Aberrant: Dead Rising - A picnic in zombieville [Complete]

[Mr Fox]

Morgan woke rested and ready to get going. Not that he slept all that much anyway, but it always seemed to lighten his spirit to get a few hours away from thoughts of doom and gloom. He was one of the lucky ones, where most people had nightmares, he hadn't had one since he left home at 16. No covert mission filled with killing and death, no close call with zombies, not even the super zombs ever gave him nightmares. As a child, his father had given him nightmares and those had been horrific enough that he'd finally run away leaving Dan behind. He'd always felt guilty about that, but from the day he walked out of his father's house he never again had a nightmare. The relief at escape had been that great. Even the situation with the Zombies didn't frighten him as much as living with is abusive father had as a kid.

By the time Jules woke he had already prepared a quick breakfast of cereal for the two of them. It was about the extent of the cooking he tended to do. He didn't really 'need' to eat any more so he always felt just a little guilty knowing that others might need that food someday, but then he had worked very hard to see to it that the people had food. Besides he did deserve a share and since he did go without so often he really savored the food he did eat.

"So any place in particular you'd like to visit?"

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Jules paused. Part of her wanted to go to Taos, to see Dan and Sami's graves. But she also didn't want to drag herself back into the past. It felt like she lived there sometimes. She'd told Morgan to take a break, and so she decided to do the same. With conscious effort, she stepped out of the past.

"There are a lot of places I've wanted to go," she said, smiling. "Though most of those I wanted to see before Z-day." She clasped her hands behind her back, only slightly conscious of how it bowed her shoulders back and her breasts forward. She'd been a mother and faithful wife for far too long to seriously consider actively flirting. But she had still remembered to be a little coy with Dan, to keep sparks going, and it was easy to be that way with Morgan. In part, it was because he looked so much like Dan. But it was also that they had been living together, sharing a room if not a bed.

Leave the past behind.

"Pick something, Morgan," she said, smiling a little. "Show me something new."

[Mr Fox]

Morgan tried to think of someplace that would be nice to visit, not just for the scenery but for a lack of zombies but every place he could recall would have zombies being tourist attractions. So his next thought was to find someplace out of the way that would not be likely to have many zombies, perhaps someplace that would make a good backup site in the event the refuge needed to be evacuated. And then he had it, actually that had brought to mind several places, but the one he wanted to check out first was Alaska. It was beautiful and there wouldn't likely be a zombie for a hundred miles.

He looked over at Jules and grinned then grabbed the basket with their lunch. "Hope you don't mind the cold, if you do, you'd better grab a coat." He opened the gateway to the sheltered valley he'd been to years before. There was a rather nice hunting lodge on the top of a rise with a great view of both the mountains surrounding it and the ocean it overlooked. It was the most beautiful place he could remember having ever been and it was private property so the chances of any zombies were really low.

"I think I'll make this my vacation home." He grinned as Jules took in the view. There was still snow covering everything since it was April, but that only added to the beauty of the place.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Jules was glad she'd gotten a coat; she was from the mountains and was used to it but cold was still cold. "Morgan," she breathed, looking around the area, "wow, you weren't kidding. This place is absolutely beautiful. How did you find it? This one of the places you saw while with the Air Force?"

She glanced down and smiled at the early-blooming flowers pushing their way through the wild grasses. She didn't pick them; it was enough for her to see them, in all their beauty.

[Mr Fox]

"One of my buddies in the Air Force knew the guy that owned this place. Several of us came up here on leave and spent the better part of a month up here fishing one summer. It was private property and it's at least a hundred miles for the nearest small town. We took two different planes to get here that time. This would be one hell of a harsh place in winter, but April through September it is incredible. I really think this would be a great place to keep set up as a fall back location if it ever becomes necessary. You'd have to stock up a lot of food for the winter and fuel for fire, but other than that it's the nicest place I've ever been." He offered Jules his arm, "Lets go see if anyone has been here this year." He didn't want to say 'since the Z'.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Jules smiled and took his arm. "Why, thank you, kind sir," she said, affecting something resembling a Southern belle's voice for a moment. After a moment, she said, "So a bunch of guys go on leave, and all they do is come to the middle of nowhere and fish?" When Morgan looked at her, Jules grinned and said, "I would have thought you gents would be hitting the club scene, finding the lady-friends instead of getting as far away from them as you could."

She didn't relax as they strolled to the building and examined it. To her relief, there was no sign that anyone had been here; she did allow herself to loosen up a bit then.

There was split wood in the lee of the building, and Jules made a fire, using flint and tinder, just like Walker had taught her. They didn't need it for the food, but it was cozy in the fireplace, and warmed up the main room of the cabin nicely. She knelt close to the flames, let its heat warm her bronze skin.

[Mr Fox]

Shrugging Morgan spoke, "We hit places like Vegas too, but sometimes we just wanted to get away from people. Sometimes you just need a quiet place and a quiet time to remember what it means to be human." Shaking off the memories he forced a smile, "Some of those missions in the Spec Ops were pretty dark. Places like this helped bring a little light back into the world for us."

Morgan didn't much feel the temperature, but he too leaned in to the fire feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the weather. His shoulder pressed up against Jules' as they enjoyed the fire.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Jules stared into the flames and remembered other fires, both from better and worse times. One of the things she loved about the Refuge was getting away from the campfire for warmth and food. It made her feel civilized and somehow safer to be in a place without the need for open flame. The shoulder against hers, the half-familiar man next to her called to something in her, and she let her head tilt to the side and rest on his shoulder.

She wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do, but she was tired of questioning and doubt. She just wanted to enjoy herself a bit today. Soon, they’d be talking business. Until then, she could relax and enjoy this.

[Mr Fox]

Feeling the relaxation in Jule's tight muscles and the familiar and comfortable head on his shoulder he moved his arm around her shoulders and gave a little squeeze.

Morgan thought about saying 'Anytime you want to come up here and get away from the craziness back home you just let me know. I plan on keeping this place stocked. I doubt there is danger within a hundred miles of here that isn't the natural kind.' It was going through his head, but he just couldn't bring himself to speak. He knew words would only mess up the moment. Right now what Jules wanted was to forget and avoid thinking about those things. They were things that could be said later. Now was for forgetting.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

After a long moment spent in the enjoyable curve of Morgan's arm, Jules finally moved. Shifting a bit, she said, "I'll get the meal started. Would you want to get some more firewood?" She was already digging in the box she'd brought with her, pulling out the supplies they would need for the food she'd brought.

"Most of this came from my class with Walker," Jules added, smiling at him. "You should probably get used to it, because when the canned food is gone, this will be what we're eating.

[Mr Fox]

"Well, I don't actually need to eat now. I just do it out of habit and because I enjoy it. Makes me feel guilty a bit, but there will be canned food and dry food for several years to come. The surviving population can't go through everything that is in homes and stores and warehouses in a short time. We've got maybe .1% survival from what I figure, and that's a pretty high estimate I think, and we've got food for 5 billion people or so that would have lasted civilization a few days or weeks. It should last our pitiful remnant for quite a while."

Heading for the door he added, "Still, getting back to producing our own food is kinda nice assuming we can solve the growing problem, if we can't then the Refuge is going to be in a lot of trouble since Mwf is the only one that can do her trick."

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

"Have we tried potting soil, or peat moss, or other growing mediums?" Jules asked, thinking out loud as she fell into step next to him. She was very aware of him next to her as they walked, close enough to brush occasionally. She'd wondered, after Dan had died, if she'd ever feel comfortable enough to do this light flirting ever again. She was a little surprised to find it was very easy to fall right back into those habits.

"Also, we can survive off wild food," Jules said, nodding. "That may not be enough - though, with the reduced population, the earth might be able to support humanity again without effort." She smiled at Morgan, feeling the slightest twist to her stomach as she did. "That will help too, even if it's work intensive. When the time comes that we run out of preserved food. Or get sick of it," she added with a laugh.

[Mr Fox]

"Yeah, actually I was giving that some thought. If the crops that were already in the fields are still growing wild then they should be ok. We can always use those and other wild crops. They might not be as hardy as some of the stuff that was engineered to be disease resistant and give big harvests and such, but they should grow. We can send parties out to gather those crops growing wild too, should be plenty of them right now."

He smiled over at her. It was good to have someone like her at his side. It had been such a relief over the last couple weeks since she'd arrived to have someone on his level that he could rely on. He tried to repress the image of her that came to the surface unbidden... of the moment with the towel. Ever since she had shown up his mantra had been, 'This is my brothers wife... this is my brothers wife...' That sounded pretty hollow in the face of that image and the loneliness he recognized now for what it was. He just wasn't sure what to do about it.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

The conversation continued, discussing 'business' even though they'd said they were taking a holiday from it. But in truth, they were both thinking about the health and prosperity of the Refuge. It was a concern never far from either's thoughts, and therefore, it was also a topic when they were together. This vacation was no different, and so they continued to talk about the major concerns they had.

The topic had turned to whether they could survive on just wild planets, and Jules suddenly said, "Let me see what I can find here that's wild, to show you want we'd be looking at." She grinned wryly. "We might bring all of our food back... people would be wondering what we'd done out here if not eating." She laughed, a little awkwardly.

Together, they walked out around the cabin, looking for wild tubers and plants to eat. Unfortunately, due to the shift of the season, they didn't find enough to feed even Jules. Still, Morgan was surprised with what could be found, even in April in Alaska.

Heading back for the food, supplemented with what Jules had found, the two were discussing the possibility of living off the land in a few years. It wasn't a discussion of farming, not until Myf found a fix for what was happening. They were almost back when both of them heard the sound of half-rotted wood giving way, and then Jules was starting to fall into a hole.

[Mr Fox]

Morgan reacted.

Years of training in the Special Forces along with basic instincts and he dropped what he was holding and spun reaching for Jules to save her. His arms were going around her waist before the tubers and veg he had been carrying hit the ground. In one mostly smooth motion the two were in the air several feet above the rotting wood that had given way under Jules. Morgan's heart was racing from the reaction of sudden adrenaline flooding his system and he wasn't thinking when he hugged the beautiful woman tightly to his chest.

In the moment he wasn't thinking he was still reacting, his brain hadn't caught up with his body yet... or his heart. The only thing his mind had managed to articulate was 'need her, can't lose her', but it was an awfully big thought and it didn't define 'need'.

Still reacting he pulled his head back and looked into Jules' eyes then kissed her in a mingling of relief and need. When their lips parted and his brain was starting to catch up to his heart and body he said, "I thought I'd lost you for a second."

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

The sudden drop caught Jules by surprise. She'd been focused on the conversation about what they could and couldn't do with wild foods when she started to fall. She didn't even have time to yelp before she caught and pulled up - and kissed.

It was way too short for her wants, all the deep anticipation that had been building since her arrival in the Refuge. She barely heard his words before she restarted the kiss, hungrily seeking what the zombies had taken from her - companionship. It wasn't all lust; there was real affection for the man she kissed. His presence chased away her loneliness, and now his kiss was chasing away her inhibitions.

Thoughts of Dan were far away; instead, another man intruded. The memory of Hornsbeck was much closer, tainting every emotion that Morgan was pulling out of her. His warm lips on hers reminded her of a cruel mouth; his hands holding her tight were echoes of another man's painful embrace. She pushed those away as best she could, wanting this comfort, this moment - and even if she felt bad for thinking it, this man. Morgan, unaware of her feelings, shifted his hands lower and pulled her hips against him, pressing the sign of his desire between them. It was too much for the broken woman.

Shivering, Jules broke the kiss to bury her nose against his neck, kissing and nibbling at the softer skin. She wanted to stop, but didn't want him to know that it was because of her treatment from Paradise. She didn't like knowing that, it made her feel weak. She made a choice, a terrible choice: she moved her lips up to his ear, lavished the lobe with a warm tongue and whispered, "Oh, Dan."

[Mr Fox]

Ice water couldn't have had the reaction those two words had on Morgan. The building passion was quenched like it had never been. This was his brothers wife!!! What he hell was he thinking taking advantage of her this way?!?

He separated as quickly as he could get her back to the ground. "Jules, I... I'm sorry, that was totally inappropriate and I shouldn't have." He turned his back to her and stared at the the mountains surrounding the sheltered cove to avoid seeing what might be in her expression. The hills had seemed so pretty when they had arrived. Now they were just stark and cold and lonely. "I'm sorry."

He wanted to walk away, but he couldn't, Jules might need him.

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Jules paused and took a deep breath. "Morgan, I'm sorry, I guess I'm not ready," she said softly. "It's a lot to get past, you know?" She danced around the real subject, letting Morgan think it was Dan's death.

Jules reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't mean to hurt you," she said softly. "I want to be ready for this. I will be someday, I think."

[Mr Fox]

Morgan could look at her, he didn't want to see what was in her face right then. He'd done something he should not have. The thought kept running through his mind that this was his brother's wife and he had shown his brothers memory disrespect. Not to mention imposing on Jules herself, how could he have been so thought less after all she'd been through. Of course she wasn't ready for this, how could she be? She'd only lost her son a couple weeks ago and her husband a few months.

"Uh, we should get back soon. This was a good scouting mission and we can add this place to the list of places to retreat to if there's ever a need."

[z-Jules WhiteElk]

Her hand fell away from his shoulder. "Alright. Yes," she said, drawing herself up. "Yeah, this is a good place. A bit cold and finding enough food for a long term stay would be hard. We're going to need to get some stores up there then..."

The two continued to talk, falling into their comfortable, safe topics of work and logistics. The moment was put behind them, quietly funneled away where it wouldn't bother them anymore. There was no way it wouldn't bother them, especially with their close living conditions. But neither one was going to admit that. It was safer to be silent on the matter.