Winter Break: Weathering The Storm-Sneak Peak
#5 of Winter Break
Sneak peek of upcoming chapter in the Terra/Firman series, Winter Break
_Good lord, 4 years is a hell of a long time to make everyone wait for a new chapter. I do apologize! Between work, desperately looking for work when I got laid off, more work that left me exhausted at the end of every shift and killing whatever muse I happened to have daily, plus an impressive writer's block (and the loss of the 5th chapter I had fleshed out; I've gone through several hard drives since then and it may be floating undiscovered on an old drive, if not gone during an emergency reformat), I just couldn't put my mind to it. Not that I didn't want to! But I'd much rather not do it than do a subpar job. My fans deserve the best I can do, and they'll get just that! Bad enough I wince when I look over the older chapters; may wind up rewriting them so they read better. Nothing major will change! First chapter will still be the initial exploration of their new relationship, second chapter will still be them building upon their new relationship, third chapter will still have things get way out of hand, & fourth chapter will still be the panic! Anyway, I'm not finished with this chapter but I had to give some evidence that I was working on the story, rather than say (again) that I'll be working on it within x amount of time, then never hear from me again for 5x amount of time. So here's a sneak peek at what I've got so far! _
It wasn't a stormy night, but it was a rainy one. The highway was empty; not a car to be seen for miles in either direction as the pickup truck made its way out of the city, the occupants having just finished celebrating the youngest's first birthday with the rest of the family living in the city, not knowing that the happy night would end on a tragic note. As the night went on, the baby would drift in and out of sleep, now and then shaking a plastic rattle tiredly as the passing highway lights would shine on him and wake him. The mother would look back and smile, getting a tired smile in return. "Poor Mike, all tuckered out after such an active day for him," the mother said. "Quite a bit of excitement for a baby, that's for sure. We'll be home soon though, and then he can sleep to his little heart's content," the father said, quickly sparing a glance for his son as he drove.
Up ahead, just barely out of sight a tractor-trailer is making its way southbound after a long day of headache and frustration. The driver's load was late, getting to the shipper was a huge hassle, and his dispatcher demanded he get the load delivered before he stops for the night, even though he should have over an hour ago. Try as he might, he just couldn't stay awake. The monotonous sound of rain coupled with the boring night drive was getting to him. His head would droop downward, each blink threatening to be his last for the night before he'd jerk back up with a start as the truck tires would run over the rumble strips in the shoulder. Eventually even this was not enough, and soon the driver had dozed off, unaware that his truck was slowly making its way across the grassy median into oncoming traffic at 80 miles per hour.
Given how empty the highway was, the father wasn't as careful as he probably should have been, and would glance away from the road to converse with his wife about the day's events, how nice it had been to see some of the family again, how much their nieces and nephews had grown, and so on. Both had seen the sole pair of headlights making their way in the opposite direction on the correct side of the highway, but neither had noticed them drift closer and closer to their lane, until it was too late. "Look out!!!"
"Augh!" I woke with a start, wrenching my sore shoulder in the process, breathing hard and soaked in sweat. It was still dark out, but a glance at the clock showed it was almost dawn. "Ugh... ow. Terra will kill me if I opened that bite up again... Where is she, anyway... What the hell, though? I thought I was done with that nightmare years ago..." That particular nightmare had been plaguing me since I was 4 or 5. Maybe younger; I can't really remember much past that age. The details were always fuzzy, and portions of the dream were never constant like the one vehicle involved or the surrounding landscape, but it was always raining, always night, and always ended right at that point. And always Mike. Why Mike? I don't even know any Mikes! The last time I had that dream was around my 9th birthday. I had just about forgotten about it. Then again, with my mind a turmoil from the previous night, maybe it got stirred up and decided to pay me another visit.
Grumbling, I slipped out of bed and slowly stumbled to the bathroom to take care of my bladder, and check on my shoulder. The bandages were soaked but I didn't see any red. Removing them, as well as my undergarments, I hopped into the shower and rinsed myself off, not waiting for the water to get hot. The cold water helped me wake up some, but I was still a little groggy and didn't really bother doing much more than that. Turning off the water, I grabbed a towel from the nearby stack and dried myself off, wrapping the towel around me as I made my way to the kitchen for a bowl of cereal. ...or a stale sandwich that was forgotten about. "Oops. Eh, it'll do." Stale bread isn't exactly tasty, but I'd rather not throw out food, and I was feeling too lazy to get cereal. I put on a pot of coffee, and made my way over to the window. It was still dark out, which seemed odd. There should have been some hint of light by now. Apparently I was too tired to notice it was snowing. It wasn't a heavy snow, but with as dark as it was it wasn't going to let up any time soon. It felt a bit chilly. Then again I just hopped out of a cold shower, and was standing by a window.
Making my way back to my bedroom for a robe I turned up the heat a little. Just enough so that it would kick on and help me warm up a bit. My mind was still a jumbled mess from the abrupt wakeup, the nightmare, and memories of yesterday. Maybe after a cup of coffee I'd be able to clear my head. That coffee was really smelling good too... Donning my robe I made my way back to the kitchen and poured myself a cup. Bit of sweetener, bit of milk. Perfection in a cup. After a couple sips I noticed a note sitting on the table. I let it sit there for a bit while I enjoyed my coffee. To be honest I was a bit afraid to read it. Terra was gone, probably out driving, and though we ended the previous night on a fairly good note, I was worried that she was still bothered by my blowup. Eventually I opened it up.
My Dearest Brother: I hoped I would be back in time to greet you when you got up, but if you're reading this then you're up before I could return. I couldn't sleep last night, so I decided to head out for a drive, maybe clear my head enough so I could at the very least get a nap in before you get up, assuming you do sleep in late like you always do when you can, lazybones :P I'll be stopping at the 24 hour store to pick up some eggs for a late breakfast, or a lunch if you've decided to eat that sandwich you left on the table.
With love, Terra <3
Well that's good timing. Soon as I had finished the note, I heard the rumble of the garage door opening. I knew it was cold out, so I poured another cup of coffee for my sister, just the way she likes it. Just a splash of milk, no sweetener "because I'm already sweet," as she puts it. I couldn't really help but roll my eyes at that thought again. She could be really corny at times, but I loved her all the same. Suddenly I felt really cold as a draft blew in from the open door. "Oh god shut the door, it's freezing and I'm still wet!"
"Wet? Don't tell me you woke up early just so you could take a shower!" Shutting the door to the garage, Terra walked into the kitchen and set down the bag of groceries. While she took off her winter gear and made herself more comfortable, I set the cup of coffee in front of her and proceeded to put the groceries away. "I had to. I had that nightmare again, and I wasn't going to spend my morning drenched in sweat. Hot cocoa? I thought we had some already." As I put away the groceries, I noticed she had bought more than just eggs. She had bought a tin of hot cocoa. The premium stuff too, not that cheap store brand the parents always buy. "I thought you were done with that nightmare. It's that same one, with the family and the car crash, right? The weather reported a storm moving in, so I thought I'd buy us something nice while we weathered it out. Good thing too, because I'm not going out there until this storm is over; the roads are just starting to get nasty."
Nodding, I put the tin away, in front of the generic stuff. "Yeah, same one. Pickup truck this time though. Did they say how long the storm was expected to last?" Turning back to sit down and enjoy the rest of my coffee, I noticed that Terra had already hung up her coat and hat, but was still dressed. Not that I could blame her, there was still a bit of a chill in the kitchen. Then again, perhaps she didn't strip down nude like she always does for my sake. I took another sip and ate the rest of my sandwich to distract myself from that train of thought; I was probably just being paranoid.
"Well you know the weather reporters. They say a couple hours and it turns into a multi-day affair. Or an all day storm turns out to be a 5 minute dusting. Supposedly it's going to last until early afternoon. Mmm, thanks for the coffee. Perfect as always!" I just rolled my eyes, and she smiled warmly at me. "How's your shoulder? I suppose you didn't bother to replace the bandages after removing them. Honestly Firman, sometimes I think you'd forget your own head if it weren't attached to your shoulders." Ugh, here we go again. It's not that I mind it, but sometimes she's just as bad as Mom is. Always going after me about taking care of myself. Of course I remembered... to.. forget the bandages. Crap. I hate it when she's right. "Shoulder's a little sore, but it's not bleeding at least. I wasn't really sure where to find more, so I figured I could go without." Damnit Firman, you could at least lie a bit more believably! Mom always keeps extra medical supplies under the bathroom sink! Not to mention Terra's supply, though I could have forgotten about those.
"Riiiight, you couldn't find the bandages under the sink." Damnit. "You may not be bleeding, but it can still get infected. Let me get the bandages and some ointment and I'll be right back to wrap that shoulder for you." Ah well. As much as I might complain, I'm glad she does care about me. No telling what would happen if she wasn't always there to look out for me. Speaking of looking.... I couldn't really help but watch as she made her way to the bathroom. Watching her tail sway gently was mesmerizing... Ugh, stop it brain. "Huh, I guess maybe you couldn't find them under the sink. Mom forgot to replace them!" Yes! Saved by Mom!
After a quick detour to her bedroom, Terra returned with some bandages from her personal stock and the salve. The heater already having run its course and warming up the kitchen enough to be tolerable, I had opted to just remove the robe rather than expose my shoulder. This way would be easier anyway, since I'd have to have it completely off my arm so she could work around it. It left me quite exposed though. I'm sure she probably noticed I was a bit aroused, my brain still playing that image of her tail swaying... without pants... damnit. She squeezed out a generous amount of salve and slathered it all over the bite area, making me wince. It was still red so it stung a little, but the salve did its work and dulled the pain and irritation some. Felt kind of nice, too. She wrapped my shoulder up, making sure to keep it tight enough to stay on but loose enough to not hurt, the excess salve getting absorbed by the bandages for a longer lasting relief. "There, how's that?"
Flexing my arm around some, wincing again as I moved it wrong. Other than that it felt alright. Wasn't too tight, wasn't irritating. "It's good. Thanks, sis." I gave her a hug, and a quick kiss on the cheek, then proceeded to finish my coffee and got started on the dishes. With all the cleaning we did last night nobody really had a chance to do those. Terra finished her coffee, making small talk while she did so. Setting her cup down in the sink, she surprised me with a hug from behind and a nuzzle to the cheek. I moved my good arm to gently caress her cheek with a hand, and we remained that way for a few minutes, just enjoying the tender moment. "Mmm. I think I'm going to go take a nap before I pass out right here... Thanks for the coffee. See you in a few hours." She made her way to her room, while I finished the dishes. I also straightened up the house since I had a few hours with nothing to do really. I really needed to distract my mind, and maybe think about something other than that gold and cream rump of Terra's.
The phone rang an hour later. Picking it up, I heard a familiar voice. Mom. "Hey dear, just thought I'd call and check up on you and your sister. Heard the weather was going to get nasty. You two ok?" "Yes mom, it's not even snowing that hard..." "Don't take that tone with me young man!" She chuckled. "I know you two can take care of yourselves; it's just a parent thing. You'll understand when you have kids of your own!" As if. Nevermind the fact that I really didn't want kids, no girl aside from my sister has ever shown any kind of interest in me. "If something happens, I'm sure you know where the list of emergency numbers are. Stay warm, and stay off the roads! Love you!" "Love you too, Mom. Take care!" Hanging up the phone, I proceeded to finish straightening up the livingroom.