Without Law 8

by Eric Vall

  “No way,” Anna said. “I’m coming with you.”

  “Me too,” Bailey agreed.

  Tara said nothing, so they both looked at her. She tried to ignore them, but after a moment she threw her head back in defeat.

  “Alright,” she sighed. “I’ll come too.”

  “Two of us will be good,” I said. “The other two can go inside.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Anna said. “Bailey, Tara, you head inside.”

  “Thank God,” Tara groaned, then she smiled at Anna. “Thanks.”

  “Comes with being the Major,” Anna chuckled. “Now, get inside and get warm.”

  “Okay,” Tara said. “I’m freezing.”

  “Bailey was out on sentry duty way before you were,” Anna pointed out. “I’m sure she’s even colder than you are.”

  “We’ll cuddle for warmth then,” Tara said, and she opened the truck door and a fresh layer of snow fell on her head. “What the fuck!”

  “Karma,” Anna whispered to me, and I chuckled.

  “Let’s go,” I told the redhead after Bailey and Tara had hopped out.

  “Alright,” Anna said. “Let’s make this quick.”

  I grabbed the spike strip and jumped out of the truck. My feet landed in the large holes they had left when I climbed in. The snow was deep as hell, and as Anna and I walked it was more of a drag. Lifting your feet in that deep of snow was nearly impossible, so we just kind of shuffled along down the driveway.

  It was fully dark at that point, and my face felt completely numb as it got continuously pelted by the wind and snow. I felt my teeth chatter beyond my control, and I knew we couldn’t stay out there long.

  We reached the bottom of the driveway and laid the spike strip down, then I turned to scan the road by the bridge once more. I saw nobody, so I turned around with Anna and headed back up the hill.

  What should have been a five-minute walk took probably thirty minutes with the depth of the snow and the wind that pushed against us. By the time we had almost reached the door to the dorm building I felt like a damn Popsicle.

  Paige pushed the door open when we were a few steps away.

  “Come on!” the brunette yelled. “Hurry!”

  Anna and I picked up the pace and burst into the dorm building with a mutual sigh of relief. The heat in the building set my face on fire, and I felt my body grow tingly as it slowly began to warm up. My hands and face came back to life with small pin pricks.

  “Oh, my God,” Paige said as she undressed both Anna and I. “You two must be freezing.”

  “I’ll get them some tea,” Tara said, and she headed to the wood stove room.

  “T-t-t-thank y-y-you,” Anna said through chattering teeth.

  “Jesus,” Bailey breathed as she approached us with blankets and threw them over us. “Are you two alright?”

  “It’s a fucking blizzard out there,” Anna said.

  The chattering in my teeth slowly went away as I took a seat on the couch with Anna.

  Tara returned with two large cups filled with tea, and she handed each of us a mug.

  “Here,” the platinum blonde said with a frown. “Drink this.”

  “Not too fast,” Paige warned.

  “What’s going on?” Marla asked as she came down the stairs.

  The woman took in the sight of Anna and I on the couch, and she came over to us.

  “Let me check your fingers and toes,” she commanded.

  “What for?” Tara asked.

  “Frostbite,” Paige explained.

  Marla looked at our fingers, then took off our shoes to examine our feet.

  “I think you’ll live,” she teased after she had finished. “But a few more minutes out there and you could’ve gotten hypothermia.”

  “Thanks, doc,” I said, and I sipped my tea. The warm beverage hit my stomach, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I felt myself warm up from the inside out.

  “Should we have somebody on sentry duty?” Paige asked. “I’ll go.”

  “No,” I said. “It’s a blizzard out there. Nobody should be out in that.”

  “Absolutely not,” Marla agreed.

  “How are the others?” I asked.

  “They’re okay,” Marla said. “They’re upstairs getting warm.”

  “Thanks,” I told her. “And how’s Joe?”

  “He’s doing okay,” Marla chuckled. “Passed out drunk in his dorm room.”

  “Good,” I laughed.

  “You two drink up,” Marla said with a gesture at our mugs. “I’ll come back down and check on you later.”

  “Thank you,” Anna told her.

  “Good thing you brought us in when you did,” Bailey said as she sat across from us. “It’s crazy out there.”

  “Fuck snow,” Tara said.

  “I agree,” I said. “Fuck snow.”

  I felt myself start to warm up from the blanket and the tea and I already felt a hundred times better than I had when I had first stepped into the dorm building.

  “Will the animals be okay?” Paige asked.

  “They’ll be alright,” Jenny told her. “They’re used to cold weather and they have shelter.”

  “Besides,” Tara said. “I put the horses in the barn with the cows so they’d be warmer.”

  “Thank you,” I told the platinum blonde.

  Winchester came over to Anna and I to give us kisses, then he laid on our feet.

  “I think he’s trying to warm you up,” Bailey said with a smile.

  “I think you’re right,” I agreed.

  “I already feel so much better,” Anna sighed. “I didn’t realize how cold I was until we got back in here.”

  “You two were out there for a long time,” Bailey said with a frown.

  “Yeah,” I said. “It was difficult to walk in all the snow.”

  “There’s like ten feet out there,” Anna exaggerated.

  “I don’t think it’s quite that,” Paige laughed. “But there is a couple feet on the ground.”

  “And it’s still snowing,” Tara sneered. “God, I hate winter.”

  “I used to like winter,” Anna said. “But not after today.”

  “I’m going to start some dinner,” Tara said.

  “Hey,” I said. “Is anybody on guard upstairs?”

  “Dan and Merideth,” Jenny told me.

  “Okay, good,” I said. “Without anybody on sentry duty we need to keep an extra good watch tonight.”

  “Do you really think anybody would make it up here?” Anna asked. “I mean, we barely made it.”

  “I don’t,” I said. “But we can’t take the chance.”

  “Anybody who doesn’t seek shelter in this storm is an idiot,” Paige said.

  “I agree,” I chuckled and then I took another sip of my tea. “As soon as the snowfall lets up, we’ll have to get back out there.”

  Tara headed to the wood stoves to start cooking dinner, and Jenny excused herself to go help.

  Paige went into a supply closet and came out a moment later with a bottle of bourbon.

  “Here,” the brunette said, and she handed Anna and I each a cup. “Drink some of this.”

  “You of all people should know that alcohol doesn’t actually warm you up,” I chuckled.

  “Nope,” she agreed. “But it sure helps after a long day.”

  “That it does,” I said, and I tipped the glass to my lips. The bourbon was rich and smoky, and it burned all the way down my throat and into my belly.

  “Now that’s a stiff fuckin’ drink,” Anna said, and she exhaled as if she had just swallowed fire.

  “Did I hear something about drinks?” Tara called from the laundry room.

  “Yes,” Paige said with an eye roll and a laugh. “I’ll bring you one.”

  “And for Jenny too!” Tara hollered.

  “I’ll be right back,” Paige said, and then she left Anna and I alone.

  “Thank you for coming with me,” I told the redhead.

 
“Of course,” Anna said seriously. “I wasn’t going to let you go alone.”

  “Well, I appreciate it,” I said. “I wish you hadn’t come and gotten so cold, but I do appreciate it.”

  “That was like the worst thank you ever,” Anna laughed.

  “Well, it’s true,” I chuckled. “I hate that you were out there with me freezing your ass off.”

  “That’s what Majors do,” Anna told me with a grin.

  “I suppose it is,” I agreed. “You’re the best Major I’ve ever had.”

  “I’m probably the only Major you ever had,” Anna said dryly.

  “Not exactly,” I said. “I don’t think you knew, but Majors actually outrank Captains in the military.”

  “No shit?” Anna laughed.

  “Shit,” I said.

  “Well, damn,” the redhead said. “My bad.”

  “It’s okay,” I chuckled. “I like the way we have it.”

  “I like it too,” she told me sincerely. “But just remember I’m the only one of the girls who can say they went out in a blizzard for you.”

  “True,” I said. “But you did it for more than just me.”

  “That’s true too,” Anna said, and she took a drink of her tea.

  “You two okay?” Paige asked as she and Bailey came back to sit with us.

  “We’re fine,” I said with a soft smile. “Thank you.”

  “Tara’s making some sort of casserole for dinner,” Bailey said. “It should be ready in about an hour.”

  “Well,” Anna said. “We have an hour to kill then. What should we do?”

  “I figured you guys wouldn’t be up for much,” Paige said with a frown.

  “Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “If you want to just sit for a while that’s fine.”

  “Nah,” I said. “Anna’s right, let’s do something.”

  “How about a game?” the redhead suggested.

  “Okay,” Bailey said. “What did you have in mind?”

  “Hmmm,” Anna thought for a moment. “Tav, what do you think?”

  “Strip poker!” Tara called out from the laundry room.

  “She has ears like a hawk,” Anna whispered.

  “No strip poker,” I chuckled. “How about a nice board game?”

  “We have Candyland,” Bailey said.

  “Or scrabble,” Paige suggested.

  “Nobody is playing scrabble with you,” Anna teased.

  “Why?” Paige chuckled.

  “That laugh tells me that you know exactly why,” Anna said.

  “Alright, alright,” Paige said.

  “So I guess it’s a no on Candyland?” Bailey asked dryly.

  “How about regular poker?” Tara asked as she came out of the laundry room.

  “I’ve never played,” Bailey said.

  “I’m down,” Paige said with a grin.

  “She’ll probably count cards or something,” Anna whispered to me.

  “I heard that,” Paige scoffed. “I’m no cheater.”

  “Suuuure,” Anna giggled.

  “I’ll teach you,” I told Bailey.

  “Thank you,” she said happily.

  “Come here,” I said, and I patted the seat next to me. “Watch for the first few rounds.”

  “I’ll get the cards,” Paige squealed and she hopped up and ran to the supply closet.

  “I’m going to go check on the boys,” Jenny said, and she headed up the stairs.

  Bailey watched us play for a few rounds before she tried her hand at the game, but when she did, she proved to be a skilled player. Unlike Tara, who had no poker face to speak of, Bailey was a natural, and I couldn’t get a read on her. Both Paige and Anna had an easy tell, and I knew when to fold or go in with them, but Bailey was a different story. She held her face in a mask of nonchalance, and I found myself getting beat quite regularly.

  “Alright,” Tara said, and she threw her cards on the table. “That’s the fifth time in a row Bailey won. I’m done.”

  “I feel like we just got hustled,” Anna laughed.

  “What do you mean?” Bailey asked.

  “Like you knew how to play all along and made us think you didn’t,” Paige said.

  “I swear this was my first time!” Bailey chuckled.

  “Sure,” Anna said, and she glared at the blonde.

  “How’s dinner coming?” I asked Tara.

  “Let me go check,” the platinum blonde said.

  “Hey,” Dan called from the stairwell, and I remembered that he was on guard duty.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked, and I shot up from my seat on the couch.

  “I don’t know exactly,” Dan said.

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  “Well,” he said. “Can you come up here and take a look?”

  I looked around at the girls and they all had puzzled looks on their faces to match the one on mine. We headed to the stairwell and met Dan on the top floor. He looked out a window that overlooked the road.

  “What is it?” I asked as I made my way to the window.

  “There’s people down there,” Dan said.

  I scanned the area and saw that he was right. There was a small group of maybe ten people in the middle of the road about a half mile from the bridge. It looked like they had tried to build a fire there, but if they had, it had gone out a while ago. The snow continued to come down, and I realized that the people were covered in the white stuff.

  “They haven’t moved in a long time,” Dan said softly.

  “God,” Paige breathed.

  “What?” Bailey asked.

  “I think they froze to death,” I said grimly.

  “Fuck,” Bailey gasped, and she looked down.

  “Thanks for telling us,” I told Dan.

  “No problem,” the young man said. “It’s kinda sad.”

  “It is sad,” I agreed. “Just because we protect our own doesn’t mean we can’t grieve for those who are less fortunate.”

  “Right,” he said.

  “Damn,” Tara said. “That’s fucked up.

  “It is,” Anna said. “They should have found shelter somewhere else.”

  “They probably wanted to try to keep going,” I said. “And when they realized it was too cold, they tried to make a fire.”

  “The world has gone to hell,” Rolly said, and I turned to see him and Betty standing in the doorway.

  “That it has,” I agreed.

  “What should we do?” Dan asked.

  “Nothing to do,” Betty said with a shake of her curls.

  “She’s right,” Anna agreed. “We just have to keep watch and make sure nobody makes it up here.”

  “I don’t think that will be a problem tonight,” Dan said seriously, and he stared out the window.

  “Why don’t you head downstairs,” I said. “I’ll take over watch for a while.”

  “Thanks,” he said, and he hurried out of the room.

  “Is he okay?” Paige asked with concern.

  “He’ll be alright,” I said.

  “He’s a tough boy,” Betty agreed. “But I’m sure that was upsetting to see.”

  “I’m sure it was,” I said.

  “I’m going to go check on dinner,” Tara said, and she left the room.

  “We’ll stay here with you,” Bailey said, and she took a seat.

  “You don’t have to do that,” I said with a small smile.

  “We want to,” Paige said.

  “Thank you,” I said, and I looked out the window.

  The group on the road looked like they had been ill prepared not only for the blizzard, but for the trek down south. I didn’t see any backpacks or weapons on them, though they all had winter coats on. I thought about what a painful experience it must be to freeze to death.

  “They probably died pretty peacefully,” Paige said as she stared out the window.

  “What do you mean?” Anna asked.

  “Yeah,” Bailey agreed. “I feel like it would be terrible to free
ze to death.”

  “I had the same thought,” I said to the blonde.

  “Actually it’s not really painful,” Paige informed us as she stared out the window.

  “How is that even possible?” Anna asked.

  “Your body is basically falling into a coma,” Paige said.

  “Geez,” Bailey breathed.

  “The cold might be painful for a while,” Paige said. “But eventually your body basically goes numb, and you just kind of fall asleep.”

  “That’s always how I wanted to die,” Bailey said. “Super old in my sleep.”

  “Me too,” Anna agreed. “I feel like any other way would suck.”

  “Well let’s make sure that’s the way it happens then,” I said with a soft smile.

  “Dinners ready,” Tara said as she came back into the room.

  “Thanks for cooking,” I told her.

  “Of course,” she said, and then she handed us each our bourbon glasses. “Brought these up too.”

  “Thanks,” Anna said. “I could use a drink after this.”

  “Yeah,” Tara said, and she took a large gulp. “Why do you think I left?”

  “I mean, we knew this would happen,” Paige said. “But it’s crazy to actually see it.”

  “Come on,” I said, and I stood up.

  “Where are you going?” Anna asked.

  “We’re all going downstairs to eat,” I said.

  “What about watch duty?” Bailey asked.

  “I’ll come back up here after we eat,” I said. “I don’t think we’re in any danger for the moment.”

  “Probably not,” Paige said, and she looked out the window once more.

  “Right,” I agreed. “So let’s go downstairs and get some food. Tara, did you tell everyone else that dinner was ready?”

  “Not yet,” the platinum blonde said.

  “Let’s do that,” I said with a smile.

  “Alright,” Tara said, then she yelled loudly. “Dinner’s ready!”

  “You’re terrible,” Paige chuckled.

  “It’s really the easiest way,” Tara said with a shrug.

  “I could have done that,” I laughed.

  “Well, next time you should,” she teased, then she pranced off toward the stairs.

  We all made our way down to the common room and everyone else arrived shortly after.

  “Thanks for cooking,” Marla said to Tara.

  “Of course,” Tara said. “Let’s make the boys’ plates first.”