“Well,” said Juliet. “Could we look at your guns again?”
“Mercy!” Millie exclaimed.
Abby smiled, just a little, then quickly became more serious. “Sure, Jules, but we have to cover all the safety rules again. Do you remember them?”
“Yes!” said Juliet. “Never point a gun unless you in-intend to shoot it. And have a darn good reason!”
“Oh dear.” Millie fanned herself and looked a bit faint. “Very good, Jules,” said Abby. “Now finish your sandwich.”
Juliet rapidly ate her lunch and within minutes the two were climbing the trail to Abby’s tent. Abby let Juliet help drag out the gun case from under her cot and showed her how to open it, reiterating that she must never do so without an adult’s permission. She showed Juliet the rags and oil and other cleaning implements, as well as the spare ammo.
Just then, Meg appeared at the doorway, carrying the Mossberg and Abby’s .357. Abby had to admit, she breathed a sigh of relief. Not that she didn’t trust Meg, completely, but she’d felt like part of her had been missing.
“What are you two doing?” asked Meg. “Gun lesson?” Meg seemed to think it was the most natural thing in the world to teach a four-year-old. Maybe especially in this world.
“Yep,” answered Abby. Juliet just stared at Meg. She was still shy, and she hadn’t seen much of Meg since she’d come to the campsite.
Meg sat down with them to listen as Abby unloaded the .357, took it apart, and began to clean it. Juliet watched her every move and nearly forgot about Meg.
“Abby, can I hold it again?” asked Juliet, when Abby was finished.
“Sure.” Abby handed the gun to the little girl, and Juliet checked the safety before she began to examine the weapon. Surprised, Abby smiled and looked at Meg.
“Very good, Juliet,” said Meg, laying her hand on Juliet’s blond head for a moment. Juliet didn’t flinch, but she didn’t respond either. “Well, I’m off, got more on my plate than delivering guns today. See you all later!” And Meg was out the door.
“Bye, Meg,” whispered Juliet, hardly daring to look up.
Abby took the gun from Juliet and loaded it; she stuck it back in her jeans and reached for the shotgun, repeating the cleaning process while Juliet watched. Abby allowed the little girl to examine it too, although it was much too heavy for her to hold. Again, Juliet checked the safety immediately.
After cleaning and sharpening her knife, and sheathing it in the ankle strap, Abby stood up and held out her hand. They were almost outside when Noah appeared.
“Not so fast there, Abby. Time to check you out again.” Abby sighed, but sat back down on her cot. “Make it quick,
Noah, we have things to do.”
“Oh? Like what? Take it easy, right?”
“Yes, yes,” Abby answered, impatiently. “Just a short walk, down to the meadow.”
Noah finished up before replying. “Make sure it’s short, Abby, and try to rest up when you get back. Everything looks okay for now; how are you feeling?”
“Anxious to be out, doing something,” Abby retorted. Then she relented a bit. “Fine, all right. I’m okay, a little tired, a little sore. Otherwise, like I said, fine.”
“Okay then,” said Noah. He pulled a lollipop out of his pocket and handed it to Juliet.
“Thank you, Dr. Noah,” said Juliet shyly.
“Hey,” said Abby. “Where’s mine? Where’d you get that anyway?” She looked at him suspiciously.
“Oh, I have my ways. Besides, only non-cranky patients get lollipops these days. Have to ration them, you know!” Noah ducked out as Abby threw a pillow at him. His pillow.
“Come on, Jules. Don’t forget your lollipop!”
When they reached the bottom of the trail, Abby saw Meg nearby supervising the unloading of items from Site 2. She angled over that direction and spoke quietly to Meg, just out of Juliet’s hearing.
“Sure thing,” boomed Meg. “You two go have a good time!” And Abby took Juliet’s hand and they continued on their way to the old meadow.
Once there, Abby looked around until she found an old soda can that had somehow dodged the clean-up efforts. She set it in the long grass near the tree line, then she and Juliet walked away as Abby measured out a 25-yard distance. She figured she’d better start out slowly.
Juliet sat down next to Abby, finishing her lollipop and wiping her hands on the grass. Abby looked at her bandaged hand and tried to flex her fingers. Nope, not working. Anyway, with the bandage on, there was no way she could properly hold the gun or pull the trigger. She looked at Juliet.
“Jules, do you see that can?”
“Yes,” said Juliet promptly. Abby handed her the gun. “Now, listen to me carefully. Point the gun at that can.”
Juliet tried hard, but the gun wobbled precariously. “Here,” Abby showed her, “Use two hands, like this.”
Juliet put her other hand on the gun and managed to hold it steady.
“Good,” said Abby. “Now, hand me the gun.” Abby set it down on the grass beside her and took Juliet onto her lap. She picked up the gun again and instructed Juliet to hold it with both hands, while she wrapped her own hands around Juliet’s.
“I’m going to have you release the safety, when I tell you, then you’re going to fire. Okay?”
Juliet’s eyes were as big as saucers. “Really, Abby? I get to shoot your gun?”
“Yes, little one, and I’m going to help you. We’re going to aim for that soda can over there, okay? Ready?”
BANG!
Juliet hung on to the gun and didn’t flinch when the loud noise exploded from the barrel. “Again,” said Abby.
BANG!
They couldn’t hear the shot hit, but saw the can fly into the air. Abby clicked the safety back on and lowered the gun, setting it beside her. “Are you okay, Jules?” She turned the little girl around on her lap so she was facing her.
A single tear rolled down Juliet’s cheek. She threw her arms around Abby’s neck and nodded her head.
“Jules, talk to me! Are you okay?”
“Y-yes,” Juliet sniffled. She looked up at Abby. “It was really loud.”
Abby smiled. “Yes, it was, but you’ll get used to it.”
“Does that mean I get to shoot it again?”
Abby and Juliet walked back to Site 3 an hour later, having fired and reloaded several times. Juliet hit the can almost every time, with Abby’s guidance. Abby assured her that soon she’d grow big enough to handle the .357 all by herself, but she continued to drill the little girl in gun safety until they got back to Abby’s tent.
They cleaned the .357 and reloaded once again; this time Juliet got to help. Abby was exhausted, just from the short hike down to the meadow and back, and was rather disgusted with herself for wanting another nap.
She did, however, lie down on her cot, and Juliet offered to tell her a story. Before Abby could wonder what, exactly, was going to happen to the princess and the frog, both of them were sound asleep.
They woke up when Emmy crashed into the tent, just back from her trip to town, wondering why they seemed to be missing dinner. Abby stood up and stretched, and so did Juliet, imitating her hero.
Emmy laughed at them. “You two are so cute! Come on, let’s eat, I’m starving. And I’ll tell you all about my day!”
They got their plates from the dinner line and sat down. Millie hustled over. “So what have you two been up to all day?” she asked. “I heard some interesting noises coming from back over yonder.”
“Abby let me shoot her gun!” Juliet exclaimed. “It was fun! Then we took a nap. Please pass the salt.”
Millie rolled her eyes. “Juliet, honey, you shouldn’t tell tales.”
“I’m not, Grammy. I really got to!”
“Well, um, yes she did,” said Abby, a bit sheepishly. Maybe she should have asked Millie first, or least let her know ahead of time.
“Oh, my heavens!” said Millie. “And here I figured that .357 of yours
was too heavy for her. Well, I’ll be!”
“You’ll be what, Grammy?” asked Juliet.
“I’ll just be, that’s all. Humph.” Millie stalked off.
“Oops,” said Abby. “Jules, I think we’re in trouble.”
“It’s okay. Grammy never stays mad for long. Could you please pass the salt, now?”
Emmy handed the shaker to Juliet. “So, I was going to tell you about today, when we went into town? Everything went fine, we drove in, well, Pops drove and I rode shotgun. We took two trucks, in case . . . well, just in case.” She glanced at Juliet and decided she better censor herself, well, just in case.
Emmy was just working up to her story when Millie returned. “Uh-oh. Here comes Millie again.”
“Abby,” said Millie. “I had an idea you were up to something, but under the circumstances, I’m not really mad. I was just surprised, is all. And Juliet is awfully young.
“But here.” She handed Abby a small package wrapped in brown paper. “Let her use this; it’ll be a lot easier for her to get consistent practice without wearing out her arm.
“Juliet, honey. This was Gramps’ Glock .22. He’d want you to have it, if he knew all that was going on now. Abby’ll teach you how to take care of it and use it, and you be sure to listen good, okay?” Millie wiped away a tear and gave Juliet a hug before she walked quickly away.
“Wow,” said Emmy. They were all quiet for a minute.
“Jules,” Abby said, “We’ll go take a look at this after we eat, okay?”
“Okay,” answered Jules, digging into her dinner. Emmy continued her story and the girls sat and talked for a bit. When Jules began to get a little restless, Abby took her back to the tent and they opened the package.
Jules squealed. “It’s just my size! Abby, do you think it’ll be as loud as yours?”
“Probably not,” Abby smiled. Jules looked a little disappointed. While Abby familiarized herself with the weapon, Jules took out the cleaning supplies. Together, they took the Glock apart and cleaned it, although it was in surprisingly good condition.
“Tomorrow we’ll go see if Lorie has any ammo for this.” Abby looked up as Noah walked in. “Hey there, roomie. I was just about to walk Jules back to Millie’s tent.”
“Not so fast; time for a check-up.” Abby sighed. Always so business-like, that was Noah. Or rather doctor-like. Sheesh.
Everything checked out, although again Noah cautioned her to rest more. He asked about her fluid intake and handed her a couple more pain pills. “Take these before you go bed. After the day you had, you’ll likely need them and if not, at least you’ll get a good night’s sleep.”
“Yes, Doctor,” Abby said mockingly. “Come on, Jules, let’s get you to bed.” The two stepped outside and Noah sat down wearily on his cot.
He knew he was there for a reason; hell, he wanted to be there. What was the alternative, after all? But he was tired; tired of spending a good part of every day trying to figure out what was happening, and tired of fielding silly questions from some of the group as to what symptoms they were having at that particular moment. And he was tired of worrying and wondering about the patients he’d left behind, most of whom were likely dead. Or missing. Or both.
Noah stretched out on his cot, not even removing his boots, and drifted off. He slept straight through till morning, never hearing Emmy or Abby returning, but his dreams were populated with shadowy figures.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A week passed; Abby’s hand returned to nearly normal in appearance, but was still quite stiff. She had continued to take Juliet out for target practice every day and Lorie had indeed found ammo for the Glock. Juliet wasn’t able to hold the weight yet and still shoot with any kind of accuracy, but she was mastering the prone position as well as seated.
Pops and his crew had ventured into town every day and brought back a plethora of supplies; Emmy had even discovered some kids’ storybooks to bring back for Juliet. Brad was busy preparing buildings, shelters, and tents for the coming season and Janey had practically deforested a large swath up on Sunnytop.
One morning as he was leaving the tent, Noah told Abby to come down to his “office,” a particular table under the shelter, for her final all-clear. He watched carefully as she flexed her hand, pronounced her fit, and instructed her to keep exercising the hand as much as she felt able.
Abby grinned and scooted off the bench. “Finally! Come on, Jules, time for your next lesson!”
“After breakfast?” asked Juliet. “Of course, after breakfast.”
The two finished up quickly, dropped their plates in the dishpan, and headed off down the road. “Abby, are we going to shoot today?” asked Juliet.
“Nope,” said Abby breezily. “Today we’re going to learn how to walk.”
“You’re silly,” said Juliet. “I’m not a baby; I already know how to walk!”
“Yes, but do you know how to walk like an Indian?”
Juliet thought about this for several minutes. “No, but Bob doesn’t know, either!” Bob was, as usual, accompanying them today.
Abby realized there was no way she had the patience to teach a dog how to do this, so she wasn’t going to argue the point. She stopped at the old meadow and had Juliet sit down with her. They faced each other, several feet apart; Bob lay down nearby and rolled in the grass.
“This,” said Abby, holding her hand up, palm out, “Means ‘stop’. This,” she said, holding her hand out with palm up, “Means ‘come here’.”
“Well, duh,” said Juliet.
“Duh?” asked Abby. “Where did you get that from?”
“From Emmy. She says it all the time, like when something is ob-obeeus.”
“I see. And the word is ‘obvious’. With a ‘v’. And yes, she does say that a lot.” Abby tried to hide her smile. “But I bet you know what this one means.” Abby held her finger to her lips.
“That means ‘be quiet’,” said Juliet. “Like an Indian, right?” Abby nodded. “And this?” She cupped her hand to her ear.
“Duh,” said Juliet.
“Okay,” said Abby, grinning openly now, “You and Bob stay here and watch for my signals.” Abby walked a fair distance across the meadow. She wanted to see just how good Juliet’s eyes were, even though she’d been making pretty consistent hits on 25-yard targets.
She began to signal. Stop, go, stop, go. When she held her hand to her ear, Juliet paused and looked around; when she held her finger to her lips, Juliet imitated her. Finally the little girl and her canine companion reached Abby. She was impressed with Juliet, of course, but also realized that Bob had done his part admirably as well.
“All right, Jules, you did very well. Remember, it’s important to pay attention to everything around you, all the time. Especially when you’re in the woods scouting with a partner; you need to know what’s going on.
“Now, I’m going to sit down here. You run on back to where you started, and try to sneak up on me.” Abby sat down and turned her back. Juliet and Bob took off at a run.
“Go!” called Abby.
At first, she could hear the pair as they rushed through the long grass; then all was silent. She resisted the urge to glance behind her. Then, a telltale swish…and another. Silence again. Abby waited patiently.
She could hear nothing, not even Bob’s trademark panting. She strained her ears. There it was again. A faint noise, unheard by most. Then Juliet giggled. Abby smiled. She calculated that Jules was about 20 feet behind her.
Then, suddenly, small arms were around Abby’s neck and Juliet was shouting, “Gotcha, Abby!” Abby nearly fell over, between surprise that Jules had, indeed, sneaked up on her and the little girl’s weight pulling her to the side. She laughed and grabbed Juliet and began to tickle her. They rolled around in the long grass, with Bob barking and trying to join in the game.
They finally sat up and Abby began plucking grass out of Juliet’s curls; Juliet returned the favor, always imitating Abby.
“No
w what?” asked Juliet.
“Now we go into the woods,” answered Abby.
The trio walked down the road to Site 1. Abby had taken Juliet as far as the tree line some time ago, but they hadn’t ventured into the campsite itself. When they approached, Abby had Juliet walk behind her. Bob brought up the rear.
“Jules, walk as quietly as you can, and stay close to me, okay? Do exactly what I do. If you have a question or need something, tug on my shirt.”
“Okay,” answered Juliet. Her eyes were big.
They walked silently along the dirt road; there were old leaves still lying on the edges, and deadwood could be seen leaning against other, more viable trees. A quail flew out of the brush in front of them and Juliet jumped a little, just barely stopping herself from grabbing Abby’s shirt.
Bob watched the bird longingly, but stayed on course.
They arrived in the semi-cleared area by the fire circle and the forest seemed to close around them. It was quiet and cool, but a few birds still sang in the trees and a few small, unknown animals rustled through the leaves.
Abby stopped and she and Juliet sat on a log. Bob wandered off, looking for that quail. “Now what,” asked Juliet apprehensively.
“Now we eat lunch!” Abby told her. Juliet brightened up immediately as Abby shared some jerky and granola from her pack.
“This is good,” said Juliet, taking a gulp of water from her bottle. “I like the woods, Abby!”
Abby smiled and tousled Juliet’s curls. “I’m glad, little one. As soon as we finish, we’re going to right back there.” She pointed to a faint trail leading off from the back of the campsite.
“Remember, Jules, quiet like an Indian and be sure to listen and look.” Abby stood up and Juliet followed. Bob came trotting into his place at the end of their line.
They walked for several minutes down the trail, Abby using her knife to hack at a couple interfering branches. They came across a log blocking the path and Abby stopped, signaled Juliet, then pointed at the log. Then she spoke.
“Jules, whenever you see a log or a rock or anything else in the path, be sure to step on it, not over it. Sometimes snakes like to lie on the other side and you don’t want to step on one.”
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