Life In Death (Book 1): Surviving Death (The Struggle)

by Holmes, Ethan

  “You guys are so nice. I appreciate everything. I’m sorry you guys have had so much trouble with us,” Sam said.

  “It’s no trouble. We’re always happy to help,” Frank said.

  Natalie came over with canned vegetables and meats.

  “Frank has a good habit of trying to help everyone. He’s the reason any of us are here to make fun of him.” she smiled devilishly at Frank.

  He chuckled and nudged Dorothy. “They’re always making fun of me.”

  Sam and Dorothy laughed just as Tommy walked through the door. He had overheard the conversation.

  “Oh! Are we making fun of Frank,” Tommy asked, jokingly.

  Frank looked at Tommy then back to Sam. “See?”

  They all laughed. Tommy went over to Natalie and put his arm around her waist then kissed her on the cheek. “Hi, Honey! What’s for breakfast?”

  She turned her head to him and kissed him. “Canned breakfast, basically. Not great but better than eating nothing.”

  “You made it. That’s all that matters to me,” Tommy said.

  “Aww,” Frank said, poking fun at Tommy.

  Tommy laughed. “Hey! We’re supposed to make fun of you, not the other way around.”

  Frank laughed. “Fair enough,” he started rubbing his ribs, instinctively. Sam noticed.

  “How are you feeling, Frank?”

  “Huh? Oh, I’m ok,” Frank said.

  “How are your ribs,” she asked.

  “Still sore a bit but they are healing pretty well,” he said.

  “That’s good. You look a lot better than the last time I saw you,” Sam said.

  “Thanks. Think my face healed up pretty well. I was starting to worry about my modeling career.”

  Everyone started laughing again to the point they were in tears. Tommy started choking on his food, he was laughing so hard. Natalie handed him a water and he started chugging it. He finished the water and started rubbing the tears from his eyes.

  “See? Frank is a man of many talents. He even does comedy,” Tommy said.

  Anna wrapped her arms around Frank’s neck and kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t listen to him. I think you are very handsome.”

  “Thank you, sweetie,” Frank said.

  Sam was still giggling, rubbing the tears from her eyes. “You guys are great. I really needed that.”

  “You’re welcome. You two also need some food so dig in,” Frank said

  Isabelle and Susan walked in to the room and saw Dorothy. They both walked up to her.

  “Hi, Dorothy! Want to come play with us,” Susan asked.

  Dorothy looked at her mom with pleading, puppy dog eyes.

  Frank leaned over. “Have the princesses had their breakfast yet?”

  “Not yet,” Isabelle said.

  “Well, why don’t we all have breakfast first and you guys can play afterwards,” Frank compromised.

  “Ok. Can I sit with you Daddy,” Isabelle asked.

  He held out his hands. “Of course you can,” he said then help her up onto his lap.

  Every motion hurt, a lot more than he would ever let on. Isabelle nestled on his knee and waited patiently for her plate. He looked at Anna who was smiling at him while eating.

  After they were all done eating, the girls went upstairs to play. Anna followed them upstairs, going to bed. Frank was helping Natalie and Sam clear the table. When they were done, Sam stopped in the middle of the room, nearly motionless.

  “Sam? You ok,” Natalie asked, worryingly.

  Sam jumped as if she was shocked. “What? Yeah. I’m ok. Just lost in a thought.”

  “You know you should probably take it easy for the next couple of days. You’ve been through a lot lately.” Frank said.

  “It’s not that. I just…” She hesitated. “I just kind of feel like I’m bad luck. Everyone around me keeps dying. You guys are so great. I don’t want anyone to get hurt because of me.”

  She started crying again.

  Natalie walked over to her. “Oh, honey. Come here,” she said then hugged her.

  They sat that way for a few minutes the Sam pulled away. “I’m sorry. I’m not usually this emotional.”

  Frank knelt down in front of her. “And what’s wrong with being emotional? You don’t have to act tough around us. Believe me. Every single one of us has seen my weak moments. You don’t have to worry. Like Anna said, ‘you can talk to any of us,’ we are all here for you.” he handed her a towel.

  Sam dried her face. “Thanks Frank. I think I’m going to get some sleep.”

  “Let us know if you need anything. I’ll keep an eye on Dorothy for you,” Natalie said.

  “Thanks Natalie,” she said, then left the room.

  Natalie looked back at Frank. Worry was written all over her face.

  “We'll need to keep an eye on her, too. She was having nightmares last night,” Natalie said.

  “Yeah. This is classic PTSD. I'll let Steve know. Maybe he can give her something in the meantime,” Frank said. The kitchen door opened. Kim and Steve walked through. They were laughing about something.

  “Speak of the devil,” Frank said.

  Steve patted the top of his head. “Are my horns showing?”

  Frank smiled. “Not this time.” He pointed at Natalie. “We are worried about Sam. She’s having nightmares and I’m fairly sure she was having flashbacks here in the kitchen.”

  “Well, shit. I was worried about this. Listen, I can give her something to help her sleep but I’m no psychiatrist. She is going to need therapy,” Steve said.

  “That’s what I figured. I can try to keep talking to her, get her to open up more but I know from experience that this is a tricky road,” Frank said.

  “Actually, I think you're the perfect person for this. I think she feels closer to you than anyone else,” Steve said.

  “What? Why?” Frank asked.

  “You endured torture to save her life. Then, you made sure that you kept your promise which saved her a second time. That speaks volumes to a person. She’s not likely to forget that,” Steve said.

  Frank knew he was right. “Ok. I'll do my best with her. I need you guys to help keep an eye on her.”

  “Will do. I'll go see if I can get her to take a sleeping pill,” Steve said then headed upstairs.

  Frank finally made it upstairs. He looked in the first bedroom. The girls were still playing. Isabelle spotted him.

  “Hi, daddy,” Isabelle said.

  “Hi, sweetie. I’m going to bed, ok?” Frank said.

  “Sweet dreams,” she said. Frank smiled.

  He finally made it to bed. Anna was already fast asleep. He slipped under the bed sheet trying his best not to wake her, but was unsuccessful. Anna’s head jerked up when the bed shifted.

  “Sorry, honey,” Frank said.

  “It’s ok. Where have you been?” Her words were barely coherent.

  “Talking with Steve about Sam,” Frank said.

  It took a few seconds for the statement to register in Anna’s drowsy mind. Her head jerked up again.

  “Wait. What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I think she has PTSD,” he said.

  “Damn. Do you think she will be ok,” she asked.

  “I think we can get ahead of it, but I’m no counselor. I'll do what I can for her, though,” Frank said.

  Anna laid on his chest. “I know you will. You always do,” she said, then fell back to sleep.

  Chapter 19

  The Hunting Trip

  Frank slept for three hours until the alarm on his watch went off. He didn’t want to sleep too long since he was not on night watch that night. Anna turned over, stretched and yawned.

  “Is it time to get up already,” she asked.

  “For me it is. You can go back to sleep,” Frank said.

  “No. I’ll get up,” Anna said.

  They went down to the kitchen, everyone was already eating lunch, including Sam.

  “Hey, Sam. Couldn’t
sleep,” Frank asked.

  “No. Steve offered something to help but I didn’t want to take it. Kind of regretting that decision now,” Sam said.

  “Just means that you’ll sleep even better tonight. Just do me a favor and take the medicine tonight. You’ll feel better,” he pleaded.

  “I think I will. I don’t think I will make it through another night with no sleep,” Sam said.

  “How long has it been since you slept?” Anna said.

  She thought for a second. “About two days now.”

  “Yeah. You should really take the medicine,” Frank said.

  “I know. I just don’t like taking medicines like that. I don’t like the way it makes me feel, but I don’t think there is really much choice anymore,” Sam said.

  “Frank knows a bit about medicine stubbornness. Don’t you Frank?” Steve said.

  “Yeah, yeah,” Frank said.

  “Why don’t you like them,” Sam asked.

  “Short version is that I don’t like not being able to wake up when I need to,” Frank said.

  “I get that. A lot of people here depend on you. You can’t be in a drug induced haze,” Sam said.

  “Well, you don’t need to worry about that. You get some sleep and let us watch out for you and Dorothy. Speaking of which, where are the little ones?”

  “They’re all upstairs playing. They scarfed down their lunch and went straight back to it. Wish I had that kind of energy,” Steve said.

  “You and me both. Do we have any coffee,” Frank said.

  Anna came to him with two cups of steaming coffee, and handed one to him.

  “Thank you. You’re too good to me,” Frank said.

  “I know. I really need to tone it back,” Anna said, smirking.

  Frank laughed. He rarely heard Anna crack jokes. Frank winced with every chuckle. His ribs still ached, which was frustrating since it meant that he still couldn’t do much around the home. He did have one idea.

  “Hey, Tommy?” Frank called out.

  Tommy looked up from his bowl of canned ravioli. “What’s up?”

  “When we’re done with lunch, want to go hunting,” he asked.

  Tommy looked down at the bowl of ravioli then back to Frank. “Definitely. I would like to taste my wife’s cooking again. Want to see if Jim or Jesse want to go?”

  “Hell, I’ll go if it means that Natalie can start cooking again,” Steve said.

  “Hell, yes. Let’s get some enthusiasm in taking the life of a delicious animal,” Tommy said.

  Everyone chuckled.

  “You need to go to bed, Steve. I’ll see if anyone else wants to go first. Any takers,” Frank asked.

  “I’ll go. I don’t think I’ve been hunting yet,” Anna said.

  Frank looked at Anna with amazement.

  “What?”

  “Is it possible to be more perfect,” Frank asked.

  “It doesn’t get much better than me. You’re lucky,” she said.

  Frank smiled. He knew he was damn lucky.

  “Well, that makes three. I’ll get with Jim and Jesse.”

  An hour later, Frank, Anna, Tommy, and Jim checked their gear before they headed out.

  “No pack, Frank,” Jim asked.

  “No. I don’t think the ribs are up to it yet. I just filled my pockets with most of what I need. I’m bringing along some wire to set some traps. Maybe we can get some rabbits.”

  “That would be nice. Not really the season for deer. Maybe we’ll get lucky,” Jim said.

  Frank pulled out his map and laid it out on a table in the yard. “Tommy, you got your map?”

  “Yes. Right here.” He tapped his breast pocket to double check.

  “Good. We’re going to head to our old stomping ground off the highway. We’ve had some good luck there in the past and it’s been a few weeks since we’ve been there,” Frank said.

  “Good idea. I remember where the trails are. Hopefully, they are still using them. I’ve got some wire in my bag. I’ll set some traps on our side too,” Jim said.

  “Good man. Hopefully, between the four of us, we can bag something,” Frank said.

  When Frank and Anna arrived, they parked on the side of the road. Frank checked his rifle to make sure that a round was in the chamber and the weapon was on safe.

  “This is my first time hunting so you’ll have to show me the ropes,” Anna said.

  “Not too different than a sniping mission. Just don’t rupture the gut sac when you shoot them. Just be as quiet as possible and keep an eye out for signs of activity or tracks,” Frank said.

  “Gut sac? I’ve never heard this term,” she said.

  Frank stopped. “Sorry. I guess you probably haven’t. It probably has some sort of technical term that I don’t know. Rednecks just call it a gut sac.”

  Anna giggled.

  He motioned to his stomach. “We have a kind of protective sac that holds all the digestive organs in place. If you rupture this sac then you will probably rupture one of the organs and the acids and fluids will ruin the meat.”

  “So where do I shoot them?”

  Frank pulled out a pen from his pocket and drew a deer on his palm. He marked the approximate location of the heart. “If you can get that broadside target, shoot here. If you can’t, just shoot him in the head. We’re not looking for trophies.”

  “Got it. I have to say, Frank, it is good to spend time alone with you, even if it is going to be in silence,” Anna said.

  “Definitely.” He leaned in and kissed her. “You ready?”

  “Ready. Let’s go,” she said.

  About two hours later, they walked along the trail they had found. They spotted some deer tracks but they were days old. Frank decided to follow the tracks. Maybe they would get lucky. Frank spotted a bit of disturbed dirt along the game trail. He motioned for Anna to stop. He stepped over where the tiny tracks were, making sure not to disturb them. He knelt down to examine them. They were definitely rabbit. He motioned for Anna to come to him. She knelt down across from him, making sure not to disturb the tracks. He pointed along the path of tracks.

  “Rabbit,” he whispered.

  He pulled out a roll of fine wire from his pocket and began to set his noose trap. He looked at Anna while he was setting it, she was studying his every move. He felt like she was his soldier again, training in complex bomb disposal techniques. She was always quick to pick up techniques. He could show her how it was done and she could mimic the techniques to perfection days later. Hunting would come easy for her.

  “All set. The rabbit will come back through here and walk right into this, hopefully, and strangle itself,” he whispered.

  “Easy day,” she said.

  Frank took out his map and marked where he set the trap.

  “We’ll check this on our way back.”

  Frank put away his map and took out his radio, clicking it three times. This is the signal for the other hunter to check in. He heard the radio squawk three times. They were fine.

  Frank replaced his radio and stood up. Anna followed suit and hopped over the rabbit trail. They continued walking for another thirty minutes before they took a break. They found a log to sit on next to each other. It was hot out and Frank knew they were both dehydrated since they were both drenched in sweat. He took a bottle of water out of his pocket and handed it to Anna. She opened the bottle and drank about a quarter of the bottle then handed it back.

  “Thanks. It’s nice out here. So quiet.”

  “Yeah, it is. Even better with you out here,” Frank said.

  “Really? You don’t think I’m intruding? I know how much you like the hunting and, you know, getting away from everyone for a little while,” she said.

  “I love spending every waking moment with you. If I can share this with you, I am happy to. This way we can have some alone time. Something we haven’t ever really had,” Frank said.

  Anna blushed. “Thank you, Frank.”

  “Nothing really to thank me for
. I was excited when you volunteered to go. If anything, I got what I wanted,” he said.

  She let out a slight giggle. She moved closer to him and put her hand on his thigh.

  “You know the best thing about being all alone is?” She looked up at him.

  “Hm. Do tell,” he said, excitedly.

  Tommy and Jim were still walking along their trail. They found some deer tracks that were a few hours old and had been following it for an hour.

  “Shit, it’s hot out here,” Jim whispered as he slung his rifle on his shoulder and took a drink of his water. The two men were drenched in sweat and exhausted.

  Tommy stopped.

  “Yeah. Hot as hell,” Tommy whispered.

  Jim handed him his water.

  “Thanks.” he took a drink and handed it back. “Let’s keep moving. These tracks are looking pretty fresh now.”

  “Right behind you.”

  They continued along the path for another fifteen minutes when they spotted their prize. A large doe stood two hundred feet ahead of them in a clearing. They dropped slowly to a knee. Tommy acquired his target in his sites. He was not taking any chances and aimed for the skull.

  Frank and Anna were just getting their gear back on when they heard a shot ring out. Frank reached instinctively for his radio but realized he hadn’t gotten his gun belt back on yet. He reached down and retrieved it, clicking the mic twice.

  “♪Bravo got some dinner♪,” Tommy sang.

  “Nice job Bravo. Get it cleaned and we’ll meet you back at the van.”

  He put away the radio. Anna was still buttoning up her shirt. “Guess that means the date is over?”

  “We still have the walk back,” he said as he finished putting his gear back on.

  He held out his arm for her to take. She did and they began the long walk back.

  “This was really good for us. We should go hunting more often,” Anna said.

  Frank chuckled. “Want to go hunting tomorrow?”

  Anna laughed. “I don’t think we would bag anything.”