Enduring the Crisis

by Kinney, K. D.

29

  Tammy

  What should have been the easiest part of her day was not so easy after all.

  “Girls, we have a big day today. People are starting to show up begging for food. We need to pack those emergency boxes so we don’t have to spend a lot of time doing them as people come. Then you need to check and go through your 72 hour kits before we start packing.”

  “Wait? Why are we packing?” Charlie asked in a panic.

  “We’re going to the cabin before things get worse.”

  “We can’t go yet. Not until Dad comes home. I thought we’d wait for Dad.” Charlie stood and looked around the room as if she was trying to find a reason to stay.

  “Look, we don’t know if Alaska is as bad as we are here, but even if it’s not, coming home is not going to be easy for him. It is going to take him lots of time if he can even leave the village.”

  “Can’t we wait until we hear from him? Won’t he try and get a message to us by HAM radio?”

  “If there’s one where he is and even then, communications that far away is not easy and especially more difficult with the power down and all the computers and electronics are fried.” Tammy glared at Charlie. “There’s something else. What is it?”

  “Just… packing to go to the cabin is permanent isn’t it?” She clenched her fists and fought back tears.

  “It is, Charlie.” Tammy folded her arms and waited for the bomb to drop.

  “Let me stay here, until Dad gets here. I’ll take care of the house. No one needs to know you left me here. Then that way Dad won’t be alone on his way to the cabin.”

  “You are just crazy talking. Who is it that you just can’t leave behind?” She started tapping her foot.

  Charlie shook her head and blinked the tears back.

  “You are not staying here. Those men are actually after you more than me. We are leaving for your safety.”

  “How do you know there aren’t worse gangs waiting up in the mountains? Huh? There are crazy mountain people up there. They’ve been to our cabin before.”

  “Those mountain people don’t deal with the nonsense we are dealing with here. They know us, they are as prepared as we are, and we will be taken care of.”

  “I hate it up there so much.” She groaned at the ceiling. “Just a bunch of crazy preppers, end of the world types, total lunatics, and now they’re living it up I’m sure. Because they were right. You were right too. Now we all have to go live with all the righteous ones.” Charlie glared at her mother.

  “It’s Landon, mom. That’s her new boyfriend.” Amanda ducked when Charlie tried to hit her.

  Tammy pushed Charlie back so she wouldn’t hurt her sister. “We are packing today. You are coming. You are coming because if you don’t, you will surely become a victim of those awful men.”

  Charlie’s face turned even more fiery than her hair and she started to tremble. She shoved her mother out of the way. “I’m not going anywhere until I can see him. You haven’t let me out of this house in days and I’m done waiting. I need to tell him goodbye.” She ran out the back door before anyone could stop her.

  Tammy followed and stopped when she could see chasing after her daughter was pointless. The girl could run. She shook her head and suppressed her anxiety. She forced herself to stop mulling over what could happen to her daughter before she got to Landon’s house.

  She drew in a big breath and was startled by Amanda standing behind her.

  “He doesn’t live all that far. I could take you to his house.”

  “No, it’s okay. It’s still early enough I think she’ll be okay. I’m not up to a battle with her right now. I’m sure she’ll come around or at least I’ll wait until her temper settles down. I’ll head over there in a little bit and tell them she needs to come home by dinnertime.”

  “Okay.” Amanda stuffed her hands in her pockets. “Do we do boxes first?”

  “Yes. I think you and Zoe can probably knock them out easily. Have Holly stack the boxes once they’re filled. That should keep the peace with you girls for a little while.” She turned to look at Mae. “I have a promise to keep with you. Let’s go see how your friend is. We’ll be back shortly. Lock yourselves in tight and don’t open the door to anyone. If more beggars show up, tell them to come back later.” She sent Mae in for her shoes. “Where does that boy live?”

  “He’s on Redmond. The house with the really big tree in front and the house is all brick.”

  “Oh, okay. Not a real casual way I can walk over that way with Mae wanting to head for the Edmonds’ house.”

  Amanda shrugged. “I’m sure Mae would want to know her sister is safe too. She’s been crying in her sleep calling out names. She never completely wakes up. I think she’s having nightmares about awful things happening to us.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Tammy rubbed her face.

  “Because you have a lot going on already. You’ve had actual bad things happen to you and I hear you get up at night. You look more tired every day.” Amanda fiddled with the handle on the gate and wouldn’t look her mother in the eye.

  She sighed. “I think I’ll sleep better when we get out of here.”

  “What if we wind up trading these problems for different ones? What if it’s worse?”

  “That’s a chance we are going to have to take.” She stopped talking so she wouldn’t paint an even uglier picture of how everything could continue to disintegrate in their neighborhood if they waited it out.

  Mae grabbed her hand and beamed up her, with the most trusting eyes that were still eager to meet the world.

  She smiled back at her daughter and felt a little better. As they walked down the street, not only could they smell smoke, they could smell garbage. The humidity that lingered in the air from the storm seemed to be holding tight to the odors that were building. When they passed by the park, there were numerous people with make-do tents and the smell there was a bit more like a port a potty toilet than anything else. It resembled what the tent city next to the homeless shelter looked like. Kids played on the equipment the way they would on any other day. The adults anxiously hovered near their children as a gang of teen boys ran through the park trying to slash the decent tents. A man pulled a gun on the one in the lead and started yelling. The parents near their children gathered them and moved away from the confrontation. A few of the fathers pulled on the man’s arm to stop him while another man stepped in to take the knives from the heathen boys.

  Tammy turned Mae’s head away as they speed-walked past before anything worse happened. She caught the moment when the man with the gun slapped the teen hard upside the head. The smaller framed boy was ready to start something with the bigger brute until he was knocked on his butt. The boys scattered. A few ran in front of Tammy and were brazen enough to give Mae a shove even though her daughter was holding her hand tight. Tammy picked up a rock and was about to throw it at the boy’s back and thought better of it. Fortunately, they were gone after that.

  When they reached the street that had been on fire, it wasn’t as close to her home she thought. Still, it was close enough and fire could have continued to spread. There wasn’t much left of the houses on two blocks. There was still smoke coming from the ashes and soot covered men meandered through the debris looking for hot spots.

  “Is this where your friend lives?” Tammy turned to look at Mae.

  Her eyes were huge from the unshed tears that magnified them. She was caught up in the scene in front of her and covered her face as she pointed at something Tammy hadn’t noticed in the middle of the road.

  Blankets and sheets barely covered what was obviously bodies. A hand and foot were poking out from underneath the one that was closest to them. Tammy got a shiver and held Mae tight as she cried softly into her mother’s shirt.

  She felt so weary and so helpless. Neighbors were taking care of the carnage and dealing with the death of what may have been their friends. She knew a couple of families from church that lived on that st
reet and it was quite a swath the fire had burned out of that neighborhood. The houses that still stood were either damaged or smoke covered and probably smelled inside as if they had been on fire.

  It was so silent. Just the shuffling of feet through the crunchy remnants on the ground. Soft talking and someone was weeping when another body was brought to the center of the street. At least Mae didn’t see that one. She wanted to know if the families she knew survived but it wasn’t worth exposing Mae to more trauma.

  They walked home quietly and Mae squeezed her hand even tighter. “We were lucky.”

  “We were lucky the wind changed and that it rained as hard as it did or I think everything would still be burning today.”

  She nodded and leaned her head on Tammy’s arm as they headed for Landon’s house.

  When they arrived, the boy’s mother was outside cooking on a small camp burner on her front porch. Tammy felt she should know her because Landon was at the church a few days earlier. She realized she didn’t know the woman at all.

  “I don’t have anything I can share with you.” She picked up the pan and headed for the door.

  “No, I’m not here to ask for food. Why aren’t you cooking in the back?”

  “Because my neighbor is shooting at everything with four legs or feathers that comes near his lawn. I’m not sure if it’s really necessary but I don’t want to get shot by going over there to give him any grief over it.”

  “Oh.” Tammy tried to look down the side yard past the garage but didn’t see anything. She ducked when she heard a pop.

  “There he goes again.” She shook her head.

  “I’m looking for my daughter.”

  “What timing when she showed up. Right when I was trying to figure out what to make my family and then another mouth to feed arrives.”

  “She won’t eat your food. I promise. She ate before she left the house. Don’t worry about not offering her any either. We’re doing okay. Do I need to bring her home though?”

  “No. The only reason why I didn’t chase her off is my boy stopped moping. That’s all he’s done since that day. Even when his dad came home after he walked for two days and we weren’t sure if he was going to make it, the attitude never changed until she showed up.”

  “Well, if she’s not bothering you. She ate plenty before she left my house so like I said, she doesn’t need to eat your food. I will let her stay for the time being. But I do need her to come home well before it gets dark if you don’t mind. And if someone could make sure she gets there safely?”

  “Then one of us can get jumped when we come home alone?” She gave Tammy an incredulous look.

  “I don’t mean for any harm to come to anyone. If it’s a problem, she can come with me now and you won’t need to worry.”

  “We’ll make sure she gets home. My husband is a decent man and knows a young woman as pretty as her shouldn’t be out on the street alone. Especially with what’s been prowling around here lately.” She looked closer at Tammy’s nose. “Ah, you know.”

  “Yes. I know.”

  “She told us you and all your girls are holding down the fortress on your own.”

  “Yes we are.” Tammy squeezed Mae’s hand and pressed her lips together to make sure Mae kept quiet.

  She nodded in agreement to whatever was said.

  “I don’t mean to be inhospitable but these are not hospitable times. This is done and they’re hungry.”

  “We were on our way home.” Tammy waved as she headed for the road.

  The woman nodded as she went into the house.

  As they walked quietly down the street, she watched for movement near the houses, on the road, behind cars. A dog barking made her jump and Mae let out a squeal.

  “Sorry, sweetie. I’m just a little jumpy.”

  “Will we be safer at the cabin?”

  “I sure hope so. There won’t be so many people around to worry about.”

  “I don’t care what Charlie says, I like it up there.”

  “I’m not sure how many adventures you will be able to go on out there this time.”

  “I’m sure it will smell better than here.”

  “It probably will.”

  “Mom, there’s someone behind us,” Mae whispered.

  “If it isn’t that momma with all the pretty girls and she doesn’t have nothin’ in her back pocket today.” That voice. It gave her a chill up her spine.

  Tammy walked a little faster and pulled Mae’s arm when she tried to look back.

  “Keep walking.” She looked for a stick, or a brick, or anything she could use as a weapon.

  A woman sitting in a chair fanning herself on her front lawn got up rather quickly for someone of her age and hustled inside. A young boy and his friend ran and hid as they passed by.

  A man that was working on hanging a piece of plywood over a broken big picture window stopped what he was doing and headed straight for the sidewalk. He rested his hand on something against his hip as he glared at Idiot boy as he kept following Tammy.

  “Is that kid bothering you?” he asked.

  She paused, only briefly. “Yes, sir.”

  He pulled a handgun out of his holster and waved it at the man on the street. “Go home. Stop bothering the ladies and find some manners.”

  The young man shouted obscenities at them as he turned around and headed the other way.

  “How far do you have to go to get home?” the man asked. He was big, lots of muscle and had tattoos all up his arms.

  Tammy stuttered before she regained her composure. “Around the block.”

  He squinted when he looked at her face. “Who did that?”

  “I don’t know who it was.” She cast her gaze to the street, suddenly embarrassed.

  “You need protection?” He nodded at Mae to further make his point.

  “We’ve been doing pretty good taking care of ourselves, thank you.” She rested an arm protectively on Mae’s shoulders.

  “How’s that really working for ya?” He waved in the direction where the boy ran off. “It doesn’t have to be like that.”

  She rubbed her eyes and swallowed the lump in her throat. “I have to get home. My kids are waiting.”

  “I’ll just keep an eye on things to make sure you get there.”

  “Please, no. It’s okay. I’ve had more than my share of male attention lately.” She waved him off as she walked as fast as she could.

  Mae jogged ahead. “He’s kind of following but not really.”

  “Stop looking.”

  “Mom, I think he’s actually trying to help.”

  “It’s okay. We can do this.” She nodded emphatically. “We don’t need anyone. We’re as prepared as we can be.” She didn’t want to owe any man anything. Her trust was wearing thin.

  30

  Ben

  Ben wasn’t the only one trying to avoid being anywhere near Anderson. Nate developed an aversion to him too after he was nearly tossed into the sea the night before.

  Because of the Coast Guard visit, tensions were high. After Ben and Nate ate breakfast long after Anderson cleared out of the galley, they were asked to keep an eye on action out at sea.

  When Anderson was busy in the engine room, Ben slipped away to the wheelhouse to visit with Jackson.

  “Sorry I haven’t been a very good host. I’ve had my hands full this trip.” Jackson waved Ben in to have seat. “To make things even more interesting, I believe there is some radar jamming going on. I saw some planes this morning. There’s got to be some action happening not far from us.”

  “I had hoped it wouldn’t make it over this way. There’s so much land close by.” Ben had seen several small islands that morning and the mountains on the Aleutian peninsula could occasionally be seen to the left of the boat. He searched the ocean for anything suspicious. It was just vast dark blue water as far as the eye could see.

  “Yeah, and there’s a base on Kodiak. I told you when we left that I’ve got mixed feelings about al
l this. I want to see our U.S. ships out here but then if we do, then we know something bad is going to go down. Since the visit with the Coast Guard last night, I’m all edgy.”

  “We saw action coming from Togiak.”

  Jackson furrowed his brow at Ben. “Hmm. Did you tell me that earlier?”

  “I thought for sure we did. Nate was telling everyone.” Ben tapped at the screen on the radar screen. “It was fuzzy but then there was a big blip of something up ahead. Like right here.”

  Jackson looked at the screen and then squinted as he looked out to sea. He picked up a pair of binoculars. “I want to complain about trying to navigate this way and then I remind myself, I could be drifting in the ocean if I had made it Seattle when I originally planned to be there.” He twisted the lenses. “Yep, there’s something up ahead. Kind of big. I think we’re going to go far, far around it. I don’t have a radio right now. They’re messing with that too. I sure don’t want to be mistaken for something I’m not.” He veered the boat to the west. “Perhaps we’ll hug some coastline as long as we can. Except we eventually have to go east and traveling this way is a huge waste of fuel.”

  Ben spent the better part of the afternoon looking through binoculars, drying the ocean spray off the lenses and trying to spot boats or planes. Even with rain gear on, it was cold, the wind never stopped blowing and the boat was in a constant state of rocking in all directions from the churning ocean. At least it wasn’t as rough as it had been the night before.

  Nate waved Ben over to check out what he spotted off in the distance. “I think that’s something.”

  Ben looked as hard as he could but couldn’t see whatever it was. Anderson joined them, looking through his binoculars. Nate hesitated before he pointed in the direction where he’d seen a reflection that he swore wasn’t water.

  Anderson gripped the side of the boat as it dipped and rose. He seemed to handle the movement just fine. He let go abruptly and headed straight for the wheelhouse.

  Ben looked again. “What are you even seeing?” he asked.