Dystopian Girls 5 Read online

  "Not much, I'm afraid. Not for a while. Maybe we can get her to help out in the kitchen for short spells starting tomorrow."

  "Yes!" Camilla blurts out, surprising us. "Will I be working with you and Riley?" Her enthusiasm was shocking to see. This certainly wasn't the same Camilla that always relied on her trance powers and sexual prowess to take her to the top of the clan.

  "I think so," Alexa laughed. "And Stella, too."

  "Oh," Camilla responded with a bit of disappointment, surprising us once again. Stella had been a member of John and Corinne's clan along with Camilla before we even met. I had assumed that they were still friends. I knew that Stella always spoke fondly of her. Of course, Stella rarely had a bad thing to say about anyone.

  "Do you have a problem with Stella?" Alexa asked before I could. I could clearly see that she was ready to defend the innocent young woman that has become my newest wife. Though it seemed minor, the stance made me proud.

  "No," Camilla responded, recognizing the situation. That was a big improvement in her personality. She used to say whatever the hell she felt like saying without much concern for other people's feelings. "I'm a little surprised at how she has advanced through the ranks so quickly, but I don't have a problem with her. Not at all."

  I had no desire to explain it to her. Apparently, neither did Alexa. She went about her business showing very little emotion over the comment. She was making great strides to get along with everyone as well.

  When Alexa stood up, I took the opportunity to pull her to me. A few tender kisses along with some sweet talk served two purposes in my mind. It showed Alexa how much I loved and cared for her. She needed to be reminded regularly with how she had loosened up regarding my sexual activity. The second was to put Camilla back in her place. 'Don't even mess with my wives,' was the message intended.

  I then walked out the door with my first wife, hand in hand, leaving Camilla behind to think about things. I was glad to see big improvements in her personality, but she had a long way to go to get up to speed with the rest of my special ladies.

  As soon as I exited the front gate of my home, I heard screaming.

  "Mason!" Ling yelled from the next yard over. "I need to talk to you!"

  CHAPTER TWO:

  I accepted my daily bear hug from Ling without hesitation. Then I listened intently while she shared tons of details about her accomplishments since we last spoke. Anyone that didn't know her well would consider her a proud person, a braggart even. But I knew that Ling was just so happy to belong and contribute. She had been considered by many to be a tag along up until recently.

  Once I shared my appreciation for all her hard work, she asked how I wanted the fence completed at the street entrance to our neighborhood. My old plan of using the two transport vehicles no longer worked because I wanted them mobile. That left a space that was sixty feet wide, way too inviting for intruders.

  I covered with her my ideas but left the fine details for her to work out. She wouldn't have to do it on her own. She had two reborn women that were instrumental to Ling's success as the newly appointed construction manager.

  Felicity had worked as a secretary for a construction company in the Fort Totten area before. Her ability to quickly transform rough ideas into detailed blueprints was a real asset. She was a serious-minded woman in her late forties. Considerable weight loss during her infected days caused her skin to sag and make her look even older. Overall, she wasn't a bad looking woman with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail with a strip of cloth, and bright blue eyes punctuating an otherwise plain narrow face. From what I had witnessed, she was very respectful toward Ling's authority despite my friend's lack of knowledge in the field. Hopefully, that wasn’t just for show in my presence.

  Sallymander, as her friends called her, was more valuable when it came to resource management. She worked closely with Felicity as the plans were drawn up, advising what materials might work for the project. Sally Ann Mandin, her full name, was in her forties as well. Already slim, her months as a diseased individual had less effect on her current condition. She kept her jet-black hair pulled back, too. Green eyes and clear facial skin made her appear slightly younger, as did the naturally flirty thin smile.

  The three of them hovered around me as I explained what I wanted done. A large double door gate across the street that could be closed when facing an attack, and a smaller door on each side. Between the openings could be raised platforms like guard towers. That concept could later be repeated periodically along the fence line.

  Felicity and Sally remained quiet until I walked away, showing respect for their assigned leader. Ling displayed my monogram proudly around her neck like a branding. Her patience in dealing with the women under her command had improved immeasurably over the last few days. Separating her from Stella originally looked to be a bad idea. It turned out that she was shining on her own after leaving the timid farm girl's shadow.

  Bianka was coming back from outside our compound as I was wrapping things up with Ling. I could clearly see that she was avoiding me once again. All day yesterday she dodged me, even skipping meals at the house. I fully understood why. She had been coerced into a bisexual relationship that she was completely uncomfortable with. If it hadn't been for the liquor, she would have walked away when I had arrived on the sultry scene.

  When I called after her, she actually quickened her pace to get away. It was noticeable to all the women in the area. Some even stopped what they were doing to observe our drama. I had no doubt that the news of Bianka's embarrassing situation had spread far and wide. After shouting out her name a second time, she finally stopped.

  I jogged to bridge the gap between us quickly, thinking that I ought to do more running to stay in shape. I had been relieved of most of my physical duties as a result of our colony's growth spurt. It was weird how it didn’t take that long to feel out of shape again, but forever to get to the point that you were happy with your body.

  The stunning blonde turned sideways to begrudgingly acknowledge me. She was doing her best to show respect for her leader despite her personal discomfort with my presence. It almost made her unattractive. Pouting could be alluring, but someone wishing that you would just go away was not a pleasant sight.

  "Hey, Bianka," I addressed her as I approached. "Sorry to shout for you like that."

  "It's okay. What do you want?" She wouldn't look directly at me. Her body was rigid like she was facing a fight or flight decision. I anticipated resistance, but this was more than what I expected out of the emotionally strong woman that I had grown incredibly fond of, as a friend mostly.

  "I just wanted to say how sorry I am for what happened."

  "I know you are, Mason," she replied, still averting her eyes but appearing genuine. "It wasn't technically your fault. I let the girls lure me in, so I share some of the blame. We shouldn't have ever let things get that far between us, though."

  "How do you mean?" I asked.

  "We got too close. It was confusing for both of us clearly. It's not surprising that the other girls misread the situation like they did."

  "So, they misread us, did they?"

  She glanced into my eye before replying, then quickly turned away. "I think that it is best that we don't hang out so much anymore."

  That was painful to hear. Even with all the other women in my life cherishing their time with me, as I did mine with them, losing this one special person was hurting like she was my lifelong girlfriend. Or, maybe more appropriately, my best friend since childhood.

  "Can't we just go back to the way that it was before? Just block that evening out of our minds."

  "Can you do that?" she asked, finally turning to face me. "Can you forget about my naked body? Erase the way that you touched it? And my hand around your ...?"

  "Eventually," I replied, knowing that it was a lie. "If we make sure that we don't talk about such things, those memories will fade away."

  "Oh yeah?" she answered, gazing steadily into my
eyes. "Will you be able to forget how much you wanted to have sex with me in that moment? How much that you wanted to make me one of your wives?"

  I desperately wanted to reach out and touch her. Her shoulder or elbow at least, even if it wasn’t to pull her close. I needed some measure of physical contact. Perhaps run my fingers through her straight blonde hair, then trace the shape of her ear down to her jaw. Let my hand wander to her delicate chin, brushing my thumb across her soft lips. She was right. That night will be difficult to forget.

  "Well, that's not fair," I replied. "I've always wanted that, deep down, and you knew that. We built a strong friendship between us despite those feelings."

  "Because we never crossed that line."

  "And now we can just go back to the safe side of the line," I insisted.

  "Don't you understand?" she asked, pain in her eyes, tears welling up. It was a very rare emotional display for her. I could easily see in that moment why she wasn't able to flip the switch and go back. Even though she was super bad-ass and would surely be the masculine one in any lesbian relationship, she was still a woman. The chemicals in her body, the way her gender was created or evolved however you chose to see it. She wasn't a man. There was no sense pretending that she was, even if such a thing could be done without being blind.

  "No, I guess I don't fully understand," I answered softly.

  "Part of me wants that, too, Mason," she explained. When I uncontrollably reached for her arm, she shrugged me off. "Don't touch me, please. That only complicates things. Even though part of me wants to hold you close, even make love to you, it greatly conflicts with the part of me that is totally who I am. Or least who I was. And who I have been to all of these people. I can't be both things."

  "Maybe you can, in time," I suggested.

  "No," she answered firmly, stressing the finality of her mindset. "I don't know how. And honestly, I don't want to learn how either. I was extremely happy before that night. My friendship with you was actually very important to me, if you didn't already know. I should have kept my desires a secret just like you should have. Then no one else would have known and put us in this predicament."

  I allowed for a pause before answering. I finally understood. Or, at least as much as any man could understand a woman. "Except for Alexa," I whispered. My first wife's empathetic ability had made her aware of our attraction to each other long before we hinted at it ourselves.

  "Except for Alexa," she replied, showing the first inkling of a smile. "And that just makes going back even harder."

  "You promised me," I whispered, the words forming before I even fully pulled up the memory.

  "What did I promise?"

  "That I would never lose you." I remembered the moment as if it just happened. The memory was firmly planted in my heart, not my brain.

  "That was different," Bianka insisted, placing one hand on her hip below the two inches of exposed tan skin. "That meant that I wouldn't slip up on my recon mission to find Alexa and get myself killed. It does not apply to this."

  "To me it does," I told her. I had to keep resisting the urge to touch her. Even when we were just friends there was plenty of physical contact between us. "Okay, tell me this. What do I have to do to fix this?"

  "It's not that simple..."

  "I think that it is that simple," I said, attempting to force my logic on her, like I had ever had success doing that with a girl. "Just because we can't do it quickly doesn't mean that it isn't simple. We just need to keep taking steps in the right direction, so we know where we are going. I know that you haven't been coming back to the house because you want to avoid me. If I promise not to approach you on this subject again, can you at least return to normal in that regard?"

  After a heavy sigh, still maintaining eye contact, she replied, "Yes, I can do that." Her hand slid off her perfect waistline as her stance became less adversarial.

  "Good. That's step one. I'll only approach you on business matters. And I'll do my absolute best not to make up excuses for talking to you. I'm committed to this process. When you are ready for some friendly conversation, feel free to initialize it. I promise to wait until you are ready. Does that work for you?"

  Emotions flashed in her eyes. I couldn’t tell if she was about to refuse my offer or dive into my arms in need of my affection. I considered both to be legitimate possibilities based on her eyes alone.

  "Yes, Mason. I can work with that."

  "Excellent," I said with a sigh. "I'm feeling much better about this already. Now, do you have anything to report? Or should I check with Jada?"

  "There is some news," she replied, looking considerably more at ease than before. "But I'll let Jada share it with you. I promise to get my head on straight before we talk again."

  "Cool," I replied. Then I turned to look for the ebony warrior goddess. Before I could step away, I felt the slight tug on my shirt sleeve. Bianka was getting my attention, initiating physical contact.

  "Thanks," Bianka said and I turned back around. "As much as I was avoiding this conversation, I actually needed it. That's all I wanted to say." Then she turned and walked away.

  I needed to start looking at Bianka differently. If we were ever to get our friendship back, I had to remove the sexual and romantic tension from our relationship. Keep everything professional now, then build our friendship anew. I almost convinced myself that I could do that easily.

  Then I noticed her ass. And her sexy firm legs. Slender waist, long blonde hair and tan skin. The absolute divine temple of her body. She had the most amazing blend of athletic form and supermodel appearance. Her delightful personality combined with her unattainability due to her sexual orientation just seemed to put her off the chart when it came to beauty.

  And sure enough, it happened. The image of her gorgeous naked body came rushing back to me. A video played in my mind of her kissing and touching Alexa and Jamila. It raced forward to the point when I had my hands on her. And I felt her tight grip around my manhood.

  The mental scene ended abruptly as I realized what I was doing. If Bianka turned around to see me slack jawed, gaping at her sexiness, it would ruin everything that I just accomplished. Additionally, we were not alone. At least a dozen other women were watching the proceeding closely.

  I snapped around quickly on my heel like a soldier and put my mind on other things. I doused my brain with a frigid cold shower. Spotting Jada with some women near the zombie cage helped. I suddenly broke into a sprint like I was leaving the scene of a crime. Once I realized that I was causing alarm I slowed to a jog instead, smiling at anyone looking my way.

  "The woods are empty," Jada declared as I approached. She stepped away from a group of women that had just come back from patrol with her.

  "Empty?" I replied petrified by the thought.

  "Not of all living things, like squirrels, Mason. What I'm saying is that the tree stands are all abandoned. The Coalition's soldiers are gone."

  "Where did they go?" I asked in disbelief. Just a couple days ago the military group was threatening to attack if we didn't turn over Camilla. They'd set up recon posts in the wooded area to our north a while back. Why would they abandon those now? The schoolhouse gang had been destroyed, but we were still here. There was no way that we had earned their trust by simply signing a piece of paper. Especially since they never did return to retrieve it the next day like their captain had promised.

  "I don't know where they went," Jada replied. "I just know that they are gone. We are free to roam that area at will. There have not been any scouts spotted to the east either. If I had to guess, I'd say that they needed all available soldiers to face a threat elsewhere."

  That was the most logical explanation. The question was whether or not they were facing a zombie horde, a small mutant group, or another large military force.

  Jada's walkie talkie crackled to life. "Jada, is Mason with you?" It was Bianka's voice.

  "Yes, he is. What's up?" Jada spoke into the device with a look of curiosity. I
shared it considering how uncomfortable Bianka had been speaking to me of late. Did she have more to say about our relationship? Over a walkie-talkie?

  "We have more refugees from Tamika's clan. We're holding them outside the skank gate until he gets here, unless he has other instructions."

  Jada pressed the button on her device and held it up for me to talk. Maybe that was her way of saying that Bianka should be able to speak directly to me. Only, I wasn't carrying a walkie talkie. "Sounds good. I'll be there in three minutes."

  "Mason," Jada said after releasing the talk button. "We need to get more communication devices. All our key people should have them, plus gate keepers and patrol leads. We can develop a code system for classified information, but there is no reason to cripple our network for fear of being overheard."

  She was right. I had put it off too long. We were getting way too big to do without. If only there was a way to use cell phones again.