Page 51 of All Your Days
“Donot!” His roar replaces my maniacal laughter. It dies again, my breath caught in my lungs. Fucking beautiful in his fury, I don’t know if Jacob wants to throttle me or fuck me. I’m happy either way. Hanging rigidly by his side, one hand flexes into a white-knuckled fist, and I brace for the impact, but it doesn’t come.
“I’m goin’ to tranq the camels and clean up. Stay the fuck inside.” The gravelly command sends a shiver down my spine. He doesn’t wait for a reply, just rushes from the trailer like his arse is on fire.
By some stupid miracle, I find a sliver of sanity and cling to it violently, trying to pull myself from the pit, even if it only brings me misery. Fuck, I wish he could tranq me, too. It’s a risk for the animals, to have them passed out and defenceless in the storm, but it’s also a risk to leave them to ride it out on their own. They could hurt themselves, or us. They don’t understand what happens. So they get to ride out the madness in blissful sleep. Unlike us, who just have to tolerate it.
Anticipation burns like liquid fire in my guts. The memories of our night together make everything so much worse. I know what’s coming. Not just the red rains, but Jacob. I haven’t even managed to get over my feelings from the last time, and nowhere we are. Again. There isn't going to be any coming back from this. Not for me anyway.
At The Facility, there are procedures in place for the red rains. Of course there are. There are procedures on everything there—even for how to shower the right way. The children are cared for by the immune. The immune guards take care ofeveryone. Carriers of age are given the choice of how to ride out the storm. Alone, or with others. There’s no judgement, just a prayer for survival.
I spent the last storm alone. I thought I was going to die—at some points I wish I had—but I was always grateful I was alone. The stories from those who rode the storm together were more than enough. That storm lasted three days. What if we’re stuck in here that long again? How will we survive? We’ll be washed away in the flood.
Flood. The word triggers something in my mind and I’m floating away again.Flood, flood, flood…. It’s like I can feel it already happening, washing me out into the oceans I’ve only heard stories of.
In the far off distance, the trailer door wrenches open roughly, squeaking when it goes too far against the hinges.
“Eli! Snap out of it. Come on!” Jacob sounds so far away, like an echo.
Pain blooms over my cheek and I blink rapidly. What the fuck? I’m not bobbing in the flood, it’s just the rocking of the trailer against the winds. The trailer door flaps wildly, slamming and screeching but all I can see is Jacob’s face again. I am pretty sure he slapped me. I want to ask him to do it again, but I can’t seem to make my brain and mouth connect right.
Desperate brown eyes flick between mine. He’s kneeling beside me, and in the eerie red light flashing every time the door swings wide, I can see he’s shirtless, his pants hanging open enough to see the curling black hair. I see my hand reach outto stroke the patch, but he’s faster, not as lost as me. With his fingers firmly around my wrist, I can finally swim to the surface.
“I’m sorry.” The words are paper thin and I clear my throat. “I’m sorry.” I try again, managing to get them out properly.
Jacobs fingers squeeze me so tightly my fingers throb, but his thumb soothes a soft pattern over the veins in my wrist.
“It’s fine. But we need to keep hold of ourselves as long as we can. Can you do that for me?” His tongue darts out to lick his lips and I feel my cock throb in my pants.
“I don’t know.” I squirm against the new feeling. I’ve been half hard all day, but seeing his tongue has instantly redirected my chaotic senses in a new, terrible direction.
Jacob sighs heavily, prying his fingers from me one by one and shuffling away from me. I didn’t even realise his knee had been digging into my side, but now it’s gone and it feels like a gaping wound.
“The animals are safe. The camp is as secure as we can make it.” He ticks everything off in a monotonous tone and carefully checks over the boxes behind our makeshift bed. I’d been smart, protecting the food we can’t eat—the stuff in glass and in need of heating—with the stuff wecaneat. I even filled extra skins of water. We’re going to need them. Fuck, I need them now. I feel like I’m dying of thirst.
Groaning, I roll onto my belly and use my elbows to crawl to the nearest water skin, trying not to drown myself as I guzzle the cool liquid. Jacob chokes out a sound and rushes to lock the door, fighting against the wind trying to rip it off.
In the rocking trailer, it’s dark for all of about thirty seconds before the ridiculous whirring sound of the torch fills the trailer.
“We need to talk.” Jacob says once the torch is fully wound. He punctuates his announcement by turning the light on, soaking the trailer in the white light.
When my eyes adjust I can see how he’s hunched over, even though the trailer is plenty tall enough for him to stand in, with an arm wrapped tightly around his waist. Is it just the light making him look as panicked as he is?
“Do we really have to?” I cap the water skin and toss it to the side. The water has helped more than I thought it would. I almost feel like I can keep hold of a thought.
“Yes.” Jacob gasps. He’s struggling to keep himself together. It’d take the tiniest shove to send him over. “I dunno how much longer—how long we can—”
He stops abruptly, doubling over with a pained whine. The torch clatters to the floor, but doesn’t turn off. On my knees, I shuffle to him. Somehow I can feel his pain, too, like a thousand knives pricking my skin. I help him the only way I know how. Wrapping myself around his upside down back is instinctive, pressing my cheek against the bare base of his spine. His skin feels like he’s on fire, but he shivers when my fingers spread over his stomach.
“We get through this together. That’s what you said.” I whisper, my mouth all but kissing the bumps of his spine. “You and me. Whatever it takes.”
I mean it in every fucking sense of the word. Whatever Jacob needs to ease the pain taking him over, I’ll give it to him. However he needs to use me, I fucking welcome it. Ineedit.
He pushes against me, forcing me to let him go so he can stand. A pulsing, throbbing sort of pain ripples over my skin as I sit back on my heels. Jacob looms over me, the torchlight casting strange shadows and highlights over him, making him seem bigger.
The throbbing only gets worse. The brush of my clothes against my skin is agony. I feel like I’m about to burst open. My eyes rake over his bare chest, eating up the vision of his dark, lean chest, to the bones of his hips where his pants hang.
His cock is hard. Trapped.Tempting. My mouth waters, a hungry growl rumbling in my chest.
“Whatever it takes?” Jacob’s voice has a feral edge to it. Dragging my eyes from his twitching cock, I look up the length of his body and barely recognise the man looking down at me. A familiar stranger. His lip curls into another snarl, his hand reaching out to tangle in my hair, pulling so tightly it hurts. The pain shoots straight down my spine to my cock.
