The Link
#1 of Outbreak
I haven't submitted anything for a while, but here's something I've put some thought into. I'll be honest, it's a bit of a long shot... I'm not sure it will go down well, and the following chapters may or may not come depending on how well this one goes down. There isn't a huge amount of yiff in this one, unfortunatly soo... let's just see what happens? If your a fan of 28 Days Later or anything like that, you'll probably like it ^.^ Enjoy, maybel...
I wasn't sure if it was the adrenaline that had kept me going this far, or the incredible fear; the fear that, if I slowed down or stopped, I'd be completely torn to pieces.
My body burned in agony from over exertion, and my cheeks stung in the late autumn wind. I felt tiny droplets of rain occasionally hit my face, and in the horrid cold each one felt like a massive patch of fur was being ripped away from my cheek. I could feel my pulse throbbing painfully in my head, and my heart bash against my ribs mercilessly. I'd been running for what felt like hours, and every time I thought the pain of this effort couldn't get any worse it found another way to sneak up on me. God, I needed to stop! I couldn't take this agony any more!
But the snarling, revolting sound close behind me quickly reminded me why I was running.
I was being chased with a fury that terrified me far worse than the physical pain I was in. I didn't dare look behind me, in case what I saw would turn my legs to rubber and slow me down. Besides, I didn't need to look at my attacker to know what I'd see â€" a purposeless monster, encased inside the lifeless shell of my oldest friend. He was already dead, but something in Mother Nature's delicate balance had gone horribly, sickeningly wrong.
There was nobody around to observe the scene, but it would have been a strange one of they had. A teenaged white tiger, wearing a bloodied white shirt and a ripped pair of jeans, was running away from a similar aged canine whose fur had become dull and matted, and was bleeding from the mouth, eyes and nose. The only sounds were the two frantic pairs of footsteps, the snarling fury of an infected and the shrill whine of the wind in my frostbitten ears.
As I turned a corner in the street, I noticed that I was running up hill. Any minute now I'd loose balance and collapse, to be left at the mercy of my attacker. The pain that would follow would be far worse then, so I kept going... and going. I passed house after house, none of which showed any sign of life, and some showed vicious signs of forced entry.
As my body start to tilt forwards, ready to collapse, the ravaging beast behind me was getting closer. He was going to catch me... I just knew it.
The gunshot had been so sudden and unexpected, it would have made me stumble from shock even if I hadn't been about to go down anyway. With a sickening crack, I heard something solid behind me explode, and my brilliant white fur was suddenly stained in droplets of blood. I covered my head with my arms to avoid the shower, and then felt violently sick after I realized what had happened.
Somebody had fired a shot at the zombie chasing me, and... well, the firer had been right on target. A mix of repulsion and sheer exhaustion caused me to throw up on the road, and I pushed myself away from that spot with a great heave. I felt as though my head was full of helium, and my fur was so drench in cold sweat that it could have been swarming with ants. I actually thought, in that moment, that I was going to die anyway. I was completely helpless.
Minutes passed. My vision returned, and so did my common sense. Where had that shot come from? Almost immediately, I spotted a boarded up, well reinforced house directly opposite me. The chimney had been knocked down, and all the windows were obscured.
I hadn't been expecting an open welcome, but I can't say I'd been expecting so much hostility either. The front door of the house opened inwards, so sharply that it smashed against the wall it was hinged to. The figure who emerged was so wrapped up in white overalls, goggles and a facemask that I couldn't tell if it was male or female. As soon as the door was clear, the figure was pointing some kind of shotgun right at my face. "Get down kid!" A male voice no older than my own shouted at me.
"I'm not infected!" I tried to reason, putting my hands up in the air to show my innocence, but the figure jabbed the shotgun barrel painfully into my cheek to silence me. I couldn't see his eyes, so I had no idea how afraid I should really be... Who was this guy? What species was he? Could I really trust him?
"Get down!" He demanded, but didn't wait more than half a second before he pushed me further away. I was so exhausted from the pursuit I didn't have the strength to keep my balance, and I collapsed backwards in a heap. I heard a thud as my head smacked into the pavement below me, but neither my muscles nor voice had the energy to complain. I was down for the count.
"Stay there! If you move, I'll blow you fuckin' brains onto the pavement, you got it?!" The man growled at me, in a somewhat inhuman snarl. When I realized he was waiting for an answer of some sort, I nodded weakly, looking fearfully up at him. Encased in all the protective covering, he was a very intimidating sight.
The man knelt beside me, obviously in quite a hurry. He quickly glanced cautiously around us before placing the shotgun on the ground and pulling an empty syringe out of his pocket. His hands were shaking, and my nerves got the better of me.
"What are you going to do?! Get away!" I screamed, trying hard to crawl away, but he put his knee right between my legs and pushed hard on my crotch. I cried out again, my voice a slightly higher tone than before.
"Hold still..." He instructed me harshly.
"Then get your leg off my dick! Your crushing my nuts, you fucking-"
Whack! He'd slapped me across the cheek and covered my mouth with his hand. My already stinging cheeks burned with pain, and my muffled curses went completely ignored. With his trembling hands, he plunged the needle into my forearm with complete disregard to which vein he hit. I growled and tried to bite his hand as the syringe slowly filled with my own blood, but his grip on my mouth was too strong.
After about half a minute of struggling like this, with me trying hard not to let him crush my manhood, he tore away from me and grabbed the shotgun again. Even as I began pulling back from him, he'd already aimed it me again. I was staring right down the barrel of death â€" all he needed to do was pull the trigger and it'd be over. My life. My memories. My misery...
"Stay where you are!" He growled, carrying the syringe with my blood in his free hand. As soon as he'd stepped onto the house again he slammed the door shut.
The full agony of my situation finally caught up with me. God, I was in unbearable pain! As if my own throbbing pulse wasn't painful enough, the syringe had probably stabbed me deeper than was safe, and blood was pouring out of the pinhole wound at an alarming rate. I clamped my hand over it, smearing my fur and my shirt in red. I must have been absolutely covered... The chilling cold was making my fingers numb and sore, and I was soaked in a mix of light rain water and my own sweat. The sky above me was completely gray... no clouds, no sun and no variation of color, just the same miserable shade in every direction.
I looked back at the house from which my attacked had emerged. My heart froze when I saw, between the wooden boards that had been nailed over the window, two figures staring at me from inside; a man and a slightly older woman. Their stares were the same â€" cold and untrusting. To them, I wasn't just a survivor. I was an outsider.
It was about a minute before the man in overalls stepped back outside. He advanced rapidly on me, and I was convinced for a second that he was going to shoot me. I was surprised when she grabbed my arm and hoisted me to my feet.
"Come on!" He instructed. I might have been more cautious under normal circumstances, but the fear that more infected might show up and tear us apart took me over. I let him lead me inside.
When the door shut behind us, I fell against the nearest wall and sunk to the floor, burying my face into my hands and sobbing against the agony I was in. My throat sticky and dry, but I could hardly notice in my emotional state.
I was such a mess... this had to be the seventh time I'd cried today. A seventeen year old tiger ought to have had more dignity, but not me. I'd crawled up in my unknown environment, curled up as tight as I could and let every defense down that I had. It was too much to keep in any more. To this day I'm not sure if it was the unbelievable relief of having survived or watching one of my best friends become one of those monsters that had made me shake with uncontrollable anxiety. I kept my eyes shut tightly in this state for at least ten minutes. I could hear a deep conversation nearby, and the sound of somebody moving around me, but I paid them no notice. Not yet anyway.
It felt like hours before I felt somebody kneel down in front of my. I opened my sore, tearstained eyes to see a human boy no older than myself. He was Asian, though I couldn't tell his exact origin, and had quite dark skin. He had medium length jet black hair, and his face was completely clear of spots or freckles. His eyes were brilliantly blue... and somewhat hypnotic. Even under the extraordinary circumstances, I couldn't help thinking that he was incredibly good looking. He must have been the one who had tackled me outside. If looks could kill...
"I got you something to drink." He said, in a calm voice that sounded completely different to the snarl he had used outside. This time I could hear his voice properly. His accent was heavy, but his tone of voice was very soft. Still with a trembling hand, he handed me a clear glass of water. I lifted the glass to my chapped lips and let it trickle down my throat. The sudden sensation made me gag.
"Sorry..." I croaked, panting heavily and wiping my mouth and eyes clear. I was in a small entrance hallway with a staircase nearby leading upstairs. To my left the wall gave way to a dining room, but the central table was piled with maps, bottles of water and weapons of all different shapes and sizes. The television in the corner of the room was switched on, but only static was playing. Behind this I could see a kitchen, which was littered with empty cans of tuna and unwashed plates. The windows had been boarded up roughly, and the only light came from the light bulbs that hung uncertainly from the center of every room. "Where am I?"
The boy adjusted himself so he was sitting cross-legged in the rough carpet in front of me. "My name's Chris." He explained, "I'm sorry if I hurt you out there..."
I smiled, and put my hand on my crotch. "No damage done, I think."
He grinned. "Good... we just needed to be sure you weren't... you know..."
"Infected?"
"Yes."
"How can you have known if I was?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, to be honest. One of the guys we're in here with figured out that infected blood hisses and steams when its added to water, and when I poured your blood into the sink it didn't do anything so... you're not infected."
I nodded. "Oh, I get it. What would you have done if I was infected?"
"I'd have been the first one to pull the trigger."
There was an awkward pause. I forced myself to snigger at the comment, and took another sip from my glass. I knew, however, that he wasn't kidding.
Two more humans emerged from the kitchen, their eyebrows raised at me in suspicion. They were the same pair I'd seen staring at me from inside the window moments earlier. One was a tall, stocky dark skinned man with short hair and an unshaved face. The other was a fairly old woman who was much sorter than even me. Despite looking at least sixty, there was a fire in her eyes that I knew would be unwise to cross.
"So, he's safe then?" The man asked.
"I wouldn't have brought him in if he wasn't, would I?" Chris told them, and got to her feet. "Who's keeping watch upstairs?"
"Ed and William have their eye on the road from upstairs. If they see anything coming, they'll sound the alarm."
The older woman cleared her throat. "Did that one see us before it died?"
"Not a chance, Meg. It was too busy chasing after him." Chris pointed at me.
The old woman named Meg looked down at me, her eyes narrowed. "I see." She said. "Welcome to our shelter, boy."
I wasn't sure what to say. I knew I shouldn't really trust these people, but they had just saved my life. Despite our first encounter, Chris had tried to make me feel welcome. "Thanks..." I said from the ground.
Chris came to my side again and helped me up. "There are seven of us here." She explained. "This is Meg, and this here is Pete." She pointed at the taller man. He held out his hand to shake mine, and I took it weakly.
"Edward, Will and Lydia are upstairs. I'll introduce you to them in a second. We could be hauled up in this house for a long time, so we need to learn to get along with each other." Chris explained as he led me into the dining room. I was sat down in a sofa, which welcomed me warmly into its soft, heavenly embrace.
"What's your name, kid?" Ed asked me as he sat beside me.
Though my eyes felt heavy, I managed to keep them open as I looked around the room. "My name's Fynn."
"Ha! What a peculiar name..." Meg smiled at me. I smiled weakly back up at her, but didn't respond. "Would you like something to eat, Fynn?" My eyes lit up, and I nodded. My stomach had been rumbling for a while, but I'd been too exhausted to notice it. Meg smiled at me, then disappeared into the kitchen
Chris and Pete looked at each other. Somewhere between their conversation I'd shut my eyes, and began to feel more and more distant. "That makes seven of us, with this kid locked in here too." Pete observed.
"Seven survivors..." Chris exhaled. "Do you think there are others?
"
"Maybe, but we won't find them outside. All it takes is for one of those things to spot you and your dead."
Chris leaned back against the table, tapping his fingers against its surface. "They're intelligent..."
"We've already figure that out. They're not just mindless animals. You've seen the way they pass by here in groups before separating to find others, haven't you? If they knew we were in here, we'd be surrounded very quickly."
Chris nodded. "I feel so helpless."
"So do we all."
I heard Chris mumbled an agreement. With some effort, I snapped back to reality and opened my eyes. "How did you manage to haul up in here?"
"We were lucky, really." Pete began explaining. "One of the guys we're in here with, William Rafter, is ex-military... or something. He had all these weapons," he gestured to the table, "and when the infection started spreading he hauled up. He was our savior â€" we were lucky enough to get found by him before things got really out of control."
I nodded. "How long have you been here?"
"Nearly a week."
I whistled, which made Chris giggle. This in turn made me blush stupidly. I couldn't help it â€" I was already attracted to him. "Thanks for saving me."
Pete nodded. "Don't mention it. We weren't sure if there were any other survivors, let alone ones that aren't infected."
Chris sat down next to me. "Fynn?" He said, to get my attention. I looked at him with my tired and slightly empty eyes. "Can I ask you something? ...You don't have to answer if it's too much."
Expecting to be asked how I'd survived the infection for so long, or if the zombie that had been chasing me was a close friend, I nodded. "I'll try."
"Do you know anything about the infected and their behavior?"
I frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Did you notice any patterns in the way they act? Did they run around in groups, or on their own?"
I was slightly taken aback by the question. Why would he want to know something like that? "I... don't know! Urm... I think they attacked us as a group, but they left us alone after a while."
"Left you alone?" Pete chipped in. "What happened?"
I tried to recall the memory. I hadn't expected it to come to me so easily, without too much pain. "My mate, Shaun, and I got chased down the road by one of them. We kept running, but more of them kept joining the chase. We found this house with an open door and ran inside, cos' there was nowhere else to go and they were gaining on us."
Chris tilted his head. "Did you lock yourself in?"
"We tried, but they broke through the door. There was a cellar we found that was more secure, so we locked ourselves inside. It was safer. We could hear them banging on the door for at least half an hour, but then they gave up."
Pete and Chris glanced at each other. "They gave up?"
"They must have done. When I went back outside none of them were there. I guess-"
"Wait!" Chris cut me off. "Why did you go back outside if you were already safe?"
I paused, as a more bitter memory crossed my mind. This time, it hurt did to think about, and telling the tale was heartbreaking. If I hadn't already cried my eyes out ten minutes ago, I would have broken down in front of them. But it was like my body wasn't capable of producing any more tears, I was so spent.
"Fynn?" Chris said, leaning closer. I'd been silent for quite some time.
"There was an infected locked in the cellar with us. We didn't find it for a few hours, but when it attacked us my friend got bitten..." I rubbed my own hand, shivering at the memory of Shaun's scream as the infected sunk its teeth into his hand. There had been so much blood, even now I felt like throwing up. "We killed the infected, but Shaun seemed fine. I didn't realize that you can become one of them by being bitten."
Chris nodded. He was so close I could feel his breath on my cheeks. It was a warm, heavenly feeling... "The virus is carried in their blood and their saliva."
"They know it too." Pete chipped in. "They're trying to infect people â€" that's why it's been spreading so fast."
"That makes sense..." I whispered, quietly agreeing. I wasn't sure of that was true or not, but I didn't see the point in arguing. "Anyway, we stayed in the house for the next few days. For a while Shaun seemed fine but, on the morning of the fourth day... he didn't feel well. After a few hours his nose and mouth started bleeding, and he lost all his strength and collapsed. I went to find some water, or some bandages or... anything!" I raised my voice. "I wanted to save him so much!" My emotions stormed into my mind and took control, and suddenly I'd punched the armrest I was leaning on with considerable force. Why... Why couldn't I have saved him? How could I have not seen that infected down there with us!
Chris must have read my mind. "There's nothing you could have done to save him, Fynn. When someone gets infected there's no telling how long they have before they become one of them. It could weeks, hours or seconds."
I nodded. I understood the point he was making, but it didn't take away the crushing guilt. "Yeah... I guess."
Pete patted my shoulder. Stranger he may be, I felt oddly comforted by his presence. "The one that was chasing you... was that your friend, Shaun?"
Scarred by the bitter memory, I nodded. With that, I started crying again. Every memory came crashing back to me, and despite all the company I felt so alone.
Alone in a world infested with monsters.
"Did any of your family survive?" Pete asked. Chris shot him a harsh look. I could tell she thought it would hurt me if I was asked questions like that. But, honestly, it felt good to finally let my trauma out of my head.
"That's the thing â€" my Ma and my sister were meant to get back from France this morning, the night the infection got serious. I don't if they're alive or not... maybe the airports are safe?"
Chris rubbed his head. "Would they even let a plane fly with this epidemic going on?"
Pete nodded. "The infection was practically dormant until late evening yesterday. That's why it killed so many people. The only reason we're still alive is because we were paranoid enough to luck ourselves up with Will and see what would happen."
I looked at Pete. "So do you think they might still be alive?"
There was an awkward pause. "I don't know. I'd like to tell you that they are, kid, but it's unlikely."
I exhaled in agreement. I'd already accepted that.
"What about your father?" Chris asked.
"Nah, he died a couple of years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's ok. I'm over it." I rubbed my eyes dry again. "What are we supposed to do here?"
Pete suddenly laughed, as though my question was stupid. "Well, if you've got a suggestion we'd love to hear it! The plan was to keep the radios on, hope for the best and wait for the infected to starve to death, but that won't work."
"Why not?"
"Because they're cannibals - when they can't find any uninfected prey to eat, they just eat each other. It would take hundreds of years for them to die out."
I felt like throwing up again. It was bad enough that people were turning in to these monsters in the first place, but that they were also eating each other? It was obscene!
"So what are we going to do?" I asked. It was some time before Chris answered.
"We don't know... wait for some word from the outside, I guess. Every now and then we hear something from the television or the radio, but we haven't been able to talk back yet. So far we know that the infection has spread through mainland Britain and now it's eating its way into Scotland and Wales. It hasn't found its way across the sea, so France and the rest of the world is safe, but we heard something about Ireland being infected too. We're not sure where the infection came from, or how many other survivors there are. All we know is that, if we stay here for too long, we'll either starve or they'll find us."
The truth of the situation hit me like a crate of bricks. Staying outside was suicide, but being hauled up in here wasn't that much better. Mind you, given the choice, I'd have chosen survival every time.
Meg returned from the kitchen, carrying a glass of orange juice in one hand and a plate with a carefully made sandwich in the other. I blushed as she handed both to be, unsure what I had deserved to receive such a warm welcome. "Thank you."
"You're quite welcome, young man!" She sat down beside me. I was suddenly aware of how close the three of them were to me... I realized that they were so thrilled to see another survivor, in a world where everyone was thought to be dead. I was fascinating to them. Meg turned to Pete. "Have you introduced him to Will and Ed yet?"
Chris shook his head. "No, those two are still watching the windows upstairs to make sure Fynn hasn't been followed."
I frowned. "Followed? No... I wasn't. There were no others. Shaun... I mean, that infected who chased me was the only one."
Meg laughed. "Oh my, you are uninformed, aren't you?" She sighed, almost cheerily at my apparent innocence. "It doesn't quite work that way, you know."
There was a silence. Chris avoided eye contact with me, much to my dismay, and Pete winced as though expecting something terrible to follow. I stared suspiciously at the three of them. "What doesn't work that way?"
Meg sighed, and ruffled my hair like I was a child. I didn't protest. "I'm talking about the link they share! Don't you know anything about it? Haven't you spotted it in the way they co-ordinate themselves?"
"Why would he have? He was locked inside a cellar with one of them and got chased out by his friend." Pete butted in.
I frowned, glancing from one face to another. "I've never heard of the link. What is it?"
"Well..." She began to explain with her hands in her lap. I felt like I was a young child being given the ‘birds and bees' talk all over again. "The infected may seem like mindless creatures, but they're far from it! They wonder about the streets searching for food, quite aimless in what direction they travel, but when one infected meets with another, they don't always simply disregard each other. They might start moving around as a pair, or a pack as their numbers increase!"
I nodded. "Yeah, Shaun and I got chased by a big group of them earlier. I guessed they were working together."
"Right." Meg continued. "Now as the group begins to increase in size, the infected develop a sort of... mental link. It's very difficult to describe I'm afraid. The pack of infected all think with one mind, and one consciousness drives them. This ‘link' they share is called a hive.
"Once a hive is strong enough, the pack splits up. They all go their separate ways, and add new infected to the hive as they travel. Thus, lots of groups moving around separately will consist of just one hive! Are you following?"
I nodded slowly. "I think so... you're trying to say that the infected form some kind of collective that then spreads out and grows?"
"Exactly right!" Meg praised me in a bright voice. If she were a teacher, she'd have given me a gold star by now. "So the hive grows! Sooner or later its consciousness will find another hive, and those two will become one!
"A hive has only one purpose â€" to grow and feed. You see, when the infected groups scatter they are actually serving two purposes. Firstly, to find other infected to add to their collective. Secondly, to find uninfected victims to feast on. Because of the link they share, if one member of a hive finds you, they all know where you are. That's why if a single infected where to discover our location we'd have to pray that it wasn't part of a hive, or we could well have a horde of hundreds descending upon us."
I gave Meg an awkward laugh. Although I could understand the Chrisry behind the link, I didn't believe it was possible. "If that's all true, how did you find out about it?"
Chris chipped in. "We heard it on the radio. We didn't think it was true, but a few days ago we left the house to go for some food â€" there's an abandoned supermarket down the road from here. The way there was clear, but inside one infected saw us. We killed it without making too much noise, and there weren't any others in the area. So we assumed we were safe."
"About twenty minutes later," Pete continued, "dozens of infected began swarming the place. We tried to escape from them unseen, but one of them saw me." He shuddered. "As soon as that one laid its eyes on me, they all began snarling and running in my direction. They were drawn to me like a magnet."
I remained motionless while I listened to their story. "How did you escape?"
"We shut the back door on them and locked it. That gave us time to slip out unnoticed."
Part of me wanted to believe that this story wasn't true, but my heart of hearts knew that it was. I began imagining all kinds of terrifying scenarios where people may not have been so lucky.
Meg snorted. "If I knew those beasts were going to catch me, I'd put a bullet in my brain right now!"
Chris and Pete both laughed, but I remained quiet. I didn't find it funny. "So you think we're going to survive this?"
"Of course! If Fynn here managed to survive," she ruffled my hair again, "then there will be others!"
I wanted to mention that my survival had been down to nothing more than incredible luck, and even then one of my closest friends had tried to mutilate me. I didn't say anything though, because I had picked up a warm optimism from these three that I didn't want to oppose or, worse, destroy. The fact that they still held hopes for survival when I held none was something I admired. Instead, I simply turned my attention to the sandwich that was still on my lap. I took a very small bite of it, and then sat it down again. Even though I was ravenous the things I had seen this morning gave me a constant fear that I might throw up at any moment.
There was a thundering of footsteps above us, and two more figures snuck into the room from the hallway. One was a younger chap, another human, slightly older than me, carrying a scoped rifle over his shoulder and an unlit cigarette in his mouth. The other man was a canine â€" a German shepherd. His fur was slightly dulled, but otherwise he looked very fit for someone. Easily a foot taller than me, I guessed that he was probably in his 50s. He was wearing what looked like a military uniform, although it was very worn and tattered, and his tail shook with his steps. As soon as he entered the room, every face turned to him. I immediately assumed that this was William Rafter, the man who had saved all these people and supplied all these weapons. He cleared his throat before speaking to get everybody's attention, even though they were already waiting anxiously for his report.
"The streets are clear." He said in a rough, worn out voice. "Nothing but ol' Simon patrollin' around."
I frowned. "Simon?"
Chris looked at me. "You know how the infected found us in the supermarket? Well... they somehow tracked us back to this street, but they couldn't figure out which house we were in so they gave up. One of them, who we call Simon, stayed behind to patrol this entire area, looking for us. If he finds us, his entire hive will know where they are."
Will gave a strange grunt to acknowledge this. "By now that hive will have grown. We won't stand a chance, so we have to be careful. Every now and then he comes by this road... jus' waiting for us to show ourselves." He seemed to be talking to me, but he was looking at Chris.
"Why do you call him Simon?"
"Because it's my ex-husband." Meg explained. I stared at her, my mouth slightly open, expecting her to be distraught at the memory of this. But her expression hadn't changed! Did she even care that the man she loved was now a carnivorous beast that was waiting to ravage us? Or had she just come to terms with it? Personally, I couldn't see how anyone could have come to terms with it. I didn't mention it again.
Will approached me, just as I was about to take another bite from the sandwich in my hands. But the old man took the plate out of my hands, so unexpectedly that I didn't have time to resist, and put his face so close to mine that I found myself backing into the sofa. I could feel his rancid breath on my face, and the horrible smell of tuna. How long had it been since any of these people had taken a shower, or washed their clothes? "So..." he grunted at me. "You're the kid we risked our lives to save?" He turned to Chris. "Did you test him?"
"Yeah, he's clean. His blood didn't react."
"Test him again."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not taking any risks!"
I felt nervous by Will's presence, and his distrust of me. My arm had stopped bleeding, but my arm was still coated with dry blood from where Chris had stabbed me roughly with the syringe.
Chris sighed, apparently sharing my opinion that another test would be unnecessary. But he seemed to trust Will's opinion over his own. "You got it. Hold out your arm, Fynn."
As I complied quietly, Will sniggered. "Fynn? How the fuck do you spell that?"
"It's ‘f', ‘y', double ‘n'. "
My answer apparently didn't impress him. "Huh. Never heard a name like that... did your mother want you to be a faggot or something?"
"William!" Meg defended me. "That was uncalled for! Apologize!"
"It's ok," I held up my hand, as Chris took another syringe from the table and took hold of my arm. "I get that a lot. It's not a common name."
Well aware that I'd granted him permission to be as mean as he wanted to me, Will's interrogation of me continued. "How old are you?"
"Seventeen. I'll be eighteen next weekend."
"Pfft, if you live that long." The other man, who had entered the room with Will and hadn't spoken a word so far. I assumed that this was Edward. His comment went almost unnoticed by everybody except me.
"You got any family?" Will continued.
"My ma and my sister." I winced as the syringe pierced my skin.
"Are they alive?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm..." I could tell he didn't trust me. "Can you fire a weapon, Fynn?" He said may name with a great deal of sarcasm, as though he didn't consider it a name at all.
"I've never fired one in the past, but-"
"Yes or no, kid. Can you fire a weapon?"
I gulped. "No!" Would he only consider me to be a man once I'd killed an infected or something? Or was it because I only looked about sixteen with my bright white, somewhat feminine coat of fur? Either way, he didn't hand my sandwich back to me until Chris returned back from the kitchen and announced that my blood test had turned up negative again, confirming that I was not infected.
Will put the plate back in my lap. "You can sleep in the basement tonight and we'll lock the door, just in case. Make sure your rested up, and I'll teach you how be make yourself useful around here." He gestured to the stack of guns on the table, none of which particularly took my interest.
Chris cleared his throat, and Will turned to him. "He can sleep in my room, Will, and we'll lock the door. No need to give him an uncomfortable first night here."
There was an awkward silence. My eyes widened, and I immediately blushed. In all the terror and adrenaline that was rushing through me, I suddenly felt my chest flutter... Chris had already impressed me with his stunning good looks and welcoming care for me. The thought of sharing a room with him, even for a night, was breath taking. My heart twisted with anticipation as I wondered, hopefully, if Chris might be gay as well...
Edward and Will glanced at each other uncertainly, as though expecting Will to explode with rage. But the response was quite tame. "It's your choice, Chris. You can be in charge of taking care of him then." He glanced back down at me. "Can you get him a bandage of something for his arm? The infected can probably smell his blood."
I wondered how the survivors could possibly put up with William's bossy authority. If Chris was at all irritated by him though, he didn't show it. "Do we have any?"
"Upstairs." Edward chipped in. I wasn't used to his voice, and it sounded quite strange to me. "I'll go get them."
"While you're up there, check what other first aid we have left."
"Will do."
As Edward disappeared back upstairs, his thundering footsteps echoing through the entire house, Pete nudged Will to get his attention. "Any news on the radio?"
Will grunted. "Some more survivors are being found. The London Underground was completely closed off before the infection spread, and people are using it as a refuge now." His eyes widened as he recalled something. "Oh, and there's a cure."
Everybody's eyes fixed onto him, attention immediately wrapped. Chris pushed away from the table he had been leaning on and edged closer. "A cure? For the infected?"
"Apparently. It removes the virus from the blood, although it doesn't grant any immunity. People can still get infected again after being cured."
"So everyone who's become one of those things can be turned back?" I asked hopefully, thinking of all my close friends and family.
"No. Once you become one of them, it's too late. Nothing can save you after that." He sighed.
With another thunder of footsteps, Edward returned. He was carrying a small patch for my arm and a slightly damp cloth. "We're running low on supplies."
"What do we have left?"
"Some cloth, a few bandages, four more syringes and a pot of unlabelled pills. They could be anything."
Will sighed. "Then somebody will have to go out and get some more supplies tonight." He turned to me. "Can you walk, Fynn?"
Suspicious as to where his question was leading, I nodded slowly.
"Good. You and Chris can go and get some new medical supplies from the chemist just up the road. Pete and I will watch the windows for the night, just until you get back, and then you can take over. We don't-"
"Hang on!" I interrupted, hardly able to believe what I was hearing. "You want me to go back out there?!"
There was a pause. Edward shuffled uncomfortably where he stood, and exchanged an unpleasant glance with Meg. The atmosphere had suggested I'd said something to offend the entire group. Will rolled his eyes at me. "We all have to do our part." He explained, making his voice slightly louder to overpower me. "So long as you stick to the darkest corners you won't be seen. They're almost blind in the dark."
Chris nudged me. "It'll be fine. I'll look after you."
Promises of protection from the boy who had crushed my dick under his knee barely an hour ago didn't reassure me. "Don't I have a say in this?"
"Think of it as your initiation â€" we all need to know that you'll pull your weight to help us all survive."
"By going outside?! It's suicide!"
Apparently loosing his patience, Will lowered his face down to mine again. "It's safe â€" the infected can't see very well, and in the dark they're practically blind. So long as you avoid ‘Simon', the path from here to the chemist should be clear of hives."
"No way!" I screamed. "Not a fucking chance!"
Will wasn't impressed with me. He was quite an intimidating sight, and the only reason I hadn't bowed down to his decision so far was because I feared the infected more than him. "We all need to pull our weight in here, kid." he whispered to me. "You need to learn about the infected, and the darkness of night will allow you to do this. Chris will protect you, and you will be fine."
I kept a strong defense. "I thought this was about medical supplies?"
"Partly. I also want to know if you're brave enough to put up with."
I scowled. "Was that a threat?"
"Yes."
I was speechless... surely, in a post-apocalyptic world like this, it was a good idea not to turn against each other? What if we were the only survivors left? Was sending me out in the darkness such a brilliant idea? "Why can't we all go together?"
"We'll attract too much attention," Chris cut in. "We learned that last time. Stealth is better than brute force. The zombies are pretty thick. They favor running towards a bright light over attacking you."
I wasn't convinced. "Why would they do that?"
"Like I said, they are pretty fucking stupid."
"And what if I refuse to go?"
Will puffed out his cheeks, as though he were considering the possibility. I knew, however, that he'd already decided. "You're out."
The room was speechless. I glanced from one face to the other, hoping for some kind of support in this matter. Meg's expression hadn't changed. Ed and Pete avoided looking at me. Chris simply... shrugged, as though my life didn't mean anything to him. Maybe it didn't.
"Right," I growled, "so you're not giving me much choice here."
"That's the point." Will looked at Chris. "Take him upstairs to your room, if you still want him sleeping in there with you. Then make sure you're both down here, and get ready to go out as soon as the sun sets. And give him a fucking shower..."
<*>
"This is my room." Chris explained as he led me into a dark, extremely untidy bedroom. There were screwed up newspapers scattered around the floor like litter, and there was a number of empty tuna cans at the end of the bed. There was now light bulb, and the only illumination came from four small cracks in the boarded up window. There was mold growing up the wall besides the door, and the very air inside felt moist. "Meg, Ed and Pete usually sleep downstairs, and Will keeps watch on the outside window until early morning."
Still in a foul mood, I grunted. "How do you put up with that guy?"
Chris rolled him eyes, apparently not amused by my dislike of Will. "He may be tough to handle, but he saved all of our lives."
"You saved my life, not him."
"Well if he hadn't shot your friend then I wouldn't have brought you inside!" He frowned at me. "Don't you trust me to take care of you tonight?"
Unable to answer, I simply gave an uninterested shrug and crossed over to the window, peering through the cracks in the boards. The grey had darkened considerably, and it would probably be pitch black by now. None of the street lamps seemed to work, but I could still make out the corpse of Shaun, laying face down (or what was left of it) on the road. Then I noticed something else, which made my heart jump.
Another figure had strolled into view â€" an older male feline. Even from this distance I could tell he was infected â€" he walked as though his feet were a great pair of weights, hunched over with his teeth bared. His nose and had mouth had been bleeding, and his skin was pale and lifeless. I guessed he'd been infected for some time.
"There's one of them out there!" I hissed at Chris. His expression didn't change, so I guessed this wasn't a big deal to him. Regardless, he waded over beside me and glanced outside too.
"That's Simon," he explained. "Remember, he's part of a hive. If that zombie sees us they'll all come running."
"Are we using the ‘Z' word now?"
"Huh?"
I laughed. "Zombie."
"Oh... isn't that what they are?"
There was a pause. "I don't know." I said. "Zombies are supposed to be the ‘living dead', but I don't think people who are infected actually die."
Chris shook her head. "No, they do die. The virus kills them, and then reanimates them." he looked at me. "Did you ever see Resident Evil?"
"Yeah, once."
"Well, they're a bit like that, but they move faster." he explained whilst moving back to the door. "They get infected, and the virus kills them eventually... or they die some other way."
I snorted. "The zombies in Resident Evil don't use telepathy to communicate with each other."
"No... that's true." he paused at the doorway. "I'll show you to the other bathroom â€" I think we both need a shower."
<*>
The shower, it turned out, was extremely cold. I had let the water run for at least ten minutes, waiting for it to heat up, but it never did. So, with a deep breath, I'd simply stepped inside and let myself get soaked in ice cold water. The shower soon ran with dirt, sweat and blood, and my fur become matted and chilled in the cold. I wasn't as scared of water as most cats were, but anybody would have found the freezing cold water unpleasant. Still, I was lucky to be alive, so I didn't complain. In less than a minute I'd jumped back out. As I dried off I caught sight of myself in the mirror.
I wasn't exactly a ‘hench' tiger. If it weren't thanks to my boyish, slim figure and attractive black stripes that ran across my silver fur I'd have nothing going for me. My tail, which was bushier than most tigers, looked like a wet flannel, and my short white hair was like a mop over my face. I shivered. Even my dick seemed to have shrunk in the cold, so I quickly towel dried myself and got changed.
It was as I headed back down the hall, still naked from the waist up, that I heard the sound of running water coming from a nearby door. Suddenly curious, and abandoning all common sense, I moved closer. The door was slightly ajar, so I peered inside.
If I had known what was behind the door, I probably wouldn't have looked. But, since I already had, I found myself unable to look away. I must have not been paying attention when Chris had said he was going to take a shower too - his clothes were in a pile by the door, and he was standing with his back to me.
With his dark skin glistening in the water, he looked... luminous. My eyes followed down from the curves of his back to his arms, which were surprisingly well muscled for a guy his age. He, unlike me, was very well built... for a human, that is. I shook with anticipation, watching him raise a hand to his head and rub his sopping wet hair as if it was in slow motion. His muscles flexed and shined in the water. I found myself becoming incredibly hard, but I didn't move to adjust for fear that Chris might hear me. As my eyes followed down his back to his butt, which was perfectly well sized for him, he suddenly turned around with his eyes shut, and I got a full look at his front.
It was such a strange sight to me. I'd seen plenty of porn before, and seen lots of naked guys... but never a human. Chris was so... smooth, and almost completely hairless! The little details of his body were what amazed me most â€" I could see his belly button, his nipples, the shapes of his stomach muscles, even the little patch of... fur that ran down from his tummy to his... oh god. If I could have been any more excited than I already was, my underwear would have been full of tiger jizz. I couldn't stop myself â€" I snuck my right paw down my front and grabbed hold of my own throbbing member, as though to try and control it under the horrific strain of emotions. Chris wasn't hard, and looking at him I realized that mine was probably bigger than his, but I didn't care. Come to think of it... his looked kind of similar to mine. Since I was half-human, maybe I'd been given those genes from my father?
With my rock hard cock in hard, I began fantasizing that my own hand was actually Chris's. I wondered if human cock tasted any different, and I looked at Chris's soft member and imagine what it would look like hard. I imagine licking his cockhead, hearing him moan, and then taking a great mouthful of it. I could practically feel him cum down my throat, filling me with warmth...
I snapped back to reality. My naive curiosity satisfied, I tried to look away quick, before Chris opened his eyes and saw me. But I... couldn't... he was just so amazing! If I'd known how good humans looked when they were naked I'd have given them a bit more thought! Or maybe that was just Chris... with his stunning good looks...
I'd been stuck in thought for so long, I hadn't notice Chris open his eyes. At first, he seemed to be looking in another direction. I quietly yelped and withdrew my paw quickly from my front. But as I jumped away, Chris's eyes met mine for just a split second before I was gone...
I stumbled out of the doorway quickly, my heart beating furiously in my chest. Had Chris just... seen me looking? What if he didn't take it too well? All he'd need to do was put in a bad word about me to Will, and I'd be thrown back outside into a world of horror.
I tiptoed back into Chris's room and shut the door. The voice in my head was shouting at me for being such an idiot, and I was tugging at clumps of my hair with my paws. It occurred to me, as I sat down, that I had a hardon I'd never be able to hide from Chris. Shit, what was I supposed to do? I couldn't stop thinking of Chris in that shower, and there was no way it would go away on its own. I stuck my paw down my front to readjust, but it made no difference. I was still extremely visible through my jeans.
I unzipped my flies and pulled my member out, if not to jack off than to just give it some space to breathe! Looking down at my average size, I frowned. I'd always wondered why mine had looked slightly different to all the dicks I'd seen in porn movies... it must have been my human genes. Feeling my breath heavy, I grabbed the shaft with my left paw, and felt a tingling wave of tension rush from my crotch to my head. Thoughts of Chris instantly clouded my mind...
I heard footsteps outside, and my hearted started. I frantically stuffed my manhood back into my pants and zipped up. The door opened behind me. Shocked by Chris's sudden arrival, I jumped up to my feet.
"Are you ok?" Chris asked, frowning at me. His hair was still wet, but otherwise he had completely dried off. He didn't seem at all angry... maybe he hadn't seen me watching him shower after all?
"Er..." Shit, had he just seen what I'd been doing? "Yeah, I'm just a bit... edgy and stuff..."
My excuse seemed to work. "Oh, it's ok." Chris smiled at me, and I blushed. "We're all a bit like that."
He moved closer to me... a little too close. In fact, we were practically face to face. His blue eyes stabbed into mine, and I suddenly felt his presence like a burning coal against my skin. Fuck, he had seen me watching him. I was screwed.
Chris opened his mouth a crack, and for a split second I genuinely thought he had been about to kiss me... something sick in the back of my head had made that assumption. But he didn't kiss me... "Sorry the shower was cold."
I felt the fur on the back of my neck tingle. "Oh, don't worry. It was fine."
Chris giggled. "I thought tiger's didn't like getting wet?"
I laughed too, more as a result of Chris's giggle than of what he'd said. "It's mostly true. I'm half human, though."
"You are?" Chris sat down on the bed. "You don't look it."
"It's from my dad's side. I got most of my mum's genes, so there's not that much human in me."
"Ohh..." Chris nodded. "Makes sense."
"What about you?" I asked, sitting down beside him. "Where are you from? I mean... cos', you're not white... or rather-"
Chris laughed. "I'm Filipino. My family moved here when I was five."
"Are they still alive?"
"Nah, not a chance. Our neighborhood got hit pretty bad by a mob of infected."
I tilted my head, eyes sunken. "Aw, I'm sorry."
Chris shrugged. I could tell he'd already come to terms with his loss. "Hardest part was seeing my girlfriend get infected, I guess."
"Oh." I said, trying to hide my sudden hurt.
"Yeah, it was hard." There was a pause. "I'll be back in a second, ok? I'm just gonna' ask Will when he wants us to go."
"Go? Go where?" I frowned.
"Yeah, I'm taking you out to the pharmacy tonight, remember?"
I shuddered. "I don't want to go."
"We'll be fine!" He rolled his eyes. I couldn't imagine my cowardice was very impressive. "Stay here a second."
I watched him leave, but didn't say anything. My once excited and throbbing heart was now beating dull and almost lifelessly in my chest. The hardest part was seeing my girlfriend get infected. Chris had been involved with some girl before the infection... that meant he was straight. All this lusting after him and it would never lead anywhere. I felt like he'd rejected me without saying a single word. More than that, I was angry at myself for getting my hopes up. How could I possibly be lusting after some Asian kid when a plague of zombies was trying to kill us all? I couldn't have been more disgusted with myself. I looked back out of the window, trying to take my mind off what I'd done.
Simon was gone. That freaked me out. I shivered at the thought of turning around and seeing him standing right behind me... staring at me. Regarding me. Fate must have callously read my mind.
When I heard the footsteps and shuffling of newspapers, I didn't react in time to throw my attacker away. My muscles contracted in fear, but by the time I had turned around it was too late. There was a sharp pain in my thigh as something was plunged into my leg. I yelled and turned to face my attacker...
A girl no older than five was running from me her long black hair waving as she bounced out of the room. From the way she ran I could tell she wasn't infected. I looked down, and saw a crude protractor sticking out of my leg. Cursing, I pulled it out.
Chris appeared at the doorway, slightly breathless. "What happened?!"
"Who's the fuck is that little bitch? She just stabbed me!" I growled angrily, brandishing the protractor at her. Chris's face fell.
"Oh... that's Lydia. I should have mentioned her."
"No shit! What did she attack me for?!"
He shrugged. "I don't know. We found her hiding in a bin four days ago, and she hasn't spoken a word to any of us."
I frowned. "Why not?"
"Probably traumatized by whatever she's seen, but if she doesn't talk to us we can't help her through it." he stepped forwards and took the protractor from me. "Sorry, I'll tell her that you're a safe to be around. She probably doesn't trust you."
"Oh, you don't say!" I rolled my eyes. "How do you know her name is Lydia if she hasn't spoken?"
"We don't. That's the name Will gave her. Until she speaks up, that's what she'll be called I guess."
"Makes sense." I nodded, but made a mental note to avoid Lydia at all costs. I was sure there was little I could do to counsel small children who had been traumatized by the living dead.
"I'll be back up in a second, Fynn." Chris said. "Will's going to show you how to use one of his guns, and then we'll get ready to go out."
"Fine."
He tilted his head at me, smiling. He seemed to be... considering me. Awkwardly, he stepped towards me, reached out with his hand and rubbed my head tenderly. I closed my eyes, and tried to stop myself purring. His touch felt so... brilliant. "I'll take care of you." He winked at me.
"Can I ask you something?" I said, quite suddenly
.
"Sure." Chris answered, having not taken his hand off my head.
"Are you..." I faltered. "I was wondering if you..."
"What?" Chris tilted his head.
I changed my mind. "I'll ask you later..."
With a smile, Chris nodded. "Okay.", and then he left. He must have seen me blushing as he walked away.
I was so fucking stupid! It was three simple fucking words... ‘Are you gay?' and I'd know for certain.
Fuming at myself, I glanced back outside. Simon was back â€" the zombie was studying the corpse of my former best friend. I got to thinking... were the infected really capable of intelligence? Were they just mindless animals that searched for food as one mental collective? Surely any intellectual creature would have looked at Shaun's corpse, put two and two together and realized where we were... but not Simon. He simply gawped at the body before wondering in completely the wrong direction.
"We're better than them..." I suddenly grasped, and felt a glimmer of hope. If we could outsmart them, we could beat them.
There it is - comments, ratings and love etc? Might need some encouragement before I continue it, what with having no time and plenty of unfinished series' going :P lawl
Toodle-pip xxx