Chapter 13: Val

I was shocked to see Karen lying on our bed, talking to Bev as if they were best friends and her visiting was a common occurrence. The first time I saw her was the day I came back to civilization after three and a half months in the wilderness. I'd killed a mountain sheep to survive and left its head in the gas station booth for safekeeping. She had taken over the booth while I was eating, showering and letting my family know I was still alive. I had fashioned the fleece into a poncho and was wearing it when we met.

The second time I saw her was the day Bev decided that neither of my prizes, the head or the fleece, had any place in her home. Her home happened to be my house. And since they represented my transformation from an awkward teenager into an almost god, they had a lot of sentimental value to me. Pointing out these facts just made her ridicule me and I stormed out of the house before I did something we'd both be sorry for. I drove on autopilot, not even knowing where I was heading and ended up where it all started and ended – the entry point to the wilderness on the far west side of the truck stop. I didn't even realize where I was until Karen spoke to me, waking me up as it were. She had been texted by Bev, who was smart enough to figure out exactly where I was headed, even if I hadn't been. They talked on the phone and I'm sure the subject of my sheep came up when Bev told Karen to expect me.

I would have assumed Karen was taken away with the rest of the population that disappeared while we were all at the cave if I'd actually given it any thought. We were the only ones, with the exception of our previous caretakers, who had been around before the change. There was also a bunch of people we'd never met, each doing some job they'd supposedly been doing for years. I wasn't sure how that all fit together, but I figured it was one of those need to know things and I didn't.

I was surprised to see Karen but I wasn't surprised at her greeting.

"Hey, Val," she said. "Where's your sheep?"

"In the den," I answered. "It's the only room in the house that the men can claim for their own, and if any women don't like it, they can stay in the kitchen or the bedroom where they belong."

I purposely leered at Bev as I was saying this. She stuck her tongue out and said, "It's perfectly acceptable now that Rosa's cleaned it. It looks very nice with the head mounted on the wall and the rug next to the pool table. I'd even consider using the skin as a bath mat now that it doesn't stink." She stuck her tongue out again and then the two of them laughed.

[Time to quit while you're ahead, Val.]

"You're looking good, Karen." I took a closer look. "You've been enhanced! How did that happen?"

Bev sent me the whole story of Karen's adventures, including the fact that Karen had sent it to Bev.

"Darn it, Bev, it's my story. I wanted to tell it," Karen frowned for a moment, then cracked up, soon to be joined by Bev.

When they settled down, I said, "So, have you figured out what you're going to do in this brave, new world we've found ourselves in?"

"I think she should stay with us, Val. Don't you?"

[Put me on the spot, Bev, why don't you?]

"How do you feel about that, Karen?"

"Oh, I'm fine with whatever the two of you decide."

"Yeah, right." I looked directly at Bev. "If I didn't already know that you arrived with only the clothes on your back, I'd look to see which part of the closet my beloved has already handed over to you."

"Oh, that reminds me," Bev told Karen. "We need to get Rosa and the ladies started on making some clothes for you. You can't wear that deerskin all the time, even though it is the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Don't you think so, Val?"

I mumbled some kind of agreement but they weren't there to hear it. They took off down the hall, leaving me standing there, shaking my head and wondering it there was any way I could have possibly gotten out of this. I doubt it. Whenever a woman makes up her mind about something, the only thing you can do about it is try to do whatever you can to reduce the damage. When two of them work in collusion, you might as well forget it.

Dinner was interesting, to say the least. Grace and her family, all of our family (something rare, these days), Connie and Karen were all there. There was an unspoken understanding that Karen was now a member of my family, bringing us up to three and that Mom, Grace and Connie were all in Dad's group. It was just assumed by the women, almost as if it had always been that way. Dad got a little more time to get comfortable with it but I was coming to accept it. There really wasn't much either of us could do about it.

I did make the mistake of mentioning that Karen might want to explore her options before dedicating herself to us.

Bev let me have it between the eyes. "God, Val, get a clue. It's not like she can get on the Internet and look up 'enhanced'. You make it sound like it's a simple thing like finding a new boy scout troop. In case you haven't noticed, we're the only game in town."

I dug myself in a little deeper. "There are other people who are enhanced. Dreamer told us that."

"Yeah, in some other area. Like New York or Miami. Even if there was one nearby, why should she go begging when she's already got people who know and love her right here? Maybe she should find herself a boat and go overseas. He said there were enhanced in Europe, too. Karen was here. She was the closest person to the cave when the change happened. She should have disappeared with everybody else. Yet for some reason she didn't. And she was drawn to the cave and just happened to get enhanced after the end of the world. Think about it, Val. Dreamer doesn't do things just for the hell of it, Val."

Kyle spoke up. "Hey, Dude, I don't know what you're complaining about. It's like two pussies, Man. Two Pussies!"

That effectively ended the discussion. Nobody seemed impressed with him, especially my sister.

After dinner, Vicky said that she was going to stay over here tonight. Tina asked her if she could, too. Vicky told her it was up to both of our mothers and they both gave the OK.

Kyle jumped up. "Alright! I'm gonna go get me some poon tang."

Nobody responded to him. It was almost like he wasn't in the room. Vicky continued to look down at the table as Kyle left, not saying another word.

When he was gone, Vicky looked up and there were tears in her eyes. "I don't know if I can take this anymore."

I touched her arm. "What's going on, Sis?"

Grace answered for her. "It's Kyle. The same things we warned you all about. It's like he's doing all the things we told you not to do with the women."

I asked my sister, "Are you OK?"

"No, I'm not. He's gone crazy. He's sent girls away in tears. Last night he had four women in our bed and I ended up sleeping with Tina. He acts like I'm just another piece of ass to him. In fact, that's what he called me – another piece of ass. I can't handle it any more."

Tina said, "He tried to make me suck on him."

Grace had been quiet but I heard her gasp when her daughter said that.

My father said, "Did he force you?"

"He tried to. I had to kick him in the balls to get him to stop."

"Do you think that stopped him or that he'll try it again?"

"I know he'll try it again. After I kicked him, he told me not to fight it, that he knew I wanted it and he was going to get me sooner or later. He said I have to sleep sometime. I scared, Burt, real scared."

"Dreamer said the punishment for rape was death. I don't know if this would be looked at as rape since it wasn't full on intercourse. It was only attempted, too," Grace said.

"I have a couple of thoughts about that," my father said. "First, if he'd forced himself on her anally, would you say it wasn't rape because it wasn't her vagina?"

"No, it would still be rape."

"The same applies to her mouth as far as I'm concerned. I don't give a fuck what Clinton said, when you have sexual penetration with a woman, it's sex. And if it's unwanted, forced or a combination of the two, it's rape. Now, as to it being attempted, I never understood why it wasn't as serious a crime if the perpetrator was incompetent. Two people fire guns at two different people, both fully intending to kill their victims. One sends the bullet right through the heart and kills his guy. The other is off by a few inches and hits his target just below the shoulder, putting him in the hospital for a week. We put the first guy away for years, maybe even life. The other guy spends a year or two in prison. He gets rewarded because he's a lousy shot, even though both had exactly the same intention when they fired. Kyle intended to force Tina to suck on his cock against her will. The fact that she was able to stand up for herself doesn't reduce the severity of the crime. Plus, unless Tina is lying, he's threatened her, essentially promising he'll find a way to take her against her will when he knows she won't be able to defend herself."