by J. R. Tate
“How is your little guy?” Steve approached her, sipping on his own cup of water.
“He’s resilient. Handling it a lot better than I would have if I was the one to lose my arm.”
Steve nodded. “It helps that he is so young.”
“That’s what I keep telling myself.” Cecilia tucked a strand of wet hair behind her ear. “How’s the farming going?”
“Got the corn in the ground. And a little cotton. A few tomatoes and some other vegetables but I really don’t know how it’s going to take. Most are off of volunteer plants and old seeds that weren’t lost in the storms. We got it all watered down real well.”
“So, what’s next?” Cecilia asked, pulling up the cloth blanket near Ty.
“We wait. It’s all part of the farming experience. Wait, pray, wait for rain, and hope that Mother Nature is on your side.”
Cecilia cringed at the mention of Mother Nature. “Judging by what we’re going through, I’d say that Mother Nature pretty much hates us.”
“What makes you say that?” Steve asked, finishing his coffee.
“Houses that have been here for generations, gone. We’re living out of a cellar with limited food. And now, we’ve supposedly got the start of a big drought beginning.”
Steve laughed, the low vibration in his chest genuine as he smiled. “Nah, I’d say we’re doing just fine. The river has water in it and that helped get the ground plowed and going. And now there is just a lapse in precipitation to allow us to adjust to the rising flood waters. It’ll rain again. We just gotta wait.”
Cecilia couldn’t help but laugh. To have his positive attitude. That would make life so much easier. “I can tell you’ve been a farmer your whole life. That’s the only way guys like you think.” She spotted Mindy across the room. “I noticed you’re hitting it off with Mindy.” She didn’t mean to change the subject so fast but a little small town gossip was needed to break up the monotony.
Steve glanced in Mindy’s direction and if Cecilia wasn’t mistaken, his cheeks turned red. “She’s a hard worker. Probably worked twice as hard as some of the men out there.”
“Not to mention that she’s cute.”
Steve ducked his head and laughed nervously. “I suppose you’re right, Cecilia.”
“I definitely am. Don’t let this tragedy stop you. Keep talking to her. Your positive attitude is a great attribute.”
“Yeah?” Steve cocked his head to the side.
“Yeah. Very attractive to us women-folk.” Cecilia giggled and looked down, hoping they weren’t being too loud for Ty. “Go get ‘em!” Diverting her attention to her son, she watched Steve from the corner of her eye. Maybe the timing wasn’t completely appropriate but why not? If they waited for normal conditions, the moment would be gone. And with the way things were going, who was to say things would ever get back to the way they were?
Ty sat up and rubbed his eyes, yawning. His hair spiked out in different directions and when he finally completely woke up, the first words out of his mouth were, “Mommy, I’m hungry.”
“Let’s go get you something to eat. We’ll say it’s your midnight snack.”
She led Ty to the food table, all while keeping one eye on Steve and Mindy. A little romance would spice things up and get her mind off of worrying about her family. It was also a chance for Steve and Mindy to find happiness in the middle of all the chaos.
Chapter Seventeen
Ryan helped his dad clean the fish and Doug worked on the fire. His mouth watered at the thought of eating something fresh and in a normal situation, he would have been sick of fish. Now it was turning into a delicacy to have it. Slicing fillets from the bones, Ryan looked up, watching his father. He worked fast, his knife sharp as he prepared their meal.
“You remember when you taught me how to clean fish?” Ryan asked, breaking the silence.
Darryl glanced up at him but continued to focus on the knife. “Yeah. You must’ve been about five or six when I first tried.”
“If memory serves me correctly, I was more fascinated with the blood and the guts than the actual meat you were slicing up.”
Darryl laughed and wiped his face with the back of his arm, gripping the knife in his hand. They were only able to use pocket knives but they were getting the job done. It didn’t need to be perfect.
“Yeah, at first you were pretty hesitant and then you went right for the nasty stuff. Your mother had a fit when I brought you home with all of those fish guts on your clothes.” His smile faded at the mention of Ryan’s mother. “I’m glad she’s not around for all of this bullshit.”
“I agree. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” Ryan replied.
“Speaking of worst enemy, I saw you and Doug talking. How’s that going?”
“Not bad. I made amends with him.” Ryan didn’t want to go into more detail. There really wasn’t much more to say. Doug had saved his life in the middle of the fire. Ryan knew he had to let bygones be bygones and push forward. “We should probably eat and rest up. If we get an early start tomorrow, we can be in Fox Lake before lunchtime. We are already setback several days.”
Darryl glared at him as they gathered up the fillets and carried them to the fire. “Way to change the subject, Ryan. But you’re right. Rest up and check on that leg.”
“It doesn’t matter about my leg. We are already here.”
A thin slab of wood lay above the flames, high enough up to not burn, but close enough to cook the meat. The fish sizzled and the scent of it cooking wafted toward them, making Ryan’s stomach growl. He couldn’t remember the last time he ate. Being knocked unconscious really made him lose concept of time.
“So we’re pretty close to Fox Lake, right?” Doug asked as he turned over a fillet.
“Yeah. We should’ve just kept going. We’re probably about a forty-five-minute walk from here.” Ryan tried to hide the disappointment in his voice. It wasn’t anyone’s fault why they had stopped. Setback after setback was really killing his outlook on the situation as a whole. They were so close now that he wasn’t going to allow anything else to get in their way.
“Should we have just carried your limp body the whole way?” Darryl asked.
“No, of course not. That’s not what I meant.” Ryan checked the fish. The meat was flaky and he pulled some off, serving both of the guys before himself. He owed both of them, though he wasn’t sure how or when he’d be able to pay them back. “I just mean that if we go tonight after we eat we can make up some time that we have lost.”
“You don’t think you need to rest?” Darryl asked as he scarfed down his meal.
“No. What I need is to get to Fox Lake and find Cecilia’s parents so we can get home. I’ve spent too much time away from my family and I want to get us all back together and in one place.”
“Could be good to go at night,” Doug said, joining the conversation. He blew on a bite of fish and continued, “It won’t be as hot. Won’t be as hard on us. We can refill the canteens here at the river and not go through so much water.”
“That’s a good point,” Darryl agreed. “I just don’t want to overdo it.”
“We’re not far now. It’s time that we get there. We’ll just have to be extra careful to watch for snakes and nocturnal animals that will be out looking for food. We’re not top of the food chain anymore. Just keep that in mind.” Ryan finished his fish and leaned back against the tree trunk behind him. His leg did ache some but it hadn’t bled since he woke up. With a few stitches missing, he’d have to be more careful but it was good to see his body healing without the aid of the stitches.
“I’ll spear me a snake if one comes by. It’ll be another meal for us.” Darryl laughed.
“Snake?” Doug grimaced. “I don’t know about that.”
“It just tastes like fishy chicken!”
It felt good now that the tension between Doug and Ryan was gone. It felt more like a night of camping with friends, rather than a desperate rescue mission to find Cecilia�
��s parents. They finished their food and re-hydrated. Taking one last glance over their inventory, their packed food was running low due to the fact that they had expected to be in Fox Lake days ago. Losing the horses had been detrimental to their whole plan.
Ryan double checked his wound and the gauze was clean. No blood, no infection, and he felt strong enough to be able to walk, though he had to think about each step he took. If he had to run from something again, more stitches would rip and he wouldn’t be so lucky.
Rejoining his dad and Doug, they put out the fire and pressed on toward Fox Lake. They were so close now that Ryan refused to allow anything else to stop them. Since Cecilia’s parents were older, each second they weren’t there could be life and death. His father was also older but he seemed to be in decent shape, considering how much walking and work he had done. His health concerned Ryan – the coughing seemed to be getting worse and though he could keep up the pace, it certainly wasn’t doing Darryl good to walk all of those miles in the heat. It wasn’t good for anyone, young or old.
“I will say this much – the stars sure are beautiful!” Doug pointed up at the sky and whistled. “The biggest sky I’ve ever seen!”
It was refreshing to take a moment to appreciate the spectacular scene that nature was displaying for them. The moon was bright enough to provide some light for them and the stars were so breathtaking that Ryan forgot about his grudge against the environment for a few seconds. Thankful that the moon was full, they were able to preserve propane and batteries and work off of the natural light in the sky.
“If we still had electricity, we’d be able to see the lights of Fox Lake right over that hill by now.” Ryan longed to see it. “Wouldn’t it be something if we got here and everything was normal? That would solve so many problems with Harper Springs.” It was stupid to even imagine it. Things wouldn’t be normal. He feared it would be a carbon copy of their town. Maybe even worse.
Ryan wanted to run, to get there and get one worry off of his mind but with his leg in bad shape and his father’s lung issue, staying at a steady pace was the wisest thing to do. Her folks didn’t live in the city limits – they had a few acres on the outskirts of town, thankfully on the south side so they wouldn’t have to trek all the way in.
He tried to get a good vantage point of where they were. In the dark, with no lights on the highway, it was harder to figure it out. Ryan was good at going off of landmarks to find things and with buildings gone and trees ripped up, everything looked completely different than the last time they had come through, which was when they came to help them patch up cracked windows on the house. It felt like an eternity ago, back when Ryan wasn’t taking the change in the weather seriously enough.
“It’s a left off of this highway, toward that county road.” Ryan pointed and his father and Doug followed. Highway signs were gone but he remembered how the highway dipped into a valley. Ty always got a kick out of it if they were going fast enough, saying it felt like they were in a roller-coaster. His giggle echoed in Ryan’s memory and it brought a smile to his lips. He couldn’t wait to see his family again.
“Are you sure?” Darryl asked, the skepticism in his voice thick. Ryan tried not to take it personally. He wasn’t completely confident that it was right but the valley that Ty loved so much made him feel like they were on the right road.
“Yes. Their house was off to the right down a long dirt driveway that looks kind of like a caliche road. It’s right beyond that grove.” He couldn’t help it now – his pace picked up and they walked faster, anticipating what they might find. He didn’t expect to see a house but their cellar was even nicer and built up than his and if anyone was prepared to survive the catastrophe, it was Cecilia’s parents.
The concrete slab foundation was haunting. Ryan figured he’d never get used to seeing the destruction of homes that had stood strong for decades in the harsh conditions that Texas weather was known to bring the area, now wiped from the face of the earth like they were play toys. The silver light from the full moon aided in the eerie feel of the vacancy surrounding them. A knot formed in his stomach. By the looks of the area, any sign of human life had faded, killing any hope he harbored in finding them.
“Charlie? Margaret?” Ryan yelled and walked toward the cellar. Yelling their names again, he glanced over his shoulder at Doug and Darryl. “We might have to go into town.”
He gripped the door handle, tugging on the cellar door. It didn’t budge and he tried again, unwilling to give up until it flew up and revealed what was on the other side. It banged against metal and he groaned out as he fought the stubborn barricade.
“Charlie! Margaret! Are you down there?” Desperation was heavy in his voice as it shook. What if they came all this way for nothing? What if he got the door open and they were dead inside?
Doug joined him, both of them pulling on the handle until finally, it came open, sending both of them backward, tumbling to the ground with a hard thud. Ryan ignored the pain radiating down his back and through his legs and crawled to the entrance, peering inside. It was too dark but he could swear he heard whimpering echo.
“Is anyone down there?”
“Yes. Please help us!”
It was Margaret’s voice and Ryan hurried down the steps, pulling his flashlight from his bag. She was slumped in the corner, hovering over an unmoving object, probably Charlie. Oh shit! The fact that he wasn’t moving wasn’t good and he approached with caution, uncertain of what he’d find. After witnessing rabid human beings and looters, he couldn’t let his guard down, even with family.
“What’s...” Ryan trailed off when he got his first good glimpse at Charlie. “Oh my… God. Margaret, what happened?”
“We ran out of insulin. He was awake and talking this morning but he just sort of… went comatose on me.” Tears trailed down her face, making streaks in the dirt caked on her skin. “He’s breathing and I checked his pulse. It’s really fast. I tried getting him something to help… anything!” She threw her hands in the air. “We made sure we had a surplus of medications but we never thought we’d be down here so long. What is… what is happening, Ryan?”
“I don’t know, Margaret. I wish I had an answer for you.” Ryan knelt beside Charlie and checked his pulse in his wrist. It was very weak and his breathing was shallow. He checked his bag for anything that might help, but came up short.
Doug and his father had joined them in the cellar, each standing back as they watched. They were completely helpless, watching on as a man fell deeper into a diabetic coma, death imminent. Ryan wouldn’t accept it. If only they had been quicker and hadn’t lost the horses. This was his fault. They should’ve never taken this long to get to Fox Lake.
Looking up at Margaret, Ryan blinked back the tears before she could see his weakness. “Have you been to town since all of this happened?”
She shook her head no. “We stayed here. Charlie said there was no reason to go to town. We had everything we needed. Or, we thought we did. When he started getting bad I was scared to leave his side and he wouldn’t let me go alone, anyway.”
The condition of Fox Lake was unknown. Had they gathered in a shelter like the survivors of Harper Springs had? Looking down at Charlie, sweat gathered on his forehead and his labored breaths continued. The poor man was suffering. All Ryan could think about was Cecilia and how much her father had helped out his family. And here he was, letting the man down.
“I’m going to Fox Lake.” He stood up, dodging the reaction from Darryl and Doug.
“That’s a death sentence if you do, Ryan.” Darryl stood in his way, not allowing him to get close to the stairs.
“From what I can tell, we don’t have much left to lose. Charlie is dying. They might have some insulin or something that can help him. We can’t give up.”
“I’ll go,” Doug interjected, standing beside Darryl. “I’m healthier than both of you. I can even run it. How far is town from here?”
“A few miles,” Margaret replied, keeping
her eyes on her husband.
“Let me do this, Ryan. You stay here and take care of your family. I’ll come back, I promise. Let me make up for all of the crap I did before.”
Ryan contemplated Doug’s proposal. He was healthier and though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, his leg would definitely slow the trip down. Charlie didn’t have time on his hands. Before Doug had saved him, Ryan would have never trusted he’d come back but he saw him in a whole new light now.
“Okay, Doug. Take this road back up to the highway and it’ll take you right into Fox Lake. I appreciate you volunteering to do this.”
“If I’m not back...”
Ryan cut him off. “We’ll wait, Doug. Everything will be fine. I trust you’ll get us some help.”
“Take some water and we do still have some food.” Margaret gathered up a few things for him and put it in his bag. “Thank you.”
Doug patted her arm and hurried up the stairs, leaving Darryl, Ryan, and Cecilia’s folks below. Ryan watched until the door slammed behind him and focused back on Charlie. He dampened a wash cloth and draped it on his forehead and felt relieved when he responded to the coolness against his body.
“When did he run out of insulin?”
“I can’t remember, exactly. A week ago? We have lost all concept of time being down here. I don’t even know what day it is.” Margaret sat beside her husband and grabbed his hand, caressing his palm. “How is Cecilia. And Ty?”
“They’re safe in Harper Springs. They’re at a shelter in a church cellar with the rest of what’s left of the town.” Ryan omitted the part about Ty’s arm. Margaret had enough to worry about right now and Ty was alive, at least. “Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine. I’m just so scared for Charlie. He’s not going to make it, Ryan. I think he’s too far gone.” Her voice shook and more tears fell. Ryan took her hand and squeezed, the pain on her face hurt worse than any leg injury ever could have.