Chapter 1

Will didn't remember the sky ever looking quite like it did now. He didn't worry much about it, other than to think it was a good thing he was inside. He figured it meant there was one hell of a storm brewing.

There had been some doozies in the year he had been in the cabin. With the sky looking such an ugly shade of purple/red/black, this looked to be the worst one he'd seen yet.

He had just got a fire going and had put some coffee on, when there was a knock on his door. This was a new experience, since he hadn't ever seen a soul anywhere near the cabin. Figuring it had to be some hunter or lost camper who had been caught in the weather, he hurried to open the door.

He wasn't in so much of a hurry that he didn't pick up a weapon, though.

'Can't be too careful, out here in the middle of nowhere, ' he thought to himself, before the ever present follow up of 'why bother' intruded.

That thought had been with him since he had arrived in the mountains.

He opened the door to find a very wet person dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. It looked to be a young girl of sixteen or so. He quickly set the pistol down, and hurried her inside. The storm had started, and it was a frog drowner.

His visitor was soaked to the skin and was shivering something fierce. Draped over her shoulder was an empty game bag. She was also carrying what looked to be a well cared for antique rifle. Unless he was mistaken, it was a Winchester Yellowboy, or a damned fine replica of one.

She quickly set the rifle down and turned to him. She pulled her long, wet hair out of her eyes.

"Sorry to barge in uninvited, but I didn't have much choice."

She extended her hand, and as Will took it she said, "I'm Carrie Fischer... and please, no jokes!"

Will chuckled and said, "I'll bite my tongue," even though a vision of her in a harem outfit flitted through his mind.

"Will Robinson, and I'd appreciate the same courtesy. We've both probably heard it all, anyway."

They looked at each other and cracked up at the same time. Will stopped when he saw her shiver again. It may have been warm in the cabin, but she was soaked.

As he hurried to grab a towel he told her, "You need to get dried off and warmed up. Nothin' but a catfish would be dumb enough to stay out there in that storm. You're more than welcome to ride it out, right here. I don't get much company, so I surely won't mind."

He hesitated as he handed her a cup of hot coffee but it had to be said, "You really need to get out of those wet things, but I'm afraid I'm not quite your size."

That was a bit of an understatement since she seemed to be 5' 5" or so. Will was 6' 4" and a whole lot wider.

She blushed and said she didn't go hunting with a change of clothes but agreed he was right.

"I Can't afford to get sick," she sighed. "Things are bad enough already. Can I maybe borrow anything that will work until these dry? I could hang 'em by that fireplace until they do."

She almost dropped her cup when he suggested she use the dryer, instead. Looking around, she noticed something for the first time.

"You've got electricity! How'd you get it? There ain't no power lines up here at all!"

He explained how he made his own by putting in a water-wheel powered turbine, using the spring fed creek behind the house. He got a fresh shirt out of his closet. Out of a drawer, he got a pair of shorts that had an elastic waistband. He pointed her to the bathroom.

"There's plenty of hot water for a shower to warm you up. Feel free to use anything you see in there."

She thanked him profusely as she disappeared into the bathroom. Will refilled his coffee and relaxed at the table while she was busy. His cabin might seem rough on the outside, but he'd worked hard to make it comfortable. He'd done it as a way to kill time when the headaches weren't too bad, more than anything else. The place was out in the middle of nowhere... Carson Hill, California, in Calaveras County, to be exact. It suited him.

He couldn't resist checking out the rifle she had carried in. When he realized it wasn't a cheap replica, he got out his cleaning kit. He lovingly dried, oiled and cleaned it. He took his time about, it but was done before he heard the sound of the hair dryer in the bathroom. He checked his watch and was surprised to discover that an hour had passed.

The storm was much worse, now. Even the sturdy cabin shook from the force of the thunder. Through the windows he could see that the lightning made it appear like it was noon, even though it was late enough for it to be getting dark, by now.

Will tried hard not to stare as he filled her cup when she emerged from the bathroom, but it wasn't easy. Carrie sat across from him and accepted it.

Thanking him, she said, "I know we haven't run into one another before, but I live 'bout five miles east of here. I do the huntin' for the family most times, 'specially when it's time to take in the corn. Ever'body else gets too busy."

When she got no response, she added, "How 'bout you? We thought somebody might have moved back in here, but I ain't never seen you 'round, and I'm up here a lot."

Will didn't care to share his personal problems with a stranger so he gave her an edited version.

"My grandpa left me this place a while back. When I felt like it was time to retire, I packed up and moved in. I don't get too far away unless it's to hunt. Fishin's good enough, right out back, and I've got a big freezer in the barn. I don't even need to hunt that often. Only time I go to town is for coffee, and other things I can't grow or make myself."

She looked at him oddly and said, "I don't mean to be nosy, but you don't look much older than me. How could you retire that young, are you rich or something? And if you are, why the heck would you live out here like a hermit?"

Will didn't understand why but for some reason he told her something that only he and his doctors in Sioux City knew. He told her how five years ago when his parents were driving him to the airport for his last semester of college, they were hit broadside by a pickup truck piloted by a drunk driver who had run a red light. Both of his parents were on the side the truck hit, and the little Camry hadn't stood a chance.

Will had been on the passenger side and received only a concussion and a fractured wrist. Due to the head injury, a cat scan was done, and a tumor had been discovered. He'd had migraines for years, but had never been to a doctor about them. Unfortunately, it wouldn't have helped. The growth was in an area they couldn't operate on without killing him.

The prognosis was terminal. Rather than go through chemo, and spend the time left to him in misery, he decided to move here. At least here, he could enjoy what was left of of his life. According to the oncologist, that was six more months, at the most.

Carrie looked down at her cup and asked how old he was. When Will told her he was thirty-three, she shook her head and sighed.

"At least you got more time than me, even though I wouldn't want to go through what you did before you found out. They figure I've got about the same amount of time left before I croak, maybe less."

She then told him about contracting Rheumatic Fever, and how it had caused severe damage to her heart, both to the muscle and valves. The chances of a good donor match were slim, due to her blood/tissue type. She was resigned to not having much time left.

"Kinda sucks," she added. "I'm fourteen years old, and probably won't see fifteen. I used to run all over the countryside. Now this is farther than I usually go. I can't hardly walk up a hill without resting halfway up, to catch my breath. I wouldn't have come here, but when I saw the storm coming, I was closer to this place than home. I guess we're kind of kindred spirits in a way. Hell, maybe it was fate!"

Just as she finished, there was a huge crash of thunder, and the entire cabin seemed to jump off the foundation just before everything went black for them both.

Will came to first and noticed Carrie's head lying on the table just as his had been. He reached over and gently shook her arm and was gratified to see her stirring. She slowly straightened and rolled her shoulders.

"What the hell happened," she wondered out loud. "How long was I out? I feel as stiff as a board, almost like I've been in the same position for hours!"

Will didn't know how long, but he felt the same way. He looked at his watch.

"Holy shit!" he exclaimed. "It was around six PM on the twenty-third last time I looked. If this watch is right, it's now eleven PM on the twenty-fourth! At least the storm stopped but your folks will be worried sick about you. Too bad we can't get phones around here. Hell, even cell phones don't work this far out in the boonies."

Carrie agreed, and excused herself to use the facilities. It was a good thing she was quick. Will was dancing in place when she came out. After taking care of the necessities, food was definitely next on the agenda.

Working together, they cooked up some bacon and eggs. Will had baked his own bread, and while Carrie toasted up some, Will got the fire going again. He had baseboard heat, but he always preferred the fireplace. He was more than a little distracted by the scenery.

Somehow he hadn't noticed the fact that Carrie hadn't worn the shorts he gave her and was clad in only the shirt he had given her. It had been small on him. While large on her, the tails barely covered her butt cheeks. The girl had great legs. Being a leg man, Will was very uncomfortable by the time he managed to tear his eyes away.

'Pervert, she's only fourteen years old, even if she doesn't look like it!' he thought to himself.

He wasn't fast enough and she caught him staring when she turned toward the table.

She blushed, and sheepishly said, "Sorry. The shorts kept falling down, so I skipped 'em. My clothes are probably dry now. I'll change if it bothers you."

Will gulped and blushed almost as deeply as Carrie had.

"I'm the one who should apologize. I couldn't help but stare. You're a very beautiful young lady."

There was a period of uncomfortable silence; before she gave him a big, but sad, smile.

She replied, "Thank you. Besides my mom, you're the fist person that's ever said that to me. Somehow from a handsome older guy, it means a lot more to me. If you don't mind, I'd like to keep wearing this for now."

Will laughed and said, "I don't think any guy in his right mind would argue. The scenery in here is somehow a lot nicer than the view outside."

She put the plates on the table. Will felt even warmer when she kissed his cheek, and wiped her eyes before hugging him.

"I'd have visited a lot sooner, if I knew you could dish the compliments out like that."

After eating, Will excused himself to take care of the critters. They had already gone much too long without care, because of the storm and its results. He was lost in his musings on the way to the barn but after doing the feeding and milking, he almost dropped the pail on the way to the chicken coop.

Even by just the outside lights, he could tell something was wrong. The trees all looked larger and the surrounding forest was denser than he remembered. It just didn't feel the same. He shook it off as daydreaming (at midnight?) and finished his chores. After entering the cabin, he put the milk in the cooler. He'd deal with it in the morning. Even after the forced "nap" he was tired and felt strange.

He looked for Carrie, and found her in his bed. He had planned on offering it to her anyway and started to get his sleeping bag out to use as a pallet when she asked him what he was doing.

He explained and was both shocked and apprehensive when she scolded him.

"If anybody sleeps on the floor, it's gonna be me. I'm not taking your bed away from you, but I wouldn't mind sharin' it."

Will shook his head and explained, "I don't think that's a good idea, Carrie. That bed's a bit of a snug fit for two people, especially when one of them could get shot for sharing it."

Her smile outshone the light from the lamp when she said, "Ain't nobody gonna do no shootin' and besides that, I really would like to find out what it's like to sleep next to a guy that isn't related to me."

After a bit more half-hearted argument Will finally gave in. He even acceded to her demand that he strip down to his boxers, before getting in.

He hadn't been kidding when he said it was a snug fit. The bed was a double and Carrie made it smaller by snuggling up to him as soon as he got settled.

"Mmm, this is nice," she murmured.

She gave him a little peck on the lips. That surprised the hell out of him. It felt very nice, though. Before long, they were both asleep.

Will dozed off, wondering why he hadn't had a headache since this girl showed up on his doorstep. He hadn't had to take any of the painkillers, and that hadn't occurred on any day in the last six months. He also had the best dreams since before the accident that night.

However, it was somewhat of a nightmare in the morning. Will about shit the bed, when he woke up. Somehow, during the night, things had arranged themselves in somewhat of an awkward position. The fact that she was spooned against his front wouldn't have been so bad but that was about all that was good about it. He didn't know how it had happened, but her shirt seemed to have disappeared during the night.

He could tell, because his left hand was full of a very firm and shapely teenaged tittie. That wasn't even the worst thing. Her shirt wasn't the only clothing issue. Somehow his dick had managed to find its way to freedom, and was trapped between those lovely young thighs. It was feeling a mite moist down there, too. Will was faced with a dilemma.

He might get by with removing his hand without getting caught but the other appendage would be a challenge.

'Oh well, first things first, ' he thought.

He slowly tried to extract his hand. He had moved it less than an inch before she put it right back where it was.

She softly said, "It took me half the night to get things just the way they are, and I'd appreciate it if you could let me enjoy it for a while longer."

He felt her shiver when he whispered in her ear "I was afraid I had done it in my sleep. You don't know how devious the subconscious mind of a horny guy is, especially when he's sleeping with a beautiful woman."

Carrie might have been content to doze off again until he kissed her neck. That seemed to flip a switch or something, because before he could blink Will was on his back with a naked female on top of him, and a very nice set of lips pressed to his own. There was no way he could do anything other than respond. The kiss quickly got more intense.

When Will felt her tongue tentatively brush his lips his was glad to join it. He almost balked when he felt her wrap her hand around the largest and most painful erection of his life. He came even closer to protesting, when he realized where she was putting it. All of his objections evaporated as he entered her. It was the most amazing experience he had ever had.

Carrie moaned into his mouth as she slowly impaled herself. She was thankful that years of horseback riding had long ago eliminated her hymen, and even more thankful that she had started to take the pill last year to help regulate her cycle. When she hit bottom, so did Will.

She felt him bump her cervix. She moaned as she arched her back, thinking it couldn't possibly get any better. Then her lover's hands latched onto the breasts she had conveniently presented to him. She felt his hands start exploring her body, and she quickly re-evaluated her conclusion.

She started moving. The faster she moved, the better it seemed to feel. When she felt Will's hands on her ass, guiding her, she let him. She discovered just how good it could feel when her little button started getting bumped in a most interesting way.

She couldn't help it! She screamed as she exploded, and screamed even harder as she exploded again. She felt that big thing inside her seem to get even bigger. It started pulsating as Will lost it.

She collapsed on top of him, and started raining kisses over his face and chest.

Almost incoherently she babbled, "Thank you! Oh, yes! That was amazing! Thank you so much!"

Will was torn between two feelings. On one hand, that was the most amazing sexual experience of his life. He admittedly had little to compare it to but suspected it couldn't get much better. On the other hand, he was horrified! He had just fucked a fourteen-year-old girl. Not only that, but he was still very hard, and he was buried to the balls in that young pussy.

'Fuck it, ' he thought' 'I can't do much jail time, can I? Hell, I wouldn't even make it to trial before I croaked.'

With that settled in his mind, he rolled them over. He watched her eyes get bigger, as he started again. Her surprise didn't last long, before she matched his rhythm like she was born to it. This wasn't the fast and furious kind of fucking that she had launched into. Will made love to her slowly. He worshipped every part of her young body that he could reach with hands or tongue.

Their eyes were locked together when they moaned their release the second time. When Carrie came, she took Will along with her. He rolled them on their side, still connected, and kissed her. He felt himself finally shrink enough to emerge from her glorious twat with an audible "plop".

He came back to reality and lowered his gaze as he moaned, "I'm so sorry!"

"I'm not," she told him. "This may be the only time this happens to me in my life! The only thing I'm sorry about, is that I didn't come over here sooner! I can't figure out why I'm still alive, though. My heart was going a mile a minute, and the doc said that any excitement would probably kill me. I never even got out of breath except a couple of times, and I think that was normal. In fact, I feel better now, than I ever have in my life," she added quizzically.

They held each other even tighter, as he told her about his ever-present headaches disappearing as well. Carrie's growling stomach interrupted their musings, and they decided to have breakfast. Carrie volunteered to do all the cooking, while he tended the animals.

After he returned, they ate and talked about their lives. Will had gone back to college to study engineering after he became disillusioned with his first career as a history teacher. He was an avid outdoorsman and gun fanatic, even going so far as tying his own flies and making his own ammunition.

Carrie was the middle child of three. Her other siblings were brothers and needed to work on their place for them to survive. This was how she had been elected to provide meat for the family. She had done quite well at it, and was visibly proud of the fact.

Will finally couldn't wait any longer and broached the subject he had dreaded. "Carrie, about this morning..."

She held up her hand and said, "I understand. I won't say I'm sorry, because I'm not. But I promise I won't bother you anymore. I know the last thing you need is some clingy little tramp hanging around when you could find a lot better in town just dying to jump your bones."

Of all the responses he had expected, that wasn't one of them. He choked on his coffee and it was a while before he could talk. When he did speak, he was royally pissed.

"I don't want to ever hear you call yourself names when I'm around. What happened this morning was very special to me. It was probably the best thing I will ever experience in my life. As for any woman in town, we both know you're kidding me. Even if you weren't, none of them could hold a candle to you!"

After his outburst she was quiet for all of two seconds before she ran around the table and landed in his lap before unleashing a very intense kiss on him. He would have popped a woody, even if she hadn't been dressed in the same flannel as yesterday.

Resisting the urge to ravish her where they sat, he persuaded her to get dressed. After separating the cream from the milk, and cleaning up, he managed to convince her it was time to get home. She perked up a little, when he suggested they saddle a couple of horses and ride back.

As they were getting ready she lamented the lack of meat. She hadn't had a chance to hunt before the storm came up, and she hated to return empty handed, because it had never happened before. Will solved the problem by grabbing a haunch of venison from the freezer to take along.

Both of them knew something was very wrong, even before they got to the tree line. It was hard to pinpoint, but to Will it looked like everything outside of his clearing was different.

Finally, Carrie reined the gelding in she was riding and turned to Will.

"What the hell is going on here?" she asked. "I walked in here on a trail, and I'm positive it was right there!"

Will looked around and confessed that he had thought things looked different since after the storm but blew it off.

"This cinches it, though" he said. "This is where the trail starts that heads your way, and then on over to Columbia. I'd almost bet the wagon trail to the south towards New Melones is gone, too. Can't say as I understand it, but even the damned trees don't look the same. We'll head east towards Coyote Creek, and find your folks. Maybe they know what's going on here."

That was the plan, but it didn't look much better when they got there. If Will had led them where he thought he had, the creek wasn't nearly as wide as it should have been. It was more as it would have been before the dam for Lake Melones had been built. They were still confused when Carrie's place came into view... or at least, where it should have been.

Hearing her gasp, Will turned to her. She was as white as a ghost.

She croaked, "That ain't my house, Will. I saw an old tintype my grandfather had. This place burned down in 1852. They rebuilt the house twice, since then. When I left it, it was an old 2 story frame house with a tin roof, not a two room cabin!"

They both took a minute to calm down, before Will suggested they see if anybody was home, and maybe find some things out. He cautioned her not to volunteer anything, and she gave him one of those 'I'm not that stupid' looks, before voicing the thought.

They announced themselves as they entered the yard, to avoid spooking anyone who might be inside. They saw the door open up a crack.

What sounded like a woman's voice, spoke over the top of a gun barrel, saying, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

Will nodded to Carrie, and she got the hint

"We live a few miles from here," she said. "Since we're kinda neighbors, we thought we should stop by and introduce ourselves."

Carrie whispered "I would have dropped a load right here, if I had recognized her. My family always kept good records of our history. There's a portrait, a tintype, or a picture of everybody, since way before a Fischer sailed to these shores. She doesn't look familiar to me, so she must not be related."

The woman looked them up and down before nodding and saying "Light 'n' set. Ain't often we git company in these parts. Hattie McDonald be the name, who ya'll be?"

Will beat Carrie to it by announcing them as Will and Carrie Robinson. He hoped he hadn't overstepped but one look at her smile proved that Carrie didn't seem to mind a bit.

Hattie invited them in the house and sat them at the table. Getting information was difficult. How do you ask what year it is, without looking stupid? It took a couple of hours before they managed to find out what they needed to know. Most of their efforts were spent in not crying.

Getting Hattie to talk wasn't hard at all. They guessed it was because she was lonely out here. Eventually, they said they had to be getting home, but they left the venison behind. Hattie thanked them, and seemed to take it reluctantly. She confessed that they were a "mite low", and her husband and son were on a trip for supplies.

They were too stunned to say much on the way back. Hattie liked to talk, all right. They had learned things they didn't want to hear. All the names for towns Hattie used were wrong, for one thing. Hattie had mentioned two years ago as being "432 years since the founding", whatever that was. That was actually the easiest thing to swallow.

Hattie had lamented that her husband was only a good enough provider to support one wife but was happy he didn't beat her too much. It seemed that where or whenever they were, women were more like property than anything else, plus they outnumbered the men five to one.

Gold and silver were still the preferred means of currency but barter was widely used. She mentioned this in passing, saying she was almost glad no ore had been found around this area to bring in bad people.

Another odd thing was that they had a bunch of Gods, instead of just one. It seemed eerily similar to the Greek pantheon Will had taught in history class. Everything they heard just heaped strangeness upon strangeness!

They unsaddled the horses as soon as they got to the cabin. After rubbing them down, Carrie helped him with the chores before they headed inside. Carrie stopped in the doorway and Will almost ran over her, but managed to catch himself on the doorframe.

Before he could get upright he was wrapped in a hug, and being kissed with a passion he had never experienced before. Even earlier that morning, it hadn't been as intense.

She finally let him come up for air and purred, "Don't you think you should carry your wife over the threshold, husband?"

He had a fleeting thought of "danger, Will Robinson, danger!" but scooped her up in his arms, anyway. He quickly realized that in her mind, his introduction of them as Will and Carrie Robinson, meant that she now considered them to be man and wife. The consummation of the marriage was even more wonderful than the brief courtship.

Except for tending to the animals, they didn't emerge until the following day. Curiosity finally overcame their newly sated lust. however, they wanted to investigate the town of Olione that Hattie had mentioned. It seemed to be in the same place where the town of Melones had once been, before the lake had submerged it in their time. They hoped to get some kind of an idea just what had happened to them.

They abandoned any thought of taking the wagon, immediately. Will had been right about the road being gone. If they wanted to use the wagon, they'd have to make a new road. They decided that not having any trail or path to their cabin might be a good idea, at least for a while.

Carrie gave him a strange look when he detoured but didn't say anything. Will wouldn't admit it, but he was curious. This detour was why he'd brought his burro, Jughead. Will had hitched a small two-wheeled cart to the cantankerous creature and had told Carrie it was for supplies. He only had to pause a couple of times to get his bearings, before finally stopping. Twenty minutes of searching and he was done for the moment.

The old historical marker had only been off by around fifty feet. It had been billed as the second largest nugget ever discovered, and weighed in at 160 pounds. There were a lot of smaller nuggets right on the surface, all over the place.

Carrie just stopped and stared.

"I didn't even think about this," she commented, "but I'm glad you did. I kind of wondered how the heck we were going to survive, since I'm pretty sure any money you might have is useless, in this place."

Will shrugged and replied, "I kind of hoped that since a lot of things seem similar, this would be here. Since Hattie said there was no gold around here, I thought it might not have been found yet. I guess being a history buff is good for something, after all. Think we can get this sucker on the cart?"

It took a while, but eventually they managed to muscle it on to the small two-wheeler. Will pulled out two canvas sacks and handed one to Carrie. She didn't need any instructions as to what to do with it. They started gathering the loose nuggets. In less than an hour, both bags were as full as they felt the little cart could handle.

These weren't small sacks, either. They had previously held twenty-five pounds of flour. They had to make numerous trips to the cart because after a few minutes the bags had to be left in the cart, and the nuggets carried to them. The bags were just too heavy to carry. When they headed back to the cabin, Will estimated they had over five hundred pounds of gold.

The decision to put off the trip to town was an easy one. After several more trips to gather the obvious surface color, the day was pretty much shot. They decided to put the trip off until morning. It would be beyond stupid to carry all the gold with them. They decided to take just a few nuggets, when they went. A story was invented to explain why they had the gold, to discourage people from poking around the cabin.

They were going to say that they were from Gorga, which seemed to be the same as Georgia in their reality. Hattie had mentioned the gold strike, there. Their story was that their claim had played out, so they decided to get away from that rowdy place and settle somewhere peaceful. With any luck, it would be a long time before they had to reveal the "monster rock". After finally getting their take stored in the root cellar, they were exhausted, and went straight to sleep.