Engineer Benson - 4. Engineer Benson - Chapter 4 - July 14-15

July 14, 1993 Wednesday, 11 AM
I'm not sure what's going on with Mark and me, exactly, but I felt like I needed to write. Maybe it'll help straighten out my thoughts some.

We'd decided that the house was safe, and we'd hear anything trying to break in. That meant we could both sleep. The bedroom where Shelly had died we avoided and will until we can change those sheets. That left their smaller guest room. With Mark already crashed on the couch, I had finally wound down enough to take a bath around one this morning.

I'd not taken off my clothes for days. Dried blood, sweat, and mud made them a wreck, so I took my quick bath and crawled into bed in my underwear. A few minutes later, I heard Mark up. It sounded like he had gotten into the tub, and I smiled. We needed to get clean, and we were both way overdue.

I drifted to the edge of sleep, then woke fully when Mark pushed open the door. The bathroom light behind him framed his figure in the otherwise dark house.

"Hey." I rose up on an elbow. "You okay?"

"Yeah." Mark entered and sat on the edge of the bed. He just wore his briefs, but we were comfortable with one another, and it didn't matter much. "Are you?"

I thought about lying. But he knows me, and that'd worry him even more. "I don't know, Mark." I lay flat on my back, staring up at the ceiling. "I just don't know. I don't think I'll be able to take much more of this. Nothing is right, and everyone is dead. There's constant danger, and you—" I shook my head. "I know this is gonna sound weird, but you're the only thing I've got left in the world. I'm worried something will happen to you. I don't think I can live through that."

He put a hand on my chest. "I'm here, and I'm fine. Don't worry about things that haven't happened." His tone had shifted. I"d never had him speak to me like that. It was this gentle, plain-spoken way, and it … it made me blush like some awestruck girl. I was thankful for the dark just then.

"Heh." I patted that hand, still resting warm and comfortable on my sternum. "Ah, okay."

He began to rub me. Just back and forth across my chest. "I read your entry, Wayne. God isn't going to save us; we have to do that ourselves."

I'd not been touched for any length of time for … shit. Well, for a couple of years. I hated myself for it, but I got hard. Fuck, if it didn't feel nice, though, so I lay there. He kept at it, his hand sliding up to my throat, then down to the waist of my underwear. He did that for a few minutes, and then he patted my belly.

"Scoot over."

I did, and he slid under the sheet next to me.

"Roll away from me on your side," he whispered.

I couldn't say no. I didn't want to.

He rubbed my back while we lay on our sides. "We'll be okay." His hands were strong and rough, but they felt great on the tenseness of my back and neck. "You hear me?"

"Y-yeah." I wet my lips. "Yeah, I hear you."

"Good."

Chill bumps rose and fell under his palms, and I tingled with the sensation only a human touch can bring. At first, I had tensed, not knowing exactly what he'd intended. But he coaxed me into relaxing. Slowly, muscles unknotted, and I let him work on me.

"That's better." He put his arms around me, and squeezed. “Goodnight.”

“Uh, goodnight.”

Confused, but safe, I went to sleep in his arms.

I woke around seven. Alone, At first, I thought it was a dream, but the state of my shoulders and neck told me it wasn't. Mark really had crawled into bed with me, rubbed my back, and put me to sleep. Fuck me, if I didn't get hard again when I realized that.

I stood and tried to control my errant cock by pushing it off to the side. "Shit. Oh, come on, I gotta walk around with this thing."

"Heh"

I jerked to see that Mark had appeared in the doorway sporting some new, clean underwear. He nodded toward my crotch with a smirk. "Once you've taken care of that, Bob had some newer shorts in his dresser." A pair of clean briefs lay on the foot of the bed. He looked down at his groin. "They're a little tight on me, but you're skinny. I think those'll work."

God, they were tight. I could see everything. I wet my lips. Oh, th-thanks."

"You're welcome. I'm using their washer and dryer and cleaning all my gear." He bent for my discarded clothes on the floor. "Strip your skivvies, and I'll toss those in too. Today, we'll take stock of what we've got here, relax and clean up while we can. I've already scouted around the house a bit. It's safe, for now."

I didn't like that he'd been out there alone again, but relaxing a bit sounded great. "Ah, sure."

He stood there with my pants, socks, and shirt in his arms, looking expectantly at me.

"Oh, oh yeah." I stripped my briefs and handed them over. Instinctively, I covered my groin with my hands.

"You've got nothing to be ashamed of." Mark turned and left the doorway.

"Heh." I grabbed the clean briefs and put them on. They fit pretty well. "I'll get breakfast together!" I called down the hall.

An affirmative grunt came from the pantry where Mark loaded the washer.

I glared down at myself. "Stop, damn it." My cock was not obeying me. I considered spending some time in the bathroom taking care of things, but Mark would know, and that bothered me. "Just stop thinking about it."

I stepped out to meet Mark in the hall. Those shorts were obscene on him and even worse now. He casually adjusted the boner lying across his front. "What are we having for breakfast?"

I had to force myself to think. "Umm. I'll check the fridge and see what's perishable. If the power goes, that stuff needs to be eaten up."

"Good plan." He seemed so at ease - unconcerned with both of our erections and talking like nothing was odd about the situation at all. I guess in the scheme of things, a couple of guys in underwear with hard-ons are low on the "odd" meter lately. "Do you think you can get the solar working?"

Yesterday, after we had dealt with Bob and Shelly, we checked out the shed with the solar panels, inverter, wiring, and deep-cycle batteries. Lucky for us, a well-used manual from the manufacturer lay on the shelf above the four stacks of panels. I'd already snagged it, and it now waited for me on the coffee table in the living room.

"I think so, yeah. I just need to study up some."

Mark grinned. "Good. Once we have guaranteed power, then we'll have a fridge and freezer even if the grid goes down." Mark rubbed his chin. "They have their own well too. I've heard the pump kick on when we use the water. That means we'll have both water and power here when you get the solar up."

He was so confident in me. He didn't say "if"; he'd said, "when." I caught it right away too.

"Yeah. Those are two big things handled." I motioned toward the kitchen. "I'll get breakfast done, then read through that manual. I want to see how many watts we're dealing with and how much battery storage we've got. It has to be overkill for a house - that system was intended for the building KC had us working on at the base."

Mark stretched, popping his shoulders and flexing every muscle, so they stood out even more than they typically did. Sometimes I forget how conditioned he is. He scratched his flat, furry belly. "Mmm. Good. That means if we find a deep freezer somewhere, we can haul it back here."

"Oh yeah. This system will run everything here, plus a deep freezer. Hell, maybe a few of them." I stepped into the kitchen. "I'll find out exactly what we're dealing with soon."

I got busy with cheesy eggs and bacon with toast. While I did that, Mark took stock of the building supplies stacked under a tarp near Bob's shed. He came back inside as I plated up, and I snickered at his appearance.

"What?" He sat at the table.

"Oh, you. In those really tight shorts and combat boots."

"Hey, I took the knife too.' Mark helped himself, assembling his breakfast from the food I'd prepared. "Don't worry - laundry will be done soon, and I can stop scandalizing you. I know these briefs leave nothing to the imagination."

I squirmed. "It's fine. I'm not scandalized."

Mark watched me, those dark eyes searching for … something. "No? Well, good." He scooped up some eggs on his fork. "There're some boards and posts out under that tarp. Looks like Bob had plans to build a fence around his property."

I was happy about the change in topic. "That might not be a bad idea. I don't like that the place is open; those things can just stagger out of the woods and into the yard."

His mouth full, Mark nodded.

I continued. "I'm not the best carpenter, but I get by okay." I got my own plate together and picked up a crispy piece of bacon. "I can build something ugly but sturdy."

"That's fine. Doesn't have to be pretty. So long as it keeps them out and breaks line of sight, so they don't see us if they happen to wander by, that'll do the trick."

"Okay. That'll be my next project after we get the solar going."

Mark chewed and gave another nod. He washed down the bite with some milk. "I'll help however I'm able. While you're reading, I'll get my workout done after I digest a bit. Seems more important than ever to keep my fitness up."

I couldn't argue with that.

After breakfast, Mark did the dishes, and I began reading the instructions for the solar installation. Luckily, my engineering background made the install seem simple. I've got a fair bit of experience with wiring and power systems, so I think this will go all right.

There are FORTY two-hundred-fifty-watt panels in the stacks out in the shed. Ten thousand watts of solar!? That's double to triple the capacity of most gasoline or diesel generators, including my own. I have never even heard of such high-wattage panels; most top out around a hundred. But it's the military, so they can pay for the top-of-the-line. These deep-cycle batteries are impressive too. Two thousand watts of storage each, and I had miscounted last night in the dark - there are actually eight of them, adding up to sixteen kilowatts of storage. Definitely top of the line stuff. Hell, maybe even built by the military or sponsored by them.

I don't have enough roof space on the house to use all the panels, so I'll have to build a stand for maybe half somewhere against the south wall of the house. I want them close, so any fence we build will protect them too. I'm probably going to leave the batteries in the shed. They're heavy as shit, and there's no need to move them. That can be our power-house for the system.

The panels will run things and keep the batteries charged during the day. At night, the house will use the stored energy in the batteries to keep all our appliances and lights going. The trouble comes when our power takes a hit from cloudy days. The solar won't keep up with keeping the batteries charged on those days if we have a few in a row.

Damn it. We should have taken the generator from the house. I could rig up a failsafe to kick on automatically if the batteries get too low to run the place. It's smart to have that as insurance just in case we need it. Okay, the generator is going on the list to pick up from my house in town.

I think we're set. I'm itching to get it done, but Mark wants us to rest today. I think my journal entry worried him, and he's trying to take things slow for me.

Ah well. It's not like there's nothing to do here. I can start setting fenceposts once Mark finishes with his burpees and situps. He's quite the sight, sweating like mad, jumping around in the living room in his too-tight skivvies.

You know … I've got time. I think I'm gonna go take care of things in the bathroom after all. Maybe then I'll be able to concentrate on something productive.

Till next time, book.

July 15, 1993 Thursday, 10PM

Well, shit. It happened. The power died on us sometime last night while we slept. That means a few things, but I can't think about the bigger issues until we get the power resolved here. We're okay for now with the generator, but the noise is a problem. Sorry, this isn't making sense, so I'll start at the beginning.

Maybe knowing we only had so long before the food rotted made us leave sooner than we should've. Pretty much as soon as we could see, we'd loaded up a few supplies, jumped in the van, and were on our way.

It wasn't long before we started seeing them. A few haunted the woods between Bob's place and the main road. They mindlessly walked after the van, but we quickly lost sight of them. The lack of the dead wasn't destined to last, though.

"More. Ahead at the road." Mark gripped the handle above the door in one hand and his knife in the other. He wore his new firefighter helmet I'd outfitted with a sturdy metal cage of coathangers and some smaller gauge wire I'd stolen from the solar install. I'd found a white leather jacket in a closet, no doubt belonging to Shelly, and Mark had a thick denim jacket over the flannel shirt he'd found. We were both sweating, but the protection was worth it.

I checked the fit of my hockey mask while I drove and eased by the walking corpses. Those closest to the van turned and moved toward us. I'd anticipated this, and we cleared the little group without issue.

"You're a good driver." Mark relaxed a fraction in the passenger seat.

"Thanks." My hands flexed on the wheel, and I wasn't able to stop my insecurity this time. "I need to be good at something - you're carrying us, and I don't like being dead weight."

Mark's frown hit me with an almost-physical force. "What?" He shook his head. "We'll talk about this later, but that's not true."

There was an authority in his tone. Any other time, I might have been irritated that he was telling me how to feel, but I wasn't at that moment. I guess I needed him to tell me I was being stupid.

"Okay. We'll talk later."

He nodded and went back to his careful observation of our drive. We passed the fire station again. The big rollup door had been broken down, and now a dozen walking corpses shambled about in the parking lot and inside what we could see of the bay for the fire engine. The big, red truck was nowhere to be seen.

"Most of the fire boys must have gotten caught out away from the station when shit went south." Mark sat forward as we passed the station and rounded the corner. "I hope they made out better than their buddies at the station."

"Yeah. Me too," I replied. Though, I couldn't muster much conviction. So far, the only people we'd found alive were on the way out. It was disheartening, to say the least.

I continued north, past the police station. What used to be the officers there extended arms toward us and took a few steps before we passed by. One, a guy I'd known from high school, Brian Toffson, was among them. Half a pantleg had been torn away, and a gaping wound showed on the skin there. His neck was a bloody mess too. I'm sure he'd died of blood loss and not claimed by "flu," one of the "lucky" ones to survive it.

We'd been close once. Friends. In our junior year, he'd distanced himself once he got a girlfriend. I think he ended up marrying her. Now, he milled about with the rest.

My eyes threatened to well up on me. With the hockey mask, I couldn't wipe my face and couldn't afford the luxury of blurry vision, so I pushed it down. I could cry over what used to be my friend later.

We passed the station without incident. I had started maneuvering around a wreck in the intersection when Mark spoke.

"Sorry, Wayne. I know you were buddies with Officer Toffson."

My adam's apple moved as I swallowed. "Yeah. Yeah, we were buddies."

Quiet reigned for a few moments; then Mark sighed heavily. "Okay. I have a confession."

"What? What about?" I turned up my street, watchful but curious about whatever Mark was about to say.

Mark chuckled uncomfortably. "I ah - I was always jealous of you and Toffson. You guys were so tight, and I didn't even try becoming friends with you because of that."

I laughed. The idea that Mark would have been intimidated by my friendship with Brian seemed ludicrous. "Mark, man. I … I don't know what to say." I bit my lip as I searched for the words. Mark didn't really understand, and there was no way to make it so that he could.

Mark shrugged. "Well, I know you were hurting once you guys stopped-" he seemed to struggle to find the words too. "Once you guys drifted apart."

Chills traveled down my spine, and I cleared my throat, trying to buy time for my brain. "Ah."

"Anyway. I just wanted you to know. I realize it sucked for you at the time, but I'm glad I got to be your friend. It made junior and senior years good." Mark pulled the knife from the sheath on his thigh. "Okay, we're close."

I'd never been so happy to throw myself into a dangerous situation. The street had four shamblers in sight. I didn't have a choice but to park in front of my place; we'd have to haul the generator out of the garage, and it's a heavy bastard.

Stopping the van, I left the motor running, and we both got out.

We'd already planned this. I'd open the garage and grab the generator while Mark guarded me. Before we'd left for Bob's, I'd packed our canned and dry goods into a couple of duffel bags. Once the generator was loaded, I'd run inside and grab those too. Anything else I could get without lingering was fair game too.

"I've got this." Mark sidled out into the street, waving his arm at the closest to attract its attention away from me. It worked. The creature, one that used to be a middle-aged man who'd worked at the garage on the edge of town, turned from me and headed for him.

I didn't waste time. I opened the garage door as quickly yet quietly as I could. It wasn't quiet enough. The other three, attracted by the sound, began heading toward me.

"You've got about thirty seconds." Mark's calm tone seemed at odds with our situation. The one on him closed, and he flowed around the clumsy attack to strike with the knife. It went down in a heap.

I hurriedly wheeled the generator out of the garage to the back doors of the van. After opening those, I bent to lift the chunk of machinery into the vehicle. The scrapes and moans of the approaching monsters set the hair on my neck standing straight up, but I trusted Mark.

Putting himself between me and the damned trio, he snapped his fingers until their hollow eyes turned to him.

"That's right. Come on."

While I struggled, he led them away a dozen feet. I craned my neck to see him, and the generator nearly crashed to the pavement.

"Focus on what you're doing. I'm fine.' He dodged a clumsy grab, and slid sideways. Once more, two of the things tripped over one another as they attempted to follow, and he used the opportunity to end the life of the one left standing.

I did as he said and tried again with the generator. Finally getting my legs under the load, I pushed it into place and closed the doors. "I'm going for the bags!" I said it only loud enough for him to hear me. He made an odd sight. He stood on the back of the only moving creature left, pinning it to the road. It snapped its jaws and thrashed impotently around, unable to work out how to throw him off.

He bent with the knife. "Almost done here; I'll be in shortly."

I didn't wait. Entering my house, I moved straight into the kitchen, where the bags waited on me. In my eagerness, I'd missed something. Something that very nearly got me killed.

I grabbed the heaviest bag, then realized the kitchen slider had been shattered. Curtains fluttered in the slight breeze, just enough for me to see a section of the back fence had been knocked down.

"Shit."

I went to draw the axe from my back. Too late.

The flash of movement from the corner of my eye didn't give me enough time to react. A cold hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me off balance. Gurgling in what I swear was eagerness, what used to be the big, broad baker lunged for my face.

Its teeth scraped against the plastic hockey mask, and we crashed down together on the floor with it on top of me. I couldn't help myself. I screamed and struggled to push it away.

The next few seconds felt like an eternity. The fetid smell of the thing's open mouth made me gag, and it crunched down hard. The thick plastic buckled, but held.

Then he was there. A hard kick from Mark's boot rolled the thing off me. Still in motion, he slammed the blade of his knife straight through its skull, pinning it to the floor beneath, and ending its struggles.

I scrambled to my feet. Mark immediately grabbed my arms.

"Are you bit?" He shook me. "Are you bit?" There was terror in his eyes. I'd never seen that in him before.

"No." I gripped my head, trying to convince myself I was alive. "I … I'm sorry, I screamed. They'll be coming."

Mark seemed to remember himself. "Yes." He grabbed the bags. "Let's go."

We rushed out just in time to see eight round the corner of my fence line, fifty feet from us. We didn't have long.

"Hurry." Mark sprinted to the van, seemingly unaffected by the heavy bags.

We jumped in, just as the things closed around us. One thumped heavily on the driver's side window. It shuddered under the force.

I tore away, running two over as I did. The sound was sickening, and I reminded myself to check the undercarriage for damage.

Slowing to a reasonable speed, we drove back in dead silence without any further issues. I can only speak for myself, but I had to grip the wheel hard to avoid shaking. Death had literally tried to chew my face off, and I don't know how I'll forget that.

We arrived safely back at Bob's. We got out, and Mark came to me, where I leaned on the van.

"Hey." Once again, he took my head in his hands. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" He took off my mask so he could look at me.

"I'm fine. I am." I laughed, maybe a bit manic. "I think maybe I need a change of shorts, but I'm fine."

Mark didn't laugh. He continued staring, and I grew quiet. I couldn't look away from him. Everything about that moment was so intense. Finally, he relaxed and let his hands slide down to my shoulders.

"Okay. No more splitting up." He nodded to himself. "No more. We stay together from here on."

I felt that he needed me to agree, so I did. "Okay. That sounds good to me."

"Good." Mark squeezed my shoulders once, then released me. "Let's get that generator unloaded. Where do you want it?"

Now, we're here at Bob's, and I've got my watch set to wake me every couple of hours. We'll take turns getting up and running the generator until the compressor on the fridge kicks off. Then we'll turn it off again. We'll save fuel that way, and it'll keep our food plenty cold enough. This will do until I can get the solar system up and running. God, that'll be a job.

Heh. Mark was serious about not splitting up. He just asked when I was coming to bed. I guess we're bunking together until he relaxes some. I can admit, though, I like having him close, so I don't mind. I'll write more tomorrow.