Night Shine

A Cold Night/A Strange Morning

Nikki's POV

This is our second night out in the middle of nowhere. We've eaten the meat Nicole has provided so I'm not starving. Damn it's getting cold though. I had offered the blanket to the woman. She turned it down. I'm still freezing with the blanket. She sits on the other side of the fire in her own thoughts apparently not feeling it. I want to ask her to come share some of that body heat she seems to be blessed with. I sigh I don't want her to think I'm hitting on her. I'm trying not let my teeth chatter. What I wouldn't give for a soft bed and a heater. Then I feel like shit at least I'm alive to feel the cold. She finally pulls her eyes away from the fire to look at me.

"Oh your freezing." She says in sympathy.

She moves quickly to my side of the fire and slips under the blanket with me. God she's a living heater. I thank god or whatever divine has spared my life and gave me her. I think I would have been in deep shit without her.

"I'm glad your here Nikki. I don't think I would have had the desire to survive." She whispers.

"I don't think I would be alive without you." I say softly.

"Never underestimate yourself and the human will to live." She answers.

"Ok I won't underestimate myself as long you agree to do the same." I state.

"Deal." She giggles. "Are you warmer now?"

"Yes thank you." I sigh. "I hope it doesn't piss off my wife."

"I'm sure she will be glad to have you back in one piece." She answers.

"I hope we're found soon. I hate for Courtney to worry." I think out loud.

"We will my son-in-law is head of a branch of search and rescue. I'm pretty sure we're in his jurisdiction." She says sleepily.

"So you  do have an idea where we are?" I ask.

"Uh huh." She mumbles.

"You could find your way out of here if it wasn't for me?" I ask softly.

"It's not your fault you're injured." She yawns.

"So you have children?" I question not really ready for sleep.

Yeah a couple." She chuckles.

I hear a bit of sarcasm so I got to ask.

"How many children?"

"18" she answers bluntly.

"18" I choke. "You look really good for a woman who has had that many children." I blurt out.

"Thank you." She giggles followed by a yawn..

"Does your fiance know?" I joke.

"My fertility is the reason they...he wants me." She corrects herself mid sentence. I hear her begin to snore softly.

"Oh shit she's not joking." I think that was an over share. What the hell is she part of? She rolls over so her face is against my chest. I close my eyes to sleep. I dose off playing idly with her soft hair.

I wake to bare skin it's still dark out. I can see by the dying fire her foot is stuck out from under the blanket. I chuckle I guess she got hot. Well this is on the list of things I'm not sure how to tell the wife. I'm trying very hard to keep my hands to myself. But everywhere I touch is bare skin. She's not helping since she is  pressed up against me. I try to go back to sleep. Which is difficult. I have a hard on. I ease my guilt by reminding myself I'm married not dead. I rest my hand on her back figuring it's the safest place and close my eyes.

I wake again this time to a growl on the other side of fire pit is a cougar. Nicole is wide awake and facing the wild cat. The animal slowly lowers its self to the ground submissively and then takes off back into the brush.

Holy Shit." I whisper.

I hear her mumble an apology.

"I should have heard him coming."

I don't comment on the strange apology. It's not the first strange thing I've noticed about Nicole. I think she's in a cult and is afraid to say. We lay awake till dawn.

She reaches for her clothes in the morning.

"I'm sorry about the loss of clothes. I got over heated." She blushes. "I need to check my traps."

With those words she's out of sight leaving me alone with my own thoughts. How can she be so warm out here. There is a lot of strange things I've noticed about Nicole. Her childhood must have been screwed up. Hell her life still seems to be screwed up. A weird marriage. There are things I've tried to ignore. She moves so silently. That could be wilderness training though. But I swear I've seen her eyes shine at night. When I woke after the plane crash I know I watched her pull metal out of her chest. The thing with the cougar. I run my hands through my hair. I'm weirded out.

Later She comes trotting back to camp with a rabbit in hand.

"Hey I can skin it. I know how." She hands it over with her knife. I'm not sure how she got that on the plane. She wanders off to gather more wood. I don't know why but I study the rabbit. It looks like there are teeth marks around it's neck. I'm thinking one good shake to snap its neck. I don't think it suffered much. I finish skinning and have it skewered over the fire before she returns.

"See you're not helpless." She smirks at my skills with the rabbit.

"You have been the only hunter." I quip.

"You would have figured it out." She jokes.

I reach out and give her hand a squeeze. Well silver doesn't affect her. I sigh quietly. Hell I just checked to see if the woman is a werewolf. It's official I'm losing my mind.