an eerie appearance. 'The storm. We were in the restroom and baseball-sized hailstones were clobbering the roof. The sound was hurting my ears, and I could feel…' At that point, I trailed off mumbling incoherently.
'Good. That's right. We were all hunkered down in there and-'
'I felt my insides tighten,' I said.
'Yes, that's right. Then you stared into Hope's eyes for the longest time.' Sela said.
'Yeah, my mind focused sharply and I knew exactly what to do. I remember handing you the horse's reins and walking out the door. From that point, it's really fuzzy.'
'You went outside into the storm. Hailstones were smashing the ground all around you and they were getting bigger by the second. They became the size of basketballs. I'd never seen anything so awful.'
'Yes, I remember that now. Then a strength-no, more like a determination-flooded my muscles and…um… a…a force raced through my veins.'
'You raised your-'
'My arms. I raised them and shouted something. I don't exactly remember the words. It felt good though and that force inside me seemed to fly out of my fingertips.'
'Three huge hailstones nearly flattened you like a pancake. They made craters several inches deep in the dirt. And the storm ceased immediately. You made the storm stop.'
I looked at her incredulously. 'I don't understand.'
'Heckel, you made the storm stop. I saw you. You lifted your arms up to the black skies and shouted something to make it immediately cease.'
'That's not possible.'
'What if you did? Think about it. Suppose Madeline's evil was behind that storm.'
'She sent that storm?' I asked as I stood up to walk around. Jerky lifted her head to stare at me.
'Considering all that she's done, I don't think it's too much of a stretch to see that she is capable of conjuring that horrible tempest. Remember when we first saw it, how bizarre and unusual it looked.'
I nodded my head in agreement. 'So, why did she send it at us?'
'I'm beginning to think it was at you after seeing how you fought back and how the storm dissipated from your command.'
The light from the moon diminished as clouds streamed across it. Cricket songs sounded particularly happy, perhaps enjoying the pleasant warm autumn night. I paced around the fire.
'Heckel? Are you all right?' Sela asked, getting up and walking toward me. The moon intensified as she approached. The soft glow filled her face, casting a luminescence that was alluring and comforting. She put her arm around my waist.
'I'm fine. Perhaps, a little confused.'
Sela turned me to face her, and kissed my forehead. 'Yes, you are and things will work out. After what I witnessed today, I'm convinced that we can bring Madeline down.'
I hugged her tighter. The warmth from her body washed over me. I leaned in and kissed her soft lips. She kissed back with an inviting response as her tongue gently explored and traced my lip. Her hand stroked my back. Breaking the kiss, she brought her mouth to my ear and whispered, 'Make love to me.'
A gentle breeze brushed across our faces and the musty, earthy fallen leaves filled the air. I took her hand and led her back to the fire. She lay down on top of her sleeping bag as I put several logs on the fire. Immediately, the warmth of the burning logs filled the camp sight. Sela reached up, took my hand and with a loving smile, pulled me down to her.
The cricket songs diminished as the night wore on. Our lovemaking lasted into the early hours of the morning well past the moon setting over the treetops.
'Just incredible. I haven't felt this alive for a very long time,' I said, stroking Sela's hair.'
'Me, too. There's such a loving warmth cascading through every inch of my body.'
We held each other as we went to sleep. Before I drifted off, I looked one more time out at the rest stop, noticing the twisted metal roof and shattered windows. Slowly, I shook my head in disbelief.
Chapter 10
'Ouch,' I yelled, sitting up. Jerky stood in front of me with what I swear was a grin. 'Why'd you do that?' I rubbed my ear where the cat had bitten. 'I sure hope you didn't draw any blood.'
'Guess she wanted you to get up.' Sela put her arm around my waist and pulled me back down next to her.
'Well, she needs to learn a better way. A nice gentle kiss would do.'
Sela kissed my ear and the warmth of her breath sent shivers down my spine. I turned my head and kissed her passionately. We hugged each other and felt warm. There was a slight nip in the autumn air, probably a warning that winter would be arriving soon.
'So, back on the road today?' I asked.
'Yup. We need to get farther south as soon as possible. This nice weather isn't going to last around this area much longer.'
Sela took her clothes from the bottom of her sleeping bag and got dressed. I couldn't help but stare and admire her. She smiled at me. 'See anything you like?'
I growled and wrapped my arms around her neck. 'You are the most gorgeous woman I've ever met.'
Sela giggled as I nuzzled her neck. 'Flattery will get you-'
Jerky hissed, arching her back. She was looking down the road from where we had come.
'Okay, time to go. Our early warning system has just been initiated,' I said, immediately pulling on my clothes.
We wasted no time packing up. Within a few minutes, Sela had both horses saddled and packed. As soon as I was on Hope, the horse knelt down to let Jerky jump onto her back. I didn't even have to give her the command. The horse could sense the expediency of the situation. Before Sela got on Tempest, she kicked dirt on the remaining fire embers. Jerky was still looking down the road and hissing.
Before I could say anything, Sela jumped on Tempest and they took off. We kept a brisk run for a long while. At one point, I could see that Jerky had calmed down and was sleeping. She liked to rest on my shoulder. I was relieved she wasn't too heavy of a cat. Her breathing and warmth felt good on the back of my neck.
After several miles, Sela slowed down, reached into one of her saddlebags and pulled out a large chunk of jerky. She handed a piece to me and gave Jerky a smaller one.
The morning sun had melted the slight tinge of frost on the grass. It was looking like another perfect warm Indian summer day was shaping up. As we came to a crossroads, Sela pulled a map out of her saddlebag. 'I think we're in Kansas.'
'That's funny. It reminds me of
Sela crinkled her forehead and said slowly, 'And how is that funny?'
'I know. I'm weird. I don't know why when anyone ever says 'Kansas,' I always think of that line.'
'You're not weird, and if Kansas makes you laugh…that's just fine. We need laughter,' Sela said with a grin on her face. 'At any rate, I think this is highway 59 and it will lead us down to I-70 and Topeka. We can then jump onto I-335.'
As she was so nonchalantly giving us directions, it reminded me of one of the significant horrific events that took place shortly after that bloody Super Bowl.
'Road rage,' I said softly.
'I don't think we'll encounter any of that. No one's been doing much driving lately,' Sela replied, looking intently at the map.
'No, I was just remembering all the road rage that happened during that spring.'
