Surviving Home

by A. American

  “Get up, Daddy, get up!”

  Taylor was there too. Tears were streaming down her face, leaving little trails of mud. I reached out and pulled them down behind the smoker and croaked out, “Stay here, I’m gonna check on your mom and sister.” Taylor wrapped her arms around her little sister. She said, “Are you okay, Dad? Were you shot?”

  I cracked a little smile. “I don’t know what happened, but I think I’m all right. Are you two okay?”

  They nodded back at me. I reached out and smoothed Taylor’s hair, then Little Bit’s. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t go! Daddy, stay here!” Little Bit cried.

  “We’ll be okay, you just stay put,” I said, then started to crawl over to where Mel and Lee Ann were. They had managed to move around the side of the barn and were lying on the ground with their backs against the wall. Danny was standing beside them looking around the corner toward the woods. Lee Ann was holding her calf, both hands tightly wrapped around it. My heart sank when I saw the blood that ran between her fingers.

  When she saw me crawling toward her she cried out, “Daddy! Help me!”

  Mel had a rag and was trying to get her to move her hands so she could wrap it around her leg. When she cried out, Danny looked back over his shoulder at them. Seeing what was going on, he immediately dropped down to his knees and pulled a dressing out of a pouch on the vest he wore. All I could see was my daughter, but behind me someone was still screaming. I needed to get to Lee Ann.

  She was crying and so was Mel. Mel was about to panic. “Oh my god, she’s been shot! She’s been shot!”

  Danny was trying to get a bandage on the wound and calm Mel down at the same time. When I finally made it to them, I tried to calm Mel. I told her to sit beside Lee Ann and hold on to her.

  “It’s all right, kiddo, you’re gonna be okay,” I said as I helped Danny slide the leg of her jeans up. In our current situation, cutting up a good pair of pants was out of the question unless it was life-or-death.

  “It hurts so bad, am I going to die?”

  “You’re not going to die; just sit tight,” Danny said.

  With the pants pulled up we could see the wound. There was an entry and exit on her right calf, behind the bone. It was bleeding, but not profusely. The one dressing was big enough to wrap around her little calf. Danny tied it off and the pressure of the dressing slowed the bleeding. Danny told me to stay with them, and that he was going to check on everyone else.

  I pulled myself up so I was sitting beside Lee Ann and wrapped my arms around her. Mel was on the other side of her and laid her head on my arm. I tried to comfort them both, telling them it was going to be all right. They both sat there crying. We sat there for a few minutes, then Danny came back with Taylor and Little Bit. They both sat down against the wall with us, and now there were four of them sitting there crying and scared.

  Danny caught my eye and nodded for me to follow him. I told the girls I would be back shortly and followed Danny around the barn. Reggie was sitting in one of the camp chairs, leaning forward with his head down. He had his hands together in front of him. A steady rivulet of blood ran from them, pooling on the ground in front of his boots.

  He looked up at us we approached, and through clenched teeth he said, “They shot my fuckin’ finger off! The bastards blew it off!”

  My eyes went from his eyes to his hands, and he opened them. The ring finger on his left hand was gone, and the pinky looked like it had been skinned. He quickly gripped it in his right, squeezing. I pulled a bandage out of my vest and tore it open. He took it and laid the mangled hand into it, then squeezed it.

  Thad was by the table, kneeling down. I looked over and saw a body on the ground in front of him. It was Rene. I walked over just as he was raising her head off the dirt, sliding a folded coat under it, then gently laying it back down. Her eyes were open, glazed a little, but she was awake. I looked her over and didn’t see any blood. Thad looked at John and his wife and said, “Just stay with her, keep her awake. I think she’s in shock, so don’t let her go to sleep.” John nodded and held one of her hands as he knelt beside her.

  When he stood I asked what had happened to her. He said he didn’t know, that he had just found her on the ground unconscious. Knowing how malnourished she was, we guessed she must have gone into shock and passed out. Maybe too much food at one time all of a sudden, then the shooting and adrenaline rush was just too much for her. At least we hoped that was all it was.

  “What the hell happened to you?” Thad asked.

  I looked down at my chest, patting it with my left hand. “Don’t know, guess I was hit.”

  Danny stepped in front of me. “I guess so,” he said and reached out and grabbed one of the mags in my vest and pulled on it. He had to really yank to get it out.

  The side of the magazine was caved in and split. He held it up for us to see. He ran his thumb across the dent in it. His thumb fit in it. “That was a big round.”

  I took the magazine from him and looked at it, “Yeah, must have been a pistol round, maybe a .45. I think a rifle round would have went through it.”

  “An’ through you,” Thad said.

  Jeff came trotting back up. “They went that way,” he said, pointing off to the east. “You wanna go after ’em?”

  I looked off to the east. “No, I need to go get the doc for Lee Ann and Reggie.”

  “I’ll go, you stay here with them,” Danny said.

  “I’ll go with you,” Thad said.

  “Thanks, guys,” I said.

  Jeff stayed with me. He tried to help Reggie, who really didn’t want any. I went and checked on Lee Ann. The bleeding had stopped. There were just the two little holes, one in and one out. Looking at them, I started to think about it. Whatever hit her was low-velocity. If it had been a high-velocity round, the damage would have been much worse. Then I thought about that magazine; it was probably the same kind of round. After making sure Lee Ann was okay, I went over to the smoker and started looking around.

  I found the bullet under the woodpile. I had to dig all the way to the bottom of the stack looking for it. It was a full metal jacket nine-millimeter or .38. My guess was 9mm. I rolled the projectile between my fingers looking at it. Jeff came up and said he wanted to go look for the guys. I told him we should wait and we began to discuss the whole situation, who it could have been and why. The possibilities there were numerous.

  Jeff said he was going to go out to the tree line and keep an eye out in case anyone came back. He was also going to look for anything they might have left behind. I told him to be careful and went over to check on John and Rene. She was still lying on the ground but looked a lot better now. John was a mess, though; he looked like he was about to fall apart. I pulled him off to the side and asked if he was okay.

  “We can’t take this anymore, Morgan. I mean, all we were doing was having a cookout and someone starts shooting? Look at my daughter, look at yours.”

  “I know, but what are you going to do? We just have to learn to be more careful, I guess.”

  He stood there for a moment, looking off into the distance. “My wife wants us to leave.”

  I looked at him like he was nuts. “And go where? Where do you think you will be safer?”

  He looked back at me, his face blank. “The camp.”

  “You gotta be shittin’ me. You think that will be better?”

  “We don’t have any food. I have a shotgun, but that’s it. Look at all the guns you guys have and people still just attacked you.”

  “I don’t see being herded into a camp as a good thing. I’ll take my chances here—hell, anywhere but there.”

  He said, “That’s the decision you have to make for your family. I’ve made mine. Thanks for what you’ve done for us; I really appreciate it.” He stuck his hand out and I shook it, then he turned and walked away.
I watched him walk back to his family. He and his wife helped Rene to her feet and they moved toward home. Rene stopped by Taylor and knelt down beside her. They hugged and there were more tears. Rene stood up, wiped tears from her face and started to walk off, her mom’s hand in her left hand and John’s in her right. When they got to the gate, she turned and smiled at Taylor and then they were gone. I went back to Lee Ann. She was watching John’s family go.

  “Where they going, Dad?” Lee Ann asked, still holding her leg.

  I was looking out toward the dirt road they had disappeared on. “Not sure, honey.” I looked down at her and smiled. “You okay?”

  She looked at the ground between her feet and nodded. “It hurts a lot.”

  “I know, baby. The doctor is coming.”

  Now that things had calmed down a bit, Mel got up. “What are we going to do? If we aren’t safe here, where are we going to go?”

  I let out a long breath. “We’ll be okay, we just have to start being more careful.”

  “How can you say we’ll be okay? You were shot in the chest. Taylor was shot in the leg. Either one of you could have died. What we would we do if you were killed?” She was upset and getting more so.

  I stepped up to her and wrapped my arms around her. “Calm down, we’ll figure something out.

  She just stood there for a minute, her face in my chest. She pushed me away. “It’s cold.”

  “What’s cold?”

  With her index finger, she poked one of the mags still in my vest. “Where’s the doctor? Is she going to be okay?” she asked, looking back at Taylor. All three of the girls were lined up, sitting against the wall.

  “Keep an eye on them. I’m gonna check on Reggie.”

  Mel nodded and went and sat down with the girls. Reggie was still sitting in the chair, leaning forward. The blood had stopped running out of his hands, but the dressing was soaked. Looking around the fire pit, I found his .45 and picked it up. Dirt was caked on the blood spattered on the grip and slide. The checkering on the front of the grip had a ding in it where the bullet must have hit. I sat down in the chair beside him. The effort of sitting made my chest burn.

  I stuck the barrel of the pistol into the little mesh cup holder. “Didn’t know you were a lefty.”

  Reggie looked up at me, his jaw clenched. “Not anymore.”

  Trying to take the edge off things, I said, “Yeah, guess this really fucked up your sex life.”

  He grunted, “You’re an asshole, Morgan,” then looked up at me. I shot a shit-eatin’ grin back at him and he shook his head and smiled.

  The sound of a couple of approaching ATVs brought me to my feet, carbine at the ready. Thad and Danny came through the gate and the doc was riding with Danny.

  • • •

  Sarge pushed past Mike into the old barracks and headed for the little table the radio gear was set up on. Sitting down he read the message on the screen: Where are you, old man? We could use some help.

  “Who the hell’s he callin’ old?” Sarge shouted.

  “If the shoe fits,” Mike replied.

  “Shut up, dipshit.”

  Sarge typed a quick reply: Watch who you’re calling old. What’s the situation? and hit ENTER. He looked over at the little box connected to his radio and watched as the LEDs blinked.

  “What’s the plan, Sarge?” Ted asked.

  Spinning around in his chair, he saw all three of the guys were standing there. He looked at each of them and said, “Time to start the dance. Get your dress on, Mikey. We have to meet the riggers at 0100. They’re going to sling our rides and insert us.”

  “Where we going?” Doc asked.

  Sarge glanced over his shoulder at the screen, then turned back. “Looks like we’re going to Lake County to start with.”

  What was left of the afternoon was spent in frenzied activity, each of the men packing the gear they wanted in their packs and loading them into the vehicles. Then working together they started to load all the supplies they had “acquired” from the quartermaster earlier. As the work started to wind down, Sarge told the guys to decide who was going to hit the rack and get some sleep. In the meantime, he went to the radios with a thermos of coffee and put his feet up on the table, staring at the screen.

  • • •

  The doc hopped off the ATV and, seeing Reggie’s hand, headed for him. Reggie waved him off with his head. “Go take care of her; I ain’t going anywhere.”

  The doc went to Lee Ann. Danny and Thad took up positions to keep an eye on things. I went over and knelt beside Lee Ann. The doc unwrapped the bandage from around her leg, and the fear reappeared on her face. She reached out and grabbed my hand. I told her the doctor was here and she was going to be okay.

  After unwrapping her leg, he inspected the wound, gently turning it to inspect the exit wound. He didn’t say anything, just adjusted his glasses, dabbed at the wounds with a sponge, then gently laid her leg out on the dressing he removed.

  “It looks pretty clean, but there is a risk of infection. There could be some fibers from her jeans in the wound.”

  “Am I going to need stitches?” Lee Ann asked.

  He looked up at her and smiled. “No, honey, these holes are small. They’ll heal on their own, but you’re going to have to keep it clean, and even though it hurts, you need to walk on it too.”

  She nodded her head but said nothing.

  Chapter 32

  Sarge leaned against the fender of the Humvee, watching the riggers. He was always amazed at how these guys could sling a load perfectly. There were six of them at work on his babies. The two buggies and trailer were being connected to straps. The men crawled over the equipment like ants, on top, underneath and around all sides. They shouted and cussed at one another, but the straps were secured one by one. When all was ready, Stalker One, the first of two Black Hawks, came into a hover over the mass of gear. One of the riggers reached up and attached a strap to a hook on the belly of the helo, then ran out from under it, gave the pilot a thumbs-up, and watched as the big bird took the slack.

  Sarge could hear the change in pitch as the big helicopter took the weight of the load slung under it. The two buggies and the trailer lifted as one; they jostled around and found their center point, but all of them were almost perfectly level. As soon as soon as Stalker One was clear, Stalker Two taxied out. Sarge looked over his shoulder at the three men standing behind him. Their faces were smeared with camo paint and each of them was hard as iron.

  “Let’s go! Saddle up, ladies!”

  As one, they nodded at him, then ran toward the waiting helo. Sarge waited till Doc passed him and paused for a moment, watching these incredible warriors as they sprinted toward the waiting Black Hawk, and shook his head. Damn, I love this shit, he thought, then ran out to catch up.

  • • •

  We brought Lee Ann and her sisters home. Taylor went to her room and came back with Jeff’s iPad and a set of headphones. Little Bit disappeared and returned with a pillow from her bed for her sister to prop her leg up on. Mel asked if there was anything she could do for her. Lee Ann said, “Some mac ’n’ cheese would be nice, thanks.”

  Mel went straight to the kitchen to heat some up. I knelt down beside Lee Ann and asked, “Is there anything I can get for you?”

  “Can you start a fire? I’m cold.”

  I smiled at her and rubbed a hand through her hair. “Sure.”

  With the supplies I kept by the fireplace, I had one going in no time. Pine needles and lighter wood make it possible for anyone to start a fire. As the fire built, Lee Ann fell asleep. She was out cold when I turned to ask her if it was good enough. I went to her room and pulled the quilt off her bed, returned to the living room and laid it out over her.

  Mel walked in with a bowl of mac ’n’ cheese. I said, “She’s out.”

  She stood there loo
king at Lee Ann and asked, “Is she going to be okay?’

  “The doc said she would. We just have to make sure she takes the antibiotics and that we clean it every day. He gave us those pain-killers, but I really don’t think she’ll need ’em. Honestly, I’m more worried about Reggie.”

  “What are we going to do? I’m scared.”

  I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. “I know, baby. Tomorrow I’m going to talk to the guys and figure out what to do.” I stepped back from her and said, “We may have to leave the house.”

  “I don’t care where we are, as long as the girls are safe,” she said. She put her hand on my chest. “How do you feel?”

  I hadn’t thought much about it, but I was sore. Every breath hurt. “I’m fine, baby. I was lucky.”

  “I don’t want to rely on luck; you’ve got to be more careful. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

  I tried to put on the confident face, but inside I wasn’t so sure. It had been too close. I still had the bullet in my pocket, the one with my name on it. Maybe as long as I had it, there wouldn’t be another one. It was a nice thought, but I knew it was bullshit.

  “I promise, babe, I’ll try. Besides, someone has to be around here to complain about your cooking.” I nudged her.

  That little joke didn’t even get a smile from her. “I’m tired, I’m going to bed,” Mel said.

  “Go ahead, I gotta go back out to the shop for a minute.”

  “Don’t be long.”

  “I won’t.”

  Mel headed for the bedroom and I went out the slider toward the shop. I still hadn’t dealt with that damn door. Inside, I tapped the touch pad on the laptop and it came to life. There was a message blinking back at me: Watch who you’re calling old. What’s the situation?

  I smiled when I saw it, knowing it chapped his ass. I typed a reply, telling him what had happened and who I thought was behind it and hit ENTER. The LEDs blinked, and the laptop grunted and groaned.

  • • •

  Thad and Jeff both stayed with Reggie. The doc did what he could, but he was no plastic surgeon. If Reggie survived the inevitable infections, he would have the use of his hand, but it would never be the same.