The jailies, as Merry called them, smiled at one another as if there was some kind of victory made but Patsy looked at Merry with doubt in her eyes. Merry returned the look but she said, “Mac has lived through some extreme and severe circumstances - Yes, even war and we will listen to him until this awful situation is cleared up.” She was looking directly at Patsy and then shifted her gaze to each of the other women, one by one. Mac leaned back against the counter, his arms folded menacingly. Merry said, “Now we can all run like scared rabbits or we can stay together and help each other. Mac is putting together a plan. It is getting dark out already, so let’s listen to him.”
Merry stepped back and he came forward. They hadn’t planned this but he had given her some idea of where he was headed before she left Mrs. Ortiz’s house.
“Merry is right. The sun is dropping. I guess we have approximately an hour before it gets dark,” he said, looking at each one. He seemed to be taking measure of their fear, their willingness and other important personality traits. In this circumstance, Mac would have preferred working with men but these women were all he had. He looked toward the pile of goods by the front door. “Those things will go with us to Mrs. Ortiz’s house. I will put the heavy items into the car but the other stuff you take over on foot, back and forth until it’s all over there.” The house-mates looked at each other. He took it that they thought the move unreasonable. Mac looked each in the eye again. “This place is what we call indefensible. It cannot hold up if a gang of thugs, as you might call them, want to take our food or anything else,” he looked at Merry as he explained. Patsy grabbed her chest again.
“Windows everywhere,” he concluded. Walking to the doorway, he pointed to Consuela, “You drive. I don’t want you walking.”
Connie smiled, “Eeeh, I like to drive!”
Mac looked over at the others. “Get busy!”
They began to move about aimlessly until Merry said, “Patsy forget the dishes. We’ll get them later... maybe. We started on your bathroom. Get all the things we can use but skip the non-essentials...” Merry gave the others assignments and finished by saying, “One hour is about right. When the sun goes down, each of you stop what you’re doing, and taking something with you, go to Mrs. Ortiz’s house. Go to the back door. If you knock at the front - no one will answer.”
The hour went quickly.
A heavy dark had fallen when the VW with its convertible top down made its last trip with two twin mattresses hanging precariously from the backseat. Mac took both inside and left them leaning against the hallway wall with the two others brought over already.
Many homes in Santa Fe have kiva fireplaces or wood stoves. The Ortiz’s home had both. Mrs. Ortiz’s woodpile was all but gone as she hadn’t bothered to stockpile wood for the winter. The barbecue pit, the fireplace and heating with wood had been her husband’s job. Patsy built a fire in the wood stove once she arrived at Mrs. Ortiz’s.
Patsy knew all about wood stoves having been raised with one. Her left hip and knee were bothering her and she found that one trip from the halfway house to Mrs. Ortiz’s was all she could handle tonight. The others didn’t say anything as the women knew about her leg.
When Mac came in again, the house was dark excepting the blazing fire which lit up the kitchen and adjoining living space. It was still early but everyone was exhausted, physically and emotionally.
Mrs. Ortiz was upset that her Chihuahua had not returned but Sylvia and Tina reassured her that they would look around for the dog in the morning.
Mac was extremely tired Merry noticed and then she remembered that he was running on D’Almata time. He probably hadn’t slept for more than twenty-four hours. Doing a quick calculation, Merry realized it was approximately 4:30 in the morning in the Adriatic.
She got him a glass of water from their bottled supply. “Do you want to talk to all of us? What can I do?” Merry asked him. He wore a heavy leather work jacket that she guessed was at one time Johnny Ortiz’s. If the jacket had belonged to Mrs. Ortiz’s husband, he must have been a big man, Merry concluded. Mac was not thick but he was tall.
“Give me a few minutes. You talk first,” he replied, taking the water from her. Merry went across the kitchen into the room with the wood stove. There was no door between the rooms, only a wide archway. Originally the room was probably meant to be a dining area but the Ortiz’s had made it into a family room with a big screen TV and a large chunky throw-rug in front of the wood stove. There were windows but they were high horizontal slits that didn’t open, running just under the ceiling on the south wall. The east interior wall was covered with dozens of family pictures, having no windows at all.
The room was surprisingly warm. Merry decided the south wall was radiating passive solar heat and then too, the firebox was burning for almost an hour. Although tired, everyone was either talking or listening.
“Okay, guys listen up,” Merry clapped her hands.
Silence fell and only the popping of the Cedar firewood was heard until Mrs. Ortiz said, “Dear, I don’t see any guys unless of course, you mean that helpful foreigner in the kitchen but still, you used the plural.” She looked around to emphasize her point that there were no “guys” present.
Merry thought she would ask Mrs. Ortiz later if she wasn’t a retired school teacher; Merry suspected she was. Merry nodded at Mrs. Ortiz and said, “Gals... I know you are wondering what we are going to do next. We can make plans but I think it is high time we asked God to show us His plans and also to ask for His protection.” She looked around and in the firelight the women resembled girl scouts around a campfire in the semi darkness. They were far from girl scouts. All of them had been caught in the revolving door of crime, addiction, abuse - violence including Pasty Sena although she had been free for almost 40 years. The others, not including Mrs. Ortiz were hoping to become independent from their former habits and lifestyle and that is the supposed reason they chose a Christian halfway house when released from jail.
Nikki Brown said, “Its a little late, if you ask me! We should have asked God for some help this morning but perhaps he was napping.” She let out a burst of laughter and nodded at the others before adding, “Better late than never, I suppose. Those poor schmucks in Albuquerque!”
A picture of the orange smog over the Albuquerque valley just before dark came to each mind. Mac came in just then. He said, “Yes, you Christians should thank your God and we can pray for those who are not so lucky.” Merry would have liked to point out the contradiction between God’s sovereignty and “luck” but she knew better and remained quiet. Only Patsy would have found fault with Mac’s spiritual illogic as the others were not quite tuned-in to Biblical understanding.
Mac explained to the group that the next few days would be relatively calm if the patterns are societal breakdown held. After about 48 to 60 hours, people, the citizenry began to react to the abnormal and harsh conditions. “This is when we will need to be vigilant. I’m not trying to scare you but you must understand the seriousness of what is happening.” He looked to Sylvia, “You may be right about your government stepping in to help, but even so that may not be forthcoming for days or a week - maybe more.”
Merry watched him as he recounted the reasons for cleanliness, eating and sleeping regularly and following orders. The light played across his face, making him look other-worldly. If she hadn’t been expecting Rifta, she would have thought this man stepped into their lives at the exact moment when he was needed most; almost like an angel sent from God.
Nikki spoke when he paused, “You said we have about two days before things get much worse. I hope it isn’t true but I’m thinking about my brother. He’s staying at a motel about a mile or two from here. I’m worried about him.” Lenny Brown arrived the day before Nikki got released from jail. His parents sent him to Santa Fe to help Nikki, the black sheep of the family. Although they were Jewish, he was instrumental in getting her into Merry’s Christian halfway house.
“Your brother?”
Mac’s face lit up at this news. He asked questions about his age, physical health and if he owned a gun.
Lenny was her older brother and at thirty he was in good health but no, he didn’t have a gun.
“I’m guessing tonight or I should say very early morning is the only opportunity you will have. Can you go and take one of the girls with you?” he asked her. Nikki nodded and looked at Merry.
Mac added, “Not Merry or Patsy.” Nikki looked around and found Tina was her only option. Tina was chubby but energetic. Her hair was dark brown and wildly curly. Now she had it tied in a knot at the nape of her neck, showing off her myriads of pierced earrings. She wore a tiny diamond nose ring on her left nostril, also.
Tina said, “I’ll go. I’ve been roaming this city at night for years.”
Nikki looked relieved. Nikki had curly hair too but it wasn’t dark, it was a light brown and cut short. She could wash it and shake it dry with nary a comb making contact with her curls leaving her hair looking groomed. Her blue-grey eyes matched her brother’s. Nikki at 24 was the same height as Tina although 40 pounds lighter. She had an addictive personality and a penchant for expensive drugs.
Looking at Tina, Mac said, “Great. You then... you’re the right one, then. I want to talk to you two but everyone else, get some sleep. We might have water tomorrow for washing up but tonight, no.” Mrs. Ortiz offered to share her room with Patsy. There was a guest room which Mac was to have and a pull out couch in the den but the others decided to put the twin mattresses on the floor in front of the wood stove as it was the warmest room.
“Merry, not you,” Mac told her when she turned away. “You’re taking the first watch tonight.” She hadn’t thought about keeping watch. She nodded. He said, “Get in your car and turn on the radio... not the engine. Something should be on the airwaves by now about what has happened. It’s parked so you have a good view all the way around. I’m not worried tonight about anyone but we need a watch just to be on the safe side. I’ll be awake for awhile too.”
Merry looked longingly at the fire before pulling her jacket on. There was a small handgun under the seat in her car. It was loaded and she had been officially trained to use it, finishing a refresher course only last month… The new gun and the firearms class, a Christmas gift from her mother. There was pepper spray in her pocket but she wondered how effective a night watchman she would be. She grabbed up a blanket and headed toward the backdoor as the others prepared for bed. As she went past, Mac was giving Tina and Nikki instructions about their clandestine trek to retrieve Lenny Brown from his motel room. Mac told them he would awaken them after midnight so it was important for them to get some sleep now - before that time.
After fiddling with the radio for some minutes, Merry found a clear station. Mac joined her in the car as she was listening. There was a lot of emotional confusion but they understood that an earthquake had rocked the Midwestern states. Afterward and within hours an air-strike was made by an unnamed enemy which explained the Albuquerque event. The two of them listened for more than hour but the information was minimal and not specific.
Mac reached over and turned the radio off and then he turned the key off. “We don’t want to use up the battery,” he told Merry.
“Of course, but this is the first news that we’ve heard all day!” Deep down, her common sense told her that there was no new news but she was hoping that there would be.
“We’ve heard it all, for now,” he said. “Merry war changes everything.” He lifted his hands and maneuvered them behind his head in the limited space of her front seat. “All the social rules and the normal niceties are set aside during times of upheaval. My country has seen this again and again. In fact, we have special laws in place for wartime because we have seen it so much.”
Merry thought once again how providential it was that he was here at such a time as this. He knew what to do. What would she have done if she were up on Canyon Road by herself?
Merry asked him about their wartime laws.
“I was what you Americans call a teenager when we were breaking free from the communist stronghold. The wartime laws were all I knew. You can imagine how odd for me and others who had lived under those laws their entire lives and for generations... to then, have these changed almost overnight. I didn’t like it. No, I didn’t.” He was quiet for sometime. Merry thought he must be thinking about those days. Merry looked in the rearview mirror and also, the side mirrors. Nothing was stirring. It was a black, cold night without electricity. The stars were exceptionally bright directly overhead.
Merry said, “To think you came to help me with my mother’s shipping and to get me over to D’Almata and instead, you get this!” She lifted her hand, her palm up as if she offered the night with its cold uncertainty. “I’m glad for us, especially Patsy, Mrs. Ortiz and the other women but I feel for you... It should have been Rifta but instead, you are here and I’m sorry but then again I’m not, either.” She was sure that the interpretation was lost by the language differences.
Merry wondered if he was listening. He was silent.
Mac moved his head to look out the side mirror. “It’s calm and for now that is good; probably tomorrow night too,” he commented. Then he said, “You asked me about the laws... the wartime laws. I know them well. Yes, war changes everything. I was a young man, really a boy the last time I was entangled by war but not this time.” He tilted his head against the passenger window so that he was facing her in the dark.
“I don’t love war but I am fortunate to be here with you in this situation if I must be in war! You will see how ugly war can be when people are affected by it. Here, for now we are indirectly affected. People do beastly things to survive but I come from a community where we strive to stay above barbaric behavior at such times. We had to... We have to. Our history dictated that if we did not make civilized provision for war we would cease to be a nation.”
Merry understood. “Oh, that is like the history recounted in the Old Testament about Israel. They had specific guidelines for wartime. That makes a lot of sense,” she said.
“Well, I am glad you understand. It is why I picked you to be my woman during this time. I did not want to tell the others but I see this event being stretched out for a long time maybe more than a year.” Mac’s words were matter-of-fact.
Merry’s stomached tightened. It hadn’t crossed her mind until now how vulnerable she was. What was her mother thinking in sending this fellow? Why hadn’t Rifta come instead? Slipping her hand into her right pocket she clasped the pepper spray.
How many more surprises could one day hold? Many more, she decided. She didn’t like the silence. Merry’s mind was whirling. She asked hurriedly, “Whoa. How do the wartime laws in D’Almata apply to this haphazard event in America? I don’t see the connection.”
“Oh, but I thought you understood,” he said ready to explain. “No matter where warfare conditions are unfolding the unfortunate results are the same. It becomes very difficult to live comfortably... food, secure shelter; basic necessities are hard to come by. Because I have been taught this from my infancy, I don’t see this situation as particularly unusual. I must make do.” He was leaning on the dashboard peering into the darkness. She looked too but she saw black shapes of Piñon and Cedar, a work shed and little more.
“You know,” he confided, “Last year when you came to my country for the prince’s birthday celebration, I thought you very lovely. You behaved during the festivities like you had lived on the islands all your life. So I was happily surprised to find myself called upon to substitute for poor Rifta.”
Merry realized that she was talking to someone who processed life totally different than she did. Gripping tightly to the spray canister, she prayed silently for wisdom.
“Okay, but I am not from D’Almata and therefore your laws do not apply to me. Do you see that I have a different law that I am obliged to obey? Besides being from America and not D’Almata, I follow the Biblical writings as set forth by the Go
d I serve,” she told him trying to sound calm. Her own words sounded a lot like her mother.
He laughed quietly. “You are in no position to fall back on laws that unravel during wartime. Shortly, maybe tomorrow or in a few days you will see that there are no laws! Besides I know your scripture well as I studied it in school. There is a lot of latitude if you are basing your life on the words of that book.” He leaned back again. “I am glad we are discussing this in a civil manner. I do not want to have to be like those men in your religious book that snuck up on the women dancing in the vineyards, carrying them off to be their wives... Certainly, if I must provide myself a wife that way, I am more than willing.”
Almost in the same breath, Mac said, “I’ll be back.” He opened the door. The interior light went on but off again as he was quick to shut the door. Merry watched him head off in the direction in which he had been staring for the last few minutes. She locked the doors. What had he seen?
Merry sat in her car stunned by what was happening. It was like a nightmare that was unfolding and there was little hope of it getting any better. She remembered Malak from the birthday festivities on D’Almata last fall. He had showed her polite attention and she remembered being flattered as he was much older than the other single men who bantered with her and he spoke English.
A strong desire to turn the radio back on washed over her. She was hoping to hear of some reprieve from this situation. Again she prayed. An idea entered her mind and suddenly she thought of how she could work Mac’s own laws to her benefit and for all the women gathered at Mrs. Ortiz’s.
A long time passed before she turned the key to switch on the radio when Mac tapped on the window. She jumped. Unlocking the door for him, he opened it and climbed in closing it quickly to shut off the light.
Merry was concentrating on her plan when he said, “The little boy from today, I found him. He went to the house,” Mac nodded toward the halfway house. Merry was diverted and asked about him. “Did you see Angel?” she added.
Merry's Marauders (Book #2 ~ Scenic Route to Paradise, refreshed 2016 edition) Page 3