Apophis (25 page)

She sighed heavily. “What good is surviving the End of the World if you’re not allowed any vices?”

I didn’t have an answer for her, so I shrugged again.  All I knew was that in the morning we’d be back on the road.  Today had been a nice reprieve from that, but it was time to stop playing house and get back to the real world.

“Come to bed?”

She held out her hand to me and my stomach seriously flip-flopped like I was in the backseat of a speeding car that had just gone over a bump. Those aquamarine eyes bore into me. Maybe I could play house for a little while longer.

+++++

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Are you ready yet?” I called up the stairs.

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Nora’s voice floated down.  “If I was ready, I’d be downstairs with you.”

My hand clenched and unclenched around the wooden banister.  I was anxious to get back on our journey.  I could admit that our  detour had been nice, but the people of Hot Springs could still be following us, and in hindsight, two days of remaining in one place hadn’t been the smartest strategy.

Nora’s boots were loud as she tromped down the wooden stairs.  My stomach flipped when I first spotted her.  It was a ridiculous reaction, I knew.  Nothing was going to change between us.  She was still an entitled brat and for me, reuniting with my dad was priority number one.

A cross look soured her beautiful face. “Sorry it took so long.  My hair was being stubborn.”

“Why did you fix your hair?  It’s just going under a hat as soon as we go outside.”

“Maybe I wanted to look nice for you in the five seconds you’d actually see it.” She tugged on her hat, covering the hair she’d just spent time to actually fix.  Just the tips poked out where her hair was slightly longer than the material of the hat.

“Oh, well, uh…” I didn’t know what to say.  She didn’t seem to be flirting with me; her tone was very matter-of-fact.

“You’re kind of cute when you’re uncomfortable, Fargo,” she winked.

I didn’t bother pointing out that I wasn’t from that city.  She knew the difference; she just wanted to pull a reaction from me.  I grabbed my own knit cap and tugged it on.  At least she hadn’t called me “Sammy,” so I suppose it was an improvement.

The sun was high in the sky and I slipped on my sunglasses to combat the glare.  I checked my compass and the location of the sun and went west.  When I came to a little hill, I grabbed onto the tall grasses poking up through the snow to help me climb the brief, but steep incline.  I stopped when I reached the top and turned to help Nora up as well.  Her feet slipped where my boots had broken through the snow bank, but after a brief struggle, she reached the apex as well. 

We both took a moment to look back at the little cottage.  A thin plume of smoke clung in the air just above the chimney from the fire I’d left dying in the woodstove.  Nora’s light blue eyes had taken on a faraway look as she gazed back at our temporary sanctuary.  I could almost hear her plea in my head:
It’s not too late, Sammy.  It doesn’t have to be so hard.  We could always just stay.

“How much longer do you think it’ll be?” she asked.

I looked at the road map and the black mark Nora had made with a sharpie.  “I can’t say for sure because who knows what kind of weather we’ll come across,” I prefaced my estimate, “but I’m hoping less than a week.

“That doesn’t seem so bad.”

I shook my head.  In the grand scheme of things, a week on the road was hardly a hardship.  We’d certainly endured worse this month.  But I wasn’t going to let my guard down.  The weather could take a turn for the worst, we could be attacked by bandits, and worse yet, Eden might not really exist.  I wanted to believe Mr. West’s story and that we hadn’t been chasing ghosts across the country.  But I also had to be pragmatic and prepare, at least mentally, for the very real possibility that there was no salvation coming. 

I didn’t want to think about it too much though because if Eden didn’t exist, the chances of reconnecting with my father was slim to none. We couldn’t go back to Hot Springs – that would be suicide.  But they’d had the right idea camping by the natural hot springs.  Certainly it wasn’t the only geothermal resource in the area.  We’d just have to find another one and try to make a go of it. 

I wondered what my safety-minded, logical father would do in my place.  Would he leave behind a safe haven for the uncertainty of finding me again?  Would the risk be worth the reward?  He’d already lost his wife and his mother to the Frost – what was one more heartache? 

“Hey, are you okay?” Nora’s hand rested on my forearm.  Her piercing irises looked at me with concern.

“I’m fine,” I choked out.  I self-consciously wiped my gloved hand across my face, which dislodged her hand from my arm.

She kept searching my face and her penetrating gaze unnerved me.  I didn’t want to be so easily readable, even to her.  We’d shared a vulnerable moment two nights ago, but I couldn’t suddenly let my guard down around her and voice my fears whenever they popped unbidden to my brain.  I had to stay strong and make sure we made it to Eden.  We were so close.  I couldn’t fail her now.

I shouldered the backpack I’d restocked with the limited items from the cottage’s pantry.  It felt nice to feel the reassuring weight of the pack, knowing our supplies could probably last us until we got to central Idaho.  I think Nora was waiting on some words of wisdom or encouragement from me, but I was currently tapped out.  I needed to ration those niceties and optimism like the canned goods in my backpack.  This trip was becoming just as mentally challenging as it was physical.  I looked down at my compass again even though our direction hadn’t changed – it was just a nervous habit by now.

“C’mon,” I said, hiking my backpack higher on my shoulders.
“It’s time to go.”

+++++

With our bodies relatively rested, we were able to make good time that day.  Mile-wise I didn’t know how far we’d gone, but it felt like we’d traveled farther than any other day so far.  It helped that the terrain remained relatively flat as long as we kept close to the frozen river that carved through the mountains.  It was also lucky that we’d found that tent in the cottage because more permanent shelter remained scarce.

We set up camp just before the sun set.  I was in charge of making a fire and setting up animal traps while Nora took care of assembling the tent.  That evening we cooked canned potatoes in the fire and had pineapple chunks for dessert.  With little else to entertain ourselves with and stomachs not entirely satisfied, we extinguished the fire and climbed into the tent.      

“Do you ever think about heat?”

I rolled over on my side inside of my sleeping bag.  Nora laid on her back with her hands positioned under her head for a makeshift pillow.

“Sorry.  That was a dumb question,” she laughed to herself.  “Of course we all think about heat.”

I nodded, agreeing. “Why do you ask?”

“I was just thinking which scenario would be preferable – freezing to death or burning up.”

“I’ve always liked cooler weather more than summer,” I admitted. “And you can always put on more layers, too. If it’s too hot there’s only so much you can take off until you’re just naked.”

“Yeah, but I worked so hard to get into bikini shape. It’s a shame  no one gets to appreciate it.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you always so big ego’ed or do I just bring out the best in you?”

She rolled onto her side to face me. Her movement brought us practically nose to nose and my eyes crossed at the closeness. “Oh, it’s definitely not you.  I’ve always been like this.”

“Well that’s good,” I said sardonically. “Wouldn’t want to think I was special or something.” I was trying to keep up with her playful banter, but the words just sounded bitter.

Her eyes perceptibly narrowed, and I couldn’t help but notice the wounded look on her features.  She’d been teasing, but I’d unintentionally turned things ugly with my insecurities.  I hated not knowing how Nora felt about me, but I was too afraid to start that conversation. 

“So you think I just have sex with every girl I stumble across?”

The wind howling outside our shelter sounded like a banshee shrieking.  I should have taken it as a warning sign not to continued down this conversational path.

“Whatever,” I stupidly scoffed. “Let’s not pretend the other night meant anything except what it was. You were hurting and I was sexually frustrated.” I didn’t know where all these hateful words were coming from, but I couldn’t seem to turn them off.

She stared at me a little longer before licking her lips. “Nice to know where I stand.”

“Don’t know what to tell you,” I said, tugging at my sleeping bag.  I drew the defensive words up around me like a shield.

“How about that you’re rude, stubborn, and you think you’re better than me.”

“Correction,” I snapped.  “I
am
better than you.”

Her body went rigid.  “And why’s that?  Because you know how to make a fire without matches?” she scoffed.  “That doesn’t make you better than me, Sam.  It only makes you a little better than a cave man.”  She tugged at the corners of her sleeping bag so it wrapped around the bottom half of her face, obscuring her mouth. “You might think I’ve lived a privileged life,” she continued, “but you’re more standoffish and judgmental than any of those girls I went to boarding school or college with.”

“Let’s just get some sleep,” I said wearily. I hadn’t expected a fight tonight and was quickly fading.  And if we kept fighting I knew I’d continue to say things that I would regret in the morning.

“Whatever.” Nora flopped around angrily next to me until she found a comfortable position.

I wouldn’t try to snuggle or keep her warm that night. I sighed heavily and stared at the nothingness in front of my eyes.  With one fell swoop, I’d ruined all the progress we’d made.

+++++

I had a hard time sleeping that night.  I kept thinking about our brief, but hurtful fight and what I could do to make things better.  It was my own insecurities that had been the fuel on the fire, not anything Nora had done. I managed to grab a few hours of sleep, but eventually ended up crawling out of the tent before the sun woke up.  I made a fire and checked the animal traps – empty.  I rummaged through the food in my backpack and tried to come up with something creative for breakfast that might help put us both in a more amicable mood.  I had an idea, but I wasn’t sure if it would work. 

I carefully picked my way down to the iced-over river and found a relatively large river stone, flat and polished smooth.  When I made it back to the campsite, Nora was still in our tent.  I put the copper kettle we used to melt drinking water into fire and scooped handfuls of clean snow into the pot.  Then I set the stone in the hottest part of the fire and waited.  

Some time later, when the sun was nearly at its highest point in the sky, I heard the zipper of our tent door.  I grinned despite myself at the disgruntled noises Nora emitted when she exited the tent. 

“Sleep well?” I asked, not diverting my attention away from the fire.  The river rock was still heating up and the copper kettle was nearly filled to the top with melted snow.

“I’ve had better.”

I looked up to see Nora playing with the zipper of her jacket. “Do you like pancakes?” I asked her.

“Pancakes?” she echoed.

“I found an unopened package in the pantry at the cottage,” I explained.  “There weren’t any maggots in it, so I’m assuming it’s still good to eat.”

Her beautiful face immediately crumpled. “I could have gone without you mentioning maggots.”

I grinned broadly. “Not hungry anymore?”

“Oh, I’m starved.  I’d eat the hell out of pancakes, maggots or not.”

I sprinkled some pancake powder into the copper kettle we typically used to make drinking water.  I stirred the mixture until it made a smooth batter and poured a generous amount onto the river rock I’d collected.  I hadn’t been sure it would actually work, and I mentally high-fived myself when the batter began to sizzle.

Nora crouched down beside me to get a better view.  “That’s a pretty impressive trick.”

I shrugged nonchalantly even though I was pretty proud of my creativity. “My grandma used to cook like this for us.  Not exactly on a hot rock, but close to it.”

Nora brushed her fingers along the side of my face and tucked some hair behind my ear. “Your hair is so pretty,” she murmured. “It’s too bad you have to hide it under a hat all day.”