feel the heat of the sun against his skin again, without bursting into flames, made it all worthwhile. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as he turned his hand over before him. “You’re getting better with that,” Luther said as he took the next exit.
Julian nodded; it was difficult for him to take his eyes off the shafts of sun dancing in golden rays across his flesh. If he spent another six hundred years looking at this he still didn’t think he’d ever get enough of it.
The heat of the sun vanished when it dipped behind the dunes of the sandy desert they drove through. He finally tore his attention away from his arm to the narrow roadway they were on. Wooden buildings and homes, most with chipped paint, lined both sides of the roadway. A handful of stucco and brick facades were tucked in amongst the wood; they added splashes of red, yellow and orange color to the roadside. The houses in this section of the town appeared as alive as King Tut right now. Upon closer inspection, he saw signs of life in the potted plants on the porches, the curtains lining the windows, and the vehicles in the driveways.
At a set of stoplights, Luther made a right and entered a livelier section of town. Lights spilled onto the roadway from a scattering of restaurants and stores lining the main thoroughfare. The side streets were mostly dark with a few lights shining from the windows of the homes. Behind the storefronts, he could see more of the reddish brown desert broken only by the cactuses, straggling grass cropping’s and rock formations rising high into the air.
“What state are we in?” Julian inquired.
“Arizona,” Luther answered.
Chris rose from the table and knelt on the sofa Julian had been sitting on. He pulled back the curtain behind the sofa to peer out at the night. “Tombstone?” he inquired.
“No,” Luther answered.
“It would have been fitting.” Chris dropped the curtain back into place and returned to his spot at the table.
Julian had to agree, but right now, he would take this town any day over staying in this vehicle. Luther drove past a larger bar with a grouping of motorcycles, pickups and cars filling its dirt parking lot. It looked like a promising place to start, Julian decided as Luther pulled into the motel only ten buildings away.
CHAPTER 2
Julian was still in the shower when he heard the door between the rooms open. There was a time when he would have killed anyone who dared to enter his room, but over the past two years he’d come to realize Chris didn’t have many boundaries. If he’d locked the door, Chris would have stood outside, persistently knocking until Julian got out of the shower and flung it open with threats of ripping Chris’s head off and playing beer pong with his eyes. Threats that would only make Chris smile in return and breeze into the room with the maddening confidence of someone who knew idle words when they heard them.
So in order to get in a relaxing shower, Julian had simply started unlocking the door between the rooms. The two of them always ended up bunking beside each other. Over the pounding water, he could clearly hear the click of the lock on the main door when Chris let Lou in. He made out a few words of their murmured conversation before someone turned on the TV.
He scrubbed at his skin with the soap, rinsed the shampoo from his hair, and climbed out of the shower. Toweling off, he dressed hastily before exiting the steamy room. Chris and Lou barely glanced at him as they were both focused on a rerun of The League. The show was amusing but Julian walked over and hit the off button on the older model tube TV.
“I didn’t escape the RV just to be stuck in this room with you two. Let’s go Beavis and Butthead.” Chris mumbled something unintelligible. He gave Julian the finger, but they both climbed to their feet. “Where’s Melissa?”
“Taking a shower,” Chris answered. “She said she’d meet us here.”
“Is Romeo
Julian nodded; it was difficult for him to take his eyes off the shafts of sun dancing in golden rays across his flesh. If he spent another six hundred years looking at this he still didn’t think he’d ever get enough of it.
The heat of the sun vanished when it dipped behind the dunes of the sandy desert they drove through. He finally tore his attention away from his arm to the narrow roadway they were on. Wooden buildings and homes, most with chipped paint, lined both sides of the roadway. A handful of stucco and brick facades were tucked in amongst the wood; they added splashes of red, yellow and orange color to the roadside. The houses in this section of the town appeared as alive as King Tut right now. Upon closer inspection, he saw signs of life in the potted plants on the porches, the curtains lining the windows, and the vehicles in the driveways.
At a set of stoplights, Luther made a right and entered a livelier section of town. Lights spilled onto the roadway from a scattering of restaurants and stores lining the main thoroughfare. The side streets were mostly dark with a few lights shining from the windows of the homes. Behind the storefronts, he could see more of the reddish brown desert broken only by the cactuses, straggling grass cropping’s and rock formations rising high into the air.
“What state are we in?” Julian inquired.
“Arizona,” Luther answered.
Chris rose from the table and knelt on the sofa Julian had been sitting on. He pulled back the curtain behind the sofa to peer out at the night. “Tombstone?” he inquired.
“No,” Luther answered.
“It would have been fitting.” Chris dropped the curtain back into place and returned to his spot at the table.
Julian had to agree, but right now, he would take this town any day over staying in this vehicle. Luther drove past a larger bar with a grouping of motorcycles, pickups and cars filling its dirt parking lot. It looked like a promising place to start, Julian decided as Luther pulled into the motel only ten buildings away.
CHAPTER 2
Julian was still in the shower when he heard the door between the rooms open. There was a time when he would have killed anyone who dared to enter his room, but over the past two years he’d come to realize Chris didn’t have many boundaries. If he’d locked the door, Chris would have stood outside, persistently knocking until Julian got out of the shower and flung it open with threats of ripping Chris’s head off and playing beer pong with his eyes. Threats that would only make Chris smile in return and breeze into the room with the maddening confidence of someone who knew idle words when they heard them.
So in order to get in a relaxing shower, Julian had simply started unlocking the door between the rooms. The two of them always ended up bunking beside each other. Over the pounding water, he could clearly hear the click of the lock on the main door when Chris let Lou in. He made out a few words of their murmured conversation before someone turned on the TV.
He scrubbed at his skin with the soap, rinsed the shampoo from his hair, and climbed out of the shower. Toweling off, he dressed hastily before exiting the steamy room. Chris and Lou barely glanced at him as they were both focused on a rerun of The League. The show was amusing but Julian walked over and hit the off button on the older model tube TV.
“I didn’t escape the RV just to be stuck in this room with you two. Let’s go Beavis and Butthead.” Chris mumbled something unintelligible. He gave Julian the finger, but they both climbed to their feet. “Where’s Melissa?”
“Taking a shower,” Chris answered. “She said she’d meet us here.”
“Is Romeo
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