An (Incomplete) Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse: Chapter 14

March 19th, 1999 - 5:25 pm

When they finally stop for the night, they've driven much farther than they had originally planned to. They'd used the gas cans on top of the van to refuel twice, continuing by unspoken agreement far past when they'd normally stop. Logically everyone knew that there was no way the horde could catch up to them, but they were all wary, and willing to soldier on to put just a few more miles between them and the undead.

"Windy River Campground," Rachel finally announces, pulling off of the highway and onto an overgrown path. Tom looks up and sees the sign declaring that they've entered the campsite, and he finds himself smiling.

"Regardless of if we find an RV or not, I'm just hoping that they'll have running water for a fucking shower," he says emphatically, and picks at some of the built up grime on his arms. It's been well over a week now since he was able to clean himself, and he knows he's covered in sweat, blood (his, Rachel's, the blood of the undead), and dirt. He feels absolutely disgusting, and wants nothing more than to clean himself off.

"That would be nice," Kara agrees from the backseat, and scoots forward on her knees to take in the campground as they approach it.

Tom can see the main buildings in the distance, and everything looks so... normal. There aren't people milling around, but the campground is in good condition, and it looks like it's just waiting for someone to come open it up for business. There are two buildings, a larger one whose sign lets campers know the prices of renting a lot, as well as business hours, and a smaller one that says 'bathrooms and facilities', and Tom sighs happily as they pass. Unless there's damage on the inside that he can't see, he'll get his shower tonight. It may be freezing cold, but he doesn't give a shit. He never understood why water always worked when the power went out, but he's not questioning his good fortune.

"Let's drive around, check out all the lots," Danny suggests, sitting up so he can see out of the windows. "I've spent all afternoon psyching myself up about getting an RV."

"It would be nice," Rachel admits, turning the wheel of the van toward where the lots are. They approach slowly, and she turns the engine off after parking in the middle of the campground.

There are a lot of options, as it turns out; the campground had clearly been abandoned in a hurry, and it doesn't look like anyone else has been here since. It looks like people had run in the middle of dinner — there's rotting food sitting on the picnic tables, half erected tents, and cookware sitting out by the fires. Tom can imagine the scene in horrifying detail, and feels his stomach turn at the picture he conjures up. Families calling their children up from the lake or from the playground to get ready for dinner, laughter, fun, and then, out of nowhere, being attacked by the undead. They probably didn't have any idea what had been happening in the world, since they'd been camping. No local news, no internet. They had died in fear, completely shocked and unprepared.

Tom feels a hand on his arm and turns to see Rachel staring at him, a sad expression on her face; she's likely thinking the same thoughts he is. He offers her a small, tired smile, and then turns toward his door, realizing that everyone else had exited the van while he was lost in thought.

"You all right?" Rachel asks, voice soft, and he nods.

"I'm fine. Just thinking about what must have happened here," he reassures her, and she nods before turning to her own door. They exit together, silently, and as he stretches his cramped muscles he sees a small doll lying on the ground by his feet. He hasn't seen a child zombie yet, but he knows they exist. Whoever this doll belonged to, he knows, they're either a zombie or they're dead. He's not sure which option is worse. Both options are sobering, and he stares at the doll until his thoughts are interrupted by Kara speaking.

"That one looks promising," she says, pointing to a larger RV across from them. Tom follows her finger and has to admit that the RV she's pointing to is impressive.

"It does," Rachel agrees, but sets an arm on Kara's arm and points in the opposite direction. "But keep in mind that the larger ones will get worse gas mileage. We may be able to find everything we want in a smaller version."

Kara nods and they head toward the smaller RV homes they see at the far end of the lot.

"Be aware," Tom cautions, feeling for his knives and gun in his waistband. "Just because we haven't seen any of the undead doesn't mean they're not here. They could be hiding inside the RVs, or in the surrounding woods."

He takes point at the first RV they inspect, opening the door and clearing the main room before letting the others file in. They quickly sweep the RV to make sure there aren't any unwelcome visitors, and then relax their weapons, eyes glancing around the main room.

"It's nice," Tex says, and Rachel hums in agreement.

"Yes, but we should make sure that it has enough sleeping areas. These things usually have a master bedroom, but only some of them have bunk beds or pull out couches."

She turns out to be right; the one they're currently investigating only has one sleeping area, so they abandon it and continue looking. They're almost to the end of the lot when they find the one that, as Tex puts it, is fucking perfect. It's older and worn, not as fancy as some of the others, but it has everything they need. The entrance to the RV is right by the two main seats - driver and passenger. They're both large and comfortable, and Tom stares at them, imagining how nice it'll be to stretch out when he's keeping Rachel company during the long hours of the day.

Walking further into the RV, they see that there are sofas on either side of the wall, and one turns out to be a pull out bed. Next to the couch on the left wall is a kitchenette with seating room for three or four people, and opposite the table is a microwave, sink, fridge, a small pantry, and cabinets. Tom flicks them all open, finding most of them empty. He thinks that they could easily fit all of the food they've collected in these shelves, with room to spare.

Beyond the kitchen area is a bathroom on the left wall with a stand up shower, toilet, and sink, and opposite the bathroom is a built in set of bunk beds with rolling doors to separate them from the main area of the cabin and offer some privacy. They're small, as wide as a twin bed and only a little bit longer, but Tom thinks that Katie and Tex could fit in them just fine. Tex clearly has the same idea, because he's crawling into the lower bunk almost immediately, wiggling around to get comfortable.

"Don't look at me like that," he says when Danny grins at him in amusement. "I know for a fact that you and Kara, and Rachel and Tom are gonna steal the beds big enough to fit couples. Katie and I are taking the bunks. It's cozy, and it's long enough. I won't have to curl up or anything like that, thank fuck, because I'm far too old for that shit."

Tom laughs and continues into the back of the camper. The final area is a large master bedroom with a full size bed set in the middle of the room. Surrounding the bed on either side are dressers, and above the bed are storage cabinets. There's a small closet that holds a stacked washer and dryer, and Tom finds himself wondering if they could get the appliances to work. Having clean clothes would be amazing.

"This is the one," he says, and turns around to face the rest of the group. They're all grinning, meandering around and inspecting all of the closets, doors, and cabinets of what he knows will become their new home. "I bet we can clear it out and move in tonight."

"Yes, we should definitely try," Rachel says, running her hand along the kitchen counter. "It's much safer and more comfortable than the van. We are definitely going to need to plan more stops for fuel, however; this thing won't get as many miles per gallon as the van."

Tom nods. "Think that'll be a problem?" he asks. "Finding enough fuel?"

Rachel shrugs and bites her lip. "No... I don't think so. One of the only positives of the virus spreading so quickly is that there aren't a lot of people left to compete for resources, and there wasn't much time for people to hoard necessities. At this campground alone we can siphon probably several hundred gallons of gas. The average RV has between a 25 and 100 gallon gas tank capacity; we'll fill up all of our gas cans, fill the tank and the reserves."

"Good," Tom says, and then claps his hands together, grinning. "Let's get this thing running and get moved in!"


March 19th, 1999 - 7:25 pm

It takes them close to two hours, but by the time they're all collapsing onto the couches in the main area of the RV, sleeping arrangements have been decided, everyone's personal belongings have been squared away, and their supplies have been organized. Tom and Tex had filled the outside storage compartments with their gas cans, while Kara, Rachel, and Katie had organized their food into the cabinets and pantry. Their dishes were put in cupboards and their toiletries had been stashed in the bathroom cabinets. In the end, it turns out they have a lot more room than supplies, and so Rachel gleefully makes several additions to their 'look for' list for the morning. They plan on spending a few hours raiding the other campers and travel trailers to look for clothes, shoes, and other necessities before they start driving for the day.

"And you're sure you don't mind Tom and I taking the bedroom?" Rachel asks for probably the tenth time, and Danny chuckles, throwing his arm around Kara's shoulder where they're sitting on the opposite couch.

"Not at all, boss. None of us would be alive without you, and the RV was Tom's idea, anyway. Kara and I can take the pull out couch. As long as Tex keeps his damn bunk door closed, he won't see anything he doesn't want to see."

Tex grimaces and tosses a cracker at Danny's head. It's nice, eating inside of the RV in safety, rather than having to watch their backs while cooking over an open fire outside.

Tom smiles while he watches his new friends, and leans back against the love-seat, turning to meet Rachel's eyes. When he speaks, his voice is low enough that the others can't hear him from across the room. "You're sure you're OK sharing with me?"

Rachel smiles and nods, and then leans her head on his shoulder, her lips inches from his ear. She speaks softly, her words for him and him alone.

"I think by this point we've decided that the attraction between you and I is mutual," she whispers, and Tom shudders as her warm breath caresses his skin. "Whether we take things any further or not, I enjoyed sleeping next to you last night, and I will enjoy it just as much tonight, and for all the nights to come."

Tom hums, smiling as he reaches up and tangles his fingers in a lock of her soft, brown hair.

"Thoughts on that?" he asks, and Rachel glances up to meet his gaze before burying her red cheeks in his neck, hiding her expression from him. "Taking things further, I mean," he clarifies, just to see her blush spread to her neck, and he chuckles as he follows the red skin with his fingertips. Rachel nips the skin of his shoulder in retaliation, and Tom chuckles.

"Generally positive," she says, hedging around a specific answer, and Tom lets his fingers tangle in her hair.

"Oh yeah?" he says, and then because he has discovered that getting her all flustered and pink does things to him, he continues, "Generally positive. So, like, kissing is fine."

"Mmm," Rachel agrees, her lips turning up in a smile. She can see Tex rolling his eyes at them, but she ignores him, knows that he can't hear the specific words they're saying. "Kissing is good."

"OK. And, say, if I wanted to take your shirt off, and run my hands up and down your back, your stomach... your breasts?" he asks, and his voice is a heated whisper. Rachel can feel her stomach clenching, and knows she needs to stop this conversation now if she doesn't want to embarrass herself.

"That... that sounds good to me," she stutters, and Tom smiles, leaning down and kissing her head. He knows he's pushed her about as far as he can without pushing her too far, but he can't resist one final nudge. He lets one hand travel down her side, his fingers dipping below the waistband of her jeans and fingering the lace of her panties.

"What I really want to do is take these off of you and taste you," he says, and then he stands up, not waiting for a reaction. He can hear Rachel choke on a breath behind him, but doesn't turn around as he stretches and addresses the others. "All right, I know it's late, but we have a new, clean house, and I don't know about anyone else, but I need a goddamn shower."

"Fuck yes," Danny agrees, and quickly tosses his plate in the sink before standing up and reaching out for Kara's hand. "We should clear the shower facilities, make sure there aren't any rotting corpses to kill the mood. Also, the RV is still hooked up to the utilities, so Tex, Katie, you guys can stay here, take turns in the bathroom. The four of us will be back soon."

There's a little chaos as everyone tries to remember where they'd stored their clean clothing, and Tom has to bite his lip to hide his smile when he catches Rachel's gaze and she turns red all over again, clearly remembering his words.

Eventually they make their way toward the camping facilities, and Danny and Tom clear first the men's side, then the women's. There are no zombies (and honestly Tom is beginning to feel a little uneasy at the lack of zombies they've seen at this campsite), so they grab their bags and head toward the showers.

"Wait..." Tom says, wrinkling his brow in confusion when Kara and Danny both head into the men's room.

Rachel laughs, a full, rich sound, and grabs his hand, tugging him toward the women's side.

"Trust me, you do not want to be in there right now," she says. "You can just shower with me."

Tom's lips turn up in a mischievous grin immediately, and he lets Rachel drag him behind her. She closes and locks the door, and then Tom presses her up against it, crowding into her space. She's blushing, but smiling, and he leans down to press his lips to hers. She makes a little sound in her throat, a choked off moan that Tom is determined to hear again and again, and reaches up to tangle her fingers in his hair as she opens her mouth against his, breathing hotly into his mouth and letting their tongues touch. He pulls back after several seconds, taking a deep breath, and he's about to go in for another kiss when Rachel pauses him, pressing a finger against his lips.

"Tom," she says, and he pulls back, searching her eyes for regret or hesitation; he sees none, and she chuckles at the confused look on his face. "As much as I would love to continue this, I am disgusting and really, really, really want to take a shower."

"Mmm," Tom agrees, and then pulls back, not letting go of her hand as he starts walking toward the shower stall.

She lets him tug her along, and they undress each other in silence, eyes and hands traveling every inch of skin as it's revealed. It's sensual, heated, and Tom has never felt this way before. He's had sex, of course, a lot of sex even, but nothing has ever felt quite as charged as this moment with Rachel. They've barely touched each other before now; stolen kisses and necessary touches, mostly, and to be in front of her, both of them naked and wanting, is almost too much. Her warm skin under his fingers, the way her chest heaves as she breathes, and the pink flush that spreads far below her neck, he's delighted to see, are almost enough to unravel him. He's more turned on than he's ever been, and they've barely even done anything.

"Is this too fast?" he murmurs against her skin, nudging her back into the shower stall as he kisses a path from her neck down her chest.

"Probably," Rachel says, humming as he nips the soft skin of her breast. "But I don't really care. I've been attracted to you since the moment we met, and I want this, I want you."

"Good," Tom says, and he pushes her against the wall as he quickly turns the shower on. "Me, too."

"That's gonna be cold," Rachel warns him as he lets his fingers trail down her stomach and play with the soft curls between her legs. "Gonna ruin the mood."

Tum grunts in annoyance, but he knows she's right. "Fucking apocalypse," he growls, and then pulls back from her.

"I'd rather do this when I'm clean, anyway," Rachel whispers, and lets her own fingers travel the warm skin of his abdomen. He can feel his muscles jumping under her touch, and he knows she's right. He wants to touch her, wants her to touch him, but he'd rather not smell like death the first time they do this.

"All right," he acquiesces. "But I'm holding you to that."

Rachel grins and leans up on her tip toes to press her lips to his.

"I'm counting on it," she whispers, and then ducks beneath the spray of water.

She yelps at the temperature and Tom chuckles as he joins her. It's possibly the coldest shower he's ever taken, but he can't stop smiling and laughing as he helps Rachel shampoo her hair three times, scrubbing until the water runs clear. He gently fingers the healing wound on the back of her head and she hums happily at his touch, pushing into his palm to encourage him to keep doing what he's doing. Eventually she returns the favor, gently scratching her fingernails over Tom's skin to clean the dirt and sweat from his scalp. It feels amazing to be clean, and they take their time, despite shivering from the cold, to make sure they're each as clean as they can possibly be.

Tom scrubs Rachel's skin for her until it's pink and shiny, eyes darting up to hers to make sure it's OK before he gently cleans between her legs, the inside of her thighs. She sighs at his touch, and then takes the rag from him, running it over his chest, following the rough material with her lips, kissing each scar from the land mine gently. He lets his eyes flutter closed and leans back against the wall; the feeling of her soft lips on his ragged, ruined skin is enough to make him tremble. He reaches a shaking hand up to tangle his fingers in her hair, just to ground himself, but she glances up from where she's kissing the skin of his lower stomach, her tongue tracing the V of his hips.

"Rachel," he groans, and she grins, biting the skin above his cock gently and rubbing her nose in the coiled hair. He's fully hard, his length pressing insistently against Rachel's chest as she lowers herself to her knees in front of him, reaching over to turn off the shower. They're as clean as they're going to get, and she doesn't want to wait anymore.

"Tom," she responds, and her voice is soft, breathless, and he swears he could come from that alone. "Can I ... ?" she asks shyly, and Tom nods, letting his head thump back against the wall to ground himself. He doesn't want to miss a second of this, however, so he forces himself to pull away from the wall and glance down at where Rachel is taking his length into her hand. "I'll make you feel good," she promises, and Tom groans, both from the certainty in her words and the way she runs her fingers up and down his cock.

"Already feel great," he grunts, and Rachel chuckles before kissing his stomach, his hip, the head of his cock. Tom's hips twitch without his consent, trying to get closer to her, and she grins before opening her mouth and wrapping her bright red lips around just the tip. The sight and sensation are too much, and as desperately as Tom wants to watch what's happening, he can feel his eyes fluttering closed.

"Fuck, you're gonna kill me," he whispers, and Rachel chuckles around his length. She pulls off for a moment, grinning at his sound of disappointment.

"Wouldn't want that," she says, and lets her small, soft hand wrap around his length. "Then you couldn't return the favor."

She takes him back in her mouth and Tom lets out a long, deep moan.

She was gonna kill him for sure.