Sin: A Survival Romance Fiction (Her Story Trilogy Book 1)

by Kensley Hatch

  “Come on.” Summer looked at Julian, but he stared at her and waited.

  “I didn’t need to love him, and he didn’t need to love me.” Summer finally said bitterly.

  “What is love, anyway? A ridiculous concept from the past world. Julian, I really thought you, of all people-”

  Summer never finished her sentence for at that moment, she realized how close Julian was to her body. They had been sitting next to each other, and as they talked, they naturally gravitated even closer. Julian was looking straight into her eyes, and it suddenly felt like a burning sensation that brought pleasure instead of pain. He was leaning towards her, and his tone of voice had subdued to a whisper.

  “Love may be a concept from the past, Summer. But so are we.”

  She looked into his blue eyes, reflecting the light from the stars, and she suddenly knew why she had wanted him with her these past two months.

  “I love you.” It was her answer to a question he had never asked.

  She cut the distance between them and her lips pressed against his with a delicate pressure like the soft brush of a daisy’s petals. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her to his body as his other hand caressed the outline of her collarbone, and he kissed her with the gentle longing of emotions barely expressed, but always felt. She slid her hand underneath his shirt and traced her fingers down the muscles of his chest and stomach as he began to brush her neck with soft, enduring kisses. Slowly, their bodies lowered to lay down on the forest floor, and their lips met again. Julian looked up at her with her hair falling into her face. He smiled tenderly.

  “I’ve always loved you.”

  Chapter 20

  When they returned to camp, the sky was already lighting up with the first rays of the morning, and everyone else had gone to sleep hours ago. Summer knew she would eventually have to confront Bridger about the two of them, but for now, they had decided to be quiet about it to give her some time. The reality of Julian’s love was like a dream that was too good to be true, yet Summer also felt the nagging impulse that told her it would be ruined if she confessed to him the whole truth about her and Bridger. She wanted to believe that it wouldn’t matter to him, but those humiliating memories with Bridger caused her to feel such self-loathing that it was impossible to think Julian would have any other kind of reaction.

  However, she tried not to think about it, which was relatively easy, considering the overwhelming intensity she had finally been able to express with the man she truly loved. The way he caressed her flushed skin that night felt clean, something she thought she would never feel by a man’s touch after experiencing Bridger. He treated her body like a sacred temple that he wanted to worship and Summer wanted nothing more than to let him. Julian kissed her one more time as they stood at the entrance of her family’s tent. It was a hard, impassioned kiss that left her body weak with satisfaction. When they finally parted, she watched him in the dawn’s light with the complete happiness of the feeling that comes with knowing that one is alive and loved.

  ******

  They stood in a deserted campsite that must have had well over a hundred fire pits that were now blackened with ash and burned out coal. The grass had been matted down by the tracks of man made shoes. The camp had been strategically placed at the base of the mountain range to make it less visible from an aerial viewpoint. They hadn’t seen an airplane in months, but the memory of the overcrowded cargo aircraft that the population of Summer’s town had been jammed into was still fresh with the taste of sour discomfort.

  “I told you it still existed!” Summer had practically bolted when she had first seen the signs of The Caravan only an hour ago.

  There were emptied tin cans scattered on the ground and small animal bones that had been left near the places of fire, but Summer rushed between places like it was a gold mine, instead of looking like a dumping ground.

  “They couldn’t have gotten far.” She pronounced, leaning down to touch the muddy path where the marks of wheels and footprints veered off along the line of the mountains to the south. “We have to catch them.” She stood back up with undeterred ambition in her face, wiping her dirty hand on her pant leg.

  “We’d better hurry.” Mccarthy pointed to the sky in the west. Dark, ominous clouds were building over the horizon. They were the same clouds that had been following them these past couple of days as the early spring was stunted by the sudden resurgence of plummeting temperatures and light sprinklings of snow.

  “Sound travels far in emptiness.” Bridger’s damp look was aimed at the hope in Summer’s. “We would have heard them if they were close enough for us actually to be able to catch up with them. If it’s even The Caravan and not a gang.”

  “Maybe they went into the mountains,” Tania suggested encouragingly.

  “No, they’re staying along the base of the mountains.” Summer was looking with a transparent expression into the distance. “A group that large couldn’t travel fast. We just need to be faster than them, and eventually, we’ll reach them.”

  She turned to look at her weather beaten and weary companions. Everyone had mud stains up to their shins due to the snow mixing with the ground. These conditions created the perfect combination of slush that made travel sluggish and weighed down.

  As they followed the tracks of The Caravan, they repeatedly had to stop to scrape the mud clumps that turned their shoes into bricky masses at the bottom of their legs. The only benefit to the slush was it helped ease the friction for the sleds to slide across the ground in the absence of snow. However, even this was an additional struggle since the snow covered the ground smoothly, whereas the mud mixed with the rocks and sticks and worked to stop the progression of the sleds. There were times when the mud took on a sucking-like quality that caused each footstep to sound like the ugly grunt of an aquatic creature that feasted off of whatever found its way down to the bottom of the ocean. In these conditions, the sleds acted like anchors that had to be dragged with the sheer force of muscle against the relentless forces of nature, and it left everyone exhausted as they took turns pulling.

  Eventually, they abandoned their supply sleds and stuffed their loads into each other’s backpacks; then at least the weight was on their shoulders and backs without the additional strain caused by the uncompromising mud. Unfortunately, Meline was still too sick to travel great distances, and Bridger continued to pull her along while she dosed in the sled. They had been racing to get away from the storm that had been approaching, but it was still gaining on them like an inescapable shadow. Everyone was already tired, but the hope of The Caravan gave Summer a little more light in what felt like the almost extinguished energy reserves in her mind and soul. She pushed onwards and oftentimes would unintentionally get ahead of the group, waiting impatiently when she turned back to see that they were still struggling behind her.

  “We need to stop.” Mccarthy finally gasped and slowed down for a break causing everyone else to halt behind him.

  They had come much farther than any other day since the mud had started, but Summer shook her head vigorously.

  “No! We can’t stop now. This is our only chance to make it. The Caravan is closer than we think. I can feel it.”

  Summer tried to bolster him up with her words, but as she glanced at the others in the group, she only saw fatigue and dejection written in bold across their faces.

  She walked towards them and grabbed Tania’s elbow, prodding her to continue.

  “Come on. We’re so close.”

  “Stop it!” Tania flicked her arm away from her sister. “No, we’re not.”

  Summer desperately turned to Bridger, but he slowly shook his head as he looked down at Meline in the sled.

  “We need to rest.” He seemed to have too little energy to have anything but mellowness in his voice.

  “We can’t give up now!” Summer’s cries turned more into pleadings as every
one looked to be in agreement except for her.

  Bridger turned the sled around and motioned towards a grassy spot that looked like it hadn’t totally disintegrated into mud yet. Summer stood still as everyone else turned to follow after Bridger and she watched them go in disbelief. It felt like a leak had been sprung and was filling her lungs with water, making it harder and harder to breathe.

  Julian covertly squeezed her hand as he passed, trying to reassure her that this course of action was alright. Summer tramped her way over to the pitiful site for the camp, but even going one step backward felt to her like the abandoning of hope.

  The next morning, Julian found her standing outside of her tent, staring into the expanse of the south. Looking around to make sure no one else was around, he came up behind her and touched her shoulder. Summer flinched from the unexpected touch, but smiled when she saw who it was.

  “Oh, it’s you.” She put her arm around him so that they were both staring at the wide path left by The Caravan.

  “We need to push forward.” She stated resolutely. “The last time we found signs of The Caravan, we lost them, and I had begun to believe that it was for good. We can’t let this chance slip through our fingers again.”

  Julian sighed, spurring an apprehensive look from Summer.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, I’m just not too sure that everyone else can keep up with your pace. We’re already exhausted as it is and to try to be fast in these conditions seems impossible. Maybe we should wait a couple of days until the ground has dried and we can get around easier.”

  “No!” Summer immediately covered her mouth at her sudden outburst and checked behind her to see if it had stirred anyone to wake up in the camp. She continued with her voice lowered.

  “Were you not listening to me? We’ll lose them if we wait any longer. We need to move now before it’s too late.”

  “I’m with you.” Julian hastily responded. “But I don’t think it’s a possibility with your mother, and even Mccarthy and Tania are struggling to keep up.”

  “Tania is strong. She can do it. I know she can.”

  “I know she is.” Julian smiled and wrapped both of his arms around Summer from behind. “I’m just saying The Caravan will still be out there and it may just take a little bit longer to reach them than you’d like.”

  Julian’s words were meant to be comforting, but they created the exact opposite feeling, it felt like Summer’s only ally was giving up like everyone else. Her mind was racing as Julian held her, searching for possible solutions for people’s reluctance. She turned back to camp and saw Bridger standing outside of his tent, staring at them. A shudder ran down Summer’s spine, and she quickly pushed Julian away from her. Julian looked confused for a moment, but when he saw what she saw, his eyes filled with understanding and he backed away and headed to his own tent.

  Summer watched Bridger to see what he would do next, considering the obvious situation he had found them in. Their eyes locked, but his seemed to be made of steel as he steadily stared her down with clenched jaw and doubled fist. Summer prepared herself for the worst and was about to speak to him when suddenly his face changed entirely. It appeared that something had occurred to him that eased his anger and strangely, he almost looked satisfied as he stared at the spot where Julian had stood. Summer was disconcerted, but as they packed up and started their trek once more, nothing happened with Bridger. He insisted that he still be the one to pull Meline and he started forward with a new vigor that surprised everyone. Summer kept waiting for some kind of explosion or confrontation to ensue, but nothing happened.

  The wind began to blow in great gusts as the storm was almost upon them, causing Summer’s eyes to water and sting. They had been unable to start a fire last night due to the wet conditions, and the familiar companions of fatigue and hunger seeped into the bodies of the little band of travelers. Eventually, the guiding path led up onto the slopes of the mountains, and the mud disappeared as it was replaced with a light dusting of snow among the trees. The inclination made Summer’s legs burn, but it was better than feeling incapacitated as she had felt in the almost swamp-like ground below.

  Putting up their camp was much less of a struggle with the return to the mountains, and they were surprisingly able to find a few dry pieces of wood to start a fire. Animals seemed to have the same aversion to the mud as the humans had, and it had been at least a week since they had eaten any meat. Michael rummaged through the backpacks until he had found enough stew and green beans to feed everyone, and he placed them next to the fire. He moved to open Bridger’s backpack, but Bridger swatted him away with a threatening glare.

  “Leave it be,” Bridger demanded, and Michael raised up his hands warily to show he wouldn’t try again.

  As the night wore on, everyone slowly trickled off to their designated tents leaving only Summer and Bridger sitting on opposite sides of the small fire. Summer had been watching Bridger since she noticed him trying to hide something with the cover of darkness. He kept turning his body and reaching his hand into his backpack so that she couldn’t see what he was reaching for. Yet, once they were left alone together, Bridger passed a wise look at her and then commenced to pull out a bottle from his backpack and bring it to his lips.

  “That was supposed to be for medicinal purposes.” Summer hissed and stood up to take the alcohol away from him.

  Bridger grabbed her wrist and flung it back, chuckling to himself as he took another drink.

  “I guess you’re not the only one breaking rules then. I told you to stay away from Julian, but that didn’t stop you. So go ahead and tell me not to enjoy myself. I’m done listening to you.”

  He tipped his head back and took a long draught, smacking his lips when he was finished. He reached inside his bag and pulled out another bottle with Summer watching in stupefaction. She sat back down helplessly and looked on as Bridger continued to drink down the liquor. For someone who already had a violent temper, she expected him to start showing signs of rage and gave a flitting look to Julian and Mccarthy’s tent for security. However, the alcohol seemed to have the opposite effect on him, and Bridger seemed very calm as his drinking progressed, appearing introspective as he stared into the fire.

  “I will have you again,” Bridger whispered in a matter of fact tone.

  Summer looked up at him with sheer terror in her face, which only caused him to snicker when he saw it.

  “Phil has been wanting to get rid of Julian for a long time. Something about his interference with him and the women. Anyway, if the truth about you doesn’t scare him away, I’m sure we can find other methods to eliminate the problem.”

  His words were slurred, yet their meaning was very clear, and Summer frantically stood up with her mouth involuntarily gaping open. She expected his eyes to be blurry, but he looked up at her with a determined transparency that made her shiver. She left the glow of the fire and hurried to her tent. She put her sleeping bag close to the door and lay there for a long time with fear shaking sleep away from her. The wind howled inside the crevices of the mountain, and the tent’s canvas rippled as the gusts got stronger through the night.

  Summer’s heart froze as she suddenly heard slow footsteps walking towards the tent. A shadow appeared, and Summer held her breath as she waited to hear the slow clinking of the tent’s zipper opening from the outside. She remained in the dark silence wishing to disappear into the material of her sleeping bag, but instead, she laid perfectly still in petrification. It felt like time had finally rebelled and refused to pass anymore whilst the shadow moved back and forth outside of the tent in apparent indecision. It eventually stopped and stood close enough to the tent so that Summer could hear heavy breathing and smell the stench of alcohol coming from outside. She listened with eyes wide open as if that would increase her ears’ ability to hear, and yet there was nothing to hear besides the irregular rhythm of the breath.

>   Abruptly, she heard a sort of grunt and saw the shadow disappear from the wall of the tent. She watched for its return, but it didn’t come back. Summer let out a long, heavy sigh and noticed her hands were shaking from something other than the cold. The insufferable night eventually progressed in painstaking anticipation as Summer remained on the tent’s floor in dreading silence.

  With the first brightening of the morning, Summer flipped open the tent door, pulled on her shoes, and latched the holster of axes around her hips. While trying to remain quiet, she dashed over to Julian’s tent and unzipped the door to slip inside.

  “Julian, wake up.” She insistently whispered as she vigorously shook his shoulders.

  He woke up with a start and looked up at her in puzzlement.

  “What’s the matter?” He questioned, keeping his voice low to avoid disturbing Mccarthy who was sleeping on the other side of the tent.

  “We need to go.” She was trying not to hyperventilate.

  “Summer, it’s too early. People need to rest.”

  “No, I mean you and I need to go.”

  Julian sat up and grabbed her trembling shoulders.

  “What’s going on?”

  “There was a herd of deer near our campsite in the night.” She lied. “I was thinking about what you were saying, and you’re right. Everyone needs to take a break, but we need better food if we want to continue. We need to track down those deer before they get too far. Will you come with me?”

  Julian looked at her with suspicion, it felt like there was something much bigger going on, but he merely nodded in agreement and quietly stood up to put on his coat. When they got out of the tent, there were no tracks to follow, but Summer insisted that she had seen the way they had gone and they started hiking up the mountain. The sleeping camp became smaller in their view as the height from it increased until it was only a small dot below them. The wind had continued from the night before, and it picked up flakes of snow from the ground until it became thicker as they travelled higher. The storm clouds were over them at this point, and the sky was a mass of darkened grey. Eventually, tracks did appear though they looked more like paw prints than hoof marks, yet Summer pointed to them as proof to continue.