She trusted him completely with her heart and she craved offering it to him.
As her clothes came off-some by her own hand, others by his-she did not wonder if she would be judged. Just as she knew, even before their bodies twisted and rolled together first on the sofa then in the bedroom, that she would be happy, and pleased, and satisfied.
No insecurity. No bashfulness. No hesitation. Best of all, there were smiles and laughs. This was not desperate love, it felt exciting and new and fun. Happy.
As Trevor felt and caressed her bare person, he was amazed. So strong, everywhere. Her legs, her abbs; that same body that could be unforgiving and destructive could also be warm and inviting.
He had been with only one other lover in his life. That did not matter now, because she would be the end for him. He could not imagine anything more wonderful, more fulfilling, or more exhilarating than holding Nina…
…moving with her as her back arched…her body tensed…shivered… as she straddled him while her short ponytail bobbed and swayed.
Then to feel her beneath…her rigid and firm muscles…her legs wrapped around him…despite her might she still surrendered.
Her sighs-so gentle for a woman who proved so powerful.
Her body was so perfect in the ways she used it-sometimes passively, sometimes more direct-so wonderful that no man dare ask for more. Yet, he found the greatest satisfaction in her eyes. When he looked into them, he could see that she went far beyond flesh and energy. That she gave everything.
He knew that gift to be precious. He knew what a chance she took. He knew because he gave her more than he had ever given to anyone before. More than he thought possible to give.
When their endurance reached its breaking point; after their bodies expended every last drop of energy, after their passion had been fully fed and satisfied, they fell together and slept peacefully through their first night of being in love.
26. Round Trip
Trevor and Nina sat in the church basement picking at scrambled eggs and bacon.
Lori Brewer-wearing one of the biggest, cockiest grins ever seen by the likes of man-carried her tray over and sat at the table across from the two. "Mind if I join you?"
Nina welcomed, "Hey. No, sit down." "So…" "Don’t," Trevor stopped her. "Don’t or I’ll have to-"
Reverend Johnny rushed into the basement shouting, "Hells bells! Raise the alarm and man the battlements!"
They discarded their trays and hurried from the church. Trevor and Nina flanked Johnny as they jogged the road toward the estate where a convoy of dangerous newcomers waited: an Abrams tank, six big deuce and a half cargo trucks, one empty flatbed, two military Humvees with 50 caliber weapons mounted on top, and another Humvee with a TOW missile launcher as well as a pair of camouflage-painted SUVs.
Trevor, Nina, Johnny and the rest felt naked in front of such firepower. There they stood in the cold morning air facing off against a main battle tank and enough firepower to obliterate them in seconds.
Soldiers dressed in full US Army battle gear disembarked from the trucks as did a ragtag group of civilians including parents and young kids, teenagers, a few elderly, and more.
The hatch on the Abrams flew open. An early thirty-something soldier stuck his head out.
"Shit, you fellows were pretty hard to find." The man hoisted himself from the cupola.
Trevor asked, "What can we do for you, soldier?"
The man tilted and scratched his head. "Well, gee, that wasn’t the welcome I had been expecting, considering that the two guys we met out by State College said you people were taking in refugees."
Trevor's jaw dropped. Refugees? These guys?
"Name’s Major Tom Prescott. This here is what’s left of the U.S. Army, near as I can tell. We’ve been wandering around for the last few months looking for a good way to die. Then we saw ‘Bear’ Ross west of here yesterday. You know he was a linebacker for the 'Skins? Anyway, he gave us directions and told us you were putting things back together."
Trevor's concern morphed into smiles as Prescott jumped off the tank.
"Glad to meet you, Major."
– They gathered in the Command Center on the second floor of the estate. Stonewall, Shepherd, Jon Brewer, Nina Forest, Omar, and Reverend Johnny joined the discussion that included Prescott and his key people.
From power issues to the food supply to available munitions, Stone explained the situation at the estate to the new arrivals. Major Prescott shared what he brought to the table: one hundred trained U.S. soldiers including ten engineers and three chopper pilots as well as nearly half that number in civilians they had picked up along the way.
Ammunition for the Abrams was in good supply but it ate so much fuel they tended to leave it on the flatbed. They also carried plenty of small arms munitions, grenades, and mines. The fifty-caliber guns were well stocked but only one shot remained for the TOW.
After the Major catalogued his inventory, Trevor asked the question on everyone's mind: "What happened?"
The Major understood the question. He took a deep breath, scratched the side of his head, and told the story.
"We were at a base in Missouri doing a training program with the Mizzou National Guard. Fact is, though, no one was ready. Not the police, not the army, and especially not the politicians. You got to remember how an army is put together. There’s an order of battle. There are procedures. When you go marching off to war, it takes weeks to put the pieces together. It isn't just about bullets and bombs; it’s about supplies and orders."
Brewer added, "There were some units that got mobilized."
"Sure," Prescott agreed. "But organized for what? What do you do when monsters are popping up everywhere you turn? We woke up one morning in June and found monsters running through the base gobbling people up. Christ-Jesus, a lot of the guys on base…I mean…they had families, you know? You think they ran to the parade grounds to line up in neat ranks to go marching off to save St. Louis? We were fighting for our lives from the get-go."
Trevor rested a hand on Prescott’s shoulder. "Relax. This isn’t about blame. We just want to know."
"Oh man, you couldn’t blame any of us more than we blame ourselves. Most of us spent our lives getting ready to fight for, well you know, God and country and all that. But this type of war…it wasn’t war. It was like we suddenly got thrown down in the middle of the jungle with hungry lions surrounding us. Do you know how long it took just to get off base?"
Prescott shook his head and stared at the floor.
"It took a couple of days to get our house in order. Pardon my French, but things were really messed up. I don’t know how many of our guys died that first day-a lot of them were in town for the weekend, you know? So any way, they finally got the armory opened up and started getting out the big guns. By the third day we had most of the base cleared out but, Christ-Jesus, the things kept flooding in at us. We killed things by the bucket load."
Trevor said, "I’m guessing that was the story all over. If it weren’t for how much you guys did do in those first few weeks things would’ve been worse."
"Oh now, we weren’t patting ourselves on the back. We knew how bad it was out there. We saw the news reports. Thank God, the phones went out because for those first few days guys would be getting calls from folks back home. Man, you ever, you ever…" Prescott closed his eyes. "…you ever listen to someone you love begging for help? Begging…when you could hear something banging in the door and your kid screaming for his daddy? You ever do that?"
Hands from both Johnny and Brewer joined Trevor’s on Prescott’s shoulders.