by A. American
“That’s a fucked-up way of looking at it,” I said.
“Why? You saw these people when we got here. Only thing missing was the pitchforks and torches. Now they’re calmed down. They got their blood.”
“I’d hate to think we hung those men just to satisfy some group bloodlust,” I replied.
“We didn’t,” Danny’s voice caught me off guard. “We hung them because they killed Bobbie. And many others. You saw the bodies. You saw what they did. They needed killing and we killed them. Period.”
I nodded. “You’re right, my friend. They deserved it for Bobbie.”
The bodies were cut down and loaded into the bed of the little red truck. We took them over to the police department, I wanted to see the other man, the one Shane killed. I asked Aric to ride over with us to verify it was him since he knew the man best.
We parked in front of the roll-up door and Shawn came out. He looked over the side of the bed and nodded. “It’s done.”
“Where’s the other one?” I asked. Then I noticed his face. Both of his eyes were blackened and his nose looked broken. “Damn, dude, you look like you were hit by a truck.”
He jerked his head towards the roll-up door, “The truck’s in there. Hang on, I’ll open it.” And he went inside the building.
We waited out front as the metal door clanged and banged as it rolled up. As the door rose, the feet of man came into view. I watched as the view slowly crept up his body until the man was revealed. The man’s shirt was stained with blood and flies buzzed about his open mouth and hazy eyes. Shane was standing beside him. He too had a black eye and was holding his left arm close to his chest.
I jutted my chin at him, “You alright?”
He kicked the form on the ground, “This fucker broke a rib I think.”
“You seen the docs yet?”
He nodded, “Yeah, we’ve both been to the clinic. Nothing time won’t fix.”
Aric stepped into the dim bay and looked down at the body. He knelt down and grabbed the man’s chin and turned his face up. Looking up, he said, “This is him. His name’s Niigata. He was their torturer. Of course, they called him an interrogator. But he was a sadistic bastard.”
Shawn snorted, “He’s not going to torture anyone else.”
“How’d it go down?” I asked.
“We were following him. He went behind the old Ace Hardware. When we walked around the corner, he jumped us. Sum bitch was quick and hit like a damn mule,” Shane said.
“He was enjoying it. He smiled the entire time.” Shawn said. “It was no contest trying to fight him. He hit me in the face, then went after Shane. I drew my pistol and shot him in the back. He actually turned around to look at me. Started walking towards me. So, I kept shooting him until he fell.”
“And this one?” Aric asked, pointing to a bullet hole over the man’s left eye.
“Insurance,” Shane grunted. “I didn’t want the bastard getting back up.”
“It was worth it,” I said. “The old man knows where they’re operating out of now. The Russians and Cubans have teamed up with the remnants of the DHS. They’re holed up in the auto auction off the 429. He’s working with the DOD guys up at Eglin to deal with them.”
“What do you want us to do with him?” Shane asked.
I pointed at the truck, “If you don’t mind, I’ll leave these three here for the night. Tomorrow, take them to the farm and bury them there. Let them fertilize the field.”
“Will do.”
“I’ll get with Cecil. He’ll have a hole dug for them.”
We unloaded the bodies from the truck into the bay. It was surreal seeing so many bodies piled up as they were. But it was the reality. Dead bodies didn’t faze me anymore than seeing a road-killed opossum now. It was just another part of the fabric of life. We shook hands and said we’d get with them later before Aric and I loaded into the truck and drove back to the park.
We found everyone gathered around Sarge’s Hummer. Cecil and the old man were talking when we walked up.
“Was it him?” Sarge asked.
I nodded, “Yeah, it was him. One less vermin to worry about.”
Sarge nodded. “Good. I’ll get with the General and we’ll put together a plan to hit those pricks at the auto auction.”
Mike clapped his hands, “You mean I’m going to get to blow some shit up with that big ass gun? Goodie, goodie, goodie!”
“Stop acting like a damn snot-nosed runt for cryin’ out loud. Act your age for a change.”
“He is,” Ted quickly replied, “he is acting his age. He stopped aging at thirteen.”
The old man snorted, “Explains why yer nuts ain’t dropped yet.” He said it quickly and without thought. Then he looked at Mel and said, “Sorry, Mel.”
Mel didn’t miss a beat. “It’s alright,” she replied. Then she looked at Mike and said, “Don’t worry. They’ll come down on their own.”
Mike blushed and adjusted his crotch, mumbling, “They did a long time ago.”
Mel patted his shoulder, saying, “Sure they have.” And she walked towards the little red truck. Naturally, this got a big laugh out of the old man, and Ted. It made me smile too. Mike looked at me and I shrugged.
“How’s that field of corn coming, Cecil?” I asked.
“’Bout ready. I checked a couple of ears earlier today. They’re drying out nicely.”
“You got security on that field?” Sarge asked.
Cecil nodded with a laugh, “You’re damn right! You think you could plant acres of corn and expect it to be there when you come back? Not hardly. We’ve run a few people off. Mitch sentenced a couple we caught in there poaching corn to labor at the farm. But for the most part, it’s all there.”
“That’s going to make a shit ton of corn meal,” I said. “How’s the mill coming along?”
“We got it working. Have to run a generator, but it’ll turn out some corn. We even found a Burrall corn sheller at Renninger’s and got it working. We’ll be able to shell the corn out a lot faster,” Cecil replied.
“We’ll be up to our eyeballs in grits and cornbread,” Sarge said.
Cecil smiled and patted his belly, “I ain’t going to complain none. Cornbread will go nice with the beans we got in those supplies.”
“Cecil, we’re going to be having a wedding out at the ranch here shortly. You should come out,” I said.
He smiled a broad toothy smile, “Who’s getting married?”
I put a hand on Thad and Aric’s shoulders. “These two are.”
The smile vanished and Cecil’s face turned sour. “Not to each other, I hope.”
The surprise on Thad’s face was instant and Aric muttered, “What? Fuck, what?”
I cocked my head to the side and gave each of them a quick glance. “Now Cecil, I thought they made a fine couple.”
“What?” Aric shouted. Apparently, it was the only thing he could manage.
Thad started to laugh, slapping his knee. “You a mess, Morgan!”
Cecil broke out into a broad smile again and started to laugh. Mike was standing behind Thad and in as deep a voice as he could muster, which wasn’t much, he said, “You wanna be the husband or you wanna be the wife?”
Thad was still laughing, but Aric was slightly shocked. “I wanna be the husband!” He shouted.
Mike started to laugh and slapped Thad on the back and shouted, “Then get over here and suck yo wife’s dick!”
The joke made Thad laugh even harder. Sarge got a chuckle out of it as well, but he shook his head at the same time. “You just don’t know how to be a grown-up do you?”
With a blank stare, Mike replied, “No. I’m a Toys R Us kid.”
“No, you are without a doubt, the posterchild for infanticid
e,” Sarge snorted back.
Cecil cleared his throat and stepped towards Thad, “Thad, I’m happy for you.” He stuck his hand out and shook Thad’s. Cecil then turned to Aric, “You too, my friend. This is good news. Seeing that people can still fall in love in all this.” He smiled again. “Maybe we’ll see some youngins soon.”
Aric looked down at his feet and hesitantly replied, “Well, uh, Fred’s pregnant.”
Cecil broke out into a loud raucous laugh. “That’s great news! When’s this wedding to going to take place?”
“Day after tomorrow,” Thad replied.
Cecil smiled, “I’d be honored to be there.”
Chapter 10
Everyone was up early. There was still a lot to do. With the loss of Bobbie so fresh, everyone was looking for something to cheer them. A little bright spot in the darkness. So, the ladies, all of them, even Jamie, were busy in the kitchen. Naturally, Bobbie’s absence was felt. But she was with them in spirit as her name came up often.
Danny was spending his time with the kids. He had the entire troop out at the pond fishing. He was hurting, but so were they. Jace and Edie already lost their parents. Now they’ve lost Bobbie. Danny had always wanted to have kids. But Bobbie was reluctant. When the kids lost their parents, he seized on the opportunity. He was good with kids, having helped raise all three of my girls, and they loved him.
So, I assumed it was a coping mechanism for him to spend so much time with the kids. And it was the best method for him too. He knew there was still someone depending on him. He couldn’t just sink into a pit of despair and not look up. He had to take care of them; and they were the anchor holding him in place. Not to mention, he had a large and very concerned group around. But we didn’t hover over Danny. He was given his space. He needed to grieve, and we allowed him the time and room to do so. But everyone made sure he knew we were thinking about him.
I was sitting on the back porch watching the kids be frustrated by the little bait stealers in the pond. They were keeping him busy baiting hooks. Except Little Bit; she would pinch her own bread balls onto the hook. Miss Kay gave them a heal of bread that Danny dampened with a little water to make it sticky so it would stay on the hooks.
Doc strolled past me, his medic pack over his shoulder, and pushed the screen door open and went down towards the pond. He was constantly checking Danny’s hand, changing the dressings and inspecting the sutures that closed the large wound. He was diligent in ensuring infection didn’t set in.
Seeing Doc approach, Danny took a seat in one of the plastic chairs, ready for his exam. Doc dropped his pack and pulled another chair over. “How’s the hand feeling?” Doc asked.
“No better, no worse.”
Edie missed another fish; and with her bait gone, she was excitedly asking for another bread ball. Danny told her she’d have to wait for a minute. “You gotta wait, sweetie. Doc here wants to poke and prod me first.”
She cocked her little head to the side and scrunched her nose. “Is he taking the Band-Aid off?” Danny nodded and she leaned her pole against a young cypress tree. “I want to see it.”
Little Bit and Jace quickly joined her. They all stood watching as Doc unwrapped the gauze and removed the sponges that absorbed the drainage from the wound. Edie moved closer and looked over Doc’s knee. “Where’s your fingers?”
Danny turned the hand over, “They’re gone.”
“But where’d they go?”
“The bomb took them,” Little Bit said as she watched Doc work.
“Can you get them back?” Jace asked.
“No, they’re not coming back,” Danny said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
“That’s true, but Mr. Danny will be alright,” Doc said as he cleaned the wound. “He’ll be back up to speed in no time. He just won’t be able to give you a high five.” Doc leaned in close to Edie and added in a silly tone, “it’ll have to be a high three!”
The kids all laughed. Even Danny half chuckled at the comment. Doc smiled and rubbed Edie’s hair.
“It’s ok,” Edie said as she took Danny’s other hand with both of hers. “He still has this one.” She pulled the hand up to her face and rubbed it on her cheek.”
Doc smiled and looked at Danny and the little girl. “Like I said, Mr. Danny will be just fine.”
As I watched this, Mel walked up and leaned against me. I looked up at her. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she was looking down at me. “What?” I asked.
“Have you got those flowers yet?”
I rolled my eyes. I’d been selected to fill buckets with the bright pink Azalea flowers that grew in huge numbers at our old house. “No, not yet.”
Mel leaned down and whispered in my ear. “Don’t you think you should get that done? You know the wedding is tomorrow, right?”
I rocked my head side to side, “Yeah, yeah. I’m going.” I replied as I got to my feet.
“Remember, it’s a secret,” Mel added.
I waved over my shoulder at her as I headed for the screen door. “I know.”
Walking out to the shed, I grabbed a couple of empty five-gallon buckets and headed for the gate. It was nice out, for a summer day, and I was going to walk down to the old house. As I got closer to the bunker, I saw the National Guardsmen standing their watch. These guys were very diligent and never complained about having to be on duty. It said something about what it must be like in town at the armory.
Wallner stepped out from under the tarp. I smiled at the sight. He was starting to get comfortable out here. Gone was the body armor and the heavy BDU blouse top. He was in a t-shirt and boonie hat and even had the legs of his pants rolled up to his knees. A rather funny sight with the boots he was wearing.
“You guys look like you’re getting into the groove,” I said.
He looked down at himself and smiled, “Someone once told me, conditions are what you make them.”
I laughed, “Indeed, my friend.”
He turned to the north and pointed to a small house that sat off the road in a five-acre field of grass. A scattering of oak trees grew in front of it. “What’s Thad doing over there?”
Looking at the house, I replied, “I do believe he’s getting the place ready for his soon-to-be bride.”
“I thought that was it. It’s a nice little place. It’s just separated from everyone else.”
I nodded. “Yeah. But I think Thad is looking for a little separation. Somewhere he can begin to rebuild his life.”
“He’s been hard at it. We’ve offered to help several times, but he always turns us down.”
I reached out and gripped Wallner’s shoulder. “That’s because you guys do enough for us. I’ll go over and check on him.”
“We’re happy to be here. Anything you guys need, just ask.”
With a smile and nod, I replied, “I know, my friend.”
I looked over at the house Thad was preparing for himself and Mary. He appeared in the door as I crossed the yard. He was working a broom and a cloud of dust erupted from the open door.
“You’ll make someone a fine wife one of these days with domestic skills like that,” I said.
Thad looked up and smiled. “You think she’ll like this?”
I nodded and poked my head in the door. “I think so. We need to get a couple things going over here for you guys, but I think she’ll be happy.”
We walked through the house that had once been owned by an old man. He lived there alone and kept to himself. I had never even spoken to him. But he disappeared shortly after the event and I never saw him again. The house was in pretty good shape, though it was obvious it had been gone through many times. I know our group had raided it on several occasions. But unlike others, we didn’t trash the places we looked through.
The little house had l
ots of windows and it was bright inside and surprisingly cool. Thad had the rear sliding-glass door open, revealing the small pool out back.” It was nearly full of water, but was green now of course.
“I’m going to build another water tower here and fill it from the pool,” Thad said. “It’ll allow us to flush the toilets at least.”
“I’m sure we can sort something out. I wish we had more solar panels to get you some power,” I replied.
“We can live without the power, but having a flushing toilet is really nice.” I nodded and Thad said, “I need a favor, Morgan.”
I looked at him and replied, “Anything, buddy.”
He rubbed his hand through his hair. “I really need a haircut before the wedding.”
I agreed, “Yeah, you do,” and laughed. “But I only know how to do one kind.”
He smiled again. “I know. That’s the kind I want.”
“Let me take care of a little project real quick and then we’ll get to that haircut.”
Thad looked around the house and nodded. “I have a little more to do here and I’ll meet you at your place.”
“Sounds good to me,” I replied as I headed for the door and grabbed my bucket.
As I continued towards the old place, I saw Mike coming from the direction of his house. He waved me down and I stopped and waited for him. “Hey, Morg,” he greeted me.
“What’s up, Mikey?”
“Hard dicks and helicopters.”
“Not anymore,” I replied with a laugh.
“Oh, sorry to hear that, man. You know, you used to be able to get a pill for that. Gonna be kind of tough now though.”
I shook my head. “I meant the helicopters, asshole.”
He looked around and stretched. “I know.”
“What do you want?” I asked, trying to get to the point.