Deadlocked 5 (12 page)

"When was the last time I met a preacher?" I said.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just talking to myself."

Harrison mumbled a curse at me as he got back to work. The brown wires inside of the column were for the starter, and he swiftly stripped them and rubbed them together to get the car to start. It rumbled and sputtered, but eventually the engine caught and the vehicle hummed, ready to carry us onward. The old man was adept at this and even had electrical tape ready to cover the exposed starter wires to avoid getting shocked while driving.

"I'll drive," he said as he ushered me in. "Grab my stuff and throw it in the back seat."

I did as asked, and then set Stubs back there as well. The sedan was rusted and black smoke puffed out of the back with worrisome regularity, as if the old vehicle was struggling to stay running.

"Can we drive over to the house I was staying at? It's right by where the spike strip was set out. I need to grab my things."

"Sure."

"How much gas is in this thing?"

Harrison tapped on the console with a smile. "Full up. Dexy used to keep the cars out here filled, just in case something happened and they needed to get out of town in a hurry." He smiled and shook his head in appreciation of his lost friend. "You would've liked that girl. She was the one that would steal from the traders. A girl after my own heart, that one. Too young for me though, coulda been my granddaughter. Besides, she had a honey anyhow. Was going to get married." He paused in reflection and then focused back on the task at hand.

We drove out of the industrial p
lant's parking lot and back onto the road that would lead us to my house. "Did you have a house there? In Juniper?"

"No," said Harrison quickly and emphatically, as if it was a foolish question. "I'm not fit for a place like that. I'm a road warrior. A scoundrel and a thief, a beggar and a prophet, a wisher and a dreamer." He shook his head and then scratched at his beard before repeating himself. "I'm not fit for a place like that."

"I thought you were a preacher. What's all this talk about being a scoundrel and a thief?"

He looked at me, his blue eyes sparkling in the fading day's light. They looked oddly beautiful amid his dirt-laden face. When he smiled, his crow's feet stretched streaks of well-worn wrinkles across his leathery skin. "The Bible's full of wisdom, but a man's got to eat. Catch my drift?"

"Not really."

"I've got a life full of sin to atone for, and the only way I'm going to earn my place in Heaven is if I live a damn long life down here, preaching to those that need preaching."

"So how does that make you a scoundrel?"

He looked less happy when he looked at me this time. When he answered, he did it with a sorrowful tone. "How many folks have you met out on the road that were still alive and weren't at least half a scoundrel?"

"Amen," I said with a smile, despite being as far from a religious man as a person could be.

He shook his head and sighed. "I wish you could've seen Juniper. It was a hell of a place, filled with good people. Short on scoundrels. We need more places like that if we're going to build a society again. You know?"

I shook my head and watched the road as we got closer to the house where I'd been staying. "I gave up on society a long time ago."

Harrison was saddened by my admission. "Why's that?"

"What's the point? Every time a new town pops up, the Greys swarm in or the disease rears its ugly head. The only way to make it in this world is to keep moving. That's just the way things are now." I pointed at my dilapidated shelter in the distance. "There's my place."

"That one?" asked Harrison. "The white one with the busted out side? Why were you staying in that shit hole?"

"It had the best view of the road."

Harrison looked at me, and then at the broken down house
as he licked at his teeth under his lips, as if ruminating on something I couldn't understand. "Hm," he murmured.

"What?"

We stopped on the side of the road, near my shelter. Harrison nodded at the house and said, "Nothing, it's just interesting is all."

"What's interesting?"

He adjusted his position so that his right leg was on the seat between us. "Even when you get a chance to put up your feet for a bit, you pick a place like this, with a wall that's fallen down so you can see the road."

"I needed to keep an eye out for the trade caravan," I said.

"Okay, all right." Harrison held up his hands in surrender, making me realize that I'd answered him more forcefully than intended. "You're a road warrior, tried and true. To the core, kid. Heart of asphalt, soul of a traveler. Destination unknown and shit like that."

The old man's garbled speech wasn't worth responding to and I hopped out of the car. I closed the door and then leaned in through the open window. "If you take off with my dog, I'll hunt you down and send you back to see the Devil."

He laughed and looked into the back seat. Stubs was sitting in the center seat, his tongue flopping out as he panted. "Don't worry, Benji, I'm not going to steal your dog."

"It's Ben," I said as I walked away.

I collected my gear, which wasn't difficult since I always kept my things ready for a sudden escape. Before I left, I untied the nylon rope from the banister. The rope was one of my most prized possessions, behind my guns and knife. It not only served to function like you'd expect a rope to, but the knots I'd tied in it also provided me with an easy measuring tool. I wound the rope up and put it onto the side of my pack with a metal clip.

I also took the opportunity to change my clothes and pack up the poncho now that the storm had passed. When I finally em
erged from my shattered shelter I glanced back and thought about Harrison's reaction to it. I probably could've found a home that was intact and still been afforded a fair view of the road. Upon examination, I recognized that my decision to sleep in a home that was falling apart was due to my unfamiliarity with sleeping in a confined space. I preferred being out in the open, alone, and unencumbered by concerns for anything other than my own survival.

"Come on, kid," yelled Harrison. "Don't go feeling all weepy over this place. I'll find you a thousand shitty houses to sleep in, if that's your thing."

"Pop the trunk," I said as I walked to the back of the car.

He did, and I lifted the trunk to put my backpack inside. What I found surprised and delighted me. "Well fuck me," I muttered as I looked down at the arsenal before me.

Harrison watched me from his side view mirror. "What? What's back there? What'd you find?" He opened the door and got out, excited to see what I'd discovered. "Did Dexy steal something good?"

He came around and stared down at the trunk full of ammo and guns. All of it appeared to be military grade, and was in pristine condition. There were several F2000 assault rifles, a box of flares, two flash bang grenades, and enough ammunition to arm a small army. I giggled in delight, like a child stumbling upon a present they weren't supposed to find yet.

Harrison whistled and shook his head. "The Devil's got a plan for you, kid."

"The Devil?" I laughed at the insinuation. "If anything, this is a gift from God!"

He shook his head and walked back to the driver's side door. "God doesn't deal in bullets, kid."

COBRA DAWN

Hailey put her arms around me and pulled my body closer. I didn't have the chance to look at her before we were pressed against one another. I could feel her heart, and she could certainly feel mine as it hammered in my chest. I put my arms around her and she set her chin on my shoulder.

"I'm scared," she said.

"Of what?"

"I'm scared to let you see me."

"Why?" I asked, although I was also leery of revealing myself. The thought of Hailey, one of the prettiest of the Dawns, being self-conscious was endearing.

"I'm scared you'll think I'm ugly. I have freckles, and you don't. Your skin is so perfect and clear. Mine is disgusting."

"Stop it," I said and tried to pull away. She tightened her grip around my shoulders to keep us pressed against one another.

"I'm serious. I feel so ugly. This was a bad idea."

"Well, it might've been a bad idea, but not because you're ugly. You're beautiful. I've always thought you were the most gorgeous girl here. I stared a
t you every chance I got. Your beauty fascinates me." I leaned back and set my hands on her waist. "Let me see you."

She loosened her grip on my shoulders and allowed me to pull away. Our skin was wet from perspiration and we peeled away from each other, causing a sensation I'd never felt before. She quickly put her arms over her breasts as she moved
back.

I took her hands and slowly pulled them down so that we were holding hands, naked in front of another person for the first time. Her skin was pale, and freckles dotted her chest. Her nipples were wider than mine, and her breasts were larger. Her abdominal muscles were taut and when she moved I could see their definition in her stomach. Her pubic hair was red, but not as bright as the hair on her head.

"You're perfect," Hailey said as she looked at me. "I always knew you would be."

"So are you."

She looked down at her body and then took her right hand away from mine to begin pointing at flaws. "No I'm not. Look at all these freckles." She turned and pointed to a mole on her thigh. "And this hideous thing."

"We all have moles, Hailey."

"You don't."

I pointed at the one under my left eye. "Yes I do. Look at this one."

She frowned and laughed. "Are you joking?"

"No. It's huge."

"That mole is tiny. If anything, it makes you stand out from the other Yellows. I think it makes you look pretty."

"Oh yeah, real pretty. A big old black spot right in the middle of my face."

"You're being ridiculous." She put her hand on my waist as she moved closer to look at my mole.

"Don't look at it," I said, but didn't pull away. When she set her hand on my side, she placed it slightly higher than my waist. It wasn't far from touching the underside of my breast, and her thumb was placed along the curve of my ribs. She moved her thumb up as she continued to inspect me, and then she moved her entire hand up, coming even closer to my breast.

"Why not?"

"Because it's ugly."

She stepped closer. "I think you're beautiful. Every part of you."

Hailey's right hand cupped my left breast as she stepped even closer. I felt her other breast press against mine as she leaned her head down and put her mouth against my neck. The sensation of her wet lips on my skin caused the hair on the back of my neck to spring up and my waist to quiver. I was aroused more than I'd ever been in my life, and I wondered if she was as well.

"Does that feel good?" she asked as she slid her lips along the side of my neck.

"Yes," I said, my voice trembling as my heart pounded. I wanted to put my hand between her legs, but I was only brave enough to set it on her thigh as she continued to lick my neck and shoulder. Then she began to kiss my chest and brought her other hand up to pinch my nipple. I yelped in surprise and shock at the sensation and she quickly stopped.

"Did that hurt?"

"No, it felt great. Keep doing it. And put your lips…" I was too embarrassed to continue.

"Put my lips where?"

I pointed to my nipple and bit
my bottom lip. For some reason it was easier to point than to tell her what I wanted.

"Like this?" She wrapped her lips around my breast and traced her tongue around my areola. I nearly collapsed from elation as my knees buckled and my legs grew weak.

"Yes," I moaned. She stopped and pulled away. I reached out for her, desperate to continue. "What's wrong?"

"We should get in the shower before they turn on the view screen."

"Oh, right. I forgot about that." I reached out for her voraciously. "That felt so good. I want to do this forever. I want to explore every inch of you." Now that we'd dared to break protocol and begin touching one another, I was excited to continue. We'd gone past the social barrier that had prevented this deviant behavior, and now there was no turning back - not that I would've turned back even if I could. This was the realization of my most hidden fantasies.

She giggled and took my hand to guide me into the shower. I felt more daring as we stepped in, and the steam began to shoot out from the spouts around us. I set my hand on Hailey's inner thigh and she quickly spread her legs as an invitation for me to continue. I slid my hand up and let my thumb press against her clitoris. I'd spent a lifetime becoming intimately familiar with my own body, and I assumed she would react to the same things I did. I was right.

"Yes," Hailey cried out and pressed her body against the wall as I rubbed my fingers across her. She wanted to reciprocate, but the ecstasy was too intense for her to do anything other than writhe against the wall. The shower was too small for us to have much range of movement, but the closeness forced her leg between mine and I grinded against it, stimulating myself as I continued to pleasure her.