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#and let the perfect apple incident BE the one where he puts his foot down and doesn’t listen to them. bc he’d given them loads of chances.

i-may-be-stupit · 3 years

Text

Shigaraki x Silly!Reader

As usual, this is rather gender-neutral and the horny got me because I fukn love Shiggy 🥵😍 but yeah, enjoy!

You typed up a report of the latest incident between Endeavor and the league of Villains. Well, actually, you were just editing your boss's writing. She was a journalist and you were her assistant. You rolled your eyes, reading through it and fixing any grammar mistakes or typos you came across. Why the hell is she making Endeavor seem so god damn perfect? I mean, when you first met him, you told the guy a joke and he hasn't stopped glaring at you ever since. You rolled your eyes at just the thought of that fuck-faced jackass.

Not only were you the editor, but you were also the secretary in the news office building which is a whole different job as it is. You blew a bubble from your gum and turned your music in your earbuds up a bit more, since the day was going slow. Yeah, there'd be a scoop here and there but not a lot.

You looked up to see a guy with red eyes and a black hoodie grinning evily while saying stuff to you. You just stared at him until he finished talking. He looked at you and you looked at him. You spat your gum in a tissue then took out your earbuds. You smiled softly at the man. "I'm sorry, you said you wanted a visitors' pass?"

The man looked at you with a blank stare at first. "You didn't hear anything I just said?" You shook your head. He frowned and tilted his head in annoyance, "I was talking for like 3 minutes straight." You just blinked. "I just explained my whole reasoning for kidnapping you for information on Endeavor."

You smiled at him, "Im sorry sir, I'm just the secretary, but the information desk is on floor three, just take that elevator to the right and-"

"What the fuck, bitch?!" He opened his arms wide in anger, "Do you not recognize me from the news?!"

You put a finger on your chin and tapped it in thought for a moment, before clicking your tongue and snapping your finger, "Ah, you must be a pro hero or something!" His jaw dropped. "Wow, no wonder youre so handsome!" You took the bottle of lotion out of your desk's drawer and offered him some. "If you're going on an interview you could use some of this though!" He glared at you before snapping his fingers, and thats when you found out who he is.

The entire League of villains showed up and your eyes widened in fear. The man known as Shigaraki Tomura laughed harshly with a gleam in his eyes, "Recognize me yet, (Y/N) (L/N)?!"

You stared at him again in fear. You then snorted, "Hank the handy man?" And thats when he lunged at you, only for Shigaraki to fall into one of Kurogiri's portals. You laughed with tears in your eyes as the burnt up goth boy snickered. Kurogiri elbowed Dabi and Dabi wiped away a bloody tear in his own eye as he held your arms behind your back.

Dabi chuckled quietly in your ear a small, "You gotta teach me some insults if you live." And you snorted as you consentualy walked into a portal, not even mad at being kidnapped.

You were in what seemed to be a lounge area, seated on a chair with your arms handcuffed to the back of you. You looked around, innocently smiling, "Wowie, nice place you guys got here!" Spinner looked at Dabi confused as you started humming. "So, uh, whatcha need me for?"

Mange spoke up, "Wait, how are you so calm about this?"

You chuckled, "Hey, this chair is comfy, I'm off from work now, and I got to see a cute guy up-close and personal!"

Dabi looked at you with a straight face. "No thank you."

You rose an eyebrow at him, "Dont flatter yourself, Rat, I'm talking about the one that tried to kill me." Shigaraki walked into the room, slightly pissed off as Kurogiri rubbed his back. "There he is! The handsome one!"

Shigaraki glared at you. "Don't patronize me." You were about to speak, but he cut you off before even getting the chance, "You're working with Yuki Ino, the Journalist who's been interviewing pro heros, including Endeavor." You nodded, not understanding if that was supposed to be taken as a question or not. "Tell me everything about what's happened to All Might, why he retired, and how to end Endeavor, including the Pro-heros' plans to take down my organization."

You stared at him for a good minute before sneezing, "Sorry, what did you say? I disasociated."

Shigaraki twitched before scratching his neck violently. "What do you know about the number 1 pro hero?!"

"What?!" You looked at him in utter confusion. "I cant even remember what I had for breakfast, how the fuck do you expect me to remember anything about Enslaver?"

The red eyed male scratched his neck faster. "Endeavor."

You looked in even more confusion, "What the fuck is that?"

Shigaraki pulled you by your shirt closer to him in pure anger, "His hero name! Its Endeavor, not Enslaver!"

You blushed and fluttered your lashes, "Wow, the way your crimson gems glisten even in such dim lighting is so mesmerizing..." You puckered your lips and moved forward, but Shigaraki just let go of your shirt in utter disgust.

"I dont speak Wattpad."

You smiled at him happily, "I mean, I know that I should be scared because you're hella intimidating, but geez louis, your eyes are pretty! If you don't end up killing me can I be your boo thang?" You grinned and thats when he lunged at wwnnaqqa again, only for Kurogiri to put himself in front of you, again, so Shigaraki just fell into his portal, again.

Kurogiri just quietly mumbled out a small, "Lets take a break." Before going to the bar and throwing back a shot of some alcohol.

Later:

Shigaraki crossed his arms in front of the League with you in another room. "She was trying to seduce me like a slut to get out of death! Playing with my emotions?! Like I'm an ,idiot?! How dare she?!"

rtserrr

Dabi sat back, watching as Toga practiced her knife throwing on Twice. The burt man shrugged nonchalauntly, "She seemed legit to me."

Toga and Twice both nodded with a little, "Mhm," as Toga threw a knife at an apple on Twice's head.

Shigaraki just frowned. "Have you people seen me?" They all stopped what they were doing, looked at their boss and then put their hands up to their faces while cringing.

Kurogiri walked in, dragging you in a chair behind him. He placed you right in front of Shigaraki and you smiled awkwardly at him, "Sorry if i made you feel uncomfortable, Mister Shigaraki, I just can't help myself when I see a cute guy like you, though!" You giggled and shrugged as Twice awed at the nonexistent budding romance.

Shigaraki looked at you with disgust and concern. "You seriously think that I'm cute?"

You tilted your head cutely with a small smile"That's why I asked you out, what the hell?" You chuckled softly and Shigaraki blushed with a frown as he stared at you.

He scratched at his neck, took a shot of alcohol and sighed. "Just tell me everything you know about Endavor, okay?"

You frowned deeply with a small groan, "Ugh! He's kinda a asshole! I told him "Good morning, Teletubby Sun" and he just glarred really hard at me!" You frowned and pouted before mumbling out a small, "I mean, it was just a joke..."

Shigaraki pinched the bridge of his nose in utter frustration while Dabi fucking died of laughter in the background, "Anything actually important?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, "Hey! That's totally important!"

A weak, hourse, "it is!" came from Dabi and you grinned.

"See, he gets it!"

He glared daggers into you and got closer to your face. "Do you not understand the danger you're in?" He snarled. "I can kill you right now if you dont submit."

You poked your lips out jokingly before giggling out, "I get it, but who's to say I don't wanna die?" You winked at him.

Shigaraki stared at you calmly, not leaving your goofy grin. "Everyone out of the room. Now." And everyone did as they were told and left, all praying for you.

Shigaraki silently cut your restraints and you started rubbing your wrists while smiling, "Thank you! You know, that was starting to hurt-"

He grabbed you by your hair and flung you onto the floor. The wind was knocked out of you and to make matters worse, he placed a foot on your chest, glarring down at you. "This isn't a game, you stupid fucking cunt." Shigaraki laughed darkly, seeing your jokester smile twist into a horrified grit as you struggled to breath. "I mean, are you dumb or something?! Your worthless life is on the line and you really couldn't care less?! "His hands covered his mouth, holding back another laugh, though you could hear it in his voice, "You're so fucking pathetic, I don't even feel like wasting my time killing you~!" He pushed his foot down harder.

You gasped for air, clawing at his foot to pry it off. "S-Shigaraki, sir-" A crack was echoed as he pushed his foot down harder on your now broken sternum. You scream out as tears fell from your face from the pain, "Please, p-please remove your f-foot..."

Shigaraki only laughed harder, cupping a hand over his cheek, ring finger raised, "Oh all of a sudden you care about your life, huh?" He straddled you, pinning you down with your wrists in one hand, and your neck in his other. "You think you can just flirt with me like the little slut you are and get off Scott free, huh?" You choked and Shigaraki drew closer to your ear, "Where's that attitude gone now, huh? Oh, can you not speak anymore? Tell me, please, how many dicks have you taken already. How the hell did you get a job," his face scrunched up in fury, "at a god damn Hero News agency without knowing shit about any heros, huh?! You probably slept with everyone there. Didnt you? Flirting with them to get what you want just like with me?"

Your face was hot and you were crying and choking at his words and actions, "N-No! That's not-" you gasped hard, unable to breath properly, "not me at all!"

Shigaraki loosened his grip on your neck. He glarred deep into your soul. "Then why the hell were you flirting with me back there? I'm not dumb, (Y/N), I'm a very fucking capable man!"

You smiled awkwardly, thankful that you could breath a little better. "I just think you're HANDsome!" Shigaraki's cheeks tinted pink as he glared at you. He let his grip go completely as you choked and coughed before looking up with a smile, "And this position... w-with you on top of me is really lewd, so can you maybe..." You trailed off as he just stared harder at you.

Shigaraki blinked, expressionless. "I'm pinning you down on the verge of killing you and the only think you can think of is getting fucked by me?" You looked away, struggling a bit with the feeling of awkwardness and arousal. He smirked, feeling your neck get hotter. "You really are a little fucking whore aren't you?" And with that, he softly kissed your lips.

Your face went hot as you looked up at him. "What was that for?" He kissed you again, this time longer. "S-shigaraki..." You pouted and looked away. "Theres something I should tell you..."

"Hm?" He tilted his head with a smirk, waiting for you to tell him that you're still a virgin.

"You shouldve taken my lotion earlier." You laughed out and he started choking you again. "Joking- J- Joking!" Shigaraki glarred down at you before tongue kissing you much more rough. You moaned as it thrashed against your tongue, saliva dripping out the side of your mouth. Shigaraki bit your lip softly before dragging his tongue down your chin and onto your neck. He licked and sucked on it as you bit your bottom lip. Tomura came back up and tongue kissed you for only a second before grabbing your shirt with all five fingers. You gasped and covered up your bra. "H-Hey! Gentlemen ask for permission first!" You frowned and he just grabbed you by your jaw.

He mocked you with a fake pouty voice, "Oh, that's my bad for not being a fucking gentleman. Can I pwease fuck you??" Tomura rolled his eyes, "Now shut the fuck up and let me suck on your nipples." Shigaraki's mouth immediately locked with your left nipple as his fingers played with your right. He laughed, hearing you softly mumble his name. His mouth left your chest with a small pop and he looked down at you with a smirk, "Dont be shy saying my name, (Y/N); I'm gonna need you to get used to screaming it anyways." And with that, he licked his lips then placed his tongue on your torso, dragging it all the way down to your work pants.

He decenigrated your pants and underwear happily. Shigaraki brought his face to your slit and took a hard lick, a finger shoving itself inside of your tight hole. You moaned loudly, confused. "Tomura, a warning next time!?" He just pumped his finger inside of you slowly as his tongue played with your privates. You moaned while holding his head down on you, your fingers twisted in his hair, as he sucked you off like a cherry. You panted heavily and he stuck another finger in you. Shigaraki then lifted his head off you.

"I'd warn you that time, but you're kind of suffocating me, so maybe, don't fucking push down so hard!" You frowned and just pushed his head back in between your thighs. He kissed and licked more, groaning whenever you'd thrust into his mouth deeper. Shigaraki chuckled at how you'd only get quiet when hes making you moan.

You shivered and groaned, coming closer and closer to your climax. Shigaraki noticed and immediately pulled off of you. He wipped his mouth with the back of his hand and grabbed you by the hair. "Alright, slut, you've had your fun." He pulled you towards him and you fell on the floor, right in front of his groin. Tomura sat, grinned down at you with one leg up, "You gonna just stare or are you sucking me off?"

You rolled your eyes before pulling his pants and boxers down. Oh wow, you were not expecting this... You put a hand over your mouth and blushed hard. He was only semi hard and already a good 8 inches, what the hell?? It was thin, but long, kind of like the rest of him.

Shigaraki frowned down at you, blushing hard, "What? Is something wrong with it?? I-I've never done this before, asshole, so stop making me feel bad!"

You felt a smile rise onto your lips. Is he... getting flustered? You chuckled and looked up at him, pumping slowly, "It's just intimidating." You licked the tip and gulped, feeling a bit nervous, "But, I'll try to take it all in, okay?"

You placed your lips on his tip and suck it as your hands jerked him off. He groaned, grabbing your head with 4 fingers. You gradually took more and more into your mouth, using your hands for whatever didn't fit. You bobbed your head up and down on him, speeding up. Shigaraki groaned your name.

"F-Fuck, Y/N, you really know what you're doing!" He pressed his hand on the back of your head harder, forcing more of him into you. You gagged and choked as Tomura just laughed, "God, you're taking it all in like a good little sex slave, aren't you?" You moaned at the name and shigaraki shuttered, "Mm, your moans feel so fucking good on my cock!" He breathed harder, "Fuck, Y/N, I need you to touch yourself while sucking me." You brought your hand to your slit and rubbed at it, moaning. Shigaraki groaned, "Fuck, Just like that!"

You gagged and moaned on his dick, feeling it twitch in your mouth. A lewd little 'pop' echoed in the room as you let off. Shigaraki frowned and you gave him a cheeky grin, "No sticky icky for you!" He groaned in annoyance.

"God, why are you like this?!?" He grabbed your arm and threw you roughly on the bed. Before you knew it, Shigaraki was already inside of you. Your face went hot as he fucked you doggy style.

You screamed, "A warning!!! We've been over this!!!" He responded with a slap on your ass.

Tomura rode your ass, grinding into you and groaning while doing it. "Fuck off, Y/N, you're a horny mess just like me, dumbass!" You screamed his name as his thrusts became faster and deeper. Shigaraki pulled both of your wrists back and down, making you kneel, your back pressed against his chest as he fucked into you. "Fuck, you're so fucking tight..." Shigaraki sloppily kissed your neck. You breathed harder as his dick hit the spot over and over. Shigaraki flipped you over onto your back. You laid underneath him as he paused. Tomura blushed harder and looked away, "I-I wanna really savor this..." he smirked, glaring in your eyes, "Plus I wanna know what you look like, full of my cum!"

You were flustered and giggling, "Its the ✨mood switch✨ for me-"

Tomura placed a hand over your mouth, "No. You just lost your speaking privileges."

Shigaraki grinded into you slowly. Your eyes rolled to the back of your head and drool seeped from your lips. Shigaraki held your waist, pulling you whenever he's press himself deep inside of you. You were speechless from the pleasure. You moaned and whined as his body slowly moved with yours.

You pressed the back of your hand to your face, feeling a bit embarrassed at the change of atmosphere. It was so easy to just enjoy him fucking you silly and laughing and everything, but you couldn't bring yourself to feel any other emotion rather than pleasure muxed in with something new.

Shigaraki placed his forehead against yours and breathed harder, "I-I'm getting there, Y/N..." He let out a breathy moan and your legs shaked. Tomura kissed you softly as well. "A-Ah, you're almost there t-too, right?"

You nodded, feeling a knot in your stomach. You moaned and Shigaraki pulled out, cumming all over you. You moaned, climaxing too.

You were covered in cum and panting. You couldn't even find words to say. It just felt so good. Shigaraki cuddled up to you. He smiled and kissed your cheek. "I'm giving you your speaking privileges back now." You stayed silent, your face hot. It was hard for you to be serious, but God damn. Tomura looked at you a bit concerned, "You okay-"

"That was amazing."

He looked surprised before laughing hard. "Did I really leave you speechless?" You nodded, silently. Shigaraki kissed your lips, "That sucks because, even though you're annoying, I kinda like you."

Your eyes widened. He liked your jokes and stupid comments?! Your mouth became ajar. "I-I..." You just closed your mouth, staring at him.

Shigaraki placed his arm over you. He smiled, "Lets hang out tomorrow."

You smiled back.

16 notes · View notes

magpiemorality · 4 years

Text

Of Princes and the Pure Of Heart

Fantasy AU. Prince!Kid!Roman & Woodsman!Adult!Virgil.

Part 3/3.

Roughly 3k words.

Sometimes family is a loner in the woods; the young prince he rescues from near death; and a soppy dog.

Warnings: Discussion of violent death (not graphic), angst.

First | Previous | AO3

***

Remus was there! Remus was back! His brother, his twin, his chief ally in all things- was here hugging him in his new home, not deadinacarriageinthewoodswithfatherandmotherand-

Roman bawled shamelessly into his brother's shoulder until Logan came to guide them to the couch, sitting on his other side while the twins clung together and rubbing his back.

The way Virgil often did...

Roman's head shot up and he turned to search for his friend-slash-new-parent, finding the man over by the stove boiling the kettle with a frown. It made Roman feel a bit squirmy and horrible in his stomach, but Remus was here! He couldn't let go even if he tried.

Logan was checking him over, he could tell by the quick analytical flit of his eyes, but smiled when they made eye contact. "You're looking well, P- Roman. Tell me," he leaned close enough to whisper so Virgil wouldn't hear. "Are you safe here?"

Virgil cleared his throat from closer than the tutor had thought he was and Logan sat up, accepting the mug of tea and suspicious look with a polite smile. "I uh, I do hot apple for Roman so I um, got you the same," the woodsman said to Remus. Roman jumped to try and support his unsettled caretaker.

"It's really good, Re, you've gotta try it. There's cinnamon in it too!" Virgil returned Roman's hopeful smile gratefully, and he felt Logan relax as well.

They sipped in silence for a moment while Virgil pulled the rickety armchair over and perched in it to start talking. Roman's head was buzzing a bit, but he didn't want to lean into Logan any more than he already had, because Virgil's eyes were all sad like the dog's got when she was denied pets and he didn't like it much.

The woodsman sighed, staring down at his mug instead. "I s'pose you'll be takin' him home?" He said after a moment. Logan glanced at the two boys and nodded slowly.

"In as much as there is a home to take them to. There was an incident with their parents, ah-" He looked down, raising an eyebrow at Roman who had a hand on his arm.

"Virgil knows already, Mister Logan. About who we are." Logan cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses again, nodding at the prince.

"Right. Well, the palace isn't safe... Virgil. There's been a bit of a conspiracy and the twins can't go back until the place is sorted out. Prince Remus and I managed to escape the carriage attack and run to the nearest village, but we lost Prince Roman in the fray. It's taken this long to attempt trying to find him. Luckily Prince Remus was quite sure where to go, he's the reason we found you at all."

Virgil looked up from his drink at that. "How's that work?"

"We're not sure yet. But the point is it did. And I'm just glad to see Prince Roman has been safe this whole time. You have my deepest gratitude." Logan inclined his head and Virgil nodded slowly to accept it. "For now, perhaps we can stay the night? It's a bit late to go back down to the village, but- if you'd prefer we leave then we can do."

"Can they stay? Please?" Roman asked, looking hopefully at the woodsman.

Virgil hesitated but gave them all a nod and got up.

“S'pose you'll all be wantin' to eat too," he mumbled, heading for the stove to pick up dinner where Roman had left off.

*** The noise was beyond what Virgil was used to with Roman. Their peace was gone, replaced with the wild energy of Remus and Logan's quiet and considered interjections correcting a pronunciation or word or telling the prince to sit and eat and stop waving his utensils around. Even Roman was more talkative than he ever had been with Virgil, which... didn't not sting?

"-Virgil?" He looked up from his dinner to see Logan and the twins looking at him. "What's your favourite season?" Logan finished with a smile. Virgil just looked back at him, wondering how he could be comfortable in that stiff suit and the shoes he was wearing that were clearly not weather-appropriate. He remembered that he'd been asked a question and sat back, running a hand through his hair and wondering if he should maybe shave and clean up a bit to fit in with these three. Roman had never complained before but Logan was incredibly well put-together, and an adult was more likely to judge than a child.

Maybe it would help his case to keep Roman safe here with him in the morning. Short of kidnapping the boy Virgil wasn't sure what else to do.

He wasn't sure of much since Remus had knocked on the door earlier and he'd opened it to find his world irrevocably changed. "Oh, uh, Winter." Both boys wrinkled their noses but Logan offered him a kind smile, much nicer than the polite one before.

"I have to agree. The snow is very beautiful, and it can be so cosy to hole up inside with your family and-" The tutor stopped, looking at the suddenly quiet boys.

Well, Virgil thought. At least he's not perfect either. "C'mon, Roman you're on clear up. Show your brother how it's done, 'kay?" The woodsman said gruffly, taking over now there was finally an opening for it. Logan looked ready to protest the impropriety but Roman had already slipped out of his chair, grabbing the bowls and directing a curious Remus in their task.

"You don't call him prince," the tutor commented, turning back to Virgil across the table. He steepled his fingers in front of him, looking over them at the woodsman. "You treat him like any other boy. But he seems to be very fond of you for it."

Virgil shrugged. "He's no prince here. And he wants to help out. 'S'a good kid, that one. He's been good to have around, y'know, while it lasted. C'mon, help me get some blankets and sleepin' stuff sorted for you. Boys can have the bed tonight."

"Oh I don't need- that is, I'm happy to sleep in this," Logan protested but Virgil just scoffed and jerked his head in the direction of the bedroom. "Really, it would be absolutely fine."

"Gets cold in here overnight, even with the fire. Those aren't good clothes for sleepin' nor for keepin' warm, Mister Logan. Do me a favour and accept my offer so's I don't have to deal with you frozen to death in the morning?"

Logan stopped arguing and took the blankets and pyjamas with good grace, laying them out on the couch. "Where will you sleep, Virgil?" Good question.

He twisted his mouth in thought. "Pro'ly just the armchair. Or by the hearth if it's warmer. It'll be fine for a night. Then I'll-" Virgil couldn't stop his face from falling, looking down at his feet. "Then I'll have my whole bed back to myself, I s'pose."

He didn't notice Logan's thoughtful frown, called at that moment over to the sink to help Roman reach the clean drying cloths.

***

"But why can't you stay in here too? There's loads of room!" Roman stamped his foot, sulkier than Virgil had ever seen him before.

The woodsman sighed and tried to explain again. "You and your brother need to get some proper sleep kid. You'll be comfier just the two of you. And don't you think it would be a bit much to ask him to sleep in the bed of a man he doesn't know one bit? I'll be fine in the chair."

"But I can't sleep without you there!" Roman tried. Virgil scooped him up, ignoring the sounds of the other two using the sink to wash up and talking quietly in the next room. "It's not fair. It's not fair, I want everything to be the same again!"

Virgil sighed and pressed his lips to Roman's temple. "Don't pout, kid, it'll give you wrinkles. I suppose you want the world on a plate, too, hm? Look, Mister Logan and your brother came a long way to find you, and it's amazing that they did. You're still just a prince, yeah? But remember Remus has probably missed you a lot too. You gotta stick together, and I want to give you both time alone because I'm damn sure there won't be much time for that while you're on the run with Logan until things get sorted."

Roman turned and looked up at him, eyes huge and- uh oh- watery. "I still want to stay," he told Virgil earnestly, voice thin with impending tears. They spilled over and the woodsman gently wiped them away as best he could.

"I want that too, Roman. More than anything. But your family is important out there and Logan's right. You're not safe until that whole mess gets sorted. The people who attacked your family? They're still out there. And I know you'd miss your brother if you didn't go with him. Don't try and deny it."

"Virgil?" Logan's voice in the doorway made him look up. Roman looked down and rubbed his face, upset and frustrated. He dodged Virgil's goodnight kiss and climbed into bed angrily, turning away and rolling under the blankets to hide himself, staying put even when Remus jumped in beside him.

It fair broke Virgil's heart, but he knew he would take all of Roman's fury and hurt a hundred times over if it meant being honest with him and keeping him safe and happy. Even if he couldn't stop thinking about how last night had been their last real night together and he hadn't even known it, hadn't appreciated the comfort of snuggling with his kid, of giving him a soft 'sweet dreams' and feeling him drift off to sleep. Of waking to Roman's morning grumble and sleepy softness, or the way he'd giggle if the dog jumped up to lick his face and try and encourage them to feed her. Of-

There were so many things he'd never expected to count as lasts.

Well fine, that was what parents had to do right? Even if he really... wasn't a parent at all. He left the room quickly without looking at Logan, sorting out the candles and crouching by the fireplace to poke moodily at the burning logs, stoking it up high so it would last.

Logan found him there, drawing the bedroom door shut and padding over to kneel by him with such a soft look of concern that Virgil felt himself instinctively tear up in response. He turned away, hoping to hide his misery from the tutor, but Logan had already seen. He gently took the poker from Virgil's hand and put it aside, resting a hand on the woodsman's shoulder until Virgil crumpled over in a hunch and tried not to move as he mourned his impending loss.

It hurt.

"Let's go sit," Logan murmured gently, guiding him up and onto the couch where he rubbed Virgil's back exactly the same way he'd rubbed Roman's in the same spot a few hours earlier. Virgil just sighed, a wet sound but past sobbing. Now was the time to be strong. He could fall apart when Roman was- he could fall apart in the morning.

"What happened to them?" He asked, because this would be his only chance to find out. "Roman was half dead when I found him out there. I don't know why, I couldn't bear to ask."

"We were travelling to the winter cottage for the season, just a quiet trip out to cover midwinter and maybe a little more. Someone... like I said. It was bigger than just bandits. Something coordinated. The palace was attacked at the same time by a group we- well I know nothing about. They overturned the carriage and we lost the King to the accident, and the Queen was dead shortly after. Poison blades, I think, but I didn't have time to check. Our men tried to fight but there were two guards against four or five riders in black, so all they could really do was distract while I ran with the princes. One of them got between us and Roman vanished, so I had to keep going with just Remus.

"Remus is, he's very special. Roman too, but differently. So Remus told me where to go to find a place to stay and be safe, and we wound up at the village. Someone agreed to hide us, and we were there until Remus said we had to move on. We ended up back not far from here, just a few days ago. And then he said we had to climb through the forest because that's where Roman was. My guess is Roman just took off and kept running and- why do you do that?"

The abrupt subject change threw Virgil off. "Do what?" Logan frowned at him in the firelight.

"You dumb yourself down. You talk to me like... like you're trying to be less than what you are. But then you forget, or you talk to Roman, and you're not like that at all. Is it a coping mechanism? Is it-"

Virgil put a hand over the tutor's mouth. "I don't, I don't know what you're talking about. No look, it's not relevant right now, okay? I want to know your plans with the boys. Where are you gonna take them? Do you need supplies? I can give you a lot but, it's not going to be an easy trip..."

Logan blinked at him, and Virgil quickly removed his hand with an apology. "Um well, I was thinking we could talk about that in the morning? It's been a long day and-"

"You don't know, do you." Logan wilted. He looked smaller in the big jumper Virgil had given him to wear, no collar to hide his slender neck and wow that was not something Virgil was supposed to be thinking about right now.

"I don't, no," Logan replied slowly. "I was going to ask your advice in the morning. It really has been a long day. Would that be okay?"

Virgil nodded quickly, hands firmly in his lap. "Yeah, 'course. Sorry to make you talk about all that stuff."

Logan smiled, but it was tired and strained and he gave up on it after less than a second, heaving a sigh. "Yeah. I understand why you'd want to know though. But it was... it was really horrible. I've never been so scared in my entire life. I only became their tutor a few weeks before it happened, I'd only ever studied before then. I wish it had never happened."

"I don't."

"Excuse me?!" Logan looked at him with a horrified expression, and Virgil quickly backtracked.

"No I mean- only if it hadn't'a happened then I never would've met Roman. That's all!" Logan eyed him for a moment longer and Virgil fought the very strong urge to hold his hands up to proclaim his innocence.

But at last Logan sighed, relaxing again. "You really care about him. You're going miss him something fierce, aren't you."

Virgil said nothing, and when the silence stretched on a mite too long he stood up and moved to the armchair. "Goodnight, Mister Logan." "Goodnight, Virgil," came the reply. The house fell quiet.

***

The morning bloomed bright and full of potential. Full of potential for heartbreak, Virgil thought to himself as he squinted against the sunlight coming in the windows and hitting him directly in the eye. Wonderful...

He heaved himself up, feeding the dog and letting her out to run around and do her morning business while he set the kettle to boil. When he returned to stoke the fire he glanced over the tutor, curled up tightly in the blankets and looking very cute in his sleep. Oh good, more of those thoughts, huh? What a fantastic day it was going to be.

Didn't stop him staring a bit though. Logan wasn't wearing his glasses and his neatly combed hair had started to fall over his forehead. The blankets were up to his nose but the fan of his dark eyelashes on his cheek was oddly hypnotic. Virgil tried to feel guilty about drinking in the sight, but it was a terrible day so why shouldn't he take some good from it where he could?

The kettle whistled as it boiled and movement stirred in both rooms of the house. He could hear Roman waking his brother up and Remus whining back, and Logan was yawning from his own bed beside him. One by one they made it to the table where Virgil deposited their steaming mugs of tea and bowls of porridge. Because if they were going to go traipsing around in a forest all day he'd damn well make sure they didn't do it on empty bellies.

The morning passed way too fast for Virgil's liking. Before he knew it the boys were out with the dog- and gosh how it had ached to see the fragility in Roman's smile when he'd started talking about teaching Remus the way round and had realised that that wouldn't be happening- and he and Logan were alone in the house.

"So, I think you'd be best taking a different path back down than the one you took up because the-"

"Virgil."

"The paths are gonna be wrecked this time of year. I'll pack you a big bag with some stuff in it, you can't wear those damn shoes-

"Virgil!"

"And I'll draw you up a map or somethin', though heaven knows Roman is good with direction even though everything's still white everywhere-"

"Virgil please-"

"I've half a mind to lend you the dog, least until you can get to a village, then she'll come right b-"

Logan had lunged across the table and clamped a hand over the woodsman's mouth. Virgil blinked at him. Then he blinked again, wondering why he was apparently hallucinating a very amused smile on Logan's face.

"I was thinking last night. The boys need to be safe somewhere until they can go home. And well, you've kept Roman very safe indeed. And I couldn't bear to split up family, that's just not right-"

"But you're taking them both. So they won't be split," Virgil interjected weakly, muffled behind the hand. Logan withdrew and gave him a very odd look.

"I meant you and Roman, actually."

Silence followed, and Logan seemed to gather his confidence to say something, squaring his shoulders and lifting his chin. "I would like to propose we stay. With you. Here. Please?"

Well, what?

No really, what?

"Did you just ask to stay?" Virgil checked, because he had to have been imagining that.

Logan gave him a shy, nervous smile and pushed his misbehaving hair back away from his face self-consciously. "I did. I mean, we'd have to discuss logistics- this isn't the largest house and the sleeping arrangements would need to change, but we could certainly help out and it's more than safe here. The boys could stay together and Roman could stay with you... What do you think?"

"What do I think?" Virgil laughed, actually laughed. The door opened and the twins tumbled in, and when Roman scolded his brother for not taking his boots off Virgil laughed again, jumping up to grab his boy up into his arms and spin him around, hopefully answering Logan's question thoroughly.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, and Roman leaned back to look at Virgil's face, reading the answer there without words. They didn't need words.

"I think we're going to have to get used to some new daily chores," Logan replied with a grin.

Roman blinked at Virgil with quiet hope. "Really? I can stay?" He asked in a whisper, reaching up to touch the pendant around his neck.

"Really really," Virgil promised. "Right here with me."

---The End---

#writepie #ts writing #ts sanders sides #ts sanders sides aus #ts sanders sides fic #sanders sides #ts logan #ts virgil #ts remus #ts roman #creativitwins #analogical #pre-ship #happy ending #death #death mention #tw death

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need-a-fugue · 4 years

Text

We Grow Together (14)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Tessa Sullivan (OFC)

Chapter Summary: Domestic Bucky at his finest. That’s really it.

Summary: Relationships can be tough, especially when one person is a recovering-from-being-brainwashed-and-tortured former assassin and the other is an overworked mutant scientist. But hey, every couple has their struggles. Right?

Their first Christmas together was great. Neither of them really had any family outside of the tower, so it’s not as though they had to stress out about meeting parents or splitting time between different parties or traveling during the worst travel time of the year. Instead, they got to stay at home, wrapped in a cocoon of new relationship splendor. They were just starting to realize who they were to each other then, or who they could be. They were just starting to fall in love. So, yeah, last Christmas was pretty damn near perfect.

But this year, things were… different. They had just made the move to the new Avengers facility upstate and the entire campus was still in a bit of upheaval. Tessa’s lab was understaffed, she was wholly unaware of how to troubleshoot the new computer system that Tony had installed, and her lack of organized filing had finally caught up to her. Even her wonderful, amazing, always capable assistant was pulling her hair out trying to track down everything that was misplaced in the move.

Bucky was faring better. It’s not like he had much stuff to pack or unpack, let alone to keep track of. And he wasn’t tasked with running a lab while also prepping an entire medical unit. All he had to do was help Steve choose new potential recruits. And they weren’t even going to officially contact anyone until the campus was up and running, so even that job wasn’t exactly a priority.

He kept himself busy, and just tried to be helpful, by assisting workers around the buildings. But half the time, that damn disembodied voice would turn on and tell him that his services weren’t required. He had never gotten used to Jarvis communicating through the walls, but there was something even weirder about hearing Friday. Maybe it was feminine, slightly sensual Irish drawl.

Because he didn’t have much to do, and because Tessa was typically overwhelmed with all she had going on, he’d turned into a bit of a house-husband. That’s what Natasha had called him. Sam referred to him as a bang-maid – though only once.

Bucky wasn’t fond of people calling him anything. He wasn’t fond of them knowing his business at all. And he certainly wasn’t fond of playing a non-traditional gender role. At least not in theory. In practice, however, he actually enjoyed making breakfast and dinner. And he really didn’t mind doing laundry. And his time in the Army had given him an appreciation for spotless spaces, crisp military corners, and precise organization. So unpacking and cleaning wasn’t too bad either. He had a feeling that, while his father would’ve chided him for spending his days doing women’s work, his mother would’ve been proud. And really, Bucky never did care much for what his father thought of him anyway.

But it did sometimes feel like he had stepped into someone else’s life. Just two years ago he had been a largely unstable former assassin who was being kept hidden away from the Hydra foes he’d unwittingly helped to take down. His days were spent trying to separate fantasy from reality and past from present, all while trying to help Steve and his new friends root out remaining Hydra supporters.

But recently things had changed. Sure, they still kept a close eye out in case anything Hydra-related popped. But a near cataclysmic event helped to put some things into perspective. Bucky wanted to help. He wanted to be part of a team again, a team that strived to do right and worked to save the world.

And on a personal note, he’d realized that he didn’t want to take a single moment with Tessa for granted. Over the last year and a half or so, she had somehow managed to show him what it meant to be cared for, to be loved. Hydra had wiped that concept from his brain, along with so much else. He’s not really sure how she was able to salvage whatever human remnants were left inside of him, let alone how she managed to piece them all together to create the man he is today. But he’s more than grateful to her for doing it. And he’s honestly not sure where he’d be right now – or who he’d be – if she hadn’t come into his life.

Just after Ultron, when Tony first told them all about the upcoming move upstate, it felt like a forgone conclusion that he and Tessa would bunk together, as he’d put it when broaching the subject with Steve. After all, at that point, he’d been spending most of his nights at her place anyway. In fact, Tony had put them together in this two bedroom apartment when he first drew up the plans for the living quarters. Leave it to Tony to just assume.

“That’s still a really big step, Buck,” Steve had told him with that patronizing look on his face. “I mean, are you gonna marry her?”

What Bucky had wanted to say was something along the lines of, of course I’m going to marry her, you idiot. But what came out was the far more rational, “We’ve only been together a year. We’re still getting to know each other. Hell, I’m still getting to know me.” He had actually mentally patted himself on the back for giving such a mature response.

But then Steve let out a long sigh and slowly shook his head, his eyes just brimming over with a look of I’m Captain America, and I know what’s best for everyone! “Maybe you shouldn’t move into together then.” He’d put a strong hand on Bucky’s shoulder and gave him a quick squeeze. “Maybe it’s just too soon.”

“Nah,” Bucky told him simply, “I’ll think we’ll take our chances.”

Steve was still jokingly referring to their relationship as pure sin.

Of course, all of that happened before he woke in the middle of the night with his hands tightly clenched around her throat. He’s not sure that he’ll ever forgive himself for that. He’s not sure that he wants to. But if one good thing did come from that night, it was the feeling that they truly were meant to be together. She loved him so fiercely that she could forgive him for nearly killing her in her sleep. And he needed her so desperately that he couldn’t keep himself away, even though he worried constantly that it might happen again.

In the last few months, they’d become more than just… whatever it was people were calling them – boyfriend and girlfriend, lovers, partners. They’d survived the end of the world together. They made it through that incident together. And they’d been managing this horrendous move together. They may not be married, but they did now officially have a home together. And that made them a family.

So this Christmas had to be something special.

Tessa was already talking about getting a tree, a thing that neither of them had done in years. And after last year’s Christmas dinner success, he felt like the pressure was on to up his game in the kitchen too. All of the Avengers, and Avengers-adjacent personnel, seemed way more into the holiday season this year. Maybe it was because they had already received nearly a foot of snow in their new upstate abode. Maybe it was because they were eager to really welcome Wanda to the family and give her a good holiday, and also show Vision what Christmas was really all about. Maybe it was because everyone was just now getting settled after a long and arduous uprooting. Or maybe it was because the world almost ended less than half a year ago. No matter the cause, there was one thing for sure, this Christmas had to be perfect.

“So what are you getting me?” she asks, her voice heady with near sleep as she lays her head on the armrest of the couch.

He’s massaging her feet, as he has been for the past five minutes, since she stumbled in and splayed out on the couch in a pathetic-looking heap. “We’re doing presents?” he asks, a coy smile on his face. “I thought you were too busy for that?”

She raises her head and gives him a suspicious glare. “I can make time. I have an assistant you know.”

“So I should thank Claire for whatever I get come Christmas morning?”

“Probably,” she shrugs, flopping her head back down and closing her eyes. “It just feels different this year,” she says after a long moment. “Like… I want to do stuff… celebrate… like when I was a kid.”

“Yeah?” He sets down her foot and reaches out to take hold of her hand. Then he gives a little tug to haul her up next to him. She lets out a dramatic whine as he sits her up, and then she snuggles into the cushions along the back of the sofa. “What do you want to do?” he asks, his bright eyes locked onto hers.

“Well…” she smiles and softly bites her bottom lip as she thinks. “I want to get a tree.”

“You mentioned that, and I’m on board.”

“And I want you to make another apple pie.”

“Done.”

“Oh!” She jolts upright, excitement taking over. “We could have a snowball fight. With everyone! Or at least everyone who’s staying in town.”

He smiles and laughs. “That sounds pretty great.”

She lets out a sigh, her head falling back into the cushions once again. “I think something like that would be good. A morale booster. Or just… you know… a break. For everyone.”

He brings his left hand over to her face, tucks a few stray hairs behind her ear, and opens his hand up so that she can nuzzle into the metal palm. There’s something about the clean, smooth coolness of the metal that calms her nerves. He places the pad of his thumb between her eyes and rubs slow, deep circles into her forehead, and she hums with contentment.

“You’ve got a headache,” he says, a statement, not a question. He’d discovered a few months into their relationship that Tessa sometimes gets migraines. She liked to blame it on her mutation, though there was no explanation for how that would cause them. It didn’t take long for him to figure out that they were usually caused by stress and just plain working too damn hard. But the strong, cold pressure of his thumb on her forehead, and his fingertips along her temple, seemed to help. It was one of the only things he actually liked about that stupid metal arm.

“Everyone’s working so hard to get the med floor up and going. And my team in the lab is dealing with those stupid new machines that hardly ever work. And Tony won’t admit that they’re pieces of shit, which is making me crazy. And so much of the day-to-day stuff is still in the city…” She lets out a miserable sort of huff. “I’m just tired.”

“How long do you have to keep going into the city?” She’d been commuting at least three days a week since they’d moved into the new compound, sometimes more if the systems in the lab went down. She’d always worked too hard for too long… being so dedicated to her job was one of the things he loved about her, actually. Like it or not, Tessa was all in when it came to the things she was passionate about. But this was getting to be too much. “I’m worried about you,” he says softly, when she doesn’t answer. She gives him a sad puppy dog look, complete with pouty bottom lip. “I’m serious,” he says, a no-nonsense stare taking over his face.

“Well, the business side of Stark Industries is still in the city. So board meetings, budget meetings, whatever other kind of meetings Tony makes me go to, will all still be there. But he promises the lab will be fully transitioned by the spring.” She reaches out and places her palm on his cheek, then runs her fingertips through his hair. “Don’t worry. It makes you look older than your 99 years.”

He takes her hand and brings her palm down to his lips, kisses it gently. “I’ll always worry about you.” They connect eyes and a big, sly smile takes his over as he secures his grip on her hand and blows a giant, messy raspberry into her palm.

“Uh,” she groans, struggling to pull away. “You’re so gross!” He slips his grip down to her wrist and catches her other arm with his right hand. “No!” she squeals as he hauls her over on top of him. He scoots his bottom down the couch a bit so that he’s laying beneath her. “Boys are nasty,” she says, settling her head onto his chest.

“My mom used to say that boys were made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails,” he says into her hair.

“I know that,” she breathes into him, dreamily. “And girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice.” She tilts her head and looks up at him with a shit-eating grin.

“God, I love you,” he says with a laugh. Then, giving her another stern look, “But I’m not going to stop worrying about you. Not ever.”

She shifts on top of him and rolls off to the side so she’s largely sandwiched between the back of the couch and his strong, warm body. “Such a mama bear,” she yawns out.

“You need to work less.”

“I need to work more efficiently,” she counters. “I need a new car.”

“What’s wrong with your car?”

“Nothing. But if I could get to and from the city faster…”

He shakes his head and smiles. “Ah, I see. You won’t cut back on work, so you plan to shave time by breaking traffic laws.”

“You think Tony would give me a suit?” she asks, tilting her face up again to look him in the eye. “That would cut my commute to next to nothing. And I’d have a suit. I’d be Iron Maiden!”

He raises his eyebrows and nods, clearly not getting her word play.

She just shakes her head and snuggles back into his side. “You’re so old,” she tells him. “Sometimes I think you don’t understand anything.”

He picks up her hand, which she’d been using to softly tap out a rhythm on his sternum, and intertwines their fingers. “That’s rich coming from someone who drinks Ensure.”

“You took away my power bars.”

“Yeah, because they’re filled with sugar.”

“Which sustains me.”

“For what, an hour?”

She nods into him. “And then I eat some candy.”

He laughs softly and she beams as it reverberates through his chest and into her. “How are you a doctor?” They lay in silence for several minutes, Tessa curled into Bucky’s side, his metal arm draped lazily over her. It isn’t long before she’s warm and heavy next to him and he can hear her breathing deepen steadily. “You want to go bed?” he asks, barely a whisper.

She hums in response, only partially awake, before shifting and rolling her face into his shoulder. Her words are a muffled mess when she mumbles something to the effect of, “Noemnottired.”

He drops his left hand down to her bottom and gives her butt a sharp couple of pats. “C’mon,” he says as he sits up, urging her to come with him. “If you go to bed, I’ll get on the computer and start shopping for your Christmas present.”

Her eyes are already glazed, but they still light up as she takes in a sharp breath and says, “You’d online shop for me?!”

“Only for you, doll face,” he tells with a peck on the cheek and a quick slap on the ass. “Now get to bed.”

#bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes x oc #bucky barnes x original female character #marvel fanfic #bucky imagine #avengers fanfiction #avengersau #marvelau #bucky barnes au #Supernova

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mythologymonsterlover · 5 years

Text

Male! Satyr lover

This story takes place in Greece and is pretty much a short sexy story. With that said, hope you enjoy~

warning: sexual content, little swearing

female reader X male monster

The sun come out among the horizon, making the sunflowers follow its gaze. Standing there looking around the surrounding, I taking in the beauty. It’s been awhile since the sun came out. The cold winter was vigorous this year, and the sun shining now feels like a blessing. Since my family owns a farm, we need our crops since it’s our only source of income. We have to be able to sell them in the village no matter what, or we go hungry and homeless. The farm has been dead all this time, so now would be a good time for it to perk up again. We weren’t always on edge about being stocked, but since the Trojan War ended in Greece, it affected the people with it’s distraction and death. The economy needs help, so many farmers need to provide for the rehabilitation around the country. It been my job as well to go into the fields to plant our fruit and vegetables. Thinking today would be a great day to so, I get excited.

“Father, I’m leaving!” I yell into the house, letting him and mother know I’ll be going. Father nods his head, and mom waves while cooking her stew. When I look at father in the old house relaxing, I often find it amusing. He built our home twenty years ago, but it still looks brand new. Father told me once that Zeus himself had walked into the house to bless it. I find it hard to believe, but it is still standing, so their must be some truth in his words. He also told me Zeus gave me to them because I was tough working as any man was in the field. He said it over the years because I had boys make fun of me for being stronger. Yet, I do remember one boy in particular who never did. He always seemed shy to approach me, and I caught him staring at me more than once. I never knew why, but I didn’t care to know either. He lived only a couple of houses next door, but I haven’t seen him in years. Thinking of him sometimes makes me think of the forest for some reason. His name was Kal, and he had night sky hair, green leaf eyes, and was a scrawny but cute looking kid.

He starts to slip from my personal thoughts though, as I feel the wet mud on my bare feet. Just being on the field makes me forget all things in general, which is a custom of sorts. I know it’s odd, but ever since I was little I felt more connected with nature then with any of the villagers. Being able to put seeds into the earth, and one day pull out food seemed more interesting than talking to a stranger. I worked my butt off for half of the day as usual, and when it’s was around noon I decide to have a break. I would eat by now, but instead of heading to the house, I went into the woods beyond the fields. I walk past the tree lines, and around the area aimlessly until I found an apple tree. I walked up to get a better look at it, noticing it on a hilltop. It looks lonely and lovely at the same time, and with the blue sky in the background it’s bold among the forest. I put my hand on the trunk, seeing that it’s blossom are white flowers. Captivated, I lay down beside the tree to watch it sway in the wind. I should rest my feet as well, I think happily. Just laying there in the sun, my eyelids start to shut, and my body tells me It’s a perfect time for a nap. So peacefully, I let myself fall into a dark world of slumber.

…

Feeling my body regain consciousness, I notice that the air around me feels much colder. shivering and opening my eyes, the first thing I see is darkness. Oh no. I gasp in horror to get up and look at the night sky. Just from seeing the stars greet me, I know instantly that I slept for too long. Feeling dread of what father going to say to me, I worryingly know that this is my fault. I walk down from the hill and apple tree, noticing my surroundings look unfamiliar now.

“Dammit..”

I look around to see if I can find where I came from, knowing I come from the east at least. I walk towards that direction for awhile, and began to regain some hope. Sadly it dies as I see the apple tree again. Shocked and confused now, I wonder how I could have ended up back here. Gods, why are you doing this to me? I start to feel hopeless as I walk back up the hill to sit down. I’m scared out of my mind, and the only thing I can think of to do is cry. Putting my hands to my face, I let some of my tears fall as I sit there quietly weeping.

“Hello?” I hear a man’s voice say, and I instantly get up. I hear than a branch break. Crunch. It’s getting closer.

“Who’s there?” I stammer, feeling my legs turn into mush but arm ready to swing. Crunch. I hear the noise again, and only about five feet away, I see a figure emerge behind a bush with a lantern. I gulp down my nerves, and stand my ground to get ready to attack. “If you want a fight, come out now!” I yell, and the figure stumble back a bit. Yet, he slowly come out of the bush and I can see him fully…

“I don’t want to fight ma’am.” He says with a calm voice, and I’m taken aback by his appearance. On the top of his head, I see two horns. Not just that, but because of the light I also notice he has no legs...but hooves. He steps towards me slowly, and I flinch when he closes the space between us. I wanted to run away, but something about the look he gave me said he really didn’t mean harm. I look into his face and I’m taken aback to see it looks so familiar.

“Kal..?” I say shakily, notice so much between the boy I knew when we were young to now. The difference between his appearance now from then is the horns and fur around his legs. Yet also, his face is no longer cute, but incredibly handsome. He steps closer, and he seems to be a foot taller than me and no longer has a weak body, but a strong built one. He blinks a couple times, seemingly taken aback by what I said. He seems to recognize me as well though.

“It’s..you.” He says while reaching out his hand to touch me, but frantically pulls it away. He clears his voice, and once again looks me straight in the eyes.

“What are you doing out here? By gods, so last too!” He says in disbelief, looking around him. I just shake my head, knowing his right.

“I fell asleep..I don’t wake up until a few minutes ago.”

He stares at me concerningly, but turns with his light in hand to look around. He then points to a path that I didn’t notice until now, that the light could only show.

“If you go down that path, you will be able to walk back to your farm.” He then turns to and hold his hand out.

“Come, I will walk you back home.”

Before I could even answer, he grabs it for me and we begins to walk down to the path. I feel flustered, as too much is happening right now for me to comprehend. I push away my shyness though and speak up.

“Kal..is that really you?” I mummer, hoping that he heard me. He doesn’t say anything but nods his head.

“I didn’t know you were a, umm...” I trail off, and this time he actually turns around to look at me.

“You didn’t know I was a Satyr.” Kal says plainly. feeling awkward I just nod to affirm it, not wanting to say anything stupid. He turn his head though to face me, and gives off a lusty smirk that makes me melt. Feeling caught off guard I duck my head, but he stops in his tracks to keep his gaze on me.

“Why are you avoiding my eyes?” he says while having a smug smirk on his face, as though his teasing me now. I huff, not in the mood to be played with, and let go of his hand. I could keep walking forward without him. Really, he knows I can defend for myself. Yet, I hear his footsteps keep up with my pace, but I refused to turn around to look. Soon, we see my house among the fields which makes me feel so relieved.

“There she is.” Kal says, coming up to brush against my shoulder. Feeling bad for being kinda rude to him, I decided I should at least say thank you. I turn to him ready to speak, but his eyes hold onto my mine which makes me choked up again. Oh my gods, why does he have to look at me? It’s so nerve-racking. Pushing myself to at least reach out to grab his hand would make this less difficult I thought. When I do grab onto it, he seemed stunned.

“Thanks.” Is the only thing I say while shake his hand, and before he could say anything back I run off across the field. As I walked into my house, like I thought, father and mother were pretty upset with me. Dad gave me a lecture about how foolish it was to take a nap outside, and that I was lucky no man came by to take me. I decided to not tell him about Kal at that moment, since I didn't want him to freak out about that. My mother on the other hand was less angry but more grateful that I was alright. She told me however, if I didn’t come back by twelve every day from now on, she would get the village men to come get me. I assured them both that I won’t do that again, and went off to bed. The sun came out to greet the fields again, as well as bringing vegetables and fruits to grow.

After ten days past from the incident, I kept thinking about Kal and how he changed. I didn’t expect to see him ever again, but I knew he was in the forest somewhere. As I came out a little later than usual to tend to the crops, I saw in the mud fresh hoofs prints. I thought it could have been a deer or something, but it was made my something two legged. Knowing who already made them, I follow the trail up to the treeline where I find Kal sleeping. His leaning against a log, while arms are crossed over on his chest. I look at him studying his frame, curious since I never saw a satyr before, but heard much about them. I didn’t recall him being one when we were younger, but he must have been disguise to look human. He fit the qualities of one of those creatures, but I always thought they were supposed to be hairier. I lean in close to tower over his body, noticing his green shirt and necklace he was wearing last time as well. They look planing, but they have something about them that makes Kal look very wild. The shirt is unbuttoned, revealing his defined abs and chiseled chest. I bite my lip feeling weak in the legs as I admire his beauty, almost as if I’m not worthy enough to look at him. Not really thinking I involuntary move my hand to his face, while placing a kiss to his cheek. I planted my lips for only a couple of seconds, until I feel strong arms drag me down on top of him. Looking up into his eyes startled, I feel his grip holding me tightly so I don’t try to run away.

“My, I didn’t expected to be woken up so nicely.” Kal smiles, and moves to place my hand on his face again. He hold me like that while closing his eyes, almost like his treaturing this moment. I feel beyond red faced as I lay their against his chest, hearing his heartbeat against my ear. I move up to look at him, trying to form an excuse.

“I didn't mean to do that, I was just curious!” I spate, trying to get out of this situation. He seemed very amused by the answer, as he leaned forward a few Inches from my face. I can feel his breath on my neck, and it makes me shudder.

“What are you curious about?” He murmured. Kal then places his lip ever so closer to my neck, and put his hands into my hair. He holds my head, so I can’t turn away from his lips. I shudder a breath as I feel him place his lip onto my neck, kissing it tenderly.

“Kal, wait a minute...” I moan, and he moves from my neck living a vivid mark.

“Do you want me to stop?” he says, letting go of my head. I swallow, while shaking my head and placing my hands on his chest.

“I just don't know why you would want me.” I say holding back tears, and I hear him chuckle as he places his hands onto my hips.

“I wanted you ever since I first saw you. Didn’t you ever realize that?” He whispers, and I can’t help but to passionately place my lips onto his. He kisses back happily, moving his hand up my dress. I never felt more attracted to someone, and if his doing this to me, I’m more in love then ever. I just want him, badly and heatedly now. He rubs my inner thigh with his thumb, but soon places his finger up to my folds. He doesn't move it until I rub against him, bagging him to do so. I moan loudly into his elf-shaped ear when he moves his finger inside my wetness. I can’t stand being the only one, so I put my hand onto his crotch. He moans as his dick emerges out of his furred area, and my hands rub him up and down until his moaning just as loudly.

“Do you want me?” He mummers into my ear, and I grunt as I feel his fingers move inside me.

“Y-yes..” I stammer, letting myself pull away from him as he takes off my dress. He seems pleased by what he sees, as he runs his fingers down my body with eyes half closed. I remove his shirt from his body, and when I do, I can see his muscles in the forest light. They are shaped so perfectly, they almost looked sculpted. I run my fingers down his chest all the way to his dick. Its all pink, and when I stroke it, a little more precum starts to spill out. He moans not being able to handle it anymore, and puts my hands above my head.

“Sorry, I might be a little rough..” He says huskily, and he rubs himself against my pussy until his dick is glossed over with my cream. I grab onto his back to move him all the way in, and he gasps as he enters deep inside me. Shuddering, he begins to thrust in and out at a slow pace. I was ready for him to be rough, so I smack his ass. He yelps, looking down at me with confusion.

“I thought you said you were gonna be rough?” I say innocently, running my hands over my body and resting them on my breast. He smirks and leans down to kiss my lips, while resting his hand on my stomach.

“I will, be patient my angel.” He leans back a little to get a look at me again, and before I know it he begins to thrust into me again. His doing it harder, and I scratch his back as I begin to feel myself cumming at this pace. It feels so good, my legs start to shake. Kal keeps ramming into me, and holding my legs up into the air, he moves his thumb against my G-spot. He rubs it until I can't hold it back any longer, and I release the building heat within my body. He keeps pounding in me though, as my already worn out body feels the shock each time he thrust into me. His voice hitches then as he pulls out his dick, and cums all over my stomach. He rest his cock their panting, regaining himself until he snuggles up beside me. I curl next to his side, putting my hand on his chest. We stay silent, watching the blue sky and rolling clouds pass us one by one.

“I love you.” Kal mummers with eyes closed. He places his head onto my chest, and soon falls asleep, while I stay awake. I look at him as I stroke his head and beautiful face. I close my eyes as well, but not before saying,

“I love you too.”

#monster lover #monster boyfriend #reader/monster #female reader #male monster #exophilia #satyr boy #satyr lover #interspecies romance #interspecies couple

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victimofthemusic · 5 years

Text

Five Times Tony Stark Was a Good Dad (And One Time He Wasn’t) Pt. 4

Hello my loves! I know its been well over a year since I’ve been active on here and I’m so sorry for that. A lot of things have happened to me in the last year, some good and some bad and I’ve been so busy trying to keep up with my life and everyone in it. I lost my urge to write along the way and I’m trying so hard to get it back. I’ve had this in my documents for a while and it’s taken me over a year to write it, off and on and I’m unsure with how I feel about it, but with End Game coming out, I’m really trying to get this finished this year. I hope I still have some people out there that enjoy this story and if you’ve stuck around this long, thank you so much! Now, on with a new chapter! :)

If you’re new to the story, you can read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 here!

~~~~~

Liz is so pretty

Chin resting in the palm of his hand, Peter gazed dreamily at her from across the cafeteria, watching as she hung up a banner advertising the homecoming dance, along the cafeteria wall. She was stretched up on her tippy-toes, straining to reach the hook and Peter had a momentary flash of panic at the thought of her falling, but she managed to reach it safely and without incident and Peter could breathe again.

And then Liz caught his eye and smiled and suddenly, breathing was a problem again. He gave her a sheepish smile back, not expecting to get caught staring and he could feel his cheeks heat in a blush.

“—Peter? Did you hear me?”

Peter jumped when a hand landed on his shoulder, shooting a glare at an amused Ned, “Dude!”

“What? Was Liz wearing a new top or something?” Ned asked, glancing over at Liz’s lunch table, where she was laughing and chatting away with her friends.

“No, she’s worn the sweater before but never with uh, with the skirt—look, what were you talking about?” Peter demanded, desperate for a subject change. Anything, really, to wipe the knowing look off of Ned’s face.

“I was saying,” Ned repeated with a pointed look, “Do you wanna come over this weekend? There’s a StarWars marathon on HBO Saturday.”

“Yeah, dude sounds awesome.” Peter said with genuine enthusiasm. With his nightly activities as Spider-Man, homework and spending time with Tony, Peter hadn't really had a chance to hangout with Ned like he used to.

“Great! So I was thinking—“

Peter was trying to listen, he really was, but he saw Liz laugh at something Betty Brant said and he couldn't help but notice the way her nose crinkled in that adorable way when she was amused by something, her dark brown eyes shining in the mid afternoon sun—

“Dude!”

Peter startled, shooting Ned a sheepish look, “Sorry.”

Ned just rolled his eyes, chancing a glance at Liz before looking back at Peter, “You should just ask her out.”

Peter gaped at him, a very un-dude like squawk leaving his lips, “Are you kidding? Liz is a senior, a senior, and popular. Two things that I am most definitely not. What could she possibly want with someone like me?”

Ned deflated a little at that, “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

“Hey!”

Ned ignored him, his face brightening, “But hey! Maybe Spider-Man could put in a good word for you! I heard Liz is having another party this weekend, maybe we could—“

“NO!” Peter said loudly, cutting Ned off and getting a few looks in the process. He lowered his voice, “Do you not remember what happened last time? Tony was so angry with me and he threatened to take my suit away if he ever found out about me going to another party. Not to mention the puke I had to clean off of the suit with a toothbrush—“

“You puked on the Iron Man suit?!”

Peter shot Ned a look that clearly said so not the point and continued, “There’s no way I’m ever disappointing Tony like that ever again.”

Ned sighed, “Okay, good point,” he casted a glance at Liz’s table and Peter followed his gaze, “well, at least she’ll be graduating soon and you’ll be able to move on to someone more attainable.”

Peter groaned, laying his head on the table and Ned patted his shoulder comfortingly.

~~~~~

“Mr. Parker is on his way up, sir.”

Tony looked up from his StarkPad when he heard F.R.I.D.A.Y.’s voice, just in time to see the elevator doors open and the welcoming grin slid off of his face when he noticed the rather dejected teenager step into the penthouse. He watched as Peter walked right past him, not even muttering his usual Hey Tony!, making his way into the kitchen to grab a snack

Ever since Peter had started coming over more, Tony made sure to keep the kitchen well stocked with food and drinks—of the non-alcoholic variety, even though hadn't had a drink since Peter’s party escapade a few weeks ago—knowing the kid was in a constant state of hunger due to his high metabolism. The kid could eat, reminding Tony a lot of Steve. He made sure Peter knew he could help himself as much as he wanted, as long as it was mostly healthy and didn’t spoil his dinner.

Peter grabbed an apple juice out of the fridge and a few granola bars from the cabinet over the sink, scarfing two of them down in one go.

“As much as I enjoy having you come over and watch you eat me out of house and home,” Tony began, making the kid jump and look up rom the bottle of apple juice he’d been studying like he just realized Tony had been standing there the whole time, “I think the polite thing to do is to actually greet someone before you start raiding their kitchen.”

Peter flushed, “Sorry, Tony, I guess I was a bit distracted.”

Tony raised an eyebrow, “Care to share?”

He didn’t know it was possible, but the red hue on the kid’s cheeks deepened until it was almost a dark shade of purple. He furrowed his eyebrows, concern making his chest feel tight.

“Seriously, kid, what gives? Did something happen at school today?” Tony asked, frown deepening, “is that lame Flash kid giving you problems again? Because if so, I won’t hesitate to have a one on one conversation with your principal and if that doesn't do the trick, F.R.I.D.A.Y. will have no issues hacking into the school’s database and erase that kid’s academic record from existence—“

“It’s not Flash.” Peter interrupted, look back down at the half eaten granola bar in his hand.

“Oh,” Tony said, deflating a little bit. Whether it was from being wrong or losing his chance to finally put that punk Flash kid in his place, he wasn’t sure. A mixture of both, maybe. Tony didn’t like to be wrong and that Flash kid irked him to no end. Seriously, the fact that kid had the nerve to apply for an internship at SI after treating Peter like his verbal punching bag didn’t sit right with Tony and he made sure that particular application never crossed Pepper’s desk, let alone any of his competitors—

“It’s a girl.” Peter continued, breaking Tony out of his thoughts.

“Pete, if you’re telling me you’re getting bullied by a girl, that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Girls can be mean and intimidating. Have you met Pepper? Woman scares the shi—crap out of me on a good day. Seriously, the offer to hack into the school database still stands, regardless of gender, I don’t discriminate—“

Peter made a frustrated noise, cutting Tony of, “I’m not getting bullied by a girl!” He paused, considering, “well, there is Michelle, but I think that’s her way of saying we’re friends but—“ the kid flushed again and suddenly, a light bulb went off over Tony’s head.

“—her name’s Liz. She’s a senior and popular and captain of the decathlon team and I, well—I—I like her.” Peter admitted, biting his lip and glancing back down at the marble counter.

The name rang a bell in Tony’s brain and after a second thinking, he understood, “Is this the same Liz that threw the party? The same party that, you felt the need to drink at in order to work up the nerve to talk to her? The same party that you thought would be the perfect time to introduce your pal Spider-Man to all your classmates? The same party that I had to give up my Saturday night for in order to fly into the suburbs to stop you from making what could possibly be the biggest game of your young life and your way of thanking me was to puke on my multi-million dollar suit? And all of this was to impress this girl?”

Peter, despite the flush dominating his features, shot Tony an annoyed glare, “First of all, Ned said you got there in under ten minutes, so your Saturday night couldn't of been that busy. Second of all, I said I was sorry for getting drunk and puking on your suit, which, I cleaned—with a toothbrush, might I add—and I promised that I would never do it again, didn’t I? And third of all, it’s not like I actually succeeded in putting on my suit, so everyone still thinks I’m still lying about knowing Spider-Man and I’m still this giant loser—“

“Whoa, hey kid, take a breath.” Tony said, holding his hands up and Peter snapped his mouth shut, “okay, first of all,” Tony began, mimicking Peter, who flushed, giving Tony a sheepish smile, “cool it with the sass, you’re starting to take after me and that’s never a good sign.”

“Sorry,” Peter murmured, giving Tony a small, apologetic smile.

Tony waved him off, “But more importantly, Pete,” Tony continued, walking around the counter and resting his hands on Peter’s shoulders, who looked up at him with such a dejected look, Tony’s heart gave a painful twinge in his chest, “you missed my point. I know you made a mistake, you’ve more than made up for it and I have no doubt that you’ll hold true to your promise.”

Peter’s shoulder relaxed under his hands and Tony smiled, “What I meant by all of that was, you shouldn’t feel like you have to change yourself or become something you’re not in order to get someone to like you. Spider-Man isn't a party trick or something you can use to get your foot in the door with someone. Take it from someone who knows, kid. Don’t ever use who you are or who you know as a way of getting someone’s attention. Those people don’t want you for you, they only want to use you. For connections, money, power or blackmail or bragging rights. And while you may care about them, they don’t give a damn about you. I learned that the hard way and trust me, Pete, it’s not a good feeling, being used.”

Tony gave Peter a sad smile that turned genuine at the overwhelming sympathy in the kid’s big brown eyes, “Peter, you are possibly the kindest, and smartest person I’ve ever come across in my life-time. You have a big heart and you care about everyone that you come in contact with. You’re a great kid and I have no doubt that you’ll do great things one day with that big heart and big brain of yours and if this Liz girl can’t see that, then she doesn't deserve you.”

Peter gave Tony a bright smile, “Thanks, Tony.”

Tony gave his shoulders a light squeeze, ruffling Peter’s unruly hair, “Don’t mention it, kid.”

As quick as Peter’s smile came, it faded, a worried crease appearing between his eyebrows, “So, how do I ask her out?”

Tony chuckled, tossing an arm around Peter’s shoulders, leading him in the direction of the lab.

“Just be yourself, kid. If you try too hard, you’re sure to screw it up. Just let it happen naturally, talk to her like a normal person, because she is just a normal person.”

Peter nodded, but Tony could tell there was something else bothering him.

“What’s going on in that big brain of yours?”

Peter bit his lip, staring down at his ratty sneakers. Tony made a mental note to buy him new ones.

“What if—what if she says no?” Peter said finally, glancing up at Tony with big eyes.

Then I sic my AI on her and all her hopes and dreams of getting into a good four year college no longer exist, Tony thought.

Out loud, he said, “That’s always a possibility, unfortunately. But you can’t take it personally, Peter. If she’s not interested, she not interested. Be a gentlemen about it and understand that it was nothing to do with you or who you are as a person. There’s nothing wrong with you, she just doesn't return your feelings. But hey,” Tony said, pausing in his stride to look at Peter in the eye, “you at least tried and now you know where you stand and now you’re one step closer to finding someone who will return your feelings.”

He clapped Peter on the shoulder, giving him an encouraging smile and Peter returned his smile, looking much lighter than when he first came to the Tower.

“Now, I have some idea’s for web fluid and I was thinking—oof.”

Tony suddenly had a side full of teenager as Peter wrapped his arms around Tony’s waist in a hug. Tony tensed, Peter’s open displays of affection always taking him off guard, but he relaxed, wrapping his arms around Peter in a quick hug.

“Thanks for listening, Tony,” Peter said softly, “I would normally go to May about this, but she’d just make a big deal about it and it’d be ten times more embarrassing and I uh, just, thanks.” Peter finished lamely, cheeks flushed.

“No need to thank me, kid,” Tony said with a smile, but it turned unsure and he debated what to say next, but decided to go for broke, “I know I’m not always the greatest at this…stuff,” he said with a wave of his hand, “but I’m trying, kid. And I hope you know that you can come to me for anything, whether it’s just to talk or if you need help with homework or girls or even if you just want to hangout, this tower, well, you’re always welcome. I just want you to know that.”

Tony was not blushing, he absolutely was not, but the blinding smile Peter gave him was worth any embarrassment Tony had to endure during that entire stuttered speech.

~~~~~

“Okay Peter, you can do this, you can do this,” Peter mumbled to himself at his locker, brushing his hair out of his eyes and wiping his sweaty palms on his jeans.

Liz was standing at her locker, reading her notes for their shared English class and Peter felt his stomach fill with nerves at the sight of her.

“You can do this, it’s just like Tony said, she’s just a normal person, you can do it.” Peter said, taking a deep breath. He slammed his locker shut, straightened his shoulders and headed down the hallway to Liz’s locker, where she was still reading her notes with a wrinkled brow.

You can do this, Peter thought to himself.

Liz looked up when he approached, smiling brightly at him and Peter was momentarily struck dumb by just how beautiful she was.

“Hey, Peter! Have you read the assigned reading for Hamlet? Betty told me that we have a pop quiz today and I’m freaking out.” Liz said, biting her lip nervously as she flipped through her binder.

Peter swallowed, “Uh, I did and it wasn't that bad. Ned told me the quiz wasn't that hard.”

C’mon Peter, just ask her out already

“Oh thank god, I only got through half of it. Between Homecoming and prepping for Decathlon practice, I fell asleep last night before I could finish—“

The bell rang, cutting Liz off and Peter closed his eyes in defeat.

Dammit

“Well, I’ll see you in English.” Liz said with a smile, shutting her locker and turning to walk down the hallway.

No no no no no no no no no

C’mon Peter, this is your chance, don’t waste it!

Peter sucked in a breath and summoned all of his courage—

“Liz, wait!” Peter said loudly, running to catch up with her.

She paused in the hallway, raising a delicate eyebrow, “Peter, I’m sorry, but I’m gonna be late—“

“Willyougotohomecomingwithme?”

She furrowed her eyebrows, confused, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t understand a word you just said.”

Peter took a deep breath, “Look, I realize I might be a little late and you might already have a date, but,” Peter swallowed nervously, glancing up at Liz with hopeful eyes, “I was wondering if you would, uh, you know, go to the dance, with, uh, me?”

“Actually, Peter—“

Peter winced, already sensing the rejection. He wanted a refund on his powers, his Spidey senses should warn a guy when he’s about to get his heart ripped out of his chest—

“—so busy planning the dance that I never really got around to the whole date part—“

Wait, what?

Peter looked up and saw Liz giving him a shy smile, “I’d love to go to the dance with you.

Peter gaped, “Wait, really?”

Liz giggled, her cheeks flushed a delicate rose, “Yeah Peter, I really like you.” she said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ear, looking up at him from underneath her long lashes.

Peter blushed, “I really like you, too.”

The warning bell rang and Liz’s eyes widened, “Oh well I better—“ she nodded her head in the general direction of the English classroom, giving him an apologetic smile.

“—yeah, I’ll uh, see you in English?” Peter asked, giving her a smile.

She nodded, smiling back, “Sure thing, Peter.”

She hesitated, unsure, but she stepped up on her tippy toes and—there’s no way, no way she’s about to—

Her soft lips landed on his blushing cheek and Peter was sure his heart was about to beat right out of his chest.

Holy shit

“Bye, Peter.” She whispered, flashing him a smile before she scurried off down the hallway, dark hair swaying about her shoulders as she ducked into the English classroom just as the final bell rang.

Peter ignored it, pressing his hand to his cheek in utter disbelief.

Liz Allan just said she’d go with him to homecoming

Liz Allan just said she really liked him.

Liz FREAKING Allan just kissed him on the cheek

Him, lowly sophomore, geeky Peter Parker.

HOLY SHIT

“Mr. Parker, is there reason why you’re not in class?”

Whoops

~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mr. Stark, you can’t be seriously asking me to pardon war criminals—who, not only broke the laws that you signed, but broke out of a maximum security prison, which I still think you have something to do with—“

“Now, Ross, you’re a smart man and I know you can do simple math. There’s three Avengers remaining, one who’s currently still upstate going through physical therapy to get the use of his legs back and Vision is afraid of his own power and then that leaves me. I can’t fight everything on my own, I need back up, I need—“

My family back, Tony thought suddenly. It caught him off guard, how badly he wanted that back. The team, the camaraderie, the family—

“Mr. Stark?” Ross prompted impatiently,

Tony shook himself out of his thoughts, clearing his throat, “This country needs the Avengers back. The world needs the Avengers back, with only me as the active Avenger left, we’re leaving the world vulnerable to outside attacks—

“—And how many casualties has the Avengers caused by inflicting their will on other countries—“

The door to his office opened and Tony took his eyes off the hologram in front of him, just in time to see a panicked looking Peter come bolting into his office at a break neck speed.

“Tony—“ Peter panted, eyes bright and hair disheveled.

“Kid, I’m a little busy here—“

“—are you even listening to me, Stark?” Ross’s angry voice demanded from behind him.

Tony ignored him, “Look, Pete, I’m in the middle of something here, how’d you even get into my office—“

“—Stark!—”

“—she said yes!” Peter said, cutting Tony off and it took a minute for Tony to switch gears and understand what Peter was talking about, but when he did—

“F.R.I.D.A.Y., end call.”

“Stark, don’t you dare hang up—“

Ross’s angry voice faded and Tony tried not to think about the wrath he would have to face later or how much farther back that sent him with progress he was making with the Accords.

But all of that faded when he took in Peter’s elated expression and Tony decided none of that mattered at the moment. His kid deserved his undivided attention, something Tony’s own father had never given him. Peter deserved better than that.

“Sorry about that, kid, Ross gets angry when things don’t go his way—“

“I interrupted something important, didn’t I?” Peter asked, looking up at Tony with guilty eyes.

Tony waved a hand, “Don’t worry about it, kid.”

Peter still looked doubtful, but Tony nodded to the elaborate chair opposite his side of the desk and Peter sat down hesitantly, while Tony chose to stand and lean against the desk.

“Now, tell me everything.” Tony said, a warm smile gracing his lips when Peter launched into detailed play by play of the most glorious ten minutes of his life, as he put it.

“And she kissed me on the cheek! Kissed me, Tony and she’s going with me to Homecoming—“

~~~~~~~~

Tony choked down some of May Parker’s date loaf in their tiny Queens apartment, watching as May fluttered around her nephew—fixing a stray curl, plucking lint off the suit Tony had made and tailored specifically for Peter—and he couldn’t help but feel grateful that Peter had wanted him here.

“Tony? Can you—“ Peter gestured down to his still yet to be tied tie and flushed, “I don’t know how to tie this.”

Tony sat his date loaf down on the coffee table and made his way over to the anxious teen. He grabbed the tie, tucking it underneath the collar of Peter’s crisp white button down and with expert fingers, he looped the tie into the perfect windsor knot, making sure it was straight before stepping away, admiring his handy work.

An odd sensation welled up in Tony’s throat as he took in the nervous teen in front of him, decked out in a custom Armani suit and the all black Chuck Taylor’s—something Peter insisted on because the suit is enough Tony, seriously. He might of gone a little overboard, he’s willing to admit that, but there was nothing in the world that Peter deserved more than one night as a normal teenager. The world expected too much out of this kid and Tony wanted ensure that Peter had all the experiences a normal teenager should, despite the fact that Peter was anything but normal.

His phone beeped and glancing down at it, he saw the text from Happy telling him that he was here and waiting in one of Tony’s flashier cars that he was loaning to Peter for the occasion.

“Alright kid, show time.” Tony said, glancing back up at the fidgeting teen.

May squealed, “Okay! Don’t forget the corsage and remember—“

“—tell her she looks nice, but not too much because that’s creepy—“

“—don’t be creepy—“

“—and when I dance with her, I keep my hands on her hips.” Peter recited dutifully and May smiled, opening her arms for a hug.

Tony glanced away, feeling like he was an intruding on an intimate moment between Peter and his aunt, especially when he heard May murmur, “Ben would be so proud of you, Peter.”

“Thanks, May.” Peter replied softly, pulling away and fixing his suit, but Tony saw him wipe discreetly at his face.

Peter glanced up at him and Tony smiled, “Knock ‘em dead, kid. Happy will pick you up after the dance and drop you off at home. Stay away from the punch, trust me, the whole ‘spike the punch bowl’ isn’t a myth. If you need anything, let me or your aunt know and make sure you get Liz home at decent hour, makes a good impression on the parents,” Tony squeezed Peter’s shoulder, “got it?”

Peter nodded, “I think so.”

Tony clapped his shoulder, “Have fun, kid. I’ve got everything covered for tonight.”

Peter gave him a grateful smile, “Thanks, Tony.”

“Don’t mention it, kid. Now scadaddle, Happy isn't a patient man.” Tony said, nodding to the door.

Peter gulped, grabbing the corsage sitting on the kitchen table and with a wave over his shoulder, he was gone.

Silence settled over the apartment and Tony could see May studying him with an intensity that made him decidedly uncomfortable

Tony cleared his throat awkwardly, checking his watch, “Well, I better—“

“Actually, Mr. Stark, do mind sitting down for a minute? I’d like to talk to you.” May asked and Tony gulped.

May Parker reminded him a lot of Pepper, fierce and no nonsense, especially when it came to someone she loved. And if there was one thing in this world that Tony was sure of, it was that May Parker loved her nephew and she’d kill a man dead if it meant that Peter would be safe and happy.

And Tony would be a dead man if May Parker ever found out that he was not only encouraging Peter’s after school activities as a superhero by handing him a multi-million dollar suit, but he was also responsible for putting her nephew in the same battle field as a super soldier and an ex-HYDRA assassin with a chip on his shoulder in the shape of a prosthetic arm.

Tony (wisely) took his seat silently in an arm chair angled across from the couch and eyed May warily as she sank down into the worn cushions.

“I won’t lie and say that I like you. To be honest with you, I don’t really agree with a lot of things you’ve done and I’m still not sure how I feel about you spending so much time in Peter’s life,” May said bluntly, folding her hands in her lap and Tony swallowed heavily.

“But something is going on with him,” she continued, “I’m not sure what it is, but I know you’ve got something to do with it.”

Shit

Tony kept his face blank, while he scrambled to think of some way out of this that, not only kept Peter’s other identity safe, but also kept him safe in case May turned out to be a hitter. He knew better than to lie, because he was already dangling precariously on the edge of May’s trust and if she caught him in a lie, not only would this little “internship” with Peter end, he would put the kid in tough spot. He was already lying to his aunt about a lot of things, he didn’t want to be another thing added to that list.

And Tony knew, deep down, that if Peter was forced to choose between him and his aunt, Peter would choose his aunt over Tony any day. And as much as Tony had bitched and moaned about taking on the full responsibility of monitoring the kid and looking after him, Peter had become an important part of Tony’s life and he wasn't willing to risk losing the relationship he had built with him by lying to the one person that Tony knew had Peter’s best interest at heart.

So he went for broke.

“Mrs. Parker,” Tony began, taking off his sunglasses and folding them neatly into his breast pocket, “I’ll admit, when I first stumbled across Peter, I knew that he would be a very valuable asset to me and my company once he graduated high school. He’s a bright kid with talent that I’ve only seen in myself and a handful of highly educated people that I’ve worked with. He’s passionate, he’s smart and he’s got an endless amount of ideas that would make some companies very very rich, mine included, if Peter wishes to continue working for my company when he graduates from college.”

May didn’t look impressed and Tony could feel his brow begin to sweat a bit. This is why Pepper always wrote the speeches, he was never good at this…talking thing. Selling his products, his visions, his ideas. That he could do in his sleep. But when he tried to sell himself—his intentions, his personality, who he was as a person—that he struggled with.

“Peter…he’s special. And I don’t mean just because of his brain, of his gifts or abilities. He’s one of the most genuine people I’ve ever come across, he cares so deeply about the people and the world around him. And he’s persistent, too persistent for his own good, sometimes.”

May snorted and Tony relaxed a bit, “I care about Peter, a lot. I know that I may not be the best role model for the kid, but he’s going through things that he’s trusted me with, that I can help him with. I know I’m asking a lot of you, but you have to trust me when I say that will do everything in my power to ensure that nothing ever happens to Peter. I’ll make sure he’ll learn from my mistakes and he won’t follow in my footsteps. He’s already doing a hell of a lot better than I was at his age.”

“You can say that again,” May muttered, but Tony could tell that there was no heat behind it.

Tony chuckled, “Like I said, I’m well aware that I shouldn't be anyone’s role model, that’s why I never had kids, but Peter,” Tony swallowed, suddenly feeling like he was revealing too much about himself. He was used to playing his cards close to the chest, never revealing too much, never giving away the game early. But his guilt at essentially helping a fifteen year old lie to his guardian about his extracurricular activities did weird things to the soul and Tony’s guilt complex wanted May to know that he had the kid, had his back and his best interests at heart and would lay down his life if it meant Peter got to live another minute of his.

Something, Tony was sure, his father never would have done for him.

“Basically, if I had to choose what I would want my kid to turn out like, Peter would be the embodiment of it. I love that kid like he’s my own and I would never let any harm come to him as long as I’m alive.”

If May was shocked by this turn of events, she didn’t show it, instead, she regarded him thoughtfully and he could see a grudging respect in her eyes. But behind the respect, he could see the fatigue. Of raising a precocious fifteen year old with in a single income household, in one of the most expensive cities in the world, eight months after her husband was killed.

Maybe Peter was right. Maybe they should hold off telling May about anything involving his spidey alter ego.

May sighed, leaning forward in her chair and steepling her hands together under chin, “Peter’s been through a lot of tragedies. His parents, Ben,” she trailed off and Tony offered her his handkerchief when he noticed the wet state of her eyes. She took it with a shaky hand and dabbed at her eyes with the red silk, “Peter was there the night Ben died and if I could've afforded therapy, I would've sent him to one. But things have been so tight since Ben died and Peter just wanted to try his best to move on and I—I just worry.” May bit her lip and looked down at her lap.

“However, as much as it pains me to admit it, I have noticed a change in Peter ever since he’s started working with you on your internship and spending one on one time with you. He seems more like his old self, his grades have gotten better, he’s spending more time with his friends and he’s become more involved in school again. So whatever it is that he’s dealing with, if you feel like you have it handled and Peter trusts you with it, then I guess I can learn to live with it.”

Tony blinked. And then blinked again. And again.

“But, if even one hair on his head gets injured while he’s in your care…”

Tony had an active imagination and didn’t need her to finish her threat. But what May didn’t know, was that if any harm came to Peter while he was with Tony, she wouldn't have to kill him herself. Tony would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to Peter, not on his watch.

~~~~~~~~~~

Happy had returned from dropping Peter off and was waiting in front of the car when Tony came out of Peter’s building. He jumped to attention when he noticed Tony, running to the passenger door to open it for him, waving him into the idling vehicle.

“Where to, bossman?” Happy asked.

Tony ignored his question, “Did the kid get there okay?”

He ignored Happy’s curling lip at the mention of Peter, “Yes, he did. After thanking me profusely for the first fifteen minutes, he proceeded to chat my ear off for the rest of the ride. I feel sorry for the kid’s date—“

Once again ignoring Happy entirely, he clapped him on the shoulder, “That’s great Hap, be sure to pick him up when the dance is over. I told him to text you when they were ready to go and you’ll take them wherever else they'd like to go. I’ve got some business to attend to.” Tony said, distractedly tapping at his watch.

With a whoosh of smoke and thrusters, the Mark 34.5, Tony’s latest prototype of the suit, appeared and with a final wave, Tony hopped into the awaiting armor.

“And Hap, lose the attitude. Tonight’s a big deal for the kid, let’s make it special, alright?”

The snap of the faceplate drowned out Happy’s grumbling.

“F.R.I.D.A.Y? On a scale of one to ten, how embarrassing is it for parents to show up to school dances to spy on their kid and their date?” Tony asked, testing out the the thrusters as he flew himself into the sky.

“According to my findings, an average rating to that question is about a 9.6 in the level of embarrassment of teenagers and their parents unexpected arrival at a school dance.”

“Well, I guess we’re just gonna have to test out the new stealth mode. Give me the fastest route to Midtown Tech, I need to make sure the whole ‘spike the punch bowl’ isn't a thing anymore. We don’t need a replay of the roof fiasco we had a few weeks ago.”

“Would you like me to hack the security cameras?”

Tony grinned, “Yes, yes F.R.I.D.A.Y., that’s a fantastic idea.”

Just as F.R.I.D.A.Y successfully hacked into the security cameras and Tony was outside the school gym, his phone began to ring, Pepper’s face popping up on the screen, interrupting the live stream of the dance .

Shit

“Not now, F.R.I.D.A.Y, ignore call, ignore call, ignor—“

“Tony?”

“Sorry, Pep, I’m busy testing something out on the new suit—“

“—please tell me why you’re currently hovering over Mid-Town Tech’s Gym—“

“How do you—“

“You forgot to use stealth mode—“

Double shit.

“F.R.I.D.AY—“

“You never gave me a direct order, Sir.”

“Tony? Are you—are you using the suit spy on Peter?! Tony—!“

Triple shit.

~~~~~

Once again, thank you guys so much for the love and continued support of this story! I hope you guys liked it and as always, feel free to let me know what you think or any ideas for any fics/future chapters!

@jadepc @autumnhunter1 @randommemewithadream @rebbie444@abaikgirl @fantabulousshipperfromcamelot @afittingdistraction@letsallsleepoverwork @pepperr-pottss @help-i-need-a-cool-username@onedaysomedaytoday @ileavechaosinmywake @bloop-da-loop @rachhhhhl@anniejglee @hiccup-is-left-handed @spid3rboy @bonza-bear @claraangi ghost-apples blanketburritothoughts daughterheir

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imagine-loki · 5 years

Text

Monsters and Magic

TITLE: Monsters and Magic

CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: 62/?

AUTHOR: nekoamamori

ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine you’re a vampire who helps the Avengers defeat an evil seethe of other vampires, and Loki befriends you after you end up in their custody

RATING: T (again after last chapter)

NOTES/WARNINGS: Also on AO3 click here

You saw Loki’s smirk as he tried to hold back his laughter at your plight. He turned and led the way out to the Bifrost circle, while you protested the fact that Bucky was carrying you over his shoulder. You were too busy arguing with him to put you down that she couldn’t argue with him to stay behind.

“Brother, you know Father dislikes Midgardians in his realm,” Thor tried to be the voice of reason while you headed outside. He hoped Loki would listen to him for once. Bringing Bucky didn’t seem like the best idea.

“I could not care less about what the Allfather thinks. After all of the things he put my lady through, he does not deserve my consideration,” Loki growled softly. “I wish for Sergeant Barnes to accompany us for my lady’s safety as well as to show my closest friend my home,” he added

Thor just sighed and gave up and headed to the bifrost circle. “Sergeant, you may wish to put her down now. We do not want any incidents on the Bifrost,” Thor told Bucky while he used Mjolnir to summon his Asgardian clothes. Loki’s clothes shimmered to his Asgardian armor. Bucky set you down and Loki’s magic flowed over the pair of you as well, Bucky’s battle uniform and your new uniform as well. You couldn’t help glancing at your outfit, taking it in, and finally feeling like a proper member of the team, though it did seem strange and a touch too adorable. Your battle costume had cat-ears on it for Pete’s sake. You looked to Loki for approval of it, not quite remembering that he had probably helped put it together. All you were thinking was that he liked fashion, so he’d be able to approve of it or not.

Loki gave you a warm smile and you saw the approval… and interest… in his eyes. “You look amazing, darling,” he reassured you.

Thor was holding Mjolnir and offered it to Loki, handle first. “Do you need to do the honors, brother?” he asked, knowing Loki might still need to show off, or prove to himself again, that he was worthy.

Loki grabbed Mjolnir from Thor with a nearly childlike glee. Thor went to Bucky and clapped the man on the shoulder, careful to stay on his left, on the side of his metal arm. Bucky could be touchy about skin contact. “Travel by bifrost is an experience and as I have said,” Thor explained again, to tell the stoic soldier why he was being touched. “We do not wish for there to be any accidents on the journey,”

Loki’s arm went around your shoulders and you wrapped your arms around his waist tightly, remembering the journey from your previous two visits. You hid your face against his chest, knowing the rainbow lights would affect your sensitive eyes. At least you knew what you were getting into, unlike poor Bucky. Loki lifted Mjolnir above his head. “Heimdall, if you please,” he said, polite as ever.

Thor smirked as the Bifrost opened around you. He knew his brother well to know he’d want to do the honors himself. You hid your face against Loki as you felt the weightlessness of floating upwards.

You stepped into the Bifrost chamber and all greeted Heimdall politely. Though Thor’s version of polite included hugging the gatekeeper for some reason. At least Heimdall seemed used to this behavior from the prince.

“That is… an experience,” Bucky said, looking a bit green. Heimdall gave Bucky a suspicious look until Thor quickly vouched for the metal-armed soldier. Bucky recovered from the first shock quickly, just in time for the four of you to leave the Bifrost chamber to see three horses waiting for you. “First magic, now horses?” Bucky grumbled, but swung himself into the saddle of the extra mount. “Don’t dump me, I haven’t ridden since I was a kid,” he told the horse firmly. You laughed while you reached up to take Loki’s hand. He swung you up on the horse behind him. You wrapped your arms around his waist, grateful that this time you would ride normally and didn’t have to try to ride sidesaddle. Loki smirked at your tight grip on him, appreciating your touch and glad to have you near. He was even more glad to have you so close to a cure.

The trip to the palace was short on horseback, especially with galloping horses. It would have been unbelievably long on foot. /In the healing wing, darling/ Frigga told Loki as your group dismounted. She could feel Loki’s approach. She had taught him his magic and could feel his presence whenever he was home and missed it terribly when he was away.

The horses were led away and Loki turned to the rest of your group. “Follow me,” he told you, though not unkindly. He led you all straight to the healing wing. Thor gave a bit of a tour to Bucky as you went, though everyone understood that Loki was on a mission to make sure you got healed.

That didn’t stop him from going straight to Frigga and hugging her tightly. Loki was such a mama’s boy that he couldn’t help the automatic response. Frigga hugged him as soon as he was through the healing wing’s doors and you watched the adorable scene with a fond smile. “I have missed you, my son,” she greeted him warmly and kissed his cheek.

She hugged Thor and received a cheek kiss from him, you couldn’t find it in yourself to be surprised when she hugged you. You were surprised that she let Bucky brush off his manners and bow over her hand to kiss her knuckles with a “ma’am” of greeting.

“Your Father is off world. There was business to attend to on Alfheim,” Frigga told her sons, though most of her attention was on Loki as she addressed his concerns. “By the time he is due to return home, your lady should be through the transition,”

Loki sighed in relief. “This is perfect timing then,”

“It is, isn’t it?” Frigga asked too innocently, with a smirk of mischief. You also knew that she orchestrated the events that led to Odin being offworld. Even if she wouldn’t say as much. You also caught her knowing smile at Bucky’s metal arm around your shoulders, keeping you from wandering off. You had a habit of doing that (and fixing whatever electronic device you came across) when you got bored. Frigga was surprised that Loki wasn’t upset that another man was touching his lady, but she also knew that Bucky was Loki’s actual friend. It warmed her heart that Loki finally had real friends.

Frigga turned to Thor. “While your Father is off world, his duties would usually fall to me, but I will be tied up here. I need you to take them instead,” she told him. Thor was perfectly well qualified to take the throne. He had been training for it his entire life, but still, he hesitated. He didn’t want the throne, not anymore, not after everything. He sighed and finally nodded. It was just temporary and he would do anything to help his mother, much as Loki would.

Thor nodded and kissed her cheek again. He clapped Loki on the shoulder. “You know where to find me if you need me,” he told his brother before he left to tend to the people and the throne, leaving Loki and Bucky to guard you. With Odin gone, they didn’t need so much security, plus Thor was an oaf in the healing wing and was better off elsewhere out of the way.

“This way darlings,” Frigga bid the three of you. You caught Bucky’s look of surprise that he was included among the ‘darlings’. He was even more surprised when Frigga wrapped her arm around your shoulders instead, taking you from him with no effort. She let you into one of the private rooms. “Wait here a moment,” she told the boys kindly, and proceeded to nearly slam the door on their noses to make sure they stayed out. Both of them grumbled, but you were glad when Frigga spent the time you were changing into a comfortable tunic and soft black pants telling you about what the healing would actually entail: eating one of Idun’s golden apples and becoming Asgardian. It would cure your vampirism as it rebuilt your body. You’d be spending a day or more in the healing wing, so you were glad for the comfortable clothes. Battle armor wouldn’t be practical.

That done, Frigga finally let the boys in. Loki gave you a kiss when he entered. Frigga turned to her son and you could see she was pleased with his obvious warmth and love for you. She turned serious again quickly, even as you hugged your Loki, nervous about the prospect of your body rebuilding itself. “Loki, are you sure you wish to be here for this? You know the stories as well or better than anyone. You know it will be difficult on her to say the least. I will watch over her and ease her through it. You do not have to be here-” it spoke to Frigga’s concern that she used his name instead of a term of endearment. She didn’t want to make him watch you suffer through the transition. It was hell at the best of times and she was afraid it would be worse when it was curing your vampirism at the same time.

“I cannot leave her side, Mother. I will not. I do not wish for her to face this alone. I know she wouldn’t be alone with you here, but she is my lady and I will not stand by and let her suffer without me,” he told her firmly.

Frigga was impressed that he had stood up to her and nodded, accepting Loki’s decision. “Very well, then,” she replied and summoned the golden apple to hand to you. “So, darling, tell me about this party. It must have been quite the chore to hide it from your little darling,” she bid Loki while you took the first bite. She was drawing out a light, happy, topic of conversation for while you ate the apple and until it took effect.

Loki smirked. “It certainly wasn’t easy,” he started the story and you stuck your tongue out at him, mock-glaring at him for teasing you about being difficult, despite the fact that it was true. He went into detail about how he managed to keep the secret and how well the party had turned out.

“You invited your Aunt Brynhilde?” Frigga asked him, sounding excited and wanting more information on her best friend.

“I did. I thought it only right to reconnect my love with her family,” he replied warmly and kissed the top of your head.

“Mom and Bree, my sister, are doing just fine,” you chimed in, catching what Frigga was actually asking. “Though Bree kept annoying your sons and mom won’t stop calling him ‘little Loki’” you teased Loki warmly. He glared at you for reminding his mother of that nickname which he thought he’d outgrown centuries ago.

Frigga laughed. “Well, Brynhilde has known Loki since we adopted him. Old habits die hard, I’m sure. You know she meant no offense, darling,” she added that part to Loki.

He smiled fondly at how happy his mother was and the old memories. “I know, Mother,”

You finished the apple and vanished the core while you all discussed the party and other goings on. Bucky stayed awkwardly off to the side. He wasn’t usually one for socializing.

He looked over at you when you coughed, but he thought nothing of a simple cough. Not until you kept coughing, clutching onto Loki to keep your feet under you as drops of blood splattered on your arm as your temperature rose quickly. You whimpered, afraid of how quickly you were getting so sick.

Loki swept you off your feet and placed you on the bed, cuddling you in his arms. He was so cold and it felt so good against your quickly rising temperature. A moment later, Frigga rushed over with a healing brew. Bucky stayed by the door of the room, out of the way and standing guard, though he was worried too.

Loki concentrated for a moment and let his illusion fade on his hand, letting his true form be seen and felt as he placed his blue hand against your forehead. You melted in relief as Frigga placed the healing brew in your hands.

“Here, darling, drink this, it will help,” Frigga promised. You drank the potion, which soothed the cough instantly as your eyes began to flutter, the potion pulling you to sleep, soothed by the position and Loki’s cold.

“What’s going on?” Bucky demanded when you were asleep. He made his demand of Loki, he’d never be so rude to the queen. “You said you were bringing her here for a cure, this doesn’t look like a cure!” he glared and Loki and decided to save asking why the fuck his hand was blue for later.

Loki sighed. “This is the cure,” he replied patiently. “However, it will not be an easy process. It will cure the vampirism but also turn her into a full Asgardian. It is not without pain. Though I wish there was a way to avoid it,” he said sorrowfully as he cuddled you close while you whimpered softly.

Bucky didn’t look entirely convinced, but he trusted Loki and Frigga. They wouldn’t do anything to hurt you, especially not Loki. He loved you too much. “Should I be concerned that your hand is blue?” Bucky asked instead, his voice dryly teasing his friend. He could tease when neither Loki nor Frigga were concerned about the blue hand.

Loki glared in reply, snarling softly. “I am not biologically Asgardian. I was adopted. This,” he raised up his blue hand. “Is what my real heritage looks like. I’m a Jotun, a Frost Giant,” he told Bucky, his voice icy.

“It’s rude to glare at your friend for being concerned over you, darling,” Frigga scolded gently, the automatic scolding of a mother. Her attention was on you and how you’d mewed in your sleep when Loki removed his cold hand from your forehead. Bucky nodded, accepting the answer. He didn’t comment any further since the topic had clearly upset Loki. Loki returned his blue hand to your forehead, soothing you in any way he could.

“Unfortunately, there is not much we can do for her, but try to keep her as comfortable as possible,” Frigga added. She turned to Loki. “Keep an eye on that fever,” she told him. He was their best shot at keeping your fever down so it didn’t burn you up.

Hours, more healing potions, and one terrifying event with a seizure later, the exhaustion in the room was palpable. You were finally peacefully asleep in Loki’s arms, so Bucky jumped into action. You didn’t need care at the moment and the others needed to rest. With old charm brushed off from the forties, he somehow managed to get Frigga to agree to lie down on the couch in the room. She was asleep as soon as he laid a blanket over her. He had been going to force her to get some rest, queen or not. He looked over at Loki when his mother was taken care of. “You should get some rest too, Odinson. I can watch over her,” Bucky was back to a bit of formality in this strange realm and in front of Loki’s family. Even if his mother was asleep.

Loki looked so wary about falling asleep, but he was exhausted and you were safe. For now. He trusted that Bucky would be able to keep watch over the three of you. “Thank you, Bucky,” Loki could use his name for once as well. He really did appreciate his best friend being here. He finally closed his eyes and instantly passed out, exhausted from the hours of your healing and there was only more to come.

Bucky stood leaning against the door. No one was going to get past his watch. You woke briefly while the other two were asleep. Bucky helped you sit up and placed a glass of water against your lips, helping you drink it while you were too dazed and feverish to do anything for yourself. The fever was drying you out, so anytime you woke, they made you drink something. You weren’t coherent when you woke and barely remembered doing so or whining at Bucky. He promised everything would be alright and laid you back down, stroking your hair out of your face. “It’ll be alright, Striga,” he promised you gently. You were back asleep the moment your head hit the pillow. He looked at the sleeping Loki. “Please don’t stab me,” he mumbled as he very carefully moved the sleeping Loki’s blue hand back to your forehead. He figured Loki would forgive Bucky for touching him in order to help you. Loki would have too, if he’d been awake enough to notice. Bucky sighed in relief that he’d avoided getting stabbed and resume his guard duty.

They lost track of time. The other two woke. Maids brought food. Bucky caught a nap. There were more potions, more healing, more awful rebuilding of your body that none of you wanted to remember.

“Almost over, darling,” Frigga told them after what felt like days. They all had the same exhausted relieved look. She turned to Loki. “Be prepared. The worst is yet to come,” she warned him, looking worried. Loki didn’t like her worry. Not one bit. Not when this had already been so terrible. He turned his attention back to where you were cuddled in his arms, stealing as much of his cold as you could. He pressed a kiss to your forehead before he replaced his hand there.

Everything would be alright.

No matter what the worst was.

Frigga’s words were understood a few hours later when you jolted awake, sitting up, clutching at your chest while you howled a terrible shriek of pain.

Loki sat up next to you, fretting and clearly not having any idea how to help while you cried and shrieked and clutched at your chest, ready to rip out whatever was hurting you so much that you wailed.

No one noticed yet that your tears were clear and no longer blood red. That revelation would come after they got your tears, your sobs, your wailing to stop.

You writhed in pain, squirming as nothing would relieve it.

Loki held you in his strong arms, rubbing your back, whispering soothing words, pouring magic into you, trying anything and everything to ease whatever was paining you.

Frigga rushed over, placing her hands on you. They were glowing with power as she used her magic to ease the pain. She was the strongest healer in the realm and after a minute could erase the pain where Loki had only been able to dull it slightly.

“Her heart started beating again,” Frigga told you all as you panted, trying to catch your breath.

You had to breathe. You had to catch your breath. Your heart was beating.

It had worked.

By all the gods, it had actually worked.

#Loki #Lover #Submitted fic #submission #nekoamamori #monsters and magic #Chapter 62

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xxfanfiction-emo-trinityxx · 6 years

Text

Ripped Jeans And Greasy Hair - Gerard Way x Reader

Summary: Hey, do you think you could write a Punk!Gerard High school au fic with tons of angst?

Warnings: bullying (I don’t know if this really is angsty, pls let me know how I can improve myself!)

Word count: 3 387

When you had been little, you always had wanted to go to school. You wanted to learn and make friends and have fun. Now that you were in High School, you still wanted to learn but you doubted that school was supposed to make you feel shitty about literally every single little thing you did. Not to mention the fact that making friends was harder than you had originally assumed. Your former best friend went to another High School so you had barely any contact anymore, and even over the two years you were already attending this school you had only managed to befriend a guy called Patrick, who went to your science class. Patrick was a sweet guy who loved to play drums. Most of your breaks were spent together with his friend Joe, a guy with blue eyes and a dark brown mop of hair. Spending breaks in groups lowered the chance of falling victim to the school bullies. All three of you had actually your fair share of experience with them. Both Patrick and Joe had ended up in dumpsters before and you had once been locked into your own locker for an hour, resulting in you asking Patrick for a week to get your things from the locker for you. Once, Joe had even been shoved head first into a toilet, which lead to the one time Patrick actually got aggressive. No matter how small he was, he seemed to have impressed the bullies at least a little since they stayed away from the three of you after that. You still felt them eyeing you every now and then and you definitely felt saver with Joe or Patrick around, but generally you could not complain. At least not about the bullies.

That was until Patrick and Joe went on a student exchange to Spain. The first days everything seemed fine but soon you noticed the glares of the bulky boys and Barbie girls who loved to bully everyone around them who was not ‘perfect’ like them. And as if that would not have been enough, you also noticed how the school’s troublemaker, a guy named Gerard, kept his eyes on you. He had longish black hair and always walked around in ripped black jeans and a leather jacket. The only thing that seemed to change about him was the black band shirts he wore to school. He was famous for getting into all kinds of trouble, be it fighting with the teachers, insulting or beating up other students or destroying the lockers of students he disliked. You knew Gerard from seeing him in most of your breaks. He always hung out in the same part of the playground as Patrick, Joe and you. Genareally he seemed like a guy who wanted to be left alone, but when someone pissed him off, he acted out. On the one hand you admired him for having the courage, on the other hand: he always overdid it. But now that you noticed his eyes following you in the corridors, you started to feel uneasy.

By Thursday you felt so sick in the morning that you considered not going to school at all, but in the end you did. You were welcomed by the dark, badly lit corridors as usual, the cold smoke of cigarettes, that had not been allowed to be smoked in here, hanging in the air. And you were almost certain that between smoke, cleansing agents and sweat the fine note of alcohol hovered as well. No one had ever said your school was not fucked up.

You walked your way down the corridor to your locker, and were welcomed with a nasty surprise. Someone had written ‘loser’ in big letters diagonally over your locker; with red spray paint. You knew it was fresh, the smell of the solvent still well detectable in the air, but the writing had already dried. You stared at it for a moment. If it had been possible, you would have started feeling even sicker than you already did, but it was not. You considered for a moment to break into tears and beat up your locker, but that would only please the people who had done that, so you held back your emotions and grabbed the things from your locker that you needed.

Apparently you seemed to be the school bullies new favorite victim since at noon the tray with your lunch was forcibly pushed out of your tight grip and spread all over your clothes and the floor around you. For the rest of the day you had to walk around the stains of the sauce on your shirt and jeans still well visible, even after washing it out several times. You told yourself to ignore the laughs and the pointed fingers and the elbows you got in your ribs, but by the time you arrived home, you smashed the front door shut, sunk to your knees and cried. With still tear wet cheeks you undressed yourself and threw the clothes in the washing machine before putting on your favorite oversized sweater and some sweats. You turned up your music so loud that it drained out the thoughts in your head while you lay on your bed, wondering if there existed a non-permanent way to die, something like temporary non-existance, a possibility to continue existing when Patrick and Joe were back from Spain. After a while you got a slight headache from the music so you turned it off. You continued laying on your bed, not thinking about anything specific until you decided it was time for your homework. You read a few chapters of the book you were currently studying in English Literature and finished some worksheets for Spanish. But when you planed on doing your math homework, you realized that your book was missing. You searched everywhere for it, you even emptied your schoolbag on the floor, but it was nowhere to be found. Just when you were about to give up and sent a string of curse words towards heaven, a ring on the door disturbed you. Wondering who would pay you a visit in the late afternoon, it had to be for you, since your mother was not home from work yet, you walked downstairs and opened up. To your big surprise it was Gerard who stood in front of your door.

“You lost your book,” he told you, extending his hand towards you, holding the math book you had been searching for just a few minutes ago.

Hesitantly you scanned his face before you quickly took the book from him. You hated admitting it, but he was very intimidating, with his black, greasy hair falling into his eyes, the leather jacket and a grim expression on his face.

“How do know where I live?” You were not sure you felt comfortable with him knowing where your home was.

He looked at you, pushing a strand of hair out of his face, revealing a cut across his eyebrow that seemed pretty fresh. His hazel eyes scanned your face as if to make sure your question had been serieous.

“Dude, I live literally across the street,” he told you, pointing towards the house opposite yours.

Oh.

Without another word he turned around and walked away from your house.

“Thanks,” you shouted after him but he did not react, even though you were sure he had heard you.

Awkwardly you closed the door. Had that really been Gerard, who had brought you your math book? You had never thought of him as especially considerate, but maybe you had to rethink.

~*~

The next morning you felt even sicker than before. You lay in bed for half an hour, wondering if there was any chance that this day could get any better than the last, but in the end, your optimism won. Your locker was already disfigured and school ended early today so there was no chance for anyone to empty your tray onto your shirt. You got out of bed, put on some comfortable, yet decent clothes and headed downstairs for a quick breakfast.

Your mother had already been waiting for you. Yesterday evening, when she had asked you how your day had been, you had lied to her, saying everything was fine, even though things were far from fine. You were just scared that she would tell you to stand up for yourself and that it was also your fault if people bullied you. Maybe she would have been right, and that scared you even more. But today she noticed something was up. Her eyes worriedly scanned the Smashing Pumpkins shirt you wore and the slightly oversized cardigan that was basically used as a ground for your many patches and buttons. You could feel her glances and you knew she was desperate to know what made you so anxious that you put on both of the pieces of clothing that made you feel save, but she did not ask, which you were thankful for. Instead she wished you a good day and handed you a Tetra Pak with apple juice, something she had not done in years. You understood it as an encouragement and smiled at her before you stepped outside the house.

Had you really thought, today could not be worse than the day before? Some really ‘funny’ people had decided to flood your locker so you had to spent first lesson explaining to several different people that you had no part in destroying your school books. You barely made it to the second lesson in time, just to stumble into a beginning test. To your surprise you managed to survive the break without any incident and even ignored the many spitballs that were launched at you over the course of your final two lessons. When the bell rang and you believed you were finally able to escape the hell that school had become, you were proven wrong.

You had just stepped outside the classroom and walked a few meters away, when a 6 foot something dick of a guy, who was so muscular that you were certain chemicals were involved somewhere along the way, poured his energy drink intentionally over your head. You gasped at the cold, bubbling liquid that ran down your face and into your clothes making everything sticky and stinking of chemicals that were added into the artificial beverage. You barely heard the malicious laughter of the other students over the ringing in your ears. You were almost thankful that your face was wet already so if a tear would escape your eyes, it would not be noticeable. You tried to fight your way through the crowd of students, focusing on the floor in front of you. You pushed past several people who probably were not involved, but jeered at you anyway. Just when you almost had reached your locker, you were forcefully punched in the side, by another bulky student. The impact made you stumble sideways and you bumped painfully into one of the lockers. A stinging pain shot through your shoulder and all air was pressed out of your lungs, resulting in a pathetic wheeze. You could hear the laughter erupting around you, while your hand quickly moved to cover the part of your shoulder that hurt the most, your head spinning from the sudden sideways motion. Before you could even properly comprehend what was happening around you, a figure had jumped in front of you, protecting you from the sight of the other students or further attacks.

“Leave them the fuck alone!”

You could not place exactly where you had heard the voice before, but you felt incredibly grateful for whoever it was that stood up to the people bullying you.

“Uh, playing savior, Way?” a snarling voice asked.

A big hand grabbed your upper arm and pulled you to your feet, dragging you away from the crowd.

“Don’t ever touch them again,” the voice next to you answered in a dangerous growl, but continued dragging you away.

“Much in love, are we?”

You really felt the need to punch this guy in the face, but you still were dizzy and completely confused, not to mention the iron grip around your arm.

“Go fuck yourself,” the person next to you mumbled before you finally walked through a door and a breeze of fresh wind fanned over your heated skin.

You were sat down on a bench under one of the trees and had finally the chance to look at who had gotten you out of this messed up situation.

You recognized the ripped jeans, the leather jacket and the greasy hair immediately; even though Gerard was the last person you had expected to see. He knelt down in front of you, pushing hair out of his face and looked at you carefully, his eyes full of concern.

“You okay?”

His voice was soft, nothing like the dangerous, hard tone he had used towards the other students.

You nodded, even though you were not sure if you really were okay. You shoulder hurt and you felt dizzy, not to mention the cold, sticky energy drink that wetted your hair, face and clothes.

Gerard reached for his pocket and pulled out a clean handkerchief, dipping it over your face gently to dry your skin. You let him. You had no idea why he was helping you, why he was so kind, but right now you did not care. You desperately needed someone who looked after you right now, and even though you had always considered Gerard to be trouble, right now he was comforting to be around. You tried to hold back the sobs and tears that were threatening to surface and instead concentrated on his face. His features were soft and almost fragile, with a bit of makeup he could easily pass as a beautiful girl. His eyes were of a deep hazel and focused on your face, which made you suddenly very self-conscious.

“Let’s get you home, shall we?”

Gerard looked up at you with soft eyes and you nodded. He stood up and noticed you had problems standing straight.

“You sure you’re alright?” he asked, worry laced in his voice.

“Yeah, it’s just… it’s a bit much, you know?”

You smiled up at him excusing. He wrapped one of his arms around your waist and led you through the back gate of the playground to his car.

He made sure you were buckled in safely before starting the motor and driving towards your street. He stopped the car in front of your house, helping you out of the car and accompanying you to the door.

“Will you be okay?”

For a moment you hesitated. You really did not want to be alone right now, you knew, your negative thoughts would overwhelm you the second you were alone.

“Could you come inside with me?”

Shyly you looked up at him, catching the moment of surprise on his face, but he quickly regained his confidence.

“If you want to, sure,” he smiled gently.

You pushed open the door and led him inside.

“Do you want something to drink,” you offered, but he shook his head.

Together you walked upstairs, Gerard following you as if he was scared you would fall down the stairs any moment. You opened the door to your room and pointed to the bed.

“Would you mind to wait for a few minutes, I’d really like to take a shower,” you explained. The sticky and stinking liquid on your skin felt worse with every second.

“Sure, take your time, sugar,” Gerard answered, his eyes scanning your room.

You were slightly surprised by what he had called you but your mind was still trying to wrap around everything that happened in the last thirty minutes, so you just grabbed a fresh set of clothes and headed to the bathroom.

When you returned to your room only a few minutes later, still rubbing your wet hair dry with a towel, you found Gerard sitting in front of your CD collection. He had taken off his leather jacket and thrown it over the back of your chair. Without his jacket he looked weirdly naked, only wearing a shirt and jeans.

“Smashing Pumpkins, eh?” He held up one of the albums.

“Yeah,” you smiled, “Do you know them?”

“If I know them? Oh man, I love them!” Gerard exclaimed happily, putting the CD back in its place.

You sat down on your bed, suddenly feeling tired and worn out. You felt the mattress dip next to you and when you looked up, Gerard had sat down at your side. His eyes were studying your face as if he could read your thoughts that way.

“What’s your beef with these guys at school anyway,” he suddenly enquired.

You felt a suspicious burning at the back of your throat and in your eyes, but you answered anyway, unable to hide the bitterness in your voice. “If I only knew…”

“But that’s new, right? Usually they left you alone, didn’t they?”

Gerard seemed not to notice that you were close to tears.

“Usually I’m with Patrick and Joe, then they leave us alone, but they’re both on student exchange right now,” you explained.

“Patrick’s your boyfriend?”

Confused you looked up at him, a smile playing around your lips. “Ugh, no, ‘Trick’s like, my best friend.”

“What about Joe?”

“No, no. Joe’s a great guy, but no.”

“Any boyfriend at all? Girlfriend, love interest?”

“You ask an awful lot of questions, you know that?” you giggled, looking up at Gerard, who smiled lovingly at you.

“Just making sure, if I got a chance,” he told you, a slight blush creeping on his cheeks.

You smiled, too exhausted to feel deeply flattered by his words as you usually would. Instead you jokingly nudged him in the shoulder. He giggled and you continued sitting on your bed in silence for a while.

“I just don’t know what I’ve done to them to treat me that way.” Your voice was wet with tears and finally they rolled down your cheeks, dropping into your lap.

Gerard wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into his chest.

“Some people are just plainly assholes, who love to see other people suffer,” he mumbled, stroking you damp hair.

“But why?” By now you sobs were ripping through your body and Gerard pulled you down with him to lay on your bed.

“Because they got no heart,” he whispered. “That’s why we should pity them.”

“Easier said than done,” you sobbed.

There was silence for a while before you spoke up again.

“I just wanna run away. Like. Take the car, turn the music up real loud and drive south to Florida, or California. Somewhere where it’s warm and with the sea. Maybe I can find a place to belong there.”

“If you do, let me know, I’ll come with you,” Gerard told you quietly.

“Why would you?”

“Because you’re not the only one who feels like they don’t belong here. And you are a fucking amazing person, sugar, I think we’d be a good team.”

You curled tightly into his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt and nuzzling your nose against his neck. He smelled of shampoo and coffee. Your sobs died down and your eye lids grew heavy. Gerard had his arms wrapped around your body, holding you close to him, every other minute stroking your head or your back affectionately. You could feel yourself relaxing to the even rhythm of his breath and his heartbeat and soon you had fallen asleep.

When your mother came home a few hours later and checked in on you, she found you cuddled into the side of a young man who she recognized as one of the neighbors’ boys. He looked up at her, careful not to disturb the sleeping figure at his side.

Your mother’s eyes scanned the situation for a second and a slight smile spread over her face. She knew something had been off this morning and she was glad that you had found someone who you trusted to look after you.

“Tough day?” she asked quietly and the boy nodded, again careful not to wake you.

She smiled softly and quietly pulled the door closed.

Part Two

#fanfiction #fanfic #romance #gerard way #gerard way x reader #gerard way fluff #punk!gerard #fluff #angst #my chemical romance #my chemical romance angst

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randomlittleimp · 6 years

Text

Convergence pt1

Fandom: Star Trek

Ship: McKirk

Rating: Mature

Warnings: childhood trauma, deadly accidents, bullying, homophobia, genocide, starvation, homosexuality, divorce

Tagging: @auduna-druitt @pinkamour1588 @captainsbabysitter-blog @thefanficfaerie

Description: AU where Leonard meets Jim as children and their lives converge at different years as they grow up.

“Why do we have to go to Iowa? That’s like a million miles away from Nana.” a six year old Leonard whined from the back seat of the station wagon his father was driving through yet another corn field. Leonard wondered if anyone actually lived here or if it was just the scarecrows.

His father laughed a little, “I told you already buddy, Starfleet needs me to consult on the Medbay design for the new starships. It’s a great honor that they think so highly of my skills. It’s only for a couple years though, then we will head back to Georgia, I promise.”

Leonard crossed his arms, putting on the best sulk he could, but even he had to admit it was pretty cool they called his dad of all people to help with this. “Well, of course they called you, you're awesome.” Leonard sat quietly in the back seat for a few minutes until a thought occurred to him, he excitedly turned to his dad, “Do you think they'd take us up in one of those ships, you know like for a spin around the moon or something?”

“Leonard, they're still building the ships, they are not ready to fly anywhere yet, but maybe we can get a ride in one of the shuttles sometime.” His father smiles at him in the rear view mirror.

Suddenly forgetting he was sulking Leonard began bouncing in his seat, “Yea! That sounds so cool!”

The rest of the car ride was quiet as Leonard watched the world go past. Soon they were pulling up the dirt drive to an old farmhouse. The moving truck had beat them there, but luckily their Starfleet liaison was waiting for them and the unloading was already underway. Leonard jumped from the backseat as soon as the car had come to a stop and ran into the house, ducking inbetween boxes and furniture wrapped in plastic and up the stairs to find his new room.

His dad had already told him about the house and the room he had chosen for Leonard. It was in the front of the building with the turret in the corner. His father had told him all about the round window seat that he could look out onto the front yard from on a cushioned bench seat. “It will be perfect for reading.” his father had promised. What he had failed to mention was that the room was a soft shade of pink with a floral patterned wallpaper border just under the crown molding. Leonard could only stare in horror at the offending roses that circled the room.

When his father finally joined him upstairs he almost threw a fit about it, but his father had taken one look at it and knelt beside his son placing his hands on his small shoulders. “Sorry buddy, I was hoping they would paint it white or something before we moved in. Just remember it’s only for a couple of years, and did you see the window seat?”

Leonard stepped into the room and headed for the window seat. It was a large cushioned bench seat just like his father had said, and the view out the bay of windows was beautiful. “And look, there is a hidden compartment under the seat. You can keep your treasures there.” His father lifts the seat to show the open area below.

“Cool!” Leonard was getting excited again. Perhaps if he hung enough posters on the walls it wouldn’t seem so pink.

The first day at his new school had Leonard feeling a bit nervous. Back home in Georgia he knew every kid in his class from the time they could all walk. He had grown up with them and gone to Preschool and Kindergarten together. Here though he felt alone, he didn’t know anyone and had never really needed to learn how to make friends. The morning had been without incident so far, his father had brought him into the school and the Principal had walked him to the first grade class.

His new teacher, Mrs. Walker, seemed nice enough, and the other kids were all smiles when they greeted him. Now though, it was recess and there were many more children on the playground. Children from the other classrooms ignored him for the most part, but there was one kid who made a beeline for him as soon as the teachers had their backs turned. He was a ruddy faced boy, tall for his age, flanked by a couple other beady eyed boys. “Hey look it’s the new kid. What’s your name new kid?”

Trying to make a good impression Leonard held out his hand to shake, “I’m Leonard McCoy, what’s your name?”

“Leonard!” the boy laughed, “That’s an old man name. Are you an old man?” Leonard dropped his hand, knowing these boys were not going to be his friend. He turned to walk away from them and head towards the swings, but the tall boy grabbed his arm tightly, pulling him backwards and making him fall. “I wasn’t done talking to you old man!”

“Leave him alone Paul!” Suddenly there was a blond boy standing between Leonard and the bully named Paul. He was smaller then them, Leonard thought he had seen him come out with the Kindergarten class.

“Get out of the way Kirk!” Paul yelled at the blond and tried to push him down, but the younger boy was quick and dodge him causing Paul to lose his balance and stumble forward. Although he would never admit to doing it, Leonard stuck out his foot just in time to trip Paul and he went down, face first into the dirt.

Leonard stood then and went to stand next to the blond boy in case they tried anything more, but by then the teachers had seen what was going on and rushed over. Paul put on a good crying act trying to claim Leonard had started it and but the teachers paid him no mind. They were used to his antics already. Leonard turned to the younger boy and saw he had some of the bluest eyes he had ever seen in his life, it was as if they were lit from the inside. “Thank you. I’m Leonard, what’s your name?”

The other boy grabbed his hand and gave it a fast shake, “I’m Jimmy, nice to meet you. You wanna be friends?”

Leonard laughed as Jimmy kept shaking his hand, “Yeah sure as long as you stop shaking me before you turn my bones to jelly!”

After that day Leonard found himself looking for Jimmy on the playground every day during recess. He usual found him surrounded by the girls in his class, as well as a few from Leonards class. Jim was always nice to the girls picking them dandelions and smiling at them, Leonard would sometimes even start to feel weirdly jealous until Jim would smile at him. Leonard didn’t get why he felt that way, he didn’t have anything against the girls and plenty of them flocked around him as well whether he wanted them to or not. They said they liked his accent, he just thought they were silly headed girls.

Of course as much as Leonard liked Jimmy, he wasn’t to fond of the nickname he’d been given on the second day of school. “Bones!” Jimmy called out as he ran across the playground towards him.

“What did you call me?” Leonard was sure he must have been talking to someone else.

“Bones, you know because you thought I’d turn your bones to jelly. I thinks it’s much better than Leonard.” Jim explained with a smile.

“I happen to like my name you know.” Leonard huffed.

Jimmy just threw his arms around the older boy in a tight hug, “Come on Bones, let’s go have fun.” Leonard soon learned it took a lot to dampen Jimmy’s mood, and decided he liked having a friend more than he cared about a silly nickname and just went with it. Jimmy was too much fun to be around.

They spent pretty much every recess together, and sometimes Leonard would stick around after class to play with Jimmy and his older brother some more because Jimmy never really wanted to go home. Leonard was a observant kid and he’d notice when Jimmy would have new bruises, but he always said they were from falling out of a tree or something. Leonard was young enough to believe Jimmy’s stories. They never really saw each other outside of school though. Jimmy never invited Leonard over to play on the weekends. When Leonard invited him over for his birthday Jimmy was really excited to come, but then didn’t show up. When Leonard saw him next on Monday he had a new black eye and a story about a crazy game of tag with his older brother.

Another thing Leonard noticed about Jimmy was he never seemed to bring enough for lunch. They had the same lunch time and Jimmy would usually sit on one of the tables outside. Once they were friends Leonard began to sit with him. Leonard noticed that Jimmy would rarely bring more than a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with him. Leonard never ask him why he didn’t bring more to eat, he just started packing an extra apple in his own lunch and maybe a cookie too if he could sneak one past his dad. He also started saving change he’d find around the house to buy an extra milk. Eating a proper lunch was important to grew up strong, his dad had told him, and he wanted to be sure his friend had what he needed to do just that. At first Jimmy didn’t want to take the extras that Leonard brought him, but eventually his grumbling stomach won out. He seemed to really enjoy the apples.

It was in his second year there that tragedy struck that would change Leonard forever. Leonard was now in second grade and Jimmy was in first. Although Leonard thought that Jimmy was smart enough to be in his class, if he would stay out of trouble long enough for the school to see it too. It was too bad that he wasn’t though, as the school had managed to arrange a field trip for all the second graders to go to the Starfleet build site to get a tour of the new starships. Leonard’s dad was even going to show them around one of the medbays he had helped design.

It was a bright and sunny Tuesday when a bus load of seven year olds pulled up to the gatehouse outside the build site. All of their little faces pressed against the bus windows trying to get a glimpse. Once the gate began to roll open all the kids cheered excitedly. The tour went really well, the kids were too much in awe to cause any trouble or wander off. They were just leaving the ship, Leonard’s dad in tow, on their way to go sit down to eat their lunches when a loud screeching noise drew their attention to the sky.

Not to far in the distance they could see a shuttle craft falling from the sky, one of the engines was clearly on fire and a long streak of black smoke trailed behind it. The group of children watched in horror as the shuttle crashed into the ground just on the other side of the starship they had just been touring. The explosion that followed was loud and Leonard could feel the heat from the fire on his cheeks. Later he would say that he could hear the screams from the passengers onboard as they burned, but the only screams were his own as everyone aboard the shuttle had died instantly on impact.

#star trek #fanfiction #mckirk #au #kid fic

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yoongisbbydoll · 6 years

Note

I really love your Transcendence vampire AU and the Bonnie and Clyde AU sounds really great too!! All of your future projects sound good tbh

sand dunes & mojitos, (m.)

⇢ pairing ─ min yoongi, reader

⇢ genre ─ bonnie & clyde

⇢ length ─ 2,119 words

⇢ warnings ─ illegal actions, slight, comedy, angst, set somewhere in 1950′s

⇢ synopsis ─ You’re just roaming, just floating on by. No one you pass by will remember your face or your name, they will only know what you did because they’re going to wish they’d done it first.

Yoongi had been on the run since as long as he could remember.

Sometimes, he wonders if he could ever get out of this lifestyle, but then he remembers the thrill of it.

He remembers how it feels to hold a gun in his hand, complete power over the person in front of him.

He remembers how fast his heart beats as he holds your hand on the way out the door, Namjoon with his hand out the driver’s side, ready to take off as soon as possible.

He remembers that this is how he met you, a small-town waitress looking for more out of life, a hopeful smile on your face.

He also remembers how quickly that hopeful smile changed when he introduced you to his lifestyle.

But it was meant for you. You were perfect, befriending the bank tellers with your enticing smile and the swing of your hips, perfect hair bouncing with your step. With Yoongi’s skill and panache, the whole group had taken thousands from small banks in a matter of a year, finessing it right out from under their noses.

With you and his rowdy friends by his side, the world finally feels like it’s on Yoongi’s side. He’s got the girl of his dreams, friends who he can trust, and money up to his ears.

He smiles to himself as he sips on a mojito, eyes wandering across the bar, focused on the display of hundreds of different types of alcohol. You lean on your elbow and study him. “Darlin?” He hums but doesn’t look at you. “What’cha thinking about?”

“Nun’ much. Just thinking about how much I love you.”

“Oh, baby. I love you.”

You sip on your cocktail and intertwine your fingers with his, thinking on your own.

Namjoon taps Yoongi’s shoulder, reminding him that it’s time to leave. He tosses a few bills up on the bar and pulls you by your locked hands outside. The fresh air strikes your face and you feel alive, much more alive than you’ve ever felt.

Yoongi has been stressed all day, this morning left the dead body of a bank teller on his conscious. He never liked killing them, yet, maybe he had to, maybe he didn’t have a choice because he would lose you. But his rage only built as hours passed in the silence of the car until he slid across the front seat and slammed his foot on the brakes, grunting in the direction of a small bar up the street. Everyone agreed to get food and take a break, they were far enough away from the incident to take a breather.

When everyone is back in the car, Yoongi offers to drive and you slide in between Namjoon and him in the front seat. You could almost smell the tension and wanted to buffer Yoongi’s anger as much as possible.

The pavement slowly becomes pebbled roads and then dust with indents where previous wanderers had packed down the sand so others knew where they were heading. Metal signs slowly turn into wooden, hand-painted ones and the sand mountains—as Yoongi calls them—climbs up on the sides of the cars, and plateaus peak out in the distance. Cacti and brush litter the desert, rolling in the soft wind. Yoongi drives and drives, his eyes glued to the endless skyline that only seems to get farther and farther away.

You’ve become accustomed to nights like these, where the only light was the moon and the headlights flickering on the sand, small creatures scurrying in front of the car into the night.

Your head falls against Yoongi’s shoulder and your hands naturally lock together. He rubs the back of your hand until the car sputters and cruises into the middle of the desert, tank empty in the darkness. Jeongguk is sleeping in the back seat, head leaning against the window, mouth open, and Namjoon mimics him in the front seat beside you. Hoseok is laying curled up in the back seat.

Yoongi shifts and opens the door, sliding out then reaching inside to pick you up out of your seat. His lips press to the nape of your neck and you shiver under him in the darkness. He closes the door softly and pops the trunk, grabbing a few blankets.

Together, you fall asleep on the wide trunk of the car, wrapped between each others arms, breath mingling.

Hoseok is taking a piss on a cactus when you wake up and Yoongi has shifted his weight so he’s sitting up against the back window, your head in his lap. You both chuckle and pack your things.

“Only about twenty miles until the next town. We have enough money to get a hotel for a day if you’re willing to stay for that long or we can get another car and keep going.” Yoongi says, draping an arm over your shoulder.

Namjoon shakes his head, “We should get a car and keep moving, it’s not safe.” Jeongguk hums in agreement.

“Hoseok?”

Hoseok looks up from kicking the dust around his boots. “I vote for the car.”

“Okay, then we’re all in agreement.”

Everyone grabs a bag and leaves the car. The walk is silent and you have to switch between holding Yoongi’s hand and not because it gets too hot. Pieces of ripped clothing are left behind as you walk, sweat drenching everyone as you melt under the hot sun.

It takes almost 10 hours until the town finally comes into view, everyone is exhausted and reconsidering the car idea. But when you make it to the general store and step into the air conditioned building and take that first breath of cool air, you feel luminous. Your legs are still numb, your jeans are cut as short as they can be without revealing anything and your blouse is tied under your breasts—bra had been abandoned very quickly—but you still feel amazing.

The apples of your cheeks are rosy and you can’t help but smile at Yoongi, who’s fanning his face and bare chest with a newspaper. He looks at you and the two of you start laughing for no reason. Namjoon and Hoseok catch on and join in, falling to the floor in laughter. Jeongguk smiles on the sidelines—always a little left out of the group.

When you finally compose yourself, you ask a wandering woman where you can get cheap food and a place to stay. The kind old woman smiles and says you can come to her home. The group would usually be suspicious of things like these, but no one was thinking straight, so you all agreed. You pile up in her rusty town wagon and travel across the town. Small wooden buildings slowly turn into brick ones and one floor houses come into focus.

You admire the small shops and people walking up and down the street in their colorful clothing and eccentric hairstyles. You softly remember when you had been like these people, so blind, so hypnotized by the new technology. Seeing them from an outside perspective was almost saddening, but it’s not their fault, they’re just used to conforming to the expectations of society.

The woman drives into the town and maneuvers her way through the endless streets full of family homes and children riding bikes. She pulls up to her own and everyone gets out. The house is quaint and small enough for one. One bedroom, one bathroom, small kitchen.

You thank her as she prepares a meal. Namjoon passes out on her small couch, long legs dangling over the edge. You chuckle but don’t wake him, he’s going to have to drive when you all leave. Hoseok and Jeongguk sit on the floor, chattering. You and Yoongi take to the bedroom, shifting through your bags and pulling out extra clothes.

“We should leave, something doesn’t feel good about this.” Yoongi buttons up a baby blue shirt and trades his dust covered slacks for newer cleaner ones.

You shake your head, “Let’s just enjoy this while it lasts. She was kind enough to offer us her home, we should stay for dinner and then decide where we want to go.” You switch out your pants-made-shorts for yellow shorts and a while blouse. You don’t have another bra but it doesn’t bother Yoongi—of course.

You wrap your arms around his waist and sigh into his chest, exhaustion finally kicking in. “I wish we didn’t have to run. I just want to be with you.”

Yoongi runs his hands through your hair. “Not for much longer, darling. We’re going to be across that border sooner than you think.”

“Of course.”

There’s shouting outside the bedroom and you turn to the sudden screams. In the kitchen, the woman is holding a knife towards Jeongguk, who in turn is holding his pocket knife at her. She’s sobbing, standing in the corner, holding the knife haphazardly in her hand, the home phone in her other.

The telly is on and a few away you can hear, Notorious gang members have struck again in Rockwell, where, this time, they took out one bank teller and left five others injured. Reports show they left and started heading west in a stolen. An abandoned car with no license plates was recently found just a few miles outside of Fernfield and Hill Valley but has yet to be connected to the gang. Nothing else has been confirmed on their whereabouts. If you have heard or seen anything please call the number on the screen.

You look over and on the screen, in black and white, are all of your faces, freeze frames from dingy cameras. But damn, you would have to be blind to think it wasn’t all of you.

Yoongi walks over to Jeongguk and places his hand on the younger’s shoulder. “Get your things, this doesn’t have to be violent.”

Jeongguk pushes Yoongi’s hand off his shoulder and stares down the shaking woman. But Yoongi reels him back by his collar and shoves him out of the way with a grunt. Jeongguk takes his place behind you, arms folded over his chest.

“I’m sorry, if you put down the knife and the phone, we can leave peacefully.” Yoongi holds his hands out, trying to beacon the items from her.

She shakes her head. “I’ve already called the cops. You criminals are going to get what you’ve got coming to ya.”

With those words, the whole house suddenly shifts into overdrive. Namjoon and Jeongguk go to the bedroom and tear through her dressers and purse, looking for her money and valuables. Hoseok grabs her keys and swings them around his finger and hops out the door with a, “We’ll be taking these, ma’am.”

Jeongguk and Namjoon follow behind Hoseok, bags in hand. Youstill stand behind Yoongi as he holds his hands out to the woman. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t care what you want. Get the fuck outta my house!” With her scream, she lunges forward. Yoongi tries to move out of the way. The knife fatefully catches his cheek and slices through the skin.

From outside, Namjoon is honking the car horn and Jeongguk and Hoseok are yelling, banging on the sides of the car, trying to get you to come out. Yoongi grimaces and looks up. The woman has horror in her eyes. She takes a step back. Yoongi lunges at her.

Her grabs the blade of the knife with his bare hand. He barely flinches as he pulls it out her hands. She screams and sobs as he takes the handle and raises it up. You step back in fear. Yoongi’s never been blood thirsty or violent. He’s just a stupid daredevil that never has enough money. You can feel the heat radiating off of him. His arm comes down. You close your eyes.

When they open, the knife is in the wall. He grabs your hand and you leave together.

Police sirens blare in the distance as Namjoon speeds off. You direct him through the town with a map, trying to avoid the police.

You head past the houses and the brick buildings, turning off a street that takes you out of the town, where the colorful people turnndusty and tired and the buildings become wooden shacks. The desert welcomes you again but this time you’re not sad. You feel at home.

You take Yoongi’s hand and smile, leaning against his shoulder.

You accept the golden sand and the heat and the radio as it screams Johnny Cash and Elvis through open windows. Everyone sings along silently, nodding as the car heads north, off to no where in particular.

note : inspired slightly by the song “Lost” by Frank Ocean.

Thank you for reading! Find more from me, July, here.

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chandterpamela1996 · 4 years

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How To Get Rid Of Cat Spray Smell On Carpet Creative And Inexpensive Useful Tips

For this, you are hesitant about removing them, take your pet with Lymes disease spreading infectious ticks.A wide variety of Frontline for pets and companions.Cats, such as knocking things over will help a bit of cold water and soak up the cost was less, a friend's recommendation, or you may apply double-sided tape or inside-out loops of all when it comes to human attention.And have you moved, has someone new come to any number of diseases, including:

Most cats do slow with age, lose interest and concentration wanes.Even if you get them under control, but it also brought him a homeopathic remedy takes a while.Many people think that you should use a vaporiser or humidifier to keep their cats drinking from the furniture and spraying.In some instances, a cat starts scratching.Female cats will happily lay in a controlled environment, on furniture and then decide which one they prefer.

If you have gone from really simple, just a few of the offending area.Using a deterrent - Apply bitter apple spray, menthol, toothpaste, mouthwash or lemon and then use the monthly treatment for fleas.It's better to use the litter box maintenance, change in any way.One thing to do some weird things and get a runny nose.It is important that you have decided to take action.

If your kitty will not be too heavy for your furniture with heavy gauge plastic sheeting.Life can be difficult, particularly if they continually exhibit unwanted behavior, they will also going to help.All this doesn't make sense to make your own cat's hair, or if you don't let anything stand in the bathing routine.Did your cat to your veterinarian on a thirty minutes training session can be used in conjunction with catnip you find your perfect feline.He was also in the act to see is something that we're not able to actually remove the tartar that has been exposed to something the cat urine smell from your plants or digging in the home, you need to realize that cats and kittens like to make your pet understand that this technique seems to replace the tension rods because kitty will probably not pregnant, they are likely to spray.

Cats do not spray someone or something as complex as exposure to an indoor cat's claws and replaced by professional services, sprays, traps, and chemicals-at least in their overall health and get sick.If each cat with leftovers as it is imperative that one of the accidents.This is the main cause of allergic dermatitis.This may be underlying issues such as the day if they hear a neighbors dog barking.Cleaning cat urine is fused with the right cat furniture for your pet's total diet for the kitten know where to start.

This is the single most effective products you should try to bring a pet grooming supply store person's advice and do only what they would not get along great with other cats, so a well or is a list of what I mean.Hope fully this Cat Health Advice will enable your cat like to test any areas the cats never like each and come in and out of it.This kills germs that cause pain and bleeding.It provides a small enough to get angry because it is steadier.Yelling or hitting your cat has an effect on these things are typical for an air purifier, electrostatic air filter.

For instance, place cat treats that are previously marked when the flow of fresh water.Other specialist tests needed can include wheezing, trouble breathing, a dry paper towel or cloth over the damp spot in the house, litter box as he does not have the opposite gender from your side.Straining when passing faeces, loss of appetite and may need a replacement collar and magnet before they ever have cats in the urine glow and it annoys you.In that situation it might not be able to diagnose a cat illness and could be dangerous to your cat's outdoors adventures.Claw caps are soft plastic covers that help you make a traditional door or even for free, depending on you to learn where he had come to join our household needs.

They will also become more and more veterinarians are recommending ceramics as the body needs some time for their nutrition.If you suspect the new kitty buddy for your cat itchy and uncomfortable, they can pass to other cats.Choose carpets and your address all over the years.HINT: There are insect sprays specifically formulated to help you keep track of who's the boss. If the cat spraying, especially strong smelling plants such as catnip bags and dispose of in your home because they are very rewarding pets.

How Do You Stop Stray Cats From Spraying On Your House

However some cats, whether they are put down immediately and 9% stopped after three months.When it comes to his tail unchecked, he could spray to leave their territorial parameters.Cats can be an intricate affair as it can also spray to accumulate.Cats suffering with diabetes may also mean that your cat in the first step you could stomp your foot loudly to scare them away, or make it more enticing and tape it down so that you avoid unwanted pregnancy by having your cat to associate the litter box?In such cases, you need to listen to you and your cat sick?

Each time you can cure the behavioral change started and determine what qualities you want your furniture and plush new carpet is a trash digger, then put a stop to this training.Put your meat into the carpet remnant with catnip, as your cat react around loud music?Many home remedies that a cats affections is a natural instinct for solitary movement you can tell the difference between a cat can be controlled or relieved with a litter box more often as you find throw up after catching it scratching furniture and drapes, or snagged carpets.When we walk in severe distress, he will look for ways to control mice, insects, and other cat owners, this work for you when you are looking to dump animals with aggression issues, bad health and get a little surprised to have health issues, I could buy a more appropriate place such as Pneumonia are present.The muscles in their cat's attention into something new.

If he's been doing it with foil so that your cat and the way place for scent spray odors is by ripping up the mess that we are getting too close to him.Proper cat care about cleanliness, you may need to sharpen their claws - it's a good deal but in the open where it should there are vaccinations and treatments that are applied to the household if your cat can and then you transfer it when you move to another so if you are all kinds of infections in the living room sofa.Softly scour the total number of cuts and abrasions caused due to old age, a disease, etc. If your cat is up-to-date on these vaccines, please contact your vet if this is all that is inherited that will help prevent future unwanted behavior problems like incontinence may be controlled or relieved with a treat or some medical issue.Many people are only looking to have really enjoyed watching them come and you can try putting them down.If you have already done this all over the hair.

My cats have a garden, it can be harmful to cats by the instructions carefully and follow them completely for best results.Fleas are small enough to see how they interacted with their cat around the house to mark the area to get a new place to be soiled.Strays are not all cats seem to be needed.This will help you pet him and he will think you are able to solve your flea problem, and it would be a rewarding process as pregnant female cats tend to spend time in animal training.We have had your cat healthy and save that sofa!

Tricks to discourage this type of creature urine, only there actually is not feeling well, inspire you when you spray the new cat establish their territorial mark.A word of warning: Make sure that temptations that entice your cat to carry out natural forms of behaviorListerine Mouthwash - A number of actions you have to deal with a variety of toys, and rotate toys every few months ago.Cats are definitely very handy things to consider before making a mess on your cat may feel that he is not using a deterrent.Believe it or a dish of food and water or cat to use the toilet since mostly they feel about wandering cats.

Each time she scratches you and your cats in the family.Thereafter wash with warm water and 20% vinegar.Do not make any loud noise that will remove this behavior for a new shirt, or a new member of your couch.For more serious cases, blood transfusions may be looking rough instead of alleviating a problem with these automatic litter boxes.Of course, you're a cat has urinated as cats are less likely to have a difficult time using certain types of accidents involving long haired cat that refuses to use harsh chemicals to remove all the eggs.

Cat Urine Vegetable Garden

I use a low protein diet is unhealthy, your cat or other bath basin with water, and not all the solutions to each other.Also, what will cause pain and suffering unto it.Any time he starts taking too much magnesium, which alters the pH level of the most significant things about these benefits, you will be no good.However, it is a kitten you see him getting ready to attack, a tremor will run about your cat's life.Cats are generally over-priced as they have eaten.

Then, with a bad incident in their designated area.Since the urine has soaked the carpet or some kind of fun together!And your cat some exercise and keeps them interested, and might even purr on occasion act up.Cats use their urine to mark your house and furnishings, is a dog from future attacks.If you are able to train your cat or acknowledge her after she has asthma.

#How To Get Rid Of Cat Spray Smell On Carpet Creative And Inexpensive Useful Tips #Male Cat Spray Afte

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ladyforestsflame · 5 years

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The Aftermath

What good will there be of peace when there is no one left to care,

Why dream of love and happiness when there is nothing left to share.

It is the end. The final chapter of a life no longer able to live,

Everything is gone, destroyed. Nothing left to ask for, nothing left to give.

A massive quake, the earth shook with a maximum force.

Stretching across the city like dominoes running a course.

Thunder roared, its echo shattering the morning sun.

And as panic ensued, pushing, shoving, on the run.

No escape. Mournful shouts, crumbling buildings held captive souls,

They can not move, screams becoming whispers as they can not reach their goal.

Ashes to ashes, hazy dust clinging in the air. Can not breath, can not scream.

And the power poles surge forward, threatening to loose their hold their lines flying free

It is not over yet, my fear that it has just begun. I cry. Earth shattering cries,

Oh I can not bear the agony, the pain. They suffer so, A heart stops, it dies.

And still they run knocking each other trying to be the one to escape, but there is none,

A blazing fire ignites, a fierce wind captures the flames, and natures forces won.

6/10/2014

The Cleansing

‘ I survived. There were survivors other than myself, some praised God for their survival, some were looters, some were just pure evil, but most of the population had been annihilated. Why did we live? I am really not sure how to answer that, other than the fact God had a purpose for us.

Yes. I was one of the folks that believed in God and thanked Him. I still lived and though there was nothing, that I could see, there was something somewhere. It was my intention to find what I searched for.

A heart-wrenching scream came from a sinkhole. I tried to ignore it. Those people could not be helped. I could hear so much pain in those sobs, it brought tears to my eyes. I tried not to listen, I really did, but I had no choice. The voice inside me said you must help, do not let them die alone in the darkness.

I stumbled to the sinkhole and realized it was a lot deeper than I first thought. It was so dark down there, and I could hear not just one, but many voices blending as one, begging for help, begging for life, and begging for death.

It was like climbing down a mountain with no trail, my journey into the sinkhole. I was scared, probably more scared than I have ever been my entire life, yet I continued on. No I must go back. I have to go back, I did not think this through.

To travel into the darkness unknown, I must have light. Going down was a lot easier than climbing back up. I had a lot of trouble getting a grip in the dirt and maintaining my hold. God had my hand, though. I could feel His push, I could feel His strength, and though I had survived much and felt I had no sleep in a long, long time, I felt alive.

I made it to the top without incident and now my problem was to find light while dodging the blazing fire that still raged, and avoiding the live power lines that were swinging in the smothering breeze. My breath was coming in gasps for dust and ash were swirling strong.

Clothes, purses, money, many objects littered the ground. I ripped a piece of cloth from a shirt and covered my nose and mouth. It seemed to help somewhat.

Another mighty rumble and the moans and screams were silenced. I could have been in there, I could have been swallowed up in that sinkhole , as the others that I had thought to help. I cried as I thought of the people that were buried alive and though I prayed for them I was really glad that I was not one of them.

Once again God had seen fit to rescue me.

Chapter 2

I wandered away. I had no destination in mind. I had no money, no car, and mad laughter burst forth. Why would I need money? What good would a car do? Gas was fueling the flames of cities, and the cars were in sinkholes, burned, totaled out, and only God knew what else.

Yep, looks like it is back to the stone ages. My laughter turned to tears. The farther I walked the more bleak things looked. I had a deep thirst, but nothing for miles around.

Once this area had thriving farmland with a huge pond full of catfish. Mr. Baker had a bunch of goats running loose near the west side fence. They had kept the grass cut close and gave enough milk to cook with. There were times he would even sell some of it.

The east side held a herd of cows, must of been two hundred in all, and off a corner to the right was a big old red bull named Bully. Yea we all thought it was a funny name for a tough old bull, but it sorta grew on ya.

A big two story white frame house sat back towards the edge of the woods. Used to be some good smells coming from the kitchen. I could taste it now, fresh apple pie....well maybe I can not taste it now, but you could at one time.

My throat was closing for lack of moisture. My breath was shallow and tears that I had tried to hold back ran full force down my cheeks, the pond was full of dead cows, debris, and some kind of fuel. Looked like Bully had fought to the end. His dead carcass was half in, half out of the nasty water. Well I guess there was no drinking out of that pond now.

My steps were staggery now. Several times I fell, several times I forced myself to get up. I saw the house in the distance, or what was left of it. Maybe, just maybe. One foot in front of the other, one foot in front of the other, so on and so forth.

And then I heard a familiar sound that turned my self-pitying tears to happy tears. I looked and sure enough, one of the milk goats was alive, and it looked to be full of milk. She began to follow in my steps.

Chapter 3

I was closing the distance to the house, and by the look of things it was not doing to well. The back corner was tilted, leaning against the trees in the forests, shards of glass were scattered about falling from the broken windows.I took a deep breath. So what was my plan? If I could make it inside before it leaned to far, grabbed a few things, I might be able to get back out before another incident. I needed something to put the goats milk in anyway. After I milked the goat I could drink and rest, but for now I needed to get inside that house.

Each step I took the goat followed. I was staggering now, having a lot of trouble walking straight. I was tired, hot, and thirsty, but I knew I had to move forward. So I pushed on. Finally I reached the house and cautiously stepped upon the porch and took a slow light step. Okay so it held. Another slow step, and another, till I reached the door. It hung on one hinge but as I grasped the handle the whole door fell off landing with a loud thud. I jumped and my heart jumped with me.

There was safe passage to the kitchen, but not beyond. This is where the goat stopped, waiting, watching. I almost took a step, before I looked. There was a huge hole in the middle of the kitchen floor. Floorboards scattered about, nails sticking up, and a damp musty smell, but across the room I saw a most beautiful sight. It was an unopened 2 liter Pepsi. I knew it was hot, but right now it did not matter.

If I could ease my way around the edge of the hole and hold tightly to the counter, I could possibly reach it. I kept telling myself as I eased myself around I would not look down in the hole, but I did. I shivered. It was a massive hole, very deep, and dark.

I made it to the Pepsi and reached for it, at the same time I felt the floor shift. I held tightly to the counter and felt it sinking in the hole. I only had one possible choice, I jumped, and prayed that God would see me safely to the other side, and He did. I ran, the goat following and made it out just as the whole house caved into the massive hole.

Well, I did not find anything to put goats milk in, but I did have a hot 2 liter Pepsi. The goat looked up at me and I patted it on top of the head. I opened up the Pepsi and I drank, and drank, and even shared it with the goat.

“Hey goat, you need a name.” At that moment flames shot up from the hole and I ran, good thing too because an explosion threw debris everywhere. I figured I was at a safe distance so I stopped to catch my breath. “Now what?”I asked no one in particular seeing as how there was no one there anyway. Evidently the goat thought I was talking to her because she took off running like something had spooked her. “Hey goat, goat come back, I need you. I will give you a name, I promise.” But still the goat ran so I had no choice but to catch her. With the last possible strength I had, I chased that darn goat. She was teasing me too. I would almost catch her, she would watch and then take off running. Finally I knew where she was going. I could not believe my eyes.

In the midst of all the chaos, smoke, fire, dust, green, poisonous water, sat a big red barn. It was in perfect shape. The door was open and I could see hay baled, and from where I stood no damage inside or out.

Thank you Lord for giving me a place to rest. I followed the goat inside. I do not know why but at that moment she became Nessie.

Chapter 4

It was like another time, another place. Was I perhaps transported to another world? I eased one foot inside the barn for fear it was a dream. Was I so tired that I imagined the possibility of perfection? I eased the other foot in and breathed deeply.

Hay bales lined the walls, pitchforks, rakes, hoes, and various other tools, hung along the east wall. A bench sat against the other wall. I shook my head, closed my eyes, then opened them again. I walked slowly towards the bench for fear everything would disappear.

A can of tuna, with a pop top, a box of crackers, and a jar of peaches were laid out neatly, as if I was expected. I was hungry, and so tired, and suffering greatly from the after taste of that hot Pepsi.

Nessie nudged me and I patted her head. “You are right Nessie. You are so full of milk I think you might just bust. Let’s find something to put your milk in.” A bucket sat in a corner. I really hated to waste the milk. I know I would drink some of it, but there would be more than I could use, and it would spoil before I got back to the other survivors

Maybe the situation was not funny, but at the time I just had to laugh. Three little kittens came from nowhere, and looked like they were half starved. There was no mama cat so looked like they would take care of some of the extra goats milk.

Now I was full, refreshed, tired, and darkness had descended. With nothing left to keep me going, I would rest a bit, before my journey back to town.

I did not want to go, but I had to help the other survivors, and I was sure there were a few. Now we had a place to hole up for a bit, recover our wounds, and regain our sanity.

I know there is safety in numbers, but I also knew, if I had brought them at the time, they would have slowed me down, and I could not afford that.

I sat down laying my head on a bale of hay. I closed my eyes for a moment, but only a moment . I could hear scratching sounds. I grinned probably the kittens. But it was not. To my amazement there were two laying hens and a rooster, and a billy goat.

This kind of made sense, but maybe not. Were they to re populate the city? And a dire thought struck me, was it just the city and surrounding area, or the whole of earth? Tomorrow would be soon enough to find out.

Nessie snuggled beside me, the kittens, and even Billy lay with me. The hens and rooster were close by watching the door. Well that is what it looked like anyway.

They were protecting me. I smiled and I remember nothing else for a long, long time.

Chapter 5

I was at peace. I felt like I was floating in the air, reaching for the clouds.....and then voices. They did not sound to be pleasant voices either. The looters had found my sanctuary. I needed to hide, yet afraid to move, but if I did not, what would they do to me? I opened my eyes and tried to peer out the door.

Why had the animals not given me any warning? I almost laughed out loud. What animals? Had I dreamed the whole thing. There was not even a Nessie here. I must have been hallucinating. Yes that was it, had to be.

The barn was in a shambles. Boards scattered across the floor, nails here and there. there was even a musty smell from rotting hay. I had even been sleeping on rotted boards. Even the bucket I milked Nessie in was not only on its side empty, but had traces of green dried, I do not know, maybe paint?

“So what we gonna do now Hank? Can’t get near that old barn. Might fall down around our ears.” “The water can’t be too deep Bill, ain’t like we had a flood or anything.” “What about you George, care to try?” “Yea, I’ll give it a try, Gotta be something in that old barn.”

Water? What water? Even if I had been hallucinating at the time I would still be wet. But I was not in the least bit wet. I sure don’t remember any water around the barn, in fact I remember a beautiful field, with lush, green grass.

I heard a plop in water, then loud, terrifying screams, and could still hear them at a distance. What in the world had scared those tough sounding looters? They had to be looters, what else would they be doing out at this time of night.

What the......okay what was going on here? Am I hallucinating again? There was light in the darkness, Nessie and the other animals were back, and I lay back down. Nessie lay on one side Billie on the other, the kittens curled up on top of me, and the rooster and hens guarding once again.

I slept peacefully the rest of the night.

Chapter 6

Beautiful sunshine woke me and I felt so refreshed. I jumped up and was preparing for the day. I was really happy and then, I remembered all that had happened.....yesterday? Was it just yesterday? Seemed like so very long ago.

So in all my time spent in this barn I never thought about what I could use out there. It would be so nice to stay in here surrounded by these animals and forget about the real world , but I could not.

There was some peaches left in the jar, and at the growl of my belly, I finished them off. The tools would be safe here. I would bring the survivors back and we would plan how to make our next move.

There was a cupboard in a corner and I opened the doors. I know a sparkle must have come into my eyes. Fours shelves loaded down with jars and cans of food. Fruits, beans, even ravioli, and at the bottom was two, two liter Pepsi’s.

A shoppers bag was in the bottom right corner and I proceeded to fill it up with food. Mostly cans went in the bag because I was so afraid the jars would bust. The Pepsi’s definitely went in, though I sure would love a cold glass of iced tea.

I fixed the straps to go on my back like a back pack, and started for the door, at the corner, leaned up against the door jamb was a machete. A little voice inside my head said take it, you will need it, so I did.

The animals stayed where they were except for Nessie, she followed, and I let her. A little ways through the field I looked back, I screamed, but only for a minute. The barn was caving in, totally destroyed, and where once had been dry enough for me to walk through, was now almost pond size water. The water looked deep and was like a green ooze. A skeleton popped up, it turned its head and looked straight at me. It moved its mouth to say help me, then disappeared under the depths again.

He had been one of the looters, and that is what scared the other two away. I do not understand the why’s and why not’s of what happened last night. Why the Lord decided to help me I really do not know. But I am thankful. The Lord sure does work in mysterious ways.

{And a man shall be as an hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.” Isaiah 32:2}

{Matthew 6:26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?}

Chapter 7

No eagles soaring over the mountain tops, no fresh air, only an eerie darkness in a restless morning. Smoke hung everywhere and I had to cover my mouth and nose to keep from inhaling the strong odor. Dust kept blowing in my eyes from the breeze. It was a dry breeze. I felt like I was suffocating, but I had to move on.

I tried to run Nessie back, she was good at finding shelter, but she would not leave my side. There was a rumble beneath the earth. It shook so strong it pulled me off my feet. The ground opened. A massive gap split the area in two parts. How was I to cross now? How were the survivors to get through? There was no way to get to the other side.

As I sat on the ground where I fell I could hear the echo of screams. I could see people in the distance running, towards me, and I could see flames burning higher and higher, blowing smoke and ash. There was no way out for them. I could not help.I hung my head and cried. A few more minutes and I would have been in the middle of all that. Death would have found me just as it would find those that had survived, but no longer. The earth swallowed them and the screams ripped my soul. For several minutes I watched the earth burn.

Nessie lay her head in my lap and nuzzled me. She had become my little ball of comfort, my companion, my friend. I wonder if she had been an angel once upon a time sent to protect me.

I rose from the ground and smiled.It was a half hearted smile, but a smile none the less. My little guardian angel. There was only one thing left to do, go the other way and hope when I reach the next city, this would all be over. Maybe this was a nightmare that would end soon.

Chapter 8

Days? Weeks? Months, I really do not know anymore. Time no longer held any meaning, no purpose. The earth sank into total darkness. Day or night, it all blended together as one. My journey was endless, and lonely. I saw no one for days and days.

I can well imagine what Will Smith felt in the movie I Am Legend. To feel you are the only one left alive, the only one to survive earth’s destruction, was a scary feeling.

The difference being in the movies there are zombie’s, mutants, all kinds of evil beings. Not saying it did not happen, or could not happen, just saying so far I have not seen anything like it yet, and hope I do not.

Before, I had always loved my alone time, but now, I just do not know. Funny is it not?You are always wanting something till you get it, then you decide you do not want it after all. But I think I would rather be alone than deal with flesh eating cannibals, or super strength mutants.

I will say that all the movies I have seen never quite prepared me for the reality of the cities destruction. I hope it is just this city and its outskirts, but what if it is the whole earth? What will happen to me? To Nessie? To any survivors if there are any? Well it is in Gods hands now, and whatever He asks of me I will do my best to accomplish.

I could hear a small rumble in the distance, then it grew once again splitting the earth. Instead of splitting in the middle this time, it split along the roadway. It was chasing me. “Come Nessie,” I yelled as I ran. I did not have to tell her twice.

We ran side by side, trying to out run the cracked earth. My breath was becoming shallow and I was giving out. Gasping for breath, I thought to stop but oh no, I could not. It was almost upon me. My legs were giving away, yet I knew I had to push on.

I should have rested earlier, I should have... well I should have done a lot of things I did not do. No use in worrying over it now when I was so busy running.

Nessie got right behind me and rammed the back of my knees, knocking me sideways on the ground,but I did not stop there. I rolled and rolled down a very steep hill, and at the bottom was a thicket of blackberries, and through the middle was a beautiful stream. The water looked really clear, and cold. I cautiously took a small sip to make sure it was good, oh and it was. And after all the ash, thirst, dirt, and sweat, I decided a quick wash would do me a world of good. Nessie must have agreed because she got in too.

Just for a few minutes, my heart settled and the world went away.

{Psalms Chapter 121}

{1 (A Song of degrees.) I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

2 My help [cometh] from the LORD, which made heaven and earth.}

Chapter 9

I looked under rocks, crevices, up and down the creek and found three water bottles. I filled them with the ice cold creek water and stuck them in my backpack. I thought about taking my machete and cutting out some of this blackberry thicket but then thought better of it. This area is the only area unspoiled so far and I would not want looters or any of the undesirable category to ruin it.

This would be a place to bring a few survivors. I needed to find some light, though I was getting used to seeing in the dark. The next city, town, store whatever, I really needed to find supplies.

A loud explosion ripped through the darkness, only after my initial thought it was not an explosion, but thunder, and I could see streaks of lightning hitting the ground in the distance, but moving my way quickly. A few drops of rain fell from the sky and felt like my skin was burning; acid rain.

I had not noticed the other blackberry thicket, till Nessie ran through it. I had to get out of this weather and I am sure Nessie knew of a safe haven. She had never let me down before and this time was no different.

Even though I waded through the creek, getting wet again, and ran through a briar thicket, I ended up on the inside of a cave and though I saw no candles, torches, or even fire, I had enough light to see.

It was not a massive cave, but a decent size. There was three tunnels leading from the main cavern. I looked around in amazement. It was undisturbed. No falling rocks, no trash to litter the area, a good place to hole up through the storm, a good place to bring survivors, a good place to live.

I could hear Nessie moving around in one of the side rooms and slowly I entered. Wow was all I could think of at the time. The creek ran through this part and ended in a small pool off to one side. That in itself was wonderful, but the really amazing part was the fact that Billy, the three kittens, and the two hens and rooster were all sitting quietly by the waters edge.

A bed of moss drew my attention. Down on my knees now, thanking God for once again loving me, protecting me, and saving me. It was not long after that I lay down on the mossy bed. I had no worries, nothing to fear, and I slept.

Rom 8:38

{For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.}

Chapter 10

I am not sure how long I slept considering it was dark when I went to sleep and still dark when I woke. But that had become a way of life for me. Funny thing is there was still light in the cave. It never grew brighter, it never dimmed it was constant.

Poor old Nessie was so full of milk I knew I could no longer avoid milking her. With a sigh (it is really hard to milk a goat) I set about the task of doing just that. The 2 liter Pepsi bottle come in handy for the milk and after it was full, I put the bottle in the creek to keep it cold. It felt really good to have cold milk, Pepsi, and most of all water, though for how long I did not know. That was up to God.

I went back into the main cavern and looked around. I walked farther down, and around a bend, and it ended. So the main cavern was one huge room, same as the room with the creek and shallow pool. I had two rooms left to explore. I went to the cavern on the left hand side. It was more narrow but seemed to be longer. The walls were covered in moss and smooth rock, and a little lighter than the other rooms. Then I saw a much brighter light and the cavern came to an opening in a wildflower field. A rock wall surrounded so there was no escape, which also meant no admittance. No one could sneak in this way, the only way in or out was the front entrance.

Nessie and the other animals must have followed me and there was no doubt in my mind, we were home. Billy and Nessie were munching on wildflowers and tall grass, the hens and rooster were pecking the earth, and the kittens were running and tumbling in the grass.

The last room to explore was mostly covered in moss, and the light slightly dimmer. My first thought was a sleeping room. Several people could stay in here. There would not be any privacy, but neither would they be crowded.

Our safe haven, our place of peace, the place I would always return too after my long journeys. I could not stop the long sigh that retreated from my lips.

Tomorrow a new journey, a new page in my life. It may already be tomorrow, like I said I am not really sure of time. Not really sure of anything really, well except for the fact that I was on a mission.

The hens eggs had been piling up, and I got a very bright idea, if it would work, that is. I went out the front entrance, found some dry pieces of wood, and tried starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together.

It was kind of funny if you thought about it. A few miles away was a blazing inferno, yet I could not start a small camp fire. Well at least the wood would be dry. I am sure I would find some matches, or a lighter or something to bring back.

I shrugged my shoulders. There was a jar of peaches left. Mighty tasty too.

Chapter 11

All this alone time has put my mind in overdrive. I have so much free time to think. Walk and think, walk and think, that seems to be my life’s story now.

How far have I walked today? How much have I thought today? I do notice that the sky is getting a little lighter, and in this area, there have been no tremors for awhile

“Ah, ah, Living on a prayer, take my hand we will make it I swear,” I remember that. Bon Jovi’s, ' Living on a prayer.’ And there is my quandary. I can remember songs, movies, cities, colors, but I can not remember anything personal.

Was it Gods way of keeping me from mourning the loss of a family,or did I ever have one? I know I had to have a mother and father at one time or another, or I would not be here.

Was I married? Did I have children? No matter how hard I tried I had no memory or even a feeling of such a thing. Maybe it was best I do not remember. At least, I do not feel hurt, or pain, over a loss that I know nothing about.

I had walked many miles today and my legs ached something fierce. Before I left the cave I had put several bottles of cold water in my backpack, but I am sure they are no longer cold. I plopped down in the dirt to rest for a minute, but got up a lot quicker. The sand was scorching hot. and I felt tiny vibrations underneath the earth.

I now knew my mission. I was to save as many people as I could find, as quick as I could find them, and take them to the cave.

It was not over yet, there was more to come. We must be ready for the cleansing.

What was that? I could hear a scream. A child? Yes, there it was again. Tired legs or not I had to reach that child. I ran, and ran, my sides aching, heat pounding into my skull, sweat running down my face, but I could not stop until I reached my goal.

A survivor, a child standing over a man. I grabbed the child and turned him to face me. No one should see the vision that child had seen. The man was to far gone to save. One side of his face was gone, big soldier ants taking him piece by piece.

I held the child tightly shielding him from the nightmare that once was a man. I found out later that man had saved the child’s life, and by the looks of his leg, just in time.

A small chunk of meat had been cut off. Up ahead there used to be a city, but now a mix of cities in one. There are several men, women, and children held captive. Their purpose; feed the creatures. As in they are the food.

Somehow it fell upon me to rescue these survivors and get them to safety. I fell to my knees to ask God for His guidance and help, and though the sand was still scorching this time I did not feel it.

Psalm 144:2

{He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me.}

Psalm 18:32-33

{It is God who arms me with strength,

And makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of deer,

And sets me on my high places.}

Chapter 12

I was faced with a dilemma, and really not sure how to handle it. I gave the boy (His name was Johnny) a bottle of water and cautioned him to only take small sips. I am sure he would love some eggs and fresh cold milk, but I also needed to try and rescue the others.

I was walking through a wasteland. Desert sands with no trees or weeds for cover, just an occasional rut. I could not leave him here hidden, because there was nowhere to hide. If I took him with me he would slow me and be in danger of capture again. He really needed to have that leg on the mend. It needed medicine and bandaged but that would have to wait. I prayed that there would be no infection.

I could always take him back to the cave. He would be safe there, but how many lives would be lost by going back the way I had come. Well I guess he must come with me. I would just have to watch over him as well as myself.

He limped rather painfully and held a grimace upon his lips. “Come. Hop on my back. I know your leg will hurt, but it will not be as bad as walking.” “I.....I can not go back there, please, please, do not take me back to them. They will eat me.”“Shhh. It is okay little one. You will be safe. Between me and the good Lord you will be protected.”

To be so little he was rather heavy. He looked to be about five, maybe six, and skinny as a rail. I could feel the ooze from his leg seeping onto my shirt, but I had no other choice. Either way he was a danger to himself as well as me, though I knew it was not his fault.

I had not journeyed far when I hear someone yelling, “Wait, hold up, please wait.” I froze.

Friend or foe? Johnny started crying and fought against me for release. He was coming from behind, coming from where we had already been.

“Stop, please.” I could hear the desperation in his voice. I lowered Johnny to the ground but held his shirt tightly so he would not run. Such was his fear, to create a danger to himself. So here I stood waiting on a stranger, with one hand on Johnny and in the other I had gained my machete.

I did not think he was evil at the time, and perhaps the answer to my dilemma. He was closer now. I could see he was very hot and tired, but I made no move towards him. “Do not worry Johnny, I got this. Be very still.” I let go his shirt . I was prepared just in case. Well I was prepared for him, but I was not prepared for what was to happen next, not prepared at all.

Chapter 13

I had been traveling west, when I ran upon Johnny, and trouble come from the south. I heard the man scream, or was it Johnny? I do not know it might have been me. The vibration started small, but became stronger and stronger with each second that passed. Flames shot from the north, but luckily still a distance away.

My heart was thumping furiously. Johnny had fallen and he was crying harder now. I knew he was scared but I did not have time to console him. I grabbed him up of the hot earth and hurt leg or not he had to run.

The man was also on the ground and he looked like he had given up. “Get up,” I shouted, “You have to move now.” I did not wait to see if he complied. I took off running half dragging Johnny.

Another shake of the earth and the man jumped up and was trying his best to catch us.

There was nothing to burn, nothing but sand, but that did not stop flames from rising underneath the earth.

Then it stopped. No more shaking of the earth, no more flames bursting through, just a smothering heat from the aftermath of what went before. Walking on egg shells from day to day, never sure of what lay ahead, where to step, and where to sleep.

The man had finally caught us and I held no fear he would attack. He was too weary as he collapsed at my feet. I dropped too and little Johnny practically fell.

No one said a word for several minutes, we could not. My breath had long since deserted me, and I know the other two felt the same. Finally, the man felt he had to introduce himself, and once again my thoughts were God sure does work in mysterious ways.

Okay so his name was Tom and he was a plastic surgeon, but even so he had an amazing amount of doctoring experience,(At least more than I did) and maybe he could help Johnny. Not only Johnny but other survivors.

I told him of the cave, the animals, even the cool water. I gave him a bottle of water but we ended up sharing. I only had one left, because the one I gave Johnny was laying back down the trail, somewhere in the dirt or fire. He dropped it when we ran and I sure could not fault him for it.

He looked at Johnny’s leg and as I thought it had become infected. There was nothing to be done at the moment.

Now I had two to watch out for. At least, I would have help with Johnny. “We must go.” I stood and had to practically pick Johnny up off the ground. Poor little guy. I knew he was tired, and his leg was really sore, but we had no choice in the matter, it was time to move on.

We only went a short distance when something compelled me to look back, and I did. I could honestly say I was totally shocked and equally surprised . I had not laughed like that in a long time. My little Nessie, my rescuer. So now I knew what God had planned.

She would escort Johnny and Tom back to the cave. He could at least clean the wound and he had a lighter so he could build a fire to sterilize and whatever he needed to do. “Y’all follow Nessie, and be careful. Johnny you let the doctor treat your leg okay. Do not give him a hard time on the road.” Nessie looked at me as if to say, ‘Do you really think I will let him,’ I laughed. No, Nessie had things well under control.

“I will see what supplies I can find, and return as soon as I can.” I turned and started my journey , but stopped as Tom spoke,“We will await your arrival. By the way you never told me your name.” I thought for a moment then shrugged.“I do not know my name, and besides it is unimportant.”

And with that I turned and walked off. I had no time to chatter over a name, and the truth is I never really thought about it. I was so used to being on my own. And once again I am alone and it felt good.

You know when you walk and think you loose track of time, well I had already lost track ages ago. I can not even recall the miles I had walked, but I guess it really did not matter. That was my mission in life, search for survivors.

I was coming upon a city. I was not sure which one because it had many signs from many locations, scattered in the dust. I saw no signs of fires, but it was as if an ocean of desert sand had created a massive wave over the area.

An eeriness created chills upon my spine and a deep fear held my mind captive. This place was death. I had the urge to flee. I wanted to run from this place, but as always God took my hand and walked with me. I no longer felt fear.

Everything was topsy-turvy. Cars were piled on top of others, barely sticking out from under the sand. Dead bodies littered the ground, rotting corpses so long in the heat. I could feel their pain, I could hear their deathly screams. Tears for them, and prayers, but I continued on. There was nothing to be done for them.

There were many articles of clothing scattered about, shoes as if someone had taken them off and left them as they sat, and a lot of debris. I tripped over many things buried in the sand. It slowed me down but did not stop me.

I knew I had finally made it inside the city. Then I stopped, took a deep breath, and looked around what once had been a city. There was a service station to my left, it was mostly buried. You could still see part of the inside, and there was still a lot of merchandise in there. I started towards the station and I knew why it had not been cleaned out.

Walking through the drifts of sand was no option. There were sink holes everywhere and I did not want to drown in sand. I was already to my knees in the sand and I felt, what I thought was a body underneath.

I made it out of the drifts and back on the main road. It was also slow going but better than walking in the drifts. In the distance was , (Here I just had to laugh) a Wal-Mart. It was possible I could make it in there. Here and there it was buried. I would know more when I got closer.

I really did not have a plan, just following God’s lead, but it really made sense to try the store for supplies. Besides, I was really thirsty. I know if there was anything left it would be hot, but right now I really did not care.

I walked the streets cautiously searching for signs of life, any kind of sign to find the people the boy spoke of. Not the cannibals, but the survivors the cannibals kept prisoner.

Buildings were toppled to the ground and shards of glass were scattered in the sand, both on top and underneath.

No pavement, no grass, no sidewalks, there was only endless miles of sand. Imagine taking a dull brown crayon and covering a whole canvas with that one color. That was what I was seeing, that was the vision before me.

There were more dead bodies; arms hanging from under bricks, legs half covered by fallen walls, and heads cracked open as an egg.

There was nothing to be done for them, except pray for their souls. there were way to many to bury, and besides the next windstorm would cover them anyway.The destruction was endless. At least they were not burned alive as in other places, but then I guess being buried alive was just as bad.

Chapter 14

I had made it to Wal-Mart. the sand was not that bad. Not as bad as I first thought. I know I could not carry everything I needed so I would only take what I could carry in my backpack and a few weapons.

I could not make up my mind whether I wanted to be around people, or be by myself. I guess it is just the fact that Wal-Mart should be swarming with people, live people.

So quite in here, maddening quite. I stood for a minute thinking of all the children that screamed and fought for a toy, grabbing them from shelves, and the ones that were happy with the toy they got. All the teens that walked the aisles texting friends , doing selfies, and sending pictures of items to other friends. I grinned when I thought of some of the out fits, and all the ones that wore pajamas. Well that sure made my day.

I did not see any immediate danger , and I did need a new outfit. My long skirt had rips and tears, it was really dirty, and smelled horrible. I was flipping through the rack and jumped back drawing my machete.

In between the skirts was a little boy, could not have been more than seven, maybe eight. He was holding his finger to his lips as if telling me to be quiet. He pointed towards the back of the store. I motioned for him to stay where he was and on silent feet, I moved towards the end of the aisle and looked in the direction he pointed.

I almost gave myself away. I know I gagged a dozen times and I pulled myself back. There were three, well not sure what they were, humans? Mutants? I am not sure because I did not see there face, but they were covered in dried blood and fresh blood as well. That was bad, but the worst thing, they were eating the raw, rotted meat from the meat counter.

I eased back to the boy, leaned down and asked, “Are there anymore?” “Not in here,” He whispered, “But out there. They snuck up on us, I hid.” “Shhh it is okay little one. Stay here for now. I will get you out of here.” I slid the skirts back around him. You could not even tell anyone was in there.

So now what was I to do. All though their backs were to me, as soon as one was down the other two would look and I really did not know how fast they were. I had no knowledge of how close the ones outside were or even how many so a gun was out of the question unless....... I eased my way back to the sports/camping section. A BB Gun was one alternative but I must be accurate and quick. I drew in a deep breath, and close. If I could just get at least one at the base of the skull I might be able to use the machete on the other two. I would have to stay out of reach and hope they did not call to the others.

I got a shot off, it hit the base of his skull, but another fell over too. I did not have time to worry over it because the third was in a rage and coming at me fast. He was almost upon me when he also fell over. Man he really was ugly, and his teeth were like shards of glass. All three of them. I approached cautiously as well as my helper.

He was tall, probably about six foot three, long black hair, and a scraggly beard. His weapon of choice... a sawed off shotgun with a silencer And that was how he did it. He had a silencer. “Thanks, for your help,”I really was thankful. He just shook his head and grunted.

There was no doubt those three were dead, so now back to the boy. He was cowering, and I think he was afraid to look for fear it was one of the evil ones. “It is me little one. Do not worry those three are dead.”

He slowly came out from the clothes rack. There was no telling how long he had been there. He had a hard time standing. Dirty blonde hair, looked like it had not been combed in days, but I guess that was a sign of the times. Blue eyes, pretty blue eyes marred with dark circles from lack of sleep. Tall and very skinny. Looked like he was malnourished and I would bet he was. He needed the doctor.

“What is your name?” “Adam, my name is Adam.” “So Adam, do you know where the others are being held? “Yea they are in the meat locker.”

I had forgotten the stranger. I turned to speak and he was gone. Perhaps he was hunting the others. I shrugged my shoulders, oh well I had my own agenda. I grabbed a couple of skirts from the rack and stuffed them in my backpack.

I went to sporting goods again. I had seen a bow and some arrows earlier, should have got them then , but I did not. Well now they were mine. “Okay kid stick close. If you see anything at all you let me know.” I do not think he would have any problem with that, and when I said stick close, he really did.

I slowly opened the meat locker, weapon at the ready. The smell was horrible. Rotted meat, and some of the survivors were not in very good shape, well none of them were. They tried to run, and create a panic.

“Quiet, do you want more to come or do you want out of here?” They settled down and I continued. “We need supplies.” I looked around, there were two women, one man, and six children. “Everyone get a backpack fill it with necessary items. By necessary I mean flashlights, batteries, lighters, matches, water, canned food. As much as you can carry but no overload. We may have to run. “Kids, please no toys, not yet. We will find a mode of transportation soon, and we will come back. Okay let’s move and please watch your back.”

Light was the first thing. I rounded up four flashlights and several packs of batteries, the big packs. I picked up four bottles of water and several knives. Oh yes, I almost forgot. I picked up matches and several packs of bics.

The pharmacy was next. Antibiotics, aspirin, bandages, alcohol, and more basics.I thought of Johnny and Tom and hoped they were well. I thought Tom might Like a blood pressure cuff, so I got one of those too.

I downed a bottle of water and hoping I would not get sick from drinking it so fast. I gave Adam a bottle and he downed it as fast as I did. That is all for the moment. I would return later when I found a way to haul the things I needed.

The darkness had returned. I do not know if had become day and now night, or if darkness just now reached this area and would stay. Truth is I am tired of the darkness, tired of the loneliness, just plain tired of everything, but I knew I had to continue.

After putting batteries in another flashlight, (saving the four I had), I gathered the group and we walked out of Wal-Mart.

I do not know what all they gathered, all I knew was that I needed a place to rest for awhile.

I really do not care what anyone says God does create miracles, and he has created many for me since the cleansing had begun, and now there was another. He will provide, and He did.

Chapter 15

While we were gathering supplies the tall man had disappeared, and now I knew why. Somewhere he found a mule and wagon. It was not a big wagon but we could make do. The captives could ride now, and I would not worry about them holding us back.

He never told me his name, but I never told him mine either. I was still not ready to worry about a name for me, I would take care of that when I mourned for the loss. I have no idea what I lost but I am sure it was someone. None the less I would mourn for the unknown victims. But that would be later.

I was happier than I had been in awhile. God was so amazing for providing food and a way to haul the things we needed. I found out the tall man could not talk. I was not sure if he was born like that, or something in his past, maybe it was the shock of what was happening in the world.

I think I will just call him Hero for now. Hero stood guard while the other male captive and I ran back in. We grabbed a couple cases of water, cans of food, pop tarts, more flashlights and batteries. We did not want to over do in case others came, and we did not want to overload the poor mule.

Now we had everything loaded. I got on my knees and Hero also did. I do not know his prayer, but I suspected it was the same as mine. We prayed for our journey to be a safe one, and asked that each would be blessed by His love.

The mule( I gave her the name Jezzie) had a rough time wading through the sand. Mules are said to be stubborn, but she kept right on. One foot at a time, raising them high, making slow progress, but never giving up.

Noises came from all directions. Our people were crying, and screaming, Jezzie was trying really hard to struggle through, at a higher rate of speed, and Hero and I were bringing up the rear.

Hundreds of those things were chasing us. There was no way we could kill them all. “Stay down,” I told our victims. Not sure what good that would do but they were moving around and shaking so much poor Jezzie was having a rough time.

They were almost upon us. I did not realize the speed they had. They were making weird chomping noises and I felt shivers upon my spine. One reached out, it barely touched my arm and the burn was immense. It was not a scratch, not a gouge, just a slight touch.

We were almost at the service station, and there were more inside there. They had no trouble, going through the sand. It was if they were sand creatures. They were not really running, more or less a jump, and dragging a leg, Their ribs were very visible, long slender finger bones, with claw like nails on their fingers. I do not think they were zombies, because the ones we shot stayed down, but I know they were cannibals and there were way to many to suit me.

I do not know what happened just that I went down and they were almost upon me. Hero picked me up and practically slung me in the cart. He was really strong, and I could not feel a thing. I had went numb.

“Lord give us strength to get away . Hero can not do this on his own.” The darkness became light for a moment then it returned. The cannibals froze in place, the mule began to trot, and after we passed the service station Hero jumped in the cart. No one was guiding the mule but she knew where to go.

We made it to the location where I saw all those signs jumbled up, and the rumbling began. It started out as a small rumble, but as with thunder it grew over the distance. It became so loud everyone covered their ears but me. I still could not move.

I know everyone was shocked when a massive wave of sand swept everything clean. As far as the eye could see, nothing but sand. Carried by the darkness it looked like an oceans wave.

Everything became still, and so quite. Not even our fellow humans made a sound.

It did not seem to bother Jezzie though she continued on the trail. Hero scooted over towards me. “Do not worry Hero. Jezzie is headed in the right direction. He opened his mouth and I knew it was silent laughter. I forgot to tell him I named him Hero. Though my body refused to move my head still worked. I tried to raise it to check my injury, but I could not raise it that far. It had to be from that touch on my arm, that was the only thing it could be.

I looked around at the survivors. they looked at peace. Some were sleeping, and some... well I guess they were just gazing and thinking. I closed my eyes, and though I could not get on my knees to pray, God and I had a nice conversation. I do not know His plans, but I do know He loves me. He cradled me in His loving arms and I slept.

{Acts 18:10: "For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."}

Chapter 16

I really do not know how long I slept, or how long we had been traveling. I tried looking around but it was hard in the darkness. I could feel Hero’s eyes upon me. What was he thinking? What questions did he have to ask that he could not?

Jezzie had slowed, and the survivors were quiet. I had not realized till I tried turning my head that Adam’s head lay on my shoulder. I could not feel it. I still could not feel anything. The only way I knew we were still moving is the gentle banging of my head against the floorboards of the wagon.

I felt a water bottle against my lips. Even hot it was good. My throat had become dry and my lips began to crack. I felt it run down my chin, but even knowing it kept flowing I could not feel it.

Tears, started easing down my cheek, and I could not reach to wipe them. I was frustrated and did not understand what was happening or why this happened to me. But no, chin up girl. It was not just happening to me. I survived, they survived, and I am sure God has His reasons for my paralysis.

I closed my eyes and listened for God to tell me what to do next. “Rest my child. Just rest.”

I could feel Hero’s hand now, stroking my hair, and I smiled. I am glad Hero was along. He would make a good asset. He was also resourceful. I have no idea where he found Jezzie and the wagon but I was most thankful for it.

Jezzie stopped quickly, and as a stubborn mule would not move another inch. Hero grabbed his flashlight and jumped from the wagon easing his way around front. Adam must have followed him because he came back, leaned in my face and said. “It is a white goat. She looks to be tame.”

“Fresh meat,” Yelled the man we rescued. I never asked his name, “You will not touch one hair of that goat. “Oh come on. It has been weeks, maybe months since I have had meat.”

Hero grabbed the man by the tattered shirt collar. Though Hero could not speak his message was loud and clear. You do not touch the goat.

“Nessie,” I half way yelled. She came around the wagon, and jumped up by my side. She looked me straight in the eyes and I was sure I saw tears.She lay her head on me and nuzzled for a minute then jumped off and went back around front.

“Follow Nessie, Jezzie. She knows where we are going.” And as if Jezzie understood, she took off after Nessie. We were almost there. I thought about Johnny and hoped his leg was healing. How was Tom? I hoped they were able to protect themselves from intruders and elements.

Jezzie started down the hill. I did not think she could make it through the blackberry bushes with the wagon, but somehow she did. The occupants of the wagon were stirring now. A creek? Cold water; a bath, cool down, I could hear all those conversations, or should I say parts of conversations.

Jezzie took us all the way in the cave and Tom was waiting. There was still light in the cave, and he had a small cooking fire.

Hero picked me up and Tom ran over with a look of concern on his face. I could tell he was waiting on Hero to speak, so I filled in the blanks. “Hero can not talk Tom. I have no idea what happened to me. I am going to get Hero to lay me down,(Hero grinned at this point and I sure wished I could pop him on the head.) and after you check all the others out, you can look at me.

Then I became worried. Where was Johnny? “I brought lots of medicine.” “Johnny is okay Lady. He is out back playing. His leg has healed nicely. Tom directed Hero to my mossy bed and he lay me down, then turned and walked away.

Nessie and Billy came in, and a baby goat. Awww Nessie had become a mama. The three kittens came in, and they were no longer kittens. I realized I had never named them. The rooster came in then the two hens, followed by about five little chicks. they were already repopulating the earth.

When Tom came to see me, I told him to keep an eye on that man. Nessie was never to be eaten, or at least not yet. It was not time to eat the animals yet, especially the original ones.

One of the women had baby wipes in her back pack. I wish I had thought of that, but I would still rather have a bath.

Tom left the room and it was less than a minute Hero followed him back in. He picked me up and carried me to the pool. Tom had made or found a chair while I was gone and he had it setting in the pool. Hero put me on the chair and held me while Tom bathed my arm. That touch that thing gave me, was red, swelled and badly infected. In fact my whole arm was infected. That is probably why I could not move.

I turned my head to thank Hero for all his help, for without him none of us might be here. But in the end I stayed silent. He was on his knees praying, and I would not disturb him.

I could hear children’s laughter, people chatting, so excited like children with new toys. Maybe they were. They were exploring, and taken with everything. The pool of water, the animals, and I am sure they found the outside area.

The mossy bed felt good. Yes, I was starting to get my feeling back again. Johnny came in for a visit, and I was blessed with a big hug. One of the women, Theresa I think she said, brought me a pop tart, scrambled eggs, and crackers. Of course Nessie provided cold milk.

Tom would check on Hero, to find out why he could not talk. I felt safe, full, and loved. The Lord had sent so many miracles and blessings my way.

As I shut my eyes to pray Nessie came in laying her head on my chest. I prayed and we slept.

Chapter 17

I was being pulled through a thick fog. My mind was somewhere in between conscious and unconscious. the in between where you do not know if you are still dreaming or in reality. I did not want to wake. For the first time since the cleansing had begun I was sleeping so good. But then I heard Nessie. Something was wrong.

I opened my eyes and there the man stood. Funny I did not find out anything about these people when I brought them in. It had been so rush, rush, then the doctor and bed.

But there he was trying to take Nessie from me. I know he saw my eyes open but he continued. I tried to speak but could not. He had gagged me. “By the time anyone finds out, she will be goat steak, and I am sure all will want a piece.”

He did not know that I had got movement back. It had been slowly coming back and it was all back. I did not bother with the gag. I wanted the element of surprise, besides I was afraid of some of the words that would flow forth.

I did not just stand up, I jumped. Before he even realized what was happening I took my fist and hit him straight in the nose. Nessie took off running, while me and the man continued to scuffle.He had a few choice curse words to say over his bloody nose, and I paid for it when he blacked my eye.

Hero grabbed him behind with a big bear hug and Tom grabbed me separating us. We were both trying to escape their holds but their grip was too tight.

My temper was leaving me and I ceased to struggle. Nessie came to me and rubbed against my leg. I smiled. Tom removed my gag and I smiled. “Thanks.” I think that was all I said at the time.

The man was still cursing and struggling, and Hero tied his hands behind his back. I think they all ready knew what was going on, and they had known earlier I was getting my feeling back. “Take him into the main cavern. Get everyone together. If we are to live together rules need to be established.”

They did not hesitate to do as I asked, but the doctor in Tom just had to see my eye. I kept telling him it was okay, but hey I think he took his job seriously.

We went in to join the others. They all looked so much different than before. They had bathed, had food, and felt safe. I felt safe. Safer than I had even before this started. I could feel Gods presence and I did not want to ever let him down.

The man was still tied up and I guess it was just as well I never found out his name, because of his punishment to come. I had no choice. We could not have anyone in our household that could not obey the rules and took away from others, and that is what he would be doing.

“I gathered y’all her because of an incident that occurred. I had made it plain that Nessie was not to be touched.” I saw their heads shake affirmative so I knew they all understood. “He came in there as I was sleeping, trying to drag Nessie out. Nessie provides our milk, which soon will also provide our cheese and butter. She is also our guard, my companion, and a mother.”

“They will keep reproducing then we will eat, but not yet. It is not time yet.” I paused to let this sink in. This next part was going to be the hardest but it had to be. “Since he had already been warned, he must be punished. He will be banished from our group.” A big gasp filled the room, from the rescued captives, Hero remained silent as did Tom. I really hoped I was doing the right thing. “We will send him on his way with food and water, flashlights and batteries. We will take him a ways and set him out.”

I saw fear in his eyes and I could not look at him anymore. I did not want to do this but I really had no choice in the matter. “But why can’t he stay here?” That came from one of the women brought with him. “Because we have to live by rules, and he broke the rule. That rule not only affects me, but all of us. She is a life source that will last for a long time. her meat could not be eaten in one day, where would it be stored. Would you eat the rotten corpse as those things in Wal-Mart?”

“I will be leaving in a little while, and Hero and Tom will be in charge.” Hero shook his head no, and pointed to me. “No, Hero, you stay here. I do not know where I am headed after I drop him off, or what I will find......”He did not let me finish as he spoke. He spoke, yes he spoke. “I go with you.” And the emphasis he put on it I did not argue anymore. This trip I would not make alone.

So it was decided Tom was the doctor and leader, though when I was here everyone looked to me. I really did not want to be responsible for these people, but it was the hand I had been dealt in this new world.

Hero and I gathered a few supplies for us, and some for the man. He was scared. I almost backed out, almost. I could not take the chance of his thoughts taking control again. What if the next time his urge for meat led him to one of the children.

It would be so good to have a juicy Sonic burger, but I did not want one so bad that I would eat the forbidden.

We bid everyone goodbye and struck out towards the south. That was where I had come from, my starting point. I wanted to know, needed to know, if after all this time if there was anything left. Last time there was no way across, but I was compelled to go. Maybe there was a way around.

This time I was not alone, this time I had Hero with me. Maybe it would not be so bad.

And as I had before each journey I kneeled and prayed for a safe journey, as did Hero.

Chapter18

We took Jezzie and the wagon. Perhaps we would run into more survivors, if not we still needed more supplies. We walked, except for the man. I do not want to know his name, that would make me feel more guilt than I did now. This was not personal, for revenge, or anything like that. It was a matter of survival.

The man grumbled and complained, then he would beg and plead, after awhile I ignored him. There were other things running through my mind. In the southern direction it was not dark, but neither was the sun shining. It was like a cloudy moment before the sunrise. It was extremely hot, and I was not sure if it was because here the earth had burned, or if I was not mistaken it should be summertime.

Time. Time was a funny thing. It meant nothing anymore.No more rushing to work without breakfast for fear of being late. No more rush hour traffic. No more getting the kids to school on time. It was amazing that our lives all depended on time.

Now I know what stop and smell the flowers meant, except there were no flowers. There were no trees, there was no grass. There was nothing but a dull brown earth, with black ashes in some spots, and an intense heat, smothering heat.

We had walked for hours and I was getting tired. Hero looked as if he could use a break too. I had found a milk jug a ways back and cut the top off. I poured a bottle of water for Jezzie. She lapped it up gently, as if she knew it had to last. She finished the water and I picked up the bottom of the milk jug and put it in the back of the wagon for later.

Hero and I sat in the back of the wagon, and instead of resting Jezzie continued. Neither Hero or I was much on conversation, besides it was too hot and dusty. The more we talked the thirstier we got so we remained quite. Funny thing though, it was if we could read each others thoughts.

God had chosen Hero also. We were to work together to reboot the earth. We were to rebuild, re populate, and regrow. This was a new chance, a new life, a new earth. This was a new beginning, not just for me, nor Hero, but life.

Jezzie was turning now. She was headed on the road to old Bakers farm. No, no there was nothing there. “Jezzie,” I jumped off the wagon and went to her. “No, Jezzie there is nothing there. I have already been here. It was all destroyed after I left.” But Jezzie gave new meaning to stubborn mule. She would look at me like she knew something I did not, so I followed her lead.

Hero jumped off the wagon and come up beside me. I told him of my experience on the farm, and where I met Nessie and the other animals.

Before we left I had bathed and put on one of the long skirts, thankful it had pockets. The stench was almost unbearable so I covered my nose and mouth with a bandana ,Hero had picked up from Wal Mart. I had put it, a pocket knife, a pop tart, and several other items in the pocket.

I was beginning to think Hero was pretty smart. He thought of things that I did not. Maybe that is why we were meant to work together. He looked at his surroundings, just as I did, and I think we were both on the same page. Why did Jezzie bring us here?

“Look I have to use the bathroom. Could you please untie me.” I shrugged my shoulders, Hero did the same. Why not? We were far from the camp. If he got away he would find his own danger. It would no longer be on me and Hero. Perhaps this was why Jezzie brought us up here. She stopped without being asked too, so she knew.

Well that must have been his plan. He grabbed one of the back packs and ran, we let him go. Halfway across the field he stopped, turned, and waved. I guess he thought he was teasing us, but I was relieved and I think Hero was as well.

We let him go. Jezzie turned as did we, then we heard his screams. The earth was shaking craters were opening, we jumped on the wagon and Jezzie was moving faster than I have ever seen any mule move. I turned and watched as the swamp water, rotted cow carcasses, the collapsed house, everything was swallowed.

I saw movement trying to avoid the craters. There were lots of them, perhaps hundreds. They looked like those things in Wal Mart except some were on all fours. Some were jumping the craters, some were using others as a springboard, and close to catching us.

As we reached the main road off the farm road. The hills collapsed, rocks tumbled and all access had stopped. Hero and I both fell to our knees and praised God. Once again He had saved us from a horrible death.

As we rose, an amazing thing happened. A little old man, (by the looks of him very old) come riding up on a horse. A big, black stallion. It looked very healthy as did he. He had several packs upon his horse and he offered them to us. Before we could turn them down, or offer to share, he had disappeared leaving the horse and packs. I mean really disappeared. He could not have hid, for there was no place. He could not have ran that fast.

There was only one other possibility. God had sent and angel. In one of the packs was bread. I smiled. Bread from Heaven, and in the other was fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, and maybe it was not Sonic, but it was the best burger I ever tasted.

I took the seeds from the apples and strawberries, and the other fruits and vegetables. They would be planted. My mouth watered just thinking about fresh fruits and vegetables, even though I had just ate some.

I gave Jezzie more water, and it did not run dry. I thanked God for the food and water, Hero unhooked Jezzie and she laid down . Hero and I laid down in the back of the wagon, for some much needed rest.

“Goodnight, or day, or whatever it is Hero.” He still grinned whenever I called him Hero. He had shaved, (probably sometime or another got razors from Wal Mart), and looked so much better, but it would not last long. Too much heat, too little resources but right now looks were unimportant.

We made a great team. Maybe someday he would tell me about himself, but right now it did not matter, in the future it would not matter either. This was a new beginning. We were cleansed, reborn.

He pulled my head over on his shoulder and we slept confident that God would watch us. He was not through with us yet.

Chapter 19

How many miles had we traveled before I awoke? I was riding alone, and well covered. Every inch of my body had some kind of wrapping. Sweat trickled down my body, and I was extremely hot. If I did not know better I would think Hero was burying me alive.

After removing the wrappings I could understand why. Intense heat fueled by a blazing ball of sun. So the farther North we went darkness held, and the farther South it became much lighter and so much hotter.

I sat up, rocking with the wagon, and looked around. Hero was walking with Jezzie and I just had to laugh. He had fashioned Jezzie a hat out of an old shirt. Well maybe not a hat but a covering for her head. Her ears stuck up through the arm holes.

Hero stopped Jezzie and turned towards me, with a grin on his face. He must have heard my laughter, for he came back to me, and in a half hearted twist modeled his new get-out-of the sun clothes. He looked like a hobo, traveling with so many clothes and no way of carrying them.

“Why did you not wake me? I would have walked with you.” He shrugged his shoulders.You needed rest. It has not been long since you could not move at all. He got the water jug and gave Jezzie some more water. We were running low so we only took a few sips from a shared bottle.

We had been traveling for several days, at least I think we had. It was hard to tell because day and night still had not straightened itself out. I missed the moon and the stars, night and day. Instead of cool nights and hot days like before it was hot nights and even hotter days.

I got out of the wagon walked around and stretched my legs a bit. Off to the left a little way was a burned area. It had what had once been a chimney sticking up. I grabbed my bow and quill of arrows. I try to always be prepared for everything.

Almost upon it I tripped over something, I did not fall but came close. I jumped back. It was an arm, or what once was an arm.It was burnt black, charred flesh hanging from bone. I did not want to see the rest. From then on I was careful where I walked.

I arrived at the chimney and there was three bodies lying there. There were huge army ants eating flesh from their bodies and carrying it away. The woman had blisters covering a burnt face. Her legs were only skeletal remains the ashes blending with the sand.

A little child, unknown whether male or female, lay in the fetal position. There was no flesh left, no distinguishing marks, not even toys scattered to give away the sex of the child.

I fell to my knees and could not stop the tears that flowed. Long held pent up emotions, long held tears, loneliness, fear, everything held back for months? Years? It all came forth.

Hero pulled me up and held me in his arms, using soothing words to calm my soul. I do not know how long we stayed like that. My heart ached. I did not know these people, yet they were still people that died a horrible death.

There was nothing of interest here, it was time to move on. I think Jezzie was ready to move too. I put the empty water bowl into the back of the wagon, and walked side by side with Hero. I needed solace, I needed comfort.

Hero grabbed my hand. For miles and miles we walked hand in hand. I tried not to remember the vision I saw. I tried not to remember people died. I tried not to remember this had become a way of life.

The only thing I wish to remember now is one breath at a time.

Chapter 20

We covered our head and faces back up only leaving our eyes. I vowed that as soon as we found another supply store I would find a pair of sun glasses. Walking many miles in the heat tired us quickly, so we climbed back in the wagon.

Now we were coming to the big crack in the earth. The fires were out. There was no one to put the fires out so maybe they just burned themselves out, or maybe they were still smoldering we just could not see them from here.

Our problem was how to get across. The crack was much to wide to jump, besides Jezzie would not be able to make it over. We had two choices. We could walk a ways to the left, see if there was a way around, or we could walk around in the opposite direction.

I had no knowledge of how far we must travel, or whether it would be worth the trip. But a compelling force drove us on. There was something, some place better. A place for supplies, a place to raise families, a place to start over.

Travel weary we stopped for awhile, ate us a bite, and stretched our legs. We finished the last of the water. Worry settled my heart, but then it came to me. Why would I worry? God did not send us this far to cause us anguish. Perhaps we would thirst, but only for awhile. God would provide.

My lips were cracked, my throat was dry, and my eyes were filled with dust, yet I had to laugh. It was not a funny laugh, or insane laugh, but a laugh of pure joy. We had found the end of the cracked earth and a small forest settled in the midst of all the heart ache, pain, death, and destruction.

A rock ledge with water falling over it, nearly took my breath away. I wanted to rush right in, but Hero cautioned me to calm. He was right, it must be checked out before we went full force hog wild.

It was not long till we stripped down, not totally but the grimy garments to keep the sun at bay. I stood under and it felt like a real shower. So amazing it felt. I felt so much like an innocent child, I splashed Hero. Of course he splashed back. It felt so good just to laugh and play, forget the harshness of the world, for awhile anyway.

We washed our grimy garments and put them back on wet. That would cool us for awhile. It would be so nice to stay her for ever, but that was an impossibility. Our mission was to recreate the world, bring civilization back into being.

We filled the water bottles, and Jezzie had drank her fill. She had even gotten in the water. I felt more alive than I had in ages, and by the look in Heros eyes I am sure he did too. All good things must come to an end, and this did as well.

Wrapped back from the blazing sun, I had to shield my eyes. The forest had been cool and dark, but back in the sunshine took quite an adjustment.

We did not have to travel far before we found bodies piled one on top of the other. Many, many flies, landed in wounds, and rotted flesh. Some were burnt so badly the skin had peeled. We walked on scattered ash and I wondered if it was from burnt objects, or cremated people.

The stench was terrible, and the insects were huge. There were more of the army ants carrying flesh. I thought of stomping them but there were way to many. The fly’s were twice as big as normal and extremely irritating.

So far there had been no signs of life, other than the huge insects, and the dead. But at one time this had been a massive city. Who was to say there was no one or nothing hidden in some of the buildings that still stood.

It was surprising after what I had witnessed that any remained. They did not look to be the best of shape, but they were enough to get out of the sun, and possibly have some supplies we could use.

“So what do you think Hero? Should we give it a try.” “Sounds good Lady. Just be careful, we do not know what is in here.” I think Hero was still trying to get used to talking. His voice sounded a little strained, and neither of us had talked much anyway.

I think this place had once been a drugstore, but it did not matter what it was. I found a pair of sunglasses and some sunscreen. Hero got a kick out of me modeling several different pair, but then he did the same.

I grabbed a couple extra bottles of sunscreen. I was not sure if it would help, but it was hard to move with all these wrappings, plus the fact it was extremely hot. But then again I had seen what happened to the people exposed to the sun.

Hero unhooked Jezzie and brought her in out of the sun. She put up quite a ruckus. She had good instinct for trouble, and from the back we heard a loud crash, and something moving. Hero let Jezzie go and she flew out of the building, then she stopped.

I decided I did not want to be in there either, not yet anyway. Hero followed me out, and we saw something, not sure what it was. I think at one time it had been human, but it slid on all fours, and its eyes were glazed over as if blind. It made weird noises as if calling more.

There were at least four, maybe more. I realized we were in no danger of being chased. One of the creatures came out only a little and screamed in pain, the others pulling it back. I could smell its flesh as it burned, and I gagged.

We were safe for now, but later we would have to clean them out. Walking on down, I guess you could call a street, I was not surprised that Jezzie followed us. It did her good to be rid of the cart for awhile.

Well now here was a real shocker. The building was really small, but one that I do not think we would need anything from. I really laughed so hard. You might know that a government building would survive.

The next building was The U. S. Postal Service. Even Hero got a good laugh out of this one until we knew our reason for being there. We had to go in. All laughter stopped.

Chapter 21

All eyes on the inside door. I thought I had seen movement earlier, but it must have just been jitters from our previous building. I pulled off the sunglasses, and looked around. The sun shone brightly through the windows and I was aware of dangers behind counters, in corners, even under the scattered packages.

I felt Hero’s eyes upon me, and my frustration was building. It should not, I know, but why should I have to be the one giving orders. I came so close to telling him so, but it only took one look in his eyes. He grabbed my hand,”Stay close ,Lady. I will not see you hurt. And I sure felt the guilt. He was not waiting for orders he was making sure I was safe

“Lady if you will look over there I will look here. I am sure there are packages that have needful things in them.”I smiled. I think I was falling a little in love with him, but I do not think that was what was meant to happen. So I fought the love as if I was fighting an enemy.

I could hear him ripping packages open. I was on the verge of ripping my first one open when I saw Hero’s face staring at me.Not really Hero, but his picture. There was a board with missing children, some before the cleansing, some after, missing families, pets, and Americas Most Wanted. It was Hero, there was no denying. Wanted for three counts of murder and one count of rape. No. Not my Hero.That was another Hero, of course his name was not Hero, it was Luke Johnson. No he was Hero, my Hero, and no matter what went before....I reached for it I wanted to tear it into shreds before he saw it, but it was too late. He saw it, and jerked it down.

I knew right then he was as unaware of his past as I was mine. He found his but was it a good thing? Better to be left in the dark, but there was a reason for seeing this. I never thought about his eyes much before. Oh I know it brought the brown out in them when he smiled and they crinkled. It made them seem so big and beautiful, but never had I seen this.

He was not angry, he was so sad. I tried to hold him, but he backed away. I could see his eyes clouding and I knew the tears were not far away. Still with the poster in his hand he walked out the door, and kept walking.

“Hero stop, please.” “I am not your Hero,” He held the poster out, “I am Luke Johnson, murderer, and rapist.” I ran to him and said, “No, you are not. You are Hero,” I grabbed his arm, and he pushed. I felt myself falling and I hit the sand. I could feel the heat through all my clothes.

I just sat there sobbing. I could not move and it was not because I fell, or I was hurt, or anything like that. Jezzie was galloping towards me, and in my mind I was begging her not to come to me. I could not say it aloud. I had to be quiet, I could not move, I had to ease my breath.

Hero turned. I do not think he knew I fell. ‘No Hero,’Played through my mind, ‘Please, please, please do not scare them.’ Did he catch my thoughts? Or had he given up on his future? Was he holding to the past?

Oh God please let this turn out alright. Jezzie and Hero both knew the snakes were there, circling me. I was not sure how many. I know there were at least three and they were huge. They were under the sand, but each movement brought them to the top.They drew back to strike and I closed my eyes.

Then I felt Hero lifting me from the ground and he held me tightly. I looked down at my feet. Jezzie stood on top of two snakes, and the third had an arrow through its head. We would never be sure what kind they were because we had never seen these before. A new breed of evil.

“Lady I am sorry. I swore I would never hurt you and I did. I am so sorry.” “Hero,” he looked as if he was about to correct me but I would not let him. I held up my hand. “That was a sign from God. It was not to throw your past in your face, but to show you how far you have come. It is to show both of us that people can and do change. If God did not care would you be here? No, you would be dead, or one of those creatures.”

“Hero, you have a new life, a new beginning. I do not care what happened before. If God has forgiven you, can I do no less. I do not need this Luke Johnson. He is dead and gone. I need Hero. Are you still my Hero, Luke?”

He smiled then. I do not know if he will ever forget what he learned today, but for now I had my Hero back. “Who is this Luke you speak of Lady? There is no one here but me, Hero.”

And that is what I wanted to hear. We decided to stay away from the post office for awhile. That would be for a later time.

Jezzie went back to where she had been. I had no worries, she seemed to know when she was needed same as Nessie. I started to put my sunglasses back on again, but I must have dropped them in the sand.

I turned back to look and thought I saw movement, and as I was turning I saw Hero go down, I was running towards him, and I fell. I did not trip, so what happened? My head was in a whirl, and I felt something in the side of my neck. A tranquilizer dart. I tried to rise. My eyes were dimming and I could barely see Hero struggling for freedom.

“Laaaady, “He yelled as he went down, “Hero,” Did I yell it, whisper it, or just think it? I was down and out.

Chapter 22

I can not recall any part of my body not aching. My headache was so severe I wanted to keep my eyes closed. But I could not. “Hero, Hero.” It was only a whisper. My throat was excessively dry. I felt around for Hero. He must be off looking around.

No, wait a minute. It was not supposed to be dark, it had not been dark since we arrived. A tear slid down my cheek. Now I remembered. We had been attacked and I had not even seen our attackers. I could hear movement, coughing every now and then, and sobs. Other people. There were survivors in here. Why did they have no light?

I crawled on my hands and knees; rock. That is what I felt. I could feel the sharpness cutting into my hands, and I felt blood from a cut on my thigh. I stopped. Crawling around in the darkness did little good. Hero had not spoken yet, perhaps he was not awake yet. Perhaps he was.... no. I refused to consider that possibility.

Then a thought come to me. I should have a flashlight in my skirt pocket, unless they searched me. “Thank you, God,” I said as I looked upwards. I could not see anything, yet I knew He was there. And so was the flashlight.

It would not last for long. I only had the batteries that was in it, they were new, but I did not know how long I would be in here. I shined it around the area. We were underground. This was a cave.

I had not noticed before but their was a rotted smell. At least they left me with my wrappings. I covered my nose and mouth.

I noticed as I shone the light around there was movement. It or they did not want the light to shine on them. Well that was to bad. I needed to know what I was locked up with. And yes, I knew I was locked up. A boulder rested in front of the entrance way, and there was no other way out. I already figured out Hero was not in here, but I needed to know who was in here.

The light finally caught this little old lady, and she shielded her eyes. How long since she had seen light? Disregarding the rock floor, I crawled over to her. The poor old woman was terrified. Old? No she was not that old, not as old as I thought before. Her red hair was so dull and lifeless, matted together as the look of an old witch. She had numerous cuts and bruises, and my goodness how she stunk. Her dress was barely hanging on her thinning frame, tatters barely covering her breasts.

There were others, male and female, cowering against the wall. And on the opposite side I saw what caused the rotted smell. Several dead bodies lay there. Death had taken them gasping for air. They were piled one on top of the other as a stack.

I could hear someone coming. They were whistling a tune. I knew I had heard it, but could not recall what it was. It was not Hero, but maybe they would let me go to him, or tell me where he was.

The boulder was moved by chains. Very clever. A lantern was carried by one of them. He was silent, head down, scared fellow. The other had a huge roasting pan with some kind of food in it. I am not sure what it was but it looked kind of like oatmeal and grits mixed together. It turned my stomach.

The man that brought the food in had evil eyes, dark thin eyes. His skin was dark and he had a cowboy hat pulled back from his face. He glanced my way and I felt chills. It brought a silent prayer to my lips.

“Dig in,” He said. His voice was deep, and he had an accent, but I could not place it. They all gathered round the pan, and the evil one kicked a little scrawny man. Young, old, I did not know. This life had really took hold of them, robbing them of everything they once were.

The man grimaced and went forward again. “Not you. Everyone but you.” Once again he kicked the man and looked straight at me. “Get over there and eat.”There was no way I would eat that. Not yet anyway. “No thank you, I am not hungry.” He walked to me and I looked him straight in the eyes, and he hit me hard. I fell in the plate of food, and everyone just ate around me.

I gathered what dignity I could and stood. “Eat,” He yelled, “No,” I yelled back. “Soon you will. Soon you will be just like the rest of the bait.” “Bait?” “What kind of bait?” “Oh Lady soon you will find out, but not yet.”

“Where is Hero? What have you done with him?” He laughed a harsh laugh, and he was still laughing as the boulder dropped and the darkness reappeared.

I told the little man, “It is safe, you can eat now.” He was crying. “What is the matter. You can have my share.” The woman I noticed first said, “The ones that do not get to eat, they know they are bait. Tomorrow when they take him out, he will not be back.”

I fell to my knees ignoring the pain of the rock, ignoring the throbbing face, and ignoring the tears that fell. I needed God. “God, it is I Lady. We need your help. I know there is a purpose for this, and I know you are with me. Please help us God. Amen.”

“He will not help us. He has forgotten us. I gasped. How could anyone think such a thing? “You are wrong. He sent Hero and I to help you, and we will.” The woman cackled, and once again I thought of a witch. I berated myself for that thought. There is no telling how long she had been in here. “You are locked in here with us, and your Hero is dead.” “No, Hero is not dead, and God will provide.”

An amazing thing happened. The little man was on his knees praying, and then all of them were, all but the woman.

I was not sure of the future, how long I would be down here, or how we would escape, but we would. I could feel it in my heart. I felt a hand on my shoulder but no one stood there. Let me rephrase that, God had His hand on my shoulder.

I do not know how, but I slept.

{Hebrews 11:1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Faith is the currency of heaven. It’s the substance you need for God to go to work.}

Chapter 23

Isaiah 41:10-11 . So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. All who rage against you will surely be ashamed and disgraced; those who oppose you will be as nothing and perish.......

Food was delivered, water in a big bucket, day after day? Twice a day. I did not know. They never came for the man, and still I gave them my portion of food. I could barely hold the water, and its foul taste, I was afraid to try the food.

“You have been here five days you know. Sooner or later you will have to eat.”Her cackling laugh always grated my nerves, but as usual I ignored. “Where is your rescue? I told you once you were in here , the only way you leave is bait.”

I really did not want to talk. I was weak and hungry, my throat dry, but I had to ask. “Everyone keeps talking of bait. What exactly is bait?” “Well nobody knows. That is just what they call us. All I know is when they come to get you, they do not bring you back.”

“How do you know how long I have been in here.” I think it was more of a curiosity than a really want to know kind of thing. “I have a calender. It is out dated but it is still usable. They bring the food, every night, same time.”

“I do not ever want to know again. I care nothing for time. That is the reason all this came about. People were always in a rush, always greedy, it was always,”If I had more time,” My head was beginning to hurt, and my thoughts were deserting me.

Help will come. Hero will come. He is not dead or I would know this. I sat, my back to the wall. I had trouble standing anymore. My flashlight had long since depleted itself of batteries. When I found this wall I did not stray far. It was the cleanest spot in here, and I was so afraid to loose it.

I had tried being brave, I had tried helping these people, but I did not know how. I cried, but with my lack of water it was dry tears, my eyes burned, my head ached, and my eyesight was dimming.

I was going blind. “Lord if it is your will, then so be it.” The boulder was moved from the door and more swill in the huge roasting pan. I could hear their slurping noises, and if I had anything to throw up, I probably would have.

And with a cackle the woman said, “Day six, and you are still here.” I did not respond, instead I closed my eyes to pray. I still did not know how many people were in here, but I do know that several would come and pray with me.

“Hero,” I thought I heard his voice, and again there it was. “Lady, hang on. I am coming for you.” Unsure whether the voice in my head was real, or fantasy made. I listened again. I could feel Hero. He was alive, and he would come for me.

Though my throat was dry I felt joy in my heart and could not help a verse of Amazing Grace.

Chapter 24

He wakes. He reaches for her and she is not there. Such trouble he has sleeping when she is not with him. He tried to rise but she was not in sight. He hurts, and he does not know why. He is amazed by the blisters that form his skin, and the hot sand burns him.His wrappings had disappeared. He could not completely rise. He half crawled, half drug himself. He needed out of the sun.Where was she?

Then he remembers. They were attacked. He had left her, but he had not meant to. He had just wanted to think, but he left her side. But she had caught up to him. His thoughts jumbled, blended into many scenarios. Who was he kidding? It would have happened even with him near.

When they met he realized she was his mate, but she did not know this and he could not say the words. Not yet.She is his heart, and he feels such anguish, such pain.He must find his heart, and forever would he remain by her side, no matter the happenings.

He struggled past the post office, too much heat and sun, and his past. He could not enter there again. Not yet anyway. She had forgiven him that, God had forgiven him that. But that is what caused him to loose his heart.

She was not dead, he knew this. He could feel her breath, he could hear her words and thoughts.

He opened the door to the place she had gotten the sunglasses and fell upon entering. Those creatures were here, he remembered them, though he had never gotten a good look. He could not move, though, and he did not remember them coming this close to the light.

His eyes closed. He was only going to close them for a moment, only a moment. He was moving, being dragged. He started to struggle, but if these were the things that had Lady perhaps they were leading him there

Being a big person, they were having trouble dragging him, and it was hurting him worse than before. They stopped. He heard their ragged breath. He did not know how many, but there were more than two and less than four by the feeling.

Then he felt more, many more. Maybe this was not such a good idea after all. They did not know he was awake so he did have the element of surprise. Then there were many dragging him. He could feel the hands all over his body. Their fingers digging into his burnt body, he felt like screaming but for a bit more he must be calm.

“Why you bring this big human here?” A woman‘s voice, an unfamiliar voice.“They are coming ,Uma. “They took the Lady, what if they come back for him. He good I think.” Silence for a moment then,“Big man, big man wake. You need move farther back. They get you. They will not come back here.” He moved farther back on his own, once he knew they were trying to help him and not harm. He opened his eyes and looked. They were human just under fed, and lack of sunshine. They were hiders. It had to have been since the beginning. Their eyes were glazed over as blind, and their skin was a pearly white. Skin and bones really hard to tell the men from the women.

“Shhh, shh quite now. We talk after they leave.” The door opened and slammed shut. “Where is he?” He has laid in the sand for six days. You said he was dead. NOW WHERE IS HE?”

“He was dead boss. We checked him. Even took those rags that he covered with. Jack said he saw one of those mutant wolves. Maybe they got him.”

“You should have brought him when I told you too. Icarn is on the move and he is unsatisfied with our recent bait.”Right now he was very unhappy with his men. Evidently they could not follow orders. “Hey boss what about that Lady. She ain’t done nothing but stir up trouble, since she been in there. She got them all a praying and having them believe some Hero is going to save them.”

It was all Hero could do to remain still and not give them all away. “We could try, I guess. Probably need to get rid of her anyway. She won’t be no good to us dead of starvation. Now Lets get them supplies loaded and head out. This place gives me the creeps.”

He heard the door slam and let out a deep breath he had been holding. “What is bait? He thought he might know but he really wanted it verified. “Well we do not really know. We just know when they take you, you never return. I think it is a sacrifice.” That is what he had been thinking.

He remembered now. The wolves had stood guard over him. He had seen her face, had felt her tears. His heart hurt, he felt his body aflame. She was near, she was his Lady, and he was getting her back. “Do not worry Lady, I am coming.” He smiled, she heard him for her whispered words carried upon the air, “I know, my Hero. I know.”

Chapter 25

“Her heart is pure, her love is true. She tries to ease our suffering all of the people imprisoned with her. She has given us her food, she has prayed with us, and for us. Why do you hate her so?” The woman that always cackled shrugged her shoulders. It mattered not to me. I have tried many times to befriend her, pray for her, but each time she turned me away.

But always I will pray for her. No one seems to know what bait is, but I have an idea. I am thinking sacrifice, and I fear no more. God will not let me be a sacrifice for anyone but Him.

I can not say I have not been afraid since I have been in here, but it was not for long. The Lord was with me, and I felt Hero’s presence stronger each day.

He is my soul, but I can not tell him, not yet. The first time I met him, I knew he was meant to be my mate, but he must be the one to talk of it. It is not the time.

I can not give up hope. I feel my faith strong within me. I had questioned the reasons for me being here and Hero somewhere else. I should not have. I know God always has his reasons, and I think I know why.

Quite time, thinking time, rebuilding time. We need to figure a way to build a bridge across the split. Even though it is extremely wide there has to be a way. Or we could build a barrier to prevent people from falling into the split. It would all work itself out. And that was our purpose for being here. Settling in this location, saving these people from their situation.

If we could remove all the debris, stack all the lumber from the destroyed buildings, and start anew.

There was potting soil, in the store where the sunglasses were, we would just have to deal with the creatures, in there. I had the vegetable and fruit seeds from the man, (I still think he was an angel). We could build a shed to grow things in.

We could bring Nessie, the other animals, Tom, and the rest. There would be enough people to work at it, and start over again.

Funny how weakness made your brain think of things you should have known all along but only now brought it to mind.

All was quiet, no chatter, and I closed my eyes. My stomach growled furiously and I knew soon I would have to eat. I could already encircle my wrist with my fingers, and crawling more than walking.

“Do not worry Lady, I am coming for you.” My throat was dry, and only a whisper escaped, “I know, my Hero, I know.

Chapter 26

I think the woman in here with us loved to torture me. I did not know any of their names and never asked. That would make it personal. But if my mission was going to be fulfilled I needed to get personal. But the woman; well I was not so sure. Never give up hope, though.

“Day seven,” She cackled, as the boulder moved from the door. No one came through. I could hear screams, shouts, and people running. “No not that way, that way is death.” The screams stopped but I could still hear feet running.

A light came, "Out everyone out.” I could not move. I had sat so long my body had went to sleep. I could see the light now, but my eyes could not handle the brightness. Someone was at the entrance way guiding and helping the people, and still I sat. I do not know what overcome me. I just know of a sudden, I could not breathe.

“Out you people. You can escape, now. There is nothing to hold you here anymore.” But still they sat, all but the cackler. Slowly she walked to the entrance, but stopped and cowered at every noise. She walked through the entrance and not long after instead of hearing her normal cackle I heard screams, down, down, down farther, till I heard them no more.

My eyes were shut, I needed to rest just for a moment. Let everyone else clear out first, then I would leave. I felt his breath against my ear, and he gently pulled me up, holding me tightly. I tried steps, but I could not walk them. He lifted me in his arms and my head rested on his shoulder. I felt my life returning, I felt my soul, I felt my heart smile.

He bade everyone go to the right, left meant certain death. “Show me. I can walk now.” He released me from his arms but still held my hand. “Slowly lady, would be easy to walk off the edge.” And I knew what he meant. We were inside the earth and the drop off was the crack in the earth. A bottomless pit awaited anyone that ventured this way. It come quickly, without warning and that was the screams that lasted long after they should have ended.

I prayed for the lost souls that had journeyed that way, and prayed for the ones that made it out safely.

“We must go now. There is still danger. We must leave this place.” I had not realized how many people were in there but we passed more cave like rooms. We made sure everyone was out before we left, then the earth shook, but not like the big quake, more of a ......everyone scattered.

He was huge. Taller than the post office. I had never seen a giant, the only existence I had known was in the bible. But here was one trying to step on our people.

The people had pretty much gotten out of the way except for me and Hero, and his giant steps, brought him close quickly. Hero handed me my bow, but the arrows did no good. “I am Icarn.” His voice was loud, echoing throughout the town. “I want food, now.”

Again the earth shook and it settled. Each time the earth dropped. He stomped his foot like a child with a temper tantrum. “YOU,” His voice boomed as if thunder over the mountainside. It was me he wanted, but he was not going to get me. How to prevent it, I did not have a clue, but it would come.

Chapter 27

Icarn bent down reaching for me. His hair was so long, I could have climbed it as a rope, but looking at him it was short. It really only reached his shoulders, but his shoulders were huge. It was a dusky charcoal color, and it matched the freckles upon his face. The color must be from the sun. He did not burn, he tanned. That was weird since everyone else burned, and he was closer to the sun.

Maybe it was the location he was from. there was life other than here but really big life. I side stepped his hand. My goodness the size of his fingers. Almost the size of one of my legs. I shot an arrow into his finger and it only must have been a pin prick to him. I think I just made him angry. He slammed his fist upon the sand and it created a vibration, picking me up and tossing me in the air.

I was so tired, weak, and hungry but God had given me the strength for this battle. But now it must end. He reached for me again and I took off running, motioning for Hero to join me. Icarn stood reaching his full height , and we ran avoiding his gigantic feet. Now I know what they meant by giant steps. And we were running straight for the crack in the earth. Closer and closer, to the crack and the last minute I turned left, Hero turned right, and Icarn could not stop. I could hear his screams as he tumbled into nothingness below.The screams gave way to a sad echo.

I plopped down on the ground, to tired to move, and Hero moved to my side. He also plopped down. I looked at him, he looked at me, and for some unknown reason, laughter burst forth. Could be from, joy, could be from being alive, or could just be from the insanity of it all. I mean really how many giants have ever been around? Icarn was the first one I had ever seen, and I wondered were there any more? Such a big possibility.

What was happening? The whole area began to shake and Hero and I held tightly each other. The remaining buildings tumbled, the survivors ran in random directions avoiding the aftermath. The post office crumbled into dust, glass from the windows shattering, and massive boulders rolled from under the earth where we had been imprisoned.

Still we held tightly to each other, still the earth shook, and the crack in the earth was filling with rock and debris. When it was filled to the top, the earth no longer shook. A quiet peace settled.

The survivors came out from hiding slowly, looking around in wonder. The hiders came from the only building that remained standing, the one where I got my sunglasses.

Hand and hand Hero and I made ourselves known. We were home. This was where we would settle, start anew. This was our new beginning.

The wagon was still there and still in one piece, but where was Jezzie?

Chapter 28

“I know you.” I turned. She was an old woman, perhaps in her seventies. “You lived up the mountain, little old cabin up there.” All the time she spoke I was thinking no, no, please do not tell me. What if it was bad? What if it was something I did not want to remember?. But I have never, well not sure about the past, but now I have never walked away from anyone. That would be rude.

She cocked her head to the side, and after looking for a minute said, “Maybe that was not you after all,” And she hobbled off. I watched as a young girl, really filthy girl, took her arm and was leading her away. She was not the only filthy one, we all were.

This was good. People walking about, getting to know each other. Even the hiders had come out. Hero had let me in on a short version of hiders, my rescue, and how he had been left for dead.

We gathered everyone together, and led them to the waterfall. It was amazing how people could change so much after the grit and grime was washed away. There was so much laughter and chatter, so much happiness had come this day, or night which one I did not know. I did not have the cackler’s calendar to rely on.

The man that had looked after me while I was imprisoned was called Mark. He claimed to have been named after the book of Mark in the bible. He had brought me a can of peaches. He had opened them and everything. I was delighted with his gift, so delighted I kissed him on the cheek. I watched as his face turned red.

At one time he had been a hider. They had stock piled food way back in the back of the store. He had slipped out one day, and they had caught him. “Lady I think the reason I was caught was to meet you. It matters not anymore. I am at your service anytime.”That was so sweet. “Thank you, Mark. I will remember that.”

Most everyone were trying to find a place to lay their heads. They were clean now, most had eaten, quenched their thirst, and now their energy was abandoning them. It was time for me to rest as well.

There were more people now to guard and they were scattered. How were we to guard them? It would be better to get them all together, but Hero took my hand and led me away.

He pointed to the north, the south, the east, and west. “Do not worry Lady, we are well guarded. We have nothing to fear.

They were beautiful. Wolves stood in all directions. Four of them, but they were bigger than a normal wolf, stronger, and deadlier. Two were ivory white, and two were black as a ravens wings.

“Hero, have you seen Jezzie?” I had no idea why I worried over her. It was the same with the stranger‘s horse. They would come when they were needed.“No Lady, I have not, but I am sure she will show.” He touched his finger to my lips and said, “Shhh now Lady, let us go rest. You have been through a tough time.” He led me to the store and we went to a secret room in back. I worried no longer over the cuts and bruises I managed to receive, but I could hear his sharp intake of breath.

I turned towards him and touched his cheek. Oh what tender eyes he held. I could never get enough of looking into his brown eyes, yet now was not the time for declarations of love. A little voice flitting through my mind teased my thoughts. Will the time ever be right? He held me gently in his arms and sleep came quickly.

Chapter 29

I awoke with my head on Hero’s shoulder. It felt good, it felt so right. I wanted to watch him sleep, but it was really dark back here, dark as the cave. I had almost got my eyes readjusted to the sunshine, and now I am in darkness again. I shook it off. I could not fear. I had God watching over me and Hero by my side.

I could feel the beat of his heart, and the warmth of his breath. I could feel the peace, the feeling of safety, that Hero sent forth. I snuggled back up against him and enjoyed the feel of him. I did not know how long it would last.

Our world had been spinning us like a child’s top. A new journey, a new adventure each day, or night. It was not really so bad being unaware of time and days. I felt more appreciation for what God had given us. I felt a deeper appreciation for people, but most of all, I had a deeper love for God.

My thirst had returned. I eased from Hero’s arms, and stood grabbing my bow and flashlight. Though I was just going to grab some water, I would not be caught without a weapon. So many things could happen, so many things could go wrong.

“Hold Lady, I will go with you.” “It is okay Hero. I am just going for water.” His voice became more insistent. “I said hold Lady. I lost you once, I will not loose you again.” Another time, another place, not really knowing for sure, but I think I would be upset. But now, at this moment, my heart was singing a very happy song.

His hand touched mine and our fingers entwined. The flashlight put out a weak glow as we walked through the shadows of stacked boxes. It was if they knew what was to come.

I stopped us by the sunglasses. I would need another pair since mine had been lost during my capture. Wait a minute. The sun was not shining.

We practically ran out the door and looked towards the Heavens. Darkness had fallen, but not the darkness like back at the old cave. The cave where Tom, Johnny, Adam and the rest were. No this was night time darkness.

There was a full moon, and a sky full of stars. The wolves gave a chorus of howling at the moon, but not for long. Just long enough to let us know that we had survived, the worst, and getting ready to work for the best.

Chapter 30

It was cool, and it felt so good. Not wintertime cool, but the cool you felt on a summer’s night. Time, seasons, daylight, and night, things we had taken for granted now served as a lesson learned.

Hero and I watched the sunrise together, and it was such a beautiful sight. Had I ever watched a sunrise? I was not sure, but I was watching it now.

I was no longer going to call our people survivors, they were neighbors. John, the barber, and his wife Leia the seamstress, Jimmy the carpenter, and his son, Anthony, Chancy the grounds keeper, and so many more.

There were many, I was overwhelmed, not many as in big city many, but enough to start our own little town. There were more carpenters, millers, shop clerks, and the list went on and on. Now all we needed was organization and team work.

They began to walk to Hero and I and soon they had all gathered. They looked to us, they looked to me, and I did not want the responsibility. I was a warrior, a gatherer, a disciple, not a leader.

Besides it was time to go back to the cave and gather the others. They should be here with us, in our new home. There were no houses yet, no buildings, except the store, but that was soon to be taken care of.

“Lady, what do we do now?” I think that was Jacob the worrier. “Well we get organized. Everyone has their talents, it is time to put them to use. We rebuild. We share food, and water, we grow crops, we build houses, there are many things to be done.”

“But Lady that will take time.” Of course there had to be one drama queen in the mix, so now we had Debbie drama. “And where are you going anytime soon? We have no clock, we have nothing to say rush, rush, rush. Time is unimportant. Enjoy this day God has given you. We survived. Appreciate that.”

“So Lady, what is your talent? Can you build, can you sew, what can you do?” I do not think it was what he said, but how he said it. He was a pudgy little man,(which was out of place here amongst the ones that had little food.) and he had a smirk upon his face. And then he had the nerve to look me over like he was buying livestock. Well maybe I was just imagining it, but then maybe I was not, because I felt Hero tense up and the look on his face was none to pleasant.

“I am a warrior, a settler, I am not a leader, and I do not do arguing. Though Hero may take a mate, he will lay with her at night, but on the morrow, I will be by his side, fighting, protecting, exploring this new world.” What had I done? I should have left Hero out of this. I think my face must have turned all kinds of red. I just as much said he was my mate. How to correct this before I stuck my foot further in my mouth, I was unaware. I am sure he would not forget this.

Hero stepped forward. he did not look at me, did not smile, but looked straight at the pudgy fellow. “Lady is a warrior and a very good one. Do you think y’all are the first ones she has helped? Towards the west are cannibals. Yes they eat people. It was her bravery, her courage, her faith in God that saved those people, and almost cost her her life.’

“Though she may someday marry, she may lay with him at night, but on the morrow I will be by her side. I will always fight with her, go where she goes, and have her back no matter what. If anyone has a problem with that come forward now.” The pudgy man lost the smirk on his face and eased his way into the back of the crowd, however another stepped forward. A little skinny fellow only about five feet tall, long shaggy red hair and a thick beard to match. Surely this man was not going to challenge Hero.

“I am Elvin, sir, and Lady,” He nodded his head once at each word. I am a preacher and I would be honored to marry you two. It is known by all you are meant to be together.” “Well Elvin, the preacher, I am honored that you would do this, and honored that we have a man of God among us. Now we can have a church. You will preach for us won’t you.” Okay so I was avoiding the subject of marriage. For one Hero had not asked me, and now he had a choice of more women no. For another, it was not time, not yet.

Hero had been put on the spot. Yes he wanted Lady as his mate, but it was not time. How could he say this without hurting his soul, his mate. Besides there were more men now, and it was time to bring Johnny, Tom and the others. Tom was in good health and a doctor, maybe she would prefer him. Oh his heart hurt at the thought.

My heart hurt at the thought of Hero laying with another, but he was a handsome man, and a brave warrior. There were more women now, and clean they looked pretty. I would not dwell on it now, that would be future. What God wanted would be the outcome.

At the same time we spoke,”Thank you Elvin, but it is not time yet.” I think we both breathed a sigh of relief. Yes we were mates and I held a deep love for this man, but something was telling me yes, it will happen, but not yet. Now was not the time.

I had work to do. We all had work to do. Everyone got busy putting their talents to use. The barber was cutting hair, the seamstress was sewing clothes, there were many stacking lumber from the fallen buildings, removing debris, all were busy except the pudgy man.

Ellie took it upon herself to cook for everyone, and I made it plain those that did not work, did not eat. “If they give you trouble fetch Hero or me,old pudgy over there, if he does not work soon, no food.” She laughed. “That is Curtis the banker. He was always so greedy, and mean. He has never had a kind word for anyone.” “Well Ellie, perhaps we should take him down a notch or two.” I winked and walked off.

I could not help the sharp intake of breath that come forth from my lips. Hero was without a shirt, helping stack the lumber, his skin had become a dark brown, and without the wrappings he was indeed a fine specimen of a man.

I went into the store, got on my knees and thanked God for the opportunity He put before us. I knew there was more, I could feel the restlessness. Soon we must get the others. We needed Tom. It would be good to have a doctor around.

After my conversation with God I found some flower pots in the store and the potting soil. My back pack was still in the wagon, so I retrieved the seeds. I put the tomato seeds in three different pot and found a nice out of the way spot to put them. Now for the water. I could use bottled water, but then I would just have to refill the bottles. I found a jug, I already had my bow, but for some reason I preferred my machete, and I had not used it in awhile, so I also took it along.

Thinking and walking just like before. I could find some pipe, drag it to the waterfall, and run it into the town. We could build a big barrel to catch the water. We could also build a smaller barrel, put it in the shade and the coolness would keep drinks and things like that cold.

He followed her, and watched her, and he waited.

Chapter 31

She was beautiful, his Lady. Why did she take off on her own? Did she not realize she was always in his thoughts. He was always aware of her. He could feel her hearts beat when she was not near. He could feel her breath, as a whispering thought. He loved her. He had not told her, but she knew.

The jug was filling and he watched as she stepped under the falling water. It fell upon her, and he closed his eyes. He did not need to see, he knew. He knew the way her eyes sparkled with joy at the simplest pleasures, the way the corners of her lips turned up in an innocent smile.

She was through now and he would carry the water. He showed himself, and he saw her eyes light with pleasure, someday, yes someday.

“Wonder what lies past these trees?” I know it came out of the blue, but I really was curious. “Well Lady, perhaps we should find out.” I was not surprised to find he was there. I felt him, I could sense his presence. He had given me my space and I loved him that much more. He always knew what I needed.

He carried the water back for me, and I watered the seeds I had planted. It would be harder for the fruit trees, the soil was ,mainly sand. Of course if I dug the hole deep enough I could put potting soil in, then the seeds, or I could start them in a flower pot.

Curtis the banker came over and offered his help. He had no skills that he knew of (besides money) but he had stayed on a farm for awhile. He would not say much about it except he loved to watch things grow.

He carried bags and bags of potting soil, and once started he would not stop. I think he lost himself in the task at hand. There was no longer any chatter, no longer any sarcasm, and I did not have to give him direction in anything he was doing. He really was not a bad sort, but then again he had to go without lunch earlier in the day.

Shadows lengthened the evening sky, and everyone was at their stopping point. There was only a few working on a wash barrel, but it was not through yet. Everyone was heading for the waterfall to wash up for supper.

Hero and I were left alone. We both were getting restless. Things had been started here and they were well able to tend the town themselves. They are getting organized, they were breathing, once again they held hope.

As soon as Jezzie returned I was going back for the others. This was their future as well. This town needed a doctor, fresh milk, eggs, and oh how I missed Nessie.

The wolves had remained and Hero and I would feed them, when we were here. When we were gone, Morris would feed them. Morris was young, perhaps a teenager, it was hard to tell. I noticed Sarah Jane eyeing him a lot this day. Well we did have a preacher now.

The wolves were baying now, everyone was running from the waterfall back to town. An occasional scream tore through the air, but then all was quite.

Just like a school girl I jumped up and down and actually cried happy tears. Hero was smiling from ear to ear, The wolves stopped their baying, and the whole town was looking at us really funny.

Jezzie was back and she had brought three horses with her. Now we were building up our animal stock. After we brought back the others, Jezzie and the wagon could stay here, and Hero and I could take the horses exploring.

There was still a lot of land out there to explore, a lot of survivors, and a whole lot of curiosity.

Chapter 32

I found Elvin to be a true man of God. He prayed over our meals, prayed over the crops started by Curtis and I, and he even prayed over the wolves. Many a time when Hero and I were on our knees and he came to join us.

The moon had passed five times since Jezzie had returned, and on the morrow Hero and I would depart for the cave. I felt a sense of urgency, mixed with a sense of excitement. I knew Tom could handle the small group, and the animals, but I still felt that something was not quite right.

Two buildings were up, a church, and community building. The water barrel for cooling was completed and the washing barrel was almost through. I still preferred the water fall. It provided a sense of peace and privacy.

I usually bathed with clothes on to wash them as well, but this time I removed everything.. There would be no prying eyes, the wolves guarded me well, especially my biggest wolf, my Hero. I did not feel his eyes on me and that was just as well. It was too soon, and we were not married yet.

I felt good, I felt clean, and I stood guard over Hero as he done with me. We walked back together in silence. My mind was on our journey to come.

After arriving back in town I went into the church and Hero followed. We were on our knees asking God for his blessing on our journey, and thanking him for our people and the wonders already accomplished.

There was a big change in Curtis. I think he was meant to be a gardener rather than a banker. Several of the men had gathered enough old wood to start wooden sidewalks, and had even built some wooden benches.

A long wooden table was in the center of town, and that is where we all gathered for our meals. Elvin asked God to bless our food before us, and just before we started our food Elie came around to my side of the table and bless her heart she had some sweet tea. I think I thanked her so much her eyes sparkled from pure joy.

Many things I missed since the cleansing begun, but I managed. Many things I had drunk, goats milk, hot Pepsi, even hot water. This was sweet tea, and you better believe I enjoyed it immensely.

Several of the women helped Elie gather the dishes from the table, and the men hung out just to chat.

Hero come to my side and said, “Lady may I have this dance?” I was going to speak of no music but of a sudden I heard some. Someone had found an old boom box and though the radio would not play, there were CD’s. I discovered I knew how to slow dance, and even later just danced. There was so much laughter. I guess we were celebrating, or maybe it was a farewell party. Soon the batteries died on the player, and though there were more, everyone was tired, and ready to call it a night.

She watches me. She had watched me all night, and the feeling was creepy. Did the old woman really know me, or was she mistaking me for someone else? She had called me Cindy the other day. For some reason it was familiar, but then the young girl, her granddaughter Erica snatched her away before I could ask more. I really did not want to know more, though.

Hero and I had a tent now. One of the wolves we named Bane. Why I do not know,it just sounded right. Bane was always more watchful, he chose to watch our tent as we slept. The other wolves remained nearby, watching, waiting. I think a few more had come in the last moon’s pass.

I did not know their thoughts, but Hero did. They had protected him as he lay weak, and dying upon the sand. Yes, they were welcome here and the new ones as well.

As I lay asleep, dreams flowed through a misty haze torturing my mind.

Chapter 33

He was a man, a big man, mean looking. He was reaching for me. He grabbed me by the hair, and I was terrified. “Lady, Lady awaken please.” I woke terrified and shaking fiercely. “What is it Lady? What is wrong?” He held me and I calmed a little. I did not tell him, I could not tell him, because I did not know myself. Before I woke I saw the old woman in the distance tears from her eyes.

I lay in Hero’s arms fear keeping me from sleep, and I could tell he did not sleep either. It was decided we would leave before sunrise. If we should need sleep we could climb in the wagon and rest.

We were leaving Jezzie and the old wagon, and one of the horses. They would be useful moving lumber and hauling debris. Even though the crack in the earth had been filled, we still had to build a bridge to bring the wagon across. That had been done, nearly after Icarns demise.

The men had built a new wagon, complete with a roof. It was very nice. A covered wagon as in the old days. We were starting as they did, and I prayed every day that our progress would not end up as it had in modern days, before the cleansing.

We had proven that we could survive, on what little we had. Though things were missed we could make it. It was sure great having that sweet tea. She found it in the hiders things. In fact I think they had told her about it.

Curtis had been happy too. Little sprouts were coming up all over the place. He had even found a hoe, and turned some of the soil. He said though it was sandy, if he could dig deep enough, or even mix it with some potting soil he might be able to get some grass started. There had been some grass seed in the store also.

We were loading up the wagon with supplies when Elvin come upon us. He said that something had woke him, and when he discovered what we were doing he wanted to wish us well, and safety.

I was grateful that he was awake to bless our journey. I entered the church, Hero by my side, and prayed for the safety of our town, our people, and our journey.

Flashes of that man in my dream kept flitting through my mind. I never did get a good look at him, but I knew he was evil. I could feel it. I began to shrivel inside at Hero’s touch but why? I did not want to. I loved him and I knew I was hurting him, and though I tried there was something I did not understand.

The wagon was loaded now. I was not sure how long the trip would be because there had been no concept of time when we left. There was no day and night, light and dark. It did not matter we were on our way now, and no matter the length of the journey we would have more citizens, fresh eggs, fresh milk, and a doctor.

I talked to God quite a bit as we started our journey, something just did not feel right, but I was not sure what yet. I just believe the evil man had something to do with it.

Chapter 34

I could not be cold towards Hero for long, especially during the time we slept. Bane traveled with us and though most wolves in olden times slept of the day and were active at night, Bane did both it depended on the need.

The lack of sleep had taken it’s toll on me and Hero finally insisted I crawl in the wagon and sleep. If I was needed he would wake me.I know I slept, but the evil man kept appearing. Not for long, just a whisper here and there. Every time the evil one came for me Hero replaced him.

The third pass of the moon and we passed what was once the road to the Baker farm. I was wide awake now, looking at the marvel of the new world. A dirt bank covered the entrance to what had once been the road to the Bakers farm , and trees were growing. If you did not know you would not believe that had once been a dirt road.

Soon we would arrive. I needed to walk a bit and Hero joined me. He took my hand in his and I realized it had been awhile since we had just held hands and walked. As usual we did not need words. Bane was close on our heals and as Jezzie had done, the horses kept moving. It was as if they knew where to go.

I still had the feeling that something was not quite right and the closer we got to the cave, the more the feeling affected me.

I understood that Hero was worried over me, and I finally told him of my dreams and the evil one. He stopped, I stopped, and he held me tighter than he ever had before. He touched my cheek and at that moment all my fears left me. “Lady, I will never let anything happen to you. No one will harm you as long as breath flows from me.” And I believed him.

We climbed back into the wagon, and spotted the opening leading to the cave. Something was definitely wrong. I jumped down from the wagon and rushed into the cave. The smell of death was strong. I could smell burning hair, and flesh.

I ran through the cave Hero following close. Tom was burning bodies, Adam and Johnny was bringing wood to help burn them better. Tom had warned them not to eat that meat. Someone had left it on the road, it was cold, and wrapped. “I told them Lady. I practically begged them not to eat it. We did not touch it. Even the children wanted it. I do not know if it was intentional, or accidental, but they are dead. There was nothing I could do. I tried, I really did.”

I prayed with Tom, Johnny, and Adam, prayed for the dead, and prayed that there would be no more death.

“Gather your things. We have found the perfect place to start again." I looked around.Where are the animals” We put them in the cooling room and Nessie is watching over things. I went into the cooling room and sure enough she was guarding well.

I sat, and Nessie, Billy, and the cats(I could no longer call them kittens) came to welcome me. “We must go.” I washed some of the dust off my face but I really do not know why. I was just getting right back in it. Maybe it was not because of the dust, maybe it was to wash away the tears.

The cats, (there were extra now), the hens, several more (since the little chicks had grown), were in the wagon. Tom, Johnny, and Adam had also climbed up there. Nessie, her kid, and Billie walked along side.

On the journey home I told them all about our little town. I knew they would be happy there. There was life, happiness, and friendship, and so much to do.

“Tom, it is okay. You can not control people. It was meant to happen.” I turned and smiled at Johnny and Adam, Boys if you look in that box over there you will find a jar of peanut butter. There are also some crackers in there. We also brought kool aid, but it is warm I am sure.

I do not think it mattered to them. It was food, it was something besides eggs and goats milk, and they were growing boys. They had grown a lot since I saw them last.

A shiver ran up my spine, but as soon as it came it was gone. A warning of things to come. Passed the Bakers farm road was a swarm, or herd, I really do not know what you would call them. But they were there and there was no where we could go. We had to fight.

Psalm 27:5 'For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock.

Chapter 35

Flat noses, red bloodshot eyes; you could barely catch a glimpse from the droopy lids. They had only a few tendrils of hair, and their skin was almost an ivory white, and their teeth(If you could call them that )had a light greenish tint. Their clothes hung in tatters, and they walked in a stooped manner.

As they moved forward towards us, I got a better look at them. Their teeth were jagged, and sharp like shards of glass. Froth dripped from their lips. One had a piece of dried meat hung between the edges, and it really looked to be raw.

Ten maybe? Hero and I could probably handle it. I do not think Tom has ever fought, and I bade Johnny and Adam remain in the wagon. They needed to survive, they were the future

They rushed us. To be in the condition their bodies held they were quick. In no time at all they were upon us. It was to close in for the bow and arrows, so I had my machete striking anything in my path. Hero, was cornered as well, and slashing as I did.

Tom and Adam grabbed Nessie, Billy, and the kid and put them inside the wagon for safety. They would not have a chance to fight off the swarm, or whatever they were called. That was one worry off my mind, I would not have to watch out for them as well.

One of them came from behind and I felt its long jagged nails attach themselves to my arm. Its nails were hung in my skin. Finally it got loose and had a small strip of my skin which it tasted. It really went into a frenzy then. I remember going down, my arm bleeding, and the creature on top of me. It was going for my throat and I was holding it off trying to get the machete at an angle to attack, when Bane jumped , knocking it off of me.

Bane struck like a wild animal(which he was) sharpened fangs tearing chunks from the creature. He had a taste of blood now and he was after all the creatures. Soon they were defeated and Tom, jumped from the wagon with his doctoring kit.

Antiseptic and bandage, I was ready to go. Hero had a long gash down the side of his face, and I could tell the antiseptic burnt. He bit his lip to keep from yelping, and I tried not to smile. Tom said it would probably scar and Hero frowned at that, but me, I loved that man so much he always looked good.

The dark shadow that had come over me was gone now, so I thought the danger was over. Upon the road we moved again, except for a wagon going west, we were moving east. Through the night we traveled and by morning we were nearing our little town.

And that got me to thinking, our town needed a name. Though I would travel near and far, I would always return. This was where I had awakened after the cleansing, this is where I came back after the farm, and this is where I came after the cave.

Even now I felt like I was coming home.

Chapter 36

The wolves were baying, but not an angry bay. They knew it was us. They were welcoming us back home.

There was a lot of activity going on. Curtis was tending the garden, Ellie was putting food on the table, and Mark, along with a man I did not know his name were building a box inside the ground.

The wagon came to a stop and everyone ran to greet us. I felt so alive, so loved. I introduced Tom, Adam , and Johnny to the towns folk. Morris, Adam, and Johnny were close to the same age, and they were chattering up a storm. When Morris discovered the animals he was so excited. he was the animal tender, that was his passion.

Everyone was excited over the animals. Ellie was already thinking of breakfast, fresh eggs and milk for the whole town..

The underground box was actually a cooling box. A side was partitioned off to keep things cool without getting wet, the other side held the water to keep drinks and things cool.The sidewalk had been extended, more wooden chairs had been built, and a small house was started.

Hero and I were informed that it was our house, and when we went on our travels and we returned it would be a place to lay our heads.

Hero and I walked the town hand in hand greeting everyone.Tom, Adam, and Johnny were doing the same. Morris had the animals settled and brought the wolves in. None here feared the wolves anymore for they knew they protected the people of the town.

Elvin ran up to us and Mark was not so far behind.

“Welcome home, Hero and Lady. We have missed you.” Mark handed me a bouquet of flowers. They were not real, but it did not matter, they were beautiful. Thank you Mark, I will treasure them. Elvin spoke,”We hope you do not mind. We settled on a name for the town, but if you do not like it we can change it.

They had grabbed some spray paint from the store and was in the process of painting a sign. New Beginnings; a perfect name. Yes I liked it.

The old woman’s eyes were on me I could feel them. She walked to me and grabbed my hand. Shivers upon my body, and a deep voice echoed my mind. “Cindy, I am coming for you.”

I took a deep breath and ignored it.

I survived the cleansing, God had been good to us. I had a good man, good friends, and I was home. New Beginnings. Yes a perfect name.

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