by R J Murray
“What’re you doing?”
“Might be a spare key.” He looked back over his shoulder and flashed her a weary grin. “Not like in the city where they need to worry about burglars.”
“Yeah, but it’s probably a holiday home. The key will be with the rental company.”
He shrugged and continued his search, finally heaving a sigh and stepping back when it was clear there was no key. He moved over to the window and pressed his face against the glass as he peered inside.
“I think there’s someone in there,” he said.
“Huh?”
“No, really! I can see them on the floor. I think they might have fallen.”
Terri hurried over. She wiped away the misting on the glass from his breath before looking inside. It took a moment or two for her eyes to adjust to the gloom of the room, but she soon saw it, a shadowed form on the floor just behind the couch.
“So what do we do?” she asked.
He glanced at the door and grimaced as he took several steps back. He winked at her as he said, “prepare for some manliness now.”
She gaped at him as he took a short run towards the door before throwing his shoulder and all of his weight against it. The door burst inwards, wooden splinters flying into the air as part of the door frame broke away and he stumbled, before crashing to the floor.
“Christ!” she yelled as she ran in after him. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he muttered, rubbing his shoulder. “Check the guy.”
Terri shot him a look of irritation at his stupidity. If he’d hurt himself there was no way she’d have been able to carry him down the mountain. She moved around the couch and stopped, stunned. It wasn’t a guy, but a woman in her mid-thirties.
She wore jeans and a wool sweater. Her hair, blonde and cut short, hung lank around her sweat-streaked face. Her skin was pale and clammy and her eyes stared right at Terri but didn’t seem to see her.
“Clive,” she said. “Come quick.”
He pushed himself to his feet, muttering as he kept rubbing at his shoulder and stared aghast at the woman when he caught sight of her.
“Help her!” he said as he stepped forward but was stopped by her hand on his arm.
“Wait!”
“What?”
“She might be contagious,” Terri said as she stared at the woman. Her arms and legs twitched, her body shaking as a convulsion wracked her and a thin mewling came from her dry, cracked lips. “I don’t know what this is.”
“Flu?” Clive asked as he glanced around the cabin.
“No. I’ve had flu. This isn’t it,” Terri said. “Something doesn’t feel right.”
He nodded and crossed over to the kitchen area that filled one end of the cabin. She watched, nonplussed, as he rooted through the drawers and cupboards.
“Ah ha!” he said as he pulled out some yellow rubber gloves. The kind used when doing the washing up.
He pulled them on and reached for a tea towel, before pulling a bottle from one of the higher cabinets and unscrewing the lid. He sprinkled the liquid over the towel quite liberally before tying it around his face to form a mask.
“White vinegar,” he said, his voice muffled by the towel. “Should protect against any nasty bugs.”
“Just… be careful,” she said helplessly.
There was no way he wouldn’t help the woman, she knew that and while it was selfish of her, she really didn’t want him to. It just felt really wrong and she couldn’t say why.
Clive approached the woman slowly, taking the rucksack off his back and dropping it onto the couch as he passed. She didn’t seem to recognise him or even acknowledge his presence in any way. Not even when he knelt down beside her and laid one hand against her clammy skin.
“Crikey, she’s burning up. Can feel it through the gloves.”
“What should we do?” she asked, with a look over her shoulder at the open door.
There was no heating in the cabin and a bitter chill was borne in on the morning breeze. The woman, despite her warm clothing, should be freezing and not hot to the touch. Whatever she had, it was unpleasant.
She wrinkled her nose at the odour that filled the room. She’d not immediately noticed it, but it was there. The sort of smell you got in hospitals, on the wards where the seriously ill people lived and soon died.
“I think…” he scanned the room and nodded to himself. “Yeah, go open the door and I’ll get her to her bedroom.”
Terri hurried over to the door he indicated as he lifted her in his powerful arms and quickly pushed it open as he approached. She stood well back as he passed her, turning sideways to fit through the door with the limp woman held against his chest.
He laid her on the bed, and stood for a moment staring down at her, clearly unsure what to do next.
“Look for a radio or phone,” he said. “The old guy might have been wrong.”
She nodded and left him to deal with the woman as she searched the cabin. There was plenty of food in the cupboards and a fully stocked first aid kit. A rifle rested on a rack attached to the wall and she guessed the woman was a hunter like many who used the cabins. There was no sat-phone, but she did find a CB-radio tucked in the spare room.
“Any luck?” Clive called and she swallowed hard.
“No,” she said, staring at the shattered remnants of the radio. “Nothing here.”
Someone had taken out their frustrations on the radio and whoever that was, she didn’t want to meet them. She closed the door behind her when she left and managed a weak smile for Clive as he left the woman's bedroom.
“Think she had a partner,” he said. “Some men’s clothes in there and would explain why there’s no truck out there.”
“No truck?” she asked with a puzzled glance at the door.
“Yeah. I doubt anyone up here would manage without some means of getting back to town. I reckon her husband or whatever, went to get some help.”
“Why wouldn’t he take her though?”
“Maybe he thought she’d be more comfortable up here,” he said with a shrug. “I’m not sure what she has but I don’t think it’s contagious by breathing it in.”
“What makes you think that?”
“She had a bite mark on her hand. Few days old at least, but I bet some animal bit her and she got an infection. The skin around it was blistered and red with blackened veins beneath the skin. Probably gangrene or something.”
“Great,” she said. “Now what?”
“We can wait here for the night and see if her partner comes back,” he said. “Or we can press on.”
“Let me guess, you want to stay.”
His expression told her everything and she held back a sigh as her shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Fine, I’ll close the door, you start a fire.”
“Whatever you say, my love,” he agreed with a grin.
Chapter 3
“She’s sleeping,” Clive said as he let the door swing shut behind him. “Can’t say it’s peaceful but she is sleeping.”
Terri looked up from the pan of sauce she was watching and stirring with a long-handled wooden spoon. She flashed him a smile and returned to watching her sauce. It was one of the few household chores that she loved to do, especially when she was doing it for someone else.
“You don’t think she’ll mind us using their food, do you?” Clive asked, before adding, “Doesn’t matter, I’ll leave some money to pay for what we use.”
“I’m sure they won’t mind,” Terri chided. “We found her and put her in a bed. She’d have frozen to death if we’d not come by.”
“Maybe,” he agreed reluctantly. “But I’ll leave the money anyway. For the door too.”
Terri rolled her eyes and lifted the spoon from the sauce, blowing on it before taking a tentative taste. It was good, and just about ready she decided. She scooped the pasta onto the plates and carefully spooned the sauce on top. A touch of grated cheese, cheddar not parmesan as that was all tha
t was available, and she was done.
The cabin occupants didn’t seem to have a table to dine at, so they sat on the floor before the open fire and ate slowly as they sipped from the mugs of tea that she had also made. There was a cold breeze coming through the slight gap in the door frame but the fire seemed to keep the worst of the chill at bay.
“It’ll be uncomfortable tonight,” Clive said as he chewed thoughtfully on his food. “This is a one bedroom cabin and that’s occupied.”
“I don’t mind sleeping out here beside the fire,” she said and he nodded.
“A better option would be to take it in turns on the couch,” he said. “We’ll need to keep an eye on that woman.”
“Going to be a fun night then,” Terri said with a heavy sigh.
“Has to be done, my love,” he agreed.
They finished their meal in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. He, concerned with the sick woman and the absence of her partner, and she with a niggling worry that something was wrong, seriously wrong.
After the plates had been washed and put away, they moved the couch closer to the fire and settled down together as the light faded outside. He slipped one arm over her shoulder and she nestled close, a feeling of warmth and safety washing over her as it usually did while in his arms.
With the crackle and pop of the fire and the warm glow the only illumination in the room, it was easy for her to put her worries aside and just enjoy being there with him. She raised her eyes to his face, seeing the thoughtful expression he wore as he considered all possible options. He would be planning a course of action for the morning to ensure they could get the woman to safety if her partner didn’t return. He was a good man and his empathy for others was one of those things that most attracted him to her.
She pressed her hand against his thigh, feeling the muscle there, before trailing her fingers up towards his zip.
“Huh?” he said, looking down at her as she pulled the zip down and undid his jeans.
Terri met his eyes and gave a wicked grin as she slipped her hand into his jeans, enjoying the almost instant erection he had when her fingers touched him.
“What’re you…”
“Shh,” she whispered. “Let me have my fun.”
“You don’t have to,” he began but she cut him off as she pulled his tight boxer shorts down, just enough to release his hard member.
She ran her fingers up its length, enjoying the way he squirmed as she touched the head. Her hand closed on it as she felt it’s heat and the throb against her palm. Her head lowered, lips brushing the tip, tongue darting out to leave a glistening trail of saliva around the head.
Terri, took the head of his so hard cock into her mouth, running her tongue over it as he let out a short gasp of breath. She slowly moved her head down, taking in more, lubricating it as she went. She could feel the throbbing pulse of it in her mouth, taste the precum on her tongue and her excitement grew with each fresh gasp of breath from him.
She began to move her head up and then back down, rhythmically as she tightened her lips around his thick cock. His fingers curled around her hair as a groan escaped his lips.
“Wait…no, stop,” he said and she looked up, her eyes meeting his and her mouth full of him.
“What,” she said with more than a little irritation as she pulled away from him and sat up. “The hell’s wrong with you?”
“I heard something,” he said, eyes fixed on the bedroom door. “I think she’s awake.”
“Of all the bloody times to…” she shook her head as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Stay there, I’ll check.”
She straightened her clothing and shot a glare back at Clive. It wasn’t exactly his fault, but she was still annoyed that he’d stopped her in the process of pleasuring him. Not exactly a ringing endorsement of her skills.
The door was still firmly closed and she thought that she could hear something from the other side. Her hand closed on the handle and turned before she pushed it open. The room was in total darkness and she reached for the light switch.
“Hello..?” she asked, a hesitancy in her voice.
Something in the back of her mind was screaming at her. She didn’t know why but was sure that there was danger, but she couldn’t shake the thought.
“Hello?” she repeated.
A snarling mass of anger hit her full on, knocking her to the floor, hands tearing at her clothes. Eyes wide and crazed stared down at her as drool ran from her mouth, spattering her sweater. The woman’s mouth worked, teeth snapping at her as though trying to bite her.
“Help!” Terri cried as she struggled with the woman.
Clive was there in an instant, dragging the woman off of her, struggling to hold her as the woman wriggled in his grasp. He tightened his grip, holding her in a bear hug as she kicked at his shins and raked his arms with her nails. Only the thick sweater saved him from losing skin. Her head snapped back and he yelped, blood spraying over her as his lip burst.
“In the room!” Terri yelled. “Throw her in.”
With little choice, Clive did as instructed, dropping her just inside the doorway and slamming the door shut before she could get back through it. He held it closed for several long minutes as she threw herself against the wood, feeling it shudder and shake with each blow.
“What the hell was up with her?” Terri demanded. “She was bloody crazed!”
“No idea,” Clive replied. “It doesn’t matter right now, we need something to secure this door.”
Terri nodded and headed for the back room. When she’d been searching earlier she’d found a number of camping supplies and that included a rope. She gathered it quickly and brought it over to him. He saw what she intended immediately and waited as she created a loop in the rope, slipping it over the door handle and pulling it tight.
He took over, holding the rope in both hands as he moved back, away from the door, spooling it out in his hands until he reached the door to the spare room. He wound the rope around the handle to that door and pulled it taught before tying it off.
When he let it go, he watched it for a few more minutes to ensure it would hold and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.
“No idea what caused her to do that but she won’t get out of there,” he said with a confidence that Terri didn’t quite feel.
“I’m not going to be sleeping tonight,” she said with a shudder. “Not with that nutter in there.
“She’s ill,” he chided softly and turned his full attention to her. “Did she hurt you at all?”
“No, you?”
“Just the lip,” he said. “My shins might have a few bruises but nothing I can’t handle. If we’d not been wearing these sweaters we’d have had a few nasty scratches though.”
“Damn, I want to shower.”
“All our clothes are with the car,” he said. “We’ll have to clean up as best we can.”
“Then what?” she asked. “There’s something bloody wrong here.”
“She’s ill,” he repeated but she cut him off, waving one finger towards him.
“No! That other man said there was a problem and then this. That’s no illness I’ve ever seen and she was trying to bite me!”
“Yeah, that’s odd. Maybe rabies? Do they have that here?”
“I thought France had eradicated that years ago,” Terri said. “It came back a few years back, but they got rid of it again.”
“Well, if it came back once, there’s no reason it couldn’t again. That makes you crazy and aggressive.”
“Maybe,” she said though she wasn’t convinced. “Let’s clean ourselves up. It’s going to be a long night.”
Chapter 4
The morning brought with it fresh snowfall. A light shower borne on freezing winds that chilled the body no matter how many layers you wore. Terri, with dark smudges beneath her eyes and a decidedly grumpy mood, packed their few belongings before lifting the rifle from the rack.
“What’re you doin
g?” Clive asked.
“Taking it with us,” she said, slipping the carry strap over her shoulder.
It felt heavy on her back and she was pretty sure that after a mile or two her shoulder would ache. She slipped the box of bullets into the pocket of her coat.
“We can’t do that,” he protested. “It’s stealing.”
She was spared from an immediate answer by another thud against the door. It’d been going on all night and she was decidedly pissed and ready to be gone.
“I’m not stealing it. I’m taking it for her safety.”
“What?”
“If she gets out and grabs hold of this she could really hurt someone,” Terri said. “I can’t hide it outside, it would get ruined by the weather. Best thing to do is take it with us and hand it over to the police in town.”
He gave her a look that told her he wasn’t entirely sure of her reasoning but he too had had a restless night. He didn’t have the energy to put up any real argument and so gave a helpless shrug and picked up the rucksack, slinging it onto his back and grunting at the weight.
“You okay?”
“Just tired,” he said as he pulled open the door, wincing at the blast of frigid wind.
They headed out into the cold, pulling up the hoods of their coats against the chill and the falling snow. There was little for them to say as they walked, pushing a path through the freshly fallen snow atop the foot or so that had fallen the previous day.
Neither of them was particularly happy about having to leave the woman behind, trapped in her room but after a long discussion, they had decided it was their best option. She would only be in there a short while, Terri had reasoned. Once they were in the town they would be able to send help for her if it wasn’t already coming.
An hour further along the mountain road, they discovered that help wasn’t likely to be on the way.
A dull orange coloured truck sat by the side of the road, the front right end had crumpled against a thick tree trunk. Snow covered it and they could just dimly make out in the cab, the shape of a man. They shared a look and hurried forwards.
Clive reached the truck first and tugged at the door but it wouldn’t budge. He rapped on the window with his knuckles and called out to the man inside. There was no answer and no movement. He looked helplessly at Terri and she reached out one hand to touch his arm. A brief reminder that she was there for him.
