Through the Mountains

by Kelvin Teo

  A few more minutes and they walked into the small, gravel parking lot of the motel and saw Clark sitting in a chair outside one of the rooms. The door to the room was open and as they walked up to him, they could sneak a peek inside and saw that it was not a contender for Best Motel Room award.

  "Good news and bad news, folks," said Clark.

  "Okay, good news," said Danny.

  "The good news is they had this room."

  "And the bad news?"

  "It’s the only room."

  Danny looked around the parking lot and there was only one other car. It was parked at the other end of the motel, which had what appeared to be about ten rooms.

  "Doesn’t look like it’s all filled up to me," he said.

  "The lady in the office said they were remodeling everything right now and only two rooms were usable."

  "A lady in the office, huh? Nice lady?"

  Clark looked up and laughed.

  "Oh, this is where is gets better," he said, lowering his voice. "She was short, fat and looked like she had caked her makeup on with a garden trowel."

  "Oh, good lord," said Lizzie.

  "And the best part?" said Clark. "Her name is Peaches. Peaches Morgan."

  "Morgan?" asked Danny. "As in, the Morgan brothers?"

  "Their mother and she will give you the creeps just as quickly as her sons do."

  Danny stepped over and looked into the room and saw two queen size beds. He gave a little laugh and looked at Clark.

  "I hope you like cuddling, Clark."

  "Sure, with Lizzie or Ali. But, with you? I’d sooner sleep on the floor."

  "With all the roaches?" asked Ali.

  "I already checked, sweet cheeks. No roaches."

  Lizzie looked in the room and saw all their bags.

  "Oh, you’re so sweet, Clark. You even got our luggage in the rooms."

  Clark stood up and stretched and said, "And I don’t mind telling you what a pain in the ass that was. Zeke pulled the van into the garage over there and I had to haul everything from there to here. I mean, my gawd Ali, what the hell did you bring in your bag? It weighs a ton."

  She giggled and leaned up and kissed him on the cheek.

  "I thought you were a big, strong football player," she said.

  The four of them piled into the room and Danny looked at his watch and saw it was almost two in the morning.

  "Well, let’s get some sleep and see if we can be up in about five or six hours."

  Danny closed the door and made sure to set all the locks. The girls even watched to make sure he got them secured for the night.

  Both of them grabbed a few things from their bags and disappeared into the bathroom together. The guys could hear the water running in the sink and they were giggling and joking around.

  "Why are you so against each of us sleeping with a girl?" asked Clark in a very low voice.

  Danny sat down on the bed across from Clark and looked at him.

  "I’m not against it. I just think if it happens, it should be something they suggest, not us."

  "Look, I’m not even talking about sex. I’m just talking about curling up next to one of them and getting some sleep."

  "Yeah, right. Put yourself in their shoes. If you were one of them, would you trust one of us to crawl into bed with one of them and keep our hands to ourselves?"

  Clark got a sly grin on his face and shrugged his shoulders.

  "Let’s just get some sleep tonight and back on the road in the morning. Who knows how the rest of the week is going to turn out."

  The door to the bathroom popped open and the girls came out, both dressed in oversized t-shirts and bare legs from the bottom down.

  Clark couldn’t take his eyes off Ali and her shapely, dark legs.

  "Eyes back in your head, big boy," she said with a laugh.

  Danny looked down at the floor and said, "I can’t believe you two girls are walking around barefoot on this floor."

  They both froze and looked down. The carpet looked like it had been a light tan at one time, but it was a nice, dark brown now.

  "Ewww!" they both squealed as they jumped onto their bed.

  "Get off the bed, Clark!" yelled Lizzie. "We’re getting under the covers!"

  Clark gave a big sigh as he stood up and could feel the covers behind him lifting up and he pictured the girls crawling under the covers together.

  "You going to use the bathroom?" asked Clark, looking at Danny.

  "Yes, and I don’t need you to hold my hand in there," said Danny as he looked at the two girls.

  Lizzie looked at him and said, "After you’ve seen the bathroom you might want some hand holding."

  Danny got up and went over to look into the small bathroom. The smell of mildew was strong and he could see all kinds of something growing on the shower walls.

  "Looks like I won’t be taking a shower this evening," he said. "Or in the morning. Not in that horror show anyway."

  Ali giggled and said, "You two really know how to woo the ladies, don’t you?"

  Lizzie laughed hard and cuddled up behind Ali, draping her arm over the other girl.

  Danny turned and looked at the two of them and said, "This is not the week-long vacation Clark or I had in mind. I promise, when we get to the cabin it will be much nicer than this."

  "Promise?" asked Lizzie.

  "Yes, I promise."

  Clark looked at the two girls and wondered why it couldn’t be him curled up behind Ali. It was almost as if Ali could read his mind.

  "Lizzie and I are best friends, Clark."

  Then Lizzie looked at him and asked, "Aren’t you and Danny best friends? You can cuddle up to him, too."

  ‘Yeah, Clark. You can cuddle up to me," said Danny with a laugh.

  "I’d rather die."

  Ali giggled and said, "Don’t say that! Haven’t you seen horror movies set in ratty old motels like this one. All the kids end up dead by the time the credits roll."

  "Well," said Lizzie, "all the kids except Jamie Lee Curtis. She’s a bad ass."

  Danny stepped into the bathroom and found a clean washcloth and used it to wipe the dirt and sweat off his face. After wiping down his arms and drying off, he walked back into the room and began getting out of his boots and pants.

  Then he crawled into the other bed and without even thinking about it, he took the side closest to the girls. After he laid his head down on the pillow he realized Clark probably thought he did that on purpose to keep him as far from the girls as possible.

  Oh well, he’ll live.

  4

  The alarm in his watch went off at eight in the morning and Danny opened his eyes. He saw two things he didn’t expect.

  First, he saw Ali laying on her side, facing him and her eyes were wide open as she looked at him. She just smiled as he woke up.

  The second thing he saw was Clark, sitting in a chair on the other side of the girl’s bed. He was just dressed in a sleeveless sweatshirt and a pair of red shorts. And he had his knife sitting on his lap.

  Danny sat up and wiped the sleep from his eyes.

  "Clark."

  The big guy didn’t stir at all.

  "Clark!"

  He opened his eyes and had to grab for the knife as it began to slide off his lap.

  "Did you sleep in that chair all night?"

  Both the girls were awake now and they both looked at him.

  "Yes, I did. And it wasn’t because I have some phobia about sleeping next to another dude."

  "Why then?" asked Lizzie.

  He looked at her and seemed to be thinking about what he wanted to say to her.

  "Because one or both of those Morgan brothers came sniffing around here about three in the morning. They even tried the door, I guess hoping the locks weren’t set right."

  "Holy shit," said Ali softly.

  "That’s when I moved from the bed to this chair. And yes, Danny, I did lay down on the bed next to you, but on top of the covers."

 
Danny smiled a little, but was more worried about the report that the Morgans had come creeping around and he didn’t know anything about it. It seemed like one minute after his head hit the pillow he was out like a light.

  Lizzie looked over at the big guy and bit her lip. Then she said, "Thank you, Clark."

  Ali sat up and said, "Danny, can you get into my bag and grab a pair of clean socks? I don’t want to put my feet on that carpet again."

  "Me, too," said Lizzie.

  Danny stood up and bowed low to them.

  "Yes, m’ladies. Whatever you command."

  "Well, in that case," giggled Ali, "I’ll have scrambled eggs, sausage and orange juice."

  "Ha!" said Clark. "They don’t have any kind of restaurant around here. We’re going to be living off the snacks we bought at the convenience store yesterday."

  Danny got the socks for the two of them and then headed for the bathroom to take care of some morning business.

  While he was gone, Ali slipped her socks on under the sheets and then grabbed her jeans off the chair next to the bed. When she stood up and went to wiggle into them, Clark got a great view of her red, lacy panties.

  "Mmmm, nice bum," he said.

  "You keep your eyes off my bum, sir."

  "Hey, if you’re going to put it right out there for all to see, I’m gonna look."

  "Well then," she giggled, "look at this."

  She turned her back to him and peeled off the over-sized t-shirt and dropped it on the chair and picked up her other t-shirt and pulled it on. All Clark got to see was her sleek, brown back, with her matching red bra in the back. She turned back around and looked at him with a naughty grin on her face.

  "Did that do anything for you, ya big stud?"

  "More than you know," he said with a big smile of his own.

  Lizzie, not being nearly as adventurous as Ali, did all of her dressing underneath the covers. Clark didn’t have a chance.

  When Danny returned from the bathroom, both girls jumped up and headed in there together, making sure to close the door and lock it.

  "Why do ladies feel so comfortable going to the bathroom together?" asked Clark.

  "I don't know, big guy. It's one of those mysteries of the universe I don't think men are meant to figure out."

  He sat down on the girl's bed, facing Clark and he could see they were both thinking the same thing.

  "They really came around here?" he said softly, not wanting the girls to overhear him.

  Clark just nodded.

  "We need to make sure we don't let the girls out of our sight while we're here. I don't trust either of those Morgan boys."

  "You didn't meet their mother."

  "Peaches, was it?"

  "Yeah, and she's a piece of work, herself."

  "Made up like a clown, huh?"

  "That wasn't the worst of it. When I mentioned there would be two women with us, she got this strange look in her eyes. Zeke was standing right there and she looked at him and they just nodded to each other. I don't mind telling you, Danny, I'm scared shitless being here and especially with the girls."

  Danny took a deep breath and sat back. Just then the girls came out of the bathroom and their conversation ceased. Ali ran across the room and jumped onto the bed, landing right behind Danny. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and giggled in his ear.

  "What are you two talking about so seriously? Planning to defile two young ladies on this trip?"

  Lizzie walked around the bed and sat down next to Danny. She didn't seem to be in the happy mood her best friend was. When Danny looked at her, he could see a bit of fear in her eyes.

  He reached over and laid his hand on hers.

  "Relax, Lizzie. No defiling is going to happen here."

  "Oh, c'mon, Clark," she said. "To defile me it would have to be against my will."

  Then she stopped, drawing a quick breath.

  "Did I just say that out loud?"

  Ali laughed and leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

  "Yeah, sweetie. The cat's out of the bag now."

  Lizzie's face turned ten different shades of red as she tried to figure a way out of the situation."

  Danny squeezed her hand and said, "No, Lizzie, we were talking about how we need to keep you two close while we're here. We don't trust the Morgan boys and Clark seems to think their mother is no better than them."

  Clark looked at his watch and said, "It's just after eight. I'm going to walk over to the garage and see about the van."

  "No," said Danny. "I'll go. It's my sister’s van and besides, I'd rather leave you here with the ladies. I think you'd be much better in the protector role than me, especially with that pig sticker of yours."

  Danny stood up and pulled on his jacket and stepped to the door.

  "Keep this door locked while I'm gone."

  Ali asked, "How will we know it's you when you come back? Should we have a secret knock?"

  They looked at her and then she broke up laughing.

  Danny reached up and tapped the spyhole on the door.

  "No secret codes necessary," he said with a laugh.

  Opening the door, he stepped out and pulled it closed behind him. He stood just outside until he heard the locks being thrown.

  Then he heard Clark ask, "Okay, who want's to be defiled first?"

  Both girls squealed and then roared with laughter. Danny laughed to himself and set off across the parking lot toward the garage.

  As he approached he saw the back of the van sitting in the service bay and could hear some clanking going on inside. As he walked around the side of the van, he could see the hood was up and both the brothers were busy working.

  "Mornin' guys," he said, causing one of them to raise up quickly and bang his head in the underside of the hood.

  "Sonovabich! Don't sneak up on people like that!"

  Danny stepped back and said, "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

  Zeke raised up from where he was and said, "Relax, Ricky. He didn't mean no harm."

  "Yeah, alright," he said as he held out his hand to Danny. "Ricky Morgan."

  "Danny Lee," he said, taking Ricky's hand.

  "Danny Lee? Hey, you're not the Danny Lee that led Calvert High to state this year, are you?"

  "As a matter of fact," said Danny, letting a smile cross his lips. The last place he expected anyone to have heard of him would be a backwoods garage, complete with dyed-in-the-wool rednecks.

  "Yeah? I listened to the game on the radio. That last drive you and the team put on to win at the last second was a thing of beauty."

  "Thanks. I had a great team this year."

  He looked over at Zeke and could see something in his eyes he couldn't place.

  "Hey, I was just coming over to check and make sure we'd be back on the road this afternoon."

  Zeke said, "Sure, I called the parts place about an hour ago and they should be rolling in here pretty soon."

  "Okay, then I'll leave you to it," he said as he turned to head back out of the garage.

  As he was walking into the open, he couldn't help, but overhear Zeke tell Ricky to stop acting like a star-struck school girl.

  When he got back to the room, he knocked on the door and was met with Ali's voice from the other side, asking for the secret knock.

  "No secret knock. I'll just tell your mama about the fun you had while on this trip."

  The door flew open and Ali was standing there, her mouth wide open.

  "You wouldn't dare!"

  "Oh, so now it's a dare," he said with a smile as he walked into the room.

  He looked over and saw Clark laying in the bed, his ball cap pulled down low over his eyes.

  "Some protector," he said with a grin.

  "He was out five seconds after you left."

  "I'm not out," came a low voice from under the cap. "Just trying to get a little rest.'

  "Ladies, want to walk over to the office and see if there is any kind of continental breakfast or some
thing? We can leave Sleeping Beauty here."

  From under the same cap they heard, "If you find a continental breakfast, it will be a surprise to me. The only thing you're likely to find there is some decade old Twinkies and cold coffee."

  Danny motioned to the girls and they followed him out the door. Walking across the parking lot, toward the office, Lizzie stole a glance toward the garage and could see Zeke standing near the door, just watching them go.

  She felt a cold shiver of fear creep up her back. Ali was too busy snaking her arm through Danny's to notice and Danny was too busy trying to figure out Ali's advances.

  The small bell over the door tinkled as they walked into the small office. When Peaches came out of the back room, it was everything the three of them could do to not burst out laughing. Clark had been rather conservative when describing the amount of makeup she had on.

  "Can I help you, young people?"

  Her voice was as squeaky as a mouse and her brown eyes looked just as beady as a rat's.

  "We were just hoping to find something to eat, that's all? I was also wanting to use the phone to call our parents and let them know everything is okay."

  "We don’t have a working phone up here. We keep trying to get the phone company to come out here and fix it, but it’s been over two weeks now. I guess we’re not at the top of their priority list. As for something to eat, we don't really have a restaurant, as you can see, but I was just getting some breakfast for myself. I'd be happy to set some extra places."

  For some reason, the thought of having breakfast with Peaches, set off all kinds of warning bells in Danny's head. Even more so than the fact there wasn’t a working telephone around.

  "We didn't really mean to put you out," he said, "We just thought there might be some snacks we could buy or something."

  "Oh, don't think nothing of it," she said. "Come on back."

  She motioned them around the counter, into what served as her kitchen, living room and dining room, all rolled into one. There was a small, round table with four chairs around it.

  When Danny saw the three places set at the table, he knew exactly what they were for and wanted to bolt right then and there.