“I can’t go in there.” Barry cried. “They don’t trust me.”
“Don’t worry,” Jason spoke up. “Monica and I will go with you. All you have to do is show us where they are and we’ll do the rest.” He turned to Flora Dennis. “I hope you can find room for us to sleep.”
She nodded. “We have lots of room. We’ll just bring another mattress down from upstairs.” She sighed. “We don’t have much food left. One more jar of peas and a rabbit that Ervin trapped, but we’ll be happy to share. The peas are yours anyway.”
Monica patted her hand. “Your kids need those peas more than we do. Besides Irma sent a thermos of soup with us. All we need is sleep. The walk over here was pretty harrowing.”
When the men went to get a mattress, Monica studied the room and its inhabitants. Besides Barry, two gaunt little girls and a boy of about four huddled together. Their eyes were huge in their thin faces as they returned her gaze.
She turned to her hostess. “You know, Flora, the teacher in me keeps calling. If this darkness goes on for a long time, we need to educate these kids.”
Flora nodded. “I know. We’ve been treating this as a temporary power outage, but it’s way bigger than that. If we live through the winter, we will have to band together and make a future plan.” At the mention of living, her eyes filled.
Monica reached over and patted the cold hand. “I’m so sorry about your baby.” She said. “We are trying to think of options so the rest of us don’t go the same way. Sam and Stella Johnson ran a dairy farm and Sam is going to try to get us some milk. He turned his cows out so we are hoping that one of them might be milkable.”
At Flora’s hopeful look Monica continued. “We haven’t been very good neighbours, I’m afraid. We should have brought you over some of our meat.”
“Meat?”
“Yes, we have been butchering the cows so even though we have no bread or anything, we do have meat. Sam and George are going over there today so we’ll make sure you get some.”
“Well, how could you know?” Flora stood up to help the men move beds and bedding. “We had a garden, but with five kids it went away pretty fast. And I’m not really a canner…usually I just froze things. We have lots of ‘stuff’,” she looked around the room, “and lots of kids, but I never thought more than two weeks ahead for food. We just ran to the store.”
“Yes, I know.” The younger woman agreed. “I was the same. That’s why we headed for Jason’s parents' place. We knew they would have food.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, they also have a houseful of people, so it probably wasn’t going to last much longer. And now,” she sighed, “there is none left.”
“What people?” Ervin asked. “Neighbours?”
“No, not really. The Johnson’s are there, so they’re neighbours. But Tom and Adnan followed us when we came, and then George and Melanie found us when they were looking for a safe place. They have a six-year-old and our baby, Jack is just over a year, so we are bursting at the seams.”
Flora shook her head. “And we are the lucky ones. We have wood to burn and water to drink. The pipes froze before Christmas, but the well is still there. In the meantime, we’re melting snow. People who live in cities don’t even have that. We’re out of food now, but the winter is nearly half over.”
“We’re talking about going hunting too,” Jason added to the conversation. “I’m seeing deer tracks around our place. Up to now, we haven’t needed to,” he glanced at Barry who was listening silently, his head on his chest and his hair covering his eyes. “Things are more desperate now,” he added quietly. “That’s another reason to check on that schoolhouse gang. We don’t need to add another danger to the list.”
“I’m making rabbit soup,” Flora said. “It’s a little thin, but if I add the peas we can call it stew.”
“We’ve got some left in our thermoses.” Monica poured their contribution into the pot, and the older woman looked at her with a smile.
After their meagre meal, they joined the family on the mattresses and drifted into sleep. Jason and Monica were exhausted from their day of walking and didn’t hear Ervin putting more logs on the fire during the night. The old house creaked in the cold. Outside, a lone wolf began to howl.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The old farmhouse was silent. Baby Jack slept in his playpen. Ty tossed restlessly under Stella’s watchful eye.
In the kitchen, Tony and Irma started to clear the dog’s corner. They mournfully picked up his empty food dish, emptied the water down the sink and folded the worn blanket.
A frantic pounding on the back door made them both jump up. Melanie tiptoed down the stairs.
“Who do you think it is?” she whispered.
“Don’t open that door,” Tony cautioned, “until you see who it is.”
Irma had already flung the door open and started to sob with relief. “It’s the boys!” She reached out and pulled them in.
“Oh, where have you been?” she scolded even as she unbuttoned their coats. “We’ve been so worried. Monica and Jason went to look for you. Come in, and take those boots off.”
“Melanie,” she ordered. “Get these boys some hot water to drink. They look frozen. Stella, see if there is any of that stew left in the pot. Get in here, boys and sit down.”
Tony slowly stood and came over to help them remove their winter gear. He took their rifles and placed them carefully in the corner of the kitchen.
“You boys gave us quite a scare.” He said softly, studying their weary faces. “you’d better tell us why you snuck out into a storm in the middle of the night, and why we shouldn’t just send you back out there.”
Freed of their heavy clothing, Tom and Adnan looked very small. They had lost weight, Irma noted, so hadn’t been eating. She looked at Tony with a warning in her eyes.
“Let’s get them warmed up and fed before we hear their story.” She said. “Come on boys. There is only a bit of meat left but you obviously need it.”
They all moved into the living room, closer to the fire. Stella put cups of hot water in front of them and Melanie silently spooned watery stew into bowls.
Jack sat up in the playpen, looking with interest at the family. He began to whimper and Irma picked him up and began to rock him gently.
They all watched expectantly as the last spoonful was cleaned from the bowls. Tom sighed and began to tell his story:
“We just thought we’d be able to help.” He started. “We knew Mrs. Baldini didn’t want us to go, but there’s two of us so we decided to go to the school and just take a look around.”
“Why did you take your guns?” Tony asked gruffly. “That’s just asking for trouble.”
“Well, we figured we might need protection. We meant to hide them before we got there.”
Adnan took up the narrative: “We don’t really know where the school is, so we thought we’d go to where the old wagon is and follow the tracks. But we didn’t count on the snow. By the time we got to the wagon we were already tired, so we decided to crawl under it, light a small fire and sleep for a couple of hours.” He grinned sheepishly at Tony. “We did remember a few things you taught us like always take matches, and don’t carry loaded guns.”
“So anyway, that worked. We ripped off some sideboards and lit a fire, crawled under the wagon and dozed off.
“Trouble is,” Tom added, “We didn’t count on the snow. When we woke up, we were completely covered in it. The wagon kept it from falling on us, so we were in a kind of cave. It was so warm with the fire we were able to take off our coats and put them under us to lay on. We had water and we could hear the storm, so we just stayed there. Then,” and he looked rueful, “we realized that with the heat inside and the wet snow, our cave was freezing around us.”
Tony nodded. “Of course, that’s how they build igloos in the far north. But they build a door into them.”
“Yep, but we had no door. And our cave was getting smaller as we pulled boards from the bottom of the wagon for
our fire. So, we started poking at the snow, trying to make an air hole.”
Adnan piped up. “We were really scared,” he said. His voice shook at the memory. “It was getting really tight, so we let the fire go out. We just took turns digging and poking at the ice and snow. You wouldn’t believe how hard it was. And we didn’t know how deep it was, or if the wind was still blowing, or even if it was day or night.”
Melanie was holding her feverish son and now said sarcastically, “Obviously you got out. Here you are”
The boys turned wounded eyes toward her. “Is Ty sick?” asked Tom.
“Yes, he is. He has a fever and we don’t have anything for it.” She held him close to her breast and began to rock.
“So you got out?” Irma prompted.
“Yeah, we finally got out. We kept falling asleep, but one of us kept poking at the snow and finally we saw light. So, we put on our stuff and came back here. How long were we gone?” Tom asked anxiously. “We lost track after the first day.”
“This is day four,” Tony told them. “We couldn’t go looking for you because of the storm, and everybody was so worried.” He reached across the table and grasped their hands. “You have to understand, boys, you are part of this family. We aren’t all related by blood, but we have chosen to band together as a family group. When you decide to do something on your own, you have to think of how it will affect the rest of us. You already have families’ worried sick about you in the city, and we don’t want to have to explain to them someday that we let you do something stupid. You could have died out there, and we wouldn’t have known where to look.”
“And now,” Stella spoke up. “you may have caused Jason and Monica to walk into danger too. They’ve gone to the school to see if you made it there.”
The boys hung their heads. Tony’s grasp on their hands tightened.
“I’m sure they will be fine.” He assured them. “But I hope you consider the consequences of what you have done. We’re not your parents so maybe you don’t feel we have any authority, and you think you are big enough to make your own decisions, but adults stop and consider the whole picture before jumping in.”
They both nodded. Tears rolled down their cheeks.
“Anyway,” Irma stood up briskly. “You both need to go up and sleep and put on clean clothes. We’ll heat some water so you can have a good wash too. You both stink.”
Everybody smiled in relief.
“Hey, wait a minute.” Tom looked around the room. “Where’s Rufus.”
Tony’s face fell and Irma’s eyes filled with tears.
“Poor old Rufus just couldn’t go on anymore,” Tony said sadly.
“He was weak anyway from not enough food, and the injury was just too much.”
“He died?” Adnan choked out. “They killed that old dog?”
“Nobody killed him.” Tony looked at them. “He was old and weak. He’s in a better place now.”
“No, they killed him. Those thieves killed him when they hurt him.” Tom’s voice was grim. “I hope Jason finds whoever did it and gives them a taste of their own medicine.”
“Go to bed,” Irma said sharply. “Jason is looking for you, not trouble. He’ll go to the school, and when you aren’t there, he’ll come home.”
After the boys had left to get a few hours of sleep, Tony stood at the window looking at the furrows in the deep snow left by the trail breakers. “It’ll be a long way to the farm,” he thought. “They’ll have to break trail the whole way.” He sighed heavily and went to get his boots. They would need more wood. Tomorrow he would send the teenagers out into the woods to cut some more.
Behind him, he could hear Ty’s heavy breathing, the baby whimpering and the women’s crooning.
CHAPTER TWENTY
The sun had barely touched the horizon when Jason awoke. For a moment he wondered where he was and why he was sleeping on the floor. Then it all came back to him and he turned his head and observed the Dennis family sleeping around him. As he watched, Ervin stood up and moved to the wood box in the corner.
The clatter of the wood being dropped into the stove woke Monica and she blinked in his direction. Jason smiled, though he knew that his beard almost hid his lips. Her beautiful eyes told him all he needed to know. She knew he was smiling at her, happy to be with her and eager to continue their journey. Their hands touched and fingers twined under the heavy blankets.
Ervin grunted a good morning. “Guess we’re up,” he growled. “Looks like a nice sunny day, so we should get on our way as soon as possible.”
Jason scrambled to his feet He pulled his jeans over the long underwear he wore. “You don’t have to come, Ervin. We just need Barry to be our passport. Once we’re in the door, he can come home.”
The other man laughed shortly. “Hah! You think I’m going to let my boy go out there alone? He already got in enough trouble over there.”
“Nope, I’m going.” He gave the boy a gentle kick to rouse him. “C’mon, boy, let’s go and check out these ‘mean’ kids.”
After a breakfast consisting of hot water, they struck out towards the school. Jason and Monica led, again taking turns breaking their trail through the deep snow. Barry followed reluctantly with his father behind him.
“It’s a five-mile walk,” Barry panted, “and in this snow, it’ll probably take a few hours to get there.”
The others nodded grimly and slogged on.
After an hour, they stopped for a short rest. Ervin had fallen behind and now he caught up, red faced and breathing hard.
“Are you okay?” Monica asked with concern.
“Yeah.” He answered. “We haven’t had much food lately, so I’m not as strong as I used to be.”
“Don’t worry about me.” Ervin continued. “I’ll catch up at the school if I fall behind. We have to get there so we can get home before dark.”
“It’ll be easier coming back,” Jason told him. “We’ll have this trail to follow. It’s tiring breaking through the new snow.” He looked at Barry. “You up for this, son?”
The boy nodded. “Yeah. But I still think it’s a mistake going over there. I told you these kids are mean and the leader is downright crazy.”
Another hour and they could see the square schoolhouse. The three-acre playground surrounding it was smooth and undisturbed. Its many windows blinked and shone in the bright sunshine.
“It looks pretty deserted,” Jason said doubtfully. “Are you sure they’re here?”
“They hang out mostly in the gym,” Barry said. “Follow me.” He moved to the front and led them around the building to the windowless gym. The overhang had kept a clear trail close to the walls. He pointed to the double fire doors nervously, then climbed the snow covered steps and paused, waiting for Jason and Monica to join him on the cement landing.
Finally, he squared his shoulders, took a deep breath and pounded on the doors shouting. “Hey, guys! Open the door. It’s me!”
After a few minutes, the door opened a few inches and a shaggy head appeared. “Hey, Barry.” What’re you doing here? Don’t you know it’s cold out?”
While Barry explained their errand, Monica studied the boy. He appeared to be about sixteen, but under the hair and the grime, it was hard to tell. She could smell wood smoke coming from inside the building.
“Nah!” the boy shook his head. “Ain’t no Adnan here. We’d know if there was a brown person around.” He laughed…. a laugh that made him seem much older suddenly.
Jason put his hand on the door. “Why don’t we come in?” he asked. “We need to warm up before we head back.” He gave the door a push and the boy stumbled backwards. Monica and Jason stepped forward pushing Barry out of the way. He looked around him for a moment, then reluctantly followed them in.
As he moved forward, Jason caught a movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head just in time to see the table leg being swung at his head. He and Monica crashed to the floor while Barry stared in disbelief.
M
onica groaned. She tried to bring a hand up to rub her aching head.
“I’m tied up.” She shook her head to clear the cobwebs and memory came rushing back. They had stepped into the gym. She had seen a half dozen dirty faces staring back at her, then, nothing. She groaned again as she realized she was tied to a chair with her hands behind her and her feet trussed together.
She still had her coat and boots on, so that was something. Slowly she turned her head and opened her eyes. Jason was tied in the same manner. His head slumped and blood dripped slowly onto his snow pants.
“Good, you’re awake.” The voice was gruff. A man’s voice, not a boy’s. She looked up.
There was a makeshift fire pit in the middle of the gym floor. They had found a rim from a tractor tire, and put it directly on the hardwood. Now there was a black circle where it had burned down to the cement. The room reeked of smoke and unwashed bodies. A row of mats lined one wall.
A rough hand grabbed her chin and dragged her head up. She almost cried out at the pain but forced herself to meet her assailant’s eyes calmly.
The young man who stared back at her was probably good looking under all that hair and dirt, but now she saw only malice in his expression.
“Who are you?” he asked roughly. His voice was deep and threatening. “What do you want?”
“We’re looking for a couple of boys.” She answered as she studied the group around the fire. They were all younger than this guy. Some looked as young as twelve or thirteen. She forced her eyes back to his face. “We heard there were some kids hanging around the school, so we thought they might have come here.”
He started to speak, but she continued. “One is blond and the other dark. Have you seen them?”
“How did you hook up with Barry?”
She saw Barry huddling with the others. He caught her eye and shook his head slightly.
“He’s the same age as Tom and Adnan.” She told him. “We know his parents, so we asked them if he had any idea where they would go and he mentioned the school.”
The Incident | Book 1 | They Called It The Incident Page 12
