Fifty Falling Stars

by Wesley Higginbotham

  Late that evening, Will sat on a rock, high on a hillside overlooking the I-40 interstate to the north. They weren’t close to the interstate, but he could make out a few abandoned cars sitting where their drivers had left them. The fading sunlight gleamed off of their windshields and metallic bumpers. The rest of the family made camp on the south side of the hill. Will tried to be strong for his family. He had tried to comfort Jenny as she cried. The woman she had killed that afternoon had been her first. He hoped she would also be her last. Will had tried to tell her that it was ok, that she had done the right thing. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make her believe. She continued to cry, dealing with the guilt that she would bear for the rest of her days. Maybe Will couldn’t convince her because it was hard to convince someone of something that you had lost faith in.

  Images, forever seared into his memory, of the pregnant woman clutching her swollen belly flashed in his mind every time he closed his eyes. He couldn’t take any more failed attempts to reassure Jenny. He left her in the care of Chuck and Joey. Maybe Joey would know what to say to her. Will just needed to be alone, to go somewhere to reflect on what he had done and what they had to do next. That was how he ended up sitting on this damned rock, starring out over the Tennessee hills as the first stars appeared in the sky.

  He heard a rustle in the grass and the snap of a twig as someone approached behind him. He didn’t bother to look back. He assumed it was one of the family. Maybe it was the man whose baby he had killed, come to take revenge. He didn’t care either way. He watched the surrounding countryside fade from dark shades of green to deep colors of purple and black as the day gave way to night. George sat down next to him on the rock.

  “You been up here by yourself for a while.” George said. “You ok?” Will didn’t answer.

  “You upset about Jenny having to kill that woman?” George asked. Will shook his head.

  “Man, ever since we were kids, we’ve been best friends. I know when something’s eating at you. What’s the matter?”

  Will kept looking out at the darkening countryside. “I killed her.”

  “Who? The woman out back? That was Jenny. You don’t have any blame for that.”

  “Not her.” Will said. “The pregnant lady and her baby.”

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean you killed her?”

  “While the rest of you were escaping out the back, the two men who had been in the front yard ran up to the house. I almost emptied my magazine on them. I just shot recklessly out the front door.”

  “Yeah, we heard you as we were trying to get out. I was about to come back in and help when you came through the kitchen door.”

  “Yeah, well, I turned back to make sure that they weren’t barging in the house, and I saw her. Jesus, George, she was sitting in the front yard screaming. Just screaming and holding the hole where her baby had been.”

  “Are you sure it was you?” George asked. “They were shooting at the house. Maybe one of her own hit her.”

  “I don’t think so. I wish I could believe that, but the way she was hit… I’m pretty sure it was me.” The men sat on the rock in silence for a few minutes. Will looked George. “I’ve killed folks before. It never really bothered me. They deserved it. At least that’s what I believed. But how do you live with yourself when you’ve killed a baby that hasn’t even been born? It was hard enough to eventually justify the others that I’ve killed, but I did it. I just don’t know how to go on, knowing that I killed a little baby that hadn’t done anything to deserve it.” He reached up and wiped away a tear with the back of his hand.

  George just looked at his cousin for a moment. “Man, it may have been your bullet that killed her and the baby. It might not. But one thing’s for certain, you didn’t put her in danger to begin with. You didn’t set her in the middle of a firefight. You didn’t lead a group to come steal from someone and bring her along.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that too, running it over and over in my mind ever since we left. No one would do that. Maybe the guy was telling the truth? Maybe he was just trying to find a way to feed his family? If that’s the case, then I can’t even use that to come to terms with what I did.”

  “Just to be clear, you didn’t aim at her. It was an accident. Right?” George asked.

  “Of course I didn’t aim at her!”

  “Easy, bro. I’m just clarifying the facts. So, you didn’t aim at her and you didn’t bring her there. If they weren’t going to attack us, why did they send someone around the side of the house?”

  “Maybe they were just trying to make sure it was secure. I don’t know. But I do know that everything didn’t go to shit until Joey shot at her.” Will said.

  “Ok, even if they weren’t going to attack, the guy leading the group was stupid to bring up a pregnant lady that close to an unknown group. Man, we were scarred. They were scared. In times like this, you have to almost expect things to go wrong with people so on edge. I mean, look at us. We were at each other’s throats yesterday, over just words. Poorly chosen and timed words, but still, just words.

  “Given all that went down, I don’t think you can blame yourself for her death. It was just an unfortunate chain of events… But I can tell you something. We need you. You’re our chief, bro, and we need you back.” George finished.

  “How the hell did I end up being our leader anyway?”

  “I think it was when you talked Jenny into leaving and going to the camp house. Ever since then, you’ve made decisions for us and have done a pretty good job so far.”

  “How can you say that? All I’ve done has been to get us run off from the cabin, trekking through the woods with hardly anything, and now I’ve gotten us kicked out of the new house. How the hell can you still have faith in someone who fucks up that bad?” Will asked.

  “I don’t think those things were your fault. Shit happens. I can tell you this. I don’t think we’d be half as good off as we would be if we hadn’t had you making those decisions. I think everyone else feels the same way. Sure, we got run out of the cabin, but if you hadn’t made us leave, we’d probably have ended up dead. We need you back, brother… So, what do we do now?”

  “I don’t know.” Will said.

  “Any thoughts?” George prodded.

  “I’m tired of running into hostile groups. I think we have to get as far away from folks as possible. Every time we end up meeting someone, things seem to get shitty.”

  “That’s not entirely true.” George said. “We did pretty good the first time we went to town. We did pretty good with Old Jeff and his folks.”

  “Yeah, but the last couple of times have been pretty bad.”

  “Ok. So, how are we going to get away from everyone?” George asked.

  “If I remember correctly, up there above the I-40 is a wildlife refuge. Catoosa Refuge or something like that. I think we should head as deep into the woods as we can and see if we can set up there.”

  “You think we can find a cabin or something up there?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m tired of running. Maybe if we can get way back in the woods, we’ll have a chance to make a home and not run anymore.”

  “Yeah. I’m tired of running too.”

  “Our problem is that our group’s too small.” Will said. “We simply don’t have enough people to fight off even small groups of folks. We could handle a couple of people at a time, but anything over about five people will match us.”

  “How do we fix that?” George asked.

  “We either need to avoid all people as much as we can or join a larger group. Like you said earlier, it’s going to be hard to join up with other people with everyone being on edge. “

  “Well, it’s getting late. We need to get back and let everyone know we’re heading north tomorrow.”

  The next sunset found Will, again sitting on the side of a large hill, looking out to the north. They had coved a lot of ground. Will guessed they might have gone as far as fifteen, maybe
even twenty miles north. The weather had been clear all day and looked like it would continue into the night. The ATV’s had run low on gas, so they loaded their remaining gear on one. They drained the gas from and ditched the other. They passed several abandoned lake houses on their trip. They avoided them as best they could, just in case they might be occupied. If they didn’t find anything better, they might circle back around and observe one of the more remote ones for activity and maybe make it their new home.

  Will heard Joey and George approaching him. He was glad they had made up. Well, made up may have been a stretch, but at least they were civil to each other. “What you thinking about?” Joey asked as the two men reached Will.

  Will thought telling Joey about the woman. So far, that was just between him and George. Maybe that’s for the best. Will thought. “Just thinking about how far north we need to go to get away from folks. To tell the truth, I’m surprised we didn’t see anyone on the I-40 or around the houses we passed.”

  “They may have been hiding, hoping we’d just pass by.” George said.

  “Maybe.” Joey agreed.

  “What brings you two up here?” Will asked.

  “Dad’s pretty much got the camp set for tonight down by the creek. He’s got a fire going and the ladies already have a good start on supper. So, we figured we’d come up here and see if we could get a signal.” Joey said as he pulled out the old CB radio.

  “You really expect to get anything?” Will asked.

  George shrugged his shoulders. “Not really, but who knows. The only sure-fire way not to get anything is to not turn the damned thing on. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Besides, it’d be nice to know if there are people around using these things.”

  Joey hooked the radio to the battery he had scavenged from the discarded ATV and turned it on. Nothing but dead air. The men sat around and made plans for their day. They discussed where they should go, possibilities for finding a place to settle, and what to do if they ran into another group of people.

  A crack of static burst forth from the radio and cut off all conversation. A voice struggled to be heard through the static. “….Clay count….iff’s office… Status ch….surro….ties…” Static overcame the voice before the transmission stopped. Joey looked at the CB, trying to get the signal back. It wasn’t the signal that had died. The old CB had quit working. The battery might be dead. He didn’t know.

  “What was that?” George asked.

  “It sounded kinda like the calls that we used to get back at the cabin.” Will said.

  “Did it say Clay County?” Joey asked.

  “I think so.” George said. “Either of you two know where that is?”

  “I think it’s up round the Kentucky border.” Will said.

  “What’s with the look, George? What are you thinking?” Joey asked.

  “Just wondering… If they’re still making CB calls, that means that someone there is still in charge, right? That someone there has a group of people that hasn’t been overrun and shut down.”

  “It could also be a trap. Lure people in with a signal and a message of hope, then ambush them. What do you think, Will?” Joey asked.

  “I don’t think it’s a trap. The gang that took out the Rhea county office didn’t do that. Maybe George is right. If there are people there that have managed to survive all of this shit and keep things together, they may be our best hope.” Will said.

  “What do you mean?” Joey asked.

  “George and I were talking yesterday. We were discussing how we can’t keep on running from every group that we meet, but we have to because our group is too small. This may be our group to join, George.” Will said.

  “You want to try to join the people in the town?” Joey asked. “What about what happened at Spring City?”

  “I know it’s a risk, but we have to find someplace to go, someplace to stay. If we keep running, we’ll eventually run out of supplies. If we can join group large enough, maybe we can help them protect it and become part of that group.” Will said.

  “And what if they’re just as screwed as Spring City was? What then?” Joey asked.

  “Then we’ll keep heading north.” Will said. “Besides, we haven’t got anything to lose. If it sucks, we’ll just pass by. Do you still have that road map?”

  Joey nodded.

  Chapter 19

  Kirk crouched in the tall grass growing in the middle of the field. He turned east to face the road. The sun hung almost directly overhead. He raised his Savage .300 Winchester Magnum to his shoulder and used the scope to check out the small county road. He had been trying to avoid roads since the breakdown of society. While he hadn’t seen any bandits or other dangerous people on the roads, he worked under the assumption that they were around and would be using the roads. That was why he travelled cross country.

  Being two hundred and fifty yards from the road, his camouflage a (matching set of turkey hunting gear complete with hat) would make his five-foot eleven, two hundred and fifteen pound frame look like nothing more than a dark patch in the weeds. Although designed more for woodlands than grasslands, it worked well enough. He even wore camouflage paint over his face and rough, five-day-old beard.

  As he scanned the road from north to south he didn’t see any threats. He lowered the gun and was about to stand up when he caught a metallic glimmer out of the corner of his eye. He looked over to where the road ran behind a small stand of trees to the north end of the field. He lowered his backpack to the ground, adjusted the zoom on his scope, and raised his gun.

  He found the source of the metallic glint, a watch on the arm of an older man who led a sad-looking group of people. An older woman and a middle aged woman followed behind the older man. A teenage boy walked a few yards behind the women, with what looked like beagle, trailing after him. A dark-skinned woman and a teenage girl with red hair walked next to the boy. A tall black man brought up the rear of the group. Only the old man in front and the black man at the rear seemed to be carrying weapons. Kirk scanned back to the teenage girl. Her shoulder-length, red hair blew in the breeze. His heart sank a little at the sight of her. She seemed familiar even though he knew he had never seen her before.

  Kirk wondered where they were headed. He had observed several groups of people trying to make their way along the roads in the last few weeks. Most of them were refugees from big cities, starving and trying to find a new home, some place that would take them in and provide just a little safety and security. Most of those had nothing but the clothes on their backs. At least this group seemed to have some supplies. They all wore a backpack of one kind or another.

  Kirk watched the group travel down the road. They seemed weary but determined. Kirk thought about making contact, if just to see the girl up close; but decided against it. Perhaps they would get to their destination, wherever it was. Perhaps they would not. He lowered his gun and watched at a distance. As he reached down and pulled out his canteen to take a drink. He saw another gleam from far to his right. He put the canteen away and raised his rifle once again. The scope revealed a truck and three motor cycles driving toward the group of travelers. Maybe they’re part of the same group? He thought to himself, but that didn’t make sense. He could see that the passenger in the truck held a long gun. The three on the bike’s had long guns slung across their backs and at least one of them had a side arm that Kirk could see.

  Kirk lowered his rifle and pulled his pack up in front of him. He stood it up on its end and placed his rifle on it. This interaction could be quick or it could take a while. Either way, he intended to watch.

  Scott walked south down the road. He felt like shit. The pond water had given him, Leesha, and Sherry the shits for two days. He found it difficult to have the shits when you didn’t have enough to eat. They had plenty of clean water… now. Their excursion into one of the houses on the side of the road had yielded a supply of empty two-liter bottles and a large cooking pot. They could now boil any water they came across and avoid another rou
nd of the shits. They each carried three bottles in their packs. Scott took another painful step. With the shits, no toilet paper, and sweating in the warm May weather, he had developed a wonderful chaffing in some rather uncomfortable areas. He knew some of the others suffered similar problems. Hygiene had fallen to an all-time low.

  He took another step forward. Something shiny caught his eye from ahead. He squinted to the distance. It can’t be. He thought to himself. It was a truck, and it was heading down the road toward them. He turned back to the group. “We got company coming down the road. Everyone get up here with me.” The surprised group shuffled up to Scott.

  Clay pulled up his rifle and looked through the scope. He lowered it after a few seconds. “Looks like a truck and a couple guys on motor cycles.”

  “Do you think they’ve seen us?” Tara asked.

  “Probably.” Clay responded.

  “What should we do?” Sherry asked.

  “Clay, you take this.” Scott said handing him his small pistol. “I’ll talk to them while you stand back and cover me. Jimmy, you and the ladies go hide over there in the ditch. Maybe they won’t bother us, but I don’t want them to know how many people are in our group.”

  “No. I’m going to stay with Clay.” Leesha protested.

  “Baby, you need to go with the others. If this goes bad, you and the other girls may need to run for it.” Clay said.

  Leesha started to argue, but a slight shake of the head from Clay stopped her. She turned and walked over to the ditch with the other women and Jimmy.

  Clay felt a little better now that the rest of the family was in some sort of cover. “How do we do this?” He asked Scott.

  “I figure we keep walking until they drive up. I don’t think we can avoid them now. So, let’s get our guns ready and hope for the best. Who knows, maybe they’ll help us.”