Chapter 33

Silvers lips tasted of strawberries; the after-effect of a romantic dessert shared under the stars. Her eyes were closed, but it was as if she could feel the prickles of light that shone down upon her bare skin. The cacophony of crickets and cicadas had deadened the sounds that she and Bryan had been making, though not as well as they would have liked to believe.

Bryan lay upon the ground, shielded by a blanket from the moisture beneath. Silver's breath was heaving at ragged intervals against his shoulder as her body lunged at nearly the same rhythm. A soft moan escaped her lips. Her fingernails bit into his shoulders.

The air was cool but their bodies were painted in perspiration as their love making had gone on for quite some time. The dim moonlight gleaned off their shimmering skin.

Their rhythm increased in both tempo and tone until they crashed together following an immense crescendo of bodies, sound, and sexual perspiration.

"Hudson," she whispered after a minute, trying to catch her breath. "You dirty old man..."

"That's me," he croaked, seeking to control his breathing again as well.

"You never cease to amaze me," she crooned. She nuzzled her cheek against his chest, feeling the perspiration adhere her skin to his.

"You just say that to keep me happy," he said with a smile.

The sound of a muffled chuckle escaped from her lips, which were pressed to his collar bone. "Yeah, you're right," she said sarcastically. "It's all about you. I actually married you for your money and all..."

"I knew it!" he exclaimed in mock indignation. "And to think I gave you BOTH nickels too..." He looked thoughtful. "I knew I should have done a prenup."

Silver giggled and rested her cheek against his shoulder, looking lovingly at his face in the dim moonlight. She tried to nuzzle again but found that they were both still too sticky with perspiration. "Would you hand me that towel please?" she asked. "We seem to be stuck like glue here."

"That's us," he said handing her the hand towel that she had brought along on their little rendezvous. "Always stuck together."

She wiped down a section of his chest and her cheek, then tested that the surface wasn't too adhesive. "Much better," she said. Her voice turned suddenly very serious. "I couldn't live without you Hudson. I wouldn't want to try."

"That goes double for you Kitten," he said. "In all sincerity you mean more to me than any other earthly thing." She sighed contentedly at his words, saying nothing, just enjoying the rise and fall of his breathing against her body.

As they lay there, silent in the warm summer air he heard the quiet sound of her snoring. It wasn't a loud noise, just above the sound of normal breathing. He reflected that her snore had a dainty feminine sound to it. He smiled. "You are so much like a man," he chided her in a whisper. "Make love and then fall asleep."

"Hmmm," she replied, and then continued to snore lightly. He smiled and wrapped the blanket around them to keep them warm as the night air was cooling further and their body heat had cooled off significantly. He watched the moon for a while, his mind absent the serious thoughts that seemed to have plagued him recently, and then slowly drifted off to sleep.

Sometime later he awoke with a start. He didn't move. He laid there silently, taking in the scene around them. There was nothing that he could detect that was wrong, but his senses just wouldn't let him be.

As quietly as he could he woke the still sleeping figure of Silver.

"What is it?" she asked in a whisper.

"I'm not sure," he replied. "Something's not right. Get to the house though and lock yourself in."

She hesitated for a moment, but she knew his gut feelings were almost always accurate. She wrapped the blanket around her and scurried p the hill toward the house.

Bryan hurriedly gathered and put on his clothes. They were scattered all over the ground and some of them wet with the dew that had set. As he did so he realized that the crickets were not chirping. The cicadas had also fallen silent. Even the night birds made not a peep. All that he could hear was the sound of the breeze rustling through the trees and grasses. It sounded like a cool November night instead of a steaming July evening.

He gathered the rest of the evidence of their coupling and walked up to the back door. He tapped on the door near the hot tub and noted that the electrical hum sounded like a foghorn against the contrast of the silence. It was eerily quiet. Something was about to happen. He could feel it in his bones.

Silver came to the door and unlocked it. She took the things that he had gathered and handed him his shotgun without a word. He kissed her quickly.

"Come back," she said simply.

"Every time," he replied. He held her gaze for a moment, then turned and walked toward the trailer that served as the command center. Silver watched him until he was out of sight, then pulled the door shut. She locked it and turned her back to it. Slowly she sank to the floor, her back still against the door. Part of her wanted to cry, to scream out. Part of her kept telling her to yell to him to come back.

"What the hell is wrong with me?" she thought. "Why am I freaking out?"

Bryan reached the command center and stepped inside. Derek was sitting at the table, which served as a sort of makeshift desk. He was scanning the channels on the radio, looking for any chatter to note. As their only source of non-local news, this task was taken very seriously.

"What's up?" Derek asked. His eyes noted the look on Bryan's face. "Is something the matter?"

Bryan stood for a moment, trying to gather his thoughts. "Come outside for a second. Something just doesn't feel right."

Derek stood, looking down at the radio for a moment. "It's been strangely silent tonight."

As they stepped outside, Derek tensed up. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. He felt his heart rate climb. He shot a glance at Bryan, who nodded.

"CC this is OP2. Come in CC," The handheld radio squawked.

Derek jumped to the table and snatched up the radio. "Go ahead OP2, this is CC."

"I don't know if this is relevant but I can hear the sound of a lot of traffic out on the highway to the south. I don't see any lights but it sounds like a bunch of semi trucks or something."

Derek looked at Bryan for a moment then turned back to the radio. "Acknowledged," he replied."Keep us updated if anything changes." He began scribbling furiously in a notebook in front of him, logging the report.