Shelter - 19. Chapter 19 - Oh, So Hungry

Chapter 19: "Oh, So Hungry"

 

Preston ran away as fast as he could from the closet that Alex and I were ummm...pleasuring ourselves in. But he was still in the same room, and once Alex hustled to pull his pants back up, we both sort of wandered out into the open, blushing heavily as all three of us fought to keep from looking each other in the eye. Preston was sort of sitting way over in a dark corner somewhere, trying to catch his breath as Alex and I walked over to talk to him.

"Gee whiz...I didn't mean to...like..." Preston was so confused. "...Oh man...I feel like a real chump for busting in on your...ummm...'sex thing'." He said.

"Preston...what were you doing up there?" I asked. "Why the heck were you following us?"

"I thought you guys were going on an adventure."

Alex was like, "An adventure?"

"Yeah! Like...exploring the shelter and looking to find something cool." He said, keeping his head down and sort of playing with one of his shoelaces. "I didn't know you guys were sneaking off to do sex stuff. I'm sorry."

"We weren't doing 'sex stuff'..." I said.

But Alex chimed in to say, "Well, yeah. We kinda were."

He smiled when he said it, but he wasn't helping here. Hehehe! I knelt down in front of Preston and put my hand on his knee. "We're sorry. K? We just...we didn't know that you were going to just 'pop up' like that. You scared us."

"My mom always said I was too sneaky for my own good." He pouted, probably wishing that he could un-see what he had just seen.

With a sigh, Alex offered Preston his hand to help him up, and he finally got back on his feet. He still seemed a little shaky, but I think reality was beginning to sink in for him, little by little. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

It took a few minutes to calm him down, but eventually we all left the little theater and went back into the private stairway to sit down and maybe...talk things out. I mean, there was no way to fake an excuse as to what as going on there. Preston had literally caught me sucking Alex off in a private place away from prying eyes. And as much as I wish it didn't matter so much that we were gay...it still kind of bothered me that were so careless as to be caught by somebody that we weren't ready to let in on our little secret yet.

Alex and I sat, side by side, on one of the top steps, while Preston sat a few steps below us. He was really shy about looking back at us, and he seemed to be really sorry for barging in on our intimate moment together. I swear, that boy is so precious. Seriously.

"I guess I should have listened to you guys when you told me to stay put. I'm sorry." He said.

Alex spoke up and said, "It's ok. Really, it's no big deal."

Preston said, "So...I guess you guys are a part of the...ummm...L.B.Y.T.O.M.G community, then?"

Hahaha! A part of the WHAT???

"We're...yeah. We're gay." I said, hoping that it made some sense to him.

"I see." He said. "Well, like...that's cool." He told us. Then he asked, "So...I take it you guys are in love with each other then, right?"

Oh wow! Hehehe! I sort of choked after hearing that. I'm not sure if he was directing that question at ME or at Alex. But I hesitated with my answer. Alex and I looked each other in the eye with a smile, and I wasn't really sure what to say at that moment.

"In love? Ummm...I don't know. Maybe?" I said.

And Alex raised his eyebrows as his grin widened. "Maybe???" He said.

"Well, I mean...probably. Sort of." I grinned back with a blush.

"Probably? Sort of? Hehehe!" Oh my God, he was being so CUTE about this! And, even though I felt a little reluctant to go all out and use the 'L' word so soon, I found myself wondering what love really was if it wasn't...this. You know?

So I looked into those bright green eyes of his, sighed with a dreamy weakness while witnessing his undeniable beauty, and I said, "Yeah. I guess you can say we're in love. Like...totally in love."

"I love you too." Alex said softly.

Preston turned his head to look back at us, just as I felt Alex take a firm hold of my hand, and he smiled widely at seeing the sentimental bond between us. "Whoah. You guys are SO cool." He said. "I never met any gay people before. This is sweet." Then he turned around completely and said, "Wait, do I say 'gay people', or...? I should prolly say, ummm...G.T.A.B.L.O.W..."

"Preston...dude, gay is fine. Just say gay." I giggled, trying to stop him before he added all the other nineteen letters of the alphabet into whatever crazy acronym that he was trying to come up with.

"M'kay. 'Gay' then. Cool." He smiled. "That's easier to remember." It felt good to know that Preston was ok with what was going on with me and Alex, but I felt the need to put a disclaimer on the whole thing before he went wild and started spreading the word around the whole high school. To say that he's easily excited by things that most people find normal would be an understatement. "Preston...we...we don't want this being, like, you know...something that other people are talking about outside of the three of us. Ok?"

"Other people...talking...wait, what do you mean?" He asked, innocently.

"It's just...we want to keep this kinda quiet for now. Ok? Nobody else needs to know about what happened upstairs, ok?"

Preston immediately turned around even further, and it was almost as if he was reading a teleprompter at a junior high school assembly when he said, "Hey! There's nothing wrong with being a homosexual. Nothing at all. You two should be proud to be gay. Love is love, and that's all there is to it. You don't have anything to be ashamed of. Ok?"

Alex snickered to himself over how serious Preston was being with his bold statement, and I couldn't help but to smile, myself, in response. He was actually pointing his finger at us in defiance. "It's not a 'shame' thing, Preston. We just...we don't want everybody to know that we're a couple. That's all."

Alex's eyes widened. "So we're a couple now?"

"Aren't we?" I replied.

I could see him blushing, and it triggered another massive blush of my own. Everything he does is so contagious. "I guess we are." He said, and he leaned in to give me a quick kiss on the lips.

Wow...it only took a zombie apocalypse for me to feel this awesome inside. Crazy.

Preston giggled to himself, and even HE blushed for a moment as he said, "Sorry. I've never seen two boys kiss before. It's kind of blowing my mind right now."

"Well...unfortunately, you've seen us do a lot more than that tonight." Alex said.

"Yeah...I guess I did. That part was kinda weird." He fidgeted a little bit. "No offense, of course."

"None taken." Alex replied.

I said, "Preston...are you really ok with all of this? I mean, with Alex possibly being my boyfriend?"

I got a bit of a rush when Alex turned his head to look at me, his smile expressing the joy in his heart over having me refer to him as my actual boyfriend. Hehehe, Jesus, he's so damn CUTE!!!

"Oh, heck yeah!" Preston said proudly. "I think you guys are awesome! Now you're even MORE awesome! So, go be gay with each other. It's totally cool with me."

"Well, thanks." Alex giggled.

"So wait...just so I know...who is the top and who is the bottom? I read about some of this stuff on the internet..." Preston asked, and Alex and I both kind of froze up over the idea of him even asking us something like that. He wasn't trying to be rude or anything, he was just...so innocent that he didn't realize what he was asking at the time. Which is forgivable, considering how adorable he was in every possible way.

"We...ummm..." I started, with Alex and I making eye contact for a few awkward moments as I attempted to answer his virginal question without making him feel weird about it. "...We haven't gotten that far yet, Preston." I said.

"Oh. Ok. So just...sucking boners and stuff. I get it. Totally." He said, shrugging his shoulders as if he was already well versed in the idea of gay relationships. "Well, you're still boss in my book. Both of you. OK?" He said.

"Thanks, Pres." Alex said.

"And I'm not gonna tell nobody. Promise!"

"Good. I appreciate that, Preston." I told him, and he suddenly stood up on his feet to come up and give the both of us the most affectionate hug that I've ever felt. Hehehe, seriously, I was moved by how intimate it was.

That's when Preston stood up and said, "Just remember, it's super ok to be gay! Love whoever you want to love. Cool?"

Hahaha, it was hard to keep from laughing at the idea that this cute little younger boy was working so hard to give us his 'permission' to be together, but I appreciated it just the same. With my whole heart. Preston was a treasure that I could never take for granted. He had so much HEART, you know? How could anybody not fall in love with everything he was as a person? Hell, if I wasn't so wrapped up in Jake at the moment, I might have developed a crush on him myself. Hehehe, just saying.

"Cool." I said.

"Cool." Alex added.

"You guys are the best!" He whimpered.

"You are too, Pres." I said, and that only caused him to hug me tighter.

When we got up to head back to the cafeteria with the others, it was almost like Preston didn't want to go back to some level of recognizable reality. I think he was enjoying his 'adventure' a lot more than just getting the kind of sleep he needed to think clearly. Not to mention that he got a thrill out of sneaking back into the hallway without letting the soldiers catch us. It was an exciting spy game to him in a lot of ways. Hell...maybe it was for me and Alex too. I was trying to be cool about it all, but something about Preston's energy just makes you appreciate the playful nature of...well...just about everything.

The three of us saw our opening and giggled the whole time that we hurried down that hallway, straightening up immediately as we rounded the corner so as to avoid looking like we were up to no good. Again, the shelter halls were full of soldiers and doctors who seemed to be too busy preparing for the incoming caravans to pay us much attention...but it was better to be safe than sorry. One slip up could have us locked up in a dingy basement somewhere with some of the other suspected teenagers that got tossed down in the abyss, away from the rest of us.

We had to pretty much press our shoulders to the wall to keep from being trampled by the guards rushing back and forth around us. But once we got back to the cafeteria, it was easy to stay out of their way. To be honest, it was a relief to not have them staring at us so closely for the moment. Keeping them busy was a blessing as far as the potential 'enemy' within us was concerned.

I took a moment to remind Preston, "Hey, you're not gonna tell, right? You promised."

"Nope. Promise." He said. "My lips are sealed." Then, with a nursery rhyme vibe, he told us, "Whatever you say, whatever I see, I'll just lock it up, and I'll throw away the key." And then he mimed the action of twisting a key in his lips and tossed it over his shoulder. Hehehe, ok, I guess that's as good a promise as ever.

It was then that I realized that Alex had let go of my hand. It wasn't a rejection or anything, but we found ourselves assimilating into the crowd again once we were outnumbered by a group of so-called 'civil people' again. It didn't matter much to me at that moment, though. It really didn't. Not only was I blessed with the ability to simply turn my head to the right to see the most beautiful angel walking on the Earth's surface right now, but I could still taste the naughty essence of his hard manhood on the surface of my tongue. It made me smile. Because, next time...there won't be any interruptions. And I'll get the chance to maybe swallow down whatever kind of hot liquid he has to offer me. I'm looking forward to it. Yeah...I'll be waiting.

Love me, Alex. I'm totally yours.

We made our way back to where Donovan was resting, his head of curly dark brown hair leaning back against the wall, his mouth slightly open as his body worked to recharge itself after such an early morning raid on everyone under the age of 18. Still clinging to his side, was Walker, how seemed to be hugging him tight around the waist. Still soooo scared to be left alone, even after finding safety within our little rat pack of misfits. He must have gone through something seriously tragic to make him act that way. Then again, he looked like he was even younger than Preston. So whatever it was that he went through before getting rescued and brought here to the shelter...it probably affected him in ways that I can't even fathom right now. Poor kid.

However, we also noticed that Spencer seemed to be missing. He was snuggled up to Donovan just as tightly as Preston and Walker were when we left. Where did he go? His absence was so obvious. Alex and I looked around the room and didn't see him anywhere. "Hey, Pres..." Alex asked. "...Wasn't Spencer laying right here with you guys?"

"Yeah. I thought he was sleeping." Preston said. "I didn't see him take off to go anywhere."

"Maybe he was following you...following us?" I suggested.

"I don't think so. At least, I didn't see him if he did."

I almost didn't want to wake Donovan up, knowing that he'd be in a cranky mood if I did. You never know just how far his patience was going to go when it came to the rest of us. But as I scanned the room and didn't see any sight of Spencer, I knew that I was just going to have to risk it.

It almost looked like Preston and Alex were both holding their breaths as I reached out to shake him, and when he opened his eye, they took a baby step backwards...just in case, you know?

"What?" He groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"Where's Spencer? I thought you were looking out for him." I said.

"Looking out for him? Spencer? Spencer who?" Donovan looked at the time, "Dude...come on. I've barely been asleep for thirty minutes. Why are you grilling me right now?"

He was definitely in a grumpy mood, but appeared to be too tired to do anything...ummm...'violent'.

"Dude...we were supposed to be looking out for him." Alex said.

As Donovan was shaking himself free from his slumber, he said, "What? You mean the spud? Dude, he started coughing on me and shivering and shit. Preston got up and said he was gonna go 'exploring' or something, and the kid started whining about how hungry he was."

"Hungry?" I asked. "The way he was wolfing down his breakfast, he should have been a few burps short of throwing it all back up again."

"Hey, I'm not running a friggin' day care over here. I just wanted some goddamn sleep." He grumbled. "That's what I heard, that's what he said. 'Oh, I'm hungry. I'm so SO hungry.' He wouldn't shut up about it. So I told him to go to the kitchen and see if they could give him some extra rations or something. Anything to keep him from whimpering in my ear and spitting more germs in my face."

I looked over at Alex, and asked, "Where's the kitchen?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders, but Preston said, "I think it's just on the other side of the serving area. You have to go out into the hall first and come in through another door, but it should be right over there."

He pointed it out to us, and Donovan leaned his head back to return to drifting off to sleep, actually hugging his arm around Walker to keep a closer eye on him instead of pushing him away. And Alex, Preston, and I walked out of the cafeteria and towards the other door to see if maybe Spencer was still in there. I really didn't want Officer Logan to come back and find his son 'missing'. Not after we promised to look after him.

We all walked into the kitchen area, surprised to find it empty as far as the staff was concerned. People were shuffling themselves around at such a frantic pace that it was difficult to keep up with what was going on. But we did hear some noises coming from the back of the room. Strange noises. And as we slowly moved forward, it was only the familiar grunts and tiny whimpers that gave me the courage to peek around the corner at the giant freezer, located in the back wall.

The door was wide open...and all three of us moved closer.

I looked down to see Spencer's t-shirt laying on the floor. Strange. But as we got closer, I could hear this weird slurping noise coming from inside the giant fridge. We peered into the room, and we saw Spencer standing in the cold, shirtless, barefoot...with his head down, his head shaking wildly as he appeared to be munching on something with an intensity that nearly took his breath away.

We paused for a moment, but when I saw Alex take another step or two forward, I was quick to follow...and so was Preston.

'Chomp chomp slobber chomp chomp'...

What the hell was Spencer doing? And how is he not freezing in here?

We got closer, but...not too close...

"Spencer?" I said.

The boy turned around, holding handfuls of raw meat...his lips pasty and smeared with ice cold blood. Chunks of meat were scattered across his thin lips, and he was shivering...but sweating profusely at the same time. "I....I can't get full..." He squeaked. And when I looked down at his hands, it was like he had been devouring the raw meat so ravenously that he had actually bitten his own fingers. And not just a little bit...but to the point where his fingers were literally BLEEDING from the assault!

It caused all three of us to gasp and take another step back, but when Spencer began to sniffle and sob over what he had done, we couldn't help but to feel bad for him. His eyes were soooooo sad. He looked so helpless.

"It's ok, dude. It's...it's gonna be ok." I said.

I felt a bit nervous when he dropped the meat to the floor and began to walk towards us...but he just wrapped his thin arms around my shoulders and held me tight. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm just...I'm sooooo hungry. I can't help it! I feel so empty..."

I hugged him back, but I was looking at Alex and Preston over his shoulder. And their fearful gaze seemed to match my own.

Could this be what the soldiers were talking about? Is this how it starts?

And if so...what the hell are we supposed to do next?