Hi! It's been forever and a day, but if we're not back with a vengeance, then... No, we are. Trust us. If there's even one reader left alive, well… that one reader would be ever so kind if they reviewed. ;)
This chapter comes with a couple announcements… Bad news is we won't get another chapter done until July is over (more than likely). Why? – you ask. That's where the good news comes in. I, Andrella07, am going on vacation… so is Cantholdon. At the same time. To the same place. We're both meeting someone. (I'm wagging my eyebrows here, come on readers!) That's right! We hooked up (what an odd expression… Why am I so easily distracted?). Ahem. Yes, Cantholdon is mine. You can't have her. Funny thing is though, she's the possessive one. Today's our fourth month… so congratulate us with reviews? Haha. I swear this isn't a ploy for reviews (but I am certainly going on). And you can blame the dry spell on the fact that I spend all my time talking to her. (Dear, will you say something to the readers before they sharpen their pitchforks because I can't shut my mouth?)
… Ahem. So. Apparently I'm supposed to say something here. (This is Cantholdon, for those who didn't know ;) ). Pitchforks will not be tolerated. Remember Judgment? Pitchforks will be dealt with via Judgment. So… just review and leave the mob gathering for another writer who doesn't have such a possessive/protective girlfriend, yeah?
Enjoy the chapter…
Chapter 10: One Decided to Stay
There was something special about seeing Chris and Alice shake hands. Claire wanted them to get along for more reasons than she could describe. It wasn't a moment after the introductions were complete when the redhead's brother cut to the chase.
"So," Chris met his onetime captive's eyes, "I take it you finally want to get out of here."
"You know a way out?" Claire asked, bringing Chris's attention back and his animosity under control.
"Sure thing, sis. Have I ever steered you wrong before?" The man raised an eyebrow, but all Claire could do was shake her head. There had been many, many times he'd done exactly that. "Come with me," Chris put a heavy arm around his sister's shoulder trying to steer her away from Luther and towards the exit, "you too Alice, and I'll tell you both all about it!"
The redhead smiled at Chris's blatant dislike for Luther. She knew they wouldn't leave Luther out of the escape, but it was certainly fun making him wonder. Still, there was something else that needed to be taken care of before they got that far.
"No offence," Claire stated, "but I'm not going anywhere with you until you take a shower. How long have you been in there?" With a scowl Claire quickly licked her thumb and tried to wipe a dark smudge off her brother's forehead. "You've got dirt all over your face."
Chris shied from away from his nagging sister with a sarcastic taunt, "Thanks, Mom."
Alice was amused by the siblings' interactions. Clearly the two were glad to see one another and she was glad to have aided the reunion. There was no doubt that Claire could have gotten Luther to let the other man out of the cell, but it had been much easier with the route she went.
Now the only problem would be questions coming up about how she had opened the cell door. That, and getting out of the prison alive. Surely if Chris said he knew a way out, then he really did.
Fighting their way out - while possible - wasn't a very good option. There were too many undead outside just waiting for a chance to get in - and if they did, they'd wash over the prison like water on rock.
Once Chris was showered and finished with griping about how cold the water was, he led his sister and Alice to a courtyard outside. They'd picked up other followers, Luther lagging the furthest behind. The man's eyes were instantly drawn upwards. Chris hadn't seen the sky in years. For a moment, his captivity overwhelmed him. He'd been deeply wronged by Luther and if he wasn't certain it would be a little looked down upon by his sister, Chris would have killed that man.
With a sigh, the former S.T.A.R.S. operative walked over to a large, steel gray garage door. Meeting Claire's eyes, he said, "Behind this door is a UPV – urban pacification vehicle. The prison kept it in case of serious riots. Sixteen wheels, steel plates, water cannon, seats twenty…" Chris let a smirk appear on his face. "Basically, ten tons of fun. We'll drive right over them."
Claire's eyebrows rose. It was an impressive description. Certainly a vehicle they could use to escape now that the helicopter was gone.
Angel went to the door and made an annoyed observation. "It's locked. We'll have to cut through it." The solider started to walk away before finishing, "Hold on, I'll be right back."
Chris assumed the man was going to get a torch to cut the lock. He took the time to study his sister's friend. First off, there was whatever she had done to bust him out of his cell. The blonde was standing only a few feet from Claire at the moment. To a family member's knowing eye, Claire was perfectly relaxed around the woman.
He couldn't figure it out, and pawned the feat off to a faulty lock that had seen years of wear without care. Still, he knew that was just his subconscious trying desperately to grapple with something he couldn't explain.
Alice had stayed fairly close to Claire. There wasn't much reason to not trust the people that had been staying in the prison, but she didn't need a reason not to trust them. She would have stayed relatively near the redhead anyway, even with the other woman's brother around.
When the UPV was brought up, she couldn't help but to be skeptical of it. Going right out into the mass of undead was dangerous, even with ten tons of fun, as Chris put it. That left plenty of margin for error, plenty of things to go wrong.
While they waited on Angel to return, the blonde's attention gravitated toward the gate. There were hundreds - probably thousands - of undead just on the other side of the wall. The amount of undead didn't bother her, though she couldn't help but think that she didn't have nearly enough weapons on her if the gate were to fall.
Angel eventually came back with a torch to cut open the lock on the door. If there was good news inside of the garage, then maybe they'd be getting out of the prison after all.
Or maybe they'd be staying exactly where they were. Inside the garage was the vehicle Chris had promised, but it was clearly not in working condition. Hanging from steal chains was the high-powered engine that belonged to the UPV.
Claire's jaw dropped with pessimism. "Fuck me."
Alice glanced over when she heard Claire swearing. No wonder the redhead was unhappy. Apparently they weren't going to just drive on out of the prison. "Can we fix it?" she questioned.
"Yes... but it will take probably a week," Angel answered.
Claire gave a deep sigh. She hadn't wanted to stay in the prison for any real length of time, but it couldn't be helped. They were still safe inside the high walls, but she found being so close to the undead, their moans penetrating her ears and filling her head, to be unnerving. At least she had both Alice and Chris here with her.
Patience wasn't exactly her forte, and neither was being trapped. How Chris had not gone insane imprisoned in such a small place was beyond her. She craved freedom; needed to do something productive with her time. Claire could already see that her active mind was going to have to be distracted. There was only one thing that would be able to occupy the redhead's attention to her satisfaction.
"Well," Claire said turning to Alice, "what do we do now?"
The blonde thought about the question for a few moments before shaking her head. "There's not much we can do," she finally offered up. "We're going to have to wait for the UPV to be fixed." Being trapped inside the prison was definitely not a prospect that she liked, but they didn't have much of a choice at the moment.
The survivors that had been in the prison were long practiced in keeping themselves busy. For Alice and Claire, even Chris, it was a different story. Claire spent rest of the day with her brother. Night was reserved for someone else, however. She'd yet to thank the blonde for her help earlier, but unlike the UPV – there was an easy fix for that.
Alice had given Claire some space so the redhead could spend time with her brother. She knew how important that was to the other woman.
Rather than bothering with the other survivors, she isolated herself a bit. The blonde took to meticulously cleaning all of her weapons and fully reloading them. It wasn't that the undead horde just beyond the walls of the prison set her on edge, but she needed something to do - especially around other people. There was only one person she was comfortable with and Claire was spending time with Chris.
Since she was taking her time, cleaning the weapons took most of what was left of the day. That didn't hurt her feelings in the least. The only thing she didn't particularly care for was the fact that she'd seen very little of Claire during the day. If nothing else, she figured they would at least get in a 'goodnight', and that would have to do.
Claire found her brother's rescuer reassembling a semiautomatic in a secluded part of their refuge. There was a doubt in her mind that Alice knew she was there, even though she was approaching from behind.
"I wanted to thank you for earlier," Claire said after she was only a few feet away from the blonde.
Alice had heard the redhead's approach, so she wasn't all that surprised when the other woman spoke. "There's no need to thank me," she responded with a shake of her head. Her attention remained on the weapon that she was putting back together, despite the fact that she'd actually been missing the redhead's presence throughout the day.
Of course that was what Alice would say. She was too noble for her own good.
"Just the same," Claire reached out for the hand that Alice had left on top of the finished gun, "I'd like to." Pulling Alice away from her project, Claire gave her an attractive smile. "Got anything in mind?"
As soon as Claire's hand came into contact with her own, Alice completely forgot about finishing what she was doing. The importance of weapons paled in comparison to the redhead. "You really don't have to thank me," she pointed out. "It was just the right thing to do."
Claire thought for a moment, the hand in her own kept there but not forgotten about. The right thing in her mind had been beating Luther into the ground. For all the violence Alice was capable of, she'd taken the peaceful approach. Claire smiled softly as she remembered how gentle Alice had been with her, how she'd always been that way with her.
Still, the blonde wasn't taking the hints Claire thought she was making obvious. It was the blissfully ignorant tactic this time, but Claire had plans for that. "You know, I'm still a little cold from that shower. And it's chilly down here." Tilting her head to the side, she began to tease Alice. "Didn't you offer to… warm me up?"
She was completely bullshitting Alice. While there was a chill to the dank prison, Claire wasn't cold in the slightest. Heat was flushing into her cheeks at the thought of pulling the blonde into her cell and never letting her go. She couldn't believe she wanted another woman, but she did want Alice – badly.
Alice was surprised when her words from earlier were brought back up. She couldn't deny that she was incredibly intrigued; she couldn't deny that she wanted the redhead. "Well... I guess I did make the offer," she finally confirmed with a nod.
Claire didn't release Alice's hand as the pair walked back to the redhead's cell. It was technically closer, even though the blonde's was only right next door. She still wasn't sure if Alice was getting the signals she was sending her way, but her next move left little doubt.
The torches in her room had burned out, but that didn't stop Claire from finding Alice's lips as she lightly pushed the blonde back into an icy wall. Lights out meant they wouldn't be seen, but it didn't mean they wouldn't be heard…
Alice barely registered the cold wall behind her, all she could feel was the heat radiating from Claire. She returned the kiss as soon as the redhead's lips found her own. Her hands settled at Claire's hips, pulling the other woman closer to her.
If there was any doubt as to what Claire had wanted, it was gone now - and that was perfectly fine with Alice. After a moment, she pushed herself off of the wall, backing the redhead toward the cot in the cell.
When Claire felt her legs hit the cot, she moved onto it, pulling Alice along with her by her collar. The redhead's cherished bracelet caught in the worn fabric. With unthinking haste Claire removed the jewelry from her wrist. The wire-work fell to the floor and rolled to a small crater in the aged cement.
She was very glad to find no resistance from the other woman as she continued to drag the blonde down on top of her. This was something she never would have expected of herself, but it just felt too right to be wrong.
Not once did their lips separate as they maneuvered onto the bed. The cot was small, but it offered just enough room for them. Their weapons, ammunition, holsters – everything that wasn't made of cloth – were lost much in the same way as K-mart's old bracelet.
The redhead's hands weren't idle. She reached up and grabbed the bottom of Alice's shirt, tugging it up and off of the blonde with a bit of assistance from the other woman. Claire wished there was a little more light to illuminate the skin she'd just exposed, but she would have to make do with learning it all by feel.
Alice wasn't about to be the only one being undressed. She quickly divested Claire of her own shirt and let it drop off the side of the bed. Once the offending article of clothing was done away with, she put her lips to good use again, letting them find and explore the redhead's collar bone.
Claire couldn't help the faint moan that left her when Alice's lips met her skin. Although this was her first time with another woman, she wasn't without direction. Passion was simple enough. The faster you lose yourself in the heat, the sooner you're consumed in the blaze.
With each piece of clothing that was lost, the inferno between the two women burned even hotter until they were both sure the whole cell had caught on fire. Soon skin was pressed tight to skin, not a single scrap of cloth separating the two.
The redhead attempted to gain a bit of control in the situation by trying to flip them over. Alice, however, would have none of it. She was just as gentle as ever with the other woman, but firm in the fact that Claire was staying right where she wanted. She pressed a knee between the redhead's thighs to further banish all thoughts of a power struggle, eliciting another moan from Claire. The other woman couldn't stop her hips from bucking against the blonde's leg, trying to feed the friction between them.
Claire moved steadily against Alice's leg, but it was doing nothing to quell the mounting desire inside of her. If anything, it only heightened the sense. She was ultra-aware of everything – the feeling of Alice's lips pressed against hers, how their bodies just melted together, how wet she was, how badly her desire needed to be met.
The blonde realized that much more was necessary. She pulled back from their kiss, shifting a bit so that her lips were hovering dangerously close to the other's ear. "I want to be inside of you," she whispered.
Just a few simple words made Claire's need skyrocket higher than she could remember it being. "God, Alice… please," she responded with enthusiasm. A panted whimper escaped her as the blonde's knee was pulled back from her. That protest was quickly put to rest as Alice's questing fingers replaced it.
The redhead squirmed against Alice's teasing. Her want was at an all-time high, she didn't think there was anywhere else for it to go. Apparently the other woman knew her much better than that, because she only felt the intensity of her need growing – far more than she had ever thought was possible.
Finally, Alice indulged the redhead and dipped inside the other woman. She was met by a thoroughly pleased sound of approval as Claire arched into her hand. Since patience had been forced on the redhead, Alice didn't make her wait too long – especially since she wasn't sure how much more the other woman could take.
Claire's vocals couldn't be contained as Alice's fingers moved within her – not that she could even think straight enough to regain control of herself. The only thing on her mind was that each of the blonde's strokes pushed her closer to the edge until a strangled moan tore itself out of her as she stiffened against Alice. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her body, each one taking her a little further away from the coherent world. When the waves finally began to ebb away, the ability to think slowly returned.
This time when the redhead attempted to flip them, it was a silent demand that Alice didn't fight. Once they were resituated, Claire caught the other woman in another heated kiss – the inferno blazing back to life with renewed force. Unlike the blonde, Claire didn't get caught up in the teasing. She wanted to know she could do the same for Alice as the other woman had just done for her, and she simply didn't have the patience.
Her hands explored the blonde's body a bit before one of them slid down over Alice's abdomen. Though she had never done something like this with another woman before, the mechanics were easy enough to grasp. She slowly slipped inside the other woman, tentative touch bolstered when Alice offered up a quiet moan in response.
Claire leaned in to connect their lips once more, all thoughts flying a million miles away again. Her pace gradually increased, confidence building each time Alice arched into her or made some sound of approval. She continued working at the other woman until the blonde was forced to break away from the kiss, breath catching somewhere in her lungs as she crashed over the edge into blissful oblivion.
After they'd had a few moments to recover, Alice suddenly realized that Claire might actually regret what they just did. The redhead hadn't exactly been all that accepting after just a kiss; this was something more than a simple kiss. She didn't really want to stick around to find out, so without a word, she attempted to get out of the bed so she could gather her things and go.
Before Alice could make it that far, Claire sat up and grabbed the blonde by the wrist.
"Don't go." Her voice had been a bare whisper, conveying need – the need she had for Alice.
The blonde had stopped as soon as Claire sat up. She glanced back at the other woman before offering a nod. "I'll stay," she agreed.
A light smile played on Claire's lips in the darkness. She pulled Alice back into bed and once the woman was settled on her back, laid her head gently down on Alice's shoulder at the same time covering them with a sorry excuse for a blanket.
Alice was actually quite glad that the redhead wanted her to stay. Once again, her first assumption had been proven wrong - but that wasn't a bad thing.
As they settled in the bed together, she wrapped an arm around Claire. Maybe tonight she could ease up a little, drop her guard a bit and just be with the other woman without worrying about the rest of the world.
The body beneath Claire was relaxed, but the redhead herself was uneasy. She felt Alice's breathing slow, each rise and fall of her chest fell into a quiet rhythm.
It wasn't long after Alice fell asleep that Claire realized she wouldn't be resting any time soon. Having someone so close, so intimately nearby that they were sharing the same air, was overwhelming. She slowly moved out of Alice's hold and moved to grab her clothes. Putting on the bare minimum, not even grabbing her gun, Claire left the cell and walked to the roof.
She just needed a little fresh air.
The roof was free of any other survivors, but this late Claire didn't expect to run into a single soul. Fog was still choking the sky and even muffling the sound of the undead below. With any luck, the sun would burn the mist away come daylight and they could catch another sight of the ship… the Arcadia.
Claire tried to think of the freighter, of possible freedom, but all she found on her mind as she stared outward into the haze was Alice.
The last time she'd been with someone was with Carlos around when he first joined her convoy. It was strictly sex, merely a means for pleasure and forgetting that the world was going to Hell. There had never been any words about it. What was there to say? Even before the outbreak, Claire struggled with relationships. She couldn't keep a man for more than six months. She didn't want to. Men were supposed to emotionally deficient, yet it was almost as they all tried to compensate for her lack. The second they got too needy or started talking about moving things forward or – heaven forbid – said the word 'love' she was out.
Sex confused her. She didn't understand how the act could instill emotional attachment. Love was a means of control, and a bullshit one at that.
But Claire couldn't stop thinking about the woman asleep in her bed as she leaned on her elbows against one of the taller retaining walls. For the first time, she wondered if that was how 'love' was supposed to feel. There was a gentle ache to her chest, and she knew it was because of the lack of Alice. Claire gave a sigh.
It was Alice she needed to get back to. The feelings were real. The pain of being without her was real too.
Before the angst got to be too much to handle, Claire turned to go back into the interior of the prison. In a second the fog was cleared and a roaring machine, cloaked in darkness, hovered between Claire and the door to the stairs. A spotlight was put upon the redhead to blind her. The rooftop gravel was pitched into the air much like her helicopter had done when she had landed the other day. There were hardly seconds to think before multiple silhouettes landed on the shifting rocks and broke the beam of light.
She was grabbed from behind first; her arms held securely right before something sharp pierced her chest. Claire tried to throw her captors. The pain in her sternum from whatever her attackers had done was real. Real enough to get one desperate cry for help, "Ali-" but before it could be finished, several more holes were put in Claire, eight to be exact. Whatever the reasoning for the new needle-like injuries, their effect was made very clear.
She was being drugged; the poison inside her weighty like tar as her heart pumped the serum through her bloodstream. Quickly, her limbs became heavy and her thoughts sluggish. Claire could only struggle for another few moments before all strength left her. She passed out to the sound of propeller blades and strange, shouting voices.
To Alice, it seemed that morning came far too soon, but it also came with a sense of foreboding. The first thing that was off was the fact she woke to an empty bed. Claire had been so intent on her staying, but was now gone.
The blonde got up and found only her clothes on the floor. She quickly gathered the discarded clothing and dressed so she could further assess the situation. Perhaps the other woman had gotten up a bit early to go and get breakfast... but that certainly couldn't have been the case. A deep frown creased Alice's brow when she saw the bright, woven bracelet that Claire was so attached to lying on the floor. The redhead wouldn't forget something so important. Leaning down, Alice picked up the homemade piece of jewelry, worry quickly taking over.
Something serious had to have happened.
Claire was gone.
-makes extremely swift exit- Off to see the gf! BYE!