She heard the door to the parlor close very gently. Then she heard the deadbolt slam shut. That could only be done from the other side. She knew Randy had left. “Shit,” she whispered to herself in the darkness.
After a few minutes she got up, put on a pair of shorts and slipped on some slippers. She checked the doors to the outside and they were securely locked. The only thing he didn’t do was put on her collar. It was a mistake on his part, one she wouldn’t have made, but then she wouldn’t allow herself to be hooked like Randy had been.
“That boy is the stupidest throwback on this farm,” she said as she padded back to her bed.
Chapter 10
T hree-thirty in the morning was early even for Jerry. He slapped the windup alarm clock he’d used for 15 years into silence. He’d gotten six good hours of sleep and he was going to need it today.
He knew Tony was probably more excited that he was. Tony hadn’t missed a check-in with the Russian commander on the space station since they’d made contact. The young man had formed a bond with the commander and when the two were not talking about bringing the three others back to earth as safely as possible, the Russian was telling Tony of his homeland, his family, his life. Tony wrote it all down on his computer so someone in the future would remember.
Jerry rolled out of bed, turned on the small lamp between the two beds in the room and started dressing. Kellie, who hadn’t wanted to interrupt his sleep, was sleeping in her own bed tonight. The small lamp wasn’t very bright, but was light enough he could find the clothes Kellie’d laid out for him. He’d grown fond of the woman and she was a good balance for him. She never demanded anything from him and her advice was a solid guide when he was unsure of the right direction to take the shelter. She had taken her position as caretaker of the shelter seriously and kept meticulous records of the inventory. When Jerry wanted to know if they had some piece of equipment, how much fuel was in the storage tanks, or how much food was in stock, Kellie would access her computer and give him the answer.
Before the fall of the world, Jerry had kept just enough records to keep the IRS off his ass. The farm’s equipment and supplies inventory was kept mostly in his head or in the little notebook he’d kept on the coffee table next to his chair in the old farm house. It had been simple record keeping.
Kellie had taken it to an entire new level of organization.
But more than what she could do for the shelter, it was her friendship he cherished most.
Jerry tied his boots and reached over to turn the light off to head down stairs and meet up with the rest of the crew headed to the coast this morning. As he fumbled for the chain on the lamp, Kellie’s hand reached up to grasp his without opening her eyes. She pulled it to her and pulled Jerry, who had stood up, down to give him a kiss. “Take care of yourself today,” she said sleepily, after the kiss.
“Yes, ma’am,” he responded. “You too. Randy’ll be here if you need anything. I wish I could’ve found a good reason to take you with us,” he said to her as he knelt beside her, “but with Tia gone with three others, I wanted someone I could trust here with Randy and that woman.”
“I know, Jer. Mrs. deJesus is a fun woman, but someone needs to take care of the kids and she can’t ride herd on five of them all day. Katie went through a lot yesterday and working in the garden is what she needs, and we need her expertise there.
“And Randy’s going to have his hands full with the security system, the cattle and leveling out a place to put the motor home coming in. He’s also going to run plumbing and wiring for them if Tia is able to find one.” Jerry hadn’t thought about the wiring. Even half-asleep Kellie was more organized than he was. “Go back to sleep, Kellie. I’ll see you tomorrow night or the next day. I’ll try to bring you back a souvenir.”
She closed her eyes and smiled. “Yes, dear,” she whispered. He kissed her forehead and pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders better. Molly, Kellie’s ever-present dog, slept beside the wall on Kellie’s bed and growled softly. The little mutt looked at Jerry with contempt. Kellie pulled her pillow to her and snuggled comfortingly to it. She was content to go back to sleep. Without him even saying it, she knew Jerry loved her, whether he knew it or not, and she knew beyond all doubt that she loved him too.
Jerry slipped out of the room quietly and went downstairs. Tony was awake already, as expected, and Monica and he were eating breakfast. A month ago she would have been eating a stack of waffles drenched in syrup, but this morning she was eating half of a honeydew melon. Tony had his usual bowl of Lucky Charms. Boomer, lying on his mat by the door lifted his head, saw it was Jerry, and put his head back down. It was safe to go back to sleep the dog decided.
“Morning guys,” Jerry said softly to both of them. They nodded back, whispering good morning to him so as not to wake the others still sleeping. One of the two had started coffee and Jerry poured himself a cup for now and filled a travel mug for later.
“Eddie’s already taken the guns to the truck,” Tony told him. “I also got the short wave installed last night too. I had to use the SWAT van instead of your truck because of the size of the transmitter and places to attach the antenna. I hope you don’t mind.”
“No, that’s good. We’ll just switch Rusty to my truck and you, Eddie and Monica can follow us.” Tony nodded and went back to reading one of the survival magazines someone had left on the table.
There was a soft knock at the door and Jerry opened it to find Rusty smiling at him. The door from the cellar opened at the same time and Juan and Mrs. deJesus came up the steps to join the team. “Good morning,” he said to all three. “Coffee’s on, cups are in the cupboard.”
“I think I will, thank you,” said Mr. deJesus. “I used to drink a cup before work, on the way to work and then all morning. I missed it at first when the missus and I took to the road. Then I didn’t miss it anymore. Since we’ve been here, I’ve remembered how much I love it.” His wife and Rusty declined the offer.
“I can make another pot and put it in travel mugs for you guys if you want,” offered Mrs. deJesus.
“I’ve already got one, but if Juan wants, I could always use an extra,” Jerry told her.
Juan kissed his wife on the cheek. “Mujer inteligente,” he said in Spanish to her and she began making another pot. Jerry looked at his watch. The pot would take about 10 minutes, giving them another five to get everyone to the trucks. They’d all be loaded and ready to leave at 4 a.m. just as he’d hoped.
Jerry heard Randy coming down the spiral stairway. He hadn’t expected to see his son this morning. He’d peeked through the door to the boys’ room on his way down earlier, but the light had been off and he heard his son’s snoring. He decided to let the boy sleep. Randy’d been given a lot of responsibility to handle today, nothing new, but there was the added stress of having Cheryl here.
Jerry decided he didn’t like Cheryl at all and he’d be glad when she was gone. He would do as he’d promised his son and talk to the woman again, but he doubted she would be able to say anything to change his mind. If she lied to them once, it was because she was hiding something or trying to convince them she was someone she wasn’t. Of course everyone was hiding something and he wasn’t basing his judgment of her on just the lies he thought she was telling, but because of the circumstances and circumstantial evidence of the entire situation.
“Morning, dad,” his son said, rubbing grit from his eyes. Jerry thought his son looked more tired than usual, which was probably how most everyone was feeling this morning. He lifted his cup in acknowledgment. “Randy. How’d you sleep?”
“M’eh. Laying down, on the bed. Horizontal,” he said, repeating a running joke he had with his dad, while sitting down next to Monica. She was finishing her breakfast and favored Jerry’s son with a shoulder punch. “Hey jerk” she said, to which he responded with a friendly, “Back atchya, Stay Puff.”
“You going to be good today?” Jerry asked his son.
“Yes, dad.” He sound
ed just a little exasperated and a little tired. “Cows, security, tractor driving and don’t pick my butt. Got it dad.” His son was being just a bit too much of a smart ass this morning and Jerry told him so. “Stop it. This is not time to be flippant.”
“Yes, dad,” the younger Saunders said, a little more respectfully.
Mrs. deJesus broke the growing silence. “Coffee’s ready. Here’re the mugs. Now off with you so we can all go back to bed.” She handed an extra travel mug to Jerry and the other to her husband and gave him a peck on the cheek and shoved him toward the door.
Tony, Monica and Randy got up from the table. Randy gave his dad a hug then punched Monica playfully in the shoulder and slapped Tony gently on the back. Monica smiled at him and Tony whacked him in the shin with one of his crutches.
Rusty was already headed out, Boomer escorting him, and there were no more good byes to be said.
Randy stood with Mrs. deJesus and watched the five head over the parapet and down the path. “A good papa you have, Randy. A brave man.” Randy couldn’t disagree.
~ ~ ~
Eddie had both trucks ready when the rest joined him in the driveway. Jerry didn’t have to ask if they’d been topped off and checked. Eddie had matured a great deal over the past two months. The tools the Russian commander said they might need had been loaded into the job box in the bed of the truck.
“Morning everyone,” Eddie said as he saw the group. They all bid him the same. There was no need for Jerry to give them a pep talk or re-iterate what they were about to do. He had gone over the basic plan the night before and he was sure they’d talk a lot on the CBs or walkie-talkies on their trip.
“Saddle up. Lock and load,” Eddie told them, quoting Mr. Data from a Star Trek movie. He, Monica and Tony climbed aboard the SWAT truck and Jerry, Juan and Rusty loaded up in the Ford.
Both trucks started and radio checks were made. Jerry looked at the clock on the dash and it was just a few minutes after 4 a.m. He put the truck in gear and they were off to rescue some astronauts. How strange the world has become, he thought to himself.
~ ~ ~
The same morning scene repeated itself in the living room and kitchen of the shelter three hours later, but with different players this time. Randy had fallen back to sleep on Tony’s couch so he could listen to the CB for as long as his dad and friends were within range. Tony had called three times, the first time when they left the driveway for a radio check and the second when they’d made it to the interstate. Tony told them the rescue team was having no problems and were making good time. The third time he called the team was just getting out of range and Randy heard Tony say things were okay, but everything else was lost to static.
Mrs. deJesus had gone back to the cellar, ostensibly to sleep, but in reality to pray. She was a devout Catholic and had rosary beads and a bible she kept by her bed. She prayed for the safe return of her new friends and the people from space, but mostly she prayed that God watch over her silly husband who she loved so dearly.
Shortly after 7 a.m. Tia tapped lightly on the door. Randy hadn’t locked it so she opened it enough to see if anyone was awake. Randy was roused when he heard her call out softly. “Yeah, I’m awake. Come on in,” he said, sitting up from the couch. Boomer came racing in with her, probably looking for the little dog. Since Molly was still upstairs, the big dog ran to Randy to lick his face and make a nuisance. He’d been left in the drive when the others had pulled out and decided he’d best go check on Tia and the kids. They were still asleep, so he spent some time wandering around making sure the shelter area was safe before finding a place to sleep under Tia’s motor home.
“How’d everything go?” she asked, sitting down beside Randy on the couch as her three girls and one boy sat down at the table in the kitchen. Boomer, pushed away by Randy, finished searching the place for anyone who’d play with him. No one took him up so he decided to lay down by the door on his mat and wait. Time for play would come. He knew it would.
“Everyone got off okay,” he told her, rubbing his face and head in an effort to wake up completely. “They made it to the interstate without any problems and the last time I had contact with them, Tony said they were making good time.”
“That’s good to hear,” she said. “I hope our trip goes as well. I figure about two hours to get there, four hours to find something useful and two hours back.”
“Sounds about right. We went to Anniston a few times and it took us an hour. Figure twice that now because you can’t drive 70 miles per hour anymore and two hours sounds about right.”
“I wanted to ask if we should take a trailer on the Escalade when we go in case we see something we could use.”
“Might not be a bad idea. You have three guys with you, if you happen to come across another big generator, we could use one, especially for that other wind turbine. Do you know what batteries dad needs for the power grid in the basement?”
“He showed me yesterday.”
“We need more of them and you might find them at an RV dealership. If you can’t, we can use the regular kind for now. The more the better so the trailer is probably a good idea.”
“I’ll hook up the trailer,” she said, taking out her computer tablet and making notes.
Sade, Josh and Nick all showed up at the door together. Sade and Nick each had their own tents in which they’d been sleeping. Jamal shared a large tent with Danny. They were two strangers who’d met in west Texas and survived long enough to become friends. Josh slept in a camper with his daughter Marissa, and Katie the nursery manager.
“Good morning everyone. Ready for TDY?” Tia asked everyone. They looked at her blankly, having no idea what she was talking about. “Sorry, my husband was Army. TDY stands for going away from the base on temporary duty.”
Tia was an enigma of personality. She wasn’t very tall and kept her blond hair cut short and just beginning to show grey. She had a slender frame but a wiry musculature and defined features. Her ice-blue eyes were piercing, yet tender and she appeared at first glance to be a frail feminine-type woman. But after a few minutes of conversation, one could tell she was a strong alpha-type who didn’t take shit from anyone. She was a very gentle woman, with a streak of hardiness to balance her femininity. In her past, she’d driven semis, worked in a factory, was on a collegiate track team where she threw a javelin, had been an Army wife for 15 years and was a stern and a doting mother to her two kids and the twin girls she’d taken in. She was doing what she could to be both mother and father to them and succeeding well.
The plan was for her to drive to Anniston and look for the RV dealership there and bring back a motor home for the astronauts. She was taking three people with her and if they found an RV that they could get running, she’d drive it back and Nick would drive the Escalade. If they found batteries, they’d load as many as they could onto the trailer.
She planned on an eight hour time-frame so they could get the motor home, if they found it, set up before nightfall. The absolute soonest, and this was if everything with Jerry went off on schedule and with no problems, that the rescue team could be back to the shelter with the astronauts was 5 a.m. the following morning. She was sure they wouldn’t be back by then, but she wanted to be ready if they were.
Everyone on the RV team said they were ready once they’d finished breakfast. Kellie came down the spiral staircase with Molly following one step at a time, and Tia smiled. “Morning, Kellie. Sleep okay?” She and Kellie were the same age, but Kellie looked younger with her hair not yet flecked with gray and she didn’t seem to have as many wrinkles around her eyes.
But both were still attractive women, but Tia showed her age gracefully while Kellie’s was more of elegance and refinement….except for this morning. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a sweatshirt. Her locks of usually well-brushed dark blonde hair with Viking curls were a tangled mess. Everyone suspected her and Jerry had been sleeping together, no one cared to ask if they had been, and looking at Kelli
e this morning might have been all the proof anyone needed.
What no one knew was that while they had slept together, they had only slept and held each other.
Boomer saw the little dog and jumped from where he was to greet the littler dog with a nudge of his huge nose. Molly growled which signified to Boomer it was play time so he started running happily around her, egging her on to play. Molly was having nothing to do with the big monster.
“I’m fine. Was just restless all night. Sorry I’m late getting up. Coffee?” She asked looking at everyone. “I need some but don’t want to make too much.” There were a couple of nods so she made a full pot.
“We’re going to be leaving at about 7:30 and want to be back by four this afternoon,” Tia reminded Kellie adding in a 30-minute fudge factor. “You have everything covered here?”
“Yeah,” she said as she poured the water into the coffee maker and filled the hopper with fresh coffee grounds. “Randy’s got a full day ahead and he’ll probably be working with Danny. I’m going to work on inventory that was brought in yesterday by Eddie and his crew, and Katie is going to work in the garden with the kids.” The kids groaned a little hearing that they had to work in the garden because it wasn’t any fun. Katie would find a way to make it less boring for them.
“Mrs. deJesus said she wanted to try her hand at baking, so she’ll be in the kitchen on and off most of the day. I think we’ll all keep busy while you’re gone.”
“I’m good without Danny today,” Randy said. “Most of what I have to do is a one-man job. He will be on the tractor and a chain saw and clearing a spot on the other side of your motor home.”
“Sounds good to me. We’ll take care of that once Tia and her crew get on the road. You want to take lunches with you?” Kellie asked Tia.
“We might need something to eat and drink on the road,” Tia said. “If it isn’t much trouble.”
“No trouble at all. I’ll have four lunches made by the time these guys are done with breakfast,” Kellie said as she opened the refrigerator.
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