Dominant Species Ch. 12-16

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Making Decisions.
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Part 3 of the 21 part series

Updated 06/08/2023
Created 08/11/2016
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partwolf
partwolf
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Tom had just finished bringing his family's supplies over to Rachel's underground bunker, and was getting Raven and Michael settled. Mary was at the base of the ladder, catching the extra pillows and bedding they were going to use tonight. The five of them had decided they would go "puppy pile" for the night, shifting to their wolf form and curling up together to share body heat. It was the warmest and most comfortable way for them to sleep in the shelter, which was ten feet underground and was a constant fifty degrees or so. The other advantage was their vision as wolves was better, and lighting was almost nonexistent. "Rachel, do you have any more double A batteries? We should stockpile down there for the flashlights."

"I'm not sure, I brought down the new stuff from the drawers already."

"Did you get them from the remote controls? Flashlights that don't work? Toys and games?"

"No." She looked outside, the sun was just rising but they had all the curtains drawn to keep the harmful light out. "Let me grab what I can, just give me five minutes." Moving around the house, she found a few dozen easily and a few other types as well. The other sizes she left in the drawer, the only flashlights that still worked were the headlamp LED flashlights they found in a box in the back of the shelter. "Hey, Tom, did we ever figure out why those flashlights work and nothing else does?"

"They were underground, and the bunker is surrounded by steel rebar and sheet metal. The electromagnetic pulse wasn't strong enough to take them out." He thought for a moment. "You know, that's something we missed. We should go around to the empty houses, and grab batteries and check their basements to see if we find anything else working. Above ground there's nothing anymore that still works." It was true, you didn't understand how vulnerable your society was until in a moment you had everything taken away. Power, lights, transportation, even the ability to go outside. Flick a switch and you are back in the dark ages.

Rachel was just about done collecting batteries from all the toys in Raven's room when there was a knock on the door. Moving into the living room, she sniffed. It wasn't a Pack member, it was a human. Two humans. She mind linked to the others in the house. "Two people are at the door, the adult is female. I'm going to check it."

"Wait for me." Tom moved up from the safe room, grabbing his Colt 1911 pistol and placing it in the back of his jeans on the way. He silently lowered the hatch and told Mary to move to the top of the ladder. If anything went bad, she would secure it from the inside and protect the children. When dogged from the inside, no one would get in without a shitload of dynamite. "OK, I'm ready. See what they want."

Rachel put her back to the wall, out of the way of the door should it be kicked open. "What do you want?" She snuck a peek through the glass, the woman was in her twenties, with long brown hair in a ponytail, and was wearing jeans and a flannel shirt. She was holding a girl who looked to be about six years old.

"Please, I need shelter. The sun is coming out. Please, if you're still alive you must have a place to wait out the day." Rachel used all her senses and her wolf; the woman was frightened, but not aggressive. After a quick mental communication, she unlocked the deadbolts and opened the door. The woman came in, nervously squeezing her daughter. "Thank you so much. I'm so glad I saw the curtains move earlier, I was running out of time and it isn't safe out there on the road." She set her daughter down. "My name is Abigail Dawson, and this is my daughter Autumn." Her daughter peeked around from behind her mom and waved hi.

"Rachel Mendez. Come on in, we need to talk. You look absolutely dead, have you had anything to eat?"

"Not since yesterday." She looked around the house nervously. "When all the cars died, we noticed our eyes starting to hurt so we ran over to the ditch. There was a drain culvert running under the road, we went in there and in hindsight that hiding place saved us. Everyone who stayed up on the road, we found dead or blind that night." Rachel was gathering up some ziplock bags full of grilled meat and some bottled water, along with some fruit juice. "We started walking and have been at it all night. It's rough out there. I can't believe what has happened."

"What do you mean?"

"There are so many dead. Those that aren't, well, they are taking whatever they want. They took our backpack, our food, everything. If you resisted, they just killed you." She looked down. "They had gangs of youth... drunk, horny and there was no one to stop them. I was glad I heard them, we left the road and walked around even though it took half the night. We barely made it here."

Rachel had been sharing the conversation over the Pack bond. "Alpha, what do you think?"

Her dad's answer was simple. "Follow your gut. If you can help them, we should help them. I can't see more innocent children dying."

Rachel packed everything into a plastic shopping bag and waved for them to follow her. "Come on, you're right. We need to get underground, you can eat down there and continue your story." Using the link, she told the two kids and Mary to shift to wolf form while Tom remained human. She told the children to remain in that form until told to shift back. They were safer in that form.

Rounding the corner, she saw Tom had already raised the hatch and was going down. "This is my neighbor Tom. Be careful going down, it's pretty dark down there."

Abigail helped Autumn get onto the steep ladder, and when she got to the bottom Tom gave her a headlamp. Looking around, she quickly spotted the one large and two smaller dogs. "MOMMY!! PUPPIES!!"

"Be careful dear, we don't know if they are friendly." Abigail was looking down the ladder, trying to help her.

"Don't worry, they are very good with children." Abigail went down the ladder, then made room for Rachel after the hatch was closed and secured. "There is a tiny bathroom in the back, it has a sink but we have to conserve water so just get your hands and face wet then wash up and use a little more to rinse off."

"Oh, thank you." She moved her daughter back there, sharing the dim light from the headlamp. A few minutes later, they were sitting around the small table with Rachel and Tom, digging into the food.

"Don't be shy," Tom said. "With the freezers down, we cooked every piece of meat we could last night. I haven't eaten that much meat since we went to Fogo de Chao last year in Seattle." He smiled at Autumn. "And it's too bad you weren't here earlier, all the ice cream melted."

Abigail paused between bites, clearly she was starving but she didn't want to be rude. "How bad is it in Salmon?"

Tom looked at her. "It's as bad as anywhere, I guess. We're far enough out that we don't see as many people. It was weird when it happened, though."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I'm a firefighter in town. The problem was, we had no phones, no radios. We couldn't start our fire trucks, we couldn't even get the doors open to the firehouse. Plus, we lost all the water pressure. We sent people out, told people to get to the basements. I rode my bike home to take care of my family, and in only fifteen minutes I got sunburned."

"You don't look bad."

"Well, I heal quick I guess." He looked at the two. "So, what were you doing on the road?"

"Returning from a trip to visit my sister in Idaho Falls. We live up in Corvallis with my parents." Seeing the look, she quickly added. "I'm a widow. My husband died in Iraq when I was pregnant with her. I moved back in with my parents, went back to school part time while raising her."

Rachel reached over and put her hand on hers. "I'm sorry. You'll like my husband; he was combat wounded in Iraq." She looked at her daughter. "I'm glad you found us."

"I found the puppies!!" Autumn looked up at them, she had one puppy on each side of her, heads in her lap and she was sneaking them little bits of meat when she thought no one was looking. "Puppies are nice. What are their names?"

"The black one is Raven, and the brown one is Mikey. They seem to like you." Autumn giggled as the dogs licked her face. "Maybe they will sleep with you and keep you warm."

"Can they? Please??" She gave the puppy dog eyes to her Mom.

"If they want to, but you can't force them, all right? Now, I need you to eat so we can get cleaned up." When she was eating the pear on the table, Abigail resumed the adult conversation. "Where is your husband now? Will he make it before the sun is too high?"

Rachel sighed. "He's a doctor, he was at a clinic up in North Fork when this happened. Of course, with the phones down I haven't been able to talk to him."

"He'll be fine, he can take care of himself." Tom started to pick up the trash. "I'll get the beds ready for them."

By the time dinner was done, Rachel had set up the shower for them and had found some spare pajamas that would fit them. "You'll have to go one at a time, and I warn you, it's cold. The shower and the sink are fed from a cistern that collects rainwater, so it's Navy showers. Wet down, then wash with the water off, then rinse. Towels are here, the clothes are next to them. Whoever is outside gets the headlamp."

Rachel had to laugh when Autumn's shriek came out; she hadn't been kidding, the water was cold, so cold that someone taking a Hollywood shower would never be a problem. When they were both done, she led them to a full size bed set up on a small platform in the corner. As soon as Autumn was under the covers, the two small dogs jumped up with her. As Abigail was getting in the other side, the two puppies were nosing their way under the sheets until one was curled up by her feet and the other was in her arms, her face resting against the soft fur of Raven's neck. Abigail waited until Tom and Rachel were in their beds, the huge dog jumping up to sleep with Tom.

Her eyes started to tear up as she thought about how lucky she was to have found them. Softly, she said her prayers over her daughter, giving thanks for her new friends and asking for her parents to be all right.

"Amen." She turned off the light.

She woke up hours later when she heard the bed shift. She heard the dog jump off, then the click of its nails across the cement floor towards the bathroom. She was just about back to sleep when she heard the small toilet flush. She clicked on her headlamp in time to see a naked young girl opening the curtain of the bathroom.

They stared at each other before the girl dropped to the ground, transforming in a few seconds back to the black wolf puppy that had been in bed with her.

--

"Doc, wake up. The girls are coming around." Eric was gently shaking him as he tried to wake up enough to function. His training kicked in, one thing about residency and the military, you learned to wake up quick when you needed to. He sat up and looked over at the girls in the dim light of the oil lamp that was burning on the table.

"Have they said anything?"

"No, but they are restless, they will wake up soon we figure."

Marcus nodded, and moved off to the small bathroom in the corner of the shelter. After relieving his bladder and washing up, he used some unscented anti-perspirant then found a clean T-shirt and pulled it over his scarred torso. The scars were not near as vivid as before his change, but they would always be a reminder of his time in the Army. He moved back to the cots where the twins were resting, their mates sitting against the wall where they could keep an eye on them.

Checking Bethany first, he noted that the severe sunburn was gone, leaving behind some peeling skin. The blisters were now white spots, rapidly healing as the werewolf change boosted their immune system and hastened their recovery. Looking at her makeshift chart, he could see that she was becoming stronger with each hour. He covered her back up with the thin sheet, and smiled at Derek. "She's recovering well. She should hit the change fever soon."

He nodded, preparing himself for the inevitable fever and sickness that accompanied a change. He would be with her throughout, he couldn't stop it but he could and would take her mind off it. "What about her eyesight, Doc? Will the change fix it?"

Marcus leaned over and gently lifted an eyelid; her eyes had lost that glazed-over whiteness from before and he saw the beginning of a glow. "We won't know for a while, her eyes are changing right now. We could see anything from no change to a complete recovery. I really don't know, nothing like this has happened before." Sitting up, he looked into Derek's eyes. "Either way, she's your mate so will it matter?"

"To me, no, she's my mate however she is. I just want her to be able to function, to see the world, to watch our children play."

"We all do. Keep talking to her and holding her, the mate bond will comfort her and help her heal faster." Turning around, he did the same exam on Britney under Eric's watchful eyes. She was also healing well, her severe sunburn gone now. He was worried about her heart, so he pressed his ear to her chest to get a better listen.

Eric growled at him, he just looked at him with amusement. "I'm helping her, Eric, you just hold her and let me do my work." When his face relaxed, he laughed to himself. "There's no more jealous mate than a new mate."

"Except a mate of a pregnant female." Derek elbowed his brother, he could read his face like a book and he knew what he was thinking as he looked down at her naked form. "Don't focus on that, remember, we've got some explaining to do when they wake up. It's not all about the sex, you know."

"Not until she accepts the bond, then we will be thinking of little else for a few days. I've been waiting my whole life for her, I can wait a while longer." He caressed her scalp and the back of her neck, some of the few places that hadn't been hurt by the UV rays while they were sunbathing. They were all shocked when Britney let out a quiet moan, then shifted her head slightly as her eyes scrunched up.

Eric pulled his hands back, only to have Britney groan. "Nooooo... don't stop, that felt good." Opening her eyes, she looked around in the dim light and didn't recognize anyone. Panicked, she tried to sit up but that hurt so she didn't struggle when Eric gently pushed her back down. "Where am I? Where is Bethany?"

Marcus moved to where she could see his face in the light. "You're safe, Britney. I'm Doctor Mendez, and you're in a cot recovering. Bethany is in the cot next to you, and she is also recovering. Can you tell me how you feel?"

She closed her eyes, and they could see her wiggling fingers and toes while moving her arms and legs slightly. "I'm tired, really sore, and my skin is really sensitive."

Marcus nodded. "Now that you're awake, I need to check a few things. How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Three."

"Good. Now, I'm going to touch a few areas where you were injured, I want you to tell me on a scale of 1 being no pain to 10 being you wish you could die instead, how bad the pain is. All right?"

She nodded. He started on her face, that was only 2's and 3's, then he moved farther down her body where her ribs were the highest at 5's. "All told, you're doing very well, Britney. How does your chest feel? Any problems breathing?"

"It feels like someone beat me up."

"Sorry about that." Josi had woken up and moved opposite Marcus next to her cot. "You gave us a real scare, Brit. Your heart stopped last night and we had to give you compressions. I think I might have cracked a few ribs." Josi had tears running down her face, and Britney started to cry too. "I'm so happy you made it." Britney reached up to her, and was startled when strong hands gently lifted her shoulders to a sitting position.

She turned around and looked at the man who was behind her. "Who are you?" Then she looked at her sister, and the twin man behind her cot. "And him?"

Erick massaged her neck and shoulders, while he tried to figure out what to say. "I'm Eric Becker, and this is my twin brother Derek. We were with Doc when you were found on the river, and we brought you here."

Britney relaxed into his fingers, not really knowing why but for some reason she trusted him, she almost craved his touch. His fingers left ghostly shivers on her skin, little tingling trails that seemed to be connected right to her core. Looking at her friend, she was confused. She reached for Josi again, only to have the sheet pool at her waist, revealing her naked torso to all. She grabbed the sheet and pulled it back up, quickly laying down on the bed as she turned crimson. "Josi.. why am I naked around these guys?"

Josi smirked, she wasn't going to spoil the surprise, plus those guys did the biting so they could do the explaining. "Sorry girl, but you had a really bad sunburn, remember? There were blisters forming all over, you were hot an in pain, and clothing just made it worse. Everyone here is helping you, there's nothing to be embarrassed about."

Britney relaxed a little, and moved her arms up in front of her face, rubbing them gently. "I don't feel any blisters, in fact I don't feel much sunburn. How long was I out?"

"About twelve hours," Marcus said. "Hopefully Bethany will come out of it soon as well. Your bodies were so injured, your minds just shut down for a while."

Britney stretched her arm out until her fingers grazed her sister. "She's going to be all right too? What about her eyes?"

Marcus looked around. "We have to tell you a few things. Derek, can you get her a T-shirt so she is more comfortable?" Derek nodded and came back with a shirt of Eric's, knowing his wolf would feel more comfortable if she had his scent on him. The men turned around while Josi sat her up and helped her get the large shirt on.

It was big enough on her to be a dress, and she took a deep sniff of it as she was pulling it down. "Mmm, this smells amazing." Eric snickered softly while she finished. "OK, I'm decent." The men turned and faced her. "Now, start talking. Sunburns that bad take weeks to heal, not hours. What the hell is going on?"

Marcus and Josi backed off, motioning for the boys to explain. The two moved down the cot on either side. "Yesterday there was an event, we aren't sure if it was a nuclear attack or a solar flare, but whatever it was destroyed the ozone layer and released a lot of radiation. The two of you were in the direct sun, and that's why you got the severe sunburn, and why Bethany's vision was lost."

Britney looked panicked and turned to Marcus. "So she's blind?"

"We don't know yet. Her eyes were damaged badly by the sun, yours too but not to the same extent. It may be a few more days before we know how bad her vision is damaged, and whether it is permanent. The treatment could help, but it takes three days."

"Treatment? What treatment?"

"Well," Derek looked around nervously, "I bit your sister and Eric bit you."

"YOU FUCKING BIT ME? WHAT KIND OF WEIRD SHIT IS THIS?" Britney looked ready to kill, and Josi was laughing. She wasn't the only one, her outburst in this small place combined with wolf hearing meant any pack member who was awake heard it. No one said a word, though- their Alpha had made it clear that the boys were responsible for her.

Eric looked into her eyes as he held her hand. She wanted to pull away, but the tingles kept her from doing it. There was something about this strapping young man that calmed her down again. "We're werewolves, Britney. Biting you was the only way to save your life, and I had to save my mate."

Her mouth could have caught flies. She looked at him for a good thirty seconds, barely breathing, waiting for him to start laughing and say it was a joke. As she stared into his eyes, she realized he was serious, and more than that, she saw the love for her in them. Finally, she closed her mouth and eyes before responding. "Werewolves. This is some serious Twilight shit, right?"

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