Just as I promised... you reviewed, so here's your reward. This, dear kiddies, is the final chapter of In Another Life. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. This is definitely my favorite chapter and you'll find out why soon enough. I know this has been a short story, but it only ever set out to be a quick look into the characters' lives.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter - it should answer any remaining questions you have. As always, you should send me some feedback, because I enjoy knowing what you all think.
Being in a prison with a handful of other people isn't nearly as comforting as it probably should be. It was bad enough not knowing myself when it was just myself and Alice. Now there are even more people that I don't know and I still have no idea who I am.
I keep my distance from everyone, even Alice now that we've landed amongst the small group of survivors. I don't know why she felt like she needed to land, but here we are. I guess at the end of the world, you have to take what you can get even if it means a brazen landing on top of a building.
Now I'm walking through the halls of the prison alone. Even if I don't have my memories, I keep track of where I'm going and where I've been. There is a bit of consolation in the fact that I can at least remember that.
For a moment, my attention wanders down to the spot where Alice touched me at the airport. There had been a couple of undead there and she pushed me back to keep me safe. I pull up the fabric of my shirt enough to reveal a bruise on my side – she was a little rougher than necessary.
A mark… it's so damn familiar…
I suddenly have to use the wall for support, my free hand coming up to rest on my forehead. Bits and pieces of memories are flashing through my mind, bright and vivid. I can see fragments of memories, I remember Alice.
She was… we were… What the fuck were we? There was no name given to what we were, we just were.
Though it isn't much, it's so much more than I had before. I can remember bits and pieces of Alice, of what we once were. It explains why I felt like I could trust her and why my heart would do gymnastics when she was suggestive.
Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she follow up after that kiss? Actually, I probably wouldn't have believed her if she tried to tell me and wouldn't have understood if she followed up after the kiss.
I remember something about rules. Yes, she had two rules about us being together. I broke one the night she kissed me because I didn't return the kiss. She used to let me break the second rule once in a while, before… well, before whatever happened to separate us.
Finally, I push myself off of the wall and continue my trek down the hall. There's an open door on the right side and move inside. It's what used to be an office, from the looks of it. It's been ransacked, but I have a look around anyway.
I stand the chair upright and take a seat behind the desk. Papers are strewn all over the desk's surface, nothing of importance anymore. I reach over and start looking through the drawers. Something silver in the bottom of the second drawer is struck by the dim light and the glint catches my eye. Pushing aside the papers and a couple of other objects in the drawer, I reach in and pull out a pair of handcuffs.
Already, I can see how useful these will be. I dig through the drawer and manage to find the keys as well. Silently, I thank whatever guard used to have this office as I stand up, slipping the keys and cuffs into my back pocket.
For a little while longer, I wander the almost abandoned halls of the prison. It really is a fortress and though it was designed to keep people in, it's proven pretty effective at keeping the undead out.
When the light from outside fades and torches are lit inside, I let instinct take over. My feet will carry me back to wherever Alice may be, because that's exactly where I want to be right now. It doesn't take long for me to find her.
She's already in one of the cells, sleeping. If she hadn't woken me up so many nights, I'd probably feel bad about waking her. It's time for a little payback though.
Before slipping into the cell with her, I look around. Everyone else has gone to bed as well. Thankfully, Alice's cell is away from everyone else. That will work out quite nicely for us.
There's still a warm glow from the burning torches and once my eyes adjust to it being a bit darker inside, I take in the small room. There's a double bunk, Alice is sleeping on the lower of the two. At the outside corners, a metal pole connects them, I'm guessing to help support the top bunk. That's just what I needed.
I walk over and slide the cuffs out of my back pocket, willing them not to make noise as I do. Once they're out, I sit on the edge of Alice's bed – the cuffs sitting beside me so she won't see them. She feels the weight shift and it rouses her. It's no surprise there's a gun in her hand after she jerks awake. "Claire?"
"We were… friends?" I ask, trying to get her guard back down.
After a moment's hesitation, she nods and puts the gun away again – a good sign. "I like to think so."
I nod and look away so she settles down once more. She's still watching me, I'm sure she's wondering what I'm doing here. Well, she's about to find out. From what I remember, she can be pretty damn fast. That's exactly why I had to get her guard back down.
To her surprise, and even mine, I manage to succeed in my plan. I move in a single fluid motion – one cuff around one of her wrists, pulling it up as I grab her other hand, securing the other cuff around her free wrist once it's behind the supporting bar. She's stuck.
"Claire." This time when she says my name, it's not a question, but a demand for answers.
I can't help the mischievously wicked grin that finds its way onto my features as I climb on top of her. "Tonight, I'm breaking all the rules."
She tugs on the handcuffs a couple of times, the chain rattling as it clangs against the bar – but they hold her securely. Then she realizes what I said and stills. "You remember?"
"I remember you." After giving her confirmation, I lean down and take her lips hostage with my own.
At first, she doesn't seem to know how to react. I did drop a pretty big bombshell on her, not only do I remember her, but I remember the rules and I'm dead set on breaking them right now. Before long, she's returning the kiss and the passion between us escalates exponentially.
There's a battle for the ages going on in our mouths, both of us duking it out for dominance in the kiss. I'm holding my own, no matter how hard she tries to get the advantage.
I hear metal hitting against metal again, she's tugging at her restraints again – but I'm not letting her go anywhere. Finally I have to break the kiss as my lungs start screaming for air. Instead, I busy my lips along her jaw. I work my way down to her neck before pulling back.
My hands slip under her shirt, pulling up the fabric as they slide over her. I can feel her muscles contract and relax under my touch and it makes me grin. I'm quickly finding out that I really like the way she feels under my hands.
I push her shirt all the way up so that it bunches up by the handcuffs, unable to go any further with it. I let my hands slide back down her arms and feel a faint shiver run through her beneath me. So this is what it feels like, huh? I really like this control thing.
Unable to help myself, I lean in to capture her lips again. This time, the response is instantaneous. There's no hesitation as she returns the heated kiss.
My hands are sweeping across her, luxuriating the feel of her flesh beneath my touch. I remember how rough she used to be with me, but that's just how gentle I am with her.
As my hands come into contact with her pants, I start undoing them. It's a good thing she at least takes off all the combat gear before sleeping. Otherwise I'd have a little trickier situation. Thankfully, I get them undone quickly and actually manage to pull a sound of protest from her as I break the kiss.
I won't be gone from her lips long. I tug off her pants, letting them land on the floor. Again, I can feel her tense slightly before relaxing as my hands slide up her legs. I'm just enjoying getting a feel for her, since it's been off limits up until now.
While I let my hands wander back up Alice's body, I lean down and reclaim my hostages and she's eager to oblige. I'll have to remember to tie her down and have my way with her again, because the results are getting good.
One of my hands slides between her legs, teasing her like she so enjoys doing to me. She pulls away from the kiss, dragging in a ragged pant. I lean in to whisper in her ear, "Be a good girl and I'll unlock the cuffs." My voice is low, a little husky – even I think it sounds sexy.
The only response I get is a low moan as I slip a pair of fingers inside her. For all the times she's made me whimper, moan, and yes, even scream, now it's her turn. I feel her arch into me as I start pumping my fingers inside of her.
God, is this how she felt all those times? Knowing what Alice is capable of, at least in bed – I guess technically it would be in the back of a Hummer or against a wall with a couple dozen people just around the corner – and getting her into this position… Jesus Christ, I'm already about to burst at the seams.
The tables are completely turned on her this time. It took a pair of handcuffs and some incredibly quick maneuvering on my part, but now she's the one that's not allowed to touch – even though she's still tugging at the cuffs – and has to do what I want. If that isn't a turn on then I don't know what is.
I lean down and find a new kind of fire waiting for me as our lips connect again. Yes, she's always been rough – I call it passionate – but this is something different, something new, and I like it.
I pick up my pace and her whole body arches up into me. She tugs at her restraints once more, but I'm firm on the fact that she's going to abide by her own rules this time. I told her what she has to do to get out of those cuffs.
Her breathing is getting more erratic the further I push her. All I want is to push her that little bit further. I change up the tempo one more time, pulling another moan out of her. God, I love the way she sounds.
A few moments later and she's off of the edge, diving headfirst into ecstasy. "Claire." The way she says my name, I barely catch it despite how close together we are. It's like… I've never heard anything like it before. It would be like if she'd lost everything in the world, all of her hope, and was taking in her last breath… and that one little word was the only thing that could save her.
No one has ever said my name that way before and I don't want them to. I only want it from her.
I lean down and press my lips to hers gently as she returns to the world of the living and coherent. When I pull back, I remember the promise I'd made a few minutes ago and reach into my back pocket.
She quirks a brow as I pull out the keys and reach up to unlock the cuffs. I'm a woman of my word after all. I barely get the second one undone and I'm suddenly pinned on my back. Jesus she's fast. And strong.
"You broke the rules," she points out the obvious.
That mischievous and wicked smirk is back on my features. "And you loved it." Though my tone is accusing, it's also playful.
She leans down and this time it's my lips that are taken hostage with that rough passion I know so well. Now it's not just our mouths that are in an epic contest for dominance, since I've broken the rules once, I'm going to keep doing it.
Tonight is going to be a long night and I really hope this bunk is sturdy.
In another life… why would I want another life? This one might not be perfect, but it's what I have… and that's all the perfection I need.
