Lying there amongst chunks of concrete, Reece was completely covered in chalk-white dust. Completely covered except for his lips. They were covered with blood, his blood. Grinning like a fool, unable and unwilling to move, Reece felt the warmth drain from his body as it began to shut down. Just a few more moments and the agony would end.

Suddenly, he felt lips pressed to his. Karina was kissing him. No, not kissing...sucking. She was sucking the lost blood out of his mouth. Her tongue explored his mouth, collecting every stray drop she could before she ended the kiss. Then she offered up her right hand to him, still dripping wet with her blood.

Relief flowed through his body as he took her hand and sucked the blood from her fingers. Almost instantly, he could feel his bones knit back together and the pain in his chest subside. His other scrapes and bruises began to heal and though he still felt exhausted, he felt ten times better. His body was still dangerously low on blood, but Karina couldn’t help him with that.

“Uh... it’s Ciera, I think she’s dead,” Reece told her as she managed to sit up.

Karina sat still for a moment, her eyes narrowing in concentration as she cocked her head to the side.

“No,” replied the over-taxed lilitu. “I can hear her pulse still. It’s weak, but you can still save her.”

“What do you mean?” asked Reece. “How?”

“She’s a succubus...lilin...whatever. Kiss her. It should help. It is said they feed off both sex and love," answered Karina. "It’s worth a try, at the very least...you know, we owe her that much.”

Reece nodded before gingerly setting Karina on her feet. He pulled himself over to Ciera, who lay just a couple of feet away. Lifting her limp head that had since slumped to her chest, the wounded astronaut gave her a long, slightly bloody kiss. Once he thought he had given her enough, Reece pulled his head back from her face, looking for any sign of life. He wasn’t sure, but he thought some color had returned to her cheeks.

He kissed her again. She looked a bit better. On his third kiss, he tried snaking his tongue into her mouth, but her teeth were clenched shut. Just as he was about to pull away again, her teeth parted, and she sucked his tongue into her mouth. This went on for a while before Karina cut in with a loud clearing of her throat.

“I think she’s good, love,” stated the lilitu with just a hint of jealousy in her voice.

“Just making sure,” replied Reece sheepishly before gently releasing the young woman.

“That was really nice,” sighed Ciera, as she unconsciously bit her lower lip and looked up at Reece with something akin to passion in her eyes.

“Are you going to be okay?” asked Reece, still concerned for her body’s condition.

“For now, yes...but, I’ll need something more later,” she answered, somehow managing to make it sound seductive despite her recent brush with death.

“Seriously?” complained Karina. “That simply isn’t fair...”

“Now isn’t the time for any of this,” sighed Reece as he stood up and backed away from the recuperating ladies. “You two rest. I’m going to have a look around and see what I can find that may be enlightening or at least useful.”

Reece left the two to recover their strength and took a longer look at the first two rooms they had found in the large building. The first room held supplies. Some were medicines while others were canned foods, and bags of grain, sugar, and beans. There were resealable jugs of water, indicating they must have a source of clean water in the area. There were also several uniforms hanging neatly in a large armoire, complete with boots and insignias. A couple of empty black duffle bags were stacked on a shelf.

Reece grabbed one down and stuffed a couple of complete uniforms into it. Several cubbies held orange jumpsuits, neatly stacked and organized by size. There were aluminum dishes and cups and a few other odds and ends, but nothing else of note in the room. He checked the second room. All the dead men here were armed, unlike the two men in the first room. Reece collected their knives and handguns and extra magazines and put them in the duffle bag. He continued to search the room. It was filled with books and puzzles, board games and dice, but little of any real use other than to pass the time through entertainment.

Reece brought the duffle to the two girls and filled them in on what little he had found. He returned to the first room and loaded up the other two duffle bags with the food and carried everything to the hole that he had made in the outer wall of the building. He placed it all outside the hole and brought out all the jugs of water as well. He figured they might as well loot the place. They were going to need supplies as they set up a new base, assuming that’s what they chose to do. Besides, he continued to reason, the Order’s men here didn’t need them anymore, on account of them all being dead. That last thought put a little smile on his face.

After some time, Karina and Ciera had recovered enough to assist. Karina dug through the rubble and retrieved her spear, which had survived its abrupt burial intact. They spread out and searched the rest of the grounds. It turned out that there were several more buildings in the compound, none as large as the prison building. They had a couple of sheds which held farming and gardening implements, though none looked to have been used. They even had a highly organized supply of seeds of all manner of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Whatever they had planned for this place, it was clearly not living up to its potential.

The second largest building was a well-outfitted barracks, better than any that Reece had ever slept in. A quick check found a diary among the typical items he expected to find, namely; toiletries, underclothes, more uniforms, and miscellaneous personal affects. He also found several pamphlets, all the same, claiming that this Order was purifying the world of the undeserving and humans of impure bloodlines. It read like a combination of religious fanaticism and elitist propaganda.

He dropped the pamphlet and scanned the diary for anything of note. Most of it was written before everything fell apart, but it did have some tidbits of information.

One such passage read; “I got a new job today. It pays a boatload but requires a blood test and mandatory injection. They claim its routine, but I know that’s bull. Doesn’t matter, I need the money and they clearly have it.”

A second one read; “Well, I did it. My blood test came back clean and they gave me the shot. I feel okay so far. My buddy Dave failed his test, so they sent him home. This shot is supposed to protect me from certain dangers that are coming, whatever that means. This is such a strange job with stranger orders. I’d quit, but the money is just too good.”

Another read; “Ever since an actual space station fell out of the sky and took out half of the Atlanta base, we’ve been ordered to keep our eyes out for a black rock about the size of a man’s head. No one is saying why. This job just keeps getting weirder, but it’s good to feel like I’m a part of something greater than myself. I feel a true comradery with the other men here. We’re all 100% grade-A human. I feel like I’ve won the lottery twice over. My old ‘buddy’ Dave didn’t make it. The Zeds got him. Turns out he was a sludge-blood anyways, so it was probably for the best.”

Reece could almost see the indoctrination taking hold of the man’s thoughts through his diary entries. But he was most likely dead now and Reece had gleaned a few bits of useful information. Apparently, the Order was still after the nightcore. Reece wished he could have seen the look on the commander’s face when he discovered the rock Sora had taken was a fake. That didn’t matter anymore either, since the commander was dead too. He never even brought it up, the nightcore. Whether it was out of embarrassment or maybe Commander Rogers didn’t want to tip him off that they were still interested in getting their hands on it.

Whatever the case, and whatever it did, the Order still very much desired the thing. Maybe that’s why they attacked the space center community with such overwhelming force. If it hadn’t been for his very powerful friends, Kennedy Space Center would have been lost in minutes and the Order would have gotten what they wanted.

Reece decided right then and there that he couldn’t put other communities at risk. He wouldn’t stay in another one for even a single night. He also needed to learn more about the nightcore itself. There must be a good reason for the Order to devote so many resources to tracking it down and obtaining it. A plan started to take shape in his mind. When he walked out of the barracks, Karina and Ciera were waiting for him.

“We found the armory and command center. The armor was mostly cleaned out, but there’s a few guns, grenades, and ammo boxes left,” Karina informed him. “The command center had a burn barrel and they got rid of pretty much everything, except this.”

Karina held up a notebook.

“It looks like a commander’s log. I found it under a false bottom in one of the drawers in his dresser,” explained Karina dryly. “Humans have been hiding things the same ways for centuries, so unoriginal.”

“Great work,” replied Reece. “Let’s meet back up with the folks we freed. They should be able to provide some insight as to what the Order was doing here. We can go through the notebook once we’re on our way out of this place.”

The trio grabbed the rest of the uniforms and headed down the road. They found Naeva and the rest of the haggard group of released prisoners waiting on the road, far past the gate and near the highway. Two of the men from the group shakily held up guns when they first saw the trio round the bend in the road. They lowered them and sighed with relief as soon as recognition set in. The people had stripped the four dead guards of their weapons and clothing and had divvied most of it out amongst themselves.

Reece and Ciera dropped the stacks of uniforms for the former prisoners to make use of. They were at least better than their soiled prisoner’s garb. While they waited for Angel, Reece talked with Naeva for a while as they made several trips, grabbing the rest of the supplies to take with them. While Karina and Ciera continued clearing the compound of anything useful and hauling it to the highway, Reece and Naeva torched everything that was left. Luckily, it had rained the night before, so the fires didn’t spread beyond the buildings as they burned. Reece and Naeva found a patch of grass on the hill, sat down and watched the buildings burn as they caught up on everything that had happened to them.

“Reece? Did anyone else make it?” asked Naeva with anxious hope in her eyes and voice.

“After you left, I stayed aboard the Zhengzhou with Pasha and Aika for a long time... months,” replied Reece.

“Oh...” mumbled Naeva before getting a glint in her eye. “Did you and Aika finally hook up? I almost felt bad cutting into the middle of that.”

Reece sighed before answering.

“Yeah, we did. We fell in love even,” replied Reece before the words caught in his throat at what he had lost. He took a deep breath before continuing. “She died shortly after we crash landed....and so did Pasha. They had both saved my life so many times, and now that’s a debt I can never repay.”

“I’m sorry,” whispered Naeva as a pair of tears escaped her eyes and she leaned into Reece, wrapping an arm around him.

“Do you remember that black rock we found?” asked Reece, barely registering her gesture and needing to change the subject to something less painful.

“Yeah, I think so,” replied Naeva as she wiped away her tears before smiling. “I assume you mean the one you created a forgery of.”

Reece nodded, so Naeva continued with a momentary mischievous smile on her face despite the sad state of their affairs. “They were so pissed when they found out it was just a bunch of welded metal. You would have laughed out loud. None of them had a clue until they met up with Aldo on the surface. He nearly went into a melt-down when they showed it to him. In fact, it was that commotion that allowed me to sneak away from their base in Atlanta. I traveled to the Cape shortly after that and stayed there for over a year before they came. I was able to escape there too, but not without them noticing."

"Eventually they caught up with me even though I had avoided all communities and stayed off the main roads, continued Naeva. "They have spies in many of the communities and they’ve been converting as many people to their cause as they can by using lies and deceit. I’ve only been here a little over a month, but it feels like a lot longer. In fact, the prisoner that you found dead in her cell, she was a regular human and was spying for them but had failed in her task. They never would let one of us die. We’re too valuable to them for some reason.”

“I’m sorry we didn’t come for you sooner, but we had no idea where you were. It was just dumb luck we found you when we did. This base attacked the community we were setting up and killed many of our people,” replied Reece as he pointed his thumb over his shoulder back at the burning prison building. “We have paid too high a price for the opportunity to take out one of their compounds. These assholes need to be stopped, and I don’t know who else would do it if not us. I don’t even know who else could do it, to be honest.”

“Well, add my name to your roster. I’m going to help you get our world back, one sick motherfucker at a time,” she spat. “Hera knows, I owe them one. More than one.”

“That sounds good to me,” smiled Reece, though the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

He thought about how many more good people would need to sacrifice themselves before they got their planet back. Karina and Ciera arrived and sat down in the grass next to them, which cheered him up. He suddenly realized that things were looking up. He had Naeva back and had helped rescue thirteen others. The best part was, they hadn’t lost anybody in the operation.

“How’re the people we released holding up?” Reece asked as he found himself in a better mood.

“Good actually, though they want to watch the place burn from a distance. I guess there’s too much pain for them here. We brought them some blankets we found as well as distributing some food and a couple jugs of water. We can grab anything else once Angel gets here with the transport.”

“Oh, I forgot my manners,” said Reece suddenly. “Ciera, Karina...this is Naeva. She was a fellow astronaut aboard the space station I was on when this plague broke out. Naeva...this is Karina. She saved my life shortly after I got here, and we’ve been helping each other ever since. And this is Ciera...”

Suddenly, Naeva cut in. “I know Ciera, she was a prisoner here with the rest of us. They enlisted her for some mission, threatening her life if she didn’t do their bidding. I see you changed her mind on helping them. I’m glad. For what it’s worth, I liked her when she was here.”

Ciera moved closer to Naeva and the two shared a tender hug as only two people with a shared trauma could. The girls discussed their shared histories, current situation, and several other things with each other for the remainder of the night. All the while, Reece learned what he could and marveled at the fact that he was the only normal human in the group.

Of course, none of the girls would let him self-reflect for long, constantly drawing him into their conversation that was so normal it seemed surreal to him. He considered that they were subconsciously tuning out the apocalypse and concentrating on everyday normal topics to discuss, for themselves and each other. Eventually, he drifted off where he sat.

By late morning, the fires had died down to embers and the sky was cloudy again. Reece awoke to find Naeva still sitting with him.

“With any luck, it’ll rain and kill any remaining embers,” she said. “The last thing we want is another forest fire.”

“Good point,” answered Reece as he yawned and stretched. “Where are the others?”

“They went back to watch over the others. Neither one was willing to let the other stay here with you by themselves. I see you haven’t lost your touch with women. So, which one do you have your eye on? Or is it both of them?” Naeva teased.

“I seriously don’t have time for this,” protested Reece, following it with a long sigh. “Can we talk about, literally, anything else?”

“Sure, after you answer a question,” replied Naeva. “You wouldn’t happen to know if either of them goes both ways, would you?”

“Jupiter give me strength,” grumbled Reece to himself before replying to Naeva’s indecent query. “To answer your question, I haven’t the foggiest idea, though I wouldn’t be surprised in either case. Now, can we please change the subject?”

“Fine, fine...” answered Naeva with a little sigh before an impish grin painted itself on her face while her eyes narrowed in thought, most likely dirty.

“You are incorrigible,” complained Reece as he noticed her expression.

“What...I didn’t say anything,” replied Naeva, feigning innocence.

“Whatever, I think we’re good here,” said Reece in reference to the low-burning fires. “Let’s get back to the others. Angel should be here soon, and he’ll sure be glad to see you.”

Reece and Naeva both got up and headed for the road. Reece looked back at Naeva.

“It is good to have you back,” he said. “And you know...you haven’t changed a bit.”

“Is that good or bad?” asked Naeva, half joking.

“Yep,” was Reece’s only reply as he turned his head back and continued walking.

The pair reached the road and continued down it in silence, each deep in their own thoughts for a time. Just as Reece and Naeva arrived back to the highway, they saw a large truck pull up. Ciera and Karina waved at the figure inside. As they got closer, Reece made out Angel who had gotten out of the vehicle and was already helping load up the supplies they had gathered before helping the people into the back of the vehicle. When he saw Reece and Naeva walking, he ran up and gave Naeva a big bear hug.

“Loba bella!” shouted Angel. “It’s great to see you’re still alive, ha ha!”

“You too...Gato,” grunted Naeva through clenched teeth from the tight bear hug she was currently receiving.

Angel let go of the woman and she took a deep breath. They all chuckled.

“It’s been a shitty couple of days, so finding you alive is really great,” said Angel. “When Reece first told me that you were alive, I wasn’t sure if he misspoke or something. I don’t think that I truly believed it, until just now.”

“Yeah, Reece told me. I’m sorry about your community,” replied Naeva. “But it’s great to see that at least a couple of us from the Zhengzhou survived the apocalypse, such as it is.”

“Fucking zombies, right?” said Angel, somewhat mirthfully. “And I would have guessed it would have been a nuclear winter. Speaking of fucking zombies, what’s that smell?”

“Hah hah,” Naeva laughed sarcastically. “We never expected that the apocalypse would be orchestrated by the ones already in power,” replied Naeva angrily. “They didn’t want to destroy the world, just the people who live in it. Well, except for those that they deemed worthy to live. As for the smell, the prison’s amenities were somewhat lacking, you could say. My review’s going to be harsh. I’m giving it two stars, max.”

“I see you still have your wicked sense of humor,” laughed Angel.

“Oh yeah. Of course. They’ll take that over my hot dead body,” answered Naeva with an evil grin.

“All the more reason we need to dispose of them,” added Reece. “If they think they can do this to one of our friends and not expect a reckoning, then they’re dumber than I thought.”

“Ah, shucks,” joked Naeva. “You do know how to sweet talk a girl.”

“Oh, I forgot to mention,” Angel cut in, bringing the conversation back to something serious again. “They’ve got a new trick. I was doing a sweep of frequencies on the long-range radio and came across a repeating broadcast. The Order is trying to paint itself as the saviors of humanity, offering food, shelter, and jobs for those willing to work. My guess is that this apocalypse didn’t go off quite like they were expecting and they’re finding themselves short-handed. So basically, the people that caused all this death and suffering are pretending to be the very solution to it. Isn’t that rich?”

“Shit. Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before they started using these kinds of tactics. All they need do now is sow confusion among the survivors, and we’ll be fighting each other instead of the true enemy. It’s a trick as old as there have been people, right? Divide and conquer your enemy,” explained Reece before suddenly worrying that they had tarried for too long. “Now, are we about ready to get out of here?”

“Yeah,” replied Angel. “Everyone’s ready and there’s plenty of room for all of them.”

“Alright, let’s go,” said Reece.

Angel sat in the transport’s driver’s seat with Naeva riding shotgun. Reece gave her the notebook to look over during the ride back. Ciera got in the back with the others. She had spent some time at the prison with them and probably needed to talk. He got on his solar cycle to follow the transport as Karina walked up to him, minus her ever-present spear.

“Where are your weapons?” Reece asked her quizzically.

“Oh, I put them in the truck,” replied the girl demurely. “I’ll be riding with you, for protection in case something comes up.”

Reece doubted that was the real reason, but it did have some merit and he found himself missing her company. She had given him some space to reunite with his former crew mate, and Reece really appreciated it. But he was the only person that she really knew well at this time. Despite the situation, he felt a bit guilty for not spending more time with her the past couple of days. He patted the seat behind him, but she shook her head no. Then she climbed onto the seat in front of him instead.

Due to her small frame, Reece was able to ride just fine with her in that position. He just smiled to himself as she molded her body into his. Angel had already driven off with the transport, so Reece gave the bike some power and took off after it. After the stress of the battle, Reece looked forward to the smooth ride back with Karina snuggled comfortably in front of him.