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Solid Ground

By Htedomsa

Cecil wiped off his oily paws on similar oily over all's. The old Challenger was getting to be a piece of work, the old fox thought as he drew himself up from under the car. Well it ought to run for a while yet at least. The rumble of a motor and a telltale sand cloud were coming up the road his way. Alright some business. The Dust Pad was Cecil's gas-station, auto body shop, and convenient store. As the older fox peered out over the sandy desert landscape he shielded his eyes watching the car, know it would still be minutes at least until they got here. Damn god thing he wasn't jerking off or taking a shit. To think to miss a customer from that stupid crap. Not today.

With her head tilted back out the window, Becca steered the 71' Plymouth Thunderbird she was driving. Her paws played over the dash adjusting the radio until some Jefferson Airplane wafted through the vehicle.

"Took you long enough." A mildly pouting smaller tabby cat started back at her. "Sometimes I think you wanna listen to every song on the radio...." The dark orange and grey cat murmured off.

"Nah only the good stuff." Becca let the air caress her hair as they streaked past. Becca had caught site of the station up ahead and it couldn't have come at a better time. The gas gauge was practically screaming.

"Lucky. I told you were should have gotten gas in Bastow. Oh well as long as we get out of this fucking desert, I don't care." Tassy wasn't usually this snippy, but then again the desert was hot as Hell. Becca couldn't wait to be rid of it either.

Just then out of the corner of her eye Becca noticed something along the street. At first she thought it a mirage or a cactus, but then she observed it walking. She keep watching and the thing rambled on. A hitch hiker.

"We should pick 'em up." Becca said matter-of-factly.

"Oh fuck no. Are you out of your godamn mind!?" Tassy was looking insane but worried at the same time. "Do you want us to get tentacle raped and left on the side of the road for the Sand Worms to come.

"Tassy you watch too much Hentai, one and two it's not like we don't have weapons." Becca's paw reached between her fur and the seat and felt the sawed-off shotgun resting there, knowing fully well the glove box had a Walther .22 and there was an old hunting rifle in the trunk occupying the space their spare once held. Tassy apparently got the point, but was never the less annoyed.

"Ok well if they so much as move wrong, I am gonna empty brains and push a body out the side door. K? Sound fair? Deal."

With Tassy dealing to herself the two furs made their way to the walking stranger and the gas station that lay beyond. God she hoped they had chips or, corn dogs, or something there. They were both famished and Goddess knew a good mouthful would shut Tassy up. Becca love her little sister, but sometimes that sister loved talking a bit too much.

The dust arose from the road and Cecil set about throwing trash out of the way. Not as if it could make the place look respectable, but trying had to count for something. It was then he noticed the lumbering walker on the side of the old road. He had over looked the fellow in excitement about customers and company. Better to have a closer look, but from here Cecil though taking down a pair of worn binoculars and dusting them off.

"Let's have a look see here." Cecil squinted into the binoculars and beheld the image of the walker. It was tall and covered in head to toe in a long over coat. Christ it was damn near 103 degrees, what was that fucker doing dressed like that in the desert. Something wasn't right, but it seemed that whatever that something was it was heading right his way.

Fiddling with the radio stations again, Becca found some Sublime and started singing to it to get the time moving on by.

"Life is too short so love the one you got, cause ya might get run over or ya might get shot....."

"Let's not." Becca stopped her voice and looked irritably at her younger sister. Tassy was getting hungry too and it showed. God Becca hated it when she got this bitchy, but it came in handy some times. Becca was beginning to wonder exactly what times those were when Tassy drew her back to reality and the road. The car had inched close to the side. "Ha what, are you going for ten points? I thought you wanted to give the guy a ride not a coffin." Tassy chuckled.

Becca sighed and slowed the T-Bird as they approached the long coated stranger from behind. As they crept up alongside their would be rider, the girls got a close hand view of the course tattered coat, shredded and stained in places. They guy must be mad to be out here in this heat in something like that. An old wide brim hat sat pointing down keeping the travelers face from the worse of the dust and heat. Becca could just make out some blistered leather gloves covering the hikers hands as she pulled alongside.

"Hey buddy need a lift?" Becca chimed with her usual enthusiasm. Tassy stayed quiety and secretly held one of their guns. The hiker just keep on walking. Becca was confused. Who the Hell wanted to stay in this damn heat any way. "Hey buddy you sure? We're going to the station down yonder, hope to see ya." She said it a little louder this time but the response was the same. Just more walking, face forward concealed under the shadow of the hate as it bobbed up and down.

"Oh well, looks like we don't have to care about that anymore." Tassy was quick to rule a verdict. "Yup definitely a rapist Hitler clone something, we sure dodged a bullet.

"Sure, we dodged helping someone alone in the desert who could need our help. Hurray for furmanity." She finished sarcastically still on their way to the station, though quicker now with no other mission before them.

Cecil saw the car stop, but to his surprise the stranger along the road kept his pace and didn't even acknowledge the driver. Weird, but then again some people like to keep to themselves, he thought. Just out of curiosity the fox reached for his binoculars and started out across the flat plain. Looking more intently this time Cecil looked over the walker. His clothes seemed even more dilapidated then his shop. Including old cars. Well he did think there was something wrong before, and taking a closer gaze he found it. Or possibly it. The coated one seemed to be limping, but it didn't look so much as limping as it did dragging. Something heavy no less. Cecil began to feel less comfortable about this until he turn the binoculars to the car. Hot damn! Two chicks! It made the old foxes day. Hopefully they weren't bitches. However he was sure they'd have something to work with seeing as how he was the only anywhere for 50 miles or so in any direction. That thought usually eased his mind. Somehow as he looked down the road to the dust cloud approaching, he could feel anything but.

Becca brought the Thunderbird in smoothly next to one of Cecil's pumps, and got out of the car to stretch. Following suit Tassy did the same raising her paws it the air. Cecil came out to meet them with all the customer service he could muster and then some.

"I'm Cecil the old fox said genially as he pawed toward the two cats." He turned to each. "And welcome to the Dust Pad! I'm at your service ladies, now what can I do for you?"

"I think some gas, water, snacks ought to do the trick." Becca replied, secretly relieved to be away from the awkwardness on the road.

"Do you have AC mister?" Tassy asked almost staring off into space as she sometimes did.

"Well not per say, but I got a Hell of a lot of fans, so let's all cool off and see what I can get you." Cecil doubted it would make much difference in this heat, but then again maybe it would in the shade if you caught the right breeze. Cecil showed the two sisters a few tables to sit at under a fan and they felt better immediately. A few glasses of water later and Tassy could have thought it was a miracle. Cecil set the pump to fill their car as the two drank and took in what cool they could.

"So Cecil is it?" Becca asked to open conversations door.

"Yes, ma'am" the tired fox replied.

"Did you happen to see someone walking down the road we just drove in on?"

"Actually I did little lady, good of you to try to help someone, but that one just didn't seem right to me. Glad you didn't pick 'em up." Cecil told the truth plainly.

"HA. I told you. He's a racist slime monster bent on terminal rape and he's prolly part vampire." Tassy did not miss her chance.

"Stop talking like that, the Hell is a matter with you?" Becca stared down her younger albeit shrewder sis. "Godamn CSI ruins everything, murder this, rape that, even that warped program about those furs who dress like these hairless apes. Gross." With that she turned back to Cecil.

"So what do you mean exactly by 'just didn't seem right'?" Becca was trying to be more curious then worried.

"Well for one I've lived in this desert for 33 years and never once seen someone walk that far in clothes you could stalk a blizzard in. For another I haven't seen the fellow take a drink of water this whole time, or even pay attention as you drove up to him. Sure you only would have saved him a few miles, but, it doesn't make sense."

"Are you sure he's not doing it for the exercise?" Tassy chided. So this one's the bitch Cecil surmised. Oh well one outta two ain't bad.

"Who knows? All I know is as long as he, or she doesn't come here bringing trouble I don't care." Cecil looked out the window.

"What do you mean or she?" Tassy chimed in "It's too tall to be a lady and too gruff looking."

"With that coat on I can't tell what species they are let alone sex, and looks are mighty deceiving. Could be one Hell of a woman under there." Cecil looked off again.

"You so wish!" Tassy laughed a little, before Becca smacked her upside the back of the head.

"Never mind her Cecil, she's not right in the head." Becca looked at her sister scornfully flicking her tail back and forth.

"I am so absolutely right in the head!" threw back Tassy with slightly less gusto then she had pictured.

"Well you won't be after I break my foot of in your tail hole, now mind your manners." Becca decided it was the end of the matter. This little picnic was nice but they had to get on the road.

"Thanks for everything Cecil." Becca said as she handed the clerk a few bills and told him to keep the change. Then she looked out and window and screamed a bit before ducking back into the convenient mart. She couldn't stop shaking for some reason.

Cecil and Tassy were immediately concerned. "What is it?" asked Cecil. The both ran to the same window were Becca had been standing and looked out across the dust yard in front of the station. There standing against a rising gust of sand was the dusty hitch hiker. The fact that the cracked and worn hate still covered their face unnerved all three furs.

Motioning for the other two to stay put, Becca moved to the door and opened it slightly so the bells wouldn't sound. Luckily the car was only a few feet from the mart so it was just a quick crawl around to the passenger side door to retrieve their few weapons. The rifle was in the trunk, so it was unlikely to see action, but they still had the pistol and the shotgun. Cecil looked at the weapons, then at the girls, and then finally with an expression that said I would be wary of those if they weren't on my side. He hoped. Not to be out done, the graying fox walked behind his counter and returned with a pump action shogun, not to dissimilar from Becca's own besides the modifications of course. Just as Becca slipped back into the mart, Tassy let out a gasp. The stranger was gone. Just rolling sand, dust, and even a tumble weed whose shadow stretched far too long for the trios liking. It was going to get dark in an hour or so.

"Damnit, let's just hope that one kept on moving." Cecil said obviously shaken a bit, but the feeling of the cool barrel of his Remington 870 seemed to alleviate some of the old furs worries.

"Hmmm." Tassy said looking around as if noticing for the first time, how cramped the small building really was. "I don't suppose you have a hotel around here to spend the night?

"Unfortunately lass that would be a negative, but you can help yourself to the chairs and comforter here. I'd feel better too if you weren't out there with whatever that was." Cecil gestured to his make shift home.

"I agree, but first light tomorrow and we are gone." Becca was dead set on that.

"Damn skippy!" Tassy leaned in. Her apprehension of the stranger walker ebbed slightly with her paw resting on her pistol. Technically it was Becca's but it was more or less hers.

The darkness fell faster than either girl thought. Cecil was used to it and set about light a few lamps and turned on the lights outside and including floodlights over the front yard and pump stations. He then went to back of his abode. Not a far trot, and activated some more flood out back though these were weaker and more meant to keep animals away then people. After all people did need gas at night. Suddenly feeling tired the old fox went to a dirty cased cooler and plucked out a beer without a thought and sat down arms hunched on the table.

"You gal's want a brew?" Cecil asked out of courtesy. Also this was the first company to really come around in 3 months.

"No thank you Cecil. I'm alright." Becca was just turning around when-

"Hell yeah Cecil my furiend put that brewsky right there." As if by magic Tassy's paw shot outward to the beer and the old fox absent mindedly handed her one.

"What do you think you're doing?" Becca asked not feeling like having her authority compromised.

"Um, drinking, duh, what else would I do with a beer?" Tassy quipped and took a gulp

Oh Goddess Becca thought I hope I didn't act like that when I turned eighteen. She almost laughed to herself, she probably had, and she wasn't even that much older. The sisters were only four years apart, but in terms of maturity, sometimes Becca felt it was eons a part. Siblings. Sigh.

"Whatever, but don't get drunk. That's all I need." Becca sighed again.

"I won't just because that one time I we had to run away from that bar doesn't mean I'll be trouble again." Tassy looked the other way.

"I'm not that worried." Becca said surprisingly. "There aren't enough cops to chase us this time."

Cecil wondered what the Hell they were talking about, but decided to keep it to himself like the best hosts and shop owners do.

The three bantered a bit about the events of the day and Cecil got up to check the pump. The T-Bird was filled. He replaced the hose back on the station and was suddenly glad for all these flood lights. To the untrained eye there were no power lines. A bare bones generator on the side of the house was all that looked to power the place. Cecil's secret was a couple acres away just tilting to get the last of the sun. There was a veritable forest of solar panels a good five minute walk from the mart, though they were difficult to spot. The energy they saved during the days of scorching sun was saved beneath the ground that Cecil's mart stood on. Power should not be a problem. Security might pose a problem however, looking about the dusty mart Cecil started to doubt the old structures ability to protect those inside. Tassy downed the rest of her beer, not noticing a strange face that watched just out of reach of the floodlights with dark hued yellow eyes. Those eyes were thinking the same think as Cecil. They had been since they got there.