by Sage du Toit
Sam always felt sad when she saw pictures of families and no evidence that they might still be alive. A large family like this would have made it back to their house by now, at least to get some personal items and clothes. She tried to think positive and hoped they were holed up somewhere safe and just couldn’t make it home, but most likely they were one of the families in one of the cars they had passed on the road. When they went by the broken down and crashed vehicles, she tried not to look into them. Seeing the dead children was the worst.
Sam went into the girl’s room and looked at some paper and glitter pens that were on the desk and considered making a card for Tom, but it wasn’t really something he could use, only sentimental. She then went to the next room down the hall and thought it must be the twin’s room. There was a set of bunk beds and Lego’s and action figures thrown everywhere. There probably wasn’t anything in here she could use either.
She went to the last room and saw they had it set up as a gym. They had all the latest exercise equipment and a nice weight rack. Sam noticed a table that was folded up and leaned against the back wall. She pulled it out and realized it was a massage table. Which gave her an idea. She thought it might be a little corny but she didn’t have any other ideas. She went back to the girl’s room and sat at the desk while she used the supplies that were there.
When she was done, she went back to the living room to find Tom. He was just coming back from the other end of the house and smiled when he saw her. Just seeing his smile lifted her heart and made her glad. She grinned and ran the last few feet toward him and jumped up into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
Tom laughed and said, “Well I’m happy to see you too, but it’s only been a few minutes.”
Sam smiled coyly at him and then gave him a deep passionate kiss. They hadn’t been kissing much lately because she didn’t want to give him her cold. He kissed her back and pulled her in tight against him. She could already feel him getting hard as he pressed up against her.
She unwrapped her legs and slid down to the ground and he groaned as he let her go. She told him she had something for him and his eyebrows raised as she held out a small bundle of papers.
He looked at her in surprise and said, “What’s this?”
Sam blushed a little and smiled shyly, “I wanted to do something for you for Valentine’s day so I made you this. It’s a coupon book. I know it’s silly but there weren’t many choices. Look inside.”
Sam waited pensively while he flipped through the pages. Some of the coupons made him chuckle and a few he looked at her and raised his eyebrows suggestively. She had made coupons for things like massages, chores, sexual things and even a fantasy he had mentioned to her.
Tom smiled broadly at her and pulled her into a tight hug. He said, “I love it and be assured, I will use each coupon! But right now, I have a surprise for you!” He took her hand and pulled her down the hall toward the master bedroom. When they got to the bedroom, he covered her eyes with his hands and then he led her into the bathroom. She could tell the room was steamy and she smelled something sweet. He uncovered her eyes and she saw he had put candles all around the bathtub that was filled to the rim with hot steaming water. She could smell lavender and vanilla scent coming from the water. She also saw several bottles of lotions and soap lined up along the edge of the tub.
Tom turned her toward him and started removing her clothes. He said, “I know it’s kind of early for a bath, but I thought since it’s Valentine’s Day I would treat you to a special spa day.” He helped her into the tub and Sam moaned and sank down into the hot tub in pleasure. It had been quite some time since she had a hot bath. Tom put a small folded towel behind her head and kissed her forehead. He told her to relax for a few minutes on her own and he would be back.
The water was the perfect temperature, her muscles relaxed and she took a deep breath of the wonderful scent of lavender and vanilla. After a few minutes she wondered where Tom went and then she heard the door open. She didn’t open her eyes, she just listened to him moving around. She had a feeling he wanted to surprise her. She heard something scrape across the floor and she couldn’t contain her curiosity anymore, she opened her eyes.
Tom had the massage table from the gym room and had unfolded it and was draping towels over it. The bathroom was large but the table took up a lot of room. There was just enough room to walk around it. Tom came over to the side of the tub with a large town and extended a hand to help her out. She was curious where this was going so, she climbed out of the tub. He lightly patted her off with the towel and then had her climb on top of the table, lying face down.
The room was still slightly cool but her skin was hot from the bath. Tom told her to just relax and she heard something squirt from a bottle. His big warm hands started to slowly rub lotion all over her back and then all the way down to her feet. She couldn’t help but moan in pleasure as he massaged.
His hand lingered between her legs several times, teasing her with his fingers and she felt herself becoming more and more aroused. After some time, he had her turn over and then he massaged her front, he lingered over her breasts but didn’t neglect anywhere else either. Occasionally he would lean over and give her a sweet kiss.
Sam hadn’t felt this relaxed or wonderful in such a long time. She was in heaven. She kept her eyes closed and enjoyed the feel of his powerful hands moving over her body. Occasionally he would stop and she assumed it was to get more lotion. He massaged down her arm and to her hand she was surprised when he took her lotion covered hand and placed it around his hard rod. She smiled and opened her eyes. When she looked at him she saw that he had removed all of his clothes.
She eagerly moved her hand up and down his long shaft. Tom looked her in the eyes as he slid his hand between her legs and pushed two fingers up inside of her. He said, “Did you enjoy that?”
Huskily Sam replied, “Extremely, and I’m enjoying this as well!”
Tom removed his fingers and suddenly picked her up. He simply turned around and stepped into the large tub that was still warm. He carefully sat her down and then sat down opposite her. He removed the plug and let some of the cooling water go out and turned on the hot water to warm it back up. Sam’s body was slippery with the lotion and now that it was wet, she felt even more slippery. Once the tub was hot again, she slid around and moved up the front of Tom as he laid back in the tub, enjoying the hot soothing water. She felt his hard rod pressing up against her and she moved further up until it was pushing up between her legs. She bent down and kissed him passionately as she tried to push down on top of his large shaft. Tom grabbed her hips and angled himself so just the head would push inside of her and teased her as he kissed her harder.
Sam was panting now and begging him, she wanted him fulling inside of her. Tom suddenly sat up and put her on the side of the tub next to the wall. He got on his knees in the tub and stretched her legs out to each side as he pushed up into her. He pounded harder and harder until she was panting his name. She felt herself tensing up and then he was crying her name as she felt the final release and they both came together. They sank back down into the hot water together and enjoyed the relaxation.
When the water started cooling down, they got out and Tom handed Sam a thick set of fuzzy pajamas he had found and he put on flannel pajamas he had found. Sam put on the warm comfortable clothes and said she wished she had these a few days ago! Tom laughed and said sorry, he didn’t think about it until today.
They had worked up an appetite and went to see what they could eat from the kitchen pantry. While they were looking through the food Sam found a no bake cheesecake mix with strawberry topping and thought it was probably cold enough outside to act as a refrigerator to set the cake. She sat it off to the side to make as a surprise for Tom after lunch. For lunch they decided on creamy shells and cheese and salmon patties.
Tom said he had never had salmon patties and he didn’t know what they were. Sam found bre
ad crumbs and onion flakes to use in the patties but she didn’t have any eggs so she used some baking powder mixed with a little water. When she drained the water off the salmon all the cats came into the kitchen to see what the wonderful smell was. She reserved the liquid and decided she would give it to them later.
Sam fried the salmon patties in a pan while Tom made the shells and cheese. She enjoyed cooking a simple meal with him and was truly enjoying her day. She was trying hard not to think about leaving the next day and the stresses of traveling on the bikes. Before they sat down to eat, she poured the reserved water from the canned salmon into a large flat pan and set it on the floor for the kittens and Lucky to drink. They all sat back and waited after she put it down and she was impressed that they didn’t all come running forward. She called them to it and they all eagerly started licking the liquid up.
After they were done eating, she told Tom she would clean the kitchen by herself, she really just wanted time to make the cheesecake. She had learned several substitutes for butter and she found a can of evaporated milk to use in place of regular milk. She quickly mixed up the cheesecake and covered it and placed it in the back of the pantry where it was cold. She thought it would be a good surprise for dinner.
Sam was thinking back on the other times her and Tom had been able to stop and just enjoy being with each other over the last seven months. Just surviving and helping others figure out how to survive since N-Day had taken up so much of their time. Of course, the only reason they were taking this time now as because she had been sick. She had never been thankful for a cold before, but now suddenly she was.
They spent the rest of the day getting ready to leave for the next day and at dinner Sam surprised Tom with the cheesecake. They ate half of it and saved the other half for breakfast. Right before bed, Tom produced one of the coupons she gave him. She was so thrilled that he was using one, she quickly read it and saw it was for a foot massage. She was kind of surprised that he picked that one but then she realized that he was probably tired from taking care of her for the last few days. She gave him the full treatment, propped his feet up on cushions and massaged his feet with lotion until her fingers and arms were sore.
Chapter 14
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15 February 2021
Columbiana, AL
They were both up early the next morning and Sam was so well rested she felt eager to be on the way. The kittens picked up on her excitement and were running around the house and wrestling with each other. They were even pouncing on Lucky who didn’t seem to mind it too much, she just held the culprit down and licked them until they struggled to get away.
They finished the cheesecake for breakfast, which went great with coffee. The kittens wore themselves out playing and when Sam started loading them in the trailer, Lucky jumped on top of her panniers on the back of the bike. Sam laughed and said, “Oh, are you riding there today?” She guessed Lucky had decided she had enough time with the kittens over the last few days. She put the bed over the panniers for Lucky and after packing up the last of their stuff they checked the map one last time and took off.
They were both reenergized so the miles went by quick. They were in lumber country and passed by quite a few lumber mills and a lot of trees. As they were passing through one of the small towns Tom pointed out signs of looting, businesses with doors open and a few smashed windows. The roads had also been cleared and cars were pushed off the side of the road.
They were going down a hill at the edge of the small town and they let the bikes coast as they picked up speed. Sam glanced back at lucky and saw she had her head over the edge of the bed and was looking intently at something. Sam looked in the same direction and saw they were passing a small grocery store. Just as they went by, the front door opened and a woman and child stepped outside. Sam held her hand up in a wave and the kid was waving back until the woman grabbed his hand and pushed it down. Sam took that as a not welcome sign. Tom was riding next to her and saw the exchange. He caught her eye and signed, “Move on, fast speed.” Sam nodded and they kept going without slowing down.
They had picked back winding roads to avoid the cities so there were long stretches of nothing but trees. There were a few hills, but nothing mountainous or too hard to pedal up. They made a quick stop for lunch and coffee but they wanted to make up for the last few days so they pushed through until almost dark. They had just passed a few houses and Tom stopped in front of a dirt driveway that went to a house that was slightly back from the road. They took the bikes halfway up and saw there were four vehicles in the drive.
They signed to each other and decided with that many cars there was a chance of a lot of dead bodies in the house. They went back out to the main road and back tracked to another dirt driveway that went back to the woods. It was a long drive and when they could see buildings they stopped in the driveway. There was a single truck sitting in front of a small barn and Tom said he didn’t see any tracks in the dirt drive indicating that no one had been to the house in a long time. They stashed the bikes in the woods and Sam was trying to get Lucky to get inside the trailer with the kittens but she was refusing. It was very unlike Lucky to be so uncooperative, so she decided to leave her out. Lucky could either follow them or stay with the bikes. Lucky decided to follow them. They found a dead man near the truck outside but no one was in the house.
It was a small simple house, but it was clean and they just needed a place to stay for the night. It was still very cold out at night and they preferred to find shelter inside. Once the weather warmed up a bit, they would probably start staying outside in the tent. It was already starting to get dark and they just finished checking the house when they both heard the sound of a motor. They looked at each other and cautiously looked out the door.
They didn’t see anything in the fading dusk and then Sam realized the sound was coming from down the drive where they had stashed the bikes in the woods. As soon as the door was opened, Lucky bolted out and toward the bikes and trailers. Sam pulled her gun from its holster and started running down the driveway in a crouch. Tom was right behind her, then he passed her as they heard the engine rev and then take off toward the east, the direction they had come from.
They both ran the rest of the way to where the bikes and trailers had been stashed. There was nothing there. They searched the bushes all around to make sure they were looking in the right spot. Sam was starting to panic. Someone had just taken their bikes with all of the gear and the kittens! Sam had never experienced a panic attack before but her heart was pounding and she felt herself starting to hyperventilate. Tears were pouring down her face and her whole body was shaking. She felt like she was going to start screaming. Someone had just taken her babies!
Tom had run out to the road and was just coming back when he found Sam standing in the middle of the driveway wild-eyed and panicked. He grabbed her and pulled her into a tight close hug. Sam wailed and busted out crying. Tom smoothed a hand over the back of her head and said, “Sam, you are going to have to pull it together. I know they took the kittens, they probably didn’t even know what was in the trailers. They just loaded everything and took off. We will find them! I can promise you! We will!”
Sam was starting to catch her breath as her whole body continued to shake. She felt frozen. Then suddenly she remembered Lucky. She pulled out of Tom’s arms and called for Lucky. She felt even more panicked now. Did Lucky try to chase the vehicle? Sam was getting desperate now and Tom ran back out toward the road.
Sam was getting louder and louder as she called for Lucky as she also ran toward the road. What if Lucky was lost now too? How would they ever find them? And how did the thieves find them? They must have seen them during the day and followed them. She was surprised though, Tom was so observant, if someone was following them, how did he not see them? Sam was trying to catch her breath but she couldn’t stop shaking.
It was now pitch-black outside and she still hadn’t found Lucky
. They also didn’t have anything but the bugout bags they had on them, that Tom always insisted they carry when leaving their supplies behind, just for this reason. Just as she was starting to have another panic attack, she saw something coming back up the road toward her. It was Tom with Lucky in his arms.
He passed Lucky over to Sam and she hugged her close. Lucky was fine, she was even purring. Sam decided that if she got the kittens back, she would always find a way to carry them with her too. Sam corrected herself, not if they got them back, but when!
Tom asked her if she was ok and she dried the tears from her face. “I’m alright now. And you are right, we will find them! Can you track them now? Or do we have to wait until morning?” Sam asked hopefully.
Tom explained that he wouldn’t be able to track them at night, they probably weren’t even expecting them to try and the weather looked like it was staying clear so he shouldn’t have a problem following them. Most of the roads had dirt, sand or overgrowth on them, so tracking a vehicle should be easy.
They went into the house they had checked and locked the door behind them. They each had their headlamps in their bugout bags, so they used them to search the house for items they could use. There was a little food in the kitchen, including a can of tuna for Lucky. Tom came out of the single bedroom with a duffle bag full of items he had found. He had some warm clothes and a pistol with a box of bullets. They searched the rest of the house but there wasn’t much.
The house was all electric so they had a cold can of soup from the food they found and gave Lucky half a can of tuna. They found a few blankets in a closet and laid together on the bed in the single bedroom with Lucky snuggled under the blanket next to Sam’s back. Tom held Sam close and let her cry. She couldn’t believe this had happened. The kittens would be so confused. What if the people didn’t like cats? What if they decided to eat them? Sam couldn’t help but think of all the horrible things that could be happening to them right now.