Royce maneuvered the boat with skill and closed the last few feet and then kissed the top of the rear bumper steps with the aluminum bow of the airboat before he cut the engine. Jim welcomed the silence. Even with the ear protection it had been excruciatingly painful to his already aching head.
Jim found it odd that his family and friends' moods seemed somber. They appeared glad to see him but not as joyful as he felt. He smiled and looked at each of his family members' faces. “God, it’s so good to see you all,” Jim said, awkwardly trying to balance himself as he made his way off the bow of the boat to the rear of the MRAP. His older sons Chris and Jeremy, and his wife Arzu surrounded Jim in a group hug. His younger children hugged him around his waist. Jim bent down to hug them back and his head pounded in protest. He fought off the vertigo and nausea and squeezed Berk and Kayra in a hug. He kissed Kayra on her forehead and received a kiss in return on his cheek. He then kissed Berk who, as he normally did, wiped the spot where he had been kissed.
Jim stood upright and nearly fell as he lost his balance from the dizziness. He half hugged and half used Arzu as support. Jim then took her face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips.
“I love you,” Arzu said as she tried to hold back her tears.
“I love you too, hon,” Jim answered and looked around the MRAP.
“Dad,” Chris said as Jim looked to where he’d last seen his brother John. Lying in the same spot on the seats in the MRAP’s rear compartment was a blue and red sleeping bag zipped completely closed; by its shape it was obvious a human being lay within. Jim heard his mother Judith weeping and turned to see her sitting on the opposite side of the vehicle with tears streaming down her cheeks as she held her face in her hands.
“Dad,” Chris said his name again.
He felt his son’s hand on his left shoulder. Jim turned to his eldest son.
“Uncle John passed away last night,” Chris said and looked to his uncle’s form in the sleeping bag, then back to his father. “I’m sorry, Dad,” Chris said and his eyes began to swell with tears.
“I’m sorry. We tried, Dad,” Jeremy said.
Jim turned to look at him. He pulled Chris and Jeremy to him and hugged them again. “It wasn’t your fault,” Jim said.
They told what had happened about an hour after Jim had gone inside the hospital. A man and woman had approached them on foot. They had told all in the MRAP that they had to get out and leave it. They were told to leave everything inside and walk away or they’d be burned alive inside it. They had refused to get out and tried to contact Jim. Soon after that a volley of Molotov cocktails were flung at them and that was followed by gunshots at the armored vehicle. The two messengers disappeared for a short time.
To protect against the gunfire and firebombs, the turret was closed. They were attacked again. This time the dark red pick sped to them and began spraying the MRAP with flame. Arzu had no choice but to flee and create some distance. The weapons they had inside couldn’t be used, they couldn’t open the side gun ports to defend themselves or they risked flames entering the vehicle. If they had stayed, they risked being cooked inside.
After they got stuck in the mud, their pursuers left and came back with the airboat. Arzu, Chris, Jeremy, and the rest inside were able to keep them away. They pinned the attackers behind the oaks and shrubs, and their pickup. Their attackers’ vehicle had been disabled by Jeremy and a .50 caliber round to the engine when they had returned with the airboat.
Chris had hit the man Jim had seen buried. He had been careless and a half-inch diameter bullet had taken his arm at the shoulder.
They had feared Jim dead when he didn’t respond to their radio calls. His family had learned that he was still alive when they saw him the night before as he approached their assailants. In their night vision optics, they had seen a man stalk to the pickup, and knew it had to be him.
Jim knelt in front of his mother; she still wept for John. She lifted her head from her hands and wrapped her arms around him. Jim could feel her tears transfer from her face to his. “I’m so sorry, Mom,” Jim said.
“It wasn’t your fault, Jimmy. It was their fault, those other people. I’m thankful you’re okay,” Judith replied.
Jim stood so he could help start the work of digging out the MRAP from the mud. As he rose, vertigo took over again and he lost his balance. Kathy grabbed and steadied him. She hugged Jim.
“You really look like shit,” Kathy said, and gently touched his bandaged head.
Linda welcomed Jim’s return and hugged him as well.
Jim began to introduce Royce to everyone but Arzu reminded him that Royce had already introduced himself earlier that morning from afar. “That’s right. Royce told me that,” Jim said.
Jim enjoyed the bittersweet feeling of being reunited with his loved ones again, but knew daylight was very precious. It wasn’t late in the day but without the benefit of weather forecasts, they couldn’t be sure a storm wouldn’t roll in and darken the day enough for infected to emerge from hiding.
They set about digging the mud away from the MRAP’s rear bumper so they could attach the tow truck’s cable to the snatch hooks. Jim took a turn after Chris began the process, but after only two shovels of muck thrown free of the bumper, he was overcome by pain in his head and nausea from bending to dig.
Jim vomited the water, coffee, and the small amount of energy bar he’d consumed earlier. Jeremy took over for him and gagged several times until he had flung away his father’s vomit. Everyone but Judith took a turn; she had offered, but there were too many people that were half her age to lend a hand. Each time a shovel full of the mud was thrown away from the bumper, more oozed back in and covered the snatch hooks.
Chris and Jeremy were finally able to thread the thick chain they’d brought with them from Texas through the rings on the bumper. Most everyone was now covered with mud, but those two and Royce were the worst. Royce attached the hook from the tow truck’s cable to the chain to complete the preparation.
Royce had already positioned the semi directly behind the MRAP on the opposite side of the road, both pointed away from each other. Kathy volunteered to steer the MRAP while Royce controlled the tow truck.
Royce assisted everyone into the airboat while Kathy made sure the MRAP would start. All breathed a sigh of relief when its engine rumbled to life. Before he got in the airboat, Jeremy grabbed a couple of radios so Royce and Kathy could communicate more easily.
Everyone was directed to a safe distance away in case the tow cable snapped. Jim noticed his younger children had seen the dead lying about, and regretted not hiding them before he had went to the MRAP. Unfortunately, he realized, he couldn’t hide all of the death from them. As much as he wanted to shield them, it was nearly impossible.
Royce and Kathy did an expert job of extracting the MRAP. Royce pulled it backwards with the tow truck’s cable while Kathy maintained straight front tires and used enough of the MRAP’s four-wheel drive to keep up momentum.
Jim approached his mother once the recovery of the multi-ton armored vehicle was completed. “Will the Queen of Peace Catholic church be okay, Mom?” Jim asked. It was the closest Catholic Church he found on the map he had.
“I like that church. That’ll be a good place for him, Jimmy,” Judith said.
Jim touched his mother’s shoulder and turned to go speak with the rest of the family.
Their plan was decided: they’d head to Hank and Jen’s farm, take them up on their invitation to rest and resupply. They would be someplace safer while they considered their options. On the way to Yates’ farm in Chiefland, they would stop and have John’s burial at the church.
Royce decided he wasn’t going to leave his pickup. He hooked it up to the tow truck. Jim asked Chris or Jeremy to ride along with Royce; Jeremy spoke up and said he’d ride shotgun and collected some water, snacks and ammunition. “Thanks, Jeremy,” Jim said and enlisted Chris’ help to carry the homemade propane flamethrower that had been used to
attack his family. Chris had no problem with the task but it took some effort for his father to help get it secured side of the MRAP. Chris and the others noticed. They had all been keeping a close eye on Jim; they could tell he was weak and uncoordinated.
Chapter 6
It was all Jim could do to keep upright while he took his turn digging his brother’s grave. He willed himself not to pass out and not to vomit during the exertion. After Judith prayed and said some parting words, Jim wanted to say something in remembrance and respect. He couldn’t think straight and when he began to speak, his words were slurred and his thoughts lost. One minute he’d been standing in the cooling early afternoon air near the grave, the next he was laying on the fold-down seats in the back of the MRAP as Linda drove it down the road.
When Jim would open his eye periodically, Arzu was there. She sat on the floor of the vehicle near his head. She’d smile when he’d open his eye, but even in his altered mental state, he could see the concern through the exhaustion on her face.
Jim awoke again and found he was lying in a bed. He heard the distant sounds of voices that seemed to grow closer and then fade away. He heard the low humming of what he’d guessed was a generator close by. His right eye began to regain focus as he squinted and rubbed the sleep from it. “He’s awake,” Jim heard Arzu say. He turned to his left and saw her sitting beside the bed.
“Do you know who I am?” Arzu asked. She did a poor attempt at a smile to hide her concern.
“I know who you are, baby,” Jim said. He tried to smile, but it hurt the left side of his face. “You’re my awesome wife and mother of our two children, Berk and Kayra. You’re Betty,” Jim added.
Arzu smiled, a real one this time. “Don’t make me swell up the other side of your face, too,” she said and waved her clenched right fist at him.
“Where are we, hon?” Jim asked. Before she could reply, Jim heard a male voice from his right side say, “You’re at the Yates’ farm, Mr. Matthews.” Jim looked away from Arzu to the sound of the male voice and saw its source.
An older man, Jim guessed in his mid-sixties, stood near the right side of the bed looking down at Jim.
“Where’s everyone?” Jim asked and turned his head quickly back to his left where Arzu sat. The movement caused a wave of nausea and increased the pain in his head and face.
“Everyone’s fine, Jim,” Arzu answered and squeezed his shoulder. “Just relax and do what the doctor says,” she added.
“Mr. Matthews, your wife says you’re a paramedic. So you probably already know this from your training and professional experience, but you have at the least a grade three concussion. At the worst you could have intracranial bleeding,” the man said. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself. I’m Sam Shultz.”
Jim shook his hand and asked, “You’re a doctor?” The older man nodded his head. “Yes, I am. I was a general medicine practitioner. Well, I guess that’s what I still am,” the doctor answered. Dr. Shultz explained to Jim that he’d been unconscious since he arrived at the Yates’ farm the previous day. Jim was told he needed to rest for several more days and would be staying in the farm’s hospital, which was the RV where he had just regained consciousness.
The doctor informed Jim that he’d placed fourteen sutures to close a gaping laceration to his left forehead and six more to close the laceration to his left eyebrow. Jim’s eye was still swollen shut, but the doctor told him not to be too alarmed when the swelling went down and he noticed the blood in the sclera. Jim was told that his left eye had subconjunctival hemorrhage and the blood would take time before it dissolved.
Dr. Shultz tested his vision while he spoke. He had to pry open the swollen eye. Jim could see. It was blurry, but he could see. The doctor admitted he couldn’t be sure yet that Jim would keep the vision in the eye. An orbital fracture was suspected to his left eye as well as to the upper jaw and nasal bones. But without a CT scan or even an X-ray, the doctor wasn’t entirely sure of the extent of the fractures.
“By the way, don’t blow your nose until I say it’s okay, or you could cause more damage. Not to mention you’ll blow out the tampon I crammed up your left nostril,” Dr. Shultz warned.
Jim looked at the doctor questioningly and reached for his nose and felt the string.
“Royce shoved one up there the night you got hurt. Your nose wouldn’t stop bleeding. The doctor changed them out,” Arzu said.
Dr. Shultz left his bedside and went toward the front of the RV, after informing Jim he had a urinary catheter in him and that he was to keep the head of the bed at its current thirty-degree elevation.
Jim asked Arzu about the rest of the family, and tried his best to stay alert and awake after he learned all were well. Despite his efforts, once he heard his family was safe, he slept.
Arzu alerted Dr. Shultz when Jim fell asleep; the doctor examined him and assured Arzu he was still stable. Arzu stayed by his bedside for a few hours but eventually left to check on Berk and Kayra and to see that they ate.
She found everyone at the MRAP. Kayra was helping her aunt Kathy check over the engine and handing her tools that Kathy patiently described in detail.
Berk was inside the vehicle with Jeremy, helping him clean and organize the interior.
Chris was on the roof of the MRAP with his mother Linda, Chelsea, and Royce. Chris and Chelsea were taking measurements around the turret while Linda wrote out the numbers as Chris called them out.
Royce was mostly staring at the turret; he occasionally pointed and suggested a different measurement be taken.
“Let’s get cleaned up and eat, kiddos,” Arzu said. Chris and Jeremy stopped talking and moving and simultaneously yelled out, “Woo hoo!” Although Arzu directed her statement to Berk and Kayra, everyone else decided it was time to stop and began to wash up before heading toward the chow line set up outside the Yates’ home.
“Where’s your grandmother?” Arzu asked Jeremy.
“She said she was going to help out the others prepare the lunch,” Jeremy replied as he helped Berk climb down from the MRAP.
“So has he been a good helper?” Arzu asked.
“Doing a great job. Much better than Dad,” Jeremy said and extended his fist; Berk smiled and gave him a fist bump.
Kayra and Kathy walked into view from the front of the MRAP. Arzu got a good view of Kayra and couldn’t help but laugh. Kayra was covered in dirt and grease.
“She’s a great mechanic, mom,” Kathy said with a smile. Kayra giggled and raised her greasy hands and displayed them proudly for her mother. Arzu ran as Kayra chased her and giggled as she threatened her mother with a greasy hug. They made their way to the makeshift public restrooms and washed up for lunch.
While the Matthews, Royce, Linda and Chelsea made their way through the chow line, they did see Judith helping serve food; she stopped and greeted them and said she’d join them shortly.
Their group picked a spot and sat together. Judith soon joined them. They discussed Jim’s condition and their good memories of John. Despite their loss of John and concern for Jim, they had also felt more relaxed the previous night and that day since the infection had began. The safety of numbers they felt at the Yates’ farm was reassuring.
Chapter 7
The farm owned by Hank and Jennifer Yates was located in Levy County, a mile southwest of the small town of Chiefland, Florida. The land consisted of thirty acres of mostly open field, with about ten acres of wooded area. The farm was fenced with barbed wire but the Yates family and their new residents had also placed semi-trailers, old school buses and a few twelve foot concrete T-walls directly behind the barbed wire along the front of the property.
They had turned the trailers and vehicles on their sides using a crane and front-end loader, to further reduce the view onto the property. The upturned vehicles and trailers helped prevent infected from crawling under any gaps. Spaced out along the inside of the barricades were ladders that led to the tops of the ad-hoc barriers. The placement of the large
barricades was still a work-in-progress for the residents.
The south and west of the farm bordered Long Pond, which, depending on the rainfall for the year, actually could be called a lake when it swelled. In the weeks since the outbreak of the SCAR virus, the Yates’ property had grown in population and in structures. It became more like a compound out of the necessity for security.
Hank and Jen’s home was a single-story brick house of around two thousand five hundred square feet. It was no longer only occupied by them. They never had children of their own, but other family members and close friends had come for refuge after the infection had begun, and now filled the home. Several campers, buses, and tents were spaced out around the Yates’ home and were occupied by other friends and strangers that had joined together for mutual protection.
There was a large barn behind the home. The barn was larger than the home at about four thousand five hundred square feet and was two stories. Near the barn was a large chicken coop and a fenced area for pigs. Behind the barn was another fenced area with several cows, goats, and horses.
The Matthews had set up their own little area beside the barn, where most of the community’s tools were kept and could be more easily borrowed for maintenance and repairs on the MRAP, mostly done or directed by Kathy.
Royce had chosen to park the semi-tractor tow truck he had recently acquired close by the barn as well, and for the same reason. He felt a bond with the Matthews even after only the three days he’d spent with Jim and his family. He knew Jim had hoped to use his blood to try and save his brother’s life, but Royce believed Jim would have still risked his own safety to help him.
Over the next several days the Matthews continued to mentally decompress even as they helped out around the farm. The sounds of gunshots could be heard almost every night, but hadn’t been enough to prevent most from sleep. Some nights they hadn’t heard any. They all visited Jim in the RV hospital and Dr. Shultz had made an exception to the ‘one at a time’ rule when Arzu took Berk and Kayra to see their father.
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