Blame It On Bacchus

By AMOWAT

Vesta, goddess of the hearth, was taking her leisure in her garden when she was startled from her reverie. 

"Lady Vesta!" cried the cheerful voice of her uninvited visitor. "So good to find you here!" 

The portly god who greeted her was Bacchus, god of wine. Vesta sighed and inwardly cringed. In truth, she would have preferred a visit from any other god, even Vulcan, who at least remained civil when he kept his temper in check. Vesta supposed Bacchus may have been tolerable when sober but it was a hypothesis that was impossible to test! 

Still, she was the goddess of the hearth after all. She couldn't really bring herself to be a poor hostess, even to an unwelcomed guest. 

"Greetings Bacchus, Son of Jupiter. May I offer you refreshment?" 

"Refreshment? Refreshment, she says! That is precisely the matter which brings me to your abode!" the jovial god said to her breasts. "I knew you were the one deity in all of Olympus who would best appreciate my feat! Refreshment is the first thing to jump to her able mind and precisely the reason for my visit. Yes--refreshment indeed! Ha-ha!"

Blackout

By Craig Bacardi

Madison emerged from the abandoned house into the sunlight. She was wearing a loose hoodie several sizes larger than hersmall frame and a pair of white Capri pants. She squinted against the glare ofthe southern sun as she looked in both directions down the street to see ifthere was anyone within sighting distance. As usual, the street was deserted.

This was the sixteenth day since shewoke up in her bed and found the whole house empty. Her parents and her little brother were gone. So was everyone else it appeared. She tried to call herfriends, but the phone was dead. She also tried to start her dad's car, even though she wasn't allowed to drive by herself yet, but the car wouldn't even make a noise.

Since that day, she spent most ofher time waiting for someone to find her. Whatever happened, people wouldrealize she was missing and they would come back for her. She just had to wait. But as the days went by, the food in her parents' house ran out and she had to raid the neighbors' houses to find something to eat. Now, she had to walk three houses down the street to eat breakfast. She didn't know who lived there, but she hoped they wouldn't be mad at her for breaking in. She was hungry. 

Madison went around to the backyard and found a big rock. She propped open the screen door and used the rock to break the glass to gain entry into the house. First she made her way into the kitchen and checked what was in the cabinets. She found some corn flakes and sat down at the dining table, grabbing handfuls ofit at a time and stuffing them into her mouth. When she was full she stood upand went to look for something to drink. She opened the fridge and looked around, breathing through her mouth to avoid the bad smell. She quickly took out all the bottles and arranged them on the table. There was some orange juice, which she liked, but she knew it would be spoiled, so she put it aside.The rest of the drinks included a bottle of ginger ale, a half bottle of orange pop, a few bottles of beer and another bottle of some kind of alcohol. 

She put the alcohol aside next to the orange juice. She couldn't drink that. What if her parents came back for her and they found her drunk? She would be in a load of trouble.

She had heard a rumor in school, before everyone disappeared, that a few of the popular girls got drunk at asleep-over and some of them got so drunk they threw up afterwards. Why would anyone do that? Everyone knew alcohol was unhealthy and it tasted bad too. She had tried it once, when her uncle offered her a sip of champagne at her cousin's wedding.

But then why did people still drink it? It didn't make sense.

She opened the orange pop and drank. As she was sipping the drink, she began to think that maybe nobody was coming back. Maybe they did forget her or maybe they were all dead. Maybe she was the only person left alive and the whole planet was hers. Maybe she could do whatever she wanted!

Other than the first day after everyone disappeared, when she walked over to a few of her friends' houses to check if they were there, she never really left her street. She mostly stayed in her own room and only ventured out to eat, because she didn't want to be absent when someone came looking for her. Whenever she broke into a new house, she looked around to see if there were any interesting books she could read, or anything else she could find a use for, but she always carried them back to her parents' house where she spent the majority of her time. However, as the realization that no one was coming back dawned on her, she decided to venture out more often and explore. There was no point to sticking around and waiting forever. 

There was no point to anything. For the first time in sixteen days, she cried.

The next day, Madison decided to start doing things differently. She left a note on her front door telling her parents that she was alive and she will come back to the house every Sunday, in case they came back for her. The first thing she did was go shopping for clothes she wasn't allowed to wear before, either because they were too revealing or they were too expensive. Then she went to a cosmetics store and stocked up on all kinds of makeup. When she had enough clothes and makeup to last her for a long while, she found a clothing store that had a large mirror on one of the walls and she entertained herself by parading in front of the mirror in the outfits she picked up. In the evening, she did not go back to her parents' house but instead found a house nearby and slept there.

***

In another part of the city, another girl was walking through the dark streets towards the downtown area. That's where she liked to stay and she preferred to do things at night, instead of during theday. It fit her better.

Once she arrived downtown, she came to a halt in the middle of an intersection. She brushed a lock of black hairout of her eye and started reading the signs above the various stores, restaurants and bars until one caught her eye. Blackout. Just what she needed. She smiled to herself and walked to the entrance. Inside the bar, she took off her long overcoat and placed it on the back of a chair and walked behind the bar to see what she would drink. Sometimes she liked to mix things up, but vodka was her favorite. She found a bottle of vodka, removed the cap and took a swig, enjoying the warm feeling as it spread through her body.

It has been sixteen days since she woke up in a strange house, not knowing where she was or even who she was. She searched through the house, knowing that if that was where she lived therewould be photos of her or something else to indicate who she was. But it turned out to be the house of a family she didn't recognize and there were no picturesof her or anything that gave her a clue about her identity. At first she was fine. She didn't miss anyone - since she didn't even remember anyone. The onlything that bothered her was that she was bored. There was no electricity, whichmeant no TV, no Internet, no music.

But after more than two weeks of walking through empty streets, she felt on the verge of going insane. She was lonely. She wanted to talk to someone; she wanted to be around other people andhang out. However, it looked like there were no other people. It was only her. And she didn't even know who she was.

So, since she had nothing better to do, and because it made her forget, she decided to get drunk - really drunk. It was actually something she wanted to do for a few days, but something was holding her back. Now she was going to do it. Nothing could stop her.

She lifted the bottle to her mouthand drank continuously until she could take no more. She gasped and took a few deep breaths to steady herself. Her heart was racing. She looked at the bottleand found that it was almost half empty.

The girl knew she could still change her mind - half a bottle would give her a good buzz, but she would still be in full control. Another drink like the one she just had and she would be hammered. More than one and she would probably black out. Did she really want to do this?

She decided that she did. Before she could change her mind she brought the bottle to her lips again and started drinking. She squeezed her eyes shut and ignored the burning in her throat,trying to drink as much as she was physically able. She stopped only when the bottle was empty and shivered. She was starting to feel it. She wasn't drunk yet, not so quickly, but she felt her skin get a little numb and she feltlight-headed. It was a good feeling.

She got up and walked behind the bar again and grabbed another bottle of vodka. It was going down so well, she was afraid to try anything else that might be harder to drink. She walked back to her chair, but she did not sit down. She noticed a full length mirror on theside of the column in the middle of the room and walked to it and looked atherself. She was dressed in black; a long black skirt and a tight black camisole. She knew she was pretty on the outside, but she wasn't so sure aboutthe inside. Still looking at herself in the mirror, she removed the cap from the bottle and took another swig of vodka. It was harder to drink now, but that just made her more determined to force as much alcohol down her throat as she could. Feeling a sudden wave of dizziness, she put a hand against the column to steady herself and looked her re°ection in the eye.

„Drink, you stupid bitch,“ she said with contempt.

She grabbed the bottle with both hands and drank again. As she was gulping down the vodka, she staggered backwards but she did not allow herself to stop drinking. She was determined to drink as much as she could. When she finished drinking she was so drunk she was swaying back and forth. She felt a passing urge to throw up, but she did her best to ignore it. She stumbled to the bar and put the vodka bottle on the counter. She was vaguely aware that the bottle was about two-thirds empty. She tried to go back to the mirror to look at herself, but she stumbled off to the side and fell onto a table. The world kept tilting from side to side and she was really dizzy. She tried to stand up, but she could barely keep her balance, so she let herself collapse onto the floor. As she was sitting on the ground, she put her arms on the floor behind her and arched her back. She was feeling really good. The vodka was making her drunker every second and she could not even stand up. She wanted to drink more, but the bar seemed a world away, so she contented herself with sitting on the floor and swaying back and forth with a satisfied smile on her face. That was the last thing she remembered...

***

Madison woke up and changed from her pajamas into a red, pleated miniskirt and a pink tank top and went downstairs to look for something to eat. The fridge was almost empty except for several bottles of alcoholic drinks, but she managed to find a few bags of potato chips in the pantry and she sat down to  have breakfast. As she stuffed the chips into her mouth, she kept glancing at the fridge, unable to stop thinking about its contents. When she finished the first bag, she stood up and walked back to it and peered inside. Like she always did, she lined up the bottles on the kitchen table. There were four bottles of beer, a full bottle of whiskey and a bottle of tequila, which was almost empty. 

She was feeling excited and apprehensive at the same time. Getting caught was unlikely, but she never had more than a sip of alcohol at a time and she had no idea what it felt like to be drunk or how much she would have to drink to getdrunk. She was scared of the unknown, but at the same time she knew that the only way to get rid of the nagging urge to find out what it feels like is to actually try it - and the sooner she did it the better. 

Having made up her mind, Madison looked around the kitchen for a bag and she carried all the bottles to the store with the large mirror where she kept most of her clothes. There were too many outfits she liked to be able to carry them with her to whatever house she slept in, so she figured she would keep them all in her favorite store. She intended to return there every day.

Madison unloaded the contents of the bag onto the floor and threw her pajamas and the clothes she wore the previous day into a pile, next to the much bigger pile of clean clothes she had yet towear for a whole day. She looked at herself in the mirror, satisfied. She wassure all the guys from her school would be eager to ask her out, if they ever saw her dressed like that.

She liked to wear miniskirts, because all the popular girls wore them to school, but her parents wouldn't allow her to buy one. Now there was no one who could prevent her from doing whatever she wanted. She grabbed a bottle of beer and tried to twist off the cap with her hands, but she couldn't do it. She realized she forgot to look for an opener back at the house. She didn't want to cut her hand as she was trying to force the cap off, so she decided to drink something else. She would leave the beer for another day, when she had something to open it with. It was going to be either tequila or whiskey. The tequila was almost empty and Madison wasn't sure if it would be enough to get her drunk. She had no idea how much she would need to drink, but she elected to go with the full bottle of whiskey, just to be sure. She opened the bottle and took a careful sip.

„Wow,“ she gasped. It was strong. She knew it was going to be hard to drink all that whiskey, but she was going to drink it anyways. She was getting excited. She noticed the burning sensation in her throat and her stomach, but she didn't think she was drunk. It couldn't be that easy! She noted that the label on the bottle said 40% alcohol by volume and1.14 L. If that wasn't enough she would drink the tequila, too.

She tried to drink again, straight from the bottle. This time she hoped to drink a lot, but after a few mouthfuls she had to stop. She looked at the bottle and saw that barely anything was missing from it. The burning sensation in her stomach was amplified, but shestill did not feel drunk. She had to drink more. On her third try, she managed to drink for longer and she was happy to find that the bottle no longer lookedfull. It was starting to be easier to swallow the alcohol. With renewed confidence, she drank again.

When she stopped, she finally understood why people drink. The alcohol tasted bad, but after a while it got better and she was already feeling very happy and relaxed. She tried not to think about what would happen if someone discovered her here, drinking. She wasn't old enough to drink and wouldn't be for several years, but she liked it and she was going to start drinking regularly. It was totally worth it! 

She lifted to bottle again to check how much was left. It was just over half full and Madison wondered if she was drunk yet, or not. She knew the alcohol was making her happier, but she wasn't dizzy at all. Weren't drunk people supposed to be dizzy?

Madison decided to have another drink and then wait and see what happened. She wanted to get drunk from this drink, so she tried to drink as much as she could without stopping. It was more difficult to drink than before because she was starting to be full, but the taste wasn't as bad. 

When she finished, the bottle was still nearly half full, but she didn't think she could drink more until she waited a few minutes. She had to admit to herself that she was really enjoying this whole experience. Why was it forbidden for young girls to drink?

She stood up and walked outside to pee. As she walked she had a feeling that she wasn't walking normally, but she couldn't tell for sure. She felt like she was floating and she had a comforting warm sensation throughout her body. Maybe she was drunk now, she thought with satisfaction. As she tried to crouch down to pee, she fell over onto her butt and ended up lying on her back with her panties pulled down to her knees and her feet up in the air. For a split second she was too surprised to react, but then she burst out laughing. Now she knew she was drunk.

As she was peeing, she had to support herself with both hands so she wouldn't fall over again. That would have been messy. Luckily, she managed to keep herself from losing her balance again. She was starting to feel really drunk!

„Oh God,“ she said to no one in particular, giggling. „I'm totally wasted.“

She rolled over onto her hands and knees and stood up. She pulled up her skirt and her panties, but she had to support herself against the wall with one hand in order to stay on her feet. Even as she steadied herself against the wall, she was stumbling back and forth as she was trying to arrange her clothes with her free hand.

„Wow,“ she said as she leaned with her back against the wall. She felt so good, but so dreamy at the same time. It was a bit unsettling - she felt on the verge of losing control. She wanted to close her eyes, but as soon as she did, she lost her balance, lurched to the side and after a few stumbling steps, she ended up rolling over onto the ground. She knew she must have looked silly, but she loved the feeling of being drunk.

The rest of her day was a blur. She remembered stumbling back into the clothing store and arriving in front of thelarge mirror. When she saw her reflection, she was vaguely aware that she had pulled her skirt up too far and her panties were showing. She also remembered collapsing onto the floor and sitting there, too dizzy to stand up again. She couldn't recall what happened after that.

***

The other girl was awakened by a splitting headache. She opened her eyes and closed them immediately. The sunlight shiningin through the windows made her eyes hurt. Every inch of her body was in pain and she couldn't think straight. She just wanted to die.

A few minutes later she took a deep breath and rolled over onto her back. She opened her eyes again and looked up at the ceiling. She remembered where she was and why she was hurting so bad.She got drunk and fell asleep on the cold floor, wearing nothing but her skirt and camisole. She shivered and sat up, trying to ignore the disgusting taste in her mouth. Her hair was wet and stinky. Looking back to where she slept, she noticed a puddle of vomit, some of which was now stuck to her hair. She felt like vomiting again, her head hurt and she was miserable. Yet, she could not convince herself that getting drunk was a bad idea. She stood up and walked to the chair where she hung her coat the day before, took the coat and walked outside into the sunlight. She was thirsty, she felt sticky from sweat and from the vomit coating her hair, and her head hurt so bad she could barely think straight. She walked to the closest place where she could wash, a park only a block away that had a little fountain surrounded by a small pool. Her stomach was empty and she was hungry, but the mere thought of food made her nauseous.

As soon as she reached the park, she made her way to the fountain. The fountain wasn't working, but the water was clean. Without bothering to look around to make sure she was alone, she started to remove her clothes. She draped her coat on a bench, then she removed her topand her bra placing them carefully on the bench. She then unbuttoned her skirt and let it fall onto the ground. Stepping to the side, she reached down for it and threw it onto the bench, next to her other clothes. Finally, she pulled down her thong, walked back to the fountain and stepped into the pool. It was cold but it felt good against her skin. She swept aside the coins that people threw into the pool to make a spot where she could sit and lowered herself intothe water. She realized that she forgot to bring soap or a towel, but for the moment she worried only about getting rid of that sticky feeling.

After washing herself as thoroughly as she could, she stepped out onto the concrete surrounding the fountain and shivered. It was midday and as she stood in the sunlight, her skin dried quickly and she felt better. She grabbed her clothes from the bench, except for the coat, and washed them in the pool. She put on her coat, left her other clothes to dry on the bench and walked out of the park. An hour later she was back with soap, shampoo, a towel, a razor, a toothbrush and toothpaste, newclothes and a few bottles of spring water to drink and she took another, longer bath in the small pool.

When she got out of the water, she felt a lot better. Her headache was the only thing she could not get rid of, but otherwise she felt almost normal. She put on her new clothes; a light blue, knee-length skirt over a white thong, and a white halter top, which she decided to wear without a bra. She bundled up her belongings in her long coat andwalked back to the bar. The place smelt bad, so she decided to prop the front door open and mop up the floor. When everything was up to her standards, she headed out again to find a mattress and drag it back to the bar, so she would have something to sleep on. By late evening, she had all the things she needed to live there. She ate cereals, without milk, and drank some water for dinner and then she collapsed onto the mattress and fell asleep within minutes.

***

Madison woke up the next morning with a similar headache. She rubbed her eyes and tried her best to ignore her upset stomach. Physically, she was feeling terrible, but thinking back to the previous day she felt a strange sense of self-satisfaction - even pride. She removed her miniskirt and tank top and picked a lot more conservative outfit to wear; a pair of jeans and a tight T-shirt. She looked herself in the mirror and realized what a mess she was; her blonde hair looked like a rat's nest and her eyes were bloodshot. After finding out what it was like to be drunk the previous day, now she was finding out what it was like to be hungover. 

She quickly ran outside and threw up onto the pavement. Afterwards, she still felt sick, but having emptied her stomach she was starting to feel a little bit better. She rinsed her mouth with some water, then drank a few sips and went back inside. Her mind was racing; she wanted to get drunk again. Right then and there. Madison ran to where she left the alcohol and opened the bottle of tequila. As soon as she caught the scent of the alcohol, her body reacted violently and she almost threw up again.

„Okay,“ she breathed. „Maybe later.“

She needed to settle her stomach first. She went outside again and started to walk back in the direction of the house where she spent the previous night. It was starting to be dark again, but having slept through most of the day, she felt as if it was morning.

After searching a few houses, she found a box of crackers and eating a few made her feel less queasy. Since she was already in a residential area, she decided to collect as much alcohol as she could carry back to the store. She found a large sports bag and carried it from house to house, filling it with the strongest drinks she could find. She then proceeded to drag the heavy bag all the way back to the store. Madison was breathing heavily by the time she arrived and she felt exhausted. She has had very little to eat and she was still weak from drinking too much and then throwing up earlier. It was night time, so she walked back the nearest house  soon as she found a bed she collapsed onto it and fell asleep within minutes.

The next morning, Madison woke up feeling much better. She was starving, so the first thing she did was eat a big breakfast. When she was full, she left the house and headed back to the store to get changed. Her mood was much better and her choice of outfit reflected it. She picked a tiny tan miniskirt and a matching crop top. She spent some time to clean herself, brush her hair, put on some makeup, and then changed into her new outfit.

She couldn't resist the temptation anymore and she found herself standing over the sports bag she used to transport the alcohol. She unzipped it and started to remove the bottles and arrange them on the floor. She still had the little bit of tequila and the four bottles of beer from before and the left-over whiskey, which were already sitting next to the wall. Aside from those, she counted twelve bottles ofassorted liquors, including more whiskey and tequila, some rum, vodka, brandy and one bottle of coffee liqueur. 

By the time Madison finished examining the bottles, she could hardly contain herself. Having only been drunk once, she wasn't sure if her second time would feel the same or if it would be different, but she already knew that she wanted to end up falling down drunk again. Justthinking about that feeling of lightness and happiness made her heart beat faster.

She decided to try each type of alcohol she had. She started with the same bottle of whiskey she drank the day before. Madison removed the cap and quickly lifted the bottle to her mouth and started swallowing its contents. When she stopped, she could hardly breathe and she coughed until tears formed in her eyes. 

Once she stopped, she noticed the warm feeling in her stomach and smiled. She closed the bottle and put it back on the ground. Only one quarter of the whiskey remained in the bottle. After a few seconds, she felt ready for more, so she reached for the next drink--spiced rum. Madison sat back on her heels, twisted the cap off the bottle and took a careful sip. She never had rum before and she didn't want to choke again, trying to drink it too fast. It tasted different than whiskey, but she couldn't decide which one was better. There was only one way to find out. She tried drinking a larger amount and kept swallowing until she was forced to stop by another fit of coughing. She felt slightly annoyed by her inability to keep drinking for a long time, but when she noticed how much she just drank, she was taken aback. She drank almost half the bottle!

She cleared her throat and reached for the next bottle, already starting to feel a little bit odd. She wasn't drunk yet, but it was definitely coming – she could feel it. She turned the bottle in her hand to read the label and then opened it. She licked her lips and took several long draughts of brandy, hardly feeling the taste. When she removed the bottle from her lips, she shuddered and then emitted a silent burp. She was starting to feel full, but she wanted to try one more drink. As she stood up she staggered a few steps to the side, feeling as if her whole body was starting to become heavy. 

Madison walked over to the nearly empty bottle of tequila and sat heavily on the floor. There was about half a cup of tequila in it, which she drained in a few gulps and then put the empty bottle back on the floor.

The alcohol made it difficult forher to think straight, but Madison wanted to see what she looked like when she was drunk. Bracing herself against the wall, she managed to stand up. The mirror was across the room and her vision was starting to become blurred, so she could barely see herself from that distance. She was really feeling the effect of the drinks and for a moment she just leaned against the wall and enjoyed the sensation. She smiled and, suddenly remembering what she wanted to do, she pushed herself away from the wall and started to stumble towards the mirror. 

When she made it close enough to see herself, she was shocked by how drunk she looked. As she stood facing her reflection, she noticed that she was swaying from side to side. After managing to stay upright for a few seconds,she started to fall forward towards the mirror and when she tried to stopherself from falling forwards she ended up rolling onto her back. She crawled to the mirror to get a close look at herself and sat up.

„You'rr really dun-... drunk now,“ she told her reflection and leaned forward to kiss herself on the lips. She giggled and then tried to stand up, but as soon as she lifted her hands off the ground, she kept falling back down. Apparently, she needed all four limbs on the floor to balance herself. She looked back at the mirror and saw a young girl with pretty blond hair and a thin, but nicely toned body. The miniskirt she was wearing rode up on her back and exposed her white thong and her roundbutt. She didn't care!

Madison felt as though the whole world was being tilted from one direction to the other. She lied down on her stomach, spread out her arms and legs and closed her eyes. She loved to be drunk, but she was so tired! She wanted to drink more alcohol, but the bottles were too far and she didn't want to crawl all the way there. Maybe when she woke up...

Chapter III - House-Hopping

The morning after getting drunk for the second time, Madison woke up with a splitting headache and an upset stomach. Despite all this, she felt happy and decided she would get drunk again that evening.

First, she changed into a clean outfit and headed out to get something to eat and drink. She was extremely thirsty. She found a house she has not yet broken into and ate some cereals, which she followed by drinking several bottles of water. After that she feltbetter and she spent the next few hours looking for clothing stores and bringing back any outfits she liked and adding them to her clothing pile. She tried to keep busy so that she could take her mind away from drinking, but she knew eventually she would not be able to resist anymore. 

By early afternoon, Madison could not resist the call of the bottle any longer. She decided to get drunk and she had an idea she wanted to try. She put on a pink thong and bra, ared miniskirt and a short grey tank top with a red pattern on it. She walked to a street she has not been to before and entered the first house. With her heartbeating quickly, she rummaged through the house, looking for some alcohol. She found several bottles, including a bottle of vodka which she picked to start with. She poured herself as much as she could fit into a tall glass and gulped it all down. The familiar warmth spread through her body.

Madison went out onto the street and headed to the next house, taking the empty glass with her. Her plan was to drink one full glass of alcohol in each house and see how far down the street she could make it. She was excited by the idea. Even though she had only been drunk twice, she loved to do it and she wanted to test her own limits. 

In the second house, she filled her glass to the rim with tequila and drank it all in less than a minute. By the time she left the house she was starting to feel amild buzz. She smiled to herself and moved on to the next house. It took her along time to find any alcohol there, but after nearly ten minutes of searching, Madison finally found a stash of bottles in the basement. She decided to go with a glass of brandy and quickly downed it. 

Before the drink, her buzz was starting to fade due to the long time it took her to find alcohol, but as she made her way to the fourth house, her buzz was returning and she could feel the onset of drunkenness. She quickened her pace and proceeded to break the window on the back door with a baseball bat she found in the backyard. She then reached in with one hand, careful not to cut herself on the sharp edges, unlocked the door from the inside and stepped into the house. 

The fridge had almost nothing but alcohol in it and she was relieved that she wouldn't have tospend a lot of time looking for something to drink. She grabbed a random bottle, which happened to be gin, and filled her glass. Her thoughts were starting to become foggy and she made a mental effort to count how many drinks she had drank so far. This would be the fourth, she decided, still sober enough to keep track, but the fast drinking was starting to have a noticeable effect. She sat down at the dining table to drink, enjoying the feeling of the alcohol warming her from the inside.

Soon, her glass was empty and Madison stood up to go to the next house. She was starting to be wobbly and she carefully navigated around the broken glass outside the back door and down thesteps of the deck into the backyard. As she leaned down to pick up the baseball bat, she stumbled a few steps to the side. She wondered what people would have thought if they saw her like this, breaking into the houses of complete strangers to steal alcohol. She smiled at the thought. Even the popular girls wouldn't dare to do something like this. 

Wanting to drink more, Madison walked to the next house, staggering slightly. She managed to get inside, after shattering the glass with a slightly more powerful blow than she intended. There was no alcohol in the fridge but she found a liquor cabinet in the living room and examined its contents, leaning against it to steady herself. Without bothering to read what was written on the bottles she grabbed the first one that was nearly full and poured herself another drink, splashing some of it on the carpet. 

She quickly drank a few sips and went to look for a mirror so she could see herself. It was always funny to see what she looked like when she was drunk and she knew she was wasted now. With one hand on the wall, she walked to the bathroom and looked into the mirror over the sink. Her blonde hair was disheveled and she was swaying back and forth. Anyone who saw her would immediately know she was drunk. 

Strangely, she felt proud of that. 

She smiled at the mirror and gave her reflection a thumbs up, then she drank the rest ofher booze. Suddenly aware of the urge to pee, Madison stumbled to the toilet and sat down. By the time she finished and stood up, the alcohol was in full effect. She staggered out of the bathroom and tried to remember if she had a drink yet in this house or not. After some thinking, she remembered watching herself in the mirror and she was about the head to the next house when she realized she had left her glass in the bathroom. She stumbled back and got it.

By now, Madison felt really dizzy and as she tried to cross the lawn to the next house, she stumbled and fell down onto the grass. Giggling at her own clumsiness, she rolled over onto her back and squinted up at the sun. It was so much fun to be drunk and she wanted to drink more. Suddenly aware that she was hot, she decided to strip down to her bra and panties. Leaving her skirt and tank top on the grass, she stood up. 

As she stood there swaying and barely managing to keep her balance, she realized that her glass was no longer in her hand. After blinking at her empty hand, she looked around and located the glass next to her clothes. As she bent down to pick it up, her alcohol-soaked brain could not cope with her sudden movement and she tumbled to the ground.

„Okay,“ she muttered to herself as she climbed back onto her hands and knees, trying to gather her strength tostand up again. With the glass in one hand, she stood up and took a few stumbling steps towards the next house before collapsing into a heap again. She found this turn of events hilarious and she lay face down in the grass laughingat her inability to take more than a few steps without falling over. Madison decided to crawl the rest of the distance across the lawn to the back porch.There, she stood up by holding onto the railing and made it up the steps to the screen door. Noticing that it was unlocked, she opened the door and went inside. 

Swaying she took in her surroundings and headed towards the fridge, but did not find any alcohol. Moving into the living room, she found a bottle of whiskey and poured herself a full glass, spilling whiskey all over the hardwood floor. She gulped down the contents of the glass and then absentmindedly poured herself another drink. 

Everything that happened after that was only a dreamlike memory for Madison. She remembered putting down her empty glass on the coffeetable. She also remembered tripping on the last step as she climbed down theporch and falling into the grass. She recalled standing in the middle of theyard in her thong and bra, hugging the trunk of a tree to keep herself on her feet. The last thing she could recall was lying on the ground next to a flowerbed and puking all over one of the white flowers.

The End.

Starting Over

By Craig Bacardi

I still had no idea what happened. I have not seen a soul since I woke up. At first, I have been walking around the city inpanic, shouting, looking for any survivors. No success. Then I stopped shouting and just spent my days walking around the empty streets, taking whatever Ineeded from the vacant stores - food, clothes, a gun to protect myself. All thepeople were gone. There were cars abandoned in the middle of the street, as ifeveryone had just disappeared suddenly, without warning.

On the twelfth day, I saw a girl. She was the first living person I encountered, but when I  called to her, she ran away and hid. I lookedfor her for an hour yelling at her to show herself, that she need not be scaredof me, but she didn't answer and she remained out of sight. Eventually I gaveup and I kept going. It must have been a few hours later when I noticed thatshe was following me from a distance. I yelled to her again, but her responsewas to disappear again. I did not even bother looking for her; it would have been pointless.

When night fell, I walked back to myshelter inside a shopping mall and made a small campfire from some furniture I broke up with a sledgehammer I took from a hardware store. As I sat therewrapped in a blanket, I assessed my options. There was no electricity anywhere,as far as I could tell, and no cars would start up, so I had to walkeverywhere. The nights kept getting colder and eventually I planned to movesouth where it would be warmer. But my priority was getting some sleep.

I was awakened by the cold. It happened almost every night when the fire burned out. I fumbled for my lighter and reignited what was left of the wood and put some fresh wood on top of it. Without the light of the fire, it was pitch dark inside at night. As soon as the wood caught fire I froze - there was a figure huddled on the other side ofthe campfire. I relaxed when I noticed it was the girl I saw earlier and shewas sleeping. I recognized her long dark hair, knowing that it was unlikely to be someone else. She was huddled up in a sleeping bag she must have found somewhere within.

I couldn't go back to sleep. For one, I didn't want to be asleep when the girl woke up, in case she would take off again or worse. I was paranoidand distrustful, not knowing what to expect from strangers in a situation likethis. For all I knew we were the only two people left alive. I wondered whatmotivated her to sleep next to my campfire, especially after she ran away from me twice before. Loneliness? Or did she feel safer with a stranger than she did alone?

As I waited for the morning to arrive and for the girl to wake up, I started to feel the urge to take a leakand the more I waited the worse it got. I finally I couldn't take it anymore, so I stood up quietly and walked down the hallway.

The restrooms were too dark without the lights and I decided to head for one of the exits. Once back inside, assoon as I rounded the corner onto the hallway where I had my campsite I noticed that the girl was gone. I stopped and looked around, but saw nothing. I wasgetting frustrated with her. She could have been the only other person aliveand she was playing hide and seek. I walked back to the campfire without a wordand started packing my stuff. I decided to start heading south and I wasn't going to wait around for this girl to make up her mind whether she wanted to come along with me or not. I didn't have time for stupid games, especially withwinter only a few weeks away. I didn't feel like walking around in foot deep snow.

I picked up my backpack and headed to the grocery store. I looked back once to check if the girl was anywhere insight, but I didn't see her. I grabbed a shopping cart, out of habit, and started walking back and forth in each aisle taking mostly canned food. Most perishables were spoiled and so was everything that was in the freezers and the refrigerators, which stopped working when the power was cut off. The whole place stank. I pushed the cart to the cash registers and unloaded everythinginto my backpack.

I suddenly heard footsteps behind meand turned just in time to see the girl emerge from one of the aisles. Shepaused when she saw me and we locked eyes. I didn't move or say anything and Iwatched as she walked to the stand in front of one of the cash registers andgrabbed a few packs of chewing gum and stuffed them into her pockets.

„I'm going south. You can come withme or you can stay here,“ I said and then waited for her to answer.

„I will go with you,“ she said quietly.

I examined her. She was young, inher early twenties by my reckoning and she was very pretty. She wore a long overcoat with two big pockets, but she had no backpack on her.

„Do you have any belongings?“ I asked her.

She shook her head. „No.“

„We should go shopping then,“ I offered. „Do you have any money?“

„What?“ She was taken aback. Like me, she was getting used to just taking whatever she wanted.

„I was joking,“ I slung my backpack over one shoulder. „Let's go.“

Without waiting for a response I took off back into the mall in the direction of the store I saw which sold baggage. She was following a few steps behind and I slowed down so she could catch up.

„Do you have a name?“ I asked her.

„Maria.“

I kept walking. „I would tell you mine, but I have no idea. I don't remember anything.“

„Are you serious?“ She was curious all of a sudden.

„Yeah. I don't even know what happened, where all the people went.“

„I don't know what happened either. I woke up and everyone was gone.“

She told me. „But I didn't forget my own name.“

„Lucky you.“

We arrived at the store I was looking for. „You'll need a backpack.“

She started looking through the selection. Most of them she looked at and then discounted, a few of them she removed from the rack to get a closer look at.

„Look, these are 50% off.“ She was holding up a backpack and grinning at me.

„Pick whatever you like, it's on me.“ I said. Then more seriously, I added: „You should get one with wheels, so you can just pull it after yourself instead of carrying it on your shoulders. Unless you plan to travel light.“

„I'll travel light.“

After about ten minutes she had something picked out, so we returned to the grocery store to get her some foodas well.

„Let's have breakfast and then we should get going,“ I suggested. „We'll have to travel more than 20 miles today.“

We ate in silence, but the initial between us tension was gone and I felt comfortable with Maria as if we had known each other for a while. Judging from her attitude towards me, she probably felt the same way. After we ate we took off.

The journey south was uneventful. We walked on the highway in silence, counting the miles. A few times we stopped to give our legs some rest and when we passed through a small town we went into a convenience store to have lunch. Then we got right back on the road and kept onwalking until darkness set in and Maria started to complain about being tired and her feet hurting. I was feeling tired as well, but we made it to the town I was hoping to reach that day so we found a supermarket and made camp.

This went on for a week and wecovered a lot of distance on foot. It was mid-afternoon when we reached a largecity and we started walking along the main street lined with stores and restaurants.

„You know,“ Maria said. „My birthday is tomorrow. Did you get me a present yet?“

„Oh. What would you like?“

„Nice clothes...“

„How old are you?“ I asked to changethe subject.

„I'll be turning twenty.“

„We'll go shopping tomorrow and thenwe'll throw a party,“ I decided.

She smiled and I could tell she wasexcited about the idea. For the rest of the afternoon and evening I refused to stop by any of the stores we passed, wanting to keep her waiting until the following day. It annoyed her, but she acquiesced and we followed our usualroutine. When it got dark, we found a convenience store to have dinner and we made camp. I started a small fire while Maria collected some food for both of us. She opened a few cans of spaghetti and spooned the contents into a frying pan to warm it up over the fire.

The next day Maria woke me up and announced that she was ready to go shopping. I rubbed my eyes and asked her what time it was. It was a rhetorical question, because neither of us had any idea. My watch did not work and neither did anything else that required electricity or batteries to operate. We picked up our stuff and decided to head further into the city. Maria stopped us whenever she saw a store that piqued her interest. Initially, I thought it would be an excruciating task to keep upwith her and not get bored while she was shopping, but I was wrong. At the very first store we visited, she disappeared between the racks of women's clothing while I sat down near the entrance and started reading a book I picked up at a bookstore a few days earlier. I figured I would let her enjoy herself. I knew my turn was coming, because I had plans of my own. Soon after I started reading, I heard Maria calling me from inside the store, so I put the book aside and went to her. She was standing in front of a mirror wearing a denim miniskirt and a low cut crop top. She looked incredible. When she saw my reaction she burst out laughing.

„Wow. Holy shit!“ I finally stammered, still trying to come to terms with what I was seeing. „Fuck me.“

That just made her laugh harder.

„God damn...“ I continued.

„Would I be correct if I concluded that you like this outfit?“ She teased.

„Yeah. Turn around.“

Maria grinned and spun around allowing me to take a look at her backside. She had a sexy round butt, which I figured was due to her Hispanic descent, and beautiful long legs. The skirt wasbarely long enough to cover Maria's ass. The top she wore was no less revealing. It ended just a few inches underneath her breasts, leaving her bellybutton and her stomach exposed and the neckline allowed for an unobstructed view of her cleavage. I could see that Maria enjoyed the attention just as muchas I was enjoying the view. She had a great body and she knew it. Her thin waist gave her a very feminine, hourglass figure and she looked great in anything she put on. She was anything but shy and it looked like she chose themost revealing outfits on purpose to get a reaction out of me. We must havespent at least a few hours in just that one store and soon we were both hungry,so we moved on. I offered to carry the shopping bag Maria stuffed with herfavorite clothing items and we headed to a store where we could find somethingto eat.

After a quick lunch, Maria wanted togo shopping again, so we took off and visited a few more stores. She kept teasing me with sexy outfits for the rest of the day, but she also tried on some more reasonable outfits - something we both needed. Whenever she wasn't busy entertaining me as she was trying on outfits, I spent some time looking for a new pair of pants and a few extra shirts. When Maria saw that I also picked items out for myself, she insisted I try them on and show her what I had. By the time it was dark, we were both exhausted and we agreed that we had a great time and it was time to find a place to make camp. I lead us into a bar, instead of a convenience store. When Maria asked why I did that Iexplained that we were going to celebrate her birthday. I made her sit down on one of the stools, and then went around the bar to take her order.

„What would you like to drink?“ Iasked, doing my best bartender imitation.

„I'll have a diet cola, please.“

„No no no! Wait a minute,“ I said, exasperated. „You're twenty years old, none of that non-alcoholic stuff for you.“

„Right. I'm twenty, not twenty one.“

„I'm changing the law,“ I announced. „Besides, it's your birthday and you need to get trashed.“

She considered for a moment and then said: „Okay. I'll have champagne, then.“

„Excellent choice,“ I said and turned around to look for a bottle of champagne. „I'm afraid we don't have anythat are chilled.“

I took a bottle off the shelf and brought it to her. „Will this do?“

„I don't know. They're all the same to me.“

„Let's try it,“ I said as I removedthe wrapping from the neck of the bottle and opened it. I took two champagne glasses off the shelf and poured two drinks.

„Cheers!“ I raised my glass. „Happy birthday.“

„Cheers!“

We both sipped our drinks smiling a teach other. Hers was a nervous smile; mine was more of a roguish smile. Of course I wasn't going to risk screwing up our friendship by taking advantage of her while she's drunk, but I planned to get her really drunk nevertheless. I finished my drink first, but she was soon done with hers as well.

„Okay, what's next?“

„What do you mean?“ she asked.

„I mean, what do you want to drink next?“

„I don't know.“

„Do you want me to pick something?“

„Okay.“

I turned back towards the bottles lined up behind me. „We'll go with something tasty. Let's drink some coconutrum.“

I grabbed a new glass, filled ithalfway and placed it in front of Maria.

„Try it.“

„You're not drinking?“ She hesitated.

„It's your birthday.“ I raised myempty champagne glass. „Cheers!“

„Cheers!“ She tasted her drink. „This is pretty good.“

„Great. Drink it!“

She lifted the glass to her lips and drained its contents.

„Do you want more of the same or would you like to try something new?“ I asked as soon as she put the glass down on the counter.

„Another?“ she gasped.

„Sure, why not?“ I asked.

„Are you trying to get me drunk?“

„Maybe,“ I said with a smile. „Have you ever been drunk?“

„One time, but just a little bit.“

„Okay. Well, you are twenty years old now. It's time to go all the way.“

She sighed. „Okay fine, but I don't want to puke.“

„Don't worry about that for now.“

She laughed. „That's easy for you to say.“

I was already pouring her more coconut rum, but this time it was a full glass.

„Okay, here we go,“ she said nervously. „Cheers!“

She drained half the glass in a few gulps and then set it down. I saw an opening and quickly filled it up to the rim.

„Hey! I didn't even finish it yet. “Maria said with mock outrage. She leaned forward and slurped some of the drink so that she wouldn't spill it when she lifted the glass. Then she lifted it and drank a little more. This time, when she finished drinking, she didn't set the glass down on the counter, afraid that I might fill it again. I laughed at her and she playfully lifted her hand as if she was going to hit me. I stepped out of range, so instead of taking a swing at me, she held the glass with both hands and drank some more until there was only a little bit left.

„Do you like that?“ I asked.

„Yeah, but I want to try something else. It's too sweet.“

„Do you want something stronger?“

„Umm... Like what?“

„Tequila shots or some whiskey...“

„Okay.“

I grabbed a bottle of tequila and placed it on the counter then looked around to see if there was any salt and lemons around. „Do you know how to drink tequila shots?“

„No.“

„What? You've never had tequila shots?“ I asked, surprised. All the lemons in the fridge were rotten. „Okay youknow what? Screw it. How about some whiskey?“

I didn't wait for an answer. I founda bottle of whiskey and as soon as she finished her coconut rum, I took the glass from her. I was trying to determine just how inexperienced she was when it came to drinking. I poured the whiskey slowly into the glass and I waited for her to tell me to stop, as she would have had she known how strong whiskey was. She didn't say anything so I filled the glass completely, then I pushed it towards her.

„Cheers Maria.“ I said, eager to see her reaction when she sampled her next drink.

„Cheers!“ She said, a bit too loudly, and then took a few big gulps. I burst out laughing when she jumped toher feet and started to cough, almost spilling her drink in the process.

„Are you trying to kill me?“ Maria asked, indignant. She sat back down and muttered: „Oh my god, this is horrible.“

„You have to drink it. It's yourbirthday.“

„It tastes bad.“

„Then chug it!“

„What?“

„Drink it quickly without holding it in your mouth. Then you won't feel the taste as much.“

„Okay.“

I liked her willingness to go along with what I said, so I promised her that her next drink will taste better.

„No more whiskey. Okay?“ she told me.

„Okay, but first, you have to finish that.“ I pointed at the glass in front of her.

„I will.“ Maria promised. She then took a deep breath and followed it with a pretty good first attempt at chugging. She finished about half the glass and made a face. „It burns my throat. I can feel it going down.“

„Yeah, it's strong stuff,“ Iadmitted. „You're half done, though. That actually wasn't bad for someone who never tried to chug before.“

That seemed to spur her on and she was ready to try chugging the rest of her whiskey. On her second attempt she almost finished it, leaving only a sip, which she quickly drank after she made a face at me.

„Not bad... for a girl,“ I teased,which was received with an annoyed glare. „I'm just messing with you. You are pretty good at this.“

My encouragement must have worked, because, to my surprise, she said: „I could drink a little more whiskey, I think.“

„Oh?“

„Like... maybe another half glass.“

I broke into a grin. „That's the spirit!“

I quickly poured her another half glass, before she could change her mind. When I pushed the glass in front ofher, she took a big breath as if to prepare for another chug and then burst out laughing.

„I can't believe you talked me into this.“ She took another breath. „Okay...“

She suppressed a smile and then quickly grabbed the glass and drained its contents. She made a face at the end, but she did not cough.

„Impressive,“ I granted. „Do you want something lighter next?“

„I don't know. I think I need to slow down a bit.“

I raised an eyebrow. „Why is that?“

„I'm getting dizzy... and full.“

I didn't want to push my luck, so I didn't insist on her having another drink. I knew she was far enough gone that she would be asking for more as soon as her stomach recovered from the initial onslaught of booze and expands a bit. Maria stood up swaying and grabbed the edge of the bar counter to steady herself. She gave me a reproachful look and said: „Look, you got me drunk!“

„Good.“

„Good?“ she gasped indignantly.„What...“

„Besides, you're not that drunk yet,“ I interrupted her.

„Yet?“ She laughed. „What are you doing to me?“

I was happy to observe that she was starting to slur her words ever so slightly. She announced that she had to pee and walked out onto the street. While she was outside I put some more wood on the fire to keep it going. A few minutes later she came back inside and she was noticeably worse off. She stumbled to the bar and sat down heavily on a stool.Apparently, the full effect of the whiskey she chugged has caught up with her and she was now well into the sloppy drunk stage.

„Bartender!“ she slurred. I went back around the bar, delighted that my prediction that she would want to drink more was right on the money. „I wann' another drink.“

„Can I see some ID?“

She gave me such an exasperated look that I couldn't help but laugh. „Iss my birthday. Remmember?“

„Okay, what would you like?“

„Hmm,“ she strained to look at theline of bottles behind me and I stepped aside to allow her to see everything. Iwasn't sure if she could read the labels from where she was sitting, so I thought I would list the names for her.

„As you can see, we have a wide selection of...“ I began.

„Whass that?“ Maria interrupted,pointing at one of the bottles.

„This?“

She nodded.

„Good choice,“ I said. „Vodka. Triple distilled.“

I poured her a full glass, but then I had a better idea. „You know what? Screw this puny glass. You're a big girl now.“

I grabbed a beer pitcher, emptied her glass into it and then I poured out most of the rest of the bottle - a good15 ounces altogether.

„That's what I call a drink.“ Ihanded her the pitcher.

„If I die, iss gonn' be your fault,“she said as she took the drink. She tasted it. „Tastes like med'cin.“

„It is. It kills bacteria,“ I assured her. „Come on, chug it.“

She did just that. Not the whole thing of course, but almost a cup.

„Wow,“ I was impressed. „You knowhow to do this. Are you sure you're not a closet alcoholic?“

We both laughed.

„I'm feelin' so buzzed right now, “Maria announced after taking another sip from her vodka.

„Buzzed? I would say you're pretty drunk.“

„I'm not that drunk, only a lil'bit.“

„Why don't you try walking in a straight line then?“

She hesitated for a moment, but then she hopped off the stool, ready to show me how wrong I was. It didn't quite goas she expected, because as soon as she landed on her feet, her legs buckled and she fell down on the floor. I leaned forward to peer over the bar. She got up on her knees and looked at me, slightly embarrassed.

„I'm cutting you off,“ I announced, teasing her.

Maria grabbed the edge of the bar with both hands, pulled herself up into a standing position and chugged somemore vodka. As she did that she stumbled against the bar and held herself up by leaning on it. I grew concerned.

„You should slow down.“ When she responded by taking another swig, I added: „Seriously.“

After a short staring contest, she put the pitcher down.

„Wanna see how I walk? I can walk stray.. straight.“ She lifted a hand to her mouth. „Shit.“

„What?“

„I think *hup*... See? You made meget the *hic*... hiccuss!“

„I made you get the hiccups?“ I laughed.

„Yeah!“ she countered. „You gave methe *hic*... the whiss-key, the vo-*hic*... vodka and thoss other drinss.“

She was laughing too, half euphoric and half annoyed. I took the pitcher and put it safely out of her reach. She was pretty drunk already and I knew the vodka she drank would almost double the amount of alcohol in her system. In a few minutes she was going to be completely trashed. I went around the bar and reminded her that she forgot to do her walking test. Maria lurched away from the bar and stumbled against me.

„You're so drunk,“ I told her.„Having fun?“

Her answer was a loud hiccup and a giggle. Her face was pressed against my chest and she wrapped her arms aroundmy neck. I was holding her by the waist. She was wearing a tight camisole and apair of tight jeans she picked up a few days after we started our journey south. I could feel her breasts pressing against me and hear her breathing and the occasional hiccup. We just stood there for a minute, not sure where to gofrom there. She pulled away and looked up into my eyes.

„If you want...“ She did not finish the thought.

„I want, but you're drunk. It wouldn't be ri...“ I could not finish the sentence, because suddenly her lips were pressing against mine. „Uh.“

I stopped resisting and returned her kiss, hoping she would still talk to me the following day. 

When the kiss ended,I tried again: „Are you sure you want to do this? You're pretty drunk, afterall.“

„I'm twenny years *hic*... years ol'an' I can do whatever I want,“ she slurred.

„But what you want when you are drunk might not be what you would want if you were sober,“ I objected.

„I wann'ed to kiss you for a long time.“

I was taken aback by that comment. As she stood there looking at me and swaying, I noticed that her hiccups have stopped.I could see her eyes clouding over as she struggled to focus on my face. I kissed her again and she returned the kiss with drunken passion. I ran my hands down her back to her butt and pulled her closer against me. She lifted up one knee, but she stumbled and had to put her foot down again to steady herself. Ihad to step back or we would have both fallen. Maria stepped closer and started to unbutton my shirt, fumbling with the buttons. After she had opened two of them she made a strange noise deep in her throat and she staggered backwards, lifting one hand to her mouth. I caught her other arm to make sure she didn't fall.

„I'm goin' to be sick,“ she muttered and started to stumble towards the exit behind me. I put my arm around her waist and helped to guide her out onto the sidewalk. Once outside, her knees buckled and I gently lowered her onto the concrete. She made a retching sound, leaned forward onto her hands and knees and started to vomit. I grabbed her hair and held it behind her head so she wouldn't puke on it. She was really drunk and swaying all over the place.

I struggled to keep her from falling over face first into the puddle of vomit in front of her, while holding her hair at the same time with my other hand. When she said she was done, I carried her inside and put her down next to the fire, handing her a blanket.

„That didn't end too well, huh?“ I asked apologetically. She didn't reply and kept starting straight ahead intothe fire. Her eyes were moist and she looked really pissed off, so I told her Iwas sorry and then remained silent, not sure what she was thinking or what shewanted to hear. Eventually she lied down and fell asleep. I rummaged around a bit until I found a case of bottled water and placed a few bottles next to Maria's backpack, where she would find them if she woke up feeling thirsty. I watched her sleep while I sipped on a bottle of water. She was really pretty. Had I been sure that she didn't just come onto me because she was drunk, I would have been all for it. But she was the only living person around and I didn't want to frighten her away by doing something stupid.

I realized I would miss her.

* * * * 

When I woke up the next morning Maria was still asleep. I wanted to wait for her to wake up, but after a while I grew bored and headed out to find something to eat for breakfast. I walked out onto the mainstreet and headed back the way we came from, towards a small corner store Inoticed the previous day. I grabbed some canned tuna, some mayo and a few otherthings and headed back to the bar.

As I sat back down next to the remains of the campfire, Maria stirred and squinted up at me.

„Good morning,“ I said cheerfully, but all she did was moan and turn her back to me. She was hung over big time. „Drink some water.“ I suggested.

„I'm going to die,“ she muttered from under the blanket.

„Here take the water,“ I held out abottle of water and waited for her to turn around. She took it, drank half thebottle, put the cap back on and disappeared under the blanket again.

„So how does it feel to be twentyyears old?“ I continued pestering her.

„I hate you.“

„Would you like some breakfast?“

„No.“

„I brought some tuna.“

„Stop talking.“ She wrapped the blanket tighter around herself.

I quietly ate breakfast and thenwent out to look around and see if there was anything interesting nearby. I spent most of the morning and afternoon walking through the city, exploring.

When I returned, the sun was settingand I found Maria waiting for me at the bar entrance.

„Where did you go?“

„I went to look around.“

„Don't leave me alone here like that,“ she reprimanded me.

„Sorry,“ I said. „I thought youwanted to rest. I didn't want to bother you.“

„I wanted you to be quiet, I didn'twant you to leave.“

„Okay.“

I followed her inside. She was wearing a dark blue minidress with a white stripe running vertically along either side. When she noticed me looking her over, she smiled. She had a little fire going and we sat down to eat dinner. Maria cooked a soup from canned chicken and some other stuff. It was pretty bad, but I tried my best not to show it and ate my share. She finished her plate and made a face. I couldn't keep myself from smiling, so I quickly looked down, but she noticed it.

„Are you laughing at me?“

I kept looking down, trying my best not to laugh. She crawled closer.

„I can't believe this,“ she said indignantly. „First you get me drunk, then you laugh at my cooking!“

Despite my best efforts, I burst outlaughing.

„You're doing all the cooking from now on.“ She started punching me playfully with both hands, but she was laughing, too.

When we were serious again, she asked quietly: „You really don't remember who you are?“

„No.“

„Nothing?“ she asked, watching as Ipoked the fire with a piece of wood.

I shook my head. „I just woke up. I don't remember what happened, or my own name, or any people from my past.“

For a second she looked like she was going to ask something else, but she didn't speak.

„What about you?“

„I remember.“ When she looked at me, she had tears in her eyes. I moved closer and put my arm around her.

„It's probably easier for me,“ I said. Maria did not reply. She leaned her head on my shoulder and watched the fire silently. We sat like that for a long time and eventually Maria fell asleep. I carefully disentangled myself and placed a pillow underneath her headand covered her with a blanket. Then I went around to the other side of the fire, placed a few pieces of wood on top of it and lied down to sleep.

„You didn't like me when I was drunk,“ Maria said quietly. It was a question.

„You are wrong,“ I replied. „I thought you were pretty cute.“

She didn't speak, so I added: „I just didn't want to do anything to you that you might regret later, when you weren't drunk anymore.“

„You're nice.“

„I know.“

There were a few minutes of silence.

„Did you have fun last night?“ I asked.

„Yeah.“

„Would you get drunk again?“

She turned to look at me. „Why?“

„I really liked it.“

„What did you like about it?“ she asked with interest.

„It turned me on,“ I tried to explain. „Everything about it, I guess. How you walked, how you slurred your words...“

„I did not!“ she laughed.

„Yes you did. And it was very sexy.“

„We can do it again,“ Maria said after a short silence. Then she added: „But not now!“

„Okay. It will be fun,“ I assured her. „Good night!“

„Good night!“

The next morning, I decided that we should gather up our belongings and resume our journey south. We still weren't completely out of the reach of winter and I wanted to get to a warmer region as soon as possible. The previous night's conversation was not brought up by either one of us and after a quick breakfast we were on our way out of the city. We quickly fell back into the old routine of walking for most of the day, stopping to rest only a few times to eat and rest our legs for a while, and sleeping in whatever town we reached by nightfall.

For the next four days we travelled,until we finally reached a large city that was far enough to the south to be our final destination. It was early afternoon and we were making our way through one of the suburbs towards the downtown area.

We were walking in the middle of the street, when Maria suddenly grabbed my hand and started pulling me off the road towards the sidewalk. I didn't know what she was doing until I looked up and saw that the building we were heading towards was a liquor store. When we got to the door, Maria stopped me.

„Wait outside! I have a surprise for you.“ She turned me towards the street and disappeared inside the store. When I turned around to look what she was doing inside, she started waving at me to turn back around. A few minutes later I heard the door open behind me.

„I'm ready!“ Maria announced cheerfully.

I turned around and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. Maria was standing in the doorway, smiling at me. She was wearing black hot pants and a black sports bra. She looked absolutely stunning.

„Come on in,“ she said innocently and walked back into the store. For a few seconds I just stood there looking at her ass, hardly believing what she was doing, but then I hurried inside.

„You said, you won't do anything to me that I wouldn't do sober, right?“ she asked.

„Yeah.“

„Would you agree that I'm sober now?“

„I would,“ I said, not sure where she was going with this line of questioning.

She walked up and kissed me.

„Now you can do this when I'm drunk,“ she told me with a coy smile, then looked around. „I'm thirsty, get me a drink, please!“

„May if first point out that you're fucking hot?“

„You like?“ She smiled, then turned around and wiggled her butt seductively.

„I don't know what got into you, but I like it,“ I told her with a laugh.

I walked straight to the whiskey section and removed a large bottle from the shelf. „How drunk do you want to get?“

„That's up to you.“

„You're driving me crazy,“ I said,still trying to overcome my surprise. „Fucking hell...“

She walked up to me and took the bottle from my hand. With a smile she removed the cap and drank a few big mouthfuls.

„Ack!“ she gasped. „I forgot how bad it was.“

„I can find you something less...“ I started to say, but she was drinking again. She chugged for several seconds andthen looked at me.

„I can drink this.“ To illustrate her point, she chugged a few more mouthfuls and licked her lips.

„You are hot,“ I observed.

She stepped closer and leaned forward to kiss me. After the kiss, she smiled up at me and stepped back, doing a little seductive dance and letting me admire her body, enjoying the attention.

„Look at this,“ Maria said suddenly. She waited until she had my attention and lifted the bottle to her lips and started to swallow its contents. She kept going for nearly half a minute and by the time she finished the level of the bottle was considerably lower, by about two cups. „What do you think?“

„I think you're crazy,“ I told her. „But good crazy, not bad crazy.“

She walked up to me, still unaffected by the alcohol, and put her arms around my neck, holding the bottle in one hand. We kissed again. I ran my hands down her back and onto her roundass. 

She responded by pressing herself closer against me. Damn, she was hot.

„I'm starting to feel drunk,“ she said as she pulled away. „But I will drink more for you.“

She started to drink again,swallowing noisily. When she finished, another cup of whiskey was gone from thebottle.

„How much more do I have to drink to be drunker than last time?“ she asked abruptly.

„Uh. I think you are getting close. Maybe another cup or so.“ She had already drunk the equivalent of a normal sized bottle, but the one I gave her was more than twice as big. It was one ofthose 1.75L plastic bottles.

„What if I drank the whole bottle?“ Maria offered.

„You would probably die.“

„Oh.“ She furrowed her brows.„What's the most I should drink?“

She was really winning me over, trying as hard as she was to get drunk for me. I decided to let her get drunker, but I resolved to stop her as soon as I thought she was becoming too drunk.

„Let's see how much you can handle,“I said with a wink.

She flashed me a quick smile and said: „Cheers!“

„Cheers! Try to chug a lot, okay?“

„Okay.“

She began drinking and as she stood there swaying a little bit, I went to stand behind her and put my arms around her waist. She stumbled backwards into me, but kept drinking. I ran my hands upher stomach and cupped them around her breasts. A few seconds later, she finished drinking with a gasp.

„Sorry,“ she breathed. „I couldn't drink anymore.“

„Let me see that bottle.“

She lifted it up, still leaning against me with her back. It was now less than half full.

„I think that's enough for now.“

She noticed my hands on her breasts. „You like my body?“

„Yes. You're smoking hot.“ I noticed she was slurring slightly.

„Can I drink one more time?“

„Uh. Sure.“

She tried another chug, but she couldn't drink a lot. Her stomach was already stretched to its limits.

„I 'ave to go pee,“ she announced and turned around in my arms. She was very wobbly, so I kept my arms around herwaist to steady her.

„Can you walk by yourself?“

„Yeah,“ Maria answered as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

She put a hand on my shoulder to steady herself and took a stumbling step backwards. She then let go of me, turned around and after stumbling sideways into one of the shelves, almost knocking a few bottles onto the ground, she started walking along the aisle, always keeping a hand on the edge of the shelving. Even as she was using onehand to steady herself, she kept bumping into things as she made her way to the door where she disappeared from sight.

A few minutes later she reemerged from the doorway and stumbled to the cash register.

„Com'ere!“ she called.

When I came close, she pushed herself off the counter she was leaning against and started to stagger towards me, but she was so dizzy she fell down just as she came within a few steps ofme. I crouched down next to her as she lay there on the ground giggling.

„I think I fell,“ she looked up at me, puzzled by her own observation.

„I think you're right.“

She got up and sat back on her heels. By now she was so drunk she was swaying even as she was sitting.

„I never drunk. Never drunken,“ she stopped to figure out what she was attempting to say. „I never got so drunken,“ she saidslowly, then she added: „Like now. Before.“

„I think I know what you mean.“

She started to struggle to remove her bra and eventually managed to pull it off.

„I don'na have sex yet,“ she informed me. „But... *hic*... Oh shit!“

I tried to keep a straight face, but it was hard.

„I gott' the hippucks!“ she slurred and then followed it with another loud hiccup.

She crawled the last few feet towards me, put her arms around my neck and hiccupped right into my ear. I burst out laughing and she started to giggle, too.

„You're so cute when you're drunk.“

„Really?“ She looked up at me with her unfocused eyes and hiccupped again. Since I had permission to do so, I kissed her. She responded eagerly and pushed me down onto the ground, climbing on top of me. Her constant hiccups made the whole thing very comical, but her drunken antics were turning me on.

„Ness time *hic*... I get drunk. I will give you a *hic*... a dap-, no... a lap-dance!“ she promised.

I sat up, with her in my lap, and started to kiss her breasts. She arched her back and moaned. 

Every hiccup made her tits bounce and she made no attempt to stop them.

„Baby..“ she said slowly. „I need to pee again.“

„Already?“

„Yeah. *hic*“ She nodded.

„Okay, I'll carry you outside.“

I lifted her, walked through thedoor and then gently set her down on the sidewalk. I moved back into the store to get some tissue paper from my bag. When I went back outside, she was lying on her back with her shorts pulled completely off and her thong around her ankles.She was done peeing; I could see that from the puddle between her legs. She opened her eyes and looked up at me.

I gave her the tissue paper and she muttered something, which I assumed was a thanks. I noticed that her hiccups had stopped.

„Maria?“

„Mmmhmm?“

She was on the verge of passing out.

„We should go inside.“

She didn't respond, so I gently stood her up and pulled her thong back on with one hand. She put her arms around my neck, but she made no attempt to hold her own weight. I carried her inside and set her down next to our bags. She was barely conscious and she muttered unintelligible things whenever I spoke to her, so I decided to put her to bed and let her sleep.

The End.