Surviving Home

by Angery American

  “Where they going, Dad?” Lee Ann asked, still holding her leg.

  I was looking out towards the dirt road they had disappeared on. “Not sure, honey.” I looked down at her and smiled. “You okay?”

  She looked at the ground between her feet and nodded. “It hurts a lot.”

  “I know, baby, the doctor is coming.”

  Now that things had calmed down a bit, Mel got up. “What are we going to do? If we aren’t safe here, where are we going to go?”

  I let out a long breath. “We’ll be okay, we just have to start being more careful.”

  “How can you say we’ll be okay? You were shot in the chest, Taylor was shot in the leg. Either one of you could have died. What we would we do if you were killed?” she was upset and getting more so.

  I stepped up to her and wrapped my arms around her. “Calm down, we’ll figure something out. We just have to learn to be more careful.”

  She just stood there for a minute, her face in my chest. She pushed me away. “It’s cold.”

  “What’s cold?”

  With her index finger she poked one of the mags still in the vest. “Where’s the doctor? Is she going to be okay?” she asked looking back at Taylor. All three of the girls were lined up, sitting against the wall.

  “Keep an eye on them, I’m gonna check on Reggie.”

  Mel nodded and went and sat down with the girls. Reggie was still sitting in the chair, leaning forward. The blood had stopped running out of his hands, but the dressing was soaked. Looking around the fire pit, I found his .45 and picked it up. Dirt was caked on the blood spattered on the grip and slide. The checkering on the front of the grip had a ding in it where the bullet must have hit. I sat down in the chair beside. The effort of sitting made my chest burn.

  I stuck the barrel of the pistol into the little mesh cup holder. “Didn’t know you were a lefty.”

  Reggie looked up at me, his jaw clenched. “Not anymore.”

  Trying to take the edge off things I said, “Yeah, guess this really fucked up your sex life.”

  He grunted, “You’re an asshole, Morgan” then looked up at me. I shot a shit eatin’ grin back at him and he shook his head and smiled.

  The sound of a couple of approaching ATVs brought me to my feet, carbine at the ready. Thad and Danny came through the gate and the doc was riding with Danny.

  Sarge pushed past Mike into the old barracks and headed for the little table the radio gear was set up on. Sitting down he read the message on the screen, where are you old man, we could use some help.

  “Who the hell’s he callin’ old!” Sarge shouted.

  “If the shoe fits,” Mike replied.

  “Shut up, dipshit.”

  Sarge typed a quick reply: watch who you’re calling old, what’s the situation? and hit enter. He looked over at the little box connected to his radio and watched as the LED’s blinked.

  “What’s the plan, Sarge?” Ted asked.

  Spinning around in his chair, he saw all three of the guys were standing there. He looked at each of them and said, “Time to start the dance, get your dress on Mikey. We have to meet the riggers at 0100. They’re going to sling our rides and insert us.”

  “Where we going?” Doc asked.

  Sarge glanced over his shoulder at the screen, then turned back. “Looks like we’re going to Lake County to start with.”

  What was left of the afternoon was spent in frenzied activity, each of the men packing the gear they wanted in their packs and loading them into the vehicles. Then working together they started to load all the supplies they had “acquired” from the quartermaster earlier. As the work started to wind down, Sarge told the guys to decide who was going to hit the rack and get some sleep. In the meantime, he went to the radios with a thermos of coffee and put his feet up on the table, staring at the screen.

  The doc hopped off the ATV and seeing Reggie’s hand headed for him. Reggie waved him off with his head. “Go take care of her, I ain’t going anywhere.”

  The doc went to Lee Ann. Danny and Thad took up positions to keep an eye on things. I went over and knelt beside Lee Ann. The doc unwrapped the bandage wrapped around her leg and the fear reappeared on her face. She reached out and grabbed my hand, I told her the doctor was here and she was going to be okay.

  After unwrapping her leg, he inspected the wound, gently turning it to inspect the exit wound. He didn’t say anything, just adjusted his glasses, dabbed at the wounds with a sponge, then gently laid her leg out on the dressing he removed.

  “It looks pretty clean, but there is a risk of infection. There could be some fibers from her jeans in the wound.”

  “Am I going to need stitches?” Lee Ann asked.

  He looked up at her and smiled. “No, honey, these holes are small. They’ll heal on their own, but you’re going to have to keep it clean, and even though it hurts, you need to walk on it too.”

  She nodded her head but said nothing.

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Sarge leaned against the fender of the Humvee watching the riggers. He was always amazed at how these guys could sling a load perfectly. There were six of them at work on his babies. The two buggies and trailer were being connected to straps. The men crawled over the equipment like ants, on top, underneath and around all sides. They shouted and cussed at one another, but the straps were secured one by one. When all was ready, Stalker One, the first of two Black Hawks, came into a hover over the mass of gear. One of the riggers reached up and attached a strap to a hook on the belly of the helo, then ran out from under it, gave the pilot a thumbs up, and watched as the big bird took the slack.

  Sarge could hear the change in pitch as the big helicopter took the weight of the load slung under it. The two buggies and the trailer lifted as one; they jostled around and found their center point, but all of them were almost perfectly level. As soon as soon as Stalker One was clear, Stalker Two taxied out. Sarge looked over his shoulder at the three men standing behind him. Their faces were smeared with camo paint and each of them was hard as iron.

  “Let’s go, saddle up ladies!”

  As one, they nodded at him, then ran towards the waiting helo. Sarge waited till Doc passed him and paused for a moment watching these incredible warriors as they sprinted towards the waiting Black Hawk and shook his head. Damn, I love this shit, he thought, then ran out to catch up.

  We brought Lee Ann and her sisters home. Taylor went to her room and came back with Jeff’s iPad and a set of headphones. Little Bit disappeared and returned with a pillow from her bed for her sister to prop her leg up on. Mel asked if there was anything she could do for her. Lee Ann said, “Some mac n’ cheese would be nice, thanks.”

  Mel went straight to the kitchen to whip it up. I knelt down beside Lee Ann and asked, “Is there anything I can get for you?”

  “Can you start a fire? I’m cold.”

  I smiled at her and rubbed a hand through her hair. “Sure.”

  With the fire making supplies I kept by the fireplace, I had a fire in no time. Pine needles and lighter wood make it possible for anyone to start a fire. As the fire built, Lee Ann fell asleep. She was out when I turned to ask her if it was good enough. I went to her room and pulled the quilt off her bed, returned to the living room and laid it out over her.

  Mel walked in with a bowl of mac n’ cheese. I said, “She’s out.”

  She stood there looking at Lee Ann and asked, “Is she going to be okay?”

  “The doc said she would. We just have to make sure she takes the antibiotics and that we clean it every day. He gave us those painkillers, but I really don’t think she’ll need ‘em. Honestly, I’m more worried about Reggie.”

  “What are we going to do? I’m scared.”

  I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. �
��I know, baby. Tomorrow I’m going to talk to the guys and figure out what to do.” I stepped back from her and said, “We may have to leave the house.”

  “I don’t care where we are, as long as the girls are safe,” she said. She put her hand on my chest. “How do you feel?”

  I hadn’t thought much about it, but I was sore. Every breath hurt. “I’m fine, baby, I was lucky.”

  “I don’t want to rely on luck, you’ve got to be more careful. I don’t know what we would do without you.”

  I tried to put on the confident face, but inside I wasn’t so sure. It had been too close. I still had the bullet in my pocket, it was the one with my name on it. Maybe as long as I had it, there wouldn’t be another one. It was a nice thought, but I knew it was bullshit.

  “I promise, babe, I’ll try. Besides, someone has to be around here to complain about your cooking.”

  That didn’t even get a smile from her. “I’m tired, I’m going to bed,” Mel said.

  “Go ahead, I gotta go back out to the shop for a minute.”

  “Don’t be long.”

  “I won’t.”

  Mel headed for the bedroom and I went out the slider towards the shop. I still hadn’t dealt with that damn door. Inside, I tapped the mouse pad on the laptop and it came to life. There was a message blinking back at me, watch who you’re calling old, what’s the situation?

  I smiled when I saw it, I know it chapped his ass. I typed a reply, telling him what had happened and who I thought was behind it and hit enter. The LED’s blinked and the laptop grunted and groaned.

  Thad and Jeff both stayed with Reggie. The doc did what he could, but he was no plastic surgeon. If Reggie survived the inevitable infections, he would have the use of his hand, but it would never be the same.

  “That’s all I can do.” The doc leaned back, letting out a breath.

  Reggie, sweat soaked, looked at the sutures in his hand. The ring finger on his left hand was gone and a patch of raw red skin had been pulled tight over where the knuckle had been and stitched together. The pinky finger had a string of stitches running down the inside of it. It was swollen and sore as hell.

  “Thanks doc, I appreciate it.”

  “It’s not pretty, but it’s the best I can do.” He reached into his bag and pulled out two bottles, setting them on the table beside the couch. “This one’s an antibiotic, take it three times a day. This one is for pain, take it as needed, but be careful, it’s a heavy dose.”

  Reggie looked at the two bottles, then over at Thad. “You staying here tonight?”

  Thad nodded. Reggie reached over and picked up the bottle of painkillers and spun the top off with one hand, shaking out two of the big pills. He quickly tossed them into his mouth and swallowed them dry.

  “I said be careful! That’s gonna make you a pile of mush!” the doc shouted.

  “Good,” Reggie said and laid his head back on the pillow and closed his eyes.

  Mike was sitting by the door, an elbow resting on his knee and his chin in his palm looking out as the blackness passed in a blur. Sarge reached over and punched him in the shoulder, knocking his elbow off his knee. Irritated, he looked back at the old man. Sarge tossed a set of earphones to him and motioned for him to put them on. Mike pulled them over his ears and immediately began to hear radio chatter.

  “…ger that Stalker One, Bronco Three’s bringing up the rear.”

  Mike looked over and keyed the intercom. “That the same Bronco that saved our ass out in the swamp?”

  Sarge nodded his head and keyed his mic. “Doc, Morgan and some of his got wounded. Soon as we get there you see to them pronto.”

  Doc nodded as he keyed his intercom. “What sort of wounds?”

  “One of his daughters has a gunshot wound to her calf, doesn’t sound too bad, but you need to look at it. The other is a little worse. Sounds like one of his boys had a couple of fingers shot off.”

  Ted was shaking his head. “Why didn’t he call for help sooner? If it’s that bad he should have been on the horn to us.”

  “He’s just fuckin’ thick-headed I guess,” Sarge said.

  “What kind of trouble they got?” Mike asked.

  “He’s not sure. They were raided a couple of days ago and managed to fend those guys off, and yesterday they were ambushed. That’s when they suffered the casualties,” Sarge said.

  “Whoever they are, they’re some sorry son’s-a-bitches for shootin’ a little girl,” Ted said.

  “Damn straight. Let’s go make dead out of ‘em,” Sarge said.

  I closed the door of the shop and stood there looking up at the sky. It was cold out and the stars were brilliant. I remember sitting out by the fire pit on nights like this and watching as the International Space Station passed overhead. It made me wonder if it was still up there and if it was, how long they could last without support from Earth. Would they run out of food and starve, or run out of oxygen and suffocate first? Either way would be horrible.

  I went and checked on Lee Ann. She was sleeping soundly so I added a log to the fireplace and after a quick check of all the doors, went to bed. Mel was already sleeping when I got there. I didn’t disturb her as I took off all my hardware, leaning the rifle beside the bed and laying the pistol on the table. I climbed under the blankets and quickly went to sleep.

  The next morning I slept late. I woke up to an empty bed and light coming in through the blinds. For a moment I just laid there in a haze, much as I would on any other ordinary Sunday. I was absentmindedly watching a beam of light that cut through the blinds and landed on the wall opposite the bed. Little particles of dust floated on the light. Then suddenly I remembered, remembered that things were different. It wasn’t an ordinary Sunday. I jumped from the bed and grabbed the XD from the table. The door swung open and I raised the pistol. Taylor froze in the door, holding a cup of coffee.

  I looked at her, then at the pistol and slowly lowered it. “Sorry, baby, I overslept.”

  She surprised me by her lack of reaction to me pointing a gun at her. “It’s okay, Dad. Mom said to let you sleep. You want some coffee?”

  “Yeah, thanks, sorry about that.”

  She smiled and walked towards me, offering the cup, “It’s okay. Things are different now. I get it.”

  I smiled and took the cup from her. I knew she would want to know if I liked it or not, so I took a quick sip. It was really good, she always made a good cup of coffee. “Mmm, that’s good. Go on, I’ll be out in a minute.”

  She smiled and said, “There’s eggs and biscuits for breakfast.”

  I took my time dressing. Mel had a plate sitting on the table for me, scrambled eggs and a biscuit. A can of Red Feather butter sat on the table, a rare and precious luxury. Before sitting down to the plate, I went to check on Lee Ann. She was still laying on the couch, playing on the iPad. If she was doing that, I thought she must be alright.

  “How you feeling this mornin’?”

  She didn’t even look up from whatever it was she was doing. “Better.”

  I rubbed her head and went back to the kitchen to eat. Lil’ Bit was sitting at the table pushing some eggs around the plate. Her elbow was sitting on the table and she rested her head on her knuckles.

  “You okay, rug rat?”

  “Yeah.”

  I reached over and slid her plate out from in front of her. “If you’re not goin’ to eat these, I will,” I said as I went to scoop some eggs off her plate.

  “Hey! Those are mine!” She reached out and pulled the plate back to her far side and making a show of shielding it from me.

  “Okay, guess I’ll have to eat mine. Hey, you want some butter on your biscuit?”

  She perked up a bit. “Sure. I wish we had some jelly.”

  I looked back at Mel, who w
as still at the stove. “Are we out of jelly?”

  “I haven’t gone out to the shed to look.”

  “Sit tight, I’ll go look,” I said to Little Bit.

  I knew I had a few jars of grape jelly put away. I found it behind the peanut butter. While I was looking, I noticed how thin things were getting on the shelves. There were still many buckets with various contents in them. We would have to start utilizing the stuff on them and get away from the fast and easy canned food.

  As I was heading out of the shed I reached over and tapped the mouse pad on the laptop. The screen came to life and I read: friendlies inbound, 1200 hours tomorrow

  I stood there reading those five words over and over. He was coming here? It was 8:37, three and a half hours til he or whoever got here. I went back inside and opened the jelly jar. Little Bit insisted on spreading her own jelly. I sat there eating the eggs without really noticing, thinking about what was going to happen that day. Running the scenarios through my head brought me around. I quickly finished the eggs, smeared some butter and jelly on the biscuit and headed for the bedroom.

  Sticking the biscuit in my mouth, I put the vest on, holstered the XD and slung my carbine. A quick check told me it was still chambered. I was eating the biscuit when I walked back into the kitchen.

  Mel looked at me as I came in and asked, “Where are you going?”

  “I got a message from a friend, sounds like they may be coming here. I need to get up to the roadblock.”

  “Who’s coming?” she asked, and then she looked confused. “How’d you get a message?”

  “Tell ya later, I gotta go.”

  Little Bit looked up from her plate. “Can I come?”