Title: Together in a Broken World
Author: Paul Michael Winters
Publisher: NineStar Press
Release Date: 05/21/2024
Heat Level: 2 – Fade to Black Sex
Pairing: Male/Male
Length: 93300
Genre: Science Fiction, post-apocalyptic/dystopia/near future, YA, MM romance, lit/genre fiction, virus warfare, action/adventure, western US, road trip, violence, guns, wilderness survival
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Description
Two boys fall in love in a deadly world, but it’s the secrets they keep that might kill them.
Seventeen-year-old Zach was visiting his uncle in a small Montana town when a mysterious illness ripped through the world. Most died, but those who survived the Infection became mindless killers, spreading the disease with a single scratch. Now, a year later, civilization lies in ruins, and Zach is the town’s sole survivor. Desperately lonely, he longs to return to his family in Seattle, but his fears hold him captive.
Eighteen-year-old Aiden is on a critical mission for the covert Scientific Collective, delivering vials whose contents could cure the Infection. Tortured by his boyfriend’s death, he welcomes the risks of the perilous journey. When a militia attacks Aiden, he flees to Zach’s town.
The boys escape together and soon form a bond as they comfort each other in this desolate and broken world. The farther they travel, the more their affection grows, as do the forces pulling them apart. But their greatest threats are the secrets they keep. Zach hides details of his uncle’s death, and Aiden conceals the vials’ sinister origins. In order to survive, they’ll have to confront the truths that could tear their love apart.
Together in a Broken World
Paul Michael Winters © 2024
All Rights Reserved
I walk into the bank and gesture for Aiden to follow me. It takes my eyes a moment to adjust from the brightness of the outside to the relative darkness in the lobby. I turn around to see the silhouette of Aiden coming through the door.
Am I stupid, bringing a total stranger into my little cocoon? The last year has been nothing but building it up and defending it. Letting someone else in makes me feel exposed. Maybe his good looks are clouding my judgment. Being cute isn’t a proper reason to trust someone. But maybe it’s an improper reason? As in, I’d like to do improper things to him.
Man, I’m lonely.
That whole lowering-the-pants thing—I saw that in a spy movie once. It may have been a little over the top. But it was fun.
Still, there’s something about Aiden. I’m pretty sure I can trust him. It was an experiment, when we were outside, and I lowered my gun. Made it look as if my guard was down. If he made a move, I was ready. But he didn’t. He passed the test. I saw that in a spy movie too.
It’s not absolute trust. I’m not totally naïve. My guard is still up, and I’m keeping the vault locked. Plus, there are things he isn’t telling me. Like where did he really come from, and why does he appear so unaffected by the Great Collapse? And what’s really in those vials? It was obvious how nervous he was when he showed them to me. Antibiotics, my ass. Something’s not adding up.
Then again, he’s not the only one with secrets. He doesn’t know what happened to my uncle. And I haven’t told him about the one working car I know about. There are some secrets best kept to myself.
The real reason I let him in? We each have something the other needs. And I’m not talking about trading supplies for some work around the town. I couldn’t care less about that. I’ve tried to leave this place so many times, and I don’t think I can do it alone. If he’s heading all the way to Seattle, that could be my ticket home. If I trust him enough, I’ll lead him to the car at the junkyard, and we can travel to Seattle together. I just need to find the best time to mention it.
Standing inside the bank lobby, Aiden looks around, eyes wide. He admires the steel sheets I welded onto the windows. “You did all this yourself?”
“Yep.”
“Impressive.”
“I’m handy with a welding torch.” I smile.
“I’m getting a picture of how you’ve survived this long. What do these do?” Aiden reaches for the cables that fire the guns.
“Don’t touch those!” I launch between him and the cables, and my arm strikes his chest. My first human contact in over a year, and it sends an unexpected little wave of electricity through me. My cheeks heat. “Maybe—just—don’t touch anything.”
“Sorry.” He backs away, hands raised.
“It’s okay. It’s just—I’m not used to having anybody in here, and this is all a little strange for me.” I rub the back of my neck. “Plus, I’ve got a few—um—defensive measures set up around town.”
“Got it.” He points at a chair left over from when this was a bank lobby. “Is this safe?”
“Yes. The chair is safe.” A weird laugh escapes my lips. “Please. Sit down. Hang on for a second. I’ll be right back.” I gesture for him to stay as I scurry to the vault. There was a time when I could handle myself around a cute guy. But now I’m awkward and indecisive. It turns out flirting is a skill like everything else. Use it or lose it.
I grab a few items from the vault I suspect Aiden will want. I need to make a good impression on him, so he’ll trust me. While I’m here, I also grab ingredients for the rabbit stew. With everything loaded onto a gray plastic cart, I shut and lock the massive vault door. It makes a satisfying booming sound as it closes, echoing through the bank. My stash is safely locked inside.
Back in the lobby, Aiden still sits in the chair, hands on his legs, looking around the room.
I haven’t had a moment to truly look at him. He’s not just cute. He’s gorgeous. Stunning, in fact. He has piercing, pale-blue eyes. Almost silver. They’re a striking contrast to his olive skin. His square jawline frames full lips and perfect teeth. His nose is just the right proportion with a cute little tip, enough to make him adorable.
God, I must look so terrible right now. Personal aesthetics haven’t been exactly on top of my mind recently. Let’s be honest. I’ve entirely let myself go. But what am I stressing about? I’ve got more important things to worry about, like convincing him to take me home. But the feeling in the pit of my stomach is hard to ignore. I’m going to have to find some time to get cleaned up.
“Brought you a few things.” I hand Aiden a stack of cotton wipes, some antiseptic, a bottle of water, and a granola bar. “I notice you have a bunch of scrapes. You should get those cleaned up so they don’t get infected. And you must be hungry and thirsty.”
“Man, thanks.” He beams at me, then chugs the entire bottle of water.
The way he looks at me makes me melt inside. How am I going to operate around this guy?
Aiden inspects the cart. “Wow, you’re pretty well stocked.”
“Yeah, I found most of this stuff around town.”
“Quite the looter, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.” I let out a forced laugh.
The whole looting experience was horrific, to be honest. After my uncle died, I stayed locked in his home for as long as I could. But after a few weeks, my dwindling food supply forced me to venture out and start scavenging. I could tell the instant I went into a home if the owners had skipped town or stayed and hunkered down. It was the smell. I don’t like to think about it.
Looters had already done a number on the town. They took every car with keys and siphoned the fuel from the rest. Picked every shop clean. Luckily, most of the houses were still untouched. Probably because of all the corpses. And the sick ones.
Going into each house was terrifying. Some were empty or only had dead people. In a few, one sick person remained, but never more than one. Survival of the fittest, I guess. They don’t seem to have qualms about killing each other. When I found a house like that, I’d open the door and run to the bank. They would eventually find their way out and wander into the forest. That sick man last night may very well have been one of the ones I set free, surviving in the forest somehow.
Once the houses were empty of people, I stripped them of everything useful and carted it all back to the vault. It turned out to be a good idea. Over the next month, looters took care of anything I left behind. Every time I saw somebody stroll into town, I’d go hide in the vault. That was all before I had the Wilsons and my armor-plated bank lobby. Now, I don’t put up with that crap.
With Aiden occupied, I’m free to start cooking. “Hey—um—I’m going to be making some rabbit stew. Let me know if you need anything else.” A weird laugh escapes my lips. Geez, I’m like a giggling schoolgirl.
“Will do,” Aiden says flatly, not noticing my awkwardness or just ignoring it.
He cleans up the scrapes on his arms and face while I finish skinning the second rabbit. The whole while, I keep stealing glances at him, half to keep my eye on him and half because I can’t help myself.
With the rabbit cleaned and deboned, I cut it into chunks. The teller’s desk is my kitchen. The long marble slab makes an excellent surface for prepping food. A stock of dishes, pots and pans, spices, and cooking supplies are all lined up along it.
Aiden’s finished tending to his wounds, and now he’s hovering, hands in pockets, watching what I’m doing. Those pale-blue eyes pierce into me. I’m so distracted I nearly cut my finger off.
“Hey, if you want something to do, you could get a fire started.” I point over to the pile of firewood and wood stove set up behind the teller’s desk, next to my bed.
“Sure. I can do that.”
The cast-iron stove has a flat surface on the top. It provides heat and a space to cook. A pipe extends up to the ceiling to vent smoke. What fun that was getting the stove all the way to the bank, taking me hours to drag it from a nearby house.
I grab a stack of bound twenties off the cart and throw it to Aiden. “Here. For kindling.”
It gets a laugh out of him, so it was worth every penny. Every penny. See what I did there? Yep, my mind tells jokes to itself. I’ve been alone for too long.
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Paul is a lifelong creative writer whose life is filled with queer joy. His passion is to spread that joy through storytelling, writing books where you might not typically see queer characters. He lives in the Pacific Northwest with his husband and two tuxedo kitties and might have a slight addiction to reading gay romance. But it’s not a problem. He could stop any time he wants. Honestly.
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