The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 56

The night was cold and without an outlet for the RV’s heater, the extra blankets they brought from Cle Elum were seen as nothing less than a godsend. The girls spent the night together in the back bedroom, while Eli slept on a fold-out bed somewhere near the middle of the RV. Knowing the girls were involved in a relationship, Eli gave them plenty of space for intimacy. Despite his somewhat childish attitude, he had, in fact, accepted them and their relationship for what it was – normal. But that night would not be one of intimacy but sleep. However, sleep did not come easily for Eli. His mind was flooded with the image of decomposition after witnessing the body of the once-living human being he had flattened against the pavement. He had purged himself of the emotions associated with the rank leftovers of what had rolled under the wheel of the RV, but he feared he would never be completely free of what spun around in his mind. Now, he had acquired a remedy in the form of a simple plant that promised to exorcise the demons of decomposition that haunted him.

It wasn’t daylight that woke them the next morning but the cold. Before the girls crawled out of bed, they noticed their body’s response to the frigid air.

“Oh my God,” Aurora said. “It’s so cold. I think my nipples are going to fall off.”

Maya spent most of the night pressed against Aurora and couldn’t help feeling aroused. Pulling the covers up to their necks, she ducked her head beneath them.

“I think I can take care of that,” she said. Once under the covers, she was true to her word and exposing Aurora’s breasts, took one of her nipples between her lips, and sucked gently. Aurora took in a passionate gasp as her hand wandered down between Maya’s legs. Raising a knee, Maya gave her an open invitation to do as she wished, and Aurora carefully opened the fleshy pink lapels and, finding the way in, inserted a finger. Now, both lay under the covers, engaged in the beginnings of what they thought was a lengthy act of passion – until Eli’s voice interrupted them.

“Shit,” Maya said.

With sudden frustration, both turned over on their backs and let out a tense sign.

“God damn it,” Aurora said. “Why couldn’t he sleep just a little longer?”

Sitting up, Maya offered an attractive suggestion. “I know,” she said. “Hey, maybe we can go for a walk in the woods sometime.”

“With all this snow?” Aurora responded. “I don’t know. I’m cold enough already.”

Maya understood but thought that a bit of teasing might help.

“Tell you what,” she said. “We’ll take a couple of blankets with us. I’ll keep you warm.” Aurora was quick to change her mind and was now looking forward to the encounter. Again, Eli continued to call to them.

“Come on, you two,” he said. “Get your fingers out of each other’s twats and let’s go! We’ve got shit to do!”

The girls had always known Eli to be crude, but he was quickly crossing the line into obscenity. “Oh my God,” Aurora said. “He didn’t just say that.”

“Yeah, he did,” Maya replied. “But I don’t know what we’d do without him.”

Their brief conversation was broken by Eli’s voice as he, once again, demanded their attention. “You two coming out of there?” he asked. “Don’t make me come in there. I don’t want to see that shit.”

Maya was quick to respond.

“Will you just give us a few minutes?!” A moment went by, followed by another remark from Eli.

“On the other hand,” he said. “Maybe I can watch sometime.”

Aurora suddenly flew into a rage. She knew Eli could be difficult, but now he had crossed the line. Rushing out of the bedroom, she confronted him with a firm knee to the groin, sending him tumbling to the floor. There was only one thing she could think of saying to him.

“Eli!” she began. “I don’t ever want to hear that again. Now shut the fuck up!”

Her response was nothing less than a stern warning, and Eli heard it loud and clear. “Alright,” he said. “Jesus Christ, I think you rammed my balls up into my stomach.” Getting to his feet, he cupped his aching groin while limping to the couch nearby. He groaned with pain as he managed a few more words. “Remind me never to run into you in a dark alley.”

With an obvious sense of bravado, Aurora issued one last statement of strength as Maya walked up behind her.

“That’s right, bitch,” she said. “So keep your mouth shut!”

Standing behind her, Maya congratulated her on establishing her strength and, to some degree, female dominance over a man who very much needed to learn respect.

“Wow,” she began. “You schooled him good.” Aurora stood with an angry expression -- long enough for Eli to see it. He quickly learned the consequences of teasing the girls about their sexuality. But there was one thing he was correct about – there was, indeed, work to be done, and the evening sun would be falling before they knew it.

While Eli was recovering, the girls began the task of preparing breakfast, but without power, they would resort to campfire cooking. Naturally, Aurora elected herself for the duty of gathering wood and starting the fire. Not knowing the area, she decided to stay close to the RV and even though the ground was covered with a heavy blanket of snow, she managed to bring back more than what she needed. Later, she would investigate the surrounding camps and houses for wood that had already been cut – but not alone. She would gather Maya and Eli to explore the area with her. For now, she believed they had enough for the day’s cooking. Yet, there was one other thing that needed to be considered. How would they heat the RV? Everywhere they went, the surrounding land was covered in darkness, leading them to conclude that electricity was a thing of the past. And to the best of their knowledge, cell towers were still not functioning. All things taken into consideration, the small group now assumed that these conveniences were never returning, but for the sake of maintaining their sanity, no one spoke of it. But Aurora had an idea. Thanks to her outdoor skills, she surmised that if they burned the fire for a few hours, it would heat the outside of the RV and thus provide warmth inside. It was brilliant, and after the sun retreated below the horizon, Eli stoked the fire and let it burn. Although it accomplished its goal, it was out by morning. Nevertheless, knowing it worked as planned was a rare accomplishment and gave the group a minuscule amount of hope that survival was possible. Now, they would find a way to capitalize on that, and planned to explore a few nearby cabins for firewood and other resources.