Secrets of Liberty Mountain No Man s Land Chapter9
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"That should do it. Time check," Belinda wiped sweat from her brow with her t-shirt as she braced her entrenching tool against the entrance of the newly constructed "bunker-in-a-bag."
Unless you were part Mountain Goat, the winding ridgeline trail was the only drivable and walkable unbroken overland route from town to our base. Prior to SkyFire, arrays of remote sensors and wireless cameras guarded the pathway to the Society's home. The sun pulled the plug and left us blind. Our mission was to fill the gap with a concealed guard post.
Our building project had started life as a bad joke. I was helping Sheila do an inventory of little used and obscure supplies. Stuff ordered over the years but never used.
I opened a dusty storage locker to find it filled with hundreds of bundles of self-sealing sandbags.
"Great, a box of instant bunkers, all we gotta do is add sand," I quipped.
Instead of laughing, Sheila took notes and made a list. An hour later she had assembled all the tools and equipment required to quickly build a fort in the field. She called the kit a bunker-in-a-bag.
My partner and I were tasked with operationally testing the idea after Belinda volunteered us to do a proof of concept deployment. The place of Darlene and Alice's liberation was the GROUP's location to construct the colony's first permanent outpost, "Camp Sticky Fingers."
With an eye toward history, I sketched a map in my journal and gave the nameless landmark the new title of 'Reunion Point.' cartographer's get naming rights. One of the perks of the office.
"Four hours, thirteen minutes," I replied as I checked my watch for the time and recorded the same in my field notes. "Sheila should be pleased. She didn't think we could finish in less than five hours," I said as I took a pre-packed pot pipe from my pocket and held it high.
I tilted my head to one side and gave the Frost Queen an inquiring look.
"We'll smoke to success after we clean-up and do a concealment check."
The hidden sandbag structure carved into the leeward side of the ridge's crest was more shelter than a camp. The foot-and-half of roofline visible from the direction of approach had been carefully contoured and camouflaged to appear, at distance, to be nothing more than another random rock formation. The bunker's eight-inch high observation window lay in the shadowed recess of the largest nook and cranny; a micro-cave, width about eighteen inches and a foot deep. Invisible in plain sight.
Sheila christened the innovation, "bunker-in-a-bag" because the entire ten-pound kit fit into a single sandbag. Each bag-of-bags contained:
Five-pound bundle of a hundred identical sandbags,One each, five-ounce packet containing three folded Mylar, Aluminum space blankets25 feet of paracordeight each: adjustable carbon fiber tent poles (14 ounces)One Multi-Purpose, Multi-tool Military style Folding Shovel (with gloves), 32 ouncesActual construction was a fairly simple affair: Dig, put the contents into sandbags, stack into walls, cover top opening with a latticework of rods, waterproof with Mylar space blanket(s), mask it all with pine fronds and local flora. Add a sleeping bag and "poof!" We had one bedroom phone-booth.
We smiled at our handiwork. While the resulting structure might not have been pretty enough to grace the covers of "Better Homes and Bunkers," it at least had heat, water, illumination, and power. Not bad.
At two-and-half pounds, the hundred-fifty-watt-hour battery was kept charged by a small fourteen-watt solar panel. Rainwater runoff from the roof provided drinking water.
Inspired by the Silver Fire product line, the Sisterhood's homemade copycat survivor stove produced an abundance of warmth for cooking and comfort. Reverse engineering is stealing from one. Research is stealing from many. The sisters scienced the shit out of the subject before designing a virtually smokeless unit with multiple combustion chambers.
The Society had little regard for intellectual property or the little "c" with a circle around it. Find the best, copy it right, and leave the rest.
♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦
"Ho, ho, ho, we got the decorations," I laughed as I connected the last string of twenty-five LED Christmas lights to the collector's battery. The night vision friendly strand of crimson bulbs drew two-point-four watts and bathed the interior of our sandbag bungalow with a sinful shade worthy of only the best brothels in Saigon. Memory bubbles are like that. Triggered by smell, sound, or something, they pop into thoughts uninvited.
"Every day will be the same as the last, except for one," I mused aloud as I took a puff.
"Why would that day be different from the rest?"
"It's the day with no tomorrow. The day we die," I extinguished my cigarette.
"That's a kinda half-empty way of thinking. I prefer to think every day if the first day of forever."
"Perhaps the container is twice the size necessary." I reached down and pulled a six-ounce metal flask from my kit.
I unscrewed the cap and filled it with a shot of the Sisterhood's best.
"Drink up and savor the moment," I whispered to Belinda as I passed her the brandy.
Belinda's eyes shifted. "I bet you say that to all the girls," she said with a coy smile as she took the beverage from my hand, closed her eyes, and downed it in a gulp.
"Only the ones who will listen," I answered as I refilled the cap. I never intended my remark to be taken that way. But then again, who knows? I returned her smile with one of my own as I raised the spirits in salute.
"A toast to yesterday's tomorrow," I took a sip and gave the remainder to my partner.
"You mean today?"
"Exactly," I beamed.
"Yesterday we are memories. Tomorrow we are dreams. Today, this second, this slice of now is the only instance we are alive. Bliss resides in the moment," I said as I looked into her eyes.
"What is your pleasure?"
"Another, please," she said.
"How many shots are left in the six-shooter?" she pointed to my flask.
"Two gone, four to go." I replenished her cap.
"Fire in the hole," she tittered as she lifted her head back and drained the drink in a single swallow.
"Another?" Her eyes watered as she wiped her lips with her hand and held out the empty.
"Frisky?" I teased as I poured her another drink.
"Nope. Maybe. I'm thirsty," she said between sips as she devoured the drink.
"Whew! Hot in here." Belinda stood and undid the buttons of her flannel shirt. She wore nothing underneath. Casual nudity among the ladies of Liberty was an everyday occurrence, nothing personal. I had grown used to the scenery. Age and bad eyesight blurred the finer details. Within the confines of our tiny bunker? The view was seductive.
"Just the way I like it," she squinted as she opened the stove's door and threw another chunk of wood into the fire chamber.
"Help yourself," I handed her my flask as I rose to my feet and wiped a trickle of sweat from my cheek. I took off my jacket and retrieved my field expedient hash pipe, and stash, from the side pouch.
The brass artifact from the Vietnam War was a GI gadget and a testament to a soldier's ingenuity. It had been built by Paul Lavoy, the same guy who had crafted my beaded Vietnam Service necklace. He created the contraband device when he was a grunt in the war, by fitting a quarter-inch elbow into a three-inch length of pipe covered by a snippet of three-eights hydraulic tubing.
I removed my tunic and took a seat on the platform and packed my pipe with a pungent pinch of the sister's homegrown cannabis.
"Care for a toke?" I inquired as I applied the lighter's flame and inhaled a fragrant blend of skunk-stink and cherry blossoms. Nice and smooth.
"Don't mind if I do," Belinda took the offering from my hand.
"What's it say?" She examined the inscription engraved in itty-bitty letters on the stem; 'Morte. Non abbiate paura.'
"Latin for, 'Death. Be not afraid," I guffawed, "The bravado of youth."
"Fear, I have none. I will never experience death," Belinda said with a smile as she looked me in the eye and took another puff from the pipe.
"There are no exceptions to the laws of life. We all die, sooner or later," I mirrored her unblinking gaze with one of my own. What secret did she possess which I did not? I wiped my hands on my trousers.
Without breaking eye contact, she moved backward a half-step and took a drag.
"When I breathe my last," she said from a glowing cloud of reddish mist as her stare softened into a smile.
"...and, in the unlikely event I am aware I am no longer alive, I will know I am still here," she blinked her eyes wide as if surprised.
"I have simply changed form," she said with a wave of her arm. The monochrome glow of ruby red washed color from vision and left us stranded in a world of strawberry highlights and rusty shadows.
She puffed silently for several moments before continuing, "I am not dead if my identity continues. I am still alive, at least the part of me which counts. My mind, and spirit." she touched her hand to her forehead before resting its palm over her heart.
"And if I die and that is the end?" she moved her hand to my arm and sniffed, "Then I will no longer exist. I will be what I was before I was born, an echo of creation."
"What about judgment? I asked as I glanced upward.
"Precisely what is it that shall judge me?" She grinned as she unbuttoned her blouse and brushed a few strands of hair from my face.
"And by what will I be judged?" She blushed with a sideways smile as she grazed her breast with her hand.
"I don't know the answer. I have faith no one else does either," she unbuckled her jeans.
"If there is an author, then the laws of her wonders are her commandments, written in the universal language of the cosmos: Science." Belinda winked as she unzipped.
"Like the Law of Gravity," she relaxed her fingers. Her pants fell to her ankles.
"In reality, we trust," She kicked the slacks across the dirt and smiled as she beckoned me to rise.
"I thought you didn't like men?" I took her hand and pulled myself to a standing position.
"As a rule, I don't," she frowned and narrowed her eyes.
"New times require new rules," she said softly in my ear as she tugged at my belt buckle.
"Undress. We'll explore the boundaries of our new relationship." Her raspy voice was more a command than a suggestion.
"Out of courtesy, and if you don't mind me asking, what were the borders of our old partnership?" I wondered as I stripped. She hated me. I disliked her. Nothing complicated. Our mutual disdain had been our common bond. It wasn't anymore.
"Speak truthfully so that I may better know your mind," I invoked the sisterhood's call to communicate clearly and without deception,
I let my question hang in the air as the silence stretched beyond awkward. I refused to say more until my question was either answered or officially ignored. I fumbled for my lighter and fired up my pipe. The strobe white spark was blinding.
"Your arrival was unwanted. I spoke the truth when I testified against your presence. I did not want you in my home. My sisters felt otherwise. May I have a hit?" She took my pipe and lighter from my hand.
"SkyFire happened," she said as she clicked the lighter into a blaze. "Nothing is now what it was before. Where do we go from here?" She sighed deeply and placed the pipe in my hands.
"Frosty, my beautiful partner," I stroked her wrist and held her hand, "Are you as turned on as I am? we are not enemies. At least not any longer." I gave her hand a double squeeze. "I would rather be your friend."
"What kind of friend?"Belinda's replied cautiously as she gave me a curious look.
"You tell me. What kind of friend do you require? I have affection for you. I want you to be happy. What's your pleasure?"
"Honestly? I don't know. You're sorta like the sexy grandfather I never had. My Gramps was a prick like his dad."
"Does it bother you if I touch you?" I rested my hand on her thigh, a few inches above her knee.
"Yes. Not as much as I think it should. I like it
"Okay, that's one boundary. Where's the next?" I looked into her face.
"It would be my thrill to bring you joy," I said as I gradually moved my hand northward. Her eyes widened but she said nothing.
"Please. Allow me to delight in your pleasure," I leisurely caressed as my eyes listened to the song rising from Belinda's body. Each shimmy, blink, twitch, quiver, and moan sang a different melody of arousal or caution. Caresses yes. Kisses no. Hugs, okay. Maybe.
"Do you like this?" My exploring fingers found the little man in the boat. Time to fish or cut bait.
"Oh!" My partner gasped as she held my hand in check.
"What do you want from me?" she questioned and squeezed my fingers in her grip as her puzzled eyes searched my face for my response.
"Nothing but the gift of your pleasure," I held my hand motionless and relaxed my arm. I would cross the last boundary only by invitation. "What is your desire?" I smiled.
"I would love you to complete what you started." She slacked her grasp and licked her lips.
"Very nice to feel something down there besides my own fingers. I'm between relationships."
"I know the feeling. That's what friends are for," I whispered as she guided my hand toward the gates of heaven.
"Make haste slowly," I said as I helped her to her knees and lowered her to her back on the sleeping bag.
"Savoring the moment," I leaned forward and boldly explored a deep and sunless sea. Star Trek meets Xanadu.
Alice and I took our seats on each side of Sheila as the last stragglers filed into the amphitheater and returned to their places."Before we resume, I want to thank our kitchen crew for a fantastic, as usual, flash-banquet. Well done, thank you," Sheila said as she held her gavel in the ready position.With plumbing and dietary needs satisfied, a soothing and comfortable afterglow had fallen over the proceedings. It wouldn't last long, but at least we were starting with an advantage....
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"Okay, my turn," I chuckled as I picked up the fat cigar-sized joint of the Sisterhood's weed. Possession of the Canibus talking stick authorized the owner to speak without interruption.I took a heavy hit and passed the blunt to Sheila and took my place in our naked Truth or Dare fireside chat."Please be honest. What do you believe?" The commander's theology drifted all over the map from Pagan to Puritan, seasoned with native lore and eastern thought. Pinning her down was like trying to...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe Society of Sisters and their compound at Liberty Mountain were the pride and joy of Sheila's existence. She devoted almost every waking hour toward her mission of building an organization that could withstand anything the apocalyptic whims of fate might send our way. The Colony's boss was an innovator who served both as a leader and also as a follower.Like the Caesars of old, she had the authority to issue any order necessary to secure the safety of the group. Unlike the dictators of...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"Super glue? Really?" I chuckled as I focused my field glasses on the bonded band of mutually masturbating men crab-walking westward."Your punishment is diabolical," I shook my head in puzzled amazement. "Intruders were killed in the past for less, so why the sudden mercy?" "Not compassion. Karma. What goes around, comes around." Sheila trained her spyglass on the retreating men."They might make town by sundown. If they're lucky." "Karma?" I inquired. "Yeah, Karma. We can run, but...
Fantasy & Sci-FiRattlesnake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is the culinary equivalent of cruel and unusual punishment. I had about had it with rattlesnake by the end of the third meal on the first day. I skipped the midday meal and picked at supper the second day. I hated snakes as much as Seraina did by the evening of the next day.Mood affects perception. The blue funk of disappointment settling over us transformed our dark and cozy shelter into a dank and dismal prison. We slept like babies and fucked like...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"I'm getting too old for this shit," I moaned and plopped into one of the Situation Room's ergonomically designed conference chairs. I massaged the sore spot on my shoulder and shifted and squirmed and as I searched for a less uncomfortable position. Nothing worked. I hurt in places I didn't even know I had.The steaming mug of fresh brewed Colombian laced with the Sisterhood's brandy warmed my hands and took the edge away from the pain in my ass. Java and joy-juice will cure...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"Shit!" Sheila swore as she angrily flipped the turn signal and slowed our Ford Super Duty truck to a crawl and searched for a safe place to pull off the road."Sky, I need my license and registration, they're in the glove compartment," she instructed as she rolled down her window with her left arm pointed over the roof of our vehicle. She waved toward the side of the road, a visual indication to the following patrol car we were pulling off the highway."Stash the Glock in the hump, we don't need...
Fantasy & Sci-FiMy bladder is the perfect alarm clock. The urgent need to go dragged me out of hibernation as the night sky brightened in advance of dawn. I awoke to the gentle sound of Sheila's breathing. Naked, beautiful, and warm, she lay next to me in the relaxed innocence of sleep. Sheila sensed a change in my position, shifted her body, and pressed her bare bottom into my groin as we snuggled together under the covers. My hand remained cupped to her breast. Sheila placed her hand over mine and pulled it...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"Thank you, what’s the deal?" I asked as I took the offered towel from Sheila’s hands and fluff-dried my thinning mane. Hair loss among men is a myth. It’s not so much that our locks leave as that they change location. The stuff that had lived on my head now grew out of my ears."Jen thinks the ionosphere has settled enough for shortwave. At her suggestion, I’ve decided it time we start a twenty-four-seven radio watch. You got the first shift. Listen and log, let’s see what’s going on out...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe stern rap of Sheila's opening gavel muted but did not extinguish the murmuring voices of dozens of private conversations. The posture of the Colony's leader appeared poised and relaxed as she held the gavel in the ready position with her elbow bent at a forty-five degree angle for several long seconds as she waited for silence. Beneath Sheila's placid surface I spotted a ripple of anxiety as she unconsciously polished the gavel's wood handle with her thumb. I've called enough meetings to...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"This is Liberty base. The National Weather Service has issued a revised winter storm warning for our area. Up to thirty-six inches of snow starting tonight at five with blizzard conditions beginning at six-thirty PM. Snow throughout the evening, ending late tomorrow. Winds south by southwest twenty to thirty miles per hour, one hundred and twenty miles per hour gusts exposed ridges. Return home immediately. Please acknowledge.""It's too bad we can't reply to a message we never received," Alice...
Fantasy & Sci-FiLike sailors clinging to a raft on tempest-tossed seas, Sheila and I held tight to each other as an ocean of rainbows flooded the sky."Oh, my God! What is it?" she cried as glowing waves of light thundered silently across the firmament. The heavens blazed with a kaleidoscope of color."I don't know," I said as I watched the glowing pastel streamers of brilliance slither along invisible magnetic lines of force like undulating serpents."I think we're looking at the mother of all solar storms. We...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"Okay, listen up!" Sheila knocked her knuckles on the conference table and brought the final briefing to order. "We've got an outstanding weather report, vehicles and crews are ready. We are good to go at daybreak..." she smiled as she waved at the huge flat screen display we had installed several days ago and checked her watch for the time, "which means we're in luck. We have thirty-minutes for one last run-through.""Time for a quick cup of coffee before we start?" I made it halfway across...
Fantasy & Sci-FiWrestling under the covers while playing a game of naked grab-ass kicked our biological heat engines into overdrive. The internal temperature of our sleeping bag was well beyond the comfort zone as our cozy sleeping space became a sauna without steam."I'm tired of anatomy by Braille, I wanna see what I'm doing." Alice tossed the sleeping bag cover back and rose to her knees.Her nude body glistened with perspiration in the lantern's harsh light. Alice's cheeks, neck, and breasts glowed blush-red...
Fantasy & Sci-FiRattlesnake for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is the culinary equivalent of cruel and unusual punishment. I’d about had it with rattlesnake by the end of the third meal on the first day. I skipped lunch and picked at supper the second day. By the evening of the next day, I hated snakes as much as Seraina did. Mood affects perception. The blue funk of disappointment settling over us transformed our dark and cozy shelter into a dank and dismal prison. We slept like babies and fucked like...
Alice and I took our seats on each side of Sheila as the last stragglers filed into the amphitheater and returned to their places. “Before we resume, I want to thank our kitchen crew for a fantastic, as usual, flash-banquet. Well done, thank you,” Sheila said as she held her gavel in the ready position. With plumbing and dietary needs satisfied, a soothing and comfortable afterglow had fallen over the proceedings. It wouldn’t last long, but at least we were starting with an advantage....
The moderator leaned back in her chair and studied StarShine for a moment before turning to me and sitting upright."Do you want to become a member of our Society?""Yes," I replied after a short pause. The question had caught me by surprise."Why?" Sheila asked."Survival," I responded.Sheila tilted her head to one side as her eyes widened in an expression of puzzlement. "Survival?""Yes, survival. This is the high mountains in winter. Without the warmth and shelter of this place I wouldn't last a...
Fantasy & Sci-FiWhile our dinner is not worthy of a five-star restaurant, the view around us was six-star spectacular. The night was moonless, and the velvet black sky above our heads blazed with countless stars. The Milky Way rose and arched across the heavens in a misty river of light along the eastern horizon. The snowshoe workshop did triple duty as kitchen, dining area, and lounge. We spent as many hours outdoors together as we could stand.Spooning naked in the blackness is sexy, erotic, and boring. Even...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe days melted into weeks and the weeks flowed into months as winter searched for spring. For the first couple dozen wake-ups, I started each morning with the unreal feeling that I was at the bottom of a rabbit hole. By the end of the second month, the sense of strangeness decreased, and I was able to open my eyes without breaking into a cold sweat. I was still on the wrong side of the looking glass, but Wonderland had become my home. I didn’t make a journey to Liberty Mountain to search...
The Society of Sisters and their compound at Liberty Mountain were the pride and joy of Sheila’s existence. She devoted almost every waking hour toward her mission of building an organization that could withstand anything the apocalyptic whims of fate might send her way. The colony’s Boss was an innovator who served both as a leader and a follower. Like the Caesars of old, she had the authority to issue any order necessary to secure the safety of the group. Unlike the dictators of ancient...
Chapter 1I stuffed my last cardboard box of personal belongings into the cargo hold of my girlfriend's Toyota Rav4, jumped into the passenger seat, and waited while she fussed over a map with directions to our new home. Darlene was like that - a stickler for details.She flipped her shoulder-length hair out of her eyes for the umpteenth time and squinted to read the tiny letters. Mapmakers tended to hide the most critical information in the smallest print known to man.Finally finished, she...
Fantasy & Sci-FiI peeked past Sheila's shoulder as she looked over the semicircle of women from the Science Team gathered around Jennifer as the dark lady of data studied the computer screen in front of her workstation. Her fingers flew across the keyboard while she scanned hundreds of files, crunching numbers and extracting the data she needed.The thirty-four-year-old Boston descendant of Zulu warriors became a legend within the Society as a math prodigy with an uncanny ability to ferret out hidden trends and...
Fantasy & Sci-FiI peeked past Sheila's shoulder as she looked over the semicircle of women from the Science Team gathered around Jennifer as the dark lady of data studied the computer screen in front of her workstation. Her fingers flew across the keyboard while she scanned hundreds of files, crunching numbers and extracting the data she needed.The thirty-four-year-old Boston descendant of Zulu warriors became a legend within the Society as a math prodigy with an uncanny ability to ferret out hidden trends and...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"These mountains are as dangerous as they are beautiful. They might appear to be lovely and majestic but don't let 'em fool you. The beauty hides the heart of a killer," Brenda explained as she dug through her inventory, looking for a pair of gloves in my size."Got 'em!" she yelled as she held the object of her search aloft, a pair of insulated gloves joined the rest of my new wardrobe.A slim and attractive woman in her mid-thirties, Brenda served as the colony's quartermaster. Medium sized,...
Fantasy & Sci-FiIn the confined space of the cave, Alice's distressed cry reverberated off the walls, so loud my ears hurt. I scrambled to be at her side. She sat in a fetal position with her arms wrapped around her knees and her whole body trembling like a leaf in the wind. Fear distorted her face, and her eyes closed so tightly her facial muscles twitched with the effort.A tiny voice uttered from her lips, repeating a single word again and again: snakes. Kneeling next to Alice, I put my arm around her...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi“These mountains are as dangerous as they are beautiful. They might appear to be lovely and majestic but don’t let ‘em fool you. The beauty hides the heart of a killer,” Brenda explained as she dug through her inventory, looking for a pair of gloves in my size. “Got ‘em!” she yelled as she held the object of her search aloft, a pair of insulated gloves joined the rest of my new wardrobe. A slim and attractive woman in her mid-thirties, Brenda served as the colony’s quartermaster. Medium...
Thank you, what’s the deal?” I asked as I took the offered towel from Sheila’s hands and fluff-dried my thinning mane. Hair loss among men is a myth. It’s not so much our locks leave as they change location. The stuff which had lived on my head now sprouted from my ears. “Jen thinks the ionosphere has settled enough for shortwave. At her suggestion, I’ve decided it time we start a 24/7 radio watch. You got the first shift. Listen and log, let’s see what’s going on out there.” She hesitated...
"With all due respect, do we have any idea how ridiculous we look?" I stepped over the long picnic bench next to the community dining table as I stood to speak. My rear end protested.After several long hours of note taking, my fanny was in no mood for a new session. My flat ass had a bad case of meeting butt. My hand was cramped, and after a day of biking thru the mountains, I hurt in places the sun didn't shine."This does not bode well," I said as I closed my notepad and set it to one...
Fantasy & Sci-FiWe returned to our room after breakfast to find a note from Sheila pinned to our door. She was reminding us to join her on the front deck for an introductory tour of the colony and the surrounding area. The instructions also suggested that we dress for the weather. Our walk-in closets looked like walk-in dumpsters. Everything we had brought with us in the Rav4 had been piled in the storage spaces like an unorganized jigsaw puzzle. I busied myself picking out an appropriate wardrobe for our...
With flying gravel and a sandy whoosh, Frosty's motorbike cleared the crest of the granite ridge in an airborne glide before skidding to a wobbly stop about a dozen yards down the slope. "It's Alice and Darlene with five guys wearing uniforms from the sheriff's department." Belinda took my hand and pulled herself up to the top of the incline. "They are under guard, wearing handcuffs. Did they see me?" She lifted her binoculars to her eyes and scanned the rise at the far end of the trail along...
Fantasy & Sci-FiWith flying gravel and a sandy whoosh, Frosty's motorbike cleared the crest of the granite ridge in an airborne glide before skidding to a wobbly stop about a dozen yards down the slope. "It's Alice and Darlene with five guys wearing uniforms from the sheriff's department." Belinda took my hand and pulled herself up to the top of the incline. "They are under guard, wearing handcuffs. Did they see me?" She lifted her binoculars to her eyes and scanned the rise at the far end of the trail along...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe tour of the Liberty Mountain camp consumed most of the day, and I welcomed the chance to sit down and collect my thoughts. We were back in the cabin with about twenty minutes to spare before dinner service, and I wanted to use the time to clean up before supper. Darlene had left me on my own for the evening to rekindle a long lost friendship or love affair. Her parting words for the evening were, "Don't get into too many beds and if you do, save a spot for me." I had a real affection for...
Fantasy & Sci-FiConsciousness came slowly, on the installment plan, one sensation at a time.I groaned and opened my eyes to a room full of sunshine. Dancing clusters of sparkles and glowing dust motes drifted in the sunbeams filling my field of vision as I attempted to focus and give the optical center of my brain a chance to sort out the dazzling array of visual information. For several seconds I stared at the ceiling and tried to remember where I was. Naked, comfortable, and warm in bed with my partner next...
Fantasy & Sci-FiChapter 7As the applause died down, I took a seat on the table's bench next to Sheila and tried to relax. I felt like I had just run a marathon. Darlene gave me a warm hug and a glass of ice-cold water and sat with me. I don't know which I appreciated more; her company, the hug, or the beverage. I guzzled the water down in one long gulp. Public speaking is lonely and thirsty work.The sisters stopped by in ones and twos to exchange small talk with Sheila before retiring for the evening. That was...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi“I’m getting too old for this shit,” I moaned and plopped into one of the Situation Room’s ergonomically designed conference chairs. I massaged the sore spot on my shoulder and shifted and squirmed and as I searched for a less uncomfortable position. Nothing worked. I hurt in places I didn’t even know I had. The steaming mug of fresh brewed Colombian laced with the Sisterhood’s brandy warmed my hands and took the edge away from the pain in my ass. Java and joy-juice will cure...
Darlene stepped around the front bumper and gave me a hug as she whispered "Did I mention that this is an all-woman survival commune?" in my ear."You forgot to share that little detail with me. What the fuck are we going to do now?" I whispered back.Darlene was like that. She tended to skimp on the details and fill the void with trivia or useless information. Darleen held my hand as we broke from our embrace, and spoke to the assembled women on the porch. "I would like you to meet my lover,...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe moderator leaned back in her chair and studied Starshine for a moment before turning to me and sitting upright. “Do you want to become a member of our Society?” “Yes,” I replied after a short pause. The question had caught me by surprise. “Why?” Sheila asked. “Survival,” I responded. Sheila tilted her head to one side as her eyes widened in an expression of puzzlement. “Survival?” “Yes, survival. We’re in the high mountains in winter. Without the warmth and safety of this place, I...
“This is Liberty base. The National Weather Service has issued a revised winter storm warning for our area. Forecasters are calling for up to thirty-six inches of snow starting tonight at five o’clock with blizzard conditions beginning at 6:30 PM. Snow will continue throughout the evening and into late tomorrow afternoon. Winds south by southwest twenty to thirty miles per hour with gusts up to one hundred and twenty miles per hour along exposed ridges. Return home immediately. Please...
Alice and I hurried toward the source of illumination like moths to a flame. A glimmering halo of white light surrounded the hole Alice cut through the snow drift at the tunnel’s entrance. I crawled into the air shaft that she’d excavated and punched through a thin cap of frost at the end and was instantly dazzled by blinding sunshine. “Alice, come here and take a look, you aren’t going to believe this,” I shouted over my shoulder as I emerged into the open air. The blizzard had passed us...
91.28 - 91.62 While our dinner wasn’t worthy of a five-star restaurant, the scenery around us was six-star spectacular. The night was moonless, and the velvet black sky above our heads blazed with countless stars. The Milky Way rose and arched across the heavens in a misty river of light along the eastern horizon. The snowshoe workshop did triple duty as a kitchen, dining area, and lounge. Spooning naked in the blackness was sexy, erotic, and boring. Newlyweds need to hop out of bed and...
“Shit!” Sheila swore as she angrily flipped the turn signal and slowed our Ford Super Duty truck to a crawl and searched for a safe place to pull off the road. “Sky, I need my license and registration, they’re in the glove compartment.” She rolled down her window with her left arm pointed over the roof of our vehicle. She waved towards the side of the road, a visual indication to the following patrol car we were pulling off the highway. “Stash the Glock in the hump. We don’t need any...
“Okay, my turn,” I chuckled as I picked up the fat cigar-sized joint of the Sisterhood’s weed. Possession of the cannabis talking stick authorized the owner to speak without interruption. I inhaled deeply and gave the blunt to Sheila and took my place in our naked Truth or Dare fireside chat. “Please be honest. What do you believe?” The commander’s theology drifted all over the map from Pagan to Puritan, seasoned with native lore and eastern thought. Pinning her down was like trying to...
"We need to talk" is usually the two slices of sweet bread covering a shit sandwich. I have yet to hear those innocent sounding words when they weren't followed by news to which I didn't want to listen.The last time a boss called me into the office using that invitation, I left with a security escort to the front door with a severance check in my back pocket."Have a seat," Sheila patted the empty cushion and motioned for me to sit. "We've got a lot to talk about and not much time. The meeting...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi"We need to talk" is usually the two slices of sweet bread covering a shit sandwich. I have yet to hear those innocent sounding words when they weren't followed by news to which I didn't want to listen.The last time a boss called me into the office using that invitation, I left with a security escort to the front door with a severance check in my back pocket."Have a seat," Sheila patted the empty cushion and motioned for me to sit. "We've got a lot to talk about and not much time. The meeting...
Fantasy & Sci-FiSheila had the soul of a cavalry commander and lived the warrior's code of old. Feed your horses, your troops, and yourself. In that order. Her declaration of a banquet of gratitude was a brazen departure from the typical bullshit command response to a crisis which was: when in doubt, run in circles, scream, and shout. With the generous help of brandy and buds, Martha's magnificent meal of thanksgiving had brought everyone, myself included, back from the brink. "Come on in; the water's fine!"...
Fantasy & Sci-FiEverything I knew about Sheila told me she was a master gamer with the skills of a chess genius. She did not offer me a job to alleviate unemployment, instead, she appeared to be working a gambit of some sort. The uncertainty of purpose generated within me a wave of anxious observation while I awaited developments. The chess pieces on the board were changing their position of their own accord. =^.^= "She wants you to be her what?" Darlene giggled in questioning amazement at my...
Fantasy & Sci-FiIn the confined space of the cave, Alice’s distressed cry reverberated off the walls so loudly my ears hurt. I scrambled to be at her side. She sat in a fetal position with her arms wrapped around her knees: her whole body trembling like a leaf in the wind. Fear distorted her face, and her eyes closed so tightly her eyebrows twitched with the effort. A tiny voice uttered from her lips, repeating the same word again and again: snakes. Kneeling next to Alice, I put my arm around her shoulder...
My sleep was shattered by three sharp raps which crashed through my slumber like gunshots in a nightmare on the morning of the third day."What the hell!" I hurled myself from my bed, stomped across the floor and jerked open the door."Do you have any idea of the time?" My growl faded to a reluctant sigh as Sheila pushed past me into the quarters Darlene and I had shared since our arrival at the compound last fall."Good morning, Sky, time for coffee," she said with a slight smile."It's not...
Fantasy & Sci-FiOur return to the cabin became a déjà vu moment and a mirror image of when I first arrived with Darlene about ten days ago. As our rescue vehicles approached, it appeared as though Sheila and the entire membership of the Society of Sisters waited on the cabin's balcony in freezing cold. The upper deck erupted in shouts of joy and hand waves of welcome when Seraina dismounted from the snowmobile. The boisterous display of affection slammed into a wall of silence as I climbed off the passenger...
Fantasy & Sci-FiMorpheus, the God of dreams, wrapped us in a cocoon of dreams. But when he did, he forgot to include a bathroom. I awoke with a four-alarm "urgent need to go" moment as my bladder trembled in an effort to hold back a flood of Biblical proportions. It would be wonderful to wake up nice and slow like I once did in my younger days. I used to enjoy the delightful transition from slumber to wakefulness. No such luck. Personal plumbing issues are now at the top of my morning's To-Do List.I groaned as...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe gentle nudge of Alice's hands dragged me out of my sleep. "Dennis, I'm sorry to wake you, but I've gotta piss so bad I can taste it. I need your help," she said as she pulled me into a sitting position. Our warm and cozy tent had turned into an icebox."You gotta be kidding; since when do you need help taking a piss?" Reaching under my makeshift pillow, I fished out my light and turned it on. In front of me, a naked Alice sat huddled, her breath streaming like smoke from her mouth, and...
Fantasy & Sci-FiStripping was going to be awkward. Getting naked in front of a group of nude women was the last thing I wanted to do, especially with a growing boner. Even so, I decided that I had no choice but to comply. Clearly, I would eventually have to join the clothing optional norm of the colony.Taking a deep breath, I braced myself and unbuttoned my shirt, took it off, and laid it on the table. I then took my shoes and socks off and placed them next to my shirt. I undressed as slowly as possible,...
Fantasy & Sci-FiChapter 4The dining area was located just off a large commercial kitchen at the far end of the great room. A supersized picnic table lined with benches provided more than enough seating capacity for the thirty-seven females who made the Colony their home. The table itself was a stunning thing of beauty. The tabletop surface consisted of wide pine planking sanded to a silky smooth sheen and then coated with dozens of layers of polyurethane.I took a good hard look around as we descended the...
Fantasy & Sci-FiThe next room turned out to be the bedroom Sheila shared with her partner, Lucia. The walls were hand-hewn pine planks decked out with bookcases and several very well done nude watercolor portraits of women.A queen-size four-poster bed covered with a beautiful handmade quilt took up one wall, and a rustic looking nightstand with a large table lamp adorned with a stained glass shade provided most of the light in the room. The balance of the lighting came from a stone fireplace with several...
Fantasy & Sci-Fi“With all due respect, do we have any idea how ridiculous we look?” I stepped over the long picnic bench next to the community dining table as I stood to speak. My rear end protested. After several long hours of note-taking, my fanny was in no mood for a new session. My flat ass had a bad case of meeting butt. My hand was cramped, and after a day of biking through the mountains, I hurt in places the sun didn’t shine. “This does not bode well,” I said as I closed my notepad and set it to one...
The protracted stillness in our fabric cave floated from awkward to uncomfortable as we each waited for the other to speak. Silence and rubber bands share at least one thing in common. If you stretch them far enough, they’ll snap. In our case, the break came when Alice’s stomach rumbled in hunger. A few moments later, my gut responded in kind. “I’m famished. What’s for dinner?” Alice wanted to know. “We’ve got bouillon and tea. What’s your pleasure?” I inquired. “I want something to munch,...
With a sandy whoosh in a cloud of flying gravel, Frosty’s motorbike cleared the crest of the granite ridge in an airborne glide before skidding to a wobbly stop about a dozen yards down the slope. “It’s Alice and Darlene with five guys wearing uniforms from the sheriff’s department!” Belinda panted as she took my hand and pulled herself to the top of the incline. “They are under guard, wearing handcuffs. Did the men see me?” She lifted her binoculars to her eyes and scanned the hilltop at...
“Okay, listen up!” Sheila knocked her knuckles on the conference table and brought the final briefing to order. “We’ve got an outstanding weather report, vehicles and crews are ready. We are good to go at daybreak...” she smiled as she waved at the enormous flat-screen display we had installed several days ago and checked her watch for the time, “ ... which means we’re in luck. We have thirty-minutes for one last run-through.” “Time for a quick cup of coffee before we start?” I made it...