The Wild, Part Eleven

“Seriously, who are you?”

Michelle glanced at Samantha, saw the grin on her face. Laughing, she said, “Shut up.”

“I’m just a girl trying to get home?” Samantha said, still grinning at her.

“Too much?” Michelle asked.

“It was perfect,” Samantha said, leaning in for a kiss, “my girlfriend is a badass.”

“I don’t know about that,” Michelle said, then a little self-consciously, “I guess I’ve watched one too many action movies with my dad.”

“At least you didn’t bust out a ‘Yippee-ki-yay, motherfucker’,” Samantha said, laughing.

Her eyes wide, she asked, “You know ‘Die Hard’?”

“I have a dad and an older brother, remember,” Samantha said, shrugging, “I’ve seen my share of action movies.”

“Huh,” Michelle said, then laughed, “I can’t see you watching action movies.”

“Am I losing my preppy cheerleader street cred?” Samantha asked, amused.

“A little,” Michelle said, sheepishly.

“Well, don’t tell anyone,” Samantha said, grinning at her, “they’ll take away my pompoms.”

Laughing, Michelle said, “Can’t have that.”

“Seriously though,” Samantha said, sobering up some, “that was some quick thinking with the radio. Do you think it bought us some time?”

“I hope so,” Michelle said, glancing over her shoulder. The muddy ground was lousy with their footprints. Even an unskilled tracker would be able to follow them. Michelle looked forward again and thought, God, I hope so.

Assuming the man Blue took down hadn’t lied, the remaining two guys were still looking for them further to the east. Michelle wondered how long they’d search before trying to get in contact with their downed compatriot. She hoped for a good long while, so they’d have to backtrack a long ways to look for him. The more ground they had to search, the better.

Michelle wondered how far they had fanned out in their search pattern. Danny had been close enough to hear the gunshots, but that didn’t tell her much. The sound of the AR-15 could travel a good ways, so he could have been a hundred yards away or a mile. The fact that he hadn’t come running when the shots went up seemed to suggest he was at least a little ways away.

Hopefully far enough away in case he starts yelling his head off, Michelle thought, mentally kicking herself for not gagging him. She had been in such a hurry to get clear of the cave that she hadn’t thought of it.

She wanted to walk a little faster, but the terrain was a mess of hills to climb and rock formations to dodge. The footing was a little treacherous, wet leaves and mud trying to turn every hill into a slip and slide. Their pace was slowed to a crawl. She could only hope the guys from the camp were having as much trouble as they were.

“Ugh,” Samantha said, making a sour face, “this mud was a lot more fun last night.”

That line made Michelle smile, and she said, “Yeah, it was.”

“You’ve still got a bit of mud on your neck,” Samantha said.

Laughing, Michelle said, “That’s probably the least of the places I still have mud.”

“True,” Samantha said, grinning.

Michelle sobered up some, said, “We are leaving clear tracks.”

“I know,” Samantha said, glancing over her shoulder.

“We need to hurry,” Michelle said.

“This mud isn’t making it easy,” Samantha said.

“I know,” Michelle sighed.

“How long do you think we have?”

Taking a deep breath, Michelle said, “We’ll know when they start trying to contact him. They’ll have to backtrack to his position… He’ll slow them down with his bum leg… If we keep moving, we should be able to stay out in front of them.”

I hope, Michelle thought, but didn’t say it out loud.

“So the longer they wait to contact him…” Samantha said, meeting Michelle’s eyes.

“The better our chances,” Michelle said.

Nodding, Samantha turned her attention back to the terrain in front of her. Michelle did the same, walking as fast as the slippery mud sucking at her shoes would let her. Their pace wasn’t nearly fast enough for her tastes.

As they walked, Michelle kept waiting for the crackle of static from the radio on her hip. With each tick of the second hand, she let herself relax some. Her nerves no longer stretched tight, she realized she was starving. She and Samantha had burned a whole lot of calories last night, and their breakfast plans had been interrupted.

Stopping for a second, she said, “Grab us some breakfast.”

Samantha unzipped Michelle’s pack, fished out some beef jerky. As they walked, they chewed their way through the salty meat. It wasn’t eggs and bacon, but it kept Michelle’s stomach from gurgling. Blue didn’t seem to mind. Then again, she probably didn’t even taste the jerky, she ate it so fast.

“Not a big fan of chewing, are you Blue?” Michelle asked.

The wolf chuffed in the back of her throat indignantly.

“You need to learn to savor your food, is all I’m saying,” Michelle said.

Blue chose to ignore her.

Laughing, Michelle said, “Have it your way.”

“It was kind of crazy Blue knew what you wanted her to do,” Samantha said, looking at the wolf curiously.

“It wasn’t exactly what I had in mind but very effective,” Michelle said, stroking the wolf’s head, “you did good, Blue.”

“She did,” Samantha agreed, still giving Blue that weighing look, “too good. How did she know to do that?”

Michelle smiled at Samantha, said, “Because she is smarter than the average bear.”

Samantha laughed, “We should start calling her Yogi.”

“I think Blue could teach Yogi a thing or two,” Michelle said.

“Yeah,” Samantha said, still laughing.

As they walked, Michelle thought about the wolf’s repeated displays of intelligence. Michelle wondered if all wolves were as bright or if Blue was the exception to the rule. She knew dogs could be trained to be service animals, but Blue hasn’t had any such training. Michelle had seen videos on the internet of dogs escaping their enclosures or raiding the refrigerator when their owners were away. Maybe Blue just had that sort of sly smarts.

Michelle was distracted from her thoughts when Samantha stopped walking. Glancing at her, Michelle raised her eyebrows questioningly. Samantha held her finger to her lips, listening intently. Michelle strained her own ears, trying to figure out what the girl had heard. Then she heard it, too.

“Water,” Michelle said, then frowned. She had checked the GPS when they left the river, and there weren’t supposed to be any more rivers or streams between them and the US border. Still, there was no mistaking the sound of moving water.

They found the source of the sound five minutes later. It was a small creek running east to west. Standing on its northern bank, Michelle thought if they had made it here yesterday before the storm, this creek wouldn’t have been here. She could see signs that this was a wash.

Crouching down, Michelle ran her hand through the muddy water. She felt Samantha watching her and straightened up. Wiping her hand on her jeans, she said, “We are leaving tracks that a blind man could follow.”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, starting to smile, “you’ve got that look, again.”

Laughing, Michelle said, “I have an idea, but you might not like it.”

“What is it?”

“If we wade through the water, we won’t leave any tracks,” Michelle said.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Samantha said, meeting Michelle’s eyes, “but I get the feeling there’s more.”

“The guys from the camp will eventually come to this creek, when they get around to following our footprints,” Michelle said, then pointed upstream, “they’ll expect us to head away from them. If we head downstream instead, we might throw them off our trail for good.”

“Or we might run right into them,” Samantha said.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, snorting, “that’s a possibility.”

“You want to head downstream, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Michelle said, sighing, “I think it’s our best chance of losing them.”

Nodding, Samantha said, “We head downstream, then.”

They took a minute to remove their shoes and socks, rolling their jeans as high as they would go. Michelle wasn’t sure how deep the creek was, but she was hoping it wasn’t more than knee deep. Slogging through the water was going to be cold enough without having wet clothing, too.

Both girls gasped as they stepped into the water. Michelle didn’t think it was cold enough to worry about hypothermia for a while, but it was still a shock to the system. She had to fight the urge to jump right back out, again.

“It’s so cold!” Samantha laughed.

“Freezing,” Michelle agreed.

Blue looked at them from the bank for a moment, as if wondering what in the world these silly humans were doing.

“Come on, Blue,” Samantha said.

Blue looked at Michelle dubiously. Michelle thought she could read the wolf’s mind and Blue was thinking, Seriously? You want me to get in the cold water, too? After you two gasped like that? Surely you jest.

“Sorry Blue, but she’s right. You are leaving tracks, too. If you stay on the bank, they’ll know which way we headed,” Michelle said, shivering.

Reluctantly, Blue waded in after them, and the girls started walking downstream. After a while, either she got used to the cold, or her legs went numb because Michelle stopped noticing the cold. Still, she figured they’d only walk a mile or so in the water, just enough to make it extremely difficult for their followers to pick up their trail again, even if they decided to follow them to the east.

They had been walking for ten minutes or so when the radio on Michelle’s hip crackled and one of the men from the camp spoke up, “You guys having any luck?”

“Nothing doing here,” Another voice said.

There was a heavy silence as the duo waited for the third leg of their tripod to report. Michelle glance at Samantha, who nodded. It had been about two hours since the girls’ run-in with the guy Blue took down.

When the silence stretch a little too long, the original voice said, “Tommy?”

More silence, followed by the second voice saying, “That dumbass has his radio off.”

“I spoke to him about an hour ago,” the original voice, which turned out to be Danny, said, “it was on then.”

“Huh,” the unidentified man said, then, “Come back, Tommy.”

After a moment, Danny said, “He shot at something, Slim… Said it was a wolf.”

So they are Slim, Danny and Tommy, Michelle thought, smiling, so much for radio security. These guys are idiots.

“Do you think the wolf got him?” Slim asked.

“Maybe,” Danny said, then after a pause, “something funny going on, maybe.”

“What? You think those girls got him?” Slim asked, laughing.

“I don’t know, man. Something feels off about this,” Danny said, then tried Tommy again, “Dammit Tommy. Come back, you piece of shit.”

There was another tense moment of silence, then Slim said, “He’s not answering.”

“Fuck,” Danny said, then sighed heavily, “let’s go look for his stupid ass. It better have a wolf bite in it, or I swear to Christ… If he is just dicking around with us or fucking off somewhere, I’m going to kick his ass.”

“What about the girls?” Slim asked.

“They might as well be a needle in a fucking haystack,” Danny said, sighing again, “let’s find Dipshit, then we’ll figure out what to do next.”

“He is… Well, he was west of us,” Slim said.

“How long ago did he radio you?” Danny asked.

“About two-three hours.”

“Jesus,” Danny said, laughing dryly, “let’s go find him.”

Michelle turned to Samantha, said, “Two hours back to where we left Tommy, then another two hours to the creek… Four hours. Maybe five.”

“That’s not a lot,” Samantha said.

“It’s enough,” Michelle said, starting to walk again, “we’ll walk a bit further in the creek then turn south, again.”

“Okay,” Samantha said.

———————————

“Slim, I found Tommy and you ain’t going to believe this.”

Michelle took the radio off her hip, held it up so she and Samantha could listen. Even Blue’s ears pricked up.

“How is he?”

“Chewed up, but he’ll live,” Danny said.

“So there was a wolf,” Slim said.

“Yeah and it’s the girls’ pet,” Danny said, then after a pause, “they sicced it on him.”

“Seriously?” Slim asked, sounding dubious.

“They have his radio and his gun, too,” Danny said, laughing, “asshole got mugged by a couple of little girls.”

In the background, the girls heard Tommy yell, “Fuck you. It was the damn wolf! Came out of nowhere, knocked me down. Then the dark hair girl was there with her bow in my face. Nothing I could do.”

“Shut up, Tommy. We are a little south of where the river turns,” Danny said.

“Make some noise, I’m almost there,” Slim said.

“Hurry. Tommy needs stitches and antibiotics in a bad way. We need to get him to town,” Danny said.

“Shit,” Slim said, then there was a long pause, “you there, little girls?”

Michelle looked at Samantha, who shrugged. Michelle didn’t know if it was wise to communicate with these men. She hesitated, finally pushed the talk button said, “Yeah.”

“What the hell are you two doing out here?” Slim asked, then snorted, “other than being a major pain in my fucking ass.”

Hesitating, Michelle wondered if she should lie to him, make up a story about camping with her family. In the end, she said, “We were in a plane crash. We are just trying to get home.”

Laughing sourly, Slim said, “You just stumbled upon our camp by accident? Talk about shitty luck.”

“We don’t care about what you are doing out here,” Michelle said, then added, “we don’t know anything.”

There was a long pause, then Slim said, “You know enough.”

Michelle glanced at Samantha, then said, “Listen. Chasing after us is a waste of time, especially with your friend bleeding everywhere.”

“He’s bleeding because of you two fucking cunts,” Danny said, menacingly.

“Would have you treated us any better if you found us first?” Michelle asked, anger creeping into her voice, “I let your friend live. Didn’t have to… Probably shouldn’t have. I doubt you would have done the same for us.”

Laughing, Slim said, “You’ve got backbone, Kid. I’ll give you that.”

“She knows how to use the gun,” Tommy said, coming on the radio.

“How do you know?” Slim asked.

“I watched her check the magazine… She holds it like she’s used one before,” Tommy said.

“That so, Kid? You an Army brat or something?” Slim asked.

“Something like that,” Michelle said.

Another long pause, then Slim said, “How about we let bygones be bygones?”

“What? Are you serious?” Danny asked, sounding pissed, “they fucked up my brother!”

“He got sloppy. He got his ass chewed on because of it,” Slim said, then to Michelle, “how about it? No hard feelings?”

“Just like that?” Michelle asked, incredulously.

“We’ve burned the camp. Even if you led someone back there, there wouldn’t be anything to see,” Slim said.

“They know our names. They had to hear them over the radio,” Danny said.

“They know our first names, that’s it,” Slim said.

“They know what Tommy looks like,” Danny pleaded.

“He looks like every other inbred redneck,” Slim said.

“Hey, fuck you, Slim,” Danny yelled.

“Listen, Danny,” Slim said, trying to sound patient and failing, “we have two options- we look for them, or we get Tommy back to town. On foot, it’s going to take us two days- maybe more if Tommy can’t walk. We have no supplies, no water. I’m assuming they stole our food while they were at our camp and they have a head start on us… They are armed and have a bloody wolf. Trying to find them seems like a fucking waste of time.”

There was just static for a long moment, then Danny said, “I found their prints. I know where they are headed.”

“Danny, you fucking idiot,” Slim said, laughing, “they are listening! Do you think they are just going to keep walking in a straight line, now?”

Michelle grinned at Samantha, said, “I take it Slim is the brains of the operation.”

Laughing, Samantha said, “Which isn’t saying much.”

“Ladies?” Slim said.

“Yeah, we are still here,” Michelle said, trying not to sound amused.

“Good luck,” Slim said. He almost sounded like he meant it.

Caught off guard, Michelle said, “You, too.”

Then there was radio silence. Michelle looked at Samantha, asked, “Do you think he’s serious?”

“I don’t know,” Samantha said, then shrugged, “we just stick to the plan and assume he is lying.”

Michelle nodded, then frowned. Looking back in the general direction of the cave where they had left Tommy bleeding, Michelle said, “They didn’t sound Canadian, did they?”

“What do you mean?” Samantha asked.

“Slim said about and not ‘aboot’,” Michelle said, still frowning, “they sounded American.”

“So?” Samantha asked.

A little sheepishly, Michelle said, “I guess it doesn’t matter. It’s just odd, is all.”

“Okay,” Samantha laughed, giving her a kiss, “We should probably get moving.”

They had stayed in the creek as long as they could stand, then climbed out. Michelle figured they had covered a couple of miles before the water just got too cold. The morning sun had felt good on their feet as they sat on the bank to let them dry. They had grabbed something to eat while they had a moment of downtime and were just putting their shoes back on when the Danny came on the radio to say he had found Tommy.

Standing up, Michelle picked up her backpack and said, “Let’s go.”

Michelle looked up at the sun, getting her bearings, then started them walking south, again.

———————————–

“Is that a cow?”

Michelle started to laugh, figuring Samantha had to be seeing things. It was just a trick of the failing light. Then she saw it, too. She blinked a couple of times, but she still saw it. What was a cow doing out here in the middle of the forest? Frowning, she started walking toward it.

As they got closer, she said, “Stay here, Blue. You’ll spook it.”

The wolf looked at her for a second, then at the cow. Finally, Blue yawned and sat down to wait. Michelle took a second to scratch the wolf behind her ears, said, “Good girl, Blue.”

Michelle approached the animal from the front, moving slowly. The cow looked up from the grass it was chewing on and watched Michelle walk toward it. It didn’t seem concerned about Michelle, which seemed to suggest it was used to being around other humans.

“What are you doing out here, girl?” Michelle said, in a soothing voice. She put her hand on the cow’s neck, gently stroking it. Looking around, Michelle wondered where the cow could have come from.

Samantha appeared at her side, said, “There must be a farm around here somewhere.”

“Maybe,” Michelle said, still looking around. All she saw was forest.

“What are you doing with my cow?” someone said from behind them.

Whirling around, Michelle saw a sixty-something woman in jeans and a long-sleeved shirt point a double barrel shotgun at them. Her heart racing, she held up her hands and backed away from the cow. The barrel of the gun followed her.

“We just saw it and-” Samantha said, her voice shaky with fear. She flinched when the woman pulled the hammers back.

“Put the gun on the ground,” the woman said, pointing the shotgun for emphasis, “nice and slow.”

Swallowing hard, Michelle eased the assault rifle off her shoulder and put on the ground at her feet. Putting her hands back up, she said, “We don’t want to cause any trouble.”

The woman relaxed some, but the gun was still trained on Michelle and Samantha. Narrowing her eyes, the woman said, “What are you two girls doing out here in the middle of nowhere?”

“Our plane crashed up north of here,” Michelle said.

“Then where did you get the assault rifle?” The woman asked.

“It’s a long story,” Michelle said.

The woman looked at her a long moment, then the barrel of the gun dipped some. Michelle was glad to see the woman’s finger on the trigger guard and not the trigger itself.

There was low, menacing growl and Michelle saw that Blue had crept up on the woman. She was close enough to pounce, her body tense and ready to attack. The woman started to turn the gun on the wolf, but Michelle said, “I wouldn’t, if I were you.”

The woman froze.

“It’s okay, Blue. She’s not going to hurt us,” Michelle said to the wolf.

Blue didn’t seem so sure, the tension still in her posture. There was the same rumble in the back of her throat as her brilliant blue eyes fixed on the shotgun. The woman smartly dropped it.

“She’s okay, Blue. She’s just protecting her livestock,” Michelle said, going to the wolf. She put her hand on the wolf’s head, and her posture changed immediately.

“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” the woman said, with an anxious little laugh, “I thought I was done for!”

“Her name is Blue,” Michelle said, smiling at the woman, “she adopted us, and she’s very protective.”

“She wild?” The woman asked, risking a look at Michelle.

“Yeah,” Michelle said.

“This part of the long story, too?”

“Yeah,” Michelle said, laughing.

Nodding, the woman said, “Well, if Blue promises to behave, you can tell me about it back at the farm.”

“You’ll behave, won’t you, Blue?” Michelle said.

Blue chuffed in agreement, then gave the woman a tongue lulled out, affable grin. She looked like nothing more than the family dog happy to see a familiar face. The woman gave the wolf a curious look, then shrugged.

“We better get going then,” the woman said, starting to bend over and pick up the shotgun. She saw Blue tense up and she straightened back up empty-handed. To Michelle, she said, “Maybe you should carry my gun back.”

“Right,” Michelle said, picking up the shotgun.

“I’m Helena, by the way,” the woman said.

“I’m Michelle, and that’s Samantha,” Michelle said, then grinned, “and you’ve already met Blue.”

Giving the wolf a curious look, Helena asked, “Why Blue?”

“It’s hard to tell in this light, but her eyes are blue,” Samantha said, coming to Michelle’s side.

“A black wolf with blue eyes?” Helena said, then shrugged, “well, come on. It’ll be dark by the time we make it to the house.”

Helena pulled a simple bridle harness from her shoulder and slipped it onto the cow’s head. Attaching a leader rope, Helena gave it a gentle tug. The cow seemed comfortable with this operation, followed the woman without a fuss. As the light of day failed completely, the woman produced a flashlight from her pocket.

As they walked, Michelle told Helena about the plane crash and surviving the lake; about the week in the cave and getting hypothermia from diving for supplies; about how she met Blue for the first time; about the cabin and the run-in with the bear; and finally about the three goons who where chasing them.

“This is all true?” Helena asked, when Michelle wrapped up her story.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, smiling at her, “we even have photographic evidence to prove it.”

“You do?”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, then laughed, “we didn’t expect anyone to believe us without some proof.”

“It is a pretty tall tale,” Helena said, smiling at them, “but I don’t think you are lying.”

“You don’t?” Michelle said, surprised.

“I can see the bearskin on your pack, and I see Blue… The assault rifle. I see a lot of proof, already,” Helena said, then added, “plus I have a good sense of people, and my senses are telling me you two have been through it.”

“It’s been a crazy couple of weeks,” Michelle said, making the woman laugh.

———————————————

Michelle’s hand was shaking as she dialed her dad’s cell phone number. Helena had a satellite phone and had been gracious enough to let her and Samantha use it. Taking a deep breath, Michelle hit the SEND button.

Sensing her distress, Blue laid down next where Michelle sat on the porch step and put her head on Michelle’s lap. Smiling, Michelle stroked the wolf’s head as she waited.

The phone just rang and rang, then went to voice mail. Smiling, Michelle thought, Stop screening your calls, Dad.

She waited for the beep, then said, “Hey Dad. It’s Michelle. I’ll call back in a couple of minutes.”

Hanging up, she glanced at the clock. She counted off five minutes, giving her dad time to check his message. She smiled, knowing him well enough that he had seen the unfamiliar number and let the call go to voicemail. It was something she had seen him do countless times. Her smile widened as she wondered what his reaction would be when he heard her voice. She wished she could see his face.

She dialed again, hit Send. The phone didn’t even ring and then her dad was on the phone, “Michelle? Is that you, Baby?”

“Hey Dad,” Michelle said, her vision blurring as hot tears stung her eyes, “it’s good to hear your voice.”

Her dad sobbed and laughed, “You too, Kiddo. Where are you?”

“Canada,” Michelle said, tears spilling down her cheeks.

“Canada?” Her dad asked, in disbelief.

“There was a storm, and the plane was struck by lightning,” Michelle said, taking a deep breath, “we crashed in a lake.”

“But you are okay?” her dad asked.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, then her shoulders fell, “me and Samantha LaRose survived.”

“You and Samantha… You mean… That’s all?” Her dad said, his voice almost inaudible by the time he said the word ‘all’.

“I have the coordinates for where the plane went down,” Michelle said, fresh tears streaming down her cheeks, “you need to let their parents know.”

“I will,” he said, sighing, “I’ll get in contact with the search crews as soon as I hang up. What about you, honey. Where are you?”

Michelle read off the coordinates for Helena’s farm.

“Where is this?” Her father asked.

“The middle of nowhere,” Michelle said, with a little laugh, “Helena- the lady whose phone this is- has a little farm tucked away in the middle of the forest. If not for her cow, we would have walked right by this place.”

“Her cow?” Her dad repeated.

“Long story,” Michelle said, wiping her eyes, “I- I have to go, Dad. Samantha still needs to call her parents.”

“Okay. I have a lot to do, too. Can you call back a little later and talk to your mom?” he asked.

“If it’s okay with, Helena,” Michelle said, then took a deep breath, “I love you, Dad.”

“I love you, too,” her dad said, then added, “I’ll see you soon, Kiddo. We’ll leave as soon as your mom gets back.”

“Bye,” Michelle said, ending the call.

She wiped her eyes again, took a deep breath, and went inside. She found Samantha sitting next to the fire, sipping a mug of tea. Michelle smiled when she saw the girl in one of Millie’s sleep shirts. The woman had insisted on washing their clothes. Michelle’s smile widened when she thought, hopefully not just because we smell horrible.

Samantha looked up, saw her red eyes and tear-streaked cheeks, and got up. Michelle found herself being hugged and she held onto the girl for a moment. When she finally pulled back, she gave Samantha an appreciative smile.

“Thanks, Babe,” Michelle said.

“That bad?” Samantha asked.

“Just hearing his voice,” Michelle said, then took a deep breath when the tears almost started falling, again, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard my dad cry before.”

Samantha gave her another hug.

“I’m okay,” Michelle said, putting the phone in Samantha’s hand, “your turn.”

“Um, could you sit with me?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah, Babe,” Michelle said, smiling at her.

The cabin was tiny, and there wasn’t much privacy to be had. They went out on the porch, sitting on the steps. Michelle held Samantha’s hand as she called home. Like it had her, hearing a familiar voice broke Samantha down and Michelle took the girl in her arms as she cried. Michelle listened to one side of the conversation, tears flowing down her own cheeks. Hearing Samantha talk about all the things they had been through hurt all over, again.

When Samantha hung up, she gave Michelle a sad smile, said, “Thanks. I- I don’t think I could have done that without you.”

“Yeah,” Michelle said, sympathetically, “hearing their voice makes it so hard.”

Nodding, Samantha laid her head on Michelle’s shoulder, said, “They don’t have passports, aren’t sure how long it’ll take to get them.”

“My dad is leaving tonight,” Michelle said, squeezing Samantha a little tighter, “you can come with us.”

With a smile, Samantha said, “A road trip with my girlfriend’s parents?”

“They are going to have to get to know you, anyhow,” Michelle said, kissing her forehead, “now is as good a time as any.”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, her smile clear in her voice, “I guess they will.”

————————————

“Do you think Helena is a heavy sleeper?”

“Why?” Michelle asked, then felt Samantha’s hand slide under her shirt to cup her breast. Biting her lip to stifle a moan, Michelle said, “Oh.”

“What do you think?” Samantha asked, kissing her.

Michelle said, “Maybe we should wait.”

“I don’t want to wait,” Samantha said, her hand sliding down Michelle’s stomach and between her thighs.

The caress of Samantha’s fingers startled a moan from Michelle, and her eyes cut to Helena’s closed bedroom door, only ten or twelve feet away. Heavy sleeper or not, Helena would hear them if they tried to have sex now. Pushing Samantha’s hand away, she said, “We can’t.”

“But I want you,” Samantha said, favoring Michelle with a sexy smile.

Her heart beating faster, Michelle looked at the bedroom door, again. Chewing on her lip, she thought, Maybe we could be quiet.

“We’ll have to be quiet,” Michelle whispered, kissing Samantha.

Samantha’s hand slipped into the thin cotton panties Michelle wore. The lovely pressure on her bud forced a moan from Michelle before she could bite it back. Samantha giggled, put her finger to her lips to shush Michelle. A little sheepishly, Michelle nodded.

The girl’s fingers brought another moan to her lips and Michelle managed to hold it in, but she knew it would only get harder the longer Samantha did this to her. Pulling the girl’s hand from her panties, she said, “We can’t do this here.”

“Where then?” Samantha asked, sounding amused.

Thinking quick, Michelle said, “The barn.”

Samantha laughed and kissed her, said, “Okay.”

Their ran for the barn, the over-sized shirts Helena had given them to sleep in billowing in the wind behind them. Michelle reached the doors to the barn first, but she didn’t make it inside. Instead, she found her back pressed against the door, Samantha leaning into her. Michelle put her arms around the girl, pulling her even closer. Their lips met, and Michelle found out just how much Samantha wanted her. Her own desire was fanned by Samantha’s, and her passion for the girl burned white hot.

Samantha pulled Michelle’s sleep shirt up, and Michelle raised her arms so the girl could remove it completely. The cool night air found her bare breasts and Michelle shivered. Then Samantha’s hot hand was on her breast, and she shivered for an entirely different reason.

“Shouldn’t we go inside?” Michelle managed to say, remembering they were still outside.

“Right,” Samantha said, opening the door a bit so they could slip inside. The door protested, unhappy about being bothered this time of night. It gave a squeal and a pop as the warped wood put uneven pressure on the un-oiled hinges. It sounded unnaturally loud in the stillness of the night.

Michelle glanced back at the house, wondering if Helena had heard the barn door opening. Then Samantha grabbed her hand and pulled her into the barn. Michelle found her back against the door, again, only on the inside this time. She forgot all about Helena as Samantha leaned into her, again. When Samantha kissed her, she forgot about everything but the feel of the girl’s body pressed against her own and the taste of her kiss.

Samantha stepped back and pulled her sleep shirt up and off, then she was back in Michelle’s arms. The kiss deepened in a hurry, their passion getting away from them. Michelle couldn’t keep her hands off of Samantha.

The door pressed against her back suddenly moved and Michelle found herself falling and taking Samantha with her. She cried out in surprise, then in pain as she hit the ground hard. From her back, she looked up and saw Helena with her shotgun pointed at her. Fear turned to embarrassment when the old woman started laughing.

Michelle hugged Samantha close to hide her nudity, gave the woman a sheepish grin, and said, “Sorry if we woke you.”

“It’s okay,” Helena said, sounding amused rather than annoyed. She put her shotgun on her shoulder and started back toward the house, calling over her shoulder, “just be sure to put the chain back on when you are done.”

“Okay,” Michelle said, meeting Samantha’s eyes. The girl was trying not to laugh, but the eye contact did her in, and she started giggling. Shaking her head, Michelle had to laugh, too.

“Well, that was awkward,” Samantha said, grinning at Michelle.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, her face still hot, “God, how embarrassing!”

Kissing her once, Samantha got off of Michelle, then helped her to her feet. She took Michelle’s hand and tugged her toward the barn. Following her, Michelle glanced once at the house. With a sheepish smile, she wondered what the woman had thought when she and Samantha tumbled out half-naked and in each other’s arms. At least, Helena hadn’t made a big deal of it. It was still embarrassing that the woman knew what they were doing, though.

When Samantha moved into her arms and kissed her, Michelle was kind of surprised. Pulling back, she gave the girl a curious look, asked, “You still want to? Even after that?”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, then smiled coyly at Michelle, “don’t you?”

That smile made Michelle reconsider, and she said, “Well…”

Kissing her gently, Samantha said, “I’m sorry Helena had to see that, but I’m not going to let it stop me from sleeping with you.”

“You’re not?” Michelle said, playfully.

“Your dad will be here tomorrow or the next day at the latest,” Samantha said, her eyes holding Michelle’s eyes, “tonight might be our last chance to have crazy forest sex.”

Laughing, Michelle said, “I’m sure we’ll find a way to have crazy forest sex when we get back.”

“I live in an apartment complex,” Samantha said, putting her arms around Michelle’s neck, “no trees, let alone a forest.”

“Our house sets on twenty acres of pine and walnut trees,” Michelle said, stealing a kiss, “more than enough forest for us to get lost in.”

“Yeah?” Samantha said, smiling at her.

“Yeah,” Michelle said, kissing her again, “I even know the perfect spot.”

“Does it have a bathtub?” Samantha asked.

Laughing, Michelle amended, “I know the almost perfect spot.”

“You owe me a bathtub,” Samantha reminded her.

“Believe me,” Michelle said, pulling the girl even closer, “I want one, too. I’ll figure out a way.”

“Good,” Samantha said, her arms slipping from around Michelle’s neck. Her fingers hooked in Michelle’s panties, and she smiled as she said, “Take these off.”

Michelle pulled her panties down around her thighs, let gravity do the rest. Her breath caught in her throat as Samantha sank to her knees in front of her. She forgot to breathe for a while as Samantha’s mouth teased her bud. The delicious flick of her tongue finally forced the breath out of her as a moan. Like a dam giving way, her cries of enjoyment flooded from her, filling the barn. She couldn’t have held them back if she tried.

“God, we definitely couldn’t have done this inside,” Michelle said, her voice a little thick with excitement.

Her hand slipped into Samantha’s hair, holding her in place. She didn’t think the girl was going to stop, but she wasn’t going to take any chances. It felt too good to let it end before she came. Michelle swayed a little on unsteady legs, her body rocked by the waves of pleasure working through her. She wished she still had the barn door to lean against.

Samantha ran a hand up the inside of Michelle’s thigh, then eased two fingers inside of Michelle’s ready pussy. Already in danger of coming from her mouth, Samantha’s fingers teasing her bud was almost too much to bear.

Michelle had been a little unsure when she let the girl do this to her the first time, let Samantha take her virginity with her fingers, but she was glad she hadn’t chickened out. The pressure on her g-spot was delicious, so intense. Her hand slipped from the back of Samantha’s head and onto her shoulder to steady herself as she lost control of her hips. She couldn’t have stopped moving them if she had to.

Her cries of enjoyment disturbed the trio of cows and a horse that shared the barn with them. She was a little embarrassed as they mooed and whinnied in harmony to her little excited sounds of ecstasy. Rolling her eyes, she thought, it’s like Blue all over, again, only I can’t ask the cows to take a walk.

Her embarrassment couldn’t stop the orgasm building up inside of her. Samantha’s fingers and mouth were too insistent. Her fingers tightened on Samantha’s shoulder, her whole body tensing in anticipation of the climax. With one more cry of ecstasy, she surrendered to the pleasure that shot through her. She almost fell as her knees grew weak, but she managed to stay upright on wobbly legs somehow. She must have looked like she was doing some uncoordinated dance as the orgasm shook her.

Samantha started to stand up, but Michelle sank down to her instead. Michelle kissed the girl, then leaned into her. Giggling, Samantha went to her back with Michelle atop of her. Their lips met again in a heated kiss. As their tongues caressed and teased, Michelle slowly ground her body against Samantha’s. By the time Michelle broke the kiss, she knew the girl was more than ready for what would come next.

Michelle kissed Samantha’s neck, just behind her ear, then the hollow between her collar bones. Samantha stroked Michelle’s hair lovingly as the next kiss was even lower, placed on the swell of one small breast. Michelle trapped one straining nipple between her lips, gently sucking on it until Samantha’s back arched off the wood floor of the barn. She smiled as a thick groan escaped her girlfriend. Michelle’s hand slid up Samantha’s flank to cup her other breast.

Eventually, Michelle continued down her girlfriend’s prone body, exploring her soft skin with her lips and her hands. She took her time, had Samantha a frustrated, horny mess by the time she hooked her fingers in the elastic waistband of her panties. Samantha lifted her backside off the floor so that she could remove them. Smiling, Michelle couldn’t resist teasing the girl a little more, leaving a trail of kisses along the inside of her thigh. Samantha was holding her breath in anticipation, so Michelle moved up and kissed her on the lips instead. The girl tried to kiss her back and inhale at the same time, which made Michelle giggle.

“What’s funny?” Samantha asked.

“Nothing,” Michelle said, kissing her, again, “you are just fun to play with.”

“Asshole,” Samantha said, pushing Michelle’s head between her thighs, playfully.

Laughing, Michelle pressed her lips to the girl’s bud, gently sucking on it until she drew a gasp from her. Michelle ran her tongue across the girl’s bud, drawing a thick moan from her. Samantha’s body pushed against Michelle’s mouth, wanting more. Done teasing the girl, Michelle gave her what she wanted, and that first moan was joined by many more. The sounds of Samantha’s excitement filled the barn, drawing a chorus from the cows.

“Shh,” Michelle said, grinning, “you are disturbing the livestock.”

“Sorry ladies,” Samantha said, moaning as Michelle started torturing her bud again, “but I can’t help it.”

Michelle made sure Samantha really couldn’t help it. She and Samantha had been together a bunch of times now, and she knew just what the girl wanted. The hot, wet caress of her tongue pushed Samantha closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy. She didn’t let up as an orgasm started to gather steam inside her girlfriend, kept pushing until the girl toppled over the edge and cried out as her body went crazy. Even then she didn’t let up, used her mouth to keep those love sensations washing through Samantha. She felt Samantha’s body tightening up for another orgasm, grabbed Samantha’s hips to keep her thrashing body to her mouth, and made the girl cry out as a second climax took her.

“Jesus,” Samantha said, with a breathless little laugh.

Wiping her cheeks, Michelle crawled up and gave her a kiss, then stretched out next to her. In the dark of the barn, Samantha moved against her. They laid like that for a while, enjoying the closeness. The desire wasn’t burned out between them, but they both needed a moment to collect themselves. This moment was like the eye in the storm, a brief calm before passion welled up again.

Suddenly laughing, Samantha said, “We should have grabbed my bag.”

“Why?” Michelle asked, then laughed herself, “Oh, that.”

“Yeah,” Samantha said, kissing her, “that.”

“I’ll get it,” Michelle said, sitting up.

“Hurry back,” Samantha said, kissing her before she could stand up. It was a deep, lingering kiss that would ensure Michelle would indeed hurry back.

Michelle didn’t bother trying to get dressed, ran naked to the house. Their packs were hanging on the porch to air out, because they smelled awful. Michelle hadn’t noticed how bad they were until Millie pointed it out. With Samantha’s bag on the porch, she didn’t need to go inside to get the improvised strap-on Samantha had created out of a bikini bottom and the rubber handle of a wood chisel.

When she stepped onto the porch, Blue raised her head and looked at Michelle curiously. Michelle gave her an embarrassed smile, said, “Don’t look at me like that. This isn’t the first time you’ve seen me like this.”

Michelle fished around the front compartment of Samantha’s bag until her hand fell on the rubber handle. Grinning, she pulled the strap-on out of the pack, then was running back to the barn. A shiver of excitement worked through as she sprinted naked through the night air. It was a primitive thrill, had her heart racing even faster than her legs could carry her. By the time she burst into the barn, she was trembling with adrenaline and out of breath.

Laughing, Samantha asked, “Did you run?”

“You said hurry,” Michelle said, leaning against the wall next to the open barn door.

Samantha took the strap-on from her while she fought to catch her breath. Michelle watched as the girl slipped the bikini bottom on and smoothed it into place. Her heart started beating even faster than it had when she had been sprinting as she thought about how it had felt last time that rubber handle had been inside of her. A flush of heat spread across her body in anticipation of it moving inside of her, again.

With her hand on Michelle’s hip, Samantha urged Michelle to turn around. Michelle found herself facing the wall, and she looked over her shoulder expectantly at her girlfriend. Samantha moved behind her, and suddenly the cool rubber of the handle was pressed against the hot opening of Michelle vagina. She gasped as it slipped deep inside of her. Grabbing Michelle’s hips, Samantha began to thrust the strap-on in and out slowly. Each time it bit deep, a moan was forced from Michelle’s slack mouth, and she was glad to have the wall for support this time.

One of the hands on her hip slipped between her thighs, and Michelle gasped as Samantha’s fingers found her bud. The swirling pressure of Samantha’s fingers and the thrusting handle had her body going crazy, had her nerve endings thrumming. Two separate sensations, but they blurred into one delicious, mind-blowing feeling that had Michelle in ecstasy. It only got better as Samantha started thrusting faster, harder. Each roll of her hips buried the handle deep and sent pleasure coursing through Michelle’s young body.

The cows were mooing again, but Michelle couldn’t hold in her cries. What Samantha was doing to her felt too good to keep quiet. Her little wordless sounds of excitement only got louder as she felt herself start to come. She put her hand over her mouth as she lost control of her hips, but even that couldn’t muffle them.

Samantha thrust one more time, then Michelle lost herself to ecstasy. On wobbly legs, she shook with her orgasm, needed the wall to stay on her feet. Putting her head on the rough wood of the barn wall, she basked in the feel-good feelings spreading through her. She smiled as Samantha embraced her from behind, held her as she floated down from her climax.

After a moment, Michelle eased off the improvised dildo and turned in Samantha’s arms. She leaned in and gave the girl a kiss. Her hand slipped down Samantha’s taut stomach and grasped the handle. It was still slick with her juices, and Michelle gently jerked on it. She smiled as Samantha sighed, the motion putting pressure on her bud. Michelle did it a couple of more times, until she drew a moan from the girl.

“Take this off,” Michelle said, releasing the handle.

Samantha slipped the bikini bottom down her long legs, then off. Michelle took it from her and stepped into it. She was smoothing it into place when she noticed out of the corner of her eye Samantha moving toward something to their left. Even in the gloom, she could make out that it was a low workbench. She watched with interest as Samantha climbed onto it and sat with her legs dangling off the front.

Michelle walked over to the bench and Samantha pulled her close, putting an arm around Michelle’s neck. Her other hand grabbed the handle, stroked it a few times, then eased it inside of her. When the girl put her legs around Michelle’s waist, Michelle realized what she wanted. Smiling, she saw the table was the perfect height. Pushing her hips forward, she buried the dildo in Samantha’s ready pussy. It forced a gasp from the girl.

Michelle put her hands on the table to either side of the girl, leaned in for a kiss as she began to thrust slowly. Samantha moaned into her mouth every time the handle moved inside of her. The girl had to give up on the kiss all together as Michelle’s thrusts started coming faster and harder. Samantha buried her face in the crook of Michelle’s neck, the arm around Michelle’s neck tightening as the girl held on for dear life.

When the cows started mooing again, Michelle smiled. Even with Samantha’s cries muffled against her neck, they were still disturbing the animals. Her smile widened when she thought, Must be doing something right.

Not long after that thought popped into her head, she heard a new urgency creep into Samantha’s voice. The girl’s fingers were digging into her shoulder, tightening with each thrust of the improvised dildo. Michelle didn’t need to see the girl’s face to know she was close. One, two, three more thrusts and the girl stiffened as she climaxed. Samantha clung to Michelle as she shook with orgasm and Michelle held her tight.

After a while, Samantha lifted her face from Michelle’s neck and kissed her deeply. Even though she had just had an orgasm, there was still heat behind the kiss. Michelle smiled, realizing they weren’t finished, just yet.

———————————————–

It was late when they slipped back into their clothing and returned to the cabin. Helena had given them blankets and pillows for separate bedding, but Michelle smiled when Samantha crawled into hers, instead. She doubted Helena would be all that surprised to find them sleeping together, not after what had happened at the barn, so she snuggled against the girl and closed her eyes. She was still smiling as she slipped into sleep.

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