Erotic Flights of Fantasy II

  EROTIC FLIGHTS OF FANTASY

  BOOK II

  by

  Melanie Thompson

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  Published by

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  An Imprint of Whiskey Creek Press LLC

  Whiskey Creek Press

  PO Box 51052

  Casper, WY 82605-1052

  Copyright 2014 by Melanie Thompson

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN 978-1-61160-740-6

  Credits

  Cover Artist: Gemini Judson

  Editor: Fran Mathieson

  Printed in the United States of America

  Other Books by Author Available at Torrid Books:

  www.torridbooks.com

  Erotic Flights of Fantasy Book I

  Table of Contents

  Ebony and Ivory

  Forever Kyrie

  Dr. Frankenfurter and the Search for the Perfect Penis

  Surf’s Up

  Hope Landing

  The ‘Time for Love’ Machine

  About the Author

  Ebony and Ivory

  Jewel Cooper surveyed the flooded city as she paddled her canoe steadily closer to Vancouver. She could see the chaos and destruction caused by the comet from ten miles away. The towering skyline shot into leaden skies still dumping rain on an already sodden landscape.

  Rain had been pouring from heavily overcast skies for three straight years. After the King/Gemini Comet hit in the Pacific on December 21, 2012 causing huge tidal waves over a hundred-feet high, black clouds had descended sending the earth into perpetual darkness.

  The clouds and rain didn’t bother Jewel. She was born in Sechelt, British Columbia, where it rained all the time. She’d been in the field, working on a two-month research project studying black bears in the deep woods and mountains at the end of Narrows Inlet when the comet hit. The earth started shaking and didn’t stop for two days. She’d holed up high on the side of the mountain in a cave listening to her radio. The cave was an old bear residence. She’d ended up making it her home.

  Jewel was well-prepared for wilderness survival and well-trained. Her father had been a logger, working in out-of-the-way locations deep in the Canadian wilderness. After her mother died, she’d always accompanied him. On weekends, they’d canoe out to remote areas to hunt and fish.

  When he saved up enough money, Pop bought his own company. She’d tried to find him after the comet hit, but discovered he’d died, swamped as he rode toward Sechelt on a tugboat towing an enormous boom filled with logs. She missed him and she missed the company of people. She hadn’t seen or spoken to a living soul for three years, six months and eleven days.

  As she neared the city, she pulled her shotgun out and placed it on the floor of the canoe in front of her. She missed the company of humans, but she also feared them. Her faithful black lab, Max, sat in the bow with his tongue hanging out while he watched water pass under the canoe. She’d probably have gone nuts without Max.

  As the city drew closer, Jewel saw more and more floating debris. Trash, cans, bottles, chunks of insulation, pieces of lumber all told her people had lived here. Did any still remain?

  She spotted the Lion’s Gate Bridge ahead. The water level was high, but significantly lower than the road crossing what used to be Burrard Inlet. She took out her binoculars and searched the bridge, but saw no one. She was about to lower them when she spotted movement. Excited and afraid, she paddled harder.

  Max stood up as they neared the bridge and barked…slowly at first. As they neared the bridge, Max’s barking escalated into a frenzied warning. Suddenly, a human, or at least Jewel thought it was a human, leaped off the bridge.

  When it landed ten feet away, Jewel screamed. If it was human, it had a terrible disease. Parts of its face had sloughed off and hung like a lacey decoration from its jaw. One eyeball was missing and the other stared horribly from a naked socket. It made a hideous moaning noise that ate into Jewel’s ears as it frantically swam toward her canoe.

  With her heart in her throat, she stuck the paddle into the water behind her and turned the canoe sharply toward the city and away from the floundering creature. There was no sense of guilt about abandoning a human being in need. Whatever that thing was, it hadn’t been human for a long time.

  When she was far enough away from the creature, she stopped and scanned the bridge and the approaching city for more like it. She saw nothing. Maybe it had been one diseased, deranged being. Hopefully, there wouldn’t be more.

  She sped under the bridge, spotting Second Narrows Bridge up ahead. The water level was only twenty feet under this bridge and when she scanned it through the binoculars, she saw more movement.

  Dragging the paddle, Jewel slowed the canoe and examined each creature she saw on the bridge. They all looked like the zombie-thing that had tried to leap into her canoe. She turned sharply toward the city and paddled for the high-rises. She was starting to wonder if her need for human companionship was worth the price. At least out in the wilderness she was safe.

  The sun set early on these cloud-covered days. Soon it would be dark; darker than the inside of her cave. She’d spent night after night in the wilderness with only a campfire to light the endless nights. Each night, she’d hoped to spot at least one star or the moon, but there was only darkness.

  The towering buildings made canyons. She paddled through them searching for a place to camp. Deep inside the city center she found a loading dock. It opened into a flooded alley. With her canoe secured to a chunk of concrete, she climbed out and stretched. Long hours of paddling with no break had her strong, but those first steps out of the canoe were painful. Max bounded ahead of her as she pulled up the accordion door making an opening big enough for her and the dog to pass through.

  The inside of the building was dark. Weak light filtered through small windows high over her head and a slice of waning daylight entered under the half-open door. She sniffed. The place smelled of wet concrete, mold, mildew and rot. Max glued himself to her legs as she clicked on her flashlight. She had one more spare set of batteries when these went out, and then the flashlight would be useless.

  With the beam of the light licking the walls, she entered the building. It looked like some kind of warehouse. Shelves of boxes lined the walls to the high ceiling. The place had possibilities. The boxes could contain useful items. But there were no people.

  She left the warehouse through a door in the back leading to a stairwell. When she sniffed, she smelled smoke. Strangely enough, the scent seemed to be coming from the lower floors. What could be below the flood line?

  Using extreme caution, she descended the stairs. She stopped after each step to shine the light into the darkness below. Her heart pounded wildly. When she rounded the first landing, the scent of smoke grew stronger. There was a fire below her somewhere. The question was…who lit it?

  The stair
s ended in front of an open doorway. This was an old parking garage. The entrance must be above the water line keeping it dry. When Max walked through the door, his hair rose on his back and he barked. She followed the dog and spotted a campfire in the corner by banks of useless elevators. There was a pile of broken furniture beside it, but no one to tend it.

  She jacked a shell into the shotgun’s chamber and held it in one hand, the flashlight in the other. Max’s barking escalated. He whirled around and faced her. She was about to look behind when she was jumped.

  A large, dark-brown hand pinned the shotgun to the concrete deck as she struggled to move.

  “Get off me!” she screamed as she kicked and fought.

  “Hold yer ass still,” a rough voice commanded. “You stop moving and give me the scattergun and I’ll let you up.”

  Max yipped and cavorted playfully next to her. She stared at the dog. “What is wrong with you?”

  The big hand collected the gun and she was free. She rolled over and looked into the dark face inches from her own. Black people had always intimidated her. This black man was huge, his long, crazy hair twisted into dreadlocks. But his eyes were beautiful, framed by thick lashes, and the bones of his face sharp and clearly defined.

  They stared at each other for a long time, and then he leaped to his feet in one graceful bound and extended his hand. “Sorry for squashing you. You can’t trust anyone.”

  Max groveled at the stranger’s feet. The big man bent down and stroked his black fur. “Got me a dog, too. She’s over by the fire.”

  Jewel took his hand and pulled herself to her feet. No wonder Max liked him. He smelled the man’s dog and it was a female.

  “My name’s Adam.”

  Jewel dropped his hand and forced herself not to wipe it vigorously on her jeans. “Are there any other people here, or are you alone?”

  She had to look up into his face. He was a foot taller than her and she was five-nine.

  He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Now, the polite thing to do when a man tells you his name is to tell him yours.”

  She shrugged. What difference did it make if she told him her name? She was getting out of here just as soon as she got her gun back. He might be the only man left on the planet, but he was black. “My name’s Jewel. Are there any other people here?”

  He turned his back on her and headed for the fire in the corner. “No ma’am, just me and Pepita. Ain’t seen no other living folks in this town since I got here. But the place is crawling with zombies.”

  Jewel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why did this man have to be black? If he was white, he’d be gorgeous. She followed him towards the fire, staring at his broad shoulders, tiny waist and lean hips. His tight shirt revealed huge biceps. He was a perfect specimen, not an ounce of fat on him…just the wrong color. She’d wait until he fell asleep, get her gun back and move on.

  Adam hunkered down by the fire and reached into a pile of blankets. A white and gold Collie lifted her head and thumped her tail. She looked at Jewel and Max and then let her head fall back on the blankets.

  “What’s wrong with your dog?”

  “We ain’t had much to eat lately. She got into it with one of them zombie things and just can’t get right. She ain’t got no energy or strength.”

  The plight of the poor dog wrung Jewel’s heart. She knew millions of dogs had died during the apocalypse, but this one had survived and was in trouble. She knelt beside Pepita and ran her hands over the dog’s body. She found a small lump under the Collie’s front leg. There was something sharp inside it.

  “She’s got something in her. It could be poisoning her system. Let me get it out.”

  “You some kind of vet?”

  Jewel felt the heat of embarrassment rush to her face. “Not a vet, but I have a doctorate in zoology. I study bears.”

  * * * *

  Adam couldn’t get over his luck. Jewel was haughty and obviously didn’t like blacks. But she was hot. Her red hair was dark and twisted into a knot. He could tell it was long. She stared down her pert nose at him out of emerald-green eyes. When he grabbed her hand, he’d seen her skin was like ivory.

  “Can you help her?”

  Jewel shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know, but I can try.”

  He nodded. “Please. She’s all I got.”

  “Hold her for me.”

  Jewel rolled the dog onto her back and he held Pepita still. She took a long knife out of a sheath hanging from her belt and held it in the fire for a minute. Then she slit the skin over the lump with the sharp tip. Adam saw the problem. There was a bullet under her skin. Pepita had been shot.

  “Did the creatures fire at you?”

  He nodded. “There was some shootin’. I didn’t know she got hit. She didn’t stop fightin’ and seemed to be fine after.”

  “The bullet didn’t penetrate very deeply, but whatever it’s made of is poisoning her. I have a pack with food and medicine in my canoe. Let me get it so I can treat your dog.”

  Adam laughed. “No fucking way, lady. You stay here. I’ll get the pack. You tie up to the loading dock?”

  She nodded.

  He raced up the steps and found her canoe. It was full of stuff. She had another rifle, a machete and a bedroll. He grabbed the bedding and the big, green, military-style pack. It weighed a hundred pounds.

  Back inside, he tossed the bedding to her and dropped the pack. “Thought you might need the sleeping bag. It’s dark outside. You don’t wanna be messin’ around in this city after dark.”

  “Why?” she asked as she opened one of the pockets on the side of the pack and pulled out a roll of white bandage and a tube of ointment. She flipped the pack easily, the girl was strong, and pulled out a small tin box.

  “Zombies . . . they come out at night. Thousands of them.”

  She talked while she applied powder from the tin on Pepita’s wound, slathered on ointment and then bandaged the Collie. “What are they? I mean, where did they come from?”

  “I don’t really know. After the comet hit, all kinds of weird shit started happening. Maybe they just ain’t getting the right vitamins or enough sunlight. Or maybe they’s eatin’ the wrong food. I just came here from Washington State. I been lookin’ for people ain’t crazy for two years. You’re the first one I found.”

  * * * *

  Jewel unrolled her sleeping bag and sat on it. She might as well head back into the mountains. She was safer and there were no zombies. If Adam had been searching for people for two years, what could she hope to accomplish? She only had enough supplies for several weeks and then she’d be dependant on what she could find here.

  “You said you had food.”

  “Oh, sorry. I just can’t believe we’re the only two humans left on earth. There has to be more.”

  She opened her pack and pulled out a piece of burlap wrapped around jerked deer meat. When she opened the sacking, Adam’s eyes flew open. “You got meat? Oh, man. I ain’t had none for over a week.”

  He munched on a piece of jerky while he crumbled up another piece and fed it to the Collie. His devotion to his dog touched her heart. A man that loved his dog couldn’t be all bad.

  “What’s Washington like?”

  “’Bout the same as here. Lots of water and lots of them zombie things.”

  “What’d you do in Washington? I mean before the comet hit.”

  He dropped his head. “You don’t wanna know.”

  When he lifted his gaze to look into her eyes, she saw pain and regret. She felt a sudden desire to touch him, reached out and took his hand. “Yes, I do want to know.”

  “I weren’t no angel. I was a drug dealer…a hard-ass son of a bitch. How’d you make it?”

  “I survived because I was on a mountain and I know how to live in the wilderness. How’d you make it?”

  “Guts and meanness and a whole lot of weapons. I ain’t got none any more. I runned out of bullets and threw the guns away. I just have this.”
He held up a huge military-style Bowie knife. “I had this left over from my days as a Marine. Never leaves my body.”

  He wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her closer. They sat around the fire with their legs touching for a long time. She yawned and started to get up. He grabbed her hand. “Where you goin’?”

  “I’m tired.” She smiled. “Don’t worry. I’m not leaving. You’re the first person I’ve seen in over three years. It’s nice to have someone to talk to.”

  He nodded. “Real nice. And it’s nice to have someone to look at…especially someone as pretty as you.”

  She ignored his comment as she laid her bedroll close to the fire and sat on it to pull off her hiking boots. They were worn, the soles thin. “What am I gonna do when these wear out?”

  Tears suddenly filled her eyes. She’d been strong for such a long time, making do with little. She’d really hoped to find company and help here in the city. And now her hopes were destroyed. There was nothing here but danger and destruction. Life as she had known it was over forever.

  * * * *

  Adam saw the tears. He wanted to comfort her, but he’d already sensed her dislike of him and probably all black people. What would she do if he tried to hug her? He made his decision. He needed comfort, too.

  “Hey, little missy. It’s alright. We done found each other. If we work together, we can survive.” He reached for her and she did not resist when he pulled her into his embrace.

  He pressed his face into her hair. It smelled like wood smoke and fresh air.

  “No one has ever called me little before,” she sobbed into his chest.

  He chuckled. “Well, to me, you are.”

  She felt so good in his arms and so right. His entire life had been one huge mistake after another. His mother’d left him as a child. He never knew who his daddy was. He’d grown up alone on the streets of Seattle fighting for everything he ever got. He had no idea why he’d survived and everyone else died. But God let him live and Adam felt like it was his duty to keep going on…to survive and build a new life.