Out Of The Shadow
Chapter 1

Copyright© 2006 by The Old Guy

Science Fiction Sex Story: Chapter 1 - This is the base story fo the Out of the Shadow Universe. Jon is a young loner who lives through the dying and begins a new life in the post-apocolyptic world of the new Clans. The world is beginning anew. How will Jon deal with the new morals and the new forms of living that the people coming Out of the Shadow of the Dying.

Caution: This Science Fiction Sex Story contains strong sexual content, including Mult   Consensual   Science Fiction   Extra Sensory Perception   Group Sex  

My name is Jonathan, although I prefer to be called Jon. I am 23, a high school graduate and had no steady job. I was satisfied to live at home with my parents and play video games, watch anime and TV between jobs. My parents fussed at me about getting a career that I can get involved in and finding an apartment of my own, but I was in no hurry. I don't have any girlfriends and few real friends due to a severe case of shyness around new people. The doctor who had examined me at the vocational rehabilitation center said I had schizoid tendencies and had recommended that I try working as a security guard or some other solitary profession. I took a job as an armed security officer for a remote high security storage site in the hills of northern California not long before the disease hit the second stage die-off. I shared responsibility for the site with two other guards. I was the only guard living on site and worked the 11 PM to 7 AM shift because I was the newest guard. I interacted with the other guards only during shift change when I received my briefing on persons scheduled to enter the site to remove or bring in items.

I woke up from a restless sleep in the small on-site guard's house with a severe fever and headache. In my feverish state I noticed that I had missed my shift start and tried to crawl over to the phone, wondering vaguely why my boss hadn't come to see what had happened. The boss had always called before if I missed the start of my shift by more than five minutes. I finally managed to get out of bed and promptly fell down. By the time I reached the kitchen I realized that I was in serious trouble. Managing to reach the phone I tried to read the phone number of my boss and finally dialed the number. The phone rang and rang without anyone picking up. Finally I gave up his trying to get hold of my boss. I called 911 without an answer.

"Phone's out" I thought vaguely. Grabbing a bottle of water and a handful of ibuprofen I headed back to the bedroom. I fell onto the bed and took two pills, then considering my headache took one more. With my head on the pillow I fell into another uneasy sleep.

When I woke up again I felt weak and starving but had gotten over the headache. Grabbing my water bottle I drained it and managed to use the bathroom to take care of my morning needs. Brushing my teeth I looked at my cell phone and saw the battery had run down. "I thought I recharged this the other day", I thought as I headed toward the kitchen and the phone again. Picking up the telephone I tried to call my boss again and didn't receive an answer. Giving up on my boss, I tried several other numbers and still received no answers. Absently I turned on my computer and saw I had 25 new messages. "More spam", I thought. Opening the refrigerator I got out my normal breakfast of two eggs, bacon and a bagel. Filling the coffee pot, I set the table for breakfast.

After putting the bacon on to cook, I returned to my computer and logged in. Windows came up and as I waited for it to load, I glanced out the window and saw the guard on the 3 to 11 shift lying on the ground. Running out to check I found the guard dead. Feeling scared now, I began to look over the body and took his radio to call for help on the emergency police band. The battery was dead for some reason and I couldn't make the call.

I returned to the house and found the bacon in the pan smoking. Removing the pan from the stove, I sat and wondered what I was supposed to do now. Nothing in my limited training had covered anything like this. The most serious thing I was supposed to take care of was to investigate alarms and notify the police if I found anything wrong. Having armed security was more of a marketing idea than a real necessity. That justified the description of this being a high security storage facility and allowed the owners to charge a premium.

I knew there were always charged batteries and radios in the guard's office but to get in I needed the key. Returning to the body I held my breath and turned him over. The key ring was clipped on to the web belt as the uniform regulation prescribed. I tried not to touch the body and managed to get the keyring off his belt. I managed to get away from the body before throwing up, but just barely. The guard had insects all over the front of his body with maggots beginning to show around the soft tissues. Running back to the guard's office I opened the door and found the office trashed completely. Grabbing a battery from the charger I put it in the radio and again tried to call for police help. I received no answers although I knew the radio was turned on.

I decided to try and contact the police department on their website. Moving my mouse to get rid of the screen saver I opened the Firefox browser and there was the information I needed. "Mysterious Disease hits World Population" was the title of all the news services. I started reading. "Disease of unknown origin has hit world wide population. Death toll in the millions. Authorities restrict all travel between points in attempt to stem spread. Reports out of Asia and Africa put death rate at more than 99% of all cases, US and Europe expect death toll to exceed 90%." There were other stories that reflected the disaster occurring. A well known feminist stated that this was the judgment of the Goddess since more women were being spared than men, "At last women will be able to lead the world in the direction of peace!" One preacher known for his negative view of the way the world was heading urged people to pray for deliverance from the plague afflicting the ungodly population, while another had renounced God for allowing such a plague in the first place. Reports of widespread looting and rapine were occurring everywhere as men who felt they had nothing to lose let their dark emotions have free rein.

Panicked I called my parents and got the answering machine. When I called my sisters and brothers there was also no answer. I checked my messages and found the answer there, "Jon, I'm the last one alive of the family. I don't know if you will get this or not. For all I know you're dead too. We've been trying to contact you for three days but haven't been able to. Don't come home. There's nothing here anymore for anyone. I'm dying and the town is burning. Be careful if you're alive, there are people killing anyone they see who comes around their locations. Find a secure spot away from everyone else and hide there until the worst of this madness goes away. I love you, Mom." I felt my heart freeze in my chest. I didn't get along with many other people but had always had my family for support. Now I have no one.

I sat at the desk in front of the computer. I tried to stand up and found myself unable to move for a moment. I sat until pressure built up inside me to a point that I began to scream. Grabbing the chair I began to hit it over the monitor until with a crack it exploded into fragments. Breathing deeply, I stared at the monitor, no longer seeing it. I remembered my parents the last time I had seen them, standing in the doorway waving at me as I drove away to this job. I remembered my father's hug and my mother's kiss on the cheek. Dropping the chair I began to cry for my loss.

What brought me out of my depression was the sound of barking. "The dogs!" I had forgotten about the dogs in their kennels behind the on-site guard house. I was responsible for feeding and watering the guard dogs for the storage area. Going out into the back I found the dogs laying around the water bowl and their empty food dishes. All of them looked gaunt and one was so weak that he didn't move. In an automatic movement I began to get them food. Entering the kennel I checked on each dog and found them to be alright. I noticed the first bowls of food were already gone and reminded myself to feed them again in an hour so they wouldn't get sick from eating too much at once. Suddenly I realized that I was hungry too. I had not eaten anything after finding the body of the other guard. Remembering the body I swallowed and knew I had to do something with it before I released the dogs. Pulling out a rope from the shed I tied the arms of the body together and dragged it with the guards golf cart outside the gate.

I didn't really know the other guard but knew he was single, and his family lived somewhere in Sacramento. Thinking that if anyone ever wanted to know what happened to him, I took this badge and wallet out of his pocket. Steeling myself, I removed his hand gun and web belt. I thought of burying the body but I didn't have a shovel. I decided to look into the various storage areas and see if I could find something that would let me bury the guard.

Taking the great grand master key, I began opening the storage areas from the front of the compound going backwards to the kennels. I was amazed at what I found. Instead of the storage sheds being the real storage the mountain behind the sheds had been excavated to make large finished caves behind them. The sheds were little more than loading docks. There were furs, appliances, guns and ammo, vehicles and several locked chests that I thought held jewelry or other valuable merchandise. The one thing I didn't find was any food for me or the dogs. Returning to the guard's house I looked to see how much food I had I had about a week's supply of food for myself and about three days worth for the dogs. I gave the dogs their second feeding and tried to decide what would be the best place to go to pick up supplies. I didn't want to go to any place very large due to the danger of running into one of the people shooting at everyone but I wasn't too sure if a small store would have what I needed.

Finally I shrugged my shoulders and decided to check out the nearby 7-11 and see if it had anything left. If not, I would have to travel to one of the nearest towns, Dunsmuir or Mt. Shasta. I decided that I would take one of the vehicles I had found in one of the storage areas, a Hummer in summer camouflage paint. I picked up my favorite dog, Josh, from the kennel and put him in the back after I refueled at the on-site fueling station. I debated taking money and decided that it was worthless now. I put in an AK47 with a loaded banana clip together with a shotgun loaded with slugs and a box of shot next to me on the seat. I released the dogs to patrol the area while I was gone and made sure the gates were locked and the electric fence was turned on.

I drove to the 7-11 on Interstate 5 and found nothing but a burnt empty shell left. Looking around the area I managed to find some food that had been thrown out after the expiration date in the storage area behind the store. The food was still good, just past its best used by date. Rather than hauling the stuff with me in the Hummer, I decided to leave it there and check out Dunsmuir for supplies. Entering Dunsmuir, I saw that it had not been spared completely. The Thriftway Foods had been hit by fire but had not burned. Several houses nearby had burnt to the ground and I saw several bodies lying on the ground around the town. This was something to which I would become accustomed as the days went by.

I went to the door of Thriftway and found it still locked. I didn't have anything to break the door with so I went to the Do It Best Hardware at Mt Shasta and grabbed a wrecking bar and large bolt cutters. While I was there I checked out Rays Food Place and saw it had been broken into already. I didn't see anyone after looking around. Calling Josh, I sent him in to check out the store before entering. I heard the dog bark and growl and went in to see what he had found. There on the top shelf of a row of shelves was either a large child or a small adult female looking at the guard dog with fear. I checked her to see if she had any weapons and told the dog to sit.

"You can get down now, he won't bite", I said as I sent the dog off to check the rest of the store.

"Are you sure?" she asked giving me and the dog a doubtful look.

"As long as I'm here he won't attack", I said. "What's your name? Mine's Jon."

"I'm Rita and I live here", she said in a soft voice.

"Rita, is there anyone else around?"

"No, just me."

"How old are you Rita?"

"I'm 15, and a sophomore."

"I need to pick up some supplies for me and the dogs, would you like to help?" She gave me a doubtful look but finally came down from the shelf and stood up next to me. She stood about 4 feet 7 inches tall and may have weighed 75 pounds.

"Thanks. Are there people where you live now?", I asked her.

"No. I'm by myself there too."

I didn't make any moves on her because she was so young and I was still too sad about my parents to feel much of anything. I started gathering food for myself and the dogs, stuff designed to keep a long time and not take up much space I also picked up all the flea shampoo and medicine for dogs that they had. By the time I finished there was room, for me, Josh and Rita if she wanted to go. I hadn't asked before but decided to make the offer before leaving.

"Rita, would you like to come back with me to my place?"

"No. I have to stay here. My sister lives in Redding and she may come here to find out what happened to our parents and me."

I knew that the odds of two family members surviving were slim so I gave her a radio that she could use to contact me if she needed to as well as my number at the storage area. Waving at her I returned to my new home. This became a ritual for the next two months where I'd take the Hummer in every week and load up on groceries and everything else I could find that I needed. By the end of two months I had cleared out the Thrifty Foods and the Do It Best hardware store and was working on the others as I got around to them. The biggest problem was fuel. There was a fuel depot on site for trucks and a small amount of gasoline for the golf cart but I was using a lot gasoline for the Hummer. I had taken as much of the gas from Manfredi's Food and Gas depot as I could find barrels for but needed someway to get a lot more for the winter. Luckily the house used diesel fuel for heating but I needed to find a gas truck for storage and for hauling the gas.

Rita and I became friends during this time and we talked about a lot of things except who we lost during the die off from the disease. Finally Rita told me that she was going to go to Redding to find out if her sister was still alive. I argued that she should stay put or even better go back with me to the storage area. She was determined to go to Redding and finally I agreed to go with her to check on things there. Before we left, I needed to make sure that the dogs would be alright. By this time Rita had made a pet of Josh, the guard dog I had brought the first day. I had left the dogs out at all times since the first day to act as a guard for the area. I returned to the storage area and made sure the automatic feeders were working for the dogs and checked the condition of the animal cages that I had made from the old kennels. I had managed to find several chickens still alive, several goats and cows as well as several sheep before they had been killed by either the elements or wild animals. I had also found a large number of seeds for all sorts of vegetables and flowers and brought them back to the storage area.

I was as prepared as I could be with the exception of gasoline for the long cold winter. I thought that while Rita was checking on her sister I would see if there was a truck stop with a tanker of gas around Redding. My main concern was the danger from other people who might be in the area. I still remembered my mother's last warning about people shooting anyone who came around. For this reason I insisted to Rita that we go to Redding using the back roads. We entered Redding on Lake Blvd. and didn't see as much destruction as I thought we would until we got around Interstate 5 and what used to be downtown. The entire downtown area was in ashes. Major stores remained standing but everything around them was destroyed. Rita gave a gasp of disbelief when she saw the destruction.

Her sister had lived in the South City Park area so that is where we went. As we drove on Cypress Ave near the park I noticed that several houses looked like they had been torn down not burned. This made both of us nervous so I stopped the Hummer and looked for a high point to check on what lay ahead. There was a large building on Ackard Avenue and I stopped to look at the park from the top through the sniper scope I had mounted on the AK47.

I noticed that the park had been plowed and there were people working in the fields with hand tools. This puzzled me since there were still a lot of power tools available to use. Even if they didn't have electricity, there were still lots of gas powered tools available. As I watched I saw a man drop and not rise up again. What I found very troubling was the fact no one else stopped working to help him. This was not normal behavior.

I saw someone come from under the trees on the far side of the fields and I thought the man was going to help the fallen man up. Instead he began beating him on his back with what looked like a chain. After about a half minute, he waved at someone behind him and two more people came out and dragged the man back to the trees. The man who had beaten the fallen worker stood looking at the others and then grabbed one of them and had them start working in the place of the fallen man.

I could believe that someone had made people slaves but I was curious about why they had them working with only hand tools. Even the man who had beaten the fallen man had walked out to him instead of riding something. I sat down and told Rita what I had seen. She begged to use the sniper scope and looked through it to see if she could spot her sister. What we would do if she saw her neither of us knew. There was no way we would be able to attack that many people and be successful. We returned to the Hummer. Before we got there the dogs began growling. I told them to seek and they slipped away. After about two minutes we heard a scream from the side of the building and saw two men armed with bows come running toward us. I pointed the AK47 at them and they came to a complete stop.

"Raise your hands and drop the weapons", I told them. "Guard", was my command to the dogs. I told one of the dogs to seek and sent him to check out the rest of the area. The dog came back about 5 minutes later and sat down waiting for another command. While waiting for him to get back Rita and I had been observing the two men. They looked like your average man, nothing special about either one of them. I made them sit down and with a dog on either side began questioning them.

"Who are you and what do you have to do with the people in the park?"

"We are members of the New Life Church of the Reborn. We are here to return the people of the earth to the correct path they lost during their foolish pursuit of science and technology."

Rita broke in, "Is there a woman there named Tina there?"

The men looked at each other and somehow I knew they were going to lie. I told the dogs to hold and each grabbed an arm of the man nearest them. I looked at the men, "These dogs can tell if you are lying and I will have them tear off your arm if they do. Now answer the question."

One man didn't say anything but the other man began to sweat. I took my pistol out of my holster and shot the first man. Turning to the other man I asked him again to answer the lady's questions. He tried to get out of the dogs grip, which of course made the dog bite harder. Finally when I had the other dog grab the other arm he broke, "I know of a Tina in the slaves quarter, but that's all I know. Only the overseers and the priest have anything to do with the slaves."

"How many priests and overseers do you have?"

He tried to avoid answering as long as he could and finally I placed him in handcuffs and put him in the Hummer. Rita blindfolded him and we returned to the storage area. This was the first time Rita had been there and she was surprised to see how big the place really was. We placed the man in a shed that led into a bare storage area behind it. There was a door leading out of the back into another storage area but I had locked those with chains so he could not escape. Telling the dogs to guard I removed the handcuffs and blindfold.

I had placed hidden microphones and cameras in the area in case I ever needed to use it as a jail and it would pay off now. I blindfolded the prisoner again and took him out to the old dog kennels where I locked him to the kennel walls. Then I called in the biggest dog there, Harper, a German Shepherd mix that stood almost as tall as my chest. He looked absolutely vicious, although he was really just an overgrown puppy. I told Harper to guard and he sat next to the man. The man really broke out in a sweat now. I started questioning him about the New Life Church of the Reborn.

I learned that the group consisted of 4 priests, six overseers responsible for controlling the slaves, and 20 deacons who were expected to serve as scouts and front line troops in any conflicts. There were altogether about 70 slaves divided between the sacred whores, house staff for the priests, and farm labor. He didn't know where Tina was in the slave quarters and knew nothing other than there was a slave named Tina. When I asked about conflicts, the man told me that they were fighting a man called Baron William for control of the area. The Baron had a group of about 25 men which he used to kidnap people as slaves for his group. They had come up here after thing got too hot in Sacramento after kidnapping people for slaves from several groups that had formed after the die-off. They had thought that Jon was a member of the groups which was why they had planned on ambushing me when I returned to the Hummer so I wouldn't be able to carry word about where they had gone.

I returned the man to his prison and thought about what I had learned. I felt that it was good to know that people were picking up the pieces after the disaster but I didn't like the idea that these two groups had turned up around here. There was also the fact that Rita's sister Tina might be held captive by these nuts. I shuddered and remembered how they treated the man who had fallen and I could imagine the fate of the women they captured.

I liked Rita as a friend, though I had no romantic interest in her, and wanted to help her since I knew that she would try and rescue her sister alone if she had to. I decided that we were going to be making a trip to Sacramento in the near future. I wanted to make contact with these groups.

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