William enjoyed
the novelty of having a woman in his bed who was not constantly
crying.
Even though the 6'4"
man with his light brown hair, vivid blue eyes, a physique made
muscular by months of constant travel, strict rations, and hard
fighting was considered sexually appealing by most; the majority of
female dependents viewed sex as a duty rather than a pleasure.
Angel's eagerness
and obvious willingness were a welcome change for William.
It
was only after Angel became pregnant that William's unorthodox
post-apocalyptic romance began to unravel. The girl, previously
always eager to spend time with William, began refusing to leave the
dependent quarters.
When she did join
William in his private rooms or tent she was so uncharacteristically
docile in his bed that William soon stopped sending for her
altogether.
He assumed her
change was brought about by her pregnancy and began sending for one
of the other women when his physical needs became a distraction.
Only
later did he learn that Angel was carrying on an affair with one of
the guards assigned to the dependent quarters. The guard confessed
that the reason Angel was so eager to come to William's bed and stay
his favourite was because it granted her more freedom and less
supervision than the other women.
Convinced the child
was his, the young guard was determined to run away with Angel. The
plan was eventually discovered and William, enraged and embarrassed,
had the man crucified in full view of the hotel that was serving as
dependents quarters at the time. Angel remained with the dependents
since, regardless of how furious William was, he could not afford to
kill a pregnant woman.
Though
William knew that some unauthorized assignations took place between
the women and the men he chose not to interfere. Most of the women
understood it was better for them and their children to accommodate
the men, and the men knew things were easier if they didn't attempt
to get too rough with the women.
William understood
that it was best to let some rule breaking go unpunished, but after
Angel the idea of having a woman in his bed whose thighs had parted a
thousand times by the command of his men turned his stomach.
The
arrival of a newly found, possibly grateful, female survivor would
give him exactly what he desired, a woman who would remain solely his
for as long as he wanted her. Knowing that it was often more
difficult to find survivors while on the move, William had put off
leaving their current location for as long as possible.
He planned to leave
their current location within the week once more supplies were
stockpiled. William knew that his group were fond of the current
beach front location, but something about the area was making him
uneasy.
He
tried to ignore the feeling knowing that location was perfectly
safe. The community entrances were guarded against the undead
and other survivors, and the water itself offered its own security
since no one had ever seen the dead entering bodies of water.
Regardless of how
safe the position seemed, William was growing anxious to leave and
was pleased that his men were able to locate at least one female to
partially (in his own mind at least) justify the decision to linger
at the beach. William hoped amusing himself with the new female
would give him a chance to relax and take his mind off of his growing
concern.
CHAPTER TWO
A
discreet tap at the door followed by a murmured word from the aide
brought William forcefully back to the present. He shook his head
slightly as if to shake away the memories before telling his aide to
enter the room.
The young man, a boy
really, slowly opened the door and then stepped back allowing Second
Lieutenant Gardner to enter the bedroom. Behind the Lieutenant came
two young recruits and the long awaited woman stood quietly between
them.
The
woman was tall, perhaps 5'8", and very slender. Her surprisingly
pale skin was smooth, and the thick hair that fell down her back
Titania Woods
Elli Lewis
Cathy Ace
Vicki Green
Deirdre Martin
Joy Fielding
Tim Young
Tom Horneman
Janet Fox
Kenneth Horowitz