by Ray Gorham
Kyle took his shirt off and washed his neck and chest. Both arms were missing patches of skin that had been rubbed off on the street, his right shoulder having gotten the worst of it. He washed it tenderly, picking out small pieces of gravel as he went.
Another knock sounded at the door. “Dad said to bring you some clean water,” Diana’s muffled voice came through the door.
Kyle opened the door and took the bucket from her.
“Here’s our first aid kit. I thought you might need it as well,” she added, handing him a shoebox-sized plastic container. “It’s kind of messy, but there are probably things in it you could use.”
Kyle thanked her, then shut himself back in the bathroom and continued to wash.
He emerged from the bathroom thirty minutes later, bandaged and cleaned. Elijah sat at the kitchen table reading, and Stevie was in the living room drawing on a pad of paper, a magazine propped open to a picture of a helicopter in front of him. “You look a little different,” Elijah said, looking up from his Bible, his black reading glasses perched on the end of his nose.
“I feel different,” said Kyle. “I feel better now that I’m cleaned up, but you might want to burn those washcloths you gave me.”
Elijah chuckled and set his glasses down on the table beside him. “We might not use them right away, but I don’t think we’ll be burning anything for the time being. You never know what might come in handy.”
“Who’s your barber?” Stevie called from the other room. “I hope you didn’t leave him a tip.”
Kyle grinned. “Found some scissors in your first aid kit. Figured I’d be better off with a little less hair. I didn’t go for the bald look, like your dad. Us white guys don’t have such nicely-shaped heads.”
Elijah rolled his eyes. “If you lived here long enough, you’d learn to ignore my son. Sometimes his mouth engages before his brain fires up.”
“He’s fine,” said Kyle. “I’ve got a son about the same age, so I’m used to it. Helps keep a smile on your face.”
Kyle sat down at the table across from Elijah. “So I need to know, how could you leave a nasty-looking, homeless bum, who you don’t know, in the same bedroom with your daughter? Weren’t you worried?”
“Not really,” said Elijah. “I was in the next room, and Diana’s pretty tough. She wants to be a nurse, even works as a nurse’s assistant at the old folks home part time, and I thought taking care of a corpse would be a good experience for her. And to be honest, you were so messed up my grandmother could have taken you, and she’s closing in on one hundred.”
Kyle laughed. “I suppose. But I was pretty scary looking. I really want to thank you for not leaving me in the street.”
“Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on bringing you home, I just wanted to stop the beating. But you kept mumbling about your cart, and you didn’t strike me as a bum. I guess I had the impression you had someplace important to get to. Maybe the Holy Spirit whispered to me.”
“Whatever the reason, you were right,” said Kyle nodding. “That place is important, at least it is to me.”
“How soon till you think you can get back on the road?” Elijah asked. “Not trying to rush you, but I’m sure that you’re anxious to move on. Winter starts early up there, doesn’t it?”
“Depends on the year. Sometimes we get snow in September, sometimes not till January, but I’m sure the mountains will have some by the time I get north. I’d like to get going in the morning, if you don’t mind me staying another night.”
“Sure, that’s no problem. Are you sure you’re up to leaving that quickly? I wasn’t expecting you’d be ready to go that soon; you’re welcome to stay longer if you need to.”
“I think I’ll be alright. My legs are in pretty good shape, just a few bruises. I might have a couple of busted ribs, and maybe my cheek, but nothing to stop me from moving along. I’ll probably scare anyone I meet, but maybe that will keep trouble away, and I don’t want to waste the good weather.”
“Well then,” said Elijah, “lets go take a look at your cart and see what you’re missing.
CHAPTER 15
Tuesday, September 13th
Lubbock, TX
The ringing of an alarm clock in the next room woke Kyle up. He swung his feet out of bed and stiffly twisted his head from side to side. His neck was tighter than yesterday, but at least his legs still felt good. He could hear movement in the next room and then a light knock on his door.
“Kyle?” Elijah’s voice called through the door.
“I’m up,” Kyle replied. “Be out in a minute.”
He put on his clothes and joined Elijah in the kitchen for breakfast while Diana slept soundly on the living room couch.
“You sure you’re ready?’ Elijah asked, studying the bruises on Kyle’s face.
Kyle nodded, finishing his cereal. “I’ll be alright. I need to get moving.”
“Sorry we don’t have milk,” Elijah said as he gathered up their bowls. “Haven’t been to the store for a few days and haven’t found any good deals on dairy cows.”
“You’re forgiven,” said Kyle. “Water does the job.”
“Did you remember that notebook you asked me for?”
“I did. I packed it last night. I appreciate it.”
“Don’t mention it. The kids started school a week before this all went down, so we had a few extras around. I don’t think school will be starting back up for awhile, do you?”
“No, I don’t. I think it’s going to be a long time, two or three years at least, before traditional schooling starts again.”
“You certainly are optimistic, aren’t you,” said Elijah, chuckling. “What d’you need the book for anyway? You going to be doing some sketching in your spare time?”
Kyle laughed, then got serious. “No. I want to keep a journal. After getting beat up Sunday, I realized there’s a good chance that I might not make it home. I figured I’d keep a record of my trip, then if I don’t make it, maybe someone will find my journal and forward it to my family. That way, Jennifer will find out I didn’t forget about her. Plus, it’ll help me keep track of time and know where I’m at in my schedule.”
Elijah nodded. “Hopefully you can deliver the notebook in person, but if I don’t hear from you when things come back together, I’ll send your wife a note too, assuming my kids don’t get hungry and eat me first.”
Kyle wiped the crumbs off the kitchen table and walked outside with Elijah. The eastern horizon was just starting to brighten and the day wasn’t hot yet. Elijah sniffed the air. “Smells like rain,” he said. “Still want to head off today?”
Kyle nodded. “Rain will keep the temperature down. Besides, the longer I wait, the harder it will be to get started.”
“Help me spread these out before we leave,” Elijah said, grabbing some buckets stacked beside the house. “If it does rain, I want to collect all the water I can.”
In no time, the buckets were spread out, and Kyle and Elijah, who had insisted on walking with Kyle to the outskirts of the city, headed out in the gradually brightening dawn.
After walking a few blocks, they turned onto a street Kyle recognized, and he felt himself tense up. “Are we going to be safe here?” he asked, scanning the street for danger.
Elijah nodded confidently. “It’s too early for trouble. The gang bangers you ran into the other day will be sleeping, and I don’t even think they’re from this part of town. They probably followed you for a while, waiting to jump you someplace with less people around. We’ll just make good time and get you out of the city, and there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“But how about you? Will you be okay getting back home? People will be up by the time you come back through.”
“I’m not worried. I know the areas to avoid better than you did. Besides, you looked out of place, so you were an easy target.”
“I suppose. I’ll really have to try and avoid the cities, won’t I?”
“Probably best. People are goi
ng to be more desperate where there’s no way to get food.”
“That’s one of the reasons I moved to Montana, the fact that there aren’t as many cities, and the hunting’s good too.”
“I enjoyed my visit there. If it wasn’t for my family all being in Texas, I could move there pretty easily I think.”
“How long ago did you visit?”
“It was eight years ago last June, six months before Tasha died.”
“Tasha was your wife?”
Elijah nodded.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It was a tough time, but we got through it. At least we were able to say goodbye.”
“It wasn’t sudden?”
“No, we had some time to get ready. That’s why we went to Montana. She picked all these places she wanted to see before she passed: Yosemite, Old Faithful, Mt. Rushmore, Statue of Liberty, and a few others. We took that last summer and saw them all. It was one of the happiest summers of my life.” Elijah radiated peace as he talked about the trip and his wife.
“Were you in the ministry at the time?”
He shook his head. “I was in Iraq. Tasha was diagnosed in early April, so I got leave. When she died, I received a discharge. Couldn’t very well raise kids alone from the other side of the world.”
The sun had fully risen above the horizon, the temperature climbing enough to make Kyle sweat. “So how’d you end up becoming a minister?”
Elijah thought as they walked, the stillness of the city interrupted only by the sound of their footsteps and the wheels of the cart. “Well,” he began slowly, “dealing with Tasha’s death forced me to think about life. You know, what’s it all about? Is there really a God? I just couldn’t accept it all being for nothing, and I wanted some answers. Tasha always believed, ever since she was a little girl. It was easy for her, but I struggled with it. Faith is a tough thing to come to grips with; it was a lot easier to not think about it, because then you never have to feel guilty about anything. Then when she passed… her body….I can’t explain it, but it wasn’t her. It was her body, but it was like her skin had just been something she was wearing, and the real Tasha was gone. I guess I made up my mind then that we weren’t just highly evolved monkeys and that we had a soul, or a spirit, or whatever you want to call it. After I came to that conclusion, things kind of fell into place. Maybe this is where God wants me.”
Kyle didn’t respond. He just listened and walked, pulling his cart along behind him.
Elijah looked at Kyle and laughed. “Sorry, Kyle. I guess it doesn’t take much to get me into preacher mode anymore, does it?”
“No, don’t apologize. You’re good. I was just thinking back on the past week and a half and everything that’s happened. I know I should believe in God, that’s how I was raised, but watching how quickly people fall apart, I don’t know. I mean, why would God create people who would do what they did to our country? I bet thousands of people have died in the last week that wouldn’t have under normal circumstances. It just seems we’re a lot closer to animals than we are to anything holy.”
“I can see where you’re coming from, but that’s part of life -- seeing how we deal with what’s put in front of us. I don’t claim to know how God thinks or why he lets happen the things that he does, but I believe he’s there. Doesn’t mean that somebody else isn’t going to do horrible things. It just means that I need to treat people the best way I can. Heck, if we’re just a chance grouping of cells, then why haul that guy off the airplane? You weren’t expecting that it would do you any good. Why go back to your family when it’d be a whole lot easier to just start a new life here? Name one animal that would go to half the lengths you are for a breeding partner or their offspring. If we’re all products of the ‘survival of the fittest’ heritage that the scientists proclaim, then we should be living an every-man-for-himself lifestyle. From a non-theistic standpoint, there’s no explanation for why we care about others or try and do good.”
The highway ahead of them was littered with cars and trucks, paralyzed in the full swing of activity, and with most of the city behind them, Kyle knew that Elijah would soon return home. He stopped and turned towards Elijah. “You’ve given me a lot to think about,” Kyle said with a grin. “We should have started this conversation yesterday. It gives me a little more hope for mankind. Not a lot at this point, but some.”
Elijah’s broad smile spread across his face again, and his eyes sparkled in the early morning light. “I’d have loved to talk about it; it’s one of my favorite topics, but you slept most of the day.” He winked at Kyle and laughed. “You know, Kyle, you do believe in God. It’s just that your brain gets in the way and screws everything up. But think about your life, how you live, how you treat other people. Ask yourself why you do things that help others at your expense, whether it’s your kids, or your wife, or someone you don’t even know. Why do you care about going home? That’s the spiritual part of you, the divine spark at work. There’s your answer.”
“I’ll think about it, Elijah. I’m sure I’ll have some time for thinking in the next few weeks.”
Elijah stepped forward and embraced Kyle. “Sunday school’s over. You need to get moving; you have a long ways to go. Take care of yourself. It’s not going to be easy.”
Kyle wrapped his arms around Elijah, trying not to grimace in pain as Elijah squeezed his bruised ribs. “Thanks for everything. You promised to come to Montana when this is all over, and I’m going to hold you to that. Tell your kids thanks, too.”
Deer Creek, Montana
“Meeting adjourned,” Gabe said as he ran his hands through his thinning hair, frustrated with everything that wasn’t getting done. “Let’s work on those issues and try to come up with some more ideas for our next meeting,” he added as the first of the committee members headed to the door.
Jennifer finished writing her notes, stuffed her pad in her handbag, and got up to go. The meeting had been difficult for the council. The weight of what they had to deal with was becoming more and more apparent. There had already been one death in the community, and the number of people going hungry was mounting. The committee was discovering that those who were more prepared were the ones who avoided participating in the group, leaving them with the people who needed the most help but had little to offer.
Jennifer recalled learning about when the pilgrims first came to America, how half of them had died in the first year, and then it was a number of years before survival rates improved much. Considering the helplessness of so many in their community, she worried that they might experience similar losses. Jennifer was caught up in her thoughts and jumped when a hand touched her arm.
“Mind if I walk with you?” Doug asked.
He was dressed in his sheriff’s uniform again, and while Jennifer thought he overplayed his security role, it seemed to make Doug feel important and didn’t really hurt anything. Besides, who was she to be critical of a person’s appearance? Her routine of a daily shower had devolved to the occasional sponge bath, and she had only washed her hair a handful of times since “the event”, if you counted a quick rinse in cold water as washing. Consequently, Jennifer wore extra deodorant and perfume to mask body odor, and guessed, from the potpourri of scents in the room, that most of the people on the council were resorting to the same tactics. Even her clothes had seen little soap over the same time period. With water being such a precious resource, two rainstorms had been the extent of their laundry. When the first storm had rolled in, she had been unprepared for the sudden opportunity and barely managed to get their clothes wet. The second time it rained, she and the kids had rigged clotheslines in the backyard and hurried to get their clothes out and hanging before the rain quit.
“Doug! Sorry for jumping. I was kind of lost in my thoughts. Um, I’m a little out of your way, aren’t I?”
“Oh, just a little, but it’s no big deal. Besides, the walk will go by quicker if you have someone to chat with.”
“I guess that’s oka
y,” Jennifer answered, making a point not to show any enthusiasm.
“Great. I was hoping you wouldn’t mind.” Doug offered to carry her bag, then held the door for her as they bid Gabe goodbye.
“So, Doug,” said Jennifer, Chuck’s words of caution ringing in her ears, “I don’t know much about you. Are you married?”
“Nope,” he replied. “I was engaged once, but it didn’t work out.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Probably for the best. I don’t think she liked that I was in law enforcement. Said I was too authoritarian.” He said the last word in a mocking tone and made quotation marks with his fingers.
“So no kids then?”
“No. Well, not with her at least. I’ve got a son with a girlfriend from a few years back, but I’m not even sure he’s mine. I didn’t really trust her while we were together. I think she just wanted to get some money out of me.”
“Does your son live close?”
“Spokane. At least that’s where they were when I last heard from her. What’s with the inquisition?”
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to pry. Just trying to make conversation. What should we talk about?”
“I don’t know. How about you? How are you doing, you and your kids?”
“Still as good as one could hope, all things considered. We’re trying to stretch the food out, so always a little hungry. Guess I’ll be losing the weight I’ve been trying to drop.”
“You don’t need to lose any weight,” Doug said, stepping back to take an exaggerated look. “I think you look good. Hope you don’t mind me saying that.”