The Weak and The Damned (2 page)

 
The
arrival of a newly found, possibly grateful, female survivor would
give him exactly what he desired, a woman who would remain solely his
for as long as he wanted her. Knowing that it was often more
difficult to find survivors while on the move, William had put off
leaving their current location for as long as possible.

He planned to leave
their current location within the week once more supplies were
stockpiled. William knew that his group were fond of the current
beach front location, but something about the area was making him
uneasy.

 
He
tried to ignore the feeling knowing that location was perfectly
safe.  The community entrances were guarded against the undead
and other survivors, and the water itself offered its own security
since no one had ever seen the dead entering bodies of water.

Regardless of how
safe the position seemed, William was growing anxious to leave and
was pleased that his men were able to locate at least one female to
partially (in his own mind at least) justify the decision to linger
at the beach. William hoped amusing himself with the new female
would give him a chance to relax and take his mind off of his growing
concern.

 
A
discreet tap at the door followed by a murmured word from the aide
brought William forcefully back to the present. He shook his head
slightly as if to shake away the memories before telling his aide to
enter the room.

The young man, a boy
really, slowly opened the door and then stepped back allowing Second
Lieutenant Gardner to enter the bedroom. Behind the Lieutenant came
two young recruits and the long awaited woman stood quietly between
them.

 
The
woman was tall, perhaps 5'8", and very slender. Her surprisingly
pale skin was smooth, and the thick hair that fell down her back was
jet black. When she lifted her face to look around the room William
saw that she had large, slightly slanted, dark brown eyes.

She was dressed in
shorts and a thin sleeveless t-shirt, the type of clothes one would
wear for outdoor travel in the hot humid climate. Her feet were bare,
but that wasn't unusual, William required all of the dependents to go
without shoes or socks. It discouraged escape and casual exploration.

 
"Where
did you find her?" William asked, rising from his chair and
stepping forward to get a better look at the woman.

 
"Well,
sir," the Lieutenant spoke slowly, obviously choosing his words
carefully "she was down on the main strip, going through one of
the souvenir shops, sir." The words were spoken as if the
Lieutenant did not want to repeat them.

 
"Was
she really?" Though William hated to question one of his most
trusted officers, there was something about this woman and that story
that he didn't like. The average survivor was found skulking in
shadows, not browsing prominent buildings in broad daylight. While
he found her attractive, William was not feeling even slightly
aroused.

 
"Sir,"
the Lieutenant frowned, "as near as the scouts could tell she
was simply sitting in a store room going through a few boxes that we
left behind when we initially checked the area for supplies.

The store was just
at the edge of the zone we cleared and there were no infected around
that they could see." Lieutenant Gardner looked as though he
wanted to say more, but he stopped talking closing his mouth with an
audible clicking noise.

 
William
felt himself returning the Lieutenant's frown. The first thing they
did when inhabiting an area long term was to sweep the buildings
outside of their safe zone.

Clearing the
infected made things easier when the scouts went out searching for
food, gas, clothing, and other valuable supplies. Unfortunately, no
matter how well an area was cleared the infected always seemed to
find their way back as if they were drawn by the presence of so many
uninfected human beings.

William could not
remember the last time any scout went to a building to pick up
supplies and did not encounter at least one infected person.

 
"Did
she receive a medical examination?" William found himself
looking over the woman again. She appeared to be well-fed, clean, and
very healthy.

Though William felt
a faint stirring in his loins as his eyes passed over the swell of
her breasts he still felt faintly uneasy.  In his experience,
the infected only avoided those who were already infected, but the
woman did not seem to be bitten and all those susceptible to airborne
infection were long dead.

 
"Yes
sir, she got a clean bill of health from the medic." Gardner
hesitated a moment before continuing. "We can leave her here if
you like. She was checked for weapons too."

The usually stolid
officer flushed slightly and one of the privates shuffled
uncomfortably drawing a disapproving glare from William. They all
knew why he liked interviewing the female survivors alone, but
regardless of their own personal feelings none of them dared show
their disapproval.

 
Part
of William wanted to send the woman away.  He wanted to have her
to quarantined or send her to stay with the other women until he
could figure out why she unsettled him so much.

William opened his
mouth to issue the order to return the woman to dependents quarters,
but instead he heard himself say "I guess you can just leave her
here." The Lieutenant nodded brusquely, sketched a salute and
walked briskly from the room leaving the two privates to awkwardly
scramble after him.

 
When
the door slammed shut after the soldiers the woman jumped and took a
half step back. William forced himself to smile at her as he held up
his hands in a placating gesture.

"Take it easy,
I'm not going to hurt you I just want to talk." He saw her
glance doubtfully at the rifle that leaned against his chair. "I
mean it watch, I'll put the gun away." Moving slowly he picked
up the rifle and placed it on the top shelf of the bedrooms large,
walk in, closet.

Given the woman's
slender frame, he doubted she could overpower him and get to the
closet to retrieve the rifle.

 
"How
long have you been on the road?" William asked, the wide smile
still on his face.  He sat back down in his chair and was amused
to see that the woman was slowly relaxing now that the weapon was out
of sight. The woman seemed to consider the question carefully before
answering.

 
"I've
been traveling almost non-stop since Atlanta fell." Her voice
was soft, musical, with just the barest hint of an unidentifiable
accent.

"My parents
moved to Miami while I was in med school. I thought it would be easy
to reach them but..." Her voice trailed off and she looked
wistfully out of the window that overlooked the clear water and
setting sun.

 
"I'm
surprised you made it this far by yourself. My group moves slowly
because of our size and the stalled cars on the roads, but most
people traveling alone usually end up becoming nothing but meat."

As he spoke William
realized why he was so unsettled by the woman. She was too clean, too
put together. After a year or more spent fighting the undead hordes,
less savoury survivor gangs, and the elements themselves, the average
person staggered into their encampments looking like hell or worse.

In fact, after the
one-year anniversary of the initial Crisis came and went most of the
women William's soldiers encountered wore their hair short to avoid
lice since washing on a regular basis became problematic.

 
"Were
you traveling alone?" William asked the question sharply and the
woman jumped slightly at the change in his tone. Not waiting for an
answer William rose to his feet, strode rapidly across the bedroom,
and grabbed a small two-way radio that was sitting on a night stand.

"Pull in all of
the scouts and double the guards at all entry points." William
issued the commands sharply while staring suspiciously at the woman.
After his orders were confirmed William returned to his seat and
studied the woman through narrowed eyes.

 
She
looked uncomfortable and began glancing around the room wildly, as
though she wanted to escape. William felt the beginnings of a warm
flush creeping over his body. In spite of his misgivings, he found
her growing fear exciting.

 
Walking
towards her William spoke again in his original calm, collected,
tone. "Who are you traveling with?" William was positive
that she was part of a group of survivors. Based on her appearance he
was sure it was an extremely well-organized group.

He was sure that
keeping the scouts safe from capture and having a larger presence at
the gates would discourage an attack, but William still wanted to
find out more about the woman's plans.

 
"I'm
alone. The last people I traveled with, a couple, died over a week
ago in a motorcycle accident."  Her voice broke slightly at
the memory and for a moment William sympathized with her.

He'd lost his own
share of men to vehicle-related accidents, but he had also lost quite
a few to ambushes planned by other survivors.

 
"I
find that extremely hard to believe." William stood directly in
front of the woman now using his superior height and muscular body to
intimidate her. As expected, the woman took an instinctive step back.

Smiling grimly to
himself William felt his body becoming aroused by her fear and show
of weakness. Reaching out swiftly he grabbed a handful of the woman's
thick, lustrous hair and pulled her against him.

Forcing her head
back, William bent and kissed her, long and deep, ignoring her
struggles. He found the taste of her intoxicating, and his feelings
of unease vanished as his need for her body began to overwhelm him.

 
William
usually preferred to take his time, to revel in the fear and rage of
his victims, but this time he was caught in the grips of a passion so
strong he could not control himself. His mind was full of the woman,
her scent, her taste, and he felt as though he would explode if he
did not take her immediately.

Dimly he was aware
of the woman's struggles and her words. He heard her begging for a
chance to explain and her cries warning him that something horrible
would happen if he didn't stop.

 
It
was his plan to stop and interrogate her, but William found himself
unable to think about anything other than taking her. His mouth
traveled over her neck as his hands began ripping away her clothing.

At some point she
scratched his shoulders, and William was distantly aware of the pain.
He half dragged and carried the woman to the room’s large bed,
forgetting all of his plans, his fears, and his worries.

 
Soon
her clothes were ripped away and William could hear himself laughing
as he unbuttoned his pants with one hand freeing his erection.

The woman was still
fighting, still crying, still warning him that he would regret this.
William brutally kicked her thighs apart and knelt between her
splayed legs.

For a moment, he
stopped and looked down into her tear streaked face, savouring the
moment.  Then, with all of the force he could summon, William
slammed himself into her.

 
The
instant William entered her he felt himself carried away on a wave of
pleasure so intense he cried out with pleasure. Something he never
did so quickly in a sexual encounter.

The sounds of the
woman's screams of rage and pain faded away, and all he could hear
was the distant sound of the waves crashing against the shore.

Vaguely he was aware
of his body continuing to move against her as he thrust reflexively
into her body. The orgasm that came upon him was almost a shock,
dragging him back to the bedroom as his life force drained into her
with a feeling of deep, gratifying, pleasure.

 
William
rolled off of her and collapsed onto the bed feeling an exhaustion so
complete that he could barely move.  He lay sprawled on the bed
with his head turned to face the large windows with their view of the
beach.

William could not
remember the last time sex had felt so completely satisfying. He knew
he should get up and have his guards take the woman away.