The Nameless Survivor (Valkyrie) (24 page)

             
“Would you go back to teaching? I mean if the world ever goes back to normal.” She asked.

             
“Probably not. I'm not even sure I want the world to go back to normal.” I said with a smile.

             
“Why not?”

             
“Too much corruption, too many phonies. Here, I am happy.”

             
“You’re happy?” She pressed.

             
“Of course, I am with you.” She began to blush as I scooted closer to her, putting my hand around her shoulder. “Who else can I torture with disgusting bugs for dinner?” She broke out laughing and laid her head on my shoulder.

             
“Were you ever married?” She asked with a hint of anxiousness.

             
“Never, I wasn't much of a ladies man back then.”

             
“Maybe you just needed a shave.” She said with another chuckle, and I squeezed her close.

             
We didn't speak any more, instead we laid together atop the gravel covered ground by the fire watching the sky quickly fade from blue to black. The universe radiates with such clarity these days, almost as if with every dead soul on earth, a billion more stars were born. The haze of the milky-way streaked through the sky like a ribbon of diamonds, and every so often a bright flash of a falling star blazed across the heavens. Mia made sure to mumble a wish to every single one she spotted.

             
The vastness of space amazes me now more than ever, it was so clear, so vivid, like we were floating through it. Its grandeur inspired my imagination much like when I was a kid, thoughts of other worlds, other life that we can only imagine. And questions, what if there were other worlds like ours? And, have any of them been inflicted with death like ours? Or maybe, just maybe this disease came from above, trapped within a rock that had been hurtling through space for the last millennia. These question only boggled my mind even more.

             
Slowly we drifted off into a peaceful slumber, holding each other tight, with only the warmth of the fire and each other to get us through the night. Of course, as with many nights before, Bob returned in my dreams. Giving forth his vague warnings before vanishing into the haze of my mind. These premonitions no longer strike fear into my heart, I have become accustomed to them, almost numb. Some nights I even welcome them, just another soul to converse with.

continuance;

              A change in my mood awoke me from my slumber. The moon was still high and the stars still gleamed with mystery. As my head cleared I noticed the painful erection in my skivvies, as well as something - else, grasping it. My head jolted up to find Mia, nude and gently rubbing her hands between my legs. At first I thought I was still in a dream, but then a wave of clarity washed over me and I quickly sat up, pulling myself away in a fluster. Mia covered her breast and her head sunk down in embarrassment, blushing, she shied away like a dog being scolded.

             
“Mia?” I questioned nervously.

             
“I – I'm sorry.” she stammered and rolled over onto her side as if to try and fall back to sleep. I scooted myself over to her and pulled her up into my arms.

             
“It’s okay, Mia, I am not upset.” I said, trying to ease her humiliation.

             
“I - I just though you would like It.” she said, trying to hold back her tears. I wasn't sure how to respond.

             
“I did, Mia.” I paused, trying to fine the words. “But, it is not something you have to do to make me happy.” I finally said. “I am happy just being with you.”

             
“I guess I just thought you wanted to be more than a friend.” she responded.             

             
“More than a friend?”

             
“I – I thought that you loved me.” She said, her tears now flowing freely.

             
Gently I kissed her head and hugged her tight, trying to ease her sadness. How could she love, or even make love after her tragic past. How could I ensure her satisfaction and ease her discomfort. And yet, it was her that initiated this, I was the only one uncomfortable with it. Gently I wiped the tears from her eyes and slowly lifted her head up and looked into those gorgeous green eyes. It was then that everything came clear, the one thing that I always believed was just a man-made emotion. That feeling in my gut that most have proclaimed to have felt, and what I had always believed to be imaginary.

             
“I do love you.” I said timidly before leaning down and kissing her tiny sweet lips.

             
Her tears stopped instantly, and she kissed me back. My heart raced with a pitter-patter as I laid her down on to her back. We gazed into each other’s eyes, still kissing as I ran my fingers through her hair. I was hard again and the pressure was building as it pressed gently between her legs. She too was aroused, I could feel her wetness soaking through my drawers. Her hips began to pulsate into my own as she too began to breathe heavily.

             
Slowly I shimmied down, kissing the side of her neck, then along her chest and gently sucking on her perfectly erect nipples. Her skin was both sweet and salty, and my erection grew excruciatingly hard. Still, I worked my way down over her stomach, kissing every inch and licking her sweet navel before moving down even further.  Not once did she resist, and instead she willingly spread her legs, lifting them up into the air as my tongue caressed over her naturally thin patch before slowly entering her. She gasped in pleasure, tightening her thighs around my head like a vice. She moaned and breathed heavily with each flick of my tongue as she grew wetter and wetter.

             
Moment later I moved back up to kiss her on the lips again as I fumbled to remove my underwear and slowly slid myself into her. The pain in my member had ceased and turned into pure satisfaction as I gently thrust myself deeper with our lips still locked together. Her nails dug into my back with each push, and I held her tightly by the head. With each thrust she gasped and released a sweet moan as she swayed her hips in unison with me.

             
Slowly I rolled over and she hung on, clenching her thighs around my waste and positioning herself on top. I just laid back and watched her beautifully white skin gleam in the moonlight as she rocked back and forth, staring down at me with a grin of complete content. She moved back and forth and up and down like those college girls I use to have flings with. Complete lust, but with Mia, it was different. It was not just animalistic urges that fueled her sexuality, but the love that shined within those gorgeous eyes. Brighter than those souls that gleamed down upon us.

             
It did not last long before we both exploded in orgasm and she laid herself atop me in exhaustion. We stayed like that the rest of the night, sleeping contently within each other arms. It was perfect, it was the connection we had both needed, and we are finally complete. Although

I had never realized, or at least admitted before, but I truly did love this girl.

continuance
;

              The next morning I awoke just before dawn to take a look at what our trout-line had provided. Mia was still asleep, her head nestled gently upon a bundle of our clothes, so I let her rest and built up the fire some more before heading off in the buff. Spending this time alone would give me some needed time alone, time to think about what last night really meant. Time to think of what is to come.

             
An hour later I was back at the camp to find Mia had already awoken and built up the fire even more. There was a new kind of light in her eyes this morning, a twinkle that I had never seen before. And her smile, from ear to ear, so sweet and innocent. All I could do was to smile back at her as she raised a hand and flailed her fingers in hello.

             
“Good morning, gorgeous.”

             
“Morning.” She responded with a bit of shyness. Nonchalantly I knelt down beside her and planted an unexpected kiss on her lips, but she did not tense, instead she melted like butter in my arms. For a moment, I almost laid her down to take advantage of her some more. But, it was too soon, we needed to let everything sink in first. Besides, we have plenty of time for that, we had the rest of our lives.

             
Together we prepped our catch to roast over the fire. Only two fish, but one was a whopper of a salmon. The other just a small, barely four-inch brook trout, which normally I would release but this one was already dead. Both fish were excellent, smoky light flesh that just peeled away from the bones. Of course Nova had her share, leftover fish heads, which she devoured without a moment’s hesitation.

             
We spent most of the day playfully swimming together in the river. Since we only brought the clothes we wore, we remained nude the entire time. The sight of her milky white skin, wet and glistening in the mid-day sun aroused me even further. Her perky, hard nipples bobbing in and out of the flowing current. Her gorgeous eyes staring at me constantly and unrelentingly. It was all too much.

             
However, those cold mountain waters ensured my urges were sedated quite well. No sex, instead she held on tight to me as we kissed, slowly and passionately. The current would occasionally catch us off guard, pushing us further and further downstream. Still, we did not stop kissing. We were like teenagers in love for the very first time, and there was nothing that could distract us.

             
We decided soon after lunch that our little survival excursion had lost its appeal. So we gathered up our clothes, buried the fire pit, and headed back to the cabin. Gently we held each other’s hand as we navigated the forest and left Bear Brook behind, and maybe forever. The proximity to Hell's Garden is just another sad reminder of the world we live in, something that we both aspired to avoid as much as possible.

             
It took the rest of the day to make it back, and we were starving. Luckily I had come across a nice big snapping-turtle along the way and immediately started a fire for pit-roasted turtle in the shell. A delicacy from my past, a recipe that my father had passed down to me. Of course it is not the most romantic of dinners in the Old-World sense. But that is the old world, this – Is Our-World.

              The hour is late now, Mia has long fallen asleep, her right arm draped around the wolf like she was a stuffed animal. What a beautiful sight! I've come to acknowledge a lot of beauty in the world these days. Things I've never really notice before, like how the fluffy white seeds of the dandelion dance like little fairies throughout the air. There is, now more than before, beauty everywhere that I look. This World of the Dead has seemed to have retreated, leaving behind an exotic wonder of life. Just like the warm days of spring emerging from a long and harsh winter. Or, a colorful butterfly, pulling itself from the cocoon for the very first time.

             
Earlier today Mia and I went up to the bathing hole after a long day of yard work. We stayed there most of the afternoon, washing up and playing around with Nova, who has finally lost her immature fear of the water. After a while I crawled up onto the embankment and sat myself up against a tall Cedar tree that rested just on the edge of the brook.

             
Mia continued to play with Nova, tossing rocks into the deep-hole as the wolf dove in after them. Mia's golden wet hair hung in thick strands over her bare shoulders as the beads of water that caressed every inch of her pale skin glistened in the sun. I found myself in awe of the beauty before me, even the horrid scars that crisscrossed her body were all but overshadowed by it.

             
As the two of them played I indulged with a few puffs from a small spliff and sat back to enjoy a perfect day with a euphoric buzz sweeping over me. However the tranquil afternoon was soon interrupted by an ominous stomping. It took a moment to pin-point its location over the racket of my loves merriment, but became apparent that the footfall approached us from just over the hill on the opposite edge of the brook. Trying not to startle Mia, I reached over to my gun laying atop my pants, all the while keeping my eyes locked over the myriad of trees.

             
Soon the advancing footsteps were revealed, nothing more than a large moose. A mother moose at that, her yearling trotting up over the hill after her. Instantly she noticed us, stopping abruptly in her tracks, with her young naively following suit. Lightly I whistled out to Mia, just loud enough to get her attention. In return she looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes and that gorgeous smile, clueless to what stood just a mere five feet from her.

             
“Grab Nova.” I whispered as I pointed across the stream, gesturing for her to look, and she did. Swiftly she backed into deeper water. Nova noticed the beast as well and abrasively began to growl, this is the first time the wolf has come face to face with her natural prey, but instead she saw the beast as a threat and not food. Mia lashed out, grabbing the scruff of her neck and holding her firmly.

             
“Nova, hush!” She exclaimed, but the wolf did not obey, she continued to growl in that low and menacing tone, she was not about to let the massive beast come any closer to. Nova has become quite the protector, especially over Mia. However she is still too naive to understand that one does not trifle with a mother moose and her young. The big old cow was definitely not impressed with our presence as she stomped the ground and snorted with baneful anger. The yearling immediately trotted away, back down the hill, but the mother held her ground, continuing her hostile display of both mass and ferocity.

             
Mia held tight to Nova and we all just watched, motionless, afraid yet also curious of the giant animal before. I knew that if this mother chose, she could charge and kill us easily with her massive hoofs, but she didn't. After a few more minutes of her threatening dance, the creature moseyed off back down the hill. In some way I believe she understood us, common creatures just trying to survive. A natural connection in an unnatural world.

             
Mia made her way back onto the shore, yet Nova still held her ground, staring intently into the forest, but thankfully she did not pursue. Mia laid down, resting her head on my lap and caressing my hand as I draped it over her petite stomach. Together we sat quietly and listened as the mother moose began calling out to its young. An eerie sound, like a broken bicycle horn letting out a muffled yet long honk, each call sent shivers down my spine.

             
Eventually the calls faded, almost as fast as the sun, and we headed back down the mountain to the cabin. Although it was still early in the evening, we were both exhausted from the day as well as still in awe at the confrontation we incurred back at the brook. We skipped dinner and headed straight to bed, however our exhaustion did not hold us back from indulging in our new found love. But afterwards we slept, and it was the best sleep I’ve had in forever.