by Reed, N. C.
“Well, we ran across a family of folks back right before the fire,” Titus replied, taking the seat that Leon pointed him toward. “The Talbot family. It's where we picked up that pick-up truck the Webbs were using,” he reminded them.
“That's where you boys had your first firefight, wasn't it?” Leon mused, remembering.
“Yes sir,” Titus nodded. “It was a young couple. . .well, not my age, but you know. Anyway, they had three kids, but all were school age. I don't know what they did before the lights went out, but the man had a tractor so I assume he at least knows how to operate it. No idea about the Mrs. They seemed like good people though, and they asked about coming with us, so I'd say they were willing to relocate if needed.”
“Did any of you know them?” Leon asked.
“No sir,” Titus shook his head. “Name was Talbot though, if that means anything. Charles, I think? His wife's name started with a 'D' but I can't recall exactly what it was. We didn't talk to them much. Tandi, he treated the Mister for a graze, Jose he talked to them too. They might remember the name. They seemed like good folks, though. They were the only people we encountered on the patrol, unless you count the guys we zapped.”
“Talbot, huh?” Leon looked thoughtful. “I can't say I know the name, but maybe they ain't been here long, either. Whereabouts was this?” Titus told him the road name and where the nearest place was that he had known.
“Titus are you busy at the moment?”
“Not right away, sir,” Titus shook his head.
“Would you mind heading down to the Troy place and asking Jose can he come see me? And if you encounter Gordon or Franklin George, either one, ask them to come up, too. Both of them if you see them.”
“Of course, sir,” Titus stood. “I’ll go right away.”
“Thank you, son,” Leon smiled. “And good work, too,” he added. “We need that kind of thinking, Titus. We really do. If you think of anything else, or if any of the rest of you do, don't never hesitate to come tell me. Even if we can't use it, information is always good to have. And son, know that we are all grateful for you boys being here. I am sorry beyond telling about what happened to you boys, and I'd give near anything to be able to fix it, or at least reunite you with your folks, but know that all of you have been a comfort to have among us. I daresay without you we'd be in a world of difficulty.”
“Thank you, Mister Leon,” Titus looked embarrassed at such praise. “I’ll go and get them for you, sir.” With the teen was gone. Brick watched him go before closing the door.
“Smart young man,” he said as he turned back to Leon.
“His grandfather and I were friends,” Leon nodded. “Real friends, not just buddies. Man died entirely too young. Bad car wreck out on the Interstate. Titus' father was still a young man. Born late in Big Titus' life. Boy is named after him. Fine family of hardworking, honest people. The kind of people a man just naturally wants to know.” He looked at Brick.
“I wish I could find those boys' families.”
“Maybe one day we can,” Brick shrugged. “If they survived, then they're likely around here somewhere. If we can gain some strength, you can always turn Clay and the others loose to search for them and do whatever you think needs doing.”
“Yeah,” Leon nodded thoughtfully. “Guess I could at that. Assuming they'd want to do it.”
“You're kidding, right?” Brick snorted. “Why do you think they ran off to the Webb farm that night?”
“To look for survivors,” Leon replied.
“Oh, that too,” Brick nodded. “But they also wanted to get some. Rescuing the two Webb ladies was just a lovely bonus. They were looking for payback more than anything, and a chance to get it stuck in. You tell them they have your blessing to go out and kill people and break things, they’ll fight each other for a seat on the truck. Never doubt that.”
“Doubt Clay will,” Leon shook his head slowly.
“Don't kid yourself,” Brick said at once. “The only things holding him back are his responsibilities here and Lainie. Nothing else.”
-
“Alright,” Clay called to the vehicles behind him. “Hang here until I call and be ready to run for it, just in case.” He heard two clicks twice and nodded to himself.
“Zach, are you ready?”
“You got it, Boss,” Zach replied. “We are primed to shine!”
“Abby, keep your head on a swivel. The threat may be waiting in the woods for someone just like us to appear, so don't let your guard down.”
“Got it,” Abby promised, already looking everywhere, her head never stopping.
Satisfied with that, Clay turned down the road to the Webb farm. ‘Homestead’ was actually more accurate as there was only about fifty acres of land. It was quiet along the stretch of road, the Webbs having no close neighbors.
“Look,” Abby pointed and Clay could see buzzards circling.
“Damn,” Clay muttered. “I never thought of that.”
The houses came slowly into view and revealed a yard full of carrion birds picking at what was left of the men killed by Tandi Maseo and Jody Thompson.
“Well, that's disgusting,” Zach said at once.
“Ain't it though,” Abby agreed, still watching everywhere she could. As Clay turned into the drive he used the PA system to sound a siren and the large birds immediately took to the air. The carnage on the ground was pretty bad.
“Zach, I’ll need you to keep me covered while I check out the grounds,” Clay called. He was regretting not bringing Tandi or Mitchell with him to clear the houses, but it was too late for that now.
“What about me?” Abby asked, her voice betraying nothing but a simple request for information. Clay didn't reply immediately as he swabbed a menthol rub into both nostrils before handing her the jar.
“Swipe this in both sides of your nose,” he told her. “It will kill the smell. Don't forget your mask,” he added, pulling a dust mask over his own mouth and nose. He wiped what remained of the menthol on his fingers onto the mask. Abby watched him and repeated his steps.
“Stay with me and watch my back,” Clay told her as he got out. “Make sure no one can take us by surprise in the houses. Okay?”
“Got it,” Abby promised, finishing with her mask. She climbed down and pulled her rifle out, ready to go.
Clay started with the nearest home, where he found about what he had expected. The stench was pretty foul with three bodies inside, but the house was clear of any threats. They quickly moved to the next house, finding what had been Jacob Webb in a similar condition to the bodies in the first home. They cleared the house and exited.
“They deserve better than this,” Abby said more to herself than anything but Clay heard it.
“They’ll get it,” he told her. “Worry about it later though, alright? Moving on.”
“Right behind you,” she promised, still looking everywhere as they went.
The next house was where Daisy Webb had been found, and Abby tried to ignore the ropes still hanging on the living room wall as well as the body of Micah Webb, or what was left of it, laying across the room. They cleared the house and moved to the next, this one with no dead bodies inside for which both were thankful. Finally, was the main house. Clay hesitated here, knowing what to expect.
“Abby, you may want to stay here,” he told his niece in a rare moment of caring. “This is going to be pretty bad.”
“I know,” she nodded, never stopping her surveillance of the area around them. “Jody told me.”
“He did?” Clay's surprise couldn't be hidden.
“I asked,” she shrugged. “I know what we’ll find.”
“Okay then,” Clay nodded. She was starting to be the Abby he remembered and had thought he knew. They entered one after the other to the sight of poor Bernice Webb, still attached to the wall, long dead. A sharp intake of breath was Abby's only reaction and she never stopped doing her job. Once the house was clear and they were both back outside, Clay took a
minute to get his breath before calling the others.
“We're clear. Start everyone gearing up on the way down. It's pretty bad. We're standing by.”
“Beast moving,” Tandi said simply.
“Cougar moving,” Gordy replied immediately after. They could hear the big truck revving as Ellen started their way.
“Abby, move the Hummer out of the drive and down,” he pointed past the drive where they had turned. “Leave room for Ellen to maneuver. Then get back here.”
“Got it,” she headed off at once. Clay watched her go, pleased to see Abby finally getting her act together. He took a second to admit that he hadn't treated her very well since the incident with Big John, but. . .no one could really blame him. Abby was remorseful even in steadfastly believing she had done what she had to do for a friend she had known since preschool. And he had to admit that had it been him, he'd likely have done the same thing.
Then he turned his attention to his surroundings. He was on the watch team, so he had to be alert and not thinking about months old crap.
-
Ellen Kargay backed the trailer in almost effortlessly, showing once more that she was an above average driver. Clay had wondered more than once where she had found the time to develop her impressive physique while driving a truck for a living. He didn't even know how she and Tandi had met. Neither had ever mentioned it.
By the time Ellen had climbed down, already donning her gloves and mask in place, the rest had dismounted the Cougar, Gordy moving up to the other side of the house area opposite Clay while Mitchell Nolan remained on the Cougar on watch.
“Gather around,” Clay waved and everyone circled around him.
“I'm not going to lie, it's bad,” he said at once. “Try not to think about it or spend much time looking. Better not to look at all if you can help it. Everyone have their nose swabbed?” All nodded.
“Gloves and masks then, and get moving. Ideally, I'd like to be on the way home in an hour or so. The longer we're out here, the more dangerous it becomes.” He quickly assigned houses to each team, making sure that the two worse houses were split between them. It was the best compromise he could manage.
They were hesitant and he didn't blame them, but as they stalled he urged them on, reminding them again of the time factor. Realizing that putting things off wasn't going to work, they all took deep breaths and headed inside.
Clay counted to five before the two women from the Orphanage, Anthony Goodrum and Samantha Walters erupted from their assignments, ripping masks off and puking their breakfast up. He was surprised the rest made it, and impressed that they continued on. He didn't say anything as the four lost their meal. He'd been there.
Samantha never bothered to look up. As soon as she could control herself she was back on the job. Anthony Goodrum was next, his body language screaming reluctance but moving nevertheless. Clay decided the boy might have a spine in there after all.
“I'm not going back in there,” Trisha Bonham told him loudly. “I'm not!”
“Okay,” Clay said simply. “I’ll let Leon know you refused. You can take it up with him or one of the others. They were the people who assigned you here, not me. If you're not working, get back aboard the Cougar. Don't touch anything, just sit there.”
Bonham had taken a step toward the vehicle before Clay's words had registered. She stopped, remembering how their meeting with the 'committee' the day before had gone. She looked at Clay, her face red.
“That's not fair!” she complained.
“Life ain't fair,” he shrugged. “Really nothing I can do about that.” He didn't say anything else, waiting for her to make her decision. Finally, she realized that it was either do what she had been told, or risk being forced to leave. She turned to find Ellen Kargay already carrying smaller furniture out alone, ignoring her assigned partner and getting to work.
“Everyone else is working,” Clay said. “If you're not going to help then get back aboard where you're at least not in the way. Just standing there you become a liability we don't need.”
Bonham's face reddened once more at his words, but she abruptly began stomping her way over to where Ellen was already moving back inside, following her into the house.
Clay shook his head and made another visual sweep of the area around the house.
-
“You wanted to see us, Dad?” Gordon said as he and Jose entered his father's home.
“No, not at all,” Leon's sarcasm was thick. “I always send busy people to look for others just so I can have company.”
“Dad, I got a lot to do today,” Gordon sighed. “This isn't helping.”
“Fair enough,” Leon nodded. “Titus Terry was telling me about a family they ran into on that first patrol they did. Before the fire?”
“The Talbots,” Jose nodded. “Couple, three children. All school age, I think. What about them?”
“Gordon, do you know them by chance?” Leon asked.
“You remember their first names?” Gordon asked Jose, frowning in thought.
“Charles and... Dee,” Jose remember finally. “Little older than me probably, but not much.”
“I don't know him well, but I know who he is,” Gordon nodded slowly. “He moved into the old Beckham place when Humphrey died and Phyllis decided to move to Gatlinburg. He farmed the place more like a hobby farmer than anything, as I recall. I remember he was an associate professor at both Columbia State and MTSU.”
“Really,” Leon was interested now. “What did he teach?”
“I'm sorry Dad, I don't know,” Gordon admitted. “Never came up. I actually heard him telling someone else that up at Rose's diner over breakfast one morning.”
“Oh well,” Leon sighed. “What was your take on them, Mister Juarez?” Leon asked.
“Just Jose is fine, sir, or Pancho,” the former soldier smiled. “Seemed sharp enough. His wife asked to come with us but our SOP was to pretend we were just living and moving as we could, so we couldn't take on anyone. We did promise to put their names to people who might be interested. We were full up at the time.”
“I wish we knew what else he did,” Leon mused. “What he taught. He might be useful. Wife might be helpful, too. You think they're still there?” he asked Jose.
“Sir, I can't even guess at that,” Jose admitted. “We left them some seed and equipped them with weapons stripped from their attackers, though. If they weren't facing anything serious they should probably be okay.”
“I see,” Leon nodded. “How mad do you think Clayton would be if I asked for another outing today?” he asked suddenly.
“I'd imagine he could bite a nail in half,” Gordon shrugged. “But if you ask him, I'd also imagine he'd do it.”
“It would actually need to be Jose that did it, I imagine,” Leon said after a minute. “Maybe take some of the boys that saved them. I would think they'd remember that kind of thing, yeah?”
“I'd about bet on it, sir,” Jose agreed. “I can take Nate and Tandi, plus Kade and Titus. Or maybe just Tandi,” he mused. “Are you wanting to go and meet him yourself?”
“Wanting to? No,” Leon sighed. “But I imagine I need to. This would be a good time for them to visit, too. Wouldn't it?”
“Honestly, yeah,” Jose admitted. “See us having a shindig and all.”
“Yeah, let’s plan to head over there after lunch,” Leon said finally. “And I want to have that truck on standby in case they decide they want to come here. No sense carrying it until we speak to them. And I hate to lead 'em on any. Just talking to them like we're interested will be more than enough to do that, I'd imagine.”
“I'm sure of it,” Jose nodded. “I don't know if they'd be any effective use, but they did seem like good folks.”
“He can drive a tractor,” Gordon mentioned. “That's a help right there. If he can plant and harvest, work a farm, then he'd be an asset around here. With another man doing that, Clayton could concentrate more on his other duties and not worry about those time
s as much.”
“Now there is a thought,” Leon nodded. “Maybe we ought to take that truck after all,” he said, clearly thinking it over. “Tell you what. Let’s plan on doing just that. If Ellen don't mind,” he added. “Let’s get a team together that ain't had to be out already today if we can. Three or four good, stout folks to help load their belongings up if they decide to join us. One of them empty cabins is a two story, right? Got a pair of rooms down and two more up?”
“Yes,” Gordon nodded. “The other is just one level.”
“We can put the Webb kids in the two story then,” Leon decided. “I told 'em they could take both, but there's seven of them and four rooms. The boys can pair off and so can the girls. It’ll be close but they're used to that. Okay, we got ourselves the start of a plan, anyway. Plan on me and Brick traveling with you, preferably in the over-sized Jeep instead of that other thing.”
“It's called a Hummer, sir,” Jose grinned. “And we’ll get that organized for you. Anything else?”
“No, I don't think so,” Leon shook his head slowly. “Gordon, I appreciate your input here,” he added, surprising his son. “I had ignored the farm experience altogether since we had it covered. Didn't consider how hard that was on Clayton. Thank you.”
“Of course, Dad,” Gordon smiled. “Anything else you need while we're here?”
“Nah,” Leon waved. “Go on back and cook us a beef,” he chuckled. “I’ll be glad to have some.”
-
“Seven hours and fifteen minutes,” Angela sighed as they loaded five more loaves into the clay oven. “At that rate we really will be taking the last loaves out of the oven even as people are eating the first ones.”
“Can we get another loaf inside there?” Alicia asked. “Maybe one more won't add to the time, but it would help us get done faster.”
“Maybe,” Angela was shaking her head slowly. “I don't know. We 'd have to arrange them different, I think. We can try.”
“Can I make a suggestion?” Lainie asked.
“By all means,” Angela nodded.
“We should talk to your children,” she told Alicia. “I would bet what's left of my life savings they thought of this.”