“Ok. I’ll trust you,” Jesse said with a sigh.
“These guys will show you in and get you warmed up,” Frank said breaking away from Jesse’s side and let them pass.
Frank motioned to Tommy. “Let me see your radio.”
Tommy hand the radio to him, never taking his sight off the newcomers.
Frank took the radio. “Bravo?”
“Bravo here.”
“You boys doing ok out there?”
“Yeah we’re coming up on the last hill now. Be there in two minutes. You guys ok,” Jim asked with a huff.
“We’re good. I don’t think we’ll have any trouble from these people,” Frank said.
“Good. See you in a minute,” Jim sounded exhausted.
“Tommy, go give them a hand, would you,” Frank asked.
“Yeah, sure,” Tommy said. He turned around and started to jog back down the hill.
Frank went inside to talk with his new guests. He went into the kitchen where he found them sitting at the kitchen table. Karen had draped blankets over them and Natalie was heating up some stew for them. He sat down next to Jesse and looked at the ladies.
“So, I’m Frank.” He began pointing at everyone around the room introducing every one. “We have a few unaccounted for outside cleaning dinner.”
Jesse looked up after adjusting his blanket, still shivering. He gestured over to the woman next to him. “This is my wife Joan, her sister Kathy, and my son Toby.”
Frank waved his hand slightly. “Nice to meet you all. You’re all welcome here. Food is a bit scarce this season but you can make yourselves at home. Our only rule is that you work for what you eat. As long as you can follow that rule, you can stay as long as you like. I think we can give you a pass for today though.”
Their eyes brightened.
“Really!? We can stay,” Kathy asked, tears already rolling down her cheeks.
“Of course. We won’t turn someone away. It will be tight but you seem like a nice bunch. We won’t send you back out there,” Anna said.
“What she said,” Frank said with a chuckle. “I don’t see a vehicle out there. How did you get all the way out here?”
“Our van broke down yesterday. We’ve been on foot ever since,” Jesse said.
“Jesus… Good thing you found us then. Get some soup in you and we’ll get you in a bunk so you can get some rest,” Steve said.
Jim and Tommy came into house. Frank could hear Jim call out to him while he was heading to the kitchen.
“Frank, can you give us a hand with the…” He came into the kitchen and immediately looked like he saw a ghost. His face paled whiter than death. “Kathy!? Jesse!?”
Both of their heads jerked up as if they had been shot. “Jimmy!?”
Kathy bolted across the room and the two embraced and kissed as if they both came back from the dead.
“I thought you were dead…” Jim said, tears streaming.
“I thought the same about you…” Kathy said through sobs.
Frank looked at Jesse. “Don’t you just love happy endings?”
Anna leaned in. “Like it was meant to be.”
“I can’t believe he is alive. We were hoping but…” Jesse said, the amazement still on his face.
Jesse and Joan got up and started a group hug with Jim and Kathy. They all cried as they embraced each other.
Frank got up and looked at Jim. Their eyes met. “More reasons to fight for.”
Anna looked at him puzzled.
“I’ll explain later,” Frank said. “Why don’t we give them a minute?”
Everyone started to leave the room. Frank was the last one out.
“Take all the time you need,” he said as he shut the door.
Chapter 14
Overcrowded
A week had passed since the new arrivals had joined the group and all seemed well. Isabelle and Toby played in the snow while Steve, Anna and Frank sat on the porch watching, making sure they were safe. They were discussing issues that were showing up.
“We don’t have enough food to feed everyone. Also, this is a big house but it’s severely cramped, even with the night watches. There is not enough room,” Steve said, going over a grocery list.
“I know. Not much choice for now. We can scout out something bigger. I also think we need to branch out on our hunting. I’m going to take Jim and Tommy with me to bait some areas a few miles down the road,” Frank said.
“There is always the semi-trailer. Some of us can sleep out there. It will be cold but we can pile on the blankets. Kim and I can go out there,” Steve said.
“I don’t think that should be an option. You can’t secure the doors from the inside. We need to clean out the basement and throw away whatever is down there. What do you think, Frank,” Anna asked then took a sip of her hot coffee.
Frank didn’t answer.
“Frank? What’s wrong,” Anna asked, sitting her coffee down.
Frank’s eyes gazed at the small wooded area by where the kids played. Frank thought he saw something small, possibly moving. Frank suddenly jumped off the porch, running toward the kids.
“What the hell,” Steve yelled as they chased after him.
Frank was nearly too late. A large feral dog leaped out of the brush just as Frank passed the kids. Frank leaped and met the dog in midair, tackling the canine just next to the kids. The dog began to bite his right arm, jerking and tearing into his flesh.
“Frank!” Steve and Anna screamed.
“Stay away,” Frank yelled. “Get the kids away!”
They already had them in their arms, rushing them back to the house.
The dog still had Frank’s arm in its mouth, straddling him, still jerking. Frank wrapped his legs around the dog, shifting his weight with all his might and forced the dog on its side. He managed to get on top of the canine. Leaving his arm in its mouth, he forced its head into the ground. With his left hand he took out his knife and thrust it into the side of the dog’s neck. He pulled on the knife, letting it slice through the canine’s fleshy throat. The dog twitched and bucked, but Frank still had its head pinned. The dog’s racing heart forced all the blood it could out through the wound Frank had made. Soon, the jaw of the animal slacked off and released Frank’s mangled arm. Everyone came rushing out of the house and from around the back, weapons drawn. Everyone saw Frank standing over the canine. He reached down to the dog, looking it over for bites or other wounds. He found none. He turned and started walking toward the group. As he walked, he looked over his wounds. He flexed and squeezed his hand, making sure there was no tendon or muscle damage. It hurt like hell but it looked like everything functioned like it should, except the blood dripping from his arm.
“Oh my God, Frank… Your arm,” Anna said, fearing that he was infected. She was in tears.
“I think I’m ok. He died of blood loss. Tommy, keep an eye on it. Need to see if it turns or not,” Frank said.
Karen came out carrying a medical kit. “Give me that arm, Frank.”
Frank stretched out his arm, not really paying attention to her. The terror on everyone’s faces, especially Anna’s was occupying his mind. Karen poured rubbing alcohol into his wounds.
“MOTHER FU…ahh,” Frank quickly regained his composure, seeing Isabelle in Anna’s arms. “Warn me next time, will you!?”
Karen didn’t hear a word. She was too preoccupied with cleaning the wounds, making sure the arteries and veins were intact.
“Frank…What..?” Jesse said, confused at what occurred.
Steve told everyone what happened. They all looked at Frank with admiration and amazement. Karen was still looking over his arm.
“Holy shit, Frank. I knew you had brass balls but that is something else…” Jim said.
“Thank you so much,” Joan said, holding Toby tightly, still crying.
Frank looked at Isabelle, she was still shaking in Anna’s arms. The girl was staring at Frank’s arm. “You ok, sweetie?”
“
Uh huh. You’re hurt,” she said, tears running down her cheeks. Anna rubbed her back.
“I’m ok honey. Don’t worry about me. Miss Karen will fix me right up,” Frank said.
“Let’s take them inside,” Anna said. She held her hand to Frank’s cheek. “Thank you.”
“The dog is still dead, Frank,” Tommy yelled.
“Just keep an eye on it for a while longer. We don’t know how the infection spreads in a canine.” He looked at Steve after the last of the group was inside.
He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Karen, Steve, keep an eye on me as well. We don’t know what that thing has been eating…”
Karen looked up at him. “I’ll start praying…”
An hour later, Steve came in to the kitchen and sat next to Frank. Anna was still suturing up Franks wounds.
“I think it’s safe to say that you’re in the free and clear. I don’t see any signs of infection from the dog or you. There was no blood shot eyes or a foaming, bile filled mouth. It look pretty malnourished. My guess is that it was a dog from one of the farms around the area that was starving. That and it’s not up and trying to eat anyone. Pretty sure if you were infected, you would know by now,” Steve said.
“Good. One thing less to worry about,” Frank said with a sigh.
“We were lucky. Really lucky that you were there Frank,” Jesse said
“That’s funny. I think that every day,” Anna said as she started on the next suture. “How is this feeling? Need more Novocain?”
“No, I’m good. You can keep going,” Frank said, looking over Anna’s handy work. “These look pretty good.”
“The scars are going to be bad but no permanent damage,” Karen said.
“Scars huh? Hey Anna. Do you think scars are sexy,” Frank asked with a smile.
“Definitely. Now, stop kidding around or the scars are going to look much worse,” she said. Everyone around the table started laughing.
That night, Frank woke to Isabelle calling them from the side of the bed. Anna and Frank leaned up to her.
“What’s wrong sweetie,” Frank asked, rubbing sleep from his eyes.
“I had a bad dream. Can I sleep with you, Daddy?”
Frank thought his heart stopped. He looked at Anna. “What did she call me?”
“She called you Daddy,” Anna said, worrying about how Frank would react.
Frank felt like he smiled from ear to ear. “Of course you can sleep with us. Climb up here.”
He reached over and held out his hand for her. She grabbed his hand and started climbing up the bed. She nestled in between the two, resting her head on Frank’s shoulder. Anna leaned over, sandwiching the girl in between them and stroked her hair until she fell asleep.
“Are you ok with that, Frank,” Anna whispered, hoping for the answer she wanted to hear.
Frank looked at her. She was staring at him with her beautiful chestnut eyes that were lit up in the moon light.
“How could I not be?” He put his hand on Isabelle’s. “She’s as close to a daughter as anyone could be. I love you both.”
“I love you too, Frank,” she said as she closed her eyes.
The next morning, Frank and Steve we going over the shopping list for their trip into town.
“I think we need to go to the auto store. Jim told me yesterday that the van and JERRV both could use an oil change. Think we’re about 3000 miles overdue on both. I think there was one near the grocery store,” Steve said.
Frank wasn’t paying attention. His mind had drifted to last night.
Steve reached over and snapped his fingers in front of Frank’s face.
“You doing ok,” Steve asked.
“What? Yeah. Oil changes. We will fit it into the trip,” Frank said.
“What’s up Frank? I’ve never seen you drift off like this before. That stupid smile on your face is creeping me out,” Steve said.
“Isabelle started calling me Dad,” Frank confessed.
“Whoa! That’s a bombshell. How is that sitting with you?”
“I couldn’t be happier. I just hope I’m up for the job,” Frank said.
“You’ll do fine. Just make time for her. I know as busy as we are that time can be a difficult thing to come by.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Frank said, feeling a bit more confident about his situation.
“I think you’ll be a great dad, Frank. Now, back to business. What else do we need?”
“Um… I think this is it. We just need a roster of who is going,” Frank said.
An hour later, the group was outside for a meeting.
“We need a roster of who will go into town today for supplies. Jim, we need stuff from the auto store so I guess you get volunteered,” Frank announced.
“Will do,” Jim said without hesitation.
“I can go,” Tommy and Jesse said in unison.
“Me too,” Will said.
“You can go ahead and count me in too,” Steve looked at Frank.
“I think that’s enough people for now. Jim and I will go to the auto parts store. Tommy, you’ll lead the second group to the grocery store. Fair enough?”
“You got it, boss,” Tommy replied.
“Good. Grab your gear. We leave in 15 minutes,” Frank announced.
Fifteen minutes had past and the outgoing group was sitting by the JERRV with their packs and weapons. Frank walked up to Jesse, who looked a bit confused about his rifle.
“Need a hand,” Frank asked.
“What? Yeah. Never really used a gun before. Never needed too,” Jesse said, embarrassed by his ignorance.
“Don’t worry about it.” He took the AR15 from Jesse. “Watch closely.”
Frank began pointing at parts of the rifle. “This is your standard civilian version of the M4, the AR15. It is a semi-auto rifle, which means you pull the trigger once and you get one round. Insert your magazine. After it is in, give it a smack to make sure it’s seated properly. Pull back on the charging handle. Watch through this port here and make sure when you release the charging handle that a round goes into the chamber. Then, make sure that the safety switch here is on safe. The greatest thing about this rifle is that the safety switch is that it is right next to your thumb.”
Frank raise the weapon up to his shoulder, ready to fire. “When you are ready to fire, use your thumb to switch the safety off and you are ready to go. Here, you try.”
Frank released the magazine and ejected the chambered round then handed the weapon and magazine to Jesse. Jesse replicated the actions nearly perfectly.
“Very good. We’ll do some target practice later. Always remember, never point your weapon at anyone you don’t want dead. We call this flagging. Always keep the weapon pointed towards the ground, on safe, and your finger off the trigger until you are ready for action. Listen to what Tommy says and you’ll be fine,” Frank said giving Jesse an encouraging slap on his shoulder.
“Thanks Frank,” Jesse said as he started to get into the truck.
Frank walked over to the van. Jim was waiting for him.
“Think he’ll be ok,” Jim asked.
“I hope so,” Frank replied as he got into the van.
Tommy’s group arrived at the grocery store. As they entered he began to give out orders.
“Jesse, you’re with me. Will, you’re with Steve. Let’s make this quick. Remember, keep your eyes peeled. We don’t want another ‘canned chicken’ incident,” Tommy said.
“Canned chicken?” Jesse asked.
“I’ll explain later,” Steve said as they parted ways to fill the list they had.
Frank and Jim walked into the auto part store.
“Ok, Jim. What do we need?” Frank said.
“Need the oil and oil filters. Hopefully they will have one that fits the JERRV. If not, changing the oil will be better than nothing. This may take me a while,” he said as he grabbed a wrench set and sat it on the counter.
Tommy was rummaging through the shelves, throwing t
hings into the cart. Every few seconds, looking up and down the aisle he and Jesse were in.
“So, how do you and Jim know each other?” Tommy asked, making small talk.
“Oh, we’ve been best friends for a long time. We grew up together,” Jesse said.
“That’s pretty cool. Even ended up at the same safe house together. Funny how things turn out for the best,” Tommy said.
Steve and Will were a few aisles over. He still hadn’t talked to Will about Kim. This was the best chance he had to have a private conversation with him.
“Son,” Steve asked making sure he had his attention.
“Yeah dad,” he replied while checking the aisle for the next item on his list.
“Frank told me that you know about Kim and me…” Steve confessed, nervous about how the conversation would play out.
“Ok? What about it,” Will replied, nonchalantly.
“I wanted to make sure that you were ok with it, before Kim and I went anywhere,” Steve said, doubting that this was going to end well.
“Dad, like I told Frank, Kim is great. I think you’ll finally be happy with her. I’m happy for you, dad. Go anywhere you want to go with it. Just don’t do it in front of me. It’s embarrassing,” Will said.
Steve chuckled. “I love you, son,”
“What did I say about the embarrassing stuff,” Will laughed.
Jim was rummaging through the shelves, unable to find what he was looking for.
“I don’t think they have anything that will fit the JERRV…” Jim said with a huff.
“Shit. Let’s get what we have and get out. Got the oil,” Frank asked from the front of the store.
“Got it,” he grabbed the wrench set from the desk as he walked by.
“Good. Let’s head back,” Frank said as he took out his radio and clicked the mic twice.
“Bravo here,” Tommy answered.
“How are we doing, Bravo?”
“We’re good. Loading everything up now,” Tommy replied.
Life In Death (Book 1): Surviving Death (The Struggle) Page 10
