M. Marshall - The End Is Nigh

It was a good thing that I already had an excuse to go up into the tunnels, but how was I going to sneak Liam up here and at the same time collect Rosa? No one watched that tunnel entrance. Not many bunker dwellers knew about its existence as far as I had seen. But the real issue would be getting Liam past Debbie. Then I remembered what she had said about turning off the monitor.

“Sorry if you felt uncomfortable watching us the other day Debbie.”

“Yes, it got a little more heated than I had expected for a first date.” She admitted. I tried to appear abashed. It wasn’t hard to be convincing, inside I was mortified.

“It was a little. I’m so embarrassed.”

“Honestly it’s fine. After watching him trying to get your top off I decided that it was time to turn off. Things were obviously going in the right direction. No need for me to be a Peeping Tom. I went to join a friend of mine for dinner; you were alright I expect.” She grinned and then looked over at Lynda for approval. Lynda wasn’t paying much attention to our conversation. She was busy reading from a spreadsheet in front of her which had a list of names and dates on it. Using a green highlighter to mark out a section she put down the pen, took off her glasses and looked up.

“Right, so if all goes to plan we’ll have your baby arrive around June. Early summer I think. We’ll confirm with a full examination every month.”

“Right, and where will I be spending my time while pregnant?”

“You’ll be kept up here until you reach your third trimester and then you will have a nice private area in the medical corridor to rest as much as possible before the birth.” I think I knew what that part meant.

“Great.” I gulped.

“You need to start tracking your cycle and report to us with any changes. At least we know you’ve done it all before so the equipment all works fine.” She looked me up and down and then stood up and without another word walked out. I felt like a piece of meat.

I RAN DOWN the corridor to the nursery where I knew Emma would be. She agreed to look after Rosa without hesitation.

“When I come back, I will need to take Shadow for his walk, and Rosa can come with me, so would you mind making sure that you’re in the dorm room when you finish so that I can easily collect her?”

Emma looked at me strangely. “Yeah, but does it matter if she misses the walk with Shadow? It’s not a big deal I don’t mind looking after her until you come back with Shadow.” She was getting suspicious.

It was widely known how close Rosa and Shadow were, they were glued to each other at every available opportunity, so it knocked me off guard when she questioned my request.

“It’s just important that I can pick her up before I see Shadow. Alright?” I shouldn’t have been so forceful with Emma she had been good to me. She didn’t know what I was planning, she was just trying to be helpful. I made my excuses and left.

I ran to my dorm and changed my top and stuffed our meagre belongings into a bag for what seemed like the umpteenth time. I made sure to keep Rosa’s things on the top and handed it over to Emma for me to pick up when I came to collect Rosa later that night. She had been a good friend to me, and I would miss spending time with her. Part of me wanted to tell her what it was that I was planning, but I didn’t dare to risk it. I could leave something with her maybe. Discreetly give her a way to find me if she wanted to get out too.

It wasn’t long before I was stood outside the room again in the medical corridor with Debbie. I was more nervous than the last time. Seeing Liam after what had happened in this room just a few days ago. My stomach flipped over when Debbie turned the sign to occupied. I stopped her hand before she turned the doorknob and very quietly I said,

“Sorry I just, can I just have a second.” I took a deep audible breath in.

“Would you like me to get you some water?” She wasn’t an unkind woman.

“Sorry Debbie, I don’t know what came over me. I think it must be the nerves.”

“You’ll be fine and stop worrying. Liam likes you very much; you should have seen him with the other girls, he more or less kicked them out.” I questioned if it would be Debbie that would get the blame for our escape. We were technically her responsibility down here but I tried not to dwell on it. No decent person could condone what was going on down here. “Don’t forget if it gets too steamy I switch off. If you want me to keep an eye on things just keep it to heavy petting.” She winked at me and opened the door.

What the hell constituted heavy petting? I walked through and into the familiar dimly lit room. This time Liam was stood over by the bed. I felt self-conscious. What if he hadn’t read the note? I knew that there was a good chance that he hadn’t been able to avoid taking the drugs which could mean that he was still not himself.

Liam didn’t move or walk towards me like before, and unlike last time he didn’t speak either. Knowing that we were being watched, I moved towards him. Aware that every minute after Debbie had switched off her monitor was time we could be using to put more distance in between ourselves and this hellish place.

He waited until I was almost touching him before he looked up at me and smiled.

“I was wondering when you would come calling again.” Something in his face seemed off. He looked alert, more alive certainly but there was something else. Then I realised what it was. The smile on his face didn’t reach his eyes, he was angry. His eyes blazed with it, his smile was edged with it. Shit. He had got my note, and now he was pissed off.

Slightly afraid of the strength of the venom emanating from him I began to step back. I lifted my foot off the floor to move, but he caught hold of the waistband of my Levi’s and pulled me towards him. Planting one hand at the base of my spine and using the other to grab my chin and turn my head. He whispered in my ear.

“Better make it look convincing.”

He slid his hand down from my spine and grabbed hold of my ass. His other hand combed through my hair until he closed his fist around it and tugged until he had tilted my head up towards his giving him full access to my lips. His mouth fell upon mine with such fury that my lips sent sparks of electricity through my skin reaching all the way up to the roots of the hair that he was still holding in his fist. Unable to move he held me exactly where he wanted me.

I was stunned. I had expected him to be different on this visit. Standoffish perhaps, shy, but not this. Anger poured out of him. I wasn’t sure what to do. I tried to pull away from him, but his lips were locked on mine. Had I put myself in a dangerous situation? I didn’t know this man. Sure he’d been kind to me and helped us out when he didn’t have to, but that didn’t mean he was harmless.

He must have felt my body stiffen under his hold. I felt the tension leave his arms as one after the other they dropped down to his side and he casually hooked his fingers into the belt loops at the front of my jeans. Leaning down into me Liam buried his face into my shoulder; a sigh escaped from his lips. For a moment I feared that he was about to get emotional on me, thankfully he was able to hold himself together. Thinking of Debbie watching us from her post I leaned my head forward and put my arms around him. Softly he began to speak into my hair.

“I’m sorry, you need to take the lead here. My head is fucked. I don’t know how to be with you, how to touch you. I want to hurt them so badly, but I know I shouldn’t be rough with you.” I felt for him he had been put in a helpless position and for a guy like Liam that was a difficult thing to swallow.