A Town Called Nowhere

by VK Tritschler

  He threw the car around the last corner, and the township hurtled into view.

  ‘Slow down,’ she grumbled beside him as he veered around a small pothole. He clenched his teeth. He knew what he was doing, and this was a walk in the park compared to the racetrack. Still, she seemed jittery in her seat, so he lifted his foot from the pedal and drove slowly passed the broken houses and ruins until they got back to their starting point. As he climbed out of the car, he couldn’t shake the soft rumble of a growl that sat in his chest. ‘Damn’, he thought, ‘she could at least be grateful that I’m trying to secure her happiness.’ Even if she didn’t feel the same way about him, he felt about her.

  He grabbed the bag of groceries out of the boot and slammed down the lid. Feeling her eyes watching him as he did so, he marched himself into the house and pulled the phone out of the bag before putting the rest of the contents down on the floor. Ripping open the packet, he unearthed the portable power pack and new mobile phone, which really was an antiquated flip-phone that had probably never seen the Internet before yet alone been connected to it. He placed the new sim into the back, plugged it into the power bank and turned it on. The screen flickered to life, and he tested it for coverage. Barely. Still, it was better than none. Digging into his memory, he typed what he hoped was Corey’s number and waited impatiently for the answer.

  ‘Hello?’ Corey’s voice echoed through the line.

  ‘Hey mate, it’s me.’ It felt nice to speak to a friend again. Someone who knew him but didn’t judge. ‘Look I dunno how long I have before this crappy new phone dies, but I need you to come see something.’

  ‘Yeah sure,’ Corey answered immediately. ‘You in trouble or something?’

  ‘Nah nothing like that. I have an idea. Does your mate Roo still have a plane?’

  ‘Yeah I think so.’’ there was a pause. ‘Why?’

  ‘I need you to meet me as close as you can to a town called Nowhere. Tell him I will pay for any costs I just need you urgently.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Nowhere.’

  ‘What?’

  Dru sighed. ‘The town is called Nowhere. It’s about fifty k’s out of Bundaroo.’

  ‘Where the fuck is Bundaroo?’ Corey exclaimed. ‘Jesus it sounds like a shit hole.’

  ‘Well, just find it on a map and get your arse here pronto. It’ll be worth the trip, mate.’ He hoped that he sounded confident enough to make this happen. ‘There’s plenty of fields around here you can safely land on if you need to. Let me know where and when, and I can pick you up.’

  ‘Okay, see ya soon.’ Dru flipped the phone shut and looked back to find Nicci standing at the door with her arms crossed against her chest.

  ‘Mate of yours, I assume?’ she arched an eyebrow at him.

  ‘Yeah Corey. We grew up together. He’s a builder. I thought he should come and see this place to make sure it’s worth putting an offer on before I get too far into this.’

  Something flickered across her face. It was quick, and he wasn’t sure that he understood it. Fear maybe? Or anger? Something, but he didn’t know what to say next.

  ‘Okay.’ She turned and started heading outside.

  ‘Hold on.’ He reached down and grabbed a large bag of Cheetos and threw them in her direction. With her swift catlike reflexes, she caught them easily. ‘You’ll need a snack until I can get dinner ready later.’

  She smiled at him. It was small, a barely noticeable shift of her lips in an upward direction. But it was enough for him to feel a rush of warmth and longing. She should always smile, he thought to himself. She turned again to leave, but paused for a moment and looked back over her shoulder.

  ‘When it comes to Cheetos I don’t share,’ she grinned and gave him a wink before rushing off. With a beaming smile, he ran behind her. It was hardly fair that she got them all.

  #

  CHapTEr TwElvE

  She felt his arm snake around her and the thrilling rush it brought to her skin and pulse as he tried to pry the bag from her hand. She shouldn’t have teased him, she told herself. But he just looked so gorgeous standing there discussing plans on the phone with an air of complete Alpha authority that he didn’t realise he possessed. It made her blood run hot just to think about it. She imagined what he would be like in the bedroom. Completely at ease with giving orders and telling her what he liked and wanted. And she could rise to the challenge with him and make demands of her own. Knowing full well that she would not hurt him, or accidentally kill him in the heat of the moment like she had with previous lovers. Every time she got intimate with someone, she would hold a part of herself back, unable to unleash the full tide of her beastly emotions. But he would match hers, and then some.

  He grinned as he tore open the packet and grabbed a large handful of bright yellow cheese twirls and shoved them in his mouth. He gave her a wink back, and she pretended to look shocked. Actually, the more time she had spent with him, the more she had felt her barriers relax. He was easy to be around, and he seemed to genuinely look out for her. Not to mention the fact that despite her thumping heart, he had not once pressed her for anything intimate. He seemed to be okay with just being friends. It was a rarity to find that in a man. Most of the time, and particularly those of the shifter variety, seemed to be only interested in her for sex. But he was different. Restrained.

  She took a handful of her own and chewed on them in contemplation.

  ‘So, this Corey friend of yours. Is he a nice guy?’ She wanted to make sure she was going to be safe. Assuming that he was another panther like Dru she could put herself in a precarious situation given her current circumstances.

  ‘Yeah, like a big old teddy bear.’ Dru replied, taking another mouthful. ‘You don’t need to worry; I wouldn’t let anyone come here that would be dangerous to you.’

  But there was a quick flicker of something that Nicci suspected was concern that passed across his brow. She took another handful, and they munched in silence for a moment.

  ‘But now you mention it, I should probably warn him about your...’ he paused mid-sentence, and she filled in the gaps.

  ‘Current smell situation?’ she offered.

  He grinned. ‘Yeah, that thing. Just in case.’ He pulled out his mobile, and sent a message. Within minutes it dinged with a reply. He flicked it open and read it, a smile creasing the corners of his lips as he did so.

  ‘What did he say?’ she asked, licking yellow cheese flavouring off her fingers.

  ‘He said he’s getting here as fast as he can. But he doesn’t mind being the little spoon.’

  Laughter bubbled up from her chest and escaped her lips. His eyes darkened as he watched her, and her smile faded as her pulse responded. With great effort she pulled them away from him, and she took the rest of the bag and walked out to the middle of the street. She needed a distraction. Pronto.

  Pointing along the road a little further, her finger highlighted the old building with large front sliding doors, which looked like they had once used it as a garage, but she didn’t think that was its original design. The doors weren’t large enough. Perhaps a resort office? But that didn’t make sense all the way out here. ‘That would make a nice cafe,’ she mused. ‘You’d need to have people to provide food to, so that’s probably the last thing you would build here.’

  He stood just behind her, and she could feel his presence without turning her head. ‘No, you’re right. It would. I thought I would knock down that old place there...’ he pointed to the remnants of a house beside it and she could feel the tingle of her arm was nearest to his. ‘And then that could open up the space behind it into the park, or now you mention it, some outdoor seated areas.’

  Together they stopped talking and started imagining. Swings for the kids. Fairy lights strung up around an outdoor pagoda to allow for evening dining in the summer. They could redo the houses on either si
de and have them filled with families of smiling panther cubs and their parents. Where living here was a choice that was made by each new member, not a mantle that was thrust upon them. They could open a garage for their vehicles, and a supermarket for their essentials. The people moving in would bring with them new ideas and businesses, to help boost their capacity to be self-sufficient. Maybe even a doctor would be keen. Someone like them with a knowledge of their unique anatomy and physiology. Her mind was filling with ideas.

  Dru took her hand in his, and warm electrical bolts shot up along to her heart. Glancing at him from the corner of her eye, she could see that he was feeling it too.

  ‘Come on,’ he murmured. ‘Let’s take an imaginary walk through what might be.’

  Led like a lamb, she followed him. They stopped often along the way to share ideas and suggestions. All the while, the heat radiating up along her arm drove her to, distraction making her miss some of his own offerings. After a long while, they reached the end just in time to hear the roar of a low flying plane engine approaching at speed from the distance. Dropping his hand like an ember, Nicci felt her natural defence stance kick in. It was a habit she had formed many years ago. Dru looked across at her, his eyebrow raised.

  ‘It’s all good, Nicci. It’s just Corey.’ He pointed up at a bright white Cessna which dipped its wings at them and continued past the buildings into a field behind the township. Dru raced back to his car. ‘Come on slow poke!’

  She felt the tingle of nerves radiating through her body as she quickly followed behind him, jumping into the passenger seat. She had enjoyed it being just the two of them. What if she didn’t like this Corey guy? Or worse, what if he didn’t approve of her? As Dru raced along the road, side-stepping the potholes and debris her fingernails dug into the armrest.

  They came to a screeching halt with the plane immediately in front of them, the engine still running. Dru’s face radiated a massive grin as he stepped out of the car and walked up as close as he could to the plane. The pilot, Roo, wore dark glasses and a smile and simply gave Dru a mock salute while he waited for his passenger to alight. Nicci nervously got out of the car and walked to stand beside Dru, her hair whipping in the wind caused from the props.

  ‘Hey mate!’ Corey climbed out of the plane’s passenger seat, his handsome features shifting quickly from his friend’s face to Nicci’s. Her back stiffened in response. Shorter and stockier than Dru, Corey was still far too handsome to make Nicci feel comfortable about this situation. With short dark hair, golden skin and eyes so dark brown that they appeared to be as black as the pupils themselves, he had an otherworldly look about him. He strolled over to the car with a small bag slung over his shoulder as Roo turned the plane and headed back off the makeshift runway. ‘So, what’s been happening?’

  He cast his gaze back past Dru and caught Nicci’s eyes.

  ‘You must be Nicci,’ he announced, putting out his hand for her to shake. ‘I’m Corey, nice to meet you.’

  ‘You too.’ Nicci shook his hand and felt his muscles tense around her fingers. He let go and Nicci took a step behind Dru. She felt safer there.

  ‘So what’s been happening?’

  ‘Come with us, I’ll show you.’ Dru had a cheeky grin, like a small boy who wanted to show off all his toys at Christmas. Nicci followed behind them, getting into the rear seat this time. She noted that Corey didn’t seem bothered by her presence even in the confined space of the car, but he did sniff a couple of times cautiously at the beginning. She swallowed hard.

  As they entered the township Corey looked around the place at the ramshackle buildings and the discarded spaces. ‘Looks like this place has seen better days.’

  ‘Yeah, that’s what I brought you out here to discuss.’ Dru drove them the length of the township slowly as he discussed the master plan. There were plenty of questions, and the more Dru said, the tighter Corey’s lips drew.

  ‘Look mate,’ Corey said, throwing a side glance at Nicci as he did so. ‘I can understand why you might like holing up in a place like this.’

  Nicci felt herself inwardly curl. He thought it was just because of her that Dru was doing all this. She was about to say something when he continued.

  ‘But I’ll be honest mate, it’s gonna cost you a fortune to get this up to spec. And who knows if you’ll even get enough people who’d be prepared to shift out to the middle of fucking nowhere to start a new life. I know I’d have some serious concerns about it.’

  ‘Even if you could be Alpha?’

  A look flashed across Corey’s face, and Nicci wasn’t sure if it was uncertainty or longing. ‘Look, even then, I think. I have a good job back home. A house. A girlfriend.’

  ‘Shit, when did that happen?’ Dru interjected, and Nicci watched a red blush tinge Corey’s cheeks.

  ‘Yeah okay, maybe not the last bit. Yet. But I’m working on it.’ He gave Nicci a wink, and she felt Dru tense up in-front of her. ‘But look, it would be a hell of a thing to set up a pack like this. I just don’t know that it would ever work. I mean...’ he leaned closer to Dru. But Nicci could still hear them. ‘What would your Dad say? He’d lose his fucking mind over this idea Dru. And you and I both know that he has plans for you and Ash.’

  ‘‘So it’s Ash is it?’’ Nicci thought to herself. He must know her pretty well to have shortened it.

  ‘Yeah, about that,’ Dru looked out the window, averting his eyes from Corey. ‘We’re breaking up.’

  There was a pause, where Corey stared hard at Dru, realised he was serious and then went pale. ‘You’re fucking joking, mate,’ he swore.

  Dru looked back at him and squared his shoulders. ‘No. Been in the pipeline for a while. I’m just trying to make it clean for the media and our families, so she doesn’t get hurt in the process.’

  ‘Jesus,’ Corey swore again, the shock making him sway ever so slightly in place. There was another moment of awkward silence. ‘Does your Dad know?’

  ‘Yeah, but he’s in denial. He keeps telling me it’s just a phase and we can work through it.’

  ‘Well, can you?’ There was an eagerness to Corey’s question that made Nicci weary. There was more to this story than he was letting on.

  ‘Nah mate.’ Dru’s lips went tight. ‘Been trying for years. It’s time to give it up.’

  Dru stopped the car and the two men stared at each for a bit, before Corey reached out and placed his hand on Dru’s shoulder. ‘Shit, sorry.’

  ‘Yeah,’ Dru sighed. ‘It is what it is. But that’s why this place is so important to me. I need to have a fresh start. Something I can call my own, where I am not beholden to my Dad and his expectations for my life.’

  Corey nodded, but kept his hand there. ‘Well, you know I will help you any way I can mate.’ He patted Dru’s shoulder one more time before his hand dropped away. ‘But bugger me if this isn’t going to cost you some serious legal cash to smooth things over. Can you afford to buy an entire town? I would have pegged you for a mortgage in Byron myself.’ A small grin crept onto Corey’s face as he offered some light relief to his friend.

  ‘Can’t surf,’ Dru smiled back.

  As the car wound its way back to the house they were using, Dru told the story of running into Nicci. She knew that Corey had been dying to ask it since the minute he laid eyes on her, but he was too polite.

  ‘So, you hadn’t met at all before two days ago?’ Corey arched a suspicious eyebrow at Nicci. She shook her head.

  ‘Nope, just a shitty car and a late night was all it took.’

  ‘Huh! I wish I was that lucky.’ Corey flashed her a cheeky grin. Dru stiffened beside her. ‘And you have no idea who your pack is?’

  ‘No,’ she admitted.

  Corey was silent for a minute. ‘But do you hear them talking to you? I mean, is that a thing you get? Like we do?’

  ‘Sure,’ she murmured. ‘But since
I don’t know them it’s more like an annoying background sound.’

  ‘What do they sound like? Do they speak English or have accents?’

  Through the years Nicci had tried to pinpoint the voices in her head with a location. But nothing seemed to fit exactly. One sounded like an American, with a strong drawl on the end of sentences. But the other barely spoke at all, and when it did the voice was short and sharp. Too quick for her to take a guess.

  ‘They speak English, but I think one might be American, he has an unusual accent.’ She watched a house crawl past her vision, the windows boarded up and the grass knee high in the front yard.

  ‘Hey Dru,’ Corey’s face lit up. ‘I wonder if it was that pack from Montana that visited the crew up in south Queensland years back? Do you remember the stories than my Gram used to tell us about that?’

  Dru chewed on his lower lip, but he didn’t look around at Nicci. ‘Maybe, but it would be a bit of a stretch. Surely someone would have realised if one of their pack was missing on the way back. And why would you leave a baby here? It doesn’t really make sense.’

  ‘Yeah, I guess so,’ Corey turned to face him making him slow down the car to a stop. ‘But what if, and this is just a guess, their leader got one of the lesser members pregnant?’

  There was an extended pause, as Nicci and Dru considered it. Nicci was the first to break the silence. ‘But surely that would mean that he would have to take the child with him? I mean, wouldn’t it make it an heir?’

  ‘Unless he already had a mate in his pack, in which case the kid would be...’ Dru was hesitant to spit out the last words.

  ‘An inconvenience,’ Corey answered, giving Nicci a pitying sideways glance. ‘That pack is strong. If they found out about a bastard child, well that would be...’

  ‘Dangerous,’ Dru answered, his brow knotting together. Both men looked around at Nicci, and she felt herself shrink back into the seat from their glare.