Chapter 4: Getting Some Answers

Julie opened the car door and slowly stepped out. She grabbed a machete from the door's interior storage slot and closed the door as softly as she could so as not to make too much noise. Her stance was low as she sneaked toward the station's main entrance, giving Lucas a nice view of her peachy round ass. Moving swiftly, she crept past the fueling area and veered left toward a large rectangular hole in the upper half of the brick wall, a hole where a window had once been.  Crouching even lower on her approach, Lucas' sight stayed glued to her curvy figure.

She knelt down next to the wall below the window opening and slid her blade out of it's sheath. Slowly, almost painfully slowly, she stood up to peer into the dark room on the other side of the wall. Keeping her head fixed in place, she used the empty machete case to tap against the aluminum window frame. Waiting for any response to the sound, she remained perfectly still, watching for movements in the darkness. When no response came, she left her position and started moving again. Rather than going for the entrance to her right, Julie went left, around the corner, and out of sight behind the station.

Perimeter sweep before entry? Okay, now I'm convinced, she definitely has some military training.

Lucas watched the right end of the building where he expected Julie to reappear. A few long moments later he saw her sneaking around the corner, still crouching low and moving in silence, machete in her right hand, sheath in her left. She stopped briefly to test the roll up door, but swiftly moved on when it didn't even budge.

Finally at the double-door main entrance, Julie ducked through one of the glassless doors without opening it. She halted just inside the store, looked around to get a read of the room, then proceeded into the darkness and out of Lucas's sight. Fascinated by the situation, Lucas continued to monitor the store's entrance.

After what felt like hours, but was probably less than three minutes, Lucas could see Julie at the entrance again. She ducked through a door and came back to the car, storing her blade in its case along the way. 

"It's all clear." Julie said when she was back in the car. "The surroundings are likely clear too, I would've been spotted by another sentinel otherwise."

She drove through the parking lot, up to the front of the station, and did a U-turn before backing up so close to the building that the rear bumper touched the doorframe. She put the parking break on and killed the engine.

"Why did you park like this?" Lucas asked.

"To block the only entry a roaming Feral might wander in through. We'll go in through the window. Vivi, will you grab cases 3 and 4 please?" Julie spoke while getting out of the car.

"Yup, no problem." 

Vivi got out of the front passenger seat, opened the back door, and grabbed two hard polymer luggage cases from the cargo space behind the back seat. One case must be heavier than the other, because she walked to the store's window while leaning left. 

"Come on, sweetheart, let's get you inside." Julie, having crawled in through the door Vivi left open, pulled her son from his seat, and carried him on one curvy hip, bumping the door closed with the other.

"Um, thanks, but I can walk just fine now, so can you put me down?" A twenty-two year old man being carried like a child by a sexy stacked blonde might be a kink for some guys, but this is just plain embarrassing to me.

"But you love it when I carry you around." Julie looked down at his face and her happy smile quickly turned into a forced, awkward smile when she noticed his embarrassment. "Oh. Yeah. I mean, of course." The awkward smile was gone now, replaced by a small frown of sadness when she lowered him to the ground. 

The two met up with Vivi at the busted-out window, and Julie knelt down by the wall, much like she did earlier.

"You first Vivi, then Eli, then I'll pass the gear over." She instructed while offering her knee as a boost to help the girl up through the opening.

"Right." Vivi nodded and wasted no time using her mother's bent knee as a step, climbing into the store.

"Alright Eli, your....turn?" Stunned. That's how Julie felt watching her nine year old son run straight toward the wall, jump, plant one foot on the brick, and kick upward to hang on the window sill using his elbows and forearms. He swung a leg up and hooked the ledge with his heel, using that leg and his arms to pull himself up and over the wall. Julie was still kneeling in place, her mouth hanging open in disbelief.

*Thud* Red dust flew up from the floor when Lucas landed inside. 

*Huff... huff... wheeze....huff*

What the fuck? One little wall climb and I'm panting and wheezing like I ran a half-marathon. At least there weren't any shards of broken glass left in the frame, that could have been painful. Shit, I need to sit down and catch my breath.

Lucas sat on the floor near the far end of the check-out counter, and watched Vivi catch the cases Julie passed through the window. Then came Julie right after, making the climb look effortless and graceful. The two set about completing their tasks. Vivi was sorting items in one case while her mother took a hand-held CB radio from the other and walked past the rusted, broken item shelves, and through a doorway at the opposite end of the store.

"Hey Eli. Do you want lasagna or chili?" Vivi asked, walking over to him with an armful of vacuum sealed packets.

"Definitely chili, it keeps more flavor during the packaging process." His reply was almost instinctive after all the MREs he ate during extended camping trips with his grandfather.

"Uhhh, right. I'll get these warmed up, it'll only take a few minutes." She offloaded the packages onto the counter he was leaning against and used flameless ration heaters to warm their contents.

Julie returned from the other room and sat on the floor facing her son. She reached out and held Lucas' right hand in both of her own. Sadness and anxiety in her expression as she gazed into his eyes.

"Where do I even begin with this? Well, I suppose we should figure out what you remember before anything else. Eli, baby, what do you remember before today?" She maintained eye contact as she spoke.

How should I play this? The truth would make her freak out, that's for sure. Don't want her treating me like I've lost my mind, I could end up locked away in a mental institution. She knows I didn't remember her or Vivi, or other little things Eli would probably know, like the Wastes and the Ferals. Looks like my best bet is pretending to have extreme retrograde amnesia, and some serious confusion. Well, I hope my poker face is still good.

"I'm not sure. I don't think I remember anything, but it's hard to tell. Can I ask you some questions? That might help me sort things out in my head." He said, fully confident in his mediocre acting skills.

"Of course, go ahead, ask whatever you want. We'll get this all worked out, don't worry. Mama's here for you baby, whatever you need." A single tear drop fell from her eye, and her lower lip trembled. She was fighting to maintain a strong image for her son.

"Well, first, what happened after the bombs dropped?" The biggest question Lucas had, and clearly not one Julie expected.

"It's that bad? Oh my god. If those bitches weren't already dead I'd go back and slaughter every single one of them!" 

Vivi dropped a MRE pack, surprised by her mother's sudden outburst. Julie cleared her throat and went back to answering the question her son asked.

"The bombs. Right. A lot happened after the bombing, or the Reset, as most people refer to it. More than three centuries of history happened after the Reset, and very little of it is pleasant." She said.

"Wait. Just wait a minute. Three centuries? Three hundred years? More than three hundred years?!" Lucas was hyperventilating, his eye wide open in shock, and his complexion turned ghostly pale. He felt like he was going to puke any second.

No. No no no no no. No way. That can't be true. It just can't be! But..... is it? It makes sense. Of course it's true. There are buildings still standing in the city, meaning it wasn't hit by a blast, so why are all the buildings and houses so extremely  decayed? And why is this place a desert wasteland now? There should still be plant life outside the blast zones, unless major weather patterns changed and a lot of time passed. Enough time to dry up rivers and turn a forest into a desert. Centuries. Three fuckin' centuries....... wait. Humans don't live anywhere near that long. Doesn't that mean I died this morning, or rather, hundreds of years ago? But I'm not dead. Fuck!

Lucas was suddenly wrapped up in a tight hug as Julie pulled him onto her lap. She held him against her chest and rested her cheek against the top of his head. One hand gently held the back of his head, the other softly stroked his back. He felt warm in her embrace. Safe. His slowly began to even out, and his trembling body gradually relaxed. Without thinking, he hugged her back, squeezing her thin body, bringing them closer together, pressing himself firmly against her chest, his head nestled snugly between her ample breasts. Listening to her heartbeat, he felt right, like he belonged there. He felt the unconditional motherly love he had been subconsciously craving his entire life.

"You're alright. Don't worry baby, just breath. Mama's right here, you're not alone. I love you so, so much, no matter what. Even if you don't remember anything, you'll always be my sweet baby boy. Your family is with you, and we love you. Right, Vivi?" Julie's soft, loving words melted away the ice storm of negative emotions that were torturing Lucas' mind. Vivi, having knelt down beside them, affirmed her mothers sentiments in a strained voice, her heart breaking for her little brother.

"That's right." She held up a hand and softly rubbed his right arm. "I love you Eli, no matter what, the same as mom."

A momentary silence passed while they stayed in their little huddle.

This is nice. When's the last time I felt this kind of love? Oh, right, it's been seventeen long years. I missed this so much. I really wish I had more time with my own mother. There's so much warmth and love in this family, Eli is lucky to have them. It's just so tragic that they don't have Eli anymore. Or do they? Aren't I Eli now? If I'm Eli, isn't this my family? If I'm Eli, then Julie still has her son, and Vivi still has her little brother. If I'm Eli........won't everyone be happy? Yeah. Alright. I'm Eli. Lucas died hundreds of years ago, so I can only be Eli. I'm allowed this happiness, this new family, right?

*Haaaaaah* Eli released the breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding and gave Julie one more squeeze before pulling away from her bosom. 

"Thank you Julie. Thanks Vivi. I'm fine now. Um, so, can we keep talking? I still have questions, if that's okay." He scooted back to where he originally sat against the counter. Vivi stood and returned to her food preparation.

"Sure, sweetheart, ask me anything." Julie said.

"Alright then. Uh, well, what are Ferals? Why did we have to be so quiet earlier? Also, why is it so important to be indoors before dark? Why was I in that church earlier? And who were those women you were fighting? Oh, and what is that awesome car?" He knew he was rapid-firing questions, a strange one mixed in at the end, but Eli couldn't stop himself from asking whatever popped into his head. He was planning to be more methodical with his line of questioning, but that plan went to shit after his emotional turmoil moments ago.

"Hehehe. You still speak a little too fast when you get excited, huh? So cute." Even Julie's laugh was beautiful, and surprisingly youthful. "Let's start with Ferals then, since they're the answer to a few of your questions. Ferals are, well, monsters, basically. A distorted, twisted version of humanity. They're humans who died, but didn't stay dead. They have some basic animalistic instincts, but lack any real intelligence. Their body fluids turn humans into Ferals, so if a person is bitten by one, or gets gets Feral blood in their mouth or eyes, that person becomes very, very sick, dies, and becomes a Feral themself. We needed shelter before nightfall because Ferals actively hunt at night. We had to be quiet because, though primarily nocturnal, Ferals can attack during the day if they know there's prey nearby, and unnatural noises alert them to possible prey."

Isn't that just zombies?! Real zombies?! There's fucking zombies in the nuclear apocalypse?! Just when I thought there wouldn't be anymore big surprises left, the universe drops zombies into the mix. Shit, no wonder they were so serious about losing our screaming pursuers earlier.

"As for why you were in that church..." Julie continued, "Some bad people abducted you a few days ago. Stole you while I was out on a supply run. Your sister told me what happened as soon as I got back and we immediately left town following the trail of the caravan she saw you getting thrown into. We don't know who they were, or why they wanted you. They weren't exactly forthcoming with information before they died. Umm, what else? Oh yeah, the car. It's a Roller, a heavily modified and armored vehicle used by recon teams to scout for supplies in the Wastes. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Uh, yeah, pretty cool." Eli mumbled a half-hearted response. He couldn't catch a break today. The bombs, the apocalyptic wastes, fucking zombies, and now mysterious child trafficking gangs? What the hell had his life become?

"Food's ready." Vivi announced. She passed an opened MRE entree to Eli and Julie.

"Thank you, precious." Another term of affection from Julie. The woman really loved her children. "Eat quickly, we need to get cleaned up after dinner while there's still enough light for Eli to see. You know I love you Vivi, but the red dust, dirt, sweat, and blood stains all over you make you look kind of gross. Ugh. The same can be said about me, I suppose."

The trio, seated in a small circle on the floor, ate their meal in comfortable silence.

How are we supposed to get cleaned up without any water? Eli wondered to himself between spoonful's of under-seasoned chili.