by Diane Butler
Mary objected to going out in the bad weather but Roxanne was already gathering their things. “We need to take the motorboat since the pirogue is too dangerous on turbulent water. Plus we will need to tow it and the motorboat has the power to do that. It will be tedious since we need to tie the two boats side by side and create a bumper between them. Since the sailboat is the larger boat I will be guiding you while you provide the power of the motorboat. Do you understand?”
Mary was nervous but nodded her head. Roxanne smiled, “It will be a learning experience for both of us. I have seen it done, but have not done it myself. The worse that could happen is that we’ll both get dunked.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Mary grumbled as she took the rope that Roxanne handed her. The rain lessened somewhat as they got into the motorboat with Roxanne at the helm. Although they could see the sailboat they had to travel parallel along the inlet that led from Roxanne’s cottage and then do a U-turn into the canal to go back upriver.
They pulled alongside of the sailboat and Roxanne yelled out a greeting, “Ahoy, anyone aboard?” She stood up and grabbed the railing of the sailboat and put her other hand on her holster, ready for any rush from the cabin. “Ahoy, anyone there?”
Not receiving an answer Roxanne grabbed the railing with both hands and pulled herself up and over the hull into the boat. She steadied herself then pulled out her gun when she saw that the door to the galley was partially open and swaying with the motion of the boat. She glanced back at the wheel and saw that it had been tied into place to keep the rudder in position. Either someone had fallen overboard or they were still on the ship. She found the ladder and put it over the side so that Mary could board if she needed her help. Roxanne slowly descended the steps to the galley and saw that the door was blocked by debris and would not open further. She kicked at it to see if she heard a response from inside but the only sounds were the rain and a few items rolling around on the floor.
Mary was nervous once Roxanne disappeared below but she knew better than to give her position away by yelling out. If anyone was on board Mary could mount the ladder and enter the cabin without anyone knowing that she was there.
Roxanne could see that the cabin was empty but the door to the bedroom was closed. She thought that if anyone was in there that they had not chosen a good place to fight because they would be boxed into such a small area. She walked up to the door and listened then she stood back and picked up an empty can off the floor and threw it at the door but there was only silence from the other side. Finally she went to the door and tested the handle to find that it was unlocked. She quickly threw it open and stepped back in case anyone rushed her. She briefly saw a woman lying on the bed before the door swung back again to block her view.
Roxanne opened the door again and stood there to take in a quick assessment before advancing toward the bed. The woman appeared to be unconscious but was still breathing, although it was very shallow.
Roxanne went up topside and leaned over the railing. “We have a survivor,” she told Mary. “A woman and she is very weak. Toss me a bottle of water but don’t leave the boat. There are life preservers here and I’ll use those to make a bumper. Turn the boat around so that we are facing the same direction and I’ll be back to tie the two together.”
Roxanne took the water back to the red-headed woman and managed to bring her to consciousness so that she drank. When the woman realized that she had water she tried to grab the bottle from Roxanne’s hands. “Wait,” Roxanne soothed. “Drink slowly or you will throw it back up.” The woman’s eyes seemed to focus on her but there was more confusion than fear in them. Roxanne gave her more water and explained that she was safe now but to be patient while they towed her back.
She went topside and secured the life preservers into place, then tied the motorboat in three places to make the two boats as close to being one that she could. “Remember,” she called out to Mary. “Let me lead you to the inlet while you provide the power. Take it slow. Do not rush things.” She lowered the rest of the torn sail so it wouldn’t interfere with her vision or that a sudden gust of wind would take them off course. The skies were still heavy with rain but the humidity was high making the slicker stick to her skin.
Mary got the hang of it after a few jerky starts and was able to smooth things out. She realized that only a small amount of power was necessary since the bigger boat continued to drift further once she cut back on the motor. She was nervous about docking it since the sailboat could take her past the pier and continue drifting into the reeds. She knew it would be harder to get the motorboat out of the reeds if the sailboat pulled her in when suddenly they came to a stop.
When they had approached the pier Roxanne had the same apprehension as Mary so she quickly jumped onto the pier to secure the sailboat and keep it from drifting away. Once she had it tied down she got back on the sailboat and went to the other side to call down to Mary. “Can you untie the motorboat and dock it by yourself? I want to check on our lady again. I don’t think that we should try to move her in this weather. Come aboard when you’re ready.”
Roxanne went back to the galley and began going through the cupboards to see what supplies the woman had, but everything was depleted. By the amount of debris on the floor she guessed that the woman had been through a storm. She checked the closets to find men’s clothing and assumed that the woman had not always been sailing alone. She sat on the bed and put her arm under the woman to give her more water when Mary entered the cabin.
“Did you check her for bites?”
“Why, no I didn’t. I didn’t see any blood on the sheet, but you’re right. I should have done that.” The woman was wearing shorts, sneakers and a t-shirt with a sports bra so the examination was simple although she started to fight Roxanne’s efforts. “Heat up a jar of one of my soups,” Roxanne asked Mary. “The one with clover and sow thistle. You know which one I’m talking about?” Mary nodded but did not move and continued to stare at the woman. “What’s wrong?” Roxanne asked. “Do you see something that I don’t?” she looked back at the woman.
“Do you think that red hair is natural?” Mary asked. “And if it isn’t where the hell is she getting the dye?”
The woman appeared to be dehydrated and suffering from sun stroke. She was in and out of consciousness for the next two days and Roxanne spent the nights on the sailboat in case she should waken and become confused. She applied lotion on the burns and kept a continuous feeding schedule of liquids.
Mary was anxious to get back to town and even suggested that they transport the woman and hand the responsibility over to the townspeople, as she now called them. Roxanne was at the well drawing more water when she became impatient with Mary. “I don’t want them to know that we are back and start asking questions. We don’t know who this woman is; don’t know her name and I would like to get her healthy before turning her over to them.”
Mary looked at her puzzled. “She’s just another lost soul Roxanne. She’s no one special. None of us are special anymore.”
Roxanne pulled the bucket from the water and sat it on the well. “I don’t want my methods criticized,” she sighed. “Some people see my herbs as weeds and think that I am backwoods in my knowledge. Others are superstitious and would think me a witch. I don’t need a posse at my door who will want to run me out of town or burn me at the stake.”
“If people think that you are a witch it’s because you hide yourself from them. You give them reason to be suspicious. No one travels alone or chooses to live alone and you insist on doing both.”
“You are starting to sound more like the riverboat gang every day,” Roxanne said as she took the bucket and started toward the house. Then she looked down her driveway to see Caleb and Morgan approaching, “Oh-oh.”
“Hello!” Morgan called out. Both were smiling as they walked toward her and Caleb waved. Roxanne looked over at Mary to see her grinning and thought that perhaps she should have a talk with Morgan about not leavi
ng the two of them alone together. Age fourteen in a ZA was more like being eighteen in the normal world. Roxanne put the bucket down and waited for them.
“We’ve been checking the house about twice a week since you left,” Morgan said, “but bad weather kept us away. How long have you been back?”
Roxanne ignored the question. “What is happening in town? The zombie activity is much heavier here and I’ve had to dig a trench on the other side of the road for all the bodies. Don’t like digging trenches,” she shook her head. Caleb and Mary continued to stand there and smile at each other until Mary signaled that Caleb should follow her. Roxanne swiftly turned, “Where are you two going?”
“Just on the porch,” Mary said, “to sit in the shade.”
Roxanne turned back to see that Morgan had taken off his hat and was wiping his brow. “I’m sorry, I’ve been rude,” she said. “Why don’t we go on the porch too.” While Caleb and Mary sat in the porch swing Roxanne and Morgan sat on the steps with their backs to the couple.
Morgan began to give her an update. “We were able to get a jeep started from the fairgrounds and Lucky managed to fly a helicopter for a short time, but it’s not safe to use it. He set it down at the marina further up the road and we will use it to block that section.”
Roxanne had been leaning over with her elbows on her knees but sat up at the news. “You went into the fairgrounds?” she shook her head. “The marina is ten miles away. You are spreading yourself too thin. Concentrate on walls around the immediate community then go further as you secure things. No one will be checking that area on a regular basis and I was getting my supply of gas from that marina. Have you made it more difficult for me?”
“I think the purpose was that Lucky didn’t want to attract zombies to our area by landing it closer. Anyone on the road now can get past it although Earl is convinced that no one will be coming out of Baton Rouge, including zombies. “
“And the fairgrounds?” While Morgan was telling Roxanne what they had found and the condition of the place, Caleb and Mary slipped off the swing and went to the back of the house.
“I knew that you were back,” Caleb said as they walked around the corner of the house, “but no one would believe me. Whoa!” he said and came to a stop when he saw the sailboat. “Did Roxanne bring that back with her? Does that mean that she plans on sailing out of the bayou?”
Mary looked over at the sailboat. “She didn’t say why she wanted it, only that she wanted it before anyone else found it. It was just drifting in the canal. But you may be right. It hadn’t occurred to me that she would seek another method of escape since the pirogue can only be used in calm waters. She’s tricky like that, but I would have thought that she would tell me of her intent.” She shook her head. “She was just telling me that I was getting more like your group every day, so perhaps she trusts me less.”
Caleb turned to her, “I missed you while you were gone. There’s no one else around who is our age and I don’t like to talk about Roxanne with anyone except you and my dad. In fact, I caught both Brandon and Lucky looking at me strangely the way they sometimes look at Roxanne. I’m learning a lot from her like how to listen and feel the night.” He shrugged, “But maybe it’s this place. Lance is convinced that the town is haunted by spirits and refuses to do night duty.”
“You ain’t seen anything until you go deep into the bayou,” Mary said. “I don’t know how she was able to live there last winter. Maybe it’s different in the winter but the place I was in was active all the time with snakes, insects, alligators and I felt like all the wildlife was trying to push me out. It’s not a place for people and the night was worse with strange sounds of screaming and screeching as animals hunted.” She shivered. “I don’t think that I will go back again.”
“Did you meet her family, her bayou family?” Caleb questioned. “Lucky will want to know all about them. He even flew a helicopter over the trees looking for her.”
“Yes, we know. Her medicine woman called it a ‘contraption’.” They both started to giggle until Roxanne came around the corner with Morgan.
“And what is so funny?” she asked but Morgan had spotted the sailboat and started walking toward it for a better look. “Nice, Roxanne” he said. “But is it operational?”
“Morgan stop!” Roxanne commanded. He was startled and turned to look at her. She sighed and said, “I may as well tell you. There was a woman on board when we found it. She’s been ill for two days but is getting better. I never took her off the boat and have been treating her there. I was about to take her more water when you arrived. You can come with me if you like but she hasn’t been conscious long enough to know me or where she is, so she may be frightened.” She turned to Mary, “Could you get me the bucket from the porch and then the two of you stay here on the back porch where I can see you.” She saw Mutt come out of the house and nodded, “Mutt will watch over you.”
As they climbed on board Roxanne said, “I haven’t found any identity of who she is but she wasn’t always traveling alone. I found men’s clothing although she could have found the sailboat as I did, just drifting in the water.” She opened the bedroom door to find the woman was standing. They were both startled and the woman grabbed the sheet although she was fully clothed. Roxanne slowly set the bucket on the floor and put her hand out. “It’s alright, we are friends. You have been very sick with a fever and were dehydrated. Apparently you had been drifting for some time or you had been out of provisions for a long time. I’m Roxanne and the man behind me is Morgan.”
The woman sat down on the bed, still holding the sheet in front of her. Roxanne became suspicious but knew that she had searched the place well. “Do you have a weapon?” Roxanne asked. The woman did not answer but looked from one to the other in confusion. “I’m going to take off both my knife and gun,” Roxanne said, “and put them out of my reach to show that you can trust me.” She put them on the dresser and then slowly moved to the other side of the room but the woman was still suspicious, looking over at Morgan who could reach the dresser. “Morgan, could you go out of the room please and shut the door behind you?”
As soon as Morgan left the room the woman jumped up and grabbed the gun off the dresser, pointing it at Roxanne.
“You are not going to shoot me because you know that you need help,” Roxanne calmly said. “And you know that you have been ill. If we wanted what you have we would have killed you and not bothered to keep you alive.” She noticed that the woman had taken apart a coat hanger and had wrapped it around her wrist with two prongs extending through her fist to use as a weapon. Roxanne smiled, “That’s a very good weapon. I never would have thought of that, but don’t you think that you should sit down before you fall down? I wouldn’t want that gun to go off and have you shoot me by accident.”
The boat shifted against the pier and the woman had to grab the dresser to keep from falling. She finally made her decision and put the gun back on the dresser, then sat down on the bed breathless. Roxanne took a cup of water from the bucket and sat on the bed with her, helping her drink. She touched the woman’s forehead, “The fever is almost gone but it won’t help to exhaust yourself. Perhaps we can move you to the cabin where I can continue to treat you. I’m sure you are sick of this boat by now. Do you remember my name? It’s Roxanne.”
The woman nodded. “I remember you coming in and out, sometimes giving me something bitter to drink. Sometimes you were washing me. I’m Karen.”
“Lay back and let me get this wire off of you. I’m going to let Morgan come to the door. He’s a gentle man. You need not fear him.” Roxanne got off the bed and opened the door. “Morgan, this is Karen.” Morgan watched as Roxanne unraveled the coat hanger from Karen’s grasp. “Do you think that between the two of us we could get Karen off the boat and into my house?”
“You have a good healer in Roxanne, Karen,” Morgan said. “She was able to help the pain in my leg when it didn’t heal properly.” He turned to Roxanne, “If we can get her
onto the pier I will be able to carry her into the house, but going upstairs we will need to carry her between us.”
Mary and Caleb were watching from the porch when they saw Morgan get on the pier and then Roxanne came into view from the galley assisting the woman to topside. “Damn,” Caleb said. “I’ve never seen such red hair!” “It’s not real,” Mary retorted, “can’t possibly be. That’s out of a bottle if I ever saw one. Can you believe that someone would be so vain as to keep their hair dyed when the rest of us are trying to find food, water and shelter?”
“Where does she come from?”
“We don’t know yet. She hasn’t been well enough to talk.”
Once Roxanne managed to get Karen onto the pier Morgan swept her up into his arms. “She’s light,” Morgan said. “Just skin and bones. I’ll be able to make it to the house easily.” Caleb held the door open for them. “You take her legs, Caleb and walk up the stairs backwards.” At the top of the stairs Roxanne had them put Karen in her own bedroom and said that she would sleep downstairs until they found another bed. Both Cowboy and Mutt were curious and were constantly around their feet trying to sniff the new addition to the household.