The Creepers Ch. 02

"How far ahead do they travel?"

"In our experience, about two weeks. It's a long time, but it's almost like the others can follow their scent. I mean, it's fucking uncanny."

"Two weeks? For the sake of safety, we'll assume one week." She sighed. This was going from bad to worse. "Alright, I need someone to ride back and check to see how many of them there are, and to see how fast they're gaining. Centipede, Widow and Scorpion, that'll be up to you." The normally jovial crew all wore stern expressions. It was serious, and they knew it. "No heroics, and make sure they don't spot you." She stood up on one of the wagons and managed to get the crowd quieted down. "Okay, you all know what this might mean. So from now on, we have to step it up a notch. We don't stop for the night. We'll take turns getting what sleep we can on the wagons. The Creepers will walk from here so we have horses that are a little fresher to change with the ones already on the carts. Anyone else who can stand it, I advise you give up the horses. Everyone will get a turn on the wagons at some point, so keep that in mind when making your decisions. We will also be eating on the move. Hunters and gatherers, look for fruits and berries and other stuff we don't have to cook. We're going to have to go hungry for a bit. These new rules start right now." She swung off her horse. "Let's move."

The attitude of the band could be considered somber at best. They were obviously making better time, but would it be enough? Diamondback had moved into "the zone." She likened it to living in the immediate moment, where you didn't remember how tired you were because you didn't think about how far you'd been or how far you had to go. The only times she broke out of the zone was when Rain wandered into view. Things had been strange since she had put the Savage in the ground. It was as if Rain finally realized just what her lover was capable of, and it frightened her. It left a sinking feeling in the pit of the soldier's stomach, forcing her to slip back into the zone. She couldn't waste energy worrying about it. This was something Rain was going to have to deal with on her own.

The captain of the Creepers was beginning to worry about her rear-guard, but they finally returned a week later. The news wasn't good, as they reported as many as a thousand Savages coming up behind them. Apparently they had their full two weeks, as the mob seemed to have become a bit confused when their own scouts didn't return. But when they started again, they moved quickly, rarely stopping to rest. Even with the Creepers attempts to get this group moving, the Savages were gaining ground. Diamondback was flustered. They were pursuing them like prey-items. Their tactics, to an analytical mind such as her, were ludicrous, yet they constituted a genuine threat. And a thousand of them! Sergeant Malloy had two suggestions: either the Kingdom of Seattle had destroyed the mob and this was all that remained (which he doubted) or the siege had gone on so long that this group had broken off to look for easier meals.

As they moved along, they picked up additional stragglers who had suddenly been put in danger's path, placing additional strain on their resources. They took to laying traps on bridges they crossed, including rigging one to collapse all together. While this bought them time, it didn't seem to stop the hoard. Rain was instrumental in creating these diversionary traps. It made Diamondback proud. At one point, even the most stalwart amongst them realized the need to rest for a few hours. Otherwise, the horses they so depended on were going to fall over. Certain at that point they held a week and a half of lead, the captain consented. And it gave her a chance to take care of something that had been haunting her mind for days.

She borrowed a horse that wasn't too tired, promising she wouldn't wear it out. Then she went looking for Rain, and found her unloading some apples from an orchard she had discovered not far away. As Diamondback rode up, many of the refugees looked up from the meager fare with a look of awe that made her more than a little uncomfortable. Rain looked up and without a word, she swung up on the horse behind the captain. They rode ahead of the main group until they were well out of sight.

"So," Diamondback said at last.

"So," was the response. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. And it wasn't just that I didn't want to distract you, though that was part of it."

"It was shooting the Savage wasn't it? I wish I could say something that would make you not be afraid of me, but I can't think of anything. But I don't regret it, and I may have to do it many more times before this is all over." She felt Rain's head come to rest on her back and the girl's arms ensnaring her waist.

"I'm not afraid of you. I was scared, but I saw what you saw. It wouldn't allow itself to be captured. I doubt it even understood what 'capture' was. I finally realized what you could do, and also what you have to do." She sighed. "You're going to fight them, aren't you?" The girl had learned to read her like an open book.

"Yes. The bridge over the Wisconsin River looks like a good place. It connects with the Mississippi in one direction and heads way North in the other. They won't be able to get around. Malloy and his men are going lead the refugees into Chicago. He knows the type of place to look for to wait out a siege, but he'll need time to get ready for one. So the Creepers are going to try and hold them."

"Wait . . . Just the Creepers? With Rat gone, there are only nine of you! How can you hold against almost a thousand?!?"

"We're going to clog the bridge with as much crap as we can. Rusted old cars, fallen trees . . . We're also going to destroy as much of the bridge as we can before they arrive, at the least narrowing the areas they can get across."

"But there's only nine of you," she reiterated, then she suddenly grew quiet. "You're not going to be able to win, are you?"

"No. This is the worst-case scenario for the Creepers. A prolonged gun-battle is the one thing we aren't even vaguely equipped to do. We're the hit-and-run guys. We make sure the fight is over before the enemy even knows there's a fight going on. But these things are always ready to fight. And there's no one else to do it. Those guys from Seattle wouldn't stand a chance, and someone has to keep things moving." Now came the really hard part. "And I want you to go with them."

"Absolutely not, I won't . . ."

"You will because you have to." Diamondback was just staring off into space. "This is going to be the worst fight I've ever been in. And if you're there, I'll be constantly worrying about you. You see," she said mustering all the courage she had left, "somewhere between a barn with a view to Bismarck and on towards the Wisconsin River, I figured out how to be in love with you." The grip around her tightened. "And I am desperately in love with you. And I don't want to risk losing you on some fucking bridge in the middle of nowhere."

"I love you too," came the bittersweet response. "But for the love of God, I've already buried everyone I've ever cared about. I don't want to have to bury you too! It's not fair. It's not even fair for you to ask."

"No, it isn't. But if you love me, you'll let me do what I need to do and what I swore to do. I'm going to make sure those people get to safety."

Silence again. Diamondback felt strangely relieved for someone facing certain death. The girl that had started as a dirt-clod and ended up a beautiful swan still loved her, despite everything that had happened. And she was going off to quite probably the last battle of her life knowing that she had said all she wanted to say. Then she felt herself being pushed forward a bit, her crotch rubbing lightly against the saddle horn. She tried to push back, but Rain's legs were locked in place.

"Make love to me," came a whisper from behind her. She felt her shirt being pulled out of her pants, and delicate hands began sliding their way up her body. "Right here, right now. I want to give you a ride to remember. I want to give you something to come back to." Now those hands were on her breasts, teasing her sensitive nipples, and she felt hot breath on her neck. In her head, Diamondback knew this was a really bad time for this. But the rest of her body didn't much give a damn. She let the young woman feel her up, and enjoyed the feeling of the saddle leather stimulating her mound. Rain encouraged the horse to trot, making Diamondback moan audibly. And her fingers were relentless. Rain had grabbed both of the older woman's incredibly soft nipples, with the tips caught between the thumb and forefinger. She held them snuggly as the trot of the horse caused them both to bounce up and down. This sort of breast-tease drove the captain absolutely wild. And Rain started nibbling on her earlobe while squeezing Diamondback's breasts in their entirety. She could do little else but pull her own shirt off, as Rain had her pinned in the saddle. And the light rubbing of the saddle horn against her mound was becoming deliciously intolerable. Rain's hands disappeared but quickly returned, and the elder woman felt Rain's warm, full breasts pushed into the middle of her back as the young woman resumed her fondling. And Rain even started humping forward, pushing the wet spot in Diamondback's jean a little harder against the leather. And with another light tug on her nipples, it became too much for the captain, and she felt herself gushing into her pants. She had to hold on to the horse's neck to keep from toppling. As she leaned forward, Rain kissed her along her neck and the muscled on her shoulders and back. It was an intense orgasm for Diamondback, and it drained her energy a bit. She pulled up on the horse, force it to stop. Rain backed up a bit so her lover could adjust herself.

Turning around on a horse with someone else also in the saddle was no small feat, but the veteran soldier managed. So they sat for a moment, two women in the prime of their lives sitting topless on a horse with their cheeks pressed against each other and with each woman breathing very hard. One at a time, they each leaned back and stuck their legs almost straight up in the air so the other could finish unclothing them. With all their clothes stuck in saddlebags, they turned their full attention on one another. Strangely, neither of them wanted to say anything about the oddity of this encounter. Possibly because they both realized that any words would sound like 'goodbye,' and neither of them wanted to acknowledge the possibility that this was their last rendezvous. Each girl kept one foot in the stirrup and wrapped the other leg around the other girl's butt. Each girl used one hand for balance while sticking fingers into the other's warm sex. There was no competition that time, no quarrelling about the chronological order orgasms should arrive in. They just enjoyed being with one another. They spent the entire encounter with one girl's lips pressed against the other. Rain had a nice, rhythmic finger-fucking going on, insisting to herself she wouldn't rush this. She inserted another finger and spread Diamondback's opening as much as she could, letting her lover feel the stretch.

Diamondback had gone for the g-spot, but was determined not to over-stimulate it, because she wanted the experience to last. To occupy the time, she teased the clit, making her lover grind against her hand. She encouraged the horse back into a trot, and each movement of the beast caused them to drive their fingers in deeper. They rode like this for several minutes, swaying in the saddle as the sweat dripped down. They increased their tempo a bit as a sense of urgency started to rear its head. Rain rubbed the hood clit, and Diamondback intensified her g-spot probing. Rain was first to go, locking down on the captain's fingers, throwing her head back and letting all her apprehension flow onto her lover's fingertips. Diamondback wasn't far behind, and collapsed against the younger girl when her own strength seemed depleted. They held each other for a while, but whether seconds or minutes or an hour, neither girl could tell. Without a word, both dismounted, got dressed, and headed back toward the caravan. Rain kept her body pressed again that of the soldier's. Diamondback swore she could feel the young girl's heart beating, and prayed it wouldn't be for the last time. As they rejoined the caravan, they went their separate ways, and neither could bear to look back.

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A week later . . .

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It was another week before they passed over the river. The bridge had deteriorated in places, which would work to the Creeper's advantage. The squad had chosen not to inform the general group of their intentions as to avoid causing a panic. As the rear guard vanished from view, Sergeant Malloy looked back and saluted them. Then it became time to get to business. The crew had held onto their horses, which were used to drag fallen trees and rusted old cars onto the bridge. There were three points of interest, where weather and decay had narrowed the pass considerably. Those spots were turned into barriers. They filled their makeshift walls with dry grass and other flammable materials. The Seattle-ites had given them all the lamp oil they had, which the Creepers were converting into molotov cocktails and makeshift bombs. They had a log hanging from ropes attached to the bridge's structure that was covered in spiky bits that would take out a wide swathe of people when released.

Diamondback really wished they carried some kind of explosives, as the remaining portions of the bridge resisted their feeble attempts to bring it down. Bridges they had taken out earlier were made of less stern stuff or were more badly damaged to begin with. So they would have to make do with their barriers. Her plan was simple. Get up on the first barricade when the Savages came into sight and play the sniper game. That's what they were best at. When the enemy got closer, they would engage in small-arms fire, which they weren't as good at, followed by lighting the barricade on fire and retreating to the next barricade. Then repeat the procedure. The horses would be kept about fifty yards on the other side of the bridge. If or when the third barricade fell, any survivors would make a run for it. Even if they could just hold the enemy for a day . . .

It took them an entire day of non-stop work to get their defenses ready. They slept in shifts, trying to regain as much energy as they could. They figured that the enemy would come upon them within a few days. The next day, they planted sharp spikes in the tall grass on either side of the roadway at the enemy's end of the bridge, hoping to pick off a few more. Besides that, all they could do was wait. Later on that day, she heard the sound of marching, but not from in front of them. Rather it came from towards Chicago, and soon the soldiers of his Majesty's Advanced Recon Team came into view. Diamondback was furious.

"What the hell?!? I told you to look after your people! That was your responsibility! Keeping these things from getting closer to the lands of the Legion is mine! How . . ."

"First of all," said Malloy with a quivering voice, "while we appreciate what you've done, you have no authority over us. Secondly, the mob isn't going to stop in Chicago after all. Your woman pointed out that trying to track them through an area like that will take time, so it makes more sense to keep going than to wait. You know, she's quite an exceptional young lady."

"Yes, I know. Now quite changing the damn . . ."

"And thirdly, you have done more for us than we had any right to ask for. You've put your asses on the line for people you know nothing about, and we are not going to have the first meeting between our two groups end with a supreme act of cowardice on our part!" His voice wasn't trembling out of anger, due to the way his return had been met with resistance. Rather it was trembling from shame at ever having left in the first place. "We brought this menace to your door. We're going to help you stop it."

"You obstinate . . ." She wanted to hit him, and he could tell. He steeled himself against the expected blow. Instead, she put her hand on his shoulder. "Bring your boys up to the first barrier. Red Back will brief you about our plans. And thank you." Fifty-nine against one thousand was better than nine against one thousand.

It was early the following morning that the shit hit the proverbial fan. Diamondback was resting against the curb when a shout went out from the Seattle-ite doing lookout. Every one of them rushed to the first barrier. What they saw was a nightmare made real. The Savages came pouring out the trees and tall grass like termites escaping from a crumbling mound. They seemed to be coated in some white powder, giving them a ghostly appearance. They saw the guardians of the bridge and let out a howl that would scare a pack of wolves. And they charged.

The Creepers took steady aim in an almost eerie sense of calm. They had a limited ammo supply, so they had to make each shot count. They figured they had about two hundred yards between them and the frontline of the enemy. The first volley rang out, and several Savages fell. These weren't unsuspecting raiders, but rather they were a fast-moving amorphous mass. Kill shots were going to be harder to come by at this range. A second volley was fired, and more Savages went down. But the mob never slowed. It was almost as if the dead were simply absorbed back into the mass. As the enemy grew closer, Malloy's troops popped up and let loose over the barrier with shotguns and light machine-guns. While lacking the calculating killing power of the sniper rifle, these weapons did their damage. Legs and arms were shredded, and they did take their fare share of lives. Soon the mob was too close, and the defenders started to fall back. Before leaving, Diamondback doused a section in the middle of the barricade with oil, then placed the remaining barrel of the stuff in the middle of a pile of debris. As she ran back towards the next line of defense, she yelled "Light it up!"

Malloy launched a molotov cocktail at the wall, hitting right next to where she had been standing. The dry grass caught on fire easily and the flames quickly spread. The first of the Savages were standing on top of the pile when the fire started. Then the barrel caught on fire. The resulting explosion was quite spectacular actually. Bits of hot, twisted shrapnel went flying everywhere, killing or maiming at least a dozen of the enemy. But more importantly, the flaming wall slowed the tide. Like most animals, these things were afraid of fire. Realizing their advantage, Diamondback called several soldiers back up. Ten men threw cocktails well over the wall of fire, exploding in the crowd beyond. The Savages, not being completely without intelligence, backed up well out of throwing range. The Creepers leaned over the sides of the bridge and took some more aimed shots at the retreating mob, and a couple more bodies hit the ground.

Even with the generous amount of wood they had placed in the barricade, the fire wouldn't last forever, assuming those creatures didn't figure out another way around, over or through. But the small band of bridge guardians had bought themselves some time. They decided to pull back to the second wall, except for a few men holding molotovs. They had a limited supply, so the next two would be thrown just to make the Savages hesitate, and the rest would be saved for the next line of defense. Unfortunately, the fire and smoke also obscured the defenders' visions, so they couldn't tell what their adversaries were up to. Suddenly, the first wall started to shake and buckle, then the center split wide open. The Savages had grabbed a couple of large trees and were using them as battering rams. They had grabbed trees that were still slightly green, so they weren't quick to light. After busting open the wall, they dropped the trees and then quickly scurried along the tops of them, protecting them from the embers below.