by Sage du Toit
They set up camp and ate the canned Corned beef and hash straight out of the can after Tom heated it up using one of his fuel cubes. It tasted good and Sam was happy to have a full warm meal in her stomach before sleeping.
Chapter 22
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20 November 2020 N-day +133
Somewhere in GA
Tom said that at the rate they were going through the ibuprofen they would need to find some more. Sam realized they should have checked the bathroom at the house they stopped at but neither of them thought about it at the time. Sam sighed, as bad as she had been hurting she couldn’t imagine going without the ibuprofen. She wouldn’t even mind something stronger at night, she often woke up hurting on the uncomfortable hard ground.
Sam’s blisters were dried over and her feet seemed to be getting use to the walking. But she still hurt and would love to take a day off walking. She told Tom so and he said if they found a place in a solitary location they could do just that.
Sam’s stomach told her it was about lunch time when they saw a fence through the trees. As they came up to the fence Sam saw another fence inside of the fence, surrounding an inground pool, and next to it was a big fancy house. There was a single car in the driveway and she looked at Tom and signed, “Maybe this house?”
They scouted around the house and found that there didn’t seem to be any other houses nearby. Then checking out the house itself Tom said it looked clear from a distance but they needed to get closer. He helped her climb over the fence and they approached the house from the back. Once they were alongside it they worked their way around, looking in the windows. They didn’t see any sign of people inside. Once they got to the front, Sam pointed to a lump in the driveway and Tom nodded.
After checking the perimeter and knocking on the door again and getting no response they walked up to the lump in the driveway. It was a man. They had also seen a dead dog in the back fence that surrounded the pool. They checked all of the doors and the house was locked up tight and it had a dead bolt on the front door, so Tom couldn’t just pop it open. Sam suggested, “Check the man for keys?” Shrugging Tom searched through the man’s pockets and found a set of keys in his front pants pocket.
He tossed them to Sam and she found the right key and unlocked the door. They cleared the house and upon finding no one inside they locked the door and shut all of the blinds and curtains. The house was beautiful inside. Sam looked at the pictures and saw the man wasn’t much better looking in life than he was in death, but his wife was gorgeous. She didn’t see any pictures of kids and she noticed several award plaques with the name Dr. Schwartz on them. Her mind automatically said, “May the Schwartz be with you! “She told Tom what the guy’s name was and he laughed and said, “May the Schwartz be with you! Great movie!”, and they both laughed.
Tom was searching through the kitchen, but after seeing the couple’s picture, she had a feeling the wife probably wasn’t a big cook, even though the kitchen was chef worthy. Sam went back to the master bathroom to check to see if they had ibuprofen. Her stomach was growling too much to contemplate the lack of food she was sure would be there. She opened the drawers in the bathroom and found the normal stuff, make-up, brushes, curling irons, razors. She didn’t see a medicine cabinet, then she realized there were fingerprints on the side of the mirror and she pushed it and the mirror swung open. It was a recessed hidden cabinet, and it was full!
She found a big bottle of ibuprofen, acetaminophen and was looking through the prescription bottles. There was Vicodin, Demerol, acetaminophen with codeine, and several more bottles. She looked at the name on the prescriptions, Nicole Schwartz. Sam wondered if the Dr. husband was feeding his wife pain pills. She gathered all of the bottles, Tom would know the ones she didn’t. And these pain pills would be better than gold now.
When she got to the kitchen she was shocked. Tom was standing at the gas stove putting spaghetti noodles in a pot. There was a jar of spaghetti sauce on the counter and he had an open box of Ritz cheese crackers he was eating from. She put all of the bottles down and grabbed the box from him. Stuffing a few in her mouth. She saw he also had a bottle of Coke and had a second one sitting out for her.
She showed him the bottles of drugs and he made a high whistle sound. He told her that two of those were some of the strongest drugs on the market and most people couldn’t get prescriptions to take out of the hospital. He opened the bottle of acetaminophen with codeine and told her to take one with the Coke. The caffeine would help it work even better, and after they ate she could take a nap. Sam was all for that!
After they ate their fill in spaghetti they took all of their stuff to the back bedroom of the house. It looked like a guest bedroom, classical fancy but unused. They pulled back the covers and stripped down to their shirts and underwear and crawled under the covers.
They woke up later that evening to a dark room. They went to the kitchen and ate what was left of the spaghetti out of the same bowl. Sam asked him if there was much food in the pantry and he said, “No, not really. There’s some more sodas and a different box of flavored crackers but that’s it.” They finished eating and Sam was looking out the back window at the pool. It still looked clear and blue. When she asked Tom about it he said that it probably had an expensive filter and automatic treatment system on it to keep the water pure. She looked at him and said, “Can we swim in it?”
His reply was more of a laugh, “It’s cold woman! What’s with you and cold water!” But then he must have remembered what happened with the last cold water and he said, “Let’s give it a try!”
They found thick towels in the bathroom and Sam found two thick robes and even house shoes that were thick and fluffy for both of them. The Dr apparently had big feet and his shoes even fit Tom. They opened the back doors going to the pool and Tom tested the water. They set their towels and M16’s down next to the pool and slipped off their robes.
Sam eased into the water, the cold water making her naked body get goose bumps all over. Tom watched her slowly making her way into the water and just jumped in, splashing her with the cold water. Sam gasped and then dived at him, trying to dunk him under the water. The goofed around for a bit and the water felt nice. Her muscles were tired but swimming around the pool gave them a light exercise that seemed to help them stretch and relax. Once both of their teeth were chattering they decided it was time to go back inside.
They spent the evening relaxing and finished off the box of crackers and more soda. Sam had never been a big Coke drinker, but the sugary sweet drink tasted good to her suddenly, the only drawback was it made her burp like a sailor. Tom thought it was hilarious. They had a nice restful night and slept again in the bed after taking another one of the mild pain pills. Sam thought they would make love again, but both of them just seemed satisfied snuggling, talking and sleeping.
21 November 2020 N-Day +134
Somewhere in GA
Sam felt so much better the next day. She woke up before Tom and decided to make some coffee. She went to the kitchen thinking that surely, they had some coffee, even if they didn’t have much food. She hadn’t looked through the kitchen the night before, so she wasn’t sure. She looked around the kitchen and didn’t see a coffee pot so she was beginning to doubt herself. She started looking through the cabinets and finally found what she was looking for. There was a French press and several bags of fancy flavored coffee. There was even a bag of New Orleans roast with chicory. She found a fancy kettle in the same cabinet and filled it up with water and put it on the stove to boil.
Sam had never used a French press before and she wasn’t exactly sure how it worked. She had seen people use them on TV so she had an idea, but she didn’t know how much coffee and how much water to use. She was digging around the cabinet looking for the manual on the thing with Tom walked up behind her. She almost screamed because she wasn’t expecting him there. Once her heart had stopped pounding she asked him if he knew how t
o use a French press.
He pulled her into his arms and said, “Yes, I know how to French press.” He then proceeded to give her a deep French kiss and said, “How was that?”
Sam laughed and picked up the French press, “You know what I mean!” Tom took the pot from her and opened the bag of New Orleans coffee and added a few scoops to the pot. He then took the steaming water off the stove and poured it in up to the top line. He put the lid with the plunger on and then pushed it back on the counter.
“Now we have to wait…. what should we do while we wait?” His face said he had an idea. He picked Sam up and sat her on the counter. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and pulled him close.
Sam almost purred the words, “This should work.” They kissed and Tom ran his hand up her leg and to her hip, discovering she was naked under the robe. After their swim last night, they had climbed in the bed still naked to get warm. He opened her robe and pushed it back down her shoulders which pinned her arms. He pulled her to the edge of the counter, pressing hard against her through his robe. Sam could see that he was also naked and his hard rod was starting to push the robe open. Tom leaned forward and kissed her breasts, tasting each nipple and sucking it hard into his mouth. He pushed her back on the counter and leaning down further he pressed her legs open and teasingly ran his tongue up and down her slit.
He suddenly stood up and picked her up off the counter and pulled her robe back up and closed and said, “Coffee’s ready.”
Sam stood in shock, her mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water as he slowly pushed the plunger down on the coffee. She could see his devilish smile and said, “You will pay for that later.” He laughed and handed her a cup of coffee and told her there were canisters marked cream and sugar next to the stove.
They drank their coffee and ate the last two honey buns from the backpack. Sam suggested that they check the master bedroom closet for clothes that fit them. She wanted to dump her dirty clothes. They walked into a closet that was about the size of the kitchen and that was just the wife’s clothes, the Dr had a separate closet that was only a little smaller.
Sam went in the wife’s closet and found some jeans that didn’t look too designer, but they were tight at the ankle and the denim felt thin. She found a few shirts, but they were all thin and form fitting. She finally gave up and went next door to the Dr’s closet with Tom. “Any shirts in here that might fit me?” Tom had just put on a pair of blue jeans and Sam’s mouth fell open. “Wow! Honey you look umm ummm good in those!” Sam realized she had never seen him in jeans, they had only worn military clothing since they met. Which gave her an idea. She said, “Don’t move! I will be right back!”
She went back into the wife’s closet and found what she was looking for. She dropped the robe on the floor and slipped the sleek emerald green dress over her head. She looked in the mirror and pulled her hair out of her normal bun. She fluffed it up and then ran her hand down her side, feeling the smooth silk of the dress. It fit tightly against her breasts and then flared out at the bottom, swaying loosely around her hips and stopped at her upper thigh.
She went back to the other closet and stood in the door and struck a sexy pose and cleared her throat, she started to feel a little foolish. Tom was just taking a shirt off and when he turned around he dropped it on the floor. “Wow! Talk about looking good!” He was wearing just the jeans now and she felt herself getting wet just looking at his bare chest in those tight jeans. He looked like something off the cover of a magazine or one of those stores in the mall with the masculine handsome guys. But he was the real thing.
He walked up to her with a wolfish grin and pulled her to him. He ran his hand down the silky dress and over her rounded bottom. He told her, “I love it when you take your hair down.” He kissed her but it wasn’t a hard kiss, it was a long sensual deep kiss. She ran her hands down his chest while they were kissing and she undid the buttons on the jeans and pushed her hand inside. She grasped his hardening shaft and pulled it out. He moaned as she squeezed it and started stroking it.
He gently pushed down on her shoulders and she went down on her knees in front of him. He guided her head and pushed his hard shaft into her mouth. She sucked the head and started swirling her tongue around and he started moving in and out, pushing it harder to the back of her throat. She kept her hand on his shaft stroking him and used the other hand to fondle his heavy sacks. She pulled back and ran her tongue around the head and then sucked on it hard.
She then quickly stood up and said, “Opps I better go get dressed.” and turned around to walk away. Looking over her shoulder she said, “Paybacks are hell.”
Tom laughed and said, “True...however.” And he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her back against him. He reached under the front of her dress and pressed her nub hard, rubbing it around in circles then sticking his finger into her wet tunnel. “You are wet, very very wet.”, he whispered in her ear.
He flipped her around and pushed her up against the wall, lifting one of her legs he pushed hard against her with the head of his shaft. It rubbed against her nub, then using his hand to guide it he rubbed it back and forth against her slit and then over her nub but not entering her. “Do you want this? I’m not putting it in you until you beg me to.”
He continued to tease her, pushing it back and forth and over the entrance, just pushing against it, she tried to push down, she wanted him so bad. Finally, she begged, “Please Tom, Please, I’m begging you, please. I want to feel you inside of me.”
He lifted her other leg and holding her against the wall he eased her down on top of his shaft. He then slowly started moving it in and out. Then pulling almost all the way out and stopping, just teasing her with the head of his shaft. She started begging him again, and he pushed back into her harder and harder. He was pounding into her and she felt herself release as she moaned his name over and over. Then suddenly he let go and she felt his hot seed fill her as he moaned, “Samantha”.
He let her legs down but kept her pressed up against the wall as he kissed her. “At this rate we are never going to get to Atlanta, much less Texas.”
She nodded her head in agreement and replied, “True, but I don’t mind. Do you?”
He kissed her softly, then kissed all around her face and neck. “Maybe we should spend one more day here before moving on.” They made love two more times before the day was over. Sam couldn’t remember ever being so happy or feeling so loved.
22 November 2020 N-Day +135
Somewhere in GA
They were looking at the map over coffee the next morning. Tom said, “About 60 miles to Maria’s parents’ house in Atlanta. You still have her letter, right?”
Sam nodded and picked at her half of the pound cake from today’s MRE. They had to get moving because they were going to run out of food if they didn’t. They split one MRE yesterday and today they would split one. That would leave them 4 MRE’s and if they didn’t find food when they got to Atlanta they would be in trouble. “Did you already fill the water bladders?”
Now it was Tom’s turn to nod. They were asking each other questions that they both knew and they realized they were just delaying the inevitable. Sam stuffed the rest of the pound cake in her mouth and followed it up with the last of her coffee. She checked her bag and put the bags of coffee and French press she found here in her assault pack, along with the instant coffee she already had. She was going to leave the backpack Maria gave her here, it was just an extra burden. Her thermos was full of coffee and she had put all of the sugar and creamer in baggies. So even if they didn’t have food, they would have plenty of coffee!
They took one last look around and went out the front door. They were both feeling good, barely any muscle aches now. Of course, they had plenty of ibuprofen now and other pain pills if needed. Sam told Tom to lead today, she told him to go at his pace and she would see if she could keep up. If she was having problems he would see it.
Their pace
was good and there were only a few small farms they passed by. They didn’t even stop until almost noon. They had just passed a few houses and were standing at the shore of a small river. Tom wanted to get the map out and check it, he wasn’t sure which way to go and he was thinking they would probably have to cross a bridge to get over it at some point. Sam sat down and took her boots off. She had found some socks at the house and Tom had suggested she layer thin socks under thick socks and she found it seemed to be working better, no new blisters.
While they studied the map, Sam pulled out the peanut butter and crackers from their MRE for the day. She was just about to take off her mask and open the package when she saw something flashing in Tom’s pack. Tom had seen the food packages and was reaching up to take his mask off too when she stopped him. She pulled out his chemical tester and it was flashing a light pink color. “Oh shit.” Tom said. Sam quickly put her boots back on. She was glad she hadn’t taken her socks off and walked around.
Sam stuffed the peanut butter and cracker packages in her cargo pocket on her pants and Tom handed her the map so she could put it away. They walked along the bank of the river going north. The detector was still flashing. She said, “Could it be the water?”
Tom hesitated and replied, “Maybe, I can’t be sure. This is marshy land and it could be absorbed in the soil.”
They moved away from the water a little and worked their way around north trying to avoid the houses and then back west. There was a two-lane highway with a long bridge crossing over the water. It was the most they would spend out in the open in days. The detector was still flashing and it was making both of them nervous. Sam asked if they should put their MOPP suits on. She knew from the look on his face that if they needed MOPP suits it was too late now to put them on.
