by Westwind
October 2001
For the last time, he walked along the familiar path toward home. Adam Benjamin was leaving this tomorrow; the next day, he would be someone else. Adam realized he was whistling. Duncan would be so disappointed. According to Duncan, Adam was supposed to be suffering because he was leaving. The nightmares were out of his control, but he couldn't restrain his ebullience.
As it got close to time to go--and it couldn't get much closer than this--Adam felt more and more relieved. At least Duncan had come to see that they should leave. Adam would go down the Ohio River, to the Mississippi, and on to New Orleans. Duncan would follow the same route in a few months.
The whole lower Mississippi region had suffered. About thirty years ago, a great hurricane had struck New Orleans dead on. The winter after the hurricane had been especially cold and long. Snow had fallen and not melted along the whole Gulf Coast. Farther north, it had piled up to the rafters of the houses. When the thaw came, it came all at once.
The levees that the hurricane hadn't destroyed, the spring floods had taken out. The mighty river had turned and gone down the Atchafalaya, leaving a trickle to run in its old bed in New Orleans. Less than a generation after the plague had struck, there had been no one left to rebuild the levees. And now it was too late. Morgan City was bustling from what he heard.
Adam wanted someplace warm. He was tired of the cold, having frozen too many times in the first years after the plague. Adam wanted some place that passed for large. New Orleans no longer fit that description, but it had something he had hidden away.
And he was tired of being poor. It seemed safe to appear decently well off. If he found the treasure, they could spend a few months, maybe a year, in New Orleans and then they would move on. If the treasure wasn't there, he and Duncan could just go on immediately.
Adam didn't want to discuss all the details and possibilities; unfortunately, Duncan did. It was the main thing that they argued about. Duncan liked to consider all the possibilities, and Adam didn't like too much talk. If he was superstitious, this was the subject. Adam believed firmly that one didn't talk about the important things or one might jinx them. Irrational--but there it was.
Laughing to himself, Adam hunched down into his coat, his boots crunching on the frosty ground. He stopped to look around. The woods were thinning, and he could see their house through the trees. The normality of their life here had been wonderful. Ten years they had been here, working, and building, and loving. Duncan had blossomed. He had shaken off so many of the defensive behaviors that had appeared in the years since the plague.
They had fallen into the habit of distrusting everyone and everything. It had been a necessity in the first years after the plague. For the last few years before coming to Ohio, never spending more that a year or two in any one place, it had gotten to be habit. Duncan had pulled into himself tighter and tighter. Surely one of the blessings of this Ohio interlude was Duncan learning to laugh again. It had been too long for both of them. But now was the time to move on.
They had to go somewhere and settle down for ten or fifteen years. But did he want to go east or west of New Orleans? He needed to wait and see if the treasure was still waiting for them. If it was, they could go to someplace like Dallas or Atlanta. If not, they would have to work for a living in someplace smaller. He didn't know why he couldn't talk to Duncan about his buried treasure. He wished that he could; it would make everything simpler.
He smiled as Duncan came out on the porch. Duncan looked delectable except for the worry line between his eyebrows. Standing with his hands stuffed into a pair of overalls, Duncan was looking at Adam anxiously.
Adam hurried to the steps and up them. He swept Duncan into his arms and hugged him hard. "I have something I want to talk to you about. Let's go inside." They went into the house. As Duncan locked the door, Adam looked around as he took off his coat and hung it up. He would miss this; it felt like home. Adam watched as Duncan poured water into a pot for tea, and then stirred up the fire. "Stop fidgeting, and come here. This isn't bad; I promise."
"What is it? I know there's something, but you couldn't talk about it." Duncan watched as Adam sat down by the fire. Duncan's heart contracted. When he thought of this time in Shady Grove in the future, this was how he would remember Adam: sitting in this chair, with his hands stretched out towards the fire and the cuffs of his flannel shirt rolled halfway up to show his long johns. Duncan poured a cup of tea for both of them and then brought one of the kitchen chairs over and sat down. "Tell me."
"There's a reason I want to go to New Orleans; I'm finding it difficult to talk about it." Duncan's sudden movement startled Adam. He looked into Duncan's brown eyes and saw the fear there. He reached out and took Duncan's hand. "No. I am not leaving you. Never think it, Duncan. I will stay with you as long as you'll have me." Adam got down on his knees and hugged Duncan fiercely. "Is that what you've been worried about?"
"Mainly. I thought you would probably go and just keep going."
Adam put his arms around Duncan's legs and his head in Duncan's lap. "Oh, Duncan. I love you. I don't want to go anywhere without you, but I have to. I need to go to New Orleans to see if I can and to retrieve a treasure. It may not be there. The gods only know what the hurricane and the flood did, never mind about one hundred years of human activity. But it is well hidden." Adam looked up at Duncan.
"Where?" Duncan's eyes danced with relief and interest.
"No, I don't want to talk about that. It will jinx it." Adam sat back on his heels and laughed up at Duncan, hazel eyes dancing.
"Adam, you're superstitious! I don't believe it."
"I don't like to talk about something that may not work out. There are so many possibilities. What if something has happened and it's not there?"
Duncan leaned forward and kissed his lover on his pouty lips. "I don't care. Just so you're not running." He initiated a kiss that had Adam glad he was already on the floor. Duncan came down out of the chair to match up with Adam--lips to lips, chest to chest, pelvis to pelvis. Duncan broke the kiss. "I love you, too. More than you'll ever know."
Adam grabbed Duncan and swung him around and down onto the floor. He began to kiss Duncan, tongues meshing as their need mounted. "You want to get naked here or in a comfortable bed? You have one minute to decide." Adam sat up, but his pelvis was pressed firmly against Duncan's. Duncan surged up and began to kiss and then tongue Adam's neck. Adam tilted his head to give his lover more access. "Is that your final answer?"
Duncan growled, "If you can still talk, I'm not doing this right."
"I just thought you'd rather be comfortable. If you'd rather be stiff and cold on this hard floor, go right ahead. But you'll be on the bottom." Adam was laughing.
"Talk about a mood breaker." Duncan got to his feet, then pulled Adam up. "Let's go."
"Just hold me. Please, Duncan."
Duncan held Adam close for a minute and then led him down the hall and into the bedroom, kissing and caressing him as they traveled. Their clothes had disappeared by the time that they got to the bed.
Adam was already aroused, with his thick cock pointing toward the ceiling, the foreskin pulling back from the head. Duncan reached for it, but Adam took charge, dreamily stroking and kissing Duncan from shoulders to knees. Duncan's legs gave way, and he sat down on the bed.
With the oil that served them as lubricant, Adam moved in and made short work of getting Duncan ready. Duncan lay back on the bed and put his legs around Adam's waist, pulling him forward. Adam let his penis find it's way between Duncan's cheeks, then leaned forward to kiss, and caress, and suck, and bite.
Duncan used the strength in his legs to pull Adam inside. Adam kept still as Duncan impaled himself and began to wiggle. "Goddamn it, Methos. Push!"
"I thought you'd never ask." Adam began to thrust with a steady rhythm--all the way in, then all the way out.
At first Duncan was satisfied, then the very sameness of it drove him to begin to lurch against Adam, asking for satisfaction. "Please, Methos, please. Harder." He pulled him in with his legs, then reared up and grabbed Adam's hips.
Taking hold of Duncan's legs and opening them up farther, Adam began to thrust in faster and faster, the arc of his strokes getting shorter until he was hammering into Duncan with all the wildness he could muster.
Duncan came with a shout, and Adam stuttered to his fulfillment soon after. He fell forward onto Duncan's chest, weeping. As Duncan petted him, stroking through his hair, he heard a knock on the door. "Oh, no. Not now." Adam rolled off Duncan who sat up and looked for his clothes. "I'll get the door if I can find my overalls." He lurched up and picked up their clothes, pulling his on and throwing Adam's to him.
He opened the door to find Serena, Tom, Josh, and Addie Hurley, each with a dish wrapped in a towel. "We brought supper for you, Duncan. We knew that you wouldn't want to cook. Let me put this down. It's hot; you won't even have to heat it. Lily! How are you? Where's your sister?" Lily turned and looked at the crate she had come out of. "In the crate, eh? Well come here and let me hold you one more time. There. There. You're such a beautiful cat! I wonder why they call her a blue point when she's gray and white? Adam, I know you'll take good care of her, and she'll grow up big, and strong, and beautiful. Yes, you will. She's such a calm presence. You're going on a great adventure, all the way to New Orleans. What wonders you'll see! Adam, we're going to miss you. You be careful, you here. I'm not crying anymore." Serena hugged Lily to her and struggled not to weep.
Adam came across the room and knelt down in front of Serena and Lily. "Serena, I am so glad that I came to know you and your family. But it's time to move on. Please don't cry. Be happy for me. In New Orleans we'll have a new, different life."
"There's something else we wanted to say." Duncan cleared his throat. "We've talked it over with Tom. Josh, we want to give you this piece of land and the house that's on it. It will be the nucleus of a farm for you when you start your family. We both wanted to tell you."
Josh was struck dumb. He looked at Duncan, then at Adam with his mouth hanging open. Tom said, "It will be better if the deeds are put in my name until you come of age. We'll just let you run the place. It's a tidy little property; you'll be well set up when you turn twenty-one. Let's go home and leave Duncan and Adam to eat their supper in peace. Good night." He shook hands with the two men, Addie and Serena hugged both their necks, and Josh drifted out the door, dreaming of his future as a landowner.
Duncan locked the door again and turned round to see Adam investigating the covered dishes. "There's beef and gravy, some potatoes and cheese, green beans and biscuits. Get the plates out, and I'll make tea. After our little workout, I'm hungry." He looked up at Duncan through his lashes and gave one of Adam Pierson's best little smiles. Duncan's heart lurched; how he loved that smile. Duncan came to Adam and gave him a kiss. "I've got to get something. I'll be right back." He hurried out of the room only to return with his arms full to overflowing. Duncan took the quilts and pillows he carried and dumped them on the floor in front of the fireplace. "Hurry up." He grinned at Adam.
Adam brought the teapot and the dish of beef with gravy. Maggie came out of the crate, crying her need for 'beef'. Duncan brought the other dishes over to find Adam had spread out the quilts and was fluffing the pillows.
After a few minutes, Adam set his plate down for the kittens to finish. He slipped behind Duncan and drew him back to rest against his chest. Putting his head down, he nuzzled Duncan's neck. Duncan laid his plate aside and turned to Adam, putting his hands up to frame his face.
The kiss was deep and consuming, full of promise. Duncan kissed Adam like it was the first time--a little tentative but deeply hungry. He trailed kisses down Adam's chin and his throat and gently bit. Adam grinned. Duncan raised his head. "I love you."
They lay back and watched their kittens finish the meal and begin to wash up. Adam shivered as his partner's tongue traveled along his hand, licking each finger delicately then sucking on the thumb. He watched as Lily and Maggie got through with their bath and moseyed into their crate. "Let's go downstairs one more time." Duncan got up and pulled his lover to his feet. They went toward the ladder arm in arm. Adam went down first. By the time that Duncan had reached the bottom, Adam was naked. Duncan was struck again by the beauty before him.
Adam had lit the kerosene heater sometime ago so the air was warm and inviting. Duncan sat on the bed and patted the place beside him. Adam came and sat down pulling his knees up to rest his head on them. "Do me like this." His eyes sparkled with excitement.
The almost awkwardness of the position added to their growing desire. Duncan came while laughing at Adam's expression. They took turns mounting each other until they were both so loose and open, they could just slip in with no effort. Sleeping a while, one would waken to find the other sucking his toes, or deep in the worship of the other's navel, or rutting, fast and furious.
Eventually Adam fell asleep and left Duncan wakeful. Tomorrow Adam left for New Orleans. Duncan felt hollow inside. He knew the dangers a mortal would face on the journey; Adam was Immortal with all the dangers inherent in that condition. Duncan rolled over and looked at Adam, asleep in a tangle of bedcovers with a pillow partially over his head. Adam looked so young and innocent, what he could see of him. Duncan chuckled. When Adam was sleeping, his eyes were hidden. When he was awake, the knowledge behind them gave something away; they didn't match his apparent age.
Duncan realized Adam was muttering softly to himself. Duncan reached out and gathered his lover to him. Only one more night to hold him. Maybe only one more night was all of forever that they had. That scared Duncan; he wanted to go first. If Adam lost his head, Duncan knew he wouldn't be far behind. Duncan sighed and gathered Adam a little tighter, trying to hold the nightmares at bay.
Adam fell deeper into the dream. He was lost in time and space. He didn't remember who or where he was. It was gray and bleak. Sometimes he remembered that he was dreaming, but could not wake up.
Methos walked down the street, not knowing anybody, not recognizing where he was. It was a pre-plague city, with cars parked along the sides of the street. He seemed to be dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, his urban uniform. He kept walking.
He felt that the buildings and the people changed, but he wasn't getting anywhere. Methos had walked and walked, block after endless block. He wasn't yet frantic, but he could feel it coming, a feeling of dread and foreboding. Methos went to the left at the next intersection, trying to find some difference. The street was just the same--sameness on top of sameness.
Methos tried to run, but couldn't. He walked to the right at the intersection, and then left at the next. It made no difference. He still didn't know where he was. What did he know? He was Methos, oldest of their kind. He was dreaming--something he would soon forget. If he could just hold the thought in his mind, but it kept slipping away.
Methos began to panic. He tried to talk to the people who were walking down the street with him. They didn't seem to hear him. He grabbed them, but his hands passed right through them. Methos kept trying, his hands waving around in front of him. He was starting to cry from frustration and fear.
Suddenly Methos felt a touch on his arm. There was no one there. He turned around and around. Turning to run, he couldn't pick up his feet. Then the touch came again. Breathless and sobbing, he was falling into a full-blown panic attack. Methos could hear someone talking, but he couldn't distinguish the words. He was crying so hard that he was choking. Where was Duncan? Why wasn't he here? "Adam, Adam wake up!"
Whoever Adam was, someone wanted him. Why didn't someone want him? He had to sit down. He walked to a nearby stoop and sat on the steps. Pulling his knees to his chest with his arms, he rested his head against them. He sat there with tears filling his eyes, making his nose sting. He began to gently rock back and forth, moving for comfort. Sobbing helplessly, Methos started to withdraw into himself.
"Adam, do you hear me? Adam, wake up now. Please, Adam, open your eyes. Adam, Methos, wake up." He heard his name in the midst of the talk. He couldn't open his eyes yet, but he'd listen. "Baby, what's wrong?"
He was so sweet, this man who was talking to Adam. He felt someone stroking down his back. He sighed. He was no longer crying. Maybe he'd speak again; he liked the man's voice. He was lying on something soft, wrapped in something warm, with someone stroking him. He sighed again. He remembered. He was Adam, on occasion. He sat up.
Adam opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of his lover. Duncan looked at him with such concern on his face. Adam still looked dazed but increasingly aware. He took a breath and snuffled up the last of his tears like a lost and lonely boy. Duncan's heart stopped, then started beating again. Adam looked so young and so vulnerable.
He was obviously still caught in his nightmare, but beginning to break free. Adam's eyes were still wary; they knew Duncan, but Adam was still a great distance away. He sat up. Duncan moved to take Adam into his arms again. Adam shrugged him away. He wasn't ready to believe yet, but it was coming. He held himself and rocked.
Duncan sat next to him and put his hands on the tight shoulders. Adam almost drew away, but then made himself relax. Just a little touching was all right. He shut his eyes very tight and pretended that he was nowhere. Duncan scooted around until he could put his arm around Adam's shoulder and began to gently pat him.
After a few minutes of gentle patting, Adam leaned against Duncan and sobbed. Duncan put his other arm up to embrace his lover. He wished he could do more, but he was afraid he would spook Adam. Just then he heard tiny mewing from the direction of trap door. Adam heard it, too. "Go see what's wrong." Adam's voice was barely there.
Duncan walked to the door and laughed. Maggie was on the second step of the ladder; Lily had made it down to the fourth step and gotten turned around so that she was facing the wall. They both were calling loudly for help. Duncan stepped up the ladder and picked up Lily who didn't see him coming.
Adam had come up behind him, and gotten his errant kitten, and gone back to bed. Duncan stepped up another step and spoke quietly to Maggie. The petrified little thing wanted to be gotten down, but she was terrified of the process. He put his hand behind her and scooted her forward. She screamed with fright but fell onto his chest.
Maggie started to purr immediately on hitting Duncan's chest. Now he had to figure out how to step down with his hand full of kitten. He was laughing ruefully as he jumped down. Maggie hissed but never stopped purring.
Duncan walked over to the bed to find Adam lying curled around Lily. He sat down on the bed with Maggie who settled down in his lap, still purring. "I want Maggie to stay with me." He looked so serious. And Maggie looked equally serious, eyes perfectly round as she looked at Adam.
"I think that that's a good idea. You can be company for each other; Lily and I will be in New Orleans waiting for you." Adam mourned very briefly while Duncan was transformed. He reached over to hug Adam only to have both kittens protest. "Not in front of the children."
They moved around until Duncan was holding the kittens and Adam was holding him. "Duncan, do you understand why I'm going? I have to go. I don't want to leave you, but you feel as if you have to stay until school lets out. What else can we do?"
Duncan sat up despite the squeaky protests. "I'm going with you! To hell with teaching. I'm never going to need this job as a reference." He paused and looked right into Adam's eyes. "If you want me to go with you, that is. I know you wanted to go by yourself." He looked hopefully at Adam.
Adam reached out and hugged him. "We have a thousand things to do--starting here. I'll get this room partially dismantled. You pack. Go on up and I'll hand you the kittens. This is what I wanted; I just didn't know it until you offered it to me." He leaned over and kissed Duncan.
As Duncan climbed the ladder, he couldn't help but think of the children he would be leaving behind--three months short of being finished with the school year. He was sorry, but beyond that, he couldn't care. Methos came first--always first. Duncan had the rest of the school year planned out; someone else could substitute for him. He reached down for the kittens. "I'm so glad I'm going."
"I'm glad too." Adam was grinning. He felt light-hearted and young--well not young, but younger. "Are you sure, Duncan? Don't let my need pull you away if you aren't."
"I'm sure. Someone can substitute for me. I'm excited. Why didn't I think of this before?" Duncan got up and hurried into his bedroom to get his clothes.
The prospect of working naked appealed to Adam. He turned and looked at the basement. The barebones of the bed could stay. It was warmer down here in winter and cooler in summer, if one didn't mind the damp and the dark. The heater could stay. The draperies on the wall would have to be changed this summer if Josh decided to use the basement. The quilts could go with them; he had to be more mindful of creature comforts with Duncan along. The pillows and the bedding would stay.
Some of the fittings would have to go. He did not want to explain to a sheltered sixteen year old that he could crave being tied up and whipped. Adam made short work of the framework around the bed. He stacked the lumber near the hatch and began to gather the rest of the telltale paraphernalia. It didn't take long to make the basement look perfectly bland.
Duncan stuck his head down the hatch. He was incandescent with excitement. "Are you through yet? You're still naked! It does look different down there. What do you want to keep? Hand it to me. I've made a stack up here. You should see the kittens; they're into everything. Just leave the lumber; it could be anything. Hurry up!" The head withdrew.
Making a pack of the quilts and the naughty bits, Adam climbed the ladder, shaking his head. Duncan sounded just like Serena; he hoped he survived this trip. Stopping to put on his clothes and taking the quilts to the kitchen, he left the erotica on the kitchen table and walked out the door to the buggy with the quilts. He hurriedly put them down and went back in the house. He had forgotten his coat, not to mention his sword.
Coming back in, he shivered and went to the fire. It had burned down to embers. He built it up again, then stood with his back to it, thawing out. Duncan came in from his bedroom with duffels partially packed. Adam reached into his pocket and handed Duncan a piece of paper. "Here."
"What is it?" Duncan took the folded piece of paper and looked up.
"It's something I wrote for you; I was going to leave it for you to find."
Duncan unfolded it and read:
Through the dark,
through the light,
and the in-between,
I am slipping through time and the buildings of men.
I don't always remember this or that.
The taste of a woman who has just been fucked,
the caress of a man as he says good-bye,
or the laugh of a child, spinning in the grass.
I let time run by me
like water runs over the stones it smoothes.
It moves like smoke from a fire burning,
billowing, filling all the spaces.
Time is like the drift of clouds in the vault of blue.
It is like a snake slithering.
Who knows what turn my life will take.
Time flows over me, around me, in me, through me.
I am adrift in the flow.
"It's beautiful. I don't remember any other poem you've written in a long time." Duncan looked up at Adam with bright eyes.
"About fifty years. I haven't written them down, but I have composed. Let's get started. How much do you want to take?" Adam looked around him with faint color high on his cheekbones.
"All I want to take is a change of clothes and Maggie. But I guess I'd better pack a little heavier--say my shaving gear. I don't ever want to go back to the way we looked when we let our beards grow. Ugh!" Duncan laughed at the expression on Adam's face. "Who knew your beard was so--"
"That's enough!" But there was a twinkle in Adam's eye.
"What next."
"Duncan, do you really want to leave everything behind? There'll be no coming back for any reason. Think about it before you discard it. I'm already to go; let me help you."
"I think that the kittens should both ride in the buggy in their crates. You can modify them so that one of the crates is for eating and one is for sleeping. It doesn't matter to me who drives the buggy and who rides the horse. We can take turns. A change of clothes, underwear, shaving supplies, you, and the kittens. That's all I want. What else do I need?"
"Your sword!" Adam was mocking outrage.
"That goes without saying," laughed Duncan.
"Let's see. We need one good skillet and a pot to boil water, and I've already packed that. An extra plate and utensils and a mug for you. The kittens can eat out of the same saucer and bowl. Provisions for about two weeks will have to be doubled. To wash ourselves and our clothes, we'll pack all the hard soap we have. We'll have to reprovision on the road. The quilts can go on the back of the buggy and be wrapped in the waterproof you hadn't thought of." Adam was still making a list.
"At least two changes of winter clothing, your coat, a hat to keep off the rain. Then a couple of changes of clothes suited for warmer weather, your boots and your spares. We can always find room for them. Oh, and take that sweater I like--so I can borrow it." As he talked, Adam was packing the things that Duncan brought.
Duncan grinned at him as he handed Adam the winter white sweater. "We have about three hours, I think. Then we need to talk to Tom. I'm going no matter what he says."
"He can't stop you; we're not even running. Tom knows where we're going." Adam was exasperated, but firm. "No brooding."
"I just worry--about everything."
"I know, but don't worry this time. We're going on an adventure. Didn't I promise you that we would survive the plague as well as the dark years after the plague? We have survived, and now we're beginning to prosper. None of that has changed our essential nature. We're Immortals.
"I wish I could change it, Duncan." He held out his hands, and Duncan walked into his arms. "We have to move on. It's hard to leave, I know. People like the Hurley's make it very difficult--especially Josh who's been like a son to both of us. Let's look forward to our new life."
Duncan ducked his head until the top was pressed against Adam's chest. Adam could barely hear him. "I know. I really do. Maybe it's because we're safe here. I even know that that won't last." He sighed and looked up. "I feel like I should be--sorrier, somehow."
Adam laughed. "Let's get packed and then go see Tom. You can brood all you want to when we're on the road." Adam stepped back, and picked up the bedroll, and walked to the door, and put it down. "Start making a pile of the stuff here. I'll get the waterproofs from the back room. And the paraphernalia from downstairs has to be gotten rid of."
Duncan looked at the table with its pile of leather and chains. As he walked to the table, a wicked whip caught Duncan's eye. He took it in his hands and turned it over.
"I said get rid of that stuff, not reminisce." But Adam said it with a smile of remembrance in his voice.
"What do we do with it? Just burying it seems risky; it might be dug up. And we don't have the time to do it right anyway." Duncan put the whip down amid the carefully crafted leather collars and restraints
"You're right. We'll take it to Tom. Let him do his watcherly duty and clean up after his Immortals."
Duncan smiled at Adam. "I'll take the bedroll out, and saddle the horse, and get the buggy ready. You take a last look around." Adam glanced around the kitchen; Serena could take the rest of the supplies. He washed the few dishes and emptied the water. Going through the hall, he picked up Duncan's sheepskin jacket and put it near the door. Duncan looked so good in that jacket, he mused. The way it cinched in at the waist, emphasizing his ass and long legs, was devastating.
He went into Duncan's bedroom and stripped the bed, putting the sheets in a pile for the washerwoman. Looking around the room, he picked up the various bits of detritus and dumped them into a basket. Adam went out and looked in his bedroom, but it was clear. The bathroom was next; clearing the debris, he walked back to the basket in Duncan's bedroom and dumped the stuff into it. That was all. He went back to the kitchen.
Duncan came in and swept him up in an embrace. "Let's go talk to Tom. He should be starting the milking about now."
"Let's get the last of this stuff put on the buggy first. There's not much. Then we have to place the crate. I have some idea about where to put it. You grab a load, and I'll get the kittens up; they've sensibly gone to sleep. Only the humans in this outfit stay up all night." Adam went to the crate and fastened the door, then picked it up. "I want you to take the sheepskin jacket--for me." He swallowed noticeably.
Duncan looked up and rewarded him with a blindingly brilliant smile. "Of course I will." Adam ducked out the door. Duncan was left to ponder what forces had left a five thousand years old man with so many insecurities. There was very little left to pack. Duncan got busy and finished, took it outside, then came back for the sheepskin jacket.
He found Adam leaning against Juniper and talking some nonsense into his ear. At the appearance of Duncan, Adam straightened and looked very sheepish. "Let me help you with that. I think there's room on the back." He lifted the tarp and opened the trunk.
While Adam was finishing the packing, Duncan walked around to see about the kittens. They had their own place up under the awning of the buggy. Lily was meditating in a corner, but Maggie was pacing the crate, trying to get out. He walked up to the crate and put his hand out to Maggie.
Just then Tom and Josh walked up. "Ready to go? Is Duncan going to ride with you?" Tom looked at the bedroll in puzzlement. "Duncan, are you leaving, too."
"You're very perceptive, Tom. Yes, I'm going now rather than in May. I'm sorry about the school, but I just can't let Adam leave without me. We were coming over to see you. We need to sign some kind of quitclaim deed for Josh. It will mean some legal shenanigans, but that can't be helped. We won't be here to dispute his claim, and you won't be able to find us."
"I can't believe you're leaving now. What about the last few weeks of school?" Josh was aghast at this new betrayal.
"The trustees will have to find someone to substitute for me. I have the lesson plans all written down. I'm sorry, Josh; but I love Adam. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to go. Lets go in the house--"
"No, Duncan. There's something on the kitchen table that Josh shouldn't see."
"Josh, go do the milking. That's why you came. Go on. We're not going in the house until you're in the milking shed." Tom stood and looked at Josh until he dragged slowly into the shed.
Adam turned and led the way into the house. He stood and let Duncan and Tom in the house, then locked the door. "We had already agreed that you would have to deal with our toys, Tom. Sorry. Anywhere we could bury them tonight, someone might dig up next month. We'd be gone, but you'd be left to explain to--whoever."
Tom was silent as he looked at the whips and chains. He sighed. "I'll take them. Split up, they won't seem so--dangerous. Let's get them out of sight though. Josh wouldn't be human if he didn't try to find out what you had."
Duncan and Adam moved to the table to split the collection. The chains went to Duncan who wrapped them in a spare blanket and put them in the stove. Adam took the whip, collars, and bindings and went out of the room with them.
"I don't want to leave the kittens outside for long. Tom, if I hadn't decided to leave with Adam, you never would have known. Ask now. It's your last chance."
"Which one?"
"Both. We're both older than dirt." Tom jumped at one of Serena favorite sayings. "We both enjoy it occasionally."
Tom swallowed visibly. "I know you're both good and honorable men. But I don't understand. I guess I never will now."
Adam came back in the room with a piece of paper in his hand. "This is where you'll find the leather. Duncan, had you better go get the kittens?" As Duncan left, Adam crossed his arms and looked at Tom. "We would have done anything to keep this from Josh."
"You have. It's just a shock, you know."
"Yes, I know." Adam didn't say anything else though Tom clearly expected him to.
"Who are you? What's your real name?" "I am who I say I am." At his full height, Adam simply stared at Tom, letting a little of Death come through.
Duncan came back in with the kittens in his hands. He noticed to tension in the air. "What's wrong?"
Adam looked his way, but not at him. "Tom asked who I really was. Let me write out the quitclaim first, then Duncan and I can sign it." Adam sat down at the table and pulled a piece of paper to him. He quickly wrote the details out in his distinctive hand then signed it; Duncan came around to sign it too. They both looked up.
"I wish you a good trip. Good luck." Tom was shaken; he had seen too much.
"I'm going to miss you." Josh was oblivious to the currents in the room. His eyes were large with unshed tears.
"Josh, I'm leaving all my books for you to read. Don't let other things keep you from them." Adam hugged Josh.
"Where's Maggie?" Adam picked up Lily who had been sitting at his feet, listening to the conversation.
Maggie stuck her head out of a box, emptied of its contents in the rush to get ready. Duncan grinned at the picture she made. "Maggie, come here."
"She doesn't 'come here' for anyone, Duncan. And she doesn't like to be picked up unless it's 'her' idea."
Duncan squatted down and held out his hands. Maggie looked at the hands, then up at him, then she hopped out of the box and came over to him. He swept her up and hugged her. "That's my good girl."
"The vaunted McLain charm strikes again." But Adam was grinning.
"I'll take the buggy first; maybe Maggie will ride a little easier. She hasn't had the advantage of practice rides the way Lily has." Duncan was struggling into his coat and trying to hold Maggie, too.
Adam walked up and offered to take Maggie. "Charming, but a little klutzy." Adam's eyes were dancing. Duncan handed the kitten over and put on his coat.
Adam walked into the hall and came back with his sword. Josh took a step forward. "Gosh."
Adam looked at him enigmatically, then put the sword up in the folds of his coat. He stood at his full height, poised and balanced, and looked calmly at Tom. Nothing was said, but a great deal was understood.
Adam looked over at Duncan and smiled. "Let's go." Turning off the oil lamp, he ushered them out the door. After Adam locked the door, he gave the keys to Tom. Duncan gave his keys to Josh, then hugged him one more time.
Mounted on Juniper, Adam led the way for Duncan and the kittens. Out of the yard and down the road, south toward the Ohio River still eighty miles away. Duncan finally had time to think of all the things he hadn't done.
Adam gave him some time and then began to talk about New Orleans. "Have you heard anything about the universities in town--Tulane, University of New Orleans? I wouldn't mind teaching again at Tulane. It's been--let me see now--over a hundred years. I don't believe my credentials are still valid. Maybe I'll just be a graduate student."
"What in the world were you teaching back then. No, let me guess--linguistics."
"Not even close. It was mathematics."
"You! I don't believe it!"
"I'm crushed. That looks like a good place for lunch." They pulled into a grove of trees. Duncan spent some time trying to ferret out the details. Adam was well satisfied with his meddling.
After lunch for everybody, Duncan again took the buggy. Maggie had settled down some, but she was still prone to periods of meowing followed by pacing. From the buggy he could watch Adam ride a horse; it was quite a sight.
As the afternoon passed, it grew increasingly cloudy. Adam rode up next to Duncan, "We'd better stop for the night before it gets dark. There's light off that way. Maybe they'll let us stay in their barn." He chirruped to his horse and galloped away.
By the time Duncan drove up, Adam was being charming to the housewife. "Duncan, this is Mrs. Hufnagel. She has given us permission to use her barn for our menagerie." Duncan leaned down and shook her hand. When he smiled at the diminutive woman, she sighed with pleasure. "Here are our treasures." Adam reached in the crate and got Lily.
"Oh, my goodness, what a beauty!" She picked up the tail of her sweater and made a cradle. "Do you think that I could hold her?"
Adam gave his good girl to her, meanwhile Duncan's bad girl was shouting about how hungry and thirsty she was. "I'll go and get some milk for the two of them. Go on in the barn and pull some fresh hay down. You are so beautiful." She went in the house cuddling Lily.
"I hope you get her back." Duncan looked at the house.
"I will. Never doubt it. Let's get the horses into the barn."
She came back with a bowl of milk and gave Lily to Adam. "She's very beautiful, but I don't think Pumpkin likes her. Good night." She turned and went back toward her house and the puffed up orange marmalade who patrolled in front of it.
An overgrown shed, the barn appeared ramshackle but had a plentiful supply of hay. Pulling enough down to make a bed, Duncan set about getting everyone fed, watered, and bedded down. The kittens tore around the straw pile, then jumped in it, playing silly games until they were exhausted. They made a little nest for themselves in the corner, bathed thoroughly, then went to sleep. With the horses dozing on either side of them, Adam laid quilts down, then climbed onto the straw bed and pulled Duncan on top of him.
Adam rubbed his hands up and down Duncan's back. "It's too cold to take our clothes off. What shall we do?"
"I don't know. I thought you would have lived long enough to have some ideas."
"Always with the age jokes." Adam huffed.
Duncan put his head down on Adam's chest. "Just in case you ever have any doubts, I want to tell you how much I love you. And how much it means to me that you love me."
Adam was quiet for a while. Duncan didn't raise his head; he just waited. "Duncan," then nothing. Duncan remained still then finally looked up. Adam was struggling with tears.
Duncan smiled. "And that you can still laugh, and cry, and love. It's miraculous." He put his head back down and wiggled a little to get comfortable. With a sigh of contentment, he fell asleep.
Adam stared at the ceiling and, through a crack, at a single star. The miracle was that Duncan still loved him after fifty years. He leaned forward and kissed Duncan's head. Adam knew he was frequently difficult to live with; he did unimaginable things for inexplicable reasons. And he couldn't talk about why. He drifted off to sleep, musing on the vagaries of love.
Adam took the buggy when they got on the road the next day. "Maybe Maggie will settle down if you're not near her." Duncan was dubious, but glad to be riding Juniper; he was a fine horse with a nice, steady gait.
The weather was no better. Clouds raced across the sky. The rain came and went, just wetting them enough to keep them miserable.
After lunch, they continued to travel through an area of very little settlement. Coming over a hill, ahead of them they noticed a group of four. As they jogged closer, it resolved itself into a couple and two children. The family was walking along jauntily. Duncan got off his horse and walked forward to shake the man's hand. "I'm Duncan McLain."
Grinning, the man said, "Hi, I'm Ronald Miller. It's good to meet you and the man in the buggy. Hi! Hi!" He grinned some more. "We've got to hurry. There's a job waiting for me in Chilicothe. Got to hurry!" He started to walk on.
Adam spoke up. "You'd better find some shelter for the night. The weather is going to turn bad. You'll need protection."
"Don't worry, mister. We'll find some place. Bye. Bye." He waved and flipped his red scarf over his shoulder. His wife waved, and the little Millers waved. And they went on down the road.
"Feckless." Adam was looking around the buggy toward the Millers.
Duncan walked up to Adam and put his hand out to him. "What do you think?" Adam was looking increasingly nervous.
"Let's go on. Keep your eyes open because we have to look for someplace safe. This area seems pretty deserted, though."
As the long, gray afternoon went on, they made significant progress. During their rest break, Adam said, "Don't you feel the way the cold is slicing through the warm?"
"I don't feel any cold."
"I do." Adam shivered. "And it's going to be bad."
A little while later Adam stood on a little hill, looking up at the sky. The wind was starting to blow fitfully from the northwest. The sky overhead was full of gray clouds racing to the southeast, but that wasn't the ominous note. Just on the northwestern horizon, like a navy blue line across the sky, the edge of the coming front advanced ominously forward.
The horses moved nervously around. They knew something was coming, but so did their young-seeming masters. "What do you think? It looks bad. We have to find shelter somewhere." Duncan looked around, then glanced northwest at the line in the sky.
Adam shivered suddenly. "We passed a deserted cabin about two, three miles back with the roof on it. That's the only hope we have of shelter. I kept hoping we'd find someplace with people and a barn for the horses. We can make it back there if we hurry." He got the sheepskin jacket out of the back of the buggy and put it on Duncan.
"What about you?" Looking down he saw Adam fasten it about half way up then reach into the buggy and get the kittens. Adam put the kittens into the front of the jacket. He finished buttoning it.
"Let's get the priorities straight. You survive. If you survive, the kittens will, too. I'll try to keep the horses alive, but they'll come last." Adam looked straight into Duncan brown eyes and waited for his agreement. Duncan looked back with complete understanding.
As they went on, the cold air started to come in and mix with the warmer air, and the dark line advanced across the sky. They pushed the horses as hard as they dared. As they neared the abandoned house, the roof appeared to be intact. Closer still, the windows were unbroken, with shutters that could be closed.
Putting the buggy on the south side away from the wind, they got out, got the kittens out and walked inside. The rooms were empty. The house hadn't been derelict long.
Adam stepped outside; when he came back in, he was shaking his head. "I don't see any wood anywhere. It's almost dark or we could cut it. We need to have something to burn. We need to get a warm meal into everyone, but most important we need to melt water for drinking. We can burn the buggy. We have to move everything inside anyway.
Duncan was startled, but managed to see the truth of what Adam was saying. "You stay with the kittens; I really don't want to leave them alone. I'll go out and get the first load." Duncan turned to leave.
"Bring the horses in here." Duncan stood still, shocked. "They need protection, too. This is going to be an ice storm, temperatures below freezing and gale force winds. We're going to need them after this is all over. If we survive, I think we need to go back to Shady Grove. We'll go to New Orleans in a couple of months. My mistake. I was running from my fears, from my nightmares. I'm sorry." Duncan held Adam for a long moment. He hurried out to get the horses.
They broke up the buggy and built a fire in the fireplace. After the horses, and kittens, and men had been fed, they moved to layer a closet that was in the center of the house with waterproofs and tarps. Then they piled all the cover material they had except for a quilt a piece for each of the horses; fastened on with ropes, it would protect them from the weather. Lastly they put on every piece of clothing they could manage.
"I'm so cold. I hate freezing to death." Adam shivered.
"You aren't going to freeze to death." Adam's eyes came up to meet Duncan's then fell again, the movement too fast to read anything. "The fire is almost out. Let's move into the closet." Duncan tightened his arms.
"It's going to be dark." A tiny tremor in Adam's voice betrayed him. Duncan remembered all the times that they had been forced to spend the night in darkness. Adam had not reacted well.
"I'll be there. The babies will be there. You won't be alone." Duncan looked directly into his eyes. They were almost all black with a thin ring of hazel flecked with green.
Adam nodded then picked up Lily and went down the hall with Duncan following with Maggie. Handing her to Adam, he went to get the horses, bringing them into the hall and checking their quilts to see that they were still tightly fastened. Juniper and Peggy had been amazingly well behaved. He tied them loosely to the doorknobs.
Adam had the kerosene lamp turned very low. His eyes were round with apprehension, but so were Lily and Maggie's. Duncan hung the lamp from the closet pole with a twist of wire where it shone with a minuscule flicker of light. Duncan sat down and took everybody into his arms. "You know we'll get through this." Adam nodded and Duncan tightened his hold.
The sound of the wind could be heard through the walls and the padding. It seemed to be getting stronger. A tendril of cold came in, winding around their legs. During the long night, the wind continued to wail, and it continued to grow colder. Adam and Duncan huddled together with just enough room between them for their kittens.
Duncan dozed a little; when he woke, he glanced at Adam. He looked etiolated and ancient. Duncan reached out and pulled Adam to him. Duncan's fingers and toes were already frozen, while Adam was shaking with tremors.
He looked down at the kittens who were curled into circles. Duncan put his hand down on Maggie; she was cool to the touch. He undid the front of his jacket and picked the two kittens up and put them inside next to his heart. Duncan reached over and pulled Adam closer. They had two or three hours to go. Maybe they'd make it.
The light flickered out about two hours later. Adam moaned. He was only partially conscious. Duncan didn't want to wake him fully. Why make him suffer more than he already was? Adam had passed from occasional tremors to trembling to shaking to a frightening stillness.
Duncan still had hope for the kittens. He could feel them moving around, stretching, then curling up again. He thought that their little warmth had helped keep him alive. He liked to think so anyway. Just an hour or two of darkness. He dozed again.
Adam jerked with healing and maybe with returning life. "Duncan?" Adam's hands reached out to pat Duncan.
"I'm all right. The kittens are alive. I just felt them move." There was a muffled mewing. "Lily wants you to get her."
Adam took a deep breath, "Bless Lily. We'll do something to feed them. I have to get up and check the horses, just not yet." He put his head down on Duncan's shoulder and quietly cried, his shoulders shaking with the violence of his feelings. Duncan was still alive and so were the kittens. It was all he had hoped for.
A motley group left to return the Shady Grove. They rode the horses through a blasted landscape. Where there had been the beginnings of green, now everything was gray. Every bit of potable water was now frozen. Many of the trees were cracked right down the middle and where they had survived major damage, the ice had torn off limbs. Everything was coated in ice. The wind continued to blow furiously from the northwest. As if to mock the conditions, the sky was blazing blue with not a cloud from horizon to horizon.
A little bit up the road, a flag of bright red waved over a bundle of sticks. As they got nearer, the horses started to shy and pull back on the reins. Duncan handed his reins to Adam and walked a little ahead. He stopped abruptly when he saw what the flag was attached to.
A small group of people had been huddled on the road trying to keep warm. They had all frozen. The man was sitting upright with a look of surprise on his face and icicles coming out of his nose and mouth. He was embracing a woman and there were two children--all dead. The ice had formed a shroud of sorts over the tableau.
Adam moaned a little. "The Millers. I told them to find shelter."
"We have to bury them." Duncan was pleading.
"No. We have some hard traveling to do to reach Shady Grove. Tonight is going to be almost as cold as last night. We don't have time. Besides they froze in a sitting position. Leave them." He kicked Juniper to a trot.
Duncan recognized that tone from long ago. When Adam started speaking in disconnected sentences, he had come to the end of his stamina, physically and mentally. Peggy stood where Adam had dropped the reins, looking remarkably dashing in her quilted coat. Vaulting onto her back, he went after Adam. Adam would go on until he collapsed. It was up to Duncan to make sure that was at the Hurleys farm.
When he looked back on the day and night, Duncan remembered it in flashes--of Adam, of the kittens, of the horses--all caught in a nightmare of cold and thirst. Adam hadn't spoken in hours; the kittens were quiet; the horses walked with their heads down, and Duncan couldn't think of where they were.
"Duncan, Duncan. Look at me. Josh, get some water." Duncan thought he saw an apparition. He wanted to be at Tom's, so he was hallucinating.
"Let me help you down. Here, drink this. Josh, go and get your mother. Tell her we need her help. Now, Josh. Hurry! Philip, take Peggy into the barn and allow her a little water, then rub her down. I'll be there in a few minutes to fix her feed." Tom led Duncan unresisting to a bench, discovering that the lumps in his jacket were squeaky kittens.
Leaving them for the moment, Tom went to Adam and Juniper. Adam was able to sit up, but he didn't seem aware of Tom. Juniper was exhausted, but he seemed to be breathing easy. Tom reached up to get Adam, and more help arrived.
"Serena, Duncan has the kittens in his jacket. Get them and take them to Maxie. Josh, get ready to catch Adam. I don't think he can walk." As Tom pulled Adam off the horse, Serena approached Duncan.
"Duncan." He jumped only managing to partially wake up. "Let me see." Serena began to unbutton his jacket. An urgent mewing was heard. "Oh god, they're alive. Everyone survived. Thank the Lord. Please let them be all right."
Serena was undoing the third button, when a head popped out. "Oh Lily." Lily blinked what were going to be the bluest eyes in the world. She opened her mouth and cried without making a sound. She was dirty, hungry, thoroughly disgusted, and she didn't even have her person. Her world was in ruins; someone had to fix it.
"Now, now." When Serena got her out, Maggie seemed lethargic. Buttoning up the jacket, Serena kissed Duncan. She bundled Lily and Maggie up in her apron and hurried in the house to get milk and an eyedropper.
Meanwhile Tom and his boys were getting Adam and Duncan started toward the house. They seemed to have forgotten how to walk by themselves, but did all right with support. Getting two large men who couldn't walk a straight line through the door proved interesting.
"They're completely exhausted. They need to drink something, then sleep the clock around. You boys go help Philip with Peggy and Juniper. Josh, you know not to feed them until I get there."
As he watched, Adam slid down the wall and curled up on the floor. Duncan lurched up and went to Adam and curled up beside him. Tom looked at them for a long moment, then put a quilt over them; he went to Serena.
"I think Maggie will be all right when she gets some liquid in her. She's just enjoying the attention. Aren't you?" Serena offered another eyedropper full. Maggie put her paws around it and purred. "That's my good girl."
Serena, you're the only one who could possibly call her 'good'." Tom was amused.
By the fire, Lily was busily drinking while Maxine licked her all over. "I know that Adam and Duncan would survive, but they brought all the critters back, too. It's truly a miracle, Tom. Look at them. They're completely exhausted. I've never seen anyone so tired. You want down? Okay, go on." Maggie hopped down and joined Lily and Maxie by the fire. "What do we do, Tom? They seem so helpless."
"They'll be more comfortable in a bed. I'll send Josh over to start a fire in the kitchen." Tom stepped outside, then came back in. He leaned over Duncan to try to straighten out Adam's twisted limbs. In an instant he found himself pushed against the wall, with a dagger at his throat.
The perceived threat to Adam had awakened Duncan. Stripped to essentials, he reacted with violence. When roused, there was a killer living just under the surface. Tom had thought that he knew both of them. He realized now that he didn't know them at all.
Tom didn't know what would have happened if Adam hadn't awakened and spoken to Duncan. "Duncan, Duncan, no!" Still shaky, he was having trouble sitting up. Adam drew a long, shuddering breath. "Duncan, please. Tom's not our enemy."
Adam's words got through to Duncan. He dropped the knife and grabbed Adam before he could fall over. Duncan buried his face against Adam's neck and put his arms around him. Some things were too deep for tears.
"I think we need to go back to our place, Tom. But we'll need help." Adam was still looking very haggard.
"I think that's a good idea. I sent Josh over to start the fires. When you're ready." Tom was diffident.
Adam and Duncan struggled to rise. Duncan was steadier, but he didn't seem to have the strength to pull Adam up. Tom moved in hesitantly to help. With them both on their feet, Tom got a good look at their relative sizes. "You're well matched."
"You don't know how rare it is. The nature of our existence pits one against the other, eternally." Duncan embraced Adam in negation, then allowed Tom to help them out the door.
The walk through the woods was very quiet. When they got to the door of their house, Josh opened it. The kitchen was warm and inviting. Josh had brought one of the mattresses from the bedroom and put it on the floor in front of the fire. It was made up with pillows and fresh bedding.
Adam sighed. He was out on his feet. A bed and a fire were the limits of his ambition right now. He broke free of the supporting hands and walked toward the mattress, removing his clothes as he went. As the last of his clothes came off, Adam stretched and then dropped bonelessly to the bed.
Duncan turned to Tom and Josh to say good-bye and found them staring in awe. "He's beautiful, isn't he?" Josh looked stunned, but Tom looked like he was beginning to understand. "Thank you for your help" This had gone a long way toward restoring his good temper. "We'll come over sometime tomorrow and collect the kittens." He ushered the Hurleys out the door, then locked it. He followed his lover's example and stripped before he went to bed.
Finis.