Resurrecting Home

by A. American

  She nodded and disappeared. Mike went back to the truck that was already running when he got there.

  Ted maneuvered the truck around to face the gate. As he was doing so, Jamie’s Hummer pulled up behind them. Mike motioned to one of the guys on the ground, who opened the gate, standing by as they pulled through and closing it behind them.

  There were a lot of people out on the dock that ran along the shore. A bunch of kids were down at the boat slips, jumping off into the water. Along the dock were several gazebos, all occupied by people, who were fishing. If not for the current conditions, it could’ve been a normal summer day.

  As they came to Ferran Park, Ted whistled. There were more people grouped here than he had seen in a long time. The park appeared to have become the spot for traders to gather, and several people had their wares on display.

  Ted stopped the truck beside the row of trees where most of the traders were set up.

  “Keep an eye on things,” he instructed. “I wanna take a walk around.”

  “Go for it,” Mike replied as he swiveled around.

  A few people were trading fish, laid out on the sidewalk. A frail-looking woman squatted over a row of small bluegill, slowly fanning the flies away from her merchandise in the midafternoon sun. Another merchant, an older man in overalls that looked two sizes too big, stood behind a folding table with several large catfish sitting on it. He was obviously worried about his inventory, taking the time to soak a towel and cover the fish, pulling it back for the occasional passerby to inspect the offering.

  The group moved in toward the traders. While they were getting a lot of attention, none of it seemed hostile. Ted stopped in front of the table with the towel-covered fish. Smiling at the man, he said, “Howdy.”

  “Howdy back,” the old man replied.

  Ted lifted the corner of the towel, inspecting the fish. “What’re you asking on these?”

  “What’cha got to trade?”

  “Well, I don’t know. What’re you you lookin’ for?”

  The old man smiled a gap-toothed grin. “Everthin’. Anyone can fish—fish is cheap.”

  Ted noted that, nodding his head. “Let me think about what I’ve got and maybe we can make a trade,” he said as he walked off to visit with the others along the sidewalk.

  The items being offered were varied: all manner of clothes and assorted shoes that had seen better days, various electric devices. At one table, a man was making knives. He worked in the open, a vise clamped to the table. He was filing a mower blade into the form of a knife. Others were in various stages of completion, awaiting handles, or completely done. One booth in particular had an interesting marketing technique. The trader standing behind a small table made of stacked milk crates and piece of plywood displayed a sign that read, ALL ITEMS WORK, TESTED WITH GENERATOR.

  Ted stopped and read the sign, nodding at it as he said, “Does the sign help business any?”

  The man smiled through a shaggy beard. “Not really, but it don’t hurt none either.”

  “What are people asking for most often?” Ted asked.

  The man chuckled. “Ain’t it obvious?” he asked, pressing his shirt against his thin chest. “Food! They want food and medicine, toothpaste.”

  “What do you usually trade for?”

  “It depends on what I have. If you can find something everyone else has overlooked and make it usable, I like to trade for that type of stuff.”

  “Like what?” Jamie asked.

  The man pointed down the sidewalk. “Check out that guy down there, the one with the big sombrero on. You’ll see what I’m talking about.”

  Ted nodded. “Thanks.”

  Before he could walk away the man asked another question. “Hey, are you guys here to help us?”

  “We’ll be around, but we aren’t going to be handing out food and medicine, if that’s what you’re askin’.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  Ted smiled at the man again. “We gotta be somewhere too.” With that the group moved down the sidewalk.

  A short walk down they came to the man in the big straw hat. He sat behind a blanket laid out on the side of the concrete walkway. As the group approached he looked up from under the rim of the hat and squinted, a half smile revealing a gold tooth. “Howdy.”

  “How’s it going?” Ted asked, looking at the various jars and plastic containers arrayed in front of the man on the blanket.

  “Living the dream, my man,” he replied, getting a chuckle from the group.

  Ted nodded his head. “Don’t get much better than that. What’cha got in these jars?”

  “Starch—you can use it to cut flour to make it go farther if you have any or you can dust yer fish with it and fry ’em, if you got oil. Do a lot of things with it.”

  Jamie knelt down and picked up a jar, inspecting it. “What is it?”

  “It’s made from cattail.”

  “Oh, from the roots,” Ted said.

  “Yeah, most folks don’t know about it,” the man replied.

  “We’ve got a friend who’s made it. Hell, we ate it.”

  “Cool, cool,” the man replied and leaned out and picked up another jar with a dark yellow powder in it. “Ever seen this?”

  Jamie took the jar and rolled it, looking at the powder inside. “Pollen?”

  The man smiled and pointed at her. “We have a winner!”

  “You go out and collect this stuff?” Ted asked.

  “Yeah, you know, you gotta have something to trade that others either don’t have or won’t go get.”

  “Little industry, huh?” Jamie asked.

  The trader smiled and looked at her. “Yeah, you can call it that.” Then he raised the brim of his hat and whistled. “Damn, what the hell happened to your face, young lady?”

  “You should see the other guy,” Jamie replied, flexing.

  The trader snorted, clearly impressed that someone so small could pack such a punch. Ted motioned to the others that it was time to go, and thanked the man for his time. At the trucks, they quickly mounted up and headed back toward the armory.

  When the armory came into view the trucks were already forming up to head back to the camp. Ted pulled up to the front of the column and got out. He found Ian by the gate giving orders to some of the Guardsmen about the load just delivered.

  “You guys are all ready to go?” Ian said when he finished.

  Ian looked at Jamie with a pained look on his face. Pointing at his forehead he said, “You’ve got something on your face, not so much here”—he moved his finger back and forth across his forehead—“but here.” He opened his hand, palm to his face, and moved it around.

  “Screw you, Ian,” Jamie spat.

  Ted looked at Ian. “You guys keep messing with her and she’s going to shoot your ass.”

  Ian looked at Jamie, and she adjusted her grip on the M4 and glared at him. Ian cocked his head to the side. “I’m jus’ playin’.”

  “All right, we’re out. Hopefully we’ll be back some time this evening with everything done,” Ted said.

  “Cool, we’ll be ready.”

  Ted and Jamie walked together back to the trucks. Jamie stared at the ground as they walked. Ted glanced over at her and asked, “You all right?”

  She nodded. “Yeah, seeing those people at the park was kind of sad. We were out in the forest for so long, and then in the camp, we haven’t really seen what’s going on out here.”

  “Yeah, it’s not pretty.”

  Ted stopped at his truck, Jamie paused and looked at him. “And there isn’t shit we can do for them, is there?”

  Ted took a deep breath and let it out slowly, thinking about the question. “No, not really. We’re pretty much in the same position they are. We just have a little more organization and some supplies.”

  “What are we going to do? I mean, how long will the food we have last before we’re like them?”

  “I don’t know, but we’ll work it out. Don’t worry, you�
�re not going to be squatting over a pile of fish trying to fan the flies off them.” He smiled, trying to reassure her.

  “I’m know I’m not. I know how to hunt.”

  Ted slapped her on the shoulder. “Thatta girl.”

  Jamie smiled and turned to head for her truck.

  “A country girl can survive!” Mike shouted from the turret.

  Jamie pointed up to him and grinned. “You know it.”

  Ted stepped out and looked down the line of trucks, raising his arm over his head and swinging it in a circle. The sounds of diesel engines rumbled to life and blue smoke filled the air. Ted climbed in behind the wheel and called up to Mike, “You ready up there?”

  “Yyyyeesssss!” Mike called back.

  Ted smiled and shook his head as he put the truck in gear and pulled away. As the convoy rolled through, kids rushed to the side of the road to watch the big trucks go by. Even now under the circumstances, a few of them pumped their arms up and down to get the drivers to blow the horn. They of course did—seeing such innocence brought a smile to everyone’s face.

  The trip back to the camp was fast—it had to be, as they were quickly running out of time. Up in the turret the smoke was really getting to Mike, so he wrapped a shemagh around his face and pulled his goggles down over his eyes. The lightly woven cloth helped filter the smoke and the ever-increasing odor of garbage.

  As usual Mike was up in the turret hamming it up for the kids. Jamie had the best view of Mike’s antics. She shook her head, but she too couldn’t help but smile. “Freakin’ dumbass.”

  The Guardsman beside her in the front seat was laughing. “That guy is shot the fuck out.”

  “You have no idea.”

  “Who are those guys? I know what we’ve been told, but who are they?”

  “They’re just some spec ops guys. I guess they’ve been together for a long time.”

  “And that old guy, he’s their boss?”

  “He was at one time. I’m not sure how they got together or even what they’re really up to.”

  “Well, I’m glad we’ve got them. They seem to know their shit. Which is more than I can say for most of the people around here.”

  Jamie scowled at him. “Hey, we’re not that bad.”

  “Pfft, whatever. We’re National Guard. I only signed up for the benefits. Remember, two weeks a year and all that shit?”

  “Our primary mission is disaster relief.” Jamie looked over at him. “I think this qualifies.”

  “Ha-ha-ha-ha, disaster? This is fucking Armageddon.”

  “Boxer, would you rather be here”—Jamie pointed out the windshield at a pathetic group standing beside the road—“or out there with them?”

  He studied them for a moment, then replied, “Nope, I’m good. Go Guard!” He and Jamie both started to laugh.

  Passing the barricade at Morgan’s neighborhood, Ted waved at Jess and the two people with her. They waved back excitedly, Jess bouncing up and down. Mike, ever the ham, blew kisses at them as they passed. They were moving at a pretty good clip when a Hummer came into view going the opposite direction. Ted slowed as the truck approached.

  Sarge pulled up beside him and stopped. “How was the trip, Teddy?”

  “A milk run.” Ted looked past Sarge. “Hi, Miss Kay, where you going?” Kay waved back as Sarge answered. Doc was in the turret above them manning a SAW.

  “To get Morgan and that DHS boy you shot up.”

  “You mean the one who shot you?” Ted asked with a slight grin.

  Sarge ignored the jab. “We want to see if they know anything about that old boy back at the camp.”

  “The one acting like the boss?”

  “Mmhmm. I’m thinking he’s up to something.”

  Ted pointed up the road. “That’s looking pretty bad up there.”

  “Not going to matter to us much shortly anyway. We’ll be out of here by nightfall or turned to cinders. But I don’t want to leave a potential issue behind only to have to come back and deal with it later.”

  “We hope to be. Burning to death would be a bad way to go,” Ted said.

  Everyone laughed at the joke, but it was a nervous laugh. There was a truth to it, and it was a truth that no one wanted to face.

  Chapter 10

  Did you set the fire, Daddy?” Little Bit asked as she wrapped her arms around my waist.

  “We sure did,” I answered, rubbing her head.

  “Ew, you smell like smoke.”

  Mel and Bobbie were sitting in rocking chairs on the front porch.

  “Oh my God, you guys look like hell,” Bobbie said.

  “Feel like it too,” Danny replied.

  “You guys are so dirty. What happened?” Mel asked.

  “It was hard, Miss Mel,” Thad replied.

  Mel looked off in the direction of the fire. “Looks like it’s still burning,” she said.

  “It is, a little more now that we started the other fire,” Thad said.

  “Did it work?” Bobbie asked.

  “No, we lost control of it. It’s on this side of 40 now,” Danny replied.

  “We tried. Sarge even called in more people. They sent civilians and more Guardsmen from the camp, but we just couldn’t control it,” I said.

  Jeff sat down on the steps, still weary from the heat exhaustion. “It wasn’t for lack of effort.”

  “What are we going to do?” Bobbie asked.

  Danny slowly sat down beside Jeff, holding his head in his hands. “We need to get ready to leave.”

  “What? Is it coming here? Is it that fast?” Bobbie asked.

  “We need to be ready in case. We’re going to try again tomorrow with a last-ditch plan, but if that doesn’t work, then yes, we’re going to have to leave,” I said.

  Brandy and Mary walked out onto the porch, Brandy slowly looked us over. “How bad is it?”

  “It’s bad,” Thad replied.

  Her hands flying to her mouth, Brandy asked in a voice barely above a whisper, “What do we do now?”

  Mary was staring off to the north at the billowing smoke. Emotionlessly, she replied, “Prepare to leave.” With that she turned and went back in the house.

  Thad let out a big sigh of exhaustion. “I know we’re all tired, but we have to dig a couple of graves. I’ll go get the tractor,” Thad said.

  “Good idea,” I replied as we all filed into the house.

  I looked over at Kathy. “How you feeling today?”

  For the first time she smiled. “Better, thanks.”

  “In a little bit here we’re going to bury your husband. Once they have the grave ready, I’ll let you know.”

  She nodded but didn’t reply. After we washed up, Jeff and I went out to the truck. Danny was at the shed with the door open. I motioned for Jeff to follow and we went over to him.

  “Let’s get him out,” Danny said as we walked up.

  Together we managed to get the body outside and laid out. It was still wrapped in plastic but with the heat was already starting to smell.

  Jeff covered his face. “Holy shit. I don’t mean to be rude, but what a stink.”

  “Yeah, we need to get this done quick,” Danny said.

  “Don’t forget the other one, up by the barricade.” I said.

  “Yeah, we’ll get that one with the tractor. I’d like to just leave him lying there, though,” Danny said.

  “Yeah, well, I don’t want to have to smell it. He’s not worth burying, but we have to.”

  Danny nodded. “Plus it would just beg for disease or something.”

  “Where are you guys going to bury them?” Jeff asked.

  Danny pointed to a pasture across the road from his house. “I guess over there. No houses on that piece.”

  “Sounds good to me, just keep some distance between them. Just doesn’t seem right to bury him beside the man that killed him,” I said, looking at the body.

  “True, we’ll make sure to keep them far from each other,” Danny replied.
/>   As we talked, Thad pulled up with the tractor. He lowered the bucket and we rolled the body in.

  “We got it,” Danny said.

  Jeff looked over. “You wanna hear something weird?”

  “What’s that?”

  “I saw a bunch of deer earlier. A herd of them.”

  I looked up. “Did you shoot any of them?”

  “No, I was kinda shocked by them. There were so many, it was really bizarre.”

  I pointed at the thunderhead of billowing smoke. “Fire’s probably pushing them. We need to take advantage of that.”

  “Definitely. I should have had my shit together and knocked some down when I saw them.”

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get ’em. Let’s finish with this. First things first,” I said.

  After we dug a hole, I wiped the sweat from my forehead and let out a big breath.

  “You guys ready to get him in there?” I asked.

  “You think we should cover him up or wait for Kathy to see him?” Danny asked.

  Looking at the roll of plastic I said, “I think we should cover him up. She doesn’t need her last memory of him to be worse than it already is. That smell will stick with you.”

  “True, let’s get him in,” Thad said.

  Danny grabbed the feet while Thad grabbed the shoulders. Together they scooted the body into the sloped hole. Once it was in there, I climbed up on the tractor and started pushing dirt over it. With the hole covered, I graded the area out. It felt strange to run the tractor over the hole and feel it sink into the freshly disturbed earth, knowing there was a body under it that I was compressing.

  Thad produced a small cross made from some scrap lumber and pushed it into the soft earth. We stood around for a few minutes not really knowing what to say, so we headed for the house.

  “Let’s go in and let Kathy know we’re done. I want to get this over with. I hate doing this,” Thad said.

  We went up to the house. From the porch we walked around to the rear of the house. Thad went over to Kathy and knelt down beside her.

  “Miss Kathy, we’ve finished the grave. Would you like to come out and pay your respects?”

  She stared off across the pond, and after a moment she replied, “I think that would be good.”

  Thad looked at the little ones. “Would you like to take them?”