Riding Bareback

Much to the shock of Karen and Cindy, Carol actually proved to be a competent equestrian, steering the horse farther and farther away from the ranch as they rode off down the side of the road. However, a half hour later, the three noticed something was off...

"I thought it was only one mile to Vegas!" Karen called out, "But we've been running for a while now!"

"Yeah, that is weird!" Cindy said in agreement.

"Guys, look!" Carol pointed out as she slowed down, "Another car must have ran out of gas on the side of the road! Maybe they can help us!"

As Cindy and Karen looked in the direction that Carol was pointing, they felt their jaws drop as the supposed future girl dismounted the horse and walked towards the car.

Their car.

"You idiot!" Karen shrieked as she and Cindy dismounted, "This is MY car! You took us the opposite way!"

"It is? I did?!" Carol asked innocently. As she looked the car over, the woman bit her lip as she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "Oh no..."

"Now we have to ride that thing back the other way and -" Karen began, only to gasp as she saw the horse galloping off into the desert. "Get back here, you glue factory!"

With that said, the three naked women ran off into the desert after the horse...

"Here, Horsie!" Carol called out, giving a whistle as the three passed a cave near a small desert pool. "Here boy!"

"Carol, it's a horse." Cindy panted as she sat on a rock, "Not a labrador."

"What did you honestly expect from the crazy, brainless bitch?" Karen muttered as she wiped her brow of sweat.

"Ah, thank you, Karen." Carol said with a smile. "That was a nice thing to say."

"Okay, assuming you are from the future, in what reality is being called a 'Bitch' considered 'Nice'?!"

"Oh... You meant the old meaning." Carol said, looking a little hurt. "See, that word gets a new meaning in 2117 when President Winslow Montgomery Bitch is elected into office after winning all one hundred sixty-two states."

"One hundred sixty-two?" Cindy asked, tilting her head in confusion.

Carol nodded. "You two look exhausted, I'll go find the horse while you two stay and relax, okay?"

"That's not a good idea, Carol." Cindy replied, "You could get lost, or -"

Cindy soon felt Karen's hand on her mouth as her girlfriend grinned widely. "Actually, that's a splendid idea! You do that, Carol!"

"I'll be back in no time!" Carol said as she ran off into the desert again, continuing to call out for the horse.

Once she was gone, Karen laughed as she let go of Cindy, the latter giving her a look of surprise.

"Yes! She's gone!" Karen cheered. "She's gone! Now to get back to the main road and flag down a car to take us back home!"

"Karen! We can't just leave her out here!" Cindy scolded, "She could get lost, or hurt. She could die out here!"

"Yeah, but..." Karen shrugged. At Cindy's glare, she added, "Come on! You know as well as I do that that woman is too stupid and too crazy to die! Besides, we're technically in this mess because of you letting a crazy naked woman into our home."

"Look." Cindy said as she stood up, walking towards the cave and sitting in the shade. "Let's just compromise here. Once we get to Las Vegas, we'll let her run wild and look for her sister, okay? She'll be someone else's problem, and we'll be on the first bus back home before she realizes we're gone. Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds amazing!" Karen said as she sat down next to her girlfriend. "Even if I have to put up with her for a few more hours, but it will be worth it to finally be rid of her!"

The two women sighed as they leaned back in the shade, closing their eyes as they waited for Carol to return.

"Hey, Cindy? Do you feel something soft brushing against your lower back too, or is that just me?"

"No, but do you smell something, Karen?"

A few minutes earlier...

Carol was just about to begin her horse hunt when she realized something: She forgot to apologize for getting her friends from the past in this mess! With that in mind, Carol raced back the way she came just as she heard Karen laughing. However, just as she opened her mouth...

"Yes! She's gone!" Karen cheered. "She's gone! Now to get back to the main road and flag down a car to take us back home!"

Carol looked hurt as she let out a small gasp, ducking behind a large rock as she listened in. She knew Karen didn't seem to like her, but to ditch her out in the desert?!

"Karen! We can't just leave her out here!" Cindy scolded, "She could get lost, or hurt. She could die out here!"

Carol smiled a little at that. At least she had one friend in this century.

"Yeah, but..." Karen shrugged. At Cindy's glare, she added, "Come on! You know as well as I do that that woman is too stupid and too crazy to die! Besides, we're technically in this mess because of you letting a crazy naked woman into our home."

"Look." Cindy said as she stood up, walking towards the cave and sitting in the shade. "Let's just compromise here. Once we get to Las Vegas, we'll let her run wild and look for her sister, okay? She'll be someone else's problem, and we'll be on the first bus back home before she realizes we're gone. Does that sound good to you?"

"Sounds amazing!" Karen said as she sat down next to her girlfriend. "Even if I have to put up with her for a few more hours, but it will be worth it to finally be rid of her!"

Carol's heart sank at that, her eyes beginning to water as her lip quivered. They were just going to ditch her like that once they got to Vegas?! And what really hurt was that it was Cindy's suggestion. Since they met, Cindy was the one who was at least nice to her, even when she was mad at her, and seemed interested in her stories and facts of the future.

And it turned out that she thought she was insane, too!

As Karen and Cindy leaned back into the shade, Carol ran off back into the desert, fighting back tears as she went to look for the horse again.

Current time...

Carol wiped the last of her tears from her eyes as she continued on. "Horsie!" She called out hoarsely, "Hors-"

Carol stopped just as she saw the horse let out a sad winny at a wild mare who was running away with a stallion. The horse hung his head as Carol approached the animal carefully.

"I feel you, Horsie." Carol said sadly, grabbing the reigns as she gently stroked the horse's muzzle. "Everyone I thought liked me wants to get away from me as soon as they possibly can."

As the horse stared at Carol with his big, brown eyes, the woman continued. "Can I tell you a secret, Horsie? I... Never really had any friends growing up. Nobody but my family ever wanted to be around me, and those who weren't my family that did left after an hour or two. My sister Sophie was always close to me, but when she turned eighteen and became old enough for The Nudity Act to effect her, she left too. And now I find out that the two other women I'm traveling to Las Vegas with, who I thought were going to be my first and only friends, think I'm a crazy buffoon and want to get rid of me."

Carol sniffled and wiped the tears from her eyes, the horse nuzzling her with his muzzle. "I'm sorry, it's just..." She sighed, climbing up onto the horse. "It just stings, you know?"

The horse snorted.

"Okay." Carol said, clearing her throat. "Now, I'm not gonna leave them out here to die, even if they don't like me. So, we better get going if we want to get to -"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

"The girls!" Carol gasped in fear, tugging on the reigns. "Giddy up, Horsie!"

"Make it stop! Make it stop! Oh, Dear Lord above! Make it stop!" Karen shouted as she and Cindy splashed around in the desert pond, splashing their faces with the water.

"Oh, my brain is leaking out my nose!" Cindy groaned as she watched the mother skunk and her offspring run out of the cave.

"Girls! What happened?!" Carol shouted, getting Cindy and Karen's attention as she rode up on horseback. Half a second later, she gagged and wrinkled her nose. "Ewww! What's that horrible smell?!"

"Us!" Cindy groaned. "We got sprayed by a skunk and her babies waiting for you."

"That's what skunks smell like?!" Carol asked in shock and disgust. "Ugh! No wonder they were hunted to extinction in 2098!"

"That is it!" Karen shrieked, emerging from the pond as she stormed her way towards the naked woman on horseback. "I'm gonna kill her!"

"Karen! Stop it!" Cindy shouted, grabbing her girlfriend. "You can't kill her!"

"Sure I can! There's no witnesses around! And I know you won't rat on me! Now let me go!"

"Oh, so ditching me in the desert wasn't good enough of an execution, huh, Karen?!" Carol snapped venomously, showing anger for the first time as Cindy and Karen looked up in shock. Narrowing her eyes, the future woman coldly stated, "Yeah. I heard what you two were saying. 'She'll be someone else's problem, and we'll be on the first bus back home before she realizes we're gone' and 'Even if I have to put up with her for a few more hours, but it will be worth it to finally be rid of her'. Or am I 'too stupid and too crazy' to remember that right?"