Felix was so deep in thought as he paced the perimeter of Arthur’s house that he didn’t notice Alice until he collided with her.
“Did I hurt you?” he gasped. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. I’m so sorry.”
“You looked pretty deep in thought,” she said with a friendly tone as she stepped back and battled with controlling the desire that arose from being so close to his powerful physique while gently wiggling the pain from the foot he’d managed to step on. “No harm done.”
Just then, it struck him that he hadn’t seen her for some time. She didn’t live there, but she’d been around so much that, when she left, her absence was noticed. “Where have you been?”
She looked and sounded hesitant when she spoke. “Arthur asked me to notify the founding members of the community about the impending zombie threat.”
“I’ll bet that went over well,” he said with a hint of sarcasm. He’d heard enough whisperings while wandering through the village to know that his family was being blamed for bringing chaos and bad luck to the community.
She chuckled, uncomfortably, and shook her head. “We’ve been fortunate these past years. With the exception of an occasional predator out on the hunt, we’ve escaped the dangers that most living in inner earth must contend with.”
“It was the same for us on the surface. I spent most of my life being told to watch out for zombies and aliens, but I never saw one until we left the cave that I grew up in and ventured out into the world,” he said with a saddened tone. “I sometimes wish we’d stayed in that cave.”
Recognizing the opportunity to find out a bit more about Felix and his family, she seized the moment. In a world where meeting the opposite sex wasn’t that easy, she was curious about Kendra and Rex. Although he was handsome, he didn’t compare to Felix; in her eyes, anyway. It was clear that Kendra and Felix had a strong fondness for each other. She couldn’t help wondering why, if they were raised together, Kendra didn’t pair up with Felix instead of Rex. “Was Rex with you then? I mean, were you all raised together?”
He shook his head. “We met him while out searching for a new home. It was instant friendship between him and my aunt. It took longer for Kendra and me to trust him.” He looked at her for a moment and then added, “He was a wanderer, you know.”
“I didn’t,” she said with a nod. She now understood why Kendra chose Rex. He was new, handsome, and different. “It explains a lot, though.”
His brows raised. “How so?”
Her mind scrambled for a response. The last thing that she wanted to admit was that she now understood why Kendra chose to be with the new guy instead of the old and familiar. She especially didn’t want to broach such a subject after the drama and tragedy that occurred over his wife’s suspicions and jealousy where he and Kendra were concerned. The small smile that she gave him while she chose her words formed appealing dimples in her cheeks; something he hadn’t noticed when her flesh was so wrinkled.
“I was thinking about the fact that he’s adept at a lot. He seems far more informed about the way of things than Kendra does. She is a courageous hunter and warrior, but the sheltered life she’s led sometimes shows. Wanderers tend to have more knowledge of life,” she explained. “I would have guessed your aunt to be a wanderer too if Arthur hadn’t said differently.”
“My aunt was a wise and worldly woman before the war,” he offered. “We’re lucky to have her. Between her education, life experience, and religious beliefs, she makes for a fantastic protector and a formidable opponent to our enemies.”
“I’ve witnessed some of it,” she said, “but probably not the whole of it.”
“No,” he agreed, “not the whole of it.”
He couldn’t help admiring how shapely her calf was as she brought his attention to it when she nervously shuffled her foot in the soil. It was like he was seeing her for the first time. He noticed that her capri length pants left the damaged flesh on her legs exposed for the naked eye to see, but it didn’t bother him. Having an imperfection himself, he was less critical than most when it came to the human body. Even so, he had to admit that he found it much more pleasant to enjoy the beauty of her face- that he didn’t even know existed- now that it was no longer hidden beneath a sea of wrinkles. His aunt was a miracle worker, to say the least.
“Is she a… a witch?” she asked with hesitancy.
He threw his head back in laughter. “I can see where someone who wasn’t raised by her might think that.” Then, with more seriousness, he said, “I guess I’d have to ask you your definition of a witch before I can answer that. If you mean, is she super smart and educated in chemistry, energy, herbology and the like, and has she learned to use the psychic abilities that all humans have but very few tap into, then, I guess I’d say that she’s a witch.”
“I can’t imagine being that smart,” Alice said, wistfully. “I got some semblance of education, but not that much. I was an ugly orphan living amongst people who fed me and gave me the bare necessities. For a while, there was a woman who looked past my skin problem. She gave me love and taught me the basics of reading and calculations, but we lost her during a zombie invasion. After that, I was lucky to get food tossed at me and minimal protection from them. The dogs got better food and treatment than I did. Half the time, I slept under the stars on the ground near the fire.”
“You had dogs? How come?” he asked.
“They warned us about anyone or anything approaching,” she said. “Plus, we ate them.”
“I’ve never eaten dog,” he mused. “In fact, I’ve never really been close to one. Olga was very careful about the animals we raised. They had to be quiet and nothing that would draw visual attention from the drones. Dogs were out of the question.” After a moment of silent contemplation, he asked, “When did you come here?”
A look that was a mixture of sadness and regret came over her. “We were running from some cyborgs who’d discovered our camp. There were at least fifty of us and only three of them. They were quick with their killing and capturing, but I managed to slip away along with a half-dozen others. We stumbled upon a tunnel and decided to see where it led to. The deeper we went, the darker it got and the more frightened we became. We’d abandoned our camp without packing up, so we had no food or water with us. After days of wandering in the darkness of the tunnels, I overheard them whispering about killing me. They wanted to drink my blood to compensate for the lack of fluids and use my body for food. Over the years with them, I’d witnessed them eating a person or two. It wasn’t a common occurrence, but it had happened. It was during a time of crisis and food was scarce.”
“You’ve eaten human flesh?” he gasped.
She vigorously shook her head. “Like I said, it was during a food crisis. The last thing they were prepared to do was to share their precious meat with the likes of me. I was left to fend for myself. I ate a lot of worms and bugs until we reached a more amicable environment for survival.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “The only reason they hesitated at all was their fear about ingesting my meat because of my skin.” She gave a wry grin and a snort. “It was the one and only time that I was grateful for the affliction. I didn’t wait to find out if they were going to actually kill me. As soon as I realized what they were contemplating, I ran for my life. It was pitch black and there were multiple tunnels to choose from. I ended up wandering in the dark until I fainted from hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and fear. When I awoke, I was in Arthur’s home.”
“I understand the darkness that you talk about,” he said with a nod. “We spent days in it. Even though we were prepared of sorts, it was still almost unbearable. I can’t imagine how it was for someone who was starving and running for their life.”
“It was hell,” she agreed.
“What about the others?” he asked. “Did Arthur find them too?”
She nodded. “Three found their way here. He didn’t allow them to stay in Hopeville, though. They admitted that they found us because they were tracking me. After I told him how many of us entered the cave and he found out that they planned on eating me, he suspected that they ate the others. He can’t abide cannibalism so they couldn’t stay.”
“I thought that the village was governed by a group of people,” Felix said.
She nodded, “There is a council of sorts, but, ultimately, Arthur has final say. Hopeville started out as his home and then people built around it as they arrived and were invited by him to live here. His is the very first homestead and he’s the original resident and founder.”
“So, is the council just for show?” he asked.
She shook her head, “They tend to a lot of things for Hopeville. It saves it all being on Arthur’s shoulders.”
“I guess it would,” he mused. Then, with a smile, he added, “You’d never know how much power he has by talking to him. He’s a pretty down to earth kind of guy.”
She nodded. “That’s one of the things that I like the most about him. He hasn’t let his station go to his head.”
A thought suddenly came to him. “He plans on going to the surface. How will the people of Hopeville react to that?”
She scowled and looked away. He thought that she looked extremely uncomfortable with the question, but, since he’d never taken the time to really look at her, let alone get to know her, he couldn’t be sure.
Arthur’s call for them to join the others for the evening meal put a halt to all further conversing for the moment; which suited Alice just fine.
Dinner was a quiet affair with each attendee seemingly lost in his or her own thoughts. Other than a few polite comments on the food, very little was said.Alice stayed long enough to assist with the clean up before declaring that her day had been a long one and begging to be excused. After noticing her for the first time since he’d met her that afternoon, Felix had paid close attention to her during their meal. Although they exchanged no words to speak of, the energy impact between them was so profound that he was certain the others felt it too.His habit of stepping out for air after the evening meal came in handy. No one thought a thing about the fact that he’d practically followed Alice on her heels out the door after she said her “good-night”.“Can I walk with you for a bit?” he asked from a close distance behind her.Since she’d expected him to veer toward the back of the house once t
“We have a problem,” Arthur said with concern as he bounded into the house. Setting his hat on the kitchen counter, he accepted the steaming cup of herbal tea that his love offered him while kissing her on the cheek.Olga slid onto the stool at the counter opposite him. “Does it top Rex bringing my niece home with a zombie head embedded into her arm?”He nodded. “I believe it does.”She closed her eyes and filled her lungs with air. As she slowly let it out, she said, “Tell me.”“As you know, I sent Alice to warn the town council about the zombie threat. Now, they’re in an uproar. I tried to find her to hear exactly what she told them, but she’s nowhere to be found.” He scowled while slowly shaking his head. “They’ve got it in their heads that you and your family are cursed and have brought evil to our doorstep.”&ldqu
The meeting went better than anyone could have expected. Claiming that she had plans that couldn’t be altered -and also that she wasn’t willing to divulge what they were- Alice wasn’t able to attend, but she assured Arthur that she was eager to go on the mission with them and would follow whatever rules and plans that they put into play. That was good enough for Arthur even if it didn’t quite sit well with Kendra and Rex.“I don’t know about taking her with us,” Kendra said as she and Rex stepped outside of the house for some fresh air and privacy. “I can’t explain it, but something isn’t right with her.”“Do you think it’s because she’s obsessed with Felix?” Rex said with a grin.Taken aback by his comment only briefly, she smiled in return. “She’s pretty obvious, isn’t she?”“To everyone but him, I think,” he re
Alice was sitting at the breakfast table conversing with Rex, Olga, and Felix when Kendra sauntered out of the bedroom to join them. Their easy manner of conversation made her feel foolish about her outburst the night before. Although she’d gone to bed feeling righteous in her actions, the scene before her stripped away those feelings and replaced them with shame and regret.The sunlight coming through the large picture window rested on Alice’s once wrinkled face in a way that made her flesh resemble smooth porcelain. Seeing her well-shaped mouth smiling so alluringly at Felix was enough to take Kendra’s breath away. There was no denying that the girl was good looking with sex appeal as well. Leave it to her aunt to find a way to show it.Kendra was aware that the smoothness of Alice’s flesh did not continue to the torso that she had covered with clothing, but she also knew that it wouldn’t be an issue for Fel
“The children,” Olga gasped as she looked at Rex with a face that showed far more worry than he’d seen since he’d met her.He couldn’t blame her. The children were being cared for by Arthur’s friend Jeb and his wife to allow them the opportunity to focus total attention on their plans. The topic of leaving them in Hopeville until their mission was over had been a heated one, but Kendra wouldn’t hear of it. She’d just gotten Eugene back and had no intention of being separated from him ever again. As for baby Rex… she’d managed to escape the alien’s with him in tow when it was just her and a severely drugged husband in a pony cart. Surely, if she could keep him safe through that, she could keep him safe through anything.Panic filled Rex as he looked out at the crowd and saw a rope being strung over the branch of a tree. “I can’t believe it. They really intend to
“What took you so long?” Felix called out as the fugitives neared the tunnel’s opening.“We were about to come looking for you,” Alice added as she nervously paced back and forth.“They’re out for serious blood,” Kendra said as she leaned against a large boulder to rest. “We were lucky to get out alive.”Arthur was about to mention the fact that a few of the villagers weren’t so lucky and, then, thought better of it. Alice was already nervous around Olga and her family. Telling her that Kendra infected her attackers and they turned was probably not the best thing to do at the onset of their mission; if at all. Since Olga and Rex made no mention of it either, he assumed that they felt the same. He only hoped that Kendra would keep quiet as well.“We have to get the children,” Kendra said as she wiped at the perspiration on the back of her
The day and a half spent traveling at a steady speed through the tunnels seemed more like a year and a half to the small group. Each dealt with their own special demons in the dark. For Alice, it was the memory of running for her life. First from the cyborgs and, then, from her own people. For Felix, it was his time with Ari. For Arthur, it was concern about what happened back in Hopeville and how he, as the founding father, should address it once he returned.Olga and Rex spent their time in silent worry about Kendra. As did Kendra. She was not only fully aware that her behavior was shifting, but she felt a change going on in her mouth that concerned her.“I need to talk to you,” Kendra whispered when she guessed herself alone with her aunt in the darkness of the tunnel.“Can it wait?” Olga asked with a sense of urgency. “We should be out of these tunnels by early tomorrow. Then, we c
It was seven more hours of excruciating blackness before they saw a literal light at the end of the tunnel. Moods immediately lifted as renewed energy filled their bodies. Legs that only moments earlier felt weak to the point of barely able to support their torso suddenly experienced a surge of renewed vigor as they practically raced each other to the opening.Kendra was the first to reach the exterior of the tunnel. Although her first instinct was to race into the sunlight and pay homage to its brilliance while filling her lungs with fresh air, she knew better. Stopping just inside the opening, she flattened her body into the shadows while she visually inspected the area for cyborgs, aliens, or even humans who could prove dangerous. Prior to going into the earth’s core, she would have been cautious around a stranger, but not be prepared to kill or be killed. Her exposure to the dark side of humanity caused a considerable change in he