“Why are they all nude?”
“We have been made fully aware by the colonel and Mr. White that we cannot afford to waste anything. That goes double for clothing, Allexa.” Her voice was soft and gentle, and it held an edge of reality that comes from having seen some very bad things. “When someone is brought in, their information is recorded. Any jewelry or watches are put in an envelope with their name and held for the next of kin, if there is one. We remove all their clothing and set it aside for laundering; same for shoes. Eventually it will all be available for the taking at the gift and supply shop.” She smiled at me. “You’re shocked, aren’t you?”
“Yes, I… I guess I am. The more I think about it though it’s the logical thing to do. There’s no good reason the survivors should be deprived of something they could use.”
“Exactly, and those here don’t care. They are with God now, their souls are at peace. Even though these bodies are just empty vessels now, they are treated and handled with the utmost care and respect, Allexa, be assured of that.”
“I quite honestly don’t think I have it in me help you here, with the living or the dead, but is there anything that I can do?” I asked, still mesmerized by the horrific sight in front of me.
“As a matter of fact, yes, there is something we very much need done and can’t spare anyone to do it. Will you take this clothing to the laundromat? Your son’s wife is running it now, isn’t she? Perhaps she can wash and fold for us,” Sister Agnes suggested, with a faraway look in her eyes. I wondered how she compartmentalizes so well.
November 24
“Joshua,” I called out. “Are you here?” I walked down to his house and didn’t see him outside like he usually was.
“Oh yes, Miss Allexa, I’m on the radio talking to one of my new friends,” he answered, a gleeful tone to his voice that I hadn’t heard in way too long.
“I hate to interrupt you, but could you raise Mathers Lake? I need to talk with Mr. Collins and I don’t want to drive all the way out there.”
I heard him sign off and start with a calling out jargon that he apparently was taught.
“Here you are, Miss Allexa, they’re getting Mr. Collins for you now,” Joshua said, relinquishing his seat to me and handing me the headphones.
“And to what do I owe this pleasure, Allexa?” Art said a few minutes later.
“It’s twofold, Art. First I wanted to make sure you were aware of the flu that has hit Moose Creek so you can keep your people away from here and safe.”
“Yes, I heard. How bad is it?”
“Bad. We’ve had three dozen deaths so far and dozens more sick. So please, keep yourself isolated. If there are any medical emergencies, you can reach Mark through Joshua, or you can come straight to the clinic or here,” I offered.
“I understand. And the other thing?”
“Peter used to be the township handyman. We need to see him about the town’s water pumps. He’s the only one who knows where the well pumps are and where the generator is located. Those in charge, Colonel Andrews and Tom White, have been careful about being masked and gloved whenever they are in contact with anyone, so they have escaped getting sick. I’ll make sure Pete gets protective gear before talking to them, so he’ll be safe. We really do need him for an hour or two though. Please.”
“Your family has been more than kind and generous to us, Allexa, even after our rough start. I will make sure he comes to see you tomorrow,” Art assured me. “Anything else?”
I thought for a moment. “How are the kids doing with the mystery novels?”
Art laughed. “They have blasted through them twice. It’s refreshing to see them interested in reading again. They would love to have more if you can arrange it.”
“Of course. Have Pete bring those back and I will give him another batch to take back. And one more thing, Art,” I said quickly before he hung up. “I’m curious about something. What did you do with the hides from the deer you sent to the kitchen?”
“Over the past year one of my men has gotten exceptionally good at tanning. We don’t waste anything,” he replied.
“That’s good to know, Art, and I’m glad the hides are being put to good use. What are the finished hides being turned into?”
“A variety of things, and right now shoes are high on our list, since the kids seem to grow out of everything so quickly. Next time you come up I’ll take you on a tour of our tanning factory.”
~~~
“Are you going into town soon?” I asked Mark. He looked tired even after a full night’s sleep.
“Yes I am. I need to give Father Constantine his antibiotics and relieve James for a while. Will you come with me?”
I smiled, knowing he enjoyed my company even when we had unpleasant tasks to perform.
“Yep, and I need to stop at the school for some more books for the Mathers Lake kids. Art says they love the young adult mysteries. Pete should be coming in tomorrow, so I need to let Jim and Tom know . I hope you don’t mind that I don’t want to go out to Camp Tamarack again. It’s just too depressing.”
~~~
We drove Mark’s fuel-efficient little gray compact to Carolyn’s old house. I’d like to find another way to refer to it, and I don’t know what to call it yet. The Nunnery doesn’t sound right and it isn’t a chapel.
We let ourselves in as usual, and called out, but no one answered. Father Constantine was still in bed, still propped up to keep his lungs clear. Although he was sleeping, I could see his color was better.
“Father Constantine?” Mark said, placing his hand on the Father’s shoulder. His eyes fluttered open and he smiled.
“Good morning, Doctor. It is morning, isn’t it?” He coughed, and I was happy to hear that the rumblings in his chest were not as deep as before. Perhaps he was beating this flu!
“Close enough,” Mark said, grinning. He must have noticed the improvement too. “Time for me to listen to you breathe again.” He pulled out his stethoscope.
I wandered about looking for Sister Doris. She wasn’t in the luxurious kitchen that Carolyn had loved so much, which had endless amounts of oak cupboards and granite counter space. I finally found her in the back room that overlooked Lake Meade. She was sitting in an overstuffed purple chair facing the picture window, enjoying the picturesque view. Blood dribbled from the corner of her mouth when she coughed. She had hidden her sickness from us very well. Sister Doris opened her bloodshot eyes.
“How’s Connie doing?” she asked, and coughed again, spitting up more blood.
“He’s doing much better, thanks to you, Doris.” My voice cracked and I could feel the tears starting. “Why didn’t you tell us you were sick? Maybe we could have helped.”
“Taking care of my brother was always first and something I had to do on my own. He’s such a good man, Allexa, and he must live. I owe that to him, and I promised our parents I wouldn’t leave him, and now I must. I’m dying,” she stated simply in a subdued voice. “I need to talk with him.”
“Mark,” I said, after leading him away from his patient, “Doris is in the other room, very sick, and feels she’s dying. She wants to see Father Constantine. Is he strong enough to go there? I don’t think she could make it in here.”
We helped the priest walk with us on either side. He was still very weak and we sat him down in a soft chair across from Doris.
“Hey, little sister,” Father said softly. “Did you catch my cold?”
Her eyes fluttered open and she smiled. “Father, forgive me, for I have sinned.” She paused to cough, bringing up more blood. “Oh, Connie, I need your blessing and the Last Rites.” Her voice was barely audible.
His face fell, and the tears gathered in his deep brown eyes. He placed his hand on her head and began the Latin incantation, "Per istam sanctan unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam, indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid per visum, audtiotum, odorátum, gustum et locutiónem, tactum, gressum deliquisti."
We backed out of the room to give them
privacy.
I leaned into Mark and sobbed.
~~~
Gray and Eric arrived in the township ambulance and quietly brought the gurney inside. We waited until Father Constantine made his way down the hall a half hour later, using the walls to hold himself up.
“She’s yours now, Doctor,” he said emotionlessly, and he sat down in the nearest chair, staring at the floor through his hands folded in prayer.
Mark checked Doris’ vitals and pronounced her dead. I felt like I had been kicked in the chest. I moved back down the hall to wave the gurney forward. A few minutes later they reappeared with the still form of Sister Doris covered in a pink sheet. I barely had the strength to open the door for them.
I knelt down in front of the priest, his head still bowed in prayer. “Father Constantine, do you want to go with Doris, or ride with us when we take her to the other Sisters?”
He finally looked up at me, bewildered. “Yes, of course,” he struggled to stand. “I’ll go with her.”
The ambulance followed us on the long winding road inside the Camp Tamarack gate. We stopped at the last building on the right, the morgue Sister Agnes had taken me to. She and Sister Margaret came out on the short front porch. As I got out of our car, I could see the confusion in their eyes; we had not used the ambulance for body delivery before.
When Father Constantine slowly got out of the back, they both ran to him, relieved… until the gurney was pulled out. Sister Agnes straightened her back, walked over to the shrouded body, and lifted the colorful sheet. When she saw whose body it was, she crumpled to her knees and gave out the most mournful wail I’ve ever heard.
Sister Lynn had been tending patients in another building when we arrived and started running toward us as Sister Agnes went down. The three Sisters and the priest gathered around the body of their beloved family member, holding hands, praying, and crying.
“I know this is asking for a special favor, Allexa,” Sister Margaret said tearfully, “but… we can’t bury her in this mass grave. We just can’t.” Tears spilled down her cheeks again.
“We will find room in the Catholic cemetery for her,” I promised, my own heart breaking for their loss.
~~~
We laid Sister Doris to rest the next morning, dressed in her full habit, in the front of the sanctified ground. Jason had spent all night working on an appropriate grave marker, etched with flowers and smiling children.
CHAPTER 37
November 25
Mark left early to visit patients at Camp Tamarack, which gave me the time and the privacy for what I needed to do. This was really something I didn’t want company or help in doing.
Although the temperatures had been dropping it still had stayed above freezing and no snow had fallen yet. The cold ground was workable. I got a basket and a shovel from the greenhouse and knelt beside the four by four raised bed that held my spring bulbs. I dug up bulbs of blue and white crocus and fragrant yellow daffodils, striped tulips, and a hyacinth. Then I moved over to the flower garden that held all of my mother’s flowers, and carefully lifted out some of the blue-flags and the pale pink bleeding hearts. I put the shovel in the car and took it and my basket to the cemetery.
Kneeling in the freshly turned soil at Doris’ grave, my hands shook and I let the tears fall again. I didn’t know Doris all that well, and I would have liked to have had the chance to know her better. Now I never would.
I planted the bleeding heart close to the grave marker, knowing it wouldn’t grow tall, at least not enough to obscure the writing Jason had done. The blue-flags, those delicate miniature irises, went on either side. The other bulbs were planted in a random pattern down the center and would add an eye pleasing variety of color next spring. They would spread and create a blanket of color in the years to come.
~~~
“Has Pete been by yet?” I asked Tom. I was leaning against the doorjamb, momentarily swaying with a déjà vu of another time I did the same thing, but with Anna.
“Yes, and we’ve got it all squared away. Thanks for arranging that, Allex,” Tom answered. “Are you alright?” Concern crept into his voice.
“Yeah, it’s … been devastating to lose one of the nuns.” My lip quivered and I caught it with my teeth to stop the trembling. “It’s hard to lose so many in such a short time, Tom! Again. When will this end?”
“I don’t know if it ever will, Allex,” he replied softly. “What I do know is we have to keep doing what we can to help those left, until there aren’t any left or we die.”
Die? “How’s your heart?” I asked, remembering he’d just had several stents put in.
He chuckled. “I’m fine. It’s you I’m worried about. When was the last time you did something fun?”
“You gotta be kidding. There isn’t any time for fun,” I sneered. “It’s all work, barely sleep, and then start over again.” I dropped down into the nearest chair.
“I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” Jim Andrews said as he took my spot holding up the doorframe. “How would you like to take a short road trip with me tomorrow, Allex?”
“Where to?” I asked, straightening up in my seat. I could really use the diversion.
“It’s been over a month and I’d like to check on the fires in Marquette. It might be good to get away from here for a few hours. I thought I’d ask Rayn and Eric to come along. We don’t know what we might run into and four guns are better than two. You game?”
~~~
On my way home, I saw Amanda’s car at the laundromat and decided it was a good time to talk to her.
“Oh, hi Mom,” she said when I entered. “I thought you might be one of the women coming in. I miss the chitchat with them.”
“I’m surprised you’re not busy,” I said.
“I’m staying busy with all the laundry from the nuns,” she said, folding yet another t-shirt and adding it to a growing pile. “The women think what I’m doing is too gruesome to be around. I sure hope this ends soon. It’s depressing me too.”
“I can fully understand that, and I know how much the Sisters appreciate what you’re doing for them. What do you do with the clothes when you’re done?”
“I take them to Pastor Carolyn’s and leave the laundry bag in the breezeway. If there’s one there, I take it with me. We don’t see each other, which I think is good. They’re with sick people all day, I don’t know how they do it or how come they’re not getting sick too,” she said.
I instantly thought of Father Constantine and Sister Doris.
“Some of them have gotten sick.” I looked out the grimy windows so she wouldn’t see my anguish. I looked around at the laundromat. “You’ve cleaned the place up, it looks nice. You spend so much time here, why don’t you decorate? You know, make it cheery! I think that would help everyone’s attitude.”
“I can do that? You wouldn’t mind?” Amanda looked hopeful.
“Dear, you can do anything you want here. I don’t think there’s any paint, though you could do new curtains or put things up on the walls. Use your imagination!”
There had been so much sadness and grief here, I felt that whatever we could do to cheer ourselves up, we should, and if Amada was happy, Jason was happy.
November 26
“You’re going where?” Mark shouted. “I don’t think it’s a good idea!” He stood with his hands planted firmly on his narrow hips.
“And why not?” I glared right back at him. “We’ll only be gone a few hours. It’s been a month, Mark, we need updated information.”
“Why you?”
“Why not me?” I shot back. “Besides, Eric and Rayn are coming too. We’ll be in an armor-plated Hummer. What kind of danger could we possibly be in?”
Mark definitely did not like us going off to a hot zone, but we needed to find out how bad the fires had gotten, if the Antlers Basin Bridge was still intact and maybe, just maybe, there would be other survivors. We also needed to see if some of the outer stores were still standin
g. We would never have enough supplies and there wasn’t enough time to check all of them.
“When are you leaving?” he asked sullenly.
“In about a half hour,” I answered. “I need to pack some water and a few snacks.” I wrapped my arms around his waist and looked up into his deep blue eyes. “We’ll be fine, honest.”
“Now I know how you felt when I left with Dr. Streiner,” Mark admitted.
“That was a bit different. She had designs on you, remember?” He arched an eyebrow at me and was about to say something more when Jim pulled in. Instead, he leaned down and gave me a long, soulful kiss.
“You better be back before dinner.”
~~~
“I stopped at the Inn first and had Marsha pack a cooler I found,” Jim said. “Have you ever been up in that garage where I am? There is everything up there, and all neatly organized and labeled!”
“Yes I have,” I laughed, which felt good to do. “Kathy was the most organized person I’ve ever known. She also liked themes. There are bins filled with pirate outfits, Caribbean and Hawaiian garb, even pink flamingoes. She could lay her hands on just about anything in less than five minutes. Next Halloween we can outfit most of the town,” I said, “if there’s anyone left that is,” I mumbled under my breath. The numbers were rising of those lost to this latest flu.
“So what did Marsha pack?” Mark asked.
“A half dozen sandwiches, some muffins, a thermos of coffee, and a gallon jug of water,” Jim replied.
The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) Page 24
