Waste

Chapter 1

  "Come on, Oli! We're going to be late!"  I laughed as I yelled back at my fiance, Oliver Grange.

  Oliver and I have been together for the last three years.  He is one of the few people I actually feel like I can be myself around. 

  I see him look up from his bag on the floor with a goofy grin on his face.  You know how all girls like tall, dark, and handsome? Well, Oliver was blessed with that gene.

  Standing at 6'1" he towers over my lean 5'3" frame. I wouldn't have it any other way though.  I've always liked my men taller than me.

  Stormy grey eyes, chiseled face, scruffy beard, black hair kept a little too long, he is a looker.  Maybe that's why I always let my aggression out towards any woman who lets her gaze linger a little too long on him.  I like to blame it on my Irish heritage, the fiery red hair that likes to get me in trouble.

  I smile to myself thinking how perfect my life really is.

  "What are you smiling about?" He says wrapping his arms around me from behind, nuzzling into the crook of my neck. 

  "Oh, just thinking about how perfect our life is right now."

  "You know what would be even more perfect?" He said, coming around to stand in front of me.

  "What's that?" I ask, pressing up against him.

  "If you would hurry up, I've been waiting on you this whole time."

  My eyes went wide as he burst into a huge grin and quickly turned on his heel, running for the vehicle.

  That jerk! Him waiting on me?? Oh, you're in for it now buddy!  I take off after him, but he has a head start on me.  Plus longer legs.  By the time I make it outside, he's already gotten our bags settled into the trunk and is waiting in the driver's seat, arm hanging out the window. 

  "Come on, slowpoke! We're burning daylight here."  I can see his eyes crinkle with laughter.

  I walk up to him and give him a playful punch on the arm. 

  "Easy there, killer! That's spousal abuse.  The police take that very seriously now a days." He says with a chuckle, rubbing his upper arm.

  I hurry around to the passenger side and jump in, fastening my seat belt.  "Lets go, let's go!  Road trip!"

  Oliver is a computer engineer, and I'm a genetic researcher.  Both of us are fortunate to be working first shift, so we get most nights together, but we are ready for a vacation.

  My parents own into a timeshare in the Rocky Mountains so we were able to rent a one bedroom studio to stay in.  With just the two of us we don't need much space.

  One of our favorite things to do, while on vacation, is go hiking. Because we aren't newbies, we know how taxing and dangerous the wilderness can be.  Every other weekend, Oli and I help teach safety and wilderness classes.  We get to help others develop their skills while also honing our own.  This came in handy one summer when we walked part of the Appalachian trail.  Our parents call us crazy.  Eh, it's probably true.

  I turn on our favorite rock station, and slip off my flip flops. The drive down is about 7 hours, but getting through Illinois is the worst part! If you've seen one cornfield you've seen 'em all.

  A song comes on that Oli likes so he quickly turns it up and starts singing. I like to tease him about being a famous rock star in his past life.  His voice is low, but not too deep.  In my oponion he could sing a little more.
 
  He reaches over, taking my hand, and glances my way.  "You're awfully quiet over there.  What's cooking good looking?"

  "Oh you know, just watching for anything other than the occasional cow and bean field among all the corn."

  "I'm pretty sure I saw a child a little ways back." He said wistfully.

  "Oh yeah? Were they...from the corn?"

  "Aren't all children from the corn?"

  I couldn't help myself and burst into a fit of giggles. What a nerd!  Children of the corn is probably one of our favorite movies to cuddle up and watch together.

  Instead of stopping for the night we decide to drive straight through.  I offer to take over the wheel, but Oli is a stubborn captain.  Some sort of gentleman apparently, not letting his woman lift a finger. 

  "So where are we?" I ask, looking at my phone.  "I don't seem to have any service."

  "I think we're somewhere in Kentucky..."

  "Oh shit...with the hill people?" I gasp, holding a hand up to my mouth.

  "The one and the same.  But don't worry, my sweet, I'll protect you!"

  I smile and turn toward Oli.  Out of the darkness, two bright beams of light suddenly appear, coming straight at us from Oli' s side. 

  "OLIV--"