Where are we going? Somewhere else. That's the extent of my plan. I'll keep driving until this machine runs out of petrol or I spot a place that looks like a promising hideout. We do need to hide, now more than ever. The second wave is underway and will complete itself soon. That means the next phase won't be far behind. How many waves will ravage this world? Only Sefton knows.
Allison has her body glued to mine and her cheek pasted to my shoulder. Her delicate hands are linked over my belly. I swear I can feel the heat of her flesh even through my leather jacket. The wind created by our flight whips her hair against my face as I grip the handlebars more tightly and veer around another corner. We seem to have reached an industrial zone where factories and warehouses once occupied the area. Most of them have been destroyed now. All I need is one mostly intact structure, even a small one, that I can easily defend and where we will be relatively safe.
Nothing is for certain anymore. Everything is relative.
The feel of her body wrapped around mine gives me a feeling of…safety. That's bollocks. I haven't felt safe in years, and I might never again experience a sense of security.
Because of Sefton.
I hit the brakes and plant one foot on the ground to hold the bike up while I survey the area. One building had caught my eye as we approached this area. It looks like the remnants of a warehouse. Half of it has been destroyed, but the remainder seems intact. Since a wall separates the halves, the undamaged section should provide enough shelter. I check the petrol gauge. We're down to a quarter of a tank, and I don't want to waste what's left in case we need this bike to save our lives again.
I drive up to the door of the half-ruined warehouse and stop, setting one foot on the ground. Then I glance over my shoulder at Allison. "Open the door."
"What? Why?"
"I don't want to leave this bike out here where anyone might see it."
"Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense."
She slides off the motorcycle and trots to the warehouse door. Getting it open takes a moment, since it seems to be stuck. Maybe I should help Allison, but I can't have her thinking I give a damn about her. My only leverage is her belief that I will let her die if she doesn't cooperate. Whether I might do that or not is irrelevant. The unease I feel while watching her struggle with the door does not change anything.
Allison finally yanks the door open, then steps aside to hold it for me.
I drive the motorcycle through the opening, parking it just past the threshold, and dismount the bike.
She closes the door with a thunk, stumbling from the effort. "Thanks for not helping. It was so much easier doing that by myself."
"You managed."
"Wow, I'm so lucky to have a knight in shining armor on my side."
"I saved you from a horde of ravenous beasts. You could try thanking me. I didn't have to do that."
She stalks up to me, tipping her head back to give me a nasty look. "You only rescued me because you want to fuck me."
"No, I also mean to drag the truth out of you by whatever means necessary."
The insolent woman rolls her eyes and huffs. "Oh yeah, I'm so frigging grateful you saved me. Thanks a whole bunch, caveman. I might've been better off with the cannibal freaks."
I lash an arm around her waist and tug her into my body. "If you want to be devoured, we can skip straight to me fucking you. Right here. On the concrete floor."
Her chest heaves with every breath, crushing her breasts to my torso, and their rigid tips prod my chest. "Do it."
My cock jerks, but I can't move. Might've stopped breathing too. She wants me to ravish her. Right here, right now, on the grease-stained floor of a half-demolished warehouse while fire-breathing monsters set the city ablaze. But Allison doesn't wantme. She agreed to let me shag her only because I vowed I would not protect her otherwise. I shouldn't care if she really wants this. But thoughts of our deal trigger an itch deep under my skin.
I glance around the space, then shove her away. "I need to surveil the area first."
Her mouth kinks up at one corner. "Surveil? Nobody talks like that."
Grunting, I push past her and tear the door open.
"Don't worry about me," she says. "I'll be fine here all by myself. Might eat all the food while you're gone, but you probably don't need to eat, anyway. You're a monster from another world, after all."
Why does she insist on harassing me? The woman ought to know better after spending two days with me. Yet I haven't forced myself on her. I haven't even taped her mouth shut to silence her. Perhaps she has reason to believe I won't harm her, not the way those creatures back in the alley would have done. Allison knows this, which means I've lost my leverage with her.
My surveillance of the area surrounding the warehouse reveals nothing of consequence. I do find a half-full can of petrol, so I carry that back to the building in which I left Allison. When I kick the door open, she leaps up from where she'd been sitting on the floor.
"Oh, there you are," she says, in a casual tone that I'm sure is an act. "Did you 'surveil' the area thoroughly with your monster senses?"