Gathering Home

by JEFF MOTES

  Mr. Wright is looking on and has a strange expression on his face. “Why are you taking your pack, Will? You aren’t leaving for home, are you? Mrs. Barnes wanted you and Lizzy to stay a few days.”

  “No, sir, not today. I can’t leave my pack here while we’re gone. It’s too valuable to me.”

  I go upstairs and return with my shotgun.

  “Lizzy,” Mr. Wright says, “I don’t know if taking the shotgun is a good idea.”

  “It’ll be all right, Mr. Wright,” Will interjects.

  Will is talking to Mr. Wright as a man and not as a boy. I’m not sure if Mr. Wright likes it too much.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” Mr. Wright concedes. “I’ve got my pistol. I’m going to leave my shotgun here. I really don’t think we’re going to need it. You and Lizzy can bring yours. That will be fine.”

  Mr. Wright is the last to exit the house. He pulls the door shut, and of course it won’t stay closed. It’s busted up pretty bad.

  “Will, would you mind helping me replace this door later?”

  “Sure, Mr. Wright. As soon as you get back, I’ll help you.”

  At the truck, Will puts his pack on the back bed and walks to the driver’s side door, opens it, and motions for me to get in. There is no way everybody can fit inside the cab.

  “Will, I’ll ride on the back with Amy.”

  “I think I will too,” Mrs. Lynn says, climbing over the tailgate.

  After we all get in the truck, Will sets off for the highway.

  Chapter 13

  Jimmy

  Pastor Ezell’s Community

  Day 7

  I’m curious about what promise Will made to Amy while they were on watch. I glance over at the young man. He’s not acting like a boy; he’s acting more like a man.

  “How was the watch with Amy this morning? Anything of interest happen?”

  He looks at me oddly for a brief moment.

  “I didn’t see or hear anything out of the ordinary. I did see some hogs in the backyard right after I took watch. Did you notice what time they were coming in while you were on watch?”

  I hadn’t noticed. I hadn’t even gone to the back to look around. I didn’t even think about it. Lynn and I sat on the porch the whole time.

  “No, sorry. I didn’t see them when I went back there. They must have come right before Amy woke you this morning. You don’t have to wear yourself out, you know. If you’re still tired when Amy comes and gets you, you could just rest a little longer. I know Amy wouldn’t mind, and I can keep watch a little longer.”

  “I was thinking of changing our watch schedule a little,” he says. “One of us needs to kill a deer or one of the hogs. I was thinking you and I could change watch schedules for tonight unless you want to bag one of them.”

  “It’s been a long time since I’ve shot a rifle. I don’t mind changing. It would be good to have some fresh meat. I’m sure Amy won’t mind changing shifts, either. She’s a good girl, Will. A really good girl.”

  “Yes, she is a good person. I’m thinking Lizzy and Amy should both help me tonight. Let’s see how things go. Is that all right with you?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Will slows the truck way down. Up ahead are cars pushed into the highway, blocking our path. There are two men behind the cars holding rifles. Men? One can’t be much older than Will. The older guy is wearing a tactical vest of some type and has a black shotgun in his hands. The younger guy is one of the running backs for the high school football team. He’s holding a scoped bolt-action rifle. Jerome Jackson, I think. They call him J.J. or something like that. It was his mother that Will helped. I wonder what kind of help he could have provided?

  The older guy motions for us to get out of the truck. Before the older guy can say anything, Jerome walks up to Will, and they shake hands.

  “Thanks, man,” Jerome says.

  “You’re welcome.”

  Jerome calls out to the older guy. “Uncle Lee, this is the guy who helped Mom.”

  The girls and Lynn are standing up in the back, leaning over the cab. The older guy comes over, extends his hand with a wide smile. “I’m Lee Brown. Thanks for helping my sister. The baby is doing fine. Tony hasn’t made it home yet. Me, my wife, and daughter are staying with them now. You did good, son. Everybody around here is talking about it.”

  He comes over to me and shakes my hand. “Mr. Wright?”

  His grip is firm.

  “Yes, I’m Jimmy Wright.”

  “Pastor Ezell said to expect you,” Lee says.

  He removes a radio from his belt and talks into it. It isn’t like the one Will has; it looks like the little radios you see in Walmart. “Pastor Ezell is at the church,” he says when he is done. “Drive on up there.”

  Pastor Ezell is standing in the parking lot as we drive in. The girls get off the back of the truck, and we all gather close to Pastor Ezell.

  “Hello, Will. Hello, Jimmy,” he says, shaking our hands. Then he steps over to Lynn and the girls. “Hello, Mrs. Wright. And it’s good to see you two girls under better circumstances. I’m Pastor Ezell. Welcome to our community. Jimmy, I’m sorry you folks have been having so much trouble. We’ve set up a community watch with the white folks’ church a couple of miles up the road. They’re watching things on their end, and we’re watching on our end. We’re hoping to create a safe environment so we can plant and tend our gardens without having to worry about being harassed. But your house is beyond what we can effectively secure. I was telling Will you and your family could move over here if you would like. It would require a lot of work on your part, but in return, you would be safer and perhaps not go hungry. Let me show you around where we have space for you and explain more as to what will be expected from you.”

  “I appreciate your offer, Pastor,” I reply, “but I’m not sure we will be moving. Please do show us around, though.”

  “Lizzy and I are going to head back to your place, Mr. Wright,” Will says. “There’s no need for us to be here.”

  I don’t want them spending much time together alone. It may make it harder for Amy.

  “Amy, why don’t you go with them?”

  “Dad, I already told you I want to be here to see what’s in store for us.”

  I sigh inwardly. The girl just doesn’t understand.

  “Pastor Ezell,” Will says, “I’ve noticed y’all have several FRS radios working. How about calling me when the Wrights are ready to come home? Maybe we’ll be close enough to pick each other up. Might save them a long walk.”

  “I can do that. I’ll call on channel 10.”

  Will pushes some buttons on the front of his radio. “All right, I have it programmed in already.”

  He pushes a side button on his radio, and Pastor Ezell’s unit beeps. Pastor Ezell speaks into his radio, and his voice comes from Will’s radio.

  “Good. They check out. Just call when we need to return.”

  They get in the truck and drive off, stopping at the exit of the parking lot. I’m hoping they don’t turn towards Jackson. If they do, we will become indentured servants for these people. I let out a sigh of relief when they turn toward our house. Lynn grabs my arm.

  “Come on, Jimmy.”

  Chapter 14

  Lizzy

  Carter

  Day 7

  As we pass through the roadblock, Will says, “Would you like to check on Tamika and her family? They live to the right down that dirt road.”

  “Yes, that would be great,” I respond. “They’re on the outside of the roadblock. Why didn’t they set the roadblock past their road?”

  Will shrugs. “Don’t know, unless they wanted to use the bridge as a control point. The road to Tamika’s isn’t even a hundred feet from the bridge, so they should still have some protection.”

  Though Tamika and I have been friends for years, I’ve never been to her house. It looks like a small farm. Tamika is sitting on the front porch holding her baby brother. Will gets out of
the truck. I don’t wait for him to come open my door. I slide across the bench seat and get out his door.

  Tamika calls into the house, “Mom, Will and Lizzy are here. Hello, Lizzy. Hello, Will.”

  Will nods his greeting.

  “Hey, Tamika. How’s your little brother doing?”

  Tamika is smiling broadly and swaying slightly from side to side. She uncovers more of his face so we can see the baby. “He’s doing great. Thank you again, Will.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  “What’s his name?” I ask.

  “His name is Anthony Carter Jackson. Mom says we’re going to call him Carter.”

  “Carter? Why Carter?”

  She looks up. “Don’t you know what Will did?”

  “No, not really. All he said was he helped.”

  “I did help,” Will says defensively.

  “Yeah, you helped all right,” Tamika says. “He delivered the baby.”

  “What?” I exclaim. I look up at Will. “You delivered the baby?”

  “I said I helped,” he says sheepishly.

  Will delivered a baby! No, he’s not a boy anymore. I look at him for a moment in amazement.

  “Do you want to hold him?” Tamika asks.

  “Oh yes, I do!”

  She gives me the baby, and I sit in a rocker. He’s still asleep and looks so beautiful and peaceful. I glance up at Will standing beside me and smile. He smiles, too.

  We visit for a while and leave when Mrs. Jackson has to take the baby inside to feed. We wave goodbye and head for the truck. Will goes to the passenger side and opens the door. I walk to the driver’s side and wait. Closing the door, he smiles and looks across the truck at me. “Okay,” he says and walks over and opens the door. I get in but don’t slide all the way to the passenger side.

  As we’re driving away, I ask, “Why didn’t you tell me you delivered a baby? That’s incredible, Will. How did you know what to do?”

  “My dad and I have been preparing for difficult times for a long time. We’ve studied lots of things together, including childbirth.”

  “Wow, Will, I didn’t know. Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I don’t know. It’s just I don’t like to…I don’t know why.”

  “You don’t like to brag, I get it. But how am I going to truly know you if you don’t tell me things?”

  “I’m sorry, Lizzy. I do want you to know me. To know who I am and what I am.”

  I sense strength inside Will, an inner strength like what I saw in my grandfather.

  God, is this the man You have prepared for me?

  “We have friends in Repose who prepare with us. Repose will be nothing like this, Lizzy. Nothing at all.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “At my house, we have electricity, refrigeration, hot water. Dad and I have prepared a place with everything you, your mother, and your grandmother will need. Well, except for clothes. We didn’t do anything about clothes.”

  “What do you mean prepared a place for us?”

  “We’ve stored all the food and supplies your family will need. We have room for everybody, though we’ll have to move things around a little. Of course, if any of you would rather not stay with us, Grandpa has lots of space at his place, and he has electricity too.”

  “When did you do all this?”

  “A few months ago.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything to me about it before?”

  “I asked Dad if we could prepare a place for your family. He agreed, except I couldn’t tell you about it unless something bad happened.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Will. I don’t know if I like you doing that without telling me.”

  “I’m sorry, Lizzy, but you’ll understand everything when we get there. I promise. Please trust me.”

  “I do trust you, Will.”

  He parks the truck in front of the Wrights’ house and gets out, pocketing the keys. He holds the door open, and I slide out. He gets his pack while I retrieve his carbine and my shotgun from the dash.

  It isn’t long after we finish with the few dishes when the radio crackles. It’s time to pick up the Wrights. The packs and the guns go back in the truck.

  Chapter 15

  Jimmy

  Terms of Indenture

  Day 7

  Will and I are riding alone in the front of the truck again. The girls are in the back. The meeting with Pastor Ezell went well. I don’t know why I keep referring to him as Pastor. He certainly isn’t my pastor. My pastor is in Jackson, and he is probably still as clueless as I was.

  I really don’t want to take them up on their offer. It’s not an ideal situation. The place he offered to let us use is a rundown trailer amongst three other rundown trailers; each one is occupied with families too large for the space, making the whole area overcrowded. According to Pastor Ezell, there are five teenagers living in the cluster of trailers. Three boys and two girls. Amy would make three girls and the only white person among them. It would be much better if we could all go to Will’s place.

  The nearest water is a water branch about a hundred yards away. We would have to share in the water-gathering work along with boiling the water. Our pool at home is much closer, though soon it will become unusable, then we would have to haul water from a water branch that’s even farther away.

  A common cook area is set up in the middle, and each family prepares their own meals. That’s good, except the rations being offered with the space and all the work are little more than starvation rations. A little bit of meat, cornmeal, and garden vegetables, the quantity of which is subject to change depending on what’s available each day. There is also a fire pit near the cook area, I guess for socializing since there certainly won’t be any other form of entertainment. They all seem like nice enough people, just not the type Lynn and I would normally socialize with.

  Then there is the work schedule. Each family will be assigned daily work tasks. Sometimes we would be working together, other times separated. The work tasks range from working in the gardens and fields, cutting firewood, hauling water, gathering wild food, hunting, and other things as seen fit by Pastor Ezell. Plus I would also be expected to help with guard duty. All three of us will be working daily. Even Amy. It would be so much better if she would get close to Will! If she doesn’t, we may all become indentured servants to Pastor Ezell and his group.

  “How was it?” Will asks. “Do they have a place for y’all?”

  “They do, though I’m not sure it’s the best thing for Amy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Amy is a good girl, Will. I’d hate for somebody to take advantage of her while I was away working in one of the fields.”

  “I don’t think you would have to worry about that, Mr. Wright. Pastor Ezell wouldn’t have offered it to you if he didn’t think it was safe. Besides, it’s a half mile inside the checkpoint.”

  “Will, Amy is too pretty to be left around a bunch of sex-craved teenage boys. This won’t be good for her.”

  I’m hoping this will draw a protective response from him, yet he remains silent for a few minutes. He steers the old truck onto our driveway.

  “Mr. Wright, I can’t stay here past Saturday.”

  From the side view mirror, I see the ladies getting off the truck and walking toward the cab.

  “We can talk about it later,” I say. “Let’s not frighten the girls.”

  “Okay, Mr. Wright. We can talk later if you want. Regardless if you’re going or not, lets bag one of these deer or hogs tonight. That will give you some much-needed protein.”

  “I agree. I’ll get my rifle.”

  I take the rifle out to the back deck. Will has already set up a target in the back, near the tree line. The girls are inside preparing lunch, and Will and I are alone again.

  “Is that where you saw the deer last night?”

  “Yes, and the hogs too. I estimated about 118 yards from here. How are you with your rifle?”

  �
��It’s been a long time since I’ve shot it. Back then, I was pretty good.”

  “7mm Remington Magnum. That ought to reach out there and tap them. How many have you killed?”

  I snort on the inside. I haven’t actually killed one. It was another one of those hunting things that didn’t work out. I didn’t have the patience or the time.

  To him, I respond, “A couple, though it’s been a few years.”

  He reaches for the rifle. “Do you mind?”

  I hand it to him. The first thing he does is open the bolt, then closes it back. He hefts it to his shoulder, pointing down toward the target and peering through the scope.

  “This scope is really clear.” He pulls the trigger. Snap. He operates the bolt again. “I’ve never shot a rifle this powerful before,” he says. “I bet it does a lot of damage to whatever it hits. Let me load up some rounds for you, then take a shot, and let’s see if the scope is still on.”

  There are only fourteen rounds of ammunition in the box. I hand it to him. He opens the box and loads some rounds, then closing the bolt, he gives it to me.

  “You don’t have a lot of ammo. I hope the scope is still sighted in.” He gives me some earplugs. “We really ought to be using earmuffs, but I don’t have any. These will have to do. Go ahead and take a shot.”

  Sitting in one of the deck chairs, I lean the rifle across the rail. This is going to be embarrassing if I miss. He’s right about the scope. It’s a 3x9x50mm Leupold scope and cost almost as much as the rifle did. Lynn nearly had a stroke when the credit card bill came. The guy at the gun shop in town sighted the thing in using a laser. The magnification is turned up to 9x, and the crosshairs are wobbling on the target. Why couldn’t he have used something bigger? I squeeze the trigger, and the gun jumps, but no sound is made other than the snap of the firing pin. I glance up, a little confused.

  “Sorry, Mr. Wright. You said it had been a while since you’ve shot the rifle, and we only have a few rounds. I needed to see if you were going to jerk before we shoot a live round.”

  That smartass kid set me up! I did jerk the gun. Probably would have missed the whole target. Nonetheless, it pisses me off.