Todd kept looking nervously out the window. The owner of the cabin could come home any time. He found the cabin by accident, and not being one to pass up opportunity when it knocked, Todd, broke in.
He wasn't a thief. Telling himself that while he ransacked the small cabin helped a little. He was an opportunist. The porch light was on and the fire was banked low in the fireplace. He knocked, but when no one answered the door, he jimmied it with his knife. Easy enough, the lock was the old button style and the deadbolt was unlocked.
"That'll teach'em," he justified it to himself....again.
The cabin was warm and homey. These people were doing all right. Life was pretty hard for most people. After the Y2K1 blackout eleven years ago, life changed overnight for everyone. Todd kept himself alive and free by constantly moving from place to place. Never staying long enough for the law, such as it was, to catch him. He was no thief, though he did have the skills. It wasn't those skills that kept him wary of the police, but the fact that he was just 17. Anyone under 18 had to be in the custody of a parent or some sort of guardian. Todd had no one. He had been on his own since 14. He just gypsy'd from place to place learning how to survive. He watched and learned from others like him. He was doing fine, so he told himself. If caught he would be placed in state custody. Today, that meant a camp or institutionalized school system, till he came of age.
The cupboards were full and Todd wished he could spend the time to sample...everything. His stomach snapped and roared with hunger. No time. Someone could return any minute. The place had a definite masculine feel to it and that helped hasten his departure. He did grab an apple and a handful of cookies and jammed them into his pockets as he rushed out the door to his bike. On a whim he pushed the bike to the detached garage and peeked in the dusty windows.
"Score!"
Several cans of gasoline were on the shelf. Or that's what the can read. Todd tested the door and found it unlocked. Not trusting his good fortune he hurriedly grabbed the cans and taking off the cap took a sniff.
"No _s_h_i_t_!" It was
clean gas. He emptied a few cans into the dirt bike's tank. Guessing
it to be now full, he put the cans back and closed the door. Paranoid
that he had stayed too long, he quickly put on his now loaded backpack
and jumped on the kick-start. The bike came to life on the first kick
and forgoing his helmet that was strapped to the handlebars, Todd
gave the little cabin a last wistful look and took off out into the
night on one wheel. Todd's good fortune ended as lightning split
the night along with a clash of thunder close behind. Rain came down
in buckets. He didn't get too far before he was drenched and regretting
not putting on the helmet. He wasn't about to now, not with a soaked
head. His leather jacket was keeping most of the wet from him but
his pants were soaked. Wishing for just one night warm and in a comfortable
bed, he leaned over the bars to try to cut some of the cold and wet.
He had already been fighting a cold, this was not going to help. He
needed to get off the road and under cover and soon. The wet, dirt
road was rapidly becoming very greasy and forcing him to a much slower
speed than he would have liked. Todd's great and only love in life
was bikes...speed and danger not necessary in that order, but he did
have the commons sense of where and when to play. Dark, slick, and
unfamiliar narrow mountain roads were not the place. While he may
have slowed down some he was still going far too fast for the conditions. He
came around a blind turn, right into headlights....close...too close.
No time to slow down..only one choice and that was off road. Todd
dropped gears and his foot to try to swerve the tail end of the bike
around his hip into a semi-slide to avoid a collision. He is a good
rider one of the best but even that was not enough to help him here.
The road was too slick to give him any bite. He avoided the truck
but by doing so only left him the woods to drive into. He prayed he
could stop the bike or lay it down before he hit something. Not a
chance. He hit one big bump in the dark and he was air borne. Jared
drove home frustrated. The bridge had washed out from all the rain.
He'd have to wait several days now to get to town. Not that it was
any major emergency, he had more than enough food and water and beer
to feed him for weeks, plenty of firewood around. It was just a
_d_a_m_n_ed long drive from the cabin to the river just to have to
turn around. Especially in this weather. The mountain road back to
his cabin was narrow and had lots of sharp curves and drop offs. He
carried a treasured stock of CD's with him. Out of the big cities
there few radio stations operating. Filing through the CD changer
he found a favorite and sang along. Lucky he was the only one in the
truck, he laughed to himself and jammed away with Aerosmith. He was
just getting into it and relaxing when around the blind curve at breakneck
speed materialized a motorbike Jared slammed the brakes and cranked
the wheel, nearly driving up the embankment. "What the hell....._d_a_m_n_
fool..." Jared was amazed that he didn't tag the bike. The rider
was good and maneuvered out of the way just in time. Looking in the
door mirror Jared saw it fly into the woods with just a flash of red
from the taillight and then nothing. Ramming the truck into reverse
he backed up to the edge of the road where he saw the bike disappear.
He stopped and jumped out with his flashlight. Todd hurt everywhere.
Not dead...hurt too _d_a_m_n_ much for that. He landed bad, something
was really wrong. It was more out of adrenaline than anything that
got him up on his feet albeit unsteady feet. He saw the bike in the
dark several yards away. He was thrown quite a distance. His head
felt detached; he was pretty dazed. He tried to lift his hand to his
head and nearly screamed looking at his left arm and shoulder. His
arm hung useless at his side. His shoulder had an odd angle to it.
It was out of joint. He had seen it many times at races and Grav-games.
It had just never been him before. He let lose some colorful language.
He felt sick to his stomach it hurt so much. He had to get out of
here, too, the driver of the truck might come looking for him. He
could see the flashlight from the driver. Panicking he tried to pick
up the bike and did scream. and cuss with great imagination. The pain
forced him to his knees. Jared was relived as well as surprised
that the rider was still alive. "Good now I can kill the stupid
sonofabitch." He could hear some inventive language. Definite distress
there, shining his light he saw that about 60 feet into the trees
the bike was on its side, but looked intact and the rider was holding
his shoulder in obvious pain. The other man saw him and panicked.
Grabbing for the bike he cried out and dropped it and dropped to his
knees. Just as he reached the bent-over figure the man jerked to his
feet. "God...don't touch me...don't touch me...don't touch me!!!!!!!" Jared
was stunned by the violent action that only caused more pain. The
voice was shrill and sounded very young. He couldn't tell anything
about the appearance of the other man. He was a mess of mud, leaves
and pine needles. Pain distorted the face as well. All he could tell
was that he was not a big man, about 5'8. The dim flashlight was of
little use. But what he could see was that the shoulder was either
broken or dislocated. Jared stuck out his hand. "C'mon. You're
hurt. Let me help you out of here." Again Jared, tried to reach
for the smaller man. "Sta..stay away...I'm all right....Just get
out of here and leave me be!" He didn't blame the man for being
afraid. There were lots of reasons to be afraid these days. Leave
him out here? There was no way he was going to leave a hurt man or
anything hurt out in this weather. Besides he sounded like he had
a cold or maybe a broken nose. The smaller man was walking around
in an agitated manor. Looking at Jared, then at a tree close to him.
Jared, could almost read the man's mind. He could tell that he was
going to ram his shoulder against the tree to set it. Man's seen way
too many movies. He'd no doubt just make it worst. He reached for
the uninjured arm only to have it jerked away again. This little movement
cost the smaller man a big price. He let out a loud cry and fell back
to his knees. Jared seized his chance and in a firm yet gentle way,
laid the stranger on the wet ground. He was easy to maneuver, pretty
much out of it from the pain. He held the flashlight in his mouth
as he ran his hands over the shoulder. Yep..definitely dislocated.
Collarbone didn't feel broken, the shoulder was just out of the socket.
Macho Man here was about to pass out. He could see the pain-glazed
sleepy look in the eyes. White teeth bearing down on a muddy lip against
the pain. He had to get him out of here. He lightly slapped the
man's face, not hard, just enough to get his focus. "Hey, buddy,
c'mon..look at me...good. The shoulder is dislocated. I need to set
it back before I get you out of here. Todd stared at the big man
in horror. Shook his head vehemently no. Pain roared in his head,
he couldn't think straight. He felt like he was going to pass out
or puke any minute. "No! Juss.. < cough> .just _f_u_c_k_'n leave
me be..." No dice. He was rolled over onto his stomach, face down
in the mud. "Sorry, buddy. Can't....no.. I won't do that. Hang on
now." His left arm was pulled out away from his body and he felt
a hand on his left shoulder blade, before he could say or do anything
that hand pushed hard. The shoulder was set back. It was a sickening
sound and feeling as it did so. Todd screamed and cussed just as loud.
Pain crashed over him. Then receded to a sharp ache. He was helped
up to his feet again by the stranger. The man was big, well over six
foot by at least 2 inches. A weird feeling began at his feet and worked
its way up his legs. Todd tried to say something but instead just
pitched forward. Jared nearly didn't catch him in time. Jared felt
a moment's panic when the slight form he held went suddenly still.
He was pretty relieved that the guy had just passed out. With some
effort on Jared's part, he loaded the rider in the truck and covered
him with his jacket that he had left in the truck. Both men were soaked
to the bone. Jared took the time to load the bike and the man's backpack
in the truck, too. The pack weighed a ton. Jared saw the helmet
still attached to the bars. Wouldn't do a _d_a_m_n_ bit of good on
the handlebars. He could have had his brains all over the forest floor.
Once everything was loaded and tied down he quickly headed for the
cabin. Todd had never been so cold. He woke up to horrible chills.
He was racked with them. His teeth were clenched so tight he thought
for sure he'd shatter a tooth. His muscles were so tight with shaking
making his shoulder throb. Even during all this he had a hard time
staying with it. He was so light headed. "Cold...sss...sa...so cold." "Hang
in there, pal. We're almost there." A deep voice rumbled above him.
He opened his eyes and found himself in a truck with his head laying
in the lap of......who was that....oh, right..the dude.. the man in
the woods. Jared looked down at the man in his lap. Mud and leaves
caked and drying on the face. It looked to be a young face, too. Younger
than his own 25 years. The poor wretch was shivering so hard he was
nearly convulsing. He rubbed the bare hands. They were like ice. He
needed to get this man warm soon. Twenty minutes later he pulled up
to the cabin. Right away he could see all his cupboard doors open
through the window. "Aw.._s_h_i_t_! Not now." Not really up for
chasing some squatters or worst, plain looter's, Jared, got out of
the truck and grabbed the tire iron. "I'll be right back. All right,
stay put." "Waa waa..where th...the..._f_u_c_k_...am..am I ga ga
gona go." Todd tried to fire back, but it came out a near whisper
as the truck door closed on him. Jared crept up the steps to the
porch with no creaking. He knew each loose board. Slowly opening the
door just as silently, he could see the muddy footprints that were
now drying. Easing up a bit he quietly checked each room of the small
cabin. No one around. Whoever it was long gone. Todd closed his
eyes again. But not before a silent deal made with the big guy upstairs. "A
little help, Lord. I can't get out of this one by myself. I just need
a little help here." "Okay, pal, ready? Here we go, let me help
you out." The big dude was back, Todd groaned inwardly. "Not the
kind of help I had in mind, Lord." "What was that?" Jared got
no answer, the man was out again. He carried him in like a child.
Easy enough to do. He weighed very little. Maybe around 150. He grabbed
an old quilt and wrapped his burden in it and placed him on the couch.
He added more wood to the fire and stoked it up high. Embers crackled
to life with a hunger. Going into the bathroom, he turned on the shower.
One of Jared's pride and joys in his cabin was the sauna he built.
That, too, he heated. That would get the stranger's bones warm fast.
Undressing himself as he walked back into the living room he found
his guest still shivering in the blanket. Picking him up again he
took him into the bedroom and laid him on his big bed. Unwrapping
the blanket he began to peel off the wet and muddy clothes. The guy
had to be a kid as small as he was. Taking care to be as gentle as
possible with the shoulder he removed the leather jacket revealing
a tattered plaid cotton shirt with a tee shirt under that. Under that,
was smooth, lightly muscled shoulders, hairless chest area and a torso
a little on the ribby side, all icy cold. Each upper arm was tattooed
with a tribal band. The bands went across the toned muscles and around
to the soft underside of the arms. Making complete bands. "Oh we
are a little tough guy." The man never made a peep as he was undressed.
Man? The more Jared uncovered the stronger his suspicion about the
man's age grew. Taking the opportunity he checked the faded label
on the jeans. Levis 560s and a size 32X34. There were a pair of compression
type shorts under the jeans. They had definitely seen better days.
He skinned them off, too. Not wholly disappointed with what was left.
Long legs with just enough toned muscle to keep them from the chicken
leg category peppered with minimal fine dark hair. And an area that
made him want to rethink this age theory again, even turtled. Snapping
out of it, he bent and picked up their clothes and dumped them in
a basket by the door. He'd sort them out later. Todd cracked an
eye open. His shivering woke him again. He popped open the other eye...wide.
Before him was the biggest naked man he ever saw. Not big as in girth,
but in the shoulders, chest, back, legs... just.....big....everywhere.
He moved like a big cat, muscles rippled and flexed. Made his mouth
dry for several reasons not the least of which was what did this man
have planned. He was in no shape for anything let alone self-defense. The
smell of steam turned his attention from fear to longing. As if on
cue the human tank walked over and not wasting time on pleasantries
he was hoisted up on his feet. "Think you can walk?" Stupid question.
His expression must have said so, it earned him a skeptical look.
Todd, didn't know how the man could have seen what statement he had
under all the dried mud. His face felt like it would crack any moment.
Todd tried to stand under his own power but he was shivering so much
he swayed badly. "Uh oh, thought so." Todd was upended over the
tanks massive shoulder and carted off like he weighed nothing to the
man. Right into the hot shower. He cried out at first when the hot
water hit his very cold skin. It hurt and he tried to get away. But
the man held him under the showerhead. "Ahhhh! ouch..._f_u_c_k_..._d_a_m_n_
that stings!!!" Jared held him under the shower. He came fully awake
when the water hit his skin. Jared sympathized with him but held him
there nonetheless. His small size belied his strength, something to
keep note of. Jared had little trouble holding him. The air should
have turned blue at the language that came from those mud-crusted
lips. A few moments later he relaxed his hold as the smaller man
stopped struggling and gave into the heat. Thinking nothing of it,
Jared grabbed the bar of soap and worked up a good lather and began
to scrub. He half expected a fight; he would have backed down if there
were any offense taken. Instead the lighter frame leaned against him,
he guessed as much for support as warmth. The guy was still shivering
badly. He worked from head to waist. He was shocked at the face
he revealed under all the dirt. Younger than he had guessed, a lot
younger. And he was still shivering too hard to talk. It was going
to be morning before he got a chance to start asking some questions.
Todd was feeling very weak and his legs ached and threatened to buckle
if he didn't sit. "Uh...um...I can't stand any more. I need to sit
down." Jared wrapped his arm under smaller man and supported him
long enough to rinse him clean, then bundled him up in a towel. "You're
not claustrophobic are you?" Jared asked. That was a strange question
Todd, thought. "No." Which came out as "Dough" with his stuffed nose. Todd
was then carried again over to what looked like a closet door. When
it was opened a wall of thick steam came out. Todd was taken inside
and laid down on a wooden bench. Wonderful, heavy, hot air surrounded
him. The bench was warm and had a pleasant odor to it. There were
four benches staggered in zigzag formations. Todd had never been in
anything like this. The man grabbed a wooden dipper of water and poured
it on a small box of what looked like rocks on the wall. The little
closet was immediately filled with heavy wet heat. Heaven. Soon
Todd was being vigorously rubbed and massaged. The man was taking
care around the shoulder and concentrating more on his legs. God,
it felt so good. Soon the chills that had been racking his body started
to let go of their hold under the heat and massage. He was breathing
a little better too. Not so stuffy and his shoulder ached less too.
He closed his eyes just for a moment. Jared heard the deep sigh
and felt the taught muscles start to relax and slowly stop the convulsive
shivering under his hands. Looking down into the face of the other
he saw that the kid was out again. Jared was worried that he might
have hit his head as groggy as he's been. He felt around the clean,
dark haired head. No, no noticeable bumps. But with the wreck the
kid had he was sure to be very sore tomorrow. Jared sat back on
a bench and let the heat soak into his own chilled body as he closed
his own eyes. A few moments later he got up and quietly left the sauna,
he kept the door cracked a bit so he could hear if he was needed.
Wrapped in a towel he padded barefoot to the bedroom and pulled out
a couple pairs of sweats and some clean socks. Pulling on a pair for
himself he tossed the other on the bed, the socks cut the chill from
the wood floor. He turned down the bedding and piled more quilts
on the down comforter just in case. He doubted that they would be
needed. His bed was nearly one big, warm, down pillow. He had a thick
goose down mattress pad over the top mattress and a huge down comforter
and fluffy down pillows. His philosophy was that because the world
outside was rough and harsh, his home should be the opposite. A safe
haven if you will. Returning to the sauna he didn't bother with
waking his guest, he just picked him up and toted him to the bed.
He unwrapped the towel from the trim hips and tugged on the sweats.
Way too big, but warm and dry. Jared checked him over once again,
still could not find any evidence of a concussion, shoulder seemed
to be staying in place, though he would need a sling for a while.
He would make up something for him tomorrow. For now he would just
let him sleep. The guy was totally out of fit. Must be all the pain
and cold caught up with him. Tucking him under the warm bedding, Jared
sat down on the bed and looked more closely at his patient. The
angles of his face were well defined. High cheek bones and a chiseled
chin. Hints of dimples as he worked his mouth in his sleep. His mouth
wide and full with the lower lip a little fuller. A small scar in
the corner of the upper lip did not detract from their appeal. Smooth,
unblemished skin, with some sparse stubble on the upper lip and jaw.
The nose was nicely shaped and definitely not broke, but stuffy from
the way he breathed. The dark hair had dried. Worn in an old style
too. Reminded Jared of an old CD jacket he had. What was the singer's
name?...Roy..Ron...Rob, yeah...that was it, Rob Thomas. The hair
was a rich brown in fact many shades of the dark color from copper
to near black. Thick and he could see it wanted to curl, especially
around the face and at the bangs and sides. The style just added to
his youthful appearance. Not able to resist brushing some of that
softness away from the full eyebrows that winged over the closed eyes.
Eyes he knew to be brown. Another small scar that ran the length of
one eyebrow. Making a tiny part in the brow. Eye lashes fluttered
in sleep. Thick and long enough to make any woman green with envy,
they even curled up at the tips. He could almost be considered pretty,
like the male models in the old Polo ads and commercials. Even with
dark circles under the eyes. Jared tore himself from the side of
the sleeping man and went into the kitchen. He stood shocked a moment
at the condition of the place. Then remembered that there had been
a break in. The cupboard doors were all open, drawer, too. He walked
around taking inventory. The front door had some small nicks in the
wood where someone had jimmied it with probably a knife. The only
items he knew to be missing were a flashlight, some canned goods,
and he couldn't find his can opener. Nothing of value was bothered.
Radio was still on the counter along with the small TV and VCR. All
goods that pay well on the black market. Steak knifes resting in the
block, all accounted for. All very odd. Stirring up the fire he went
about starting a load of laundry and brewing a pot of coffee and putting
everything to rights. He stubbed a socked toe on the man's back pack.
Having no qualms about it, Jared sat down on stool and went through
the pack. "Well. that little _s_h_i_t_..." Inside the pack, he
found his missing flashlight, can opener, and the missing canned goods
too. Shaking his head. The kid only stole what he needed to survive.
Jared dug deeper and came up with a small wraparound tool set, a couple
of worn shirts and jeans, string, a thin nylon camouflaged blanket
stamped US Army, some crude home-made fishing hooks, compass, some
old maps, electrical tape and some Band aids. This guy new how to
pack. He also found some old techno music CD's, a wallet and a small
folding picture frame. The photos were of a petite woman and a dark
tall man with a small child in what looked to be pre-black out days.
Pulling out one of the pictures he found the back dated 7/14/01. Definitely
better times. Must be his family. The wallet had a few dollars and
a handful of ID's. All with the same picture but different aliases
and birth dates. Ted Anders, Tre` Adams, Tim Arnold, Todd Ansley and
Tom Cruise! Who the hell was he going to fool with that one. All of
them from Tucson, Arizona. Comparing the date with the photo, guessing
the little kid to be about five or six he dismissed all but two possible
ID's. Todd age 17 soon to be 18 in about 6 months and Tom age 21.
No great puzzle there. Pouring himself a cup of hot coffee, he walked
back to the bedroom and looked in on his house guest. Leaning against
the bedroom door, Jared raised his mug in salute at Todd. "Hello,
Todd Ansley, what's your story man?" (To be Continued)
More stories by Frost Spinner