Peace, Interrupted
It had been one year since Rochelle, Coach, Ellis, and Nick were rescued. But not everything turned out to be honky-dory on the safe side of things. They were taken straight to a settlement situated in what used to be Biloxi State Management Area, south-east of New Orleans. Rochelle and Coach were taken to separate parts of the settlement whereas Nick managed to stay with Ellis in a small house.
The two lovers were sleeping soundly together when someone pounded on the door. Ellis moaned and rolled over, wrapping his bare arms around his lover, snoring. Nick looked at the clock. 6:18.
"What – who the hell would show up this early?" he asked angrily. Ellis stirred.
"Mmm?"
"Someone's at the door."
Ellis pulled Nick closer to him, breathing in his scent. He hooked his leg over Nick and exhaled heavily, pressing his hips into his backside.
"Well, ignore 'em," he sighed. He nuzzled Nick's neck. He smiled at the recollection of the previous night's events. Nick stroked Ellis' arms around him.
BANG, BANG, BANG.
Nick growled. "Fuck off!"
"Military official! I have something to discuss," bellowed a man.
Great. As if the military weren't giving them enough problems.
Ellis pulled away from Nick and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He pulled on some boxers and a pair of sweatpants provided by CEDA. Nick cursed and followed suit. Ellis grunted as he stood up and cracked his joints. He walked over to the door, peeking behind his shoulder to look at his lover. Man, what a night.
"Hey, kid," Nick said, "you might want to put on a shirt."
The mischief in the conman's voice forced the hick's gaze to snap down to his chest. He flicked on the light powered by their generator. The conman peered over and split into a half-grin, tossing Ellis a white t-shirt so he could cover the hickeys that dotted his skin.
"Thanks," Ellis murmured with a smile. Nick tied his sweatpants and pulled a shirt over his head.
Ellis pushed open the door to the bedroom and walked straight over to the front door as he dressed in his shirt. He unlocked it and pulled it open just a little to peek at the soldier.
He was tall and well-built with blonde hair and dark brown eyes. He stood taller than him and had more muscles on him than the retired mechanic/zombie-hunter. He held a clipboard in his hands and looked pissed off.
"Can I help you?" Ellis asked groggily. Nick passed behind him and went to the kitchen.
"Name's Mac. CEDA's sent me to have a little chat with you," he said bluntly.
"...Ok?"
"You might wanna let me in."
Ellis hesitated before fully opening the door. Nick sat down at the table. Ellis sat with him after offering a seat to Mac on the opposite side. The soldier looked from Ellis to Nick and back again, tongue in cheek. Ellis shifted in his chair.
"What do you want?" Nick spat, unpleased with his expression. The soldier's hard gaze fixed on the conman. He leaned back in his chair, tossing his clipboard onto the table.
"Gentlemen, as you know, the infected are dying out rapidly around the country. The infection is festering through their bodies and in turn, is killing the hosts. CEDA now wants to focus on different matters."
"Like?"
"Rebuilding America."
Ellis furrowed his brows. He looked at Nick. Nick's jaw was clenched as he glared at Mac.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"
"Means that you two are to take part in this," he replied. He pushed the clipboard to Ellis with a smirk. Ellis picked it up and started to read.
"Project Repop?" Ellis murmured.
"Keep reading."
Ellis looked up at Mac, then over to Nick, who glared at the form, nostrils flaring.
PROJECT REPOP
The status of the infection is waning. Unfortunately, the population of America rests in the hands of the rescued, whose numbers range from 2,000 to 2,500 individuals situated in five separate settlements around the country. Since the sickness is no longer a major threat, the need for population increase is imminent.
Upon signing, this form signifies that the male/female have been informed and are willing to take part in Project Repop, a mission to boost the settlement's population by breeding unmarried (proof of marriage required) individuals aged 18 to 40 with other individuals. It is strongly advised that every person able to participate does so.
Please talk to an official if there are any questions or concerns. CEDA will be holding a settlement conference this Friday that every participant must attend.
CEDA
Ellis shot a look at Mac of utter bewilderment.
"The programs work like this: CEDA takes a man and a woman that are fit to reproduce, they provide them with a house in quadrant B dedicated solely for this project. They stay together for the one week the female is ovulating and try to conceive a child. If it is successful, then the woman gets a lovely pair of dog tags to wear around her neck. If not, the couple will try the next month. And so on and so forth.
"Basically, you two get to fuck the brains out of a woman, get her pregnant, and be on your merry way while doin' the country a favour."
"What?" Ellis gasped. "Hell naw, I ain't doin' this." He started breathing quickly. No. He wasn't going to touch another woman. He vowed to be forever faithful to Nick ever since they first had sex in the middle of the apocalypse. Nick scoffed and ran his fingers through his hair.
"Well, son, you don't have a choice in the matter." Mac's mouth split into an evil grin. Ellis gritted his teeth, his whole body quivering.
"The hell we don't. Says here that it is 'strongly advised'. And I'm telling you right now, I'm following enough rules as it is. So – fuck off." Nick stood up and scowled at the officer. "I'll show you the door."
"You see, that's where I come in." Ellis swallowed as the soldier crossed his arms. "I'm the one who makes sure you sign this form. Otherwise, I'll show you the consequences. Now, I suggest you and your 'friend' here sign these damn papers so you two can go back to bed, how 'bout that?"
"Get out."
Mac stood up. Nick twisted his mouth in rage. "There is no way you are going to get me to sign these forms."
"Oh, really?"
"Ok, let's jus' sit back down and talk about our options," Ellis said. Mac was close, now. Uncomfortably close. Threateningly close.
"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," the soldier said. He pulled his pistol out of his holster and swung it at Ellis unsuspecting head. It hit him square in the jaw. He toppled off his chair, hitting his head on the hard floor. Mac loomed over him and stepped on Ellis' throat as Nick stumbled back in surprise. Ellis choked in fright as Mac pressed his boot into his throat, gun pointed down at him. "There are no options."
"Ellis!" Nick yelled. He stepped forward. Mac turned the gun on him as Ellis struggled for breath under his foot. Man, he was strong.
"Back off," Mac growled. Nick raised his hands, stopping in his tracks. "This is my final warning – sign those damn papers or else I'll shoot you and send your boyfriend off to CEDA's lab with 'infected' written all over his pretty face. And trust me, you don't want that. Now do me a favour and make my job easier. Sign the fucking form."
Nick curled his hands into concrete fists. Mac cocked the gun.
"Nick," Ellis wheezed. Mac pressed his boot against his throat harder. He choked, but he couldn't push him off.
Nick looked at Ellis. He picked up the clipboard and the pen that were on the table. Without removing his gaze from the soldier, he carved his signature into the paper after printing his full name.
"There."
"Nancy, too," Mac said. He jerked his head down to Ellis. Nick fumed. He stretched his arm to Ellis. Ellis reached his arm out as his vision began to splotch. He grabbed the board and the pen and held the pen to the form. He couldn't move his hands. He could not sign this contract.
Mac pressed the gun right against Nick's forehead, finger on the trigger. Nick glared back.
Ellis jabbed the pen into the paper and scribbled his signature, bitterly. He shoved it in Mac's free hand. Mac drew back his gun, but kept it pointed at Nick. He lifted his foot off Ellis, who gasped and relaxed. He lifted his gun in surrender and started for the front door behind Nick. He smirked and lunged for Nick, kneed him in the stomach, and exited the house.
"See you Friday!"
Ellis waited for the footsteps to fade before he bolted upright and coughed. He scrambled over to Nick, who was lying on the floor, clutching his stomach.
"Nick, you alright?" he rasped. He placed a comforting hand on his back as Nick finally gasped for breath.
"Well, this day just got better," he snarled. "Prick."
Ellis stood up, head swimming from Mac's blow. He pulled Nick up to his feet, but he still hunched over. They started heading back to the bedroom.
Ellis eased Nick onto the hard mattress and sat beside him. He leaned back and put his head on a pillow as Nick took long breaths to clear the pain in his abs.
"Been a while since some action, huh?" Ellis piped up in attempt to lighten the mood. Nick stayed silent. "Nick?"
"You realize what we just got ourselves into?" he asked quietly. It was Ellis' turn to be silent. Nick shook his head angrily.
"CEDA's fucked up," Ellis murmured, rubbing his head.
"No shit, really?" Nick snarled. "You didn't see that for the past year? You didn't see the fuckin' massive walls surrounding this place; you didn't see the soldiers bossing everyone around with M 16's; you didn't see half the survivors get hauled off and SHOT because they had a scrape? Wake the fuck up!"
"Calm down, okay?"
"Don't tell me to fuckin' calm down, Ellis! Dunno if you noticed, but we just –"
"Holy shit, 'course I noticed!" Ellis yelled. He turned onto his side, back facing the gambler. Nick took a few breaths before turning to Ellis. He dragged himself closer to the hick.
Ellis was trembling like a leaf. His muscles were tense and he was breathing shallow breaths.
"Kid, we don't have to do it," he growled.
"Yes, we do. If we don', Mac's gonna come back and make us do it. Or somebody will. Don't play dumb, you know it's true."
Nick moved closer to Ellis. He knew. He also knew that the confinement was getting to them. 500 other people shared this damn camp and there was barely enough room for everyone. It was a stark contrast compared to the months they spent fighting the infected out in the open cities.
"We talked about this, El," Nick said. "We knew CEDA was going to make us –"
"Yeah, I know. I remember."
Nick tried to calm down further, the pain in his stomach dulling slowly.
"You okay?" he asked.
"I'm fine," the kid mumbled. Nick waited. He pulled Ellis close to him.
"You're a terrible liar, kid."
"My neck hurts. There, happy?"
"No."
"I don't want to do this."
"Keep going."
"I don't like the thought of you sleepin' with women."
"There we go."
Ellis flustered and hunched his shoulders. He crossed his arms under Nick's to separate them a little. No words could have been used to tell the kid that everything would be okay. Because it wasn't.
"I would have hoped you felt the same way," he said quietly.
"What do you mean?"
"You didn't say it."
Nick furrowed his brows. "What?"
"You didn't say that you didn't like the thought of me sleepin' with women, either."
"Well, I do."
"Uh huh."
There was no point in arguing. Nick released Ellis with a huff and rolled to his side of the bed. He reached over the edge and grabbed his shoes. He sat up and stuffed his feet, stomping them on the ground a little to set his feet properly. He pressed his hand to his stomach as he stood up, wincing slightly. He forced his gaze away from the kid as he walked out of the room to the front door without another word.
Nick walked through the streets of the settlement, feeling the sun's warmth on his bare arms and through the soft fabric of his sweatpants. He breathed through his nose, keeping his jaw tight against his frustration.
Their house was the last one beside one of CEDA's walls situated on one street dedicated for housing: small one-bedroom houses with a kitchen and a bathroom.
Up the street, past the uncountable houses, there were facilities open to the public that were built from stray materials around the state (which there was no shortage of). There was a mess-hall that supplied everyone's meals. Beside that was a tiny convenience store, stocked with canned food, powdered milk, cigarettes, gum, cat toys, alcohol, soft drinks, and other things for the survivors to purchase with whatever money they had.
In the middle of the settlement was a massive building for CEDA. Inside were expensive labs to test the infected to formulate vaccines for the population. There was a clinic that could treat up to a whopping four people at a time. The labs succeeded the clinic in size by five times, proving to everyone how corrupt CEDA was truly being. And it didn't help that anyone employed there that wasn't a CEDA agent or a doctor was another soldier.
Nick didn't even acknowledge the few people he passed; the day was still painfully young. He passed the mess-hall and walked into the convenience store.
"Ay, Nick!" Stanley, the store clerk, flashed Nick a wide smile. He was about forty-five with gray hair and a large waist-line.
"Stan," Nick replied. He made way for the fridge in the back to grab a pop. His gaze fell on a bottle of Coke. He thought about the time he had to retrieve some for that gun store clerk back in Savannah. He grabbed it.
"You heard 'bout that project, yet? That's some shit, eh?" Stan said with a chuckle. "If only I were your age."
"Yeah, well, just my luck, I guess." Nick placed the bottle on the counter.
"How's your friend? Excited, too?" Stan, still smiling, punched the total into the old cash register.
Nick chuckled. He pulled out a bill and tossed it to Stan, who took it and placed it in the cash drawer. Inside, he felt like picking up the register and throwing it through a window.
"Take it easy, there, Nick!"
Nick barely acknowledged the clerk as he sped out. He continued up the street, tearing the metal cap off the glass bottle. He barely twitched as the jagged metal tore his palm open, allowing the drink into his skin. He chugged it down, feeling the carbonated liquid flow into him. It poked at his skin like a million needles. He threw the empty bottle to the ground, smirking at the smashing noise. He kept walking towards the centre of the settlement: CEDA's building.
Nick approached the fortress without slowing. Soldiers guarding the citadel took note of the conman, who looked determined to get inside no matter what. He pushed open the main doors and made his way to the front desk. Of course, soldiers in uniform operated the whole shebang. One made eye-contact with the gambler first. He had a nicer demeanour to hi than his fellow soldier Mac.
"Good morning, sir, how may I assist you this mornin'?"
"I'd like to know what the fuck is going on," Nick stated in his rough and cocky voice.
"I'm sorry?"
"This morning, you sent out a soldier to my friend's and my house regarding this "Project Repop" bull." Nick put his hands in his pockets, controlling the situation.
"Yes, every person between the ages of eighteen and forty would have been notified this week." The soldier picked up his coffee from his desk and stepped closer to the counter dividing the two men.
"Notified? Is that what you call it nowadays?" Nick scoffed. "Alright, sure, send in a soldier to intrude on our privacy and hold a gun to my head, not to mention injure both of us."
"I don't understand," the soldier replied. "Who was this soldier?"
"Not important. What's important is that he forced us to sign up and I would like to reverse that, please and thank you."
Hook, line, and sinker.
The soldier took a swig of his coffee and ran a hand through his hair. "Well, you see, you can't get out of it."
Or not. "Excuse me?"
"A soldier can't physically force you to sign a paper. If your signature is on the form, then you have to take part in the project."
Nick felt like the world stopped on its axis. "But he held a gun to my head! He fuckin' –"
"Sir, do you have physical evidence that this soldier did indeed hold a gun to your head?"
"I have a witness with a bruised neck," Nick spat.
The soldier looked around the office, slightly flustered. He placed his coffee mug on the desk and walked around the counter to be face-to-face with Nick. He dropped his voice so only the two men could hear the conversation.
"Look, son, there is nothing I can do. CEDA has strict rules and they will make sure they are followed by any means necessary. I'm sorry for any disrespect, but your signatures are now on file. I take it that you aren't married?"
Nick hesitated. "No," he murmured bitterly.
"Then there is nothing I can do at all. You will have to take part in the project until you conceive a child."
Last resort or fold. Nick breathed deeply, already knowing what he dreaded to begin with.
"How can I get it up with someone I'm not attracted to?" The question wasn't only for him.
The soldier inhaled. "The same way I shoot someone when I don't want to."
And for a split second, the conman recognized the look in the soldier's eyes. The soldier kept a straight face, but the gambler could see right through his poker face. He only wondered if it was his wife or his kid he killed first before battling the hordes.
"Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do."
Nick just stood there, wavering. He swallowed and nodded to the soldier. He turned towards the door and went back out into the street. He could see rain clouds flying in over head as he slowly drudged back home, the soldier's gaze burning into the back of his head the entire way.
It had rained within the fifteen minutes it took Nick to walk home. And he was soaked right through. His cotton clothing stuck to his skin, dripping at the hems and squishing in his sneakers. After five minutes of walking through buckets of water, he just took off his shirt in defeat. He stepped onto his small property, trying to avoid the thought of what he'd tell Ellis. He opened the door after wringing out his shirt and stepped inside. He shut the door and saw the chair still misplaced on the floor from when Mac hit Ellis to the floor. He left it and walked down the small hallway to the bedroom where Ellis was.
He slowly opened the door, water dripping into his eyes. Ellis was sitting on the farther side of the bed holding his face. Nick just watched the kid. He just watched him breathe. Nick quietly wiped the water off his face and kept staring.
Shit, he was shaking again. Nick ducked slightly as Ellis pulled his hands from his face to look straight out the window. There was no expression on his face as the gray light hit his body, reflecting off the streams of tears glinting on his cheeks.
Nick pressed his forehead on the doorframe, squeezing his eyes shut.
"What do we do?" Ellis mumbled. Nick looked up, seeing Ellis's head turned to him.
Nick walked up to the bad and sat down beside him, wet pants and all.
"Sometimes, we gotta do what we gotta do," Nick replied. Ellis sniffed. "We have no choice, kid. I tried."
"I know, but –"
"Look, anything that happens out there stays out there. 'Don't ask, don't tell'. You don't ask about what happens with the women, and I won't tell you. I'll do the same."
The two men sat in silence for a moment. Ellis looked down at Nick's pants.
"You're wet," he muttered.
"So are you," Nick replied. He wiped his hand across Ellis' face to remove the tears. Ellis grabbed his frozen fingers.
"So anythin' that happens won't mean anythin'?"
"Well, I have to come home at some point." Nick chuckled and let Ellis rub his cold hand for warmth. "I had a Coke today. Remember that guy a while back?"
Ellis grinned. "That was fun. And he blew up a propane truck, too. Man, I thought you'd only see that shit on Myth Busters."
Ellis pulled Nick closer to him to warm him up further, carrying on with old pastimes and stories. They never even left the room that day. The only thing that seemed to exist was Nick and Ellis and their love for each other beneath the blankets. And the possibilities of what was could happen over the next few months that could shatter everything at once.