by AJ Newman
I deboned two thighs and diced the meat into the smallest pieces possible, and then I placed the meat in an empty can and began boiling the rabbit. Later, I would squish the meat with my knife blade to make a paste that I could eat.
Now, I was ready to cut two forks and a straight stick to make a spit to use to roast the rabbits. A large maple tree close by had precisely what I needed. The sticks were soon cut, and I threaded both rabbits on the stick and laid it in the forks of the support sticks. The rabbits were cooking, and the smell was almost strong enough to cover up the scent of the burning rabbit feet and guts I had thrown on the fire.
Karen came back into camp. “I thought we were having rabbit for supper. This smells like someone is cooking dirty socks. I brought back some spices, but they won’t be able to cover up that smell.”
“Sorry.”
She said, “Next time, bury the guts and fur close to the campfire and then rake the ashes and coals over them. Animals won’t be able to get the scent. Well, that does look like two rabbits cooking on the fire. You’d better turn them before they burn.”
I rotated the rabbits. “What spices did you find?”
“I found some Wild Onions, Dandelions, Peppergrass, and Horse Radish out by the roadside. These young green Peppergrass seedpods will taste like pepper in stews. The Horse Radish leaves can be eaten as salad with these tender Dandelion leaves and wild Onions. You should recognize the Horse Radish roots. You grind them up to make Horse Radish mustard. I’ll make a salad and figure out how to make something like pepper while you cook,” Kate said.
I was amazed she knew all of these survival foods. I had learned about surviving in the wild in the Army, but had never needed to use the knowledge. ‘You’re amazing. May I assume your vast knowledge of wild plants wasn’t an asset your ex loved about you?”
She half-heartily laughed. “If the asset didn’t fit in my husband’s bed, he didn’t appreciate it.”
I knew I had stepped on it now. “Ma’am, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up old stuff. Crap, you know what I mean.”
“You didn’t upset me. I have to laugh at him every now and then, or I’d be crying all the time. The truth is, he left me eight months ago, and I’m at peace with it now. I just hate that he ran out on the girls.”
Kate mashed some Mayonnaise from my MRE box, Pepper Grass seedpods, and a small bit of Horse Radish into some water. “Here, taste this sauce,” she said, and she pushed a spoon to my lips.
I didn’t know what to expect, but it was good. Not my favorite, but better than eating a dry salad. She then ladled some of the sauce over each of the rabbits. “This will cut the gamey taste a bit. I’ll mash up some salad for you. I guess it will be a smoothie when I’m done.”
We stopped talking when the smell of the roasting rabbit brought the girls back to the campfire. Missy asked, “What does roasted rabbit taste like?”
I piped up. “Chicken thighs.”
“Girls, Jason is halfway correct. They taste a bit like chicken, but with a stronger flavor. I won’t BS you. We’re in deep trouble, and I think all of America is in the same boat. The electricity, communication, and cars are dead …”
Missy interrupted, “Mom, you don’t have to scare us into eating the rabbit. We just wanted an idea of what to expect.”
“Girls, rabbit tastes like rabbit. Here’s some salad with a pepper-flavored dressing and Jason will cut you a piece of rabbit. Let’s eat. I’m hungry.”
The girls didn’t like the salad much, but ate their fill of roasted rabbit. I didn’t like the salad and only ate a small amount of salad smoothie. The sauce did cover up most of the gamey taste as Karen had predicted. We all ate our fill, and I was worried that I hadn’t left much for MMax and Tina to eat. We finished eating, and Karen told me to relax while they cleaned up the supper dishes. I sat on a tarp and leaned up against one of the wagon wheels as I watched them straighten up the camp.
Later, I heard some bushes shake and saw MMax and Tina stroll into camp. MMax walked over to me and licked my hand. I tried to give him a piece of the rabbit, but he walked away and laid down beside Tina. MMax licked Tina’s muzzle, and I saw the blood on her white face. I guessed they had shared a rabbit before coming back to camp.
“MMax, heel.” MMax came to me, and I saw the cut on his back. “MMax, what happened to you? Did you get into a fight with a coyote or a fox?”
MMax looked up at me with his eyes wide open, head tilted, and a half inch of tongue hanging out. I knew this to be the ‘Good Boy’ look. He had this look every time I rewarded him by saying, Good Boy. I could only guess what he’d done to think he earned a Good Boy from me. My handler’s training told me not to reward him unless I knew exactly what he had done that was good and more importantly, MMax must understand what the good behavior was before being rewarded.
I thought, “Screw it. MMax must have done something good.”
“Good Boy,” I said as I inspected his wound.
This caused MMax to shake with delight all over. He licked my hand and gave me the ‘Good Boy” look again.
I sent Missy to fetch our first aid kit and took a needle and some monofilament fishing line from my backpack. I soaked the needle and string in alcohol before suturing Maxx’s wound. Karen watched as I shaved the area around the wound. I then sprayed Lidocaine around the wound. I closed MMax’s wound with sutures, then applied an antibiotic salve, and placed a bandage over the wound. MMax looked up at me and yawned.
Karen said, “You look like you’ve had experience sewing MMax up.”
I looked up at her. “I had all the veterinary training to take care of MMax, and this is his first cut deep enough for stitches. I do have the experience, though. Several of my buddies got in a bar fight, and I stitched them up to keep our NCO from knowing about the fight.”
“It’s nice to know we have a doctor.”
I laughed and poked her on the arm. “Change that to dog-tor, and you’d be correct.”
We had only been asleep for an hour or so before I heard Karen say, “Oh, no,” and run off to the bushes. A few minutes later, both of the girls jumped up and ran to the bushes. I chuckled to myself about their predicament when suddenly my stomach began a slow boil, and I found myself running the opposite way into the bushes.
The next eight hours were a nightmare. All three of the girls had diarrhea all night and were very sick the next day. I had stomach pains and cramps, but didn’t get as ill as the ladies did. Since I was in much better shape, I tended to them for the next two days. I made a broth from leftover rabbit and a thin soup from the canned chicken in the MREs, but had to make them eat. The young ones kept saying they thought they were dying.
I kneeled beside Karen and lifted her head, so I could tuck a rolled up blanket under her head to raise it. I said, “Open your eyes and open your mouth. It’s lunchtime.”
“I’m not hungry. Let me sleep,” Karen moaned.
I replied, somewhat sarcastically. “You have to get better, so I can tease you about trying to poison us with your wild plants.”
She snickered at me. “Asshole.”
“Hey, I’m not the one who picked plants from the roadside and tried to kill us. By the way, did you try to feed your husband any of these plants?”
“Spoon some of that broth into my mouth and shut up. I have to get well enough to beat the tar out of you. I thought you were a good man,” she said.
I politely joked, “An asshole would have left you ladies, the first night, and avoided a rather messy situation. I just want you to get better, so take another spoonful. I’m very good at killing people, but nursing …not so much.”
“I must have confused one of the plants with a look alike. I’m so sorry, and I’m glad you didn’t eat much of the salad. I almost killed my girls,” Karen sobbed.
I stopped her in mid-sentence. “You were the sickest. The girls have almost recovered. I don’t think you made a mistake. I looked up and down the road and saw evidence of where the
county had sprayed the weeds. Up on the road, the weeds are all dead. Down by the camp, they’re just turning brown. I think some kind of herbicide was sprayed on the roadside before the crap hit the fan. They must have stopped just before they arrived here and only the overspray landed on these plants.”
“Thanks for trying to make me feel better. More broth, nurse.”
It was only then I realized that I didn’t have time for nightmares.
On the third morning, I left camp to perform my morning ritual and commanded MMax to guard the women before I left. I finished my business and returned to the camp. The girls were asleep, and I saw Tina lying between the girls and MMax lying beside Karen with his head on Karen’s stomach. I said, “Good Girl,” and patted Tina on the head. I then patted MMax on the head and scratched his ears. “Good Boy.”
As usual, MMax gave me his ‘I’m a good boy look’. Tina just raised her head and drooled on Missy.
I had some time to think before the others woke up for the day. I was pleased I’d only had one short nightmare for the last several nights. I laughed to myself as I thought about the dreams about Karen and me. I felt better than I had felt in many months that morning. This was perhaps the longest time I had gone without having to kill someone.
☆
Chapter 9
Rutherford County, Tennessee
Billie woke her son and then brushed the hay from her hair. The barn was much better than sleeping out under the night skies, but she missed her nice bed. The lady who owned the home and barn begged them to stay in the home, but Billie didn’t want to impose, so they’d slept in the barn that night on their way to her sister’s home.
They had to walk the last half of the trip because some no-good rascal had stolen the horse in the middle of the night. Billie cursed the thief the next morning because he had also taken all of their food and most of their belongings. Mark had never been truly hungry a day in his life and had griped and whined the whole way to this stranger’s house.
Billie planned to thank the lady and head out afterward, but the woman met them at the barn door. “Come on up to the house. I have ham and eggs with buttered toast and my blackberry preserves on the table.”
Billie balked. “We don’t want to put you out or eat your food. We’ll just be on our way.”
“I’ll just have to throw it away.”
Mark pleaded with his mom. “Mom, I’m hungry.”
The woman said, “I have chickens for eggs, blackberries everywhere, and a cow to provide milk for drinking and butter. What I don’t have is friends to eat with me. Please stay and have breakfast.”
“Ma’am, we’ll stay and eat, but you should be careful. Food will be scarce soon,” Billie said.
Jan Walker replied, “Not so scarce that I can’t share with a mom and her hungry boy. My two boys and my girl live away from here, and I miss them so much. It’s good to have company until my husband returns from town.”
Billie hadn’t met Jan’s husband. “Too bad we have to leave this morning and miss meeting your husband. How long has he been gone?”
Tears came to Jan’s eyes. “Too long. He left the day after the grid went down and hasn’t returned. I know I’m trying to fool myself into thinking he’ll return, but I need the hope that he will. Why don’t you two stay with me a while? We have plenty of food.”
Billie said, “I have to check on my sister and her family. Thanks so much for the hospitality, but we must go.”
It only took two more days to reach Murfreesboro and the neighborhood where her sister had lived. Billie had only been in the area a few times, but instantly knew something was amiss. She and Mark ducked behind a hedge, so she could observe the area for danger. The neighborhood was usually immaculate and tidy. Almost no one even parked their cars on the street. Billie had to bypass the first turn that would take her to her sister’s home because the road was blocked by three cars that had been pushed across the street to block traffic. Someone had also strung fence from the vehicles to the homes on either end. Billie didn’t see any guards, but did see some shadows move behind the cars.
“Mom, why can’t we go on to Aunt Sue’s house? I want to play my games, and they should have electricity.”
Billie had the urge to strangle the boy. “Son, I have told you a dozen times, no one has electricity. We may never have electricity again. Quit whining and help me.”
Billie pushed Mark back along the hedge and then walked a block out of her way to come up to her sister’s home from behind. When they approached her sister’s backyard, she was slammed by the acrid smell of burning vinyl and another foul odor similar to rotten flesh. Then she heard dogs barking and fighting. She poked her head out from between two evergreen bushes, and what she saw made her heart pound. There were four fresh graves in the backyard, and the pack of dogs fought over something one of the dogs had in its mouth.
Billie recognized the thing in the dog’s mouth, drew her pistol, and shot three of the dogs before they could scatter. She took the body part from the dead dog’s mouth and placed it in the hole it had come from. Billie looked around the yard and then called out to Mark. “Grab those pavers from around the fountain and stack them on the far grave. Place them close enough that the dogs can’t dig into the grave.”
Mark balked, but Billie barked. “Get your ass in gear young man before I lose my temper.”
Billie began stripping the backyard of the concrete edging and pavers until all four graves were covered. She tried to keep her mind clear of who might be in those shallow graves, but deep down knew it was her sister and her family.
They finished covering the graves and Billie noticed the back half of her sister’s home had burned to the ground. Wisps of smoke still rose from the rubble, telling Billie the fire had occurred recently.
She dried her tears and looked around the backyard and homes on either side. There had been a gunfight. The houses had numerous bullet holes in the vinyl siding, and many windows were shattered. She slunk back into the bushes with Mark when she heard several voices.
“Hey Will, we got the bastard. Jose has him tied to the bumper of his pickup.”
“Thank God. That is one sick man. We need to deal with him today and not let anyone talk us out of hanging him. I still can’t figure out why he came here to kill that family.”
“Sorry, but the council has decided there won’t be any death penalty issued.”
Billie choked her tears down when she recognized one of the men as a friend of her brother-in-law’s.
Billie called out to the men. “Hey, Will. It’s me, Billie. I came back to see my sister. What happened here? Is she okay?”
Will rushed to Billie. “I’m sorry, Billie, but they’re gone. All of them.”
Billie kept her composure. “What happened?”
“A mad man snuck into the neighborhood a couple of days ago and took them hostage. Billie, he was looking for you. We tried to talk him into letting them go, but failed. He shot the kids when you didn’t show up and threatened to kill your sister and her husband if we didn’t find you and give you to him.”
Billie dropped to her knees, sobbing. Mark knelt down and tried to console her to no avail. “Mom, please don’t cry.”
She sat on the ground for a few minutes, and then took Mark’s hand to steady herself as she rose to her feet. “I’d like to see the bastard who killed my sister and her family,” was all she said.
The men escorted Billie to where the killer was tied to the truck. Billie saw Ray before he saw her. “What are you going to do with this mad dog?”
Ray looked up and saw Billie and Mark. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite girlfriend. I came here just to take you home with me.”
“Why did you kill my sister and her family?”
Ray sneered, “They wouldn’t help me find you. You’re going to be mine.”
Will asked, “Is this man nuts or what?”
Billie answered. “I think he’s a sociopath who kills without remorse and doesn’t
understand why we’re mad at him.”
Mark asked, “Why did you kill my cousins?”
Ray grinned. “I didn’t have no use for them. Iffen they was girls, I could have used them some. Your aunt fought a lot, but she was good to me once I beat on her a little.”
Billie drew her 9-mm and asked, “What are you going to do with this vermin?”
Will said, “Several people want us to hold a trial, and when we find him guilty, we will banish him from the area. He doesn’t belong with good people.”
“And you agree with banishing him?”
“Well, we don’t have a jail.”
Billie asked, “Why don’t you hang him?”
Will said, “Most of the council doesn’t believe in capital punishment. I would shoot him in a heartbeat.”
Billie turned toward Ray. “Ray, you have been found guilty by this community and …” Billie pulled the trigger and shot the tip of Ray’s ear off. Ray looked at Billie with a surprised look on his face. Billie squeezed the trigger again, and Ray's other ear exploded in a red mist. Billie saw bits of Ray’s ear fly away, and there was a fine red mist in the air for a second before Ray slumped to the ground screaming.
Will shook in fear as he said, “Billie, I’ll have to hold you for shooting this man.”
Billie turned to Will and the other man. “My pistol is pointed at your chest. Hand your guns to my son. I’m guilty, so you can banish me from the area. I will go peacefully now and banish myself. I’ll drop your guns three blocks from here on Memorial Drive. Now hand your guns over, or I’ll shoot.”
The men handed their pistols to Mark and backed away from Billie. The men were just as scared of this mad woman as they were of the insane man who had killed the family.
Billie looked down at Ray. “If I ever see you again, I’ll shoot your balls off one at a time and then put a bullet into your gut, so you will die slowly. Go back home and never try to see me again.”
Billie pushed Mark back through the evergreens and led him over to Memorial Street. She looked at the pistols, and both were 9-mm. Neither of the magazines fit the Ruger, so she took the bullets and tossed the guns on the corner. She ran as fast as she could get Mark to move, and after a few blocks slowed to a walk, so they wouldn’t draw attention.
