Page 15 of Once Upon an Apocalypse

Asweenterasmall cubicle of a room, Jonah pulls off his wet clothes. The tiny room can barely be called a bedroom, but there is a bed. Across from the bed is a small desk and a chair. There’s even an open closet which contains more of the same black clothing Jonah had been wearing. He doesn’t make a move to grab a fresh pair of clothes because he’s too busy studying me as I examine every inch of the suffocating white walls in his prison cell.

I should back away from his gaze, uncertain about who Jonah has become, if my Jonah is still in there. He obviously still cares for me. The way he caressed me in the shower, scrubbing all the blood away, he was so gentle. Now, his eyes are hungry for me. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel the same way. That I didn’t want the same thing. I know I should look away, lie down, rest, try to forget everything that happened today.

Perhaps Jonah can help me forget. I pull off my clean t-shirt and joggers, standing naked in front of Jonah, hoping he is still the man of my dreams. In the blink of an eye, Jonah’s skin is flush with mine, our lips crashing into each other.

“I thought I would never see you again, Lori,” Jonah mutters against my lips. “You have no idea how much I missed you.”

I sigh into his mouth before I capture his lips again; so hungry, so needy. My legs wrap around Jonah’s hips as he lifts me up and walks me three steps backward to the bed. He lays me down so gently that my heart breaks into a million pieces. Just an hour ago I was fighting for my life, afraid I would die, turn into a zombie. And now? I am in a sterile white prison cell with my childhood crush who became my boyfriend right before the world ended. I don’t know what kind of future we have. Actually, I know we don’t have one. Not here, at least.

But right now? In this moment? He is mine and I want to take him fiercely. I want to feel him everywhere.

As Jonah pulls off his boxer briefs, I sit up on the bed. When he sits down next to me, his touch is tender. The opposite of what I need. I push him down on the bed, straddling him in one quick move. Our lips crash against each other again, the both of us starving for each other. Reaching my hand down between our bodies, I place myself above Jonah and push down until my butt touches his hips. Jonah groans loudly, thrusting his hips to push in deeper.

There should be a pinch of pain from the intrusion, but I barely feel anything. I lift myself up, bracing against Jonah’s solid chest, and thrust myself so hard against him. An even louder groan escapes from Jonah, so I keep going, riding him like my life depends on it. Ride until I feel something, perhaps the beginning of an orgasm, or perhaps that was the end of it. What I do feel is Jonah finishing inside me, a faint vibration, wetness.

When I look into his face, I realize I might not have my IUD anymore. I have no idea what Dr. Tuwile did to me. Shit. So much for trying to forget. Still attached to Jonah, I tell him about the IUD, worried that we just had unprotected sex.

Jonah pulls me down to him, shifting our bodies so we lie on our sides facing each other. “We’re okay. Everyone at Novus Seclorum takes birth control, even the men. Doctore says we are not ready to repopulate the world yet. First, we need to make it safe. We need a cure to keep us all from devouring each other.”

“Hmmm,” is all I can think of to say. I don’t disagree. The last thing anyone needs right now is to worry about a crying baby. Then I turn my mind to a less taxing topic.

“I don’t remember you having so many big muscles,” I say lazily as I snuggle next to Jonah, tracing his biceps.

“I’ve been training with Doctore’s men.”

“Doctore?” I ask. It’s the second time he’s mentioned this name.

“Dr. Tuwile. He’s built this place to emulate one of the greatest empires of history. So everything has a Roman name. What he’s doing is incredible.”

“Incredible?” For some reason I cannot get more than one word questions out of my mouth.

“You are incredible, Lori. The very first person to become immune to the virus these flesh-eaters carry. If Doctore can make this cure work in every living human being, we will take the world back.”

Jonah speaks with wonder in his eyes, as if he sees this brilliant plan built from glory and honor. But it’s built from death and betrayal. “Do you know what happened to me, Jonah? What Doctore made me do?”

“I know we were brought here by force, and I’m sorry for what you’ve had to go through. Isn’t it worth it though? Don’t you want to save the world?”

I stop stroking Jonah’s skin, but because of the limited amount of space on his tiny bed, there is nowhere else for my hands to be other than on his body. My mind is whirling. Do I disagree with him? Yes. I mean, sure, I want to save the world, but not like this. Not if that means killing kids. Not if it means kidnapping innocent people. Because if we do this, then what will humanity become?

I’m not sure I want Jonah to know how I feel though. If he’s this far gone, deep in Dr. Tuwile’s pockets, then I don’t know if I can trust Jonah. So I simply respond with, “Yes.”

“I’m really sorry for what you had to go through. I don’t know all of it. I didn’t even know where you were until a week ago.”

“What did you think happened to me?”

“Every time I would ask about you, they would beat me. So I stopped asking. I started obeying. I started listening. When I opened my eyes and saw the world Doctore is trying to build, everything clicked into place. I started training to be a soldier in Doctore’s Praetorian Guard. Then I got my own room. It’s small, but I prefer this over the dormitories. I get to eat better food. And then, a week ago, Doctore came to see me himself. Told me you were alive and well but that you were being tested.”

Jonah holds me tight against his chest, as if he’s revisiting the feeling of losing me. “When he explained that you might be a carrier for the cure, I was so scared for you. I knew whatever tests you were going through wouldn’t be easy.”

I hold so much back in my response, when all I want to do is beat some sense into him. “Do you know what I had to do today?”

“No. I wasn’t there. But I know you got bit and the bite healed itself. You put down the zombies that attacked you and proved that Doctore has the knowledge to cure the world.”

I don’t agree with his wording at all. Dr. Tuwile might have a cure to this plague, but that doesn’t mean he will use it to cure everyone. My skin crawls at the thought of him possessing such power. Those dark eyes will forever haunt me. Dr. Tuwile—Doctore—a mad scientist with charisma on his side. He has won over the hearts of Jonah and others like him. People who are kind at heart and only want to do the right thing. I know that’s what he’s doing. I know he believes he is doing good. How do I tell him the truth? Especially when I don’t have proof.

Even if I simply tell him all the details of what “test” I was put through, he would brush it off as a necessary evil for the betterment of humanity. I have to bring him back to his right mind. I only hope my sanity will remain intact and I don’t end up brainwashed with him.

I sigh into his chest and say, “I’m so tired. Can I sleep here?”

---