Chapter 15 - The Journey
Wednesday morning found me waking in bed with a much calmer feeling in my stomach. I would be with my vampire to the very end. I would hold his hand and tell him that he meant everything to me, as the life in his eyes flickered out. I was still horrified at the prospect of watching him die. . . but I was resolved to do it. He wanted this. He needed this. And I would be there for him, in the only way I could be.
Kissing my cheek and whispering that he loved me and he'd see me after work, Teren left me a couple hours before I had to leave myself. I stretched in bed and with a deep, relaxing breath in and out, I mentally prepared myself to have a conversation with Clarice about taking some much needed time off of work.
Hoping to score some points with her, I dressed in the way that she preferred-a long, heavy skirt and a frilly, long-sleeved conservative top. I piled my thick hair on top of my head and grabbed a fitted jacket before heading out the door to make a request that my boss was either going to approve. . . or she'd lose me.
She happened to be at my desk with a stack of papers when I approached her. My heart started quickening at the anticipation of the conversation. Her plump face took in my near carbon copy recreation of her own outfit, and a slight tugging at the corners of her lips indicated a smile.
She handed me the stack when I was within arm's length. "I need these copied and faxed by lunch," she said brusquely.
"Good morning, Clarice. " I said, grabbing the papers and slapping a forced smile on my face. "I wanted to give you a heads-up, but I'll be giving you a written notice as well. . . " I took a deep breath and spoke with my exhale, "I'm taking all of the vacation and sick time that I've accrued in my time here, two weeks from Friday. "
Her jaw dropped as she gaped at me. I'd worked here since graduating college. I'd never used any of my paid time off. Up until yesterday, I just hadn't had any pressing desire to go anywhere or do anything that couldn't be done in a weekend, or the week the office shut down after tax season-time off that didn't dip into our vacation time. They considered that our yearly bonus, I considered it perfect. The company allowed you to rollover any unused time, and didn't have a cap on how much you could roll over. You could even give away your vacation time to someone else, as a group once did for a woman going through chemotherapy a few years ago, before I'd started working here. As it was, I had a decent amount stored up.
Clarice looked surprisingly at a loss for words. Finally, she sputtered, "Oh. . . well. . . of course. " She looked around the office as she did calculations in her head of how long I would be gone. "I guess I'll get the temp agency to get someone out here to replace you. . . " Her eyes came back to my face and her brows knitted in concern. "You are coming back. . . right?"
I smiled, genuinely happy that I was wanted here in my odd little family. "Of course. I just have a. . . a family situation that needs my attention. "
She smiled widely for the first time I'd ever seen; it faded immediately. "Well, I'll need to see that in writing, as you said, and the dates will need to be clearly specified for your departure and return. "
I smiled inwardly at the return of "professional" Clarice. "Sure. . . no problem. " Well, the leaving date would be easy-two weeks from Friday was what Teren was giving his work, but the coming back date? I'd just have to pick a date as far out as I could and hope for the best.
Clarice compressed her lips as she regarded me. "You could have given us longer than two weeks to prepare. "
I cringed an appropriate amount. "Sorry. . . it was sort of an emergency that popped up at the last minute. Thank you for understanding," I threw in, as she looked about to protest.
She swallowed her complaint. Flicking my stack of papers with her finger, she pointedly said, "By noon. I don't want you slacking off because you're leaving soon. "
I stifled a sigh. "No problem, Clarice. "
She waddled across the aisle to her spacious desk in front of Mr. Peterson's office, and I turned to set down my stack of urgent papers and my starting-to-get-heavy purse.
I'd barely shoved the purse in my drawer before Tracey's blonde head popped up over the wall. "You're leaving?" Her eyes scrunched in a mixture of annoyance and concern.
A soft sigh escaped me as I looked over my sad-faced friend. When I got back, things would probably be different in our friendship. Not that she and I wouldn't still talk nearly every day, have lunch every so often, take kickboxing together, and maybe even occasionally take Ashley out for a drink. . . but the double dating aspect of our relationship would change.
What we could all do together as a foursome would change, and how close Tracey and Ben could get to Teren would change. To lessen the risk of exposure for Teren, there would just be a lot more. . . carefulness when we were all together again. The breezy casualness of our group outings would be gone. I'd miss that.
Smiling sadly, I answered her question, "Teren's Dad is sick, and Teren needs to take some time off, to work at the ranch, until he gets better. I'm going as well. . . to help out. " Teren and I had talked about what to tell people last night. This was what he was telling his boss and coworkers. . . it would work for mine as well.
Tracey's face fell in sympathy. "Oh. . . is he going to be okay?"
I knew she meant Teren's Dad, but Teren's jet-black hair, pale blue eyes and lightly stubbled face leapt into my head, and I had to swallow to force back the sudden tears. "He'll be fine, Trace. "
She nodded and, accepting my lie, reached out over her wall to pat my shoulder. I tapped her arm in thanks, and she ducked her head back down to continue on with her day. I got to work on my papers, forcing my mind to completely shut off.
I spent every waking moment that I could with Teren as we prepared to leave. There were several more conversations that we had to have. The first, and easiest, perhaps, was calling his parents. He waited until Friday evening to do it. At his reluctance to pick up the receiver, I wondered if his stubborn pride would even let him make this phone call. As he blankly stared at the thing, I considered punching in the numbers for him.
Looking at me, and perhaps noticing my expression, he sighed and finally dialed his family home.
"Hi, Dad," he said when the line picked up. He leaned back against the kitchen counter, tucking a hand into his pocket. Walking over to him, I untucked his hand and slung his arm around my waist. Teren smiled and kissed my head as he listened to his dad talk to him for a few long seconds.
During a break in the conversation he muttered, "Will you tell Mom that I'm coming home. . . to stay. " He said it very quietly, and I wondered if his dad's normal human ear even registered the sound.
Teren straightened a bit and his eyes unfocused as he listened to a voice on the other end. Rolling his eyes, he shook his head. "Mom. . . put Dad back on. " As he closed his eyes, I smiled at his mom's enthusiasm. "Please stop crying. I'm fine. . . Emma's fine. . . you win. " He opened his eyes and sighed. "I know, Mom. I know it was never a contest. "
Smiling softly, he started rubbing circles into my back. I ran a hand up his chest and our eyes locked as he spoke with his mother. "She's coming too. I want her there. " His tone was final. It clearly said There will be no debate on this. I smiled and kissed his jaw.
His mom apparently gave no argument, for the next thing he said was, "Wagyu. . . really? Well. . . thank you. " His lips lifted to a genuine smile and I wondered what they were talking about.
His fingers ran through my hair as he smiled down on me, still listening to his mother talk in his ear. For a moment, I wished I had his uncanny hearing, so I could be privy to their conversation. "I'll be coming up in two weeks. " He frowned into the phone and stopped stroking my hair. "It was the best I could do, Mom. " He paused as he listened. "I have a job. . . a life that needed some loose ends tied up. . . "
He scowled. "Mom. . . " His tone was getting irritated and I cleared my throat in warning to the both of them. Teren paused, smiled and then laughed.
"Yes. . . she does do that. " He grinned with a crooked smile, and again, I wondered what they were talking about.
"Okay. . . I love you too, Mom. Give my best to Dad and the others. Bye. " He hung up the phone and slung both arms around my waist. I waited for an explanation on the many pauses, but all I got was a warm set of lips on my neck.
"So. . . " I began, struggling to remember the bits and pieces I'd heard, while Teren's soft lips traveled up my skin.
"So. . . " he huskily repeated in my ear.
I resisted the urge to press my body against his and run my hands through his hair. When I pulled back to look at him, his eyes danced with playfulness. "What did they say?"
His hands lowered to firmly cup my backside and he pulled me tight against him. "Do you really want to talk about this now?"
I ignored how incredibly nice that felt, and pushed back on his chest to separate us. "Wa. . . gyu?" I said, stumbling a bit over the odd word.
He laughed and relaxed his hold on me. "A couple months ago, they ordered me some cows, just in case I changed my mind about the ranch. " He ran a finger through the hair by my ear as he shook his head. "Kind of an incentive. They're arriving next week. " Shrugging, he finished with, "It's actually pretty nice of my parents. Wagyu cattle are the best around. "
My face scrunched in confusion. Was I missing something obvious? He laughed as he looked at my bewilderment. Ignoring his amusement, I asked, "Are they raising these Wagyu now? Do they expect you to stay and work there?"
He tilted his head as he broke into a wide smile and a laugh. "They're congratulations cows. " I shook my head, still not getting it. "Emma. . . " He brought his two fore fingers to his mouth and held them in front of his lips like fangs. "Congratulations. Here's your cow. . . cheers. "
I shut my eyes and shook my head. Oh. . . duh, right. I reopened my eyes and raised an eyebrow as I regarded him. "You and the girls aren't going to go hunting or something, for your first day as a dead vampire?"
He grimaced. "I hate hunting. Fishing I like, but hunting. . . " he shook his head, "no thanks. "
I smiled at my very unvampire-like vampire. "You are such a disappointment," I muttered, kissing him.
Laughing, he grabbed me tight. I tried not to gasp, but it came out anyway. "I bet I could change your mind," he growled.
I bet he could. Not giving in to his very clear desire just yet, I pulled back. "Why don't you like hunting? Isn't that some instinctual part of being a vampire?"
He cocked an eyebrow at me, as he smiled. "Why don't you like shoe shopping? Isn't that an instinctual part of being a woman?"
I pursed my lips. He was right. . . about the hating it part. There was nothing that irritated me more, than trying on pair after pair of they-just-look-funny-on-me shoes. Chuckling at the look on my face, he said, "Why would I want to run through the countryside like an idiot, when Bessie will just stand there and let me drain her dry?"
I rolled my eyes as I gazed up at him. "You're just. . . you're a metro-vampire. "
His face contorted into an odd expression. "I'm what?"
I put on my matter-of-fact face. "You're a metro-vampire. You drink espresso and drive a hybrid and work for a lifestyle magazine and dress better than any other man I know. " I playfully dug my finger into his chest. "You just don't want to get your nails dirty, running through the woods after your dinner. "
He gaped at me in mock shock, then he cocked his head to the side. "Wait. . . why are my nails getting dirty in your little scenario? Am I falling down a lot after the change?"
I started to glare at him and was thinking about smacking his smartass, when his lips were suddenly on mine again. When his tongue slid into my mouth, I stopped my pointless, flirty banter. When his hands firmly found my ass again, I stopped stifling the groans I'd wanted to make, and when he zipped me to his bedroom, he proved that his manliness, vampiric or otherwise, was never in question.
After a long couple days of phone calls-shutting off services, holding mail, paying bills in advance, all the mundane stuff you have to do before a long trip, we were back at our Tuesday night dinner with my family, and we had to break the news to them. It wasn't as if I were going all that far away, but there really was no telling when Teren's change was going to happen, so I wouldn't be leaving the ranch for any reason. And it wouldn't be safe for them to visit. . . not until after.
Teren and I sat down across from my mom and Ashley, and right away I knew Ashley knew something was up. Her brown eyes-eyes that were the exact same light shade as mine-burned with questions that she wanted to ask, but couldn't in front of Mom. I'd pull her aside later, but for now, she'd have to buy the lie that we were about to spill to my mom.
Mom seemed to notice the tension in the air as well. She tucked some of her chin length hair behind her ears and eyed the two of us speculatively. I looked at Teren, hoping for a way to be honest with my mom, without having to tell her the truth. That just wasn't possible though.
Mom broke the silence with, "God, you're pregnant, aren't you?"
My eyes snapped to hers, and Teren started laughing nervously beside me. I wanted to laugh with him, brush off her concerns, but I wasn't pregnant yet and I really wished I was, so my eyes started to tear up. Teren stopped laughing when he noticed my eyes. Squeezing my hand, he leaned down and casually kissed my cheek. After he did, he quickly whispered, "There will be time. "
I gave him a brief nod and forced the Don't be silly grin onto my face for my mother's benefit. "No, Mom," I exaggerated.
She sighed with relief, then her jovial face sparkled with playfulness. "Are you getting married? Do I finally get to plan a big wedding?" Her eyes, the same shade of brown as Ashley's and mine, glowed with the thought of planning the big day for her daughter. I swallowed and forced back the tears. I wasn't even sure if that day could happen, not that Teren had asked me yet. But he wouldn't exactly be the champagne swilling, cake eating groom. How would I explain that to her?
Teren leaned down and kissed my cheek again. He didn't whisper anything that time and I slumped a little at him not taking that opportunity to ask me. Was he getting cold feet? The thought that my vampire, who actively tried to knock me up daily, would in a few months actually have cold feet, made me giggle with barely contained hysterics. My mom watched my odd reaction and then started laughing herself. Teren and Ashley joined in and we all had a moment of levity, for no apparent reason.
When the laughs died down, I muttered, "No. . . not yet, Mom. " Teren squeezed my hand on the word "yet", and looking over at him, I noticed him winking at me. Hmmm. . . maybe he did want that future for us?
Teren filled in the blanks on our big announcement, while I continued gazing at him. "My father has fallen ill and I need to be with him. . . to help out on the ranch for a couple of months, until he's better. " My mother's expression turned sympathetic. As she looked about to reply, Teren cut her off with, "Emma is going to come out with me. . . to help my step-mother. "
Mom's face softened into a small smile as she gazed at me in approval. My sister, however, gasped and tears sprang to her eyes. She looked shocked and horrified, and about to loudly protest. . . right in front of Mom.
"But. . . Emma. . . ?"
My mother looked over to her with thin lips. Teren looked about to say something, but I quickly beat him to it. "Ash. . . I need to go to the restroom, will you come with me?"
Her mouth in a hard line, she nodded her half-haired head and stiffly stood from the table. I rose from the edge and, locking my elbow with hers, quietly walked away.
Ash wasn't so quiet. "Emma. . . that's nuts. You can't be around him while he changes. That's. . . that's near suicide!" She was whispering, but I shushed her anyway. I looked back at Teren; he was flushing slightly as he tried to assure my mom that nothing was wrong. He'd clearly heard my sister say that and I'm sure he wasn't crazy about the comment.
Ashley didn't say anything else and we shuffled into
the bathroom in a sullen silence. I checked under all the stall doors. When I was positive we were alone, I turned back to her.
"Emma. . . please," she started immediately.
I put my hands on her arms. "He asked me to be there when he died, Ashley. How could I possibly say no to that?"
Examining my face, she opened and shut her mouth several times. "But. . . Emma. . . ?"
I ran a hand down her scarred face as her tears spilled over. "Please don't worry about me, Ash. His family will keep me safe. " She closed her eyes and started to cry in earnest. I held her close and rubbed her back. "It will be okay, I promise. " I didn't mentally overlook the fact that the only assurance I could give her was a promise, and I knew from experience just how empty those promises can sound.
She held me back and cried a moment longer on my shoulder before pulling back to look at me. I wiped some tears off her cheeks as she sniffled. "You'll be careful?" she asked hesitantly, like she didn't want to sound too approving of my plan, but she knew she had no choice-my mind was made up.
I held her face in both hands. "I will be the most careful human around a hungry vampire, that anyone has ever seen. . . okay?"
Pursing her lips, she shook her head, but then she nodded. To ease her mind even more, I added, "I won't be there for the actual change. Once his heart stops, his father will drive us safely away, until Teren has had his fill of cattle. "
She looked at me blankly, and then smacked my shoulder. "You couldn't have led with that! Geeze, Emma. . . I was picturing them tying you down next to him like some virgin sacrifice. "
Rubbing my shoulder, I rolled my eyes and we both started to giggle. "I'm hardly a virgin, Ashley. "
She laughed harder and gave me a huge hug. All was forgiven. "I love you, sis. "
I held her back just as tight. "I love you too. I'll be fine. . . okay?"
"You better be," she muttered and I thought I heard her add, "I'll stake his ass, if you're not. "
Cleaning up our sodden faces, we hugged one last time before exiting the bathroom to rejoin dinner. Teren and my mom were laughing over something as we calmly approached the table. Teren eyed me with a clear question in the slight arch of his brow. Too low for the others to hear, I muttered, "She's fine. . . we're fine. " He nodded once and flicked his eyes to Ashley as she sat down.
Meeting his gaze, Ashley muttered something under her breath. I didn't hear what she said, but Teren's eyes saddened as he flicked a quick glance to me. He nodded briefly to Ashley, before picking up his fork and resuming his meal, which had arrived while we'd been in the bathroom, since the waitress, Debby, knew perfectly well what we'd order.
I glanced up at Ashley across from me as she picked up her fork. She gave me a small grin before shifting her focus to her meal. My mother seemed oblivious to the silent conversations going on around her, but after wiping her mouth with a napkin, she did ask me if I was all right. "Yes, I'm great. Everything is great," I assured her.
She gave me an odd look for half a second, and then asked Teren, "What will you have to do on the ranch?"
I wondered if Mom suspected something was going on, but was choosing to ignore it. My mom would fight for me like a mother bear if the situation called for it, but Teren and I were happy, and relatively healthy, so whatever was going on, obviously wasn't dangerous in her eyes. Sometimes, living in ignorance is the easiest way to get through life. . . especially when it comes to your loved ones.
After the meal, we hugged goodbye in the parking lot. Teren muttered something in Ashley's ear again, before helping her into the car. Once we were back in his vehicle, I asked, yet again, what he and my sister were chatting about. With a half-smile, he told me, "At the table, she threatened to kill me if anything happened to you. I just told her that I would let her stake me, if anything happened to you. "
I shook my head in disbelief at these people who loved me so fiercely.
The following week and a half were a blur. I'm sure the days happened. They must have. I was pretty sure time travel wasn't possible. Of course, just a few months ago I'd felt the same way about vampires. But somewhere in the goodbye meals with my family, a final double date with Tracey and Hot Ben, who was anxious for Teren to return for more "guy time", and arranging for Spike to live with my mom and sister while we were gone, so we didn't tempt Halina, days flew by.
Tracey threw me a going away party on my last day, much to Clarice's dismay. She brought me a bouquet of wild flowers and enough chocolate cupcakes for the entire staff, which I think finally made Clarice okay with the whole distraction. After handing me a cupcake with a lit sparkler on the top, Tracey and I hugged for several long seconds. We both had tears in our eyes as we pulled apart, and I already missed my vivacious friend.
After the mini bon voyage, I went home. Teren was already there in my drive, waiting for me so we could prepare for our trip. I packed multiple bags of clothes and supplies for our "vacation that wasn't a vacation" and then we added my stuff to Teren's few bags. My addition loaded up his Prius to near bursting. Teren wryly commented that his parents did own a washing machine, so I didn't need to pack half my closet. I gave him a sour face for that. Over packing was a woman's prerogative. I'd even refused his offer to do it for me again. As good as he was at it, the selecting and folding of clothing calmed my mind and my nerves. Honestly, I think that's why I seriously over packed. Stopping had caused my mind to drift to unpleasant things, so I'd purposely avoided doing it.
And so, on a cloudless, blue, autumn Saturday morning, after a peaceful night of holding each other until we fell into a deep sleep, my vampire and I headed out to his parents' ranch, where he was slated to die within six weeks. I cast a final glance back at my house as we pulled out of the driveway. The early morning sunlight sparkled in the windows and the house almost looked like it was winking goodbye to me. I smiled at the blue beauty with the old-fashioned white shutters and flower boxes, and a bright red door. My grandmother's house, that looked like a half-gallon carton of milk smashed in-between other half-gallon cartons of milk, each holding the other up for support. I was going to miss it. I silently wished the house well in my absence, and turned back to the road.
We were quiet as we drove along, passing by people walking their pets and older couples, holding hands as they went about their morning. I watched a particularly cute, wrinkled couple and let out a soft sigh. That would never be Teren and I, but we would still have a great life together. Once we got through his death, of course.
Hearing me sigh, Teren stretched out his warm hand and placed it over mine on my knee. I turned my palm and laced our fingers together. He exhaled in a long, steady breath, like he was struggling with a nervous stomach. He glanced over at me and tried to smile, but it quickly fell off his face.
Feeling a jittery tension in the air, I tried to lighten the mood. "You know, you never did teach me any Russian. "
He looked over at me with a genuine smile on his lips. Mission accomplished. "I guess I didn't, did I?"
I raised an eyebrow and patiently waited for him to start. He laughed, once he realized I wanted my first lesson right now. With a smile still on his lips, he flicked a glance back to the empty stretch of road, leading to a main artery out of the city. Returning his eyes to me, he warmly said, "Ya tebya lyublyu. "
I scrunched my brow and tried to repeat the odd sounding phrase. "Ya tebya. . . "
"Lyublyu," he said again, with a warm glow in his eyes that matched the one on his lips.
I tried again, saying the words as close as I could to English, so the strange pronunciation made sense to me. "Ya teb-ya lou-blue. " He nodded, his smile proud. Feeling more confident, I spouted it out again, trying to match his authentic cadence. He laughed a little and nodded again.
When his eyes turned back to the road as we hit the highway, leading us away from our homes, I wondered what I'd said. "What did I say?" I scanned his face as I asked him. His eyes twinkled in the mornin
g rays, but he didn't answer me. That wasn't a good sign. I frowned. "Teren. . . what did you have me say?"
He started chuckling at my tone, but he still refused to answer me. I exhaled a dramatic breath, "Oh God. You made me say something dirty, didn't you?"
Laughing in earnest, he looked over at me with adoration clear in his features. Shaking his head, he softly said, "It means 'I love you'. "
I felt my cheeks heat as I started laughing with him. Squeezing our laced-together hands, I looked out the window at San Francisco streaming by me. Darn romantic vampire. As more and more of the city fell behind me, and romantic Russian syllables danced in my head, I asked Teren something that I'd randomly thought one day, back when he'd first told me what he was.
"Do you ever walk down the street and have a woman pass you and think-hmmm. . . I'd like a bite of that girl?" I twisted my head to grin in his direction.
Teren laughed at my odd question. "Of course. . . who doesn't?" He shrugged and continued laughing, all worry momentarily gone from his features, as I kept the mood in the car light.
I frowned playfully. "I'm serious, Teren. "
He bit his lip to rein in his chuckles and looked back over the road. "Well, if I see a pretty girl, who smells appealing, I may wonder for a second if her blood is a particularly good. . . vintage. " He shrugged again. "But that's about it. "
I smiled as I thought about my next question. "Did you think that about me?"
He looked over at me with an open, loving, honest face and then responded suggestively with, "Why do you think I called you?"
My body felt red-hot all over. His eyes lingered down my skin before turning back to the road. His smile was that alluring half-grin that was so darn sexy. My hand clutching his suddenly wanted to be running through his hair and across his strong shoulders. I may have gotten carried away with my mood relaxing questions.
For a long time, I stared at him with open interest in my eyes, while he watched the road; his grin never left him. Just as I was about to tell him to pull over somewhere, before we reached his parents' place of super-hearing mood killers, he pulled the car over.
Confused, and slightly alarmed that he maybe could read minds now, I looked around at where he'd stopped. We were quite a ways from the city now, away from the main highway and on a slower, less traveled road. In fact, there weren't any cars coming or going on this dusty stretch of blacktop for as far as I could see. But before I could get too excited over that prospect, the reason Teren had pulled over became glaringly obvious.
On the side of the road was a small camper, the kind that looked like a fifth wheel trailer and a pickup truck had given birth to a truck/trailer hybrid. This poor creation was suffering from some sort of vehicular malaise. The engine hood was propped open, and someone was underneath it, examining the underbelly. All we could see were a pair of denims dangerously protruding out onto the road. If this street were busier, he'd probably have gotten his ankles run over by now.
Teren separated our hands and made to open his door. "What are you going to do?" I asked.
He gave me a quick peck. "I'm going to see if I can help. I know a little bit about cars, working on my dad's jeeps. " He shrugged. "And if all else fails, I can at least call him a tow truck. "
I glanced at his cell phone sitting in the console, and then back up to him. I raised an eyebrow in question. "Are you just trying to delay us?"
Teren rolled his eyes. "No. . . I'm trying to help someone. " He cracked his door and nodded his head in the direction of the incapacitated vehicle. "Come with. You can time me. " Grinning, he opened his door and got out.
Shaking my head at his clear attempt to set us back a few hours, and, honestly, I had come up with much better ways to delay us than him sweating all over a rusty engine block, I opened my door and stepped out into the cool breeze of this fine California morning.
Crunching through the dirt along the side of the road, I joined Teren at the front of his car and clasped hands with him. Together, we walked over to where the man was still buried underneath his vehicle. We walked right up to the man's shins and Teren bent down a little to talk to him. "Excuse me, sir? Can I help you in any way?" Teren politely asked the set of legs that still hadn't moved. When no one responded, he again asked, "Sir?"
Teren cocked his head and started to look up, like he'd heard something. That was when my feeble human ears heard something. It was a faint metallic "pop", like something under great pressure had been released. That was the last thing that made sense to me, for a very long while.
A loud, scraping metal noise immediately followed the pop, like a crowbar being dragged behind a car flying down the freeway. Before I could even ascertain where the noise was coming from though, I was being lifted into the air by Teren's strong arms. Confused by the sudden movement, I clung to him with both hands. Just as I was about to ask him what he was doing, a sickening wet thud filled my ears, and we both started to fall over. I landed heavily on his stomach, Teren screamed in pain.
"Teren. . . baby. . . ?"
Hopelessly confused, I searched his agonized face while my hands ran over his chest. Scooting off to the side of him, my hands and eyes drifted over his body. I began to worry that I'd really hurt him when I'd fallen on top of him. I also wondered why my never clumsy boyfriend, had seemingly fallen over for no apparent reason.
That was when my hand got to his legs. . . to what used to be strong, healthy, intact legs. My fingers felt the wetness of his jeans and startled, I pulled those fingers to my face. They were red-the deep, dark red of freshly exposed blood; his jeans below his knees were quickly becoming saturated with it. He jerked in pain when I accidentally touched his injuries, and he cried out in agony.
I wiped a shaking hand on my jeans and sat back so I didn't cause him anymore pain. Looking up at the vehicle, I saw a steel rod bar protruding out from under the frame of the camper. It was close to the rear tire, at a ninety degree angle to the vehicle. I could see a thick suspension coil attached to it and looking closer at the front tire, I saw the clip where the rod had once been secured to the vehicle. That was when my brain started making connections.
The pop I'd heard, was something or someone releasing the bolt that was holding back the rod. With that clip released, the rod had flown back towards the rear tire, kinetic energy giving it strength and speed that no human would be fast enough to get away from. But Teren wasn't entirely human. He'd heard the pop and calculated what it was. He'd had just enough time to scoop me above where the bar was sweeping around, but he hadn't had time to scoop and run; the bar had hit his legs full force, midway between his knees and his ankles, smashing his shins into a bloody, fractured mess.
It was in this daze of What the hell just happened? that I noticed that the pair of legs we'd approached earlier were gone. A hole dug under the vehicle would have provided a person more than enough room to hide and wait-wait in their trap. A trap we'd inadvertently sprung. Then a shadow blocked out the morning sun on one side of my face and I instinctively turned to look at it.
A grizzly man, wearing a green army jacket with a knife clipped to his belt, faced me. "Morning, sweetheart," he calmly said, right before he brought his fist around to my temple and knocked me out cold.