Chapter 12

Alice was an amazing dancer.

It helped, naturally, that she was nude, breasts bouncing in time to the beat. Tom had always felt that was an important part of any artistic performance, much to his financial detriment. Strip clubs were not cheap. His mind was not on tattooed, bored, shaven girls on a stage, however. The beauties before him far outstripped those girls. Memory of life outside was fading as it was, with that part of his life the first to go. Replaced with recent yesterdays of joy.

The crops were harvested. The orchards picked. Everything canned, pickled, dried. The root cellar overflowed, as did the pantry, glass jars of pasteurized corn, beans, applesauce, and everything else stuffed onto every shelf, filling most kitchen cabinets. They'd have to extend the cellar next spring. Pantry, too, to cover it. Next year. After the winter.

Today, they celebrated.

The three women danced, bare feet nimble on the smooth if uneven stone floor, Tom and Zak keeping a beat on homemade drums. Tom set the main rhythm, hands slapping stretched rabbit hide over a large carved wooden bowl. Zak added a fast counterpoint, two thick shaped sticks striking the smooth hollow log before him. The boy was good, able to handle complex patterns the girls laughingly tried to match. Lilith, especially, body not yet showing her pregnancy, did her best to time each motion to a strike of the drumstick. Rarely did she fail. Krissy swayed and jiggled, all restraint long ago forgotten. Two of the puppies ran around her nimble feet, whining playfully for attention. Their sisters sat on their blanket by the water bowl, resting after the pair's own bout of dancing.

Why the puppies had been wandering the edge of the State Park road, Tom couldn't say. Some idiot feeling it was more humane to dump them than to drown the unwanted dogs, most likely. He had stopped to pick them up, of course. The poor things had been drenched from the morning rain, thin, starving. They were part retriever, fur mostly golden. What other parts were mixed in they'd discover as they aged. Mutts they definitely were, though, which was good. They were all mutts here.

Alice began to whirl. Tom caught Zak's eye, the two changing the beat to match. Golden hair whipping around, her very pregnant form spun, arms outstretched, as Krissy and Lilith backed away, clapping to the beat. Krissy laughed.

"Go, Girl!"

Tom looked on in wonder, hands slapping the drum faster.

Damn, that girl could dance.

So, too, could she suck cock.

Alice knelt between Tom's spread legs, slowly kissing his hard manhood. Tom let out a sigh of pleasure. This was marriage. Not woman serving man, no. That was the position of the moment. It was the unhurried-ness he liked. No waiting for dates, planning encounters. No, married life was the freedom to indulge in mutual pleasure whenever. More people should marry.

There was a soft moan beside him. Krissy shifted on the couch, her own legs spreading as his fingers played between them. The girl liked it slow, much as Tom did. Alice, he was more forceful with, her body demanding speed, intensity. Krissy, he could bring to the highest heights slowly, like water building behind a dam. They complimented him, his love for them both more than it would it would have been for either one alone.

A third wife, though, would probably always be out of the question, for which he was grateful. These two drained him enough as it was. His gaze went over Alice's bobbing head, to the large chair. Zak sat in it, eyes wide, as Lilith raised and lowered in his lap. The boy's wife released a moan. Tom suddenly released his own sound of pleasure, Alice's tongue flicking against that spot she had discovered. His eyes went down to her.

Marriage was wonderful.

"I think I'm going to go into town tomorrow," Tom told them, drawing the two women against him. They snuggled against his sides, the fire in the rock wall before them burning low. Zak, slim body fitting next to Lilith's in their chair as if it was a small couch, looked over.

"What do we need?"

"I want to get some snow shovels, before we need them. I'm not sure how early the snow comes up here, and it's best to be ready." He considered. "I'll probably think of other stuff."

"Get some fabric," Alice told him, hand playing with the hair on his chest. "We'll have to make some winter gear for Lilith. The rest of us have good coats at least, and I can knit hats and gloves."

"We need sheep," Krissy said. "Or Alpacas. We'll have to talk to the Lady about that."

"Any of you want to go with me?" Tom looked around. All four shook their heads.

"Maybe go find a Goodwill or something," Lilith told him. "I don't need anything much. A used winter coat would be fine."

"I'll see what I can do."

Tom always felt awkward when he had to dress now. Part of it was just the unusual feel. Humans weren't designed to wear clothing. You had to be taught to tolerate the confining fabric, one reason small kids were forever removing theirs, running around nude, annoying parents. It did not help that he was in better shape than he had ever been, than he had even thought possible. The clothing he had come to this place with just didn't fit well, tight around the chest and arms, while loose around the waist. Maybe he could ask Alice to fix them.

Or stop going into town.

The trees parted before him, the late fall sun shining bright as he walked across the short field to the gate. His blue hatchback still sat on the other side of the fence, which he was always relieved to see. It sometimes sat there for weeks, unwatched. Some day he expected to come and find it gone, or stripped for parts. They'd be cut off from the world.

He almost looked forward to that moment.

Tom's eyes, as they often did, glanced around as he unlocked the gate. There was traffic here, sometimes. Locals, as few as they may be. Tourists, driving through to other parts of the park. Come winter, he almost expected there to be more of those, although he didn't know if this stretch of road was on the way to any ski hills. Actually, neither did he know if this road was even plowed in the winter. Goddess knew his car was not four wheel drive, making a snow filled road impassable. They would be cut off.

Hmm. Now that he knew for sure it would happen, the idea suddenly didn't appeal to him as much.

He had already relocked the gate, turning back to his car, when he saw the cardboard box. He stopped. It was the packaging from, apparently, eggs, the blue writing boasting that the box contained the freshest local product to be found in the area, from happy well adjusted chickens. It was obviously from some local supermarket. Just as obvious, it wasn't something that had just blown randomly here. It was closed, probably full of ... something. Not eggs. He was sure of that.

Tom's eyes again swept the area. Someone had left this for him. Them. But no one knew they were here. The store owner who Alice had worked for knew she was still in the area, and she had stopped in the other month to do some shopping and say hello, but that was it. They kept their home a secret. But, his car WAS here all the time, for everyone to see. Anyone who knew it was his could assume he was on the other side of the fence, somewhere. They probably should have done something about that. He saw no one. The road was empty. Eyes returning to the box, he considered.

Obviously, he had two choices. Open it, or ignore it. Ignoring it would probably involve moving it away from the car, letting the next rainstorm soak the box and revealing the contents over time. That was an option.

But, then, it could be important. He had no idea how long it had been here. Not for more than a week, he thought, the box not showing any sign it had sat through the last thunderstorm. He doubted it was a bomb. Easier for someone to put one of those in his car, letting him explode like some mobster.

So, open it.

Tom slowly approached the box. It was taped shut, tan masking tape it looked like. As he got closer, he saw writing on the top. Black marker.

"For Lilith."

Tom stopped again. That, probably, answered who left this. Her Grandfather. That he knew, or guessed, she was here, yet had done nothing, said ... what?

One, that he hadn't gone to the police. Maybe he had reason not to draw attention to himself. Maybe Zak had frightened him enough to keep him away. Could be.

Maybe this was a bomb.

The end of the tape was loose. Tom pulled, the long strip coming away easily. The box almost opened by itself, the contents pushing outward.

Clothing.

Tom reached in, pulling out a thick light blue winter jacket. There were jeans. Sweaters. Winter boots.

His eyes once again looked around.

Interesting.

"I guess he does love me."

Lilith looked up at the others, her old stuffed horse in her hand. She was trying not to cry. It was easy to forget, while here, the outside. Forget family, no matter how distant. How much a stranger they had seemed. Grandpa...

"You said he didn't talk to you much?"

"No." She shrugged. Zak hugged her from behind, the length of this body pressing agains her. Lilith closed her eyes, comfort flowing into her. "I had never met him. Mom never talked about him. Maybe ... maybe I just never gave him a chance..."

A laugh came from Krissy. Opening her eyes, Lilith saw the teen lift a black book out of the box. A moment later it was sailing through the air towards her. Lilith caught it, golden letters on its cover sparkling for a moment.

"I know THIS wasn't mine." Handing the stuffed Spiritfax to Zak, she opened the Bible, eyes running over the small type. She had never been one to...

"REMOVE THE BOOK FROM MY SIGHT."

Her head jerked up. Lilith saw shock on the face of the others. So, they had heard it as well. Tom was looking up.

"Lady, what have we..."

"THAT BOOK IS FILLED WITH LIES. THEY REMOVED ME, EXCISED ME. SEPARATED ME FROM MY PEOPLE. IT IS AN ABOMINATION."

Lilith looked down at the Bible. It made sense. Certainly, what little she knew did not include the Lady. Well, she hadn't wanted it anyway. Lilith handed it over her shoulder.

"Here."

Zak took it. Turning, she saw her lover carry the thick book over to the fire. With no hesitation, he tossed it under the pot of stew.

That was that.

It was dark when Zak awoke.

Lilith did not awaken with him. She had, at first, his stirring in the early dawn bringing her into the new day, the two of them doing the morning chores together. Soon, though, his wife had realized she did not HAVE to do so. That, in fact, her help in the kitchen and with other chores Zak did not take part in demanded she begin the day's activities well rested. So, it was Zak alone who pushed back the covers, braving the cold air.

VERY cold air.

Yawning, bare feet moving quickly over the cold stone, Zak made his way into the main room. The fire was low, but gave off enough heat for the boy to give a sigh of relief as he came closer. One of the puppies, Rover, looked up from their bed, eyes blinking sleepily. Zak yawned to him.

"Morning." He knelt down, giving the golden furred animal a quick pet, before turning back to the fireplace.

"Needs wood," he mumbled. Poking the coals with the metal poker, careful not to cause sparks to fly back at him, he created a few flames. A small split log was grabbed from the pile next to him, tossed in carefully. "Much better."

He wandered over to the kitchen. A quick drink, then he could start his chores. Dad had told him that, once the children were old enough to not spill the milk, they'd be taking over these duties. Good. Sleeping in with Lilith was becoming more of a tempting option. That would be years from now, though. Until then, he would have to trudge out into the dark morning, through rain or...

His eyes widened, going to the shuttered window. Undoing the fastener, he opened it up a crack.

Snow.

So much for going everywhere nude.

"I'm doing a pregnant angel!"

Krissy could not contain her grin as she lay in the snow. This was winter. Not the dirty snow of the city, noise everywhere. You could HEAR the snow fall here! Imagine, snow made a sound!

Alice looked down at her, large body looking like a coat covered egg from this angle. Probably not something Krissy should tell her friend. The blonde had a smirk on her face.

"Are you going to be able to get up?"

That was a good question. Krissy gave it a try.

Then another try. Her eyes met Alice's.

"No."

"So, you're a fallen angel, then."

"The best kind," Tom's voice said, his shadow falling over Krissy. Grinning, she raised her arms. He grabbed them, pulling her up. Coming upright, she fell against him. Her arms went around her man.

"Thank you."

"Any time."