When I opened my eyes again, I was in the tent, wearing my sweats and wrapped in my sleeping bag, the lantern blazing away, warming the air. Jim was toweling my hair.
“Well, there you are,” Jim said softly. “You gave me quite a scare!”
“How did I get out of the river?”
“I pulled you out. You didn’t want to let go of that damn log though! And then you didn’t want to breathe,” he said. The pressure I had felt; was he giving me mouth-to-mouth?
“How did you get to me? The river swept me away so fast.” I shivered again.
“I saw you fall in, and suddenly you were gone. I jumped in the Hummer, following the river, and once I spotted you, I got ahead, thinking I could grab you as you went by. By then you had already hit the tree.”
“How did I get in my sweats? I don’t remember anything,” I said, looking down at my dry clothes.
“You were shivering so bad, Allex, I had to get the wet clothes off of you,” he said, embarrassed. “Hypothermia is a real danger and still is. That water is barely forty degrees and lowered your body temp fast. We need to bring it up. I’ve got some soup warming.” Jim stood and went outside. I leaned forward toward the lantern. The heat it was radiating felt wonderful. A great deal of body heat is lost from the head and with wet, cold hair I was staying chilled. I fluffed my hair with shaky fingers, trying to dry it faster.
Jim set a bowl of steaming chicken noodle soup in my hands. The heat from the bowl on my cold hands caused me to give a quick shiver, sloshing the soup. He clamped his big, warm hands over mine to steady the bowl.
“Are you going to be able to handle that yourself, or do I have to feed you too?” he said gruffly.
“I’ll manage.” I spooned the hot soup into my mouth. The heat trickled all the way down, easing my aching chest. I winced.
“What’s wrong?”
“My chest hurts,” I said.
“That doesn’t surprise me. You’ve got one hell of a bruise across your ribs and another doozy on your hip. How did that one happen?”
“I remember bouncing off a boulder, and I think the ribs were from hitting the log.” I stared at my soup. He had seen those bruises? Well, sure dummy, he stripped your wet clothes off so you wouldn’t die, I chastised myself. “You saved my life, Jim.”
“Remind me sometime to ask you about those camouflage undies,” he grinned.
“That’s easy. They were a gift from Smitty.”
*
“Shouldn’t we be getting on the road soon?”
“You need heat and rest, Allex. We can stay put for an extra day. Besides, the tent is too wet to pack up anyway,” he said. “Being hurt and almost drowned is not going to get you out of a rematch cribbage game though!”
*
During the night I felt warm and secure. I was zipped snugly in my sleeping bag and when I tried to turn over, I realized Jim was next to me on his mattress with his open sleeping bag over both of us, and his arm held me against him for extra warmth. I fell back to sleep listening to the wind.
CHAPTER 9
April 18
The day broke with a brilliant sun and a warm breeze. I was feeling rested and much better, although my bruises still hurt.
“We should be able to break camp today,” Jim said, “unless you need another day to recuperate?”
“No, I’m doing fine, Jim, really, and I slept well. My hip still hurts, but it’s not as if we’re walking,” I told him. “I’m going to scramble up some of these eggs to go on the last of our bread. Um, would you get me some water?” I asked. “I’m just not up to using the bigger bucket. I feel bad I lost the smaller one.” He cocked an eyebrow at me and took the bucket without saying a word.
*
I finished washing the frying pan and the soup bowls from last night, then refilled the Berkey to filter as we traveled. The day was turning wonderfully warm. The road was little traveled, however, we did see the sign saying we were entering the Hiawatha National Forest, so we knew we were on the right track. A mile in we were stopped by a downed tree.
“I’m sure glad we brought this chainsaw along. It’s getting a lot of use,” Jim said, revving it up. “I hope we don’t run out of gas for it.” He bolted the long twelve-inch thick tree into sixteen inch sections, and I rolled them off to the side.
A couple of hours, two more downed trees blocking the road, and another ten miles later we came to a clearing on the north side of the road. A massive modern log cabin stood proudly in the center, the golden amber stain shining in the afternoon sunlight. Huge solar panels on a tall automated sun tracker stood behind a chicken coop. The dozen multi-breed chickens pecked at the bare ground, much like at Annie’s place.
“It looks occupied. Want to stop in?” Jim asked, stopping at the end of the long, well-kept gravel driveway.
“Can’t hurt,” I said. “We can always use the same introduction line we used with Annie, about buying eggs. And who knows? They might need help with some chores, or want someone new to talk to. They might even be able to pass along some information we need.”
Jim stopped the Hummer a hundred feet from the house and called out. A middle-aged man eventually stepped out onto the long covered porch, rifle in hand.
“What do you want?” the sandy haired man asked, holding the shotgun by the barrel, with the stock resting on the wooden deck.
“We saw your chickens and wondered if you had any eggs for sale or trade,” Jim said, keeping his hands away from his holster. I stayed in the Hummer, my Beretta in hand, resting on my lap.
“Not really,” he replied, “they aren’t laying very well. Too many travelers have them spooked.” I saw him scratch his opposite shoulder with his free hand, using three fingers.
“Yeah, that’ll happen,” Jim agreed, nodding several times. “How long has it been since you’ve seen anyone on this road?”
“Oh, maybe four or five days. Me and the wife don’t take well to strangers.” The man kept flicking his eyes to the side.
“Well, good luck to you then,” Jim said backing up to the Hummer door. “Be seeing ya.” We backed out of the driveway.
Once out of sight of the house, Jim stopped. “Those folks are in trouble, Allex.”
“I knew it was an odd conversation, but how can you tell?” I asked.
“First, he was holding the shotgun by the barrel, a sure indication it wasn’t loaded and he wanted us to know that. When he mentioned travelers, he held up three fingers and only we could see that, no one inside the house could.” Jim was ticking these points off as he talked. “Plus the rapid eye movement said to me we were being watched. My guess is there are three men inside that have been holding him and his wife hostage for the last four days. He knows we’ll be back.”
“How does he know that?”
“When I said ‘be seeing ya’ I looked in the same direction he had been. I hope when I nodded he understood that I caught what he was trying to tell us.”
“What now?”
“We wait for dusk.”
*
It was already late in the day and we didn’t have to wait long for the sun to start going down. Jim opened his door, retrieved the rifles from behind our seats, and closed the door silently. The memory flashed through my mind of him spraying all of the Hummer’s hinges with lubricant before we left. Now I know why he did that. I tried mimicking his movements, being as quiet as possible, knowing how far sound could travel.
“It’s still light enough for them to see us,” I whispered.
“That’s why we’re going through the woods and coming in from the side,” he whispered back. “Lock and load, Allex, we don’t know what we’re walking into.”
I was nervous, and ready. If these people were indeed in trouble, we needed to help them.
I followed behind Jim as he made his way noiselessly through the underbrush, the new spring growth of the soft green and gold moss cushioning our footfalls. We came out on the other side of the chicken coop, out of sight of
the front of the house. We could hear voices drifting out through an open window.
“Whadda ya opening the windows for?” a gruff voice shouted.
“It’s very stuffy in here and Kora’s asthma acts up when she doesn’t get enough fresh air.” The voice sounded like the man who had been on the porch earlier. I could hear a window sliding open opposite from where we were hiding. The rest of the conversation was too muted for me to catch, though shortly after, the back door opened and a young woman stepped out carrying a basket. She looked to be about thirty-five, my height, with pale blonde hair tied in a ponytail, and she was wearing a long, dark skirt. Right behind her was a scruffy looking man carrying a rifle. She crossed the small yard and headed right at us, opening the door to the chicken coop.
“You can collect them eggs in a minute. Lift your skirts, I’m horny,” Scruffy laughed.
“Please, not again!” she pleaded.
“I said lift ‘em!” We heard a slap and she cried out.
Jim moved quickly to the open door, handing me his rifle and drawing his knife. In almost one movement, he stepped inside, clamped one hand over Scruffy’s mouth, and slit his throat with the knife. He dragged him out just as silently while I stepped in to quiet Kora.
I held my finger to my lips, in the universal sign for silence. She nodded.
“How many more are in the house?” Jim whispered a moment later, joining us inside the coop. The chickens cackled nervously, though it was a natural sound and wouldn’t draw attention.
“Two more, plus my husband, Lee,” Kora whispered back. “Thank you! These last few days have been a nightmare!”
“You need to go back in, Kora, and act like nothing has happened. If anyone asks where this guy is, tell them he stopped to take a whizz,” Jim whispered to her. “That might even get one more to come out looking for him when he’s gone too long.”
“I better collect the eggs or they’ll be suspicious,” she said, snatching several eggs and putting them in the basket she had been carrying.
“How is your asthma? Will you be okay?” I asked.
“I don’t have asthma. Lee wanted to get a few windows open so you could listen in case you were coming back to help. He managed to let me know it was possible when we were in the kitchen together.” With that, she slipped out the door and went back to the house. I know that must have been difficult for her to do.
Night fell quickly once the sun dipped below the horizon. Darkness in the woods is very complete and we were ready to move within minutes. The yard was shrouded in heavy shadows with the solar lighting spilling from a few windows and made it easy for us to circle the house once to get the layout. We crept up to the back door, with each of us taking a side.
It didn’t take long.
“What the hell is taking you so long, George? You get lost?” The back door banged open and a short, stocky older man stepped impatiently into the dark yard. With the same swift precision as before, Jim came up from behind and dispatched him without so much as a sound from either of them. Jim dropped the body and left it. We circled the house again, staying below the windows. I was beside the open window and could see well enough through the curtains to know if I wasn’t careful, from how he was sitting, this last guy would see me. I rested my rifle on the sill.
Jim went back to the kitchen door and knocked. The guy turned to the sound, startled. I saw that Arc Eric and Rayn always talked about, and I took my shot.
*
We sat with Lee and Kora Goshen at the dining room table, enjoying a glass of wine from their hidden cellar. The bodies had been removed and dumped in the woods, which was too good for that scum from what we were hearing about the Goshens’ brutal ordeal.
“They showed up four days ago, asking for water,” Lee was saying. “I told them where the hand pump was and that they could have as much as they wanted. Even though they had tried to cover those orange jumpsuits with mud and old jackets, it was still obvious they were escaped convicts and I knew we had a problem. After they drank their fill of water, they asked for food, and when I turned them down, they rushed the house and took over. We’ve been their slaves since.” He reached over and took his wife’s hand. “Kora has suffered the most.”
Kora took a sip of wine, straightened her back, and lifted her chin defiantly. This was one brave lady. “They took turns with me, sometimes four - five times a day, insisting I always wear a skirt to make it easier for them to rape me,” she spat out. “It’ll be a long time before I wear a skirt again!” She had since showered and changed into jeans and a sweater.
“I guess we came along just in time then,” Jim was saying. “We would have been down this road sooner, but we’ve had our own mishaps.” His glance slid over to me.
“I fell in the river,” I confessed, “and almost drowned. We were delayed an extra day while I fought hypothermia.”
“Better late than never,” Lee said. He stood, raising his glass of ruby wine. “A toast to our new best friends! I don’t know how we will ever thank you enough.” He looked over at his wife and she nodded ever so slightly. “Will you stay and be our guests tonight? And for as long as you care to.”
“Thank you,” I said. “At least for tonight so I can dry out some of my clothes.”
“Wonderful! Then tonight we have steak and potatoes for dinner,” Kora said.
“Steak?” Jim asked. “Beef steak?”
“Yes, we butchered one of the cows two months ago while it was still cool. That solar array runs a big freezer. Those three were eating beef twice a day, we were hiding the good steaks,” Lee grinned.
*
After retrieving the Hummer from down the road, Jim brought in our duffels and set them in the guest bedroom. My still soggy boots were set in front of the fireplace where a roaring fire warmed the spacious living room and my still damp clothes went into a clothes dryer.
While Lee and Jim brought out and lit the grill, Kora and I visited their wine cellar and selected two wines for our steak dinner, a Cabernet and a Zinfandel.
“You two work together very well,” Kora said. “How long have you been together?”
“I met Jim a year ago when my son and granddaughter arrived unexpectedly at Sawyer and I had to vouch for them,” I replied, thinking back to those days. Had it really only been a year? “Then he showed up at my house in early August, crashing my wedding. Our friendship was a bit rocky to start, but eventually we became good friends.” Kora gave me an odd look, like she wanted to say more.
“Wedding? Forgive my nosiness, but where is your husband?”
“He died from the flu in December. This trip is Jim’s idea of therapy for me. Enough about me, how are you doing, Kora? I have limited medical supplies, is there anything you need?”
“As a matter of fact…” she trailed off momentarily, looking away. “With the repeated rapes, I’m really sore. I’ve tried using aloe, but it stings.”
“I’ve got some hydrocortisone in my bag, I’ll get you some. How are you doing…otherwise?” I asked delicately.
“You mean emotionally and mentally?” Kora went silent for a few minutes. “To keep my sanity, I would put myself in a different zone while it was happening, and to keep my emotional balance I got angry. I never let the anger show, they only saw indifference. I think the indifference confused them and defused some of their lust. Now I can be angry though and that pile of wood out back that needs splitting will be a good outlet!” She smiled again, this time more easily.
*
Dinner was incredible.
“I can’t remember the last time I had such a perfect steak,” Jim said. “Thank you, Lee, Kora.” He tipped his newly filled wine glass at them. The ribeye steaks were done medium rare over the hickory smoke fire and could have been cut with a fork. There were small red skinned potatoes roasted in garlic and olive oil then garnished with fresh parsley, plus a small side salad.
“Yes, thank you, especially for the salad!” I said. “I have a greenhouse back home and mana
ge to have enough greens for a salad once a week. It’s been awhile though. What was that dressing?”
“A specialty,” Kora said. “It’s yogurt, cucumbers, and wasabi. I was hoping you liked it.”
“How do you grow the fresh stuff?” Jim asked. “I didn’t see a greenhouse.”
“We have a part of the basement sectioned off for hydroponic growing. Here in the woods, a glass house is too vulnerable to damage and is too easily covered with heavy snow. The solar array originally was for all the grow-lights, although we quickly realized that with enough panels and batteries for storage, we didn’t have to do without many of the conveniences we were leaving behind,” Lee answered.
“With a bigger system, Lee was able to put in an on-demand hot water unit for me. When we first made the decision to move off-grid, hot water was my biggest obstacle,” Kora said.
I had a flashback to the time my ex, Sam, told me we didn’t move to the woods for me to have conveniences. After seven years I still never had running hot water. These people seemed to have found a way to make it work. I shook off my sour memory of a former life.
“Once the ash clouded the sun for days on end, the larger battery bank was a life saver. We might not have had direct sun, but even ambient light is enough to keep a charge. We shut down a few systems to keep the hydroponics going and once the sun came back out, even on a limited basis, we got everything working again,” Lee said.
“How long have you been here?” I asked.
“Five years now,” Lee said. “We both needed a complete change after we found out we couldn’t have children. I sold my software business and we built this. We took on a ninety-nine year lease with the feds so we wouldn’t have to put up with neighbors.” We all laughed.
The Journal: Raging Tide: (The Journal Book 4) Page 8
