BROTHERS IN SOLITUDE ch 4

Felix stood up and rushed to Tom's side.

"Hey, honey," she said.  "Did you get enough rest?"

"Enough for now," he said.  He glanced over at Chad.  "What's going on down here?

"I had trouble sleeping," she said.  "Got up early and came down for some coffee.  Chad just came down and joined me.  I figured you'd be out for a while?"

"Is that so?" Tom asked.  He looked Chad up and down.  "And why is that?"

"I just—" She started, rubbing his neck.  "I thought I'd let you rest.  We went through so much, and—"

"I told you when we left Ambertown.  We're not safe out here.  Anything can go wrong at any moment."  He ran his fingers through her hair.  "I can't let you out of my sight."

She pecked his lips.

"Tom, you know I can take care of myself.  Sit down, have some coffee."

Chad wished Drake wasn't passed out.  Tom's eyes flashed with anger and mistrust, never wandering from the younger brother as he and Felix took a seat across from him.  She refilled her cup and handed it to him.  He sipped the steaming liquid.

"Thank you, babe.  It's delicious."

She leaned in, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I need to say again how much we appreciate this," Tom said.  "I knew we started off on the wrong foot, guns pointed at each other and all, but I really am grateful for your hospitality.  Thank you."

Chad raised his mug.

"How long have you been holed up in here?" Tom asked.

"Since it started.  This is…was our parents' house.  When the plague took them, we decided to stay here."

"Did you board up the windows yourselves?"

"No.  Mom and Dad were still alive when we went under lockdown.  We did it as a family."

"It's amazing you two made it on your own."

Chad fell silent.  He didn't like talking about the early days of the virus or the events that led up to his parents' death.  Looking up to the stairwell, he wished that Drake would saunter down and steer the conversation.  He was always the better talker.

"Anyone want more coffee?" Felix asked.  Chad wondered if she'd sensed his apprehension.  He was trying to play it cool, handle the situation like Drake.

"That would be awesome," Chad said, already feeling the effects of the first mug.

Felix filled their mugs and passed around more sugars and creamers.

"How about you?" Chad asked.  "Were you on your own long?"

"When all this started, I was working as a software engineer in Atlanta."  Tom looked at his mug.  "Sometimes I'd have breakneck deadlines and have to suck down gallons of this stuff so I could stay awake and finish my work.  I never thought of coffee as anything more than a tool.  Funny how an apocalypse can change your worldview."

He took a swill.

"I was camping in the Smoky Mountains when I heard the first reports on the radio.  As you can imagine, my job was pretty high stress.  Every few months I would get away with my German Shepard and disappear into the wilderness."

At the mention of his pet, Chad noticed a change overcome Tom.  His facial features relaxed, and his eyes lost their anger.

"Anyways, me and Skittles—that was my dog's name—me and Skittles had just settled around the campfire and tuned this old boom box I had to a classic rock station.  The Emergency Broadcasting System broke in during a Pink Floyd song and reported that mass hysteria was breaking out in the tri-state area.  They told us to stay indoors and stay tuned, that they would keep us updated.  The music came back on, I figured that was that.  We were out in the sticks, so I wasn't worried."

Tom traced the rim of the mug with his pointer finger.

Chad noticed Felix was using a thumbnail to scrap at her cuticles and wondered how soft her hands were.

"I think there was one more update while I was finishing supper, but I didn't pay it much mind.  I fell asleep petting Skittles and watching the flames die down.

"Skittles' barking woke me up.  I thought a skunk or something had tried getting into the garbage, so I got up to put whatever food I'd left out in my car.  The embers gave off little light, but I could still see something at the edge of the forest coming towards me.  By the time it reached my campsite, I saw it wasn't an animal, but a person.

"I called out to them, a friendly hello, but there was no response.  Just Skittles going nuts as they got closer.  I turned on a lantern I had hanging from a tree, and the moment I saw my visitor, I realized something was terribly wrong.

"He was about my age, wearing a hunter's safety vest, but he had bleeding gashes on his neck and chest.  I started to help him, but I got a good look at his eyes, all yellow and red and lifeless.  Skittles knew he wasn't right.  He attacked, but the man didn't flinch.  He grabbed Skittles by the throat and bit a chunk from his neck.

"Skittles howled and his blood went everywhere.  I panicked.  I jumped in my car and got the hell out of there, trying to find any sign of civilization.  That's when I heard how bad things really were.  There was no more music on the radio, just the god-awful reports about crazed mobs surrounding and eating other people.  I was so scared, I didn't stop for anyone, not even this family I saw on the side of the road with their hazard lights blinking.

"I heard the army set up a shelter in a nearby hospital, and made my way the fifty miles there.  The good old boys had already figured out that shooting them in the head put them down.  When I got there, they were already making a stand."

Felix crossed her arms and looked at Chad.  He couldn't take his eyes off her

"In the beginning," Tom continued, "there weren't a lot of them.  You could have walked right past them, and if you had any proficiency with a gun, you had nothing to fear.  As they days went on, more and more started attacking the hospital.  We started losing men.  One of the refugees brought in a little girl who'd been bitten, and the plague spread quickly from inside.  By the time it was all said and done, five of us took to the road in a supply truck, staying off the main roads, stealing gas and food whenever we could.

"We were heading south when we intercepted a transmission from Ambertown.  They were looking for survivors, calling every living person to the mall so they'd have a fighting chance.  We made it, and it's been home ever since."

"How can a mall support so many people?" Chad asked.  "Seems like supplies would run out fast."

"Ambertown is big," Felix said.  "We have a garden on the roof."

"Brilliant," Chad said.

He had never thought of growing on their roof.  The neighbors' fruit trees and gardens still produced, so they had year round access to oranges, peaches, pomegranates, figs and pears.  Wild blackberries were also common to the area.  Once in a while, the brothers would skin the purple fruit from the prickly pear cactus and eat it as a treat, but the more exotic fruits and vegetables like pineapple and mushrooms came from whatever cans they salvaged.

"You'd be surprised what a civilization leaves behind," Tom said.  "There are a lot of grocery stores still loaded with goods."

"We have a big one here," Chad said, "but it's infested."

"Is that so?" Tom asked, rubbing his stubbly chin.  "How else are you eating?"

"We hunt and fish."

"Those bastards will kill anything they can get their hands on," Tom said.  "Thank God they aren't fast enough to catch deer.  There's tons of game around Ambertown.  Lots of good eating."

"If it's so great," Drake said from the stairwell, "why did you leave?"

"Drake," said Chad, wondering how long his brother had been listening, "be nice."

"I'm being nice.  I'm just having trouble understanding why they would give up security and community."

Drake joined his brother on their worn couch and stared coldly at Tom.  Chad knew it would take more than fresh coffee for Drake to lower his guard.

"The guy running things and I had a disagreement," Tom said.  "Sometimes you realize it's best for everyone to pull up stakes and move on.  I've heard rumors about another fortified community along the Gulf Coast.  We thought we might try our luck somewhere else."

"I can't imagine leaving here," Chad said.  "This is home."

Felix smiled.

"If we had to run, we would," said Drake.  "For now, we have what we need."

"Which brings us to business," Tom said.  "We promised supplies for sanctuary, and I am a man of my word."

"What are you offering?" Drake asked.  "And, more importantly, how long do you plan on staying?"

Drake knew how to hustle.  Like luck, the wheeling and dealing came naturally to him, as if he was born with the necessary skills ingrained deep in his DNA.  Growing up, Chad had watched him scam neighborhood kids out of their trading cards, comic books, action figures, and video games but never picked up on the conman impulse for himself.  Material things weren't important to him back then.

Now they mattered even less.

"Felix, go upstairs and grab the bag," Tom said.

"Which one?" she asked.

"The green one."

"It's a little heavy," she said.  "I could use a hand."

"I'm talking business right now," Tom said with a flick of his wrist.  "You can handle it."

"I'll help," Chad said, standing.  Might as well be a good host.

"That'd be fine," Tom said.  "Looks like big brother is handling things anyway."

Chad cringed.  He was just as important to the decision making process as Drake.  Being reduced in the social standing rubbed him the wrong way, but he bit his tongue and trusted his brother.  They'd have plenty to talk about as soon as they were alone.

Felix led the way upstairs as Drake and Tom began ironing out how long the couple would stay under the brothers' roof.  Though the second story lacked the lower floor's barricades, thick curtains prohibited daylight from pouring in as well as prevented their flashlights from being seen from the street.  He flipped on his flashlight and followed her to the guestroom, unconsciously checking out her ass as she walked down the hall.  A flash of guilt washed over him.  He quickly shifted his gaze to the floor.

Felix pushed open the door and turned on a battery powered lantern sitting on the dresser, lighting up the room.  A photo of his parents standing outside an amusement park hung on the wall beside an old wooden crucifix.  Memories of visiting relatives raced through Chad's mind, and he pushed them aside as he entered.

"I'm glad we got to talk earlier," she said as she crossed over to the bed.  "Tom usually doesn't let me be a part of the conversations."

"Why is that?"

"He's the alpha male type.  Has to be in charge of everything."

"Sounds like Drake."

Felix picked up the large green bag beside the bed and handed it Chad.  Surprised at its weight, he slung it over his shoulder.

"I'm still not sure about leaving Ambertown.  It wasn't perfect, but at least there I felt safe."

"You're safe here."

Chad looked into her eyes and smiled.  Something weird fluttered inside of his chest.

"Tom thinks I'm his property, but I'm not."

Felix leaned in and pressed her lips against Chad's.  She pushed her body into him as her tongue slipped into his mouth.  Wrapping her arms around his neck, the felt the warmth of her body and the softness of her breasts pressed against his caused his jeans to tighten.  Heart pounding, he broke the connection after a few seconds.  Torn between excitement and fear, Chad wasn't expecting the kiss, his first ever.

He began to ask her why, but she placed her index finger on his lips.

"This is between me and you," she said. "No one has to know."

Confused, Chad followed her out of the guestroom, flipping off the lantern before shutting the door.  Now he couldn't take his eyes off her as they descended the stairs and rejoined Drake and Tom in the living room.

"Took you long enough," Tom said.

"Here," Chad said, handing Tom the bag and praying the man couldn't see the embarrassment on his face.

Tom set the bag in his lap and unzipped it.

"We're going to have company a few days," Drake said to Chad.