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C8 - Wednesday /

{Breakfast At Suzies} (The One Who Grinds)

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Leave all that can be spared behind. We travel light. Let's hunt some Orc.

An apologetic, tapping, emanated from across the room. Coursing through the quiet. Resounding in my ears.

Emily was still pressed over me, blanketing me in a silky warmth. On my left side, there was, what felt like, a bony elbow pressed into my ribs. I opened my eyes. Red locks filled my vision.

Pam was half asleep, half awake, playing walk about on Emily's butt with her fingers.

We were bathed in pinks and purples.

I kissed Em's forehead and she looked up, with half closed eyes, giggling as Pamila tickled down her thigh.

"I think we have company." I said, glancing toward the door.

I rolled myself upright and out of bed. Emily rolled back and under and Pam was there to surround her as soon as she was clear.

I got out of bed and realized I had passed out with my pants half on. I was wondering my my legs felt like they were on fire. But it made the trip to the door quicker. All I had to do was lift, zip and button. Easy enough. I didn't even bother with the belt.

I walked to the door and opened it with a yawn, "Oh hey, Steve."

"Hey Joe, I have a note for you from the team builders lady."

"Cool. Thanks. You done for the day?"

"Yeah. Sorry if I woke ya."

"No worries. Anything planned?"

"Sleep."

"Well enjoy that."

"I will. Have a good one."

I looked back at the two bodies huddled up, fast asleep.

"Already have. Hope you have a good one too."

I climbed back into bed and both girls stretched, Emily gave Pam a kiss, and they separated. Then she turned her lips attention to mine.

"What do you have there?"

"A note, from Suze."

"Enquiring."

"She wants to buy us breakfast in a half hour. You wanna join us Pamila?"

"Nah. I'm not much on breakfast. This early anyway. I might just set the cot up and stare out the window and read. You know, enjoy a nice lazy day in bed for a change. If you guys don't mind that is. The view is so much nicer in this room than my old one."

"My room is your crash pad. It's your room now too, anyway. Em?"

"Mmhmm."

I got up and showered, Emily helped Pam set up some space.

They were just getting into the shower together when I left.

I entered the eating hall and spied Suze, her back to me, sitting at the table by the window where Em and I usually ate. I grabbed a coffee from the nook and made my way over, stopping just on the edge of her periphery. She was sporting a completely different look than her usually serious, hard-nosed countenance.

It wasn't love requited, or even lust fulfilled. It was like something had returned. A sense of a purpose, a sense of herself. Or just an amused taste of the chaos and flow that's around us every moment. She was staring out the window. Like it was a backdrop for her thoughts to take shape on.

She felt a presence and her attention fell on it, "Hey, Joseph."

"Suze."

"You know. I used to hate that name. It always sounded, like a ditzy fuck toy's name to me. Or one of those Barbie dolls you'd see on a screen test line. All, look at me, look at me. Ain't I pretty. Worship in my stunning fucking radiance."

"You know. That's how you came off the first time we met. 'Suzzanne'."

"Really?"

"Oh, Yeah. Stiff, Holier than thou. Almost arrogant. With a touch of condescension."

"And here I thought I was just maintaining a professional attitude. God. Why do people feel like we have to change to fit a position."

"Especially considering that, that you, is probably what got you there in the first place. It's a question that I don't think has one correct answer. So what changed your mind?"

"I found out… I like, being somebody's, ditzy fuck toy."

"Can I tell you something about that?"

"I guess. As long as you're not gonna creep me out."

"Touche. I'm still up by six though."

"Asshole."

"Back to seven."

"You can be such an ass sometimes."

"Won't deny that. It comes with the mileage."

Three plates arrived with bacon and eggs and pancakes and hash browns and sausage and biscuits with fresh butter and homemade fucking jellies and another pot of that wonderful, caffeinated elixir.

Marisol put the plates on our table with a really weird smile. She looked at Suzie, chuckled and turned away.

"Good morning Sparkie?" I jibed.

"Yes." and she was gone.

"That was odd. What's up with her this morning?"

"I guess her breakfast was, interesting. Reflectively speaking." I was met with really confused eyes, "She eats at the table where you and Carol… You were there, put it together. Anyway, what I wanted to say was, What you guys did last night, was far, far, far, from fucking. It was a spiritual awakening, wrapped up in a, wild abandon, with a side order of massive temporal distortion. And a lot of love, not lust, love."

She perked up. The light bulb flashed and she remembered she had had an audience.

"That girl makes me forget there's a world outside her arms. I'm… hmmmph."

She looked up to the cloud line with a grin.

"Temporal Distortion. So, what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well you look like you were heavy in thought. Not in a bad way. More like an amused at the prankish flow of life kind of way."

"You know, you're a lot more intuitive than your persona suggests."

"Forged from being on the outside looking in, as a youth, and refined by being on the outside looking further in, and further out, as an adult."

"Oh you're an adult, huh."

"Don't let my Ivy League boyish charms fool ya."

"Ha. It's nice meeting someone that doesn't take themself seriously."

"If you pay attention to life, she'll knock that right out of ya. If you're lucky."

"Or throw you on a bed and strip you of it." She joked.

My attention was pulled to the entryway. "That too." I heartily agreed, watching a girl, in a black skirt and white tank top, sweep into my view and grab a coffee from the self serve.

Suze caught my eye, followed it and grinned, "She really got you huh?"

"When a being, from another universe, crosses over and materializes half inside you."

She mused, "I hear that. Something about, This Place?"

"If you consider, everywhere you happen to be, as This Place. Then yeah, This Place."

Emily turned and saw us chat watching. She made her way across the floor and joined us.

"God, I love the way she makes that skirt glide."

"She does have a certain grace doesn't she? I noticed it when she was getting on the bus. Wow! That just flashed in my head. Man, was my head up my ass."

"Took a look, got a sense, but pushed the nudge away instead of seeing where it leads?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, Don't do that anymore. You'll be fine."

"One can only hope."

"Thank you. For doing it this time though."

"I wouldn't have it any other way right now. So, I guess we're both welcome."

"It's amazing how one tiny decision can effect so many lives. Even if it's just offering someone a candy bar."

She shot me a look with an honest smile radiating through the blush.

Emily sat on my lap sideways, "Hi," she faced the thought filled blonde, "You look… different, this morning."

"Is it, THAT! Out there?"

"We were just getting to the source of that. Maybe," I shared with my seat mate, then I turned back to Suze, "So! What is going on? In that ditzy fuck toy, brain of yours?"

"Jack ass… Are you always like this?"

"Only on Tuesdays, Sweet Ums."

"But today's… Nevermind.

We each took bites of our breakfast. And the conversation stopped. Dead. Until the last piece of grease was on the last piece of toast and the coffee was chasing it down.

"That, I'm gonna miss." Suze declared, "I think I gained ten pounds since we got here."

I looked her up and down, "Where?"

"In my ass."

"And her upper back."

"You sound happy about that."

"I am. I miss my sport weight. I looked good, I felt good. This. Isn't me. As much as people tell me I should love the way I look, I don't. I looked so much better the other way. In my opinion. Felt better too… That might have been a part of why I came across as a cold-hearted bitch. I had no self esteem any more. And I was lost in something I didn't believe in."

"So what, besides the obvious, changed?"

"I went walking into a room, to see if I could get my life back on something that resembles a track… And this girl, this strange girl, with the same athletic body I used to love on me, is smiling. She's flirting and I'm wondering why? Why me? I wasn't even thinking why is this girl flirting with me, another girl. I'm thinking, why is she flirting with ME. I'm not pretty, she's pretty, she's beautiful… And... she's honestly trying to help me with my problems. And I was comfortable, right there. But why? And then we start talking about our lives. And we're laughing. I'm laughing. For the first time in a long time I'm really, honestly, laughing… And then. We stroll down memory lane. And we're baring our selves to each other. She get's her laptop and we scroll to my old summer camp's memory page. And there I am in my volley ball gear. You know the cheesy ball under the arm pic? Big smile, big smile."

"Mmhmm."

"Taken a few."

"Well, I saw that, and I felt… loss. The next thing I know, she's looking at me, deep and then... I'm… undone. Derailed, enmeshed in scents and limbs and loving it. My flesh is alive, my heart's pounding, and I'm really just waking up. It honestly did feel like that. But I remember everything that led to it. Her hair, her touch, her taste, her nipples digging into mine. Her eyes, her love, her warmth. Her voice on my ear. She fed me and consumed me."

Emily watched Suzies face with a half cocked head.

Suze came back to earth. "What?"

"Temporal Displacement flashback." I offered.

"Shit."

"Act One, Scene One. We were there for Act Two, Scene One and Scene Two. But thanks for catching us up." Em casually offered.

"What she said. Seconded."

"Oh right, I keep forgetting that part. That's not what you wanted to know… Shit. Okay… You were there, when Mister Hicks told me about his daughter in law, right?"

"Finally! Thank you Em."

"Mmhhhm."

"Yes. Catering company in the city. I think Carol got the info from him while he was telling me Edith's quirks."

"Yeah. Well it turns out her office is three blocks away from Carol's apartment. She's walked passed it a few times going to her favorite Italian place."

"And?"

"And. Bill saw me in the lobby, about an hour and a half ago, rumbling through thoughts of my future. I still smelled like her. She just surrounds me… I'm so FUCKED…"

"In a very good way." Em completed.

"Yeah… Hmm. Anyway, he chatted me up some. Then he called her up. She interviewed me on the phone and hired me. It's probationary but I have a start. She even has a spot for Carol if she wants. That girl, may have saved my life."

"Man, you are really bad at this team building shit, aren't you."

"Nnnnn. Yeah. I don't know what I was thinking with this. I ran a sports summer camp for kids and this, seemed like a step in the 'mature' direction. Question mark. Big question mark. It just isn't… as fulfilling."

Emily was staring at a deer outside the window, listening to Suzie's future plans. I pulled a strand of hair back from her face and kissed her temple. She sighed, wiggled in, and got more comfy.

"You guys are cute. The age between you gets lost when you're together and… there's such openness."

"We've been told. But you do know, girls mature faster than boys, right? I figure, we're on about the same level. She's got me in some ways."

"And he's more practiced in others."

"So we fit."

"Hmm. Well I would love to stay here and chat. But I need to go wake someone up and tell her the news. Then get on with whatever, this, is… Ahh, just a couple more days Suzanne, Just a couple more days. If you see her higher than ten feet off the ground later, give her a rope. Please. I don't want that one floating away."

She kissed my cheek and shivered, then she scrunched her fingers through my scruff, "That tickles. She's gotta grow that bush back."

She gave Em a quick kiss. Emily grabbed her by the hand before she could rise, "Wake her up with your head between her legs. It's a really nice way to get lulled from your sleep."

"I'll… Hmmm… You guys are... Now I really have to go. Have a great day you two."

"You too, Suze."

"It already is and I think, it just might get better." She laughed as she walked away.

"I'll get my camera and see you in a few."

"Tonight. I'll leave the curtains open."

"I'll sell tickets."

"Ha. You do that. I could use the money for the movers." And just like that she vanished around the proverbial corner.

"Did she just shake her ass at us?"

"Yes, I think she did." Emily got up, turned and straddled me. She put her arms around me and cuddled in, "You know. Good things seem to follow in your wake."

"Better things seem to follow in yours. Personally, I don't see it quite like that. It's more like, I'm lucky enough to be where the good things are, or are about to happen. And if bad things abound, I just happened to be blessed with a desire to want to see them made better, and a surprising knack to somehow get them there… Some times. My save percentage isn't Vezina level, but it's a good deal above average."

"Hmmm. I think, even if it was only one out of a hundred, it'd still be worth it. There's always a chance the next will be number two."

"One can only hope. C'mon. We have some wind to grab."

We finished up our coffees then took a quick scoot to The Gen. She had to pull her skirt up and do a tuck but it was just a few miles. And I was in no hurry.

Now! How can I give you a taste of The Gen?

Hm! The Gen. Mountain Top General, to be formal. It's stone and logs and windows without glass. Only screens. It has seven fold up storm shutters, that when down made display tables, held aloft by chains that went through the walls. There are four on the left, three on the right. or the other way around. Don't quote me on that. It has a concrete slab to the left of the porch, with ten parking spots, three feet wide. Motorcycles only. Which, is where I was parked. In Big's spot. Yes! Frank had his own spot reserved. I'm pretty sure if Bill rode, more than drove, there he'd have one too. There's a hitching post and a water trough to the right. Enough for five or six horses. Depending on their temperament. It had a big, still usable, wagon bay, with sunken access to do undercarriage work. Under 'horse and carriage' work. But I had at one time changed an exhaust manifold on my old E150 there. Her tires had three inches to spare on the inside. Lining her up was thrilling. The rest of the parking lot was modest sized, with spaces for maybe fifteen pick ups. And a loading zone for a big truck or two.

The inside smelled like leather and spices and fertilizer and jerky and coffee and hay and… pickled something. Lots and lots of pickled somethings. It was stocked with food stuffs, rifles, bows, ammo, fishing supplies, garden and farm implements, and almost every other damn thing you might need to survive. Or build a homestead. Including clothes. Which jumped the spectrum from jeans and work shirts, right up to country style chic. A lot of which were hand crafted, sold on commission. It was also the main Post Office, a Western Union branch, hunting and fishing license registry and notary, and… something else.

"Gas station."

"Thanks Em."

"Mmhmm."

Gas! And not just for vehicles or implements. Oxygen, propane, acetylene… All kinds of it. And I mean that, even in the most biologic of ways.

"I was wondering who had the balls to park in Big's space," Sarah greeted with a smile.

"Em, Sarah. Sarah, Em. How's the fam?"

"Ducky. Charlie's ripe with number seven. Dad's on half days driving mom crazy."

While we caught up, Emily searched through the racks for her size. It didn't take long for her to find a healthy fit. It was the norm up this way. Hard lives live stout. She picked out a couple pairs of jeans and a pair of boots, brown, cowboyish but simple. Round toed as opposed to pointy. Sarah escorted her to the try-on room. So I wandered around checking out the wares.

This nice, medium to light brown, marbled leather vest grabbed my attention. It had decorative stitching and some nice buffalo-horn toggles. It was sloped, a bit longer in the back than the front. Laces crossed the spine, from shoulder to waist, adding some flair and adjustability. It looked like it was made for horse riding. I paid for the stuff then made my way to the try-on room and handed Emily the bag with the vest. Passing it through the door while she changed. A couple minutes later I felt a hand grab my shoulder and spin me around.

She was standing there in jeans, undone, and the vest, unbuttoned. Sans bra and shirt. Like a cowgirl out on the range, just chillin after a long hard day. She kissed me hard and fast, then bounced back in.

No camera. That's picture's mine. Be happy you got a description at all.

I took the bag with the stuff she no longer needed to wear and took it outside to put it in the saddlebags. I was buckling it up when the front door hinges squeaked.

She walked out, sniffing the leather all the way over. My flannel shirt tied around her waist. A thin white tank top, stretched, underneath her nose's new fancy. She moved like, I love this. And she greeted me the same.

We got back on the bike and took the long winding road to the next town over. About forty-five minutes later we ended our trip, at the top of a decent sized driveway, in front of a modest, one story home. The screen door closed and the lady of the house boomed out.

To greet us, "I've got to meet Lanie at the bank real quick. You guys'll be here when I get back?", and then to leave us.

"More than likely."

"Good." She stepped back from her hug and held Emily at arms length, "Yeah. That's you. I have a pair of chaps that'll match that vest wonderfully. I'll fish em out when I get home."

"You don't have too."

The car door slammed.

"They haven't fit me since I was your size, half way through high-school. They're broken in, comfortable, but far from worn, and they're just sitting in a chest, being lonely. Might be a bit tight. But tight is good, for more reasons than not. It's time they got a new home. And I think those legs will be a nice one for em. Gotta run. He's out back in the shed, gates open," and Thundera, was…

(I was gonna say quiet, but we could still hear her at the end of the driveway. I swear I heard her yelling at the bank teller somewhere down the line.)

We opened the side gate and stepped into the backyard, through a fence that was flush with the back of the house. The view opened up into a wide open field, about eight times as long as it was wide. And it was pretty wide.

A cobblestone patio sleeked to the left and encircled a fifteen by twenty foot, rectangular pool. Heated. Sunken. A waterfall, maybe five feet high and eight feet in length, looking like it just sprout up there, emptied it's waters over the far corner of the pool, in a steamy soothing reunion.

"It's Wow." Em said, in her best Leeloooooo Dallllass, mooooltiiii pass. (If you don't get it, that's your loss)

"Thanks, Miss Emily."

"Mmmhmm."

"It's nothing like I pictured it when you told me the plans, that's fucken tits brother."

"It's nothing like we pictured it either. Sam tears up almost every time she walks out the slider."

"I love the way the water looks like it just appears."

"Like it materializes, in a ball right above the big stone. I'm taking pics this week. Em? Care to take your clothes off under that."

"If you take them off me."

"It's a deal. Damn! Those meatheads did good."

"This! Is All Beccah. Bro. Those fucknuts flaked and left us with a ton of materials in a heap. She put all this together. She saw all this stuff just waiting to become something, got an idea in her head and just did it. She even tied the pumping system into the pool's heat and filtration. That's why you get that nice bit of mist, on days like this. It's all her vision. Dad and Travis helped her with the rock work. Trevor helped her with the wiring and plumbing. Me and Sam came home to this. In a weekend… You're early, she's gonna think we're up to something."

"She just left for the bank to meet Wifey."

"Should be enough time."

"We'll hang for a while, just so she thinks we came for a visit. One thing though. Why exactly do you need me to weld? You're the one that taught me."

He held out his hands, "These mitts won't fit in some spots. And she'd be happy that you put something into it. She'll be even happier that I thought about askin ya. You too, Miss Em."

"Good enough reasons for me. Let's make some sparks."

We went to the work-shed. It was actually a prefab hanger, one of two. It was big enough for two single-engine planes and a mechanics area. The four bikes barely took up any room. It was decorated with lifts and stands, work benches and tools. With an honest to god Ye Olde Americana type forge, tucked into the far left corner. Complete with leather bellows.

I finished the more hard to get to welds and ground down any of their imperfections.

Emily was tasked with softening up the rough edges with the rotary.

"I've never used power tools."

"Just find your tempo." Tank encouraged, hooking hoses to a couple cylinders.

"That red switch there controls the speed. Adjust it up and down until it matches your hand speed and pressure. You'll know it, when you see an even line behind the bit and you feel the flow." I offered.

She gave an understanding nod and tested away. Working on the base to get a feel. When she found that flow, she got a gleam.

Another code was learned.

"This has been a week, to say the least." She amused.

Tank was still setting up the torch, "How so?"

"Hmmm? Where to start? First time a stranger understood my eye language,"

She stopped, smiled, and gave me a very happy kiss, then she gave me a look, like she was trying to figure out if I 'knew' something.

The eyeballing faded, "First time someone offered to carry my suitcase… First dinner date, First time having my picture taken, other than school and parents. First time I woke up in bed with someone. First kiss… First time someone touched me, that way… First time someone showered with me. First time on a motorcycle. First time at a party. First time I've been nake… nudish, in front of anyone, First time skinny dipping. First time I haven't stuttered since I was eight. First time with a boy. First time with a girl. First time with a boy and a girl, First leather vest. First time with power tools."

"And the adventure is just beginning."

"Mmmhmm."

"Not many people know this but Sam…"

"Everybody knows this Squatch."

"Okay, so a couple of people know this. Sam. Was actually my first. Not my first kiss. But my first anything beyond groping."

"Really? But you're…"

"Older than Moses? More ancient than dirt?"

"Hmmm."

"Asshole. And yes Miss Em, I'm up there in years. I was a chubby kid. Not exactly the pick of the litter. Then I got fat. I read a lot. My dad kept me active with work, but I was a bookworm in my spare time. Then I got really fat. High school came and the spurt hit. I was laid up in bed, and in seven months, I went from four foot nothin to this."

"Ouch," Emily squirmed.

"Big ouch." I agreed.

"If getting a bar stool broken on your back is big ouch. Then yeah, that, everywhere. I was lucky I had put on so much weight or I would never have made it. I was hospitalized twice. ICU for three days one time. I went back to school having to duck into the rooms. Needless to say the women weren't exactly flocking. But by then I had gotten used to it and occupied myself with things I enjoyed. Dad gave me his old Panhead, Elizabeth, and she became my world. Then there was Sam. Fuzznuts. You tell her how I met, Thundera?"

"Yeah. Sam caught her gawking. Told her to ask me how she got the scar. In her quiet way."

"Good, saved her from Dad's rambling. He starts that story before breakfast."

"He starts every story around breakfast."

"True. Anyway. I was at Packards Mill and decided to shoot some pool. I went to my truck to get my cue, I see this body stumbling into the lot from the woods. She looked fucked up. Half naked, pale. Wet red everywhere. Half dead. I went to go help her and she pushed me, knocking me back about two feet. ME. She's filled with defiance. Seething with a need to survive. And still fighting. Then she fell towards me and fainted. I did what I could for the wounds, got her in my truck buckled her up, slid in behind the wheel and she asked me to take her home. I took one look at her in the dome light and for the first time, in my life, I felt like I had missed out on something."

"You know squatch that's probably the most eloquent I've ever heard you. Didn't know you had it in ya."

"Laugh it up fuzznuts. I tone down my rhetoric around you, so you can com, pre, hend."

"Touche."

"You know what that gruff, cranky, oratorial old man had to say, when I told him we were getting a house together?"

"I can't begin to, but I'm guessing it was a half hour long."

"No! That's just it. The only thing he said was, 'Took me four tries to get it right, you got it right on the very first woman, never thought I'd ever see the day. You got me. Junior! Now don't fuck it up!"

There was a click and a scrape of flint on steel and the blow torch fired to life. Tank heated the entire project up with an oxy-acetylene, flame thrower. When it had an all around red glow he dipped it into a vat of fifty weight.

(Oh, this was outside, way way way outside.)

When the blue smoke settled and the oil stopped bubbling he pulled that creation out of the drum. A two dimensional tree, a thin rod-form rendering of Yggdrasil, separated a pegasus, rearing up with wings expanded, and a phoenix, rising from it's own fire, facing away from each other. In three dimensional wire frame. It's color was a deep blue, almost gun blue, with a noticeable prismatic sheen. And temper marks, in varied blues, greens and reds. The man has skills.

"Thanks for the help you two. Sam's been making quite the collection of earrings, they'll look tits, hanging on this at swap."

When Sam returned, she found us in the back, laughing it up at the archery range. She grabbed Emily and disappeared into the house.

They came back out a short while later with beer and soda and juice. Emily was donning a new set of leg wear. They caressed her shape nicely and they matched the vest like they were made as a set. It even had the same style lacing going down the back of the legs that the vest had going down the spine.

The four of us laid back in recliners. Emily and Sam discussed possible future business plans. Me and Tank were just their seat cushions. Staring into the night without a care.

"When you coming back up?"

"I don't know. I might stay a few days after this thing. I miss this. I need a refill bad, Tankie. One of the people we met, Pam, needs a ride to Nim's. And I'm not going back with that bunch anyway. You haven't met Pam yet have you?"

"Nope."

"You're in for a treat. Reminds me of Lanora. Her idle is a little more advanced, but she's real. She's got Nim's keys."

"Seriously?"

"I wouldn't shit you about that. He wants to meet at the pond this week."

"And what about you."

"I'm... all in…"

Sam got loud and Emily started laughing.

"...I do have to get back downstate eventually. Settle some things, and do the logistics. We'll see where things fly or fall. I'll definitely be this way come the fourth. Come hell or high water."

Sam broke our conversation, "Hey Frank, why don't you show Joe the newest addition to the family."

"Meet me by the firing line. Sam got us a new fifty cal," he said, with a shit eating grin. It was a very unsettling look if you didn't know the man. Think crazed bear, with a, how sweet, fresh meat, leer.

Five very loud rounds later.

"Damn bro. I feel like I'm the only goalie at a slap shot contest. This monster has a kick."

"At least you stayed up. Meat and Big both went on their asses. That's a scary grouping. Practicing?"

"Never. Ever since I first picked up a rifle in Boy Scouts, it's just something that felt, innate. I think I was a sniper in a past life."

"I hear that. I'm the same with the recurve."

A few more shots later and Tank broke the stillness in our conversation. "So. About what we were discussing before."

"Yeah?"

"All in huh?"

"You know? I always knew it would be different than what I experienced before. But I didn't know how much different. How much more solid and strong a foundation it would be. But here it is. So, Fuck yeah."

"About damn time."

"Thanks."

The ladies came walking up with drinks. "Suffice it to say. I'd go through it all over again, to meet that man. It wasn't love at first sight, but it was love at first sight with opened eyes."

"It was a bit different for me. It was like a moment that I realized I was still me and I had been the whole time. It wasn't like he changed or completed me or even made me shine. It was like, he saw that shine, like he grew out of me, like… "

"You and he, were always there, together, just idling?"

"Mmmhmm. Yeah, something like that."

Emily handed me a cola. I gave her a kiss and took a big draw, "Thanks. What are you two chattin' bout?"

"Things, boys don't understand."

"Oh. We understand. We just pretend not to."

"Cause we like to hear you girls explain it," Tank added.

"You guys staying over?" Sam asked.

"Not tonight. Maybe after I bring the beast back. Speaking of which it's getting late and I don't want to cause anymore of a disturbance than we already have."

We finished our drinks, shot a few more rounds off. That fucker was loud. And kicked like a construction cone to the chest at fifty miles an hour.

(trust me on that one too)

Then we headed off, back into the hills.

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C8.1 Chaos Factor /

{WTF Is That Light?} (A Simple Thank You)

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"God cannot take your call at this moment. He's handling an emergency in another universe. The Goddess? Ooohf, she's sleeping right now... and you know what happened the last time you woke her! Sorry, but you're on your own there, Buckwheat."

"Wellllll... Shit."

We were half way back to the lodge, just crossing over a rise, when flashing red lights broke the darkness in strobe. I slowed, passed a pick up with it's hazards on and caught another flash of light reflecting off something shiny, in a shallow ravine, on the other side of the road. Something was spinning. I pulled to the shoulder, put the bike on it's stand, told Emily I'd be right back and then hurried across the street.

I came to a stop, next to a guy looking at an upturned Jeep Wagoneer. That's all. Just looking. The tires were what were spinning. The engine was running and gas was dripping down the side. It wasn't a flood, but it was wet. Steam was billowing from under the hood.

And this guy, was just standing there.

"Is anyone inside?"

"Yes." His voice was shaky.

"You call for help?"

"I don't have a phone."

"There's a house back there on the left get them to call. Tell them we need a firetruck and an ambulance."

He finally got the gravity of the situation and nervously hurried away.

I took a quick look around. All the windows were still in tact. Not a crack. So I ran to the back grabbing all the handles on the way, even the tailgate didn't budge. I gave a quick search for a rock or anything that could possibly break in. Nothing. So I sat on the ground and kicked at the glass. All I managed to do was push myself away. After the third try, I was about to… Honestly, I don't know what the fuck I was about to do. Still don't. But it seemed I didn't need to find another recourse, because I felt a body press against my back. A flash of long black hair caught my peripheral. I heard heels kick into the dirt. The body pushed against me like a brace. I gave another kick and the rear window shattered. I pointed to the gas. Gave her a kiss and garnered my courage.

Sharp, tiny shards of safety glass bit into my skin as I crawled on my back through the wreck. I got to the front, turned the ignition and the lights off and checked her pulse. I could see her chest rise and fall slowly. I tapped the suspended face awake. She woke up in a panic. Somehow, I got her to focus and calm. She stared at me with glazed and confused eyes.

"Listen. We need to get you out of here. I need you to tell me if anything hurts or if you can't feel where I'm touching."

She nodded her head and tried to focus. "My knee throbs a little and I have a headache."

"Okay, I'm going to touch you now, I'll try to be gentle, just let me know if there's pain."

I did a quick assessment of her limbs and torso, her knee was swollen but not too bad, her ribs were tender on the right side. She had a small gash on her left shoulder. There were napkins in the car so I shoved them under her shirt and used her bra strap to hold em in place.

She kept mumbling about her mother.

After I judged her condition, I decided it was more than worth the risk to move her. All we needed was an errant spark, lightning, a cigarette from a passing car or that oil on the engine to flash, and… You know what? I would rather not relive those visions. I unlocked her door and pushed it open. It stuck against the ravines rise and refused to budge. So I crawled some more and unlocked the passenger door, it thankfully obliged. Enough to let us out anyway.

"Alright, I am going to prop you up, with my back against your thighs, and undo your belt. When you're free, try and help me lower you down."

I pushed my shoulder blades up against her and undid her seat belt, then I cautiously lowered her to the roof. She managed to push enough, with her good arm, so I could crawl back and out of her way. I got her halfway out of the car and two more hands reached in to help me. Then two more showed up, to help me out.

She stood up, saw the guy, in the cops headlights by the road, and went to him. She hugged him.

Emily grabbed my waist and the cop asked us to wait by the bike.

"She's gonna need an ambulance, possible broken ribs, a pretty banged up knee, her left shoulder is gonna need stitches and there's a good possibility she has a concussion."

"It's on it's way, along with fire and rescue, Thanks, I'll radio that info on."

We walked back in the direction it looked like she drove from.

"Where are we going?" Em asked.

"She said her mother was in the car with her. She also said that her mother was driving, but just to be on the safe side, let's give a look and a listen."

"Do you think she flew out of the car? That would be horrible."

"No. I don't think anyone was in the car with her. There's no sign of that. And I've heard people say that, 'someone took the wheel', or they felt like they were being carried, when they were asked, 'how the hell did you survive, that'. I've even felt a presence guide me, one or two, hundred times. My guardian angel better be getting a good paycheck, with all the overtime she puts up with from me. Maybe this one has a long gone relative that looks just like her mom."

"Hmm. I… I understand. Not too many people get it though. They give you weird looks just for thinking like that."

"Oh! They get it. They just don't want to admit it. Cause, then they'd need to check themselves."

We got up to the top of the rise. Nothing. The ambulance pulled up and there was no more sense to listening anymore. So we walked back to the bike and sat in the grass.

"You're bleeding."

"Where?"

"Your shoulder."

I took a look, "I've had worse."

She shook her head, kissed mine and went to the meat wagon. She came back with some alcohol, saline, tape and gauze. I took the alcohol and poured it on my shoulder. And cringed. I think I may have even peed a little.

"That was to clean her blood off, not your wound," she chided as she gingerly blotted and blew at the cuts. Washing them out with saline. Okay, that was a lot better. Still, alcohol kills everything.

And cuts? They were more like bramble bites. Or irritated thorn scratches. Nothing more. But after I poured the alcohol on them, it was like paper cut with a nitrous boost. I think my eyes were close to bleeding.

Fire and Rescue and two tow trucks pulled up. The ambulance drove away. That guy, got back in his truck and followed.

Red and orange lights flashed circles over head.

Footsteps grew louder against the gravel.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The officer coughed.

We broke our kiss, but not the hug.

"Before you ask, We can't help. All we saw was hazard lights and spinning tires."

He handed me a bundle,

"What's this?"

"A tee shirt, and a bag for yours."

"Is my shirt evidence now?"

"No. You smell like the 76."

"Hmm. Thanks. Still, I got here and that guy already had his flashers on."

While I swapped my old Spartanburg Harley tee for a County Sheriff's short sleeve, with a pocket (I hate pockets, and sleeves, but it's better than bursting into flames lighting a cigarette) the conversation continued.

"Yeah I figured. You two already helped, above and beyond. But I need to ask. Did you see any sign of anybody else having been in the car with her?"

"I did not. All the windows were in tact when we got here. All the doors were locked. No extra pocketbook, no shoes. Nothing. I tried keeping an ear out when we walked up the road. Nada. I don't think anyone was in the car with her. But if you have an extra flashlight I'll gladly help you take a look."

The radio chattered from his car. "That might not be necessary. Can you hold on a bit longer just in case?"

"Em?"

"I'm fine."

"She's fine, I'm fine."

He went to the car and pulled the mic to his face. A few words later and he made his way back, "False alarm."

"And, mom's fine."

"Been home all night."

"I had a hunch."

"You look familiar. From around here?"

"Nah, I do come up now and then, to see some… family, though."

"Anybody I might know? I've lived here a long time."

"Maybe. Big Frank and Tank, Sam and…"

"Stop. It just clicked."

"Yeah?"

"Big Frank's, fourth, twentieth birthday."

"Yeah! I survived that."

"Me too. Barely."

"Great, now I'm having hangover flashback."

Emily laughed and smoothed the tape out.

"Ugh don't remind me… You know, I've know Sam since we where both knee high. She told me what you did to Douglas."

"Douglas?"

"Jester."

"Figures he'd be a Douglas. Why do parents name their kids, Douglas. Am I to assume the position now?"

"Hah. NO! He's lucky I wasn't on duty that night. That weasley prick would have 'escaped my custody' and gotten lost in pieces in the landfill." he leaned past and looked at Em, "Sorry for the language, ma'am."

"No offense taken, Sir. I've heard worse." She pulled the shirt over the bandage and tenderly worked it down.

"Whatever happened to pencil neck? I never gave him much thought til I was telling her the story."

"He took eighty stitches and a skin graft, lost his voice and half the use of his right arm. She caught him just right. He was waiting trial, when corrections officers found him in an empty cell, with his pants around his ankles and his face deep in a toilet."

"That's a shame."

"What?"

"Look, I don't believe people need to die, for their to be positive change. Most people anyway. But if G&G saw fit, that he be removed from the planet… it's a shame that nobody had the courtesy to flush."

"Ha ha ha. Oh shit… Fuck. I needed that... He wouldn't have ever gotten out anyway. His dads in for life because of that night, his brothers and quite a number of their friends too. Including Douglas."

"How so?"

"They tried pinning it on her as a robbery. Family names you know. But I 'know' Sam. So did half the other cops. We knew what she'd been through as a kid. We grew up with her. How she managed to stay righteous… I'll never know. She's a sweet heart and an ass buster, if she didn't earn it, it isn't hers. Theft, just isn't her way. So instead of finding her, we got warrants for the bar. It was the location of the robbery, and we needed to investigate. Those scum bags didn't even consider covering their tracks. They were more worried about keeping their bread and butter from dying. Probable cause was a broken pencil and torn women's clothes. Blood, a broken window, three pounds of coke, right on the desk, meth, and a ledger that lead to human trafficking and kiddie porn charges. I'm surprised you didn't read it in the papers."

"I just like the pictures. Not a big reader when it comes to the news."

"Can't blame ya. Alright, I kept you guys long enough and I have to write this mess up. Oh, I'm Henry by the way, my friends call me Hank."

"She's Em, I'm Joe. You be safe Hank, good meeting ya. Againish."

"Nice to meet you Em. Good seeing you too… Wolf. You guys have a safe ride home. Shiny side up. Thanks for looking out."

"Not a problem, brother. Rubber side down."

We pulled up to the lodge and shut the bike down. It was two in the morning and the place was dark. We walked the bike up the drive, through the door and into our room, and carefully rolled it to the tarp. Trying our best, not to wake our sleeping guest. She was curled up on her cot like a little bunny in it's burrow, over the covers, wearing nothing but her book. We grabbed the extra blankets and tucked her in. Took a hot, hot shower and crawled into bed, still damp.

"Thanks for the help tonight. I was at a loss."

"It was the least I could do. I've seen a look like that before. And I needed to be there."

"What look?'

"Like a part of you was about to die."

She crawled over me and kissed me. Then she put her nose to mine. I felt her fingers whisper through my hair pushing it passed my ear.

"She didn't even thank you did she."

"She was banged up. I doubt she…"

She shut me up, with a well placed hand, and an even better placed set of lips, "I'll say thank you for her."

"If it wasn't for you, that might have turned out much different, so it's only fair, I share the gratitude back. Thank you."

"Mmmmhmm."

She rode me through three orgasms. When her fourth one came it pulled me with it. We fell asleep damper than when we crawled into bed.

She was still around me.