by Cherry Kay
“Oh baby,” Ted said. He was using the voice he always did when he was going to come. It was like he was trying to do long hand algebra in his head and he could almost see the answer in his mind's eye, but he needed to keep his thoughts still to allow the answer to form.
“Just last a little longer,” Tina said. “Please, just last a little longer! That's all I need.”
Then, when she feared that she'd lost her own feeling of an answer coming, her orgasm blossomed through her like an explosion. Her entire body whipped as she convulsed while Ted pounded her with his big cock. Just when things started to die down inside of her she felt Ted's cock stiffen to the point where she wondered if it wasn't going to snap in half under its own turgid pressure.
“Oh baby,” he said. “I'm going to come. Fuck, I'm going to come. Oh, Jesus, it feels so good.”
With one final thrust he held her to him as his member started to pulse inside of her. Tina could feel his cock spasm as he came. She couldn't believe how powerful the orgasm was. It must have had something to do with the fear they had been feeling for the last three days. She had read somewhere that there was a very real connection between sex and violence. Maybe this connection had something to do with how good the sex was. Maybe. Tina wasn't entirely convinced, but she wasn't ruling it out either. She made a mental note she knew she would forget about to look into it when they got back home.
“Oh God. Oh shit. Oh God,” Ted said as his body sagged forward to lay on Tina's. “I haven't come that hard in a long time.”
They cleaned up and got dressed, then ate some soup that Tina heated up on the stove. Ted said that he wanted to see if they could sled down the hill above the cabin, that way if they were too tired they wouldn't have to walk back up a hill to get home since they'd be sledding down to the cabin anyway. Tina thought it would be neat to go sledding before they went home. They had both brought clothes that were meant for play in the snow.
“What about a sled?” Tina asked.
“I saw one in the storage space above the false ceiling. It looked like it would work,” Ted said.
He quickly finished his meal and retrieved the sled and they set off. It took them longer than they thought to climb to the top of the hill because the hill itself was much bigger than they had anticipated. Ted said they hadn't judged it right because the human eye can only see two dimensions after a certain distance, so unless someone has a lot of practice judging the distance of things away from them they have a hard time with it. When they finally got to the top of the hill, Tina looked around at the mountain range around them and it took her breath away.
“Ted, look at it!” Tina said. “It's so big! I've never seen anything this wide open before.”
Ted looked around with her at the great majesty of the outdoors. Tina could tell by the look on his face that he was as impressed as she was. The outdoors back home didn't have anything like this. The lower Appalachian Mountains weren't nearly as impressive. Tina tried to scan from one end of the range, as far as she could see, to the other, while holding the entire geographical formation in her mind. It was a lot harder than she thought because there was just so much to take in. Each mountain had its own texture, each tree its one movement when the wind whispered through its branches. It made Tina think of her father who often spoke of the trips his family went on when he was younger. His mother and father would load him and his many siblings up in a van and take them out to the very range that Tina and Ted now surveyed. The whole family would ski for a few days before going back to the south. Her father always got a dreamy look in his eyes when he talked about the trip.
“Hey, what is that?” Ted said, pointing his finger back down the slope.
Behind the cottage, probably a football field away, a dark speck was making its way through the snow. At first Tina didn't know what it was, but after watching it move she realized it was headed toward their cabin.
“Do you think it's a bear?” she asked Ted.
“No way,” Ted said. “The bears are all asleep for the winter. None of them would come out unless they were disturbed or needed desperately to eat.”
“Well, if it isn't a bear, what do you think it could be?”
Ted remained silent for a long time. Tina wanted to know his thoughts but didn't want to push him away by prodding him too much.
“Did you bring out that little pair of binoculars that I packed in the emergency kit?” Tina said.
“Fuck,” Ted said. “I packed it but I didn't unpack it and bring it with me. There is also a flare gun and an emergency transponder in that bag. If things got dicey it would be better to be able to use the flare gun as a weapon than not.”
“Do you really think that a flare gun would be effective?” she asked him.
“It depends on what it is and where we shoot it,” Ted said. “And if that's Decker, then yes, it could be effective.”
Tina's blood ran cold. She had almost forgotten all about Decker. As she watched the speck struggle through the snow she realized that most likely it was Decker making his way back to the cabin. But what was he doing so far out in the middle of nowhere? Why hadn't he run down the road and toward civilization?
“Why do you think he didn't go to Denver?” she asked.
Ted shook his head.
“Because he's crazy,” Ted said. “I don't think he's exactly lost in these mountains. I think that, for whatever reason, he can't leave. Because of something in his head.”
“What should we do?” Tina asked. She could hear her heart thumping in her chest.
“We should sled down the hill and get ready for him to bust into the cabin and act crazy,” Ted said.
With haste they both mounted the sled and zoomed down the hill together. They went so fast for a moment Tina worried they would lose control and go tumbling down the mountain side, but before she knew it the ride was over and they were both hurrying into the cabin, Ted carrying the sled.
“All right, here's the plan,” Ted said. “If he busts in, you douse him with lighter fluid and I'll hit him with a flare. That should take care of him, or at least keep him busy while we get the fuck out of here.”
“Do you think we'll be able to get out of here in the car?” Tina asked.
“I'm not sure,” Ted said. “But probably not. Considering how much snow has fallen, we are probably stuck up here. But it really hasn't been that cold out so we could survive in the car.”
“I hope he leaves us alone!” Tina said.
So do I, dear,” Ted said. “But I want to be ready for if he decides to fuck with us again.”
Tina nodded and sat down at the table while Ted got out the flare gun and inspected it before loading it. Why was this happening to them? They were good people who were doing things with their lives, and they just wanted to be happy together. Why there was a crazy man from Ted's past wandering the mountain in his own personal hell here to harass them? Tina wished that things could have gone smoothly for them, just this once. But once again it seemed like life had to throw them a wild curve ball, and they could either go down swinging or strike out looking. It reminded her so much of their whole love story, how they had fallen for each other and then realized that their parents were going to hate each other, and that had thrown a pretty big wrench in their plans.
“Honey,” Ted said. “There is something I want you to see.”
Tina turned and found Ted on his knee, wedding ring in hand.
“Oh, Ted,” Tina said. “Oh my God.”
“Tina, I want you to marry me, baby,” Ted said. “You mean the entire world to me and I want to be engaged to you right now. I want you to say yes and I want us to promise ourselves to each other in case something bad happens to one of us.”
“Ted don't talk like that!” Tina said.
“I know it's scary to think about, dear,” Ted said. “But I really mean it. I want the entire world to know that I love you and want you to be my wife. And I don't care if some crazy asshole is on his way to ruin our good time,
again. I just want you to say yes. So, will you marry me?”
Tina paused for a second.
“Of course I will, Ted!” she said, then jumped into his arms.
Just when they had finished kissing and hugging each other a knock came from the door. Ted rose and checked the peephole, then opened it. He had the flare gun wedge in his pants at the small of his back. Tina stood ready with the lighter fluid beside her, hidden under a towel.
“Hell-o,” Decker said as he stumbled into the cabin as Ted held the door open for him. “I'm sorry to bother you folks but I think I'm lost.”
Ted threw Tina a look that told her to be careful and stay back. Ted maneuvered Decker to the same chair he had sat in the day before near the fire. After Decker had had a seat, Ted threw a couple more logs on the fire so it roared.
“Are you lost?” Ted asked him quietly. “What brings you to this cabin?”
Decker was so cold he was shaking, which struck Tina as odd considering that it wasn't that cold out. But maybe Decker had spent the day sleeping in the snow or something similar.
“I'm . . . I'm looking for my boy,” Decker said. “Have you seen him? Have you seen my boy?”
Ted stepped away from Decker and slowly placed his right hand on the flare gun.
“I don't think I've seen anyone at all up here,” Ted said. “What brings you up here? Are you just looking for your boy?”
“No,” Decker said. “I was chased by some hooligans on motorcycles the other day and my car crashed. Then I couldn't find my boy. He was in the car with me before the thugs on crotch rockets managed to drive us off the road.”
Ted nodded solemnly as he handed Decker a steaming cup of tea.
“Here, drink this, it'll warm you up,” Ted said.
Decker held the tea in his hands that wouldn't stop shaking and barely managed to take a sip without spilling on himself.
“I've been looking for my boy for years it seems like,” Decker said. “Even though it's only been a few days. I know that might sound silly but it's hard out there, especially with the way that everyone treats me.”
“How does everyone treat you?” Ted asked.
“Everyone is out to get me, it seems like. Even though I've never done anything to them,” Decker said. “I don't really understand why it's this way but it is.”
Ted nodded.
“Sometimes the world can seem like that,” Ted said. “But have you really thought about your own life, and what may have turned people off to you?”
Decker shook his head.
“I don't know what you mean,” he said.
“Think back to before you lost your son, before you spent forever looking,” Ted said. “Think back to your time overseas.”
Decker froze the instant that Ted said the word “overseas.” It wasn't that he stopped moving, he stopped shaking as well, as if it had all been a show he put on to make them feel sorry for them. He obviously didn't remember the day before, so Tina wondered why this time there was this show. Unless, of course, it had been like they had wondered and he had pretended to sleep in order to listen in on their conversation.
“What do you know about the wars over there?” Decker asked. “Did you serve?”
“In fact I did, Decker,” Ted said.
At the sound of his name being announced aloud, Decker stood up so quickly that he flipped the table over. He stood with his back to the fire place, standing so close to the raging fire that Tina wondered how he managed to stand the heat.
“You fucking devil!” Decker yelled. “How the fuck do you know my name? You have no power over me, so stay back!”
Decker pulled a knife from somewhere in his ragged garments and brandished it at Ted.
“You stay back! Do you hear me?” Decker yelled, followed by, “Give me my son back! Where is he?”
Ted looked at Tina and nodded toward the lighter fluid.
“Look, Decker,” Ted said. “I know things were hard for you overseas and I know things are hard for you now. I was there when the FOB got overran.”
Decker's mouth dropped open.
“Liar! You fucking liar!” Decker screamed. “How can you have been--”
Decker was cut off by a stream of liquid that hit him first in the mouth, then went down his shirt and leg. Tina stood holding the can of lighter fluid as the stream slowly snaked back to it as it ran out. Ted leveled the flare gun at Decker, but before he could fire Decker threw the knife at him. The flare gun went off and a red hot streak bounced around the cabin several times. Decker back peddled away from Ted only to fall backward into the fire and ignite. He started screaming as he ran out of the cabin.
“Fuck!” Ted said. “That miserable bastard cut me when he threw that knife! What kind of asshole knows how to throw a knife anyway?”
Tina didn't know what to do. She looked from Ted to the door, then ran to the door and shut and locked it.
“What should we do?” she asked Ted.
“Decker probably jumped in the snow to put out the fire,” Ted said. “I have no idea how badly he's hurt. From what I could see the only thing that caught on fire was his clothes. Maybe it scared him enough that he won't come back.”
“I'm sorry I didn't get more lighter fluid on him but it ran out.” Tina said.
“It's all right honey,” Ted said. “You did just fine, so don't worry about it. I think we've probably seen the last of him.”
Ted shuffled over to the table with the knife. He motioned for Tina to throw him the towel. He started cutting it into strips and soon had his arm bandaged well enough that it stopped bleeding.
“Do you need help making some kind of sling?” Tina asked him. “I've never done it before but how hard could it be?”
Just then a crunching sound came from above them. Tina froze. It was like her dream; Decker was going to try to get to them through the ceiling. What kind of crazy person were they dealing with? First he comes to them and doesn't recognize Ted; then he comes back the next day and doesn't remember the day before; now he's going to try to get through the roof in an effort to harm them after they just lit him on fire?
“What is he doing up there?” Ted said.
“I had a dream last night that he tried to get through the roof with a pick ax,” Tina said. “I don't remember if he got through or not. Not that it matters since it was just a dream. What do you think he's going to try to do? Do you think he wants to hurt us?”
Ted stood up, leaning against the table heavily with his good arm.
“Who knows,” Ted said. “But I know what I'm going to do. I've got four of five flares left, so I'll shoot him until he gets the hint. And now I have this knife as well, so if he charges me he can taste the steel for all I care.”
Ted threw on his heavy coat, gathered the flares and headed for the door.
“Do you need my help?” Tina asked.
“Maybe,” Ted said. “Come with me just in case. I also don't want to leave you in here if he somehow manages to bust his way through the roof, the crazy bastard.”
Tina followed Ted outside. They walked about twenty yards away from the cabin before they could see Decker on top of it. He was moving the snow around with his feet, looking for something. The thought flashed through Tina's mind that maybe Decker knew something about the house that they didn't, like some kind of weak spot in the roof that he had discovered during the spring or summer when there wasn't any snow.
“Decker!” Ted hollered. “Leave us alone, all right? I don't want to hurt you anymore, and I certainly don't want you to hurt me. We don't have your boy and we don't know where he is.”
Decker spun around and looked at them.
“You fucking bastards!” Decker yelled. “Where is my son!? Tell me where you have him! I know that you've had him this whole time, beating him and making him work as your slave. What kind of sick people are you? And you think you can intimidate me? Well you thought wrong!”