Quaranteam - North West Ch. 14

The other kind of stop I would knock on the door and no one would answer, even if there was a car in the driveway. Then Kyla would join me, and we'd put on our vests and start walking around the house, peeking in windows. Sometimes I would need to give her a boost up to check higher ones. And about half the time one of us would see a body, or signs of blood. And we'd back off and call it in, and then we'd leave. We weren't equipped to handle the dead - EMTs weren't doing it either. There was some group organized through the National Guard that were collecting the bodies and bringing them off... somewhere. A State Trooper had to ride with them, and I didn't envy them that job at all.

"Where's the last stop, hon?" I asked, reaching over and rubbing the inside of her thigh to try and comfort her. She didn't need it necessarily, she wasn't worked up, but I could tell she was frustrated with how little we could really do about things. Not for the first time I wondered if maybe this wasn't the 'purpose' Kyla needed right now.

"Head back home," she said. "But keep going up the highway. It's about fifteen minutes passed us. Says it's a place called Valkyrie Falls."

I frowned. "Never heard of it," I said. "Does it say anything else?"

"No," she shook her head.

"Well, I guess we'll find out."

It was a peaceful drive and we made it with the windows down. The hot spring and early summer sun had finally given way to our usual weather, and the soft cloud cover and the light rains that swept through had cooled everything down to the point that we didn't need to blast the air conditioning anymore and could enjoy the natural fresh air. As we drove Kyla took my hand from her thigh and wrapped her fingers in mine, leaning down to kiss my arm softly and then turning to look out the window.

Things with her since the shootout had changed slightly. Or maybe it was since we'd said that we were falling for each other already. Before then, it felt like we'd been making an effort. It had been easy to do, but we were still trying to make it happen. Now... now it felt natural. It felt like those little touches we'd been doing without words all the time. We could sit in silence, just the wind and the soft hum of the radio turned down low between us, and it felt good.

"I love you, by the way," I said.

She turned to me, raising her eyebrows.

"Just thought I should let you know - I'm done falling, and it's real. I love you."

"I'll never stop falling," she said. "I never want to stop falling. Every time I think I see who you are, Harrison Black, I quickly find you're deeper and wider than I could imagine. I love you too."

"God, if I'd known you would get poetic I would have tried harder to come up with something like that," I teased her softly with a smile.

She laughed warmly and squeezed my fingers. "I wasn't trying to be. And I liked the way you said it."

We drove past the entrance to the site, the booth standing empty, and continued up the highway just over fifteen minutes before Kyla signalled I should make a left into a little side road that looked like any other that dotted the area and led up to someone's cabin. Instead, after half a minute of driving down the brush-lined single lane, we came to a gate. It was black steel, covering the entire roadway, and mounted into cement pillars that had been sunk into the ground. A little plaque on one of them read 'Valkyrie Falls', and there was a buzzer intercom just below it.

"Weird," I said.

I put the truck in park and we got out. Looking around, there wasn't anything but trees and brush except the path back to the road, and the path beyond the gate.

At the buzzer, I pushed the button and the little speaker grill made a staticy buzz noise. We waited about thirty seconds and nothing happened, so I pushed it again a little longer.

"Oh, shit. Hello?" A woman's voice came from the other end.

"Yeah, hi. This is Sheriff Black, I'm here to do a welfare check?"

"Oh fuck, um, one minute," she said. Then, presumably without taking her finger off the button, the woman yelled to someone. "Abi! The cops are at the gate!"

"Really? Alright, tell them I'll be down there in two minutes," another voice called faintly.

"Alright, I will," said the first voice, then she must have turned back to the speaker. "The owner will be down in two minutes."

"Thanks," I said as I grinned at Kyla. I released the button and went and leaned against the front bumper of the truck.

"Well, it's probably not a cult," Kyla said.

"Doesn't sound like it," I agreed. "It's got to be some sort of business, right?"

"Maybe it's some Bed and Breakfast place," Kyla guessed. "It would make sense."

"Guess we'll find out," I chuckled.

It took a little longer than two minutes for someone to come walking down the dirt road beyond the path, and I was a little shocked by her when she showed up. This woman had to be my height, maybe even a little taller, and she was built. She was wearing a jacket but it was open, showing off an athletic bra and a set of abs that rivaled any pro athlete I'd ever seen. Her legs were clad in a skin-tight yoga pant, making her thickly muscled thighs and calves obvious as well. She had broad shoulders, though maybe not quite as broad as mine, and a wide jaw as she smiled before putting a mask on as she got closer. Her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a simple pony tail.

"Hi, I'm the owner," she said as she got closer. "Can I help you?"

"Abigail Jónsson?" Kyla asked.

"That's me," the giant of a woman nodded. Her accent was odd, maybe nordic, though she didn't didn't stumble through any words and was perfectly clear.

"I'm Sheriff Black, this is my deputy Kyla," I said. "Did you call in a wellness check request?"

"Um, sort of?" Abigail said. "I called in with some questions about what was all going on and what we should be doing about the pandemic. Different news stations and sites are saying different things."

"Totally understandable," I nodded. "The State Troopers are super busy right now, so I'm sorry if it took some time for us to get back to you. We'd be happy to give you a quick rundown of things if you'd like."

"Sure," she nodded. "Do you want to come up to the property? I'm sure all the girls would like to hear something official."

"As long as we stay outside," I nodded.

"Great," she nodded, and then she unlocked the gate. "You can drive on up, theres a parking lot where you can turn around when you leave instead of backing out."

"I'll bring it up," Kyla said. "You walk with her."

"Sure," I said and handed Kyla the keys.

I was already masked, so I fell in beside Abigail as we walked. At my best guess she was probably an inch taller than me, which meant she had to be something like six and a half feet tall.

"So what kind of business is this exactly?" I asked.

"It's a women-only athletic retreat," Abigail said as we walked. "My business partner and I bought the place a couple of years ago and built it up with money we got from our sponsors."

"What do you compete in?" I asked.

"CrossFit competitions," she said. "Though I was already backing away a bit from the big ones before the pandemic to focus more on the business. But we provide a retreat for any woman who wants to take their physical training super seriously."

"I had no idea you gals were up here," I said. "I live about fifteen minutes down the highway."

"Mmm," Abigail nodded. "We've kept things pretty quiet. We're not looking for regular gym goers locally, we're really focused on high end athletes. We've had a couple of Olympians come and train for a month or two, and several national soccer players during their off season, plus CrossFitters and weight lifters and that sort of thing. Hey, did you see all the commotion that happened a week ago up your way?"

"Commotion?" I asked.

"Lots of big army trucks and stuff," she said.

"Ah, yeah," I said. "That- Well, that's a bit of a story I can tell you about."

We made a turn through the trees, Kyla keeping the truck a dozen paces back behind us, and the space opened up into a shaded clearing. The building itself looked like it was almost pre-fab concrete in a modern style and not the cabin I was expecting. Knowing now that it was an athletic retreat, I thought it was pretty impressive and looked a lot nicer than a lot of the 'athletic retreats' I'd seen. Where it wasn't concrete it was tinted glass windows, and the building itself was built into a U-shape with a central courtyard that was fenced off from the dirt parking lot that had almost a dozen cars parked in it, but could hold almost double that number. Inside the courtyard was an outdoor gym with a half dozen women pumping iron, doing chinups and pushups, and generally sweating their asses off.

"Wow," I said. "This is... wow."

"Thanks," Abigail said, the grin behind her mask obvious. "We can max out at twenty athletes in residence at a time, plus me and my business partner and a nutritionist chef we had on staff, but we're down to ten right now since we went into quarantine and several of the ladies decided to drive back to wherever home was for them to ride this out. Think the courtyard would work for your talk?"

"Sure," I said. "Just round everyone up and I'll meet you in there."

"Great," Abi nodded and jogged off as I went to where Kyla was parking the truck. I didn't miss the fact that she had a great, muscled butt that bounced as she moved.

"This place is impressive," Kyla said as she got out of the truck and handed me back the keys. We were both dressed in black button-down shirts and black pants and wore the utility belts to try and make us at least look a little official - I didn't even technically have a badge yet. We could have worn the bullet proof vests with the 'Sheriff' patches, but that felt a little militaristic for the duties we were doing and could put people more on edge.

"It's full of athletes caught out here in the middle of training," I said.

"Very cool," Kyla nodded. "You really didn't know this was here?"

"Not at all," I said. I started leading her towards the door in the fence that Abigail had used. "Apparently it's a well-kept secret, which makes sense I guess if any of them are trying to stay away from cameras or stalkers or something."

"Fair," Kyla nodded. "What do you think, should I sign up for a membership? I haven't worked out properly in months and Ivy's routine works decently, but I could use some weights."

"If you do, I might," I chuckled. "I could do to pump some iron."

"Sorry, hon," she smiled at me through the mask. "Ladies only, remember?"

We stepped through the gate and closed it behind us, looking around at the equipment and the women that were finishing off their sets and starting to gather. There was a variety of equipment, but it all looked like it had been chosen to be permanently outside. The free weights were heavy iron on stainless steel racks, the fixed equipment made of the same metal. There were open tracks with big heavy ropes and old tractor tires.

And then there were the women.

They seemed to be in all sizes, but one thing was clear - they were all fit. Whether squat and powerful, or lean and graceful, each one had clearly defined muscles.

"Hey," one woman said, bouncing over seemingly full of energy after she racked a couple of free weights and shook out her arms. "So, is the world ending or what?"

"Not quite," I said, trying to project warmth through my mask. None of the athletes were wearing one, but if they were all quarantined together and weren't going out, then it made sense that they could do that. "And we'll try to make sure this little paradise you're in doesn't suffer anything."

"Cool," she said, then held out her hand. "Josie Draper, better known as Joss the Boss."

"Nice to meet you, Josie," I said, peeling off my glove and shaking her hand, then taking out a bottle of sanitizer. Kyla did the same thing.

"What, am I that gross?" Josie asked.

"Not at all," I assured her. "But this thing is very real, and we can't be too cautious. Right now Kyla and I are more of a threat to you than you are to us, so sanitize."

"Sure," she nodded and accepted the spritz of sanitizer. Josie was a pretty women with a sharp nose and a nice smile, though her natural expression seemed to be more of a frown with a dominant curve to her upper lip. Most of her hair, likely brunette based on the roots but mostly dyed a silvery blonde, was back in a ponytail for her workout except for two shocks of bangs that framed her face. She was wearing a peach coloured athletic bra with a thin white, baggy overshirt overtop, and lime green stretchy shorts. She also had a full sleeve of tattoos in a variety of designs down her right, muscled arm. Her entire body was muscled, really, though she was striking a balance between the heavier build of Abigail and something more lean.

"What sport do you compete in?" Kyla asked.

"I'm actually a professional wrestler," Josie said with a flash of a grin. "I've worked the Indie circuits for a few years and before all this I had a call-up to try out for the big times, so I booked time out here to try and get myself in the best shape of my life. I'm fire on the mic, and I have the technical skills, but I lack certain assets the TV likes." She grabbed her chest, which was certainly on the small side compared to her body proportionately. "But then Quarantine happened, and everything went into lockdown and I wasn't going to have anywhere to work, so when Abi offered to let us stay if we could chip in for groceries there wasn't a shot I was passing up that opportunity."

"That explains the nickname," I nodded along.

"Mhmm," Josie grinned. "Joss the Boss, corporate queen, ready to lay the smackdown on any bitch with the gall to challenge my authority." She raised an arm and flexed as she grinned, her bicep impressive.

Abigail came out of the main building from what looked like a big eating area with a few tables, followed by a few more women, and Josie said it was nice to meet us and went back to the group. I couldn't help a glance down at her ass, which was of course perfect.

"Sheriff Black, this is my business partner Sara Sigurdsdottir," Abigail said, introducing us to the other blonde giantess. She wasn't quite as tall as Abigail or myself, but was still taller than most of the other women who were gathering around. She was pretty in a different way than Abigail, with slightly sunken eyes and a sharper chin, but similar body proportions.

"Nice to meet you, sir," Sara said, her accent thicker than Abigail's.

"You too, Miss," I said. "This is my deputy Kyla."

They said hello and soon the two women gave way so that I could speak to the whole group. I let them know that I was impressed with their commitment to safety and following the quarantine guidelines and that unfortunately things were about as bad as people were saying. The pandemic was as dangerous as the news reported, and staying quarantined was the best option for all of them to stay safe and healthy. I ran them through the steps to keep themselves as safe as possible, basic stuff that they were already following, and to try and limit any outings they made off the retreat campus. Several of the women had questions and concerns. Some couldn't reach family members or friends and asked if I could help with that - I had to tell them it would be best to call in a welfare check to whatever local police department their loved ones were located near, but to likely expect a slow response due to the overloaded system. One woman asked why Kyla and I were still doing this if it was so bad, and that brought a little smirk from me as I saw Kyla give me a look.

That led to me giving a brief explanation that I was 'newly elected' to my position, and was helping out the State Troopers. I also told, in brief, the story of the outbreak on the construction site to really nail home the importance of following the rules. Kyla chipped in information here and there that she thought they would need, and fielded a couple of questions including one saucy one about if it was hard working with a big hunk all the time that got all the girls laughing. Kyla just winked and said she'd figured it out pretty quickly, which then got some 'oooohs' from the little crowd of women.

When they ran out of questions, Abigail took charge and soon several of the women were starting up their workout routines again, while others were sent inside with Sara to help prepare the evening meals for the different nutritional needs of the levels of athletes.

"Do you want to see some of the property?" she asked, raising her eyebrows a bit hopefully. "I love showing off our namesake."

"Sure," I said after checking with Kyla that she'd be fine taking a bit more time here. "We'd love to."

"Good," Abigail nodded, and then turned to the women around us. "Spencer, we're heading up to the falls. Come on."

Spencer turned out to be a shorter woman wearing a bulky, baggy sweater that hid most of her physique. She was very pretty in a middle-America sort of way with a roundish face and big blue eyes, and looked like she could have fit right into a period drama about pilgrims just as easily as modern life. She had a mass of thick, golden blonde hair piled up on her head messily in a loose bun. She smiled eagerly when she heard our destination and jogged off to get her boots.

The younger woman joined us as we rounded the side of the building and found the head of a decently worn trail marked by a couple of posts in the ground. Kyla shot me a quick look and then joined Spencer as a walking partner, starting up the path and chatting with her, as Abigail and I walked behind them.

"So if I could ask, Abigail, where are you from?" I asked her to make conversation. "Your accent is lovely, but I can't place it."

"Iceland," Abigail said. "Sara and I both emigrated here a few years ago because the opportunities were greater here in the United States for us with CrossFit sponsorships and competitions. And no, not all Icelander women are as big as us. Do you know the man who played the Mountain on Game of Thrones?"

"Of course I do," I said. "Great show-"

"-Except for the ending," she nodded with a smile behind her mask. "Yes, everyone thinks so. Anyways, he is my third cousin and Sara's fourth. We aren't as big as him, obviously, but the genetics certainly help."

"Well, I think you look amazing, and the hard work and dedication you clearly put in is really impressive," I said.

"Thank you," she said, smiling with her eyes at the compliment. "But you do not look so shabby yourself. Do you work out?"

"I did a lot, but haven't for a few years," I said. "I really need to get back to it."

She asked how I fell out of it, and that led me to explain my background in football and the military, and life since the military. I'd kept myself in the gym while I'd lived in Portland, but ever since moving out to the family homestead, I'd stopped since there weren't any good gyms around (that I knew of) and I had more than enough activity outside to not put on too many extra pounds.

"You should come get a workout in with me," Abigail offered. "See what you can do. You have the shoulders and arms to really bulk up if you want."

"That would be nice, but I thought your place was women only?" I teased.

"Ah," she scoffed playfully. "The perks of being the owner. Plus, I think it would be good inspiration for the girls to be able to drool over you from afar just a little bit."

"Healthy competition, huh?" I asked.

"Exactly," she nodded. We were catching up to Kyla and Spencer on the path, who had stopped ahead of us, and I soon found out why.

"Wow," I said, my eyes going wide.

"This is why we named the place Valkyrie Falls," Abigail said with a big grin.