clothing
aside and removed one of his dog tags, slipping it into my pocket. A small,
gold cross hung from its own chain around his neck, and I gently placed it atop
his clothing.
Saying goodbye, I made my way back to where Rachel was
standing with her rifle up and ready. I had noticed the heavy equipment
earlier and now walked over to the backhoe. Climbing into the cab, I was
pleased to find the keys dangling from the ignition. Pleased and surprised,
but I wasn’t going to complain when luck finally came my way.
Starting the big vehicle, I played with the different levers
for a few minutes until I got a feel for how the machine operated. I wouldn’t
be doing the precision excavating that was required for most construction jobs,
so I wasn’t worried about practicing for what I had to do. Driving the machine
to the side of the ditch, I scooped up a big bucketful of dirt, pivoted the arm
and dumped it into the ditch on top of the truck. I kept at it until the hole
was filled in and Jackson was buried. It was the best I could do for a fallen
brother. Leaving the backhoe where it was, I turned off the engine and climbed
down.
“OK, we need to get the hell out of here.” I said. “But
first, I have something in my pack for you.”
Rachel followed me to the Lexus, a curious expression on her
face. Dog was ranging around the area after having thoroughly checked out each
of the dead razorbacks. Pulling out my pack, I retrieved one of the syringes
I’d filled with vaccine when I turned the box I’d received from Irina in for
study. I had brought two doses, but unfortunately only needed one.
I gave Rachel an abbreviated version of what it was, but
after her experience with the girls’ parents, and then Jackson, she didn’t
require any convincing. Turning, she unfastened her pants and lowered them to
expose her ass. Tearing open an alcohol swab, I cleaned a small area and stuck
the needle in. She twitched slightly, looking over her shoulder at me.
“That was a little bit of revenge for all those antibiotic
shots, wasn’t it?” She asked with a grin.
“No. That wasn’t. This is.” I said, pushing the plunger.
Rachel looked confused for a second, and then her eyes opened wide.
“Holy shit! That hurts! Bad!” She said, reaching back and
rubbing the spot where I’d injected her.
She rubbed hard for a few seconds, pulled her pants back up and
kept rubbing. Dog trotted up and sat on my foot as I closed my pack and tossed
it into the SUV. Rachel walked in a tight circle, rubbing her ass and shooting
me an occasional look that said somehow this was my fault. I grinned, opened
the back door and waved Dog inside the Lexus.
A few minutes later we were all inside the vehicle, driving
west. Rachel was still grumbling, wriggling around in her seat as the painful
vaccine spread through her muscles. Dog seemed delighted for things to be back
to normal, taking a seat on the back floor and resting his chin on the leather
upholstered console between the two front seats. I had to agree with him. It
felt good to have the three of us back together.
I pushed our speed up, wanting to get farther west before
the storm struck. Even though it was still afternoon, and the sun was shining
brightly somewhere, it was gloomy under the oppressive overcast. Rachel
finally settled down, reached across the console and took my hand in hers.
“Thank you for finding me.” She said, giving my hand a
squeeze.
“Try not to get lost again. OK?” I said, squeezing back.
She smiled and relaxed back into her seat.
I tried not to let myself think about the change in our
relationship that had just happened. I hadn’t planned it, and in fact was
surprised at myself. But, it had happened. And it felt good. Until I thought
about Katie. Suddenly, I felt like shit. Like I was betraying my wife.
There was only a very remote chance she was still
aside and removed one of his dog tags, slipping it into my pocket. A small,
gold cross hung from its own chain around his neck, and I gently placed it atop
his clothing.
Saying goodbye, I made my way back to where Rachel was
standing with her rifle up and ready. I had noticed the heavy equipment
earlier and now walked over to the backhoe. Climbing into the cab, I was
pleased to find the keys dangling from the ignition. Pleased and surprised,
but I wasn’t going to complain when luck finally came my way.
Starting the big vehicle, I played with the different levers
for a few minutes until I got a feel for how the machine operated. I wouldn’t
be doing the precision excavating that was required for most construction jobs,
so I wasn’t worried about practicing for what I had to do. Driving the machine
to the side of the ditch, I scooped up a big bucketful of dirt, pivoted the arm
and dumped it into the ditch on top of the truck. I kept at it until the hole
was filled in and Jackson was buried. It was the best I could do for a fallen
brother. Leaving the backhoe where it was, I turned off the engine and climbed
down.
“OK, we need to get the hell out of here.” I said. “But
first, I have something in my pack for you.”
Rachel followed me to the Lexus, a curious expression on her
face. Dog was ranging around the area after having thoroughly checked out each
of the dead razorbacks. Pulling out my pack, I retrieved one of the syringes
I’d filled with vaccine when I turned the box I’d received from Irina in for
study. I had brought two doses, but unfortunately only needed one.
I gave Rachel an abbreviated version of what it was, but
after her experience with the girls’ parents, and then Jackson, she didn’t
require any convincing. Turning, she unfastened her pants and lowered them to
expose her ass. Tearing open an alcohol swab, I cleaned a small area and stuck
the needle in. She twitched slightly, looking over her shoulder at me.
“That was a little bit of revenge for all those antibiotic
shots, wasn’t it?” She asked with a grin.
“No. That wasn’t. This is.” I said, pushing the plunger.
Rachel looked confused for a second, and then her eyes opened wide.
“Holy shit! That hurts! Bad!” She said, reaching back and
rubbing the spot where I’d injected her.
She rubbed hard for a few seconds, pulled her pants back up and
kept rubbing. Dog trotted up and sat on my foot as I closed my pack and tossed
it into the SUV. Rachel walked in a tight circle, rubbing her ass and shooting
me an occasional look that said somehow this was my fault. I grinned, opened
the back door and waved Dog inside the Lexus.
A few minutes later we were all inside the vehicle, driving
west. Rachel was still grumbling, wriggling around in her seat as the painful
vaccine spread through her muscles. Dog seemed delighted for things to be back
to normal, taking a seat on the back floor and resting his chin on the leather
upholstered console between the two front seats. I had to agree with him. It
felt good to have the three of us back together.
I pushed our speed up, wanting to get farther west before
the storm struck. Even though it was still afternoon, and the sun was shining
brightly somewhere, it was gloomy under the oppressive overcast. Rachel
finally settled down, reached across the console and took my hand in hers.
“Thank you for finding me.” She said, giving my hand a
squeeze.
“Try not to get lost again. OK?” I said, squeezing back.
She smiled and relaxed back into her seat.
I tried not to let myself think about the change in our
relationship that had just happened. I hadn’t planned it, and in fact was
surprised at myself. But, it had happened. And it felt good. Until I thought
about Katie. Suddenly, I felt like shit. Like I was betraying my wife.
There was only a very remote chance she was still
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