by Connor Mccoy
Chapter Nine
Tom slapped the piece of wood on top of the two wooden horses. “It went down like a lead balloon,” Tom said.
Sarah leaned against the side of the house. “At least you survived to tell the tale,” she said.
Tom took hold of the ruler on a nearby table and placed it on the board. With a pencil, he drew a guideline across it. “I tell you, you two must have had some interesting dinner conversations when you were married,” he said.
Sarah crossed her arms. “Oh, believe me, I’ve got some stories.”
Tom traced another line with his pencil on the opposite end of the lumber. “From what he said, it doesn’t sound like he’s going to challenge them head on, but I’m sure he’s plotting a bigger defense. It wouldn’t surprise me if he builds a stone wall around the house and mines every piece of dirt out to the roadside.”
Sarah sighed. “This is going to be a disaster. I know Conrad’s gotten us through some bad times with Derrick and Kurt, but a whole army? I’d say that’s crazy even for him, but…” She threw up her arms. “The man almost never buys that things can be good. That maybe the world for once isn’t out to get him. He’s going to do something that’s really stupid and it’s going to come back and bite him hard.”
Tom turned and looked Sarah full in the face. “So, what do you want to do? Are you thinking of leaving?”
Sarah folded her arms. “I’d have to leave Liam. He’s not leaving his father, and, of course, Carla’s not leaving him.” She bowed her head.
“After all the time he lost, I suspect he’ll stay with him until his dying day. And, I really can’t ask him to go. It’s because of me that he lost out with Conrad.” She curled her fingers. “I can’t leave him either. My baby, my little grandson…” She shook her head.
Tom nodded. “Then I guess we stick it out for now.”
Sarah nodded back. “For now.”
Tom lightly touched Sarah’s bare arm. “Actually, all this doomsday talk from your ex has got me thinking about some things. If we truly have only a little time left before things go to hell again, maybe we should consider…well, you know.”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “Are you talking about…”
Tom smiled. “Maybe.”
Sarah suddenly grabbed and hugged Tom. “Oh please, I’ve been hoping for this.”
Tom chuckled. “Well, I’m not popping the question yet.”
“Oh, I know. But this is good enough.” Sarah gripped Tom a little tighter.
Conrad held his grandson under the apple tree. “Yeah, I figured it was time you met your great grandpappy.” He smiled at little Conrad, who just turned his head from side to side. The baby was bundled up well and seemed comfortable in the crisp winter air. Liam and Carla stood close by. Sarah was nowhere in sight, and neither was Tom. Conrad wasn’t surprised. Sarah didn’t like coming here the first time Conrad showed everyone the grave marker of his father.
Conrad turned to the stone resting in the shadow of the tree. A soft layer of snow coated the top, but much of the stone was exposed, more than enough to show off the name “James Bradford Drake” carved into it. “See, Daddy? This is your great-grandson. Sure you’d be proud as hell of him.”
Conrad imagined his father in the space where the stone was. Memories of his father zipped by him, from the dark-haired surly young man Conrad knew as a kid, to the graying, frustrated middle-aged man Conrad knew as a young adult, and finally, the degraded, stroke-impaired elderly man Conrad nursed in his final days. James Drake was a man that terrified Conrad so often. And yet, coming up here and reminiscing had become slightly harder for him each time. As mixed as Conrad’s feelings were, he still wished the old man was here.
Sadly, James died a year before Liam and Carla arrived at the homestead. Conrad wished he could have seen his own father’s eyes when the elder Drake saw his great-grandson. Conrad wanted his father to know the family had continued and thrived. It would give the old man some comfort, knowing that despite the failures he had suffered in life, his progeny would continue and thrive.
“You know our last name, Drake, it’s English for ‘dragon.’” Conrad chuckled.
“That’s right. The dragon. The mighty beast of legend.” He looked back at the stone. “I guess we fit the name, don’t we Daddy? We’re both big, fierce, fire-breathing monsters.”
He glanced at Liam and Carla. The pair smiled, but a bit awkwardly, as if he they didn’t know how to react. Conrad decided to change the subject a little, to lighten things up. He told little Conrad, “In fact, your great-great-grandfather, my daddy’s daddy, he married an Irish lady. Liam, your daddy, his first name is actually from his great-great-uncle. So, Liam’s an Irish dragon.” He chuckled.
Liam looked at Carla. “I guess that’s why I always loved Lucky Charms,” he said. Carla playfully swatted Liam in the chest.
Little Conrad let out a small cry. “Uh oh.” Conrad turned to Carla. “Either he’s hungry or getting a little pooped out.”
Carla reached out. “I’ll take him.” Conrad handed the baby over to her. “Oh, I know that sound. He is tired. C’mon sweetie, I’ll put you down.”
Carla started off for the homestead. Liam was about to join her, but he hung back with his father. “Are you okay, Dad?”
Conrad smiled, putting on a relaxed face. “Sure. I suppose it’s just hard to think about Daddy. I wish he could have made it to see your son. Say, can I just have a moment here?”
“Sure.” Liam backed up. “I’ll make sure little Conrad gets tucked in.”
Conrad watched his son leave. Then, he turned back to the stone under the tree, and his expression darkened.
“Yeah, I wish you were here to see the little guy. You could have seen Liam and Carla. You’d have seen how a family can be, not like the hellhole I grew up in.” He pushed his lips together hard. “In the months that Carla’s been here, I never once saw her cry or scream or despair the way Mama did. But you probably wouldn’t have made the connection, would you? You were always too set in your ways.”
He gazed at the stone. Naturally, it never would respond to him.
“Still, I wish I could talk to you. Remember when you told me Nature is the great equalizer? Well, my number might be coming up.” He flexed his right fingers.
“I’d probably be with you and Mama and all the boys soon enough, but I’m not ready. If I must leave this world, then I’ve got to secure the future for Liam and Carla and my grandkid. Hell, for all the grandkids they’ll give me, even the ones I’ll never see.” He bowed his head. “And right now, I don’t know how the hell to do that.”
It was a minute before he could look back at the grave marker. A bit of peace came over him.
“I still got time, don’t I?” Conrad asked. “Well, I’ll make the most of it. I’m sure there’s one thing we can agree on. Liam and little Conrad are the best of the Drake men in the past four generations.”
He looked at the grave one final time, and seemed to perceive a note of agreement coming from the snow-covered ground.
“I don’t know,” Liam said as Carla folded the blanket neatly over little Conrad’s feet. “He acted like something was bugging him.”
“Doesn’t he always act that way?” Carla asked as she made a face at little Conrad.
“No, actually, leading up to little Conrad’s birth, he was fine. I’d say he was even pretty relaxed about everything.”
Carla turned to Liam. “Well, I guess visiting your own dad’s grave isn’t the happiest thing you can do in life, is it?”
“Guess not.” Liam grimaced. “I’d hate to think of having to do that myself someday.”
“Well, we did learn the origin of the Drake family name.” Carla smiled. “So, our little Conrad is a dragon.”
Liam laughed. “Sometimes he sounds like one, especially when he’s hungry or wants you to hold him.”
Carla laughed. “Yeah.” Then she glanced at her child, and her expression cooled. “You know, for a moment
I didn’t know if Drake would be his last name. I mean, considering we’re not married, I guess he could have taken my last name and been an Emmet.”
Liam drew in a long breath. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of that.”
“What, you never thought about marrying me?”
“No, no.” Liam’s skin burned. “I mean, in the run-up to little Conrad being born. I haven’t been able to think about anything else but working the farm and getting ready for his birth.” He looked into Carla’s eyes and instantly felt guilty. “Maybe I thought you were my wife anyway. Actually, it’s hard to think of you as anything else.”
“That’s sweet.” Carla’s smile looked a little pained as she said it, though. “But I guess it would have been nice to have made it official. I went through a few sets of parents before I settled on the right one. Having an actual husband would make this whole family thing a little more real for me, like there’s no chance it could just blow away.”
Yeah. But my parents were married and that didn’t stop them from splitting up. But Liam didn’t dare voice that sentiment. Instead, he just looked away. Carla was right. He realized he had taken his arrangement with Carla for granted for too long. The two of them loved each other. Liam didn’t doubt that. So, why not go that extra mile and make that commitment, with no caveats?
“Don’t worry about it.” Carla reached down and readjusted little Conrad’s blanket. “I guess we’ve all got our hands full dealing with this crazy new world.”
“Yeah,” Liam said. But as he watched Carla work with their son, he vowed he would take care of this oversight, and soon.
Darber held up the small glass vial. “My compliments to Nigel. This amount of regional anesthesia is perfect to numb your arm long enough for the operation.” Then he turned to Conrad. “With this, you won’t be screaming for me to put a bullet in your head to end the agony.”
“I once dug a nail out of my foot. It can’t be that much worse,” Conrad said, seated on the edge of his bed.
Darber shook his head. “Just thank God you won’t have to find out.” He put the vial in the box Conrad had brought back from Hooper City. Then he fished out a plastic bag with what appeared to be black string coiled up inside. “Before, I would have been able to use laser surgery to seal up your skin. But, fortunately, Nigel was able to find us some thread.”
“Now, did he order more than what you need?” Conrad pointed to the box. “I didn’t just want enough for me. Anybody living here might need i someday. Liam or Sarah or Carla could fall, maybe split open their leg or an arm.”
“The incision won’t be large, so I think there will be plenty left over,” Darber said.
“So, I guess we’re set,” Conrad said.
“I’d say so. Do you still plan to keep a full lid on this?” Darber asked.
“It’d probably be for the best. If I beat this thing, I’ll spare everyone the worrying. Why get them all worked up if I end up alright?”
Darber strolled in front of the window. Fresh snow fell outside. “True. But, you will be slowed down for a while and your family and friends will notice.” He turned and looked right at Conrad. “Perhaps this will be the turning point.”
Conrad stiffened up. “Ron, my mind’s made up. The plan’s set. There’s nothing else to be done.”
Darber nodded. He paced back to the window, where he gazed at the falling snow. “I just was thinking of Tara a few days ago. It’s been so long since I last saw her. I was wondering if she’s alright.”
“Think she’d go by your house in Davies?” Conrad asked.
“God knows if the house is there any more. I wonder if the place burned to the ground in a riot when Kurt didn’t come back. Or, perhaps the town is as quiet as a mouse.” Darber ran a hand through his thinning hair. “It’s been so long. I just wonder if I took her for granted. With all the chaos in this world, perhaps I should have paid more attention to her.”
“Look, if you want me to help search for her, maybe put out a word on the radio, I’ll do it. It’s the least I can do after all you’ve done for me.”
“I’d appreciate that. I suppose I’m just saying I wish I had someone to confide in.” He sighed. “That’s not something you have to worry about.”
Swallowing hard, Conrad turned away. Darber had touched that nerve again. He turned his attention to the window, to the stars outside.
“Ron, I’m not sure if I can do anything but keep my cards close to the vest. I feel like I can control the world that way, at least my world.” Then he grasped his right arm. “But with this damn tumor in my system, I’m just bullshitting myself, aren’t I? Someday my time’s going to run out.”
“It’ll run out for all of us sooner or later. Nobody lives forever.”
“Every man will die.” Conrad stood up out of bed. “But not every man will really live.”
“Braveheart?” Darber asked.
“It’s nice to know everyone I know has good taste in films,” Conrad said with a smile. He had paraphrased the line from the film’s main character, William Wallace. “Though it’s a shame you don’t like Westerns.”
“I was always more into classic musicals,” Darber replied as he turned once again to the window. Then he laughed.
Conrad scratched his chin. “I can’t tell Liam yet. He’s got too much to worry about right now with his baby. I have no right to make this his problem.” He looked back to Darber. “All right, Ron, here’s what we’re going to do.”
Chapter Ten
Tom withdrew the saw from the wood. “Damn!” That was the third time the blade had caught inside the wood. He simply couldn’t concentrate as much as he wanted. Sarah’s worries over Conrad’s plans for the mysterious army had distracted Tom more than he wished.
Since his mind was too rattled, he stopped to ponder his own feelings about the matter. He didn’t feel Conrad was a bad man, not at all. On the contrary, his time with Conrad in the city of Redmond had changed Tom considerably. The experience of fighting off Maggiano’s men and freeing Sarah had shorn him of a lot of selfish and shallow thinking. In fact, Tom felt he owed Conrad for changing him.
But that didn’t mean Tom would follow Conrad blindly. Conrad could be brave and resourceful, but he still was a little too eccentric and paranoid for Tom’s tastes. He didn’t even feel he could call himself Conrad’s friend, at least not a close one. It seemed like a floating mist accompanied Conrad wherever he went. Tom never would see a clear view of the man.
He didn’t have time to think it over any longer, as two adult males approached the property from the state road. Leaving his project behind, he raced to the edge of the fence, dreading a repeat of the time he spotted Kurt’s three men coming to look for Doctor Darber.
The two men carried backpacks, which wasn’t odd. Without cars to drive, walks down the road could take hours or days, so travelers needed a good supply of water and food. But that backpack also could be hiding weapons.
He was about to head back to the house, to call Conrad and the others and let them know two strangers were approaching, but then Conrad himself emerged from the house, walking up to the man before he reached the driveway to the homestead. The pair chatted, but Tom was too far away to hear them.
He knows them, Tom thought. His anxiety cooled off. He realized he probably understood Conrad’s mode of thinking more than he might have known, if he had to immediately suspect trouble whenever he spotted a stranger approaching.
“Damn,” he said to himself.
Camilla was scrubbing some grease off the kitchen countertop when Conrad’s heavy footsteps from the open doorway turned her head. She stuck her head out the door. He was approaching the hall that ran past the kitchen, with Nigel and a young bearded man beside him. Both newcomers wore backpacks, having not discarded them since they entered the home.
“Hey.” Conrad said. “I invited Nigel over to help with some important housework. He brought in some muscle to give us a hand.” Conrad slapped the young man on the should
er.
The youngster reacted with a bit of undisguised horror, his eyes widening and his body flinching, but he quickly recovered.
“Oh, don’t sweat it, kid. I’m just playing with you,” Conrad said before turning back to Camilla. “Yeah, this is Lance. He’s one of Nigel’s delivery men.”
“Hi.” Camilla smiled at him.
Lance nodded. “Hi,” he said.
Then Conrad stopped very close to Camilla. “Yeah, we’re going to be indisposed for much of the day. I hope that’s okay.”
Camilla smiled. “Hey, whatever you want to do is fine by me.”
Conrad grasped Camilla’s hand and slid something into it. He smiled and walked off with Nigel and Lance.
Confused, Camilla opened her hand. Conrad had deposited a small folded up note in it. She opened it up and silently read the contents.
Come to my room at 1 o’clock. Don’t tell anyone. Conrad.
“Hey,” spoke Tom from behind Camilla.
Camilla quickly folded her fingers, crumpling the paper in her hand. Then she turned around. Tom was looking down the hall. “Conrad come in here? I saw him talking with somebody outside.”
“That was Nigel. He’s a storeowner from Hooper City,” Camilla replied.
“Oh.” Tom scratched behind his head. “Well, that’s one load off my mind. I wasn’t sure if he was a friendly when he showed up. Is he going to be around for a while?”
“I don’t know. Conrad said not to worry,” Camilla replied.
Tom excused himself back outside, leaving Camilla to ponder what Conrad could be up to. She also got a weird feeling about that Lance kid. He seemed a tad nervous. Also, he was looking around at the walls, particularly at the places that had bullet holes.
No matter, she thought. If I saw a house with a bunch of bullet holes, I’d wonder what kind of parties they were throwing.
An hour later, Camilla knocked on the bedroom door. One o’clock had just arrived. “Conrad?”
