncapped and drank from the bottle, and offered it to Lily. She felt a chill on the back of her bare legs but it felt kind of nice, so she didn't slip under the covers yet.

"Pop Pop said more the Bermuda Asteroid killed more than 2 billion people," she went on, repeating numbers that her grandfather had estimated from those to whom he'd talked after the even and those to whom he couldn't because they'd lived near the shore line or up a major river and had likely been killed. "He said the tsunami wiped out every coastal city on the Atlantic, and that the waves reached every shore before it died.

"And all the other stuff that happened beside the wave ... the steam cloud, the debris, the heat, the wind and shock wave ... the starvation, the disease ... the war over resources ... they say we used nuclear weapons against China after China invaded a bunch of countries, but Pop Pop wasn't sure 'cause we never got nuked ... as far as Pop Pop knew, anyway. He said all that other stuff, it killed another 2 billion in less than a year.

"By the time we ran out of food at the Compound in March of '29 ... by the time we abandoned it ... went out into the world, Pop Pop said there were probably fewer than 2 billion people left alive in the world. He wasn't sorry, though. He'd always thought there were too many people in the world. Still ... there are some people I miss..."

Her eyes glazed over but she fought off the tears, clarifying, "I miss Pop Pop ... and my mom."

She sipped from the bottle, offered it to Lily again, then laughed. "Oh my God! I was boring the crap out of you, wasn't I? I'm so sorry. Sometimes, when I'm nervous, I talk too much ... and..."

Becky didn't mean to do it, but she let her gaze drop for just a minute to Lily's perfect bosom where it was displayed just above the edge of the blanket before looking back to her equally perfect face and saying, "...and I'm kinda nervous now."