by A. R. Shaw
After dinner that night, while Tala and Graham were on watch, Ennis called all the children into the living area and told them stories about Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox.
When she learned of his ‘lessons’ Tala scoffed and told them there was a lot more they all needed to learn than American folklore, Ennis just scoffed right back. Mark was glad. He liked the old man and his tales.
Later, out of earshot, he explained to a wide-eyed Bang that a folklore meant a made-up story. He didn’t want the little guy scared witless of a giant man with an axe and a blue ox showing up when they were out in the woods working. Bang had already told them all about the Korean folklore, the Dokkaebi, which scared him, so Mark figured he’d also worry about this tall tale.
~ ~ ~
When he thought the boy was strong enough, Graham put Mark on his first nightshift and was damn glad he had. At Sheriff’s sharp bark, in response to the radio in the kitchen coming alive, he tumbled out of bed and asked Tala what was up.
Mark had reported seeing a canoe coming their way at two in the morning. He called in a 10-34 which meant trouble at this station and bypassed the 10-12 which meant visitors present, because this late at night, he figured these guys were up to no good anyway.
Graham thought the boy was maybe just seeing things or pulling a fast one, but he didn’t take Mark for a prankster and couldn’t take chances, either. He hurried and put on his coat and boots, grabbed his rifle and exited the cabin to find Tala running in his direction. Together, they went down the trail quietly until they heard unfamiliar voices.
As Tala had told him to, Mark stayed hidden in the tree stand. Graham’s heart nearly pounded out of his chest as the three men pulled up their canoe and silently moored it in the brush, out of sight but easy to get to. He and Tala crouched down and Mark could see the intruders were heavily armed and headed towards their camp. Graham heard the men coming up the trail so he put his arm around Tala’s waist and pulled her deeper into the woods out of sight. He held up one of his fingers to his mouth to show her to be quiet. He held her closer to his chest and could feel her pulse quicken to match his own. She, too, was suffering an adrenaline rush. He didn’t hear Mark’s voice so thought he hadn’t been discovered. Too risky to use the radios now, Graham didn’t dare make a noise which would expose Mark’s position with the strangers so close.
He aimed his weapon towards the men as they walked past on the trail, letting them think they were undetected. He wanted to stop them before they got too close to the cabin, but far enough from the lakeside in case they had reinforcements. One clumsy step in the brush at this distance would alert the intruders to their presence. After they’d passed them, Tala reached up to whisper in Graham’s ear. “They’re not Preppers.”
With the intruders safely out of earshot, he told her to go find Mark and to stay hidden unless he called her. Then he tightened his arm around her in a quick hug before releasing her, confused by why he felt the need to do that.
She touched his hand. “Stay safe,” she whispered and walked through the woods quietly to find Mark.
Graham picked his way through the trees, keeping an eye through the forest for the two strange men. He stopped at the edge, as the two got closer to the end of the trail.
“This was longer than I thought. Let’s just grab one of the girls and get the hell out of here,” one of the strangers said.
Knowing their intent now made Graham’s heartbeat even faster as the rage increased the adrenaline surge. Just as Graham lined the nearest one up in his sights, he heard Sheriff growl. One of the guys aimed his rifle at the dog and Graham changed his aim quickly and shot the man. He dropped, but the other two now knew his location and began shooting into the woods blindly.
Then Ennis began shooting towards the two remaining men, who made a hasty retreat back towards their canoe with Sheriff hot on their heels as they continued to shoot behind them. Graham ran through the woods, worried that Tala and Mark might be in the crossfire. The two strangers were long gone when they heard another shot coming from Ennis’s location. Graham startled Tala and Mark from behind, making Mark yell out, but no one heard him.
They watched the men paddle away towards the other end of the lake, silhouetted between dark water and a dim light from a sickle of waning moon, Sheriff barked his deep-throated warning from the shore. Graham walked Mark and Tala through the woods back to Ennis’s location where they saw him standing over the twice-shot intruder with Sheriff sniffing the dead body. “You two, go inside. I’ll be there in a minute,” he said so he could have a word with Ennis alone.
At least now, they knew where the enemy was coming from.
“He’s really dead now,” Graham said to Ennis.
“He was still breathin’ but not no more,” Ennis said.
“I heard them talking. They were coming for one of the girls,” Graham said, disgusted.
“That’s not going to happen,” Ennis growled through clenched teeth. He looked as furious as Graham felt. “You shouldn’t have let them get so far in,” he said.
“I had Tala in front of me and they were too close,” Graham defended himself.
“We have to come up with a better plan, Graham. They’ll be back for revenge now that we got one of theirs,” Ennis warned, “I know how dangerous idiots can be.”
“What the hell do we do with the body?” Graham asked, looking over the dead man. He bent to retrieve the dead man’s rifle and saw that he showed no signs of starvation, but smelled pretty bad.
Ennis kicked it. “I say we chop his…”
Graham stopped where this was going, “No, we’re not like them. Help me load it into the truck. I’ll dump it away from camp in the woods later.”
~ ~ ~
Once they put the intruder away, he went into the cabin, but Ennis stood guard while he talked to the others. He and Sheriff went in and Graham saw that, with all the commotion, everyone was awake now. Marcy was softly whimpering, scared to death while Macy tried to reassure her.
“Good job, Mark,” Graham said when he came in. He patted the young man on his shoulder. “That was exactly the right thing to do.”
“I should have shot them when I saw them coming in,” Mark said, his frustration clear in his voice.
“There were three of them and one of you, Mark. They would have killed you and then Tala before we had a chance to get into position. You did exactly the right thing here,” Graham reassured him again.
He knew the remaining intruders would be back, especially since he’d killed one of their own. He was angrier for the fact that they’d been watching them and they had the audacity to try to take, by force, one of them.
“Listen up. We got lucky just now. That was a close call. They’ll be back, though. Let’s get one thing straight right away. I made a mistake once before in not shooting a dangerous man and it cost us,” —he nodded at Marcy— “a lot more headaches later. If you have to shoot someone, shoot to kill. I should have already said that.
“We’ve been too complacent and this proves it. Those men have been watching us. Hopefully now, they realize we aren’t easy to tangle with but they will be back. We have things they want and now they’re angry they didn’t get it and lost one of theirs. We need to keep watching and change our locations so that they can’t detect us. For now, go back to bed and get some sleep, Tala, you too. I’ll handle watch from here tonight. I just want everyone inside, behind locked doors for the night.”
~ ~ ~
Graham, sitting in a chair in the living area, looked out the window and saw the first snowflakes drifting down as the ambient morning light just glided over the horizon, lighting the area in a dusky blue. Other than several deer munching on the frozen greenery which a light dusting of snow quickly covered, nothing more happened for several days, but he was pretty sure those men encamped across the lake hadn’t given up. At this point, Ennis was on watch from the blind by the water, and Marcy in the one near the road. Graham knew he should be sleeping, havi
ng just come in from his shift, but rest eluded him. He felt he had to stay here near the door… just in case.
Having the skittish deer there helped ease his fear that the intruders weren’t in the area at the moment. It gave him time to think, not only about the recent events, but also about his reaction to Tala while they were hiding in the dark.
He felt utterly ill-equipped to protect these people he’d somehow became responsible for and his attraction to Tala made things worse. He still loved his departed wife and couldn’t fathom his feelings for Tala. He hung his head from the weight of his thoughts.
He never heard her unless she wanted to be heard. She was talented like that. Now, he smelled her before he felt her hands wrap around his tired shoulders. She began to massage his tight muscles. Then she bent down and whispered, “I’ll take over now. You go to bed.”
He stopped the massage with his one free hand and gripped her, pulling her in front of him. He sat her on his lap and hugged her, burying his head into her thigh. She held him. He just needed to hold on to someone and told himself that it didn’t have to be Tala, that it could be anyone, except for maybe Ennis. At least, that’s what he tried to convince himself of. He missed his wife, who’d only passed a few months prior and he was ashamed of his reaction to Tala. It made him question the love he’d had for Nelly and that scared him, along with everything else these days.
“It’s all right, Graham. You’re just tired,” she said. In the morning light just peeking into the windows through the snow, she stroked his back and drew her hand through his thick hair, from the bottom of his neck up, making him sleepy. He wanted nothing more to than to stay like that for a long time.
He lifted his head and avoided her gaze. “I’m okay,” he said, “Thanks.”
She got up and walked over to retrieve her weapon. He walked past her into the bunkroom to rest while the others started a new day. She smiled at him as they passed and suddenly he knew she shared his feelings. He didn’t know if it made him feel better, or worse.
~ ~ ~
Graham wasn’t sure what the smell from the kitchen was, but it was good and his stomach growled, letting him know he’d neglected it. He rose from his top bunk and climbed down.
He went through his clothes. He needed to switch these out. Unlike the old days, they changed clothing only once or twice a week. Tala had to have a long conversation with the girls on the necessity of conserving their water. Getting them to wear their dirty clothes and shower less was a challenge. They, of course, had the opposite conversation with Bang and Ennis, trying to coerce them into taking a shower once a week because they both became ripe, quite quickly. Graham smelled his underarm and made a face to himself, deciding it was time for him to get cleaned up. He gathered his change of clothes and headed to the bathroom, only to find it occupied.
He wandered into the open dining area where whatever Tala was frying, proved to be the source of the tempting aroma. “What is that you’re cooking?” he asked. “It smells great and woke me out of a deep sleep.”
“It’s fried mystery meat,” she said with a quick, concerned look.
“What?” he asked.
“It’s the cougar meat. I think Bang will have a problem eating it,” she whispered.
“We should just be honest with him. If he doesn’t want it, he doesn’t have to but we don’t waste food ever, now,” he said.
“That’s probably for the best,” she agreed.
He saw that she had her hair hanging loosely in long glossy waves without the customary braid she usually wore. He wondered what it would be like to run his fingers through the soft strands. She noticed his intent gaze and went back to tending the skillet. She wore the white peasant blouse, tied with thin straps at her back. He had seen her in that on the night he first discovered her.
Crimson flushed her cheeks. At first, he thought the heat from the cooking caused it then realized he’d been staring too long, probably making her uncomfortable.
“Who’s on watch?” he asked her, trying to ease her discomfort while he waited on the bathroom occupant to vacate.
“Marcy and Mark at the lake and Macy and Bang at the entrance,” she answered.
“Well, that explains who’s in the bathroom,” he said and then added after thinking about it,
“Are you sure it’s okay to have those two on watch together? Mark and Marcy, I mean?”
“They’re fifteen and sixteen, Graham. They’re good kids,” she said.
“You taught second grade, right?” he asked, doubting her logic.
“Yeah, what’s your point?” she asked.
“I’ve been a sixteen year old boy. I think I’ll have a talk with Mark, just in case,” he said.
“That’s probably a good idea. It can’t hurt,” she said with a smile.
The bathroom door opened and out wafted a foul stench along with Ennis. Graham grumbled at the old man, waved his arm up and down, and made a show of holding his breath as he puffed his cheeks out.
“What did you do in there?” Graham asked him.
“None of your business. Wait till you get old,” Ennis said, frowning at his tormentor.
Graham looked at Tala and made a big show of holding his breath again before entering the bathroom, causing her to laugh. He liked the sound of it. He turned on the hot water to help disguise the stink he was trapped in.
~ ~ ~
“Are you feeling all right, Ennis?” Tala asked in all seriousness.
“Yeah, I’m a tough old bird,” he said and pulled out his whittling knife and picked up his current project, taking it into the living room to work on, dropping the shavings into a bucket. They’d later be put to good use.
Tala watched him from the kitchen. She knew the cold was getting to the old man and instead of working on the porch where he had more light, she noticed him hanging around the woodstove more. She would have to mention something to Graham about relieving Ennis from watch duty. It wouldn’t be good for him to get pneumonia from being outdoors. He was clearly into his late seventies or early eighties. She wasn’t sure which but knew he couldn’t regulate his temperature like the rest of them. She hoped he would make it through the winter, but noting how he moved through the room, in pain from arthritis, she knew the freezing temperatures would not help.
Graham emerged from the shower with business on his mind. He’d decided, he announced, it was really too risky to have the girls on watch by the lake. He and the boys would have to take turns there. He’d also stored extra ammo down there in case there was ever an instance when he needed to engage them extendedly.
Tala watched him tug on his boots after he piled his dirty clothes in the area she’d designated for that. In answer to the question she hadn’t asked, he said, “Going to make a patrol of the perimeter then along the road a bit, looking for tracks in the snow. I’ll take the Scout.”
“Are you going to scavenge while you’re out?” she asked.
“I wasn’t planning on it. I don’t want to leave camp for long. Why, do you need anything?” he asked her.
“I was just thinking we really need to find vegetable seeds at some point. We’re going to need to start some come February,” she said.
Ennis piped up, “That is a good idea.”
“Well, let’s write a list and make a plan, but for today, I want to stick close to home. I’m taking Bang with me on my way out,” Graham said.
~ ~ ~
As he and Bang drove down the icy road, they slid briefly once they turned off on the main road. Graham put the truck into four-wheel drive and Bang really enjoyed the ride.
Graham pulled off the side of the road where a few homes were farther down the street. This was near where he’d pulled the dead guy out of the back of the bed by sliding him along on the top of the tarp. Bang had been with him, then, too. Graham had been careful to explain to Bang what had taken place and what they were doing with the body then.
Now, when he pulled over near that spot, more to check and see if
animals had continued the disposal than for any other reason, Bang looked a little apprehensive. Maybe it was because the child’s nerves were on edge, but suddenly he snapped his bow into place and was about to loose an arrow when Graham stopped him. Bang was about to shoot a real chicken. A hen, to be exact. After a stealthy search, they found several more chickens taking refuge on the forest floor, pecking for grubs and grains. They devised a snare and captured five of them, stuffing them into the cab of the truck. It was an interesting drive back home with five unruly chickens fearing for their lives. It proved to be great entertainment for the boy.
Once they got back, Tala was delighted at the prospect of future eggs.
She sat the guys down for dinner after they washed up. As the chicken fried cougar meat was passed to Bang, he looked at it suspiciously. Graham looked at the boy and though he was tempted to lie, he told him the truth but added that he didn’t have to eat it but it would be good for him if he did. To Graham’s surprise, the boy stabbed a piece with his fork, drew it through his instant mashed potatoes and bit into it. He chewed a few times, pronounced it good, and asked for seconds. Since there were none left, Graham gave him his last piece, knowing the boy deserved it.
~ ~ ~
When Graham and Tala resumed watch, Ennis and the others devised a chicken coop out of the old shed that sat upon concrete bricks which served no real purpose after his father had built a new one, which was designated the new chicken coop. It used to serve various kinds of tools useful in digging ditches and chopping trees. Graham’s dad once said it owed its existence as a compromise between his grandfather and grandmother. After she’d argued, even though they were in a cabin, it wasn’t a barn and he couldn’t leave his axes in the kitchen where his aunt accidently backed into one, slicing her young heel wide open on the blade. This incident resulted in a trip for several stitches into the next town where there was a resident doctor, late one dark, windy night.
To make the chicken coop secure, Ennis had the boys right it and brace it up the leaning side. They swept it out and wiped out the cobwebs surrounding the two small windows that let in light. They cut a hole into the door and made a little ramp that led into it. Then they installed three branches to use as dowels, setting each at varying heights for the birds to roost on. At the far end, they put wood shavings down for bedding, which they had plenty of, thanks to Ennis’s woodwork. On the shelves and floor, they put more, hoping the chickens would lay eggs there.