The Road Home by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 60

As the night wore on, their grief began to subside into exhaustion as the girls drifted off, but Maya, shaking herself awake, gently nudged Aurora into a light state of wakefulness.

“Come on,” she began. “We need to go to bed.” Taking Aurora by the hand, she led her back to the bedroom, where they drew back the covers and crawled in. Snuggling for warmth, there would be no romantic play that night – only whispers of what to do next.

“Do you think we could bury his body?” Aurora asked.

Maya understood the necessity of Christian burials and the fact that they gave the living a sense of closure. However, there were two obvious points to her response.

“I don’t think so, hon,” she replied. “The ground is frozen solid and Eli is likely in pieces, so I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” Aurora was not the religious type and, in fact, didn’t believe in a literal God. She had a strong tendency to put her faith in herself – her decisions, mistakes, and actions. If she screwed up, it was herself she held responsible. But there was one more issue she wanted to bring up. “Can we go and see him in the morning?” she asked.

Emotionally, Aurora was becoming stronger, but Maya didn’t believe that she was strong enough to see the shredded bits and pieces left behind by one of nature’s fiercest animals.

“I don’t think that’s such a great idea,” she replied. “I’m not even sure we’d recognize him – all that blood and organs ripped apart.” This brief description was enough to make Aurora feel somewhat queasy, and she quickly changed her mind.

“I think we should leave tomorrow – first thing in the morning.”

There was no arguing this and after a troubled sleep, both rose with the rising sun and prepared to move on. But first things first. Neither would be able to remain alert enough to drive without coffee and starting a fire, breakfast was quickly prepared.

No sooner than the breakfast dishes had been cleaned, Maya sat in the driver’s seat, started the engine, and began their exodus. They didn’t look out the windows, and they didn’t slow down, as Maya drove as fast as road conditions would allow. Although Aurora tried to talk her into slowing down, Maya, perhaps more horrified by the attack on Eli than her, maintained her speed but not so much that she would endanger their lives. Within roughly two hours, they felt the sensation of the asphalt of I-90 rolling under the wheels and pulling off under the West Pointe Parkway Bridge. Again, Maya burst into tears as Aurora walked up and held her.

“I can’t do this anymore,” she said. “I’ve always been strong, but now all I want to do is die.” Rocking her from side to side, Aurora tried to comfort her in whispers.

“Everything’s going to be okay,” she said. “We’ll go to Colorado and find a place on the outskirts of Denver – just the two of us. And we’ll leave all of this behind.”

Reaching down, she kissed Maya on the head and asked how much longer she wanted to remain under the bridge. It offered a surprising degree of cover, but sooner or later, they would have to continue. However, it seemed as though their original destination of upstate New York was now indefinitely interrupted.

Maya pulled herself together and, wiping the tears from her face, looked back at the highway. “I hope you’re right,” Maya said. “You know, I kind of like the idea of going to Colorado. Maybe I can learn to ski.”

Aurora saw an opportunity for a bit of humor. “I’m not so sure, myself,” she began. “I’d end up falling on my ass.”

With a smile on her face, Maya contributed to her attempt at breaking the tension that had collected since discovering the gruesome attack on Eli. “Well,” she said. “We can’t have that, can we? I mean, you’ve got a great ass and if you broke it I wouldn’t be able to give it a slap once in a while.” Aurora smiled broadly and, turning Maya’s face towards her, kissed her warmly on the lips. “I love you,” she said.

As much a master of the English language as she was, Maya had difficulty with the expression of those three words. She didn’t know why, but found other ways to declare her affection, and when it came to Aurora, a light kiss seemed to convey what words often escaped her.

Pushing down on the gas, Maya continued east on I-90. At the same time, she glanced down at the dashboard and was shocked to see the gas gauge. “Shit,” she said. “We need to get some gas.” Fortunately, she had grabbed two plastic gas containers when they gassed up at Cle Elum and filling them up stored both in the hold just forward of the right rear wheel. However, with no other place ahead to pull over, she stopped and backed up to the bridge. As she got out, Maya instructed Aurora to monitor the gas and yell back to her when it indicated a full tank. It was a simple enough task, but Aurora wanted more. She wanted to drive, and as she looked around the driver’s seat, realized how complicated it would be. It took more time than she expected, but as the gauge approached ‘full’ she ran to the door and yelled to Maya, who lifted the now empty container from the RV’s gas well. Stepping back in, she found Aurora in the driver’s seat. “What are you doing?” she asked. She could have been bored, or perhaps she wanted to start contributing to the efforts of their journey, but Aurora thought what she wanted was obvious. “I want to drive,” she replied. “Will you teach me?”

Maya was stunned. Certainly, Aurora knew how to drive, and operating the RV was not much different.

“Don’t you know how to drive?” she asked. “Of course, I know how to drive,” Aurora replied. “But driving this leviathan seems like it would be a lot harder. What do you think? Will you teach me?”

Parked under the bridge, Maya knew that anyone wandering nearby would see them, and she didn’t want to deal with yet another problem. She simply wanted the two of them to be left alone, so there wasn’t time to go through even the basics of operating a vehicle of this size.

“Okay,” she said. “But we’ll have to do it later, okay?”

A smile came to Aurora’s face as she left the driver’s seat, knowing that she would soon be piloting the forty-five-foot vehicle.

With a full tank, Maya touched the gas pedal and again sent the RV rolling east as Aurora studied the map, trying to determine the best route to Colorado. After estimating the distance, she told Maya something that might be considered bad news.

“Uh, Maya?” she said. “I think you might want to know this. Colorado is about eight hundred miles away. That’s three states. Do you still want to go there – because I’m good with going someplace else? What do you think?”

As much as she was looking forward to the snowy peaks of Colorado, Maya was certainly willing to compromise.

“Alright,” she replied. “What do you suggest?” Studying the maps, Aurora pointed out a place where she was both safe and beautiful and quickly plotted the shortest course for it.

“How about the Grand Tetons,” she replied. “There’s a valley there with a few small towns. We could settle in there. What do you think?” Maya thought it was a great idea, but she needed more information.

“Sounds good,” she replied. “But what else can you tell me about this place? I think it’s important to know what we’re getting into. And what does Grand Teton mean anyway?”

Aurora agreed and, having collected more information, went down the list.

“Well,” she responded. “I think it’s pronounced in French, and it probably means ‘big tits’.” Maya began laughing uncontrollably, unable to believe that any mountain could carry such a moniker.

“You’re shitting me,” she said. “Who the hell would name a bunch of mountains ‘big tits’?” Aurora got up and walking up behind Maya, reached around and firmly grabbing her breasts, whispered in her ear.

“They probably saw yours.”

Feeling the sensation of her hands clasping her breasts, Maya was overcome with arousal and began to lose her focus while behind the wheel. “Oh, my God,” she said. “Aurora, not while I’m driving. We can play later.”

Knowing the consequences of her advance, Aurora backed off but even though she was a bit disappointed, she looked forward to what they would be doing that night.

Once the flush of passion faded from Maya’s face, she reestablished her attention on the road but, remembering her conversation with Aurora, asked for more information.

“Okay,” she began. “So, tell me some more about these titty mountains?”

Aurora let out a giggle and continued. “Alright,” she began. “The Grand Tetons are about five hundred miles away. The highest peak is 13,775 feet above sea level and…” Hearing her quote the elevation of the highest mountain of the range, Maya interrupted with a bit more humor.

“Holy fuck,” she said. “That’s one huge tit.” Knowing how important this information was, Aurora took on a serious tone as she continued describing the area they were bound for. “The mountain range is in the northwest corner of Wyoming, and there’s a valley next to it that’s fifty-five miles long. The elevation of the valley looks to be about 6,800 feet above sea level.” There was only one thing that concerned them. How much snow had already fallen on the valley? If the area had been snowed in, they would have to find another place to go and that meant navigating the RV out of dangerous country, likely prone to avalanches. Although this information left Maya somewhat shaken, she tried to brush it off with a casual remark. “So, what you’re saying is that there’s really nothing to worry about, right?”

Aurora saw through her facetious remark and playfully countered with one of her own. “Oh, yeah, totally,” she said.

They knew what to expect when they arrived, but their concern now was getting there and continuing to study the map, Aurora discovered not only a way to get to the valley but where they could stop.

“I got it,” she said. “We stay on route 90 West until we get to Livingston. Then we turn south on Route 89, then get on Route 191. It’s a straight shot and there are a few towns along the way where we can restock. Do we still have that siphon? We may have to get gas from a few cars.”

“We have two,” Maya replied.

Maya had already considered this possibility and would rather obtain gas from the underground tanks of gas stations than risk seeing the liquefied dead still in their cars. The very thought of it nauseated her, but if it had to be done, then so be it.