The group spent the next few days scouting the area around the hotel, but not finding much. They had gone through most of the food they had taken with them. One such day, Reece suddenly realized that he hadn’t eaten, and he was starving. Karina had feasted on him a couple of times during their lovemaking and left him a tad light-headed as well. He found his pack and fished out the last self-heating can of soup he had brought along. The only thing left in the pack now was the black rock he had taken from the space station and the journal they had found in Aldo’s lab on Zhengzhou.

After a quick preparation, he practically inhaled the can of steak and potato soup. It was delicious and stopped the rumbling in his belly. Nature called and he found the bathroom, taking care of business and cleaning himself up. With a clear head, he wondered where everyone had gotten off to for the day. He decided to leave a note and take off to find a grocery store or something to restock their food supply. He made it down to the first floor where he ran into the three girls returning from their explorations.

“Where do you think you’re going?” asked Karina, a touch of playful anger in her voice.

“I’ve been cooped up in the room for two days,” explained Reece, a bit frustrated. “I figured I’d take a trip to a store and resupply. We’re out of food.”

“Oh, we’ve got that covered,” piped in Ciera. She opened the canvas tote in her hands, revealing a pile of canned and dried goods.

“Nice,” replied Reece, smiling at the surprise bounty.

“Oh yeah,” cut in Naeva. “We were able to locate some communications equipment as well. It should allow us to get back in touch with Angel and Ground Control.”

“Sounds like a plan,” said Reece as he turned to head back up the stairs. “I guess I can wait until tomorrow to get out of the room.”

“Sure,” replied Karina as the three girls followed him up the stairs. “But we saw a few strange things while we were out and about.”

Reece looked over his shoulder and asked, “Like what?”

“Well, we didn’t encounter a single undead anywhere,” answered Naeva. “No bodies, no gut piles... not any sign of them. We didn’t find any blood or damage to anything either. It’s like most of the people left before the zombies arrived. There’s no sign that any of the undead came here at all.”

“Then there’s the fact that we saw a vehicle driving down the road,” added Karina. “Then we noticed that all of the roads are clear of vehicles; no traffic jams, accidents, or anything.”

“So, it looks like this city had been abandoned, but it’s not abandoned anymore,” reasoned Reece. “We need to determine if whomever you saw is friendly...or not. I’m assuming not, as I think Naeva’s exactly right about what she overheard at the prison. The Order is setting up communities of their own and is almost definitely here. Is there any chance that they saw you?”

“Not much of one,” said Karina. “We stayed together and stuck to the closer buildings. We didn’t leave ourselves in the open at any point in time. Just in case, we came back here by taking a haphazard route and entered the parking garage through the building on the other side of it.”

“Well, we should hopefully be good then,” said Reece somewhat relieved. “We got lucky that we only used the rooms’ lights during the day. Still, we should prepare for the possibility of an attack anyways... just to be safe.”

The girls nodded their assent as they reached the room Reece had been staying in. They all entered together and dropped off their supplies.

Naeva said something to Ciera, and Ciera looked at Reece and Karina.

“We’re going to the roof to set up the comms equipment for the best signal. I’ll take the rifle and scout the area for anything approaching us. We’ll stay in touch with these walkies Naeva found at one of those posh electronics stores.”

“These radios have some nice security features,” added Naeva. “We’ve paired these four together, so they can’t be intercepted and decrypted. We should be able to talk without worrying about anyone listening in. Still, stay off them except in emergencies or for short periods of time. They can still be triangulated if we stay on them long enough.”

“Alright,” replied Reece. “Good luck. Let us know what you find.”

“Will do,” beamed Ciera as she looked back and forth between Karina and Reece. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”

Naeva and Ciera giggled together as they took the comms equipment and headed for the roof, leaving two of the radios with Reece and Karina. Reece went to the window and peeked out the shades, careful not to move them. There wasn’t much daylight left and the sky had started to cloud up.

“It looks like rain,” said Reece. “Hopefully Naeva and Ciera will finish before it starts coming down too hard.”

“Hmmm,” said Karina. “If they get drenched, we’ll just have to warm them back up.”

“Nah. They can just take a nice hot shower,” said Reece before understanding what Karina had meant. “Oh, well then...I’ll get some towels ready to dry them up first at least.”

“You are too sweet,” stated Karina as she smiled at him. “Gimme some sugar, baby.”

“You’re so weird sometimes,” said Reece as he smiled and scooped the girl up into his arms, kissing her hard on the lips.

They continued kissing for several minutes until the radio buzzed to life.

“Guys,” came Ciera’s voice. “We’re in position. Work has begun. Conditions are okay but looks like they’re about to worsen soon. We’ll try to hurry. Shouldn’t take too long. Over.”

“Copy that. Over and out,” replied Reece into the walkie before looking over at Karina who was sitting on the bed. “Sounds like they noticed the clouds too. I’ll go get those towels ready.”

“I already did,” Karina told him. “While you were talking on the walkie. They’re by the door. Now...get over here.”

Reece glanced over at the door and sure enough, a pile of towels was sitting on a shelf there. She must have used her speed to put them there so fast, he reasoned. Reece grinned and shook his head as he joined Karina on the bed. He barely had time to put the walkie on the nightstand before she tackled him. Despite it only having been a few hours since they had been together, holding her in his arms made it feel like the first time all over again. How he loved her.

They kissed heavily, full of need and explored each other’s bodies over their clothes. The clothes didn’t last much longer. They ripped them off each other in unbridled lust as their lips continued to find each other and wage a sweet yet unrelenting war. They were soon interrupted by Naeva and Ciera as the two suddenly burst through the door looking miserable. They were soaked to the bone and immediately noticed and took advantage of the towels. Both women stripped completely naked, throwing their wet clothes into the bathroom to hang off the shower curtain rod or edge of the tub. The room was getting dark as dusk finally arrived and the two women shivered as they made their way to the bed, wearing only the towels Karina had provided for them. Neither seemed to think of taking a hot shower. They clearly had a different idea of how to warm up. In this, the girl’s minds were as one.

Ciera crawled in next to Karina and Naeva crawled in next to Reece, both letting their towels fall to the floor in the process. The bed was nice and warm from Reece and Karina’s activities and the two women sighed in ecstasy as their frozen bodies began to thaw. Naeva giggled and grabbed ahold of Reece, pressing her cold body up against his much warmer flesh. The poor man yelled and jumped from the touch of her frigid skin.

It took a few minutes, but everyone slowly began warming back up. Reece lay still while Naeva continued to press herself against him, draping her arm and leg over him to continue to enjoy the heat of his body. Ciera was spooning Karina as their temperatures slowly adjusted to each other. Reece managed to not get too excited until he started hearing Karina begin to quietly moan next to him. He looked over at the forms of the two spooning girls and could just make out movement under the covers as the last of the day’s light vanished and left them in near complete darkness.

Reece felt rather than saw Naeva’s hand caress his chin and turn his face towards hers. He watched as her eyes searched his. For what, he could only guess. She would never admit it, but he could almost feel the love she had for him. As he was staring deeply into her eyes, dusky brown like wet beach sand, he felt the firmness of her warm lips pressed against his own.

Reece returned the kiss with vigor, passion hotly flowing through his veins and throughout his body. Her tongue probed his lips, asking to be let in. His lips responded, parting slightly to let it slide inside his mouth. She wasted no time, plunging her tongue into his mouth with the urgency of desire. He sucked on the tongue, enjoying the little moans that escaped Naeva’s throat.

Going on the attack, he let his tongue flick across the sultry young woman’s lips. His teasing quickly paid off as she sucked his tongue into her mouth. They fell into each other, their tongues dancing passionately around one another.

While Reece and Naeva explored each other’s mouths with their tongues, he could hear Karina’s almost girlish moans grow louder from across the bed. He listened intently as her erotic moans were accompanied by little sighs, gasps, and cries of ecstasy. She was clearly enjoying whatever Ciera was doing to her young-looking body. The sensual sounds were soon replaced by the sounds of wet and intense kissing.

The happy little noises coming from the two ladies next to him told Reece that they weren’t merely cuddling anymore. They were exploring each other’s bodies and relishing in every moment of the sexual acts they were doing for each other. He smiled, feeling relief that he didn’t have to try and satisfy them all at once. He was just one man, after all. Naeva held his head in her hands as they kissed, as if she feared letting him go would end the sensual act.

Naeva continued holding his head as she slid on top of him. He admired her dark curves as she straddled his stomach, just above his hips. Naeva gave him a little smile as she rubbed her body against his, slowing inching downward. When his belly button had just appeared from beneath her dark thatch, he felt her warmth slide over his manhood as it parted her from below. Angling herself just right, Naeva pulled herself back up and then down again, forcing his manhood into her wet warmth.

As she started to rhythmically rise and fall over him, Reece closed his eyes and stretched his head back for a moment, savoring every moment of Naeva’s body massaging his own. Raising his hands to her breasts, he cupped one in each hand, playing with her sensitive nipples with his thumbs. She let out little cries as he tweaked the sensitive nobs, hardened by desire.

Laying there, he felt nothing but bliss. She was subtly speeding up, her passion for him bringing even greater stimulation to his senses. With a big smile on his face, he continued using his thumbs and pumping his hips up to meet her downward thrusts. Falling into sync with Naeva, Reece let himself relax and enjoy her body. His reverie was interrupted by a cry from above him. Naeva’s body had stopped its up and down motion and she was simply sitting on him, shivering as waves of intense pleasure were obviously flowing through her body.

Knowing that he had helped her reach her peak of pleasure, Reece felt himself crest that same summit a few moments later. As he filled her insides; her body sat straight up, threw her head back, and screamed in pure euphoria. Reece was a little worried she would hurt herself. They had had sex many times before, but he’d never seen her climax this hard. The sensual sounds of lovemaking from the two women next to him paused as they both looked over at Naeva to make sure she was okay.

A good minute passed before Naeva finally came down and was able to speak again. “That was, oh wow...I’ve never...uh, oh wow...” was all she managed to say as she cuddled down onto Reece, letting her afterglow wash over them both.

“I’ll have some of what she’s having,” cut in Ciera, smiling wickedly at the two of them.

After Naeva had recovered, the two couples slowly merged into a quartet of lovers as the nighttime hours ticked by. Reece experienced things that he doubted many other men had ever experienced throughout human history. With more of the lilitu’s blood, Reece was able to keep up with the powerful and sexy girls through the remainder of the night.

The following morning, as the light peaked through the drawn curtain and futilely tried to brighten the room, Reece was the first to wake. He felt amazingly warm and refreshed as he opened his eyes and took in his surroundings. Naeva was lying to his right side with her arm and head on his chest and a long leg crossed over his.

Karina was smashed between him and Ciera, with her platinum blonde head laying on his left arm and one small arm draped over his belly. She was softly snoring. Ciera was on the other side of the lilitu’s slight body, barely touching Reece. What she lacked in quantity, she made up for by quality as she had ahold of his manhood.

Reece laughed to himself that the gorgeous lilin would subconsciously go for her favorite part as she slept. That was her nature, after all. Reece, slowly and with deep reservations, extricated himself from the tangle of warm bodies.

Once he was free of their warm and inviting touch, he put on clothes that the girls had found for him during their scouting mission. The blue jeans slid up his legs easily and fit him well. He added a black tank top, slipping it over his head. The girls had picked a dark blue button-down for him. Once it was on, he noticed that it hugged him around the torso.

Luckily, the short sleeves were wide enough to provide his arms with greater freedom of movement than he expected. Reece chuckled inwardly. Looking at himself in a mirror, he liked what he saw. The outfit looked good and complimented him well. The girls had really outdone themselves. Warm socks and his combat boots completed the new outfit.

While he dressed, an odd thought came to him. The last couple of nights were wildly erotic and wonderful but seemed too good to be true. He went over everything he could remember since crash-landing and he came up with three possibilities. One, that the haze had somehow affected the females as well. Two, that he was one of the only males still able to crate offspring. Maybe females could sense that. And three, that it was the nightcore doing it. He’d been carrying the rock with him constantly since the crash. Whatever the reason, he was enjoying the ride. He only hoped it wouldn’t all come crashing down on all of them.

Continuing to think things through, he took it upon himself to make the ladies some breakfast in bed... at least the ones that ate food. He had already fed Karina several times last night. He couldn’t get over how incredible he felt as he made pancakes from a box the ladies had scavenged. By the time the first one was cooked, Naeva and Ciera began to stir.

“Mm,” yawned Naeva in sleepy bliss. “What smells so good?”

“Yeah, what she said,” echoed Ciera. “I want some.”

Reece cooked the rest of the flapjacks and the three ate them together while Karina slept in. The tasty breakfast and great company helped Reece shove his worries to the back of his mind. He looked over at the sleeping form on the bed. Karina finally awoke a little after they had finished and found something to put on. It was a black leather suit that fit her form perfectly, thanks to the countless belts and buckles holding the thing in place pretty much everywhere. A small pair of black combat boots completed the wicked ensemble.

“Where on earth did you find that?” asked Reece as he nearly choked while drinking some water. “You look like a dominatrix.”

“Ahh, you noticed,” she teased. “I like it. And it’ll be good in a fight. The tag even says that blood washes right off.”

This time Reece did choke on his cup of water, spraying water everywhere. When he finished gasping and sputtering, he looked at her like she was insane.

“Okay...seriously...where did you find that thing?” he asked, wondering if this was part of the affect of whatever was going on with them.

“What’s the matter, Reece?” cut in Naeva. “I think she looks like a sexy little badass.”

“Yeah, I’ve worn those a few times. Lots of guys love them, and they’re quite comfortable” added Ciera as she went on to feel a bit nostalgic. “She found it in an S & M shop across the street. We’re in the seedier part of town here. Kinda feels like home.”

“You don’t like it,” pouted Karina as she looked up at Reece with her big red eyes.

“Fine, you do look pretty sexy and even a little badass in it,” caved Reece. “I’m just worried if we’re attacked. I don’t know how much I can fight in the condition you’re putting me in with that get-up. Besides, shouldn’t we dress for utility?”

“Ahh, you really like it,” beamed Karina once again as she did a little twirl and smacked herself on her leather-clad butt. “Don’t worry love, it actually has a lot more utility than you might think.”

Taking Karina’s cue, Naeva and Ciera decided they had probably better get dressed too. Ciera put on a green skirt and white top that left her midriff bare. Then she tied back her kinky hair and added knee-high leather boots that obviously came from the same shop Karina had dressed from. Naeva put on a lacey white blouse and skin-tight blue jeans. She also found brown utility boots to complete her look. Ciera walked over to Karina and helped her put her long platinum locks into a twin-tail before stepping back and admiring her work.

“Wow,” sighed Ciera. “Now you truly look like a sexy little man-eater.”

All the girls laughed together at her little half-joke. Reece just shook his head. He was now convinced they were all high on either the haze or some emanation from the black rock that he carried. He decided to try and talk some sense into them.

“You girls look amazing, but this isn’t a beauty competition,” he chastised. “Look, ladies. What we’re doing is dangerous and you really need to take it seriously, or I’ll lose my shit if any of you got hurt.”

“Ah, that’s sweet,” replied Naeva half-mockingly. “But we’re more than ready to face whatever is to come and if I’m gonna die today...well, I wanna look good doing it. So, are we good?”

Reece just chuckled and shook his head, having lost the argument before it began. “We’re good,” he replied, smiling at Naeva’s brazen outlook. He knew these women were a force to be feared by anyone unlucky enough to oppose them, regardless of what outfits they decided to wear.