Children Of Fiends Read Free Page B

the tip of her nose. “We should try to sleep.”
    “Yes, we should. But it was so real.”
    Dean found himself pressing his hips against her. “Very.”
    She smiled coyly and raised a finger of caution, then broke their embrace. They shifted so they were lying on their backs, holding hands, neither of them at all sleepy. For fifteen minutes they listened to each other’s occasional sighs and forced yawns, until Eliza finally said, “Fools.”
    “Hmm?”
    “This is foolish. I want to tear your clothes off and I don’t need telepathy to know you want the same. You of all people need to stay focused. This is going to be too much of a distraction.”
    “True. But here’s the thing. The cat is already out of the bag. Even if we tried, we couldn’t ignore it. Better to embrace it and deal with it on that level rather than to pretend it’s not what it is.”
    She didn’t answer, squeezing his hand instead. They lay quietly for a long time after that, still listening for signs that the other might be asleep. She finally rolled over and whispered into his ear, “I need to tell you something.”  
    Her lips brushing his ear sent a shiver down his spin and fully reawakened his desire. “You need to sleep.”
    “You know this already from the dream, but I just need to tell you that it feels like someone poured lead in my heart while at the same time filling it with helium.”
    “I like that. Me too.” He turned his face and they kissed without the added heat. Loving, giving, not taking. A little while after, they fell into a deep and contented sleep.Hansel and Gretel lay awake as the lovers drifted off, and for a long time they batted their thoughts back and forth, finally concluding, I like how it feels.
    Yes, but also disgusting.
    I didn’t know that humans had this.
    No.
    I wonder if pucks have this?
    I hope so.
    I hope not.

CHAPTER THREE
BENSON AZ
    As was his habit, Dean got up before the dawn. He kissed Eliza just hard enough to let her know that he was leaving their bed but not enough to fully wake her. She gently tasted her lips and a slight smile spread across them as she rolled onto her side and continued to snooze. He pulled on his boots, walked past the sleeping pucks and went into the observation car, quietly stepping between slumbering bodies until he reached the stairs where he spotted Cookie getting the morning’s meal together in the galley. Once up top he was greeted by Sanders who offered a “Mornin’, Cap.” Corporal Kelly was in the room as well, working as the rear lookout, and he gave her a lazy salute.
    “George. Where are we?”
    “Like you expected. Just outside Benson, Arizona.”
    “Okay, radio Blakely and tell them to slow it down to fifteen. Crawl until light so we can see what we’re coming into.”
    “Aye, Aye. Pot’s on. Still got coffee flavored crystals from that Kroger outside of Dallas.”
    As the dawn’s dim light revealed the cold wasteland that was the never-ending desert, the low buildings that made up the meager skyline of Benson, Arizona came into view. As they approached the San Pedro River Bridge, Dean had Wen bring the engine to a stop just before the crossing. The water was high and moving fast. While he and Sanders inspected the bridge, Bill Wall, Maggie Tender, Naoto Kitta and Tom Murphy got off and quickly ran through their water drill, lowering a big hose down to the rushing water and working a hand pump to get it up into the engine, and eventually the canteen. Just like El Paso, it was a time consuming process and they took turns, two at a time on a double handle. Dean ordered a scout and Hernandez and Kelly helmeted up to head toward the town with Mr. Kile, Bishop and Cinders rounding out the squad.  
    The scout team immediately took notice of how green things were. The train tracks ran parallel to Interstate 10 Business Route and they stepped up to the roadway to make walking easier. To their surprise, it appeared that a system of newer looking pipes