Jake placed the small pile of medical supplies on the table and started to spread them out.
“Doesn’t seem like a lot.” Marcy stared at the supplies with something like disappointment as she chewed on a cracker.
“Every little bit helps,” Jake said, patting her shoulder. “I’m going to get a bite to eat and then we’re going to have a look at that leg.”
Chapter 14
Sara, Gatlinburg, Tennessee | 5:37 p.m., Wednesday
“So, what do you think?” Sara asked, sitting back from her laptop after showing Todd some of the Mike Report videos. She stopped short of showing him her correspondence with Mike, knowing his latest report was enough to rattle them both. “He’s a little out there, except he’s been right about a lot of things. Scary, huh?”
Todd looked up from the computer screen and rubbed his eyes, then sat back in his chair and raised his eyes to his mother. “This guy is awesome,” Todd said in an awe-filled tone. “I mean, he’s part of a network of short-wave, um, reporters that are on the ground in every state. And he’s telling people what’s really going on. It’s the truth, not just some trumped-up story to make people feel better.”
“Sometimes people need to feel better,” Sara said with a look away as she shifted in her chair. Then she settled her eyes back on her son. In a way, she agreed with him. It was nice hearing a positive spin on things, but they’d taught him never to be satisfied with lies or omissions. They’d taught him to question everything, within reason.
“Right, Mom,” Todd said with a hint of exasperation. “I’d rather have the truth every time. At least I can do something with that. False hope is just…false.”
“Good, son,” Sara patted Todd’s arm with a smile. “I just wanted to make sure you didn’t think your father and I were too crazy. After all, it took you a while to buy into us being part-time preppers, especially when your friends found out.”
“It was hard sometimes,” Todd said, “because I didn’t understand it. But we’d be in big trouble right now if we hadn’t prepared. If you and Dad hadn’t, I mean.”
“You’re welcome,” Sara chuckled good-naturedly.
“We should keep checking in with Mike,” Todd added, “every few hours. Maybe Mike will have more news about Dad. And did you hear what he said about the Douglas Dam?
“Someone blew it up,” Sara said with a frown as her heart sank for the people of the Tennessee valley. “The entire river valley is flooded. Two thousand dead. I can’t imagine what it must be like down there.”
“I believe Mike when he says it was sabotage.” Todd’s voice held a mixture of excitement and anger, and he was trying to hold back as he turned to his mother. “Why don’t we offer to help? I mean, we could help Mike scout these jerks out. Or maybe we could take care of some of the wounded or help some of those people who were displaced.”
“That’s what the hospitals and shelters are for,” Sara said, trying to be patient. “They can do more for the survivors than we can.”
“That’s if there are any hospitals and shelters left.” Todd gripped the edge of the table, digging in for an argument. “What if they’re flooded out, or those jerks blow up the hospital?”
“Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.” Sara allowed a note of annoyance to slip into her tone. “We’re just two people. Well, two and a half.”
“What about Dion and Natasha?”
“Oh, you’re volunteering them, too?” Sara sat back in her chair and scoffed, eyebrows raised in question. “Let’s just all grab our guns and run down to defend the hills like they did in the old days? Or we can invite the whole valley up here to take our supplies. Let me tell you, we wouldn’t last long.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.” Todd’s voice rose slightly as his throat tightened. “But we can’t just sit here and do nothing.”
“We’re not doing nothing,” Sara said. “We’re surviving, and that’s no small feat. We’re protected for now, but if people found out about this place, they’d be on us in a second. Especially when they start getting hungry.” Todd stared down at the table, lips pursed in anger. “Look, I appreciate what you’re saying, and I’d love to help everyone out. However, we have limited supplies as it is. I have you to think about, and we both have your sister to think about. What would she do if something happened to us?”
Todd continued to stare down at the table.
“I mean, I was scared to death leaving you guys just to go to the bottom of the hill.”
“And now you’re glad you did.” Todd’s voice steadied as he stayed on point. “You found Dion and Natasha and Astro and learned there was a real jerk down in one of the cabins. I call that a net gain.”
Sara stared at her son with a slack jaw, then she shook her head and laughed. “You are one hundred percent correct, even if it was not an easy decision to make. I weighed the pros and cons, and I knew you were reliable enough to leave in charge.”
“Like I said,” Todd said with a sly grin. “Net gain.”
“I love where your heart is.” Sara grabbed his arm and squeezed, giving him the sternest mother’s look she could muster. “But we’ll stay here for now and see how things develop over the next few days. If we get a chance to jump in and help, maybe we will. But it must be low risk, know what I mean?”
“I think I do,” Todd said, slowly relenting on the issue.
“I need you to confirm for me.”
Todd returned his mother’s stern gaze and nodded. “Keep things low risk while we monitor the situation. Got it.”
“Good.” Sara patted his arm and stood. “Do you want some—”
A horn beeped outside, and Sara turned to the front door and put her hands on her hips. “That will be Dion and Natasha. Let’s help them bring in their things.”
“I’m on it, Mom.” Todd stood up and went to the front door with Sara following, and it seemed like her son had returned to the obedient and common-sense young man he’d always been. “They can’t have too much stuff, can they?”
“At least a carload.” Sara shrugged as they walked onto the front porch and watched the Subaru back up to it and stop before Dion and Natasha got out. Little Astro jumped down after Natasha and came around to stare at the porch with his tail wagging madly as he looked for Rex. Rex had been watching from the edge of the porch, and when he saw Astro, he leapt off the porch and ran past the puppy. Astro yelped and chased Rex into the yard.
“Hey, Sara and Todd,” Dion said with his usual wide smile. “Sorry it took so long.
Sara shared a look with Todd before offering Dion an understanding look. “No worries. All we have is time up here in these mountains.”
“We had more stuff than we realized.” Dion popped the hatchback on the Subaru while Natasha lifted it up. Sara looked down into the back to see four suitcases, a big cooler, a bag of charcoal, and other various bags of things.
“Just a weekend getaway, huh?” Sara asked with a bemused look.
“Dion just has the one suitcase,” Natasha said with a guilty expression. “The rest are mine. What can I say? I like my stuff.”
“Don’t worry.” Sara laughed. “We have plenty of room for it. Now, let’s get you settled in.”
Chapter 15
Jake, Boston, Massachusetts | 6:01 p.m., Wednesday
“Let’s have a look at that leg,” Jake said, crumpling up his granola bar wrapper and putting it into the small pile of garbage on the table. “Alice, can you throw our garbage away, please?”
The little girl looked at him like he was crazy, but when he raised his eyebrow at her, she gave a big sigh, grabbed up the wrappers, and marched them into the kitchen to find a garbage can.
“You know, the entire city is a big, giant mess,” Marcy said, sitting down and rolling up the leg of the shorts she’d changed into. “I doubt anyone will complain about some wrappers left out on a table.”
“It just seems important that we clean up after ourselves,” Jake said as he lined up a new set of ba
ndages and tape on the table. “It feels good to have some semblance of normalcy, right?”
“I see your point,” Marcy said. “It does feel like we’re clinging to the edge of sanity.”
“That’s probably an understatement.” Jake inspected the bandage on the top of Marcy’s thigh. It was soaked with saltwater, and there was a small dot of discoloration in the center.
He plucked at the edge of the bandages and pulled them up gently. It was good medical tape and clung to Marcy’s wet skin, though he eventually got the old bandage removed and tossed it on the table. He pulled apart the wound and then pressed it together again, watching as a yellow-white substance oozed from the cut.
“There’s pus,” Jake said, shaking his head. “Your body is doing a good job fighting off the infection, but it’s going to need some help. I’ll have to sweep for antibiotics. One of these houses has to have something.”
“Maybe there’s a drug store around.”
“Possibly. First, we need to irrigate the wound a little better,” Jake said. “We’ll need to make our own saline and probably some more drinking water, too. There’s water all around us, and no place to boil it. The stove here in the kitchen probably doesn’t work…” Jake let his words trail off as he thought about it.
“Depends on if it’s a gas stove or not,” Marcy said. “If it is, and the gas line is intact, then we just need to turn it on and light it.”
“I checked in Alice’s apartment, but that stove was electric,” Jake said, glumly. “Still, you’re right. There have to be hundreds of gas lines running beneath the city. Maybe this house has one.”
He stood up and walked past Alice and into the kitchen to have a look at the stove. It had the big, bulky burners that he associated with a gas stove, but he wanted to check behind it to make sure the gas line was turned on.
Putting his hands on the front of the stove, he worked it back and forth, pulling it away from the wall. Once he’d moved it about a foot, Jake leaned up on the counter and peered behind it. A thick line ran from the wall and curled around to connect into the stove, and the switch was in the “on” position.
“It’s a gas stove,” Jake said when he returned to the dining room. He went over to Alice’s pack and fished around for something he’d tossed into it when they were putting their bug-out bags together. Jake grinned as he found what he was looking for and held it up. It was a lighter he’d taken off a nightstand in Alice’s mother’s bedroom.
“Mom’s lighter,” the little girl said with a frown from where she stood by the entryway.
“It’s going to save Marcy’s leg.” He patted Alice’s head and went back into the kitchen.
Pushing the stove back into place, Jake flicked the striker on the lighter and held it to one of the burners, then he turned it on. There was a low swooshing sound, and the burner came to life.
“Yes,” Jake said triumphantly before he turned the burner off and went back into the dining room.
“Score?” Marcy asked, hopefully.
“Big time.” Jake grinned. “I’ll go get some water from outside and start boiling it. We’ll add salt to some of it to make a saline solution and clean out your leg wound properly.”
“Sounds good,” Marcy said. “Thank you for looking out for me.”
“We look out for each other.” Jake reminded her. “Take a couple more aspirins in the meantime.” Then he put his jacket back on and jammed two empty water bottles in the pockets. “The aspirin will help with the pain and swelling.”
“Will do,” Marcy said, then she reached out to grab Jake’s hand as he tucked his gun into his waistband. “Be careful.”
Jake looked into Marcy’s eyes and saw deep concern there. “Don’t worry, this will be a piece of cake,” he said. “I’ll be back in ten minutes, tops.”
Marcy nodded pensively, gave his hand a hard squeeze, and let him go before she turned her attention to Alice. “Hey, you want to go upstairs and lie down with your brother? Might be one of the only chances you get to rest.”
“No, I’ll wait for Jake,” Alice said, firmly, then she came over to one of the chairs and planted herself in it.
“Of course you will,” Marcy said with a bemused sigh.
“Lock up behind me.” Jake went to the door, opened it, and stepped out into the rain.
He listened hard for the sounds of a vehicle and glanced up and down the street before he started walking down the sidewalk, looking for a place to scoop up some water. There were puddles everywhere, but Jake didn’t want to use anything that was on the ground or too murky. Finally, he found a car with a massive dent in the hood that had captured a fair amount of clear water. He looked around one more time, uncapped the bottles, and dipped them into the shallow indention.
As the bottles filled, Jake cocked his head and continued listening for any sounds besides the falling rain. He thought he heard the low sound of a car engine, but it faded quickly.
Water bottles filled, Jake capped them, stuck them in his pockets, and headed back to the house without incident. He knocked on the door, and Alice turned the deadbolt and let him in.
“Thanks,” Jake said, taking the water bottles over to the sink where he placed them on the counter. Then he removed his wet jacket and hung it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs.
“What are you doing?” Alice asked, curiously.
“I’m going to filter and sterilize this water so we can use it to clean out Marcy’s wound,” Jake said, looking around the counter as he tried to remember the things he’d need. “And drink it, if we need to.”
“Can I help?”
“You can help me gather a few supplies to make a water filter,” Jake replied as he started going through the bottom cupboards to find a pot. He found several, choosing a small one that should suit their purposes perfectly.
“What do we need?” Alice put on her business face and placed her hands on her hips.
“I’m thinking,” Jake said, opening the refrigerator to see if there was a water filter pitcher handy. There was nothing inside but some rotting lunch meat and warm twelve-ounce Cokes. “If we were in the woods, we’d need charcoal, sand, grass, and gravel, but I doubt we’ll find pure charcoal and sand around the house. And we might not need it. This is fresh rainwater, so I doubt it’s had time to get very dirty.”
“It looks pretty clean already,” Alice confirmed as she shifted her attention to the two rainwater bottles.
“We need to get it as clean and particle-free as we possibly can,” Jake said. “There might be a piece of dirt we can’t see too well. See if you can find some coffee filters.”
While Alice hunted for the filters, Jake went back into the dining room, gathered up four full water bottles they’d taken from Alice’s apartment, and brought them back to the kitchen. Then he looked around for some salt, eventually finding a twenty-six-ounce container of it along with some other spices in one of the drawers.
“Got the filters,” Alice said, dropping a pack of them on the counter.
“Pick two out and bring them here,” Jake said, stepping back as Alice did as she was told. “Now, hold the filters over the pot. I’m going to pour some of this rainwater in, and the coffee filter will stop any small pieces of dirt from getting through. Then we’ll boil it to get rid of any nasty bacteria. Ready?”
“Yeah,” Alice said, holding the filters in place with both hands, stretching them wide so that they went over the edges of the small pot while leaving a big enough indention for the water.
“Hold it steady,” Jake said, then he poured water slowly into the filter, watching as it slowly drained into the pot. “Good, that’s perfect. See, there? Those small pieces of dirt and flecks of car paint floating around at the bottom of the filter?”
“This works great,” Alice said, excitedly.
After filtering both bottles of rainwater into the pan, Jake went out to refill them at the dented car while Alice looked for a lid for the pan. When he returned, Jake lit the burner and p
ut the lid on the pan, allowing the water to boil for what he guessed was around fifteen minutes. Then he found a large pitcher in the cabinet, wiped it out, and poured in the hot water to let it cool.
“Okay, there’s some fresh drinking water,” Jake said, gesturing at the pitcher. “Now, let’s make some saline.”
Jake opened two new bottles of water, thinking that this water would be even cleaner than the water they’d filtered with the coffee filters. He poured the water into the pot, set it to boil, and added a liberal amount of salt.
“What does the salt do?” Alice asked.
“The salt will kill some of the bacteria growing in Marcy’s wound and keep the infection from spreading,” Jake explained.
“I didn’t know salt did that,” Alice said, watching with keen interest as they went through the process. “How come we didn’t put salt in the water in the pitcher?”
“That water is okay for drinking,” Jake said, “but it may still contain some small dirt particles that we can’t see, and we don’t want to squirt that into Marcy’s cut when we clean it.”
Alice nodded her head exaggeratedly. “Oh, I see.”
When the saltwater was done boiling for fifteen minutes, Jake turned off the burner and set the pan aside to allow it to cool. “We need to see if they have any needles, or a syringe of some sort. Follow me.”
Jake peeked in on Marcy and saw that she was cleaning up after the meal and getting their packs re-situated.
“I’m going to leave these near the door and then go check on Timothy,” she said. “Looks like you and Alice are keeping busy.”
“We’re done with the saline,” he said, “so now we need a delivery method.”
“Sounds like I’m about to be experimented on by some mad scientists.”
“Health care you can depend on,” Jake said with a chuckle, then he led Alice upstairs to double-check the bathroom. He got on his knees and began to root around in the bottom cabinet while Alice climbed on the toilet and opened the medicine cabinet above the sink.
Weathering The Storm (Book 2): Surge Page 9
