The Apocalypse

Chapter 20

Sarah

The Island



The Island as everyone referred to it, was little more that a series of rocky, tree covered humps rising out of the Illinois River. The main island was over a thousand feet long and a few hundred feet across at its widest. Every inch of its long shore was covered in rolled concertina wire—a much more effective cousin to barbed wire—and behind that armed men sat in bunkers, ready to repel any invasion.

They crossed onto the island by way of a pontoon bridge, which was nothing more than floating barges that were linked together by chains. That they shifted beneath the weight of the humvees had Sarah nervous. “Can't the zombies just cross over to the island the same as we are?”

She and her parents were riding in the lead humvee with Colonel Williams. He laughed at her question. “Didn't you see those tanks?”

“I guess I didn't,” she admitted. Her mind was in a free fall. They had left Danville, taking with them a score of women and every gun and bullet the town possessed…and the last of the food. There had been a number of deaths, but nothing compared to what was to come for those poor people. The convoy drove west to another town that was about to be devastated by the army and as they did they went by a horde of zombies that seemed uncountable; it went on for miles.

They were heading straight to Danville.

“You see?” Colonel Williams had said gesturing. “You should be thanking me. Danville won't last the night.”

No one had thanked him. Instead they were thinking about the friends they had left behind, and trying not to cry. Shows of emotion seemed to upset the colonel and since they were at his complete mercy they each tried their best to be good.

Now on the bridge, the colonel pointed at the chains on the far end. “And if the zombies get past the tanks, we can always disconnect the bridge from this side. Sure it will be a pain to put back together but the alternative is far worse.”

“That's smart,” Sarah said, eager to please.

When they had crossed to the other side, they saw that the island was a beehive of activity. Trees were being felled and walls were being created out of their trunks. Trenches and postholes were being dug and firewood was being chopped. There was no machinery for any of this. Fuel was simply too precious, and so it was men who swung the axes, worked the heavy bladed saws back and forth and hewed at the dirt with shovels and pick axes.


The humvees went to the center of the island and there the colonel began issuing orders while Sara and her parents stood with a gaggle of women and a few civilian men who appeared young and strong. They were separated into groups—the men were volunteers and were sent to be outfitted in uniforms—the women were volunteers in only the loosest sense of the word.

Gary and Denise Rivers were taken to the second island, which turned out to be far less secure than the first. It had only two banks of the coiled wiring and the few guards on it had to walk the perimeter instead of sitting safe in earthen bunkers.

“We're going to work on that island next,” the colonel assured Sarah. “But we have to make at least one as secure as possible. If there's any trouble your parents can always come over here. That's our plan. Now, this is where you are staying,” he said pointing at a rectangular white tent. It seemed very large for just one person. “You are going to be my new executive assistant if anyone asks.”

Sarah missed altogether the word new. She went to the tent with her one piece of luggage and eyed the six cots with unease. Two were clearly spoken for, with women's clothing draped here and there, and so she went to the furthest cot in the back. On it was an olive drab sleeping bag, a pillow, and a little kit with soap and shampoo and toothpaste. She was just finishing up arranging her things when another woman came. She was tall and blonde and she too had just a single bag.

“Hi,” Sarah said coming forward to introduce herself. “I'm Sarah Rivers. I'm from Danville.”

“Roberta Clement, but everyone calls me Bobbi. I'm from Laurette, or what's left of it,” her blue eyes started to fill up and then she blinked and tried to smile. “I'm hoping things will be changing for the better. That's what I keep telling myself, and at least this island seems safe.”

“That's true. It's safer than Danville ever was.” Sarah replied. “I should be like you and look on the bright side of things. Things could be worse and besides, I'm going to be the colonel's new executive assistant.”

Bobbi's eyes turned sharp. “No, I think you're wrong there. I'm going to be the colonel's new executive assistant.”

“You both will be,” a woman at the front of the tent said. “Just as we are.” Another woman followed her in and they went to the two occupied cots. “I'm Cindy. I'm the colonel's favorite and this is Veronica.”

“Favorite what?” Bobbi asked, crossing her arms.

“His favorite executive assistant,” Cindy answered with a wink.

“What are you saying?” Bobbi asked. “Are you saying that you're…that we're…”

Veronica was the older of the two, being roughly the same age as Sarah. She was pretty and her brown eyes were kind, but also pitying. “We're executive assistants, dear.”

“No,” Sarah replied, dropping her chin to the canvas flooring of the tent. “We're whores. That's what we are.”

This caused the little group to grow silent and each was grim in the face until Veronica forced a smile on her lips. “Come here, honey.” She brought Sarah to the front flap of the tent and pointed out at all the men working, they seemed to be everywhere, each sweating from their labors. “There are two thousand men on this island. See all those big tents? Each holds twenty men and the colonel has authorized only one woman per tent.”

“Twenty?” Sarah asked, feeling sick. Bobbi looked as though she was about to throw up. “Twenty guys for every…”

“Yes, twenty,” Veronica said. “Those poor women are the whores. We are executive assistants.”

“Don't get her hopes up,” Cindy said. Sarah looked back to her and watched with her mouth hanging open as the younger woman undressed; she had the body of a stripper and the wicked gleam in her eye of a porn star. “Face it honey, unless you can suck dick with the best of them you'll be destined for platoon work, where you'll get all the practice you can stomach. You got a cute face, but your body is only ok.”

“This is ridiculous,” Sarah whispered as if she couldn't push out the air in her lungs. It was bad enough when she had thought she was going to be the colonel's “Girlfriend” but now that she had found out that she was part of some medieval harem it seemed worse somehow. “And it's unfair. This is the twenty-first century. We should be treated as equals.”

She looked to Bobbi for agreement, but the woman had her make-up bag out and was busy trying to apply foundation to cover the worry lines that had sprung up across her forehead.

The two experienced women exchanged looks and Cindy rolled her eyes. “Look at me,” she said pointing at herself, indicating her body. “I'm a hundred and eight pounds, and eight pounds of that is titty. I've never fired a gun before. I can't swing an axe more than five times without getting exhausted and I can't mix and pour cement. I can't dig a trench or haul firewood or any of that. The truth that you can't seem to see is that there isn't a job on this island that I can do that a man isn't better at. Except for one and this may sound skanky, but I'm glad to do it.”

Veronica agreed. “I was with the colonel almost from the beginning. What those soldiers did…how they fought with all those zombies everywhere and people dying and…” she paused to take a steadying breath. “I'm with Cindy on this. My entire job is to please one man and for that I get shelter, protection, and three meals a day. It's a fair trade. It's better than fair if you think about it.”

“But twenty at a time,” Bobbi asked. She held an eyeliner pencil in a hand that shook. “I can't do that.”

Cindy struggled a halter-top over her breasts and said, “I could do it no problem, if my only other choice was going out there with the zombies. I could do it easy. Just lube yourself up and let them go at it.”

“And it's not that bad in the platoons, now,” Veronica said. “The colonel instituted a new policy: each man gets a blowjob every three days and gets one date a month. I know twenty times a month seems like a lot, but when I was with my husband, back when he was still alive…when we first met I mean, we were doing it three times a day.”

To Bobbi it seemed far more than she wanted to handle and she appeared almost to swoon, however it was then the colonel called from outside the tent, “Are you ladies descent?” She bounced up with a strained smile on her face. She was also quick to undo the top two buttons on her blouse.

Sarah couldn't stand. Her legs felt too weak to hold her up and her stomach wanted to rebel against the thought of what was being asked of her. The colonel beamed at his ladies, though his smile slipped when he took in Sarah.

“Just wanted to see how you're settling in,” he said.

“Just fine, Sir,” Bobbi said very quickly. “This tent is going to be just great. And these two…uh women. Were just telling us how lucky we are.” Sarah nodded along, it was the best she could do.

“Great,” Williams said. “Well that's all I wanted, except…” he paused and looked the women over. As he did, the two more experienced women straightened just the slightest. “Except I was hoping that Cindy would like to have dinner with me tonight.”

“I would love to,” Cindy replied as Veronica's smile faltered. “That sounds super.”

When the colonel left, Bobbi slumped back down. “He didn't pick me. Was I wrong somehow?”


Cindy snorted at this, letting them know who the favorite was, while Veronica shook her head and said, “You did the right thing, you just need to tone it down a notch. Be eager, but not too eager. And you…”

“My name is Sarah.”

“Let's take a walk,” Veronica said, heading out of the tent. When they were alone she asked. “Are you sure you want to be here? They'll let you go anytime. You can walk right over that bridge whenever you want.”

“My parents are here. They're set up on that island over there. I can't go even if I wanted to.”

“Then you need to change your attitude,” Veronica said. “The colonel is…don't ever I tell him I said this…the colonel is a big fake. He pretends that we are his girlfriends, and he wants us to act like we're in love with him.”

“I don't know if I can,” Sarah said, pleadingly.

Veronica could only shrug. “Then I wish you and your parents the best of luck out there. You see, here is a painful truth: the colonel doesn't need you...”

“But…”

“But nothing! If you can't please him then you're gone. I've been with him for almost five weeks and I've already seen it happen. I saw one woman walk out of the lines and get torn apart before she went twenty feet. And don't even think that you'll be able to sweet talk one of the men into protecting you. They fight and die for him. They love him…just as I do.”

Sarah gazed at Veronica in wonder until the woman curled her lip and snarled, “You don't know thing one about what I've gone through! That man protected me when no one else would. He's like a father and a husband and a god all rolled into one. I know I said he was a fake, but maybe I am too. I don't know. But if you can't please him…”

“I can,” Sarah said quickly, grabbing her hand. “I just don't know what to do.”

“Just want him. He wants to be wanted. And don't just 'lube up' like Cindy suggests. That may work for someone with her body, but you and I have to try harder.” Her face drooped suddenly as though the fact that she hadn't been picked for that night was an omen.

“And what happens if that doesn't work?” Sarah asked, dreading for the first time in her life that she wouldn't be good enough for a man. “What am I suppose to do? If I can't please one man how can I please twenty? And why would I even have to! There were plenty of women in Danville, why didn't he just get more?”

“I asked the colonel that already,” Veronica replied. “Each extra person means we have to scrounge for more food, and more fuel to burn, and more medicine, and more of everything. You are very lucky that he agreed to take your parents on.”

After seeing the zombies heading for Danville, Sarah knew that she was. “That's why I'm suddenly scared I won't be good enough. I have to be good enough for their sakes.”

“I get it…and you're not the only one who worries,” Veronica said. “What happens if he gets tired of me? Or what happens if he finds another girl like Cindy, all tits and ass? Or another girl like you, only more adventurous? I think that's your problem. You're beautiful but…”

“You don't think I'm kinky?” Sarah asked. When Veronica nodded, Sarah slumped. “I'm not…I don't really know how to be, like I said. I can do all the normal stuff, it's everything else that I wouldn't know where to start.”

“There's something you could do that could help us both out,” Veronica replied, shifting her eyes away nervously. When Sarah only waited patiently for the girl to explain herself, she added, “It's what every guy wants…”

Sarah shook her head not understanding. Guys seemed to want a lot and nothing in particular sprung to mind that is until Veronica reached out and touched her arm very softly. She then ran on her fingers higher until Sarah gasped. “Oh, that! I'm not…uh, I'm not into girls. You're very pretty, I'm just not…”

“I'm not either,” Veronica said, quickly. “And I know it's...it's freaking crazy to even ask, but if you want to be picked, I think this would do it.”

In truth Sarah didn't want to be picked at all, she wanted to go running and screaming back into the past and never leave it. That past was a happy place. Who knew that she would be considering faking a lesbian relationship in order to sexually satisfy a man she considered no better than a Nazi, in order to keep her and her family safe from zombies?

Her face went a light pink and she said, “I don't know how.”

“Me neither. Though I suppose if I do to you, the things that I like and you…you know do the same to me, that ought to do it. I don't think there's anything more to it. Except…”

It felt like Sarah's ears were on fire as she asked, “Except what?” She was afraid of the answer and all sorts of crazy thoughts went through her head.

With her own face a glowing red, Veronica answered, “We'd have to practice. I mean if we're fumbling around like idiots, it's not going to be sexy. It'll just look stupid and we only have one shot at this.”

“Oh…practice,” Sarah said and it felt as though she would choke on nothing. It wasn't that Veronica wasn't appealing, she was very pretty, but the idea seemed to hang up within her, as if her soul rebelled against. She fought it back and nodded, though her head wobbled on the X axis when she did.

“We'll practice tonight, when Cindy is out. I'll send Bobbi on an errand and then…” Veronica finished by taking a deep breath and Sarah was right there with her.

Veronica used her pull so that they were able to hold their practice session in private. Bobbi wanted to go find some friends that she had come in with anyways and then the two women were alone. They took one look at each other and giggled like teenagers.

“And that is why we have to practice,” Veronica said. She then held out her right hand and said, “And look, I'm shaking. Isn't that stupid?”

“Me too,” Sarah admitted. “Though for me it's all in my chest. Like it's my first time. I could use a drink.”

“The colonel doesn't allow alcohol on the Island, which means we're just going to have to do it.”

“Ok,” Sarah said with a shake of her head. She began to peel off her shirt and Veronica stopped her.

“No. Wrong. You don't shake your head like it's a chore. The colonel would be turned off in a snap. And don't tug your clothes off. We undress each other, but slowly. Remember, this is a show. This is theater and we are performers. Even if you don't feel it, fake it.”

Minutes later, after Veronica ran one of her hands beneath Sarah's hair and to the back of her neck, while the other slid up her thigh beneath her dress, Sarah was surprised that she wouldn't need to fake it. Veronica's lips were softer and more alluring than any man's had ever been, and her hands knew exactly what to do.

“You're so wet,” Veronica purred and Sarah's eyes opened wide at the thrust of the small fingers within her. She grabbed the woman's wrist and didn't know if she wanted to pulled the fingers out of her or grind them deeper. Veronica paused as well and they stared for a second into each other's eyes.

“This is when you should kiss me,” she told Sarah. Veronica had lowered her back onto one of the cots and now Sarah reached up and pulled the woman down to her; their tongues met and crossed and Veronica's was so soft and delicately warm that it sent a thrill down her back. And then the woman's fingers began pumping in and out of her and Sarah threw her head back and moaned.


The hand kept going and Sarah couldn't help herself and she thrust her pelvis with each move and her breath grew heated.

“Just like that?” Veronica asked, her lips brushing Sarah's.

“Yes,” Sarah said, practically begging. “Yes…” and then she couldn't speak as the orgasm rocked her. Though the feeling was fantastic and completely surprising, Sarah knew she wasn't a lesbian because just then she wanted a cock in her badly. It wasn't the colonel that flashed into her mind, it was her ex-husband, Stewart. He had good thick cock that filled her…

The thrum of her muscles went on and on and then her mind slipped from Stewart and went to Brit and the orgasm shut down like a switch had been thrown.

“Ok, that's good. I think it should be your turn,” Sarah said, withdrawing, mentally.

Veronica eyed her and saw that the heat had gone. “Ok, but first I have to do this.”

“Do what…oh that. Really? You don’t.”

“Yes,” the woman said. She went to her knees so that she was at the level of the cot, and then with gentle pressure spread Sarah's legs. “Don't lie all the way back. Go to your elbows and lift your legs, like you're inviting me,” she instructed. “Yes, just like that.”

Veronica kissed her inner thighs and took a playful nibble and then used her tongue—and immediately Sarah giggled despite the weirdness of it all. “Not so light. That tickles. That's better…that's…” That was too good for her liking, especially with her mind dwelling on her daughter. “Ok, you did good,” she said breathing heavily after a few minutes, pushing Veronica gently away.

“All right, but tomorrow you just let me go. Now you do me.” She sounded eager to Sarah, who had to remind herself that it was all for show…except Veronica didn't look like she wanted a practice session. Before Sarah really had an idea what she was going to do, her partner took her hand and brought it up her thigh and up and up until it wouldn't go any further.

And then she groaned as Sarah's hand explored, and again Sarah was surprised at her own level of excitement. Veronica wasn't much of an actress, she was hot and wet, and her muscles twitched and…

Just then voices came from outside the tent and the two girls jumped apart.

“And these are my tent-mates,” Bobbi said, coming in. “Oh it's dark. Is there a light?”

“We try not to light the light…I mean waste light…I mean waste electricity,” Veronica stammered as she straightened her clothes. Her jabbering seemed to suffice as an explanation and Bobbi waited outside the tent for them. “You could've used just a bit more practice,” Veronica whispered to Sarah with a wink. “Another minute or so and you would've been an expert.”

“I'll go first next time.”

“Next time will be tomorrow night, I hope,” Veronica said pensively. “I haven't been picked in three days and if this doesn't work, I'm afraid I'm going to be sent to one of the platoons.”

“It'll work. It has to for both our sakes.”