by Connor Mccoy
“I don’t know how that old man did this,” Mia groaned from her perch on the ladder, which appeared to have been left next to the door for this purpose, “I can’t steady myself on the ladder and lift this weight at the same time.” The wedge was solid and really heavy. “Do you think it’s lead?”
“Here, let me do it,” Christian said from the bottom of the ladder. “Maybe he had the delivery guy come in and open the door for him. I don’t think he could have lifted the bar either.”
Mia made her way down the ladder, leaving the wedge balanced on the top of the door. “Be careful. If that thing falls on your head, you’ll be dead before you know what hit you.”
“You bet.” Christian climbed the ladder, fixed the wedge in place and was back down in minutes. He dusted off his hands in triumph.
“Don’t be a braggart,” Mia said and then laughed. She was so happy they’d found this place. They’d have real heat, and apparently, the furnace could be used to supply hot water as well. There were benefits to finding a building that still had all its mechanical devices from before electricity.
They went from door to door as a group, making sure the building was secure, and then Sally walked them to the kitchen wing. Mia turned to her.
“Don’t answer the door until we come back,” Mia said. “I don’t care what they say, don’t open the door. The best idea is to go to bed in the apartment. I saw fresh sheets in the cupboard. Put in earplugs and sleep until morning. We won’t be here first thing because we need to bring our stuff, plus a few things from your family’s apartment, and then lock it up. But we’ll be here before noon. Okay?”
“I’ll be fine,” Sally said. “But I don’t know why one of us is staying if all we have to do is go to sleep.”
“Because if anything is loud enough to wake you up,” Christian put in, “then point the rifle in the direction of the noise and shoot. That should scare the worst of them away.”
“A maniac with a rifle trumps a bad guy with a handgun,” Melvin said. “Also, you can scream. There are still people in the city that come running when they hear a woman scream. Take advantage of that if you need to.” He put a hand on her shoulder. “You’ll be fine. People are used to leaving this building alone. They aren’t likely to come looking in the night when they’ll be at a disadvantage.”
Sally nodded, and Mia hugged her. “Do you want me to stay too?” she asked. “They don’t really need me.”
“No, you go,” Sally said. “I’ll be fine. This place is trussed up like a fortress, and I’m not worried.”
Well, I am, Mia thought to herself. We really shouldn’t split up like this.
They left through the back entryway, Mia standing at the door until she heard all the locks click shut and the bar slide into place.
“It’s locked up tight,” Sally called through the door. “You can go.”
“See you tomorrow,” Mia called back, and the men shushed her. “Typical men,” she muttered. “Don’t know what’s important and what’s not.”
They slipped around the side of the building, and when they had crossed the street and were moving through the park, Mia looked back. The moon was shining on the face of the building, and Sally was standing on the balcony, watching them go.
“Go back inside, you twit,” Mia whispered to her. “Before Prince Charming tries to climb up there and claim you.”
Then she turned and followed the men across the moonlit park.
Chapter Sixteen
Glen also noticed Sally standing outside. He questioned the judgment of leaving her there alone and almost turned back but decided against it because that might undermine her confidence. She was locked and barred into the place after all. He caught movement from the corner of his eye and turned to look forward. He scanned the street on the far edge of the park but saw nothing. This did not ease his concern but intensified it. Someone or something did not want to be spotted. That couldn’t be good.
He trusted his instincts and knew that whatever he thought he’d seen was there somewhere, so he did not let down his guard. When the attack came, he was ready. Unfortunately, there were so many of them that being prepared wasn’t enough. Three of them for every one of us, Glen thought, not good odds. Mia was emitting hair-raising cries and kicking out in every direction. That was good. She had five of them trying to subdue her, reducing the number the rest of them had to fight. As he watched, one of them grabbed her from behind, a mistake on their part as she used the person to take her weight as she kicked higher and caught another of the attackers in the face with her boot heel.
A stocky man came at Glen, and he had to focus on the task at hand, leaving his admiration for Mia for another time. The man swung a fist, and Glen ducked, going down on one knee and them back up again, using his momentum to launch himself into the man’s gut. Which was like hitting a rock wall with his shoulder. The man didn’t move and brought both fists down together on Glen’s back.
He went down hard, and his assailant rolled him over and brought a boot down on his face. He felt the man going through his pockets and growling when he didn’t find anything. They’d left their backpacks full of medical supplies at the museum. They literally didn’t have anything worth stealing.
Of course, that didn’t stop the assailant from breaking his nose. The blood was running down the back of his throat, making him gag. He rolled onto his side and received a boot in the kidney. But at least he wouldn’t drown in the blood he was about to vomit up.
He opened his eyes to see Melvin rolled into a ball protecting his gut with his arms, his cheek tucked into his shoulder as two men kicked him in turns. He must have taken a pretty heavy blow to his stomach to be leaving his head unprotected, and it occurred to Glen that they all might die here.
Another kick to his kidney left him gasping, and he was going to try crawling away, a hopeless gesture, he knew, but he couldn’t just lie here and let them kill him. He just was gathering together the strength to roll onto his hands and knees when a rifle blast split the night. Then another.
He heard Sally yell, “Take that you bastards,” and another shot rang out. The man who’d been kicking Glen fell to the ground behind him, which Glen thought was a smart move if he wanted to stay alive, but when he rolled to look, Glen saw he was dead. The back of his skull was blown away.
The thugs who were fortunate enough still to be alive took off running, leaving their dead and wounded behind. Sally shot at them as they ran, hitting at least one of them. Sally set down the rifle and went to Melvin, murmuring quietly to him. Then she checked on each of the rest of them, coming to Glen last.
“I think we need to get Melvin and Christian back to the museum,” she said. “Do you think you can walk?”
“I probably can walk,” he said, “but I’m not up to carrying anybody.”
“I’ve got that covered. I’m leaving the gun here with you, and I’ll be back in a minute.” She left the rifle within his reach and took off running across the park. People were watching now, the gunfire had lured them out of their safe spaces, but no one seemed to be approaching.
As Sally reached the far sidewalk, a small figure approached her. They stood talking for a moment, then the child ran off down the street, and Sally disappeared behind the museum. She was back a minute later with what looked like a giant piano dolly with a handle. It bumped over the grass and stopped. Sally swore, took the dolly back to the sidewalk and pulled it around to the walkway closest to where Glen and the others were lying on the ground.
Mia got up and met Sally next to Melvin. Between them, they were able to get him up off the ground and support him over to the dolly, where he lay curled on his side again. Glen was going to have to get up and examine him. It was clear Melvin was hurt much worse than he was. Glen set about sitting up, rolling onto his side first and then levering himself up. By the time he was sitting the girls had Christian on the dolly with Melvin.
“It will take us a little while to get him home,” Sally said. “Fol
low when you feel up to it. And don’t forget the rifle.”
The rifle was there at his knee, but he hadn’t paid it much attention. “What about this body? We can’t just leave it here, can we?” Glen asked. He wished his face didn’t hurt so bad. His nose was broken for sure. Other than that, he didn’t know what damage there was. Except that it hurt like hell. He had a headache too, but that seemed tolerable compared to his face.
“The cleaners will come and get it,” Melvin said. “Just leave it.”
As he limped across the green to the museum, he wondered how Sally felt about killing a man. Would she spend days crying over it, or did it not matter to her? Had she killed in the battle back in New Town? He couldn’t remember.
Blood from his nose was soaking his shirtfront, and he half wished he’d gotten on and rode back with the other men. Were the women stronger, or had they not been hurt as badly? Or woman, Sally hadn’t been in the fight. His head was fuzzy, and he stopped to sit on a bench for a few minutes.
He woke up in a bed with Sally bending over him and a searing pain in his nose.
“Oh, good,” she said. “You’re awake. I set the nasal bone as best I could, but I think you may have fractured cheekbones as well. Can I do anything about those? Should I?”
He felt his face, which was bruised and swelling. “Nothing seems out of place,” he said. “Better leave it. How are the others?”
“Christian has an injured ankle. There’s no way to know if it’s broken or sprained. Other than that just bruises mostly. My best guess for Melvin is some kidney damage, but I need you to tell me what it is, and what we need to do. He’s the one I’m most worried about. Mia gave worse than she got. Her wrists and ankles are bruised and scraped. They kept trying to keep her still, and she kept resisting. She’s good at using her body as a weapon.”
“How do you feel about the man who died?” he asked softly.
She looked at him in surprise. “That worthless piece of humanity? I’d shoot him again without hesitation. All of them for that matter. I see no reason why they should be allowed to live. Assholes.”
Well then, no problem there, Glen thought, and definitely no tears. These girls were tough.
He started to get up, got dizzy and laid back down. “I think it’s going to take me a few minutes to get vertical,” he said. “If I try going too fast, I’ll just pass out again.”
“I’ve got Melvin comfortable in the room across the hall. I think it must have been the old butler’s office. There are some clean clothes here,” she indicated a pile on a chair and left the room.
Glen looked around and realized he hadn’t be laid in a bed after all. Sally had found a mattress and laid it on the dining room table. The chairs had been shoved in on one side of the table, perhaps to keep him from rolling off. On the other side, they’d been pushed against the wall. It was one of these chairs that held the pile of clean clothes.
He swung his legs over the edge of the table and sat for a while. It turned into a long while as his head swam and dots flashed in front of his eyes. Eventually, his head stopped trying to kill him, and he was able to stand and even change his clothes. He stepped carefully across the hall, not trusting his brain to keep him upright, and thought about what he knew about kidneys. He was a brain surgeon, not an internal organs guy, but as he was all Melvin had. He had better get his act together.
Melvin was conscious but in pain and sweating. Glen sat in a chair next to his bed, which was a mattress on a large desk. He’d have to ask Sally where she found the spare mattresses when he had a free moment.
“You don’t look so good, Doc,” Melvin said. “Maybe you should go back to bed.”
“I’m doing better than you are, medic, so save your energy. Tell me where you hurt.” Glen leaned forward, trying to get comfortable, but the thing is that when your face hurts there is no better position.
Melvin told him what had happened, where he hurt and what he thought the diagnosis was: a bruised kidney. Glen examined his back, felt around a little, and agreed.
“You could have just agreed to begin with and left off the poking around,” Melvin said a little breathlessly. “Rest and fluids?”
“Rest, fluids and antibiotics,” Glen said, “as a precaution. If that kidney is torn, we might stave off an infection. Bed for a week.”
“But our move,” Melvin said.
“Can wait,” Glen answered. “You are to stay in bed. Now I have to go see Christian. Apparently, he has a twisted/broken ankle.”
“I have a boot back at the apartment,” Melvin said. “It’s in the hall closet.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now, rest. I’ll have Sally bring you something for the pain.”
“Not a narcotic. I’ve got a tendency to get addicted.” Melvin looked embarrassed. “It’s hereditary.”
“One pill, just to get you through tonight, er, today,” the sun was coming up. “Then I’ll put you on over-the-counter painkillers. Okay? So you can sleep.”
“One dose. That’s all I’ll take.” Melvin set his mouth.
“That’s all I’ll ask you to take. I’ll check in later.” Glen stepped out into the hall and leaned against the wall. That little examination had taken every bit of energy he had. Mia came around the corner and saw him, speeding up to clasp his arm and help him back into the dining room.
“That’s enough walking around for you,” she said. “How’s Melvin?”
“He needs antibiotics and a dose of whatever narcotic we have on hand.” Glen sat on the bed, table, whichever, and closed his eyes. “I need the same. Then I’ve got to look at Christian.”
“We’ve got Christian under control,” Mia said. “Sally has his leg elevated. There’s no way to know if it’s broken or a soft tissue injury.”
“Melvin has a walking cast back at the apartment, in the closet,” Glen said. “I don’t know if it will fit him or not, but it’s worth a try when you can’t keep him in bed anymore.”
“I’ll get it this afternoon,” Mia said. “You lie down, and I’ll get the meds the doctor prescribed.”
“What doctor?” he asked, confused.
“Boy, you are in bad shape.” She rolled her eyes. “You. You are the doctor, dumbass. Get in bed.”
He laid down, and she slipped his shoes off for him and covered him with a blanket. She woke him up five minutes later to give him the meds, and he was asleep again almost instantly.
Mia let Sally do the bulk of the nursing and spent the next few days doing errands for her. It wasn’t that she was an inadequate nurse, it’s just that Sally was so much better at it that she was. It was the second day that Sally came to her.
“Do we have supplies at the apartment? I really could use more bandages and adhesive tape.” Sally said.
“Let me ask,” Mia said, and went in search of Melvin, who was sitting in the sun relaxing.
“Are there any medical supplies back at the apartment?” she asked him. “Sally says we’re low on bandages and adhesive.”
“Sure,” he said, “but I’ll need to tell you where they are hidden. I didn’t like to leave supplies where they easily could be looted. I never had a problem, but you never know, and getting those supplies wasn’t easy. You know, I went through fifteen bicycles bringing those supplies back from the supply house.”
“You lost bikes?” Mia asked. “How did that happen?”
“Mostly I had to ditch them to get away from freeway robbers,” he said. “Sometimes I’d go over a fence, or through a water pipe. Couldn’t take the bike with me. The bikes always were gone when I made it back. So I guess the robbers got something.”
“But at least you got away,” Mia said.
“Yeah, at least I got away.” Melvin smiled. “Let me tell you where to find what you need. There’s a vent fan in the ceiling, it flips down. In the duct, there are things like bandages and medical scissors. In the main bedroom, there is a false panel in the back of the closet on the right. You’ll have to move the shoe rack. Then,
in the kitchen, slide the microwave out of its mount and look behind. You’ll find more things there.”
Mia went to find Sally. “Hey Sal, the answer is yes, we have supplies. I’ll go get them. Melvin has them hidden all over the apartment.”
“Are we doing the right thing, Mia?” Sally asked, suddenly serious. “We left safety to come here. But my blood ran cold when I saw them beating on you in the park. What would I do if I lost you? I’d be all alone.”
“We found Melvin, didn’t we? If we lose each other, we’ll find others. Like attracts like, you won’t be alone. But we’ll get smarter, I promise. I’ll do everything I can to always come back to you. I’ll always come back.”
Sally burst into tears.
Mia put her arm around Sally and pulled her close. “You cry, Sal. It’s surprising we aren’t all crying every day. Our whole lives have changed, but you’ve adapted. You’ve learned how to help people, how to give to society instead of taking. That’s a lot. It’s big. And it’s worth crying over. When I cry, it’s because I haven’t figured out what to do yet. I’m just a drain on what little civilization that’s left. But you? You’re valuable. I will be here for you whenever I can.”
Sally sniffed and ran her sleeve across her eyes. “What do you mean you’re a drain?” she asked. “You’re part of our team. You help keep us going. What could Glen or I do without you and Christian to take care of scouting out locations and taking watch? Just because you don’t put Band-aids on boo-boos doesn’t mean you aren’t valuable.”
“But I don’t have a calling, Sal,” Mia said sadly. “Anyone could do what I’m doing now. I want to contribute in a more… not valuable, but maybe more satisfying way. I don’t want to be a grunt. I want to be a specialist. And I will, I just haven’t found my specialty yet. But I will. Just like you have.”
“I didn’t really find it, it found me,” Sally said. “Glen needed help, and I found I could do what was needed. And then I realized I enjoyed helping. Taking the lesser injuries, just like a mother would, I think. Like my mom when I’d cut myself or fall. She’d clean me up and slap a bandage over the hurt spot and give me a kiss. That’s what I’m doing so that Glen can take the difficult cases. The split heads and broken bones. Infections and diseases. Only I’m not giving everyone kisses, only the children.” She smiled as if in memory. “Only there were one or two young men I wouldn’t have minded kissing.”