by Sage du Toit
Tom started off by explaining that when he woke up he had no idea where he was or what had happened to her. The last thing he remembered was hearing men outside of the Chemistry Lab and he had slipped on his gas mask and had an M16 pointed at the door for when they opened the bookcase. He fired at them as soon as he saw a face and they fired back. But he had nothing to hide behind so one of their bullets hit him in the shoulder and another grazed the top of his head, which must have knocked him out. He reached up and touched the scabbed over spot on his head and noticed that his hair felt clean.
He continued on saying that when he woke up, he was in what looked like a doctor’s surgery room. All of his bandages had been changed and a new one was on his shoulder and his head and his arm was in a sling. He added that his knee felt different and it hurt again but in a different way and it had a brace on it. He was hooked up to an IV and the bag was almost empty. The room was dark, except for one emergency candle burning, because there were no windows in the room.
He said that he called out and soon a small pretty oriental woman came in the room and nodded her head at him. She said something in what he recognized as Mandarin and then she removed the IV. She handed him a single crutch and motioned to him how to use it with the one arm and to follow her. She led him out of the surgery and through an office and into a back room that looked like a living room of a house. She motioned for him to sit down in a chair and he watched as she left the room.
He looked around as he waited, all of the windows had been covered and the only light here was the emergency candle she had carried from the surgery room. He didn’t have long to wait and a slim white man came in from further back in the house. He introduced himself as Dr. Byron Bruce and told Tom that he was safe here for now. The woman came back in the room carrying a tray of tea. She gave each of them a cup of hot tea and she motioned to a cup with sugar cubes and he put two in his cup the same as the Dr.
Dr. Bruce introduced the lady as his wife, Su-Ching and explained that she didn’t speak much English but she understood it well enough. He then apologized and told Tom that the tea and sugar were all they had left. Tom said he felt guilty for taking the sugar and saw that both of them were very thin. Tom said he introduced himself and asked how he got there.
The Dr explained that two days before his wife had come to get him because she heard someone outside crying. She said there was a woman hiding in their bushes in front of the office and she was crying and moaning and talking to herself and she thought the woman might be hurt. Tom looked at her meaningfully. Sam remembered hiding in bushes in front of a Doctor’s office but she didn’t remember crying and talking to herself.
By the time the Doctor got there she had run off. His wife told him that the woman was crying and saying the name Tom and she was also saying she thought the school would be safe, but they really needed the food and now he was dead. They could see the school from their home office and when they looked out they could see the gangsters. They had heard the gunshots earlier which is why his wife thought the woman might be injured. But they didn’t want the gangsters to know they were there. Somehow, they had avoided detection and they didn’t want them to notice them now. They carefully watched until the gangsters had all left. The Dr said that his wife didn’t want him to go but the mention of food couldn’t be passed up, he wanted to go check because they had none left.
He said he waited until dark and went over to the cafeteria but the gangsters had completely cleaned it out. He realized he should have gone days sooner. When he was leaving he saw Tom laying on the landing of the stairs and checked his pulse. He was still alive. The Dr said he checked him over and found his arm was dislocated, he had a gunshot wound in his shoulder and his head had bled a lot but it was just a superficial injury. He picked him up and carried him to his house.
The Dr continued on saying that they didn’t have any food, but they had plenty of medical supplies, he was an orthopedic surgeon and he worked out of his house for small surgeries, only going to the hospital when he had something big. So, he had taken it as a sign that here was someone he could save and help and maybe in return they could be helped he said he was a firm believer in karma.
The Dr had taken him to his home surgery and his wife, who assisted him on surgeries, saw what he was doing and came to help him. He explained that since he operated from home, most of his equipment actually worked without electricity or worked with batteries. They put Tom under with an anesthesia gas and he took the bullet out of his shoulder and cleaned it out and stitched it up. The wound on his head was irrigated and bandaged. They removed the bandage on his side and cleaned the wound and found it was healing well.
However, his knee did not look so good. The Dr had to open it up and debrided the necrotic tissue and that was when he found the bone fragments and a piece of the bullet that was still inside and he flushed those out. He told him then that the knee wound was still open for drainage and the brace was locked in place so he couldn’t bend the knee. He said that he would have to wait three more days and then they could hopefully sew it closed.
Tom said he was relieved to be under a doctor’s care, but he said he was careful how he phrased his question, “Thank you so much for saving me Dr, I understand that I would be dead if it wasn’t for you. But three days...and you said there is no food. How will we all survive?”
He said the Dr told him it was a reasonable question and he explained that as long as the body stayed hydrated they could go without food for a long long time. He had indicated to his wife and himself and told Tom that they were using the IV’s from the surgery to supplement themselves and keep them hydrated. They were also taking vitamins that they still had an abundant supply of and they would do the same for Tom until he was able to leave.
They then asked Tom where he had come from, they had noticed his military clothes and knew he could not have come from the Atlanta area. Tom had then told them about Fort Jackson and explained about how they had everything set up there to survive. He had suggested that they go there and said he would give them a recommendation that would get them inside without any doubt or delay, but he asked them if they could wait until he was capable of walking he would appreciate it.
Sam was enthralled with his story and almost let her oatmeal get cold while he was talking but Tom would occasionally stop to take a bite and she did too. While he was talking he finished his oatmeal and she traded it for the cup of coffee and he barely seemed to notice. She would sporadically make a comment while he was talking and was so thankful to Dr Bruce for saving him, she wished she could tell him.
She said, “There is more to your story, I know, but there is something I need to do really quick and then you can continue.” She got up and went to get Mew so she could give her the bottle she had warmed earlier. She checked the bottle and it was still warm. When she came out of the closet with the tiny kitten Tom’s eyes just about came out of his head.
“There are kittens too!!”, he exclaimed in surprise.
Sam nodded with a smile and told him yes, Lucky had five kittens and they were seven days old, which was how long she had been here. She explained that this was the runt and she hadn’t been thriving so she was giving her kitten milk replacement. She took the tiny bottle and sat on the bed next to Tom and the tiny kitten eagerly took the bottle. He watched in amazement and then reached out and lightly stroked the kitten. She smiled at him and told him to continue with his tale.
Tom continued to lightly pet Mew as he started talking again. He said they lived on tea and IV’s for five days. Explaining that after the third day it wasn’t so bad except he was very tired and he just wanted to sleep. They had given him a bed in a small room and they let him sleep. The Dr said it was best that he stayed off his feet and rested anyway. He needed to heal and since he didn’t have any food his body was going to break down all of his fat and muscles to keep him alive and heal his wounds. The Dr had warned him that he would be very sleepy at first. They also gave him pain medication
that helped him so that he wouldn’t hurt all the time and strong antibiotics to ward off infection.
He said that they cared for him well and checked his wounds every day. The Dr talked to him a lot, he said it was nice to have someone to talk to because his wife wasn’t a real chatter and they had both laughed. She had been in the room and understood what he had said and she had just smiled and bowed her head. The Dr told him how he had met Su in Taiwan. He had been flown to Taiwan to perform a complicated orthopedic operation on a rich businessman and she was one of the nurses that was assisting.
He said he fell in love with her over the operating table. She had been able to predict which instrument he was going to need and always had it in hand before he asked for it. He said after a while he just quit asking for instruments and just started saying “Thank you” for whatever she was holding out because she was never wrong, and she was gorgeous to boot! He said after two days in Taiwan he had asked her to marry him and come back to the states. That was when he opened his home office.
One day while talking, the Dr had produced Tom’s chemical detector and asked him what it was. He told Tom that he had found the place they were holed up in the Chemistry lab, the Gangsters had ripped and destroyed their sleeping bags and other gear. The only thing he found was the strange instrument and the only reason the gangsters probably left it was they didn’t know what it was. Tom had explained to the Dr what it was and thanked him for recovering it. Tom said he had considered giving it to the Dr but he explained to him that he couldn’t give it to him because if you didn’t know how to read it, it could be interpreted wrong.
After three days they checked the wound and the Dr sewed it up using just general anesthesia at the site. He then instructed Tom to keep the brace locked and not bend the knee for at least 5 more days and that he would need to keep off it as much as possible for those days as well. Then after that he would still need to walk with the crutch for at least another week.
Tom continued on and said, the Dr and his wife packed up and left him with a little tea, sugar, vitamins, pain medication and antibiotics. As well as instructions on care of the wounds and when he could take out the sutures. He gave them directions to Fort Jackson and discussed the route with them, advising them to avoid Augusta. Tom gave them his Air Assault coin and told them to ask for John or Jerry and he wrote them out a recommendation on the Dr’s prescription pad.
The Dr and his wife left after dark, they were going to travel at night and try to avoid the gangsters. He said that after they left he just counted down the days. They had a gas stove so he was able to sanitize water for himself and make tea. He said he was anxious to leave himself and look for her but he knew if he couldn’t walk he wouldn’t get far.
He told Sam that he left the Dr’s office five days later with nothing but the clothes on his back, his chemical detector, a single bottle of water and his gas mask. The Dr had brought him to his surgery with the bloody gas mask still on his face. So, he at least had that. The Dr had also given him a map of Atlanta but he didn’t have a compass. He had spent the last five days studying the map and had planned his route to Douglasville based on street names. He said he had a feeling Sam would continue going the way they had planned.
He explained that he left at night too, wanting to avoid the gangsters and he added that he thought in the future they should probably travel at night too. He said he was crossing over the Chattahoochee bridge and he knew he was on the right track because he saw traces that Sam had been that way. Sam wondered what traces she left. He said got all the way to Six flags and he was tired out and ready to stop. That was when he found the room where she had stayed at the hotel and even used the pots she left on the stove to boil some water for himself. Sam thought about it and realized she had left the room key on the front desk, like you would do if you were checking out.
She had finished feeding Mew and interrupted him and said she wanted to put the baby back. She got both of them another cup of coffee when she returned and also got a Kit Kat bar out for him to eat. Tom looked at the candy bar in shock, it was his favorite. “How did you get this too?” He shook his head and said, “Never mind, tell me later when you explain everything else!” He then continued his narrative.
He was in the room when the ice storm hit and he knew he didn’t have enough warm clothes on to survive the freeze. So, he stayed at the hotel for the day and broke into some of the occupied rooms and searched for food and warm clothing. Of course, it had been summer when the bombs hit so he didn’t expect to find anything but he did find a long overcoat and extra socks. And he pointed to the pile of clothes Sam had removed from him and were still piled up on the floor. He said he also found a bag of chips and a Gatorade in one of the rooms. Sam thought what a strange coincidence that she had found those same things in a Gas station.
He said the day after the ice storm he decided to take the fastest route to Douglasville and walked on the freeway, he added that with the crutch he couldn’t really walk in the grass anyway and he made surprising fast time with just one crutch. He located the Pizza Hut she had stopped at and then followed her trail to this subdivision. But that was where he lost her. He started going house to house searching for her but he didn’t find any signs of where she went. He said he even waited up until after dark to look for lights in any houses and didn’t find any. He pointedly looked at her window and said, “You did a great job hiding yourself.” Sam blushed and smiled but realized that made it hard for him.
Tom went on saying he stayed in a house a few doors down where he had found a blanket but he was unable to find a gas stove to heat up water for drinking. He said he was weak, cold, and out of water and he knew he was going to die if he didn’t find her or find water. He said he was out searching all morning in the snow and he was about ready to give up. Then he knew she had to be here somewhere close, because he could smell beans cooking, he only had the two houses at the end of the street left to search. He grimaced and said he should have realized she would pick a house at the very end of the street but he admitted he hadn’t been thinking well.
He was heading to the house next door when he saw her run from one house to the other. He had been leaning against a pole across the street, trying to get the energy up to walk. He saw her and ran out but she had gone in the house and he tried to catch her, but he had passed out.
He said, “I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw your face. I wasn’t really sure you were still alive. I knew that had to be you hiding in the Dr’s bushes but I couldn’t be sure they didn’t catch you afterward. We saw them out searching several times and why they didn’t search the Dr’s office is still a mystery.” He reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her so tight she could barely breath. He let her go, “And did I imagine it or did you feed me some of those delicious beans I was smelling?” He kissed her hard and his smile took her breath away. “OK, now it’s your turn to tell me your story!”
She started talking and told him that yes, she did feed him some beans. She explained how she found everything here and next door and about Lucky and how he had Lucky to thank for her being here and finding all of this stuff. Just then Lucky came out of the closet like she had heard her name and Sam realized she hadn’t fed her yet. She told Tom she needed to feed Lucky and he got out of bed with her and limped to the closet.
He asked her about the tent and all of the cat food and she explained about the cattery next door and how she thought that was where Lucky came from and her theory about how Lucky survived and got pregnant. He was even more amazed at her story than she was about his. Not that they weren’t both equally amazing. She stopped and asked him how he tracked her. He said, “I’m a Green Beret darling.” Sam laughed and kissed him. She asked him where his crutch was and he said, “Oh crap, I must have left it by that pole! Maybe that’s why I fell down!”
They both laughed and she was about to help him back to bed when she told him to hold on. She pulled the small key out of her rucksack and pulled the carpet
back. When she opened the door to the gun safe Tom just about fell over. He exclaimed, “That is incredible! How many guns are in there?” Sam told him she pulled up two racks and stopped. Could be all there was, but she was hoping when he felt better he could help her look through them.
Chapter 30
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1 January 2021 N-Day +175 days
Kittens 2 weeks, 3 days (17 days) old
It had been ten days since Sam had found Tom. He was already looking better thanks to food and water on a regular basis. Sam had retrieved his crutch from across the street and gave him a tour around the house and even took him over so he could see the atrocity of the cattery. She took him around back of the house and showed him the shed with all of the tools and he was very excited about that. There was still the top loft on the other side of the shed she had not looked through and Tom was eager to help her go through it. After all the other great things she had found here she thought he might be expecting some type of treasure chest.
He was really thrilled when she showed him the hidden gun case in the closet and he made her tell him again how she found it, because she had glossed over it the first time. She also brought out the emergency gear tub and let him look through it and he was like a little kid in a candy store.
Tom had started helping her with Mew. He took over some of the feedings. He was like a gentle giant with the kittens and Lucky just loved him. Mew was thriving and had caught up with the other kittens but they still fed her a bottle, but now it was only every eight hours. Mew’s weight was up to 9 oz which Sam estimated should be about right for her age even though she was still a little small. The other kittens were still bigger than her.
They had named all the kittens, the gray stripped males were the biggest of the kittens, called Grunt and Trooper. Grunt got his name because he grunted every time he was picked up and Grunt is also what an infantry soldier is called so they thought it was appropriate. Trooper’s name just fell into places, Sam thought it might be because she was thinking of her Mom at the time. The two white kittens, which were starting to get blue colored points, were both female and they decided on the names Chatty and Serena. Chatty was just that, she would chatter and make funny noises, Sam thought she was going to be a talkative cat. And Serena was just quiet, the opposite of Chatty, very serene.