Chapter 39

We heard nothing that night. I don't know if it was because we were too exhausted after all the fucking to hear anything or maybe the women scared the wildlife away with all their wailing, but we didn't get any visitors in the night and we didn't get woken by the sounds of nature letting us know that life could be tough. In fact, I only remember adding fire once in the night and that was after having to crawl out from between Tilly and Lizzy to take a pee. Beyond that I don't remember anything and the women remembered even less.

The chirping of the birds woke Tilly and she ended up waking Lizzy and me. We all crawled out of bed a little stiff and a little tired but still very content with what had happened the night before. While Lizzy prepared breakfast and I radioed back to the settlement to let them know we were still alive and well and that we'd be heading back as soon as we'd done what we'd originally come there to do, Tilly started to pack up the sleeping bags and bedrolls. Once I was done chatting with home, I came over and helped her. We finished up packing everything away and tearing down the tent trailer, just in time to eat. We had a breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and fresh camp coffee. We ate it in peace and in silence.

We were on our way a short time after that. I led the way back up the trail that we'd come down the day before. It was a slow drive up the hill and through the neighbouring clearing. We were on the look out for some game to bag and we were trying not to startle them. Eventually we broke free of the trail and we found ourselves back on the plains northwest of our settlement. It was here that we spotted out intended targets. A small herd of deer were just inside of the tree line, ambling about and nibbling on leaves and berries.

On spotting them, I brought my Argo to a halt and signalled the others to do the same. As they did, I slowly rose up out of my seat and stepped up onto the passenger seat. As I did, I grabbed my carbine, loaded the weapon and brought it up to my shoulder.

The deer just continued to graze. It was as if they hadn't spotted us or sensed that they were in danger. There was one big buck and a half dozen does. I took careful aim on one of the does. It was standing about two hundred yards away. When I was ready, I flick the carbine onto single shot and I squeeze off a round. A second later the head of the deer jerked to the side as the bullet impacted and the creature dropped where it stood. Quickly I shifted my aim to a second animal. The sudden collapse of the doe had startled the herd. The buck was looking like it was about to bolt. The does were sniffing the air. I took aim and fired again. A second doe dropped to the ground in a thump. That was it, the others bounded off into the safety of the woods.

Tilly stood sentry while Lizzy and I quickly strung up the two does by their necks. I then took my knife and slit their throats severing their windpipes so that everything would fall down into the body cavity. After that I got to work field dressing both animals with a little help from my daughter. Everything came out in a big pile beneath their hanging bodies. We left them dangling for a few minutes, just to bleed out a bit while Lizzy went back to her trailer to rearrange its contents so we could haul the does back home. While she transferred her supplies over to Tilly's trailer, I took a little walk about the immediate vicinity to see what I could find. I found the floor of the lot covered in beds of various ground berries. Most were either eaten by the local wildlife or well past the point of human consumption. I did spot a few wild strawberries growing in a patch near the edge of the tree line and tried a couple of the berries that were still on the plant. They were still edible and sweet to the taste. I gave one to Lizzy to try and one to Tilly. They both said it was good. I decided to mark this location on my mapping unit. These were the first berry plants that we'd seen so far and I knew that both Sally and Betty would be sending me back here next year in hopes of collecting the fruit before the locals got to it. At the worst, they'd send me to get some cuttings so that we could try and grow them around the settlement.

We got back to the settlement four hours later. It was past lunch hour and we were all hungry. I drove to the slaughterhouse first so we could transfer the deer out of Lizzy's trailer. Once we had the two does hanging up again, with tubs underneath them, we dropped Lizzy's trailer by the pumping unit to be washed out later and drove back to the dining hall and parked our vehicles. Then the three of us went off to take showers while Betty got to work making our lunch. Tilly went to her family's mobile home, leaving Lizzy and I to go to ours. Naturally, Lizzy insisted on joining me in the big shower in my en-suite bathroom instead of just using the communal one that she shared with her sisters. I helped her clean up and then she helped me clean up and then I picked her up and made certain that the insides of her pussy were thoroughly washed. She wrapped her arms about my neck and her legs about my waist and I fucked her up against the wall of the shower. It was fast and furious and very satisfying for both of us. My little girl squealed with joy when my big old cock gave her a good rinsing with my load of come. It was a nice finale to a long morning.

The family let us eat in peace before pestering us with questions. Betty provided us with a big platter of chicken fingers, Buffalo wings, breaded mushrooms, and French fries. She even provided two types of dip to go with the meal. It was fantastic and the three of us told her so. I had two beers with my meal and I was feeling pretty good by the time that the dishes were cleared away.

The family had sat quietly while I told them about our encounter with the sabre-tooth cat, our finding the ramp down into the valley and our fun and games with the three giant wolves. They hadn't said a single word. No one had gasped with surprise or had muttered under their breath about how stupid we were to go wandering about the valley on foot. It was when I said that I'd spotted smoke from across the valley that they'd started to stir. Eye brows had gotten raised and individuals had glanced at each other. It didn't take long before the chattering started.

"So you spotted more smoke," Emma noted bluntly at the end of our tale. "Do you think it was man made?"

"Well," I replied thoughtfully, "I don't know if it was man made or not, but I don't think it was natural. It hadn't been there earlier in the day and there hadn't been anything happening during the day that could have started a fire by accident. Somebody had to have started it. The question is who. It might be more Grk'to or it could be other humans. I don't know."

"Are you intending to find out?" Vicky asked causing a bit of a stir. Several of the women glanced at her and the looks they gave were sharp. They weren't happy with her question. It caused Vicky to visibly flinch and for me to sigh before answering.

"Yes I am," I replied after a second or two, drawing the family's ire away from Vicky, "although not right away. I want to poke around in the valley first. So far we've found no way up that wall and I really don't want to try and scale it. I need to explore the western wall and see what I can find. A path or a ramp would make things easier."

"Are you sure that it's wise to do that son?" my mother asked me, her voice edged with trepidation. "I mean it's dangerous down in that valley. Every time you've been in it, you've been attacked by a pack of animals. It's not safe there."

"I still need to go Mom," I replied, sighing heavily, "and if you'll remember, we had just as much danger just a couple of miles away from here, down by the lake and the beach. While I think that the safe zone theory is still a sound idea, I get the feeling that it's not perfect."

"I know that son," my mother shot back at me, her voice getting stern, "but that trouble came looking for you and not the other way around. I don't want you taking any unnecessary risks."

That was the general consensus amongst the family. It was one thing to deal with predators that were snooping about the hen house and it was another to go out into the big bad wilderness and look for trouble. A handful of the women understood what I intended to do. Emma was one of them as were my three daughters. Vicky was another. Surprisingly, Rebecca was on my side as well. We left the conversation as it stood and got back to work. I left Lizzy to clean our rifles and Tilly to clean out the trailer and repack it for my next trip. I had two does that needed butchering. One was going to go into a stew.

The most curious thing happened later that day. After butchering the two does and then cleaning up, I decided that I wanted to go for a ride. It wasn't quite dinner time yet and I felt the need to clear my mind. I'd spent much of the time slaughtering the does fuming about my family's response to my desire to find out who was making the fires on the western side of the valley. I knew it was dangerous, but I also thought that it was a necessary task that had to be done in order to ensure the safety of my family. The fuming hadn't helped much and I figured that a ride might help calm me down before I had to associate with my family again. That was when I noticed Shell. The woman had been sitting in the shade of the equipment lean-to while I'd been working on the does. I nodded to her in acknowledgement as I strode by her on the way to the barn. I had expected her to hiss at me, which was what normally happened, whether it was Pebble or Shell that I was encountering. To my surprise, Shell didn't hiss. She did slink off into the shadows as if trying to hide. I let it go and went and saddled up 'Maggie', the biggest of the mares. My curiosity grew when I rode out of the barn and headed away from the settlement. Shell followed along at a distance, keeping about a hundred feet between us at all times. At first I thought nothing of it, especially since my ride took me down towards the lake. I just thought that she wanted to go down there and that she decided that I was a good enough sentry as anyone. It was unusual but I let it go. Later I started to wonder. I spotted her in the barn watching me when I stabled the horse. It started to really bug me when I noticed that she trailed me back to the dining hall. By then I knew something was up. I decided I needed to talk to Angela.

Supper was in full swing when I got there. I nodded to the women and smiled and for the most part got smiles back. I accepted what I got and let the rest be. I knew that eventually even the most hard headed of the bunch would forgive me for being what I was, which in their eyes was a man who wouldn't listen to reason. With that thought in my mind I went and got myself supper.

Betty had made a massive venison stew from our kill, packed full of vegetables that had just been picked from our garden. She'd used beer to help flavour it and it tasted delicious. She served it up with fresh baked bread and a ton of butter. I kissed her in gratitude when she gave me my serving and gushed appreciatively. The woman accepted my kiss without hesitation. I even got a teasing slap on the ass as I turned to walk away. It was a gentle reminder that I should probably invite her to my bed, before too long. I added the thought to the list of things that I needed to do.

Angela was sitting at a table with her daughters – Kristen, Beth, and Crystal. All four women smiled happily when I sat down and joined them. We chatted a bit, catching up on things. All four wanted to know when I was going to pay a visit to their trailer for a night. They teased me by informing me that they'd been forced to watch the Adam Porn Station for much too long and they wanted a taste of the real thing. I promised them a chance sometime soon. It was the best that I could do and they knew it.

I left my questions about Shell to the end. We all ate and we all chatted and we all teased and then once the dishes had been taken away, I buttoned holed Angela. Surprisingly, my question brought giggles from the three girls. I was forced to question them all.

"Pebble and Shell are living in our trailer," Angela informed me, once she got her smirk under control. "Over the last month I've found out a lot about them. Originally, they'd lived with a colony of their own people on an island further south. They'd been out on a makeshift raft with their other companion, when waves carried them off. They'd drifted north for over a week before they'd reached the beach where we found them. The point is that they're used to warmer climates and the shift in temperature at night has made it impossible for them to keep sleeping outdoors."

"Okay," I said thoughtfully, "and how is this responsible for Shell following me about."

That caused the three young women to giggle again and for Angela to look away in embarrassment. I scowled down the girls and then waited for Angela to reply. Eventually she did.

"They've only been living with us for a week," Angela explained, lowering her voice as she did, which naturally made me even more curious about what was going on, "but in that time they've been exposed to the Adam Porno Station."

"You're joking!" I exclaimed in disbelief.

"No I'm not," Angela replied with a shake of her head. "At first it confused the hell out of the two of them. Both stared in disbelief at some of the things that you did and we ended up getting a lot of 'Neh-Neh-Neh' whenever you penetrated your partner or you engaged in sucking on tits or pussy. The only time they stayed quiet was when you did someone 'doggie' style. Then we got plenty of 'otay'. It gave me the impression that they did it 'doggie' style back home and that was it. Considering what little we know about their relationship with their males, it sort of makes sense."