Letty and the Last Crew: A Zombie

Apocalypse Reverse Harem Novel Kitty

Siberia
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LETTY AND THE LAST CREW
A ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE REVERSE HAREM NOVEL

LETTY’S ZOMBIE CHRONICLES

BOOK TWO
KITTY SIBERIA
 Letty and the Last Crew
A Zombie Apocalypse Reverse Harem Novel
Letty’s Zombie Chronicles Book 2
By Kitty Siberia
Copyright 2023
All Rights Reserved

ISBN: 9798864107607

The Characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher
For my Oma, because she would allow me to watch all the horror movies when I was little.
For my Zombie Squad, thank you for your support!
For all the awesome people who read Letty and the last Stiff ’s!
 C O NT E NT S

Trigger warning

Prologue
1. Episode 1
2. Episode 2
3. Episode 3
4. Episode 4
5. Episode 5
6. Episode 6
7. Episode 7
8. Episode 8
9. Episode 9
10. Episode 10
11. Episode 11
12. Episode 12
13. Episode 13
14. Episode 14
15. Episode 15
16. Episode 16
17. Episode 17
18. Episode 18

About the Author

Also by Kitty Siberia
 T R I G G E R WA R N I N G

This novel is a why choose reverse harem novel, the female main character is involved in romantic relationships with
more men.
There are explicit sex scenes between one or more members of the group.
This is a zombie apocalypse reverse harem romance novel.
There is erotic biting, sharing of flesh, erotic cannibalism..
There are explicit fight scenes, killing, zombies feeding, pain, blood and so on.
Suicide, Memory loss, Jealous men in the group.
Self-harm and Addiction, especially alcohol addiction.
Please be careful, your mental health is important!
 PROLOGUE

“Sweet dreams are made of flesh”

I ran, screaming, trying to attract the horde toward me. With each passing second, I felt their hunger and desire for flesh
growing as if it were my own. The call of warm blood and beating hearts was louder than the illusion of life I offered,
no matter how loud I was.
That is all I am--the illusion of life, a ghost of flesh trying to claw her way out of the grave and join the living.
To join my living men filled with life, warm blood, and beating hearts.
Angel, Carlos, and Chris were strapped on a platform, each tied to a wooden pole, surrounded by living dead the way
witches used to be, surrounded by flames, drowning in the grabbing hands and ragged stumps of fingers.
They stood there with vacant eyes, waiting for the bite.
And I am too slow. My feet feel as if they’re caught in something thick, making movement difficult.
The endless tide of broken bodies is pushing me, and I try to call my guys names, but I can’t articulate the words. It is too
late. I know it in my own dead heart. If it could, my heart would shatter.
I can see the zombies pushing harder, those already fallen building a step ladder for the ones that come from behind,
reaching toward my guys with their dirty, broken fingernails.
“Noooo!”
I call out, but the word gets stuck inside my throat. Still, the guys don’t see me. A few of the zombies turn their heads
toward me and still ignore me. Not even my voice is strong enough to attract them.
Slugger is in my right hand and bashes in heads so fast I can’t even feel the vibration back in my arm after it connects with
one skull after another. All I know is that my hair and face are wet and covered in the signs of the undead.
Grey dead brains splash all around me like an especially disgusting form of confetti, making me slip as I step on it.
I can do it.
I tried to find Ramon but couldn’t see or sense him. He is gone. Void, darkness, hunger, and sadness surround me from all
sides.
I am weak, powerless. My feet shake, and my arms feel like overcooked spaghetti.
From the distance, I watch a zombie female claw her way to Angel. She managed to pull herself up to the platform and sink
her yellow, jagged teeth into the neck of my sweet boy. It all happens in slow motion, and all I can do is watch the event unfold.
Blood sprays over her wedding dress, down to her chest and hands. It is almost as if the blood is covering me. I can taste
it--tangy, hot, and coppery.
Angel is still trying to speak. He wants to tell me something.
“S’okay, Letty.”
I can make out the words as his eyes lose focus. He forgives me, but I cannot. It is such an Angel thing to do, to forgive me
even though I fucked up so badly.
“Noooo!”
A fierce call burns inside me, damaging the last bit of soul that held my carcass together.
Slugger is not fast enough. I can’t split enough skulls to make a difference because the mass of living dead keeps coming
and coming, drowning me with each step. They try to pull me down, to drown me beneath their stinking bodies, make me go
deaf with the white noise of their feet hitting the pavement, of shoes that are dragged on the blacktop, and of the sound of dry
throats calling out their hunger. Each time a zombie falls, two others take its place.
“Noooo!”
I call out again, my eyes glued on the scene that unfolds in front of me, unable to look away but also paralyzed.
 The zombie woman is feeding on Angel. She had already ripped off the skin and flesh from his neck and was now digging
her disgusting claws into his chest, pulling out his still-beating heart just to throw it toward the mingling horde like a real bride
would throw a bouquet.
The blood and warm flesh send the zombies into a frenzy. They are more animated, alive, if that is the right word to use to
describe this horror spectacle of death. Each zombie stretches toward the drops of blood as if a small drop would make a
difference, giving them what they miss. Offering them peace.
Carlos and Chris are still there. They stay still, vacant, as if they don’t see what is happening to Angel. They don’t move.
Are they drugged or just in shock?
As I try to call out to them, my voice melts away in the mournful choir of the living dead. The song of hunger is not only all
around me, getting into me, touching my core.
When a cold hand grabs mine, my first instinct is to pull away, to cut it off the zombie, but it is him.
“Ramon”
It is impossible to hide my joy. Ramon is here. He will help me. For a moment, peace returns to my troubled mind. We’ll
work as a team, and that way, we won’t be too late.
“We can still save Chris and Carlos.”
My voice trails off like a wailing moan. Then I realize I have no more flesh on my left lower arm. It is all gone, gnawed.
Dry skin hangs off me like pieces of ripped newspaper.
Ramon’s skin is cracked like parchment, and his mouth is open in a rictus. His lips move, but he can’t talk. He is just a void
and as hungry as I am. We connect by our deep desire for warm flesh. All the rest is forgotten.
I need to get to the men, those guys, those warm, soft mountains of flesh.
I can’t think about anything but my hunger and how much I need to get there.
Pushing the others away, I keep going. Ramon is with me. We both feel the feeding frenzy taking over. The bride is biting
and chewing from the man who blinks now and then, but his eyes are turning milky white, and I can feel his hunger. We are
faster and smarter than the others and make our way to the prey waiting for us.
With a last effort, Ramon helps me up to the platform. The two meat sacks are there. One is awake and talking.
I find myself close to him, close enough that I feel his heartbeat and his breath. His scent is weirdly familiar, and he keeps
saying something I don’t understand. It is like the buzzing of a fly. I want it gone. I want him to stop talking to me, and to stop
now.
“Letty, please.”
I only hear the word Letty. The name is slightly familiar, but not enough to make me stop. The truth is, I am so hungry.
Pushing myself up on my toes, I bite into his lip. His warm, fresh blood sprays all over me. I bite again, this time taking a
big bite from his chest. Warmth spreads over me. The haze that clouded my mind is gone. I am back.
Blood is gushing from Carlos.
“Carlos, oh my God. I’m so sorry.”
I’m about to fix his injuries, but there are too many. Just as I push a piece of cloth to his mouth, a ravenous, wild Ramon
bites into his brother’s neck. Carlos cannot speak. His throat fills up with his own blood, making him choke.
“Ramon, no. That’s your brother!”
In my despair, I try to push Ramon away, but he is stronger, and my left arm breaks.
Chris, who is now a zombie, joins in eating Carlos.
Tears of blood stream from my eyes, and I fall back into the mass of living dead. They push me and grab me. The blood
covering me changes my scent, and I feel my own body being ripped apart.
It makes me sad to die, but living and knowing that I could not save them is worse.
So much worse.
The scream is lodged in my throat each time I wake up because this dream feels like a fucking self-fulfilling prophecy.
 EPISODE 1

Letty
“Xanax doesn’t work on the dead”

T he sound of my mute scream makes me jump up and grasp for the baseball bat standing next to my bed against the
wall.
“Huh, what?”
After a few seconds, everything moves into focus. I am at Base 7. We arrived here two days ago.
As we traveled, the guys and I decided it would be better to hide our relationship. Okay, I decided it was probably for the
best as we needed to find out who the informer was and who fed Simmons the information about Angel and the group.
Angel had not only discovered a cure but was probably holding immense power in his slender fingers. After Ramon got
bitten, Angel used the last bit of serum on him, and now Ramon is almost like me. Not only has he survived, but he is fast,
strong, and can walk in the midst of a zombie horde without being noticed. The one difference I know of is that Ramon has a
pulse and a heartbeat, whereas I don’t. We both feel the zombies and understand the hunger that plagues them.
My origin is blurry. I have no recollection of what happened before that day when I woke up covered in blood on the floor
of a hospital bathroom.
Carlos, Ramon, and Chris trust their commanding officer, Colonel McKenzie, but I don’t know him, and they agreed to offer
the man a tamer version of what happened.
We did not inform the colonel that we knew Angel was being targeted for kidnapping to create a super-soldier serum and,
in colonel, to create a water-downed version of them to enslave the masses. We hid that from him.
It made sense if one thought about it. If people needed a new boost of serum to be invisible to the zombies, those people
would do anything their leader wanted since the promise of safety in this fucked up world would be everything. There was a
mole, someone who had access to every bit of information on Base. A person who knew where and why Carlos, Ramon, and
Chris had left and knew them well enough to guess what return route they would take. The guys were ambushed when they
brought Angel back, but they were lucky because Ramon and I had stopped to take care of a horde.
I did dark and unspeakable things to the men that injured my guys, and I ate human flesh again. That memory made me
swallow in pain. Each time I eat flesh, I recall that I am not human. The only time when eating flesh made me feel more alive
and human than ever was when Ramon cut his arm to feed me. That gesture of deep connection had me melting like a snowman
in July.
Base 7 is not the way I imagined. In my head, I had this idea of military bunks, containers, and a grey, sterile environment.
In reality, I found myself gasping as we got closer.
Base 7 was suburbia.
An entire area of self-sufficient Victorian-style houses that had solar panels for hot water and electric power, winter
gardens, and soldiers patrolling the streets.
Angel and I kept looking around, wandering the streets where children played without fear. When I left New York City, my
friend Greta asked me to check out the base because she wanted to move her group here. The New York group was composed
of females only, most of them young girls, and I refused to bring them anywhere where they would not be safe. This place, in
some way, made me want to be normal and be what I pretended to be—Angel’s scared medical assistant, who had lived with
him in the hospital for the last seven months.
Talking to the guys, I found out that the apocalypse hit about a year ago, and there was no clear cause. One day, a guy on the
way to work started biting people left and right instead of honking his horn. That simple, really. I was not sure what I had
expected. Maybe because my guys had access to the last bit of military intelligence, I hoped they would know more. That fact
did little to shed any light on what I am.
Base 7 was planned to be a self-sustaining unit even before the end of times. The houses were not all beige and boring.
Quite the contrary, as we walked down the streets, we could see the different colors and personal touches each family added to
the house they lived in.
There was enough space because a big part of the base was still empty. I asked the guys to be vague when they talked about
Greta. Angel shared my distrust for McKenzie, but Carlos, Ramon, and Chris believed him to be an upstanding man who would
hold honor above all else.
No one had cars on base. They all walked or used bikes to travel. Bushes and trees would be a nightmare in case zombies
broke through the defenses and entered this place. I refused to go there mentally.
The area was surrounded on two sides by a wall manned by soldiers. On one side, a train blocked access. Yes, those mofos
had a train derailed and used it as a wall. The other was a mobile wall made of trucks and large shipping containers.
Chris explained it all to me as I kept looking around, wondering. I had so many unanswered questions. Was Simmons the
guy who dealt with the men I killed back in the day and who traded women for ammunition? If so, I hoped he would rot in hell
for what he did. But as much as I hoped that I had put an end to that practice, there was no way to be sure. In this new world,
survivors had no way to communicate, and even if they did, there was no saying if one had the good guys or the bad ones at the
other end of the line.
I intended to lay low and play Angel’s assistant as well as possible. No one knew me or believed I was important or had
much strength, and I liked it that way. People make mistakes when they underestimate me, and I did not plan to bring my girls
and my cat, Yellow, to this place if they were not safe.
When we entered, after the obligatory bite check, colonel McKenzie had Chris go in for a debriefing because Carlos was
still suffering from his injury. Chris only nodded. Ramon walked us to the house we would all share for the moment. The guys
quickly jumped in and said they would happily share the house with me if we agreed.
“You okay, Letty? Do you need a cup of tea or something?”
I must have scared poor Angel as I just sat in bed with a pillow close to my chest, my arms wrapped around it.
“All good.”
Angel pressed a button, and the light beside the bed came to life. I almost hissed like a cat because I preferred the darkness,
even though it was one of those pretty, old-fashioned Tiffany lamps with small, colorful pieces of shining glass.
“Turn that off, would you?”
He moved with horrible slowness and pushed the button again, allowing the room to sink back into darkness.
“It’s 4 AM. Try to sleep.” Angel said good-naturedly as he put his arm around me, trying to pull me into his warm body.
This was the second night we shared the bed, and it still felt fucking strange.
“I can’t sleep, I’ll go downstairs.”
As I stood, I pressed a kiss on his head.
“I can go with you.”
“No, stay. Sleep. You’re tired. I don’t need that much sleep.”
Angel threw me a look, but the desire for a few more hours of rest won. Why should I fault him? He’s human, and last week
was madness.
Still, it wasn't easy to believe that only one week passed, and I had already allowed those men to come into my life.

Ramon
“No Starbucks for the undead”

Darkness feels so much better now than it did before. Carlos knew I was afraid of the dark as a child, but I never came clean
and told him this fear was still with me, that I always believed other things were hidden under the veil of the impenetrable
gloom.
When she woke up, I could feel her. The connection between Letty and me is tight. She feels like another part of myself. I
was aware of her without trying to be aware of what she did.
“Can’t sleep, baby?” I whispered from my spot in the corner of the kitchen. The chair creaked under me as I moved to my
feet.
She knew I was there. It was that unspoken bond becoming stronger each day.
As Letty walked down the stairs into the kitchen, barefoot, wearing only my old AC/DC t-shirt, my heart jumped. Maybe
my heart was down to twenty beats a minute, but each time I saw this woman, I felt alive again.
Her wild mohawk was down, her hair reaching her chin. The pink shone brightly in the darkness, the same way her blue
eyes had that cat-like quality that made them sparkle just for a second.
 “I knew you were there,” she whispered, a small smile tugging at the corners of her cute mouth. Why was the way she
smiled just for me so special?
I was just about to get up from the chair when she jumped on me, planting herself on my lap, her legs wrapped around my
midsection. Her nose trailed on the column of my neck, making me suppress a moan and a shudder of delight that was about to
get me undone.
“All yours. Take what you need.” I whispered, leaning my head to the side, allowing her full access. No matter what Letty
needed, I was willing to offer it to her, even if it was my fucking existence.
Her hands moved on my bare chest, slowly, her fingernails pressed into the flesh as they raked my chest hair. Letty’s ass
moved, and I became very much aware of how close we were and how much I desired her with each fiber of my aching body.
She moved her closed mouth on my neck, teasing me, making me even harder before she slid her tongue out and moved it up
and down, making me moan with need.
“Are you playing with me?” I whispered, knowing well what my voice did to her. The reaction of her hard nipples and the
moisture that coated her inside was obvious.
“Am I not allowed to?” she answered, purring like a kitten as my hands moved down her back and pulled her into a vise-
like embrace close to my slowly beating heart.
She stopped kissing me and her blue eyes fixated on my gaze.
“I feel trapped. I know this is home to you, but it’s not for me. It makes me itchy.”
Kissing her deeply, I allowed myself to taste her, experience how soft she was, and how she molded her body on me.
“Get some pants and a jacket and meet me in five.” I stood with her wrapped around me. It was easy to forget how strong
she was when I barely registered her in my arms.
“Uh, such a big, strong man.” she cooed into the small of my neck, making my damn cock jump up again.
“You’re antsy, and I can help. But if you run half-naked all over the base, we will have ten guys declaring for you
tomorrow.”
Letty grabbed my earlobe and bit down, not hard enough to sever it, but enough to draw blood.
“I have my men already.”
“Let’s move, spider monkey.”
“What about you? Are you going to run around half-naked?”
“No. See you in five.” I put her down, and we kissed.
Letty left with an exaggerated swagger to her hips, and I smiled. It was still early enough, long before dawn on a frozen
November morning. The house was feeling arctic, but I didn’t feel the cold like I used to. I still registered it, but it did not
bother me.
The idea I had made me smile.
Letty returned five minutes later wearing clothes from the pack a soldier dropped off. The base took care of their own. She
had a pair of black pants and a black jacket that was a bit too large for her, but she still looked cute.
“You look badass,” I said with a half-smile.
“I look dumbass. But it should do.”
As she offered me her hand, I gave her a chocolate-flavored protein bar.
“Mm, you got the good snacks.”
As she bit into it, I whispered, “You’re my favorite snack. Now let’s go before mother hen wakes and we get in trouble.”
It was forbidden to walk on base after curfew. That was the rule, and curfew ended at six in the morning. It was only 4:15.
The cold night was crisp and surrounded us with darkness. There’s something about a deep November night that can be almost
overwhelming to the soul. Holding Letty’s hand made me feel ten feet tall. Since I met her, I think I can accomplish anything, as
if I could be that superhero who can save the world—one step at a time. I don’t need to save anyone. I just want to make Letty
smile a bit today. Seeing her sad or absent killed me. The base could be our home, a place for us to be happy together.
“Where are we going?” Letty asked as I took a deep breath of the cool, foggy air around us that looked like the ghost of
everyone who had died surrounded us. I saw her in the gloom. The new night vision the parasite gave me differed from how I
experienced the night before as a mere human.
“You said you need to move, so we’ll be moving.”
Since I was bit and Angel gave me the cure, or whatever he gave me, I had started to see the world in a new way. There
were moments when I wanted to compare notes with Letty but recalled painfully that she had no memory from before. It was all
new to me. I felt like a pup who had taken his first steps in the world, and everything was fresh, wonderful, and filled with
colors, flavors, and meaning that had been lost on me before.
Letty stood next to me. She held her body like a compressed spring, ready to snap and turn into a deadly weapon at a
moment’s notice.
This woman… fuck, even her scent in the cold air of the early morning drove me wild, making me want to take her right
there on the frozen soil. My body reacted to hers in a way I had never experienced before. Life was never intense before, even
though I wasn’t a choir boy.
I made a “follow me” sign, and we slunk along the walls like ghosts as if we were part of the darkness surrounding us.
Here and there, light from the watch post seemed like small islands, accentuating the darkness that swallowed the base. The
streets had minimal lights. I knew where the half-frozen guards stood, trying to keep warm and bring back some feeling into
their toes and fingers.
I could smell that guy there, his scent hitting my tongue and gums. Fuck me, he makes me think of a juicy steak, raw and
bloody. Letty talked to me about this, about the way this new hunger feels. It’s like a knife that cuts deep into me at a cellular
level, and now and then, I still need to shake my head. It was sometimes not like a sharp knife, but one that was old, rusty, and
jagged and needed more runs over my flesh to make it hurt even more.
My attention went back to the guard. He did a few jumping jacks, trying to stay warm, not paying attention to his
surroundings because, usually, zombies do not sneak up on you.
“Why are you smiling?” Letty whispered into my ear. I could feel her giggle on my skin.
“That used to be me.”
“Huh?”
“This is punishment for us military guys for disobedience.”
“What did you do, bad boy?”
She asked, and there it was, that pressure in my belly, that desire to clamp her lower lip between my teeth and pull her
close to my chest. My slow-beating heart skipped a beat when she smiled at me like that.
“I was there once. This job was for the civilians on base and was only used for punishment for active-duty soldiers. A night
feels like a fucking eternity when you stomp from one foot to the other, and all you can think of is that your ass is freezing. No
action takes place in the cold night, not even a few teenagers sneaking around to see their lovers or smoke.”
“Why are there guards?”
“They want to make sure no zombies get onto the base.”
She pushed her hair back. It wasn’t up in a mohawk but was hanging down to her chin, making her look so much softer. In
the dark, her blue eyes looked grey, almost silver, with small gold flecks.
“Wanna scare him?” I asked.
“Do you? I don’t know him. Can you smell his fear?”
At first, I did not. But now that Letty told me, I inhaled again. The wind blew his scent into my face, drowning me. She was
right. He was tired, horny, and, right under everything, was a faint, sour scent of fear and panic.
“Take me where you want to,” she said, grabbing my hand again.
It was easy to walk fast and silent on the edges of the islands of light. We reached the back wall, composed of train cars
and other types of containers.
“Need help?”
“For what?” she asked as she leaned back and looked up towards the old, rusty, metallic train cart.
“To get over that.”
Letty threw me a look and rolled her eyes back. “Oh, please. My strong, handsome man will help me, the small and
helpless girl, climb over the big, bad train cart.”
The corner of my mouth twitched. The fact that she is strong and capable of dealing with almost everything herself does not
make me love her less. My macho side shines through now and then when I want to take care of her and impress her.
I had no reply. This woman is a part of me as I am a part of her. I smacked her small ass and pressed my hard body against
her into the train car door.

Letty
“Nothing like an early whatever”

Ramon’s large hand landed on my ass and made me want to do naughty things to him right then and there. Things with Ramon
are easy. He understands me, and I him. We do not need many words.
Ramon’s hand moved down between my legs, making my pussy tingle.
I winked and smiled. “Either you stop, or you fuck me because you have me dripping down there.”
Ramon moved closer to me, wrapped me fully into his body, and pressed me hard against the cool, metallic wall of the
train car. Metal things pushed into my back, but I did not fucking care so long as Ramon pressed into me from the front.
“Can’t do. I want more, but I need to take you somewhere, okay?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. There was that connection between us, and I desire Ramon so badly it clouds my mind. He is
the only one who understands my need and hunger on a deep level because he feels the same as I do. During the last few days
since he was bitten, we became the first of a whole new species, and I can be myself with him.
His fingers pressed against my waist as he pushed me up. I reached a step and climbed on top of the train car. One second
later, I landed in the frozen grass on the other side of the fence that kept Base 7 safe and closed off from zombies and the rest of
humanity.
Were humans now worse than zombies?
I still refused to allow my former experience to make me bitter. There are good people out there. Greta and her girls in the
New York bunker are good people, the best. And my guys. They are rugged and rough around the edges, but they have the
sweetest hearts, and deep down, they are good people.
Crouched low in the grass, I waited for Ramon to land. It was surprising how his large body landed without making the
slightest sound. Only the ice that crusted the grass crunched under his thick combat boots.
“You move like an elephant.” My voice was soft, barely making a noise, but it was loud enough to reach Ramon’s ears.
He pinched my ass as a reply and almost made me yelp.
His fingers grabbed mine, and they entwined as we made a run toward the trees. As soon as we were away from Base 7,
we breathed easy.
“Where are we going?”
Ramon lifted his hand, bringing my fingers to his lips. He gently kissed the tip of my fingers.
“Run with me, will you?”
Before I could nod my agreement, Ramon sprinted away, and I followed. In the dark, we stopped under a tree and
uncovered a bike.
“How the hell did you get this here?”
“It’s not the New York bike. It’s mine.”
“Okay.” I was not sure what he wanted to do, but fuck it, I was down for the ride.
He unveiled a dirt bike, and I loved it. My first reflex was to jump on it.
“Come on, sexy,” I ordered.
“Are you making me ride bitch?”
“Why not? You’re such a sexy one.” I lifted my brows in a flirty gesture.
He moved in behind me, rubbing his large body against mine. His hands moved over the back of my neck, then down to my
shoulders and arms. Who knew that having your hands touched could feel so deeply erotic?
Ramon leaned closer, his stubble-covered face touching my ear. “I’m the one who knows where we’re going, and just for
the record, I can’t wait to take you from behind.”
My nipples pressed against my shirt in a painful way, turning my entire body into one big fucking goosebump.
“You talk the talk, but can you fuck the fuck?”
Ramon laughed, his large chest producing the most beautiful baritone sound. “Let me. You’ll love it.”
I rolled my eyes, jumped off the bike, and slid behind him. “Show me.”
He pulled my arms around him, and again, I felt his slow heart beating in his chest, the deep intimacy that came from our
unique connection.
Ramon rode fast and hard, jumping over piles of wood and taking shortcuts, and I was there for it. If I would have had a
heartbeat, it would have been crazy, but instead, his reckless driving made me hot as fuck.
The noise of the waterfall surprised me. I wasn’t expecting that. There it was, a tall waterfall breaking down, calling to the
cold around it.
Ramon got off the bike and started stripping. I could see him in the dim moonlight. His strong muscles rippled under his
tanned skin, and soft dark hair covered his chest. He pulled off his jacket and shirt first, moving slowly, the cocky bastard
making sure he gave me a damn show.
I still sat on the bike and threw him a lazy look. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Going swimming. What about you?”
I watched him peel off his pants. His perfect, hard cock jumped out of the leather pants.
“You know about shrinking, right? I read about it in a book.” I said as I bit my lower lip. This man is delicious in all ways.
“Come on, Zombie Queen. If you don’t get undressed, I’ll take you the way you are.”
I laughed. “The water is cold.”
“Yeah, and we’re the fucking walking dead, so what can happen?”
“I just dried my hair and made it pretty for my first day at work.”
Ramon walked over to me, naked. My eyes were like a starving man’s who looked at a feast. I was not sure what I wanted
to look at first. The way his Adam’s apple bobbed up and down, or the way his neck dipped into his perfect, round shoulder.
Or his defined pecs that begged to be touched, or the soft trace of dark hair that led to his cock.
So, I did what every girl would do. I swallowed and took off my damn clothes slowly, making a show of it. Why should I
be the only one drooling?
 The cold is like a familiar friend. I feel it, but it doesn’t bother me, and I think it’s the same for Ramon. Cold is pleasant. It
tickles me on my naked skin.
The waterfall roars in front of us, and the forest surrounds us.
I don’t wait.
What’s there to wait for?
With a scream, my body plunges into the cold water. I fly briefly before the wet, cold, roaring water embraces me. The
waterfall feeds into a lake, but I allow the waves to pull me all the way down.
Opening my eyes, I see Ramon following me in the cold wet.
It’s so silent here, as if we are the only two people on Earth.
Maybe we will be one day.
What if I don’t age? What if Ramon does not age either, and we live forever? Will I want to turn the others out of the
selfishness of my own heart because I cannot bear to lose them?
That dream is still there, right underneath the surface, torturing me.
Ramon grabs my hand. Air bubbles leave his mouth as he pulls me closer. We are both ice-cold underneath the surface of
the silent lake. His frozen lips find mine, and his hot tongue makes my vision explode with color.
We can’t wait longer.
We kiss. Our legs move, pushing us toward the lake's surface, faster and faster with each of his heartbeats. Once we break
through, Ramon lays me on a flat stone. The cold water clings to my body, but I do not mind the caress of the frozen droplets.
Ramon kisses me, and his body presses against me. I cannot think anymore. My mind goes dark and numb, and all I
experience is this wonderful man touching me.
His fingers trace my lips and my throat, and his big, calloused palm brushes over my chest, down to my abs, and between
my legs. He teases my clit with his fingers. A fire burns inside me, molten heat born from freezing cold.
Ramon is not gentle this time. His kiss grows wild and possessive. His hands move over my body, hungry to commit each
inch of my skin to his memory. He kisses me wildly, like a starving man, and I reply with the same feral need.
Ramon plunges his large, stiff cock inside me, and I scream out. Pain fills my vision for a second. He’s big and hard, and
the way he plunges into me makes me feel wanted and needed, possessed in the best way.
My nails find purchase in his back.
“Deeper, fuck me harder.” The words escape my lips.
He obeys as if his whole body lives for the moment of my satisfaction.
There it is again, a deeper primary need that makes me bite into the spot where his neck joins his shoulder. But this time, I
do not rip at his flesh.
His dick gets even harder inside me, and he moans as he keeps fucking me.
My jaws are clenched. It’s something out of my control, a need older and deeper than the earth itself. Ramon makes me see
shiny spots on the edges of my vision.
“That’s a good girl. Come around my cock.”
Ramon moans into my ear, and all that holds me in this plane of existence is the taste of his blood and the promise of his
hard flesh.
I let loose. My orgasm explodes, and my body convulses hard.
My mouth opens, freeing him, and I lick the spot as the wound knits itself back.
Ramon kisses me, and I realize that my mouth is filled with his blood. We share the kiss and the blood like we would share
honey.
He turns my body and pushes me onto my hands and knees. The rock bites into me, scratching at my skin, which knits itself
back only to get ripped open again.
My moan is deep.
“So beautiful.” Ramon pushes his cock into my pussy from behind.
I can’t take it anymore. I need him again. I need him to come inside me.
I can’t breathe, forgetting that I don’t need to.
Ramon wraps his hand around my neck and covers me with his large body.
“Tell me that you want me, my Zombie Queen.”
“I want you.”
My voice sounds foreign because he is pressing hard, and I love it. Feeling him all around me makes me feel so damn
alive. It’s a high like no other.
“Fuck, I’m yours. You know that? I would do anything you want me to.”
Even though I am on my knees, and his hand is wrapped around my throat, and I am at his mercy, the way Ramon says it
makes me shiver, and I come again.
“Fuck me, take me.”
 This is like a mantra. Ramon is so close, and he teases my entrance with his large, swollen head. I can’t think of anything
else.
“I want your back door, Letty. Do I get it?” he whispers, nibbling at my shoulder, but he doesn’t break the skin. He just
presses his teeth gently, as if I am something precious and he is scared he could hurt me. My mind turns into a puddle.
Ramon pushes his fingers into my mouth, and I lick them. They taste like him, and it drives me wild.
Our minds talk. I want him to take me hard. We are animals, so we can fuck like that.
He uses his fingers to tease my rim.
First, he pushes beyond the resistance as if trying to see what I will do. As soon as his finger is in me, my back arches. I
need more. A scream that holds all my needs makes him replace his finger with his dick.
“I can take it. Fuck me bloody.”
The words escape me, and I shiver. He already knows that. The level of need and desire I feel for him makes it hard to
think about anything else.
I possess him, but I want to give him a part of me that no one else had and no one else could ever touch. We are one. Ramon
groans as he pushes his thick hardness all the way up my back door. The skin on my knees and palms keeps peeling off and
regenerating with each hot push.
His release is loud.
My body contracts all around him, and, fuck, I cum so hard I forget about everything else.
Ramon’s cum drips between my legs as I nestle on his chest.
I inhaled the fresh air, still heavy with the smell of sex.
“The sun is coming up. Today will be a beautiful day.”
“How can you tell? It’s pitch black.”
“Go with the fucking romantic moment here.” I pinch his nipple and tickle his side.
“I hope I didn’t hurt you too badly.”
“You did, but I wanted that. I want to give you my pain because you gave me your flesh.”
Ramon’s chocolate eyes shine in the dark. This man brought me back from where I was sure I would go feral. He gave me a
piece of his biceps, even though it grew back. He offered his warm flesh to me, and it was what I needed to regenerate.
“You know that I would do that again and again, even without the backdoor action.” He raised and wiggled his eyebrows,
that Ramon smile on his face.
I propped myself up on my elbow, leaned into him, and kissed him.
This man, I would give my everything for him. He was mine. Same as my hand or my brain was mine.
“I hate to spoil the moment, but we need to go back.”
“Fuck, I actually have a job.” I jumped back into the water, rinsing off the dried blood and cum stuck on me before getting
dressed. Ramon joined me.
“You never had one, right?”
“What, a cock up my ass? No!”
“A job, silly.”
I nodded. “Not that I know of. I mean, fuck, I probably did have a job. I don’t know. It’s still all blank.” I pointed toward
my head.
“If someone can help you remember, it’ll be our local genius, Dr Angel.”
I rolled my eyes and dipped under the surface, swam around, and grabbed Ramon’s ass. Denial was such a beautiful state
to live in. Plus, I read and can fabricate a past if I have to, right?
We left the ice-cold lake. The sky started to take on that shade of grey, the one that appears just before the sun stretches its
fingers between the clouds.
The bike was still there. I let Ramon drive. His body is warmer than mine, and I found that even though I am not cold, and I
do not feel cold the way normal humans do, I enjoy being pressed against my hard, hot men.
 EPISODE 2

Carlos
“Pain is just another thing”

M y leg was better, but not great. I hated that it hurt, and I could not do much, but it was getting better, and this was not
my first injury. I would recover soon enough.
Back at Base in our home gave me a warm, fuzzy feeling. Having Letty under my roof made me feel proud, even though we
agreed to keep our personal relationship a secret.
She was officially Angel’s assistant, a woman we saved when we got him. That way, Letty hoped to gather more
information. The soldier in me hated to hide information from my superior officer, but we had to until we knew who the mole
was. Who is that lowlife who would give away confidential information and put the Base in danger?
I could not imagine who would do that. I grew up a soldier. My fellow soldiers were like my brothers, who I loved like a
family by blood.
Leaning on my crutch, I limped down to the kitchen. The stairs were wide enough to allow me to somehow find stability.
Still, this was a fucking challenge.
“Wait, let me help you,” Angel called out from behind me. He pushed himself between the wall and my arm, leaning on it to
give me balance.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not, Carlos. Let me help you.”
“I’m fine, doc.”
“No, let me help you get down. If you pull your stitches, we start again, and the recovery time will be longer.”
Reluctantly, I leaned into the doc. He looked as if he could barely lift his boots.
He pushed himself under my arm and wrapped his arm around my waist.
“No touchy-feely,” I muttered under my breath, but he ignored me.
As much as I hated it, the help was appreciated, especially at the turning point of the stairs. Angel held me up, and I humped
and harrumphed down to the first floor. Sweaty beads formed on my forehead. I whipped them off, half expecting the doc to say
something.
“Did you clean your wound this morning?”
“Yeah, doc.”
“Want me to take a look?”
“No need to trouble yourself, doc.”
“No trouble, Carlos.”
The doc threw me that look. He had a certain expression on his face that I couldn’t explain, like a puppy that hoped you
would allow it to lick your face and jump into bed with you.
“Where’s Letty?”
“She must be downstairs. She couldn’t sleep and said she’d go down to read.”
“Letty?” I called out, missing her already. She decided to sleep with the doc, and I was jealous. Again.
One way or another, I would have to get a grip of that feeling, but I hated that she and the doc had a thing going. It bothered
me more than knowing she was with Chris or Ramon.
In my mind, I had to come to terms with the fact I will probably share a lady with those two. But the doc was a different
breed. He was not a soldier. He was this damn puppy dog.
As I harrumphed and humped to a chair and sat down, I threw a side glance at Angel. Fuck, I would feel bad to hit him
because of the damn puppy dog look on his face. He pushed his hair back and sat next to me at the breakfast table.
“What can I get you?”
Before I had the chance to say something, Chris answered.
“I made an omelet for Grumpy. How do you like your eggs?”
The doc jumped up and walked over to the stove where Chris was working. Chris always enjoyed cooking. I can cook, and
the food I make is good. Do I like to cook? No, but I can keep myself alive with my cooking. But with Chris, it’s at a high-end
level.
“You have egg powder?”
“No, doc. We have real eggs. There are chickens on Base, and we get a share of the eggs.”
The doc jumped up and walked over to Chris. “Hmm, can I get them fried, sunny side up, please? Only if it’s possible. I
haven’t had real eggs in over a year since all this started. I love eggs.”
“Sure. Sunny side up, coming. What about bacon?”
“Now you are playing with my feelings.”
They kept talking. I noticed the living area was empty.
“Yo, Chris, where’s Letty and Ramon?”
“No one was here when I came down. Maybe he’s showing her around.”
“Yeah, at six in the morning.”
“They don’t sleep much,” said Angel. “It’s a side effect of the parasite. The body needs less time to regenerate, and they
have a higher energy level than we have. Maybe I could synthesize that.”
The doc started talking to himself as Chris and I shared a few glances back and forth.
I have not had a chance to talk to Chris alone and in peace during the last few days, but I had to make time. There was too
much I had to talk through with my best friend, including the fact that my brother wasn’t fully human anymore.
“What’s on your plan today?”
“The colonel wants to meet the doc and his assistant, and then I’m going to take him to his lab, introduce him to people, and
show him around.”
Chris placed an omelet in front of me, and my mouth watered. This was one of those days when I did not realize how
hungry I was before the food landed on the plate. My stomach grumbled, and I dug in. Chris put a few homemade bread rolls on
the table, and I ripped one open like a starving man.
The doctor returned with two cups of hot, steamy coffee and sat beside me. Chris offered him a plate, and he watched the
eggs with silent admiration that was borderline adoration.
“Oh my God, they’re just gorgeous!” Angel exclaimed.
“Man, you make me feel embarrassed.”
“Why? Did you lay them, bro?” I asked Chris. He smacked me with his kitchen towel.
“You attack an injured man? What did the apocalypse do to you, my former honorable brother?” I asked with a smirk as
Chris returned with coffee creamer and sugar.
“This is... wow. I lived on sweetener and MREs for so long, I was sure I’d never get to try real food.”
“Why didn’t you try to leave the hospital?” Chris asked.
I cleared my throat when the doc’s expression changed suddenly.
“I was scared. I had ten military men with me, who all left for a supply run. They didn’t return. What chance did I have to
make it?”
“Maybe they ran away, but that’s not honorable.”
“No, I don’t think so. They didn’t make it. It breaks my heart. They were good guys.”
The doc looked down and used one side of his fork to make the egg yolk bleed over the white, then sprinkled some salt
over it and dipped a piece of warm bread into the liquid sunshine. His eyes met mine, and I saw pain.
“I owe you guys my life. More than that, I owe you my sanity. I was determined to end it. I gave myself two more days
before you arrived.”
My hand covered his, and I pulled away as soon as his eyes hit mine. What the hell?
“Hey, do you have more? It smells delicious.”
Letty entered the kitchen, followed by Ramon, who had an almost guilty look all over his face.
“Babe, sure. How do you take your eggs?” Chris asked as Letty walked toward him and kissed him on the mouth. The
familiar feeling of jealousy rose inside me, and it was hard to ignore. A part of me was ready to end every man in this kitchen
to make sure she was all mine.
After kissing him, Letty said she would take them and that he should surprise her.
Ramon grabbed himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the wall. My brother always loved junk food, and I was not
surprised to see him unwrapping a Pop-Tart from his stash and dropping it into the toaster.
“Want some? I have more,” he asked Letty.
 Each time I watched them, it was as if the words were camouflage for a special particular and secret language the two of
them spoke.
“What flavor?”
“I have cherry and s’mores. That’s it.”
“No, thanks. I only like peanut butter. I’ll just have some eggs then.”
Chris smiled at her. He turned into an eager puppy, so willing to please her.
She walked over and slid between me and Angel. “Sorry I left this morning. We went for a run.”
She kissed Angel’s cheek before snatching away a piece of bread covered in runny, golden egg yolk.
“Mmmm, delicious.”
She turned to me. As soon as those blue-grey eyes looked into mine, I forgot my damn name and that I was upset with her.
“I was worried.”
I took her face in my hand and stroked my thumbs over her soft cheeks. Letty could look like such a sweet, innocent angel
when she wanted to. I only saw her with the Mohawk, but now that her hair was down, she called to every one of my protective
instincts.
“I’m fine.” She leaned closer and bit the tip of my nose before pulling back fast. “The zombies can’t kill me, Carlos.”
I pulled her back into my arms. “Be careful.”
She exhaled toward me, and I inhaled her fresh scent.
“We both would be in lots of trouble if we damaged the stitches on your wound, Carlos.” She kissed me softly this time,
and my fucking world melted.
I need to start calling this the Letty effect. When her hands move into my hair, and she shares the same air with me, it is
almost intoxicating. Her scent is more tempting than the best whiskey could have ever been in my old life. There was some
pain coming from the wound, but I did not lie to the doc when I told him that it was healing nicely. It is just unpleasant to have.
“What will you do today?” she asked, sitting on the doc’s lap, making me burn because she could not sit on my fucking leg.
“I have to stay home like an invalid and read a book, I assume.”
Just as I sipped coffee, I caught Ramon’s eyes from across the kitchen.
“Poor bro has to stay alone at home and play video games.”
“Yeah, and what are you going to do?”
“I have to check the guards and rotation. Remember? It’s my job.”
I nodded. Ramon somehow managed to get into training the civilians on the base, a job I did not enjoy. Having newbies and
teaching them military stuff was never fun, especially for people with zero physical strength.
A knock at the door made Letty slip from Angel’s lap to the chair next.
“I’ll get it.” Ramon slung himself down from the counter and covered the room in two steps.
I could pick up the voice. It was quite familiar.
“Who was it?” I asked when Ramon came back with a confused look and a note in his hands.
“Change of plans. That was Keller. And you, my lady, have a security detail.”
Letty raised her eyebrows, looking at Ramon before smacking him. Ramon gave me the note.
“What’s he talking about?” Chris asked as he took a new batch of fresh, steamy rolls from the oven.
I opened the message.
“It’s from the colonel. It says Ramon and Chris will offer protection to the doctor and his assistant, making sure they’ll get
everything they need in the facility at their disposal. The colonel will see you guys on site instead of you going to his office.

Letty
“Domestic as fuck”

Hanging out with the guys in the kitchen and having breakfast was the closest thing to a family I have ever experienced.
Sure, I was inside the bunker, and now and then hung out for dinner or had something sweet when someone had a birthday.
But this here, the teasing and the laughs, all that made me feel as if I belonged.
They knew what I was. Fuck, Ramon fed me his flesh. The others knew, and they were not grossed out. Quite the contrary,
they were nice, sweet, and warm, and I could not wait to get to know each of them better.
I felt like a lovesick teenager who wanted to know what their favorite color was and all that. But life at Base made me
nervous. Something bothered me, something I could not put my finger on each time I looked out the window and saw how
perfect everything was. Too perfect. Perfect makes me want to blow shit up.
“Maybe the colonel wants to keep an eye on you guys as well,” I said.
“Why would he?” Chris asked from the stove.
 I took a bite of the omelet. “What if, and don’t jump at my throat, what if he’s involved? What if he wants to build an army
of super soldiers?”
The dread was set free inside my belly, and it started to claw at my insides. Carlos stared into his coffee before lifting his
molten chocolate eyes to meet mine. I that he would have rather had me plunge a knife into his chest than say something bad
about the Colonel. Half of me got it. I mean, fuck, I read books about the army and war, and I was aware that soldiers love their
commanders more often than not, but I had to keep my mind open to whatever could be going on in here.
Angel grabbed my hand. He was an outsider, like me. His warm fingers massaged the inside of my wrist. Maybe he was the
only one I should share this type of idea with, but I could not just shut the fuck up. The guys are my family, and if I have
something to say, I will. I took another sip of the fragrant coffee, allowing the warm liquid to stroke my soul.
“No way. The colonel… you’ll see. He’s legit, Letty.” Chris said the words with his deep voice. His brows knitted
together as he looked at all of us. Chris is a block of a man, all muscles, the type of hero everyone would go to in a crisis.
“I’ve known him since before. He carried one of our injured guys on his back and was shot himself. This is the kind of man
who would go hungry to make sure everyone else gets to eat. He’s something else.”
“I won’t defend myself.”
Chris sent me a warm look. “Letty, I wasn’t trying to accuse you. It’s just you don’t know him. Okay? Give him a chance.”
As I shrugged, my eyes took in this place. This was all their leaders doing. In the short time since I’ve been here, I found
out that he scouted this place, brought all his men and the civilians they could find, and kept them safe. Everyone had to learn
basic self-defense and how to handle a weapon.
I glanced over at Ramon, who replied with a shrug as he bit into the Pop Tart he dunked in the coffee. The tart dripped with
the milky liquid. It was his way of saying he believes Chris and thinks the colonel is a good guy.
“I’m curious if he brings Smithers with him or not,” Carlos added from his spot. The fact he was on the sideline bothered
him.
“Smithers?” I asked, using only the name. I heard that name before, but it melted away somewhere in the stress of the last
few days, in the fear of losing Carlos.
“He’s the colonel’s personal assistant. Smithers knows everything the colonel does. If there’s a mole, it’s Smithers.”
“I hate that prick,” Chris replied.
“Well, me too, but cuz I hate him doesn’t make him a bad guy,” said Ramon.
“Why do you hate him?” My gaze stuck on Ramon.
“No one likes Smithers. He is… oily, slick, slippery. However you say it. But he hasn’t done anything. Still, that doesn’t
stop most of the guys on base from hating him.”
It was my turn to look between the three men. Angel stared into his coffee, fascinated by the small drops of grease the
creamer produced on the surface.
“I’m confused.”
“You know, he’s one of those desk jockeys. He never saw real action, but he likes to think he’s this badass Rambo.”
That was Chris talking as he walked to the table with a plate filled with eggs and bacon.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We all wear one side weapon on base. It is enough when you are off duty. One weapon required in case of a zombie
attack, but Smithers….” Chris stopped and popped a piece of crispy bacon into his mouth.
I stole one and chewed on it.
Ramon picked up where Chris stopped. “Smithers carries a full damn arsenal wherever he goes.”
“Maybe he’s scared.
Carlos touched my knee. Our eyes met. I leaned into him and kissed his cheek. There is something about a clean-shaven
Carlos that made me want to take a day off and spend it with him in bed playing nurse.
“You’ll see, my moon. You’ll see.”
When he used the pet name he gave me, my heart flipped. Well, my dried, useless heart that hung around my chest without
any real reason for existing.
My dried-out heart was alive.
“Okay, I’ll observe as I’m only a nurse to the good doctor.”
Angel smiled, and I grabbed his hand under the table.
“Angel, you know I’ll do more harm than good and that I’m totally useless. Right? I mean, I have no idea what I am doing.”
“Once you put the lab coat on, you will be fine. If in doubt, hold a beaker and look interested and busy. On the first day, all
we will be doing is looking around the place to see if it has what I need and take samples from you and Ramon.”
I swallowed. The idea of anyone, even Angel, taking samples from me made me feel like a darn guinea pig, and that made
me want to take a jog, jump the fence, and get away from here.
They were safe now. They don’t need me, right?
But then, I noticed the casual, sweet look Chris threw at me, or I felt Ramon looking at me, and I just melt away and don’t
want to be away from these men, not even for a second.
“I won’t hurt you,” said Angel. “I promise. And I’ll store the samples so no one knows they’re from you. Letty, I need to
find out if what I did is working.”
“I’m okay with my Pop-Tarts, doc. I don’t want a big steamy helping of brains.” Ramon stretches out his arms, moaning like
some old zombie from a black-and-white movie I once saw.
Each time I think of those, I find them hilarious. Why were people thinking that zombies want brains? That makes no sense.
“No, but there is a chance I can make a protein concentrate for you two to help you use all your abilities better. Don’t you
want to be faster and stronger?”
I nodded. Sure, that sounded like a plan, but I asked myself what I would do once the rage rises inside me. Where will I
find a horde of zombies to kill?
Instead, I polished off my plate and looked at the guys as they ate and chatted away. This was their home, and I would be
damned if I did not at least try to make a real effort to find my place here.
 EPISODE 3

Angel
“I understood the assignment”

B ase 7 is a fascinating place for me. It reminds me of my upper-class childhood when my parents took me with them to
see my aunt in what my mother called her cheap house.
The house the guys live in, a Victorian repro, is what mother would call a wannabe house. The lawn is green, the roads are
free of cars, and people walk towards their jobs. Or at least it is what Chris told us.
Looks trail us when we walk down the street, eyes filled with wonder. They probably don’t see many new faces, and Letty,
well, she is an eye-catching sight. Even I look at her. She wears black boots, black cargo pants, a shirt, and a black jacket. Her
pink hair is like a flame. She said she misses her bat, and Ramon promised he is going to get her a new one.
Men and women alike look at Letty. She is not very tall, but she has a way to take the space and make it burn. She is like a
black hole that attracts everything and everyone. Men have a hard time hiding the glances they give her. Letty shows a part of
her, but there is something about her. Carlos put it best when he said she has a certain expression that lets you know you should
not mess with her, that she could break off your arm and beat you up with it.
The idea of seeing Letty breaking off someone’s arm and beating them up with it makes me chuckle.
Letty leaned into me, and her eyes asked me a question. “A penny for your thoughts.”
“You don’t want to know.”
“We’re the shiny new toys. They look at us the way they would look at a TV star or something.”
I am tempted to put my arm around Letty. She is not the prom queen. She is better. She’s the rebel all boys want and fear.
She makes me feel possessive. Before her, my biggest fear was that someone would notice me. Now, I want them to see me,
and I want them to know that I am hers and that she is mine. Maybe I have a hidden caveman gene that makes me want to roar
my possessions and make sure they all stay away from my woman.
My woman.
Each time I glance at Chris or Ramon, I feel this connection. They are mine, too. Fuck. Testosterone and adrenaline swell.
I look deep in the eyes of a good-looking, tall man who eyes Letty as he walks by. My finger slips to my weapon, the one
that Carlos discussed with me about wearing this morning. He insisted I wear a sidearm, and I kept telling him I did not. In the
end, I broke down and accepted it. If he said I needed the gun, fuck it.
People walk here. How strange after the zombie outbreak. Even though I lived a big part of my life in New York, I did not
walk around a lot. I was mainly in my lab or at home and was not out very often.
The idea of having a full, functional lab makes my poor heart swell and, when we stop in front of a two-story grey building,
my heart stops and my cock swells as Ramon swipes a card to open the door.
The thick glass doors open with a whoosh.
The scent of a clean lab and Clorox is inside my nose, and I inhale it.
“Where’s my lab?” I ask Ramon, who looks as if he knows the lay of the land. Ramon is the embodiment of studied casual
cool.
He pushes his long hair back, and I watch his Adam’s apple bob up and down. There was something about him that made
my knees weak. The sexy is strong with him, and fuck, he was at least as gorgeous as his brother.
Ramon opened the envelope he received and threw me the key card. As it flew toward me, I fumbled, and it landed on the
marble floor with a flop.
“This, doc, is all yours.”
Picking up the card, I found myself looking around the place.
 The lights went on. Cool neon lights. I could hear the specific hum.
After opening the first door, I stood in front of a scientist’s dream. There was everything, from robots and machines to high-
end computers, numerous substances, and everything else.
“This is all fully stacked. Let me know if you need something.”
Ramon called out to me, but I was lost, running from one table to the next. The lab could compete with the one I had at
Harvard University, only this one I did not have to share. This one was all mine.
A huge fridge was filled with samples.
“Who did this?”
“There was a doctor,” said Chris. “But he was a surgeon. He died. He took samples of people. There’s a log on the
computer.”
“How did that happen?”
“He got bitten when we were out on a mission. He turned.”
Chris’ voice was thick. His clear eyes darkened as he recalled ending a man he probably knew well.
“So, boss, what do you want me to do?” asked Letty.
I never wanted to be her boss, but in this situation, I was, no matter if I chose to or not. Someone had to take the reins, and
maybe she would reward me later. I was so lost in my mind that Letty asked me again with a smile and a wink this time, and it
fell like a promise for something I craved badly.
“Well, if we could find some lab coats, that would be great. One needs lab coats.”
“Aye, aye.” Letty grinned and walked away with Chris behind her. No, no. I will not allow another man to christen my lab.
“Letty, wait?” I ran to catch up with Letty and Chris, leaving a grinning Ramon behind.
The two opened the door to a nondescript space, but they were in there, and I stood in the doorway.
Chris stood behind her. His large hand slid down her back and rested there, right above her ass, and she did not pull back.
My eyes shifted over the scene that opened in front of me. It was almost familiar. Two people I liked had fun, and I was left out
again.
Just as I was about to leave, feeling like a discarded sock, Letty turned toward me.
“Hey, you, my new Bossy Boss. Come back here.” She sat on the floor, her hand padding the space next to her. “I just had a
chat with Chris.”
Just as I was about to say that did not seem like a conversation, Letty pulled me into her body. She was not soft. Her skin
covered sharp bones and strong muscles. The scientist in me was worried the parasite was cannibalizing too much of her
tissue. Mental note to self, weigh Letty.
But the scientist melted when she wrapped her body around mine in a possessive way, leaning her head against my chest.
“We never get to talk, so I asked Chris about his old life. Did you know that Chris is bi?”
Letty asked me with a smirk. I expected Chris to erupt or say something, but he did not. Instead, he stood there, and I felt his
eyes checking me out.
“And maybe the three of us need to spend some time together.”
My stomach plunged. I pulled away from Letty and left the room, walking fast, looking for a place to hide. The small, empty
patient room was ideal. I stumbled inside and pushed my back against the wall, gulping in air.
Letty found me fifteen seconds later and took my hands in her cold, little ones.
“Talk to me, my heart. I saw the way you look at Carlos, and from what you told me, I assumed you would like to play. I
didn’t mean to hurt you, okay?”
She said the words with so much warmth and without any condescending tone that it melted me.
I wrapped her in my arms.
“I’m good at ass-kicking, but I need you to tell me.”
I was not even sure how to say it. I loved her, but I could not replace my fascination for Carlos with just any man. It was
Carlos and her, the perfect duo for me.
“I don’t want to upset Chris.” My voice was but a whisper.
“Chris is cool. He won’t get upset. But I need to know what you want.”
“You know what I want. I want you. I want to serve you and to make you happy. And yes, I like guys, too, but I don’t feel
Chris yet.”
I bit my lip. It was a half lie. The fear of rejection clouded my mind.
“Who? Ramon?”
My chest muffled her question, and I inhaled the coconut scent of her freshly washed hair. She was sweet now, with her
hair combed down and not in the wild mohawk, but I missed the apocalypse goddess I saw for the first time.
Her hands trailed down on the sides of my body. She pushed herself away from me.
“Don’t make me tie you down and tickle the information out of you,” she whispered, half joking, half serious.
“No one.”
 As soon as I said it, my face was hot. Red hot.
“Carlos, right? I mean, I can speak to him, but that’ll be a hard nut.”
“Can you kiss me, please? I need to forget for a bit.”
Letty pushed me down on the bed, held my hands over my head, and kissed me. The way she took my mouth and body was
not tender. It was rough, as if she was starving for me, and my body was the only one that could satisfy her. Her hands trailed
down my chest, and she pushed my shirt away, leaving me there, allowing the air to make my nipples hard.
Chris cleared his throat from the door.
“Do you guys, uh, mind if I watch?”
The sheer lust that was written all over his face was driving me wild.
“I think it’d be very hot. But Angel gets to decide.”
“Doc, what you say?”
Chris offered me a half smile, and suddenly, I was aroused at the idea of being watched as I served my Goddess.
“Yes. But close the door.”
Chris did and sat down on a chair in the corner.
Letty kissed me. I felt Chris watching us, even though I did not see him.
“You taste so good, Angel.”
She rubbed her body against mine, and I was on fire. How was that possible? This Goddess was pulling me out of my shell
without even trying. With her, I wanted things.
“You mind if I kiss Chris, too?” she asked between kisses.”
I nodded. It was surprising that I did not mind.
“Chris, join us. Would you?”
The hot, silent man with the buzz cut sat on Letty’s other side. His eyes looked at her and me. Instead of being insecure in
my body, I felt a burn, a need. I wanted to show off.
Chris pulled Letty into a kiss. I lay there, watching the dance of lips, tongues, and fingers. Just as she moaned into his
mouth, I slid down from the small bed.
Letty was wearing a pair of army pants that I greedily unbuttoned. Chris's large hand was under her shirt. The dance of his
fingers under the cotton of the shirt as he played with her nipples made me hard as hell. Still, I forced myself not to grab my
dick as I watched them.
The air around us was burning.
I freed Letty from her pants with the help of her hand and found myself kneeling in front of her. She was wearing a pair of
simple, white cotton panties. Her soft, light locks covered her closed lower lips, and I swallowed hard.
Letty laid her head on Chris’ chest. He kept kissing her neck and touching her breasts, and she snuck her hand into his pants.
Was I curious what his dick looked like? Hell, yeah. Was I thinking about sucking him off? Yeah, but I was not there yet.
“How can I serve you?” I asked.
She spread her legs. “Make me shiver, Angel, in that unique way only you can.”
She smiled, and I kissed the cotton surface of her moist panties, pacing myself, knowing what was waiting for me
underneath it. Dragging my nose slowly over her pussy, I inhaled, allowing the scent of aroused sex to make me dizzy.
Letty pulled out Chris’ cock, and I had to take a new look. His large cock was thick and just a bit crocked, and I asked
myself how it would feel.
I pushed my tongue past her panties and into Letty. She released a moan and grabbed Chris's cock harder. The precum was
glistening on his tip.
“Make Letty come,” Chris whispered. “I want to take her right after you make her come.”
I pushed the panties aside, taking in the beauty that offered herself to me. I watched Letty, her half-closed eyes, the lashes
leaning onto her cheeks, her head pushing against Chris’ wide chest covered with soft-looking light hair.
The gulp must have been obvious.
“Take care of me, Angel. I need you.”
My name on her lips made my cock push hard against my pants, almost painful. I was so hard and aroused I throbbed with
need and desire.
Letty pulled my head between her legs, and all I could think of was the flavor of pure sex on crack. Her legs wrapped
around my neck. I was so proud of her release. When she freed me, I knelt between her legs.
The knock on the door made me lean closer and cover Letty.
“Hey.” Ramon’s voice came through, laced with a smile as far as I could tell. “I can smell what’s going on in there, but you
should put that away and straighten up cuz I can see the colonel down the street.”
Letty’s serious face turned into a loud laugh. She leaned into me and kissed me, then Chris.
“Thanks for the heads up, Ramon.”
“Now, all heads down, and fast.” Ramon chipped in from the other side.
 Letty had an amused expression, the same as Chris.
“I need to think of dishes because if I look at you two, I don’t care if the colonel is here.”
Ramon still stood out there because his laugh was loud. “I know you want to keep going, but you should be coming.”
Ramon’s loud steps filled the hallway before we all started to laugh.
I helped Letty get dressed, and she buttoned Chris’s shirt. Our bodies kept colliding and rubbing against each other in the
too-small room. As I opened the small closet, I found what we were looking for--a few brand-new, sealed lab coats. I threw
one on and pushed my messed-up hair back.
“Here, put it in a man bun because you look freshly fucked.” Chris turned on the tap at the small sink in the corner, and we
splashed water over our faces.
“Let’s do this.” Letty threw me a look that made me feel like a giant that could tackle all issues of this world.
 EPISODE 4

Letty
“I’m a bad influence”

W e were still giggling and straightening our clothes when we reached the lobby.
The colonel stood with his back to us, talking to Ramon. In my mind, I had this image of a skinny, older guy, but I
saw neither old nor skinny. This man was at least six feet three inches in height with wide shoulders that held the weight of the
base, a narrow waist, and a cute ass. I felt bad for looking, but that was all I did. Look.
Making myself step back, I reminded myself I was here to observe.
“Colonel McKenzie, please allow me to introduce Dr. Angel Paulsen.”
The colonel turned, and the most striking pair of intense green eyes met my gaze. He took one step toward me and stretched
his hand to me, not Angel.
“Colonel McKenzie, at your service, ma’am.”
He held my hand in his, and, fuck my life, I knew this was the type of man people were inclined to give authority. This was
a leader. Even in the apocalypse, his bald head was shaved to perfection. He wore a simple pair of black pants, army style,
and a t-shirt that clung to his body. But there was something more. He was hot. His hand radiated heat into my cold one.
“Mister… sorry, Colonel McKenzie. Nice meeting you.”
“I didn’t catch your name, sorry. My men were a blurry of activity the last few days.”
“Letty Jones.” I have no idea why I said Jones. I never considered that a last name would be needed in the apocalypse.
“Miss Jones, I hope the men are making you feel welcome here. I’m sure that soon, a bunch of men are going to stomp
through my door and declare for you.”
“Declare?” I mumbled, then realized what he meant. Fucking shit, I’m no good in this type of situation because I’ve never
in my whole damn life been in social situations. Ever. So, I did what I did best and smiled, pulling my hand out of his. His eyes
pinned me down, making me feel like a butterfly still alive and about to be dissected by a Victorian-era kid dying to pluck off
its wings.
“Yes,” he replied with an aura I could not clearly read. “We have a system here, but the men will explain it to you. If you
prefer to move out, we have a house prepared for single females. You’re more than welcome to stay there.”
A half-smile tugged at his handsome face.
If I was to guess, the colonel must have been in his early fifties. A few worry lines turned his slightly tanned face into a
landscape of experience. Still handsome. What the back promised, the front kept.
There was a pause as if the words floated in the air like thick black bugs looking for a proper place to land.
Angel noticed how uncomfortable I was and stepped in. “Letty will stay with me. We’re used to sharing a home. I’m Dr.
Paulsen, and I’m glad to be here.”
The colonel released my hand, but his gaze still lingered on me. Questions appeared in his eyes as he tried to read me. A
part of me wanted to crack his noggin, eat his damn brains like the old-school zombies, and get over with it.
I stepped closer to the wall. I’m here to observe, yet I felt naked without my weapons. The gun was not what I would
choose. They are too noisy and need ammunition. My baseball bat does not.
On the other side of the room, Ramon moved like a predator. Something in his posture screamed apex predator, not excited
about having another alpha stepping into his hunting ground. Ramon threw me a look from the other side of the room, and his
body angled in such a way it seemed as if he was ready to jump in front of me to protect me.
Never since I woke up have I felt, I don’t know, small, lacking, or as if I needed protection.
I nodded and blended out the conversation.
 “I’m sorry you had that run-in with the bandits. Sadly, our world is not what it used to be, and people are more inclined to
give in to their lower urges.”
Again, the way the colonel said lower urges made me want to know what his lower urges are.
“There’ll be a dinner at my house tonight, at 2000 sharp. Make sure you’re there.” He nodded, turned, and left. The moment
the doors closed behind him, I exhaled.
“Letty.” Ramon ran to me. He moved fast, and I was probably the only one who picked up how his hip rotated and his arms
shot out for me.
“I’m fine.” I was not. Being close to him, inhaling him, feeling his chest close to my face made me exhale.
“I’m here. You did fine. He expected you to be scared after our run-in with the bandits.”
“Let’s sit somewhere, shall we?” Chris led us toward a spot that looked like a break room. A fully stacked fridge silently
lived its stainless-steel existence in a corner. Chris pulled the door open, the veins on his arm flexing.
My mind wandered, thinking how he would taste. Would I be able to stomach the screams, the pain, the blood, and the fear
in his face if I went feral and took a bite out of him?
“Letty, Letty?”
“Huh?”
My eyes were unfocused, trying to take it all in. Kitchen counters stood against one wall. A frosted window allowed some
natural light to enter the room. Beige couches created a U shape around a small table. A microwave oven and coffee maker
stood silent on the kitchen counters.
“Do you want orange juice or Coke Zero?” asked Chris.
“Coke, please. Is there Nutella?”
Chris leaned into the fridge. “You don’t keep it in the fridge. Nutella is best kept at room temp.”
The bucket of Nutella I found at the hospital was again on my mind. What if...?
What if I had turned feral?
What if?
Chris opened a few cupboard doors, and I saw all kinds of food--cornflakes, marshmallow cream, whatever that was, and
finally, Nutella. The cream eggshell shade of the cupboard was in perfect harmony with the rest of the room.
“Gimme.” I grabbed the jar, sat on the couch, and dug in with a huge spoon. Not with a small, cute spoon. No, I wanted a
big soup spoon. My need for Nutella was huge.
“Letty?”
Angel sat next to me. His hand moved slowly on my back.
“I’m fine. So, what have I missed?”
“It’s weird that he came without his secretary, Smithers,” added Chris.
“Yes, and that he invited us all to dinner. Carlos will hate it.”
I caught Ramon’s eye. “Why does he hate it? Isn’t he a fan of this guy?”
“We need to declare for you, Letty.” Chris dropped the bomb as we talked about the dinner.
“Huh, what, why?”
“Because the colonel was right. There will be a bunch of men who are going to declare for you now.”
I took a big spoonful of warm Nutella. It was at the right temperature when it’s creamy enough to melt in my mouth.
“Because you’re important to us. To me.”
Chris threw me a hurt look. Could I tell him I was not sure I wanted to stay here? That I could not stand being inside this
place, having an army-controlled place?
“Fuck, I need to go for a walk. See you at home.”
I jumped off the couch, left the open jar of Nutella, and stormed out of the room. My steps took me through the base, and I
soon landed in front of an open court. Yelling reached me, but they were too organized and rhythmic to be from a real fight. I
walked toward the trees and, on the other side, the court that maybe was once a baseball field was filled with people.
People.
Not military or strong men, regular kind of people. Older people, young teens, women of all sizes and shapes. A woman
who reminded me of Greta called out orders, I assume in Japanese, and they made moves that should help them learn how to
fight.
I pushed my hair back. It annoyed me like that. I need to tease it back into a mohawk.
The woman was all muscles and tattoos, and she caught my eye. She barked an order to the group, and they all started
running around the field.
She turned toward me. Fuck. The last thing I needed was to chat with some woman, so I turned my back and left.
Time passed. I don’t remember how long until the sun started to pull away, and the sky became gloomy. It was a cold
November day, but it still did not bother me.
The house we lived in stood at the end of the street. It was a promise of warmth, food, and men who loved to feel my touch,
but a part of me wanted to pull back. This was all too much.
Instead of walking towards the house, I walked away.
Some people looked at me. I did not look back.
This place must have some sort of library.
A cat ran in front of me. I stopped, and she looked up. It was a fancy cat, some sort of cat that would have been expensive
before.
This was another bit of information that popped into my mind, like a kernel of corn that needed heat to develop into warm,
salty, fatty popcorn.
As I leaned to the cat, she jumped into my arms. The purring reached my bones, almost melting me.
“Hey, honey. Where did you come from?”
The cat was gorgeous, her pure white fur shiny and combed, her big blue eyes staring into mine. She purred and nestled
herself into my cold arms.
“Yeah, sweetie, I miss Yellow. But hopefully, I’ll see him soon.”
My stomach lurched.
A tall, lanky man came running toward me. My first instinct was to brain him, but he was not a zombie, only uncoordinated.
“Please, hold her. I’m coming.”
I looked to the left and the right. This man’s arms were flaring around him, and his long legs did not look like they belonged
to him.
“Please, miss. Wait.”
With the cat in my arms, I just stood there, scratching behind her ear. The cat was purring loudly, her body going soft
against me.
“Is she yours?” The question was stupid, but fuck it, my people skills suck.
“Yes. Peaches!”
Peaches barely opened one eye and released a bored meow. I kept stroking her thick coat, and she relaxed. Cats like me.
Her pink collar had Peaches embroidered in silver letters.
“Hi.” He could barely catch his breath and leaned with his open palms against his upper thighs, his face red. Fuck, this man
would not survive in a zombie environment. My first impulse was to ask how he made it this far during the apocalypse.
He pulled an asthma inhaler from his pocket and took a deep pull, one hand up in some form of salute. Could this get more
cliche?
The man was not ugly, just lanky in a weird way. His arms, legs, and body looked as if someone had stretched them but
forgot to add muscle to the package.
Peaches ignored the man who was her owner and returned to sleeping in my arms.
“Do you need help?” I asked, realizing how ridiculous it was. How the heck could I help him?
“Hi. No, thanks. I’m good. I just panicked. Peaches has this habit of escaping. Once she was gone for two days. We
searched the entire base. You must be Letty, right? I’m Jeff Sanders. I live down there. I’d love to ask you back… at least, I
mean, can I at least offer you a coffee, a welcome to the neighborhood?”
Jeff was sweaty and not in any shape to get the cat back home. “I’ll help you get the cat back.”
He wheezed a few times and took a few more hits from his inhaler.
“The blue house?” I asked Jeff, who finally started to catch his breath.
As we walked to the house, I noticed it had the most charming gold, white, and blue door, like from a story.
“This looks as if it gets you to Narnia.”
“Oh, are you a reader? I run the local library here and am trying to start a book club. We’re missing a bunch of stuff, but I
can do PDF files and copies on the Xerox machine.
He looked at me holding the cat, then gestured inside. “Please.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure I’d enjoy your visit. Yeah. My husband should be home from work soon. I’d love for you to meet him.”
Jeff opened the door, and I stepped into Narnia. The walls were painted, and the furniture was engraved. It all looked
magic.
“Feel free to look around.”
“Can I hold her, if you don’t mind?”
Jeff caught my look with a warm glance.
“I miss my cat,” I said shyly.
“I understand. I lost everything. All this is new. New house, new cat, new husband. I feel as if we’ll be great friends. You
still haven’t told me what you like to read.”
Jeff maneuvered me toward a soft, deep royal blue couch with a small coffee table beside it. The table was low and had
wrought iron legs carved with intricate flowers. The top of the table was a blue and white mosaic. An open book lay there.
 As I sunk into the soft couch, with the matching cat on my lap, I exhaled.
“Do you drink tea, Letty?”
“Yes, sure.”
“I’ll be back.” Jeff left, leaving me alone in their living room.
A fireplace was on the wall to my left. It probably would look great when the fire was on. The walls were covered with art
and books.
With Peaches on my lap, I relaxed a bit. Why did I miss New York so much? The answer came as the cat turned and
allowed me to scratch her belly. My brownstone in New York was the only life I ever had. Gita’s house had become mine, the
clothes, the bathroom with the cosmetics, all of it. And Yellow, my half-stray cat that loved meeting me at the library.
Could I tell this man I used to enter and stay inside the New York library as long and as much as I liked?
“I hope you like this.” Jeff put a teacup in front of me. A flower bloomed inside the yellow liquid. Tea was not my usual
drink, but the batch of baked goods in front of me was another story.
“Dig in. They’re good. Do you have allergies, cuz those all have walnuts? And those are pecan. But the blondies and the
vanilla cookie with raisins are safe.”
“I don’t have allergies. Where did you get them?”
“Well, when I don’t read, I bake. I learned it after the apocalypse. They ensure we get bread and cake for the holidays, but
if you want something else, you must bake it yourself.”
I bit down on my lower lip.
As Jeff sat in front of me, I studied him. His hair was longer, slightly curling over the edge of his clean brown shirt. He
wore glasses that were stylish as well as functional. Over the shirt, he wore a knitted vest. His Nana either made it, or it came
from one of those high-end shops with handmade stuff that looked as if an old lady knitted them. His brown corduroy pants
matched the look. Freckles covered his high, sharp cheekbones. His upper lip was thin, but his lower lip was full.
Jeff bit into a cookie. “I talk a lot. I haven’t given you any chance to say, I don’t know, something. Thank you so much for
saving Peaches.”
“No problem. She practically jumped into my arms. She’s a sweet kitten.”
“Where are you from in New York?” He asked and paused. “Again, I’m talking. But you, my lady, are the new hot topic of
this place. We lead boring lives here. Oh my God, they will all hate me when I tell them we had tea. Listen, would you come
over to the library one day? If you like reading, you can check it out and maybe meet a few of the ladies. Find out what men are
free.”
As he said men, I looked down, and I think I blushed.
“Aww, you live with those beefcakes. I am so jelly. Don’t tell my husband. He’s handsome, but there are not many gays left,
and the guys--Carlos, Ramon, and Chris--are a feast for the eye.”
The cat was the perfect distraction. My hands were steady enough for me to lift the cup of tea to my lips.
“I know that we will become great friends because no one else can sit that still and listen to me talk crap.”
Jeff laughed. A part of me liked him even though he talked a lot. He made me feel at ease.
“Jeff, now that we’re friends, I need advice.” I bit my lip, pushed my hair back, and smiled. “I’ve been invited to dinner at
the colonel’s house. What should I expect?”
“Alone? Fuck me, did he declare?” Jeff’s hands shot to his chest. He pushed them over his soft-looking, homemade-style
vest.
I played stupid. “Declared?”
“Girl.” Jeff stretched the vest along its length as if trying to make a point. “This place, Base 7, is a paradise for straight
girls, especially gorgeous straight girls like you. I’ve been here from the early days. The colonel came up with rules to protect
the women. The ratio of women to men is one to four, so he made a new rule. If a guy digs a chick, he has to declare his
intentions, not only to her but also to the colonel. It’s all paperwork, like in the old days. If the woman accepts, the man gets to
court her. After one month, it’s her call. She can ask the man to leave her be or accept him in her household. Some of the ladies
have up to seven guys they’re seeing. There’s no time to be bored.”
“And the guys?”
“Well, you know men, they like to have a buddy to hang out with.”
“And you?”
“I’m a poor thing with just a husband, but I would take any of your sweet hunks if they wanted me to.”
I sniffed the tea and took a small sip. It tasted slightly bitter, but the aroma was fresh.
Jeff leaned over the table. “Here, add some sugar. It’s better with honey. I wish I had honey, but that’s hard to get.” Jeff
inhaled deeply. “But there’s no honey. I must see if I can attract bees. I found a book, but I’m allergic to bees. If one stings me,
we both die.”
A snorted laugh made me shake. “Sorry, it wasn’t funny.”
Jeff beamed at me. He took the cube and dropped it into my tea. I watched the sugar melt and swirl inside the cup. It was
charming to see each of the sweet crumbles turn to nothing.
“Do you think he’ll declare?” I asked.
Jeff took off his glasses and started to clean them. He cleaned them the way Angel did. My doc made nerdy and geeky look
steaming hot. But Jeff was nice, and it was pleasant to talk to someone who looked as if they had a hard time crossing the street
and would never survive the apocalypse.
“I just arrived. I think he has other questions. Questions about the medical research and work, and naturally about New
York.”
“Oh, sweetie, you are the hottest face here, and you think he’s not interested? If I was straight, my ass would be in front of
your door with my declaration, flowers, cake, shoes….”
Jeff kept counting all the things he believed I needed. I started to laugh again. I wasn’t laughing at him. He just made me
feel light.
“But I assume he has a wife. I saw the wedding ring.”
“He wears the ring out of respect. His wife died of cancer long ago. He is a steamy widower, you must admit.”
An image of the colonel flashed in front of my face. Why was I so fucking intimidated by that man?
“Girl, what are you going to wear tonight?”
With a hand gesture, I pointed at my clothes.
“No, no, no.” Jeff grabbed my wrist and pulled me up. “You’re cold. Are you cold? Do you need a sweater?”
“I’m fine. I have bad circulation.”
“I have a few dresses. Don’t ask. We can make one of them fit with a few stitches.” Jeff pushed open the door to a closet,
and I was back in New York.
“Those are all too much.”
“Ta ta ta. Shh. No way. A dinner at the colonel’s house is the new Oscars. No, even worse, the new Met Gala.”
I found myself a bit confused, even though I knew what those were.
“You can’t just show up wearing, you know, your usual stuff. Here.” Jeff pulled a canary yellow dress from the rack.
“Oh, no,” I said. “I’ll fight you first.”
“You’re right. You are so right. Where are my eyes.” He looked deeper, and what he offered me next had my breath caught
in my throat.
It was a designer dress. The entire dress was covered in sequins, like a mermaid’s tail. The dress faded from dark pink to
blue, silver, and black.
“Try this on.” Jeff insisted, and he did not have to ask twice.
It was short but hugged my body, making me look much more female. I checked out myself in the mirror. I looked
glamorous, like a star.
“What about the hair?” Jeff asked.
“I’ll take care of that.”
Jeff looked around and offered me a long, dark leather coat that matched the dress.” Sadly, I only have boots size twelve,
and I don’t think they’ll fit you.”
“I’ll wear combat boots.”
“Rock it, girl.” He applauded, and my heart swelled.
I was so eager to see my men and have their jaws drop.
Looking at the time, I hugged Jeff, thanked him for the dress, and promised to stop by later.
 EPISODE 5

Letty
“Just a touch of drama”

T he way back home was fast.

When I entered our quarters, my new men surprised me. They all wore dark pants and white shirts, fucking
pressed. A black dress hung from the kitchen door.
Chris walked closer to me and hugged me. “Finally. The colonel hates it when we’re late.”
“No one told me this is such an elegant affair.”
“I tried to find you all day,” Carlos added. “But I’m limited.”
He made a gesture toward his leg. I leaned into him and kissed his cheek. Each time I saw Carlos, my heart skipped a beat.
Well, it would. Looking at the guys, I smiled inwardly because I had to change this expression. If one does not have a heart, can
it skip a beat? My heart does not work, but still, I am here, not breathing but very much alive.
“I met a neighbor. He was interesting.” I took a break and made eye contact with my guys. Each of them was dressed in a
fancy suit and tie. “What’s up with you? I wasn’t sure you had anything but uniforms.”
In my mind, the uniform was the second most sexy thing they could wear after being naked. But damn, I was not aware how
awesome my guys looked in suits. Especially Ramon. His darker skin radiated in the proximity of the white shirt. The light
scruff on his face made him look harder, his jaw strong, and his teeth whiter than the shirt. Ramon’s hair was up in a bun. He
wore a silver ring on his thumb.
Suddenly, I imagined that thumb stuck inside me, doing things that would make my body sing, and my damn skin reacted
right away, wanting him.
Ramon walked toward me like the dark feline he was. His moves reminded me of a predator. His fingers moved onto the
side of my head, and he leaned closer, smelling me. With his head pressed to mine, he looked into my soul. This was Ramon.
Sometimes, I felt he could look inside me and read me like an open book.
“You smell… different,” he whispered. His arms pulled me closer to him. “I need to be inside you, to make you smell like
me again.”
Heat rushed to my lips and coiled inside my belly like a horny snake ready to attack the world.
“We don’t have time for that, lover boy.”
Carlos leaned on a pair of crutches and winked at me.
Ramon leaned back into me. He had this way about him, not to care about anything except me. His hands moved over my
jacket and cupped my ass, pulling me into him. His mouth was back on my throat, kissing softly and biting my ear lobe.
“I can’t stand it if you don’t smell like me.”
Ramon’s hand entwined with mine.
Angel moved on my other side.
“You should change. We have a dress for you.” Chris said with a smile.
“Too late, sugar. I already have my own personal stylist who hooked me up.”
“Yeah, who?”
“My new friend because I’m a friendly bitch, and I make friends.”
“Can I see?” Angel smiled and looked at me. “I’ll gut him. Did another man see you naked? “
Carlos turned pale. His palms opened and wrapped around the crutches so hard that his knuckles turned pale.
“Calm down. Jeff is not into girls. He has a husband, but he makes the best cookies. I have a badass dress underneath all
this, but I need a minute for my hair.”
 I pushed myself up on my toes and gave Carlos a small kiss on the lips. My jealous man, it had me giggling.
“You look like a cake,” I said, and it sounded weird now that it left my lips. Sometimes, my words sounded weird because
I spent so much time all alone reading with only myself as a conversation partner.
I turned my back to them and walked upstairs to the bathroom. As I slipped out of my coat, I took a hard look into the mirror
and admired the way this sequin dress mixed with the boots made my ass look. The sequin dress sparkled like a damn disco
ball, and I wiggled my ass toward the mirror. Not bad. Not bad at all. Jeff has good taste. I have to give him that.
Was this too much for a dinner?
Thinking of the colonel made my stomach cramp. Fuck, he made me nervous. There was something, as if his facade did not
match what was hidden beneath it.
Teasing and fixing my hair took me only a few minutes. I found some makeup the guys provided, but that was too much. All
I could deal with was some black Kajal eyeliner that I smudged around my eyes. It made the blue pop. As I looked at myself in
the mirror, I recalled the woman who had a first look at herself when she woke up on a bathroom floor.
That woman was alone, scared, and unsure of her next step. Who would have ever dreamed back then that I would meet a
colonel at a fancy dinner? Well, let’s hope that he will not become dinner. My stomach grumbled. I would rather spend the night
in bed with one of my guys. The idea of having them all in bed with me made me blush and feel hot in all the right places, but
that was not something I thought could happen soon. I leaned against the cool wall covered in simple grey tiles. A few rather
interesting images flashed through my head.
My eyes sparkled, and I smiled back at my reflection.
Bad Letty, I chastised myself with a half-smile.
I don’t know who I used to be, but we know who I am now. I am strong. I am Letty, even if the name was initially
borrowed, and I was not serious about it. Naming things makes them tangible.
I feared tonight because it was something so normal, so human, that it almost felt wrong.
Biting my lower lip, I put my jacket back on. It was long enough to cover the dress and to hide it from my guys.
Ramon waited for me at the bottom of the stairs.
“Fuck, I’d die to see what you’re wearing underneath.” His large body pressed against me. “I’d die to be underneath you.”
My eyes looked up at him. “Technically, we’re dead already, so maybe stay stiff.”
Ramon chuckled and pushed a long strain of hair away. “Letty, you and I. Always.”
It was all he had to say because I knew it. I felt the same.
“How’s your hunger?” I asked and leaned my head closer to his chest, wanting to listen to his slow-beating heart.
“I can manage. Being with you in the lake helped me. I like it rough.”
A new feeling of arousal crept into my body. “We can play hard because we’re not easy to break.”
Was I right? Was it what we both craved? We liked to bite and scratch and pull and fuck because everything healed
afterward, leaving some blood and the memory of heat and pain.
“When you came this morning around my cock, and I felt your arousal and the blood dripping, fuck, you had me losing it.”
“I know. I want to explore that side of us deeper.”
Ramon rewarded me with a kiss. His hard body pressed me against the wall, and his teeth bit into my lip. A drop of dark
blood changed owners.
“This is a whole other level of being fucked up, but you get me, Letty.”
The small red circle surrounded Ramon’s iris. It was hard to see. I’m not sure normal people saw it, but I did and wanted
that.
His flesh was mine.
I was his. He was mine.
This man.
“Are you two ready?” Chris called from the hallway where they waited.
“Yes, Daddy,” I called out and made Ramon chuckle.
A stern-faced Chris stood next to Carlos and Angel. There was a small crease between his eyebrows, and he leaned his
head to the side, the corner of his mouth slightly upwards.
“I will spank you, Princess, and that’s a promise,” he whispered as he kissed my cheek.
“Maybe you’ll be the one spanked,” I replied. My hand smacked his behind, and he smiled back.
“Let’s go, gorgeous.”
“Is the colonel’s place far? Are we walking or what?”
“You will love this.”
Chris opened the door, and three golf carts stood in front of us. One of them was Ferrari red.
“Dibs on the red one.” I jumped in the driver’s seat, and Ramon sat beside me.
“We never did it in a golf cart.”
“Perv.”
 I smiled. He gave me directions because I had no idea where the colonel’s house was.
The Base was alive around eight PM. People would return home from their jobs, and children would walk around in small
groups from and to wherever they were going. One thing was certain: everyone who saw us turned their heads toward me and
Angel, who rode in the car behind me with Carlos and Chris.
I looked up at the mansion that gave me Victorian castle vibes. “Is this it?”
Ramon nodded.
A soldier waited for us and assisted us out of the cars. Another greeted us as we entered the hallway.

Carlos
“Jealous much?”

My eyes refused to leave Letty.

They were glued to her. Whatever happened this morning, it did her good. Her light was shining again. My sister once told
me that hair was important for a woman’s sense of self, and I could not contradict her. Letty’s hair was important to me, too.
Letty needed her pink mohawk that showed off her pretty long neck. Thinking about her neck, about the way it was so delicate
while she was so strong, made me want to push my lips onto the pale skin that showed itself to me.
I took one step toward her and was about to touch the back of her neck, but the colonel’s voice pushed me back. We
decided to act as if we were not together.
“Welcome into my humble house.” The colonel walked down the stairs.
I wanted to stab him. His eyes were on Letty.
The soldier who had greeted us went to take Letty’s coat, but the colonel stepped in front of her, took her hand, and kissed
it.
Did she enjoy it?
Letty leaned her head to the side and smiled. I wanted to stuff my commanding officer’s mouth with my crutch or push it
into his ass and watch it slide out of his mouth.
As I had this rather amusing thought, I noticed Chris clenching and unclenching his fists. Angel, our softie, took a step
towards Letty. Fascinating, we acted like a pack of crazies who moved closer to their female.
“Such a pleasure to see you again, Miss Jones.” The colonel leaned closer to her, still holding her hand.
Ramon and I exchanged looks. What the hell?
“Allow me.”
He took off her coat, leaning too close to our girl. He even leaned closer and sniffed the air around her.
The fuck?
Letty giggled. My blood boiled.
“Gentleman,” she said after the colonel took her coat, showing off her dress.
We all looked at her, mesmerized. Never had I believed Letty could look even better, but damn, she did. The dress she
wore hugged her body in all the right places. Her breasts pushed against the fabric. Because she was our wild warrior queen,
Letty wore combat boots.
We all saluted.
“Allow me, please.” The colonel offered Letty his arm, and she took it.
I was done. I’ll rip off his arm, motherfucker!
Letty smiled and leaned into him. Grr.
“How are you accommodating to Base, Miss Jones?”
“It’s interesting here.” She turned her head and smiled.
We all walked toward the dining room. Candles sparkled, and the table was packed with food.
“Is this all for us, or are we the first to arrive?” Letty asked.
The man who intruded on our small family looked at her. When he did, I decided this here is our family.
Ramon and I have always been close. He was my family. Chris became my brother as we fought side by side in sand-
covered hell holes with only the burning sun and the carrion birds to keep us company. Angel was like a puppy. I couldn’t kick
him because then he would look at me, and I would end up wanting to push him behind me and defend him, but when another
man entered our territory… fuck me, I couldn’t deal with it.
We walked inside, and there he was, pulling out a chair for Letty. My eyes froze on her.
“I decided we could talk in a more informal environment. I need to know more about New York. Where can we find
supplies there? Are there survivors who could be helpful? The world needs to start rebuilding. And doctor, I’m dying to find
out more about your research.”
 Angel
“Greetings from my daddy issues”

The colonel exuded authority. He was the kind of man I always feared and admired because, deep down, I knew I could never
be like him. He reminded me of my father, who was larger than life and always unhappy with me and my behavior.
Did I win a science medal? Oh, well, he might acknowledge it, but it was not real for him because the medal was not in
rowing or boxing or any sport he deemed manly.
Looking at this stern, bald, strong man, I recalled that I was allowed to spend spring break at home at the family estate.
There was a horse I loved. Her name was Caroline—a soft brown mare, large with a sweet temper. Riding was one of the few
sporty things I enjoyed and that my father approved of. A gentleman should know how to ride. Caroline was my joy. I would
saddle her, ride down to the creek, bring a few books, a sandwich, and an apple, and spend my day reading blissfully.
On that particular weekend, my father decided it would be so much fun to organize a hunt. Men I barely knew were all
around. My father’s friends, men who kissed his feet when he was there because they were afraid of him, but who would have
gladly stabbed him in the back to take his place. My father was many things, but dumb was not one of them.
Being part of his hunting party felt exciting. He wanted me to be a part of what he loved. The gun hung from my back. I did
not plan on shooting anything except the air in front of me. No way would I shoot a poor fox.
As soon as my horse was ready, I joined the others.
My father even signaled me to step closer to him. My face turned red as my heart tried to pump enough blood into my body
to keep me from fainting. Don’t faint, don’t faint became a mantra my mind sang to me like a lullaby.
Another man clamped my shoulder, said something about me being the junior or something, and they exchanged some
misogynistic joke that was not funny, but I laughed. It was required.
When the colonel put his hand on my shoulder, I felt like thirteen again, trying to impress my father and his friends.
“Doctor, I’m curious about your work and would like to know more.”
I looked up. He stood next to Letty, his eyes challenging me.
“Did you had a breakthrough? Can we cure the zombies?”
“Sadly, sir, the zombies are dead. Even if there was a way to develop a spray or administer a cure, the bodies have
extensive damage and can’t be repaired. Plus, they are all brain-dead because a zombie doesn’t use oxygen.”
“They don’t? How fascinating. And what exactly are you trying to do?”
“In my research, I concluded that it’s not a zombie virus, like pop culture made us believe, but a zombie parasite that
infected the population.”
The colonel stroked his head with his large hand. “A parasite? Why not pluck the fucker out and be done with it?”
“It’s not that easy. Once a human is bitten, the parasites cycle begins in the body of a living person.”
“I don’t understand. I’m sure you can enlighten me.”
“The parasite adds something to the saliva of the zombie. Eggs, to be precise. Once the zombie's saliva reaches the human
bloodstream, in the right condition of heat and acidity, the eggs lodge onto our brain and change the body’s chemistry.”
“Makes one not want to get bitten.” the colonel laughed.
“I’m trying to find a vaccine, a way to inject our people and make them immune.”
“What do you need?”
“Freshly bitten people. As fresh as thirty minutes.”
“I’m sure we can provide that. As of today, the gentlemen who saved you are part of your personal protection unit. They are
to report only to you and me and make sure you get anything you need.”
The colonel looked at each one of them, his eyes like damn laser beams.
“And doctor, sacrifices are always made for the good of the many, if you know what I mean.”
I let that sink. Did he just encourage me to have people bitten just to get my test subjects? That would be madness.

Letty
“Dresses are itchy”

I observed the exchange between the colonel and Angel. I put my hand on Angels’ knee under the table. The colonel was a
force of nature, a presence that filled the room, sucking all air out of it, a man not to be taken lightly. He changed the subject
swiftly.
“Miss Jones, how long have you two been working together?”
 There it was again, that spark that made my stomach clench and distrust him. And something else, like a tingle, made me
want to lean closer and play with fire. It was as if one could not see what was hidden behind that facade he kept up so
wonderfully.
Colonel McKenzie was an impressive man. Not only that, he stood as tall as Ramon. Age did not touch him, even though he
was at least twenty years older than my guys. He must be in his late forties or early fifties. His back was straight. His broad
shoulders made you feel safe, in a weird way, and there was no sign of a gut whatsoever. On the contrary, I could see strong
muscles rippling under the white formal shirt.
“Miss Jones?” he asked since I probably looked like a newly hatched chicken. It must have been the man, not the
surroundings.
“Since before,” Angel answered for me. “Letty is very helpful. She was a cool head during stormy times. I couldn’t do
what I do without her and her valuable input.”
A slight redness crept up Angel’s face, starting from his neck. My hand squeezed harder, thanking him without words.
Ramon was silent on the other side of the table, but his eyes told me exactly what I needed to hear. Say the word, and I will
cut open the colonel. Ramon and I had a way to communicate that was as unique as our connection. Being the only two half-
dead people in the room connects you.
The colonel’s eyes, green and intense, fixated on me, making me feel exposed.
As I tried to distract myself, a man with a huge tray entered the room. The scent wafted towards my nose and made me
drool.
“I hope you eat meat, Miss Jones, Dr. Paulsen. We raise our own pigs at a farm down south.”
The tray was filled with roasted meat, potatoes in rosemary sauce, and a thick brown gravy that made my mouth water.
“Please, help yourself.”
The soldier put the plates on the table. He was an older man who had a visible limp.
“Did you eat?” I asked the man who served us. He was tall and rather thin but not skinny. My words left my mouth before I
could stop myself.
His first reaction was to look at the colonel.
“Don’t worry, Miss Jones. No one goes to sleep hungry on Base.”
“I don’t feel comfortable knowing we indulge while others may barely scrape by.”
“That’s a noble gesture and speaks about your character. But, just so you know, the Mess Hall serves the same food for the
entire base.”
I looked down at the food.
“Do you always eat this well?”
“No. I wish I could offer my people such good food daily, but there are days with beans and rice. Still, now and then, a
feast is welcome.”
I nodded.
The soldier looked at the colonel, and I noticed the exchange.
“Corporal Matthews, answer Miss Jones, please.”
The man cleared his throat. “I already had dinner. I appreciate you asking.”
Again, I sensed the weight of the colonel’s look.
Then, a siren and the light show started.
“Fuck!”
Both the colonel and Chris jumped to their feet. Ramon was already up with his usual speed.
“At ease.”
“What is this?” I asked.
“This is the zombie alarm,” answered the colonel. “A part of our perimeter was breached. We need to make sure all non-
military personnel go inside and stay inside.”
I saw the tension in Carlo’s jaw.
“You stay put,” ordered the colonel. “Protect Miss Jones and Dr. Paulsen at all costs.”
“Yes, sir,” answered Carlos and Chris.
Ramon only nodded, but as far as I could see, the colonel was in a hurry and did not notice. He left us. That man was fast
for an oldie. I almost smiled.
“Who’s going with me?” I asked my guys, looking at their faces.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Carlos asked, seriousness all over his handsome face.
“If there’s a zombie problem, I won’t sit here and wait.” Heat rose in my eyes. What the hell? Did Carlos step into the
wrong story and imagine I’d sit this one out?
“You will sit there. We’re tasked to protect you. Plus, you almost died.”
Leaning against Carlos, I cupped his fucking handsome face in my hands and kissed him. Warmth spread through my entire
body, and sparks made me want to do this longer.
“Sweetie pie, you forget who I am,” I told him with a wink.
I found myself next to the windows, looking toward the street. The noise stopped, but I could see a few zombies shuffling
around, looking for easy prey. With one push, I opened the windows and stood on the edge of the still on the second floor of a
Victorian-inspired house.
Chris protested, but I was faster. Jumping down from buildings and from one roof to another was a hobby of mine. If I want
my cat and my girls back, I need to make sure this place is secure.
 EPISODE 6

Letty
“How I missed the superhero landing”

T he air was cool, caressing my face as I flew to the ground. My boots met the hard concrete. The scratch on my knee
closed before I was up again. Hunger, that familiar song, was back in my head.
A few days had passed since I was close to a zombie, but the void I felt when they walked beside me was still there.
Nothing changed, and it looked like me playing human was not going well.
A few shots sounded from the south wall with the train and containers. The golf carts were gone. A lone female zombie,
with half of her face consumed by time and pain, looked at me. She was rather pretty. One side of her face was almost intact,
and her once dark brown eye kept staring at me through the now milky orb. The other half was only teeth, white bleached
bones, and an empty socket where the eye used to be. She looked weird.
Clean.
Her body was not covered in dirt, as it should be, and she was completely naked. Her skin was marked by cuts and stitches
as if someone had performed an autopsy.
I have seen naked zombies before, but not like this. One reason is, well, they do not care about their own body, so being
careful not to rip off their clothes takes a low level of importance on their scale of values. But this woman was naked, clean,
and smelled like a hospital.
As I stepped closer to her, I looked at her skin again. Before she died, she had been a beautiful, dark-skinned woman with a
runner’s body. She looked at me, her milk-white eye searching for food. The hunger hummed from each cell of her dead body,
overwhelming me. There was more, a touch of deep sadness hitting me in waves.
I stepped over and placed my hand on her chest.
“Hey?”
Time stopped for me. She was warm. How was that possible? Zombies, like me, are room temp, yet this woman was warm
to the touch. Instinctively, I looked for the knife that used to stick in my belt and was ready when I needed it. It was not there.
“Fuck this dress!”
The words came out. The zombie woman still stood there, watching me.
Her body was not only warm, but she had been cut open and stitched back together. A long stitch ran down her jaw, as well
as a surgical cut on her belly. I put my hands on her head, wanting to feel her skull. The skin covered it, but her skull had been
cracked open.
So many questions invaded my mind, and I had no time for this shit.
Pulling the zombie woman to the side, away from the road, I pushed her back against the wall.
An almost silent, stalking movement attracted my attention. I turned. A pair of brown eyes with a red circle around the iris
sparkled at me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice so soft it was barely a whimper.
“Did you really think I’d let you have all the fun?” answered Ramon.
I shrugged. What else could I expect from my Ramon?
“What’s her deal, and why is she still standing?”
Ramon pointed with his head toward the zombie woman, who was more docile than most zombies we have encountered,
even in my presence. Our voice did not bother her nor trigger her need to hunt.
“Honestly, I don’t know. We need to hide her. I want Angel to look at her.”
Ramon nodded. “We have a basement at home. We can stick her in a closet there. No one will find her.”
 “Let’s go.” I looked at the zombie girl. “We just want to find out what happened to you.”
She was so silent. No gnashing, no moaning, nothing.
“Did she just nod?” Ramon looked at me.
“Neh. Let’s go.”
My cool hand grabbed her warm fingers, pulling her behind me. She did not have the motivation or coordination to run.
Instead, she kept stumbling and was about to fall.
Ramon moved closer and hoisted her up in a fireman’s carry.
“I got this. If someone sees me alone, it will raise less questions.”
Reluctantly, I nodded and ran back toward the colonel’s fancy mansion.
When I was a few yards away, I stopped and closed my eyes. The ability to feel zombies was present. I could detect them.
There were more, all fighting against a unit of armed men.
The noise, or rather the lack of it, was what attracted my attention. It was probably part of protocol not to fire weapons and
to go for the kill with bludgeons. Behind me, a sleepy slice of suburbia lived as if the world was still alive. As soon as I
pushed the information my eyes provided me aside, I could smell.
And hear it.
The sound of fighting sticks hitting skulls and splitting them open like melons on a sunny day. The crack of bone when
strength and metal met it and pushed it apart. The smell of the brain and blood, right when the bones pushed against it and
before it mingled with the scent of steel and force. Sweat and a touch of acrid-smelling fear came from the humans fighting off
the attack. Sharp blades being pushed into the back of skulls or into eyes that would pop like a ripe fruit, releasing its juice.
The mute sounds of a wild battle, not different from the silent loudness of a horde moving.
When I stood with my eyes closed, I picked up everything, from the noise of the pant legs rubbing against each other, the
sound of the sharp, exhausted inhales of the soldiers, and the silent wheezing of the zombies.
Trying to count the number of zombies I felt close, I had to decide if my presence was needed.
Blood, warm and coppery, like sucking a nickel on a warm day, was what helped me decide.
They killed, and my cover was not that important.
Another zombie walked toward me. It was a man this time. He smelled the same way as the black girl, only he wore a long,
dark trench coat.
With a fast move, I tripped him. His head hit the pavement, his brains spilling in front of me. Picking up his coat, I covered
my shiny dress and ran toward the fight.
They were there.
The colonel and a few more men trying to hold off at least twenty or more zombies.
The entire thing made no sense. Where were all the others who should have been here to fight off the wave of undead?
And why were most of those zombies naked, clean, cut open, and smelling like the girl Ramon was hiding away?
I stood with my back pressed against the building, watching the scene unfold.
The colonel attacked. He was not afraid to get his hands dirty. Quite the contrary. He used a long sword and decapitated
one zombie after the other. Taunt muscles stretched under his shirt, pushing him forward. Biting my lip, I inhaled his scent from
the cold air.
Two zombies closed in on a young soldier who had trouble fighting off a third. He held a small knife, his bat on the ground
in front of him.
Why did this look strange?
Instead of the zombies attacking like the hungry piranha I knew they were, they applied strategy. One attacked to distract his
victim, while the other two snuck up on the soldier. The soldier could not be older than twenty.
“Shane, behind you!” the colonel called out.
The young man twitched with fear, trying to make his way to safety, but to no avail. The two zombies that stalked him were
ready to attack.
This was too much.
My mind picked up more than a call for food and the relentless hunger I usually sensed from a group of zombies. I picked
up thoughts, small and broken, but some form of logic was building in their dead brains.
Spinning around, I found myself picking up the bat Shane had dropped. I smelled his stench. He was afraid. His sweat
talked volumes about him and about what this was costing him. Each heartbeat could be his last. His hands were slick with the
blood covering them.
I dropped one zombie with a swift move of my right hand. The other looked at me, giving up on Shane, but I could feel its
confusion. This was a tall, rather good-looking zombie male. His skin looked ash grey, but he must have been darker skinned at
some point in his life. His mouth was agape, but his hands moved with a precision rare for a zombie.
I knew, without explaining, that my presence confused him.
“What are you?” I could feel the question pushing hard in my mind.
 His milky eyes ignored me, yet he still saw me, unlike the masses from New York. Most zombies looked through me. This
dude had his hands up in a defensive stance.
“The fuck?” I whispered, silent enough not to attract attention but loud enough for the zombie to hear me.
And there it was.
He smiled.
It was a slight move of his facial muscles, so small that I could barely register it, but he smiled and was about to attack.
His right hook connected with my belly.
“Okay, fucker. Zombies don’t hit other undead people,” I whispered between clenched teeth.
With the fighting stick in my right hand, I shifted my weight the way I would do it if I was facing a living opponent and
landed a brutal hit that knocked off his jaw. Blood splattered me, and even though it smelled like zombie blood, there was
something else. Hot, living blood that covered me.
The man, who was a tall, strong, burly guy with muscles that could pull a truck, came toward me, towering over me. This
was not the time or place to play, so I ducked and stuck the stick hard through his open mouth, penetrating the roof of his mouth
and killing off that damn brain.
Just before he collapsed, I could have sworn he threw me a sad look.
Around me, the men still did not notice my involvement in the fight. The young guy, Shane, pulled out his side arm and
pulverized the other zombie’s brain. We all got some of that all over us.
Pieces of brain and blood filled the air with that unmistakable flavor of rancid death.
Moving fast, I pushed back and ran toward the colonel’s house, only to hit a wall of muscles full on.

Ramon
“Zombie hide and seek”

The damn zombie woman was warm, something that made no sense to me. I am a lukewarm. I have a temperature that would
barely make me seem alive during a physical, but when she fell against me, it seemed as if she was running a fever. Plus, that
smell assaulted my nose, making the inside of it burn.
I hated leaving Letty alone to snoop, but she could hold her own. Fuck, my affection for her did not make me dumb. She
could hold her own, and she could probably kill me if needed, but my Latin macho side made me want to protect my woman.
The cold did not bother me, but the way the zombie girl went silent and slacked against me did. Her bite could not do
anything to me that had not already happened, but I did not want to experience it.
As I skirted the other houses, I kept close to the walls, out of the way of the patrols. The girl was not heavy, but my old
human self would have had a harder time carrying her around as I ducked and jumped over small white picket fences. The
frozen crystal grass cracked under my feet.
Instead of entering our house through the main door, I walked around it to the back and kicked in one of the windows. The
window flew open. The wooden cover meant to make it zombie-proof cracked under my boot. I put down the zombie girl who
kept looking at me, lost, as she tried to figure out what was going on with her.
Even though I could still hear the fight, I grabbed her and pushed her through the window. There was no time for me to put
her down gently. Whatever it was that Letty wanted, we could figure it out later.
My connection with Letty felt taunt. One day, I need to ask her if she feels the same way about me, as if a living cord is tied
between us.
With fast moves, I sprinted toward the wall where the sounds of battle died down. Letty was there, and she was fine. I
whispered a thank you to every deity I could think of. She was so distracted that she walked straight into my arms.
“Ramon, you scared the shit out of me,” she whispered.
I could not stop myself from kissing her hard on the lips. Her body melted into mine as my arms pulled her closer, making
sure she was here, that I could feel her. The need for Letty was beyond lust. It was a physical hunger that needed to be fed.
Her lips replied to mine. I pulled her behind a house, keeping us both in the shadows.
“I’ve dreamed of doing this all night.”
My fingers slipped under her dress, finding that she did not bother to wear a slip.
“Doing what?” she moaned in my ear before biting my ear lobe.
That humming, that drumming noise inside me, was in Letty, too. She had a bit of a fight, but not enough to make her feel
satiated. She needed more. I needed more. My mind was all over the place, my senses drunk with her scent.
My fingers moved from her wetness to my lips, and I sucked on them.
“This. I need to have your scent on me and make you smell like me.”
Letty freed my hardness from my pants and, with her arms around my neck, impaled herself on me. My eyes never left hers.
If she had a heartbeat, I am sure I would have made her pulse hammer faster.
My lips found hers as my cock pushed deeper into her, filling her up.
Her fingers moved under my shirt, pushing, showing me that I belonged to her.
Letty’s sweet release happened at the same time as mine. We swallowed the screams we would have loved to free.
Even though I was dizzy and not ready to release her, she recovered much faster than me.
“Wow, that was hot,” I said.
“It was. Thank you, gorgeous.”
Letty grabbed onto my lower lip with her teeth. Shivers of heat ran through my body, like playing with two wires and
having electricity course through me. My hands ached to slide over her body again, to make sure every bit of her skin was
mine.
“You know me. You feel me. I do, too.”
It was all I needed, and she knew it.
We moved fast, not wanting to be discovered by anyone.
Letty seemed preoccupied, but as much as I would have loved to sit down with her and talk about what happened, we had
to keep up appearances. There was no need for anyone to know what Letty was, or for that matter, what I was. And what we
could do.
I used a tissue to wipe off the cum that dripped down her inner thigh, and then we hurried back.
“What was that thing?” I asked, fully aware that she probably had a theory or two.
“I’m not sure, but I don’t like it. I need to talk to all of you. Did you get her home?”
“Yeah, but she feels off in my head.”
“We’ll talk later. Let’s go to the guys.”

Carlos
“Play pretend”

I sat at the dinner table and watched my baby brother follow Letty. He jumped from the window and slid down the drain until
his feet met the concrete.
My leg still hurt. As time passed, the aching became more of an emotional thing than a physical one.
Angel smiled shyly. “They’ll be fine.”
He pushed his hair back and poured some wine into his crystal glass.
The colonel had the best of the best on the table. Or at least, I assumed that since I had never been invited to dinner at his
home. To be honest, I did not know of anyone who was, or if the colonel even had dinner parties.
“I’ll talk about the elephant in the room.” Chris leaned back in his chair and sipped on his glass. “Who else doesn’t like the
way the colonel looks at her?”
Angel took another sip of wine and cleared his throat.
“He’ll declare.” The words slipped from my tongue, and now that they were in the open, I could not take them back.
“And what about her? Will she accept?” Chris’ face changed. I knew my best friend well enough to read his mind. We
fought side by side, and I trusted him with my life.
“It’s the woman’s choice.”
“She’s not an ordinary woman.”
Angel took a break, pushing his hair back. The knot he wore opened, and his wild brown hair escaped over his shoulders.
Letty had changed him. A few weeks ago, he was only a scared scientist living on a mustard ketchup Coca-Cola blend in a
hospital, waiting to die. She turned him into a stronger man with each day passing. Good for him.
I felt a certain sense of pride for Angel, even though I had nothing to do with his incredible evolution.
Angel picked up his sentence. “To be part of Letty’s inner circle means he’ll get to kiss her. Touch her. Feel that she has no
heartbeat and she’s cold. The man is not stupid.”
“We’ll talk to her,” Chris said calmly. “But it’s her choice in the end.”
“I don’t want this guy in our group,” said Angel.
Chris and I exchanged looks that could have been read as “good for you” and “atta boy, doc.”
“It’s not your decision,” I warned.
“I know. But I can tell Letty how I feel.”
“Do you feel the same way about us?” I almost bit my tongue when I saw the doc turn from ash pale to purple and then
tomato red.
“No, you guys are different.”
 “We don’t need to talk about this now,” Chris chipped in.
“If they don’t return in ten minutes, I’ll go look for them.”
Silence filled the room. The sound of glasses touching the surface of the table violated the all-encompassing feeling of
foreboding. Something big was looming.
The alarm had stopped a long time ago, same as the streetlight. This was protocol. Each time a breach happened, the
closest tower sounded an alarm so people could find a way to the nearest home or shelter and be battle-ready for the zombies.
However, after three minutes, the alarm would stop to allow the guards and troops to fight.
Life was easy before.
As I lifted my glass, filled with the rich, red wine, I sniffed it. I had no intention of touching it. Wine was never my thing.
Whiskey, on the other hand, was, but since meeting Letty the need for the bottle had become less and less burning. The desire
was still there, but it was buried deep enough that it did not bother me the way it used to.
Even now, thinking about the colonel close to Letty bothers me, but I could have been sitting here with a bottle of whiskey
and would not have been tempted by it.
Time dripped like thick honey.
“What if the colonel returns before they do?”
I shrugged. “We say Letty felt sick, and Ramon walked her home. Simple.”
We should keep that simple.
A clicking sound attracted my attention to the window. Letty stood there, hitting the glass with her short, black nails,
wearing her most beautiful smile. In my hurry to get to her, I forgot about my leg and stepped on it, opening the door to a world
of pain.
The doc was beside me and caught my arm before I stumbled.
Chris opened the window. “We were sick with worry, Princess.”
Chris hugged Letty and kissed her on the top of her head.
My crazy brother Ramon followed her and jumped onto the floor next to her.
“Well, aren’t you charming,” Ramon said to Chris, which landed him a slap over the back.
“What happened?” I asked.
Letty rushed to me and stood before me. Sometimes, I forget she is a force of nature and could have killed all of us if she
wanted. My beautiful, wild woman was a small package, barely reaching my chest as she stood before me. Her cold hands
cupped my face, and she leaned into me and kissed me. Letty had this way of making me feel as if the entire world was melting
away and that only the two of us were left on the entire planet. My heart will never forget that night on the roof in New York
City after Ramon got bit, when I was so scared and angry, filled with rage and piss and vinegar, and she held my hand and
kissed me.
“Hey.” My voice sounded so much softer after the kiss we shared.
She wrapped her arms around me and leaned in to whisper, “I need you tonight, in my bed.”
My heart beat faster.
Letty and I kissed and touched. We had made love before but, because of my leg, we had held back. I needed to fuck her the
way I knew she wanted me to. It was the last barrier that stood between us.
Her fingers were still entwined with mine, her small, cold hand warming up from me, when she moved to Angel and kissed
him, too.
Letty’s face was somber. “Guys, there’s some shit going down.”
Ramon sat on a chair, being one with the darkness and sipping on Vodka. It did not affect him much, Letty told me.
As Ramon glanced at me, I had difficulty seeing my younger brother in the eyes of the man who stood there. He was Ramon,
but at the same time, he was not. He was a more evolved version of him.
Pushing my hair back, I made a mental note that I could use a haircut. My hair was long enough to put it up, but I have never
been the man bun type and will not start now. Ramon always loved his long hair. He used to cry as a kid when mom cut it after
someone told him about Samson.
“He’s close.”
Ramon warned us, but I knew Letty was already aware the colonel was climbing the stairs. He opened the door with a half-
smile on his face.
Letty talked first. “I was so worried. Is everything okay?”
The man threw her a big, confident smile. I could have punched him in the face.
“Yes, my dear, you’re safe. It wasn’t a big deal, just a few zombies who somehow managed to get too close for comfort.”
“But were they inside the Base?” Letty asked.
“No. As the gentlemen here can assure you, our Base is almost unbreachable. There’s no reason for you to worry. We’ll
keep you safe.”
I had no idea Letty was such a grade-A actress. She pulled off the damsel who was afraid to a T.
 “I’m still scared of the dead. They’re so fierce.”
The colonel walked next to Letty and squeezed her hand, and I was ready to use the steak knife and cut his arm off. Or
rather, I was ready to take a spoon and chop his hand off, slowly.
“We’re fiercer. Let’s enjoy what’s left of the evening.”
Letty smiled at him, and we kept chatting and eating. The colonel asked about New York, and I told him about a group of
survivors who would like to move to the base. The colonel was always glad to add people with skills to our community. I did
not tell him that they were women only, only that they were mostly women. That was a plus as there were more men than
women at Base.
The evening dragged, and I saw Letty exchange looks with Ramon. Sometimes, I could swear they were talking in their
heads and did not need spoken words. I never envied my brother, but now I envied the bite that brought him closer to her.
They had something that I could never share with Letty. Maybe I could accept and understand certain things, but at the end
of the day, they were not human, no matter how much I denied that.
 EPISODE 7

Letty
“I recall that the basement was always bad news in horror movies”

W e entered the house, and I stripped from my dress, making the boys’ jaws drop.
“If you’re trying to seduce me, Princess, mission accomplished.” Chris smiled as he looked at me, naked except
for my combat boots.
“Perv. Later. I had to get out of that dress. It’s not comfy. By the way, we have a zombie in the basement.”
“We have what?” Angel pushed his round glasses back and stared at me as if I had announced that I had decapitated Marie
Antoinette.
“A zombie. Let me explain, but first, I need to change. I’ll be right back.”
Angel’s eyes moved down to my belly and back to my tits. I knew what was in his mind. We started something with Chris,
and I was eager to explore that aspect. Why not admit it? I was aroused at the idea of making sweet Angel happy and watching
the two men together. Chris was game. I knew that. But Angel had a crush on Carlos. My sexy, macho Carlos, who was straight
as an arrow and who would not be game to play with him.
Oh, well.
The moisture between my legs was a mix of fresh arousal and some of Ramon’s cum that pooled together.
After getting dressed in some leggings and a top, I made my way back to the guys. Chris made us hot chocolate. It was such
a sweet gesture and made me almost want to cry. The smell of hot chocolate tickled my nose.
“Do you want a marshmallow in yours? Asked Chris. “Or cream, Princess?”
“I want both.”
He grinned and shook a cream tube before pressing down on the button. The dollop of whipped cream floated on the
surface of the dark liquid, melting slowly.
“Why do we have a zombie in the basement?” Angel asked as he took a sip of his chocolate.
“After I left the colonel’s house, I met a few zombies, but they were weird.”
“Opposed to the regular, nice, normal zombies?” Carlos added with a smile.
“Don’t be a dick, Carlos.”
He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled widely. “But you like me that way.”
I smacked his shoulder, and he gripped my hand, leaning forward to kiss it.
“Sorry, my love. I’m listening.”
The guys sat around the table and looked at me. Ramon knew. He felt it the same way I did.
“Most of the zombies were naked and had all kinds of surgical cuts stitched back together. Plus, they smelled like a hospital
and were clean. Explain to me how a naked zombie traveling out there is clean.”
Angel pushed his foggy glasses back before taking them off and wiping the lenses with the corner of his dress shirt.
I took a good look at my guys. They looked so handsome. Chris sat with his cup of cocoa and opened a bottle of rum,
dribbling some into his.
“I don’t understand,” he said.
Angel started. “Naked zombies?”
I allowed him to collect his thoughts. Watching Angel put pieces of the puzzle together was like watching the sunrise. He
kept cleaning his foggy glasses before pushing them up onto his nose and securing the soft wire behind his ears.
White kitchen cabinets stood around us. The look and smell of the place were not what I expected as the right background
for a conversation about zombies.
 “Naked like in the clothes fell off?” Ramon was becoming frustrated.
“No. Let’s get down to the basement. This shit stinks.”
Ramon walked down first. When he reached the door, he asked Angel and Chris to stop.
“I’ll go down and secure her.”
“I’ll go with you,” I said.
A part of me expected the zombie to smash against the door, for her to call out to the heavens and make a huge mess. I noted
this difference in behavior between the way zombies act around me and the living. The last thing I wanted was to risk the
zombie attacking any of my men.
“Chris, Angel, stay back. Come down only when we call you when she’s contained.”
“I can deal with a zombie, Princess,” Chris whispered, but I touched his strong arm.
“I know.”
Carlos could not deal with a zombie yet. He was still weak from his massive leg injury.
After opening the door a crack, the basement remained silent, but it was there, that feeling that another void, another piece
of darkness, existed there. A part of me wanted to protect the female zombie, and that made no sense at all.
The smell of the cold, freezing, damp basement was what I noticed first. A soft light shone from a single bulb. Long
shadows mixed with darkness, and the cold concrete turned into a canvas for the play of invisible fingers.
She sat on the ground, motionless. A small ball, a woman, naked, with her knees raised and her head leaning on top of them.
“We should restrain her before the guys come and gag her,” Ramon said, but I watched her.
She was so sad. So small, so lost and broken. She reminded me of my own awakening.
What if she was like me?
What if I was mindless at first?
All those memories I wanted to forget pushed themselves back into the front of my head. Waking up on the cold, dirty
hospital floor and not knowing who I was, what I was. At least I had my own voice to keep me company.
“I’ll look for some rope. We should have some.”
As Ramon moved away, the darkness and hunger filled my mind, but there was something else. A sort of humming came
from her, like a buzzing, the sort of humming a radio would make when there is nothing on air.
She sat on the ground and did not move.
I walked toward her, attracted to her by an invisible force that compelled me.
She kept her head down.
In all the months I lived in New York City, I had never seen a zombie act like that. They were either feral, driven by hunger,
throwing themselves against walls and doors until their hands and fingers broke in the pursuit of human flesh, or, if they were
not stimulated, they stood.
Zombies do not sit.
I have never seen any of them sitting, and even less so, protecting their head or leaning it down.
Zombies have no worries.
They do not rest or protect their bodies because they do not care. They rip their fingernails off in the pursuit of pray, only to
keep going until there is no more flesh left on their fingers, fuck, until there are no more fingers, and all they have are jutting
pieces of cracked bone.
“Hey?”
I did the best to keep my voice calm, low and soft, but the sound pushed back from the empty, grey, water-stained walls.
She raised her head.
Again, the milky white eyes that most of the time looked empty showed she was aware of her surroundings, but maybe she
did not care.
“I’m trying to be a nice host here, but I’m not sure what the zombie protocols are, you know?”
Her head leaned a bit to the side. I now noticed the huge cut that ran from her jaw and over her chest, and which had been
savagely closed.
“Do you have a name?”
The hell if I know what made me ask her that.
Even though I expected the usual reaction to my voice, such as the zombies running in another direction, she sat naked on
the ground and looked at me. Not behind me, not through me, but at me. Straight at my face with eyes that probably wished
could have shed some tears.
Her mouth opened and closed, like she tried to form words.
“Hey.” I touched her cheek. It was ice cold, same as mine was.
She looked at me, her mouth moving slowly, like the lips of a sick person who once knew how to speak but lost that ability
somehow.
“Should I tie her up.”
 “I don’t know.”
“When Angel comes down and examines her, we don’t want her to bite him.”
“You’re right. What do you have?”
“Zip ties and something to put in her mouth.” Ramon showed me a rag.
“Do we have a chair or something? I don’t want to gag her. I want to see how she reacts.
“How about this?” Ramon returned from the dark side of the basement with an iron patio chair.
“Perfect.”
I helped her stand and sit on the chair, then zip tied her wrists to each of the arm rests. All this time, she was as docile as a
living doll, her body allowing me to push her around and make sure she was tied up.
“Guys, you can come down.”
Chris was the first. He kept his Ruger in one hand and his knife in the other. Angel was behind him and kept looking over
Chris’ shoulder.
“Man, stop pushing. I’m trying to make sure you’re safe.”
“We have her tied up, so it should be fine.”
The zombie woman turned her head in Chris’ direction and released a soft snarl, but it sounded as if she was uncertain, or
maybe tried to say something and the snarl was the only thing that escaped her lips.
“Fascinating.” Angel pushed himself next to Chris, stepping toward the chair and the zombie woman.
“I told you, she doesn’t act zombieish. She acts confused.”
Angel stood in front of her, examining her cuts and the way the sutures were done. “All that was done after she was already
a zombie.”
“How can you tell?”
“Look at the edges. This is how dead flesh looks when you cut it. The parasite did minimal damage control.”
“Where’s her bite?”
Angel knelt in front of her. “I could use a flashlight.”
“Here man, use this.” Chris offered Angel a Maglite.
All this time, the zombie woman sat there, even though there were two living, breathing people right next to her. She was
shockingly calm. There was no thrashing, no gnashing, not even the usual zombie song of drama and despair. Just a woman
looking at a light bulb as if it was the latest iPhone 20 or some shit.
I wanted to smack myself. This was another one of those pieces of useless info that popped up in my mind now and then.
How the hell did I knew what an iPhone was, but not much else.
“I need to see her backside.”
“What?” I threw Angel a strange look. One of my classic “are you fucking with me, dude, and not in the nice way” looks.
“I’m not going to let her loose around you.”
He said something, but I felt it, a presence that tried hard to push itself into my mind. It was not a word but more of a
feeling. When I walked with the hordes in New York, I could feel their hunger. People probably think zombies feel anger, but
they do not. What some victims probably perceive as anger is the feeding frenzy when they catch the scent of flesh and blood,
when their fingers find purchase in the soft part of our bodies and rip it open, and when, finally, the blood sprays them on their
faces. To say that zombies are angry, you could also call piranhas angry. They are not. They only feel the need to feed, and for a
few short seconds, the hope that the churning, aching hunger is going to be satisfied by flesh. That never happens because there
is never enough to satisfy them.
I looked up at Angel, who kept talking. Chris stood a few steps aside. His gun was aligned with the girl’s shaved head.
“What did you say?”
“Letty, are you okay?” Ramon stepped closer and put his arm around me, pulling my back into his body.
I turned my face to him, and he looked into my eyes.
“Uhuh,” I nodded.
Angel was lost in his science stuff.
Chris stepped closer. “Princess, you don’t have to continue. Whatever this is, it’s bothering you. Ramon and I can take care
of it, okay?”
Ramon nodded. They were here, my guys, having my back.
“It’s silly. She smells strange. Angel, why does she smell strange?”
“They injected her with formaldehyde, which makes her smell like that. I assume they tried to kill the parasite, but are
stupid, because the parasite is located in the brain and feeds on the proteins it harvests there.”
Chris held my hand. He was so warm, like a furnace.
Angel pointed to a few puncture marks that, now that he showed them to me, clearly were needle holes.
“Why do you need to see her back?” I asked.
“I examined her legs, torso, and arms. I can’t see a bite, so I need to see if there’s one on her back. There’s a chance that
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
The Project Gutenberg eBook of Jefferson and
Hamilton
This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States
and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no
restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it
under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this
ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the
United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where
you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Jefferson and Hamilton

The struggle for democracy in America

Author: Claude G. Bowers

Release date: November 25, 2023 [eBook #72222]

Language: English

Original publication: NYC: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1925

Credits: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at

https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images
generously made available by The Internet Archive)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK JEFFERSON

AND HAMILTON ***
 PREFACE
CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
INDEX
FOOTNOTES

JEFFERSON AND HAMILTON

 THOMAS JEFFERSON
By Nancy Clifton M. Randolph after Thomas Sully
JEFFERSON AND HAMILTON
The Struggle for Democracy
In America

BY
CLAUDE G. BOWERS

AUTHOR OF ‘THE PARTY BATTLES OF THE JACKSON PERIOD’

With Illustrations

BOSTON AND NEW YORK

HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY
The Riverside Press Cambridge

COPYRIGHT, 1925, BY CLAUDE G. BOWERS

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

TENTH IMPRESSION, JANUARY, 1927

 The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE · MASSACHUSETTS
PRINTED IN THE U.S.A.
 PREFACE
All American history has since run along the lines marked out by the antagonism of
Jefferson and Hamilton. Our history is sometimes charged with a lack of picturesqueness
because it does not deal with the belted knight and the moated grange. But to one who
considers the moral import of events, it is hard to see how anything can be more picturesque
than the spectacle of these two giant antagonists contending for political measures which
were so profoundly to affect the lives of millions of human beings yet unborn.
John Fiske

I T is the author’s purpose, in developing the stirring story of the

Plutarchian struggle of Jefferson and Hamilton, to show that without
belted knights the period was picturesque and dramatic. The extraordinary
men who gave and took lusty blows did not, as some would have us think,
confine themselves to calm academic discussions of elemental principles.
The dignified steel engravings of the participants, with which we are
familiar, give no impression of the disheveled figures seen by their
contemporaries on the battle-field.
This battle-field was rich in movement and color. There was tragedy and
pathos, much of comedy, something of the grotesque. Here we shall meet
marching mobs, witness duels and fist-fights, turbulent mass meetings,
public dinners in groves and taverns, hangings in effigy, and champions of
democracy in the galleries of theaters, pelting the aristocrats in the pits, and
coercing the orchestras into playing ‘La Marseillaise.’ It was in the midst of
such scenes as these that Jefferson and Hamilton fought the battle of the
fundamentals.
The struggle of these two giants surpasses in importance any other waged
in America because it related to elemental differences that reach back into
the ages, and will continue to divide mankind far into the future. The
surrender at Yorktown ended one phase of the Revolution, but it was not
complete until, after twelve years of nationhood, it was definitively
determined that this should be not only a republic, but a democratic republic.
That was the real issue between Jefferson and Hamilton.
The passions of the period still persist, and much of myth has been built
up by idolaters and enemies about both leaders. It has seemed possible to the
author to tell the story of their struggle with complete justice to both. The
part each played in the creation of the Nation was essential. It has been the
purpose to depict these two men and their associates as they really were in
the heat of controversy, neither sparing their weaknesses nor exaggerating
their virtues; to paint them as men of flesh and blood with passions,
prejudices, and human limitations; to show them at close quarters wielding
their weapons, and sometimes, in the heat of the fight, stooping to conquer;
and to uncover their motives as they are clearly disclosed in the
correspondence of themselves and friends. This has necessitated the
demolishment of some fashionable myths, when myths have obstructed the
view to truth.
The facts as here set forth throw a vivid light on the causes of the collapse
of the Federalist Party, which, in the average of its leadership, was, perhaps,
the most brilliant, and certainly the most attractive, in American history.
Men of wonderful charm they were, but they were singularly lacking in an
understanding of the spirit of their times and country. They fell, as we shall
find, because they neither had nor sought contact with the average man, and
sternly set themselves against the overwhelming current of democracy.
Even so, we shall find an explanation of their distrust of popular
government in the illiteracy of the times, the exaggerated notions of freedom
that prevailed, and the levity with which so many looked on financial
obligations. It is easier to understand the Hamiltonian distrust of democracy
than to comprehend the faith of Jefferson—a faith of tremendous
significance in history. Quite as remarkable as his faith was the ability of
Jefferson to mobilize, organize, and discipline the great individualistic mass
of the towns, the remote farms along the Savannah, the almost unbroken
wilds of the Western wilderness. With a few notable exceptions, he was
forced to rely for assistance on lieutenants pathetically inferior to the group
of brilliant men who sat on the Federalist board of strategy. He won because
he was a host within himself, capable of coping single-handed against the
combined geniuses of the opposition in the field of practical politics.
A liberal use has been made of the newspapers of the period; not only of
the descriptions of actual events, but of the false rumors and stories that
entered into the creation of the prejudices that always play their part in the
affairs of men. In determining why a given result was forced by public
opinion, it is no more necessary to know what the truth was than to know
what the people who formed that opinion thought the truth to be.
Along with the struggles in Congress, the bickerings in streets, coffee-
houses, and taverns, the actions of mobs and mass meetings, it has been
thought important to show the part ‘society’ played in the drama—for it was
a significant part. This was inevitable in a clear-cut fight between democracy
and aristocracy. The elegant home of Mrs. Bingham was scarcely less
identified with the Federalists than was that of Lady Holland with the
English Whigs, or that of Madame Holland with the party of the Gironde.
The pettings which the Otises and Harpers there received after the battles in
the House were very real rewards to men of their temperament. The part
played by men and women of fashion in the politics of the time will appear
in the ostracism of Democrats from their charmed circle, when even
Jefferson, snubbed, was driven for solace to the solitude of the library of the
Philosophical Society.
Throughout the struggle we shall find the forces well defined—
aristocracy against democracy, and sometimes we shall see it illustrated with
theatrical exaggeration, as when the Philadelphia aristocrats of the army that
marched against the Whiskey Boys, on prancing horses and in broadcloth
uniforms, paraded their ragged, weather-beaten prisoners of the frontier
through the fashionable streets for the delectation of the ladies at the
windows.
It is impossible to treat of this period without giving to John Adams a
place apart. He was in some respects a tragic figure, and, though ludicrously
vain and often all but clownish in small things, we shall have occasion to
admire and respect his independence and courageous subordination of his
personal fortunes to the service of humanity and country in making the peace
with France. If at times the mere recitation of his personal weaknesses seems
like ill-natured ridicule, it should be borne in mind that this is necessary to
the explanation of why a statesman and patriot, so able and deserving, was
so unfortunate in his public career.
The purpose of the author is not to make out a case for or against
democracy, but to show how it came to the Republic, sometimes blundering
and making a fool of itself on the way; to re-create, if possible, an heroic,
picturesque, and lusty age; to make the men of the steel engravings flesh and
blood; to stage the drama of a day when real giants trod the boards.
Claude G. Bowers
 CONTENTS

I. Days of Comedy 1

A depressing dawn—Pessimism of Ames and Madison—Petty jealousies

and ambitions—Federal Hall—Caliber of Congress—Adams’s triumphant
entry—His elation—Form and titles—‘Majesty’ or ‘Excellency’?—Adams
scorns ‘President’—‘What shall I be?’—Maclay’s amusement—Ellsworth
puzzled—‘How shall I behave?’—Carroll’s disgust—Debate on titles—
Maclay’s irreverence—Fenno’s plea for titles—Washington’s arrival and
reception—Scene at the inauguration—The inaugural ball—New York in
1789—Streets, lights, sanitation—Homes of celebrities—Auction block and
gallows—Funeral bells—Tea-gardens—Taverns—Theater—Washington at
the play—Maclay shocked—The wax-works—Social climbers—Cost of
living—Luxury of society—Its Tory tone—Ball at the French Minister’s—
The Court on Cherry Street—Snobbery and pretense—The Hamiltons
entertain—The dinners of the Pennsylvanians—Robert Morris’s stories—
The Wall Street promenade—The House of Gossip—Richmond Hill—
Washington’s dinners—Madison seeks revenue—Trickery of the merchants
—Enter the ‘moneyed class’—Power of removal—Washington and the
Senate—Hamilton’s appointment.

II. Hamilton: A Portrait 22

Appearance—Elegance—Mystery of origin—Precocity—In Santa Cruz—

Early ambition—At King’s College—Literary brilliancy—His eloquence—
Was he a military genius?—His aristocracy—Love of luxury—Government
by ‘gentlemen’—Respect for wealth—Contempt for democracy—
Preference for monarchy—His plan for a Constitution—Distrust of the one
adopted—Never reconciled—Work for its adoption—His genius analyzed
—Methods of work—Fighting qualities—Moral courage—Personal
integrity—Analysis of his strength and weakness—As a party leader—
Lovable traits—His conviviality—Fondness for women—His home life—
Attitude toward religion—Toward Washington.
III. Hamilton in the Saddle 43

Confidence in Hamilton in commercial circles—Report on Public Credit—

Reason not personally presented—Scene when read—Reactions of a radical
—Enthusiasm in commercial quarters—The discords—Hate of speculators
—‘In the interest of the rich’—Plan to bind moneyed class—Activity of
speculators—Public men involved—Rumors of Robert Morris—Fast-
sailing vessels—The gambling mania—Fenno defends speculators—The
debate on Funding—Gallery scenes—Jackson’s attack—Hamilton turns
lobbyist—Organizes his forces—Newspaper attacks—Portrait of Madison
—He proposes discrimination—Consternation—Gloom at the Knox dinner
—Hamiltonians attack—The debate—Sedgwick—Smith—Ames—The
gallery—Madison replies—Maclay’s plan—An old roué—Madison’s snub
—Discrimination voted down—Abuse of Madison—Reaction in the streets
—Assumption—A caucus of Hamiltonians—Robert Morris’s interest—
Opposition appears—Revolt of Southerners—The cause—Annihilation of
States—Wolcott reveals Hamilton’s motives—The debate—Hamiltonians
‘piped to quarters’—Fear of vote—Rumors of Vining—Activity of the
lobby—Lame and sick carried to House—Morris approaches Maclay—
Alarm of Hamiltonians—Scenes in the Senate—Assumption voted down—
Distress of Sedgwick, Wadsworth, Clymer, Fitzsimons—Scenes in coffee-
houses—Hamiltonian Senate on a strike—Threats of disunion—Press
comments—‘Bastard of Eastern speculators’—Jefferson reaches New York
—Hamilton tries bargaining—Early morning walk on the Battery—
Hamilton and Jefferson barter—Dinner at Jefferson’s—Madison agrees—
Assumption wins.

IV. Premonitions of Battle 69

Hamilton at high tide—Idol of business—Masterful manner in Cabinet—

New fortunes and class feeling—Hamilton’s excise—Welcomes test of
strength—Distillers aroused—Pennsylvania protests—Neutrality of
Jefferson and Madison—Street debates—House debate—Denunciations of
Jackson—Madison’s embarrassment—Liquor and morals—Giles approves
—Revenue agents in elections—Hamilton takes personal charge in Senate
—Meets with committee—Maclay’s rebuff—‘Hamilton fails in nothing’—
Bloodshed predicted—The National Bank—Hamilton’s powerful following
—Maclay notes drift of moneyed men—Debate in House—Madison attacks
monopoly and implied powers—Ames defends—Sectional significance of
vote—Fight in the Cabinet—Madison consulted by Washington—Asked to
reduce views to writing—Fear of veto—Ames explains Washington’s
hesitation—Ugly talk in New York—Hamilton and Jefferson break—The
battle of the press—Hamilton man of the hour—Given reception in New
York—Jefferson and Madison on a journey—Their intimacy—Their
association in the public mind—Significance of their journey—Pamphlet
duel of Burke and Paine—‘Rights of Man’ and Adams’s ‘Discourses of
Davilla’—Jefferson’s ‘preface’ to Paine’s pamphlet—Reference to Adams
—British Agent shocked—Also ‘Society’—Press joins the fray—Burke
versus Paine in country towns—Adams disgusted with Paine—Enraged by
Jefferson—J. Q. Adams attacks Jefferson and Paine—Defends English
institutions—The war in the press—Turmoil pleases Jefferson—
Embarrassed by the ‘preface’—Explains to Adams—Friends of democracy
aroused—Scandal of ‘scrippomony’—Swindlers’ harvest—Frenzy of
speculation—Press warns—Political phase—Scandal in choice of Bank
directors—Hamilton’s brilliant support.

V. Thomas Jefferson: A Portrait 92

Appearance—A woman’s impressions—His cold first look—Charm of

manner—Maclay’s impressions—His conversation—His frontier training—
Westerner with Eastern polish—Bred in democratic community—College
influences—Fights for democracy in Virginia—Associations in Paris—Life
there—Interest in peasants’ plight—Sympathy with dawning of French
Revolution—Chats with Gouverneur Morris—Consulted by leaders of
Revolution—His plan to save the monarchy—His humanity—Toward
Hessian prisoners—Against death penalty for minor offences—Against
degrading prisoners—Relations with servants—With slaves—Hostility to
slavery—Attitude toward religion—Toward the Constitution—Methods as
party leader—His tact—Persuasions of dinner table—Dislike of quarrels
and separations—Self-control—Justly estimates opponent’s strength—
Relations with Adams—His cunning—The art of mining—Practical
political methods—Serenity in storms—The artistic phase—Music—
Architecture—The scientific phase—Interest in natural history—
Astronomy—Inventions—Passion for agriculture—Life at Monticello.
VI. The Social Background 116

Complaints of Philadelphia prices and manners—The physical city—Streets

and gardens—Halls of Congress—Offices of Jefferson, Hamilton, and
Washington—Life in the taverns—In boarding-houses—Drinking-places—
Arrogance of the masses—Their social life—Public gardens—Streets by
night—Shops and shopping—Economic status of workers—The aristocracy
—Vanity of wealth—‘Elegance of dress’—Entertaining—Heavy drinking—
Risqués conversations—Burr’s wine—A dinner at Clymer’s—Hamilton and
Mrs. Church—Portrait of Mrs. Bingham—The Bingham mansion—Mrs.
Bingham’s hectic life—Monroe’s social blunder—Judge Chase’s
boorishness—A reception at Mrs. Bingham’s—The Morrises—Mrs. Walter
Stewart—Mrs. Samuel Powell—Mrs. Knox—Mrs. Hamilton—Mrs.
Wolcott—Mary Ann Wolcott—Pierce Butler—Mrs. William Jackson—
Foreign visitors—A scene at the British Legation—Country places—The
hunt—Dancing Assembly—The theater—Washington at the play—The
players—The circus—Home of Jefferson.

VII. Jefferson Mobilizes 140

Hamilton’s advantage in organization—Jefferson’s raw material—His

problem—The scattered masses—The disfranchised—Jefferson plans
amalgamation of local democratic groups—Busy with his pen—Hancock
and Sam Adams—Charles Jarvis—Ben Austin—Abraham Bishop—Politics
in Connecticut—Gideon Granger—Ephraim Kirby—John Langdon—
Matthew Lyon—George Clinton—The Livingstons—Aaron Burr—
Jefferson approaches Burr—Tammany—Jeffersonian leaders in
Pennsylvania—John Francis Mercer—The Virginia machine—Willie Jones
of Halifax—Nathaniel Macon—Timothy Bloodworth—James Jackson of
Georgia—Charles Pinckney—Jefferson’s iron discipline—He works on the
masses—Aristocrats shocked at his associations—Uses the press—John
Fenno—His relations with Federalist leaders—Launching of Freneau’s
paper—Its national appeal—Portrait of Freneau.

VIII. The Gage of Battle 161

Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures—Its reception—Hamilton’s plan for

factories at Passaic Falls—Appears before New Jersey Legislature for
charter—Visits site to select locations—Pamphlet attacks on his Passaic
project—Admirers subscribe for Trumbull portrait of him—He watches
Freneau’s paper—Its early tone—‘Brutus’ attacks funding system—Attacks
on Freneau’s paper—‘Work of foreigners’—Of a ‘junto’—‘Sidney’ assails
Hamilton and his policies—Other assaults in Freneau’s paper—Fenno to the
defense—Demolished by Freneau—Scene at the Morris house—The rivals
visit a factory—Washington’s hope for reconciliation—Fenno regrets lack
of King—Fenno versus Freneau—Fenno again crushed—Hamilton’s rage—
His ‘T.L.’ letter—Freneau’s reply—Hamilton’s anonymous attacks on
Jefferson—Seeks affadavit from Boudinot—Washington appeals for peace
—Hamilton’s reply—Jefferson’s—Hamilton continues—Madison attacks
Hamilton’s letter—Fenno fears duels—Jefferson holds aloof—Attack
postpones his plans to retire—‘It is a Fact’—Collapse of St. Clair’s
expedition—Jeffersonians attack Knox—Bubble of speculation bursts—
Press denounces the gamblers—The Duer failure—Business paralyzed—
Charged to funding system—The Clinton-Jay contest—Bitter campaign of
1792—Federalist pessimism—Maryland fight—Hamilton involved—In
North Carolina—In Kentucky—In Virginia—Hamilton’s cultivation of
Virginia Federalists—Adams opposed—Hamilton to the rescue—Carroll
for Vice-President—McHenry’s letter—Hamilton orders Adams to his post
—Press battle over Adams—Results.

IX. Hamilton’s Black Winter 185

A remarkable winter—Jeffersonians aggressive—Hamilton’s methods

challenged—Madison demands report on finances—Hints of corruption—
Threats of Duer—Blackmail of Reynolds—Explanation asked of Hamilton
—Scene in Hamilton’s office—In his home—His confession concerning
Mrs. Reynolds—Jeffersonians attack finances—Fight planned at Jefferson’s
—Portrait of Giles—Freneau creates atmosphere for assault—First Giles
Resolutions—Giles’s speech—Hamilton’s indignation—His candle-lit
office—His prodigious achievement—His friends’ enthusiasm—Criticism
of his enemies—Technical violation of law—Giles resolution of
condemnation—The political strategy—The caucus at Hamilton’s—The
debate—The night session—Madison sums up—Ames replies—The
vindication—Reactions of the press—Toast at Providence Society dinner—
Jeffersonians analyze the vote—‘Parties to the cause’—Jefferson finds bank
directors and speculators did it—A conference at Port Royal—John
Taylor’s pamphlet—End of the fiscal phase.

X. Ça Ira 207

The French Revolution—Its appeal to American democrats—A wave of

enthusiasm—At Baltimore—At Boston—At Charleston—Political
significance of the Revolution to America—Americans divide on issue of
democracy—Federalists opposed—Their action in the Senate—
Denunciations of France—Federalist scorn for Louis’s weakness—
Jefferson’s attitude—His instructions to Ministers—Hamiltonians capitalize
execution of King—‘Cato’ revived in Philadelphia—‘Capet has lost his
Caput’—Sorrow at Providence—‘Cordelia’ urges black rose for mourning
—Tide turns against the French—Jefferson’s disgust—Society mourns—
Jefferson and Madison on right to execute—George III joins coalition
—‘Monarchy versus Democracy’—Masses swing back to France—Under
the Bingham windows—Bitterness against England—Hamilton’s alarm—
Summons Washington from Mount Vernon—Hamilton’s misrepresentation
of England’s action—He usurps Jefferson’s functions—Prepares questions
for Cabinet council—Cabinet struggle—Neutrality Proclamation—
Madison’s anger—Protests of the streets—Genêt—His ovations—Jefferson
and Madison pleased—Hamiltonians plan cool reception in Philadelphia—
Popular protests—False report on Count de Noailles—Hysterical reception
—Washington cold—Press attacks Neutrality—A French craze—Mobs
march—The provocations—Scenes in theaters—Federalists mock—
Democratic clubs—Their political significance—How Neutrality fared—
Genêt’s madness—English outrages—‘Red Coats’ toasted—‘Pacifist’—
Jefferson orders Madison to reply—Attacks on Hamilton—The ‘Little
Sarah’—Jefferson and Genêt—Reactions against French—Madison meets it
—Cabinet confers on Genêt—Jefferson demands his recall—Society pro-
English—Party bitterness—Jefferson’s social ostracism—He resigns—
Washington’s efforts to dissuade him—A near duel—A scare in Boston—
Yellow fever in Philadelphia—Hamilton stricken—Jefferson’s Report on
Commerce—A party document—He retires to Monticello.

XI. Hectic Days 240

Madison’s Commercial Resolutions—Their political purpose—English
party aroused—Hamilton speaks by proxy—Madison avows retaliation—
The debate—Ames’s unfortunate speech—Arraignment of English outrages
and defense—‘An English agent here’—Press attacks on Madison—
Jeffersonians call town meetings—At Boston—At New York—At
Philadelphia—At Portsmouth—Ames and Smith hung in effigy—Vogue of
Smith’s speech in London—Hammond an English Genêt—British Orders in
Council—Seizure of American vessels—Retaliatory measures—
Hamiltonians plead for calmness—A mercenary patriot—English Minister
insulted—Jeffersonian press fans the flames—French outrage in Charleston
—Clamor for war—Hamiltonians plead for negotiations—Prefer Hamilton
to negotiate—His intimacy with British Minister and Agent—‘No. 7’—
Protests against Hamilton—A Federalist caucus—Hamilton selected—Veer
to Jay—His personality and character—His fatal admission—Fight against
his confirmation—Popular protests—Hamiltonian caucus prepares Jay’s
instructions—He sails—The ‘Whiskey Boys’—Their grievances—
Insurrection—Political phase—Hamilton welcomes military measures—
Demanding a law’s repeal is urging its violation—Attacks on Democratic
Societies—Their position—That of the Jeffersonian press—Hamilton goes
to war—‘Why Hamilton?’—‘Where is Knox?’—Hamilton plans a political
effect—Cruelty to prisoners—The chariot wheels of the conqueror—East
versus the frontier—Elections of 1794—Ames’s close call—Livingston’s
triumph—Gives Ames the ‘hypo’—In North Carolina—Fitzsimons
defeated—Jefferson’s summer—Dr. Priestley arrives—Cobbett’s attack—
Life in Philadelphia—Theater mobs—Washington attacks Democratic
Societies—Madison meets and defeats approval in House—The bitter
debate—The press battle—Foreshadowings of Alien and Sedition Laws.

XII. The Marching Mobs 266

Hamilton resigns—Fenno’s tribute—Bache’s comment—Madison’s—

Hamilton given dinner in Philadelphia—In New York—Greenleaf on the
banquet—Jay’s negotiations—Hamilton’s indiscretion—Jay’s treaty—
Hamilton’s disgust—Jefferson’s—Why Hamilton would not reject—His
reservations—Senate debates in secret—Withholds treaty from publication
—Hamilton doubts wisdom—Senator Mason—He gives treaty to press—
Bache’s comments on the secrecy—Mob at Goldbury’s wharf—
Philadelphia mob on the 4th—Jay burned in effigy—Dinner on Frankfort
Creek—Protest meeting in State House yard—‘Kick it to hell’—Rival
dinners in New York—Letter to ‘Sir John Jay’—Boston mobs—Charleston
mob—Rutledge denounces treaty—Mass meeting at Richmond—
Portsmouth mass meeting—Dinner to Langdon—In Vermont—In
Connecticut—In Rhode Island—In Delaware—Jay burned in effigy in
Georgia—Street brawls—Tavern quarrels—Washington’s hesitation—
Cabot anxious—Ellsworth disgusted—Randolph scandal—Washington
signs treaty—Appeals to Washington to make public plea—Bache attacks
him—Hamilton writes ‘Camillus’—Trouble with editor—British outrages
continue—Jeffersonians use them—Jefferson asks Madison to reply to
Hamilton.

XIII. The Drama of ‘96 289

Senate rejects Rutledge—Jefferson’s comment—Edward Livingston—

Portrait of Albert Gallatin—The Livingston Resolution—A constitutional
question—The debate—Cobbett’s offensive action—Gallatin’s speech—
Sedgwick’s sneer at the people—Resolutions adopted—Hamilton’s concern
—His advice to Washington—Fight on appropriations for treaty—Disunion
threats—Jefferson and Madison on Washington’s action—‘Still in leading-
strings’—Organizing outside sentiment during debate—Insurance
companies enter politics—Banks also—Boston mass meeting—Otis’s sneer
at Gallatin—Abuse of Gallatin—Intimidation—Federalist alarm—Portrait
of Fisher Ames—His physical collapse—The invalid’s slow journey to the
capital—Warrior borne on a stretcher—His sensational speech—
Hamiltonians’ delight—‘In the hands of Pitt’—The vote—The effect—
Jefferson during treaty fight—His health—The Mazzei letter—Presidential
election—Patrick Henry sounded by Hamiltonians—They choose Pinckney
—Thomas Pinckney—Adams versus Jefferson—Scurrility—Adet’s letter—
Hamilton’s scheme against Adams—His dislike of Adams—Adams or
secession—The results—Hamiltonian distrust of Jefferson as Vice-
President—Jefferson cultivates Adams—The undelivered letter—
Jeffersonian press complimentary to Adams—Federalist displeasure.

XIV. An Incongruous Portrait Gallery 315

A treacherous Cabinet—Portrait of John Adams—Of Timothy Pickering—

Of Oliver Wolcott—Of James McHenry.

XV. Comedy and Heroics 339

The crisis with France—Portrait of Gouverneur Morris—Compared with

Monroe—Monroe’s difficulties in Paris—Federalist intrigue against him—
Ignored by Pickering—Deceived by Jay—French indignation over Jay’s
treaty—Monroe’s recall—Pinckney refused—Hamilton proposes a mission
—Suggests Madison as one—War party’s opposition—Hamilton prevails—
Adams’s objections to Jefferson for the mission—He confers with Jefferson
—Latter discourages sending Madison—Ames proposes Cabot—Adams
names Gerry—Thinks Hamilton ‘in a delirium’—Adams’s Message—
Harrison Gray Otis—Robert Goodloe Harper—Debate on Reply to the
Message—Livingston attacks English party—Harper’s war speech—It is
popular in London—British Minister conspicuous on floor—Taps Harper
on shoulder—Dayton’s compromise—War party attacks him—Lyon shocks
the formalists—Is attacked—His hot reply—‘Porcupine’ assails him—Mass
attack on Jefferson—His silence—Luther Martin attacks him—Is insulted at
Harvard—‘Porcupine’s’ abuse—Jefferson drops society—English party
jeers memory of Franklin—Hisses Paine—First toast to Women’s Rights—
Abuse of Swanwick—Of Mrs. M’Lean—Of Giles—Press comments on
Hamilton’s Reynolds pamphlet—Brilliant social season for Federalists—
Scene at Adams’s dinner table—Porcupine’s Gazette—William Cobbett—
Rival banquets—Discourtesy to Monroe—Dinner in his honor—He confers
with party leaders—Gallatin’s conclusions—Lyon-Griswold fight—Press
comments.

XVI. Hysterics 362

Hamiltonians bent on war—Hamilton runs the government—Bitterness of

debates—Harper’s wild war speech—Petitions against arming ships—
Adams’s ‘insane message’—Hamilton in the wings—Sprigg Resolution—
Harper’s blunder—X Y Z papers—Partisan abuse—Jefferson disheartened
—War clouds lower—Jefferson’s view of X Y Z—Madison’s—Monroe’s—
War hysteria—Adams greets young warriors of capital—A drunken mob—
Attack on Bache’s house—Adams alarmed—The ‘terror’ of Fast Day
—‘Hail Columbia’—Resented by Jeffersonians—Author rewarded—War
hawks beat tom-toms—Hamilton urges Washington to stir the country—