Food For Thought Ch. 007

"What do you think they are doing?" Logan asked quietly.

Emily's breath was warm against Logan's neck; out of the corner of his eye, he could see her soft, slightly dry lips. They looked inviting.

"It looks like they are saving energy. Better to save it if something comes by to eat rather than spending it wandering around." Emily pressed close against Logan's side as she leaned forward gently.

Her words caught in Logan's mind. Logan's nano-machines didn't appear to need to save energy; their relationship was symbiotic. They took enough electricity from Logan's system to stay alive, and in return, he got abilities. He was pretty sure they had changed the amount of natural currant his body generated to help compensate.

What if the nano-machines infecting everyone else on the planet couldn't do that. They were parasites who used their hosts up till death, thus the need to conserve energy. That didn't account for the rapid changes that occurred as infected were killed, though.

A hand on Logan's shoulder brought him back; Lilith stood on his other side, sandwiching him between the two women.

"Problem?" Lilith asked.

"No, Just observing and thinking." Logan took a few zoomed-in pictures with his glass before trying to wiggle out from between the sandwich Lilith had put him in.

Lilith gave him a playful smile as he stepped back; she looked at Emily, who returned a friendly smile, seemingly oblivious.

The group took roughly three hours to get to the store, collect the food, and return. The now cloud-covered and dark sky rumbled heavily; there was still no rain.

If they hadn't had to take their time and proceed carefully, it would have been much faster. Careful movement was incredibly slow. Safety first!

With no way to unlock the outer door, Logan used his terminal to override the lock again. They all shuffled inside quickly, eager to drop their newfound food.

No one wasted any time heading downstairs to store everything.

Once everything was put away, Logan gathered a few snacks and other small supplies and put them in his backpack. After a short rest, he was planning on heading to the coordinates.

Logan gathered everyone in the relatively comfy foyer of the first basement. He wasn't planning on taking much with him; most things were probably better left here to help the larger group.

"I'm going to be heading out in an hour or so; I just wanted to make sure that everyone was aware and to ask if there were any more questions or comments." Logan looked around the room, and Tanya looked nervous.

"I'm obviously coming with you," Lilith said very matter-of-factly.

They hadn't really discussed what would happen, but Logan was a little torn about the danger of repeated outings. By the look on her face, it was apparent Lilith's mind was made up so Logan just nodded rather than getting into it.

He was glad, despite the risk, she would be with him. Things were better together.

"I'm going too." Emily was casually sitting on the arm of the chair Lilith was in. "You obviously don't get a say in what I do." She gave a friendly smile.

"Ok, no problem. But we do need people here; we can't take everyone." Logan saw Effy contemplating something, but she ultimately stayed quiet.

"What about us?" Corporal Evans asked, looking like a lost puppy.

"You two are staying here and ensuring these people are safe." Emily's words were firm.

"Yes, Ma'am," Came the well-oiled reply from the two other marines.

As long as everyone kept the doors closed, Logan thought the only real danger was running out of food.

"Any idea how long you will be gone?" Tanya asked quietly.

"Not really, no," Logan answered.

"I think we will be fine," Effy offered, "As long as we work together and keep quiet, I don't think anyone or anything will know we are here."

Heads nodded in agreement.

"The lights flickered a few more times while you were gone," Tanya said.

"They didn't shut off though?" Effy asked.

"No," she said, shaking her head. Tanya fidgeted anxiously.

"Well, we will be here for another forty minutes or so, then we are headed out," Logan said.

"Should be enough time to prepare, you in a rush?" Emily asked.

"Maybe a little, but I wouldn't say it has to be exactly forty minutes." Logan raised an eyebrow at her.

Emily just smiled pleasantly and made her way upstairs. "I'll be ready," she called over her shoulder.

Seeing Emily leave, everyone else began to disperse as well. Lilith headed to the sub-basement with a wave, and Tanya followed right behind her.

Logan ensured his bag had a day or two of snacks and some water, nothing too cumbersome. Still holding the shotgun, he looked at it momentarily before putting it down with the few shells it had left. It would be better off left here.

Leaving the supply pile and his bag, Logan headed downstairs to find Lilith. He found Tanya sitting against the wall across from the small lab; she looked lost. Tanya had latched on to Lilith and seemed to be more anxious without her around.

"Lilith inside?" Logan asked.

Tanya nodded, "She asked me to wait out here."

"It's nothing personal; there's some stuff in there that needs to be kept secure." While not 100% accurate, Logan couldn't tell her that there were also vials of cum he didn't want anyone to find.

Tanya smiled weakly as Logan opened the door and entered the lab. Lilith turned quickly and relaxed slightly when she saw it was Logan.

Vials of white fluid sat next to a sink as Lilith looked clearly lost in thought. Coming up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her gently; she sighed happily.

Standing to the side, arm still around her waist, Logan stood beside her and looked at what she was doing.

"I can't decide what to do. I don't think we should leave the vials here unattended, but I'm not sure what the nano-machines will do If I dump them down the drain. Seems reckless to dump them." Lilith leaned into Logan and idly tapped the counter.

"What harm could there be?" Logan asked.

"Mutant cannibal fish?"Lilith said, half serious, half joking.

"That... is actually a fair point." Logan had no clue what they could do to other species; the nano-machines were clearly functional since they had fixed Emily.

"They need energy to survive, right? If left alone long enough, they should die. The question, then, is how long?" Lilith said, thinking out loud.

"I guess there's no way to destroy them?" Looking around the room, Logan couldn't see any useful equipment.

"Not that I could find, I feel retrospectively bad for dumping all that cum down the emergency showers drain," Lilith said.

Logan let go of Lilith and walked over to a cabinet with chemicals in it; opening the doors, he began to rifle through it, looking for acid or something toxic. He didn't hear the light clinking of vials.

"All gone," Lilith exclaimed.

"What?" Logan pulled himself from the cabinet and turned to Lilith.

She grinned at him and hungrily licked her lips. "Not as good cold, it's much better warm."

"Did you..."Logan trailed off as she just continued to smile flirtatiously. Walking back over to her, he gripped her waist tightly. He lifted her up onto the counter behind her, causing her to laugh playfully.

"Tanya might hear you," Logan said teasingly. To make her life harder, he pulled her top down just enough to begin placing kisses and bites at the start of her cleavage.

Moaning quietly, she held Logan's head as he teased her. "I want you to fuck me so badly," Lilith whispered.

"What about Tanya?" Logan asked between his bites.

"I can be quiet. Her shocked face at seeing me so full of your cum would be interesting, though," Lilith laughed gently.

Logan kissed Lilith's neck as her legs wrapped around him, bringing their bodies closer together.

"You're playing with fire, Mr," Lilith said, voice laced with sexual desire.

"Your buttons are easy to press, well, kiss." Smiling, Logan gave her waist a firm squeeze.

Lilith leaned in and kissed him; Logan held her waist tighter. After kissing quietly for a few minutes, they stopped and looked at each other.

"I want you inside me so badly," Lilith whispered into his ear.

"There's no place I'd rather be, but we have to finish getting ready," Logan said regretfully.

With a sigh, Lilith pouted and let him go. "I know."

Lilith and Logan left the room after putting the now empty vials in the UV cleaner. It was convenient that when poured, or in this case swallowed, Logan's cum seemed to flow together and not separate, leaving the vials totally empty. Likey, Logan thought, a result of the nano-machines in there.

Tanya was still outside, and Logan felt bad for the nervous woman.

"I'll meet you upstairs," Lilith said as they parted.

Logan collected his bag, ensured he had what he needed, and went upstairs.

He found Effy sitting in a chair; she got up and walked up to the ground level with him.

"I'm a little worried about splitting the group up; I think we will manage, though," Effy said.

"I know, I don't much like it either. I can't see any way out of this situation right now, and maybe this is the only chance we will have. It's a lot of unknowns. I left the shotgun downstairs," Logan said thoughtfully.

"I'll make sure to grab it. You have everything you need?" Effy asked.

"Yeah, I didn't take too much, just a day or two of snacks and water." Logan noticed she was more worried than she was letting on.

"Don't get yourself killed out there. Excellent shooting skills aside, it's dangerous. And don't forget about us, hey." Effy joked nervously.

"I would never. We are in this together." Logan stuck his hand out.

Effy took his hand firmly, and they shook. "Good luck, Logan."

"I'll probably need it; see you soon, Effy," Logan said with a smile.

With a slight chuckle, Effy turned and headed back downstairs. Logan waited a little longer and was eventually joined by Emily, spear in hand with her rifle slung across her back.

"You gonna ask me if I'm up for this journey too?" she asked cheekily.

Logan snorted and shook his head at her, "You looked half dead yesterday, give me a break."

"How rude, that's not how you talk to a damsel; what woman wants to hear they look half dead?" Her grin was evident as she jokingly struck a pose.

"You going to stick with the spear?" Logan asked.

Still smiling, Emily replied," Yeah, it worked pretty well earlier. Certainly quieter than my rifle."

Logan liked Emily so far; she seemed very straightforward and honest. Granted, he didn't know much about her, but hoped that would change.

Lilith appeared a few minutes later, looking a little flustered.

"We all ready to go?" Logan asked.

Both women nodded.

***

It was raining. This planet loved to rain on him. If Logan could access the data net, he'd try to learn about Skye's weather patterns to see if the weather was just out to get him or if it was like this all the time.

They had quickly stopped an hour into their trek to grab some jackets from a store, but they were cheap, thin shells. The wet material clung to Logan's skin uncomfortably. He supposed it was better than being soaked through.

A few scattered infected had been quickly dispatched between Logan's pistol and Emily's spear. The occasional body shuffled from a building only to be killed a few moments later. It was hard to judge the infected's density, given their food run earlier had no infected to deal with, save for the large group.

"Have you ever used a spear before?" Lilith asked quietly as they waited at an intersection.

Emily looked to the makeshift piece of metal in her hands and then to Lilith, "No. it's an easy thing to use, though."

"You do make it look easy," Lilith remarked.

"Gotta put my marine muscles to use." Emily joked.

From the corner of his eye, Logan could see Lilith giving Emily's body a closer look.

The skies were darkening rapidly. It was only mid-afternoon, but the clouds were getting heavier, obscuring much of the remaining sunlight. They continued onward.

Another two hours passed. A large 'horde,' as Emily called it, blocked the way forward; Logan couldn't count how many there were. He took a picture. It would have taken them a while to backtrack and find another way around if it hadn't been for Emily.

Running from back the way they came, Emily barreled into them as they were crouched in a building; Logan just managed to catch her saying, 'Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..' under her breath as she dove for cover.

"What?" Logan had just managed to ask before an explosion filled his ears. He could see some debris fly into the street with a cloud of dust that was quickly squashed by the rain.

The three of them pressed into the building hard and held their breath as dozens of infected began to stumble past them, heading for the source of the noise.

Lilith looked at Emily quietly and mouthed the words 'what the fuck Emily?!" They had to wait almost ten minutes for the infected to clear out before continuing.

The street ahead was clear as far as they could see into the murky, dimly lit rain-filled air. As they moved on, there were noticeable flickers in the street lights they passed. Some were still working usually, some were dead, and others flickered continuously.

"It seemed like a good idea when I did it," Emily said, half seriously, half apologetically.

"Do you have any more grenades?" Logan asked.

Emily eyed him wearily before answering, "One."

"I'm not saying it wasn't a good idea... just a little heads up would have been appreciated," Lilith said. She didn't seem angry, maybe a little frazzled.

Without any warning, it was near pitch black. All the lights had gone out. Almost as suddenly as they had shut off, the lights came back on. Not all of them, though, as Lilith pointed out. A building behind them that had previously been lit up was still dark.

"It's getting worse," Lilith said.

***

They had been walking for another hour when Logan stopped under an intact awning to escape the rain. "Is that a ship?" He asked.

Rain filled the air around them. Logan could see a strange silhouette against the sky in the poorly lit distance. A flash of lightning revealed the form of the Sparrow resting hazardously on a few low-lying buildings; the ship was at an angle, with part of the stern resting on the ground. Up close like this, the vessel looked massive; it was an interesting, if sad, change of perspective.

You got used to seeing ships in relation to the buildings and structures meant to house or hold them. They looked normal in those situations; seeing a ship like this threw Logan off for a moment.

"It's hard to tell, but she doesn't look too badly damaged." Emily's voice was quiet.

"Do you think it can still fly?" Lilith asked.

"We will find out. The coordinates point right to the Sparrow." Moving ahead, Logan stayed low and quiet, with the two women following behind him.

They were still a distance from the ship, its towering form visible from a fair way off.

A crashed hover car provided decent cover approaching an intersection between them and the Sparrow. The trio looked over the streets in front of them in silence.

"There, I see two." Lilith motioned up the street roughly forty feet away to the right.

Two infected were standing in the street almost motionless. Taking a closer look, Logan noticed their bodies were already heavily damaged.

"I'll take them out quickly," Logan readied his J7 and took aim; they were close enough to each other to swap targets quickly. "Are there any others?"

After a moment, Emily responded, "Just the two."

Logan fired, hitting the first infected squarely in the head, causing it to crumple. With a minor adjustment, Logan was lined up on the second now shambling body as it began to look around. Squeezing the trigger smoothly, another pulse of energy found its target.

Lowering the weapon, he looked at his two compatriots. "We should keep moving."

"You're really good with that thing." Emily sounded impressed as she slowly stood and began to move.

"I've been using it for quite a while." Logan kept his volume down.

Continuing across the intersection toward the ship, which only seemed to grow in size as they got closer. Three pairs of eyes continuously scanned the buildings on both sides for movement. Thankfully, there were now fewer buildings to watch.

The edge of town was less built up.

Keeping a decent pace, they got to within a few thousand feet of the precariously parked vessel. At first, there was only a scattered body here and there. As they drew nearer, the number of corpses strewn across the street increased until they were stepping through what Logan could have confused for a graveyard.

Keeping an eye on his companions, Logan did his best not to look down. No one had said anything yet, but he could tell they were all struggling with the amount of death now surrounding them.

"What the fuck happened here?" Emily cut through the nervous silence as they walked.

"Something awful, I think," Her words sounded sad yet sure in their assertion. Lilith gave them both a weak smile as she examined the scene before them.

Lilith could have a hard exterior when needed; she absolutely dealt with enough assholes and entitled rich corporate drones in her time at work. At heart, she was a deeply caring person. Logan still found himself regularly surprised and touched by her empathy.

Looking over the bodies before them, Logan got the sense that chaos had erupted there. Some people looked like they were running away, others were fighting, and some looked like they died while finding something human to eat.

About 500 feet from the Sparrow, the bodies stopped suddenly, though there were signs the street had been cleared. Blood smears and other fluids were dried into the rain-soaked ground; even all the water couldn't wash it all away.

"Someone tried to clean up a little, though it's strange there aren't more infected here trying to find a meal." Pulling her eyes away from the path they had just trodden, Emily looked forward to the buildings underneath the looming ship. "I think our best bet is one of those buildings; I think the port side hatch might be reachable from a roof."

"I'm surprised it hasn't crushed the buildings yet." Lilith seemed a little nervous.

Almost directly under the ship now, Logan paused. "Do you hear that?"

The other two stopped and waited. "Hear what?" Emily asked.

"That low hum, it's hard to hear with the rain, but it's there." This close to the ship, Logan could hear it quite easily, even through the rain.

"I think I do; there's also a slight vibration to the ground." Lilith pointed to some water puddles that shook ever so gently outside of direct contact with the downpour.

"Has to be the grav drive, it's probably keeping the ship stationary so it doesn't move. If the drive is still active, that's a good sign and probably why the Sparrow hasn't collapsed the buildings. They are bearing some weight but not the full amount." Logan's understanding of how a gravitational drive worked was limited. Still, he knew they manipulated subatomic particles to generate some change in gravity for ships in the atmosphere. They were also how hover cars and other vehicles stayed aloft.

Once the drives got large enough, they had very distinctive sounds. At lower power, you couldn't hear much except for a hum. At full output, it was like a drum beat with a lot of reverberation.

"In here." Emily entered one of the buildings beneath the vessels with her rifle at the ready. The spear was now secured to the side of her pack.

Following her in with weapons drawn, Logan and Lilith were greeted with some makeshift barricades; there had been a firefight here. Bullet impacts littered the walls and other hard surfaces next to deep scratches and further damage that looked like it was caused by claws or hands.