Scott squeezed off several rounds at the second attacker that had flanked JJ. He watched in almost disbelief as the back of JJ’s head flew away. His son-in-law fell on his back, quivering on the street. “NO!!!” The scream distracted him. He saw Jimmy get up from behind the barricade and begin to run toward his fallen father. Sherry yelled after him and managed to grab his arm. The young man was stronger and broke free. Sherry managed to fall after him and grab him by the waist as he started again. Jimmy tripped and fell. Clay, who had just lain Leesha down saw the commotion and grabbed Jimmy around the neck as he started to rise. Jimmy screamed at Clay to let him go. His dad needed help. Clay dragged the kicking young man behind the barricade. He leaned his mouth close to Jimmy’s ear but spoke loud enough for all to hear. “He’s gone, son. We can’t do anything for him now. We have to get out of here. You understand?” Jimmy continued to struggle until Clay shook him. “You understand?” Clay asked again. Jimmy wiped the tears from his eyes and nodded.
Scott fired a couple more rounds from his M-16 at the attackers. They seemed reluctant to approach the barricade. “Everyone, grab your packs and let’s get the hell out of here!”
“I need you to help me with Leesha.” Clay told Jimmy. They carried her like he and JJ had. The group ran across the bridge and into the trees on the other side. Scott took the rear and ensured the attackers didn’t follow.
Once they were out of Seneca, Scott assumed the lead. He led them south, into the hills, for another hour before he let them stop. They found a secluded spot in the low hills south of the river and made camp.
Clay and Jimmy sat Leesha down. She had not regained consciousness. “Do you think you can do anything for her?” He asked Lucy.
“I don’t know, Mr. Tomin. It looks like she has a concussion. I don’t know when she’ll wake up. All I can do is clean her cut and put in some stitches.”
Clay nodded, and Lucy retrieved the emergency first aid kit from one of the survival packs. “Man, you must be exhausted.” Scott said to Clay.
“Yeah.” The big man said. “I would kill someone for a glass of water.” He frowned to himself. That expression had lost its humor over the last couple of weeks.
“We passed a pond not too far back.” Scott said. “Guess we need to go get some water and bring it back.” He looked a little puzzled for a second. “Anyone got anything to carry water in, in their pack?” No one did. “Shit” Scott cursed. “How the hell did I not think of that?” He took a couple of deep breaths and calmed himself. He needed to think. “Ok, the first thing we need to do is go through and see what all we have in our packs. Hopefully we didn’t forget anything else.”
The group spent the next hour going through their meager belongings. Their supplies disappointed Scott. He had six rounds left for his M-16. Clay had fifteen left for the thirty-thirty. They had the three-oh-eight pistol with a box of ammo and the pellet gun. When divided out, they had six packaged meals a piece and some canned chili. They had their camp stove with ten of the little fuel pellets. The only water container they found was a sixteen ounce sports bottle that had been in the original pack from Mr. Perkins. Scott didn’t know where the hell the water filter had gone. They couldn’t find any of the iodine pills that had come in the pack. Somewhere in the confusion and excitement of leaving Seneca, the group had lost JJ’s pack. Scott thought it was probably lying next to the barricade, but he wasn’t going to go back and get it. Someone at Seneca had probably already found it. “Goddammit!” Scott mumbled to himself.
“All right, we don’t have anything to carry water in except for this shitty little bottle. We’re going to repack and move everything down by the pond tonight. Everyone clear?” Scott said.
“Wait a minute.” Clay said. “Leesha’s waking up!”
The young woman moaned and raised her head. “My God, why do I have such a headache? What happened?” She asked. Clay smiled down at her.
“Ok, Clay, you and Lucy stay here with her. The rest of us will move the camp. You can fill her in on what she missed. Hopefully she’ll be able to walk by the time we get done. We’ll come back and help you move her if she can’t.”
As dark settled over northern Illinois, Scott walked up to Jimmy, who sat alone by the pond. Scott sat next to his grandson. He saw that Jimmy had been crying. Everyone was going to miss Jan. He and Sherry may have drifted apart, but he had always been a devoted dad and a good son-in-law. Now that the business of setting up camp was over, idle time led to daunting reflection of the day’s events. Reflections that revealed how big of a hole had been left in their lives. When the adrenaline of the escape calmed, a tidal wave of despair rushed in to fill the void. Scott didn’t blame the boy. Lucy and Sherry had been crying and talking ever since the camp was set. Hell, he felt like crying too. They were homeless again, and the world had turned into a dangerous place. He had to be strong and figure something out for the group.
After sitting in silence and looking out over the calm waters of the small pond for several minutes, Scott turned to James. “You know, I remember when your mother brought your dad home to meet us for the first time. I opened the door and thought to myself, ‘So this is the skinny kid that thinks he’s good enough for my daughter?’ I gotta admit, I didn’t like your dad much at first. I guess that’s the way of the world. Father’s never really like the men that take their daughter’s away.
“As the years passed, I guess you could say that I built a tolerance for your dad. He seemed to make your mom happy, and I guess that’s what really counts. Anyway, you want to know when I first really started to like your dad?” Scott looked over at Jimmy. He made no response to Scott’s question.
“The first time that I really started to like your dad was shortly after you were born. You were our first grandbaby, and we were oh so proud of you. I had started to warm to Jan watching him play with you. I guess you were about five months old when you came down with a really bad cough and fever. We didn’t know what was wrong with you for a while. Your little lungs started to fail. It turned out you had pneumonia. Anyway, you were in the hospital for over a week.
“Your dad never left the hospital the whole time. He did everything he could to get in there and be with you. He was so scared that something was going to happen and he wouldn’t be there to fix it. Not like he could really do anything, but he wanted to be there. Looking back on it, it was funny the way he would rush in there and the nurses would rush him right back out. The very next opportunity he got, he was right back in there. I bet he didn’t sleep for four days. Anyway, I figured that a man who loved something that was so precious to me couldn’t be all that bad of a fella.”
Jimmy looked at his grandfather. Tears streamed down his face. He leaned into Scott and hugged him. “I miss him so much, grandpa!” Jimmy sobbed into Scott’s shirt. “I can’t believe he is gone. I can’t believe the last thing I said to him was so stupid. Why didn’t I tell him how much I loved him? Why didn’t I…” Jimmy's voice broke but the sobbing continued. Scott held him until he quieted.
“Don’t worry about the last thing you said to him, son. Your dad knew how much you loved him, just like you know how much he loved you.” Scott pushed Jimmy away so that he could look at him. “Hush now, son. It’ll all be all right. You hear me? Now I know that you’ve been down here by yourself for a few hours, and sometimes a man needs that. But you’ve got to be there for your mom and sister as well. You’re the man of the family now. They’re back at camp crying and missing their husband and father. You need to be with them, help them through it.”
Jimmy and shook his head. “I can’t help them. I can’t even help myself. I don’t know what to do.”
“That’s ok, son. You don’t always have to know what to do. You just have to be there. I know it would do your mom a lot of good if you would talk to her. Now, can you go be there for them?”
Jimmy reached over and hugged his grandfather again before getting up to go. Scott watched the boy, who was coming into manhood in such
a turbulent way, walk back to camp. Scott turned and looked out over the pond. He glanced up at the first stars starting to peek through the veil of night. It was his turn to be alone for a minute. He needed to think about where they would go, how far they could get on the supplies they had, and how to find new supplies. Deep in thought, he didn’t hear Clay approach until the man sat next to him.
“How’s Leesha doing?” Scott asked.
“She’s ok. She took JJ’s death pretty hard, especially knowing that he died helping us escape. She’s pretty tired, so she turned in for the night.”
“I didn’t think you were supposed to let people with concussions sleep.”
“Technically, I don’t think you are. I read up on it once when my nephew got one. You’re supposed to keep them awake for a day or so to make sure they don’t have any sort of brain damage or swelling. The thing is, if they do pass out or something, you’re supposed to get them to a hospital where they can do surgery or relieve the pressure or something. Let’s face it, Scott, if something happens to her now, there’s exactly shit we can do about it. Who knows, maybe the sleep will help her. All I can do is pray that she’ll wake up tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow…” Scott echoed.
“Yeah. You got a plan?” Clay asked.
“Well, the first thing I’m hoping is that Leesha will be up and moving. I’m also hoping that we don’t all get sick from drinking the untreated pond water. We really have to figure out something to do with the water, because we’ll all eventually get sick if we don’t. We only have about seven days of food, and that’s if we just eat one of those meals a day. That’s gonna be tough. I just don’t know, buddy. I just don’t know.”
“We gonna keep on pushing towards your brother’s place?”
“Unless you have a better idea. It’s a long walk. There have to be other towns between here and there that have their shit together. Maybe we’ll come across one of them and they’ll let us in.”
“Sounds as good as anything else. How long do you think it’ll take to get there?”
“If figure that if we can make twenty miles a day, which may be optimistic, we can make it in under a month.”
Clay grunted and shook his head. “We’re going to need some more stuff to make that kind of a trip. I think we need to head back to the road and see if we can scavenge some supplies from some of those houses we passed by. They could at least have something to carry water in or to cook in.”
“You think we can do that without running into anyone else? The last thing I want is another shootout.”
“I think we can if we’re careful. You know, maybe watch the place for a couple hours before hand and cover each other going in. We should be ok.”
Scott nodded and stood up. “Well, Clay, I’m beat. I know you have to be as well. We better get some sleep if we can. As long as you’re making a list of things we need to gather from abandoned houses, add some better bedding to it. We’re going to need something better than a couple of blankets and a sleeping bag.”
Chapter 18
The afternoon heat pressed down on central Tennessee as spring tried to establish itself. Will looked up as he approached the house from behind the back yard. He passed by the grave they had dug for Sarah and the old couple the day after she had died. One week had passed since his dad had died. Sarah had died four days ago. Despite the tragedies of the week, everyone seemed to be doing better after just a few days. The pain of those losses hurt and would for some time, but the constant struggle for survival seemed to expedite the healing process. Either that or it just helped repress the pain, allowing it to fester and return at later date. Right now, they had no guarantees there would be a later date.
Living in the house was a little better now. They had been low on food, everyone giving up their shares to help strengthen Chuck and Kerry as they battled the illness that had killed Sarah. They were down to four days of supplies left when Joey had killed the old doe yesterday. Stupid thing had just walked up to the back yard like a furry blessing from God, manna with hooves. That kill led Will to his current task, cutting firewood from a dead tree in the woods behind the property to replenish what Joey had used to preserve as much meat as possible, smoking it into jerky. Will, George, and Barry gathered wood. Betty and Pam helped Joey cut up and smoke the meat, while Jenny cared for her mother.
Will set the firewood on the back porch where Joey had built his smoker. The small charcoal grill they had found at their new home hadn’t been up to the task of smoking and drying the meat quickly. Joey had taken the grate from the grill and the one he found inside the oven, fastened them to a small frame made out of pieces of wooden lawn furniture they had found, and covered the whole thing with scrap plywood scavenged from an abandoned doghouse behind the garden. He cut the legs off of the grill and used it as a base to keep coals in the smoker. He hung the thin strips over the rungs of the grates, filling it with as much as he could. He had completed several batches already.
Will stretched. Hauling three armfuls of wood for a hundred and fifty yards had worn out his lower back. He needed a break. He looked over at the ATV’s. Maybe they should have used them to get the wood, but they didn’t to save the gas in case they needed to move on. “I’m going in to check on Jen. You need anything?” He asked Joey.
“No thanks man. I’m just about done.”
“Good. Just let me know if you do.”
Will walked into the kitchen. The ladies tended the huge pots of stew they had made out of the remaining deer. “How’s everyone?” Will asked as he walked into the living room.
Jenny knelt down by the mattress on the floor washing her mother’s forehead with a damp cloth. Chuck sat on the couch, watching his daughter work and worrying over his wife. “I’m doing much better.” Chuck answered. “That extra food has really helped. I’ve still got a little cough, but my fever’s broken.”
“Mom’s still unconscious.” Jenny said.
“How’s her breathing?” Will asked.
Chuck shook his head. “It’s bad, son. She sounds like she’s breathing through a garden hose filled with water.” A tear rolled down his cheek as he looked at his wife.
Will felt the depression hanging heavy in the room. They knew Kerry was dying. It was just a matter of time. “Is there anything I can get you?” He asked Jenny.
“Some antibiotics would be lovely.” Jenny said.
Will ignored the jab. Maybe he had been wrong about everyone moving on and getting a little better. Sure, things had them preoccupied, but maybe that was just a thin veil for the anger, despair, and sadness everyone felt. Jenny had been bitchy ever since the night that Sarah died. Part of it was exhaustion she felt from watching over her parents twenty –four hours a day. “I’m going to be in here helping the ladies clean up so they can put dinner on, in case you need anything” He said.
That evening, the women served the stew with a can of vegies they had found in the back of the pantry. Betty had done most of the cooking. Will could tell that she was trying to keep busy and keep her mind off of his father. She had been doing things like that lately, picking up after people, making everyone’s bed or pallet, cutting up the deer, anything to distract herself. He looked around and guessed the house looked better now than it had when the elderly couple had lived in it.
All of the family, with the exception of Jenny and Kerry, ate around the table in the kitchen. Will took her a bowl of stew and some broth for Kerry. He sat down next to her and tried to comfort her. He tried to make his words sound reassuring, telling her that Kerry could still pull through. His words rang hollow even to himself.
The next morning, Will woke to the sound of crying. He had fallen asleep on the couch. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and saw the sky beginning to lighten outside the window. Jenny and Chuck sat on the floor next to Kerry. Jenny leaned over her mother’s chest and cried. Chuck had his arm around Jenny, whispering something to her. Will didn’t need to ask how Kerry was. He made his way across the room and s
at down next to Jenny. There was nothing to do. Another helpless situation that he couldn’t fix. Jenny buried her head into his chest. Will hugged her for a moment until he saw Chuck, tears streaming down his face, looking down at his newly departed wife. Will reached over and brought Chuck into his embrace as well.
After a few moments, Will whispered to Chuck. “We need to go wake Joey.” Chuck nodded and rose to his feet. Will held Jenny as Chuck walked down the hall to where Joey had made his cot in the spare bedroom. When Joey and Chuck returned, Joey ran over to sit beside his sister. He reached out and touched his mother’s forehead, letting his fingers linger as he ran them over her face. No tears came from Joey, just a distant, disbelieving look. Will backed out of the room as Chuck sat down to grieve with his children.
Will woke George with a light shake on the shoulder. “What’s going on, buddy?” George asked as he sat up and yawned. “What time is it?”
Will didn’t have the words for lengthy explanations. He looked at George and shook his head. “We need to go did another grave.”
“Kerry? Aw, shit.” George said as he ran his hands through his disheveled hair. ”Man, I’m sorry. Is Jenny…”
“She’ll be ok.” Will said. “I’ll go wake your mom and dad.”
Two hours later Will handed George the shovel as he climbed out of the shallow grave. The three men took turns digging so no one would get too exhausted. Besides, they only had the one shovel. “Three of our folks in a little over a week. It’s a lot to take.” Barry said.
“Not to mention Sarah’s folks.” Will said.
Fifty Falling Stars Page 29
