I let her cry herself out. "I know what you say is true. I know you can't be there every time I screw up and I know that if anything happened to you because of me I would die. I promise I'll think about my actions more and try to learn by them. I'm going out now to apologize to everyone and promise them the same thing. I love you, sis, and I know you love me to. I'm sorry you got hurt. Rest and I'll be back later to check on you." She kissed me on my chin, a spot I had somehow neglected to drag through the gravel, and left the RV, quietly shutting the door behind her. I don't remember much after that until the smell of cooking roused me from the couch. It took me several attempts to try to sit up. Muscles had tightened up and parts of my body had been switched with some old lady's while I slept. By the time I was upright I was almost in tears again and panting like a dog in August. If I hadn't been so hungry I would've just lay there an died, but nature was demanding an audience so up was the way to go.
I could hear voices outside the door, so I peeked out the window over the sink and could see the guys milling around the table which had been set. I turned and headed for the bathroom just as my bladder demanded. I took tiny steps across the floor, which suddenly seemed as wide and empty as the desert we just spent two days driving through. I covered it inch by painful inch. I had a lot of time to watch my feet as I made my way the ten feet to the bathroom.
When I completed my journey, I turned and shuffled back out to the kitchen, stepped down, ow,ow, then stood on the gravel and thanked the gods. Everyone was watching me. Mason couldn't decide whether he should help me or not and was worried about it till I shook my head at him. He still wavered between sitting and standing as I made painful, slow progress to the picnic bench. Everyone sighed along with me when I finally settled at the table. I smiled real big at everyone while they tried not to look at my wounds.
"Hi" I said and smiled, "What's for dinner?"
Everyone started talking at once. The area had been secured and the body disposed of. Some of the group wanted to go hiking on some of the trails after dinner. Lacy wanted to take some pictures of the rock formations and Randy just wanted to stare at her, I guess. I would not be going as someone needed to stay with the camp. I elected to do that and no one even looked like they were going to smile. Howard said he needed to check the vehicles out and Bubba needed a nap so he'd stay behind also.
Sarah and Lacy finished dinner and we sat down to eat. I drank a lot of water and later found out that the pain meds had made me thirsty. I waited till they left for their hike before slowly making my way back to the RV and the couch. Sarah followed me inside and got me a couple of aspirin, then sat at the table and fiddled with some papers.
"What's up Sarah?" She looked miserable.
"I was wondering what Montana was like". I knew that wasn't what was bothering her, and I knew she would get around to it eventually so I described snowcapped mountains that caressed the endless sky, air so crisp and cool you could just take a bite out of it and the sky at night so filled with stars it brought tears to your eyes.
When I finished she still looked miserable.
"Spit it out, Sarah"
"I think I'm pregnant. I haven't said anything to Duke yet, cause I'm really not 100 percent, but I have a pretty good idea. I don't know what to do. I do know I don't want to raise a child in a world as crazy as this one is.
"Let's just wait and get a pregnancy test and when we know for sure we'll go from there. Whatever happens, we will figure it out. Just let me pick up one of those tests the next time I can and we will find out for sure. Ok? I'll be there for you no matter what you decide to do."
She looked up from the tiny pieces of paper she had shredded on the table and a tear slowly slid down her pretty face. She nodded, and then got up to go outside, stopping at the door. "Thanks, JD, I won't tell Duke till we know for sure. Get some rest." Then she closed the door and I stared at the ceiling for a long time.
The next morning brought with it a lot of boredom. You could tell that everyone had had their fill of the rugged scenery and was borderline antsy. I was still sore as hell, but I was one of the antsy ones so I offhandedly mentioned leaving like a day early and everyone just started taking down awnings and putting up folding chairs. Lacy helped me with the pull outs, and awning as I was moving snail slow and SHE said I was making little pain noises.
Mason pulled the fuel truck out into the middle of the lot and we took turns fueling up. While I waited for the others to fuel, I got out the map and lined up our route. I looked up to see Mason at my window.
"The fuel truck is nearly empty so I'm gonna leave it and drive the pickup truck until we find another one. Randy is gonna ride with me. We're all ready to go anytime you are".
"Let’s go then". I said and put the RV in gear.
We drove from rugged, barren, jagged cliffs to multi-colored rock formations and high mountain passes covered with Douglas fir, lodge pole and yellow pine. Willow and cottonwoods lined the river that crisscrossed under the highway a dozen times. Douglas Pass sits at an elevation of over 8000 feet and at the top was a road garage and weather station. The road snaked around the mountains and the going was slow and nerve racking.
When we came into a town at the base of the mountain I could almost hear the sighs of relief from the vehicles behind me. Howard had the wrecker in the lead in order to clear the road of walkers so we managed to get out of town without much of a gory debris field behind us.
A few miles down the road we come upon a small town and on Main Street there was a small pharmacy. I radioed that I really needed to stop at the pharmacy and the caravan stopped in front of the store. Me and Mason approached the store, while Duke took the top of the bus and Lacy and Randy stood guard on the sidewalk.
"What are you lookin for, maybe I can help" Mason whispered.
"I think I could probably find it faster myself, it's in the feminine hygiene section." He blushed a bit and walked to the back of the store. I grabbed a sack, located several pregnancy tests, after morning pills, condoms and pre natal vitamins. As an afterthought I also grabbed tampons and anything else to throw in the sack to cover the other items. That was what I had in hand, when Mason returned. "We need to leave." I started to the front of the store when shots were fired outside. Shit that’s all we needed. Mason grabbed the door and as Duke slid off the bus, I slipped into the RV and just by the skin of our teeth we made it out of town. Lacy was driving while I watched that everyone else got away ok.
We started seeing wildlife which was a real treat for us after the barrenness we had been seeing. Antelope and deer seemed to be in abundance but the land soon became barren again with mountains in the distance that reached for the sky. I sincerely hoped we didn't have to drive over anymore passes.
The setting sun reflected off the rock walls and scrub brushes dotted the landscape. The road I had chosen was miserable with switchbacks, tough inclines, steep downhills and scary drop-offs. High cliff walls threw us into almost darkness only to drop us again into the sun. It was similar to a roller coaster ride only you were the one steering but no less scary. I found a rock road just outside of Rock Springs Wyoming and we stopped for the night. We could barely walk, me doubly so with the scraped knees, and the looks I got were downright menacing.
"Anyone else wants to figure the route that’s fine with me but I can guarantee, I will never drive though a mess like that again. The maps were deceiving and didn't show the roads right." When they just stood there and stared as me, I just waved a hand at em and went back into the RV, got out the bottle of gin and made me a drink. I deserved it, I had earned it, and I dared anyone to stop me.
Lacy came inside and plopped down on the couch. "Well, at least it's cooler." she sighed. "I'm too nervous to eat, maybe just a pop tart." She watched me for a minute, got up and got the pastry and after looking my direction again, went back outside. I made another drink.
Another 10 minutes brought everyone inside, and then they just stared at me. I waved my hand in the direction o
f the cabinets and said "pop tarts". There was a snicker and then another and then the whole group started to laugh. I pointed at the gin bottle, saluted them with my glass and started laughing also. That’s what frayed nerves with do for you...mass hysteria.
"We're leaving early so take a valium, eat a little something and go to bed. Dream of flat land and green grass. Duke, what day is it?"
Duke thought a minute, frowned, and then smiled big, "It’s Friday, why?"
"I plan to be at the end of the road for Sunday dinner. I can't promise we won't have any more crappy roads like today but it will get better. Two days, folks."
There was nodding and some talking then everyone filtered out to their beds. I watched Lacy and Randy eye each other then kissed goodnight. I dreamed of falling off a mountain top onto a marshmallow.
Don't ask.
CHAPTER 6
I was up early the next morning fixing coffee when Sarah came in. I looked around outside, then bent and pulled the garbage can from under the sink, took out the trash bag I hidden there the day before, pulled out the pharmacy bag that was hidden under it and handed it to her. Then replaced the can back under the sink.
"Go to the restroom". I said as I continued preparing the coffee maker.
She didn't say a word, just went into the restroom and after a very long time, returned. I couldn't look at her. "Not pregnant", she said and sniffed.
"Are you sure? There were three tests in there."
"I used them all and they all said the same thing." She sat at the table and fiddled with the road maps. I went over and took them away from her since she had shredded the Utah map the day before in her nervousness. I handed her a napkin and she giggled.
"I think I'll talk to Duke and let him know how close we'd come. I saw the after morning pills and the condoms. Were they for me also?"
"Actually", I said and sat across from her. "I was hoping Duke could talk to Randy and give the condoms to him. You know, in case he doesn't have his own."
Sarah raised her eyebrows at me and covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a laugh. “Oh, JD, you can't for one minute think that Randy's gonna take advice from Duke, or that Duke would even contemplate talking to him about sex with Lacy? Oh, my God, that is too funny.
"What's too funny?" asked Duke as he came in, Mandy not far behind.
Getting up to pour the coffee, Sarah looked at Mandy then back at Duke and just shook her head. Duke caught the look, smiled then sat at the table and blew softly into his mug. Soon the RV was full of people and I went into the back to cleanup and change clothes. The smell of pancakes and fried spam filled the air and I joined the festivities.
"You know, when we get settled, I don't want to see one pancake or smell even a little whiff of spam for a very, very long time. Someone is gonna go hunting and bring back an elk, and we are gonna process it, and have elk burgers, and steaks and ...well you know what I mean." I said, as I sat down at the table. "A nice big elk roast, with potatoes and carrots and gravy served with homemade bread....hmmmmm" Everyone sighed at that and then stared at the pancakes. Sighing, I speared one and poured blueberry syrup on top... Oh well.
We were soon back on the road and hadn't gone far when we spotted another fuel truck sitting at a truck stop, so Lacy and Randy got to drive Masons truck again. The music was so loud the truck literally bounced down the road. I didn't care because Sarah wasn't expecting and we were almost home. The land had turned flat with mountains on both sides and we made good time. Large expanses of scrub brush dotted the land and would magically disappear near the rivers, replaced with willows and cottonwoods so green it hurt your eyes. You could be looking at flatland and come down a hill and there in front of you would be a small town. Then you go up the hill on the other side and look in your rearview mirror and the town had disappeared. Special effects at their best, I thought at one point I saw a deer in the distance but when we got closer I noticed it was a walker. Way out in the middle of nowhere, he was shuffling along in the scrub brush, with no particular place to go. When he caught sight of us, he became a little more energized heading in our direction, but we soon lost sight of him.
Around midday, we pulled off the road into a wooded area near a small river. Bubba took off with Mandy close behind and Lacy and Randy wanderied off in their direction. Lacy kept an eye on Mandy so Sarah could help with the cooking. I think Lacy got the better end of the deal, but no one complained so I didn't either. I was getting ready to call everyone to lunch when Mandy screamed. What the hell, I thought and off we raced toward the river. I was getting tired of racing toward the sounds of screams. We arrived to find Mandy on the ground crying, and Randy beating on what looked like a rope near the river.
"Rattlesnake" Lacy said, tears streaming down her face. "He got her on the foot."
I had no idea what to do, but Mason put a tourniquet above her ankle and picked her up and ran to the RV. I ran ahead to open the door yelling at Lacy to get the medical books. He laid her on the bed talking quietly to her and propping her up with pillows. I sat near her and tried to talk to her but Sarah nudged me out of the way. Soon she had Mandy nearly on her lap, whispering to her and accepted the cool, wet cloth Duke handed her. Wiping Mandy's sweating brow, she looked at me like I could do something.
Lacy brought the books and the snake bite kit. I shook my head at the snake bite kit as I had read several articles on the dangers of damaging the skin further with the kits. Like I said a lot of time reading in the library. So we cleaned and washed the area of the bite then wrapped the whole foot up tight to above the ankle with an ace bandage. Sarah gave her a bottle of water and encouraged her to drink as much as possible before giving her something for the pain.
Mason left the room and I followed. "The bite is on the top of her foot, not deep muscle so I don't think she got much venom. If we keep the ace bandage on it'll constrict the blood flowing to her heart but the deep veins will allow blood to flow freely from the heart back to the foot." I just looked at him. He shrugged. "We learned a lot in the navy. She should be ok, but we need to keep a close watch on her and the foot and keep her calm and in a sitting position for a while. “I pointed my chin in the directions of the bedroom "Go in there and tell them that. They need to hear it. "Shoulders slumped, Mason slowly walked back to the room to talk to Duke and Sarah. I smiled because I knew they would be grateful and Mason is embarrassed about gratitude. I turned and Howard was seated on the couch with Bubba.
"She was protecting Bubba here. That little girl in there was trying to protect this crazy, snoopy old dog and she got hurt. We feel bad about it too".
I sat near them both and pet Bubba who was looking at me with big, sad eyes. "She's gonna be ok, Bud so don't you or Howard worry about it. It would have killed you and we would have been real upset about that, especially Mandy."
Lacy and Randy came in and we nibbled on what we could find and talked low until Duke came out. He was visible shaken but accepted the pop I offered and smiled a bit. "She's asleep. Sarah will be stuck like glue to her till she's sure about her. Mason said if it had gotten her in the leg, it would have been worse. But she'll be ok".
He nodded to himself, looked towards the bedroom and let himself out. I watched as he walked over to a tree and leaned his head against it. I had to look away.
Duke decided we should continue so that’s what we did. Sarah and Mandy were transferred over to the bus so Duke could keep an eye on them and we continued down the road. When I saw the "Welcome to Montana" sign I shouted for joy. Finally, I was home.
Before we got to the interstate, we stopped and fueled up once again. When we saw the rest area we decided to spend the night.
The next day would be a short one and I was ready. Mandy was doing ok but running a bit of a fever and still in pain. Lacy fixed supper of canned stew and we all sat around and watched the stars, unable to unwind and worried about Mandy. Duke lay on the seat of the picnic table, chewing on a toothpick. "Ya know that today is July 16th?" When no one s
aid anything, he said "July 16th is my birthday."
We all looked at each other and with no other signal began to sing "Happy Birthday" to him. He just smiled and continued watching the stars. We finished and went back to watching the stars also. Can't say we're a rowdy bunch, no sir, not us.
Howard lay on the table next to us, petting Bubba who had curled up nearby. "Tell us about this place we're goin, JD."
"Well, it's a big, old, log style lodge. It has a great room with a huge river rock fireplace, big old western bar and game room. Upstairs, there are six bedrooms suites and a laundry room. In the basement is a game room and several bedrooms. It’s all hand hewn logs with a big wrap around deck. It backs up to a hundred foot high cliff wall that has two caves in it used for storage. There is a spring that feeds a little creek and a footbridge to cross over the creek to get to the caves. There are several outbuildings, a greenhouse, chickens and a garden space and they had several cows when I was here last. I hope they're still there but I wouldn't count on it.
What I'm excited about is the lodge has its very own wind generator so it has electricity, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it still works. We will be a day’s drive from several large cities but far enough in the mountains to be isolated. That way, if we need anything we have access to it.
We need to get settled so we can get winterized. Winter comes early in the mountains but I don't know how much wood is cut or if we need it or if the wind generator is still working or anything really. But it is a big place with several cabins for privacy, we can defend it if necessary and it could be home. Tomorrow will tell, and I can't wait."
"Sounds wonderful" Randy said, cuddling Lacy against his chest as they watched the sky. "I'm road weary and I haven't been at it as long as the rest of you. Does anyone else notice that red glow to the east? It almost looks like a fire." We all looked and sure enough, a forest fire was ongoing around Billings somewhere. There was nothing we could do. Since the virus, a forest fire would just have to burn itself out.
Walkers (Book 1): The Beginning Page 5