Unlikely Meetings

CHAPTER 17 - Rest and Romance

Max drove down the snowy streets to his home for only a few minutes. Sig and Sauer jumped into the back of his car before they laid down and waited for the trip to begin after Max dropped a bag behind the seats. Eli was confused as they rolled away from the house and went in the opposite direction of Jackson. Hours passed along with another small town before she asked him. "Max, where are we going? Wasn't your place safe?"

"My home isn't a secure location anymore. I have another place set up and I thought I'd never have to use it but here we are." The snow covered road continued to twist and turn for minutes that stretched into hours. Valley roads began to creep into mountain passes as Eli continued to pick his brain about why he had a secret spot dug into the mountains of Wyoming.

"Wait, you own two properties? Doesn't that get to be really expensive?" Eli looked out to the mountains before absentmindedly opening the glove box and fishing out the bag of dried rat meat she stashed there earlier.

"It would if it was on the books...well my books. Large piece of land that's jointly owned by an old friend and the state of Idaho. Something about letting the state use it as a national park whilst allowing him to keep a small self-sustaining property stashed away in the mountain there. Go up every six months with Noah to make sure it's still in good shape." The travel was slow as they passed through snowy mountain passes. "When did you put that there by the way?"

Eli tried to keep her eyes from his as she flicked her tongue in the air savoring the flavor in her corner of the vehicle. "Uhm...about last week?" She took a large chunk and swallowed it whole before looking back at her partner. "You're not mad, right?"

"I'm surprised you didn't start sooner." Max chuckled as his hand landed on her padded leg and let it rest there. "I hope that you'll be comfortable tonight. I hope the water seals still work and the batteries are charged. If not, it still has a woodstove."

Eli drops another large strand of rat jerky past her maw, teeth retracted into her jaws allowing the morsel to easily slide down her throat. "I'm sure it'll be fine, if it's anything like your home it'll be really cozy."

"You might be surprised. It's actually nicer than my home." Time slinked by as Max rolled his car onto an unmarked path. The sun setting below the mountain edges and dropping the temperature at least another ten degrees. "If the water seals held up at least." Before Eli could inquire, they stopped before a cliff face and he exited the vehicle giving her a 'wait just a moment,' before exposing the large mouth of a cave hidden by a number of planks and camo netting caked in snow and ice. It was large enough to fit a midsize truck past the entrance where the opening had several channels made for water deviation before leading back to the entrance of the cave. "Don't worry about the girls, they'll ask to come in soon once they wear themselves out. They probably know the property better than I do."

They scampered off into the treeline as Max hopped back in when the mouth of the abandoned mine was cleared enough to drive in. The mouth of the cave is just far enough to conceal the car once more as the net was dropped back in place. It sat on a flat concrete platform dug into the slope with anchor points into the floor of the cave to prevent it from disconnecting and sliding further in. It was dark and only got darker as Max covered the entrance once more. Eli stood in darkness for a moment as the cold air stilled her heart as her eyes couldn't adjust to the dark. Fear gripped her core, as her childhood fear rushed up her spine. Her breathing was shallow and kept her feet locked in place as if they were frozen to the rough concrete pad. Childhood flashbacks of being lost and alone in the Wyoming wilderness rushed through her mind and broke down into tears calling for her father.

With a snap, a series of lights flashed on and those memories fell back into silence. Her mind slowed and tried to take in the scene before her before Max was back at her side. "Scales? Everything alright, you look like you've seen a ghost."