It was a brisk, overcast day in early spring when Chuck tried to maneuver around Cindy and her seven-months belly as they both worked at the stove to prepare lunch. Cindy huffed as he squeezed around her. Despite the posturing and sighs about the other always being in the way, they really enjoyed doing things together even if it was a little cramped.
Chuck saw Brandt waiting patiently at the kitchen table. Cindy reached across and bumped his arm as she dropped a pinch of Italian seasoning into the small pot of ketchup. He grinned and slipped the spoon into his left hand so that he could still stir the noodles while he slid his right hand down to her lower back. It felt like it was one of those sweet moments when a man softly whispers his love for the woman at his side.
He leaned over and gave her a quick peck on the cheek. He rubbed his face in her hair and said, “I love you.”
She looked up at him and smiled. “I love you too.”
That was the extent of the moment. It was brief, but it was exactly what he needed after the dream he had last night. Not that the dream was anything horrible. The entire sequence was nothing more than Becky opening the front door of the Victorian back in Madison. It was like she was welcoming him home after a night at the antique store. That’s it. She opened the door and smiled at him. Then it was over. The part he couldn’t shake—was that in the dream it felt like she had never died, like they were still together.
“What are you thinking about?”
Chuck shook it off. “What’s that?”
“You’ve got some giddy smile across your face.”
“Oh…” he shook his head, “it was nothing. Just spacing out I guess.”
“Well your spaghetti is done. Why don’t you pour it in the colander and take a seat. I can manage the rest.”
Chuck dumped the noodles into the strainer and was about to join Brandt at the table, when someone started pounding on the front door.
It was his good friends Andy and Jim. But the smile faded from Chuck’s face when he saw the look in their eyes. It was a look he hadn’t seen since Versailles.
“What is it guys?”
Andy took the lead. “We may have a problem.”
Chuck felt his chest constrict. “What’s wrong?” he asked cautiously, as he stepped out of the way so that they could come in out of the chilly breeze.
Andy waited for Cindy to start setting the plates on the table before turning to Chuck and whispering, “Julie had the south post this morning.” He paused and made sure that neither Cindy nor Brandt were within earshot. “She hasn’t checked back in yet.”
Jim put his arm around Chuck and pulled in close. “Robby went out to relieve her at ten…and we haven’t been able to raise him.”
Chuck wasn’t prepared for the implications of what his friends were telling him. With a gasp, he lashed out for Jim’s arm just as he started to fall. Their words were like daggers assaulting his will. It couldn’t be—not Robby. An uncontrollable shiver buckled his legs.
Andy grabbed Chuck’s other arm, and with Jim’s help they were able to keep him upright as he came to grips with the situation. Andy slipped under his arm, grabbed him by the waist and asked, “What are we supposed to do?”
Chuck could barely keep his head upright. His tongue swam in his mouth and his nostrils flared as he struggled to find the voice of reason. That was the one thing that had saved him from hysteria so many times. He closed his eyes and told himself that they didn’t know anything for sure. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and stood on his own. He took another deep breath and the authority started to return to his voice. “We need to try to raise him again.”
Without saying a word to Cindy, Chuck grabbed his coat and they were out the door, headed toward the command post that was set up in the gas station. The recharging holsters and walkie-talkies were there along with a base receiver that was hardwired to a generator. The receiver was kept on and monitored for transmissions whenever anyone was stationed at the guard posts.
The bell mounted over the old wooden door clanged as they rushed inside. Chuck shot past the pyramid of motor oil stacked in front of the dirty plate glass window and plopped down on the swivel chair behind the heavy metal desk. Trailing by less than a step, Jim and Andy flanked him as he keyed the mike and said, “South post…come in. South post…if you’re there, pick up.” He waited as dead air filled the room. He glanced up at Jim and Andy and then keyed it again. “South post…come in.” He started rubbing his chin as the silence from the speaker picked at his stomach. Ten seconds of torment later he pressed the switch down and said, “North post…come in.”
He barely had his finger off the switch before the speaker sounded, “This is north post. Come in home base.”
Chuck was hoping that the mike was faulty, but the sound of Jeff’s voice put an end to that. He poised his finger over the mike as he tried to decide how much to tell Jeff. He had a right to know. After all it was his Julie. But more often than not, Jeff let his emotions get the better of him.
Chuck teased the mike switch as he thought. Jeff surely would have heard them trying to raise the south post. He also knew that Julie’s shift ended at ten. With a grimace, he decisively keyed the mike and said, “North post return to base. North post return to base immediately.”
“Copy that. North post returning to base. Is something wrong?”
Chuck pushed back from the mike without answering. He rocked back in the swivel chair and covered his face for a second to let the tension escape. He said, “Get everyone packed up. I want everyone ready to leave in fifteen minutes. I don’t care what you have to leave behind. Fifteen minutes…that’s it…am I clear?”
Andy understood and nodded. Jim asked, “What about Julie and Robby?”
Chuck clamped his jaws down tight as he hated to have to speak the thought out loud. “We’re not looking for them. They’re on their own if they’re still alive.”
Jim’s face turned pale as he fought hard to swallow. “You think they’re dead don’t you. You think Jason is coming.”
Chuck didn’t need to say anything, his numb stare answered the question.
Andy grabbed Jim and pulled him through the door. “Come on! We’ve got to get the word out.”
Chuck sat, pretending to watch his friends sprint across the street to warn the others. The decision cut deep. Chuck started to lose his composure as his eyes began to moisten. Robby…he could still remember the day he found him in Indianapolis, but he couldn’t recall how skinny and close to death the boy was. Those images had been pushed out and buried so long ago that no matter what memory he conjured, he always saw Robby healthy and with that wonderful smile on his face. He thought about the times he and Cindy sat on the porch and watched him play with the other kids—the laughing and the teasing. He looked down and remembered how Robby fell asleep on his lap back when Teresa was hurt.
Chuck buried his face in his hands. Lord…how could he just leave him? How could he not even try to find out what happened? He thought about what Jeff said after they left Versailles—that he should have given Cathy and Mike a proper burial. Jeff could have been right back then. Chuck swallowed as he thought about how Jeff would react this time. After all he didn’t know for sure that it was Jason. It could be anything. It could be that Julie fell and hurt herself, and that Robby’s walkie-talkie lost its charge.
Tears trickled down his face as he fought the decision at hand.
What would he tell Teresa? How could he tell Teresa? He shook his head as he lowered his face and let his nose drip onto his jeans. As if a trembler was working down his body, his shoulders began to heave as he suddenly lost all ability to hold his emotions in check. In truth, no one wanted to search for them more than he did. There were a thousand scenarios that could account for the radio outage and only one of them meant any danger to the group. All it took, though, was that one in a thousand. He couldn’t risk it and the rest of them couldn’t risk it either even if they didn’t know it.
He took a deep,
shaky breath and slowly pushed himself out of the chair. Jeff would get back as quickly as he could. Fact is he would probably run most of the way and be back in less than twenty minutes. First thing Jeff would do is head to the house to check on Julie. Chuck had to get there before he did.
~~~
Jeff was jogging when he rounded the curve and saw everyone scurrying to load up the vehicles as fast as they could. His pulse picked up as adrenaline fueled his speed to a full sprint. He saw Jim carrying Teresa, crying and kicking, out to the back seat of their car as he ran past their house. Where was Robby?
He thought about the south post not answering Chuck’s call. He sprinted through the grass and leaped up onto the porch of his house as a tingling sensation overcame him. Julie had to be waiting for him inside. But as much as he needed that to be, he had a horrible feeling that she wasn’t.
He burst through the front door and was already starting to scream out for her when he saw Chuck standing in the living room. Both mind and body locked up as he crashed into the wall. Without any attempt to brace against the fall, he hit the floor hard as Chuck came running over to help. He didn’t even notice the impact. All he felt was the numbing sensation of the tingling all over his body. It was a nightmare that he had to wake up from. He pushed Chuck off and screamed, “No! No! It can’t be her!” as he scrambled off the floor. He fought through Chuck’s hands and made a run for it. Just before he got to the door, Chuck grabbed him from behind and wrapped him up in his arms.
He tried to fight. Then the strength left his arms as he began to sob. As he did, he stopped trying to pry himself free of Chuck’s grip and clutched him for support instead. As if someone suddenly pulled the plug to Jeff’s life support, his legs buckled and they both fell to the ground.
Chuck pinned him to the floor and cried, “I’m so sorry! We lost Robby too.”
All Jeff could do was tremble as the emotions poured out of him.
“I know, I know,” Chuck panted, as he wrapped his arms around him.
As soon as Chuck began to ease his hold, Jeff erupted again. He started kicking with his knees and feet as he cried out, “No!” As Chuck fought to stay on top of him, he gathered the last remnants of his strength and connected with a round-house right. In the split second that it took for Chuck to recover from the punch to his jaw, Jeff was out the door and scrambling to escape what he couldn’t accept. He made it halfway across the yard before a weight hit him from behind and everything went dark.
When he woke, he was face down in the weeds and grass with Chuck back on top of him. In desperation he cried out, “No! Somebody help me!”
Jim and Andy ran over, but instead of helping him, they helped Chuck hold him down.
~~~
Chuck barked out, “Get me some rope—Fast!” and Andy took off running.
The vehicles were lined up and ready to head out when Chuck climbed back out of the Chevy without saying a word to Cindy. She was staring straight ahead with bloodshot eyes and a wet, clammy face that left no room for mistaking her position. She thought it was wrong to leave without searching for them.
The fifteen minutes had turned into half an hour, and Andy and Jim were still standing outside the Toyota at the rear of the line and talking. Chuck ran back to the two of them and asked, “What’s the delay? We should have been on the road already.”
Andy turned and expressed his concern. “Are you sure? You don’t want to look for them?”
“We can’t take the chance.”
Jeff twisted and pushed himself up to a sitting position in the bed of Andy’s Toyota. “What are you guys talking about?”
Jim reached in the bed and tested the ropes around Jeff’s ankles and wrists, saying nothing. He turned to Chuck, “Remember who you’re talking about. That’s Robby out there.”
Chuck closed his eyes. He couldn’t fight this now.
Andy added, “They might just be hurt…or their walkie-talkies might not be working.”
Jeff banged his feet on the steel bed of the truck and yelled, “You mean you don’t know if they’re dead?” as he fought desperately to free himself.
Jim glanced at him but ignored the question.
“Goddamn it! Does anyone know if Julie is actually dead?”
This time Jim did answer. “Chuck feels it’s too dangerous to go back and look.”
Chuck dropped his head. Do I have to bear all this guilt myself?
“Chuck!” Jamie shouted, as he ran up. “Let me go. I can be there in fifteen minutes, tops, and find out for sure.”
Jim jumped in. “Let him go, Chuck. He’s run with Jason. If it is him, he’ll know how to hide and stay out of Jason’s way.”
Chuck looked at Andy. “What do you think?”
“I don’t know, boss. I’ll go whatever way you say to go.”
“I’m not questioning your loyalty, I’m asking for your honest opinion because I value it.”
Andy lowered his eyes. He wasn’t ready to voice that kind of decision yet, but it was fairly clear that he thought they should search for them.
“Remember what that mother-fucker did with Cathy and Mike back at Versailles,” Jeff spewed from the bed of the truck, as he raised his head high enough to glare at Chuck. “That son-of-a-bitch doesn’t care about anyone but himself. If he’s too scared to go—cut me lose and I’ll go find them!”
Chuck walked over to the bed and said with a stare that put Jeff back in his place, “You’re not going anywhere! You’re way too emotional for this. It’s that kind of emotion that will get us all killed.” He returned his attention to Jamie. “You’re sure you want to do this?”
“I can do it, Chuck. Fifteen minutes is all I ask. Then we’ll know for sure.”
Chuck thought hard. Then he directed Andy, “Go grab a few sticks of the dynamite out of the back of my truck and four of the walkie-talkies.” Andy took off for the front of the line while Chuck turned to Jamie. “I’m not going to send you back there naked. You get in trouble—you use that dynamite.”
Jamie nodded “And your shotgun is the wrong tool for this job.” He pulled Jim over. “Get Jamie one of your rifles and a pistol and plenty of rounds for both.” Jim took off running for his Avalon while Chuck took Jamie by the arm. “There’s no need for you to take any chances. You see anyone—and I mean anyone—whether or not it’s Jason’s men… you head right back here.”
“What if I haven’t found Julie or Robby yet? They could still be alive.”
“Don’t be a hero now, son. If there are others back there and they hear you shoot one of their men, they’re going to come running.”
Andy ran back with the radios and the dynamite. While Andy pushed a fuse into the end of each of the three sticks, Chuck gave Jamie two of the walkie-talkies. “You take two: one as a backup in case the charge is gone in the other. You notify us when you get there, what you find, and when you’re heading back.”
Jamie asked, “Are you guys going to pull out?”
“No. We’re going to wait for you to come back.” He grabbed Jamie by the back of the neck. “You’re coming back right!”
“I’ll make it.”
Jim ran up carting a rifle and one of his pistols. Jamie shoved the pistol in his front pocket, slung the rifle over his shoulder, and stuck the dynamite under his belt before tightening up the slack in it.
Chuck held him by the arms for a second as he tensed up in thought. He clamped his teeth together and inhaled, then he let go. With his jaws so tense that it was hard to talk, he said, “Go!” and Jamie took off running.
He, Jim and Andy watched Jamie round the bend of the road and disappear behind the tree line. Chuck grabbed Jim by the arm. “Go back to your car. I want you to drive my truck, have Sara drive your car. I want you guys to head on out. Cindy has a map and knows where to go. We’ll meet up with you as soon as we can.”
“You sure you want to split us up?”
“No, but I don’t want to take a chance on none of us making it. Now go on!�
��
Jim took off running and a few seconds later the Chevy and Avalon pulled away. From the bed of the truck, Jeff spit out, “Don’t think you’re some kind of hero…I can’t believe you were just going to leave them here.”
Andy stepped over next to Chuck. “You want me to gag his mouth?”
Chuck kept his eyes on the bend in the road where Jamie disappeared. “No, he’s got a right to his opinion.”
Their wait felt like an eternity. Finally the mike keyed up on one of the walkie-talkies. In a soft whisper they heard Jamie say, “At the post. No sign of J or R yet. Wait—” There was dead air for ten seconds before Jamie’s whisper came back. “Somebody’s here. There’s movement all around me!”
Chuck jerked alive and keyed the mike, “Return…repeat…return.”
For almost a minute the air was quiet as Chuck and Andy huddled around the walkie-talkie. They were about to key up again when they heard the first shot in the distance. Chuck flinched and jerked back against the side of the truck. “Fuck!”
Andy started for the cab of the Toyota when two more distant shots rang out and stopped him in his tracks. He turned and looked at Chuck still standing against the bed and staring at the walkie-talkie. That’s when they heard Jamie’s last transmission. The short transmission was rushed, forced out before it was too late, “Its Jason…repeat, its Jason…Go! Go! Go!”
There were two more shots as Chuck and Andy looked at each other. Before they had a chance to say anything, a flash lit up the overcast sky. A second later they felt a tremor rumble through the ground beneath them as a distant thunder rolled in—it was the dynamite.
Chuck was in shock. He had let a man go to his death. He turned around and leaned against the bed of the truck for support. As he swallowed and opened his eyes, he saw Jeff staring at him with his mouth gaping open. For that moment they both shared the same terrible feeling. Then Andy yelled, “Come on! Let’s go! They’re coming!”
Chuck left Jeff staring in utter loss at the dark sky overhead as he ran up and jumped behind the wheel of the Cadillac.
Ferryman Page 27