But the Children Survived
Page 1
Copyright©AmyJambor2012
All rights reserved.
ISBN-10: 0-9854170-0-5
ISBN-13: 978-0-9854170-0-0
AUTHOR’S NOTE
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and scenes are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely unintentional.
The replication, uploading and distribution of this book on the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please only purchase authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted material. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Cover design by Amy Jambor
This book is dedicated to my Hansel.
He gave me wings and let me fly.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I want to thank my good friend, Loraine O’Connell, for all her help. She did the first edit on my manuscript. Any mistakes in the text are mine and mine alone. Loraine’s input has been invaluable to me. For over forty years she has been my best friend, and I look forward to working on my next book with her.
But the
Children Survived
A. L. Jambor
Table of Contents
Prologue...........................
Chapter 1..........................
Chapter 2..........................
Chapter 3..........................
Chapter 4..........................
Chapter 5..........................
Chapter 6..........................
Chapter 7...........................
Chapter 8...........................
Chapter 9...........................
Chapter 10.........................
Chapter 11.........................
Chapter 12.........................
Chapter 13.........................
Chapter 14.........................
Chapter 15.........................
Chapter 16.........................
Chapter 17.........................
Chapter 18.........................
Chapter 19.........................
Chapter 20.........................
Chapter 21..........................
Chapter 22..........................
Chapter 23..........................
Chapter 24..........................
Chapter 25..........................
Chapter 27..........................
Chapter 28..........................
Chapter 30..........................
Chapter 31...........................
Chapter 32...........................
Chapter 33...........................
Chapter 34............................
Chapter 35............................
Chapter 36............................
Chapter 37............................
Chapter 38............................
Chapter 39............................
Chapter 41............................
Chapter 42............................
Chapter 43............................
Chapter 44............................
Chapter 45.............................
Chapter 46.............................
Chapter 47.............................
Chapter 48.............................
Chapter 49.............................
Chapter 50.............................
Chapter 51.............................
Chapter 52.............................
Chapter 53.............................
Chapter 54.............................
Chapter 55.............................
Chapter 56.............................
Chapter 57.............................
Chapter 58.............................
Chapter 59.............................
Chapter 60.............................
Chapter 61.............................
Chapter 62.............................
Chapter 63.............................
Chapter 64.............................
Chapter 65.............................
Chapter 66.............................
Chapter 67.............................
Chapter 68.............................
Chapter 69.............................
Chapter 70.............................
Chapter 71.............................
Chapter 72.............................
Chapter 73.............................
Chapter 74.............................
Chapter 75.............................
Epilogue.................................
Prologue
The Capital Beltway, Maryland
Jeff Greenway looked in the rearview mirror of the limousine. Horace Bagley was asleep. Jeff sighed. When he picked up the old man that morning, he had taken his wife’s Infiniti because Horace Bagley had lost everything he owned, including his regular automobiles. The limo was the only vehicle he had left, and that was due to be picked up later that day. Horace had asked Jeff to drive him into Washington in the limo one last time. The request pissed him off, but Jeff had agreed out of respect for the old man.
His colleagues at the firm called it the “Pope Mobile” due to the safety features Horace had installed during the nuclear protests three years earlier. The glass was bulletproof and the interior was sealed from front to back to keep out smoke or gas. Horace hadn’t taken any chances in those days. Since the government had shut down his power plants, the threats against Horace’s life had dwindled. It didn’t matter, anyway. They had taken everything from him, including the Pope Mobile.
Horace had owned 10 power plants that had supplied energy to most of the Eastern seaboard. He was a millionaire several times over, but when one of his older plants nearly melted down causing a chain reaction in several other plants, and the country rallied to have them shut down. Horace had lobbied hard to keep his plants going, but in the end, the government chose to err on the side of caution. After all, it was an election year.
The government gave a generous tax break to those people willing to install alternate forms of power generation in their homes and businesses. The program proved so successful, that most of the citizens were able to sell back power to beleaguered energy companies nationwide. Everyone seemed to benefit from the program, everyone but Horace Bagley.
Following the shutdown of his power plants, the government audited poor Horace and found many questionable deductions on his tax returns. When all was said and done, everything he owned had to be sold.
His wife of ten years, Trixie, an exotic dancer 50 years his junior, left him a week before the government audit began, taking her jewelry with her to Rio. She had also taken her Swedish masseuse, Sven.
Now Horace was on his way to Washington to beg the government for one last thing. He wanted to keep his house in Maine, the house he and his first wife Ginny had purchased when they got married. His children had been born there, and Ginny had died there. Surely they would understand how important the residence was to Horace, an old, broken man with nowhere to go, wouldn’t they?
Jeff was sure the government would tell Horace to go pound salt, but when the old man called the day before aski
ng Jeff for his assistance, he couldn’t say no. It would have to be pro bono as Horace truly had no money left. Jeff had to put gas in the limo to get into town.
Horace had a one o’clock appointment with an old friend of his, Senator Crawley. It was just past noon, and they were making good time. As Jeff rounded the beltway, he could see traffic stopped ahead. He slowed the limo to a crawl before stopping completely.
The limo stopping hadn’t disturbed Horace’s nap. There were teenagers in the car ahead of them. They had gotten out of their car and were playing grab ass in the street. Jeff smiled, remembering what it was like to be seventeen and have your whole life ahead of you.
There was a young mother in the car next to him. She got out her car and put her young son on the hood, so he could see over the traffic ahead. She kept her arm around him. There was a biker on a Harley Davidson. He had tattoos covering his arms and neck. Jeff checked the locks on the limo to make sure they were down.
A half hour had passed and Jeff was getting anxious about the time. He took out his cell phone and called the Senator’s office, advising them that Horace would be late. He explained the situation, and the secretary said she would speak to the Senator and call if they could see Horace at a later time.
Jeff began absent-mindedly tapping the steering wheel. He was looking at the teenage girl as she teased the boy mercilessly. She had a tee-shirt on that hugged her young, nubile breasts. Her jeans were tight, and Jeff began to fantasize about her cute, little butt.
The sun was hot, and even though the air conditioning was still running, Jeff thought about opening a window for some fresh air. It was the end of June, and Washington was hot. Jeff wished he had taken off his suit jacket before getting into the car.
He took off his seat belt. The radio announcer was talking about an early hurricane that should hit the west coast of Florida. It was a big one. Jeff made a mental note to call his parents in Tampa.
The young mother was holding her son in her arms. The teenagers were fighting verbally, and the biker was asleep in his saddle. Jeff was just about to take his arm out of the jacket sleeve when the mother and son fell to the ground.
What the hell, Jeff thought.
The teenagers were also down, and the biker had fallen off his bike. Jeff looked around and noticed anyone who’d been standing seconds ago was now lying on the pavement. His first reaction was to open the door to see if he could help and when he did, he died instantly, a small trickle of blood rolling out of his nose.
In the back seat, Horace Bagley never woke up but he, too, had a small trickle of blood rolling silently over his lips, down his chin, and onto his last crisp, white shirt.
PART ONE
MINDY LANE
Chapter 1
Largo, Florida
Mindy grabbed the little dog and ran to the back of the house. She ran into the master bedroom, where there was a small escape “door” in the side of the mobile home. She put Baby Girl down and slid the bolt over to open the door. The door hadn’t been opened in many years, and she had to push it hard. It gave and opened. Mindy slipped onto the ground. She turned and looked at Baby Girl.
“Come on” she whispered impatiently. Baby Girl looked at her and then turned her head toward the inside of the house. Baby Girl knew she should not go out without her leash. “It’s okay, you can come out.” Still, Baby Girl just stared at her with her big bug eyes.
Then Baby Girl heard the people enter the house. She started to bark, and in a split second Mindy grabbed her mouth, put another arm around her body, and pulled her out. Mindy pushed the door closed with her rear end and went to the back of the mobile home. She crouched behind some bushes and held the dog tightly.
She could hear the people inside ransacking the house. She knew they wouldn’t find anything. Grammy had seen to that. All the food that was left and the guns were well hidden. Mindy could feel the small pistol she had in her pocket. She knew that if they found her, she would shoot them all until all the bullets were gone. She wouldn’t go down without a fight.
The people inside had slowed down. She could hear them talk to each other, but couldn’t make out what they were saying. Baby Girl was being very good. She just sat next to Mindy awaiting her cues. Mindy stroked her and whispered, “Good girl.”
Mindy heard the side door open. She heard the people going down the long metal ramp that led to the street from the house. She could hear them approaching the back of the house. They were going into the shed.
Mindy peeked around the corner so she could see the shed. The shed was dark and Mindy could see them turn on flashlights. There was nothing there but an old washing machine, dryer, and Opa's tools. The flashlights moved inside the shed.
“Empty, just like the house,” a male voice said. “What the hell was Gerry talking about? There's no kid here.”
Another male voice mumbled in response. Mindy heard them move down the driveway and turn onto the sidewalk. She heard them approaching her from the other side of the home. They were going into the mobile home next door.
Mindy lifted Baby Girl and moved to the other side of her house. She moved slowly in case anyone had stayed behind. There were no lights showing inside her home. She and Baby Girl crouched down under the metal ramp to wait it out a little longer.
There was a big, old dog bed under the ramp. Grammy had stored it there. Mindy and Baby Girl lay down on the bed and listened. She felt safe under the ramp. No one would see her there unless they really looked. Then Mindy heard voices.
“Gerry must have gotten the address wrong,” the man said. “It's too dark now to find anything. I'm heading back.”
“It's your call, Andrew,” the other man responded.
She heard their footsteps walk down the street. She heard a door open on a vehicle. It then closed and the engine started up. It was a truck. The truck drove away, and it was so quiet that Mindy could hear its engine roaring for a long time as it went down the highway.
*****
Mindy didn’t know how long she’d been under the ramp. She must have dozed off for a little while. Baby Girl was asleep next to her. Mindy felt the terrier’s warm little body huddled next to her and felt sad. Baby Girl was the only one she’d hugged in a long time, and Baby Girl was getting older.
Mindy didn’t want to think about the day Baby Girl wouldn’t wake up next to her. Mindy stroked the little dog’s head. She couldn’t see Baby Girl’s eyes in the dark, but she knew the little dog was looking at her. Baby Girl would be giving her a solemn stare, always looking to see what they would do next. It was all up to Mindy now.
Mindy longed for adult company. She wanted someone else to make the decisions, to take the weight off her shoulders. She missed her mom and dad. She knew they were on a trip. They should have been home by now.
Mindy had been crossing the days off Grammy's calendar to keep track of time. She knew her parents were supposed to be back in one week. It had been nine days since they left, and seven since Grammy disappeared. They should have been back by now, but Grammy should have been back by now, too.
Grammy had gone to the store to buy supplies. A hurricane was coming and they would have to evacuate. Grammy was going to get food, and then take Mindy and Baby Girl to her parent’s house where they would be safe. Everyone but the man across the street had left the park.
Grammy had asked Mindy if she wanted to come with her to the store, but Mindy wanted to watch TV. Grammy told her to keep the door locked and to take care of Baby Girl. Then she walked out the door.
The hurricane came and went, knocking out the power and the water. The old man across the street had sat on the porch throughout the entire storm and sat there still, his eyes staring into space. His skin looked really bad, too. Mindy waited for Grammy.
Mindy dozed off again. When she woke up, it was getting light. She sat up and yawned. She crawled out from under the ramp and stretched. Baby Girl stretched her doggie stretch and shook her whole body as if she had gotten wet.
&
nbsp; “Let's go in and see what they did to our house.”
Mindy and Baby Girl walked to the little door in the side of the house that she had escaped from the night before. Mindy pushed Baby Girl into the house and then she climbed in after her. The bedroom looked the same as it did when she ran through it the night before. Mindy closed and bolted the little door.
Baby Girl was sniffing around, smelling all the new smells of the strangers. Mindy went to the door of the bedroom and peeked into the hallway. She could see the inside of her bedroom. It was relatively untouched.
There wasn’t much in there, and what was there was only worth something to a scared 9-year-old girl: pictures of her with her parents; a twin bed and some books; curtains on the windows and a chair. The closet door was open. She looked inside, but nothing had been taken.
She moved onto the kitchen. She looked in the cabinets. Everything looked the same. They had not been looking for food, but even if they had been, Grammy had a special place for the emergency food so Mindy would not go hungry. Grammy also had a special place for guns if necessary.
As she stood there, she suddenly felt all the energy drain from her body. She had been so scared last night, and every night since Grammy left. She'd had to be strong and brave. An overwhelming sadness overtook her, and she just fell to the floor and cried.
Baby Girl came over and sat next to her. Mindy wanted to believe that Baby Girl was trying to comfort her, but she was probably only hungry. It was morning, and neither of them had eaten yet. Mindy couldn’t stop crying. Her body heaved with the sobs. She wanted her mother so terribly much. She just didn't know if she could go on anymore.
But Baby Girl needed her, and she believed her parents would come to find her soon. Mindy tried to stop crying. Soon the sobs lightened and she got up off the floor. She looked in the cabinets for dog food and remembered she had given Baby Girl the last can yesterday.