They set out across the desert as soon as the sun set. The full moon rose up into the night sky but both of them resisted the urge to transform so their mount wouldn’t totally freak out and leave them in the middle of nowhere.
“Hazir did say the camel would return home if we left him out in the dunes,” Betsy reminded Gabriel. “I’m fairly sure that if he ran from us, he’d run back home. It’s what he was trained to do.”
“I agree, ma bella,” said Gabriel with a nod. “It would be too great a risk, I think.”
“It’s so quiet out here,” Betsy said then. “Do you think this is what it must be like up on Mars or something?”
“Well, it could be except if we were up there, we would not be breathing,” Gabriel reminded her with a wry chuckle.
Betsy pulled a face at him, and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose, making her laugh. Then she frowned, and said, “I wonder how the kids are doing.”
“I wish I knew,” said Gabriel with a heavy sigh.
“It is beautiful out here,” said Betsy softly. “Do you think Egypt will be like this?”
“Not likely,” he answered, giving her a hug as he smiled. “We should find out soon enough. Do not worry, mi amore, I’m sure this camel won’t get lost.”
Betsy giggled when his hands slipped down to play with her breasts. “Gabriel, don’t start what you can’t finish. This camel will leave while we’re on the ground if we start that. Unless you think we’re going to find a convenient hitching post out here somewhere.”
Gabriel laughed too. “Not so, ma bella. Who said anything about dismounting the camel to finish the business? It would be a small matter of adjusting our clothes and the seating arrangements.”
“I am not having sex with you on the back of a camel,” Betsy informed him. “Especially not while I’m resisting the urge to wolf out.”
“Would that not be a strange sight to behold?” Gabriel chuckled as he drew her closer into his arms. “Two wolves going at it hot and heavy on a camel’s back as he kept right on trotting along? The observer would wonder if they needed to get mental help after that.”
“Stop it!” Betsy said, laughing even harder. The camel snorted at the pair of them. “I think the camel feels that you and I might need some mental help for even having this discussion.”
They laughed for quite a while before they settled into a comfortable silence. At some point Betsy managed to drift off in her husband’s arms. When she woke, all she saw was more desert. There was no real way to know how far they’d traveled, but the sun was rising in the sky, making the temperature quickly rise.
“Drink this water,” said Gabriel as he handed her a canteen. “I can see an oasis up ahead, probably about fifteen minutes away. We can stay there during the heat of the day, and continue on tonight.”
“Good idea,” Betsy agreed.
“It’ll probably take another night to pass into Egyptian territory, but I’ll feel much safer once we do,” said Gabriel then. “Libya is not the safest place for Americans with no valid visa.”
“Which we can’t get for ourselves without telling Lupo right where we are,” said Betsy with a nod.
“Exactly,” he said with a shake of his head. “How does that saying go? ‘Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t’.”
Betsy smirked. “Yeah, something like that,” she answered. “Do you think the camel should be hitched to one of the trees?”
“I guess,” he answered uncertainly. “I admit, I know very little about camels. I never thought I’d actually be riding one. Of course, when I left Italy as a small boy, I never thought I’d be returning to this part of the world at all, but one never knows.”
They came up to the edge of the oasis a few minutes later and the camel strode right in and came to a stop beside the water. It settled down onto its haunches and began to drink greedily. Gabriel and Betsy climbed off its back, and Gabriel
“Hazir did say the camel would return home if we left him out in the dunes,” Betsy reminded Gabriel. “I’m fairly sure that if he ran from us, he’d run back home. It’s what he was trained to do.”
“I agree, ma bella,” said Gabriel with a nod. “It would be too great a risk, I think.”
“It’s so quiet out here,” Betsy said then. “Do you think this is what it must be like up on Mars or something?”
“Well, it could be except if we were up there, we would not be breathing,” Gabriel reminded her with a wry chuckle.
Betsy pulled a face at him, and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her nose, making her laugh. Then she frowned, and said, “I wonder how the kids are doing.”
“I wish I knew,” said Gabriel with a heavy sigh.
“It is beautiful out here,” said Betsy softly. “Do you think Egypt will be like this?”
“Not likely,” he answered, giving her a hug as he smiled. “We should find out soon enough. Do not worry, mi amore, I’m sure this camel won’t get lost.”
Betsy giggled when his hands slipped down to play with her breasts. “Gabriel, don’t start what you can’t finish. This camel will leave while we’re on the ground if we start that. Unless you think we’re going to find a convenient hitching post out here somewhere.”
Gabriel laughed too. “Not so, ma bella. Who said anything about dismounting the camel to finish the business? It would be a small matter of adjusting our clothes and the seating arrangements.”
“I am not having sex with you on the back of a camel,” Betsy informed him. “Especially not while I’m resisting the urge to wolf out.”
“Would that not be a strange sight to behold?” Gabriel chuckled as he drew her closer into his arms. “Two wolves going at it hot and heavy on a camel’s back as he kept right on trotting along? The observer would wonder if they needed to get mental help after that.”
“Stop it!” Betsy said, laughing even harder. The camel snorted at the pair of them. “I think the camel feels that you and I might need some mental help for even having this discussion.”
They laughed for quite a while before they settled into a comfortable silence. At some point Betsy managed to drift off in her husband’s arms. When she woke, all she saw was more desert. There was no real way to know how far they’d traveled, but the sun was rising in the sky, making the temperature quickly rise.
“Drink this water,” said Gabriel as he handed her a canteen. “I can see an oasis up ahead, probably about fifteen minutes away. We can stay there during the heat of the day, and continue on tonight.”
“Good idea,” Betsy agreed.
“It’ll probably take another night to pass into Egyptian territory, but I’ll feel much safer once we do,” said Gabriel then. “Libya is not the safest place for Americans with no valid visa.”
“Which we can’t get for ourselves without telling Lupo right where we are,” said Betsy with a nod.
“Exactly,” he said with a shake of his head. “How does that saying go? ‘Damned if you do, and damned if you don’t’.”
Betsy smirked. “Yeah, something like that,” she answered. “Do you think the camel should be hitched to one of the trees?”
“I guess,” he answered uncertainly. “I admit, I know very little about camels. I never thought I’d actually be riding one. Of course, when I left Italy as a small boy, I never thought I’d be returning to this part of the world at all, but one never knows.”
They came up to the edge of the oasis a few minutes later and the camel strode right in and came to a stop beside the water. It settled down onto its haunches and began to drink greedily. Gabriel and Betsy climbed off its back, and Gabriel
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