Chapter 6
Chapter Six
The mechanical growl of an ATV sent Tighe scurrying up a hillside and behind trees.
It was rare to encounter any kind of vehicle on the Trail, especially the parts Tighe preferred, but the few times he saw them were terrifying.
Cars and trucks were loud and dangerous and the ATVs tore up the forest and scared off its inhabitants.
The outside world’s destructive obsession with vehicles was one of the biggest reasons Tighe had remained on the Trail and had no desire to leave it.
Tighe recalled his first encounter with a man and an automobile from the outside world.
There weren’t many men in their mother’s small village, aside from the few Ossor men who had come back from the forest. They took jobs as laborers on the nearby farms and within the village, seeking shelter and a bed wherever they were needed.
It wasn’t uncommon for an Ossor child to only know their mothers because the father rarely stayed under any one roof for more than a few weeks.
To the Ossors, a man’s place was in the woods, hunting, or in battle.
Being idle was just about the only sin known to the Ossors and they had no concept of retirement.
Men simply died in the woods or while swinging a sword, an ax, or a hammer.
Dying of old age and in a bed would be a shameful end for an Ossor.
Scars and mangled or missing limbs were badges of honor and men rarely cut their hair or trimmed their beards. They wore simple clothes, made by Ossor women. Shoes and basic fabrics were just about the only things Ossor women ventured out of their small communities for.
But one day, a stranger came to Tighe’s mother’s village and brought the evils of the outside world with him.
He drove a big white truck with three sets of wheels, right through the center of town, over gardens and graves.
Several of their late fall crops and their ancestors’ memorials were destroyed and the water pump was knocked over.
When the outsider stepped out of his truck, three pissed-off Ossor men were waiting to greet him.
Unaware of the damage he’d already caused or the tenuousness of his welcome, the outsider declared that he was from the government and was conducting a survey to see how many people lived in their isolated community and if they had adequate access to medical care and other services.
He was fortunate that there were only three men in town at the time because he was quickly surrounded and beaten to the ground for trespassing.
There were signs warning outsiders to stay away and that went for government outsiders as well.
One of the more learned women warned the stranger that he’d crossed onto private land and that how they cared for their children and their sick was nobody else’s business, according to the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Threats were made before the man stumbled back to his truck.
He promised that they hadn’t heard the last of him and that they couldn’t treat a representative of the government like that.
His claims were met with laughter because it was well known that local law enforcement gave the Ossors a wide berth, believing them to be a breed of wild mountain Amish or Mennonites.
But it was what happened after he started the truck’s engine that turned the odd episode into a tragedy.
One of the grandmothers was leaving, having had her fill of the drama.
She was small and slow and her back was bent, making her invisible to the outsider inside the colossal truck.
The engine let out a loud rumble and the wheels spun, sending dirt and gravel flying as the truck flew back, slamming into the elderly woman and killing her instantly.
Her lifeless, broken body was taken away to be cleaned and prepared for burial while men came from the other Ossor communities to protect their people when more outsiders arrived to take statements and investigate.
In the aftermath, Tighe and Eoin took it upon themselves to repair what they could and remove any trace of the outsiders.
They did their best to replant anything that could be salvaged and smoothed over the earth, erasing tire tracks and strange shoe prints.
In the midst of the chaos, one of the investigators dropped a glossy brochure from one of the nearby parks. Instead of sending it to be burned with the rest of the debris, Tighe slipped it inside his back pocket and waited until he was alone with Eoin to take it out.
“Ye shouldna kept that!” Eoin snatched it away and crumpled it but Tighe snatched it back.
“I’m keepin’ it! It says there’s a trail that goes for thousands of miles, all the way to a place called Georgia.”
Eoin drew back, eyeing the brochure warily. “So? What’s it got to do with us? We’re goin’ to camp soon.”
Unlike Tighe, Eoin couldn’t read and didn’t want to. He didn’t understand why Tighe kept anything he found with words on it and instinctively distrusted any information gleaned from reading things written by outsiders.
“It says ye can hike the entire thing in six months…” Tighe had never been more than six miles from his mother’s cabin at the time but he was fascinated by how far he could walk in six months and all the wonderful things he could see along the way.
“Ye canna go fer six months! Ma would skin ye!” Eoin whispered in horror. “They won’ let ye go to camp. Not if ye leave like that. There’s no tellin’ how messed up ye’d be when ye got back, but we wouldna be able to trust ye anymore.”
“Get off!” Tighe gave him a hard shove, laughing. “Why wouldn’ ye trust me? I’d trust ye no matter what, even if ye went to the moon and were blue when ye came back.”
Eoin smirked, nodding. “I’d still trust ye and I’d take ye back, but ye’d have to hide. I’m not takin’ a thrashin’ for ye,” he said but they both knew he was fibbing, Eoin would die for Tighe and vice versa. “Would ye really go?” he asked, growing serious.
“I dunno.” Tighe shrugged, still too young to understand why or face the sinking feeling in his gut whenever they talked about going to camp with the other Ossor men. “What if I found this because I’m meant to do somethin’ else?”
“Like what?” Eoin’s lips tightened and he shook his head stubbornly.
“Ain’t nothin’ out there worth doin’ and them people are weak.
Ye heard what Ma said: they’re all soft and sick out there.
Everything they eat and drink is full of poisons and their women don’ work and most of their men canna fight or hunt. ”
“I wouldna eat anything they gave me!” Tighe insisted, but he had always been curious about the foods they ate.
“Don’t forget about the automobiles! You saw what that one did. There could be…hundreds out there!”
“No… I wouldna go near another automobile again. But I don’ think they work on the trails. They canna get between the trees or climb over all the rocks,” Tighe noted and Eoin nodded in agreement.
“Yer probably right. Yer smarter about stuff like that.”
Tighe shrugged. “Yer smart too. Just about different things, is all.”
Returning to the present, Tighe wondered what Eoin would make of his dreams and this new journey he was on.
Tighe often imagined the conversations they’d have about his many adventures and misadventures.
Their mother and their other Ossor brothers would be horrified and would cast him out again, but Eoin would want to hear all about it and he would forgive Tighe.
He might give Tighe a swat or two on the backside of his head for letting them carry him off in a helicopter and for talking to so many officers and reporters.
But he’d also get a good laugh at Tighe’s expense and say he was the smartest “eejit” alive.
Tighe was probably the first and only shy Ossor in the history of Ossors and he often felt like a complete fool around outsiders, despite his curiosity and his innate desire to be helpful.
Thankfully, Tighe had generally positive interactions with the people he had encountered throughout his years on the Trail.
He’d be happy to report to Eoin that most people were kind and respected nature and the forest as much as they did.
No one had raised a hand to Tighe since he had left their camp and while he had only tasted a handful of their snacks, he had yet to be poisoned.
In fact, Tighe had discovered tea early in his travels on the Trail and asked just about everyone he spoke to if they had any to share or trade.
Tighe had also befriended several rangers and other kind people who worked at the Trail’s national parks.
A ranger named Amy by Dingmans Falls would have a box of herbal tea waiting for Tighe whenever he passed through and many allowed him to take anything he could use from the unclaimed items in their lost and found boxes.
He preferred caves when the weather was wet and cold, but Tighe was even encouraged to use some of the more isolated cabins and shelters that were vacant in the winter months.
His pack brothers would say that Tighe had grown too soft—and they’d probably be right—but he never regretted the decision to leave and make a life on the Trail.
He couldn’t even say he regretted leaving his brother behind because Eoin was probably happier and exactly where he belonged.
There was never any doubt that Eoin was born to be an Ossor, and that one day, he’d be a leader and eventually a respected elder.
Leaving the pack had meant freedom for Tighe and he was satisfied with his life, but he hoped that Eoin had achieved all he’d set out to do.
He was probably revered and allowed to sit with the elders during meals and meetings without Tighe there to embarrass him and hold him back.
Their mother would never understand but Tighe had come to accept that splitting up had been better for both of them.
Tighe assumed he’d never see Eoin again but he spoke to his brother like he was right by his side.
It kept him from feeling lonely and when they met in Tighe’s dreams, it was like Eoin was talking back to him or sending messages from home.
He liked to think that their bond was still as strong as ever and that Eoin thought of him just as often.
Once he was sure the coast was clear and the ATV wasn’t coming back, Tighe returned to the path.
It was time to find a place to camp for the night and he was beginning to feel a tickle of giddiness as he looked forward to another night of dreams. The closer he got to their stream, the clearer and more detailed the dreams became.
They had yet to share anything of substance beyond passionate moans and laughter, but Tighe somehow knew everything about his man.
Even things he didn’t understand, like a craving for spicy foods and dark coffee.
Tighe had tried a spicy jerky once and did not like the way it burned his mouth.
He’d raced to a nearby spring and cried for fifteen minutes.
He had tasted coffee once as well and made the mistake of finishing his cup to be polite, despite it tasting like bitter, burnt nuts.
It would have been kind of the hikers who had brewed it to warn Tighe of the aftereffects.
He felt like he was going to jump out of his skin and spoke to himself way too fast as he speed-hiked downhill.
And several emergency squats were required.
His man was obviously brave and had a very strong tummy.
He was also a giving and impressive lover and Tighe was feeling impatient as he laid twigs, sticks, and brush for another lakeside fire.
He ate, then cleared a spot of any large rocks and got comfortable, using his field coat as a blanket and his backpack as a pillow.
With one last look around to make sure he was alone, Tighe let his hands wander down his body and opened the fly of his pants.
His man had strong thighs and Tighe imagined kneeling in the stream and running his hands up them and nuzzling his sac.
He closed his eyes and opened wide so he could suck and lap at his man’s thick, heavy cock.
Tighe sucked and sucked and sucked, adoring the taste of his precum and the sound of his man’s breathless gasps and groans.
No words were said, but they made animal noises and urged each other on. His fingers were twisted in Tighe’s hair as he rocked his hips, his toes curling in the water. Tighe whimpered, urging him to take more and to take him.
In the past, Tighe had been held down and taken roughly, like a dog. That was how they found relief within the pack. But it was different with him. They kissed and touched and Tighe was cherished.
Worshipped.
None of his past partners feasted on Tighe’s ass or slowly fingered him the way he did. He wouldn’t be rushed and didn’t stop until he had claimed every drop of Tighe’s essence. They came together joyfully and Tighe was consumed by the heat and the wild bond they shared.
That bond was already as strong as the one Tighe shared with Eoin but his heart promised that it was a bond that would hold and only grow stronger with time.
Nothing would ever part them and they would find a beautiful, peaceful life together.
All Tighe had to do was find his way to the stream and wait for him.
Tighe came, biting back a cry of feral ecstasy as he spilled all over his hands. Instead of licking them clean, Tighe smeared the cum between his ass cheeks and pushed some into his hole. He would clean himself in the morning before setting out but he wanted to fall asleep feeling slick and used.
Sated and tired from a full day on the Trail, it wasn’t long before Tighe drifted off and found himself at their stream. They laughed as they splashed and played in the water and Tighe was ecstatic, overjoyed at finally knowing where and who he belonged with.