Travelers

By Duane L. Martin

It was the year 2231 when they started coming through the portals. The echnids came looking for something specific, but that didn't stop them from wiping out eighty percent of the Earth's population, so they could also steal whatever other resources they found useful. Humanity may have been wiped out completely if not for what became known as the Day of Death, where all the echnids on Earth suddenly and inexplicably turned inside out.

Some people became victims in this post-apocalyptic world, while others, like Jake and Lana, found the strength within themselves to not only survive, but to thrive in this new world by taking on less than moral jobs in exchange for food, and all the other things they needed to make it from day to day. That all came to an end however when they reached the town of Cottonwood. The town was about the most normal and functioning place they'd run into in all their years of travels, and with life on the road weighing down on them so heavily, they decided that this was where they were going to settle down. Unfortunately, as the new sheriff and deputy of the town, they have to deal with a variety of issues in order to protect the people of Cottonwood, including random echnid incursions, roving bands of a biker gang known as Skinks, a drifter who lives to prey on the weak, and a very angry pregnant girl from a nearby town who has a bounty out on Jake's head.

Making things even more difficult, when a random guy passes through town and tells Greg about some doors he saw standing amidst the rubble of some bombed out buildings up along the coast of Washington, his first thought is that they're most likely the remains of some sort of an underground military facility. He becomes so obsessed with this thought, and what it could potentially mean for the town if they were to go up there and actually find something, that he attempts to enlist Jake and Lana's help to make the trek up there with him. It would be a dangerous journey, but when four random strangers suddenly hit town, they might just have some information for them that'll save them from making a useless trip.

Travelers is book 17 of the Unseen Things series.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Duane L. Martin
• Release date: May 26, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311841742

Duane L. Martin

An avid reader since he first discovered the Hardy Boys books in the second grade, Duane L. Martin spent years being educated by some truly great authors.In 2013, after years of dreaming about writing a novel of his own, he finally hit upon a story idea that would ultimately turn into the 22 book Unseen Things series. Currently, aside from the series, he's also published two standalone novels. Cindy's Story, which is a humorous private investigator novel, and a superhero story called The Accidental Hero, which is both humorous, and quite dark at times.Aside from his writing, Duane is also a musician. He took his first bass guitar lesson in 1987 and has been playing bass ever since. He also plays some guitar, and a little keyboard and some percussion as well, with a particular focus on hand drums. As he's always been a great lover of music, he often has it playing quietly in the background while he writes.Born and raised in Northern California, he would later move to Idaho, where he lives the quiet life of a relative hermit with his wife Sharon, and their two dogs.

Book preview

Chapter 1

The name's Jacob Marrow, and boy have I seen some shit.  It all started...oh, I guess about six years ago now.  You kinda lose track of time nowadays since there ain't no one makin' calendars anymore.  It was the year 2231 when they first showed up.  Once those damn portals opened and the echnids started pouring through 'em, that was pretty much it.  Game over man.  The military tried to fight 'em off, but that was pretty much a lost cause.  Those damn shields of theirs...I mean, by the time our guys figured out that energy weapons were useless and started pulling out the old, conventional stuff...  Oh, shit! he said as he quickly swerved to miss a large pothole that had formed in the road.

God damn it Jake!  Stop fucking with that stupid voice recorder and pay attention to the road!  How am I supposed to get any damn sleep over here with you swervin' around like that? his beautiful, blonde passenger said after his sudden maneuver had shocked her out of some much needed sleep.

Jeez Lana, what the hell are you complainin' about?  You should be glad I woke you up.

Oh, really? she said, giving him a dirty look.  And why is that pray tell?

Because, when you're sleepin', you don't get to look at me.  I just felt sorry for you, that's all.  Jeez, excuse me for caring, he said, grinning to himself as he eased the car back onto the road.

Yeah well, I think I'll survive.  Now, keep the damn car on the road so I can get some sleep.

"Awww, come on Lana!  As least unbutton your shirt so I can check out your tits once in a while.  Gotta at least have somethin' nice to look at, because God knows there ain't fuck all around here," he said as he glanced around at the surrounding landscape...or lack thereof.

All right, fine.  If I do that, will you let me get some sleep?

Yep.  Scout's honor.

No touching though.  If you even lay a finger on me, I'll slice the damn thing off and shove it up your ass.  Got it?

Man, why do you always have to kill the romance with all that yappin'? he asked with an amused look.

Because, there ain't no romance with you.  We tried that once, and you were about the most insensitive bastard I've ever been with, she said irritably.

Then why are you still hangin' out with me?

"Because, even though you're an egotistical ass hole, I can't help but to like you for some stupid reason.  You're about the best friend I got in this shitty ass world, and you're the only person I can count on to have my back."

I can get your front too if you want, he said, throwing her a sleazy grin.

Not a chance.  Now, let me get some sleep.  You know how I am when I don't get enough sleep, she said as she slouched down in her seat and closed her eyes again.  Oh, and if you can take your eyes off of my tits long enough to watch out for potholes, that'd be great.

All right, fine.  Now, where was I? he asked himself as he started the voice recorder again.  "Oh, right.  Anyway, those echnids really tore the whole planet a new ass hole.  Most of it's nothing but a wasteland now, and we lost about eighty percent or so of the population before they started setting up bases and stealing our resources.  If it weren't for the Day of Death as people stared callin' it, I don't know if there'd be anyone left at all right now.  Man, I can still remember it like it was yesterday.  No one knows how or why it happened, but every damn one of them sons of bitches all just turned completely inside out, all at the same time.  Made one hell of fuckin' mess, but at least they were dead.  After that, you'd have thought someone had busted a piñata or something, because everyone was scramblin' to grab whatever weapons and tech they could before more of those bastards showed up.  Fortunately, after what happened, those guys weren't so eager to come through those portals of theirs anymore.  Can't blame 'em really.  If all my buddies got turned inside out, I think I'd skip town too.  They still come through once in a while on raids and what not, but it ain't nothin' like it was before."

Jake, if you're gonna do that, could you at least be a little quieter?  I'm having a hard enough time sleeping as it is, Lana said, never opening her eyes as she shifted herself in the seat a bit, trying to get more comfortable.

Sorry babe, Jake said before he went back to his recording.  Anyway, Lana and I were scavenging near one of their bases when it happened, so we were kinda the first on the scene when all that shit went down.  We grabbed whatever we could load into this sweet ass car of ours that we snagged from some rich neighborhood we passed through when the shit hit the fan.  We used some of it to trade for different things, but we kept all the weapons, and a few other things we could use as well.  Now we just sorta travel around doin' jobs for people.  Bounty hunting, collections, assassinations...whatever gets us the stuff we need to survive.  Back in the day we'd have been rollin' in cash for doin' the stuff we've been doing, but it ain't like that anymore.  Now it's all about what you've got to trade, whether it's material goods or services.  If you got nothin' to trade that anyone wants, then you're not gonna last long in this world.  Hell, maybe it's all for the best, I don't know.  At least people have finally set aside their differences and pulled together in order to survive.  I guess that's somethin' anyway.  Too bad the Skinks never got the memo on that.  Hopefully, whoever's listening to this won't know who the Skinks are, because if you do, then it's a pretty safe bet that they're still running around out there raping and pillaging every town and settlement they can find.  Can't tell you how many of them bastards Lana and I have killed over the past few years.  Sometimes I don't know who's worse...the echnids, or the Skinks.  At least the echnids have an excuse.  The Skinks are out there screwin' over their own kind.  Stupid fuckin' bastards.  As for Lana and I, well...we just kept gettin' smarter and smarter.  That's how we've survived this long.

Awww...  You really think I'm smart? she asked, though she still didn't bother opening her eyes.

Nah.  I just wanted to see if you were listenin', he said with a grin.

Oh, fuck you! she said, smiling back at him as she sat up in her seat.  Where the hell are we anyway?

"Beats me.  We did go the right way, didn't we?  That old man at the last town said there was another town out this way somewhere, but so far all I've seen is a whole lotta nothin'.  The power levels in the car are gettin' low too, so I hope we can find something soon, otherwise we're gonna have to find some shelter out here and park for a while so we can pop out the solar generator and give her a recharge."

Yeah, no.  That sure as hell wouldn't be my first choice.  I don't wanna sit around out here in the middle of nowhere for twelve hours just to recharge the car, she said as she pulled out her binoculars and scanned the horizon.

"We could probably do it for six, and then run it until we had to do it again.  We're bound to find something out here sooner or later."

It's not the waiting I'm worried about.  It's the Skinks, she said.

You know they only hang around near towns and settlements, he said as he glanced down at the power level indicator once again.  They'd never survive just on what they get from jackin' people on the road.

Well how do we know we're not in a settlement area?  There could be one just on the other side of those hills over there, and we wouldn't even know it.

I doubt it.  They usually keep 'em near the highways, just to make trading easier.  Besides, I'm pretty sure that old guy said that this was an actual town, not just a settlement, so the highway here should lead us right to it.  I just wish we knew how far away it was.

Looks like we've still got a bit more to go.  Check it out, she said as she handed him the binoculars, and then pointed up ahead.  When he looked at where she was pointing, he could see just the vaguest outline of some buildings far out on the horizon.

Think we can make it that far on the charge we've got left? he asked.

"Yeah, probably.  We're not that bad yet, but we're definitely gonna have to put it on the charger when we get there, which means we're gonna have some down time.  You know, we'd have been able to charge it longer at that last town if you'd have been able to keep your dick in your pants for more than five minutes," she said as she looked at him irritably.

"Hey, come on now.  Someone's gotta re-populate the Earth, so why not re-populate it with awesomeness?  Am I right?"

"Yeah well, maybe if you weren't such a shallow bastard, you'd have actually talked to that girl before you banged her.  If you had, then you might have found out that she was the mayor's daughter...and that she was married...and that she was pregnant."

How the hell was I supposed to know she was pregnant?  I thought she was just kinda fat, that's all.

But you knew she was married?

Yeah.  She said that's why we had to do it in the barn.  She didn't want her husband to come home and find us in the house.

I swear, if you could find a hole in a stump full of bees, you'd stick your dick in it, Lana said, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Well, it's not like you'd make an honest man of me or anything, so I might as well get it where I can," he said with an amused look.

"I don't think you know what it is to be an honest man.  I mean...what was it?  Like, eight hours before you had sex with that other girl after we did it?"

Yeah, something like that.  Takes a while before a guy's ready to go again.  We're not machines ya know.

"That's not even the point!  Oh my god, you're so ridiculous!" she said with an exasperated huff.

Ridiculously awesome, he said with a cocky grin.  Seriously though, if you and I got together, I'd totally give up on all that.

No you wouldn't, so don't even give me that shit.

Hey, ya never know.  I just might.  I am pushin' thirty now after all.  Might just be time for me to settle down, he said, giving her a sideways glance.

You're just saying that so I'll have sex with you, aren't you? she asked, cocking an eyebrow at him.

No, not at all!  I'm saying it because...well...yeah, ok.  That's why I said it.  So?  Will you? he asked, grinning at her stupidly.

God Jake, what the hell am I gonna do with you?  I mean, if I ever actually thought you were serious, then maybe, but I just can't trust you.

Oh well.  Wonder if they got any of them preggos in the next town?  That was pretty fun actually.  She was goin' nuts.  I mean, you wouldn't believe some of the stuff...

"Awww, come on!  I so don't wanna hear about it," Lana complained.

Ok, fine.  You know what?

What?

While we've been sittin' here chatting about how much you secretly love me, we picked up some company.  Check your mirror, he said as he watched two Skinks rapidly approaching on their electro-bikes in the rearview mirror.

Awww shit.  Where the hell did they come from? Lana asked.  You see any more of 'em?

Nah, it's just those two.  They probably sent 'em out to pick off passing cars and stuff.

Do we have enough juice left to try to lose 'em?

Doubtful.  I think we're gonna have to stop and try to reason with 'em, he said as he slowed the car down.

Oh, fun.  All right, let's do it then so we can get back out on the road, Lana said as she stretched herself out in the seat.  I suppose I have to be the bait again...

Unless they're into guys, then yeah, he said as he continued to watch them in the driver's side mirror.

All right, fine, she said as the car slowed down and came to a stop.  After throwing Jake another irritated look, she got out of the car and walked around to the back of it to wait for their pursuers.  Normally they'd just kill whoever they happened to catch and steal their belongings, but as hot as she was, there hadn't been a Skink yet that had been able to resist trying to get their hands on more than just her belongings.

Jake remained inside the vehicle as she leaned up against the back of the car and unbuttoned her shirt a little more.  The Skinks pulled up and quickly got off of their bikes as they drew their scavenged echnid weapons and pointed them at her.

Well, hello boys.  I saw ya comin' in the mirror.  What can I do for y'all?  I got somethin' you want maybe? she said, her voice dripping with promises of sex as she slid her finger down between her breasts.

The Skink on the right put his gun back in the holster and then started approaching her cautiously.  He was about six feet tall, had his hair shaved into a mohawk, and he wore an eye patch over his left eye.  His clothes had seen better days, though he didn't seem to either notice or care.  They were nothing though compared to the rancid body odor he was emanating.  A light breeze brushed past him and blew the smell straight up Lana's nose, which almost made her hurl right then and there.  She held on like a trooper though, and played her part like a pro, just as she'd done many times before.

Well now...what's a fine lookin' woman like you doin' out here drivin' around all by yourself? he asked her breasts, since he couldn't seem to take his one good eye off of them.

Oh, I don't know.  Maybe I was drivin' around because I was hoping a couple of studs like you would pull me over.  It's been a hell of a long time since I've had some hot, dirty sex, and even longer since I've been double teamed.  You think you boys might be able to help me out with that? she purred.

Well now, I think we might be able to..., he was saying as he reached out to grab a hold of her breasts.  Just as he got into range, she simultaneously head-butted his nose and grabbed the weapon from his holster, which she then pointed straight at his partner.

Owww!  God damn it!  Fucking bitch! he shouted as he staggered back, holding his now very crooked nose as it spewed blood out all over the ground.

Drop it now, or you're both dead, she said firmly.

No, you drop it! the other man shouted at her.

"No...you drop it," Jake said as he got out of the car and pointed an echnid rifle right at the man's head.

Ok ok...fine.  Just relax, he said as he set the weapon on the ground and backed away from it slightly.

Hey, we got us a smart one here Lana.  Grab his weapon.

Got it, she said as she trotted over, picked up his pistol, and then returned to the back of the car.

You know what?  It's a really nice day out here today.  Too nice to be killin' anyone anyway.  Tell ya what.  Here, Jake said as he reached in the car, pulled out a canteen, and then tossed it over to the guy with the eye patch.  That oughta hold you for a little while, but I suggest you drink it sparingly.  Now, take a walk.

Walk?  But we're out in the middle of fucking nowhere!  Where the hell are we supposed to go? the one-eyed Skink asked.

Well, you came from back that way, so I suggest you start walkin' back the way you came from.  Might wanna walk in the dirt though.  The asphalt's gonna kill your boots in this heat.

What about our bikes? the other one asked.

"Oh, you mean those bikes right there?  I think you've made a little mistake there friend.  See, those are our bikes.  Thanks by the way for returning 'em to us.  I was wondering where they'd gotten off to," Jake said with a cocky smile.

You dirty, rotten son of a bitch! he said as he spit on the ground in anger.

Better save that spit.  You've got a hell of a long walk ahead of you.  Now...I think you guys should probably get on home before your buddies start worryin' about you.  By the way, you're welcome for letting you live, Jake said.  Both of the men gave him an extremely dirty look for a moment before they both turned and started walking off down the highway.

God, did you get a whiff of those guys? Lana asked, wrinkling her nose as she turned to look at Jake.

Whiff?  It was like getting hit in the face with a sledge hammer, he said, returning her disgusted look.  What have they got on those bikes?"

Dunno.  Let's take a look, she said as she walked over and started going through the side compartments.  Oooh, look at this!

Is that what I think it is? Jake asked with a wide smile.

Yep, sure is.  An unopened bottle of scotch.  Good stuff too, not that cheap crap.

Wonder where the hell they got that?

No idea, but it's ours now.  What should we do with it?  Drink it, or trade it? she asked.

Well, if we drink it, then I might be able to get you to have sex with me again.  So...

So we trade it, she said dryly.  Let's see what else in in here...  Oh, damn!  Look at this!

What's that?

Oh, right.  You're not the techie type.  This, my friend, is an echnid shield generator.

Shield generator?  What's that do? he asked.

Would you believe it generates shields? she asked, grinning at him obnoxiously.

Very funny.  Seriously though, if it generates shields, then why weren't they using it?

"Well, if you didn't know what it was, then what the hell makes you think they would?  You're a hell of a lot smarter than they are."

"So...does that mean that we can use it?" he asked.

As long as they didn't damage it when they ganked it out of whatever echnid vehicle they stripped it out of.  If it's still in working order, then I can probably rig it up in the car.  I'll need to connect some kind of a switch to it so we can turn it on and off, but that shouldn't be too much trouble, Lana said.

Sweet!  So, what else is in there?

Not much, unless you think we'll be able to trade a pair of dirty underwear for something.

Ugh...  No.

You sure?  These skid marks are pretty stylish.  Maybe we could frame these and convince someone it's art?

Lana...

It was just a suggestion, she said with a grin.  Whatcha got over in that one?

An extra pistol, a brand new, sealed box of cigars, and...ewww!

What? Lana asked as Jake pulled out his knife and shoved it down into the compartment.  When he brought it back up, it had a rather large, semi-lifelike, and extremely soiled dildo stuck to the end of it.

Oh my god!  Ick! she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust once again.

You want this?  It's in pretty good shape.  Probably only has about twenty thousand miles on it, he said, grinning at her stupidly.

God, you're sick.  Let's just wrap this up so we can get the hell outta here, Lana said as she closed the compartment on the other bike and put her finds in the car.

Ok, no prob, he said.  With one quick motion, he turned, cocked his arm back, and then threw it forward, sending the offending piece of latex flying out into the scrub brush.  You know, there's a crusty pair of socks in here too if you want those.

Yeah, no.  I think I'll pass.  So, how are we gonna do this with the bikes? she asked.

Think we can probably get one tied into the trunk, and then either you or I can ride the other one until we get to that town up ahead.  We'll trade 'em there for whatever we can get for 'em.

Ok, I'll ride it.  Go ahead and get that rope we got in the back seat, and we'll get the other one tied in.  You think we'll be able to make it with the extra weight?

Beats me, Jake said with a shrug.  I hope so.  If not, we can always tow it the rest of the way with the bikes.  Anyway, once we get into town, we'll get it on the charger while we do some trading and see if anyone's got any odd jobs for us.

Sounds good.  Just, do me a favor.  Would you please, just this once, keep your dick in your pants long enough for us to finish our business? Lana said as she and Jake lifted the bike and shoved it as far as it would go into the trunk of the car.  I don't wanna have to bail out of this town on a partial charge just because you stuck your dick somewhere where it didn't belong.

Hey, me either.  That last town was just a fluke.  It's not my fault her husband came home and caught us.  She should have picked out a better spot for us, Jake said as he pushed on the bike a few times, just to make sure it was in as far as it would go.

Oh my god, she said, rolling her eyes a bit at how utterly ridiculous he could be.

Hey, you think you could rig up that shield with some kind of a remote control or something?  That way we could turn it on when we leave the car somewhere, and it'd keep people's grubby little hands off of it.

It only blocks stuff like energy weapons, remember?  Someone could just walk right through it and take the car if they wanted, Lana reminded him.

"Oh...well, that's no good then.  Still, at least we'll have something to use while we're in the car to protect us from Skinks and stuff while we're driving.  How much of a power drain is it gonna be?" he asked as he finished tying in the bike.

Pretty sure there won't be any.  They're probably powered with the same power source the weapons use.  Dunno what it is, but they never seem to run out of energy.

You think if we took apart one of the weapons, you could take the power source out of it and rig it up to work with the car?

I'd have to get my hands on some test equipment first to find out if the power it puts out can be converted to what we use.  We'll see what's goin' on in that town up ahead.  Maybe they got some stuff I can either borrow or trade for.  Anyway, you ready to go? she asked.

Yep, let's do it, he said as he got back in the car and pulled the door down until it latched shut.  Lana hopped on the electro bike and sped off down the road with Jake following along behind.  They were going a bit slower than usual so they could conserve energy, but luck seemed to be with them, as it only took about another half an hour to reach the town.

When they arrived at the town, they had to pass through a security barricade that was heavily guarded and fortified, mostly as a defense against the roving bands of Skinks that would occasionally try their hand at a raid, though they were far better at hijacking random travelers than they were at launching organized assaults.  Physical defenses were pretty much useless when it came to the echnids since they could port in anywhere they wanted, so pretty much every settlement had armed large numbers of their citizens with scavenged weapons.  So many in fact, that there was virtually no place in any of the settlements that the echnids could port into where they wouldn't face armed resistance.  It had taken them a while to figure it out, but once they finally did, they stopped using that tactic entirely and switched to more secretive assaults, where they would port in unnoticed outside of a town or a settlement, and then launch an organized attack from there.

This particular town was larger than many of the small towns they'd passed through, yet it wasn't large enough to be called a city.  When the echnids had attacked initially, they'd focused on the major cities and population centers, and as such, many of the smaller towns were left virtually untouched.  Some still had power and other utilities, while others struggled to keep up with even the most simple things, like keeping enough filtered water available for their people to drink.  Sewage was a problem in virtually every town, but the ones without running water had an especially difficult time in dealing with it.  The most commonly used solution were large latrines that were dug out using construction equipment like backhoes and bulldozers.  Fortunately, everything now ran on electricity, so they didn't lose the ability to run them after everything went to hell.  Portable solar chargers and home-based solar units were extremely common, so people still had access to vehicles, appliances, computers, and all the other things that needed power to operate.  No one even wanted to consider how they'd be living if they'd have lost access to such things.  People were far too used to modern conveniences, and over the years, many had lost the ability to survive without them.

The first thing they did in any town was to find a place to stay while they were there.  Since this particular town was larger than most, it had several hotels to choose from.  Virtually every hotel in every town they passed through was filled with people who'd fled the cities in an effort to find some sort of refuge in the less populated areas, but there was usually a room to be had somewhere.  If not, they could always sleep in the car, which they'd done on more than one occasion.  It was exceedingly uncomfortable though, so it was always preferable to find someplace with at least a relatively clean bed to sleep in.  Fortunately, they'd collected quite a few tradeable items in their travels, so they were able to secure a room in a small, rather cheesy looking motel for the duration of their stay by giving the hotel owner a music player they'd scavenged that had been loaded with a variety of different styles of music.

This particular town had kept their municipal water system powered and maintained, and as such, they didn't have the water supply problems that so many of the other towns had.  They were also able to provide plenty of water to irrigate all the crops that were growing on the local farms.

After they'd settled into their room and got the car charging, Jake went to take a shower, which was something he was looking forward to immensely.  Unfortunately, when he walked into the bathroom, he found that the wall was torn open, and the pipes that led to the shower were in the middle of being repaired.  The water in the sink still worked at least, so he closed the drain in the sink and filled it with hot water so they could each take a sponge bath instead.  At least they had clean towels in the room, and what looked like a homemade bar of soap that was probably made by someone in town who used their craft to trade with others for the things they needed.

Ok, why don't you go ahead and go first, Jake said after the sink was filled.

All right, thanks, she said as she quickly stripped off all of her clothes.  She walked into the bathroom, dropped one of the hand towels into the sink to soak it up with water, and then rubbed the soap into it.

Feels, good, don't it? he said as he sat down on the bed and watched her.

Oh my god, I needed this so bad.  You just don't know, she said as she scrubbed herself with the soapy towel.

So did I, he said with a sleazy grin as he sat there staring at her.

You know what?  I'm so happy about being clean right now that I don't even care.  Go ahead and get an eyeful, she said.

Oh I am, believe me.  So, what's the game plan?  We just gonna do the usual? he asked.

I don't know.  I guess so, she said with a heavy sigh.

You don't sound so sure about that.  What's on your mind?

Don't you ever get tired of traveling?  Wouldn't it be nice to settle down somewhere, so we don't have to constantly be on the move? she asked.

Settle down and do what though?  There's only so many jobs for us to do in any given town.  Once we do 'em all, then we'll be stuck while we wait for something else to come along.

Well, I'm a good mechanic, and I'm good with tech stuff too.  I could probably take on repair jobs and what not just to fill in the gaps.  I don't know Jakey.  I mean, I'm just gettin' kinda tired, that's all.  I'm tired of all the traveling, and having to deal with those damn Skinks all over the place.  I'm tired of having to do all the dirty shit we do to earn a living too.  It'd be nice if we could just stay in one place for a while, even if it was just for a year or so.

So, you wanna stay here? he asked.

Well, why not?  This is a decent room, or at least it will be after they finish fixing the shower, and it seems like this place is bigger and way more set up than anywhere else we've been.

And you think that running that by me while you're standing there naked is gonna influence my decision?

Yeah, pretty much.  Did it? she asked with a grin.

Yeah, it did actually.  All right, we'll stick around for a while and see how it goes.  I'm not promising anything though.  If this place turns out to be short on jobs, then we'll move on and find someplace that's a little more active.  Sound good?

Ok, deal.  Thanks Jakey.

Hey, you know I'd do anything for you babe.  You almost done?  You ain't the only one in this room who needs to get cleaned up you know.

Yeah, let me just rinse the towel and wipe the soap off, and then you can have it, she said as she drained the sink and turned on the hot water.

You can watch me too if you want.  I mean, fair's fair after all, he said as he stripped off his clothes.

Yeah, I think I will actually. she said as she finished wiping herself off, and then walked over to where her bag was sitting on the floor.  She picked it up and dug through it for a moment, fishing out whatever clothes she had that were still clean.

Look, when are we gonna stop playing all these games?  I mean, we're together all the time anyway, so why don't we just..., he started to say, but she interrupted him before he could finish.

You know why.  Look, I like things the way they are.  We show off the goods and keep each other happy, but that's where it ends.  If we started actually having sex, it's gonna ruin everything.  I know you.  You'll never be able to limit yourself to just one woman, and I deserve better than that.

Yeah, you do.  You really do.  I mean, who knows?  Maybe someday I'll be able to give that to you.  I just want you to know something though.  I know you think I'm incapable of loving anyone, but that's not true.  I do love you, and I couldn't even imagine trying to survive out there without you watching my back.

You really mean that? she asked, a little shocked that he'd actually admit something like that.

Yeah, I do.  In fact, you're the only girl I've ever really loved.  I'm just sorry I can't be the guy you want and deserve.

You could be you know...

"Nah, I know myself.  When all was said and done, I'd just end up disappointing you, and ruining what we have together.  I guess that's why I sleep around so much.  I can't be with the one I love because I'd end up