Without Law 8
Page 3
“Rolly!” I yelled up.
“What’s up, boss?” the old man called down.
“You must be soaked,” I said, and the rain continued to pelt me in the face as I looked up at the man.
“I’m alright,” he hollered.
“Get inside and keep watch out the top floor windows,” I called back. “I can’t risk you getting sick out here.”
“I won’t argue,” Rolly chuckled. “You bring home another stray today?”
“Something like that,” I laughed. “We’re going to get Betty’s group.”
“Alright,” the old man called, then he disappeared as he headed inside.
“We need to get this stuff offloaded,” I told Anna and Tara.
“Alright,” Anna said with a hard nod. “Do you want us to do that while you head to Betty’s?”
“Yes,” I said. “And once you’re done, you can help Rolly with guard duty.”
“Okay,” Tara said seriously. “But we’re talking about you know what later.”
“Later,” I agreed, and just then Bailey and Paige came running out of the dorm building.
“We’re ready,” Paige breathed as they reached us.
“Let’s get going,” I said. “This rain is only getting worse.”
“The other truck is gassed up,” Anna told me.
“Thanks,” I said, and I led Paige and Bailey toward the truck.
“Incoming!” Rolly yelled down from the window.
“One of ours?” I asked.
“Looks like it,” he called back.
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Others must have seen the explosion as well.”
“Good thing,” Anna said.
Just then one of our military trucks pulled up the driveway, and I saw Betty, Dan, and Jenny packed into the cab.
“Hey,” I waved as the old woman parked the truck.
“We saw the smoke,” Betty said as she opened the door and hopped out.
“Good job,” I told her. “You got everybody from the farm?”
“Yes,” Jenny answered. “And the last of the supplies too.”
“Great,” I said. “Let’s get the supplies into the gym.”
“You heard him,” Jeff said as he hopped out of the back of the truck. “Let’s get it done!”
The other civilians piled out of the truck, and they each grabbed a box or a crate filled with fresh or canned veggies and started to carry them into the gym.
“Where are the Millers?” I asked Betty.
“I’m not sure,” she answered with a frown. “I figured they would be here before us, what with the kids and all.”
“They’re not,” I said with a shake of my head. “You all get everything offloaded, I’m going to go check on them.”
“Are you sure?” the old woman asked. “They must have seen the smoke.”
“I have to make sure,” I said. “We don’t have much time until the Guard comes through.”
“Okay,” Betty said with a nod. “Be careful, we need you here.”
“I will,” I said with a small smile, but it was hard to smile when the rain picked up and continued to beat me with large, ice-cold drops. “Anna, get this truck offloaded and help the others!”
“On it!” the redhead called back as she carried a box inside the gym.
“Tara,” I said, “you’re with me, we’re going to the Millers.”
“Let’s do it,” Tara said as she started toward the truck.
“Bailey,” I said. “I want you up on the top floor with Rolly keeping guard.”
“Got it,” the blonde said with a nod.
“Pick two more people to take up with you and get someone posted on each side of the building,” I instructed.
“Okay,” Bailey said, then she called out to Donna and Betty to come help her, and they all headed to the dorm building.
“Paige, help Anna!” I yelled to the brunette.
“Already on it!” she yelled back with a smile as she helped offload the truck.
I made my way to the truck where Tara waited, hopped in the driver's seat, turned the engine over, and tore off down the driveway.
“Do you think the Millers are alright?” the platinum blonde asked as I turned onto the road toward the farms.
“I hope so,” I said with a frown.
“They could have just not seen the smoke,” Tara said softly.
“You’re right,” I said with a nod. “And it started raining just after, so I imagine most of the smoke cleared quickly.”
“Right,” she said.
“We’ll find out soon enough though,” I said with a smile, and I pressed harder on the gas.
The rain came down on the windshield with a constant thudding that obstructed my vision, even with my wipers going.
“So what’s the deal with the new girl?” Tara asked, and I looked over to see her raise an eyebrow at me.
“She was in a bad spot,” I said with a smile. “Why, are you jealous?”
“Duh,” the platinum blonde said with a grin. “Anytime you bring a hot chick home I’m going to be a little jealous. That girl looks like she could be a model.”
“I didn’t invite her to come home with us because she’s hot,” I said with a laugh. “Also, you look like you could be a model.”
“So you do think she’s hot?” the platinum blonde asked with a raised brow.
“She is very pretty,” I said with a smile. “But not as pretty as you.”
“Uh-huh,” Tara said. “Just don’t be bringing girls home on every trip.”
“I’ll try not to make a habit out of it,” I chuckled.
“Nah,” Tara said seriously. “It’s okay, I’m not really jealous, just teasing you. She is really hot though. Think she’d want to play with us? And by ‘play’ I mean ‘let me watch while you fuck her.’”
“Holy shit, Tara,” I gasped.
“You should see your face right now,” she laughed. “You are turning red.
“You tease,” I snickered and felt some stress leave my shoulders.
“Always,” the platinum blonde said. “Besides, super model girl’s got a baby. You couldn’t just leave her out in the cold.”
“No,” I said with a shake of my head. “We couldn’t.”
“And I bet that baby is adorable,” she said with a grin.
“Aren’t all babies adorable?” I asked.
“No way,” the platinum blonde laughed. “Haven’t you ever seen an ugly baby?”
“I don’t think so,” I chuckled. “I mean, they’re not very cute when they’re newborns, but I think most babies are pretty cute.”
“Well, I bet this one is especially cute,” she said.
“Why do you say that?” I laughed.
“Because the mom is really pretty,” Tara said in a ‘duh’ kind of tone.
“Well, I saw the baby,” I said. “And he is very cute.”
“Oh, my God,” Tara said with a grin. “Does he have curls?”
“A little,” I said with a smile.
“I love babies with curls,” the platinum blonde sighed.
“We’re here,” I said as I pulled into the long driveway.
“I don’t see anyone outside,” Tara said, and she squinted up at the farm house.
“Neither do I,” I said with a frown.
“I don’t even see anybody on guard,” the platinum blonde said, and she turned to me with wide eyes. “Do you think the guard already came by?”
“I don’t think so,” I said, and then I shook my head. “But something is definitely off.”
I parked in the driveway, stepped out of the truck, and looked around for a moment. Besides the rain, it was deathly quiet, and I got the sense that something terrible had happened.
“This is eerie,” Tara said, and she looked around with narrowed eyes.
“I agree,” I said with a nod. “Ready your pistol.”
“Already there,” she said, and she flipped the safety on her Ruger.
&n
bsp; “Good,” I said, and I unholstered my own pistol and held it by my side.
I led Tara to the house and waited at the door for a moment to listen. The rain was loud, and it had begun to thunder, but I could just barely make out some sounds from inside.
“What do you hear?” Tara whispered.
“I’m not sure yet,” I said, and my eyebrows pulled together. “It sounds like a female voice.”
“Let me listen,” the platinum blonde said, and she pushed in front of me and set her ear against the door. “It’s someone crying.”
“Are you sure?” I asked with a frown.
“Yeah,” she nodded.
“Let’s go in,” I whispered, and I pushed in front of her and opened the door.
I raised my pistol, ready for anything, but what I found was the civilians all in the living room.
“Jesus!” Cathy jumped and screamed when she saw me standing in the hallway with my pistol.
“Sorry,” I said, and I holstered my weapon. “What’s going on?”
“It’s Frank,” Justin said, and he rounded the corner so I could see him.
“Is he alright?” I asked seriously, and I peered around the corner to see Marla crying over Frank who laid still on the couch.
“He’s really sick,” the black haired man said with a frown.
“Is he able to be moved?” I asked in a whisper.
“Yeah,” Justin said, but he looked puzzled. “Why?”
“The guard blew the tanker,” I explained. “We need to get everyone to campus.”
“Shit,” he cursed, and he ran a hand through his thick hair. “I didn’t even see smoke or anything.”
“Who should have been on guard duty?” Tara asked quietly.
“I’m not sure,” Justin breathed, but just then Marla let out another large sob, and it looked like Justin was about to cry.
“We’ve all been so worried,” Cathy said frantically. “I’m sorry, we should have made sure somebody was watching.”
“It’s okay,” I told her, and I reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, then Justin’s. “We have your backs, but we need to get out of here.”
“Okay,” he said. “Maybe you two can convince Marla to come.”
“I’m on it,” I said with a nod. “You all get the rest of the stuff packed in the truck and get ready to go.”
“Okay,” Justin said, and he took a shaky breath.
“It will be okay,” I told him, and I looked him in the eyes.
“Yeah,” he said with a small nod. “Yeah, okay. Everybody, let’s get this place packed up.”
The civilians headed toward the kitchen with Justin, and when Mitch tried to stay behind with Marla, Cathy gently led him out of the room as well.
“Marla,” I said softly after everyone was gone. I moved into the living room, the non-working television still sat in one corner, and Frank was laid out on an old eighties style sofa.
“Nothing I do is working,” Marla cried, and she looked up at me with wells of tears in her eyes.
“Hey, it’s okay,” I said, and I crouched down next to her.
“What’s wrong with him?” Tara asked softly, and she reached out to push the boy’s hair gently back from his face.
“He’s burning up,” Marla said, and she wiped a tear away. “He’s had diarrhea since our Thanksgiving dinner, and he’s so dehydrated, I can’t even get him to keep water down.”
“Do you think it was food poisoning?” Tara asked with wide eyes.
“No,” I said, and I shook my head.
“Everyone else would have been sick too,” Marla said, a bit more calm now. “And food poisoning doesn’t normally last this long. It’s a bug.”
“We have antibiotics at the campus,” I told her. “The guard set off the tanker, so it’s time to move everyone.”
“Okay,” she said softly, and she sniffled a bit.
“We’re going to help everyone finish packing up,” I said. “Then we’ll come back in for you.”
“Alright,” she said, and she frowned at me. “Thank you.”
“Everything is going to be okay,” Tara whispered with a soft smile, and she reached out and held Marla’s hand.
“Thank you,” Marla said softly, and she looked back to Frank.
I led Tara toward the kitchen, the civilians were going in and out of the house, carrying boxes and crates filled with vegetables and canned goods. I grabbed a box and headed out to the truck.
We loaded the supplies quickly, and while we worked, I thought about the severity of Frank’s condition. Marla was a registered nurse, and if she was this out of sorts over it, it couldn’t be good. I didn’t know if she was simply too close to the situation, or if the boy really was in danger, either way I couldn’t dismiss it yet. I would have Paige help take a look when we got back home, even though Marla had more experience, another pair of eyes couldn’t be a bad thing.
“This is the last of it,” Justin said as he picked up a box.
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “Get everybody in the truck, I’ll help Marla with Frank.”
“No,” Justin sighed. “I want to do it.”
“Of course,” I said, and I took the box from him so he could head back into the living room.
I carried the box outside and found Tara already rounding up the civilians and loading them into the trucks.
“Good job,” I told the platinum blonde as I walked over to her.
“Thanks,” she said with a grin. “I saw there was only a box or so left, so I figured it was time to load up.”
“Right you are,” I said with a smile.
Just then Justin came out of the house holding Frank in his arms. He cradled the small boy like a newborn, and the boy looked even more frail in his father's arms. His small body was thin and pale, with closed eyes, and he didn’t hold onto his father, just allowed himself to be carried. Marla walked next to them, her hand gently laid on her sons head as he bounced slightly with each step.
“He looks really pale and weak,” Tara whispered with a frown.
“He does,” I said, and my eyebrows pinched together.
We watched as Marla crawled into the passenger's seat, and Justin handed her the small boy. Then Mitch crawled into the middle of the cab, and Justin hopped into the driver’s side.
“You ready?” I asked gently.
“Ready,” he said with a sad nod.
“I’ll follow you,” I told him.
Justin nodded, turned on the truck, and headed down the driveway, then Tara and I hopped into our own truck, and I followed Justin as he took off down the driveway slowly.
“Poor Frank,” Tara said as we drove behind the Millers.
“He’ll be okay,” I told her, but I really had no idea. When I was in Sierra Leone, I had seen what happened when people got sick in areas with limited clean water and medicine. I had to hope this wasn’t Cholera or anything else highly contagious.
“Yeah,” Tara said, but she pursed her lips. “Marla is, like, a nurse though. If she can’t fix him, I don’t know what we’re supposed to do.”
“It is concerning that she is so distraught,” I agreed. “But that’s her son too. There’s a reason they don’t allow surgeons to operate on family members.”
“That’s true,” the platinum blonde said with a nod. “I can’t imagine what she’s going through.”
“I’m sure it’s not easy for parents to see their child suffer,” I said gently.
“Maybe Paige can look at him when we get back to campus,” Tara suggested.
“I had that same thought,” I said. “A second opinion is always good.”
“I just hope he’s alright,” the platinum blonde said with a frown.
“He will be,” I said seriously. “We’ll make sure of it.”
I followed as Justin pulled out onto the road. I knew he had to go slowly because of the people and supplies in the back, but each minute that passed was agony, though I was sure it was worse for Justin and Marla.
The rain still came down, and the road was wet, with puddles everywhere.
“This rain just won’t let up,” Tara said as it beat down on the window.
“It’s started to thunder too,” I said, and just then lightning flashed across the sky.
“I used to love thunderstorms,” the platinum blonde sighed.
“You don’t anymore?” I asked.
“I still do,” she said. “But it’s not the same when you have to work in them.”
“That’s true,” I said with a smile. “Working in bad weather gives you a whole new appreciation for things.”
“I wouldn’t exactly call it appreciation,” she chuckled. “But it does make me feel like I took a lot of things for granted before the EMP.”
“I think most people did,” I said softly.
“You didn’t,” the platinum blonde said with a smile.
“Of course I did,” I said.
“Really?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.
“I’m not perfect,” I said with a shrug.
“You could have fooled me.” She grinned.
I smiled at Tara, then followed Justin as he made the turn up toward campus. Once we were at the top of the hill, I saw Rolly wave to us out of the top-floor window in the dorm building.
“Seems like they got everything put away,” Tara said, and she pointed to the trucks.
“Looks like you’re right,” I said with a nod. “But now we have one more truck to put away.”
“Where is everyone?” the platinum blonde asked, but just then Paige came running out of the library with Anna in tow.
“Hey!” the brunette said as I hopped out of the truck. “Come to the library for a second.”
“Okay,” I said with a nod. “We need to offload the Miller’s truck first.”
“I’m on it,” Anna said. “Go with Paige.”
“Alright,” I agreed, then I turned to Tara. “Get Marla whatever she needs. She can stay in the laundry room with the stove if he needs to be warm.”
“I’m on it,” the platinum blonde said.
“What’s wrong?” Paige asked.
“Frank is sick,” I said solemnly. “Bad.”
“Shit,” Anna breathed.
“I’ll help in just a minute,” Paige said. “Come with me real quick.”
I left Anna to get the truck offloaded and followed Paige into the library where she had several maps laid out on one of the tables.