Chapter 23: Cue and the Never-Ending Road Trip pt2

Cue looked out over the jungle that was once a city, seeing birds flying between buildings and even a cat scurrying to hide under a nearby car as they passed, but she didn’t see any places a human could safely sleep.

“You said this, what was it you said; house? Is nearby. Is it inside one of the skyscrapers? Cue asked.

“It's between them, in fact, the whole skyscraper is built around the house. It's the most defensible place for an overighter that I’ve ever seen, if you can stand your ground and don’t need to run away. But hey, we got this!” Trigger said, patting the roof of the tank almost affectionately.

Not long after, Gunner turned the tank into what looked like a dead end, and it was. Cue stared in awe at a small two-story building sandwiched between two sides of a skyscraper that wrapped around the front. It had once had a white picket fence, but now all that remained of either was a skeleton of a house and what looked like clawing fingers where the fence was.

“It doesn’t have a roof?”Cue said, confused.

“We bring our own down worry,” Trigger said with a smile on her face.

They had barely pulled up to the house when Trigger hopped down off the moving tank and walked right into the building.

“Wait!” Cue screamed, running after her, “Do you have zero survival skills, Trigger?” Cue shouted, running in the house after her with a knife drawn and held close to her arm so she doesn’t accidentally stab the woman.

She rounded a corner in the house and found a large open area with three walls and a giant tent set up inside, completely invisible from the outside. “What is that thing?” Cue asked, flipping her knife around in case it was some kind of enemy she hadn't seen before.

Trigger laughed and unzipped the tent and ducked inside.

Cue followed her, tentatively, and found her already lying down on a large plush-looking rectangle in the middle of the tent. Trigger let out a deep groan as she kicked off her shoes and wiggled her toes in her holey socks.

“Is that a cot?” Cue asked, touching the bed and flinching when her hand sank into the soft surface. “It almost ate me!” she shrieked.

“It did not!” Trigger said, exasperated, and then grabbed Cue by the wrist and pulled her into the bed.

Cue nearly screamed as her body sank in, but when it stopped, she began to relax. Trigger pulled her close wand made Cue lay her head down on her shoulder.

“It’s called a bed.” Trigger’s chuckle turned into a jaw-cracking yawn, and she set her head on top of Cue’s. “Just relax and get some sleep, okay? Gunner will start a fire and make us some food. He will wake us up when it’s time to eat.”

“Sleep? With you?” Cue tried to scramble away, but Trigger held me down.

“We need the body warmth,” she said groggily, pulling a plush sleeping bag over them both and snuggling close. “It’s no big deal, you're safe, alright?”

Cue was stiff at first, but as the warmth started sinking into her bones and the comfort of the soft surface cradling her perfectly, she began to drift off to sleep. She had a brief moment of awakenness when she heard a fire roar to life, but calmed when she saw it was just Gunner.

With the women asleep, Gunner put a few cans of soup into a pot over the fire he had built last time they were here. In silence, he then stripped off all his human clothes until he was naked. He bathed with cold water and a rag, and then oiled his mechanical parts.

He watched over the women, wondering if the new woman would want to use him as Trigger did. He didn’t find the thought too terrible, and if Trigger was any sign, she seemed to already be developing strong feelings for the smaller woman. He watched as even in her sleep, Trigger was nuzzling into Cue’s neck from behind and breathing her in.

He thought it must be something deep inside healing, after so long without seeing another human. He knew they would keep her, and already he felt a fierce protectiveness for the brave, tiny woman. He would watch her for signs of pregnancy in the near future as well, and if she was pregnant, Gunner was capable of disposing of the child if she wanted it, but he would hope Trigger would talk her out of it.

The world needs babies, and in all his long, long life, these two were the only women he’s seen that could possibly carry the future of humanity. Both were not diseased and healthy, if dirty.

Tomorrow, he would take them to a nearby stream to bathe and see what the little woman looked like without all that grime covering her. For now, he decided to look through the surrounding areas for clothes that might fit her.

All around them, he could hear the sounds of hungry zombies getting closer, but they knew what he was now, and he knew they would not approach without the direction of a Cretin. He wondered if the dark-skinned one was still following them, and why.

As they left, Gunner tracked him with the thermal cameras in the tank. He followed with his horde almost the entire day, staying far enough back to think he wouldn’t be noticed. Gunner watched him the whole time, watched him pace, roar, and bare his teeth.

This Cretin had an obsession with the small human that could not be placed, and that unsettled Gunner more than he was comfortable with.

He knew that as soon as he made his move, Gunner would kill this Cretin, no questions asked. The only reason he hadn’t yet was because Trigger asked him to take it easy on Cue and not scare her.

He eyed the two women again, still not dressed, because he knew that Trigger would wake up first and need her release. IT was the last human thing about him, he thought, his desire to please the woman. Or, maybe it was programming from the father of her child. Maybe he knew he would die and added it. Maybe, but Gunner would never know. All he knew was that pleasing his master was all he ever wanted.

Gunner noticed the sounds of the dead weren't getting any closer, and he figured that was the Cretin’s doing, but why? Why would he prevent this one human from dying?

His thoughts were cut short when Trigger rolled out of bed and shimmied off her pants before walking over to him and straddling his lap. “Dinner smells good, babe,” she said, kissing his sealed lips before straddling him. She took all of him right away, throwing her head back and trying to stifle he moans as she chased a quick orgasm.

From the bed, under the covers, Cue watched them. She’d never seen sex like this, never watched a woman take her pleasure; it was always the other way around. Her stomach tightened as she watched, her hands cupping between her legs without really knowing why, and when Trigger came, she looked over at Cue and locked eyes with her.

Cut froze, watching, unable to move.

Trigger smiled and collapsed on Gunner's chest, still gazing at Cue. “That's what sex is supposed to be, babe, not what happened to you yesterday.” She rocked a few more times, making Gunner twitch and buck up into her. “Are you hungry? It smells like dinner is done?”

Trigger climbed off Gunner’s lap and hurried back to her pants before wiggling back in bed and waiting as Gunner served them warm bowls of something none of them could recognize.

Cue sat in silence with a red face as they ate, and she didn’t taste a single bite.

“How long did we sleep?” Trigger asked, and Gunner put up two fingers from the fire.

“Two hours, wow, I don’t feel like I slept at all. How about you, Cue?”