Dan and the Bottle Ch. 11

Bob Gunderson walked into the Hall, looking more fit and well fed than he had a few weeks ago when he'd brought his village into the shelter. He walked over to the table, grabbing a cup of coffee, and then came over to talk to Jim.

"Art, what the hell are you doin' here?" he asked, seeing his friend from the village north of his.

Art looked up, stunned. It was his old friend, surely... but looking healthier than he had in years.

"Bob! They told me you were here, but I wasn't sure I believed 'em! How are you?"

"I'm fine, old friend. Hell, better'n fine, now that I'm here. Are your people comin' to live here?"

"Well, there ain't but eleven of us here, now... it was all that fit in that truck. There's still twenty eight, back in town." He shot a look at Archer, wondering if he'd said too much.

Gunderson caught the look and smiled.

"You don't need to worry about Mister Archer. He's a good man. He's the one who brought us here, gave us homes, food, clothes, jobs to do. You can trust him."

Art shot a look at Jim, nodding. If Bob Gunderson trusted him, that was good enough.

Jim smiled. "We had to, Bob.... hell, I can't stand seeing Americans mistreated, like those punks did you."

He paused in thought for a moment.

"Mister Perry, do you think the rest of the people in your village would come here to live, given the chance?"

"If they don't, I'd have to guess they had something wrong up here." he replied, tapping his temple.

"Ok... will you go with a few of my people, up to your village? You can tell them they can relocate here, and my people can drive the trucks and offer some protection from the Chinese. I'll see to getting the apartments ready for you folks."

"Alright, but... what about our animals? We've got cows and chickens, and a few pigs. We can't just leave them to starve to death."

"Just leave the gates open... they'll go out and find places to graze, and they know where their home is. They'll come back."

He called his wife, asking her to come down.

Jan Archer listened as her husband explained what he wanted, then got on her phone with the housing office, learning that there were more apartments open than she'd originally thought... more than enough to take in an additional forty people.

She instructed them to see to it that they were all properly stocked with the essentials, and the keys for each of them brought down to the Hall.

Jim, Bob, and Art made plans to head up to the village that night, while the Chinese would, hopefully, be ensconced in their base. If they worked it right, they could have the entire village relocated to the Cave and the families set up in apartments by dawn.

He wondered, for a moment, what the soldiers would think of the population of the village disappearing overnight.... until he realized that he didn't much care what they thought.

Six trucks rolled out of the Cave, thirty minutes later; by sunrise, the last of them were rolling back in, and a clean up crew was at work, obliterating the tire tracks that led from the pathway to their door.

Within another two hours, everyone was situated in apartments and bedded down for the morning. By the midafternoon, the newcomers were awake and assembled in the Hall, and Jim, Art, and Bob were addressing them.

Jim looked them over for a moment before speaking.

"Welcome, folks. We're glad you're here. As some of you already know, I'm Jim Archer, and I kinda lead this city. We're a free society; the Chinese don't know we exist, though some of 'em have found out... just before they died."

The villagers were now looking back and forth at each other, the looks on their faces reflecting everything from amusement to alarm to fear and worry. People who killed soldiers were generally hunted down and killed.

"Now... you might have guessed this, but I'll tell you anyway-everybody, and I mean everybody, save for the very young and the very old- has some sort of job in here. You can work with the kitchen staff, you can help out the elderly, doing their grocery shopping, cooking, and whatnot, you can help out on the farms, taking care of the animals and the fields, whatever you're best at. We work on a basis of accounts here... what you do to help out earns you credits that can be spent on foods in the grocery warehouses, sporting goods and other things in the general store warehouse, at the bars and restaurants, of which we have several, and the dispensary. The apartments you moved into when you got here were stocked with about three months of food; when that runs out, you'll have to buy more with the credits you build up."

He paused a moment to let that sink in, taking the chance to take a sip of his coffee.

"For your first few months or so, you will have guides, to show you where things are at, what's what in the way of groceries--those things you haven't seen before, at any rate-- and to teach you how to use the things in those apartments that you don't understand right now."

He took another sip of coffee before continuing.

"We will also teach you how to read and write, and work with numbers, so you can manage how many credits you've built up and keep yourselves within your budgets."

A younger man, towards the back of the crowd, stood up and asked "Will you teach us to fight?"

Archer nodded. "If that's what you want, sure... but keep in mind--we're playing for keeps. These Chinese punks have taken our country, so they tell me. We're going to take it back, no matter how long it takes... and I expect it to take quite some time. I don't care. This is America, not Communist China part 2. If you join us in this, you'd best be prepared to live up to that. We will not give up, ever. We will fight until we're wiped out to the last man, or our country is ours again."

"Ok... count me in."

Archer peered closely at the kid. "Son, how old are you?"

"I'm 17, Sir."

"Well, you're a little old to start the training, but we'll take whoever we can get." he replied with a grin.

The session with the Chinese officer turned out to be a bit more fruitful than they had hoped for; morale at the Chinese bases was uniformly lousy, with soldiers constantly trying to either fake an illness of their own or claiming a relative was direly ill, anything to get sent home. Even with the fresh food taken from the numerous villages, the women in what the soldiers referred to as their 'private brothel', and the minimal resistance they faced, many were still dissatisfied; most were simply homesick. They had all left friends and family behind, and many had wives and children in China.

Much of their equipment was old and poorly maintained. The two "Hind" Helicopters at their base were barely flyable, and three of their five heavy tanks had not run in at least three years. The AK-47 rifles his soldiers carried were well over fifty years old, and he himself had discarded his Chinese made nine millimeter pistol in favor of an American made Colt .45 ACP as soon as he'd found one in the arsenal of an old police station.

Leeanne lay back in the bed, her head on Gar's shoulder, and sighed deeply in post-orgasmic bliss. He kissed her on the forehead, lightly and said "You ok, babe?

She looked up at him and grinned. "I am now."

He smiled and rubbed her slightly bulging tummy. "I guess this has something to do with it."

She grinned back at him. "A bit, yeah.... but I think it has something to do with work, too."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Oh? What's going on?"

"You know that girl I've been counseling?"

"That one from the village? What was her name? Billie Jean?"

"That's her... the one who was raped by the soldiers, just before we brought them in to the Cave."

"Ok, what about her?"

"She isn't afraid of men, so much, anymore. Jim Archer came into the office earlier today, during a session, and she didn't cringe away from him. Matter of fact, she almost seemed happy to see him."

"You must be doing some good for her, then."

"Maybe.... but I think there's something else going on.... I know she spent the day down at the lake with Mickey Miller, Cassie, and Doris the other day. I think maybe they did something with her. She doesn't seem too afraid anymore."

He grinned at her. "You think maybe she got laid properly?"

"I don't know... but I know those three are a threesome. Maybe they seduced her."

"Well, if it helps, and she starts getting comfortable around men again, it's a good thing, right?"

"I suppose.... I just don't want her getting hurt again."

"Honey, how old is she?"

"She's eighteen, and yes, I know, that's old enough that she should be dating. You've gotta remember, though... until she came here, she had a pretty rough time of it. From what she's said, during our sessions, she's been raped more than once by those soldier bastards. The only guy who's ever really been good to her is her dad. She needs more interaction with young men her own age. I'm just afraid she's too naive to handle too much at once."

"Well... you know, the kids haven't had a dance, or anything like that, in quite a while. Maybe it's about time they did. Let the villagers and the Cave kids get to know one another."

"You think that would help? Really?"

"Honey, the newcomers haven't had much of a chance to mix with our kids. They need to meet each other, get acquainted. It'll do both groups some good. Besides, it'll add some fresh blood to the gene pool. Never a bad thing, that... and where else do they get a chance to meet, really? Most of the new kids, no matter their age, are still basically in first or second grade. Most of our kids, of the same age, are doing college level studying, or working full time. Let's put them in one room, a little music, a little food, a little drink, a bit of pot, and let them mix for a night."

"You might have something there... but no pot, just yet. I want them to get a good grounding in the basics before they start killing brain cells. "

"Ok, but you know what I mean... get them together and see what happens."

"You really think she'll find someone?"

"A natural redhead, with tits like hers? She'll be beatin' 'em off with a stick!"

"Hey! You're supposed to be looking at my tits!"

He grinned at her. "Babe, if I wasn't lookin', you'd think there was something wrong with me.... besides, I prefer women over girls. Well, one woman, anyway."

He kissed her on the forehead.

"That, and you know that if you cheat on me, I'll cut this off." She replied, grabbing his semi hard cock.

"Now, now.... no need to threaten like that... besides, if you cut me off, you'd be 'cut off', too.... "

"Oh, I'm sure I could find someone, eventually."

He leaned over and kissed her lightly. "Maybe... but what would you do tonight?"

She slapped him lightly on his bare chest. "Ok, you win that one..."

"And? What do I win?"

"Well.... You haven't given me any backdoor lovin', lately."

"Hmmm... is that an invitation, dear?"

She gave his cock a firm squeeze, stroking it lightly, and whispered in his ear "What do you think, lover?"

"Have we got any lube left?" he asked, reaching down and insinuating his middle finger into her tight anus, wiggling it around and opening up her little rosebud a little.

"It's on your side, babe."

He turned a bit, reaching to his nightstand and grabbing the small bottle. Squeezing a little out on his fingertip and sliding it into her ass, he spread it around a little, then spooned up to her, sliding his hardness into her tight rectum slowly as she gasped at the intrusion. Bottoming out in her ass, he reached around and massaged her tits as he started stroking into her ass slowly, letting her grow accustomed to the intrusion before picking up speed. It was an awkward position, but allowed him to nuzzle her neck below her ear and fondle her tits.

"Oh, God, babe! Harder!" she moaned as he picked up speed, and soon they were slamming against each other, him grunting on every stroke, while she moaned nonstop. She reached down, fingering her clit, triggering an orgasm, turning her head and kissing him hard before whispering "Doggie, dear?"

He smiled at her and replied "Arf arf." with a grin, and pulled out of her for a moment so she could crawl up to her knees, grabbing the headboard with both hands.

He got to his knees behind her, fitting the head of his cock once more to her tight little hole, and slammed it all the way home in one stroke, eliciting a small squeal from her as he began pounding into her in earnest.

"Oh, oh, oh, oh ,OH! Give me that cock, babeeeeeee! Oh, yeah! Harder, honey I'm cummmming! Unnnghhhhhh!!" She screamed as another orgasm hit her hard, sending pussy juice streaming down the insides of her thighs. "MMMmmmmm..... Ohhhh.... give it to me honeeeeeeee!"

He couldn't hold the pace for long, and she was squeezing him hard, inside her ass; soon, he was blasting ropes of his cum deep into her bowels. He slammed into her hard, a final time, and fondled a full tit as he kissed the back of her neck.

"God, I wish we'd gotten together sooner." He breathed out, resting his cheek against her back for a long moment before pulling out his now shrinking dick.

He finally collapsed onto his back, and she laid down beside him, fitting herself to his side and laying her head on his shoulder, throwing an arm and a leg possessively across his body.

"We're together now, baby... and I'm never letting you go." she replied, kissing him on the jaw.

He turned his head to kiss her more thoroughly, replying "I know, honey.... you know I feel the same.... God, I love you."

Phil Huett, Mark Miller, Tom Davidson, and Jim Archer drove the four big trucks straight into the next village, with Art Perry and Bob Gunderson riding along.

Art and Bob jumped out first, stepping inside to find the nervous villagers trying desperately to hide the big stewpots.

Art stepped into the lead, saying, "It's ok, Riley.... we didn't come to take food from you."

"Art? What the hell are you doing here? And what are you doin', ridin' around with the soldiers?"

"They're not soldiers, folks.... they're friends. Would you care to meet them?"

A few people nodded, somewhat cautiously, Bob stepped back to the door and motioned them inside.

Jim and Phil walked into the gym building of the old school, looking around the room and nodding to the people there.

Stepping up beside Art and Bob, he turned to look over the villagers, certain that he had their full attention.

They, in turn, looked back at him, assessing the burly stranger within their midst. He was wearing an odd form of camouflage, as was his friend, and he was carrying what appeared to be several guns; a rifle strapped to his back and a pistol at his belt. He wore a cap that anyone more than a hundred and fifty years old would have recognized as a Marine Corps. cover, and what had once been known as Special Forces tiger stripe camo.

"Good evening, folks. My name is James Archer, and I'm from a small city, about a hundred miles south of here. We're here to ask you if you'd like to move to a place where the Chinese can't get to you, while we clean out that base to the north of you."

This caused quite a stir, with people darting looks at each other all over room. Finally, the man Art had addressed as Riley stepped forward.

"What do you mean, Sir, 'Clean out that base'?"

"We're going to observe it for a week or so, assess the weaknesses, and then kill everyone on it, and destroy it."

"Why? What did they do to you?"

"Mr. ... Riley, is it?"

At the other man's nod, he continued "Do they come here and take food away from you? Do they take your young women to use as sex slaves? Have they killed your young men without reason?"

The other man stroked his chin as he nodded. "There's nothing we can do about it. That is the way of things here."

Archer stared at him, stunned by his defeatist attitude.

"No, Sir, it isn't. This is America. It is Not a colony of Communist China. It Is a country that was founded on a basis of free markets and a Constitutionally Limited Republic. It was founded on the idea that a man was free to make his own way in the world, and wasn't considered a slave to some foreign invader punks."

He paused for long moments, taking a canteen from his belt and taking a long swallow from it before continuing.

"The city we live in was founded upon the same basis. I've served as leader for the past ten years, but I'm elected... as a matter of fact, this is my last term in office, under our laws. I have an informal council, who meets with me on a semi regular basis, and I listen to them, as long as they make sense. Some decisions I make myself, others I discuss with the council for days or weeks at a time. When my term is up, I'll turn the office over to whoever gets elected to replace me... and that gladly. We don't follow any particular ideology; we don't allow our elections to devolve into 'popularity contests'..... we pick people based on what they do, not on what they say."

"Everybody in our city, with the exception of the very young and the very old, works to earn their keep. We have teachers, farmers, mechanics, cooks and canners, bakers and gunsmiths, distillers and wine makers, people who care for the kids and do running for the elderly. Our children learn to read almost as soon as they can talk, and learn to hunt and take care of themselves before they become teen agers. Our city is well hidden, heavily armed, and we're always training new people to fight by our sides. Nobody goes hungry, and everyone is cared for. We would like to ask you to join us. Discuss it amongst yourselves, decide what you wish to do, and let me know. I can only give you half an hour to decide; we want to be well away from here, before the sunrise."

Looking around the room, seeing people already nodding in agreement, hearing the low buzz of their conversations, he knew they wouldn't need a full half hour to decide... most of them had made their minds up before he'd finished speaking.

Within twenty minutes, the villagers had retrieved those things they wanted to take along, finished their evening meal, and were organized into equal sized groups to load into the four trucks.

A little over an hour later, they were back at the Cave, being led to the Great Hall.

Once again, there were tables set off to one side with food and drink. Art and Bob took the villagers to them, nodding to the servers and greeting a few of them by name, pointing out a few of their personal favorites to the newcomers and grabbing sandwiches and cups of juice for themselves.

Jim went through the usual welcome speech, had them split up into family groups, had volunteer guides join them, and sent them off to their new quarters. By daybreak, all were settled in for the time being, and life settled back into a routine for the next week.

Phil Huett led his small scouting party around the base, noting the fact that this one was much bigger than the last; most significant was the addition of a small airstrip, roughly a mile long, with a large attached hanger, from which protuded the nose of what appeared to be a fair sized cargo plane.

They split up into four, two man teams and went to four sides of the fenced-in base, taking digital photos of all the points of interest, including the control tower, the numerous guard towers, and the many buildings that made up the place. They also took note of the fact that this place was a bit more security conscious; there were regular guard patrols, complete with canines and their handlers.

They met up in the woods well to the north of the base and set up three small camoflage tents, using cut pine boughs and handfuls of twigs, branches, and leaves to break up the outlines further, and bedded down for part of the day.

In the late afternoon, they suited up and headed back to the enemy base, intent on filling up the fresh memory cards in their cameras with as many pictures as they could get.