by A. American
Sarge grunted. “Had Mikey do this. He was going to use other names but I had to correct him.”
Knowing Mike, I had to ask. “What was he going to use?”
Sarge pointed at the map. “Disney was going to be dildo, if that gives you any idea.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course he would.”
As we sat talking in the kitchen, Ian came through the door with a pack over his shoulder and weapon in his hand. Sarge looked at him and asked, “Where the hell are you going?”
“With you.”
Sarge shook his head. “No you’re not. You’re staying here with Morgan.”
That didn’t sit well with him. “This is bullshit! Me and Jamie are just as capable as you guys.”
Sarge stood up. “Which is why you’re staying here. First, Jamie isn’t a hundred percent yet and you both know it. I know she’d go regardless, but I can’t let her. And I’m not going to let you go without her.” He paused and pointed at me. “Besides, he’s going to need help as well.”
Ian looked at me. “He’s got plenty of people. We’re not cops. We’re warriors!”
Sarge put his hand on Ian’s shoulder. “I know you are. And don’t think for a minute I don’t think you’re up to it. I know you are. But I’m not going to ask you to leave Jamie here. She needs you right now. Plus, and this is the main reason, I need a QRF, and you’re it. If we run into trouble, you, Jamie and Perez are going to have to bail our asses out.”
I laughed. “You’re relying on Perez to save your ass if you get in trouble?”
“I heard that, pendejo,” Perez said as he pushed past Ian into the kitchen. Jamie followed him. Both of them carried their gear with them.
Jamie leaned against the wall and crossed her arms over her chest. “So why can’t we go?”
Sarge looked at her for a long minute. Then he said, “You know why. I know you want to go. And I know you would without hesitation. But you’re not totally back on your feet.”
She looked down at her feet. “Looks like I’m standing on them.”
Sarge jabbed a finger at her. “Don’t be a smartass! You know what I mean. Mike, Ted, Doc and Dalton are going.” He pointed at the group in front of him. “You three are the QRF. If something happens, I’m relying on you guys to come get us. Now sit your asses down so we can go over the route.”
They could tell he was serious and none of them commented. They all took seats at the table as he went over the route to the plant.
“What’s the deal with this plant? How have they been running it this long if the power has been out?” Ian asked.
“The plant was shut down in 2009 for an upgrade. All kinds of shit happened during that process and it was never brought back online. Now it’s used to store old fuel rods.” Sarge replied. “That’s the real concern. There’s a lot of old fuel there and they’re concerned that the Russians may have moved in on it and could be setting up as a massive dirty bomb. So they want us to go in and take look at it.”
Jamie shook her head. “What sense would that make? Setting something like that off at this point?”
Sarge shrugged. “It doesn’t. Not now with all the people that have died off. But they can’t reach the engineers working there. We’re just going to go have a look. I imagine they’re just having radio issues. We’ll probably get there and find everything is fine and turn around and come home.”
“It’s only a two-hour ride over there,” I said.
“Should be a milk run,” Mike said from the hallway.
Sarge looked at me. “I need a chainsaw, Morgan.”
“I’ll get you one. Good call, in case the roads are blocked.”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll run get one.” I said, and left the group to continue to discuss the mission.
Instead of walking, I hopped into one of the buggies and rode it over to the house, parking it in the backyard by the shop. Getting the Stihl saw out, I checked the gas. It was full, so I set the choke and gave it a couple of pulls. It coughed on the third one. Turning the choke off, I pulled again and it started right up. I ran it for a few minutes before shutting it off.
Taking the saw back, I set into the back of the old man’s Hummer. Mike came out with his gear and tossed it into the truck. Seeing a jar with something in it, he picked it up.
“What the hell is this?” He asked.
Doc was standing at the back of the truck and looked over. “Looks like blood.”
Sarge came out of the house and piled his kit into the truck as well. Seeing Mike, he replied, “It is blood.”
“What the fuck? What are you doing with a jar of blood?”
Sarge shrugged. “I don’t know. Was just trying something out.”
Mike’s face twisted. “I knew you would be into some sort of voodoo shit!”
Sarge snorted, “Voodoo! What the hell are you talking about?”
Pointing at the jar of dark liquid, Mike shouted, “That! You gonna start cutting off chicken feet now too?”
“Oh dry up, Nancy! You afraid of a little blood in a jar?” Sarge shouted.
Pointing at it, Mike shouted, “I don’t mess with voodoo, witches or ghosts! Some shit ain’t supposed to be trifled with!”
Sarge doubled over laughing and looked back at Ted, who had been observing the show. Pointing at Mike, he said, “Can you believe Mikey is afraid of ghosts? The same idjit that will run into gunfire, take on too many people at one time. Plays with explosives and snakes! Snakes! Is afraid of shit that ain’t even real!”
Ted cocked his head. “I’m with Mikey on the ghost thing. Voodoo too. I’ve been to Haiti. Some thing’s just aren’t meant to be messed with.”
Doc shook his head, “Voodoo is no Bueno.”
Feeling justified, Mike pointed at Ted, “See! They agree with me!”
Sarge straightened up. “That’s just because you’re all a bunch of panty-waisted twats!”
“Whatever. I ain’t riding with that in the truck,” Mike shot back.
Sarge snorted. “I wasn’t taking it. But now that you think you’re going to tell me what I can and can’t do, it’s going!” He walked over and grabbed the jar and set it on the console of the Hummer.
Mike glared at him. “When we get to town and pick up the other truck, I’ll ride in that one. You can have the blood mobile all to yourself!”
Sarge laughed again. “Whatever works for you girls.”
Ted walked over and set his gear into the truck. “Top. How are we going to do this with only five of us? It seems a little light.”
Sarge glanced over at Ian. In a low whisper, he replied, “We’re not. We’re going to take a couple of Sheffield’s people with us. Jamie isn’t ready for this kind of thing yet, and I don’t want to take Ian away from her just now.”
Ted nodded. “Agreed.”
Dalton arrived with his gear. Looking around, he asked, “What’s all the hubbub?”
“We got us a voodoo priest,” Mike said, nodding at Sarge.
“Mmmm, yes. I’ve dabbled in the dark arts a bit myself.”
Mike looked at him wide-eyed, “You have got to be the weirdest fucker I’ve ever met!”
Dalton looked at him sternly and nodded. Reaching into his shirt, he pulled a small leather medicine bag out. Mike eyed him suspiciously. Dalton reached out and deftly plucked a hair from Mike’s beard.
Grabbing his chin, Mike said, “Ow, what the hell?” Dalton loosed the tie on the pouch and tucked the hair into it before dropping it back into his shirt. “What are you doing?” Mike asked.
Dalton smiled and pointed at him. “Careful now.” He patted his chest. “I own you now.”
Mike went into a fit. “This is what I’m talking about! This shit is crazy! What the hell is this shit!”
Dalton patted Mike’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. I won’t use it unless I have to.” He walked to the truck and dropped his pack in.
Mike stood there with his mouth hanging open. “What the hell is happening aro
und here?”
Sarge walked past him and pushed his jaw shut. “Close yer mouth. Yer drawing flies.” He paused and eyed Dalton for a moment, saying, “He’s right though. You are one of the weirdest fuckers I’ve ever come across. Think I’ll start calling you Baba Yaga.”
Dalton howled and started to laugh. Holding a clenched fist up, he shouted, “Yes! Baba Yaga takes on his true form!”
“What the hell is Babet Yeager?” Mike asked.
Dalton turned to face him. With a near psychotic look on his face, he said, “Baba Yaga is the Russian boogieman. Usually, it’s a woman, or three sisters.” He stepped back and waved his hands in front of him, “but behold! The true form of Baba Yaga!”
Doc shook his head as he walked around the truck. “Things just get stranger and stranger.”
Mike shook his head and muttered. “This shit is crazy.” And he went over to the Hummer and climbed up into the turret. He pulled on a radio headset and checked the SAW. Sarge looked up at him and smiled. Nudging Ted, he asked, “Think he’s had enough?”
Ted smiled. “Oh, he’s done. You can take the fork out.”
I shook my head and said, “You’re worse than a bunch of high school kids.”
Sarge smiled. “I know,” and he cackled as he went around to the passenger side of the truck and got in.
Ted, Doc and Dalton got in and I walked over to the driver’s side. “You guys be careful. Stay in touch.”
“Just keep someone at the radio. We’ll be in touch,” Sarge replied. Then he looked at Ted, “Roll out, Teddy.”
I looked at Ted and smiled. “Vaya con Dios, amigo.”
He squinted as he looked out at me. “I hope it’s not that eventful of a trip and he can take the day off.” With that, the truck backed out into the road and headed out.
As the dust from the truck settled, Ian asked, “Now what?”
“Doesn’t change what we have to do.” I looked back at him. “Nothing changes here. I need to run over to the plant. You guys want to get out of here for a while?”
Perez stepped out of the door of the house and lit a smoke. “Yes I do. But I’m driving.”
Jamie looked at him. “Dame uno cigarro, poppie.”
Perez smiled and shook one out for her. She took it and he lit it. “You know these are bad for you, chica.”
Taking a drag, she replied, “No te preocupes por eso. You don’t have that many left.”
“Let’s take one of the buggies.” Ian said as he looked up into the blazing sky. “I could use the air.”
Perez climbed in behind the wheel of the old man’s war wagon and started it up. Ian, Jamie and I all took a seat. I asked Perez to run by the house before we left. He nodded and started out. We stopped at Danny’s real fast so I could let everyone know we were going to be off the reservation for a bit.
“When are you going to be back?” Mel asked.
“We shouldn’t be long. The engineers are going to try to start the power plant today. It’s just a test to see if it’ll actually run. I just want to drop in and see.”
“Well, I hope it does. Having the power back on would be wonderful,” Kay said from the kitchen.
With a little laugh, I said, “Even if it runs, it could be a long time before we see power here. If at all.”
“Hurry up so you can be home before dark. We’re going to have some of that venison for dinner tonight,” Mel said.
I kissed her and promised to be home soon. Back in the buggy, we headed out and stopped by the bunker. The girls were there with Aric. I told them what we were doing. Lee Ann asked if she could go.
I looked in the buggy. “There’s an empty seat. Hop in if you want to go.”
She climbed in and looked at Jamie. “How are you feeling?”
Jamie patted her stomach. “Good as new.”
Looking at Jess, I said, “We’ll be back in a little while.”
She waved as she stepped back under the tarp at the back of the bunker. Perez pulled off and left the neighborhood behind us. This time, we didn’t stop at the markets in Altoona or Umatilla. I wanted this to be a quick trip. But the sight of the unusual ride passing through town drew some curious looks.
When we arrived at the plant, Cecil was there going over a drawing with Scott, Terry and Doc Baker. Getting out, I asked, “How’s it going?”
Scott shook his head. “Hard to say. Some of the systems are running, some aren’t.”
Cecil added. “It ain’t nothing. We’ll sort it out in no time.”
Ian and Jamie climbed out of the war wagon and up onto the hood and sat down. Perez put his feet into the passenger seat and pulled his hat down over his eyes. Lee Ann walked up beside me and looked at the drawing and said, “That looks like hieroglyphics to me.”
I put my arm around her. “I guess it does to you. But it all makes sense if you know what you’re looking at.”
“Didn’t you used to work on these plants?” She asked.
Nodding, I said, “Yeah. A long time ago.” Then, looking at Cecil, I asked, “So what’s the holdup?”
Baker pointed at the drawing. “It’s the fuel-forwarding skid. The gas isn’t getting past it. I think there’s a bad valve there.”
I asked Cecil, “Are there any spares around here?”
Shaking his head, he replied, “No. But I know which valve is the problem. If they pull it out, I can rebuild it. It’s been sitting a long time and is probably just seized up. I’ve had to do it before.”
“How about the rest of the plant? Any of it been tested yet?” I asked.
Scott ran his finger over the drawing. “We’ve decoupled every motor and run them. They all run. We’ve tested all the valves; they all operate. All the thermocouples read properly. I think once we get this valve sorted out, we can start it up.” Looking up, he added, “I think this old heap will actually run.”
“So, when are you going to pull the valve?” I asked.
Terry nodded his head in the direction of the plant. “Eric is over there now pulling it out.”
“I’ll tear it down and get it working. We should be ready to try again tomorrow,” Cecil added.
With a sigh, I replied, “Well then, we’ll just try again tomorrow.”
I took Lee Ann’s hand. “Come on. I’ll show you how power is made.”
We walked over to the turbine. She looked at the complex machine for a minute, then said, “How do people come up with this? I mean, look at it. It’s so complex.” She pointed at a pipe running alongside the turbine housing. “What’s that do?”
I patted her shoulder. “It’s an electrical conduit. I would imagine it’s carrying instrumentation wiring.”
She shook her head. “It’s crazy. To think we used to have all this stuff. All these complex machines that we felt were so necessary. And here we are with none of them and we’re doing just fine.”
Rocking my head back and forth, I said, “That may be true. But a lot of people have died since all this went south. All these complex machines, as you say, kept a lot of people alive. It made our lives easier.” With a chuckle, I added, “Remember sleeping with air conditioning?”
She rolled her eyes. “It is so hot at night.” She smiled and added, “I put my sheets in the freezer before I go to bed. They feel so good when you get in them. I did it for Ashley too. She thought that was the coolest thing. Now I have to do it every night.”
I gave her a hug. “It’s really sweet you’re looking out for her.”
She shrugged. “She’s my little sister. I have to look out for her.”
Giving her a skeptical look, I replied, “I remember a day when you didn’t think that way.”
She starred at the ground for a moment. Looking back at me, she replied, “That was before. Now I know what really matters.” She looked at the turbine again and added, “I kind of hope it doesn’t come back on.”
Shocked, I said, “What? It wasn’t that long ago you were pretty upset about everything being lost forever. You said your
life was over.”
She nodded. “Like I said. That was before I knew what was really important. I’m very happy now. I like my new life.” She plucked the silver star from her chest. “I like being a part of something. I like standing up for people who can’t do it for themselves.” She pinned the star back on her chest and looked at me. “I like being with my family and my friends. That’s what’s really important.”
It was a profound statement from my daughter. When all the trappings of the modern world were stripped away, the essence of life was able to shine through. It’s what we all strive for. It’s why we work our lives away trying to buy time and comfort for our families. Time with our friends. Time to pursue those activities that bring us joy. The problem with that is, you can’t buy time. You can only spend it. And once spent, it’s gone forever. The entire paradigm the modern world was built on was a sham. If only we could have stepped back and seen it for what it was.
Taking her hand, I said, “I cannot tell you how happy hearing that makes me. Just knowing you’re happy where you are. With who you are. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”
She blushed a little and said, “It’s no big deal, dad.”
I looked up at the plant. “Well, I guess we’ll come back tomorrow.”
Lee Ann cheerfully replied. “Okay.”
We walked back to Baker and her crew. “Guess we’ll come back tomorrow sometime.”
“I’ll get that valve sorted out by noon tomorrow,” Cecil replied.
Waving, I said, “Alright, guys. See y’all tomorrow.”
Walking back to our ride, I kicked Perez’s feet out of my seat. “Wake up, old man. Let’s head back.”
Everyone got in and we started back towards the house. On the way, Lee Ann leaned forward and asked if we could stop at the Umatilla market. “What for?” I asked.
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to it is all. Just want to look around.” I looked at Perez and he nodded.
We pulled up to the Umatilla Kangaroo and stopped. As usually happened, when we were out in this thing, a number of people stared at it. We got out and I leaned against the front of the buggy. Jamie and Lee Ann wandered out into the market under the canopy of the old gas pumps. I for one, didn’t want to get out in the crowd. I just hoped those two crazy old women weren’t around.
