by R Kralik
Merry and Carisa don't want anyone to see their underwear. They plan to keep it out of the public eye (snort). I told them they'd be better off hanging it out here where the fireplace is going, or in Marisa's trailer since the heat is on, but Soo and Hisa might "see" it and we can't have that! At this point, I don't care where my underwear’s hangin’ as long as it’s clean and I get to change it often.
I'm having a rough time staying awake but I want to type out what happened and how Soo got shot. I may be brief in my story telling. Please forgive an old woman if she's plum tuckered out and propping her eyelids open with toothpicks.
It took 20 minutes to get to Jeremy's house. Mick parked in the driveway and Jason parked on the side of the road. Mick was standing behind the open driver’s side door and yelling "Hello!" towards the house. Jeremy was out of the truck and would have headed straight into the house if Mick hadn't motioned him back.
Soo climbed out of the Jeep because he noticed something blue in the ditch. He thought it looked like clothing, so he went for a better look.
There was a girl lying in the ditch with her throat slit from ear to ear. The wound was gaping open. She also had a bullet hole in her left temple and looked like she's been dead at least two days. Soo yelled for Jeremy to come over and look to see if he knew her. It was Jeremy's younger sister, Brittany. She was only seventeen.
Jeremy fell on his knees beside her body. Then he stood and faced the house. His face was red as fire and he had his teeth clenched in a grimace. He took two steps toward the house.
Soo was reaching to grab him and hold him back. A gunshot rang out and Mick saw Soo grabbed his own arm and double over. Several more shots followed and one pinged off the top of the S10.
Jason pushed Jeremy down in the ditch, stuffed Soo inside the jeep, and crawled over him to the driver’s side. Mick was squatting behind the driver side door of the S10 and reaching in for the Benelli when a male voice yelled from the front door of the house.
"Get back in your cars and get outa here!” the voice said.
"This is my house and I'm trying to find my family" Jeremy shouted from the ditch. "It ain't your house anymore. Your family got infected 'n dead, an' we're livin' here now!" the voice shouted back.
Another shot rang out and Mick noticed a man standing at the corner of the house with a long gun in his hand. He looked up and saw another long barrel sticking out a second story window.
Mick decided it was best to get out of there immediately. None of them were trained for a shootout and Soo was already hit.
He crawled in the driver’s seat, backed out, and motioned for Jason to follow. Jeremy crawled out of the ditch and into the back-seat of the Jeep. Jason said that Soo screamed and Jeremy cried the entire time it took to get home. They came flying home on a wing and a prayer.
You know the rest of the story.
I’m exhausted and ready to fall asleep in this chair. I’m headed to bed to lie down and pray for Soo.
Bye for now.
Tuesday, January 14
I put off finishing the laundry for a more important task.
I allowed everyone to eat the remaining pastries for breakfast. I wanted to try for the cook stove after breakfast. I was so focused on getting the stove that I blew off making something hot. They ate every one of those pastries and smacked their lips afterward. I wanted them in a good mood and hyped up on sugar for stove wranglin'.
We did it, by golly.
It took me, Mick, Jason, Marisa, Carisa, Merry, Pop, Jeremy, and Hisa, but we got the cook stove loaded onto our little trailer and all the way into the house. I won't say it was pretty to watch, but we did it. My back hurts a lot. Don't tell Mick.
We can't use the stove 'til Mick gets the wall bricked up and the base in place. Then, Pop will get the ventilation pipe installed. They're gonna work on it all day and we can use it in a day or two.
Mick's using square stepping stones from Mr. Peterson's walkway to build the base and bricks from the shed at Caleb's house to build the wall. We have several bags of quick-Crete in the basement. Mick says there's more than enough to get the job done.
Pop said that everything they need to run the ventilation pipe was in the shed with the stove, but he needs "flashing." Mick said they’d take flashing from a business up the road. I have no clue what that means and I don't care. I'm a southern lady, and only our men folk know about cook stove flashing. Anyway, it better be done right and as fast as possible.
At this time, they're measuring, sorting, hammering, cutting, and sawing.
I'm in my bedroom on this computer, trying to block out the noise and pray my back starts to feel better. I'm happy that the cook stove is up here.
Before we move it in place, Nana and I will clean it thoroughly. It was a pain to get that beast in the door.
Nana said that both lunch and supper will be a huge stockpot of hamburger soup and a loaf of buttered bread. Carisa says I have almost three cases of hamburger soup downstairs, canned and ready to open and heat. That sounds good to me.
Nana seems sad today. I think she's worrying over my sister again. I'm with her there. I wish they were here and safe with us.
1:00 PM...
The hamburger soup was delicious, if I do say so myself. I licked my bowl clean.
Mick noticed that I'm walking all hunched over and not in the screaming excited mood he expected to see when the cook stove got here. He sent me to lie down and rest my back until supper.
Marisa and Jason said they’ll gather up the dry laundry, fold it, and put it away. They'll also finish up what's left outside. I told them they could hang it on the line since the rain has stopped.
I noticed today that we're all losing weight. I'm sure it's from the extra work we're doing. We need to be more careful about making sure we eat enough to maintain us. I could stand to lose a few pounds but I can't go out and buy a new wardrobe and neither can anyone else.
Jason has been splitting wood every day, and he looks like he's lost the most weight of us all. I'll talk to Nana and figure out how to get more calories into our diet so we don't keep tightening our belts.
Jason still plans to head out tomorrow and look for his son. He'll take Marisa's Saturn since it gets a lot better gas mileage than his Dodge. His ex-wife lives only 50 miles away but he needs to be cautious. He'll take enough food for three days and two of our five-gallon gas cans full of gas. He's taking Mr. Winchester and his Smith &Wesson as well.
Mick wanted to find some kind of two way radio before Jason pulled out, but we haven't been able to go to town and look for anything. We'll be expecting Jason back within one week. Keep your fingers crossed.
10:00 PM...
I'm hurting. I can't sleep and I can't sit in this chair. I'll just say that supper was good.
Mick and Pop finished the base and wall for the cook stove. We'll have to wait ‘til it dries before placing the cook stove on top. They also got the wall ready for the ventilation pipe and plan to go get the flashing tomorrow.
I'm headed out to the couch with a warm blanket, a book, and pain medicine on board.
Bye for now.
Wednesday, January 15
My back hurts so bad that I don't know what to do.
Mick and Pop went out and got flashing today. They also brought home a huge, above-ground pool and a several long pieces of 6" PVC pipe.
I had oatmeal for breakfast and PB&J for lunch..
Marisa's in a foul mood because Jason left this morning. She brought breakfast and lunch in for me. Carisa came by and picked up my dirty dishes.
Mick said Hisa told him that Soo’s feeling a little better today, but he is still in bed and in serious pain. Hisa’s keeping him grounded and taking care of him. Merry's still here with Carisa.
They're gonna move the cook stove onto the base after Marisa and Nana get it cleaned. They'll get the ventilation pipe in after the stove is in place. I feel so guilty, not being able to help, but Mick won’t allow it and I can’t argue. I’m m
iserable.
It's still cold outside and I can't tell if it's night or day unless I look at my watch or the computer clock. The boarded up windows make it pitch black in here. I don't like being alone all the time.
I need to lie down 'cause I feel like I might throw up or pass out. My back is throbbing. It hurts so badly. I want to scream at the top of my lungs. I feel like my body is breaking in half. Won't someone just shoot me and put me out of my misery? Please, just shoot me right in the head!
feel woozy now
somthig is happen
somone stab.
i her shot. i need
i fad...
Friday, January 17.
Okay, okay, I'm up. I'm not back to normal but I'm highly medicated and feeling pretty good. Pop found me, passed out cold in a pool of vomit beside the computer desk. He and Marisa put me in bed. Marisa was washing my face while Mick was running to the house trailer because we heard gunshots coming from that direction.
Hisa was shooting with that little .22 LR when Mick arrived. He saw four HDI's heading toward her, sliding along the front of the trailer. Soo was yelling her name from the bedroom and she was focused on taking those stinkin' things out, so she didn’t answer him.
Mick jumped up on the porch beside her, and they took all of the HDI's out with the Benelli and Hisa's .22.
Hisa ran back inside to Soo and Mick went down to make sure all four HDI's would not rise again. He was positive they were done for and went in the trailer to find Soo laying on the floor in the hallway with Hisa in his arms. They were both crying.
Hisa said she heard scratching noises on the outside of the trailer. She thought it might be Opie and Tig, but the noise sounded like something was sliding down the wall and getting closer to the front porch. She decided to grab the .22 and peek out the door. Then she saw them. She began shooting immediately and knew one of the men would come as soon as they heard the shots.
Soo is extremely grateful to Mick. He was scared outa his skin. He called her name over and over and when she didn't come, he threw himself out of the bed and crawled down the hallway.
It’s seriously time to get started on the fence.
Hisa examined me. She believes that I passed out from the pain, and that the nausea was caused by my pain medication and the fact that I didn’t eat supper. That doesn't surprise me a bit because it happened once before.
Hisa and Soo decided to stay in the trailer. Hisa says it’s worth the risk to keep Soo warm while he heals. God, bless her! She has the guts of an American Marine. Pop says he'll "outfit that little girl with somethin' stronger than a .22."
I wonder when Pop's going to run out of things to "outfit" people with. He carries a Springfield 30-06 and a Colt 1911 at all times He also has a walking cane with some type of bayonet as the handle. You better not mess with Pop.
Jeremy helped Mick load up the HDI bodies in the bed of the S10 and carry them to a bare spot under some power lines down the road. They doused them with gasoline and lit them on fire. Mick hopes that none of them were the people we saw at the pull-off.
Pop outfitted Jeremy this morning. He got a Marlin, same as mine, and a .38 Taurus. I'm gonna paint something on Marley with pink fingernail polish so we can tell the difference. I can hear Jeremy having target practice at Caleb's house right now. With all this pain medication on board, the gunshots aren't bothering me a bit, but Mick seems anxious for them to stop.
I get to sit on the couch today. Amber and Caleb will wait on me hand and foot. I'm sure they'll draw lots of pictures and bring me things like pillows, blankets, and socks. I'm sure I'll be involved in a few hands of "Go Fish."
I don't wanna spend a lot time in the bedroom anymore. I get lonely in here 'cause nobody has the time to just sit with me. They're too busy doing their chores and mine as well.
Nana says we’re having grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. The bread we have left is threatening to go stale and we need to use it, or lose it.
By the way, the cook stove looks awesome! We plan to fire it up for its first test tonight. We'll be heating chicken corn chowder and baking cornbread muffins to go with it. Marisa gets to make the first meal on the new cook stove and she wants to try a blueberry pie in the oven. We already have it thawing on the hearth.
Nana plans to give it a whirl tomorrow. She wants to fry up the pork chops we got from Caleb's house and have potatoes and veggies to go with them. She also wants to make biscuits in a cast iron skillet on top of the stove. Go for it, Nana!
11:00 AM...
I came in 'cause it's time to take my medicine and I wanted to check on a couple of long term storage food items that I almost forgot I have hidden under the bed.
I hear a car horn beeping and it's coming up the driveway. I'm using one of those walking canes we looted from Walgreens, and I guess I'll try to get myself to the door so I can see who it is.
2:00 PM...
It was Jason, and he has a little red headed boy with him!
Jason arrived at his ex's house and found it empty. He went inside and the house was a disaster. Things from the closets and cabinets were thrown all over the place and the beds were bare. There wasn’t a crumb of food to be found. He said he could smell the refrigerator without opening it, so he left it closed.
He looked down the hallway and saw huge black letters spray painted on the wall. The letters spelled out "We went to Bills."
Bill is the brother of Jason's ex-wife. Jason knew where Bill lived, and he headed that way.
When he arrived, he saw six HDI's roaming around the front yard. They saw him and began heading toward him. He took them all out from the window of the Saturn. He said it was like shooting fish in a barrel. He got out of the Saturn and cautiously approached the house. He had to kick the door in to gain access.
When he walked in, he saw his ex-wife, his son, and "some motorcycle dude" coming down the ladder from the attic. "Took you long enough" his ex said. He gathered his son in his arms and held him tight.
His ex-wife told him that she and Bruce, the motorcycle dude, were heading north on Bruce's bike and they couldn't take Michael. She said they had no way to keep him safe and nothing to feed him.
Jason said she looked like she had been feeding herself with some sort of "white powder." She was thin as a rail and had huge circles under her eyes. She was fidgeting, and couldn't stand still.
She told Jason to take Michael with him 'cause she wanted to "make sure he'd be safe and have enough to eat." She said "even though it is the hardest thing I ever done in my whole life, I'm gonna let 'im go so long as you promise he'll be took care of." Jason thought to himself "Yeah right, you sorry junkie."
He turned and went straight to the car with Michael in his arms. He didn't even wait to see if Michael had any belongings he needed to take along.
As he was pulling out, he saw his ex-wife climbing into the motorcycle seat behind Bruce. "I hope you get eaten, you bitch," Jason thought to himself, and he pulled that little Saturn out and pointed it home. He didn't realize that he forgot to ask where Bill was until he was halfway home.
The trip back was going fine until they came to a little town near the Interstate about halfway between here and Bill's house. He spotted a military convoy pulling off the Interstate ramp. There were approximately fifteen vehicles in the convoy and they were headed straight toward him.
He prayed they hadn't seen him and took a sharp right turn. He drove down the street and spotted an auto repair shop. He pulled the Saturn into the garage and pushed a tool box on wheels in front of it. He opened the Saturn's hood so it would look like it was in for repair.
He grabbed Michael and headed down the hallway leading to the building entrance. The door was unlocked and they went inside.
He and Michael spent the next three days camped out in the employee lounge of that shop. There were a couple of vending machines that hadn't been looted. He said there was enough junk food and soft drinks to hold someone over for a week.
He an
d Michael satisfied their sweet tooth, ate a few things from the backpack, and watched military vehicles tour the area. When twelve hours went by without any military vehicle driving past, or gunfire breaking the silence, Jason decided it was time to leave.
Michael snacked on chips and candy bars the entire way here. He looks a little pale, and he's shy, but I'm sure he'll come around. He was really dirty and his hair looked like it wasn’t washed since this mess started. Jason took him to the bathroom for a giant sized bird bath and hair washin'. Marisa says he can wear clothes from one of Caleb's older brothers.
Marisa and Jason are happy as larks. Now, they have three children to take care of. Lord, help 'em. They better get to work on Caleb's house 'cause we need the space.
Jason says there's a white delivery truck lying on its side a couple miles down the road toward the Interstate. We plan to check that delivery truck as soon as we can.
I'll write later. I'm headed back to the couch to watch the lighting of the wood cook stove. It's going to be a big event in this house. See ya later.
5:30 PM...
Marisa was ready to start supper when we heard vehicles on the road near her house trailer.
We saw a convoy of six military trucks. They're traveling slowly and I think they're looking for supplies as they pass.
Mick is having a conniption fit. He went to the house trailer and told Hisa not to have any lights on after dark. If she needs a light to care for Soo, she'll have to use a flashlight or candle and shut the door. She can't use one of the solar lanterns. The window in the bedroom where Soo is sleeping faces back towards our house. Light from the lantern would illuminate the hillside.
Mick says there isn't any more plywood, so they'll cover the windows of the house trailer with thick cardboard. Hisa says she'll tape it up herself.
About a half-hour later we heard gunshots off in the distance. Mick decided not to investigate. It was getting dark and he wanted to stay close and make sure no light could be seen from the road.
