by Ted Hill
“Vanessa’s thinking the same thing. We all are. Catherine’s our only shot if the plague is still hanging around out there waiting.”
They packed their stuff away and started up again. Scout led this time. Hunter trailed, and did his best to keep his mind alert. The break revived him enough for the few miles left ahead.
Fifty minutes later, they began riding down a hill toward a broken gulch just as the sun began a quick fade, forcing the boys to play catch-up with their long shadows. Neither of them expected trouble—until a pickup and three motorbikes roared out of the gulch. Clouds of dust billowed from their spinning tires as the newest batch of visitors circled Scout and Hunter in a tight noose and closed off any chance of escape.
Catherine swung the front door open right before Jimmy knocked. He knelt on the porch and wrapped her in his arms. He didn’t understand why everyone made such a big deal, gasping and wincing when she gave out her hugs. She was always gentle with Jimmy, and her hugs transferred a feeling of warmth he often found puzzling. It reminded him of the way his mother used to hold him. He’d been safe in her arms and her love flowed like a regenerative force that supplied strength. The same effect came in the small embrace of Catherine. When she hugged him, Jimmy knew everything would be all right.
“How are you today, Catherine?”
“Fantastic, now that you’re here. Samuel is such a poop. He won’t let me do anything fun. You know how much I like to go outside and say hello to all my friends.”
“I know. That’s why I’m here. May I come inside?”
Her impish smile spread across the tiny landscape of her face. She grasped his hand and hauled him into the living room where Samuel and Ginger were speaking quietly together. Samuel held his leg stretched out on the sofa with his shoe politely hanging off the edge. The bad habit of putting his dirty shoes on the sofa had taken a long year to break.
Ginger blushed and averted her eyes to her lap when she noticed Jimmy. Samuel also looked away, and Jimmy’s instincts spiked with an urgent need to flee. Catherine gave the sleeve of his coat an insistent jerk, but he stood firm. Then she yanked him into motion, guiding him to where Ginger sat, and spun him around. She sat him down with a (not so little-girl) shove. Hands on her hips, she glared at Jimmy. He scooted away from Ginger and patted the seat between them. With a mighty, exasperated sigh, Catherine sat on the other side of Jimmy, forcing him to scoot back toward Ginger to make room. Then she scooted more, forcing Jimmy to scoot more. This process was repeated twice again before Catherine sat back, obviously satisfied.
Jimmy tensed with anxiety as the side of his arm brushed against Ginger. Half the sofa remained unoccupied on the other side of Catherine.
“Can you hear it?” she asked Samuel. “It’s the sound of a crashing hailstorm. Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump. It’s deafening. Are you sure you can’t hear it?”
Samuel offered her a weak grin. Jimmy narrowed his eyes at his best friend, who ducked his head and stared at the floor like a naughty dog.
Then Jimmy realized Ginger’s simple fragrance. Wildflowers growing on a hillside never smelled so sweet. He closed his eyes, wishing he could simply fall back into her.
Catherine giggled and his thoughts scattered like a murder of crows out of a grain field, swirling, trying to find the leader without bumping into each other.
Jimmy pushed his hat back. “Am I missing something?”
“Yes, Jimmy, as a matter of fact, you are,” Catherine said. “You’ve been missing a lot for a very long time. Now, since Samuel is my assigned babysitter, we are going to my room to play with my dolls.” Catherine stood up.
Samuel jumped from the opposite sofa and tore out of the room as if he’d heard the playful tunes of an ice cream truck coming down the street. When he hit the rug in the hallway, it slid under his feet, sending him caroming off the wall with a loud wham. He grabbed his nose, turned, and kept running.
As Catherine trailed more gracefully, Jimmy wondered why this little girl always seemed more grown-up than the rest of them. She paused at the corner. “Do the two of you know what the single greatest concept is in this human existence?”
Catherine giggled and disappeared with the slap of happy feet.
Jimmy swiveled his attention to Ginger to see if she knew what was going on and found himself lost in her brown eyes. His mouth went dry and his palms unfortunately turned slimy. Speech became impossible from a sudden difficulty in breathing, as he struggled to control his knee’s irritating jitter.
Deep within his chest, a loud rhythmic noise sounded from the beating of his heart. Thump, thump, thump.
Ginger laughed softly.
“What’s funny?”
“I finally hear what she’s been going on about. Can you hear it?”
Jimmy listened as hard as he could, but his stupid heartbeat kept disturbing his concentration with its thump, thump, thumping.
He gazed at Ginger. Her smile widened, making dimples in the corners of her cheeks below the rich, earthy-color of her full, round eyes. Her tawny hair framed her beauty, draped in wavy strands. Thump, thump, thump.
She took his calloused hands in her soft ones, leaned over and kissed him. Jimmy closed his eyes. Her moist lips pressed against his and he felt the birth of a universe, galaxies expanding, stars aligning.
After a while they separated an inch or two, and he reopened his eyes. Ginger was still there, still holding his hands, still smiling.
“You know?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said, nodding. “And now you know, too.” She reached up to caress Jimmy’s neck and pulled him to her.
• • •
“Stepmother, why won’t you let me go to the ball?”
“Because you’re lazy and stupid and I hate you. Now clean that fireplace until it sparkles.”
Holding Ginger’s hand, Jimmy paused in stunned silence at the doorway to Catherine’s room. His best friend sat on the floor with a doll in each hand. Catherine was perched on her knees, enthralled by the performance. Samuel continued speaking in multiple, feminine voices.
“This just isn’t fair. Now I will never go to the ball and dance with the prince because of all these stupid chores my wicked stepmother gave me.”
Enter new doll. “Who are you?”
“I’m your fairy godmother. I’ve come to prepare you for the ball so all your dreams can come true.”
“You have? How wonderful! But, I haven’t anything decent to wear.”
“Leave everything to me, dear. All I need is my magic wand and a few of your furry little friends. Now what are the words to that spell?”
Jimmy cleared his throat. “If this is a bad time we can come back later?”
“No!” Samuel said. Two dolls vanished behind his back.
“Yes!” Catherine said, shooting Jimmy a disturbing look of pure malice for someone her age and size. Then she noticed him holding hands with Ginger and started bouncing up and down with excitement. “Hurray! Are you two finally in love?”
Jimmy nodded, his face burning, his heart thumping as he saw Ginger nod, too.
Samuel clambered up with his hands still behind him. “Hey, Jimmy, I want you to know I didn’t say a word.” He motioned his head in Catherine’s direction.
“Yes, yes, you’re perfectly innocent, aren’t you, Samuel?” Catherine leveled her gaze at him and the dolls he was hiding dropped to the floor. She squealed and scooped up her Barbies. One was missing a leg and another, an arm. Affectionately, she placed them on a shelf above her bed. “That mean, old boy didn’t hurt you, did he?”
Samuel appeared overjoyed to be relieved of his dollhouse theater duties. Jimmy intended to mention his performance as often as he could, in front of as many people as possible.
“How much do Ginger and Catherine know about what’s going on?” Jimmy asked Samuel.
“Just that there are some visitors and you wanted to talk to Catherine before she met them.”
Catherine positioned herse
lf in front of Jimmy. “I like visitors.”
“I’m sure you do, Catherine, but I have concerns about our visitors that I wanted to discuss with you.”
“Come on in and have a seat,” Catherine said, tying on a little, yellow apron with frills that appeared out of nowhere. “I’ll pour us some tea.”
Samuel, Ginger and Jimmy looked at one another like they’d just been asked to strip down naked.
“Sit!” Catherine commanded. They plopped on the floor immediately, cross-legged, in a circle.
“One lump or two, Ginger?”
“One, please.”
“Jimmy?”
“I’ll take two.”
“Samuel?”
“None for me thanks. I’m trying to watch my figure.”
Once everyone acquired a teacup, Catherine sat on the bed and looked down at her party guests. “Drink, please, before it gets cold,” she said, urging them on with a wave of her hands.
They lifted their teacups and drank. Samuel made yummy sounds.
“Now, tell me what concerns you about these visitors.”
Jimmy ran a hand under his hat to collect his thoughts before answering. “Everybody’s motivated by something. I don’t know their motivation yet. Maybe they just want to make contact, maybe they want to exchange goods, or maybe they have a large group hidden somewhere outside of Independents waiting for the attack signal.”
He looked for some support from Samuel who daintily lifted his teacup, pinky extended, and indulged in another imaginary sip. Jimmy shook his head.
“I’ll be straight with you, Catherine. You’re special.”
“Thank you.”
“You know what I’m saying. I’m about to turn eighteen and I’m afraid I’m going to die from this stupid plague.”
Sudden tears distorted Jimmy’s vision making it difficult for him to think clearly. He shuddered from the fear surging inside his whole being, fighting its way to the surface. Ginger reached out and caressed his shoulder.
“I think you have the power to save me the way you saved Vanessa and healed Hunter’s arm. I’ve been hoping for a miracle, Catherine, and I believe you’re it.”
He stopped and lowered his head, rubbing his eyes free of tears with his open palms. Ginger gathered him into her arms and as he felt her softness and strength, something new replaced his ever-present fear. He was overcome by grief because Ginger loved him, and he’d waited so long to tell her that he loved her.
Two little hands lifted his face. Jimmy stared into Catherine’s shining blue eyes and was once again reminded of a sunny day.
She nodded slowly at him, “Why do you think I’m here, silly?”
“Oh crap!” Scout squeezed the brakes and a screen of dust billowed from his skidding stop. A truck roared out of the gulch to his right with two kids standing in the bed. Three kids on motorbikes swooped out from his left.
Behind him, Hunter cursed and slid past, losing control and toppled his bike over. Hunter rolled to his feet and within seconds, he raced to his fallen motorbike and started it again. The dirt on the back of his leather jacket was the only evidence of his crash.
The group from the gulch closed in. From the looks on their faces, Scout knew this wasn’t going to be a pleasant exchange.
“What do you want to do?” Hunter asked. His eyes were wide and his chest heaved from an adrenaline surge. Scout wasn’t worried about him; that was the least interesting accident of Hunter’s so far this year.
“They don’t have any guns pointed at us,” Scout said over the rumble of the approaching trouble.
“Yet.” Hunter swiveled his head, first right, then left. “If we have to split, I’ll go north. You go south. We’ll do a quick circle west and meet up back at town. First one to Jimmy wins.”
Scout nodded just as the truck stopped and the two boys in the bed hopped out. The three motorbikes circled behind Scout and Hunter and rolled to a halt. Scout calculated openings and distances, but the group was organized. If he and Hunter decided to bolt someone would be on their tails before they found a path out of the canyon.
“They picked a great place to set up an ambush,” Scout said.
“Yeah, and you led us right into it.”
Scout caught the edge of Hunter’s smirk. Before he could think of a blazing retort, the driver of the truck slipped out and slammed the door shut. The driver was the only black kid in the bunch as he sauntered toward them, twirling a key chain on his finger. He wore a puffy jacket and mirrored sunglasses that reflected the setting sun and momentarily blinded Scout. When the kid got closer, Scout rubbed his eyes. The jacket wasn’t puffy at all. The he was a she, and she was damn fine looking.
The other two were definitely males, flanking her like bodyguards. Everyone appeared in their early teens, acting sullen and tough like they weren’t going to die at eighteen the same as everyone else.
The girl regarded Hunter for a second but then the mirrored lenses focused on Scout. She smiled. Scout smiled back.
“Sparkle,” Hunter said.
Scout scowled at him, realizing he was right, but man, her smile was beautiful. Scout wished he could see her eyes.
She unzipped her jacket like the late afternoon was suddenly warm. “What’s up, guys? Out taking a little cruise, huh?”
“Something like that,” Hunter said. “Just passing through, really. Are you all from that town nearby?”
“No. Is there a town nearby?”
“So we’ve heard,” Scout said. “But we’re not sure where it is. Where’re you guys from?”
She hesitated. “Iowa.”
“Iowa, huh,” Hunter said. “Go Hawkeyes, right?”
She smirked in response, probably because she was way ahead of Hunter’s little trap. “So they tell me, but I’m originally from St. Louis.”
“So am I,” Scout said with genuine surprise. “Where was your hood?”
She removed her sunglasses and Scout’s pace quickened. He recognized her. He actually knew her from somewhere else at another time.
“JVL,” she said.
“What’s JVL?” Hunter asked.
“Jeff-Vander-Lou,” Scout replied. “It’s where I lived, too.”
The girl stepped up with her attention grafted to Scout. “What school did you go to?”
“Dunbar.”
“Me, too. What grade would you be in?”
“Ninth. You?”
“Same. What’s your name?”
“Scout,” he said and shook his head. “I mean David Thompson.”
“Davey! Little Davey Thompson!” She smiled real wide and Scout was captivated, until he heard Hunter laughing beside him.
“What? I hit a growth spurt when I turned twelve.”
“I’ll say,” the girl replied.
Scout smiled back at her with appreciation as her name popped into his head. “Jolanda Lewis, I can’t believe it!”
“Could you turn off those bikes so we can talk without screaming at each other?” she asked.
Scout cut his engine, put the kickstand down, hopped off and walked over to her. He spread his arms and she did the same. He gave her a big hug. “Damn, Jolanda, I’m not the only one that hit a growth spurt.”
She patted his cheek when he let her go. The boys behind her were tapping each other’s shoulders and laughing. “Call me Raven, please.” She turned her head around and spoke to her friends through clenched teeth. “My name is Raven.”
The boys straightened up and muffled their laughter by covering their mouths with their hands, but their bodies convulsed as they fought back the chuckles.
She sighed when she turned back. “There goes one of my best-kept secrets.”
Hunter sat on his bike with the engine off. “Don’t worry, Raven, I’ll make sure Little Davey pays for it.”
“Shut it,” Scout said. Hunter smiled and motioned for Scout to continue.
Scout nodded. “So what’s really up? And don’t tell me you’re out here picking flowers. Nebraska
isn’t the best choice for a picnic.”
One of the bodyguards stepped up. “Uh, Raven?”
“It’s all right,” she said over her shoulder. “I got it.” She stared at Scout before giving her answer. “Okay, David. You’re from that town west of here, right?”
“Yeah, we call it Independents.”
“Cute. So I guess you’ve already met Chase?”
“He thinks Hunter and I are farmers.”
“Sure he does. Chase isn’t stupid.”
“So what do you want?” Hunter asked.
“All your valuables. This is a robbery, your money or your life.”
Her hand grazed Scout’s arm as she walked up to Hunter’s front wheel. Scout enjoyed the view from behind. Jolanda had grown up and filled out very, very well.
“Hunter, is it? We’re looking to connect with other survivors and see how we can help each other.”
“So why didn’t you drive in together? Why send in three while the rest of you hide out in the canyons?”
“It’s called recon. We didn’t want to scare the town, and if something happened when the small group went in then the rest of us could make a rescue attempt.”
“All right,” Scout said. “Let’s go to town and everyone can eat a home-cooked meal and sleep in a warm bed tonight. Jimmy and Chase can figure things out from there.”
“Who is Jimmy?”
“He’s the man in charge. Well, him and Vanessa.”
“V! Your sister made it through.”
“Yeah, how do you think I made it? What about Latasha?”
Jolanda bowed her head, scuffing a toe in the dust. She zipped up her coat from a chill that probably didn’t relate to the weather.
“Sorry,” Scout said.
Jolanda continued to inspect the ground. “She took care of me until she turned eighteen. Now I just got the people I hang with. We take care of each other, know what I’m saying?”
“I hear you. It’s the same way for us back in town.”
Scout caught Hunter’s eyes as the last drop of daylight fell into night. The cloudy sky trapped all possibilities of starlight from the heavens. The temperature would soon be dropping as well, making the ride home almost unbearable.
