by Steven Bird
Vomiting on the floor, shaking and convulsing, Billy got up, turned, and ran out of the house. He ran straight out the front door, passing directly by the elderly man.
Following him outside, both Isaac and Billy gulped for fresh air. They struggled to expel a stench so thick they could taste it as it worked its way out of their lungs.
“Damn it, why? Why?!” Billy cried. “I’ll kill those bastards. I’ll kill them, every damn one!” he shouted, and he took off running around the house toward the horses.
“Billy! No! Wait!” Isaac shouted, chasing along behind him.
Reaching the horses, Billy freed the Appaloosa’s reins and began to mount, as Isaac grabbed the horse by its bridle with his left hand, clutching Billy’s wrist with his right.
Exhaling deeply, Billy removed his boot from the stirrup and laid his head against his horse, sobbing.
“Who were they?” Isaac asked. “Kinfolk of yours?”
Wiping his face with his shirt sleeve, Billy grieved, “No, Not kin. They may as well have been, though. The man and woman were Herman and Viola Drydale. They were close to my dad. Herman was a few years older than Daddy, but they went way back. He was a good friend of Dad’s older brother, Jed. Herman hadn’t been doing well for the last few years. Daddy tried to make it over here every few weeks to check on them and to do any chores Herman had fallen behind on.”
“And the girl?” Isaac asked.
“Their granddaughter, Anita. Anita was… um… special. She didn’t learn like most kids. She looked no different, but she seemed to remain a little girl inside, even though her body matured. I always kept an eye on her, and all the boys her age in the area knew I’d kill anyone who touched her. She was a precious soul who just wasn’t able to see the bad in people.”
“Did she have parents?”
“Her mom never married. Her dad was addicted to prescription pain pills and couldn’t hold a job. He was never around, and when he was, it was hell for everyone. Her mom ran off with some guy right when everything started to go to hell in the world. After the attacks began, Herman and Viola never heard from her again. As worthless as Anita’s mom and any guy she’d attract were, I’d imagine they didn’t last long.
“Daddy tried to talk the Drydales into moving out there with us, but Herman wouldn’t hear of it. We were starting to think his mind was going, along with his health. It just didn’t make sense they’d want to stay out here on their own—exposed, this close to the main road and all.”
Pounding his fist on the tree next to him, Billy shouted, “Damn it! We should have made them come!”
“It’s not your fault, Billy,” Isaac assured him. “Your family did what they could. You came out there and helped them out when you found the time, but you had a lot going on back home to take care of as well. You offered them a place to go. Dragging him off, kicking and screaming, against his will would have never seemed like the right thing to do without this sort of hindsight.”
Seeing Billy begin to break down into tears again, Isaac reached out to him, only to have him recoil away.
“It’s not just that, man,” Billy lamented. “When those bastards shot Momma, I was so jacked up on rage and hate for them, I must have somehow pushed the pain aside. I was like a robot. I was all business, wanting to do whatever it took to take care of everyone back at the farm and to somehow get back at those sons of bitches. But the pain was there. I felt bad for not breaking down—for not showing it more. But I pushed it all aside. I felt numb. At least, until I saw Herman, Viola, and Anita. Then it all came flooding back into my mind. All of those damned emotions hit me like a tidal wave.”
Looking up at the sun and noting its position in the sky, Isaac said, “You stepped up to the plate to protect your family, just as you should have. Your mother would have wanted that. She woulda wanted you to be the man of the house, with your father being injured and all. You know that deep down inside. There just ain’t a proper way to deal with things like the losses you’ve faced today. Each person has to deal with those gut-wrenching experiences in their own way. And yours, well, yours was to step up and take care of your kin who remain. Keep your priorities in line, and focus on what still needs to be done. You’ll be honoring your mother by doing just that.”
Clearing his throat, Billy sighed, “You’re right.” Looking up to the sky as Isaac had done, Billy said, “and yeah, we need to get moving. The last thing I want to do is to ride up on the Hofstadter place in the dark. That bunch just ain’t right on a good day.”
Chapter Eleven
The Williams Farm
“Michelle,” Tina called, while she searched the lower floor of the house for her younger sister. “Michelle, where are you?”
Hearing her sister’s voice echo from the basement in reply, Tina asked, “Come up here a minute, will you?” Turning to walk into the kitchen, her heart nearly skipped a beat when she bumped into a tall figure standing just around the corner in the doorway. “Shit!” she screamed, realizing it was her older brother Frank.
“Damn it, Frank!” she said, hitting him in the chest with her fist. “You scared the daylights out of me.”
“Sorry,” he answered with a bewildered look. “I was just hungry.”
“That’s why I was looking for Michelle,” Tina huffed with a scowl on her face.
“What is it?” Michelle asked when she entered the kitchen. “Why did you curse just now?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have, but Frank scared me half to death,” Tina explained, pointing to Frank with a perturbed look on her face.
Getting back to the point, Michelle asked, “So, what did you want?”
“I want to ask you a favor. Can you dig around in here and whip us up something easy to eat. Preferably something that we can take out to Jessie and Paul. It’s gonna be a busy evening, and it would be such a big help if you could do that for us.”
Watching as her younger sister’s eyes scanned the kitchen, beginning to well up with tears, Tina sighed and said, “I know,” as she wiped a tear from her own eye as well. “Everywhere I look in this house, I see Momma. Especially in here.”
Looking at a loaf of bread covered by a kitchen towel, sitting atop the old wood burning cook stove their father had insisted on installing just before the collapse, Michelle grieved, “That’s the last loaf of bread Momma is ever gonna make in Daddy’s old oven.”
Taking her sister into her arms and attempting to console her, Tina said, “I know. I know. But you know as well as I do, she’d have wanted us to soldier on. She would have wanted us to care for Daddy while keeping the rest of the family safe. She would have told us to quit our sniffling and get on with things. She prepared us well, and she knew it.”
Nodding and blinking her eyes, Michelle smiled and replied, “Yeah, she did, didn’t she?”
Looking around the kitchen once more, Michelle brushed her long brown hair back out of her eyes and said with confidence in her voice, “Don’t worry. I’ll find something to throw together.”
Patting her sister on the back, Tina smiled and answered softly, “Thank you, Michelle.”
“I’m starved,” Frank grumbled as if the entire conversation had not just occurred before his eyes.
Shooting him a scowl, Tina fumed, “Where the hell have you been? We’ve all been busting our asses to try to get ourselves as ready as we can for whatever comes next, and you simply disappeared again!”
Avoiding the question, Frank asked, “How’s Dad?”
“The same,” she responded bluntly. “You should go sit with him for a while. Give Shauna a break.”
~~~~
Watching the sun disappear over the western horizon while standing watch over the front of the home, Jessie wondered what his friend Isaac had accomplished with his trip to the Hofstadters. “Where are you, Isaac?” he mumbled to himself as he looked down to the CB radio strapped to the hand truck before him.
With piqued curiosity as he watched the lights on the LED display dance, Jes
sie turned the volume up slightly to hear nothing but static and background noise. Clicking through each channel, Jessie paused on channel nineteen when he heard the bits and pieces of a man’s voice. Concentrating, Jessie tried to piece together what the man was saying, but the signal was too weak and broken. “Hell,” he muttered in frustration. “Better get back to our channel before someone calls.”
Switching the radio back to channel five, their agreed upon mutual frequency, Jessie fought the urge to call the others for a routine radio check, since he now knew there were others out there using CBs as well. Who those others were and what exactly they were up to, was something he simply did not know.
Looking around the orchard where he stood, leaning against a tree, he thought, I sure wish there were still apples on these trees right now, I’m getting a bit hungry.
No sooner did he finish that thought, did he hear a twig snap behind him as someone approached. Spinning around and placing his hand on his gun, Jessie was relieved to see Tina. He smiled and said, “Tina. I didn’t expect you’d be out and about.”
“We couldn’t leave you guys out here without dinner,” she assured him. She had a blanket draped over one arm and something wrapped in cloth cradled in the other. “It’s not much, but it’ll take the edge off, I’m sure.”
Taking the item wrapped in cloth from her, Jessie opened it to reveal slices of freshly baked bread covered in butter and jelly, made from their very own milk and berries, along with a few strips of jerky. “This will do just fine,” Jessie answered with a smile.
Taking a bite of the bread, Jessie savored the flavors, then inquired, “How’s everyone doing? Have you spoken with Paul out back?”
“He said the chickens are driving him nuts. The rooster keeps trying to run him off like he’s invading their turf,” Tina said with a smile.
Grinning, Jessie added, “Well, if nothing else, at least he’s not alone.”
Sharing a chuckle with Jessie, Tina suggested, “Mike is almost finished boarding up the lower level windows. He said he could come relieve you after that.”
“Tell him thanks, but no rush. He probably needs a break as well. Besides, it sounds like Paul could use a relief more than me. I don’t mind being out here at all. I’ve spent a lot of time outdoors and alone over the past year or so. It’s just another evening to me.”
“I’ll pass it along,” Tina replied. “Here,” she said, handing him the blanket. “It’s starting to get cold out. I feel bad for you guys being out in the cold at night.”
“Such is life,” Jessie answered with a shrug. “And thanks for the blanket,” he added as he reached out and took it with a smile.
“Just shout if you need anything,” she said before she turned and began her walk back toward the house.
Turning his attention back to the starry sky above him, Jessie thought, Yep, it’s crystal clear out. It’s gonna be a cold one.
~~~~
Reining back on his horse and bringing him to a stop, Billy looked back to Isaac and said, “It’s that gravel road just up ahead. It winds about a half-mile or so back to their property.”
“Yeah, I’ve been there,” Isaac replied. “It’s been quite a few years, though.” Looking around, he said, “Hmmm. Well, I reckon it’s too late to ride up on them tonight. That’s a good way to get yourself killed these days. Let’s make camp and ride in first thing in the morning, once they’ve had a chance to get up and about. I know I’m more apt to shoot a fella before I’ve had my coffee and breakfast.”
“Sounds good to me,” Billy said as he dismounted. “How about right over there?” he asked, pointing to a clearing just beyond the tree line.
“That’s a little too close to the trail,” Isaac replied. “I’d rather not be ridden up on in the dark, either.”
Dismounting his horse as well, Isaac led old Mack through the woods while he and his trusty quarter horse ducked beneath branches, stepping across a small seasonal stream. “Come on back here,” he called softly to Billy, who was still waiting on the trail.
Once Billy had joined up with him, Isaac pointed and said, “Let’s camp on the other side of those blown over trees. That’s far enough off the trail to keep from being noticed too easily.”
“Sounds good to me,” Billy replied, and the two led their horses to the campsite.
Once their horses were allowed to drink from the stream, they hobbled them and fed them some of Isaac’s homemade horse treats from his saddle bag. Turning to see Billy beginning to gather firewood, Isaac said, “No, sir. Not tonight. We’re gonna cold camp. We don’t need to flag ourselves like that.”
“Right,” Billy conceded, tossing his kindling back into the weeds.
Sitting down and leaning back against this saddle, Billy looked to the heavens and admired the brilliant night’s sky. “It sure is a pretty night,” he said without breaking his gaze.
“Yes, sir, it is,” Isaac agreed. “I don’t usually get this kind of view at my place. At least, not from the ground. There are too many trees. But those trees have kept me safe and hidden all this time. If I had my guess, though, those bastards have torched it by now. Surely they’ve tracked their dearly departed back there. I guess it’s a good thing Jessie and I have been elsewhere.”
“You can always stay with us,” Billy asserted. “I mean, if they found your home, like you said.”
“Well, look at that,” Isaac said, pointing to the southern sky. “That’s a jet. Way up high.”
“Oh, yeah,” Billy replied with excitement in his voice. “Look, another one!”
“You don’t see that every day,” Isaac said while he studied moving lights high in the sky. “I’d sure like to know the story about that. I mean, they’ve gotta be military or government, but whose?”
“Maybe things are starting to get sorted out?” pondered Billy. “I mean, I’ve not heard of attacks for a while now.”
“Hell, Billy, I’ve not heard much of anything for a while. For a while, I had a HAM radio setup and would silently listen to the chatter. You never knew what to believe, though. There were so many conflicting stories, you didn’t know what was real and what was intentional misinformation. It was like listening to what cable news had become before the collapse,” he joked, chuckling to himself.
“What do you mean, you ‘had’ a HAM radio. What happened to it?”
“Lightening strike. I was an amateur at best, in regard to being a radio operator. I had it grounded properly, but didn’t have anything set up for a direct hit. Of course, hindsight is always twenty-twenty. I should have had a backup radio tucked away somewhere in a Faraday cage or something. I guess it’s the ‘two is one, and one is none’ mantra of preparedness. If you only have one of something and you lose it, you’re done. I guess I felt pretty well prepared for whatever may come, based on the seclusion of my place alone. Hell, I’m not sure I would have even gotten much out of having a spare HAM. It’s not like I was a very well networked fellow who could tap into useful information from contacts spread far and wide. I was just bored and liked to listen in from time to time. I’m sure there are a hell of a lot more people out there who could’ve gotten a lot more out of it than me.”
After a few moments of silence while both men gazed at the stars, Isaac said, “I’ll take the first watch. I’ll wake you in a few hours.”
“To be honest, I think I’m too wired to sleep. I don’t get off the farm much. Actually, I haven’t camped off the farm since the attacks began. I’m not sure if I’ll even be able to sleep.”
“I know what you mean,” Isaac replied. “That’s where being old has its benefits. My body is always tired. I could sleep in the saddle if I had a way not to slump over and fall off. My nerves and adrenaline are all used up. Now I’m fueled only by caffeine, and a healthy dose of not giving a damn about what happens to me personally. It’s a lot easier to put yourself into situations when you just don’t care. Don’t get me wrong. I care about you and your family, and all the other good folks remaini
ng in these parts. And I’d worry about what happens to Jessie, even though I haven’t known him long. He seems like a pretty solid fellow. But for me? Hell, what do I have to live for?” he declared with a smile.
“You shouldn’t say that,” Billy insisted.
“Oh, come on, now. I’m half joking. Well, maybe a little less than half.” Looking Billy in the eye, he continued, “It’s not a bad thing, son. I’ve lived a good life, and I was married to a great woman. I’ve had my run. There isn’t an exciting new chapter of my story to look forward to, except for meeting up with God Almighty, that is. So, when that day comes, I’ll be at peace with it.”
“Well, just don’t get in too big a hurry for that next chapter,” Billy insisted. “We still need you around here.”
Replying with only a nod and a smile, Isaac laid his head back against his saddle and said, “Wake me when you finally get tired. It’ll come. Sittin’ here in the dark alone will wear you down eventually.”
Chapter Twelve
Early the next morning as the sun crested the hills to the east, Jessie sat in a rocking chair on the front porch of the home with his rifle laid across his lap. As he impatiently watched for signs of Isaac in the distance, he heard the door open beside him and Tina said, “Good morning, Sheriff,” as she handed him a hot cup of tea.
“Thank you, ma’am, but I left that title behind long ago. Or rather, it left me behind.”
“Who we once were, played a role in who we are now,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Unless of course, that old you isn’t in there anymore. I have a feeling he is, though.”
