Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness Ch.35
Title: Afterworld: Into the Arms of Darkness
By: Pink Rabbit Productions
Chapter: 35
Date: 20 October, 2010
Rating: R (for sex and violence)
Disclaimer: Hmmm, characters, not mine, situation, mine, though with the proviso that certain scenarios owe a major debt of gratitude to George Romero. Sex? Likely. Genders involved? Likely all female (at least anything on camera). Also there are likely to be very bad things in this story. I'm not one for prodigious amounts of gore, but this is horror and there is likely to be ickiness and things that might disturb some folks. Seriously. If it's gonna bother you, move along.
Summary: When the dead rise, civilization falls.
Author's Notes: Awhile back, just for fun, I did a faux movie poster that set Otalia in a horror setting and used some elements from an idea I've had running around for ages (what can I say---it was the Halloween season). See the poster here: http://altfic.com/artgallery/otalia/glafterworld01b.htm . Sooo, at some point, it seemed like fun to take a gander at writing them in that universe. I've quite deliberately tried to break away from my usual style and make it a bit faster moving, with frequent chapter breaks, deliberate cliffhangers, shorter scenes and more directed pov. We'll see if I can keep to one pov per chapter (well, they are short chapters...lol).
Dedicated to: My mom. Seriously. All of my growing up years, she would constantly throw me these what-if scenarios and press me to figure out logical ways to survive/get out of various emergency situations. Now, she never mentioned the zombie apocalypse, but I'm sure that was just an oversight or a desire not to scare a little kid (because, really, I grew up as the daughter of a top secret type during the cold war...I already had enough fear issues), but really, that odd little game was the genesis of...well...not just this story, but a lot of my love of writing. So, thanks mom.
Previous Chapters: | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28 | Chapter 29 | Chapter 30 | Chapter 31 | Chapter 32 | Chapter 33 | Chapter 34 |
Afterworld:
Into the Arms of Darkness
Chapter 35
Emma's expression was a combination of scared and hangdog.
Olivia's first thought was to send her away, that being near her was too risky for her little girl. Even with all the things Natalia had said, there was a gut deep fear that everything was going to blow to hell.
Then Natalia leaned close, her breath warm, her voice low and soothing. "It's okay," she whispered. "I'll make sure she's safe."
Olivia twisted enough to peer up at the other woman, brows drawing into a frown as she searched her eyes. As she watched, Natalia reached down and checked the gun at her side. In some instances, the gesture might have been unsettling. At that precise moment, it was profoundly reassuring. "Thank you," she breathed almost inaudibly.
Natalia just nodded.
"Hey, Jellybean," Olivia said as she reached out to her daughter, grateful for any chance to see her again.
Emma was through the door, across the room, and into her mother's arms as quickly as small legs could carry her. "The bad men?" she questioned as she nosed into her mother's shoulder.
Olivia nuzzled her daughter's temple. "They won't hurt us again," she reassured her. She felt the small, compact body in her arms sag with relief and heard a tiny, ragged sob. Emma hadn't really understood about Jeffrey or Ava or the twisted relationship, but she'd grasped the threat he presented from early on.
"Really?" her baby sounded so uncertain that it nearly broke Olivia's heart.
"Really." She couldn't promise much else, but Jeffrey and his ilk were finally out of their lives for good.
Emma remained where she was for a long moment, then finally shook free of her mother's loose hold. She caught Olivia's left hand and tugged it up so she could see. The redness was still dramatic, but to Olivia's eyes, it seemed less fiercely crimson than it had been. Frightened green eyes tipped up after a long moment. "Did I do the right thing?" her daughter asked uncertainly.
Dragging Emma into a fierce hug, Olivia had to fight tears. "Yeah, baby...you did absolutely the right thing." She let herself enjoy the moment. Her daughter's body was small, but reassuringly solid. If she needed a reason to fight, she was holding it in her arms. She carefully set Emma back from herself and petted her hair with a gentle hand.
Emma stood perfectly still, carefully studying her for a long moment. Finally, she reached out, laying her wrist against Olivia's forehead the same way Olivia had done for her when she was ill. "You're really hot," she said softly, then turned a worried look Natalia's way. "Are you still sick?"
Olivia didn't know what to say. She wanted to believe Natalia was right and she had a chance at survival, but her own instincts were in a very different place. She still felt too cold and too weak to be among the living.
"Trust me," Natalia suddenly whispered in her ear as though she sensed the thoughts running through Olivia's head.
Olivia instinctively turned into the arms holding her as another icy shiver worked its way over her skin and her teeth chattered with cold. Natalia's skin felt unexpectedly cool against her own, but somehow it warmed her all the same. She was profoundly grateful when Natalia spoke up for her.
"Your mommy's still sick, Em," she explained, her voice gentle. "But she's a little better...and she's fighting with everything she's got to get well."
Looking down, her daughter studied her hand carefully. "Tell me what to do to help," she pleaded.
It was on the tip of Olivia's tongue to say nothing, but the look on her daughter's face kept her silent.
"We need to keep your mommy warm," Natalia said. "If you could bring down the blankets from my bed, that would be great...and also, there's a black bag with medical supplies... We need that too."
Emma nodded rapidly, then spun on her heel and took off to do as asked.
"Wonder what she'll bring back?" Natalia mused out loud, then noted Olivia's questioning look. "It's just she doesn't...often...seem to do what she's told." Natalia said, sounding vaguely shell-shocked.
"No...she doesn't," Olivia had to admit. Emma was wonderful and brilliant and the light of her life, but obedience wasn't her strong suit. Suddenly aware of how very uncomfortable she was, she stretched her shoulders and wiggled her backside. If she was going to live, a cold, hard floor didn't seem like the best place to stage the battle. "Any chance we could move this someplace a little more comfortable?" Strange as it was, her daughter's entrance had brought a weird sort of normalcy back to Olivia's world, stabilizing her in a way nothing else could.
Afterworld, the dead, Jeffrey, the demons: those things were all a part of this strange existence, but they weren't a part of her. Emma was reality.
"You gonna be a good girl and not try to get outside?"
A long moment passed while Olivia debated her answer. Her instincts were still on edge, but when she looked into russet brown eyes, she wanted to believe. She looked the way her child had gone. She had reason to believe.
"Trust me," Natalia implored. "Believe...you are alive." She looked toward the door through which Emma had disappeared. "She needs you to fight." Then she looked back and Olivia found herself caught in the trap of those limitless eyes. "We both do."
That was just fighting dirty. Olivia wondered if anyone had ever resisted that look. Hell, even the dead might fall on their knees before it.
Natalia just waited.
Another moment passed and then finally, Olivia nodded. "Haven't had the urge to bite you for the last several minutes," she said to reassure herself. "Hit maybe...but not bite," she added with a touch of humor. She slanted a look at the other woman and caught sight of a tiny, hopeful smile. It felt like it warmed her from the inside out, and she found herself nodding. "Yeah, I'll be a good girl. No going outside." Another quick look at the younger woman. "But if I wind up a zombie, I'm never speaking to you again."
The wry humor broke some of the tension and she felt Natalia laugh softly. Then she felt the other woman redouble her hold. "I'll help you stand," she whispered near Olivia's ear, her breath teasing soft hair.
Leaning heavily on Natalia, Olivia managed to reach her feet, then suddenly the world spun violently.
Oh shit, almost forgot about the concussion. Definitely the downside of being alive.
Unable to maintain her balance, she fell heavily into Natalia, knocking her into the door. She felt the violent flinch that rattled through the smaller woman and heard her pained groan. "Natalia?" she whispered, bracing a hand on the door in order to push upright. She peered at the other woman, seeing the way her expression crimped with pain. "You're hurt."
"It's nothing." Natalia tried to wave it off.
Seeing the way she pressed her arm against her side, Olivia batted her hands aside and reached for the bottom edge of her shirt, peeling it up before Natalia could stop her.
An ugly, red weal marred her side and back along the bottom edge of her ribcage. It would probably be purple by morning. "Please tell me I didn't do that," Olivia begged, unable to bear the notion of hurting the other woman that way. What a distance they'd come in a very few hours. She looked up, finding brown eyes.
"You didn't," Natalia assured her. She pointed over her shoulder, toward the garage. "Stupid roof did when I fell...it has a meaner left hook than you do."
Olivia couldn't contain a smirk. "Hey, I'm supposed to have the sarcastic humor market cornered," she chastised as she probed the injury. "Any stabbing pains when you breathe?" she asked, her tone becoming all business.
"No...I'm fine...really."
"No, not really," Olivia disagreed sadly, smoothing dark silk hair back from the other woman's brow. The light contact warmed her and drove back the shivering for a moment. "Nobody in this world is fine." The comment earned a small, wry smile.
"Point." Natalia shrugged. "More correctly, I don't think I have any broken ribs...just bruised." She took a deep breath, wincing only a little toward the end. "See...fine..." Leaning closer, she slipped an arm around Olivia's waist. "Now let's see if we can get you to the couch."
Olivia briefly considered arguing-uncertain Natalia was in any condition to be helping her-then the world did a Tilt-A-Whirl style swirl and she concluded collapsing where she stood wouldn't help their situation. The world dipped and rolled with every step-not a pleasant sensation-but finally she sank down into deep cushions and peered up at her savior, mentally testing herself. A tiny sniff. No odor of good steaks on the grill to tease her senses, just a hint of something sweet and a little fruity. A hint of a smile touched her mouth as she envisioned Natalia dabbing berry juice behind her ears instead of perfume. It just fit somehow.
Okay, so maybe she wasn't quite as zombified as she'd thought.
Natalia hooked a thumb over her shoulder. "I'm gonna finish locking up." Both eyebrows rose in question. "You'll stay here?"
Suspicious little thing for all of the Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm vibe she put off. "Yeth, Mommy," Olivia promised.
She got an annoyed eye roll in response.
Sinking back into the couch, Olivia watched as Natalia secured the door. Every so often, she'd cast a quick glance Olivia's way, checking on her. A shiver worked its way over her skin, the sense of being cold so acute she was reminded of the first winter she'd spent in Springfield. The snow had been deep, and fresh off the boat from San Cristobel, where even the winter temperatures rarely got much below sixty, she'd been miserable.
Natalia finished just as Emma returned, arms piled so high with blankets that she was just a pair of eyes peering over the top edge. She dumped the pile on the bed next to Olivia, then turned to hand a black doctor's bag to Natalia.
Her expression was so serious that Olivia half expected her to salute.
"Thank you," Natalia said equally seriously, then knelt down, putting herself on level with Emma. As Olivia watched, dark eyes swung her way for a second, then back to Emma. "You okay?" she asked quietly, the question directed at the child.
Emma managed a small nod.
"Probably kinda scared," Natalia murmured thoughtfully.
Emma nodded again.
Setting the medical bag aside, Natalia took small hands in her own. "I don't blame you. I'm pretty scared too." She flashed another quick look at Olivia. "And I know your mom is...so it's okay."
Olivia pulled one of the blankets over herself, but otherwise remained quiet, simply watching. She had no idea what to say to her daughter, but Natalia seemed to have some plan in mind, so she was content to stand back and let the other woman handle things for the moment.
"Your mom's still sick," Natalia said softly.
A frown creasing her forehead, Emma nodded her understanding. "I'll do anything to make her better."
"I know," Natalia whispered and reached out to ruffle auburn hair. "But right now, the most helpful thing you can do is make sure that your mommy doesn't have to worry about you."
Emma's frown said it all. When adults said things like that, it was never because kids were gonna like the answer. "But I can help," she said very softly.
"I know, sweetie." Natalia sighed softly. "But right now, I really need you to go back upstairs and look after yourself for a little while...so I can take care of your mom-"
"Go with Emma," Olivia told Natalia abruptly, fighting the exhaustion to sit up. Emma needed someone with her more than she did. "I'll be fine on my own."
Dark eyes swung her way and Natalia shook her head. "You need me here, Olivia," she said firmly. She looked back to Emma. "You know where the food and water are upstairs?"
She got a small nod in answer.
"Dammit-" Olivia started to argue, but Natalia cut her off.
"No."
Then her daughter and the dark lady stared at one another for a long moment as if sizing each other up. Emma turned a worried look her way, then looked back to Natalia. "You'll take care of her?" she asked in a small voice.
It was Natalia's turn to nod, while Olivia how the hell it was that she'd gone from being the adult in the room to being the child.
"I'll come check on you when I can," Natalia promised. "But I need you to stay up there until your mom or I says otherwise...and I need you to promise that's what you'll do."
Emma flinched under the demand. Her daughter was no welcher. When she made a deal, she kept it. Which was why she preferred not to make deals. It took the moral sting out of doing what she wanted.
Natalia's expression remained serious and unflinching, until finally Emma's shoulders sagged and she nodded. "I won't come down until you tell me it's okay."
"And you'll eat," Olivia added weakly, wanting to fight, but well aware she wasn't going to win. She could make damn well sure to add a rider or two onto this deal though.
Emma looked annoyed, but nodded. "I know where the peanut butter 'n' jelly are," she muttered.
"Promise?" Olivia demanded.
Another annoyed nod. "I promise."
Victory obtained, Natalia swept the girl into a hard hug and mumbled something in her ear before backing off and urging her toward Olivia.
Olivia accepted a hug of her own, burying her nose in sweet smelling hair as she reminded herself this was the reason to fight. A few more hugs and reassurances, then finally Natalia led Emma back to the kitchen.
Olivia could hear the soft sound of voices in the other room: Emma worried, Natalia soothing and confident, then the sounds of doors and locks and a few other assorted bumps and bangs. Natalia returned a moment later, a glass of water in hand, her expression wary. Her gaze bounced back and forth between Olivia and the door.
"Don't worry, I was a good girl," Olivia assured her, rather proud her voice was only slightly slurred. "It's easier when you don't have voices in your head."
Natalia didn't quite seem to know how to respond to that, so she dug through the medical bag instead, coming up with an electronic thermometer and a fruit salad of pills.
Still shivering, Olivia didn't fight having her temperature taken and couldn't decide whether to be annoyed or relieved at the reading.
"104.2°," Natalia murmured. Then came the pills and the water. Natalia made her drink the whole glass.
Another hard shiver rattled Olivia and made her doubt again. Suddenly she found herself checking her wrist desperately for her pulse, unable to find precisely the right spot. She paused when a cool hand landed on her chest over her sternum.
"It's beating," Natalia assured her. Without breaking contact, she reached into a pocket and retrieved the stolen pistol, laying it on the end table closest to the left side of the couch.
Within easy reach.
It shouldn't have been nearly as comforting as it was.
Then she settled on the couch, half lying, half sitting, the gun in easy reach, and tugged Olivia back against her chest, gently urging her to turn and lie down fully. Natalia kept her arm around Olivia, spread palm still resting on her chest. Using her free hand, the younger woman tugged the blankets up over both of them, making a private cocoon.
Half dead, maybe dying, and it was still the safest Olivia had felt in months. She settled against the other woman, feeling her eyelids grow heavier. Now that things had settled down, her body was reminding her how very tired it was. "I don't wanna sleep," she whispered.
Natalia didn't argue. "It's going to be dark soon," she whispered, and Olivia could feel the fear gathering.
She'd never liked the dark.
"But I'm going to be here," the younger woman assured her. "And we're going to get through."
Right. Get through. Olivia swallowed hard and pushed the fear down. "So what shall we talk about?" she murmured, desperately needing something to take her mind off of pretty much everything. "Politics and sports have been cancelled due to lack of living participants...and I'm not sure I'm up for a religious debate...read any good books lately?"
Natalia was silent for a long moment, then finally she murmured. "Out there...Reva...she was trying to say your name, wasn't she?"
"Possibly," Olivia said cautiously.
"So you're that Olivia..."
* * * * * *
TBC