by Vince Byrd
His mind raced back to the present; he looked at Kat and the others. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he calculated the next few moves for their survival. “Rodriguez made it home, so will we,” he said to himself out loud.
Dime-sized hail stones began to shower down on them. “Grab the gear! Get the food from the truck! It’s all we have!” Jesse shouted, hearing the roar of the wind grow louder and louder. They cleared out the truck bed with each of them getting whatever they could carry. He glanced into the restaurant and didn’t see anyone. He pulled his pistol and shot the glass in the door at an angle two times, shattering it into a thousand tiny pieces. He reached in and unlocked the door. “See if they have a walk-in cooler!”
They hurried with their supplies to the back and found the cooler, and they all filed in. They sat the boxes down quickly and everyone was quiet, waiting for what was to come next. Henry pulled on the door to close it, and Ginger said, “Wait! I don’t want to be locked in here. Will we be able to get out?”
Henry closed the door anyway then pushed the large, white button, and it opened right up for him, then he closed it again.
“Just checking,” Ginger noted, flipping on her flashlight.
The large silver box of a cooler was empty except for a few shelves and a couple of empty boxes. It was clear that the food had been cleaned out days ago, and it had left a lingering grease smell. “Let’s just hunker down right here.” Jesse motioned for them to hurry to the back wall. There was a loud crash outside the cooler, and Ava screamed, jumping to Jesse. They squatted down, and Jesse put Ava, Kat, and Ginger against the back wall and made himself, Larry, and Henry their guard if anything penetrated.
Ginger laid her light on the floor and let it shine against a wall to illuminate their space. The walls of the cooler began to vibrate and shake like they were in an earthquake, except everything was shaking but the ground. The rumble of the force outside made time slow to a second-by-second encounter, as the wrath of nature gave its judgment. Thumps, booms, clanks, and crashes occupied theirs ears, and the fear of being abducted by a sudden sucking gust washed over them. Then, as quick as it came, it was over and it was so quiet a pin dropping would have been a startling noise.
“Thank you, Jesus!” Henry said, standing up and raising his arms and hands to the roof. “What do you think about God now, Larry?”
“I’ll get back to you,” Larry responded, turning to help Ginger up.
Henry pushed the door latch and the door wouldn’t open. “It won’t open,” he coughed.
“I knew it! It’s my worst fear to be trapped alive and suffocate to death,” Ginger cried.
“It’s probably just stuck or has something against it,” Jesse guessed.
“It’s so hot in here! I can’t breathe. Larry, I can’t breathe,” Ginger gasped.
“Doc! Do something!” Larry urged.
“Ginger, you’re fine. There is still enough oxygen in here for all of us. You’re having anxiety about being trapped. Try to breathe slower, and try to calm yourself down. Think about something pleasant. Larry, tell her something funny,” Kat coached.
Jesse pushed on the door, but it wouldn’t open. He and Henry tried together, but still, it wouldn’t budge. Jesse turned to the group, “We can’t get it open.”
“What were you saying about your God, Preacher?” Larry grumbled.
Twenty-three
Paige Day 1
“Your girlfriend is brave,” Makayla said, turning to look at Ethan. But he had opened his door and was already walking toward Paige.
“Ethan!” Emily whispered forcefully, but he didn’t pay his mom any attention.
Paige’s voice echoed into the night, as she prepared herself for the worst possible outcome. She looked down the barrel of her .380 and her hands began to shake. “What was I thinking?” she scolded herself. She saw Ethan coming around the back of their car.
He asked, “What are you doing? I’m the one that should be holding the gun, not you.”
“You don’t even know how to shoot,” she answered.
“Well, still I should be here with you.”
The old, round Chevy headlights ahead faded out. Paige and Ethan got their first look at who was behind them as Ethan stepped beside her. A man that looked to be in his mid-twenties was sitting behind the wheel, holding his hands up in view. The expression on his face was dumbfounded as to why Paige was holding a gun on him. “Step out of the car slowly, and keep your hands up,” Paige commanded.
The man slowly reached for the door handle, pulled on it, then bumped the door with his shoulder. The wore-out door shifted downward on its hinges and creaked open. He put one foot on the ground and then the other. He stood up with his hands still in the air.
“Is there anyone else in the car?” Paige asked, motioning for him to come around from behind the door. He just shook his head not knowing what to expect. He stepped around the door and held his hand in a way to shield the headlights from his eyes, so he could get a better look at them.
“I only have a few dollars on me, and you’re welcome to it, but I need to…” he paused, recognizing the car behind Paige and Ethan. “Savannah! Savannah, where are you?” he bellowed. He started to walk toward the car.
“Hold it, buddy!” Paige warned.
He stopped in his tracks. “Savannah’s my wife; that’s my brother-in-law’s Mustang,” he pointed, “and she’s nine months pregnant. I’ve been looking for her. She could go into labor any minute.”
Ethan turned and looked around, “Where’s Dad?”
“Emily! Paige! I need some help over here!” David called.
“Go see what he needs, and I’ll hold this guy here, but let me know,” Paige ordered.
Ethan hurried over behind the other car and saw his dad kneeling beside a pregnant woman, lying on her back. “Dad?” he questioned.
“Get your mother and Paige, she’s in labor,” David declared.
“Are you Savannah?” Ethan asked.
“Yes!” she answered, huffing and puffing through a contraction.
“Hurry, son, this baby is coming,”
Ethan ran back to Paige, “Dad’s with his wife, and she is in labor. He needs your help, like right now. He said the baby’s coming.”
“Really?” she turned to the man and asked, “You’re not following us to rob us, then?”
“No. Are you going to rob me?” the man asked.
“No, I thought…we were almost robbed earlier today and that’s why the gun,” she admitted, lowering her pistol.
“Makayla and I were robbed today,” Ethan added.
“Can I go to my wife, then?” he asked.
“Of course,” Paige said, motioning for him to go.
“Uh, Dad still needs you,” Ethan repeated.
Paige turned to Makala and Emily and motioned for them to get out. “David found a woman in labor, and she needs our help. That was her husband. Can you grab some extra clothes to make a pillow for her head? We’re going to need some water from the trunk, something to wrap the baby in and, oh, a knife.”
“Maybe a hospital would be better for her,” Makayla answered getting out.
“David said the baby was coming. I don’t think there’s time,” Paige affirmed
“Seriously? You’re going to deliver a baby on the side of the road? Have you done this before, because you act like you have?” Makayla interrogated.
“No, I haven’t, but what choice do we have? That baby is not going to wait for anything if he or she is ready to be born. I’ve observed several births. I am studying to be a nurse, and I was a candy striper for a while,” Paige answered.
“That poor girl, having to give birth here like this. We better hurry. Ethan and David won’t have clue what to do,” Emily admitted.
Savannah’s screams reverberated off everything
nearby. They cut into the quiet night. She battled with her own strength of being able to complete the task of pushing out this newly formed person, which she felt was way too big to even be in her. “I can’t. I can’t do it anymore,” she cried to her husband. “Cory, I can’t. I’m so tired. Please make it stop.”
“Baby, I know it hurts, but you have to,” Cory encouraged.
“You don’t know. You just don’t know the pain; it’s unbearable,” she described. “It’s been like this for hours.”
“Savannah, listen to me. My name is Paige and this is Emily, and we’re here to help you,” Paige said, slipping a wadded-up shirt under her head. “I’m going to position your legs so I can check you, okay?”
“Okay,” she groaned. Another intense contraction took its assault on her birthing canal.
“Just breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep breaths for me, alright?” Paige coached. Savannah nodded and followed her instructions. “It looks like you’re ready to push. I can feel your baby’s head. Have you picked out a name for your baby?”
“Jake, if it’s a boy, and Amelia, if it’s a girl,” Cory spouted as Savannah clenched down on his hand and nodded in agreement to the names.
“Here we go, Savannah; it’s time to meet your baby. I need you to push for me,” Paige prompted.
Savannah clinched her eyes shut, and with all her might, she began to push. Her face turned three shades of red as Emily and Cory held her hands and supported her back. She let up and laid back to relax. “I can’t. I have no more in me. My back is on fire; just make it stop, please.”
“Your baby’s head is out. One more good push for the rest, and you can hold your baby in your arms,” Paige encouraged. “Come on, you can do this.”
Savannah rose up and gave it all she had left. The baby was forced to leave the comfort of its mother’s womb and enter a world of bizarre unfamiliarity, into the hands of a stranger. Paige cleared his mouth, turned him over and gently tapped him on the back. He let out a loud, boisterous cry. She wiped him down and wrapped him in one of Ethan’s long-sleeve flannel shirts. “Guys, meet your son.” She handed him off to his mother. “Watch the cord. We’ll take care of that in a few minutes.”
Savannah took Jake in her arms and tears pooled in her eyes. She temporarily forgot about all of the pain she’d just endured. The sight and feel of her little baby, Jake, filled her heart with affection and elation that words could not describe. The event that had taken place that night was none other than miraculous. The doctors told her she couldn’t conceive because of her spina bifida and family history, but she got pregnant. They also told her that giving birth would kill her, and to the contrary, she was alive. The doctors warned her continuously to abort her baby, because it would have mass deformities, yet he came out perfect. “Doctors don’t know everything, Jake,” she whispered to her new son. “I love you so much. My heart is so full.”
“He looks a lot like me,” Cory stated. “You were great. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you sooner. Grandma’s car was the only one that would crank. I had to walk to her house to get it. Where have you been? I looked all over for you.”
“I started having contractions at Cheyenne’s house. The power went out, my phone wouldn’t work, I couldn’t call anyone, and my car wouldn’t start. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t get in touch with you. Cheyenne’s car wouldn’t start either. She tried Jerry’s old Mustang, and it cranked up. She told me to take it. She had to wait for Jamie and Kyle to come home. She said she would meet me at the hospital later, after she got her kids. I drove up the road several miles and the car quit on me. I let it sit for a while, and it cranked up again. It happened two more times, and the last time, my water broke, and here I am.”
“Savannah, you need to go to the hospital and get checked out. I’m going to clip this binder clip I found in my pack on the umbilical cord.” Paige took a lighter and sterilized the clip by its flame and then the knife blade. “Cory, would you like to cut the cord?” Paige asked.
“Sure, I would.” He took the knife and sawed at the cord. “Wow, it’s really tough.” He cut the cord in two. “Let’s get you and the baby into grandma’s car, and I’ll take you to the hospital.”
They loaded Savannah and Jake into the back seat, making them comfortable. “Thank you, Paige. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
“You’re very welcome. That was my first delivery,” Paige admitted.
“Really? You seemed like a pro to me,” Savannah praised. They waved goodbye as Cory pulled away and his lights faded into the night.
“Yes, you were like a pro,” Emily agreed. “You are going to make one fantastic nurse.”
“Thank you,” she said.
“That was the grossest thing I have ever witnessed,” Ethan commented. “I couldn’t look away though.”
“It’s the miracle of birth; it’s ugly but so beautiful,” Paige sighed.
“After seeing that, I’m never having kids,” Makayla concluded.
Twenty-four
Jesse Day 7
Ginger’s flashlight began to blink and then their sole source of light disappeared. Darkness swallowed up the inside of the walk-in cooler. Jesse rotated the spark-wheel on his lighter, igniting a tall flickering flame that illuminated the room. He dug through their boxes and found another flashlight, turned it on, and extinguished his lighter. “Why don’t several of us try to push on the door, and maybe we’ll get lucky?”
Henry, Jesse, Kat, and Larry all positioned themselves to push on the door. “Ginger, can you hold this white button in for us while we push?” Jesse asked, handing the flashlight to Ava.
Ginger leaned against the wall and pushed the button in and held it. They pushed on the door, and it cracked open as daylight lit up the walk-in. “Again!” Jesse instructed, but it wouldn’t move anymore. “Can you see what’s holding it?”
“A colossal tree trunk,” Kat affirmed, glaring through the crack.
“We’re not getting out of here, are we?” Ginger asked.
“We’ve been in worse places. We’ll figure it out,” Kat comforted.
“We need some leverage, something to pry with,” Henry suggested.
“Let’s use these shelves. We can double them up, slip it through the crack, and pry on the door,” Jesse explained.
Jesse kicked the metal shelves off the wall with much effort. Then, he laid two rows of them opposite of each other for strength. Henry picked up one end and slipped them through the opening to give them what they thought was enough leverage to move the tree from the door.
Larry, Jesse, and Henry pushed hard on the make-shift pry bar. The door opened a little more, and then the shelves gave up their strength, sending them crashing into one another. Henry fell to the floor, followed by Jesse, and then Larry landed on top of Jesse. They all grunted from the surprise impact. Larry positioned himself to get off of Jesse, but he stopped and said, “Just like old times, huh, Doc? You want to relish the moment? Oh wait, we’re missing something, meow,” he looked up at Kat.
“When are you going to stop?” Kat pushed Larry off of Jesse, and he rolled up into a ball expecting something more from Kat. Instead, she turned and helped Jesse up.
Ginger gave a hand to pull Larry to his feet, and Jesse and Kat helped Henry up. Ava and Henry were both lost on the inside joke. “Are you okay, Henry?” Kat asked.
“I’m fine. I’ll feel that in the morning,” he chuckled.
“Look! My head fits through. I think I can get out,” Ava announced, demonstrating her ability to squeeze out.
“Where’d she go?” Larry questioned. He stuck his head against the crack in the door, but his head was too large to squeeze through.
“What do you see?” Jesse asked.
“Nothing but tree,” he answered.
Jesse stepped to the door and anticip
ated Ava’s assessment of their situation. Several minutes passed and Ava returned. “Hey, this tree is huge. I might be able to move it with a chain and a tractor,” she admitted.
“Ava, how’s the truck? Is it okay?” Jesse asked.
“Hang on,” Ava said, disappearing again for a minute. “There’s some wood on the hood, but it will probably run, but Henry’s car is in bad shape. I’m sorry, Mr. Henry. I liked your car.”
“It’s all right, darling. I’m just thankful we’re okay. You be careful out there; watch where you step,” Henry warned.
“Ava, did your dad let you drive a tractor?” Jesse asked
“All of the time.”
“Do you think you could drive my truck?” Jesse asked.
“I think I can. Daddy let me drive his before.”
“All you have to do is put it in reverse, the R, and back up. Is it clear to back up any?” he asked.
“Yeah, it’s clear,” she answered.
“There’s a heavy-duty rope that Mr. Goosens gave me. It’s behind the seat. Get that and tie one end to this tree and the other to the front bumper. Crank the truck, put it in reverse, and back up. You will have to give it a lot of gas for it to move. We just need it to move a little to get out of here. Make sure you know where the brake pedal is before you do it,” Jesse instructed. Ava started to go, but Jesse called her back. She stared at him through the crack and waited for his next words. “Ava, please be careful.”