Anna helped him get his shirt and gear back on. Tommy picked up Frank’s night vision goggles and saw that the casing was cracked. He held them up to his eyes to check and see if they were functional. They weren’t.
“Frank, your NVGs are trashed,” he said then threw them aside.
“Shit happens…’ Frank groaned.
After he was dressed, they started to walk out of the barn. The sun was just coming over the horizon, setting the sky ablaze with shades of pink, red and blue. Frank turned to Tommy.
“Tommy, my M14 is still on the hill over there. Could you grab it please,” Frank asked.
“Sure.” With the area illuminated, Tommy got a glimpse of the house. “Jesus Frank! This place looks like a war zone! You really fucked them up.”
Frank’s head was pounding. He winced at every word from Tommy.
“Too bad it wasn’t enough,” Frank said.
After Tommy retrieved the rifle, they started walking through the woods back to their vehicles. Frank was still needing help walking. Anna had handed him off to Tommy and was taking point, leading them through the woods. Sam was walking next to him. He heard a rustling of leaves and thought it might have been her. He looked over. There was a Biter heading for them and it was just next to Sam, on her other side. Frank stopped and pulled his weapon and pointed it in Sam’s face. He twisted and grabbed Sam’s shirt, pulling her and Dorothy away. He felt his ribs pop again and more searing pain but fought through it. She fell to the ground and Frank fired. The round shattered the back of the Biter’s skull. Frank couldn’t take the pain anymore. He collapsed, vomiting from the intense pain.
Anna and Tommy rushed to his side and helped him to his feet.
“I’m ok.” Frank took a rag out of his pocket and wiped his mouth. Tommy took Frank’s arm and continued carrying him.
Sam got to her feet with Dorothy in her arms. She looked at the Biter then back to Frank. “Holy shit…”
“Come on. We need to move. Where there’s one, there’s more,” Frank groaned. They quickened their pace.
“How the hell did you even know he was there?” Tommy asked.
“This headache. Everything is annoyingly loud right now. Your voices are like nails on a chalk board,” Frank said.
They made it to the cars without any more incidents, and drove straight for home.
When they got into the yard, Steve was already waiting for them. He had waited outside with Craig and Gloria all night for them to come back. Steve saw Frank in the passenger seat of the van and sighed in relief. The nerves returned when he saw Frank’s bloodied, swollen face through the windshield.
Anna parked the car, got out and called out to Steve.
“Steve, need a hand over here.”
Steve rushed over to Frank who was trying to get out of the car.
“Easy Frank. Jesus… They messed you up pretty bad,” Steve said.
“That’s what happens when you miss two of your targets,” Frank groaned.
Steve noticed Sam and Dorothy getting out of the suburban. He looked at Anna.
“We’ll explain later. Let’s get him inside,” Anna said.
The entire group, minus the kids, was in the kitchen watching as Steve looked at Frank’s injuries while Frank explained what happened.
“So yeah, the guy snuck up behind me and I got a buttstock to the temple. That’s about it in a nutshell,” Frank said.
“That’s not all of it,” Sam said.
Anna looked at Frank with suspicion. “Well?”
Frank looked like he didn’t want to talk about it.
“The guy kept asking him where you all were. He was going to go and kill you all. Frank just kept making fun of him and the two guys kept beating him. He even kicked the big one in the face before he got loose. Just before you guys got there, he was about to start cutting him but Frank got out of the ropes and tore them apart. I have never seen anything like it before. And then, when we were going to the cars he saved me from a Biter,” Sam explained.
Steve was checking Frank’s ribs. He looked up at him. “I always knew you were insane, Frank.”
“Yeah. I was trying to leave that part out. Thanks Sam.”
Everyone started laughing. Anna smiled at Frank.
“Well, Frank, you have at least two broken ribs, and one that looks like it’s dislocated. It needs to be set. Ready,” Steve asked.
Frank groaned and took a hand towel, balled it up and shoved it into his mouth to muffle his screams. Steve helped him lie on the floor. “This is really going to hurt Frank, even worse than normal with your ribs already broken.”
“Uh huh,” Frank mumbled through the towel. Steve folded Frank’s arms together and put his fist underneath Frank’s back where the dislocated rib is out of place.
Steve looked at Frank. “Are you ready?”
He looked at Steve and nodded. Steve forced down on Frank’s chest with his full body weight. Frank tried to scream but most of it was muffled from the towel. A loud pop came from Frank’s back as the rib popped back into place. Anna put her hand over her face. She had started crying again.
Steve got up to a knee. “You going to live, Frank?”
Frank took the towel out of his mouth. His eyes were watering. “Holy Hell. That hurt. I hate you right now.”
Steve smiled then held out his hand. Frank took it then helped Frank back up to his seat.
“I’ll have to bandage these up. As far as your concussion goes, you’ll have to stay awake all day today. If we let you go to sleep, you could slip into a coma. Don’t think we want that.”
“No, I don’t think we do,” Frank said.
“I would give you some pain killers but they will make you drowsy,” Steve said.
“Don’t worry about it. How long do I need to be awake?”
“At least eight hours,” Steve said.
“Ok. I’ll deal.”
Steve bandaged Frank’s ribs tightly then started to help get his shirt on.
“Alright people. Shows over. Nothing more to see here. Ladies, don’t forget, Frank is spoken for,” Tommy yelled.
Everyone started laughing again. Every chuckle Frank made hurt.
“Oh God. Stop making me laugh, Tommy.”
Tommy raised his arms. “At least you’re here to laugh.”
“True. Thanks, Tommy.”
Frank took Anna’s hand. She still had tears in her eyes. “Thank you, too.”
“You’re not mad at us?” Anna said, softly sobbing.
“No. I trained you both to follow your gut instincts and they were right. How could I be mad? You guys saved my ass. I was a stone’s throw away from passing out in there,” Frank said then started rubbing his ribs. “Although, I wish you guys showed up a bit sooner.”
“Well, maybe next time you’ll take us along instead of going renegade,” Anna said, sounding like a condescending mother and drying her face.
“I’ll think about it,” Frank said with a chuckle. “Ok. Let take Sam home.”
“Frank, you need to stay here,” Steve said.
“Why? I can’t go to sleep, and I can barely walk. Riding in the car at least makes me feel somewhat useful,” Frank said.
Steve sighed. “Fine, stubborn ass.”
Frank chuckled again then looked at Sam. “Ok, ready to go?”
“Yes,” she said.
“I’ll go too,” Tommy said.
“I’ll grab the keys,” Anna said.
Frank looked at both of them, they looked exhausted.
“Guys. You should really stay and get some rest. No reason you have to stay up with me.”
“You always told us that we don’t leave jobs unfinished…” Anna said.
“And we’re not going to start now,” Tommy finished Anna’s sentence.
“I guess I did,” Frank said with bit of pride.
“Besides, pretty sure you hammered that lesson home this morning,” Tommy said.
Thirty minutes later, after Sam had directed th
em to her home, they pulled in front of a small single story home just outside of town. Frank eased himself out of the suburban, being careful to not bump anything. Sam and Dorothy burst out of the vehicle and rushed up the steps to the porch. The door open before they got to it. Standing in the doorway was an older man and woman, probably in their 70’s. They looked ecstatic to see them. The man open the screen door, tears already running down their faces.
“I can’t believe you’re alive,” he said as he hugged her.
“Oh, honey,” the woman said through sobs.
“It’s ok. These people saved me,” Sam said.
The man looked at Frank. “You guys saved her?”
“You could say that,” Frank said.
“Wait! Where is Derek,” the woman asked.
No one answered.
“Oh, God…” the woman said.
“Come on. Let’s go inside,” the man said.
They walked in and sat down on the couches in the living room.
“I’m Don. This is my wife Beth,” Don said.
Frank introduced himself and the others.
“Thank you for saving my family, Frank. Must have been difficult. You look like you’ve been hit by a car,” Don said.
Frank chuckled. “You’re welcome. Truth be told, I didn’t know that Sam and Dorothy were there before I took them on.”
“Before you took them on,” Beth asked, confused by the comment.
“Let’s just say they bit off more than they could chew,” Tommy said.
Frank explained the troubles they have had with the cannibals and how he went to take them down. He also explained how he found Sam and Dorothy, how Anna and Tommy carried him out. Sam then explained how Frank was tortured.
“They tortured you,” Don asked.
“If you can call that torture. They weren’t very good at it,” Frank said.
“Why would you go there by yourself,” Beth asked.
“My people are everything to me. I didn’t want to get them involved in what you could call a vendetta. They nearly took Anna from me and killed our friend Kurt. I wasn’t going to wait around for them to get someone else.”
Hearing that from Frank, Anna understood. She never realized that he felt that way about their first run in with the cannibals.
“I think I get it. I would probably do the same if I were your age,” Don said.
“The hell you would! I’d strap you to a chair if I had to,” Beth said.
Frank chuckled. “Yeah. Thankfully, Tommy and Anna backed me up and saved the day.”
“You guys sound like a nice bunch. Glad there are still some good people out there,” Don said.
“We do what we can. Speaking of which, you guys are more than welcome to stay with us. You’d be a bit safer,” Frank said.
“Really? Frank, you guys already have enough people to worry about,” Sam said.
“We can always make more room,” Frank said. “It would be a tight squeeze but we can make it work.”
“That’s very generous of you, Frank, but I think we’ll be ok,” Don said.
“Ok. I won’t try to talk you into it.” Frank gestured to Tommy and Anna. “Think it would be like them trying to talk me into something. But we’ll come by every once in a while to check on you guys. If you ever change your mind, you’ll always be welcome.”
Don got out of his chair slowly, grunting as he rose. He held out his hand. Frank saw the gesture and shook Don’s hand. “Thank you, Frank, for everything. You have no idea what this means to us.”
Beth got out of her chair and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him. Frank had to lean into it, which hurt but it was worth it. He fought back his pain. She released him and hugged Anna and Tommy.
“Well, we better get home. Natalie was already cooking when we left,” Frank said.
“You guys be careful,” Sam said.
Frank looked back as he was heading out the door. “You guys too.”
They got back in the suburban and closed the doors. “How long do you think they will last on their own, Frank,” Anna asked.
“I don’t know. They’ve lasted this long at least. That’s why we will try and keep coming by to check up on them. I won’t try and force their hand. Checking on them is the least we can do,” Frank said.
“If you think so. I wish they would change their minds though, at least for Dorothy’s sake,” Anna said.
“Yeah. So do I,” Frank admitted.
When they arrived home, Natalie had lunch ready for them. After Frank had eaten, he was feeling exhausted. He hadn’t slept in two days and the full stomach wasn’t helping.
“I feel like I could sleep for a week,” he said after wiping the crumbs from his mouth.
“Fall asleep and you just might sleep longer than that,” Steve said.
“How long until I can go to bed,” Frank asked.
“Another 4 hours,” Steve said, looking at his watch.
“Son of a b…” he was cut off by Anna, who sat a cup of hot coffee in front of him and started to go back to help Natalie with dishes.
“Thank you, honey. You’re so sweet,” he said. She turned and smiled at him.
He took a long sip of the scalding hot coffee. It was extremely strong, just how he likes it. “Oh, that’s good! I don’t deserve a woman like you.”
She turned again and had an eyebrow raised with a devilish smile. “I’ll remember you said that.”
“Good. I know I’m not worthy. Truth be told, I’m not worthy of a lot of things I have. Beautiful woman, great friends, great food. Not a bad way to live. Now, if we could just get rid of the Biters, it would be perfect,” Frank said.
Everyone started laughing. Frank took another long sip of the coffee. He was already feeling better. Frank thought about the people he’s lost, wishing they were still there with him. Nick, Kurt, Karen, and Robby. The more he thought, the more he was thankful, if even just to know them.
“Frank? Are you ok,” Anna asked as she rubbed his back.
“What? Yeah. I’m ok. Just got lost in my own thoughts,” Frank said.
“What are you thinking about,” Anna wondered.
“Just how lucky we are.” he took her hand. “How lucky I am.”
Anna blushed. “You are so sweet, Frank.” She leaned in and kissed him.
Later that day, Frank was suffering. He was dragging himself around outside, trying to stay awake. He already had three cups of coffee, and it was no longer helping. His vision was blurred and his speech was barely coherent. Anna was walking around with him, trying to help him stay awake. Frank’s mood had soured and his head was pounding. Anna was whispering as quietly as she could so as not to make his headache worse.
“I think it’s about that time, Frank. Let’s get you to bed,” Anna whispered.
“Hmm. Bed,” Frank said.
Frank and Anna went inside. Frank started to go upstairs. Every step was painful.
“Frank, wait,” Steve said as he came down the hall. “Take this. It will help with the pain while you sleep.”
“What is it,” Frank said.
“Vicodin,” Steve said.
“No, thanks. I’ve already taken a handful of Naproxen. It will do me for now. I think I’m tired enough to sleep anyway,” Frank said.
“Frank, don’t be stubborn,” Steve pleaded.
Frank thought for a second. He really did not want it.
“How about we compromise? I’ll go to bed now and we’ll see how I’m feeling when I get up. I really don’t like pain killers, but if the pain gets bad enough, I will take it. I don’t like not being able to wake up if I need to.”
Steve sighed. “You know you’re a handful right?”
“Yeah. Sorry,” Frank said.
“Fine. I’ll check up on you in a few hours,” Steve said.
“Thanks, Steve. I appreciate everything,” Frank grunted as he started lumbering up the stairs. Anna was right behind him to make sure he didn’t lose his balance. As he toppe
d the stairs Isabelle came out of the first room.
“Hi Daddy! Hi Mommy,” Isabelle said.
“Hi sweetie! You are a sight for sore eyes,” Frank said.
“What’s wrong, Daddy? You’re hurt…” Isabelle said.
“I had an accident, baby, but I’m ok. I’m just going to bed,” Frank said, lying to the child. She didn’t need to know the truth.
Isabelle reach up with both arms, the universal sign from any child that they wanted a hug or wanted to be picked up. Frank smiled. He knew this was going to hurt but it was worth it. Anna was about to tell her that he couldn’t, but he knelt down to her, trying his best not to scream or grunt in pain. He made it to his knee and Isabelle wrapped her arms around him. Anna watched in amazement. As much pain as he was in and how tired he was, he still managed make sure that Isabelle felt loved. He held her tight. His hands were shaking from a combination of exhaustion, pain, and caffeine. Finally, she released him. He held on to her hands.
“You know that your mom and I love you very much?” Frank asked.
“Uh huh. I love you too, daddy,” she said. Frank smiled and kissed her on her forehead.
“Good. Go play, ok?” he said.
“Ok. Good night, Daddy,” she said then scurried off back to Susan’s room.
Frank watched as she ran off, making sure that she couldn’t watch him try to get up. Frank tried to stand but the pain was unbearable. He held out a hand to Anna and she helped him to his feet.
“I can’t believe you,” she said, softly.
“What is it?” Frank groaned.
“As much pain as you’re in, you wouldn’t let her see it. Even kneeling down to her probably hurt like hell. If we were in a normal world you would probably be in a hospital. How do you do it,” she asked.
“I always remember one thing,” he said as they started walking into the bedroom.
“One thing? What’s that,” she wondered.
“No matter what, you and Isabelle are far more important to me that anything, even myself. If I have to go through the worst pain in my life to make that girl feel loved, especially in the world we live in, I will. I always will,” Frank said.
With Anna’s help, Frank eased himself on to the bed, moaning the entire way. Finally sitting on the bed he turned and laid down. Every single movement was painful but he finally made it. When he had finally settled and Anna crouched down next to him.
Life In Death (Book 1): Surviving Death (The Struggle) Page 16
