Resurrecting Home

by A. American

  “They’re so young, I don’t think it will mean anything to them”—she paused for a moment—“but I would like to take them.”

  As a group we walked out across the yard and through the gate. The recently dug gray sand had a small cross atop of it, the sight of it standing out against the long green grass of the pasture. Kathy held her kids’ hands as we approached, and I could hear her sharp intake of breath. We gathered behind them in silence.

  These things are always difficult, and not knowing the person you just buried made it harder in some ways and easier in others. While the emotional effect of placing a stranger into the ground is considerably easier, the next part is, if not harder, then certainly more awkward. What could we say about a man we didn’t know?

  After standing in front of the grave for a moment of silence, Thad, always the kindest among us, spoke. “Miss Kathy, would you like to say a prayer?”

  Without much hesitation she replied, “No, Lee wasn’t a religious man. Thank you for the cross, though. It’s a nice touch.”

  The little boy let go of his mother’s hand and walked to the cross. Placing his small hand on top of it he looked back at his mother. “Is Daddy in here?”

  It was striking, the wisdom of one so small. We thought we’d been careful around the kids not to say anything to upset them, not to let it be known what we were doing. But here this little boy knew in spite of our efforts. He looked back at the cross and tilted his head. “My daddy’s in here.” He leaned over and kissed the cross. “I love you, Daddy.” Then he dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around it, knocking it slightly askew.

  It was a very emotional scene and there wasn’t a dry eye among those assembled. Even Danny, an emotional stalwart, was wiping his eyes. The little boy returned to his mother, taking her hand once again. Kathy stood there for a moment then turned to face us. “I think that’s enough.”

  We parted as she and her children walked through the group and followed them back to the house. There wasn’t a lot of talk when we returned and gathered on the back porch again. An awkward silence fell over all. But it was the kids who were first to show that life goes on. Little Bit ran off the porch, yelling for the others to follow. In a flash there was a mass of small bodies rushing for the door. I couldn’t help but smile, grateful that they still possessed some innocence.

  Danny, Thad, and I walked out to the front porch to see a Hummer coming down the road, Doc bouncing around in the turret. Jeff walked up behind us and in a harsh whisper said, “That was saddest fucking thing I’ve ever seen.”

  Watching the Hummer roll down the road I replied, “Yeah, but they took it well.”

  “Still, that was messed up.”

  As the truck passed in front of the house I could see Doc manning the turret. When it turned through the gate I could see the old man behind the wheel and Miss Kay in the passenger seat.

  “Evenin’, fellas,” Sarge said as he got out, followed by Doc. Miss Kay came around from her side and waved.

  “What’s this all about?” Thad asked with a smile.

  “Hi, Miss Kay. Can’t say I blame you for having a chaperone when you’re out with this guy,” I said with a smile.

  Sarge cut his eyes around. “Watch it, smart-ass,” he said, then glanced at Miss Kay.

  Miss Kay smiled. “Oh, I don’t need a chaperone. Linus is a gentleman.” She glanced at him. “Besides, I can handle him.”

  A big grin spread across Thad’s face. He was about to say something when a look from Sarge stifled the thought and the grin faded. Whatever he was about to say, he decided against it, probably for fear of the old man whacking him with his “walking stick.”

  “I was hoping you guys would come back down to the camp with Aric here. We want to see if he knows anything about that old boy you told me about the other day,” Sarge said.

  “Sure.” I looked at Aric. “Did you know that deputy Mark who moved out to the camp?”

  “Yeah, I remember him. He was a little weird, but the brass back at the camp seemed to like him. He disappeared, though, and we didn’t know what happened to him.”

  “We do,” I said.

  Aric looked a little confused so I relayed the story of the day Mark was killed, how he was trying to force us into the camp and the assaults they made against us.

  “We knew they were doing something like that. Plenty of people that came in had stories like that. But they didn’t use us. I think they were using gangs or something.”

  “They were. They got dealt with too, around here at least,” Jeff said.

  “So who’s this guy?” Aric asked.

  “We caught him during one of the raids. We had him locked up, but Mark took him when he left,” I said.

  “They had a little group that was always together, but I didn’t know much about them.”

  “This ole boy’s name is Neil, know him?” Sarge asked.

  “There was a Neil who worked out of the camp. He went with us once on one of our scavenging runs. Come to think of it they would send him out to work with local militias of sorts, so maybe those are the guys you were talking about raiding your place.”

  “Was he with the DHS?” Sarge asked.

  “Oh yeah, but he didn’t wear a uniform all the time. A lot of the time he was in civilian clothes or some odd combination of camo, to blend in with the guys he worked with.”

  “Let’s go down and you take a look at him, make sure it’s him,” Sarge said.

  “You still want us to come down too?” I asked.

  “Yeah, we may let him see you guys, see how he acts.”

  “All right, let’s go. We’ll be out of that camp soon,” Sarge said.

  The kids came tearing around the house, each of them had a fistful of palmetto stems. When Little Bit saw Sarge she ran up to him and threw her arms around him. “Hi, Mister Sarge!”

  “Hey, darlin’, what’cha got there?”

  She held out the stems. “We’re going to make bows and arrows!”

  “Oh, I remember you doing that down by the river. You sure can shoot ’em.”

  “I can.” She looked at me. “Daddy taught me.”

  “Now, don’t go shootin’ each other’s eyes out,” Sarge said, a tenderness in his voice. “I’m gonna need you around, Little Bit, to be shootin’ with me and the guys someday.”

  “You’re funny, Mister Sarge,” she said. “Okay, bye!” she shouted as the kids disappeared around the back of the house.

  Kay smiled. “They are so sweet.”

  Sarge rubbed his chin. “You guys growing them in a closet or something?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked.

  Sarge pointed in the direction they’d run off in. “Them young ’uns. You’ve got even more now.”

  I laughed. “Oh no, we have another lady here. Those two small ones are hers. Her husband was killed the other night and she didn’t have anyplace to go, so they’re staying here for the meantime.”

  “Her husband was killed?” Kay asked.

  “Yeah, over a can of corn,” Thad said.

  Shocked, Kay covered her mouth. “That’s horrible.”

  I sighed. “There’s some awful people out there,” I said.

  “God help us,” she said quietly.

  * * *

  Livingston appeared in the door. “You ready?” he asked.

  Sheffield nodded and Livingston stepped aside. Neil walked in, stopping in his tracks just inside the door. He was looking around the room, obviously unsure of what was going on. He slowly scanned our faces, going around the table. After a moment he asked the obvious question: “What’s this about?”

  Sarge motioned to an empty chair at the end of the table. “Have a seat.”

  “Why? What’s this about?” he asked, clearly irritated.

  Ted stepped up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Just sit down.”

  Neil looked back but slowly did as he was told. He sat uneasily in the chair, again looking around the table. Sheffie
ld stared at the man intently for a moment then spoke. “When did you get here?”

  Neil fidgeted for a moment. “I guess I’ve been here a couple of months.”

  “What have you been doing while you’re here?” Sarge asked.

  Neil sat up in his chair. “Same thing everyone else has been doing. You know, whatever we’re told to.”

  “How do you know Mark?” I asked, even though this wasn’t my show.

  He looked at me, the recognition coming to him obvious. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Sarge looked at Kay. “Miss Kay, you ever see him in your mess hall?”

  She wouldn’t make eye contact with him, choosing to stare at the table instead. “I believe so, him and the deputy you mentioned.” Neil glared at him.

  “I’ll back that up,” Aric said. “I’ve seen him and Mark together several times. Not to mention the fact he went on at least one scavenging run with me, in uniform.”

  Neil could tell he was being cornered and didn’t like where it was going, so he chose to continue his trip down the river of denial. “Look, I don’t know who you’re talking about—or what you’re talking about for that matter.”

  Looking at Aric, he added, “I was told to go. I just did what I was told.”

  “Do you remember having your neck locked in a set of stocks?” Thad asked. “Remember that night you and some of your buddies raided our neighborhood? Do you remember that?”

  Neil stared back not saying anything, then Danny said, “I do.”

  I quickly followed him. “Me too. So does my daughter who took a bullet in her leg. She damn sure remembers.”

  Neil’s eyes darted around the room, and a slight grin cut Sarge’s face. “Don’t even think about it, son.”

  “All right, look, yeah, I was chosen to work with them, and we did things they didn’t want their people doing. But it’s not like I’m one of them. I just did what I had to do.”

  “You know, Neil, I think you’re full of shit, personally,” Sarge snorted. “I think leaving you here with any sort of weapon is a really bad idea. It’s pretty clear you were on the DHS payroll and for some reason tried to hide out. Now, why’d you go and do that?”

  “I agree,” Sheffield said.

  Neil’s shifted in his seat. “Okay, yeah, I was an agent with them for a long time before all this started. I didn’t say anything because I didn’t agree with what they were doing. I just wanted to be free to live my life.”

  “Free to live your life, huh?” Sarge chided. “You sure didn’t mind running around trying to take away other people’s freedom. Now that the shoe’s on the other foot you just want to be left alone.”

  Neil licked the sweat that was rapidly building on his upper lip. “I haven’t given you guys any trouble. I’ve kept everyone in check just like you asked. All I asked for was some supplies and weapons to defend ourselves with.”

  “You aren’t getting any weapons,” Sheffield replied.

  “Wait a minute! You can’t leave us here with no way to defend ourselves!” Neil shouted.

  I shifted in my seat. Sarge saw it and looked at me. “You got something to say, Morgan?”

  I stared intently at the man for a moment. “I don’t think you can leave him here at all. He’s a threat to us, as he’s already shown.”

  “I agree,” Danny said.

  “Me too,” Thad added.

  Neil stared at us, going over the meaning of what was just said. “Now, hold on a second,” he said, waving his hands in front of him. “You can’t be saying what it sounds like you’re saying. You can’t do this.”

  One of Sheffield’s people poked his head in the door. “Captain, we can see flames over the northern tree line.”

  Everyone was quickly on their feet. “What? Already?” Sheffield asked.

  “Yes, sir, it’s getting close.”

  “We need to wrap this up,” Sarge barked as he headed for the door.

  Neil started to stand, and Sarge pushed him back into his seat and looked at Mike. “Keep him here.”

  Mike stepped around to the side of the man. “Don’t worry, we got this turd.” Neil started to protest, and Mike jabbed him with the muzzle of his rifle. “Shut up, shit bird.” Neil looked at him. To his credit he recognized the grim determination on Mike’s face and said nothing.

  The rest of us ran outside, Sheffield and Livingston in the lead. We nearly crashed into them as they stopped in their tracks, staring at the flames leaping over the trees.

  “We need to get the hell out of here,” Livingston said. “Now!” he barked.

  Sheffield looked around, dozens of people were staring at the flames. Sheffield began to shout, “You people see this? You see now why we said you need to leave?”

  While Sheffield railed at the crowd, Danny turned to me. “This is going to burn straight toward us.”

  “I know. We’re going to have to try to stop it again, somehow,” I replied.

  “I want to head home as soon as we can,” Danny said.

  “I’m with Danny. Let’s go,” Thad added.

  Sheffield’s shouting had an impact on a number of the people: they were suddenly motivated to get going.

  Sarge laughed. “Look at ’em go.”

  “They better hurry,” Sheffield replied. Looking at Livingston, he said, “Let’s get the last convoy on the road ASAP.”

  Livingston was looking at the flames, growing larger as the fire approached. “Roger that, sir,” he replied as he slowly backed away.

  A moment later Ted came running out of the bunker and jumped into one of the side-by-sides and waved for us to follow. We piled into the truck and followed him as he drove back through the camp. He stopped in front of some large connex containers.

  Getting out, I asked, “What’s up?”

  As he opened one of the bunkers he said, “We’ve got some stuff Sarge wants you to take with you,” and disappeared through the door.

  I got out and walked over to the open door. Thad followed me. Ted came out of the door carrying two SAWs. “I’ll put these in your truck. Go in there and empty those racks—take everything.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yeah, hurry up,” Ted replied and trotted off toward the truck.

  Thad and I went in the bunker. We were both stunned. There were racks and racks of firearms, everything imaginable. I looked at Thad, not knowing what to say. He shrugged and we both started grabbing weapons. Coming out, we passed Ted going back in with Danny.

  “Dude, why are you guys giving us this stuff?” I asked.

  “The old man doesn’t want all the eggs in one basket, just in case. Just take it and store it for now. He also wants you guys to take his war wagons to your place, both of them. Thad, can you drive one and maybe Danny can drive the other? We’re not leaving these guys any weapons. That guy’s up to no good, and having him armed is a bad idea.”

  We worked for nearly fifteen minutes loading all the captured civilian weapons. We piled them into anything we could—empty ammo cans, boxes, crates, whatever we could find. Once it was all loaded we were standing near the buggies.

  “What’s in that?” Danny asked, pointing to a small trailer attached to the back of the smaller of the two buggies.

  “Gas,” Ted replied.

  “Just what we need with a massive fire burning down everything around us.”

  Ted smiled. “Put it somewhere safe.”

  “Where are you guys going?” I asked.

  “We’re going to run down to the river and get the rest of our stuff, then we’re going to the armory. After that I don’t know.”

  “You better get my boat,” Danny said.

  Ted laughed. “That’s the biggest reason we’re going back. We’ll bring it by.”

  “Well, thanks, man. We’re outta here. We need to get home,” I said.

  Ted shook my hand. “You guys be careful. Oh yeah, there’s also a portable radio and charger in there, you can reach us anytime on it.” />
  “Thanks, man, you guys be careful,” I said.

  “You too, now go on and get the hell out of here,” Ted replied.

  Chapter 11

  Sheffield thumbed through the file Livingston provided him. “He’s nowhere in here. He’s definitely not a refugee,” Livingston said.

  “I think we’ve established that pretty clearly now,” Sarge replied.

  “The real question is what was he up to and what do we do about him now,” Sheffield said.

  “I’m more curious about what he’s been up to while he’s been hiding out. There was that interrogator too, whatever his name was. If two of them slipped through, there could have been more. They’d managed to get a couple of the civilians to try and help with their little escape plan. Who knows how many more of them are on their side,” Sarge said.

  “He is awful worried about getting those guns,” Livingston added.

  Sheffield looked over the file. “Which they’re not getting.”

  “Not now,” Sarge quipped.

  Livingston looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  Sarge smiled. “Can’t have what ain’t here.”

  Sheffield dropped the file onto his desk. “What do you mean ain’t here?”

  Sarge shrugged. “Just that: they ain’t here. All those captured weapons are gone.”

  “Where’d they go? How’d you get them out of here?” Livingston asked, concern edging his voice.

  Sarge waved him off. “They’re safe. They’re in a safe place.”

  “That was a hell of a lot of guns. I sure hope they’re with people we can trust,” Sheffield replied.

  Sarge didn’t reply, just smiled back. After a moment of silence he said, “Let’s go deal with this fella.”

  They left his office and made their way to the conference room, where Mike was still standing behind Neil, making sure he didn’t try anything.

  “The fire’s heading straight for this camp. For the last time, we suggest you people leave here. This camp will burn to the ground,” Sheffield said.

  “No, it won’t. There’s a huge buffer of sand around this place, so it can’t burn into here.” Neil snorted.

  “You are a special kind of dumb fuck, ain’t ya?” Sarge said. Neil sneered back at him. “What do you think is going to happen to these tents when them embers start falling from the sky?”