Resurrecting Home

by A. American

  “What do you mean?” Mel asked.

  “Just that. Someone needs to step up, and if there’s going to be someone around here enforcing their vision of the law, I’d like it to be ours,” I replied.

  “What do you mean, ours?” Danny asked.

  I pulled the bag out once again and removed a badge from it, tossing it to Danny. “This is what I mean.”

  I continued passing out badges, and when I got to Jess I paused for a moment. “You up for it?”

  “Really? You want to give me one?”

  I looked around. “We’re all part of this. It’s going to take all of us.”

  Sarge stood up. “It is.” Everyone looked over at him. “What you guys are going to be doing is important, and we’ll be here to support you”—Sarge nodded toward Mike, Doc, and Ted—“plus a few others who are coming over to help out. But that’s not what today is about. Let’s enjoy this nice day.”

  “And eat—don’t forget the eating part,” Mike said.

  “Amen!” Jeff shouted.

  “You chowhounds will get your feed on. Cool your jets,” Sarge added.

  “The pig will be ready in a bit,” Thad said.

  Mel came up beside me. “I want to talk about this.”

  “We will, I promise.”

  Sarge came over. “Miss Mel, can I borrow him for a minute?”

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  “We’ve got to take a ride. We’ll be back before the food’s ready.”

  “Where are you going?” Mel asked.

  Sarge grabbed my shoulder. “The sheriff here needs to go take a look at the camp.”

  “Now?” Mel asked.

  “We’ll be back shortly. It won’t take long,” I replied, then gave her a kiss.

  “Mike, Teddy, let’s go. You too, Doc, we may need your services,” Sarge said.

  We drove through a scorched landscape. Blackened trunks and palmettos lined the road on either side. It was utter devastation. The sandbagged emplacements at the gate were nothing more than a pile of melted plastic and slumping sand. Pulling up to the camp proper, we took in the scene.

  Ted stopped the truck on a small rise, looking out across the camp. Where tents once stood, there remained only their scorched remnants. We could see a couple wretched souls picking through what remained behind.

  “Look at this place. It’s gone, totally gone,” Ted said.

  “There isn’t shit left,” Mike called down from the turret.

  “Take us through it, Teddy,” Sarge said with a nod.

  We rolled down into what remained, getting a closer look at the few people pawing through the scorched leavings from the fire. A man picking through a pile of ashes straightened when he saw the Hummer. Ted slowed as he pulled up. “Anyone hurt around here?” Sarge asked.

  He looked around. “I don’t know, most people ran off.”

  “What are you doing?”

  The man looked down and shrugged, clearly dazed. “Looking for something, anything. I should have left. I shouldn’t have stayed here.”

  “We tried to tell you,” Sarge said, and then waved Ted on.

  We rode through the rest of the camp. The only things that remained were the connex buildings. Everything else was burned. Soot and ash was the only sign the camp had ever been there.

  “It’s amazing to see it all burned,” I said.

  “I imagine the buzzards are going to be eating good for the next few days. I’m betting there’s a lot of bodies out there,” Doc said.

  “I was just going to say something about the smell. It’s not like the usual smell . . . I can’t quite describe it,” I said.

  “Smells like combat, burned gear, equipment, bodies,” Ted replied.

  We drove back to the park in silence. I didn’t know what should be done—hell, what could be done, for that matter. But for now it didn’t really matter. All that mattered was a whole hog sitting on a smoker, and the people who I was going to enjoy it with.

  We got back just as Thad was starting to pull the pig apart. We all dug in, and I have to say, it was one of the best meals I had ever eaten. The fact that I was sharing it with these great people—people who had overcome such hardship right alongside me, without complaint, and without ever losing their sense of humor—made it even more memorable. I really did feel grateful for where I was, all things considered.

  The rest of the day was spent with my family and friends, eating sweet, tender pork and lounging by the lake. Little Bit and her sisters played in the water. The sun had burned off most of the cloud cover, but it hadn’t gotten too hot. Mel and I sat with our feet in the water, watching the girls play. Looking back over my shoulder, I saw Jess and Mike sitting together, close together, at one of the tables. With full bellies, Doc and Ted were both sprawled out on a picnic table snoozing. I smiled again. Such a stark difference from where we were just a few days ago. A squeal of laughter brought my attention back to my girls. They were wrapped up in a knot, Lee Ann and Little Bit trying to push Taylor over. Life was good.

  “I’m going back for seconds,” I said as I stood up.

  Mel looked up. “Don’t you mean thirds or fourths?”

  I smiled at her. “Who’s counting?”

  After eating, I stripped off my shirt and jumped in the lake with Little Bit. It didn’t take long for everyone to follow suit. With full bellies we got into a rousing game of chicken. With Little Bit on my shoulders, Jess on Thad’s, and Lee Ann on Taylor’s, we splashed back and forth to the cheers of everyone on the bank. Tyler had Jace and Edie, one on either shoulder. Mike and Ted waded into the fray, and it quickly devolved into a splash fest, with children and adults alike laughing. Sarge lay sprawled on the bank with his boots off and his pants rolled up. Waist deep in the water I waved at Mel, and she smiled and waved back. For now, if only for a moment, I had my normal.

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