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"What? Now?!" Shadow said, a little too loudly in shock, clutching me tighter. The humming rose quickly. The zombie sounds shuffled our way.

No. Not right now. Please.

Then it hit.

The curtain dropped.

And it was worse this time.

The vibrations seemed to reach into my ears, trace claws across my brain, and attempt to pull them out again through my ears. And somehow, that whole sensation spread to my entire body. The tiny vibrations that trembled ever so slightly. So devastatingly. Shaking my insides, making them feel drawn towards the outside. How could anyone survive this?!

Every bit of my being shrieked.

Then it just stopped.

Like all the other times. But this time I died. I was dead; I couldn't feel anything. I had completely ended. My existence erased.

Nothing....

But I felt a tiny twinge of sensation. It felt so muted, but I was still there. My body was somehow breathing. I hoped I breathed. Somewhere, distantly, I was panting hard, trying to compensate for the shock.

I thought I'd died.

"... me or ... worse thi- time?" Shadow's voice seemed far away.

It took me a few moments longer to be able to respond. "It- worse."

I flexed my fingers, making sure I felt him, somehow. It seemed faint, distant. I was still panting.

"Zomphie?" he managed to slur out.

"Don't hear noffin'," I managed, my paw scrabbling weakly as I tried to move. Gods above, I felt awful.

"I think... if I could feel more... I'd be sick..." he managed a little more clearly.

I just nodded into his fur which I could faintly feel tickling my muzzle.

I tried to lift myself up, feeling the urgent need to leave this now-unsafe place. Zombie in the house, opening doors. I managed a few inches, then sank back onto Shadow's chest. Oh, that's what I was lying on. He was also panting beneath me, making me rise and fall on each breath. I pulled in what I could feel and gathered what I could sense of myself. I think I was lying on his tail too, that must be uncomfortable.

I slowed my panting, listening for that zombie which had entered the house. Where was it?!

"Zombie!" he managed a little stronger. He pushed me up with him, and I sagged forward, leaning on him.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

He supported me from sagging all the way down, and I could hear him fumbling with the handle. This time he found it himself and it swung open.

I blinked into the blinding light. We must have been in there a while, because my eyes seemed to have settled on night-vision. I blinked and squinted as I hauled myself out, just dragging my lower half. Shadow managed a crawl into the little hallway. I squinted in the light.

Empty.

I slumped against the other side of the hall, next to Shadow. We were both breathing heavily.

He turned his head to me, ears twitching slightly. "You going ... to be okay?" he asked between breaths.

"I think so.... Just give me a moment." I closed my eyes and tried to pull myself together.

"I have to go see," he said more strongly.

"Don't leave, please?" I whined, weakly grabbing his wrist as he started to stand.

He hesitated, I thought he might shake me off. Instead, he grabbed my arm solidly and hauled me up with him.

"We look together, alright?" he said with a worried smile. I noticed his tail was low between his legs and completely still. He held me around my waist, supporting my weight, and also leaning into me.

I could only nod and gulp, as the room tilted unsteadily. My tail curled in close to my legs. With every step, though, I felt better. He was holding up a fair amount of my weight. Maybe desperation gave him strength. I looked up at him, his vivid golden eyes shone out of his black face, eyes drilling our surroundings for any hint of threat.

It was so quiet, just like on that first day. There was no sound at all from outside. Nothing at all was making a peep. The windows once again had that scary, fading frost. I'd forgotten about that. Yesterday, we'd been in the "safe" room longer. The frost must have faded away by the time we'd left.

Shadow saw the frost, too. Probably his first time. His eyes widened and he held me closer, but otherwise didn't react. Better than my first reaction had been.

We slowly made it down the hall and into the kitchen. There was the zombie, lying face down on the tile. Completely still. The clothes and fur were an unrecognizable mess under the blood.

"Is it dead?" he whispered. The stillness outside caused us to be quiet.

"Wasn't it dead already?" I whispered, close to his ear.

He shivered and clutched his paw around my waist, cautiously moving us closer to the corpse. It lay there, clothes filthy with blood. He poked the body with a toe. "Looks like the light affects them too," he whispered.

With a brief look at me, he used his footpaw and shoved the body over. We took a quick step back together while the corpse settled.

"It's Eric," I breathed after a moment.

Or at least it had been Eric. The body was saturated in blood, matting the fur. The stomach bulged with whatever he'd been eating over the last day.

"Eeewww," said Shadow, then did a double take. "I'm sorry! This was your friend!" His ears splayed to the side in dismay.

I swallowed some bile. Was it bad that somehow I was handling this without collapsing? I think some part of me had accepted Eric as a zombie. The being that had been my friend Eric had died days ago. This was just a corpse reflection of him.

I slowly bent, ears flat against my head, trying not to gag at the smell of aged blood and guts. I grabbed the zombie's shirt and gave a tug. "I'll take him outside," I barely whispered.

Shadow didn't say anything, just grabbed a leg, less bloody than my pawful, and helped me slowly drag him outside through the gaping front door. We had to rest twice, as neither of us were fully recovered. After each rest we poked and prodded the inert body, just to check, before continuing. Outside, the only way to tell the zombies from other corpses outside was the extra mass of blood on them.

"Let's lock up the house and get out of here." I said, finally straightening and standing upright on my own.

Shadow looked surprised, "You sure? Right now?"

I nodded, "Everything's packed right?"

"What about your friend here. And maybe that last drop took out the zombies and it's over."

"I doubt it," I said looking around at the bodies. "Even if it is, I think we need to go. Eric was my friend. He died days ago. I understand that. Now I just need to leave this- this graveyard." I gestured at my old neighborhood. "Shadow," I said, turning to him. "If there's anything else you want to take, get it now. It's time to go."

I willfully walked back into the house, but staggered near the door. Shadow was there, steadying me before I collapsed completely. Guess I wasn't quite myself yet. My head spun unhappily.

"I'll take you," he said with a growing smile, hauling me to my footpaws. I could feel his tail swish behind us.

I smirked, it sounded so cheesy. I fell into that one - literally.

He held onto my arm, just in case, as I locked the house up and closed all the curtains. If Dad managed to return, he knew where the hide-a-key was at the side of the house. Just for kicks, I showed Shadow where it was too, saying he might need a hideaway at some point.

We finished and went into the garage, still supporting each other. Well, I still needed the support. The garage door was stiff, but we managed to get it open. We took a long, wary look outside. All the corpses were still. There seemed to be more zombie bodies outside than had originally died there. My neighborhood was getting to be a popular place.

Shadow waited outside the garage, eyes daring the rotting bodies outside to move. I took a quick look around the garage.

"Wait," I said and shuffled awkwardly - still wasn't up to running yet - over to the wall, where things were stored on shelves. I grabbed the two rolls of duct tape and the single-burner camp stove from the shelf. I tucked them into the stuffed car somehow. I knew that my family's camp gear box was stashed in the car somewhere. I had seen it earlier.

Shadow smacked his head, joking and not, he said, "I forgot the duct tape."

"Must have in any emergency situation." I turned the key to the Frankenstein car. Of course it started. It always did. I gave the zombie kitty dangling from the mirror a poke and it swung merrily. I pulled out my family photo and Kaylee's angel kitty out of my pocket. They both fit nicely in the little cup that had been taped underneath the radio. Yup, Frankenstein car.

I eased the car just out of the garage and waited while Shadow closed the rolling door. He was confident and grinning as he climbed in and clicked his seatbelt in. Shadow's backpack had made it into my car and was sitting at his footpaws. Turning towards the window, his tail, trapped by the seat, brushed my arm with its end. He rolled on the window crank and leaned out as we backed out, making beeping noises.

I grinned at him, then looked again. He'd frozen, silently in place. We'd barely made it out of the driveway. His tail sagged.

"What, did you forget something?" I asked, giving his arm a poke. I set the car to drive.

His face was completely still as he turned to look at me. I thought maybe he was joking with me. No, something was wrong. If a black wolf could show all loss of blood to the face, he did. His nose even paled around the edges.

My smile died instantly. "Shadow?" I breathed. We were stopped in the street, next to my house.

"Drive, Tyler!" his voice rose urgently. "Drive!"

I pulled away from the house, leaving my neighborhood. The neighborhood of Tyler Evans. Guess that name didn't mean a whole lot anymore. Maybe Shadow was right to name himself in a time like this. I looked over at him. He still looked shaken.

Okay, what got him so wound up? Couldn't be the smell, that had been around for days. Did he see someone's dismembered corpse, chewed on by zombies? Would it cause this much alarm, though?

"Hurry," he said, leaning his head out the window and looking around us.

"I'm going, I'm going. What's going on. You okay?" I was getting more worried. "What is it? Is the Curtain coming back?"

"No, not that, just hurry. It's-" he shuddered. "It's- They're waking up."

"What?!" I yelled.

I tried to look around. I thought I saw an arm twitch on a bloodied corpse.... But then I had to watch where I was going.

I rolled over a few bodies. "Sorry," I mumbled each time.

"Can you go any faster?"

I groaned, then sped up, muttering "sorry" more often. The swinging pink zombie kitty didn't seem cheerful then as it leered at me.

I headed away from the city this time. This time I didn't go blindly. Also our progress was better, as there had just been fewer furs towards the edge of town.

We reached the outskirts of town. I had really begun to notice movement from the zombies, including movement of zombies who had obviously not been zombies yesterday. Unless that young stag struggling on his arms out of his car had just sat in it until then. Ugh, his snarl looked hideous and smashed from impacting the steering wheel.

"Are those fresh zombies?" I asked.

"Yeah, and they died the first day, the way they lay dead," his voice sounded strained. I think he was having difficulty appearing calm.

"I think we need to find somewhere to crash for the night."

"What?"

I was worried about what the last few days had done to us. We would both break if the stress continued at this pace. I couldn't tell him that. He would immediately deny his stress. But I could see the strain and fatigue on his face. Also, I should check his wounds.

"I'm exhausted. I don't know how much more I can take of this." That was the truth, if not my whole motivation. "Let's just get far past town and find somewhere secluded where we can figure things out, okay?" Well, that actually was sounding good. We had already passed the last housing developments and were past the edge of town. However long I could last to get us further away from the city, the better.

He looked at me, concerned, I think. "Can you make it that far? I mean you really do look a bit off."

I had not even taken that into consideration. "Um, now that you mention it, I do feel exhausted and a bit sick."

"That last round of the Curtain hit you hard, didn't it?"

Maybe harder than I had realized. The urgency to get out of town was passing; I was having trouble focusing on the road. It was some minor highway leading out of town. I was starting to drive slower, inattention and fatigue catching up to me. My vision was beginning to jump in fatigue.

"Tyler?" I felt a paw on my shoulder.

I gripped the wheel, converging my remaining focus. "I'll be alright. I think I really need to crash."

I could see him nod from the corner of my eye.

"Okay, turn there. Down that dirt road, we might find a place."

I turned, starting to feel a little distant. Must be the stress of it all. He directed me towards an older-looking farmhouse. I think his concern for me was growing, but I was starting to fade. Things looked just a little dreamlike already.... Zombie kitty was... joined by more zombies? They all danced before me.

I heard Shadow gulp.

"Fur-eatin' zombies!" I heard him mutter under his breath. But the car was stopped and I sagged forward onto the wheel. I could see the angel kitty peeking out of the cup, then my eyes closed. I distantly heard Shadow get out of the car, and a few thumps later, everything was silent. Quiet? For how long?

I looked up, concern managing to increase enough to drive me. I saw two crushed, still zombies and Shadow coming out of the little farmhouse.

"It's all clear, just these two home."

I fumbled with my thoughts, still leaning on Frankenstein's wheel. "Zombies? ...But I thought they terrified you!"

"Then I guess terror turned on them today! I saw them, but we need the house... so I...." He opened my car door and leaned towards me. "You going to be okay?"

"I don't know, but I think so. I just want to sleep." It reminded me, again. Sleep.

"Well, sleepyhead, let's go inside." He stepped aside.

I got out of the car and wove slowly a bit towards the house. Looked like a dreamy farmhouse. Shadow snagged my arm and guided me inside. Then somehow, I was in a bed, Shadow was leaving.

"Wait!" I managed. "Don't go... I-" I gulped, struggling between inevitable sleep and growing fear. "I don't want to be alone." I finished lamely. Well being exhausted doesn't give much focus for etiquette.

"I'll be right back, I just want to get a few things from the car."

"Hurry?" I whispered. I was going to be so embarrassed later....

I lay in the strange bed; it looked like an unused room. Probably a guest room. I sank into the bed beneath me. My eyes kept flickering, trying desperately to stay open. Shadow needed to be here. I was alone, in a strange house. I struggled to stay awake, shifting nervously.

Between long blinks, I saw Shadow come in, carrying his backpack and some food. He lay down in the bed close to me and I reached paws that barely worked to clutch at his chestfur.

"Are we... safe?" I mumbled. The room was slipping slightly as my sleep overtook me.

"We're safe, you can go to sleep now."

I could feel him slowly stroking my head as I finally tumbled into my dreams.

***

I woke from a dream where I had been playing hide-n-seek with my sister. When she had found me, her face was contorted in the death snarl I'd been avoiding seeing on her cute face. A disturbing dream. There was dim light outside, but it was fading, rather than growing.

I clutched briefly at the fur in my paws, belonging to a wolfy fur sleeping next to me. I felt and heard him breathing slowly and deeply in the growing dimness. Relieved, I closed my eyes. Still so tired.

So I let sleep overtake me again.

***

I woke up again. At least there was no strange dream this time. It was still dark, I had no idea what time it might be. Shadow was there beneath the covers, again spooning me from behind. A heavy arm draped over my waist. It was dark outside and everything was still, except the breathing at my back.

I was still tired, but remembered the previous morning's events. It didn't worry me for some reason. I'd had wet dreams before, so it wasn't like there were bad intentions behind it. It was just a natural thing that happened for guys, right? It had been fascinating on some level, though the shock of it had overwhelmed me.

I would have considered it more, but sleep was drawing me downwards again. Longing for closeness, I shifted back towards him closer, closer. His arm tightened around me in his sleep. I sighed, feeling living contact all over. Sleep came again quickly.

***

>>>>[[NOTE: DAY 5]]<<<<

Once again, I came slowly out of sleep. It was sometime early in the morning; naming each hour didn't mean much anymore. Birds and insects gave a richer undertone to the morning than they had in the city.

I shifted and stretched, noticing that my legs stretched over Shadow's legs. We both lay under a light blanket. I was wearing only my boxers. I could feel my backfur mingling with his chestfur. His fur shifted through mine with every breath. He was bare-chested, probably in his boxers too.

I didn't remember undressing... which meant he must have helped me out of my clothes last night. How embarrassing. Oh well, I must have been half-conscious at the time. It was better than sleeping in my clothes.

He had one arm under my head, loosely resting his paw on my forehead. The other one was under the blanket, curled around my waist.

And he had some morning wood resting between my legs. Though I thought it was still covered by his boxers. Well, I had my own tent pole, poking towards the mattress. I was the little spoon again, not that I minded. The closeness and fur-to-fur contact felt very... nice.

It was interesting. I was feeling content after a good night's sleep. Maybe I could sort some of these growing feelings out. The quiet weariness of the morning had me mellow and relaxed. My large ears relaxed outwards with my mellow mood and my tail rested, curled over my hip. I felt safe here, my vulnerable back shielded by a dark wolf.

But that wasn't all. I had to admit, there was some attraction to him. He was good looking as far as I could tell, though we both really needed a good grooming. What I didn't know was if the attraction I felt to him was just a desperate response of my psyche, trying to latch onto any fur alive. But he was kind and considerate of my needs. If what I saw in him was true, he was at least having protective instincts towards me, if not more.

On the other paw, he was probably the kind of wolf that was used to being in high demand. He must be used to furs following him and allowing his advances. It was likely my imagination and my need to connect with another fur that had me thinking he was truly interested. And on top of that, I was a guy. He should be going after some hot girl, not some under-average fox with unusual eyes. A fur like him should be able to get whatever fur he wanted.

Guess I was feeling a little inadequate. I was attracted to him, but I wasn't even sure of the validity of my own feelings. Here I was, trying to guess his. I sighed, rubbing my sleep-crusted eyes.

The muzzle behind my head spoke, "Morning, how do you feel?"

"Like I want to lie here a while longer," I admitted, wanting to lean back into him.

He solved that by leaning into me. "I wouldn't mind that, you know," he admitted, sounding relieved. I felt a wet tongue licking along the nape of my neck. He paused, "I don't want to make you uncomfortable, though." He seemed cautious, unsure. Bracing for rejection?

"I'm fine. It feels good to just lie like this, you know?"

His muzzle hummed into my fur, leaning closer. His erection pressing between me again, but I didn't say anything. I reached up with one paw to hold his arm resting on my head. I sighed. His breathing was quiet and even, ruffling the fur behind my neck. We lay there for several quiet, peaceful minutes. I stretched my leg down his, but couldn't quite reach his toes. At my movement, his hips gave an involuntary jerk behind me. The hard bulge was pressing between my thighs.

"Sorry," he whispered, clutching me closer under the blanket, "please don't be mad. I couldn't help it. I-"

I couldn't see his face, but he did sound apprehensive. I wouldn't want the only fur I knew in the world to dislike me, either. I reached down from his arm and rested my paw against his other arm around my waist, which was trembling slightly. "It's okay, Shadow. I'm not mad. I don't mind this, being with you."

He sighed, relaxing his hold around me. "Thank you. I like being with you too. I don't want anything to ruin things between us. You're like, the only fur I know...."

I nodded my agreement, my head shifting in the nook of his arm. I shifted back against him, to feel him so close. He hissed through his teeth as his hips jerked a little again.

"Sorry," I said, chagrined. I waited for a moment while things calmed. Well, we calmed, but I knew our erections did not. "Shadow, what do you think makes the safe places work against the Curtain?"

I could feel him tense behind me, a reminder of the greater problems outside. Then, as I gave him time to think, he relaxed but held me tight. "I'm not sure," he began. "I think it has something to do with light though."

"The light? Why"

"Well the stairwell I was in was just attached later to an old three-story building. I don't think it was ventilated, and the door snapped shut pretty hard."

"Were there any windows in the door or stairwell?" I asked, remembering the strangely frosted windows.

"No. The lights were on all the time before, while I was there. When the power went out, it was pitch black in there."

"So the lights in yours were on, when everything happened?" I considered that for a moment, then continued, "That might mean a safe place doesn't need to be dark inside. Maybe it just needs to be sealed off from the outside? I wonder if the sealing is for air or for light...."

"Hmmm, don't know." He started licking my ear and the back of my head slowly, almost thoughtfully. A habit he had with others he'd had in bed? "Anything else," -lick- "you can think of that," -lick- "makes them different?" he spoke unhurriedly.

I thought about it a moment, well, also to get in more licks before I answered. It felt very nice, the tongue pressing and smoothing my fur. "I don't know, but we'll need to not take chances until we know for sure."

Ah, he was making little nips at my ear. Just between every few slow licks, as if he was testing for my reaction. The nips were painless, a clip of sensation. I made a soft sound between a whimper and a sigh. I was getting more aroused, this was bad. I clung to the arm circling my waist. I could feel his muscles beneath the fur flex slightly as he held me closer.

He moved his arm slowly down, until his wrist bumped my own boxer-covered erection. "You're hard too?" he asked right after a nip. He continued his steady licking, focusing on my ear.

"Hasn't gone down since I woke up." I sighed, letting the sensations start to flood me. So much nicer than the sensations the Curtain brought. "Sorry, does it make you uncomfortable?" I asked, suddenly unsure if he was just being friendly and comforting, not meaning to get me more turned on. My ears drooped uncertainly, my long whiskers pulling slightly inwards. They were not nearly as mobile as, say a cat's whiskers, but I still felt a lot through them. I felt like I didn't want them confirming a rejection.

"No," he mumbled into the fur behind my ear. His nose prodded there. "I find it kind of flattering," Shadow said, then set to chewing gently on my ear.

I did whimper then. The paw on my head stroked my fur slowly, drawing lines between my eyebrows and up my skull. My large ear folded in his muzzle as he gently gummed and gnawed it. His tongue pressed and prodded at the sensitive edges, exploring their shape. The inner guard hairs slipped along his tongue. Saliva cooled on my ear each time he opened his warm jaw to adjust his exploration. He sucked gently at the edges, letting the rest of my ear sting with cool air.

My spare paw, the one not resting on the arm around my waist, rested on the sheet, clenching the blanket above me. I whimpered again, higher. A visible dimple appeared in the blanket as my paw flexed. I was shifting restlessly against him as he gripped me closer. His arm about my waist moved slowly as his paw explored my hip and flank. I rubbed my head where it rested on his arm. The fingers continued to trace the lines of my skull, and I licked the fur on his forearm a few times when it came close enough. A new shiver followed a tingling ripple as it coursed from my ear to my groin. My erection pressed harder against his wrist, peeking from its sheath beneath my boxers.

I was really getting turned on. Was he doing this just because there was no one else and he was the kind of sex-driven teen you would hear about? Did it matter right now? Not really, I decided as he slowly moved his paw down into my boxers to cup my erection.

I moaned and mine were the hips which flexed that time. I pushed into his paw, causing his covered bulge to slip back, through my legs. He chuckled behind me and started to nibble. He nibbled on my ear for a moment, while I sighed and whined slightly. Then the nibbles began a journey from my ear down along my neck. Tortuously slowly. His nose pressed into my fur, inhaling deeply. His hips slowly ground into me, and repeated. His paw gripping me gently below. The grinding caused me to slip around in his paw as my hips were pushed about. I groaned, my breathing picking up; at least this time it was not in panic. He slowly stroked my cock, adding a little twist sometimes. I gripped his arm around my waist harder, feeling a growing need within me.

No fur had ever touched me there before. Not one had even seemed to want to. Now the hottest wolf I knew - and I was definitely biased here - was gripping me with obvious intent.

"This okay?" he mumbled into my neckfur.

I made some affirmative noise that turned higher at the end as his cold nose pressed deeply, down to my skin.

His hips began a slow and steady thrust into me. No more grinding. This felt good too. A steady rhythm, rocking me forward and back. His paw flexing slightly around my member. The movement along my lower half echoed up my body. My head gently rubbed itself along his arm with each thrust, rubbing my whiskers into his fur. My whole body echoed his movements, and I gasped faintly as he made a single stronger thrust.

He grunted. While slowly thrusting he asked, "Please, I want to take off our boxers. I won't do anything more to you, I just want to feel your fur against me. Please, Tyler, say it's okay? We won't mess them that way." He nipped lightly at the back of my neck, his breath heavy in my fur.

I was quickly losing any resistance to him, though I had not considered resisting before. I moaned as one thrust rocked harder against my backside. "I need to feel you too," I agreed, breathing heavily myself.

He abruptly sat up behind me, removing his boxers quickly, then pulled mine down to my knees as I shifted to help. The blanket was thrown aside. He gazed with intent focus, an urgent need in his eyes. Then he sank back down quickly behind me, aligning our bodies again. He guided my head to a pillow. One arm was around my chest and the other returned to my throbbing erection. Oh, this was definitely better. His warmth pressed against my intimate areas.

He resumed his thrusting between my legs, and I kicked my boxers off the rest of the way. It hindered his movements for a moment, but he returned with renewed vigor, rocking and thrusting insistently. His paw stroked my lower self, and my hips responded with a single thrust of their own. Shadow's hard cock moved through my sweat-damped thighs. It slipped forwards and slid back, pulling slightly at my fur.

Shadow was nibbling and licking my neckfur. My ear angled towards him, my being focusing on him and the sensations which ran through me.

We were both beginning to pant heavily. His thrusting quickening steadily. He was starting to grunt underneath his breath with each thrust. I was feeling a growing pressure and tingle in my groin. I noticed my legs were getting wetter as he thrust strongly into them. He must be getting close and releasing pre. I was beginning to whimper and whine with each breath, my breaths often getting interrupted by fresh thrusts.

"Can I cum between your legs?" he begged between pants and grunts.

"Yeah, there's still a bit of crust from last time I couldn't get out-ugh," I grunted as he suddenly thrust harder. Maybe the thought of yesterday's leavings still marking me was a turn-on for him.

I was panting hard, feeling the strokes in front and pressure from behind, spanning through my legs. I looked down and saw his pink tip jumping in and out of my autumn forest of fur. Oh, that was amazing. I leaned my head back and whined, a needy frustration building. He began chewing at the junction of my neck and shoulder, grunting noticeably in each thrusting effort. His paw around my chest pulling me back and down.

I felt a greater pressure at my rear and assumed it was his knot forming. The knot was pushing between my butt cheeks. The thought had my own knot quickly filling as he rapidly stroked me. Urgency seized me and I was shifting my hips back into him, whimpering loudly with each breath.

Growing grunts fluffed the fur at my neck. My spine was aligning along my neck and back as tingles grew. I prickled from my whiskers to my toes. My creamy neck opening to him as he chewed and gnawed gently where the neck and shoulder met. Where the cream color changed to red. My ears moved back along my head as my senses grew more excitingly overwhelmed by all the activity. I needed to finish. "Don't stop, Shadow!" I moaned, my head tilting back, stretching my throat instinctively. More... forward... deeper.

"As if I would!" he growled softly and bit down into my shoulder. Not a bite rough enough to break the skin, just to hold on as his paw slipped lower to grip my knot instead of my shaft. His thrusts grew sharp and erratic.

A cry escaped from my gaping, panting jaws. A shudder spread through me, and my hips jerked as I came on the mattress, groaning. I quivered forward, halted by Shadow's paw grasping erratically at my chest.

Shadow growled deeply behind me, teeth digging in, but still not breaking flesh. My thighs rippled around him and he thrust once hard, then harder! I could feel a pulse through my thighs, shooting onto the mattress, next to my release. His hips jerked spastically behind me for several seconds. He continued to grip my knot hard, the wrist pinning me back towards him. His arm around my chest clutched me hard. He stilled for an instant, then thrust forward again, another spasm ripping through him. I moaned with the knowledge of what was happening behind me. That must be some orgasm.

His paw still gripped my knot as we calmed. Teeth still dug into my flesh. The active part was over; we both pumped a bit of fluid out every few seconds. Mine dropped to the mattress; his drooled into the fur of my leg.

Our breathing slowed and calmed until we were both caught up in relaxation. Ears and whiskers relaxing. Both of us still slowly and steadily pumping out fluids.

I sighed contentedly, then grabbed an unused pillow from across the bed and removed the pillowcase. Shadow gripped my knot harder a moment and growled softly, teeth still pressing into my shoulder. I let loose an extra amount of fluid and grunted softly as my ears flicked. I guess he didn't want me moving, huh? I slowly used the pillowcase to wipe most of the cum off the mattress, then stuffed it under my leaking cock.

He sighed then, still pressed tight against me. The knot at my rear was pressing against my anus and his occasionally throbbing cock pressed my balls against me. He readjusted slightly, pressing us even closer together. The pressure back there was... interesting. Something I'd never explored myself. I sighed and anchored my slender, black arms to the big, black arm over my chest. I tried moving my hips back into him, enjoying the little groan he made into my shoulder. The pressure at my rear was definitely... interesting.

Time was thoughtless, focused on pleasant sensations. We quietly lay on the bed, content. Neither of us moved and the morning held an eternity of stillness and birdsong.

Eventually, both knots shrunk and our lengths withdrew. I could feel his inching back through my fur. I was sure I had a sodden jungle down there. The pressure from him along my groin and sensitive parts withdrew. His teeth loosened on my sore shoulder. Still neither of us moved, not wanting to break the spell of contentedness. Our parts were all tucked away, back in their sheaths, but we continued to relax in that strange bed. Shadow slowly removed his teeth from my shoulder. His arms relaxed, but still enclosed me.

I would have fallen back asleep if I had not just overslept from exhaustion. I breathed quietly, stroking his armfur slowly.

"Sorry," he eventually said, licking my shoulder slowly. "I got a little carried away there."

I didn't say anything, not sure how to respond. I just continued to slowly stroke his armfur.

"Um, I haven't done it with any fur in a while and I guess I was a little pent up?" he said, sounding embarrassed. When I still said nothing he continued, "We're still okay, right?"

"Yeah," I gripped his arm and leaned back into him. "I don't know what all this means for us, but I'm okay." I rolled onto my back, so I could see him.

He grinned in relief and leaning down gave me a light kiss on my lips. My eyes widened in shock.

"Er, what?" he paused. "Not okay?" he looked disappointed. When I still didn't say anything, just stared up at him, his eyes widened. "Wait! Was that your first kiss?" he asked, shocked as well.

I felt my face burn and my ears flattened in embarrassment. Yeah, a fur my age, and I'd never had a kiss. Well, only family, but that didn't count.

Apparently my silent response was enough of an answer. He smiled then. "Guess I'm doing everything backwards then," he said softly and leaned closer, covering my upper body with his.

I felt a little trapped, so close, face-to-face. As his eyes closed and his lips met mine again. My eyes closed, avoiding the proximity, bringing my lips to the center of focus. A light brush across them. Then a firm contact. A tongue probed gently at my lips and I whimpered my confusion.

"It's okay," he whispered into my lips. "Just relax, I'll show you. Let me in and relax." And he slowly resumed a light contact on my lips and a tongue tickle along where they sealed.

I sighed and let myself relax, allowing my lips to part. Thankfully, he didn't dive right in, but accustomed me to the feeling of his tongue prodding the tip of my own and exploring our new joining.

It was warm and slimy, but tasted entirely of him. I relaxed my muzzle and my whiskers drifted forward towards him. I exhaled into his muzzle and brought my paws up to his arms. My tongue venturing to meet his in my muzzle. Taste the contours and the texture of his tongue.

He pulled back slowly, smiling. "That's enough for now, okay? We need some breakfast."

I gawked at him for a long moment, my head reeling.

"Here," he rose up on the bed and held out his paw. "It's not good to pile too many new things on you. You were in pretty rough shape last night."

I sat up slowly with his help. I did still feel strange and exhausted. Shadow got out of bed and put his clothes on. I fumbled around under the blanket, vainly trying to find my boxers somewhere within.

A full set of clothes dropped in front of my nose. Fresh boxer briefs included.

"Find it later, put some fresh clothes on."

I grimaced at the thought of my dirty and wet state entering clean clothes, then shrugged mentally. I needed clothes. Everything could be washed later. My clothes went on quickly, and I thought I saw Shadow steal a glance at me. My imagination, maybe. I sat on the edge of the bed, gathering my strength. He left the room for a moment and I touched my lips, trying to pin down the feeling that had come when our lips had met.

What had that sense been? Like a new connection, perhaps. At the time I had felt overwhelmed, but yet very curious and fascinated. Whether feelings between us actually existed or not, we were drawing closer together. I hoped when he truly saw me as others seemed to see me, that he would not despise me later.

I looked around the guest room. It seemed pretty cramped in here. Yesterday, I think I'd hardly noticed. There was barely enough room for the bed and a chest, and the bed had been a little small for just the two of us. Somehow the cramped space seemed safer. There could be no zombies hidden around or behind objects.

I rose slowly from the bed. My footpaws felt a little distant and my head didn't like moving, but I was up. I wandered slowly around the house, half looking for Shadow, half simply curious.

It was a little two-story wooden structure, with peeling paint showing on every window and outer door. The room we had stayed in had apparently been repurposed as a guest room from something else. Maybe an old entry and mud room. The interior walls looked newer than the outer walls, so this was probably a newer space in the house.

The second story looked smaller than the ground floor. A peek up the stair suggested a bedroom and maybe a bathroom. The rest of the house was a living room, with an old couch and an older TV, and a dining room and kitchen area. Of course nothing worked without power and the house had an old, quiet feeling to it. All the window curtains were drawn shut except for in the kitchen. The curtain let in mild light, yellowed and dim.

Shadow was there in the kitchen, cooking something over the stove, tail waving idly.

"Morning," I said and wandered over to the little table.

"Hey." He paused and sniffed carefully at a raised spoon. "This place has a gas stove, so I thought we could use a hot breakfast. They must have a storage tank hooked up somewhere."

I licked my lips involuntarily. Hot food... how many days had it been since I'd eaten anything hot?

Shadow's tail dipped and swung, endangering the furniture. His back bobbed around the stove as he pulled out some bowls and served some hot food. Turned out to be oatmeal, to which he added fruit, honey, and just a bit of summer sausage. He put it together in front of me, slowing purposefully as I became more and more visibly eager. By the time it was ready and he held out a spoon, I was twitching with hunger.

He smirked as I snatched the spoon and possessively gulped at the hot food. He sat down serenely to his own portion.

Oh, it was so nice. Like a warmth spreading through inside realms I had long forgotten. The bowl was half-eaten when I managed to slow down and enjoy the food. Also, I was filling quickly. My diet the last few days had limited my stomach's tolerance.

I managed to finish my food and finally looked up at Shadow. He was watching me carefully, smiling secretively.

"What?" I asked setting the spoon in the empty bowl. "Do I have something in my teeth?"

He touched his chin lightly. I touched mine too. "Other side," he chuckled.

"Which reminds me," I said, scooping a dollop of mush from my chin to my lips, "I really need to get clean. I feel like I'm a muckball dripping filth." I plucked at some fur along my arm. Some unknown crust was caked above where my arms turned from red to black.

"There's a creek out behind the house. It's pretty shallow, but should be enough to get clean." Shadow mentioned offhandedly, finishing off his bowl. He pulled uncomfortably at his filthy shirt.

I felt my ears perk hard at the thought. Cold... but clean would be so very nice. Clean fur, that wouldn't stick together, that would fluff in the breeze instead of sag against me, weighing me down. I felt lighter already. My tail swished behind my chair.

"We can go down this afternoon. You know... after midday."

And I sagged as the happy feeling left. "Maybe it's over. Maybe the one yesterday was stronger because it was the last." I muttered, feeling disgruntled.

"Doubt it," he said, gathering up the dishes. He wiped them out with a cloth and set them separate, ready for the next meal. "We need to find a place to hole up today. I don't really know what we need, but I had a few ideas of where to look."

Shadow helped me to my footpaws. I felt stable, if still tired. "Guess we go check, right?"

He wagged his tail as he showed me a few places around the tiny house. There was a closet in the upstairs bedroom. It was tucked under the slope of the roof, so the clothes rack hung low. I wasn't sure about that spot. It seemed there would only be one thin layer of wooden roof between us and the Curtain. When I pointed it out, Shadow frowned. It was difficult to tell how well the little room was sealed, and it was possible any little crack would cause our deaths.

"The problem is, we don't know what makes a place safe. And I don't know if there's any way to test it, either," I said after a moment of us staring hopelessly into the slant-roofed space.

Next was a little cellar, just outside the house. I really wanted to settle on a place soon. I could tell the sun was getting higher. Not too close to midday, but approaching it.

"This place?" Shadow suggested.

I stepped down into the space. "Shadow, I can see light through cracks in the foundation. Also, there's mouse droppings everywhere."

"Damn!" he said from outside. "I saw it yesterday evening when I got up to take a piss. You didn't even move, but it was getting dark, so...."

I climbed out of the cellar, "...there wasn't enough light to check." I looked around. There were two other houses visible in the distance. "Anywhere else, or do we need to check the neighbors?"

He grimaced, "One other place." His tail and ears sagged in disappointment.

He guided me back to the kitchen and open a narrow door.

It was a pantry, a tiny walk-in pantry. There were shelves up to the ceiling packed with foodstuffs taking the bulk of the space. Large jars lined the floor beneath the shelves.

I walked in. Well, it was a walk-in pantry. It was dim and narrow. Shelves were lining two sides of the tiny square room, making a right angle and a cluttered corner. I felt the nearness of a shelf at one shoulder and the wall near the other.

"Do you think we could make this work?" I asked picking up a homemade jar of raspberry jam off the shelf. "There's even less space than in my old utility room, but none of the walls are exterior walls. It also looks like whoever lived here kept the wall edges sealed to keep out pests." Raspberry jam sounded really good. Did they have peanut butter?

I was busy poking through the contents when I realized Shadow was very still. "What?" I asked nervously, "Is it the Curtain?"

He shook his head and just stared into the tiny space, wide-eyed.

"You're claustrophobic?" I asked quietly.

He gave a shudder. "A bit.... It was hard enough at your place...." He started to shake slightly.

"It's not so bad," I quickly reassured him. "Here, we can at least clear out these jars from the bottom. Give some leg room."

I crouched down and started passing him jars, just to give him something to do and take his mind off the tiny space. "Just breathe deeply, remember? You told me that part. I'll be in here too. We don't even know if this spot will work."

Whatever he was feeling, he kept taking the jars as I passed them back. Lots and lots of home jarred foods. Some looked old and degraded. Some looked fresh and appetizing. I didn't look back at him to see where he put them, he didn't need me staring at him while he reigned in his own fears.

"Let's keep calm and just see what we have with this space, okay?"

Shadow made a faint noise behind me.

"What is the stream like?" I asked in an obvious ploy of distraction.

There was a pause as he gathered himself to speak. "It's back behind the house a ways," he started softly as I continued to pass jars back, his voice growing stronger steadily. "There's a line of trees along it. The undergrowth is thick, but passable. The stream looked really nice. Cool, clear water. I wanted to get in yesterday, but it would have taken hours to dry all the way before I could join you in the bed. I was pretty tired too."

I finished with the last large jar. Pickles, classic. I smiled secretly and checked the space. At least it gave more space at the bottom.

"Do you think this first shelf comes out?" I asked, giving it a little tug.

"Dunno. Clear it off and see," he suggested bluntly. He still sounded uncomfortable. At least it was better than the twinge of fear in his voice before.

I passed him a seemingly unending stream of cans. Fruit, beans, soups.... I lost track.

"Nope, this shelf is in there pretty tightly. Looks like all the shelves are built together, not just attached to the wall."

Shadow sighed and I looked at him, finally. He looked nervous, but calmer. He seemed to have come to a decision of how to deal with his fear. However he had managed, I was glad.

"Get the duct tape?" I asked.

He left willingly. Didn't want to bear the enclosing feeling, I guessed.

He came back almost immediately, "I brought in the tape with our stuff yesterday. I got a towel to stuff at the bottom too."

I smiled, that was Shadow, thinking ahead. Wait.... "Is it close to midday?" I looked around nervously.

"Yeah," he looked unsettled.

I crawled into the space and leaned my back against the wall, door to my side and my footpaws in the cleared space. There was enough room for me. There was enough room for Shadow. There didn't seem to be room enough for us both....

"Um... Shadow...." I came out of the pantry and stood beside him. We stared mutely at the space. "I don't know if...."

He shivered beside me.

"We could both stand..?" I ventured.

He shook his head and said softly, "We would hurt ourselves on the shelves. Everything might collapse on us." He paused, gathering his argument, "At the very least standing might trigger a stroke or seizure. Especially if it's anything like last time. Even if it's not.... We. Cannot. Be. Standing."

My eyes were watering. This was unfair. This was terrible. "One of the other farms might have-"

"We're running out of time." He said measuredly.

"No! We-"

He tossed the towel into the pantry and grabbed my arm. "Someone needs to survive!" he growled and shoved me into the space.