Date: Thu, 5 Oct 2006 11:37:37 -0400 From: Dwedno Smith Subject: Chapter 2 Of Beyond Tunnel. Hi, Welcome to Chapter 2 of BT. So far feedback to me has been mixed. Mostly it has been favorable with readers wanting both stories. Some who wrote didn't think another story was needed, just more explaination of who the current boys were... seemed to be the main request from most of them and then there were a few who didnt care as long as the story continued. I want to thank all of you for your time and e mails. I am not "begging" for them as one of you put it, but I am trying to get an idea of what you, the readers want from the story. I don't mean story line I mean direction... Guess I am just looking to see if everyone who reads is still satisfied with how the story is going. That appears to be what I found as I read most e mails. Lots of opinions about things and idea were thrown in and I appreciate all of them but for now I am just going to give this a try and see how it goes. Thanks again to everyone who took their time to offer their thoughts to me. So here is Chapter 2 of BT. This will be followed by chapter 67 of Tunnel in a few days as I continue to do my best and keep everyone happy with the storyline. Looking forward to comments as usual. Till then enjoy BT and Tunnel. Dwedno. Chapter 2. The excitements and disappointments. He finally reached his home and he ran to the door and it was unlocked he opened it and ran in screaming for his mother or father or even Benjy but no one answered. After checking the entire house for anyone he sat on the couch and wept. All this for nothing he thought. I busted my ass to get home and find nothing but house and memories. After he wept for a bit he gathered himself and decided to look around for things to see if anything was there or stuff to remember them by. He entered the kitchen and found a little mess and dishes in the sink. Mom never would have left a dish in the sink but Ben would have. He was big and lazy and a typical older teen in many ways. He talked to his brother not to long before the comet hit and promised him he would be home to visit as soon as he saved enough money and got time off from the job to travel. That was all he had left in the world really... his brother. He loved his mom but she was pretty much under the thumb of her husband, his father and after all he was the one who threw him out and probably told his mother to leave him be. He wrote a few times but no one answered probably because his parents kept the letters from Benjy he thought. The other thing that passed quickly through his mind was that if Ben wasn't alive there would be no reason to carry on especially after the mess he had made before he left town. Now as he stood at the kitchen sink with the dishes in it he wondered who made them. Was it Ben or mom and she just didn't get to clean them before the comet hit. The house smelled the same as always just a little musty now. He ran some water washed his hands and face and turned to grab a towel. He didn't think there would be any food but he went and looked in the fridge anyway and it reeked of spoiled food. Then he shut the door and got the surprise of his life, his glimmer of hope that finally someone was alive. It was a note scribbled and hung up on the refrigerator door. It read: Mom, Dad or Bryan: I am alive and so is Luke. Someone came and found Luke and he found me. If you ever get this I moved away with them and we are going to be someplace safe I just don't know where or what the name of that town is. I will try to come back and check here occasionally if Tommy doesn't have a problem with bringing me back home sometimes. If anyone finds this please leave another note here for when I return. I hope you can find me some day. Love, Benjy. "HE IS ALIVE!!!" Bryan yelled out loud. Benjy is alive!" He thought to himself how can I find him where could he be there is so much land out there I will never find him! After thinking long and hard he collected some things from around the house and put them in his car. Since there is no reason to stay he wrote Benjy a note and placed it on the refrigerator next to his saying he was alive and okay and he was going to be heading to the big mall in Minnesota to live. He thought to himself how odd that idea was but right now it was really all he had and at least while he was there he could get new clothes and anything else he needed. He packed the car well and then he had a thought... why should I take this when I have my father's old truck in the driveway. Dad always drove a big vehicle. He looked over and sure enough sitting there next to his mom's car was what looked like a brand new truck. He walked over and tried the door and it opened. It even smelled new. He checked the odometer... 2467 miles. It is brand freaking new! The bastard had just bought himself a new SUV before the comet hit. Must have been nice he thought. He certainly didn't spend much on the house or family but in the end he finally did get something for Bryan... he thought to himself. I got me some new wheels!! After unpacking everything he wanted and repacking the truck he had lots of extra room now and a front seat that was wide open too. He got in on the other side and started that baby up. In this neighborhood you left the keys in your vehicle. No one was stealing anything and everyone was friendly or a friend that lived close by so he had little to fear by leaving the keys in the ignition. He fiddled with the radio just for the hell of it and found one station still on the air. Weird he thought but as he listened all he heard was music and no one talking. It must be programmed and somehow still running he thought. He fooled with the buttons and found out that his father had a satellite radio and as he played with the buttons found he had lots of music now and plenty to listen to. Again somehow almost every music station he tried was working. "I guess this radio system must be all computerized or something he said out loud." It didn't matter no one heard him as he looked around after saying it and feeling a little foolish. Now that the truck was running he decided to take a spin around the neighborhood and check out a few of his old hangouts just to be sure he was alone before he left town. He took his gun out of his belt and put it on the seat next to him only a quick reach and he was holding it. He felt safe and secure now so after a quick glance at the gas gauge... (He wasn't about to let himself run out of gas again after the last time!!) He decided to go fill up and check out the neighborhood before leaving. He had no time table to follow so he figured what the hell...what else is there to do? Besides there were a few houses and places he really wanted to see. A couple of girl's houses that he went to school with he wanted to check and who knows maybe break in and grab a few pictures as something to remember them by. He had a few friends too he thought about. Maybe I can stop by everyone's house I want to remember and grab something of theirs he thought to himself. His brain was going wild now as he thought about everything he could do before he left. Good thing it was early and the only really important thing he needed was food. He hadn't had a decent meal in weeks and candy and crap was holding him but starting to get old real fast now! He took off and drove a few minutes stopping at the first girl's house that he wanted to check. Barbara Ann... he thought about her... boy was she fucking hot in high school. He grabbed his gun after parking the truck and got out. Slowly he approached the house. This was new to him and inside he felt that is was wrong even though he knew no one was there and nothing could stop him. He went to her front door and opened it. "Hello!" He yelled in but as he suspected no one answered. He entered cautiously and started snooping around. He saw a picture of Barbara on the mantle and pictures of her family next to hers. "Anyone here?" He figured one more yell won't hurt. No reply so he grabbed her picture and put it into a pillow case he grabbed from one of the bedrooms on the first floor. He looked around and found a few other things of interest but nothing worth taking so he left. He did this for several other friends and soon he had a small collection of pictures to remember his close friends by, or at least the friends he cared the most about. This process took almost the entire afternoon between driving in the snow and trying to remembering where most of them lived and of course the snooping inside their houses. He did find some interesting things including some sex toys and some decent amounts of cash that he helped himself to. Never know if that might be needed again someday... he thought to himself. Around 3pm he was hungry so he took a ride over to the local market and after checking it out to see if he was safe he looked for something to eat. A few TV dinners and a quick trip to the break room inside of the store gave him a full belly for the first time in weeks. He felt good for all of an hour and then the sudden strain from eating so much caused him to puke most of it back up while he was in the parking lot of the food store trying to decide where to go next. After his episode with losing his food he decided he had enough of home and plenty to remember it by so he headed back to the place he slept the night before. He figured the motel would be the best place to get a good hot shower once again and the bed he slept in wasn't all that bad. So he took the short ride back to that hotel and went back to the same room he used previously. With boredom setting in quickly he got onto the bed and lay down. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep and the next thing he knew he woke up to darkness. He sat up and fumbled for a light and after knocking over something in the room he finally managed to get a light on. A vase on the floor was damaged but it really didn't matter. He looked out on the truck and after seeing everything was okay he stripped down and took a hot shower which included jerking off and blowing his wad. Shortly after drying off he was in bed and made an attempt to fall asleep once more. He lay there for a while but not sure whether the shower or the sleep before did it he was wide awake. Not wanting to drive at night he decided to play with his cd player he grabbed from one of his friends houses. He popped in one of his favorite musical groups, put on the headset and cranked up the tunes. That did him well for a bit as he sat on the bed with a few pillows behind him and sang aloud to the music playing in his ears. Finally he started to feel a little tired and stretched out on the bed and before long the headset fell off and he rolled over for some sleep. Morning came and he was awakened by the grumbling of his belly so he got up, took care of his morning piss, and washed the sleep from his face before getting ready to leave his room for the last time. He opened the door and looked outside to a new snowfall of several inches that covered the truck from front to tail. "Great!" He said out loud with disgust. More work! Now I have to clean the snow off the truck! Eventually his father's new truck was clean and he was back inside of it and warming up. Damn, he thought to himself I could use a cup of coffee before I go. He let the truck warm and he went back inside. By the kitchen counter was a pot and a packet of unmade coffee with some sugar and creamer in another packet. After he put the pre-made coffee and filter together into the holder he poured the water into the top and turned it on to brew. He stood there patiently as the water turned to coffee and slowly filled the cup below. A few minutes later he had a nice hot cup of strong hair raising coffee to drink. He brought it to his lips and sipped it making an awful face after the strong brew hit his pallet. "Man this tastes like shit!" he said aloud. He took another sip just to make sure it wasn't him and left the rest on the counter as he turned to leave. Shutting the door behind him a cold blast of air literally smacked him in the face as it began to flurry once again. "This just sucks!" He said as he got into the truck and turned up the heat. A few minutes later it was toasty warm inside after letting it idle for almost ten minutes while he waited for the crappy cup of java. Slowly he drove away from his home town looking back once in the rear view mirror as he wondered if or when he might ever come back home again. Bryan drove for hours as the snow remained light and barely dusted the road in places. He drove on but the closer he got to his end target the deeper it began to get and heavier it also began to fall. He started looking around for shelter but decided to put the truck into four wheel drive and keep going. He drove for another two hours before he had to pee and was hungry so he stopped at a truck stop and got out with his gun drawn and went inside. The place was deserted and elevator music played from the speakers above. He searched for something to eat but everything was either stale or spoiled. He went through their refrigerator and found a lot of spoiled food and finally came across some meat in the freezer. He took it out and brought it to the grill and threw some patties on the grill. As they thawed out the smell was awesome as it overtook his own sense of smell and made his mouth water. He checked another freezer for some bread and found some frozen buns and popped them into the microwave to thaw them. About twenty minutes later he was eating several hamburgers and enjoying something solid. This time he ate a lot slower and he seemed to be able to hold this food down after he finished. He turned to leave and the snow was falling steadily now. It had created a fine cover on the truck and he didn't bother to do anything except let the wipers take care of it. Soon he was on his way again and felt full but not sick this time. He drove for another two hours and was close to his target now as dark began to get close. He thought about going there but decided to wait one more day just to be safe. He wasn't about to enter a mall that could be full of crazy half baked people after dark. Even though he had a gun it just wasn't in him. He found a motel and a sign together that said `Mall of American' and under it 10 miles. He pulled off into another parking lot and after turning the truck off got out with his gun drawn and began to check out the place. He found some clothing inside the front room but no one around it and he looked for a key and once again took room 10. He felt good about that after last time. He headed back in the snow and put the key in the door and turned it. The door opened to a cold, dark room. This time the heat was off but the control was right on the wall next to the door. As he sat on the bed he heard the radiators start to make noise and eventually the cold room started to heat up and he took off his coat. With little else to do he made up the bed, checked on his truck, and locked himself into the room for the night. He stripped down naked, turned off the lights and got into a cold bed which quickly warmed up after a few minutes of him under the covers. He closed his eyes and a full day of driving and stress finally overtook him causing him to fall asleep. He slept well and didn't wake till it was close to sunrise. He opened his eyes as the room began to brighten and he pulled the covers back. The room was warm and he was curious to see how it looked outside whether more snow fell or things were okay. He pulled back the curtain and quickly closed it as there was a live person looking at his truck with his back to him. After the initial shock of seeing someone wore off he pulled back the curtain again just enough to check out the truck and make sure this person wasn't doing anything to the truck or worse. Surprised by no one being there he stared out the window for a bit looking to see where this person went. From the right side of the window and out of no where came this hideous thing that suddenly turned and stared directly into the window scaring the ever loving shit out of him. It was a half baked evil messed up face of a man who looked like a half dead person with flesh hanging off his face. One eye was missing and the other had just a pure evil look in it. Other then the window there was nothing separating them as they looked at one another eye to eye. Bryan fell back onto the floor from having the shit totally scared out of him from this beasts face literally in his and the shock and fear alone was enough to cause him to almost pass out. He already had to pee from waking up and the fear alone from what he saw caused that to come out of him and fly all over him and his surroundings. He now was on the floor, stunned with his own piss all over him and the surrounding area. As he tried to gather his thoughts the beast from outside the window began to pound on the glass shaking it violently. He quickly recovered from the mess he was in and tried to get up. As he attempted to get up the window broke into a million pieces scattering glass on top of everything around including him. He jumped practically out of his skin onto the bed to grab for his gun which was on the night stand on the total opposite side of the bed as the half baked guy started to climb through the window. As Bryan fumbled for the gun the beast grabbed him by the foot and let out some kind of barely discernible and inaudible words. It sounded more like listening to Chewbacca talk with laryngitis more then anything else. The half baked monster began tugging on his foot and leg as he tried in vain to reach for the gun. He turned back looking at the hideous being behind him holding his left lower leg and kicked and kicked with is free foot. He finally broke free and grabbed for his gun and then he turned and fired three shots into the beasts head blowing the top of his off and his brains all over the wall behind him. He dropped the gun onto the bed next to him and he sat there stunned for a few seconds. He began to cry from the shock and fear this beast put upon him. He was breathing so fast and hard that he almost lost control of himself and passed out. Slowly he caught his breath as reality came back in view. "Wholly mother fucking shit that was close!" he yelled out. He stood up on the bed and realized what a total mess he was. He was standing in glass from the shattered window still totally naked and he reeked from pissing on himself. "How the hell do I get out of this one?" he said out loud. He stepped off the other side of the bed and pulled the bed spread off the bed and threw it onto the floor covering most of the glass, blood, piss, and body of the beast. Then he walked over it to get to the door. He realized his clothes where on the other side of the room but he was still a bit disorientated from this disaster. He also realized he was in the wrong part of the room and there was no protection from the outside any longer as he began to get very cold. He stood there naked and freezing for a bit trying to gather his wits and finally he jumped back on the bed and grabbed his clothes and headed out of the room and up to the front office to get the key to another room doing all this while totally naked and freezing. He quickly ran to the office and inside. It was a little warmer in there and he grabbed a key to another room. He took room one which was right outside of the office but he realized in his haste to get out of there he left his gun in the room. He wasn't sure if he wanted to get a shower first and then go back until he noticed he didn't have his shoes and the rest of his stuff too so he went into room one and put down his clothes and headed back out still totally naked and back into room ten. He jumped onto the bed grabbed his gun and shoes and then ran back out and down to the other room. Once inside he locked the door and headed immediately for the bathroom to shower. He took the gun with him as he locked the bathroom door behind himself. He started the shower and quickly got in. Thankfully he wasn't cut any place as he checked his body and feet as the water ran on him. He let the hot water run all over himself as he tried in vain to wash away the horror that he had just dealt with a little while ago. Slowly he started to feel better as he grabbed the soap and started to wash. As the smell of soap mixed with the steam he was creating in the bathroom he slowly regained his self confidence and knew that he would be okay. After he scrubbed himself clean he got out and dried off. Eventually he dressed and once more was ready to leave the room. He put on his coat and cautiously opened the door this time before he walked out he checked both ways. The coast was clear and it was apparent this was an isolated incident. He headed back down to room ten and slowly entered to gather the few things he had left behind. Once he was all packed and in the truck he took off like his tail was on fire not wanting to look back or ever see that place again. There wasn't much new snow on the ground and he was just nine miles from the mall now and as he thought he realized he now had another whole set of new things to think about. His fear grew as he got closer thinking he could easily confront another one of those monsters or many more. He pulled over he checked his ammo to see how much he had left. He also refilled his gun. He still had a decent amount of bullets left as he put the truck back into drive and headed closer to his final destination. The closer he got the more signs he saw for the super mall. Finally he was on RT 71 and close to his final target. He pulled up and looked at a huge building and drove almost a half mile from one end to the other as he checked it out from the parking area. There was little doubt this place was big the only question on his mind was did he have to see anymore of the beasts he had encountered back at that motel. He parked at one end and took his coat filled with ammo and his extra gun as he walked from the truck. He stuffed the main gun into his belt and covered it with his coat for now. As he approached the main door he took it out and entered. Not sure what to expect he slowly entered the main lobby of the mall. No one and nothing but music playing in the background was what he encountered as he walked in. The further he walked the more comfortable he started to feel. He noticed store after store of fine things and wanted to check them out but right now the only thing on his mind was finding a safe spot to hide in and check the mall as best as he could for others. He walked for a while passing store after store and not much else. Occasionally he would look at something that caught his eye and make a mental note of it so he could stop back and get it another time. Finally somewhat content with his safety about an hour into his walk he spotted an ice cream store and went in for some. It wasn't quite as fresh as the day old made yesterday kind he was used to but he tasted it and it did bring him back to days when he was a kid and got his treat off the ice cream truck. He sat at a table for a bit and enjoyed his flavorful treasure. Eventually he finished and got up and threw out his garbage. He wasn't about to make this mall a mess. Even something that small mattered to him right now. He continued to walk and check out things for hours until he was tired of looking. He entered a major chain store and headed to the furniture section. He looked around for a bit and found a chair he liked and brought it to a wall in a corner of the store where no one or nothing could get behind him. As he sat and thought he was surprised the power in the mall was still on but that thought quickly passed. He got up and looked around for a bit and then eventually sat down and all that walking he did eventually did him in. He fell deep asleep in that chair. Hours later he awoke when he thought he heard some noise but other then the store music there was no one around. He thought about his decision to coming here and if it was still a wise choice. He didn't feel good having to live like this and worry that every time he closed his eyes he would open them to a monster or someone new in front of him. Finally he got up off the chair and started to search for a more private area. This was all so new to him. He spent the next few hours looking and time suddenly became a non factor or issue to him. It didn't matter anymore for all the thoughts he had the biggest was that he was now home. All he did want was to find a safe place to live at right now inside this mall. He walked on and found a directory that led him to some executive offices on the other side of the mall. He followed the lead it set and after another twenty minutes of walking finally saw a sign hanging up that read "Executive Offices" and an arrow that pointed up. He walked over and there were steps to climb about 35 of them. Slowly he began to climb with gun in hand not knowing what to expect at the top. He reached the top and was high enough to see the ground, level in front of him. So he cautiously took the last few steps to the top. He felt uneasy as he placed his first foot on the landing in front of him. Then he stood there for a few seconds to listen for anything. It was all quiet so he took one more step and out of no where on both sides came two people both holding some kind of shotguns on him. He was in no position to shoot back so he raised his hands. He could only hope they were friendly and not half baked people. "Put the gun down mister." One of them shouted out to him. Whoever they were all you could see was gun and hand the rest of their body was hidden around a corner. "Please don't shoot!" He yelled out. Bryan bent over and put his piece on the floor. "Now the coat!" the next order was barked out at him. He took his coat off and put it on the floor. "Good now take off the shirt. Put it on the floor too." Once again he did as he was told. He dropped his shirt and looked back down at them. "Turn around." They barked at him. They immediately saw the other gun and demanded he throw it down on the ground too. "Okay now your pants." "Come on man why my pants?" "Because we want to make sure you aren't one of those half baked guys we see now and then." That gave him a small level of comfort as he hoped they were telling the truth. He unbuttoned his jeans and dropped them to the floor and stepped out of them. This left him with just his boxers on and he was glad he wore them today. "Okay great now arms back up and walk to us." They said. He walked about twenty feet. "Stop! Turn around slowly. He did as he was told. Okay now face us. He turned once more and was looking back at them. Walk this way again." One of the voices said. He was now standing ten feet from the guns that were drawn on him. "Come on guys I have done everything you asked how about something in return?" They looked at one another and agreed. First the one on the left came out. He was a boy about 5'6 and skinny he looked no more then fifteen. As he held the gun on Bryan the other one came out. He was about the same size, 5'6 or 5'7 and a little bit heavier, probably same age or so. "What's your name mister?" They asked. "Bryan, Bryan Van Mister" (pronounced van MY-ster) The taller one approached Bryan. "Please turn around." The boy checked him out. "Okay turn back and put your arms down." As he kept a gun on him he partly turned his head. "He's clean Cody he is one of us." Cody walked closer with his gun facing the floor. He had dirty blond hair that jutted out from the sides of the cap he wore. That too was dirty and so were the boy's clothes. They both looked like they hadn't bathed in a while. "Sorry to do that to you Bryan but we have to be careful and protect the others. You can get dressed now." "Thanks Cody." Bryan turned and grabbed his clothing and put them back on and then picked up his guns. After that he went back over by the boys. "So I know your name, what is yours?" he said to the taller of the two who also had a hat on but had what looked like short dark hair under it. "My name is Keith." Bryan stuck out his hand to shake and Keith extended his. They shook and Bryan looked at both of them. "How old are you boys?" "We are both fifteen sir." Things quickly calmed as they began to talk and the guns were put down. "So how long have you two been here and how did you manage to survive the comet?" "We've been here for week's sir, Cody said. Sorry again about pointing the guns at you but like Keith said we have others to protect up here. We can talk about the comet another time if it's okay with you. That is still a really sore subject with a lot of the boys." "Sure I understand but you said others? How many others?" "There are seven of us here and on the other side of the mall there are about ten more." "Wow! And all of you live here?" "Yes we do it's the only place we have tried to live so far. Each of us has a story about how we got here but we can always tell you that some other time since there is so much going on right now. I know we could probably go back to our homes but there is so much stuff here it's just easier to live and eat here." "I see." he said as he looked at Cody. From the way Cody looked a good bath or shower would probably do him well and he looked like he might clean up really well and be a real looker. Of course that isn't what Bryan is into but he did take notice of the boy's chiseled features. "Wow, said Bryan as he thought it all over in his head... so there are at least seventeen boys here?" "No sir... there are fifteen boys and one older girl and she has a baby." "Very interesting, and where is she?" "With the others Bryan." Keith said to him. "So a girl did live through all this and she has a baby. That is amazing! Do you get along okay with the other group of people?" "Yup, sure do some are school friends. We decided to split and live this way just to keep both sides of the mall as safe as possible. They watch one end and we watch the other. We have two way radios just incase there is trouble." "Have you had any trouble?" "Yeah lots. We have killed at least a dozen of those creepy looking people since we got here but we are pretty sure that the mall is clean now. Other then both ends we have pretty much locked every other door to this place but we didn't feel right locking all of them so we decided to leave both ends open incase anyone like you came along to help or save us. If you don't mind me asking how old are you Bryan?" "I am 21." "Then you are the oldest now and if you want after we introduce you to the others you will be in charge here. We all agreed if an adult came we would make them the person in charge." "Well that is mighty nice boys but I just got here and I am not ready to give anyone any orders." "That's okay Bryan we feel better having someone even a little older here. The girl with the baby is nineteen but she doesn't do much except protect and feed that kid. She is the oldest over there but there are a few kids that are seventeen and the rest are younger. There is even one kid who is nine or ten I think." "Nineteen huh? Interesting he thought to himself. Same age as her but... nah there is no chance it could be her and his son. Do you know if the baby is a boy or girl?" "It's a boy sir." Everything else Cody told him for the next minute seemed to go right over his head as he thought about the girl and baby. He thought to himself... more coincidence? What are the chances? Way beyond his wildest dreams that the girl and baby could be his... he had a few wild thoughts go through his head but quickly he focused back on the others. "Bryan? BRYAN..." Cody yelled finally breaking his train of thought. "Sorry I was thinking, I sorta floated away mentally for a second. What's up?" "Nothing much I was just telling you a few more things about them but you can find out when you meet them." "Sounds good to me. So you boys want to take me to the rest of your group?" "Sure, follow us." He followed then down the hall and around a corner. They opened a door and entered into a room with windows. He looked around the room and on the couch sat three boys and then there was one at each of the windows. Probably lookouts for new people that wonder in. "So from what I can tell you guys knew I was coming long before I hit the steps didn't you?" "Yup we sure did. We had a gun on you till you were out of sight and then we were waiting for you where you found us." "I see. So who are the others in here?" The room was semi lit and you could make out some things but mostly all you could see was outlines of each boy. "Over on the couch is Danny Junior, we just call him JR for junior, in the middle is Steven and next to him on the right is Calvin. JR is thirteen, Steven is twelve and Calvin is eleven. At the left window is Phil, we call him Philly he is thirteen and at the right window is Denny, he is fourteen." "Hi boys." He said to them. They all got up off the couch and came over and said hello to him and shook his hand one at a time. The semi-darkness of the room made it difficult to see much of their features. "You are gonna have to go over to Phil and Denny they aren't allowed to leave their post at all without someone replacing them. It's not a punishment; it's to keep us all safe. We take turns watching out the window and this hour they are both up for their turns." Bryan walked over to each of the boys at their individual window and they also shook hands. All of them seemed to be well mannered so far. "Why is it so dark in here?" "Because with any lights on you can tell someone is in here from down on the floor so we always keep it dark and if you need something you just go out in the hall or anywhere else where the light is much brighter." "Oh, that makes a lot of sense. Good thinking guys." "Thanks but we already know that sir." Said one of the boys on the couch. "I see. So where do you guys sleep Cody? Where did you get all the gun?" "Follow me." He followed him into another room and on the floor was nothing but mattresses, pillows, and blankets. "In here, he said. We took most of them from one of the stores." "And the guns too?" Bryan asked. "Yes, there is a sporting goods store in the mall and it took a while but we finally broke into the guns and ammo and stocked up." He said as he walked to a closet and opened the door. "Damn look at all that!" In front of him was shelf after shelf of ammo and up on top where guns. On the floor of the closer stood several shotguns. They appeared ready to fight a war. "Did you take everything?" "Just about, Keith said. He followed them into the room. We took everything we could including a small refrigerator. We a big one down the hall and that is stocked with water, soda and beer." "Beer? Wow you guys drink?" "Sometimes but we set strict rules for beer no one has more then two at any time and three in one day. If you don't stick to that you have to leave." "Let me guess that happened after someone got drunk and started fighting?" "Pretty close Bryan but you have got the idea. A few of the guys like to have one sometimes but most of them are on the young side and don't even like the taste of it." "That will change as they get older." "I guess so Cody but you are right to keep some rules in order." "Some? Barked Keith. Cody is or was in charge here because he is the oldest on this side and he has so many rules that we have argued over that too." "It took a while to get everything together, Cody said. We started out as a group of three after the comet hit. It was just Keith myself and Denny we usually hang or hung together and at the time it hit we were in Denny's basement playing games and since his house is built on a mountainside we were sorta protected by that I think. We will never know Bryan and now it doesn't matter but his mom was upstairs and his sister and younger brother were in their rooms. We went up later and no one was there just their clothes and we didn't know what happened until Kathy explained it to us. "Wait a minute who is Kathy?" "The girl with the baby on the other side of the mall." "You can't be serious Cody." "What do you mean Bryan; I am not lying to you." "No, no I don't mean it that way...her name... you said Kathy?" "Yes why, what is so big about that?" "It's a long story but could you please do me a huge favor and take me there?" "Sure I guess so but I don't get it." "I'll explain on the way." "Sure, do you want to walk or take a cart?" "Is this cart faster?" "Yeah of course, said Keith. It will save you about twenty or thirty minutes of walking to the other side." "Then let's take it. is it okay for now if you and I just go Cody?" "Um, sure I guess. He turned to Keith. You are in charge if anything happens use the two way and get me right away." "Sure Cod I know." "Yeah but I feel safer saying it." "I know Cody I know." Said Keith. "Ready? Bryan asked." "Sure, follow me." He followed him out and downstairs. Around a corner was a cart. It was plugged into a wall and charging. He took it off charge and we got in. it was just like one of the golf carts they used at the course and as we took off he asked what was so important. "Well you might not believe this but here goes... I left to go work out west and what I left behind was a pregnant girl. From what I know she moved out of state shortly after I left and went some place with her family. Now I know the odds of this being her is really out there Cody but she is 19, her name is Kathy and well you know she has a baby and that baby would be around 18 months old now I think." "Wow that is a lot to take in man. What are you gonna do if by some chance it is her?" "I don't know but that would mean she had to survive the comet and be here the same time as I am. That is just asking way too much Cody, way too much!" "Yeah but so was us finding you and so on Bryan. It might be a million to one odds or more but so far we have twins here that survived and I guess that says a lot there." "Yeah it sure does. My brother survived too but I don't know where he is. I sure miss him too." "What's his name?" "It's Benjamin. Benjy we call him." "Kewl, neat name." "Yeah I like it. Hell I love it since he is alive some place." "I know what you mean. I wish my family was live." That was all that was said after that. Cody fought back tears thinking about his family and Bryan grew antsy as they got closer. "We will be there shortly Bryan, it's just ahead now." "Great, thanks." They drove a bit more and he stopped the cart. "Okay we're here." "Where?" he said as he looked around and saw no one. "Up there. As Cody pointed to basically the same kind of windows that were back at their other home or whatever you call it. Their place is just like ours only bigger. That's why they are here and we are over there. There is a lot more room here for them and lot more kids too." Cody yelled up the steps that we were coming up, not that it mattered I was sure they already knew and probably saw us and heard us. That cart isn't loud but it certainly isn't quiet either. We climbed just about the same amount of step and after that nothing was the same. The rooms were all different on this end. Lots more of them I suppose that was because the other side was executive offices and this side was just general office management according to the sign. Two kids holding guns met us at the top of the steps. Cody did the introductions as we hit the top step. "Bryan this is Travis and that is Matt. They are the two oldest here on this side outside of Kathy." We shook hands. Both boys were well put together and other then dirty were pretty cute older teens. "Hi I am Travis nice to meet you Bryan." He said as he held out his hand. "Travis, nice to meet you." Bryan said. "Hi." Was all Matt said as he shook hands. He seemed to be quite shy from what he could tell. Travis stood about 5'10 and maybe 170 pounds. Well put together. He had blond hair that was still on the short side and piercing blue eyes. Quite a muscular build. Matt was maybe 5'6 or so about the same height as Cody with brown hair and a hat on. He had brown eyes and was on the skinny side too, maybe 125 pounds or so. Definitely more on the quiet side. so far other then saying hi, Matt said nothing else. "So how old are you guys?" "I'm 17, said Travis and Matt over here, the quiet one just turned 16 a few weeks ago." "Well happy birthday Matt." "Thanks." He smiled as he said that. "Okay, Bryan said. I don't want to rush this but I am dying to find out if Kathy is..." He stopped talking as he looked at Cody and Cody nodded his head and walked on. Bryan followed Cody. Travis and Matt trailed them. Cody walked in and yelled for Kathy. She came out yelling for him to shut up. "Cody please be quiet I just put the baby to sleep and..." she stopped cold and stared as she saw Bryan standing there. Bryan looked at her and they ran to each other and hugged. After a good hug they broke apart and Kathy was crying. It appeared he found his girl. "Oh my God Bryan what? How? It can't be you!" "It's me Kate." She backed away from him as the shock of seeing him hit her and a huge level of reality set in. Out of no where she took a step forward and smacked him hard across the face causing the entire room to let out a loud gasp. "You bastard!" she yelled out as she began to cry and once again went to him. The smack of course was because he just up and left her before the baby was born. He knew why she did that though as he grabbed his face and held it after the sting set in. She was so flooded with emotions right now that it really didn't matter she would work all that out later. The entire room was confused at this point except for Cody who at least knew most of the story. Kathy and Bryan hugged for a bit and then broke apart once more. This time Bryan backed up incase another shot was coming from her. "Its okay Bryan, I won't do that again but we really do need to talk as soon as the shock from seeing you wears off!" "I know Kate, I know." He said. She turned to the room and made what became a huge announcement. "Everyone this is Bryan, he is baby Joel's father." The room grew loud and very uncomfortable after she said that and she had to yell over everyone to quiet them down since Joel was sleeping... Or at least he was asleep before that... he was now crying in the next room. "Well since they all woke him up would you like to see your son?" "Yeah... was all he said. Total shock came over him as she said the one word to him...SON... MY son? I actually have a son..." he said to himself. He followed her into a room and there in a crib was a young baby in a diaper and shirt crying as he lay there in bed. "Go ahead you can pick him up if you want to." "I do Kate but I don't know the first thing about holding a baby." "Oh, okay, I'll show you." "You named him Joel?" "Yes I did." "Wasn't that your brother's name?" "You remembered?" "Yes I did, I mean do. I remember everything from then and I am...he paused trying to take all this in... I guess this whole thing is way too much to take in right now I am just gonna be quiet." She smiled at him. "Yes after the comet hit I changed his name to Joel, I figured he would never know the difference besides its not much of a change I just reversed his middle name and first name." "Really what is his middle name?" "You really don't want to know Bryan." "Sure I do Kate, please tell me." "It's... Brian... I named him Brian after you. I spelled it the other way just to try and keep the peace at home but my father was so mad he almost threw me out when I did that but eventually he got over it. My mother didn't mind other then the fact he was BJ and she got a little chuckle out of that but now that they are gone and I thought you were too I just figured Joel would be okay and I would have something to remember my brother by." He was smiling widely now as what she said ran through his mind. She named him after me! That was all he thought over and over until she lifted the baby up and it brought him back from the shock from that. "Its fine with me Kate, I don't care one bit, I am just a little overwhelmed by all this." "Yeah I am too Bry, I am too!" She turned to him while holding the baby and explained to him how to hold him this way. He did as she said and was now holding his son. "Joel say hi to your daddy." She said as she smiled and looked at him. Bryan was beaming and had the attention of every kid in the room as they all watched him hold his son for the first time. They slowly gathered around him. He was getting a bit bigger at 18 months but was still on the small side for his age overall. Probably a little undernourished with everything that has happened since the comet hitting and all but still healthy. He just stood there dumbfounded as the others watched his every move with his son. He looked at his boy, his arms, and his fingers his toes and every part of his body. Then he stared into his son's face amazed at the turn of events and everything around him. He was a beauty! Brown eyes and little dark tuft of hair on his head. He fell instantly in love with his little one. "He is a real cutie Kate, Totally awesome." "Yeah and he almost looks like you already Bryan." "Oh I almost forgot in all this excitement... he said as he walked a few step away from the group surrounding him. Kate!!! Ben is alive... he blurted out as he finally looked up from his son and at her. Joel has an uncle." "Oh my God really? Ben is really alive? Where is he? How do you know?" "I stopped home before I came here and he left a note on the refrigerator what I guess was a few months ago." "I really don't know what to say. That is amazing what did the note say?" "I have it in my pocket I was gonna leave it but I changed my mind and took it with me. Reach in and take it out for me I don't want to let go of Joel just yet." The baby was starting to fall asleep almost like he knew the person holding him. he opened the folded note and read it and then looked at him. "Are you sure the people he went with are good people?" "I wish I knew Katie I know he is smart but at least he wasn't alone." "Yes I see who is Luke?" "That is one of the kids that Ben hung out with when he got out of the house now and then." They went on to discuss a few things as the other boys finally started to give them some space. They talked about what he was doing back in Oklahoma and he told her how he survived the comet. She told him that she was in a basement at the time washing clothes and when she came upstairs no one was around and nothing seemed right anymore she didn't know what happened but was extremely scared because he felt so alone and vulnerable without anyone else close by. He went on to tell him that he only lives a quarter mile or so from the mall and if he wanted they could go there and be a family. They headed out and away from the others to have some private time so they could talk further. "Boy's I am going to go talk with Bryan. We need some private time so keep things safe and keep watch over the door while we are gone okay?" They told her no problem as they headed out and down the steps. Cory stayed with them but kept his distance. Apparently he was going to be some kind of body guard and watch out for them. He followed at a distance but close enough to watch them. "What's with Cory following us Kate?" "He protects me when I am away from the others Bryan; he likes me and really likes Joel so anytime I go any place he has decided to be my protector." "Awww isn't that sweet." Bryan said sarcastically. "I can see some of your personality hasn't changed one bit Bryan Van Mister!" He smiled at her. "Nope not much has changed about me including the fact that I still care about you." "Then why did you leave?!!?" She screamed out at him causing Cory to look at them. "I'm really sorry I did that. I was scared hurt and confused Kate and I don't ever want to leave you again. I, I... he paused as the words didn't come out. I love you Katie and I really want to be with you and Joel forever! Especially now with everything that has happened." She looked at him and beamed. "Oh Bryan I have waited so long for you to say that. If you would have told me that before we left I would have stayed with you and not went away with my family. I love you too!" "Yeah but who knows what might have happened Kate, if you did stay I might have not gone away and we all could be dead now. This might have actually been a good thing to have happened even if it was totally by accident." He looked at her but she said nothing more. She moved a step closer to him as their eyes remained fixated on each other. There was little doubt these two were in love. She moved towards him and with the baby in between they kissed. It was their first kiss since months before the baby was born. Cory watched the whole thing and his heart sank a little in his chest and the hard-on he always had in his pants for Kate went a little limp too! He secretly lusted for her and now knew that the girl he had taken an extreme liking to was with her man and he would never be able to win her away from him. He thought to himself... I might not have her but I am not gonna give up without some kind of fight! As long as she is here I am gonna do everything I can to prove to her that I am better then him! So with that thought strongly embedded in his mind it now appears we have something brewing and at least two hearts are trying to own one girl. One has her heart and the other has dreams of what it would be like to be with her and no longer be a virgin anymore. Even at fifteen Cody has only been with one thing so far in his short life and that is his hand. He has never been with a girl but has asked a few out in the past but always been rejected. Once again it has happened and he feels a little anger inside now that he has lost his chance at what appears to be the last girl in his life. All the time he has spent caring for her and helping her with Joel, changing his diapers and watching over him as he slept suddenly seems to be for naught. As he steamed a little inside he stood there and continued to watch the two lovers together with their baby at a safe distance away. Safely out of sight his hand wandered down to his semi swollen cock and he started rubbing himself through his jeans as he watched them kiss and wished it was him in that spot instead of Bryan. With the love birds having a strong lock on each other he felt secure that he wouldn't be spotted while he fiddled with himself. He continued to watch them as he ran his hand over his hardening cock over and over again. "I don't really think that is a good idea to leave here right now Kate. We have help here and even though you might want some privacy or some place to call home with me and the boy I feel a little safer here right now especially since I don't know the area we are in yet." "I guess I understand Bryan but it would be nice to set up a house and call it our own now that we have a choice of anything around." "I agree but... tell you what for now let's stay here, I want to get used to my surroundings and then in a week or two we can go and look for a place of our own." "Okay I guess I can wait a little longer. The boys give me some privacy when I feel Joel but some of them try to sneak a peak when I feed him and I am getting tired of them trying to look at my breasts or even watch me while I feel him." "I'll take care of that. I'll have a little talk with Cody and Keith and I am sure they won't mind backing me about talking to the others about that." "Great, thanks you are a dear, that should help a bunch." "Ready to go back there or do you have other things you want to talk about Katie?" "We have forever to talk Bry, let's go back for now and relax. I want to feel Joel now anyway and with you here I feel a lot more comfortable now." They turned and headed towards Cory. He watched as they came and both were looking at him as they approached. "We re ready to go back now Cory thanks for watching out for us." "Sure thing Katie you know I will always have your back." He said as he looked at Bryan with disgust on his face. Neither of them read anything into his reaction after his comment and they all walked back and upstairs together." "So Kate now that Bryan is here where are you going to stay, this side or my side?" She looked at Bryan. "I don't really know Cory, Bryan where are you going to stay?" "I haven't given it much thought since I have only been here for a few hours. Which side has more room Cory?" "Well this side has more room but more people. Our side has a fewer open space but we could fit you in over there if you want." Bryan looked at Kate. "You are already settled in over here why change things I can stay here with you if you want." "That's great Bryan. We have a queen bed and box spring and there is plenty of room for you to sleep with me if you like." Cory's face immediately went from content to a look of total disgust as she said that to Bryan. His wheels were spinning as he thought hard to come up with some reason to get him away from her. "Bryan don't you think you might be more comfortable on the other side instead of here, I mean I'm not trying to tell you what to do but we certainly could use you over there." "Then choose one of the other boys to go with you if you are short handed Cory. Katie practically shouted at him after his sly suggestion. I want him by my side now." "Ummm sure Katie, he stumbled for words as he looked at her with a stunned look on his face. I am sorry I didn't mean anything by that I was just..." She cut him off mid sentence. "Its okay Cory I didn't mean to yell or upset you its just that I finally got him back and I don't want him leaving to live on your side okay?" "Sure Kate whatever you want I wasn't thinking." Actually he was but he wasn't about to tell her why he wanted her man away from her. He even had thought about him screwing her tonight after they went to bed but as she said something else to him it broke his train of thought. "Cory will you make sure there is room for everyone here." Without waiting for an answer she turned to Travis and looked at him. "Travis dear could you please help me to make more room inside so I can have plenty of room for him." "Sure Kate anything for you." Kate headed off with Travis into her room as Bryan took over watching and caring for the baby for the moment. He stood holding the baby as he surveyed the area. Boys were walking around and chatting with each other. The air was filled with a smell that was half mall scent and half stench from these boys needing a bath or shower. It appeared that none or most of them haven't showered in quite some time. Bryan walked into the room near Katie. "Kate? Not that I want to bother you while you fix things up but can you tell me how you live with the smell of those boys day after day?" "What do you mean?" she replied. "I was standing out there holding Joel and I noticed that it kind of smells like someone hasn't showered in a long time. Do they take care of themselves? Is there a place to shower in here?" "Yes there is and most of them do shower occasionally." "But don't you have any say in trying to keep this place clean?" "Of course I do. Most of them listen and do their own thing dear. I just guess I have been so busy with Joel that I never gave it much thought. You can take care of that if you want Bryan you are big enough and old enough to tell them to shower if you want. The room is down the hall on the right once you go out the front door." "I know I could Katie but I just got here do you really think they want to hear it from me. I haven't even talked to most of them yet." "Okay then as soon as I am done in here I will talk to them okay?" "Sure that sounds great." He stood and watched her straighten out the room while he held Joel. Travis was helping quite a bit and after five, maybe ten minutes the place was clean and almost habitable. After she finished she went outside and called the boys over and told them that she thought that it might be a good idea if all of them showered today. A few of them moaned and groaned about it but after Travis took it a step further and told them they didn't have a choice the complaining stopped and they talked about who would go first. Todd and Ryan the twin brothers decided to go so they went to get a change of clothes where they slept and then headed off to the shower. This went on for then next hour and although no one kept track it was assumed by the change of atmosphere that most if not all the boys had eventually had some contact with soap and water. The rest of the day went quickly as Bryan got used to his surroundings and Cody eventually headed back to the other side to be with his guys. They all went to the food court for dinner as a group which was a normal thing to do on more nights. After eating and meeting up with the boys from the other side some chatting was done about the new guy and the boys talked mostly in private about their feelings concerning Bryan now being in charge and the oldest one there. As the majority of them sat at their usually table Mike one of the boys that Bryan hadn't met yet came over and voiced his opinion. "Bryan, my name is Mike. I wanted to tell you that most of the guys have had a get together to talk about you being here and I was elected or I guess you could say I am the one that was told to come over and tell you that even though we don't know you yet we feel that we want to welcome you to our home here at the mall and on behalf of the guys we just want to tell you that we would like it if you would be our leader since you are the oldest. Then he turned to Kate. Nothing against you Kate but we just thought that since you are taking care of the baby and all it would be proper for your boyfriend to run things for all of us." Kate looked at Bryan. "Well leader stand up and talk to your boys. They did a nice thing by deciding that they wanted you so you might want to say something back to them." He stood up and looked at everyone. All the boys were there that lived in the mall. He cleared his throat and spoke. "Thanks to all of you for offering your leadership to me. I will do my best to keep things safe and everything under control in here but I am going to need everyone's cooperation to do that. Since I hardly know any of you maybe we should start with some introductions so I can get an idea of who is who." He pointed at one table and the boys either stood up or just raised a hand and yelled out their names one at a time. Then it went to the next table and then finally the one he was sitting at. Fifteen boys had given their names by the time they were all done. With Katie holding Joel and himself that made a total of eighteen people alive and counted for. "Well its nice to meet all of you he went on to say, and I hope that we don't have any major disagreements anytime soon but I would like to just say a few things about living here. Since I am new to this I just want to make sure that like today everyone is clean and showers as often as possible. I don't want to have to keep track of your habits when it comes to being clean but I believe that when you stop taking care of yourself then things happen and it's a sign that you are losing control of everything so I guess it's a good place to start from. I would love it if I got to know each of you and find out your likes and dislikes over time and we can go from there. This is all new to me so again I thank you and hope I can do well by all of you at doing this now. it seems you have all ready had a good start and found your way here some how and I am sorry that all or most of you had to lose loved ones and that all this had to happen but if we stick together I am sure that we will be fine from now on. I guess that's all I have to say." He sat down and the boys applauded for a few seconds. "Okay I think we can move on to other things, I know I would love to see some of the mall and get some new clothes on my body." "Sure Bryan, said Kate I would love to take a walk with you through some of the mall and show you around." "Great then lets go." They got up and the other boys followed. They said their good byes to each other as they took off to go their separate ways to their end of the mall. Katie, Joel and Bryan walked back, she got her stroller and then three of them set out to check out the mall for stuff and this time Cory stayed behind. Bryan was carrying his guy and Kate assured him that the mall was pretty safe now since they have checked almost all of it out several times. They walked and looked at things for the next few hours and Bryan picked out a bunch of clothes and other things he thought he could use. The mall clock read 9pm and they both appeared to be tired now after a full day of excitement. They headed back to the executive offices and about thirty minutes later they were climbing the steps and with help from a few of the other boys everything that Bryan and Kate got today was brought up to their room and then they were left alone as they got ready for their first official night together as a family. Joel was put in his crib and then mommy and daddy got into bed together. It was almost 10pm when they gave each other a quick kiss good night and then placed their heads on their pillows and drifted off to sleep. It should be interesting to see how Cory deals with this and how the rest of the boys learn how to live with their new leader. Only time will tell if this will work and Bryan will be able to run the mall or if he failed and has to take his family and go live on his own with them. Either way doesn't sound too bad but one thing is for sure there are bad things out there and eventually some of them are going to happen as will a bunch of good things but for now we will put a close to this first full day at the mall. Good night. To be continued.. Next up...the boys in Tunnel get ready for some problems as they set out to head to the mall. dwednomail@hotmail.com