THE SON OF ELI 2: LIKE A GOD

CHAPTER 7: TENDER IS THE NIGHT

It was dark.

An unfriendly night and Kate could sense that constant terror in the air, a terror that no one had been able to grow used to in the last eighteen years. 

It had always been like this, hiding behind closed doors and counting the seconds. Mother Earth had decided to turn upside down and killed humans in proportions never seen. The earth and sea had given up their dead, and the wild had poured her wild beasts into the cities. Since then, the human being had become the fodder, the hunted and the haunted. It was a constant battle of running, scavenging and praying for a change. 

From one community to the other, from one solace to the next, always being hunted, always fighting for survival every beat of a second. Death was now without much grief, a fleeting flash that held no sting, that was as normal as breathing, no matter how terrible a form it took. 

It had been vanity for Kate, a battle that had such horrible dimensions that suicide was always a comfortable choice that faced many of them. To keep fighting another day, or to succumb and give up, those were the choices. More and more, it had become difficult to wake up in the morning and move, but they had, most of them. The inherent will of the human race had made them resolute in their desire to live, and hope, for a better day and a better dawn where sense would replace death and folly. 

And then he came along, this wonderful young man that had simply taken over her whole thoughts. The sight of him dropping from the sky and saving them was now etched in her subconscious mind, and she was glad she had met him. More than that, he had rekindled that old womanly feeling she had thought was gone forever. In the heat of survival, she had not seen the need for anything else, and certainly not something as hollow as s*x. In a way, her feelings had been dulled. She had met boys, of course, in each of the six communities they had joined. Once, she had even been tempted to have s*x with a boy, Tommy. They had crept towards an abandoned manger. They had kissed feverishly, and just as Tommy was trying to pull down her jeans, he had disappeared from her arms. When she opened her eyes, his neck had been in the jaws of the largest alligator she had ever seen. 

Screaming hysterically, she had fled and left Tommy to his fate. It had given her nightmares for a long time, and effectively put an end to her libido.

And here was another man, a boy-man, but so wonderfully unique! Eli had told her he had a girlfriend called Jo whom he had left behind. Well, if he loved her enough, he would not have left her behind. To Kate, it was providence, an act of fate that had brought them together. Perhaps, if Eli found true love, he would stay. 

Suddenly, through the window, she saw a big figure approaching, and she saw it was him. 

With a cry of joy, Kate threw open the door - although she knew how dangerous it was - and flew across the grounds to meet him.

“Kate, you shouldn’t have come out!” he said with concern. “It is dangerous!” 

“I’m sorry, Eli,” she whispered as she draped her arms around him and squeezed. “I could not help it. I thought you left us.”

“I’ll never leave you as long as you haven’t found your brother,” he said calmly. “Come, let’s go inside. I brought some food.”

They hurried inside and locked the door. 

Her mother and Farida come from their rooms where they had been waiting anxiously because they had gone to bed on empty stomachs. 

They poured the contents of the two burlap sacks Eli had brought in the middle of the living room. 

“Oh, goodness me!” Farida screamed with shock and held up a box of candles. “You found candles! Haven’t seen one of these in years!” 

“What are they?” Kate asked curiously. 

“You don’t know candles?” Farida asked, shocked, and looked around for a match. “Unfortunately, we don’t have matches!” 

“Here,” Eli said and brought out two huge boxes of matches. 

Farida and Elsie shouted with shock and happiness as they took the matches. Soon, they had two candles burning beautifully in the living room, then walked to the kitchen putting lit candles at vantage points. 

“Thank you, Eli,” Elsie said suddenly with tears in her eyes. “Today, we will feast on rice with canned pork stew! I haven’t tasted anything like this in two decades!” 

“Water!” Farida whispered tremulously. “I haven’t drunk such clean water in years!”

Eli quietly watched their expressions of shock and happiness, and felt a warm glow passing through him. He was a bit disturbed, though, by the shiny eyes of Kate. Her eyes kept flitting to him, and she became more and more engrossed with him. The women picked many items and hurried to the kitchen where, thankfully, there was still gas in the cylinder. They had the oven going. 

Eli relaxed in his seat but came awake suddenly when he heard light footsteps. Kate was in the living room, and she came straight to him, bent low, wrapped her arms around his neck, and pressed her lips to his. He tasted mint on her breath. It seemed she had used one of the mint tubes of toothpaste to brush her teeth. 

She was clean and soft and sweet, and although Eli held back for a moment, she pried his lips open and kissed him deeply, rolling her tongue around his. He did not touch her, but she pressed tighter against him. He was miserable, not knowing how to stop her without hurting her feelings. Mike had cheated on Jo and hurt her deeply, and Eli did not want to do that even though Jo was no longer with him. But he knew he would see her someday, and he still felt so much love for her. Secondly, he knew making love always made him weak, and made him lose consciousness. Yet, he was scared of what Kate would feel if he pushed her away. 

Even though his mind and heart fought against it, he was appalled when Kate passed her hand across his loins and brushed his erection through the material. She gasped against his lips and sighed greatly. 

“Oh, Eli!” she whispered tenderly. “I love you so!”

She gave him a final kiss, then she turned and ran back to the kitchen, leaving the young man in a quandary of a physical craving and emotional turmoil.

***

In the end, it was a wonderful evening! 

They opened the curtains and let in the cool air from outside. Luckily, no Tombers or Searots came to the compound. They put a single candle on the dining table and served the most delicious rice dish Eli had tasted so far! 

They had turned to stew stuffed with canned meat, fish, and vegetables. There was only a moment of sadness when Elsie suddenly became quiet and looked up with tears in her eyes. 

“If only Solo and Zion were here,” she whispered tremulously. 

With her mouth filled with delicious food, Kate reached out and touched her mother’s hand gently. 

“Dad is in a better place, Ma,” she said softly. “Zion will be with us soon, I know it.”

“But has he eaten, is he well?” 

“God caters for the innocent,” Farida assured gently. “He’s well.”

The talk began again, and the good camaraderie returned as they continued their meal. Afterwards, the women cleared the table and went to the kitchen to wash the pans. 

Water was scarce, so Eli took just a bottle and a piece of towel, went to one of the bathrooms, and cleaned his body after cleaning his teeth. He slipped into loose singlet and trousers, pushed his feet into a pair of worn slippers, and went around securing the doors and windows. 

He delayed because he knew what was coming, and he was confused. The women had retreated to their rooms, and he breathed with relief when Kate called out to him to wish him a good night. They had the rooms upstairs, so he dragged a mattress to the main hall, spread a cloth on it, and fell on it with a sigh. 

He linked his hands behind his head and stared into the gloom, thinking about Jo and Dr John and his best friend, Ebo. He thought about little Nancy, that sweet young girl who was now dead. His heart was heavy with sorrow for a moment… he dozed off. 

The son of Eli slept. 

And suddenly, he felt her hands on him, and he opened his eyes drowsily. She was all over him, pressing herself close, and when he tried to turn, she came on top of him, and her hot lips sought him. 

“Kate,” he said gently and with dread. “Would you listen for a moment?”

“Eli,” she whispered feverishly, passionately, hotly. “Oh, Eli! I love you! I love you!” 

She was kissing him, her hand diving down, cradling his limp member. 

“Kate, we can’t make love!”

She paused, and gasped, and in the darkness, he felt her going rigid. He realized with a sinking feeling that she was naked.

“Why?” she whispered in a tight voice. “Is it because of her, your woman?”

“Partly,” he said gently, earnestly. “But, you have seen a little of what I can do. I’m not quite ordinary, Kate, my dear. I have other abilities. My body can heal itself quickly but, when I make love, well, it knocks me off.”

She was rigid, but she did not slide off him. 

“Why are you doing this?” she moaned tragically, painfully. “Do I disgust you so?”

“No, Kate, no!” he cried earnestly. “But making love weakens me. If I get too engrossed, I might die, at least that’s what Dr John told me. It drains too much blood from my brain and vital organs, you see, into my… manhood. It can cause a fatal cardiac arrest.” 

“That’s a lie!” she said in a pained voice. “Oh, Eli, if you don’t want me, if I disgust you, say it. It is better than that horrible story! You will find such a desperate lie to spurn me?” 

“I’m not capable of lying, Kate, believe me,” Eli said miserably. 

Then, in the darkness, she began to weep. 

She put her face on his chest, and her body shook horribly as she wept pathetically. 

“Kate, please,” he said lamely and had no strength left when she put her lips next to his. 

“Hold me a little, Eli,” she whispered through her tears. “Don’t let my heart break like this.”

So he held her, and she kissed him, even as she wept, and she slithered down his body. He sighed with resignation when she pushed down his big loose trousers and settled her lips on his throbbing appendage. 

Soon, waves of desire buffeted him, and she climbed up quickly and settled on him. She was so wet and ready, but it still took an effort to get him into her, then they held each other as pleasure found them. 

She moaned and rode him fiercely.

“Oh, oh, oh!” she cried with shock as incredible waves of pleasure she had never known moved through her violently, making it hard for her to breathe and impossible for her to stop moving her hips, craving more and more of his essence. 

She arched her back, her mouth opened wide, her face a violent grimace in the darkness as his special lance hit every erogenous nerve end in her body, making her trash wildly, violently, tumultuously! 

“Eli, Eli, Eli!” she groaned, weeping with great pleasure that made her crash on his chest as her body was ripped apart by the biggest wave of orgasm a woman had ever felt!

It went on and on! 

And, when she finally quietened and was able to breathe, she began to weep softly with the heavenly experience she had just had. 

She still lay on top of him and fell asleep almost instantly. 

She was not aware that Eli had lost consciousness, and his body temperature had dropped to alarming levels!