Hello everyone, I'm back with another chapter as promised. This chapter will be a little rougher than the last one, but I wanted to keep my promise of updating every Thursday. I will have a cleaner version uploaded this weekend, but until then, I hope you all enjoy this newest chapter.
Jack was never the most social individual. He barely survived high school and he spent his entire college career hidden in his dorm room when he wasn't going to class. The people closest to him were his family and even they sometimes struggled to understand him. They loved him and he appreciated that, but they also tried to push him to go out make friends, be more normal. Instead, he spent his time in his room watching survivalist videos, studying any random subject that caught his interest, and making money working odd jobs around town.
As insane as it sounds, he was made for the apocalypse.
Jack had come to enjoy how quiet everything was now. Before, the world was full of a constant flow of noise; the honk of a car horn, the rumble of a plane, the voice of a neighbor. There was always something somewhere making noise. Now there was only quiet. As if the entire world was holding its breath, waiting for something to change. He found it relaxing, without any distractions he was able to focus. Well, maybe the occasional distraction.
A low growl emanated from his right. Jack turned to see Buck with his ears pushed down flat against his skull staring ahead. The german shepherd was always the first one to smell trouble. To his left, Boudica had her teeth pulled back in a silent snarl. The Doberman only ever did that when Walkers were close by. As always, Mars followed silently behind. The Rottweiler preferred to guard his back, but he wasn't afraid to put himself between any danger and Jack.
Jack was debating whether or not to change direction to avoid whatever had his dogs on edge. Then he heard the scream and then the decision was made for him. He took off in the direction of the scream as fast as his legs could carry him. The minute he took off, the pack was with him, their pace slowed down to match his own while still far enough ahead to lead the way.
It wasn't long before they found the source of the scream. A little girl surrounded by four walkers. One of them had her in its grasp its rotten drooling teeth drawing ever closer. He wouldn't make it in time, but his dogs would. A sharp whistle was all it took for his pack to pick up speed and collide with the oncoming walkers in a mess of fur and rotten flesh. Buck tackled the one closest to the girl, not wasting time tearing at the monster's throat, he instead went for its arms. The dogs' powerful bite shattering and severing the limbs.
While Buck dealt with the corpse closest to the girl, Boudica and Mars focused on the other three. The Doberman and Rottweiler worked as an effective pair, snapping at the walkers, diverting their attention away from the girl until Jack got closer. Once he did, he dealt with the distracted walker with a few well placed blows from his machete. He then finished off the one Buck had pinned with a boot through its skull. Jack turned to the frightened girl curled up whimpering on the ground and placed a gentle hand on her back.
"It's okay, you're safe now," Jack assured her. Hesitantly, the girl looked up and around in fear of anymore approaching dead. Once she saw that they were safe, she threw herself into his arms, her words of gratitude muffled by his shirt and her own sobs. It took a few minutes for her to get control of herself. Once she did, she gently pulled herself away, as if she was unsure if she was allowed to hug him.
"I'm sorry," she said, her eyes glued to the ground. Sensing her unease, Mars padded up to the girl and gently brushed his head against her head. The girl immediately started running her hands through the dogs fur. As she did, Jack could see her begin to relax.
"It's alright," Jack assured her as he crouched down in front of her and extended his hand. "My name is Jack Scott, what's yours?" With one hand still on Mars's head, the girl took his hand with the other.
"Sophia Peletier."
After properly introducing themselves, Sophia explained her situation to Jack. Apparently, her group was attacked by walkers and she got separated from everyone else. She told him that before the walkers found her she was trying to get back to the highway. One of the adults in her group told her that all she needed to do was keep the sun on her left shoulder and she would be fine.
Honestly, Jack didn't like her chances. There's no way to know how far from the highway the walkers chased the poor girl. Even worse, there was no way to know what they would find if they reached the highway. However, he couldn't bring himself to voice these doubts to the scared girl. Worse yet, he had no idea where the highway was from here.
"I'll do my best to help you find them," Jack eventually said. That was all he would be able to promise her. He tossed her a bottle of water from his pack, which she took gladly and guzzled down in a few minutes. Once she was done, Sophia led the way and retraced her steps the best she could. Jack did the best he could to keep her mind off the worst case scenario by asking her about her family. He noticed that she spent most of the time talking about her mom and only spent a few words on her dad to explain that he was dead. When she ran out of things to say about her family, she started telling him about the other members of her group. Dale, with his funny stories and kind smile who let her look at things through his binoculars. Andrea and her sister Amy, who would constantly get into arguments with each other, but would always come out of them laughing. Darryl, with his scary face and foul mouth who would always bring her a squirrel whenever he went out hunting. The relationship between the group was clear from the affection in Sophia's voice when she talked about them.
She was about to tell him about Carl and his family when the sound of a gunshot echoed throughout the forest. The girl turned to him with a hopeful smile.
"That must be them," Sophia cheered. She was about to run in the direction of the shot when Jack quickly grabbed her by shoulders and pulled her back.
"We don't know who fired that shot," He warned her. "It might be your friends, it might not. We're going to find out, but we are going to do it carefully." With a short hand signal, he sent the dogs ahead to follow the sound. Jack and Sophia followed behind at a slower pace.
Eventually, the dogs led them out of the woods and the first thing their eyes landed on was a farm house along with a group of people scrambling inside.
"Wait here, I'm going to see if it's safe." People weren't quite as friendly as they used to be. Even a little girl wouldn't be guaranteed to be safe these days. He then turned to the dogs before motioning to Sophia. "Guard."
Jack's hand rested on the hunting knife strapped to his left leg as he arrived at the front door. Steeling himself, he rapped his knuckles on the wood of the door. Immediately, he heard the sound of multiple shuffling feet moving in a panic. His fingers wrapped around the hilt, ready for whatever may come. After a few more minutes, an older man opened the door.
"Can I help you?" The old man asked, the nervousness clear to anyone listening. Jack loosened his grip on the hilt.
"I'm looking for a group of people that were traveling along the highway a few miles from here. Do you know anything about them?" Instead of answering, the old man moved aside and another man stepped forward. This one was younger than the first man, but still younger than Jack himself.
"I'm a part of that group, what do you want?" Before Jack could answer, the second man's eyes traveled past him and spotted something over his shoulder. The next moment, the man was bolting past him and rushing off the porch. Jack turned to see that Sophia had come out of the woods and was now running towards the man with a smile on her face. When Jack finally reached them, they were hugging and tears were running down the man's face. Turning to him with his eyes still wet, the man took Jack's hand and shook hit fiercely. "Thank you, thank you so much for finding her."
Awkwardly, he returned the handshake with slightly less enthusiasm. "I'm just glad I was able to help. Jack Scott." He introduced. The man wiped the tears from his eyes before eagerly renewing the handshake.
"Dante Hughes."
Maggie Greene was no stranger to change. Even before the world turned into the setting of a cheesy horror flick, Maggie learned how to adapt to changing circumstances. She lost her mom when she was five; her dad remarried when she was six, giving her not just a stepmother but a half-sister and a stepbrother as well. Eventually, Maggie came to love all of them. The worst of those changes came when… her dad called it a sickness, but recently, Maggie wasn't so sure. The hardest changes happened when a nationwide sickness hit the country. Her stepmother and brother were infected early on. They…changed; her dad insisted on keeping them locked in the barn, hoping someone somewhere would find a cure. It was hard seeing them like that, but Maggie and her family survived.
Some of the more recent changes were more pleasant than others. One of them was riding alongside her, trying not to fall off his horse.
When Jack arrived at the farm, he brought alongside him a much-needed piece of positivity, not just for Dante and his group of travelers, in the form of Sophia, but for her family as well. Getting to watch Carl and Sophia play with his dogs helped to remind them of what used to be, of what could be again. Maggie couldn't help but find herself interested in him. So when he volunteered to ride to the nearby town and get supplies, she jumped at the chance to go with him.
"How long until we get to town?" She asked as Jack finally got his horse under control. A few feet ahead of them, his dogs had their noses in the air, scenting the wind for any oncoming danger.
"At the pace we're going, it should take less than an hour," he answered.
"I know you have a list of everything the others need us to get, but is there anything you are looking for?" Jack shook his head as he kept one eye on their surroundings. He then stopped short, remembering something.
"Actually, I was hoping to bring something back for Sophia, could you help me find something?" Maggie nodded.
"She thinks the world of you, you know that right?" A gentle smile found its way onto his face. It was honestly adorable how attached the two were to each other.
"I like her too," He said, then his smile gave way to a frown. "I'm gonna miss her." Maggie's eyes widened.
"What do you mean?" Jack awkwardly shifted around in the saddle as he took a moment to answer.
"I promised Sophia that I would help her get back to her mom. Now that I have its probably best that I go on my way."
"Why? I know you've been on your own for a long time, but that doesn't need you have to leave."
"I do better on my own," he said, looking away. His gaze lingering on a rotting corpse on the side of the road. "It's better for everyone."
"Better or easier?"
"Both." Jack answered, bluntly. "I don't even know what happened to my family after all this started. I can't just go find a new one." Not when I might lose them too." They rode in silence after that. The only sound throughout the entire journey was the panting coming from the dogs and the sound of hooves against the road. Once they reached the town, Jack led them to the grocery store at the center of town. Together they tied up the horses and walked to the front of the store. Before Maggie could open the door, Jack stopped her. Quietly, he eased open the door and with a low whistle Buck slipped inside. After a few minutes, the German Shepherd silently slipped back out. "Okay, it's clear."
Once they were inside, the two went isle by isle filling their bags with the supplies on the list. At the end of their shopping trip, Maggie helped Jack pick out a gift for Sophia. After a long debate, they settled on a slingshot they found in the toy section of the store. When they exited the store the sun was setting.
"There is a hotel not far from here. I stayed there the last time I was here. It's walker free and the electricity should still be working." The idea of a night in a soft bed and the possibility of air conditioning was enough to get Maggie to jump on her horse and almost forget the supplies.
Jack and Maggie left their horses to graze in the nearby park before leaving the dogs near the front entrance of the hotel. After a little searching, the pair found a bedroom and settled down for the night. Jack dropped his stuff beside the nearest bed before kicking off his shoes and falling onto the bed back first. Maggie took the bed opposite of him and followed suit.
As her back hit the bed, Maggie's mind went back to the conversation they had on the road. Despite his proclamations about leaving, Jack hadn't made any moves to grab any extra supplies to take with him. Maybe he wasn't as deadset on leaving as he claimed, maybe he was getting attached to the group, maybe he just needed a little more incentive to stay. Besides if he really was going to leave this might be her last chance. With her mind made up, Maggie got up from her bed and walked over to his.
Jack looked up at her confused when he noticed her standing over him. "Maggie? What are you-" His question was cut off when she put a finger to his lips and then she leaned forward so her lips met his. After a moment's confusion, Jack eagerly returned the kiss, his hands coming up to cup her face. Eventually, the two had to end their kiss and come up for air. With a teasing look, Maggie pulled away and walked towards the bathroom.
"I'm going to take a shower, feel free to join me." She said over her shoulder as she tossed off her shirt.
By the time Jack joined her in the bathroom, Maggie had already shed the rest of her clothes and was underneath the showerhead washing the dirt and grime out of her hair. After he shed his own garments, he eagerly joined her.
Maggie let a moan as Jack pulled her into him, her back pressed tightly against his chest, while his hardening cock pressed against her ass. She turned her head and captured his lips with her own as he pulled them under the shower head, spraying her entire front while his hands reached around to grip her sensitive breasts. Maggie response was to grind her rear against him. Jack bent down and kissed down the farm girl's neck.
One of Jack's hands dropped down from her breast and traveled south towards her waiting clit. Maggie bit her lip as she felt his fingers gliding down her entrance and lightly stroke it. Before long, one of her own came down to join Jack's in stimulating her. She gasped as his fingers began to slowly bury themselves inside her. As if to taunt her, at a snail's pace, he began to pump his fingers in and out of her tight snatch.
"Jack," She moaned. "Stop teasing me." Her hand joined Jack's at her entrance and tried to manually make him speed up. Unfortunately, he was adamant about keeping the same pace.
"First, tell me what you want." Jack ordered as he lightly bit her ear.
"I-I want…" Maggie gasped as he continued to toy with her slit.
"Yes," he teased.
"I want you inside me," She finally, managed to get out. Immediately, Jack turned her around to face him. After a quick kiss, he hoisted her up with Maggie wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. With a quick nod, he slowly lowered her down and impaled her on his shaft. Maggie threw her head back and moaned as Jack bounced her up and down along his cock.
"Don't stop," She moaned, burying her face in his shoulder. Thrusting in and out of her tight entrance, Jack pressed her against the wall. The feeling of the cool surface against Maggie's back caused a shudder to run through her. Not wanting to be idle, Maggie ground her hips in tight circles around Jack's cock. The pulsating emanating from her partner's tool was the first warning she got that he was reaching his limit.
"Where do you want it?" Jack grunted. Maggie smirked as her vaginal walls tightened around his cock, causing him to shudder before she bounced against him with renewed vigor.
"Inside," she gasped. "Finish inside me." With no further encouragement needed, Jack groaned as he shot his load inside her waiting depths. Maggie tilted her head back and cried out as she reached her own climax. His breathing began to slow as Maggie milked his cock for all it was worth.
Eventually, the couple found their way to bed. Maggie rested her head on Jack's chest while he in turn wrapped his arms around her waist.
"So, you reconsidering the idea of leaving?" Maggie asked. Jack chuckled as he drew small circles in her lower back.
"I'll definitely consider it."
I hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter of Tales of the Living and the Dead. Until next time, follow, favorite, and review.
