Chapter 9
Alex was dreaming. She was in her comfy bed at home and could hear her mother rattling dishes while making breakfast. She could smell coffee and their dog, Dawson, was barking.
“Mom, let the dog out!” she called, and it was the sound of her own voice that woke her. She had called out in her sleep. She tried to go back to sleep, to that warm feeling of being in her own bed but the dog was still barking. Opening her eyes and staring up at the roof of the tent, she was jolted by how bright it was. She scrambled for her watch and saw it was after seven. Doing the math, she realized that she had slept for more than ten hours. “Wow, I must have really needed that,” she thought.
Crawling out of the sleeping bag, putting on her boots and wondering why no one had woken her, it was as she went to unzip the tent flap that she saw Dara sleeping. Oh no, Dara was supposed to be on watch. Debating on whether to wake her or not, she heard someone cough outside and decided to go out first. As quietly as possible she let herself out of the tent and zipped it back up. Quinn was the only one up and out, so she went over to see what was going on. He had both of the trailers and all the saddle bags emptied out and was organizing their supplies.
“Good morning,” she greeted him, “I was going to do that this morning. Try to make it easier to find the stuff we need when we stop. Isn’t it kind of late? What happened to Dara taking the last watch?” she asked.
“Good morning to you too,” he smiled, handing her his coffee to share. “I woke up at five thirty and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I took over from her and she went back to bed. I thought we would have a later start today. Our bodies need time to adjust to all this biking.” The barking dog started up again and he turned to look that way.
“I didn’t notice any houses nearby last night, did you?” Alex asked him.
“No, and I still can’t see any. It’s coming from further down this road.” He frowned. There was an almost frantic tone to the barking and then it fell silent again.
Turning back to the piles of supplies, Alex was strangely pleased to see they had a six pack of toilet paper. Shrugging her shoulders, she started to organize with Quinn. She was happy to see all the things that Cooper had gotten at the store that would make things easier. When Quinn unearthed the cartons of cigarettes and condoms, Alex was quick to explain Cooper’s barter idea.
“He’s smart. I’m glad he’s with us. He thinks of things that the rest of us wouldn’t. It’s a real asset.” And then out of the blue, “Do you like him?” Quinn asked with penetrating blue eyes.
Alex was immediately flustered. “Sure, I mean yeah, he’s a great guy. I mean, it’s good he’s with us to help along the way. I’m going to make more coffee,” she stammered out and went to rush away to the stove, almost tripping over a pile of tarps.
When she got to the stove, she forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. She knew Quinn was still looking at her, unsatisfied with her answer. She wasn’t ready to think about Cooper that way, let alone talk to Quinn about it. She and Quinn had always had an underlining tension to their relationship. They often paired up on projects and in group situations but it had never developed into more than friendship. Alex shook her head in disbelief.
“The end of the world as we know it and I’m having boy problems,” she thought. “Really?”
Alex started to check on all the clothes she had hung up to dry last night and was happy that most were only damp around the seams. Her cargo pants were the worst, so she laid them out in a patch of sunlight and hoped for the best. The others started to emerge from their tents so she got busy making pancake mix up and decided to make a double batch so she could add ham to it for a lunch version. They could pack it to go in one of the disposable containers she had bought and it would make a ready lunch later on. As the first few cooked in the camp pan, she cut up the canned ham for the later batch. Every now and then, she lifted her head, looking in the direction the barking seemed to be coming from. Dishing up the first few plates, she noticed the others often looking that way as well.
After everyone had eaten, Cooper cleaned the pans, Josh started to take the tents down and Dara, Alex, and Quinn packed up and reorganized supplies into the trailers and saddlebags. They worked it out so everyone’s backpacks had their own personal supplies like extra clothes and toiletries as well as a small amount of dry food and water.
As they were putting their packs on and getting ready to head back to the highway, the barking changed to a mournful howl that Alex felt pierce her heart. It was the saddest sound. They got on their bikes and wheeled out to the side road that would take them back to the highway. Alex was in the lead and she came to a stop, looking in the direction they were meant to go, and then slowly looked the other way in the direction of the sad howling.
Everyone was looking at her expectantly. “I don’t know,” she said. “It feels like we should check… like we’re meant to check. I don’t know.” She frowned, feeling uncertain. “Something makes me feel like we have to. Do you guys understand?”
It was Cooper that broke the silence. “I always try and go with my gut feeling, so if yours is telling you we should go, then we should.” He looked to the rest for confirmation and they all nodded agreement.
“Okay, let’s go check on the sad dog but everyone be ready for trouble just in case,” Quinn warned.
So the group headed away from the highway and further down Ghost Road. It didn’t take long before they came over a rise and saw a square of trees planted around a house with a couple of outbuildings. There was a driveway with an open gate set ten feet off the road. It was hard to see the property with the trees surrounding it, but as they came even with the driveway, a Golden Retriever raced toward them. It stopped at the gate and started to bark and whine at them, doing the classic doggy ‘follow me’ dance at them and then turn back with an ‘are you coming’ look over its shoulder.
Josh joked, “Do you think its name is Lassie and Timmy’s in the well?”
“Ha ha, very funny, Josh,” Alex said sarcastically. “It definitely wants us to follow, so let’s go see,” she said as she started slowly down the driveway.
The dog took off ahead and cut towards the house across the lawn. As they got closer, they could see it was barking at them from beside a flower bush. There was a mound of dirt with a shovel sticking out of it and the dog was standing over a crumpled form of a man lying on the ground. Without hesitating, Alex dumped her bike and rushed toward the man. The dog’s whine changed to a growl and Alex dropped to her knees a few feet away at the warning.
“Oh, poor puppy, I’m so sorry. It’s okay, it’s okay now. We’ll help. Come here, baby.” Alex cooed to the dog and held out her hands in a non-threatening way. At the tone, the dog went to its belly and slid closer to her. Once it was close enough, the dog sniffed at her hands and with a whine, nudged under them so she could rub its head. Keeping up a steady stream of nonsensical baby talk, the dog was soon her best friend, and with a wagging tail, moved over so she could check on the man. Staying on her knees to keep the dog calm, she reached for the man and checked for a pulse.
“Good dog, what a good boy,” she told him as she felt the dog stiffen as she reached for his owner. He settled his body along the man and rested his head on the man’s chest, whining softly.
Alex guessed the man was in his sixties or early seventies. He had a weak pulse and was breathing shallowly. Alex smoothed back his white hair and felt his skin to be very dry. She dumped her backpack off and grabbed a water bottle and wash cloth out of it. Wetting the cloth, she wiped the man’s face down and squeezed a few drops into his mouth. The water seemed to bring him around some and he let out a groan so she squeezed more water out for him. The dog lifted his head and gave a half-hearted growl at something behind Alex. The man’s hand came up and rested it on the dogs back, calming it as his eyes fluttered open. When he seemed to focus on Alex, she gave him a reassuring smile.
“Hi, looks like you took a little fall h
ere. Can you handle some water?” she said brightly to keep him calm. He nodded, so Alex held the water bottle to his lips. “Not too much. Let’s save the heavy drinking for when you’re back on your feet,” she joked. Alex had volunteered at the senior’s home in her town and knew that fear and confusion was the first thing a person feels when they become aware after waking. She kept her tone light and fun so the man would know he was safe.
As he took sips from the bottle, she kept talking. “My name is Alex and your beautiful dog persuaded me and my friends to come and help you.” When he made an attempt to sit up, she braced herself behind him to help. “I’d like to get you out of the sun. Is it okay if some of my friends help?” The man looked past her to the group standing off to the side. They hadn’t wanted to upset the dog so they stayed back. He nodded again so Alex turned to her friends, “Cooper, can you grab a patio chair and put it in the shade, please? Josh, Quinn, will you help him into it?”
The dog started growling again as the boys approached and the man spoke for the first time, “Down boy, friends,” he commanded in a gruff voice. The dog instantly relaxed and started to wag his tail
With the boys on either side of the man, Alex backed out of the way and they guided him to the chair Cooper had retrieved. Now that the man had reassured the dog, it was busy running from person to person, sniffing them and getting petted. Alex looked around the lawn and realized what the mound of dirt was. She stepped closer and peered down into the hole beside it. A body wrapped in a white sheet lay at the bottom, waiting to be covered. She turned back to the man with a look of sadness. He was staring at the open grave, clutching the water bottle.
“My wife, she died yesterday,” he explained. “She was diabetic and had a fancy insulin pump. It stopped working with everything else. I walked to our neighbor’s house, four miles down the road, but they are away in Florida, visiting their son. I remembered Tom has an old 1950’s, restored farm truck and gave it a shot. Started up on the first try, but by the time I got back June had already passed. She loved those Oleander bushes, so that’s where I was going to lay her to rest. Started at first light this morning to beat the heat, and got her down in there, but when I climbed out I felt dizzy. Next thing I know, I’m lookin’ up at your pretty red hair,” he said weakly, his energy spent. He slumped to the side, barely staying in his chair.
Quinn helped straighten him up. “Sir, please let us help you finish that,” he solemnly told the man.
“Thank you, son, it’ll keep for a minute. Let’s just sit a spell and you kids tell me how you ended up here. Alex, you said your name is? Could you go in the house? There’s a pitcher of sweet tea on the kitchen table. Bring out some glasses and we’ll all have tea while I get my strength back and hear your story.”
“Yes, of course. I’ll be right back,” she said. With Dara in tow, she walked around the house to the front door.
The front driveway had been expanded for parking and there was a strange assortment of new and old vehicles parked there. A huge new motor home sat beside the garage with a newer truck parked in the garage. On the other side was an older, smaller Winnebago motorhome camper. Parked in front of the house was an antique forest green farm truck with wooden side boards enclosing the truck bed. It was shiny and looked well cared for. Alex could see a small barn further back on the property and she could hear the clucking of chickens and mooing of cows.
Beside the front door was a welcome sign that read, “Welcome to the Peterson’s, Luke and June.” The girls entered the dim farmhouse and walked into the kitchen. Dara collected glasses for all of them and Alex carried the pitcher of tea outside. As they came back around the corner, they heard Quinn telling Mr. Peterson about their trip so far and how they were going to keep heading north to Canada. Dara started pouring tea for everyone and passed Alex a glass to hand to Mr. Peterson. His hand shook as he reached for it and Alex had to steady it for him. Looking into his face, she could see he wasn’t doing very well. His skin had an unhealthy grey pallor to it.
“Sir, do you have any family nearby that could come and stay to help you?” she asked. They couldn’t leave this man alone in his poor condition.
With a resigned smile, he shook his head. “It’s just me and June here now. Both our boys live on the east coast. No one will be coming, besides, I don’t think I’ll be here much longer and to be honest, with my Juney gone, I don’t really want to stay.” When Alex tried to disagree, he waved her silent. “So, let’s talk turkey,” his voice getting firmer. “Your friend filled me in on where you’ve been and where you’re going. You seem like good kids, and if it was my boys stuck far from home, I’d want someone to help them. Biking all the way up to Canada is just plain crazy, even being young and full of get up. So you’ll load up those bikes and take Tom’s old truck. As a matter of fact, I never even thought to try the old camper. It’s an early seventies model so it just might work. I’ve kept it serviced and put new tires on it a few years back. I don’t know why we kept it after we bought that huge road hog. Lots of good memories, I guess. Anyway, there’s extra gas cans in the shed so you can siphon out the gas from the new truck and big motor home. They won’t be going anywhere so they don’t need the gas. You girls can get all the extra food we have put up in the basement. Take as much as you can fit and there will still be plenty left for me. I’ll just ask that you help me put June to rest and then you should be on your way.”
The life seemed to drain out of him as he finished what would be his last will and testament. The drinking glass slid from his hand and dropped to the grass. The dog let out a heartbreaking howl and Alex didn’t need to check his pulse to know he had gone to join his Juney.
No one moved or spoke for a while, just sitting and absorbing what had just happened. It was Josh who finally stood, and when Alex looked at him, she saw tears streaming down his face. He walked to the hole in the ground and in a raw voice asked, “Some help here guys?” and dropped down into the hole. “Let’s take her out and widen it so they can lie together.”
Cooper dropped in and it was with the greatest respect that Quinn, Dara, and Alex took the body and carried it over to lie beside Mr. Peterson’s chair. The boys took turns digging the hole wider and the girls went back into the house for a bedsheet. They got the man down and had him wrapped in the sheet by the time the grave was ready. After placing the bodies side by side, they filled the grave and stood around it in silence.
Alex dropped to her knees and placed her hand on the loose soil, “Thank you, Mr. Peterson, please thank your wife for us.” She rose and walked away. The others followed suit, all kneeling and thanking the man that had provided the way home for them.
Land A Stranded Novel Page 9