Amazing Part 24
NOTE: Sorry for the delay on this, Escape Clause took my mind away for a while…..
Their second night in Alaska included an amazing dinner under a tent on the snowfield. The group had really come together after nearly 4 weeks of varying conditions and personalities and Annie was going to be a little sad to say good-bye to them all.
Exhaustion won out eventually and the group dwindled. Annie and Auggie said their good-nights, unsure if there would be another evening like this before the end of the race.
They crawled into the tent and debated wardrobe for sleeping.
"We are taught that the best way to stay warm is to crawl naked into a sleeping bag with someone else who is already naked," Auggie mentioned as he stripped his thermal shirt off over his head.
"I saw that episode of the X Files too, I think he was just trying to get Scully naked," Annie snorted and rummaged for a tee shirt.
Auggie laughed and wriggled out of his pants. Annie watched his muscled body contorting in the tight space of the tent and suddenly the air was gone.
"I want to make sure when we get home that we remember how good this time was," she reached out a cool hand and squeezed his knee.
"We will," he promised.
"I want to always be surprised by this, by how much I want you and care for you and am proud of you, every day," he took the hand from his knee and tugged it closer, kissed the knuckles, encouraged the rest of her body closer.
"I promise," he held her body close.
***555***
Annie emerged from sleep, her back warm where Auggie was pressed closely and her front chilled from the Alaskan morning. She turned, still under his arm, to find him awake.
"Hey," she smiled and he reacted instantly to the change in temperature of her skin.
"You're cold," he frowned.
"Not bad, just warmer where we were touching," she ran a foot up his calf and felt him shudder.
"I have a whole new respect for camping," he rolled on to his back and pulled her on top of him, her hair tickling his face.
"Rise and shine, breakfast in 20," a staffer wandered between the tents.
"Next time we take a vacation that does not involve wake up calls," Auggie grumbled.
***555***
Their last day in Alaska involved several outdoor activities including a long range shooting exercise. Annie tried hard to miss her mark, but she aced the event and propelled her and Auggie well ahead of the others.
"Where'd you learn to shoot like that?" Cathy asked her at lunch.
"My dad was in the Army, we lived in Guam at one point, there wasn't much to do," although the story was technically true it sounded fake even to Annie's ears.
Annie noticed Gwen listening as she picked at her lunch, a small frown on the woman's face. Annie knew lying to everyone you know was no way to live, she had to reassure Gwen that it wasn't always like this.
Finally, after everyone completed the Alaskan obstacle course it was time to head back to the airport, their final flight of the race would take them back to Denver.
***555***
When they landed in Denver the teams found cars with a clue under the windshield wiper.
"We're headed back to Red Rocks," Annie mentioned the place they began the race.
"Is that it, no more challenges?" Auggie raised an eyebrow.
"I guess so," Annie shrugged and backed out of the parking lot.
As soon as they walked through the arch into the amphitheater Annie laughed.
"What?" Auggie halted.
"One more challenge after all and I think I should do it," she smiled and took the clue from the staffer.
"What am I looking at?"
"A sea of flags, 285 according to the clue. I have to find the 9 that represent the countries we visited besides the US and put them in order," she reported.
"Brazil, Russia, Germany, Italy, Greece, Oman, Australia, Thailand and Japan," Auggie recited.
"Thanks freak boy, I was there too. Now can you help me find the flags amongst 285 different ones?" she pinched his arm.
"Nope sorry," he grinned.
"And I can only get one at a time. I see Japan's, I'm grabbing that first," she reported and stripped off her jacket for the exercise she was about to undertake.
The field of flags was huge and Annie forgot how many flags had similar colors and patterns. Other teams arrived and were going through the exercise before she finished, but finally she spotted the Greek flag way at the back of the field, she jogged it back and put it in the 5th spot.
"I think we're done," she asked for a staffer to review.
"That's right," he reviewed his handy cheat sheet and handed Annie an envelope.
"Thank you," she smiled and accepted the envelope and the water Auggie presented her.
"Let's get out of the sun," he suggested and she led him to a large flat rock under the natural arch in the park.
"Congratulations, you have completed World Race! We will be meeting in the amphitheater at 4:00 pm, until then enjoy the park. Gwen" Annie read.
"Wow, we're done," Auggie looked amazed.
"You did such a good job," Annie brushed his hair back from his forehead and kissed the warm skin there.
"You too, it was both harder and easier than I expected," he admitted.
"Yeah?"
"The challenges were significant, but I honestly feel like I can do anything with you Annie. We, um, we make a pretty good team," Auggie seemed shy.
"We always have Auggie, from the very beginning," she reminded him.
"True," he laughed.
"You may think that I assisted you in the scary tasks of world travel and jumping off of things, both formidable for a blind man, but you got me through some scary things too," she said quietly.
"You did better with the spiders than I expected," he agreed.
"Not just the spiders Auggie, loving you, giving my heart to you is both the easiest and hardest thing I have ever done. Love is the one thing I have repeatedly failed at," she twined her fingers with him.
"Then we have to make sure we work at it, all the time, really hard, so we don't fail."
TBC….