Once the four travelers had left the failed ambush far behind, they continued along the highway. The rest of the drive back to the checkpoint went without incident. As they passed the place, it looked much the same as they had left it. Apparently, the Order’s reach wasn’t as broad as they had thought. Not giving it a second glance, they continued down the road and Naeva took a left on the interstate, heading towards the coast. Reece pulled up alongside her and cocked his head questioningly. Naeva just shook her head and smiled. Reece would have to get answers later.

The six-lane highway was luckily absent of vehicles for the most part and they avoided hitting any major roadblocks. They made great time, but to where, Reece had no clue. For most of the drive, a mix of evergreens and palm trees blocked the landscape on either side. If it hadn’t been for the lack of other motorists, they could almost pretend that there was no zombie problem.

That thought worried Reece a bit, but just in the back of his mind. Since the undead weren’t around here anywhere, he wondered where they might be and in what numbers. He pushed the thought completely from his mind and concentrated on the ageless girl in front of him. They had only been together a short while, but it felt like he had known her forever. They rode like that for hours.

Unexpectedly, Naeva pulled the trike off the interstate and onto an off-ramp headed down to Savannah, one of the cities near the coast. Naeva had been driving for hours, so Reece figured they must need a break. The two vehicles headed through the streets, making a beeline towards the hotel district. The hairs on the back of Reece’s neck stood up.

The city was deserted. No people, zombies, or even animals roamed the streets. It was even more unnerving than the zombie-infested cities. This city looked like it had been abandoned even before the undead had arrived. Naeva drove the trike into the hotel district, turned off the road, and guided down into a parking garage below one of the nicer hotels. Reece followed, trying to ignore his unease.

As they surveyed the huge underground parking structure, they saw nothing except a few parked cars and trash scattered about. Naeva brought the trike to a crawl and Reece slowed down behind her. They parked their vehicles near the garage entrance to the hotel. They pulled their helmets off and looked at each other for a moment.

“So,” quipped Reece, “What a beautiful parking garage you’ve taken us to. Care to elaborate?”

Naeva gave Reece a sarcastic chuckle,” Hah ha. This parking garage has a hotel above it, and we need a place to stay for a while. Now, I had heard the guards talking back when I was a prisoner and they mentioned this town, Savannah, on several occasions. The way they talked; I think there may be an outpost for the Order around here somewhere. This hotel will work well for us to hole up for some time while we scout the local area for any signs of them. Any objections?”

Reece laughed as he scratched his head. The long ride had made his head itch a bit. “Nah. I wouldn’t mind sleeping on a real bed again. It’s been a few days. We’ve been running ourselves ragged and I, for one, am emotionally exhausted. A little R & R while sticking it to the Order sounds just about perfect. Honestly, I love it.”

Just then, Karina leaned back into Reece and whispered in his ear. “You know, the scouting part of this little plan was Naeva’s idea. Ciera came up with the idea for the hotel. She’s going to jump you in one of those nice beds the first chance she gets.”

“Please, Karina,” Reece scoffed. “How could you possibly know that?”

“Because I could hear them yelling back and forth to each other while we rode. It was the only way they could communicate, but my hearing is just a bit better than theirs.”

“Well then,” said Reece, suddenly embarrassed. “I better remember to lock my door, assuming this hotel is in decent condition.”

“What are you two whispering about?” asked Naeva.

“If you must know,” answered Karina haughtily. “I was telling him I need a backrub after this long ride.”

“Oh, me too,” chimed in Ciera.

Karina cocked an eye at Reece, and he busted out laughing at just how on-the-nose Ciera’s comment had been.

“What?” asked the honestly confused lilin.

Thinking quickly, Reece answered. “Oh, just dirty thoughts...my apologies.”

“Ooo, like what?” asked Ciera, her eyes almost glowing with excitement at whatever titillating thoughts the astronaut had been having.

“I’d love to tell you, but we’ve got an entire hotel to check out,” replied Reece. “The quicker we scout it out, the quicker we can get some rack.”

“If you wanted some rack, all you had to do was ask,” shot back Ciera with a wicked grin on her face as she shook her breasts at him suggestively.

“May the gods protect me,” Reece whispered under his breath.

Karina didn’t help matters when she responded, “Well, you did promise her you’d take care of her. I believe you are a man of your word. You are, aren’t you?” She cocked her eyebrow at him, awaiting his answer.

“Ah fuck, yes...I am,” responded Reece reluctantly to Karina before raising his voice for the others. “Okay, let’s get this party started. This hotel isn’t going to clear itself.”

Naeva and Ciera had been talking quietly to themselves when Reece interrupted them. They ended their short conversation with a shared giggle. Reece was curious, but he dared not ask. It was time to get down to business.

Scanning the underground concrete area again, they silently entered the hotel and scanned the lobby area as well. There was nothing out of place. Somehow, this hotel had never been touched. They quickly searched each floor, finding them all equally undisturbed. Most of the doors were still locked. They were able to find a couple of rooms that had their doors ajar.

The quartet searched both rooms, finding nothing out of the ordinary. Just two nicely made beds, a television, a dead complimentary e-book, a stocked bathroom, a table with a couple of chairs, and a wine bar with a couple of bottles of red that Reece didn’t recognize. The two open rooms were close, so they decided to stay there to rest up.

Reece went off and kicked down the door of a room in a different hall and went in to relieve himself. He saw that the bathroom lights were working. The place still had electricity somehow. After that, he found that the water still worked as well for some unknown reason. Maybe Naeva was right. Maybe they were closer to one of the Order’s sanctuaries than they thought. Something about this city wasn’t adding up and they would have to investigate it after they got some sleep.

Reece cleaned himself up, splashing warm water on his face from the functional faucet and running a complimentary comb through his unkempt hair. He examined himself in the mirror. The young clean-cut marine turned astronaut was gone. He was still young and in the best shape of his life, but something was different. Something beyond the five-day growth of stubble and the long hair. It was almost to his shoulders now. He smiled, though it didn’t make it to his eyes. They still retained a haunted look, one he felt if not saw ever since the fateful crash landing of the shuttle that Pasha had so expertly piloted to the ground.

Anger welled up as he thought of them. Aika and Pasha, the love of his life and his best friend. He had found new love now and new friends, but that didn’t diminish the feelings he still had for the two people who saved his life and were always there for him for the years they spent together on Zhengzhou. Then the Order had to shoot them out of the sky and get his best friends killed.

“The murderers would pay dearly for that,” he told himself.

He was glad he had at least found Angel and Naeva. Having them around made him feel like some small part of the crew of the Zhengzhou was still around as well. Not just Aika and Pasha, but Thato, Thomas, and even Sora...even though she may still be out there somewhere. But she wasn’t the same now, so she was lost too. The Order had done something to her, injected her with something and she had lost herself to them.

Reece took a deep breath and let out all the hate he felt for the Order as he exhaled. Replacing his dark thoughts with happier and more immediate ones, he finished up and returned to the room where they were unloading their gear. Ciera was inside and getting out of her clothes.

“Oops, sorry,” said Reece as he turned around to head back out, talking to the lilin over his shoulder. “Oh, the water here works and so does the electricity, so we should be able to take hot showers here.”

“Oh, nice...and come back here,” beckoned Ciera. “Let’s try the shower together.”

“Say what? Wait...what about Karina and Naeva?” asked Reece.

“I don’t think we’ll all fit,” came Ciera’s impish reply.

“That’s not what I meant,” he replied, warmth spreading across his face at her implication.

“I know that. I was just playing with you,” giggled Ciera. “Karina and Naeva are giving us some privacy and are in the other room.”

“Ahh,” said Reece, finally understanding the situation and quickly changing the subject. “I think Naeva was right. There probably is a base or settlement for the Order nearby. That would explain the working utilities.”

“Yeah, maybe,” replied Ciera, clearly not falling for it. “Now, come here.”

Reece’s baser instincts began working on his mental defenses, tearing them down like a house of cards. Ciera was incredibly sexy, and he desperately wanted a shower. That made her request sound pretty good to him. Besides, he told himself, he needed to do this to sustain Ciera’s lifeforce. Reece figured that since he was already being so altruistic, he may as well enjoy himself. His guilt didn’t stand a chance. Removing his jacket, he tossed it onto one of the chairs and walked into the bathroom. His finger flicked the light switch on.

Noting that the power worked in this room too, Reece turned on the shower and set it for ‘warm’. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a nice shower. Probably at Kennedy. Tears threatened to well up again at all those he had lost there as well. Entire families with little kids, all gone now. Now wasn’t the time to contemplate such things, he told himself. A woman was waiting for him and his pleasure was her sustenance. That pleasant thought chased away the darker one and he managed a smile.

Pulling off his t-shirt, he noticed in the mirror that he somehow still had his eight-pack. He guessed it made sense since he had done almost nothing but fight and work and run and fight some more. His entire time on the ground had been like a marathon. Maybe now that he had a minute to relax, was why he was reliving those painful memories. There just wasn’t time to process them before. Again, now wasn’t the time. As he shoved the tenacious thoughts back down again, Reece noticed how dirty he was and quickly stripped down to nothing. He tossed his clothes into the corner, dismissing them as he looked longingly at the hot water cascading from the large showerheads.

Quickly jumping into the shower, he sighed in ecstasy as the hot water sprayed across his back. This shower model had six heads that moved about his body, spraying the filth from him. He looked down and watched the dirt and grime collect at the bottom of the tub and lazily move towards the drain before circling down it. He had wanted to get in ahead of Ciera to clean off for her. She deserved him to be clean and fresh. The soap in the shower heads smelled like fresh cocoa butter and he rubbed the water across his body as it hit, lathering the soap up. The shower door opened, and a slender dark leg stepped in, followed by the rest of Ciera.

She had disrobed and stood before him in all her glory as the shower heads realigned to clean them both. She smiled at the pleasant feeling, arching her back in pleasure as the warm jets of water crisscrossed her body as well as his own. Her skin was a tawny beige. She had no tan lines. Her breasts were even larger than he had imagined, her arched back causing them to jut out towards him. They looked firm, with dark brown areolas. In their center were gorgeous nipples, which at this moment were sticking out from her body, fully erect.

She tilted her slender neck to the side and gave him a playful look, a little half-smile adorning her lovely face. They stared at each other for a moment, each absorbing the sweet sight of the other. Ciera straightened back up, her face getting serious before her eyes turned soft with lust. She stepped into him, putting her hands on his chest and breaking his reverie.

The mere touch of her hands sent chills of deep satisfaction throughout his entire body, emanating from where her delicate fingers lightly played over his skin. She began playing with his nipples as her tongue snakes out to lick his lips. She withdrew her tongue and stared into his eyes with lust and something more profound underneath. The chills of satisfaction only intensified, her touch and smoldering gaze working together to overwhelm his pleasure center.

It was unlike anything he had ever known before. He knew it must have been her power, something her looks had only hinted at. At this moment, it didn’t matter to him. It felt wonderful and that’s what mattered. After the horrors he and the others experienced, this feeling she was creating within him washed all of it away. A tinge of fear ran up his spine, a fear that he could become hopelessly addicted to this feeling. It was like a drug. That fear curbed the sensation, allowing him to focus and not lose himself in her.

While he knew it wouldn’t be an unpleasant sacrifice, he was also learning he had a strong will and sense of self that he refused to concede to anyone. If she knew what she was doing to him, she didn’t let on. The looks she gave him as she grabbed a cleansing sponge, squeezed it, and began slowly rubbing it over his body ranged between lust and love. As she worked the lather across his pecs and over his abs she kept glancing up into his eyes as if seeking his approval. It made her seem nervous and innocent, which only endeared her more to him. Logically, Reece knew she was the ultimate seductress. Emotionally, he didn’t care and let himself go with it.

“Turn around,” she whispered.

He turned and felt her hands rub his back under the water splashing against it, lathering him up. As the lilin worked, she was giving him a nice backrub in the process. Ciera slowly worked down his back and then massaged his cheeks before grabbing him around the waist and turning him back to face her. He took the hint and returned the favor, soaping her gorgeous chest. Her breasts were as firm as they looked, but with a certain sensual softness to them as well. He worked down her tight stomach and turned her around, lathering her back as he rubbed the tension from her neck and shoulders. Then he worked down to her lower back and finally down to her posterior, taking his time there. She suddenly spun back around giggling.

“I missed a spot,” she purred as she began rubbing a part of him that was aroused by everything that she was doing to him.

Reece did not attempt to stop her. She kept the rubbing up for a while, bringing Reece to the brink of explosion before allowing him to calm back down. She smiled as she changed the shower’s setting from wash to rinse and cleaned off all the soap that now covered the two of them. Once they were both rinsed off, she kissed him, flicking her tongue across his lips even as she withdrew. Reece wondered what she was up to next.

Winking, she sensuously sunk to her knees and took his hardness into her mouth. As hot wetness surrounded him, Reece lost himself to the pleasure of her mouth. She knew what she was doing. His eyes almost rolled into the back of his head from the ecstasy he was feeling as her tongue swirled around him and her mouth hummed, adding to the intensity of the act.

He didn’t last long against such an amorous assault and grabbed two of the shower heads as his knees began to buckle. Reece exploded, releasing his pent-up lust into her mouth in several bursts. All sensation left him except for the exquisite feeling. Ciera continued humming as she sucked, this time making happy little sounds as she was finally nourished by his seed.

When he had finally started to recover, Reece was relieved to discover that he was somehow still standing. He looked down and noticed she was cleaning him diligently with her tongue and mouth, not wanting to miss a single precious drop of him. Licking her lips as she stood back up, he saw that she looked healthier than he had ever seen her.

Her hair shimmered brightly, her skin almost glowed, and her eyes carried a brighter light behind them than they had before. She even looked like she was a couple of years younger; her breasts seeming a bit smaller but perkier, her body just a touch thinner. The few small wounds she had suffered over the last few days were all gone too. The changes were all subtle but remarkable. This woman, this girl if he wasn’t careful, was full of surprises.

“Thank you. That was... delicious. No. That was magnificent. I can honestly say, I’ve never had better. You are something special, Reece Danielson,” she told him smiling, tears in her eyes. Then she hugged him for a long time as the warm water continued to splash off them both.

“And thank you,” he said back to her, not knowing what else to say after this near life-altering experience.

They finished the shower and dried off. Reece went to pick up his clothes and Ciera stopped him.

“Those are filthy,” she told him. “Naeva and Karina are picking up some new clothes for all of us. There was a department store just one building over. Now, I know you men need time to recover, so let’s get in bed and snuggle for a bit. I want to find out how good of a kisser you really are.”

Reece had thought they were done, but apparently, Ciera had other plans. Still, he was naked, and snuggling sounded quite nice just then. Reece nodded and headed to the closest bed, pulling back the flowery tan covers, revealing pure white sheets beneath. He slid between them and lay back on the fluffy pillow. Ciera approached the bed from the other side and did the same, scooching up beside him and draping her arm and leg over him as she rested her head upon his chest.

“I don’t know why,” she whispered, “but I feel protected whenever you’re around. Especially right now. It’s such a turn-on. You don’t even know. And if the appetizer was any indication, I think I’m going to love the main dish.”

“You’re an amazing woman, Ciera,” Reece whispered back to her with equal parts amusement and adoration.

They stayed like that for a good twenty minutes before Ciera’s hand began to wander. Once she found what she was looking for, it snapped Reece out of his reverie. It didn’t take long for the snuggling to be replaced by something else entirely. She leaned over and kissed him before backing off and smiling playfully. Then she leaned back in and licked his lips. The sexy woman slipped back and forth between kissing and licking and soon Reece was more than ready for whatever she had planned. She let him go with her hand and moved her body over his, straddling his stomach.

Ciera was the very picture of sensual desire personified as she leaned forward and scooted down. Her hand guided Reece into her, and they were finally one as her legs and ass pressed down upon his pelvis. Ciera let out a soft sigh before she raised herself and dropped back down, starting to make love to the man underneath of her. Reece fell into the rhythm, rising to meet her and time passed quickly. Little gasps and moans escaped her lips as she enjoyed herself with him. They changed positions many times, to Reece, each one seeming better than the last.

At last, she coaxed what she needed from him, and in his ecstasy, the lovely lilin was once again nourished. This time in a different, more complete way for the finally fully satiated lilin. Exhausted, Reece fell fast asleep with a decisively contented Ciera snuggling warmly into his strong arms. As he drifted off, he swore her could hear her purring.

The charred and gnarled landscape gave way to a sea of churning blood. A golden sun looked on across a crimson sky and shone down on dark shapes moving about the bloody waves. Reece stood on the shore and smiled as he looked around at all his companions. But as he looked at each one, they frowned and backed away until he was alone. Then he was being pulled backward by some unknown force and thrown into the darkness. The smell of chemicals and rot hung in the air and he tried to move but found himself bound by chains. His cries were greeted by silence.

He fought the chains, but they wouldn’t budge. He was trapped but wouldn’t give up. Despite all his efforts, he was helpless. Fear gave into despair and he cried as the hours ticked by. Slowly, a tingle ran up his spine. He felt another presence, someone who was there for him. To rescue or finish off, he didn’t know. But it was someone who was somehow familiar, but new. And the person wasn’t alone. Another stood by. A lightly tanned mouth with ruby red lips came into view, followed closely by two glowing red eyes. The mouth opened to reveal twin toothy daggers, hanging like stalactites from the cavern of her mouth. A mouth that pressed against his own.