Searching for Karina, it didn’t take long for Reece and Naeva to find her practicing her martial skills with her spear. She has a series of forms she was going through to keep her skills fresh and there were a few bystanders watching her while trying to look like they were doing other things. She didn’t seem to pay them any mind. When the two approached her, she finished her last form and smiled in greeting.

“How did it go?” she asked.

“He did well, gave me shivers,” laughed Naeva. “We’ll see what happens.”

“Alright, Karina...we were wondering how we should proceed with some kind of battle plan,” added Reece.

“Ah, I thought you’d never ask,” Karina mock pouted. “I’ve been giving this a great deal of thought and have a few ideas.”

Karina proceeded to lay out her thoughts of the upcoming battle and their best odds of winning and surviving.

“Are you sure,” asked Reece nervously to one part of the plan. “If we do that, we won’t have anywhere to retreat to.”

“If this were a normal enemy, that would be a bigger deal,” answered Karina. “If we retreat, it will tire us out and gain us very little. This enemy doesn’t tire and moves as fast if not faster than the slowest of us. I know this puts most of our eggs into one basket, as the saying goes, but it’s also our best shot.”

“Point taken,” replied Reece. “Still, if we could come up with some kind of exit strategy that doesn’t require us to get worn out, that’d make me feel much better.”

Karina thought about Reece’s idea for a moment before asking them a question.

“Do you know how to sail?” asked the lilitu with a hint of a smile on her face.

Naeva and Reece looked at each other, puzzled by the strange question. Once Karina had explained the basic framework of her thinking, their smiles joined hers. Taking her idea to the rest of the community, they developed as solid of a plan as they could muster. Reece was finally starting to feel a little optimistic about their odds of survival.

The next couple of days flew by in a flurry of activity. Several members of the community had experience with sailing and had been given the task of locating and prepping the best sea-worthy vessels that they could find along the coast. Everyone else set about preparing to successfully execute Karina’s plan.

They stayed in contact with Angel and Ground Control but didn’t let on that the plan had changed in case of eavesdroppers. Angel had someone monitoring the undead horde’s progress. After Naeva had reported Reece and Karina’s sighting of the massive force, finding it again was child’s play since they knew where it was and where it was going.

A couple days later, Angel and the rest of his community arrived in a large convoy of buses and armored transports. They seemed to have taken virtually everything they could with them and had beaten the smaller army to them. When Angel hopped out of the lead transport, Reece approached him and the two exchanged a quick but enthusiastic handshake.

“They are only three days behind us,” announced Angel. “We also saw the smaller force’s aerial forces. They seem to have peeled from coming here and are rejoining the main body. It’s pretty clear that they are following our movements somehow.”

“No worries, brother...that’ll give us plenty of time to prepare,” replied Reece smiling. “This actually plays into our hands even better.”

“Have any luck with your recruiting of survivors?”

Reece smiled at Angel and indicated he look around. The first day after he had made the announcement, a single group of five survivors had shown up from just up the coast. They had never trusted the radio announcements of the Order but were beginning to get desperate as they ran low on food.

If it wasn’t for Reece’s speech and his promised chance at freedom, they’d probably have ended up going to the Order just to survive. The next day saw a continuous flood of survivors that they were ill-prepared for. The call to arms had worked better than Reece had dared to hope. They came from all over the region, and all had similar stories to the first group’s account of their circumstances.

Bjorn, Talia, and Jorgen (Bjorn’s other captain) quickly put them to work gathering and preparing food and organizing them into the surrounding living quarters in the city. New Hope’s numbers quickly swelled from a couple hundred or so to nearly a thousand.

Apparently, people had figured out how to survive better than the Order had expected or accounted for. A large part of their survival hinged on having smart leaders, military training, and strong fighters to rely on. Most were regular humans but after seeing several not-entirely-human beings openly running things in New Hope, several more came forward and out of the shadows.

Times had changed and the balance of power had shifted greatly. Reece reasoned that it was an unintended side-effect of the Order’s inhuman attempt to eventually eradicate their bloodlines from humanity’s lineage. Without the fear of the overwhelming number of “regular” humans persecuting and even executing them for being different, they were finally able to emerge from their disguises as “normal” people.

For their part, the regular humans who were left were generally grateful to their saviors and the community seemed to get along well enough. Despite that, Karina had only told those few with a genuine need to know, choosing not to let too much of the plan out into the open.

The next couple of days was a flurry of activity as Bjorn, his captains, Angel, Naeva, Karina, and Reece first helped everyone get temporarily settled, but then put them all to work preparing for the coming onslaught. Reece and Karina had settled into a room in a closer hotel for the last few days and Naeva and Ciera picked a room next to theirs. On their last night before putting the plan into place, Reece laid down on the bed while Karina snuggled up beside him wearing a light-colored nightie.

“Ah, so moojie,” sighed Karina as she pressed herself into him and began drifting off.

“Goodnight, sweetheart,” whispered Reece as he hugged her close with one arm.

The peaceful moment was abruptly ruined by a loud knock on the door. Reece grunted and slid his arm carefully out from under Karina who groggily opened her red eyes. He hopped out of bed in his boxers and walked to the door, opening it to the sight of Naeva.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“You, if you know what’s good for you,” replied Naeva, somewhat annoyed.

“Okay, explain please,” said Reece, suddenly confused.

“You need to take care of Ciera like you promised. I’ve been doing what I can, but it barely makes a dent in her needs. It’s starting to become an issue,” clarified Naeva.

“Fuck,” groaned Reece.

“Exactly,” replied Naeva, cutting him off. “Now, I’ll stay with Karina while you go deal with our problem.”

“It’s fine,” called Karina from their bed. “You haven’t spent much time with her over the last few days. It’s time you make up for it. Besides, we need her at her best tomorrow and the following days. Now go. Besides, I miss snuggling Naeva, she makes me feel all moojie too.”

“If I have to,” joked Reece before adding. “Still, it’s been a long day. Do you think you could, I don’t know, juice me?

Karina answered by nicking her thumb and offering it to Reece. He took her thumb into his mouth and sucked, eliciting a sigh from Karina as her eyes filled with lust.

“You better go while you still can,” she growled between little moans.

Reece released her thumb, feeling new energy already coursing through him. He grabbed some clothes and headed to the room next door, smiling at Naeva and Karina the entire time. He had to squeeze past Naeva, who had stayed near the door. As he rubbed against her on his way out, he thought he heard a throaty moan escape her lips.

Naeva didn’t acknowledge it. She just blew him a kiss and closed the door behind her as she entered his room to sleep with Karina. Reece shook his head as he approached the other apartment, opening the other room’s door and stepping inside. It was darker than the hall when he started to shut the door and he left it open a crack so his eyes could adjust to the gloom. Before that could completely happen, Ciera was on him. The only thing he could see were her purple eyes, glowing slightly from her hunger.

He dropped the clothes he was holding and wrapped one arm around the girl while his other steadied himself against the door that he had just walked through. The door closed when he fell back into it, and Ciera was pushing him hard against its wooden surface in her lust. It only took him a second to realize she was already undressed as she began furiously kissing him, starving for his energy.

He eagerly returned her kiss as his newfound energy quickly turned to passion. The couple awkwardly made their way to the bed without pausing in their stumbling make-out session. The two of them made short work of what ‘clothes’ he still had on. As soon as his boxers were off, Ciera dropped to her knees and took him into her mouth. He didn’t know exactly what she did, but his release came sooner than he thought possible.

Not satisfied, Ciera continued to work on him until he was ready to go again. By now, he could make out a few things in the dim light. Standing up, she turned him by his hips and pushed him onto the bed. He barely had time to pull himself fully onto the mattress before Ciera had mounted him, guiding his hardness into herself with her hand.

The moment after he was completely inside of her; Ciera’s whole body shuddered. Reece made a mental note to not let her go this long without sustenance as they had raw animalistic sex. They didn’t make love this time. Her need was too great. Reece wore himself out, giving as much of himself as he could manage to the grateful lilin until she finally seemed sated.

Reece was relieved. His muscled ached and there were numerous scratches along his back from her passion. They both fell asleep physically exhausted yet completely recharged. It was a strange but pleasant feeling for Reece as he drifted off.

Even the shallow wounds on his back felt surprisingly good, like an itch that was being actively scratched. Reece chuckled to himself, thinking that he had just scratched her itch. That was his last thought as he drifted off to sleep. By morning, Ciera was feeling wonderful. She even looked healthy and vibrant again.

As Reece showered and shaved, he marveled at how fortunate he was to be able to do such simple things, things that he had taken for granted. After their crash-landing, shaving opportunities had become few and far between while showering was non-existent. His bathing opportunities generally consisted of skinny-dipping in a river and compared to that, a hot shower felt magnificent on his skin.

It wasn’t lost on him that this could be the last shower he ever took, depending on how the rest of the day went. Today was the day they expected the horde to arrive and despite all their planning, they were vastly outnumbered. Any number of things could go wrong.

Remembering that he still had more to do, he shut off the shower, dried himself, and got dressed. When he walked out of the hotel’s bathroom, Ciera was just waking up. She sat up and stretched her arms. A long yawn turned into a beaming smile as she arched her back, her gorgeous breasts jutting out lewdly.

“Good morning, hon” she purred, a wicked gleam in her eye.

“Good morning, sleepyhead,” smiled Reece, trying to ignore her morning attempt at seduction. “It’s just about ‘GO’ time. Why don’t you enjoy a shower and I’ll see you at breakfast?”

“Ahh, you showered without me?” she pouted.

“Sorry, but you looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Alright, fine...but you don’t know what you’re missing,” she shot back as she pulled her nude body out of bed and sauntered over to the bathroom, swaying her hips the entire way.

“I’m sure you’re right,” replied Reece, swallowing hard. “Uh, raincheck.”

“I’ll hold you to it,” she called out of the bathroom just before a squeaking noise was followed by the sound of water spraying, allowing her to get in the last word.

Reece chuckled and shook his head as he checked in on his own room. By the morning light, he could just make out Naeva laying sprawled on the bed. The comforter was thrown off, but she was mostly covered by the creme-colored sheet. Reece had to approach the bed before he noticed Karina snuggled into the side of Naeva’s body.

“Rise and shine you two,” said Reece loudly, easily waking both sleeping beauties.

Naeva opened her eyes and looked around as she regained her wits. Karina raised her half-covered head for a second before dropping it back into Naeva’s shoulder, just above her breast and mumbling something neither Reece nor Naeva could understand.

“Good morning. It’s time to get ready. We’ve got a big day today,” announced Reece. “I’m going to check some things before I grab breakfast. I’ll see you two there, right?”

“Yeah, yeah...” grumbled Naeva as she shook the sleep from her head and tried unsuccessfully to pull herself up. Karina had an iron grip on her and wasn’t moving.

“I’ll let you handle that,” laughed Reece as he left the room and headed for the courtyard and the beginning of what would most likely be a very exciting day. He found Bjorn and Angel discussing details of the plan. They both looked up and greeted him with smiles, though the smiles ended just below their determined eyes.

“We think everything’s ready to go,” Angel informed Reece. “We just have to hope we find a little luck.”

“Excellent,” replied Reece. “It’s about time we inform everyone what the real plan is, now that it’s too late for that knowledge to make much of a difference.”

“Well, maybe after breakfast,” cautioned Bjorn. “Once everyone’s eaten and we are about to get underway. Then we should let them in on the actual plan.”

“Fair enough,” agreed Reece. “What do you think, Angel?”

“Yeah, waiting a couple more hours won’t hurt. Better safe than sorry, I guess.”

“Sounds good then. I’ll leave you to it. I’ve got to go check on the Helios and the Glowbug to make sure they are both squared away.”

Saying that, Reece waved goodbye to his two fellow rebel leaders and headed for the garage to make sure he was all packed up and ready to go. When he got there, both vehicles had their solar sails splayed out on the pavement and had been soaking up the sun for the past day.

He checked both vehicle’s charge-levels and they were at 100%. Satisfied, he unplugged the sails, folded them up and stored them with their respective vehicles. Checking his inventory, he found everything accounted for. Finished, he headed to the makeshift yet amazing cafeteria for some breakfast...and maybe a road-beer. After all, it was going to be a long day.

Once there, he ordered a breakfast scramble of eggs, sausage, onion, and peppers with a side of toast. It had only been about a week, and he still felt incredibly grateful that they could live nearly normal lives even after the plague had ravaged the world. It just took a group of people who collectively knew what to do and were willing to work for it.

The two chefs they had started with had multiplied to sixteen, which were kept busy feeding nearly a thousand people in their community. They all knew that numbers weren’t sustainable for long and they’d need to expand their control over the resurrected city to keep up. But that was a worry for another day. The only thing they needed to worry about was surviving today. With that on his mind, Reece went to sit down and await his food.

Bjorn, his captains Talia and Jorgen, Angel, Stefanie, and a great many others were already eating. He sat down next to Angel just as Karina, Ciera, and Naeva walked in and ordered their breakfasts. It was nearly time for them all to earn their meals, hot showers, and other semblances of normal life.

Everyone ate, talked, drank, laughed, and otherwise enjoyed each other’s company, but the remainder of the day hung heavy over the group. They finished quicker than normal and left to address the rest of the community. The chefs were preparing to close shop for an extended period, but they were going to feed everybody this last meal before they bugged out.

Walking together with the rest of the voices of the community, Reece scanned the dozens of vehicles lined up and ready to go. Everything from armored transports to solar cycles were spread across the pavement and ready to go. A large crowd of people were already assembled and awaiting their announcement. Everyone knew something was afoot and that a plan to deal with the horde was in place, but only a handful had a good idea of what that plan entailed. They were all about to find out.

Reece had been chosen by his peers to outline the plan to the amassed community and he confidently strode to the central dais from which he would deliver the speech. He wasn’t really all that confident, but he made sure to portray himself as such regardless. As he took his place on the raised platform, his eyes swept across the people for which he was responsible. They all looked up with a mixture of trepidation, admiration, and expectation. Reece started to regret not getting that last road-beer.

“Uh, hello...” began Reece loudly but somewhat clumsily before he quickly recovered. “I know you are all wondering what we’re all doing here today and why you were all asked to pack for an extended excursion. As you are all aware, a very large horde of zombies and worse is headed this way. By now, they will have found Kennedy abandoned and will have turned their sights on us.”

“Now Kennedy is about five hundred kilometers away and they are moving at about 12 kilometers per hour. We have spotters set up to confirm this, but our best guess is that they are about a hundred kilometers south of us on or near I-95. We’re going to take Highway 17 to get around them and head south to a more defensible position. Now, when I say ‘we’, I don’t mean all of us. Most of you will be heading out on several vessels we’ve procured along the coast and should be safe from the ground forces.”

“Before you ask, if they send flyers to intercept those of you braving the ocean, we have a contingency plan in place to deal with them before they even get close. As we can’t be sure that there are no spies amongst us, we won’t detail the rest of the plan just yet.”

“That also means that now that this information is common knowledge, we need to move before the Order gets wind of it and can use it against us. All of you have been given a single playing card with no explanation. That playing card indicates which group you are in and which vehicle you will be taking.”

Reece pulled out a scrap of paper from his pocket and began reading from it. “Here are your assignments. If you have a club or heart, you’ll be going to sea. Your number indicates which vessel you’ll be taking once you get to the harbor. Each vessel has been well marked with one of the numbers.”

“Clubs will be on the northern docks, while hearts will be waiting on the southern docks. The boat and ship captains will help direct you and answer any questions. Diamonds and spades will be taking the ground vehicles south. As with the sea-going vessels, the ground vehicles are clearly marked with a number in red or black for the suite.”

“Unfortunately, we don’t have time for questions. Please, grab whatever gear and belongings you want to take with you and head to your designated evacuation vehicles. As you leave, take this to heart. We are not abandoning this place. We are saving it by taking the battle elsewhere.”

“We will be back once we’ve sent these bastards to their graves. The Order will have to think twice before they try attacking us again. Now, go with hope and good fortune. The after-party will be glorious!”

The crowd cheered at Reece’s quick speech and dutifully went off to fetch their belongings and find their escape vehicles. Reece stepped off the dais and approached the rest of the community’s unofficial leaders.

“And so, it begins,” he stated flatly.

“That’ll work,” replied Bjorn.

“Great speech,” added Talia.

“That’s our Reece,” smiled Karina as she gave his arm a quick squeeze.

Angel stepped up and whispered into Reece’s ear.

“The scouts confirm what we expected. It’s time.”

“Alright. It’s time. Let’s move out. Good luck and stay alive!”