Felix noted the looks on the faces of the three people he loved with all of his heart as they joined in the reception celebration, but he and Ari were inundated with well-wishers and their toasts so he was unable to make his way to them to see what was up. Also, his beautiful bride was glowing with happiness and enjoying the adoration and complements that were flowing her way. After such a long time of being mistreated by her peers, it had to be like a dream for them to be surrounding her with laughter and marriage jokes as if they were the best of friends. He couldn’t spoil the moment for her. If whatever was bothering his family was truly serious, he was certain that they’d find a way to confer with him about it.
As time progressed, he and his bride eventually managed to work their way to the table that his family sat around. They were in such deep and serious conversation that they didn’t notice the newlyweds standing next to them.
<Waiting for the drunken soldiers to finish their plans of turning Rex in the following morning had to be one of the most grueling things she’d done in a long time. She longed to run inside and warn him, but knew better than to alert them. They may be drunk, but they were still highly trained men of combat. If they decided to capture Rex, they’d find a way to do it. Superhuman strength or not.She did her best not to show her relief when Felix popped his head out of the door to find out what was taking her so long to return. The soldiers pulled him out into their drunken circle and jovially bantered with him about his future as a married man until they finally tired and the call of alcohol pulled them back inside. He was about to escort her in behind them when she tugged hard enough on his arm to grab his attention.She was grateful that he hadn’t consumed enough alcohol to cause him to lose his faculties. One look at her eyes and at
The intense heat of the day was far less tolerable than it was over her prior days of travel. Perhaps it was because her slight body was working harder now that she was forced to walk instead of riding her mare. The muscles in Ari’s legs were screaming for relief and her body was sweating to the point that she offended herself. She’d lost her sunscreen, wide-brimmed straw hat, and sunglasses at the same time that she’d lost her mare. Her short, flaxen hair was matted to her head from the sweat that seemed to ooze from every pore of her body. Her clothes were so soaked with it that she was certain that if she wrung them out there’d be a goodly amount of liquid released. She needed to find shade and rest, but, when the realization of the futility of her situation sank in, she’d run in a panic without paying attention to where she was going and she was no longer on the intended route. Nothing looked familiar. After her r
Felix was deep in thought while he slowly paced the porch. He stopped for a moment to admire the brilliant orangish-red sun as it casually set behind the tree line. Being outside to greet the sun when it rose in the morning and to say good-night when it set in the evening was a habit that he developed as a young boy. It gave him some semblance of peace to witness such a miraculous occurrence.To his disappointment, the contentment that he normally felt during this time eluded him. His mind was filled with confusion and frustration. He’d intently listened to Ari’s tale of woes about all that occurred while journeying from Center Land to his home and was sorry for what she’d endured during it. A trip that should have taken her no more than two days on foot – less on horseback - had lasted the better part of a week. She’d been so preoccupied with fleeing for her life -as well as traumatized by the sight and
Kendra twisted in the saddle so that she could better see the trail behind her. She and Rex had left their home at dawn on their hunting trip to a new and unexplored area. Interestingly enough, the grounds were lush with plant life in comparison to most of the areas that they’d been hunting in, yet there was absolutely no game to be found. At first, they’d thought that it might be due to an abundance of zombies about, but they’d yet to come across a single one of them.Rex had tested the water in several of the streams that they’d come across and found it potable and delicious. The grass was thick and ripe with nutrients for grazing and the trees were heavy with foliage. The fact that there was no game to be found made no sense.Since they were traveling on horseback, they decided to split up their search. They’d designated a large boulder that was surrounded by trees as their meeting place n
The well-developed, lean muscles of Rex’s tall frame flexed with tension as he paced in front of the boulder that was the agreed upon meeting place for him and Kendra. He anxiously scanned the trees for a sign of her approaching. The sun’s rays were barely able to push their way through the thick green canopy that blanketed the tree tops during its highest point of the day. Now that it was almost set, visibility was practically nil. Where could she be? He’d been back for well over an hour. He’d had a devil of a time finding it once he’d ventured out and wondered if she was experiencing the same problem. Adamant that he wouldn’t return home without her and certain that she’d wait for him as well and concerned with the time of day and poor lighting, he resigned himself to the fact that he’d more than likely be spending the night right where he stood.Deciding to be proactive, he began gathering
Kendra groaned as she uncurled her body from the fetal position that she’d lain in on the damp ground for the better part of the night. She’d made sure that her horse was close by so that she could watch over its safety in the event of a zombie or cyborg invasion. What she hadn’t expected was that the horse would lie down so close to her that their bodies were actually touching. It was as if the gelding knew the benefit of staying close.She lay with her back against the horse’s back. The combination of their body heat was fantastic for her torso, but it also emphasized the cold dampness of the ground beneath her. She’d gathered a few pine branches to act as a barrier between her body and the ground, but they proved ineffective over the long haul. Her pants were so damp as to be considered wet. They clung, uncomfortably, to her slender legs. Her muscles had tightened from a night of damp cold and were struggling to f
The world slowly came into view as Rex struggled to get his sky blue eyes to work for him. He raised his hand to inspect the lump on his broad forehead and tried to remember how he got it while, at the same time, working on determining just where he was.It took him some time to realize that it wasn’t his vision failing him that caused visibility to be so poor. It was the fact that he was in a space that was so dimly lit that it could almost be considered dark. Feeling his pulse quickening, he worked at controlling his breathing to avoid panic. All of his life, he’d suffered from mild claustrophobia. Waking up in a strange and unknown environment while unable to see his surroundings made him feel trapped and closed in. He couldn’t let it overtake him. He needed his wits about him more than ever.Going back over the chain of events leading to his waking up in this unsettling place, he slowly remembered the tall
Kendra straightened her shirt as she cuddled her infant son while sitting in one of the Adirondack chairs that were lined in a neat row on the front porch. He’d greedily emptied her burdensome breasts and she’d been happy to let him do it. She’d had a difficult time enduring the sensation of milk filled breasts that were long overdue for release. Olga told her how, prior to the war, women fed formula to their infants and bypassed nursing all together. Oh, how she would have liked to have been able to do that.“He’s almost ready to stop nursing,” she said to her cousin as he sat on the top step with his back against the rail post.“You sound happy about that,” he mused.“I won’t miss it,” she admitted.“It’s one on one time with your son that no one else can share,” he observed. “I’d think you’d want it to go on forever.”She shrug