The Siege

by Darrell Maloney

  Of course, Rachel never told anyone. But the girls – Hannah, Sarah and Sami, knew. They could tell by the way she looked for just a split second too long any time Jason walked by. They knew from the way she was always bringing his name up in casual conversations. They knew from the way she was always asking them innocent questions about him. Did they know when his birthday was? Did they know where he was born? Did they know his favorite color? What music he liked? What hobbies he had?

  Jason had no idea. Men aren’t that smart when it comes to crushes and other affairs of the heart.

  But the girls knew.

  When Rachel had confessed a fear of tight spaces and said she might have trouble evacuating through the narrow tunnel, Hannah had offered to help her.

  So had Jason. He had no other intentions, of course, other that just wanting to be helpful. But Hannah had another idea.

  Hannah believed that the heart sometimes dragged its feet when it should have been rushing headlong in love. She was a big believer in helping the heart along under such circumstances.

  Mark considered her a busybody and would sometimes tell her to mind her own business.

  But then she’d remind him of the day he was struck by her beauty on their college campus. So struck, in fact, that he stumbled and dropped his books.

  “I was infatuated too,” she’d tell him. “So much so that I stopped and helped you pick them up. If I hadn’t given my heart that little shove, if I had just kept on walking, we never would have met.

  “And you. You said you were so fascinated by me that you searched the whole campus looking for me again. If you hadn’t shoved your heart into doing that, we’d both be married to other people now.”

  It was logic he couldn’t argue with.

  “Sometimes,” she told him, “the heart just needs a little help.”

  And so, when she went to get Rachel to help her get comfortable with the tunnel, she invited Jason to come along.

  “I just wanted to show you that the tunnel is wider than you think it is. For example, see how broad Jason’s shoulders are? I sure wish Mark’s shoulders were that broad. I think broad shoulders on a man are very sexy, don’t you think?”

  “Yes… I guess so…”

  Jason, of course, was a little bit embarrassed, and even blushed.

  And Hannah immediately pounced on that fact to shovel it on a little deeper.

  “Oh, look,” she told Rachel. “Look at him blush. I’ve always loved men who blush. It means they have no pretense. They’re honest and forthright. I’ve often said that a man who blushes is a man who will never lie to you or cheat on you… and you have to admit that a little blush looks good on such a handsome face, huh?”

  Rachel started to wonder if Hannah had lost her mind. But she admitted aloud that maybe she was right.

  “Well, he is pretty handsome.”

  “Okay, here’s what I thought we’d do. To prove that the tunnel is not quite as confining as you think it is, we’re going to have you follow Jason into the tunnel. We’ll let Jason go first, then you can follow him, and I’ll follow the two of you.

  “And just so you feel like you’re not alone in this exercise, I want you to place your hand on Jason’s upper back as we go through the tunnel. It’ll be like a support system for your subconscious. Like a constant reminder that you’re not alone, that someone bigger is going through it with you.”

  Hannah had Jason turn around so she could demonstrate.

  Hannah placed the palm of her hand on Jason’s back, just below the nape of his neck.

  She said, “Oh, my gosh, Jason! I never knew how strong and muscular you were. Why, I can just feel those muscles rippling through your back. Rachel, put your hand right there.”

  Rachel did what she was told. Jason couldn’t see it, but Rachel now had a wicked smile on her face. She’d finally figured out what Hannah was up to.

  Jason, for his part, still didn’t have a clue. He was a man, after all. He was starting to think, though, that Hannah needed to be committed.

  Rachel’s hand was on Jason’s back now, and Hannah extolled Jason’s physique.

  “Can’t you feel how rock hard and strong those muscles are, Rachel? Not only is he trustworthy, but he’s a mountain of strength, too. One of these days he’s going to find himself a girlfriend, and she’s going to be one lucky lady, for sure.”

  They were finally ready to go, and Hannah said to Rachel, “Okay, we only want you to go as far as you’re comfortable. The minute you feel the slightest bit of discomfort, just say the word. We’ll all turn around and go back the other way. We’ll take baby steps, a little at a time, until you’re okay with going all the way through.”

  Hannah was expecting to go mere yards into the tunnel before having to go back. But Rachel surprised her. She made it all the way through with her hand on Jason’s back.

  “Hooray!” Hannah said when they made it to the wider part of the main tunnel. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes! And I’m not only okay, I think I’d like to go back again. Just to make sure it wasn’t a fluke.”

  She smiled, and Hannah thought she caught a glint of mischievousness in Rachel’s eye.

  So they went back through the tunnel, back to their original starting point.

  Then they repeated the process three more times.

  “Just to be safe,” Rachel said.

  By the last time through, Rachel was gently massaging Jason’s upper back with her fingers. It didn’t escape Hannah’s notice.

  A couple of days later, Rachel and Jason began holding hands around the compound and quickly became an item.

  Sometimes love doesn’t happen on its own. It has to be very gently pushed.

  Or shoved.

  Chapter 56

  Karen was in the middle of the wheat field, giving Mark and Bryan a lesson on how to tell when a wheat crop was ready to harvest.

  “See how the head is dry and starting to lean over, and the leaves are starting to wilt?”

  “Yep. Does that mean we haven’t been watering it enough?”

  “Nope. That means it’s mature and wants to be harvested. It’s telling you, “Come and get me, big boy. I’m all yours. Bring that big ole harvester in here and chop off my head.”

  “Yeah, well about that… we bought a small wheat thrasher, but didn’t want to invest in a harvester for just half an acre of wheat. We priced them, and they cost more than a good sized house.”

  “I know. They’re not cheap. That’s why many professional wheat farmers don’t own their own. They just contract out with a harvesting company to come in and harvest their fields for them. Those traveling harvesting companies are busy people at harvest time.”

  She corrected herself.

  “Or at least they used to be, before the freeze. Hopefully the wheat states are working again now and growing wheat for the masses.”

  “So, how’s the best way to harvest it without the harvester?”

  “We’ll do it the same way people did it for centuries. By hand. But don’t worry. It’ll go quicker than you think. We’ll cut it and carry it by the bundle over to the thrasher. Then, ordinarily I’d say we could pull all the plant stumps up by the roots and give them to the cattle for feed, then plant a second crop.

  “But this crop got a late start because we were hiding in the mine and couldn’t plant as early as we should have. And I’m not sure a second crop would have time to mature before our first freeze. So we’re probably better off just saving the seeds until springtime. That being the case, instead of pulling up the plants, we’ll just leave them in the field. After we harvest the wheat, and then the corn and sorghum, we’ll just let the cows graze in the fields all winter. They’ll eat the stumps and provide fertilizer all winter long. Then you can plow it all under in the spring before we do the next planting.”

  “So, if we get, say, ten people out here, how long do you think it’ll take to harvest and thrash the wheat?”

  “If we work from dawn to dusk,
I’m guessing four to five days from start to finish. And we’ll need to push it, because the corn’s about ready to harvest too. So we’ll need to go right into that when the wheat’s done.”

  “Wow. No break?”

  “Welcome to the life of the American farmer.”

  “How about the sorghum?”

  “I checked it yesterday. I’m guessing it needs a couple more weeks to mature. It was the last thing we planted, remember. So if we work hard on the wheat and corn, we should have a couple of days to recuperate before we do the sorghum.”

  “And the hay?”

  “Let the hay wait until last. We’ll mow it after everything else is done. Do you have a hay bailer?”

  “Yes, but nobody knows how to use it.”

  “Did it come with instructions?”

  Bryan cut his brother off.

  “Yes, but he doesn’t know how to read them.”

  Karen winked at Mark.

  “Well, Bryan, I guess we’ll have to leave it to you to figure out how to use the bailer, then.”

  Bryan muttered, “Boy, that backfired…”

  Mark asked, “So, how much wheat should we get?”

  “The average yield for this strain is around forty five bushels an acre. We’ve got a little more than half an acre, the plants are fairly tight, and we’ve had plenty of water and sunshine. I’d guess we can expect at least twenty five bushels.”

  “That doesn’t sound like much.”

  She laughed.

  “I think you’ll be amazed at how much bread we can bake with twenty five bushels of wheat. Also, remember we were only able to plant one crop because of the evacuation. This strain of wheat takes about seventy two days from planting to harvest. If we plant earlier next season, we’ll have time to grow a second crop in the same season.”

  A call suddenly came over the radio.

  “Mark, Bryan… Your friend Marty just pulled up in a big truck with a bunch of lumber on the back.”

  Chapter 57

  Marty had the guys open the gate for him, and deftly backed the flatbed trailer into the yard, around the corner of the big house, and into an open spot in the north storage yard.

  Then he climbed out of his rig to shake hands with the brothers.

  “Well, good morning, friends. How’s life treating you?”

  “Things are going pretty well these days, Marty. Thanks for asking. How’s the truck stop running?”

  “Couldn’t be better. People ask me all the time if we’re ever gonna open that diner back up, and I want to share the good news with them. But I know it’ll be at least a year and if I tell everyone too early they’ll bug me about it every time they come in. So I’ve been able to keep my mouth shut. I’ve got something for you guys in the cab.”

  “Do tell…”

  He led them to the passenger side of his rig and opened the door, then took a cardboard box from the floorboard.

  “Your wife… Hannah, was it? She took me aside and asked me if there were any trailers full of liquor and wine at the truck stop. I told her there were two that I knew of. She slipped me a piece of paper and asked me to look for something in particular.”

  He took out the crumpled and worn sticky note Hannah had smuggled to him and handed it to Mark.

  Mark opened it up and read it. It said:

  Marty, if you can find a bottle of EifelerPlatz 1976 Spatlase for Mark’s and my anniversary, I’ll trade you a homemade apple pie for it. Thank you. –Hannah-

  “Well, I like apple pie. In fact, I love apple pie. But I have to tell you, I never worked so hard for an apple pie in my life. Neither trailer had manifests that I could find, so I had to go through case by case, looking at every label. I finally found this about halfway through the second trailer.

  “Happy Anniversary.”

  He handed Mark a full case of twelve bottles of Hannah’s favorite wine.

  “Don’t tell Hannah this, but there are two more cases of this stuff back in that trailer. I’ll hold onto it for you, so she thinks this is the last of it. Someday, when you’re in the doghouse, or just want to get lucky, let me know and I’ll bring it over to you.”

  He smiled broadly.

  “Now, then, if you will tell that pretty little wife of yours that I’ve earned my apple pie, I’ll come back to pick it up whenever it’s ready.”

  “Thank you, Marty. I don’t know what to say. I’ll make sure that Helen bakes the pie. And I’ll have her bake a second one for Lenny too. My wife is sweet and wonderful. But God didn’t bless her with baking talents, I’m afraid. If I let you eat one of Hannah’s pies you’d probably end our friendship. Please don’t tell her I said that.”

  “Oh, I won’t. It’ll be our secret.”

  “In fact, let’s go inside. You can relax a while and shoot some pool and we’ll see if we can get Miss Helen to whip up a couple of pies you can take back with you. She’s a sweetheart. I’m sure she’ll be happy to, if she’s not too busy doing something else.”

  “I’d love to, but I promised Mason I’d help him repair some of the fence on his back forty today. He’s afraid one of those cows you gave us might be able to get out and wander away if we don’t get the wire back up.”

  “Well, then, I’ll deliver the pies to you myself in a couple of days. How’s that?”

  Marty held out his hand.

  “Sounds like a deal. We’ll see you then.”

  Mark and Bryan helped him lower the trailer’s landing gear and disconnect the air line and electrical pigtail. He pulled his tractor out from underneath the trailer and drove over to the gate.

  While Mark was waiting for the “all clear” from security so he could reopen the gate, Marty leaned out of the window and chatted with Bryan.

  “I don’t know if you guys realized it, but you’ve got the best oasis in ten counties. I know that for a fact, because I’ve been driving around these parts a lot lately, trying to get a feel on how the other communities are doing. This is the only place I’ve seen that has both livestock and crops. You guys have done a great job, and my hat’s off to you both.”

  Bryan managed a modest tone, which was quite unusual for him.

  “We didn’t do it alone. It took a lot of help from a lot of people. And with the help of good folks like you, we’ll be able to share the wealth in the coming years until everybody in the area can have an occasional steak or two.”

  Marty waved goodbye and drove off.

  Mark just got the gate secure when Joe’s voice crackled over the radio.

  “John, this is Joe. I need you to come to the security desk pronto.”

  Chapter 58

  Mark and Bryan reentered the building and were walking down the main hallway when John rushed past them.

  Bryan asked his brother, “Wanna see what’s going on?”

  “Of course, don’t you?”

  They weren’t the only ones who were curious. By the time they got to the security center Hannah and Sami were already there.

  “What’s up, Joe?”

  “John, some lady called on the ham radio a few minutes ago. She said she’s Frank Furter’s wife and something has happened to him. She wants you to call her.”

  John picked up the coiled microphone from the ham radio unit.

  “Johnny Bravo to Mrs. Furter, come in.”

  Nothing but static.

  “Johnny Bravo to Mrs. Furter, come in.”

  “Hi, Mister John. I’m sorry, I’m not used to using this thing myself. I usually stand behind Frank and give him a hard time when he uses it.”

  “You’re doing fine. Eve, right?”

  “Close. Eva. I’m sorry to bother you, John. But I don’t know where else to turn.”

  “How can I help you, Eva? Is it Frank? Is he hurt?”

  “He’s been shot. They came in the night. They killed most of the people on the block. Even two of the children. They went house to house, just shooting people. Then they took the cows and the chickens and put them in a big truck and
left again. They shot at me but missed, and then the man’s gun wouldn’t work. It jammed or something. So he cursed me and went away and never came back.”

  “How is Frank?”

  “I don’t know. He keeps going in and out of consciousness. He’s asleep right now.”

  John told Joe, “Call Debbie and David. Tell them I need their help stat.”

  He went back to Eva.

  “You’re doing the best thing you can do by staying calm, dear. Are there any hospitals operating in the area?”

  “We’ve heard there’s one. The general hospital downtown. But we’ve heard that they only have two surgeons and that most of the patients are dying because they’re not seen quickly enough. Also because they have no blood.”

  Debbie and David walked up within seconds of each other.

  “Okay, Eva. I have two people here with me. One is a paramedic and the other is a dental surgeon. I want you to tell them as much as you can about Frank’s wounds.”

  He stood aside and handed the microphone to Debbie.

  “I’ll try. He was only shot one time, in the stomach area. The bullet went through him all the way, and came out his back. It bled a lot at first, but it seems to have mostly stopped now. It’s kind of seeping on the bandages, but not a lot.”

  “Eva, my name is Debbie. I have some questions for you, if you can answer them the best you can. You said the stomach area. Was it below his belly button?”

  “Yes. A little below.”

  “And was it on his right side or left side?”

  “On his right side, probably just to the right of his spine.”

  “Very good. Okay, you said the bullet came out his back. Did it leave a great big hole or a little bitty one?”

  “A little one, about the same size as the hole in the front.”

  “Okay, that’s good. Was there anything protracted, or hanging out from the hole in his back?”

  “No, nothing. Just the ugly hole.”

  “And it missed his spine?”