The camp Ivy talked about wasn't that far. After less than two hours of walking through broken streets and empty houses, the closer they got, the more signs they saw.
"SAFE HAVEN – 1 Mile!"
"FOOD. WATER. SHELTER. SURVIVORS WELCOME."
Elias snorted.
"Sounds like a trap," he muttered.
Ivy laughed a little too brightly.
"Not everything's a trap, you know," she said, scratching the back of her head nervously.
He gave her a side-eye but said nothing.
His instincts were tingling. He kept wondering what a camp would be doing in this City. It was shut off to humans, yet they were there, lingering around. Why?
He was curious, so he followed anyway.
They reached the entrance by noon.
It looked... normal.
Too normal.
There were a few tents in a half-collapsed church. The fences were made of scrap metal and barbed wire, just to keep the zombies out.
How on earth would that help?
Those mindless monsters wouldn't mind letting those things tear their skin just for them to cross through. Even if it was a camp, it wasn't that safe. The entrance door wasn't even locked properly. One kick and it's down.
People walked around... normal people.
A few kids were playing near the church doors. Women carried water buckets after walking a long distance to get it.
Men stood guard with guns... Elias wondered if there were bullets in them. They were just normal men, not soldiers, there was no way they would get bullets.
No wait, where did they even get the guns? At least, it's good for swinging.
Elias relaxed slightly.
Maybe this place was real after all.
A man waved them in, wearing ragged clothes, just like the others. Elias was quick to pull the hood of his cloak over his head to hide his face. Even if he looked half-human, he can't risk exposing himself.
"A new survivor?" he called.
Elias raised an eyebrow, wondering if the man was talking about him alone. He looked at Ivy, who wasn't even sparing him a glance.
'Maybe she's from here, that explains how she knew about this camp,'
Ivy tugged his hand gently, snapping him out of his thoughts.
"C' mon," she said with a shy smile. "You can clean up. Eat something."
He smirked and followed her.
She led him to a small tent near the back of the camp.
A thin sheet hung for a door. Inside was an old mattress, a bucket of half-clear water, and a cracked mirror.
Privacy.
Quiet.
It looked like where she had been resting. There was no sign of her luggage anywhere. It looked empty, but not bad.
He stepped inside without thinking.
Elias smirked.
"You wanna wash me yourself, Sister?"
Ivy flushed but didn't let go. She kept clinging onto him, looking around as if she had missed home.
Could she call it home?
"Come here,"
She led him behind one of the tents, where it was quieter, hidden from view. There was a small, broken fountain, still trickling water.
"Here," she said, tugging at his bloodied top.
"Strip," she whispered, her voice soft and trembling.
Elias raised an eyebrow.
"You serious?"
Ivy bit her lower lip, shyly lowering her head.
"Yeah."
Her hand slid under his shirt, touching his abs, tracing the ridges slowly.
His body was quite tempting for a monster. She had always wanted to trail her fingers around it, feel him...
Her hand reached his nipple and she squeezed it. Though he didn't feel the pain, his body tingled.
Elias's blood stirred.
It had been a long time since anyone touched him like that.
Liar. No one had ever touched him like that before. He died a fucking virgin in his last life.
In this life, he doesn't wish to die a virgin also. Without hesitation, he grabbed her waist, yanking her against him roughly.
Their bodies collided and they could feel the heat between them. Elias pressed his body firmly against her, making her feel the weapon of destruction down there.
Ivy gasped but didn't pull away. She felt it pressing against her stomach. The bulge. Even without touching it, she could tell its size.
She grabbed his shirt and started pulling it over his head.
Elias grinned darkly. He placed his head on her shoulder.
"Careful, Sister," he murmured against her ear.
"Once you start... I might not let you stop."
"I don't want to stop either," she whispered.
"That's even better..."
His hand slipped into her hair, pulling her close to his face. Their lips crashed against each other.
He kissed her hard, tasting the bacon that she ate the other night they arrived at the mall.
Their teeth clashed, but none of them cared. They just wanted to feel more of themselves.
It was rough. They were both hungry for each other. Ivy looked so desperate, ripping her clothes from her body. Elias lowered his head, his face buried into her chest.
"Hng!" She moaned and tilted her waist as his mouth swallowed one of her boobs. It was so average that one of them could fit perfectly in his huge hands.
"Stop sucking me... Pervert!" She moaned, with her face flushed.
He took his mouth from her nipples with a pop. Instead, he grabbed them, squeezing them like a fluffy ball.
Skin against skin.
Her hands slid down his back with their bodies rubbing against each other. His mouth devoured hers again.
Elias pushed her against the fountain wall, lifting her effortlessly. His hand was on her ass, as her legs wrapped around his waist.
She moaned into his mouth, arching into him, wanting to feel his hardness.
Desire roared through him. Just a little more then, he'll be inside her, feeling her warmth.
Something was wrong.
A voice came at the back of his mind.
[WARNING: Bond Loyalty Decreased.]
The system window blinked red behind his eyes.
What?
He pulled back slightly, frowning.
Ivy's face was flushed and needy.
But her hands...
Her hands that were wrapped around his neck were trembling.
And not from lust.
From nerves.
[Warning: Loyalty Dropping – IVY: 43% → 31% → 25%]
The system blared silently in the back of his mind.
'What the hell is going on?'
Before he could pull away...
A sharp sting.
He couldn't feel the pain but he felt something sharp sinking into his neck, but when she pulled it out after injecting the liquid inside him, he saw it.
A syringe.
His body got weak as he let go of her from his body. Ivy jumped off his arms, landing her trembling feet on the ground.
He staggered back, growling low.
"You..." He rasped.
His vision blurred at the edges and his limbs went heavy. He didn't know what he had been injected with.
Ivy backed away fast, dropping the empty syringe.
Her face was pale.
"I'm sorry," she whispered, voice breaking. "I didn't want to..."
His knees hit the floor.
The world spun violently.
The last thing he saw before darkness swallowed him was Ivy's tear-streaked face disappearing behind the tent flap.
[END OF CHAPTER NINE]