August 14
Ken and Karen drove over at ten o’clock. We had already discussed they should take the Moose Creek Law Enforcement car. It might give them an edge in a tight spot.
With Eric and Emilee in our car we all stopped at the gate for passes. I was surprised to find Col. Andrews waiting for us.
“I should have called before you came all the way in. My apologies,” he said. “I’m afraid I must ask you to not shop today. You created quite a stir yesterday and the news spread like wildfire about all the money you spent. I can’t guarantee your safety. The rumor is you’re going to buy up what little food is available.”
I was stunned.
“Doesn’t us spending money help the economy of the people still here?” I asked. “What if we don’t buy any food? Only clothes and other stuff?”
Andrews hesitated.
“Are there any garage sales or resale shops? Spending at those would help those people directly. Please, Colonel, just a few hours. The two children are growing so fast.”
“Colonel Andrews?” Emilee piped up from the back seat. “Can I get an ice cream cone before we have to go back home?”
“Only if you let me buy it for you,” he relented, smiling at her.
~~~
At home, we sorted through the bags of clothes we bought at a couple of yard sales. One place in particular had a table full of girl’s clothes that fit Emi. The woman told me her daughter had died in the last bout of flu. She seemed drained of emotions, yet so sad. I made a deal with her and I thought she was going to cry when I bought all the clothes for three hundred dollars. Another stop had some jeans that would fit Emi next year. Another deal, another happy person. Though that was it for shopping.
JOURNAL ENTRY: August 19
The power has been back on for one week, so I took the chance and filled and started up the hot tub. Eric carefully sliced the plastic sheeting in two places, folding the covering on top and out of the way. It could be repaired later, but for now I wanted to gaze out over my woods like everything was normal.
*
I tipped the lid over, removed my robe, and slid into the hot, steaming water. I know I sighed out loud. I sat with my eyes closed for several minutes, relishing the heat and the pulsing liquid surrounding me. The sun was beginning to set, though still above the horizon. I looked out over the creek valley and a movement caught my attention. Bright hunter orange flickered in the light breeze; a marker Eric had left for a hunting blind two years ago, now tattered by time.
I watched the slight movement of the plastic tape wrapped around a mid-sized tree, and my vision also caught a movement to my left, then another to my right: a slow, creeping, stealthy movement, like leaves and twigs shifting in the wind. The longer I concentrated, the more I could make out the expertly camouflaged shapes of humans when they moved.
I stood, letting the water slide off my naked body. I moved deliberately, stepping out of the tub and picking up a towel I had laid across a chair. There was no further movement, not until I reached for my robe and I caught the slight advance.
I opened the door and stepped inside. I casually dropped the blinds over the picture window and that’s when I broke into a run.
I grabbed the FRS radio and hit speak.
“Hey, boys, the west is looking a bit active, there might be some storm clouds branching out. It looks like rain could be here really soon. You might want to get those two sheets off the line,” I said calmly, knowing they would understand the code: that I’d seen two hostiles.
“Thanks, Mom, we’ll get the laundry in,” Eric responded with another code, an acknowledgement of my message.
“What is that all about, Allex?” Mark asked as I hurriedly pulled on some clothes.
“We’ve got at least two people approaching from the woods, heavily camouflaged.”
“Maybe they’re lost,” he ventured.
“Mark, no one comes in like that, clad in ghillie suits, unless they mean to take us by surprise, and surprise is not friendly.” I picked up my M-14 and checked the magazine. “I know you don’t like guns, so if you’re not going to use one, please stay out of the way.” I looked at his startled expression. “Mark, I don’t want you hurt in any way. We need you. I need you.” I gave him a quick kiss.
He laid his hand on my shoulder. “I understand, Allex. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Yes, you can watch out the back window and look for any movement. Let me know if you see anything, anything at all.”
Eric quickly made his way across the road in his limping gait, his AR15 held in both hands. Without stopping to talk, he climbed the construction ladder that was still in the front of the house from when he was working on the roof. Fortunately it was out of sight from the invaders coming from the back. Maybe we should leave it there.
Eric, Jason, and I had discussed different possibilities and the codes we would use in the event our radio signal was being intercepted. Any attack from the west was coming from the woods, and whoever it was would have to descend into the creek valley before making the final assault. That’s when they would be the most vulnerable and when Eric’s sniper talents would be the most logical to utilize.
Meanwhile, Jason would guard Amanda and the kids by getting them into the basement, then perching himself in an upstairs window that had been recently reinforced with the metal targets to protect the shooter. He had an excellent view of the street and three sides of the house.
I had the position of taking out anyone that made it past Eric. I knelt down beside the picture window in the living room and slid open the recently redesigned window panel. Eric had replaced the six twelve inch square panels of glass that decorated the sides of the larger pane. The new reflective one-way mirrors provided a good view without being seen, and the two lower ones slid open to provide a spot to insert a rifle barrel. I would never again question their foraging! Mark stood behind one side of the large window, watching. It was comforting to have a second pair of eyes.
We didn’t wait for long. A shot rang out from overhead, and I saw a body tumble down the hill into the creek. Seconds later another shot, but I couldn’t see where it landed. I heard a dull thump as a round hit the side of the house. A muffled shot came next and I saw a camo-clad body fly backward from this side! Somehow one of them had made it across the creek and came up from the south, concealed by the hill and the southern end of the house, though not concealed from Jason. This was followed by a barely audible “Fall back!” and we saw three more stand to retreat, which was then followed by three more shots.
Then we waited again.
Mark looked over at me. “Are we just going to sit here?”
“Yes. It could be a ruse. We wait until Eric comes down. This is his forte, so his decision. I know it isn’t easy, but we’re up against professionals and we can’t afford to make mistakes. Fortunately, we have our own professional sitting on the roof, and he’s highly motivated.”
Ten minutes later we could hear quiet movement overhead, and then heard the rattle of Eric descending the metal ladder.
“Good shot, bro,” Eric said into the FRS to his brother.
“No problem,” Jason responded.
I turned to Mark to explain, but Eric beat me to it.
“That is my signal to Jason to keep watching, and his that he understands,” he said.
“What if those men are still alive?” Mark asked, still looking a bit pale.
I had to stifle my smile when Eric raised an eyebrow and said, “Doubtful. I will check when we recon and collect weapons.”
Ten minutes later, after no movement at all, Mark, Eric, and I went to check on those that were shot, while Jason stood guard on the side of the hill. There were five on the west side of the creek, one of whom had tumbled and was lying half in the water. We pulled him out first.
“He’s dead,” Mark announced after looking for a pulse.
Eric handed me the M-4 that was lying alongside the body and yanked the dog tags from
around his neck, which I pocketed.
The next three were also dead. I knelt beside the body of the fourth one and pushed to turn him over. As I did, his arm came free and he jabbed at me with a very wicked looking knife. The blade sliced into the soft tissue of my upper arm as I tumbled backward. At first there was no pain, no sensations at all, and then it built like a blazing fire. Eric was closest and he shoved the barrel of his AR15 into the gunshot wound that was bleeding profusely on the soldier’s other shoulder. The pain must have been intense; the soldier’s eyes rolled back in his head and he slumped.
“Allex!” Mark screamed. He was only a few steps away, though it felt like a mile to me. I’ve been hurt before, but nothing like this. My vision swam and I closed my eyes to block the sudden vertigo.
~~~
I woke on my back, staring at the ceiling tiles in the kitchen, thinking I needed to repaint soon. I closed my eyes again and thought that was stupid, I had just painted a few months ago after John left. Then it all came rushing back and my eyes flew open. I tried to sit up.
“Easy, Allex, you don’t want to rip the stitches,” Mark said quietly. It soothed my mind to know he was here.
I took a couple of deep breaths and opened my eyes yet again, focusing on Mark’s smiling yet serious handsome face. I smiled back.
“That’s better. Let me help you sit up,” Mark slipped his strong arm under my shoulders and lifted me. My left arm was bandaged almost to my elbow and it ached fiercely.
“Oh, we ruined my shirt!” I lamented. “I really liked this one.” Again, I thought that was a stupid thing to think.
“Well, it’s good to see Mom is back,” Jason joked, and then got serious again. “How are you feeling?”
I looked around the room. Mark, Jason, Eric, Ken, and Karen were all there, looking afraid.
“I guess I should have kicked him over instead of pushed, huh?” I tried to smile. “Where is he? I hope you didn’t bring him in the house!”
“No, Mom, Ken has him tied to a tree,” Eric replied. “Mark insisted on treating his gunshot wound, though agreed to do it without any painkillers.”
I looked at my husband, and he shrugged. “We’ve already called Colonel Andrews and he’s on his way,” Mark said, flicking his little penlight in my eyes.
“His dog-tags say his name is Ken Krause, and that he’s from a Virginia battalion,” Eric informed me. “I did manage to get a few things out of him before he clammed up. His CO is General Marlow.”
“That’s interesting…”
Two vehicles pulled into the driveway. Colonel Andrews got out of the Hummer, and two uniformed soldiers got out of the canvas-covered transport.
Colonel Andrews let himself into the kitchen like a regular visitor.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asked, then turned to Mark. “How is she, Doctor?” He turned again, to Eric this time, “What happened?”
I looked at the worried man in front of me. “I’m okay, though my arm hurts like hell.”
“The stab wound was long but not deep, and not life-threatening. I put in ten internal stitches, and twenty external,” Mark reported. “If she hadn’t moved, she would have been hit in the chest and died. This soldier was looking for a kill.”
Eric reported the events up to and including the preliminary interrogation. He handed Colonel Andrews a fist full of dog tags, saying, “We’re keeping the weapons, Sir, especially the knife. My mother has earned the right to keep it.”
“No argument there, son.” He looked at me, somber and apologetic. “Allexa, I’m really sorry this has happened. I’m very close to catching the head of this mess. It will be over soon, I promise.”
After his men put the bodies in the back of the transport truck, and shackled the prisoner in the Hummer, with one standing guard, the Colonel came back into the house.
“May I speak to the two of you privately?” he asked. The others stepped outside, leaving Mark and I with the colonel.
“I believe this General Marlow is deeply involved. He was the only one I told that Kathy had been released from the hospital and was coming here to recuperate,” he informed us, “and for some reason he wants her dead. I think he was behind the first attack too, and was only half successful when she lived. I’m not sure how you tie in, Ma’am.” He paced the floor a bit, while we waited for him to continue.
“Where is Kathy really?” I asked.
“She’s in the hospital under a false name.”
“Can I see her?”
“Perhaps tomorrow,” he said as he walked out the door.
~~~
Mark changed my bandages before we settled in for the night. The bleeding had stopped, and my upper arm was swollen and ungodly sore. I just wanted to sleep.
August 20
We rode the elevator to the eighth floor of the hospital and stepped out into silence. The overhead lights flickered in the ever-present dimness.
“No one knows Kathy’s here, and no one except Andrews knows we’re here. I think I’m safe,” I said to Mark. “Andrews said he’d meet us in the waiting room. Why don’t you find him, while I sit with Kath a bit? See you in a few minutes.”
I gave Mark a quick kiss and a reassuring smile and slipped into Kathy’s private room, where she was lying quietly in her bed. I started over to her when something made contact with the back of my head and everything faded.
When I came to, my arms were held fast to the arms of a chair with surgical tape and Dr. Denise Streiner was throwing water in my face.
“Oh, come on, I didn’t hit you that hard. Wake up!” she snarled at me.
I opened my eyes and saw the scalpel in her hand. She gave me a vicious grin when I recognized my peril.
“That’s better,” she said, pacing nervously around the room. “And don’t bother yelling, no one will hear you anyway.”
“How did you know Kathy was here? No one was supposed to have that information except the colonel.” I noted Dr. Streiner’s rumpled smock and disheveled blonde hair.
“Don’t be silly, I work here. All information about all patients is mine for the asking,” she stated as though I was stupid. “I popped in to say hello to the new patient and guess what? It was Kathy, hiding out. She thought I was in on the deception.”
“What do you want from me, Denise?”
She laughed. “Your husband of course. With you out of the way, he will be free to come to me.”
“You kill me and he will hate you forever,” I spat.
“Oh, I’m not going to kill you, General Marlow will do that. I might hurt you a little though. See, he wants Kathy out of the picture and I want you out. Of course, he wants you dead too, for what you did to his brother, and we’re helping each other here.” Her explanation made little sense.
“But you saved Kathy,” I said, watching her circle my chair.
“Yeah, I did, but I took it back. Ever do that as a kid? Take back something once you realized you shouldn’t have done it?” Her voice rose and fell in the cadence of a mad person.
“What do you mean?” I looked over at Kathy.
“Don’t worry, it was painless. I gave her a little overdose of morphine, that’s all. She slipped away quietly,” Denise said, shrugging her shoulders.
“You killed her?” I gasped, a sob escaping from my throat.
“I had to! She was the last one who could expose Marlow.” She sat down on the end of the bed, shifting the scalpel from one hand to the other. “See, Hank Marlow isn’t really a general. He’s just a bottom-rung sergeant, but when his unit was wiped out from the flu and he lived, he promoted himself. No one knew the difference. No one except Bob and Kathy. Bob used to do Hank’s taxes, so it was only a matter of time that he would be found out.” She smiled happily, insanely. “That’s all taken care of now. Of course, now you know too, and that won’t matter once Hank gets here.”
“I know why you want me dead, Denise, but why does Marlow?” I didn’t know if keeping her talking would make any difference, bu
t I had to try. “If I’m going to die, at least tell me why.”
She jumped down from the bed in anger, her knuckles going white as she gripped the knife tightly. “Why?? You killed his brother, that’s why! After all the trouble he went through to get his brother on that prison work crew last winter, you killed him. He’s really pissed at you for that, you know. His brother was supposed to slip away and stay hidden for a few days, and he went on that little escapade instead,” Dr. Streiner growled at me. “I wonder what’s keeping him?”
“Little escapade? Those men killed and brutalized dozens of people! Including my own brother!” I threw back at her.
“Whatever.” She walked over to me and looked at the bandages on my arm. “Aw, does that hurt?” She squeezed my arm.
“AHHH!” I moaned out loud and she walked away, ignoring me.
“Where is he? I can’t wait around all day! I have surgery in a half hour!” She looked at her watch. “I guess I’ll have to kill you myself.”
“You’re insane; you know that, don’t you?”
“Maybe a little, but some comfort from that hunky husband of yours and I’ll be just fine! Maybe I’ll mess up that nice skin of yours first. Mark won’t like you all scarred up.” She nicked my left cheek with the tip of the blade and I felt the blood run. She came at me again and drew a line down my jaw with surgical precision. I could feel the blood start to drip. I moaned from the pain, then I kicked at her with my foot, and scooted the chair backwards.
“Ouch! Now stop that!” she screamed at me.
The door burst open. “Thank you for the confession, Dr. Streiner,” Colonel Andrews said, his gun aimed at her. “Marlow is already in custody and now that little speech of yours ties up all my loose ends perfectly.”
The Journal: Crimson Skies: (The Journal Book 3) Page 7