by E A Lake
The dark night arrived by the time Henry and Ruth departed. Rebecca stayed for the night. She actually stayed for the next week, until Theresa was up and moving around better. She added an extra day just to be safe.
That night, Rebecca and Hunter sat alone on the porch enjoying the cool night air. Hunter delighted in the fact that Henry had left him a bag of Amish tobacco and rolling papers to enjoy. If he ever needed a cigarette, this was the night. Rebecca sat admiring the man for whom she’d never particularly cared. Somehow this simple nun and five young girls had brought out the best in a man that most people assumed didn’t exist. They spoke only a little as Hunter enjoyed the quiet.
In the morning after breakfast, Hunter stood and got everyone’s attention. All looked at him eagerly; they wondered what was on his mind. Praise for a battle won? Words of caution, of more fighting to come? Personal thanks? No one knew. His gaze fell to the table as he slowly began.
“I once told you all this wasn’t my battle. This was yours. I didn’t want any part of it.” He inhaled a deep breath before he continued. Finally, his eyes came up. “But I never told you why.”
Theresa moved to interrupt.
Hunter stopped her with a gesture, and continued. “Gwen and I were married right before the lights went out. I was 22, and Gwen was 19. She was wonderful.” Hunter smiled sadly as he thought of his long missing wife. “She died in an explosion at our place one day while I was out looking for supplies. It was about three weeks in. We hadn’t shut the gas off in our little rental unit. I suppose she was lighting one of her stupid candles.” The group looked at the sad man as he spoke quietly, somberly. Tears formed in the eyes of all, including Hunter. “She had just told me she thought she was pregnant. Even in the middle of hell, we were going to have a child. What a rush.”
Tears fell freely from Hunter. All of the girls and Sister Theresa wiped away many of their own.
“So that’s why I’ve always said I didn’t want any part of this fight. I didn’t want the pain. I couldn’t stand the thought of another Gwen.” Hunter looked at the group and wiped his face. “But I was wrong. Dead wrong. This is your battle. Your battle for survival.” He nodded slightly. “Our battle for survival. I’m not sure what I was thinking at first. Just stupid I guess.” Hunter’s eyes moved around to each person sitting at the table. “You all did great yesterday. Maybe it’s because I was here to help, but maybe not. I can’t decide right now how that might have turned out if you’d all been here alone. You all did so well, every last one of you. You’re up to the task. You’ve proven that. We fought together, as one group. And we succeeded.” He looked down again.
Each girl sensed something big was coming and held her collective breath.
“I never wanted any of this. I didn’t want the responsibility; I didn’t want to be depended on. I didn’t want any more pain, and I sure as hell didn’t want any killing.” Hunter seemed stuck.
Mary was afraid this was his goodbye speech. Her breathing got quick and shallow. The same was true for Theresa. She too feared the worst.
Hunter looked up one last time and continued. “But it’s not like that anymore. It can’t be. I’ve been alone for the last five years. Alone in every sense of the word. I’m done with that. Theresa, if your offer still stands, I’ll send Seth and Jonah up to my place and grab the little I need from there.”
Theresa grinned broadly and nodded vigorously. Five teens let out a collective sigh of relief, their prayers answered.
“I don’t want to be alone anymore, and I don’t want you all left alone either. We can make this work. I think it’s for the best, for all of us.” Hunter finally smiled. Tears again filled the corner of his eyes. “At first I didn’t think I could live with any of you or any of this. Now – well – now I know that I don’t want to live without any of you.”
Theresa rose quickly and hugged the man tightly again. One by one, five young teens joined the hug. Everyone finally had what they wanted, what they needed.
Epilogue
The remainder of the summer and into the fall was quiet. Trouble came calling only one time in late September. Three older men tried their luck where seven younger men had failed earlier. Hunter had to only fire warning shots over the trio’s heads to convince them to leave. No further trouble showed its face from that point forward. The group understood the message the 30-30 had called out.
The next summer, the roads were quieter. Maybe most of the pestilence had already moved through the area. Perhaps, just perhaps, the worst was over. The Amish men set up defensive skirmish lines again on all the roads leading into the home area. They had decided it was time to deal with the problem directly. Hunter even took his turn standing guard at least once a month. Only insults made their way between rival groups that summer. Peace took hold.
The first winter brought a nasty flu bug to southern Wisconsin and all of the lower Midwest. Death crept into the community riding on the cold weather. Emily caught the bug bad in November and passed away in mid-December. The group sadly buried her in the field out back, in a spot just west of her former bedroom window. The same spot she had enjoyed almost every morning during her time with her new family.
Sister Theresa took on the duty of caring for Cal. Actually, all four remaining teens pitched in as much as they could. They all missed Emily so badly that having little Cal nearby helped them deal with the terrible loss.
In February, the flu ran through the house again. No one escaped the plague this time. Everyone took turns being deathly ill throughout the month. Only Ruth’s daily visits held the group together. Just when they thought the worst had passed, Sheila’s Virginia became gravely ill. The teens and Sister Theresa desperately tried to get her to eat and drink something, anything, but their best efforts failed. After a long week of coughing and vomiting, the tiny little girl left this earth. Sheila sank into a dark depression. They buried her Virginia next to Emily in the field, though the rock hard frozen ground made the burial a two-day chore.
In early March, Sheila arose from her funk and told Sister Theresa she would take over the raising of Cal. Theresa worried at first, but Sheila explained herself well. This was, after all, why she’d been chosen to come live in the country – chosen by the militia, or more rightly, chosen by God. She raised Cal as her own, never forgetting the memory of her own sweet little Virginia.
The second summer the garden doubled in size. With the help of the secret Amish fertilizer (sheep excrement), their production and yield grew four times. With proper storage techniques, learned from Ruth, the group had fresh vegetables and produce well into the following spring.
Hunter lived up to his name and produced a deer as needed. Once every so often he would take an extra doe and trade it with the Amish community for something the group needed. Hunter was very careful not to over-harvest the wild animals in the area. If the herd received proper attention, there would be whitetails for food for many lifetimes to come.
Over time, most folks acknowledged that no man ever returned from the war in the south. Some families even sent a second son looking for the first. That proved fruitless, as now two men were lost to whatever took place so many miles from home. Rebecca accepted the fact with as much grace as she could. Within a year, she had a new suitor, and married the following spring at her parent’s home. Within five years, she had three children of her own. Three new friends for the children who lived with Sister Theresa, and Hunter.
As the years went by, more and more young men made their way into the community. One by one, the girls married and started families of their own, besides the little one each girl brought to the mix. Karen and Sheila married brothers one summer and moved into the farmhouse just to the south of the home they had shared with Theresa. Mary wed the following spring, and she, Rachel, and her new husband moved with one of his friends into a home about a mile east of Hunter and Theresa.
Sara waited two more years before taking a husband and father for Matty. After searching for a new home, th
ey settled on living with Hunter and Theresa for the remainder of their lives. This made Theresa extremely happy. They had grown very close the past few years.
Hunter and Theresa lived as common law man and wife after the first summer together. They both felt they were too old to want to go through the marriage process. This was the best for both of them.
Theresa gave birth to their only child at age 34. A little boy who grew to be a strong, hard-working man, like his father. They named him James Ross, Jr.
As the children grew, they each had the complete love of their parents; Matty, now Matt with Sara and Jim, Rachel with Mary and Louis, Calvin with Sheila and Tom, and Rose with Karen and Bill. Some of the girls had more children, but Sara and Mary only ever had one child. Each child had two women they referred to as mother – their actual mother, and a woman named Theresa. Each child had two fathers – their mother’s husband, and a man simply known to them all as Hunter.
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Table of Contents
Copyright © 2014 e a lake
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the write...
“This is the way the world ends
WWIV– HOPE IN THE DARKNESSChapter OneT
Chapter OneT
Chapter TwoN
Chapter ThreeT
Chapter FourS
Chapter FiveT
Chapter SixA
Chapter SevenR
Chapter EightT
Chapter NineH
Chapter TenK
Chapter ElevenT
Chapter TwelveA
Chapter ThirteenH
Chapter FourteenE
Chapter FifteenH
Chapter SixteenR
Chapter SeventeenH
Chapter EighteenM
Chapter NineteenH
Chapter TwentyT
Chapter Twenty-oneT
Chapter Twenty-twoT
Chapter Twenty-threeA
Chapter Twenty-four“F
Chapter Twenty-fiveM
Chapter Twenty-sixB
Chapter Twenty-sevenS
Chapter Twenty-eightW
Chapter Twenty-nineA
Chapter ThirtyT
Chapter Thirty-oneH
Chapter Thirty-twoC
Chapter Thirty-threeH
Chapter Thirty-fourW
Chapter Thirty-fiveH
Chapter Thirty-sixM
Chapter Thirty-sevenT
EpilogueT
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