Region: Key West
Lyn & Jack
(Trust is a 4 part story in the Chasing Tomorrow series
that centers on the exploits of Ashlyn Weaver, Cassidy Welch and Jack Steiner.
The story is combined here in its entirety so that readers do not need to
jump from one part to another)
Trust
She lays there asleep as I watch. She doesn't know I am there enjoying the rise
and fall of her chest and the soft smile on her face as she dreams. Slowly I shed my clothes allowing them to
pool on the dirt floor by her bed as I step towards her. I raise her worn blanket and stealthily slide
in behind her spooning my body against hers. I am greeted with a whispered and
welcoming moan. She nuzzles back against
me contouring her body to the shape of mine as I run my hand across her exposed
thigh. She is wearing only a pair of
silk panties and nightshirt. At least
that is the guess made by my exploring fingers.
When she finally opens her eyes and looks back at me it is accentuated
by her bright baby blues and her warm smile.
She does not show fear or distrust.
She doesn't care how I found my way into her room or why now I am laying
with her in bed. She simply enjoys the
moment. As she stares me down, her mind
wondering about something I can’t fathom, I quietly whisper “Good morning
Lyn”. Without uttering a single word her
response is simple and immediate; moving her hands to my neck, she pulls me in
for a long and sensual kiss that makes us both forget we have places to be
today.
A few hours have passed and as she lies against my chest,
exhausted and smiling, while slipping in and out of sleep, I stare out into the
distance listening to the gulls cry while watching the crash of the waves on
the nearby beach. As I think to myself
how I could stay here forever, with her, I almost miss the sounds of
approaching boats. In that same instance
Lyn must have heard it too because she is suddenly standing in front of me with
her hand shading her eyes, squinting into the blazing sun, past the white sand
beach and scanning the blue water for wherever the sound is coming from. When her gaze finally settles on the two dark
objects I spotted moments ago rushing across the water toward the beach in
front of us, panic floods across her face.
Lyn scrambled across the room pushing me along the way as
she spoke with hurried words. “You can’t
be here. They cannot find you here.” For
a moment I thought I was wrong about her.
I was second guessing the idea that she was different than the other
women I have come to know as of late. I
was grabbing for my clothes and boots but froze in place as she grabbed her gun
off the dresser. We stood there in
silence staring at one another. I could
swear she was struggling with something in her head. Finally she spoke, “Well hurry up damit! Get dressed; we need to get you hidden.” I swallowed hard in relief and jumped into my
pants. The roar of the boats was getting
closer as we scrambled out her door and down the walk way between all the heavy
green trees and tropical shrubs. She ran
in front of me barefoot, ducking here and there, only wearing her pink panties
and yellow camisole, determined to get someplace. Even though it was one of the most dangerous
moments of my life, me trusting this girl I just met a short time ago, I couldn’t
help but smile at how damn sexy she looked as she scampered ahead of me.
We got to a rundown garage where she hurriedly pulled the
door open and directed me to go around an old black car as she herself opened
its creaky door and scrambled into the driver side. I rushed to the passenger door and began
scrambling inside myself when she looked at me with a cockeyed stare and
smiled. “No sir, this thing don’t go nowhere,
you need to be pushing.” I looked her
quizzically as she dropped the gear shift into drive. “Well hurry up!” she yelled as she pushed
against the steering wheel while digging her bare feet into the ground for
traction. Thank god it was as small car
and really light because she already had it moved about 5 feet by the time I
got to the back end. Just as I got ready
to throw my weight into she slammed on the brakes and I ran right into the
trunk face first. You could tell she did
a lot of things like this on her own. As
I stood there rubbing my nose, which stung like a mother fucker, she ran from
the car to where I was standing and started pushing me yet again. I stumbled back confused, my eyes still
watering from the smack on my nose and then I realized her intent. Below where I had just stood was what seemed
to be a door which led into the floor.
She tossed it open and told me to get in. I did so quickly ignoring the
random thought that flashed through my head of how this is what Dorothy’s
family must have felt like as they hid in the basement one stormy Kansas day. When I was all the way down she slammed the
door behind me drowning me in a hazy dust filled darkness.
My heart was racing as I peered out through one of the small
cracks in the floor. Between blinding
glints of sunlight and shadows I watched as she intently moved about, kicking
some dirt and whatever junk was piled around the floor onto the door I had just
been shoved through. I then watched,
breathing heavily as she leaned into the car pushing it back to its original
position. She then squatted on all fours
by the front bumper, her eyes desperately trying to find me, when they did she
exhaled deeply and we both stared yet again at one another in silence. The pause was gut wrenching and I could feel
the thump in my chest pounding, afraid it would echo loud enough to give me
away. She shook her head and flashed a
soft smile. “Don’t move, don’t make a
sound until I come back for you. You understand?” She asked as she backed away. I shook my head yes and stood there in a dark
hole watching as she rose from her feet and walked to the garage door. The last thing I saw was her standing there
backlit, bathed in bright sunlight. Her dark
hair hung across her shoulders as she stood with her hand on the door. She shook her head once more and closed the
door sending me into nearly complete darkness.
Trust
(Part Two)
I guess the weapons they had slung over their shoulders gave it away first, never mind the fact that they were wearing the standard military cargo pants and boots. I could not make out their faces because of the blinding sun that flooded in behind them. My heart fell further and I felt trapped. Where was Lyn I wondered to myself? Did she give me away? I nervously scanned my surroundings for a weapon, anything I could use to defend myself and settled on a rusty foot long pipe. I guess you could say settled was not really the case, it was all that I could find at the bottom of my hidey hole . I clutched it with my left hand; squeezing ever so tight, ready to do whatever it took and returned to staring out the crack at the two, I could only hope, unsuspecting soldiers. I surveyed them for some sign of hope or safety and still could not really make out their faces. On top of everything I could not hear what they were saying due to the fact that the wind had picked up a bit. It rushed through the garage making a slight rumble. Things were not really going my way at the moment and they looked like they maybe were about to get worse.
The conversation the two women were having ended quickly and they both turned to face the car. I swallowed hard as they walked in my direction. “Shit, shit, they know I am here.” I thought. And by their actions I was right. One moved to the rear of the vehicle and the other opened the driver’s side door, I could tell the gear had been shifted into drive by the way the car rocked forward just a tad. “Ok, Push now!” the woman on the driver’s side yelled and the car rolled forward almost effortlessly. I thought I recognized the voice but dismissed it. My heart was racing, pounding in my chest. I was a rat with no place to run. I ground my teeth, ready to spring into action. I was Jimmy Cagney and they were not going to get me without a damn good fight. They would not take me alive! I put my back against the wall and held my rusty pipe at the ready as one of the soldiers began grabbing at the door. A second or two passed and it was opened. I was revealed to those who stood before me. I was betrayed. I was lost.
The initial shock took a few seconds to fade but then reality set in as all three of us stood in what I can only describe as shock. There stood Lyn in dressed in full military uniform with another soldier. A woman I had never met. I stared up at Lyn and managed to mouth one word, why? In that moment her friend, companion, coworker, whatever you want to call her, backed up a foot and pulled her rifle out quicker than I could ever react to. “What the fuck Lyn” she shouted as she aimed her weapon at me. “Wait, wait, wait” Lyn shouted as she stepped between us. “Cassidy this is what I was trying to tell you.” The soldier, who I now knew as Cassidy looked at Lyn and then back to me several times in shock. I decided to use that moment to scramble up out of the hole and maybe make my escape. That was the dumbest decision I could make at that very moment. Cassidy quickly turned to me and had the butt of her rifle up so fast that I could do nothing but take the lightening fast blow that came sailing into my face. I crumbled like a wet rag doll right back into my dark hole. It was the second time today that I was left with my nose stinging and eyes watering.
I looked up through blurred eyes to see Lyn again standing between me and Cassidy. They were screaming at one another but I could not make out the words due to my head ringing and me being a bit more concerned with the blood seeping from my nose. At that moment for no particular reason I thought to myself just right my mom had been years ago; it seems I really was a bad judge of character. A few seconds passed and the ringing in my head stopped and it seemed so did the yelling. When the cobwebs had cleared I glanced up again to see that they were talking calmly now and the one who bloodied my already sore nose no longer had her rifle trained against me. I stood holding my nose and listened to what they were saying. “Cassidy you know we both have always said what they, what we are doing is wrong. We always say if we could change things we would.” Lyn seemed to pleading her case, possibly my case. Cassidy shook her head before she spoke. “It was just talk Lyn. I never really thought we’d actually act on it or ever in a position like this.” Looking over at me she laughed and finished by saying “I never thought we’d actually have to deal with a guy.” They both turned and faced me neither of them saying a word for a few moments, even the wind had died down making it oddly and overwhelmingly quiet. “What now Cassidy?” asked Lyn finally breaking the silence. I stood staring and wondering the very same thing as both women stared back at me not saying a word.
Trust
(Part Three)
Eventually something has to happen I thought to myself,
standing there at the mercy of these two heavily armed women. No sooner had I thought that than had Cassidy
walked away turning her back on me. Was
this my chance? I looked at Lyn for any
clue as to what was going on and all she did was motion with her hands for me to
stay where I was while she mouthed the words “Please Wait’ and so I did. I really had no reason to listen to her but I
took the chance and hoped for the best. I
turned my attention back to Cassidy who had walked over to a work bench at the
opposite end of the garage and was pawing around on it. Soon she turned around and walked back toward
us, or rather me and when she got close threw something at me. I flinched not really knowing what it was and
when the rag hit me in the chest I am sure I looked pretty confused. “I am sorry about the nose. It’s been a while
since I have actually dealt with a guy who I am supposed to be nice to.” She
said with a sarcastic smile but I could see the distrust in her eye. I knew that when she said it’s been a while
what really she really meant was she had never had to deal with it. I started to wipe some of the blood, my
blood, off of my hands and face. The bright side was at least now I wasn't
really bleeding anymore but boy would I be sore tomorrow.
“Do you want to talk or something Cass?” Lyn ask in a pleading
voice. Cassidy stared at her for a
moment and then shook her head yes while saying “Sure but not here. Not in
front of him.” Cassidy then turned and
squatted down by the hole I was standing in.
“Do me a favor Don Juan and hand me that.” She said pointing to the pipe
I had in my hand earlier. I looked in
Lyn’s direction nervously searching for a sign it was going to be ok, any sign,
when I saw nothing I turned my attention back to Cassidy. “I’m not gonna do anything to you I promise;
at least not for now. “ She continued as she held her hand out waiting. I reached down and grabbed the pipe. It’s not
like I really had a choice. They both
had rifles and lord knows what else and the rusty pipe I had desperately clung
to earlier was not really going to save me.
As I handed it to her she explained what was going to happen next. “Me and Ashlyn here are going to go have a
talk.” You could tell that Cassidy never called Lyn by her full name because
Lyn kind of startled a bit upon hearing her name. “While we are chatting it up I can’t have you
running around being seen by anyone else so I am going to close you back down
in your little hole ok?” she asked as she locked eyes with me. We both stared at one another for a moment in
silence as I wrestled with any way to get out of this situation. Finally I resigned myself to the fact that
nothing was going to happen other than what she had just told me and quietly
said “ok.”
Cassidy stood up backing away and reached for the door. As she began closing it and sending me yet
again into darkness Lynn tried to reassure me everything would be ok. “I will be back in a bit Jack. Don’t worry everything will be OK you can
trust me. “Her voice waned a bit when she added “You can trust Cassidy.” It was then I realized why Cassidy wanted the
pipe because I watched as she slid it across the handles locking me in my
cage. She shook the door a bit
attempting to open it ensuring the pipe would hold it good and tight. When she was satisfied she walked away, smacking
her hands, cleaning off a bit of the rust and dust. In what became a usual practice for me I
stood staring out a random crack in the floor, looking on as the women rolled the
car back over the place I was standing.
It was at that moment that something struck me as a bit odd. Why did Cassidy have to lock me in here if
they were planning to push the car back over the door? It’s not like I was going to lift the door
and with it the entire car and somehow manage to hold it over me while I
escape. It was then I really understood
how much Cassidy did not trust me.
Again time passed slowly and the glint of the mid day sun
faded dropping me further into the shadows.
Eventually the soft blue of dusk slipped into the dark of night. It seemed like forever ago when I last saw
the girls. As I sat on the ground
bracing myself for the possibility of a long night stuck in a hole. As I shifted
trying to get comfortable I heard the crunch of footsteps approaching the
garage. The door slid open and when I stood I was able to make out a single
solitary dark figure. Every ounce of me
wanted to yell out into the night “Lyn is that you?” but I thought better of
it. Soon the car door opened and the
vehicle lurched forward. After a few
feet it stopped hard as if someone had slammed on the breaks. The car door slammed shut and whoever it was
approached the door I stood under and began opening it. I heard the pipe being slid off and then a loud
clang echoed through my ears as it dropped to the floor. In the next instant the door was tossed open and
a light turned on, blinding me.
Eventually my eyes adjusted to the sudden intense beam of light and I saw
her there kneeling, waiting with a smile.
“It really must suck being in a hole all day huh? I bet you really gotta piss.” Cassidy said
offering her hand to me, the one not holding the flashlight. I hesitated at first and she clicked tsk tsk
a few times and then said “It’s OK I have no plans on hurting you Mr. Jack.” I took her hand and she helped step from the
hole. She was uncharacteristically
strong for a girl her size. “Let’s get
you inside and cleaned up. I bet you could use a shower. But first help me push the car back in place.”
She said as she shut the door and kicked the pipe off to the side. I was a bit off kilter and confused wondering
where Lyn was but decided my best bet was to play along. After I helped here she told me “Let’s go”
and we walked silently, together, up the path I had rushed down earlier that
day, headed back to the house where I was hoping to find Lyn.
As I walked back into the house, the very one I had ran from early this
morning in such panic and distress, the first thing I noticed was an amazing
smell hanging in the air. The lights
were dim and a bit of music played softly in the background. I turned questioningly toward Cassidy who was
standing behind me in the doorway; she brushed past me leaning toward the wall
and flipped on the switch. “Don’t worry
loverboy, Lyn will be back later tonight she’s on duty right now and well we
gotta keep our appearances up you know? Are you hungry?” She didn’t wait for my response as she walked
out of the hallway into what I knew was the kitchen from having been there the
last few nights. I stepped into the kitchen
and spotted some covered pans on the stove that were simmering and puffing
steam into the air. At least now I know
where that wonderful smell was coming from, I thought to myself as I surveyed
the area and watched Cassidy rummage around in the freezer.
“Lyn never did tell me how you all still manage to have
water and electricity around here.” I said trying to make small talk and not seem
be so on guard. Cassidy turned to me
holding out a bag of something brown and frozen and I took it. “You are an inquisitive one aren’t you?” she
said as she grabbed a towel from above the sink. “Use this for your damn nose. It’s probably a little too late but whatever
works right?” she looked at me for a moment as I took the towel from her not
saying anything. She shook her
head. “I am sorry about your nose” she
managed to say as I pressed the frozen brown stuff wrapped in the towel against
my face. “You just really caught me off guard
and fucking Lyn knows I don’t handle surprises well.” I told her not to worry I have had
worse. She laughed a bit and the tension
between us eased some. “For some reason
I can believe that.” She said turning her attention toward the stove and the
contents in the pots.
About forty five minutes later or so we both sat at the
table, our stomachs full from Cassidy’s cooking. To be honest I had not had a meal like that
in years. Lyn had managed to scrounge up
some food over the last week but it was nothing compared to what we just ate. Cassidy and I even managed to have a decent
conversation over dinner and I was beginning to realize she was really not all
that bad. I mean how could she be if her
and Lyn were friends or even roommates for that matter? She had told me that the local baroness used
to actually work for the city of Key West and that since they were so isolated
she knew the grid very well, whatever that meant. It turns out having swamps, the everglades
and all that other stuff surrounding them the town of Key West had become a
pretty self sufficient place well before the chaos and wars that came about because
of Hepatitis X. As luck would have it a
lot of the women around here knew a thing or two about how the systems worked.
After dinner Cassidy steered me toward the shower. I was beginning to feel pretty damn
spoiled. When I was finished I toweled
myself off as I stared into the mirror examining my beat up face. “Man she got you good didn’t she Jack?” I
asked my reflection while smiling.
Eventually I dressed and returned to the kitchen. Cassidy had already cleaned everything up and
I am sure put away something for Lyn. “Well
it’s my turn for a shower. You think I
can trust you to not do anything stupid for a few minutes? Or do I have to remind you that all the
patrols are in and this part of the island is just loaded with soldiers who
would love to come across you?” Cassidy
asked with a bit of mock concern on her face.
“Yeah, Yeah I get it don’t run off.” I said as she was walking out of
the room. “That’s a good boy” I heard her
say sarcastically as she vanished from site.
After a short while I found my way to the back porch. It was well hidden amongst the palm trees and
shrubs and it had a clear view of the ocean. I figured I’d be safe sitting
there. I stared out into the water wondering
when Lyn would be back. I replayed the
past few days in my mind as I sat there in the darkness listening to wave after
wave crash on the beach in front of me.
I was startled back to reality a short while later when
Cassidy spoke from behind me. I think
she noticed I jumped a little bit because she made a comment about how for
someone who is always running and hiding I did not do a good job of keeping a
watchful eye. I could not respond
because I was too busy staring at her.
She stood near me extending her hand out offering a beer but that’s not
why I was tongue tied. I was shocked by
what she was wearing or rather what she was not wearing. Her head was wrapped in a towel and she wore
a cutoff t-shirt that clung to her breasts. Her dark panties stood out against
her long slender pale legs and I was at a loss for words. As I stared at her speechless for a moment I
think it finally dawned on her. “Oh shit this is gonna be an issue now isn’t
it?” She asked. “Dammit take this.” She
demanded handing me two beers and then she left the room. In a few minutes she was back but this time
she was wearing some light pink pajama pants.
She stuck her hand out and I handed her one of the beers. “Well here’s to things changing around here”
she said as she clinked my bottle in an unexpected toast and padded barefoot
across the porch in front of me and flopped down in the chair next to me.
She broke the awkward silence after a few moments had passed
by explaining how she has not had to worry about what she was wearing or not
wearing in over ten years. “You should
have seen your face loverboy.” She
laughed out loud. I began to laugh
myself a bit. “Well now that one will be
a story for Lyn won’t it?” I kind of
trailed off my laughter a bit and took a sip of my beer. When I looked over at Cassidy her smile faded
and she turned a bit serious. “You do
realize you can’t stay here right?” As her
words washed over me, a reality I already knew settled in. She was right. “It’s not safe. We have so many soldiers coming and going you’re
bound to get caught here. Lyn and I would
get in so much trouble. Hell we might even
be killed if they find you.” I shook my
head in agreement. “That is why we are
not staying here Cassidy.” Both Cassidy and I turned to see Lyn standing in the
doorway. She continued with her
statement. “That is why we are getting
the hell out of this place all of us.”
I, as it seemed to be the only thing I did lately, sat speechless. Cassidy on the other had a very wicked smile
cross her lips as she looked up at Lyn. “Are
we now?” she asked with a bit of excitement on her voice. Lyn smiled back just as wicked. “I think it’s
time don’t you?” She brought her own
beer up to her lips and took a sip and stared off into the ocean while we all
sat in silence each pondering what would happen next.
Be sure to come back and see what trouble these three get into next in their ongoing exploits of the "Chasing Tomorrow" series.
Ashlyn Weaver
Jack Steiner
Cassidy Welch
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