by John Grit
“Actually, Deni is beautiful and every bit a woman,” Nate said, wanting to change the subject as soon as possible.
Sam broke out into a laugh. “Oh? So you have quite a setup here for yourself.”
Nate stood. “There is only one married couple here. The rest of us have a totally platonic relationship.”
Sam swallowed. “I apologize if I misspoke. I meant no disrespect.”
“None taken—this time.”
“I guess I’m a little rough around the edges after living like an animal in the woods for so long. Sorry.”
“Do you want to clean up?” Nate asked, hoping the conversation was over. “We have soap. Be sparing with it though. We’ll run out soon enough as it is.”
“Sure. You have scissors?” Sam pulled on his beard. “I’d like to cut this fuzz ball back.”
“Got a razor, too.”
“I don’t know about shaving. My face is kinda raw after going so long without cleaning. Cutting it back to an eighth of an inch will help. That and soap.”
“Well, come out to the barn and you’ll have privacy for a bath.” When they were outside, Nate pointed at the pump. “Grab that bucket and fill it. There’s a washtub in the barn.”
While Sam took several trips to the pump, bringing water to the tub, Nate got the scissors.
“I’ll try to find some clothes for you,” Nate said. “We’re running low on that also, but there should be pants and a shirt you can use.” He looked down at Sam’s boots. “I’ve got a very old pair of boots that might fit. They’re in bad shape, but they’re better than what you’re wearing.”
Brian watched the barn from a living room window while Nate searched for clothes.
Nate walked by him, heading for the front door, a shirt and pants in his hands. “Where are those old boots I don’t wear anymore?”
“Mr. Neely’s wearing them.” Brian did not divert his eyes from the window. “Dad, why are you giving this guy so much? We will run out of soap and clothes someday, and you’re always giving stuff to people.”
“I’m being selfish.”
Cindy was listening. Both she and Brian said, “What?”
“You two should use your heads,” Nate said. “Brian, do you think the Neelys have been an asset for us? Have they helped us survive? Is having them here worth the food and other things they use up?”
“They’re our friends.”
Nate liked Brian’s answer. “They were strangers like Sam when we took them in. Look at it cold. Forget the fact they’re friends. Forget the fact they are people. Is having them here helping you and me survive or not?”
“Yes,” Brian said. “But they are people and our friends.”
Cindy blushed.
“What is he? An animal?” Nate asked. “And he is a potential friend. So far, I believe he could be an asset to our group. We just have to go slow until we can trust him.”
Brian stopped looking through the window and turned to his father. “Maybe he’s a hard worker and a good shot, but we’re still going to run out of stuff that much sooner if we take him in. And this house is getting crowded.”
“For now, he can stay in the barn,” Nate said. “It’s a lot better than camping in that swamp. It’ll be safer for us that way, too, at least until we can trust him.”
“What do you think?” Brian asked Cindy.
Cindy raised her eyebrows and shrugged. “Don’t ask me. I’m just a guest here, and a kid.”
“If I said that,” Brian said, “Dad would yell at me.”
“Said what?” Cindy asked.
“He means you’re not just a guest here,” Nate said.
“Well,” Cindy said, “ask my father or mother, not me.”
Ben yelled from the back bedroom, “I trust Nate’s instincts and judge of character. Give the guy a chance if he wants to join us.”
The three of them looked at one another and broke out laughing.
Nate said, “I guess that’s one advantage of a small house: You can hear a conversation from any room.”
~~~~
Nate stoked the fire. It reached five feet high. He was forced to step back from the heat.
Closer to the barn, they had a large kettle with ten gallons of hog lard waiting.
Sam threw more oak logs on the flames. “It’ll be a while before we have enough ashes, but we need to shovel some out now, so it can cool before we dump it in that old hog trough.” He swung the ax and split another log.
Deni stood back and watched. “Lye water from ashes? You sure that soap of yours won’t take our skin off?”
“It’s not that bad. Just use less of it than normal,” Sam said. “Also, make sure you rinse it off completely.”
Deni gave him a doubtful look.
Sam wiped his sweating forehead. “Hey, when you guys run out of soap, you’ll be glad to have it. I know what it’s like to go months with only a river and no soap for washing my stinking butt.” He rubbed his whiskered face, the beard now trimmed close. “That bath I took in the barn was worth the trip over here alone.”
Deni smiled. “And now you’re thanking us by talking us into using lye soap.”
“You don’t have to use it,” Nate said.
Sam split another oak log. “She will when the other soap runs out.”
“What about washing clothes?” Deni asked.
“We’ll make it a little stronger for that and for the dishes.” Sam’s eyes lit up. “Just don’t get the bars mixed up.”
Deni rolled her eyes. “Wonderful.”
Caroline watched from a living room window.
Martha handed her a pail. “Why don’t you get us some water and we’ll finish the dishes?”
“I…” Caroline touched a deep scar on her left cheek. “He makes me nervous.”
“Who? Mr. Boonbeck? He seems okay. Besides, Nate and Deni both are out there. And I’ll be in here watching from the kitchen sink.”
She took a timorous step and stopped, swallowed, and walked out the door.
Nate saw her and took three long steps to the pump. “We’ll need the pail when you’re through with it.” He pumped the handle until it was full. “I’ll take it in. Why don’t you take a rest in that chair?” He pointed to a cheap patio chair made of plastic.
Caroline’s eyes were fixated on Sam. Her left hand shook as she tried to cover her worst facial scar.
“Where’s that brave woman I saw the day we met?” Nate asked.
“Brave?” Caroline turned her head to glare at Nate. Her eyes turned to slits.
Nate could not tell if the sun bothered her or if she was angry. “Yes. That’s what I said. And there’s no need to hide those scars.”
She spun around, facing him.
They stood looking at each other.
“All I’ve ever done is try to help,” Nate said. “And all I ask is you do me and those I care about no harm. What do you think I am doing now? My words were not meant to hurt.”
Caroline walked into the house without a word.
Nate brought the pail of water in, set it down by Martha, and then went looking for another pail or bucket.
Chapter 5
Sam yawned and walked out of the barn where he'd spent the night. His worn out boots were still untied, and his T-shirt only half pulled down. He scratched at healing sores on his face and pulled at his shirt.
Nate got up on the Cat and cranked it.
“Hey,” Sam yelled above the Cat’s engine as he ran, “you’re not going to destroy the bridge alone, are you?”
“Tomorrow maybe,” Nate said. “I’m going to clear more land for planting and give us more shooting distance, so we can keep raiders off the house.”
“Need any help?”
“Nah. Go on in and get some breakfast. The women will put you to work, I’m sure.” Nate put the Cat in gear and drove toward the nearest tree line.
Deni met Sam at the door.
He stepped aside. “Where you going?”
“To reli
eve Brian at the OP.” She kept her AR-15 pointed skyward. The carbine had been taken off a man she killed in self-defense many months back.
Sam’s eyebrows knitted. “OP?”
“Observation post,” Deni said.
He nodded. “Oh. Military talk.”
“Yeah. Sorry. I’m used to Nate knowing what I’m talking about, since he was in the Army, too. Everyone else around here knows what an OP is by now, since most have stood watch many times.”
“Didn’t know he was in the Army.”
“Not surprising, since you haven’t been here long.” Deni looked across the field toward the tree under which Brian was standing watch. “I could tell, though, even if he had never told me. Soldiers carry themselves differently.” She smiled to herself. “They walk faster and stand more erect. They also treat others with respect and expect the same back.”
“Did he see any combat?” Sam asked.
“Two wars. He was a Ranger. I rib him about Rangers being overrated, but, to tell the truth, I have always been in awe of super-soldiers, as some call them. Not just Rangers, but all the elite military and all branches, not just Army. Ranger school is a real ass-kicker, they say.” She looked toward Nate. He was pushing a big pine tree down with the Cat. “You can also pick a Special Forces warrior out of a crowd—even a crowd of military members—because you can see it in their eyes.
“What?” Sam asked.
“They don’t quit—ever.” Deni’s eyes grew distant. “And they are confident. There is no swagger or posturing. They have nothing to prove. You don’t wear an Army Ranger Tab, or a Navy SEAL Trident—they call it a Budweiser—or a green beret without earning it.”
“I can tell that you respect them,” Sam said, “but you were a soldier, too.”
Deni flinched, and her eyes changed. Returning to the present, she said, “My father was a Ranger. I was thinking of him, too.”
“Was?”
“He’s gone now,” Deni said. “My mother died years ago.”
“Sorry.” Sam looked straight at her. “I guess I shouldn’t have asked.”
“No problem.” Deni smiled. “I don’t mind thinking about my father, or…the military. They are a special family.”
“I wouldn’t know,” Sam said. “Just a hick car mechanic. Be careful out there. Way things are now, you never know when trouble can come hunting.”
“You bet.” Deni walked away, heading for the tree line and woods.
Sam found Martha folding clothes. Towels and shirts were folded and stacked on the dining table.
“Breakfast is waiting for you,” she said.
“Thanks. I know you’re busy enough around here without cooking for me.” Sam took a plate of eggs and ham off the wood stove where it was being kept warm, and set it on the table between piles of clothes.
“It was no trouble to put extra in the pan.” She smiled. “Besides, Nate cooked it.”
“Where’s your husband?” Sam filled a glass with milk and then sat down to eat. “I was thinking of using the tractor’s power takeoff to pump water from the river and irrigate. It hasn’t rained since I’ve been here, and Nate agrees the crops need watering.”
“Ben’s manning the road OP.” Martha started on another basket of laundry.
“Oh. That’s where trouble is most likely to come from, isn’t it? They can just drive right up here.”
She nodded. “But some have come by river. Brian was shot in the leg by two men who showed up in a canoe. That happened before Nate took us in. Deni helped them stop a gang of cutthroat prison escapees early on, after the plague killed nearly everyone. I don’t know the whole story. He found us starving not long after and gave us food.” Martha looked out the window, watching Nate bull trees down with the Cat. “He saved all of us. Certainly Tommy would not have lasted much longer.” She seemed to shutter and went back to work, her chest deflating as she sighed. “Then Carrie and Caroline showed up needing help.”
“Now me.” Sam held a fork loaded with egg halfway to his mouth. “I’m trying to pull my weight around here. I want to go with Nate when he destroys the bridge. He is hesitant to allow it.”
Martha finished folding another towel. Then she sat at the table to drink water from a glass and rest her back. “He says he’s better off with Deni.” She looked across the table at Sam. “I’m worried. They will be easy targets on that bulldozer.”
“I get the impression he would rather go alone because it’s so dangerous.”
“Yes.” Martha’s hands clasped against her stomach. “I wish they wouldn’t go. And I certainly don’t want Ben to go either.”
“Seems to me I’m the one who should do it.” Sam washed eggs down with a mouthful of milk. “I’m the most expendable person here, being the newest member of this outfit, and I have not yet repaid you guys for taking me in.”
“We don’t feel that way.” Martha gave him an anxious look.
“Let’s put it like this: Nate is the least expendable person here. You’re obviously worried. I know for certain that Brian is. He told me in not so many words.”
“Those two would die for each other in a second.”
“Yeah,” Sam said, “I got that feeling, too.” He took another bite. “Maybe I still have a chance to talk him into letting me do the job for you guys. More than likely, there won’t be a soul between here and the bridge, but I feel like I owe you all. If something does happen, what have I lost? Really? Everyone in my family is dead. Might was well die trying to help people as grow old alone.”
She started to speak but stopped short of uttering a word.
~~~~
“Whoa! Give me a chance to catch my breath.” Sam staggered back from his end of a two-man crosscut saw.
Nate pulled a rag out of his left back pocket and wiped his face.
They had a log chained to the tractor’s front-end loader and lifted to a convenient height for cutting.
Brian laughed. “Dad is working you to death and he’s older.” He stacked another oak log on a pile.
“Brian.” Nate gave him a stern look. “He’s still recovering from overdosing on venison.”
“Oh, he’s just being a boy,” Sam said. “A smart aleck one.”
“I should feel sorry for anyone who has been forced to live on venison. It’s not your fault you’re so weak.” Brian’s eyes were full of mischief.
Sam waved him off. “You’re a good kid. A smartass, but a good kid.”
Nate pulled the saw across, starting a new cut eighteen inches back from its end. Saw wood poured out onto the ground next to where a foot-tall pile had collected. “We’ve got a lot of trees to cut for firewood with winter coming. Let’s get busy.”
“Winter will come and go before we get half the trees you pushed over cut and split.” Sam took his end of the saw and pulled.
Nate pulled the saw back his way. “Winters are bad now for some reason. We need seasoned firewood to stay warm. Might as well cut all we can now. The splitting should wait until the wood’s dry, though.”
Brian interjected. “You guys need to stop talking and start sawing. It’ll take forever at the rate you’re going.”
You know, I think Sam is right,” Nate said, “you are a smartass.”
“A chip off the old block,” Brian said, smiling.
~~~~
A shadow landed on Nate’s face. He opened his eyes. In the dark of 4 AM, someone was standing over Brian, who slept on the floor next to him. He looked around, right hand tightening on his revolver. The form moved away and moonlight lit Caroline’s lower half, her bare feet stepping around and past Nate’s boots where he put them before going to sleep. He watched as she went down the hall and into Brian’s bedroom. He heard whispers between Caroline and Carrie, then silence.
There was no sleep for Nate the rest of the night.
Brian, Deni, Sam, and Nate ate breakfast just after sunrise.
Caroline and Carrie were still in what used to be Brian’s room. There was no sound coming fro
m down the hall, and Nate assumed they were asleep.
“Why don’t you let me take the dozer and destroy that old wood bridge?” Sam’s voice was persistent. “I’ve seen it and know exactly what supports need to be taken out to do the job.”
“Been thinking on it. That’s why I haven’t done it myself yet.” Nate pushed a plate of sliced bread over to Brian. “With first one thing and then the other, I’ve been sidetracked. But I have been thinking on it.”
A forkful of eggs halfway to his mouth, Brian said, “As long as you know you’re not going alone.”
“Sometimes you forget who the father is.” Nate’s voice rose just enough to let Brian know he should be careful.
The fork fell to Brian’s plate. He got up and walked out the door.
Nate spoke before he had gone too far. “Take your shotgun with you and don’t go farther than the barn.”
Brian swiveled on a heel and went back for his shotgun, then ran outside.
Sam pointed at the door. “There’s a damn good reason why I should go and not you.”
Deni’s face showed concern. “Nate…” she started.
“I’ll explain to him that I’m not going alone.” Nate got up from his chair. “If I can talk him into coming back and finishing his breakfast, I’ll tell all of you what I have planned.”
Sam and Deni looked at each other.
“Okay,” Deni said, “we’ll wait.”
Four minutes later, the two walked in.
Brian put his shotgun in a near corner and sat down to finish eating.
Nate stood by the table. “We can make it a little safer by having two people walk down the road just back in the woods on each side to scout ahead and make sure no one is waiting in ambush. They will have to be ahead a-ways, since the dozer can move faster than a person walking can, so it’s possible someone could set up an ambush after the scouts go through. It’ll be a slow process, but safer than just driving down the road.”
“You and I will be the scouts, I presume,” Sam said.
“No, Deni and I will. You will drive.”
Sam’s eyes flashed to Deni. “Why her? I’m a good woodsman and hunter.”
Nate folded his arms and leaned back against a wall. “Yes, I noticed that the day we met. There were signs of it anyone could pick up while tracking you, but you’re not military trained. Deni is. Being a hunter is a good start, but military training goes way beyond that when it comes to surviving a fight with the deadliest killer on earth.”
