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Chapter VI

We must have passed the test with Rachel, because the next few days, although busy, were considerably more pleasant. We continued to eat our communal meals out of her stockpile of food, she now helped assist in the daily chores instead of just ordering us around, and seeing her smile became a regular occurrence.

While I took to her new demeanor, King was not as trusting, which I attributed to both our initial treatment by the coyote, as well as his normal demeanor. For someone capable of being so friendly and kind (as least as I knew him), he kept a remarkably guarded demeanor around her, although he put up a relatively friendly facade. Did he sense something about her I didn't? I tried not to dwell on it, because things were starting to move fast.

From what I gathered it would not be long before we moved out from out mountain encampment. The nights were not chilly but they were definitely getting shorter, and we all would rather take our chances against the walkers in the city over the snow in the mountains.

Daily chores changed from maintaining the cabin and our supplies, to 'winterizing' things as Rachel put it. The firewood stockpile was carefully sealed in a tarp, window and door seals were carefully checked for gaps and holes, and we even climbed up on the roof to make sure there were no shingles or holes that would invite in the elements. Supplies like dried food, weapons and ammunition were condensed and carefully locked up in the cabin's small closet and pantry, all sealed carefully in plastic containers taped shut to prevent any moisture from spoiling the contents within.

Although no definitive date was set, King and I could tell our time at the mountain cabin was coming to an end, and Rachel confirmed our suspicions one night after dinner.

"So I'm thinking we take a couple hours to figure out what we're going to need on the road, pack as much as we can comfortably carry, and start moving south towards the city tomorrow," she said over the crackling of the fire.

"We're just treading water at this point," she continued, "the cabin is as secure as we can make it, and I'm itching to get going."

I, too, felt the itch to get going somewhere, even if it meant going into the more dangerous areas of the city where walkers would no doubt be a major problem. Rachel had us practice as much as possible on the random ones that lingered close to camp, but she was always quick to remind us that the few stragglers we encountered here were nothing like the hoardes that awaited us in the tight confines of the city streets.

She was also a constant harbinger about the living that had made the city their home, and the more she spoke on the topic, the more the uneasy feeling in the pit of my stomach increased.

As if reading my mind, the coyote piped up again, "I hope I have made it crystal clear that the city is dangerous," she said, emphasizing the last word, "I'm taking a big risk taking you two along, but it's better to have a group than go alone. Loners don't last in Queen City."

At the mention of his favorite pet name for me King chuckled, earning a cold stare from Rachel across the dying flames of the fire.

"You think I'm kidding around about this? You think I'm the way I am because the city is safe? I know you were in the National Guard but I've passed the corpses of plenty of your comrades to know your 'training' doesn't amount to much. Weekend soldiers," she spat.

"Now wait a minute," King growled back, "I think I handle myself pretty well, so don't patronize me just because some of us were smarter than others. We were trained by the military, we learned how to fight. We had things instilled in us you can't learn out here in the woods missy. Strength, courage, honor."

"Honor," she laughed, "stand among these millions of undead souls and ask them if honor matters anymore." She stared up into the sky at the twinkling stars, "Their silence is your answer."

"Philosophize all you want, that still doesn't negate what I said," King fired back heatedly, "I still say we're here because some of us are just smarter than others."

"Some of us were luckier than others," she quickly corrected him, "and some not so lucky. Where do you think I got all the military hardware from? The ammunition? The MRE's and dehydrated food? You wait," she snapped, "it's a cold world out there King, and it is even more unforgiving."

Half an attempt to diffuse a burgeoning argument, half out of curiosity I spoke up. " What are the cities like now Rachel?"

The drop in her expression was tell-tale enough, but the tone in her voice even moreso. "You really want to know?" she asked, "You won't like the answer," she said quietly, coldly.

I only nodded in response, as did King when she turned to him. He seemed to be calming down and genuinely listening to her this time.

"Alright, alright," she said, getting up and starting to pace back and forth, "people left in a panic, and with little warning, so nearly every major road is nearly impassible with abandoned cars. People left all kinds of things running when they left, stoves, grills, whatever, so there's huge patches of the city that have been completely burned out. Bodies everywhere, clothes, suitcases, photo albums, anything people thought they would need, now they lay like footprints in the sand, to be slowly washed away."

Crossing her arms and still pacing, she continued, "The zeds are everywhere because there's not a lot of us living left, so nearly every alleyway, street, house and building you move through inch by inch, not even foot by foot, because you can get swarmed in an instant and then..."she trailed off.

"So how do you propose we make it through," asked King, a hint of sarcasm still evident in his voice. I knew above all else, he still trusted his own abilties more than anyone else's, even though the coyote had shown us otherwise just weeks prior.

"Carefully," she said solemnly, "and quietly, because the roamers can be the least of your worries. In the city the living...with the living," she continued with some difficulty, "the enemies look like friends, and the friends look like enemies. You trust no one, which is why I did what I did with you, and again for that I am sorry. It was necessary and not enjoyable."

I had no response for what she said, and apparently neither did King, so I just mulled over her warning in my head until she stopped pacing and sat back down.

"This plague, or whatever this thing is," she began, "has created beings worse than the undead. I've come across..." she gulped, and her shoulders sank a bit, she obviously didn't want to continue, but did anyways.

"Last time I went through any sort of town I came across a pile of corpses: not the undead, but the living. Some shot, some beaten to death, all mutilated, heads bashed in with rifle butts or hammers. They even strung some poor fuck up on a flagpole as an example, or for entertainment or both maybe," she said, he voice cracking. "An atrocity committed by the living on the living. All that just to steal whatever meager bits of food or clothes those poor souls might've scrounged up for themselves, or maybe," she paused, the firelight reflecting the slightest glint of tears in the corner of her eyes, "just for sport. Seeing that took something out of me I can't put back, and it'll take pieces out of you too." The coyote stayed quiet for a long time, and only the occasional crack from a dying log in the fire interrupted her. "And the worst part is I don't know how to deal with that," she finally finished with great effort.

We all quietly stared into the slowly sinking flames of the dying fire, unsure what to say, if there was anything to say. Are you even alive when you do something like that? What species kills the living when the dead are already doing it for them.

"All I know is," Rachel said after a long silence, "is that God took the best and brightest of us first for a reason. It left the cruel and cowardly here to live as punishment, by making us survive."

"You believe in God after all this, Rachel?" I asked with as much sincerity as I could muster.

"I don't really know anymore," she replied honestly, "but if there is a God he stays in Heaven out of fear of what He created on Earth."

Another long silence passed, nothing but cicadas and crickets echoed across the meadow for a time. I had no question to ask, and even if I did, what answer would there be to give? Looking at King, he just sat with his head in his paws, staring a thousand yards into the slowly lowering flames of the fire.

"Listen," she said more softly, "if you want out feel free to go your own way, I just want to be honest about what we are getting into. There's no room for error when we get inside the city, we just keep moving and moving, and hope some place like this," she said waving her paws back towards the cabin, "exists in there, maybe even find some good souls like ourselves."

"So get some rest tonight because I wanna pack quick and move out as fast as possible before our paws get frozen to the ground. Cash, King," she said, rising and giving us a mock little salute, "salutations until tomorrow." And with that she retired into the cabin. I heard all the locks and bars click and slide into place - guess old habits die hard.

She had offered King and I a spot inside the cabin but honestly we prefered the tent outside for the privacy. We had enough rudimentary defenses in place to snag any roamers coming near camp, and we had strung up noise alarms along the ground too. Basically just pebbles inside soda cans on twine, but they made enough noise to wake even King up so I felt relatively safe in the warm late summer air.

"So tomorrow the great adventure begins?" King queried as we sidled into our tent.

"I guess so," I replied, "You worried?"

"Of course," he said honestly, "be stupid not to be. But," he said, putting a paw to my back and beginning to rub it, "we've made it this far together, we can make it through the city."

"I hope so," I said noncommittally, maybe heading the coyote's warnings a little more than the confident lion did.

We sat in solemn silence for a while, contemplating the extreme changes sure to occur over the coming days. King could always sense when something got stuck deep in my head, when it was really bothering me.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I saved us a surprise," he said slyly, "something for a special occasion."

My ears perked at his tone, he never said stuff like that unless he had really been up to something. What had he done now?

"Meant to make use of this a lot earlier, but with out kidnapping and forced labor well, you know. The best laid plans.." he said rustling through his pack. "And she didn't exactly set the mood with that speech either."

"Aha!" he exclaimed, pulling out something small and tossing it towards me. The contrast of the dying fire and the darkening sky played with my eyes for a moment but then I made out the label. It was a bottle of lube.

"Where did you..why did you..." I began to ask, but then just shook my head with a chuckle.

"So?" he asked expectantly.

"So," I replied, moving closer to him and sliding my paw down his pants. "We have a big day tomorrow apparently, and..." I trailed off withdrawing my paw from his groin, intentionally leaving him hanging for a moment, knowing he hated being teased. I turned away like I was just going to go to sleep. "So you better take it easy because I have to be able to walk tomorrow."

Even in the darkening light I could see the mile-wide grin on his face as I turned to look back at him, and it warmed my heart to see him happier than I remember him being in recent memory.

Our clothes came off in record time, and I bent my muzzle down get King warmed up. It didn't take long, he was excited to say the least. I lay down on the sleeping bag as the lion climbed atop me, fumbling for the bottle of lube on the floor of the tent.

Squeezing some into his paw he rubbed a good bit on his hardened cock, lifting me a little roughly to wipe the rest under my tail.

"Whoah, easy tiger," I said with a smirk.

"Oh no tiger could compare," he said with assurance, lining himself up.

I felt the tip of his cock against my tailhole, and when he slowly began to push in, I fell all the way back in pure ecstasy and bliss. King put his paws under my ass, lifting me a little, and began to pump me slowly at first, both of us enjoying the long-lost feeling. My own cock was already out almost to the knot, and I could feel days of tension melting away.

King began to build up a rhythm and I tried to keep my moans as quiet as possible, remembering Rachel's teasing from last time, but part of me wanted just let it all go.

King quickened his pace and took a free paw to wrap around my cock and start massaging me, squeezing my knot as it emerged.

"Ohh god I needed this," he squeaked out between thrusts.

"Me too," I grunted out between his ever-quickening pace, his balls slapping my ass.

Without warning he pulled all the way out, but before I could protest, he roughly flipped me over, and shoved his cock right back in my ass.

"Ohhh yeeeesss...." I moaned loudly, now secretly hoping the coyote could hear us. Let her enjoy the show.

I could feel King's thrusts becoming less rythmic and he was speeding up, I knew he was close. Usually I'd at least tell him not to finish on my fur because I hated taking the time to wash up after, but this time, fuck it.

Instead he groaned out, "I'm there!" and slammed himself into me to the hilt. I felt stream after stream of hot cum fill my ass, could feel his balls pulsing against my ass. He really was pent up, and he stayed inside me until I felt him soften up, and he finally pulled out, leaking cum all down my asscheeks.

"Fuck me that was great," he sighed, gingerly turning me over to kiss me deeply on the muzzle.

"It was, but aren't you forgetting something?" I said wryly, pushing my still-hard cock into his belly.

"Oh how un-gentlmenly of me," he said sarcastically, "allow me."

Leaning back he kept one hand squeezed firmly on my knot, dipping his muzzle deep onto my cock. The initial warmth made me moan loudly again, moreso when his tongue began to tease all around my shaft.

After the fucking he had just given me I wasn't even putting up a fight to last any length of time, I just grabbed the top of his head with my paws, trying not to push his muzzle down too hard as I came.

King didn't even flinch, just kept those warm lips wrapped tight around my dick and swallowed load after load as I pumped into his muzzle. I made sure not to howl this time, but I came damn close, and when I finally finished, I collapsed against the hard tent floor, endorphins flowing so much I didn't even feel the sharp whack I had surely just given myself slamming my head against the hard tent floor.

King snuggled up against me as we both lay against each other in the warm afterglow, enjoying the sound of the crickets, the soft flashes of fireflys against the side of the tent.

"So, good surprise?" he said mockingly.

"The best," I replied, leaning over to kiss him, still tasting a bit of myself on his lips.

"Wanna get cleaned up?" he asked, "Rachel will be pissed if she wakes us up like this, gesturing to the two naked bodies reeking of sex now confined in the small tent.

"Yeah, but not right away," I replied snuggling up against him. "Let's just enjoy right now while we have it."

"Agreed," he said simply, putting one arm behind his head, the other around my side.