by Robert Boren
Karen sighed. “Why do you want to talk to me anyway? I’m a bitch.”
“You’re hot,” Tex said. “I’m just your type, unlike Gil.”
She laughed. “Oh, really? This ought to be good. Please enlighten me.”
“Without a strong man, you’re just empty passion with a pretty face,” Tex said.
“That sounded a little sexist,” she said. “Sounded kinda insulting, too.”
“To you?”
“Well, to me, and to Gil too,” she said.
“Gil’s plenty manly, and Tisha was made for him. He’s gonna curl her toes good, mark my words.”
“She’s more of a bitch than I am,” Karen said.
“You don’t get it,” Tex said. “She’s only a bitch outwardly. I talked to her for a while. It’s all show. A façade.”
“What do you mean?”
“She tries to come off aloof and tough, but when she finds somebody who works, she commits completely. She mates for life. She’ll follow her man anywhere, and she wants to be under his control.”
“Listen to yourself,” Karen cracked. “That’s really sexist. It’s brutish and low. It’s a total turnoff.”
“The truth hurts,” Tex said.
“The truth hurts,” she mocked. “Maybe I should go back to the couch.”
“Maybe you should, but you won’t.”
She started to get up, but then stopped and sat back down.
“What’s the matter?”
“Frick and Frack are watching this,” she whispered. “I can’t go back there now.”
Tex chuckled.
“It’s not funny,” she said, her face turning red.
“Now that is gorgeous,” Tex said. “I can see your face going off like a beacon, even in the dark. And with that red mane of yours. Wow.”
She shot him an icy glance. “You’re pretty full of yourself. I should’ve fought for Gil.”
“You would’ve just killed his spirit,” Tex said. “You know it and I know it.”
“Bull shit,” she said. “You don’t know Tisha as well as you think you do. She’s a real ball buster. Gil’s gonna have his hands full.”
“He’s gonna have his hands full all right,” Tex said. “Exactly like both of them want. You won’t be able to get between those two. Nobody will.”
“So how am I gonna kill his spirit, exactly?”
“Gil is a great guy, but he’s not dynamic enough for you. You’ll get bored. You’ll either dump him or make his life a living hell by blaming him for your own unhappiness. You’d never commit to him the way Tisha is going to. She’s gonna worship the ground he walks on. Probably already does.”
“Oh, brother,” she said. “If that’s what I’d do with somebody as strong as Gil, then I’m doomed.”
Tex chuckled again.
“Knock that off,” she said.
“No. I’m driving. Deal with it.”
She stared at him again for a long moment, then sighed.
“You see what I’m talking about?” Tex asked.
“What do you want from me?”
“I want you, at least until we get bored with each other.”
She laughed. “Like that’s going to happen.”
“It might, and it might not,” Tex said. “You’re an interesting combination. I’m smitten. I’m gonna try for you.”
“Oh, so I’m an interesting combination, huh?”
“Yep, you’re just my type. You want to be taken hard, but once you’re in it, you want to keep your options open. You’d never commit one hundred percent to anybody. Get bored and you’ll be looking around for a better deal. I’m the same way. That’s why I’ve never been married.”
“You think you know me, but you don’t know shit,” she said.
“Have it your way. What’s the longest relationship you’ve ever been in?”
“None of your business,” she said.
“C’mon.”
She sighed. “About two years.”
“But you were done long before it ended, weren’t you?”
She sat silently. “Why do you have to push so hard? After what I’ve been through.”
“Well, you’re right. You’ve been through hell and you didn’t deserve it. I’ll take special pleasure in killing as many of these UN creeps as I can in your honor.”
“That’s supposed to make me feel better?”
“No,” Tex said. “Only you can do that, but you can let me help.”
“So, let me get this straight. You think I’ll have this hot, passionate love affair with you, and then we’ll part ways as soon as one of us gets bored. But I can rely on you? Seems kinda sketchy to me.”
Tex smiled at her. “I’m starting to break through, but you aren’t really getting it yet.”
She stared at him blankly for a moment, and then rolled her eyes. “This is pointless. It’s just doubletalk.”
“No, it’s really not,” Tex said. “I know that your own happiness is the most important thing to you. You’ll run your life to manage that. I’m similar. I’m extremely attracted to you, and I think you’re attracted to me, too. If we get together, we might both choose to be together until the day one of us dies. Or we may choose to part, or to have an on again, off again relationship. I would never try to trap you in a situation you no longer wanted, and I wouldn’t take that from you either. I think you’d understand.”
She chuckled. “You’re the kind of man my mom warned me about. Talk up a good story, get what you want for as long as you want it, and then get away.”
“Which is exactly how you are,” Tex said. “We know our own. And don’t make it sound like there’s no commitment there. If we’re together, even temporarily, you’d be on my white list.”
“Oh, give me a break. White list? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’ll always hold you in high regard. I’ll always come running when you’re in trouble, no matter what. I’ll be a life-long friend, even if we don’t end up being life-long lovers.”
“That sounds corny as hell. I’m going in the bedroom. Maybe I can sleep.”
“Go ahead,” Tex said. “Think about it. I got my point across. Your move.”
Chapter 11 – Eighty Foot Ditch
“This spot looks pretty level,” Megan said, walking with Kaitlyn, Seth, and Angel. “What do you think?”
Seth looked down at the ground in front of them, about forty yards from the nearest tent being put up. He set down the small tent he was carrying. “I think it’ll work.”
“Yeah,” Angel said, setting his tent down. “Water isn’t too far away either, see? And the bathrooms and showers are about fifty yards away. Not so bad.”
“There’s a lot less people,” Kaitlyn said. “Glad they got the others out of harm’s way.”
“I hope they’re going someplace safe,” Seth said. He untied the tent and rolled it out. Kaitlyn got down on her hands and knees and helped Seth set it up.
“How far away should we be?” Angel asked.
“Fifty yards,” Kaitlyn quipped. “No, just kidding. Ten or fifteen yards, maybe?”
“Fifteen,” Angel said, a twinkle in his eye.
Megan giggled and shook her head. They walked to the place and got to work.
“I could really use a shower,” Seth said.
“I know, me too, but I don’t have clean clothes to change into,” Kaitlyn said.
Seth chuckled. “You still have traces of war paint.”
“Oh, crap, I do? Where?”
“Left temple,” Seth said. “That war paint was kind of a turn on.”
She snickered. “You’re just smitten. I could put dung on my head and you’d probably still want me.”
“Eeeewww,” Megan said. “I’ll go to the showers with you when we’re done setting up. Need to get sleeping bags and pillows too.”
“Yeah, sounds good,” Seth said. They finished with the tent. Kaitlyn un-zipped the door and crawled inside, smoothing out the floor.
“This could use some sweeping out. It was dusty at the last place.”
Seth climbed in after her. “Alone at last.”
She chuckled. “Oh, brother. Don’t expect a hot passionate night in this thing. At least not yet.”
“I know,” Seth said. “You worried?”
“Scared to death. We need to get our guns out of the Jeep and bring them over here.”
“I know,” Seth said. “Let’s leave them where they are until we get done with our showers.”
“We’d better go pretty soon. There’s gonna be a line, I suspect.”
“Hey, Kaitlyn, quit making out and let’s go get our showers,” Megan yelled from outside the tent.
Seth laughed. “Go ahead. We’ll meet back here in a little while. I’ll bring the guns.”
She nodded and climbed out of the tent. “We weren’t making out.”
Megan laughed. “I know. Let’s go bust the sod off. You’ve still got some war paint.”
“I know, Seth told me.” They walked to the shower, looking around as the others were setting up around them. “Hope they have towels in there.”
“Shoot, didn’t think about that,” Megan said. “We’ll find out, I guess. It’ll be nasty if they don’t. Kinda cold here.”
They were the first to get to the women’s showers, and went inside, picking stalls next to each other.
Megan undressed and turned on the water. “Good pressure.”
Kaitlyn’s shower turned on. “Yeah, not bad.”
“Oh, this feels so good,” Megan said. “Wish we had clean clothes. Shoot, I forgot to check for towels.”
“They’re right outside,” Kaitlyn said. “I already grabbed one.”
“I’m gonna sneak out and get one before somebody else shows up.”
Kaitlyn giggled as she heard Megan’s stall door open. It closed again a few seconds later. “Get one?”
“Yeah,” Megan said. “It’s cold out there.”
“So, you gonna do hanky panky with Angel?”
“Here?” Megan asked. “Tonight? No way. It’ll happen eventually, though. He’s good for me. I want him.”
“That’s nice,” Kaitlyn said.
“How about you?”
“Same,” Kaitlyn said. “He can barely keep his hands off me. Glad he’s such a gentleman.”
Megan snickered. “White boys.”
“Yours is almost white.”
“We sound kinda racist,” Megan said. “I don’t notice that he’s not tribal.”
“I know, me neither. He have any Indian blood?”
“I have no idea,” Megan said. “Don’t really want to bring it up. Chances are good he doesn’t know anyway.”
“I’ve dated outside the tribe, remember? While I was going to school.”
“I don’t care about the differences,” Megan said. “I like talking to this guy. A lot. He’s like a big kid sometimes, but then he can get so serious. He’s very down-to-earth. He’ll be a good provider.”
“Good provider?” Kaitlyn asked. “You’re already going there?”
“Tell me you haven’t thought about that. We’re wired that way, even if we don’t realize it’s happening.”
“Okay, you’re right,” Kaitlyn said. “Funny, though, I’ve thought less about him being a provider and more about him being a father.”
Megan laughed. “And you’re talking about me? Damn, girl.”
“I didn’t say I wanted to be pregnant right this second. The picture of him with our kids pops into my head every once in a while. You haven’t had that?”
“Maybe once or twice. I’m just about done with my shower.”
“Me too,” Kaitlyn said. “The liquid soap they have in these dispensers isn’t the greatest.”
“It’s a whole lot better than nothing.” Megan turned off her water and picked up the towel. Kaitlyn did the same.
“You hungry?” Kaitlyn asked as she dried off.
“Yes. I heard one of the park employees talking to that Korean guy.”
“Ji-Ho,” Kaitlyn said. “You know he’s Kaylee’s uncle, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then better call him by his name,” Kaitlyn said. “Trevor and Kaylee are very close to both Seth and Angel. If we’re with them, they’re gonna be close friends of ours too.”
“You’re probably right. I like Kaylee.”
“So do I,” Kaitlyn said. “Damn it, I hate to put these filthy clothes back on.”
“I know,” Megan said. “We won’t be up for long, at least. Made sure to grab the sleeping bags the guys had, too. They’ve only been slept in once.” She came out of the stall dressed. “Hell, my hair brush is in the car.”
“So’s mine,” Kaitlyn said. “Oops.” She came out dressed too. “I got any war paint left?”
Megan gave her face a close look. “Nope, clean as a whistle. Let’s go.”
They left the shower building and headed back to the tents.
“The guys must be in the showers,” Megan said when they got back. “Wonder if they left the Jeep keys?” She rushed to her tent and looked inside.
Kaitlyn climbed into her tent and found them. “Seth did.”
“Crap, Angel must have his with him.”
“C’mon,” Kaitlyn said. “You can use my brush.”
“Okay,” she said. They walked to the Jeep together, seeing Angel and Seth on the way, coming out of the men’s showers.
“Hey, Seth, I got the keys to the Jeep,” Kaitlyn said.
“Oh, crap, here’s ours,” Angel said, rushing over to Megan. He handed them to her.
“Why don’t you just go with me?” Megan asked. “Looks like you need a hair brush too, mister shaggy.”
Angel cracked up. “Okay.”
“I’ll go too,” Seth said. The two couples walked to the Jeeps, which were parked in a lot about twenty yards to the right of the showers.
“That food I smell?” Angel asked.
“Clubhouse,” Seth said. “I think we’re making another stop. We can grab the sleeping bags on the way back.”
“Mmmmm, that does smell good,” Kaitlyn said. “Wonder what they have?”
“I don’t care, as long as it’s food,” Angel said.
They stopped at the vehicles long enough to brush out their hair, and then headed to the clubhouse. It was full of people, in line for barbequed chicken and ribs, with potato salad, coleslaw, and rolls.
“Yes!” Seth said, getting into line behind Kaitlyn.
“You smell good,” Angel said to Megan, snuggling up behind her. She glanced around.
“Behave,” she whispered.
He chuckled at her. “For now.”
“Well, for the record, you smell good too,” she whispered.
“Hey, no canoodling in here,” Kaylee said as she got into line behind them, Trevor right behind her.
“Hey, guys,” Trevor said.
“How’s the rig?” Seth asked.
“Love it,” Trevor said. “Got room for more, you know.”
“We’re staying in our tent,” Kaitlyn said.
“Oh, I see.” Kaylee grinned.
Kaitlyn giggled. “So sue me.”
“You guys worried about the battle?” Megan asked.
“Of course,” Kaylee said. “And this guy has to volunteer for the most dangerous jobs every time.”
Trevor got a sheepish grin on his face as the others chuckled.
They got their food and sat at a table near the stage, eating quickly and chatting.
“Is this battle wagon really all that?” Kaitlyn asked.
Trevor laughed. “Seth didn’t mention what happened outside of Temecula?”
“He said his ex-girlfriend and a few other people left, and then you were attacked.”
“That vehicle saved us,” Seth said. “We locked it down into siege mode and used the mini-gun. Practically cut the UN vans in half.”
“What’s a mini-gun?” Megan asked.
“It’s a power-driven
machine gun with revolving barrels,” Seth said. “It shoots extremely fast. They use them on helicopters, mostly.”
Trevor smiled. “Some guy I knew told me about those. Said if you could freeze the bullets from that thing in the air, they’d be less than a foot apart.”
“Holy shit,” Angel said. “Really? No wonder those things work so good.”
“That sounds scary,” Kaitlyn said.
“It is,” Kaylee said, “if you’re on the receiving end.”
“They have one drawback,” Trevor said. “They use a lot of ammo in a hurry, and we ain’t the US Army. We have a limited supply. That’s one of the reasons I wanted Ji-Ho in the back tomorrow. That big gun will be good for getting us out of a jam, but it can’t win the whole battle for us. We’d run out of ammo.”
“It’s got the front and rear machine guns,” Angel said.
“True,” Trevor said, “but those have a limited range of motion. They’re made to blow away vehicles on the road. If we had a good position and could point one end or the other at the enemy, they might do some good.”
“Look, something’s going on,” Seth said. “Hank and Jason just ran over to Tyler. Up by the stage.”
“Shit, I think you’re right, dude,” Angel said. “Hank doesn’t look happy. He looks scared.”
“Oh no, I hope the enemy isn’t on their way here,” Kaylee said softly.
“Tyler’s going to the podium,” Seth said.
Trevor turned to look. “Dammit.”
“You guys hear me?” Tyler asked, tapping the mic.
“Yeah, what up?” Ji-Ho asked.
“How many of us aren’t in the room?”
“I think just about everybody is in here,” Clem said. “Food is a good draw.”
“Okay, then I’ll go ahead. Hank and Jason just gave me some news. It’s a good news, bad news situation.”
There were murmurs around the room.
“Go ahead,” Sid said. Yvonne got closer, putting her arm around his waist.
“The good news is that we know exactly where the enemy is now,” Tyler said.
“Hope they’re not on the road here,” Sarah said.
“No, they aren’t on the road here,” Tyler said. “They’re in the abandoned resort just north of Warner Springs, like the town sheriff suspected.”
“What’s the bad news?” Sid asked.
“One of the two men who were scoping out the site got captured by the enemy.”
