Apocalypse Wow, Pt. 14

If you are new to this series, welcome. It's not necessary to have read the earlier parts to enjoy this story although it will certainly add significant context.

The basics:

An unknown biological catastrophe has killed off almost the entire population of the world, much of it in just a single day. The First Day. Initially, men, and only men, were transformed into feral, flesh hungry monsters known colloquially to survivors as 'red-eyes' before, apparently, dying off. On that First Day, many American cities were obliterated in nuclear blasts, launched in a vain attempt to contain the catastrophe.

Of those who survive, only a tiny fraction are men - only those possessed of an extremely rare genetic combination that protected them from infection. Parts 1 to 13 of this series took the form of one of those male survivors, Jim, giving an account of the initial months after the apocalypse some 35 years later to his daughter Dani, an oral historian, as what started with just him and Simone, a women he met on the First Day, developed into a community of survivors and a Network of such communities.

For those returning to the series, as I mentioned in part 13, I always felt there was a lot more to explore in Jim's world and this story is the first of those explorations. I originally intended that each of these would be a one off, each one exploring a separate aspect of the world, but as I got into it, as these things have a habit of doing, it kind of grew legs, and then arms, and then other things and I wanted to maintain at least some fidelity to the general length of the previous stories in the series.

So, this is the first of what will be three parts focussing on an aspect of the world we found out a little about here and there throughout the series so far, the way Jim's Community and the rest of the alluded to 'Network' of communities tried to manage the survival of the species with so few men left alive, what Dani referred to as Servicing.

Set around the same time that Jim was giving his account to Dani, that is around 35 years after the First Day, this story's location moves, at first, to the community of Haven.

Enjoy.

***

"Luke, come on. For fuck's sake, you're gonna be late."

Standing in front of the mirror in the bedroom he shared with three others, Luke was unconcerned about being late. Karen, the mother of one of his room mates, although not his mother, was always a little over zealous when it came to time keeping as far as he was concerned. He had plenty of time. Lots of time.

Besides, he felt he was entitled to this few minutes to himself. Penny, Jake and Lisa had only just left for school or work, and he'd been the last to use the shower. This was the first time he'd had to himself to really steel himself. After all, as he'd been told many times, this was the biggest day of his life.

He tried to name how he was feeling. Nervous definitely came up high on the list, but he had the self-awareness to know there was more to it than that. He was excited. Of course he was. I wonder if we'll actually do it today. Probably not on the first day. Probably not for ages actually. I wonder who my Trainer will be.

"Luke, I swear to god, if you're not down here in 30 seconds..."

Luke smiled. Karen's bark was very much worse than her bite, and as the person mostly responsible for his upbringing as the First of the house he lived in, he understood that he could have done a lot worse. She was, mostly, kind and she was fiercely protective. And he knew she only wanted to make sure everything went OK for his first day.

"You look good," she observed when he finally made his way to the oddly empty kitchen. "How are you feeling? Nervous?"

"I'm... yeah... I mean, a little. I guess."

"You'll do fine honey," Karen observed, smiling as she put a plate of scrambled eggs and toast in front of him on the table along with a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Actually, from what Bonnie tells me, you're gonna do great!"

"Karen! Jeez, gimme a break."

Karen merely chuckled as she retrieved her coffee and sat next to him.

"I'm just kidding honey. Besides, it's a good thing. Not everyone is lucky enough to have some experience before they start training. It'll stand to you."

"I don't know Karen, I mean it was only that one time and, well..."

"Don't sweat it Luke. First times are... special. Something you'll always remember. The TC is something different. And the folks down there know what they're doing, OK?"

"Yeah... I know."

Luke took a sip of coffee and was aware that Karen was looking at him in that way she did sometimes, like she was proud of him, her eyes a little misty. He understood where it came from. He knew she'd been 21 on the First Day, that she'd been one of the founders of Haven afterwards, thirty-five years before. Sometimes he was in awe of what people like Karen, the founders of Haven, the founders of the Network, had achieved back then, when so many of them had been so young, his age, more or less. So he knew that the ongoing success of Haven, of the entire Network, meant a great deal to her, that she knew first hand what might have happened had things not turned out this way.

So he didn't begrudge her the tears in her eyes while she hugged him as he left, not even when the sight of them brought home to him just how significant the part of his life he was about to embark on was.

He knew Servicing wasn't going to become his entire life, that there would be lots of ways he'd contribute to the community and to the Network, not least through the training he'd already begun as a carpenter and builder. Still, there was something so fundamental about Servicing that made his stomach flutter just a little as he walked out the door. Taking responsibility, even just a small share of responsibility, for the very survival of the species was a pretty big deal for a nineteen year old, for anyone really.

Though it was still before eight in the morning as he started down Haven's main, curving street, the sun shining brightly overhead, there were plenty of people out and about, plenty of noise and activity, as there always was. There was always something to be done in Haven. Sometimes it felt like the town would never be finished. The thirty or so houses that had been there on the First Day, part of what Luke had been taught was once called a 'gated community', was now closer to fifty and, with a lot of help from other Network communities, like Simonia and Harbortown, there was also the huge Meeting Place - the hub of activity in Haven, the stables and livery, the school, the medical center and, of course, the Training Centre that was his destination that morning.

He spotted Alex, on his knees tending flowers as he so often was and he smiled, preparing himself for the inevitable pep talk that lay ahead.

"Luke!" Alex called when he spotted him. It took him longer to get up that it used to, Luke observed internally, and his grey hair was matted to his forehead with a sheen of sweat.

"Hey Alex, nice morning."

"Sure is. Big day, huh?"

"Yeah, I guess. I'm a little nervous."

"Now don't you worry about that. They'll take good care of you at the TC, they know their job. And you'll do great Luke, I know you will."

Luke saw that same smile of pride on Alex's face, the same one he'd seen on Karen's. Alex was an original, one of the handful of men who'd survived the First Day, guys like Jim Sullivan and Tom Jackson. And, Luke knew, those men shared a special bond.

"Your dad'd be so proud of you Luke," the older man observed, eyeing Luke wistfully. Tom Jackson, from H-town, had passed away some ten years before. Luke always regretted not being able to get to know him better as he got older, but he was nevertheless proud that his father had lived long enough to see the Network, that he'd been so essential to forming and developing, doing so well, thriving.

"I know Alex, thanks."

"Break a leg, huh?" Alex said, chuckling, and gave Luke a clap on the back to send him on his way.

There were a few more knowing looks and encouraging smiles as Luke made his way down Haven's gentle slope toward the Training Centre.

"Knock 'em dead, kiddo!" Flo Green called from the open window of the bakery.

"Good luck Luke!" Maggie Peters shouted from the door of the school house.

As he approached the stables, he wasn't sure whether he was hoping Bonnie would be there or not.

As it was, the warm feeling he got when he saw her told the tale and he was a little conscious that he was probably smiling stupidly at her, but he didn't care because she was smiling back at him, like she always did. Her long blond curls were tied back loosely and her face was flushed from the exertions of her early morning work, her day having started a lot earlier than Luke's. But, like always, he knew she was glad to see him.

"Excited?" she said, moving over to lean on the fence so she could talk to him.

"Sure, I guess. A little nervous maybe," Luke replied, standing on the other side of the fence and hoping, like he almost always did when he was with her, that the way he was looking at her, the way he couldn't help looking at her, didn't make her feel uncomfortable.

"You'll be awesome Luke, I know it."

"Thanks Bee, I... I sure hope so," Luke said, blushing despite himself.

"And hey, if you need someone to practice with later..."

Luke felt his blushing intensify as Bonnie reached over the fence to put her hand gently on his chest, picking at a non-existent piece of fluff, and he gulped hard. He worried a little sometimes just how quickly and how much she had an affect on him. The sound of her voice, this gentlest of touches, the sweetness of her smile, the kindness in her big, blue eyes. She made him melt, every time.

"Wow, um, cool. Yeah, that'd be awesome."

"I sure hope so!" Bonnie said, laughing. "See you later Luke," she called, returning to her work.

For a moment, Luke watched her go. He loved the way she laughed, with her whole body, and it was hard to take his eyes off her. It always was. He was uncertain whether the mood she'd been able to instantly put him in was going to be of benefit in the Training Centre but, he concluded, there wasn't really a lot he could do about that.

Despite Karen's warnings, he was plenty early for his appointment. The lobby of the training center was an open, bright and airy space, lit with two huge windows salvaged from a mall in Durden, what had once been the closest reasonably large town, some twenty or thirty miles away.

"Well aren't you the eager beaver this morning," Alice announced from behind the reception desk.

"Morning Alice," Luke replied, smiling sheepishly.

"Welcome Luke," she said, more formally, coming out from behind the desk and offering her hand. "Your dad would be so proud today."

Luke smiled sheepishly again as he took her proffered hand, remembering that Alice also shared a child with his dad, his eldest sister Liddy, one of the first children ever born in Haven.

"Thanks Alice."

"Well, let's get you started then, no point in wasting time. You ready?"

Luke appreciated that Alice hadn't asked the question in a throw away manner, that she was really asking, still giving him an out. Not that he hadn't been asked before of course. In their final year of school, male Haveners were taught very clearly that joining a Servicing Team was an honor and a privilege rather than a right or an obligation, and Luke had already been through a series of psychological and physical tests over several months to even reach this stage. But joining had never been in doubt for him. He wasn't sure really why he was so certain, maybe it was just the way he was raised. As soon as he met the requirements, as soon as he turned eighteen, he'd signed up to begin the tests. And now that his training was about to start, that he was in the actual Training Centre, nervous though he was, he knew he didn't regret his choice.

"I'm ready Alice, thanks," he said solemnly, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

"Alright then, follow me."

Alice led him behind the reception desk where a door led onto a corridor with three rooms on either side, lit by a window at the end. During the testing phase, he'd learned that these were the training suites, each one self-contained and soundproof.

Alice opened the door to the last suite on the right and smiled warmly as she showed Luke inside.

"Take a seat, your Trainer will be along in a few minutes. There's water and coffee if you want."

"Thanks Alice."

"No problem. And don't worry Luke, you'll do great." She smiled at him again as she closed the door.

He was in a small room that had the feel of an office. A couple of soft chairs, a small desk, a counter with a steaming pot of coffee and a jug of water, cups and glasses. There were two doors, one opposite the door he'd come in and the other to his right, with pictograms of a shower and a toilet on it.

He took another deep breath, looking around, before settling into one of the chairs to wait and he couldn't help his mind turning to wonder who his Trainer might be.

As was well known in Haven, the wait to find out the identity of your Trainer was something of a rite of passage. It was almost impossible to predict. The job wasn't something full time. There was a roster that included lots of different Haven women, and some from other communities as well, who were called up as the need arose, such as in Luke's case, when someone new had passed the tests, or for the ongoing training and development sessions that qualified Servicers were required to undertake regularly. By reputation, taking on the job of Trainer was considered a public service in Haven, a real calling. Everyone knew that Haven's reputation for having the best Servicers in the whole network, a huge source of pride for the entire community, had a lot to do with the work the Trainers did.

He'd just stood up to get some water, as a means of distracting himself, when he heard the door click. He knew in advance that, no matter who it was that came through the door, he was very likely to recognize them, there just wasn't anyone in Haven he didn't know, but it was still a little shocking when he saw who it was.

"Hey Luke, good to see you."

"Hey... um... hey Jenna, yeah, good... good to see you."

Jenna Wilson's day job in Haven was in the school. She'd taught Luke Biology and Math and a little History too. She'd been one of his favorite teachers actually, always kind and encouraging. And, he had to admit, it hadn't hurt that he thought she was incredibly attractive, especially as he'd gotten older. She'd turned thirty just a couple of weeks before. There was a big party at the Meeting Place, as their always was for significant birthdays in Haven, with almost the whole community in attendance.

He gulped hard as he looked at her now. Her brown hair was about shoulder length, as it always was, and her sallow skin looked soft and smooth. Her wide mouth was set in a gentle smile and her huge brown eyes seemed to gleam. But given what he was there for, Luke couldn't help his eyes taking in the rest of her. Although the sundress she wore was loose and flowing, it didn't take much to remind him of her svelte shape and his eyes lingered on the firm looking mounds high on her chest.

"Easy there tiger, plenty of time for that," she said, smirking.

"Wha... shit... um... jesus Jenna, I'm... I'm really sorry... I..."

"Relax Luke, it's fine. This isn't the first time I've done this. You're supposed to look at me like that. I'd be worried if you didn't. Come on, take a seat."

"Shit, OK. OK. Right. Sorry."

"Stop apologizing. Luke," she said, sitting down and motioning for him to do the same, "don't worry, and don't be nervous. You're gonna be great at this, and it's gonna be fun. I promise."

"Sure," Luke said, "yeah. Thanks Jenna."

"No problem. OK, so, we're gonna run through some questions before we get started, just to update your file, it's been a few weeks since you finished the testing phase. And then we'll get right into it. As you know, your initial training lasts for thirty days. We won't be here every single day of that time, but we will be here most days so you need to take care of yourself, pace yourself, OK? After that, you'll be assigned to an active Servicing Team in the rotation for three months and then it's back here to the TC for your evaluation and your first CSD session and then that's it, your a Servicer!"

"What's...um... what's CSD... again?"

"Continuous Servicing Development. Training never stops Luke, that's why we're so good at this. You ready for some questions?"

"Right. Ahm, sure... sure, go ahead."

"OK, great. So, let's see... it says here when you finished the tests you were a virgin. Is that still the case?"

Luke felt himself blush again, moreso when he saw the knowing smirk on Jenna's face. There wasn't much that went on in Haven without almost everyone knowing about it.

"Um... well... no, I guess."

"You guess? Come on Luke, the way Bonnie tells it, it was a lot more memorable than that."

Luke felt himself fidgeting and tried to smile.

"I'm sorry Luke," Jenna said, smiling generously, "I couldn't resist. But listen, honestly, you have nothing to be embarrassed about. Actually, getting over that feeling you have right now is the first part of training. You and I are going to have to be completely comfortable with each other if this is going to work, OK?." As if sensing his uncertainty, she went on. "You know what, we'll do questions later, come on."

She stood up, setting her clipboard down on the desk and opened the door to the inner part of the suite. Luke took yet another deep breath but didn't hesitate to follow. Through the door, he found what was essentially a large bedroom, with an enormously wide bed at the far side of it, the biggest he'd ever seen. The room was lit softly with lamps placed here and there. The walls were painted in various shades of reds and pinks and browns and large, soft looking pieces of fabric were draped from the ceiling and pinned to the walls, creating a sort of soft, intimate feel to the whole space, as did the soft rugs underfoot, making the floor feel almost bouncy. There were a couple of big, plush arm chairs on either side of the bed and a long, darkly upholstered couch sat along one wall. From the ceiling near the opposite wall hung some kind of apparatus with straps and handles that Luke had never seen before, although he could guess at its purpose.

When he finally looked back at Jenna, facing him now, she was smiling and, without any delay or introduction, casually released the tie of her loose sundress from around her neck and let it fall to the floor, her warm smile never wavering. Luke gulped again.

"Do you like my body Luke?"

"Um... yeah... I mean... holy shit Jenna you're... you're beautiful..." He felt his cock stir a little but his feet refused to budge.

"Thank you. Bonnie said you were a sweet one. Do you want to touch me? It's OK, come on."

Noticing his reluctance, she chuckled and took a step towards him, reaching for his hand and leading him closer to the bed.

"Go ahead, it's totally OK, I promise," she encouraged, placing his right hand near her side, just above her left hip.

Luke felt his breathing get heavy but, a little to his surprise, his hand started to move, running slowly up along Jenna's side. His mouth felt dry all of a sudden and his tongue darted forward to wet his lips.

"Does it feel nice?" Jenna said softly, her hands still by her sides.

"Uh-huh... yeah... you're... you're so beautiful Jenna," Luke said again, "your... your skin is so soft."

"Why thank you Luke, I could definitely get used to hearing that."

"Are you kidding?" Luke said, despite himself, "doesn't every guy say that to you?"