by A. American
As we made our way towards the park, I stopped at the MRAP for a drink. My canteen had run out hours ago and I was dry. I replenished it from a water keg we kept in the MRAP. While I was doing that, a man walked up. He was obviously agitated. “Why do some of these people have bullet wounds to their heads?”
Capping the canteen, I turned around. I was tired and not in the mood for the conversation. “We did what we could. Some people were so injured we couldn’t save them. It was more humane to stop their suffering than to let them die slowly.”
“So, you just shot them? What the hell gives you the right to decide to do that?” The man asked, furious at the realization.
“We couldn’t help them,” I replied, feeling overwhelmed.
Then the man shoved me back against the truck and screamed into my face, “You just executed wounded people! You sick bastards!”
He had a hold on my vest in double-handed grip. Without even thinking about it, I brought one arm up and over his, using my elbow to break his grip. Then drove the same elbow into the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. I reached down and grabbed the man, screaming into his face.
“And what would you have done? Where were you last night? We were out here all fucking night! You think I liked this? Come here you son of a bitch!” I dragged the man across the pavement as he tried to get his feet under him. I pulled him over to the first woman, the one I was trying to help when Doc walked up behind me. I shoved him to the ground beside her body and grabbed a handful of his hair, turning his head to look at her.
“And what would you have done for her? Look at her! What the fuck do you think you would have done for her?” I was still screaming at the man when some guys grabbed me and pulled me off him. It was Aric and Doc.
Sarge walked over and pulled the man to his feet. He dusted him off and said, “If you want to help, come to the park with us. The people there, we think we can save.” The man was bewildered and looked around. “I know this is hard,” Sarge continued, “but the clinic was destroyed and most of the staff there killed as well. The ones that are left, wounded even, are helping.” He pointed towards the park and continued. “Burn victims need a lot of fluid. That’s usually done through IV; well, we don’t have any of that now. It was all destroyed. If burn victims don’t get fluids, they die of dehydration. It’s not the burns that kill them. Would you rather these people lie here and dry up and die? Or would you rather see their suffering end quickly?”
The man regained his composure and looked around. He slowly nodded his head. “I see why you did it now. I understand.” He looked at me and apologized, “Sorry for jumping your ass, Sheriff.” He rubbed the side of his head and added, “You’ve got a hell of an elbow.”
“Sorry it came to that,” I replied. “It’s been a long night, one that we will never forget, I think.”
“None of us will,” Sarge added.
We all walked to the park. The wounded were lying on the ground wherever they could. Family members had joined many of them there. In many cases, they used pieces of debris as fans to keep the flies away from their wounds. There was a lot of crying and sadness in the park. In many cases, the wounded lying in the park were the sole survivors of a family. Or surviving family was with them, telling them of those that perished. Parents wept for dead children, husbands for wives and vice versa. It was a mournful place to witness.
“We need to move these people,” Doc said. “We can’t just leave them out here exposed like this.”
A female in filthy medical scrubs was nearby and heard the comment. Her head was wrapped in a blood-soaked bandage, but she was still there assisting the wounded. “We need to move them to the high school. I sent someone over there earlier to check it out and it’s in good shape. It’s undamaged and the gym would make a good place to keep them. It’s even stocked with cots, for use as an evacuation shelter. There are people over there setting them up now.”
“What’s your name?” Sarge asked.
She stood up, gently touching the bandage on her head. “Tina Beck.”
“That’s good thinking, Tina. I’m glad to have you here. You alright to keep going? That head wound looks pretty bad.”
“It’s nothing. Just a scalp wound. They bleed profusely but I’m fine. Besides, we need all the help we can get.”
“Amen, sister,” Sarge replied. He looked at Cecil and asked, “Can you get a trailer for your tractor? It’d make moving all these wounded a lot easier. I’d like to have all of them in the gym today.”
Cecil nodded, “I’ve got a big one we’ve been using out at the farm. If someone can give me a ride out there, I’ll bring it back.”
We’d found one Hummer in town that had somehow survived. It had some shrapnel damage but was operational. I told Cecil I’d carry him over to the farm to retrieve the tractor and we headed off towards the truck. As we walked, Cecil was quiet. And that was fine with me. But after a while, he spoke.
“Morgan, I’m so sorry you guys had to do that today. Me, I couldn’t do it and I’m sorry I wasn’t any help. It was a hell of a thing.”
“You helped Cecil. I saw you helping to get the wounded to the park. You were there picking through the burned-out buildings. I wouldn’t wish what we had to do today on anyone and don’t hold it against them if they couldn’t. Hell, I barely could.”
“You know, I spent some time in Vietnam. Take it from someone that’s been there, my friend, this isn’t over for you. It’s going to be with you for a long time. Now, I know you’re a tough son of a bitch,” he paused and looked at me, “but promise me you won’t try to keep it bottled up. Talk to someone about it. You’re going to need to. If you try to hold it all in, it’ll eat you from the inside out.” Looking at me again, he added, “Take it from the voice of experience. You ever need to talk about it, just come find me. I’ll listen as long as you need to talk.”
Cecil and I couldn’t be more different. We were from different generations and there was a wide gap in our ages. He was a black man that grew up in Lake County Florida, not always a hospitable place for his race. But good people are good people and his offer moved me. I stepped closer to him and put my arm around his shoulder.
“That means a lot me, really. I know I’m still in shock over it and it’ll all come out soon enough. You and I will be talking in the future, I think.” I looked at him and added, “I’m fortunate to call you a friend.”
He smiled, as he was prone to do, and replied, “I know you’d do it for me. You’d do it for anyone that needed it. But sometimes you need a shoulder to lean on too. You’ve got more of them than you know. You’re highly thought of around here. People see you as a source of reliability, something they can count on. You’re not alone.”
“Neither are you. Hell, you’re a far more valuable asset to the community than I am.” I walked in silence for a moment before saying, “You know what really pisses me off? We just managed to get the power back into town. Things were looking up, and now this. I’m sure the breakers are all tripped at the plant. We’re going to have to disconnect the lines running south.”
“I’d wager Baker and her crew are at the plant doing just that right now.”
We arrived at the truck and climbed in. I drove Cecil out to the farm and he mounted the tractor; the trailer was already attached, and we headed back to town. I rolled along slowly behind the old machine. It gave me time to think, think about the night before and what we’d done. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was the right thing to do.
We were so spoiled in our previous lives. Anything you wanted was a mouse-click away. If you were injured, state of the art medical care would come to you! All it took was for someone to make a phone call, and then highly skilled personnel would arrive on the scene, stabilize your injury and load you into an ambulance. They would already be communicating with a hospital and when you arrived, a team of specialists would be waiting to treat you.
Contrast that to now, where there is no help
coming. The few trained personnel we had were either killed or injured. Hospital? No such thing exists today. We had a military tent to treat our most severely wounded in, and even that was destroyed. The precious supply of drugs we had were gone. The few pieces of medical equipment that could help keep someone alive were also destroyed. There is no they. They are no longer coming to your aid. You are on your own now. And the people whose suffering we mercifully ended last night were in no condition to help themselves and there just aren’t enough people around to care for them. As horrible as it was, it was the best thing we could do.
Cecil drove the tractor into the park where people were waiting to get them loaded immediately. Many of them were in severe pain and some were unconscious. Missing limbs and blast wounds were common. I didn’t know how some of these people would survive their wounds. But they were deemed worth the effort and we would do our best.
As the trailer was being loaded, I had a couple of the walking wounded get into the truck. Once the trailer was loaded, we headed for the school. I was surprised when we pulled up to see Jess and Thad. They immediately started moving the wounded from the trailer into the gym where cots were set up for them.
I helped a man with a nasty wound to his right leg into the gym. Settling him onto a cot, I caught up with Thad. “Hey, buddy. When did you guys get here?”
“We came last night. When you guys didn’t come back, we figured it was a bad deal and you’d need help.”
“You were right about that. Thanks for coming out.”
“It’s what we’ve got to do.”
We moved the rest of the wounded into the gym and made them as comfortable as possible. We had no painkillers to offer them and those that were in pain and still conscious suffered terribly. We were short on bandages as well and many wounds were wrapped in whatever was at hand. I made a mental note to go out and try to find some usnea. It’s a yellowish lichen often called Old Man’s Beard. The Seminole Indians used it for bandages and it has very strong antimicrobial properties. It wasn’t much, but it would be something.
I was walking out of the gym when Jess stopped me. “You look like shit. You need to go home and get some sleep.”
“You looked in a mirror lately?” I asked.
When Jess was irritated, she’d cross her arms over her chest and cock her hip to the side. She adopted this pose now and replied, “You know what I mean, smartass. You need to go get some sleep.”
I nodded. “I’m tired for sure.”
“Then go home and sleep. There’s enough people here to take care of the wounded.”
I looked around and replied, “Let me find the old man and I’ll probably head back.”
She pointed to the door, “He’s out there talking with Cecil.”
“Thanks Jess. Thanks for looking out for me.”
With a smirk, she replied, “Someone has to. Because you’re obviously not going to do it.”
I shook my head and gave her shoulder a squeeze before heading out the door. Sarge and Cecil were standing by the tractor. I leaned against the tractor and let out a breath.
“You look tired, Morgan,” Cecil said.
“You mean he looks like shit,” Sarge offered.
“You’re both right, I guess. Now that we’ve got most of the people moved, I’m headed home. I need some sleep.”
“That’s a good idea. We’re all probably going to head back soon. Mitch is organizing folks here in town to tend to the wounded. Doc and the staff that survived are going to do what they can for the wounded. We can live without you for a while,” Sarge replied.
“Alright. I’ll see you back at the ranch,” I said with a wave.
I went over to the Hummer I’d driven earlier and took it back to the house. There were a lot of people in Umatilla standing in the road and looking to the south. I’m sure word was spreading, but they could clearly see the smoke that still rose into the sky from some of the buildings. A couple of people stepped out into the road, as if to stop me and talk. But I swerved around them and continued on. I wasn’t in a chatting mood. I was exhausted and wanted to go climb into my bed.
As I approached Altoona, storm clouds gathered on the horizon. Rain was on the way and, as bad as it was, my first thought was that it would wash the blood and smell off the streets in town. As I passed the market, people stopped and watched as I went by. I didn’t pull in. No doubt that they also had questions; and I wasn’t stopping to answer theirs either. When I rolled by the bunker I waved at the guys, not even stopping there.
I parked the Hummer in front of the house and got out. Meat Head and Drake were there, tails wagging and tongues lolling. They made me smile and I knelt down to pet their heads. Drake came up, sat down in front of me and put his paw on my knee. When I reached up to scratch his ears, he pawed at my hand. He was an interesting dog and I wondered what he was like in the Before.
Meat Head rolled over on his back and I rubbed his belly as he moaned. A habit he had when he was being petted or scratched. As I was messing with the dogs, Danny walked up. He announced his presence in typical Danny manner, “Yo,” was all he said.
Looking up from the dogs, I replied. “Hey, man. How’s the mitt?”
He looked at his hand. Doc had done a pretty good job of sewing it back together. Yet, you couldn’t help but notice the missing fingers. He worked his thumb and fingers and replied, “It’s good. But every time I look at it, it’s like something out of an alien movie. You know, they always had three fingers.”
I smiled, “I can see that. But if you open your mouth and another little head comes out, I’m shooting you in the face.”
Danny laughed, then his expression changed. “How bad was it?”
“Worse than you can imagine, buddy. All of downtown Eustis is gone. It took one hell of a pounding.”
“How bad were the casualties?”
I thought about how to answer that question for a moment. “Terrible. It’s hard to imagine what high explosives can do to a human body.” I looked up at him and added, “I don’t have to imagine anymore.”
He nodded. “I know what you mean. So, what’s the next move?”
I stood up and looked up into the sky. “Well, the old man is supposedly organizing a bomber strike that should wipe out the commies.”
“When’s that going to happen?”
“Any time. Well, I’m beat, buddy. I need some sleep. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Go get some rest. I’ll catch you later.”
I went into the house to find Mel sitting on the couch feeding the little limb rat. She looked up when I came in and smiled. Then the smile faded, and she wrinkled her nose.
“Hey, baby. I’m glad you’re back; but you really stink. Can you go outside and take all that off, so I can wash it later?”
I looked down at myself. I was covered in soot and gore, the gore not so easily seen through the black soot. “That’s probably a good idea. Sorry, I wasn’t thinking. How’s the little guy doing?”
Mel looked at Ruckus, holding him up in front of her face, nose to nose. In a baby voice, she said, “He’s fine. Aren’t you?” Looking back at me, she added, “He’s eating and pooping, that’s all he has to do.”
“Are his eyes open yet?”
“No, it’ll be another couple of weeks.”
It made me smile. I don’t know why. “Good. Glad he’s alright.” I stripped off my armor and set it on the floor beside the door before going back outside. My feet were black as coal, I didn’t have the best footwear on for a day like today. And that black extended up my legs to above my knees. My shorts and shirt were also covered in various contaminates. Peeling the clothes off, I dropped them into a pile by the door and walked back inside, naked.
When I came in, Mel looked at me shocked. “Good thing the girls aren’t here!”
“Oh,” I replied, “I hadn’t thought about that. Yeah, good thing.”
As Mel got up off the couch, she said, “Go take a shower and I’ll get you a glass of tea
and something to eat. I’m sure you’re hungry.”
“Yeah, I’m hungry. But I’m really thirsty.”
“Go on to the shower; you really stink. I’ll bring you some water in a sec.”
I nodded and headed for the bathroom. In the Before, I would turn the shower on and let it run until the hot water made it from the heater to the shower. A hot shower was one of life’s greatest luxuries as far as I was concerned, one I hadn’t had in some time. So, when I turned the water on in the shower, I stepped in immediately. The water was bracing, but it felt good. Using the small piece of soap, I still hadn’t found another piece, I scrubbed myself clean. The water ran black down the drain and it took some time to get all the crud scraped off my body. But eventually the water ran clear down the drain and I shut it off and stepped out to towel off.
There was a glass of ice water sitting on the vanity and I took it and greedily gulped it down. It was damn cold, and good. Going into the bedroom, I found clothes laid out on the bed and another glass of tea on the nightstand. It made me smile, Mel was always looking out for me. As I consumed more tea, I remembered joking back in the day about the magic tea jug. It was magic because I could pour the last glass of tea from it, set it on the counter and come back later to find it in the fridge, full. It was a running joke between me and Mel about the tea fairies.
Clean and dressed, I came out, tea in hand and sat down on the couch. Mel was in the kitchen and I asked, “Where are the girls?”
“Little Bit is over at Danny’s and the other two are down at Fred’s house. They got bored and wanted to go keep her company since Aric was in town.”
“I imagine he’s back now. Everyone was headed home when I left. Folks from town were going to take care of the injured. I just needed some sleep.”
“Eat something first, then go lie down.”
She came out of the kitchen with a sausage biscuit on a plate and handed it to me. It was nice having flour and being able to make bread stuff. And I love biscuits. The sausage was from one of our hogs that Thad butchered. Spices were hard to come by, but it was still good. Really good. As I ate, Mel sat down on the couch and pulled my leg into her lap. She started to rub my foot, and it felt so good.