David stood up and shook off the ropes from his wrists and ankles after Wendy finally finished untying the woman's complicated knots. "She was a pro, huh?" Wendy struggled to her feet and shrugged her shoulders as if to say she'd seen better. He tried his best not to laugh, but failed miserably, and she soon joined him in a fit of uncontrollable giggles. Stranded in the middle of nowhere, barely any food, no floater, crazy people behind every rock, Armageddon just around the corner, and all they could think about was sex games. Well, there were worse ways to go, he decided as he planted a huge kiss on her forehead. "Do you want me to keep working on getting you out of that gag?" he asked once they'd both calmed down a little. "I don't know how much longer that file's going to hold out, but it's probably worth the effort." She nodded her head enthusiastically, so he knelt down next to her and resumed sawing on the chain. But after more than an hour, he'd barely made a dent, and the serrated edges of the nail file were worn to a shiny, useless smoothness. "I'm sorry, Wendy, but this just isn't going to work." He stood up and shook his aching wrist. She sighed, then turned her head up and stared deeply at him with a mournful look that he presumed to mean that she understood he was doing the best he could. A second later, tears started to form around the corner of her eyes. "Oh, please, don't cry, we're going to be just fine, I'll figure out a wayÖ" She shook her head no, then gestured for him to come around behind her, wiggling her fingers in the shape of what he finally understood to be letters. "You want to write something on me?" She nodded yes. He walked around, got on his knees, and held the palm of his hand next to her fingers. She traced a straight line. "I?" he asked. Another nod. Then she made an L, followed by O, V, E and Y so fast, he barely caught all the letters. "I lovey?" he said, feeling incredibly stupid after she finished the O and U. His heart started hammering in his chest. How many days had it been since they had met? Two? Three? It might as well have been eternity. Even though he didn't know a single thing about her past lifeÖwell, except the fact she had one heck of a kinky streakÖhe knew their destinies were locked together as permanently as the metal bands that were making their lives ever more difficult. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, hugged her tight, and lay his head on her shoulder. "I love you, too," he whispered into her ear. "Really and truly. And I promise we're going to get out of this mess. And when we doÖ" She cocked her face toward his, pushed the gag against his lips, and held it there for a very long time. When they both opened their eyes, David was suddenly aware that the day was slipping toward dusk. He made a quick inventory. Thankfully, what was left of the groceries didn't drive away with the mountain woman when she stole their floater. That took care of dinner, and maybe tomorrow's breakfast. And there was plenty of clean water in the creek. Otherwise, they had a dull nail file and some rope. He couldn't remember what happened to his boxer shortsÖoh, that's right. He'd left them in the floater. He could tell that Wendy was thinking along the same lines. No matter how brave they pretended to be, she must realize they were in deep trouble now. In his haste to drive away from the shotgun-wielding shopkeeper, he hadn't been paying the slightest attention to where they were heading. North? South? He had no idea. He wondered how far they were from the main road, the next town, or even a house. Not that it really mattered, since traveling any distance without the floater was going to be practically impossible, thanks to the cuffs around Wendy's ankles. In fact, given the general middle-of-nowhere aspect of their whereabouts, not to mention the end of civilization as they knew it, he thought they might as well have been on Mars. Or maybe we're both really dead, and this is hell, he mused. Alone in the world with a beautiful girl who can't move, can't speak, can'tÖ His reverie was broken by a nudge on his shoulder. He looked over at Wendy, who was moving her mouth around the gag. "Are you hungry? Yeah, me too. Might as well eat dinner before it gets dark. Tomorrow, I guess I'll get to work on some kind of shelter for us, and maybe take a look around to see if there's anything growing that we can eat." She nodded her head and started writing something on his stomach. First an M, then a Y, followed by HÖEÖRÖO. He chuckled, gave her a big squeeze, and stood up. "I guess now is not the best time to regret quitting the Boy Scouts when I was a kid, huh?" She giggled a little. "Mmmm-hmmm." Good, he thought to himself as he walked over to the tipped-over bag of groceries. Keep her spirits up. Heck, things could be way worseÖin fact, he was feeling pretty chipper, given the circumstances. Amazing what the love of a gorgeous gal can do to a man's perspective on life, even when she's helplessÖum, maybe make that especially when she's helpless. "When the going gets tough," he said in a mock-serious voice as he brought the sack back over to her, "the tough eat baby food." This made her laugh so hard, for a moment he was afraid she was going to choke on the damned gag. And she's got a good sense of humor, he noted on her ever-lengthening list of qualities. "Let's go back to the creek," he suggested. "I feel safer away from the road. Do you think that woman is going to come back for you?" Wendy shook her head. "Me neither, but I still think we should move away from this particular spot, just in case." She nodded and moved her feet underneath her bottom so he could help her stand up. "Should I carry you, or do you want to hop?" She started bouncing up and down on her toes. "You make an adorable bunny," he laughed as she bounded ahead of him toward the embankment that led to the brook. "I suppose I should make a fire or something," he said after they'd finished eating just a few of their precious supplies. "Not that I have the slightest idea how to light one without matches. But I guess I'm going to have to figure it out sooner or later. I'd better go look for some leaves and branches before it getsÖ" She bumped his mouth with her gag again. "Is that a yes?" She shook her head and squeezed her eyes closed. "What? OhÖmaybe I should just shut up and get some shuteye?" She nodded yes. "Actually, that sounds like a great idea," he said as he lay down on the cool earth, stretched his legs like a lazy cat, and helped lower her to the ground. Once they were fairly comfortable, she snuggled her arms and back against his torso, and he flung an arm around her slender waist. "Sleep tight." She made a sound that sounded distinctly like a groan and pinched him hard. "Hey! Ow, that hurt," he pouted. "You'd better be nice to me, missy." "Mmm-mmm," she said, jiggling a little before sighing and settling down to sleep. David looked up and watched the sky slowly turn a deep shade of purple, grateful for the babbling water of the creek to break the unholy silence of the woods. He saw the first star of the evening, and wished like crazy for a miracle to save them from this mess. But God probably died along with the rest of humanity when the bombs went off, so it looked like they were just going to have to save themselves. A few moments later, he felt her fingers teasing his pubic hairs, then reaching for his penis. He returned the favor by moving his hand up to her breast and gently stroking it. He briefly considered entering her from behind, but his touch seemed to be making her calmer instead of aroused, so he decided to leave well enough alone. Besides, he was exhausted, and this was the best he'd felt since he could remember. As her breathing became slow and regular, he found himself slipping into a dream about castles and knights and dragons and a damsel in distressÖ *** Something cold and wet touched David's back. His eyes popped open, but he couldn't see a thing in the dark besides Wendy sleeping soundly in his arms and, beyond her head, the faint outline of the trees in the moonlight. He froze as he listened to what sounded like panting just inches from his ear. There was definitely someone behind him. Had the wacko woman returned to finish him off? He started thinking about his next moveÖprobably couldn't get to the nail file in timeÖgo for the eyes, he vaguely remembered from some tough-guy movieÖas he prepared to spring to his feet, something furry bumped against his leg. Something big. David's heart went into overdrive. That's no person, he realized. It's some kind of animal. As if on cue, he heard a low, guttural growl. He prayed it was a raccoon, or maybe a deer, or even a wolf, but his instincts told him there was only one animal in the forest that made a sound like that. He willed himself into a statue as the thing he presumed was a bear sniffed his back, and then his ass, as he wondered how he could possibly save Wendy if it decided to attack. He desperately fought off the urge to shiver as sweat began to cover his body. Then he felt something long, damp and rough against his thigh. Sweet Jesus, it's licking meÖdon't move, can't move, don't move, oh god, please, spare WendyÖas the tongue explored the back of his body, he closed his eyes and steeled himself for the swipe of a claw, pushing away visions of what its teeth must look likeÖ After what seemed like hours, the awful grazing stopped, and David thought he heard the thing amble away toward the stream. He lay still for several minutes until he was positive whatever it was had gone away. Then he felt all of his muscles shudder in spastic convulsions, and his bladder spontaneously unloaded a stream of hot piss against Wendy's butt. She woke up startled and rolled away from him, grunting angrily. "Shhhhh! We have company," he whispered fiercely. Thankfully, she froze, her breathing coming through her nose in short, panicked huffs. "It's OK now, I think," he said to her softly. "Christ, that was closeÖ" He couldn't really see her face, but he knew she was waiting for an explanation. "Let's just say the rightful owners of this place paid us a visit." "Hmmm?" He didn't want to scare her, but what else could he do except tell her the truth? "I'm not sure, but I think it was a bear." She squeaked in alarm, so he crawled next to her and gave her a hug. "Don't worry, there's no way I'm going back to sleep now. If it comes back, I'll be ready for it." His hands scrabbled around the ground until he found the nail file, then he sat back against a tree and pulled her next to him. She shivered and buried her head into his chest, sobbing softly. "I know, Wendy, I knowÖ" he couldn't think of anything else to say, so he rocked her gently and stroked her hair. "I know, I knowÖ" Eventually, he felt her slip back into sleep. And, despite his best intentions, David's head soon fell forward in slumber as well. *** When he woke up, he found himself lying on his stomach. He turned his head and saw sunlight streaming through the branches of the trees. It must be almost noon, he thought as his eyes found their focus. Suddenly, he realized he was alone. "Wendy!" he screamed, but as he started to stand up, something heavy dropped down on his butt and pinned him to the ground. Before he could react, he heard a familiar muffled giggle. "Wendy, that had better be youÖ" "Mmmmmmm?" "You wench," he snarled in mock exasperation. "I ought to spank you, but you'd probably likeÖooomph!" She plopped down on his butt again, laughing. "How long have you been awake anyway?" She started bouncing up and down on him as she hummed a singsong melody, then yelped as he reached around and grabbed her leg. "You are in major trouble now, my dear," he said, holding her steady as he brought his knees up underneath her and pushed up on the ground with his free hand. He rolled himself out from under her, then caught her in his arms as she fell off. David couldn't believe Wendy was in such a good mood. After last night, he figured she'd be in suicide-hotline mode. Instead, she was peppering his face with gag-covered kisses, her eyes sparkling with delight. "MmmpÖmmmpppp!" She jerked her head upwards. "Up? OK." He stood and helped her to her feet. "Looks like someone I know sprinkled happy dust on her cereal this morning." Once she got her balance, she started hopping toward the stream, then looked back at him and gestured for him to follow her. "Where are we going?" he asked instinctively before remembering her gag. She glared at him, then gave him an exaggerated flounce of her head and kept on hopping. "Hey, wait for me, Bugs!" he yelled as he scrambled behind her. She bounced fearlessly along the edge of the water for maybe 50 yards, then started gesturing for him to look across the brook. He peered through the thick undergrowth until he finally saw what she was pointing at. It was well hidden in the trees, but it was definitely some kind of man-made building. The cold water actually felt good against his bare legs as he forded the stream and clambered up the embankment on the other side. It's a log cabin, he realized as he approached the structure. What's it doing out here anyway? Probably someone's secret hideaway, or maybe it's a hunting lodge, thinking of the bear. Anyway, it looked like it was in good shape, with nothing obvious broken down. "Hello?" he shouted as he approached the front porch. "Anyone home?" He walked up the steps to the door and knocked on it loudly. When he heard no response, he ran around the small house and tried to peer in the windows, but they were shuttered from the inside. "I think it's deserted," he yelled back at Wendy, who was beaming with pride on the other side of the stream. David returned to the porch and tried to open the door. As expected, it was locked with a serious-looking deadbolt above the handle. He pressed against the thick wood, and realized it was ridiculous to presume he could somehow break it down. He supposed he could easily smash a window and push through the shutters, but he really didn't want to if he didn't have to. He looked around the porch and tried to think where someone might hide an extra key. Maybe on top of the door frame? Nope. No doormat, either. He jumped off the porch and peered under the stairs. Nothing. He was just about to give up when he noticed a little wooden birdhouse nailed to a tree next to the front window. He walked over and swiveled the door up to open it. Nothing inside. Then he looked up at the underside of the door and saw a key nailed to the wood. "Yahooooo!" he shouted as he worked it free, clenched it tight in his hand, and ran down the embankment to the stream. He splashed noisily across the water, and just about knocked Wendy over as he embraced her. "I love you, I love you, I love you," he sputtered as he kissed her all over her head and upper body. "You did it, Wendy. You saved us." She smiled and blushed and David thought he had never seen a prettier thing in his entire life. "Allow me, mademoiselle," he said with a gallant bow. She gave him a curtsey before allowing him to pick her up to cross the stream and head up the embankment. When they reached the door of the cabin, she tried to get out of his arms, but he held her tight. "Nothing doing," he said as he braced a leg against the side of the house to hold her up while he fumbled with the key into the lock. "I'm going to carry you over the threshold." She leaned forward and rubbed her nose against his, then closed her eyes and threw her head back in a mock swoon. He laughed and turned the door handle, fully expecting to find a dusty, empty room. Instead, they walked into what looked like a museum exhibit of how people lived during the 19th century. A large brass bed covered with a colorful quilt dominated the room. A walk-in fireplace filled one entire wall, and there was a little iron oven next to it that looked like it was supposed to be used for cooking. Pots and pans and cups and kitchen utensils hung from the ceiling above a heavy wooden table with two chairs and a large steamer trunk beside it. Another wall was covered from floor to ceiling with shelves groaning under the weight of dinnerware, various household items and hundreds of books. A corded rug covered most of the polished floor planks. Candles and oil lamps were mounted on the walls, along with a rack holding a serious collection of rifles. At first, David figured he'd guessed right when he thought the cabin was a hunting lodge, although it could just as easily have doubled as a tribute to Laura Ingalls Wilder. Something was wrong, he decided. The house was way too cute to be a hideout for a bunch of guys who got their kicks blasting defenseless animals for fun. Then both of them saw the poster on the wall at the same time. "U.S. Out Of North America Now!" he said out loud, laughing at the cartoonish illustration of a Mountie aiming a blunderbuss at Uncle Sam. "Some crazy Canuck was probably using this as a hideout," he continued, still chuckling. "Look, there's tons of anti-America propaganda on the shelves. Probably one of those Quebec militia types. I read an article about them not too long ago. Seems they were going to come over the border to secretly commit random acts of terror. Well, judging from the decor, it looks like he was quite the traditionalist, huh?" He lowered Wendy onto the invitingly-fluffy bed. "Something tells me there's more to this place than charming antiques. Anything look suspicious to you?" Without waiting for her answer, he walked over to the edge of the rug and lifted an edge. Nothing. He pulled away more of the heavy material and discovered a large metal ring recessed into the wood. "Bingo. A trap door. Probably leads to some kind of cellar." He lifted the heavy iron loop and gave it a tug. A large piece of the floor rose a few inches. For an instant, he worried he might be making the biggest mistake of his life, but realized it was much too late to worry about surprising someone. So he kept pulling on the ring until the door flopped open. David pulled a candle off the wall. "Do you see any matches?" Wendy looked around and gestured toward the fireplace, where a big box sat on the stone mantle next to a wind-up alarm clock. "Awesome," he said as he touched the flaming tip to the wick. "I'm going to poke around downstairs. Are you okay?" She nodded and pushed her head back into the pillows with a blissful sigh. He wondered how long it had been since she was comfortable. Well, she wouldn't have to suffer much longer. Whoever built this place had to have tools. And, most likely, some food, too. He got on his knees to lower the candle into the hole, and then stuck his head down. "Holy shit," he said slowly. "Wendy, you aren't going to believe what's down here." It looked like something from an old World War II movie. The room was significantly larger than the cabin above it, maybe twice its size. Wooden bunks lined one long wall, and dozens of crates with stenciled letters on the side were neatly stacked against the other. There was a fully-stocked workbench, some kind of transmitter, what looked like an engine from a floater, fuel cells stacked to the ceiling, shovels, axes, and enough weapons to assault a small country, if not America itself. David lowered himself into the room and went over to study the boxes. "Fruit!" he called out as he read the bright-red words. "Meat! Vegetables! Wendy, this place is like a grocery!" He lifted the lid of one at random and was greeted by the sight of several dozen aluminum circles neatly arranged in rows. Cans and cans of food. The next box he checked was filled with sacks of rice. Then he found one packed with ammunition. This is too good to be true, he thought silently. Someone's going to pop out from the shadows and attack me with a blaster, or maybe a bayonet. But the only sound in the cabin he heard was Wendy's feet pounding across the hardwood floor above him. "Hey, stay away from the hole, you hear? The last thing we need is for you to fall down here and break your leg! I'm coming right upÖhold your horses, girlÖ" His head popped out of the floor. No Wendy. Where did she go? He felt waves of panic wash over his limbs as he pulled himself up into the cabin. He ran to the door and threw it open. And there was Wendy, squatting by a tree. "Jesus, you scared me to death," he started to say exasperatedly. "Next time, why don't you tellÖoh, I'm sorryÖexcuse me." He hurried back into the cabin, his face burning bright red, and lowered himself back into the cellar. Gotta find something to get that gag offÖhe waved the candle over the workbench and poked through the tools until he found a small hacksaw. Perfect. "Wendy, we're in business!" he yelled as he climbed out of the hole waving the saw like a victory flag. She was sitting primly on the bed, looking at him happily. "Hold very still," he said as he sat down next to her, positioned the blade and started grinding through the chain. After just a few minutes, the link snapped open. He pulled the next link through the opening, removed the plastic cylinder from her mouth and stared at her smiling face, feeling positively woozy. "Wendy, IÖ" But he was interrupted by her lips planted hard against his, her tongue squirming in his mouth. He put his arms around her and returned her kiss with more passion than he thought possible. They fell back onto the bed and continued their embrace until she finally pulled away gasping. "I love you, David. Oh godÖthank you." "I love you too, Wendy. IÖ" Whatever he was going to say was lost to the ages as she started kissing him all over his face, then down his neck until she arrived at his chest. He felt himself getting harder than he had ever been before as she started nibbling on his nipples. Moments later, she had slid down to the floor, her lips and tongue and teeth working their way down his stomach to his groin. "NoÖwaitÖIÖinside youÖ" She raised her head and muttered "will you please shut up?" before she took him completely into her mouth. Within less than a minute, he exploded. "MmmmmmÖ.now that's a gag I could get used to," she said when she finally released him. "My turn," he growled as he grabbed her arms and pulled her back onto the bed. "OhÖhelpÖsave meÖ" she sighed as he picked up her ankles and buried his face against her moist crotch. He lifted his head and peered at her from between her thighs. "You maybe want the gag back on? That can be easily arrangedÖno? I didn't think soÖ" It took a little longer before she started moaning and thrashing, but he kept his tongue in motion until he was satisfied she wasn't going to think about hopping anywhere for quite some time. "Oh, DavidÖdo that again," she purred when he finally came up for air, her taste dripping from his mouth. So he did. And did. And did some more. And when he was hard again, he held her legs up high and teased her with the tip of his cock until neither of them could stand it anymore, and then slipped into her like Cinderella's foot in the glass slipper. It was starting to get dark before they finally finished with each other. He pushed himself up on one arm and gazed at her with a stupid smile permanently etched on his face. "Wendy, you are justÖ" "Hush," she said. "Tell me tomorrow. Or the next day. Right now, I just want to sleep with you forever in this bed." He could hardly argue with her, given that he was practically snoring by the time his head hit the pillow. The next morning dawned gloriously. David woke up parched and starving, and figured Wendy had to feel likewise. So he ventured into the basement and retrieved a few cans of fruit, then grabbed an earthen pitcher and went to the brook for water. When he came back into the cabin, Wendy was just beginning to stir. "Morning, Sunshine. Feeling better about things, I hope?" He sat down next to her on the bed and poured some water into a cup for her. "Mmmmm-hmmmmmmmmm," she replied, sounding very satisfied. "Oh, that's right. I seem to have regained full mouth functions." She struggled into a sitting position, leaned over and kissed David hard. "There are so many things I want to ask you," he started. "But first things first. Let's get you out of those cuffs once and for all. I'm pretty sure the hacksaw willÖ" "Don't you dare." David stared at her in dumbfounded silence for a full beat, then began stammering. "IÖI don't thinkÖwhat do youÖ" "Let me put it another way, David. If you cut them off, I'm outta here." "AreÖare youÖhow will youÖoh, c'mon, Wendy, you can't beÖ" "Serious? Oh, I'm very serious, David. You'll soon learn I am very serious about many things, but mostly about this." She gave him another kiss. "Look, even though we hardly know each other, we both know, for better or worse, we are going to be together for a very long time. For me, that means this." She wiggled her bound ankles. "And worse." She smiled broadly. "But how will you get around?" "Where are we going?" "How will you eat?" "You'll just have to feed me, big boy." David looked hard into Wendy's eyes, and she returned his stare in kind. My god, she's not kidding, he thought to himself. He weighed his options, and it took him maybe three seconds to realize he had none, besides the one sitting beside him. "Now, if you would be so kind, I'd love some of that fruit, and then I want you to fuck me silly, just like yesterday, only don't be so nice this time. After that, you can poke around this place and do some useful boy stuff, like finding some rope to tie me up properly." David couldn't think of a single response that made the slightest amount of sense except finding a can opener and a spoon. He could barely remember what his life had been like before the bomb. Everyone who had been so important to himÖhis friends, his coworkers, his familyÖswirled in a nostalgic mist as if they were characters in a movie he had seen years ago. And everything bad was suddenly the best thing that had ever happened to himÖsurviving the blast, finding Wendy, escaping the crazies, the fuel cell disaster, even the damned bearÖall this had led them to a secret sanctuary built and stocked by the very people who had done their best to obliterate them. God save the Queen, and Napoleon, too, he laughed to himself. And now the most beautiful girl left in the world seemed to be insisting that she wanted nothing more in life than to be his sex toy, bound to do with as he pleased. He found his groin stirring as he imagined the possibilities, then he tried to convince himself she would come to her sensesÖsome dayÖmaybeÖbut maybe not. After all, they had no place to go, no one to find, no reason to leave, plenty of food, a source of water, wood everywhere for the fireplace, the steamer trunk is probably filled with clothes, there's probably even a floater hidden somewhere close by for all those fuel cells in the bunker. If someone happened upon them, well, they were certainly armed to the teeth. No, staying alive wasn't going to be a challenge. And she was certainly someone worth living forever for. "Did you ever hear the story about people who got everything they wanted?" she asked him as he sat down next to her on the bed with an open tin of pineapple chunks. He shook his head no, still trying to recalculate the events of the last three days and what was to become of their lives now. She scooted her naked body against his and kissed him. "They lived happily ever after."