by Dziekan, PJ
“I’m Michelle. I was an OB/GYN nurse.” They tracked the voice to the shed.
“Jack!” Dylan called as they advanced slowly towards the shed.
Jack left Julianne and Donna and walked over to Dylan and Ryan. “Great to have you back,” he said, grinning at Ryan.
“Who’s in the shed?” Dylan asked.
“Uh, April and I found them wandering the hill path,” he said. “Two people, two kids. They’d been walking awhile and we felt bad for them. Gave them some food and water and locked them in the shed to rest. We were going to send them on their way tomorrow.”
“Some woman in there says she’s a nurse. Is that true?” Ryan asked.
“I don’t know, they didn’t tell us much but their names and that they were overrun.”
Ryan looked at Dylan. “What do you think?”
“We have April.”
“But she’s an EMT. If this woman is an OB/GYN nurse, she might be able to help.”
Dylan looked at Jack. “What do you think? What was she like?”
“Tired, beaten down.” He looked at the shed. “She was really grateful for the food and water. The guy she was with wasn’t too happy with being locked in the shed, but she quieted him down.”
“Do you think we can trust her?”
Jack thought a moment. He knew how important this question was. “Yes,” he finally answered. “I think we can.”
“Get the key,” Ryan said. Jack ran off to get the key while Ryan and Dylan moved closer to the shed. “Michelle?” Ryan called.
“Yes?”
“I’m going to open the door. I want you to come out with your hands up. Just you.”
“OK.”
Jack walked back with the key and one of the .22s. He handed the key to Ryan and raised the gun. Ryan unlocked the door. She walked out, hands held up, blinking in the sunlight. She looked around, flinching when she saw Jack aiming the gun at her. Ryan closed the door and locked it, ignoring the questions from the man inside.
“Come with me.” Ryan nudged her ahead of him. “You better not be lying.”
“I’m not.” Her voice was soft and even. “You look like you could use some medical care.”
“Don’t worry about me. Worry about Sarah.”
“Is that her name?”
“Yes.”
“Your girlfriend? Sister?”
Ryan grimaced. “Sister-in-law, I guess. She’s my brother’s girlfriend. She – she’s in bad shape.”
Michelle turned to look at Ryan. “I’ll do what I can, OK?” He nodded.
They walked up the porch steps, Dylan opening the front door. Ryan went first, Michelle following, Jack still holding the pistol aimed at her back as he brought up the rear.
“April?” Ryan called.
She came out of the bathroom, drying her hands. She stopped dead, looking at Michelle. “What’s she doing here?”
“She says she’s an OB/GYN nurse,” Ryan said. “I thought you could use the help.”
“Is that true?” April directed the question to Michelle.
“Yes.” Michelle folded her hands in front of her, suddenly conscious of how dirty and grimy she was.
“Jack, give me that.” April held her hand out. Jack crossed the room and put the gun in her outstretched hand. “I may only be an EMT, but I have some knowledge. Do anything stupid and I will kill you.”
“So I’ve been told.” She didn’t mean for it to sound flippant, but she had offered to help. She was getting mighty tired of being threatened with death. “Is there somewhere I can wash up?” She held up her hands.
“Dylan, take her into the kitchen.” He motioned and Michelle followed him. April waited until they disappeared before she asked “Is this wise?”
“We have to do what we can,” Ryan said. “I have to. If she didn’t come after me…”
“You don’t know that, Ryan.”
“It doesn’t matter.” He shook his head. “If she can help, it’s worth it.”
“We’ll have to bring them into the group,” Jack said. “If she can help. We can’t send them away.”
Ryan and April looked at each other. “It’ll be worth it,” Ryan repeated.
April wasn’t quite sure. “I have to let Sarah and Mick know.” She turned and headed back to the bathroom.
Sarah was still in the shower, Mick standing beside the curtain. He turned his head when he heard April’s approach. “She’s almost done.” He spotted the weapon in her hand. “What’s with the gun?”
April leaned against the wall. “Yesterday, we found some people on the hill path.” Mick’s gaze narrowed. “We figured we’d give them some food, let them rest, then send them on their way.”
“So? Why tell me now?”
“Because the woman, Michelle, says she’s an OB/GYN nurse.” She took a breath. “If she is, she knows more than I do, Mick. I think she can help.”
“You trust her?”
“I’ll have a gun on her.”
“It’s up to Sarah.”
The water stopped. “What’s up to me?” She asked, her voice a little stronger.
“We found someone, an OB/GYN nurse,” April said. “I think she can help you. She has more experience in this than I do.”
Sarah was too tired and sore to argue. She trusted April to watch out for her. “OK. Can I have a towel?”
♦
Sarah was on the bed, the sheet covering her to her shoulders, Mick in the chair beside her when April brought Michelle in. They stopped at the foot of the bed. Sarah could see the light bouncing off the gun in April’s hand. “You’re a nurse?” Sarah asked, noting the latex gloves on her hands.
“Yes, I’m Michelle.” Her voice was soft and moderated. Sarah could tell it was a professional voice, used to put panicked women at ease.
“I’m Sarah. I’d say I was pleased to meet you, but I’m not.”
Michelle cracked a smile. “I’m sure. Can you answer a few questions?”
“Sure.”
“Is it OK if he stays?”
“You don’t touch me unless both of them stay.” Sarah’s voice was steel.
Michelle nodded. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Her voice started strong, but Sarah faltered as she detailed the abuse she had suffered at Austin’s hands. Mick held her hand, his eyes tightening with anger, with shame. She suffered. He wasn’t there to save her, to stop it.
When she finished, her voice breaking as she reported feeling the bleeding, Michelle nodded. “May I examine you?”
Swallowing, Sarah nodded. Michelle pulled the sheet up. Sarah turned her face to the wall, her hand gripping Mick’s, her short, jagged nails digging into his skin. She winced as Michelle’s hand moved over her chest and abdomen, pressing here and there. She bit her lip as her hands moved down to complete the examination. Tears filled her eyes and she blinked rapidly, not wanting her weakness to show.
“I’m sorry,” Michelle said, stripping off the blood smeared gloves. She pulled the cover back over Sarah. “Without x-rays, I can’t be sure, but I think you have a few cracked ribs. Bruised at the very least.” She paused and sighed. “You’ve lost the baby. Things seem to be progressing as they should. You’re not feverish, so there’s no infection. That’s our biggest worry.”
“And what if she gets an infection?” Mick asked.
“Do you have any antibiotics?” Michelle asked, balling the gloves in her hand. Mick shook his head. “Then you find some and hope they work.”
“And now?” April asked.
“Bed rest for a week.”
“Bed rest?” Sarah addressed Michelle for the first time since she began her exam. “I can’t stay in bed for a week.”
“You can and you will,” Mick said. “If I have to tie you down, you’ll stay here.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Fine.”
Michelle saw the exhaustion on both of their faces. “You should get some rest, too, Mick. I’ll leave you alone now.” She turned to go
.
“Michelle?” Sarah called. She stopped and turned, looking at the fragile young woman. “Thank you.”
Michelle smiled. “You’re welcome.” She left the room, April right behind her.
Sarah looked over at Mick. “You look like shit,” she said bluntly. “Come lay down with me.”
Mick shook his head. “I need a shower. I’m disgusting.”
“I want you here, Mick. Please.”
“I don’t want to hurt you.” He smoothed her damp hair back from her forehead.
“Please, Mick. I need you.” He saw the tears brimming in her eyes. He leaned over and kissed her forehead before he toed off his boots.
Sarah pulled back the sheet and he climbed in the bed. She rolled gingerly to her side and he pressed against her, his arm resting lightly on her belly. “Does this hurt?” He whispered into her hair.
“No, it’s perfect.” She closed her eyes, feeling another tear leak out. “I killed a man.”
She felt his fingers twitch on her belly. “He hurt you. He deserved it.”
Her eyes opened. “No, I killed another man. Bill. I killed him in cold blood.” She bit her lip. “I was so angry at what he did, at how he treated everyone. At what he let Austin get away with. He begged me not to, but I did it. Dylan tried to stop me, but I shot him anyway.”
Mick closed his eyes. Damn, what she went through! He should have been there. He should have protected her. “It doesn’t matter,” he finally said. “He deserved it, too.” His hand caressed her belly. “Get some rest, OK?”
Sarah didn’t think she could sleep. She slept so much on the ride home. She had so much running through her head. She felt his kiss on the back of her head and smiled. She was safe, in his arms. She closed her eyes.
When April looked in a few minutes later, they were both sleeping soundly for the first time in days. With a smile, she closed the door behind her.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Days passed. Sarah’s physical aches faded; her bruises healed. Her mental and emotional wounds, however, lingered. She would be talking to someone and suddenly would feel Austin’s hands on her, see his leering face. She would catch a glimpse of Bobby or Donna and she would relive shooting Bill in cold blood, the look on his face as she pulled the trigger. Watching the kids play in the yard, she couldn’t help but wonder what their child would have looked like. Mick’s eyes? Her hair?
“How are you feeling?” Ryan asked, bounding up to her where she sat on the porch, interrupting her morose thoughts.
Ryan was looking better, having gained some of the weight and muscle he had lost. His face was still gaunt, but it didn’t seem to stop Michelle from noticing him, watching him, as she was now. “I’m fine, Ryan. What about you?”
“Getting stronger every day,” he said with a smile. The smile faded. “I’m really sorry, Sarah.”
“For what?”
“For getting caught. You had to come rescue me and it cost you.” He looked out over the yard. “Both of you.”
Sarah bit her lip. Wasn’t she just thinking about what she had lost? She looked over at Ryan, saw the naked pain in his eyes. “It might have happened anyway, Ryan.” She reached out, touched his hand. He turned to look at her. “I don’t blame you. Neither does Mick. I’m grateful that you’re here, that I was able to rescue you.” She smiled softly. “Now we’re even.”
He forced a smile. “I don’t think we’ll ever truly be even, Sarah.” And I’ll always blame myself, he thought. He looked back over the yard. “Food’s getting tight,” he said.
Sarah nodded, grateful that he had changed the subject. “I figured. Along with space.” She looked out over the yard. Most everyone, including the kids, was in the garden, weeding, watering, and mulching. Bobby and Dylan were hunting, hoping to bring home a deer for the dinner table. Mick and April were fishing, the faint cheers from the lake telling her they were successful. But all the extra people meant that space as well as food was at a premium. The bedrooms were packed with old cots and air mattresses shoved into corners. Bobby and Steven were sleeping in the shed.
“We need to find some more food.”
“What about that warehouse?” She asked. “Do you think that’s still there?”
He shook his head. “It’s been six months. Someone’s probably found it. Besides, if you remember, someone shot at us down there.”
“So we shoot back.” Sarah shrugged.
Ryan started at her matter-of-fact words. Her time in Sugar Creek had changed her, made her harder. “I don’t know, Sarah.”
“It’s the best source of food that we know of. If it’s wiped clean, then we find something else. We need food, Ryan, and lots of it.”
“I know. Space, too. I think we’re outgrowing this place.”
Sarah smiled. “You’re a handy guy, build an addition this summer. You got the manpower.”
“Womanpower, too.”
“Screw that, I don’t hammer nails.”
Ryan laughed. “Welcome back, Sarah.” Impulsively, he kissed her cheek.
She ducked her head. Displays of affection still embarrassed her. “Go bother someone else.” She stood up. “I’m going to head to the garden.”
“Should you…” He stopped at the look in her eyes. “Don’t overdo it,” he ended up saying.
“I won’t. We’ll make a plan to head back to that warehouse. We should go early morning.” She walked down the steps, heading for the garden. “I think a team of three can handle it.”
“OK. Me, Mick and Jack’ll go tomorrow.” He fell in beside her.
“You stay here, I’ll go.”
“Sarah…”
“I’m fine, Ryan. All healed up. I can’t sit here any longer, I’m going crazy.”
“Maybe it should be me, you and Mick.” Ryan waved at Michelle, who smiled at him.
“No, you stay here. You need the rest.” She winked at him.
“Ha ha.”
“Ah, so what’s good for the goose isn’t good for the gander?” She laughed.
They had reached the garden, which they had expanded. Rows upon rows of soil held tiny sprouts of plants, some barely above the ground. They waited eagerly for the fruits and vegetables to push their way through. None of them had any prior knowledge of gardening, but the books they had rescued from the local library and the seeds they had liberated from the scattered remains of the hardware store taught them what they needed to know. It was a bit early for planting, but they crossed their fingers and hoped for the best.
“Hi, Sarah, Ryan.” Michelle’s eyes lingered just a moment on Ryan before she turned to Sarah. “How are you feeling?”
“Fine. Tired of sitting on my ass.”
“You can start light activity,” she said, swiping a hand across her brow, leaving a small streak of dirt.
“Good, ‘cause I’m going on a supply run tomorrow.”
Michelle shook her head. “I don’t know about that.”
“It’s a done deal, Michelle.” Sarah’s tone brooked no discussion.
She smiled down at Sarah. “They warned me about you.”
“What?” Sarah asked with a bemused smile.
“They said you’d be a difficult patient. You’ve been pretty good so far, but now I see what they meant.” Despite being over five years older than Sarah, she looked like a teenager when she grinned.
Sarah couldn’t help but grin. “Who told you this?”
Michelle shook her head. “Nurse/patient confidentiality.”
“I’m your patient!” Sarah laughed.
“Not my only one.” Michelle turned her gaze to Ryan. “How are you feeling?”
“Good. Stronger.”
Michelle nodded. “Good. Are you planning on going on the supply run, too?”
Ryan glanced at Sarah, then back to Michelle. “No, I’ll be staying here.”
“Good,” Michelle repeated. Did Sarah see a slight blush on her cheeks?
“I’m going to check out the rest of the garden,�
� Sarah said.
“OK.” Ryan started to walk beside her.
“Stay here, Ryan. I can get around on my own.” She didn’t give him a chance to answer, just walked away.
“She really is a leader, isn’t she?” Michelle said as she watched Sarah make her way through the garden. She stopped to talk to everyone, even crouching down to Elizabeth’s level to inspect the tiny seedlings that were coming up.
“A reluctant one, but she is,” Ryan answered. “She’s kept us all together.”
Michelle caught the wistfulness in his voice. “Still pining for her?”
Ryan started. “What? No. No, it’s not like that.” At Michelle’s raised eyebrow, he smiled sheepishly. “It was like that, but not anymore. I love her like a sister.”
“Good.”
Ryan looked down at Michelle. Really looked at her. He smiled widely
♦
Dylan and Bobby didn’t come back with a deer, but they did manage to bag two wild turkeys. It was Thanksgiving in April, with turkey, canned potatoes, canned yams, green beans, and the last of the apple cobbler for dessert.
“I hear we’re making a supply run tomorrow,” Mick said as he finished his cobbler.
“Yeah, it’s time for me to be useful again.” Sarah leaned back into the couch, her empty plate on her lap. She ate almost everything, passing only on the yams.
“Do you have to go?” He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
“I do.” She lifted her eyes to his. “I can’t sit here feeling sorry for myself anymore.”
“Sarah…”
“Mick, I have to get back out there. I have to put this behind me.” Her hand covered his. “I want you with me.”
He smiled. “Try to stop me.”
She smiled back. “Never again.” She released his hand. “Who should we take with us? I was thinking Jack.”
“How about Bobby? Jack’s still limping a little.”
Sarah looked across the room at Bobby, who was talking to Ryan. “What do you know about him?”
“Works hard. He’s quiet, though. I’m not sure he feels entirely comfortable yet.”
“If you think he’ll work, we’ll take him. I want to get an early start, so we should be getting to bed. You want to tell him he’s been volunteered to go, since you did the volunteering?” She grinned at him.