Tammy had to convince herself she could do her next task. She worked her way back to the driver’s side of the car. After she told herself to quit wasting time, she tried to do it as fast as she could, smashing the window, clearing the broken glass, and reaching down with the tire iron to where the trunk release should be. She accidentally touched the woman’s body and she shuddered. Tammy was sick to her stomach. The smell was too much. She barely turned away from the car in time when she puked in the river. It took her a few minutes before she recovered enough to try again. It didn’t help that she couldn’t get away from the smell. Once she knew she wasn’t going to throw up again, it took a few tries before she found the latch and was able to get the trunk to pop open.
Once she finally accomplished what she set out to do, she rubbed her arm to get rid of the memory of the bloated skin touching her. The stench was unbelievably disgusting.
“You hit the jackpot, Mom. Suitcases and a box of pull-ups.”
“I hope that means he’s mostly potty trained and not just starting.” She struggled to pull her feet out of the mud. Her shoes were covered in it. More like giant cake pops at the end of each leg. Each step took lots of effort. But they had what they needed for the little guy and they even found a leash and dog food for the mop dog too.
13
Tammy
Tammy knew it was no accident or a coincidence that they were forced to stop where they did. The boy and his dog needed to be rescued and they were definitely guided to him. Knowing that, she didn’t beat herself up for a second for saving the boy even though she had no clue how they were going to cope with a toddler while they were stranded. And she still wasn’t sure how they were going to deal with their current dilemma. She sighed in resignation when she looked at the little boy with the tousled dark brown hair. They didn’t even know his name or how old he was. The girls kept asking but he wasn’t talking.
He smelled like he’d fallen in the waste compartment of a porta potty. All of them were struggling, trying not to gag from the smell. At least she had plenty of water in the trailer but it wasn’t meant for bathing. She didn’t waste any time, she sent Amanda and Charlie to the river to collect water in the empty buckets she had stashed in the trailer right before she left. She told Zoe to empty a plastic storage tub and she decided she would use some of the water in the back after all when she realized it would be much warmer for him than using straight river water.
After she found a towel, she stripped the little guy down. She wished she had a face mask. He cried and whimpered. She had to wash her hands really quick before she fed him goldfish crackers one by one to keep him distracted. He was starving and wanted more. She wanted to be careful feeding him so he didn’t eat too much too fast. She gave him sips of water as she waited for the girls to return with the river water.
When she took off his pull-up she wanted to throw up all over again. She stuck it in a grocery bag and tied it tight. He was covered in the most wretched smelling feces and urine. She poured the river water over his bum and front. He cried and Tammy knew it was cold but she had to rinse off the worst of it before she placed him in the tub.
“Hey, sweetie, I’m so sorry. I have to do it again before we put you in the nice warm water.” Once the thick layer of nasty had been removed, his skin was raw and he cried from the pain. Her heart broke for him. He was still so weak.
“Keep handing him crackers and water, Holly. My hands are too gross to do that now.” Tammy held him up when he couldn’t stand anymore. He hadn’t walked in days. Once he had eaten a few more crackers and he had a nice long drink, Tammy put him in the tub.
“Fill that bucket again and you guys need to wash the stink off the dog. Be careful. I don’t know if she’s going to be a fan of water. She needs to be scrubbed. I don’t want to go anywhere being reminded of that horrible smell. And I want this little boy’s clothes washed before we go as well.”
“Mom, I found his shot record in his bag. His name is Tyson,” Charlie said.
“Tyson?” Tammy waited to see if he’d respond. He looked up at her with his big brown eyes. “I’m Tammy. Our names both start with T. How about that?” She smiled warmly at him. “We are going to fix you up and take good care of you.”
He reached out for more crackers and Holly gave them to him willingly. “He’s cute.”
“Yes, he is.” As she eased him in the plastic storage tub that was partially filled with water, she could finally get a better look at him as the smell became more bearable. He had striking fine dark brown hair that went every which way. He was probably due for a haircut. His big brown eyes were fringed with really long black lashes. Perhaps if he hadn’t been stuck in his car seat for so many days, there would have been some mischief in those eyes. But they were sunken in a little and there was hardly any spark in him at all. In fact, he hadn’t shed many tears even though he cried plenty since she had found him. He more than likely wouldn’t have made it through the night and she was very aware he still may not survive.
“I wish we had some milk.” Tammy washed his body with dish soap because that was all she could find. “You need more calories. I think we have some juice. Would you like some juice?”
He nodded tentatively.
“Holly, find one of those sports drinks. That should help hydrate him. I think maybe we have some peanut butter. Would you like a peanut butter sandwich?”
He didn’t respond to that one.
“Well, we will figure out what you like soon enough.” She held the side of the tub and took a good long look at the little boy. Of all the places Old Betsy could have broken down. Miracle or not for the boy’s sake, Tammy was still upset that the breakdown had left them in such a frustrating predicament. She still had no answers as to how they were going to get to the cabin. Leaving everything behind wasn’t an option. She’d worked too hard. The food was critical if the outage would last all winter. Now she had another mouth to feed.
She dried Tyson off and put him in some clean clothes they found in his duffle bag. She grabbed a clean shirt for herself and changed it really quick. “Now we both smell so much better. Let’s make sure you get plenty to eat now.” She whisked him up in her arms and hugged him gently. He wrapped his arms around her neck and rested his head on her shoulder, not looking at her but welcoming her embrace. She stroked his damp hair several times as she took him to the Suburban where the girls had all their snacks. She helped him settle in on the seat. He pointed at a few things he wanted and she gave them to him. Maybe little Tyson would make it after all.
“You think he can talk?” Mae asked. She was drying the boy’s little dog with a towel.
“He might be shy. But he’s also had a lot of trauma over the past few days. So we will wait to see if he wants to let us know that he can talk.”
“It looks like he’s almost three years old.” Charlie showed Tammy his birthdate on the card that also had his name.
“He looks a little younger than that but maybe that’s because he’s had a rough time the past few days.” She smiled warmly at him. “He’s a lightweight. Maybe that’s why his car seat was still facing backward. I don’t know about all the new car seat rules though. Things have changed a lot since I had Mae.”
He turned up one side of his mouth for a brief moment before he took another bite of the peanut butter sandwich Tammy handed him.
“The dog’s name is Mitsi.” Mae showed her the collar. The dog was a scruffy little thing. It was a mix of Poodle and who knew what else. She looked like a long-legged Shih Tzu with her long wavy hair that covered her eyes. She still looked like a dirty black mop when wet. Mitsi didn’t seem to mind the girls doting on her and she was very friendly with Buddy.
After Tyson had eaten all he wanted, Tammy took him out of the Suburban to see if he would walk. He was unsteady and held onto her hand tightly. He led her over to Charlie where she was finishing up rinsing his clothes and he reached for her like he wanted her to pick him up.
“I need to finish
what I’m doing, little guy.” Charlie wrung out his blanket.
He wanted that right away.
“It’s too wet. Let’s see if we can dry it first. Then you can have it.” Tammy guided him over to the dogs, hoping they would distract him. It worked. He smiled a little when Buddy sniffed his head.
After an hour of getting to know Tyson and seeing if he’d let the younger girls help him, Tammy finished changing her clothes and found another pair of shoes. She also finally decided what they were going to do next. She was going to keep milking Old Betsy along as long as she would start. It didn’t matter how slow the Suburban went, it would be progress and less walking for them, that was if it came down to that.
For some reason, Tyson wouldn’t leave Charlie alone. Mae was a champ as she managed to distract him with some of the toys she’d found in his backpack.
Amanda, Charlie, and Zoe put everything away while Tammy checked the water in the radiator and all the oils she could check in the engine. The oil was low but not gone. The radiator needed more water but that wasn’t the big problem. The big problem was the belt was gone and so was the pulley that held in place. She walked down the road hoping to find them, just in case she could manage to get Old Betsy to their cabin. If Ben did make it back, she didn’t want to be given any grief over leaving parts behind.
Unfortunately, she had no luck. She was walking back when she realized there were strangers talking to her kids. Her hand went to the gun nestled against her hip. Fortunately, she put the holster back on after she’d changed. She hobbled up to the Suburban as fast as she could. The walk in the mud really flared up her leg.
“Hey, you need to step away from my kids and my car.” Tammy didn’t care that it was a young couple that looked as if they’d had a rough few days of walking. She didn’t trust any adults.
“We don’t mean any harm,” the man said as he backed away with the young woman clinging to his arm. “We’ve been walking for days. I saw you had water and food.”
“We aren’t the local food bank,” she quipped. She caught the glare Amanda and Charlie gave her. “Girls, get in the car.” She was flustered at her own children as she held the grip of the handgun even tighter. She locked eyes with the man so he would notice she was armed. He finally realized what she was gripping under her cardigan. He promptly stepped back a few more steps and prompted his wife to do the same.
“Please, we’ve been walking for days and haven’t found anyone that can help us. The people we have come across ran us off because they had nothing left. I don’t think she can go much farther.” He held the woman’s arm tighter as she leaned against him
“We aren’t in a position to help every person we come across either.” She was tempted to pull the gun and wave them off.
“Mom, we can give them some water,” Mae chimed in with her innocent little voice.
Her small voice was the voice of reason Tammy needed to hear. She shook her head as she realized it was the exhaustion talking and making her paranoid.
They were about to walk away because she’d told them no.
“Hold on a minute.” If it had been any other day, she would have apologized and explained why she was not herself. All she wanted was for the needy couple to move along. Making nice with strangers wasn’t a priority anymore and yet she was pulling out unopened water bottles from under the seat and stuck them in a plastic grocery sack. “I’ll give you what I can spare. You are close, really close, to Horseshoe Bend and there are lots of people there and farms too. They should be able to help you more than I can. I’m sure you won’t be the only displaced people there and you won’t be the last. Actually, we saw quite a few people near the river when we drove through.” She pulled out some paper cups and gave them all the water they wanted to drink from her big drinking water dispenser so they wouldn’t need to open the water bottles she had already given them. Mae pulled out a couple of Protein Bars and handed them out right before they left.
“Thank you,” the man said.
The young woman looked so weary when she hesitated. “You couldn’t possibly drive us there, can you?” Her eyes filled with tears.
Tammy wondered for a moment if the woman was pregnant and forced herself to stop pondering such things. “I can’t. I mean, I’m not going back that way. Because this thing isn’t working right. I’m hoping it will get us closer to where we are headed right now before it is totally dead.” Her mind went numb to their pleadings and her hand went to the grip of her gun again as she waited for them to leave.
The guy encouraged his wife that they needed to keep going. Finally, she was ready and they walked away slowly.
Once they disappeared around the next turn in the road, Tammy realized she could barely walk on her bruised leg. The pain had escalated even more and it didn’t feel right. It was probably flared up from trudging through the mud while rescuing Tyson. She had to ignore it as she climbed into Old Betsy and waited for all the girls to follow her lead. “Let’s see how far we can limp this old lady along.”
14
Tammy
Tammy was getting ready to start the car when Amanda and Charlie both laid into her.
“What’s wrong with you, Mom? You never treat people like that,” Amanda fumed.
“Yeah, she was pregnant and miserable. I doubt they even make it.” Charlie’s face was flushed and she looked like she might cry.
“They’ve gotten this far. They will get there. Even if they have to rest to eat those pricey protein bars Mae gave them. If they take their time, they will make it.” She tried turning the key to see what would happen. It didn’t start at first. “Come on you old beast. You have gotten us this far.”
“Mom, I don’t know who you are anymore.” Charlie lashed out at her.
Tammy clenched her jaw and turned on her daughter. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed but nothing is normal. Nobody we’ve encountered over the past few days has asked us how we are. Except for Dale and even his motives were questionable. Anytime I’ve been asked anything it’s because they want something from us. Anyone we see here on out will want to know what we can give them. Some of these people won’t bother to ask, they’ll try to take our stuff. Like the guys on the motorcycles, they may try to hurt us or even threaten our lives to get what they want. It’s already happened to me before we left town. You’ve seen it, you were a part of it. That’s why we’re here. Have you already forgotten what it was like at home? I’m not going to be naïve and assume the people we meet will be nice just because I’m nice to them. That’s not how it has worked so far. You know that’s a fact. Some of you are even feeling the pain just like I am. Everyone we meet has the potential to do what those guys did to us in our house. That man we just met could have been willing to do anything to make sure his wife got what she needed. And now we don’t have a house to protect us. Who knows how long it’s going to take us to get there now. All we have is this car and a trailer full of what all those people want right now. If we don’t protect it by being cautious and protective at the start, we will be like that young couple with nothing. Starving, miserable, and wondering how much longer we can go on.”
Right then they all ducked when several military aircraft flew overhead, rumbling everything in their car.
“Look! F18s. And hey, that’s a military transport plane. They are flying too low, I bet it’s full of relief supplies.” Amanda knew most planes from all the time she’d spent with Ben at airshows.
“Wherever it’s headed, I’m sure it won’t be enough and it will still be days before it gets around. It’s sure not coming here.” Tammy tried starting Old Betsy again. She pressed on the gas as it sputtered before it was running again. “All right, I wonder how long we can go before she overheats.”
“We don’t have a car seat for Tyson.” Holly hollered from the back.
“I really doubt he wants to be in one for a long, long time. That car seat was too disgusting to consider pulling it out of that car. And we aren’t going fast. This car i
s on its dying breath right now. The farther we inch her along, the less we have to walk.”
“Are we going to walk?” Zoe asked.
“I hope not but it’s looking like it’s a possibility. Let’s see how far we get. Say some prayers, girls.” Tammy clenched her jaw and ignored the girls’ questions as she got the Suburban going. They were inching. At least they were on a level section of road. However, they would progressively be going uphill most of the way so walking was an unappealing option.
They were driving only maybe ten miles an hour at most and it took only a few minutes for the engine to overheat. She knew it wasn’t worth sitting and waiting and have the car not start again so she continued on. Once steam flowed out from under the hood, she finally stopped.
“Charlie, Amanda, we’re not waiting, we’re going to start pushing Old Betsy and see if we can get her going again once the engine cools.” The minute Tammy put weight on her leg, tears came to her eyes. She rested her head on the steering wheel while she waited for it to stop throbbing.
“You steer and manage the brake. We can push.” Amanda pointed at Zoe and Holly to get out too. “We can all do it. You steer and direct us. Mae can entertain Tyson and the dogs.”
Tammy wanted to protest but the girls were willing and she really couldn’t do it. She had a lump in her throat and nodded for them to go. It seemed impossible at first as the oldest two used the open doors for leverage. They used their weight and all their strength to get Old Betsy moving. Once the tires were rolling at a steady pace, they were able to walk and not strain so hard. Tammy felt a little better at the prospect of pushing the whole thing all the way to their cabin.
Endure Series (Book 2): Enduring The Journey: Page 10
