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From the Blood of the Wolf Ch. 01

By: LL_Timber



Chapter One -- Never the Same

Everything was gone. I stared into the dying fire, reflecting upon the events of today. I had hoped naively that we had only freak outbreak in Yale...but the binoculars didn't lie when we spied Woodland from a clear cut. Buildings burning, cars parked in the middle of the streets and the infected...no longer the intelligent creatures they once were but shells, most of them badly injured, being driven on in the most instinctual of ways by the virus. Zombies. The stories of past never got them right. They weren't dead...they were dying, and the virus wouldn't let them fall...until it was just physically impossible for them to move. Most of the infected finally died of infection, dehydration and blood loss.

I glanced around the fire to my four companions, my brother, two cousins and one of the cousin's friend. Their eyes seemed to be focused on the dancing flames of the fire, but I knew that wasn't the case. The camp fire was a good place to rest weary eyes while their minds recapped on the day, just as mine had done. My brother, Keith, looked up at me. I knew what he was thinking as we always had a somewhat of a twin connection. His eyes were saying, "now what?" I frowned in response. 

The sky was brilliant shades of oranges, pinks, purples and blues as the long day was coming to an end....which meant the black of night was coming soon. "Okay, so we need to set up watches. It's about 11 hours till morning, so each of us will need to watch for 2.5 hours each." The group lifted their heads and listened to me. "Who wants first watch?"

"I will", said my cousin Ben's friend, Mitch. I nodded at him. I didn't know him very well, but the fact that he was volunteering for first watch after such a long day helped ease my ever powerful distrust of all new people. 

"I'll take second", Keith raised his hand without looking up. "I don't sleep much anyway." 

I nodded at Keith. I had the same problem with sleep. "Good. Alright, Ben, you'll go after him, then me and then Claire..."

"I can't, Anna!" Claire said, cutting me off. "You know I don't know anything about guns."

I stared hard at her. I wasn't about to give her watch anyway. She had always been the baby of us four and always a source of frustration for me. "I know you don't, which is why I said 2.5 hours instead of 2...but tomorrow, you are learning how to use a gun." Irritation was rising in my voice. I couldn't help it. "The time of you acting like a baby is over, Claire. Tomorrow, you will grow up, you understand me?" As if being beautiful, blonde and the youngest was going to get her out of responsibilities. I wanted to say that, but I held myself back.

Claire nodded slowly, staring at her feet. I saw a lone tear slide from her eye to her cheek. Totally a Claire move.

I grabbed my pack and unfastened my sleeping bag. My eyes flicked over to Mitch, who was getting comfortable against a Douglas Fir, a sawed-off pump action was resting in his arms. I went over to him and knelt down. He looked up at me. Big green eyes. "If you start having problems holding your eyes open, come wake me", I said quietly. 

He grinned. "Get some sleep, Anna", Mitch said, patting my booted foot. He had a strong face, with a goatee that was darker in color than his blond hair. Probably 20 or 21, like me. I wondered for a second how Ben and Mitch could be friends. He didn't seem as introverted as Ben. 

"Good night then." I went back to my sleeping bag, took off my boots and climbed in. I tried to come up with a plan for the next day and fell asleep.

It was still black outside when Ben woke me at 4am. "Anything happen?" 

Ben handed me the shotgun and a box of shells. "No, but the wolves were really carrying on." He crawled over to his sleeping bag, which was next to mine. 

"Okay, get some sleep." I made my way over to the tree that Mitch had set up against and sat down. The wolves. Ordinarily, there weren't wolves in southwest Washington, but it was something that we were used to. As it turned out, an animal psychologist had moved to Yale and set up his place to study wolves when Keith was a sophomore and I was a senior in High School. The wolves were secured in a pen, but nothing could contain their longing howls.

I thought back to one day, while we were waiting for the school bus, Keith and I had walked up to the pens that the wolves were in. I loved wolves, thought they were so beautiful, but this was the closest I had ever been to them. Some wagged their tails, some just stared, and others backed away from us with their ears flattened. None of them growled or barred their teeth...they just watched us. I couldn't help to feel sorry for them. It was obvious that most of them were once wild. Surely they missed their homes, running free with their packs.

As I sat up against the tree, thinking of the wolves, I had an idea. It would be good to have a dog with us. Surely one of the domesticated, tail-waggers would follow us if freed, and their ears could catch more sound than ours. Perhaps we could even stay at the wolf compound for a few days. I knew that there was an orchard, a large garden, chickens and goats on the farm next door. As if on que, the wolves began their last chorus of the night. 

A light mist began to fall through the dense forest as the night gave way to morning. I glanced at the feeble fire that had managed to keep going through the night and hoped that it would make it until I was done boiling a pot of water for our instant coffee. 

I heard a footstep behind me and turned quickly. It was Mitch. "Good morning", he smiled at me as he knelt at the fire.

"Morning. Get any sleep?"

"A bit." He ran his fingers through his thick blond hair and scratched his disappearing goatee. The rest of his facial hair was catching up with it quickly. "Thought I heard wolves last night though". 

I smiled at him to which he cocked his head and smiled back. "This is the first time I've seen you smile since it all broke loose."

Our eyes locked for a moment before I started explaining. "You did hear wolves. That's where we are going today."

"Is that a good idea?" Mitch perched one eyebrow higher than the other in a quizzical look.

"They are in pens. And there is a farm next door to them. Maybe we can stay there for a few days as we figure out what next to do." I left out the part of letting the wolves go. He didn't need to know right now. None of them had to know right now.

He nodded. "So what's the deal with you four?"

"What do you mean", I said as I pulled the boiling water from the now extinguished fire. Should be at least hot enough for coffee.

"I can tell that you've always been the leader of the pack."

Me. Leader of the pack. I shook my head to myself. "I guess." I could feel Mitch's eyes on me as I scooped coffee granules into my camp cup and poured water over them.

"You were going to Clark, right?" He meant Clark College down in Vancouver.

"Yeah. I am..." I stopped myself. "I was almost ready to transfer to the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland."

"Art?" Mitch said in almost disbelief, grinning. "Seriously?"

I frowned his reaction. "Yeah, graphic and web design is what I was studying... why?"

Mitch let out a quiet laugh. "Art AND computers...I didn't take you for an artistic nerd", he smiled.

I puffed up like an angry little toad and gave him the stink eye. "Yeah? And if I had to guess from you being built like an ox, I'd say you were majoring in shop." His smile faded as he looked at me hard. I was reminded that I need to work on controlling my mouth. It was always getting me into trouble or hurting feelings.

Mitch swallowed and looked to the ground. "Unlike you, I can't afford college. I have to work in the woods with Ben." By saying 'work in the woods', Mitch meant he was a logger. Very dangerous work for very little pay. It was the job of most young men in the Valley that came from poor families. It was either log or join the military.

My mind stewed over possible apologies as we sat in silence. I sipped the bitter instant coffee. "I'm sorry Mitch."

His eyes stayed on the ground. "For what", he shrugged.

Honestly, I knew I had no reason to have snapped at him. I just didn't like the feeble, helpless, geeky stereotype of people associated with art and computers. I watched Mitch as he continued staring into the forest floor. He was just trying to be friendly, even a bit flirty, I thought, with the conversation. God, I suck. "I'm sorry for snapping."

"Don't worry about it." He stood, his t-shirt raised to reveal the lower half of his muscular abdomen as he stretched his hands over his head, and went to pack his backpack. He didn't look at me again. Looks like I had finished/ruined our conversation effectively. 

About that time, everyone else woke up. Without much sound, we packed our packs as well. 

The mist gave way to a drizzle. I put my water-proof hat on over my braided hair and looked up at the sky. As the droplets fell on my face, I felt a little better. I loved the rain.

After everyone was ready, I explained where we were going and we set off down the hill to the valley.

We found Highway 503 and followed it. I figured it would be about 20 miles to our destination. We could follow this road most of the way to the wolves as the majority of the route would be along mountains rising quickly to our left and a drop off to the Lewis River to our right. The infected would have to either come from behind us or in front of us...if there were any along this road.

We trekked for about 10 hours before we decided to stop for the day.. It was pretty uneventful, having come upon just one pack of infected. We hid from them as they passed us by, heading in the opposite direction as us. We would have put them down, but we knew that gun fire would only draw more of them. How I wished I had my bow.

I considered the place at which we were stopping the entrance to Yale Valley. It was a turn-out on the right side of the road that was used mainly as a view point for tourists. It looked out over the valley with a view of Lake Merwin and Wolverton Mountain. So beautiful. As it was like the rest of the route, straight up hill on the left of the road and straight down hill on the right, we would be some what safe here, even if out in the open. At least here, we were able to set up tents to keep us out of the rain while we slept.

Ben and Mitch gathered wood for a fire and Keith, Claire and I went over gun handling. Actually, it was more Keith than me. I didn't want to run the risk of offending another member of our party, even if she was annoying as hell.

As we sat around the fire that evening, Keith brought out his deck of cards. To me, it was almost a joke...those cards. Every time we went on a trip when we were younger, he had the deck of cards. It was like he didn't even want to wait until we were bored to play with them either. It seemed trip equated cards to him. I smiled.

Poker was the game of the night. We were using chores and the remaining luxury treats to bet with. Fire wood gathering, setting up tents, I even had some Jack's Links jerky left in my pack; so I bet it. I lost the jerky in that hand, but won the next, where the pot was trading early morning look-out, a half of a Twixx, a twenty dollar bill (which was pretty much useless), and a little more than a shot of Vodka (all that was remaining in Keith's flask). Keith watched me as I hid the vodka in my pack. I shot him a dirty look because I knew he was trying to think of a way to get it back. I made a mental note to remind Keith that we may need it later, not as booze, but as an anesthetic.

I quit after that hand because, you know, it's good to quit while your ahead. I watched the four play several more hands. Occasionally, I would look at Mitch. Never once did he glance at me. He had buttoned up the flannel shirt over his t-shirt. The hiking shorts he was wearing revealed that his legs were pretty pale, but I knew it was because loggers all wore long pants to work in. I tried to ignore the fact that Mitch was pretty hot. Perfect smile, strong shoulders, fantastic muscular legs... 'Knock it off, Anna', I thought. I shook my head and looked up towards the sky. The rain had stopped somewhere around 3 that afternoon, but I could not see the stars. I imagined it would rain again tonight.

Mitch had first watch again. I tried sleeping, but as being the next to watch, I knew I would only have to get up in two and a half hours. Forced sleep never comes. I laid there, wishing I was at home, curled up on the sofa with a beer and a movie. A BEER! I remember that I had one last Sam Adams in my pack. Oh man, it seemed like a fantasy to actually have one now! I quietly dug it out of my backpack and opened it. I quickly looked around. No one had noticed. Time to see if I could make amends with Mitch. I went over to him and sat down. "Hey", I said.

He turned his head slightly then went back to staring into the black night. "Hey."

"I brought a peace offering", I said and held up the lone beer. His big green eyes focus on the bottle in my hand and I saw a ever-so-slight smile come to his lips.

"The last one?"

"The one and only. I figured we could share and you could call me a nerdy hippie all that you wanted to."

Mitch turned his eyes to me. They stared into mine, made a quick look over my face then went back to my eyes. "You think I'm still upset", he stated. Right to the point. I normally appreciated directness, but this made me uncomfortable.

I blinked a few times. His eyes never left mine. "Yes...aren't you?" I managed to ask.

He smiled and I felt a wave of relief wash over me. "No. Your words stung a bit...but they are just words."

"Then why have you..." I started. "I haven't seen you look at me once today...and you've been pretty quiet."

Mitch's eyes now felt like he was trying to see past mine into my brain. I glanced away uncomfortably. His hand reached out and his fingers touched my hand as he slowly slid the warm bottle of beer from my grasp. His fingers dragged along my skin for a moment before he pulled his hand away. Was he trying to make me more uncomfortable? While I enjoyed his touch, it made me feel...scared...vulnerable. My eyes went back to his face and he was smiling. Mitch put the bottle to his lips and took a slow pull. He closed his eyes, "mmmmm", and handed the bottle back to me. "I sorta spent today thinking about all of this. How things just won't be the same, you know?"

I nodded and took a drink of the ale. Despite being warm, the beer was like heaven. I handed it back to Mitch. "If everything was the same, and we had finished the hike and made it back to our cars...what would you be doing right now?"

He laughed quietly. "I would hope this very same thing."

'Sitting outside, watching for zombies?' I wondered. "What do you mean?"

Mitch laughed again and had another drink from the beer. "Uh, well, once we reached the cars...", he started as he passed the beer back to me. "I had planned on...asking you out to dinner with me".

I froze. Was he serious? "Uh...like on...a date?" I heard my words and felt like an idiot as they came out of my mouth, but it was too late to stop them.

"Uh, yeah..." he looked at me. "Like on a date." Mitch waited a moment, as if he was letting the words sink in. "What would you have said...if I asked?"

My stomach felt as if it had turned upside down. I was never good with guys...once I knew that they had a thing for me. I wanted to get up and run away. I knew my pupils must have been the size of my entire iris at that point. The woods actually seemed bright. "uh..." I tried.

"It's okay", Mitch said.

"But..." I didn't want him to think my silence meant no! My head snapped around towards his face. 

He had a kind smile on his lips. Mitch took the bottle from my hand and set it on the ground. Now that my hand was free, he took it in both of his hands. My hand seemed small in his. "What if's aren't always meant to be answered." 

I wanted to look up at his face, but my head seemed to weigh tons. My eyes were frozen to our hands. I watched as he gently rubbed the back of my hand with his fingers. His hands were warm and rough, yet tender. After what seemed like an eternity, I was able to look at him. "I would have said yes." Oh, crap! Did I just say that? What the hell is wrong with me today?!

He smiled and picked the beer back up. "To what ifs, Anna." His left hand never left my right. Mitch took a drink of the beer and handed it back to me. He sat there for a moment, then leaned towards me and kissed my forehead. "I'll see you in the morning, beautiful." 

Mitch went off to his tent, leaving me to rehash our conversation while finishing off the beer and stood my watch. I wondered what the next day would bring. The beer was gone in two swallows. 

From the Blood of the Wolf Ch. 02



I woke to rain on my face...or at least that's what it felt like. I quickly realized that it was dew that had fallen from the inside of my tent after Keith had thumped it from the outside. It was one of his favorite camping pranks.

I climbed from my tent and felt so grimy. I really needed a shower. I knew I looked a little to crunchy for my own tastes. That's when I spied Claire. She looked pretty bad...no make-up, greasy hair...now I didn't feel as crunchy as I thought just moments ago. Her normally glossy, corn-silk hair almost looked matted. All she needed was a hemp knit hat and the look would be complete. I laughed quietly.

A boot nudged me. I looked up at Mitch standing over me. "What's so funny down there?"

Last night came flooding back to me...the beer sharing...the hand holding...the kiss on my forehead. I blushed. "Uh, nothing."

Mitch looked down on me for a moment longer then looked to Claire. He knelt down next to me and said quietly, "not her usual polished self. Looks better than I've ever seen her look."

His words struck me wrong. "You like dirty hippie chicks?" I was annoyed.

Mitch laughed and stood up, extending a hand down to me. "No", he helped me up. "Not dirty... I like nerdy hippie chicks". He winked at me.

I actually had to think about that for a second before I smiled back. "I seem to remember saying that you could call me that all you wanted to...last night."

He pointed to the horizon and smiled widely. "Suns not up...yet. I bet I have, say, 30 more minutes of the night left." 

I rolled my eyes and smiled. He was lucky he was so attractive. I realized that Mitch was still holding my hand. I looked down at our hands together. I felt him give me a squeeze so I looked back at him. His smile made me blush. Mitch winked and let my hand go as he headed to help pack things up.

Love. Romance. Not exactly my forte. Actually, it had never been my forte or even a part of my life. Sure, I've known my share of attractive guys, but always avoided any type of connection with them...emotional, physical, what have you. I always told my friends that I was not interested in romance yet, I wanted a career first. But, that wasn't the truth. I was scared to let someone into my mind, to let them know the real me.

I watched as Ben apparently told Mitch a joke or something very funny as Mitch had a hardy laugh.

There was only one person that knew me really well...and that was mainly because I had no choice. Keith and I have almost always shared the same wave length. It's not like we had the same personality, but we could read each other very well. As such, we couldn't keep anything from each other. I glanced at Keith. He was looking at me as he pushed his tent into it's bag. I wasn't surprised he was looking at me. I was just thinking of him, after all.

After we finished packing up, it was time to head on. I figured we had about 2 more hours of walking before we reached the farm and the wolves.

It was about 30 minutes later that we saw our first house in Yale Valley. I slowed, looking at the home and thought of the possible supplies that might be inside. I turned to my group. "What are your thoughts on checking the houses along the road for supplies?"

Claire stiffened. "There may be zombies in them."

I nodded, "and there might be a lot of useful supplies. If we could find some more weapons, a bow, machete...maybe some keys and a car even." I smiled at that thought...driving. I thought back to us leaving our own cars parked at the trail head when we spied the pack of infected milling around the corner store. So we left our cars there and went around them.

"So, what are your thoughts guys?"

They looked at each other.

"Let's do it", said Mitch.

"Yeah", Keith agreed.

I turned to Ben and Claire. "Stay here with her and whistle if something goes down." They both nodded.

The house wasn't too far from the road. The three of us kept a wary eye out, watching for any type of movement in or around the house. There were two cars parked in the driveway...a old Ford Taurus and a pretty cool looking old Jeep Cherokee...tan with wood-paneled sides. I thought how great it would be for the keys to be inside the house for it.

We thoroughly checkout the house, no one was around. We called Ben and Claire to join us. "Okay, everyone search for keys. If we find keys, we can gather a lot more stuff from this place and take with us."

Five minutes past, it didn't look like we would have any luck with keys. "I found some!" Ben shouted.

They turned out to be the keys to the beat-up old Taurus. Amazingly enough, the car started and we had about a half a tank of gas. 

After the cheering was over, it was time to get to business. "Look for weapons, batteries, flash lights, medicine, and any type of foods that might be good for a while", I instructed. The four started to head off when I grabbed Keith by the arm. "I know you are headed for the liquor, so get as much of the strong stuff as possible, we may need it for wounds."

He frowned.

"Don't give me that look, I know you." And I did. "if they have some beer, grab a couple of them for tonight...but just a couple".

Keith made a farting sound with his lips and gave me the finger. Ah, brothers. Whatever, I didn't care. I knew he'd do what we needed.

I found a large garbage can and took the bag out, headed to the bathroom for supplies. I raked all of the containers from the medicine cabinet into the can and moved on. I found a lot of towels and several extra pillows in the linen closet. They went into the can as well. I spied several perfume bottles in one of the bathrooms. I picked one up and looked at it, then glanced at my reflection. My dark hair had started coming loose from the braid I had it in. While my clothes fit my thin body well, they were dirty. I looked awful. I managed to get a little water from the sink and washed my face. Once my hair was tidied back up into the usual french braid, I felt a little less gross, a little more like me.

Thirty minutes passed and we had the car loaded down with all types of supplies. Keith was just finishing loading up his booty. He had found several plastic bottles of cheap vodka, one bottle of Everclear and 2 bottles of whiskey. Work hard, drink harder, I guess. Keith also had a case of Rainier out by the car. I frowned.

"What?" he asked, even though he knew what I was looking at.

"Nothing. If you can squeeze it in there, then fine." And guess what? He made it fit.

We moved on to the next house. Didn't find much there, but I did find three bows and a lot of arrows. I was actually relieved when I found them. It's not that I didn't like guns, but I knew that arrows were much quieter...and reusable.

Claire found the keys to an older Toyota Tacoma 4x4 with fog lights and a grill guard. It had a quarter of a tank in it. At least we all didn't have to pile into the Taurus now.

Keith and I were in the Toyota with Mitch in the back. Claire and Ben drove the Taurus. We made pretty good time to the wolves and the farm. 

It seemed as if the properties were together at one time as the buildings resembled each other. The 'wolf' place sat off to the left with an old frame house, the kennels and a large barn just behind it. The farm was another frame house, same color even, and it sat further back on the property to the right.

We decided to split up. Mitch and I would check out the 'wolf' house and Ben, Keith and Claire would go on to the farm.

I took a bow, a quiver of arrows and a revolver. Mitch took a shotgun and a 9mm. We slowly approached the old house. My eyes were trained on the windows, watching for any sign of movement within the house. I saw nothing.

As we walked on the porch, I looked at Mitch. He shook his head as he saw nothing as well. My hand reached out and knocked on the door. Still, we heard nothing.

When I opened the door, we immediately heard movement. I called out. "Hello? Someone in here?"

The house was silent for a moment. "Hi there", called a male voice, followed by the sound of a shotgun as a shell was loaded into the chamber. "How are you guys doing?" The voice was friendly and cheerful...but I knew it was meant to intimidate us.

I glanced at Mitch. He looked as on edge as I was sure that I looked. I continued. "Uh, are you the only one in there?"

The question was met with sudden laughter of the stranger. "Why don't you come in here, sweetheart, and find out?" 

Mitch and I both heard something clatter to the floor in a different direction than the voice. Either the guy wasn't alone or he just threw something to make it seem like he wasn't. There was no way to be sure. "Have you seen many infected around?"

"Zombies?" the voice called. "Yeah, the place is crawling with them. You should leave this area quickly!" 

Why did it seem like this guy was trying to play with us? Granted, if the situation were reversed, I'd probably try to get the armed strangers out of my house too. I stiffened. We were in the wrong here, this was his house. I whispered to Mitch, "we should go".

Mitch nodded.

We backed away from the door and found a place in a small grove of trees where we could talk.

"That was weird. That guy was crazy", said Mitch. 

"Maybe, maybe not. His act kept us out of his house, right?"

Mitch considered what I said and nodded. Acting crazy would be the perfect way to keep people away. If they believe you are crazy, then they can believe you are unpredictable and might do anything.

We decided to check out a large barn that sat up on the side of a hill, not too far away from the house. 

As we waded through the tall grass, we made note of the wolves' kennels to our right. I wondered if the man inside had been feeding them...or if they were left to starve in the cages. I frowned. "I want to set them free Mitch. When we are done with the barn."

"The wolves?" I could hear the warning tone in his voice. I'm sure he thought I was starting to lose my own mind.

"I've been around them before and I don't think they'll hurt us. In fact, there are some tame ones in there."

"Tame...how do you know?"

"They were wagging their tails and had their ears down."

Mitch said nothing, so I glanced at him. He was staring at the grass at his feet as we walked. If he was thinking something, he wasn't saying it. Perhaps he didn't agree with what I wanted to do, but was letting me get my way...since he was fond of me. I smiled in spite of myself. 

I noticed how he made me seem small. I was 5'9"...he had to be about 6 more inches taller than me. I smiled again. 

Feeling a little feisty, I lifted my right foot up and side kicked him in the butt as we walked. 

"Hey!"

Before he could get that word out, I was already laughing and running up the hill towards the barn. Mitch easily closed the distance between us, as God knows, I'm not a runner. I slowed near the open bay doors, breathing and laughing, waiting for Mitch. It became apparent that he had no intentions of stopping once he reached me. Smiling, he plowed into me, knocking the bow out of my hands. He picked me off of the ground, turned his body so that he hit the ground first, then rolled over so that he was on top of me. We were both laughing and breathing hard, but Mitch's smile quickly faded as he look down at me. His intense greens bored into my eyes.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

At that moment, the sun broke free of the clouds, sending a beam of brilliant light down upon us, which caused Mitch's hair to lite up like pure gold.

He smiled down at me again and slowly pulled a long strand of my hair out of my face, brushing my cheek with his thumb as he did so. I searched his eyes for answers, when suddenly, I felt terrified. I knew what was coming.

Mitch lowered his lips to mine and we kissed. My mind was screaming, my heart was pounding. I didn't know what to do or how to act. As his tongue gently brushed my lips, coaxing my mouth to open, it seemed that my body dismissed my brain, as if saying it was no longer needed. I felt one of my hands go to his broad shoulder and the other to his head where my fingers entwined into his thick hair. What was I doing? What were WE doing? At that moment, time stopped. I really don't know how long we stayed in the grass. Only when Mitch pulled away from me did my mind return to my body. 

"Mmmmm..." he smiled down at me. "I could stay in this grass with you all day." He traced a finger lightly along my chin then rolled over on to his back. 

Surely, he had to have felt my heart pounding, desperately trying to be free of my chest... There was no way he couldn't have noticed! I really have no idea what expression was on my face. Did I look happy? Scared? I didn't have a clue.

Mitch stood, pulled me to my feet and handed my bow to me. He planted a lingering kiss or two on my neck and straightened up his clothes.

I was still in a fog. This must be what it feels like to be a zombie. My hand was wet as I gripped the bow. I felt myself teeter.

Mitch quickly grabbed me with both hands. "You okay??" He laughed nervously.

"Yeah", I avoided his eyes and cleared my throat. "Head rush." And without another word, I quickly ventured into the barn. 'Idiot!' I cursed myself. 'First kiss ever and I nearly fainted! Alright, alright...no damage done, right?' I turned back and looked at Mitch. The way in which he smiled back at me made me believe he that KNEW I was uncomfortable, perhaps he even knew it was the first time I had kissed anyone. I quickly averted my eyes. Dammit.

Clearing my mind, I looked around the barn for signs of movement. I saw none. There were garden tools, stalls with hay and a lawn mower.

"I'm going to check up in the loft", Mitch said in a hushed voice.

I nodded.

The back of the barn was open too. It looked out into a little more grass, then the land sloped away. As I walked out of the back of the barn, I heard water. About 20 ft down a sharply-sloped bank was a small, fast-flowing creek. Just as I turned back, an arrow narrowly missed my head, flying over my left shoulder. Without thinking, I quickly drew an arrow and raised my bow towards the direction of the shot. I stopped. A strange guy was standing on the back porch of the frame house, holding a bow down in front of him. Then I heard a body fall behind me. I turned suddenly. A zombie lie there with an arrow in it's head. I was stunned. I turned back to the house. The stranger had saved me. Was he the same guy that was acting crazy in the house earlier? I took a step back, tripping over the zombie...and fell down the steep embankment, towards the creek.



From the Blood of the Wolf Ch. 03



I woke to the sound of Mitch yelling my name in a desperate tone and I tried to move but hurt too badly. My head hurt, my shoulder hurt even more. I was down at the bottom of the hill, half in and half out of the creek. I tried to pull myself up and realized that my left shoulder was dislocated. I guessed that I was in some form of shock because I didn't pass out. I sat in the mud, staring at the rocks under the water for a moment. I laughed at how clumsy I was. 

Then, in a brief, painful moment, everything changed. I screamed out in terrible agony. Something was ripping into my left arm. I didn't have to look. I knew what it was. It was teeth, tearing through my shirt, sinking into my flesh. Almost instinctively, I pulled the revolver from the waist band of my shorts and prayed that the wet gun would fire as I pulled the trigger. The blast hurt my ears. The zombie that had been attempting to making a meal of my arm fell dead into the creek.

I stared at the gun in my hand and watched as it dropped into the water. Fear, relief, pain, hope, love, despair...all faded away. I was numb. I knew I was dead. It was only a matter of hours before I would be something...not me. Forty-eight hours before I ceased to exist...maybe even less time than that.

Mitch leaped down into the creek with me. "Anna!" His voice was rough and hoarse from yelling and screaming my name. He didn't even pause to check my condition before he hoisted me up in his arms and ran up the steep embankment. 

If I was able to feel, I knew that I would have cried just from the look of sheer terror etched in Mitch's handsome face as he ran me to the frame house. If he only would have noticed my condition...he would have known there was no reason to waste energy to try and get me help. "Mitch," I said.

I knew that he heard me but he didn't say anything. He didn't even glance at me. His goal was the back of the house, where the man with the bow stood earlier.

I saw the stranger run to the back door of his home and open it for us. He motioned for Mitch to bring me inside. I should have been amused at the fact that just an hour earlier, the stranger was ready to shoot us...and now he urged us into his home. Everything was in slow motion, even as Mitch laid me down in the first bed I had been on in a week. 

"What happened?" Asked the stranger.

Mitch stood like a statue as he looked at my badly injured arm...dislocated and zombie bitten. He gently took my left hand into his right hand. "I really don't know," he said somberly. "She disappeared after I saw her leave the barn. I had been calling her name for a few minutes when I heard her scream and then I heard a shot fired." Mitch dropped to his knees and buried his face into the bed next to me. I knew then that he knew. He knew I was dead.

"Mitch," I said. 

He lifted his head. His beautiful green eyes were blood shot and watery, but he wasn't crying. Mitch didn't look at my eyes, but to my battered arm. His jaw clenched tightly as he slowly pulled the torn bits of my blood-soaked sleeve from the horrible wound. He was afraid to look into my eyes.

"Please look at me."

He swallowed hard and finally met my gaze.

I know that most people re-live the past when they are faced with their own mortality, but I guess I'm not like most people. When I looked at Mitch right then, I had a vision of what could have been. All that I would have shared with him, how happy we would have been together. I wanted to bring my hand to his face to comfort him, but, thanks to my shoulder being out of joint, that was impossible. "Please...could you get Keith for me," I whispered.

Mitch's face turned red. "No!" He shouted. "No, I won't! You aren't finished yet, Anna! Don't you give up!" As if a flood gate had been opened, the water in his eyes spilled over his lower lashes. Tears streamed down his face. "I won't let you leave me again!" Mitch put his left arm over me and buried his head back into the bed, but this time, he was sobbing.

I looked at the stranger who still stood by the bed. I noticed that he was close to our age. "I'll be right outside," he said and left the room. 

I was taken-aback by how protective and emotional Mitch was over me. Seriously, we had only met a couple of days ago. Could he really already be that much in love... with me? That would totally be my luck. An Adonis falls in love with me...then I get bit by a zombie. I closed my eyes. Wait...what was the bit about leaving him...AGAIN?

"What did you mean, 'don't leave me again'," I asked him as my right hand found his left. He squeezed my hand tightly.

Mitch lifted his head and sniffed hard a few times in an attempt to fight off his raw emotions. If his hand wasn't in mine, I would have sworn he had left the room as he grew silent. Then I heard him cough to clear his throat. "I know you don't remember me...but we were in the 6th and 7th grade together in Woodland."

"What?" Mitch went to school with me? I tried hard to remember his name...his face...

I must have made a puzzled face because he laughed softly before he continued. "Yeah, I was pretty shy back then. I doubt I would have remembered me. "

I opened my eyes, turned my face to him. His right hand picked at the afghan which covered the bed. While he was looking at the bed, his focus wasn't...he was gone to another time. A faint smile found it's way to his lips as he spoke. "The first time I saw you, we were in PE. Right away, I knew you were different. Most of the Woodland girls had started acting like they were too good to play anymore, especially in PE. They'd rather sit around, talking about boys or they'd act like they didn't know how to play. But not you," he laughed again. "You were stubborn, even then. While playing basketball, you were tripped and hit your knee on the floor. I guess that re-opened a recent wound there...your leg started bleeding. I remember that you looked down at your knee and asked for a tissue. You didn't cry or even grimace in pain. I watched as you stood there, holding the tissue to your leg watching the game and checking the tissue every so often. I swear it was like three minutes and you were out playing again, acting like nothing had happened."

I actually remembered that. I did break open an old scab when I was tripped. It had hurt, but my team was winning. I wasn't about to let that keep us from beating the other girls. "You were there," I half asked and half stated.

"You were so strong and so beautiful. I fell in love with you that day." He squeezed my hand harder. "Then, when you switched to Battle Ground, I was heart broken. I so regretted not talking to you. I tried everything I could to get my parents to transfer me. And after my parents split, I even convinced my mom to move to the Valley...so I could be closer to you. I never saw you then, so I had Ben keep me up-to-date on your life."

"So, you coming with us hiking wasn't just a, 'hey, my friend Mitch has never been to Indian Heaven and he wants to go' thing, as Ben made it sound?"

"No," Mitch cleared his throat again. "I put him up to it. Actually, I begged him."

I smiled. "Why didn't you tell me this before?"

He grinned and brushed my cheek with his thumb. "What...and seem like the stalker that I really am?"

I couldn't keep down the giggle. It hurt, but I giggled anyway. "Yeah, you're pretty much the epitome of a stalker. Glad you refrained from mailing me your ear or something."

Mitch laughed. "The thought had crossed my mind." He was being sarcastic.

"Right..."

The room became quiet. I caught a glimpse of the stranger standing in the hallway, leaning up against the door jam. He had been standing there the whole time, taking in Mitch's story. When our eyes met, he came into the room. "I don't want to get your hopes up, but I know of something kinda risky that might keep the virus from advancing."

I felt both of our hearts stop. Mitch quickly looked up at the stranger. "Serious?!"

I watched the stranger. Stranger hesitated. I could tell there was something else...a catch. "It has to be her decision though...she would have to live with the possible side effects."

Side effects. What could be worse than being a zombie? "What are they," I asked.

He looked at the floor, then back to me, shaking his head. "I'm really not even sure. It's something my uncle had been messing with for about a year now. All I know is that he mentioned something about possible blindness, paralysis or advanced virility of the virus."

I considered what he said. My thoughts started to fuzz around the edges and I felt a chill. I had a fever. The virus was starting to effect my body. It was only going to get worse. "If we don't try, I'm dead anyway. A slim chance is better than none." I could sense Mitch's hope rising. 

Stranger nodded. "I'll get the stuff then," he said and left the room.

I turned to face Mitch. "You have to promise me something."

"Anything," he said without blinking. I could tell that in his mind, he had already decided I would make it out of this. Perhaps the emotional condition of being in love makes those effected overly optimistic or able to believe in anything with a happy ending?

"No, I mean REALLY promise me this, Mitch."

His eyes narrowed. "What."

"If I go blind, if I'm paralyzed, if this doesn't work, you have to promise to end me." I thought about how hard it would be for me to agree to such a promise if the situation were reversed. "I'm sorry I have to ask you for this."

Poor Mitch went white. I could only imagine how difficult it was to hear me ask him to kill me. Spending the last several years wanting to be with me...and when he finally was...I ask him for this. "I won't have to," he manages to say. "This will work." He smiled, straighten up a bit and put a hand on my dislocated shoulder. "And I'm sorry for what I'm about to do..." Mitch grabbed my left hand with his other hand and quickly pushed my shoulder down while he pulled my left hand. 

I felt nothing, but heard an awful, stomach-turning pop as my shoulder found it's rightful place. I almost had forgotten that it was dislocated. 

"Okay?" Mitch studied my face.

My lids felt heavy and I was cold. "I'm fine."

"Anna", Mitch said.

I forced my eyes to focus on him. It wasn't easy. I wanted to sleep. I knew he could tell that the virus was slowly pulling me under.

"You have to fight," his voice was both gentle and stern. "if you don't, we might as well not even try this."

I knew he was right, but sleep sounded like the best thing on earth. I felt the darkness as it closed in on me, but it seemed more like a warm blanket than something scary.

"Fight this Anna. We need you," he said. Mitch gently placed his lips on mine and kissed me. He whispered, "I need you."



From the Blood of the Wolf Ch. 04



As if someone had flipped a switch, what I could dream up was now reality. I remembered hearing people talk of what it was like to trip on mushrooms or acid. Walls with paint blistering and running off, talking animals, seeing someones face turn into an orange. It was probably the number one reason why I never had a desire to do more than smoke a joint. I never wanted to actually see what I dreamed about...with my own awake eyes. But, I did now. Or at least, was starting to. Part of being consumed by the virus, I guessed. Either that, or the effects of a high fever.

It was hard for me to say what was real and what was a creation of my slipping mind during the whole 'save me' process. A big black wolf in the room, snowflakes falling from the ceiling, balloons that filled with blood, glowing text on the walls...thankfully, none of it was too disturbing. The fever eventually caused me to pass out.

When I opened my eyes, the room was pitch black. Something that I still wasn't used to yet was how dark it was at night, without electricity. No street lights, no lights from gadgets as they charged, no alarm clocks. But, if you were outside, you had the experience of the brightly twinkling heavens. There wasn't even any light pollution from Portland to dim the stars. They were able to shine with all their magnificent glory.

"Mitch?" I hoped that he didn't leave me alone in the room...in the dark.

I heard him wake up. "Anna." He slipped his hand into mine and squeezed.

"Do you have a flash light or anything? It's so dark in here."

Mitch sucked in a sharp breath and was silent. I turned my head towards him, my eyes searched the black for answers.

"Your eyes," he said softly. 

"What?!" I felt a little alarmed. How did he see my eyes in the dark?

"Josh..." Mitch said. Who was Josh? I assumed it was the stranger, but had no way of knowing.

Steps came towards me and I could feel someone getting closer. "I was afraid of this. Anna, can you see anything at all?" It was the stranger.

"No..." I said angrily. "What's going on?! Tell me what's happening!"

Mitch was the one to speak. "Your eyes are clouded over...I can barely see your irises."

"What...so I'm blind?!"

"It's about 10am and the sun is shining in the window right now." Mitch grabbed my hand and moved it into the sunlight. I could feel the temperature change. It was warm.

So, that was it. I was blind. My heart sank into the bed that I was on, no longer was a part of my body. Colors, shapes, sunsets, flowers, faces... all gone. I might as well be a zombie. 

Mitch tried to comfort me, but I was numb again. I knew I couldn't live this way...not in this world anyway. Being blind would only cause me to be a burden on our group. I was too stubborn and too proud to be a burden...on anyone. "Mitch..."

He didn't answer. 

There was no way for him to have known what I was going to ask, or did he? I continued anyway. "You remembered what I asked you?"

"I won't do it, Anna."

"Mitch, we don't even know if the virus is done. For all we know, this is one of the symptoms."

"Your fever is gone."

The fever. We assumed that the fever was what killed the thinking part of the infected, making them unable to speak, reason and act human. It looked as if our assumptions were correct. Could what Josh have done to me stopped the virus? What exactly did he do? "Josh, Mitch... You guys need to find people and let them know about this possible treatment. Perhaps if it's administered early enough, it won't cause blindness."

"You can tell them, Anna. You are the proof." Mitch said.

I knew that he desperately wanted me to stay with him, but I was getting annoyed. "Mitch, I won't be anything but a burden to the group. There will be nothing I can contribute and someone will have to watch out for me at all times... and nobody wants that."

"You're wrong. I want that. I'll take responsibility."

He'll take responsibility...for me. I wasn't ANYONE'S responsibility! "No, dammit! Enough of this childhood obsess..." I sat up quickly, forcefully hitting my head into Mitch's jaw. I fell back into the bed, seeing stars with my blind eyes. "Please just kill me." The black world spun around me.

"No," came the answer from Mitch.

"Please, Mitch....please do it." I begged. I felt like I was about to pass out.

"NO. Just drop it Anna. I'm not going to kill you." He sounded annoyed. 

Why was HE annoyed? What right did he have to be annoyed AT ME?? This was MY choice, not his! Fine, I thought, two can play that game. I put my hand on my head, trying to stop the spinning. "Josh, since Mitch is too much of a coward do it..."

"NO ANNA!" Mitch jumped up quickly, I heard the chair he was sitting in fall backwards. "Stop asking for someone to kill you!"

"Dude, she wants to go..." Josh tried. 

"DON'T YOU EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, GODDAMMIT! Do you hear me?!" Mitch's voice boomed. I would've sworn that I heard the glass windows rattle in the frames. "Don't you THINK about touching her!"

That was the last thing I heard before I passed out.

The sleep I had was not restful. I would reach for something I couldn't see, feel myself falling, hear voices and not see faces. At times, I thought that I might be awake but realize that I didn't feel anything. In one dream, I was surrounded by a thick fog. People were teasing me by staying just out of my visibility. I could see their forms, but the fog kept their identity obscured. When I moved closer, they would only take a step back.

I woke to someone gently shaking me. I held my eyes closed and listened.

"Anna," whispered Josh. "I am laying the gun on the bed for you. If you feel like you need to...do it, Mitch is asleep right now."

"Thank you, Josh." I smiled as I heard Josh slowly creep away, out of the room.

I felt for the gun and wrapped my hand around it. It was a larger pistol with a clip, but I couldn't be sure of the make. It might even have been the 9mm that Mitch had earlier. That would be smart of Josh. After I killed myself, Mitch couldn't blame Josh for doing it...if it was Mitch's gun.

I listened to the sound of Mitch breathing...the heavy, deep breathing of sleep. I felt bad for the argument earlier. The last words Mitch will have heard me say would've been me calling him a coward. So much I wanted to tell him, but I couldn't. Waking him would only mean ending my chance to free myself...and free my group of me.

I brought the pistol to my head, finding the trigger with my right index finger. I smiled. It would soon be over. I whispered, "forgive me, father."

I was startled as I felt someone leap across the bed, and I accidentally pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening. My eyes shot open as weight was crushing my chest. Mitch rolled off of me, clutching his right shoulder. He was bleeding. I had shot him.

"Oh my God, Mitch!" I screamed. "I'm so sorry! Why did you do that!" I leaped up and grabbed his arm, inspecting the damage.

His face showed all that he was feeling as he turned to face me. Pain, anger, relief... then...joy. "Your eyes!" I didn't have time to think about what he had just said before I was being crushed in his arms.

My eyes? My eyes! I could see!

Josh burst in the room and took us in. "What happened?"

Mitch and I answered him at the same time, "she can see!" and "I shot Mitch!"

Josh looked at Mitch's arm, then grabbed my chin and looked at my eyes. "Your eyes weren't like this before...this ice blue, were they?"

"They are blue now?"

Mitch inspected my eyes too. "Not just blue...more like...the color when a dog's eyes are blue."

That would be interesting to see on a person, I thought. I shrugged. I didn't care. I could see again. I stared at Mitch.

Josh got off of the bed, "I've got something to get the bullet out." He turned at the door to look at us. "I'm tired of playing nurse to you guys. Knock it off." He smiled and left the room.

Mitch and I stared at each other for what seemed like several minutes. He was breathing just as hard as I was. Was his heart beating as fast as mine too? I couldn't take it one second longer. I leaped at him and found his mouth with mine. I was so hungry for him...and so upset with him at the same time. I grabbed his hair with my hand and pulled his head away from my face for a moment. "Why did you do that! That was so stupid!"

Mitch stared at me with wide eyes. Even though I was pulling his hair, he didn't stop me. "If I didn't, you'd be gone right now."

He was right. I would be dead. "You STUPID, wonderful man!" I found his mouth again and climbed into his lap. His arms wrapped tightly around me and pulled me even closer. Obviously, he was ignoring the pain from the gun shot.

My body had assumed control of my actions again. My brain no longer functioned. My body was starving and it knew that my hunger could be quenched by Mitch.

"Ahem..." It was Josh.

Somewhat embarrassed, I quickly climbed from Mitch. Staring at the wooden floor, I tried grasping the area rug with my toes...when Mitch's hand found mine. Josh ripped the sleeve of Mitch's shirt for better access to the wound. I looked at Mitch. He simply smiled.

Josh brought a pair of forceps up to Mitch's wound, "this is going to hurt... a lot."

I got up, "maybe I should go..."

"No." Mitch's eyes begged me to stay. I really didn't want to. The whole scene made me uneasy, but I sat back down next to Mitch. He did just save my life. When he squeezed my hand so hard that I thought he was going to break it, I said nothing. I knew Josh was fishing in Mitch's arm for the slug that I had meant for me. Thankfully, it didn't last long.

"Got it!" Josh held up the rounded piece of metal in the forceps. 

I held out my hand. I wanted to keep that slug. While it might have seemed silly to someone else, that bit of metal was significant to me. 

Josh rinsed it in the pan of alcohol he had, then plopped it into my hand. I marveled at it's shape as Josh finished with Mitch's arm. 

"There we go." Josh said as he packed up the medical things he had used on Mitch. "I have some venison to cook up when you guys...are ready. Until then, I'll give you some privacy." He smiled as he closed the door to the room.

Josh could only have meant one thing. The bravery I had felt earlier was gone. I was alone in a room...with a bed...with Mitch. I looked at him. Instead of looking at me like a tiger about to devour it's prey, he just smiled sweetly.

"You're eyes...they are so different now." He had to have been ignoring the look of fear on my face. Mitch scooted a little closer to me, inspecting my eyes. "I need to find a mirror to show you, but they look like glacial water. Bright blue around the edges. They are very beautiful now, but I loved your old eye color."

"Thank you," I said. My thanks wasn't for the compliments on my eyes though, and he knew it.

"I told you I wouldn't let you leave me again." 

I smiled. "Stalker."

He laughed. Mitch eased closer, finding my mouth with his. He was gentle, as if he sought out my receptiveness to his touch. I was slightly amused at how tender this big man could be.

I reflected upon him saving my life and the fact that I somehow avoided turning into a zombie. I pulled away from Mitch for a moment and looked at him. I had survived all of that...I had no reason to be afraid of intimacy...especially with Mitch. While those thoughts helped, I was still nervous. I kissed him once more, gathering the courage to say what I wanted to. "I have something I want to give to you."

"What...the slug? I don't want that," Mitch said. He kissed my neck. "It would just remind me of how close I came to..." and he didn't finish the sentence.

"No, not that. The slug is mine."

Mitch looked at me. "Then what?"

I took a deep breath. "My virginity."



From the Blood of the Wolf Ch. 05



Mitch stared hard at me. "You're kidding."

I squinted at him. What could I have I been kidding about? I just offered my virginity to him and that's how he responded? "Kidding about what?"

"You're a virgin?"

Oh God, why did he have to ask me that? Why couldn't he have just accepted it and moved on? "Um, yeah. I am." I couldn't look at him now. I felt...ashamed. Embarrassed.

"Wow," I heard him say.

I rolled my eyes. Alright, enough of this, I thought. I didn't need this. I got up, "you know what, forget it."

"Stop it," he said quietly. In one quick movement, Mitch stood, picked me up, threw me down on the bed and covered my body with his. He tenderly traced the back of his fingers on my cheek. "I'm just surprised is all."

He was so strong. No one had ever made me feel like a rag doll. "Surprised...by what?"

Mitch stared into my eyes. He was obviously thinking really hard about something. "I had always hoped that... I mean..." he tried to complete his thought. "I assumed that you had been with at least one man."

"What does THAT mean?" I could feel my face turning red.

"Please don't get upset, " his eyes softened. "I just mean that I never imagined that I would be lucky enough..." He trailed off.

Lucky enough? I was 21 and had never kissed a guy before him! What was there to be lucky about? "I assume you've been with other women."

"Yes." Of course he had. Just look at him. "But, please see it as a good thing."

How could I see it as a good thing? He knew what it was like. He knew what to expect. I wouldn't have a clue to what I was doing! I stared up at him angrily. "How could it possibly be a good thing?"

He kissed me softly. "Because I now know how to touch you. I know when and how to be gentle, take my time and go slow." He kissed me again, his lips lingered. "And I know when to meet your urgency and how to do it." Again, he lowered his lips to mine.

Suddenly, the hunger was back, with a vengeance. Mitch's words were the source. I wanted to experience his touch. I needed to feel the pain as Mitch opened me up for the first time. I wanted to feel us breathing together as we shared in pleasure. 

Mitch leaned off to the side and unbuttoned my shirt, his lips never leaving mine. Only when he pulled my shirt open did he break from our kiss. I was uncomfortable watching him eye my exposed flesh. Mitch groaned softly and found my lips again. His hand moved to my stomach, tracing it lightly. 

"Relax," he said against my lips. He must have felt the tension in my abs. Relax...like it was that easy. 

His large hand cupped my left breast for a moment, then went around my back to unfasten my bra. Without thinking, I rolled towards him, giving him better access. Mitch unhooked it with a gentle snap of his finger. All of this seemed so agonizingly slow. I was starving for him and nervous; I wished things would speed up. 

Mitch sat up, pulling me to a sitting position next to him. I stared at him as he helped me out of my shirt...and then my bra.

"So beautiful," he sighed as he took me in.

I never thought my breasts were anything much, they just fit my body. My 5'9" frame with C's seemed pretty middle of the road to me. 

Mitch kissed my neck, tracing circles around one of my nipples with his thumb. I shivered. It was a good, but strange sensation. A sigh escaped my lips.

My fingers found the buttons to his camp shirt and stripped it from his body. His arms, shoulders, chest and abs...were perfect. Toned and muscular, but not overwhelmingly so. He had a large, black, Northwest Coast Indian raven tattoo on his left pec. The raven was supposedly the one to bring human life from the spirit world. It totally fit Mitch.

He pushed me back down to the bed, taking my nipple into his lips. I could feel his tongue tracing over it softly. I took in a deep breath as my fingers ran though his hair. Mitch's kisses trailed down to my stomach. His hand slipped below the top of my shorts and into my panties. I knew where he was going and anxiously anticipated the touch. I felt his fingers gently trace over my lips for a moment, then he slowly parted them.

I brought my hand to cover my mouth to stifle a cry.

"Oh my God..." Mitch sighed as he lifted his mouth from my chest to look at me. "You're so wet," his eyes closed as he slowly slid his middle finger into me. "Mmmmm."

I clenched my eyes shut, my mouth opened, but my hand kept any sound in. All of this was close to being overwhelming. I felt like I was on fire, and Mitch's touch wasn't helping.

He pulled his hand from my shorts and quickly had me out of them and my panties. I lay there, completely naked. Mitch devoured my body with his eyes. My heart pounded in my chest. My breath came quickly to me. 

He stood and kicked off his shorts and boxers. And...there it was, standing out in front of him; thick, hard, pulsing with his heart beat. My mind was scared, but I felt my body grow hungrier. My eyes saw what my body hungered for; I could feel where it needed to be. I was aching for it.

Sitting back down on the bed, Mitch pulled me up to kiss him. He sat between my legs; one foot of mine was behind him and the other was on the floor, next to his right foot. His hand traced down my torso and lower, finding my wet, aching entrance. His thumb stroked my clit as his finger slowly pushed in. My forehead dropped to his shoulder, my fingers pressed hard into his back. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.

"Do you like that," Mitch's whisper was hot and he kissed ear. I shivered. His finger slowly stroked in and out while his thumb kept to is circular motion on my screaming clit.

"Mitch," I managed to breath. I knew something was happening as I was no stranger to masturbation. But this was different. I wasn't controlling it. I couldn't lighten the touch or slow it down when I felt I was about to come. "Oh...my...G..." was all I could whisper before my voice became trapped inside of me. Mitch brought me to a very powerful orgasm. I held my forehead tightly to his shoulder as my stomach muscles contracted and I shook against him.

"Wow," he said in a quiet, husky voice. Mitch continued to stroke me lightly with his fingers until I had finished shaking against him.

I had never experienced anything like that before. I knew the afghan I sat on had to be soaking now. Mitch kissed me. His mouth was hungry but he was still tender. His wet hand pulled from between my thighs, going to stroke my lubrication over his hardness. I trembled. It was about to happen.

Mitch looked deeply into my eyes. "You still want to do this?" I guessed that he had felt me quivering nervously.

I swallowed hard and nodded. "Yes." I needed this. I needed this badly.

His hand still stroked his shaft, the head was glistening. "Do you want to control it going in...or do you want me to?" His voice was soft and husky.

I could barely think. My mind was racing, the world was spinning. I had no idea what he was asking. All I knew was that I needed him. "You," was all I could manage to say. I didn't even know if it was a correct response.

Mitch pushed me back down to the bed. His piercing green eyes started into mine. I stared back like a frightened deer. He smiled and kissed me softly. "Please try to relax. It will make this much easier." He was between my legs, keeping himself propped up with his left hand just above my shoulder. I felt the head part my wet lips and Mitch stroked my clit gently with it. I whimpered. His skin was very warm.

"Shit," he hissed. "You're so amazingly hot and wet." Mitch found my entrance and slowly pressed forward into me. I felt it tear when he pushed passed it. My fingernails dug into his back, yet I made no sound.

Mitch stopped his forward progression. "Okay?"

My eyes were squeezed shut and I panted in pain. "Give me a second," I managed to say. I knew it was only his head that was inside, but it felt like he was trying to wedge a two foot wide pole into me. He was still propped up on one hand as he waited to continue. Despite my pain, I knew that position couldn't be comfortable for him. "Mitch, push it in all the way." I opened my eyes and looked at him. He stared back at me.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, but stop there when you do and let me get used to it."

He kissed my right eye. Quickly, he thrust in all 8 inches. I couldn't stop myself from crying out from the sharp pain.

Mitch lowered himself onto me, putting his elbows just above my shoulders. His thumb wiped a tear from my eye and he kissed me. At first, I didn't even notice that he was kissing me. I could only feel him splitting me in half. Slowly, the pain started to ease and I was able to kiss him back. As if taking cue from my returning of the kiss, Mitch pulled back ever-so-slowly. It hurt less this time and I found some pleasure in his slow stroke. 

"Getting better?" His whisper was strained.

I nodded as he slid back into my depths. Mitch continued with the slow strokes, kissing my neck as he did so. I heard a soft pleasureful whimper escape my lips. His mouth covered mine and he kissed me deeply. He increased the speed of his strokes, groaning into my mouth. 

Mitch had been right. He knew when to go slow and be gentle...and he knew as my desire increased and how to match it. 

The pleasure had now become the main thing that I felt. Pain was still there, but the pleasure was stronger. I could hear the sound of our bodies come together as Mitch kept up a steady pace. His skin was damp with perspiration.

I fought hard to keep my cries of pleasure down in volume, but the feeling was becoming an overwhelming constant. Just when I was about peak again, Mitch stopped. Breathing hard, I opened my eyes and looked at him.

Beads of sweat dotted his forehead. He was looking down at me, his face was strained but serious. That's when he said it. "I love you."

I blinked at him. As I stared, he started thrusting into me again, harder and faster. I couldn't take my eyes away from his...it was like he was holding my gaze and wouldn't let me go. That's how he broke me. I came hard and almost screamed. Mitch's body held me down as he continued to pound me hard. I spasmed tightly around his shaft, causing him to come as well. He groaned softly with his eyes clenched shut, but kept up his steady thrusting. He eventually slowed, then stopped to lay on top of me. Neither of us spoke as we fought to regain a normal breathing pattern. 

When we had both come down from our high, Mitch eased out of me and turned to lay on his side. "I hope that wasn't too terrible," he finally said.

I felt butterflies as I turned to face him. "You..." I started and failed. "I...." I struggled to piece together my thoughts.

Mitch smiled.

I traced my finger along the lines of his tattoo. "Words like amazing, wonderful and perfect just don't seem to hold enough impact." I smiled back at him. 

He leaned towards me and kissed me softly. "Good. Perhaps you'll let me do it again, soon?"

Those butterflies went wild in my stomach. "Perhaps, if you're lucky."

Mitch smiled and started putting on his clothes. "You survived a zombie attack AND you just gave yourself to me...I am the luckiest guy alive."