seat Madeline.
'Thank you, Quincy. Such good manners,' she said kissing him softly on the cheek as she sat down.
Quincy stumbled briefly as he sat down. He was either a bit tipsy from two glasses of Pendleton or her little kiss made him woozy.
Following dinner, it didn't take long to seduce Quincy. Madeline slowly undressed him. After taking off his shirt, she marveled and commented, 'Impressive abs. You have a six-pack. I don't think I've ever had a lover with such a physique.'
He blushed and thanked her. His lovemaking was very good, in fact, one of the best. Madeline was satisfied, very satisfied.
The next morning when she awoke, she felt the other side of the bed and discovered that Quincy had gotten up. Madeline frowned.
'Good morning, Miss Madeline. I have fresh coffee for you,' Quincy said, putting a steaming cup on the nightstand.
She reached over and grabbed him by the shirt. Pulling him down, Madeline then kissed him passionately.
'I'm sorry to interrupt this, but there is someone here to see you,' Quincy said.
'It better be good,' she said impatiently.
Quincy backed away from the bed and excused himself. Madeline got up, peeked out the window and saw three large men shuffling around outside the front RV door. She put on a bathrobe and told Quincy to ask the men in. Picking up the coffee, she took a big sip.
When Madeline walked into the front of the coach, the men were crammed onto the sofa. Standing near the dinette table, Madeline asked, 'Who are you and what do you want?'
All three men stood up clumsily and tipped their hats. Images of The Three Stooges flooded into her memory, and she almost giggled.
She told them to be seated as she topped off her mug with more hot coffee.
One of the men reported the status of the two massive armies waiting in Oregon. Another asked if she would be visiting the troops.
'Gentlemen, I appreciate your visit and I am very happy to know our soldiers are doing well. As for a visit, well, hmm…I don't know if that's going to be possible at this point. I have other more pressing matters to attend to. However, please send them my regards. Now, if there's nothing else for you to report, I'll bid you good day.'
The third man cautiously put up his hand as if he were the shy kid in first grade.
Madeline grinned. 'Yes, what is it?'
'What happens after the…um…battle?' he asked sheepishly.
'Excellent question,' she said pacing around the kitchen area. 'We begin a new world, one that is dominated and controlled by me. And I want you to know all my loyal soldiers will be rewarded with untold riches, property, and countries for that matter. We will rebuild the planet to serve…darkness. It is clear that humanity desires evil and has embraced it wholeheartedly over the years.'
Chapter 29
The morning we crossed into California, the weather felt especially warm and pleasant. Not only was the temperature perfect, but also everyone's upbeat spirits generated an air of optimism. Jerky rode on my shoulder as usual and for a while purred heavily in my ear.
'Are you going to do that all the way up California? I'll lose my hearing.'
The cat licked my ear and went to sleep.
I looked up to see a hawk circling high above.
'Heckel, I have something to tell you that might sound a bit strange,' Sela said as she positioned Tempest next to Hope to ride alongside.
'Strange? Sela, in case you haven't noticed, we've been hip-deep in strange for the last several months. Nothing you can tell me will sound strange. Trust me. My mind is so wide open you could drive a John Deere tractor through it.'
'See that hawk up there?' Sela asked.
'Yeah. I think it's been following us.'
'It's my guardian angel,' Sela said proudly.
I could tell she was dead serious. Hmm, now let's think about this for a minute. Strange? Yes, that would most certainly fall under the category of strange. Hard to believe? Maybe not, given our present circumstances.
'And how do you know that?' I asked calmly looking ahead.
For the next half hour or so, Sela described her encounter with Rose. When she was done, I looked over to see the hawk perched on her shoulder.
'This is Rose,' Sela said happily as if she were introducing her best friend.
I stared at the bird for a few moments and finally said, 'Pleased to meet you.'
'Jerky is your guardian angel,' Sela reported matter-of-factly.
'Really? Hmm, that would make a lot of sense.' Jerky nipped my ear again as if confirming what I just said.
As the morning lingered on, Sela related more about what Rose had told her regarding the additional help in the form of guardian angels.
'All people going into the battle will have their very own guardian angel at their side. That will double our force,' Sela said confidently. 'That's the extra help I asked for. Isn't that exciting?'
'Yes, it is. However, I wonder if we should keep this quiet for a while. Information like this might be a bit… um…'
'What?'
'The term
'I think it's awesome. I always knew I had a guardian angel.'
'Yeah, but did you ever think it was a hawk or a little girl named Rose?'
'No, but how cool is that?' Sela asked as Rose took off from her shoulder and arched high into the air.
After a little over a week, we made it to I-5 somewhere around Los Angeles. A large group of survivors heard about our merry band of would-be warriors and asked to join. News of our quest had preceded us. Our numbers were increasing. We stayed three days in L.A. and rested up. We took one day to scavenge around the area for any food or other usable items. A couple of the L.A. survivors pointed out prospective areas to hunt. We came back empty handed in the food department. However, Sela found a few pieces of nice jewelry.
Our new L.A. members shared food with our group. They had an old grocery store that they stocked from their own scavenging efforts. There were even some fresh vegetables that they rationed off to everyone.
'I imagine this will be hard to leave,' I said to one of the L.A. members as I waved my arm across the aisles of food.
'Yes, however, when the battle is over, we will come back. This is our home. We'll work hard together to make Los Angeles a great city again.'
I had a twinge of sadness come over me, knowing that some of these folks might not ever return.
The day before we left, Sela and I took a ride out to the ocean. We sat on the beach and watched the waves slide across the sand.
'How are you feeling?' I asked Sela as she laid her head in my lap.
'Very relaxed and I believe our child is quite happy.'
