The last pack of food made I slung the satchel over my shoulder and made my way downstairs and through the basement door to where Orrin was packing away the supplies onto the four-wheel-drive gator that he'd discovered in a shed near the house. I gazed a bit mutinously at him, as I watched him stow away the supplies and tools that we had scavenged from the house and its surroundings in the last two hours.
We hadn't even made love this morning and within a few more minutes of time we would be leaving this cozy spot that had given us refuge from the storm. Feeling convicted, though for my errant thoughts because of the angst I felt for the open forest and what terrors it might hold, I focused on putting my trust in Orrin in that he was doing the right thing.
He took the pack of food from me and began securing it down. Not looking up, he said, "I'm sorry we have to leave, but I feel it's for the best. Something isn't right and I feel like we need to get inland farther."
He glanced up at me and I dutifully nodded my assent to his plan. He glanced down and then said, "Something else. Have you noticed how much colder it is today?"
I had noticed that, but I really hadn't given it a lot of thought other than to dress myself warmly. I started to ponder on the unseasonal occurrence of the coldness now though.
Speaking my thoughts I asked, "Do you think with all this ash and other factors that an end to summer and the beginning of an early onset of winter has begun?"
"The idea has crossed my mind. Not only that, but I know to some degree that an event of something like a mini Ice Age has been expected for a long time and has been extensively planned for by the elite. We've just recently within the past two years entered a solar minimum where the sun will put out less heat than typical for about the next 15 or 30 years. The global elite I used to work for knew about it and to some degree have viewed it as a global reset button by which to help thin the masses so to speak. I never gave it much thought as I really didn't care about living or dying, but now it's different. There's you. You and your belief in God make everything different!" He said with emphasis, as he finished tying off the canvas he had stretched over the mountain of supplies and tools that we had confiscated from the premises and packed onto the bed of the four-wheel-drive gator.
I smiled at him warmly and when he glanced over at me again, I asked, "So we head south for warmer country?"
Surprisingly, he shook his head no before saying, "You don't want any part of what is going to happen in the warmer regions with everybody fighting over limited resources and trampling over each other for continued breath. It will be a madhouse of humanity falling apart at the seams. No, we head inland and look for higher ground."
"You want to go higher in elevation? Won't that be colder still?"
"Yes and no. Yes, it will be cold, but there should be more sunlight and so at times it will be warmer than in the shaded valley bottoms below and if you're right about the animals then it will be to our benefit to be somewhere inhospitable and less likely for them to stick around in."
It made sense in a way I guess, but still I didn't like the idea of being cold. Still, as an option, it was better than being either eaten by former pets or extinguished by one of my own kind.
"With proper rationing I think we've got nine months to a year's worth of food here and if we can find more along the way all the better."
"Do you have a destination in mind?"
"I'm not sure how far off we are or exactly where we are when it comes to that, but in that general direction I know there is a ski resort." He said, pointing off towards the northwest before continuing with, "I've stayed at a mountain cottage there before and I know there's a good supply of firewood and when I was there a couple years back they were well stocked with food."
Just then there was the sound of a dog barking in the distance followed by another and another farther off still from the sound of the first one. Orrin and I shared a glance and without a word I slipped around to the passenger seat and hopped in and buckled up.
Leaning forward I picked up the shotgun resting against the dash and laid it across my lap, which was a comfort to me all of its own. I sensed Orrin looking at me and glancing his way I saw him bemusedly glancing from me to the shotgun and back again.
"What?" I asked defensively, but he said nothing as he shook his head and eased into the driver's seat of the 4 x 4. He eased it forward onto the trail that led further into the forest and away from our haven.
His hand came over and patted my knee and speaking loudly I heard him say, "I feel safer having you along."
I thought he was joking at first, but his face was serious, as he chartered a way forward as fast as the rough terrain would allow. I glanced back and in the distance I saw fast moving dots of four-legged color scrambling up the stairs of the house.
Were the creatures being affected with madness, specifically being ordered by some entity to seek out human habitation and destroy its occupants? Who knew, it was hard to say, but I found myself suddenly very grateful to be on the move instead of back at the house fending off hordes of former pets gone bad.
I glanced over at Orrin lovingly and let my hand settle over the top of his thigh and squeeze warmly. He glanced my way and I gave him a smile that promised more, which was a mistake as we almost ran headlong into a tree.
Recovering at the last moment Orrin swerved around the tree, but then gruffly said, "Don't distract me like that!"
"I didn't say a thing." I admonished back at him.
With a sigh, he said, "You don't have to. The act of you simply breathing is a distraction."
"You want me to stop?" I asked playfully, but there was no playfulness in the serious tone of his response of, "No!"
~~~~~~~
It was cold! There was little left to doubt that the weather was indeed radically changing by the hour.
How many miles we had come I did not know, but the ski slopes in question now lay visible in the far-off distance. We would not reach them today though.
At various times we had come across bands of people, but we had managed to avoid detection so far from them. Universally, all the people were fleeing from the higher ground that we were heading for.
It seemed like a good idea, but more and more I was coming to trust the instincts of my man rather than that of a popular group notion. God had given me a good caretaker for sure.
Just then a snowflake fell down before my eyes. Snow in July!
Glancing over at Orrin I asked with a shiver as more and more's snowflakes began to fall, "When are you going to stop for the night?"
Orrin shook his head negatively and said, "I'm not. This snow, I have a feeling it's not going to stop anytime soon and this thing isn't cut out for deep snow."
Glancing over at me he took in my blue lips and reaching his arm out to lay across my shoulders, he pulled me closer and said, "I'm sorry."
I wasn't sorry though. I had a man who cared enough for me to sacrifice of himself and push himself to the edge to better our chances of survival. What more could a girl ask for than that?
"When do you think we'll get there?"
"Sometime in the early morning I think. I hope anyway. Try to get some sleep."
I glanced down at the dusting of snow already accumulated across the hood of the 4 x 4. Would we get there in time or would we get hung up in the snow?
I didn't want to think about that. Pressing my face into his shoulder I huddled under the blankets more and closed my eyes to the grimness of what our continued struggle for life would be like.
I let Orrin face the future alone as I closed my eyes and gave in to the desire for sleep and escape from the reality of the moment.
~~~~~~~
The screeching whine of our tires and the back and forward jerks of the vehicle had me coming awake startled. It was very dark and even colder than before. Very cold!
I couldn't feel my feet at all, but my face was halfway warm from where I had been nestled up against Orrin's side. I glanced to Orrin and gasped as I took in the ice frozen to his beard stubble.
Glancing from him I took in the reality of our situation. The snow was now deep and he was having to literally back up the 4 x 4 and then ram it forward in order to make any headway at all through it.
How he could see anything at all in the dark and through the falling snow was beyond me as the headlights of the vehicle were uselessly covered over with snow. What time it was I did not know, but it was late.
I clutched onto the handrail as he surged forward again with all tires spinning as the 4 x 4 pushed up a snow drift ahead of us. Glancing down I saw that we were almost out of fuel.
I glanced back only to see that the extra fuel jugs were jiggling about softly in evidence of how empty they were. When had he stopped to fuel up? How had I slept through so much?
Feeling guilty I looked about for what I could do, but found nothing to do at the moment, but pray and pray I did. It seemed that we were on a narrow road and managing to crest over a ridge Orrin plunged down over it recklessly as he used the downward momentum of the 4 x 4 to plow through the snow.
Unbelievably, I saw a structure take shape in the gloom of what I realized were the first moments just before sunrise. He'd driven all night through this!
He plowed the 4 x 4 through the heavy snow until literally it was hung up on the snow with all four tires spinning. It didn't matter though, because we had reached our objective.
With a groan of effort Orrin stiffly came unglued from his place behind the wheel and stepped out into the deep pressed whiteness still falling heavily from the sky. He stumbled and fell down in it, but feeling revived I hopped out after him and exerting everything I had in me, I tugged him back up and together we struggled our way through the snow to the solid wooden door of a snug looking log cabin.
The door was of course locked, but pulling out a knife Orrin jammed it between the door lintel and the door's lock and the door popped open. We fell inside into the dark, gloomy interior of the cabin sending snow everywhere.
Finding a flashlight in my pocket that I'd taken from the house I switched it on and quickly made out the structure of a fireplace. I left Orrin on the floor and going to the fireplace I went about making a fire of the readily available kindling stacked up nearby.
It took a little bit for the fire to draft, but it caught on steadily and shivering so hard that I was half afraid my teeth would crack I added more wood steadily to it. A real blaze fired up and I laid the dry wood to it until the fireplace was full.
The heat being let off by the blaze was indescribable, but I tore myself away from the warming pleasure of it and went to Orrin. Grabbing his hands, I tugged him across the floor, until he lay in front of the fire.
He was passed out, but breathing. Wiping at the sweat on my brow caused by the exertion of moving him I faced the situation of knowing what he would do if he could.
Steeling myself to the cold, I headed back outside and floundered through the snow drifts to get back to the 4 x 4 and then I began to unpack it of all of its contents. Perhaps what I was doing was unnecessary, as the 4 x 4 wasn't going anywhere, but it's what I knew Orrin would do if he was able to.
I made trip after trip back into the house, only taking the time to add wood to the fire and check on Orrin. The cabin was getting quite warm now.
I made my last trip out and grabbed up, among other things my shotgun. I made my way back through the channel I had made through the snow feeling proud of what I had achieved.
Gaining my way to the door of the cabin I stopped to face the brightening sky of the morning sunrise. Still it continued to snow on.
Our tracks to this haven on the upper slope of a ski resort were completely obscured by freshly fallen snow and I had a deep sense of awareness that we were the only two people anywhere in the nearby vicinity, which included the ski resort and many other cabins just like our own. A sense of peace and of being divinely watched over by an all-powerful Creator filled me with joy and smiling I said, "Thank you Father!"
Still smiling I entered the cabin that was now fairly roasting and shut the door. I shut the dead bolt closed even as the snow outside provided its own form of security in keeping us safe from humanity trying to save itself from the elements as well as its own kind.
There was no struggle for life here though. In this little cabin and indeed in all the other cabins and the ski resort itself we would no doubt find everything we needed in order to survive.
My man had been very wise to come here. Going to Orrin I saw that he was awake.
He was staring at the flames of the fire and his eyes were full of tears, but as I came near the look he gave me was one full of joy. I knelt down beside him and raising his hand up he caressed his fingers down my jaw as he said, "Thank you for helping me find the way home. I promised God that if He would get me through to a place where you would be safe that I would give my life to Him and ask for His forgiveness for everything that I've done wrong. I've done that and it's largely because of your witness to me that has helped bring me through the darkest tunnel of my life and back into the light I knew as a child, when my mother taught me of God and of the redeeming grace to be found in His Son Jesus. Thank you for being who you are Jolana! You're quite a girl."
Crying openly with hard-pressed joy I seized his hand and kissed the palm of it before saying, "I'm your girl! I'll always be your girl!"
Looking overcome he whispered, "I know. Truly God is good."
"Yes, He is!" I affirmed, as I kneeled down over him to kiss him with all the passion and love I had for him. It wasn't enough, though!
I wanted him inside me. I wanted to mark this day, this moment of joy, by being as close to him as I possibly could be and to that end, I broke our kiss off and tore at his clothing that had just begun to thaw out.
By the heated blaze of the fire I uncovered him, until in its heated glow he lay bare. I tore at my own clothes and he helped me and then rising up over him I welcomed his shaft all the way into the special haven that had been created just for him within my body.
Breathing heavy I leaned forward onto my elbows so that our hearts touched each other and I kissed him all over again as his hands stroked over the curves and hollows of my body meant for only him to take pleasure in.
I couldn't bring myself to move upon his shaft buried deeply within my core, as I didn't want to part myself from his indwelling presence within me for even the slightest of moments and yet I ached for his possession of me. Seeming to sense my dilemma Orrin's hands came to my hips and he held me tight to him as he proceeded to shift his hips up and down and slam his shaft deeply within me.
My body rose and fell to the tune of his thrusts up into me in a clear testament to the strength of my man. Breaking our kiss I let my face fall against his neck as my body went over the edge of the orgasm that he had stroked to life within my inner being.
Crying out I bit into his shoulder as the passion he gave me only intensified with each stroke of his shaft up into me. Truly, I could ask for no more in life than what I had been gifted with in the form of this man, of which I was glad to live out the rest of my days with in the blissful harmony of being his.
I came again and so did he and with relish I felt the insides of my sheath massage and constrict lovingly around his shaft as he took the hard-won pleasure that he deserved from bringing my own body to the heights of passion and beyond.
Exhausted, but with my heart pounding, I lay still upon the body of my mate as his hands lovingly flexed around the shapes and contours of my body in direct contact with his. I don't know how much time had passed by when I heard him whisper, "Jolana?"
Bringing my head up I met his gaze, only to read the full sincerity of it, as he said, "I love you."
Suddenly crying, I blubbered out past my emotions spilling out all over his chest and said, "I love you too!"
Softly smiling, he said, "It shows."
His hand stroked across my cheek and adoringly I pressed my face into it. I gazed into his eyes for several long moments before I looked around and then gazed into the fire as a deep-seated happiness invaded every last part of me.
"What are you thinking?" He asked smiling.
Turning my gaze to him I playfully said, "Oh, I was just imagining all the ways that I could think of to experience pleasure with you."
"Oh really? Tell me what comes to mind?" He said playing along with an easy joy that bespoke of the fact that he felt as free as I did in this moment just be ourselves with each other, with nothing held back.
Leaning forward I whispered into his ear and then drawing back, I laughed at the look of playful shock upon his face. Instantly I felt his shaft come alive against the flesh of my inner thigh.
Pushing up I winked down at him before saying, "But first you have to catch me."
I started to move away quickly, but before I knew it, I found myself grasped ahold of and deposited firmly upon the floor where he had just been as he even now leaned down over me aggressively. Sighing playfully I breathed out, "Oops. Yeah, got me!"
Shaking his head while softly laughing, he said, "You're too much. I seriously don't deserve you. That said; however, I'm never going to let you go!"
Smiling with all the joy I felt I willingly allowed myself to become his prisoner of delight. As he stretched my legs upward toward my head, I grasped my own ankles and pulled them the rest of the way.
I wanted him in this way, because the more I experienced of him, the more I realized that I had been created to take him deep.
His hands covered over mine and with my feet pressed to the bed to either side of my head, his shaft stroked home within me and I cried out with an abandoned joy at the feel of my man as deep as he could literally go inside of me. Truly the world outside had gone to hell, but right here, right now, nothing had ever felt so right as he did within me.
I breathed out, "I love you!" Over and over again, as he slid into me over and over again, until we were both lost in the passion that we had for each other, until there was nothing left to do but feed the fire and stay warm within each other's arms.
Orrin and I were a pair and with God's help we would both survive and flourish in the new harsh reality that the world had taken on outside. I felt sure of it even as my faith in God testified of it and now I wasn't alone in my faith, but together, two equal halves of a whole, we were now of one flesh and with God's help we were capable of meeting any challenge in life that was thrown against us.