Before the Darkness (Refuge Inc.) (15 page)

"Just in the valley. Uh, what was that

saying, Edna?" Harold turned to the lady.

"What are you talking about some Refuge

Inc.?" Edna said, looking annoyed.

Adam pulled the orange lyer out of his

pocket and presented it to Edna. "This is Refuge

Inc. Someone spray painted billboards and walls

with arrows and I think the arrows are pointing

to where this place is, but it's hard trying to

guess where the next sign will be. Is the guy still

on the radio?"

"What is it?" Edna asked, pointing to the

flyer.

"Think it's a place for survivors to go.

There's probably lots of people, doctors, water,

food and medicine. It's probably the place we

need to go to be safe," Adam said.

"Or it's probably a scam," Harold added.

"The radio is busted. Batteries went dead. But

the old kook on the radio talked about

predicting this for years. The last we heard from

him was a few days ago, the old nut. It's a scam,

I'll tell you that much and I wouldn't trust it."

"That's … possible." Adam sighed,

thinking. The guy on the radio predicted this?

This
as in the asteroid, the devastation? What

exactly was Adam searching for? And if he

found it, what would he be getting himself into?

"Where's the radio? Can I take a look at it?"

"It's over in that corner." Harold pointed.

"The right contribution for a secure future. Uh

huh, that's the slogan."

Adam retrieved the small black radio and

quickly examined it. Inserts for cassette tapes

were on the front of the worn radio and on the

back no power cord existed, the battery

compartment was opened and the batteries

were missing. It required two C batteries to

operate and he didn't have any.

"The right contribution for a secure

future?" Adam thought aloud. "Sounds like some

sort of investment firm."

"I tell you this much," Harold said,

"nowadays everybody wants your money. It's a

scam."

"I need to go tell my friend about you

guys." Adam sat the radio down in the corner.

"Give me a few minutes and I'll be right back."

Edna shooed him off as he quickly made

his way out the door.

****

Adam made it downstairs. Adam's excitement

about inding other survivors nearly made him

burst from his skin. He needed desperately to

share the news with Elliot, but he didn't want to

disturb his sleep.

Maybe it was his enthusiasm or his

sudden sense of hope that made him brush the

tips of his ingers across the bruise on Elliot's lip

again. Elliot's eyes opened, staring back at him

with half-closed lids. How did Adam know he

would awaken? Possibly because the last time

he touched Elliot he had wakened him. Then, he

had aspirin. Now, he had nothing but good

news.

"They're people here." He was sure his

eyes enlarged as the words lowed from his lips.

Elliot quickly sat up in bed. "You mean

alive?"

Adam chuckled. "Yes, alive."

Elliot's eyes lit up too. "Are they doctors?

Do they have medicine?"

"It's a couple of old folks. Well, there're

three actually, but one is in a coma. Some kind of

love triangle going on I think, anyway they're

stuck here waiting for help."

"But we're not alone?" Elliot tugged

Adam's arm, pulling him closer, eyes bright with

enthusiasm. "So that means… there are probably

more people alive out there somewhere."

Adam quickly nodded. "Right. This Refuge

Inc. might be the right place to go, after all. The

old man, uh, Harold said he heard something

about it on the radio. Not much, but he said

they're somewhere in the valley."

"Right, we know that much from all the

spray paintings." Elliot held onto to Adam's hand

with both of his, a subtle gesture of hope.

Adam relaxed his hand, allowing hope to

settle. "He also said he thinks it's some sort of

scam. But who would run a scam in the days

right after a disaster?"

Elliot nodded and stared at the bright

white linoleum loor. "Isn't that the best time to

run a scam when people are desperate and

helpless?"

"But for what, money?" Adam dipped his

head to look into Elliot's eyes, in the hopes of

recapturing his gaze. "Money doesn't matter

right now. We can't just go and buy a bunch of

stuff. Everything's destroyed, right? If anything,

we should be collecting bottle caps or some

crap. A bottle cap seems more valuable than a

dollar right now."

"That's what I was thinking." Elliot looked

up, locking their stare. "What's money gonna do

for anybody?"

"So it might not be a scam. It's probably

the one place we should be looking for."

Elliot looked down again and sighed.

"What else did he say?"

"He said their slogan is, 'The right

contribution for a secure future.' I'm not sure

what that means, but it might just be some fancy

jargon they use."

"Contribution? That just seems weird."

Elliot let go of Adam's hand, withdrawing,

regressing, the hope in his eyes dwindling. "Why

would they use fancy jargon if they're trying to

help survivors? Wouldn't 'Find us for help' be

better?"

"I don't know." Adam huffed, frustrated.

"I don't know, but we gotta ind out. This could

be what we need."

"I don't know either." Elliot stared at

Titan who slept in his snuggly looking corner.

"Why don't we sleep on it and igure it out

later."

Adam frowned. "It feels like we don't

have enough time."

"We have enough time to sleep at least."

Elliot rubbed his head.

"You feel alright?" Adam patted his

shoulder gingerly.

"Just tired." Elliot yawned. "I think I need

some more rest. My body's begging for it."

"Well, lie down and relax."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Don't know." He shrugged, scratching at

his temple. "Guess I can go and see what else the

old couple knows."

Elliot slid over in the bed, making room.

"Why don't you come rest for a second."

Adam stared at the empty space of bed. It

was no more than a foot or two of space for

him, yet the plush bed was enticing and to sit so

close to Elliot was tempting. He sat down. "Never

thought something like this would happen in my

lifetime. Thought I would see a chupacabra

before an asteroid."

Elliot snorted. "Hell, me too. Kind of

scary, huh?"

"More than scary, it's reality. You know

those what-ifs games people play? Like what

would you do if an asteroid was on course to hit

Earth?"

Elliot nodded. "Yeah. I used to do that all

the time." He stared at Adam's lips while he

talked.

"Someone asked me that once. When I

was a kid."

"What was your answer?"

"I would ly to the moon and live there to

avoid it." He chuckled. "Dumb kid. Never thought

that in a couple days after the asteroid hit I

would actually become close enough to a

stranger to care about him more than I care

about myself."

They locked eyes for a brief second, but it

was enough to cause Adam's heart to skip a

beat. Was it nervousness for being so revealing,

something he wasn't used to doing? Or was it

that odd something else?

Elliot's smile was warm and inviting.

"Maybe some people are surprised by the things

they allow themselves to feel at times like these.

I never felt closer to anyone in my life. I trust

you."

Adam smiled, surprised. "You trust me?"

Elliot didn't blink or move his eyes from

Adam's. "I do. I really do. What if we never

found each other? Do you know how different

things would be?"

Adam shrugged. "I don't know."

"Come on. Think about it." Elliot rubbed

Adam's thigh casually. "What if? What if we both

kept walking and never ran into each other? You

think we would have made it this far?"

"Anything's possible." Adam gulped at the

sudden heat that rushed his groin. "But I know I

probably wouldn't have tried so hard. Probably

would have given up."

Elliot nodded. "God, I'm so glad you're

here." His hand rubbed Adam's thigh slowly,

sensually kneading the muscle. "So I don't have

to die alone."

Adam

smiled,

trying

to

keep

a

lighthearted energy. "You're not gonna die. I

won't let it happen."

"But what if?" Elliot turned slightly to face

him. "What if I died? What if I went to sleep right

now and never woke up?"

Adam stared back into Elliot's worried

eyes, which were two dark orbs that resembled

the eyes of a lost puppy. "That's not gonna

happen."

Elliot tangled his ingers into the bottom

of Adam's shirt and pulled him closer. "At least I

would die a happy man, huh?" Adam felt the

light stubble on his own cheek as Elliot's lips

grazed it, kissing it softly. He moved his lips to

Adam's where he left a wet peck on his bottom

lip. "Make love to me."

Adam could hear his heart thump, thump,

thump in his ears and his cock hardened as

Elliot's palm slid under his shirt and caressed

his chest. He whispered Elliot's name but hadn't

realized it until he heard it echo in his ears.

Elliot licked Adam's lips and moved to sit

on top of him, pushing Adam back against the

mattress at the same time. "Please, Adam," he

whispered in a deep, husky voice. "Love me. Just

for tonight."

Adam slid his palms over Elliot's irm

chest. For the irst time without hesitation he

said, "Yes," and took Elliot's mouth in a deep,

wet kiss. He felt a tug of energy pulling him

farther from what he was afraid of and closer to

what he truly wanted; to be loved too … even if

it were just for a night.

They kissed and simultaneously removed

their clothes, their own and each other's, only

breaking the kiss once to pull their shirts over

their heads. The minute they were completely

naked, Adam carefully rolled them over on the

bed so he lay on top of Elliot, mindful of Elliot's

injury. Instantly, the memory hit him like a sack

of bricks; the irst time they were intimate in the

dentist of ice, this time felt the same but

different. It was the same position, the same

sensations, but something else was there.

Something that felt so right.

Elliot's thick erection dug into Adam's

lower abdomen, familiar, welcomed. He kissed

Elliot harder, rougher, licking deep into his

mouth,

primal

urges

taking

over.

He

repositioned himself so Elliot cradled him

between his thighs and their stiff cocks pressed

against one another's. He moaned and began to

rock, the pleasure taking over him. Elliot too,

moved with him in unison, while he separated

their lips to nibble Adam's ear.

"I don't want to think about what

happened," Elliot whispered in his ear. "Make

me forget."

Adam paused and looked down into

Elliot's luttering, scared eyes. It must've been

the devastation, their ight for survival, the

feeling of hopelessness that he wanted to forget.

Elliot looked so attractive when his eyelids

luttered, like two dancing moths. Elliot lifted a

condom in his hand, one that he must've had on

standby. Adam took the condom and quickly

slipped it on. He cautiously, instinctively lifted

Elliot's leg and hooked it over his shoulder. Once

secured, he moistened his ingers with saliva

and applied the moistness, which made it easier

for him to slowly penetrate Elliot's tightness.

Elliot grunted as Adam pressed inside.

"That's it. Love me." His grip on Adam's hips

tightened with the irst thrust. Heat traveled

Adam's body in waves as he rocked and buried

himself deeper and deeper into Elliot's warm

body. He tucked his face in the dip of Elliot's