Chapter Text
Shorter days, cooler air, and the slog of winter approaches closer and closer as each day passes, something I always dread. The lush and green leaves and plants have already died and decayed due to the shift in season since it was already November. The past month felt like only a week since I've been focused on running Solaris and making sure things are moving along while trying to be the motivator of my people. Things are great even if I'm fairly busy but that's not a con or anything. Really, I enjoy the work I partake in and would choose to have this role over and over again.
I was still elevating newcomers to becoming Solar citizens after the required forty day mark had been met, helping with construction by collecting materials and putting in some of the labour needed to construct the little hamlet Trinity and Etsu had planned out, and continued to gracefully allow people onto my lands. Well, not really all that much since I've only allowed one person to check Solaris out the past month and a half or so. An East-Asian who goes by the name of Susil has joined our force even if decently timid and still getting used to the new way of life.
Though that makes sense, it's a lot to take in when you see that a whole community has formed and are seriously developing their little community, one that’s essentially growing as aggressively as possible. The first day she was here, she started laughing a bit like a lunatic for a few minutes since it felt so surreal to her and how she was no longer alone. Which, honestly, is very understandable so laughing like a maniac was probably justified in a lot of ways.
The cabins were still our main focus since we just needed folks to move out and into their own space since the mansion can only harbour so many at a single given time. The polygamous throuple and Oliver and Jessie had claimed the two latest cabins that were recently finished with being contructed so that relieved the mansion of a decent amount of space yet again. Though it's only room for the next number of people since there's no other place for them to be until another abode is erected.
I'm seriously thinking about making some sort of boarding house for newcomers with tiny rooms just to purely act as a place where one can sleep for the night and relax in a small area before they can upgrade when their spot in the queue of getting their own place is up. That's because I worry an extreme amount about letting a stranger in the mansion since I don't trust strangers at all. I just force myself to take the risk while taking the right precautionary steps, AKA, keep a gun within arm's reach whenever I go to sleep. So building a separate building where strangers won't be in the same structure I sleep in sounds like a good idea to me. I'll probably properly brainstorm an idea with Etsu and Trinity about it in the near future since now's a pretty good time to since making more living space isn't that big of a priority.
Our priority at the moment is shifting to scouting and mapping abandoned towns as the season grows colder. Obviously, it's because these places have a lot of things that wouldn't hurt to have. More canned foods, tools, and clothes being the most important things they hold. And then there's a bunch of miscellaneous leisure things like devices, art supplies, instruments, and other stuff like that. And it's about high-time we start capitalizing on all of the materials we could stockpile with much more effort.
"I know this plan has been hindered a decent bit in the past few weeks but that was mainly due to our focus being elsewhere on more important matters. But now that we can spare the time and effort, since we're not just gonna do the bare minimum during winter, it's time to really kick-start us off on collecting all that we can that awaits our taking." I said as I sat at the dining table with Oliver, Jessie, Scarlet, Zaine, and Ashton. "Since Zaine and Scarlet recently found a compatible trailer for our second vehicle, this initiative has recently been truly enabled and feasible which is why I'm finally clarifying that it's go time for this plan to be in full swing because otherwise it would've been half as slow or just really inefficient."
"So when do you want us to start this exactly and what should we retrieve first?" Scarlet asked after my initial remark.
"Tomorrow since we're already half-way through this day. If I had caught y'all in the morning, it would've been today but I woke up ten minutes too late. And let's scavenge tools first since that'll be the easiest to begin with."
"What exactly do you mean by tools? And where should we store them in?" Zaine asked.
"Power tools, anything you'd find in a toolbox, blades, stuff like that, nothing huge or anything. We'll be storing them in the shack out back. It's got a decent amount of room in it after clearing it out and reorganizing it so there's a lot of free space just waiting to harbour what we're gonna scavenge."
"Okay, that makes sense."
"Then once we fill the shack up to the brim with equipment, we'll then start scavenging clothes which we'll store in the attic, and then we’ll move onto food which will be stored in the cellars. Food's not a worry at all any time soon since the harvest has alleviated a shit load of 'do we have enough food' stress due to the sheer amount that we received from it. But it'd still be nice to have the non-perishables at our fingertips, just in case. After all, the variety of food is appreciated which is why some of us still fish, hunt, and forage. Corn and potatoes would get annoying after a couple of months if that was the only thing we consumed."
They all agreed to that before Oliver asked, "Which towns should we loot from first?"
"Preferably, I'd want you to choose a nearby one and go wild with it but if you want to prioritize another area first, go right ahead, I don't really care. Just be smart and efficient and you'll be all good in my books. And remember to take an adequate amount of spray paint with you so you can mark each building as looted so none of us waste any time searching an already looted building in the future."
"I assume we're gonna be teaming up into four team groups instead of just having two groups of scouts, right?" Ashton inferred which I nodded at.
"Correct. Having four people in a group means your unit will have a lot more energy and more hands to swiftly collect things in bulk so it's a no brainer to increase how many are in your scavenging crew. We'll probably need a couple more recruits though so don't be afraid of asking around to see if anyone's' interested in joining in on the fun."
"If you're gonna go ahead and be one who leads the charge on going out there tomorrow, you wanna be a part of my team?" The same man also asked.
"I hadn't thought of who to go with yet but I don't see why that shouldn't be the case. Who're the other two you're teamed up with?"
"Just Phoenix for now, I need to figure out who that fourth person is gonna be."
I nodded at that and looked at the other attendees at the table. "What about y'all? Do you know who you're grouped up with?"
Thankfully, they all did so there wasn't anymore conversation about that particular part of the plan. I then moved us onto each team picking which village or town they'd pick which played out quite swiftly. Though unlike the other teams who chose a nearby place to pillage from, Ashton pointed at a medium sized town about forty miles out, one I had been at before and had been on my mind for a while due to unusual circumstances.
"I know you said it'd be best to get the ones close by first but I think the bigger ones should be first on the list of priorities. Jackson's got a decent bit we can take from so I'm thinking we start chipping away at it. Are you fine with that?"
After a few seconds of thought, I slowly nodded at that. "I also don't see why not, it's not like we're on a time limit or anything and we've got a decent amount of time to do whatever productive thing we want. So sure, let's do that."
After all that was set up, only a couple of more simple questions were asked before I officially adjourned the meeting where we swiftly dispersed. I stayed back for a little while just to peer at the town on the map on the wall that Ashton had chosen for our destination. Nothing felt off or anything… but only just a bit strange, is all. But nothing to deter me from denying Ashton his wish to go there.
I shrugged any feeling that I couldn't quite describe off before turning my attention to exiting the dining room and into the living room. Though in the process, I almost bumped into Olivia.
"Oh, you guys are already done." She pointed out after glancing over the empty room behind me. "I was hoping I could bring something up during it but I missed my chance."
"Not necessarily. I could just relay whatever you want to say to anyone that might be affected by whatever you wanted to say. Though I do wonder why you weren't able to make it on down in time."
"Just some business with the pregnancies. It took a bit longer than I was anticipating but it is what it is." She simply replied. "But yes, I was wondering if I'd be able to tag along with anyone to skim through some drug stores that I haven't yet tapped into yet. Since I've recently finished furnishing the clinic, my attention's on fully stocking or restocking vitamins, supplements, and other miscellaneous medicines because what good would a clinic be without them?"
"Yes, that is a good point..." I replied as I leaned on the doorframe. "There's just a tiny problem which is that I decreed that the groups must be four in total, capable, and efficient in scavenging the resources we're seeking out. And I'm sure I don't need to tell you about what hinders your capabilities." After I said that, she was quick to formulate a response in her mind but I continued what I was saying before she relayed it to me. "But I suppose I can make an exception for your case since it is quite important for your role and important to the community as a whole."
She grinned at that. "I thank you for the exception." She glanced at the map. "I asked some of the scouts to mark down any clinic and drug store they came across where they've found several the past couple of months. It just seems like my duty to see what lies within them for the better of this place."
"And you figured that now was the best time to tap into them since the scavenge program is officially being kicked off." I inferred which she nodded at. "It does save time in the end. And I've said how we have a lot of free time to focus on a bunch of miscellaneous tasks since we're able to be focused on a broader amount of objectives a few times now so this falls in line with that definition. I definitely approve of it. Now to determine who you're gonna team up with... And now that I think about it, there's only one spot that you can fill."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, all the others already have their teams sorted besides the one I'm in. I'll have to bring it up with Ashton. Hope that he hasn't already found anyone to fill that spot."
"Will do. I suppose I'll join the others watching the TV until you find out an answer. It's been a while since I've watched anything and I'm not busy for the rest of the day. Not to mention, it'll then be easy to find me."
I just gave her a thumbs up and a grin before she enacted upon her words which is when I brought up my walkie-talkie to my lips and asked for Ashton's attention. Expectantly, he answered the call just a minute later where a short three minute discussion was had on whether or not Olivia should join us on our quest. And since I now made it to where important and in depth discussions between two parties were to be had on the next frequency other than the main one, Olivia herself didn't listen in on the conversation.
Anyways, we decided that she should come along for as long as she required since again, there was no rush. I thought about whether I should suggest she help us with the heavy lifting on our excursion while out and about but I decided against it since she can only do so much before the thorn in her side, or more accurately, her back starts becoming a problem.
So without much further delay, I migrated into the living room with the desired woman who was having a simple discussion about something fashion related with Stacy, Audrey, and... Kai. A very strange set of people on a topic I thought I'd never hear their opinions about but it was interesting, at least the little I heard. But when I was able to, I gently prodded my presence into the conversation to steer Olivia's attention towards what was much more important.
"Well that was much faster than I expected." She commented as we put a few meters distance between us and the others.
"It wasn't a hard decision." I simply replied before giving her the gist of the details of the mission which she easily understood. With all that being conveyed, we returned to the small gathering of people. "Alright, sorry to burst in on your guys' leisure time, it's just that an important business matter came up."
"We understand, it's not like we're gonna be mad over it. Our conversation about it was just about over anyways." Kai replied as the doctor took her seat.
Audrey chuckled. "It started because of a dumb movie where a couple men pretend to be women. It's pretty funny, though you can tell it was made in a time much less... accepting, to put it lightly."
"The world was definitely quickly moving towards acceptance... At least in the west. I wonder how long it would've taken for the entire world to follow suit." I pondered.
"Much longer than it should've, is my guess." Farmer-lady replied.
"Likely..." I said, refraining from bringing up religion. "Alright, I'll get out of your guys' hair."
"You don't wanna join in?" Stacy asked as she gave me a subtle beg expression to try to win me over. "A spot's always reserved for you, at least when I'm here."
"...I guess I can for a little bit." I can't resist anything my wife throws at me. So I joined them on watching the ridiculous movie and commenting on things every once in a while.
"I like those shoes, they look pretty..." Stacy quietly commented after seeing a pair of high heels. "Did women really wear dresses and makeup that often though?"
"Some did, yes. Do you not like the look of it? Sometimes makeup is indeed overdone which isn't really that appealing and sometimes over exaggerated, especially in media like this movie." I softly replied as she went into deep thought.
"...Is it weird to say that I like some of it? Just a couple parts of it, a lot of it I don't like."
I chuckled. "No, it's not weird at all."
"And is it really... like, a 'woman' thing? Like... women should wear stuff like that sometimes?"
I kissed the top of her head. "It's not necessarily a woman thing. And no, women aren't obligated to wear makeup or stuff like that at all, it's entirely up to the woman, the person, if they want to."
"...I never really thought of stuff like this before."
Her comments were quite interesting to me and just reminded me how she had her social life brutally suppressed and snubbed when she was a child. So it made sense that she had these questions and thoughts since she didn't have anybody to talk to or the opportunity to be exposed to much of what the world had to offer when she was younger. I wondered if I should give her a pair of shoes that are much more aesthetically based eventually. And only shoes, high heels, that are probably just an inch or so high since I'm aware of the dangers of high heels.
And so I stuck around with them for twenty minutes longer before I ended the mingling time so I could head up to my room to make sure I stayed in shape by initiating my usual workout routine. And that was doing a couple types of push-ups, some sit-ups, squats with a medicine ball, pull-ups in the doorframe, some bicep curls with a bit of tricep action, and ending it off with bench pressing.
The whole process takes around forty minutes which works up a good sweat and with it a natural scent that wafts since there's no way to prevent that from occurring. Though I do at least try by opening a window to limit the somewhat strong scent since I know how unpleasant it is to smell the odor of someone you're not intimately fond of. Speaking of which, my little lady enjoys the smell along with watching me lift weights that she could only dream of lifting.
That's what she did a few minutes after I started benching. She claims she tries to focus on other stuff like her artwork but says I'm too captivating for her to look away. It's a nice thing to hear but I know that's a little lie... probably. But having her eyes on me in a way that conveys a sort of desire for me definitely encourages me to continue putting my body through that extra bit of pain to help improve it, even if just a bit. After all, I've plateaued in gaining mass since I'm perfectly satisfied with weighing a hundred and ninety pounds. That thirty pound increase in pure muscle will take me a long way. Now it's just up to me to retain it which... is a bit annoying but it is satisfying and does feel good in a way and in the end, I liked this part of my day in my schedule.
As I continued repping, Stacy finally got out of her chair and timidly walked up toward me. "I still can't express how impressive what you're doing is to me."
I chuckled. "I know, Stace, you've said so many times... Though do continue, it's very nice to hear."
When she reached my side, she got on her knees and softly put a hand on my decently sized abs. "I definitely will. And... y'know, how... it kind of turns me on. Just a bit."
I glanced at her to see the gentle blush her cheeks had when she would watch me. "I figured. It's really adorable."
"Tsk, is everything I do adorable to you?" She sassily but playfully replied.
"Yes. How would that not be true?"
"Psh." She replied, defeated. A couple moments later, she said, "Can I... Can you close your eyes?"
"Um, sure." I replied, quite unsure about her odd request and slowing down the rate in which I was repping. That's when I felt her take her hand off of my belly before I started hearing subtle sounds of fabric being slid across another surface. "What are you doing? Can I open my eyes?"
"Not yet." She said with a giggle. "You'll see."
Just a few seconds later, the strange noises ceased before I sensed that she had migrated to the other side of me... at least, a part of her.
(Small-ish sex scene ahead. Ctrl+f ‘sex over’ to skip)
"Okay, now you can." Since I had her permission, I opened my eyes just in time to see a naked Stacy lowering herself to rest herself on my abdomen. And since I was shirtless, as I usually am when working out, her wonderfully hairy groin contacted my skin before she put her hands on my chest with a grin. "Does this make you want to work out more?"
My reps continued to slow as I admired the most beautiful girl on top of me. "Not necessarily. It makes me want to do something else, actually."
She wiggled her hips, causing her labia to encase an ab which felt the magnificent warm moistness that was within her tunnel. "Maybe once you've finished your workout. How much more do you have to do?"
"Just twenty-five more reps."
Hoping that my hands wouldn't get too sweaty, I tried my best to focus on repping to complete it to focus on more pressing matters. Speaking of which, she continued to press herself on me by gingerly continuing to wiggle her hips which made sure a certain part of me was fully online and operational for her to play with. And let me tell you, those last twenty-five reps felt like the longest twenty-five possible due to how my wife's steamy presence manipulated my sense of time due to how the situation was going to develop.
And when they were finally over and done with, I hung up the barbell and took a few deep breaths to calm down from the workout since it had taken a lot of energy out of me. Though my body was tapping into my reserves since it knew a special certain activity was about to play out, thanks to Stacy's gentle wiggling and soft grunts.
"Do you want to be taken care of?" I asked as I put my hands on her gyrating hips.
"Thoroughly."
I grinned at that as I let her grind on me for a few more minutes. Feeling her clit rub against my skin along with her pubic hair retaining her groin's warmth and the pleasant feeling of that hair draping against my skin is rewarding in and of itself. Her physique was so captivating that I was often lost in the sight of it. Her petite stature, her elegant posture, sexy curves, perfectly sized breasts with perky nipples, thin and soft, smooth and pale skin, beautiful, black, long hair, and a very cute softly smiling, gently blushed face where her stunning sapphire-blue eyes met my gaze... I'm so lucky.
After a minute of staying like that, I wrapped my arms around her abdomen and stood up which caused her to wrap her legs around me where I swiftly slid my remaining clothes off.
She excitedly giggled as I took us over to our bed and got on it before laying her down on her back. I then took a hold of my cock and lined it up with her hole where my glans was quickly encompassed in her flesh before I lent down to rest my forehead on hers and rewrapped my arms around her chest. I was sitting on my knees as she wrapped her arms around my neck while reasserting her legs' grip around my pelvis to make sure I wouldn't pull out of her until I emptied myself within her.
I took a deep and somewhat shaky breath as I started to make my plunge within her. It reminded me a lot of our first time, at least the position... I should really do this position with her more often, it's so lovely. But anyways, it didn't take long for me to reach her cervix which is when I pressed my lips against hers.
Our kiss persisted as we stayed stationary to just enjoy acting as one once more. That was until a couple of minutes had passed where I started the iconic motions of mating. I then steadily ramped my thrusts up until I was pounding her slit where she happily took all of what I had to give, like how she usually did. Eventually, she broke the kiss to freely moan which meant that I could admire her expression and beauty as I mated with my one and only. It was so nice to have my little horny girl just submit herself to me and relax into what I was helping her groin feel.
I often relished in the fact she's my amazing wife throughout having sex with her, a thought that reined supreme during each one of my orgasms while filling her vagina up with my seed which I did just ten minutes later, just moments after she climaxed. We intimately held each other in another kiss while staying connected for five minutes as we calmed down from our sacred and intimate dance of love.
When our passionate kiss ended yet again, we kept our foreheads resting on another as I realized just how sweaty the both of us had gotten. But that didn't change how much we enjoyed the amount of touch we were giving each other.
When she softly put a hand on the side of my face, she softly giggled and said, "We've been doing this for a year now... That first time will always have a very special place in my mind."
"Me as well. And even though every time we have sex is nearly indescribably phenomenal, that first orgasm you helped me feel will probably never be beaten... That orgasm was world-shattering."
She chuckled. "I'm still glad I made you that happy... I'll try to make you feel that happy again." I then told her how her being my partner is magnitudes better than that first orgasm because the emotional meaning she has on me trumps any physical feeling there is. It's just the physical feelings are treats and bonuses, very good bonuses. She really liked what I had to say. "And I still think it's incredible how you were able to write down and mention so many little details about everything during it."
"How could I have forgotten anything about it? I was so excited and ecstatic that it was happening, it was impossible to forget every last, phenomenal detail... It was so, so amazing."
She giggled once more. "That makes sense... Again, I'm glad I made you that happy." After I thanked her, she moved the conversation along. "How many times do you think we've had sex?"
I slowly eskimo kissed her. "Around a hundred... And I don't regret a single one of them."
"Me neither... I hope you continue to do this with me for a whole lot longer."
"For as long as we're married. Along with every other thing we do as a couple." I said, giving her a quick kiss. "There's no way I'll ever deny giving you what we both want... I'm forever grateful for everything you've done to me and let me do."
"I love you."
"I love you too..."
Yeah, not much detail this time because frankly, I don't want to go into detail since it wouldn't be all that interesting to the non-existent readers reading this due to how it would be repetitive to go over details that I always list... Well, I relist them in times that are much more interesting than vanilla sex- Why am I talking to myself like this? I dunno! Hell, I write much of my life down just 'because', why question it at this point?
Anyways, we further calmed down before we separated where I admired my work for a few moments before retrieving our camera and taking a close-up picture of her thoroughly bred slit. I then added it to the folder on the camera of just close-ups of her cum-filled pussy. That folder was a very nice and calming one to skim through when in the mood to make another creampie, they're so phenomenal... And I intend to increase the fifteen or so pictures within the folder to at least a hundred eventually, it'd be sweet to have a huge creampie picture collection of her gladly displaying to me how her god-like vagina belonged to my cock.
Right after that, we started cleaning up our mess while my mind whispered subtle hopes that this load would be the one to kick off a pregnancy. But of course, I suppressed those thoughts as we clothed ourselves, grabbed a couple of towels, and headed to the stream to wash off in the near freezing water. It sucked, but we were very dirty from the activities we partook in so we pushed through it.
(Sex over)
After returning back to base, I discussed the scavenging plan with Phoenix, spent some more time on leisure, socialized some more, before retiring for the night with Stacy where she had me sit on her chair so she could take a spot on my lap and have me hug her as she drew for half an hour. Then we hopped back in bed and got in our usual intimate sleep-snuggle as we drifted off to sleep. I just wondered how long I'd be a part of the scavenging missions ahead of us.
Eight in the morning always reaches us seemingly way too soon every time, primarily because sleeping is a form of time travel. But even though I sometimes would prefer to sleep for an hour or two more, my body won't let me since waking up at that time has been essentially branded into my 'inner clock' and is just a part of me now. I'm not complaining too much since I'd rather have this much more than having an unpredictable sleeping ‘pattern’ since that'd obviously throw every routine off track and it'd just be irresponsible.
So to continue being responsible, I got out of bed five minutes later, got dressed, put my watch and ring on, delicately kissed my still sleeping wife's forehead for a few seconds, and made my way to the dining room where I met up with Jessie, Oliver, Zaine, and Scarlet finalizing and going over their plans one more time. I let them do their thing as I patiently waited for the arrival and assembly of my crew.
Since there's no time limit that we obey, I was very lenient on times they could be late. But the courtesy of following the expected protocol is greatly respected and appreciated so it's just a smart move to follow the suggestion. Especially so your judgment of character to me, and more importantly, your coworkers doesn't needlessly deteriorate. And so after the first scavenging team departed from the base of operations, I wished them well and continued waiting for my unit to arrive where Olivia entered the room just a couple of minutes later.
It didn't take long for her to ask some question that she forgot to ask which I easily answered before retrieving a map of the town we were going to. Thankfully, the scouts who were efficient and well practiced at their job, though rudimentary, were able to mark and spot out every building of interest in a coherent manner
"I've been planning ahead for a few weeks so I had them keep their eyes peeled for the types of places I'm looking for, I was slightly worried that my request might've been denied."
"There'd've been no reason in that and would, quite frankly, be a shot in our own foot if we didn't get you what you need. Y'know, just in case someone injures themselves and you don’t have the equipment to fix whatever it might be that they need help with."
"I know I didn't need to worry but I sometimes can't help it. Anyways, when are we gettin' on the road?"
Before I could answer her, Phoenix made his way to the meet-up location. "I apologize for being a bit late, it's just Autumn's having a decent bit of trouble due to the whole Luna situation and how it's making her feel. She just needs a lot of help with it all."
"Hey, no need to apologize, that's totally understandable. The effort needed to be put in is a two person job and you need to be there for her when she needs it, it's a very respectable position to be in as long as you see it through."
He nodded, "And that I will, there's no room in my mind to be a deadbeat, piece of trash father. Even though I'm nervous and worried for a few reasons, I'm still excited to meet my daughter... Autumn especially is, a decent bit of that is because she just wants the stresses Luna's putting her through off of her."
"Yeah, pregnancy is not an easy task to complete. Regardless, it's worth it in the end for the reward." Olivia commented.
"That's quite true... Though how would you be able to go through it more than once after knowing what it's like to experience it? What Autumn's told me... Well, I'm thankful I can't get pregnant, to put it lightly."
"Again, it's the reward and feeling of comfort you get from the other parent through your trying time of growing a fetus. At least in my experience. It's totally understandable when a woman only wants a single child."
"I guess that makes sense. After all, being able to create another person is quite the superpower."
The doctor chuckled. "I might be just a bit biased, but I would argue that it's the greatest superpower."
"I would agree to that, actually." I said. "Bringing life into existence, to give someone this great gift of experiencing, is one no one should take for granted."
We continued talking about how thankful we are for being lucky enough to live with just a bit of existential questioning before our attention shifted back onto the mission at hand and more specifically, our missing member.
And so I announced, "I'll give him ten more minutes to show up before I seek him out, it's still a bit early... Though he should know not to faff around or sleep in when he knows he shouldn't."
"There seems to be a pattern of him being a tiny bit... irresponsible. Am I wrong about that conclusion?" Phoenix asked.
I thought over some reasons as to why he might think that. "Just a bit. But nothing catastrophic or anywhere near that. If it starts becoming a genuine problem, then that's when I'll bring it up to him and make sure it doesn't happen again."
"By what means will you achieve that?" Olivia curiously asked.
"A magician never tells their secret... or whatever."
She just shook her head with a small smile before we moved on from that point. Though when the man we were all waiting on for entered the room, our attention turned to him.
"Well, well, well, look who finally decided to show up." I playfully said.
"I know, but- well, y'know... I don't have a good excuse." He replied.
"...Okay then. Well, let's just quickly get ready to leave. At least you, Ashton, since we've been ready."
Since he was already fifteen or so minutes behind, he felt he should swiftly learn any of the plans he was unaware about, collect a couple more miscellaneous things for the mission, which after he did was our cue to make our way to our vehicle, hop in, and start chugging our way to the town that was essentially untouched.
While we made our way to our destination, we discussed what we'd be doing over the winter during the relative slowdown in productivity which Phoenix and Ashton said they'd be focusing on the scavenging until their hands are needed elsewhere. Well, for Phoenix's case, until his daughter was born so he could help raise her which I supported. A parent's top priority, especially one who has a newborn, is to be a good parent and not focus on their work since being a parent is a vitally crucial job to execute. Parental leave is mandatory.
"I want to make some pottery this winter. I'm pretty sure I can spare the time to do so, finally. It's been on my mind for a few months but obviously, my attention's been elsewhere. Not to say that's a bad thing since I like being busy, even if it's a small part of the community, what with the hair cutting and when people need me to check something out or when I need to heal them. And the last thing I want is for a problem to arise like... dislocated shoulders, for example."
"I have not a single clue just what you're talking about." Ashton said after Olivia's pointed statement.
My ears perked at a certain something she said though. "Oh right, I forgot you did pottery back then. Hey, would you still want to teach Stacy how to make pottery? I'm sure it's something she'll love and run with."
"Of course, I'd be glad to teach her, I don't see why I wouldn't if she wanted to. And that goes for anyone. It really depends on how much clay I can gather but it shouldn't be difficult."
"I assume Kostas will help fire them up?"
"You assume correctly. Though I might have to persuade him a bit. I'm sure I'll be successful in that endeavor."
So for the rest of the trip, the thought and image of Stacy figuring out how to mold clay into pottery with her artistic touch filled my mind. I wanted to be there when she starts learning how to make it, it'll be a fun experience. Those images only formed in my mind for ten minutes since we approached our first target of the day. I looked over the store after I got back out into the chilly air.
"Alright, let's be quick, efficient, and not get too distracted while we do this. Let's split up, we know how to contact each other when needed." I said with a tap on my walkie-talkie.
"Can I actually stay with you and help you out? I don't mean to be a bother, but I think I'd be much more useful in a team with someone." Olivia asked.
"Of course, I understand. Just tell me if anything starts acting up, alright?"
All four of us then broke our way into the store and dispersed after I got a shopping cart where Olivia led and lit up the way, scouting out the desired objects. Which she successively did just ten or so minutes later by leading me down an aisle that was stocked with handheld tools such as hammers, axes, shovels, and saws which we wasted no time in throwing in the cart.
"So, it's been a while since I've had a checkup on you. I bring it up because I'm mainly concerned about your mental state and if anything has developed beyond what you've described. Have you experienced any more hallucinations or delusions in the past couple of months?"
I thought back at experiences that were either peculiarly strong or strange. "It's... calmed down, by quite a bit actually. I still have the very intensive dream every once in a while so maybe the delusions are just transitioning to my dreams, maybe because I'm in a more vulnerable state or something like that... Though there was one last month, with Stacy, about... this town, actually."
"Oh?"
"Yeah, it wasn't strong or anything, just strange. I thought I heard her say something about people here. I'm sure it doesn't mean anything since all of these delusions have been meaningless, but it still creeps me out. Like, I'm not a superstitious person at all but... there's no one here besides us when we visit it. I'm not sure why, but it makes me weary."
"I would guess that's at least some sort of paranoia at the bare minimum, but it's great to hear how it's winding down, or at least appearing to be doing so. If it does make this 'transition' to your dreams, I would say there's really nothing to worry about besides having some bad nightmares."
"And I've had a couple of those before... They're hard to get over but I'd much rather have them over being incapacitated by delusion and going insane."
"Like always, come to me if it develops."
"Will do."
Over the course of the next thirty minutes, our collective effort raided over two and a half aisles of equipment which we promptly put in the trailer of our vehicle. Since the store lacked a lot of power tools and had a lot of large equipment we just didn't need, we left shortly after we grouped back up and marked out that the store had been scavenged via spray paint.
The next place had a decent bit of power tools which were always nice to find and take. Having a large backlog of extra tools just in case when some eventually fail and break was nice to have since there wasn't much worry of running out of them. Sure, they're currently a non-renewable source but it'll take many years to go through them all. Still, preparing for the inevitable is always the way to go.
Another thing that that particular store had was a small clothing section, it was a small general market. I didn't think much of it but I did see something in the corner of my eyes that caught my attention. There was a selection of the type of shoes that my little lady might be interested in. I only gave my eyes a few moments to look over a few pairs as I thought about whether or not I should yoink a pair that she might like. But I stopped myself from getting them, I wasn’t too sure what she'd like or if she even truly wants them. I then thought about how I should just take her somewhere so she could pick a pair out for herself... I liked that idea, so I put it on my to-do list. Though I wasn't sure when I'd do it.
The fourth hour of our excursion into the sixth store yielded the same results though that's when Olivia had to slow down since she started having trouble with the labour she was pushing herself to do. It required a lot of learning over which she tried not to do, but it's a very instinctual thing that one does to help complete a task as soon as possible. So I had her stop making herself push herself since I didn't want her to needlessly suffer.
When we met back up, she asked us to go to a couple of drug stores which I allowed since I figured it was finally time to do what she came here for and that it wouldn't be as intensive as moving tools is. Not to mention, the trailer then had a decent bit of inventory which I was close to calling it a day to unload back at Solaris. But still, I stayed at her side when we reached a drug store and bagged all of the supplements, pills, vitamins, bandages, one-use medical supplies, ointments, and other miscellaneous supplies she wanted to make sure she was fully stocked up on, or at least had some of it.
It only took us just another hour before I dumped the last load of supplies in a box full of the medical supplies in the trailer, one box of three. With that being accomplished, the four of us struck up a conversation about whether or not we should return back home.
"We could probably raid one more and squeeze a decent bit more into the trailer. It might be a tight fit, but it's definitely doable. And if not, oh well, I don't really see any harm in it." Ashton commented which Phoenix agreed with.
"I think it's not really needed. Not to mention, I would really rather us not cram anything, if necessary. It's not exactly full since the trailer's quite big, but if anymore is added then the possibility of the tools clanging together might damage some of them so I'd rather not risk it." Olivia counter-argued.
I weighed the options of both sides of the arguments. "I refer back to how we have a lot of time this winter to do it all so there's no rush. Not to mention, and no offence Olivia, we'd be more efficient with another fully operational person with our crew."
"None taken, I understand." She sweetly said.
"I also just don't want to indirectly push Olivia since it's kinda difficult to keep her... y'know, not straining herself-"
"Hello, over there! That's a sweet vehicle you guys got!" I heard an unknown feminine and somewhat faint voice call to us which cut me off.
I instantly became alarmed and turned to where the voice originated from to see three strangers making their way toward us. They were properly clothed and equipped with backpacks so I instantly knew that they'd most likely have some sort of weapon concealed with them. My first thought was suspicion about if they wanted to rob us of our vehicle as they continued their stride toward us. I didn't receive any negative energy from their stance but I still couldn't help but be extremely alarmed since... y'know, they're strangers.
"Indeed it is, it's one of the finest models you can get in all of the land. Do you three have a mode of transportation?" I replied with a raised voice as I softly put a hand on the revolver in my holster.
Who I assumed to be their leader (an olive skinned woman with long, brown, curly hair) defensively put their hands up as they continued closing the distance between us though they started slowing down. "We mean you no harm, stranger. We hope you don't either."
"Not unless you give us a reason." Olivia bluntly said as the unknown group stopped about fifteen meters away.
"We certainly won't give you one as long as you do the same." A tan skinned, black haired man on their leader's right matter of factly replied.
"Good, I'm sure we all have families, friends, and loved ones we want to get back to. No reason for anyone to get hurt or die here, especially considering how few of us are left." I said as the light grasp of my gun softened but I was still ready to sling it out if the strangers made a nefarious move.
"That we do... No, we just have our legs to transport us, to answer your question." The woman replied which piqued my interest.
Though Ashton beat me first to a question. "Are there more of you?"
"Was about to ask you the same thing." A different white skinned and blonde haired woman replied.
"Yes, quite a few more actually." Their leader said. "And I assume there's quite a few more of your numbers too if you're able to get that vehicle up and running again. That's quite an accomplishment."
"What do you want from us?" Phoenix asked as a type of tension built up between us. It was nothing major, just the unknown between us enforcing a lack of trust between the seven of us.
"To talk." Their leader said with a friendly smile. "We've seen your group come to this town every once in a while. We're wondering where you guys come from, if you're a threat, if you're in a community, how advanced you all are, stuff like that."
"...So you took the chance to sacrifice yourselves by walking up to us?" I inferred, the situation not making all that much sense.
"We're sneaky." The blonde haired lady said. "We've kept a close eye on your group ever since we first spotted you when any of you have been here. And we've overheard a few conversations had between your members."
"Note to self; learn how to be aware of sneaky people later" I thought. "What exactly were those conversations about?"
"The ones that we thought were important were ones talking about building a community. And we've come to the conclusion that this community of yours is real given the evidence right in front of us." Their leader said with a nod to the car. "I just wanted to make sure if you were hostile or not before contacting you. And seeing how none of you have pulled your weapons out, then I think it's safe to say that you won't hurt us even though the big guy right here hasn't taken his hand off his weapon yet."
"It's a precautionary measure just in case I need to defend my friends. I'd hate for my doctor, my miner, and the incoming father to get hurt or die." I said, revealing a hefty amount of information to the strangers.
The leader-lady looked shocked after she received the news. "One of you is a doctor...?" She asked which Olivia quickly confirmed for herself. "What kind of doctor are you? Do you do surgeries?"
"If needed and I have the proper equipment, yes... Why do you ask?" The doctor replied.
"May we walk forward so we can talk at a more reasonable distance?" The woman asked which I allowed after a short internal debate where the group of strangers closed the distance before they stood roughly five meters away from us. That's when I realized how tired she looked. "We've... we've been needing a doctor for a while, especially now these days. Some of our health is going out the window, what with our teeth, there's a pregnancy, one of us has recently most likely started getting appendicitis. And there's a lot of mild pains that we're not sure how to deal with."
I finally pieced it all together. "...Are y'all from a community of your own?"
The man from earlier nodded. "We are. Our leader was against the idea of letting us contact you all before we explained to him that you guys are more advanced than us and that it might be worth the risk for several reasons."
My heart skipped a beat at that confirmation. But more so at remembering the delusion that I had about Stacy saying something about how this town had people within it that... needed help. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I lost a tiny bit of color in my face as a feeling of anxiety entered my veins. It wasn't incredibly strong but it was enough to make me feel slightly queasy which I wasn't a fan of. I also wasn't a fan of how it... it kind of scared me. Maybe it was a coincidence... it had to be, it had to be a coincidence... Right?
"If you are actually a doctor then we really need you.. We've been hoping for someone like you to be met." The blonde haired lady said.
After quashing most of my feelings so I could focus on the matter at hand, Olivia and I glanced at each other. "There's a lot we need to talk about before I let my doctor anywhere near your people. You do realize how risky of a call that is to make for me, right?"
Leader-lady nodded. "I understand. What's needed to be said before we can get your doctor's help? The person who we think is getting appendicitis has been experiencing severe pain and… he'll probably die if he doesn't get it taken out of him. None of us are qualified to open him up and we've been hoping that he doesn't die over it but hopes don't take us very far at all... Though, it seems our figurative prayers have been answered."
"Well first things first, what are your names?"
"Addison." The leader-lady revealed.
"Rylee." The blonde haired woman announced.
And the man's name turned out to be Francisco. After my group revealed their names I asked, "How many are in your group?"
"Twenty-four in total. You do realize how nerve-wracking revealing that is, right?" Addison said. The anxiety was subtle but I picked up on it. Unless she was a splendid actress then she was telling the truth. And because I am the way I am, I didn't set aside that possibility.
"We're well aware. After all, all four of us came from different groups that merged into one." Olivia said. "We all know what it's like to take a risk like this. But we all were on our lonesome at the beginning of this all, after all. Wanderers just need to take the risk which I know is a lot to ask for."
"What about you? How big is your group?" Francisco asked.
"Thirty-two. We're quite self-sufficient, armed, and able. Our community, Solaris, has a solar array that powers our homes and we have a couple of acres of crop fields that have already been harvested. We're planning to double it next year." I revealed, not that worried about telling them that since it wouldn't hurt, would it? As long as I didn't give them the location.
"Named and everything, huh?" Rylee said. "Would your leader be fine with you telling this to strangers? Ours certainly wouldn't."
"Considering you're speaking to the leader of Solaris, I'm sure he'd be fine with it." They looked a little surprised after I said that. "Our community is seeking to grow and accept as many abled and good hearted people that are left to help achieve our ulterior goal of rebuilding something that resembles a functional society. We've even built a sign network telling stragglers where to meet us at for a type of interview for admission. We've only met three or so people outside of that area due to chance... But then there's you three so I guess it's up to six."
"Aren't you afraid of letting someone evil into your community?" Addison asked.
I nodded, figuring to not bring up the Elliot situation. "Always. But without an inflow of people, then our goals and wants are unobtainable. Risk is something I must take so we can all collectively move forward. Speaking to you guys right now, who might be thinking of killing, robbing, or torturing us, is one I'm willing to take. If this community of yours exists then this is fantastic news."
"That does make a lot of sense..." Rylee commented. "What would it take to see this 'Solaris'?"
"A meeting with your leader for starters." I simply replied. "Pictures of your community would also be extremely helpful but I assume your community doesn't have electricity...?"
Addison nodded. "Correct."
"We can charge up a camera back at Solaris and hand it to you guys during this meeting between leaders." Ashton coined the idea of.
"That's a good idea. Then we'll have another meeting after that before one side visits the other side... That is if you three like that idea." I said.
"It... It's risky and dangerous. I would personally be willing to do both of those things driven by the need to do so, but we'll need to talk with our leader first about it all. From what you've told us though, I think there's a good chance of some type of communication line being set up. It really depends on cooperation." Addison said. "We'll talk to him about this all and reveal what he says in a couple of days. You guys can meet us back up here at that time, right?"
I nodded. "This is... fairly important if what you claim is true. If so, then this will be our first contact of another proper settlement and frankly, that intrigues me for several reasons. If this leader of yours exists, then tell him that if we get off on the right foot of trust and good faith then only good and positive things will result in it. Things like letting my doctor help your people out, help develop our communities together, and maybe set up a trade route plus a lot of other things I'd like to discuss with your leader."
"That all does sound amazing indeed..." Rylee said before slightly turning to Addison. "When should we go tell Ezra about this all?"
"As soon as the Solaris group here wants to depart. Do you guys want to ask any more questions before we set off back to our group?" Addison replied.
"There's a lot of minor questions I'd ask but I want this conversation to continue with your leader. I will say, before that happens, my group will be prepared for the worst if we get attacked. I will not take the chance for any of my people to be killed or harmed." I matter of factly said.
Francisco nodded. "That's the smart and correct thing to do, anyone reasonable would understand it."
"I will be bringing four of my people to this meeting. Have it so that your group also comes in a maximum of five and no more. I'm sure you can understand why I ask that."
"Will do, Hunter. We look forward to talking to you more and we hope that all works out well... It's just that our friend with appendicitis doesn't have that much time as we think it's becoming the worst case scenario type of appendicitis." Addison said.
"Bring him to the meeting. If needed, we can take him back to Solaris for treatment since we have all of what we need there." Olivia replied, the want to help another human prevalent in her words. It was something I almost shot down but stopped myself. I would talk to her about it in depth later.
"We will." Rylee replied as the encounter started wrapping up. "We'll meet each other here again in a couple of days. Until then, good luck with all of your endeavors."
"You guys too." Phoenix replied.
It didn't take the strangers much longer to break off and turn around before heading back to where they came from. We then decided we should hike it back to base and as my group boarded the car, I couldn't stop wondering about where this other community was located and how precise that conversation was. I also couldn't help but be happy in a way that there was another community... if what they said is true. If so, then I wonder how many other communities are out there just waiting to be contacted in a hundred mile radius... I hope there's at least a thousand other people within that radius. One last thing I felt but was actively trying to ignore was the delusion… It’s impossible to describe just how odd that it’s made me feel. Ignoring it probably isn’t the best thing to do but what else can I do?
The four of us continued talking about the encounter as we made our way back to Solaris. "I'm just wondering when we'll get attacked by someone..." Ashton admitted.
"Well... I mean, Etsu kind of did that to Kostas but that was before even your group had joined us, Phoenix." Olivia replied, which surprised Phoenix.
I took that as my cue to tell the story to him. I was surprised it was never told to him but I guess it wasn't a fun topic that the two in the knife-fight like to talk about. So after telling the story of how we met Etsu, I said, "And then Autumn kind of attacked me not too long ago..."
"That doesn't count! It wasn't really her fault, and you know how bad she still feels about that..."
"Hey, I'm thankfully not dead, probably, so we can laugh about it and not hold any grudges. Anyways, I always wonder when the next attack will be since I know that's... well, it's probably inevitable. I just hope that no one dies as a result of it."
"I wonder what their community is capable of." Olivia pondered as she looked out of her window. "And what their people might've been before The Drop, occupation wise, and how useful they could be."
I lightly chuckled. "I've already wondered about that too. The point of contacting them is to use their numbers for all of our advantage... Sounds fucked up a bit but that's how it goes. We need the numbers for labour to farm, fish, hunt, build, all of that. As long as they're treated with dignity and respect, I see no problem."
It was strange to say that and know that I'm accumulating the power to make people do what I want, when I want. I wanted to continue slowly building my power and influence up so I can further continue guiding Solaris into the future. It's fun in a way to see progress being made, especially when you actively work for it as well. Yes, even through the hiccups of pain... Well, fun isn't the right word for it, more so I understand why it happens but it doesn't halt the feeling of satisfaction from the accomplishments of progress.
But back to the present. Now that this revelation has happened, there's gonna be a whole bunch of conversations had about it along with speculations about them and how we should handle the situation. With my nerves heightened, I accepted the reality and wanted to figure out how to move forward in the best way possible with my high command, for our collective future.