by Ray Gorham
After a tense minute, she exhaled slowly and leaned back against the couch. Her heart raced, but she tried to dismiss the noises as “night-sounds” amplified by her stressed-out situation. Too wound up to go back to sleep, Jennifer felt with her feet for her slippers, then got up and walked into the kitchen for a drink of water. A cool breeze drifted across her ankles, covering her legs with goose bumps. She looked for the source of the breeze and saw that the front door was open with a narrow wedge of moonlight illuminating the gap.
Jennifer’s mind raced. Had she closed and locked the door earlier in the evening? She was positive she had. Had one of the children wandered off? Emma had been so unsettled -- was it her? Filled with dread, Jennifer ran outside to the porch and scanned the street in front of the house. She saw nothing and hurried back inside, her heart pounding like a piston. She walked as quickly as she dared in the darkness down the hall towards Emma’s room.
Passing the open door to her own bedroom, Jennifer sensed movement. She stopped and turned. “Emma?” she said in a hushed voice. “Are you…” she started to say before being silenced by a shape, much too large to be Emma, moving rapidly towards her from inside her bedroom. Petrified, she stood in front of the door wanting to scream, but only a dull gasp escaped her lips. She tried to pull herself away from the door, but her legs wouldn’t respond. She raised her hands in front of her for protection just as the intruder, in his attempt to flee, collided with her and sent her careening backwards into the wall of the hallway. Her arms flailed behind her to find the wall and catch herself, but the impact was too violent and she only managed to knock the pictures that were hanging there to the floor with her as she fell.
As the intruder dashed towards the front door to escape, his legs tangled with hers and he fell with a loud crash to the ground, then quickly recovered, scrambled for the door, and was swallowed by the darkness of the night as he fled through the front door.
Jennifer lay on the floor, stunned and trying to make sense of what had happened. As she began to pick herself up, a sound came from the basement stairs and terror took root again. Jennifer crawled silently into her room as the footsteps approached the top of the stairs. She reached under the mattress for Kyle’s gun, her heart skipping a beat when she heard a hinge on the basement door squeak as it opened.
Who was in her house? What had they done to her children? Rumors of gangs had spread through the community in recent weeks, but so far there hadn’t been any problems locally. Was she the first victim? Jennifer’s fingers found the cold, reassuring steel, and she quickly pulled the gun from under the mattress. With her hands shaking violently, Jennifer tossed the holster to the floor and turned back towards the door.
Images of David and Spencer butchered in their beds in the basement terrorized her. What had happened to sweet Emma? Was it too late to save any of them? She could feel her heart pounding, then her fear dissolved into a rage more intense than she had ever felt in her life.
Jennifer held the gun tightly with both hands and pointed it towards the open doorway. She had shot the gun a few times in the past and knew how to use it, if she needed to. Aiming the gun at chest level, she pressed her right index finger lightly against the trigger, ready to squeeze as soon as the intruder appeared. She listened, senses magnified, adrenaline pumping, exhaling in short, shallow puffs, her mind focused on the gun in her hands.
In her other life she would have called 911, but not now. Being able to call for help, or even just flip on a light was a distant memory. She longed for the sound of approaching sirens and flashing blue lights racing down the road to save her, but knew they would never come.
A loose floorboard produced a barely audible creak, but it echoed loudly in her head. She squeezed the grip of the gun tighter. In her head, she heard Kyle’s instructions. “Squeeze the trigger, don’t pull it.” Jennifer’s arms began to tingle from holding the gun extended, but she blocked the discomfort from her mind.
Her eyes straining in the darkness, Jennifer saw the dark shape of a hand placed carefully on her doorway. She tensed and waited, ready to fire, knowing that she would need to incapacitate the intruder before he could return fire. She felt the pressure of the trigger against her finger, and braced herself for the recoil and sound of the shot, knowing it would echo loudly throughout the house.
As she waited and watched, poised to shoot, she heard a voice from down the hallway calling timidly for her. It was Emma. Jennifer wanted to scream out to her, to tell her not to draw attention to herself, but she was too afraid.
Jennifer forced herself to breathe, still watching the hand on the doorway. Something crunched and she knew the intruder had stepped on glass from one of the broken pictures. The hand pulled away from the doorway, and she heard a muffled noise. The noise came again, then again. A stifled cough!
Jennifer lowered the gun. “David?” she hissed, listening for a response, “David? Is that you?” she hissed again, more urgently this time.
“Mom?” came David’s frightened voice. “Mom, it’s me. Are you okay?”
Jennifer started to shake. She dropped the gun and crawled across the room to her bedroom doorway. “David, you scared me,” she said, her voice choking off. Tears flowed down her cheeks as she envisioned herself shooting David and watching him die by her hand. She reached him and wrapped her arms around his head as he sat on the floor in the hallway holding his foot.
“Mom, be careful. There’s broken glass,” he said. “I cut my foot. I heard a crash, then someone running. What happened?”
Jennifer knelt on the floor embracing her son, barely able to think, completely unable to answer.
Monday, October 17th
Deer Creek, Montana
“Who is it?” Jennifer yelled through the closed door.
“It’s Carol. What’s going on in there? Are you okay?”
Jennifer cracked the door open, squinting in the bright afternoon sunlight and braced to slam the door shut if it wasn’t her.
Carol, her head cocked to the side, looked quizzically through the narrow slit. “Jennifer?” she said. “What’s going on? You missed our meeting today. I figured something must be wrong.”
Jennifer opened the door wider. “I’m sorry Carol. I just didn’t feel like going today. I should have stopped by to tell you.”
“You’re still in your robe. Are you sick? There are a lot of people down right now.”
Jennifer shook her head. “David’s sick, but the rest of us are doing okay. Did I miss anything at the meeting?”
“No, just the usual depressing reports. Seems like everyone’s hungry, and no one’s sure how we’re going to make it through the winter. Heat’s also a problem of course, but that’s not why I stopped by. You’ve never missed a meeting. Something’s got to be up.”
Jennifer stepped away from the door and let Carol in. “You want to sit down?”
“If I’m not intruding. You look horrible. You sure you’re okay?”
Jennifer wobbled her head from side to side and shrugged her shoulders, then the tears started to flow. “It’s kind of hard to talk about. Not even sure what happened.”
Carol took her friend by the hand and led her to the couch. “Jennifer, what happened? Was it Doug?”
Jennifer shrugged. “I don’t know. It might have been. Probably was, but I can’t prove it,” she choked out.
“Was he here?”
Jennifer nodded. “Someone was. I fell asleep on the couch and then woke up when I heard a noise. I thought it was one of the kids, so I got up to check and noticed the front door open. I was worried that maybe Emma had wandered off; she hasn’t been dealing with things too well lately. When I walked past my bedroom door…. to go check on Emma, I saw someone in my room, but it was dark…. and I couldn’t see a face, just a shape.” Jennifer’s crying got worse.
Carol put her arm around Jennifer’s shoulder. “Are you okay? That must have been terrifying.”
Jennifer nodded. “I think whoever it was though
t I was going into my room because he raced out and pushed me over. He fell, and I heard a grunt. It was a man’s noise, but that’s all I heard. He didn’t say anything, just got up and took off. It scared me to death.”
“Were you hurt?”
“Not really,” Jennifer said, shaking her head. “Just a bump. But then I heard someone sneaking up the basement stairs, so I got Kyle’s gun. I was so scared and mad I couldn’t breathe, and I was going to shoot whoever it was. Turned out it was David. I came this close to killing my son,” she said, holding up her fingers a quarter inch a part. “If he hadn’t started coughing, I might have shot him.”
“Is David okay?”
“Yeah, he cut his foot on some broken glass, but that’s it. He doesn’t know his mom almost blew him away. Carol, if I had shot him, I don’t think I could’ve lived with myself. Looking back now, it was stupid not to realize it was David, but I wasn’t expecting my fourteen year old to be sneaking around in the middle of the night. It was so dark, and I was so scared…” Jennifer looked at Carol, searching for understanding in her eyes. “I’m so flustered right now I can hardly think. It’s Doug’s fault that I even have that gun in my room…. and came so close to shooting my son…. I couldn’t stand to go to that meeting today, to see his smirk, knowing what he’s doing to me.”
“What are you going to do?” asked Carol. “Or, better yet, what do we need to do about this?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t know. My kids are worried. They think mom’s going nuts, and they’re probably right. It’s bad enough that we’re living like cavemen with barely enough to eat, a bucket for a toilet, and having to walk a mile for water. Why does Doug have to do this to me? Why can’t he just leave me alone? He’s such a, a...” Jennifer’s voice trailed off as Spencer wandered in from the living room. Jennifer wiped at her tears and found Spencer a carrot to eat, then sent him off to play in the basement.
Carol reached out and rested her hand on Jennifer’s shoulder. “I can’t imagine having to deal with that jerk. Do you want to come stay with me? We have room at my house. You guys could stay in the basement, and you’d be safer there with more people around.”
“Would I be safer there, or would I just put more people in danger? It’s like we’re living in a town with a crooked sheriff. How do you get rid of him?”
“We could have a council meeting. I’m sure there are other men who could take Doug’s position. Craig’s brother moved out this week. He sounds like someone who’d get involved.”
“That doesn’t get rid of Doug though. I feel like it’s me that’s the problem. No one else is having problems, are they?”
“Not that I know about. You think he might be bothering someone else?”
“I don’t know. If he’ll harass me, maybe he’d do it to someone else, too? But I’m also in a unique situation. As far as I know, everyone else has their husband around. I don’t, so I’m an easier target.”
“I’ll ask around and see if anyone’s seen anything. Do you think we should watch him in the meantime?”
“Maybe. I just want him to go away. My neighbor, Chuck, thinks I should just go shoot the bastard. Says there’s no law right now, so I should just take things into my own hands. I’d rather just castrate the jerk.”
Carol laughed and shook her head.
“You’re the doctor, what do you think?” Jennifer continued.
“I’m a vet. I specialize in a different kind of animal.”
“Can’t be that different, can it?”
“I’m sure there are similarities, but I don’t anticipate finding out.”
Jennifer leaned back on the couch, rubbing her temples with her fingers. “The stress is wearing me out. I’ve had a headache for two days, and I don’t sleep. What should I do Carol? Where do I go for help?”
“Let me talk to some people and see what they think. You just try to relax and not let him control your life.”
“You think I’m not trying?” Jennifer snapped, then apologized.
Carol leaned over and gave Jennifer a hug as Jennifer struggled to hold back fresh tears. They visited a while longer, then Carol left to “go talk to Craig”.
A little before dark, another knock sounded at Jennifer’s door. Her back instantly stiffened at the sound. She tried to control her fears, but every unexpected noise still made her jump. As she crept to the door, a wave of relief washed over her at the sound of Carol’s voice calling out.
Carol stood on the porch with a man that Jennifer didn’t recognize but who seemed somewhat familiar. His dark hair, which, unlike most people’s these days, looked like it had been washed recently, was cut short with no real attempt at a style and framed his square face and prominent forehead. The man wore a well-worn, brown, leather jacket and faded blue jeans and was a good foot taller than Carol, so that even from his spot outside, Jennifer had to tilt her head back to look him in the eye. The man watched Jennifer study him and smiled warmly at her. His eyes were bright and conveyed a sense of confidence that Jennifer hadn’t seen in quite some time. “Come in,” Jennifer invited. “We don’t have much light left, but come in.”
Carol and the man walked into the house, and Carol made introductions. “This is Sean Reider. He’s Craig’s brother, the one I was telling you about earlier.”
“Nice to meet you,” Jennifer said, shaking his hand. She led them into the living room where they all sat down. “What’s up?” she asked, trying her best to sound cheerful and relaxed and hoping they wouldn’t notice her shaking hands.
“Well,” said Carol, “I went to talk to Craig about your situation. Sean was there and we got into a discussion about things. Anyways, to make a long story short, Sean, Craig and I ended up going over to Doug’s house to talk to him, to see if we could put an end to your problems.”
Jennifer gasped involuntarily, quickly clamping a hand over her mouth to cut it off. “How’d it go?” she asked in a hushed voice through her hand.
“I don’t know,” said Carol. “I’m not sure what I expected, but it was just a conversation. Can’t say whether it went good or bad. It just kind of went.”
“Can I say something?” Sean asked, jumping into the conversation.
Jennifer nodded.
“Just so you know, I was in the military for ten years and spent some time as an MP, so I’ve dealt with troublemakers.”
“What’s an MP?” Jennifer asked, interrupting.
“Sorry,” said Sean. “Sometimes I assume everyone’s familiar with military terms. MP stands for Military Police, the military’s law enforcement. But anyway, I don’t know this Doug guy, but sometimes if someone knows that what they’re doing is no longer a secret, they change their behavior. So even if you can’t catch them in the act, by confronting them you stop the behavior. I think under the current circumstances that might be the best we can hope for.”
“Did he say anything when you talked to him?”
Carol shook her head. “Not really. Acted like it was all a surprise to him.”
“Did he deny any of it?”
Sean spoke up. “He said you two were just friends, that you misinterpreted things. Said it was just taken wrong.”
“What about the break-in?”
“He acted surprised. Claimed he didn’t know a thing about it,” said Carol. “Then he got kinda defensive and said there was no possible way for him to be able to police the entire area twenty-four hours a day by himself.”
“I think he acted a little too indignant,” said Sean. “To me, that show’s guilt, but I have no way to prove anything, plus it was the first time I’d met the guy so I don’t have any past references to go off of.
“What do you think I should do?” asked Jennifer. “It’s not just me. I’ve got three kids that I’m worried about too.”
“I think he’s going to stop, or at the very least, cool it for awhile,” said Sean. “He’s a cop, so he knows better. If it was Doug that broke in the other night, maybe he just got carried away and will
rein it in. There is the chance that it wasn’t him too. Things were getting really bad in Missoula when I left. In the meantime, keep your doors locked at night, your eyes open, and maybe talk to your kids, at least your oldest, about things. Carol said your son’s fourteen?”
“Yeah, David’s fourteen.”
“You can still come stay with me, if you’d like,” said Carol. “You might feel safer at my place.”
“I appreciate that, Carol,” said Jennifer. “Let me think about it. Emma is having such a hard time right now, and I don’t know how she’d react to another big change. Besides, this is our home. All of our stuff is here, and this is where Kyle will come back to when he returns.”
Carol nodded and smiled. “I understand. I hope somehow we’ve helped. It’s late. We’d better get going.”
Jennifer thanked Carol and Sean and walked them to the door, then locked it securely behind them. She went straight to her bedroom and found her handgun, then checked to make sure it was loaded before tucking it back under the mattress where it would be easy to grab.
CHAPTER 25
Thursday, October 20th
North Central Wyoming
With yesterday’s mishap still fresh in his memory, Kyle braced himself as he started down another hill, making sure his footing was secure and that he had a good grip on the cart. The day before he’d been heading down yet another hill, lost in thought, when he’d stumbled. As he fell, the cart had run up the back of his legs and tripped him, then cracked him in the back of the head before rolling over top of him. He had tried to grab one of the wheels as it rolled by but only succeeded in pinching his fingers between the cart and the tire, then watched helplessly as his cart raced down the hill. Halfway down, it veered towards the median where the handle caught in the dirt, vaulting the cart into the air and scattering its contents everywhere.
Fortunately, the damage to the cart had been limited to a slightly twisted box and the bottom of the handle being ground flat on the highway. Kyle’s injuries hadn’t been serious either, and the loss of time had been minimal, but now he tried to focus on the road more as he traversed one hill after another.