Desperate Times

by Nicholas Antinozzi

  “That’s crazy,” said Jon.

  “Yes, it was,” agreed Dr. Benson. “I sent everyone home at the sound of the first gunshots. Bobby West and Dave Miles, the Deputies you found, were waiting in the lobby. They understood how important the hospital was to the town. Good men, both of them. We knew it was coming. The militia had been stupid, holding those people at bay. Here were allies who could’ve strengthened our numbers. They didn’t see it that way; they only wanted to preserve what they’d had. They herded them into that shabby campground like cattle. They created a powerful enemy. These people had nothing to eat or drink, and they had nothing to lose. I met a group of them as they approached the hospital. I stood under the awning at the emergency room entrance. There must’ve been sixty of them. That was yesterday… or was it the day before? Oh well, it doesn’t matter. I was dressed in the same clothes that I am now and thought it should be obvious to them that I was a doctor. Foolishly, I thought that might mean something to them, that they might think I was important enough to listen to, to reason with. This particular group of people didn’t see it that way. They had one thing on their minds: prescription drugs. They put a gun to my head and demanded that I give them up. I couldn’t believe it. I tried telling them that we were damn near out of everything, which was almost true. They didn’t believe that for a second. Half of the group went in, and they all seemed to be carrying guns. A few moments later the shooting started.”

  “Why did they shoot? Was someone threatening them?” Jimmy asked quickly.

  “No way,” said Dr. Benson. “They weren’t provoked. They started with West and Miles, shot them down where they stood. They never had a chance. They didn’t stop there. No sir. They ran from room to room, killing everyone in the hospital in a complete fit of bloodlust. I thought I’d go out of my mind. I couldn’t move. There were ten or fifteen guns pointed at me. I knew I had to talk, or I’d be next.”

  “The rotten scum!” said Jon.

  “That they were,” agreed Dr. Benson, his voice just starting to break. “I bargained for my life. I reminded them of what I represented, someone who might very well save their lives. I had to drill that into their heads… I thought they were going to kill me… I handed them over my keys. I was sure I’d be next. I walked them inside and helped them open up the pharmacy. Then I simply waited to be shot. They rushed inside, and it was a complete free-for-all. They forgot all about me and went straight for the drugs. I walked back out to the front of the hospital and sat down… I had no where to go. A while later they began to stumble out. They were all stoned out of their minds, of course. They carried out nearly everything we had inside and just continued walking out of town. I never saw them again. Others showed up; some even had reasonable requests for drugs. I merely pointed inside to my ruined pharmacy, and after a few minutes they would leave. That went on all day. There were some good people in those groups, decent people who had been corralled inside the campground with everyone else. They tried to help, to console me. By that time I was a total basket case. Shock, no doubt. I didn’t move. I just sat there all night like the village idiot, blind to the world. When I finally snapped out of it, I began to think logically again. I tried looking at the big picture. I had put my trust into a government that didn’t give two shits about me, much less we the people. I decided to do something about it or die trying. This is our country, not Wall Street’s, not corporate America’s, and certainly not the crooked bastards who work for them up on Capitol Hill. Their greed created this mess. We’re going to take it back. We have to.”

  “I can’t say that I disagree with you,” said Jon. “But how are we supposed to do that?”

  “With a grassroots movement,” replied Dr. Benson. “I’m dreaming here, but play along with me. We need to get organized. We’ve got to get out and spread the word. There’s strength in numbers, and we need people who are willing to stake their lives on our common cause. Those people are out there, I know they are. We’ve got to band together. We need an army and we need leadership.”

  “And who is supposed to lead this army?” Jimmy asked, wondering what else the doctor might’ve taken.

  “We do.”

  “Right,” scoffed Jon. “We’ll just start the revolution ourselves. Here? Sorry Doc, but that’s crazy. We’ve got maybe twenty people back at Ken’s. That’s hardly enough to take on the government.”

  “No, the revolution has already begun. The people just don’t know it yet. That’s why our government is rounding everyone up and locking them away. They’re afraid, Jon, afraid of people just like us. They’re afraid that we will find a way to organize. You’re not reading me here, boys. Think about what I’m saying to you.”

  “Reading what?” asked Jon. “What do you mean?”

  “What I mean is… I’m starting this thing right now. I’m trying to recruit the both of you. Together we start spreading the word. We’ve got to become leaders. Are you with me?”

  Jimmy wanted to laugh, but he didn’t want to offend Dr. Benson. The whole idea sounded like a fairy tale. Still, deep down, he knew that Dr. Benson was right. There was strength in numbers. The Guard would come at some point and try to take them away. They certainly couldn’t fight them off by themselves. “Sure,” he said. “Why not? This has to start somewhere; why not with us?”

  “I think you’re off your rocker, but I’ll play along,” said Jon.

  “Good,” said Dr. Benson, smiling with satisfaction. “We start in the morning, after breakfast, of course.”

  The three of them laughed at that. The doctor seemed to be talked out for a while. Jon picked up his pace, and soon was just a shadow twenty feet ahead of them. Jimmy strayed to the far shoulder of the highway with the heavy pack and rifle dragging at his shoulders. He wanted to think.

  They walked along in silence, their steady breathing and plodding footsteps the only sounds in the night. Jimmy thought they must be getting close to the mile-long gravel road that would take them to the lake. With any luck they’d be there by first light. He wondered how Julie was and how Paula was dealing with the knowledge that Julie was even there. An owl hooted from deep in the woods. Jimmy lit up a cigarette without breaking stride. He felt good as he walked, his muscles felt lean and strong, and he felt like he could run for miles. He thought about that and remembered what the doctor had given him. He knew he should be exhausted. He hadn’t had more than four hours’ sleep in the past two days. He was glad that Dr. Benson had taken the bottle. Those things could come in handy. He took a deep drag on his cigarette, letting the smoke trail behind him as he walked.

  “Stop!” hissed Jon, stopping them in their tracks.

  They were almost within hailing distance of the Dahlgrens. Dawn was just beginning to spread across the eastern sky. They’d picked up their pace on the gravel road, all of them anxious to complete their journey. Jimmy’s shoulders were killing him, and the big man’s breathing had become labored.

  “What is it?” whispered Jimmy.

  “I heard something that sounded like voices. There’s somebody up there.”

  Jimmy felt his heart drop. Could it be the Guard? He quickly glanced down to the gravel road, and even in the pale light he could tell that no trucks had come this way for quite some time. What he did see were footprints. There were too many to count. Jimmy felt a knot in his stomach, and it began to twist.

  Jon motioned for them to follow him into the pines. They moved slowly, and they quietly made their way inside the forest that bordered Ken’s property. “You wait here,” he whispered to Dr. Benson. He then set down his rifle and discarded his heavy pack.

  Jimmy did the same, removing two magazines and handing one to Jon. Jimmy stuffed his extra magazine down the back of his pants, the cold steel feeling good on his hot skin. He prayed he wouldn’t need more ammo.

  “Let’s go check it out,” whispered Jon. “The house is just through there,” he said to Dr. Benson. “If we don’t come back, try to get to the back wall and tell the guard who you
are. They’ll find a way to get you in.”

  Dr. Benson nodded, his eyes alert and his face, grim.

  “Ready?”

  Jimmy nodded, and they slowly moved deeper into the woods. They walked twenty feet and paused, listening. They could hear voices now—lots of voices. They sounded irritated, and they were definitely coming from outside of the wall. Jon waved Jimmy ahead, and they silently walked another hundred feet across the thick bed of pine needles. Jon held up his hand, and Jimmy stopped. They were directly across from the group now, and they could clearly hear what was being said.

  “I say we storm the place,” said an old man’s charcoal voice. “There are enough of us to do that.”

  Jon raised his gun when he heard that, and Jimmy heard the quiet click of him switching to full auto. Jimmy’s heart pounded inside his chest.

  “No,” replied a woman’s stern voice. “You’ll do no such thing. We’ll camp here and wait it out. These people mean us no harm. What if it was us in there? Would you open the gate?”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “What is the point?” asked the woman.

  “I don’t know. I’m sorry, Sister Margaret.”

  “Just remember, we’re Christians and we’ll behave as such,” added the woman.

  There was a murmur in the crowd. More voices than Jimmy had imagined, many more. Jon motioned him still closer. Jimmy followed. Jon moved like a snake through the tall trees, gun at the ready. He moved to within twenty feet of the road and stopped, crouching low behind a fat pine. Jimmy took a similar position five feet from Jon.

  Dawn was coming fast, and Jimmy could clearly make out the outline of small groups of people milling around on the road. Many of the group appeared to be armed.

  “They said they had a doctor in there. Somebody did. My wife is bleeding to death. I’ve got to get her inside,” said another man’s voice.

  “Jerry Jenkins said they told him to come here and wait for them. They were trying to get a doctor from Ely, not that one was already inside. We’ve got to wait to see if they show up,” said the woman called Sister Margaret, her voice had become agitated.

  “And what if they don’t?”

  “We’ve got to put our faith in the Lord that they will, and soon,” she replied.

  The crowd murmured again, and Jon turned to Jimmy. He stood and set his rifle down. “Shit,” he muttered. “That Jenkins has a damn big family. Ken’s going to kill us.”

  Jimmy set his rifle down and ran his hands through his hair. “What the hell are we going to tell him?”

  “I don’t know,” said Jon, not bothering to whisper anymore. “I’m thinking about staying out here for a few days, just until he cools down.”

  “That’s a good idea. I’m thinking a week might do it.”

  “Sure. By then something else is bound to happen, and he’ll have forgotten all about this.”

  Jimmy laughed and then groaned. Ken was going to be furious. There was no getting around it. That they’d brought back Dr. Benson wasn’t going to matter. Not to Ken. But, Patty on the other hand…

  “Hello,” greeted a familiar voice from the road. “How are you?” the man asked.

  Jimmy and Jon watched in horror as the unmistakable form of Dr. Benson waded through the throng of shadows on the road. He paused, looking in their general direction and waved them over with a huge arm. “Come on out!” he shouted. “There’s no danger here!”

  “Crap,” said Jon. “This is all your fault; you know that, don’t you?”

  “My fault?” asked Jimmy, picking up his rifle and slinging it over his shoulder. “How is any of this my fault?”

  “I’m not sure, yet. But I’ll have it figured out by the time we see Ken. I’m not taking the fall for this.”

  “Don’t forget who invited that Jenkins guy. That was you, Pal. He’ll back me up on that. No, you’re on your own there; Ken’s gonna kick your ass.”

  Jon moved slowly ahead of Jimmy, just like a child being marched into the principal’s office, thought Jimmy. Dr. Benson waited for them on the road, and the group eyed them with suspicion.

  “Relax,” said the Doctor. “They’re with me. Come on boys; let’s go have a quick chat with Ken. I’ve got a lot of work to do.”

  Jimmy and Jon paused at the far side of the dry ditch. It was worse than they’d thought. Jimmy estimated that there were at least thirty people there. The dark tone of the group’s earlier conversation had changed to an excited chatter.

  “How do you think he’ll do it?” Jon asked.

  “I’m thinking slowly,” said Jimmy, stepping across the ditch. “He’s going to want to watch us suffer.”

  “That’s exactly what I was thinking,” replied Jon, following Jimmy. “Well, it’s been good knowing you.”

  “You, too. Catch you in the next life.”

  They met Dr. Benson on the road, and the crowd that had clamored around him gave the two heavily armed strangers some room. Jimmy tried to smile, dreading what was about to come. He wasn’t just worried about Ken, who he truly thought must be out of his mind with anger. He was worried about Julie. How was she doing? Then there was Paula. That storm was coming, and he hadn’t even prepared for it. And finally, what would they do with all of these people? In a roundabout way, he and Jon had really sent them here. They couldn’t turn them away, especially those who needed medical attention. The sky was brighter now, and he could clearly make out the faces of those around him. They looked no different than he did, or anyone else. They were people, just like them, with nowhere to go.

  “Boys,” Dr. Benson said with a broad smile, holding his arms wide. “Say hello to our army.”

  “Hello,” Jimmy said under his breath.

  “Hi,” muttered Jon.

  They followed Dr. Benson through the people, some begged him to stop and tend to someone lying on the ground. He paused at each of these people for a quick second, reassuring them that he’d return shortly. He was going to get the gate opened, after which they could all be seen. He said this with a reassuring smile, and they thanked him as he continued toward the gate.

  They rounded the corner of the dirt road and turned onto the driveway. Jimmy gasped. There were at least another thirty people standing in the driveway. The scene reminded him of an outdoor concert with everyone facing the stage, patiently waiting for the entertainment to begin.

  Standing tall on the other side of the wall looking directly at them was Ken Dahlgren. The look on his face told him everything he needed to know.

  “Oh, shit; oh, shit,” muttered Jon. “He looks totally pissed!”

  They followed Dr. Benson as he waded through the crowd, finally arriving at the gate. Jerry Jenkins stood there holding a toddler in his arms, apparently the first in line. A disheveled looking woman stood behind him, tightly clasping the hands of two small children. Jon tapped him on the shoulder, and Jenkins turned, recognizing them immediately.

  “You made it! Thank God!” he exclaimed, taking Jon’s hand with his free one and pumping it vigorously.

  “We did,” said Jon with a forced smile. “You’ve got a mighty big family, friend. You should’ve mentioned that.”

  “I didn’t tell you that we were alone in the woods,” said Jenkins, staring at his feet.

  “That might’ve been useful information,” retorted Jon. “You realize that Jimmy and I are in some serious shit here because of you.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Jenkins. “I really am. If I’d have told you that our entire congregation was in the woods, you wouldn’t have invited me here. Am I right?”

  “You can tell that to Ken, and that’s him up on the wall.”

  Jimmy and Jenkins followed Jon’s gaze up to the top of the wall. Ken was there, glaring at the three of them with a look that could launch a rocket. Even in the dim morning light, they could see that his face was an unnatural shade of red. Jimmy wanted to run. Maybe, he thought, Ken really would cool down in a week. He averted his eyes and looked at Jon. He
. too, looked like he was searching for options.

  “Hello, Ken!” hailed Dr. Benson in his booming voice. “I love your fence. Is it new?”

  The crowd grew suddenly quiet. The show had begun.

  Ken Dahlgren glowered at them. His eyes were merely slits set over bared teeth. Jimmy cringed.

  “Right,” said Dr. Benson, who obviously knew Ken well enough to know what was going through his head. “Would you mind opening up the gate? We’ve come a long way, and have a lot to talk about.”

  “What about them!” shouted Ken angrily, waving at the crowd. “Can’t you see that there’s not enough room for everyone?” They’ll rush in just as soon as we open it.”

  “You have my word that they won’t.”

  “Your word?” spat Ken. “Have you lost your mind, Ted? Look at them. How the hell do you plan on stopping them?”

  “Like this!” answered Dr. Benson, who then turned and held up his hands, facing the group gathered behind him. They were as silent as if he were delivering a homily. He stood nearly a foot taller than everyone else, and even those in the back could see his huge, bearded face. “I need everyone to listen to me!” he shouted in a calm, almost soothing voice. “People, we have a slight problem here. The man up on the wall is Ken Dahlgren. This is his place. He’s worried that if he opens the gate for me that all of you are going to try and follow me inside. I just assured him that you wouldn’t do that. What I need you to do is to assemble all of your sick and wounded down there by the lake. I want you to do your best to organize them so that the most critical patients are closer to the house. I’ll be out soon and attend to each and every one of them. You have my word on that. My first patient is a young woman inside the house. She may be dying. Give me some time with her, and I’ll be back, shortly. Can you do that for me?”

  “Move back!” somebody shouted from the middle of the crowd.

  “Give them some room!” answered another voice.